Barolomes De Las Casas : Bartolome De Spanish Frriar

This section highlights that history has created a false narrative depicting the natives as a victimized people, which they were to some extent but only in the fashion that they did not possess the same technology for warfare, immunity of communal diseases transmitted, and they were not anticipating combat. All other factors considered, the natives stood to be a potential threat. In regards to knowledge obtained by Spaniards prior to arrival and knowledge gained from observation, it would be remiss had they not prepared for battle. This argument is not to be misconstrued in approving their actions; I do recognize colonization as an evil for both the reasons employed and its damaging effects, but rather to change the narrative surrounding that of the native people. While they did experience a tragedy, I feel that it is erroneous to write them into history as being incompetent resulting from their

Convinced of the superiority of Catholicism to all other religions, Spain insisted that the primary goal of colonization was to save the Indians from heathenism and prevent them from falling under the sway of Protestantism. The aim was neither to exterminate nor to remove the Indians, but to transform them into obedient Christian subjects of the crown. To the Spanish colonizers, the large native populations of the Americas were not only souls to be saved but also a labor force to be organized to extract gold and silver that would enrich their mother country. Las Casas’ writings and the abuses they exposed contributed to the spread of the Black Legend-the image of Spain as a uniquely brutal and exploitative colonizer. This would provide of a potent justification for other European powers to challenge Spain’s predominance in the New World.

Although The Mission and Bartolomé De Las Casas' book, The Devastation of the Indies portray events that took place over two centuries apart, similar features and effects of colonization are apparent in each account. Slight differences in viewpoints are evident, such as The Mission's portrayal of the natives in a more humane fashion, but this goes along with the evolution of time and the current trend of being politically correct. In other words, people today have broader views on issues, are more unbiased in their reasoning, and are careful not to offend others. Whether efforts to conquer land happened in

de la Casas describes the second voyage that he embarked upon with Columbus. He described how each island was depopulated and destroyed. His observations of the land were no so descriptive of the native people and the land, but of the gruesome images the Spanish painted upon the Indies. de la Casas says, “…the Indians realize that these men had not come from Heaven (9).” He goes into detail about how the Christians would take over villages and had no mercy describing one particularly crude act to show how ruthless the Spanish were. He says, “Then they behaved with such temerity and shamelessness that the most powerful ruler of the islands had to see his own wife raped by a Christian officer (9).” The Spanish were so coward and angry anytime an Indian was actually capable of slaying a Spanish man that a rule was made; for every Christian slain, a hundred Indians would die. Natives were captured and forced to work jobs like pearl diving where they would very rarely survive due to man eating sharks or just from drowning and holding their breaths

Casas has a positive attitude towards the natives although it is extremely apparent that those around him do not feel the same. He wants to improve the relations between them and the so – called Spanish Christians, which is why he is writing about these horrors. His approach in improving the relations is to write a brutally honest account of what he witnessed to share with others. He wants the Spanish to realize the brutality they have bestowed upon the natives is unsettling and barbaric for people who call themselves civilized. In this writing, he doesn’t outright tell anyone what to do, but it is implied that he wants the murders and slavery of the natives to end. His story portrays the negative relations between the natives and Europeans from the very beginning of the discovery of the New World.

In A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Bartolomé de Las Casas vividly describes the brutality wrought on the natives in the Americas by the Europeans primarily for the purpose of proclaiming and spreading the Christian faith. Las Casas originally intended this account to reach the royal administration of Spain; however, it soon found its way into the hands of many international readers, especially after translation. Bartolomé de Las Casas illustrates an extremely graphic and grim reality to his readers using literary methods such as characterization, imagery, amplification, authorial intrusion and the invocation of providence while trying to appeal to the sympathies of his audience about such atrocities.

Christopher Columbus and Bartolome de la Casas are similar in most ways but have a major difference. They were both explorers of the New World and came to convert the natives into Catholics. The two explorers worked on the Spanish’s behalf. Columbus wrote accounts of the New World in his journal. La Casas wrote the Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies. Both gave accounts of the native people they saw. Columbus’s journal entries aim to give a positive light on the Spanish and their relationship with the natives. La Casas’s Brief Account does the opposite. While this is true, both explores worked faithfully in favor of the Catholic Church, but they each held different beliefs on the treatment of natives as slaves.

