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AVAILAHF FPOM

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RC- 008 851

Miller, Hubert J.Bartolome de Las Casas; Protector of the Indians. TheTinker Pamphlet Series for the Teaching of MexicanAmerican Heritage.72.

74p.; For related` documents, see RC 008 850,852-853Mr. Al Ramirez, P.O. Box 471, Edinburg, Texas 78539($1.00)

MF-$0.76 Plus Postage. HC Not Available from EDRS.*American Indians; Biographies; *Cultural Background;Cultural Education; Cultural Interrelationships;*Culture Conflict; Curriculum Enrichment; CurriculutGuides; Elementary Secondary Education; *MexicanAmerican History; Mexicans; Pesource Materials;Vocabulary; *Western Civilization

IDENTIFIERS *Las Casas /Bartolome de)

ABSTPACTBartolome de /as Casas devoted himself completely to

crusading for the rights of. the Indians. Although he was never amissionary among Indians, he began projects such as the Indians'conversion in the Land of War in Guatemala, which .ter became thetask of his Dominican colleagues. However, his t le importance lay inhis role as the Indians' protector' before the yal court. This wasshown by his involvement in the debate of Val adoli4, the decree ofthe New Laws of 15J2, and the campaign for e a.lition of the .encomienda and Indian slavery. Owever, th gnificance.of hiscrusade went beyond the rights of Indians; involved the rights ofall men. Equally significant was his stro nviction that tieIndians had a right to retain their cultu eritage in the face ofthe invading Spaniards, who considered themselves culturally superiorto the Indians. Intended to provide the teacher with meaningfulhistorical information on the clash of cultures and the rights ofman, this booklet' relates the story of the Spaniards andIndians asseen in the life of Las Casas. Although primarily intended for use byelementary teac ers the o let may be profitably used by junior andsenior high school teachers. A brief bibliography is inclpded toprovide additional information, suggested readings for seudents, andaudiovisual materials. (Author/NQ)

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I,ciji, BAI*701,0LIJ

.

DE LAS.PROTECTOR OF THE IND1

co

S OE Prat TMENT OF HEALTHEOVCTION 4 WELFARENATIONAL INSTITUTE OF

EOUCTION

THIS OOCUMENT HAS BEEN PI POCOUCEO EXACTLY As pECEve t Q0mTHE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION OR Gr4TiNG T PO,P.TS Or uEP, OR OP,N,ONSSTATED 00 NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFF 1C)4, NATIONAL ,IST71.17.E OrEOUCT ION POSITION OR POLICY

HIJBERT J. MILLER

The Tinker Pamphletfor

0 The Teaching of Mexican American

Series

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("4- I r ,(.0IcNE 0.1k

Hubert J. Miller

Ilerita

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Cover Illustration by GiniiBruce

Printed by the New Santander Press

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Copy r igh t 1972

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Joy RI07,'DE LAS A, AA

PROTECTOR OF THE INDIANS

HUBERT J. MILLER

The Tinker\ Pamphlet Seriesj for

The 'I ing of 11+ican American heritage

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To my ltlexian American student's,whose rich legacy has inspired

my interest in Mexico.

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tie $

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EDITORIAL REVIEW BOARD

,.-

Martha T. Muse, President of the Tinker Foundation

Marietta Daniels Shepherd, Chief, Library Development Progra. m

Organization of American States ,. 7

Curtis Wilgus, President of Inter-American Bibliographical andLibrary Association

Nettie Lee Benson, Head of Latin American Collection,University of Texas at Austin

, . . .

Jose' Cardenas, Superintendent of the Edgewood IndepefidentSchool District, San Antonio, Texas

* .

Antonio E. Garcia, Southwest Educational Development .1,Laboratory, Austin, Texas .

,.. .

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TABLE OF CONTENTS.\ i

t .Glossary i

To a Teacher iii

/ illtrodocti n. .

1

Early Life g

Life in the West Indies.

..,

Las Cams Initiates His Crusade 7

// The Venezuela Experiment 17

Las Casas Enters the p_ominican Ordere

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The Guatemalan Experiment 24'

Las Casas and The New-Laws of 1542 27

Las Casas Becomes Bishop of Chiapas 80

Las Gapas Leaves America for the Last Time . . . 36

Debate at Valladolid 4 39

Las Casas Retires , 50

55

/ 59

Conclusion

Bibliography

GLOSSARY

Audiencia Highest 'court in the kingdom of NewSpain or Mexico; algo took on certain ad-

. ministrative functions,

Castellano A Spanish ':coin that waspredecessor bf the ducado or ducat.

Corigicistatlor TA Spanish conquercir and\ colonize?.

Ducacip The Spanish ditcat or peso was-worth 8reales . The peso: was considered and excellentday wage, which would,buy 2001$s. of beans, w.

two or three turkeys, ot five dozen eggs or 100s. *corn. _

Encomendero holder of an encomienda.

Endo Grant of authority over Indianscarrk obligation to Christianize and protect.. Them\ a well as right-to collect tribute.

/

Haeen Owner of a plantation or large ranch. i.,

, \ . ... . .

. ..... ::.,

Hispaniola ,Inc g the 'resent day islandrepublics'; of H the ominicim Republic.

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Mdyordomo Arro erseer foremitn.

.Rep' affitnparticular rjr6ject.

.6o

,

*siorf of Indian laborers for g

';.).1)119 I.

0 THE TEACHER.

The story of B. tolome de las Casas is the studyof a man, who evoted himself completely tocrusading for the rights of the Indians. Theisignificance of his crusade goes beyond the rightsof-Indraxist---ft involves the rights of all men.According to Las Casas "all peoples are men."

Equally signific t is tbe crusader's strongconviction that the Ilidians-ld a right to retaintheir cultural heritage in the faceof-Che invading.Spaniards, who considerg4, themselves culturallysuperior to the Indians. This conviction wasshared by all European explorerg and-colonizers tit.the New orl and Kipling, the English19th ter, felt it was the whiteburde his superior culture to non-western

the 19th ,century United States thetheme _wa§ popularized in the,: expressions ofmanifest destiny. 'The issue is far from. 'Ddead in UD

, own day, Ethnic minorities, who take pride intheir cultural heritage, are= quic to denounceexpressions of the .white ma s burden andmanifest destiny. Were Las Cas s alive today, we

- can be certain that his voice w ld again be heardti

since his admonitions are imeless. His life

dedicated to the cause of ankind serves as amodel for all generations.

The life of the protect r of the Indians can beprofitably utilized in th story of the discovery Ofthe New World, esp ially regarding the early

/

INTRODUCTIONThe western hemisphere beginning with the pre-

Columbian Indians has had and still does have itsshare of reformers. The stories surrounding the :Aztec Quetzalcoatl offer evidence of his concern forreform among his people. Many other exampleS ofIndian reformers probably could be found if ourknowledge of pre- Columbian Indian civilizations ,

were more complete. Spokesmen for reform can befound in Mexico and the United States. In, Mexicowe need note only such ,names as Benito JuarM,Emiliano Zapata and Lazar° Cardenas. TheUnited States claims its ,Roger Williais, WilliamLloyd Garrison, Abraham Lincoln and the

essives. Both for Mexico- and the UnitedSta the list can extend indefinitely, butwhatever e list may be, no one may dare omit thename of me de Las Casas.

The Spanish quest of the New Worldimmediately raised th uestion of the rights of theIndians. In the defense ofd eir rights the Indianscould have had na better defen er than Las Casas,whose concern.for Indian rights stemmed from hisstrong convictions that all min are human beingswho as creatures of God have basic human rights.His whole life was' a living example of thisconviaion and time and time 'again he pricked theSpanish, crown's and his countOnen's

'consciences: who frequently, willingly atunwillingly, failed to recognize the rights of theIndians.

SF

countrymen's gi-eecl and destruction of life andproperty. For a more balanced view the teachershould consult the booklets in the series whichtreat Hernan Cortes, Antonio de Mendoza andJuan de Zumanaga. These sources tend to see theSpanish side, of the story.

In spite of the negative picture of Spanishcolonization, the life of Las Casas provides ampleevidence of Spain's willingnes to listen to a critic.This bore fruit in Spain's desire to d velop acolonial policy that. took into conside tibn the,rights of native subjects in the Ameri as. Many

i'times it was an enlightened and hu ne policy.,As with all good- intentions,, human shortcomingsfrequently hindered -the imp mentation ofenlightened policies.

At ail times the teacher n s to rQmember thatthe booklet is a teaching t and not a textbook.It is intended to be a t e-saving device whereinthe teacher can quic y find the essentials of thisall important f re in the history of ourhemisphere. T e effectiveness of the tool, like allteaching too , in final analysis/is dependent on theteacher's reative use of it in the classroom.Instruepional content, grade level and intellectualability of the pupils are all determining factors insele2iing all or some of the material to be utilizedby the teacher. Although the author's primary

ent is a teaching tool for elementary teachers,is does not preclude its profitable use by junior

and senior high school teachers.The brief bibliography at the end of the booklet

provides the teacher with additional informationwhere greater detail is desired. Like his

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contemporary, Hernan Cortes, Las Casas was acontroversial figure in his life and this is reflected

in biographical studies. Since the cause of theprotector of the Indians is essentially a strugglefor mankind he, not surprisingly, has fared wellamong biographers. A significant exception is the

work of Ram 6n Menendez Pidal,, who views thecrusading clergyman as a fanatic. The personalityfactor, as Menendez Pidal saw it, becomes' aseriousithstacle to presenting a favorable pictureof Las Casas both in his crusade and writings. Theauthor has not ventured into this historiographicalproblem in the booklet since it is of little value forthe grade levels for which the teaching tools is

designed.A word of caution is in order regarding the use of

audio-visual guides. None listed in thebibliography, treat the life, of Las Casas. These

aids are general treatises of Spanish colonial !'

activities and thus protide a setting for the period

of Las Casag. These can be utilized as a springboard for providing _students with more Aphicpresentations of the 'Mission of otar subject.

Among the standaId biographi0 on Las Casasare those of Francis Augustus MacNutt andHenry Raup Wagner. The )skrie of MacNiittpublished in 1909 provides a concise treatise of Las

Casas' life with an appendix of translated

sel tions from his writings. More up -to -date is

th work of Wagner published in 1967. Wagner in

a well written and succinct biography studies the

man in terms of his writings and thereby providesi'hvaluable insights into his personality Hesis abiographer in love with his hero. The orks of

vi

Lewis Hanke on Las Casas can prove very helpfulto the teacher. This author treats the protector ofthe Indians as a struggle for justice, not only forthe Indians but man's perennial struggle for therights of man. The bibliography also includes alist of suggested readings for elementary andsecondary students as well as visual aid materials.They are of a more general nature, but do providebroad vistas of the period during which Las Casaslived.

