Five hundred years after Columbus's first voyage to the New World, the debate over the European impact on Native American civilization has grown more heated than ever. Among the first--and most insistent--voices raised in that debate was that of a Spanish priest, Bartolome de Las Casas, acquaintance of Cortes and Pizarro and shipmate of Velasquez on the voyage to conquer Cuba. In 1552, after forty years of witnessing--and opposing--countless acts of brutality in the new Spanish colonies, Las Casas returned to Seville, where he published a book that caused a storm of controversy that persists to the present day. The Devastation of the Indies is an eyewitness account of the first modern genocide, a story of greed, hypocrisy, and cruelties so grotesque as to rival the worst of our own century. Las Casas writes of men, women, and children burned alive "thirteen at a time in memory of Our Redeemer and his twelve apostles." He describes butcher shops that sold human flesh for dog food ("Give me a quarter of that rascal there, " one customer says, "until I can kill some more of my own"). Slave ship captains navigate "without need of compass or charts, " following instead the trail of floating corpses tossed overboard by the ship before them. Native kings are promised peace, then slaughtered. Whole families hang themselves in despair. Once-fertile islands are turned to desert, the wealth of nations plundered, millions killed outright, whole peoples annihilated. In an introduction, historian Bill M. Donovan provides a brief biography of Las Casas and reviews the controversy his work produced among Europeans, whose indignation--and denials--lasted centuries. But the book itself is short. "Were I t describe all this, " writes Las Casas of the four decades of suffering he witnessed, "no amount of time and paper could encompass this task."

The Devastation of the Indies: A Brief Account

History

De Las Casas, Bartolomé

Americas

Johns Hopkins University Press

A Faithful Narrative Of The Horrid And Unexampled Massacres, Butcheries, And All Manner Of Cruelties, That Hell And Malice Could Invent, Committed By The Popish Spanish Party On The Inhabitants Of West-India, Together With The Devastations Of Several Kingdoms In America By Fire And Sword, For The Space Of Forty And Two Years, From The Time Of Its First Discovery By Them.From Wikipedia: BartolomÃ© de las Casas, O.P. (November 1484 â€“ July 1566), was a 16th-century Spanish Dominican priest, and the first resident Bishop of Chiapas. As a settler in the New World he witnessed, and was driven to oppose, the torture and genocide of the Native Americans by the Spanish colonists.

A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies

Echo Library

Written in 1542 and first published in 1552, “A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies” by Bartolome de Las Casas, a Dominican friar, is a moving and shocking account of the atrocities and mistreatment suffered by the indigenous people of South America under Spanish colonial rule. Bartolome de Las Casas, believed to have been born in 1484, immigrated to the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean from Spain in 1502 with his father and was ordained as a priest in 1510. His work with the Church gave him a startling glimpse into the cruelty and inhumanity that the native peoples were subjected to by the powerful Spaniards. Bartolome de Las Casas was determined to advocate for these oppressed people and traveled back and forth between Spain and the New World several times to bring the plight of the indigenous peoples to the attention of the King. Bartolome de Las Casas documented the ravages of the disease and greed the Spanish brought with them across the sea. “A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies” is an important and remarkable work, as well as the earliest documentation of a concerted effort to advocate for better and more humane treatment of the native people of the New World. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies

Digireads.com Publishing

This anthology is a thorough introduction to classic literature for those who have not yet experienced these literary masterworks. For those who have known and loved these works in the past, this is an invitation to reunite with old friends in a fresh new format.  From Shakespeare’s finesse to Oscar Wilde’s wit, this unique collection brings together works as diverse and influential as The Pilgrim’s Progress and Othello. As an anthology that invites readers to immerse themselves in the masterpieces of the literary giants, it is must-have addition to any library

Literature & Fiction

Classics

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

A scathing indictment of European exploitation and mistreatment of the native peoples of the New World. After Bartolome de Las Casas witnessed the suffereing and slavery of the Indians in 1542 he returned back to Spain. A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies is dedicated to Prince Philip of Spain Casas hoping that he would prevent divine punishment for the atrocities.

