Epilogue: Frontiers

Abstract

This epilogue discusses the Franciscan missionaries' evangelism on the periphery of the Spanish empire in relation to the themes of the book, and more specifically how they put their knowledge into effect to convert frontier native peoples. It first considers how the frontier ministry borrowed from the Franciscan colleges' training ethos and the conversion of Catholics before highlighting the challenges posed by frontiers to the missionaries. It then shows how Franciscan friars preached, catechized, and introduced a Christian way of life in line with their Catholicism during frontier missions. For the Franciscan missionaries, conversion went beyond recruiting non-Catholics for their eternal salvation under the umbrella of the Church; it also meant the salvation of the sinners who were otherwise condemned to hell. The discussion concludes with a commentary that puts the Franciscan colleges squarely at the center of historiographic debates that connect early modern colonialism, global Catholicism, and the missions.