The author is greatly indebted to the TinkerFoundation in New York for making dais teachingtool possible. Not onlY'did the Foundation providethe time to do the booklet but it also hasunderwritten the costs of publication anddistribution. The project hopefully in some sncllmeasure fulfills the aspirations of Dr. EdwardLarocque Tinker, o was ever conscious of the

&A

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need for iding briges between the peoples ofthe Latin and Anglo heritage. Further words ofgratitude are in order for Rebecca Noriega andGilbert Quezada, whose typing and researchfacilitated the completion of the pamphlec Lastbut not least special appreciation is in order for mywife, Doris, through whose patience, proofreadingand typing many of the burdens of seeing theproject to its completion were greatly relieved.

.....

Hubert J. MillerPan, American UniversityAugust, 1972

INTRODUCTIONThe western hemisphere beginning with the pre-

Columbian Indians has had and still does have itsshare of reformers. The stories surrounding the .Aztec Quetzalcoatl offer evidence of his concern forreform ajiong his people. Many other examples ofIndian reformers probably could be found if ourknowledge of pre-ColuMbian Indian civilizationswere more complete. Spokesmen for reform can befound in Mexico and the United States. In, Mexicowe need note only such names as Benito Juarpz,Emiliano Zapata and Lazar° Cardenas. TheUnited States claims its Roger Williams, WilliamLloyd Garrison, Abraham Lincoln and the

essives. Both for -Mexico and the UnitedSta the list can extend indefinitely, butwhatever e list may be, no one may dare omit thename of gar i. ome de Las Casas.

The Spanish nquest of the New Worldimmediately raised the question of the rights of theIndians. In the defense &their rights the Indianscould have had no better defender than Las Casas,whose concern for Indian rights stemmed from hisstrong convictions that all men are human beingswho as creatures of God have basic human rights.His whole life was a living example of thisconvijion and time and time again he pricked theSpanish, crown's and his countiOnen's

'consciences, who frequently, willingly orunwillingly, failed to recognize the rights of theIndians.

The defense of Indian rights raised the broaderquestion of human rights in general and the rightsof nations in international relations. One need notstretch his imagination to see the legacy of LasCasas in the United Natioris Universal Delarationof Human Rights,,; Article 'One. states that "Allhuman beings are born free and equal in dignityand rights. They are enclOwed with reason andconscience and should act towards one another in aspirit of brotherhood.- The seculaiized version ofhuman rights as stated by the United .Nations isalien to the Spanish reformer who, saw human .rights in terms of creatures Of God, but both are oncommon ground in their concern for the defense ofthe rights of all human beings.

The struggle in the . defense of Indian riglegcaused Las Casas to hurl vtrbal and writtencondemnations of Spanish cruelty and exploitation,of the Indians. As a result he has been creditedwith the originof the Black Legend, which in thewords of Charles Gibson regards the Spaniards as r'"cruel, bigoted. exploitative, and self-righteous inexcess of the reality.- SCholars have tightlyquestioned whether the writings Of Las Casas areresponsible for the origin of the Black Legend,especially when there is ample evidence thatEuropeans painted similar pictures of theSpaniards prior to the discovery of the New World.'One can be sure that the protector of the Indiansdid not intend to paint a Black Legend for Spain.Had it been his intent, we can be certain that hewould have painted it for all European powers whoconquered and denied' 14.1man rights, to theinhabitants of the New World, Las Casas was

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more than a protector of the Indians; he was acrusader for the rights of all human beings.

EARLY LIFEBiographers of Las Casas have little to go on

when they treat his early life and even about thefragmentary accounts there is considerabledisagreemetnt. His place of birth was Seville,Spain, in 1474, but writers disagreeas to his familybackground and education. Francis Mac Nuttbelieves he is the desCtendent of a French noblefamily that arrived in Andalusia, Spain, to fightthe Moslems. Henry Raup Wagner, a morereliable and recent. biographer, denies the noblelineage and claims his fat was a merchant, whoaccompanied Coluil-ibus second trip to theNew World in 149514010r biographers think thathe attended the University pf Salaminca fromwhe,re he recebYed a licentiate in law. Wagner findsno eyidefice of Las Casas' ever having attendedthis univerpity and states that much mysterysurrouncl,s the type of education the young manhad. The feat that he became an ordained priest 7indicates that he Probably 'studied philosophy andtheology.

His birthplace of. Seville and the fact that hisfather accompanied Columbus on the second tripoffered the protector of the' Indians first handcontacts with opening drama in the New World.There is some doubt as to when he made his .firsttrip to the New World but apparently heaccoffipanied the Ovando Expedition in 1502r,which Herrian Cortes had planned to make, butcould not due to an amorous mishap. The

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expedition arrived in Hispaniola on April 15 andLas Casas like many other Spaniards began his lifeon the island as an hacendado and encomendero.The former role made him a prosperous land ownerand the latter provided him with forced Indianlabor.

LIFE IN THE WEST' INDIESThe young hacendado reaped quidk profits from

his ventures, which he claimed -amounted to100,000 castellanos per. year a rather largeincome for that day and may well be exaggerated.In 1510 members of the religious' order ofDominicans arrived on the island who were to havea lasting influence on the life of the young settler.Among this number was Fray Antonio deNIontesinos, who persuaded the hacendado to seekordination to the priesthood. Las Casas wasordained in 1510 by Fray Pedro de Cordoba, theDominican superior, since there was no bishop inthe West Inches. His first task as a clergyman wasreligious instruction of the Indians.

The following year, 1511, Diego Velasquez alongwith Hernan Cortes initiated the conquest of Cuba,which because of its cruelty caused much unrestamong The Indians. Governor Velasquez called onLas Casas to paCify and Christianize the Indians.The young clergyman proved to be very effective,and in the process he gave early signs of being afriend and Rroteeror of the oppressed Indians. Asan award for his services the governor offered himan encomienda in Cuba. The cruelties of theconquest and the forced labor of the Indians underthe encomienda caused the young priest to have

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serious doubts about ate Spanish conquests in theWest India s. The frequent preaching of theDominican Fray Antonio de Montesinos in Santo r.

Domingo on 'the ..$panish abuses .against theIndians further 'pricked the conscience of La

.Casas. The Dominican friar even threatened torefuse the adMinistratOn of the sacraments tothose Spaniards whofailed to mend their ways.The Spanish colOnists itiunediaterytOok their casebefore the crown in tie, hope of stopping thethreats of the friar. Fray Montesinos lost no timein bringing his side of the stOry to King Ferdinand,who immediately charged' a committee toinvestigate the conduCt of his subjects in the newlyclaimed islands. The committee'srecommendations called for the recrognition of theIndians as free subjects of Spain and 'theirinstruction in Christianity. The committeefavored forced labor of the Indians but this mustnot be excessive nor interfere with the 'conversionof the Indians. At all times the committee insistedtit-at the Indians should .retain their homes,cultivate'their lands and receive Wages in clothingand furnishings rather than in money. Therecommendations became the basis for the Laws ofBurgos issued on December 27, 1512, 'which wasthe first official recognition of Indian rights and a,Weak attempt to check the Spanish wrongs againstthe 'Indians.

Undoubtedly these events influenced Las Casas.One can also speculate about the influence ofRenaissance humanism in his early. education,which stressed the value of a human being. Thisthinking certaiAly was present lafer, when he wrote

it

in glowing terms on .the natural goodness of theIndians, who, he claimed, in spite of theirpaganism were more virtuous than the Spaniards.Within three years after Tray Montesinos beganhis crusade, Las Casas started his work to end thecruelties- that the Spaniards committed in theirwars against rebellious Indians. During this earlyperiod the young priest was less concerned aboutthe use of Indian servitude; in fact, he himself wasstill an hacendado whc employed Indian forcedlabor. As an encomendero he realized more andmore that the preachings of Fray Montesinos werealso directed at him. Furthermore he found itdifficult to reconcile his defense of Indian rightswith his position of holding Indians in forcedservitude. A. complete ch"ange of heart was notlong in coming. Pedro de Renteriaiiiis businesspartner, had a similar change of heart and bothdecided to sell all their holdings, and invest theincome in furthering the cause of the Indians. Tomany of the Spaniards the conversion must havecome like a bomb, especially when in hismemorable sermon delivered on August 15, 1514,the young clergyman publicly confessed hisshortcomings and condemned the abuses againstthe natives. This was only the beginning since inSeptember -oftthe following year he along withanotthr Dgminican friar journeyed to Spain to laythe Indian problem before the Spanish court. Thenew crusader, like Fray Montesinos, realized thatthe'fight for,IndInn rights must begin at the court

;before it can have any effect in the New World.

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LAS CASAS INITIATES HIS CRUSADE--Las CasaS winFray Montesinos returned to

Spain in September of 1515. Through the aid ofFray Diego de Deia, a Dominican and archbishopof Seville, he was able to obtain'an audience withKing Ferdinand. Prior to his meeting with theking scheduled for the Christmas period in 1515,the protector of the Indians realized that he herdtwo very powerful enemies at the royal court.,"namely, Lupe Conchillas, the' Court, secretary, andBishop Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca of Burgos.'The latter, the trustee of a large:ent'orixi* erida, in theWeSt Indies, served as president oy the Council ofthe Indies, which was in charge7of advising thecrown on New World afftlir. The king was verymuch , moved by the expose of La's Casasconcerning the Spanish cruelties against theIndians and promised the clergymen.. anothermeeting at Easter time to discuss the matterfurther. The delay provided ample time forGovernor Velasquez and the Spanish colonists to'present their side of the story' to the bishop ofBurgos. Having failed to convince the prelateabout the plight of the Indians, -Ills Cassattempted to advance the date of the visit with thecrown, but the deatti of Kibg Ferdinand onJanuary 23, 151.6-,halted the effort.

Vortu na tely for ate p ries;earr clinalFranciscoJimenez de Cisneros served as the regent and wassympathetic to the cause of the Indians./ After aseries of meetings, the 'cardinal urged Eas Casas,-Dr.Palacios Rubios, a counselor in the court ofFerdinand and Isabella, and Fray Montesinos todraft protective regulations for the Indians. The

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recommendations of thefor unconditional libsuppress' of forced

ma z shave no need tocardinal entrusthe recommwho appasteppinimmS

c ttee of three calledty for the Indians,

dian labor and assistanceWorld so that they would

-forced labor. Theof implementation- of

o a group, of Jeronymitesntly did; not realize that they were

into a hornet's nest. The clergymen wereately confrOnted 44th' the. wrath of the

lush, colonizers, 6 argued that the natives'ere lazy and enslav merit was the best solution.

