Full Answer
Who was Bartolome de las Casas?
Bartolomé de Las Casas was a Dominican priest and missionary in the Americas. Las Casas—who was ordained in either 1512 or 1513—may have been the first person in America to receive holy orders.
What was the relationship between Christopher Columbus and Bartolome de las Casas?
The connection between the two families was strong: Bartolomé's father eventually interceded with the pope on the matter of securing certain rights on behalf of Columbus' son Diego, and Bartolomé de Las Casas himself edited Columbus' travel journals.
Did Bartolome de las Casas own serfs?
Bartolomé de Las Casas did own serfs. As a young man, Las Casas participated in several military expeditions in the West Indies. In return for his participation, Las Casas was granted an encomienda —a Spanish royal land grant—and an allotment of Indian serfs.
What did Bartolome de las Casas believe about Native Americans?
Las Casas maintained that they were fully human, and that forcefully subjugating them was unjustifiable. Bartolomé de las Casas spent 50 years of his life actively fighting slavery and the colonial abuse of indigenous peoples, especially by trying to convince the Spanish court to adopt a more humane policy of colonization.
Who was Bartolomé de Las Casas?
Bartolomé de Las Casas was a Dominican priest and missionary in the Americas. Las Casas—who was ordained in either 1512 or 1513—may have been the f...
What is Bartolomé de Las Casas known for?
Bartolomé de Las Casas was an outspoken critic of the Spanish colonial government in the Americas. Las Casas was especially critical of the system...
Did Bartolomé de Las Casas ever own serfs?
Bartolomé de Las Casas did own serfs. As a young man, Las Casas participated in several military expeditions in the West Indies. In return for his...
What did Bartolomé de Las Casas write?
Bartolomé de Las Casas was a prolific writer. He wrote many petitions, treatises, and books on the subject of the Spanish conquest of the Americas....
What impact did Bartolomé de Las Casas’s writings have in Spain?
The Brevísima relación de la destrucción de las Indias (A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies) had an immediate impact in Spain. The pol...
Who was Las Casas?
Known For: Las Casas was a Spanish colonist and friar who advocated for better treatment of Indigenous peoples. Born: c. 1484 in Seville, Spain. Died: July 18, 1566 in Madrid, Spain. Published Works: A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Apologetic History of the Indies, History of the Indies.
What did Las Casas see?
The young man accompanied the governor on two different military missions aimed at pacifying Indigenous people who remained on the island. On one of these trips, Las Casas witnessed a massacre of poorly armed Indigenous people, a scene he would never forget. He traveled around the island a great deal and was able to see the deplorable conditions in which the Indigenous people lived.
What was Las Casas's main goal in his life?
Death. Later in life, Las Casas became a prolific writer, traveled frequently between the New World and Spain, and made allies and enemies in all corners of the Spanish Empire. His "History of the Indies"—a frank account of Spanish colonialism and the subjugation of the Indigenous people—was completed in 1561.
What did Las Casas do to help the indigenous people?
In 1537, Las Casas wanted to try again to demonstrate that Indigenous people could be interacted with peacefully and that violence and conquest were unnecessary. He was able to persuade the crown to allow him to send missionaries to a region in north-central Guatemala where the Indigenous people had proved particularly fierce. His experiment worked, and Indigenous tribes were peacefully brought under Spanish control. The experiment was called Verapaz, or “true peace,” and the region still bears the name. Unfortunately, once the region was brought under control, colonists took the lands and enslaved these Indigenous people, undoing almost all of Las Casas’ work.
What did Las Casas believe about the enslavement of the indigenous people?
He became convinced that the enslavement and slaughter of the Indigenous population was not only a crime but also a mortal sin as defined by the Catholic Church. It was this ironclad conviction that would eventually make him such a staunch advocate for fair treatment of Indigenous peoples.
How did Las Casas help the Caribbean?
