Bartolomé de las Casas

The discovery of America It was one of the most important events of the entire Modern Age, as it broke all the schemes that existed up to now on the conception of the world. In this lesson from a TEACHER we bring you a brief biography of Bartolomé de las Casas, which was a priest who was present during the Castilian conquest, who would also write a series of texts on the "lack of morals on the part of the Spaniards towards the natives" making an apology a so much anti-Castilian by the time. This would give it the title of attorney for the indigenous.

Index

1. From his birth to the end of his studies
2. The arrival of Bartolomé de las Casas to the Caribbean
3. His ordination and his return to the Indies
4. The journey through the different parts of the Spanish Indies
5. From the new laws to being Archbishop of Chiapas
6. His last years

We start this brief biography of Bartolomé de las Casas talking about the first years of life of this historical figure. He was born in the Triana neighborhood (Seville) on November 11, 1484.

He belonged to a renowned family, since from the time of Fernando III "the saint" there is evidence of a French family that was located in the city, in fact, When the Catholic Monarchs settled in Seville, one of his uncles was a bearer of the pallium, showing the importance of the family.

It is not known for sure where he studied him, although everything indicates that he must have done it at the Colegio de San Miguel, being fundamental the presence of his aunt, Juana, who was a nun in the monastery of Santa María de las Owners. Once his school stage was over, he would go to Salamanca where he studied both canon and Roman law.

His connection with the discovery of America and the subsequent conquests, comes from the beginning, since possibly he met Columbus before leaving on his first trip since his uncle, Juan de la Peña, traveled with the Genoese. Furthermore, we know that on Christopher Columbus' second voyage both his father, Pedro de las Casas, and his brother Francisco Peñalosa, embarked to obtain benefits. On his return, they brought Bartolomé an Indian to serve him, although he used it for humanistic goods, that is, he carried out a series of anthropological studies.

By the year 1500, Bartolomé de las Casas's university period ended, obtaining at the same time a position as a doctrinero in expeditions to the Indies. Thus, on February 13, 1502, he left Sanlúcar de Barrameda for the New World.

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Continuing with our brief biography of Bartolomé de las Casas, we must know that On April 15, 1502, he arrived in Hispaniola accompanied by Nicolás de Ovando that he was destined to be the new governor of the island.

At that time the chronicles warn us that there was a huge storm that ended Santo Domingo and that a great epidemic spread that ended the lives of many inhabitants of the island, it was therefore a period of considerable instability, in which little is known about our character. Some authors point out that he probably was in the interior of the island on a series of lands belonging to his father, while others suggest that he dedicated himself to curing the sick.

Thanks to the chronicles that Bartolomé de las Casas We know that he had to enlist in an expedition under the command of Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar to end a rebellion of a series of indigenous populations that were attacking groups of Castilians from different localities. For this he received a commission, which he had until the year 1506, the year in which he would go back to Seville.

In this other lesson from a TEACHER we will discover the causes and consequences of the discovery of America.

Continuing with our biography of Bartolomé de las Casas, we will have to talk about the trip he made to Seville in the year 1506, since it will be at that moment when he received the minor orders of the priesthood and in the year 1507 he had to go to Rome where he was ordained a priest.

We know that, in the year 1508, he left again for Hispaniola, where he would combine his work as encomendero with that of doctrinero, he caring from the beginning for the rights of indigenous people. This great work carried out by him, was benefited when in the year 1510 the Dominican order arrived on the island, from the beginning began to work for the rights of the aborigines, being a date to take into account that of December 21, 1511, at which time what the advent speech was read, a law that would generate great disturbances among the trustees of the island.

This series of problems made it reach the Crown and, this, studying the cases offered by both the encomenderos and the religious, he created the first norms in defense of the Indians in the year 1513. This would be the first step for the later Laws of the Indies.

Image: Notimérica

From the year 1516 we will find a series of movements through all the territories annexed by the conquerors, because, from the Crown, Bartolomé de las Casas had been appointed procurator of all the Indians, a distinctive that made it easier for him to protect the natives.

This caused him to have enmity with many of the encomenderos, as he was causing them to lose many of his Indians, whom They treated like slaves (it also depended on the encomendero, it must be said that there were also encomenderos who performed the tasks relevant).

On November 20, 1542, after a series of interviews with Carlos I of Spain and V of Germany and a series of meetings with the Council, the New Laws that prohibited the slavery of the Indians and therefore abolishing the encomiendas, becoming directly protected from the Crown. In that same year his best-known work came to light, Very brief account of the destruction of the Indies.

On March 30, 1544, he was consecrated bishop of Chiapas after not accepting that of Cuzco. From the power of him he would dedicate himself to evangelize indigenous populations that he had on the border, recruiting missionaries to make that possible. Although they were not facilities that he received from the conquerors who were already settled, which in most cases delayed him to a great extent.

To conclude with our brief biography of Bartolomé de las Casas we must talk about the last period of his life, which he spent in the Iberian Peninsula struggling to start up again. the defense of him over the Indians, because both from the new lands and from the metropolis there were many obstacles so that the control of the Indians was not only the Crown, in fact, it was had repealed the Laws of the Indies.

So in July 1566 died in Madrid in the convent of San Pedro Mártir, the remains of him being transferred to Valladolid later on.

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