Thv conflicting inform caused theJeronymitecommission ,to waver p ..ring fbr theirassigned dutiep but the cardinal engtfiened theirhand by ordering members tA Couneil.of theIndies and :111 Spanish° ials in the West Indiesto surrender imi ely thgir encotrircla , andenslaved Indians. tthe Jeron es thatthey were to go to the New World not as'governbrs'but ag^ overseers to 'enforce the orecorrupeAdedprot'ectiye regdiations. At the same time he'appOirited Las Ca,sas to serve as counepar to thereligious and keels the crown informed op the`conditioils of the Indians. ItAvas_at this time thatthe clergymari received his 'cherished title ofProtector-General of the Indians. To maintaintheir nonpartisan rnissin the Jerbnymites insisted

at their ,ttip,to the West Indies in November of1516 )e hout the .'company of the'controversial priest whom. r ed to go inanother ship.

,, Las Casas irl his crusading zeal tendOverlook the 'difficulties of the thissittn, whi

ort tothe t

datio

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frequently ran counter to the Spanish settlers' andcrown's economic interests. Added to this was theproblem of distance and slowness ofcommunication whereby the king's bestintentioned decrees for the welfare of the Indians/received lip service in enforcement. His chidconcern during the early phase of the mission has

theiear that the Jeronymites might be swaye byhis opponents, among whom they had relatives. Inspite of the misgivings, Las Casas 'saw the ventureas part of his broader and more complexcommunity scheme, which could provide adequateprotection of Indians' rights and royal revenue.The Protector-General was enough of a politicaland economic realist to know that pro ton ofIndians without compensation for th royaltreasury was not going to reciv a vorablehearing in royal circles. The teheme is mportantsince it will reappear in modified versions in hissubsequent plans_ for the protection orin-clians nthe mainland.

For Las Casas there can be no justice for tieIndians as lo as there was an encomienda. Thus

tan community scheme was a substitute----,the encomienda. It called for regimented town

lif for the Indians which would proyide forco on and private Indian land holdings. ThelocaOn of tile:Indian villages or towns were to benear Sanish;towns. The proximity, Las Casasthought, could prove beneficial to Indians andSpaniards alike. The Spaniards could invest in thedevelotsmenixof Indian towns and thereby reap aprofit. According to the scheme the Indians wereto have suitable farming and grazing lands and be

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supplied with lives cock and farming tools.Spanishofficials and Artisaps, who would be drawnfrOm Spanish peasapts subsidized by the crown,wo serve as instructors in agricUlture, raising ofce and crafts. Missionaries Would provide thenecessary religious instruction. Over each townthere was to . be a mayordomo or qverseer. LasCasas also planned for the construction ofhospitals in the community. He-did allow_ for theuse of therepartirniento that is forced labor forthe mines. He insisted that the forced labordemands be levied on Indian communities as awhole rather than designating individual Indiansto work in the mines. Therefore the burden of minework hopefully would not always fall on the sameIndians since different Indians could work in themines as long as they fulfilled the desired quota.Work in the mines and fields was carefullyregulated regarding kind "of work, number ofhours, distance from home and vacations. LasCasas envisioned a worker's paradise that wouldbe revenue producing for the crown and Spaniards.

The author of the scheme/howed a willingness,to compromise by temporarily permittingencomenderoN to retain. four Indian 'workers and ifthem/um:rider° is very good, he would be allowedsix Indian workers. Las Casas' ideal was always afree Indian and therefore he insisted that theIndians assigned for work on the encomiendasshould be granted their freedom if they prove thatthey can adequately care for themselves and paythe royal tribute. It was at this time that theclergyman recommended that the loss of Indianlabor could be replaced by the introduction of

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Negro slavery. In making the recommendation, hethought of bringing Negro slaves from 'Spain, notAfrica, to the West Indies, Later when h& saw theevils of .importation of African slaves, he regrettedmaking the suggestion and condemned theirenslavement., Vle support of Negro slavery hasled some writers to concllide that Las Casas wasresponsible for the introduction of black slaveryinto the New World..., African slavery had alreadybeen introduced in the West., Indies prior to thepriest's recommendation. Furthermore the use ofblack slaves was not an essential part of hiscommunity scheme. For the present his mainconcern was with the success of the Jeronymitemission, which could be the first step in blindingIndian communities and thereby eventually freethe native people from forced labor obligations tothe Spaniards,,

The Jeronymites arrived in December of 1516,shortly before Las Casas' arrival, whose duty itwas to serve as an informer to the crown on themission. Some of the instructions for carrying out

' the mission appear to be the work of Las Casas butthere were ether instructions that obviously didnot meet the approval of Las Casas. TheJeronymites were to terminate_immedlittely allencomiendas held by Spanish officials and assurethe Indians that the abuses against them \wouldend. They were to encourage the Indians'to Iri-ve incommunities and observe if the Indians could livsby themselves and govern themselves. Acco dingto the instructions, each Irrlian village was to avea church, plaza, streets,' houses and hospi s.Each resident- °Me-Village was to be given a, lot

of ground to raise food and the remainder of theland should serve as common farming and grazingland. It was expected that each Indian settlementwould contain about three hundred families,preferably located near gold mines. Over eachvillage there would be an Indian cacique and friarwho was in charge of collecting church taxes andproviding religious services. The Spinish settlerswere encouraged td marry the daughters of thecaciques so that integration into the Spanish way_of life could be better achieved. A Spanish officialwas to be in charge of several Indian villages andcharged with the duties of keeping records, andseeing that the Indians slept in b&ds, had only onewife, did not eat on the ground, tooksare of theirtools and property and did not engage ingambling. The instructions also called for aspecific number of Indians assigned to work in themines under an Indian foreman. They were towork no longer than two' months and then bereplaced by another group of Indians. Hopefullythe mines would provide revenue for the Indiancommunity which could be used for compensating,the Spaniards, who lost their lands' to the Indiancommunities and also to purchase livestock.Furthermore one-third of the mine revenue wouldgo to, the crown, The remainder of the revenuewould go to each 'Indian household, the caciqueand mine foreman, the latter two officials receivingthe greater portion. The compensation for thedispossessed Spaniards did not,meet thk approvalof Las Casas, who consid red the Indians therightful owners to begin wi h. Neither did heapprove of the continuous work in the mines, even

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though this Nvild be don by means of differentwork shifts. His main corn nt was that theinstruittisis failed to make the removal of Indiansto the v illages compulsory. The royal orderspermit the continuation of the encomienda ifthe encore nderos adhered to the Laicrs of Butos

4hat were issued in 1512 to 1513 /to protect theIndians. Las Casas wa onvinced that the lawswereinadequate safegu r and merely' Providedan openin for the enco, nderos to continueexploiting th native labor fo ce.

In implements g the instructio. , the friars wereasked to make careful observations the Indians'capacity, to live by themselves, their a t to beself-supporting and their spending of .neygained from their work. In short, how close canthe Indians approiimate the Spanish, way of life?The initial phase of the mission caused immediatedoubts in the mind of the protector of the Indians,especianylien the friars moved slowly in carrying'but the instructions. The friars did terminate theencol-pienda holdings of the absenteeencorm. deros and Spanish officials but did not,fieed ..;,,,vishes of Las Casas to abolish otherencd n short the cautious work of theJero s was not in k with the fieryspirit of the Crusader. e feared thal the friarswere cap in= to the Spanish interests in theislands. P:. ticu :s ly disturbing to him were thedegrading re. is that the friars were makingconcerning the Indians' capacity to live bythemselves. Such findings could tpd did serve as ajustification of the Spaniards' con tion that thenative inhabitants were ill prepard to support

,r

themselves. In essence this meant the Indianswere better off doing forced labor for their SpaniShmasters. As was the case on his first, stay in theislands, he realized that he must again return toSpain, to counteract the potential ill effects of theJeronymite reports on the Spanish crown. In hisofficial capacity* Protector of the Indians andinformer on Indian affairs he returned to Spain inMay of 1517 Co report to the crown what heconsidered the shortcomings of the Jeronymitemission.

Although the Jeronymite mission fell far shortof its goal in providing for free Indiancommunities, it did succeed in effecting a numberof reforms,. The friars did remove absenteeencomenderos and terminated encomiendas heldby Spanish officials, incketng the encomienclas ofthe bishop of Burgos. The religious did conduct aninvestigation of the Indians' capacity to liveindependently. Since much of the information inthis matter. came from encomenderos, it is not.,surprising to find that the consensus was that the"'Indians left to themselves refused to work. The

friars 'questioned this finding by' noting that theIndian certainly had a willingness to work and acapacity for living independently prior to thearrival of the Spaniards. The hostile consensustowards the Indians must have citutioned thefria'rs to move slowly lit carrying out their mission.The hall dieamed about town experiment nevergot off the ground, t ut the frequent compromisesthat the religious made with the Spanish settlerscould well have caused its deathknell. Finally thefriarS arrived too late on the scene to save the

14

!t)4.)

Indians who had already suffered the full impact ofa conquest. It was a case of too little and too late;a feeling the friars apparently carried with therri ontheir return to Spain in 1520.

Las Casas made one final effort to save theIndians in the West Indies. Unfortunately thedeath of Cardinal Jimenez de Cisnerbs deprivedhim of a powerful, ally at the court, but theprotector of the Indians always succeeded infinding others,who could help him plead his cause.This time it was the Chancellor Jean de Sauvage, apowerful figure in the court of Charles I, who at avery young age took over the reins of goyernmenton the death of King Ferdinand. It Was to thechancellor that he brought his version of the,community scheme, which called for thesettlement of Indians in towns and the terminationof encdmiendas. The plan sought to make theIndians free and revenue producing for the crown.Part of the plan called for the settling of Spanishpeasants alongside the Indians. TO*4ake the,"venture attr ctive to the Spanish peasants heurged the cro grant them land, tools,livestock in order to give hem astart. The crownofficially approved the plan on September 10, 1518.The scheme immediately encountered opkoSitionfrom Spanish landholders in Spain, who feared theloss of their peasant workers. Further sad newawaited him when he discovered that theJeronymites had sold some of the royal estates inthe West Indies whiCh he had hoped to utilize infinancing the venture. The crowning blow to thescheme came with the word that another smallpoxepidemic had caused havoc among the Indians.

R

. -

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DIOCESE OF BISHOP LAS CASAS

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I

The news Caused him to abandon the plan'in 1519and focus hi2s, attention on the New Worldmainland'where discoveries were bringing to light.other Itidian civilizations. Las Casas wascominCeil that the cruelties and exploitation of theIndidns ;perpetrated by the Spaniards in theislanas must not be repeated on the thainland. Thenewly discovered land of Venezuela opened a newfield for hid caiise.