Las Casas convinced Spanish authorities to allow him to try to save the few remaining Caribbean Indigenous people by freeing them from enslavement and placing them in free towns, but the death of Spain's King Ferdinand in 1516 and the resulting chaos over his successor caused these reforms to be delayed.
Why did Las Casas believe in the New World?
Las Casas agreed that God had led Spain to the New World, but he saw a different reason for it: He believed it was a test. God was testing the loyal Catholic nation of Spain to see if it could be just and merciful , and in Las Casas’ opinion, the country failed God’s test miserably.
What did Las Casas suggest?
At one point Las Casas suggested importing enslaved Africans, rather than continuing to enslave the Indians, who perished under the harsh regimen. Some people rightly condemn him for that. But he recanted almost immediately and writing about himself in the third person, condemned himself for his lapse:
What was the issue at the Las Casas trials?
Held at Valladolid, Spain, the issue was: Are Indians human beings? Bishop Sepulveda and historians Oviedo, Cuneo, Gómara, and Garcilaso de la Vega, among others, argued they are some subordinate species, appropriate for slavery. “Indians are born lazy, idle, melancholy and cowardly, vile and ill-natured, liars, with a short memory and no perseverance,” claimed Oviedo. Las Casas countered by emphasizing their many positive human attributes:
What was Bartolomé's only hope?
Following this, Bartolomé’s only hope was to convince the king. However, this, too, did not happen, as the King died before he could meet Bartolomé again.
Who was the king of Spain when the Encomienda was passed?
Bartolomé de Las Casas finally managed to convince the king of Spain, Charles V , to pass the ‘New Laws.’ According to the ‘New Laws,’ the “encomienda” would no longer be a hereditary grant and the slaves were to be set free after serving one generation of the slavers.
What did Dominican friars do to the slave owners?
They preached against the idea of slavery and faced criticism and resistance from the slavers. The friars did not back down. They stopped accepting confessions from the slavers.
Why was the book Historia Apologética written?
He instructed that the second book be printed only after his demise.
Who was the first person to witness the Spanish attack on Cuba?
In 1513, Bartolomé de Las Casas participated in the Spanish attack on Cuba. This was the first time Bartolomé observed and felt the intensity of the Spanish cruelty unleashed upon the natives. He later wrote about the experiences and claimed that he had witnessed cruelty that nobody ever expects to see.
Who was the hero of the Indigenista movement?
During the “indigenista” movements in Peru and Mexico, several revolutionaries hailed Bartolomé as a true hero.
Who was the bishop of Chiapas?
For a flawless implementation of these laws, Bartolomé was appointed as the bishop of Chiapas in Guatemala. In July 1544, he returned to America with 44 Dominican friars. He forbade the absolution of the Spaniards involved with the “encomienda” and faced a lot of criticism from the slavers.
Why did Las Casas go to Spain?
When Las Casas released his slaves and preached against the encomienda system the resistance was immediate and strong. So he decided to go to Spain to take the issue to King Ferdinand and church leaders. When the King died shortly after his return Las Casas turned to writing.
What did Las Casas see in the Bible?
Las Casas came to see Christ in the suffering of the Indians, crucified not once, but thousands of times. Las Casas’ concern as a priest became not the salvation of the Indians but the salvation of the Spanish themselves.
What did Las Casas do to help the Spanish?
Based on his principles of treating all people as equals and appealing to them about the Christian faith through understanding, Las Casas launched a mission into a part of Guatemala that had not been conquered by the Spanish military. When a number of Indian chiefs converted and set up churches in their communities Las Casas got the Spanish commander in the region to agree not to allow the encomienda system in that region. They called the area Verapaz, True Peace.
What mission did Las Casas go to?
He also got involved in a mission to the Maya in Mexico. That mission brought the Dominicans led by Las Casas into conflict with the Franciscans. The Franciscans sought mass conversions while Las Casas felt that people needed to understand their faith for conversion to be genuine.
Why did Las Casas refuse confession?
