A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies

Document Analysis of Bartolome De Las Casas’ A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies Who wrote this text and what was his role in society? The author of this text is Bartolome De Las Casas, who was born in Sevilla, Spain 1484, to a family who were merchants and farmers . Coming from a wealthy family Bartolome had the opportunity to study Latin from the age of nine, these studies continued for five years while his father was away . When his father returned in 1498, Bartolome expressed the wish to study to become a priest. To prepare Bartolome for priesthood, his father got him to study canon law, which is eldest known working legal system. He continued his studies to become a priest until 1507 when he was appointed as a priest. In this time he also travelled to the New World (America).…

They were so generous that at time they would give the spaniards almost all they had. The native people would give so much that they were left almost starving. No matter the pain, and torture the spaniards administered upon native clan after native clan the natives would continue to repeat history by continuing their generous ways; treating their oppressors like kings. De Las Casas stated multiple times in his book ,A Short Account of the Destructions of the Indies, how natives would “receive us…

Bartolomé de las Casas was born in 1484 in Sevilla, Spain and died July 1566 in Madrid. He was a very famous Spanish historian, social reformer, and Dominican friar in the 16th-century. He became the first resident Bishop of Chiapas, and the first officially elected “Protector of the Indians.” His most famous writing is the excerpt A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies and Historia de Las Indias. Las Casas objected to the Spanish treatment of the natives, and in 1542 he wrote an…

Genocide of the Indies as Described by Las Casas A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, was written by Bartolome de las Casas to attempt to stop the genocide that was being committed to the natives by his people. The book shares many episodes of acts of genocide. These acts correspond with the definition of the United Nations definition of genocide by as the U.N. themselves list the acts of, “…Killing members of the group; Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;…

Larry Gilley Mid-term paper Topic 1 During the time of colonial conquest in the New World by Spain there were many wrongs committed on the indigenous populations and these were committed by the Spanish empire and justified through their search for gold and desire to Christianize the New World. However these atrocities committed by the Spanish on the Indigenous people did not go unnoticed by others and some people spoke out against these heinous crimes. One of the most prominent people to speak…

With all the wrongs that were created by the Christians, de las Casa believed that “it is the duty of the king, with greatest study and vigilant industry, to root them out…” (“Bartolomé De Las Casas A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies”, pg 1). In the text, he mentioned that those who had called themselves Christians were not following what God and His Church wanted; but taking “cruel, bloody, and tyrannical warfare” (“A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, pg 2) actions…

The motivation for Las Casas to write A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies was to inform the king and queen of Spain about the horrific acts the Spaniards were committing in the New World. He is also writing to inform the king that if these acts do not stop that the Spaniards will be punished by God by saying “if God is to continue to watch over the Crown of Castile and ensure its future well-being and prosperity, both spiritual and temporal” then the actions of “Your Royal Highness…

numerous expeditions to the New World and saw first hand the injustices being done to the natives by the Spaniards whom he categorizes into one overarching label of “Christians”. After seeing in person the unfair treatment of the Indians, Las Casas decides to become an advocate for the Indians and he wrote a series of his personal accounts called A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies to send to the King of Spain in hopes that something will be done to change. Unlike Luther’s writings,…

Bartolomé de Las Casas’s book “A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies,” is an eye opening narrative into the tragic massacre that took place in the sixteenth century. Millions of indigenous people were brutally killed and slaughtered by the Spanish in endless ways due to their beliefs and idols. De Las Casas, a Catholic Priest, shares what he saw while on his voyage to the New World throughout the book. De Las Casas divided the monstrosities he witnessed geographically. He began with…

Historians Written by Bartolome de las Casas, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies was created to inform Prince Philip about the horrible acts inflicted on the Native Americans by the Spaniards. Through this document, las Casas pleads the Prince to do justice to the “unassuming, long-suffering, unassertive, and submissive” natives by preventing Spaniards from getting licenses for ventures and conquests in the New World. las Casas’ A Short Account left me aghast when I finished…