In A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Bartolome De Las Casas’ made it clear that the Spaniards behavior towards the Native people of the Americas was cruel, unjustified and needed to be put to an end. Las Casas’ goal was to create a piece that would persuade the Spanish crown to remove the conquistadors from the New World while leaving friars to spread their savior’s religion, Christianity. He succeeds in doing this by elaborating on the horrors conducted by the Spaniards. Yes, Las Casas’ goal made him the first true friend of the Natives because his work appeared to be fighting for their lives. But in reality, the friars intentions were just as malicious as that of the conquistadors. Not only did they want to strip away the …show more content…
After talking about the way the natives fell in love with the word of Christ and the “good example”. of the friars, Las Casas writes “at the suggestion of the brothers, twelve or fifteen local lords… gathered together their people and, with their full approval, voluntarily subjected themselves and them to the Spanish crown.” This shows that Las Casas believes that the best way to claim the land is to get the natives to convert. After their conversion they will simply hand over their land to the Spanish crown. As of 1513 the Spanish were reading aloud the Spanish Requerimento, which not only proclaimed ownership of a particular part of the New World, but subjected the native to the Encomienda system. This was all done in Spanish, a completely foreign language to the natives. Las Casas’ method unlike the Spanish Requerimiento, was …show more content…
The Spanish and the Native Americans were from opposite sides of the globe, they were different culturally, spiritually and linguistically, therefore communicating must have been difficult. In the unlikely chance that the Natives accepted Christianity, they never accepted it wholeheartedly but merged it with their own religions. For example, the image of the procuress (devil) in Sahagun’s Florentine Codex, although the natives were depicting some sort of devil in their painting, it was not the European idea of a devil. This proves that when the natives accepted the Christian ideas, they were adapting them to their own beliefs. The friars would not have tolerated their imperfect form of
The Columbian Exchange occurred after the voyage of Christopher Columbus. It was the process of the exchange of culture, food, ideas, animals, disease, and religion from the rest of the world to America and more. The Native Americans suffered vastly from the Columbian Exchange and their death rates rose immaculately. Europe, Spain, and Portugal all interested in the goods that the Americas had to offer, made several voyages passing on not only goods, but their religion.[ "Colombian Exchange." Silvia, Joseph. (accessed February 16, 2014). http://ezinearticles.com/?Columbian-Exchange&id=2323785 ] There were many attempts to convert the native people to some form of Christianity. Some efforts were successful and some were not. The conversion of the natives to new religions changed the values and culture of a people and the idea only traveled and expanded over tim...
Question #1: In chapter one, does Zinn portray Bartolome de las Casas as an adversary of Indians?
The religious views of the Indians and the Europeans were different. The Natives were very willing to take up Catholicism as an addition to their religious practice. Although, the Spanish misinterpreted the situation and thought that the Indians were accepting Catholicism as their only religion. If all Natives would have truly converted to Catholicism, then it would have resulted with their own religious practices dying out and Catholicism becoming the only religion. The Native’s refusal to give up their own religious practice, I would say, played a key role in setting a precedent for other believers to continue having the same perspective or form a new one. Similarly, Anne Hutchinson and George Whitfield changed their perspective on how much
Native American civilization was not always a pit of terror and agonizing torture for every single being. The Spanish arrived in Hispaniola, during the early 1500, with the seemingly good intention of introducing to the indigenous the Christian faith. Unfortunately, their mission turned into an almost complete annihilation of a culture unlike their own. Bartolome de la Casas, depicts a graphic and ultimately disturbing castings of the happenings during their expedition. The Spanish Christians involved in these happenings can be seen as hypocritical, heartless, and close minded. Although, in the minds of these men, they were completing their God assigned duties, such as
Bartolome de las casas had hoped to prevent further harm to Indians, and clarify that they were not barbarians. Of the text named Bartolome de las casas: In Defense of the Indians(c.1550) it covers what is to be the Spanish Conquistadores, and talks of the natives to which at the time seen by many are barbaric, ignorant, incapable of learning, just another group of people to be conquered. But to the Catholic missionaries, they see the Natives as new people to influence and enlighten. But if at any time the person drops the belief in Christianity, they would use deadly force against the person or family. Adding to that, Hernán comments that their cities are “ worth of admiration because of their buildings, which are like those of Venice”(Poole 4).
Bartolome de Las Casas was a Christian Priest that accompanied the Spaniards on their conquest of the Indies, and is a witness to the crimes and massacres committed against the natives. De Las Casas documented specific events where the Spaniards wronged the natives but makes it clear that there were far more incidents than the ones he reports. His audience is the Christian community in Castile (modern day Spain), and the Monarch. His aim in this documentation was to inform the formerly mentioned groups who are ignorant of the accounts and are financing the Spaniards expeditions to possibly put a stop to the Spaniards reign of terror. That’s also the reason why De Las Casas didn’t express contempt for the Roman Catholic Church or the Monarch; they were unaware of what was happening.
What he and his men did to the Indigenous people is told in horrifying detail by the Dominican priest Bartolome de Las Casas, “whose writings give the most thorough account of the Spanish-Indian encounter.” Las Casas witnessed firsthand Columbus’ soldiers stabbing Natives for sport, dashing babies’ heads on rocks, and sexually abusing Indigenous women. His testimony was corroborated by other eyewitnesses, such as a group of Dominican friars, who addressed the Spanish monarchy in 1519, hoping to bring an end to the atrocities. At the very least, Columbus was complicit in the actions of his men. He cared so little for the welfare of the Indigenous people that he let his soldiers commit reprehensible acts that would be considered crimes against humanity in the present day. Christopher Columbus’ actions suggest he had no issue with serving as an enabler of the horrifying actions committed by his men against the Indigenous
When they found the “new world” is too weak to resist the invasion of European, they started to establish the colony in America. Bartolomé de Las Casas used to be a priest who explored America on Hispaniola and Cuba. But after he witnessed the colonists enslave and mistreat Indians, he changed his mind and start to protect the Indians. He free his Indian slaves in 1514, and start to against Spanish mistreat them (Foner, p.7). After that, he made the effort to liberate the Indian slaves, and he had backed to Spain several times want to make the King reduce the heavy labor of Indians. Finally, Spain published New Laws in 1542, which indicate that Indians no longer be enslaved (Foner, p.7).
Despite the Europeans’ claim, there was still a significant amount of protest in regards of the exploration of the New World. Both royal and religious leaders also questioned their methods of expansion. The king of Spain at the time, Charles V, and the pope, Pope Paul III, publicly disapproved of many of the conquistadors’ actions towards the natives (Las Casas 3). In addition, Bartolomé de Las Casas stated, “Long before they had heard the word Spaniard they had properly organized states, wisely ordered by excellent laws, religion, and custom” (3). Europeans who opposed the harsh treatment of Indians believed that conquistadors were not exploring the New World in order to spread Christianity. In Las Casas words, the conquistadors tended to “act like thieves, cut-throats, and plunderers… to drive the gentlest of people headlong into despair”
In fact, some Spaniards campaigned for their protection. Works calling for justice though would not be published until several years after there was no longer a population to protect. This included Friar Bartolome de las Casa’s Apologetic History of the Indies that was published in 1566 AD. Recalling his experiences in the New World on attempting to convert the natives, he attempted to persuade readers that Native Americans were naturally good and under God. He highlighted their civilization as well-developed with both political and social lives. By nature, the Taino people were peaceful; they had initially greeted the colonists with friendship and assisted Columbus with his endeavors. Regardless, the Spanish colonists that had been replaced by the Tainos turned a blind eye. Experienced with the circumstances within the mines, they had no qualms with subjecting the Native Americans to the same conditions. When the colonists first began forcing labor and conversion upon the tribes, the tribe chiefs had even allowed it and tried their hand at adjusting to the Spanish lifestyle in search of compromise, only to be ignored with the Spanish preference of complete subjugation. Furthermore, the Tainos were labeled as barbarians due to their lack of faith in the Christian god. Consequently, the Spaniards, also greatly influenced by their desires for gold, lacked the compassion needed to take wholehearted action against the cruelties placed onto the
All through the history of the world there have been superior civilizations that have taken over other groups and have forced them in to situations that would seem unimaginable to the most people today. The same situation once happened to the native people that live in what today is considered the south west of the United States. In 1550 Francisco Vásquez de Coronado led a Spanish conquest in the Rio Grande valley the area that a number of pueblo people made this area there home and sacred lands. With Coronado eading the way the gate was opened to the rest of the Spaniard who were looking for their share of fame and riches. After Coronado fruitless search of the seven cities of gold, then Juan de Oñate decided to try his luck in the southwest. Oñates was equipped with a different type of help other than the usual conquistadores, he was came along with at group of Franciscans. With the Spaniard in search for God, Gold and Glory they quickly realized that there was no Gold or Glory in the South west and the viceroy in Mexico quickly came to the conclusion to withdraw and give more of there attention to the other more lucrative areas of there empire. But there seemed to be one small probel the God part of the god, gold and glory, the Franciscans that came up with Oñates objected to the idea of leaving. The Franciscan view it as their duty to convert the natives who in their eyes where living in sin and would go to hell if the friars would not intervene and show them the way to salvation.
Once settled down the English and Spanish went in two different directions in regard to their religion. The Spanish conquistadors’ and friars’ in the southwest wanted to spread christianity to anyone they could. The Spanish would conqueror Native American tribes and force christianity upon them. To the Spanish in the southwest they just wanted the Native Americans’ to have some type of Christian beliefs. The Puritans’ however were very strict about following their values. For instance, Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams were both banished from the colony for going against their official teachings. As well, as being less tolerate, the Puritans’ were not as aggressive as forcing their religion onto Native Americans’. Other than praying towns, the Puritans’ did not force their beliefs on to the Native Americans’ who lived around them. The Spanish on the other hand sought out Native Americans’ to convert them. The Spanish, after conquering a tribe or ransacking a village, would force the Native Americans’ to convert. If they refused they would use the encomienda system to convert them. The encomienda system was a Spanish practice, where they enslaved Native Americans who refused to convert to Christianity. The conquistadors’ would force them to mine gold and silver until death or conversion. How they Spanish and Puritans’ managed their religion reflected on how the two interacted with Natives. The two differed in their treatment toward Native Americans’ with the intimate relationships they had with them. In the southwest many Spaniards would marry Native American women and bear children called mestizos. In Massachusetts, however it was unheard of to have any type of intimate relations between whites and Native Americans.
The arguments presented by Las Casas is in defense of the natives stating that if he can convince the king of the wrongful doings of the Spaniards that they would pay for what they've done. The doings of the Spaniards was a shock to Las Casas making him want to spend as long as he could defending them. In the great kingdom and provinces of Peru, Las Casas states "the way the Spanish have behaved has been an offence to God and a disservice to the Crown; the Treasury has been defrauded and, in my opinion, it will be long and a costly business to recover for the Crown this territory which could easily have provided sufficient food to support the entire population of Spain." Just a short example of how Las Casas feels about how the natives are being treated and how he feels about the land bei...
The Spaniards arrived at the Americas prior to the English. The Spanish mainly wanted to explore in the first place because after the Black Death, the population increased, and thus, so did the frequency of commerce. There was a sudden new interest in new products and the new strong monarchs who sponsored the journeys wanted to be more affluent. Therefore, explorers such as Christopher Columbus attempted to go west to target Asia. However, he ended up on Cuba and called the natives Indians. The Spanish soon started to consider the Americas less of a blockage and could now see it as a source of resources. In 1518, Cortes arrived into Mexico with his group of conquistadors, or conquerors, which is a proper name because the men after gold exterminated native areas using their military skills, brutality and greed to turn the Southern America into a vast Spanish empire. The smallpox the Spanish unknowingly carried also helped wipe many people out. When they saw the religious ceremonies of the Aztecs that produced many skulls, they thought of these people as savages and not entirely human. This of coarse was quite hypocritical because the Spanish have killed before during the Inquisition for their faith. It was this contempt that made them think it was all right to slaughter the natives. Spanish colonies were established when conquistadors had gotten a license to finance the expedition from the crown to fixture encomiendas. These encomiendas were basically Indian villages that became a source of labor. The Spanish dreamed of becoming wealthier from South America, but they also wanted a profitable agricultural economy and to spread their Catholic religion (the Pueblo Indians converted to Christianity), which became very important in the 1540s.
“Las Casas traveled to Spain and harangued the government. In his books and articles, he demanded that the Spaniards return Indian land and end forced labor. By the end of his life, he also proclaimed a revolutionary idea: the equality of all human races,” (“The Washington Post” Gibbin). Bartolome believed in equality and in the vicinity of Columbus, he should have been the real hero. Not only did Columbus enslave Native Americans, as he punished them by cutting parts of their body off, he like every other Spaniard kept the Indians as slaves expecting taxes of gold every three months. “Whenever an Indian delivered his tribute, he was to receive a brass or copper token which he must wear about his neck as proof that he had made his payment. Any Indian found without such a token was to be punished. With a fresh token, an Indian was safe for three months, much of which time would be devoted to collecting more gold,” (Loewen, 2).