1
Week 7 – 16th-18th Centuries
The Age of Exploitation
Dr. Vipperman-Cohen
Bartolomé de las Casas, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies
[1542]
Bartolomé de las Casas was a wealthy Spaniard and priest who settled in Hispaniola with
the intent to colonize the land and indigenous peoples for gain. In 1515, however, he
relinquished his lands and his enslaved peoples and shortly became a Dominican friar. He
spent the rest of his life advocating against the atrocities that the Spanish continued to
commit against the indigenous peoples and attempted to convert the native peoples to
Catholicism.
How does de las Casas describe the indigenous peoples before the Spanish enslaved them?
How do his descriptions contribute to the myth of the “noble savage†that became a staple
of the Europeans’ conceptualization of native peoples, and how do they contradict it? What
do his descriptions of the Spanish reveal about their colonial methods and intent? What do
you think de las Casas sees as most important to convey to his readers with this passage?
[PREFACE]
The Americas were discovered in 1492, and the first Christian settlements established by the
Spanish the following year. It is accordingly forty-nine years now since Spaniards began arriving
in numbers in this part of the world. They first settled the large and fertile island of Hispaniola,
which boasts six hundred leagues of coastline and is surrounded by a great many other large
islands, all of them, as I saw for myself, with as high a native population as anywhere on earth.
Of the coast of the mainland, which, at its nearest point, is a little over two hundred and fifty
leagues from Hispaniola, more than ten thousand leagues had been explored by 1541, and more
are being discovered every day. This coastline, too, was swarming with people and it would
seem, if we are to judge by those areas so far explored, that the Almighty selected this part of the
world as home to the greater part of the human race.
God made all the peoples of this area, many and varied as they are, as open and as innocent as
can be imagined. The simplest people in the world – unassuming, long-suffering, unassertive, and
submissive – they are without malice or guile, and are utterly faithful and obedient both to their
own native lords and to the Spaniards in whose service they now find themselves. Never
quarrelsome or belligerent or boisterous, they harbor no grudges and do not seek to settle old
scores; indeed, the notions of revenge, rancor, and hatred are quite foreign to them. At the same
time, they are among the least robust of human beings: their delicate constitutions make them
unable to withstand hard work or suffering and render them liable to succumb to almost any
illness, no matter how mild. Even the common people are no tougher than princes or than other
Europeans born with a silver spoon in their mouths and who spend their lives shielded from the
2
rigors of the outside world. They are also among the poorest people on the face of the earth; they
own next to nothing and have no urge to acquire material possessions. As a result they are
neither ambitious nor greedy, and are totally uninterested in worldly power. Their diet is every
bit as poor and as monotonous, in quantity and in kind, as that enjoyed by the Desert Fathers.
Most of them go naked, save for a loincloth to cover their modesty; at best they may wrap
themselves in a piece of cotton material a yard or two square. Most sleep on matting, although a
few possess a kind of hanging net, known in the language of Hispaniola as a hammock. They are
innocent and pure in mind and have a lively intelligence, all of which makes them particularly
receptive to learning and understanding the truths of our Catholic faith and to being instructed in
virtue; indeed, God has invested them with fewer impediments in this regard than any other
people on earth. Once they begin to learn of the Christian faith they become so keen to know
more, to receive the Sacraments, and to worship God, that the missionaries who instruct them do
truly have to be men of exceptional patience and forbearance; and over the years I have time and
again met Spanish laymen who have been so struck by the natural goodness that shines through
these people that they frequently can be heard to exclaim: ‘These would be the most blessed
people on earth if only they were given the chance to convert to Christianity.’
