At first, Bartolomé de Las Casas participated in the persecution of the native people of the New World. But, something made him raise his voice against the terrors the Spanish colonizers did to the Native Americans. Exactly in the year of 1515 he changed his mind about the colonization subject and persecutions of the Native Americans. He changed
As a slave, “he befriended his captors and was therefore allowed to serve as a trader”(Document B). The Spanish conquistador met four Indian groups along his journey, which were the Charrucos, Mariames, Yguases, and Quevenes(Document A). Also, when the Spaniards, also known as the “Christians”, contacted “Cabeza, his fellow survivors, and the Indians following him”(Document D). When the Spaniards tried to convince the Indians that Cabeza was a person they should distrust, they were “not at all convinced, saying that the Spaniards were lying”(Document D). Because Cabeza respected the Indians, they grew trust in him so they helped the Spanish soldier to survive.
They saw Catholic Spain as their enemy and decided to move forward in settling the New World in hopes of spreading Protestantism. Bartolome de Las Casas’ writing was seen as justification to “rescue” the inhabitants of the New World (Foner 126). While Spain’s main focus was to expand its empire, the English came to America on the premise of religious freedom and economic independence. Unfortunately, after working well with the Native Americans for a period of time in “Anglo-Indian harmony”, the English settlers eventually began to overpower them. The English way of living disrupted that of the Native people which resulted in conflict, prompting the Uprising of 1622.
1. In my personal opinion, I think that Bartolome de las Casas wrote to try and free the Indian slaves owned by Spain. Equality never comes easy but it is certainly rewarding in the end. With that said, Las Casas decided to fight for many years trying to generate equality for the Indians.
They built missions and presidios designed to spread Christianity and establish control over the region. They were built in lands that were home to many American Indians. But they were less successful at establishing long-lasting settlements. Few outposts lasted long and disease, lack of food, poor weather conflicts with native groups made conditions difficult for the colonists. Hernán Cortés, Hernando de Soto, Francisco Pizarro, Cabeza de Vaca, and Francisco Vázquez de Coronado were all significant people during this time period.
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.
Straight off he claims, “From the fact that the Indians are barbarians it does not necessarily follow that they are incapable of government and have to be ruled by others, except that they have to be taught about the catholic faith and to be admitted to the holy sacraments. They are not ignorant, inhuman, or bestial.” (pg.3 paragraph 1) De La Casa acknowledged that, while their practices were less evolved than the Spanish, it did not mean they were any less human or developed than the Spanish, and only need a guiding hand to the Catholic faith. He described how the Spanish treated the natives like dogs, forcing them to mine for precious minerals, and compared the Conquistadors to Romans. He wrote an argument defending the natives, explaining they were not any less intelligent then the Spanish and “…they are so skilled in every mechanical art…”
Spain in the New World As the Spanish began to conquer land in the Americas from the 1500s to 1600s, their demand for goods to bring back to Europe caused a greater need for labor in which the Spanish were not willing to provide themselves. The Spanish were also aspiring to spread the Christian faith unto the Native Americans. When such did not go as planned they used the Native’s rebellion against the Catholic faith as an excuse to use them to force them into laboring for the good of Spanish wealth. The Native Americans were treated unfairly under the system of Encomiendas, causing a change of attitude and governmental protocol by the Spaniards and soon imported the African population to supply their labor. Document one shows a letter written
The lines which separated men of Europe and men of the New World were blurring for de Vaca. When a time presented itself, Cabeza de Vaca and his fellow compadres escaped and set on foot to reach Mexico City. Traveling across Texas on the Comanche Trail, de Vaca saw many civilized Indian tribes and eventually came across other Spaniards who brought him back into the land and rule of Spain. To his horror, the natives who had traveled with de Vaca were enslaved despite his efforts to help them. He could have stood by while the natives were imprisoned and would have been justified in the eyes of Spain, yet this is not what he did.
The treatment of the native inhabitants varied among the three explorers. The worst treatment of the natives was seen in great detail through the perspective of De Las Casas. During his expedition in the Indies, he and his comrades killed millions of the natives to take everything and anything they wanted. He stated, “And thus they have deprived the Indians of their lives and souls, for the millions I mentioned have died without the Faith and without the benefit of the sacraments. This is a well-known and proven fact which even the tyrant Governors, themselves killers, know and admit.
Background: The Spanish missions in California are a series of religious and military settlements established by Spanish Catholics 1769 and 1823. The missions were built to spread the Christian faith, educate and civilize the Native Americans. The missions gave Spain a major presence in the western frontier. Spain also needed harbors for ships to dock for the repairs of their ships and to replenish their supplies. The Franciscans brought European livestock, vegetables, fruit, horses, and ranching to California..
In 1550, Emporer Charles V summoned a debate to determine how Spain would deal with the Native Americans. Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda and Bartolomé de Las Casas engaged in discourse about this topic: Sepúlveda denigrated the Natives while de Las Casas defended them. Sepúlveda felt that the Native Americans were basically barbaric sub-humans, and that the Europeans were greatly superior to them. He felt that Christianity was far more altruistic than the Natives’ religions. However, Las Casas felt that the Natives should be treated equally, since he believed Jesus died for the Natives just like he died for the Europeans.
Las Casas was a historian who later became a Bishop. He believed that the Indians shouldn't just be conquered but should have a chance of fighting the Europeans first. He traveled to North America in 1550. When Las Casas first came to the New World, he noticed that even though the Indians lacked art and writing, they had the the capacity to rule(pg.9). The Indians had kingdoms, cities and communities that were governed well and wisely because they followed the laws and customs of the Indians(pg.9).
While his early encounters were similar to almost anyone of the time period, in the fact he didn't consider much of subjugating the local populations while benefiting greatly from it. Having ample supplies and food while local populations barely survived and no consideration or equality had entered his mind until after becoming a priest, he began to see this as what it was; Heresy by disregard for the human spirit and well being. After returning to a seat of power, he argued vehemently against the use of the now perverse Encomiendas system (Baym 39). This resulted in heads of state and religious orders to abolish such practices, but proved to be but one step in this challenge. Casas (and his allies) now also had to deal with people who had directly benefited from this system in the New World, which proved rather
He believed that the way the Indians were treated by Christians was wrong, unjust, and contrary to their beliefs. “This unjust thing, this cruelty without precedent, being seen by the Indians perpetrated upon so many guiltless innocents…” (p. 32). De Las Casas expressed his disapproval of the Spaniards treatment of the Indians. He believed it was wrong of them to act in such a way to the innocent and naïve
