Fruits

Abstract

The O’odham Revolt of 1695 elicited the familiar conclusion that missionary and Indigenous suffering seeded future fruits of spiritual conversion and territorial expansion. However, in distinction from earlier accounts that had emphasized providential causes and cosmic warfare, Jesuits in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries increasingly supplemented the spiritual logic with material causes and practical explanations. Some Jesuits had expressed skepticism about the methods of Father Eusebio Kino and the fidelity of his native charges. They contended that he had won easy conversions through material gifts and only laxly attended to priestly duties. This, they argued, had spoiled O’odham Christians and made them quick to rebel. Faced with grave doubts about the viability of the Pimería Alta mission, Kino paired traditional providential discourse with material explanations that drew upon diverse letters, regional histories, maps, and missiological theories to point to more quotidian causes and practical solutions. He argued that conversion demanded patient understanding, not increased stringency. Missionaries should learn from past mistakes, treat the O’odham with respect, deliver promised resources, and govern with common sense, prudence, and Christian Charity.