The Life of Bartolomé De Las Casas - Forgotten Books

T H E

Lifeof Bartolo

’

mé deLasCasas

AND TH E

FIRST L EAVES OF

Hmcrican Ecclesiastical History.

REV. L . A. DUTTO .

ST . L OUIS , MO . , 1902.

Publ ished by B . H E R D E R,

17 Sou t h Broa dwa y .

N IH IL OB STAT .

S . Ludovi c i , d i e 26 . O c t ob r i s 1901.

F . G . H OL WEC K ,

C en sor Theol ogi c us .

IMPR IMATUR .

S t . Louis , Nov . 9 th , 1901 .

>X< JOH N J . KAIN ,

Ar c hbishop o f S t . Louis , Mo .

Copyr ight , 1902 , by J oseph Gum m er sba c h .

B EC KTO L DPRINTING AND B OOKMFG . c o .

ST. Louxs.mo.

C ONT ENT S.

An c est ry a n d ea r ly da ys o f L a sL a s Ca sa s a n Am er i c a n l awyer .

L a s Ca sa s a Pr iestSoc ia l , po l it i c a l a n d ec on om i c a l c on

d i t i on s o f t he fir st Am er i c a n c o lon yV . Re l a t ion s be tween t he fir st Eur opea n

set t ler s a n d t h e In di a n sThe Ca t ho l i c Clergy i n t he ea r l iest Amer i c a n c o lo n iesThe Fir s t Am er i c a n BishopL a s Ca sa s i n CubaL a s C a sa s a pl a n t er , a m in er , a n d a

Sla veow n er i n CubaX . L a s Ca s a s ’ fir st v is it t o t he Cour t o f

Spa inL a s Ca sa s i s m a deofi

’

i c i a l Pr o t e c t or o f

t h e In dia n s , a n d r e t u r n s t o Am er i c a 151

X II . L a s Ca sa s ’sec o n d t r ip t o Spa in i n beh a l f

o f t he In di a n sX III . L a s Ca sa s

’

effor t s t o work a s c hem e of

c olon iza t ionX IV . L a s Ca sa s t r ies a n ew sc hem e for sa v in g

a n d eva n gel izin g t he In dia n sL a s Ca sa s fa m ous a udien c e a n d spee c hi n t he pr esen c e o f Cha r les V .

X VI . L a s C a sa s s a ils for Am er i c a t o se t t lew it h h i s Kn igh t s o f t he Golden Epa ule ton t he Ven ezuel a n c o a st

L a s Ca sa s a fr ia rThi rd voya ge o f L a s Ca sa s t o Spa in i nbeh a l f o f t h e In dia n sL a s Ca sa s i n Per uL a s Ca s a s i n Gua t em a l aL a s Ca s a s c rosses t he A t la n t ic i n t he

i n t er est o f t he In dia n sL a s Ca sa s a BishopL a s Ca sa s c r osses t he At la n t ic t o t a kepossess ion o f h i s See

X X IV . L a s Ca sa s goes t o Spa in a nd c r osses

t he At la n t ic the l a st t i m e

L ife of Bartolom é de L as C asas

AND TH E

Fi rst LeavesofAmerican Ecc lesiast ica l

H istory.

CHAPTER I .

An c es t ry a n d ea r ly d a ys of L a s C a sa s .

B ARTOL OME de L a s Casas was bornin Seville in 1 474 ; in what month or

on what day is not known . His father’sname was Pedro de Casaus

,a gentleman of

French descent,whose family was settled

in Spain for upwards of two hundred years .San Fernando

,the third Spanish king of

' that name,during the wars

,which he

waged against the Moors in the thirteenthcentury

,had received valuabl e aid from

the Casaus ; and in recompense therefor5 had granted them L ett ers Patent of Nobility .

The name Casaus lost its French spellingand acquired its presen t Spanish form ofL a s Casas during the first part of the sixt een th cent ury . I find

,that

,duringhis early

( 5 )

6 L if e of B a r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s .

manhood,the first American Priest occa

sion a l ly signed his name Bart olomé deCasaus ; but , when later he acquired theoffi cia l title of Protector of the Indians

, L a s

Ca sa s was the name by which his countrymen knew him

,and by that name he is

known to history .

The family was very prominent in Spainat the time of the discovery of America .

Bartolomé tells us,in H i s tor i a d e L a s I n

d i a s (Chapter L X X X II . Book I . ) that hisfather

,Pedro de Casaus

,and his fa ther ’s

brother, (who w a s titled Francisco de

Pe'

f i a losa,and was a favorite of Queen Isa

bella ) came to America with ChristopherColumbus on his second voyage Franciscoin command of the military forces of theexpedition

,and his brother Pedro as an

attache’

of the Viceroy . Having served thefull term of three years as Ca ptain of themilitary contingent of the first AmericanColony

,Francisco returned to Castile ; but

Pedro remained in Hispaniola until the1 8 th of Oc tober 1 498 , when he returned toSpain . The New World must howeverhave had strong attractions for Pedro ; foron the 2 3d of August 1 50 0 we find himlanding again in Hispaniola .

The nephew delights in recounting theheroic death of his un cl e , remarkin g how

L if e of Ba r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s . 7

ever,l ike the humble man t hat he was

,

especially in his o l d age “ let the glory begiven to God alone .

” On his return fromAmerica

,Queen Isabella had appointed

Francisco de Penalosa,Captain General of

an army,that was sent to subdue the Moors

of Ca pe Aza m or . The camp of the Christians had scarcely been pitc hed on the seashore

,when the enemy

,i n overwhelming

numbers,fel l upon them . Pa nic stric ken

,

they would have been massacred during arush they made for their ships in great disorder

,had n ot Pen alosa

,after describing a

circle i n the sand,pla nted himself therein

,

and threatened to kill the first of the twentyknights

,who happened to surround him

,

who should a bandon his post . They allfell

,cut to pieces by Mohammedan sc im i

tars,not however without stemming the

onslaught of the enemy l ong enough to i nsure the . safe retrea t of the Christian army .

Francisco de Casa us’ death took place atthe end of 1499 or at the beginning of 1 50 0 .

Of Bartolomé de L a s Casas ’ ancestry onhis mother’s side l ittle is known ; n othingof his boyhood and scarcely anything ofhis early manhood . In March 1 493 we findhim in Seville , where he saw ,

probably forthe first time

,Christopher C olumbus on his

return from his voyage of discovery , and the

8 L if e of B aWtoZom é d e L a s Ca sa s .

seven American Indians,who were the first

to set foot on European soil . L a s Casaswas then between 1 8 and 1 9 years of a ge .

He was yet in Castile when his father returned from Hispaniola in 1 498 with a goodlump of American gold

,a portion of which

,

i f I mistake not,w a s used in defra ying his

expenses as a student in the far-famedUniversity of Salamanca . There he hadan Ameri c a n Indian to wa it on him as apage

,whom Christopher Columbus had

gi ven his fa ther as a slave . All tha t theProtector of the Indians himself says of hisrelations with this child of the forest

,i s

found in the CL XXVI . Cha pter of the I .

Book of his H i stor i a d e L a s I n d i ans .

“Myfather

,to whom the Admiral (Christopher

Columbus ) had given one of them ( a nAm erican Indian ) and who had broughthim with him on the afore-mentionedvoyage ( in 1 498 ) returned to this island

(Hayti ) with the Commendador Boba dilla ,t aking with him the said Indian

,who ha d

been a few da ys with me in Castile,and

whom I afterwa rds met and entertainedhere on this island .

”

If this Indian was ever truly the slave ofBa rtolomé de L a s Casas , it must have beenbut for a very few days

,and certa inly he

n ever was at Salamanca ; for the same


Vessel that brought him to Spain,brought

also letters from Christopher Columbus toQueen Isabe l l a ,

'

i n form i n g her tha t he hadgiven

,to eac h one of the returning Span

i a r d s,a n Indian . On reading whi c h that

noblest of Spanish women w a s grea tly a n

noyed,and broke forth in that now b istori

cal sentence,which alone would have suf

fic ed to immorta lize her : (“Qui en d io li c en c i a

a Colon p a r a, r ep a r ti r m i s Va sa l los c an

n a d i e? ’ “Who gave permission to Columbus to parcel out my vassals to a nybody ?”

or as L a s Ca sas has it : “What power has myL ord the Admiral to give my va ssa ls to a n ybod y ? ” And there a n d then she wrote a n dsigned the fam ous dec ree

,a n d caused it to be

published at once in Seville and in Grana da,

by which,whoever had received from

Columbus an India n slave,w a s ordered

,

under pain of death,to send him ba ck

,at

his own expense,to his native country by

the fir st ‘

sa i l i n g vessel . That India n andsome three hundred others

,in the company

of Bartolomé de L a s Ca sas ’ father and theill- famed persecutor of Columbus , Bobadilla

,saw once more his beloved Hayti at

seven o ’cloc k of Sunday morn ing the 2 3dday of August 1 50 0 .

Two years after,that is

,at the beginning

of the year 1 50 0 , L a s Casas had alread y

1 0 L if e of Ba r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s .

obtained a L icentiate ’s degree and the t it l eof L icenciado , by which I shall ha ve f r equent oc casion to refer to him . His diploma

,not only admitted him

,as we would

n ow say , to the bar , but also opened to himthe doors to a l l j udic ial and administrativepositions in the gift of the Spanish monarchs . It will not be thought amiss to remind the reader that a L icenciado , or lawyer

,could not obtain

,in those days

,from

a Spanish University his degree withoutpossessing , a t the same time , a fair knowledge of C an on L aw and of Theol ogy .

CHAPTER II .

L a s C a sa s a n Am e r i c a n La wyer .

N ICOL AS de Ovando , a knight of them ilita ry Order of Alcantara

,known as

the Comendador de L a res,and la ter as

the Comendador Mayor,was about to

start for Hispaniola with thirty-two shipsand 2 50 0 emigrants , drawn mostly fromthe ranks of the nobility and the upperclasses

,to replace the infamous Bobadilla

as Governor of the island,a n d refor m

a buses . Ba rtolomé de L a s Casas w a s oneof the emigrants . His motives for exilinghimself from his beautiful Castile seem tohave been then no higher than those ofan ordinary fortune seeker . History however records no action o f his

,even while

yet a l ayman,which would dishonor or

taint the good name of a Spa nish cavalier,

or a Christia n gentleman . He came t o

America,n o

~d oubt t o get rich , but on ly i fhe could do so honestly . The thirty-twoships set sails from the port of Sa n L ucaron the 1 3 th of February 1 50 2 . Eight daysl ater they were approaching the CanaryIsl an ds,

“

when a severe storm fairly fr ight

( I I )


ened the crews and passengers into bel ievingthat they would all end their journey at thebottom of the sea . Barrels of water

,of

wine,of oil

,etc .

,and all heavy articles in

the cargo were thrown over board to lightenthe ships

,which were dashed by the fury

of the wind, some on the coast of Africa

and some on the neighboring isla nds of

Tenerife , L anzarote , L a Gomera , Gran C anaria etc . Only one foundered

, L aR a bi d a,

the wrecka ge of which and the floatingcargo of the others soon found their way t othe coast of Cadiz

,a n d spread everywhere

consterna tion and the conviction that allof the thirty-two vessels and the 2 50 0 soulson boa rd of them had foundered and peri shed . So sorrow-stricken were King Ferd i n a n d and Queen Isabella

,when the news

of the supposed disa ster reached Grana da,

where they were then sojourning,that for

eight days they refused to see a living soul,

and shut themselves in their Pala ce tomourn the loss of so many of their subjects .But order had been given the ships thatshould they be forced to separate a n d suc

c eed in weathering the storm,to report a t

L a Gomera . In a few days thirty out of thethirty-two ships showed up . As n ew p a s

sen gers were to be accommodated , anotherVessel was chartered on the Gran Canaria .

L if e of Ba r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s . 1 3

Ova ndo and the young L icenciado arrivedin the harbor of San Domingo the 1 sth ofApril 1 50 2 . I shal l borrow from L a s Casashimself the description of their la nding .

“The Spanish settlers o f this city , whichwas then a n unincorpora ted village locatedon the side of the river opposite the one itoccupies now

,gathered on the shore r e

joi c i n g at our arrival . As t hose on landsaw and recognized those on board

,some of

whom had been here before,the n ew comers

asked of the old settlers n ews of the country ,while the l atter desired t o hear the l ates tnews of old Ca sti le

,and who was coming

as Governor . ‘Good news,

’ was theanswer on one side

,

‘ the king sends togovern the Indies the Comendador deL ares of the Order of Alcantara , and oldCastile i s doing well . ’ And in responsethe landsmen would say : ‘The Island isdoing well

,because much gold i s being

mined . One nugget was found worth ,alone

,many golden dollars . The Indians

of a certain province have rebelled,and

many will be made sl aves . ’ I heard thewords with my own ears

,because I came

to this island with the Comendador deL ares , and 0 11 the same voyage .

”

They gave it as a piece of good news anda s a cause for rejoicing t hat the Indians had

1 4 L i fe of Ba r tolom é d e L a s C a sa s .

rebelled,because it gave them an oppor

t un i ty of ma king war against them,and

thus to make slaves of them t o be sent toand sold in Castile .

The rea der will before long be enabled tobetter appre c iate the full mea ning of thispassa ge of L a s Ca sas , which is taken fromthe III . Chapter of the II . book of hisH i stor i a d e L a s In d i a s .

There is no indication that the L icencia do?ever entered the practice of L aw or heldoffice a s a layman . The usual methods of

,

ama ssing wealth in the earliest Ameri c a n!colonies were I st r esc a ta r 0 7 0 , which meant ,ba rtering European trinkets with the natives

'

for their gold 2 d mining , 3d farming .

The first was followed mostly by un sc rupulous a n d adventurous seamen who

,not un

frequently,made their commercia l expedi

tions on the isla nds and on the ma inlandfor the main purpose of kidnapping Indians .The second

,gold getting

,principa lly

through the enforced la bor of the Indians,

was the most common road to wea lth .

Much attention was also paid to the third,

agriculture . It w a s the Spaniards who i nt rod uc ed on the Western Continent all the

Twelve Fr a n c isc a n s c a m e on t he sa m e fl eet , w it hAlon so d e Espin a l t o est a bl ish t he fir st Con ven t or

Mon a st ery i n Am er ic a .


European produces . The suga r -cane,which

soon became a prolific source of wealth forHispaniola and Cuba

,was brought from

Madeira as early as 1 494 by Pedro deAl i en zo . Bartolomé de L a s Casas took t o

farming and mining .

In March 1 494 Christopher Columbusbuilt the fortress of San Tomas in them ountainous province then called Cibao

,

almost in the centre of Hispaniola . L a s

Casas describes the locality as follows : “Hedecided to build there a fortress where theChristians could dwell i n safety and thencel ord it over the neighboring mines Thesite selected was a most picturesque one ahill almost encircled by a beautiful a n d

spa rkling little river,the waters of which

seem to be distilled , so clear are they . Thesounds of its l ittle cascades are cha rming tothe ear . The land around is clea r of brush

,

and the air so pure and bracing as to inviteyou to cheerfulness and happiness . Thename of the river out of which much goldhas been taken

,is X a n ique , and is but one

of several i n - that province rich of the precions metal . There he caused to be constructed a house very well built of woodand burnt earth

,surrounding it with a deep

ditch on the side where the river did notprot ect it . The house

,or tower

,was very

1 6 L if e of B a r tolom é d e L a s Cas a s .

strong,the Indians ’ means of a ssault con

si d ered . At the ba se of the hill on whichthe fortress is built

,i s a level and bea utiful

piece of land,called by the natives a Z a

bana . There,at a time when the fortress

ha d already been abandoned,I established

and owned a farm,before I entered the

ecclesiastica l state . The brook,at its

junction with the river,forms a little island

of rich a n d fertile soil,on which the first

onions in Hispaniola were ra ised from seedsimported from Castile .

”(H i s tor i a d e L a s

In d i a s , Book I . Cha pter XCI . )No doubt L a s Casa s here describes his

America n home before his Ordination tothe Priesthood . He did not however usuallyreside there ; for he says , spea king of theadministration of Ovando : “ I was here ( inthe city of San Domingo ) most of the timeof his term of office .

” San Tomas stood

30 0 0 feet above sea-level , 50 or 60 milessouth of Isabella ( the first town built byColumbus ) and about the same distancefrom Concepc ion de L a Vega , where he r ec eived Priest’s Orders the first week inNovember 1 5 1 0 .

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ornamenta l devises which they gave as presents to the newly ordained priest

,acc ord

ing to ea c h one ’s plea sure a n d means . Themouldings and the ca stings were made inthe royal smeltery itself

,a s i t was forbidden

to smelt a nywhere else,in order that

one-fif th of all the gold might be set asidefor the king acc ording to law Rea les

had already found their way to the isla nd,

and many offerings were made of them tothe new priest

,who ga ve everything to his

spon sor s i except a few gold pieces whichhe kept as souvenirs

,on account of the ex

c el l en c e of their workmanship . A peculiarcircumstance of that First Mass was thatduring all the festivities no toasts wereoffered and not a drop of win e was drunk .

None was to be ha d on the island beca useno ship had arrived from Spain in ma nyda ys . ” (H i s tor i a d e L a s In d i a s , Book II .Cha pter L IV. )Here begins the rea l biography of this

remarkable man,who

,being the first or

dained,has not yet

,a s the rea der shall see

,at

the end of this nineteenth century,an equal

among the many thousands of clergymen

A Spa n ish c oin wor t h twelve a n d a ha l f c en t s ofour m on ey .

1 I n Spa in t he c us t om pr eva iled o f gi vin g Godfa t her s or spon sor s t o t he c a n dida t es t o t he pr iesthood .

L if e of B a r toZom é d e L a s Ca sa s . 1 9

who have since l ived and died on thisWestern Continen t . Others there have beenmore sainted

,more eloquent

,more learned

perhaps but,i f the good accomplished

,for

both the White and the Red man,alone be

taken in consideration,the first ordained

American Priest sta nds yet without a peer .The conviction creeps on the student ofearlyAm er i c a n H i s tory,

who dives deeply i nthe original sources of information that

,had

there been n ot a L a s Casa s , and had he n otbeen a Catholic Priest

,bac ked by as power

ful a friend as Charles V . of Spain , it wouldbe doubtfu l i f even a vestige of the American Indian would now remain . But i f thereare n ow in Spanish America alone thirtymillion in whose veins courses aboriginalAmerican blood

,i t is due to Bart olomé de

L a s Casas more than to any one else . Therea der need not fear that this biography isto take the form of a panegyric . L a s Casasw a s not a saint even after receiving Priest ’sOrders

,although

,were his canonization

left to the sc ores of non-Cathol i c authorswho wrote of him

,he would perhaps be

placed a t the head of the Roman Martyrology . Within two yc a rs from his ordination

,he became the sel f-appointed Pro

tector of the Indians and six years after hewas given that t itle officially .

C HAPTER IV.

S oc i a l , pol i t i c a l a n d ec on om i c a l c on d i t ion s

of t he f i r s t Am er i c a n C olon y .

C HRISTOPHER Columbus arrived inHispaniola

,on his second voyage

,the

2 8th of August 1 493 . Fifteen hundred andn inety m en accompanied him who formedthe first Colony . On landing at the port ofNavid ad he found that the thirty-nine compa nions of his first voyage

,whom he had

left behind when he returned to Spain t cbring the n ews of his wonderful discovery

,

ha d all been m a ssacred by the India ns .Among these first fifteen hundred and ninetyEuropean immigrants were 1 st

,Christopher

Columbus himself,Admiral and Commander

in chief of the fleet,who came as Governor

andViceroy of the Colony . 2 d , His brotherDiego

,who

,on hearin g of the great dis

c overy, had left in Genoa the' loom and the

shuttle,t o follow his brother to America .

3d , Antonio Torres who was second in command of the fleet and first on the returnvoyage . 4th ,

Bernal Dias,who followed

the expedition as Auditor of the royalaccounts . 5th ,

Diego Marquez in charge of

L if e of B a r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s . 2 1

the Quartermaster’s department . oth , Pedrode Villacorta a s T rea sur er . 7th , Franciscode Pen alosa

,already mentioned above .

8 th ,Alonso de Vallej o

,Pen alosa’s L i eut en

ant . A l l these were Grandees of the RoyalHousehold . Columbus

,at his famous re

c ep t i on at Court in Barcelona had given exa gger a t ed reports of the a bundance of goldin the Indies . The glitter of the pre c iousmetal attracted to his standard hundreds ofnoblemen and cavaliers

,who had grown

in arms and heretofore had lived by them .

The Moorish wars had come to an end withthe fal l of Granada

,January 2 d , 1 492 , and

ha d l eft them without an occupation . Thenumber fifteen hundred and ninety m en

was largely made up of ex-offic ers of thearmy

,and their retainers fresh from camp

l ife and ready for any n ew and stimula tingadventure

,which the hated Moor

,in Spain

at least,afforded them no longer .

The n ew climate,the a rduous manual

l abor,whic h Columbus was forced to im

pose ou n obleman and plebeian alike,

while building Isabella,the first American

t own , the want of proper shelter,the

scarcity of European food,soon engendered

an epidemic of fevers,and the colony was

dec imated again and again . To makematters worse the coveted gold did n ot a p

2 2 L if e of B a r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s .

pear i n any great quantity for several years,

and nearly all the surviving colonists clamored to return t o Spa in on every ship thatsailed from Hispaniola . Many did returnbetween the yea rs 1 493 and 1 498 some onthree vessels that brought Bartholomew

,the

other brother of Columbus to America during the middle part of the year 1 494 , someothers

,about two hundred in numbers , on

the two caravels that brought back Christ opher Columbus from his second voya ge ,and n ot l ess than three hundred towardsthe end of 1 498 .

Emigration t o America between 1 494 a n d1 50 0 w a s unpopular and

,to mainta in the

settlement of Hispaniola,king Ferdin and

and Isabella felt compelled to order , by adecree dated the 1 0 th of April 1 495 , thatnot less than three hundred persons shouldremain on the isl and in the pay of theCrown . Another d ecree

,dictated a t the

suggestion of Columbus himself , and da tedthe 2 2 d of June 1 497, granted pardon to allcriminal s then in the j ails of Spa in

,with

few exceptions , who would consent to work ,under the direction and at the expense ofthe Admiral of the Indies

,two yea rs

,i f

under sentence of death,and one year i f

convict ed of a non-capital crime . All judgesof the kingdom were also instructed to ship


to Hispaniola the crimina ls found guilty ofcrimes deserving exile or ha rd la bor in themines . But

,notwithsta nding a l l these pro

visions,and perhaps on ac count of them

,

t here were not inHispaniola or anywhere elsei n America

,more than three hundred white

settlers at the dawn of the sixteenth cent ury . Of them Christopher Columbus

,111 a

letter written at the end of the year 1 50 0 ,

says : “ In Hispaniola there are very few,

who a re not vaga bonds,and nobody has a

wife or a family .

” They lived in open conc ubi n a ge with Indian women , and deba uc hed them whenever their unrestrainedlust prompted t hem to . Of the helplessnatives they recognized n o right . A bi oton the fair name of the discoverer ofAmeri c ahimself i s the fact

,that he conceived the

idea and attempted to carry it out,of filling

his own and his royal master’s coffers bythe pa rtial enslavement of its aboriginalinhabitants .The famous Genoese navigator and hi s

brothers did not prove successful rulers overthe lawless a n d heterogeneous band ofSpa nish adventurers

,who feared neither

God n or man and the settlement,between

the year 1 494 and 1 50 0 ,was almost con

st a n t ly in a state of revolt a n d semi-anarchy .

Francisco Roldan,with his seventy or

2 4 L i fe of Ba r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s .

eighty followers,successfully defied the

authority of Columbus,and

,during his

absence,of his brothers Bartholomew and

Diego,for n ot l ess than four years . Fear

ing to l oose the wavering allegiance of theother colonists

, the unhappy world finderadopted the policy of condoning their thefts

,

their oppressions,and even t heir murders

of the Indians .During the two first years of the sixt eenth

century gold began to be gathered in p a ying qua ntities and more settlers were a t

tracted from Spain to Hispaniola . Towa rdsthe end of 1 50 7 i t ha d become possible toestablish a new settlement

,under the leader

ship of Juan Ponce de L eon , on the island ,which he named San Juan (St . John ) andwhich is n ow known as Porto Rico fromits principal harbor . In 1 50 9 two n ew

Colonies were established on the main-landaggregating on e thousand men ; one byDiego de N i c uesa in the province of Veraguan orth of the gulf and river Darien

,the

other by Alonso de Ojeda on the gulf ofUraba

'

. south of Darien,which

,by mutual

agreement,became the dividing line of the

respective settlements of which,by roya l

decree,they were made governors . A few

Spaniards,during the same year

,a lso took

possession of the island of Jamaica , over

CHAPTER V .

Rel a t ion s between t he Fi rs t Europea n

Set t ler s a n d t he In d i a n s .

T O understa nd the mission and t he l ifework of L a s Ca sas it is necessary to form

a correct idea of the relations,existing a t the

time of his ordination,between the two

races,the white intruder and the helpless

aboriginal American . It has already beensaid how thirty nine of Columbus’ companions

,on his first voyage

,had been

massacred by the Indians . Why Becausethey had debauched their wives and theirsisters

,and stolen their property . Colum

bus had wisely allowed their dea th toremain unrevenged . But by the be

ginning of 1 494 , the Spaniards , havingalready realized the weakness a n d helplessness of the natives

,and built here

and there on the island a few fort resses ,Mosen Pedro Margarite was sent outwith four hundred men t o explore andsubjugate it . Three Spaniards one d aywere on their way from the Fortress SanTomas t o Isabella

,accompanied by five

( 2 6 )

L if e of B artolom é d e L a s C a sa s . 2 7

Indians,who had been assigned by their

Cacique t o carry their baggage . The eighttravellers were in the water

,crossing a

river,when the five Americans abandoned

the three Europeans and made,with the

latter ’s baggage,for their native village .

The Ca cique,instead of punishing the

offenders,kept the coveted European goods

for himself ; and Ojeda avenged the theftby causing the ears of on e of the offendersto be cut off publicly

,and the Cacique and

his nephew to be sent in irons t o Columbusa t Isabella . The Admiral condemned thempromptly to death

,but later yielded to the

entreaties of another friendly Cacique andset them free . During the imprisonmentof the guilty chief a Spanish horsemanchanced to pass through his village wherehe foun d five of his countrymen surroundedby hundreds of Indians

,ready t o put them

to death . At the appearance of the manon horseback the naked Indians

,as usual ,

took to their heels ; but in the scrimmagesome were wounded

,others killed by the

Castilian steel .I t was not long before the four hundredSpaniards i n the interior of the island beganto help themselves to whatever the Indianspossessed ; provisions t o eat , women toabuse

,a n d young men to press them into

2 8 L if e of B a r tolom é d e L a s C a sa s .

their menial services . Meanwhil e Colum bushad gone on a voyage of discovery . Mar

ga r i t e , disgusted with the conduct of hissuperiors

,abandoned his command

,r e

turned to Isabella and thenc e to Spain . Hismen scattered hither and thither in groupsto become the scourge of the native isla nders . Then followed the rebellion of R O1

dan,whose men outlawed by the colonial

authorities,l ived for four years of theft and

rapine . The Indians , from believing themm en from Heaven

,began t o look upon the

n ew comers as their persecutors and as thepersonification of wickedness and cruelty .

Reprisals followed,and woe to the Spaniard

who chanced to be surprised alone or

unprotected . Not a few of the colonistsperished at the hands of the natives

,who

rose i n arms all over the i sl and against theintruders .Ojeda

,by a t reacherous st rat agem i n veig

l ed from his dominions Caonabo thebr a vestand most powerful Indian chief to Isabella .

His treachery fired the heart of the redmen

, who determined t o wipe out fromtheir country the pa le-faced strangers . Butthey were naked

,and their arrows proved

almost inoffensive aga inst the shields , thel ances and the fire-arms of the Spaniards .One man on horseback and in armor could


safely dash through the serried ra nks ofthousands of Indians and slaughter themrigh t and left by the hun dred . To pacify (the l and

,Columbus

,on hi s ret urn , ordered

a cruel war of extermination . The rulewas then adopted that for every Europeankilled by the Indians , one hundred of theseshould perish . Some six hundred so calledprisoners of war were captured a n d wererea dy to be shipped to Spain t o be sold asslaves The unfortunate Caonabo was a lready ou board of one of the vessels whena tempest arose and en gulfed t he entireflotilla and the helpless India n chief with it .It w a s then ( 1 495 ) that the Spaniards usedfor the first time against the Indians wha tL a s Casa s calls (H i stor i a d e la s In d i a sCh . CIV . Book I . )

“ the diabolical i nvention”

,the blood-hounds Twenty of

these were let l oose l ike wolves amongst afloc k of lambs and thousands of the terrori zed Americans were torn to pieces . Theland was pacified ; that is , the Indians indespair bent their n ecks t o the yoke of theSpa niards .Tributes of gold were then l evied on

every person above 1 4 years of age so exorbitant

,that the Islanders

,who possessed

no appliances for mining it,found it im

possible to gather it from beds of rivers i n

30 L if e of Ba r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s .

sufl‘i c i en t quantities to pay them . In des

pair they abandoned their villa ges,their

homes and their farms,and t ook to the

mountains . Pursued by the horsemen andthe blood-hounds they

.

perished by thethousands of hunger and wa nt . But mea nwhile the Spania rds t hemselves saw theirown n umbers thinned out year after year ,by sickness

,hunger and the Indians . Dis

satisfaction soon became general . Theacquired ha bits of dissoluteness and of roaming about the island pillaging the Indians

,

a n d their consequent idleness made farmi n gdistasteful

,and even impossible . Two yea rs

experience ha d proved that the tributes ofgold

,even though they caused thousands of

the n atives to perish,could not be collected .

It was at this juncture that Columbus,to

provide for the starving European colonists,

laid the foundation of wha t,later under

Bobadilla (between 1 50 0 and he

came known as the Rep a r tim i eri tos . Thetributes of gold having failed

,he l evied

n ew ones in the form of enforced labor intilling sufficient fields or farms t o supportthe garrisons and the Spanish settlers .Roldan

,during his rebellion

,had tasted

the sweets of slavery,that is

,ha d gotten in

the habit of forcing the Indians to do forhimself and for his followers any and a l l


kinds of labor . Coa xed into submission,

but still a standin g mena ce to the alreadyweakened authority of the Admira l

,he

asked for permission to impress the subjectsof Chief B ehec hi o into the enforced laborof working the fields for the sustenanceof himself and his followers . “Fearing

,

for good reasons,a new rebellion

,

” Columbus yielded .

“Then,

” to use the wordsof L a s Ca sas ,

“those who had remainedfaithful to the Admiral

,as wel l . a s the

followers of Roldan,especially when they

began to settle down and to form Pueblos

(villages ) , each one , the herdsman , thebranded criminal

,and he

,who for his

crimes had been exiled from Castil e , begant o ask that this or that Cacique wit h hispeople be assigned t o work his farms . ”

The Admiral yielded again and “ in amonth the branded criminal and the exilebecame the masters of the l ords or kingsof the land .

” Columbus went farther . Itis pa inful to transla te the following letterof the Discoverer of America ;

“but,

” saysL a s Casa s ,

“these are hi s words

“May it please Your Majesties to al l owthat these people ( the Indians ) may bemade use of

,for a year or two until this

business ( of colonization ) be pl aced on agood footin g ; i t begins to do better already ,

3 2 L i fe of Ba r tolom é ale L a s Ca sa s .

as both the seamen and nearly a l l thelandsmen are now satisfied . Two or threeship -masters are here ready to bind themselves to take to Seville

,at their own ex

pense,sla ves

,for the consideration of 1 50 0

m a r aved i es a head,to be paid out of the

proceeds of their sale . The propositionpleased everybody

,and I pledged myself

on account of everybody else to furnish thecargo . They ( the ship-masters ) wil l returnand bring provisions and other necessarythings . Thus this business ( the coloniza t ion of Hispaniola ) will improve . It i snow in bad shape

,because the people ( the

whites ) refuse to work , and the Indians don ot pay tribute .

”

The kings of Spain were a lso informedt hat all the Spaniards preferred already tosettle down on their own account to r e

maining in the serv ice and in the pay ofthe King . To the credit of the Genoesemariner it must be said that he never i ntended to permanently enslave the Indians

,

and that those who were to be sent to Spainwere the so-called prisoners of war .Bobadilla

,his persecutor

,who was his

immediate successor in the governorship ofthe Island

,to please the Spaniards

,assigned

t o all of them In dians,and these allotments

of In dians became known as Rep a r tim ien

34 L if e of B a r tolorn é d e L a s Ca sa s

Meanwhile i t was believed by the rul ersof Spain that their untutored American sub

jec t s were only paying a reasonable tributeor tax

,in work instead of cash . L a s Casas ’

writings,and those of his contemporaries

on early American history,are full of royal

decrees issued by Ferdinand and Isa bella,

and by Charles V . in favor and for theprote c tion of their transatlantic subj ects .Unfortunately their authority in the western World

,during the first fifty years after

its discovery, w a s sca rcely more than a

shadow . The will of the a d ven tur er,

. the

c on qui s ta d or , exile or criminal was the onlylaw protecting the natives .Gold having been discovered in many

pla ces in Hispaniol a,gold ! hunters from

Spain began to cross the Atlantic in i ncreasing numbers . But the morals o f thecolony were sc a rely improved thereby , a l

though a n occasional good m a n emigratedto America . It soon became proverbial inthe Spanish Peninsula tha t only a d

venturers,outlaws and thieves passed to

the Indies . These on their arrival foundit but natural to adapt themselves to theirnew surroundings and to endeavor to getrich by oppressing the In dians .During the first d ec a de of the sixteenth

century numerous mines were established


in Hispaniola,and in these thousands upon

thousands of Indians were cast to work andto perish under the lash

,or of want and ex

ha ust ion . Their brutal task-masters lookedupon them as l ittle more than beasts ofburden and were merciless .The West-Indian Islanders

,unlike their

brothers of the Continent,were not war

like . The nature of their country ’s climatemade it unnecessary to wear any clothing ;Palm leaves

,reeds and straw a fforded them

what shelter was needed ; the forests anabundance of fruits

,the rivers and the sur

rounding ocean their fish,and the cazabe

or cassaba plant and maiz their bread .

Only the last named articles required anycultivation at all . Their lives were therefore spent in idleness

,and their bodies under

the influence of a tropical sun,had grown

delicate,undeveloped

,and unfit for manual

labor . Hence the confinement and thework of the mines proved to them unbearable and fatal . They died by the t housands

,and the survivors often preferred

death to the galling yoke of the bea r d ed i nt rud er .

“The pay,

” says L a s Casas ,“which they ( the Spania rds ) gave thewretches ( the Indians ) for their un i n t errupt ed labor , were the lash and the stick ,and scarcely a word did they address to

36 L if e of B a r tolom é d e L a s C a sa s .

them if it w a s not to cal l them Dogs . Andwould to God that they ’d treat them as wellas their dogs . They would not kill one ofthese for a thousand Castel lanos

,whereas

they think no more of killing t en or twentyIndians for a pastime or to test the sharpn ess of their swords

,whenever their whims

prompt them to,than i f the poor creatures

were cats . Two boys twelve years of age ,were each the possesssor of a parrot . Twoother individua ls

,who called themselves

Christians,took the birds away from the

children,and then

,as i f for amusement

,

cut their ( the children’s ) heads off . An

other t yrant , annoyed by a Cacique , whohad failed t o give all t hat the white manhad asked for

,hanged 1 2 of his Indians

and 1 8 others i n on e and the same house .

Another condemned an Indian t o be shotto death with arrows because

,he said

,he

ha d been slow in delivering a l etter ofwhich he was the carrier . Of similar deedsperpetrated by our Christians the number isinfinite “They were the workrather than of m en

,of devil s incarnate .

L a s Casas here describes the condition ofthe Indians under Bobadilla , during theyears 1 50 0 to 1 50 2 . The 30 0 br utalizedcrimina l white men 0 11 the Island hadgrown accustomed to look upon the na

L if e of B a r tolom é d e L a s C a sa s . 37

t ives , not as their fellowmen but as beast s ,useful only for the ' labor they were able toperform .

Their lot did n ot much improve underGovernor Ovando

,during whose regime

and that of Diego Columbus,the son of the

Discoverer,a vast ma jority of the natives

,

to the n umber of several hundred thousands

,i f n ot a full million

,perished . The

inhabita nts of Porto Rico and of Jamaicamet with the same fate a t about the sametime . Those of the Bahama Islands to then umber of forty thousa nds (Ped r oMa r tyr

Dec a d a VII . ) were kidna pped from theirhomes and brought t o Hispaniola to workin the mines where they t oo perished anddisappeared .

In Cuba the gen eral hecatomb t ook p l acea decade of years later . A sad phenomenontook place there

,which

,as far as I know

,

ha s no parallel in the annals of m ankind .

Having been taught by experience that t esi st a n c e to the Spaniards was futi le andflight from them impossible

,the Indians

fell a prey t o sullen despair and to a maniafor suicide .

“Whol e famil ies would hangthemselves

,fathers and sons

,young and

old,adult and children . The villa gers of

one Pueblo would invite those of anotherto hang themselves t ogether in order t o

38 L if e of Ba r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s .

escape their uninterrupted woes and t orments . They believed that after dea ththey would live another life somewhereelse tha t would afford them perfect restSo great was the number of those who

became affected with this mania of hangingthemselves

,that the Spaniards began to

realize that they had overdone their work,

and to grieve over their cruelties,because

they saw that soon there would be nobodyleft to be killed in the mines ASpanish master saw the Indians of his Re

p a r t im i en t o , heart-broken and in despa ir ,leave their quarters

,or the mines

,and on

their way to their native village fully det erm i n ed there to hang themselves all together . Having surmised their intention

,

he appeared in their midst when they weregetting their ropes ready

,and assuming as

much earnestness as he could ;“ look me

up a good rope,

” he said,

“ I want to hangmyself along with you why shoul d I livewithout you

,who make my living and mine

my gold I wish to go with you that I maynot be deprived of what you do for me .

”

They,thinking

,that even after death , they

coul d not rid themselves o f him ,and tha t ,

in the hereafter,he would continue to lord

it over and oppress them,agreed not to kill

t hemselves then , but to postpone their own

L if e of B a r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s . 39

execution .

”(H i s t . De L a s In d . Book I II .

The natives of the Ba hama Archipelagowere na tura lly great swimmers . To kidna pthem in shiploa ds and sell them into sla verywas no extra ordina ry o c cupation of theearly American Colon ists . At first theBa hamians sold for four a n d five dollars ahead . But the discovery of the pea rl fisheries sent up t heir price to $ 1 0 0 and to$ 1 50 . Those who did not die in t heminesof Hispaniola

,found wa tery graves around

the little Isla nd of C uba gua , on the pearlcoa st

,where they were employed as divers .

It is refreshing to meet with an oc c asionalgood man among the ea rliest Americansettlers . Pedro de L a Isla was on e ofthem . He w a s wealthy , and lived as a r etired merchan t in the capital c ity of Sa nDomin go . It was his desire to prevent theutter extinction of the aboriginal race ofBahamians ; and , with that end in View ,

heprovisioned abundantly a caravel and sentit with eight or nine sailors to searc h theforty or fifty isla nds . They were instructedt o take on board the few wretches

,who

might have escaped the grasp of the kidna ppers . Pedro ’s intention was to colonizethe Islanders into a pueblo where they c ouldlive in perfect l iberty and peace . Three


years were spent in the undertaking ; but ,when the c a ravel put i n the port of Plataonly eleven India ns were landed Sothoroughly had the sea-faring maraudersdone their work . Pedro de L a Isla died a

Franciscan Friar .During the year 1 5 1 8 smallpox w a s im

ported,from Spain

,into Hispaniola and of

the India ns,who had survived the works of

the mines and the tyranny of the whitesettlers

,a few thousand only escaped its

rava ges . Thus in less than half a centuryfrom the advent of the white man

,the

inhabitants of Cuba,Porto Rico

,H i

spaniola,Jamaica and the Bahamas had

disappeared,and to-day it is doubtful i f a

single full blooded aboriginal of those islands is to be found .

It was L a s Casas ’ mission to stem thetorrent of bloodshed and murder

,which

threatened t o devast ate and depopula te theAmerican cont inent as it d i d the Americanislands .


by America entered the Communion ofSaints .Three or four Secular priest s a c c om panied Columbus on his second expedition .

I have been unable to ascertain theirnames . Some Franciscan Friars alsocame at the same time

,priests and lay

brothers . One of the priests was namedFather Remis

,or Remigius . Of the

two l ay brothers , one was named Jua nde L a Duela surnamed the Bermejo ( thered

,from his ruddy complexion ) , and

the other Juan de T isin . These werewel l read and l ettered men

,who

,it was

underst ood,had refused

,through humility

,

t o receive priest’s orders . These firstFranciscans were not Spaniards but Frenchmen from Picardy

,and they came to

America, L a s Casas assures us , through

pure zeal,to evangelize the n atives . R e

m igius , after laboring several years inHispaniola and in Cuba

,returned to

Europe,and through the influence of

Cardinal Ximenes (who was a Franciscan ) , obtained permission t o bring withhim t o America

,about the year 1 5 1 4 ,

four teen other Franciscans,all French

men from Picardy . As we shall see,

these French Fathers established the

L ife of Ba r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s . 43

first house of their Order on theAmerican continent

,in the Indian

village of Cumana on the coast ofVenezuela .

The famous Father B ii i l came as theOrdinary of the first American colonywith ful l ecclesiastical jurisdiction . Hewas a Benedictine Monk from the kingdomof Aragon

,and

,as L a s Casas surm i ses

,

the Abbot of a monastery at the timeof his appointment

,which was made by

Pope Alexander VI . at the request of kingFerdinand .

He was the first American Vi c a rAp ostoli c , but was n ot a Bishop

,as

the following from the Papal Bull ofappointment plainly shows : “Ti bi , qa i

pr esbi ter es a c c ed en d i et i n i bi

qa a m d ia oola er i s c om m or a ri d i , p len am ,

l iber am oi or m im od am f a c a l ta tem c ori

ced im a s p a r i ter oi ela rgim a r .

” TheHoly Father also left him free to re

turn to Spain whenever he wished to,

provided be transferred the faculties r e

c e ived to some other Priest, who a c c om

p a n i ed him t o America .

B ii i l remained in America n ot morethan t en months , and returned t o Spainwith Mosen Pedro Margarite He had


not been in Hispa niola many days whendisagreements arose between himself andChristopher Columbus and his brothers .Hernandez de Oviedo

,a contemporary

historian,says ( although L a s Casas dis

credits his statements ) that during thosedissensions B ii i l suspended all the divineoffices in the Colony to bring Columbusto terms

,and that the latter

,as a r e

prisal deprived B ii i l and the members ofhis household of their daily rations . Bethat as it may

,certain it is that on

his return to Spain,he endeavored

,by

misrepresentations,to discredit Columbus

and his undertaking . L a s Casas leavesus not in doubt that he , Mosen PedroMargarite and their disgruntled part i sa n s were at the root of the ultima tedownfall of the discoverer of America .

His name would never have been preserved to history were it n ot for hisassociations with , the Genoese mariner .The name has been twisted into Boil

,

Boyle and B o i le to make a n Irishman ofhim . There is no doubt that he was aBenedictine Monk bred and born in thekingdom of Aragon ; but Spanish or Irish ,his name will never shed much lustre on

either n ation .


The first priests came t o the New Worldwell provided wi th vestments , chalices andall other artic les necessary to the celebration of the divine ofli c es . The chasuble ,used by the priest

,who said the first Mass

in America,was given

,out of her royal

chapel,by Queen Isabella . It did service

for many years,and L a s Casas pathetically

remarks,that

,when too old to be used any

l onger , it continued to be preserved almostas carefully as i f i t was a relic

,

“beca useof its being the gift of the beloved Ca tholicQueen and the first brought to the Indies . ”

Every vessel , sailing from Spain for H ispaniola between the years 1 493 and 1 5 1 0 ,

carried at least one clergyman either aschaplain or to remain in the Colonies . Atleast one Franciscan accompan ied Bobadillato Hispaniola

,Father Juan de Trasierra .

Neither he however,nor the French Fathers

,

who ha d arrived in 1 493 , crossed the oceanfor the fixed purpose of founding a conventof their Order in America . This was doneby Father Alonzo de Espinal

,who aecom

pa n i ed by twelve otherFriars , a l l Spaniards ,arrived in Hispaniola with Ovando in 1 50 2 .

Their first convent was founded in theCity of San Domingo . In 1 5 1 0 the Franc i sc a n s possessed already another house inor n ear Concepcion de L a Vega composed

46 L if e of B a r tolom o d o L a s Ca sa s .

of eight Friars ; and a third one in the Province of X a r a gua , in the town which theycalled Vera Pa z .

Alas they too had their R epa r t im i en t os

of India ns,not indeed in their own name

,

but in tha t of a la yma n,who made some

$50 0 0 a year out of the slaves , and gaveenough to support the Friars according totheir rule a n d vow of poverty . The tithesof the church having been ceded by Alexander VI . to the Crown

,the secular priests

and their churches were supported by thekings as long as there were no EpiscopalSees in existence . Wherever a settlementof Spania rds was made

,a priest was as

signed to a c t as its parish priest,with a

sala ry of $ 1 0 0 aWe know of three substantial churches

begun and partially built by Columbus himself ; one a t Isa bella which w a s probablynever finished

,because that settlement was

soon abandoned ; another at Concepcion deL a Vega , where he desired t o be buried ,and a third one at San Dom i n god l )

Between t he yea r s 1500 a n d 1560 gold depr ec i a t ed i n va lue 1000 ow in g t o t he l a rge t r ea sur eso f t he yellow m et a l foun d i n possess ion o f t he In c a so f Per u a n d t he r i c h m in es disc over ed a lm ost eve rywher e in Am er i c a . The pur c h a s in g powe r o f go ldi n 1560 wa s yet five t im es gr ea t er t ha n i t i s n ow , so

t h a t t he ea r l iest Am e r i c a n pr iest swer e pa id a s a l a ryequiva len t t o $ 1500 o f t o d a y .

I) The c hur c h buil t by Chr ist opher Colum bus a t

L if e of Ba r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s . 47

But generally the so-called churches,

during the first twenty years of Americancolonization

,were nothing more tha n a few

rough-hewn timbers stuck in the groundwith over them a st r aw tha t c hed roof .Before the ordina tion of L a s Casas scarce

ly a voice was raised by either Regularor Secular clergy against the en sl a vem en t l

of the India ns . He tells us how everybody

( inc luding himself ) was blind about tha tgrea t sin . The evil had cast d eep rootseven in the Court of Spain

,and corruption

in office was rampa nt during the last yearsof king Ferdinand ’s reign .

Don Jua n de Fon sec a,whom we shall

frequently meet in the course of this work,

w a s bishop of Burgos, ( though residing at

Court ) a Privy Councillor to their Majesties ,and

,for many years

,head as we would say

now-a -da ys,of the bureau for Indian affa irs .

“This Don Juan de Fonseca,

” says L a sCa sas

,

“although an ecc lesia stic,an Arch

dea con first,then Bishop o f Bada j oz

,then

of Palencia,and last of Burgos

,w a s very

skillful in the management of worldly affairs,

S a n D om in go h a s d isa ppea r ed a l t oge t her . B ut

t he Ca thedr a l of t ha t c it y , begun dur i n g t he gover nor sh i p o f D iego Co lum bus i n 1514 i s t he oldes tc hur c h i n Am er i c a a n d ye t on e o f t he fin es t . I t i s

fa m ou s a s t he bur ia l pl a c e o f t he C ol um buses,fa ther , son a n d gr a n dson .


especially i n ga thering armies to fight onthe sea

,a business better befitting the

sailors of Bisc ay than a bishop . Hencethe Kings

,as long a s they lived

,alwa ys

entrusted him with the fitting out of theirfleets . ”

There was scarcely a family in Spainmore influential than the Fonseca . Besidethe elder brother Don Alonso , who had i nher i t ed the rich family estate

,and Don

Juan,there was Don Antonio de Fonseca

,

their brother,the Auditor of State for the

Kings,and Don Alonso de Fonseca

,their

uncle,and Archbishop of Seville .

At the time of L a s Casas ’ ordination ,Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca

,the Bishop of

Burgos was working,for his own benefit

,

in the mines and on the plantations ofHispaniola and Jamaica twelve hundredIndian slaves . No wonder i f a few of theea rliest America n clergymen were foundin possession of R epa r t im i en tos .

To the sons of St . Dominic , so oftenpa inted as the embodiment of tyranny andthe tool s of the Inquisition

,belongs the

honor of being the first protectors of American liberty ; and the first to ra ise theirvoice against the ensl avement of the n ativeIndian s . Father Domingo de Mendoza

,

brother of the famous Garcia de L oaysa ,

50 L if e of B a r tolom od o L a s Ca sa s .

a sermon on the gl ories of Heaven,which

ma de a powerful impression on the C olonists . During the morning service theSpaniards were told to send their Indiansto church in the afternoon for instruction .

The natives came in large numbers ; andthe young Missioner

,crucifix in hand and

seated on a stool,addressed them by means

of an interpreter beginning with the creat ion of the world and ending with thecrucifixion of Christ . Hence the Dominic a n rule had its origin

,which was kept

for many years after in Hispaniol a and onthe continent

,of instructing the Indians

every Sunday afternoon . The first Dominican convent in the New World w a s astraw hut d ona ted by a good m a n namedPedro de L um br a r es , but its first occupantswere m en picked from different conventsin Spain

,and eminent for their learning

and their virtues . De L um br a r es furnishedthe Friars with cazabe bread

,which formed

their ordinary diet,and occasional ly with

eggs and fish . Add to these some cabbagedressed in oil

,when they could get it , and

you have the fare of t hose early Apostlesof America . Wheat bread and wine werehard to obtain

,even for Altar purposes .

Nevertheless they observed scrupulouslythe pri mitive rule of their Order , and fasted

L if e of B a r iolom o’

d o L a s Ca sa s . 5 1

seven months in the year . Their bedswere made of four forked posts and somel rew n boards with over them a sack or

mattress filled with straw .

By their sermons,the administration of

the Sacraments,and mainly by the ex

ample of their lives , they soon succeededin stamping out certain minor forms of sin

,

such as the n on -observance of fa st-da ys,

the practice of usury,etc . But the plague

of the colony,the main cause of its de

gradation,n amely the enslaving of the In

dia ns continued its rava ges unhamperedand unopposed . From their Convent ofstraw i t took the Friars a few months tofully realize the enormity of the evil . AsProvidenc e would have it

,an outlaw came

to open their eyes . Juan Garcez,having

killed his wife in a fit of j ealousy,ha d been in

hiding for three or four years . Smitten byremorse of conscience a n d tired of the lifeof a vagabond

,he presented himself one

n ight under cover of darknes s at the doorof the Monastery

,and begged to be received

as a lay member of the community . Hesucceeded in convincing the Fathers thathis conversion was sinc ere

,and was admit

ted . Garcez soon began to entertain theFathers with graphic descriptions of thehorrible cruel ties perpetrated by himself


and by other Spaniards on the helplessn atives

,especially in the work of the

mines,and set the good Friars to study the

problem of India n slavery . Prayers andfastings followed in the Community to ohtain from God light to adopt the propermea ns

,a n d fortitude to comba t the monster

evil . Consulta tions followed each otheramong the Fria rs in rapid succession

,a n d

it was decided a t last that the tyranny oftheir countrymen should be attacked fromthe pulpit . Fa ther An t on io Montesino waschosen for the ta sk . A sermon was prepared and the manuscript w a s submittedto the approval of all the other Fa thers

,

who, each individually , attac hed to it hisown signature . Then a house to housecanvass was made of the town

,and the

Spaniards,from the Governor down

,were

invited to hear the sermon the followingSunday

,which was the first of Advent of

the year 1 5 1 1 . As a n inducement to attend ,everybody was told that the subj ect of thesermon would be new and interesting tothe whole town . The attenda nce , it n eedsn ot be sa id

,was all that could be desired .

The Governor,Diego Columbus

,was in

his pew,and his wife

,Don a Maria de To

l edo,the grand n iece of King Ferdinand ,

was t here with all the colonial officers of

L if e of Ba r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s . 53

the Crown . Montesino ascended the pulpita n d gave out hi s text from the Gospel ofthe d ay. Vow olam a rzti s i n d oser to, thevoice of one crying in the desert . ” L a s

Casas,who had the original ma nuscript of

that most memora ble sermon,left us only a

short quotation from the exordium . Iascended this pulpit to let you know tha t Iam the voice of Christ crying in the wilderness of this Island . Hen c e i t is meet thatyou listen to it with no ordinary attention

,

but with all the power of your souls and ofyour five senses . It will prove to you thestrongest

,the most r a sp i rrg , the harshest ,

the most frightful voice you ever listenedto . This voice tells you that a l l of youare n ow living and dying in a state ofmortal sin

,orr account of your cruelty and

tyranny over these innocen t people . Tellme : with what right and with what justicedo you subj ect the India ns to so cruel a n dto so horrible a slavery ? With wha t a uthor i ty do you wage your abominable warsagainst these people

,who were living peace

ably i h their own countries,where you

caused infinite numbers of them to die byyour unheard of barbarities and slaughterWhy do you overwhelm them with work

,

and give them n ot sufli c i en t food t o keepthem from starvin g

,or medicines t o cure

54 L if e of B a r tolom od o L a s C a sa s .

their i n firm i t i es ? Nay,why do you kil l

them da ily with excessive labor that theymay bring you gold What steps have youtaken to have them taught to know God

,

their Creator,to be baptized

,to hear Mass

and to keep the Sundays and Holyda ys ?Are you not bound to love them as yourselves ? Have you lost your reason

,ha ve

you lost your senses or are you buried ina lethargic sleep ? Rest assured of it ; inthe sta te you are now living

,you can

no more save your souls than the Moorsor the Jews

,who have not the faith of

Christ . ”

In the afternoon of that day there was ameeting of the c itizens of San Domingo inthe Governor’s house and a Committee wasappointed

,with Diego Columbus as cha ir

man,to wa it on the Fria rs for the purpose

of reprima nding the prea cher and frightenthe other members of the Community . Theyca lled for Montesino and the Father Superior ; but the latter answered the call a lone .

Who,having been ha ughtily requested to

send for the o ffending orator,answered

with dignity,that he was the Prela te of

that Religious Community,and that

,i f a n y

thing was wanted by their l or d slrips , hewas there to answer . Seeing tha t Pedro deCordova was not to be browbeaten

,the

L if e of B a r tolom od o L a s Ca sa s . 55

Governor changed tone and tactics and respec t ful ly asked . permission to interviewFather Montesino . His request ha ving beengranted

,Diego C olun rbus delivered

,in the

name of the whole Committee,a speech

,

the substance of which was,that

,unless

the novel doctrine preached that morningwas retracted

,steps would be taken to bring

the haughty preacher to his senses . TheSuperior answered that he and all the otherFathers were responsible for Montesino ’ssermon

,which had been preached in the

name of them all,as the eva ngelical truth

,

after mature considera tion,and as necessary

to the salvation of the Span iards as well a sthe Indians of the Island

,who were perish

ing da ily under their eyes a n d r ec ei ved n o

more care or attention than if they werebea sts of the fields . “We are bound

,

”

s a id he,

“ to preach that doctrine by theprofession of faith we made in holyBaptism

,and more so by the vows we ni ade

in becomin g Friars,Preachers of the

Truth of Christ . ”“ If so

,s a id a member of the Commit

tee ;“ the Fria rs may as well get their lug

gage ready to leave for Spain .

”

Certa inly,my L ords ,

” replied Pedrode Cordova ;

“ it will cause us littl e troubleto do that . ”

56 L if e of B a r lolom e d o L a s Ca sa s .

They had nothing but the cl othes theywore .

After much parleying a promise wasma dethat the sameAntonio Montesinowouldpreach again on the same subject the following Sunday

,and

,as far as his corr

science would permit,endeavor to please

the audience .

The Committee gave it out that the Friarwould retract

,and the followin g Sunday

the church was packed again to hear therecantation .

Imagine the disappointment of the col on i st s when the text of the sermon fell inringing tones from the lips of the undauntedora tor

,

“I sha l l r epea t m y kn owledge f r omthe begi n n ing

”(Job , Chapter XXXVI

Verse 3 )“and prove my words to be true .

This sec ond sermon w a s a severer i nd i c tmen t of the Hispano-American audiencethari the first . The colonists left the churchin a rage

,but

-were powerless to gag orsilence the brave Friar on account of theecc lesiastical immunities enjoyed by theclergy in those days . They did not however give up the hope of ultimately compelling the Dominicans t o eschew theirwithering denunciations .

The Franc iscans,we have seen

,enjoyed

the partial benefits of a Repartimiento,and


interested in Indian sl avery and that theroyalties c ollected on the gold mined inAmerica were beginning to ease the heretofore straitened conditions of the Castiliantrea sury . It will n ot then be diffi c ult tounderstand how

,on the arrival of the two

Fria rs in Spa in,Alonso de Espina l

,who

was able to display a bundle of letters fromDiego Columbus a n d t he other crown o i

fic ers of Hispa niola,was lionized

,while

Montesino ’s Dominican stock was a t a discount .The former was frequently found sitting

by the side of the old king conferr ing withhim on transatlantic affairs

,whereas the

l atter saw the doors of the royal pa la ce dailyslammed in his face whenever he attemptedto obtain an audience . H a ppily the firstchampion of American l iberty was not tobe balked . Having one morning beggedin vain t o be admitted to the presence ofthe kin g

,in spite of the efforts of the por

ters to keep him out,he rushed to the inner

roya l c hamber,a n d on his knees

,

“Sire,

”

he said,

“ I besee c h Your Highness to giveme audience ; for I ha ve to tell you tha t ,which i t is very important you shouldknow .

“Spea k , Father ;” answered the monarch .

The Friar drew from the folds of his

L if e of B a r tolor/iod o L a s Ca sa s . 59

habit a memorial gra phica lly describingthe horrors of American Indian Slaverya n d rea d it . Then sa id the king : “arethese things possible

“Not only possible,

” answered the monk,

but t hey are facts that ha ppen daily . Tothe pious and kind heart of your Ma j estyit seems impossible that men be foundguilty of them I knew full well that yourMajesty had n ot commanded them .

“No indeed,

” Ferdinand replied “neverin my life

,by God

,did I ever command any

thing of the kind .

The immediate result of the conferencebetween Montesino and the Spanish Kingwas the appointment of a committee composed of the ablest juris-consults and t heol ogi a n s of the rea lm to investiga te theconduct of the Spaniards t owards the Indians . Numerous were the sittings of thiscommission . But all the wit nesses exami n ed

,except Montesino

,were the defenda nts

themselves,that is

,quite a n umber of

colonists,who had come to back and sup

port their champion,Friar Alonso de Es

pinal . Montesino stood alone to tel l thetale of woes of the downtrodden AmericanIndians . Discouraged and depressed hedec ided to make a n effort to convert Espinalhimself to the side of justice

,because he

60 L i fe of B a r lolorn e d o L a s Ca sa s .

knew him to be a conscientious m a n,a true

religious,and that

,i f he sinned

,he sinned

through ignora nce . He stationed himselfone morning at the gate of the Fra nciscanConvent

,where Espinal lodged

,and when

the latt er came out to attend the meeting ofthe commission

,Montesino approached

him,and having obta ined permission to

Speak t o him ,addressed him thus

“Father,do you expect to take to the

next world anything more than this threa dbare Friar’5 ha bit tha t you wear

,and which

wa s given you in c harity Do you look forsomething more than to serve God Whydo you consort with these tyrants Don ’tyou see that they are using you as a toolin their wic ked designs Why do you takesides a gainst the helpless Indians ? Is thisthe pay you give them for having supported you and your brother Fria rs withthe sweat of their brow etc .The address w a s full of vigor but dic

t a t ed by a Spirit of cha rity . It convertedthe well intentioned but simple-mindedFrancisca n

,who thenceforwa rd bec ame the

life- long friend of the Dominican,and hav

ing turned state ’s evidence espoused thecause of the unfortunate India ns .The report of the commission

,less the

preamble,which I omit

,rea ds as follows

L if e of Ba r tolom e d o L a s Ca sa s . 6 1

“m t . The Indians being free men

,and

your Highness and the Queen (m a y Godadmit her to glory ) ha ving comma nded tha tthey be treated as freemen

,we rec ommend

that t hey be allowed to continue in the en

joym en t of their liberty .

2 d . We recommend tha t they be i nstructed in the Catholic fa ith

,a s it is or

dered in the bul l of the Pope,and a s your

M a j esty ha ve ordered by letter . It must beordered that due diligence be employed toobtain good results .

3 d . We find tha t your Ma j esty ha ve theright to exa c t from the India ns su c h la bor

,

as will not prevent their being instru c tedin the Faith

,but which

,on the contrary

,

will prove beneficia l to them, t o the com

m on wea l th,and to your Majesty

,who must

meet the expenses of their instruction andof the administration of justice amongthem .

4t h . Said labor must n ot be oppressive,

and sufficient time for recrea tion n rust begiven them every day t hroughout the year .

5th . They must be allowed to own theirown houses and a su ffi c ient amount of landat the d iscretion of the present or thefuture governors o f the Indies . L et timebe given them t o properly cultivate saidland in their own way .

6 2 L if e of Ba r tolom e d o L a s Ca sa s .

6 th . L et it be ordered tha t they be keptin as c lose communica tion as possible withthe Spanish colonists

,in order that they

may be more easily instructed in the C athol i c faith .

7th . L et their l abor be paid not inmoney

,but in clothing a n d other articles

useful t o their households . ”

These propositions are not in principleunjust

,but unfortunately nothing is said in

them about abolishin g the system of R e

p a r t im i en t os . The laws formula ted ( not bythe commissioners

,who declined the ta sk

,

but by the bureau of India n aff airs ) to r e

gul a t e , according to the principles laiddown in the seven propositions

,the r e

l a t i on s between the Spania rds a n d the India ns

,while designating the latter as free

men,really did not abol ish their slavery .

De j uic

e they mitigated it grea tly,d ef a c to,

very little,beca use their exec ution was left

in the hands of t hose most interested in itsperpetuation . Nearly two yea rs had elapsedsince Espinal and Montesino had left H ispaniola

,when the laws were at last pro

m ulga t ed De c ember the 2 7 , A . D . 1 5 1 2 .

They continued in force,with additions and

modifications,made always in favor of the

Indians,until the year 1 543 .

I have m entioned that Father Espinal

L if e of B a r toloi n o d o L a s . Ca sa s . 63

had come to Spain load ed with letters tha trepresented the Dominic a ns in America aslittle less than revolutionists . After rea dingthem

,king Ferdinand Sent for their Pro

v i n c i a l and complained bitterly of the conduct of the America n Fria rs . These complaints soon reached Pedro de Cordova i nHispaniola

,who decided to l eave for Spa in

also,in order to assist Montesino i n the

task of obtaining measures for the freedomof the Indians and a t the same time vindica te the conduct and the doctrines of hisfellow- friars . He arrived a t court whenthe laws had a lready been formulated

,

although they ha d not yet been p rom ul

ga ted . King Ferdina nd received himkindly

,a n d soon conceived of him the

opinion tha t he w a s,not only an enlight

ened m a n,but a Saint and that opinion

,

says L a s Ca sa s , was n ot a mistaken one .

Pedro de Cordova foresaw clea rly that thelaws

,a s then formula ted

,would fa il to cor

rect America n a buses or to ma teria lly a lleviate the oppression o f the Indians

,and so

informed the King . Thereupon the agedmonarch begged the youthful monk to r evise the l aws already ma de

,or to ma ke new

ones,and promised to have them enforced .

But,unfortunately for America

,the Friar

decl ined the task on the plea that i t was


beyond the scope of his vocation a n d thera nge of his abilities .At the beginning of the year 1 5 1 5 theDominicans established a convent in Cuba

,

with for subjec ts,Father Gutierrez de Am

pudia,Superior

,Bernardo de Santo Do

mingo and Pedro de San Martin,priests

,

and Diego de Alberga,deacon . We sha l l

meet again these sa intly apostles in thecourse of this work . In September or O c

tober of the same year Pedro de Cordovasent four or five other fa thers and the l a ybrother Jua n Ga rcez

, (mentioned above , ) toestablish the first Dominican convent 0 11

the continent,in the Indian Village of

C hi r ibi c h i , whi c h they called Santa Fe deC hi r i bi c hi , on the coast of Venezuela . Thejourney was made in the company of theFranciscan Fathers who went in the samevessel to establish their convent of Cumana .


possession of his see ; Alonso Manso becamethe first bishop of Porto Rico and the firsttitular bishop to land in America ; GarciaPadilla was elected the first bishop of Sa n

Domingo,but died unconsecrated and with

out taking possession of his see . Padillawas a Franciscan

,De Deza a Dominican

,

and Manso,a secular priest .

On the third day of May 1 5 1 2 a n agreemen t was drawn by an Apostolic notarybetween the king of Spain and the newlyelected bishops

,by which the former ceded

to the latter the tithes granted to him bypope Alexander the VI .

,to be applied to

the support of the ordinaries themselves,

their clergy,the churches and the hospi

tals . The crown reserved for itself thega sp a tr on a tus i n the appointments to all theben efic es erected or to be erected

,to be

however exercised only once in each case .

A ben efic e once vacant,it fell within the

jurisdiction of the bishop alone to appointanother incumbent from among the legitimate children of the Spanish colonists ,and

,according to the Ca nons

,by con cur

sa s , or competitive examination . Thebishops bound themselves not to inducethe Indians to abandon the labors of themines direct ly or indirectly

,but on the

cont rary to a dmonish them to work more

L if o of Ba r tolom e d o L a s Ca sa s 67

di l igently than ever in mining gold n ot

omitt in g to let them know that the precion s metal was to be employed in makingwar against the i n fid el s

,etc .

L a s Casas vehemently a ttacks this clauseof the agreement . B ut “unfortunately”

,

he tells us,

“Bishop Manso himself a ccepteda Repartimiento

,a lthough in a l l proba

bi l i ty he never worked his Indians in themines . ”

As illust rating the workings of the i ntimate union of Church and state prevalentin the sixteenth century

,I will give a few

more articles of the agreement between thebishops a n d the king .

I st The tithes must be col l ec ted inkind and not i n money .

2 d . No tithes shall be col l ected onmetals mined

,or on prec ious stones .

3d . If ecclesiastics shall enga ge in mirring

,the same royalties shall be collected

on the output of their mines,as on the

output of those belonging to seculars . Anyecclesiastic so engaged shal l be amenableto the c ivil tribunals in all law-suits concerning temporal a ffairs

,and

,should he

plea d ecclesiastical immunity,he shall be

deprived of his R epa r t im i en t os of Indiansand loose all his rights to his mines .

4th . Bishops were restrained from or

68 L if e of B a r tolom od o L a s C a sa s .

daining more than one son in each family .

5 th . They bound themselves not to giveeven the tonsure to any individual

,who

could not understand and speak the L atinlanguage .

6 th The size of the tonsure must beworn according to the rules laid down inthe bull of Julius the II .

,est ablishing the

American hierarchy .

7th . Clergymen shall wear their hairl ong enough to fall at least an inch a n d ahalf below the ears and a little furtherdown the neck and shoulders .8 th . All c l ergym en

’s tabards should be

long enough to reach within a few inchesof the instep

,and should not be va riegated

,

green,red

,or of any other dishonest or

unbecoming color .

