Pros And Cons Of Bartolome De Las Casas

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After years of little progress, in 1520 Charles V granted a hearing for Las Casas’s crusade. During this hearing, Las Casas argued that the time for military conquest had passed and now was the time for peace. Despite Charles V ruling in favor of Las Casas, very little could be done for the natives due to distance. Although, Bartolome de Las Casas did not set out to become an activist, intending only to settle land and preach the gospel, his faith lead him to see that true Christians did not act the way the Spanish Conquistadors did and that something must be done to right the wronged. In 1555, Richard Eden, an Englishman traveled to the West African Empire of Benin. He was in the company of Captain Windham and several English merchants, …show more content…

A rouge Wampanoag, Corbitant, disliked the friendly relationship between the tribe and the settlers and urged the Narragansett to attack the Wampanoags. When word spread to the separatists, they commissioned Squanto and Hobomok, a Wampanoag, to determine the state of the feud between the two tribes. Corbitant then took Squanto and Hobomok hostage some 14 miles from Plymouth. Upon hearing of this, the separatists took hostages of their own and vowed vengeance if Squanto was killed. A group of settlers set out to recover Squanto. When they arrived, several Indians were wounded and all disarmed, but Corbitant was gone. They then warned the Indians that if they chose war, they would be demolished and that only loyalty to Massasoit and amity to the English would guarantee peace. Impressed by the settler’s firmness, the Indians avowed friendship. In good measure, the separatists then took the wounded back with them and nursed them back to good health.
The separatists continued to make peace among the surrounding Indian tribes. Even in tense times, they only built up their defenses, never attacked. This method of peace among the Indians is what insured their survival. Had it not been for their friendships with Squanto, Samoset, Hobomok, and Massasoit they surely would have