Bartolome De Las Casas

Dominican friar and defender of Amerindian rights Bartolome de Las Casas is a controversial character in the drama of the Spanish New World. Las Casas is generally viewed in a positive light by scholars for his persistence in the field of Amerindian rights. Another Face of Empire: Bartolomé de Las Casas, Indigenous Rights, and Ecclesiastical Imperialism, by Daniel Castro acts as a corrective work in the scholarly conversation. Castro judges Las Casas not on his intent as most scholars do, but rather his “praxis” and “tangible gains” . Castro declares Las Casas not only an incompetent reformer and activist for his lack of results, but also claims Las Casas is a force of Spanish imperialism, demanding Amerindians adopt Spanish Christianity and culture as any other member of Spain’s Empire did. …show more content…
To determine the value of Las Casas’s praxis, Castro analyzes the results of Las Casas’s work – or rather, shows the lack thereof. To Castro, the recognition Las Casas brought to the plight of Amerindian rights has no relevance, as Las Casas overall has no concrete achievements. Readers are shown how Las Casas does not gain praxis because he regularly travels between the Indies and Spain, leaving a trail of incomplete tasks in his wake. This argument is strong, but neglects to recognize the context of Las Casas in Spain at this time. Working within the system was likely the most practical way for Las Casas to even attempt to better the treatment of the Amerindians, and Castro’s argument is thus rendered