9th . The bishops bound then rsel ves notto establ ish in America new feasts

,or da ys

to be kept holy other than those enjoinedby the general law of the Church .

Shortly after his installa tion as bishopof Porto Rico

,Manso

,beside the predia l

tithes,that is

,the one tenth of the profits

derived from real estate,attempted to col

lect also from the Spanish settlers wha twere known as personal tithes

,tha t is

,a

tenth share of the earnings of their personalindustries . The Spaniards refused to pay

L if e of B a r lolom o d o L a s Ca sa s . 69

them,

a n d the bishop excommuni c atedthem . They in return ostrac ized him

,

and,for a time

,made it d ifficult for him

to obta in even the means of subsista nc e .

Disgusted with his Ameri c an dignity,

the prela te left the Island,a n d returned to

his canonry in Sa l a n ra n c a , whi c h he haddiscreetly fa i led to resign 0 11 his elevationto the episcopa l o ffice . Three or fouryears after we find him in Hispaniola

,

where he acted as inquisitor for one ortwo years . Then he returned to PortoRico

,and governed his diocese for quite a

number of years and died at a ripe old age .

L a s Ca sas speaks of him as “ a Theologian ,and a person who led “a very good life

,

“honest,

” “humble,

” “plain,

” but “notmuch of a business man .

” Still he saysthat

,as to the Indians , Bishop Manso , like

the other Spa niards,felt as little responsi

bi l i ty as i f they were not men .

Pedro de Deza,the first bishop of Con

c epc i on de l a Vega , did n ot come to takepossession of his see immediately after hisc on sec ra t ion

yc but sent as Vicar General to

govern it one Don Carlos de Aragon,a

Doctor in Theology,from the University of

Paris . He was a nobleman,and

,it was

whispered,a relative of king Ferdinand

,

who,on the death: of queen Isabel l a , had


t aken care to fill all the lucrative ofli c es inHispaniola with subjects from his ownkingdom .

Don Carlos was quite an orator,and soon

found himself a t home in the then ca pitalof the New World , where he w a s the onlyclergyman with a D . D . affixed to hisname

,the Dominicans excepted

,who lived

in retirement and were hated by the colon i st s , on account of Father Montesino

’sand other simila r sermons of theirs . Thewhole city turned out to hear Don Carloswhenever he ascended the pulpit . Thea a r a popula r i s , always da ngerous to cler

gym en,soon turn ed the head of the Pa

r i si a n Doctor . In his sermons he quotedmore frequently his Parisian professor

,

(uncovering his head whenever he ment i on ed his name ) than the gospel . If hisdoctrines did not agree with those of theAngelic Doctor

,he would remark “May

St . Thomas forgive me , but in this matterhe did not 'know what he talked about . ”

It soon reac hed the ears of the Dominicansthat the Vicar General was prea chin gdangerous and unsound doctrines

,and they

l ost no time in writing to their superiorsin Spain about them . Meanwhile the nowren owned preacher found Hispaniola toon arrow a field for the displ ay of his tal ents


and ret urned to Spain . There his dashingoratory and the novelty of his doctrinesattracted immense crowds to hear him .

He w a s invited to preach at court wherethe Dominica ns went to hear him . Hisfalse doctrines were ta ken down

,and Don

Carlos denounced to the Inquisition . Hewas made to recant in the Cathedral ofBurgos of which Juan de Fonseca was thebishop .

“ In what I have said a bout this or thatother matter I confess that I was wrongsaid Don Carlos .

“Say that you l ied ca lled the bishopfrom his throne .

“ I say that I lied answered Don

He was condemned to close confinementfor l i fe in a monastery

,and the first Ame

rican Vicar general never was heard ofagain . Even the influence of king Ferdinand to have his noble vassal and relativedea lt with more gently

,availed him

nothing .

The first episcopal see in Cuba wasestablished in Baracoa

,and its first bishop

elect was Bernardo de Mesa,who however

never took possession of i t and died bishopof Elna in Catal onia .

In 1 52 3 Charles V . (who was by birth

72 L if e of Ba r tolom e d o L a s Ca sa s .

and education Flemish ) having succeededFerdinand a n d Isabella to the throne ofSpain

,caused a Flemish Friar t o be a p

pointed to succ eed Bernardo de Mesa . Hisname was John de Wite . He resigned in1 5 2 7, and retired to Bruges , where he diedand was buried in the monastery of St .Dominic . Under the administration of deWite the see was removed to Santiago deCuba

,where it continues to this d ay,

.

having however been made a n archbishopricin 1 768 , when the new see of Havana wascreated and made a suffragan of Santiagode Cuba .

The first diocese est ablished on the Am e

rican Continent was that of Santa Maria dela Antigua on the Gulf of Darien . Its firstbishop was Juan C abed o , a Franciscanwho landed there

,bein g already c on se

crated,with the famous Pedrarias de Avila

in June 1 5 1 4 . Several Franciscans a c

companied him . His administration re

flec t ed l ittle honor on the American episcopate .


Before his arrival,Velasquez ha d sent

his lieutenant,Pa n fil o de Na rva ez

,to the

neighboring provin c e of Bayamo to inducethe Indians

,by sua sion

,i f possible

,by force

of arms,i f ne c essa ry

,to give their a lle

gi a n c e to the kings of Spain . Narva ezowed his appointment

,as Velasquez ’ lieu

tenant,to their mutual friendship con

tracted in Spain before their emigration toAmerica . Ve l asquez had sent to Jamaicafor Narvaez

,where the l atter had no smal l

share in the subjugation of,and in the

cruelties perpetrated against the natives ofthat Island . Having been

,for several

years,in constant contact with the India ns ,

and a daily witness of their helplessness toresist the Spaniards

,Narvaez had grown

Mexi c o . H e gives (Ch . X X VII . Book III . o f Hist . d e

l a s I n d . ) o f h im t he fo l low in g “D iego Ve l a squezh a d two se c r et a r ies , Her n a n do Cor t ez a n d An dr es d eD uer o , who w a s a lm o st a pigm y i n st a t ur e ( t a m a r

‘

i o

c om o u n c odo) but br a ve a n d ver y dis c r eet i n h i s

wor d . H e w a s a good pen m a n . Co r t ez h a d t he

a dva n t a ge over h im o f be in g a La t in s c hol a r a n d e n

joyin g t he t i t le o f B a c helor o f L aw . B ut he w a s a

gr ea t t a lker , a n d en joyed a good joke . As he wa s

n ot a s d is c r ee t a s D uero , h e w a s n ot e it her a s good asec r e t a ry . H e w a s a w ise a n d a ble m a n , a l t houghhe did n o t h a ve t he a ppea r a n c e o f kn ow in g m uc h ,

or o f possess in g a l l t he a bilit y whic h h e d ispl a yedl a t e r i n h i s a r duous un der t a kin gs . H e w a s a n a t iveo f Medel l in , a n d t he so n o f a squir e , o f m y a o

qua in t a n c e , lowly a n d poor , a l t hough , i t w a s . sa id ,o f gen t le ext r a c t ion .

”

L if e of B a /

r tolom o d o L a s Ca sa s . 75

ra sh a n d imprudent . In Bayamo he hadbut a ha ndful of Spanish followers

,a l l on

foot,exc ept himself . Seven thousand In

d ia ns surprised him one night,while sound

asleep,

a n d surrounded his camp . Onwaking Na rva ez w a s struc k in the chest bya stone

,which caused him to rema rk to the

Franciscan Friar,who stood by his side

Fa ther,they have killed me . But his

attendants threw over his ma re the sa ddle,

which wa s loa ded with little bells,and the

capta in,barefooted a n d in his night clothes

,

sprang on the animal,and ga lloped around .

The naked Indians at the sight of whatappeared to them a monster

,and at the

tinkling of the bells,were seized with

fright,took to the mountains and never

stopped unti l they reached the n eighboringprovince of C a n ra guey. Vela squez

,on hear

ing of the occurrence,hastened to join

Na rva ez with reinforcements , and L a s Casasaccompanied him . On their arrival in B ayamo

,they found it deserted

,and learned

from some India ns,who had remained be

hind,bec a use

‘

t oo old or too si c k to travel,

that Narvaez was in pursuit of the fleeinghordes .If in Hispaniol a Vel asquez had formed a

correct jud gement of L a s Casas ’ worth as alayman ,

in Baracoa and in Bayamo , where


they spent severa l months together,ample

opportunity w a s a fforded him for studyingand appreciating the talents and the zealof the young e c clesi a stic

,whose i r r eproa c h

able conduct soon engendered feelings notonly of respec t

,but of genuine admira tion .

It goes without saying that their old friendship a n d his sa cerdota l c ha ra cter ga inedfor the Clerigo a wholesome influence overthe ha ughty Conquistador . L a s Ca sa s ,Speaking of himself (Hist . de l a s Ind .

,

Book III . Cha p . XXIII . ) quaintly sa ysDiego Vela squez loved him

,a n d did many

good things on his advice,being influenced

especially by his sermons .

Vela squez was a bout to be married,and

having heard of his bride ’s and her fa ther ’sarriva l in Ba rac oa , hastened thither tocelebrate his wedding

,leaving in Ba yam o

fifty Spania rds with Jua n de Grijalva ( abeardless youth ) as their capta in . Theyoung m a n

,whose commission was to last

only until Narvaez should return fromCamaguey

,w a s instructed to l ook upon the

Clerigo as upon a fa ther,and to underta ke

nothing w ithout his advice . The boyproved obedient .The Spaniards

,at home as well as in

camp,on their journeys by sea a n d by land

were consta ntly surround ed by friendly

L if eof Ba r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s . 77

natives,who rendered them every service

,

sometimes of theirown accord , through theirsavage admiration of the white man

,but

more frequently because they were virtuallytheir slaves . The Indians were the carr i ers

,the footmen

,the cooks

,the fisher

men,the hunters

,the scouts

,the valets

,etc .

of the white man . Every Spaniard in thefield had usua lly a score or more of nativeservants and wherever there were ahundred Spa niards there went with themnot less tha n a thousand India ns

,who were

usually treated by the white masters littlebetter than beasts of burden The youngchaplain of the littl e Span i sh army was

,

on the contrary,uniformly kind and

fatherly to them,who did not fail to ob

serve that the white men themselves treatedthe priest reverentially and with deference

,

and that w hatever act of mercy went outfrom the Spaniard to the Indian wasgenerally tracea ble to the blac k robe .

L a s Casas ha d not been many months inCuba

,when his name and the fame of his

kindness to the red man became known a l l

over the Island . They cal led him B ekiqa e,that is Priest

,or man of God and conceived

for him sentiments of love,reverence and

fear .L et ters , everywhere in America , when

78 L if e of B a r tolom é d o L a s Ca sas .

the white man first came in contact withthe Indians

,alwa ys ca used in the n u

tutored mind o f the na tives feelings ofama zement . It w a s beyond their comprehen si on how a bit of pa per could tell thewishes of one man to another many milesaway . L etters were to them mysterious ,supernatural or diabolical agencies forwhi c h they

,naturally enough

,had the

greatest respect .So masterful had become the ascendency

of the first America n priest over the India ns

,that he could command complian c e

with his Smallest wishes,not only when in

t heir company , but by means of bits ofpa per scrawled over and ca refully insertedinto a piece of hollow reed . A messengerwould be sent to the cacique of this or thattribe

,who in presenting himself said

“ B ehique wishes you and your'people to

d o so a n d so ; here is his letter .” The reed

was broken and the paper seen ; i f i t cont a i n ed any writing or not was immaterial

,

B ehi que was obeyed . I f n ot,word was

sent back to him giving the reasons whyhis wishes could not be c omplied with .

Na rva ez failed to overtake the fugitives ,and

,fearing to plunge into the thickly

settled neighborhood ofCamaguey,returned

to Bayamo with the handful of Spaniards


who had followed him . Many weeks hadnot passed

,when . p rov i si on s in Cama guey

,

where the population ha d suddenly beendoubled

,bega n to fail ; and the refugees

found themselves in the necessity of r eturning to Bayamo . They arrived indroves and

,with tears in their eyes

,a sked

forgiveness of the Spaniards for what theyha d done . They had been foolish and i nconsiderate

,they said

,were sorry

,and pro

m i sed thereafter to comply with the whitemen ’s wishes and to serve them . TheSight was touching . A

‘

n ec k l a c e of bea ds

( tha n which the West i n d i a n native heldn othing more precious ) was left at the feetof B ehique , and another of Captain Narva cz to propitiate them . Here the ministerof the God of peace a ddressed to them wordsof consolation .

“Fea r not,my children

he sa id,

“ it is a l l over . Go to your homes,

and nobody will hurt you .

”

Word was sent to Velasquez that theprovince of Bayamo ha d been pa c ified ,

*

and asking for further instructions . Whenthese came

,they were to the e ffect that

Narvaez,with his old companions in arms

,

together with those whom Velasquez himsel f had brought to Bayamo ( about one

Wi t h t he C on qu i sl a a’

or os , l o pa c i fy m ea n t to


hundred Spaniards in all ) should proceedto Camaguey

,a n d thence westward to the

other provin c es of the Island to pacifythem . Na rva ez w a s to ta ke with him theClerigo

,as his a dvisor

,who was also re

quested by another private letter,to follow

the expedition . Thus L a s Casas spentwith Narvaez nearly two years and t r a

versed Cuba from east to west engaged inits p a c ific a t ion . Their first halt was madeat an Indian pueblo

,eighty or ninety miles

from Bayamo,called C ueiba .

The Missiona ry annals recounting theevangelization of Spanish-America are ful lof incidents whi c h Show that the conversion of the n atives

,especially those of the

West i n d i a n i sla nds,would not have been

any extraordina rily di ffi cult ta sk,i f

,to a o

complish it,the Apostolic method of em

ploying no other arms than the crucifix andthe catechism ha d been a dopted at the beginning

,a s i t w a s

,with perfect success , a

few years later by the Dominicans , theFranciscan s and the Jesuits nearly all overthe continent .Of such incidents n o other is more touch

ing tha n the following given by L a s Casashimself . We have seen how Alonso d eOjeda ha d effect ed a settlement on the corrt i n en t near the Gulf of Darien in the year


but beautiful picture of the Blessed VirginMa ry

,which he had brought from Spain

,

and with whic h he ha d never pa rted d uringall his wanderings in Hispaniola

,on the

Continent and in Cuba . M a ny timesduring the thirty d ays Spent in the swamphad he drawn from his empty knapsackand spread on the knee of a cypress treethe beloved image and invoked the ass i st a n c e of the Mother of Christ . He hadvowed to leave the picture with the Indiansand to teach them how to venera te theBlessed Mary

,should he succeed to reac h

dry land in sa fety . At C ueyba , where hestopped several da ys

,to rest and recuperate

,

he fulfilled his vow . As best he could heexplained who the Blessed Virgin w a s andm ade a present of the picture to the C ac ique . A wooden shrine was built

,a little

altar erected therein,and the image i n

sta lled i n the midst of a profusion of ornaments made of reeds

,flowers and cotton

cloth . One Pedro de Ordas crossed over toJama ica in a pirogue manned by Indians .Pa n filo de Narvaez was the Captain of thevessel that went to rescue Ojeda and hissurvivin g companions . Most of theseSettled in Jamaica and when Narvaez pa ssedto Cuba to become the L ieutena nt of Vel a squez , some of t hem were amongst hisfollowers .

I/if e of B a r toloni é d o L a s Ca sa s . 83

L a s Casas , whom we have left in C ueyba ,heard of Ojed a

’s" picture and

,as w a s

na tural,looked it up . It w a s found

tha t the Indians of the neighborhoodhad persevered for more tha n three yearsin the veneration of their picture . Thecha pel

,the alta r

,the ornaments were there

,

and sweet c ouplets ha d been composed inthe na tive dialect in her honor . A con

gr ega t i on ga thered daily to sing the pra isesof the Mother of God . The picture ha dnow

,not only an a rtistic but a n historical

value,and the Missioner thought of ob

taining possession of it . A ta lk w a s hadwith the Ca cique a n d a p r0posa l ma de forthe exc ha nge of that pi c ture for another

,

not quite a s pretty , which the Clerigo hadwith him: Suddenly a cloud overshadowedthe Chief’s countenance

,and as no answer

w a s ma de,nothing more was sa id about it .

Next morning the priest repa ired to theOratorio to c elebra te Mass in it and foundthat the paintin g w a s gone . The India nstold him that their lord the Cacique hadremoved it during the night and made awaywith it to the mountains

,for fear that B e

hique should forcibly deprive him of hisbeloved picture of the Mother of Christ .Needless to say that the sacerdotal heart ofL a s Casas was deeply touched by the i n


c i d en t,and word w a s sent to the Cacique

to come ba ck,with the a ssura nc e

,tha t the

Fa ther would not only a llow him to possesshis own picture

,but would present him

with the other a lso . The Chief returned,

his peop l e rem a ined in possession of the irtrea sure

,and the Spaniards departed for

the provin c e of Cama guey .

The pe c uliar duties which L a s Casa s imposed ou himself during this one or twoyea rs of campa igning were c erta inly uniquein their na ture . He would pre c ede theSoldiery by a few hours or by one or twodays

,ac c ompa nied by three or four Spani

ards and his a colytes,who were Indian

boys from Hispa niola understa nding boththe na tive and the Spa nish la nguage

,a n d

by him educ a ted and tra ined to wa it onhim at the a lta r and in the administra tionof the Sa craments . On arriving a t apueblo

,where the little a rmy intended to

halt,the Cac ique w a s first interviewed

,a n d

the order given tha t all the inha bita ntsShould be ga thered in one portion of thevilla ge , and vac a te a number of houses orhuts sufficient for the a cc ommoda tion of theone hundred Spaniards a n d the one thousand Indians from Hispaniola

,Jama ic a and

Cuba itsel f,who followed in their tra il .

Provisions were next ga thered and made

L if e of B a r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s . 85

re ady for the white visitors these measuresthe priest ha d found necessary to preventhis countrymen from robbing the nativesand from insulting their women . At hisrequest Nar vaez issued an order forbidding ,under severe penalties

,his followers from

passing from their side of the village totha t reserved for the Indians

,and from

entering their houses . Parents were i nstruc ted to have the little ones ready to bebaptized . On the ar riva l of the Captainand his men a mea l was served

,then an

m st ruc t ion given,on the principa l mysteries

of the Christian religion,to the villagers

and to the assembled multitudes,who i n

var iably flocked to behold and to wonder atthe bearded white men and especially atthe three or four horses ridden by theSpanish o fficers . Baptism w a s then a d

ministered to the children . The ascendancyof the first American priest

,I must repeat

it,appea rs almost incredibl e . He ha d

not been many months on the Islands,

when he found it unnecessary to act inperson a s the forerunner or herald of Narva cz . It was enough to send an IndianScout with the customary piece of pa perpurporting to be a letter . The messengerwould say to the Chief : “ the Christia nsare coming

,and the Father writes that you


vacat e so many houses,that you gather

provisions to feed them,

a n d have thechildren ready for Baptism . If you don ’tdo so

,B ehique will be m uch displeased .

He w a s invariably obeyed . The phen om en on is partially explained by the rapidity with which news travelled among theIndians everywhere in Amer ica . Moreover

,thousands of n atives from Hispaniola

had passed into Cuba to esca pe the laborsof the mines a n d the tyranny of the Span i a r d s . As the language o f the Cubanswas the same as tha t of the H ayt i en s , theformer generally knew the treatment theywere to expect from the Spanish marauders

,

unless their friend B ehi que should protectthem . Hence they learned how to lovehim before they ever saw him

,a n d rea lized

that compliance with his wishes was cond uc ive to their wel fa re .

Had L a s Ca sas , at this period , been leftin Cuba with a dozen zealous clergymen tocooperate with him

,without another white

m a n to obstruct the Gospel of peace,it is

m pre than probable tha t his long life wouldhave suffi c ed to christia nize and to civilizethe Pearl of the Antilles . How differentwould then have been that Island ’s history ?But good men seldom have their way inthis world and I must pass regretfully t o

L if e of B a r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s . 87

describe a deed and a scene as sickening asthe deeds of the Terrorists during theFrench revolution .

Na rva ez and his one hundred men wereapproaching a la rge Indian town calledCaonao

,in the province of Camaguey

,

whither the Clerigo had preceded them .

Before entering the pueblo,they stopped

to breakfast on the ba nks of a creek thatwas nearly dry and full of grinding stones .The meal over

,each soldier sharpened his

Sword , and the march w a s resumed . Thetown was found to possess a C a sa Grande

( large house ) , or a sort of town hall spacion s enough to accommodate not less thanfive hundred people . In front of it was apublic square

,where provisions had been

gathered in abundance to feed the Spaniardsand their Indian retinues . A steward

,a p

pointed for the purpose by the Clerigo wasbusy parcelling out rations in the presenceof Captain Narvaez

,who was on horseback

,

while two thousand Cubans sat cross-leggedin a circle around the plaza gazing in wond erm en t over the bearded men and theirprancing horses . One of the soldiers

,a s

i f possessed by an infernal fury,draws the

newly sharpened sword,and begins to Sla sh

the naked Indians right and left,men

,

women and children . As if this had been


a preconcerted signal,nea rly a hundred

other swords were un sc abba r ed and a general ma ssacre began . Inside the CasaGrande there were five hundred of the moretimid who ha d not ventured near the Span i a r d s They also were slaughtered

,with

the exception of a few of the most a gileones am ongst them

,who m anaged to climb

t o the timbers of the roof,and thus to save

themselves . Mea nwhile Narvaez stood onhorseback impa ssible a n d indifferent . L a s

Casas,at the time

,was resting in another

house a little distance off with the India ncarriers who

,tired from the journey

,had

stretched themselves on the floor . Withhim were also five Spa niards

,who

,as soon

as the blows from their fellow-soldiers,and

the shrieks of the wounded Indians wereheard

,drew their Sw ords

,and were ready

to massacre those also who were within thebuilding and their own servants . TheClerigo induced them to desist

,and then

rushed hither and thither through thewoods to stop his countrymen from pursuingthe fleeing Indians and carry ing the m a s

sacre further . In less than it takes to telli t

,the peaceful pueblo was turned into a

charnel house . The streets were l iterallyflowing with blood

,and made almost i n r

passable by the bodies of the dead and the


other way t o safety except by striking terror with promptness and audacity and tokill

,in order not to be killed .

”

Quintana ’s defense is eloquent andplaus ible

,especially i f we remember the

surprise of Bayamo,during which Narvaez

was nearly killed,and that some of his

companions,who ha d done service with

Ojeda in the Gulf of Darien,had there seen

many of their countrymen perish in a n

ambuscade and by the poisoned arrows ofof the Indians

,etc . But the explanation

would ha ve been more satisfactory ha d headded that Na rva ez and his followers werea lot of crimin al s , as we know them to havebeen

,steeped in blood

,and for whom

bloodsheding had become a passion and apastime .

Having made of Caonao a graveyard,the

Spaniards left it and went to camp on a

large open field,where the cassaba plant

grew abundantly and afforded them meansof subsistence . It would have been uselessto march to the next pueblo ; for the n atives ,in mortal terror of the n ew-comers

,had de

ser t ed'

their homes for miles and milesaround

,to hide on the mountains and on

the numerous little Islands that fringe thesouthern coast of Cuba .

The train of native servants that followed

L if e of Ba r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s . 9 1

L a s Casas was no smal l one . They werenot pressed into his service

,but entered it

of their own free will,attracted by the

fame tha t the Clerigo was the friend of theAmericans

,because he treated them kindly

,

and to seek protection under his ec c lesi

a st i c a l mantle from the oppression of hiscountrymen . Among them was a venerable old m a n by the name o f Comacho

,

who ha d followed him from Hispaniola,

and t o,on a ccount of his experience

,long

services,a n d trustworthiness had been con

stituted a sort of ma j ordomo and factotumover the priest ’s household .

Not the sign of a Cuban had been seenaround the camp for ma ny da ys and weeks

,

when,one night

,a young man

,under cover

of darkness,glided to the hut in which

Comacho slept,who was already known

Very genera lly as the priest ’s chief domesticservant . The youth told Comacho that hewished to enter the service of B ehique andthat a younger brother of his would dolikewise

,i f they were accepted . Comacho

approved of his resolution a n d assured himthat he and his brother would be welcomedby the Fa ther

,who , he said , w a s very good .

While with him,and in the compa nionship

of his other servants nobody would bea llowed to do him harm . The old man

92 L if e of B a r lolorn o d e L a s Ca sa s .

lost no time in imparting the news to theC l erigo .

A messenger,who could be c oaxed into

going to the hiding villa gers and inducethem to conr e ba ck to their homes on theassura nce that no further violenc e wouldbe done to them

,was ba dly needed . L a s

Casas called the young man,rea ssured

him,embra ced him a n d caressed him

,pro

m i sn rg at the same time to take him andhis brother into his service . Cheerfullythe boy agreed to look up the people of aneighboring villa ge

,who were the owners

of the field on whi c h the Spa nia rds wereencamped a n d to induce them to come b a ckwithin a c ertain number of da ys . Coma c ho

,

who was a lrea dy a Christia n,and spoke

Spa nish , dubbed the new convert Adrianico

,who

,a rm ed with a letter from Behi

que,depa r ted for his mission . The d a ys

a greed upon ha d p a ssed and Ad r i a n i c o ha dn o t returned

,a n d everybody ha d given

him up,except Comacho

,who insisted that

the young m a n would keep his word . L a teof a n eve n ing the Father des c ried a c row dof India ns

,men

,women and children

,led

by Ad r i a n i c o and his brother to the numberof one hundred a n d eighty

,loa ded with

their little belongings and with presentsfor the Spania rds

,approach his tent silently

L if e of B a r lolom e d o L a s Ca sa s . 93

like a flock of Sheep . The words of consola tion and love that the priest addressedthem c a n be more easily imagined thanwri tten . As soon a s rea ssured that ha rmwould not be done to them they repairedto their wigwams beyond the hills . ButAd r i a n i c o rema ined with B ehique to enjoyhis prote c tion a n d the friendship of C om a c l ro . Next d ay every n a tive in theprovince of C a rn a guey knew that thewhite men would kill 11 0 more India ns andreturned to their homes . They were pacified . In familia r intercourse with theIndians the priest lea rned tha t

,two or

three hundred miles to the west,there

were two Spa nish women a n d one m a n,

held in ca ptivity by the natives of theprovince of H avana . A messenger w a s atonce dispa tched with a letter to the loca lCacique

,instructing him to bring the c a p

tiy es to a certa in pla ce a n d to deliver themto the Christi a ns . Shoul d the Ca ciquefai l to do so

,B ehique would be muc h dis

plea sed .

Na rvaez ordered,shortly after

,a march

across the Isla nd from south ea st to northwest

,and in a few days a villa ge was

reac hed on the northern shore,ca lled C a

ha r a te,a l l the houses of which were built

on piles driven in the wa ter . The army

94 L if e of B a r lolom od o L a s Ca sa s .

remained in the town fi fteen days,during

which,a canoe

,well manned by Indians

,

was seen to a rrive,and to make for the

house where the priest lodged . Theyla nded the two white women mentionedabove , who were found to be naked as thenatives who accompa nied them . The manw a s in possession of another Cacique

,and

it required another letter to fetch him . Thewomen

,having been left in each other’s

compa ny ha d opportunities to conversetogether in the Spa nish langua ge

,and

ha d not forgotten it but the m a n, who had

not seen a c ountryman of hi s in severalyears

,ha d a cquired all the ha bits a n d traits

of an Indian and for a few days could notspeak his native tongue . L a s Casa s m a r

ried the women to two o f the Spanishsoldiers .The reader no doubt is interested in

knowing how the trio ha d met with theirsa d fate . Four or five years before a partyof Spaniards had landed in wha t i s yetknown a s the Port of M a tanzas ; i f for repa irs

,to get wa ter

,or wood

,or driven by

a storm,i t is not said . While attempting

to cross the Bay in a canoe,manned by

Indians,the boat was purposely capsized

,

and all the Spania rds who could n ot swim,

were drowned . The two women and the

L if e of B a r tolom o d o L a s Ca sa s . 95

man (who was then a boy ) were rescuedand incorporated in the tribe

,but seven

others,who ha d swam ashore were hung .

Hence the name Matanza s ( slaughter ) .

From C a ha r a t e the Spaniards,now by

l and and again by sea,passed into the pro

vince of Havana,finding everywhere on

the route the pueblos deserted .

The deeds of the white men in Caonaowere by this time well known all over theIsla nd

,and on their a pproach the natives

took to the mountains . L a s Casa s wrote ,i . e . sent to each of the Ca ciques an oldpiece of paper with the request

,that he

should meet him in a certain locality,and

the assurance that the Christians would notharm them . They all came , eighteen or

n ineteen of them .

Incredible as it may appear,Narvaez

promptly ca used them all to be cast inirons

,and would have burned them at the

stake the following morning,ha d not the

threats of L a s Casas to report him to Vel a squez and to the king , ra ther than hisentreaties

,saved the lives of the poor

wretches .’

They were all set at liberty,

except the most influential one,who r e

ma ined a captive until Velasquez releasedhim on the occasion of his visit to Na rvaezin the Port of Xagua , as I am about t orelate .

CHAPTER IX .

L a s C a s a s a Pl a n t er , a Mi n er , a n d a S l a ve

ow n er i n C uba .

L a s Ca sas had by this time spent nearlytwo years in Cuba

,a n d ha d tra velled it

from east to west,crossing it severa l times

from nor th to south and from shore toShore . Meanwhile Vela squez ha d foundedBara coa

,settling it with Spaniards and

establishing c ivil government among them .

The Isla nd w a s now pacified,tha t is

,the

India ns had everywhere bent their necksto the yoke of the Spania rds

,a n d Velasquez

w a s rea dy to make n ew settlements in themost desirable loc a tions to be found on theIsland . But

,as he ha d seen but little of

the country himself,i t was found a dvisable

to have a conference with Narvaez and L a sCa sas

,who had looked it over . Word was

therefore sen t t o them to m eet him in X a

gua , whither he travelled himself by la ndand by sea from Baracoa

,ac compa nied by

quite a number of prospectin g white men .

Vela squez,Na rva ez and L a s Casas having

come together , settled for a fewmonths on

( 96 )


year 1 5 1 4 . There were alrea dy some whitesettlers where Hava na stands now in 1 5 1 6 ,but it did n ot get a corporate existence before the yea r 1 5 1 9 , the port being knowntill then as Puerto de Carenas . Velasquezfounded Havana on the southern shore in1 5 1 5 , but the settlement wa s removed , sometwo years a fter

,to its present location .

It is remarka ble that Baracoa,Trinida d

,

Sa ncti Spiritus,Ba yamo

,Santiago de Cuba

,

Puerto Principe and Havana are yet theprincipa l towns of Cuba ; Cienfuegos andCardenas being the only cities of any importance tha t do not date back to the timeof Velasquez ; and indeed they are not asold as the past century . The sevencities were loca ted by Velasquez in differentparts of the Island with a View to bringinginto requisition the labor of all the a h

original inha bitants for the benefit of thewhite settl ers

,and to render impossible any

general uprising . In fact,inside of two

or three years practically all the nativeshad been parcelled out into Repa r t im i en t os ,that is

,ha d been made slaves .

L a s Casa s , who w a s a friend of Velasquez

,and had had so important a share in

the work of p a c ific a t ion by saving , withhis presence

,the lives of thousands of I rr

dians,was assigned one of the very best

L if e of Ba r tolom e d o L a s Ca sa s . 99

R epa r t im i en t os . The Cacique of a pueblocalled C a n a r r eo

,in the immedia te neigh

borhood of Xa gua with a l l his Indians wereE n com en d a d os , whi c h literally transla tedmea ns : were int rusted to his ca re ; but infa ct were turned over to him to be used asSlaves . With the Repa rtimiento of theIndia ns usually went a gra nt of the la ndsthat belonged to them . It was near Xaguaon the river Arima o that L a s Ca sas settled ,and began his planting and mining opera t i on s .

While yet in Hispaniola a lasting friendShip ha d been contracted by the Clerigowith a very good man by the name of Pedrode Renteria

,who

, unlike his countrymenin America

,ha d never been a ffec ted by the

gold fever ; on the contrary , hi s main obj ectin life was to Serve God . It was his delightto spend mu c h of his time in meditating onthe eternal truths

,reading the lives of the

Saints and other simila r exercises of piety .

Worldly affairs ha d little attra ction for him,

and he seemed to be unfit for them,a l

though he was well educated for a laymanof his times

,and could rea d the New

Testament in L atin . Humble and plain inhis wa ys and generous to a fa ult he leanedon the friendship of the wa rmhearted

,

active young clergyman who wa s a l l

1 0 0 L if e of B a r lolorn e d o L a s Ca sa s .

business a n d eminently a m a n of ac tion .

Renteria ha d c ome to Cuba with L a s Ca sas ,but rema in ed in Ba ra coa

,whil e the priest

w a s engaged with Na rva ez in the exploration a n d p a c ific a t i on of the Isla nd . Nowtha t he ha d j oined his friend in Xagua

,

Velasquez ga ve him a Repa rtimiento a d

j oining tha t o f the Clerigo ; or ra ther thetwo ma de but one

,of which L a s Casas be

came the exc lusive manager,a s i f he was

the sole owner . Every thing w a s in comm on between the two friends

,the Priest

attending to business while the la yma n didmost of the pra ying . Their India ns c ouldbe c ounted by the hundred

,a n d it took but

a few da ys to build a la rge house in whic hthey lived for a bout a yea r

,with Coma c ho

as the chief stewa rd . L a s Casa s lost notime in la ying the founda tions for futurewea lth

,a n d a plantation was la id out a n d

the India ns set to work to c ultiva te it .He did not neglect to send some of themto the mines to gather some gold ; for im

p rovem en t s on a la rge s c a le and in a newcountry required rea dy ca sh . It soon beganto be whispered among the Spa nia rds tha tthe L ic enc ia do w a s a c quiring a ta ste forthe good things of this world

,a lthough he

must ha ve given no sca nda l ; for beingthen a sec ul a r Priest with no vow of

1 0 2 L if e of B a r lolom o d o L a s Ca sa s .

I surmise tha t the humility of L a s Casasin his old a ge , (he wrote the passagequoted above

,when he was nearly ninety

yea rs old ) caused him to overdraw thepicture of the error of his early da ys . HisSi n ,

i f Si n it was,was one of ignoranc e

rather than of malice . From a lawyer heha d suddenly been ordained a priest andentered the active ministry . Hispaniola

,

between the years 1 50 2 and 1 5 1 0 w a s notnaturally the best Seminary in the worldfor a complete course of mora l and dogmatic theology . Be that as i t may , hisblindness lasted not ni ore tha n a year

,and

then the scales fell,almost suddenly

,from

his eyes . At no time does he seem to haveneglected his priestly duties

,t o the whites

at lea st,who were Catholics . But let us

allow him to speak for himself again :“The Clerigo Bartolomé de L a s Casas wasVery busy with his planta tions

,for

get ful of the obligation that bound him toinstruct his Indians and to lead them to thebosom of the Church of Christ . Diego Ve

l a squez ha d left Xagua with the otherSpaniards

,his followers

,and had gone to

found the settlement which he called Sa nctiSpiritus . There was then n o other clergyman ou the Island

,except '

a Friar,who

was at Baracoa ; Pentecost Sunday being

In f o of Ba r tolom e d o L a s Ca sa s . 1 0 3

n ot far off , the said Cl erigo Bartolomé deL a s Ca sas bethought himself that he wouldl eave his home on the river Arimao

,and go

to say Mass a n d preach for them ( the Span i a r d s of Sanc ti Spiritus ) on tha t day .

While preparing his sermon he fell inwith certain passages of the scriptures

,

amongst others that of Ecclesiasticus ( C hp .

XXXIV , Verse “The offering ofhim who sa c r ifiseth of a thing wrongfullygotten is stained etc . which led him to r eflec t and consider and then to doubt

,i f,

forcing the Indians to work for himself wasn ot wrong . He remembered that the Dom i n i c a n s in Hispaniola had inveighed intheir sermons aga i nst the enslavement ofthe natives

,a n d how

,on a certain o c casion

,

he himself , then already a priest , ha d gonet o confession to one of them ,

a n d ha d beenrefused absolution because he would notconsent to give up the Indians he thereheld as Slaves

,as he now held others in

Cuba . He ha d then contended honestlywith the Friar but with frivolous

,i f plausi

ble,arguments that Indian slavery was n ot

wrong . But now the l ight of revelationand the experience of every day Showinghow they perished by the hundred in themines and elsewhere

,murdered by opp r es

sive labor , convinced him forcibly and for

1 0 4 L if o of B a r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s .

ever,tha t it was not right for the Spa niards

to possess themselves,for their own use

,of

the na tives ’ lands,goods and persons .

L a s Ca sas w a s not the n r a n to compromise with the devil he rea soned that i f i twas wrong for him to have Sla ves

,it w a s

likewise wrong for the other Spa niards,

a n d he resolved to tell them so in thesermon he was about to prea ch to them onPentecost Sunda y of the year 1 5 14 Heknew full well that perhaps it would havebeen in the interest of his India ns that heShould retain them under his own guardianship

,allowing them to enjoy perfect liberty

and at the same time prevent their fallinginto the hands of someone else who wouldkill them with overwork and starvation .

But in that c ase it might have been sa id“ after all

,he keeps Indians himself why

does he not give them up,i f he believes as

he preaches tha t to keep them is tyranny ? ”

His sermon would have ha d no effect,and

he resolved to give them up .

Some time before,the Clerigo and Ren

t eria had put together all the rea dy c ash attheir comma nd

,some two thousand dolla rs

(which however ha d a purcha sin g powerequal to of to-day ) , had cha rtereda schooner

,and

,with it

,Renteria ha d gone

to Jamaica to buy seeds , ca ttle , hogs , pro

1 0 6 L if e of B a r tolom od o L a s Ca sa s .

The Cuban Indians,he could not help fore

Seeing it , would soon disappear , as most ofthose of Hispaniola had alrea dy d i sa p

pea r ed . To put a stop to the ravages a n d

devastation caused by his countrymen w a s

not in his power,but perhaps some at least

of the little ones could be saved . His r esolution was

,on his arrival in C uba , to

l eave for Spain,there t o interview the

King,and obtain permission for founding

one or more orphan asylums where the orphans of the victims of Spanish greed andcruelty could be raised like Christians a n deducated to assert their freedom as such ont heir arriving at the age of maturity . Rent eria had just settled on this plan when hereceived a letter from the Clerigo askinghim to hasten hi s departure from Jamaica

,

because he ( L a s Casas ) had decided to ta kea trip to Spain on a mission , the object ofwhich would

,n o doubt

,fil l his friend ’s

hear t with joy as soon as it would be explained to him .

L a s Casas , on arriving in Sancti Spiritus

,made a formal renunciation of his R e

pa r t im i en t o to Governor Velasquez , whoSa id in astonishment : “Father

,reflect well

on what you are doing God knows that Iwish to see you prosperous and rich

,and

t herefore I do n ot admit , for the present ,

L if e of Ba r tolom e d o L a s Ca sa s . 1 0 7

your renunciation . You have fifteen daysto think the matter over ; after which youmay come back and tell me what you i ntend to do .

“Sen or,answered L a s Casas : consider

the fifteen da ys as alrea dy past,and

,Should

I hereafter ever come to you with tears ofblood in my eyes to beg you to give meback my Indians

,may God never forgive

you,i f,through love of me

,you Should

grant my request . ”

I need not say much of the Clerigo ’sSermon on that Pentecost Sunday . Itmade a profound impression

,but

,like the

one preached by Montesino in San Domingoa few years before , it converted n obody .

That Fria r and this secular Priest weremade of the same metal and cast in thesame mould . It had not been long sinceL a s Casas had returned t o Xagua , whenR en t er i a ’s schooner hove in sight . Tojump into a canoe and to row a league off

shore was done by the Clerigo inside a halfan hour . “What did your Reverencemean

,

” said Renteria on seeing the priest,

“by writing me that you wa nt t o go toCast ile ? I am the man to go

,n ot you

,

and as soon as I Shall tell you why,I know

you ’ll be pleased to see me start .,L a s

Casas repl ied : “Wait until we reach l and,


and when I shall have told you why,I

know you ’ll think it better tha t I go .

”

They unbosomed themselves to ea c hother

,and the layman at once agreed tha t

the priest Should go first,be c ause his mis

sion was of greater importance and sec ond,

bec ause being a Clergyman and a L iceuc i a d o

,he would have easier ac c ess to court

,

and his words would have more weight .The cargo was sold at a handsome profit

,

and a goodly sum rea lized,wherewith to

pay L a s Ca sa s’ pa ssage to Spain and defray his expenses while there . Both priestand layman left their Repartimiento without a pang

,which

,in a very short time

,

would have made them independentlywealthy .

Every reader of “H i s tor i a d o la s In d i a sis vexed with L a s Casas for telling us not aword more about his holy friend Renteria

,

and it is really a pity that history givesnothing more of him . His name howeverShall be linked for a l l times to that of theProtector of the Indians

,and

,no doubt

,in

the world beyond he now enjoys a blessedimmorta lity

,while in this world his me

mory shall never die .

L a s Casas was yet in Cuba during theearly months of 1 5 1 5 . Two weeks beforeEaster he had the pleasure of welcoming

1 1 0 L if e of B a r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s .

much evangelical liberty The Clerigogave the sermons he had preached beforethe arriva l o f the Dominica ns to FatherBernardo de Santo Domingo to rea d .

“Thegood Friar

,rema rks L a s Ca sas appar

ently with some degree of self complacenc y,

“ swore tha t,had he known that in Cuba

t here was a priest who preac hed such sermons

,he would never ha ve set foot on the

Island,because i f the Spaniards had not

been converted by him,and had n ot stop

ped their murders,he could n ot hope to do

them any good with his preaching .

”

The followin g L ow Sunday Father Bernardo preached again

,and

,a s was natural

for that day,took for his subject : “ I am

the good Shepherd .

” The substance ofthe sermon was that they

,the Spaniards

,

were not the shepherds of the Indians,but

hirelings,tyrants and hungry wolves

,who

tore them to piec es and devoured them . Itfrightened somewhat the audience

,but did

not convert them . As it was plainly to beseen that the cruel t yranny of the Spaniardsdid not diminish

,but was rather on the i n

crease,the same Fa ther Bernardo ascended

the pulpit once more on Trinity Sunday ,and so threa tened the sinners with thedivine vengeance

,as to cause the Clerigo

himsel f t o tremble in his seat . The sermon

L if e of Ba r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s . 1 1 1

would perhaps be,even now interesting

reading,but L a s Casas only preserved the

following passa ge which I give in ful l .“Since we have come among you we

have spoken plainly about the sinful condition of your souls

,because you have

oppressed,tyrannized and murdered these

people . Not only you ha ve not given anySign of repentanc e

,but you are doing worse

every day,shedding the blood of so many

,

who have done you no harm . I beg theInca rna te God tha t

,on the day of judge

ment,the blood he shed for them m ay be

a witness aga inst your cruelty . You willnot then be able to plead ignorance and tosay that you had not been instructed andwarned about the wrongs you are now per

pet r a t i n g against these people . As youare now the witnesses of each other ’scrimes

,so will you t hen be of the punish

ment that shal l be meted out to you .

” Theaudience l eft the church with d owncast andsad countenances

,but unconverted .

The Dominicans were now convincedthat they could do no good in Cuba n ot tothe Indians

,while they were oppressed and

destroyed by the Christians,nor t o the

Spa nia rds,to whom the Sa c raments could

not be administered whi l e they persisted inl iving in a state of mortal sin . It was

1 1 2 L if e of B a r tolom é de L a s Ca sa s .

therefore decided tha t their Superior,Gu

t i er re de Ampudia a n d Dea c on Diego deAlberca should go over to Hispa niola incompa ny of L a s Casa s , who w a s now a boutto lea ve for Spa in . They went to l ay before their P1 ela te the c ondition of red giousa ffairs in Cuba . The thre e sa iled eitherfrom Sa ntiago de Cuba or from Barac oaand la nded in the Port of Ygua n a whic hwas the nearest to the coast of Cuba .

Thence they proposed to cross,as best they

could,the Isla nd 1 11 order to reac h the city

of San Domingo . But they ha d tra velledbut a few lea gues when the Domini c anFather fell sic k of a fever . In a few day she so f a r recovered as to be able totravel horseba c k

,and the Clerigo loaned

him his mare in order tha t,a c companied

,

as he was,by the Dea c on

,who travelled

on foot,he might continue on his j ourney .

L a s Ca sas rema ined behind to pro c ureanother horse

,hi s intention being to over

ta ke them on the roa d by following ashorter route . Fa ther Gutierre had gonethree days on his journey

,when he re

lapsed an d died on the road,at the house

of a Sp a niard , who kept a ca ttle fa rm .

The Clerigo and Diego de Alberta rea c hedtheir destina tion in sa fety .

The Clerigo ’s reasons for travelling to


soon as the real object of his journey t oSpain should be known

,would not unlikely

en deavor to misrepresent him at court .And in order that

,on his arrival in

Spain,he should not find every door shut

against him by the machinations and i nt r igues of those , who were interested inIndian slavery

,i f the obj ect of his voyage

was known,he allowed his countrymen

,on

his departure from Cuba,to remain under

the impression that he was going to Parist o study

,and to obtain

,i f possible

,the

coveted degree of that University . ThusVelasquez and his associates were thrownoff their guard , and the L icenciado partedon the best of terms with them all .Pedro de Cordova had but lately returned

from old Castile,and we know of his

doings there from what ha s been said a l

ready To use a familiar expression,he

was quite familiar with the lay of the landthere

,and could not promise much success

to L a s Casas in his mission . After hea ring,

in confidence,the intentions of the Priest

,

he said : “Father,your labors shall not be

l ost , because God will keep a good accountof them but rest assured

,that

,while the

present King lives,you will not accomplish

that,which both

, you a n d I, so much

desire .

”

s e of B a r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s . 1 1 5

However the Friar praised the Priest’sintentions and encouraged him to leavenothing undone to save the lives of the unfortunate natives . The interview endedwith the following by L a s Casas “Father ,I will try every possible way

,and I shall

Shirk no la bors or tria ls that I m a y have toundergo

,to accomplish what I have under

taken,and I hope that God will help me .

I f I fa il I sha ll have the satisfa ction ofhaving done what a good Christia n shoulddo Your Reverence

,I hope

,will pray

and have others to pray for me .

” Fromthis conference there sprung between theClerigo and the Fria r a friendship

,whi c h

ended only in death ; and L a s Ca sas tookpride in consigning the fact to history

,

that good Father Pedro loved the L i c enc i a d o as much

,at least

,as any of his own

fellowfriars .The ha tred which most of the Spaniardsin Hispaniola bore the Dominicans

,on a c

count of their sermons,had not yet abated .

They lived in stric test poverty,sometimes

l ac king even the necessa ries of life . Theirconvent w a s as yet but half built

,and they

could not see their w a y to finish it . It w a s

therefore decided that Fa ther Montesinoshould trave l to the old country once morein order to solicit from aged king Fer

1 1 6 L if e of Ba r tolom é d e L a s C a sas .

dimand,on whom he and Pedro de Cordova

had made a favorable impression on theirformer visit

,sufficient alms to build their

church and complete their convent . Mont esi n o

’s experience at court might at the

same t ime be of service to the Clerigo . InSeptember 1 5 1 5 I find the Priest and theFriar on board the same ship

,and it i s not

rash to say that n o better couple evercrossed the Atlantic together or for a holierpurpose . On their arrival in Seville

,after

a prosperous voyage,Montesino went to

lodge in a convent of his Order , while L a sCasas put up with some of his relatives .

1 1 8 L if e of B awtolom é d e L a s Ca sa s .

Secretary of Sta te , L ope C on c hi l l os , wereat the head of the bureau for India n a ffa irsand nothing of importa nc e was done thatdid not pa ss through t heir hands . It wouldhave been folly to apply to them for a ssistanceto redress the wrongs perpetrated on theAmeri c an Indians ; for they themselveskept hundreds of them at work in themines of Hispaniola

,J ama ica

,Cuba and

Porto Rico extracting gold to fil l their owncoffers . And

,as i t generally happens w ith

absentee l andlords,the victims of their

greed were treated even more cruelly thanthe Indians belonging to other Repartim i en t os . L a s Casas therefore avoided meeting them

,and took care to l e t them know

nothing o f his business at court . On the2 3d of December he was admitted for a fewmoments to the presence of the king

,and

in a few words expla ined why he ha d comefrom the Ind ies

,how the Indians were

there perishing daily and disappea ring bythe thousands

,dying without faith and

without the sac raments,and how the Spa

n i a r d s were responsible for their deaths .The Cl erigo knew full and wel l tha t Ferd i n a n d ’s predominant pa ssion was avarice ,and he did n ot neglect to say tha t theCrown was vitally interested in the preservation of the American na tives . He then


begged the king to give him an oppor

t un i ty of speaking to him more leisurelyabout American affairs whenever it wouldsuit His Majesty to grant him anotheraudience . It was granted ; and there andthen the king made an appointment tomeet again the Transatlantic ClergymanOn e day within the Octave of Christmas .The Clerigo presented D ez a

’s letter and

then,kissing the royal hand

,withdrew .

The reader must have already perceivedt hat the Clerigo would have ma de no meand iplon i a t i st ; but hi s adversaries were morethan his matches . D eza

’s letter na tura l ly

went t o Fonseca and to C on c hi l los . Thosetwo worthies were fully acqua inted withL a s Casas’ doings in the Indies during thepast two or three years .Velasquez was but the lieutenant of

Diego Columbus in Cuba,who

,in virtue

of his prerogatives of Viceroy of a l l theislands discovered by his father

,was

,ex

ofii c i o,

‘ Governor of Cuba . When L a s Casasleft t he Islan d

,Vela squez feared less the

impetuous Clerigo should mention t o Admira l Diego Columbus , or to the kingsomething unfavorable to -himself

,con

cerning the trea tment tha t the Indians r e

c eived under his administration . It mustbe mentioned al so that Velasquez wa s j ust

I


then treacherously and ungratefully t ryingto supplant the vic eroy in Cuba

,to whom

he owed his present important position .

Pa n filo Narvaez ha d therefore arrived inSpain about the same time as L a s Casasand Montesino for the purpose of f rust r a ting their efforts in behalf of the Indians

,

and especially for the purpose of actin g assolicitor for Velasquez in trying to obtainfor him the independent governorship ofCuba . Pa samonte

,the royal trea surer

at San Domingo,and a confidential

creature of king Ferdinand,was vitally

interest ed in Indian slavery and in supporting Velasquez by supplanting DiegoColumbus . On the departure of L a s Casasfrom Cuba

,Velasquez had written to Pa sa

monte about the style of preaching whichthe Clerigo ha d adopted

,and Pasamonte

had sent the l etter to the two l argest slaveowners

,Fonseca and C on c hi l lo . Narvaez

was also the bearer of a gift to the two

State ministers in the sha pe of a R epa r

t im i en to of Cuban Indians,in whose terri

tory a fat gold mine had l ately been discovered . This

,i t was thought , would

easily pave Velasquez ’ w ay to the Gover n orship .

L a s Casas ’ next step was to interviewTomas de Ma t i en so

,a Dominican

,and Fer

1 2 2 L if e of Ba r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s .

presence of the priest,insultingly remarked

“What an unwitty fool you a r e ; whatbusiness of m ine is it or of the King ?” Towhich in stentorian tones the Clerigo re

plied ;“ Is i t none of your business or of

the King that so many souls should perish ?0 great and eternal God

,whose business

shall it then be ? ” a n d he left . Thus Fonseca

,forgetful of his divine calling

,en

d ea vored to crush with the weight of hisauthority a simple

,justic e-loving Priest .

L a s Casas was in Seville before the arrival of the King

,a cquainting Diego de

Deza,the Arc hbishop

,of the different

steps he had taken a n d begging him to usehis influence in obtaining a protrac tedaudienc e . in which sufficient attentionshould be paid to Americ a n affairs . Hedesired that it should be held in the presence of Fonseca and of C on c hi l los , in orderthat an opportunity might be afforded himof formula ting a withering indictment

,be

fore the King,of the two officials

,making

them responsible for the murders and massa cres that were desolating theWest IndianIslands . But a messenger arrived a n

n oun c i n g the death of king Ferdina nd ,which had taken place the 2 3d d a y ofJanuary 1 5 1 6 . The work in beha l f of theunfortun ate Americans was to be done allover aga in .

L z’

f e of Ba r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s . 1 2 3

The heir to the throne of Castile and ofAragon

,Charles V'

. w a s then a mere boy ofsixteen a n d resided in Flanders . Nothingda unted

, L a s Casas resolved to travel totha t f a r off country to ask of the n ew monarch redress for the wrongs that were dec im a t i n g the India ns beyond the Atla ntic .

On his way to Flanders he stopped atMadrid .

A bit of history is here necessary t omakeclear this period of L a s Ca sas ’ li fe . Charles V . ( the gra nd- son of king Ferdinand ) ,or his advisors

,had known for some time

past tha t Ferdinand was in feeble healthand that his demise could not be far off .Hence Adrian

,the tutor of Charles

,and

Dean of the University of L ouvain ha d

been sent as Ambassa dor to the court ofSpain

,with secret instructions in writing

to take cha rge of the reins of government onthe death of the fa iling monarch . On theother hand

,Ferdinand had appointed regent

the famous Franciscan Friar FranciscoX imenez de Cisnero

,the Cardinal of Spain

,

until such a time as his grandson shouldtake charge of the kingdom himself . Adria n

( the future pope ) and X imenez rul edjointly and ha rmoniously for nea rly twoyears

,over the destinies of the most power

ful nation in Christendom . Adrian how


ever,who never l earned how to converse

in the Spanish langua ge,discreetly allowed

the great Ximenez to be the real regent,

contenting himself with affixing his signature to all state papers as Am ba ssa d or .

L a s Casas on his arrival at Madrid , presented to Adrian a memorial in L atin , inwhich the cruelties and oppression of theIndians were once more graphically described .

‘ The document shocked the Flemishprelate

,who was naturally of a mild and

compassionate disposition . Without moreado

,he passed to the apartments of Xime

n ez ( they lodged in the same house ) andshowed him the memorial asking if it waspossible that the barbarities therein described were bein g perpetra ted i n theIndies . The Cardinal , who had not beenleft in ignorance of the t rue state of affairsin the Indies by his brother Friars

,the

Franciscans,answered in the a fli rm a t ive .

Then,

” said Adrian,

“the Clerigo need notgo to Flanders to look for a remedy to theevils a fll i c t i n g his protegees beyond theAtlantic . It shall be provided for here andn ow in ol d Castile .

” Conferences after conferen c es were held between L a s Casas ,Ximenez and Adrian

,in which one L iceu

c i a d o Z ap a t a ,D oc t or Ca rba j al and Palac iosRubios

,all emin ent j urists

,disinterested in


It was done ; but the interpolation w a s

inserted a gain .

“Tha t l a w says no such thing,repeated

the priest,who knew it by heart

,this time

in thundering tones .Ximenez vexed at his boldness

,said

Be silent,or otherwise mind your words .

L a s Casas “May it plea se your L ordshipto have my head cut off i f wha t that i ndividual has just read is contained in thelaw .

”

The manuscript was snat ched from theclerk ’s hands and it proved tha t the Clerigowas correct

,a n d tha t an attempt had been

made at forgery,i f not in writing

,in word .

The outcome of the conferences was theappointment of Doctor Pala cios Rubios

(who a lways proved himself the friend ofthe Indians ) and of L a s Ca sas as a comm i t t ee to devise means and mea sures whi c hwould insure justice and protection to theoppressed Americ a n natives . At the suggestion of the Clerigo

,Father Montesino

,

who had just arrived in Madrid, wa s added

to the Committee . But he and Pa laciosRubios

,fully awa re that L a s Casas , by his

fifteen years residence in Hispaniola andCuba

,better than any one else

,ha d learned

how deep the knife should sink to cureSpanish corruption and Spanish tyranny ,

L if e of Ba r tolom é d e L a s C a sa s . 1 2 7

and knowing the Clerigo to be a jurist ofno mean calibre

,

-. left to him the ta sk of

dra fting a scheme of legisla tion that wouldshie ld the helpless Indian aga inst therapa city and cruelty of the white man .

The ground work of the report which theClerigo made in a few days was

r st . The system of R epa r t i m i en t os mustbe abolished i n 150 150

,and the Indians treated

like other free vassals of the Crown .

2 d . Spaniards in the Indies must henceforth live o f their own industry

,commerce

or la bor as best they can,instead of spend

ing their time in demoralizing idleness orin ma king slaves of the natives as they haddone heretofore .

Montesino and Palacios Rubios approvedthe report

,the latter polishing it and giving

it the proper form of a state paper . Thisw a s read and approved

,with slight modi

fic a t ion s by the full Council of Sta te .

Dec rees were then formula ted,and L a s

Casas entrusted with the task of pointin gout or suggesting a person or persons wellqualified

,in his opinion

,to execute them .

The decrees meant nothing less tha n therevolutionizing of a l l economical conditionsin the Americ an colonies

,the shattering

of fort unes alrea dy made or in a fair wayto be made

,and the placing of the masters


on a level with their slaves . No e a sy task ;n or were all the necessary qualification s tosuch an executive o ffi cer easily to be foundin the same individual or individua ls . Addto this that the Clerigo ha d been absentfrom Spain since he ha d left the a c a d em i

cal halls of the Un ivef si ty of Salamanca ,and was acquainted with few of his owncountrymen . Very wisely therefore hedecided to leave the choice of the personalto Ximenez

,a n d contented himself with

pointing out the qua lific ations that heshould possess

,who would accept this im

portant and di fficult mission .

Experience had shown that men wereeasily blinded by the glitter of Americangold . Pasamonte

,Diego Columbus

,Ovan

do,Bobadilla

,the great Genoese mariner

himself,one and all had been , more or

less,affected by it . Evidently the proper

man to effect a reformation should have noworldly interest to nurse

,and no longing

for self a gr a n d i sem en t to satisfy . Thegreat Dominican and Franciscan Orderscould furnish many men

,able and saintly ,

who,bound by vows of poverty and obe

d i en c e,were proof against the temptations

of avarice and ambition . But the remembran c e was yet fresh in the minds of allhow Montesino , a Dominican , and Espinal ,


exalted opinion of the American priest .Ximenez had more tha n once pra ised hiszeal in the presence of the highest c ourtoffic ials extolling his disinterestedness incoming from so fa r and in crossing thedangerous Atlantic at his own expense

,

with no worldly motive in view,but for the

exclusive purpose of pleading in beh alf ofof a downtrodden race . .The Cardinalhad sa id on a certain occasion

,when L a s

Casas had just left his pr esen se ,“11 0 doubt

this Clerigo was sent here by divine Providence .

” After another conference between the two cardinals and the priestAdrian remarked “Ma l ta m i r a bi l la aud i

vim us d e J oha n n a ,” applying the words to

L a s Ca sas .As was t o be expected , the American

priest soon became the object of the hatredand of the calumnies of the Spanish colon i st s . It ha d been learned in San to Domingo

,Cuba

,Jama ica

,Porto Rico etc . that

the L i cencia do had not gone to Paris tostudy

,but that he was at court

,they said

,

plotting to ruin them .

’

Hence delegationafter delegation arrived in Spain fromAmerica to endeavor to undo his work .

Ximenez wa s an uncompromising lover ofjustice . He ha d not a lways been a Friar

,

a n d knew the world,especially his country

L if e of B a r toZom é d e L a s Ca sa s . 1 3 1

men,and like all great statesmen was a

reader of men’s”

character . The slaveowners of America dared not a pproach thestern old Regent

,but they swa rmed around

the three Monks who had been selected asthe heralds of liberty to the red man .

While waiting in M a drid for their c red ent i a l s a n d other documents defining theirduties

,and the extent of their powers and

jurisdiction in American aff airs,the well

meaning,but unexperienced Jeron im i t es ,

who had seldom looked beyond the wallsof their monastic cells

,lodged at first with

L a s Casas . But they'

soon thought itnecessary to learn from his opponents alsothe true conditions of the India ns

,and thus

allowed their minds to be poisoned by themisrepresentations

,insinuations

,lies and

calumnies of the Spanish colonists . Theyremoved to a hospital kept by some laybrothers of their Order

,where they felt

freer to listen to whosoever ha d aught tot ell them about the Indies . When a shipwas at l ast placed at their disposal

,on

which they wereto cross the Atlantic,they

alleged frivolous pretexts,but politely r e

fused to have the Clerigo as their tra vellingcompanion

,although the latter had been

appointed as their offic ial advisor Beforeleaving Madrid their dispositions and their


prejudices had become so well known t hati t was feared by well meaning men

,that

little good would be done to the India nsby their mission . Good Palacios Rubioschanced one day to hear their Views andremarked : “Upon my faith

,Fathers

,it

seems to me that you have little of thatcharity

,which is necessary to the proper

management of this important affair withwhich the King has entrusted you .

” Hethen went to Ximenez to persuade him toabandon the idea of sending the Monks toAmerica . But the C ardinal was founddangerously ill

,and could not be seen ;

while Palacios had to leave the capital forother official dut ies . Ximenez recovered ,and lost n o time in drafting the severaldecrees and instructions by which L a s

Casas,the three monks and Alonzo de

Zuazo, who was to go to the Indies as Judge

d e Resi d en ti a ,were to be governed . It

must be remarked that Judges d eResi d en ti ahad power to investigate the official conduct of government officers

,and to try them

for their d elinquencies . Z ua zo’s jurisdiction extended to all the Crown officersin America . The decrees

,the execution

of which was entrusted to the Jeron im i t es ,were quite numerous . By on e of these theywere comman ded

, on their arrival in Ame


Mem or i al or In struc tion t o be given t o the

Fathers , who, by c om m and of H i s MostReverend L ord shi p ( X im enez) a n d of t he

Senor Am bassad or a re goi n g t o ref ormt he Ind i es .

The first thing to be done by theFathers

,who are going thither

,as far as

can be done,is to visit personally each

Island,in order to inform themselves of the

number of the Caciques and the number oftheir respective Indians

,and of all other

India ns to be found in each one of theIslands . They must next find out howthey ( the Indians ) have been treated bythe individuals to whose R ep a r t im i en t os

t hey belong,and by the governors

,judges

and other ministers . L e t them reduce towriting their findings

,in order tha t proper

measures may be a dopted in the premises .While visiting the Islands

,espe c ially

Hispaniola,Cuba

,San Juan (Porto Rico )

and Jamaica let them study the topography,

particularly in the neighborhoods wheregold mines are located

,and l et them take

notes of the places which are well suitedfor the establishing of villa ges

,whence the

Indians may conveniently attend the workof the mines and where rivers be found fortheir fisheries and good lands to cultivate .

L et them begin their work in Hispaniola

L if e of Ba r tolom é d e L a s C a sa s . 1 35

a n d Jamaica and push thence to Cuba andSan Juan . The v i lla ges to be esta blishedshould be composed of about three hundredfamilies each

,and as many houses should

be built as necessary according to theircustoms ; and the same should be sufficientlyl arge to accommodate an increase in thefamilies

,which increase

,no doubt

,will

c ome by the grace of God .

A church,as good as means will allow

,

m ust be built m each village with a publicSquare in front of it , and regular streets .

*

A house l arger and better than the othersm ust be built for the Cacique on the publicsquare

,because it will natural ly become

the meeting place for the gatherings of thevillagers . In locating the pueblo ( village )the wishes of the Cacique should be gra tified as much as possible

,in order that their

feelings may not be wounded in theirhaving to .change their pla ce of habitation .

L et the Fathers explain to them that allthese things are done for their wel fare andin order that they be better t reate‘d than

The sa m en ess o f a r r a n gem en t i n t he publ i cbuildin gs , o f c hur c hes a n d o f st r ee t s i n a lm ost everyo l d v il la ge , t own o r c it y o f Mexi c o , Ce n t r a l a n d

Sout h Am er ic a , fr om t h e At l a n t i c t o t he Pa c ifi cO c ea n , a n d fr om Texa s t o Argen t in e a n d Chil i a tt r a c t s t he a t t en t ion o i every t r a vel ler . I t h a d i t s

or igin i n t his Mem or ia l a n d i s t her efor e a t t r ibu t a blet o L a s Ca sa s .


heretofore . As to those who are found faraway from the mines

,let them form pueblos

in their own neighborhoods and let themthere raise cattle

,breadstuffs

,cotton and

other things,and out of them let them pay

a reasonable tribute or tax to the king .

This must be done in those Islands wheregold is not found

,whic h nevertheless should

remain inhabited,beca use it would grieve

the India ns to remove to some far awa y ,

point,and because climat ic changes would

be dangerous to them . The Savan nah

( level lands around the City of SanDomingo ) must remain inhabited on a c

count o f its proximity to the port,and the

advantages it affords to the commerce withCuba and the continent .Proper territorial boundaries should be

assigned t o the pueblos,giving to each of

t hem enough of the adj acent land,thus

providing for that increase of populationwhich is expect ed through the grace ofGod . The best of these lands should beparcelled out among the vi llagers in proportion to the size of their families and totheir social ra nk

,so that they may plant

trees and other things,and raise cazabe to

make their bread . To the Caciques shouldbe assign ed four times as much land as toa n ordin ary m a n of the people . The rest

1 38 L if o of B a r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s .

The Spaniard so married shall be recogn i zed

,obeyed and served a s the Cacique

his predecessor,i n the same manner as

other Ca c iques . Thus i t will soon come topa ss that a l l the Caciques will be Spaniardsand many expenses will be spared .

Each pueblo must have its own separatejurisdiction

,and i t s Cacique must exercise

i t not only over the delinquents fromamongst his own peopl e

,but also over the

subjects of the inferior chiefs,who may be

living in that pueblo . This must be un

d erst ood only of minor offenc es punishablewith nothing worse than a whipping

,and

even this must not be done without theconsent of the Rel igious or Clerigo i n

charge of the parish . Jurisdiction overmore serious crimes belongs to the king’sc ivil courts . If the Caciques themselvesshould do what they ought not

,or infringe

upon the rights of their inferiors,it shal l

be the duty of the ordinary civi l tribunalsto punish them . The officers of the puebloshall be elected by the acting parish priest

,

the Cacique and the administrator,and in

case of disagreement by a majority of them .

