¶ … Franciscan Beginnings in Early Colonial Peru, Antonine Tibesar provides an account of the Franciscans' role in converting the native population of Peru to Christianity. Basing his work on primary sources wherever possible, Tibesar asserts that although the Franciscan Order was by no means the primary religious order in colonial Peru, the Franciscans successfully integrated the Indians into Spanish culture. The author seems to have developed his thesis by convenience: the Franciscan Order in Peru opened its doors to him, offering him access to their documentary materials. Therefore, Tibesar was able to write this thorough and specific historiography. The author constantly admits that there is a dearth of documentary materials written by religious persons of the sixteenth century. Rather, most documents were written by military personnel or conquistadors. Rather than become discouraged by this lack of source material, Tibesar works closely with the materials provided to him by the Franciscan Order in modern Peru. The focus for the book is specifically on the Franciscan Order, but by necessity Tibesar places the Order in social, political, and historical context in order to provide an accurate account of its role in sixteenth century Peru. Tibesar notes that the Franciscan Order contended with frequent clashes of interest with Spanish authorities, both religious and secular, in their attempts to convert the Indians. For the Franciscan, Christian spirituality and way of life were...

Therefore, the friars basically remained true to their ideals of Christianity.
Franciscan Beginnings in Early Colonial Peru is organized chronologically. In the first few chapters, the author describes how the Franciscans came to accompany the early colonizers and other religious orders like the Dominicans on their trip to Peru. Although exact dates were difficult to ascertain, Tibesar suggests that the Franciscans first arrived in Peru in 1537. Furthermore, although there are no firsthand accounts of the establishment of Lima as a Franciscan province, Tibesar provides an overview of its settlement. Basically, the first two chapters provide the historical context for the author's work and sets up his thesis. Tibesar establishes that the Franciscans were a major player in the colonizing and acculturation of Peru. Therefore, his work is integral to a complete picture of the colonial history of that country.

The Spanish Crown and Church authorities assisted the Franciscan efforts to culturally assimilate the Indians. Moreover, as the Franciscan Order trained more Creoles to be friars, fewer people were needed to arrive from Spain to continue the efforts of the Order. The Spanish Crown saw the Franciscan Order as an important means by which to totally control the minds and hearts of the native population. Once political control of the region was established, the major effort of religious…