Student Question
What is De Las Casas' opinion on the Spanish conquest of America in "A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies"?
Quick answer:
Bartolomé de las Casas, in "A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies," condemns the Spanish conquest of America for its brutal treatment of indigenous peoples. Although a Spanish Dominican friar, de las Casas was appalled by the violence and exploitation driven by greed for gold, which he reports to the Spanish Crown. He argues that the indigenous populations were peaceful and should have been respected, urging policy changes to protect them, although these were largely ignored.
In 1542, fifty years after the Spanish first sailed West to the New World, Dominican Friar Bartolomé de las Casas wrote "A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies." On first glance, one may make the assumption that because he was Spanish, he was in favor of Spanish conquest of the Americas because it would allow him to convert the indigenous populations to Catholicism. However, this is not the case. De las Casas wrote a scathing critique of Spanish action in the New World.
The purpose of this source is to tell the Church and Royalty back in Spain that the Spanish were treating the indigenous poorly, and in order for the Spanish to be successful in their mission to conquer, colonize, and convert, they must change their policies. De las Casas wrote,
... if any wrongs, failings, defects, or evils should be suffered in those kingdoms, the only...
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reason for that is that the kings have no notice of them. For these wrongs, if they be present and reported, it is the duty of the king, with greatest study and vigilant industry, to root them out.
Considering, then, most potent lord, the evils and harm, the perdition and ruin—the equals or likes of which, never were men imagined capable of doing—considering, as I say, those evils which as a man of fifty years’ and more experience, being in those lands present, I have seen committed upon those so many and such great kingdoms, or better said, that entire vast and new world of the Indies.
This is the beginning of his letter, justifying his action; he is saying that it is the duty of those present and witness to tell the King when his policies have failed. De las Casas wrote that he has over fifty years' experience and has seen the brutality of policies in the New World. He continues with
Your Majesty [must] not concede such licence nor allow those terrible things that the tyrants did invent, pursue, and have committed against those peaceable, humble, and meek Indian peoples, who offend no person ...
Here, de las Casas tells the King that he cannot continue to allow to happen what has been happening, and more importantly, he paints the indigenous as peaceful victims of the Spanish. One of the more famous parts of the source is the metaphor he continues with, where he calls the indigenous sheep to the Spanish wolves, tigers, and lions:
Into and among these gentle sheep, endowed by their Maker and Creator with all the qualities aforesaid, did creep the Spaniards, who no sooner had knowledge of these people than they became like fierce wolves and tigers and lions who have gone many days without food or nourishment. And no other thing have they done for forty years until this day, and still today see fit to do, but dismember, slay, perturb, afflict, torment, and destroy the Indians by all manner of cruelty.
The Spanish, de las Casas claims here, have done nothing but kills, maim, torture and destroy the indigenous populations. De las Casas argues that this was not the original intention of Spanish conquest, nor is this right. As a member of the clergy, de las Casas wanted to convert the population. He saw them as innocent, humble, and easy to convert, but since the Spanish conquistadors were mercilessly slaughtering them, he could not complete his mission. As a man of God, he was also disgusted with the conquistador's brutal treatment of the indigenous, evident in his tone.
De las Casas continues with telling the King that the populations in the New World are almost depleted. One example from the text:
... on the Island of Hispaniola, of the above three millions souls that we once saw, today there be no more than two hundred of those native people remaining.
De las Casas tells the King that the Spanish do this is two ways: first with "tyrannical warfare" despite being Christians and second with killing adults and enslaving the children. De las Casas ends his letter by telling the King why this is happening:
The cause for which the Christians have slain and destroyed so many and such infinite numbers of souls, has been simply to get, as their ultimate end, the Indians’ gold ... owing to the insatiable greed and ambition that they have had, which has
been greater than any the world has ever seen before ...All the Indians of all the Indies never once did aught hurt or wrong to Christians, but rather held them to be descended from heaven, from the sky, until many times they or their neighbors received from the Christians many acts of wrongful harm, theft, murder, violence, and vexation ...
The Conquistadors killed the indigenous for their gold when the indigenous did nothing to warrant it, as they too came from the same place as the Spanish and should have been respected as Christians.
De las Casas argues that the Spanish had lost their humanity, their Christian spirit, and the population of indigenous peoples that could have been Spanish citizens in the New World. This piece is an important source because it contradicted that view of the conquistadors. As a result of this letter, the King Charles decided to pass laws to protect the indigenous, The New Laws, although they were ignored by colonial officials in the New World.
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