The Indians came
The Indians came
Bartolomé de las Casas was born on August 1474 or November 1484 and died on July 17, 1566. He was a Spanish historian and Dominican friar, who advocated in favor of the native people, eventually he became known as the Protector of the Indians. De las Casas condemned the Europeans brutal treatment of the natives in the Americas, in addition to fighting for the abolition of slavery. According to Encyclopedia Britannica Online, “In 1502 he left [Seville] for Hispaniola, in the West Indies, with the governor, Nicolás de Ovando. As a reward for his participation in various expeditions, [Bartolomé de las Casas] was given an encomienda (a royal land grant including Indian inhabitants), and he soon began to evangelize the native population, serving…
The author I admire most is Bartolome De las Casas, because he went against the consensus of the Spaniards and defended the Native Americans. In the final paragraph of the reading, De las Casas states “The Indians will embrace the teachings of the gospel, as I well know…” (De Las Casas 2010) . This leads me to believe he actually spent time getting to know them as people. He took the time to learn about their art, music, government and other aspects of their lives. I believe he honestly wanted to help the Native Americans.…
Bartolome de Las Casas was born around 1484 in Sevilla, Spain. He went to Granada in 1497 to be a soldier, but he ended up enrolling in the Sevilla cathedral in order to study Latin. He went to Hispaniola with the governor in 1502. He was given an Encomienda for his participation in multiple expeditions. He became a lay teacher of catechism and evangelized the natives.…
America was first conquered by the conquistadors. What was not expected was the harshness and savageness of the native population of the Americas. One Spanish Explorer, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was such an explorer who documented his 8 years with a group of Native Americans known as the Karankawas. In his narrative, De Vaca, diminishes the stereotype of what Europeans believed the Native Americans were.…
Bartolome de las Casas came to the Indies for the same reason as all the other conquistadors: money, fame, and gold. It is what he did and who he chose to become after the arrival that made him different from the others. He went through a great transformation and devoted his life fighting for equality of the natives. For this reason, I do not agree with the idea that Bartolome de las Casas was just as negative of an impact on the Natives’ lives as the worst conquistadors.…
The author of the primary source titled “A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies” is Bartolomé de las Casas, a Spanish colonist, social reformer and Dominican friar from the 16th-century. He became the first resident Bishop of Chiapas, the first officially appointed Protector of the Indians and was also appointed an officer of the King of Spain in the New World. Based on these positions he held, it could be acknowledged that De Las Casas was higher up on the hierarchy than most of the population. After he held his role as an officer for the king, he was given an estate with native laborers who were who were forced to work for him. Casas had a revelation when he listened…
“From the fact that the Indians are barbarians it does not necessarily follow that they are incapable…” (de Las Casas 3). In For the Record, it starts off right away in this section of how the Europeans while not sure of what to make of the Indians they knew that these were not the savages as some had described. De Las Casas goes on to describe of a people that were both loyal and committed to the community and to their fellow man. De Las Casas main adversary, Gines Sepulveda, failed to see the parallel in the fate of the Spaniards at the hands of the Romans and Caesar Augustus. “Now see how he called the Spanish people barbaric and wild” (de Las Casas 3) demonstrates the same philosophy of the thoughts of Europeans as they encountered the Indians. Shall those that are fearful for the loss of all they have worked for not fight back and retain what is rightfully theirs. The Indians, especially the Aztecs had built cities, established political and economic organizations and created richly diverse civilizations. In The Jesuit Relations they recount the gratitude shown to the hospital nuns “The Savages who leave the hospital, and who come to see us again at St. Joseph, or at the three Rivers,…
The English and Spanish strategies at colonization in the late 1600’s were very different, resulting in very different outcomes. The English methods of displacement and extermination of the native populations led to wholesale destruction of the cultures targeted. On the other hand, the Spanish attempted to peacefully associate with the local populations. This lead to the creation of a hybrid culture of Spanish and Indian peoples. The birth of this new culture demonstrated the success the Spaniards had in the waning days of the century (Otermin, 2007).…
