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The Colonial Time
 The
Spanish occupation of Mayan earth I arrive with several problems.
The rich gold mines that as much sought did not exist. Thus
that they had to develop a new strategy to obtain gains of
the work of the Mayan slaves. They also had to educate to
the Mayans in the doctrine of the church, as Spain were customary
to the evangelización of the world like the constitutional
charter to conquer and to turn the savages of the world. The
King of Spain gave to the rights and the authority to the
Spaniards as the colonos and ordered to bring to the Mayan
town on the foot de la Cruz. This left to the Mayan town without
the political power and with a game of religious beliefs that
the Spaniards wanted to change to any cost.
The Spaniards took control from earth, properties and controlled
all the commerce. The colonial society was broken with a system
of chaste the firm recordativo of the European feudalism.
The King granted to his faithful followers, immense amounts
of earth in the form of "Charges". In these properties
the Mayans worked like slaves who supported the Earth barons
which they became rich. Also a new social structure settled
down that was difficult Mayan to understand them. Churches
were constructed using stones of the old Mayan ceremonial
sites. The maps were constructed to the cities using, like
in Spain, unlike the Mayans that constructed with advantage
using the best situation of the land. After the new cities
were established the process to destroy the Mayan culture
systematically began. The codices were burned, that were the
old books of paper and tried to destroy all the vestiges of
the Mayan religion and their culture. The objects of art like
the images of the ídolos were destroyed that adored.
This one is one of the great crimes of the world to cultural
history and has made difficult the made efforts to really
understand the amazing culture of the Mayan.
 To
half of 1500s, while all this was taking place, the Mayans
seemed to settle down and to become accustomed themselves
a somewhat normal existence. The life was very difficult for
the great masses that lived the slavery close by, but the
revolution seemed to be a thing of the past. Many of the Mayans
died of diseases brought by the Spaniards for who they did
not have the natural immunity, nor medicine. The Spaniards
nevertheless, faced a different problem later. Throughout
the coast of English, French and pirate the Yucatan Peninsula,
Dutch they were a constant threat. Great forts were constructed
in the ports of Campeche and Bacalar in Mexico and San Juan
in Honduras, to protect territories of these new aggressors.
The excursions of these pirates began in the middle of the
1500 and continued until end of the 1700.
The spiritual colonization of the Mayans was put first in
shoulders of the chaplains who came with the Spanish Conquerors.
This was not made with a great acceptance and it was limited
between much discussion to preach the gospel with small groups
of Mayan that grouped themselves to listen. The task of turning
the masses occurred to the orders of the monks like the franciscanos,
the Dominican ones, the Mercedarios and the agustinos. In
the Yucatan Peninsula the franciscanos single made an effort
in the service to indoctrinate to the native ones.
 The
evangelización of the Mayans was satisfied presenting/displaying
the Christian doctrine in its basic forms. This when it was
understood by the Mayan town, allowed the administration of
the sacrament of Baptism. After the Baptism, the Cristiandad
of certain way was taught that the Mayan could understand.
The main push of this indoctrination was to convince those
that without the Church they would not go to the sky and would
be sent to the eternal condemnation. Also it was work of the
Church to teach to the Mayan community how to read and to
write. In many parts of the Earth of the Mayan, these monks
did of this their main activity, in such a way that the Popol
Vuh was written in 1554 D.C. using Latin characters. Many
other good facts by the Spanish missionaries were made, who
helped to fortify their figure but to be accepted in the daily
life of the Mayan community, were created charitable and educative
institutions, poor hospitals, orphanhoods, houses, convents,
monasteries and catholic schools. The Church and its hierarchy
finally managed to do that the catholicism was accepted by
many Mayan in Yucatan and other places. But, not throughout,
as it is demonstrated in the churches of Chiapas. Many do
not have any catholic priest and make a combination of Christianity
and the animistic rituals. But, in general the church attracted
towards if a great number of Mayan believers who gradually
were accepting the Christian doctrine. The catholic Church
gave to much to the colonial society of its culture and development
as it is demonstrated throughout the regions until today.
The structures can be and the religious architectonic works
of each order throughout the Mayab and many are a testament
to the contribution of the Church.
The developed pre-Hispanic culture, although in decay at the
moment for beginning the colonial period, had formed architects,
escultores, epigrafistas, painters, ceramists and goldsmiths
of jade, obsidian, etc. For that reason, the manual labor
used by the architects and European artists were capable and
creative. Contributing of effective and decisive form in the
beauty and monumentalidad of many works of art made in the
period of the colony.
If we compared the civil buildings and religious constructed
during the colony, with the made ones in equal period in North
America, the difference is overwhelming, perhaps s because
it lacked in the natives of the north the cultural heap of
the Mayans and lacked that evangelizador gale that occurred
in Hispanic America. In the Mayan World remarkable works of
art of the colonial period are conserved. San Cristóbal
of the Houses, Logwood, Mérida, the Old Guatemala,
Quetzaltenango, Rescuing Esquipulas, San, San Miguel, Comayagua,
Valley of the Angels and other many towns are examples of
that art that united to Spain and the Mayan artists during
three centuries.
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