| These two paintings,
also by Marcelo Jimenez, depict the first two insurrections of the Maya
from 1546 to 1562, and the subordination of the Mayan people by the Spanish.
The top picture shows how the Maya were forced into slave labour to construct
houses and churches for the colonials. Many churches in the Mayan region
were built this way, using stone from Mayan temples which were taken apart
and cleared away. The bottom picture shows how the Spanish brutalized the
Mayan people and attempted to destroy their culture by breaking and burning
all the Mayan artifacts which they could find. If the Franciscan priests
found any people still practicing the Mayan religion, they would be tortured
and quite possibly killed. |