And,as it is necessary that good order be

established and maintained in each pueblo,

i t is deemed advisa ble tha t an administratorbe appointed for on e

,two

,t hree or more


villages according to the number of peoplein them

,who should live in a stone house

in some centrally loca ted plac e,but not

within the prec incts of the pueblo itself,in

order that the Indians m ay not be harassedby the members of his household

,or quarrel

with them . The administrator should be aSpa nish settler and a conscientious man

,

chosen from among those who are knownto have always treated wel l the Indians oftheir R ep a r t im i en t os , and whose charactershould give promise that he will fulfill theduties of his o ffi c e faithfully . These dutiesshall be to visit the pueblo or pueblos ofhis charge

,see to it that the Caciques

,

espe c ially the principal one of each place,

ma ke their India ns adopt and live accordingto the rules of civilized li fe

,each one in his

own house and with his own fami ly thathe make them attend to their work in themines

,in the fields

,in raising cattle and

other things which the Indians should d o,

as sha l l be hereinafter explained . Hemust be forbidden from molesting the Indians

,and from making them work with

promises of rewards,more than they a r e

obliged to . He should also be made tounderstand that he is responsible t o Godfor any abuse of his power . Upon assuming the duties of his office he shoul d be

1 40 L if o of Ba r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s .

made to take a solemn oa th to performthem cons c ientiously ; and if ever a fter hefails to do so

,he sha l l be punished by the

cour ts a ccording to the laws of his Majesty,

the King . For the proper performa nce ofhis duties he should keep with him threeor four Spaniards from Ca stile or from someother part of Spain ; and a sufficient numberof arms He should not a llow the Ca c iques or their Indians to keep in their possession any weapons belonging to themselves

,except such as shall be deemed

necessary to hunt . If he should choose,or

i f it should be found necessary to keepmore employees

,he may do so

,provided

t ha t he pays them a competent sa lary inthe presence of the parish priest . He shal lalso be allowed to keep

,as members of his

household,n ot more than six Indians

,pro

vi d ed they enter his service of their freeaccord

,provided he shall not send t hem

to work in the mines,but employ them

only on his own premises,and provided

they remain free to quit his service and r e

turn to the pueblo to which they belongwhenever they should be c ome dissatisfiedwith their position . The administratorand the Religious or Clerigo must do theirbest t o redu c e the Caciques a n d their Indians to a civilized manner of life

,making

1 42 L if e of B a r tolom od o L a s Ca sa s .

t he administrator ’s duties shall be to keepa registry of all the Caciques

,and of the

number of persons in each family and ineach pueblo

,in order that

,if any one

should run away,absent himself

,or fail to

do his duty,i t may be ea sily found out .

In order tha t the Indians m a y be properly instructed in our holy faith

,and

their spiritual wants properly attended to,

there must be in each pueblo a Religiousor a Clerigo

,whose duty it shall be to give

them instructions adapted to their ca pa city,

to administer the sacraments and to preachto them on Sundays and Fea st d ays and tomake them understand how

,and why they

should pay,for God ’s sake

,the tithes or

the first fruits of the earth t o the Churchand her ministers

,who hear their c on fes

sions,and minister them the sacraments

,

bury them,when dead

,and pray for them .

The priest must see that they attend Ma ssand sit in good order in church

,the men

on one side and the women on the other .The clergyman Shall be bound to sayMasson Sundays and Fea st d ays a n d on whatever other days he sha l l choose to do so . Hesha ll also see that M a ss be said on Sunda ysand Fea st d ays in the churches , whichshal l be erected at the mining camps .The c l ergym en

’s sal aries shall be paid out


of the tithes of each pueblo,and they sha ll

also be entitled to ordinary perquisites andofferings that may be made voluntarily bym en or women of cazabe

,chil i e t c . They

sha ll n ot be entitled to any fees for hea ringconfessions

,administering the other sa

c r a m en t s,marrying people

,or for burying

the dead . In the afternoons of Sunda ysand Fea st d ays they shal l ring the churchbells

,and call together the people t o teach

them catechism ; and , should anybodyrefuse to come

,he must be punished mode

r a te ly,and the punishment must be a d

ministered publ i c ly,i n order that it may

serve as a warning t o others .A sacristan must also be appointed to

attend to the church . He should be anIndian

,i f a competent one be found in the

pueblo ; i f not , a white m a n must be sel ec t ed . It shall be his duty t o teach theIndia n children

,especially the sons of the

Cac iques,how to read

,write and speak

the Spanish language unti l they shal l benine years of age . He must also do hisbest to induce the Caciques and theirpeopl e to speak Spanish . A hospice mustalso be built in the pueblo

,wherein to

shelter and to care for the sick,and for

aged persons,who can work n o longer

,as

well as for the orphan children . For the


maintenance of the hospice the puebl oshall be required to make a n d to cultivatea planta tion of Mon ton es .

* As itis provided that a married man with hiswife be given cha rge of the establishment

,

it shall be his d uty to solicit contributionsto help supporting it and inasmu c h as themarket

,for the selling of meat

,sha ll be

public property,a pound of mea t shall be

given daily for every inmate of the hospice,

the keeper and his wife included . Thedistribution of the meat sha l l be made inthe presence o f the Ca cique or of the parishpriest . The ma le Indians of each pueblo

,

twenty years,of age

,and not over fifty

,

shall be bound to the following contribut i on of labor . At a l l times one third ofthem sha ll be employed in the work of themines

,and

,i f a n y be sick or disabled , they

must be substituted by others,out of the

other two-thirds . They shall go t o workat sunrise

,or shortly after

,and a fter the

noonday mea l,they shall have

,for rest and

recreation,three hours ; after whic h they

shall work until sunset . Every able-bodiedman shal l be employed in the work of themines four months of the yea r

,at such

times as the Cacique may designate , provi d ed that one-third of them be always at

The a rt ific i a l hea ps or hills o f dir t , i n whic ht he c a za be wa s c ul t iva t ed , wer e c a l led m on ton os .

1 46 L z’

f o of B a r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s .

The pl antations found necessary or conven i en t to the esta blishment of the puebloswill be Crown property but they sha l l beassessed at a fair valuation and paid for atthe first smelting

,out of the share of gold

,

which shall belong to the Indians . Theplantations must then be parcelled out inplots

,and one of these be assigned to the

head of each family,until such a t ime as

he shall be able to reduce to a st ate of cult i va t i on the land which shall be allotted t ohim in fee simple . The Cacique must takecharge of the cattle on these plantations

,

to use them in the manner hereina fterexplained . If possible

,each pueblo should

have ten or twelve ma res,fifty cows

,and

one hundred sows . All these animals shouldat first remain common property

,and be

fed at public expense until the Indiansshall have learned and grown accustomed toown and care for some of their own . Theremust be in each pueblo a butcher

,who shall

distribute to each family two pounds ofmeat whenever the husband will be athome

,and not at work in the mines

,a n d

one pound,when he will be absent . If a

family requires more meat it must procureit with its own industry

,as it must also

provide for itself,on abstinence da ys

,when

eating fleshm ea t is forbidden . The Caci

L if o of B a r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s . 1 47

que must be given eight pounds of meatd a ily

,and he must see tha t the wives of

those who work in the mines m a ke theirown and their husband ’s bread

,prepa re

chili,corn and all other necessa ry things

,

which must be sent,free of charge

,to the

mines on the mares mentioned above .

There must be in each mine a butc her,and

ea ch workman must be given one poundand a ha l f or two pounds of meat a day ;and

,as in Hispaniola fish is not abundant

,

dispensa tion should be obtained for eatingfleshm ea t on some of the days of L ent andon some other da ys of’ abstinence . In orderthat the laborers be provided with meat

,

some of the cattle,which are common pro

perty,should be driven to the mines for

their slaughter houses,and if a sufficient

supply of them is not at hand,others must

be bought a n d paid for on the first smeltingday following .

All the gold mined must be consignedinto the hands of the foreman every evening

,

as has been done heretofore,and when

smel ting-day sha ll have come , ( and theremust be one every two months

,unless His

Majest y ’s officers should ordain otherwise )said foreman

,the Cacique

,and the a d

ministrator together must take it to thesmeltery and see that every thing be don e

1 48 L if e of Ba r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s .

honestly . The gold must then be dividedin three parts

,one of which shall go to the

king,and the other two to the Caciques

and to the Indians to pay for the plant a t ion s and cattle that were bought for thepueblo and to meet al l expenses m ade incommon . The remainder must be divided i nto equal shares among the heads of families ,t he Cacique counting as six

,and the fore

m a n as two . With his share of gold minedeach laborer must provide his own tools

,

which shall remain his ow n property . Butin order that said tools be properly lookedafter

,an account of t hem must be kept

in writing . If the whole amount shalln ot thus have been disposed of

,the

Clerigo and administrator shall buy forthe laborers clothing

,and a dozen

chickens and a cock,and what other

t hings shall be thought necessary to hisfamily ; and in order that care be takenof these personal art icl es , a record shall bekept of them also . If a balance should yetremain in favor of the laborer

,it shall be

given in trust to som e honest person,whose

n ame , and the amount received shall go onrecord

,in the manner that the Clerigo and

administrat or shall deem best,in order that

the t rustee may be properly summoned andm ade to disburse it

,whenever he shall be

c alled upon to do so .

1 50 L if o of B a r tolom od o L a s Ca sa s .

of the helpless a borigines . All the c lausesrela ting to the la bor of the mines were thework of the roya l councillors . The i nfluen c e of the Spanish settlers went fa rther .The monks of St . Jerome were given ase c ond memorial or set of instruc tions

,

which were to be the guide of their conductin America

,in case that the instruc tions

contained in the first memoria l should befound impract icable . The second memorialwas made up of amendments to the l awsenacted four years before by king Ferd i n a n d for the government of the Indies .These amendments w ere radical and a l l

in favor of the Indians,but did not a bolish

the system of Rep a r t im i en tos which w a s

rea l slavery . And as long as the e x e c utionof these laws remained necessa rily in thehands of the sl a veow n ers

,who were se

pa r a t ed from the centra l government ofMadrid by six thousa nd miles of water

,

they would, L a s Ca sas knew it , prove i n

effe c tive and'

useless . Fortunately for theIndians

,Ximenez enacted at the same time

another dec ree,whi c h has be c ome perhaps

the best known,as it proved the most bene

fic i a l of a l l the Spanish state papers concerning the prote c tion of the Ameri c anra c e . It ultima tely proved their sa lva tion .

It w a s addressed to L a s Casa s and must begiven in full .

C HAPTER XI .

L a s C a sa s i s m a d e Of f i c i a l Prot ec t or of t he

In d i a n s a n d Ret ur n s t o Am er i c a .

T O Bartolomé d e L a s Casas , Clerigo , anative of Seville and a resident of

Cuba in the Indies, the Ki ng a n d tho

Queen .

”

“ Inasmuch as we have been informed thatyou have resided for a long time in thosecountries

,and that hence you are by ex

per i en c e familiar with their affa irs , es

pec i a l ly those wherein the welfare of theIndians is concerned

,and inasmu c h as you

,

by contact with them,have become well

acquainted with their customs and mannerof living

,and whereas we know tha t you

are zealous in the servi c e of God and ourown

,which makes us hope that you wil l

comply carefully a n d diligently with ourcommands and the duties of the cha rge wehereby give you

,and that you 'will work

for the welfare of the souls and bodies ofthe Spaniards as well as of the Indians ;therefore

,by these presents we command

that you go to the Indies , to Hispaniola , toC uba , to Porto Rico , to Jamaica and to the

( 1 5 1 )


Continent,and that you advise

,counsel

and inform the devout Fathers of St . Jerome

,whom we send to reform the Indies

,

and a l l other persons,who may cooperate

with them,about all things concerning the

liberty,humane treatment and salva tion of

the souls and bodies of said Indians of theafore mentioned Islands and Continent

,and

that you thence write to us,tha t you inform

us,and that you come to inform us about

everything done in said Islands ; and inorder that you may do everything in aproper manner for the service of Our L ordand our own in the performance of theduties of your offi c e , we hereby give youunreservedly all powers directly or i n

directly connected or annexed,ordinarily

or extraordina rily necessary to the exerc iseof your o ffi ce . And we hereby commandour admiral and the judges of the courtsof appea l and a l l other judges in said Islands and Continent

,that they respect and

cause to be respected this power which wehereby gi ve you , and that they observe andcause to be observed the spirit and the letterof this decree under penalty of our displeasure

,and a fine of ten thousand mara

ved i es for eac h off ense . Given in Madridthe 1 7th day of September 1 5 1 6 .

F .,the Ca rdina l .

Adrian,the Ambassador .

1 54 L if o of B a r tolom o d o L a s Ca sa s .

tinies of an infinite number of souls inthose pa rts

,will do 11 0 good

,but much

ha rm . He expla ined how they werelea ving Spa in already prejudiced a ga instthe India ns

,whom they were sent to r a n

som and protect,and biased in fa vor of the

Spa nia rds,whose crimes they were sent to

punish . The Ca rdina l answered : “Wel lthen

,whom else sha ll we trust ? You are

going with them ; look after everythingyourself . ” L a s Ca sa s and the monkssa iled on different ships from San L ucarthe eleventh of September 1 5 1 6 and safelyreached Porto Rico together

,where they

were a l l detained four or five da ys . Whilein port the Protector of the Indians visitedthe monks and begged them to allow himto t ravel on their ship to Hispa niola , i na sm uc h as his ow n vessel would be deta ineda fortnight in Porto Rico to unload . Thepermission w a s re fused .

L a s Ca sas began ac tively to perform theduties of his o ffice in Porto Ri c o itself .One John Bon o

,a shipma ster

,had just ar

rived i n port with a ship load of sla ves,

whom he had kidna pped in Trinidad inthe following manner . With sixty maran ders

,l ike himself

,he ha d appea red be

fore tha t Island ; a n d as the India ns ga theredon the shore in large numbers , to prevent ,

L if o of Ba r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s . 1 55

as best they could,a la nding

,he assured

them tha t his and his c ompa nions ’ i n t entions were peaceful and tha t they had cometo ma ke a settlement in their midst . TheIndia ns believed him

,fed his people

,and

trea ted them a s brothers . Bono ca joledthe Indians into believing tha t the whitemen wished to live a l l in the same houseand the India ns set to work to build i t a s

capacious a s d esired . In a few days thebuilding w a s nearly completed and Bonoinvited the natives to come and see it .Some four hundred of t hem

,naked a n d

unarmed had entered the enclosure,when

the Spa nia rds,a t a given signal

,swords in

ha nd,surrounded the building

,a n d Bono

himself announc ed to the bewildered crowd,

tha t they must either surrender or be c utto pieces . Some attempted to resist

,others

to flee,a n d in a few minutes the floor was

strewn with the wounded,the dy ing , a n d

the dead . One hundred a n d eighty weremanacled a n d pla ced a boa rd the ship . Andstill the cargo was not yet complete . Onehundred Indians had fortified themselves ina house of their own

,and were ready to

defend themselves . Summoned to surrender

,they refused ; the building was t hen

set on fire by the Spaniards,and the one

hundred human beings cremated . Bono,


who himself detailed to L a s Casas thisa c t of vandalism

,when asked wha t ha d

prompted him to such inhuman cruelty,

answered that he had been instructed bythe Oi d ores ( j udges of the supreme court)in Hispaniola to ca pture the Indians peacefully

,i f he could

,but

,with sword in hand

,

i f necessary . L a s Casas l ost n o time in i nforming the monks o f wha t had ha ppened .

But the one hundred and eighty India ns,

who had been sold into slavery,were n ot

set free,neither was ’Bono or the Oi d ores

ever punished for their crime .

The Clerigo was ta king a stroll on thestreet s of San Juan de Porto Rico

,when he

heard the moans and the cries of an Indian,

who,tied to a post

,w a s being un m er c y

fully whipped by a visita dor,i . e . an i n

spector of R ep a r t im i en t os, bec a use thewretch had attempted to run awa y from hismaster

,and had disobeyed him . The priest

stepped to the brutish visitador and r epr i

m a n d ed him for his cruelty . The scourgingwas suspended

,but no sooner had L a s

Ca sas disa ppeared,than the fiend resumed

the fla gel l a t ion of the In dian . This toowas detailed by L a s Casas to the monks ;but no good came of it .The reader however must not imagine

t hat the mission undertaken by the Fa thers


support themselves side by side with thewhite men . The Fa thers lent a willingea r to these arguments

,and even before the

a rriva l of their offi c ia l a dvisor,i f not con

v i n c ed,were persua ded into believin g that

it was impossible to a bolish the Repa r t im i

en t os . L a s Casa s found them far from disposed to take immediate steps to ema ncipatehis protegees . True

,the R epa r t i m i en t os

belonging to a bsentee la ndlords,like Fon

seca, C on c h i l los etc .

,were undone

,but L a s

Ca sa s never succ eeded in inducing theFa thers to deprive the colonial officers

,the

judges,the governor

,the tre a surer

,etc .

of their India ns . He represented to themda ily how the Indians perished under thesystem

,he detailed to them the horrors of

the kidnapping expeditions,how the mines

might as well be c a lled pla ces of execution,

how the Spa n iards oppressed , starved andmurdered the India n s . But all in vain .

The Fa thers were slow,and coul d not be

aroused to a c tion .

The impetuous Clerigo W1shed to see theax fa ll a t once at the root of the evil themonks reflected and temporized . It was11 0 unusua l o c c urrence to see the Protectorof the Indians appea r before the Fathers inthe company of some well meaning man orwoman

,who would corroborate his state

L z’

f o of B a r tolom od o L a s Ca sa s . 1 59

ments about the illtreatment of the India nsby the white men

,or tell new tales of cru

e l t i es,of whic h they ha d been eye wit

nesses . One d ay a brother priest , whosecharge was at one of the mines fifteen orsixteen miles from San Domingo

,came to

report to the Protector of the India ns howthe na tive l a borers were there abused . Hetestified

,that he ha d seen them s ick from

overwork,lying on the neighboring hills

,

or in the fields,covered with flies

,and that

nobody concerned himself enough , aboutthem

,to give them food or nourishment

,

a n d tha t the owners of the R epa r t im i en t os

a llowed them thus to die Hearing which,

L a s Ca sa s took him by the ha nd and ledhim to the monks . These listened impa ss ively to t he ha rrowing rehea rsa l o f then a rrative ; they first expressed themselvesas if in doubt of the veracity of the priest

,

and ended by pa llia ting and excusing thecruelty of the tyra nts . The clergyman

,a

humane gentlema n,who had come to i n

form L a s Ca sas out of pure compassion forthe Indians , because he had hea rd that hewas their Procura tor

,m a de the following

answer “Do you know,Reverend Fathers

,

tha t I begin to surmise that you will do nomore good to these wretc hed creatures thanthe governors who preceded you ?” Say


ing which he d eparted,leaving the three

monks ra ther sa d and dazed .

L a s Casas left nobody in doubt as to hismission in San Domingo . He insistedtha t t he

,t hree commissioners ( they were

n ot exa ctly governors ) should set free without delay the slaves belon ging to thejudges

,ofli c ers and other government em

p l oyees . He preached in church, i n the

streets,and so to say from the house tops

,

that the R epa r t im i en t os must be abolishedand a l l the Indians set free . Thus , whilehe more an d more be c ame the idol of thesurviving natives of Hispaniola

,he a t

t racted daily more and more the shaftspoisoned by hatred and a desire of revenge

,

which the Sp a nish settlers aimed at him .

His life was n o longer safe, ( so , at least ,

he thought, ) in hi s own house , and on the

warning and at the invitation of the Dominican Fathers

,he went to reside in their

convent . Meanwhile Zuazo,t he judge d o

r osi d on ti a ,had also arrived in Hispaniola .

After presenting his credentials,he soon

began to perform the important duties ofhis office . The Oi d ores , or jud ges of thecourt of a ppeal

,were summoned to answer

to charges for malfeasance in ofli c e . L a s

Ca sas,as Protector of the Ind ians

,had a

right t o appear as prosecuting at torn ey .

1 62 I nf o of Ba r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s .

to the advisability of a bolishing the syst emof R epa r t im i en t os , a n d of carryin g out thefirst set of instru c tions they had broughtfrom Spain . They knew in advance wha tthe answer of the judges and of the Fra nc i sc a n s would be . But the Dominica nsstood

,as usual

,uncom prom isingly for the

liberty of the Indians in a written thesis,

which they presented to the commissionerssigned by a l l the jurists and theologians oftheir community . The commissioners gaveit slight c onsideration .

They ha d now resided in Hispan iolasix months

,and their inactivity ha d c on

v i n c ed L a s Ca sas tha t they would a c c om

pl i sh nothing of importance in behalf ofthe Indians . But just then the followingepisode came to his knowledge and left nodoubt in his mind a s to the course to bepursued .

Some of the c ommissioners ’ relatives hadcome from Spain a n d had been sent bythem to Cuba

,with letters to Velasquez

asking him to ta ke them under his patrona ge , which , under the circumstances , meantto give them the best Repartimiento of Indians to be found .

“They dared not keep them in H i sp a n iola

,

”L a s Casas tell us ,

“beca use the Clerigo was there

,who

,they knew i t

, would

L if e of B a r tolom od o L a s Ca sa s . 1 63

publicly denounce the crime,i f the relatives

of those,who had been sent to free the In

dia ns,would be allowed and helped to eu

rich themselves with their la bor .The friends of the latter and of their P ro

tector,namely the Dominica ns and judge

Zua zo were c onsulted a n d a l l a greed thatthe Clerigo should return to Spa in and r e

port to Ximenez the sta te of affa irs . Zuazow a s selected to noti fy the commissionersthat their ofiflc i a l advisor was about to sailfor Europe .

“Don ’t let him go,said they on hear

ing the news “he is a torch,that will set

every thing on fire .

”

“ B u t Fathers ,” answered Zuazo

,who

will da re stop him ? He is a clergyman,

a n d moreover has in his possession a royaldecree authorizing him to go and informthe Kings

,whenever he sees fit

,as this is

one of the duties of his o ffice .

The following d a y the Clerigo himse l fwent to pay a visit to the commissioners .

“What is this,that we hear about your

going to Castile ? ” remarked one of them .

L a s Casas c ooly answered : “Yes,I would

like to go and attend to some business pertaining to my office .

” The subject of conversation was then chan ged .

CHAPTER XII .

L a s C a sa s’S ec on d Tr i p t o Spa i n i n beha l f of

t he In d i a n s .

ARMED with testimonia ls from the Domin i c a n s and from the French Franciscans

as to his zeal,efforts and work i n beha lf of

the Indians, L a s Casas sailed some time in

Ma y,and fifty days after stood by the bed

side of the great Ca rdinal Ximenez,who

was already ill of the sickness that provedhis la st . 1The dying statesman gently complained with the Protector of the Indiansfor not having written to inform him howAmerican affa irs were progressing . Fromwhich the Clerigo learned

,for the first

time,that hi s letters from the Indies

,which

he had mailed regula rly on every returningship

,had been intercepted

,while those of

the three commissioners,in which com

plaints and accusations were lodged againsthim

,had reached their destina tion . He

did not succeed,however

,in locating the

guilty parties .The monks of St . Jerome in Hispaniola

lost no time in deputizing one of themselves to go to Spain to represent and de

( 1 64 )

1 66 L if e of B a r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s .

to the two clergymen tha t,in his opinion

,

the Americ a n Indian w a s too low in thesca le of huma nity to be ta ught a n d to lea rna n d pra c ti c e the Christia n religion . MO 11

tesino promptly informed him tha t to sa ythe like w a s heresy . The friar ’s boldnessi rri ta ted the roya l c ounselor

,and a dispute

followed . This p re t en t ed inca pa c ity of theIndia ns to lea rn a n d understa nd the Christi a n religion ha d been from the begi nninga powerful weapon in the hands . of theirenemies to keep them in bonda ge

,a n d the

two clergymen thought that it ought to beblunted i f it w a s n o t in their power tobreak it . Reginaldo wrote therefore toFa ther Hurtado

,prior of the monastery of

St . Stephen in S a lamanca,who was pro

minent in his Order,not only a s a profound

theologia n,but as a sa intly m a n

,and i i 1

formed him,tha t the pernicious error

,a bout

the Ameri c a n India ns not being able tolea rn a n d understa nd the Christian religion

,

w a s held by some of the courtiers,and r e

quested hi m to ca ll together the theologi c alfa c ulty of tha t University to d iscuss anddecide the question . It was done

,a n d the

conc lusions arrived at were shortly aftersent to Montesino and L a s Casa s properlysigned and authentic a ted . The last conc lusi on re c ited tha t the death penalty by

L if o of B a r tolom od o L a s Ca sa s . 1 67

fire should be inflicted 0 11 those,who were

imbued with that’

error and p er ti n a c ious lydefended it

,as was done in the case of

heretics . The enslavement of men exc eptof criminals

,lunatics

,idiots

,and the like

,

is undefensible in the light of the Gospel,

unless it be assumed that the individua lsthus enslaved are not rea lly human beings

,

but mere brutes,outwa rdly resembling men .

To appre c ia te the va lue of that documentin the hands of L a s Ca sa s to prote c t the India ns aga inst the tyra nny of those whocalled themselves Christians

,we must ca l l

to mind the fact tha t a dec ision on a pointof fa ith or morals by a university such astha t of Sa lamanc a at the beginning of theXVI . century had a lmost the same effectand bearing tha t a decree from a RomanCongrega tion ha s at the present time . Itusually settled the point in dispute . Henceforth the Protector of the India ns will beable to fling tha t decision in the face of hisadversaries and sa y : The American India nsare men endowed with rea son

,children

,

like the white men,of the same Father

,

who is in heaven,and capable of being

christianized they were free,and no Chris

tian has the right to enslave them .

“These princ iples are sel f-evident to usof the XIX . century , but they were not so


clear to our ancestors of the XV . a n d XVI .centuries . ” So say the a pologists of theearly Ameri c an settlers . Their a rgument

,

i t seems to me,has little forc e . The gospel

w a s at least a s well understood then as it isn ow

,and the works of St . Thomas Aquina s

were widely ta ught a n d better known tothe c lergy of 1 5 1 7 than they a re to theclergy of 1 90 0 . Christian fa ith is

,i f you

wish,the foundation of Christian mora ls ; .

without the former the la tter c a nnot exist .But Christian fa ith is sometimes found withthe deepest mora l depravity in the same i i 1dividual . This is Catholic doctrine a n d alesson that history ha s ta ught for the pasteighteen hundred years .Charles V . brought to Spain his own

state and court officers . There w a s a grandchancellor or head of the roya l imperialcabinet

,who filled the office of the modern

English premier,to whom he entrusted the

government of Spa in and its America ndependencies The high chancellor w a s

one Mosior or L ord de L a x a o a n d thesecretary of state one Mosi or de X evi er .

Francisco de L os Cobos , who had been anemployee of secretary C on c hi l lo ’

s office,on

the death of king Ferdinand,ha d gone to

Flanders to solicit a rea ppointment andsucceeded in gaining the confidence of de


them,he choose him in the course of time

a s his confidential informant . L a s Ca sa sc ould go and see him and ta lk to the ol dgentleman whenever he wished . Therew a s no need of ma king his obeisa nce to d eX evres

,de L a x a o or Fran c isco de L os

Cobos . He a n d the old chancellor understood eac h other well

,a lthough their con

versation had to be ca rried on in L atin .

Mea nwhile se c reta ry C on c hi l lo and Fonse c a left not a stone unturned to ha ve themselves rea ppointed members of the bureaufor Indian affairs . But they did not succ eed

,and L a s Casas knew why . They

went so far as to attempt to exercise theirformer office without having been rea ppointed by the new a dministration . Oned ay C on c hi l lo provided himself with abun dle of pa pers c oncernin g Americ a andpresenting himself to the chancellor

,re

quested him to affix his signa ture to them .

“Get you out of here,

” thundered theDutc hman in angry tones

,

“i t w a s you andthe bishop

, who ruined the Indies .” Con

chillo understood tha t his services were nolonger required a t court

,and withdrew to

his estate at Toledo . But Fonseca,whose

ecclesiastical dignity yielded only to tha tof the a rc hbishops of Toledo a n d Sevil le

,

fared better,and was l ater readmitted as a


member of the royal council or bureau ofIndian a ffairs . L a s Ca sas ’ favor with thegra nd chanc ellor grew a pac e with thedownfa l l of his enemies . Petitions

,denun

c i a t i on s of each others,memoria ls

,com

pla ints a ga inst L a s Ca sas himself , etc . onthe p a rt of the America n settlers floodedthe offic es of the -high chanc ellor . Theywere inva ria bly referred to the Clerigo

,

who translated them into L a tin , addingnotes of his own ,

a n d giving h i s views a sto what should be done . These servic es

,

given gra tuitously,were highly a ppreciated ;

as in a compa ratively short time they en

a bled the foreign premier to familiarizehimsel f with the administration of the fara way tra nsa tlantic colonies . The chanc el lor thought it advisable to speak to theyoung monarc h about the America n priestand lawyer

,who

,by his experience

,up

rightness,disinterestedness a n d well poised

judgment grea tly assisted him in dispatc hing the business of the American possessions . Thereupon Charles V . appointedthe c hancellor and L a s Ca sas a c ommitteeto dra ft a body of laws intended to do evenhanded justice to the c olonists and to theIndia ns alike . Tha t same day the Clerigow a s a guest

,with many others

,of the chan

c el lor,who

,as they were going in to din


ner,

. took the priest aside a n d said to him :

“Rex dominus noster jubet quod vos e t ego

pon a m us remedia In d i i s” ( it is the commandof His M a j esty the kin g tha t you and I r eform the Indies . )

“Fa c i a t i s vestra memor a bi l i a .

”(Write your memoria l . ) L a s

Casas ’ answer was : “Pa r a t i ssim us sum et

l iben t i ssim e fa c i a m quae rex et vestra dominatio juben t .

”( I a m ready and will

willingly do what the king and your excell en c y require of me . )After rela ting this episode

,the Protector

of the India ns rema rks pathetically : “Thiswas the second time that God seemed topl ace the salvation and the liberty of theIndians in the hands of the Clerigo . Butthese bright prospects would vanish of asudden one way or another

,as will be seen

later If this ha ppened on account of thesins of the Spania rds or of the India ns

,or

of both,only judgement d ay shall revea l .

”

In 1 50 2 , while s a iling by Cuba , Christopher Columbus had remarked

,pointing in

t he direction of Mexico,and within hearing

of one of his ship ’s boys,that he expe c ted

to discover more extensive territory there,

than any yet discovered . That ship ’s boyi n 1 5 1 7 had grown to be the pilot of a ship ,chartered by one Herna ndez

,for no better

purpose th a n kidnapping Indians wherever


0 11 Hernandez himself, (who w a s known in

America a s one of the best Indian fighters )not less tha n thirty wounds

,of whi c h he

died some months after . When the disc overy of a country wa s made

,ric h in gold

,

with large towns ha ving regular streets,

public squares,ga rdens

,sta tues

,monu

ments and houses ma de of stone,br i c k a n d

mortar,the inha bita n ts whereof were fully

c lothed with well woven cotton garments,

the like of whi c h ha d n ot yet been seen inAmeric a

,Vela squez broke faith with Her

n a n d ez,and instead of appointing him

lieutena nt governor of the country,ha stened

to ra ise a la rger a n d a better equipped ex

ped i t i on to ta ke possession of Yuc a tan , a n da ppointed

,as its captain genera l

,his old

fa vorite countryma n,Jua n de Grij a lva .

Hernandez,whose wounds confined him to

his bed,wrote to L a s Ca sa s , whom he con

s i d ered his friend , bitterly compla ining ofVela squez

,and asking him to use hi s good

offices with the king,to have his wrongs

redressed . The Clerigo rec eived the letterin Za ragoza

,but did not tell us what steps

he took,i f any in beha lf of his friend

,the

discoverer of Mexico . Hernandez diedwithout revisiting his native country .

Meanwhile Jua n de Grijalva,with two

hundred followers,had explored the coa st


of Mexic o,from Ca pe C a t oc he as far north

as Vera Cruz,and "had returned to Sa ntiago

de Cuba,loa ded with gold

,to report to

Diego Velasquez . The news of the disc overy of Mexi c o was alrea dy known inSpain ; but nobody a tta c hed mu c h importance to i t

,as it w a s not even known if it

was an island or terra firm a . At this timedelega tion after delegation of AmericoSpa nish settlers swarmed around the roya lp a lac es

,some to a sk for new grants of In

dia ns or lands,others to ha ve themselves

c onfirmed in the o ffi ces,0 11 whi c h they had

fattened und er the old administration ; a n deverybody sha rpened his wits to devise n ewpla ns and schemes

,whereby to ingratia te

himself to the Flemish noblemen,who

c omposed the court . One of these s c hemeswas the following . It was suggested toone of the Dutch magnates

,who answ ered

to the title of admiral of Fla nders,tha t he

m ight obta in from his ma j esty,as a grant

or gift,the new ly dis c overed regions

,

which,in fa ct

,comprised nothing less than

the present territory of the Republic ofMexi c o

,which had then perhaps as many

inhabitants as i t ha s now . To properlygovern Yucatan and Mexico

,the admiral

of Fla nders was told,he should a lso have

himself appointed governor of Cuba,which

,


ow ing to its geographica l position,would

answer very well as a base of supply in theconquest and settlement of the new country .

The wealthy Flemish gentlema n,whose

idea of America went no farther than t o

know that i t was a country far a wa y fromEurope

,planted in the midst of the limit

less Atla ntic Ocean,and that it w a s i n

ha bited by a race of men different from theEuropeans and n ot n ea rly as white as theDutch

,thought it worth while to look into

the business,attra cted perha ps more by the

novelty of the thing,than by anything

else . As L a s Casas w a s then in grea t fa vorwith the great chancellor

,and therefore a

very importa nt personage,who knew more

about the Indies th a n any one else,the a d

miral thought it advisa ble to invite him toa dinner

,to which a large number of his

Flemish friends ha d also been invited . TheClerigo was t reated with grea t consideration

,was t oasted , and in a long after

dinner ta lk w a s m a de to give the Flemishgentlemen more knowledge about the tra nsatlantic Spanish possessions , tha n theyever had before . The admiral of Flanders

,

thought tha t Mexi c o,with the governor

ship of Cuba thrown in for good mea sur e

,was worth having . He asked for

it,a n d youn g Cha rles V . gra nted it with

the same ea se,as i f the use of a common

1 78 L if e of b’a r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s .

by a route diff erent from the one followedby the Portuguese

,through a strait

known only to himself . He exhibited i nthe office of the gra nd chancellor

,and in

the presence of the Clerigo one of thosegeographical globes

,which

,since the dis

c overy of America , and the turning of Capeof Good Hope by the Por tuguese

,and their

landing in Brazil,were no longer un c om

mon . On it the continent of America wascarefully delineat ed

,as far as it was then

known,but the stra it

, t o whic h he gavehi s name

,was carefully l eft out . How

ever,he pointed out to the chancellor and

to the bystanders where it should be .

The first American priest was no meanmariner himself . On the contrary he wasone of the few then living in Spain or elsewhere

,who could sail from a European

port and steer a ship by the shortest routeto Florida

,Cuba

,Panama

,Brazil

, L a

Plata,etc .

,and w i tha l l he was not bashful

about asking questions ..

“What route do you intend to follow,

Mr . Magellan ? ” asked the Clerigo .

“ I ’l l first make Cape Santa Maria ( L aPlata River) and coast thence southwarduntil I find the stra it

,

” replied the Port uguese .

L a s Casas : “And if you don ’t find it ?”

L if e of B a r tolmn o d o L a s Ca sa s . 1 79

Ma gellan : “ I ’l l get there,i f I have to

follow the Portuguese route .

”

Ma gellan w a s acc ompanied by one L uisFa le i ro

,who pretended to be a great a s

t ron om er . But it was whispered later amongthe Portuguese

,that he had entered into

partnership with a devil,whence he got his

geographical sec ret,and tha t of astronomy

he knew nothing . The letters of Hernandez

,his rela tions with the admira l of Fla n

ders and with M a gella n were inc identalepisodes in the l ife of L a s Ca sas , while hewas at court . His a l l absorbing businesswas to work and to plead for his Indians .The first American priest was at all time apious man and his rule of li fe w a s alwa ysto seek divine assistance before enga gingin any important undertaking . All hiswritings show him to have been al so a manof grea t and abiding fa ith . Before beginnin g to write the body of laws intendedto reform the Indies ( this is his own expression ) at the invita tion of Charles V .

and his high chancellor,we find the first

American priest ‘ going from one t o anothermonastery and to the convents and to allthe pious people of his acquaintance

,to beg

for prayers,that God might enlighten him

to do what was best for the salvation,

material and spiritual , of his many millions


of children in America . His present taskhowever wa s not a very diffic ult one . Hed i d little more tha n copy the memoria l heha d written for ca rdina l X imenez

,to put

whi c h into execution the three monks ofSt . Jerome had been sent to Hisp a niola .

Of course the objectionable ministerial i nt erpol a t i on s were left out . L a s Casa s however made two new a n d very importa ntrecommendations

,whi c h have become very

famous in the anna ls of the ea rly history ofAmerica .

The first recited that,inasmuch as the

isla nds of Hispa niola,Cuba

,Porto Rico

and Jamaica had been wellnigh depopula tedof their aboriginal inhabitants

,Spa nish im

migrants,drawn from the agricultural

classes,should be imported to repeople

them .

The second recommendation was that,

inasmuch as the Spanish settlers were tobe deprived of their Repa r t i m i en t os of Indians

,ea c h of them should be a llowed to

import from Spain a dozen negro slaves,to

en a ble them to continue their planting a n d

mining operations .A word must be said here about this r ecommendation

,which has caused so much

dis c ussion among historians and sociologistsdurin g the last and the present century .

1 82 L if e of B a r totom od o L a s Ca sa s .

tain runaway Negro,who had become a

famous pirate and kidnapper of India ns ,previous to the year 1 5 1 6 .

4 th . In a letter of king Ferdinand toEsteban Pasamonte , dat ed the 4th of April1 5 1 4 , it i s said :

“Slave Negro women willbe provid ed for (Hispaniola ) to be given inmarriage to the Negro men

,who are there

already,in order to lessen the danger of a

rebellion on their part .

” If there existedalready some fear of a Negro uprising

,they

must have been c ompa ratively numerous .

5 th . In 1 5 1 0 Diego de N i c uesa ca rriedto Hispa niola for the Spanish governmentthi r tysi x Negro slaves .6 th . In the year 1 50 5 the same govern

ment sent to Nicola s Ovando seventeenNegro slaves to be employed in a coppermine .

7th . As early as 1 50 1 permission wasgiven to the same Nicolas Ovando to bringfrom Spain to Hispaniola Negro slaves .But w a s not L a s Casas illogical in com

batting un re len t l essly the enslavement ofthe American Indians while re commendingand encouraging Afri c an slavery ?Not necessarily . Slavery existed in Spain

a t the end of the XV . and at the beginningof the XVI . centuries

,and it w a s recognized

by the laws of the land . It was not in L a s


Casas ’ power, n either was it his duty , as

Protector of the Indians,to endeavor to

have it abolished . The sla ve1y of theweak-bodied and indolent American nativesof the West Indies was fatal to them

,and

their enforced labor had already reducedtheir numbers at least seventy-five per cent .On the contrary African slaves prosperedand multiplied in

.

the sunny climes ofHispaniola

,Cuba

,Porto Rico and Jamaica

,

where,as L a s Ca sas facetiously remarks in

his H i stor i a d o la s In d i a s,

“ a Negro wasseldom known to die

,unless he was hung .

”

Of two evils he choose the lea st . I f slaverymust exist in America

, L a s Casas thought ,l et i t be of the Negroes

,who were already

slaves,and could survive it

,instea d of the

Indians,who were deprived unjustly of

their liberty,and succumbed t o it The

severest moralist of today could scarcelycondemn this mode of reasoning . But theProtector of the Indians would n ot acceptthe apology for himself

,when

,in ma turer

years,and after having studied

,under the

guidance of the Dominicans, t he subject of

slavery more thoroughly,he acknowledged

to posterity his error in the followingpassa ge of his H i s tor i a d o la s In d i a s .

(Book 3r d , chapter“This a dvise

that permission be given to import Negro


slaves was first given by the Clerigo Casas,

who did not then know tha t the Portuguesec a pture and enslave them unjustly . Afterhe became awa re of the fa c t

,he would not

give that advice for the whole world ; andever since he ha s believed that it is as unj ust to enslave Negroes

,as it is to ensla ve

Indians,and for the same reasons .

” Andagain

,i n the 1 2 8th chapter of the same

work,he renews the open confession .

“Ofthat a dvice which the Clerigo then gave

,

he repented not a little,and accused him

self of thoughtlessness in later years,be

cause he understood then,how the slavery

of Negroes is as unjust as that of the Indians . He understood also how the remedyproposed of importing Negroes to free theIndians was unjust ; and although he thensupposed the former t o have been justly euslaved

,still he is not certa in that his

ignorance and his good intention will excuse him before the judgement seat ofGod .

L et us conclude . If L a s Casas erred , heerred with some of the foremost theologiansand jurists of his time

,as Cardinal Xime

n ez and Cardinal Adrian ( afterwards Pope )who signed and approved his first r ec omm en d a t ion for the importation of Negroesin America . If he erred

,he erred on the


them . Hereafter the Protector of the Indians will ha ve to face a gain the greedyand crafty Jua n Fonsec a .

On their w ay fromValladolid to Za ragozathe king and his court made a halt inAranda de Duero

,and

,at a meeting of the

council of sta te,the memorial of L a s Casas

was taken up for consideration . Fonsec aopposed the sending of laborers to the WestIndies on the plea that n one could begotten to go .

“Twenty years ago I triedto send la borers to Hispaniola and nottwenty were found willing to go

,said the

arc hbishop . Thereupon the Cle rigopledged himself to ga ther three thousa ndsof them

,a n d to ac c ompa ny them to Ame

rica,provided tha t the indu c ements he

himself ha d suggested should be offered tothe emigrants

,were ca rried out in good

fa ith . He argued with Fonseca tha t cond i t ion s had cha nged . Between 1 495 and1 50 2 the grea test punishment , tha t couldbe inflicted on a Spaniard

,w a s to exile

him to Ameri c a ; whereas ever since 1 50 2

every Spa nish settler in America consi d er ed it a great punishment to be ex

pel l ed from the colonies and forced to re

turn to Spa in .

The princ ipal inducements to be offeredto the laborers were the following :


1 . Ea ch emigrant shall have his travelling expenses paid a t the rate of ha l f a Rea l

( six cents and a half.) per d ay from hishome to Seville .

2 . While in Seville he shall be lodged inthe Ca sa d o Con tr a ta c ion ( offi ces a n d wa rehouses of the government ’s commerc ialagencies ) free of charge , a n d he sha l l begiven from eleven to thirteen Ma r a ved i es aday (between three and four cents a d a y ofour American money ) for hi s board .

3 . Free passa ge to Am erica .

4 . Board a n d lodging,during one year

,

while employed in making his first crop .

5 . After the first yea r , should the immigrant need further assistance to esta blishhimself

,it shall be given to him in the

shape of a loan,to be repa id into the royal

trea sury a t a time to be agreed upon .

6 . The fa rms or pla ntations , which werethen crown property

,the Negro sla ves

thereon,and all a pu1t en a n c es thereto , ex

cept the India ns , who were to be set free ,were to be divided among the immigrants .

7 . Agricultural implements were to befurnished free to eac h colonist .8 . As much land shall be given him ,

ashe wished to cultivate .

9 . If sick , he should be cared for a t theexpense of the state

,the king paying for

medicines and doctor ’s fees .


1 0 . The towns or parishes , founded bythe immigrants , shall exercise the j n s

p a tr on a tn sover a l l eccl esiastical ben efic esestablished in said towns or parishes

,in

the sense,th a t appointments to vaca ncies

were to be made by oon cn r sn s or competitiveexamination

,to which however only the

children or descendants of the immigrantswere to be admitted .

Negotiations were pending in Aranda,

when L a s Casas fell si c k , a n d they weretempora rily suspended . But the Clerigoeven while confined t o his bed , w a s notidle . One day there came to visit him

,in

the n ame of the high chancellor , his Flemish cha plain with a bundle of papers containing an Americ an petition

,which

,i f

granted,would have seriously infringed on

the rights of Diego Columbus,the admiral

,

and, d oj n r o at least , viceroy of a l l the In

dies The sick man was requested to statewha t he thought of it . L a s Casas , thoughjust then harrassed by a burning fever

,got

out of bed,and perusing the doc ument

,

transla ted it from Spanish into L atin , giving a t the same time his opinion as t o whatShould be done .

Charles V . a n d his court d eparted fromAranda for Za ragoza and left the Clerigobehind . L a s Casas , however , was not l ong

1 90 L tf o of Ba r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s .

three or four weeks . While patientlywaiting

,he received a letter from his

friend,Reginaldo Montesino

,telling him

that a Franc iscan Friar,by the n ame of

Fra nc isc o d eSa n Roman , ha d j ust arrivedfrom the American colony on the mainla ndof South America

,and that the Father

assured him (Montesino ) tha t durin g hisstay on those coa sts he had been an eyewitness to the sla ughtering

,by the swords

of the Spania rds,of more than forty

thousand India ns . The letter,of course

,

was tra nslated into L atin for the benefit ofthe grand cha nc ellor . It dismayed him

,

and L a s Casa s w a s prevailed upon to pay avisit to his lordship

,who was c onva les c ent .

Hav ing heard the letter rea d to him,Fon

seca briefly remarked : “Give my regardsto his Exc ellence

,and say to him ,

that,as

I have alrea dy told him,it will be well tha t

we get tha t man out of those parts . ” F0 11

se c a referred to Pedrarias de Davila,of

whom more anon .

It was al so during Fonseca ’s illness a t

Za ragoza that L a s Casas one day met thewife of ex-secreta ry C on c h i l lo in the roya lpalace .

“Oh Fa ther,

” she excla imed onseeing him

,m a y God forgive you for hav

ing taken the brea d out of my children ’sm on ths .

” But a fitting reply to the insult

L if e of B a r tolom od o L a s Ca sa s . 1 9 1

w a s rea dy . May their blood be upon mea n d upon my kinsmen .

” The answer a d

m i t t ed of no further rema rks . The sillywoman

,who dressed in silks

,decked her

self with j ew els and lived in pa la ces , ventured t o reproach the apostolic man forda ring to protec t the Indians

,on whose

blood she,her children

,and her husband

had fattened .

Fonseca recovered,and the grand chan

c e l lor was anxious to expedite the Clerigo ’sbusiness . But God

,in his unscrutable de

signs,thought proper once more to cast to

the winds his servant’s hopes,who a fter

years of tra vel,wa iting

,pleading

,beggi ng

and pra ying for his beloved Indians,was

then about to touch the goa l,of his hea rt’s

aspirations . One Saturday evening the firstAmerican priest wa s dining with the chanc el lor

,when word was brought in . that the

latter ’s nephew ha d died . The news soshocked the a ged sta tesma n

,a s to compel

him to retire a t onc e to his apa rtments .Next morning he felt worse

,and by the fol

lowing Tuesday w a s a corpse .

“With thechanc ellor

,

” wrote L a s Ca sas , seemed tohave died a lso the la st hope for the India ns . ”

The bishop (Fonseca ) shot up to the skies ,and~ the Clerigo went down t o the abysses .The archbishop of Burgos

,once more at


the head of the bureau of Indian affa irs ;surrounded himself with men directly or i ndire c tly interested i n mainta ining the sta tuquo in America ; and L a s Casas found thedoors lea ding to the colonial offices shutagainst him .

One of the first acts of the new a d m i n i s

t r a t ion was to reca ll from America the threemonks of St . Jerome . It will not be foundamiss to give here t he names of the threerecluses

,who

,for two or three years

,ha d

the destinies of this western continent intheir keeping . They were Alonzo

,who

had been prior of a mona stery in Seville,

Bernardino de Manzanedo,and .L ui s de

Figueroa,who had been sent to watch the

movements of L a s Casas . After hangingaround the royal pa laces for some time

,he

retired to his monastery as soon a s he sawthe mana gement of India n affairs fal l oncemore into the hand s o f Fonse c a . Ha vingbeen practically appointees of L a s Casas ,they had nothing to hope for from the archbishop o f Burgos . Indeed the good rel igious

,heartily si c k of worldly affairs

,wel

comed their dismissa l from office,and

quietly retired to enjoy again the peace oftheir mona stic cells .The rea der remembers

,no doubt

,how

the Dominicans and the French Franciscans

1 94 L if o of B a r tolmn od o L a s Ca sa s .

stopped,but the slaves were taken to the

government offices and quietly d isposed ofto this or that miner or planter . .TheIsla nd of Trinidad

,and the pueblo

,whence

hundreds of men were thus stolen and soldinto captivi ty

,was almost in sight of Chiri

bichi . Pedro de Cordova,who saw the

works of his brothers nullified by the crimesof the Spaniards

,connived at a n d partici

pated in by the highest royal offices in thecolonies a n d tol erated by the very monks

,

who had been sent to Ameri c a to free theIndians

,wrote to L a s Ca sas and , after hav

ing described the kidnapping and murdering raid and the sale of its surviving victims

,

said : “Sure as I am of the t urn affairs aretaking

,I feel constra ined t o spea k my mind

pla inly,regardless of consequences . ” The

letter ended by asking his friend the Clerigoto beg the king to issue a decree forbiddingthe Spaniards from settling

,or landing

ships in the neighborhood of the Franciscanand Dominican Missions . One hundredlea gues of coast should be reserved to theFriars

,wherein they may

,undisturbed by

the bl i thi n g influence of the white man ,attend to the conversion of the natives .If one hundred l eagues could n ot be ob

t a i n ed, L a s Casas was to ask for ten , and if

these could n ot be gotten,he was to beg for

L if e of B a r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s . 1 95

some small Islands fifteen or twenty lea guesfrom the mainla nd

,whose inhabita nts c ould

be formed into Christian communities,a n d

where other India ns might find a shelterfrom the persecution of the Spa nia rds . TheProt ec tor of the Indians

,who had greatly

at hea rt the preserva tion of those Missions,

a n d who ha d even seriously thought of going himself to C hi r ibi c hi to share the laborsof the good Dominicans in the capacity of asecular priest

,read the contents of Pedro de

Cordova ’s letter to Fonseca and to his associate ministers . He was paid for histrouble with the followin g cynical answerof the archbishop : “Well

,would I attend

to the king ’s interest,i f I should turn over

to the Fria rs,without any compensation

whatever one hundred leagues of territory ?” The remark

,

” wrote L a s Casas ,“was l ittle worthy of a successor of theApostles

,who laid down their l ives to do

just wha t he w a s asked to do,and which

he was stri ctly bound to do by the divinel aw under pain of eternal damnation .

”

The dea th of the high cha ncellor,and

the consequent a scendency of Fonsecac hecked the influence of L a s Casas for atime

,but did not destroy it altogether . He

had yet one powerful friend at court in theperson of Adrian the ambassador

,t o whom


Charl es V . ,on his coming to Spain

,had

brought a cardinal ’s hat,and who was now

known a s the Ca rdinal of Tortosa . He alsoformed very soon the acquaintance of a nother upright and truly christian gentleman

,who

,knowing something of the

Clerigo ’5 business at court,undertook to

help him and to cooperate with him l n hismission of mercy . He was Monsieur de laMur

,the nephew of Mon sieur de L a x a o ,

the high C hamberla in . Both uncle andn ephew

,having learned how to apprecia t e

the disinterested zeal and the open characterof the a c complished Americ an priest

,

showed him much fa vor,which served him

a s a wed ge to ga in that of the other o fficersof the Flemish court . Meanwhile a sleepyecc lesiasti c from Fla nders had been a ppointed t o fil l the office of high cha ncellorad interim

,and i t was with him tha t L a s

Casas had to deal i n drafting the mea suresand arranging the details for the colonization of the West Indies with Spanishlaborers

,as the death of the grand chancel

lor had l eft in suspense the treatment of a l lAmerican affa irs . The relations of the i nperturbable Flemish statesman and the fieryHispa no-American Clerigo are amusinglydescribed by the latter . (H i st . DoL a s In d .

Book III . Chapter CIII ) .

C H APTER XIII .

L a s C a sa s’

Ef for t s t o Wor k a Sc hem e of

C olon i za t ion .

IN spit e of Fonseca , who opposed him a t

every step, L a s Casas succeeded , through

the influence of his Flemish friends,in hav

ing his scheme of colonization approved,

and he took upon himself the task of gathering the three thousand laborers and aecompanying them to the West Indies . L ettersof recommendation t o a l l the archbishops

,

bishops,abbots and superiors of religious

communities throughout the kingdom weregiven to the Clerigo

,begging their assist

ance in facilitating the recruiting of theimmigrants . Other letters were given himcommanding all the ofli c ers of the crown touse their influence in the same direction .

Instructions were also sent to the officers ofthe Ca sa d o Con tr a ta c ion at Seville , to rec eive

,lodge and board the emigrants

,to be

sent there by L a s Casas , and to get shipsready to transport them to America . Anotherdecree directed the crown officers in His

pa n iol a a n d Cuba to receive,shelter and

( 1 98)

L if o of B a r toZom od o L a s Ca sa s . 1 99

provide for the incoming laborers,and to

turn over t o them the farms and plantationsbelonging to the king

,a s soon as they

should land on the shores of those islands .L ast of all a salary was assigned to theClerigo as commissioner of immigration

,

and another to his assistant,both of whom

were t o travel t hrough Spain a t the expenseof the crown .

Unfortunately L a s Casas al lowed himselft o be persuaded by a n influential member ofthe royal household to select

,as his assistant

,

one Berrio,whose business was to be that

of an advertising agent . On his and L a sCasas ’ arrival in a city

,town

,villa ge or

country district,he was to act -the part of a

royal herald,call together the people

,and

make known to them the inducementsoffered by the crown to whosoever was willing to emigrate to America . The Clerigo ,who wished to recommend the interests ofhis beloved Indians to his friends in court

,

during the three or four months required togather the emigrants

,spent some days in

paying visits and in making the necessarypreparations for his tour . Meanwhile Berrio visited Fonseca

,who on seeing him

,

said : “What are you doing here ? Whydon ’t you start out ?” “The Clerigo doesn ot care t o st art as yet ,

” an swered Berrio ,

2 0 0 L if o of B a r tolom od o L a s Ca sa s .

and I am commanded by the king to gowith him .

” The archbishop replied a n

gr i ly :“Go yourself alone

,and do what you

should have done with him .

”

Berrio .

“ I can ’t do anything withouthim

,as the decree recites that I go with

him and do what he tells me .

”

Thereupon Fonseca caused the decree t obe altered

,and instead of “do what he shall

tell you,

” he inserted,

“do what you shall .

think proper . ”

Technically speaking,the a rchbishop

,as

president of the council for Indian affairs,

had the right to alter the wording (not thesubsta nce ) of a royal decree . This altera~tion however

,inspired by j ea lousy and

hatred,unworthy of an archbishop and

royal counc illor,defeated the undertaking

of the zealous missionary .

L a s“

Casas sta rted out with Berrio . On

arriving in a village or town the inducemen ts to emigrants were published , andthe peasants were invited to hear in thechurch the American priest speak aboutAmerica . The Protector of the Indianslacked none of the exuberant eloquence ofthe modern immigration agent ; and theclima te

,the fertility and the healthfulness

of Hispan iol a a n d Cuba were paint ed i n

2 0 2 L if e of Ba r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s .

than he cared to enroll . But a d ay or aweek after there would appear a n announcement by the l andlord of the place

,inform

ing the public that a l l purchases of holdings from the would-be emigrants would beconsidered as nul l and void . Then theAmerican clergyman was politely requestedto leave the estate . A remedy had to befound t o the high handed proceedings ofthe counts

,marquises and barons ; and L a s

Casas went back to court to look for it .The recruiting tour had l asted but a few

d ays,when the Clerigo ’s assistant asked

permission to go and pay a visit to his wifein another pa rt of the country . Of courseit was repea tedly refused . But Berrio

,

trusting to his credentials,which had been

altered by Fonsec a,took French leave of

L a s Casas and went . He not only visitedhis family

,but undert ook to t ra nsact some

business on his ow n account . Then,some

weeks l ater,two hundred men

,mostly tav

ern keepers,ruffia n s and vagabonds

,with

a sprinkling of real agriculturists,arrived in

Seville,accompa nied by Berrio . They

were the emigrants he ha d gathered ; and ,although no word had been received fromL a s Casas a bout them

,on the strength of

his assista nt ’s credentia ls,were promptly

shipped to America . In Santo Domingo,

L if o of B a r tolom o d o L a s Ca sa s . 2 0 3

where they arrived sa fely,nothing was

known of them,as L a s Ca sas ha d thought

it advisable not to dispa tch the royal de c reesuntil he would be ready to sail himselfwith the immigrants . Of the two hundred

,

who landed withou t m oney or provisions,

some fell sick and died very soon,and of

the survivors some turned again t avernkeepers

,others found employment on cattle

farms,and some on the piratica l ships en

gaged in the Indian slave t rade . As soonas the news of the emigra nts ’ departurefrom Seville reached L a s Casa s , he lost notime in causing provisions to be shipped tofeed them . But these arrived too late

,

when the l aborers ha d already scattered,

and the cargo was put to other uses .When L a s Casas arrived in Zaragozafrom his recruiting tour

,the king ha d a i

ready left,and the court was l eaving for

Barcelona . For severa l days no businesswas tra nsacted . But scarcely had thestatesmen settled down to work again

,

when the Clerigo was found 0 11 ha nd topush his immigration scheme . Adrian

,

who had taken from the beginning a l ivelyinterest in the underta king

,w a s first inter

viewed . On hearing that so m a ny laborerswere found rea dy and wil lin g to emigra teto the West I11d ies

,the ca rdinal very graci

2 0 4 L if o of Ba r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s .

ously complimented the America n priest ,and remarked tha t in the course of time hewould build up another kingdom for hismajesty

,the king . The archbishop of Bur

gos was next visit ed,who

,when the Cle

rigo announced triumphantly that tenthousand

,instead of three thousand la borers

could be rea dily found to go to America,

remarked “Great things indeed you aredoing .

” But it was hard to tell i f Fonsecamea nt to be complimentary or ironical .The Protector of the Indians had not

been many da ys in Barcelona when wordc ame from America that all the royal farmsin Hispa niola

,Cuba

,Porto Rico and Ja

maica had been sold by the monks of St .Jerome . This was bad news

,as they had

been counted on to shelter the emigrantsfor one year

,while engaged in clearin g

their own lands and building their ownhouses . Berrio ’s escapade

,the sale of . the

fa rms and the violent opposition of thelandlords t o the emigration of their t ena ntsthrew a damper on the undertaking . Andwhen the Clerigo at an informal meetingof the council of the Indies asked that hebe placed in possession of the decree inwhich provision was made for the supportof his emigra nts for one year after their arrival ou the Islan ds

,Fonseca remarked

CHAPTER XIV .

L a s C a sa s Tr ies a New S c hem e for Sa v inga n d Eva n ge l iz ing t he In d i a n s .

T H E reader remembers how Fonseca hadpromptly rej ec ted the proposa l sug

gested by Fria r Pedro de Cordova,that one

hundred lea gues of coast be set aside as asort of reservation

,where Spaniards were

to be forbidden from settling or la nding .

In Hispaniola,Porto Rico and Jamaica

perha ps seventy per cent of the na tivepopula tion had a lready perished

,a n d it

was evident that in Cuba they would soonmeet with the same fa te . L a s Ca sas ’ effortswere now directed to sa ve the natives of thecontinent . His convi c tion was

,tha t the

Indians c ould be brought to the knowledgeand practice of the Christia n religion a n d

to adopt a civilized manner of life . Thiscould only be done

,he believed

,by preach

ing to them the Gospel of Him,who had

called Himself meek and humble of heart .H a d he not ga ined

,in Hispaniola and

Cuba,by the pra c ti c e of evangeli c al cha rity ,

that influenc e and asc endency,over the un

t utored children o f the forests,that made

( 2 0 6 )

L if o of Ba r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s . 2 0 7

them promptly comply with his smallestrequests a n d desires ? He proposed now todemonstra te by a c tual experience to theruling powers

,that what was done by the

Apostles for the Greeks,the Romans and

the barbarians,could be done to the a b

original Americans . To t he Indian s heproposed to show that the religion of theChristia ns was not one of blood

,murder and

rapine,but of peace

,fraternity and love .

The Dom m i c a n s and the Frenc h Franc i sc a n s had alrea dy established themselvesin Venezuela

,a n d built convents in two In

dian pueblos . They ha d not landed w ithswords and fir e-a rms in their hands , butwith their breviaries a n d the cruc ifix astheir only weapons . Should these havensof peac e

,the monasteries

,be destroyed in

order that the Spani a rds ’ thirst for goldmight be quenched ? Should the shepherds ,the Fria rs

,see their floc ks sla ughtered be

fore their eyes ? Sha ll Spain,the foremost

nation in Christendom,allow a few of her

cruel and unnatural sons to rob,ensl ave

,

murder,and fina lly wipe off the face of the

earth the millions of helpless human beingsof the western world

,whom Providence

had entrusted to her keeping? A remedyfor the India ns should be ea sily found . N0great army is required t o prevent a set of


men,who called themselves Christians

,and

were supposed to be governed by her mostCa tholic M a j esty

,from destroying the

countless peoples of unbounded regions,

which were gra nted to Spain by the Vicarof Chris t in order that the kingdom of Godon earth might be extended and the number s of believers increa sed .

These reflections,that spring spont ane

ously i n one’s heart

,occupied the mind of

t he philanthropist,the priest

,the apostle

,

the Protector of the Indians . But e x per ience had t aught him that , for the time being at least

,n either royal decrees

,or the

devotedn ess of the ministers of religion,

l ike the Dominicans,the Franciscans and

the se c ular priests,could stem the torrent

of blood which his countrymen had seta flow i n g in America . The insa tia ble thirstfor gold must be re c kon ed with . When theproposition was made that one hundredl eagues of coast be set aside , where the Indians could be evangelized peacefully

,had

not Fon seca remarked laconically : there isno money in it for the king?A shrewd Cuban cacique

,by the name of

Ha tuey,ha d honestly believed that the

white man ’s god was gold,and to save

himself and his people from his cruelty,

en deavored t o propitiate him by causing his


p roa c hi n g the Indians by peaceful ways ,attracting them with presents

,instead of

a ccepting anything from them,unless they

ga ve it of their own accord . To do so,

fifty men were sufli c i en t,inasmuch as the

Indians are by na ture good and inoffensive,

unless provoked . One hundred or evenfive hundred would do no better

,but

,on

the contrary become a hindrance to eachother

,the Spanish settlers being restless

and quarrelsome This needs no proof,as

it is known to everybody . Secondly : because fifty men a r e more eas i ly amenableto the dictates of reason

,than one hundred

or more He cal culated tha t ten thousandducats would suffice to ma ke a beginning

,

whi c h would be contributed easily by fiftyassociates a t the rate of two hundred ducatsea ch . With that amount enough of provisions could be bought to last one year

,

ma ny t r ifl i n gs from Europe to be given aspresents to the Indians t o attrac t them andto ga in their a ffections

,all miscella neous

arti c les necessary to the settlement,and

la stly two caravel s to tran sport men andgoods to be kept and used afterwards asneeded . He decided that a l l the fifty menshould wear a white uniform

,and over it

certa in crosses,of the same color and shape

as those worn by the kn ights of Calatrava,

L if o of B a r toloan od o L a s Ca sa s . 2 1 1

with the addition,over the crosses

,of cer

tain fernlike brooches,which made them

more ornamental and attra c tive . He adoptedthis uniform

,in order that his fi fty com

panions should appear to the Indians as adifferent kind of men from the wickedSpa niards

,whom they ha d seen or heard

of,and in order tha t they should be easily

distinguisha ble . They were to te ll the India ns how they ha d been sent by the kingof Spain

,their good and powerful lord

,

tha t he ( the king ) havin g hea rd of thewrongs , s c anda ls and oppression inflictedon them and their neighbors by the Spaniards

,had been grieved at the news

,and

tha t it had all been done against his will .They were also to inform the Indians thatnow the king had sent to them the fiftywhite- robed men to greet them in hisname

,a n d to distribute amongst them

m any presents,whi c h he sent them from

Spa in a s tokens of his affection for them .

Henceforth they would also be protectedagainst the wrong doings of the other whitei nen .

“Should God prosper the undertaking,i t

was the Clerigo ’s intention,to ask the Pope

and the king to form‘

his men into a r el igiOus sodality or confraternity .

”

The plan thus far was p rom 1s1n g, but

2 1 2 L if o of B a r tolom o'

d o L a s Ca sa s .

Fonseca ’s zea l for the revenues of the kinghad also to be re c kon ed w ith

,and sa tisfied .

Inducements must therefore be offered,suf

fic i en t to move fifty d ecent Spanish settlersin America

,to become the associa tes of the

Prote c tor of the Indians in the good workof conquering by pea ceful wa ys

,materially

and spiritual ly,the inha bitants of the

western contin ent to the c rown of Spa in,

and to the Churc h . L a s Casas had nothingless in view ,

a n d instead of one hundredlea gues of c oa st

,he asked for a thousan d

,

tha t is for m ore tha n ha d then been ex

p lored . His inten tion was to make an ex

per im en t with fifty m e n ; but , should ithave proven succ essful

,it would not ha ve

been difficult to locate other batches of fiftywhite-robed knights a t different poin ts ofthe coast . L a s Casas ’ aim was also to oustfrom t he continent the notorious Pedrariasde Avila

,who wa s governor of the settle

ments in the South American countries .In wa nto n cruelty

,and re c kless destruction

of li fe,Pedra ria s ha d already acquired an

unenvia b le reputation . The continent hadyet seen little more than four years of hisrule

,when his Indian victims could have

been counted by the hundred of thousands .L a s Casas ’ dream was to convert the I 11dian s of Cen t ral a n d South America and

2 1 4 L i fe of Ba r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s .

whit e settlements , as a protection aga instany possible uprising of the Indians .

5 th . To explore the country,a n d fa ith

fully to inform the king of the rivers andloca lities

,where gold might be fo und .

oth . To comply with the five foregoingarticles without doing any violence to theIndians

,but on the contrary

,to do nothing

without their good will and full consent .

7th . To do every thing possible to con-1vert the Indians to the Christian religi onwithout putting the king to any expensewhatever . ”

In consideration of these obligations,

which L a s Casa s was to take on himself , heasked the king the following favors andprivileges

I st . His ma j esty must ask from his Hol iness the Pope a brief

,a uthorizing the Clerigo

to selec t from the Dominic an and Fra nciscan Orders

,twelve subjects , who would

volunteer to become his associates in thework of the evangelization of the Indians

,

and to grant a plenary indulgence, i n CM”

t ioi do m or t i s , to all who should die on thejourney or while engaged in or helping theMissions .2 d . Authority should be given the Clerigo

t o select from among the Indians of His

pa n iol a and Cuba ten individuals ,Whowould

L if o of B a r tolom od o L a s Ca sa s . 2 1 5

go of their own accord,to the main land

,

on whatever Repartimiento of the Spaniardsthey might be found

,and the la tters ’ pro

t ests and opposition notwithstanding .

3d All Indians stolen,or otherwise ex

patriated from within the limits of the onethousand leagues reserved

,and now held in

Cuba,Hispaniola

,Porto Rico or Jamaica

,

should be delivered to the civil authoritiest o be brought ba c k to their own countries .

4th . One twelfth of the income accruingt o the crown from this enterprise of theClerigo should be granted to the fifty laymen

,who were to be his helpers and as

socia tes,with power of disposing of it by

will to the first,second

,third and fourth

generation .

5 th . Al l the fifty men should be knightedas knights of the golden epaulet

,makin g

their knighthood hereditary in perpetuity .

They should be allowed the use of sidearms

,and c oat-of ! arms on the Islands and

Continent of America,as soon as the king’s

income should reach the yearly sum offifteen thousand d ucats ; and , when threesettlements should be made

,the fortresses

erected,etc .

,then their privileges of full

fledged knighthood of the golden epauletsshould be recognized throughout a l l thedomains of his majesty .

2 1 6 L if o of Ba r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s .

6th . The fifty men and their descendant swere to be forever exempted from alltaxation on personalty and realty

,except in

the forms expressed in this capitula tion .

7th . The Clerigo should have the rightt o appoint the officers of the fortresses to beere c ted and of the white settl ements to bem ade .

8th . The knight s,with the permission

o f the Clerigo (but not without it ) shouldhave the right to trade for pearls with theIndians

,giving a royalty to the king of one

fifth of the profits,as lon g as his yearly i n

com e from the reservation would not exceedfifteen thousand ducats ; and after , of oneseventh . The same rule was to apply toprofits derived from bartering Castilia ngoods for gold . Of the gold mined orga thered by the knights , one sixth shouldgo as a royalty to the kin g .

