| dc.description.abstract | With the European incursion into the New World, the Church had established categories and
networks to dominate and acculturate the Indians, and any form of uprising that endangers the
power exercised in this territory. In this way, he used different social actors such as: bishops,
priests, friars, parish priests, etc., for his evangelizing purpose in American lands. This led to a
complex relationship between Europeans and Indians in their attempt to eradicate the ancient
cults of the natives that soon ended up coexisting. In this sense, a trial against the parish priest
of Santa Elena in the year of 1788 in Santa Elena was the starting point of this work. This
investigation was carried out through the historical method, where each accusation and defense
that is reflected in the trial of Auto de Capítulos contra el cura de la Punta de Santa Elena, Dr
José Mariano de la Peña. Corre con la Causa Criminal contra Varios Indios de dicho pueblo
por el delito de sacrilegio (1788) it allowed to explain the circumstances in which this judicial
process was carried out, how the accused person coped, the consequences of the process and
what categories are developed through the trial. In this case, the parish priest of Punta de Santa
Elena, José Mariano de la Peña, was accused of certain crimes by the Indians and they will be
turned into "idolaters" and "witches" as a means of defense by this religious. Therefore, this
work constitutes a contribution to the study of the legal processes mediated by the Catholic
Church that displayed its concepts and values, in addition, it allows us to approach the
investigations of the interethnic relations between Spaniards and Indians in a little studied
context such as in Santa Elena in the 18th century | |
