This essay is a summary of “A Brief Account of The Destruction of Indies” by Bartolome de Las Casas[1]. The author begins his account by explaining the discovery of the Americas in 1492 and the arrival of the Spanish one year later. The paper is written 49 years after the Spanish had begun arriving in the Americas. The islands are described as fertile coupled with a healthy climate. It was well-populated with natives who dwelled in peace and harmony, enjoying the fruits that nature offered them. The natives themselves have been described by the author as humble people who were very obedient and loyal subjects to their lords. They were too submissive to the Spaniards and ended up being obscenely subjected to them. They did not know of extravagance and their possessions were slender. The author describes them as satisfied with the little that they already had and they therefore lacked ambition or greed. Their pure minds and welcoming nature created an environment that enabled them to receive the Spanish people and the Catholic religion. Their humility and natural goodness, as the author puts it, made the Spanish conclude that there was nothing wanting in them that required the teachings that would lead to eternal life.

There were no obstructions, to say the least, when the Spaniards started devouring the lambs like starved lions. They butchered them, unleashing all forms of barbaric acts and torment upon the natives. Due to such inhumane acts by the Spaniards, the islands became greatly depopulated as the natives started to flee, and others dying, lost in the storm of the violence. Others have been taken slaves and forced to work in the mines. For example, there were approximately three million people in Hispaniola when the Spanish started to arrive in the island, but there were less than three hundred people by the time the author documented these accounts. One Christian moved and started an expedition to convert the surviving individuals to become Christians. Thirty other islands remain unpopulated due to the same practices that the Spaniards have subjected the natives. More than twelve million people have died as a result.

Hispaniola is where the Spaniards started their barbaric deeds. They used women and children to their pleasure, treating them as a piece of property. They ate more they could ever need, sparingly leaving just enough to keep the natives alive to suffer more. Many people fled to the mountains to save their lives. The local leaders and their families were not spared either. The most powerful chief’s wife was raped by the Spanish. When the natives tried to rebel, they were crushed under the heels of the Spanish and the hooves of their horses, slaughtered by the unforgiving edges of their blades. Killing human beings turned into a sport, somewhat. The Spanish killed the natives, not because they have been offended, but just because it was amusing. They erected griddles on which they used to roast the locals and laughed as they watched them die a slow lingering death.

In conclusion, the author writes of his pity and expresses his worry over the acts committed by his fellow countrymen. He asks for forgiveness from God on behalf of the people involved in the tyranny, violence, torments and oppression.

Bibliography

Casas, Bartolome. “A Brief Account of the Destruction of Indies”, 12^th September, 2014.

[1]Casas, Bartolome. “A Brief Account of the Destruction of Indies”, 12^th September, 2014.