9th . Each knight was authorized to buyfrom the Indians not more than one squarel ea gue of land to be used as farm ,

plantation or pasture

,the same to be his in per

pet ui ty and in fee simple , the crown of

course retaining all rights of sovereignty .

1 0 th . As soon as one settlement of fiftyknights should be made each on e of themshould have the right to import three negroslaves , and when as many as three settle


t ute,of whose qualifications the Clerigo was

to be the judge and if no substitute is a ppointed by the heir or his representative

,

the Clerigo was empowered to appoint oneat his discretion to do duty

,during the

heir ’s minority .

1 6th . Merchants and traffickers,who

should c a st anc hor in any of the ports ofthe reserva tion for the purpose of bartering

,were forbidden under pain of dea th

,

and the confiscation of all their property,

from doin g any harm or damage,giving

scandal or ste a ling from the Indians,and

from tarrying on shore after their commerciai operations were completed .

1 7th . The Indians of the reserva tionwere to be assured by the Clerigo of theirliberty

,as long a s they continued to live

peacefully and to pay tribute a s other va ssals of the king

,who pledged himself never

to pla ce the Indians of terra firm a and ofthe Islands within the limits of the reservation

,under the tutelage of the Spania rds or

to parcel them out into R ep a rt im i en tos , orto a llow their enslavement .

1 8t h . The king should send to , and keepon the reservation

,a royal trea surer and an

auditor to re c eive a n d receipt for theamounts due to him according to thesestipulations

,a n d to keep him informed of

the doings and progress of the colony .

L if o of ‘B a r tolom o d o L a s Ca sa s . 2 1 9

i 9th. The king should al so appoint ajudge for the adm inistration of civil andcriminal justice to the fifty knights

,and

other people,Indians as well as white men

on the reservation,provided that the said

judge be not allowed to meddle in otheraffairs of the colony or the conversion of theIndians

,except when requested by the

Clerigo . The colonists should have theright to appeal from his sentences to theAud i en c i a ( cour t of appeals ) in the Islandof Hispaniola .

2 oth . The king reserved the right t osend

,every ten months

,or as often as he

saw fit,commissioners to report on the pro

gress of the colony and to take charge ofthe gold

,pearls and other property belong

ing to the crown in virtue of this agreement .2 1 st . Should

,during the first ten years

,

any island or mainl a nd be discovered bythe colonists either North or South

,the dis

coverers should enjoy the same privilegesand emoluments that were

,by letters patent

,

gra nted to Velasquez for the discovery ofYucatan .

2 2 d . The king bound him sel f to carry,

on his ships ( the colonists pa ying rea sonable freight charges ) to the reservation ,fifty mares

,thirty cows

,fifty hogs and

fifteen pack mules or donkeys .

2 2 0 L if o of Ba r tolom é d o L a s .Ca sa s .

2 3r d . As soon as the revenues of theking shall have reac hed the yearly sum offifteen thousand ducats

,he binds himself to

contribute two thousands of them to theconversion of the India ns to the Christianreligion and to civilized life .

2 4th . The following items were a lso tobe charged to the king

,as soon as his r e

venues should reach the sum of fifteenthousand du c a ts : the provisions necessaryfor the first eight months ’ residence in thereservation by the colonists ; all freightcharges incurred in tra nsporting the colon i st s and their goods to the reservation ;the expenses of building the fortresses andcollecting the revenues of the king ; whatever presents shoul d be made to the Indians or their caciques in order to inducethem to enter the service of the king ashis free vassals

,provided that no more than

three hundred duc ats yearly,or three

thousand ducats in ten years be spent insuch allowances .2 5th . The king pledges himself to give

credence to no reports concerning the workings and progress of the colony

,except

suc h as he shall receive from his treasurerand a uditor .2 6 th . The fifty knights bind themselves

juridical ly t o abide by the articles of this

2 2 2 L if e of B a r tolon i od o L a s Ca sa s .

Scheme from the council of the Indies . Hespoke of it priva tely to the Flemish statesmen

,a n d discussed it with the grand chan

c e l lor in pa rticular,who approved of it and

used his influenc e,in a quiet way

,to have

it accepted by Charles V . But no soonerwas it made publ ic and proposed t o thecouncillors for their consideration

,than

these converted themselves,to use L a s

Ca sa s ’ own expression,into a battery of ar

tillery to attack it and demolish it,beca use

the very shadow of the Clerigo ha d bec ometo them more ha teful than the fleshl essskeleton of death . No serious obj ectionc ould

,however

,be made to the new plan .

There is no money in it for the king,FO11

seca had said,when the petition of Pedro

de Cordova for an Indian reservation w a s

presented to him . But L a s Ca sas had nowprovided for an income for the roya ltreasury . To reject it without debate orconsideration

,was not feasible

,because it

ha d been presented by the grand chancellorhimself . They decided to shelve it

,in the

hope tha t the penniless American priestcould not much longer hang around theiroffices to press his project of creating andcolonizing knights to help converting theIndia ns by pea ceful methods . In fact L a sCasas had already spent five or six years i n

L if e of B a i'

tolom od o L a s Ca sa s . 2 2 3

going and coming from America,in follow

ing the court from. pla ce to pla c e,in look

ing after the doings of the Monks of St .Jerome

,in recruiting laborers

,etc . His

funds were wellnigh exhausted,and to

make matters worse,just at that time

,

when his business should have been pressedto a n issue

,X evres and the grand chancel

lor ha d to leave for France on an embassy .

Of course,during t heir absence

,n o atten

tion was . paid to the Clerigo ’s businesswho

,wellnigh worn out by the councillors

inactivity,remarked one d a y t o Monsieur

de la Mure,that he would be compelled to

abandon his undertaking for l ack of fundsto remain l onger at court . The Dutchnobleman and another officer of the king

,

a kinsman of his,came to his assistance

with a loan .

On the return of X evres and the gran dchancellor L a s Ca sa s be c ame once more afrequent attenda nt at the meetings of thecouncillors for the Indies . Fonseca andhis assoc iates

,who were often handled

without gloves by the American priest tothe great satisfac tion of the Flemish courtiers

,d aily advanced some n ew or frivolous

obj ection t o the Clerigo ’s pl an,which

,

though promptly answered,afforded the

Spanish councillors pretexts for postponing


from d ay to d ay the fina l decision . Someoutside pressure w a s necessary . The persevera nce

,or i t might be called the perti

n a c i ty of L a s Casas and his unceasing a o

t ivi ty in beha lf of the Indians ha s been asubj ect of admiration for all students ofearly Ameri can history . The fertility ofhis m ind in devising means to his ends wasperhaps equally as rema rkable .Ea c h court of Europe

,a t the beginning

of the sixteenth century,had its ofli c i a l

preachers,and that of Spain had eight of

them . As these proved themselves thefriends of the Ameri c an Indians

,and the

advocates of right and liberty,I think tha t

their names should not be left unregistered .

They were : L uis and Antonio Coronel ,who had obtained their degrees in theologyi n the university of Paris ; Doctor L a Fuente

,who was doing honor to the newly

established (by Ximenez ) university of Alcala . These three were secular priests

,like

the fourth,whose name is n ot given . The

fifth was Miguel de Salamanca,a Domini

can,who died bishop of Cuba . The sixth

was a Franciscan Friar named Alonzo deL eon , and the seventh an Augustinia n byt he name of Father Dionisio . L a s Casas ,who wrote these details thirty-two yearsafter , could not remember the n ame of thelast one .

2 2 6 L if e of Ba r tolom é d o L a s C a sa s .

to endeavor to stop the extermination ofthe American Indians . Their meetingswere numerous and were always called byL a s Casas . “Day after day

,

” says he,

“atthe same hour that Fonseca ga thered hiscouncil lors in his house to devise means todestroy the Indians

,the Clerigo called the

preachers together in the convent of St .Catherine

,to formulate pla ns for saving

them .

” They first bound themselves bysolemn oa th

,taken in the presence of L a s

Casas and 0 11 the gospels,t o stand by each

other and not to falter or withdraw fromthe compact until they should obtain fromthe council

,or if necessary

,from the king

,

the a bolition of slavery or R epa r t i m i en t os

of the India ns,their liberty and protec tion .

The scope of their deliberations hadwid ened . With them the question wa s nolonger the obta ining for the zealous Ameri c an priest a piece of unexplored territoryfor a n Indian reservation

,wherein to ex

per im en t in the conversion of its i n habitants

,but to put a stop to the enslavement

,

oppression and destruction,by the Spani

ards,of the aborigines . L a s Casas did not

accomplish the work of firing the zeal andthe eloquenc e of the eight royal preacherssingle-handed . There ha ppened to be thenpresent at court two of those noble French

L if o of Ba r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s . 2 2 7

Franciscans f rom P i c a r d y, who had establ i shed a monastery at Cumana , in what isnow Venezuela . One of them was thebrother of the queen of Scotland . TheClerigo introduced them to the grand chanc e l lor and to the preachers and invitedthem to several of their meetings to confirmhis own . statements conc erning the cruelties and barbarities of the Spaniards inAmerica .

The preachers,while firm in their reso

lutions to leave nothing undone to obtaintheir obj ect

,began by complying with the

injunction of Christ of first admonishin gprivately their erring brethren

,i . e . Fon

seca and his councillors . Having agreedupon the manner in which the admonitionshould be administered

,they presented

themselves unhera lded a t a meeting of thecouncil . “Most illustrious L ords , a n d MostReverend Archbishop

,

” they sa id throughtheir spokesman Miguel de Salam anca ,“we

,the preachers of his ma j esty the king

,

have ascerta ined that in the Indies ourcountrymen have committed unheard ofcrimes against the n ative population

,whole

sale thefts and massa cres,that have pro

vok ed the anger a n d the vengeance of God ,and have brought dishonor on the Christianreligion . Numberl ess human beings have

2 2 8 L if e of B a r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s .

perished and hence la rge islands and a portion of the m ainla nd

,erstwhile teeming

with popula tion,are now desolate and un

inhabited,to the everlasting disgrac e of

the Spa nish crown . For,witness Holy

Writ,

‘ in the multitude of the people thereis honor and dignity for the king

,while

c on t r a ryw i se a decrea sing nation points tohis d ishonor and disgrace .

’ Knowin g aswe do the wisdom and ability of the distin

gui shed personages composing this council ,to whom God has intrusted the governmentof the New World

,a n d whom he sha l l call

t o a strict account for their offi c ial policiesand conduct

,and knowing also that those

peoples beyond t he seas,who heretofore

lived peacefully in their own countries,

could not have given us cause for exterm i n a t i n g them

,we were abashed at first at

the intelligence received,but concluded

that they alone should be held accountablefor the irreparable damage done

,who gov

erned them . It is our duty,as preachers

to his m a j esty,t o expose

,to combat

,and

,

by our exhortations,t o endeavor to ex t i r

p a te every abuse,that dishonors and

offends the Divine Majesty of God . Henc ewe decided to present ourselves to yourlordships and spea k to you of sa id crimes

,

and to beg you to explain to us how so


who replied : “Casas is nowhere here about,

but the c a sa (house ) of God , i . e . his honor,

required our presenc e here,and to defend

that honor we are ready to l a y down ourlives . Does it appear to your lordship presumptuous tha t eight do c tors in theology

,

who c a n sit in and address a whole ecum en i c a l counci l of the universal Church ,should come to proffer an admonition to acounci l of the king? It is our right andour duty to come and admonish the king ’scouncillors

,and hence we are here

,my

lords,to exhort you and to notify you that

you must correct the many wrongs per

pet r a t ed in the I11 d i es , whic h are the causeof damna tion of so many souls

,and of so

many sins against God . And unless youdo corre c t t hem ,

my lords,we shall preach

aga inst you as a ga inst those who do notkeep the commandments of God

,and do

not do their duty t o their king . And this,

si rs,

. i s not only to preach , but t o complywith the Gospel .”

De la Fuente ’s speech surprised thecouncillors and frightened them . One ofthem

,a layman

,blandly answered him :

“This council is doing its duty ; it has form ul a t ed ma ny very wise laws for the goodof the Indies

,which

,though your pre

sumptuous conduct does n ot deserve it,we

L if o Od i tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s . 2 3 1

shall show you,that you m ay realize the

hight of your temerity and of your pride .

”

“You sha l l have to show us those laws,

and if they will be found good and just,we

shal l praise t hem,but i f bad and unjust

,we

shall send t hem to the devil and whomsoever upholds them with them Your lordships

,I presume

,do n ot wish to keep them

company on the road .

”

The preachers were about to l eave unceremoniously

,when the councillors

,

changi ng their tone,assured them tha t

they would be glad to show them a l l thelaws that had been enac ted

,and that their

opinions on them would be wel c omed .

The eight doctors were invited to comebac k another day for that purpose , and theinvitation was accepted . On their secondvisit , ha ving hea rd said laws rea d to them ,

the prea c hers asked for time t o put theirOpinions in writing . They

,who are famil

iar with the noble Castilia n tongue,m a y

read it i n ex ten so in the CXXXV . andCXXXVI . chapter of the third book o fH i s tor i a d o L a s In d i a s by L a s Casas . Butas I have n ot m et anywhere in history amore eloquent or more forc ible plea forAmerican liberty

,by either l awyer

,canon

ist or theologian,I ’l l give of it the first

English translation , however disfigured a n d

2 3 2 L if o of B a r toZom od o L a s Ca sa s .

emasculated i t may appear in a foreigndress . The translation is a free one andonly the p re amble is left out .

“My L ords . To say that we are themen directly appointed by Almighty Godto instruct you would be intol era ble a rrogance ; but we do affirm tha t we are , as i twere

,the eyes of this n oble court . While

you are profoundly absorbed in the tra nsa c tion o i temporal affa irs

,we employ our

time in the study of the law of God and ofthe writings of its expounders . To do theduties of our office

,and thus do the will of

God,we must be ever on the wa tc h to see

,

i f in every department and in every o fficeof this court the l aw of God is observed .

Those who are zealous in the performanc eof their duties we must praise

,but the

guilty and the laggard we are bound to a dmonish

,and

,i f necessa ry

,to denounce

,in

order that they may either reform or beheld unexcusable Had we done our ful lduty in the past

,perhaps there would not

now be so much corruption in many p l aces .May God forgive us our past shortcomings

,

and give us strength to repair them in thefuture . That we might not be found guiltyof further negligence God was pleased tomove and to qui c ken our intelligences togive serious consideration t o the important


give them,and of which they sta nd in

need a s long as the R epa r t im i en t os a r e

allowed to stand,and this for two principal

reasons : I st,because your laws

,let them

be ever so good and holy,n ever will be

properly e x ecuted as long as the Repartim i en tos are allowed to have a legal existence . 2 d , because your laws , though goodin themselves

,are based on a most unjust

foundation,namely that of the R epa r t im i

en t os,which have been the cause of well

n igh a l l the evils with which the Indiesare afflicted . As long as tha t cause is notremoved it shall rema in impossible to curethe evils . As you see

,we have but two

propositions to prove,and i f we shall prove

the second,we shall have proved them

both . The grea test of the evils,that have

depopulated some of those countries,and

tha t,whi c h will desolate the remaining

ones,that

,which cannot reasonably or

with justice be tolerat ed,are the Encomi

en d a s of the Indians or parcelling them outt o the Spaniards , and allowing the latter toforce the Indians to work for them

,appro

p r i a t i n g to themselves a l l the fruits of thebon d sm en

’s labor . The Encomiendas as

they exist now,are detrimental

,I st to the

Indian ’s wel l fa re ; 2 d they are unreasonablea n d unwise ; 3d they are against the i n

L if o of B a r tolom o d o L a s Ca sa s . 2 35

t er est s of the Spa nish crown ; 4th they areopposed to a l l the rules of c ivil and canonlaw ; 5 th they contradict the teachings ofmora l philosophy and theology ; 6 th theyare forbidden by the laws of God and of hisChurch . You shall see

,my lords

,i f,while

as damnable an institution as the Encomicudas is allowed to stand

,the evils

,dire ctly

traceable to it,can be eradica ted by sta tu

tory ena ctments . Tha t you may not accuseus of exa ggera tion

,I will proc eed to prove

logica lly and to your satisfaction each of

our six assertions .We said first that the Encomiendas aredetrimental to the Indian ’s wel l f a re . Wecannot argue aga inst facts . Sinc e thetime

,when

,under pretext of bringing into

close conta c t the Indians with the Spaniards

,i n

'

order that,it w a s s a id

,the former

might l earn from the la tter the Christia nreligion

,the system of R epa r t i m i en t os w a s

established,those onc e thic kly inhabited

countries became deserts . Should a l l mankind set to thinking for the purpose of devising a pla n more destructive of societyamong the Indians

,they could not find it .

For the Encomiendas make a sta te or c omm on wea l th impossible among them . Inevery civil community of men there mustnecessarily be found a diversity of offices ,

2 36 L if o of B a r toZom o d o L a s Ca sa s .

professions and tra des . B ut a l l these aremerged into one by the R ep a r t i m i en t os ,that of digging dirt . Who has ever hea rdof a whole peopl e or nation of diggers ? Asthings are n ow

,there c a n ’t be amongst the

India ns either soldiers,philosophers

,men

of letters,tradesmen

,et c . ,

and thus thosepeoples

,fitted out by the Crea tor to form

themselves into well ordered na tions,are

forced to enga ge only in the lowest occupation

,tha t of digging dirt . Our islands

beyond the Atla ntic shall be compared tothose on which the Romans exiled the m a r

tyrs and the ma lefactors, a d f od ion d a i no

ta l la . Na y,we do worse than the Romans ;

for they did not kill the exiles wi th la bor,

as the Spa nia rds do the na tives of the Indies . The Enc omienda s a re detrimental t othe India ns bec a use they make sla ves ofthem

,and to enslave men is against the

l aw of na ture a n d the law of God . Thatthe Encomien das a re nothing less tha nslavery is proved by your own ordinan c es .In fact one of them ordered the L icencia doFigueroa to set free those among the India ns

,who should a sk for their liberty .

They must therefore have been slaves .However

,in order th a t our argument m ay

n o t have even the sembla nc e of cavil orsophistry

,we sha ll prove a li i i n d o that the


n ever dispossessed of their wealth . And sotrue it is tha t they were well t reated tha tlater

,while in the wilderness

,they wished

to re turn to the flesh pots of Egypt . Thechildren of Israel in sla very inc rea sed andmultiplied ; but , though you left the Indians with a phantom of liberty

,they perished

and made of their country a desert . Whoever heard of the prince or of the tyrantthat compelled his people to work for himor his favorites more than nine months inthe year ? The blind c a n see th a t it is n uj ust . Can we expect a nything better thana commensurate punishment for such anunspeaka ble crime ? May we n ot expect

( a n d would to God that we prove fa lse pro

phet s ) that it shal l ca use the undoing anddestruction of this our Spa nish commonwealth ? In seeking to prove that the Enc om i en d a s are detrimenta l to the Indians ,we have proved that they are det rimentalto Spain also . To force the Indians , whowere bred a n d born in idleness

,t o work

continuously in the mines,nine months in

the year,means to condemn them to dea th .

The forty days which you call va cation ,Serve only to hasten their destru c tion . Infact

,during tha t time

,they are required to

work their lands,whic h is but a continua

tion,if a change

,of labor . The frequent


change of c lima te from the mines to thefields

,the cha nge of diet and mode of l ife

,

instea d of strengthening,debilita tes them

more and more . At the end of the fortydays of partial freedom

,experience ha s

taught,they reenter the mines to succumb

and perish .

The Encomiendas are in every way n u

wise and unreasonable . All the laws thatyour lordships m a y formulate , be they asnumerous as those of both the c ivi l and thecriminal codes combined

,all the provisions

that the judges in the Indies m ay adopt ,let both the legislators and the judges be asincorruptible as the angels of God

,wil l not

avai l to correct the abuses which yearlyde c ima te the Indians Who shall coercethe Spania rds to keep the laws ? In mountain fastnesses

,where only the eye o f God

and the fowls of the air see them,where a

justic e of the pea ce,a court or a ma rshal i s

not to be found within fifty or sixtylea gues

,those Christians manage the Indi

ans with an iron ha nd . Who shall bridletheir greed or curb their ava rice

,and pre

vent them from working the Indians todea th ? Especially when before them shinesthe yellow metal si d olosi sp os r of n lsor i tn un/i i ? Your l ordships ha ve legisla ted ast o the quality and the quanti ty of food t o

240 L if o of B a r tolon io d o L a s Ca sa s .

be given the Indians . But who shal l weighthe meat before it goes into the pot ? W110shal l accuse the Spaniard

,i f the Indian die

under the la sh or the cudgel ? You willsay t hat , the vi si ta d or os (visitors ) wil l i nquire into abuses and punish the deliu

quent . At the mines t here are only theIndians and their masters or their r epresent a t ives . Will the wretched slave dare toaccuse his master t o the visitador

,i f,the

latter gone,it will be in his power to roast

him alive ? We n eed n ot go to the Indiesfor proofs of our assertion . If there be aninquest held in a murder case

,do we go to

the servants or slaves of the suspectedcriminal for the evidence of his guilt ? Youwell know

,my lords

,that the India n is

but a servant or slave of him ,of whose

Encomienda he is part and parcel . B ut

experienc e has taught that,should the In

dian complain,his testimony would not be

accepted,because the visitador looks upon

the master as a man or perhaps as a benefactor

,and upon the slave as a beast . Uh

less you pla ce ou every Repartimiento anangel

,who neither sleeps or eats

,you can

not,my l ords

,correct the crue l abuses by

statutory enactments,as l ong as the E11

c om i en d a s are allowed to stand . The Enc om i en d a s are detrimental to the king , be

2 42 L if e of B a i tolom od o L a s Ca sa s .

Their only title to them is the apostolicconc ession whi c h , i t expressly recites , w a s

made for t he good and the adva ncement ofthose people . As the Encomiendas oppressthem and destroy them or make them n u

willing vassals,i t follows that they destroy

the only t itle that our mona rchs have torule over the India ns . The En c om i endas proclaim our monarchs tyra nts . Fora l l this the king sha l l have to give a stric ta ccount to God ; and it behooves your lordships

,who

,as his agents and representa

f ives,have assumed his responsibility

, t o

look into and to scrutinize the subj ect withmature deliberation and care . We mustgo a step farther . The Encomiendas areworse tha n an open enemy in battle array .

That enemy could only d eprive the king ofthose possession s

,but n ever of his right t o

them . The Encomienda s deprive him oftha t right

,and

,in the end , of the posses

sions themselves .The Encom ien das brea k a l l rul es of phi

losophy and of mora l theology . The endof m a n i s the possession of God in thehereafter . The practice of the moral v i rtues i s the mea ns to that end

,and the pres

ent l ife was intended to give us an oppor

tun i ty to practice t hem . L i fe itself then isa means to virtue

,as food and raiment are

L if o of B a r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s . 243

the means to life,and money the means of

procuring food '

a n d raiment . Is it right tobarter the future and the present life

,the

virtues a n d the very food of the Indians forthe sake of money ? Nay

,more . Ex

per i en c e has t a ught t hat the thirst forgold has n ot only prevented the moral vi rtues and religion being t aught t o the Indians

,but it caused theChristians t o l ose

their faith and to abandon the practice oft he Christian virtues . They are growingmore inhuman and more merciless than thetigers i n the forest . The Encomien das aremanifestly n ot according to the will of God

,

qn i vi dt om n es hom i n os sa lvosfior i . Without faith

,your lordships know it

,i t i s im

possible to enter eternal li fe ; and , becausefaith comes from hearing

,the Son of God

came to preach it,and

,in order that every

creature might hear it,he transformed his

twelve rude disciples into masters of elo

quen c e and wisdom . At last in order thatthe gla d tidings of Redemption might reachthose vast transatlantic regions

,the Indians

were intrusted to our care . But al as ! thedamnable Encomiendas choke the voice o f

the apostles and estop the work of God .

For how shall the preacher instruct a peopleoppressed and broken

,

down by labor? TheSpaniards possessed of Encomiendas are


the greatest enemies of those apost ol icclergymen

,who are enga ged in the evan

ge l i za t i on of the India ns . They fear thati f their bondsmen are taught to know thedifference between virtue and vic e

,they

will also learn how defic ient is the formerand how abundant is the latter in theirma sters . The Indians

,they think

,hate us

now,but they will look upon us as devils

incarnate , i f they l earn the Christian r e

l igi on . And it is not sufficient to preachthe fa ith the words of the prea cher mustnot only carry conviction to the intelligenceof the hearer , but it must also gain theiraffections

,and touch their hea rts . H ow

shall the Indians be convinced of the divineorigin of God ’s l aw

,and how shall they

learn how to love it i f the so-called Christians are their cruel taskmasters

,oppressors

and executioners ?The Encomiendas are

,l ast of all

,d et r i

mental to the Church of God . Ina smuchas in the Indies everybody is busy diggingthe earth

,to look for gold

,those fertile

la nds remain untilled and unproductive .

Hence no tithes can be collected,where

with to support zealous bishops and priestst o teach the Gospel to as many , ( as wouldbe converted ) as there are now faithfult hroughout the world . L et those ,who a d vo

2 46 L if o of B a r toZoni é d o L a s Ca sa s .

be paid by the king,who should train them

to agricultural pursuits,assigning to ea ch

family a tract of land to be owned i n sever a l ty, and worked under his supervision .

The governor should a lso select a numberof male Indians from every pueblo andassign them to the work of the mines atcertain seasons of the year . No individualhowever should be forced to said workmore than six months in the year

,and the

profits of mining and farming should accrueto the Indians exclusively , after deductingthe expenses of administration , a reasonableroyal ty for the king , and the t ithes due theChurch .

L a s Casas , who knew the mines had beenin the past

,and tha t they would continue

to be the graves of the Indians,would a gree

to nothing less than absolute freedom forhis pr ot egé es . L et them go back

,he

argued,to their native hamlets

,to their

native cl ime and surroundings,l et them

again work in their own way their ownpatches of maiz

,of cotton , of sugar , the

yucca root,etc .

,and like rabbits

,they will

once more multiply in their forest homes,

instead of perishing suffocated,so t o say, by

the atmosphere of an artificial civilizationforced on them t oo suddenly . Meanwhilethe priest will go to them ,

evangel ize t hem

I/ifoof Ba r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s . 2 47

a n d teach them the beauties and the benefitsof Christian life without depriving them oftheir liberty . Civilization

,the social and

political life of the old world will comelater

,gradua lly a n d naturally . Had n o t

the prea chers ’ plan been tried by the monksof St . Jerome a n d failed ? And why ? B e

cause even i f a scaffold should be erectednear the door of every Spania rd ’s house inthe Indies

,the na tives would continue to

be oppressed by the white as long as thesewere allowed any authority over the India ns .The council had listened to the address o fthe preachers respectfully

,a n d had promised

to adopt of their suggestions what appe a redto be advisable and fea sible . But L a s Ca sa shad l ost faith in Fonseca and his counc illors . H e knew t hat n othing would comeof their promises ; and as the doctors ha dcome to the conclusion that they had fullycomplied with their duty and their oath

,

the America n priest was left once more toprosecute singlehanded his scheme of anIndia n reservation and colonization .

Fin ding it necessary to come to openhostilities with Fonseca and his council

,

he detailed at length to all the favorites ofCharles V . ( especia lly to the Dutchmen )now in writing , n ow in privat e conversations , a l l the rottenness and wickedness of


their former administration of Indian affairs,

not forgetting to explain how in past yearsthey had held Encomiendas of thousands ofIndians

,most of whom had been worked to

death by their agents t o fill the coffers ofthe absentee landlords . The past rec om

m en d a t i on s of the Clerigo ha d caused theloss of their Encomiendas

,and hence this

vengeful opposition to every thing proposed by the Protector of the Indians i ntheir behalf . The youthful but shrewdmonarch

,who kept well informed about

the doings and plea dings of the Americanpriest

,decided at la st to have his scheme

looked into and studied by a special comm i t t ee appointed a d hoe, and l eft at first theselection of its members to the Clerigo himself . But

,fearing critic ism for appearing

to decide in advance the point to be discussed

,he ordered that a l l the different

councils of sta te,that for the Indies as well

as that of war,the one for the government

of Flanders,that of the inquisition

,etc .

,

should sit as a n investigating committee toinquire into the advisability of acceptingL a s Casas ’ plan of colonization within theboundaries of an Indian reservation . Themeetings of this committee were quitenumerous

,and as m any as forty counc i l

lors atten ded them ,among them the c ardi

2 50 L ifo of B a i'

tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s .

exchange for privileges and favors t o begra nted to the knights of the golden epa ulet

,

was sc a ndalized at the new wa y of prea c hing the gospel ; which , it seemed to him ,

bore the stamp of a worldly bargain .

“ Iwould never have believed tha t of L a sCasa s said he to a friend . The Clerigoheard of the rema rk

,and meeting him one

d a y,

“Sir,

” he said,

“ i f you should seeOur L ord Jesus Christ illtreated by somevillain who should l ay hands upon Hima n d load Him with abuse

,would you not

beg and entreat with tea rs,that He be

turned over to you in order that you mayadore Him

,serve Him

,and do Him homa ge

,

and everything else that would suggestitself to you as a Christian ?” “Mostassuredly

,

” said Aguirre .

“An d i f thevilla in would not give Him to you

,but

would offer to sell Him,would

'

you not buyHim ? ” Aguirre : “Most undoubtedly .

”

“Then,said the Clerigo “Tha t has been

my way of doing . When I left the Indies,

Our L ord w a s being scourged , buffeted andcrucified

,not on c e

,but a thousand times

,

as far as the work of our countrymen isconcerned

,who beat down the Indians ,

oppress them and deprive them of theopportunity to be converted

,by killing

them,and sending them into eternity with

L if e of Ba r tolom é d o L a s C sa s . 2 5 1

out faith and without sacrament s . I havebegged and I have entreated times withoutnumber the roya l council

,to put a stop to

the crimes of the Spaniards,who block

their way t o eternal l ife by enslaving them .

I have begged that the bondsmen be set

free,and that the Spaniards be not allowed

to go where the missioners,the servants of

God,have already begun to preach the

gospel,in order that the n atives may be not

made to curse the name of Christ on accountof the cruelties and the scandals of thewhites . They answered me that it wasnot advisable to turn over t hose countries tothe friars

,who would pay no tribute to the

king . As I saw that it was their intentionto sel l me the privilege of preaching thegospel

,and to sell me Christ who was thus

by them scourged , buffeted and crucified ,I made up my mind to buy him by promising worldly goods

,revenues and ric hes to

the king in the manner you have heard of . ”

The ingenious answer,which displayed a

burning love of God and of the In d i a n s,H i s

c reatures,silenced any further criticism of

his scheme from all well -meaning men,a n d

increased among the court iers,who heard

of it,the n umber of his friends . But the

battle by any means was not yet over .Fon seca received i t as a n in sul t that the

2 52 L if o of Ba r tolom é d o L a s C a sa s .

Clerigo should have been allowed to nameseveral members of the commission

,and

knowing in advance that he would findnearly the whole court his antagonists

,and

the partisans of the simple American priest,

refused several times to attend its meetings,

alleging indispositions and other frivolouspretexts . But the grand chancellor fetchedhim more than once by simply calling himto council without indicating the subject tobe discussed

,and even allowing the im

pression to prevail that it would be now acounci l of war

,now a council of state

,of

both of which departments the bishop wasa member . L a s Casas in his H i s tor i a d oL a s I n d i a s , describes amusingly severalpassages at arms between himself and thearchbishop of Burgos . The Clerigo

,though

having no voice in the council,was c a lled

in several t imes as a witness , and to defendhis own ca use . The plaudits freely givento the brave priest

,and the almost n u

animous opposition of the councillors,so

angered the courtier prelate,that he ceased

to appear at the pa lace without the compa ny of influential and popular AntonioFonseca

,his brother . The final decision

rea ched at these cabinet meetings , as wewould call them nowa days

,w a s that the

Clerigo be granted what he asked , a n d that


king in case a similar concession shoul d bemade to them . The proposition was firstpresented to the gra nd c hancellor

,who

,by

this time had learned to appreciate at itsva lue the spirit of hatred

,j ealousy and

malice that moved Fonseca to oppose L a sCasas . He refused to consider it . But thememorial found its way to Cha rles V.

,who

ordered that the gra nt of the Indian reservation be reconsidered by the united roya lcouncils assembled a s a committee of thewhole . I wil l let L a s Ca sas himself describeone of their meetings .

“There w a s one meeting,among others

,

of al l the councillors,who had pa rticipated

in the former ones,at which the Clerigo

was ca lled . Placed in the midst of so manynotable

,learned and illustrious persona ges

,

he was surrounded by friends and enemies .The enemies

,amongst whom were the

archbishop and the members of the Indiancouncil

,feeling that they were in a small

minority,listened

,but spoke scarcely a

word . The friends on the contrary,who

were all the members of the other councils,

ei ther because they wished to satisfy themselves more fully that reason and justicestood on the side of the Clerigo

,who was

their p rot egé e , or because they felt a certa inrelish in goading him to speak of the bad

L if e of B a r tolom o d o L a s Ca sa s . 2 55

government, which the archbishop a n d his

men had established in . the Indies , overwhelmed him with questions and obje c tions .It w a s amusing to see how he gave to everyquestion an answer a n d to every obj ectiona solution

,inva riably ending in defense of

the Indians and in exposing the injusticesand wrongs inflicted on them

,the murders

of thousands of them,and the many ob

st a c l es pla c ed in the way of their salva tion .

As the bishop and his compa nions remaineddumb

,although the philippi c s were a d

dressed to them,Antonio de Fonseca

ventured to say : “Reverend Father,you

cannot now say tha t these gentlemen ofthe Indian council are killing the Indians

,

for you ha ve ta ken away from them allthey ha d .

” The Clerigo boldly a n d asquick as l ightning said “Sir

,their L ord

ships have not killed all the India ns,but

very ma ny of them when they had them .

The butc hery is c a rried on n ow by privateSpanish citizens

,but their L ordships are

their abettors . ” The bishop,who felt i n

sul t ed , turned as red as fire in the face,

although he was of a greenish dark complexion

,and said angrily : “Has it come

to this tha t a coun c illor of the king,in

the discha rge of his duties,has to quar

r el with Casas ?” B ut the retort w a s


again bold and ready . Has it come tothis that Casa s

,who through ma ny perils

and dangers,travelled two thousand leagues

to ca l l the attention of the king and ofhis councillors to the fact tha t theirtyra nny and their destroying so ma nypeoples and countries is fast sending themto hell

,instead of being tha nked for it

,

and rewa rded,i s forced to quarrel with

the council ? ”

The majority of the assembled statesmenwere a stonished at the answer given toAntonio Fonseca

,but the quick repartee to

his brother pleased them and filled themwith admiration at the fearless freedom andzea l of the doughty American priest . Thegrand cha ncellor gave a signal to L a s Ca sa sto withdraw from the assembly room a n d avote was taken . The grant of two hundredand sixty leagues of coast for a n India nreservation a n d for a colony was reaffirmedand reconfirmed .

B ut the unda unted Clerigo w a s only atthe beginning of his trouble

,the Fonseca s

and the Indian councillors ha d left the ha llboiling with ra ge . In a few days everySpanish-American then in Barcelona , atthe instiga tion of the enemies of L a s Casas ,got together : and out of the numerousmemorials

,petitions and remonstrances

,


The 4th that he had deceived cardinalXimenez and had disrega rded his orders .The 3oth and last was couched i n the

following words “Many ‘secret reason swhich we prefer t o communicate to yourmajesty

,when it shall be your pleasure to

hea r them .

”

The charges were calumnies so flim si lyveiled that they contained in themselves asgood a defense as the Clerigo could havemade of himself . Never thel ess

'

Fon sec a

and his partisans succeeded to hold in suspense the carr ying out of the decrees forthe Indian reservation for several months .Fonseca caused another meeting of thegeneral states council

,to be held when the

charges against L a s Casas were read anddiscussed

,in his absence . Cardinal Adria n

,

on leaving the council ha ll,met the Clerigo

,

and smiling said : “Op or tot r esp on d er e.

”

“You must make an answer .” The evening of the same day L a s Casas call ed to seethe chancellor who made the same r ec omm en d a t i on

,and requested of secretary Cobos

that the documents containing the thirtyobjections or accusations should be broughtto him . Cobos

,who was a creature of

Fonseca,at first refused to comply with the

request,for fear that the papers should fall

into the hands of the Clerigo . But the per


sistent Gattinara would,from time t o t ime ,

renew the request and Cobos would eachtime put forward a new pretext for notobeying . Two months or more ha d passedin tergiversations

,when the chancellor

peremptori ly commanded that the documents be produced . The secretary obeyed

,

but under condition,that the papers should

not pass into the hands of anybody else .

No sooner wa s it done,than the chancellor

invited the Clerigo to dinner,and

,after the

meal,they closeted themselves in to Gatti

nara’s private office,who

,drawing forth

the coveted documents,said to L a s Casas

“Sit down right here and answer t heseobjections and accusa tions .

“ It took them three months t o formulatethem

,and it took you two months l onger

to get them here,and you want me to

a n swer'them in a credo ? ( the space of

time necessary to recite the C r ed o, or

Ap ost les c r ood . ) L et me have t hem forfive hours and you will see i f I don

’t answerthem .

”

“ I can’t d o that,

” replied Gat tinara ;for I pledged my word not to l et them go

out of my possession .

” At this junction amessage from the king called the chancellorto the royal palace . Before l eaving

,how

ever,he said to the Clerigo : “Remember


that each objection is a question asked ofthe king . Answer accordingly . Come ofa night and do your writing in my room .

”

Five conse c utive nights found the Clerigoand the chancellor hard a t work at thesame desk

,the latter attending to other

important state affairs,the former writing

his defense . At eleven o ’clock they wouldlunch together

,and retire . L a s Casas

answered the first obj ec t ion by offering togive bond

,in the sum of twenty or thirty

thousand ducats,tha t he would appear be

fore the kin g wherever and whenever summ on ed

,which effectively answered also the

third accusa tion that he might run away toVenice or to Genoa . The Ma rquis ofAguilar ha d proffered to be c ome his bondsm a n . The reader , no doubt , remembershow L a s Casas before leaving Cuba a n d

San Domingo the first time,had taken care

to provide himself with flattering testimonia ls from Governor Velasquez and theother colonial officers of the king

,of his

services to the crown in the pa c ific a t i on ofthe islands

,in ministering to the Spaniards

and instructing the India ns,etc . Those

testimonials came into service now in effectively answering the second accusation thathe had given scandal in Cuba . The fourthobjection was answered equally as triumph


time n ot a penny was paid into the royaltrea sury

,unless they were the three thous

and ducats j ust brought over by the firstbishop of that colony

,Juan C abed o . He

also detailed the m od n s op oi‘

a n d i of Pedrarias and his associates . Of all the illgotten wealth

,they set . aside one fifth

for the king,out of which they drew

their salaries , and if a balance was leftover

,they kept it as a reserve fund where

from to draw their p ay, should theirma rauding expeditions in future fail t o

bring in a harvest of gold .

It is n ot surp rising if , L a s Casas’ de

fen se being read in open council general,

Fonseca came out of it defeated againand the Clerigo triumphant . On l eavingthe meeting the courtier prelate unwittingly remarked , that it must have been theroyal preachers who wrote that brief forCasas . But the chancellor retorted : “Doyou then take my friend Bartolomé to besuch an idiot as to beg somebody else to defend him ? In my opin ion he is wel l a bleto defend himself and to do much morethan that .”

CHAPTER XV .

L a s C a sa s’Fa m ous Aud i en c e a n d Speec h i n

t he Pr esen c e of C ha r les V.

B EFORE accompanying the first American priest once more to the Indies ,

something must be sa id of what he ca lled“A terrible combat and the victory whichhe gained by the grace of God and thepower of truth .

”

We have seen how Juan C a bed o,the

first bishop of the first diocese on theAmerican continent

,ha d returned from

Darien,the bearer of some cash

,which

Pedraria s had sent to the king . Theearly hist ory of America mentions thenames of numerous priests secular andregular

,who were not only saintly in

their own lives,but endowed with burn

ing zeal for the conversion of the Indiansand the re formation of the Spaniards ’

morals . We have already met with quitea number of such apostolic men

,who

succeeded,in the end in catholicizing

two thirds of the western world . Not

quite as much can be said of some of the

( 2 63 )


earliest America n bishops,who were a l

wa ys the appointees , a n d not unfrequentlythe crea tures of the Spanish mona rchs .The baneful effects of the J a sp a tr on a ta sor royal p la c et in the appointment ofbishops were perhaps never so visible asduring the one hundred years immedia telypreceding the council of Trent . Jua nC abed o , from a royal prea cher , had beenpresented by the king and accepted by thePope as the first continental Americanbishop . His sa lary was drawn from thed oubtful revenues accruing to the crownfrom the colony on the Gulf of Da rien .

L a s Casas ha d now been a t court fullfive years engaged in obta ining measuresand decrees to free the Indians a n d therebyimpoverish the Spaniards in America . Hehad in consequence become the most hatedman among the settlers of a l l the differentcolonies of Whites

,while a l l the Indians

,

who c ame in contact with the Spa niards ,considered him their friend and protector .The Encomiendas and the mines o f Cuba

during the years 1 5 1 8 and 1 5 1 9 , duringwhic h the memorable and interestingevents happen ed that I am about to re

late,were yet a source of great revenue

to a lmost every Spaniard on the i sland .

Bishop C abed o stopped there on his way


rather vexedly replied “ I have indeed forquite a while wished to hear your lordshippreach

,but I must inform you also that ,

for quite a while,I have had in readiness a

couple of littl e sermons , which , i f yourl ordship should consent to hear them

,and

digest them,will do you more good than

all the gold you have brought from theIndies . ” The bishop added an insultingremark

,t o which L a s Casas had an appro

p r i a t e answer on his lips , when the entranceof the bishop of Badajoz put a stop t o thepeppery conversat ion . B ut i t was renewedtwo hours after . L a s Casas , fearing thatthe American . bishop might prejudiceBadajoz against him made i t convenientto pay him a visit

,calling at his house just

after dinner,where he found the host and

Diego Columbus engaged in a game of

ba gga m on . C abed o and some other guest,

who had al so been in America , were carrying on a conversation

,the subj ect of which

was,i f wheat could be grown in Hispaniola

or n ot . One speaker affirmed it and theother

,the bishop , denied it Thereupon

L a s Casas , j oining i n the conversation , saidrespectfully “Beyond a doubt

,my l ord

,

I have seen very good wheat grow inHispaniola . I have some grains of it withm e . Here they are .

” He had gathered

L if o of B a r tolom od o L a s C a sa s . 2 67

them in the orchard of the Dominicans inSan Domingo and had kept them in hispocket ever since . The argument i n r e ofthe plainspoken Clerigo angered the bishop

,

who felt d i sc om fit t ed a second time,and

haughtily replied “Wha t do you knowabout it ? What business have you here

,

or at court“ Is there anything wrong about my

business at court ?” mildly replied L a sCasas . The bishop came t o it againWhere did you learn how to t ransactcourt business Where is your science andyour learnin g for such a callingL a s Casas : “My learning may n ot be

greater than you think,but I will tell you

some of my busin ess a t court . One of themis to show that you have failed

,l ike a good

shepherd,to give your l i fe for your sheep

in order to free them from the hands of thetyrants

,who slaughter them . Another is

to show that you have been feeding andslacking your thirst 0 11 the blood of yoursheep . Another still is to show that unlessyou make restitution of all you broughtfrom the Indies

,you have n o more chance

of being saved than Judas Isc ha r iot .

”

The bishop feel ing worsted another t ime,

endeavored to t urn the encounter into ajoke , and t o poke fun a t his ant agonist

,but


the priest in dea d ea rnest added to his othercutting remarks a nother . “You laugh

,

my lord,but you should rather weep over

the pitiful condition of yourself and yourflock .

”

C a bed o made another effort to t urn intoridicule the Clerigo ’s seriousness and i n d ignation by saying : “ I f you so desire I ’lldraw a few tears out of my pocket

,

”( re

ferring to L a s Ca sas ’ exhibition of thegrains of wheat)

“ and I will do a l i t t l e

weeping . But quickly came the answer“True tea rs of repentance

,my lord

,are a

gift of God,and you should ea rnestly beg

Him to give you tears of your heart ’s blood,

the better to bewail the miserabl e state ofyourself and of your flock .

”

At this junction admiral Diego Columbusand the bishop of Badajoz arose from theirgame

,and the l atter turnin g to the Clerigo

with an expression on his face,that spoke

approval of what he had heard,put an end

to the contention with a single word“en oug The bishop went back to theroyal pa lace chuckling over the lecture readby the Clerigo to the American prelate ;and L a s Ca sas returned to his lodgings ,thinking that he had alrea dy fulfilled hispromise of preaching to his lordship ofDarien a couple of littl e sermons . C a bed o


the bishop from the Indies should be summoued to appear before him three daysafter . And

,as Diego Columbus was vitally

interest ed,and was supposed to be thor

oughly conversant with American aff airs,

he too was called t o the royal presence . AFranciscan father had just returned fromHispaniola

,and

,having heard that L a s

Casa s was laboring to obtain the freedom ofthe Indians

,had gone to proffer his services

and his help in the good work . It needsnot be said that the priest and the friar became fast friends .The court

,on account of a n epidemic

that was then raging in Barcelona wasquartered in a castle a few mi l es from thecity . In the neighboring village there wasbut one church

,where the cour tiers were

compelled to attend divine service . Undercolor of giving an opport unity to the plaincountry folk of hearing something aboutfar away America

,it w a s arranged that the

good Franciscan should occupy the pulpiton several consecutive days . The substanceof his discourses were most ly made up ofdescriptions of the cruel oppression t o

which the Indians were subjected . Itreached the ears of Charles V . whoordered that the friar be summoned al so toappear at the solemn audience with bishop


C a bed o,Diego Columbus

,and L a s Casas .

The day and the h our having arrived,the

three clergymen and the admiral,viceroy

of the Indies,were assembled in the hall of

the castle . The emperor was then onlynineteen years of age

,but the famous Peter

Martyr could already write of him that “ sogreat was his gravity as to appear consciousof having at hi s feet the universe .

” Ac

companied by the highest court official s heentered the hall amidst profound silence

,

and sat on his throne . On the right of them onarch were Monsieur de X evres

,next to

him Diego Columbus,next bishop C a bed o ,

next the L icenciado Aguirre , etc . At theleft sat the grand chancellor

,the bishop of

Badajoz,etc . ,

all the assembled notabilitiesforming an el ipt i c a l figure at one end of

which sa t Charles V .,and facing him

L a s Casas and the Franciscan friar .The chancellor and de X evr es rose from

their seats,and facing jointly the emperor

,

bent their knees on one of the steps of theth rone

,and m that posture held

,in subdued

tones,a brief consultation with Charles

,

and then rising t ook their seats again . Amoment of silence

,and the chancellor in

measured L atin words thus addressed theAmerican bishop “Right reverend bishophis majesty commands that you speak , i f

,2 72 L if o of Ba r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s .

you have any information to give about theIndies . ” The bishop rose a n d in an elegantpreamble said that for a long time he ha ddesired to behold the face of his king

,and

that now he was happy,because he had

ascertained that f a c i es Pr i a in i d ign a or a t

imp er io, i . o. that the face of the king wasworthy of the empire . (A reference to apassage in Homer . ) Then he added t hathe wished to speak to the king and hiscouncillors in private about the informationhe had t o give about Indian affairs , andbegged that all , who were not members ofthe royal council , should be made to withdraw . And he waited for a signal from thegrand chancellor t o sit down . A secondconsultation

,accompanied by the same

ceremonial,as described above took place

between the grand chancellor X evres andCharles V . after which the measuredtones of Gattinara were heard again“Right reverend bishop

,his majesty com

mands that you speak even if you haveanythin g secret t o say .

The prelate assured the emperor againthat the things he had to communicatewere secret

,and t hat it was unbecoming

they should be heard by others than himself and his councillors . He added

,that

his grey hairs and his position would n ot


of the bishop and then the c hancellor sa id“Mi c er Bartolome

’

,his ma j esty comma nds

that you speak .

” The following is thefamous address of the first America n pries tto Cha rles V .

“Most powerful and most high lord andking . I a m one of the oldest immigrantsto the Indies

,where I have spent many

years a n d where,I ha ve not read in histo

ries,that sometimes lie

,but saw with my

own eyes,and

,so to speak

,came in contact

with the cruel ties,which have been i n

fl i c t ed on those pea ceful and gentle people,

cruelties more atroc ious and unnatura l tha nany rec orded of untutored a n d savage barba r i a n s . No other reason can be assignedfor them tha n the greed a n d thirst for goldof our countrymen . They have been pra et i sed in two wa ys first

,by wicked and n u

just wars,i n which numberless India ns

,

who ha d been living in perfect peace intheir own homes

,and without molesting

anybody,were slaughtered . Their coun

tries,that formerly t eern ed with people and

villa ges without number,have been ma de

d esola te secondly,by enslavin g

,after do

ing away with their chiefs and rulers,the

common people,

. whom they parcelledamon g themselves in Enc omiendas of fiftyor a hundred , and cast them in to the mines ,


where,overwhelmed by incredible labors ,

they a l l perish .

” In coming to Spa in I leftthem behind to die whenever they come inconta ct with the Spaniards . And

,alas !

one of the originators of this tyranny wasmy own father

,who

,thank God

,has not

now anything more to do with it . At thesight of the injustices a n d atrocities inflictedupon a people

,who had never harmed us ,

my heart was touched,not because I was a

better Christian t ha n anybody el se , butbec a use I am compa ssiona te by nature .

Hen c e I journeyed to these rea lms to informhis Ca tholic ma j esty

,your grandfather . I

found him in Pla sencia,where he kindly

gra nted me an audience,during which I

told him the things which I am about t odeta i l to you . He was then on his way toSeville

,where he promised me that m eas

ures would be adopted to correct the evils .But he died on the way

,and my petition as

well as his roya l will in beha lf o f the Indians were frustrated . I n ext applied tothe regents

,cardinal Ximenez and his

eminence the cardinal of Tortosa . Theypromptly enacted the necessary legislationto stop the tyranny and the slaughter of somany people . But the persons selected toexecute their laws

,to root out the poison

ous source of so many crimes,and t o sow


instead the good seed,were found unfit for

the ta sk . When I hea rd tha t your ma j estyha d come to Spain

,I hastened to renew my

representations to you,and ha d not your

first high chancellor died in Za ra goza,a

remedy would by this time ha ve been found,

and a pplied I am t o do the same workover again . But I find that the ministersof the enemy of a l l good are not wantinghere about

,who endeavor

,through their

selfish interests , to block my w a y. Sire,

the spiritua l interests of your soul exc epted,

nothing is of greater importanc e to yourmajesty than the finding of a remedy forthese evils . For not one of your Europeankingdoms or a l l of them together equa l inva stness and grea tness your tra nsa tlanticpossessions . In t el l i n g

'

you so , I feel certainof rendering to your ma j esty as great aservice

,as mortal vassa l has ever rendered

to his king . For so doing I ask no rewardor fa vor

,inasmuch as my first object is n ot

to do a service to your ma j esty . I desire tospeak with a l l the respect and reverencedue to as high a personage as my king yourmajesty . But

,were I not bound to do so

,

as liege to my lord,I would not

,forsooth

,

move to the corner of this room to do youservice

,i f I did not think and know tha t

,

by so doing , I would make a pleasing off er


sun t sor oi . Between the mea ning attributedto those words by his lordship a n d that i 11tended by the philosopher

,there is as much

differenc e as between heaven a n d earth .

But granting tha t the bishop und erstoodhim right

,the philosopher w a s a pa ga n

,

who is n ow burning in hell,and those of

his doctrines only must be followed,which

do not contra di c t our Christia n morals andour Christia n fa ith . Our holy religiona dapts itself equa lly as well to all the nations of the world ; i t embrac es them alland deprives no human being of his na turall iberty under pretext or color tha t he or sheis serous a n a tur a ,

as the bishop,i f I under

stood him right,would ha ve you believe .

Sire,it therefore behooves your majesty

that you banish,a t the beginnin g of your

reign,tha t gigantic a lly tyrannica l system

,

which,horrible a like in the sight of God

a n d m a n,i s the ruin of the majority of

mankind . This do,in order that Our

L ord , who died for those people , may blessand prosper your rule for many days tocome .

”

The foregoing must have been only thenotes or substa nce of the speech

,for he tells

us that his address had engaged him,in

delivering it,three good quarters of a n

hour .

L ife of Ba r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s . 2 79

The friar was next invited to speak .

His remarks were few and his argumentsbut one . But he spoke

,as it were

,wof d s

of fire,that caused some of the bystanders

to tremble and to think th a t they stoodalready before the j udgment seat of God .

He said in substa nce“Sire ; I lived for a few years in the Island

of Hispaniola . It once fel l to my lot totravel with others a l l over the Island inorder to take a census of a l l the Indians i 11ha biting it . Two years la ter we wereordered to perform the same duty a secondtime . The two censuses disclosed the factthat numberless India ns ha d disappearedduring the two years . It i s thus tha t countless thousands o f people on that Island haveperished . Now i f the blood of one m a n

(Abel ) never ceased crying to God , until itwas avenged

,what shall not the blood of

the thousands do,who having perished by

our tyranny and oppression,now cry to

God vi n d i c a sa nguin oi n n os trum Don s n os

ter . By the blood of Jesus Christ,and by

the stigmata of St . Fra ncis I beg and beseech your ma j esty to put a stop to that torrent o f crime and murdering of people

,in

order that the anger of God m a y n ot fallupon us all .Diego Columbus spoke l ast . He said

briefly :

2 80 L if e of B a r toloni od o L a s Ca sa s .

S ire ; The crimes which have beenand are yet perpetrated i n the Indies

,of

which these reverend fathers have spoken ,a r e well known . Priests and friars

,who

witnessed them preached against them,

and,as you see

,ha ve come here to de

nounce them . However much your ma j estymay suffer by the destruction of thosepeople

,I suffer more

,because

,even though

all of your dominions beyond the seasshould be lost

,you would not cease to be a

grea t lord and king ; whereas I would beleft without possessions of any kind . HenceI came to inform the Catholic king (mayhe rest in peace ) and I am waiting on yourma j esty now to beg you to plea se look intothis weighty affair

,and find a remedy to

these evils . ”

Bishop C a bed o asked to be heard a gain .

But the chancellor,after spea king to the

king,arose and sa id : “Right reverend

bishop,his majesty commands that

,i f you

ha ve anything more to say, you put it in

writing,and it sha ll be read .

Thus ended the audience . Its d esc r iption gave us a glimpse of the dignified

,but ,

to us,rather pompous ceremonial and

etiquette with which royalty was want tosurroun d itself during the sixteenth century . It is a n almost literal tran slation of

2 82 L if e of B a r tolom o d o L a s Ca sa s .

the crimes of the Darien colony,and in the

other suggested remedies for its reformation . He delivered them to the high chanc el lor on a certa in occa sion

,when he and

De L a x a o ha d been invited to dine withhim . The m emoria l s were read after them eal

,and in the course of conversa tion the

two high officia ls asked the bishop “Wha tdo you think of the s c heme of Mi c er Barto

“Very fa vora bly indeed,

”a n

swered the prelate,

“he has justice on hisside

,and his wa ys are t he wa ys of God .

Tha t same evening,the Clerigo

,who had

a n inkling of the trio ’s meeting,pa id a

visit to the cha nc ellor to see i f he couldsmel l wha t ha d transpired at the interviewbetw een the bishop a n d the two officials .

(para oler que habia de la junta y comidadel Obispo con aquellos senores sucedido . )He had not been lon g in his priva te apartments when

,drawing the two memoria ls

the chancellor sa id “Mi c er Ba rtolomé , sitdown in tha t yonder corner and read them .

”

L a s Ca sa s did so a ttentively and thenca l led out : “will your lordship loan me apen ?”

The chancellor : “What for ? ”

L a s Casa s “ I wish to sign my name tothese memoria ls . Did I ever pa int indarker colors the ruins and the massacresin those countries ?”


The bishop had evidently opened hiseyes

,and in Spa i n he looked a t the doings

of his countrymen i n America in a differentlight .Three days l ater

,the first bishop of the

American continent took sick of a fever anddied humbly confessing his shortcomingsand begging the blessed mother of Christto intercede for him . His death

, L a s Ca sa sremarks

,attracted a good deal of attention

for having happened just after his tellingthe truth about those evi l things in theIndies

,which he ha d almost approved by

contra dicting the Clerigo,and just after

having spoken favorably of him whom hehad trea ted unkindly .

We have arrived at the end of the year1 5 1 9 , and , although the Clerigo

’s p rojeé tof an Indian reservation had been pa ssedupon and approved

,the formal agreement

or c a p i t ul a c ion ,as he called it

,had not yet

been signed by Charles V. L a s Casaswas not however wedded to one plan ofsaving the Americ an Indians from ex t erm i

n ation . In fact j ust after having practicallyobtained his two hundred and sixty leaguesof coast

,a vaster scheme and a better one

,

he thought , presented itself to his fertilemind .

Diego Columbus and his half brot her


Hernando were in Spa in looking after theirlaw suit with the crown concerning thegrants a n d privileges promised to theirfather before the first voyage of discovery .

Theirs w a s certainly the most importantlitigation of ancient or modern times . Themain contention was whether Diego Columbus

'

was entitled to the viceroyalty of thewhole of America

,already explored

,or to

be explored,and to one eighth of all the

revenues acc ruing to the crown therefrom,

or only to the viceroyalty of Hispa niola,

Cuba,etc .

,and that part of the continent

discovered and explored personally byColumbus himself . Both Diego and Herna ndo were humanely inclined a n d thefriends of L a s Ca sa s . As their lawsuit ha dalrea dy lasted several years with no i mmediate prospect o f its being decided intheir favor

, L a s Casas proposed to Diego apla n

,which would practic ally aff ord him

as great,i f not greater benefits than the

viceroyalty,while it would put a stop to

the extermination of the Indians and createan opportunity of converting them and ofinstru c ting them in the Christian religion .

“Ask of the king,

” was the Clerigo ’s advicet o Diego ,

“the exclusive privilege of barteri n g a n d tra ding with the Indians of the c ont i n en t , binding yourself , as a qui d p r o quo,


While you,a n d your lay employees

,wil l

perform these comedies,I and other zea lous

priests and friars will quietly attend to theeva ngelization of the Indians .”

Diego Columbus at first entered heartand soul into the pla n suggested by theClerigo

,who offered to use a l l his influence

to ha ve it acc epted and approved by theFlemish sta tesmen and the king . ButSpain was not then worthy of being theeva n gelist and savior of so many people ( itis substanti a lly the remark of L a s Casa s )a n d the plan m isc a rried . Herna ndo Columbus

,who

,by h i s litera ry and s c ientific a t

t a i n m en t s,ha d made himself famous in

Spa in,a n d well known through Europe

,

exercised a controlling influen c e a n d a s

c en d en c y over his brother . He insistedthat Diego

,in making the proposal to

Cha rles V . should ask as one of the cond i t i on s tha t the governorship of the cont i n en t should be vested in perpetuity in himself

,his brother

,and their descendants .

This was tantamount to a decision .o f thelaw suit in their fa vor . L a s Ca sas a cknowledged the justice of Diego ’s claim

,but

knew that i t would never be granted,and

therefore advised tha t the governorship orvi c eroya lty be n ot m entioned . Un for tu

n a t ely for the aboriginal Americans , Her

L if e of B a r tolornod o L a s Ca sa s . 2 87

n a n d o ’s counsel prevailed . The proposal

was ma de and rejec ted .

An event of considera ble importancein ecclesiastical history happened just before the articles of agreement betweenL a s Casas and Charles V . were signed .

The court was then at Corun a whence theking was about to sail for Germany

,to be

crowned emperor .During the seven days preceding the

departure,much business concerning the

Indies was tra nsa cted . At one of themeetings of the entire royal council

,

cardinal Adrian (who became pope twentyone months after

,i . e . January 9 , I 5 2 2 )

delivered a very solemn a n d lea rned ora tion ,and proved tha t the laws of na ture and ofGod

,as well as the authority of the holy

doctors of the church and the civil and thecanon law required that those people ( theIndians ) should be led to the knowledge ofChrist and to the bosom of the churc h bylove

,peaceful and eva ngeli c al ways

,a c

cording to the rules layed down in thegospel by Christ himself

,a n d not by wars

and slavery . He thus condemned the conduct of those Spaniards

,who had settled in

those countries by wa ys befitting ratherMa hom ed a n s than Christians . The ora tionof the holy cardinal so moved the audience


that all or nearly all present subscribed to it,

a n d praised his truly catholic doc tri ne .

Not a soul dared oppose him so that,there

and then,i t was determined that the In

dians,generally speaking

,should be free

,

and that they should be treated a s free men .

It was also finally dec ided that the Clerigoshould be ch a rged with the conversion ofthe Indians in his reservation

,according to

the method he had proposed .

The royal fleet h a d scarcely set sa ils,

when the Clerigo went to pay his respectsto Adrian

,i n whose hands Charles V . had

left the reins of government of the Spanishkin gdom . He found him in compa ny of acertain L i cenc iado Soza , a mutua l friend ,who rema rked on seeing him “HereCasas

,come and kiss the ha nd of his

eminence It was he alone who set free allyour Indians . ”

Honesty,frankness

,boldness

,with the

peasant as with cardinals and crownedheads

,were the sa lient traits in the first

America n priest .,

Therefore the student ofhis biography will look in vain for even anunguarded word or action suggestive ofadula tion . He humbled himself

,he begged

and implored a n d pl ea d ed with the greatones of the world in beha lf of his Indians

,

but he never used adulation as mean s to his


considerin g that the Clerigo had heretofore given him considerable annoyance .

”

The enemies of the Protector of the Indians played their l ast card against hisproj ect of colonization and evangelizationof his p rot egé es when they bega n to ridicul e it . Certai n e x c on vi c t s of the t ribunalof the inquisition were made to wear a pec ul i a r attire

,with over it certain badges

indicative of their condition of penitents .The attire

,the ba dges

,and the ex

convicts themselves were known i n Castilea s Sa n ben i tos . The opponents of theClerigo delighted in referring to hisknights of the gol den epaul et as Sanbenitos .

C HAPTER XVI .

L a s C a sa s s a i ls f o r Am e r i c a t o set t le w i t h

h is Kn igh ts o f t he Gol d en Epa u let ,

on t he Ven ezue l a n C oa s t .

FROM Corun a governor Adrian , Fonseca

,the royal councils a n d L a s C a

sas went to Va l l a d ol i d ,where all the n ec es

sa ry decrees were drawn and addressed,

with commendable expedition,to the royal

ofli c ers in the Indies to enable the Protector of the India ns to carry out hisproject of colonization and evangeliz a tion .

With the de c rees in his pocket,the Clerigo

went to Seville,gathering on the way a

number of emigrants from the agriculturalc lasses suffi c ient to make the beginningof the settlement on the Ameri c a n cont i n en t . The knights of the golden epaulet

,the rea der must remember

,were to

be sele c ted from among the Spanish settlers on the West Indian Islands . In hisnative city L a s Casas was compelled toborrow considerable sums

,perha ps from

his rela tions and friends,to pay for his

own a n d the emigra nts ’ passa ge . Forhis two trips to and from America and

( 2 9 1 )

2 92 L if e of B a r tolom od o L a s Ca sa s.

his residence at court for several yearshad left him penniless . Charita ble peopleof wealthy Seville provided him with anabunda nce of toys and t r ifles to be given aspresents to the Indians t o make themapproachabl e and friendly .

On the 2 5 th of November , 1 5 2 0 , L a s

Casas sailed for his adopted country full ofbuoyant hopes

,but not without some mis

givings that his countrymen,the Spanish

Americans,might once more block his way

to his freeing and evangelizing,some at

least,of the Indians . While the Clerigo

crosses the Atlantic,for the fifth time

,I i n

vite the reader to witness the tragedies thatare mean while enacted on his Indian reservation .

Un‘p ec a d or d o hom br e ( the scoundrel

of a fellow ) by the name of Alonso deOjeda

,who had settled on the island of

C uba gua , where the pearl fisheries werelocated

,wished t o procure for himself

some sl aves,as others had done before

him,to employ them t o dive for pearls .

With some other worthies like himselfhe undertook a pilgrimage down thecoast

,to look for Ca n n iba ls ! to enslave

them by peaceful ways,i f possible , but

Sword in ha nd if necessary . With theconnivance

,and perhaps authorized by


with some of their c ountrymen . A lunchwas served and a pleasant chat was inprogress

,when Ojeda

,rather a bruptly

,

asked to see the chief or c a c ique of thePueblo . His n ame was Ma r a guay,

a bra ve,

shrewd and refle c ting man . He ha d notalways been pleased with the conduct ofthe Spaniards

,but

,ha ving in his power

,

as hostages,the inoffensive friars

,he f re

quently c losed an eye and p r et en t ed not tosee certain i l l d oi n gs of his bearded neighbors . The Pueblo was separa ted from theconvent by a creek or bayou . Ma r a guay,

ha ving been sent for by either the friar orOjeda himself

,promptly put in an appear

ance . The captain and two of his underlings took the cacique asid e

,and

,as he

called for writing ma terials,the Father in

charge of the convent brought them to him,

not in the least suspec t i n g , . t ha t,in so doing

,

he would hereafter arouse the suspicions ofthe chief . Then Ojeda asked the Indian ifit was true that in the interior

,back of the

Pueblo ,there were some caribs or canni

bals . The cacique who knew full wellwhat the consequences would have been

,

had his answer been in the affirma tive,

surmising the truth,that the visit of Ojeda

and his compan ions was for the purpose oflooking for a pret ext for attacking him or


his neighbors and kinfolks,answered fier c e

ly,

“ that there were no cannibals thereabout ,

” and then arose t o d epart . Theytried to placate him

,but the Indian nursed

thereafter his indignation and anger .The marauders pro c eeded ten or twelve

miles farther down the coast to Ma r a c a pa n ,

an Indian vi lla ge over which ruled a chief,

who,some time before

,had pa id a visit to

Hispaniola,where he was entertained by a

Gil Gonzales,whose name he adopted in

sign of apprecia tion of the hospita lity re

c eived . He was as wise as Ma r a guay andhad not always admired the wa ys of hiswhite neighbors of C uba gua . Neverthelesshe found it convenient to treat very hosp i tably the Spaniards

,who would chan c e to

land 0 11 his dominions . Neither did he fai lto entertain Oj eda and his companions .The captain told Gi l Gonzales that hi s busi n ess at Ma r a c a p a n was to buy of somenative farmers living a few miles in the i nt er ior

,a considerable quantity of corn or

maiz . In fact he and most of his men proc eed ed to the country and readily agreedwith some of the inhabitants on the priceof fifty sacks of the grain and on the com

pen sa t ion to be given to fi fty men forca rryin g it t o Ma r a c a pa n . Evidently thecarriers suspected no t reachery

,and on


their arrival at the Pueblo threw downtheir loads at a certa in spot indicated bythe Spania rds and sat upon them wa itingto receive their pay . But of a suddenthey found themselves surrounded by theChristians

,who held drawn swords in

their hands . Of those who endeavoredto flee some were wounded

,som e killed

,

a n d thirty-five of them,ra ther than be cut

to pieces,allowed themselves to be brought

on board the ship . The news of thecapt ure spread with incredible ra pidityfor hun d red s o f miles around

,and

,at a

meeting of the neighboring cac iques,it

was decided th a t,not only Ojeda and his

companions,but the friars also

,who always

sheltered and trea ted as brothers thosewicked countrymen of theirs

,should be

put to death . They suspected besides thatthe paper given by the priest to Ojedaat C hi r ibi c hi must ha ve ha d somethingto do with the dastardly treachery

,they

had witnessed . Strange t o say,Ojeda did

not set sai l at once . Perhaps he thoughtthat Gil Gonzales would side with himrather than with the Indians of the i nt er ior

,and his conduct

,on the following

Sunday,cannot be explained otherwise .

