2. Europeans Encounter the New World, 1492

Quiz for Experiencing the American Promise: Spreading Christianity in New Spain

Select the best answer for each question. Click the “submit” button for each question to turn in your work.

1. Sahagún was unusual among sixteenth-century Spaniards because he believed that church leaders should

convert the same number of Mexican women as Mexican men.

integrate traditional Mexican gods into the iconography of Catholicism.

live in the same communities as the Mexican people they were converting.

learn as much as they could about traditional Mexican religious beliefs.

2. According to this essay, what did Cortés and his men destroy as they marched through Mexico?

Buildings constructed using traditional Mexican techniques

Images of traditional Mexican gods

The homes of Mexican religious leaders

Staple crops grown in Mexican villages

3. Although most Spaniards thought Mexicans were barbarians, Sahagún admired

the way Mexican men treated women.

their architecture.

their artistic talents.

Mexican music.

4. Sahagún wanted to teach Latin and Spanish to young Indian students so that the students could

translate Catholic texts into Nahuatl.

speak to the priests more easily.

write personal testimonies of their conversion.

read letters written by the Spanish monarchy.

5. Why did church officials in Spain want to destroy Sahagún’s records of traditional Mexican life?

They believed his records were inaccurate and plagued by major errors about Mexican life.

They feared the records would inspire Spanish people to adopt Mexican iconography.

They thought Sahagún’s records were too critical of the Spanish monarchy and thus treasonous.

They wanted to eliminate traditional Mexican beliefs, not preserve them, as Sahagún was doing.