Preview

Native Americans In De Las Casas's 'For The Record'

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
593 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Native Americans In De Las Casas's 'For The Record'
“From the fact that the Indians are barbarians it does not necessarily follow that they are incapable…” (de Las Casas 3). In For the Record, it starts off right away in this section of how the Europeans while not sure of what to make of the Indians they knew that these were not the savages as some had described. De Las Casas goes on to describe of a people that were both loyal and committed to the community and to their fellow man. De Las Casas main adversary, Gines Sepulveda, failed to see the parallel in the fate of the Spaniards at the hands of the Romans and Caesar Augustus. “Now see how he called the Spanish people barbaric and wild” (de Las Casas 3) demonstrates the same philosophy of the thoughts of Europeans as they encountered the Indians. Shall those that are fearful for the loss of all they have worked for not fight back and retain what is rightfully theirs. The Indians, especially the Aztecs had built cities, established political and economic organizations and created richly diverse civilizations. In The Jesuit Relations they recount the gratitude shown to the hospital nuns “The Savages who leave the hospital, and who come to see us again at St. Joseph, or at the three Rivers, …show more content…
Powhatan, the paramount chief, demonstrated the belief of peace instead of war when he said “To cleere us of the feare, leave abord your weapons, for here they are needlesse we being all friends and for ever Powhatans” (Smith, Powhatan 8). The Europeans appreciated the fact these savages had existed and built cities that rival that of Venice. The Europeans bragged of the expertise the Indians had in areas of skill and artistry. In Defense of the Indians, de Las Casas says “They are so skilled in every mechanical art that with every right they should be set ahead of all the nations of the known world…” (de Las Casas
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Case Study Las Casas
    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Case Study Las Casas

    Information in Las Casas’ accounts that may be misleading or exaggerated are his reports of the cruelty inflicted on the Indians by the Spaniards. From the way the priest wrote his account, it gives the appearance that in his eyes, the Indians could do no wrong and the Spaniards were only capable of wrong. Because of this bias, events might have seemed more severe or extreme than they actually were. The accounts he gives contain both facts and opinions. Because opinions were included, it’s possible that they could muddy the facts. The account could also sound more extreme than the actual events if the priest was trying to get the attention he believe the situation needed in order for anything to be done.…

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Andres Resendez, a Land so Strange, the Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca
    • 606 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Andres Resendez, a Land so Strange, the Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca

    Thesis: The author posits that the derivative of a tragically unsuccessful colonization effort results with an epic ten-year odyssey of survival, assimilation, and revelation as the first Old World outsiders to athwart and live in the interior of North America. The culmination of the experiences of Cabeza de Vaca, man of influence, stranded in unexplored lands, encountering and existing with countless Native American tribes as guest, slave, trader, and healer engenders an atypical ideal of humane colonization and coexistence.…

    • 606 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Stuart B. Schwartz's Victors And Vanquished
    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Stuart B. Schwartz's Victors And Vanquished

    The fifteenth-century Renaissance and the beginnings of European exploration, conquest, and colonization are part of the same narrative—one in which culture, science, religion, politics, and power are inextricably intertwined. Innovations in science and technology made long-distance travel and exploration possible. The desire of rulers for wealth and power financed conquest, and the desire of the Roman Catholic church for converts provided religious motivation for the subjection of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Upon reaching Central Mexico, Spanish explorers found themselves confronted with the Nahua people, commonly known as Aztecs, of whom the largest tribe was the Mexica. Stuart B. Schwartz's Victors and Vanquished: Spanish and Nahua Views of the Conquest of Mexico contains opposing versions of the defeat and destruction of the flourishing sixteenth-century civilization of the Nahua.…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Summary Of Matthew Restall's Seven Myths Of The Spanish Conquest
    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Summary Of Matthew Restall's Seven Myths Of The Spanish Conquest

    When discussing the importance of Spanish alliances, it is important to discuss Matthew Restall’s interpretation of “the myth of the white conquistador”. A common myth in regards to the Spanish Conquest is that the Aztecs were conquered by a small group of white Spanish men. Within Restall’s book titled “Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest”, he debunks the myth of the white conquistadors. Restall’s argues that “there is no doubt that the Spanish were consistently outnumbered by native enemies on the battlefield. But what has so often been ignored or forgotten is the fact that Spaniards tended also to be outnumbered by their own native allies. Furthermore, the invisible warriors of this myth took an additional form, that of the Africans, free and enslave, who accompanied Spanish…

