The tears of the Indians being an historical and true account of the cruel massacres and slaughters of above twenty millions of innocent people, committed by the Spaniards in the islands of Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica, &c. : as also in the continent of Mexico, Peru, & other places of the West-Indies, to the total destruction of those countries.. . . . by Bartolomé de las Casas
This month’s featured text is The Tears of the Indians. . . by Bartolomé de las Casas (1474-1566). Las Casas was born in Seville, Spain to the family of a wealthy merchant who sailed with Columbus in his second voyage. He served in the military for several years eventually coming to Cuba. For his services in Cuba, he was given an encomienda or estate in Spanish America including indian "slaves" to work on his estate. Having witnessed the brutal treatment of the Spanish toward the native peoples, Las Casas renounced his encomienda, became a Dominican priest, the first ordained priest in the New World, and a great advocate for fair treatment of the natives within the Spanish colonies. In 1540, Las Casas was able to establish the "New Laws" which for a time to repealed the law allowing the forced labor of Indians. For his efforts, he was promoted to Bishop of Chiapas and returned to the New World. In 1550, the "New Laws" were challenged and Las Casas participated in a debate in Vallodolid, Spain in 1550 with Juan Gines de Sepulveda, an advocate for the Spanish landlords who benefitted from the forced labor system before Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain. Las Casas's efforts eventually failed and the Indian slave labor was restored. Las Casas retired to a monastery shortly after that and continued his writing. Among his many books and pamphlets in defense of Indian freedoms were A History of the Indies (1522), Concerning the Only Way of Drawing All Peoples to the True Religion (1523), and Tears of the Indians (1552). He died in Madrid in 1566.

Tears of the Indians is a seminal book on many different levels. It was one of the first pamphlets to decry the many injustices of slavery of native peoples especially but also to a degree the slave trade in Africa. It also set a precedent of trust between the clergy and the natives. Following Las Casas' lead, many (though certainly not all) members of the clergy in the New World advocated for the Indians rather than with their fellow Spaniards in many cases. Thus, the Indians came to view the clergy as their advocates and gave them a respect not given to the secular authorities. This cultural precedent remained for hundreds of years. In the nineteenth century, when the clergy advocated rebellion against Spain, many natives followed their lead. Also, in the 1970s "Liberation Theology" which among other things advocated rebellion of the poor against the government was advocated by the clergy and followed by native peoples. In England, interestingly, Tears of the Indians was more of a propaganda piece which demonstrated the barbarity of the Spanish and, hence, a justification of why England should rule and continue colonizing the New World. So, Las Casas's work was highly influential in its own time and created a precedent that would influence relations between natives and their Spanish colonizers for centuries to come.

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