The Indians ha d noticed that on that dayof the week the whit e m en did n ot work


bear . Natura lly the Clerigo ha d built greathopes on the Dominic ans of C hi r ibi c hi . Infact the half christian Pueblo

,with its

goodly number of converts and catechumens

,would have proved

,from the begin

ning,a powerful lever in his gigantic un

d ert a k i n g . He did not however loose heart,

and it being known in Porto Rico that anexpedition was being fitted out in SanDomingo for the purpose of avenging thedeath of the Dominicans by fire and sword

,

he resolved to wait and t ry to stop it on itsway to the continent . A difficult task

,as

the Spaniards coveted nothing more than areason or a pretext for war

,in order to load

their ships with prisoners to be capturedand held as l egal slaves

,who could be dis

posed o f 0 11 the public market . The flotillaarrived in Porto Rico in a few days in command of Gonzalo de Ocampo . L a s Ca sa sproduced the royal decrees granting to himthe exclusive jurisdiction on that part of thecontinent

,and forbidding any body else

from landing on those shores . He arguedthat therefore he alone had power to punishthe slayers of the friars . Ocampo answeredthat his business and his duty

,as captain

of that expedition,was simply to obey the

orders of his immediate superior o fficers,

the royal Audiencia of San Domingo , pro


testing however the greatest reverence forthe documents carried by the Clerigo .

Ocampo proceeded to the pearl coast tomake sla ves

,and L a s Casas to San Do

mingo,to free those

,who had been previ

ously enslaved and stolen from that samecoast and were n ow held in bondage on theIslan d .

The decrees grant ing to L a s Casas a n

almost unlimited territory,rich in gold and

other precious metals,had a good com

m er c i a l value,and he had n o trouble to

borrow money in Porto Rico . With fivehundred dollars in gold he bought a vessel

,

on which he made his passa ge to San Domingo in Hispaniola

,and which he intended

to use la ter in the service of his missions .The l aborers were l eft behind in batchesof four and five and were intrusted t o thecare of the planters on the Isla nd .

In the colonia l capital L a s Ca sas did notreceive much of a welcome

,as he was held

by nearly a l l the white settlers as theirgreatest enemy . In good time he presentedhis decrees to Diego Columbus

,who had

returned to America,and to the royal Audi

encia . The documents were published withdue solemnity

,with trumpets sounding

,

and in the presence o f the assembled citizens . The Cl erigo did n ot fai l t o summon


the authorities of San Domingo to recal l,

as soon as possible,the flotilla that ha d

been sent , in charge of Ocampo , to punishthe people of Ma r a c a pa n a n d C hi r i bi c hi

allegi ng that the killing of the Domini c answas justified by the insolence and the crimesof Ojeda

,and that

,i f any punishment was

to be inflicted,n ot they , but he alone w a s

competent to apply it in virtue of the royaldecrees that gave him exclusive jurisdicti onover the territory .

“We will look into thematter

,

” replied the judges and quite anumber of da ys were spent in parleying

,in

order to give t ime to Ocampo t o d o hiswork .

A calker from Biscay had set tl ed in SanDomingo and was doing a good business inthe exercise of his tra de . By investing hissavings in stock companies

,whose ma in

business was to kidnap Indi a ns in order tosell them as slaves

,he ha d accumulated

quite a little competence,and was now the

owner of two ships of his own . When heheard of L a s Casas , and of his intention tofree a l l the Indians

,thereby making his

occupation unprofitable,

“NO lop eso i n on os

que si vi er a d l d i a blo,” i . c . it pleased him

about as much as if he had seen the devil .The calker and other interested parties began to whisper i t around that the Clerigo’s


in itsel f a very valuable one . In fact hisIndian reservation

,besides the pearl fish

eries,which pa id them very f a t dividends ,

was kn own to have within its boundariesnumerous gold mines . They decided therefore to take advantage of his embarrassingposition

,and by appa rently coming to terms

with him,endeavor to appropriate to them

selves a controlling interest in his enterprise . All the high functionaries of thecrown in the Island a greed to propose tohim a plan that would enable him to carryout his scheme of col onization . A stockcompany w a s to be formed and the stockwas to consist of twenty-four shares

,six of

whi c h were to become the property of theking

,to compensa te him for the expenses

of fitting out the expeditiona ry flotilla sixwere to go to the Clerigo and to his fiftyknights of the golden epaulet

,three to

vi c eroy Diego Columbus,one of ea ch to the

four judges,one to the royal trea surer

,one

to the general a uditor,one to the genera l

agent,and one to ea ch of the two secretaries

of the Audiencia . The flotilla in charge ofOcampo was to be pla ced at the disposal ofL a s Casas , but only one hundred andtwenty men

,who were all to work for a

salary , were to be left to man the vessels ,whil e the remaining on e hundred and eighty


were to be discharged . When the planw a s presented to him

,the Clerigo

,promptly

accepted it,and thus rendered himself l iable

to serious criticism . It seems in factdiffi c ult to understand why he should ha veassociated himself with men who wereactuated by exclusively worldly interests ina scheme

,the sole purpose of which w a s the

sa lva tion and evan gelization of the Indians .True

,he alone was c harged in the royal de

crees with their execution,a n d he alone

w a s to remain at the hea d of affairs . Nevert hel ess he ought to have foreseen that men

,

who put their c ash in the enterprise,might

be expected to c laim a right to interfere inthe ma nagement of the company ’s business .However the strictest mora list will s ca rc elyfind anything radica lly wrong in the acceptance of the a ssistance ( they ca lled it withthat name ) proffered by the crafty politicia n s . Writing forty years a fter

,the Pro

tector of the Indians assigns the followingrea son for his a c tion .

“Seeing that,for

the present,there was no other remedy and

tha t there was no prospect of his being ableto work out his scheme without their assistance and cooperation and seeing also thatmeanwhile the land was being made desolateand its inhabitants ensla ved

,the Clerigo

ma de answer that he wished to see the company organized .

”

30 4 L if e of B a r tolorn é d o L a s C a sa s .

He must however have signed theart icl esof agreement ( c a p i tul a c ion ) with some misgiv i ngs

,for he says that the document was

not unlike certain superstitious invocations,

t hat begin with God , and end with thedevil . Under duress he signed a documentcontaining some clauses

,which he did not

approve and which ( he says so himself ) henever had the slightest idea of observing.

For so doing,history will ever condemn the

first American priest . If we suppose thatanother clause recited or implied that nothing in the agreement should be understoodas binding him to do anything against thel aws of God

,as was probably the case

,i t

would yet be true that this action of hiswas not in keeping with the man’s generalcharacter

,although it would acquit him of

any moral wrong . My opinion is,that

,in

this instance,he stretched somewhat his

conscience in striking a barga in,whereby

to buy Christ,whom he saw daily crucified

in his Indians . Writing in decrepid oldage he lays a good portion of the blame atthe door of the colonial officers in the following lines .Great was indeed the blindness and

ignorance,i f it w a s not malice , of those

gentlemen,in believing that the absurd and

horrible conditions would be complied with

30 6 L if e of B a r lolon iod o L a s Ca sa s .

provisions,as well as with the munitions

necessary to the little fortress,whi c h he i n

tended to build on the first settlem ent to bemade . He sailed from San Domingo inJuly 1 52 1 , and after touching at the islandof L a Mona , where he loaded a la rgeamount of cazabe bread

,m ade for Porto

Rico,to pick up the emigrant laborers he

had left there,on his way from Spa in .

But,10 and behold ! they ' had all dis

appeared,and ha d j oined certain expedi

tions gotten up for the purpose of k i d n a pping Indians in the islands and on the cont i n en t . He could do no better than proc eed without them to his destination . Sail ,sa i l away

,nothing daunted

,thou hero of

the gospel,while I ’l l tel l of the work of

thine enemies to block thy way .

Ocampo had arrived in time at the littleport of Ma r a c a p a n . Chief Gil Gonzales a t

the sight of the flotilla went out in hiscanoe to see what was wanted

,but

,fearing

the vengea nce of t he white men,kept at

first at quit e a distance . There appe a redon board the flag-ship but three or fourmen

,who

,by signs and gesticulation s ,

pretended to desire only some informationabout tha t country

,its n ame etc . Ocampo ’s

ruse consisted in creating the impression ,that his company had come direc t from


Spa in,and n ot from treacherous Ojed a

’s

c ountry . Five yea rs residence by the sideof the Dominica ns had ta ught Gonzalessome Spa nish

,and d rawing nea r Ocampo

,

he gave the desired information in brokenCa stilian . The sight of w i ire and wheatbread had entic ed the India n alongside theship

,when one of the sailors

,an expert

swimmer,da rted from under cover

,sprang

into the canoe,grappled with Gonzales and

stabbed him to dea th .

Then the three hundred Spa nia rds l a nded,

a n d with those of the Pueblo , whom theydid not m a ssacre

,filled the ship and sent

them to Hispaniola . L a s Casas saw themsold in San Domingo

,whither he ha d gone

to free those of their countrymen,who had

met a similar fate before . It would notha ve been pruden t to attempt a settlementat Pa r a rn a n a or C hi r ibi c hi and the Clerigolanded four m iles further south

,at Cumana

,

where the French Francis c a ns had foundeda convent at the same time tha t the Dom i n i c a n s ha d esta blished theirs at Chiribichi . The members of the communityha d heard from Oc ampo o f the grant of thatcountry to the Clerigo

,and

,when they saw

him la nding,went to meet him singing the

ToDoom and the antiphon B on od iotus qn iven i t i n n om i n oDom i n i . I leave it t o the


reader to imagine the rejoi c ing at the meeting of the good friars with the devotedsecular priest . The la tter admired the extensive orchard with its oranges and otherluscious fruit . The convent stood on thebanks of the river Cumana

,a few hundred

yards from the seashore .Ocampo was found busy with some of his

followers ( the others were engaged in pillaging the country around , and in makingslaves ) building a t own , which he ha dca lled New Toledo

,a mile or so further up

t he river . The occurrenc es of Paramanawere well known to the Indians for hundredsof miles around

,who

,frightened by the

presence of the ' marauders,had l eft the

neighborhood . The sc arc ity of provisions ,the monotony of their occupation of sl a ughtering or ensla ving Indians

,and the hard

labor required of them to build Toled ohad so dissatisfied the m en under Ocampo

,

that threats of mutiny were hea rd on allsides

,and

,as L a s Casas put it , even if

Toledo had been called Seville,they would

never have consented to make it their home .

The news therefore that the country w a s tobe turned over to t he Clerigo

,and t hat

whosoever desired to return to Hispaniola,

might do so,was welcomed . With sufli c i en t

provisions,given t hem by L a s Casas , they

3 1 0 L if e of B a r tolom é d o L a s C a sa s .

fuse of christian communities are f re

quently found side by side with the

apostles on the frontiers of civilization,

the la tter to extend its limits,the former

to retard it . We have seen the work ofthe Spaniards of C uba gua at Ma r a c a pa n ,

hea ded by Alonzo de Ojeda . The Franciseau convent w a s nearer t o C uba gua

than Ma r a c a pa n ; and , as the islanda fforded no pota ble wa ter

,the pearl fisher

men were i n the ha bit of coming frequentlyto fetc h it in barrels from the river Cuma na .

From these almost daily visits arose sca ndals without number . Now it would be aSpaniard insulting an Indian woman

,nex t

d a y a young man bartering his liberty , formonths at a time

,for a bottle of Ca stilia n

wine,and again drunken brawls among

the Indians themselves,or between white

and red men,the ef fects of trading gold for

the coveted red liquor .L a s Casa s ha d promised t o build somefortresses 0 11 the different settlements cont em p l a t ed , and he con c luded that the mouthof the Cumana river aff orded a desirablelocation for the first one I t would answerthe purpose

,not only of protecting the con

vent aga inst any possible insurrection ofthe India ns , but , i f occasion arose , ofteaching also som e _m a n n ers to the Span iards

L if e of Ba r tolom é d oL a s Ca sa s . 3 1 1

of C uba gua , who could n ot convenientlyget drinking water anywhere else . L a s

Ca sas had with him a quarryman andstone cutter

,who w a s put to work at once

on the new fortress at a salary of eightgold dollars a month . B ut the worthiesof C uba gua took the hint and either bypersuasion

,bribe

,or ha rd cash

,soon

enticed the man away ; and the Clerigowas left in the impossibility of usingwhat artillery he had brought with him .

Meanwhile the intercourse of the Spaniardswith the na tives produc ed worse effectsdaily ; drunkeness especially was on theincrease

,and

,while in a state of i n tox i

cation,the I rid i a n s had already more than

once tised again st each other,and against

the Spaniards,poisoned arrows . Con

vi c t ion forced itself at l ast , in the m indof the Protector of the Indians

,that their

evangelization was impossible,while these

conditions existed . The very thought of itmade his hea rt bleed ; but in the bitterness ofhis anguish he even resolved a t times in hismind how he could abandon the enterpri sealtogether . He had assured the Indians

,

in the name of the king,that they would

be mol ested no longer , and , under his veryeyes

,his countrymen did the reverse of

what the king had decreed . The articles

3 1 2 L if e of B a r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s .

of agreement called for a judge,who

shoul d have resided on the reserva ti on toa dminister justic e . But nowhere is ajud ge

,magistrate or justi c e of the pea ce

m entioned as having come to Cumanawith L a s Casas . He went one day in askiff to see the alcalde , who resided inC uba gua . His pleading , entrea ting , threatcuing the anger of the king

,i f the Spaniards

were allowed to further trespass on the terr i t ory of his gra nt , availed nothing . Thingswent rather from bad to worse . Bitter ex

per i en c e ta ught the priest , t hat , i f it tookfive or six years to have the necessary lawsenacted to protect the Indians

,it w a s even

more d ifli c ul t to enforc e them at a distanceof seven or eight thousand miles from theseat of the centra l government . He andh i s friend

,the superior of the Fran c isc a n

community,Juan Ga r c et o

,reached at last

the conclusion that something should bedone as the da nger t o their own and theircompanions ’ lives was growin g daily . Itwas agreed that t he king alone or the royalAudiencia at San : Domingo could put astop to the outrages of the Spaniards of theIsland of C uba gua , and that their authorityshould be appealed t o . But

,who should

journey to Hispa niola,or even to Spa in , to

make the n ecessa ry representations ? At


but to ha ve them r ea dy to sail at any time,

should a n emergenc y arise ne c essita ting theremova l of men a n d goods . This De Sotow a s a Spa nish noblema n

,who ha d come

from Spa in with L a s Casas to look for afortune .

The salt-la den ship on which the Clerigoha d sa iled

,had sc a rc ely disappeared on the

horizon,when he thought tha t his cha nce

ha d arrived . H a st ely drawing out of thewa re -house a lot of Ca stilia n trinkets a n d

t r ifles,he loa ded them into the two ships

,

and sent them in opposite directions toba rter for gold . The contingent of whitemen at Cumana consisted of perha ps fortyindividua ls

,a ma j ority of whom were re

quired to m a n the vessels and only tenor twelve were left with De Soto a n d theFriars . The India ns de c ided to followthe example of their brothers of Ma raca pana and C hi r ibi chi , a n d do away , fromtheir shores

,with the white men

,Fria rs

and a l l . The d ay for the massacre w a s set .But fa ithful old Mary felt in duty bound towa rn her former benefa ctors of their i npending fa te . The fria rs managed to find outthe very day on whic h the assault was to bem ade . Fourteen guns were gotten readya n d a n effort w a s being ma de to orga nize adefense But the powder was found to be

L if e of Ba r tolom e’

d o L a s Ca sa s . 3 1 5

wet and unserviceable . After a sleeplessnight . De Soto went reconnoiterin g ea rlyin the morning

,to see i f any unusual com

motion or wa rlike prepara tion w a s takingplace in the Pueblo

,situa ted a gunshot

away,on the seashore . At sunrise three of

his men were busy sprea ding out some ofthe powder to dry

,when a swa rm of In

d ians in ambush fel l upon them and killedthem . Their comra des

,wa rned by the

savage warcry,took shelter in the ware

house,and De Soto

,though wounded by a

poisoned arrow,man aged to join them

there . One of the doors in the buildingopened i nto the orchard which was en

closed by a high fence or pa lisade,and was

traversed by a deep irriga tion-ditch orcana l

,whic h the Friars had opened to

facilitate the wa tering of their pla nts,

vegeta bles and fruit trees . The sa vagesthirsting for more blood

,and unable to

rea c h new victims endeavored to set theware-house on fire . Mea nwhile the besieged made their exit into the orchard

,

and c reeping a long side of the ta l l fencereached the irriga tion-ditch

,crawled into

a canoe,that w a s moored there about

,

and,prote c ted by the emba nkment

,made

their way to the river . The fra i l craftwa s drifting ra pidly towards the sea

,

3 1 6 L if e of B a r tolom o d o L a s Ca sa s .

when an old l ay brother w a s heard calling to them from a cane-brea k to betaken on boa rd . They saw him sta nding0 11 the river shore a short dista nce behind them

,a n d made franti c efforts a gainst

the current to reac h him,but made little

or 11 0 progress . The good old man,seeing

tha t he enda ngered the lives of all onboa rd

,wa ved to them to save themselves

,

and to lea ve him to his fa te . Theyreached the sea

,and had made hal f the

dista nce to the ship that w a s loadingsalt

,when a pirogue w a s spied

,loa ded

with India ns in hot pursuit . The bloodthirsting sa vages were armed

,and

,as

theirs was the lighter boa t,the dista nc e

between the two cra fts w a s visibly becoming sma ller a ud sma l ler . Esc ape onwa ter was impossible , and the Spania rdsma de for the shore followed by the I 11

dians . The la nd a bout there w a s grassless and treeless

,but overgrown by a

thi c ket of gigantic cac tuses , frequen tlymet with in Centra l and South America

,

the thorns of whic h a r e as stout and aslong a s shoema kers ’ awls . The whitemen

,protected by their clothes

,managed

to find hiding places,whereas the naked

n atives da red not follow them Threedays pa st

,however

,before the last of the


We parted company with the Clerigo,

while he was journeying to Hispa niola .

His former associates,and the Fria rs

,ar

rived i n San Domingo long before him .

The captain of his freight-ship,who had

little experience of those southern waters,

lost his re c koning and after wandering forma ny days

,landed at la st at the port of

Yaquimo,more than two hundred miles

east of Sa n Domingo . Two months hadbeen wasted in trying to sail back , againstthe gulfstream

,to the city

,when L a s Ca sas

went ashore,made for the town of Yaguana

,

and thence travelled on foot to San Domingo

,a t otal distance of some two hundred

and fifty miles . A couple of servants ha daccompanied him from Cuma na

,who

shared with him the long tramp . Theywere n earing their journey ’s end

,when one

day the Clerigo stopped to eat and rest,

and,after the meal

,went to sleep under a

tree . Some travellers from Sa n Domingohappened to pass by

,and the priest ’s

servants asked them,i f they ha d any news

from San Domingo or the old world .

“None,

” they answered,

“ except thatthe Indians of the pearl coast have killedthe Clerigo L a s Casas , and all the membersof his household .

”

As to tha t,

” replied the servants,we

are living witnesses that it is impossible .

”


A dispute as to the truth of the n ews wasin progress

,when L a s Ca sa s awoke a n d

overheard it . The information stunnedhim

,and dazed him

,and he says that he

then felt as if he ha d j ust emerged from anabyss . The surviving Fria rs had arrivedin the c ity from Cumana

,and

,as frequently

it ha ppen s in similar cases,the catastrophe

had been exaggera ted . The Clerigo had notbeen seen or hea rd of

,and was given up for

dead . It was wel c omed news to many,

who were glad to be ridden of a severecensor

,and of the man

,who blo cked their

way to wealth and a gr a n d i sem en t .

As the first America n priest regained thefull use of his senses

,it flashed through his

mind that it had all happened as a justpunishment from God

,for ha ving chosen

as his associates,men

,who worked

,not for

the glory of God or the salvation of souls,

but for their own selfish interests . He evenfeared or believed that he ha d offendedGod

,in attempting to use means so different

from those that ha d been adopted by ourL ord and hi s apostles in evangelizing then ations Why had he not followed thepla n

,he had first proposed to himself

,and

chosen fifty good Christians for his compa nions and c ol aborers

,e ven though these

would have had in view some temporal

3 2 0 L i fo of B a r tolom o d o L a s Ca sa s .

gain,while working to spread the gospel

and save souls ? God,in his mercy

,must

have looked at his good intentions,ra ther

tha n at his work ; for he preserved himfrom an imminent and c ruel dea th . He endsthe na rra tive of his disa strous attempt atcolonization as follows “The Clerigo proc eed ed on his journey in grea t anxiety andsorrow

,to lea rn more minutely the pa rti

c ul a rs of wha t ha d happened . Some friendsof his came to see him and to console him

,

off ering to loa n him four,five or more

thousa nd dollars,if he wished to make

another trial of the enterprise . If theirmotive was the glory of God a n d the salvation of souls

,or rather tempora l ga in

,

God onl y knows,who alone will dec ide it

on last j udgement d a y. I will conclude thelife of the Clerigo by saying tha t

,as soon

as he arrived in Sa n Domingo,he wrote

to the king all that ha d happened , and thendetermined to wait for an answer

,beca use

he had not the means then to travel person a l ly to the court , although friends werenot w a n t i n g

'

who would have helped himwith a loa n of money . And

,ha d he gone

,

he would ha ve succeeded,n o doubt

,in pre

venting the evils and destructive catastro

phes , that followed each other in thosela nds

,in having the men punished

,who

ha d blocked his way and caused the rebel


pious man . The good Father often t ried toc onvince the Clerigo

,tha t he ought to be

come a Friar,saying that he had labored

long enough in behalf of the Indians,and

tha t,inasmuch as his Cumana venture

,

though good in itsel f,had proved a failure

,

i t w a s a sign that it was not God ’s wil l heshould continue i n similar undertakings .The Clerigo advanced many objections tohis entering a religious comm unity

,among

others that it was but proper tha t he shouldwait for a n answer from the king

,and see

what his wishes were .

“But Senor,

”said

then the good Father warmly,

“what ifyou should die in the mean t ime ? whoshould then receive the orders of the kingor his letters The words made a deepimpression on the heart of the ClerigoCa sas

,who ever after thought more and

more seriously about his voc ation . Heended by c onsidering himself already deadto the world

,should the letters come . He

asked for the religious ha bit and got it .As the news spread that the Clerigo had

become a Friar,there w a s general rej oicing ;

in the Dom i rii c a n convent as well asthroughout all the Indies . In the convent

,because its inmates were glad to see

their beloved friend converted to theirmanner of li fe , and into a member of their


community ; and outside of it , because theworldlings were glad to see him buried ina cloister

,who had proved the most power

ful obstacle to their dishonest conduct inthe ac cumulation of temporal wealth . But ,to the disappointment of many

,he rose

again,by the will of God

,it appears

,to

prevent som e'

of their evil doings,and to

point out a n d make it as c lear a s da ylight ,that the sta te

,in which many of them

lived,w a s da ngerous

,and that theirs was a

letha rgic sleep and inc onceivable blindness

,which prevented them from seeing

,

tha t sins,more grievous than any com

m i t t ed since the fa ll of man,were not sins

at all . He had already entered the novitiatewhen letters came from cardinal Adrian

,

who had become Pope,and from the

Flemish gentlemen,advising him to come

bac k to court,and assuring him that they

would favor him as much as ever,or more .

But the superior of the convent,not to

trouble him (p orgn o n o so i n qui eta seqn ioa )did not show them to hi m And herewe must stop speaking of the Clerigo , nowFray Bartolomé de L a s Ca sas , for a fewyears

,during which he seems to have been

a sleep . But there are many more thingsto be said of him

,and we will write them

at the proper time if God will prolong our


li fe . (H i s tor i a d o L a s In d i a s , book III .chapter C L X .)It is scarcely probable that the Protector

of the Indians,who lived until July 1 566

enjoying good health and the full possession o i his faculties

,should have sud

d en ly abandoned the greatest literary workof his life . As Remesal

,his earliest bio

grapher,t ells of certain events

,that

happened as late as 1 533 as being spokenof in the H i s tor i a d o L a s In d i a s of L a s

Ca sa s , i t seems to be evident , that we don ot possess a l l of the important historicalwork

,which ends abruptly with the year

1 5 2 1 . Among his many titles to thegratitude of posterity

,the first American

priest deserves especially to be called theFather of American history . L et us hopethat some lucky student may soon unearththe IV . and the V . book of H i s tor ia d oL a s I n d i a s

,which must be buried in some

library of Seville or Madrid,or possibly in

God d id prolon g h i s l i fe five or s i x yea r s , but ,o f a l l t ha t i s k n own t o exist o f h i s gr ea t Hist or i a ,

n o t a wor d m or e i s fou n d a bout t he C l er igo or Fr a yB a r t o lom é . The H i s tor i a d o l a s I n d i a s , a s we h a vei t , en ds w i t h t he III . book a n d w it h t hese words“An d m a y i t plea se God , t h a t i n t his c ur r en t yea r1561 t he c oun c i l o f t he In dia s m a y be fr ee from i t .

( Ign or a n c e a n d bl in dn ess .) An d w i t h t his i m pr ec a t ion t o t he hon or a n d glory o f God , we en d t hist hird book .

”

CHAPTER'

XVII .

L a s C a sa s a Fr i a r .

L AS CASAS entered the Dominican novitiate in 1 52 1 , and w a s admitted to

make his vows in 1 52 3 , being then 49 yearsof age . Hardships he ha d seen in Cuba

,

while following the expeditionary forc es ofVelasquez

,and during his disastrous

attempt at colonization in Cumana . Butas a student in Salamanca

,as the a d m i n i s

trator of his father ’s interests in Hispaniola,

a n d,later

,as a miner and landed proprietor

,

he m a y be said to have lived the first partof his life in compa rative a ffiuen c e

,as a

Spanish Hida lgo,or gentleman . A

Dominican convent in Hispaniola and theaustere requirements of the rule must havehad few attrac tions to flesh a n d blood .

Nevertheless it is not improbable that adisgust for a deceitful and t reacherous

I n t he VIII . Ch a pt er o f t he V . dom e o f h i s

H i stor i a Apologet i c a , L a s Ca sa s t ells us t h a t heown ed a pl a n t a t io n on t he shor es o f t he r iver Yun a ,

i n Hispa n iola , t he produ c e o f whi c h wer e wor t h“Tuvo l a br a n za d e p a n d e l a t ier r a , que

va l ia n , c a da a d o , m a s d e c ien m i l Ca st el la n os .

”


world,which had caused the fai lure of his

Cumana venture,contributed as much to

his determination to enter the monasticstate

,as the arguments of good Friar B e

t a n zos . The biographers of L a s Casas areuna nimous in rejecting as unhistorical theinsinuation of Oviedo

,that the Clerigo

availed himself of the shel ter and protection,

which the cloister afforded him to shieldhimself from the consequenc es of hisdisastrous undertaking . And indeed nothingcould be imagined more unconsonant to thecharacter of the first American priest

,than

cowa rdice or pusillanimity .

Very little is known of L a s Casas ’ li feduring his novitiate and the four yearsimmediately following it . The transitionwas radical and violent . From an eminentman of the world and adviser of kings

,the

uncompromising champion of the liberty ofthe American Indian

,and the promotor of

gigantic schemes of colonization,the

Ameri c an priest placed himself under thedirection of a Master of Novices , and , for afew yea rs

,his life was spent in the per

form a n c e of religious practices and in study .

His name was seldom mentioned outsidethe convent walls . He had died to theworld

,but soon to rise again . The first

years of his religious l ife were a tra ining

3 2 8 L i fe of B a r tolom od o L a s Ca sa s .

sc hool,a p a les tr a ,

in which the athl etestrengthened and further fitted himself forhis ta sk and unfinished mission .

In those ages of faith c ivil law was basedon moral theology

,and canon law on the

sc riptures . Hence a diploma in both civiland canon l aw could not be obtained from auniversity

,without a study of theology a n d

the scriptures sufficient to entitle the graduate to holy orders . But a regular course .

of dogmatic and moral theology L a s Casashad never mad e . In becoming a memberof the order of Friars Preachers in holyorders

,the first American priest to comply

with the rule of the order,applied himself

,

during the first years of his religious life,

to a systema ti c and serious study of theecclesiastical sc iences . Those were perhaps the happiest days of his life

,whic h

were spent in the quiet seclusion of theDominican convent of the town of SanDomingo . It was there that he witnessedthe dea th of the founder of the Domini c anorder in Americ a

,Father Pedro de Cordova

,

which occurred on the 2 8th of June , 1 5 2 5 .

The short life and death of that holy m a n

seems to have exercised a wholesome andpowerful influence on the Protector of theIndians

,who makes frequent mention of

him in his writings always in t erms


heard i n a cloister . It is known that asearly as 1 5 2 7, he w a s alrea dy superior ofa community of his order . “Three lea gueswest of the Vega , there is the port of L a Pl a t a ,

and adjoining it,is the town of that name

,

and on a hill overlooking it,a Domini c an

convent,where I began writing this history

during the yearA letter

,written in 1 533 , by the judges

of the supreme court of Hispa niola to Philipthe second

,then crown prince of Spain

,

tells us tha t L a s Casas had been , but wasthen no longer prior of the convent of L aPlata . It says : “Father Bartolomé de L a sCa sas

,well known to your royal council of

state,was once prior of the Dominican con

vent at Puerto de Plata . That prior causedsome scandal or uneasiness in that town

,

and spread certain opinions among the i nhabitants concerning the Indians

,that

caused them to enter tain some scrupl es ofconscience .

This document,discovered by Don An

tonio Fabio,the latest biographer of L a s

Casas,shows not only that he was superior

of that convent shortly after his novitiate,

and theological studies,but that once more

,

he considered it his duty to protect theIndians with all the i rn petuosi ty and fix edn ess of purpose , that seems to have been


the most salient trait of his c haracter . A

sla veholder of L a -Pla ta was a t the point ofdea th

,a n d L a s Ca sa s was either ca lled , or

went uninvited,to hear the dying ma n ’s

c onfession . The penitent was wa rned,

tha t he would be damned,unless he set free

his Indian sla ves The consequenc e was,

that a new will was there and then drawn,

in virtue of which the unfortunate nativesbecame free men . Only then was theparish priest

,who meanwhile had been

wa iting in an adjoining room with theblessed sa crament

,a dmitted to the sic k

man,to administer the holy vi a t i c urn . The

letter of the judges tells us also how hisc onne c tions with the convent of L a Platawere ended .

“After the ma n ’s death,

”

they say,

“he took possession of theproperty of the de c eased

,thus despoiling

the na tural heirs,and disposed of it

,as he

thought proper . To avoid similar i n c onven i en c es

,we asked his superior to remove

him to this convent, ( of San Domingo)

where he is at preseirt .

”

Evidently the first American priest hadl earned his duties well

,and forced the sick

man to restore his i l lgot t en wealth , offeringhimself as the intermediary for the restitut i on .

His endeavors to reduce to practice the


do c trine,that the Spaniards in America

were bound to restitution of a l l the wealthacquired through and by mea ns of Indianslavery

,will afford some interesting read

ing . It is enough t o say here,that from the

spring of 1 5 1 4 , when he preac hed to theSpaniards of Cuba

,that they ha d no chance

of salvation,while retaining R epa r t im i en t os

of Indians,to the hour of his death

,the

Protector of the Indians never wavered inhis opinion for a n instant .

The scruples of conscience of the peopleof L a Plata were caused by the sermons ofL a s Casas , and by his private conversa t i on s . In his possession was a copy ofFather Montesino ’s address at San Domingo

,and the style of his discourses is not

d ifli c ul t to imagine . He had not forgottenhis title of Prote c tor of the Indians

,and the

Spaniards of Hispaniola soon found outthat the old Clerigo

,now Fray Bartolomé

de L a s Casas , who , t hey thought , had beenburied in a cl oister

,had rather suddenly

come to life again . Nor was his voice tobe heard only in an obscure settlement ofthat West Indian Island .

I ha ve already mentioned that the Franc i sc a n s

,as early as the year 1 5 1 0 ,

had builta convent at Vera Paz

,i n the province of

X a r a gua . There they had adopted , so t o


who had placed him under arrest,which

,

as a matter of course,afforded him no

redress . But H en r iqui l lo ha d not re c eivedhis education in vain . He fained sa tisfaction a t the treatment received in Sa n

Domingo,as long as his people were at

work in the mines or on Valenzuela ’s pla nt a t ion . But as soon a s these were allowedto return to their mountain homes

,in the

neighboring sierra to make a crop for theirown sustenanc e

,H en r iqui l lo accompanied

them,and there resolved to resist any

attempt to force him or his braves to returnto work for the white man . He contrivedto provide himself with a supply of Castilianwea pons

,la nces

,swords

,etc .

,and drilled

his followers to handle them to advanta ge .

Having hea rd of the chief ’s doings,Va len

zuel a,acc ompanied by ten other Spania rds

went to fetch him ba ck,by forc e

,i f n e c es

sa ry . The erstwhile servant , on seeing hism aster

,politely advised him to go home .

His words aroused Valenzuela,who a t

tempted t o capture H en r iqui l lo . A generalfray ensued

,during whi c h two Spaniards

were killed and their leader ta ken prisoner .But ha ppily for Valenzuela the India n hadlearned from the Franciscans to pra cti c eeven the heroic virtue of forgiveness .Strict orders had been given by the Indian

L if o of B a r tolom od o L a s Ca sa s . 335

genera l to his followers,under no circum

sta nc es,to harm the white men or their

property,except in defending their own

and their persons . The chief set hisprisoner free

,contenting himself with the

words “You should thank me,Valenzuela

,

that I spare your li fe Go home and comeback no more . Beware .

”

H en r iqu i l lo did not neglect his quarterm aster department for his handful of bravefollowers . In many of the wildest and mostse c luded nooks of the sierra he tilled numerous patches of ground many miles apartfrom e a ch other . His vigilance aga instsurprises or ambuscades would have donecredit to a Napoleon . He slept but a fewhours ea ch night

,with a body guard 0 11

ea c h side of him,persona lly d oing pic ket

duty the rest of the night and during theday .

Meanwhile the news of Valenzuela ’s defea t ha d spread throughout the island , andreac hed the o ffices of the Audiencia atSa n Domingo . Eighty soldiers were sentto apprehend the outlawed chief

,or to kill

him . H en r iqui l lo ,who was warned of their

approach,first decoyed them to pursue

him through the mounta in forests forseveral days

,and when he felt assured

,that

the Spaniards were famished and ex

336 L if o of B a r tolom od o L a s Ca sa s .

ha usted,gave them battle

,and routed

them . The fame of his victory broughthim many more recruits from among runawa y slaves

,who were ready to risk life

and all in order to breathe once more theair of freedom . These too were drilledand disciplined .

The problem of this Ind1an i nsurrection,

as the Spaniards were pleased to call it,

had become serious,when Father Remis

,

who had been the teacher of H en ri qui l lo ,and was then superior of the FrenchFranciscans

,offered to make an attempt

t o induce him to surrender peacefully .

He sailed to the southern part of the island,

where the chief w a s thought to be . Therehe was met by some of the latter ’s scouts

,

who,obedient to their lea der ’s orders did

not harm him,but contented themselves

with stripping him of his habit,whic h they

brought to camp . The Friar ’s apparel a n da note from him

,fetc hed the chief to the

shore,where the old teacher was treated

with the utmost courtesy . But to theplea dings of the teacher the pupil answeredin rounded Castilia n periods

,rec iting the

tyranny of the Spaniards,the massacre of

his ancestors,the thefts of Valenzuela

,etc .

,

and nothing came of the interview .

Ramirez de Fuen l ea l had come to H i


Many tim es replied Fuen l ea l “nearly every year an army has been ra ised a n d

sent against him , and we shall have to raisemore until he dies or surrenders . ”

L a s Casas “And how many times didyou try to conquer him by peaceful ways ? ”

Fuen l ea l “As far as I know,only

once ) ’

L a s Casas “Why then did you get tiredof peaceful ways so ea sily

,and tried them

only once,and adopted on the contrary the

harsh and difficult ways of wars that havealways proved futile ? I have a mind torecommend this affair to God very ea rnestly ; a n d I don

’t think it possible that Hewil l not encoura ge those ways of peace andmeekness with which He ha s charged us totrea t our enemies . With the permission ofmy superior and yours

,I propose to go to

the Cacique,and I trust in Our L ord , that

I will succeed in fetching him at the feet ofyour lordship

,or

,at least

,to have with him

an understanding about a m od n s ’Uioon d i,

by which an end Sha ll be put to this pla gue,

of which the island has been suffering -forthe past ten yea rs .

Don Henrique ( the Spaniards had l earnedto spea k of the chief respectfully

,and a d

dressed him as Don ) and his followers had ,no doubt

,heard in their boyhood days of

L if o of B a r lolom o d o L a s Ca sa s . 339

their friend B ehique , who had neverproved untrue to an Indian . When therefore L a s Casas made his way alone to Henr iqui l lo

’s mountain fastnesses

,he w a s re

c e ived very respectfully by his spies .Having heard tha t the Protector of theIndians was approaching

,H en r iqui l lo de

si gn a t ed a shady spot as their place ofmeeting . And now we behold a sceneworthy of B uon a rot t i ’s pencil . There satthe noble Christian C hieftain

,the son of

a dethroned ruler,who

,strong in the

justice of his cause,ha d defied the power

of Charles V . for full ten years ; and byhis side B ehique , the m a n of God

,the

friend of the Indians . “You must laydown your arms

,

” the priest ha d come totell him

,

“ for unless you shall forgive yourenemies from the heart

,you shall not

enter the kingdom of heaven .

” To whichH en r i qui l lo must have a nswered :

“Must Ibend my ne c k to the despoiler of myfather’s people ? Must I forgive them

,

who oppressed , sta rved a n d murdered mykinsfolks ? Forgive them

,who made of

my country,erstwhile a gard en spot i n

midocea n,a m ining camp

,a slave market

and a graveyard,where the unburied bones

of my ancestors are now bleaching ?”“Un less you forgive your enemies from the

340 L if e of B a r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s .

heart,you sha ll not enter the kingdom of

heaven .

” This must have been t he '

sum

tota l of the arguments of the first Americanpriest with H en r i qui l lo . Nevertheless atreaty of peace

, so to speak , w a s there andthen signed

,by the terms of whi c h the

Indian acknowledged the sovereignty ofSpain over his country

,while not only

amnesty for himself and his followers w a s

insured,but freedom to live unmolested in

their mountain pueblos without a master .L a s Casa s returned to San Domingo ,

and the news of his successful missionbecame a source of rejoicing all over theisland . H en r iqui l lo doubted not the wordof the Protector of the Indians . But

,

would his countrymen carry out in goodfa ith the treaty of peace between thewhite and the red man just signed bytheir ambassa dor ? He had therefore r e

quired of L a s Casas that he should causeto be formally ra tified the articles ofagreement by the proper and highestauthorities in the island .

A certain San Miguel,one of

,

the oldestsettlers

,who had come to Hispaniola with

Christopher Columbus on his secondvoyage was chosen by the Audiencia tobe their plenipotentiary and envoy extraordinary t o sign and ratify the t reaty of

342 L if e of B a r tolom e d o L a s C a sa s .

the cliffs ( the Indians spoke from one andthe Spaniards answered from the other)was adjourned . A few days later Sa nMiguel was on the seashore surrounded byan even greater military contingen t . Henr iqui l lo , who more than ever feared t r ea c hery

,was not there alleging a s a ca use for

his absence an indisposition . His menhowever delivered the gold to the Spaniardsand entertained them hospitably . Sa n

Miguel returned to San Domingo fullyconvinced of the good fa ith of the Ca c ique

,

but without having fully accomplished theobject of his mission . This happened in1 5 2 9 . It w a s only three years later that

,

through a second media tion of L a s Ca sas ,the famous H en r i qui l lo was induced toformally acknow ledge the sovereignty ofSpa in and to surrender . The reader willbe told how .

CHAPTER X VIV

Thi r d Voya ge of L a s C a s a s t o S pa i n i n

B eha l f of t he In d i a n s .

VVE have reac hed the year 1 530 . Themost stirring events in the history of

the American continent had ta ken placesince the first Ameri c a n priest had donnedthe white habit of the Dominicans . Hernando Cortez with a handful of followershad landed on Mexican soil

,a n d with the

help of native allies,the Tlascalans

,the

traditional enemies of the Aztec s,had taken

possession of the ancient empire of Montezurn a in the n ame of the king of Spain .

In 1 530 the standard of Charles V . floa tedfrom the Atlantic to the Pacific a n d fromnorthern Mexico to Panama . The inhabitants o f this empire

,as la rge as the half of

Europe h ha d been Encomendados , that i spartia lly enslaved by the Conquista dores .From his convent of Hispaniola L a s Casaswatched the current of events

,which

threatened the extinction of the native rac eon the continent

,as well as on the islands

,

but was powerless to stem it .

( 343 )


Francisco Pizarro had already had thefirst glimpse of the Peruvian shore s andhad partly heard and pa rtly guessed

,tha t

beyond them lied a va st and rich empire .

In 1 5 2 8 he journeyed to Spain , to obtainon the Pacific a gra nt similar to tha twhich L a s Ca sas had obtained , ten yearsbefore

,on the Atla ntic . He returned to

Ameri c a during the first part of 1 530

with the grant of the viceroyalty of twohundred leagues of coast and of the corresponding interior

,which he hoped to

add to the a lready almost limitless dom inions of the Spanish crown . L a s

Ca sas,who since the end of his novitiate

,

had kept in touch with the doings of theSpanish court

,a n d with the epoch-making

events tha t followed each other in rapidsuccession in America

,thought of the

natives of Peru,and decided to take the

necessary steps in time to prevent thepoisonous tree of the R epa r t im i en t os be

ing planted 0 11 Peruvia n soil . With theconsent

,and perh a ps by the command of

his Dominican superiors,he undertook to

cross for the fifth time the Atlantic inbehalf of the IndiansFonseca

,his old antagonist

,had died

,

and better men than he were now mana ging Indian affairs . Within less than si x


though young in his religious profession,he

w a s alrea dy favorably a n d prominentlyknown in the order . While in Spa in

,the

first Americ a n priest was invited more thanonce to p re a c h to the court . The readerm a y imagine the themes of his sermons .L a s Ca sas returned to Hispa niola with

an imperia l dec ree a ddre ssed to Fra ncis c oPiza rro

,and to Alma gro his partn er

,for

bidding them as genera ls o i the expeditionary forc es then in Peru

,and their inferior

officers,under 11 0 circ umsta n c e or for a n y

reason wha tever,to ensla ve the n atives of

tha t country . They were a lso forbidden topa rc el them into R ep a r t im i en t os and werecomma nded to a llow them to enjoy theirfreedom and their possessions a s any otherfree vassal of the king in Spain or elsewhere .

L a s Casas returned to Hispaniola at theend o f 1 530 or during the ea rly part of1 53 1 and his fellow friars , who were thenholding the first American provincialc hapter

,ga ve him a hea rty welc ome . But

the most trying p a rt of his journey was yetto be ma de . He w a s on his wa y to deliverto Piz a rro and Alma gro the royal de c rees

,

whic h he ha d brought over from Spain .

The success met with in obta ining themperhaps inspired him with new hopes of

I/if o of B a r tolom od o L a s Ca sa s . 347

ultima tely accomplishin g,through the

council of the Indies,for all the In ians in

America,what he ha d obtained

,he thought

,

for those of Peru . In fact it appears,tha t

,

during the short time he spent at his convent o f L a Pla ta between his return fromSpa in and his setting out for Peru

,he a d

dressed a memoria l to the counc illors datedthe 6 th of June

,1 53 1 . It is a forcible a n d

fearless exposition of t he tyranny and oppression of the American natives

,and

might be mista ken for an apostolic sermonprea ched to the gentlemen

,who

,from far

awa y Spain,mana ged and sometime mis

managed American affairs . It coverstwenty-two octavo pages of ordinary print .I ’ll give of it only the opening paragraph .

My L ords . Christian charity,which

should never pause or rest through our lifepilgrimage

,zeal for the house of God

,

and the sorrow I feel in witnessing thewa sting away of his ma j esty ’s dominions

( for whose servi c e God knows that I wouldnot shirk any la bor wha tever ) have spurredand compelled me to put aside other oc c u

p a t i on s , in order to write to your lordshipsthe selfsame things which I labored for sixconsecutive years in repeatin g by word ofmouth

,in yea rs gone by

,before the royal

council , of which some of you were then

348 L if o of Ba r tolom é d o L a s C a sa s .

members . I mean the endless miseries,

the unspea kable tyranny under whi c h theunha ppy hea then people of these yet n uexplored countries have been groa ning .

Not a d a y of rest , no respite , no a m el i or

ation have they seen on the contra ry theirsufferings are constantly on the increase .As I ha ve done in the past

,I propose to

end my life ’s j ourney,even to give it

,i f

occasion offers,in attemptin g to find a

remedy for these evils,knowing that it

would be but a small pric e to be paid forwhat I ask . I am likewise impelled tofollow my course by the n umberless trials

,

to whic h the kingdoms of Spain and a l l

C hristendom are subjec t to in these t roublous times of ours . Are we not a fii i c t ed byhorrible and bloody wars and other i n t ol erable visita tions ? Who knows

,i f by hea l

ing the wounds,from whi c h ma nkind is

bleeding in these parts,the ailments of the

entire mystical body of Christ ( the church)would not be healed ?Fa ther Francisco de San Miguel w a s

elected prior of the Dominican convent inthe City of Mexic o by the chapter ment i on ed above L a s Casas sailed for VeraCruz in his company

,a n d

,on his arriva l at

the capital of New Spain,became for a

time the guest of his travelling companion .


rea der re flect on wha t a journey fromMexico City to Ni c a ra gua mea nt in thosedays . It ha d to be m a de pa rtly on horsebac k and pa rtly on foot

,a dista nce of a bout

a thousand miles ; and the traveller’s sub

si st a n c e had to be drawn from wha t thenatives and a few white settlers could givehim here and there . His tra velling compa nions were Father Bernardino de Minaya

,

an old gentlema n venera ted and highlythought of by the Dominicans

,and a young

m a n,j ust ordained

,named Pedro de An

gulo,who

,for quite a number of years be

came L a s Casa s ’ companion and assista nt .They were bound for the Port of Realejo

,

now known as Corinto,in Nicaragua

,and

their route w a s through Sa ntia go d e losCa ba l leros

,the first c a pita l of the then pro

vin c e,a n d n ow republic of Guatema la . A

Domini c an convent ha d been built there a

few yea rs before,but it ha d been aban

doued . The three travellers lodged in itdurin g their short sta y in the town . Theentire white population turned out to meetand to welcome them headed by the p a rishpriest

,Fra ncisco Marroquin

,who

,three

yea rs later,became the first bishop of Gua

temala . But the enthusia sm of the planters a n d miners abated considerably , whenit was discovered tha t on e of the three


Domini c ans wa s the renowned L a s Casa s ,the most ha ted man in America . Theywere

,however

,begged by Father Marro

quin,who might be ca lled the father of the

Church in Gua temala,to settle there and

to reopen the convent,because there was in

those parts extreme need of evangelicallaborers . But their important mission toPeru precluded their a c cepting the invitation . L a s Casas proceeded to the Port ofRea lejo

,where a ship w a s then loading

provisions and ammuni tion destined for thePizarros i n Peru . Breathing not a wordabout the decrees that were locked in hiswa llet

,for fear of being refused passage

,i f

their contents were known, L a s Casas

sa iled for Tumbez in the neighborhood ofthe present city of Guaya quil

,where Piz

arro a n d Almagro were t hen encamped .

CHAPTER XIX .

L a s C a sa s i n Per u.

H e return s t o Nic a ra gua a n d foun d s a Dom in ic a n C onven t ; t hen goes t o H ispa n iola a n d ba ck t o

Nic a ragua a n d then c e t o Gua t em a la .

IN 1 5 2 1 the hera ld’s trumpet had sounded

in the plaza of Sa n Domingo,and the

public crier ha d rea d a loud to the citizensthe decree ordering a l l India n slaves fromthe continent to be turned over to theirProtector

,who w a s to embark them for and

set them free in their native c ountries . Butthe Ind ia ns ’ shac kles were not then broken

,

in Spite of the decree of powerful Cha rlesV . Pizarro ’s little a rmy is now 0 11 paradeat Tumbez . White ha bited L a s Casas a pp roa c hes a n d produces the decrees forbidding the enslavement of the Peruviannatives . The herald ’s trumpet soundsa gain ; the will of the Spanish monarch isprocla imed

,a n d a profession of obedience

is made from the generals down to theprivate soldiers . The student of Peruvianhistory knows that as soon as a seriouseff ort was made to enforce this

,and other

( 35 2 )

354 L if e of B a r tolom od o L a s C asa s .

a dminister his vast jurisdiction a n d eva n

gel ize the na tives . The Nica raguans , eversince the advent of the white men ( in1 5 24 ) had shown a disposition t o embra cethe Christian religion

,and to l ea rn its

tenets . The emperors of Mexico ha d , incenturies gone by

,subjected them to their

'

rule,and had introduced the Aztec lan

guage,with which the prominent men of

the country were now acquainted . Itha ppened that Pedro de Angulo had famili a r i zed himself with it

,during his severa l

years ’ residence in the capital of Montezuma . It was therefore possible to enterat once into relations with the Indians

,and

to begin the work of evangelization . Atthe same time the three Dominic a ns proveda Godsend to the bishop

,who was thus en

abled to carry out at once,and without

expense,the instruct ions just re c eived from

Spain . L a s Casas set to work withoutdelay t o build the convent of St . Paul inthe episcopal city of L eon , and to learn thelan guage of the common peopl e of thecountry .

We must n ow return from the Pacific tothe Atla ntic

,to Sa n Domingo , the home ,

for many years,of L a s Casas . Chief Hen

r iqui l l o ha d lived peacefully the past threeyears in his mountains

,and no Span iard


had been harmed either by him or his followers . But he wa s absolute lord of hisown domains ; n either had the Audienciaever thought it advisable to look for thelion in his la ir . But Charles V . was notthe man to tolerate a n imp or i i lm in imp er io.

Every man within his dominions must bemade to acknowledge him a s his liege-lord .

A certa i n licenc iado Cerrato ha d lately arrived from Spain to succeed Fuen l ea l

,as

chief justice or president of the Audiencia .

One of his first cares w a s to d evise meansto induce H en r iqui l lo to formally acknowledge the sovereignty o i the Spanish c rown .

The history of the past fifteen years ha dconvinced the licencia do tha t the obj e c t inview might best be accomplished by peaceful ways . He therefore wrote to L a s Casasordering him to come a t once to H i sp a n iola

,because the king’s service required his

presenc e there .

The Protector of the Indians left theworks of the Missions and the buildingof St . Paul ’s convent in charge of deMinaya and of some other Fathers

,who

ha d lately arrived in Nicaragua,and set

out to traverse the American continent asec ond time

,0 11 his way to Hispaniola .

His way,however

,was not this time

t hrough Mexico , but through Honduras ,


on the Atla ntic c oast of whi c h,either a t

Port Caballo or Truj illo,a ship ha d been

dispatched by licencia do Cerra to to fetchhim to Sa n Domingo . On his arriva lthere

,he w a s given a hea rty welcome

,very

unlike the one they had given him when,

as a Clerigo,he was about to start for Cu

ma na . Cerrato had called L a s Casas toHispaniola principally to ask him to useagain his good offices with H en r iqui l lo toinduce him to submit peacefully to thesovereignty of the king . A second timewe see the Protector of the Indians climbingthe mounta ins i n the company

,this time

,

of Fa ther de An gulo,to look for the out

lawed chief . He made quite a stay withhim

,and two months ha d past before a

word was hea rd of him in Sa n Domingo .

The judges of the Audiencia ha d begun tofeel uneasy

,lest his mission ha d failed

,and

harm been done to him and his companion ;when one day he ma de his appearance n uheralded i n the c ity

,in the company of

H em i qui l lo himself . The sam e peoplewho for years had hated and dreaded theCacique

,now received him as it were i n

trium ph,and fea st ed him for several days .

This episode in the life of the first Ameri can priest ended with his accompanyingH en r iqu i l lo t o the offices of the Audiencia ,


vents in Peru ha d never been abandonedbut only postponed

,before leaving Hispa

niola L a s Casa s petitioned for some Fa thers ,who should become the first a postles ofPeru . The request was gra nted ; and fourpriests sa iled with him

,one of whom w a s

L uis Cancer , favora bly known , not onlyfor his sanctity

,but for the importa nt ser

vices he had heretofore rendered his order .If their route w a s through Mexico and

Guatemala,or

,as appea rs more probable

,

by the way of Hon duras,is not clear . But

by the middle of 1 534 we find L a s Casasagain in the convent of St . Paul in L eon ,Nica ragua . He w a s then busy makingpreparations for his voya ge to Peru . Incha rge of St . Pa ul ’s convent he left threeof the four Fa thers

,who ha d come with

him from Hispaniola,and selected as his

travelling compan ions L uis Ca ncer andPedro de Angulo . By this time Panamahad become a busy port

,through which

and the isthmus of the same name comm un i c a t ion was kept open between thePacific and the Atlantic

,.between Centra l

America,Peru and Hispaniola and Europe .

It na tura lly ha d also become a sort ofentrepot a n d shipping point for goods andmen to and from the Pacific coast . Oppor

tun i t i es for t ravelling from Panama to Peru

L if e of B a r tolom od o L a s C a sa s . 359

were n ot wanting , but several monthswould som et im es i n t erven e between thesailing of one and another ship from theport of Realej o for Panama . A very sma llvessel w a s

,however

,about to make the

passa ge,and the three friars sailed on it .

The tiny craft fought for da ys and weeksa gainst the powerful currents of those seas

,

a n d the crew was undec ided between en

d ea vor i n g to: forc e their way t o Pa nama

and returning to Realejo . It was agreed tol et chance reconcile their differences ofopinion . L ots were drawn and blind fortune decided that they should proceed ontheir way to Panama . But storms corn

pel l ed them to return at l a st to Realejo .

L a s Casas ’ earliest biographer , AntonioRemesa l

,tells us that

,in his H i s tor i a d o

la s In d i a s ( in that part of it which is lostto us ) the Protector of the Indians describespathetically the frightful sufferings

,whic h

he and his companions ha d to undergoduring tha t second futile attempt to establisha convent in Peru . From Realej o they madetheir way back to the convent of St . Paulin L eon . Meanwhile Marroquin

,who had

just been ma de bishop,had heard of L a s

Casas ’ disastrous expedition to Peru,and

wrote him a long letter representing howhis vast diocese was a lmost destitute of


eva ngelical la borers,it having within its

c onfines but one other priest besides himself . At the same time

,sa id he

,there

stood in his episcopal city of Santia go delos Caba lleros a Dominic a n convent alreadybuilt

,but deserted

,while the province of

Nic a ragua su ffered from no suc h dearth ofpriests or fria rs . The letter ended by i 11v i t i n g L a s Casas and e a rnestly begginghim

,now that two attempts at establishing

Dominic a n convents in Peru ha d failed , tocome to Guatemala and become his c o

laborer in the eva ngelization of that important provin c e . The first American priest

,

who ha d learned to appreciate the earnestchara c ter of the Guatema la n prelate duringhis first visit to his episcopal city

,could

not resist so reasonable an appeal . Incompany aga in of L uis Cancer and Pedrode Angulo he left Nicara gua and set outfor Gua tema la

,arriving there about the

first of January 1 535 .


for us quite a lengthy extract in its original L atin . He says of ‘ the work :

“Thesame father Bartolome

’

de L a s Casas hadalso

,some years before

,written a book

which he entitl ed Do Un i co Voc a ti on i sMod o

,in which he proved that through

the redemption of Christ Our L ord andHead of the Church

,a l l those who were

predestinated of a l l nations and tribes,

were to be called and invited into onebody ; that no nation in the whole worldhad been excluded from participation inthe effects of red emption ; and that out ofevery nation some individuals

,many or

few,are in fact predestined to eterna l

l i fe . It followed that this doctrine mustbe understood as applying to the peopleof the new world . He proved next tha tthe multitude

,gravity and turpitude of

the sins either of a whole . people,or of

individuals do not constitute an evidenceof their not being predestined even i fthey intend to persevere in their s ins

,and

although they be found t o be naturallyfic k lem i n d ed , l azy , vain , timid , untruthful

,inconstant

,fierce and cruel . Further

more i t is not possible that a wholenation

,people

,city

,or village be possessed

of so little intelligence as not to be ableto receive the gospel , although it be true

I /if o of'

B a r tolom od o L a s Ca sa s . 363

that the natural intelligence of one peopleis superior to tha t -oi another. He showedthat necessarily the same difference existedamong the ma ny different peoples of theIndies

,but that they were genera lly i n

t el l i gen t above the avera ge of ma nkind,

a n d that,if any were found deficient in

this respect they were in a very smallminorityThey are temperate in eating and drink

ing,and beca use they trouble themselves

little about temporal affa irs,and live an

easy-going l ife,the passions

,which cause

Sorrow and unhappiness,are not a b

n ormally developed i n them . They areingenious and skilful in the mechanicalarts

,and much of their handiwork is a

cause of wonder to the white man . Theyhave already given signs of their profic i en c y in the fine arts .He writes next and explains the only

natura l way by which the predestinedones must be called to

,and brought over

to the fa ith of Jesus Christ,Our L ord ,

and to the Christian religion,which cal

ling is incipient predestination itself .His thesis was : The one and only wayappointed by divine providence to teachmen the true religion

,i s that which

,

through reason,convinces the inte l lect

,


and through kindness a n d charity,moves

the will . This applies to a l l men irrespec t ive o f their religious errors and theirmoral corruption . He proves his thesis inthirty-six long paragraphs

,I st by na tura l

reason, 2 d by the examples of the Holy

Fa thers of the old and of the new t estament,

3d by the e x amples of Christ himself , OurRedeemer

, 4 th by the precepts he gave tohis apostles

,as to how they should preach

the gospel, 5th by the examples of the

apostles,6 th by the weighty authority of

the doctors of the Church , 7th by thepractice of the primitive Church

,8th by the

decrees of many of the Roman pontiffs .Then in eight other paragraphs he paints

,

in the same elegant and eloquent style,the

opposite method of spreading the gospel bycompelling converts to accept the faith byforce of arms . In the two last paragraphshe lays down the following conclusionfounded on the authority of God and manWars waged against the heathen to sub

jec t them to the sovereignty of the Christiansin order that they may be prepared to a ccept the faith and the Christian religion

,

or,in other words

,in order to remove the

obsta cles that prevent them from a c ceptingit

,a re rash

,of doubtful efficacy , wicked , and

tyran n ical .


’

government of the Indians . It gave minuteinstructions a s to how many and what da yswere by them to be kept holy on howmany and what da ys the converts shouldfa st

,and what religious Observances they

Should practice .

ale

)The Spa niards of Gua temala were

,no

d oubt,familiar with the notions of L a s

Casas on the subject of slavery,and of the

R epa r t im i en t os . Some of them must evenhave rea d circulating copies of his Do Un i c o

Vooa tion i s Mod o. But they l ooked uponthem as preposterous and impracticaltheories o f a pious but fanatical friar . Theysmiled and indulged in an occasional jokeat the expense of good Fra y B a rtolomé

,and

continued to dea l with the natives as i f theywere scarcely human beings . Among themwere ma ny wel l meaning men

,l ike the

t housands of well meaning men,who

,less

than a century a go , saw no harm in buying ,for so much cash , black human flesh just

While t r a vel l in g i n Sou ther n Mexi c o som e

yea r s a go , t he w r it er n ot ic ed , pos t ed pr om in en t ly a t

t he en t r a n c e o f sever a l c oun t r y c hur c hes , a n d

pr in t ed i n l a rge t ype , a c a t a logue o f fea st s a n d fa stda ys t o be observed by t he a bor igin a ls , w i t h a lo n gs ide o i i t a lon ger o n e o f t he fea st s a n d fa st da ys t obe kept by t he whi t es . I d id n o t k n ow t hen t ha tt he di ffer en c e i n t hese c hur c h laws or igin a t ed wi t ht he fir st Am er ic a n pr iest .


landed on the streets of New Orleans orCha rleston from the coa sts of Afri c a .

But when the de c ree arrived from Spain,

commanding tha t serious efforts should bemade

,by the settlers in general

,to convert

the Indians into c itizens and Christians,it

ca used no little commotion in the,colony

,

espec ial ly because it was known that thebishop ( at that time ) and pra c tica lly a l l

the c lergy were of one mind on the subject .The decree was on everybody ’s l ips andmuch criticism was indulged in against L a sCa sas , who was known to have been theprime mover in bringi ng the visionarytheory into vogue . They bandied witha n d challenged him to convert the red manwith n othing better than words and holyexhorta tions . Surely

,they sa id to him

,i f

you be in ea rnest,do n ot fa il to undertake

a ta sk that promises so mu c h for the honora n d glory of God and of his Church

,and so

much c redit to yourself . If you succeed,

we sha ll acknowled ge ourselves unjustsoldiers

,l ay down our arms , free the

India ns,and make restitution of what we

have acquired by w a r . A secret convictionlurked in the minds of some of them

,tha t

,

should the friar make the attempt,he would

either fa il or pay with his li fe for his foolhardiness and rashness . In either case they


would be freed from the meddling censorwho could n o longer pester them with hissermons a n d pamphlets . The first American priest did not hesitate to pick thegauntlet thrown at his feet . There w a s

,

n ot far from Santiago de los Caba lleros,

the la n d of wa r . It was a mounta inouscountry cut up by deep can ons and prec ip i t ous ravines , which were easily turnedinto raging torrents by the almost dailyt ropical ra ins . Although all the Surrounding country had been pacified

,and made to

acknowledge the supremacy of the Spanishrulers

,and although three attempts had

been made by governor Maldona do to penet rate and subdue those regions

,they ha d

all ended in failure,and the ha rdy mount

a i n eers continued to defy Castilian valorand the power of Charles V . Hen ce thename la n d of wa r .

L a s Ca sas proffered to convert t hat la n dof wa r to the gospel and to the allegianceof the Spanish crown . He a sked for nosoldiers or arms t o protect him

,he asked

for n o royal aid,even t o procure the n ec es

sa r i es of life , during the work of eva n gel i zation

,provided tha t sufficient guara ntees

be given him tha t,when t he Indians of the

la n d of wa r should have been converted andsubmitted to the sovereignty of the Span


and their countries subject only to hisma j esty , whom alone they shall ha ve toserve as free vassals

,and that I shall not

give them to any person whatever or parcelthem out into R epa r t im i en t os for the benefitof any Spaniard

,now or at any future time .

I will also forbid,under severe penalties

,

any Spania rd from molesting them andfrom going to their countries for the nextfive yea rs to come ; and this in order thatn o disturbance or sca ndal m a y take pla c ewhile you wil l be enga ged in their conversion . I alone will be permitted to visitthem

,with your permission

,and in your

company . I desire t o fulfill the will ofGod in t his matter

,and that of his ma j esty

the king,and to help you as far as lies in

my power in the la bors which you willha ve to undergo in bringing them to theknow ledge of God and to the service of hismaj esty .

Bishop -elect Marroquin had gone to thecity of Mexi co to be conse c ra ted . The a rt i c l es of agreement were sent there to beapproved by him a s the ordina ry of thediocese

,a n d to be approved also by the

vi c eroy of New Spa in,tha t they might have

additiona l bin din g force . Meanwhile theFa thers set to work to prepa re themselvesfor the i r difficult task . A spiritual retreat

,


spent in fa st and prayer,was first made by

the whole communi ty , to implore l ight andhelp from God . Then l en ghty consultations took plac e t o de c ide on the ways andthe mea ns of evangelizing the land of war .The catechism in the Quic he language wasgiven a poetical garb

,i t being arranged in

couplets from beginning to end . Theverses were then set to musi c

,as it had

been noticed tha t the Indians of CentralAmeric a ha d a specia l fondness of rhythmi c a l songs . The first couplet told of thecreation of the world and of man ; anotherof the fa l l of Adam and Eve

,a nother of the

Redemption . The life of Our L ord wastrea ted in plain but attractive la nguage .In a word

,a short but complete exposition

of Christian doctrine w a s for the first timeset to musi c .

The mountaineers of the land of warwere paying dear for their independence

,

isola ted and almost besieged a s they were,

i n their mounta in homes . They could nolonger

,as they did before the advent of

the white m a n,descend to the n eighboring

pueblos of the plains,n either could they

buy,sell or barter with the Spania rds

,who

surrounded them . All the old avenues ofcommerce had been shut up . Some Indians of Santiago saw in the m isfortunes of

372 L if o of Ba r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s .

the land of w a r an opportunity for ma kinga few honest dolla rs . Four of them

,who

were al rea dy Christia ns,had turned pedd

lers and made regula r trips to the puebloson the

,mountains , going loa ded with theprodu c e of the pla ins and returning withthose from the higher latitudes .L a s Casa s and his compa nions dec ided

tha t the tra velling mercha nts should openfor them a w a y to the la nd of w a r ; andsucc eeded to interest the qua rtette in theproject of evangelizing their c ountrymen .

The peddling exc ursions were suspendedfor a while

,and the four Guatema la n

Christians took lodgings in the c ells of theDominican convent . I imagine the firstAmeri c a n priest sitting with his four pupilsand helping them to memorize one by one

,

the catecheti c al couplets,a n d I hear him

sing with them for hours a t a time . Happily the Cen tral Ameri c a n n a tives werefound endowed with retentive memories

,

while they were witha l a poetical andmusical peopl e . The n ovel ty of the rhythmical ca dences and the simple melodiesexercised so powerful a n attraction onthem

,as to ma ke the scholars throw their

hearts and souls in their work and in theirstudy . They must also have felt no littlepride in being able to speak a n d to sing

374 L if e of Ba r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s !

ards to subjuga te the province ha d fa iled .

For these rea sons a n d because his homew a s nea rer the frontiers of civilization tha nthat of any other important chief

,the com

m erc i a l evangelists were direc ted by theFa thers to endeavor to attra c t his a ttentionfirst

,a n d to ga in his good will .

The apostles in the ga rb of merchantsarrived sa fely in T uzulut l a n ,

and displ a yedtheir wares near the court or w igw a rn ofthe chief

,whom L a s Casas did not hesitate

to c a l l a native prince . The news tha tgood s

,n ever seen before

,were for sale

fetc hed quite a la rge number of customers ,a n d business proved so good that the peddlers

,a fter c losin g hours

,could afford to

ma ke a ha ndsome present to t he cacique .

A fruga l mea l ha d been p a rta ken of , a n dthe tropi c a l moon w a s shooting her raysthrough the feathery folia ge of a gigantictree

,round whi c h were squatted 0 11 the

ground hundreds of fierce wa rriors . Oneof the peddlers ca lls for a t emp la n a sto ( an ative instrument ) , a second draws out ofhis wa llet a pair of casta nets , another a pa irof sma ll c ymba ls and the last a timbrel , andthe qua rtet began to sing

,accompa nying

their own music . The first l a y told of thecreation of the world . When more musicwas called for

,the creation of man was

given .


