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Bartolom 's eye-opening account of Spanish colonialism in the early
to mid-16th century has for centuries been a pivotal source on the
topic. Following the discovery of the Americas by Christopher
Columbus in 1497, a great interest in the new and virgin lands was
sparked in Europe. Spain, eager to capitalise on the great
resources and wealth present, sent successive fleets of vessels to
the Caribbean to set up colonial outposts as footholds in the new
continent. Despite being small in number, the Spanish colonists had
superior arms and were able to forcibly subdue the native
populations. Murder, rape and other atrocities were commonplace in
the process, with many natives afterwards becoming enslaved. While
wealth was amassed, the moral depravity involved would appal the
socially conscious at home. For his part, Las Casas would assume
place as a dogged defender of West Indian peoples, putting pressure
on the Spanish court to enact laws protecting native welfare.
Bartolome de las Casas (Sevilla, 1474-Madrid, 1566). Espana. En
1502 fue a La Espanola (hoy Republica Dominicana) para hacerse
cargo de las propiedades de su padre. Diez anos despues fue el
primer sacerdote ordenado en America. Mas tarde vivio en Cuba y
obtuvo numerosas riquezas gracias a los repartimientos y
encomiendas. En 1514 regreso a Espana, y renuncio a todas sus
propiedades. Afectado por su experiencia americana, pretendio
imponer un nuevo modelo de evangelizacion y se convirtio en un
ferviente defensor de los derechos de los indios. Sin embargo, su
actitud provoco la enemistad de obispos, gobernadores y miembros
del poderoso e influyente Consejo de Indias. En 1520 volvio a
America para poner en practica en Cumana (Venezuela) sus ideas
sobre una colonizacion pacifica. Fracaso. Anos despues predico en
tierras de Nicaragua y Guatemala, hasta que en 1540 regreso a
Espana, donde fue uno de los mas destacados impulsores de las Leyes
Nuevas (1542). Nombrado obispo en Sevilla, en 1544, tomo posesion
de la diocesis de Chiapas (provincia de la capitania general de
Guatemala), alli denuncio los crimenes de los colonos. Tuvo muchos
enemigos. En 1546 paso a Mexico y un ano despues regreso a Espana.
Durante esta epoca redacto su Historia de las Indias (1552-1561),
publicada en 1875. Su defensa de los indigenas le hizo reclamar la
presencia de negros africanos para que trabajasen como esclavos en
America en lugar de aquellos.
Bartolome de las Casas's A Brief Account of the Destruction of the
Indies stands as one of history's most damning narratives of
Spanish colonization that was ever written. Las Casas chronicled
gory details of Spanish mistreatment of the native American
Indians, an abuse which led to entire communities being wiped out.
This account eventually provoked the Spanish crown to enact laws
intended to protect the Indians, and earned Bartolome de las Casas
the title 'Defender of the Indians.'
2011 Reprint of the 1920 Edition. Illustrated by Cosgrove. Full
facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical
Recognition Software. This is the actual log of Christopher
Columbus as copied out by his companion, Bartholomew Las Casas.
Besides being authentic source material about the voyage and the
core of the Columbus legend, this journal has all the day-by-day
enchantment of a long sea voyage with all the drama of a small ship
steering into the unknown-the first pelican, a crab in the seaweed,
a branch of roseberries and a carved log found floating in the
water, mutterings of mutiny and the constant watch for signs of
land. John Cosgrove, the illustrator, adds to the book on every
page with pictures of whales and riggings, compasses and charts,
which are both decorative and accurate pictorial footnotes to the
log.
Fifty years after the arrival of Columbus, at the height of Spain's
conquest of the West Indies, Spanish bishop and colonist Bartolome
de las Casas dedicated his Brevisima Relacion de la Destruicion de
las Indias to Philip II of Spain. An impassioned plea on behalf of
the native peoples of the West Indies, the Brevisima Relacion
catalogues in horrific detail atrocities it attributes to the
king's colonists in the New World. The result is a withering
indictment of the conquerors that has cast a 500-year shadow over
the subsequent history of that world and the European colonization
of it. Andrew Hurley's daring new translation dramatically
foreshortens that 500 years by reversing the usual priority of a
translation; rather than bring the Brevisima Relacion to the
reader, it brings the reader to the Brevisima Relacion -- not as it
is, but as it might have been, had it been originally written in
English. The translator thus allows himself no words or devices
unavailable in English by 1560, and in so doing reveals the
prophetic voice, urgency and clarity of the work, qualities often
obscured in modern translations. An Introduction by Franklin
Knight, notes, a map, and a judicious set of
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