Destruction Of The Indies Summary

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When Catholic Priest, Bartelomo de Las Casas, voyaged over to the Indies in 1542 with the Spaniards, he had no idea what he was about to experience. All he knew was that 49 years before his voyage, the Spaniards came and settled the land, which was abundant with Indians native to the land. In his article, Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies, he sees the reality of life in the Indies and how cruel the Spaniards were to the natives.
Upon arriving in Hispaniola, he got to know the natives of the land and see how they lived compared to the people in Spain. He characterizes them as very genuine, innocent and loving people who lived a very happy life with very scarce resources and food. Their lives were very simple, having very few clothes and little amounts of food, but to them it was plenty. The simplicity of their lives made them very cooperative with foreigners and other people. Because of their willingness to accept other people and their cultures, the idea of Christianity, which the Spaniards brought over, was something they longed after. After hearing about all about Christianity they were very eager to take the sacraments and follow Christ. …show more content…

Extremely cruel and violent, the Spaniards destroyed entire populations of Indians and their lands. They went around killing, torturing and harassing the natives in the most unheard cruel ways possible, including burning, hanging and beheading. And it wasn’t just the men, it was the women, children, and infants. And the few they didn’t kill were taken in as their slaves. Their reasoning and motive behind the mass killings was the Gold. They came to the West in search of gold, wealth, and merit, and in the process killed millions of

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