"What role do you think ideas of race and religion played in the Hispanic Conquistadors attitudes toward indigenous peoples in New Mexico? Do you think ideas of race and religion continue to fuel conflicts in the world today - why or why not?"I think that race and religion were some of the most prominent causes of conflict between the indigenous peoples in New Mexico and the Hispanic Conquistadors. The idea of superiority that the Hispanic Conquistadors felt toward the indigenous peoples displayed itself through the conquistadors' attempts to conquer their lands, acquire their resources, and alter their way of life. The fact that the Native Americans followed a different religion just made the conflicts even more severe.
Although this world today does not fuel as many quarrels about race and religion as it did in the past, race and religion are still very controversial topics of discussion. There have been instances, blatant and underlying, of discrimination in those two categories in this day and age. This is at the cause of consistent disagreement between two or more groups who have trouble finding agreement or compromise concerning their beliefs.
Excellent job of discussing the role of race and religion. You are absolutely right in recognizing ideas of racial and religious superiority as an impetus for conquest - Hispanic Conquistadors often believed there conquest to be justified because of their race and their religion. I wonder though if, even in this day and age, we truly have fewer conflicts over race and religion? For example, race and especially religion would seem to play an important role, albeit a differnt role than before, in conflicts in the Middle East. Just a thought...
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