Illustration of the Brevísima of de Las Casas
Title
Illustration of the Brevísima of de Las Casas
Description
One of the key parts of the Spanish economy in the New World following its conquest was the use of indigenous labor. This system was termed the encomienda system. One of the loudest voices against this system was Bartolomé de las Casas, a former slave owner and Dominican friar. He repeatedly lobbied the Spanish crown to improve the treatment of the indigenous population in the Americas, achieving only modest success. The striking image above depicts Spanish atrocities inspired by Las Casas’ accounts.
Las Casas’ positions were certainly controversial, which led to a famous debate at the royal court at Valladolid against scholar Juan Ginés de Sepúlvida, who supported the form Spanish rule was taking. He argued that the Spanish, with their “gifts of prudence, intelligence, magnanimity, temperance, humanity, and religion” (Cowans 60) ought to continue the war and enslavement of indigenous Americans, who he views as barbarians. Spanish colonization, according to Sepúlvida, was fulfilling the mission to convert Americans from “impious servants of the demons into Christians and worshippers of the true God” (Cowans 63). Las Casas believed that the encomienda system was evil and responsible for horrifying atrocities committed against the New World population, noting, “the devil could invent no greater pestilence to destroy that whole world” (Cowans 67). He thought the natives should receive more favorable treatment from a religious standpoint because they had not been introduced to Christianity prior to the Spanish arrival. To Las Casas, the Spanish conquest, in promoting Christianity and Christian values, should benefit the indigenous population more than the colonizers. Clearly, murdering and overworking the inhabitants was counterproductive to advancing the Spanish religious mission.
Las Casas’ positions were certainly controversial, which led to a famous debate at the royal court at Valladolid against scholar Juan Ginés de Sepúlvida, who supported the form Spanish rule was taking. He argued that the Spanish, with their “gifts of prudence, intelligence, magnanimity, temperance, humanity, and religion” (Cowans 60) ought to continue the war and enslavement of indigenous Americans, who he views as barbarians. Spanish colonization, according to Sepúlvida, was fulfilling the mission to convert Americans from “impious servants of the demons into Christians and worshippers of the true God” (Cowans 63). Las Casas believed that the encomienda system was evil and responsible for horrifying atrocities committed against the New World population, noting, “the devil could invent no greater pestilence to destroy that whole world” (Cowans 67). He thought the natives should receive more favorable treatment from a religious standpoint because they had not been introduced to Christianity prior to the Spanish arrival. To Las Casas, the Spanish conquest, in promoting Christianity and Christian values, should benefit the indigenous population more than the colonizers. Clearly, murdering and overworking the inhabitants was counterproductive to advancing the Spanish religious mission.
Creator
Joos van Winghe and Theodor de Bry
Source
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:De_Bry_1c.JPG
Las Casas, Bartolomé de, “Thirty Propositions (1552)” in Early Modern Spain: A Documentary History, ed. Jon Cowans. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003.
Sepúlveda, Juan Ginés de, “Just War in the Indies (ca. 1547)” in Early Modern Spain: A Documentary History, ed. Jon Cowans. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003.
Date
1552
Contributor
Elliot Cahn
Rights
Free Re-use
Citation
Joos van Winghe and Theodor de Bry, “Illustration of the Brevísima of de Las Casas,” HIST 139 - Early Modern Europe, accessed August 6, 2026, https://earlymoderneurope.hist.sites.carleton.edu/items/show/190.