THE VENEZUELA EXPERIMENTThe idea'of bringing Spanish farmers to the New

World to live side by side with the Indians andthereby provide Spanish living models for theIndians was not new. Co mbus envisioned suchan undertaking, but his r nue which included ex-soldiers, seedy noble n, adventurers andsometimes convicts did not provide for idealmodels. Las Csas on the other hand desired amore careful screening of Spanish settlers for hismodels. He envisioned a group of men, whom hedesignated as the Knights of the Golden Spur, tobe dedicated to the cause of the Indians. Not onlydid he intend this to be a rOgious cause, namelythe conversion of the Indians, but he also hoped tomake it financially rewarding to the Spanishsettlers, the Indians and the crown. At the sametime he desired to demonstrate that successful

'colonization and conversion of the Indians can ,be.had without the use of the encbmiencla The placehe selected for,.the experiment was the Cumailaarea iii Venezuela, west of he mot.ith, of the

' Orinoco River. .. '

Cumana wk's a favorite `place for pearl fishing*0

e

and a raiding pl. or Indian slaves-by Spaniardsfrom the is s. Their activities caused much

,,`'''''."4,, chaos .i, e area and made the Indians very-"tostile. Las Casas hoped to secure a land grantfrom the crown in the area and thereby end theraids. More specifically his plan called for theestablishment of true Christian towns consisting

-,of approximately forty to fifty settlers eachi-ertiit,,ed from Spain. The settlers, knowri as theKnights'Zik, e Golden Spur, were to receive taxexemptions an pession to barter for pearls.Out of the revenue ?Pani..,the sale of pearls they

10were required to give t traditional one-fifth to. the crown. At the same ti ethey were given landgrants in order to develop agriculture andlivestock. With the towns as models of Chrigtianliving Las Casas hoped to attract the Indians to asettled way of life -and seek their .peacefulconversion to Christianity: The Franciscans andDominicans were in charge of converting theIndians. His idealism led him to believe thatwithin two years he could have 10,000 loyal Indiansubjects, who could provide tribute to the crown.The revenue for the crown could then be used forthe construction of hospitals in the area, buildingfortresses to defend the inhabitants of Cumana

... and thereby , write off the costs involved ininitiating the colonization project. To further

nce the profit, possibilities of the venture, Las--"CaTas illbwed f $ 'ni ships te)trade in the

area provided did not maltreat theIndians: The scheme shows that the clergymanwas not adverse to combining religion and profitand he was 'Ping to compromise in order to

1

obtain the necessary royal support. With the aidof friends at court he received official approval ofthe scheme on May 19, 1520.

The plan carried with it a number of impracticalproposals, which the idealist crusader. tended tooverlook. 'irst the prospect of recruiting Spanishsettlers who were expected to 'undergo hardshipsand hard work for three years without pay did notmake for an easy recruiting task. Secondly, thestrong commercial nature of the plan ran counterto the priest's ideals, which placed the welfare ofthe Indians and their peaceful conversion aboveprofit considerations. Thirdly, the building offortresses conflicted with aims of peacefulconversion. Finally, permitting Spanish ships totrade in the area was bound to spell trouble for theIndian communities.

Royal approval for the expe4ent was onething; implementation was a far different story.He did succeed in recruiting members for hisKnights of the Golden Spur, with whom he set sailfor the island of Puerto Rico in the middle ofDecember,of 1520. On his arrival on the island hereceived the sad news of an Indian uprising inCumana caused by, a Spanish slave raid.Complicating matters, further Spanish officialswere in the process of preparing 'a punitiveexpedition to the area, which the pleadings of LasCasas could not prevent. Despite the fact that thecrown had granted him legal authority over thearea, the crown's enforcement authority was veryweak in the New World. Realizing this theclergyman agreed to cooperate in the; punitiveventure on the condition that he had the right to

19

determine which Indians were cannibals andunwilling to accept Christianity and thereby beenslaved as.punishment for their rebellion. In afinal desperate effort to 41vage his plan he tried toregroup his Knights of the Golden Spur for the tripto Venezuela. This proved next to impossible sincemany had scattered throughout the island. Theexpedition finally arrived in Cumana in August of1521, but Las Casas found few Indians since manyhad fled to the interior. With few resources andscattered and rebellious Indians the colonizationexperiment had little chance of success.Furthermore, a number of his recently recruitedcolonists in Puerto Rico were not asr. ideallymotivated as the ones he had originally recruitedin Spain where he was more rigid in his screening,process. Finally the continued Spanish slave raidskept the native population in turmoil, whichresulted in more Indian uprisings and even thekilling of some of the missionaries after Las Casashad returned to the island of Hispaniola to seek anend to the slave raids. When word -of thedestruction reached Las Casas he ed that hisnoble 'experiment had prematurely so:led. Thetragedy caused him to reflect serious on thereasons for the failure, which he consider- bethe fact that the entire venture rested too muc oprofit motivation, rather than a religious one.. Thetragedy had another result: it prepared the way forhis entry into the Dominican Order.

20r.1

4

LAS CASAS EN TAS, THE DOMINICANORDER n .

. The' pries into the Dominican Order in15.3 initiated a period of retirement that confirmed.

i531. His reasons for entering, the 'ordeiwereigreatly influenced by the . porninidari Fray ,

Domingo, de Botanzos, who Pointed out to LasCasas that .shonld he die, the Dominieari Order willcontinue hiecruiade in the defense of.the Indians.During the period of seclntion from 1523-1h31 thenew Domirlicgn monk continued his mission ofdefending the. Indians by beginning hit writing ofthe General History of the Indies and theApokletic History, both, of which spoke stronglyin defense of the Indians and the dire corisequencesthat will befall the Spanish nation if it does notmend its ways in the treatinent of the Indians.

In 1531 the protector of the Indians broke hissilence with a long ,memorial in defense of theIndians. The,memorial was a reiteration of his oldCumana' experiment with some significantmodifications, such as insisting that the tideauthority over similar future coloniiation projectsshould rest in the hands bf bishops, not Spanishofficials. He still favored the idea of introducthgNegro' slaves to save the Indians.

At approximitely the same time he issued hismemorial, he left Santo Domingo on the island of*Hispaniola to go to Cuba on a pacification mission,Enriquillo, an Indian cacique, had led a series ofrebellions against the Spanish authorities forinjuries that had been inflicted pn his people. LasCasas succeeded in halting Enriquillo and his rebel

.\21 "

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THE INDIES AT THE TIME OF BISHO On.AS CASAS

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THE INDIES AT THE TIME OF BISHOP LA'S CASAS

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activities and improving the relations between theIndians and Spanids.

In 1532 word arred in Ciiba of the cori6est ofPeru by Francisco Pizarro. While the reportscarried stories of unlimited wealth, for Las Casas itwas another page in the,senseless exploitation ofIndians. Immediately he planned to make a trip toPeru to defend the native people against theconquistadores. Contrary to the contention ofsome of the earlier writers on Las Cases, Wagnernotes that the trip to Peru in 1535' nevermaterialized. Apparently a shipwreck intervenedand the trip terminated in Nicaragua, where heimmediately came in conflict with GovernorRodrigo de Contreras, who was heading anexpedition against the Indians in the interior of thecountry. The hostility of the governor was insharp contrast to the events in Guatemala, whereBishop Francisco de Marroquin in response to theking's plea for the conversion of the Indians was insearch of missionaries to carry out the task. Theinvitation to Las Casas meewith ready acceptancesince he saw a favorable climate in that Both thebishop and the acting goveLor of Guatemala,Alonso .de Maldonado, were willing to back ,themission. Thus in 1'536 he was once more in aposition to carry. out. a mission that had met atragic end in Cumanit.

'----,, THE GUATEMALAN EXPERIMENT--1 the north central part of present dayGuatem is an area known as Baja Vera Paz andAlta Vera8,, which during the early colonialperiod was described as the "Land of War" by the

.,

Spaniards. The inhabitants of the area aredescendents of the Mayas who fiercely resistedSpanish penetrations into their territory. It wasinto this area that"Bishop Marroquin was invitingLas Casas and his DominiCan co-worlsers toconduct their pacification and Christianizationmission. ."

In accepting the challenge Las Casas stipulateda number of, conditions which he consideredindispensible in carrying mete work. First thereWere to b no encomiendds in ths area. Secondlyhe and the Dominicans were to be in completecharge of the project ,and no Spaniard would beallowed in the area for a period of five years. Morespecific aspects of the plan called for convertedrndian merchants first to go into the area to selltheir wares and by means of verses and song tobring the message of Christianity to the Mayas.Hopefully this would stimulate curiosity amongthe Indians who would want to know more aboutChristianity and extend an invitation to Las Casasand his fellow religious to enter the territory.

The project was officially initiated in May of1537. The Indian merchants proved very effectivein paving the way for the anticipated invitations tothe Dominican missionaries. The realbreakthrough came with the conversion of the

. Mayan cacique, Don Juan, anti e settlement ofhis Indians in the town of Rabin

tin present day

department of Baja Vera Paz. The initial successprompted Las Casas to bring Don Juan to

p Guatemala City as evidence of peacefulconversion. Bishop Marroquin, being impressedwith the success of the project .and seeing an

25

10:39

a

\

opportunity to expand the pacification work,urged Las Casas and some of his co-workers to goto Spain to recruit additional missionaries. Thecrusader and' his companions started their trip toSpain in 1538 first by going to Mexico City toattend a Dominican provincial, chapter meeting,where they remained until 1540. It was-here thathe wrote his treatise entitled Method of AttractingAll People to the True Faith, wherein he advocatedpeaceful conversion of the Indians and used hisGuatemalan experience as prime evidence. He alsocondemned the Franciscan practice in Mexico ofmass baptism of Indians who were not properlyinstructed4n their new faith. The attack on massbaptisms continued after his'arrival in Spain in thesummer of 1540. In Spain he had ehe good fortuneof having leading theologians, such as FranciscoVitoria, support him in condemning wholesalebaptisms. ..

The return to Spain placed him in familiarsurroundings; where he achieved some of hisoriginal successes in defense of Indian rights.Although his intent was to recruit Franciscan andDominican missionaries for the Guatemalan"Land of War," which he now designated as the"Land of Peace," he quickly realized that theIndian cause was in serious jeopardy. Charles I asHoly Roman Emperor was deeply involved in, European affairs and frecinintly absent fromSpain. At the same time the powerful voices of theNew World Spaniards were making their influencefelt in court circles. For Las Casas the recruitingof missionaries nay took second place since thecrown needed to be converted to the defense of the

ft

1

interests of his Indian subjects. The crusader wasagain in his familiar role of the champion for theIndian cause before the Spanish throne.- '

LAS CASAS' AND THE NEW LAWS OF 1542In the role of the defender of die Indians before

the crown in 1540 Las Casas enjoyed a number of --advantages that he did -not have in his previousappearances before the court. Most significantlyhe had more experience in the,dealing with Indiansand could point to his initial success- in theGuatemalan experiment. Ris long time opponent,the bishop of Burgos, Was dead. Pope, Paul III in1537 had issued his condemnation of Indianslavery and insistence on peaceful conversion ofthe Indians. Along with L%s Casas other voices ofprotest co4emned the Spaniards' maltreatment'ofthe Indians, such as the Franciscan Friar Toribjode Beriavente Motolinia in Mexico; the Spanishofficial Alonso de Zurita in the province ofPopayan in the Kingdom of Lima; and Pedro de ,

: conquest of Peru. Las Casas coul$1,6I So point toNCieza

de Le6nP

a historian whoParticipated

in the

numerous royal decrees denouncing .mistreatmentof the Indians. But he was quick to point. out thatthe decrees were not adequately enforced in theNew World. For the defender of the Indians thecrown must adopt more drastic measures if theIndians are _W._enjoy their full rights as free sub-jects in the Spanish empire.

The crusade in the defense of the Indiansbetween 1540'to 1542 resulted in a conference withcrown officials where Las Casas went into greatdetails on abuses against the Indians., The

27:114,11

Q*

accusations listed dates, places and names of thoseNf%responsible ,r the injustices. Among the names

listed were sU prominent figures as GovernorPedr-arias in ama; Hernan Cortes, . firstgovernor of Mexico; Nu/10 de Guzman, presidentof the uudiehcia in Mexico City; Pedro Alvarado,conquistador in Guatemala; and Fitisco deMontejo, conquistador in .Yucatan. The oralaccusation became the basis for his polemical,Very Brief Account of the Destruction of theIn , published in 1552. The published work didnot irk ude the names of those responsible, but itdoes I no_ require much of an imagination toidentify the culprits. The intent of the Work waspropaganda with the hope of pressuring the kingto halt the abuses against the Indians.; especiallythe exploitive encomienda system. / The by-product, as some historians feel, was the creationof a Black Legend, whiCh became.a convenient tool ,

in the hands of Spain's rival poweis to condemnSpanish atrocities in the New World and justifytheir own scolonial ventures, especially in areas

.

already claired b3;' Spain. -Las Caps had he beenaware of the Black Legend, wouldsRrobably haveanswered that hiS humanitarian cc:11'wpm for theIndians comes first., regardless of what the enemiesof Spain may do with his writings.

It was obvious to the enemies of Las Casas thathis admonitions regarding the rights of ,theIndians were incorporated into the new laws of1542. The laws called for the,-'prohibition of allIndian slavery and if a slave holder still claimedthe right to hold Indian slaves, he must produce alegitimate title. No lodger were Indians to be used

28

as burden carriers or do fishing against theirwill. The most radical pro ion of the lawsconcerned,. he gradual, to tion of theencomiendas, which required the Indians to workfor the Spaniards. All Spaniards who had 'nolegitimate titles to encomiendas, such as politicaland ecclesiastical officials, were to lose theirencomienda holdings immediately. Furthermore

v no new encomienda would be granted and all, existing ones were to be returned to the crown on

the death of the present holder. Finally all. . surviving Indians in Hispaniola, Cuba" and Puerto

'owere exempt from all tribute and royal andpersonal services so that they could rest andmultiply.

Las Casas was too impatienft and idealistic to seethe New Laws as8the ultimate triumph. Previousexperience had shown that the best intentions ofthe crown could easily come to nought when itcam to implementation in the New World. Addedto this misgiving was the fact that the New Dewstherhselves did not meet all the expectations of thecrusader. First of all they still permitted thetemporary existence of certain encomiendas .-Neither did the laws end conquests, which LasCasas wanted ,replaced by, the use of hiscommunity scheme that would employ Spanishlaborers as colonizers. For instance, he opposedthe conquest expedition in 1540 of Coronado intothe present day United States Southwest. At thesame time Antonio de Mendoza, viceroy of New

pain, waged the Mixton War against therebellious Indians in New Galicia of westernMexico. Las Casas condemned the cruelties of the

29 '().()I.d

Spaniards and enslavement of the Indians in thiswar. Apparently he already had sufficient reportsof these two events to use in his oral argumentsbefore crown officials. The king obviously was not

'trilling to`move in such radical directions. After allto deprive Spanish settlers of their property ivouldmean the loss of royal revenue and subjects, who infinal analysis were essential rin retaining theoverseas territories. Despite th' shortcomings inmeeting the clergymanIS expectations, theprotector of the Indians could still claim avictory in fact a victory that surpassedprevious actions of the crown in 'behalf of theIndians. The true meaning of the victory still hadto undergo the test of enforcement and Las Casaswas not one to remain in Spain and hope that thecrown's overseas officials would carry out the fullintent of the New Laws of 1542.

LAS CAS'13"ECOMES BISHOPbF CHIAPASCardinal Garcia de Loaysa, who had occupied

the bishoprieof Seville and served in the Council ofthe Indies, with the approval of members of thecouncil nominated Las Casas as bishop of theprosperous diocese of Cuzco in Peru. TheDominican friar argued against the nomination,claiming that he desired no reward for his work indefehse of the Indians. The nomination waswithdrawn but only to be replaced with anotherone to the recently created and poor diocese ofChiapas, which was located directly north-of themeLand of True Peace and part of the. Kingdoin ofGuatemala. Today the area roughly forms theMexican state of Chiapas. After much urging from

30loa

ie

his Dominican co-workers that as a bishop he couldbe more effective in his defense of the Indians, heagreed to have his nomination submitted to thepope for approval. There is some speculation thatthe nomination was offered ta him with the hopethat he would be tied to a diocese and therefore nolonger a thorn in the side of the Spaniards, whowanted a freer hand in dealing with the Indianproblems. If such was the intent, Las Casas,quickly proved his adversaries wrong. No soonerwas he consecrated bishop in Seville on March 30,1544 at the age of seventy when he immediately setout to make plans for the peaceful conversion ofthe Indians in Chiapas. He insisted that allIndians must be directly under the crown, thusremoving the possibility of the use of theeizcornienda. Furthermore all Indians were exemptfroin royal tribute for a period of four yearS7. Hisconcern was not only for the Indians in his diocesebut, also for some Indians in Spain who were stillbeing held as slaves. In his'Treatise About theIndians Who Have Been Made Slaves, written att.his time and published in 1552, he insisted that allenslaved Indians mist be, set free, even if theywere obtained from other Indians as slaves. In thedefense of Indian rights Las Casas was n'bt adverseto the aid of secular powers as long as he was incontrol.

The new bishop began his return trip to hisdiocesan seat of Cuidad Real in Chiapas in July of1544. News of the New Laws had already precededhim and since the Spanish colonials sAW his handin the ordinances, his arrival in Santo Domingo,Hispaniola, was anything but, welcome. The

colonials denounced him as being ignorant of 'theNew World problems, self-seeking and intent upontbeir destruction. Spanish settlers in Nicaraguaclaimed qncomiendas as rewards for their servicesto the crown, but their rewards, they complained,could no longer be passed on to their heirs, whoconsequently would be left in poverty. FromMexico came word that the Viceroy Antonio deMendoza moderated the enforcement of the lawsby suspending the provisions on the inheritance ofencomiendas . The viceroy feared an exo4us ofSpanish settlers if the laws were immediatelyapplied with full vigor. The reports from Peruwere the same where, a civil war resulted from theattempted enforcement of the laws. The scornagainst the new bishop was so great that when, hearrived in Merida, Yucatan, Which was pait of hisdiocese, the Spanish authorities refused torecognize him as "their bishop. The situation wasalso tense in the town of Chiapa where he arrivedin March of %1545. Here the encomenderos andslaveholders faced serious losses with theenforcement of the laws, especially since the areawas notorious for the enslavement of Indians.

In light of the explosive situation Las CasasdeCided to be tactful in assuming his episcopalduties in Ciudad Real in Chiapas. Rather thangive his customarrfierys6rmons, he counseled theSpaniards in private conversations concerningtheir violation of the New Laws. The situationbecome more precarious when he discovered thatthree of the fiVe priests he had in his diocese wereleading scandalous lives and involved in activitiescondemned by the New Laws. It was a case of

32!).Th

reforming clergymen before reforming laymen.The tactful approach ended abruptly when \theIndians, who saw the bishop as their protector,came to him to report their woes. At Easter timein 1545 he ordered all his priests to refuse theadministration of the sacraments to all Spaniardsnot in compliance with the New Laws. Some of theMercedarian missionaries objected to the harshconduct of the bishop, who replied with a decree ofexcommunication against the Mercedariansuperior. The Spaniards tried to-force Las Casasto retreat by witholding financial support. Thecontroversy. climaxed with a riot during HolyWeek, which threatened the prelate's life. Theseriousness of the situation caused himtemporarily to leave Ciudad Real and take. tfp hisresidence in the neatby town of Chiapa, where hewas favorably received.

Shortly after these tense moments Las Casas in1545 decidedto visit the neighboring Land of TruePeace to review the project he had initiated a few

years earlier. He discovered pressure from theSpaniards, who sought to establish encOmiendasand enslave Indians in the area. Las Casas hadalready obtained assurances from the crown thatnoencomienclas were'to. be granted in the area andthe Indians were not to be enslaved.

A much more serious problem was the heavytribute placed on the Indians, which was causingmuch unrest. He immetdiately appealed to theaudiencia in Guatemala City, which hadjurisdiction over the Land of True Peace, toremove the tribute. He also sought the support ok.dthe Central American bishops to support him in

33

) 1 7

his appeal. T demands he presented to theaudiencia wer, extensive and included thefollowing: reduction of tribute imposed by theaudiencia, construction of cart roads to eliminatethe use of ,Indian burden carriers, .removal of allencomendeivs from 'the area, end of all slave raids,prohibitidn of Spaniards to remain in the area morethan eight days in any given year, free exercise ofecclesiastical jurisdiction in the area and the aid ofaudiencia in punishing churchmen and laymen whodishonored his episcopal dignify. One might thinlythat the demands provided sufficient food forthought for the members of the audiencia , but LasCasas was too much of an all out crusader .to stopwith demands. He fired one last salvo by insistingthat non-compliance with his demands wouldresult in excommunication for all members of theaadiencia. The immediate reaction of theaudiencia was one of evasion. They promised torelieve the heavy tribute and look into the matterof abuses against the Indians but they denied hisright to excommunicate them. Bishop Marroquinof Guatemala and Maldonado, president of theaudiencia, wrote letters to the crown protesting theconduct of the bishop of Chiapas. BishopNlarroquin's hostile behavior regarding Las Casasmay have been due to the fact that he was notfavorable . to the new bishop's demand forecclesiastical jurisdiction over the Land of TruePeace which belonged to the diocese of Guatemala.With the support of the Dominican Bishop

Antonio de Valdivieso of Nicaragua, his friend,Las Casas immediately wrote a letter to PriNcePhilip, the regent of Spiin. He informed the young

34

V

1

ruler of Maldonado's marriage to the daughter ofFrancisco de Montejo of Yucatan and that bothhad encomienda interests at stake, which was inviolation of the law. .Furthermore, both wereengaged in the Indian slave tradeclication of,Las Casas' accusations arrived ir1547 with the(removal of Maldonado from his post by theCouncil of the Indies. The same council also freedthe enslaved Indians of both men.

