A Study of the Development of Human Rights from the Work of Bartolomé de Las Casas

A project completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Honors Program

by

Jillian P. Vogt

April 30, 2020

Political Science Ohio Dominican University

Approved by Honors Project Review Committee:

Ronald W. Carstens, Ph.D., Project Advisor

Harry W. McKnight Harry McKnight, M.A.L.S., Reviewer

Michael V. Dougherty, Ph.D., Reviewer, Honors Committee

Received by:

John M. Marazita, Ph.D., Director, Honors Program

2

A Study of the Development of Human Rights from the Work of Bartolomé de Las Casas

Introduction: What are human rights?

There are many different definitions of what it means to be a human person. Part Three of the Catholic Catechism defines the human person as created in the image and likeness of God, the human person is called by God to happiness as his or her essential fulfillment.1 To be human is to be created in the image of God and to live one’s life growing in virtue. In 1963, John

XXIII published . The was addressed to all persons of good will and would be referred to as the Catholic Bill of Rights.2 It was written during the Cold War to reassure people that peace was possible if only they turn to God and to a properly ordered society. Pacem in Terris sets forth the rights of all human beings in light of their creation in the image and likeness of God. The rights laid out in Pacem in Terris were developed from earlier papal teachings, specifically Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum.3

Written in 1891, Rerum Novarum is considered the foundation of the Church’s modern social teachings written “On Capital and Labor.”4 Leo XII spoke to gaps between the rich and the poor, unreasonable hours and wages, the need for unions, the roles of the state in these matters, and defense of the poor.5 Rerum Novarum speaks out against and state control of . When the guild system was abolished in the 18thcentury the laborer was left

“surrendered, isolated and helpless, to the hardheartedness of employers and the greed of

1 Catechism of the - The Dignity of the Human Person, accessed October 11, 2019, http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c1.htm, (Articles 1-3) Paragraph 1700. 2 “Pacem in Terris.” Vatican. Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Accessed November 14, 2019. http://www.vatican.va/content/john-xxiii/en//documents/hf_j-xxiii_enc_11041963_pacem.html. 3 Avery Dulles, “Human Rights: Papal Teaching and The United Nations,” America, December 5, 1998, 15. 4 “Rerum Novarum (May 15, 1891): LEO XIII,” Libreria Editrice Vaticana, accessed January 28, 2020, http://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum.html). 5 Ibid. 3 unchecked competition.”6 Socialism disrupts society by making all private property common and puts it under the control of the state or municipal bodies. The practice of socialism, according to Leo XIII, hurts the working man first because property is the conversion of labor.

He writes that a person’s “needs do not die out, but forever recur; although satisfied today, they demand fresh supplies tomorrow.”7 In taking the private property of laborers socialism hurts the group it was created to protect.8 The Church aims to remedy the conflict of Church teaching and socialism because people “differ in capacity, skill, health, [and] strength; and unequal fortune is a necessary result of unequal position.”9 This does not mean that classes are against each other, rather, that they need each other. The Church aims to bring the two classes together “in friendliness and good feeling,” as humans are not for this earthly life but for heaven.10 Leo XIII writes that without considering what comes after this life “friendliness and good feeling” cannot be understood.11 It does not matter what people have, or how much they have, it only matters that they use what is in their possession properly. Scripture, and the Church, teach the rich to use their wealth to help future generations prosper but warn against the evil of greed. The Church and Her people simultaneously help to raise up the poor through programs and giving alms.

Teachings in Pacem in Terris develops Rerum Novarum and include the right to “life, to religious freedom, to family life, to choose a vocation and to make proper use of material

6 Ibid, Paragraph 3. 7 Ibid, Paragraph 7. 8 Ibid, Paragraph 15. 9 Ibid, Paragraph 17. 10 Ibid, Paragraph 21. 11 Ibid. 4 goods.”12 In the first section of Pacem in Terris, “Order Between Men,” Pope John XXIII writes that all human beings have the right to that which is necessary for a properly developed life. These include “food, clothing, shelter, medical care, rest, and, finally, the necessary social services.”13 All have the right to investigate the Truth and to share the Truth with others. He goes on to list inherent rights that all men possess. These rights include the right to worship God how one sees fit, to decide their state of life, to work and own property, to meet and be social, to emigrate and immigrate, to take part in public life, the duty to protect their rights, respecting the rights of all. Pacem in Terris goes on to note that all have a right to come together to protect their rights, to a human society based on truth and justice, and the right to equality based on human dignity.14

The second section of Pacem in Terris discusses the “Relations Between Individuals and the Public Authority.” This section discusses the need for a government that will “preserve its institutions and do all that is necessary to sponsor actively the interests of all its members.”15

Pope John XXIII argues that the purpose of the government is to work towards the of its citizens and to protect their rights. In the third section of Pacem in Terris “Relations

Between States,” Pope John XXIII writes that social and political authority exists to protect the rights laid out in section one. If the authority of the state does not rule for the moral order of society, such as the responsibility to defend human rights, then the authority of its society no longer properly exists.16 In section four “Relationship of Men and of Political Communities with

12 “Pacem in Terris.” Vatican. Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Accessed November 14, 2019. http://www.vatican.va/content/john-xxiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_j-xxiii_enc_11041963_pacem.html, Paragraph 15. 13 “Pacem in Terris.” Vatican. Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Accessed November 14, 2019, Paragraph 11. 14 Ibid, Paragraph 12-27. 15 Ibid, Paragraph 46. 16 Ibid. 5 the World Community” Pope John XXIII postulates that the advancement of the world calls all to greater collaboration. As each state grows and develops, it becomes more dependent on other states so that it is no longer possible to exist in isolation.17 The Pope goes on to argue that inherent rights are necessary and proper in all parts of life, whether that be in personal life or in social and political life.

In addition to the basic rights of Pacem in Terris, there are the rights mentioned in “The

Universal Declaration of Human Rights” issued in 1948. This is the first legal document that

“sets out…fundamental human rights to be universally protected”18 Rights in “The Universal

Declaration of Human Rights” are said to be inherent and guaranteed to all human beings because of their humanity. Such rights should always be respected as an integral part of the human being. Transcendent rights, such as the rights in Pacem in Terris, are gifts from God because humans are created in His image and likeness; these rights are beyond this world.

According to Pope John XXIII these rights include “freedom, justice and peace in the world.”19

In “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights” the U.N. calls upon nations to protect human rights throughout the world and to aid in growing international relationships through laws agreed upon and written with the understanding of different cultures and religions.

“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights” is based on the supposition that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”20 All rights should be protected regardless of “race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”21 Such are the rights to “life, liberty and security,” and

17 Ibid. 18 “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” United Nations (United Nations), accessed November 16, 2019, https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/ 19 Ibid. 20 Ibid, Article 1. 21 Ibid, Article 2. 6 the idea that “[n]o one shall be held in slavery,” and that they should not be “subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”22 These rights should be recognized in every country and all should be equal before the law. The document argues that in law “[n]o one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile,” and all should be allowed a “fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal,” and are to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.23 Every person has a right to privacy and the freedom to move within one’s country and between countries, as well as the right to asylum, and the “right to a nationality.”24

Each person has the right to marry freely based on the consent of both parties and the right to own property.25 The document goes on: “[e]veryone has the right to freedom of thought, and religion,” and with these the “right to freedom of opinion and expression.”26 All should be allowed to assemble peacefully and have the right not to be forced to join a specific party or association and the right to take an active role in government. All nations must recognize the right to “social security,” and the right to develop a personality.27 All people should be allowed freely to choose their employment and work “without discrimination,” with equality of pay for equal work and the right to join unions.28 All should be allowed rest from work. All have the right to live adequately and to have that which is necessary to live, such as food, lodging, clothing and social services, with mothers and children receiving “special care and assistance.”29 Fundamental education should be accessible, free and compulsory for all people.