Few people read the full account of De Las Casas. Frequently this piece is referenced in excerpts in anthologies. However, should the reader want an authentic and direct account of the real events of the Spaniards' treatment of native peoples of the Carribbean and elsewhere, this is the narrative. This can be read in one sitting, and is clearly the work of an informed and intelligent writer. Some extremity of language is apparent, and the author's bias can be seen on nearly every page. For history junkies, this is a wonderful read. Bartolomé de Las Casas, born in 1474, came to Cuba with Diego Velázquez's expedition in 1511 as a soldier. In Cuba, he became an "encomendero", receiving Indian labor parceled out to the conquistadors. The horrors of the conquest of the Caribbean sparked a religious conversion in him and he became a Dominican friar in 1515. Soon, he made his way to the Central American mainland, where he started missionary work among the Maya in Guatemala. Dubbed later "The Apostle to the Indians" for his work on their behalf, he was eventually appointed Bishop of Chiapas. An intimate friend of the Indians, fluent in their languages, Las Casas witnessed Spanish cruelties perpetrated against them between the very year of his arrival and some years before his death in Spain in 1566. In 1552, Las Casas published his empassioned "Short Account" (actually written 13 years earlier), in which he laid bare Spanish cruelties in America. Though generally condemned as slander in Spain, the book rapidly became popular in the rest of Europe, where it served to fuel anti-Spanish hate. Spain's enemies used it to depict Spaniards as evil tyrants and to rationalize carving out their own empires in the Americas. New editions appeared repeatedly, even as late as 1898, during the Spanish-American War. Few credible historians take the "Account" for gospel truth. Much of what Las Casas says is certainly true. And while the rest is exaggerated, it is not "propaganda". Whatever truth the narrative has, though, many people miss its importance in understanding the Spanish Black Legend. The Black Legend is the perception of Spain as a uniquely cruel and bigoted nation in excess of reality. Spanish culture is boiled down to the Inquisition and the bullfight. Spain's authors are ignored. The Spanish did nothing in the Americas but kill millions of Indians. This is the legacy of the 16th century. The substance of many European attitudes toward Spain up to about 1950 can be traced right to Las Casas' "Account." Appearing at the time when England and the Netherlands were emerging as major powers, grappling with Spain, the imagery from the book was woven right into their national mythologies. Because of historical circumstance, other nations that committed atrocities far worse than Spain's -- France, Britain, the United States -- never had to undergo the same humiliating scrutiny, the same alienation. Las Casas's book, certainly against its author's will, helped shape this. The account's real value is the key it offers to understanding Western perceptions of Spain. Like so many anti-Spanish documents of its time, the book, in the end, can tell us as much about the fascinating figure of its author and the character of Spain's enemies as about the horrors of the conquest and the nation it vilifies.

A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies Or, a Faithful Narrative of the Horrid and Unexampled Massacres, Butcheries, and all Manner of Cruelties (Studies in Macroeconomic History)

Business & Money

Economics

"A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies," published in 1552 by the Spanish Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas, lays bare the Spanish cruelties in America. Though generally condemned as slander in Spain, "A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies" rapidly became popular in the rest of Europe, where it served to fuel anti-Spanish hate. Spain's enemies used it to depict Spaniards as evil tyrants and to rationalize carving out their own empires in the Americas. New editions of "A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies" appeared repeatedly, even as late as 1898, during the Spanish-American War. While much of what Bartolomé de las Casas said is undoubtedly true, not all historians take "A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies" as the gospel truth. Though sometimes exaggerated, Las Casas' account sheds valuable light on the "Spanish Black Legend." Bartolome de las Casas, who was struck by the inhumane ways in which the native peoples were treated by the European explorers and conquerors, went on to be a leading opponent of slavery, torture, and genocide of the Native Americans by the Spanish colonists. "A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies" includes chapters covering Spanish treatment of Native Americans in Cuba, Nicaragua, Hispaniola, Guatemala, Venezuela, Florida, and many other areas conquered by the Spaniards. Though short (as the name implies), "A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies" reveals a dark but important episode in the history of Spain and America.

A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies is a classic Caribbean history text by Bartolome de las Casas. A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies Or, a faithful NARRATIVE OF THE Horrid and Unexampled Massacres, Butcheries, and all manner of Cruelties, that Hell and Malice could invent, committed by the Popish Spanish Party on the inhabitants of West-India, TOGETHER With the Devastations of several Kingdoms in America by Fire and Sword, for the space of Forty and Two Years, from the time of its first Discovery by them.

Brevísima relación de la destrucción de África. Bartolomé de las Casas. España 1474 - 1566

Brevísima relación de la destrucción de África (Spanish Edition)

Literary

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Books by De Las Casas, Bartolomé

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by De Las Casas, Bartolomé. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Devastation of the Indies: A Brief Account

A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies

A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies

A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies

A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies

A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies Or, a Faithful Narrative of the Horrid and Unexampled Massacres, Butcheries, and all Manner of Cruelties (Studies in Macroeconomic History)

A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies

A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies

A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies

Brevísima relación de la destrucción de África (Spanish Edition)