The Council of the Indies was responsible for the governing of the Spanish Empire, including issues of religion. During the reign of Philip II, the Council gained independence from the Council of Castile and was able to take more control of the Spanish territories. In response to outside factors, the Council codified its laws regarding the spread of the Catholic faith, which became the basis for Council control of religion under the authority of the king. A review of the Council during this time led to many changes in an effort to make the Council less corrupt and more efficient. These changes were not all successful, but they did change the appearance of the Council and they reveal how it functioned. A case study of two Spanish colonies, La Florida and New Spain demonstrates the role of the Council of the Indies in the area it supposedly governed. These two colonies are vastly different and illustrate how the Council adapted to serve the needs of the empire. During Philip’s reign, the high point of the Council’s power concerning religion, the Council of the Indies was more involved with the spread of religion in the areas of evangelization and establishing the Church in the Spanish territories.
","abstract_html":"<p>The Council of the Indies was responsible for the governing of the Spanish Empire, including issues of religion. During the reign of Philip II, the Council gained independence from the Council of Castile and was able to take more control of the Spanish territories. In response to outside factors, the Council codified its laws regarding the spread of the Catholic faith, which became the basis for Council control of religion under the authority of the king. A review of the Council during this time led to many changes in an effort to make the Council less corrupt and more efficient. These changes were not all successful, but they did change the appearance of the Council and they reveal how it functioned. A case study of two Spanish colonies, La Florida and New Spain demonstrates the role of the Council of the Indies in the area it supposedly governed. These two colonies are vastly different and illustrate how the Council adapted to serve the needs of the empire. During Philip’s reign, the high point of the Council’s power concerning religion, the Council of the Indies was more involved with the spread of religion in the areas of evangelization and establishing the Church in the Spanish territories.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ellington, Ashley D"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts in History (M.A.)","degree_level":"Thesis (open access)","degree_discipline":"Department of History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Solomon Smith","Anna Alexander"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:28:00Z","subjects":["ETD","Council of the Indies","Philip II","Religion","La Florida","New Spain","European History","History of Religion","Latin American History"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1171","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Solomon Smith","Anna Alexander"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ellington, Ashley D"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-11-12T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of History"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis (open access)"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts in History (M.A.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["ETD","Council of the Indies","Philip II","Religion","La Florida","New Spain","European History","History of Religion","Latin American History"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1171"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The Council of the Indies was responsible for the governing of the Spanish Empire, including issues of religion. During the reign of Philip II, the Council gained independence from the Council of Castile and was able to take more control of the Spanish territories. In response to outside factors, the Council codified its laws regarding the spread of the Catholic faith, which became the basis for Council control of religion under the authority of the king. A review of the Council during this time led to many changes in an effort to make the Council less corrupt and more efficient. These changes were not all successful, but they did change the appearance of the Council and they reveal how it functioned. A case study of two Spanish colonies, La Florida and New Spain demonstrates the role of the Council of the Indies in the area it supposedly governed. These two colonies are vastly different and illustrate how the Council adapted to serve the needs of the empire. During Philip’s reign, the high point of the Council’s power concerning religion, the Council of the Indies was more involved with the spread of religion in the areas of evangelization and establishing the Church in the Spanish territories.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Council of the Indies and Religion in the Spanish New World"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Solomon Smith","Anna Alexander"],"dc:creator":["Ellington, Ashley D"],"dc:date.available":["2014-11-12T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The Council of the Indies was responsible for the governing of the Spanish Empire, including issues of religion. During the reign of Philip II, the Council gained independence from the Council of Castile and was able to take more control of the Spanish territories. In response to outside factors, the Council codified its laws regarding the spread of the Catholic faith, which became the basis for Council control of religion under the authority of the king. A review of the Council during this time led to many changes in an effort to make the Council less corrupt and more efficient. These changes were not all successful, but they did change the appearance of the Council and they reveal how it functioned. A case study of two Spanish colonies, La Florida and New Spain demonstrates the role of the Council of the Indies in the area it supposedly governed. These two colonies are vastly different and illustrate how the Council adapted to serve the needs of the empire. During Philip’s reign, the high point of the Council’s power concerning religion, the Council of the Indies was more involved with the spread of religion in the areas of evangelization and establishing the Church in the Spanish territories.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1171"],"dc:subject":["ETD","Council of the Indies","Philip II","Religion","La Florida","New Spain","European History","History of Religion","Latin American History"],"dc:title":["The Council of the Indies and Religion in the Spanish New World"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of History"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis (open access)"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts in History (M.A.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:28:00Z"}