In A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Bartolomé de Las Casas vividly describes the brutality wrought on the natives in the Americas by the Europeans primarily for the purpose of proclaiming and spreading the Christian faith. Las Casas originally intended this account to reach the royal administration of Spain; however, it soon found its way into the hands of many international readers, especially after translation. Bartolomé de Las Casas illustrates an extremely graphic and grim reality to his readers using literary methods such as characterization, imagery, amplification, authorial intrusion and the invocation of providence while trying to appeal to the sympathies of his audience about such atrocities. Las Casas emphasizes on three main issues throughout his account. First, in almost each chapter, Las Casas writes about the luscious qualities of the land and the different indigenous peoples that inhabit them. Second, he explains and describes in detail how the natives were rapidly being massacred by the invading Christian Europeans. Finally, Las Casas discusses how God had brought justice to the Europeans for their diabolical acts upon the natives. Las Casas, a former slave owner himself, realized that those whom he previously enslaved were just as much human and capable of learning and practicing the Christian faith as he was. As a bishop, he realized he could do little for the Natives except document his experiences (in as much detail as possible) and hope that the royal administration would have sympathy for the Natives and establish laws to protect them from the Europeans. Bartolomé de Las Casas begins by providing a vivid description of each land being invaded by the Europeans and the type of peopl... ... middle of paper ... ...tence it at least allowed him to educate the natives about Christianity and that their experiences before now with the Europeans were not of a Christian nature. Throughout the letter, Las Casas seems careful to be very consistent and never veers from ensuring that his audience knows of the atrocities of the people of their own land to the natives fellow humans. God has a plan for everyone and this is not it. Works Cited De Las Casas, Bartolomé A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies Penguin Classics1992 Dutto, Rev. L. A. The Life of Bartolomé de Las Casas and the First Leaves of American Ecclesiastical History St. Louis, MO: B. Herder 1902 Torrens, James S. Las Casas: Defender of the Indians 07/18/92-07/25/92. 02/27/07. http://www.lib.utexas.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9210050328&site=ehost-live
The discovery and conquest of American Indians inspired efforts to develop an ideology that could justify why they needed to enslave the Indians. The Spanish monarch wanted an ideal empire. "A universal empire, of which all their subjects were but servants. Charles V remained for them the dominus mundi, the legitimate and God-ordained lord of the world." (Weckmann, The Transit of Civilization, 23) Gold and religious conversion was the two most important inspirations for conquistadors in conquering America. Father Bartolome De Las Casas was a Dominican priest who came to the New World to convert the Indians to become Christians. He spent forty years on Hispanolia and nearby islands, and saw how the Spaniards brutally treated the Indians and sympathized with them. The Devastation of the Indies was an actual eyewitness account of the genocide by Las Casas, and his group of Dominican friars in which he demonizes the Spanish colonists and praises the Indians. Father Las Casas returned to Seville, where he published his book that caused an on going debate on whether the suppression of the Indians corrupted the Spaniards' values. What Las Casas was trying to achieve was the notion of human rights, that human beings are free and cogent by nature without the interference of others.
Bartolomé de Las Casas was born in 1484 AD in Seville and died in 1566 in Madrid. In the ending of the 15th century and the beginning of 16th, he came to America and become a “protector of Indian”. In 1542, most based on his effort, Spain has passed the New Law, which prohibit slaving Indians (Foner, p. 7). In 1552, he published the book A Short Account of the Destruction of The Indies.
Another way the author supports his thesis are his descriptions of the reactions made by the Europeans who arrived at the immense and powerful society that already existed in the Americas. A distinct example is portrayed when describing the Spaniards arrival in Tenochtitlan: “Tenochtitlan dazzled its invaders-it was bigger than Paris, Europe’s greatest metropolis. The Spaniards gawped like yokels at the wide streets, ornately carved buildings, and markets bright with goods from hundreds
De Las Casas' major emphasis for writing this book was obviously to persuade the King to out law the Spanish from destroying the Indians and his remarkably vivid description of the brutality used by the Spanish is very motivating for the reader to become emotionally involved. While its message is diluted by repetition and exaggeration the initiative for someone of that time to write something for the benefit of people who were not even considered worthy of acknowledgement is what makes this book worth reading. However, the tone of this "personal account" sounds more like a...