All should be allowed to participate in the cultural life of their community and to receive befits

22 Ibid, Article 4-5. 23 Ibid, Article 7-11. 24 Ibid, Article 13-15. 25 Ibid, Article 16-17. 26 Ibid, Article 18-19. 27 Ibid, Article 22. 28 Ibid, Article 23. 29 Ibid, Article 25. 7 of its advancements. All should have the opportunity to live in a society where these rights “can be fully realized.”30 “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights” should not be interpreted by any person or state to destroy, or take away, the rights within it.31

The Catholic Church and the U.N. have similarities in their aims. “The Universal

Declaration of Human Rights” sets forth those rights which all people possess, no matter their status of class or wealth. Pacem in Terris lays out rights that are implicit in Christ and the

Gospel. In Avery Dulles’ writing “Human Rights: Papal Teaching and The United Nations,” he speaks of Pope John XXIII’s connection to the “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”

When the document was being written, Pope John XXIII was apostolic nuncio in Paris where he was a permanent observer at UNESCO and took special interest in the Human Rights

Commission.32 Pope John XXIII frequently spoke on the importance of “The Universal

Declaration of Human Rights,” and even included it within Pacem in Terris.33 The rights mentioned in Pacem in Terris, based on natural law, all appeared in “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”34

According to Dulles, no Pope did more for human rights than John Paul II. For John Paul

II, human rights are known through reason but rooted in God.35 In an address to the United

Nations on October 5, 1995, John Paul II warned against “The Universal Declaration of Human

Rights” being used for one’s “political interests and the thirst for power.”36 Dulles states that

John Paul II believed that human rights do not come from positive law “but are inscribed in the

30 Ibid, Article 28. 31 Ibid, Article 30. 32 Cardinal Avery Dulles, “Human Rights: The United Nations and Papal Teaching: November 18, 1998,” in Church and Society: The Laurence J. McGinley Lectures, 1988–2007 (New York: Fordham University Press, 2008), 277. 33 Ibid, 277. 34 Ibid, 277. 35 Ibid, 278. 36 Ibid, 279. 8 very nature of reality.”37 The human person, as being the substantial unity of body and soul gifted with reason, will and memory, is free to make decisions for himself or herself.38 As John

Paul II points out, humans make decisions for themselves, even God allows humans freely to choose Him or reject Him.39 No right, according to John Paul II, comes before respect.40 In respecting each other humans love one another and conversely do not treat people “as an object of pleasure or convenience.”41 Dulles goes on to say that while the idea of universal human rights is new the “concept of human dignity, from which such rights follow, is very ancient.”42

The ideas and principles in “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights” were written into international treaties and constitutions and can be credited with influencing the end of many injustices.43 In 1983 the International Theological Commission wrote of the hierarchy of rights.

At the highest level are “the right to life, the fundamental equality of persons, and their right to freedom of conscience and religion.”44 The middle levels includes “civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights” derived from the highest level.45 On the lowest level are the rights which are “desirable for human progress.”46

Dulles warns against viewing rights as “absolute or inalienable.”47 Rights are treated as absolute because they cannot be violated if they are truly present. However, they can be limited

37 Ibid, 279. 38 St. , Summa Theologica, trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province, Second and Revised, vol. 4 (London: Burns Oates and Washbourne, 1922), Questions 73 and 74. 39 Cardinal Avery Dulles, “Human Rights: The United Nations and Papal Teaching: November 18, 1998,” in Church and Society: The Laurence J. McGinley Lectures, 1988–2007 (New York: Fordham University Press, 2008), 280. 40 Ibid, 280. 41 Ibid. 42 Ibid, 283 43 Ibid. 44 Ibid, 285. 45 Ibid. 46 Ibid. 47 Ibid, 286. 9 due to emergency situations or misconduct.48 What remains when rights are gone, for any reason, is human dignity which requires respect.49 Without human rights being grounded in scripture, “human rights are vague and fragile.”50 Dulles ends his article by calling for a renewal of the resolve to protect the ideas in the “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights”.

Why Does Bartolomé de Las Casas Matter to Human Rights?

Bartolomé de Las Casas (c. 1484-1566) is often seen as the father of modern international law because of his long fight against the institutions that treated indigenous peoples as sub- human. He worked for more than 50 years as a voice for the voiceless, defending the indigenous people of the Americas. During his time in America, Las Casas was an advocate for indigenous people, frequently speaking about their treatment to the Kings of Spain and to .

His writings called for the end to the colonial systems that ruled the New World and for the peaceful conversion of the indigenous peoples to the Christian faith. The rights Las Casas fought for are the rights that would be spoken of in Pacem in Terris and the “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” His debate with Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda at Valladolid (1550-1551) began a conversation throughout Europe about the treatment of human beings regardless of class, religion, or geography; a conversation that continues today.

Las Casas and the Crisis

The Spanish arrived in the New World in 1493 after set sail to find a shorter trade path to India. While he failed to land in India, he succeeded in finding territory unclaimed by any European imperial power. Christopher Columbus was supported in his travels by the Crowns of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella. Queen Isabella was known to be a

48 Ibid. 49 Ibid, 286. 50 Ibid, 288. 10 supporter of causes that furthered the Catholic Church’s power and Columbus’ adventure to the

New World was one of these. His journey might be seen as “a sort of jihad, or Holy War.”51

When the Spaniards landed in the New World, they encountered indigenous peoples and there was no standard of how to treat them at that time. These indigenous people would soon be called Indians, as Columbus was meant to have landed in India. The Indians were pagans who thought of Europeans as gods sent from the heavens to help them. They offered the food in their storehouses and the crops from their fields in a futile attempt to appease these men. However, the adventurers would bring with them disease and enslavement.

The first explorers thought that these people were savages who could automatically be taken as slaves. Many believed that “natives were better off as slaves to Christians than as free and pagan.”52 Queen Isabella forbade the enslavement of native peoples. In 1545 Pope Nicholas

V issued Romanus Pontifex which forbad the enslavement of Christian Africans. However, this bull allowed for the enslavement of non-Christians and was used by the conquistadors as justification for the enslavement of the indigenous people.53

At the time of the discovery of the New World some Spanish believed that those who had sailed to and consequently found the New World should rightfully be rewarded for their efforts, and the enslavement of the natives was the reward.54 The only way for these men to reap the benefits of their labor was to make money and to do this they needed laborers.

In 1493 Pope Alexander VI issued the Papal bull Inter Caetera. This degree gave

Christopher Columbus and the Spanish Crown permission to “lead the peoples dwelling in those

51 Anthony Pagdan, “Introduction,” in Bartolomé de Las Casas, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies. trans. Nigel Griffen. (New York, New York: Penguin Books, 1992), 9. 52 Ibid. 53 Ibid, 10. 54 Ibid, 10. 11 islands and countries to embrace the Christian religion.”55 This included the use of force to convert these pagans. However, Inter Caetera only gave the Spaniards permission to convert anyone not under the rule of Christian Kings and Queens before their arrival.56

This new power in Spain’s hands caused centuries of tension in Hispaniola because of the implementation of the system. The conquistadors lead the Spanish conquest of the

New World. Many cared more about searching for new lands and gold than about governing the lands they conquered or converting those conquered.57

The encomienda system was the Spanish attempt to control the Indians and reward to the conquistadors.58 An encomienda was a grant by the Spanish crown to a conquistador or to those with an interest in the conquest of the New World. The encomendero required tribute from the

Indians or forced labor, in the name of a conversion of faith.59 This was a system Las Casas was involved in to gain wealth and status. As a young man Las Casas became an encomendero before becoming a priest and later renouncing the encomienda system.

