Oh Father Bartol,
From above they wanted to observe you,
conquistador-like,
leaning on their swords like stone shadows;
with their malicious spittle, they trampled
the land of your endeavors;
they said: There goes the agitator,
they lied: He is paid by foreigners,
He has no homeland, He betrays us,
But your sermon was not
just a passing moment,
a pilgrim’s signpost, a traveler’s watch,
Your figure was a vast forest,
unconquerable steel, hidden
light for a blooming land,
your luminous words were too heavy for them;
in the passing of time, in the flow of life,
your brave hand was
a zodiac star, a symbol of the people.
Pablo Neruda
The time of Spanish conquests, the time of conquistadors, is a glorious period in Spanish history. This same period can also be called the time of the destruction of the Indies, as it brought about the end of the last great kingdoms of Central and South America. It is often seen in history how kingdoms, nations, and civilizations rise and fall, and we cannot deny that it is a game in and of itself. Bartolomé de las Casas fought wholeheartedly for the rights and dignity of subjugated peoples, whether the situation was fair or unfair, simply because it was perhaps inevitable at that moment in history for some reason. The destruction of the Indies is one of the most brutal episodes of any civilization in our known history, and Bartolomé de las Casas is one of the few Spaniards who fought fervently for the rights and dignity of enslaved peoples.
On the island of Hispaniola (Haiti), where Bartolomé de las Casas disembarked in 1502, he became the owner of land in the Vege region a year later.
When Bartolomé was 12 years old, his father brought an Indian from Columbus’ second voyage as a “souvenir,” so as a young man, he considered it completely natural for Indians to serve his family.
In 1502, he went to America for the first time to visit the family’s estates in Central America. There, he became the administrator of an encomienda, a landholding with indigenous population who lived on it as laborers. In 1506, he returned to Europe, where he traveled and completed his studies, and in 1510, he was ordained. He longs to become a priest. Upon his return to Haiti, he continues to manage the estate, acting “as a good master to his Indians”, without considering the injustice of using their labor.
In early 1511, he goes to Cuba as the captain of Velásquez’s expedition, whose goal is to conquer Cuba and expand Spanish possessions. There, he encounters the cruelty of the Spanish conquerors for the first time and advocates for a more moderate treatment of the indigenous people.
As the governor of Cuba, Velásquez befriends the young Cortés, and entrusts him with the command of the expedition tasked with conquering Mexico.
MONK
Bartolomé de las Casas was above all a true Christian monk and a great humanist. Although today, the act of conversion has negative connotations, which is understandable, considering that it was often carried out forcefully and in opposition to the fundamental principles of the Christian faith. To understand this fighter for the rights of the inhabitants of India, it is necessary to become acquainted with what drove his life and compelled him to dedicate himself to a fight in which he actually had little chance of victory.
The main driving force in his life was enthusiasm fueled by a belief in a very pure form. He wanted to share his deep understanding of Jesus Christ and Christianity with other people for a very simple reason – so that they could live fulfilled and happy lives just like he did. However, he believed that Christianity should never be imposed on anyone by force, and he was disturbed and hurt by the bad behavior of conquerors that closed the doors to spreading Christianity in the way he envisioned. Because of the role played by the Roman Catholic Church in all this, las Casas started to doubt the institution which he had previously considered his home: No king, no emperor, not even the Roman Catholic Church can call for war to claim their lands or subjugate them for temporal goods, and he even found himself on the verge of questioning his faith. through a list of undesirable in the ranks of the clergy.
Hatuey, the chief of the Taino tribe, escaped from the Spanish conquerors to Cuba with a hundred men, women, and children. Organizing guerrilla warfare, he resisted the Spaniards for three months before being betrayed and then burned alive in a Spanish camp in 1512.
HATUEY
A pivotal moment in the life of Bartolomé de las Casas occurred during the conquest of Cuba. The Spaniards captured the chief of the indigenous people, a man named Hatuey, who had fled with his people from Hispaniola to Cuba. Velásquez ordered Hatuey to be burned alive. Las Casas tried to convince him to change his decision, but his efforts were in vain. As Hatuey was tied to a post, a Franciscan monk approached him and spoke about the Christian God, faith, hell, and heaven. He tried to persuade him that if he accepted Christianity before he died, he would go to heaven, a place of glory and eternal rest. The chief then asked the monk Even Christians, referring to the Spanish conquerors – the only Christians he had met, go to heaven. The monk replied that those who are good go there, and the chief said that he does not want to go anywhere he will see such cruel people like Christians. In his book “A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies,” Las Casas recounts this event and concludes: This is the good reputation and honor that God and our faith have gained thanks to the Christians who went to the Indies.
ADVOCATE FOR THE INDIANS
Shortly after this event, Las Casas returns his land and the accompanying Indians to Governor Velásquez. In 1516, he requests the abolition of encomiendas and repartimientos as a system that in itself was evil and immoral. With the help of Cardinal Cisneros, he reaches the future Emperor Charles V, whom he advises that it is better to lose all overseas possessions than to commit so many terrible injustices in his name. This is how Las Casas became the greatest advocate for their rights and dignity. On September 17, 1516, he officially became the representative of the Indians. Attorney for the Indians (representative of the Native Americans).