It was upon these gentle lambs, imbued by the Creator with all the qualities we have mentioned,
that from the very first day they clapped eyes on them the Spanish fell like ravening wolves upon
the fold, or like tigers and savage lions who have not eaten meat for days. The pattern established
at the outset has remained unchanged to this day, and the Spaniards still do nothing save tear the
natives to shreds, murder them and inflict upon them untold misery, suffering and distress,
tormenting, harrying and persecuting them mercilessly. We shall in due course describe some of
the many ingenious methods of torture they have invented and refined for this purpose, but one
can get some idea of the effectiveness of their methods from the figures alone. When the Spanish
first journeyed there, the indigenous population of the island of Hispaniola stood at some three
million; today only two hundred survive. The island of Cuba, which extends for a distance
almost as great as that separating Valladolid from Rome, is now to all intents and purposes
uninhabited; and two other large, beautiful and fertile islands, Puerto Rico and Jamaica, have
been similarly devastated. Not a living soul remains today on any of the islands of the Bahamas,
which lie to the north of Hispaniola and Cuba, even though every single one of the sixty or so
islands in the group, as well as those known as the Isles of Giants and others in the area, both
large and small, is more fertile and more beautiful than the Royal Gardens in Seville and the
climate is as healthy as anywhere on earth. The native population, which once numbered some
five hundred thousand, was wiped out by forcible expatriation to the island of Hispaniola, a
policy adopted by the Spaniards in an endeavor to make up losses among the indigenous
population of that island. One God-fearing individual was moved to mount an expedition to seek
out those who had escaped the Spanish trawl and were still living in the Bahamas and to save
their souls by converting them to Christianity, but, by the end of a search lasting three whole
years, they had found only the eleven survivors I saw with my own eyes. A further thirty or so
islands in the region of Puerto Rico are also now uninhabited and left to go to rack and ruin as a
direct result of the same practices. All these islands, which together must run to over two
thousand leagues, are now abandoned and desolate.
Are you busy and do not have time to handle your assignment? Are you scared that your paper will not make the grade? Do you have responsibilities that may hinder you from turning in your assignment on time? Are you tired and can barely handle your assignment? Are your grades inconsistent?
Whichever your reason is, it is valid! You can get professional academic help from our service at affordable rates. We have a team of professional academic writers who can handle all your assignments.
Students barely have time to read. We got you! Have your literature essay or book review written without having the hassle of reading the book. You can get your literature paper custom-written for you by our literature specialists.
Do you struggle with finance? No need to torture yourself if finance is not your cup of tea. You can order your finance paper from our academic writing service and get 100% original work from competent finance experts.
Computer science is a tough subject. Fortunately, our computer science experts are up to the match. No need to stress and have sleepless nights. Our academic writers will tackle all your computer science assignments and deliver them on time. Let us handle all your python, java, ruby, JavaScript, php , C+ assignments!
While psychology may be an interesting subject, you may lack sufficient time to handle your assignments. Don’t despair; by using our academic writing service, you can be assured of perfect grades. Moreover, your grades will be consistent.
Engineering is quite a demanding subject. Students face a lot of pressure and barely have enough time to do what they love to do. Our academic writing service got you covered! Our engineering specialists follow the paper instructions and ensure timely delivery of the paper.
In the nursing course, you may have difficulties with literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, critical essays, and other assignments. Our nursing assignment writers will offer you professional nursing paper help at low prices.
Truth be told, sociology papers can be quite exhausting. Our academic writing service relieves you of fatigue, pressure, and stress. You can relax and have peace of mind as our academic writers handle your sociology assignment.
We take pride in having some of the best business writers in the industry. Our business writers have a lot of experience in the field. They are reliable, and you can be assured of a high-grade paper. They are able to handle business papers of any subject, length, deadline, and difficulty!
We boast of having some of the most experienced statistics experts in the industry. Our statistics experts have diverse skills, expertise, and knowledge to handle any kind of assignment. They have access to all kinds of software to get your assignment done.
Writing a law essay may prove to be an insurmountable obstacle, especially when you need to know the peculiarities of the legislative framework. Take advantage of our top-notch law specialists and get superb grades and 100% satisfaction.
We have highlighted some of the most popular subjects we handle above. Those are just a tip of the iceberg. We deal in all academic disciplines since our writers are as diverse. They have been drawn from across all disciplines, and orders are assigned to those writers believed to be the best in the field. In a nutshell, there is no task we cannot handle; all you need to do is place your order with us. As long as your instructions are clear, just trust we shall deliver irrespective of the discipline.
Our essay writers are graduates with bachelor's, masters, Ph.D., and doctorate degrees in various subjects. The minimum requirement to be an essay writer with our essay writing service is to have a college degree. All our academic writers have a minimum of two years of academic writing. We have a stringent recruitment process to ensure that we get only the most competent essay writers in the industry. We also ensure that the writers are handsomely compensated for their value. The majority of our writers are native English speakers. As such, the fluency of language and grammar is impeccable.
