Question

What did Las Casas think was wrong with Spanish rule in the Caribbean? What was he calling upon the crown to do about it?

Answer 1

Las Casas was sickened by the physical degradation and exploitation of the indigenous peoples with Spanish rule in the Caribbean. In his extensive writings he described the atrocities committed in the Spanish colonies of the Caribbean. In his early writings, he advocated on behalf of rights for the natives and suggested the African slaves use in the West Indian colonies instead of Natives. He gave up his extensive land holdings and slaves and travelled back in 1515 to his homeland in Spain for filing a petition to the Spanish Crown to stop the inhuman behaviour that European colonists were inflicting upon the New World natives. Nearly 50 years of his life he actively fights the colonial abuse and slavery of indigenous peoples by trying to convince the Spanish court for adoption of a human dignity for colonization.