In Defense of the Indians

by Bartolomé de las Casas

Bartolom\u00e9 de Las Casas championed the rights of the Indians of Mexico and Central America, disputing a widely held belief that they were "beasts" to be enslaved. In a dramatic debate in 1550 with Juan Gin\u00e9s de Sep\u00falveda, Las Casas argued vehemently before a royal commission in Valladolid that the native inhabitants should be viewed as fellow human beings, artistically and mechanically adroit, and capable of learning when properly taught.

In Defense of the Indians, Las Casas's classic treatise on the humanity of native peoples, had far-reaching implications for the policies adopted by both the Spanish Crown and the Church toward slavery in the New World. This carefully reasoned but emotionally charged defense addresses issues such as the concept of a just war, the relationships between differing races and cultures, the concept of colonialism, and the problem of racism. Written toward the end of an active career as "Protector of the Indians," the work stands as a summary of the teaching of Las Casas's life.

Available in its entirety for the first time in paperback, with a new foreword by Martin E. Marty, In Defense of the Indians has proved to be an enduring work that speaks with relevance in the twentieth-first century. Skillfully translated from Latin by the Reverend Stafford Poole, it is an eloquent plea for human freedom that will appeal to scholars interested in the founding of the Americas and the development of the New World.

Genres: History, Spain, Spanish Literature, Indigenous, Nonfiction, College

411 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Spanish missionary and historian Bartolomé de las Casas sought to abolish the oppression and enslavement of the native peoples in the Americas.

This member of order of preachers, a 16th-century social reformer and Dominican friar, served as the first resident bishop of Chiapas and the first officially appointed "protector of the Indians." The most famous A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies and Historia de Las Indias of his extensive writings chronicle the first decades of colonization of the west and focus particularly on the atrocities that the colonizers committed against the indigenous.

In 1515, he reformed his views, gave up his encomienda, and advocated before Charles V, king and holy Roman emperor, on behalf of rights. In his early writings, he advocated the use of Africans instead in the West Indian colonies; consequently, people leveled criticisms as partly responsible for the beginning of the transatlantic trade. Later in life, he retracted those early views and came to see all equally wrong forms. In 1522, he attempted to launch a new kind of peaceful colonialism on the coast of Venezuela, but this venture failed, causing las Casas to enter the Dominican order as a friar and to leave the public scene for a decade. He then traveled to central to undertake peaceful evangelization among the Maya of Guatemala and participated in debates among the Mexican churchmen about best to bring to the Christian faith. He traveled back to recruit and continued lobbying against the encomienda, gaining an important victory by the passing of the New Laws in 1542. He was appointed bishop of Chiapas, but served only for a short time before he was forced to return because the encomenderos resisted the new laws, and conflicts with settlers because of his pro-Indian policies and activist religious stances. The remainder of his life was spent at the court where he held great influence over Indies-related issues. In 1550 he participated in the Valladolid debate; he argued against Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda that the Indians were fully human and that forcefully subjugating them was unjustifiable. Sepúlveda countered that they were less than human and required masters in order to become civilized.

Bartolomé de las Casas spent 50 years of his life actively fighting and the violent colonial abuse of indigenous, especially by trying to convince the court to adopt a more humane policy of colonization. His efforts resulted in several improvements in the legal status, and in an increased colonial focus on the ethics of colonialism. Las Casas is often seen as one of the first advocates for universal Human Rights

Reviews

[Mabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fray Bartolome de las Casas fought for the rights of the indigenous people in America, even though, they were not his people. He quoted messages from the Bible, the Popes, religious leaders, etc. to state the erroneous declarations against the Indians, especially Sepulveda.
"I cannot but unsheath the sword of my pen for the defense of the truth, the honor of God's house, and the spreading of the revered gospel of Our Lord...".
And he was right: the Spaniards or Conquistadores did not preach Christianity with love and patience. They imposed, killed, tortured, and made slaves of the Indians, in order to have them become Christians.

[Leonardo]

En la primera mitad del siglo posterior al desembarco de los Europeos en la Américas, en la Hispaniola, Bartolomé de Las Casas contempló horrorizado la barbarie de los conquistadores y colonizadores y la esclavización y genocidio de los Amerindios. La mayoría de los militares españoles, administradores y colonos, hambrientos de oro y poder, vieron a los ocupantes de este Nuevo Mundo como irrevocablemente Otros, menos que humanos, o al menos subordinados naturalmente a los Europeos–y Las Casas nos cuenta cómo los europeos recién llegados los trataron peor que a sus animales. En este contexto, es maravilloso que Las Casas, quien era parte de la misión española, pudiera separarse a sí mismo de la corriente general de opinión para insistir sobre la humanidad de los Amerindios y responder a la brutalidad de los gobernantes españoles. Sus protestas se alzaron desde un principio simple: la humanidad es una e igual.

Al mismo tiempo debemos reconocer que una vocación misionera está unida intrínsicamente al proyecto humanitario del buen obispo de Chiapas. De hecho, Las Casas podía pensar la igualdad sólo desde el punto de vista de identidad. Los Amerindios son iguales en naturaleza a los Europeos sólo en tanto potencialmente Europeos, o, realmente, potencialmente Cristianos: “La naturaleza de los hombres es la misma y todos son llamados por Cristo del mismo modo”.

Imperio Pág.91

[Elizabeth Scott Tervo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spectacular. DLC quite a fighter.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting look at the view of the way the Spanish treated the Indians post Columbus, written by a Spaniard. The arguments were repetitive at times, but very interesting over all, arguing everything from whether or not the Catholic church had jurisdiction to judge and punish the Indians to what the 'true' definition of a barbarian was. Also intersting is the contrast between this argument in defense of the Indians and the way that Muslims were treated, and the distinction in treatment pops up here and there if you look for it. In a wider context, if one is familiar with the circumstances of Muslims in Spanish lands in this same period, the difference between the way the two groups were treated, and the justification for that treatment, is startling.

[Mills College Library]

970.016 C335i 1992