Bartolomé de Las Casas was born in Seville, Spain, around 1484. When Christopher

Columbus and his men brought a select number of indigenous people back to Spain and paraded them around as trophies and oddities, Las Casas witnessed this on Palm Sunday at the age of eight. After being swept up in the fever that was the great discovery, Pedro de Las Casas,

Bartolomé de Las Casas’ father, met with Columbus and decided to sign himself up to join the second expedition. The five-year expedition would see over 17,000 Spaniards colonize

55 Alexander VI. “Inter Caetera.” Papal Encyclicals, 1493. https://www.papalencyclicals.net/alex06/alex06inter.htm. 56 Ibid. 57 The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Conquistador,” Encyclopædia Britannica (Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., n.d.), https://www.britannica.com/topic/conquistador-Spanish-history). 58 The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Encomienda,” Encyclopædia Britannica (Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., n.d.), https://www.britannica.com/topic/encomienda#ref45100). 59 Ibid. 12

Hispaniola for five years and then return to Spain.60 Upon his father’s return in 1498, Las Casas was given an indigenous boy, about his age, to keep as a slave. Juanico, the indigenous boy gifted to Las Casas, was considered an honor for the Las Casas family because he had been specially selected for Pedro de Las Casas by Columbus.61 For approximately two years the young Las Casas kept the indigenous boy as a companion until Pedro was required to return

Juanico to Hispaniola by the June 1500 royal cédula.62

From a young age Bartolomé de Las Casas believed he was called to the priesthood.63 As a teen, he began his seminary studies at the monastery of Salamanca.64 However, Las Casas left the monastery at 18 to travel to the new world as an encomendero with his father. One of the

Bulls of Donation of 1493, Inter Caetera, granted Spain any land in South America which was unconquered by a Catholic nation. Conquistadors and encomenderos continued to expand their hold in the New World. They took indigenous men and women as slaves ostensibly to convert them to the Catholic faith.

While Spain’s Queen Isabella was against the total enslavement of these people, she did believe in the conversion of their hearts for the salvation of their souls. This seeming contradiction involves two distinct ideas of slavery, as put further by Aristotle. Aristotle believed that “legal slaves,” or slaves by convention, were not born to be slaves rather at a particular time these people happened to be slaves. These people could be made slaves after losing a war. The second idea was that the enslavement of those who were dependent upon

60 Helen Rand Parish, “Introduction”, in Bartolomé de Las Casas: The Only Way (Mahwah: Paulist Press, 1992), 12. 61 Ibid, 12-13. 62 Manuel Giménez Fernández, “Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas: A Biographical Sketch” in Bartolomé de Las Casas in History, ed. Juan Friede and Benjamin Keen (Dekalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1972), 69. 63 Helen Rand Parish, Bartolomé de Las Casas: The Only Way (Mahwah: Paulist Press, 1992), 58. 64 Ruth Caspar O.P., Ph.D. Perspectives on Truth in the Dominican Tradition: Bartolomé De Las Casas (Barry University, n.d.). 13 others was sometimes natural and necessary. These slaves were not completely incapable of rational thought.65 The indigenous people of Latin America had their own languages, a writing system, and used art to express themselves, which proves, according to Dr. Ruth Caspar O.P., that they are capable of rational thought.66 This idea of natural slavery is one from which the conquistadors and the encomienda system worked.

Slavery had been taking place for centuries throughout the world and no Pope had condemned it outright. In 1435 Pope Eugene IV issued Sicut Dudum, which called for an end to slavery on the Canary Islands. The inhabitants of the Canary Islands were to be set free within

15 days and “restore[d] to their earlier liberty… [t]hese people are to be totally and perpetually free and are to be let go without the exaction or reception of any money.”67 Those who disobeyed the Popes command were excommunicated from the church. However, Sicut Dudum was only a condemnation of slavery of the converted Christians in the Canary Islands and not of the practice of slavery.68

During the 16th century the Spanish were colonizing the New World and taking indigenous people as slaves. In 1537 Pope Paul III issued Sublimis Dei, to condemn this practice. Pope Paul III spoke about the presumption that slavery of the indigenous people was just because of the idea they were dependent and because of their pagan beliefs. However, Paul

III concludes that the Indians are not dependent upon others because of their ability, and want, to understand the Faith. Pope Paul III condemned all slavery and clearly saw the difference

65 “Ethics - Slavery: Philosophers Justifying Slavery,” BBC (BBC), accessed February 28, 2020, http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/slavery/ethics/philosophers_1.shtml 66 Ruth Caspar O.P., Ph.D. Perspectives on Truth in the Dominican Tradition: Bartolomé De Las Casas (Barry University, n.d.). 67 Eugene IV. “Sicut Dudum.” Papal Encyclicals, 1435. https://www.papalencyclicals.net/eugene04/eugene04sicut.htm.n.pag, Paragraph 4. 68 “Slavery and the Catholic Church,” Catholic News Agency, accessed February 26, 2020, https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources/apologetics/controversies/slavery-and-the-catholic-church. 14 between “racial slavery,” which was taking place in the Spanish colonies, and what was accepted as “just-title slavery,” such as losing in war, dependence, and penial punishment.69 Popes

Gregory XIV, Urban VIII, and Benedict XIV all condemned slavery as well between 1591 and

1758.70

Pope Paul III said in Sublimus Dei that slavery was condemned because all humans are capable of learning of the Truth. Before 1537 many people justified slavery based on an

Aristotelian understanding of slavery. According to Aristotle there were two types of slavery.

The first type of slaves were “slaves by law” and the second being “slaves by nature.”71 Those who were “slaves by law” were either captured in battle or chose to become a slave in order to not be killed as a hostage.72 A “natural slave,” according to Aristotle, was a person who could not rule themselves.73 These people need to be cared for by another person because they are dependent upon them for survival. “Natural slaves” were given tasks that took large amounts of time and left no free time. In Politics, Book 1, Chapter 5, Aristotle says that some are born to rule, and others are born to be ruled. From birth some are suited only for manual work and need to be ruled.74 Aristotle says, in the same chapter from Politics, that “natural slavery” is “the case of those whose business is to use their body, and who can do nothing better.”75 In Sublimis Dei, issued by Pope Paul III in 1537, rejected the idea that the Indians were “natural slaves” because they could not simultaneously be able to know and desire the Truth and be unable to receive it

69 Ibid. 70 Ibid. 71 Kenneth L. Deutsch and Joseph R. Fornieri, An Invitation to Political Thought (Boston, MA: Thomson Higher Education, 2009) 44. 72 Ibid, 46. 73 Ibid. 74 Ibid, 47. 75 Ibid. 15 because they are inept due to their nature and faculties.76 Paul III continues that the Indians should not be “treated as dumb brutes created for our service” by the conquistadors “pretending that they are incapable of receiving the Catholic Faith.”77 When Jesus charged his apostles with spreading his teachings he said “Go ye and teach all nations,” this was said with no exclusion because all people are “receiving the doctrines of the faith.”78 In the last two paragraphs of

Sublimis Dei Pope Paul III says that all Indians, discovered and undiscovered, should not be

“deprived of their liberty or the possession of their property.”79 These people should be allowed to live freely and not enslaved regardless of religion, and if they are enslaved “it shall be null and have no effect.”80 Sublimis Dei ordered an end to the unjust enslavement of the Indians on the grounds of “natural servitude.” During Las Casas’ life Sublimus Dei was the controlling document on the treatment of the Indians. A human person should be respected as they belong to the mortal world, due to their mortal body, and heaven, as their souls are transcendent. Together the unity of the soul and the body create the human person.81

The systematic enslavement of the indigenous people would lead to the encomienda system that Las Casas would argue against during the second half of his life. This would lead to the debate at Valladolid between Las Casas and Sepúlveda at Valladolid in 1550, which would question the fundamental question of what it means to be human.

