Bartolome De Las Casas Analysis

According to Document 6, Joel Barlow a renowned historian, Columbus was a remarkable young man who was proficient in geography, astronomy, and drawing, all of them necessary for his pursuit of navigation. His courage and perseverance had been put to test many times making him a universally known and respected man. But, even though he was well respected, he was not a good man. He was barbaric to the Native Americans even when they treated him with respect and fervor. He enslaved them for the good of “Christianity” and manipulated them because they were “idiots”.

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.

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.

As stated in the excerpt, Las Casas uses characterization to describe the Natives. He even says, "These would be the most blessed people on earth if only they were given the chance to convert to Christianity" (Casas 11). His use of this literary method virtually guarantees that his readers will become empathetic toward the natives and side with Las Casas in his endeavor to protect the Indians. Essentially, to those uneducated in the goings-on in the New World, Las Casas not only educated them but struck a sympathetic nerve that helped to push Old World Europeans toward minimizing the cruelty in the New World.

Columbus sailed the Atlantic not knowing where he was going; only knowing that he had to find a faster route for Spain to trade their goods and money. When he landed in the New World he had no idea what so ever where he was nor in which direction to go. The New World was filled with Native Americans back then so Columbus was a bit nervous because they were a whole different race to him. He didn’t know if they were friendly or dangerous. Some of the natives were friendly but the ones that weren’t, his men and he had to kill them because they would cause great conflict back in Spain. Columbus was a very tall man with red hair and was 22 years old when he sailed off to the New World. Christopher also came from a very poor family just as Cortes. He had many voyages, and took over large amounts of land. Not all the land he claimed was in the New World some of them were in South

Las Casas viewed the indigenous people in a good light, having said that they were humble and peaceful. He also stated that, for the most part, they were the type of people who wanted to mind to their own business and not get concerned with others. He was a spokesperson for the indigenous people in the new world, feeling the pain that these Spanish intruders forced upon them. The Spaniards didn’t share the same view, they were very cruel and unjust in the way that they treated the indigenous people. They had no respect for their culture or for what the indigenous people had created. Even so the indigenous

The “Christians” abused the Indians performing acts of force and violence. They enslaved the women and children and also performed sexual acts of the women.

Columbus’ ulterior motives are dominated by the socio-cultural and religious teachings of the Catholic Church. Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabel of Castile, both proclaimed as God given kings, wanted full centralization of their established autocratic governance. The goal of expansion into the western world would be to propagate the dominion of the Catholic Church and the power of the Spanish empire to lands unknown to humanity at the time before the Portuguese and other imminent powers. As a discoverer, Columbus was shaped by the crusading environment he grew up in as well as the desire of annexation of land. The main paradox between the first encounter is presented in the belief system of the Indians whom have faith in nature as their ruling God, such beliefs are mirrored to those of the ancient Greeks and in the

However, from a native perspective, conversion may be seen as a submissive last resort and sad desertion of traditional, shamanistic beliefs. Priests often destroyed idolatrous statues/buildings that can be viewed as testaments to years of cultural development of a belief system. (Also, in addition to conversion, they had to become Spaniard by culture (dress, language, etc.) and therefore give up their native identity.

Columbus set out to spread Christianity and to garner Asian riches such as spices and gold (Brown & Shi, 2013). In my opinion, he was primarily driven by the desire for wealth and fame, rather than religious proclamation. He was a smart, young, and highly driven man, who understood how to play the political game in order to have his expeditions funded by royalty. Columbus leveraged every angle, being that of providing sponsoring country with riches, territory, and the spread of Christendom. I would not classify Columbus as a desperate man, rather a man who had a desire for fame, riches, and exploration, and who was able to pursue his passion. Columbus was willing to do whatever it took to accomplish his own agenda. He deceived his sailing

Since the discovery of the new world, many explorers, monarchs, philosophers, even priests, had something to say about its native people. Expressions of how these Europeans felt about the Native Americans varied from barbarians to people who needed a little bit of guidance. Commenced by Charles V, the Valladolid debate made up of philosopher Juan Gines De Sepulveda and priest Bartolome De Las Casas, expressed the views of these two men of the indigenous people of the Americas. Juan Gines De Sepulveda felt as if it were the right of the Spaniards to claim dominance of the Native Americans and their lands. However, priest Bartolome De Las Casas refutes this argument, saying that these Indians are capable of great opportunities. De Las Casas also argues that with the help of the Spanish, these Native Americans can be taught to be Christians living in a modern social environment. Sepulveda saw these natives as animals or half human while De La Casas described them as humble and patient human beings. From a

Throughout “The True History of The Conquest of New Spain,” Diaz criticizes Nuhuatl religions through his denouncing tone and use of repetitions. His repetitions of “cursed,” such as the “cursed idols” (149) and “cursed temples” (149), and of

stand. He was a philosopher who taught at a university in Spain. Also, he thought that natives should not be subject to Spanish rule, and stated, “I thought the Natives were equal to me and you.” When his cross examiner came to question Francisco, the priest stated that he didn’t agree with the pope and even lectured to his students about the pope’s wrong doings. In the end, the court questioned if Francisco’s word could even be taken into account after his betrayal to the pope.

When the Jesuits first arrived they wanted to create compact communities of Tarahumara which would be centered around mission churches. They believed this was the best way to “civilize” them. However, this plan failed as a result of three main reasons. The first was that this sedentary lifestyle completely contradicted Tarahumara customs and life. They were accustomed to living mobile lives following food and game throughout the high mountains of northern Mexico. The second reason was that the Jesuits used “oppressive and authoritarian” approaches to force the Tarahumara into missions. This went against their ideals and societal structure as a whole. Lastly, being sent to a mission meant that there was a possibility one would be sent into forced

Incluso en este tiempo, la Iglesia empezaba a preocuparse un poco, ya que, al principio, los Perones la usaban para ganar control y hacer que la gente oyera. Pero ahora que tenían su propio control y partidarios, ya no la necesitaban. Además, las ideas que Eva había recogido durante su viaje, asustaban a la Iglesia. Su amigo Manuel Penella Silva fue un anarquista, y le dio ideas chocantes, como ‘un sueldo para las amas de casa’. Poco a poco, hizo que el peronismo cambiara al justicialismo: una nueva ‘religión’ en sí misma donde la gente tenía que obedecer a los Perones y solamente a los Perones.