The Roots of Spanish Racialized Thinking in Colonial America, 1400–1600

Abstract

This paper explores the double standard evident in the attitudes of sixteenth-century Spanish conquistadores towards Native American culture. The study investigates why the conquistadores condemned Native rituals as barbarous while perpetrating their own brutal acts against the Natives. It is argued that this inconsistency stemmed from a racialized worldview rooted in ethnocentrism, shaped by the historical influence of Islam on the Iberian Peninsula, Spanish culture including Catholicism, and their encounters with Native Americans. This racialized thinking, although distinct from modern biological racism, justified Spanish imperialism as a holy mission. By examining relevant sources, the paper reveals the complex factors that contributed to this discriminatory mindset and highlights its significance in understanding the success of the Spanish conquest of Indigenous peoples.