Bartolome De Las Casas Summary

Bartolome de Las Casas, an ordained priest belonging to the Dominican Order, actively fought for justice for the indigenous peoples of the New World on the premise that all men are created equal. In response to the atrocities committed by the Spanish during the sixteenth century European colonization of the New World, Bartolome de Las Casas published A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies to expose the ignorant general Spanish population to the horrors that were being inflicted on thousands of human beings. From the Caribbean, to Mexico, to Central America and then to Peru, Las Casas recounts the countless number of grotesque, horrifying abuses against the indigenous people by “Christian” Spaniards. Blind to the differences between appearance, culture, sex, religion, and driven by a strong sense of morality, Las Casas, driven by a sense of morality, fought to end the massacre and restore the dignity all human beings deserve. Driven to “line their pockets

According to Las Casas, the Son of God “gave his life for every living soul (p. 32),” which includes the lives of the indigenous people (p. 72). Therefore, each man, woman, and child, no matter where they came from, their skin color, age, sex, religion, are equal and apart of the human race. In his short account, Las Casas is absolutely appalled that a human life could be belittled and devalued to the extent where a single mare can be bartered for eighty locals: “that is, eighty members of the human race (p. 65).” Therefore, he claimed that it would be “a criminal neglect of my duty to remain silent (p. 6)” and took a stand to defend the indigenous people against what Las Casas believed to be “mortal enemies of the human race (p.