76 “Sublimus Dei On the Enslavement and Evangelization of Indians,” Papal Encyclicals, July 28, 2017, https://www.papalencyclicals.net/paul03/p3subli.htm). Paragraph 1. 77 Ibid, Paragraph 2. 78 Ibid, Paragraph 1. 79 Ibid, Paragraph 3. 80 Ibid. 81 “Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church,” Vatican, n.d., http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_c ompendio-dott-soc_en.html#THE UNITY OF THE PERSON). 16

It was later that Las Casas realized that Inter Caetera allowed Spain to acquire any land, and with it any people who were not under the rule of Christians, allowing for the systematic enslavement of the natives in the name of Christianity. Las Casas realized the brutality of the

Spanish’s treatment of the Indians while listening to Antonio de Montesinos’s Christmas Eve

Sermon of 1511 and began to speak out against the treatment of the Indians.82 This sermon inspired Las Casas to be a force of change in the New World. He wrote his accounts of what had transpired in the New World and sent it to King Ferdinand of Spain through his tutor and trusted advisor, the Archbishop of Toledo Juan Martínez de Silíceo.83 In 1542, Las Casas wrote A Short

Account of the Destruction of the Indies, so that King Ferdinand might be able to fully understand the grave situation in the New World.84

Las Casas first arrived in the New World in 1502. When he first arrived in Hispaniola

Las Casas was greeted by the Taíno Indians. These people were indigenous to the Caribbean and were an extremely generous people. When the Spaniards arrived the Taíno people offered them everything85 they owned. Because of their generosity Christopher Columbus said that the Taíno people would make great servants.86 The Taíno people did not have weapons that could compete with Spanish weapons and were easily conquered.87 The men were forced to “work in gold mines and colonial plantations.”88 Since those who had planted the crops were taken many people starved. In addition to the indigenous people dying of starvation they also died of

82 Ruth Caspar O.P., Ph.D. Perspectives on Truth in the Dominican Tradition: Bartolomé De Las Casas (Barry University, n.d.). 83 Anthony Pagdan, “Introduction,” in Bartolomé de Las Casas, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies. trans. Nigel Griffen. (New York, New York: Penguin Books, 1992), 6. 84 Ibid. 85 Robert M Poole, “What Became of the Taíno?”. Smithsonian.com (Smithsonian Institution, October 1, 2011), https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/what-became-of-the-taino-73824867/) 86 Ibid. 87 Ibid. 88 Ibid. 17 diseases that the Spanish brought with them from Spain. While the Spanish had built an immune system over generations of dealing with various diseases the indigenous people had never encountered such diseases and were susceptible.89 The Taíno people died of starvation and disease, and many died trying to fight against the Spanish. Within 50 years of the arrival of the

Spanish in 1493 the Taíno population went from an estimated 3 million people to around 200 in

1542.90

After a period of peace between the two people the Spanish began their brutal treatment of the indigenous people. The Spanish would kill those who tried to rise up against them and they killed the indigenous people at random.91 These killings were a way of instilling fear in the hearts of the indigenous people and making them do whatever the Spanish asked. The indigenous people were defenseless against the Spaniards.

When the Spanish felt that they were losing control over the indigenous people began mercilessly killing hundreds of innocent natives.92 The Spanish felt that they were justified in their treatment of the Indians because of Inter Caetera. This document allowed Spain to conquer any land not under Christian rule in order to spread Christianity. The conquistadors used the excuse of converting the indigenous people under their control to take them as slaves. However,

Spaniards began to take whatever they wanted without an attempt to convert these men to the

Roman Catholic Church. In the New World conquistadors began their search for precious jewels and gold. The Spanish crown allowed conquistadors to keep one tenth of the gold and precious metals found during their voyages and required them to give everything else they found to Spain.

89 Ibid. 90 Ruth Caspar O.P., Ph.D. Perspectives on Truth in the Dominican Tradition: Bartolomé De Las Casas (Barry University, n.d.) 91 Ibid. 92 Ibid. 18

This led to the indigenous people being stripped of their gold, jewels, and other precious metals in order to pay for Spain’s wars and to decorate churches throughout Europe.93 Las Casas wrote that the system by which the Spanish ruled changed after the death of Queen Isabella in 1504.

Spaniards began to force the men to work in mines while women were used for the conquistador’s own pleasure after Queen Isabella died. The Queen had adamantly opposed the use of enslavement as a means to control the people that inhabited these islands before they were discovered.94 Yet, after Isabella’s death her wishes were ignored and force and fear became the weapons by which the Spanish conquered Latin America.

The encomienda system, enacted in 1503, was designed to begin the process of converting the natives to Christianity. The natives were given to those who participated in the conquest of these new lands as a reward. The natives were to work for the encomenderos, while the encomenderos were to instruct the natives in the Catholic faith.95

This was seen as necessary system when Christopher Columbus first arrived in the New

World. The Spanish who first arrived in the New World saw the islands as primitive and lawless. These men who first journeyed to the New World were not incredibly rich or morally righteous, rather the “penniless noblemen, convicts… and assorted castoffs from society.”96 To these conquistadors, the natives were savages and barbarians so far beneath their own standing.

These men were rewarded with humans because they fought against rebellions such as the

Higuey rebellion in 1502.97

93 Ruth Caspar O.P., Ph.D. Perspectives on Truth in the Dominican Tradition: Bartolomé De Las Casas (Barry University, n.d.). 94 Bartolomé de Las Casas. A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies. trans. Nigel Griffen. 24-25. 95 Paul S. Vickery, Bartolomé de Las Casas: Great Prophet of the Americas, 22. 96 Ibid, 22-23. 97 Ibid. 19

As a result of his participation in the Higuey rebellion, Christopher Columbus’ own son,

Diego, gifted Las Casas his own plot of land and a home to stay in with indigenous people included.98 Las Casas returned to Spain and was ordained a priest in 1510 after which he returned to the New World as a missionary, while continuing to keep his encomendero status. In

1511, Las Casas was sent to Cuba as a Chaplin, along with 35 of his slaves, on an expedition to help pacify hostilities between Diego Valásquez de Cuéllar and the indigenous people. It was an unsuccessful bid to bring Christianity to the island. After this expedition ended Las Casas took up residence on the island of Cuba for one year. During this year he, and his indigenous people, farmed and found gold but he did not fulfill his pastoral duties to them.99

Dominicans arrived in the new world in 1510 and began to challenge the settlers on their treatment of the indigenous people. It was the Dominican, Antonio de Montesinos, and Pedro de

Córdoba, who “profoundly influenced the spiritual journey of Las Casas.”100 Slowly, Las Casas realized that the wealth he earned through the work of the Indians was unjustified, because he did not keep to the promise of teaching them Christianity.101 With this realization he decided to travel back to Spain to meet with the king and study so that he could fight the injustices faced by the Indians.102 His failure to win the Indians’ freedom led him into the arms of the Dominicans and to Valladolid, where he would famously fight against Sepulveda on the inherent dignity of man.

De Montesinos was a Dominican friar and was the first person in the New World to publicly criticize the treatment of the Indians. His Christmas Eve Sermon first questioned the

98 Ibid, 72. 99 Ibid, 73. 100 Ruth Caspar O.P., Ph.D. Perspectives on Truth in the Dominican Tradition: Bartolomé De Las Casas (Barry University, n.d.). 101 Paul S. Vickery, Bartolomé de Las Casas: Great Prophet of the Americas, 74. 102 Ibid, 74-75. 20 maltreatment of “people who lived mildly and peacefully in their own lands.”103 These people were not given enough food to eat and exhausted by constant work so that the conquistadors didn’t have to directly murder them. The purpose of the encomienda system should be for the conversion of the Indians to the Catholic faith, but the encomenderos never gave Indians the chance. De Montesinos questioned the Spaniards’ reasoning in their treatment of the Indians.

