A short account of the destruction of the indies spanish. Into these meek sheep herd the amerindians, and of the aforesaid qualities by their. In 1515, two years before martin luther started the reformation, las casas and montesinos went back to spain where they met with king ferdinand on. A biography is the first major englishlanguage and scholarly biography of las casas life in a generation. A brief account of the destruction of the indies by bartolome. Great prophet of the americas, was a thorough, historical description of las casas life, conversion, and ministry to the natives in america during the late 15th and early 16th centuries. In 1502, he left spain for the caribbean, which was called the west indies, where he became a hacendado of an encomienda plantation and a slave owner of native americans.
Destruction of the indies is the story of the spanish dominican priest. A short account of the destruction of the indies book. A short account of the destruction of the indies is a powerful written protest against the spanish treatment of the american indians. The journal of latin american studies, 1 april 20 clayton univ. Ferdinand states that the book which most influenced his father was the. Explores the period known as the encounter, which was characterized by intensive conflict between europeans and the. Las casas interrupted work on the book only to send to the council of the. He subsequently published eight works at seville in 1552, of which the most widely disseminated book was the brief account of the destruction of the indies. He was one of the first people to settle in the new world. To some, because of his devotion to the defense of the rights of the natives, he is the apostle of the indians. His passion for people who at the time were seen as a sub species of humans if even human at all is remarkable. In 1493 he saw christopher columbus pass through seville on his return from the first voyage across the atlantic. A biography kindle edition by clayton, lawrence a download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. In 1502 he left for hispaniola, the island that today contains the states of dominican republic and haiti.
At the age of eighteen he left for the new world, where he participated in the conquest of cuba and witnessed the first fullscale massacre of an indian community. Young bartolome, then about 9 years old, was in seville when columbus returned from his first voyage in 1493. Daring to challenge the spanish encontienda system, which was little more than a justification of forced labor, las casas, in the. A short account of the destruction of the indies by. Since the spaniards horded most of the gold that they stole from the native villages and gave only a tiny fraction to the spanish royal treasury, it was a higher priority for the spanish nobles to recover the stolen gold and to. His observation of spanish colonization of the west indies exposed him to the atrocities committed. He lived in a time that the encontienda system was intact in spain and slavery of native americans was the norm. Las casas began a greedy man in pursuit of wealth through slavery of native americans. But, something made him raise his voice against the. An account of the first voyages and discoveries made by the spaniards in america translated selections from casas work. His father was a merchant and was acquainted with the italian explorer christopher columbus. He is most famous for being a social reformer who indeed introduced many social reforms to the world never seen before.
He wrote many petitions, treatises, and books on the subject of the spanish conquest of the americas. A short account of the destruction of the indies summary. A short account of the destruction of the indies by bartolome. Being an historical and true account of the cruel massacres and slaughters of above twenty millions of innocent people. Committed by the spaniards 1656, courtesy of the annenberg rare book and manuscript library, university of pennsylvania.
The devastation of the indies and movie the mission 2338 words 10 pages. He arrived in hispaniola as a layman then became a dominican friar and priest. He became a doctrinero, lay teacher of catechism, and began evangelizing the indigenous people, whom the spaniards called indians. A brief account of the destruction of the indies by. The former was written as an introduction to a proposed. He was the principal organizer and champion of the 16thcentury movement in spain and spanish america in defense of the indians. An early traveller to the americas who sailed on one of columbuss voyages, las casas was so horrified by the wholesale massacre he witnessed that he.
Born in 1484, las casas grew up as exploration of the new world began. Unlike some other priests who sought to destroy the indigenous peoples native books and writings, he strictly opposed this action. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. He became bishop of chiapas and was officially appointed protector of the indians. A short account of the destruction of the indies wikipedia. Reviews finally las casas has a biographer able to bring to life in intimate detail the career of the dominican friar who was named protector of the indians. Because divine providence has ordered in this world. The book uses the life of las casas as the vehicle for exploring and explaining the age of the encounter. He became a priest and entered the dominican order. Buy this book ebook 64,19 price for spain gross buy ebook isbn 9789401768429. African studies american studies ancient near east and egypt art history asian studies book history and cartography biblical studies classical studies education.
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