The Brutality, Injustice, and Institution of Slavery is Wrong in any Age

Las Casas was extremely empathetic of the Indian slaves and at one point "urged" for the use of black slaves instead of Indians "thinking they were stronger and would survive, but later relented when he saw the effects on blacks" (page 6, para. 1) Columbus, who had no thought for the native people or their well-being, who had only cared about his future fame and lust for greed, was clearly down the path of Marxism as he continued to use his power to gain only what was good for him (and Spain) as he led to the eradication of millions of Native Americans and put them through unlivable horrors. Las Casas, however, was the opposite. Although he participated in the conquest of Spain, he ultimately cared about the natives, was very empathetic with them, and had much more in common with

Within this review of Gomez’s work is a comparison of the “truth” I knew and the “truth” I now know. Upon completing Reversing Sail, I argued with my own thoughts regarding Africans and their status prior, and post, enslavement.

Bartolomé de las Casas' letter to the Spanish crown produced an almost immediate result, for its requests were fulfilled in the New Laws of the Indies, enacted in 1542.3 Las Casas requested that the natives be relieved of their “bondage,” of which can generally be described as slavery.4 These New Laws contained legislation, in part constructed by Las Casas, which prohibited the abuse of native labor in the Spanish colonies.5 The New Laws also had a purpose to dissolve the encomiendas through their restrictions.6 Unfortunately for Las Casas, there was no immediate success with these laws. In near succession with the passing of the New Laws, Gonzalo Pizarro led a rebellion in 1546, taking place in Peru.7 In this rebellion, Pizarro overthrew Blasco Nuñes Vela, the viceroy of Peru who planned to enforce the New Laws, in a move to protect the rights of the Spaniards.8 A further blow to the New Laws, and to Las Casas, was the viceroy of New Spain, who deliberately did not strictly enforce the New Laws so as to avoid the situation that occurred in Peru.9 These two stipulations, in time, pressured the Spanish crown into diminishing some portions of the New Laws.10

In 1542, a Christian missionary named Bartolomé de Las Casas wrote about the little-known realities of the brutalities occurring in the New World between Spanish conquistadors and Native Americans. Even though the Spanish originally set out to bring Christianity to the New World and its inhabitants, those evangelizing efforts soon turned into torture, mass killings, rape, and brutal slavery of the innocent natives to fulfill their greed for gold and wealth, according to Las Casas. In his primary account A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Bartolomé de Las Casas attempts to inform King Phillip II of the cruel acts and injustices committed by the Spanish conquistadors. Despite this condemnation, Las Casas does not reject imperialism, because he feels Spain has the obligation to spread the word of Christianity around the world. Instead, he finds fault with the Spanish conquistadors for implementing this evangelization the wrong way, by both physically harming the Native Americans and, fundamentally, in their underlying perception of them as inferior. Furthermore, the key to the coexistence of imperialism with Las Casas’ Catholic ideas and his defense of indigenous peoples lies in considering and treating these Native Americans as equals and as humanity rather than inferiors.

He also says that they were not confrontational and did not hold grudges. He explains that they were faithful and obedient to their Native Lords and to the Spaniards. The indigenous people were also pure in mind and were open to learning about Christianity. The Spaniards in the Americas were cruel to the indigenous people. De las Casas explained that the Christians murdered on such a vast scale and would kill anyone in their way largely due to greed. He also said that the ones who were captured as slaves were treated brutally and worse than animals. De las Casas was hoping that the king would recognize this and put a stop to the violence. De las Casas wanted to shed light on the fact that the indigenous people were not violent with the Spaniards and were very open to them, while the Spaniards retaliated with violence and

A. Bartolome de las Casa was an early Spanish historian and Dominican missionary who was the first man to show the wrong doings and oppression of the European people towards the native people in the Americas. Bartolome was also an accomplished writer and had published many works, one includes a book called Historia de las Indias, which reflects on the accounts of the treatment and oppression of the natives in the Americas (Bartolome de Las Casas). Why Bartolome is so important during the period of Spanish exploration is because he was one of the first people to fight for the rights of the natives in America. He went to Spanish Parliament in Barcelona to fight for the rights of the natives. He purposed to Parliament that the colonist and natives

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano was written by Olaudah Equiano in 1789, twenty three years after he was allowed to buy his freedom. This document, as a primary source, autobiography and persuasive piece, is able to reveal that slavery rips children from their families and tears families apart. Equiano tells about his life before slavery, and he also reveals that life as a slave was full of unpredicted turns. This is important piece of trying to understand slavery because it tells us about how straining it is to have to live without knowing what the future holds.

separate how De Las Casas might have been an outspoken critic of the Spanish’s treatment of indigenous people, and how he was still a part of a repressive institution. Finally, I

Now we are going to analyze Cabeza journal and how him and his men met with Spanish who were enslaving natives (Bandelier 22). Cabeza tells us how he felt bad for the natives because “...found it all deserted, as the

Early American Literature reflects many conflicting differences in the presentation of slavery during that time period. Through the two chosen texts, the reader is presented with two different perspectives of slavery; Frederick Douglass’s narrative provides a look at a slave’s life through the eyes if a slave while Benito Cereno showcases the tale of a slave uprising from the viewpoint of the slave owner.. Benito Cereno’s work shows the stereotypical attitude towards African-American slaves and the immorality of that outlook according to Douglass’s narrative. Cereno portrays the typical white slave owner of his time, while Douglass’ narrative shows the thoughts of the slaves. The two stories together show that white Americans are oblivious to the ramifications and overall effects of slavery. These texts assist a moralistic purpose in trying to open up America’s eyes to the true nature of slavery by revealing it’s inhumanity and depicting the cruelty that was allowed.

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.

The practice of owning other people as “property” has affected the world profoundly. Specifically in America, While the idea was not new, it lead to ways for people to justify the process of slavery. The initial excuse was that the peoples in Africa where not Christian, so it was supposedly “ok” for them to be enslaved. Then many of these newly captured peoples became Christian. Faced with no other excuse, the lawmakers had to think of a way to mask their own greed. So they made it a racial thing. They thought up a lie, so simple, that everyone actually believed it. They took up the so-called “white mans burden” to make the “inferior” people submit. Unfortunately this asinine excuse was actually thought of as fact, and people lost track of

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.

Many times, in the United States history there have been many stories of extreme cruelty from one human being to another. But, if you ask someone what was the worst violation of civil rights in American history, you will most Likely be told slavery. Even above the Holocaust, genocide, politicide, and mass murders. All of these things, are frighteningly cruel things human beings should remember, slavery is the one that is used in movies, different book, and etc... However, there are some unanswered questions. We call our Founding for Father's heroes, especially, President Lincoln, they all own slavery until it would hard their political careers. The southerners claim to be helping with the freedom efforts, but slavery expanded. Both sides would

Most people understand that slavery was a terrible thing, but most might not fully understand the struggles that free colored men and women endured as well. While slavery was legal, free men would often be kidnapped and forced into slavery, and sometimes slaves actually escape to freedom. If an African American was considered a free man, he or she had to get official documentations stating so. Even after the documents were given to them, some of them still found themselves as slaves. There are many different stories about slavery, but just because a slave escapes from slavery, does not mean he or she is free from a slave’s mindset. Although they were in different positions in life, slaves and free African Americans experienced the same hardships, fears, and daily struggles.