Essay On Bartolome De Las Casas

Bartolome de las Casas was born on November 11 1484 in Seville, Spain. He was a Spanish missionary who “participated in the conquest of Cuba.” (text pg 27) While in the Americas, he had owned enslaved Indian and shortly after “freed his own Indian slaves and began to preach against the injustices of Spanish Rule.” (text pg 27) Throughout his years he dedicated his life to being an advocate for Native American rights. In 1520 he tried, but failed, to establish a separate settlement where the Spanish farmers were equal to their Indian counterparts and then in 1523 he went on to write “History of the Indies” among other books and pamphlets that “denounced Spain for causing the death of millions of innocent people” and trying to gain freedom of the Native Americans. In 1540, Las Casas sought out to reform the
Because of Las Casas’ efforts, the Spanish government established the respatimiento system, which replaced the old encomienda system. Although there was resistance by the colonist about the New Laws and abuse of the new system put in place, there was progress of the relationship between the Spanish and the Native Americans because of Las Casas. In 1547, Bartolome de las Casas returned to Spain and continued to seek justice for the Native Americans and later died on July 18 1566.
2. Roanoke
In 1584, Walter Raleigh came across Roanoke, which is now a part of North Carolina. Upon arrival, the colonist had a very friendly encounter with the Natives of Roanoke and found them to be very civil people with established villages and agriculturalist, much like the Englishmen. John White painted pictures of the Indians depicting them as “people who lived recognizable civil” which probably came as a surprise to him and the other men. Raleigh and his men returned back to England where he would then get financed to “start commercial farming operations in the New World.” He came back to Roanoke with