Bartolomé de las Casas and the Conquest of the Americas: Clayton/Bartolomé de las Casas and the Conquest of the Americas

This is a short history of the age of exploration and the conquest of the Americas told through the experience of Bartolome de las Casas. He was a Dominican friar who fervently defended the American Indians, and the single most important figure of the period after Columbus. This work explores the period known as the Encounter, which was characterized by intensive conflict between Europeans and the peoples of the Americas, following Columbus’s voyages. It argues that Las Casas, dubbed the ‘protector of Indians,' was primarily motivated by scripture in his crusade for justice and equality for American Indians.Draws on the 14 volume Complete Works of Las Casas as a window into his mind and actions Encourages students to understand history through the viewpoint of individuals living it Content: Chapter 1 The Era of Columbus and the “Discoverers” (pages 10–32): Chapter 2 Justice for All (pages 33–60): Chapter 3 Social Experiments (pages 61–86): Chapter 4 The Era of the Conquests of Mexico and Peru, 1520s–1540s (pages 87–106): Chapter 5 The New Laws of 1542 and Bishop of Chiapa (pages 107–127): Chapter 6 “All Mankind is One” (pages 128–150): This is a short history of the age of exploration and the conquest of the Americas told through the experience of Bartolome de las Casas, a Dominican friar who fervently defended the American Indians, and the single most important figure of the period after Columbus. * Explores the period known as the Encounter, which was characterized by intensive conflict between Europeans and the people of the Americas following Columbus’s voyages * Argues that Las Casas, ‘protector of Indians,' was primarily motivated by Scripture in his crusade for justice and equality for American Indians * Draws on the 14 volume Complete Works of Las Casas as a window into his mind and actions * Encourages students to understand history through the viewpoint of individuals living it Content: Chapter 1 The Era of Columbus and the “Discoverers” (pages 10–32): Chapter 2 Justice for All (pages 33–60): Chapter 3 Social Experiments (pages 61–86): Chapter 4 The Era of the Conquests of Mexico and Peru, 1520s–1540s (pages 87–106): Chapter 5 The New Laws of 1542 and Bishop of Chiapa (pages 107–127): Chapter 6 “All Mankind is One” (pages 128–150): This is a short history of the age of exploration and the conquest of the Americas told through the experience of Bartolome de las Casas, a Dominican friar who fervently defended the American Indians, and the single most important figure of the period after Columbus. Explores the period known as the Encounter, which was characterized by intensive conflict between Europeans and the people of the Americas following Columbus's voyages ; Argues that Las Casas, 'protector of Indians, ' was primarily motivated by Scripture in his crusade for justice and equality for American Indians ; Draws on the 14 volume Complete Works of Las Casas as a window into his mind and actions ; Encourages students to understand history through the viewpoint of individuals living it. -- Publisher's website This is a short history of the age of exploration and the conquest of the Americas told through the experience of Bartolomé de las Casas, a Dominican friar who fervently defended the American Indians, and the single most important figure of the period after Columbus. Explores the period known as the Encounter, which was characterized by intensive conflict between Europeans and the people of the Americas following Columbus's voyages Argues that Las Casas, ‘protector of Indians,'was primarily motivated by Scripture in his crusade for justice and equality for American Indians Draws on the 14 volume Complete Works of Las Casas as a window into his mind and actions Encourages students to understand history through the viewpoint of individuals living it Las Casas, a Dominican friar, witnessed the brutality of the Spanish explorers early in the conquest. Motivated above all by Christian scripture, he turned on the conquistadors with a passion that made him the most prominent defender and protector of the native peoples of the Americas. He led a lifelong crusade to secure justice for Amerindians within a Christian framework of justice and equality. Through Las Casas's story, Clayton explores the major events and conflicts of the period, including the relationship between colonizers and colonized and the burgeoning trade in African slaves "Lawrence Clayton has produced an excellent, insightful and highly nuanced biography that does full justice to the most extraordinary advocate of human rights in the history of the Americas, Bartolome de las Casas. Exhaustively researched, sympathetically written and enhanced by illustrations, maps and an excellent bibliographic essay, this work constitutes an extraordinary contribution to the growing literature on the subject." Franklin Knight Johns Hopkins University The book allows readers to enter the world of the Encounter through the eyes of an individual who not only lived through the period, but was crucial in forming it. In doing so, it provides a foundation for understanding the early days of Spanish exploration, settlement, and conquest, a period which set the stage for the creation of the modern civilization of the Americas. --Résumé de l'éditeur After Christopher Columbus, Bartolome de las Casas is the single most important figure in the period known as the Encounter, a time of intensive conflict between Europeans and the people of the Americas following Columbus's voyages. In this book, Clayton provides a short history of the age of exploration and the conquest of the Americas told through the experience and acts of Las Casas "This is a full biographical study of one of the major figures of the early modern period, a person who left his mark on his contemporaries and posterity as much as the great monarchs of Spain, England and France ... It should be a new classic on the life and significance of one of the major figures in the struggle for human justice." Noble David Cook, Florida International University "Clayton has written a wonderful biography of Las Casas-churchman, thinker, author, reformer and crusader for justice. A major figure in Spanish American history, Las Casas is presented as a complex man, controversial in the world he lived in, and influential in creating a perception of Spain and her colonies that endured for centuries." Susan Socolow, Emory University After Christopher Columbus, Bartolome de las Casas is the single most important figure in the period of the Encounter, a time of conflict between Europeans and the people of the Americas following Columbus's voyages. Here Clayton provides a history of the age as told through the life of Las Casas. The era of Columbus and the "discoverers" Justice for all Social experiments The era of the conquests of Mexico and Peru, 1520s-1540s The new laws of 1542 and Bishop of Chiapa "All mankind is one" : on the nature of humans, servitude and slavery.