There is a very low likelihood that you won’t like the paper.
Not at all. All papers are written from scratch. There is no way your tutor or instructor will realize that you did not write the paper yourself. In fact, we recommend using our assignment help services for consistent results.
We check all papers for plagiarism before we submit them. We use powerful plagiarism checking software such as SafeAssign, LopesWrite, and Turnitin. We also upload the plagiarism report so that you can review it. We understand that plagiarism is academic suicide. We would not take the risk of submitting plagiarized work and jeopardize your academic journey. Furthermore, we do not sell or use prewritten papers, and each paper is written from scratch.
You determine when you get the paper by setting the deadline when placing the order. All papers are delivered within the deadline. We are well aware that we operate in a time-sensitive industry. As such, we have laid out strategies to ensure that the client receives the paper on time and they never miss the deadline. We understand that papers that are submitted late have some points deducted. We do not want you to miss any points due to late submission. We work on beating deadlines by huge margins in order to ensure that you have ample time to review the paper before you submit it.
We have a privacy and confidentiality policy that guides our work. We NEVER share any customer information with third parties. Noone will ever know that you used our assignment help services. It’s only between you and us. We are bound by our policies to protect the customer’s identity and information. All your information, such as your names, phone number, email, order information, and so on, are protected. We have robust security systems that ensure that your data is protected. Hacking our systems is close to impossible, and it has never happened.
You fill all the paper instructions in the order form. Make sure you include all the helpful materials so that our academic writers can deliver the perfect paper. It will also help to eliminate unnecessary revisions.
Proceed to pay for the paper so that it can be assigned to one of our expert academic writers. The paper subject is matched with the writer’s area of specialization.
You communicate with the writer and know about the progress of the paper. The client can ask the writer for drafts of the paper. The client can upload extra material and include additional instructions from the lecturer. Receive a paper.
The paper is sent to your email and uploaded to your personal account. You also get a plagiarism report attached to your paper.
GET A PERFECT SCORE!!! 
1
Week 7 – 16th-18th Centuries
The Age of Exploitation
Dr. Vipperman-Cohen
Bartolomé de las Casas, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies
[1542]
Bartolomé de las Casas was a wealthy Spaniard and priest who settled in Hispaniola with
the intent to colonize the land and indigenous peoples for gain. In 1515, however, he
relinquished his lands and his enslaved peoples and shortly became a Dominican friar. He
spent the rest of his life advocating against the atrocities that the Spanish continued to
commit against the indigenous peoples and attempted to convert the native peoples to
Catholicism.
How does de las Casas describe the indigenous peoples before the Spanish enslaved them?
How do his descriptions contribute to the myth of the “noble savage†that became a staple
of the Europeans’ conceptualization of native peoples, and how do they contradict it? What
do his descriptions of the Spanish reveal about their colonial methods and intent? What do
you think de las Casas sees as most important to convey to his readers with this passage?
[PREFACE]
The Americas were discovered in 1492, and the first Christian settlements established by the
Spanish the following year. It is accordingly forty-nine years now since Spaniards began arriving
in numbers in this part of the world. They first settled the large and fertile island of Hispaniola,
which boasts six hundred leagues of coastline and is surrounded by a great many other large
islands, all of them, as I saw for myself, with as high a native population as anywhere on earth.
Of the coast of the mainland, which, at its nearest point, is a little over two hundred and fifty
leagues from Hispaniola, more than ten thousand leagues had been explored by 1541, and more
are being discovered every day. This coastline, too, was swarming with people and it would
seem, if we are to judge by those areas so far explored, that the Almighty selected this part of the
world as home to the greater part of the human race.