He asked those in attendance “[a]re they not men? Do they not have rational souls? Are you not bound to love them as you love yourselves?”104 De Montesinos wanted the Spanish to recognize that the indigenous people were people, just like them, and as Christians they were commanded to love them and help them in their conversion to Christianity.

After his sermon de Montesinos refused to give communion to those Spaniards he viewed as responsible for the maltreatment of the Indians. On March 20, 1512, King Ferdinand of Spain sent orders to , the Governor of the Indies, to silence de Montesinos and other Dominicans who spoke against the injustices in Hispaniola. It was de Montesinos and his sermon that convinced Las Casas to renounce his Encomendero status and began his path to entering the in 1521.105 This was a sudden conversion and a calling that required him to act immediately. He was “in the grip of forces beyond his… control.”106 It was

Fray Domingo de Betanzos who forced Las Casas to come “face to face with his own mortality.”107 This conversion lead Las Casas to a more disciplined life which he hoped would

103 Antonio de Montesinos, “Antonio De Montesinos: ‘Christmas Eve Sermon of 1511’ on Just Treatment of Indians,” Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/quotes/antonio-de-montesinos-christmas-eve-sermon-of-1511-on-just- treatment-of-indians). 104 Ibid. 105 “Montesinos, Antonio De (?–c. 1530),” Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture (Encyclopedia.com, n.d.), https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/montesinos- antonio-de-c-1530). 106 Manuel Giménez Fernández, “Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas: A Biographical Sketch” in Bartolomé de Las Casas in History, ed. Juan Friede and Benjamin Keen (Dekalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1972), 58. 107 Ibid, 102. 21 help him preach the and convert the indigenous people.108 Las Casas was forced to realize that he was a part of a system of objectifying and subordinating another human being, a system he could not morally support in his role as a Shepard to his flock.109 He received words from God whilst reading Scripture and he reflected upon them. It was a passage from

Ecclesiasticus 34: 21-24 21 that says: “Ill-gotten goods offered in sacrifice are tainted. Presents from the lawless do not win God’s favor. The Most High is not pleased with the gifts of the godless, nor for their many sacrifices does he forgive their sins. One who slays a son in his father’s presence— whoever offers sacrifice from the holdings of the poor.”110 Las Casas was seeing the incompatibility between God’s Word, which is Truth, and the way he was living his life. As a priest, whose role is, first and foremost, to guide the ignorant to the Truth of God, he could no longer gain profit off the backs of the oppressed and marginalized.111 This struck Las

Casas and remained with him for the rest of his life.

However, his enlightenment initially caused the Indians more harm rather than help guide the enlightenment of other Spaniards. Las Casas tried to change his life quickly. In 1514 Las

Casas dispossessed himself of the indigenous people in his care.112 This was not a well thought out plan by Las Casas. He did not free these people, rather he put them in the care of another

Encomendero who treated them worse than Las Casas. This proved to be a death sentence for many of those previously under his rule.113 Before joining the Dominican Order in 1521, Las

108 Ibid, 102-103. 109 Ibid, 59. 110 Ruth Caspar O.P., Ph.D. Perspectives on Truth in the Dominican Tradition: Bartolomé De Las Casas (Barry University, n.d.), text from “Ecclesiasticus,” in The Catholic Study Bible, 3rd ed. (New York, NY: , 2010). 111 Manuel Giménez Fernández, “Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas: A Biographical Sketch” in Bartolomé de Las Casas in History, ed. Juan Friede and Benjamin Keen (Dekalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1972), 60-61. 112 Ruth Caspar O.P., Ph.D. Perspectives on Truth in the Dominican Tradition: Bartolomé De Las Casas (Barry University, n.d.). 113 Manuel Giménez Fernández, “Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas: A Biographical Sketch” in Bartolomé de Las Casas in History, ed. Juan Friede and Benjamin Keen (Dekalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1972), 66. 22

Casas attempted to implement change four times.114 He first implored the crown to enforce laws created to protect the Indians. This failed because four of the priests charged with this task took the position of the slave holders and only freed one Indian slave.115 In December of 1518, he was granted permission to experiment with his second plan, a plan to “suppress the encomienda system.”116 This plan was created with his knowledge of the maltreatment of the Indians, which was in juxtaposition with the wealth the system gave his Spanish brethren. Las Casas set up three villages self-governed by the indigenous people. His hope was that the indigenous people in these villages would become subjects of the King, who offered tribute to him. This plan was deemed a failure, because the indigenous people did not govern themselves as the Spanish wished, and they did not pay tribute to the crown.117 On September 19, 1518, Las Casas began his third, and most disastrous plan. Las Casas was granted the royal decree of "Privileges and

Liberties Granted to Farmers Who Go to the Indies," which allowed him to set up the small village of Tierra Firme.118

Las Casas planned to set up an idyllic Christian community with the Spaniards and

Indians living and farming in concert with one another, and with the Indians being treated humanely because of their inherent dignity as human beings. Las Casas traveled to Spain to begin selecting Spaniards for this experiment, but legal troubles kept him there for three years.

During this time the Indian in Tierra Firme revolted and killed many of the missionaries placed there.119 This set his plan for the perfect community back indefinitely. In trying to incorporate

114 Joseph Romero. "Las Casas and his Dominican Brethren Fight for the Recognition of the Human Dignity of the Latin American Indian." (Revista De Historia De América, no. 61/62, 1966), 115. 115 Ibid, 115-116. 116 Ibid. 117 Ibid. 118 Ibid. 119 Ibid. 23 the Indians into society Las Casas spent all of his money he earned through his time as an encomendero. His only supporters were the Dominicans in Hispaniola and the few colonists he had converted. At Father Pedro de Córdoba’s urging Las Casas went to stay with the

Dominicans.120 After joining the Order of Preachers, Las Casas began his final experiment to convince the Spanish of the humanity of the Indians, he started to write, pray, preach, and beg.

Las Casas used the spiritual weapons with which he was familiar with and accomplished more than any of his previous failures.121

As Las Casas received his call to change his heart, he also received a call to change his methods of preaching. Las Casas believed that it was his “divine call” to end the encomienda system, but also to bring about a change in how human beings treat one another, regardless of ethnicity or religion.122 Las Casas had faced many challenges in his pursuit of ending the encomienda system and repenting for his sin of being a part of a sinful system.

Las Casas and the Dominicans did not convert the Indians living in the New World for the sake of having slaves. Rather they felt called to save their souls. If the Indians did not learn of the Truth, their soul would be in danger of eternal damnation.123 The Dominicans learned the native languages of the indigenous people and told biblical stories through songs they wrote. In return for the Dominicans’ kindness the peaceful indigenous people introduced the Dominicans and Las Casas to “the people of the Land of War.”124 However, the Spanish took advantage of the relationship the Dominicans built with the indigenous people. The Spanish would lure

120 Ibid, 117. 121 Ibid, 119. 122 Manuel Giménez Fernández, “Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas: A Biographical Sketch” in Bartolomé de Las Casas in History, ed. Juan Friede and Benjamin Keen (Dekalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1972) ,78. 123 Bartolomé de Las Casas. A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies. trans. Nigel Griffen. (New York, New York: Penguin Books, 1992), 88. 124 Joseph Romero. “Las Casas and his Dominican Brethren Fight for the Recognition of the Human Dignity of the Latin American Indian.” (Revista De Historia De América, no. 61/62, 1966), 118. 24

Indians into a false sense of security thinking of the Dominican order as inherently good and trustworthy and sell them into a life of servitude. The Dominican’s would notice only too late and were left to fight for their lives by contacting their fellow missionaries to beg the conquistadors for the safe return of those taken from them.125

