Compare And Contrast Christopher Bartolome De Las Casas

Christopher Columbus and Bartolome de Las Casas were two men placed in a position of authority over many tribal peoples during the Spanish exploration and conquest of the New World. Representing Christ as a Christian and the Spanish Crown as a chosen representative, Columbus formulated a view of the American savages favorable to the Spanish and based on commercial reality. Again representing Christ as a Christian but also the Roman Catholic Church as a priest, Las Casas thought of the Indians mainly in the light of their spiritual wellbeing and physical comfort. Columbus and de Las Casas, while both finding the indigenous peoples of Central America an ample field for evangelical endeavors, differed in their emphasizes on Indian culture and in their views of Spanish involvement.

It bears witness to the Christian worldview of the Spanish explorers that these two men viewed the Christianization of the American savages as their primary goal in colonizing the New World. De Las Casas, as a friar,
Both men thought of the salvation of the American peoples as their primary objective, but Las Casas was able to devote his time exclusively to that object. Although Columbus’ obligations as the Sovereigns’ main implement in colonizing the New World forced him to take a more strategic view of the Indians, Las Casas was free to study their culture and its compatibilities and incompatibilities to the Christian faith. Finally, the major difference of opinion lay in the fact that Columbus thought of Catalan interference as wholly beneficial to the indigenous population, while Las Casas thought of it as wholly detrimental. Though their polarized viewpoints both provided the basis for beneficial governmental policies, they would personally have profited from a more balanced view in this