Includes bibliographical references (p. 168-189) and index.

Preliminary material -- INTRODUCTION -- ANTHROPOLOGICAL STUDY OF CHRISTIAN MISSIONIZATION -- INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY INTO THE NEW WORLD BY SPAIN -- THE ORDER OF OUR LADY OF MERCY IN NORTHERN CENTRAL AMERICA -- THE ORGANIZATION OF THE MISSION PROVINCE -- THE OPERATION OF THE MERCEDARIAN PROVINCE -- THE INDIGENOUS SOCIAL AND PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT -- MERCEDARIAN EVANGELIZATION OF THE LENCA IN THE PARTIDO OF TENCOA -- CONCLUSIONS -- APPENDIX I: NECESSITIES FOR A MERCEDARIAN TRAVELING TO AMERICA IN 1606 -- BIBLIOGRAPHY -- INDEX.

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The Frontier Mission and Social Transformation in Western Honduras deals with the interaction between Mercedarian missionaries and the indigenous Lenca Indian population of western Honduras during the early sixteenth to mid-eighteenth centuries. Using an anthropological perspective, it relies heavily on previously neglected ecclesiastical archival material in conjunction with preliminary archaeological evidence as an integral source of data. A fine-grained description of the local processes of missionization in a frontier region examines the organization, operation and goals of the Mercedarian mission province located in the colonial Audiencia of Guatemala. Summary data concerning aspects of Lenca society and physical environment relevant to investigation of mission activities are provided. The importance of this study lies in its ability to explain mission development in frontier settings as well as to trace transformations within a mission order over almost a 250-year period.