III.   HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF THE CONFESIONARIO:
AVISOS Y REGLAS PARA CONFESORES

Man appoints, and God disappoints. [1]

A.      General Historical Context of his Confesionario:
Avisos y Reglas Para Confesores.

Cervantes’ pithy quote is indicative of the attitude that accompanied Spain’s rise to power and world leadership in the late fifteenth century and its subsequent decline toward the end of the sixteenth.  Much theological, political, social, economic and geographic promise motivated and sustained this small European country within and beyond the confines of the Iberian Peninsula.  A complex matrix of forces forged Spain’s identity into a unique cultural mixture which had a profound impact on imperial policies: suppressing and expelling domestic foes, asserting international prominence, discovering new lands and conquering foreign peoples.  From the late 1400’s through the 1500’s, the contemporary Spanish mentality formed by this theological-political-social-economic-geographic was projected dramatically onto the world stage. Nurtured and fused during nearly eight centuries of reconquista, this jingoistic world-view determined the Spanish identity on the eve of the conquest and for most of her imperial rule.  This Spanish national personality was blown across the sea and was implanted in the Americas and other lands by missionaries, government officials, colonizers and conquistadors.  From the beginning of Las Casas’ life in 1484, this blending of religious fervor, political patriotism, social fervor, economic desire and geographic expansion fueled Spain and imbued her with a sense of invincibility; it was thought that God was with the Spanish imperial enterprise.  Las Casas lived the majority of his life during this golden age of Iberian imperial growth, and he witnessed Spain’s rise to global prominence through conquest and trade.[2]  Before his death in 1566, Spain became the first true world empire, with far-flung colonies in Asia, Africa and the Americas, combined with numerous European possessions.[3]  Las Casas’ Spain was a massive colonial empire, becoming a vehicle for the exchange of ideas, goods and peoples between Europe and abroad. It was in the middle of this dynamic period that Las Casas produced his Avisos y Reglas para Confesores.

Las Casas wrote his Confesionario in 1547, a period of tremendous historical change. Therefore this tract needs to be examined in the general context of the mid sixteenth-century.  Since this period of history is complex, the current discussion will only provide a basic presentation of the historical background surrounding this particular work.   This examination of the theological, political, social, economic and geographic considerations will be done from a Spanish perspective.  As a Spaniard, Las Casas lived and worked his entire life in Spanish territory; thus it is appropriate to consider his Confesionario in this context.  Further focusing this general historical discussion, the aforementioned areas will be examined in relationship to the Spanish monarchs that lived during Las Casas’ life: Ferdinand of Aragon, Isabella of Castile, Charles I (Charles V, Holy Roman emperor) and Philip II.

Las Casas was born in 1484 during the joint reign of Ferdinand and Isabella.[4]  Married in 1469, the Catholic Monarchs had united their crowns of Aragon and Castile in 1474.[5]  When this combined national identity was projected beyond the shores of Iberian Peninsula, it blossomed and flourished out of its medieval roots into the foremost world power in less than one hundred years.  Planted in the soil of medieval theocratic ideas, church, state, society and economic interests were intertwined, growing into an undifferentiated mixture of concerns that made their joint rule a multi-layered undertaking.[6]  This combination shaped Spanish self-understanding and heavily determined government polices throughout the empire, especially where Las Casas was concerned most, the Americas.  Las Casas was born into this milieu, beginning his life’s work under the rule of the Catholic Kings.   They were the first monarchs to shape the historical context of Las Casas’ life.  During their reign, they were primarily preoccupied with the religious, political and geographic unity of Spain.[7]

Notes