Destruction of the Indies
Before attempting to understand the text “Destruction of the Indies,” it is important to know a little of the author’s background. Bartelome de Las Casas did not start out as the Protector of the Indians. He, along with other colonists in Mexico, lived as an encomendero, owning much property and slaves. He witnessed firsthand the horrific acts of violence and oppression committed against the indigenous people; natives were tortured, raped, and murdered. Shortly after the Conquest of Cuba, Las Casas had a dramatic change of heart. As a bishop, he began preaching the atrocities of the Spaniards imposed on the Indians and became their prime advocate.
The excerpt from “The Destruction of the Indies” serves as a detailed account of some of the acts by the Spaniards. Las Casas’s matter-of-fact delivery and unbiased report of facts gives a solemn tone to the piece and offers the reader a firsthand insight to the despicable crimes against man. Chilling phrases such as, “who should with a sword at one blow cut, or divide a man in two; or which of them should decollate or behead a man with the greatest dexterity,” gives a vivid image to which was typical and inflicted on thousands. Las Casas succeeds in using gruesome language to relay the urgency of a change in policy. Las Casas’s emotion in felt through the graphic language and is relayed to the reader.
Early colonizers labeled the Indians as worthless, unable to learn, slow, and expendable. It was this type of ignorance that led to the destruction of a people and ultimately a change of heart in Las Casas. It is said history repeats itself and no cases are more evident than this. Because of the torture and mistreatment of the natives, their populous was slowly dying off; there became fewer and fewer Indians to labor. To offset this impending catastrophe, new African slaves were soon brought into replace the natives, thus starting the cycle of cruelty again. It wouldn’t be until the slaves had representatives and order to stand up and lead the fight against this oppression that the cycle would ever end in the New World, hundreds of years later.
I read this on saturday and then again on last night and still thinking about it makes me sick. I was in no way execting for the reading to be so descriptive and gruesome. The way talked about how they made bets on who could kill first in which way( like you said with slicing a man right in half) and about how they spared no one whether they were men, woman, children or babies. I think that was the worst part for me was how he told us they bashed the babies brains. The other part that I really remember from the reading was the very end, the last paragraph I believe when he told us how they would hang people so that their toes were barely touching the ground. "I was an Eye-Witness of these and and innumerable Number of other Cruelties . . . ." this is such a powerful sentence to me because I cannot imagine seeing any of these things and not being able to stop them.
ReplyDeleteBy the way thanks for the background info!
I had to read this text analysis a few times to really let it really sink in. I knew from reading the assignment this week and focusing on the Cortes story that there was mass murder and such cruelty but this blew me away. The magnitude of people killed (12 million) leaves me shaking my head and I cant imagine the fear and agony these people indured. The Spaniards, since they couldn't convert the Indians to Christianity, thought the Indians were insignificent, so wiping them all out was nothing to them. Its so upsetting because they were treated so well by the Indians when they first came! Making killing games and bets and the sheer viciousness in which these men,women,and children were tortured and murdered made me sad and angry. I actually hugged my youngest son while he was asleep because im so grateful not to be living in that time. I agree with the other commenter in that providing some background on this man was intresting and helped pull the information together.
ReplyDeleteThe excerpt "Destruction of the Indies," was a difficult text to understand. But, after a few times of reading it, it became easier to understand what was happening. When i read the text i felt horrified. Number 4 and 5 was so descriptive and gruesome. Almost to the point where i can imagine it in my head. How can the spainards have the stomach to rip bellies, dash brains, burn them, hang them, or rip their bodies apart? It scares me that people like that existed. I wonder what our world would be like if the spainards were still alive today. It's horrifying just think about it.
ReplyDeleteBy the way great summary and background info!