Final answer:
The Catholic Church significantly influenced the New World by spreading Christianity, mediating cultural exchanges, and altering native social structures, though met with resistance and syncretism by the indigenous population.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Catholic Church played a crucial role in the transformation of the New World and had a profound impact on the indigenous population. Priests and missionaries, such as the Dominicans, were active in converting natives to Christianity, providing education, and often serving as mediators between Spanish authorities and indigenous peoples.
The Church's influence extended beyond religious conversion to include the cultural and social restructuring of native societies.
However, this process was not without resistance, as native people often retained aspects of their traditional beliefs or rejected the forced labor and land dispossession that came alongside Spanish colonization and Christianization.
Despite attempts at full conversion, indigenous practices persisted, leading to a syncretism of Catholic and native beliefs, especially when natives tried to blend Christian traditions into their own. This was notably rejected by the Spanish, who insisted on complete adherence to Catholic doctrine.
The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 exemplifies the indigenous resistance to these pressures, temporarily restoring Pueblo autonomy. Nonetheless, over time, the Catholic Church's efforts contributed to a transformation where indigenous societies were increasingly drawn into the European cultural orbit.
In addition to cultural and religious changes, the arrival of the Europeans, endorsed by Papal authority, drastically altered land ownership concepts, resulted in the introduction of new livestock and changed the social and labor structures within native communities.
These changes were part of broader shifts brought on by the contact between Europeans and Native Americans, reshaping societies and giving rise to a world that was, in many respects, new and bound by an evolving set of relationships and exchanges.