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Bartolome De Las Casas Summary

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Bartolome De Las Casas Summary
The first document introduces Dominican priest Bartolome de las Casas (1484-1566) as one of the first settlers in New Spain (the New World) and his address to Prince Philip (future king of Spain) regarding the Spanish treatment of the Native Americans as unjust. He advocates for Indian rights and rejects the encomienda system. The encomienda system was a grant from the Spanish crown allowing the colonists in America the ability to demand forced labor and led to protests by people like Casas that the system was unethical and would be abolished later on. His argument in his address is that the Native Americans are not inferior to the Spanish and are worthy of receiving enlightenment from the church. He goes on to further criticize the Spanish

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