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Bartolome De Sahagun's First Impressions Of Indigenous People
    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Bartolome De Sahagun's First Impressions Of Indigenous People

    Many prejudge or make assumptions about others when they hear or see things about others. The Spanish undoubtedly made assumptions about Indigenous people in “First Impressions of Spanish Forces” (Traditions and Encounters 5th edition, p. 371). This document was created around the 1530s by Bernardino de Sahagun, a Spanish missionary, to give their perspective on how indigenous people thought when they first met them. During this time, the Spanish were on an expedition to conquer Mexico and Peru to gain control of most of the land. The Spanish headed to Tenochtitlan were Motecuzoma (Aztec ruler), so he dispatched his people to see how they looked and behaved.…

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The 'Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus'
    • 588 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The 'Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus'

    When in reality it was the Spaniards who were the true savages for treating Native Americans as an evil creature due to their religious views. It was sad to read about how Indians families were torn apart and many choose not to have kids because of this. I was disgusted by how the Spaniards would cut off native women’s breasts and throw their infants to a pack of dogs. The teachings of Popes prepared the ground for the mass Genocide of Native Americans because they taught genocide because anyone who would go against their God would be killed. There are many major statements in this book. One of which is the statement that history books have incorrect information on the conquest of the Americas by the Spaniards. This is important to understand because it shows how young students are being taught wrong information as well as being taught to think that Native Americans are horrible people when the reality was that they were the victims in the situation. Another important statement addressed in the book was how it explained the mistreatment of Native American by the…

    • 588 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Relationship Between Dominican And Spanish Conquistadors
    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Relationship Between Dominican And Spanish Conquistadors

    The Spanish conquistadors were well educated, but also profit-minded, and known as having the most powerful navy in the world. They consider themselves, as a “saving souls” of native Indian who most believe had no culture or religion at all. They work with the help of the Dominican and Franciscan friars, but the relationship between them was not peaceful, because native Indians resisted the imposition of Spanish authority, what resulted in slavery and even death of native people. Those, who did not protest against Spanish authority were treated equally, were allow to merry, and conduct the business. Native Indians consider Spanish discovery more as an invasion of their land with very little recognition of their religious claim to the land their where they bore the graves of the dead.…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    7 Myths Of The Spanish Conquest Summary
    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages

    7 Myths Of The Spanish Conquest Summary

    The myth is that the conquistadors conquered the America’s relatively quickly in a sovereign effort but Restall explains that the Spaniards had a lot of help from the Natives and African’s and the “completion” of conquest was anything but; as mass portions of the land remained unscathed by the conquest. Restall effortlessly explains how the conquistador myths of superior communication between the Spaniards and Natives were just as fabricated as the modern misconception of inferior communication by historians. The communication between the two, or lack thereof, fell somewhere between both myths. Restall uses his concise writing style to explain the resilience of the Natives, debunking the myth of Native desolation and how the myth of superiority derives from Eurocentric beliefs of racial dominance which lead to racist ideologies that “underpinned colonial expansion from the late fifteenth to early twentieth centuries.”…

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Las Casas's View Of The Natives
    • 153 Words
    • 1 Page

    Las Casas's View Of The Natives

    The world in reverse is meant to demonstrate how the Spaniards were known as civilized peoples and were to behave like that, while the Natives were originally seen as savages. But after reading Las Casas’s account he describes and makes the reader view the Natives as civilized and Spaniards as the savages they try to make the natives seem to be. Las Casas confirms this quote “the world in reverse with his descriptions of both groups. He describes the Natives as “the most blessed people on earth”, innocent and pure in mind”, capable of learning, and never boisterous. His descriptions of the Spaniards are the complete opposite, they are described as “ravening wolves”, “tigers and savage lions who have not eaten meat for days” and as murderers.…

    • 153 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Bartolome de las Casas's Destruction of the Indies
    • 1184 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Bartolome de las Casas's Destruction of the Indies

    Through writing A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Casas aims at bringing the Spanish Crown’s attention to the atrocities committed by the citizens of the empire on the natives. In keeping with that aim, he utilizes a rhetoric that seeks to arouse the sympathy of his readers towards the natives and a sense of horror over how they are being treated. Right from the beginning of the account, in the preface, he paints an image of the natives as being simple, and harmless. He describes them as, “the simplest people in the world…they are without malice or guilt…never quarrelsome or belligerent or boisterous, they harbour no grudges…indeed the notions of revenge, rancour and hatred are quite foreign to them”. In contrast to that, he describes the Spaniards as “ravening wolves” who fell upon the natives like “tigers or savage lions who had not eaten meat for days .“ Casas sets up a comparison between the helplessness of the natives and the savagery of the Spaniards, and this comparison holds throughout the document.…

