Bartolome De Las Casas Research Paper

Bartolome de Las Casas was an important protector of native peoples because the latter part of his life was dedicated to social reforms that called for better treatment of the natives.
Although Las Casas was an avid reformer toward the end of his life, the same cannot be said of the beginning of his life. Critics of viewing Las Casas as a saint would point to this as reason to not regard him as the good guy.
He succumbed to the allure appealing to other 20-something Spanish men in the early 1500s: earning riches and fame. He came to America in 1502 and spent 12 years conquering in the Caribbean, witnessing the exploitation and disease that was rampant among natives. Las Casas even owned slaves during this time .
But toward the latter part

Men were forced to working in grueling conditions in the mines and women to do backbreaking labor on the ranches. Men died in the mines, women died in the fields, infants died because their mothers couldn’t produce milk, and men and women couldn’t reproduce . This accounted for much of the population decline, according to Las Casas.
Las Casas was a reliable source, since he had spent 40 years in the Americas among the Spaniards but inhabiting the land of the Indian natives. This made him a prime witness to all that had transpired during that time, thus making him a credible confident to King Charles V. As a result of his lobbying efforts, New Laws of 1542 were enacted, a compelling combination of political reality and humanitarian idealism, that abolished slavery and the encomienda system. This effort marked the supreme achievement of his career .
To the defense of the Spaniards, there was little knowledge that the diseases of the Columbian exchange had caused the widespread, mass deaths of the natives. Las Casas was pivotal in bringing to light the brutal treatment of the natives. The crown took this information seriously. If it hadn’t been for Las Casas stance on anti-brutality against the natives, change would not have come for a long