“Religious orders in Spanish and Portuguese America were a challenge to government authority”. Discuss.

Candidates will offer a considered and balanced review of how far religious orders challenged governments in Spanish and Portuguese America. In doing so, candidates may refer to the nature of relationships between members of the religious orders and the indigenous populations as well as government representatives. Challenges presented by religious orders include the extent of autonomy enjoyed by the orders due to their economic success, and the extent to which some orders opposed the exploitation of the indigenous population thus challenging colonial authority. It may be argued that religious orders were more often instruments of colonial policy through assisting their efforts to force indigenous populations to abandon their language, culture and religion. It may also be asserted that the orders did not do enough to improve the living and working conditions of the indigenous people.