In Defense Of The Indians By Bartolome De Las Casas

Matthew Restall, a Professor of Latin American History, Women’s Studies, and Anthropology at Pennsylvania State University. He also serves the Director of the university’s Latin Studies. Throughout “Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest,” he discusses many false truths that have been passed down through history. For instance, he discusses, “The Myth of Exceptional Men.” “The Myth of Spanish Army,” and “The Myth of Completion.” For the sake of time, I will discuss three myths that correlate with class lectures and serve as the topic of this paper, “The Myth of Exceptional Men,” “The Myth of the King’s Army,” and the “Myth of the White Conquistador.” It should be noted that Restall speaks to his audience assuring us that his “...his purpose is not to degenerate this technique of historical writing completely...Nor do I mean to create a narrative in which individual action is utterly subordinated to the larger structural forces and causes of social change.” (4). He states that his intentions are to react to more than just the works of Columbus, Pizzaro, and Cortez.

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

Throughout the passage Las Casas accredit to the Spanish Apologia in such a way as to show his position as set forth in the Latin Defense. Las Casas speaks against the wars carried by the Spanish ostensibly, also arguing against the forced labor system, and a system of slavery which the Spanish imposed on the Indians. Many studies has shown that the Indian culture, lack human guidance and order, that the Native Americans cannot govern themselves. Las Casas assured his readers that the truth is opposite. Indian people pass the Romans and Greeks selecting their own gods, not men that are label

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.

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.

“Victors and Vanquished,” through excerpts of Bernal Diaz del Castillo The True History of the Conquest of New Spain and indigenous testimonies from the Florentine Codex, represents the clash between European and indigenous cultures and how there was no simple “European” or “indigenous” view. Rather, there were a variety of European and indigenous opinions and interpretations that were influenced by personal interests, social hierarchy and classes, ethnic biases and political considerations.

Steven J. Stern’s text, Peru’s Indian Peoples and the Challenge of Spanish Conquest, highlights from beginning to end Spain’s conquest of the Andean people while articulating the transformation of the relationship between these two peoples. He illustrates how Spain’s efforts toward colonialism of the Andes, transformed the natives from a self-sufficient group of people into an oppressed caste system known as “Indians.” Additionally, he introduces the idea that the Spanish needed to break the indigenous and gain their favor in order successfully establish dominance over them and their land. While arguing this, he offers several facts, which contradict the black legend associated with the Spanish and their means of conquest.

One of the weaknesses of this book was the way in which a strong opinion of the author frequently came to the surface. The impression given when reading was one of bias in that the Spanish were wrong to come in and refine everything. This was reflected in the fact that periodically within the book, when the Spanish conquistadors did something to the Indians, it was pointed out how inhumane it was. Yet, when the Indians retaliated in some way, it was quickly pointed out how justified they were. The mentioned advantages that the Indians gained through the Spaniards were infrequent and underdeveloped.

However, Hadingham and Zinn both point out that the grandeur of survival and conquest is overstated. In Hadingham’s case, speculation of the Clovis’ origin are prevalent. The status of “big-game hunters” that the Clovis are renowned for is disputed by Hadingham, who mentions the uncovered bones of small prey in the Gault area. Furthermore, the extinction of many ancient animals were mostly due to the changing climate.  Hadingham uses a number of archeological facts and findings. As for Zinn, he points out the cruel treatment of Indians that were greatly responsible for the success of Christopher Columbus and the future colonists. Columbus’ soldiers recall the events in writing, detailing the deceit Columbus employed against the generous Indians. Wars were waged for land and food despite the initial charity of the Arawaks and other tribes. Using Bartolome de las Casas’ writings, Zinn shows the contemptuous treatment of the Indians by the Spaniards. The Spaniards who “grew more conceited every day,” in the words of Las Casas, tolled their Indian slaves to death in mines and slaughtered the innocent for fun. Outrageous quotas of gold was imposed on the Indians and cruel punishments was dealt to those who failed. Spain’s riches was built upon the blood of Indians, not by Columbus’

In the 16th century Spaniards Herman Cortes and Christopher Columbus set out on endeavoring journeys in search of new worlds. Christopher Columbus encountered, in the Caribbean islands, a group of extremely simplistic Native Americans. Herman Cortes however encountered a much more advanced Native American group in Meso America; we formally know this area to be Mexico. In my essay I will be comparing and contrasting several aspects between both of these Native American Civilizations including sophistication, technology, housing, weapons, religion and their reaction to the Spaniards. Letters written by Columbus and Cortes will be used to make these comparisons.

The misconception that the Indians had about the Spanish is that they never believed that they would come and rape the naïvety from them and brutally kill men, women and children in the name of God. Many are to believe that the slave trade originated from some of the Spanish conquistadors (i.e. through someone such as Christopher Columbus when he founded the “New World” and there invested in the indigenous peoples’ lives). Looking into each Spanish conquistador’s life it is seen and read that they learnt their way of life through following others. The chain connecting each conquistadors and many other Spaniards lifestyles could be seen through their own history and in repeating it the same downfall has been met. Although the Spanish conquistadors have done many terrible things and created horrific events through history there is still a respect of sorts for their courage and audacity to live in such

The Black Legend and White Legend: Relationship Between the Spanish and Indians in the New World

He uses the example of how the Romans conquered the Spaniards in the Caesar Augustus era. The Romans used the same ideology that Sepulveda, another dictator, uses to justify mistreatment of the Indians by making them change their ways of life and conforming to Roman culture. ( Pg 3). He quotes Trogus Pompey as evidence for this information and the same ideologies that Sepulveda uses. He asks Sepulveda questions such as “ Did the Spanish wage an unjust war when they vigorously defended themselves against them?” ( Pg 4) De Las Casas wants Sepulveda to feel ignorant because he truly believes Sepulveda would not have liked it if it happened to him because he feels as though the Spanish are superior, so if older conquistadores thought wrongly about the Spaniards, then Sepulveda is doing the exact wrong doing by believing the same about the Native Americans. De Las Casas actually acknowledges the many strengths of the Native Americans. When describing their skills, he says “ The Indian race is not that barbaric , nor are they dull witted or stupid, but they are easy to teach and very talented in learned all the liberal arts…. “ ( Pg 4) For De Las Casas to acknowledge this was the first step in promoting equality per se and trying to challenge / eliminate stereotypes. He was able to identify the capabilities of Native Americans and challenged basically the idea of what is normal

1. Three arguments’ that Juan Gines de Sepulveda used to justify enslaving the Native Americans were for gold, ore deposits, and for God’s sake and man’s faith in him. 2. Three arguments that Bartolome de las Casas gave in attacking Spanish clonial policies in the New World were the Indians eating human flesh, worshiping false gods, and also, he believed that the Indians were cowardly and timid. 3. For comparisons that Sepulveda used, in lines 1-7, to express the inferiority of the Indians was their prudence, skill virtues, and humanity were inferior to the Spanish as children to adults, or even apes to men. Comparisons he used to dismiss the significance of the Indians