The action was too late to help Las Casas andBishop Valdivieso in their struggle with theaudiencia in 1545. The unrest in Ciudad Real didnot subside during the prelate's absence. Hisreturn in late 1545 nearly resulted in another riotover his refusal to remove the threats ofexcommunication against the Spaniards. Theaccusations of the Spanish officials in Ciudad Realtook a more ominous turn when they confrontedtheir new bishop with the charge that he had failedto present his credentials when he took over theepiscopal duties in the diocese and failed to seekthe approval of the crown in refusing thesacrament of absolution to the Spaniards. Theofficials insisted that if the bishop continued in hisway, they would refuse to recognize his episcopalauth9nty and also payment of Church tithes.Their` final threat was to use force in preventing hisreturn. Las Casas managed to enter the cityunnoticed, perhaps due to the fact that there wasconsiderable turmoil from an earthquake that hadjust taken place. Word of his presence in the citymust have been felt more an the earthquake thathad just taken place. The Spanish officialdomrealized that they would have to deal with him, like

,.

35

.,

it or not. Th d ded on a more conciliatorycourse of, ion b giving the appearance thatthey were being converted to the bishop's views.The continued enslavement and terrorizing ofIndians in the area proved the insincerity of theirconversion. The bishop reacted to the conciliatoryappearance by permitting the Mercedarian priests,who'were more favorable to the Spaniards' views,to grant absolutions where they felt necessaryamends had beeniInade.

The experiences of the bishops in Ciudad Realand Guatemala Caused him to re-examine theeffectiveness of his mission in defens of Indians.It was obvious that the New L s were far fromachieving their ends and the protector of theIndians that could rhean 'only one course ofaction a return toSpain to fight for his belovedIndians.

LAS CASAS LEAVES AMERICA FOR THELAST TIME

It seemed as though hostility awaited himwherever he went, except among the Indians whorecogrAged him as their friend and protector. Hisarrival in Mexico in early 1546 to attend anepiscopal conference on his return to Spain was noexception. Hehe encomenderos had sentnumerous protests to the crown demanding arepeal of the New Laws which .they viewed aseconomic disaster. The protests from MeXicoreceived support from those of Peru, where athreatening civil war over the enforcement of theNew Laws caused Charles I to fear the loss of thatterritory. The king on November 20, 1545, did not

36

i

-----..

revoke all the New Laws, but he did abrogate thoseprovisions that caused most of the discontentnamely the provisions that -, permitted noinheritance of encomiendas upon the death of thepresent holders. The crown refused to remove theprovisions prohibiting the enslavement of theIndians. Although the New Laws did succeed inreducing the number of encomiend,as, the removalof the inheritance provisions came as a severe blowto the bishop of Chiapas.

The hostile reception of Las Casas in MexicoCity must have reminded him of his earlierreception in Yucatan and Chiapas. So hostile wasthe climate that both the viceroy, Antonio deMendoza, and the King's visitor general, FranciscoTel lo de Sandoval, urged the prelate not to enterthe city until they had calmed the discontentedSpaniards. The bishop did not help his cause whenhe issued a decree of excommunication against theviceroy and some Spanish officials, whom heclaimed had severely punished a clergyman whowas fighting for the rights of the Indians. In spiteof the unfavorable climate Las Casas did enter thecity and received an arousing reception from theIndians. After all it would have been most difficultto keep the crusading bishop away' from themeeting of Mexican and Central American bishopswhich was called at the urging of the crown todiscuss the conversion of the Indians and problemsarising from the passage of the NeW Laws.

The main item on the agenda was the printing ofa catechism for the instruction of the Indians.Apparently the bishops also discussed theConfesionario, in which Las Casas laid down rules

37

'0'01.

on not'granting sacramental absolution to thoseguilty o violating the New Laws. He insisted thata penit nt must make restitution of all propertytaken rom Indians before absolution may begrante . The same, he advocated, held true forthose guilty of holding enslaved Indians. LasCasas started with the basic assumption that theconquest and the resulting exploitation of theIndians was unjust and therefore no Spaniardcould claim any right to the Indian or his property.

The synod concluded its discussions with thefollowing recommendations: (1) all infidels enjoyfull natural rights, (2) missionaries at all timesmust seek peaceful conversion of Indians, (3) thepope can grant the right to preach the Gospel tothe Indians but he enjoys no temporal jurisdictionover them, (4) Pope Alexander VI in 1493 did notintend to deprive the Indians of the right to rulethemselves and (5) the king has the obligation toprovide for Christianization of the Indians: Afterthe synod of bishops another meeting took place irfthe convent of Santo Domingo, out of which camethe declaration calling for the freedom of allenslaved Indians. Unfortunately therecommendations and declaration lacked theweight of enforcement.

At the conclusion of the meetings Las Casas_named Canon Juan Perera as the vicar - general' toadminister the diocese of Chiapas during hisabsence. The good bishop must have realized thatbeing in the seventies his time in the New Worldwas drawing to a close. During early 1547 theprelate made preparations for his final departurefrom the New World. It was at least the

38

-7completion of his fotiith round trip to the NewWorld, if not the fifth. Some writers believe thathe made another trip that is not clearly recorded inhis writings. His many travels are truly anamazing feat'for a man of his advanced age andwho never once in his writings recorded havingsuffered ill health. He was not entering retirementbut entering the climax of his career. He arrived inhis native land when the king was calling a halt toall New World conquests and ordering a debate onthe Indian question by the leading scholars of theday. Las Casas was not aware of this momentousevent when he left Veracruz, Mexico, in 1547 butagain he was going to be at the right place at theright time.

DEBATE AT VALLADOLIDImmediately upon his arrival he obtained an

audience with Prince Philip, who was ruling in theabsence of his father, Charles I. He reported to theprince on the good work the Dominicans weredoing among the Indians. It was during theaudience that Las Casas requested that the Landof War in Guatemala now officially designatedthe Land of True Peace recognition of thesuccessful work done by t e Dominicans in thearea.

Not too surprising he announced his resignationas bishop of Chiapas a resignation that heprobably had in mind prior to his departure fromMexico. The resignation became official in 1550.

The tempest that Las Casas raised in 'Mexicowith the publication of his Conf6ionario followedhim to the mother country. The work raised a

39

number of embarrassing questions. First of all itquestioned the justice of the entire conquest.According to the bishop, Alexander VI in 1493granted to the Spanish rulers only the right ofconverting the Indians. The pope did not grantpolitical jurisdiction to the Spanish monarchs overthe Indians and the only legitimate politicalauthority that Spain can exercise over the Indiansis in those cases where the Indians have willinglyaccepted Spanish authority. The seco.pd poinrofcontention was Las Casas' admonition thatsacramental absolution not be given to Spanishsettlers who enslaved or oppressed the Indians.His enemies at the court utilized these doctrines asconvenient tools in questioning his loyalty to thecrowd.

The prelate' defended his position before theCouncil of the Indies, by submitting his ThirtyPropositions. He defended papal authority over allmen but noted that the authority over pagans wasdifferent than the pope's authority overChristians. The pope has the obligation to see thatthe Gospel is preached to all men and selectmissionaries to carry out the task. Furthermorethe pope can seek the aid of secular authorities,especially financial support, in the Christianizationof pagan peoples and therefore can assign toindividual Christian political rulers areas foreffecting Christian conversions, but never in thesense of increasing the territorial domain of anempire. Las Casas granted that Christian rulersmay derive profits from these ventures, but thismust always be subordinate to the goal ofconversion.

40

He entered more dangerous grounds in hisThirty Propositions when he treated the matter ofpolitical jurisdiction over e Indians. He insistedthat Indian rulers en} sovereignty over theirareas, even though the may practice idolatry andlive in sin. For La Casas, man enjoys basicnatural rights of so ereignty regardless of his'state of life or r ligious profession. The-implications of this po ition jeopardized the claimsof Spain to the New World and may well be thatfor this 'reason Las Casas appeared to retreat in vasome of the later propositions. For instance, henoted that the New World was discovered underthe pontificate of Alexander VI who desigmatedcertain Christian princes to pron-6te thepropagation of the Faith. Since Ferdinand andIsabella had supported Columbus and since theyhad crusaded against the Moslems in Spain, theycould lay special claim to the privilege oc,furthering and protecting the Christian mission in

rttr New World. The pope retained the authorityrevoke the privilege for just reason or to transfer

.it to another ruler if he-felt that it will further thecause of Christianity. Once the native rulersvoluntprily accept( Christianity, they become

and as Christians to, acknowledge Spanishsovereignty. In spite of this concession Las Casaswarned Christian monarchs not tO imitate theMoslems and the Tur14, who spread their beliefsby the sword. He found it only natural that theIndians should defend their lands from invasionand thereby resist Christiaiiiization efforts. Hepointed to the fact that the Spanish monarchs

4 have from the very beginning opposed wars of

...,-,'"

conquest and acts of cruelty. Rather it was theduty of the sovereigns of Spain to retain all goodIndian laws and customs and seek the abolition ofthe bad ones only through persuasion and thepreaching of the Gospel. This obviously had notalways been the case since, as Las Casas remarked,the devil himself could not have surpassed theharm that many Spaniards inflicted on theIndians. Here he specifically, cited theenslavement of the Indians and the use of forcedlabor under the repartimiento and encomienda,which he argued was contrary to the royalcommands of Queen Isabella. He attempted tocalm his sovereign's conscience by observing thatthe king was left inignorance of the true conditionof the Indians following the conquest.Furthermore the long absences of the monarchfrom Spain made it even mx difficult to becometruly informed about the Indian situation.

The bishop concluded the proposition by statingthat all conquests, acquisitions of territory,invasions and usurpations, whether by -crownofficials or by colonists are illegal. Much of LasCasas' thinking in the propositions wasrepresentative of medieval political doctrines,especially the pope's pierogative in designatinglands for Christianization and concluding thatnewly Christianized people must acknowledge, thesovereignty of Christian rulers.. The protector ofthe Indians saw littleproblem here since peacefullyconverted Indians would lead to voluntaryrecognition of Spanish sovereignty. Undoubtedlyhe felt that the Guatemalan experiment offeredample proof. He did raise the question 'of natural

42

) -,

rights and legitimacy of the conquest, points thathe aired in the debate at Valladolid. At the sametime he protected himself from the charge ofdisloyalty by noting that the king was ignorant ofthe events in the New World. Nonetheless theimplications of his statements were obvious to thecrown, since the colonial officials wererepresentatives 9f the crown charged with carryingout royal polici43.>-,

,Las Casas had encountered many powerfulopponents in his struggle for Indian rights, but in

t the late 1540's he met his most formidableantagonist in the person of Juan Gines deSeptilveda. Las Casas could not match the.impressive academic credentials of Sepulveda ,who was an eminent authority on Aristotle. Onthe eve of his clash with Las Casas, Septilveda hadjust completed the translaon of Aristotle'sPolitics, which he considered his principaleontiibution to knowledge. Shortly after thepublication of the translation, he wrote theDemocrates alter, sive de justis belli courier apu4Indos, wherein he utilized the Aristotelian concept

_ _of natural order in the universe showing thatcertain -litmlan beings and'intellectually inferior. Thus for the Aristotelianscholar some men were the natural servants forsuperior men. The natural order argument fullyjustified a war of conquest.

