Bartolomé de las Casas

Lore & Background

Las Casas initially participated in the colonial economy built on forced Indigenous labor, but after witnessing atrocities during the conquest of Cuba, he gave up his encomienda and Indigenous laborers in 1515. He then advocated before Charles V for Native rights. In his early writings, he suggested using African slaves instead, unaware of Portuguese brutalities; he later retracted this position, regarding both forms of slavery as equally wrong. In 1522, he attempted a peaceful colonial venture on the coast of Venezuela, which failed, after which he entered the Dominican Order and spent a decade as a friar. He later acted as a missionary among the Maya of Guatemala and participated in debates on converting Natives to Christianity.

Reader's Guide

Las Casas spent 50 years fighting slavery and colonial abuse of Indigenous peoples, primarily by lobbying the Spanish court for more humane policies. His efforts contributed to the passage of the New Laws in 1542, which aimed to abolish the encomienda system, though resistance from settlers forced him to return to Spain. In 1550, he participated in the Valladolid debate against Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, arguing that Indigenous peoples were fully human and that forceful subjugation was unjustifiable. While he did not fully change Spanish views on colonization, his work improved the legal status of Natives and increased focus on the ethics of colonialism. After his death in 1566, he was widely venerated as a holy figure, leading to the opening of his cause for beatification in the Catholic Church.

Did You Know?

• Las Casas's birthdate was long believed to be 1474, but archival work in the 1970s corrected it to 1484.
• He initially argued in favor of the encomienda system before a 1514 study of Ecclesiasticus convinced him to give up his own slaves and encomienda.
• He participated in the conquest of Cuba and witnessed the massacre of Hatuey.
• His early advocacy for African slaves was later retracted; he came to regard both Indigenous and African slavery as equally wrong.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Christ wanted love to be called his single commandment. This we owe to all men. Nobody is excepted." — Bartolomé de las Casas "More than thirty other islands in the vicinity of San Juan are for the most part and for the same reason depopulated, and the land laid waste." — Bartolomé de las Casas "After the wars and the killings had ended, when usually there survived only some boys, some women, and children, these survivors were distributed among the Christians to be slaves." — Bartolomé de las Casas "These people are the most devoid of rancors, hatreds, or desire for vengeance of any people in the world." — Bartolomé de las Casas