Nothing like it had ever been heard inal l Tuzulut l a n . I need not say it

,the

ca techism class lasted until la te in thenight . The audience were enra ptured andenthused not by the strains of music only

,

but especially by the wonderful ta le ofPa radise a n d of Redemption . The musieiaus were invited to give another concertthe following night .Before sunset men

,women and children

were seen issuing forth from their w igw a rn s

perched 0 11 the neighboring summits andga ther from many miles around to hearthe strange music and stra nger historyof m a n ’s o ri gin and destiny

,which the

minstrels ha d played and sung the nightbefore . The attraction wa s repeated to amuc h larger audienc e

,many of whom had

pondered a l l day long on the meaning ofwhat the songs had ta ught them . Whenthe performanc e c ame to a close

,the

cac ique,who had listened in speechless

astonishment,asked for an explanation of

the lesson ta ught by the poetry and themusic .

“Tha t we cannot do,answered the

peddlers ;“we have given you all we ha d .

The Fathers alone,down in the white

men ’s pueblo,can give the explanation .

”

Of course everybody wished to know


who the Fathers were .

“They are menwho live without wives

,possess nothing

of their own,live together in one house

,

within which no woman ever enters . Theirprincipal busin ess is to do good to othersand teac h the people the w a y to Heaven .

Their habit i s white and over it they wearsometimes a black m antle . Their headsare shaved

,and only a few locks are left to

grow around the head . Should you wishto hea r an explana tion of what we sung

,

they will take pleasure to come and give itto you . Nor need you fear from them

,for

they are very di fferent from all the otherl on gbea r d ed white men hereabout . On thecontrary they are the friends and the Prot ec t ors of the Indians . ”

Curi osity was aroused,and i t was agreed

between the peddlers and the cacique thatthe latter’s brother

,a youth some twenty

two years old,would accompany them to

the white people ’s pueblo,and invite the

friars to come to Tuzulut l a n to give an explanation of their stra nge religion . Thereal obj ec t

,however

,of the astute chief in

sending his brother to Santia go was toascerta in i f the peddlers had told him thetruth about the Fathers . Some presents ,out of wha t the land afforded

,were got to

gether a n d the young m a n was dispatchedwith his four companions .


l ined with arches and bowers of greenfolia ge

,a n d the road itself levelled a n d

Swept . There w a s genera l rejoi c ing amongthe tribesmen at his comin g . Ima gine thefeeling of the a postle . Perhaps the greenbowers reminded him of Pa lm Sun da y andthe Hosa nnas of to - d a y might be cha ngedinto the orn oif igos of the morrow . B ut thethought only intensified the j oy then re

bounding in h i s priestly heart . H a d henot left h i s beloved Za ragoz a

,in far away

Aragon,to look for t he crimson crown of

ma rtyrdom in the wilds of the NewWorld ?The ca c ique caused a chapel of trunks of

trees,with over i t a tha tched roof of p a l

metto lea ves,to be built

,a n d L uis Ca ncer

m a de to flow in i t the li fe blood of Christ,

that was to sa ve and redeem the la n d ofwa r .

The Holy Sacrifice made a profoundimpression on the ca cique

'

and on hispeople . How unlike w a s the clean

,silk

robed,peace loving and peace brea thing

priest of the Christia ns,to the filthy

,trucu

lent,n aked

,savage medicine m a n of his

tribe,whom they ha d wa tched from child

hood,while he sn a tched the bleeding heart

out of the d i sen t r a i l led victim during thesacrificia l hour ?The cacique was converted a n d

'

bap t ized ,

L if o of B a r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s . 379

receiving the name of John Hereafter hewill be known among the Spaniards asDon Jua n (Sir John ) . The c a p i tul a c ionbetween the Dominicans and the governorhelped Fa ther Cancer not a little in ob

taining these results . To remain free andalmost independent lord of his country andpeople and to acquire at the same time thefriendship of the whites was a weightyconsidera tion with the farseeing -chief . Notonly did he become a Christian himself

,

but turning apostle,he exhorted his tribes

men to follow his example . He also proffered his services as tra velling companionto Father Canc er during the several excursions that the missionary made to becomebetter acquainted with the surroundingcountry . L uis Can cer returned to S a ntia gotowards the end of October t o bring thegla d t idings of his success t o his fellowfriars .The rainy season was about over and

L a s Ca sas , accompa nied by Fa ther Angulo ,undertook the journey to the land of war .Why Cancer w a s left behind is not said .

The same welcome was given to him a s

ha d been given to Father Cancer by chiefDon Jua n a n d his people . It appears thathis brother

,the same who had visited

San tiago t o invite the Fathers,had lately


married,and his bride had just arrived

from the distant pueblo of Coban,within

the limits of Tuzulut l a n province . Alarge number of prominent people hadcome along to see the newly wedded maidinstal led in her new home in the ca ciquedome of D 0 11 Juan . These at first did nottake kindly to the l atter’s change of religion and set fire to his chapel . But on thearriva l of L a s Casa s , the chief caused abetter one to be built at once

,where the

missioners sa id Mass daily . After which,

n ow here and then there,in different

neighborhoods,the priests spent the day

in preaching and cate c hizing the people inthe open air .But the dominions of Don Juan were not

by any means the only ones in the land ofwar . Farther north a n d in another mounta in range

,were the most savage people of

that country , who spoke a different dialect .Coban might have been ca lled their capitaland they too must be brought within thefold o f ‘ C hr i st L a s Casa s wished to gothither

,but Don Juan opposed his going

,

fearing tha t the Father might l ose his li fein the attempt . Seeing , however , that thepriest’s resolution was irrevocable , thecacique provided him with a body guard ofseven ty m en selected from among the


a d a y is paid to them . No wonder thento learn tha t the first Americ a n priestrisked the success of his entire undertakingby in sisting that the Indians for five

,ten

and twenty miles around should abandontheir c or n fiel d s

,the huts in which they

were born,and the surroundings of child

hood,to be housed 0 11 the streets of a sym

metrical pueblo . But ha d not the Prot ector o i the Indians told the king in Spainthat this was the only way to permanentsuccess in evangelizing and c ivilizing theaborigin al Americans ? Don Juan wastherefore persua ded to have as m any as ahundred huts or houses built around thechapel and near his own home . L a s Casasc a lled the pueblo whi c h wasthe n ame by whic h the T uzulut l a n s d esign a t ed tha t particula r locality .

At first the will of the ca cique and of thewhite men w a s resisted

,a n d a revolt w a s

even threatened . But the daily Mass followed by a n instruction and some songs

The v i ll a ge fou n ded by L a s Ca sa s i s yet i n

exist e n c e . I t m a y yet bec om e qui t e a t own , a s som e

m in es h a ve .l a t e1y been foun d i n t he S ie r r a . Coba nt oo s t a n ds yet , a n e n dur i n g m on um en t t o th e ze a lo f t he fi r s t Am er i c a n pr iest , a n d a w i t n ess o f h i s

a post o l i c l a bo r s . A r a i l ro a d w i l l soo n pen et r a t e n u

c ien t Tuzu l u t l a n , a n d a n um ber o f c it izen s fr om t he

U . S . h a ve l a t ely se t t led t her e t o r a ise t he fa vor a blykn own Coba n c offee .


that the children were taught to sing,

.brought every d ay a larger audience , andone by one the houses be c ame tenanted .

Indomitable perseverance triumphed at last,

and the town was founded .

There must have been occ asional c om

m un i c a t ion s between the land of war andSantiago de los Ca balleros for the bull ofPope Paul III . defining that the India ns ofthe NewWorld were rationa l and fr eew i l l edmen

,and tha t therefore they should be

taught,like other people

,the religion of

Jesus Christ,re a ched L a s Casa s at Ra binal

at about this time,1 538 . He translated it

at once and sent c opies of it wherever hethought they might d o the most good .

The fa m ous bull o f Pa ul III . “Subl i m i s D on s

S i c D i lox i zf” e t c . ha s n ever ye t a ppea r ed i n En glish ,a s f a r a s I kn ow . I ’l l give a t r a n sla t io n o f i t om itt in g o n ly t h e t e c h n i c a l phr a seology t o be foun d i na l l s im il a r p a p a l doc um en t s .

“ In a sm u c h a s m a n w a s c r ea t ed , a s t he s c r ipt ur est e a c h , t o en joy e t er n a l l i fe a n d e t e r n a l h a ppi n ess ,whi c h c a n n o t be obt a i n ed w i t hou t fa i t h i n Chr is t , i tn ec ess a r i ly fol low s t h a t h e m us t be n a t ur a l ly fi t t o

r ec e ive i t . Whoever t her efor e h a s t he n a t ur e o f

m a n i s c a pa bl e o f r e c e iv in g t he fa i t h o f Chr ist . No

body i n fa c t . who c a n un d er s t a n d wha t fa i t h m e a n s ,

c a n be so defi c ien t i n i n t e l l igen c e a s t o be un a b l e t oun de r s t a n d t he m ea n s by whi c h i t i s t r a n sm i t t ed .

He n c e Our Lor d , who i s t r ut h i t se lf , a n d c a n n ei t herdec e ive n or be dec e ived , s a id t o t he fir st pr ea c he r s o f

t he fa i t h , when h e a ppo in t ed t hem t o t he i r o ffi c e“Go a n d l ea ch a l l n a t i on s .

” H e s a id , a l l n a t i on s,wit hout a s i n gle ex c ep t ion , bec a use a l l a r e c a p able


If the reader finds it strange that apapal definition should have been n ec es

sary to prove that the aboriginal Ameri

o f t he fa it h . The dev il , who i s t he en em y o f m a n

kin d a n d o f a l l good works , t o pr even t God ’s c hi l dr en fr om r ea c hin g t he i r e t er n a l des t in y , i n ven t eda n ew a n d u n hea r d o f m e t hod t o pr even t t he fa i t hbe in g pr ea c hed t o t he people a n d t hus pr even t t he i rs a lva t ion . This m et hod c o n si st s i n per sua din gsom e sold ier s , h i s a l l ies , t o c on s t a n t ly proc l a im t h a t ,in a sm u c h a s t he In di a n s a n d o ther people , who i nha bi t t he r egion s i h our own t im es dis c over ed t o t h ewest a n d t o t he sou t h.o f us , a r e n ot c a pa b l e o f t he

fa it h , we m a y m a ke t he sa m e use o f t hem i n our

ge

mdpor a l a ffa ir s t ha t we m a ke o f t he bea st s o f t he

e S .

B ut we , who , a l t hough H i s un wor t hy serva n t , h a vebeen a ppo in t ed by Jesus Chr is t hi s v ic a r o n e a r t h ,a n d w ho w i t h a l l ou r power en dea vor t o b r in g i n t oH i s fo ld t he sheep en t r ust ed t o our c a r e , c on s ider in gt h a t t he In di a n s , who a r e t r ue m en , n ot on ly a r e

c a pa b le o f t he fa i t h , bu t , a s we a r e i n fo r m ed ,ea r n es t ly des i r e t o em br a c e i t i n o rder t o st a m p outt his per n i c ious d oc t r in e , by our a post ol i c a u tho r i tya n d by these pr esen t defin e a n d pr o c l a im t h a tsa id I n dia n s or a n y o t her peopl e , who m a y be her ea ft er dis c ove r ed by Ca t hol i c s , a l t hough t hey be n ot

Chr is t i a n s , m ust i n n o w a y be depr ived o f t he irl iber t y or t he ir possess ion s , a n d t h a t on t he c on

t r a ry t hey m ay a n d m us t be a llowed t o e n joy fr eelya n d l a w fully o f sa id l iber t y a n d possess ion s ; t h a tt hey m ust n ot be i n a n y m a n n er e n sl a ved a n d t ha t ,i f t hey be so en sla ved , t he ir sl a very m ust be c 0n

s i d er ed a s n ull a n d vo id .

By t h e sa m e a post ol i c a ut hor it y we defin e a l so t h a tt he s a id In di a n s m us t be c a l led t o t he fa it h o f JesusChr is t by t he wor d o f God a n d t he exa m ples o f gooda n d holy l ives .

G iven i n Rom e the 17t h o f Jun e 1537.

PAUL POPE III .

386 L if o of B a r tolom od o L a s C a sa s .

was it because the Protector of the In

dians had been inspired with new hopesof unsha ckling all the natives of Americaby the Pope ’s bull

,that he decided to

abandon for a time at least the missionary field that w a s laden with abundantharvest ? Subsequent events seem to showthat L a s Casa s thought Spain and not theIndies to be the place where the battlefor the India ns ’ freedom w a s to be fought .Wha tever m a y have been the reasons ,certain it is

,that leavi ng the mission of

Rabinal in charge of Fa ther Angulo, L a s

Casas departed for Sa ntiago,ostensibly to

confer with bishop Marroquin about ob

taining more eva n gelical la borers for thatpart of the L ord ’s vineyard , which wasyet known as the land of war .To convince the Spaniards of Guate

m ala that his theory of converting the

natives by persuasion and peace,was not

a Utopia,Don Juan was invited to aecom

pany h im to the city , and the invitationwas accepted . But the chief wished totravel with quite an army of his warriors

,

while the priest fea re d that some embarrassing misha p might be c aused by a largenumber of Indians entering Santiago atonce . He reasoned with Don Juan

,that

the Spaniards at home were not nearly


as d readful and as cruel as they were onthe ba ttlefield

,a n d

'

he and a smaller contingent

.

of followers would have nothingto fear at their ha nds . The Cacique wasat last persuaded to underta ke the journeywith an escort sufficiently large to em phasize the importance of the ruler of Tuzulutla n

,but not so numerous as to give

umbra ge to the Spaniards,or cause for

apprehension,on the part of the missioner

,

of possible disorders Word was sent toFather L adrada , the only Dominican leftin the convent of Sa ntia go

,that Don Juan

and his suite were coming . In a fewdays the grounds o f the convent

'

wereliterally covered with huts a n d tents toaccommodate the expected visitors whilean abundance of provisions were gatheredwherewith to feed them .

The entry of L a s Ca sa s a n d his Indiansfrom the la nd ofw a r may be better imaginedthan desc ribed . The bishop hastened topay Don Juan a visit at the convent

,where

he ha d an opportunity of observing and ofadmiring the gravity of the Indian chief

,

whom he found,relatively speaking

,extra

ordinarily well instructed i n the Christia nreligi on . The interview between the successor of the apostles and the new convertmade so good an impression on the former ,


tha t he assured Pedro de Alvarado that itwas worth his while to p a y him an officialvisit . Alva ra do complied with the bishop ’swishes

,and a t the end of a lon g

'

c on ver

sation,so carried awa y was he by the

manly bearing,the kingly dignity

,the

wisdom and common sense of Don Juan,

that,taking from his own head the of

fic i a l rich ta ffeta chapeau,he pla ced it on

that o f the Indian . He was severely eritic i sed by the byst a n d i n g Spaniards for sodoing ; but the chief thanked the o fficial forthe honor conferred upon him

,and never

ga ve him cause for regretting his generousaction .

With a view t o -further impress Don Juanwith the a dvanta ges and splendor of European civiliz a tion

,and to lea ve no doubt in

his mind that the Spania rds ’ fri endshipwas genuine and worth having

,word w a s

pa ssed around to the merchants of the town,

to make,on a given d a y, as brillia nt a dis

pla y of their goods as possible,and to

present the Indian chief with any article intheir shops for which he might exhibit aspecia l liking . The bishop would settlethe bills . In company of his lordship Ma r

roqui n a n d of Don Alva ra do,Don Juan

visited the different establishments of Sant iago ; but while expressing with gravity

390 L if o of B a r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s .

Pedro,and the other Don Miguel . Mean

while other Domini c a ns were summonedfrom elsewhere to replace the missioners tothe la nd of war .The four apostles

, L a s Casas , L adra da ,Can c er a n d Angulo

,continued in the work

of evangelization in Tuzulut l a n,until the

year 1 538 , at the beginning of which ,through their confreres o f Santiago theywere called by the bishop to a conferenceto devise ways and means of providing theextensive new diocese with a suffi c ientn umber of priests to attend to the spiritualwelfa re of the growing white population aswell as of the natives

,who were flocking

to the Church da ily in larger numbers .The prelate told the Fathers that he setaside in Guatema la certa in sums to be usedto defray the travelling expenses of newmissionaries besides some cash held by afriend of his in Spain for the same purpose .

His lordship ’s preference was that the newcomers Should be Dominicans and Franciscans

,but wished to have the opinion of

the Fathers on the important subject . Itwould be necessary to

,

the object in view tosend to Spain somebody influential enoughto gather together a sufli c i en t number ofm issioners .The views of the bishop were concurred


in unanimously,and very na tura l ly L a s

Casa s was pointed out as the proper personto un derta ke the journey . In a few da ysthe first American priest in c ompany of hisherea fter fid n s a oa tos

,Father Rodrigo de

L adra da was 0 11 the march to cross for thefourth time the American continent in theinterests of the Indians . His travelling expenses this time came out of the episcopaltreasury . They journeyed to Mexico Citythrough the land of war

,where Don Juan

w a s at first dismayed to hea r that L a s Casaswas about to leave for his na tive Spa in

,but

was soon consoled by t he promise that hisreturn would n ot be long delayed Thel eave t aking at Rabinal with those whomhe had lately engendered in Christ

,reminds

us of St . Paul ’s farewell to his converts ofEphesus and Mil etum . (Act . Apost .

C ap . XX . )

CHAPTER XXI .

L a s C a s a s C ross es t he At l a n t i c t he Seven t hTi m e i n t he In t e r es t of t he In d i a n s .

L AS Casas selected the longer route t o

Spa in by Mexi c o City to a ttend a prov i n c i a l chapter of the order

,to have his

trip to Spa in approved by the same,and

to have other Fa thers sent to the land ofw a r t o continue the evangelization of thatcountry After some delay

,the chapter

a pproved L a s Casas ’ voyage , and Fa therL uis Ca ncer w a s summoned to becomean additional travelling companion

,new

Fathers were sent to Rabinal,Coban and

Sa ntiago and de Angulo was appointedL a s Ca sas’ vicar general in those partsduring his absence .

Governor Maldonado had given theProte c tor of the India ns a letter of re

commendation t o Charles V . on the oc

casion of his leaving Santiago . Afterdescribing the work already accom plishedin Tuzulut l a n the governor ended hisl et t er with the following paragraphs

( 392 )


settle 0 11,or to travel through it

,without

the consent of the Fathers . Their freedom and almost total independence is alsoguaranteed thereby . About the same timeletters were written and dispatched in thename of Charles V . to the Christian C ac iques of Tuzulut l a n congratula ting themon their acceptance of the Christian faith

,

and once more assuring them tha t theaforementioned guarantees would be faithfully observed . In stil l another decree a ddressed to the highest judic ial authoritiesin New Spain (Guatemala was then a partof i t ) the j udges of the Audiencia of MexicoCity are commanded to see to it that theinfractors of the foregoing and other similarlaws be properly punished . This last decreeis dated October the 1 7th , 1 540 .

It is not difficult to explain why L a sCasas was now granted so readily a l l tha the asked for his Indians Old Fonsecahad died

,and cardinal L oaysa , Archbishop

of Seville,ha d succeeded him in the pre

si d en c y of the bureau for Indian affa irs ,the person el of which had also been greatlychanged . While the offices o f the Indiancouncil were of old not unfrequently closedagainst the Clerigo L a s Casa s , they weren ow wide open to Fra y Bartolomé deL a s Casas . Although the biographers of


the first American priest have generallyoverlooked it

,it is nevertheless a fac t that

the change of policy in regard to the a borigines by the Spa nish government wasdue very largely to the bull of PopePa ul III .

By the end of 1 540 L a s Casas w a s readyto sail for America with all the Dominicans and Franciscans whom Bishop Marroqui n wished to import into Guatemala .

But perhaps it was beca use cardinal L oaysaha d requested him to tarry longer in Spain

,

that he wrote to Cha rles V . ,who was then

in Germany,the following letter , which

explains itself :“Most high and most powerful lord !While in Guatemala

,i n the Indies

,I

received your letters and provisions,where

by your Majesty d irected that I and someother members of my order of St . Dominicshould continue the work of p a c ific a t ion ofcertain several provinces

,which had not

yet accepted your sovereignty,and that we

Should induce them to acknowledge themselves yo

’

ur subjects . We began the workand were making good progress . In factthe native lords of those provinces havealready come to see us privately

,and we

hope,with the help of God Our L ord , that

we will be abl e t o bring them,and many


more,to the know ledge of their Creator

a n d to the obedienc e of your M a j esty,by

the ways of peace,charity and good works .

Thus the kingdom of Christ will be extended and your dominions and revenuesincreased . But things of more importanc eand of greater service to your Majesty

,

which concern the whole of that NewWorld

,which Divine Providence ha s con

signed to your protection and administration

,induced me to come t o

,

k i ss yourMaj esty ’s ha nd and report to you person a l ly about abuses so serious , that , i fthey be not correc t ed , interests more important than those of all your other kingdoms will be endangered . Therefore Ithought it advisable to suspend for a whilemy work in Guatemala

,and to undertake

a journey hither . But on my arrival inCastile

,I found that your Ma j esty was a b

sent . Should I return without making toyou my report

,I feel that much harm

would thereby accrue to the Indies,by the

postponement of remedies to the aforementioned abuses . In order therefore thatI may not fail in the obedience which Ihave promised my monastic superiors

,I

ask your Ma j esty to be pleased to commandme

,and by your royal letters to instruct

the Provincial of this province to command


affairs . But nothing of importance couldbe done in the absenc e of the king . Shouldhe bury himself once more in the wilds ofthe land of war ? If he did so

,the Pro

tector of the Indians knew that the un fortun a t es would soon pass again out of mindof the Spanish court

,and that the evils of

slavery would meanwhile cast deeper anddeeper roots on American soil . His r e

maining longer in Spain was evidently ofa paramount importance to his wards

,the

Indians . But practically he was an agentof bishop Marroquin

,at whose expense he

had come to Europe,and

,in virtue of his

vows,his actions were also subj ect to the

direction of his monastic superiors . Toenable himself to rema in longer in Ca stilewith propriety

,and to show bishop Mar

roqui n that , if he did so , it was for suffic ient reasons

, L a s Casas had recourse tothe subterfuge of asking the emperor tocommand him to prolong his stay in Spain .

At first sight the conduct of the firstAmerican priest

,viewed in this light

,is

subject to criticism . But countless generations of the Ameri c an aborigines have goodreasons

,as we shall see

,to thank him for

having had recourse to that subterfuge intheir behalf For otherwise the n ueva s

loyos or or d en a n za s ( about which much is


to be sa id presently ) would perhaps neverha ve been ena cted

,and without them it

'

isdoubtful i f a vestige would now rema in o fthe na tive race on the western continent .Cha rles V .

,who had not forgotten the

bold Clerigo, m i oor Ba r tolom é

,and who

ha d proba bly kept well informed a bout hisla te doings at Madrid

,granted his request

without di fficulty,and L a s Casas postponed

his departure .

The recruits for the missions of Guatema la

,Dominicans and Fra nciscans

,were

n ow ga thered in Seville and the Protectorof the Indians w a s with them . The decreesc oncerning the Indians of Tuzulut l a n werepublished by the public crier at the soundsof the herald ’s trumpet in front of thegreat cathedral at ten o ’c lock in the morning of the 2 1 st of January 1 54 1 .

L a s Ca sas , who ha d just received ordersfrom L oaysa ( the rea ders know why ) torema in longer in Spain

,decided to send

L uis Cancer to acc ompany the m issioners ,to deliver to the proper American a uthor i

ties the decrees obtained,and to see to it

tha t they were exec uted a n d put in force .

The coun cil of the Indies re c ommendedt o the emperor tha t al l past legislation c oncerning the American India ns should beremodelled and recast in their favor . All


contempora ry writers and a l l the bio

gr a phers of L a s Casas are agreed , that hew a s the prime mover in inducing the council to rea ch this decision . As had beendone in 1 5 1 9 and in 1 5 2 0 ,

j untas or conven t ion s of learned ecclesiasti c s

,j urists

,

statesmen,and theologians were again

called together,who for d ays and weeks

met again and again to discuss the needsof the Indians

,and to formulate laws

which were intended to do justice t o theSpa niards and to the Indians alike . Asusual in su c h gatherings many shades ofopinion developed

,and L a s Casa s was a l

ways i n evidence to advocate his own inthat forc ible style so peculiar to the firstAmerican priest . AS a matter of course

,

the Protector of the Indians was the leaderof those who stood for the complete emanc ipat i on of the Americans .At one of the meetings L a s Casas pre

sented a voluminous memorial of the contents o i which the following quotation willgive an i dea . He suggests sixteen remediesfor the reformation of the

'

Indies,of which

“ the eighth is the one most important andessentia l

,because

,without it

,the others

would be worth nothing,as all of them are

subordinate to this one,and are directed to

i t as mean s t o an end . The importance of


as far a s you are conc erned , this supremel aw . L et your Majesty insert a lso in yourroyal testament a cla use commanding tha tit be forever defended

,gua rded and up

heldCha rles V . was perhaps

,at this period

,

surrounded by as wise,f a r - seeing

,and

sagacious councillors as any mona rc h ha dever been before They saw that themeasures recommended by L a s Ca sas , n u

blunted and unmitigated,were those of an

ex-pa rte advocate,who considered ex

elusively his own point of view . Theywould defeat themselves

,they thought

,

and lea d to revolution and an archy . Hisviews were acc epted in prin c iple

,but legis

lation‘

was so sha ped as to ma ke its en

forcement practicable . The n i l ova s leyos

(new laws ) , so called for ma ny years a fter,

whi c h were ena c ted in 1 54 1 and 1 542 , ha veformed the a dmira tion of every historianand jurist

,who studied them deeply in con

n ec t i on with the so c ia l conditions then prevailing in America . L a s Casa s had gainedthe battle of his life . Slavery wa s aboli shed

,i f n ot a t once and by one stroke of

the pen,after one generation .

The world should know it . The origi n a t or of the crusa de in fa vor of trulyAmerican liberty w a s a simple Ca tholic

L ife of B a r tolom é d o L a s Ca sa s . 40 3

priest,who broke the shackles of not less

tha n thirty millions of human beings,who

were or would have been slaves,on this

western continent,at the very time

,when

the so-ca lled Reformation c a used the OldWorld to be drenc hed in blood . It was acardinal and numerous other prelates ofthe old Churc h

,who drafted the pla n of

legisla tion tha t sa ved the Americ a n racefrom utter extinction .

I need quote but a few of the new lawsto show that

,i f they were not c lothed in

his words,they contained almost in tolo

the ideas of the first America n priest .I st . The Encomiendas heretofore estab

l i shed legally,shall not pass to the chil

dren or the wives of the c onquista dores,

but only tributes shall be col lected from theIndians

,who shal l become the free vassals

of the king .

2 d . It is forbidden to employ Indiansa s ca rriers

,except in una voida ble c irc um

sta nces ; a n d the Indian s so employedshall be paid wages . They shall not beemployed in the mines or the pearl fisheries . The personal , enforced labor of theIndians is a bolished

,a n d tributes sh a ll be

levied instead 0 11 the Indians,for the bene

fit of the owners of Encomienda s .

3r d . Al l participants in the disturbances


caused by Pizarro and Almagro in Perusha l l be deprived of their Encomiendas .

4 th . Bishops,hospitals

,governors

,

ma yors of towns,judges a n d his maj esty ’s

o fficers shall be deprived of their Encomicuda s .

5 th . It is hereby forbidden,even in

case of rebellion,or for a n y other rea son

whatever,to enslave Indians

,and we wish

tha t al l the na tives of the Indies be treatedlike

,as in fact they are

,free vassals of

the crown of Ca stile .

6 t h . It sha ll be forbidden to compel theIndians to do service against their will andconsent .

7t h . As it is forbidden in any mannerwha tever to enslave India ns

,i t is ordered

that the Audienci a s summon all those whohave Indian sla ves in their possession

,and

if it be found that these have been enslavedwithout reason or right

,t he same must be

set free summa rily and without proc ess oflaw . The burden of proof

,to Show the

legal ownership of the sla ves,shall rest

with the slaveholders . And as it mayha ppen that for wa nt of a ttorneys or r e

p r esen t a t i ves the Indians may acknowledgethemselves as sla ves

,it is ordered that

conscientious and careful men be appointedas attorneys

,and that the sanre be paid out

40 6 L if e of B a r tolom o d o L a s Cas a s .

Wha t ha d a roused a n d d ecided the council of the Indies and the emperor himselfto a dopt rather suddenly the foregoing andother ra dical reforms No doubt the bullof Pope Paul III . a c ted as an incentive onthe fri ars

,bishops

,archbishops and the

cardinal,who sat as members of the burea u

for Indian affa irs,a n d no less on His Most

Catholic M a j esty . But a little pamphletby L a s Casas had more to do with it tha nanything else . He called it a “B r ovisim a

Rela c ion d o la Dos tr i iooi on d o la s In d i a s ,i . e . A very brief exposé of the destructionof the I 11 d i es

,

” from which itself enoughc a n be gathered tha t it was written durin gt he years 1 54 1 and 1 542 , and tha t theorigina l draft w a s retou c hed la ter

,when it

w a s published by L a s Ca sa s himself . Infa c t a ma nuscript copy of the origina l

,

l ately found by Antonio Fabio’

,begins as

follows : “The Indies were discovered in1 49 2 the following yea r they began to besettled

,so that it is now fourty-nine yea rs

sinc e they were ta ken possession of bya n y considerable number of Spania rds .The author therefore must have beenwriting either in 1 54 1 or ra ther aboutMay 1 542 ; for it w a s i n that month ofthe yea r 1 493 that Columbus la nded inHispaniola with some two thousand imi

L if e of B a r tolo‘

m od o L a s Ca sa s . 40 7

grants . Again the author,speaking of

H er n a n d o. d e Soto -i n Florida,sa ys : “The

fourth tyrant went there lately during theyear 1 538 It is now thre e yea rssince he has not been seen

,a n d nothing

has been heard of him .

” This thereforemust have been written in 1 54 1 .

The'

pamphlet consists of about seventyfive closely printed octavo pa ges . L a s

Casas,ever Since he was a ppointed o fficia l

Protector of the India ns,had lost 110 oppor

t un i ty to gather evidenc e everywhere a n d

from everybody,who had any to give

,of

the cruelties a n d oppressions practiced bythe Spaniards against his wards . In 1 54 1 ,or at the beginning of 1 542 , when theSpanish court had se t to work in earnest toremodel American colonial legislation

, L a s

Casas gathered the va st ma ss of memora ndums he ha d made during the past twentyyea rs

,then dipped his pen in gall

,and

wrote the pamphlet which soon became themost famous of his works . It is a graphicand exa ggera ted ( at lea st all writers thinkso ) description o f all the massacres

,kid

na pping expeditions,brutal wars

,wa nton

cruelties and thefts of the Ameri c an settlers from New Mexico to Chili

,and from

Argentina to Florida . The pamphlet wasno doubt presented to the councillors , who


were a t work on the laws in 1 542 . It mustha ve caused a thrill of horror in the heartof Cha rles V . and of his son Philip

,and on

all the grandees of the court . Hence theprompt enactment of the new laws . In1 552 , a s many abuses

,although greatly

aba ted,still continued i n America

,in spite

of sa id laws, L a s Ca sas revised his pamphlet ,

added to it,and then gave it to the press .

It was tra nsla ted into Ita lian and intoFrench

,and soon became the stock in trade

of ma ny foreign writers,who used it as an

armory,whence they drew their weapons

to fight Spain often unscrupulously,and

by misrepresentations . L a s Casas howevernever a ccused the Spanish nation as such

,

or its government of being guilty of thea tro c ities he describes in his pamphlet , a lthough i n la ter writings of his he does notwholly e x on or a te either the nation or thegovernment from enriching themselves atthe expense of the American Indians . Thehistorian is forced to acknowledge that thecentral government of Ferdinand and Isabella

,of Charles V . and Philip II . en

d ea vor ed unremittingly to ameliorate thecondition of the unfortunate America nsa n d to protect them from the cruelty andra pac ity of the European immigrants . But

,

as has been said before,during the first

4 1 0 L if e of B a r tolom o d o L a s C a sa s

querors . It rs nevertheless to the credit ofSpain th a t in less tha n three qua rters of acentury it brought order out of cha os inAmeric a

,and pla ced not less tha n thirty

five millions of sava ges ( in c luding theFilipinos ) on the w a y to civiliz a tion . Ifwe look at the m a p of the

'

w or l d a t thepresent time and read the history of thep a st four c enturies

,we find tha t sc arcely a

tribe has been brought within the pa le ofChristian civiliza tion during th a t period

,

except by Spa in . L ook over the almostlimitless possessions of the colonizin gnations

,England

,Fra nce and Holland

,and

it will be found tha t t he n ative races haveeither disa ppea red or remained stra ngers toChristia n ity or European civilization

,des

tined only to have their l i feblood suc kedout of them for the enrichment of theirwhite masters .

Perh a ps a n exc ept ion m ight be m a de i n fa voro f Russ i a , who , du r in g t he p r esen t c en tury h a s undoubt edly ext en ded t h e c on fin es o f c iv il iza t ion a n d

o f C hr ist en dom i n a west er ly a n d sout hwes t er lyd ir e c t ion .

H i s t ory seem s t o t ea c h t h a t sav a ge n a t ron s c a n be

c iv il ized on ly by a s t r on gly c en t r a l ized a n d a bsolut egover n m en t i n c om bi n a t ion w i t h a c om pa c t u n iono f Chur c h a n d s t a t e . Un der every fo rm o f r ep r esen

t a t i ve gover n m en t t he w e a ker r a c e i n v a r i a ble su c

c um bs t o t he s t r on ger a n d n o t hin g r em a in s bu t t h esurv iva l o f t he fi t t est . Wa t c h Sou t h A fr i c a wher ea c ruel wa r i s n ow (D ec . 1899) r a gin g between two

L if e of B a r tolom e d o L a s Ca sa s . 4 1 1

I wil l end this chapter with an extractfrom L a s Casa s ’ B rooi sim a Rela c i on d o laDos tr n eoion d o L a s I n d i a s . It will givean idea o f the b i tter

,caustic and ex

a gger a t ed style of that famous work . Itwill also chec k our inclination to heroworship

,as he will tel l us what he

thought of Ponce de L eon , Pa n filo deNarva ez

,and of Hernando de Soto .

“To tha t provin c e (Florida ) have gonat different times three tyra nts

,egi n n i n g

with the yea r 1 5 1 0 or to do thework tha t others ha d done elsewhere .

Two of them (Ponce de L eon and Pa n filod e Na rvaez ) had reached positions inother pa rts of the Indies

,disproportiona te

with their former condition,through the

blood and deaths of their fellow-men

( the Indians ) . All three of them diedba d dea ths

,and lost their lives a n d

the fortunes,which they had accumulated

by shedding human blood . I was a o

peoples o f t eu t on i c desc en t . L et t he En glish or t he

Boer be t he v i c t or , i t m a t t er s n ot . The bla c k m a n

i n e it her c a se i s doom ed .

S c hool books gen er a l ly t ell us t h a t t he d i s

c over er o f Flor ida w a s Pon c e d e Leon , a n d t h a t hel a n ded i n 15 12 . L a s C a sa s t ell s u s m o r e t ha n o n c e

t h a t t he fi r s t whi t e m en t o l a n d i n Flor id a w er e

c er t a i n kidn a pper s o f In dia n s , who st um bled o n t he

n or t her n shore o f t he Gul f o f Mexic o n ot l a t er t ha n1511.


qua i n t ed with all three of them ,and their

memory is now forgotten as if they ha dnever lived . They left in that la nd

(Florida ) scan dals and their names in a h

hor r en c e on account of certain massacresof which they were guilty . These massacres however were not numerous

,as

God killed them before they could domore of their work . Almighty God ha dselected tha t country as the place wherecondign punishment was to be a d m i n i st

ered for the crimes,which I knew they

were guilty of i n other parts of the In

dies,o i which I was an eye witness .

The fourth tyrant (Hernando de Soto )began his expedition after much prepara tion a n d with great e c la t as late as 1 538 .

It is now three yea rs since anything wasseen or heard of him . I feel certa in that

,

as soon as he landed,he began his cruelties

,

and then disa ppeared , or , i f he is living ,that he and his followers have

,during the

last three years,destroyed many people

wherever they found them ; for he (Herna ndo de Soto ) i s an experienced le a der insuch works

,a n d one of those

,who

,to

gether with his followers,did most harm

,

and caused most destruction in many provinces and kingd oms . But I am inclinedto think tha t God meted out to him thesame fate that he had visited on the others .

4 1 4 L if e of B or éolom e d e L a s Ca sa s .

themselves the trouble of unc haining those,

who went before him in the way that I havedes c ribed before . They entered a pueblo

,

where they were received with signs of re

jo i c i n g, and where they got plenty to eatand more tha n six hundred Indians

,des

tined to be their carriers a n d their orderlies . On leaving the pla ce one of thecaptain s

,a rela tive of the chief tyrant

,re

turned to the town,and sac ked it after ha v

ing killed the cacique and done other cruelties . In another pueblo

,where the people

,

who ha d heard of the horrible and infamousdeeds of the Spa niards

,were shy of them

,

they killed everybody , men , women andchildren .

The tyra nts cut the noses of many . Onon e occa sion

,when some two hundred In

dia ns had come to c amp either uninvited,

or because they had been summoned to doso by the tyra nts

,they c ut the noses of

them all,a n d sent them ba c k so disfigured

,

in torments and in blood,to spread the

news of the works and mirac les of thosepreac hers of the Holy Catholic fa ith . Nowimagine the dispositions of those people

,

how they must love the Christians , howrea dily believe in their religion

,and in

their God . Enormous and a bom i n a l werethe atro c ities committed in that land by


those miserable men,the children of per

dition . Thus d ied their ha pless lea der

(De Soto ) without c onfession , and I doubtnot tha t he w a s buried in hell

,unless per

chance God dealt with him a ccording tohis exceeding mercy

,and n ot according to

the man ’s deserts .”

C H APTER XXII .

L a s C a sa s a B i shop .

T H E new laws were dispa tched t o everyofficer of the crown

,to every bishop

and priest,and to every white settlement in

the Indies . While they were being discussed i n Va lla dolid , every district in America was represented by procura tors

,who

swarmed around the government o ffices,

endea voring,by hook or crook

,to prevent

their ena ctment . As soon a s their p rom ul

ga t i on had bec ame known in Spa in , theAmerica n settlers were informed by theira gents that the author

,or a t least the pro

moter of them had been Fray Bartoloméde L a s Casas . The a nswers tha t began

,

a few months later,to pour into Spa in

from beyond the Atla ntic were filled witha buse and ca lumnies against the Protectorof the Indians . Many of them are spicy ,a n d aff ord enterta ining reading ma tter .Here is one written in the n ame of thetown counc il of Guatemala city

,informing

the council of the Indies of the state of

( 4 1 6 )

41 8 L if e of Ba r tolom é d e L a s C a ses.

with him and sent him with an a bundanceof money to get more friars . But he preferred to ma ke a show of himself by his

'

passions,doing harm to everybody in

general,in order to revenge himself of

ind ividuals,ra ther tha n do wha t we had

sent him to do . He says tha t he spentin these pa rts thirty or more yea rs . Thosethirty yea rs he spent in Hispaniola andCuba

,where the India ns disa ppeared in a

short time,and he helped

,to some ex

tent,to kill them . He did no more tha n

pass through this country on his way toMexico

,and a s he found no audienc e to

l isten to his scandalous declamations a n d

denuncia tions,he came back to us be

ca use he thinks that we are fools . Hecan give no informa tion about the Indiansof New Spain

,and wha t he saw here on the

roads through which he pa ssed,i s

,tha t the

Indians are well instructed . Would toGod that Fray Ba rtolomé would come withhis soldiers ( a reference to his Cumanaventure ) to make the conquest , which ,

it isreported

,he asked should be given in his

charge . He would then give us one moreproof of his va nity and of his ignorance

,

and he himsel f would reven ge us for therancor he ha s displa yed aga inst us .The colony of Guatema la

,with its wel l

L ife of Ba r tolom e d e L a s Ca sa s . 4 1 9

bred Alonso Ma ldonado as governor,and

the zealous and energetic Ma rroquin as itsbishop

, w a s one of the most conservativeand best beha ved in America . What musthave been the rage and fury of the colonistselsewhere

,when i t became known that L a s

Ca sa s pra c tically and substa ntia lly was theauthor of the n ew laws ?But what cared he for the faraway

murderous conquistadores ? He ha d fulfilledhis mission and saved the American ra c efrom extermination . And ha d he notea rned the esteem and plaudits of a l l hiscountrymen

,whose good opinion was worth

ha ving,to say nothing of the gra titude

and love of countless helpless fellow-menbeyond the Atla ntic ?At the beginning of the year 1 543 the

court of Spa in w a s sitting at Barcelona ,and L a s Casas went there a lso to thankCharles V . for having ena cted the new lawsin fa vor

/

of the Indians . One Sundayevening Francisc o de L os Cobos , the secretary of the bureau for India n affairs

,pre

sented himself to the Protector of the India ns to hand him a n imperial decree d esigm a t ing him as the first bishop of the n ewSee of Cuzco

,in Peru . L os Cobos presented

at the same time an earnest request of hismajesty to Fray Bartolomé that he ac cept

42 0 L if e of B a r toZom é d eL a s Ca sa s .

the mitre . L a s Ca sas politely declined r ec eivi n g the doc ument on the plea ,

that being a friar

,his superiors must first be con

sul t ed on the subj ect .He ha d not forgotten that twenty-two

years. before , very near tha t same c ity of

Barcelona in the presenc e of the highestcourt officia ls he ha d solemnly and impassi on a t ely said to the emperor

“That my meaning may not be misunderstood

,I hereby renounce and decline

any favor or temporal rewa rd that yourmajesty may herea fter offer me . Andshould it come to p a ss that I

,either per

son a l ly or through a third person , directlyor indirectly

,should solicit any fa vor or

rewa rd for my ser vices,I am willing to be

bra n ded as a lia r and a traitor to my king .

”

Tha t however w a s n ot the only reasonfor de c lining the bishopric of Cuzco . Hecould have done so without breaking h i sword

,for the mitre of that See

,on whi c h

were set more thorns than jewels,could

scarcely have been considered as a rewa rd .

He could otherwise ha ve accepted it on theplea that it w a s his duty to comply withthe wishes of his sovereign and not refusethe burden . I rec kon that his real rea sonfor not accepting the proffered honor

,was

because he did n ot think himself the proper

42 2 L if e of Ba r tolom e d e L a s Ca sa s .

Bla sco Nun es was hot headed,proud and

unyielding . His attempt to enforce thenew laws ended first in revolution and thenin open rebellion

,durin g which he lost his

life . Pedro de L a Gasca , his successor wascompelled to yield in the matter of thosesame new l aws and agree to a compromise .

Clea rly L a s Ca sa s , the promoter , i f not theauthor

,of the laws w a s not the man to be

come the bishop of the largest diocese inthe c ountry

,and another Dominican

,Juan

Sola no w a s appointed instead .

B ut ca rdinal L oaysa , who ha d been i nst rum en t a l to the first American priest being selected as bishop of Cuzco

,thought

tha t the best i nformed and the most zea lousecclesiastic in the Indies should wear amitre . Chiapa

,or as it was then called

,

Ciudad Real d e Chia pa in the province ofGuatema la ha d been l a tely erected into ad iocese

,a n d Jua n de Artea ga ha d been se

l ec t ed t o be its first bishop . But he diedin the city of Puebla

,in Mexico

,while on

his w ay to ta ke possession of his See . Thedioc ese of Chiapa w a s contiguous to theland of w a r

,which

,by a spec ial decree

approved by the pope,was a nnexed to its

jurisdiction . L a s Ca sa s was thereforenominated bishop of Chiapa . He de c linedthe mitre a second time . But his pra yers

,


his t ears , his protests were all in va m . Thewishes of the king

,the command of his

superiors,the good of his children of Tuzu

lut l a n caused him at last to yield .

While waiting for the papal bulls authoriz ing his consecration

, L a s Ca sas went fromBa rcelona to Toledo

,where a general

chapter of the Dominican provinces wasthen in session . The object of his j ourneywas to beg the superiors of the order thereassembl ed

,to allow him to select quite a

large number of Fathers willing to workin faraway Chiapa in the evangelization ofthe Indians . Not less than sixty volun

teered,and L a s Casa s accepted them all ,

a lthough ultimately only forty-five sa iledwith him for America

,thirty-five priests

,

five dea cons a nd as many l ay brothers .They came from different parts of Spa inand were dire c ted to gather

,some at Sa la

ma nca,and others at Va l l a d ol i d ,when c e a l l

were to unite in Seville t o sa il from theneighboring' port of San L ucar de Barrameda . Twelve Fra nciscans were also eu

gaged for the new dio c ese .L a s Ca sas’ presentation , by Charl es V .

,

to the bishopri c of Chiapa must have beenmade and accepted in 1 543 , but the papalbulls authorizing his consecration were notsigned by Pope Paul III . until the roth of

42 4 L if e of B or tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s .

December of the same year . Much of theintervening time w a s employed in recruiting and getting together the friars in Seville

,i n obta ining from different sources

large supplies of church vestments , bells ,and books for so la rge a number of missi on ers and many other things necessary toa bishop ’s establishment in a new diocesein a new country .

Between his election to the mitre ofChiapa and his departure for America

, L a s

Ca sas wrote a memorial addressed toCharles V .

,l ately published by Antonio

Fabi é,which denotes a comprehensive i n

formation about men and events then transpiring in revolutionary Peru and SouthAmerica . The document consists of twentyclosely printed octavo pa ges

,in which

,

after having denounced in his usual forciblestyle

,the barbarities of the Spania rds in

the Indies,he boldly advises the emperor

to sequester a l l the estates and all thewealth of the Conquistadores i n Peru .

“Your Majesty,

” says he,

“will act justlyand do a thing pleasing to God in d epr iving such wi c ked transgressors against thel aws of God and your own of all theirwealth , which is n ot theirs , but stolen fromyour Majesty ’s vassal s

,etc .

The emperor is advised t o rest ore said


vice of L a s Casas was acted upon byCharles V .

,as f a r as the a ppoi n tm en t s i n

the government of that c ountry were concerned . Instead of despoiling the Conqui st a d or es of their wealth , it i s well knownthat the spirit o f revolt brewing everywhere i n Spanish America soon compelledthe Spanish rulers to suspend and partia llyabrogate the new laws , thus openin g to theSpaniards in Americ a a door to more theftsand t o more oppression of the Indians for atime

,at lea st .

Two months of the year 1 544 had comeand gone

,and the papal bulls necessary to

make the first American priest a° bi shop

ha d not yet arrived in Spa in . Impatientof further dela y

,and on accoun t of the

large daily expense necessa ry to the maint a i n a n c e of his numerous suite , L a s Casa sdecided to use the privilege

,which had

been granted t o Spanish bishops-elect oftaking possession of their Sees

,with the

consent of the king,before their c on sec ra

tion . On the sth of March , 1 544 , he badefarewell to his friends at court

,and de

parted for Seville . In a letter dated in thatcity the z r st of March and addressed toPrince Philip he says : “We left court onTuesday the 4th inst . , and it took us sixt een days to come here on account of the

L if e of Ba r tolom é d e L a s C a ses . 42 7

l ong rains and bad roads We havereceived a letter from the court informingus

,that our bulls arrived two days a fter

our departure . It seems that Our L orddoes not wish to pay us in this world forthe l ittle trials that we a r e undergoing forlove of him . We would otherwise havebeen very proud to have your Highnessstand our godfather at our consec ration .

The bulls have not yet rea ched here . Wecould not come here by the way of Toledobecause the man we had engaged to carryour luggage

,would not agree to it . We

would have liked to do so in order to speakto the provinc ial of the Francisc ans aboutthe twelve friars

,of whom only four have

yet arrived here . I beg you to have aletter written to him

,telling him to send

the others as soon as possible , i f they wishto sail with us” etc .

L a s Casas was consecrated bishop on the

3 I st of March , 1 544 , as appea rs from thefollowing written in Seville and again a d

dressed to Prince Philip .

“Today,Pa s

sion Sunday,Our L ord was pleased to give

me the glory of my consecration,while on

the same day,ac cording to the liturgy of

the Church,he suffered ignominy . I don ’t

know wha t His D ivine Majesty may havehad in view in arranging things in that

42 8 L if e of B asr tolom e d e L a s Cas a s .

w a y. B ut it could not have been donesooner

,a n d there was no time to wait

longer,because the ships a re in a hurry to

sa il . The cardina l ( of Seville ) was verykind to me . His nephew or relative

,

bishop L oa ysa ,was the consecrator

,and

the bishop of Honduras and bishop Torreswere the assistants . The bishop of Honduras was to sail seven or eight days ago

,

but in spite of the expense he was put to,

in doing so,poor as he is

,he waited to

pa rticipate in the consecration . I wouldlike to compensate him

,i f I had the where

withs . I humbly request you,and would

be much obliged to your Highness,i f you

should do something for him to repay himfor what he did for me .

I beg your Highness that,for the love of

God,you see to it that the Indians of Cuba

,

ac cording to the wil l and kindness of hisMajesty

,be set free before their masters

have a chance to destroy and kill them all,

because they are among those who havebeen most oppressed , aff l icted and de c imated . As archdea con Albaro de Castro isnow dead

,who had been charged by your

Highness with the care of the Indians ofHispa niola

,let your Highness appoint

some good and cons c ientious person,or an

ec clesiasti c to see t o it that they , few as

430 L if e of B a r tolom e d e L a s Ca sa s .

I wish you would speak to the prior-el ectof this province

,who was formerly prior of

St . Paul ’s convent at Val la dolid . He is atrue servant of God

,and zealous for the

sa lvation of those people of the Indies .Urge him to use hi s influence in sendinghis friars to those countries . And inasmuch as this convent of St . Paul of Sevilleis very necessary to the friars

,that your

Highness will continue to send to the Indies

,and inasmuch as every thing in this

city ( it is frightful ) costs one-third morethan in Valladolid

,and consequently ex

penses are that much higher,I would

humbly beg you t o always remember it inthe distributions of alms left by deceasedpersons , because I believe that they woulddo as much good to the departed donors

,as

if they were given for the maintainance ofthe friars

,who go to preach the Gospel in

the countries,where those funds were per

haps unlawfully accumulated . In fact,I

believe that the shelter and good t reatment,

which the friars receive here,encourage

them somewhat not to make t oo much ofthe trials

,which

,they generally believe

,

await them in the Indies . It has alreadyhappened on the con trary , that some ofthem got discouraged before starting because they were n ot treated kin dly . Friars

I/rf e of B a r tolom é d e L a s C a ses . 43 1

are generally timid and they are l ike gl ass,

when they go out of t heir convents .In this c ity and all over Andalusia there

are a great number of Indians unjustly heldin slavery . When L icenciado GregorioL opez was out here to investigate , by or

der of His Majesty,he published an order

commanding that everybody having Indians in their keeping should producethem . But many were hidden away , otherswere sent to the country or elsewhere . Iwas even informed by a person

,who did so

to c lear his conscience,that there has been

even much rasc ality and bribing on thepart of some wic ked sinners

,who

,for the

sa ke of three,four

,or ten ducats

,did not

hesitate to commit as grievous a sin againstGod as it is to deprive a man of his liberty

,

and casting m any Indians in perpetualslavery by hiding the truth

,or by ma king

threats against them,i f they came to

L opez , or otherwise by not informing theo fficers of the things

,which they knew and

were bound to report . The remedy thatshould be a pplied to this c rying injustice

,

according to the opinion of the offic ers ofthis Casa de c ontra ta cion

,who are

,as far as

I can see,very virtuous and conscientious

persons,is this . L et your Highn ess publish

a n order all over this province of Andalu

432 L i fe of Ba r tolom e d e L a s Ca sa s .

sia,that

,everybody having Indian slaves

,

is bound to produce them within a sta tedtime in this Casa de c ontrata c ion underpenalty of having all said Indians declaredfree . And here

,without procrastination or

process of law,but a ccording to the d i rec

tions given by His Majesty,i f the would

be-owner can produce a deed of sale,let the

Indian be held as a slave unti l it c a n beascertained how he

,who sold the Indian

,

got him . For they ha ve all been stolenand sold

,on being landed here . And the

Indian so held should be placed where hecould earn something

,wherewith to c lothe

himself,and put somethin g by

,to pay his

way back to his native country . Otherwise he will be subj ected to a thousandvexations and to much ill-treatment . Ihave seen a good deal of this kind of thingshere . Since they found out that I am here ,St . Paul ’s convent is filled every d a y withIndians

,who come to me under the impres

sion that I can relieve them from theircaptivity and oppression . As soon as theirma sters find it out by their momentary a b

sence from home,they whip them and cast

them into irons .I would take the responsibility on my

conscience and answer for it to God on mydeathbed

,i f your Highness should cause i t


a man of them will remain in this kingdom .

”

On the 4th of May L a s Ca sas wrote againto prince Philip . The letter begins thus“In the five letters which I wrote you inthe past few days

,on account of the hurry

of the postmen,and on acc ount of many

pressing occupations,I forgot to tell your

Highness something that you ought toknow . It is this . A letter has come fromthe Indies saying tha t the Francisca ns inNew Spain were writing

,that no more

friars were needed there . Your Highnessmust know that this is an artful trick ofthe devil

,who wishes to stop the inroads

that are being ma de in h i s dominions” etc .

I ha ve quoted largely from L a s Ca sa s ’

correspondence at this period of his life,to

show how great an ascenda ncy he ha dgained on Cha rles V . ,

and espec ially on hisson Philip . These quotations tell of quitea large number of requests made to thecrown prince . The letters

,every one of

whi c h was answered,speak of many m ore

,

which it would take too long to enumerate .

It will be gratifying to learn that all of

them were granted .

This c orrespondence gives us also an i nsight of the how and by whom the WesternC on tinent was christianized . Immediately

L if e of Ba r tolom é d e L a s C a ses . 435

after the conquest of Mexico,there began

to pour into America real phalanxes ofapostolic men

,who le ft Spain every year

by the hundred,and spread themselves in

every nook and corner of Spanish Americafrom New Mexico and Florida to Patagonia .

They,year after yea r

,pushed farther and

farther the confines of civilization,until

,

at the end of the sixteenth century,scarcely

a pueblo could be found over which did nottower a church steeple The city of Sevillewas the Jerusalem

,when c e issued forth

the apostles,who converted America . St .

Paul ’s Dominican convent,where the first

American priest lodged more than once,

w a s the cenacle where thousa nd of apostolic men prayed and fasted and bade farewell to home and country

,

as the Apostlesha d done at Jerusalem between AscensionThursday and Pentecost Sunday . Thebishops consecrated within the venerablecathedral of Seville for the American Missions could be counted by the hundred .

Ancient Seville was chosen by Divine Provi d en c e to be the link connecting the newworld to the old in the kingdom of God onearth .

Although as early as the 2 0 th of AprilI 544 , the

“ ships were in hurry to sail,

L a s Casas did n ot leave Seville before the

436 L if e of Ba r tolom e d e L a s Ca sa s .

I st of July . Why ? Because there w a s

work for him to d o there . He could notleave Spa in behind

,without weeding out of

it the pest of Indian slavery,which threat

ened to c a st roots in the ancient d ominionsof his most Catholic Ma j esty .

Armed with the new laws,helped by the

different religious communities of Andalusia

,and backed by the officers of the Casa

de Contratacion,he instituted wholesa le

prosecutions of sla ve holders,and did not

rest until the shackles of the unfortunateswere sha ttered . Ma ny of these returned tothe diff erent parts of America to sing thepraises of the libera tor of the Indians .It is n o exaggeration to say tha t the first

American priest ha d,by this time

,become

the best known and the most ta lked aboutman in al l the Indies ; by the India ns , whothrough the clergy had heard of him andlearned to love him as their friend and protector ; by the Spania rds , who hated himand looked upon him as their greatestenemy .

It would have bankrupted the bishop ofChia pa to entertain

,during three months

,

his forty-five Dominicans and the Franciscans beside t he several secula r priests

,who

also followed him to America . As soon asi t became apparent that their d eparture

CHAPTER XXIII .

L a s C a sa s c rosses a ga i n t he At l a n t i c t o

t a ke possess ion of h i s See .

A fleet,i . e . twenty-six merchant ships

,

sa i led from Sa n L uca r de B a r a m ed a on ther oth of July

,1 544 , for the In dies . One of

them was named Sa n Sa lva d or,on which

bishop L a s Casas and his numerous clergyhad taken passa ge .

What beautiful reveries are aroused inthe mind of the Christia n student of historyas he beholds the little craft Sa n Sa lva d or

,

( the Holy Sa viour) whose figur ehea d isOur L ord himself ca lming the waves , andfrom whose masthead floats the emblem ofRedemption ! Out of those samewhen c e the great Genoese mariner hadsailed

,fif ty

-two years before on his Sa n taMa r i a (Holy Mary) , n ow comes forth Sa nSa lva d or freighted with the clergy . o f a

Pa los o n t he l i t t le r iver P in t o a n d Sa n L u c a ro n the Gua da lquiv i r a r e but a f ew m iles a pa r t . Bo t hr iver s em p ty in t o t he sa m e ba y.

( 438 )

L if e of B a r tolom e d e L a s Ca sa s . 439

whole diocese . But one successor of theapostles is there

,but quite the number of

Our Blessed L ord’s disciples . A powerfulman-o i ! war heads the fleet

,on which is

quartered the vice-queen of the Indies ,Don a Maria de Toledo

,the widowed

d aughter- i n -law of Christopher Columbus,

and the friend of L a s Casas . That m a n

of-war carries an even more precioustreasure

,the remains of the Di scover er ofThese had been lately ex

tracted from their temporary resting placein the monastery of L a s Cuevas nearSeville

,to be reburied

,ac cord ing to his

l ast wishes , on the soil of Hispaniola .

The s c ene is inspiring,but on the picture

t here is a blot . On t he Sa n Sa lva d or sa i lwith L a s Ca sas four bla ck African slaves ,and they are the property of the Protectorof the Indians . The bishop of Chiapa

,

then seventy years of age,ha d not yet

learned that,i f it was wrong to trade in

I t i s a bou t c er t a in t h a t t he r em a in s o f Columbus c r ossed t he At l a n t ic o n t his oc c a s io n . I t i s c er

t a in t ha t i n 1542 t hey wer e n ot yet i n t he c a thed r a lo f Sa n D om in go . As i t i s a l so c er t a in t ha t i t w a s

hi s devot ed da ugh t er -i n -l aw who br ough t over t he

r em a in s o f t he dis c over er o f Am er i c a , a n d t h a t she

n ever a ft er r et ur n ed t o Spa i n , t he in fer en c e dr awn

i n t he t ext seem s t o be legi t im a t e . The r em a in s o f

Colum bus wer e bur ied i n th e pr esen t c a t hedr a l o fSa n D om in go , whic h wa s fin ished i n 1544 .


Indian slaves,it was wrong also to buy or

sell the children of the black continent .One of his many requests to Prince Philipma de between his election to the episcopaldignity and his departure for America was

,

tha t ( I loathe to write it ) he be allowed toimport

,free of duty

,to the Indies

,four

Negro slaves .The Sa n Sa lva d or struck bottom in clear

ing the bar,j ust outside of the port . I t

bul d ged , and became unseaworthy . Butwith the rising of the tide it proceeded

,a l

though i n a dangerous condition,as far as

Gomara,one of the Canary islands . Ten

days were spent there in repairs but mostof the friars could not be persuaded to sai lagain on the untrustworthy Sa n Sa lva d orand took passage on some other vessels .The port of San Domingo in H i sp a n i

ola was reached on the 9th of September ,1 544 , and the Dominicans of the placec ame processionally to meet the bishop andhis clergy

,who

,amidst rej oicings and the

singing of the Te Deum went to lodge inthe oldest Dominican convent in America .

But,of all the peopl e in San Domingo

,

the Dominicans were alone in welcomingtheir Ol d fellow townsman to the city . TheH en r iqui l lo a ffair was forgotten

,and in

L a s Casas the San Dom i n gui a n s saw on ly

442 L if e of B a r tolorn é d e L a s Ca sa s .

were n ot chosen to fill the offi ces,and to

execute the laws,fil l a nother pa ge of the

long letter . “A d eputa tion of Spania rds,

amongst them some fri a rs,

”L a s Casa s

wrote,

“are on the road to Spain,to appea l

to his Ma j esty aga inst the new laws .Should it be decided to consider theira ppeal

,let them be deta ined until I sha ll

ha ve a cha n c e to answ er them . I amrea dy to meet them wherever and whenever you should command me .

”

The bishop of Chia pa could n ot afford t odraw on the c a rgo of provisions broughtover from Spa in

,beca use it w a s yet a long

journey by wa ter a n d by l and from SanDomingo to Chiapa

,during wh i ch nearly

one hundred persons were to be fed . Theostracism

,or

,i f the word may be used

,the

boycotting of the Domini c ans by the Sa nDom i n gui a n s ha d brought t he communityto the la st extremity . In their dire n ec essities

,they had re c ourse to God . In rela ys

of eight and ten the d ays and nights werespent in church

,to imp lore the Divine as

si st a n c e . It came . The Franciscans be

ga n quietly to furnish m eals to the Sons ofSt . Domini c

,a n d an old negro-woman un

d er t ook to make da ily rounds of the houseswhere lived the few God fearing people ,and h er collections

'improved from day t o


day . From which it appears,that a por

tion of the popula tion were after all thefriends of religion and of justice . Amongthese must be numbered chief j ustice Cerrato

,who at a l l times sided with the friars

in endeavoring to enforc e the new laws .Vice-queen Ma ria de Toledo could alsohave given material assistance to thebishop and the fria rs . But her having arrived i n the company of L a s Casa s , a n d ofher own brother

,who was a Dominican

,

drew upon her the anger of the populace,

and,in spite of her kinship to his Ca tholic

Ma j esty,she too was for a time boycotted

in her own c a pita l .Nothing da unted

,the Protector of the

India ns presented himself before the Audienc ia

,a n d

,in the name of the king

,sum

moued the judges to set free a l l the Indians on the Isla nd . But an immemorialcustom and the pra ctice of j urisprudenceha d c onfirmed to the subj e c ts of the Spanish crown the a ncient right of protesting tothe king aga inst new ly ena cted laws

,

whenever they thought them prejudicia l totheir liberties or their interests . Whenthis was done

,the new legislation remained

in abeyance,until the protest w a s accepted

or rej ected .

‘L et the laws ,

” said thejudges of the Audiencia , whose principal

444 L i fe of B a r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s .

wealth consisted in slaves,

“be obeyed,but

not enforced .

” And a deputa tion was a ppointed to go to the king a n d to ha ve themrepealed or amended . This lega l subt erfuge postponed in most places the emanc ip a t ion of the Indians almost indefinitely .

Pedro de Cordova had died,Montesino

was elsewhere and new friars tenanted theDominican convent . Their sermons hadno longer the ring of those preached thirtyyears before in the presence of Diego C olumbus . For several yea rs past they hadpreserved a discreet silenc e on the subjec tof Indian slavery . Some few of the Dom i n i c a n s in the Indies had even d oubted i fthe opinion so universally preva lent amonginterested Spa nish settlers

,that the India ns

were natural slaves ( servi a n a ta r a ) mightn ot be the true one .History will scarcely prove more useful

than romanc e unless we draw some lessonsfrom it . H a d the clergy of these southernstates of the America n union , presented ,during the p a st one hundred years

,a more

solid front ; had they been bolder and lessdis c reet

,much oppression and tyranny

would have been prevented . A few of uswould ha ve fallen by the assassin’s bullets ,a few necks would perhaps have beentwisted

,but for every martyr’s life a


pressed murmurs of disa pprova l were heardin the church itself

,while groups of angry

men formed outside of it to discuss it . Theproposition was even advanced of shootingthe preacher through a window of thechurch . For all that Casilla ascended thepulpit once more on All Sa ints d a y,

thistime

,not in the cathedral

,for it had been

shut a gainst him,but in his own convent

church,a n d delivered a second sermon on

the same subject . His aposto l i c fea rlessness w a s rewarded a change of sentimentsbegan to lea ven ra pidly among the peopleat la rge

,and in three months time

,which

were spent by L a s Casas in San Domingo ,the rabid a n d wea lthy slave owners losttheir hold on the ma sses a n d found themselves i n the minority .

Meanwhile widow Solano,who w a s

thought to be the richest person in H i

spaniola,called at the convent t o tel l the

fa thers that their sermons ha d Opened hereyes

,and that she w a s convinced tha t

slavery was a mortal sin . Her two hundredsla ves were emancipated at once

,and her

wea lth was placed a t the disposal of L a sCa sas for the m aintainance of the missi on ers during their stay in San Domingo ,and to help supporting them in Chiapa .

Mrs . Solano ’s example and the exemplary


l ives of the friars under trying circumsta nces

,worked so grea t a revolution of

sentiments in the c ity tha t their depa rturefor Chiapa w a s generally regretted .

A solemn High Mass w a s celebrated thatmorning by a fria r of the convent

,with as

dea con and subdea con,two fa thers from

the mona stery of the Franc isc ans,after

which,the celebrant ma de to the bishop

and to his c lergy a tou c hing farewell a ddress . Then hea ded by cross and acolytesand a c c ompanied by the Fra nc isc an a n d

Dominica n communities,the bishop of

Chiapa and his clergy,secular a n d regular

,

proceeded processionally,through the

streets of Sa n Domingo,t o the ship that

w a s to land them in Yu c atan . The voya gewould have proba bly ended disastrously

,

owing t o the ignora nce and carelessness ofthe ca pta in

,who travelled with his newly

wedded wife,ha d i t not been for L a s Casa s ,

who was no mean ma riner,and practi c ally

took cha rge of the vessel .A landing was made on the d ay of the

Epiphany,1 545 , at the port of San L a za ro

(Campeche ) . The diocese of Chiapa,

roughly speaking,w a s bounded on the east

by the Atlanti c ocea n,on the north by the

diocese of Oa xaca , on the west by thePacific ocean , and on the south by Gua te


mala . The province of Tuzulut l a n ha d

been added to it at the request of L a sCasa s himself

,who remarked on a certa in

o c casion,that his jurisdiction comprised

the half of New Spain . Campeche wa swithin its limits

,and on landing at the

port of San L azaro the bishop of Chia pahad at last set foot on soil that w a s inhi s own diocese . Accordingly the parishpriest of the place

,acc om panied by many

Spaniards and a multitude of India ns incanoes

,came t o meet their bishop on

board his ship . Those among the nativeswho were yet pa gans presented themselvesn aked

,while the Christians wore a coarse

cotton bla nket . It was la te in the day before the church was reac hed

,a n d only one

Mass was celebra ted,at which bishop

,

priests and people assisted . Then theSpania rds first

,and then the Indians were

admitted to kiss the episcopal ring .

The Dominicans went to lodge in differ en t houses and were treated everywherecourteously and with generous hospita l ity .

