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 Bartolome de las Casas Scott 901 (1992) In 1992, Vatican City issued a set of stamps celebrating the fifth century of the discovery and evangelization of America. One of the stamps honored Bartolome de las Casas, who died July 18, 1566. Bartolome de las Casas can be viewed as a somewhat controversial figure in the colonization of the New World by the Spanish at the start of the 16th century. He arrived on the island of Hispaniola with his father in 1502. They became landowners as well as slave owners as part of the colonization process. However, Bartolome gave up the ownership of his slaves in 1515 and began to advocate for a more humane system of colonization. He was ordained as a Dominican friar and priest in 1523 and, later in life, served as bishop of Chiapas in present-day Mexico. Over time, Bartolome saw the moral inequity of slave ownership as a result of the horrific methods employed by the Spanish settlers of the New World. His opposition to slavery and his eventual role as the first official Protector of the Indians cemented his legacy as a social reformer during the period of colonization. However, these views were in direct opposition to those of the Spanish crown and earned Bartolome numerous enemies and detractors. Bartolome spent the last 50 years of his life actively fighting slavery and the colonial abuse of indigenous peoples. He worked to convince the Spanish court to adopt more humane policies of colonization. Of note is his advocacy for the New Laws of 1542, which called for sweeping reforms to the existing systems in the New World. However, these reforms were so unpopular that the Viceroy of New Spain did not implement the laws in his domain. De las Casas himself was not entirely satisfied with the laws, as he considered the reforms not drastic enough. However, his efforts did result in the improvement of the legal status of the natives, and in an increased focus on the ethics of colonialism. In addition to his role as a reformer, Bartolome wrote extensively on the history of the colonization process. Two of his most important works were A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies (written in 1542 on the mistreatment of the indigenous peoples in colonial times) and History of the Indies (a three-volume work describing the history of the Indies from 1492 to 1520, written mostly as an eye-witness account). By clicking on the Page 2 tab below, the reader will be taken to an article written in 1992 by Thomas Crimando on the release of the stamps and souvenir sheet for the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Discovery and Evangelization of America. REFERENCES: |