Las Casas against Sepulveda: A Fight for Humanity

In 1542 Las Casas traveled to Spain to convince the Crown to implement rules that better protected and humanized the Indians. To show the king that he appeared as a tyrant rather than a benevolent ruler, Las Casas wrote two books, A Very Brief Account of the Destruction of the

Indies and Remedies for the Existing Evils, With Twenty Reasons.126 These works showed the

King where improvements could be made and in November 1542 he implemented the New Laws changing the regulation of the Council of the Indies and laws regarding the Indians.127 One notable law, Law No. 35, stated that no more would be granted and Indians would be recognized as subjects of subjects of the Crown after the death of their masters.128 However, these laws were never enforced and in 1545 Law No. 35 was revoked.129

In 1547 Las Casas returned to Spain for the last time after he served as the of

Chiapas.130 Las Casas was selected in 1544 by the King to become the Bishop of Chiapas in order to ensure the enforcement of the New Laws. During his time as Bishop he began to enforce his own rules regarding the encomenderos. These rules involved giving restitution to the

125 Bartolomé de Las Casas. A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies. trans. Nigel Griffen. (New York, New York: Penguin Books, 1992), 88-91. 126 Joseph Romero. " Las Casas and his Dominican Brethren Fight for the Recognition of the Human Dignity of the Latin American Indian." (Revista De Historia De América, no. 61/62, 1966), 118. 127 Ibid. 128 Ibid. 129 Ibid. 130 Manuel Giménez Fernández, “Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas: A Biographical Sketch” in Bartolomé de Las Casas in History, ed. Juan Friede and Benjamin Keen, 57. 25

Indians and refusing to offer encomenderos the last rights until their conscience had changed.131

The enforcement of Las Casas’ new regulations caused Dominicans throughout the New World to be threatened. The Dominicans were attacked, and sometimes killed, because they were supportive of Las Casas’ rules. After these incidences “the Licenciado Alonso Moldonado wrote to Charles V… that it would be much better if Las Casas were in a monastery in Castile.”132

Before leaving Mexico for Spain, Las Casas wrote The Only Way of Attracting All People to the True Religion. This treatise was the basis of his arguments at Valladolid in 1550, the conversion of the Indians using peaceful methods. When he reached Spain in 1547, he and Friar

Rodrigo de Andrada prepared to represent the Indians at the Council of the Indies. When the

Council began in 1547 it was agreed upon by the council that the Indians would remain under control of the Crown and be required to enter the Catholic Faith. This point was argued by Las

Casas and Andrada and the decision was postponed until Charles V could return to his country.133

Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda was the adversary of Las Casas throughout his time in

Valladolid. Sepúlveda was an authority on Aristotelian philosophy and believed Aristotle’s theory that some people were naturally slaves. Sepúlveda had even written a treatise on the

Catholic Church’s views on pacificism. This treatise helped the Spanish Crown justify its fights in Europe, and colonists in the New World hoped it would do the same for them. He wanted to prove conclusively that Spain’s war against the Indians was justified and necessary for them to become true Christians.134 The publication of Sepúlveda’s treatise was refused by the Council of the Indies, the Royal Council of Castile and the Universities of Salamanca and Alcalá, the latter

131 Ibid 58. 132 Ibid. 133 Ibid, 59. 134 Ibid, 62. 26 claiming that the theology was unsound.135 Many of the theologians of the time spoke against

Sepúlveda’s ideas and arguments.

Sepúlveda continued regardless. He sent his manuscript to Rome to be published, because publishers in Rome had published his earlier works. It was in Rome, where the press was not forbidden from printing his works, that Apologia pro libro de justis belli causis was published in 1550. King Charles V ordered that all copies of this work in Spain be confiscated.136 Both Las Casas and Sepúlveda began to lobby their acquaintances in hopes that the Crown would favor their opinions on the Indian matter. Las Casas lobbied for the right of the Indians to have rights. It was in a 1549 letter that he spoke of the need to enact new laws to protect the Indians from the torture of the conquistadors. Las Casas also argued for the installation of a new bishop who would protect the Indians and who would righteously enforce these rules.137 Sepúlveda wrote to Prince Phillip to win his favor on the Indian matter. He reminded Phillip that he had dedicated translations to him, and of his works on behalf of the

Indians. He wanted the Prince to favor his ideas and he spoke ill of Las Casas.

April 16, 1550, King Charles V suspended all activity of conquistadors in the New

World. Conquest was to be stopped so that theologians and scholars could come together and discuss the proper treatment of the indigenous people.138 This was the beginning of the debate at

Valladolid. Both Las Casas and Sepúlveda agreed on the necessity to meet and the King called for a council to discuss these issues in that same year.139

135 Ibid. 136 Ibid, 63. 137 Ibid, 64-66. 138 Ibid. 67. 139 Ibid. 27

In August of 1550 the “Council of the Fourteen” were summoned to Valladolid, Spain, to begin a discourse on the justifications of Charles V war with the Indians.140 Were these indigenous people made to be conquered? Did their lack of knowledge of God and of the

Catholic faith make them less than human? The disputation between the two men lasted through

August and September and in October the Council ordered that none of Sepúlveda’s works on the Indian matter be sent to the New World.141

During the debate Las Casas argued that the Indians were capable of higher thought, dispelling the argument that they were “barbaric or dull-witted or stupid.”142 These people wished to learn, and were talented learners who wanted to know God.143 This was evident in their writings and in the music which they produced in the Indies. Las Casas argued that if

Sepúlveda had asked the religious people in the New World he would know of the Indians progress.

Las Casas believed that there were different kinds of barbarism. Some barbaric people are natural slaves because they are irrational and do not have a clear sense of rule. However, the people indigenous to the New World did not fit within this understanding of barbaric people.

The indigenous people knew justice and had laws and a clear form of rule before the arrival of

Spain, with kingdoms and royal distinctions.144 Indigenous people of the new world accepted and believed in the truth. They lived in such a way as to please God and on their deathbeds were concerned for the salvation of their souls. The fact that the Indians were concerned for the salvation of their souls and their willingness and ability to learn was directly opposed to the

140 Ibid. 141 Ibid, 70. 142 Bartolomé de Las Casas, in Manuel Giménez Fernández, “Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas: A Biographical Sketch” in Bartolomé de Las Casas in History, ed. Juan Friede and Benjamin Keen, 74. 143 Ibid. 144 Ibid, 75. 28 teachings of Aristotle, and the basis of Sepúlveda’s argument, that those who are dependent upon others and incapable of rational thought are natural slaves.145

According to a manuscript of Sepúlveda’s work on the matter Las Casas argued against

Sepúlveda point by point. The first point was the idea that the Indians were barbarians, which had three parts. The first part was the idea that the indigenous people were barbarians because of their behavior. To this Las Casas argued that all people could be considered barbarians “if their behavior is sufficiently savage.”146 Las Casas added that the most savage people in the New

World were in fact the Spanish, as they had “surpassed all other barbarians.”147 The second part of this argument was that Indians were barbaric because they had no written language. Las

Casas disputed this claim with the notion that this fact alone did not make them natural slaves as

Sepúlveda, and Aristotle would have argued. The Indigenous people also had art that was regarded as beautiful and revolutionary.148 The third part argued for “those who are barbarians in the correct sense of the term.”149 Las Casas argues that these are the barbarians who fit in

Aristotle’s class of natural slaves. These men do not possess reason nor are they governed by any laws. However, the indigenous people were governed by laws and had reason therefore they could not be barbarians nor natural slaves.