The colonial system of forced labor where the indigenous population was forced to work for insignificant or no wages on Spanish farms, in mines, factories, and public projects for part of the year.
In 1541, he wrote A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies to inform the emperor of the savagery and injustice that the Spanish conquerors inflict on the indigenous people. Las Casas went about it in a very polished and refined manner, starting from the assumption that the ruler is clearly unaware of what is happening in the Indies because if he did, he would never allow it:
Most sublime and omnipotent ruler! Divine providence has ordained that in this world, for the governance and well-being of the human race, kings be fathers and shepherds of kingdoms and peoples. They are, therefore, the noblest and most generous individuals in the state. No one doubts, nor can reasonably doubt, the correctness of their royal spirit. For if there is evil, vice, or prejudice in the state, it is only because kings allow it to happen. they are not aware of. If they were familiar with these evils, they would eradicate them with great care and vigilance… It is known, namely, that the natural and inherent virtue is such that knowledge of evil in its kingdom is sufficient to dissipate it completely… Therefore, Almighty Lord, here is my experience: I lived for fifty or more years in those great kingdoms, or rather, in that vast and new world of India… And there I witnessed the beginning of deeds and damages, exploitation and savagery, that people cannot even imagine…
With the help of Dominicans and professors from the University of Salamanca, he managed to convince Carlos V of the extent to which the natives of India are being mistreated. A year after the publication of the Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, New Laws for the Indies were enacted, abolishing the existing encomienda system, and the Indians became free vassals of the Spanish crown.
In the Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, las Casas testifies to the events that marked his Life, about the history of India, about the characteristics of the people encountered in America, and about the cruelty of the Spaniards:
Once, the Native Americans greeted us with supplies and gifts ten miles away from a large settlement. Upon our arrival, they gave us a large quantity of fish, bread, food, and everything they could. Soon, in my presence, without motive or reason, the Christians, as if possessed by the devil, slaughtered over three thousand people: men, women, and children who were sitting in front of us. I witnessed such cruelty that living beings had never seen before and will never see again.
All these nations, countless, diverse, God created them simple, without malice and hypocrisy… They are more humble, patient, peaceful, and peaceful than any other nation in the world, enemies of quarrels, fights, and arguments. They recoil from malice and hatred and do not long for revenge… These are also the people who are lean, fragile, of delicate structure: they have a hard time with physical exertion and easily succumb to any illness… These are There are also very poor people who possess little and do not desire material goods: therefore, they are not arrogant, ambitious, or greedy…
It is a well-known and verified truth, even acknowledged by the villains and murderers themselves, that the inhabitants of India have never done any harm to Christians. On the contrary, they believed that Christians came from heaven, until Christians caused them countless evils, lootings, deaths, violence, and abuse on many occasions…
The detailed descriptions of the Spanish treatment of the Indians, conveyed in las Casas’s report, are full of terrible crimes, bloodshed, and atrocities. According to him, during the conquest, millions of men, women, and children were killed. The Spanish were not restricted in any way; they took it upon themselves, in the name of the King and the Pope, to ravage the lands of unbelievers. The Indians were considered inferior beings and godless, whose role was to serve and work for their masters, as they themselves were ignorant and uncivilized, therefore needing to be baptized and saved in the process. soul.
Las Casas’ views on slavery and freedom earned him many supporters, but even more opponents, especially among the conquistadors who wanted to enrich themselves – appropriate the land of the indigenous people in the name of the Spanish crown and gain personal wealth, which they considered a just reward for their participation in conquests. Precisely because of this greed, the conquerors put pressure on the Spanish crown and demanded the abolition of the provisions of the New Laws of the Indies.
The cathedral in San Cristóbal de las Casas, the capital of the Chiapas province in Mexico.
In 1547, he returned to Spain once again. Three years later, he participated in a debate with one of the greatest supporters and defenders of the encomienda system, Juan Gines de Sepulveda, who advocated for a “just war” against the Indians. In his theory, Sepulveda argues that Indians are by nature slaves, and war against them is not only allowed but also advisable. On the other hand, Las Casas believes:
Just as uncultivated The earth does not yield fruits but contains within itself the potential that will enable it to bear fruit once it is cultivated, similarly there cannot exist a people in the world, enlightened about the meaning and natural role of mankind, that cannot yield fruits of human value.
During the last decade of his life, Las Casas continues to write, criticizing the Crown and its decisions regarding the colonies. Many Spaniards from the Americas wanted to silence him, send him to a monastery, or retire him. Although hated by many, he had an influence on the Crown throughout his life, which found itself torn between him and the conquistadors who wanted rewards for their efforts and involvement in the conquest of the Indies. He died in Madrid in July 1566, among the Dominicans. In 1848, the capital of the province of Chiapas in Mexico was renamed San Cristóbal de las Casas, after two patron saints: St. Cristóbal and Bartolomé de las Casas, whose entire life was guided by one idea:
All peoples of the world are rational beings, all have reason, will, and freedom. From choice… Each race of people is an individual, yet they are all similar in terms of origin and nature…