Every Sunda y one of them preached in thechurch but

,by ord er of the bishop

,who

wished to take possession of his diocesepea c efully

,refrained from touching on the

subject o f slavery . Every day at the soundof the bell the whole community gathered


the decrees,by which he was authorized

to take possession of his see,they refused

to a cknowledge him a s their bishop,and to

pay him the tithes that had acc rued sinc ethe time he had set sail from Sa n L u c ar .Another decree

,delivered by him to the

offi cers of the crown,directed them to pay

certain sums that were due him . On thesame pretext it w a s also ignored

,and the

bishop found himself in the impossibilityof settling with the captain of the shipfor the pa ssage of himself and h i s suitefrom

'

San Domingo . The friars cameto his rescue by disposin g of a part of thegoods brought over from Spain

,while the

pa rish priest loa ned the bishop one hundredcastellanos . With these , and his note forthe ba lance

,the bishop of Chiapa succeeded

in proceeding to hi s see .

The d ista nce was yet great,a n d it was

found almost impossible to tra n sport byland what was left of the provisions

,the

equipa ges and the large packa ges of ecclesi a st i c a l goods destined for the churches tobe erected in the new diocese . These wereloaded on an o l d fla tbot tom ed craft with theintention of coasting along the shore a s faras the Tabasco river , on whi c h they couldbe transported to within a short distance ofthe city of Chiapa . Twelve of the friars


sailed on the rickety flat,and two days later

when the bishop and the other passengerswere ready to board a faster vessel to follow them

,a courier brought the news that

their companions had been shipwrecked ,tha t nine of them had been drowned

,and

that the others were sheltered in Champoton

,a n Indian villa ge near the shore .

Provisions,vestments

,church vessels

,a l l

were lost . The news of the catastrophe soterrifi ed the fria rs

,grouped around the

bishop,that at first they refused t o go with

him further by water . But the venerableprelate

,pointing to the clea r skies

,to the

favorable winds,to the new boat

,succeeded

at last in ga thering them on boa rd . Theysat down downcast and mute

,without as

much as looking at each other . Not awink had they slept

,n ot a morsel had

they eaten,not a word spoken in twenty

four hours , when the captain pointed outt o them the wreck . Then they rose ondeck

,and

,amidst tears a n d sobs

,chanted

the d e p rof un d i s and went through theoffice for the dead .

The 3sth , 36 th ,and 37th verses of the

XXVII . chapter of the Acts of the Apostlesdescribes a beauti ful scene in the life of St .Pa ul . It was repeated on boa rd the ship

,

on which L a s Casas travelled . The bishop

452 L if e of Ba r tolom e d e L a s C a sa s .

of Chia pa could bear no longer the pusilla n im i ty of his travelling companions . Hehimself drew out of the pa ntry brea d

,wine

,

and what victuals he could find,set them

on the table,sat down

,and by word and

example shamed the friars into partakingof some food . Courage and cheerfulnesswere thus reesta blished . But at the firstsign of an approaching gale he directed thecaptain to look for shelter

,which was found

behind Carmen Island,where they la nded .

Three days passed before the weather subsided

,and then L a s Casas , in the company

of his faithful companion,Father L adrada ,

and two other friars,proceeded by wa ter on

his j ourney,reaching Ciudad Real de

Chiapa safely . The other Dominicansended their trying voyage by l and duringthe month of February

,1 545 .

Ciudad Real de Chia pa was the whiteman ’s town

,and Chiapa itself was an old

Indian pueblo a few miles away . The r ec ep t ion given to the bishop was about onthe same plan (which seems to have beenpreconcerted ) as tha t received in Campeche .

There was an outward show of polite considera tion and generosity

,while an under

current o f opposition to the prelate ’s ideasand admin istration w a s felt during the firstdays after his arrival . As n o episcopal


but consent to leave matters in s ta t /a qa o.

The ba it unfortuna tely ha d proved tootempting to many of the America n prelates .Even his lordship of Guatemala

,the

energetic and zealous Marroquin,the here

tofore friend of L a s Casas , who had sha redhis opinions

,had succumbed to its allure

ments,and w a s now enjoying the revenues

of a Repartimiento . L a s Ca sa s too wasbut a child of Eve

,thought the Spaniards

of Ciuda d Real,and perhaps he would yet

see that his humanita ria n theories,which

in Spa in he had succ eeded in imposing onthe ruling powers

,were utopia ns and im

practi c able i n America . They were n ot

left long undeceived .

The ecclesi a stica l affairs of Chiapa werefound to be in a deplora ble condition

,a s

might have been expected . Ere c ted into adiocese several years before

,Chiapa had

never yet seen a bishop . A poorly built,

sma ll,and unattractive churc h was called

the cathedra l,which was served by only

two clergymen,the Dean of the chapter

,

Gil Quintana,and the Ca n on Juan Perera .

Besides the parish priest of Campeche,who

w a s,as f a r as known

,a worthy ecclesia stic

,

there were only three other secula r priests,

who were young and had n o partic ularcharge . One of them t ravelled about ,

L if e of B a r tolom é d e L a s C a sa s . 455

from pueblo t o pueblo , baptizing Indians ,for the revenues that the business afforded .

The se c ond was a par tner in a suga rpla ntation

,attending to the cultiva tion of

the cane,while the third filled the office

of a C a lp i x que , the name given by theIndians to the collector of the t ributes

,

which were pa id by them t o the ownersof the Encomiendas . The bishop summ on ed all three of th‘em to l ive with him

,

in order to enforce on them ecclesiasticaldiscipline

,and to employ them in the

work of the ministry . They were paid,

out of the bishop ’s revenues,a smal l

salary,and sat at the same table with

him . L a s Casa s , in becoming a bishop ,had not given up the strict primitive ruleof his Order

,and n ever ate flesh meat

,

which however he supplied scantily to hisguests . His monastic habits

,his stric t

application to duty,and

,

perhaps theexacting exerc ise of authority did not suittwo o f the young men . One of t hem

,on

account of a slight misunderstanding withthe vicar general

, ( a Spaniard who hadcome from Spain with the bishop ) leftthe diocese

,disregarding L a s Casas ’ wishes ,

and died shortly after . The second n u

frocked himself and died on the gallowsas a crimin al

,i n Nicaragua . The Fathers


of Mercy were alrea dy esta blished inChia pa

,when the first Ameri c a n priest

beca m e its bishop ; but . the views of mostof them on the subjec t of sla very did notagree with those of the prela te

,and con

sequently not much use could be made ofthem in the proper administration of thediocese .

The bishop of Chia pa,though c ol er i c

,

impetuous,and very pla inspoken , when

ever i t w a s a question of corre c ting abuses ,or the outrages perpetra ted aga inst the India ns

,was as meek as a lamb

,and as

humble as a child in the ordinary dealingswith h i s flock . The na tives especially had ,at a l l times

,free access to his lordship

,

who sha red with them their sorrows andtheir sufferings . Wooden were the spoonsand forks on his table

,and the dishes

plain ea rthenware . After mass and hismorning devotions

,the hours o f the day

were given to his clergy and to his people,

while a t night several more were spentin study and in writing . Great was hisabiding trust in God

,as all his works

show,a n d hi s ha bit of prayer was consta nt .

His never ending suppli c a tion was thatthe Fa ther of mercies might enlighten theminds a n d touch the hearts of the ha rdenedsinn ers of his diocese

,who could n ot hope


Spaniards meant to receive the Sacramentsof Penance and Holy Eucharist ; for , inthose days of faith

,not to comply with this

precept of the Church was to become a socialoutcast , little better than a Mahommedan .

Nevertheless they continued in open r e

bellion against their bishop,and defied his

authority . They had learn ed to know thati f was useless to entice him with gold or ali fe of ea se

,while their conduct had at last

convinced L a s Casas , that none but dra sticmeasures would avail to soften the hardnessof their hea rts .Accordingly just before Passion Sunday

the bishop withdrew the faculties for hearing confessions from every priest in thecity

,secular and regular

,except two . These

were the Dean and the one Ca non of hiscathedral chapter . The Fa thers of Mercywere excluded

,because it was known

,that

most of them were of the opinion that theIndians were servi a a a ta r a .

T he facultiesof the friars and of the secul ar priests

,who

had lately arrived from Spain,were also

suspended because,being unacquainted

with the country a n d the relations existingbetween the white and the red men , theywere n ot thought to be competent c on

fessors .

At the same time the bishop pl aced i n

L if e of Ba r tolom e d e L a s Ca sa s . 459

the hands of the Dean and of the Canon along list of sins

,the absolution from whic h

he reserved to himself . Briefly it mea nttha t the two authorized confessors couldnot absolve r st any white man who w a s inpossession of real or legal slaves ; zud ofany owner of a Repartimiento

,unless he

was willing to set all his Indians free,and

to ma ke restitution of al l wealth or propertyaccumula ted through their enforced labor .During the first days of passion week the

Canon and the Dean were busy hea ringconfessions . The former simply and faithfully complied with the injunction of hisbishop

,but the l atter

,notwithstanding his

solemn promise to do likewise,every time

he stumbled on one of the reserved cases,

sent t he penitent to the bishop with a note,

saying : “ The bea r er ha s som e c a ses r e

served by your lor d ship , a l though I d o n ot

fin d them r eserved i n the j a s ea n on tewn or

i n a ny of the m or a l theologi a n s .

”

The Spa niards were therefore left tochoose between excommunication ( failureto perform one-’s Easter duties

, t o use amodern expression

,was punished with

nothing less ) and gi ving up the bulk oftheir accumul ated wealth . L ike the slaveowners of the southern states of theAmerican Union before a n d during the


war of secession , they were convinced tha ttheir suga r pla nta tions and their mineswould become worthless without the eu

forc ed la bor of the Indians . Experien c eta ught tha t it was a mistaken notion

,

but a convi c tion it was,and the Gua te

malans acted upon it . In either case,ex

communication or expropriation meant.their ruin

,and it was decided to leave

n ot a stone unturned to avoid both .

First the Dea n,a n d then the Fathers

of Mercy,waited on the bishop to see i f

by a rguments and persuasion they mightnot sha ke his resolution to carry mattersto extremes . But to no purpose . Thebishop answered tha t it was not in hispower to de c la re

,that one portion of his

flock was bound to work and perish toenrich the other

,which was but a small

minority . H a d not the Protector of theIndians studied for t hirty years

,had he

not suffered,spent a fortune and risked

h is l i fe,time and again

,to solve the

momentous problem of Indian sla very ?And now that the best theologians

,the

ablest jurists i n Christendom,the univer

sities and , at last , the supreme power ofthe Spa nish nation had decla red that hewas right

,and slavery wrong

,sha ll he

disgrace his ol d age,and abandon the

462 L if e of B a r tolorn e d e L a s Ca sa s .

archbishop of Mexico,the king and the

pope .

Remesal has preserved us the answermade by L a s Ca sas .

“Oh ye blind men,how woefully has

satan deceived you . Why do you threatenme with your a ppeals to the archbishop

,

the king and the pope ? Know ye,that

,

were I not compelled by the law of God todo as I am doing

,and you to obey me

,you

would yet be bound by the just laws of yourking

,whose faithful vassals you pretend

t o be .

”

Drawing then forth the new laws,he

read to them the sta tutes relating to Indian s lavery and continued .

“Not youof me

,but I have a right to compla in

to the king of you,who do not obey

his laws . ” The spokesman of the comm i t t ee answered that a protest againstthose l aws had been sent to the king

,

and that therefore they should be allowedto remain in abeyance until he shouldhave accepted or rej ected their remonst r a n c es . The bishop retorted : “Yourargument would hold good

,were not these

laws founded on the laws of God,and were

it not an act o f n atural justice to set freethese Indians

,who have been tyrannically

enslaved .

”

L if e of Ba r tolom é d e L a s C a sa s . 463

Nothing came of the r eqa er i rn len to, andpopular clamor succeeded to legal proc eed i n gs . The bla ckest ca lumnies wereresorted t o , in order to vilify the prelate .The bishop was ca lled a glutton and a disc i p l e of Boccaccio . He was better fitted

,

it was said,to manage a tile or a brick

ya rd than to govern a diocese,which meant

that he was an unlettered and an ignorantman . It was even whispered around t hathe was suspected of heresy . The new l aws

,

as interpreted by him,were but a pretext

in his hands to prevent the ministration ofthe sacraments

,as the reformists were then

doing in Germany and elsewhere .

Ca rtoons had not yet been invented,but

ditties ca ricaturing the venerable prelatewere composed and taught to street urchins

,

who sang them under the windows of theepis c opal residence . A villa in went so f a ras to discharge a bla nk ca rtridge from thestreets into the apartments of the bishop

,

hoping thus to intimidate him .

The Dominican Fathers were the on lyconsolation of L a s Casa s . On Holy Thursday one of them preached

,and his theme

was in keeping and according to his ideas .The only effect of the sermon however

,was

to draw on the f r i a r s the ha tred which thepeople nursed against the bishop . Shortly

464 L ife of B a r tolorn e d e L a s Ca sa s .

after Easter the governor of Ciudad Rea lwrote to Cha rles V . and gave him a onesided and calumnious account of the sta teof things in the town . The letter ha s beenpreserved

,o f which I ’l l give the following :

“From the letter I wrote you from C oa t za

c oa l c os your Ma j esty knows already howFray Bartolomé de L a s Casas , the bishop ofthis city

,and

,as he says

,of half of this

New Spain,has landed in Yucatan .

Of ten friars dispatched by him to precedehim

,only one was saved

,and I da re say

,

and could almost swear t o your Majesty,

that the citizens of t his t own would ha vepreferred that the bishop had drowned

,i n

stead of the fria rs,even if these had been

French The flames o f dis c ordwent so high in this city during the Holyweek that i t w a s observed as if the peoplewere not

,Christia ns . The people are so

excited that I don ’t know how to describeit to your Majesty

,and the bishop is so rude

a n d '

so stubborn in his fixed ideas,that he

says that even i f His Majesty or HisHoliness the Pope shoul d so direct andcommand

,he would not desist from his

O n a c c oun t of t he sever a l w a r s bet ween Fr a n c ea n d Spa i n , a n d bec a use o f t he Fr en c h pr iva t eer s , orc or s a ir s , who m a de t r a vel l in g i n Am er ic a n wa t e r s

very da n gerous , Spa n ia rds h a d gr own a c c us t om ed t olook upon F r en c hm en a s l it t le bet t er t ha n Turks .


Dea n t o appea r before him under pena lty,

of what e c clesiastica l c ensure is not known .

Gil Quinta na received the summons,dressed

and wa lking about,but folded the pa per

,

put it in his pocket and disrega rded itscontents .The Protector of the India ns (who c on

fesses in more tha n one pa ssage of his workshis being of a choleri c temperament ) without more ado

,ordered his Algua cil * ) to

proceed to the Dea n ’s house,and arrest

him . The going in and out of messengersfrom the bishop ’s to the priest ’s house ha dattra c ted the attention of the busybodies ofthe town

,who gathered t o see wha t would

ha ppen . The Dea n,forced by the Alguac il

to come out of his house,ma de fra ntic

efforts to escape,and c ried a loud : “help

m e,gentlemen

,help me

,and I will hea r

the confessions of you a l l and give youabsolution .

A ki n d o f episc opa l m a r sh a l em ployed byb i shops t o en for c e e c c les i a s t i c a l jur isdi c t ion . The

ec c les i a s t i c a l t r ibun a l s , r e c ogn ized a s t hey wer e byt he c iv il power s , h a d t he ir ow n exec u t ives a s ou r

c iv il c our t s h a ve t he i r sher iffs , t o en for c e t he i rsen t en c es . When however the offi c e r s o f a n e c c l e~s i a s t i c a l c our t pr oved in suffi c ie n t t o exe c u t e t h e

sen t en c es o f t h e j udges , r ec our se w a s h a d t o t h e

se c u l a r a rm . A l it t le over a c en t ury a go eve ry episc opa l c ur ia i n a Ca t ho l i c c oun t ry h a d i t s own j a il ,i n whi c h r e fr a c t or y ec c les ia st ic s wer e c on fin ed .


The alcalde,or the mayor of the town

,

ha ppened to be in'

the crowd,and yelled :

a qa l d el r ey .’ which had the same effect

as if,in time of siege

,somebody should

cry :“Treason

,citizens

,tre a son !”

In a few minutes every Spaniard was onthe spot armed to his teeth . The Dea nwas set free

,while sentinels guarded the

entra nces to the Dominican convent toprevent the friars from going to the assi st a n c e of the bishop . Meanwhile a motley crowd

,headed by the promoters of

the demonstration,ha d penetrated into

the epis c opa l residence,yelling a l l the

while : “Agn i d el r ey,a qa i d el r ey!

”

Father Med en i l l a,one of the Dominica ns

,

and nothing less tha n a knight of Salama nca

,who happened to be in the front

apa rtments of the house,endeavored to

pacify the angry crowd,when the bishop ,

a ttra cted by the noise,was seen coming

to fa c e the rioters . He w a s forced bac kinto his own apartments by the Dominica ns

,but meanwhile the lea din g spirits

of the mob ha d also gained acc ess to theroom

,all speaking and voci ferating at the

same time . It was pandemonium . Thesc oundrel

,who

,some days before

,ha d shot

a blank cartridge into the house to frightenhim

,went so far as t o swear there and then

468 L if e of B a r tolom é d e L a s C a sa s .

that he would yet kill him . L a s CasasSpoke not a word

,but when t he storm ha d

spent itself,and there was silence in the

room,looked them fixedly in the fac e

,and

then,with words n ot of contempt but of

pity and forgiveness,dismissed them from

his presence after administering to thema fatherly admonition .

That n ight there was more than oneSpanish Hidalgo moping in his room

,

and thoroughly a shamed of himself forhaving taken part in the da y ’s riotous proc eed i n gs against the bishop .

At a late hour the people ha d come tot heir senses

,and officers proffered to go in

pursuit of the outlawed Dean,and to re

arrest him .

But L a s Casas preferred to let him go inpeace

,not howe ver without suspending and

excommunicating him .

Next d ay several of the Dominicanfathers visited the bishop

,and begged him

to leave Ciuda d Rea l,for a while at lea st ,

because they feared that the threa ts,made

against his li fe the d ay before , might beca rried out . “But Fathers

,where do you

wish me to go ? ” answered the Protectorof the Indians . “Where shall my life beout of danger a s long as I continue toadvocat e the l iberty of these helpl ess


yesterda y were mild a n d moderate,com

pared to the affronts I had to bea r a t

their ha nds in former days both in Spainand in these Indies . ”

The bishop was yet conversing withhi s visitors

,when four other Fa thers

rushed in the room to tell him,tha t the

m a n,who had threatened his l ife the day

before,had been stabbed . L a s Casas

arose and invited the fria rs t o go withhim to the assistanc e of the woundedcriminal . A surgeon was sent for at once

,

and while his companions busied themselves i n stemming the blood tha t flowedfrom the open woun ds

, L a s Ca sas preparedwith his ow n hands the fillets used inbanda ging them . Four hours he rema inedby the side of the sick man

,showering his

attentions upon him,as if he had been his

own brother . It w a s the vengeance of aworthy bishop . The criminal asked athousand pardons

,became a good Christian

,

and the li felong friend of the Protector ofthe Indians .The Spaniards of Ciudad Real ma de the

l ife of . the Dominica ns unbearable and impossible . The tactics adopted against themin San Domingo were repeated in Chia pa ,and the usua l a lms collected daily fromd oor t o door weren o lon ger forthcomin g .


It w a s decided to seek another field for theirwork

,not however without preaching a

fa rewel l sermon to the Spa niards . Theirdepa rture

,the prea c her told them

, w a s

ca used by the hardness of t heir hearts , andby t heir sins . It did no good to t he slaveowners

,who

,though they considered the

fria rs their enemies,were angered at being

told the t ruth . The neighboring puebloof Chiapa w a s visited

,and

,as both the

owner of the Encomienda and the Indiansthemselves

,showed great desire t o see the

Fathers established i n their midst,i t was

de c ided t o build a convent there . Thebishop w a s invited to bless the corner stoneof the church

,and

,of course the entire

community accompa nied him to the ancientIndia n villa ge . But before t aking the roa done of the Fathers preached once more inCiuda d Rea l . The Spaniards were toldthat

,after all

,the bishop ’s Opinion

,tha t i t

w a s unjust to enslave the India ns,w a s not

so unusual . B ishop Marroquin,when a

simple parish priest,had held it . So did

the renowned Fa ther B et a n zos, .so did the

Francisca ns very generally etc . Althoughit was sa fer to keep on the beaten roa dwhen travelling through the mountains

,i t

w a s safer to keep on the narrow path tha tled to heaven . But it was like preachingto the winds .

472 L if e of Ba r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s

Thousa nds of Indians flocked,from many

miles around,to the reception given by

them to L a s Casas in their pueblo of Chiapa . They met him a good hour ’s wa lkfrom the town

,decked for the occasion

with rare and costly plumage and withgolden chains and bracelets of curiousworkmanship . They carried i n their handscrosses made of feathers and flowers . Nosooner had the bishop settled down i n thehouse assigned t o him , t hat delegationafter delegation came from different vi lla ges to beg that the Fathers be sent tothem to tea ch them the Christian re ligion .

The hea rt of the Protector of the Indiansoverflowed with joy , and t urning to theDominicans

,he addressed t hem in the fol

lowing vein : “Will you n ow believe me ?Is n ot this what I told you i n Sa lamanca ?Write to your brothers

,and t el l t hem of

the great n eed , tha t t hese poor souls haveof t heir ministration ; encourage them tocome here and explain to them that

,while

the ha rdships are great, the harvest to be

ga thered is greater . I t is now easier forthem to come

,as they wil l find you here

ready to re c eive them . As wha t Itold you i n Castile has proved t rue

,ex

per i en c e has taught me to hope in OurL ord that what I have prophesied t o you


L a s Casas himself returned to Ciuda dReal to ma ke the necessa ry prepa ra tionsfor another long journey . His destinationw a s Gra c ia s a Dios

,on the Atlantic coa st

of Honduras,where an Audiencia

,or c our t

of appeal,ha d l ately been esta blished for

the convenience of the numerous settlements tha t ha d Sprung up in Ni c aragua ,Hondura s

,Guatema la and Yuca tan . L a s

Ca sas had been,to a grea t extent

,i n st ru

mental i n having it esta blished,and some

,

i f n ot a l l of its judges had been a ppointedby his recommendation .

. The long andperilous j ourney w a s undertaken for tworeasons . The first was to ask the assista nceof the secul a r arm to ena ble him t o enforceecclesia sti c al dis c ipl ine

,and put an end to

the riotous proceedings in his episc opa lcity ; and the secon d to assist at the consecra tion of a new bishop for the dio c ese ofNica ra gua

,to whi c h the bishop of Gua te

ma la ha d a lso been invited .

The bishop had not been ma ny days inCiudad Real

,when a bitter disa ppointment

a lmost destroyed the fa ir prospec ts of a na bunda nt harvest of souls , that seemed tobe ripe in Chia pa

,and in the other mis

sions esta blished by the Dominicans .News rea c hed him tha t the owner of theRepa rtimiento of Chia pa

,either a t the i n


st iga t ion of the Spaniards of Ciudad Rea l ,or because he ha d r ealized that the friarswould not prove plia ble tools in his ha ndsto his own aggra ndizement

,had turned

their enemy . In fa ct he ha d alrea dy goneso far as to represent to them ,

that otherprovinces

,especially Mexico City and its

surrounding towns,would afford a better

field for their ta lents and abilities . HisIndians

,he urged

,were n aturally stupid

and could never be converted into realChristians . Every obstacle was thrown inthe w a y of the friars to obstru c t their workof evangelization

,and evidently nothing

would ha ve been more welc omed by theSpanish Hidalgo than the departure of theFathers from the pueblo . As other ta cticsdid not ava i l to rid himself of them

,he did

not hesita te to invent before both the whiteand the red man

,the blackest calumnies

against them .

The sudden appearance of the whiteman on his flying monster ( the horses )with the lightning l n his ha nd (fire arms )had enshrouded the Spa niards

,i n the

minds of the natives,in a supernatura l a t

m osphere almost everywhere in Mexicoand Central America . The Encomend eros

(owners of Encomiendas ) did not fail toencourage the superstitious dread t hat the


Indians had conceived for the new-comers,

in order to bring them into abj ect and morethan servile subjection to their every whim .

On the contra ry,one of the first c a res of

the Missioners was to t each the Indians thetruth

,and gradually lead their converts to

assert their manhood . Hence complications and misunderstandings

,t hat would

appear ludicrous and amusing,were not

the motives,and causes that led to them

cruel and despicable . The following fromRemesal gives us a hint of the relationsthat often existed in those early daysbetween the clergy

,whose mission was to

civilize and christianize the aborigines,

and the Encomenderos of many a Repa rtimiento

,especia lly in remote and out of the

way places,whose only obj ect in li fe wasto enrich themselves with the labor of theIndians . We shall learn why the En c omendero of Chiapa and the Dominicans fellout so soon .

One d ay a n unusually bright Indian a d

dressed the Fathers as follows : “Fa thers,

we are loosing our wits under your i n st ruction . When you first came here

,our lord

told us that he ha d written a letter to theemperor

,his brother

,asking that he send

you here to say Mass for us,and that you

came here to obey his orders . He has told


as the year 1 562 , when many of the companions of L a s Casas were yet living , asystem of feudalism had been esta blishedw ith here and there a Cac ique

,a Spania rd

or a Spanish American as lord,to whom

moderate tributes were paid,while over

vast areas,as in the land of war

,the In

d ians acknowledged a s their lord the Spanish king alone . The missioners had

,by

this time,relaxed to some extent from

their stiff and uncompromising attitude towa rds their countrymen

,and these

,from

the exemplary life of the Fa thers and fromtheir constant preaching ha d learned totreat the natives as men . Al l of which canbe gathered from a letter o f L a s Ca sa swritten about 1 562 to those same missionersin answer to a joint on e of theirs , whichthey had addressed to him in Spain .

Itw a s a bout the first ofJune 1 545 when L a sCa sas set out on his journey to Gracia s aDios . Quite a n umber of persons a c c om

p a n i ed him ; three Dominic a ns , one of thecanons of the cathedral

,who had come

with: him from Spa in,Gregorio de Pas

quera,Rodrigo L opez and some other l ay

men . He could h a ve chosen a shorter andan ea sier route to the Atla ntic coa st , butpreferred to travel through the mountainous regions of Tuzulut l a n ,

the land of war ,

L if e of Ba r tolom é d e L a s C a sa s . 479

in order to revisit the scenes of his formerla bors and the numerous children he hadthere begot in Christ . The Dominica nFa thers ha d

,by this time

,loc a ted in

severa l pueblos,in ea c h of whi c h could be

seen,towering over every other

,the house

of God . .They c ame a long w ay to meettheir former brother

,their bishop

,and the

found er of their flourishing missions,to

embrace hi m,and to shed tears of j oy with

him . How touchingly must have ea ch ofthem deta iled to the venerated Protector ofthe Indians the religious progress of hisown pa rti c ul a r local i ty . Next came theCaciques of the entire province . To eachof them L a s Casa s delivered an a uthen

t i c a t ed copy of the d ec ree,signed by

Charles V . himself,insuring to him for

ever,his freedom

,his lands

,and the non

interference,by white men

,in his home

a ffa irs . The chiefs tha nked h im for ha vingmade them Christians without the sheddingof blood or the loss of their liberty . Not aChristia n na tive fa iled to visit the Prot ector of the Indians on this o c casion . a n d

each brought to him some little present ofthe best tha t the country a fforded .

The mission a ssigned by divine prov i d en c e to L a s Casas was a strange one .

Nearly all of his long life’s hours of hap


p i n ess were spent with the untutored children of Americ a

,while it fell to his lot to

wage a war a ga inst his ow n countrymen,

that lasted for more than fifty yea rs . InTuzulut l a n

,one of his travelling corn

panions,the canon of his cathedral

,tired

of that life of hardships,abandoned him

and went to Guatemala,where he was r e

c eived and sheltered by bishop Ma rroquin .

From the letter,which I am about to

quote,it appears that the two prela tes of

Gua tema la and of Chia pa must have metsomewhere in Tuzulut l a n

,a n d very proba

bly the canon,after some alterc ation with

L a s Casas , offered his services to his lordship of Guatema la

,whi c h were a c c epted .

Certa in it is tha t the friendship betweenL a s Ca sa s and Marroquin ended with theirvisit to Tuzulut l a n in 1 545 .

The canon,on reaching Guatemala must

n ot have been in a very apostoli c frame ofmind

,and his falling out with his former

bishop must have been wel l known to thec itizens of Santiago de los Ca balleros .These had learned from the canon

,and

proba bly also from bishop Ma rroquin , tha tL a s Ca sas ha d gone to Gra cias a Dios forthe express purpose of bringing pressure tobear on the Audiencia to enforce at oncethe new laws . Accordingly they decided


from a l etter of his,dated the 1 7th of

August,1 545 , throws considerable light on

the events of that year,and on the rela

tions existing between the bishops of Cent ral America at that period .

“Since I wrote you my last l ong letter,I

had occasion to visit the province of Tuzulutlan reaching its borders on thevigil of St . Peter ( 2 8th of June ) , I metthere many messengers from the Ca ciquesa n d many prominent men of that country

,

who told me t hat they were very gla d ofmy coming . At half a league from thepueblo

,the whole population

,men

,women

and children turned out to meet me,dan

cing a s a Sign of joy a t my coming . Onmy arrival they presented me with an a d

dress,i n which many thanks were given

me for the troubl e I had taken in comingto them The Spa nia rds here are theenemies of the fria rs and often used to sayto them : Why d on ’

t you go to Tuzulut la n ?

This moved B a rtolomé de L a s Casas andthe other Fathers to try and gain admissionto the c ountry . Through the interventionof third pa rties

,they succeeded in being

admitted to the presenc e of the Ca ciquesof these provinces and especia lly to that o fJ ean ei s t la n ,

whi c h is a pueblo a djoiningTuzulut l a n . By presents and by promises


that no other Spaniard would be admitted,

the people little by”

little lost their fearsand admitted the friars . They l istencheerfully t o the word of God

,and seem to

be satisfied as long as nothing is asked oft hem ; what the future will develop , Godonly knows . To tell the truth

,I am con

vi n c ed that a l l those people will be broughtto the knowledge of God . The friars deserve much credit for their good intentionsand their zeal . The province is the crag

gi est and most mountainous in these parts ,and so poor that there is no l ikelihood of

the Spaniards ever settling there . The beginning of it i s about eighty miles fromhere

,and from thence to the sea about one

hundred and thirty . Only seven or eightpueblos

,worth mentioning

,are to be found

in a l l that province . I give you these part i c ul a rs because I kn ow that the bishop ofChiapa and the friars wi l l write youmiracles about it ; but what I t ell you is thetruth . As I was about to l eave

,F r ay ‘

B a r

tolome arrived there . L et your Majesty bekind to the friars and encourage them .

That country is wel l adapted t o t hem,

there being n o Spaniards or any on e elset o worry them ; and there they wil l be atl iberty t o go and come and to rule as theypl ease . I wil l visit t hem occasion ally a n d


give t hem what encouragement I can .

When Fra y B a rtolomé told me that thecountry belonged to his diocese

,I answered

that he was welcome t o i t . I know thathe will draw on his imagination and inventtales about things which neither he

,or

your M a j esty,understand . His general

make up is hypoc risy,and m fact

,as soon

as he w a s given a mitre,his vanity propped

up,as if he had n ever been a friar

,a n d as

i f the sincerity of the zeal,he had showed

while attending t o certain importa nt busin ess

,should n ot n ow need be proved by

greater humility and greater holiness . Asmy object in writing was only t o informyou about Tuzulut l a n

,I here end my

letter . ”

Why did Marroquin speak so d i spa ra gi n gly of his old friend L a s Casas , to whomhe had

,only five or six years before

,en

trusted the task of going to Spain t o recruitDominican and Franciscan friars for hisdiocese of Guatemal a . The followingseems to be the explanation . When Marroqui n m et L a s Casas in Tuzulut l a n ,

n o

doubt both prelates were on their way t oGracias a Dios . In Tuzulut l a n the Guatema lan bishop discovered that the ma in ob

jec t of L a s Casa s’ journey was not the con

secration of a n ew bishop , but t o have the

486 L if e of Ba r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s.

to be obt ained through the American crownofficers , unless they were constantly goadedto action by the centra l government atMadrid . Therefore

,on the 30 th of Sep

tember he addressed a long letter to PrincePhilip

,regent of Spain during his father’s

absence,petitioning I st

,that the Aud i en

cia of Gracias a Dios be instructed to assisthim and his clergy to perform the pastoraloffice and t o instruct the n a tives . 2 d , thata sa lary be assigned to the secul ar clergyenga ged in the work of the ministry in hisdiocese . 3d , that suff i cient funds be a p

p ropr i a t ed to make the n ecessary repairs onhis cathedral church . 4th ,

that he beauthorized to n ame successors t o his excommunicated dea n

,and to the ca non

,who

had left for Guatemala,from among the

clergy,who were already in the diocese .

5 th ,that t he n ame of the province known

as the land of war be changed to Ver aPa s ( true peace . ) 6 th

,t hat sufli c i en t altar

wine be furnished to the Fathers workingin the province of Vera Paz . Al l of theserequests were granted in good t ime . Othershad t o be referred t o his majesty the em

peror .

It is interesting t o know that the nameVer a Pa s designating , in a l l geogra phicalmaps , the northern province of the presen t

L tfe of B a r tolorn é d e L a s C a sa s . 487

Republic of Guatemala,was given to it by

the first American priest . It has n ow en

dured for more th a n three centuries and aha lf

,and is a better monument than all the

statues ere c ted,in almost every city of

Spanish America,to perpetuate t he

memory of the Protector of the Indians .The original roya l de c ree calling thatprovince Vera Pa z can yet be consulted bythe historian . It is dated Madrid the 1 5thof Janua ry 1 547.

It might have been expected that L a sCasas could have gotten wha t he wantedfrom the Audiencia , the esta blishment ofwhich he had solicited

,and obtained

,

practically selecting himself its judges .But

,as one of his best biographers re

marks,he was n o reader o i characters

,and

,

in almost every instanc e , was"disa ppointed

by the persons selected to cooperate withhim in his humanitarian works . In thisinstance

,his old friend of Guatemala

,Mal

donado,had been appointed chief justice at

L a s Casa s ’ request . Evidently the Audiencia ha d adopted a policy of procrastinat ion in considering the demands of thebishop of Chiapa

,and the prelate had

made himself obnoxious i n pressing them .

One day L a s Casas on ente r ing the waiting room of the court

,heard an officer r e


mark : “Put out tha t fool . ” On anotherocc a sion he w a s in the court room in thecompa ny of Fa ther Va ldivieso , a n d on hisg i ving an answer whic h did not suit thechief justi c e

,the la tter ordered the m a r

sha ll to expel him by force , with the r e

ma rk ' “E s tos eoei n er t l los en sa ea n d olos

d el c on ven to n o hay gui en se pued e a ver t

yua r eon el los .

”(As soon a s these little

pigs get out of their convents , nobody canget a long with them . )Next d a y L a s Ca sas presented himself

again in court,and in the presence of the

ofli c ers,and severa l other persons

,who

ha ppened to be present,solemnly sum

m on ed the judges, in the name of God , ofSt . Peter and St . Paul , and of the RomanPontiff

,to relieve his Churc h and his flock

from the tyranny,to which they were then

subject ; to give orders to the Spania rds n otto obstruct the preaching of the Gospel ;and to ena ble him to exerc ise freely hisjurisdiction . It c a used the chief justice tolose his temper altogether .

“You are an unblushing coward,

” hesaid

,

“ a bad man,a bad friar

,and a ba d

bishop . You ought to be punished .

” Thevenerable prela te

,in spite

,

of his years,

never wa s a t a loss for a repartee,and a n

swered with dignity : “ I fully deserve a l l

490 L i fe of B a r tolom é d e L a s C a sa s .

ships . I,the bishop of Ciuda d Real de

Chia pa,Don Bartolomé de L a s Ca sa s , i n

order t o comply with my pastoral duty,the

dictates of my conscience,and the sacred

canons,which I swore t o obey , on the d ay

of my consecration,hereby ask and demand

of your lordships,the president and judges

of this royal Audiencia,sitting in t his city

of Gracias a D ios,the following

I st . That , whereas my church is 0 ppressed and my jurisdiction impeded

,so

that I cannot exercise it freely,on account

of the disobedience and rebellion of the ord i n a ry judiciary of my epi scopal city , yourlordships give m e freedom ,

and the meanst o exercise said ecclesiastical jurisdiction ,

as you are by l aw bound to do .

”

It would t ake too much space to give t n ewhol e document in full , and the substanceonly follows .The 2 d asks the assistance of the secular

arm t o punish ecclesiastical and secula rlawbreakers .

3d . Relief for the Indians of his diocesefrom en forced labor

,excessive tributes

,etc .

4th . Ecc lesiastical t ribunals must bedecla red competent t o decide l itigations inmatters pertainin g t o the Indians .5 th . The Spaniards must be forbidden

and prevented from establishing En c om i endas in Yucat an

,a s per the n ew l aws .

L if e of B a r tolorn é d e L a s Ca sa s . 49 1

6 th . The Indians,now free vassal s of

the crown,must be prote c ted .

7th . Substa ntia lly that the new lawsmust be declared in force at once .

Four days after,that is

,on the a 6 th of

October,1 545 , the Audiencia took action ,

and formally answered the bishop ’s summons or Requerimiento . Six of his r e

quests were apparently granted,that is

,

promises were ma de to comply with them .

But the last was referred t o his Majesty theking .

The answer,or sent ence ended as fol

l ows : “ In this Audiencia answer was a l

ways made to the bishop of Chiapa and tothe other bishops

,and their requests have

always been complied with,i f n ot i n c on

sistent with good government,with a view

especially to insure good treatment,preser

vation and instruction of the natives . Theliberty of the Church ha s in no mannerbeen interfered with

,or its jurisdiction ob

structed,whereas the bishop of Chiapa has

attempted t o usurp that of his Majesty , theemperor , as appears from his pretensionsbefore this Audienc ia , of which , and of hiswant of respect to this court , his Majestyshall be informed

,in order that he may be

punished,etc .

”

One of the prac t ical effect s of the court ’s


decision was the appointment of ’ one of itsown j udges

,Jua n Rogel

,to go to Ciudad

Rea l a n d see that the tribunal ’s mandateswere c a rried out .But L a s Ca sas expected no substantial

reform from the Audiencia,and even before

the promulgation of the la tter ’s decree,tha t

is,on the 2 5 th of October , he ha d written

another long letter to Prince Philip, t o

which bishop-elec t,Valdivieso

,also affixed

his signature . The two prelates informedthe regent that the Church in their diocesesw a s oppressed , and that the condition ofthe Indians was becoming worse

,because

the new laws were not enforced . Maldonado

,they said

,together with his rela

t ives , ha d sixty thousa nd Indians in hispossession . He connived

,and even en

c our a ged the thefts of the royal o fficers ,while the unscrupulous Audiencia did littleor nothing to prevent their crimes .Scarcely anybody

,except the bishops and

the friars,who were therefore persecuted

,

were faithful servants of the king . Unlessa remedy be found

,the bishops protested

,

they would be compelled to abandon theirdioceses . The Indians must be given theirliberty

,by obliging the Spaniards to ob

serve the new laws . Al l bishops must beexhort ed t o exercise their zeal in procuring


blamed for partially repealing the n ew

laws,and for yielding to the America n

rebels . Had they not done so,Americ an

independence would probably have beenachieved three and a half centuries sooner

,

but the n atives would ha ve certa inly succ um bed to the avarice and bl oodthirstinessof the Conquista dores . L a s Casas , throughout his long life , followed but one princ ip l e . Rua t eoelurn ,

thought he,and his

school,but l et j ustice hie et n un e be done

t o the Indians .The court of Spain on the cont rary wasguided by practical statesmanship ityielded

,when i t could n ot rule

,it governed

,

whenever government did n ot imply thedestruction of both the white and the redm a n . This explains how the Protector ofthe Indians enjoyed

,for full fifty years

,the

favor of Ferdinand and of Isabe lla,of

the great Ximenes , of Pope Adrian , ofCharles V .

,and of Philip II . , while his

e fforts in behalf of the aboriginal Americansapparently n ever were backed by sufli c i en tenergy t o insure a full measure of success .The Spanish government avail ed itself ofL a s Casas’ purity of li fe

,of his influence

,

of his learning,and of his prodigious energy

in consolidating its western empire,and i n

c hecking the greed and the cruel ty of the


C on qui st a d ores,a n d thus prevent , at least ,the extinc tion of the inferior ra ce . But itc ould not always follow in practi c e the i m

pet uous Clerigo , the choleric friar , and thethundering bishop .

The Audienc ia also wrote to the regent,

giving in their own way their side of thequestion

,and representing L a s Ca sa s in

so unfa irly a light,tha t Judge Herrera

declined to sign the letter . He wroteindividually t o the emperor giving hisreasons for so d oing

,as follows . “ I did

not sign the l etter which t his Audienciawrote you

,beca use it appeared to me too

violent against the bishops of Chiapa andNi c ara gua

,and against one of the Fathers

,

Fra y Vi c ente . The bishop of Chiapaappears t o me very bold . Their offenseconsisted o f certain writings

,which have

been sent to you by the Audiencia . Ithink tha t their intentions were good

,

although their zeal was intemperate . Iknow that the na tives are very much illtrea ted . Your M a j esty call them free ;would to God

,that they were treated as

slaves a r e ; for then they would not be usedas carriers

,they would be nursed in si c k

ness,and fed when hungry .

” Herrera ’sletter is dated the 2 4th of December , 1 545 .

Chief justice Ma ldonado also thought


proper t o write a private letter,in which

he sa ys : “Your Majesty will see from theletter of the Audiencia

,how the bishop of

Chia pa has been acting Ever since hec ame back from Spain a bishop

,he has

been so arrogant ( tl en e ta n ta sober bi a )that n obody can get along with him . Wethink here

,t hat a convent in Casti l e would

suit him better than a mitre here . It wouldbe well to make him explain to the counci lof the Indies

,how the Indians are subject

to ecclesia stical j urisdiction . Because wedeclined to place them under that j urisdiction

,as he had requested us to do

,he

excommunicat ed the Audiencia . I t is a dvisable that your Ma j esty erect Yucata n intoa diocese . If Father Toribio Mot ol i n i a ofthe Order of St . Francis , one of the first

,

who came to Mexico,would accept tha t

mitre,he would be well worthy of it

,as he

is in every way a very virtuous and eloquentman . I think that he would fil l the offi cewell . ”

Tor ibio Mot ol i n i a a c quir ed a ver y un en v ia bler eput a t ion ever s in c e t h e begin n in g o f t h e pr esen tc en t ury , when st uden t s bega n t o be in t er es t ed i ne a r ly Am er i c a n h i st ory . H i s r ea l n a m e w a s

Tor ibio d e Ben a ven t e . B ut t he Mexi c a n s used t hewo r d “Mot o l i n i a ” (poor ) t o d ist in guish t he Fr a nc i sc a n s fr om t he ot her Spa n ia r ds ,who , t hey t hought ,we r e r ic h . Mo t o l i n i a h a d c om e t o Mexi c o shor t lya ft er t he c on quest by Cor t ez , a n d bec a use Mot ol i n i a


place . By that time letters ha d arrivedfrom Ciuda d Rea l

,in whi c h L a s Ca sa s

w a s informed by his vic a r genera l,Canon

Perera,tha t a comm ittee

,empowered by

the citizens t o act in their name,ha d pre

sent ed themselves at the episcopal residenceto r equer i r or sum mon the bishop , or , inhis absence

,his vi c a r general to withdraw

the reservation of the c a sus con selen tl a e

touc hing on India n sla very and restitution .

Their pretensions were again founded onthe bull of Pope Alexander VI . Theyasked for a n answer in writing . Theprudent vic a r general promised to give itwithin thirty da ys

,and declared to them

that he w a s rea dy to absolve them all,

i f they consen ted to set their sla ves freeand to ma ke restitution of their i l l got t enwealth . The citizens a llowed the thirtydays to la pse without c a lling for the

promised an swer,because they thought

they ha d stru c k on a better pl a n to ob

ta in their obj ect . This consisted of anoffer to Perera

,to put him in possession

of t he churc h,as its parish priest

,with

a f a t sala ry and other induc ements,i f he

would ac c ept i t,a n d rel inquish at the same

time the offi c e of vi c a r genera l . H a ppilyPerera proved loyal to his bishop andSpurned the bribe .


The gravity of the situation in the episcopal c i ty decided the sending of commiss ion er Rogel to Ciudad Rea l

,a n d a t on c e

L a sCasa s left Graci a s a Dios in time to reachhome for the celebration of the Christmasfestivities . But a letter had preceded himto Ciudad Real from some

'

interestedpa rty

,saying : “The bishop has left for

Chiapa to encompa ss the ruin of your poorcity . With him goes one of the judges tore-assess the tributes to be paid by the Indians . It is a mystery to us here

,how

you do not put an end to so many evils . ”

The letter wa s addressed to the towncounc il . The city fathers thereupon rangthe tocsin

,and called the c itizens to a

mass-meeting,and in the presence o f the

assembled multitude the secretary wasdirected to read a decla ration to the effectthat the bishop had taken possession ofhis see without n otifying in person

,as he

w a s by l aw bound to do,the Cabildo

,

and without exhibiting the papa l bullsand the royal decrees ; and that he ha d

notwithstanding reserved to himself theabsolution of cases

,on the subjec t of

which an appeal was pending before theemperor . It was therefore resolved

,that

,

whereas the threatened reduction oft ribut es woul d impoverish the citizens

,


and cause a n uprising among the Indians,

the bishop be notified to attempt no i n

nova tion,and to proc eed like the other

bishop of New Spain,i . e . wa it until

the procurators appointed to l ay the matterbe fore the emperor

,whose decision they

were rea dy to obey,should return from

Spain . It was also resolved that,should

any disorder arise from the bishop ’s noncomplia nce with the foregoing demands

,

he a lone,n ot they

,be held responsible .

A third resolution was also c arried to theeffect

,that

,unless the bishop acceded to

their demands,he would be deprived of

his temporalities . And there and then theCa bildo passed a n ordinanc e forbiddingc itizens from paying tithes under penaltyof a fine of one hundred castella nos .One of the Dominicans residing in Cina

ca tla n heard of the doings of the m a ssmeeting

,a n d fearing tha t the raving popu

la c e might ta ke possession of the bishop’s

library and manuscripts,or destroy them

,

sen t a lay brother and a layman to pla c ethem beyond their reach . The two gentlemen went by night

,and

,although dis

covered,succeeded

,after a scrimmage with

a couple of watchmen,to fulfil their Mis

sion . By this time L a s Casas ha d reachedC opa n aba st l a , a few leagues farther from

50 2 L lf e of Ba r tolom e d e L a s Ca sa s .

recal led,not however before they had

reached the sentinels guarding the a p

p roa c hes to the town . When it wa s

learned in Ciuda d Real that the bishop ha drecalled his Indian carriers

,the citizens

concluded that he must have abandonedthe idea of forcing matters

,and tha t he

would either keep out of town , or give thedesired pledges

,and on the strength of that

conviction the mob gave vent to their feelings by wild rejoic ings

,as if an attack from

an enemy had been repelled .

Meanwhile L a s Casa s was in consultationwith the Dominicans of C opa n aba st l a , as towhat should best be done in the premises .Opinions varied ; but he reasoned thusIf I go not to Ciuda d Real

,I ’ll become an

exile from my Church,and

,inasmuch as it

would be myself who would remain awayfrom it of my own free will , i t could besa id with sufficient reason : ‘ the ba d m a n

fleeth while nobody pursueth him .

’ Andafter all

,how do we know that they want

to kill me,and that the sentinels are there

for that purpose ? That the good Fathersof C i n a c a t l a n wrote me the truth , I haveno doubt

,but there are also the words of

our L ord himself , which he spoke to hisdisciples

,when they advised him not to

ret urn t o Judea , where the people had a t

L i fe of Ba r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s . 50 3

t empted t o kill hi m the day before ;‘there

are twelve hours -i n a day,and in every

hour,in every moment

,and in every in

‘

stantmen m a y change their minds .

’ Surelythe people of Ciudad Real are not demonsto be so confirmed in sin . Is it possiblethat the merc y of God will permit them tocommit so horrible a crime as to murderm e ? If I go n ot to my churc h

,wha t

reasons sha l l I have for complaining to thepope a n d to the emperor? Am I su1 e thatI shall not be able to wa rd off their anger

,

and tha t my first word shall be stifled by ada gger’s thrust through m y hea rt ? Yes

,

my good Fathers,trusting in the mercy of

God and your fervent prayers,I have re

solved to proceed on my journey,as no

other alterna tive is left me without compromising my duty .

Amidst the tears of the friars the fearlessprelate set out at sunset , and la te at nightsurprised the sentinels

,who ha d fal l en

asleep .

“Are you ready,

” he said to themin their n ative tongue

,

“ to betray yourFather ? ” And the Indians fell on theirknees to beg his pardon .

L a s Casas feared to compromise thoseinnocent tools of the tyranny of the Spa ni a r d s

,who would have wreaked on them

t heir vengeance,had the sentinel s allowed

50 4 L if e of B a r tolorn e d e L a s Ca sa s .

him to enter the c ity unheralded . To savethem from punishment

,Fa ther Vicente

Ferrer,one of his tra velling compa nions ,

and a stalwart negro serva nt.w ere orderedto hold fa st the two diminutive Guatemal a ns

,while he himself tied their ha nds

on their backs . With his willing prisonerswa lking in front of him

, L a s Ca sas madestraight for the ca thedra l

,and 0 11 reac hing it

early in the morning,aroused the sacristan

and notified the Ca bildo of hi s presence ,asking them to come to the church

,where

he was wa iting for them .

H a d a beleaguered city fallen suddenlyinto the hands of the enemy

,i t could ha ve

created no greater commotion,than the un

expe c ted appea ranc e o i L a s Casas did thatearly morning in Ciuda d Real . The aldermen met to delibera te on what should bedone next

,and conc luded to answer the

bishop ’s call . Entering the church,they

took seats,as i f expecting to hear a sermon

,

and,when the venerable prelate issued

forth from the sacristy,not one of them

rose from his sea t,or exhibited the l east

Th e n egr o w a s o f giga n t i c st a t ur e , a n d i n jest ,L a s C a s a s h a d dubbed h i m j a a n z

'

to (l i t t le Joh n ) .

H e t r a ve r sed t he c o n t in en t w i t h t h e bishop t hr eet im es . When ever t hey c a m e t o a swol l en st r e a m ,

Jua n i t o’s dut y wa s t o c r oss the pr ela t e on h i s

Shoulder s.


t o our rank ha s been keenly felt . Why didyou not ca ll on us

,if you ha d any business

with us ? ”

The bishop,assuming a n attitude of

gravity in keeping with the dignity of hisoffice

,answered calmly : “Sir

,a n d a l l of

you here present,know ye

,that

,i f I shall

have to transact any temporal affa irs withyou

,I will call at your houses ; but , i f I

shall ha ve to spea k to you about mattersconcerning the service of God

,or your

souls,I will send for you

,and you shall

have to come to me,i f you are Christians .

The white haired prela te had risen andwas walking into the sacristy

,when the

secretary respectfully approached him andha nded hi m a petition of the people

,

which,he sa id

,needed not t o be read

,as

the substance of it all was only that thecitizens be treated as Christia ns

,and that

confessors be appointed to absolve them .

“Very well,

” answered the bishop ;“I

hereby appoint Ca non Perera and a l l theDomini c an fa thers in this diocese that shallbe recommended by their prior . ”

“We do not wa nt them,

” answered morethan one man

,

“beca use they share youropinions ; give us some who will not stripus of everything we have .

”

“Very well,I appoint the Guat emal a

L if e of Ba r tolom e d e L a s Ca sa s . 50 7

priest,who resides in this diocese

,and one

of the Fathers of Mercy .

”

O11 hea rin gwhic h,Fa ther Vicente Ferrer

,

who stood by hi s side,pulled the bishop ’s

cassock,and said loud enough to be heard

“Do no suc h thing,bishop

,even i f they

should kill you .

” But L a s Ca sa s knewthat the two ecclesiastics he had in mindwere both learned and zea lous

,and that

they thought as he did on the subj ec t ofIndian sla very . Fa ther Ferrer would havereceived rounds of abuses

,i f nothing worse

,

for his t rouble , ha d n ot the Fathers ofMercy entered the churc h

,who

,on hea ring

of the bishop ’s arrival,had come t o invite

him to their convent .L a s Casa s , who was then seventy-one

years old,had wa lked not less than twenty

miles the night before,and the excitement

of the morning ha d so worked on his nervesthat on arriving at the convent

,he fea red

a collapse . Retiring at once to one of thec ells

,he cal led for a glass of wine and some

bread,with the intention of going to sleep .

The l a y brother had not yet come with therefreshments

,when a d eafenin g n oise was

hea rd in the convent yard below . Anotherriot seemed to be imminent . In fa ct in afew minutes the house w a s filled witharmed men

,and the bishop ’s heart failed

50 8 L if e of B a r tolorn e d e L a s Ca sa s .

him for a moment,at the sight of swords

,

stilettos,and da ggers

,in the hands of the

rufli a n s,who surrounded him . In the

turmoil the cause of the tumult could notrea dily be ascertained by the fria rs . But

,

by the time tha t L a s Casas ha d learned thatthe people ’s anger ha d been aroused by thetying up of their sentinels

,he ha d regained

full self possession,and composedly a d

dressed the crowd : “Gentlemen,blame no

on e else but myself , for I it wa s,who sur

prised them and tied them up with my ownhands

,knowing

, , as I did , that otherwisethey would be punished for not givingwarning of my coming on account of thel ove they bear me

,whom they consider

t heir benefactor . ”“So goes the world

,

” yelled one of thecrowd

,

“ the sa vior of the Indians ties upthe India ns

,and then writes memorials to

Spain against us,as i f it was we

,who ill

treat them,while he mana c les them and

forc es them to wa lk in front of him threelea gues at night . ”

Another scoundrel addressed to the bishopso villainous an insult

,tha t historia ns

,sa ys

Quinta na,refused to put it on record . L a s

Casas’ answer to it was : “ I prefer not toansw er you , sir , a n d leave the punishmentto God

,whom you have outraged rather

than myself . ”


office,in sign of submission and repenta nce .

A pro c ession was formed and the bishopwas escorted

,in a manner befitting his

episcopal dignity,to one of the best houses

in town,which had been hurriedly fitted up

for his reception .

Some writers h a ve gone to considerablet rouble to explain this sudden change offront by the Spaniards of Ciudad Real .The explana tion is not f a r to seek . Therewere in town quite a number of la te emigrants from Spain

,c onservative men

,who

owned no slaves,and who ha d taken no

part in the riotous proceedings . Theynatura lly sided with the bishop . After thef ren si ed excitement of the morning , asgenerally ha ppens in like cases

,reason r e

asserted itself , and the ha ughty and heartl ess C onquistadores realized that they mightyet have to p a y for their outra ges with theconfis c a tion of their estates and possiblywith exile or life imprisonment in a Spanishdungeon . Steps were therefore taken todisa rm the bishop ’s anger

,and publi c

games and popular demonstrations in hishonor were de c reed to take plac e on thed ay after Christma s . The holy days werespent in the best of harmony

,and judging

from outward manifestations of respect andveneration , one might have thought L a s

L if e of Ba r tolom e d e L a s Ca sa s . 5 1 1

Casas the best beloved pastor of his flockin all C hristendom . But the slave-ownersha d not surrendered to their enemy

,only

their tactics ha d been changed .

If they could but nullify the work of theDominica ns

,the friars would perha ps r e

alize,in the course of time

,that their zeal

was exercised in va in,and leave the

country . The bishop,thus deprived of

t heir assistance a n d of their influence,

would proba bly follow in their footsteps .Acc ordingly before m any days had passedof the year 1 546 , i t w a s decided to underta ke a ra id on the mission of C i n a c a t l a n .

The m a ur a ud ers marched into the puebloi n serried ra nks

,where the leaders rushed

into the convent , and , while they quarrelledwith the Fa thers and clamored to be a b

solved,the rank and file sacked the village .

Then they marched ba ck into Ciudad Real,

as i f in triumph .

Why ha d not a special officer been sentt o Central America to promulgate the newlaws and to try t o ha ve them accepted ashad been done in Mexico

,Hispaniola and

Peru ? It ha d been done,and Pedro de

Quin ones was the incumbent . But he wasin Nicaragua

,endeavoring to expel captain

M‘elchor Verdugo,who had been com

missioned by the viceroy of Peru to go t o

5 1 2 L if e of Ba r tolom e d e L a s Ca sa s .

tha t country and recruit loyal volunteers,

who were to be shipped south to oppose theopen rebellion of Gonzalo Pizarro . Verdugo '

h a d gathered consid erable reenforcements of men and provisions

,but instead of

taking them to Peru,ha d sta rted a little

revolution of his own in Nica ra gua,and

ha d become the terror of that country .

It must not be forgotten that the whole ofSpa nish Ameri c a was in a sta te of semianarchy and tha t the suprema cy of Spa nishpower hung by a threa d . The n ew lawswere the cause of it all

,and the offi cers of

the crown ha d adopted everywhere ( exceptin Peru ) an a ttitude of yielding indulgenc e ,a n d of forbearance

,fearing that the sudden

and stric t enforc ement of the new legislation

,instead of mending , wou l d

: ma kema tters worse . These considerations ha dguided the Audienc i a of Gra cias a Dios insending commissioner Rogel to Ciuda d Rea lto replace Quifion es a n d to throw oil on thetroubled wa ters

,while pa rtia lly complying

with the peremptory requests of the Protectorof the India ns .Charles V .

,on the 2 0 th of November ,

1 545 , had mitiga ted and partially repea ledthe n ew laws

, ,but when Rogel reached

Ciudad Real at the beginning of 1 546 then ews had n ot yet arrived in that city .


ven t ion of prel ates,which he is convoking

in Mexico city . I would be much pleased,

i f your lordship should hasten your depa rture

,because as long as you will be

here,I ’l l be able to do nothing . I would

not like them to think,that it is to please

you, t hat I do what I am otherwise in duty

bound to do,because it would t hen a l l be

l abor l ost .”

L a s Casas felt the force of the unpal atabl earguments and hastened his preparations tol eave Ciudad Real for Mexico city . Thejourney wa s begun during the first week of

l ent,but the t ravelling w a s done by easy

stages,as it w a s yet several months before

the time appointed for the meeting of thecouncil . The Spaniards

,who had been a t

peace with their bishop for three months,

made some demonstra tion o f sorrow at hi sdepa rture

,and a goodly number of men a c

companied him on foot as far as C i n a c a t l a n .

Here the bishop spent several weeks withthe Dominicans

,conferring with them and

discussin g the matters or schemata t o betreated by the council for he expected thatthe doctrines heretofore preached and upheld so tenaciously by himself and hisfellow-friars would be much controvertedin the City of Mexico . He mea nt to bewel l prepared to defend them single handed ,


i f necessary,inasmuch as

,since his return

from Gracias a Dios,he had received letters

from the royal commissioner FranciscoTello de Sandoval

,almost reprimanding

him for having denied the Sacraments tothe C on qui st a d ores , thereby condemning theconduct of the other American bishops

, who

had adopted more conciliatory methods .L a s Casas’ travelling companions on this

occasion were Father L adrada , VicenteFerrer

, L uis Cancer,Domin icans

,and

canon Perera . The latter,a t some time or

other,had held opinions on the subj ect o f

Indian slavery contrary to those o f thebishop . But

,after assisting at the Cina

catlan conferences,became so convinced

that the friars were in the right,that he

returned to Ciudad Real for the sole purposeof correcting his past error in the presenceof the cathedral congregation . He readfrom the pulpit a statement on the subjectafter which a sermon followed so convi n c i n g and persuasive , that several slaveowners i n the audience repented of theirpast sins .Bravo ! canon Perera your name

,l inked

t o that of the immortal Protector of theIndians

,will go down to posterity as that

of an honest man and of a good priest .You first obeyed your bishop

,cont rary to

5 1 6 L if e of Ba r tolom e d e L a s Ca sa s .

your own convic tions,and

,when these

vanished before valid argument,you con

fessed your error .The bishop and his companions made

another stop in the town of Antequera,in

the Diocese of Oaxaca,where they lodged

in the Dominican convent of the pla ce .

Here L a s Ca sa s heard that his quon d amdean Quinta na was in the neighborhood

,

and took some steps to have him arrested,

but did not suc ceed . The dea n ( I say ithere to be done with him ) proceeded toMexico

,where

,through the intercession of

influential friends,he succeeded to have

himself readmitted to the exercise of hisministry . But

,unrepentant

,and fixed in

his ideas,he made his wa y bac k to Ciudad

Real,and

,having obta ined from the Con

qui st a d oresp ower of attorney to act for themin Spain

,went to court as their agent

against L a s Ca sas . He never relented inhis efforts to down his former bishop untilhe saw him resign the m itre . The un

fortunate dean w a s drowned during his r eturn voyage to America .

L a s Casas’ j ourney was n ea rm g 1t s end,

and the news of his impending entranceinto the City of Mexico affected the citizens

,

a s i f a n army w a s threatening the Americanmetropolis . His name w a s on everybody ’s

5 1 8 L if e of Ba r tolom é d e L a s C a sa s .

peot him to return their visit , as they hadinc urred excommunication by ordering

,

some time before , the amputation of ac lergyman ’s hand ( for what crime it i s n otsa id ) in the city of Antequera . Of coursethe news of the bishop ’s sally spreadthrough the city

,and

,as the judges could

produce plausible reasons for their offi cialaction

,not they

,but the bishop was made

the butt of much witty critic ism .

It is astonishing , that , notwithst andinghis bluntness and his apparent inclinationto court opposition by flinging

,in season

and out of season,unpalatable truths in the

face of offic i a l d om , L a s Casas , n ot onlycommanded the respect of all that weresincere and honorable

,but

,by the force of

his eloquence,the purity of his li fe

,and by

his disinterestedness,generally succeeded

in the end to bring t hem over t o his wayof thinking . In the council

,over which

the archbishop of Mexico presided, L a s

Casas soon became the leading spirit . Theother members

,having a voice i n its de

l iberat ions , were the bishops of Guatemala ,Oaxaca

,Michoacan and T l a sc a l a ; the

superiors or provincials of the religiousorders

,and the most prominent theologians

a n d jurists to be found in New Spain .

No other con ven t ion of m en ( that which

L if e of Ba r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s .

declared the independence of these UnitedStates not excepted ) , assembled on thiswestern continent in the interests of liberty

,

ever ha d as weighty problems to solve .

The bishop of Chia pa took ca re from thebeginning that the council should not resolve itself into a debating society

,for the

display of the oratorical talents of its members

,and insisted

,that certain indisputable

principles should first be agreed upon,as a

ba sis of a l l dis c ussions a n d he ca rried hispoint . I will t ransla te five of these princ iples which embody the others .I st . All persons

,n o matter what sect

or religion they m ay profess , and no matterwha t s ins they m ay ha ve been guilty of ,rightfully own and possess what they a c

quired without prejudi c e to others . Theprinciple applies t o their kingdoms , princ i pa l i t i es , se i gnories , dignities and j urisdictions .2 n d . Only one method was appoint ed

by divine providence to teach the true rel egion to pa gans , i . e . t hat which t hroughthe reasoning faculties convinces the i n

t el l ec t,and attracts t he will by t he gentle

ways o f charity . This applies t o a l l mankind irrespect ive of errors and corruptionof moral s .

3rd . The H oly See , i n gran t in g the


Supreme dominion over the Indies hadonly one obj e c t in view

,a n d tha t was the

prea c hing of the gospel,the sprea d of the

Christia n religion,and the c onversion of

the aborigines . It did not intend to makethe Castilia n mona rc hs grea ter or richerprinces tha n they were before .

4th . In making said grant the HolySee did not intend to deprive the na tiverulers of their estates

,j urisdictions or dig

n i t i es . Mu c h less did it mea n to conferupon the kings of Spain the power to doaught tha t might retard or obstru c t in anyma nner the conversion of the natives .

5t h . The kings of Spain,inasmuch as

they offered and bound themselves to provide t hemea ns for prea ching the gospel inthe I 11d i es

,are obliged by the l aw of God

to p a y the nec essa ry expenses of the evanel i c a l la borers .

”

It i s not d ifli c ul t to read the un m i st a ka ble hand writing o f the Protec tor of theIndia ns in the foregoing propositions . Aren ot these his very doctrines advo c ated forthirty years in the presence of kings a n d

emperors,and against a l l comers ? Had he

not preached them f rom the pulpit a n d

from the rostrum,and espec ially and ex

professo i n his trea ty De Un i co Voc a l /toutsMod o?

5 2 2 L if e of Ba r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s

Now then,go i n and write for them upon

box,and note it diligently in a book

,and

it shall be in the la tter days for a testimonyfor ever . For it is a people t hat provokethto wrath

,and lying children

,children that

will n ot hear the l aw of God . Who say tothe seer s :

“See n ot ; a n d to them tha t be

hold : Behol d n ot those things f or us , tha ta r e r ight ; spea k to a s p lea sa n t thi ngs .

”

The Sermon made a deep impression on

vi ceroy Mendoza ( undoubtedly a wel lmean i ng m a n and a great benefactor ofMexico ) who expressed himself as sorryfor n ot having allowed the subj ect of Indianslavery t o be t aken up during the Sittingsof the council . L a s Casas suggested t hatthe mis c hief coul d be partially undone byan unofficial junta of a l l the members of theconven tion ( except the bishops ) called t ogether to discuss and decide the question .

Mendoza accepted the suggestion andpromised t o officially submit the findings ofthe j unta t o the considerat ion of the em

peror . The Sitt ings of this un official bodywere many

,at which the Protector of the

Indians w a s ably represented , a s hi s mouthpiece

,by Father L uis Cancer . At one of

the sittings the question arose , i f i t wa s

l awful t o hold as slaves the Indian prisonersof wa r . It wa s presen ted , n ot i n the ab

L if e of Ba r tolom e d e L a s Ca sa s . 5 2 3

st ract , but as a concret e proposit ion couldthe so-called prisoners of war captured bythe C on qui st a d or eSbe considered as slaves ?

”

It was hel d by some of the members t hatt hey coul d , whenever the Indians , havingpreviously been notified that the pope hadgranted the supreme dominion to Spainover the Indies

,refused to submit

,and

thereby brought about the conflict .

A wor d o f expl a n a t ion i s her e n ec essa ry fort hose o f m y r ea der s who m a y n ot be fa m il ia r w it ht he hist ory o f t he Spa n ish c on quest o f Am er ic a .

I t wa s n ec essa r y t o give c olor a n d a n a ppea r a n c eo f jus t i c e t o S a id c on quest ; a n d fr om t he t im es o f

F er din a n d a n d Isa be l la t he C on qu i st a d ores ,h a d

been o ffi c ia l ly in st r uc t ed t o a lwa ys give t he I n

dia n s suffi c ien t in s t r uc t ion a bout t he Chr ist ia nr el igion befor e a skin g t hem t o subm it t o Spa n ishsupr em a c y. I f t hey r efused , a ft er the R equer im ie n t o or sum m on s t o a c kn ow ledge t he ir a l legia n c et o t he kin g o f Spa in , wa r c ould t hen be m a dea ga in st t hem t o subdue t hem . A form ul a o f R e

quer im i en t o h a d been dr aw n up a n d pl a c ed i n t he

h a n ds o f every a dven t ur er or Con quist a dor , whoproposed t o m a ke a n y a ddit ion t o t he Am er i c a nSpa n ish possess ion s . This offi c ia l R equer im ien t oh a d been t ur n ed in t o a r id i c ulous fa r c e by theCon qu ist a dores who des ir ed n ot hin g bet t er th a n t o

m a ke pr ison er s o f wa r t o sel l t hem in t o slavery .