Las Casas himself was denied confession because he was a slave owner. He argued against the Dominicans for the justice of the Spanish encomienda system. He was a chaplain in the military campaign to conquer the island of Cuba and participated in the massacre at Hatuey. He later wrote, I saw here cruelty on a scale no living being has ever seen or expects to see.
What did Las Casas write about the destruction of the Indies?
He wrote A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies in which he related the atrocities and abuses committed by the Spanish colonizers against the indigenous people.
What was Las Casas' legacy?
Indian leaders who traveled to Spain turned to him as a key defender of their cause. When Las Casas died his legacy became as convoluted, conflicted, and complex as his life had been. Even into the 20th Century many in Spain defended the Spanish empire as benevolent and just, condemning Las Casas as a traitor and extremist. For others, however, even with his flaws he was one of the early voices for the unity of humankind and the universality of human rights. Las Casas seemed a lone voice in his day, but his voice still echoes hundreds of years later in lands where poor and indigenous peoples continue to suffer exploitation and the denial of basic human rights.
Early Life
First Trip to The Americas
- In 1502, Las Casas finally went to see the family holdings in Hispaniola. By then, the Indigenous peoples of the island had been mostly subdued, and the city of Santo Domingowas being used as a resupply point for Spanish incursions in the Caribbean. The young man accompanied the governor on two different military missions aimed at pacifying Indigenous people who remaine…
The Colonial Enterprise and Mortal Sin
- Over the next few years, Las Casas traveled to Spain and back several times, finishing his studies and learning more about the sad situation of the Indigenous peoples. By 1514, he decided that he could no longer be personally involved in their exploitation and renounced his family holdings in Hispaniola. He became convinced that the enslavement and slaughter of the Indigenous populat…
First Experiments
- Las Casas convinced Spanish authorities to allow him to try to save the few remaining Caribbean Indigenous people by freeing them from enslavement and placing them in free towns, but the death of Spain's King Ferdinand in 1516 and the resulting chaos over his successor caused these reforms to be delayed. Las Casas also asked for and received a section of the Venezuelan mainl…
The Verapaz Experiment
- In 1537, Las Casas wanted to try again to demonstrate that Indigenous people could be interacted with peacefully and that violence and conquest were unnecessary. He was able to persuade the crown to allow him to send missionaries to a region in north-central Guatemalawhere the Indigenous people had proved particularly fierce. His experiment worked, and Indigenous tribes …
Death
- Later in life, Las Casas became a prolific writer, traveled frequently between the New World and Spain, and made allies and enemies in all corners of the Spanish Empire. His "History of the Indies"—a frank account of Spanish colonialism and the subjugation of the Indigenous people—was completed in 1561. Las Casas spent his final years living at the College of San Gre…
Legacy
- Las Casas’ early years were marked by his struggle to come to terms with the horrors he had seen and his understanding of how God could allow this kind of suffering among the Indigenous peoples. Many of his contemporaries believed that God had delivered the New World to Spain as a reward of sorts to encourage the Spanish to continue to wage war upon heresy and idolatry as d…
Sources
- Casas, Bartolomé de las, and Francis Sullivan. "Indian Freedom: the Cause of Bartolomé De Las Casas, 1484-1566: A Reader." Sheed & Ward, 1995.
- Casas, Bartolomé de las. "A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies." Penguin Classics, 2004.
- Nabokov, Peter. “Indians, Slaves, and Mass Murder: The Hidden History.” The New York Revie…
- Casas, Bartolomé de las, and Francis Sullivan. "Indian Freedom: the Cause of Bartolomé De Las Casas, 1484-1566: A Reader." Sheed & Ward, 1995.
- Casas, Bartolomé de las. "A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies." Penguin Classics, 2004.
- Nabokov, Peter. “Indians, Slaves, and Mass Murder: The Hidden History.” The New York Review of Books, 24 Nov. 2016.
