Abstract EN:

The evangelization of the Indians in New Spain did not have the efficiency one used to think for the XVIth century. The spiritual conquest was moderate, because of the way it was done and definetely because of the men themselves, either clergymen or Indians. It was a hard task to fulfill and the native communauties presented a whole range of different religious situations. Clergymen could not always serve as a model for them. Some were brutal, violent and did not really care about ethics and Christian values. Others used to soften their religious requirements in order to please those who supported them, as the traditionnal elite, and in order to back their economical interests. Indians did have some freedom of action in the end. They knew how to preserve their religious practises when they had to face Christianism. And when they decided to convert themselves, they did not forget their economical, social and political interests.