What did the Spanish think of human sacrifice?

The Spanish conquistadors generally viewed human sacrifice as barbaric and a sign of the supposed moral and cultural inferiority of the indigenous peoples they encountered, particularly the Aztecs. They condemned these practices as part of their broader missionary agenda to convert indigenous populations to Christianity. This negative perception was often used to justify the conquest and colonization of the Americas, portraying the Spanish as saviors bringing civilization to a brutal practice. However, some Spanish chroniclers also recognized the complexity of indigenous cultures, acknowledging that human sacrifice held significant religious and social meanings for those societies.