Bartolome De Las Casas Research Paper

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Bartolome de Las Casas was born in 1848 in Spain. Las Casas was a Spanish historian and dominican missionary who objected the Spanish treatment of the Natives. Las Casas is known for his famous writings which weren’t published until many years after his death. Las Casas was not like any ordinary man in his time period. He opposed to several things the Spanish had against the Natives. He saw the torture the Natives received by the Spaniards. Las Casas tried to convince people to change their ways with the natives. He fought slavery and violence that was brought among harmless people. When the Spanish arrived, they encountered the Natives. The Spanish, however, seemed to ignore the fact that the Natives were gentle people. The Natives greeted …show more content…

However, the Natives had not done anything wrong to make the Spaniards act to cruel towards them. Las Casas wrote in great detail what the Spaniards did. He wrote of the destruction and slaughter that the Spanish brought to the Natives. Las Casas wrote about indians being thrown into pits of stakes. He wrote of children being torn away from their mothers and killed. “Women with child, but rippin up their bellies, tore them alive in pieces.”(Las Casas, Brevisima relacion de la destruction de las Indias) Las Casas wrote of how innocent, unborn children were killed. Natives were hung low, but high enough their feet did not reach the ground. “The erected certain Gibbets, large, but low made, so that their feet almost reached the ground… They made a fire to burn them to Ashes whilst hanging on them..” Fire was set underneath them, burning them alive. Those who were rebelled were killed slowly because of hard labor. Natives were forced to bring certain amounts of gold to the Spaniards. If they failed, they were executed. The Spanish committed illegal crimes in cities such as Cholula which was home to thousands of families. Slaughter filled many places, leaving several