For my paper, id like to analyze passages from The Very Brief Relation of the Devastation of the Indies and The Coast of Pearls, Paria, and the Island of Trinidad by Bartolomè De Las Casas. My paper will, in more detail explain the different types of rhetoric used by De Las Casas in his narratives, and how he crafted his work in order to persuade his audience to ban slavery during the 16th century. For example, de Las Casas illustrates a very graphic and grim reality about the harsh punishment and the tortures that the Spanish would do to the Native Americans. The Spanish would “cut open pregnant woman, slam babies against rocks, and would even burn the natives alive.” Such heartless and cruel action where committed that it led to the natives
Las Casas argues that that there are 4 types of barbarians, but only the 3rd kind is barbarian, those who are considered “freaks of nature.” Las Casas believed the Spanish were out to help the Indians, even though they were barbarians and not Christian. It is stated in The Soul “For the good and all-powerful God, in his love for mankind, he created all things for man’s use and protects him whom he has endowed with so many qualities by a singular affection and care.” In conclusion, the Indians were made by God, so it is impossible for them to be imperfect.
Bartolomé de Las Casas was a sixteenth century Dominican friar, who was best known for his detailed accounts on the initial stages of colonization of the West Indies by the Spanish Empire. His most famous work, entitled A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, outlined the numerous atrocities committed against the native population by Spanish colonizers. Las Casas’s letter was written to King Charles I of Spain with the purpose of informing him of these wrong doings. Additionally, Las Casas hoped that Charles I would remedy the situation before Spain fell victim to God’s wrath. The Catholic Reformation of the sixteenth century, also called the Counter Reformation, was the Catholic Church response to the Protestant Reformation. It’s primary mission was to purify, revitalize, and expand Christianity. Many new religious orders and sects began to form in the wake of the reformation. The most prominent of these new orders was Society of Jesus, which was founded in 1540 and was led by Ignatius Loyola. Jesuits took vows of obedience, poverty, and chastity. They are also well known for their loyalty to the Pope and some Jesuits elected to devote themselves to God as missionaries at the Pope’s request. Francis Xavier, who was a founding member of the Society of Jesus, was one of the first Jesuit missionaries to travel to Asia and he was particularly renowned for his missionary accomplishments in Japan. In 1552, Saint Francis Xavier wrote a letter entitled Missionaries in Japan, wherein he described the cultural norms of Japanese society and the daily lives of the Jesuit missionaries. His writings provided insight into how Roman Catholicism was spread throughout Asia as well as the difficulties these missionaries faced. These acc...
Unlike Sepulveda, Las Casa argues that slavery is wrong. Las Casa comes right out in the first line and says, "Indians are so skilled in every mechanical art that with every right they should be far ahead of all the nations of the known world." Las Casa believes that these Indians are remarkably talented in grammar and logic because they have been brought up in it till now. Las Casa mentions that the Indians are capable of having a government and do not need to be ruled by others. He brings up a new point that these Indians once had their own civilization that was prosperous. Las Casa argues that they will embrace the teachings of the Gospel and would be better than most people in the world. Las Casa finishes by saying all men are equal and no one is born with knowledge. He uses a comparison between Indians and uncultivated soil that is useful, but within itself holds natural virtues that with work could become something
With a positive mindset and powerful thoughts such as ¨I had said I couldn’t do anything to change history. Yet, if history could be changed, this book in the hands of a white man-even a sympathetic white man-might be the thing to change it.”(Kindred pg 142), Dana fights to convince Rufus to cease his use of slaves. Upon his death, Rufus frees a majority of his slaves. Thus, an individual made a minor impact to protect the freedom of the slaves. Bartolome de las Casas was a Spaniard and one of the early settlers of the new world. He carefully observed how the Spaniards treated the natives granted to them through the encomienda system, a rule that gave a number of natives to Spaniards to be used for labor, but in return, they had to protect the natives. With no one to enforce this rule, the Spaniards abused and tortured the natives and "...[they] forced their way into Native settlements, slaughtering everyone they found there, including small children, old men, pregnant women, and even women who had just given birth. They hacked them to pieces, slicing open their bellies with their swords as
