Bartolomé de las Casas

name of progress…the past is told from the point of view of governments, conquerors…as if they…represent the nation as a whole…” (Zinn 9). Zinn feels that the Europeans who have conquered these lands praise the so-called “heroes” like Columbus and Las Casas in order to justify the genocide that they caused. They focus on telling the accomplishments of these people in order to make their actions seem…

Columbus’s legacy is debated because some people regard him as explorer and discoverer who initiated the modern age while other people associate him with imperialism, colonialism,and conquest. The reason for the hate towards Columbus is the fact that Columbus caused the death of millions of native people through disease and the fact that he initiated the Atlantic slave trade. However, other people argue that the sacrifices were worth bringing the two worlds together. When the two hemispheres…

slaughtered many natives no matter their age, gender, or status in the communities. Catholic friar Bartolomé de las Casas wrote about what happened when the Spanish took over the island of Hispaniola. He said “They forced their way into native settlements, slaughtering everyone they found there, including small children, old men, pregnant women, and even women who had just given birth” (Kristian). Bartolome also said that “They grabbed sucking infants by the feet and, ripping them from their…

injustice towards the Indians. He wrote: "I saw here cruelty on a scale no living being has ever seen or expects to see”. He pleaded with King Ferdinand to stop the encomienda of course without much accomplished because most Spaniards owned encomiendas. Casas had a hard time trying to bring Christianity (which was one of the main reasons of the conquest of America) to the native Indians and treat them so…

Opening Statement My clients, Christopher Columbus’ men, are charged with murdering and mistreating a large number of Taino Indians. But, is that what they are truly guilty of? Or were they following orders from Christopher Columbus? They are considered guilty because Christopher Columbus gave them orders to kill and mistreat the Tainos. My clients plead guilty. But, to know who is solely responsible, we all need to know that this case is about two things, power, and control. If we keep in mind…

and conduct” (Doc 1). Christopher Columbus had the possibility of great personal gain from one journey, continued commission of the profits and governance over discovered land, but he was not the only explorer. Others like Bartholomew Diaz and Vasco de Gama shared the same interest in their journeys of explorations in the 1490s. Other state monarchs had motives to rid the country of criminals like Fra Soncino describes to a Duke of Milan in 1497, “to make London a greater place for spices”…

Christopher Columbus is credited with the discovering and integration of the once isolated Americas into the global world. For this, Columbus was given a holiday on which he is celebrated annually. Many people today believe that Columbus does not deserve a holiday and should not be celebrated due to the many atrocities he committed, such as killing and enslaving an entire population, in order to achieve what he did. Although Christopher Columbus is responsible for the decimation of millions of…

Several areas have changed Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day such as Seattle (Ahtone, “Seattle Swaps Columbus Day For ‘Indigenous Peoples’ Day’”). Another alternative is to celebrate Bartolome De Las Casas. He was one of Columbus’s men until he realized how terribly the natives were being treated. In short, Bartolome then become a priest and devoted the rest of his life to the end of african and native american slavery (The Oatmeal, “Christopher Columbus was awful (but this other guy was…

Although the modern human rights system was officially established with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948, the concept and discourse of rights have a much longer history of conception and contestation. Yet despite advances in recognizing the rights of some, there were always other humans who were excluded. Sometimes such exclusion from rights was explicit and intended; other times it was just taken for granted as the natural order of society and civilization. In…

In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on the North American coast while searching for a new route to the Indies on behalf of the Spanish crown. After his unwitting discovery of the New World, European countries flocked to claim the land - first Spain and Portugal, then the English, French and Dutch. As colonies popped up all over North America, these countries gradually discovered great wealth in agriculture and trade. However, the land was already occupied by Native American tribes who, while…