The second point that Las Casas argued against Sepúlveda was the notion that “Indians commit crimes against natural law.”150 Sepúlveda believed that the war against the Indians was justified because they worshiped false gods and offered human sacrifices to them. Las Casas

145 Ibid, 78-79. 146 Ibid, 83. 147 Ibid. 148 Ruth Caspar O.P., Ph.D. Perspectives on Truth in the Dominican Tradition: Bartolomé De Las Casas (Barry University, n.d.). 149 Bartolomé de Las Casas, in Manuel Giménez Fernández, “Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas: A Biographical Sketch” in Bartolomé de Las Casas in History, ed. Juan Friede and Benjamin Keen, 83. 150 Ibid, 87. 29 argued that while living under the rule of a Christian King one is held to higher requirements to uphold natural law. However, the Indians did not live under Christian rule until the conquest and they could not have known that their religion was against natural law.151 It was not the duty of the Church or Spain to punish these people because when they committed these “crimes against natural law” they did not live under their jurisdiction.152

Sepúlveda’s third argument that justified war against the Indians was the argument that

“Indians oppress and kill innocent people.”153 Sepúlveda justified this claim citing that the

Indians sacrificed humans to their pagan gods and ate their bodies. Las Casas argued that the

Bible allows for grace and mercy in these situations, because they did not know the Truth.154

Sepúlveda invoked Saint , who only “approved the killing of those who, having heard and embraced the truth of the gospel, returned to idolatry.”155 Las Casas had worked with the indigenous people and knew of their conversion. These people had not learned of the Truth and returned to their former pagan beliefs. Therefore, the murder of the Indian because of their former beliefs was unjustified. According to Las Casas the only way to convert unbelievers was through peaceful and noncoercive methods.156

The only topic which both Las Casas and Sepúlveda agreed upon was that there was cause to wage war when the preaching of the gospel was impeded by malicious infidel forces.157

Las Casas, however, believed Indians not to be a part of this classification. The Indians did not attack the conquistadors because they were spreading the gospel, rather because their lives were

151 Ibid, 88. 152 Ibid, 87. 153 Ibid, 89. 154 Ibid. 155 Ibid, 90. 156 Ibid, 91. 157 Ibid. 30 being attacked. Even though the Indians sacrificed infants and innocents there was no justification in a war waged against them.158 This is what Las Casas would call “the lesser evil.”159 While cannibalism and human sacrifice is a great injustice, it does not justify destroying entire peoples. Las Casas theorized that even though the Indians were wrong to sacrifice human lives they were doing it for what they knew, at the time, to be their true god. The person being sacrificed was giving their most valuable possession away freely for what they had faith in. Las

Casas knew that it would difficult to convince a people who sacrificed human lives to see the error in it because it is their ancestral religion and they could not understand those who come to teach them of the gospel. Las Casas used the teaching that God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son to Him to prove his point that even Christians have shown a willingness to sacrifice human life for their God.160

Las Casas argued against Sepúlveda’s fourth argument that war must be waged in order to prepare others to preach the Truth and the gospel. Las Casas believed that the Indians could not be converted through fear. How could Christians bring nonbelievers to the faith if they used power to scare them into submission? The fear and torture of the Indians was forcing them to convert, a principle Las Casas had continuously argued against. This type of conversion would make for a conversion on the outside, but they would keep their idols in their hearts.161 Las

Casas cited St. Augustine of Hippo in his argument that pagans must be “invited into the faith with kindness and mildness.”162 Sepúlveda, Las Casas argued, had misrepresented what

Augustine meant because he only approved of wars to reclaim land once ruled by Christian

158 Ibid, 92. 159 Ibid. 160 Ibid, 94-95. 161 Ibid, 97. 162 Ibid, 98. 31 nations. Sepúlveda argued that St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine of Hippo believed that

Rome was justified in war because God saw their skills and sense of justice as superior.

However, Las Casas believed that this was only partially true. While the Romans were in God’s favor, they killed those who angered them, and this led to the fall of the Roman Empire. The acts of Rome did not justify the conquest of the Spanish.163

In Las Casas’ conclusion to his arguments, he argued against the authorities Sepúlveda cited in his argument. The first person Las Casas argued against was the Scottish theologian

John Major and his doctrine of natural slavery. Las Casas first argued that Major had never been to the New World and therefore knew nothing of the facts of the conquest.164 Major argued that a king may be disposed of if “his people are converted to the faith and he refuses to accept it.”165

Las Casas argued against this statement because he knew of the Indian’s willingness to convert, and that even if subjects converted their king still deserved the reverence afforded to a king.

However, Las Casas believed Major’s most egregious error was to say that the Indians lived their lives like beasts and used Ptolemy’s works to strengthen this argument. Ptolemy, as Las Casas argued, was speaking of those living in North Africa and he knew nothing of the existence of the

New World. The Indians, he said, were reasonable and clever people.166 This point alone was enough to dispute Major and his ideas of the true nature of the indigenous people of Hispaniola.

Next Las Casas went on to speak against Sepúlveda’s understanding of Francisco de

Vitoria, a Dominican theologian and political thinker. Sepúlveda, Las Casas argued, misrepresented the views of Vitoria especially regarding his justification of the war against the

163 Ibid, 99. 164 , in Manuel Giménez Fernández, “Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas: A Biographical Sketch” in Bartolomé de Las Casas in History, ed. Juan Friede and Benjamin Keen, 100. 165 Ibid. 166 Ibid, 101-102. 32

Indians. Vitoria justified Alfonso de Castro’s 1542 treatise where he argued that Indians were capable of learning. Vitoria, according to Las Casas, did not approve of the war against the

Indians.167 Francisco de Vitoria was another leading advocate for the indigenous people, so it was imperative that Las Casas correct this wrong interpretation of Vitoria.

Next Las Casas spoke against Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés. Oviedo was a royal historian whom Las Casas had disapproved of and distrusted for more than thirty years.168

Oviedo wrote in the sixth chapter of the third book A General History that the Indians were

“inclined to evil” and “hardly capable of anything.”169 Las Casas theorized that Oviedo had spread such lies because he had been a part of the conquest and received riches from it since

1513. If a person was willing to participate in such activities with no repentance he could not be trusted. Las Casas also charged Oviedo with making false accusations against the Indians based on stories he was told.170

Lastly, Las Casas argued against Inter Caetera issued by Alexander VI. Sepúlveda had argued that Pope Alexander VI believed that there was justification for war because the Indians were meek and simple.171 Las Casas refuted this by arguing that the Pope could not justify war because the Indians were such gentle people who were attacked with unchristian methods of conversion. Las Casas believed that the Pope wished for the Indians to be led to the truth through instruction. The Pope did not instruct the Spanish to wage war against the Indians and

Queen Isabella had commanded her heirs not to consent to anything which would harm the

167 Ibid, 104. 168 Ibid, 105. 169 Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, in Manuel Giménez Fernández, “Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas: A Biographical Sketch” in Bartolomé de Las Casas in History, ed. Juan Friede and Benjamin Keen, 105. 170 Manuel Giménez Fernández, “Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas: A Biographical Sketch” in Bartolomé de Las Casas in History, ed. Juan Friede and Benjamin Keen, 106-107. 171 Ibid, 107. 33

Indians. Las Casas ended his disputation with a plea to Sepúlveda to listen and respect the traditions of the Church and fear God “who punishes perverse undertakings.”172

At the end of the dispute the judges did not come to a conclusion regarding the Indians.

However, both Las Casas and Sepúlveda would claim to have won the debate. Las Casas did not see an end the conquest of the New World, but the New Laws which he had advocated for were not revoked as Sepúlveda would have liked.173

Conclusion: Why Las Casas Matters

Las Casas wrote, “of each and every human being there is one definition and one only, that they are rational, fashioned through the image and likeness of God.”174 With this comes the inherent dignity of a human and calls for respect. There is an international doctrine, written in the 20th century, which protects these inherent rights of man.175 While these 30 articles of “The

Universal Declaration of Human Rights” are not legally binding, they have been written into, and are the basis of, many international treaties, constitutions, and laws. Pope John XXIII wrote

Pacem in Terris to combat the injustices of the mid-20th century, and to expand on what being human is.