L a s Ca sa s gives t he form ula , c om m en t in g bi t t er lyupon i t , i n t he LVII . C hp . o f t he t hir d book o f

h i s Hist or ia d e L a s In di a s . B ut even t h a t fa r c ic a lper form a n c e w a s fr equen t ly om it t ed or c ur t a i led .

A f ew Spa n ish so l d ier s would sudden ly a ppea rfi n a pueblo , a n d ha vin g c a l led the n a t ives by a

f ew bl a st s o f the bugle , som et hin g l ike the fol lowi n g would be r ea d to them i n Spa n ish, n ot a word


Thereupon L uis Canc er drew out of hi spocket a copy of the Requerimiento

,read

it,denounced it as a cruel p a rody on

justi c e,and proved that suc h as it was

,

it Seldom was Served according to theintention and direction of the king .

o f whi c h w a s un der st ood by t he In dia n s : “List enyou In dia n s o f t his pueb lo . Ther e i s o n ly o n e

t r ue Go d , a n d o n e t r ue r el igion . The v i c a r o f God

o n ea r t h i s c a l led the pope , who i s t he sover e ignlor d o f a l l the un iver se . H e ga ve t his c oun t ry t ot he kin gs o f Spa i n , who sen t us her e t o i n v i t eyou t o be c om e Chr is t ia n s . If you d o so ,

a n da c kn ow ledge t he supr em a c y o f Spa in , we w i l lt r ea t you kin dly a n d le a ve you fr ee i n th e en j oym en t o f a l l your possess io n s . I f n ot , we w il lw a ge w a r a ga i n st you w it h fi r e a n d swor d , a n d

m a ke you sl a ves .

”Som et im e i t h a ppen ed t h a t n o t

a n In di a n wa s i n S ight when the Requer im ien t oWa s m a de .

Th e w i t t y ofli c i a l c hr on i c ler o f Ch a r lesV . (Oviedo),ha v in g o n c e been c a l led upon t o r e a d t he Reque r im ien t o t o som e wa r l ike Sout h Am er ic a n s , who h a d

j us t given a soun d t hr a shin g t o Pedr a r i a s a n d h i s

fer o c ious sold ier s , r em a rked : “ I t seem s t o m e t h a tt hese In dia n s d o n ot c a r e t o l ist en t o t he t heologyo f t his R equer im ien t o . Plea se keep i t u n t i l we

sh a l l h a ve som e o f t hem i n a c a ge , whe r e t heyw i l l h a ve leisur e t o m em or ize i t , whi le t h e bishop(Quevedo) w il l t a ke ple a sur e i n expla in in g i t t o

t hem .

”

O n a n ot her oc c a s ion the R equer im ien t o h a d beenm a de ser iously t o a Sout h Am e r i c a n c a c ique , a n d

a n in t e l l igen t expla n a t ion o f i t h a d been givenh im . The c hief, a ft er a br ief r efl ec t ion , m a dea n swer a s fo l lows : “Your pope a n d t he kin g o f

C a s t i le m us t be two fools , o n e for giv in g awa ywh a t did n ot belon g t o h im , a n d t he ot her for

a c c ept in g i t .”

52 6 L if e of B a r tolom é d e L a s C a sa s .

prot ec t ion of the confessional,a more

powerful shield,than the well meaning

kings of Spain ha d been able to affordt hem with the smoothly rounded periodsof the innumerable decrees

, which hadbeen enacted in their behal f . So clearand unequivocal were the instruct ions

,

that i t was well n igh impossible to evadet hem . The Span iards of New Spain foundt hem so radical and subversive of t heirpreconceived ideas concerning their worldlyint erests , t hat the first copies intendedfor circul ation were seized , and sent t oCharles V . with a prot est against t heir being put in pract i ce .

The fir st pr in t i n g pr ess on t his c on t in en t wa s

i m por t ed fr om Spa in by v ic er oy Men doza t o Mexi c oc i t y , a n d a m on g t he fi r st m a t t er s pr in t ed wer e t hein st r uc t ion s t o c on fessor s a dopt ed by t he c oun c il i nbeha l f of Am er ic a n l iber t y.

CHAPTER XXI .

L a s C a s a s goes t o Spa i n a n d c r osses t he

At la n t i c f or t he La s t Tim e .

IT seems that L a s Casas was already r e

volving in his mind,the resignation of

his See at the time,when he had bidden fare

well,amidst t he tears of the community ,

to his fellow Dominicans of C i n a c a t l a n ,on

his le a ving for Mexico to attend the council .In fact he had t urned over t o them hisfew bel ongings as a loan

,which

,it was

understood,woul d become a gift

,should he

sai l for Spain .

The news of the partial abrogation andsuspension of the new laws had reachedhim in Mexico city

,and it was a blow t he

like of which he ha d n ot received Since thecatastrophe of Cumana . Hereafter the

Spa niards o f Ciudad Real would considerhim a conquered foe

,and a harmless fanatic

,

and his usefulness there was at an end . Hemust also have considered that his eight orten years residence in Spain had a c c om

p l i shed more good for his Indians , t han thetwenty or twenty-five spent in America .

( 52 7)


During each visit to the mother country avi c tory had been s c ored

,while in America

,

with the exc eption of turning the la nd ofwar into Vera Pa z

,he ha d only met with

appa rent reverses . His place and hissphere of action w a s evidently near thesea t of government

,whence he could wa tch

over the interests of all the Indies,instea d

of the little turbulent town of southernMexico .

These considerations c onvinced the Protector of the Indians of the advisa bility ofhis relinquishin g the government of thediocese of Chiapa into the hands of some ;one else

,who would not be hampered by

antecedents in doing what good w a s possible to its one million of India ns . On the

9th of November , 1 546 , L a s Casas appointedcanon Perera administrator a n d vi c ar genera lof his diocese

,and on t he following day con

ferred fa culties to hear confession on fouradditional priests of the Domini c an Order

,

and sent to Chiapa the instructions to confessors adopted by the council , by whichthey were to be guided in the administrationof the sa c rament .What detained him in Mexico c ity is not

known , but c ertain it is tha t the Prote c torof the Indians did not proc eed to Vera Cruzt o sail for the last time across the Atlantic


l etter w a s addressed by Philip to the Domi n i c a n Fathers on June the 2 2 d , a pprovingthe w a y of p i oc eed i n g in Chia pa , praisingtheir zeal

,a n d enc oura ging them to stil l

further effor ts 1 11 beha lf of the na tives,and

promisin g to send additional Fa thers tohelp them in the evangeliza tion of the entire diocese .

L a s Casas did not forget his dear c hildren of T uzul ut l a n

,n ow c a lled Vera Pa z ;

for a letter from Philip w a s addressed O c

tober the 1 1 th to a l l the Caciques of thatprovince

,pra ising them and their people

for h a ving embra ced the Christian religionand destroyed their temples and their idols .The Servic es of the chiefs

,the prince a s

sured them,would not be forgotten . The

doc ument ends by exhorting them to gathertheir people into pueblos a c cording to thewishes of the good Fathers

,who were i i i

st ruc t i n g them .

The year 1 547 began , for the Prote c torof the Indians

,in Mexi c o . The first months

were spent on the Sea and tra velling fromSeville to Valladolid

,a n d thenc e to Mun

zon,and the last in the latter c ity . It i s

seldom possible to lo c ate his wherea boutsduring the last eighteen years of his life .

His headquarters were,however

,in the

’

Domini c an convent a t Valla dolid ,where he


wrote most of his voluminous works . Howmu c h of his time was spent there it i s impossible to say

,as he seems to ha ve been

consta ntly on the go to wherever the interests of his India ns required his presenc e .

Frequently of his own initiative and manytimes called in c onsultation by the government

,he was

,to the very last days of his

life,busy with Ameri c an affairs . Numer

ous letters a ddressed to him from a l l partsof the Indies spea k of him as a member ofhis Majesty ’s India n counc il

,and there is

extant an order of Philip II . dire c ting theoffi c ers of the court to alw a ys lodge comfor t ably a n d enterta in the bishop of Chia pafree of cha rge

,no ma tter were the court

might And Geronimo de Mendieta,

in his H is tor i a E c c lesi a s ti c a In d i a n a , tellsus that L a s Casas “ resigned his bishopric

“To Luis d e Va n ega s , our c hie f m a jor dom o a n d

t o t he s t ewa rds t h a t a r e n ow , or w il l be , whose dut yi t i s t o pr epa r e a n d fur n ish a pa r tm e n t s fo r our c our ti n t his c it y o f To ledo or i n a n y o t her c i ty or pl a c ei n t his our ki n gdom o f Ca s t ile i t i s or der ed t h a t i nc on s ider a t ion o f the serv ic es whi c h Fr a y Ba r t olom éd e L a s C a sa s

‘

h a s r e n der ed t o ou r a ugust dec ea sedfa ther t he em per or , a n d i s ye t r en der in g t o us , he be

ven lodgin gs fr ee dur in g a l l t he t im e whi c h hem a y spen d a t c our t . We o rder t h a t he be a lwa ysgiven good a pa r tm en t s , wher e he m a y r em a in n u

di s t urbed , a s a per son o f h i s r a n k h a s a r ight t o be .

Give n a t Toledo the 14th o f D ec em ber , 1560 . I , thekin g .

”

532 L i fe of Ba r tolom e d e L a s Ca sa s .

in order to become their ( the India ns’

) p rocura tor genera l i n the court of their M a j esties

,i n whi c h offi c e he continued for

twenty-two yea rs . ”

L a s Ca sas did not actually resign hisSee before the year 1 550 ,

when was assigned to him

,out of the royal trea sury

,a

pension,as his biographers would ha ve it

,

but which I prefer to call a salary . For,to

all in tent and purpose,the first Ameri c an

priest,who had been a l awyer

,then a secu

l a r priest,then a fria r

,then a bishop

,had

last of al l bec ome a minister of state .Father L uis Ca ncer a c c ompanied him to

Spa i n evidently for the purpose of going toFlorida with other Dominicans to establishmissions . The armed expeditions to then orthern coast of the gulf of Mexi c o hadall ended in disa ster

,a n d there was no

d esire 0 11 the part of the Spania rds i nAmerica to engage i n any new venturehaving in view the conquest of the vast anddreaded regions then vaguely designatedwith the name of Florida

,and now formin g

the eastern ha l f of the UnitedHernando de Soto ’s disastrous expedition

,

with as powerful an army as had yet fol

L a s Ca sa s wr o t e , a bout t his t im e , t h a t by Flori d a w a s m ea n t a l l t he c oun t ry fr om t he Ba h a m a

c h a n n el t o La br a dor , “whi c h ,

”s a ys h e , “ i s n ot f a r

fr om the isla n d c a lled En gl a n d .

”


Solicitation of L a s Casas c a r te bla n che hadbeen given to L uis Cancer to cha rter a c a ravel and to provide it with all necessaryequipments a n d provisions as early a s

November 1 547. The full name of thisfirst martyr of our country was L uis Ca n c erde

,Ba rba stro , a n d his na tive c ity w a s Za ragoza in Spain . It took him Several monthsbe fore he could get his cara vel ready tolea ve San L u c ar de Barrameda for VeraCruz in Mexico . The rea son of his tra velling to Mexico before going to Floridaw a s to get a pilot acqua inted with thewaters of the Mexi c a n Gulf

,and fetch one

of the Fathers from New Spa in who was tobe his fellow missioner in Florida .

Igna tio de Urut i a,a Cuba n historia n

,

thus desc ribes their dea ths : “They arrivedwith letters of recommenda tion from thegovernor of New Spain to tha t of Ha vanaand were well received . Having beengiven a l l tha t w a s needed for their trip

,

they went to Florida . Fa ther Diego dePen alosa and the l a y brother Fuentes disemba rked in the bay of Espiritu Santo

(Tampa Bay ) and proceeded to the interior ,where they rec eived the crown of martyrdom at the hands of the na tives . When thenews reached the other Fa thers

,who had

r emained on board the Ship , Fa ther L uis


Ca ncer,fired with holy jealousy

,landed in

Spite of the remonstranc es of his companions

,and in full view of those on boa rd

,

received the same crown ofI have said before that the set of i n st ruc

t ions ( in Spanish they were c a lled a c on

j esi on a r io) a dopted by the convention orcouncil of Mexico

,were placed in the

ha nds of the confessors in the diocese ofChia pa

,a n d that the regula tions concern

ing the absolution of slave owners were soiron clad that copies of them ha d been sentto Charles V . together with a protest fromthe Spaniards . AS the c onfesionario wasunimpea chable on the ground of moraltheology , the c itizens of Ciuda d Real a dva n c ed the plea

,that it cha llenged the

validity of the title of the kings of Spain totheir America n possessions . It was probably a t the beginning of 1 548 tha t the em

peror asked L a s Casas for an explanationof his idea s on the subject . As the c on fesi on a r io ha d been proposed to the Mexicancouncil by himself

,and the instruc tion s

were the same as those formerly given todean Gil Quinta na and canon Perera

,the

L uis Ca n c er d e Ba r ba st r o seem s t o m e e n t it ledt o t h e hon o r o f t he a l t a r s . I s he n o t a m a r tyr i n t hest r i c t est se n se , ha v in g died f or t he exc lus ive pu rpose o i pr ea c hin g t he gospel ? Who w ill in t er esthim sel f i n h i s c a n on iza t ion


bishop of Chia pa felt in duty bound to givehis rea sons for them

,not only to the em

peror , but espe c ially to silence the pre

jud i c ed critic isms of the Spaniards inAmerica .

A treaty was therefore written in defenseof the confesionario

,which L a s Ca sas

called tr a ta d o comp r oba tor io. The lengthyt itle given t o the work explains its obj e c t .

“Herein are contained thirty proposit ions in jurisprudence

,touching succinctly

on many subjects pertaining to the right,

that the Church and C hi i st i a n mona rchshave

,or m ay have , on pa gan people of all

classes . In a special manner is hereinpointed out the fundamental origin of thetitle

,whic h the kings of Ca stile a n d L eon

have to the supreme dominion of all theIndies

,whereby they a re the rightful uni

versa l lords a n d emperors of them all andof their many na tive rulers . Many otherthin gs well worth knowing are al so pointedout concerning the conquest of the WesternWorld . These thirty propositions havebeen formula ted by the quondam bishop ofCiuda d Real in the Indies

,Fray B a rtolomé

de L a s Ca sa s . ”

As L a s Ca sas w a s in the habit of givingin the title of each of his works a d esc r iption of its contents , so in what he calls the


ous c rimes,made of one of the rules con

t a i n ed in the c onfesiona rio a pretext forcalumnia ting him by pretending to see init a doc trine whi c h denies the va lidity ofthe title

,which ga ve the kings of Ca stile

the supreme dominion over the NewWorld .

I will also give what he calls the prol ogue of the work

,be c a use these extra c ts

are a utobiogra phical,a n d d escribe the li fe

of L a s Casas a t this period better than a n yt hing that I might write .

“Your Highness requested me to appearbefore t he counc i l of the Indies 0 11 accountof a confesiona rio , whi c h I wrote for theguidance of confessors

,who heard the con

fessions of the Spa niards in my dio c ese,

conta ining,you sa y,

certain propositionsfrom whic h the deduc tion might be drawn

,

according to the opinion of some readers,

tha t the title to the sovereignty over theIndies now exercised by the kings ofCastile

,i s not valid . This is a very

weighty m a tter and it requires a la rgetrea ty to deal with it properly , inasmu c has it would pass through the h a nds ofeminent and lea rn ed persons . I havestudied the subje c t for the p a st severalyea rs and I ha ve begun just such a trea ty .

But as your Highness is in a hurry to send


i t to his Majesty,I thought it advisa ble to

compose this compendium of a l l that Ihave learned from the l aw of God on thissubject

,without stopping to give the proofs

of my opinions . The proofs,and a l l the

rest,will appear in another treaty

,which

,

please God,your Highness will see me pro

du c e in the coun c il of the Indies . As itwill be necessary to touc h on ma tters pertaining to fa ith

,I hereby submit all that I

have to sa y,to the correction of the Holy

Roman Church .

We have therefore two treatises on thesame subject written between the first ofJanuary 1 548 and the thirty-fir st of December 1 549 . But these represent but a fraction of L a s Casas ’ work during those twoyears .

“This treaty was written by Fra y Bart ol om é de L a s Ca sa s , bishop of Ciudad Realde Chia pa

,at the request of t he counc i l of

the Indies on the subj ec t of Indian sla very .

It conta ins many arguments,and the

authorities of many jurisc onsults,which

may prove useful to the reader in dec idingma ny d oubtful cases of restitution andother moral matters so much debated a t thepresent time .

”

The argument or preface of this worktells us plainly

,not only that he had not


given up the fight in behalf of the Indians,

beca use Cha rles V . ha d been compelled byuntoward c irc umstances to yield to theclamor and threats of the American sla veowners

,but tha t

,on the contra ry

,the

bishop of Chiapa,on his arrival in Spa in

gave no rest to his Majesty ’s councillors , inhis efforts to benefit the America n na tives .

“Argumento (preface ) to the followingt reaty . The bishop of Ciuda d Rea l deChiapa

,Fray Bartolomé d e L a s Ca sa s , was

pressing persistently the royal council ofthe Indies to consider the l iberty of the I 11dia ns as the only general remedy for theI 11 d i es ; and one of his petitions was , tha tthe India ns held by the Sp a nia rds as l egalslaves

, Should a l l be given their freedom,

arguing tha t out of their countless numbernot one ha d been ensla ved justly

,but tha t

,

0 11 the contrary,all had been ensl a ved um

justly and iniquitously . The council ha ving decided to Set aside their other number l ess occupa tions

,and to t ake up this

subject , c harged and commissioned thesaid bishop to put in writing his opinionson the m atter . In virtue of said royalcommission and command the followingproposition with its three corolla ries

,which

like three bra n ches of one tree , are then ecessary con sequences of its truth

,has


va tion of the India ns ; in order that ourL ord a n d His Holy n ame be forever pra ised ,and His Holy Ca tholi c fa ith be Spread morea n d more

,extolled a n d pra c ticed i n sa ecula

sa eeulorum . Am en”

Prefa c e . A Friar of the order of Sa intDominic

,virtuous

,learned a n d zea lous of

the Christia n religion went to the I11 d i es toengage in the eva ngelization of the natives .There he preac hed the gospel for someyea rs very suc c essfully

,during whi c h he

w a s an eye-witness to the oppression andSlavery , of which the a borigines were thevic tims . Meanwhile he studied and learnedthe methods

,by which those people had

been subjuga ted by the Spaniards,not

omitting to examine the causes,i f a n y

there ha d been,of the wa rs tha t had ended

in conquest . Astounded at last to See hiscountrymen in all wa lks of life ignora nt of

,

a n d indi ff erent to the danger,in whic h

they lived of their salvation,especially the

prelates and members of religious orders,

who more than others a r e bound,the

former by their pa stora l o ff ic e,and the

la tter by their religious profession,to

watc h,to inquire

,to lea rn and to proclaim

the truth ; he reduced to writing the following doubts

,whi c h are not ea sy to solve .

Then,impelled by a worthy desire of being


useful both to the Indians,who suff er the

wrongs,a n d to the Spa nia rds

,who inflic t

them,he tra vel led hither to submi t the

doubtful propositions to'

the lea rned mencomposin g the different fa c ult ies

,in order

to elic it,i f possible

,a uniform de c ision in

support of the truth . He first proposed hisdoubts to the a forementioned bishop ofC hia pa

,Don Fray Bartolomé de L a s Casa s

of the - order of St . Dominic,who w a s

known to have studied these matters profoun d ly, a n d for ma ny yea rs . The sa idbishop gave an a nsw er to ea c h of thetwelve doubts in the following treaty .

That same restless and inexha ustibleen ergy

,whi c h

,from the time he ha d seen

the light of truth conc erning the America naborigin es while prepa ring in Cuba hismemorable sermon for Pentecost Sunday ofthe yea r 1 5 1 4 , ha d sustained him inc 1ossi n g and recrossing oceans and cont i n en t s in beha lf of his India ns for wellnigh thirty-five years , now ,

at the age ofseventy-five

,ena bled the first Americ a n

priest to sit at his desk for who l e da ys a n dnights writing innumera ble letters

,m em or

i a l s,speec hes and trea ties in defense of his

fa raway children of Ameri c a . His const i tut ion must ha ve been ca st in steel . Forn either his dozen trips across the Atlanti c

544 L if e of B a r tolom e‘

d e L a s Ca sa s .

or the thousand upon thousands of mil estravelled on foot or on horseba c k

,or the

enerva ting,fever-la den clima te of the

tropi c s ha d clouded hi s mind or brokendown his body . We have seen h i m bra vethe ruffia n ly anger of the conquista dores inChiapa

,then by his learning

,hi s eloquenc e

and his virtues align the wavering prela tesof New Spa in on the Side of justice andtruth . But the inspired word s th a t theli fe of man upon ea rth is a wa rfa re seem toa pply to the first Americ a n priest moreforc ibly than to any other of his contem

por a r i es . S c arcely ha d he set foot on hisna tive country

,when he w a s forced to

begin a n o ther m ighty ba ttle . I refer tohis c ontroversy with the c elebrated schol a r

,

ca nonist,and theologian

,Gines de Sepul

Veda .

In the m astership of Cicero’s tongueSepulved a ha d no superiors

,perha ps not

an equal in Spain,and in point of lea rning

and di a lectica l pow ers,he ranked with

such men a s Melchor Ca no,Victoria

,Soto

,

and others of tha t brillia nt galaxy of Spa nishdivin es

,who sa t in the counci l of Trent .

AS ea rly as 1 533 Sepulveda ha d publi shedin Rome a book entitled Dem oc r a tes , orDe C onven i en t/l a Di seip li n a e Mi li ta r i s cumC hr i sti a n a Religion e ; English :

“On the


l awful,while the bishop

,on the cont rary

,

holds it to be impossible that said conquestsbe not tyra nni c a l

,unjust and iniquitous .

The question was debated in the presen c eof ma ny learned men

,jurisconsults and

theologians,in a junta ca lled together by

order of his m a j esty in the city of Va lla dolidt he yearThe prefa c e or argumento said “Doctor

Sepulveda the chronicler of the emperor,

and an elegant L atinist , on the informa tionand a t the instigation of some of thoseSpa niards

,who were most to blame for the

cruelties and massa cres perpetrated in theIndies

,wrote a book in faultless L atin , a d

voc a t i n g two propositions . The first ofthem w a s

,tha t the wars heretofore 'waged

by the Spa niards a gainst the Indians hadbeen waged for just causes

,and tha t

,the

same c a uses recurring again,more wars

should be fought aga inst them . The secondsays

,that the Indians must submit to the

Spania rds,as the less wise must submit to

the wiser and that should the Indians r efuse to do so

,war could be made against

them . These are the two ca uses of the destruc tion a n d dea th of numberless people ,and of the depopula tion of more tha n onethousa nd lea gues of te rritory effe c ted i nn ew and different ways by the Spaniards i n


the Indies during what they are pleased t oca ll c onquests

,and by their Encomiendas

,

known by a nother n ame as R epa r t im i en t os .

Do c tor Sepulveda assigned as a reason forhis treaty his desire and intention to defendthe title by which the kings of Castile claimand exercise supreme a n d universal powerover the Indies . But this w a s but a pretexthis intention being to propa gate in theseand in the kingdoms of the new world hisdamna ble doctrines . The doctor presentedhis book to the council of the Indies

,beg

ging with grea t persistency that leavemight be granted him to print it . It wasdenied severa l times

,on account of the

harm and sc a ndal,which his work would

cause beyond any doubt . Seeing tha t hecould n ot prevail with the counci l of theIndies

,he ma naged

,through his friends at

court,to obta in a dec ree from the emperor

empowering the council of Ca stile to dealwith the ma tter

,who knew nothing of the

aff a irs of the Indies . Tha t decree reachedAranda de Duero

,where the court was

sittin g during the year 1 547 just at thetime

,when the bishop of Chiapa

,Fray

B a rtolomé de L a s Ca sa s arrived from theIndies . Having hea rd of the book andlearned its contents

,a n d knowing the great

harm that its publication would cause , the

548 L if e of Ba r tolom e d e L a s Ca sas.

Said bishop opposed it with all his might ,expos i ng its poisonous doctrines , and therea l rea sons why i t had been written . Asthe ma tters treated were mostly theological the members o f the royal counc il ofCa stile

,l ike the wise and righteous gentle

men that they were,decided to send the

book to the universities of Sa laman c a andAlc ala to have it examined and approved

,

i f it was to be printed . After havingscrutinized a n d ca refully debated the sub

jec t -ma tters of the work,the universities

dec ided tha t it should not be published,

inasmuch as it c ontained unsound doctrines .Not satisfied

,but rather complaining

of the decision of the universities,the

doctor,notwithstanding his having been

severa l times repulsed by the two coun c ils,

sent his trea ty to Rome,to have it printed

,

n ot however in its original form,but in

the sha pe of an apol ogetical address to thebishop of Segovia

,who

,friends as they

were,after having rea d the work , had

written him a letter containing a fraternalc orrection . The emperor

,having heard

of the publication,gave order that a l l

c opies of it be confis c a ted,as was done

throughout Castile . And inasmuch as thedoc tor had made a compendium of it in theSpanish language

,in order to make it more

550“

L if e of Ba r tolom e d e L a s Ca sa s.

bers of the junta,who were fourteen in a l l

,

requested the eminent professor of theology ,Father Domingo de Soto

,who was himself

a committee man,to epitomize it , and to

m ake a copy of the compendium for eachof the other thirteen gentlemen , in orderthat they could study it at leisure

,and then

vote,at a future Sitting , each one a c c ording

to the lights that God would give him .

Doctor Sepulveda asked to be furnishedwith a copy of De Soto ’s compendium , toanswer it . He reduced the compendium totwelve heads

,propositions

'

or theses , towhich he gave twelve answers . To th e

r e x sem pit er n a hom i n um m em or ia d ign us , ed oc t us

Hispa n os , c a ed i bus , v i o l en t i a , t yr a n n i d e lon ge 1a

t eque g r a ssa r i p er In dia s , se rv i t u t e pr em er e m a xim i sque i n c om m o d i s a ffi c e r e In dos O c ea n i m a r is a c c o

l a s , qu i R om a n i Po n t i fi c i s dec r e to a d im per iumsupr em um C a st i l i a e et L eg i on i s per t i n en t , so l em n em

quod d a m c on c i l ium P i n t i a e s ive V a l i sol et i i n d i x i t ,a d vo c a t o e x om n i sen a tu l e c t i ss im o a c d o c t i ss i m o .

H i s i n ju n x i t u t c ogn o s c er en t a n a t r oc i a i l l a ,qua e a d

se de l a t a fuissen t , ve r a essen t , u t que oppor t un e r e

m edium e x c og i t a r en t , quo t a n t is m a l is obv i a m i r e

t u r , i t a u t I n di ' p r i st i n a e l ibe r t a t i r es t i t uer en t ur ,s im ul que n ovus i lle orbis s a l u t a r i bus l egi bus , a c p rud en t ibus i n s t i t ut i s c om pos i t us i n pos t er um gubern a r et u r . D e h a c r e p er p l u r es dies m a gh is e st d i s

pu t a t i on ibus a gi t a t um , a c d e n i que leges qua eda msa n c i t a e sun t , quibus Hispa n o rum be l l i c a e ex

ped i t ion es a dver sus In dos , qua s c on qu i st a s vu l goa ppel l a ver a n t , p r oh i b i t a e sun t ; s im u l que c a u t um

es t , ut In di om n es ser v i t ut i pr ess i , a b e i s , quibu sfa c t a division e , id est R epa r t i m i en to s ive C om te/i d a

L if e of Ba r tolom e d e L a s Ca sa s . 55 1

doctor’s twelve answers,the bish op ma de

twelve rejoinders . This is wha t ga ve o c

ca sion to,and caused the treaty herein c on

t a i n ed to be written .

”

L a s Ca sas was sustained by the commission

,and Sepulveda never saw his

Dem oc r a tes A l ter in pr i nt .Why did Charles V . call that junta to

gether ?Because the American Indian question

had divided intelle c tual and political Spaininto two hostile camps . It must not besupposed that the controversy ha d been c a rried on by L a s Casas and Sepulveda alone .

( i n ve n t i on e quida m sa t h a n i c a n um qu a m a n t eha c

a udi t a ) , a d jud i c a t i pe r per a m fuer a n t , a t que i n r egumH i sp a n i a rum d i t i on em u n iver s a lem r ed u c er en t ur ,r egi bus e t dom i n is n a t u r a l ibus i n sua po t es t a t e et

jur isdi c t ion e r em a n en t i bus . H a ec r es vehem en t er

pupug i t H i spa n i or um , quibus I n d i pr oe d a opim a

e r a n t e t quor um f a c u l t a t es v i o l en t i i s , r a p i n is e t I ndor um d i r ep t i o n e c r es c eba n t , i n d ign a bu n d i que e t

i r a t o a n im o d ep l or a ba n t a Ca es a r e se f a c u l t a t ibus

pr opr i is spol ia r i , a c s i , n on pr ed o n es sa c r ilega poen a ,

sed l eg i t i m os r erum dom i n os jus t a r er um possess ion e d et u r ba ret , u t n o n n u l l i n u l lum n on l a pidemm oven t es quo suis r ebus c o n su l er i n t , im pud e n t er a

Ca esa r e d e fec er i n t a dver sus C a es a r em r ebe l l a r i n t .

Ali i a d v i r os d oc t r i n a e Opin ion e c l a ros c on fuger un t ,u t so l i d i s j u r is a rgum e n t i s c a es a r ea s c o n s t i t u t i on es

opugn a r en t , u t t a n dem Ca esar , legum i n i qu i t a t e p er

m ot us , ve l a bo l e r et ve l sa l t em su s pen d e r et c a r umobserv a t i on em , u t i n a l iqu i bus ea rum fa c t um est ,

n on quod n o n essen t equ i ss i m a e jus t i ss im a eque , sed

quod c ogn i t a r ebe l l ion e a p r od i t 0 1 ibu s i l l is , m a jusa l iquod m a lum a c a t ro c ior sed i t io t im er etur .

”


They were only the two genera l s leadingthe mighty hosts to the fra y . Thus it isknown tha t

,in August 1 548 , the Domini

ca ns having met in genera l cha pter in Cordova

,the most learned men of the Order

had for several da ys sharpened their Sc hola stic wits in conferences a n d disputa tions

,

the thesis being every d a y the same :“ Utrum ba r ba r i s n ovi or bi s, guos I n d os

H i sp a n a con suetud o voea t , l i c ea l bel lumi nf er r e.

”

AS these things were going on in Cordova ,

another group of distinguished theologiansand jurists were Sitting a t the very sametime a t Va lladolid dis c ussing the sel f samequestion . The two lea ding lights of thisgroup were Sepulveda himself and no lessa theologia n tha n the then renowned Franc i sc a n Fra y Bernardino de Areva lo .

The Spanish Conquista dores had for fiftyyears been busy waging wars aga inst theIndia ns

,and the western continent m a y

well be sa id to have been turned into a vastfield of carnage . If not the Spa nish nationor its government

,Spaniards were on trial

,

and the fourteen committeemen were thejury . The evidence w a s all in and theybrought in the verdict : “Gui l ty.

”

What parliament or committee of parliament of to-day would dare c onvict the

554 L if e bf Ba r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s .

America,and thirty

,some Dominican s

and other Fra nciscans,were rea dy to sail

at the end of 1 55 1 . L a s Casas a c c om

p a n i ed them to Seville arriving there atthe beginning of January 1 55 2 . A fleetof fif ty

-three or fif ty- four Ships were tosail together accompa nied by several warvessels to protect them against the Frenc hcorsairs or privateers

,which

,at that time ,

infested the Atlantic . L a s-Ca sas w a s com

pel l ed to wait for ten months with hisfriars (ha lf o f whom l ost patience andreturned to their convents ) before he hadthe satisfaction of seeing them sa i l for theInd ies . In a letter written to Prince PhilipOctober 2 5th ,

1 552 , he denounces in um

measured and angry t ones the jobberyand abuses in the Casa de Contra ta c ionwhich had caused the unreasonable delay .

“ It seems to me,

” he sa ys,

“ that Godhas given me the special task of a lwa yshaving to weep for the sorrows of others

,

which however do not weigh lighter on metha n i f they were my own It is atra vesty 0 11 justi c e and truth the way thingsgo here

,that it should have taken ten

months to loa d and get ready this fleet,and

tha t the bla c k wa rships destined only tofight

,espe c ia lly the fla gship

,should ha ve

been overloaded to satisfy the greed of the


devil a n d of his brother It is a pityto behold the five or six thousand emigra ntsdying of hunger hereabout

,waiting for the

ships to sail To tell the truth I h a vespent ( in l ooking after the fria rs ) morethan seven hundred ducats since I camehere in Ja nua ry l a st . I am bankrupt

,and

don ’t know if I shal l have money enoughto take me back to court Thesela rge ships of Don Alva rado he must havebeen the ship owner

,the devil ’s brother )

are the ruin of the I11 d i es,and they should

all be burned up so tha t n ot a splintershould be left of them .

A passage of t his l etter informs us thatecclesiastic s had already begun to cross theAtla ntic for unworthy motives .

“For the l ove of God,let your Highness

t ake steps to inform his Ma j esty ’s ambassa dor in Rome to be on the wa tc h

,for

truly this is a ma tte r of great importa nce .

It is better to have no friars at a l l in theIndies

,tha n su c h friars ; and it i s a blun

der to think otherwise . Devilish reportsare now coming from the Indies about theFa thers of Mercy

,which

,i n t ime

,will

rea ch your Highness .“Melius est enim pa uc os habere bonos ,

quam m ul t os ministros mal os, says St .

Clement .


Don ’t let your Highness forget howmuch I have insisted before the council o fthe Indies tha t men in broadcloth and genteel loa fers be not allowed to go to the Indies

,espe c ially to Peru . They go there to

live on the labors of those unfortunate Indians I don ’t know when this blessedfleet will set sa ils . Glory be to God

,and

may He long preserve your Highness i nHis holy Service . Amen .

Given at San L ucar de Barrameda , the2 5th of October , 1 552 .

Fray Bartolome’

de L a s Casas , bishop .

No doubt having to look a fter a l ot offriars for ten months to see them safely onboard their Ship was very aggravating tothe restless ex-bishop of Chiapa . But

,

after a l l,he must not have been in any

grea t hurry to leave his native Seville,of

whic h San L ucar was the port . For wefind him editing there no less tha n eight ofhis works

,the original editions of whic h

all bear dates between July 1 552 and January 1 553 . The press , however , of otherbusiness must have been great ; for i norder to finish tha t work

,i n as short a

space of t ime as possible , he engaged twoprinting presses at the same time

,that of

the Spaniard Truj illo and the on e belon gi n g t o the German C ron berger .


d e imp er a tor i a p otes ta te. An vi d eli cet

r eges vel p r i n eip es yur e a liguo vel t i tulo, et

sa lva eon seien ti a , c ives a c subd i tos suos a

r egi a c or on a et a l ter ius d om i n i p a r ti eula r is

d i tion i subj i eer ep ossin t .’

I will translate the review of this workby Antonio Fa b i é .

“The pamphlet is divided into thirtySeven pa ra gra phs

,and is written in the

scholastical style of that period,with

numberless quotations of authorities a d

d uc ed in support of the doctrines upheld,

which are nothing more tha n deduc tions orcorollaries flowing from the prin c iples ofSt . Thom a s Aquina s on so importa nt asubject-matter . The titles of the differentpa ra gra phs will give a suffic ient idea of theteac hings of L a s Casas .

1 st Paragraph . The n at ural l iberty ofman .

2 n d . The original right of man t o t akepossessions of created things .

3 rd . The rights which kings have t othe property of ind ividua ls .L a s Ca sas denies tha t kings have any

suc h right,a n d opposes the doctrine of

eminent domain (not however the right ofexpropria tion for the public weal

,and with

compensa tion ) advocated by H ost i en se , ofwhom he says : “ If he means to uphol d


the doctrine tha t a sovereign as such,has

the right to dispose of the p i i y a t e propertyof his subjects

,he ha s fa l len i nto a serious

error,whi c h is opposed to the comm on

opinion of the doctors . ” Modern individua l i s t i c Schools go no fa rther in advoc a tingthe absolute right of individuals to property .

In the same pa ra graph L a s Ca sa s comba tsanother error of the bishop of Ostia

,De

Duc e,on whi c h those

,who held tha t the

mona rchs of Castile were absolute lords ofthe Indies

,having power to dispose of la nds

and a l l a pur t en a n c es thereof , ba sed theirOpinion . H ost i en se taught that the comingof the Messiah ha d the juridi c a l effect ofdepriving of the individua l ’s right toproperty a l l those

,who did not recognize

him as such,and refused t o embrace his

doctrines . Tha t error , s a ys L a s Ca sa s , isa m ost pernicious one

,be c ause it contra

dicts Holy Writ,the Holy Fathers

,and the

traditions of the Churc h . It opens thedoors to a thousand thefts , to unjust wars ,to numberless homicides and to all mannerof crimes . It has been proved

,sa ys L a s

Casas,tha t H ost i en se

’s proposition is here

tic a l .

4th . In this paragraph,which is called

constitutional compact about ta xa tion, L a s

Casas susta ins that rulers ha ve not the rightto tax their subjects without their consent .


5th . Under the heading of l imitationof royal jurisdiction

, L a s Ca sas teac hes ,that the power of rulers ca nnot be a rbitrary

,

and that it is limited to the execution ofthe laws .6 th . The duties of one city t o the others

within the same kingdom .

7th . Duties of one kingdom t o otherkingdoms .8th . L aws injurious t o the common

weal are null and void .

This is a ra dica l doctrine and from it tothat other one

,which advoca tes the right

of insurrection,there is but one easy step

,

which many contemporary writers had a lready taken .

9th . This paragraph which is a consequence of the 8 th is entitled : Kings a reamenable to the laws .

1 0 th . Gives the proofs of paragraph 2 d

and an abunda nce of references and authorities to support them .

r 1 th . Kings have 110 right to dispose ofproperties belonging to the people .

1 2 th and 1 3th . Kings have no right todispose of their sovereignty over the people .

1 4th , 1 5th and 1 6th prove that kingshave no right to sell public offices .

1 7th . Kings have no right t o disposeof the national domain .


this,that L a s Casas ’ pamphlet calls the

suprem e ma gistra te of a n ation a king ora n emp eror , who rules (with the consent ofthe people ) during his life time , wherea sthe constitution spea ks of a president to beelec ted every four yea rs . Indeed the firstAmeri c a n priest seems to be unwilling toconfer on kings as muc h pow er a s thesupreme l aw of this republic gra nts to itschief exec utive .

How delighted would he n ot be to see ,a fter t he la pse of three a n d a ha l f c enturies ,his princ iples preva iling ( in theory ) fromone end to the other of this continent?It would be interestin g to know why L a s

Ca sa s did not publish this work with theothers printed in Seville in 1 55 2 . Perha psit w a s bec a use his a dva n c ed idea s wouldha ve gotten him in trouble a n d l a nd ed himwhere he c ould d o no more good to his India ns . In fa c t

,for prea ching to some

Soldiers not to obey their officers whencommanded to enga ge in a w a r aga inst theIndia ns

,tha t was pla inly unjust

,he ha d

been c rimina l ly prosec uted in Nicara gua,

during the yea rs 1 5 35 and 1 536 . Aga in ,when his confesionario first appeared inMexico

,and then in Spa in

,it ga ve umbrage

to Charles V .,who c a lled upon him for a n

expl anation of his doctrines . It then re


quired all the ingenuity of an expert dial ec t i c i a n as he was

,to allay the emperor’s

fears a n d to sa tisfy him that his title to theIndies w a s n ot really atta c ked by the confesi on a r io . Wha t would have happenedif the blunt and radical ideas of the Ques tioDe Imp er a tor i a Potes ta te Should have beenpublished at a time

,when his anta gonist

Sepulveda had already accused him ofprinting another of his works surreptitiously? I am supported in this surmise by thefact tha t the Dominicans

,who inherited

his manuscrip ts and most of hi s ideas , fiveyears after the bishop ’s dea th

,gave the

Quest io De Imperatoria Potestate to theGerman ambassador

,who had it published

in Spire in 1 571 .

L a s Ca sas ’ time , after his return fromSeville in 1 553 , to the very hour of hisdeath w a s spent in defence of the Indians

,

mostly by means of litera ry work . Fromhis will we sha ll see how he kept up a n

a ctive correspondence with all pa rts of theAmerican Spa nish possessions

,whi c h gave

him a minute know led ge of what w a s go

ing on in the West Indian isla nds,in New

Spain,in Central and South America .

This correspondence shows that the exbishop of Chia pa acted constantly as theat torn ey and general procurator of a l l the


Indians at the court of Spain . Did he hearof some n ew outra ge of the Spa nia rdsagainst the India ns ? A m emorial wouldbe prepared a t onc e

,a n d presented to the

emperor,to princ e Philip or to the Indian

council,denouncing it i n his clear cut

,

pla inspoken style,with which the reader

has now grown familia r .Ow ing principa lly to the importunities

and constant forc ible remonstrations of L a sCa sa s

,the c onditions of the India ns in

Mexico a n d elsewhere ha d been greatlyimproved . Va st numbers of them ha d

been inc orpora ted in the c rown of Castile,

which mea nt that they were like other freevassals

,subj e c t only to the king . As la te

as 1 560 i t ha d not yet been found p r a c t ica ble to carry out al l the provisions of then ew laws . But as nearly a s i t i s now possible to gather

,the condition of the Indi

ans of an Enc omienda at that period, w a s

no worse than that of the serfs of feudalEurope . In most pla ces

,as in Gua tema la

and Mexico,the duties of the encomenda

dos ( the India ns of an Encomienda ) werereduced to pa ying to the encomendero ( theowner of an Enc omienda ) certain tributes ,by a fiction of l aw

, t o the king, but i nreality to the m a ster .Whil e the operations of the royal or


By this mea ns stronger shackles wouldhave been welded on numberless aboriginalAmeric ans , a n d L a s Casa s opposed theScheme with his usual energy and pertin a c i ty. A memorial was presen ted toprince Philip

,the opening paragra ph of

whi c h rea ds a s follows“Most powerful L ord . The e x bi shop of

C hiapa kisses your Highness ’ hand andbegs to inform you

,tha t letters from New

Spa in tell m e how a l l the India ns a r e madethe vi c tims of renewed oppression a n d

tyranny through the calumnies and m a chin a tions o f the en c omenderos

,who do n ot

desist from suc king their blood .

”

The memoria l spea ks of on e method

(which ha s not yet become antiquated inour own days ) employed by the ric h , i n fluen t i a l a n d powerful encomenderos to oppress the Indian s . Did these cla im theirliberty or a reduction of their tributes ?Did they endeavor to resist some of the i ntolerable exa c tions of their greedy m asters ?Their complaints would be ma de the sub

jec t of interminable law suits , and of a ppea ls intended to starve into submission thepenniless compl a ina nts .The kings of Spain had at a l l times re

sisted the petitions and the large sumsoffered by the Spaniards in America , t o


have the Encomienda s established in per

petui ty. These were to la st only for twogenera tions

,and on the death of the I11di

ans of a n Encomienda and of their children

,their desc endants were to be given

absolute freedom . By the middle of theXVI . century this mild form of sla verywas beginning to be extinguished

,and the

slave-owners settled 0 11 a n ew plan to . per

petua t e it . Philip II . ha d gone to Engla ndto celebrate his wedding with Mary

,his

future queen . He w a s hard pressed formoney

,and a deputation of Spanish Amer

i c a n s had followed him with a bag of goldt o help him out of his stra its , i f he wouldbut consent to make over to them in per

petui ty their Encomienda s . The offer wastempting and it seems that there w a s atime when Philip va c c i l l a t ed between a c

c ep t i n g it and rejecting it . L a s Ca sa scame to the rescue . He addressed a letter

,

not to the king,but to his confessor

,Fa ther

Mi r a n d a f ) in which are summarized very

H e w a s a D om in i c a n , professor a n d doc t or oft heo logy , who r es ided fo r som e ye a r s i n E n gl a n d .

La t er he be c a m e a r c hbishop o f To ledo , a n d h a v in gbee n suspe c t ed o f her esy , h i s t r i a l by t he c ou r t s o f

t he i n quis i t io n pr oved t he m os t fa m ous i n t he X VI .

c en t ury. L a s C a s a s w r o t e o f h im , dur i n g t he t r i a l ,t h a t h e wa s n o he r et i c (el qua ! n o es her ej e ) . H e

w a s , however , c on vi c t ed , a n d d ied whi l e u n de rgo in gh i s sen t en c e of det en t ion , i f he wa s n ot c on fin ed i na r ea l j a il .


forcibly and indeed eloquently the arguments a dduced in his former works in favorof the Indians

,a n d the lita ny is told once

more of the wrongs done them by theSpa nia rds in America . It must n ot havebeen intended that Philip should see theletter

,for the kings of Spa in are here

pla inly ma de to assume their share ofresponsibility for the n umberless crimescommitted by the Spaniards beyond theAtlantic . Indeed it is n oticeable tha t

,

while the first American priest in his ea rl ier writings invariably charges the king’sadvisers with the responsibility of m a l

administration of Am eri c an a ffairs,and ex

on er a t es the monarchs,in hi s old age

,

that is,after h a ving become himself their

counc i llor,and after having deta iled to

them numberless times by word of mouthand i n writing the flagrant abuses

,he

m akes 110 attempt to exc use or pallia tetheir wa nt of energy in Shielding the helplessness of the American n a tives againstthe rapac ity and cruelty of their oppr es

sors . Nay,in more tha n one of his latest

writings he lets his convi c tion tra nspiretha t Spain

,as a na tion

,would yet be held

responsible to God for its tyrannical rule inthe New World .

I wi l l make but two short excerpts from

570 L ife of Ba r tolom e d e L a s Ca sa s .

The l etter forms a pamphlet of aboutforty octa vo pages

,and w a s written in a n

swer to one from Father Ca ra nza,in whi c h

the la tter asked seven questions . I ’llt ra nsl a te t he answer of L a s Casa s to theseventh

,as it will give some a dditiona l

da ta on h i s biogra phy a n d a c loser insightof the rela tions then existi n g between thecivil rulers and the ecclesia sti c s of thet ime .

Attached to the offi c e of an every-dayconfessor are weighty responsibilities

,even

when a common la borer kneels before himto unburden his conscienc e . B ut the re

sponsibility of the confessor of an absoluteruler and legisl a tor

,as t he mighty Cha rles

V . was,is

,under one aspect

,even grea ter

t ha n that of the penitent himself Whowould have thought tha t t he renownedtheologia n Pedro d e Sotoshould have ma deso frightful a blunder in dire c ting hisaug ust penitent

,as to c a use the ensl ave

ment for l ife of n ot less than on e millionof huma n beings

,because he neglected to

investigate suffi ciently the subject of theEn comiendas .L a s Ca sa s ’ letter , after lying hidden

awa y in musty Spa nish archives for moretha n three hundred years , c ame forth toinform us of the historical fact . It shows


us also that severa l other l etters pa ssedbetween L a s Ca sa s a n d Ca ra nza unti l a dec i si on was reac hed in favor of the Indians .

“The answer t o the seventh and last

q uestion of your reverence follows fromwhat has a lready been said . It is iniquitousand di a boli c a l

,and contra ry to a l l l aw and

reason to gra nt R epa r t i m i en t os of any kindeither in perpetuity or for a limited periodof time

,even for one hour ; be c ause i t de

prives them of their liberty,and the C a

c iques of their dominions It is liketurning the India ns over to lunati c s brandishing well sha rpened knives . Henc e theking or the pope ha s no more power thanany priva te person to gra nt R epa r t i m ien

tos . Your Reverence must not deceiveyoursel f

,or allow the king to be de c eived

by the specious argument that,by not

allowing the encomenderos to exerc iseeither c rimina l or civil jurisdiction over theIndians

,these will be su ffi c iently protec ted .

This was the trap in which the emperorand his confessor

,Fa ther Pedro de Soto

,

fell,when they listened to the sa la ried pro

c ura tors of the tyra nts of Mexi c o,who

,

after having been thrice repulsed,rep re

sented to the confessor tha t rea lly theyasked for nothing substanti a l a s long a s

they did not ask for either civil or criminal

572 L if e of Ba r tolom e d e L a s Ca sas

j urisdiction over the Indians ; as i f theyha d ever exercised it

,or as i f they needed

it to en c ompa ss their destruc tion . In thisway they suc c eeded to annul the l aws forbidding the Enc omienda s of the Indians totheir children For cha rity ’s sa ke

,

don ’t let your Reverence be deceived intopaying any attention to the provisions

,

laws and pena lties,with which it i s pre

tended to sa feguard the protection of theIndians . They are inventions of the devila n d of his ministers

,to deceive and blind

fold the simple ones of this world,and

hide the dea dly poison of the R epa r t im i en

t os and of the inferna l Enc omiendas .Should your reveren c e or the king wish

m e to prove the different propositions a dva n c ed in this letter , I

’ll do it to yoursa tisfa c tion

,by the divine

,the natural

,

the c ivil and the canon l aw . As far asthe facts are concerned

,it will not be

difficult to adduc e thousands of proofs,

out of the archives of the Indian council .Promising to answer your other questionsin a sepa ra te letter

,I put a n end to this

d urin g the present month of August ,Of all the works of L a s Ca sa s ( except

the n ew laws whi c h are,at lea st in part

,

the produc t of his bra ins and of his energy )none

,in my opinion

,had as importan t


si d ered his friend and fa ther ) appointedby the Ca ciques as their lega l a ttorneysa n d procura tors . The fria r then travelledto Spa in and in the compa ny of L a s Casaspresented a memoria l

,not in the style of

offi c i ous supplia nts,but of business men

,

who were empowered to bid a higher sumfor the liberty of their clients

,tha n the

masters had off ered for their enslavement .It begins as followsWe

,Don Fra y Bartolomé de L a s C asas ,

bishop,and Do c tor Domingo de Sa nto

Thomas,provincia l of the Order of friars

prea c hers in the provinces of Peru etc .

”

The Caciques in substance,through their

proc urators,promised to pay for their

liberty more,tha n the Spania rds

ha d offered to keep them in bonda ge .

An d should a bid be ma de,the doc ument

says,by the Spania rds higher tha n the

India ns were a ble to pay,then the C a

c iques guara ntee the pa yment ofin four yearly insta llments of Tothe honor of theSpa nish crown

,be it said

,

neither offer was accepted , and the hatedEncomiend a s were allowed to die

,in the

course of time,a natura l death .

The memorial bears no date,but it

must ha ve been written not later than1 560 . If therefore L a s Casas did not suc


c eed in setting free , during his life time ,all of his beloved In dia ns

,he lived long

enough to see most of them enjoying a s

la rge a degree of prosperity and lega lrights as the sums mentioned indica te .

The Protector of the India ns rea c heda de c repid old age in the ful l possessionof hi s menta l faculties and his marvellousac tivity seems to ha ve grown with hisyears . At the age of ninety , he w a s n u

doubtedly the best informed m a n,either in

Europe or in Am eri c a,about the conditions

politi c al,a n d r e l igi on s of the n ew world .

No ship sailed for Spain from America nports without c a rrying m a il for the ex

bishop o i Chia pa,and perhaps no doc ument

rea ched the c olon i a n Indian off i c e withoutpa ssi n g through his hand , or at lea st without his knowing the substa nce oi i ts contents . His love for hi s America n childrengrew into a holy pa ssion

,a n d it i s doubtful

i f during the la st fifty yea rs of his li fe hespent a day without thinking st ud ying andworking for their wel fare .

It is therefore stra nge to be told by hisearliest biogra pher

,tha t Fa ther L a dra da ,

L a s Ca sas c onstant companion a n d c onfessorfor upwa rd of thirty yea rs

,should ha ve

found i t advisable to urge‘ the Protector

of the Indians to still more earnes t efforts


in their behalf . The e x b i shop of Chia paha d grown pa rtia lly d ea f a n d L a dra da ,Remesa l a ssures us

,w a s overhea rd more than

once telling his penitent aloud : “Don ’t

you see , bishop , tha t you are on the roa dto hell

,bec a use you do not defend w ith

su ffic ient zeal the ca use of the poor I11dians

,whom God ha s entrusted to your

care ? ”

The expl a na tion of it a l l is to be foundin the c onviction of L a s Ca sa s himself , thathe ha d been appointed

,a lmost m ira c ul ous

ly,or a t lea st by a spe c ial d ispen sation of

divine providen c e t he Prote c tor of the I 11dians . His c onfessor Shared with him thisconviction

,and frequen tly wa rned his peni

tent tha t any a c tion o i h i s n ot consec ratedto the fulfilm ent of hi s mission might a ppear Sinful in the sight of God .

Somethin g more remains to be sa id ofthe histori c a l works of the first Americ a npriest . He fully deserves t he title

,whic h

I gave him,of F a ther of Am er i c a n hi s tory.

His fa ther w a s o n e of t he principal fa c torsin the first settlement of white men onAmerican soil in 1 493 , and ha d resided a l

m ost continuously i n Hispa niol a,when L a s

Ca sas landed there in 1 50 2 . Through thefather

,the son be c ame acqua inted with

Christopher Columbus and his two brothers,


He wrote but one history which he ca lledH i s tor i a Gen er a l d e L a s I n d i a s , to whichreference ha s frequently been made asH i s tor i a d e L a s I n d i a s . But having endedthe L XVII . cha pter of his work , he sa ys“Here wa s t o ha ve its pla ce the history anddescription of the properties

,na tural a d

va nta ges and geogra phy of these isla nds,

espe c ia l ly of this one . (Hispaniola ) and oft he other countries discovered by the a d

miral ( Columbus ) a n d of the conditions,

tal ents a n d na tura l habits of the natives .B ut as this subj ect requires itself a largetreaty it i s my intention to write iti n a Sepa ra te volume , whi c h will not be aSma l l one .

” Tha t separa te volume hecalled H i s tor i a Apologeti c a d e L a s I n d i a s .

The two together ma ke about tw enty-fivehundred octa vo pages of ordinary print .The style is a t times tha t of a familiarconversa tiona l na rra tive

,rising to eloquenc e

and forc e when inveighing a ga inst the oppressors of the India ns . It is n ot alwa ysclea r

,but frequently tha t of a man who

endea vors to be redunda nt,while trying at

the same time to press into one period asm a ny ideas a s possible . A desire to be correct and exa c t

,a s to da tes and fa c ts

,i s

everywhere evident,a n d t he salient idea

left on the mind a fter wa ding through much

L if e of B a r tolom é d e L a s Ca sa s . 579

matter,which appears irrel evant to the

modern reader,is tha t the writer cared for

nothing more tha n to re c ord corre c tly forposterity the events of his times a n d theimpressions crea ted by them 0 11 his ownmi nd . Consta ntly recurring invectivesagainst the Spa niards in America , andpa inting their alm ost every deed in theda rkest of colors in order to gain therea der’s sympa thy and commisera tion forthe India ns

,together w ith a superabundance

of religious and moral refle c tions make thework tiresome reading a t times . Many achapter might be mistaken for an indictment aga inst the wickedness of the Spani a r d s or a plea in defense of the Indians .History n eeds be shifted from the a u

thor ’s polemics , reflections , invectives andpra yers ; but when so Shifted the readergets possession of a genuine article . It isperhaps no exa ggera tion to say tha t morecorrect information can be ga thered a boutthe first thirty yea rs of American historyfrom the works of L a s Casas , tha n from thecombined writing of a l l his c ontemporaries .Historia General de L a s India s remained

unedited until about twenty-five years ago ,when it w a s published in Spain a n d r e

published in Mexi c o in 1 877 . O 11 thet itle page of the orgi n a l the following , i n


the handwriting of L a s Casas himself , canbe read

“ I,Fray Ba rtolomé de L a s Ca sas , ex

bishop o i Chia pa,bequeath this history in

trust to this college of Sa int Gregory,a sk

ing and begging those who now are or willbe re c tors or regents of the same

,not to

give it to any la yman to read inside or outside of said college for the spa ce of fortyyears beginning with January I st of theincoming year 1 560 ,

and I hereby ma ke ita matter of conscience for them to complywith this request . After the said fortyyears

,should it appear to them expedient

for the good of the Indians and of Spain todo so

,they m ay have it printed for the

glory of God and mainly in order tha t thetruth may be known . It does not evena ppear advisable tha t all collegia ns be

allowed to read it,but only the most dis

c r eet,in order tha t it be not published be

fore the proper time . There is no goodrea son for publishing i t now

,as no good

would come of it .Given this November , 1 559 .

Deo gr a ti a s

Fray Bartolomé de L a s Casas .There is abundant internal evidence to

prove that Historia General de L a s Indiaswas in the author’s mind soon after his


all his other works,in order not to defame

them in their own or during their children ’sl ives but in the Historia names are given

,

and not unfrequently biogra phic al Sketchesof the men

,who caused the dea ths of

thousands,a n d ac c ording to our author

,of

millions of American natives . Hence hisdetermination that this

,his most important

work,should not be given to the public be

fore the dawn of the following century .

We a r e informed in the introduction thatthe author’s intention was to write thehistory of America up to the year 1 550 .

My work will be divided in six parts orbooks

,which will give the history of a l

most Sixty years,ea c h book dealing w i th

the events of ten yea rs,exc ept the first

,

which will count only eight,beca use the

Indies were discovered in 1 492 et c .

” Ihave already stated tha t not improbablyL a s Casas wrote more of his Historia Generalde L a s Indias , tha n the three first books thatend with the year 1 5 2 0 .

In 1 56 2 L a s Ca sas received a joint lett erfrom the Dominicans working on the missions in the dioceses of Guatemala andChiapa . The good Fathers expressed muchsatisfa ction in telling the founder of theirm issions how

,not only the spiritual

,but the

mat erial con dition s as well of their Indian s


had improved . According to their view snot much more was left to be desired

,a l

though the Encomienda s had not yet allbeen abolished . This w a s gra ti fying evi

dence tha t his former labors in those pa rtsha d not been in va in

,but tha t on the con

t r a ry they ha d borne abunda nt fruits .

But the unc ompromising Prote c tor of theIndia ns was sa tisfied

,to the hour of his

death,with nothing l ess tha n the a bsolute

freedom of a l l the Indians,and the resti

t ut ion by the Spania rds of their i l lgot t enwealth .

L a s Casa s answered the fria rs ’ letterchiding them with the holiness of their Eucomenderos

,and urging them

,in a tone of

reproa c h,not to rest until complete justice

was done to their flocks .I refer to this long letter because it g1ves

severa l da ta of vita l importa nce to his biogra phy . Thus the following will tel l ushow great ha d been the literary activity ofthe first Americ an priest . “ I ha ve writtenmany sheets of paper

,more than two

thousands of them,many of which have

The den s it y o f pur e In di a n popul a t ion i s t ot his d a y gr ea t est i n t he t e r r i t or ies t ha t form ed t he

dioc eses o f Chi a pa a n d Gua t em a l a when L a s Ca sa swr o t e . Nowher e on t his c on t in en t c a n a s m a n ypur eblood ed I n dia n s be foun d wi thi n a n equa lam oun t of t er r i t ory .


been read,word for w ord

,from the cha irs

of the universities of Sa laman c a a n d Alc a la,

and in our own c ollege . The professor oftheology

,Fa ther Domingo de Soto ( m a y

his soul rest in peace ) , approved all of mywritings

,whi c h he rea d or hea rd rea d

,and

said tha t he could ha ve written no betterhimself about Ind ian matters

,although he

would ha ve adopted a d ifferent style . Hesa t side by side with professor Mira nda andprofessor Ca no in the junta ca lled togetherin 1 55 1 by the emperor , before which I readmy Ap ologi a aga inst Sepulveda .

” According to the foregoing and my ow n c a l c u

l a t ion s, L a s Ca sa s

’ writings,i f collected to

gether would ha ve formed between ten andfifteen thousa nds octa vo pa ges of ordina ryprint . The reader knows a lrea dy tha t hera nked with the foremost theologians a n dca nonists of his time .

L a s Casa s ’ ordin ary pl ace of residence,

after his resigna tion of the See of Chia pa,

w a s the college of St . Gregory of Va lla dolidBut the last six years of his li fe seem toha ve been spent in ‘court

,where his services

were almost consta ntly required in thegovernment of the Indies .The decree of Philip II .

,ordering that

he be given lodgings wherever the courtm ight Si t , is not the only proof of the fact


perish,who origina lly were approachable ,

humble,meek and Simple , a n d well fitted

to rec eive the Ca tholic faith and to pra ctic eall manner of Christia n virtues . As God ismy witness that I never ha d earthly interest i h view

,I decla re it to be my convi c tion

a n d my faith ( and I believe it to be in a c

c or d a n c e with the faith of the Holy RomanChurc h

,which is our rule and our guide ) ,

that,by a l l the t hefts

,a l l the dea ths

,and

all the c on fisc a t i on s of esta tes and otherunc a l c ul a ble riches

,by the dethroning of

rulers with un speakable cruelty the perfe c tand the imma culate l a w of Jesus Christ

,

and the natura l l aw itself have been broken ,the name of Our L ord and of his holyreligion have been outraged

,the spreading

of the fa ith ha s been reta rded,and irre

p a rable harm done to those innocent people .

Hence I bel ieve that,unless it atones with

muc h penance for those abominable andunspeakably wi c ked deeds

,Spain wil l be

visited by the wra th of God,bec ause the

whole n a tion ha s shared,more or less

,i n

the bloody wealth tha t has been ac quiredby the sl aughter and extermina tion of thosepeople . But I fear tha t it wil l repent toola te

,or never . For God punishes with

blindness the sins sometimes of the l owly,

but especially and more frequen t ly of those


who think themselves wise,and who pre

sume to rule the world . We ourselves a r eeye ! witnesses of this darkening of the understanding . It i s now seventy years Sin c ewe bega n to sca nda lize

,to rob

,and to

murder those peoples,but

, to this d ay, weha ve not yet come to rea lize tha t so manysca nda ls

,so much injustice

,so many thefts

,

so ma ny ma ssa c res,so mu c h sla very

,and

the depopula tion of so m a ny provinces,

whic h have disgra c ed our holy religion,

are Sins or injustic es at all .I have a lso given to the college of St .

Gregory a l l my L a tin and Spa nish ma nus c ripts

,i n my ow n h a ndw riting , c oncern

ing the India ns,tha t of the H i s tor i a Gen e

r a l d e L a s In d i a s inc luded . It ha s beenmy intention tha t the la tter should neverc ome out of the college

,exc ept for the pur

pose of ha ving it printed at suc h a time asw il l please God

,while the origin a l must a t

a l l time rema in in the college . I begagain the Fa thers

,who a r e or will be rec

tors or regents,to comply with this request

of mine and to make it a m a tter of conscience to preserve it a n d ta ke c a re of it .And whereas I have rec eived a very

l arge number of letters from m a ny fria rs ofthree d ifferent religious orders

,and from

many other person s from almost every part


of the Indies,giving informa tion about a l l

the evils,grieva nc es a n d inj usti c es infli c ted

by our countrymen on the na tives of thosekingdoms

, ( although they had in no mann er offended us ) and begging me ea rnestlyto ask the king and his counc il to find aremedy ; and whereas these letters are witnesses to the truth which I have

,by the

grace of God,defended for ma ny years

,a n d

witnesses,at the same time

,of the i n

j ustices,oppressions

,ca lamities and dea ths

,

whi c h those people have suffered a t ourhan ds

,thus affording a history rea dy-made

and authentica ted by,in every way

,

credible testimony ; therefore I beg therector

,for charity ’s sa ke

,to select one of

the least busy of the Fa thers of the college,

a n d to assign to him the ta sk of collectinga l l sa id letters into a volume

,arranging

them in chronologica l order a s to the timeo f their reception

,a n d compiling an index

showing the provinc es whence they came .

The volume should be placed in the c ollegelibrary a t p erp etuam r ei m em or i am ,

in or

der that, should God d ec i d e to d es tr oy

Sp a in ,i t m ay be r ea d i ly seen

,tha t the

p un i shm en t i s c aused by our own d es truo

t ion s i n the In d ies , and thus the reason ofhis justice sha ll be made a ppa rent .I penned these lines a t the en d of Pebru

a ry 1 564 .


says one of L a s Casas ’ biogra phers ,“ to

gether they wa lked,together they a t e

,and

together they helped ea c h other to defendtheir do c trines and the India ns . ”

At la st at the ripe old a ge of ninety-two ,Bartolomé de L a s Casa s w a s about to surrender into the hands of his Crea tor hissoul in a cel l of the convent of Our L a dy ofAtocha , His fellow Dominicans kneltaround his humble c ouch and recited thepra yers for the dying . Then the firstAmeri c a n priest and Protector of the I 11dians

,holding in his ha nd a lighted c a ndle

,

addressed hi s brethren and begged them topersevere in their defense of the Indians

,

and asked them to join him in pra yer toGod

,tha t he might be forgiven for any re

m i ssn ess on his pa rt in the fu lfilment of hismission . AS he w a s about to state how hehad come to embra ce that mission

,his

beautiful sou l left its earthly tabernac l e toseek a home in heaven .

Bartolomé de L a s Casas died the l ast dayof July 1 566 .

Were we to begin with his sermonpreac hed on Pentecost Sunda y in 1 5 1 4 , andread all the ten thousa nd pa ges

,which he

says,he wrote during the fifty years inter

ven i n g between tha t da te and 1 564 , whenhe wrote his will

,n ot one would be found

L i fe of Ba r tolom e d e L a s Ca sa s . 59 1

n ot written directly or indirectly in defensea n d in beha lf of the India ns .

,Every sermon

,every spee c h

,every familia r conver

sation,I imagine

,spoke of the India ns , as

his last words were spoken for his Indians .Truly i f his mission w a s not an inspira tionfrom God

,the Protector of the India ns was

a monomaniac for more than fifty yea rs .But m ay the all-merciful God gra nt thisNew World ma ny more monomaniacs likethe first Americ a n priest .Ha ve I proved that in the pages of Am

cricau historyNon es t i n ven tus sim i lis i l li t

’

My task is done . I ha ve told in English

,as well as I knew how

,the story of

the first America n priest,tha t the ten

thousa nd English speaking Americanpriests might have a mirror in whic h toreflect their own lives

,a n d a prototype to

copy . I f they are to fulfil their mission ofchristianizing the northern pa rt of thisWestern Continent

,they m ust be energetic

,

lea rned and persevering in the fixed purpose o f

_d r aw i n g souls to God , i . e . wa lk in

the footsteps of Ba r tolomé de L a s Ca sa s .The following bea utiful tribute to hismemory is by a non-Catholic author .

“In contempla ting su c h a life a s that ofL a s Casas , all words of eulogy seem weak


and frivolous . The historian c a n only bowin reverent awe before a figure which is

,in

some respects,the most beautiful and

sublime in the annals of Christianity, Since

the apostolic age . When n ow and thenin the course of the centuries God’s provi d en c e brings such a li fe into this world

,

the memory of it must be cherished bym ankind as one of its most precious andSacred possessions . For the thoughts

,the

words,the deeds of such a man

,there is no

dea th . The sphere of their influence goeson widening for ever . They bud , theyblossom

,they bear fruit

,from age to

age .

) 7

John Fiske i n h i s “D isc overy o f Am er i c a .

The Life of Bartolomé De Las Casas - Forgotten Books

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