The Autobiography of Malcolm X | Quotes

Las Casas begins his account by providing a brief overview of the history of European involvement in the what they referred to as the New World, the Americas, or the Indies. (In Spanish, Las Casas uses the term las Indias. Translators use a variety of terms, often choosing "the Americas" to avoid confusion with the modern notion of the West Indies, the islands of the Caribbean). This period of European conquest started with the arrival of Columbus (who was searching for a new route to Asia) in the Caribbean in 1492. The Spanish, who had hoped to gain wealth from Asian spices, turned to building up their wealth and power another way—by claiming land, gold, and other resources that the Americas held.

Las Casas stresses that Caribbean and the other regions he discusses were well populated when the Spanish first arrived. By the time Las Casas wrote his account, nearly 50 years after that initial influx of colonizers, the indigenous populations had been drastically reduced. In some areas the indigenous people had been completely eliminated.

Las Casas stresses the idea that the indigenous peoples were created by God, noting that there are many peoples in the region, not a monolithic group. This pushes back against an argument made by some colonizers that the native people are soulless and essentially subhuman. Las Casas presents a portrait of people who are naturally good. His depiction can be read as patronizing—he sees the indigenous people as childlike. This view later supported the 18th-century idea of "the noble savage." Las Casas's intention, however, seems to be to portray the indigenous people in a positive light.

Las Casas compares the Spanish assault on the native population to starving wild animals devouring their prey. He notes that the Spanish began their attacks "from the very first day they clapped eyes upon them." Throughout his account, Las Casas stresses the astounding brutality of the Spanish colonizers.

Las Casas's account catalogs the destruction of the native populations of the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, South America, and Florida. The Spanish colonizers decimated flourishing populations through warfare, slavery, and the spread of disease.

Throughout his text, Las Casas stresses the greed of the Spanish colonizers. He sometimes uses the term "Christians" to refer to the Spanish. This is a term the colonizers used to identify themselves. However, Las Casas frequently suggests that they are not true Christians.

Las Casas castigates the Spanish conquerors for their cruelty and violence. He contrasts Spanish brutality with the humanity of their victims. He also stresses the enormous geographic area affected by the conquest.

Las Casas writes that the indigenous peoples welcomed the Spanish when they first arrived. In Hispaniola, only after the Spanish attack them and steal their food, do the native people, the Taino, begin to resist. At first, they hide food stores and send women and children away to safety. When the Spanish retaliate brutally, including through rape, the Taino begin to fight back.

Las Casas emphasizes the unchristian behavior of the colonizers, who in theory are charged with spreading Christianity and the reach of the Catholic Church. He frequently suggests that the colonizers are an appalling representation of Christianity.

Las Casas wrote his account to persuade the Spanish king to intervene. The colonizers were given encomiendas, grants that declared they had authority over a certain number of indigenous people. In theory, the holder of an encomienda had a responsibility to spread Christianity and care for the souls of the people he ruled. More broadly, European conquest was often cast as a benevolent project of bringing lost souls to salvation. Las Casas believed in this project but wanted to expose the more brutal and cynical reality.

In this scene, the Taino leader Hatuey is about to be executed. Las Casas makes a clear distinction between the brutal Spanish colonizers and the monks who are also present in the region. In Las Casas's view, the monks do worthwhile and humane work. However, they are powerless to stop the colonizers' violence.

This anecdote illustrates one of Las Casas's main points: that the colonizers are damaging, rather than spreading, Christianity. It is also an example of how Las Casas includes indigenous leaders in his history. By contrast, Las Casas almost never mentions Spanish conquistadors by name.

In his account, Las Casas does not identify the Spanish leaders who spearhead the violence he decries. This might reflect a desire to avoid conflict or a refusal to add to their fame and glory. He refers to them with critical words: they are tyrants, butchers, villains, and brutes.

Las Casas provides several accounts of monks succeeding in converting indigenous peoples despite the violence of the Spanish. The monks themselves are Spanish, but Las Casas presents them as a separate group, distinct from the colonizers. His anecdotes seek to show that at least some indigenous peoples also made this distinction.

Las Casas provides arguments intended to show the Spanish king that the colonizers hurt the cause of spreading Christianity and expanding the Spanish empire. The work of the monks, on the other hand, is depicted as achieving these aims.