Las asas saw the doctrine as pernicious and'through his influence in the CounCil of the Indieshe was able to prohibit the publication of the work.In crossing swords with Sepulveda, the crusader

fo, the Indians no longer enjoyed the presence of

V

his pOwerful ally, Francisco de Vitoria, who h,dpassed away in 1546. Vitoria, considered by manyscholars as one of the founders of modernitternational law, was one .0Of the leading-theologians and profesSor? at the University ofSalamanca, where the question of the rights of theIrilians' had cau4ed frequent and acrimonious,debates. In the developing conflict, Las ,Casasenjoyed a significant advantage over his opponentin that due to his travels in. the New World hecould speak from first hand experience. Sepulveda

"was a scholar who had not left his ivory tower andthus-was M a weak ,position to refute Las Casaswhen the_deb_ate centered on the capabilities of theIndians. Furthermore, Las Casas bowed tb no one -

when it came to firebrand oratory in the publicforum.

Las Cases' initial victory came with a directivefroniAe Council of the Indies on July 3, 1549,urgi g that no new licenses for conquest be

orized without the 'expressed approval of thecriorn. The council, directed that a meeting oftheologians and jurists be called to discuss howconquests may be conducted. 311stiy and withsecurity of conscience/ Chars I approved thecouncil's action on April 16, f650, by ordering asuspension of all conquests until theologians andjurists could determitie the just method forconuucting them. The king's and council'sintentions in calling for the discussion are notcompletely clear. Obviously it was not to decidewhether Spain should give up her conquered landsin the New World. Apparently the purpose was toclear the air over the accusations that Las Casas

frequently made concerning the, behavior of theSpanish colonizers and -royal ( officials theconquered territories. Since these were the crown'ssubjects and some his appointed representatives,the king was ultimately responsible for theirbehavior. The royal suspension of the conquestand the calling for a meeting to discuss the Indianquestion is indicative of the king's wrestling withhis Christian conscience. Equally significant is the-fact that the action of the Council of the Indies andthfi crown showed the influential role the bishop

ayed in behalf of the Indian cause. Infrequentare the cases in history where a very powerful rulerhas ordered his conquests to cease until it could bedetermined whether they were just.

The confrontation between Sepulveda and LasCasas took place in Valladolid in mid-August of).550 and has become commonly known as theDebate of Valladolid. The debaters argued theirNrespective positions before a Council of Fourteencomposed of theologians, jurists ,and royalofficials. The council or jury was charged with thetask of weighing the merits of the case andrendering a decision to the crown on the question:Is it lawful for 14e king of Spain to wage war on theIndians prior to preaching the faith to them andthereby subjugate them so as to convert themmore easily? In the initial days of the Valladolidsession SepUlveda and the bishop oall,y spresehtedtheir positions. Sepulveda in three hours Agave aresume of his Democrates alter, which wasfollowed by Las Casas' presentation of amonumental treatise, which he read word for word.Sepulveda claimed that Las Casas would hay^ e

gone on longer had he not exhausted the patienceof the members charred with listening to him.According to the Arigtotelian scholar the conquestwas justified because of the depraved condition ofthe Indians who were living in idolatry andcommitting sins against nature. Furthermore heviewed the Indians as naturally rude or barbarianand inferior to the culturally advanced Spaniard.Here he was merely mouthing the Aristotelianposition of the natural order in the universe,whereby it was in accordance with universal orderto have.the wise rule the unwise. Sepulveda had nodoubts that the Spaniard was wise and the Indianwas unwise. As further proof for the superiority ofthe Spaniard he pointed to the fact that theIndians were no match in arms for the Spanishconquistadores. Not being in a position ofspeaking from firsthand experience, he reliedheavily on anti-Indian writers such as GonzaloFernandez de Oviedo, who had written extensivelyon the Inca Indians. He also argued that the papaldonation of Alexander VI granted Spain the rightto conquer and Christianize the Indians. Theuncritical acceptance of anti-Indian sources' makesit easy to comprehend the conclusions ofSeptIlveda; namely, that the faith can be spreadmore easily if the 'Indians are conquered first. Headded further justification for the conquest bynoting that the Spaniards must protect the weakerIndians who can easily become victims for humansacrifice and cannibalism of more powerfulIndians. The reasoning of the Salamancaprofessor has frequently struck a responsive chordamong European and American writers and

iG

leaders who see in western civilization a manifest

destiny namely a divine call to bring thesuperior western civilization to what is believed to

be the less culturally developed. non-westernpeople.

Next came the turn of "this quarrelsome andturbulent fellow," as Septilveda described him.

The venerable bishop of Chiapas could find noevidence of God's commanding war againstidolators, even though the Old Testament justifiedwar against cettain enemies of the Jewish people.He denied the assertion of Septilveda that theIndians were barbarians by providing his

opponent. with extensive details of the advancedIndian cultures as he had seen and related in hisApologetic History. He minced no words inaccusing his adversary of being ignorant of Indiancultures. From his experiences he concluded thatin some respects the Indians were more culturallyadvanced than the Greeks, Romans or Spaniardsand that being the case Las Casas could and diduse the Aristotelian natural order proposition toshow that the Indians should be the natural rulers

of the Spaniards. His -work among theGuatemalan Indians in the Land of War was for

him ample evidence that Indians will peacefullyreceive Christianity and voluntarily acceptSpanish sovereignty. He did not deny theexistence of human sacrifice and cannibalismamong the Indians, but this he found rare and lessevil than the indiscriminate slaughter thataccompanied the conquest of the Indians. Humansacrifice did not appall the bishop as it did many ofhis contemporaries, since for him it was an

47

106 1r

expression of the deep religiosity of the Indians.In his utopian view of the Indians, especially whenhe referred to them as "gentle lambs," he wasguilty of an uncritical analysis just like hisopponent's unquestioningly accepting anti-Indianwritten accounts. Sepfilveda's contention that theSpaniards had proved their superiority by force ofarms proved nothing for Las Casas except that theSpanish king must then be characterized as atyrant.

Although 'the main ,focus of the debate ce edon whether the current methods of mgconquests in America were just or njust, the'legitimacy of Spanish claims b ed uponconquests were bound to be raised. Sepulveda waswell aware of Las Casas' earlier statement prior to1550 whereby he questioned Spain's right to theNew World baSed on 'Conquest. This left thebishop open to the accusation of disloyalty. Theprotector of the Indians, as noted earlier, was afirm believer in the natural rights of man which heconsidered inalienable. This he summed up well inhis classic remark during the debate that "allpeoples are men." At the same time he insistedthat Spain had the right to bring the faith to theNew World, a right that was recognized in thepapal 4d ecree of 144 He further justified thecrown's right to rule the converted Indians whovoluntarily accepted Spanish sovereignty. Hisutopian view of the Indians might well lead him tobelieve,that the Indians will accept Christianity ifit is done through peaceful missionaries andthereby become voluntary vassals of the crown.Apparently influenced by the thinking of Vitoria,

48

he granted Spain's right to protect the Indiansfrom potential European rivals such as France orEngland. In 1550 this was more speculation thanreality since these rivals did not become a realthreat until late in the 16th century and during the17th century. Las Casas had defended his loyalty.It was now up to the Council of Fourteen to studythe mass of material presented by the twoantagonists.

In order to provide adequate time fordeliberation the first Valladolid session adjournedand the council did not reconvene until January 20,1551. Apparently exhausted and confused by themass and fury of the debate the judges continuedtheir deliberations until the middle of 1551. One ofthe most significant debates in World history hadended but the jury was unable to reach a verdict.During the subsequent year the Council of theIndies made several efforts to have the judgesrender their opinions but to no avail.

The key figures in the debate offered theirverdicts. Both claimed _victory. Judgingsubsequent Spanish kodial history one might beinclined to favor Las Casas with the verdict,especially if one reads Phillip II's decree of 1573which called for peaceful conversion of the Indiansby offering the natives the advantages of Spanishcitizenship, which include the administration oftrue justice, peaceful living, no human sacrifices,protection of the king, construction of roads andthe enjoyment of Spanish goods such as food andcattle. The intent here certainly was in line withLas Casas' position at Valladolid,' but the-

implementation of the intent in the New World

19

vraTarrot-la rzatter. Conquests still continued andSpaniards still exploited the Indians and theposition of Sepulveda could well be used to justifytheir conduct. Perhaps the real reason why thejudges did not reach a verdict is that they wereseeking a solution to an age old problemnamely the guarantee of basic human rights to allpeoples. If this be so,,,we must not be harsh on thejudges, since our own age still is seeking theanswer to the question that confronted the men atValjidolid.

LAS CASAS RtrIRESUpon his resignation as bishop of Chiapas in the

summer of 1550, Las Cdsas took up his residence inthe Dominican College of San Gregorio atValladolid. At the age of seventy-six he was notabout US retire as his activities during the closingyears of his life indicate. He continued to hold thetitle of procurator-at-large for the CentralAmerican mission, in which capacity he recruitedmissionaries throughout Spain for CentralAmerica.

His residence at the college provided him withlibrary resources and an atmosphere in which hecould continue his writing that tie had interruptedfrequently because of his boy schedule. Hiswritings during his late yearsliii life show him stillto b9 the protector and crusader for the Indians.In'his tract entitled The Liberty of the EnslavedIndians directed to the Council of the Indies hediscussed the false premise for the enslavement ofIndians and the obligations of the Crown andAmerican bishops towards the Indians. Many of

50

his ideas in the tract predate accepted principles of

present day international laW. For instance, warsa of conquest give no right to enslave a conquered

people and all prisoners taken during the war mustbe freed upon termination of hostilities. Unjust,wars confer no special rights and war may beundertaken only with the approval of a legitimateauthority and justifiable provocation. Such heclaimed was not the case with the wars waged byGovernor Velasquez in Cuba and Cortes in Mexico,who had no legitimate authorization for wa4ngthe war. Both men presented the king anaccomplished fact for approval. He went on tocondermi royal officials who failed to carry out thegood intention of the royal, decrees issued toprotect the rights of the Indians. His admonitionsto the secular and religious authorities were basedon Biblical exhortations. Regarding obligations ofthe bishops he felt that one of their primary dutieswas to inform the crown on the sufferings of theIndians a duty that the bishop of Chiapas hadso conscientiously fulfilled.

During the period of "retirement" he completedhis monumental History of the Indies ars ,nd 1.561

. which in all probability he had star ' as early as1527 and the Apologetic History is. an off-shoot of the History of t dies. The statedreasons for writing the History of the Indiesinclude the hopor and glory of God, spiritual andtemporal Welfare of all peoplen the New World,

.0, showing the crown the harm done by his subjectsin the New World, teaching the Spaniards that theIndians are human beings with good and badcustoms and generally repoq,ini all the things that

51

t 1

.4

have happened in the New World since, thediscovery. The occasion that may well )}lavesparked the author's History of the Iryli6 was the'publication of Oviedo's General and Natural7-Iistory of the Indies in 1535, hylvhich th6 latterdescribed the Indians as baryarins. As Las Casasfeared, it provided ample ammdition for thecolonial Spania ds to justify their conduct of --conquest exploitation gf native peoples.

Scho sistill view Casas' work as one of thebest sourcds of the early history of the Indies.LewiiHanke, a Las Casas scholar, found it inkce.bing with good historical canons. This does not

imply that the defender of the Indians mellowed asa polemical writer. The work makes it more thanobvidus that the good bishop still had an ax togrind when he denounced Spanish cruelties and,pploitation towards the Indians and warned diredays will befall the Spanish p- 'pie if they do notmend their ways. RamOn I esia, a present daySpanish historian, remark tha , true history ispolemical, and a historia desires to get asclose as gossible to event writes history to provesomething. If 20tlentury historians can acceptthis historical canoe, then wt must conclude that

.

Las Casas has few peers. The competence of thebishop aea historian is frequently overlooked bythose' w o know thi man only, through the

ted atcou pts of Spanish cruelties againstthe Indians in his batruction of the Indies.j,Needless to sat, the protector of the. Indians hadwritten this more from the heart than the mind.

His Apologetic History, completedapprcodmatelpat the same time as the /Us tony

111(

as

the Indies, is an encyclopedia on Indian life..,. Hepresented proof that the Indian capacity to attaina high cultural level equaled that of the ancientGreeks and Romans and condemned Spaniardslike Sepulveda who preached the inferiority of theIndians. In comparison with Europeans of the1500's Las Casas found the Indians frequentlysurpassing them in good customs. Disregardingromanticized notions of the good Indian, theApologetic History provides the historian withvaluable insights

Although at anconfine his activiCollege of San GWorld knew thatto whom they coul

an life.vaned age Las Casas.did not

to writing in hiis cell at thegorio. Missionaries in the Newey had a powerful ally in Spain

report the sufferings of theIndians and thereby bring the matter before thecrown. Spain Vas under a new king, Philip II, whotook over thie reins of ' government upon theabdication of Charles I in 1556. The protector ofthe Indians was no stranger to the new king, with,whom he had close contacts when the young kingserved as regent during the frequent absences ofCharles I from Spain. He strengthened hisinfluence at the court through Fray BartolomeCarranza de Miranda, the confessor to the king,and moved his residence from Valladolid to Madridwhere the king had set up his court. Las Casas didnot hesitate to use his powerful voice when hereceived word that Spanish colonials in Perusought the perpetuation of tlyencomienda systemand offered the crown promises of wealth for theroyal treasury if their wishes are heeded. The offerwas most tempting to the Spanish king who

53

traditionally had financial problems, The crusaderthrough Carranza warned of the exploitation thatwas bound to follow, such a concession and that theperpetuation of the encomienda would meangreater hostility among the Indian population andtherefore present serious obstacles to theirconversion. Philip followed the advice of the Oldbishop and demonstrated his appreciation for theservices rendered by offei1ing him financial supportfor his lodging and pension. Obviously , thePeruvian Indians in this case fared well with sucha powerful attorney at the court. Another exampleof his effective influence was his close associationwith Judge Alonso de Zorita, who was drafting aplan for the conversion of the Indians in NorthernMexico (the present United States Southwest)patterned after the conversion plan of La Casas inthe Guatemalan Land of War. The plan receivedthe apptoval of the Council of the Indies in 1562but unfortunately the king's demand that Zoritabear the full financial burden of carrying out theplan proved impractical.

Nearing the age of ninety he continued writingon two new tracts entitled On the Treasures ofPeru and Tract of Twelve Doubts which reiteratedmany of his previous admonitions. ,It was his finaleffort to circulate guidelines for reforms in theIndies. He condemned the unjust conquest warsand urged peaceful conversion of the Indians.Again he denounced the encomienda system andinsisted that the sovereignty of Spain in the NewWorld must rest on the voluntary acceptance of itby ,the Indians. He advocated that the PeruvianIncas be given a special place to live and be ruled

54

by their Inca rulers, who would acknowledge theSpanish king as an overlord and pay %tribute. Herecognized that his doctrine of restitution wasunacceptable to the crown since carried out to itslogical conclusion it meant that not only were theNew World Spaniards obliged to restore propertytaken from the Indians but the same held true forthe crown. If the crown cannot makeotitution ofviealth taken from the Indians, then the crown inconscience is bound to subsidize missionaryactivities among the Indians witlibut charge.

The tracts in defense of Peruvian Indians weredated 1562, when Las Casas was eighty-eight

... years of age. At a slower pace he continued todefend his Indians right up to his death on July 31,1566. Even in his last will and testament he did

. not permit the subject to rest in peace. His finaladmonition to his nation called for her to changeher ways unless she had no fear of being visited bythe wrath of God. The iery crusader was stillspeaking after his death.

S

CONCLUSION ,,,,A has Casas like rfrarik of his cowl rymen arrivedin thee West Indies in search of wealth andadventure. He showed more humanitarian concernfor his Indian workets than the usual run ofSpanish settlers. The preaching-5 and influence ofhis Dominican, friends converted thesehumanitarian concerns into a c'ru ding zeal in

. defense ef' the Indians, but this w a gradualconversion. In his early IndiA c nimunityschemes he frequently thought... in .terms of revenueit' could bring to the crown and: the Spanish

\

55

, ( ) Co, ) . _.

V

(.1

colonizers. The failure of the Venezuelan vehturehe saw as punishment from God for hismaterialistic concerns.

Las Casas never was a missionary amongIndians. He started projects like the onen theLand of War in Guatemala, !mit the execution ofthe elzfieriment became the task of his Dominicancolleagues. Wagner, in his biography on LasCasas, questioned whether the Crusader ha everlearned any Indian tongue adequately t6 work

,among them. Furthermore Many of his NewWorld ventures were failures,- mainly due to hisown unrealistic aspirations. and the lack ofcooperation or downright hostility of Spanishofficials and settlers. The Venezuela fiasco was acase in point as was his brief tenure of thebishopric in Chiapas during the turmoil created bythe deci..- of the Ne aws of 1542. Rather histrue infportance lay i his role as the protector ofthe Indians before th royal court as was the casein the decree of the ew Laws and the debate ofValladolid. He was at his best in his campaign forthe peaceful conversion of the Indians and seekingthe abolition of the encomie and Indianslavery. Unfortunately his de ation of,Indian slavery-did not ,include Negro lavery butthis omission he regretted later in his e. Late inhis career he hit hard on the theme of restoration ofIndian property but he was not always clear howthis difficult task could be 'accomplished.

The effectiveness of his reforms can be judgedby the umber d power of his enemies:Con ed that h was out to dispossess them, hisene es saw in their antagonist a proud andunbending personality. Las Casas tended to

56

confirm this impression with his sharp tongue,biting wit and manner in which he persisted to bepersonally in charge of his reforms. Thesubstantial victories that the crusager achieved inSpain became less so when it dame to enforceinentof royal decrees in the New World. Frequently theking himself was fearful of, the loss of Spahishloyalty and revenue if he would' surrendercompletely to the demands of the bishop. On theother hand Las Casas was quick to remind the kingthat the unbridled activities of the Spanishsubjects in the New World was also a threat toroyal authority. Las Casa§ knew well how to play

on the weakness. of the court and his skill herehelps us to understand his successful role as achampion for the Indians. As a utopian reformerhe could never realize the complete fulfillTirent of

all of his demands but, this does not detract fromhis success in seeing his reforms partially fulfilled.

His: principle that all peoples are men"probably 'did much to moderate Spain's relationswith her new Indian subjects. One can. onlyspeculate as to the degree of responsibility thatshould be accorded to the fighting bishop for theprc.stirvation of the Indian- heritage throughoutLatin America and in our own Southwest, wherethe Mexican American i's the beneficiary of thislegacy. Not only the Mexican American but allpeoples in the western hemisphere oir s Casasan eternal debt for when all is said d done hislifetime struggle was fOr the. rights a d di ty ofall men. Civil rights leaders in the Urn Statesand the United Nations with its UniversalDeclaration Of Human Rights can profit greatly.t y.the model of Padre Bartolome de Las Casas, theprotector of the Indians.

57,

.0 71

ty

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hanke, Lewis. Aristotle and the American In-dians: a Study in the Modern World. Chicago:H. Reknery Co., 1959:-

. Bartolome de las Casas, Bookman,Scholar and Propagandist. Philadelphia:.University of Pennsylvania Press, 1952:

. Bartolome de Las Casas. Historian.An Fs<cy. in Spanish Historiography.Tallahassee: University of Florida Press, 1952.

. Bartolome de Las Casas. An In-te,rpretation of His Life and Writings. TheHague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1951.

. The Spanish Struggle for Justice inthe Conquet of Americ4. Philadelphia:University of Pennsylvania Press, 1949.

Mac Nutt, Francis Augustus. Bartolome de lasCasas; his Life, his Apostolate, and his

o Writings. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1909.

Magner, James. Men of Mexico. Milwaukee: TheBruce Publishing Co., 1942.

Menendez Pidal, Ramon. El Padre Las Casts: SuDoble Personaliclad Madrid: Eipasa-Calpe;8.A., 1963.

4.-Q0AAL 59

&las, Alberto Mario. Tres Cronistas de Indias:Pedro Martir de Angleria, Gonzalo Ferncindezde Oviedo, Fray Bartolorne de Las Casas.Mexico: Fonda de Cultura EconOmica, 1959.

Sander lin, George, ed. Bartolomeo de Las Casas: ASelection of His Writings. New York: Alfred A.Knopf, 1971.

Simpson/Lesley Byrd. Encomienda in New Spain:The Beginning of Spanish Mexico. Berkeley:University of California Press, 1966.

Wagner, Henry Raup. The Life and Writings ofBartolome de Las Casas. AlbuquerqueiUniversity of New Mexico Press, 1967.

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' et

SPA in the New World 78 FRS ColorFilmstrip

.,-- Examines a Mexican colony as a prototype ofthe kind of colony that the Spanish establishedin the New World from the Age of ExplorationSeries. LC no FIA 68-457.

Prod-EBEC DIST-EBECProd- PROCSD 1968

The Spanish Colonial. Period 41 Frs Color J-H'Sound Filmstrip-Record Dramatizes the

conquest of the Aztecs by Cortes and shows thespread of Spanish influence in religion, '

education and economic development, 33 1-3RPM

.

Record 10 mines from the Nations of TodayMexicoThe Country and Its People

Series LC NO-FI A66-274Prod -FSH. Dist-FSH 1965

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61