Bartolome de Las Casas

“Protector of the Indians”

Bartolome de Las CasasCame to Hispanola in 1502 and helped

conquer Cuba

Received an encomienda

He was a Catholic priest

A Moral Dilemma:How can a person serve God and enslave

Native Americans at the same time?

By 1514, Las Casas gave up his claim to the Native Americans that worked for him

He fought for decades against the abuse of Native Americans

Protector of the Indians Las Casas earned the title, Protector of the Indians

As a result, the Spanish king issued the New Laws of 1542

These laws ordered the gradual freeing of all enslaved Native Americans

If someone was found guilty of mistreating Native Americans they had their encomiendas taken away