ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the Christian regulation of sexuality outside of Europe in the early modern period, and focuses on sexual mores and marital patterns. It explains the theological and spiritual concepts central to Christianity, missionaries also attempts to persuade or force possible converts to adopt Christian sexual morality. In the Latin American colonies, people of indigenous and African ancestry both had lower rank than did Europeans, with blood that was viewed as less pure. The process of Christianization in Latin America used to be described as a 'spiritual conquest', in which indigenous beliefs and practices were largely wiped out through a combination of force and persuasion, transforming most of the countries of Latin America into Catholic countries on a European model. The Catholic Church in Latin America was an important player in the link between sexuality and race, as it was in other parts of the world where European traders and colonists journeyed.
