Bartolomé de las Casas
Spanish cleric and activist who fought colonial abuse of Indigenous peoples.
Through his actions and writings, he became an important figure in the development of ideas of what we would now call human rights.[1] A Spanish lawyer, clergyman, writer, and activist, Bartolomé de las Casas is most famous for his historical and social reform work.[2]
Quick Facts
- Province
- Tuxtla Gutiérrez
- Took office
- 13 March 1544
- Left office
- 11 September 1550
- Other post
- Protector of the Indians
- Ordination
- 1510
- Consecration
- 30 March 1554
- Consecrated by
- Bishop Diego de Loaysa, O.R.S.A.
- Born
- 11 November 1484
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
He arrived in Hispaniola in 1502 and soon became a land and slave owner, joining military expeditions against native peoples.[1] After participating in the Spanish invasion of Cuba in 1513, he began to view European interference in native affairs as illegal and amoral.[1] Sickened by the exploitation of indigenous peoples, he gave up his land holdings and slaves and traveled to Spain in 1515 to petition the Crown.[1] He later advocated that all slavery be abolished, but European empires paid little attention.[1]
Las Casas also later advocated that indigenous groups be allowed self-governance under the Spanish crown.[1] On 11 November 1484, Bartolomé de las Casas came into the world in Seville.[3] The title Protector of the Indians was formally bestowed upon him, along with an annual payment of one hundred pesos.[4]
What the cited sources add
An article by Anthony notes that Las Casas' petitions began in May 1515 and continued until his death in 1566.[1] The same source states that the Spanish government treated Las Casas' pleas with ambivalence because indigenous enslavement was profitable.[1] Anthony reports that Las Casas changed his rhetoric over time as his argument matured.[1] Anthony writes that Las Casas' ideas percolated throughout the Spanish legal system, allowing indigenous peoples to adjudicate in inter-indigenous matters.[1]
Las Casas might have unintentionally given the Spanish government a rationale for racial slavery, as opposed to the older justification of slavery resulting from warfare.[1]
References
- Anthony, "July 2015: Bartolomé de las Casas and 500 Years of Racial Injustice Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective", origins.osu.edu, 6 July 2015. facts only, no text reused. origins.osu.edu
- Wikipedia, "Bartolomé de las Casas" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Bartolomé de las Casas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; ; e.g.; ; ; ; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Bartolomé de las Casas" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Bartolomé de las Casas (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Rulers & Leaders
Elsewhere in Historical Figures
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced