Draft:Reception of Religion in Peru

The Spanish Conquest of Peru resulted in the religious assimilation of the indigenous Inca there. Adopting Catholicism was expected of the indigenous who acquired vassal status. This required participation resulted in religious syncretism of Christian and Inca religion. While the Spanish questioned the sincerity behind this fusion, the Inca were highly invested.

Our Lady of Copacabana
Andean noble and sculptor Francisco Tito Yupanqui, along with other natives, had become highly educated in Catholicism with instruction from clergymen and missionaries. Drought-induced famine urged community members to request a holy image with which to worship. Immediately following her implementation, worshippers assured others of the blessings they had accrued. Her sudden fame had religious leaders competing for control.

Complaint
Andean noble Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala worked "as an interpreter in Quechua," his competence in the Spanish language and Christianity as working proof. In his manuscript The First New Chronicle and Good Government intended for Philip III of Spain, Guaman Poma highlights the shortcomings of royal operatives and makes suggestions. He expressed many praises for Jesuits, describing them as "the most holy men in the world, who believe, [show] love, and perform charitable acts and who, moreover, give all that they have to the poor people of this kingdom."

Parish priests, however, were privy to taking advantage of their status and marking dominion over the indigenous, practices Guaman Poma was highly critical. His most primary concern was the sexual exploitation of indigenous men and women by these priests, relations which notably contributed to the growing Mestizo population which Guaman Poma thought didn't "set a good example for the Indians of this kingdom." Priests prioritized financial and personal gain rather than developing religious integrity, involving churchmen and religious authorities in their profitable schemes.