A Short Account of the Destruction of the IndiesBartolomé de Las Casas was the first and fiercest critic of Spanish colonialism in the New World. An early traveller to the Americas who sailed on one of Columbus's voyages, Las Casas was so horrified by the wholesale massacre he witnessed that he dedicated his life to protecting the Indian community. He wrote A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies in 1542, a shocking catalogue of mass slaughter, torture and slavery, which showed that the evangelizing vision of Columbus had descended under later conquistadors into genocide. Dedicated to Philip II to alert the Castilian Crown to these atrocities and demand that the Indians be entitled to the basic rights of humankind, this passionate work of documentary vividness outraged Europe and contributed to the idea of the Spanish 'Black Legend' that would last for centuries. |
Contents
A Note on Editions and on this Translation | |
Hispaniola | |
The Islands of Puerto Rico and Jamaica | |
The Province of Nicaragua | |
The Province and Kingdom of Guatemala | |
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Common terms and phrases
alive Americas Amerindians Antonio Montesinos arrived atrocities attack Audiencia barbaric Bartolomé bishop burned butcher caciques carnage Casas Casas’s Castile castilians Christians commander committed conquest Cortés Cortés’s countless crimes cruel cruelty Cuba death destruction devastated Diego Velázquez Dominican Order Dominicans earth enslaving escape Europeans expedition fertile friars gold governor greed Guatemala hands Hispaniola History honour human hundred leagues Indians Indies indigenous inflicted inhabitants injustice innocent Juan killing king kingdom known lands Laws of Burgos leaders Letters from Mexico lived lord mainland Majesty massacre Mexico City Michoacán missionaries murder native population occasion once outrages Pánfilo de Narváez Pedrarias Dávila Pedro de Alvarado perished perpetrated Peru plunder poor province region royal Santa Marta seized Sepúlveda Seville Short Account slaughter slavery slaves souls Spain Spaniards Spanish Crown sword territory thousand throughout took torture town tyrannical Venezuela whole wicked wickedness wild dogs witnessed women World wretches