Toribio de Benavente Motolinia facts for kids

Toribio of Benavente, also known as Motolinía

Toribio of Benavente (born in 1482 in Benavente, Spain – died in 1565 in Mexico City) was a Franciscan missionary. He was one of the famous Twelve Apostles of Mexico who arrived in New Spain (modern-day Mexico) in May 1524. His writings are important for understanding the history of the Nahuas (indigenous people of central Mexico) right after the Spanish conquest. They also show the challenges of spreading Christianity in the New World. He is known for disagreeing with Bartolomé de las Casas, another religious leader who criticized the Spanish conquest. While Motolinía agreed that the Spanish conquerors often treated people badly, he did not agree with condemning the entire conquest. He also defended the Franciscan practice of baptizing many indigenous people at once.

Becoming a Franciscan Missionary

Toribio joined the Franciscan Order when he was seventeen years old. It was a custom among Franciscans to use their city of birth as their name, so he dropped his family name, Paredes. In 1523, he was chosen to be one of the Twelve Apostles of Mexico. This group was sent to the New World to spread Christianity.

Working in New Spain

After a difficult journey, Toribio arrived in Mexico. He was welcomed with great respect by Hernán Cortés, the Spanish conqueror. As he walked through Tlaxcala, the local people saw his simple, worn Franciscan robes. They said "Motolinia," which in the Nahuatl language means "one who is poor or afflicted." This was the first word he learned in their language, and he decided to use it as his name. Being poor was a very important value for the Franciscan Order.

From 1524 to 1527, he lived in Mexico City and was in charge of the Convent of San Francisco. He then traveled to Guatemala and possibly Nicaragua from 1527 to 1529 to study new missions there.

Back in Mexico, he stayed at the convent of Huejotzinco. Here, he helped the native people against the harsh treatment they received from Nuño de Guzmán, a Spanish official. Motolinía suggested that the native leaders complain to Bishop Fray Juan de Zumárraga about Guzmán. However, Guzmán accused Motolinía of trying to start a rebellion among the indigenous people against the Spanish.

In 1530, Motolinía moved to the Convent of Tlaxcala. He helped establish the city of Puebla de los Ángeles. This city was chosen because it had good land for farming. It was meant to be a place where Spaniards could farm without relying on forced indigenous labor. Motolinía also traveled with other Franciscans to Tehuantepec, Guatemala, and the Yucatán to continue his missionary work.

Disagreements and Beliefs

Even though Motolinía protected indigenous people from abuse, he had different ideas from the Dominican bishop, Bartolomé de las Casas. Las Casas believed that the conquest and control of the indigenous people were wrong and against Christian values.

Motolinía believed that God would protect the indigenous people once they became Christians. He thought that missionary work, like baptizing people, was more important than fighting against the encomienda system (a system of forced labor). He even wrote a strong letter to King Charles V of Spain to criticize Las Casas. He called Las Casas names and even suggested the king should keep him locked up in a monastery.

In 1545, people in Chiapas asked Motolinía to come and defend them against Las Casas, but he refused. He also refused a position as a bishop offered by the king. His letter to the king is important because it shows the Franciscan view. They believed in baptizing as many indigenous people as possible, especially because many were dying from diseases after the conquest. The Franciscans wanted to ensure these souls could go to heaven. They also wanted to continue teaching them about Christianity. The Dominicans, on the other hand, were stricter and often refused to baptize indigenous people if they felt they didn't know enough about Christian beliefs.

In his letter to the king, Motolinía shared a story about Las Casas refusing to baptize an indigenous person in Tlaxcala. Motolinía said to Las Casas: "How can you say you have so much love for the indigenous people, but you make them carry heavy loads and don't baptize or teach them? You should pay those you make work so hard."

From 1548 to 1551, Motolinía was a leader in his Franciscan province. In one of his writings, he described what he called the "ten plagues" that affected New Spain. He compared them to the Ten Plagues from the Bible.

• The first plague was smallpox, a terrible disease.
• The second was the many deaths during the conquest.
• The third was famine after the fall of Tenochtitlan.
• The fourth was abusive indigenous and Black labor bosses.
• The fifth was the heavy taxes and tributes the indigenous people had to pay.
• The sixth was indigenous people forced to work in Spanish gold mines.
• The seventh was the hard labor involved in building Mexico City.
• The eighth was the enslavement of indigenous people for mine work.
• The ninth was working in mines far from their homes.
• The tenth plague was the disagreements among the Spaniards themselves.

Motolinía believed that most of these "plagues" were caused by the Spanish deliberately oppressing and using the indigenous people.

Later Life and Death

Motolinía helped found many religious houses and convents in Mexico. He is believed to have baptized over 400,000 indigenous people. He retired to the friary of San Francisco in Mexico City, where he died in 1568. He is remembered in Mexico as one of the most important evangelists (people who spread the Christian faith).

Stories and Writings

Motolinía is known for his writings about the Aztec people and his records of how Christianity was spread among them. He wrote about the deaths of three Christian boys from Tlaxcala named Cristóbal, Antonio, and Juan. They were killed by adults who did not want to convert to Christianity.

In Motolinía's story, Juan and Antonio's deaths were planned. Some important leaders had decided to kill these children because they were destroying their idols (religious statues) and taking away their gods. Antonio bravely faced them, saying, "Why are you killing my friend? It's not his fault, it's mine! I am the one taking away your idols because I know they are devils, not gods. If you think they are gods, take them and leave that boy alone, he has done nothing wrong." As he spoke, he threw some idols he was carrying onto the ground. By the time he finished, Juan had been killed, and then they killed Antonio too.

These boys had been placed in the care of Tlaxcalan leaders by Fray Martín de Valencia, the head of the Twelve Apostles of Mexico. To the Franciscans, the deaths of these Tlaxcalan boys showed the bravery of new converts. It also showed that the Franciscan idea of converting children for the long-term growth of Christianity was working.

Motolinía's writings are very important because he was one of the first friars to work among the large populations of Nahua peoples. His writings give us a valuable record of indigenous life and the first meetings with the Spaniards.

His main works include:

• Historia de los Indios de la Nueva España (History of the Indians of New Spain)
• Memoriales (Memoirs)

See also

In Spanish: Toribio de Benavente para niños