Analysis Of Zuazo's Report To Guillaume De Croy

In Zuazo's report to Guillaume de Croy, written in 1517, Zuazo complains about the large death toll of the native Caribbean population, which seems like he is following in the Friar's footsteps in 1511 to stand up for the natives' rights. However, this view of the report does not take into account Zuazo's bias and goal in sending the letter to the King and his Lords. Although, on the surface of Zuazo's report, it might seem like this Spanish settler demonstrates genuine concern for the Native population's well-being, through analyzing his focus on the settler's point of view, losing of profits, and his ethnocentrism, it becomes clear that he is actually angry that the Natives' redistribution and deaths limit his possible profits in the colony. …show more content…
For example, reminding the lord of the early settlers' struggles and even quoting other settlers, Zuazo implies he is a part of "those pioneers who had been there from the early days, living on snakes and lizards, suffering hunger and hardship, to settle the island…'who shed our blood and suffered unnumbered hardships at the beginning of this conquest; and now we are betrayed, we and our wives and children'" (Zuazo, 3). This is one of the most passionate sections of the entire letter because he uses such stark imagery, "living on snakes and lizards," and strong vocabulary, like "betrayed" or "shed our blood" (Zuazo, 3). However, he never talks with this much emotion when describing the native deaths, matter-a-factly stating, Hispaniola "had a population of 1,130,00; today, for the reasons I have explained, there are no more than 11,000…in three or four years there will be none left" (Zuazo, 3). He seems to have much less sympathy for the natives. Juxtaposed with the passage above, it lacks the passionate language, imagery, and native quotes to explain their own maltreatment, instead passively maintaining the numbers of death. If he cared for the natives, his tone would reflect his deep concern for their unbelievable death, but for him the most important injustice is that the settlers, who labored in the …show more content…
In this case the exterior agenda does not match Zuazo's real point of view. As evidenced by this document, historians need to be careful about accepting the sources at face-value because these documents all have biases and arguments. Since the sources that survive are all from one side of the story, to get an accurate picture of the real attitudes, actions, and events of the past, it is essential to read against its surface