Bartolomé de Las Casas

Bartolomé de Las Casas (1484 – July 17, 1566) was a 16th century Spanish priest, the first ordained in the New World and the first Bishop of Chiapas. As a settler in the New World, he was galvanized by what he saw to become famous for his advocacy of the rights of Native Americans in the face of brutal torture and genocide at the hands of Spanish colonialists. His pamphlet A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies (Brevísima relación de la destrucción de las Indias), published in 1552, gives a vivid description of the atrocities committed by the conquistadors in the Americas – most particularly, the Caribbean, Central America, and what is now modern Mexico – including many events to which he was a witness. In one of his last works before his death, De thesauris in Peru, he vigorously defended the rights of the natives of Peru against the native slavery imposed by the early Spanish Conquest. Bartolomé de Las Casas, This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Bartolomé de Las Casas, This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Events July 6 - Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão finds the mouth of Congo River December 5 - Pope Innocent VIII gives the inquisition a mission to hunt heretics and witches in Germany with the lead of Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger First cuirassier units (kyrissers) formed in Austria Births January... July 17 is the 198th day (199th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 167 days remaining. ... Events January 7 - Pius V becomes Pope Selim II succeeds Suleiman I as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Religious rioting in the Netherlands signifies the beginning of the Eighty Years War in the Netherlands. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... Roman Catholic priest A priest or priestess is a holy man or woman who takes an officiating role in worship of any religion, with the distinguishing characteristic of offering sacrifices. ... The New World is one of the names used for the continents of North and South America and adjacent islands collectively, in use since the 16th century. ... Other Mexican States Capital Tuxtla Gutiérrez Other major cities San Cristóbal Tapachula list of municipalities Area 74,211 km² Ranked 8th Population (2000 census) 3,920,500 Ranked 8th Governor (2000-06) Pablo Salazar Mendiguchía (alliance of PRD, PAN, & others) Federal Deputies (12) PRI = 11 PAN = 1... Native Americans (also Indians, Aboriginal Peoples, American Indians, First Nations, Alaskan Natives, Amerindians, or Indigenous Peoples of America) are the indigenous inhabitants of The Americas prior to the European colonization, and their modern descendants. ... The Iron Maiden of Nuremberg was a famous torture device Torture is the infliction of severe physical or psychological pain as an expression of cruelty, a means of intimidation, deterrent or punishment, or as a tool for the extraction of information or confessions. ... Wiktionary has a definition of: Genocide Genocide has been defined as the deliberate killing of people based on their ethnicity, nationality, race, religion, or (sometimes) politics, as well as other deliberate actions leading to the physical elimination of any of the above categories. ... A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies (Spanish: Brevísima relación de la destrucción de las Indias) is a book written by friar Bartolomé de las Casas in 1552 about the maltreatment of American Indians. ... Events April - War between Henry II of France and Emperor Charles V. Henry invades Lorraine and captures Toul, Metz, and Verdun. ... Conquistador (meaning Conqueror in the Spanish language) is the term used to refer to the soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under Spanish rule between the 15th and 17th centuries. ... The Americas (sometimes referred to as America) is the area including the land mass located between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, generally divided into North America and South America. ... The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. ... Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... This article is in need of attention. ... Conquistador (meaning Conqueror in the Spanish language) is the term used to refer to the soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under Spanish rule between the 15th and 17th centuries. ... Background By the 16th century, the Inca Empire had seen many years of strong leadership. ...

He was born in Seville, probably in 1484, although 1474 is the traditional date. Dedicated to King Philip II of Spain, Las Casas explained that he supported the acts of barbarism when he first arrived in the New World, but that he soon became convinced that the horrendous acts would eventually lead to the collapse of Spain itself in an act of Divine retribution. According to Las Casas, it was the responsibility of the Spanish to convert the Indians, who would then be loyal subjects of Spain, rather than to kill them. To avoid the burden of slavery on them, Las Casas proposed that African Negroes be brought to America instead, though he later changed his mind about this when he saw the effects of slavery on Africans. Largely due to his efforts, the New Laws were adopted in 1542 to protect the Indians in colonies. This article is about the city in Spain. ... Events July 6 - Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão finds the mouth of Congo River December 5 - Pope Innocent VIII gives the inquisition a mission to hunt heretics and witches in Germany with the lead of Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger First cuirassier units (kyrissers) formed in Austria Births January... Events December 12 - Upon the death of Henry IV of Castile a civil war ensues between his designated successor Isabella I of Castile and her sister Juana who was supported by her husband, Alfonso V of Portugal. ... Philip II of Spain (Spanish: Felipe II) - (May 21, 1527 – September 13, 1598), the first King of Spain understood as the whole peninsula of Hispania (r. ... Africa is the largest of the three great southward projections from the main mass of the Earths surface. ... Negro means the color black in both Spanish and Portuguese languages, being derived from the Latin word niger of the same meaning. ... A monument celebrating the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, erected in Victoria Tower Gardens, Millbank, Westminster, London Wiktionary has a definition of: Slavery Slavery can mean one or more related conditions which involve control of a person against his or her will, enforced by violence or... Events War resumes between Francis I of France and Emperor Charles V. This time Henry VIII of England is allied to the Emperor, while James V of Scotland and Sultan Suleiman I are allied to the French. ...

He also wrote the monumental Historia de las Indias and was the editor of Christopher Columbus' published journal. He was instrumental, on his repeated return trips to Spain, in gaining the temporary repeal of the encomienda regulations that established virtual slave labor gangs in Spanish America. Las Casas returned to Spain and was eventually able to bring about the great debate of 1550 in Valladolid between Las Casas and the advocate for the colonists, Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda. Though the encomienda system triumphed, championed by the colonial Spanish classes who were profiting from it, the writings of de las Casas were translated and republished across Europe. They influenced the essayist Montaigne's views of the New World. No authentic contemporary portrait of Columbus has been found; this late 19th-century engraving is one of many conjectural images For information about the director, see the article on Chris Columbus. ... The Encomienda system is a trusteeship system, by which conquistadors were granted the towns of the indigenous people they conquered. ... Events February 7 - Julius III becomes Pope. ... Valladolid is an industrial city in central Spain, upon the Rio Pisuerga. ... Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda (1494 - 1573) was a Spanish philosopher and theologian. ... Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (February 28, 1533 - September 13, 1592) was an influential French Renaissance writer, generally considered to be the inventor of the personal essay. ... The New World is one of the names used for the continents of North and South America and adjacent islands collectively, in use since the 16th century. ...

His attempt to create a more equitable colonial society in Venezuela, in 1520, was brought down by his colonial neighbors, who were able to incite a native rebellion against him. Events January 18 - King Christian II of Denmark and Norway defeats the Swedes at Lake Asunde. ...

Some accounts claim that Las Casas was descended from a converso family, that is, Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity. Spanish for converted one, converso (feminine conversa) referred to Jews or Muslims or the descendants of Jews or Muslims who had converted, sometimes unwillingly, to Catholicism in Spain, particularly during the 1300s and 1400s. ... Christianity is an Abrahamic religion based on the life, teachings, death by crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth as described in the New Testament. ...

His published accounts are central documents in the "Black Legend" of Spanish colonial atrocities. The Black Legend (in Spanish, leyenda negra) is the depiction of Spain and the Spaniards as bloodthirsty and cruel, greedy and fanatical, in excess of reality. ...

He died in Madrid. Coat of arms The Plaza de España square Madrid, the capital of Spain, is located in the center of the country at 40°25′ N 3°45′ W. Population of the city of Madrid proper was 3,093,000 (Madrilenes, madrileños) as of 2003 estimates. ...

See also

• Population history of American indigenous peoples

There were millions of people living in the Americas when Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492. ...

Further reading

Bartolomé de Las Casas, The Devastation of the Indies, a Brief Account. Translated by Herma Briffault. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1974. ISBN 0801844304

External link

• Bartolome de las Casas (http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/philosophers/las_casas.html): brief biography and links
• The Las Casas-Sepúlveda Controversy:1550-1551 (http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~epf/2001/hernandez.html) by Bonar Ludwig Hernandez