The modern period can be counted from around 1500 AD.
Most of the missionary work in this time, especially in the early years, was violent and directly connected to colonialism. For example, the missionaries in Mexico did not initially agree that the pagans had souls and were not protecting them from violence from the state. A lot of missionary work (in Mexico too) was state-sponsored and state-imposed, as the colonial powers saw it as increasing their status among other countries.