After observing local natives, the first Spanish conquistadors came to the conclusion that the Native Americans were barbaric and in dire need of Christian teachings. Thus, Spanish colonists made it their mission to convert the local natives to Christianity, using violence when there was resistance. In 1597, there were a series of uprisings by the Guale Indians in present-day Florida. They destroyed many missions, explaining that the Spanish missionaries had attempted to eliminate their religious practices such as feasts and celebrations. The Spanish also oppressed the Native Americans, and used them as a labor force under the encomienda system. The French, on the other hand, are known for their peaceful alliances with the Native Americans. Colonists established trade agreements with the local natives, obtaining raw goods such as fur and timber. Their peaceful relationship may in fact be attributed to the Spanish; the “Black Legend” of Spanish cruelty towards Native Americans made other European countries eager to prove themselves different. The French took pride in the fact that they treated the Native Americans more humanely than their Spanish counterparts. In addition, the French were not interested in expanding their territory, unlike the Spanish. They were simply looking for trade opportunities, and a mutual relationship with the Native Americans was advantageous. The primary goal of Spain

For this essay I will be talking about the book “A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies” by Bartolomé de Las Casas. Whom wrote this to the King of Spain, Prince Philip II, in 1542 to protest what was happening in the New World to the native people. I will be explaining many things during this essay. The first thing I will go over is what the books tells us about the relationship between Christianity and the colonialism. The second thing I will talk about is if it was enough to denounce the atrocities against indigenous people. Next, if it is possible to

1. What was the view of Las Casas in relation to Spanish treatment of the indigenous people of the Indies?

The approaches Britain and Spain had towards colonization were reflected in their treatment of Native Americans. Ultimately, both countries were primarily interested in the expansion of their empires, the enrichment of their economies and their own political power, and their treatment of the natives is indicative of these aims. As Spain’s only purpose for colonization was to conquer land for their empire, the

The final Spanish conquistadors’ motive that greatly affected the people living in the new world was glory. This motive is plain to see in documents 3 and 5. In document three Cortez talks about how the war that he and his men are fighting in will bring them fame. In document five it’s the same thing it is Cortez who is plowing through the Indians land conquering everybody for respect in Spain. Now when you look at how did this affect the Native Americans you see that the Spanish conquistadors’ obsession with glory ended up harming Indians because the Spanish wanted conquer Indian lands so that they could win respect back in Spain.

Early on, some opposition against the actions of the Spanish in the New World where the priest, Bartholome de Las Casas, denounced the harsh treatment of natives in the 1530s stated, "From the beginning until now, Spain’s entire invasion of the New World has been wrong and tyrannical. And from 1510 on, no Spaniard there can claim good faith as an excuse for wars, discoveries, or the slave trade.” which portrays the Christian aggression against a race of people who are innocent. Thier only crime was being non-Christian.

The people on the island had no clue what a sword was so they would cut themselves when they would touch the blade. Christopher Columbus thought it was going to be easy if needed to fight with them. They had no way of protecting themselves. He and his men ended up killing these poor people little by little. Even when they tried to help them out by directing them to find gold or help them when they got hurt. On his trip when he arrived in Hispaniola the Taino people living on the island welcomed and were gentle with him and his men. When Columbus left the island he left forty of his men and those men raped and fought the Tainos after they helped them out.2 On his second trip Columbus set up a permanent colony and again his men raped, stole gold ornaments and food that provoked war with the Tainos. The Spanish killed tens of thousands out of population and the ones who did survive the Spanish ended up chopping off their hands if they did not provide their allotment.3 At the end the Spanish wiped out the islands either by killing the people or they left to surrounding countries.

In his treatise as well as Cruelties of Spaniards, Bartolomé Las Casas supported the Native Americans by explaining that they were just as human as the Spaniards were. He states in his treatise that “…it is unlikely that anyone will resist the preaching of the gospel and the Christian doctrine.” Because he has been in the New World, he has seen the acceptance of Catholicism from the Natives, unlike the crown whom have never seen such cooperation. He continues by taking shots at the Spaniard colonists who fought with the Natives, even though their kings “have prohibited wars against the Indians of the Indies…” It’s rather confusing to find out where Las Casas