The Spanish conquistadors were well educated, but also profit-minded, and known as having the most powerful navy in the world. They consider themselves, as a “saving souls” of native Indian who most believe had no culture or religion at all. They work with the help of the Dominican and Franciscan friars, but the relationship between them was not peaceful, because native Indians resisted the imposition of Spanish authority, what resulted in slavery and even death of native people. Those, who did not protest against Spanish authority were treated equally, were allow to merry, and conduct the business. Native Indians consider Spanish discovery more as an invasion of their land with very little recognition of their religious claim to the land their where they bore the graves of the dead.…
Bartolome` de Las Casa had a very different view of the Indians than the majority. Las Casa was against the mistreatment of the Indians. Las Casa tried to convince the Spanish to change their attitudes towards the Indians. He committed his life to being an advocate for the Indians and urging people to treat them better.…
The world in reverse is meant to demonstrate how the Spaniards were known as civilized peoples and were to behave like that, while the Natives were originally seen as savages. But after reading Las Casas’s account he describes and makes the reader view the Natives as civilized and Spaniards as the savages they try to make the natives seem to be. Las Casas confirms this quote “the world in reverse with his descriptions of both groups. He describes the Natives as “the most blessed people on earth”, innocent and pure in mind”, capable of learning, and never boisterous. His descriptions of the Spaniards are the complete opposite, they are described as “ravening wolves”, “tigers and savage lions who have not eaten meat for days” and as murderers.…
After reading the short text called “A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies,” by Bartolomé de Las Casas, I was surprised at the brutality and coldheartedness of the Spaniards towards the Indian natives. I knew that they did some horrible things from previous history classes and what not, but actually reading about some of the specific things they did was a bit hard to take in. An example of this is the following quote: “And thus pregnant and nursing women and children and old persons and any others they might take, they would throw them into the holes until the pits were filled, the Indians being pierced through by the stakes, which was a sore thing to see, especially the women with their children.” Throwing defenseless and harmless…
My immediate response to Las Casas’ account was one of sorrow, dread, and horror. I cannot even express in words the emotions that ran through my mind and soul as I read this terrifying report exposing the truth of our country’s beginnings. My voice cracked as I read aloud Las Casas’ words, and I felt myself holding back tears as a roar against injustice raged within me. I wish I could believe Las Casas was a liar, but his brutal honesty wipes away every possible doubt.…
Most of the beginning of American history seems like a race of conquest between the Spaniards and Europeans with Native Americans caught in the crossfire. A seemingly peaceful group of people, the Native Americans were under constant attack from the moment settlers arrived into their territory. Historians can pull from first-hand accounts and primary sources to piece together the history of this nation. One Spainard exploratory mission wrecked off the coast of Florida with about 400 men (OTP S1-6, OTP 22). After long battles and shipwrecks, the expedition was cut short and only four men survived, one an African slave and Spanish explorer named Alvar Nunez Cabeza De Vaca. De Vaca wrote a narrative explaining his encounters with Native Americans who had never seen white or black people before. De Vaca described the Indians as “war like people…and protect themselves from their enemies as they would have if they had been raised in Italy and in continuous war” (OTP S1-6). He explains in his narrative…
Columbus viewed the Indians as very generous and kind people. However De Las Casas refuses to see Indians are just like Columbus said. He feels or wants to mistake the Indians’ kindness for a weakness, easily manipulate them into enslavement, and do all these cruel and inhumane things to the Indians. De Las Casas and the Christians on the island of Hispaniola began their destruction. Families were being broken up, women and suckling children were being separated. In analysis this very thing is happening in modern times such as terrorism that has people fearing for their lives. Casas stated, “For everyone Christian that the Indians slew, the Christians would slay an hundred Indians” (69). Shockingly De Las Casas was one of the ones that introduced Africans to slavery as well (67). However De Las Casas plan didn’t go as plan for very long because people like Spanish emperor Charles V followed suit with the New Laws of the Indies, which gave Indians full protection and forbade enslavement on any…