Bartolomé de Las Casas

David Thomas Orique (Providence University College & Theological Seminary)

Ed. by Ben Bollig, University of Oxford
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.6.2.01: Spanish Literature and Culture from the Beginning to the Golden Age.
Vol. editors: Andrew M. Beresford (University of Durham), Stuart Green (University of Leeds), Juan Pablo Rodriguez (Yale University), Duncan Wheeler (University of Leeds)

Dates

Born Nov 1484
Died 18 Jul 1566
Activity 1502-1566

Places

Born in Spain
Active in Spain

Activities

Primary

Historian / Chronicler

Resources

Las Casas' Works

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Bartolomé de Las Casas, a Spanish cleric, Dominican friar, and New World bishop, is a major figure in the sixteenth-century critique of the conquest and colonization of the Americas. During his life, this juridical scholar became known as the Protector of the Indigenous, a champion of justice, a prophet of human rights, and the conscience of Spain, as well as public enemy number one for anti-Indigenous forces. Over time, this daring Renaissance humanist has become known in a variety of ways: religiously, as the Apostle of the Indians; anachronistically, as the Father of Liberation Theology; insightfully, as an early proponent of democracy; inspirationally, as a herald for Latin American Independence leaders; inaccurately, as an instigator of the Black Legend; and, unconvincingly, as an…

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4536 words

Citation: Orique, David Thomas. "Bartolomé de Las Casas". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 October 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2627, accessed 03 December 2024.]