Chapter Chronology

Quiz for Seeking 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.

Question

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

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B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is d. Sahagún argued that the most effective way church leaders could eliminate traditional Mexican religious beliefs was by learning as much as possible about them. Understanding Mexican lives and ideas, Sahagún argued, would allow church leaders to diagnose what he deemed the Mexicans’ “spiritual illnesses.”
Incorrect. The answer is d. Sahagún argued that the most effective way church leaders could eliminate traditional Mexican religious beliefs was by learning as much as possible about them. Understanding Mexican lives and ideas, Sahagún argued, would allow church leaders to diagnose what he deemed the Mexicans’ “spiritual illnesses.”

Question

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

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B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is b. This essay describes Cortés’s destruction of effigies of Mexican gods, which occurred years before Sahagún arrived in Mexico. Both Cortés and Sahagún shared the belief that traditional Mexican religious imagery had to be destroyed (and replaced with crosses) in order to convert Mexicans to Catholicism.
Incorrect. The answer is b. This essay describes Cortés’s destruction of effigies of Mexican gods, which occurred years before Sahagún arrived in Mexico. Both Cortés and Sahagún shared the belief that traditional Mexican religious imagery had to be destroyed (and replaced with crosses) in order to convert Mexicans to Catholicism.

Question

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

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B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is c. Sahagún wrote, “They are quick to learn. There is no art for which they do not have talent to learn and use it.”
Incorrect. The answer is c. Sahagún wrote, “They are quick to learn. There is no art for which they do not have talent to learn and use it.”

Question

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

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B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is a. Sahagún hoped that Indians who spoke Latin, Spanish, and Nahuatl—whom he called “trilinguals”—could translate Catholic religious texts into Nahuatl. Priests could then use these translated texts to help in their conversion efforts.
Incorrect. The answer is a. Sahagún hoped that Indians who spoke Latin, Spanish, and Nahuatl—whom he called “trilinguals”—could translate Catholic religious texts into Nahuatl. Priests could then use these translated texts to help in their conversion efforts.

Question

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

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B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is d. Most Spanish church officials and the Spanish monarchy viewed Sahagún’s records as unnecessary and even counterproductive recordings of traditional Mexican beliefs—the very thing the Spanish missionaries were attempting to eliminate.
Incorrect. The answer is d. Most Spanish church officials and the Spanish monarchy viewed Sahagún’s records as unnecessary and even counterproductive recordings of traditional Mexican beliefs—the very thing the Spanish missionaries were attempting to eliminate.