Seminar Assignments - A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies- Bartlome De Las Casas PDF

Preview

Summary

a short account of the destruction of the indies bartlome de las casas...

Description

A short account of the destruction of the indies Bartolome de las Casas Background -

1542 Spanish friar Colonial times : attrocities to indigenous ppl Sent to King Philip II Hispaniola  Valladolid debate : discuss ethical treatment of natives

Reading THE CRUELTIES OF THE Spaniards Committed in AMERICA. -

49 years of colonization by spaniards after discovery of New World Natives are « innocent people » and « subservient » to spaniards, causing no pbs Simple, minimalistic life style They are the « sheep » attacked by the spanish « wolf/tiger » Massacred like genocide : 3 million to 300 « extermination » of these people by ppl who call themselves christians All for gold Worried for their souls : died without being christian/educated in faith « ambition and avarice » vs « humility and patience »

Of the Island HISPANIOLA. -

Killed men and enslaved women and children Ate their food, giving them only the bare minimum On their horses, killed ppl with their arms, sparing no one Killed mothers and babies brutally Burned ppl alive, mutilated hands Tortures

Of the Kingdoms contained in Hispaniola. -

Unworthy of being called christians Talks about difft kingdoms, destroyed Slaughter everywhere 5 difft kingdoms « The Men died in Mines, hunger starved and oppressed with labor, and the Women perished in the Fields, harrassed and broken with the like Evils and Calamities »

Of the Isles of St. John and Jamaica. -

Same story Men torn to pieces by dogs

_Of the Isle of _Cuba. -

1511 Indians think that are just cruel to be cruel, or bc they think that’s what their god wants

-

Casually mutilated and tortured the population 1/10th not killed Kids died without parents Tried to hide in mountains but massacred

Of the CONTINENT. -

Tyrans looking for gold, 1514 Came up with new torments Violence to convert them Tortured and murdered lords Enslave etc always

Nicaragua -

Robbing Starvation Threats

New Spain -

More merciless destruction Begged for mercy covered with gore Butcheries of cities Some beat and killed spaniards

Guatemala

Seminar notes -

-

Consistent use of word « tyranny » : fault on spaniards, native pop weak « Peacable people » « truly deserving to be instructed in the knowledge of god » Common thread : maleable people, easy to dominate, weak. Hierarchal relationship. Violence called for ? Primitive romanticized : free of sin, beautiful, return to nature, pure, infantilization (need master bc so simple) Late : epilogue to text, where describes 4 types of barbarians o Ferocious inds, savages o Inds living like primitives o Foudation of modern colonial and western racism o Those without right to religion Missionary aim ? not on mission from heaven and realize it Role of spaniards : gold, power  black legend established o Refs spain’s colonial brutality o Established by spanish journalist, protesting the chztion of spanish (violence, fanaticism) o 16th c  antispanish sentiment

-

o Legend of spain’s ‘unique’ brutality o Las Casas helps this legend, over and over again reprinted and translated Was spain unique in the violence it showed ? Other european rivals justified for taking over land after this ? hypocrisy, same interests, in suprressing over rivals

Expropriation : -

Taking over private land in the name of the state Take gold from mine

Exploitation -

Using for labour

Alternative = converting them from pagain way (domniance, less bloody)...