The Reformer Who Accidentally Supercharged Slavery
Spanish historian and missionary Bartolome de las Casas (1484 – 1566) devoted his life to protesting the mistreatment of Native Americans by Europeans. In his efforts to do that, he developed concepts that sped up the enslavement of millions of black Africans. A social reformer, Las Casas decried the enslavement of New World natives and the horrific cruelties to which they were subjected. In the process, he pioneered ideas that led to the concept of modern human rights. He got there in a roundabout way. Las Casas sailed to the New World as a layman in 1502, and settled in Hispaniola – modern day Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Las Casas was fine with enslaving Native Americans at first, when he was granted and encomiendai, or hacienda, worked by enslaved locals. He even joined military expeditions to capture more natives for enslavement. Eventually, his conscience bothered him. Las Casas became a priest, renounced his hacienda and slaves, called for an end to the encomienda system, and began to advocate for Native American rights. He saw the treatment of natives by Europeans as illegal and immoral, and in 1515 petitioned the authorities to protect the indigenous population. Until his death in 1566, he tirelessly petitioned and wrote extensively in a bid to end the mistreatment and enslavement of the natives.
