Toribio of Benavente (1482-1565) Franciscan missionary who arrived in New Spain in 1524 and became an ethnographer of the Nahua people of central Mexico. Best known for opposing [[Dan's History Web/US 1/Topic Index/Bartolomé de Las Casas]]' objection to the Spanish conquest of the Americas, although he agreed with many of Las Casas' depictions of the abuses of native peoples by the Spanish. Unlike Las Casas, Motolinía was an enthusiastic advocate of baptizing the natives, which he believed would save them for eternity.