God made all the peoples of this area, many and varied as they are, as open and as innocent as
can be imagined. The simplest people in the world – unassuming, long-suffering, unassertive, and
submissive – they are without malice or guile, and are utterly faithful and obedient both to their
own native lords and to the Spaniards in whose service they now find themselves. Never
quarrelsome or belligerent or boisterous, they harbor no grudges and do not seek to settle old
scores; indeed, the notions of revenge, rancor, and hatred are quite foreign to them. At the same
time, they are among the least robust of human beings: their delicate constitutions make them
unable to withstand hard work or suffering and render them liable to succumb to almost any
illness, no matter how mild. Even the common people are no tougher than princes or than other
Europeans born with a silver spoon in their mouths and who spend their lives shielded from the
2
rigors of the outside world. They are also among the poorest people on the face of the earth; they
own next to nothing and have no urge to acquire material possessions. As a result they are
neither ambitious nor greedy, and are totally uninterested in worldly power. Their diet is every
bit as poor and as monotonous, in quantity and in kind, as that enjoyed by the Desert Fathers.
Most of them go naked, save for a loincloth to cover their modesty; at best they may wrap
themselves in a piece of cotton material a yard or two square. Most sleep on matting, although a
few possess a kind of hanging net, known in the language of Hispaniola as a hammock. They are
innocent and pure in mind and have a lively intelligence, all of which makes them particularly
receptive to learning and understanding the truths of our Catholic faith and to being instructed in
virtue; indeed, God has invested them with fewer impediments in this regard than any other
people on earth. Once they begin to learn of the Christian faith they become so keen to know
more, to receive the Sacraments, and to worship God, that the missionaries who instruct them do
truly have to be men of exceptional patience and forbearance; and over the years I have time and
again met Spanish laymen who have been so struck by the natural goodness that shines through
these people that they frequently can be heard to exclaim: ‘These would be the most blessed
people on earth if only they were given the chance to convert to Christianity.’
It was upon these gentle lambs, imbued by the Creator with all the qualities we have mentioned,
that from the very first day they clapped eyes on them the Spanish fell like ravening wolves upon
the fold, or like tigers and savage lions who have not eaten meat for days. The pattern established
at the outset has remained unchanged to this day, and the Spaniards still do nothing save tear the
natives to shreds, murder them and inflict upon them untold misery, suffering and distress,
tormenting, harrying and persecuting them mercilessly. We shall in due course describe some of
the many ingenious methods of torture they have invented and refined for this purpose, but one
can get some idea of the effectiveness of their methods from the figures alone. When the Spanish
first journeyed there, the indigenous population of the island of Hispaniola stood at some three
million; today only two hundred survive. The island of Cuba, which extends for a distance
almost as great as that separating Valladolid from Rome, is now to all intents and purposes
uninhabited; and two other large, beautiful and fertile islands, Puerto Rico and Jamaica, have
been similarly devastated. Not a living soul remains today on any of the islands of the Bahamas,
which lie to the north of Hispaniola and Cuba, even though every single one of the sixty or so
islands in the group, as well as those known as the Isles of Giants and others in the area, both
large and small, is more fertile and more beautiful than the Royal Gardens in Seville and the
climate is as healthy as anywhere on earth. The native population, which once numbered some
five hundred thousand, was wiped out by forcible expatriation to the island of Hispaniola, a
policy adopted by the Spaniards in an endeavor to make up losses among the indigenous
population of that island. One God-fearing individual was moved to mount an expedition to seek
out those who had escaped the Spanish trawl and were still living in the Bahamas and to save
their souls by converting them to Christianity, but, by the end of a search lasting three whole
years, they had found only the eleven survivors I saw with my own eyes. A further thirty or so
islands in the region of Puerto Rico are also now uninhabited and left to go to rack and ruin as a
direct result of the same practices. All these islands, which together must run to over two
thousand leagues, are now abandoned and desolate.
Are you busy and do not have time to handle your assignment? Are you scared that your paper will not make the grade? Do you have responsibilities that may hinder you from turning in your assignment on time? Are you tired and can barely handle your assignment? Are your grades inconsistent?
Whichever your reason is, it is valid! You can get professional academic help from our service at affordable rates. We have a team of professional academic writers who can handle all your assignments.
Students barely have time to read. We got you! Have your literature essay or book review written without having the hassle of reading the book. You can get your literature paper custom-written for you by our literature specialists.
Do you struggle with finance? No need to torture yourself if finance is not your cup of tea. You can order your finance paper from our academic writing service and get 100% original work from competent finance experts.