Looking back at history, we can easily argue that throughout time human rights for Indians have developed With the help of many known people such as Bartolome De Las Casas. Native Americans were liberated from the encomienda system during the 1550s Spains New World empire was following up with a system in which the natives were treated inhumanely and forced to work as slaves for these “Encomenderos” Bartolome became their savior when he realize that what they were doing was against their catholic religion. Las Casas interest in obtaining liberty for Indians grew rapidly leading him into becoming a priest with the inclination to Catholic practices Bartolomé believed that all men under heaven are equal and therefore he later met with king Charles
Thomas More’s “Utopia”, Bartolomé de Las Casas’s “Destruction of the Indies”, and Michel de Montaigne’s “Of Cannibals” have the commonality of discussing mysterious territories which have certain conditions in several aspects of life which their present audience is unaware. The three authors describe foreign places with vastly different values and social standards, but they all describe the treatments or relations of the indigenous people by Europeans and outsiders, as well as the natives’ reaction to these treatments. More, Las Casas, and Montaigne reveal their personal views through descriptions of the different groups of indigenous people, and all suggest that their “advanced” societies are not necessarily better than those with different
These people are the most devoid of rancors, hatreds, or desire for vengeance of any people in the world.” However, other Spaniards viewed the Indians as weak and incompetent who believed in “witch doctors.” The Spanish expected the Native American to abandon their religious beliefs and traditions; failure to convert to Catholicism led to violence. According to Bartolome de las Casas illustrates the violent acts of the Spanish, “I seem even to recall that there were two or three pairs of grids where others were burning, and because they uttered such loud screams that they disturbed the Spanish captain's sleep, he ordered them to be strangled.” Bartolome de las Casas refers to the some of the Spanish as cruel and wicked Christians drove by greed and ambition. He notes that Spanish treatment beast with more respect then the Indians. The Native American viewed the Spanish as, “By nature wicked and cruel, and they have a God they greatly worship and they want us to worship that God, and that is why they struggle with us and subject us and kill us.” Although, Bartolome de las Casas was against cruelty of the Spaniards towards the Indies, he believe that Spain had a God given right to rule
Cristóbal Colón landed on an unknown island in the Caribbean on October 10, 1492. He planted banners in the beach claiming the land for the Spanish throne. Colón’s perceptions and interactions with the indigenous people, the Taino, sparked the events that lead to the colonization of the Americas. Colón’s perceptions of the Taino were misinterpreted by him. His misconceptions about the Taino were built from a compilation of his own expectations, readings of other explorers, and strong religious influence in Western Europe. The Taino also misunderstood the Spanish as well. Their false beliefs about the Spanish were driven by their religious beliefs as well as their mythology. Through misunderstandings backed by the religions, physical appearances, and the histories of both the Taino and the Spanish, the Taino believed that the Spanish were god-like figures that fell from the sky, while the Taino were perceived by the Spanish as simplistic, uncultured natives, that would be easily converted to Christianity and used as servants (Wilson, Hispanola p. 48-49).1 To better comprehend these events one must look at the preceeding events in both the lives of the Taino and The Spanish.
Although De Las Casas was a part of the conquest, he did not support it. The book points out that in the past, Christianity and colonialism did not work, but I disagree.. De Las Casas came to the New World to help convert the natives to Christianity, while all of the other Spaniards he traveled traveled across the sea for the gold. De Las Casas’ main goal was to save as many people as possible so they wouldn’t go to Hell. He wanted the natives to have an eternal life, and believed they had to be converted to Christianity. He wrote this book to describe how the others had committed wrongdoings in this
During the era of maritime exploration and the discovery of the Americas, assumptions were made of the land likening it to not only a paradise, but one that was overrun with cannibalistic natives. These suppositions led to a desire to explore the lands and conquer the savages that posed a threat to man and civilization itself. The consequences of this mass colonization and dehumanization of the natives paved the way for literary pieces that pose as critiques of the era when viewed through a post-colonial lens. When looked at through a post-colonial perspective, a few common themes prevail amongst compared texts. Focusing on the theme of the journey, what it means, and what is at stake, Garcilaso de la Vega’s “The Story of Pedro Serrano” and Juan José Saer’s The Witness both touch on all these themes with great severity, dissecting the purpose of the journey and what it means to be a civilized man.