    • 1184 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca's Humane Colonialism
    • 1037 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca's Humane Colonialism

    Throughout Castaways, by Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, and A Land So Strange, the Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca, by Andre Resendez, a transformation is seen through the thoughts and actions of the four Spanish survivors. Clearly motivated by curiosity, greed, and religion, at first, a dramatic transformation from explorers and conquistadors into assimilated Spanish Indians and revolutionary idealists occurs. Cabeza de Vaca believed that his peaceful ascendancy over the Indians of North America was achievable through a partnership, creating a more humane kind of colonial occupation (Resendez 207-208).…

    • 1037 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Spanish Empire in the Americas
    • 1575 Words
    • 45 Pages

    The Spanish Empire in the Americas

    1. Three arguments’ that Juan Gines de Sepulveda used to justify enslaving the Native Americans were for gold, ore deposits, and for God’s sake and man’s faith in him. 2. Three arguments that Bartolome de las Casas gave in attacking Spanish clonial policies in the New World were the Indians eating human flesh, worshiping false gods, and also, he believed that the Indians were cowardly and timid. 3. For comparisons that Sepulveda used, in lines 1-7, to express the inferiority of the Indians was their prudence, skill virtues, and humanity were inferior to the Spanish as children to adults, or even apes to men. Comparisons he used to dismiss the significance of the Indians “Ingenuity for various works of artisanship” were the animals, birds, and spiders that could make things humans could not replicate. In either situation, there was no appropriateness. 4. Las Casas may have weekened his case by requiring that the Spanish must restore what had been taken unjustly from the Indians because the Spanish ultimately modernized them and if they were given back what had been taken, they would again become ‘retro’. If the Indians had been given back their bow and arrows, then they would have no use for them because they have guns. 5. The bias that Las Casas expressed in the last paragraph in his book was that Muslims are savages.…

    • 1575 Words
    • 45 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Issues of Early American Settlement
    • 1196 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Issues of Early American Settlement

    In the early settlement of America, disease and forced labor played a significant role. In the Spanish colonies from Florida and Southward, smallpox took an enormous toll on the conquerors and the native peoples. The so-called “black legend” regarding the Spanish and Portuguese was actually somewhat true, but also somewhat misleading. The concept held that “the conquerors merely butchered or tortured the Indians (‘killing for Christ’), stole their gold, infected them with smallpox, and left little but misery behind.” (Kennedy, p. 23) All of this was actually true – but that wasn’t all the conquerors did, and is therefore the error of the “black legend”. The Spanish and Portuguese conquerors built an enormous empire that spanned two continents. It was not just bad traits that they brought with them – they brought good things too, like culture. Soon, their culture would be integrated into the native societies, including the conquerors’ language, laws, and religion.…

    • 1196 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hollitz Chapter 1
    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Hollitz Chapter 1

    Although often viewed as inferior, savage and helpless, many historians are starting to discover the intelligence and wisdom the Indians had and shared with the colonists that came to America so long ago. As the settlers slowly began to create a new world on the already inhabited North America, they were plagued with starvation due to a severe drought in the area. Due to the dry lands and the settlers expectations to “rely on Indians for food and tribute,” (Norton 17) they were disappointed to find that the Indians were not so keen to handing out food and help to the strangers that have just come onto their land and begun to settle in such a time of severe weather and starvation. As time goes on, both the Indians and the Englishmen realize they both have what the other needs; tools from the white men and crops, land and knowledge from the Indians. As a result, the chief of Tsenacomoco, Powhatan, and colonist, Captain John Smith on an ideally peaceful, mutualistic relationship to ensure the survival of both civilizations. This agreement will leave the groups in cahoots for 100 of years leading to some disastrous scenarios and betrayals.…

    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma”
    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma”

    First, it is clearly obvious that the author is strongly biased towards the Powhatan people. The way Camille Townsend describes the Indians as far more intelligent, sophisticated and remarkably superior than the colonists is extremely evident. “Without question, the Algonkians knew about and actively discussed the Europeans’ advantages. At present the strangers were few in number, unable to feed themselves. What the Indians needed to know was exactly how great the technological advantages ultimately were. In all their interactions with the newcomers, the Indians sought information; Powhatan and his advisers spoke in council. The women working in the fields and in the village and at the riverside talked as they labored.” (Townsend 65)…

    • 483 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics