bartolomé de las casas primary source

In the following year a great many Spaniards went there with the intention of settling the land. Las Casas quickly evangelized the serfs on his land, and, in either 1512 or 1513, he became a priest. While awaiting an audience with Charles V, Las Casas conceived the idea of still another work, the Brevísima relación de la destrucción de las Indias (A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies), which he wrote in 1542 and in which the historical events described are in themselves of less importance than their theological interpretation: “The reason why the Christians have killed and destroyed such an infinite number of souls is that they have been moved by their wish for gold and their desire to enrich themselves in a very short time.”. Bartolomé de las Casas was a 16th-century Spanish landowner, friar, priest, and bishop, famed as a historian and social reformer. (1542) The Indies were discovered in the year one thousand four hundred and ninety-two. De Las Casas Primary Source *Be sure to bring your video worksheet back to class tomorrow* 9/25/14 Bartolomé de Las Casas was born in 1484 in Sevilla, Spain. He sailed for America in November 1516. The Lucayan Islands on the North Side, adjacent to Hispaniola and Cuba, which are Sixty in number, or thereabout, together with those, vulgarly known by the name of the Gigantic Isles, and others, the most infertile whereof, exceeds the Royal Garden of Seville in fruitfulness, a most Healthful and pleasant Climate, is now laid waste and uninhabited; and whereas, when the Spaniards first arrived here, about Five Hundred Thousand Men dwelt in it, they are now cut off, some by slaughter, and others ravished away by Force and Violence, to work in the Mines of Hispaniola, which was destitute of Native Inhabitants: For a certain Vessel, sailing to this Isle, to the end, that the Harvest being over (some good Christian, moved with Piety and Pity, undertook this dangerous Voyage, to convert Souls to Christianity) the remaining gleanings might be gathered up, there were only found Eleven Persons, which I saw with my own Eyes. Seville, Fray Bartolome de las Casas, has been, and continues to be, studied by many authors. He found himself having to defend his perspective on the conquest often, yet his most noted antagonist was probably Juan Gines de Sepulveda. Some critics of Columbus note the writings of Bartolome de las Casas, a Spanish Dominican friar born in 1484 who became the first Bishop of Chiapas, Mexico and advocated for indigenous Americans. Spanish Conquistadors in the West Indies This account is from Bartolome de Las Casas. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bartolome-de-Las-Casas, United States History - Biography of Bartolomé de Las Casas, The Mariners' Museum - Exploration through the Ages - Biography of Bartolomé de las Casas, The Catholic Encyclopedia - Biography of Bartolome de las Casas, Bartolomé de Las Casas - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Bartolomé de Las Casas - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Brevísima relación de la destrucción de las Indias. He was personally rewarded with a gift of both land and Indians as a reward for his services Breuissima relacion de la destruycion de las Indias: colegida por el Obispo do fray Bartolomé de las Casas o Casaus, de la orden de Sãcto Domingo. Abstract: This website has several quotes from Bartolome de las Casas, a young priest who traveled abroad with Columbus after his first trip. Now this infinite multitude of Men are by the Creation of God innocently simple, altogether void of and averse to all manner of Craft, Subtlety and Malice, and most Obedient and Loyal Subjects to their Native Sovereigns; and behave themselves very patiently, submissively and quietly towards the Spaniards, to whom they are subservient and subject; so that finally they live without the least thirst after revenge, laying aside all litigiousness, Commotion and hatred…. Gutiérrez, Konetzke, R. Colección de documentos para la historia de la formación social de Hispanoamérica (1493–1810) Madrid 1953 216. He was a Spanish missionary who accompanied the conquistadors in their conquest of Cuba. . As a young man, Las Casas participated in several military expeditions in the West Indies. With the help of the archbishop, the Plan para la reformación de las Indias was conceived, and Las Casas, named priest-procurator of the Indies, was appointed to a commission to investigate the status of the Indians. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. De Las Casas PowerPoint. . A prolific writer and in his later years an influential figure of the Spanish court, Las Casas nonetheless failed to stay the progressive enslavement of the indigenous peoples of Latin America. In 1502 he left for Hispaniola, the island that today contains the states of Dominican Republic and Haiti. Finally, in one word, their Ambition and Avarice, than which the heart of Man never entertained greater, and the vast Wealth of those Regions; the Humility and Patience of the Inhabitants (which made their approach to these Lands more easy) did much promote the business: Whom they so despicably contemned, that they treated them (I speak of things which I was an Eye Witness of, without the least fallacy) not as Beasts, which I cordially wished they would, but as the most abject dung and filth of the Earth; and so solicitous they were of their Life and Soul, that the above-mentioned number of People died without understanding the true Faith or Sacraments. . There are other Islands Thirty in number, and upward bordering upon the Isle of St. John, totally unpeopled; all which are above Two Thousand miles in length, and yet remain without Inhabitants, Native, or People. Bartolomé de Las Casas, a Spanish Dominican priest, wrote directly to the King of Spain hoping for new laws to prevent the brutal exploitation of Native Americans. Las Casas vs Sepulveda This empathetic attitude toward the Indians exposed Las Casas to much criticism from other Europeans. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). It was Las Casas’s intention to reveal to Spain the reason for the misfortune that would inevitably befall it when it became the object of God’s punishment. Nay the Isle of Cuba, which extends as far, as Valladolid in Spain is distant from Rome, lies now uncultivated, like a Desert, and entombed in its own Ruins. After various adventures in Central America, where his ideas on the treatment of the indigenous population invariably brought him into conflict with the Spanish authorities, Las Casas wrote De único modo (1537; The Only Way), in which he set forth the doctrine of peaceful evangelization of the Indian. Bartolomé de Las Casas originally left Spain in 1502 and headed to Hispanola. On August 15, 1514, Las Casas delivered a now-famous sermon declaring his intent to return the serfs to the governor of the West Indies. I saw an infinite number of these … In the following year a great many Spaniards went there with the intention of settling the land. The Fifth Kingdom1 was Hiquey, over which Queen Hiquanama, an elderly Princess, whom the Spaniards Crucified, presided and governed. Those that arrived at these Islands from the remotest parts of Spain, and who pride themselves in the Name of Christians, steered Two courses principally, in order to the Extirpation, and Exterminating of this People from the face of the Earth. The natives are capable of Morality or Goodness and very apt to receive the principles of Catholic Religion; nor are they averse to Civility and good Manners…, I myself have heard the Spaniards themselves (who dare not assume the Confidence to deny the good Nature in them) declare, that there was nothing wanting in them for the acquisition of eternal grace, but the sole Knowledge and Understanding of the Deity…. But soon his uncompromisingly pro-Indian position alienated his colleagues, and in 1547 he returned to Spain. The polemic was likely a key factor in King Charles I’s decision to issue the “New Laws” in 1542. His journals serve as a primary source of what happened and there is no doubt about it; the Spanish were cruel in the conquest for gold and land. In 1520. Updates? After participating in the conquest of Cuba, Las Casas freed his own slaves and spoke out against Spanish cruelties and injustices in the empire. Author of, West Indies: European exploration and colonialism, 1492–1800. He wrote many petitions, treatises, and books on the subject of the Spanish conquest of the Americas. He was a Spanish missionary who accompanied the conquistadors in their conquest of Cuba. His several works include Historia de las Indias (first printed in 1875). His journals serve as a primary source of what happened and there is no doubt about it; the Spanish were cruel in the conquest for gold and land. The plan ended in disaster, but Las Casas did not give up. Some 10 years later he commenced work on the Historia de las Indias (History of the Indies). Las Casas’s work finally seemed to be crowned with success when King Charles signed the so-called New Laws (Leyes Nuevas). Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. In 1514, he gave up his encomienda in response to his growing concerns about the treatment of Indians in Spanish America. Bartolomé de Las Casas was a prolific writer. Primary Source: Bartolomé de Las Casas Describes the Exploitation of Indigenous Peoples, 1542. Bartolomé de Las Casas, a Spanish Dominican priest, wrote directly to the King of Spain hoping for new laws to prevent the brutal exploitation of Native Americans. He descr… But, rather than a chronicle, it is a prophetic interpretation of events. Las Casas did not publish Historia in his lifetime, but he did publish a summary of Historia as a polemic. Although during his first 12 years in America Las Casas was a willing participant in the conquest of the Caribbean, he did not indefinitely remain indifferent to the fate of the indigenous peoples. Conquistadors subjugated populations primarily to garner personal economic wealth, and Natives little understood the nature of the conquest. Bartolomé de Las Casas was born around 1484 in Seville, Spain. Professor of Ethics, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City. Bartoleme de Las Casas, Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies. Written as a letter to the King of Spain, de las Casas’ account describes the horrors of the Spanish conquest. Microcard edition. Recommended Annotation Visible only to you According to those laws, the encomienda was not to be considered a hereditary grant; instead, the owners had to set free their Indian serfs after the span of a single generation. Las Casas, Bartolomé de. And this also is as really true that the _Spaniards_ never received any injury from the Indians, but that they rather reverenced them as Persons descended from Heaven, until that they were compelled to take up Arms, provoked thereunto by repeated Injuries, violent Torments, and unjust Butcheries. Credible Not Credible Especially consider Las Casas’ Point of View when evaluating his credibility. In 1515–16 he developed a plan for the reformation of the Indies with the help of religious reformer Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros. His father was a merchant and was acquainted with the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus.Young Bartolomé, then about 9 years old, was in Seville when Columbus returned from his first voyage in 1493; he might have met members of the Taíno tribe who Columbus enslaved and brought back with him from the … Bartolomé de Las Casas was an outspoken critic of the Spanish colonial government in the Americas. The laws threatened the existence of the treasured encomienda system. The most influential person to take up his cause was Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, the archbishop of Toledo and future co-regent of Spain. The Dominican friar, Bartolomé de las Casas (1474-1566) founding an Indian colony in Cumana (Venezuela). Las Casas and a group of farm labourers departed for America in December 1520. In addition to studying the juridical problems of the Indies, he began to work out a plan for their peaceful colonization by recruiting farmers as colonists. Bartolomé de las Casas A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE DESTRUCTION OF THE INDIES written 1542, published 1552* [EXCERPTS] _____ PRESENTATION by Bishop don Fray Bartolomé de las Casas or Casaus, to the most high and potent lord Prince of all the Spains don Felipe, our lord_____ Most high and potent lord: Because divine providence has ordered in this world As a reward for his participation in various expeditions, he was given an encomienda—a royal land grant including Indian inhabitants—and he soon began to evangelize that population, serving as doctrinero, or lay teacher of catechism. He argued for the equal humanity and natural rights of the Native Americans. His extensive writings, the most famous being A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies and Historia de Las Indias, chronicle the first decades of colonization of the West Indies. One of his major works, the Apologética was to serve as the introduction to his masterpiece, the Historia de las Indias. Las Casas returned to Spain the next year. In 1502 he left for Hispaniola, in the West Indies, with the governor, Nicolás de Ovando. 5.7: Primary Source: Bartolomé de Las Casas Describes the Exploitation of Indigenous Peoples, 1542 Last updated; Save as PDF Page ID 60919; No headers. Bartolomé de las Casas Portrait de Bartolomé de las Casas (anonyme, XVI e siècle). Four years later, while serving as prior of the convent of Puerto de Plata, a town in northern Santo Domingo, he began to write the Historia apologética. A class discussion, King Charles signed the so-called New Laws ( Leyes Nuevas ) often, yet most! ( requires login ) summary of Historia as a Brief Account of the Indians faced under Spanish rule and bartolomé de las casas primary source. For your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox and people he just discovered,,! First person in America to receive holy orders, he became a priest introduction: bartolomé de Casas. 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