Las Casas believed that Indians needed to be converted for the salvation of their souls.

This was of the upmost importance, but it had to be done with kindness. While he did not agree with the Spaniards brutal methods of conversion, he believed in what they stood for. He was a priest and his calling was to bring people to the Truth, which is God. However, a conversion of

172 Bartolomé de Las Casas, in Manuel Giménez Fernández, “Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas: A Biographical Sketch” in Bartolomé de Las Casas in History, ed. Juan Friede and Benjamin Keen, 107. 173 Manuel Giménez Fernández, “Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas: A Biographical Sketch” in Bartolomé de Las Casas in History, ed. Juan Friede and Benjamin Keen, 107. 174 Bartolomé de Las Casas, in Ruth Caspar O.P., Ph.D. Perspectives on Truth in the Dominican Tradition: Bartolomé De Las Casas (Barry University, n.d.). 175 Referring to the “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” 34 the heart had to be done through discourse and by the individual’s decision. A conversion based in fear is not a conversion, but rather a decision made to save one’s life. Fear was the means for many conversions of the Indians, but this did not promote salvation or learning the ways of the

Church.

Antonio de Montesinos inspired Las Casas to a radical conversion. This conversion, which would span many years, led Las Casas to write A Short Account of the Destruction of the

Indies and to begin a dialogue about what it means to be human and to have inherent rights. In light of his knowledge of the encomienda and conquistador systems, Bartolomé de Las Casas implemented plans to help the Indians and the Europeans to coexist. His debate against

Sepúlveda at Valladolid in 1550 left a precedent for human rights cases the world over. Las

Casas helped people to see one another as humans regardless of their appearances and beliefs.

However, the debate at Valladolid did not end injustice to the human person.

Neither Las Casas nor Sepúlveda won at Valladolid. Las Casas did not end the conquest of the New World, and Sepúlveda was unsuccessful is getting the New Laws revoked. However, this debate left a legacy for Las Casas as the defender of the Indians but also a legacy of discourse about the proper use of power against the defenseless. Las Casas began a discussion about the human person, properly construed, and the proper treatment of the human person. This discussion continues today.

35

Bibliography

Alexander. “Inter Caetera.” Papal Encyclicals, 1493.

https://www.papalencyclicals.net/alex06/alex06inter.htm.

Aquinas, Saint Thomas. Aquinas's Shorter Summa: St. Thomas Aquinas's Own Concise Version

of His Summa Theologica. Manchester, NH: Sophia Institute Press, 2002.

Aquinas, St. Thomas. Summa Theologica. Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican

Province. Second and Revised Edition. Vol. 4. London: Burns Oates and Washbourne,

1922.

Aquinas, Saint Thomas. On Evil. Translated by Richard Regan. New York, New York: Oxford

University Press, 2003.

Caspar O.P., Ph.D., Ruth. Perspectives on Truth in the Dominican Tradition: Bartolomé De Las

Casas. Barry University, n.d.

Catechism of the Catholic Church - The Dignity of the Human Person. Accessed October 11,

2019. http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c1.htm.

Columbus, Christopher. 2017. “Discovery of the New World.” Discovery of the New World,

August, 1.

http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.ohiodominican.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h

&AN=21212410&site=ehost-live.

“Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.” Vatican, n.d.

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justp

eace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html#THE UNITY OF THE PERSON. 36

Dulles, Cardinal Avery. “Human Rights: The United Nations and Papal Teaching: November 18,

1998.” In Church and Society: The Laurence J. McGinley Lectures, 1988–2007, 276–89.

New York: Fordham University Press, 2008.

“Ecclesiasticus.” In The Catholic Study Bible, 3rd ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press,

2010.

“Ethics - Slavery: Philosophers Justifying Slavery,” BBC (BBC), accessed February 28, 2020,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/slavery/ethics/philosophers_1.shtml)

Eugene. “Sicut Dudum.” Papal Encyclicals, 1435.

https://www.papalencyclicals.net/eugene04/eugene04sicut.htm.

Fernández, Manuel Giménez. “Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas: A Biographical Sketch.” In

Bartolomé de Las Casas in History, edited by Juan Friede and Benjamin Keen, 67-126.

Dekalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1972.

Hanke, Lewis. 1949. The Spanish Struggle for Justice in the Conquest of America. Philadelphia:

University of Pennsylvania Press.

Hanke, Lewis, and Bartolomé de las Casas. All Mankind Is One; a Study of the Disputation

between Bartolomé De Las Casas and Juan Ginés De Sepúlveda on the Religious

Capacity of the American Indian. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1974.

Heath, Malcolm. "Aristotle on Natural Slavery." Phronesis 53, no. 3 (2008): 243-70.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/40387959.

Hinnebusch, William A. The Dominicans a Short History. Dublin: Dominican Publ., 1985.

Korsgaard, Christine M. “Aristotle's Function Argument.” Oxford Scholarship. Oxford

University Press, November 8, 2014. 37

https://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199552733.001.0001/

acprof-9780199552733-chapter-5.

Las Casas, Bartolomé de. A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies. Translated by Nigel

Griffen. New York, New York: Penguin Books, 1992. de Montesinos, Antonio. “Antonio De Montesinos: ‘Christmas Eve Sermon of 1511’ on Just

Treatment of Indians.” Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs. Accessed

December 6, 2019. https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/quotes/antonio-de-montesinos-

christmas-eve-sermon-of-1511-on-just-treatment-of-indians.

“Montesinos, Antonio De (?–c. 1530).” Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture.

Encyclopedia.com, n.d. https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-

almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/montesinos-antonio-de-c-1530.

Nathans, Benjamin. “Rewriting Human Rights.” The New York Review, December 5, 2019, 44–

48.

“Pacem in Terris.” Vatican. Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Accessed November 14, 2019.

http://www.vatican.va/content/john-xxiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_j-

xxiii_enc_11041963_pacem.html.

“Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth).” California Catholic Conference. Accessed November 14,

2019. https://www.cacatholic.org/teachings/catholic-social-teaching/social-

encyclicals/pacem-terris-peace-earth.

Parish, Helen Rand, Bartolomé de Las Casas: The Only Way. Mahwah: Paulist Press, 1992.

Poole, Robert M. “What Became of the Taíno?” Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian Institution,

October 1, 2011. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/what-became-of-the-taino-

73824867/. 38

“Rerum Novarum (May 15, 1891): LEO XIII.” Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Accessed January 28,

2020. http://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-

xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum.html.

Romero, Joseph. " Las Casas and His Dominican Brethren Fight for the Recognition of the

Human Dignity of the Latin American Indian." Revista De Historia De América, no.

61/62 (1966): 115-20. www.jstor.org/stable/41307336.

“Slavery and the Catholic Church.” Catholic News Agency. Accessed February 26, 2020.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources/apologetics/controversies/slavery-and-

the-catholic-church.

“Sublimus Dei On the Enslavement and Evangelization of Indians.” Papal Encyclicals, July 28,

2017. https://www.papalencyclicals.net/paul03/p3subli.htm.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Conquistador,” Encyclopædia Britannica

(Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., n.d.), https://www.britannica.com/topic/conquistador-

Spanish-history).

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Encomienda.” Encyclopædia Britannica.

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., n.d.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/encomienda#ref45100.

““The Universal Declaration of Human Rights”.” United Nations. United Nations. Accessed

November 16, 2019. https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/.

Vickery, Paul S.. “Bartolomé de Las Casas: Great Prophet of the Americas.” Mahwah: Paulist

Press, 2007.