Computer science is a tough subject. Fortunately, our computer science experts are up to the match. No need to stress and have sleepless nights. Our academic writers will tackle all your computer science assignments and deliver them on time. Let us handle all your python, java, ruby, JavaScript, php , C+ assignments!
While psychology may be an interesting subject, you may lack sufficient time to handle your assignments. Don’t despair; by using our academic writing service, you can be assured of perfect grades. Moreover, your grades will be consistent.
Engineering is quite a demanding subject. Students face a lot of pressure and barely have enough time to do what they love to do. Our academic writing service got you covered! Our engineering specialists follow the paper instructions and ensure timely delivery of the paper.
In the nursing course, you may have difficulties with literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, critical essays, and other assignments. Our nursing assignment writers will offer you professional nursing paper help at low prices.
Truth be told, sociology papers can be quite exhausting. Our academic writing service relieves you of fatigue, pressure, and stress. You can relax and have peace of mind as our academic writers handle your sociology assignment.
We take pride in having some of the best business writers in the industry. Our business writers have a lot of experience in the field. They are reliable, and you can be assured of a high-grade paper. They are able to handle business papers of any subject, length, deadline, and difficulty!
We boast of having some of the most experienced statistics experts in the industry. Our statistics experts have diverse skills, expertise, and knowledge to handle any kind of assignment. They have access to all kinds of software to get your assignment done.
Writing a law essay may prove to be an insurmountable obstacle, especially when you need to know the peculiarities of the legislative framework. Take advantage of our top-notch law specialists and get superb grades and 100% satisfaction.
We have highlighted some of the most popular subjects we handle above. Those are just a tip of the iceberg. We deal in all academic disciplines since our writers are as diverse. They have been drawn from across all disciplines, and orders are assigned to those writers believed to be the best in the field. In a nutshell, there is no task we cannot handle; all you need to do is place your order with us. As long as your instructions are clear, just trust we shall deliver irrespective of the discipline.
Our essay writers are graduates with bachelor's, masters, Ph.D., and doctorate degrees in various subjects. The minimum requirement to be an essay writer with our essay writing service is to have a college degree. All our academic writers have a minimum of two years of academic writing. We have a stringent recruitment process to ensure that we get only the most competent essay writers in the industry. We also ensure that the writers are handsomely compensated for their value. The majority of our writers are native English speakers. As such, the fluency of language and grammar is impeccable.
There is a very low likelihood that you won’t like the paper.
Not at all. All papers are written from scratch. There is no way your tutor or instructor will realize that you did not write the paper yourself. In fact, we recommend using our assignment help services for consistent results.
We check all papers for plagiarism before we submit them. We use powerful plagiarism checking software such as SafeAssign, LopesWrite, and Turnitin. We also upload the plagiarism report so that you can review it. We understand that plagiarism is academic suicide. We would not take the risk of submitting plagiarized work and jeopardize your academic journey. Furthermore, we do not sell or use prewritten papers, and each paper is written from scratch.
You determine when you get the paper by setting the deadline when placing the order. All papers are delivered within the deadline. We are well aware that we operate in a time-sensitive industry. As such, we have laid out strategies to ensure that the client receives the paper on time and they never miss the deadline. We understand that papers that are submitted late have some points deducted. We do not want you to miss any points due to late submission. We work on beating deadlines by huge margins in order to ensure that you have ample time to review the paper before you submit it.
We have a privacy and confidentiality policy that guides our work. We NEVER share any customer information with third parties. Noone will ever know that you used our assignment help services. It’s only between you and us. We are bound by our policies to protect the customer’s identity and information. All your information, such as your names, phone number, email, order information, and so on, are protected. We have robust security systems that ensure that your data is protected. Hacking our systems is close to impossible, and it has never happened.
You fill all the paper instructions in the order form. Make sure you include all the helpful materials so that our academic writers can deliver the perfect paper. It will also help to eliminate unnecessary revisions.
Proceed to pay for the paper so that it can be assigned to one of our expert academic writers. The paper subject is matched with the writer’s area of specialization.
You communicate with the writer and know about the progress of the paper. The client can ask the writer for drafts of the paper. The client can upload extra material and include additional instructions from the lecturer. Receive a paper.
The paper is sent to your email and uploaded to your personal account. You also get a plagiarism report attached to your paper.
GET A PERFECT SCORE!!!
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