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A Summary Of The Ideas Of Bartlomé De Las Casas

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A Summary Of The Ideas Of Bartlomé De Las Casas
Bartolomé de las Casas, a former encomendero turned Dominican friar, was known as “one of the great abolitionists of Caribbean history”1. He dedicated a huge portion of his life trying to better the conditions of the people in the Indies. He devised a “radical plan”2 which would prove to be more contradictory than anything. Although Bartolomé de las Casas’ plans for the Indies seemed radical, they were actually made out to serve the crown’s desires while taking away the power of the conquistadors. Las Casas goal to win over the support of Charles V would eventually be accomplished. He allowed the crown to have access to things that were otherwise deemed illegal to the public.

As an encomendero, Las Casas began to realize the horrors of …show more content…
These laws helped to regulate the social, religious, political, and economic aspects of the native peoples lives. This time around religion was emphasized more. Bartolomé de las Casas believed that “all nonclerical Spanish” 8 people should be expelled. The New Laws of the Indies were stricter than the Laws of Burgos. One of the laws stated that “no cause of war or other reason, even under title of rebellion or for rescue or in any other manner, shall justify making a slave of any Indian whatsoever” 9. I feel that this law worked out more in favor of the Indians just because whatever their actions may be, it does not lead to them being enslaved. Although Indians still faced punishments as a result of their actions (e.g. rebellions and revolts), it still showed that they would not be given the worst punishment or a life sentencing punishment for expressing themselves. Another thing that I found interesting about this law is that in the following sentence it states that Indians are “subjects of the crown of Castile” 10 – not property. Also, the Laws of the Indies were proven to be fairer than the Laws of Burgos. For example, one of the issues with the Laws of Burgos was that many of the laws did not extend to the crown. However, in the New Laws of the Indies it adds that no one, regardless of their governmental status, should have any Indians in their possessions under any
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