“We can estimate very surely and truthfully that in the forty years that have passed, with the infernal actions of the Christians, there have been unjustly slain more than twelve million men, women, and children. In truth, I believe without trying to deceive myself that the number of the slain is more like fifteen million.”
The foregoing quote was written by Bartolome de Las Casas, in his Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies (1552). Las Casas’ reveals the negative effects of Spanish contact with the Native peoples of the Americas. He emphasizes some of the key results of European exploration and colonization—namely destruction and death. The arrival of the Europeans to the Americas marked the beginning of the end for the native …show more content…
Through this system the Europeans, were granted a specific area and labor rights to a group of Indians. The system itself promoted European exploitation of both Native labor and land. In his account, Bartolome de Las Casas pleads on behalf of the Natives before the Spanish Monarch, “for the eradication of the evil and godless crimes perpetrated against Our Lord and our fellow-human beings – crimes that threaten to bring a collapse of civilization and to presage the end of the world.” Las Casas spoke of the diminishing supply of Indian labor created by the European thirst for wealth. For example, Natives working in a Hispaniola gold mine were labored so harshly that the population drastically plundered from 1 million to 250 within fifty years of Columbus’ arrival. In Peru, the mita system, established in Potosi, required Natives to mine silver in poor environments which resulted in various respiratory diseases like pneumonia and tuberculosis. In response to Las Casas’ motivating account, the Spanish King Ferdinand II created the New Laws in 1542 to control the “contamination” and exploitation of the Natives. These laws greatly displeased the Europeans because it regulated Native labor and gradually led to the banning of Native slavery. Due to this labor shortage, many Europeans sought out cheap labor in another location: …show more content…
The African trade had an impact on the male population in Africa because a majority of the slaves is the Americas were strong men abducted from home and forced into slavery. Leaving behind the weak, like the elderly, the children, and many women. It is estimated that about two-thirds of the slaves were taken to the New World were males and one-third were females. With sugar in high demand, each decade saw an increase in the percentage of African slave population. By 1650, Spanish America, primarily Peru and Mexico, had imported 250,000 to 300,000 slaves. Colonial population to be dominated by Africans who were tired of being enslaved and mistreated by the Europeans. Resistance were not uncommon especially in regions where slaves outnumbered Europeans. Planters feared slave uprising because they were few. One of the very first successful uprisings was the Bussa rebellion which occurred in 1816 in Barbados. The uprising was unexpected and sudden. The element of surprise is what gained the slaves their freedom, as well as, the tactful planning of their leader Bussa and other men and women on several plantations. The Africans proved to their European oppressors that they were unhappy being dehumanized and sold as property for their profit. The Africans proved that they were willing to die in order to be free of European imperialist
The foregoing quote was written by Bartolome de Las Casas, in his Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies (1552). Las Casas’ reveals the negative effects of Spanish contact with the Native peoples of the Americas. He emphasizes some of the key results of European exploration and colonization—namely destruction and death. The arrival of the Europeans to the Americas marked the beginning of the end for the native …show more content…
Through this system the Europeans, were granted a specific area and labor rights to a group of Indians. The system itself promoted European exploitation of both Native labor and land. In his account, Bartolome de Las Casas pleads on behalf of the Natives before the Spanish Monarch, “for the eradication of the evil and godless crimes perpetrated against Our Lord and our fellow-human beings – crimes that threaten to bring a collapse of civilization and to presage the end of the world.” Las Casas spoke of the diminishing supply of Indian labor created by the European thirst for wealth. For example, Natives working in a Hispaniola gold mine were labored so harshly that the population drastically plundered from 1 million to 250 within fifty years of Columbus’ arrival. In Peru, the mita system, established in Potosi, required Natives to mine silver in poor environments which resulted in various respiratory diseases like pneumonia and tuberculosis. In response to Las Casas’ motivating account, the Spanish King Ferdinand II created the New Laws in 1542 to control the “contamination” and exploitation of the Natives. These laws greatly displeased the Europeans because it regulated Native labor and gradually led to the banning of Native slavery. Due to this labor shortage, many Europeans sought out cheap labor in another location: …show more content…
The African trade had an impact on the male population in Africa because a majority of the slaves is the Americas were strong men abducted from home and forced into slavery. Leaving behind the weak, like the elderly, the children, and many women. It is estimated that about two-thirds of the slaves were taken to the New World were males and one-third were females. With sugar in high demand, each decade saw an increase in the percentage of African slave population. By 1650, Spanish America, primarily Peru and Mexico, had imported 250,000 to 300,000 slaves. Colonial population to be dominated by Africans who were tired of being enslaved and mistreated by the Europeans. Resistance were not uncommon especially in regions where slaves outnumbered Europeans. Planters feared slave uprising because they were few. One of the very first successful uprisings was the Bussa rebellion which occurred in 1816 in Barbados. The uprising was unexpected and sudden. The element of surprise is what gained the slaves their freedom, as well as, the tactful planning of their leader Bussa and other men and women on several plantations. The Africans proved to their European oppressors that they were unhappy being dehumanized and sold as property for their profit. The Africans proved that they were willing to die in order to be free of European imperialist