Bartolome de las Casas, the first Bishop of Chiapas
This information was obtained from www.readthespirit.com/…
Bartolomé de las Casas stands as a prophetic giant over the centuries since theEuropean invasion of the Americas. He was a participant in the imperialist expressions of his time, but then had the reflective capacity and moral courage to become the greatest contemporary critic of what was happening. He saw Columbus return from his first voyage to the New World and sailed there himself in 1502. At first he was a priest within the system that enslaved the indigenous Americans. But in 1514 the genocidal cruelty of the Spanish colonization drove him to a dramatic conversion. He became a courageous defender of the Indians, traveling between Spain and the New World to denounce not just the excesses of cruelty but the whole unjust system.
Subjugation of Indigenous People
Las Casas first sailed to the island of Hispaniola (modern Haiti and Dominican Republic) in 1502 with his father. He became a land-owner and participated in raids against the indigenous Taíno people to seize slaves and subjugate them. Then in 1510 he was ordained to the priesthood, the first priest to be ordained in the Americas.
Shortly thereafter a group of Dominican friars came to Hispanola and preached against the enslavement of the Indians and their terrible treatment. Las Casas himself was denied confession because he was a slave owner. He argued against the Dominicans for the justice of the Spanish encomienda system.
A Change of Heart
Las Casas came to see Christ in the suffering of the Indians, crucified not once, but thousands of times. Las Casas’ concern as a priest became not the salvation of the Indians but the salvation of the Spanish themselves.
Beginning to Speak Out Against the Injustices of the Spanish System
When Las Casas released his slaves and preached against the encomienda system the resistance was immediate and strong. So he decided to go to Spain to take the issue to King Ferdinand and church leaders. When the King died shortly after his return Las Casas turned to writing. He wrote A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies in which he related the atrocities and abuses committed by the Spanish colonizers against the indigenous people.
Protector of the Indians
Las Casas was appointed Protector of the Indians and returned to the Spanish colonies. All his efforts at reform were stymied, so he returned again to Spain to convince the new King Carlos I to adopt a more humane way to treat the native people. He tried to carry out his plans in coastal Venezuela and Puerto Rico, but his efforts ended in failure as violence erupted between the Spanish settlers and the Indians.
Challenging Mass Conversions
He also got involved in a mission to the Maya in Mexico. That mission brought the Dominicans led by Las Casas into conflict with the Franciscans. The Franciscans sought mass conversions while Las Casas felt that people needed to understand their faith for conversion to be genuine. The controversy ended up before Pope Paul IIIwho concurred with Las Casas and wrote a papal edict that declared that Indians were rational beings and should be brought to faith by peaceful means.
Arguing Full Humanity for Indigenous Peoples
In 1545 he was appointed the Bishop of Chiapas in Mexico. Controversy erupted as he refused to give absolution to slave owners on their deathbeds unless they freed their slaves. He also threatened excommunication of those within his jurisdiction who mistreated Indians.
An Early Voice for Univeral Human Rights
He continued until his death to be an advocate for justice for the Indians. Indian leaders who traveled to Spain turned to him as a key defender of their cause. When Las Casas died his legacy became as convoluted, conflicted, and complex as his life had been. Even into the 20th Century many in Spain defended the Spanish empire as benevolent and just, condemning Las Casas as a traitor and extremist. For others, however, even with his flaws he was one of the early voices for the unity of humankind and the universality of human rights. Las Casas seemed a lone voice in his day, but his voice still echoes hundreds of years later in lands where poor and indigenous peoples continue to suffer exploitation and the denial of basic human rights.
