De Las Casas Quote by Charles C. Mann
““the king was talking with Bartolomé de las Casas, a fiery Dominican priest who had just completed Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies, an indictment of Spanish conduct that remains a landmark both in the history of human-rights activism and in the literature of sustained invective. Reading his first draft before the shocked court, Las Casas branded the conquest of Mexico as “the climax of injustice and violence and tyranny committed against the Indians.” He denounced Indian slavery as “torments even harder to endure and longer lasting than the torments of those who are put to the sword.””
About This Quote
Source Book: 1491, 2005
Las Casas condemned conquest as extreme injustice, highlighting human‑rights violations and tyranny.
In simple terms: Conquest was brutal injustice.
Key Takeaway
Recognize past atrocities.
Themes
human rights
colonialism
justice
Mood
somber
educational
Type
historical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- education
- policy making
- human‑rights advocacy
- museum curation
Key Concepts
historical analysis
ethical reflection
Questions to Reflect On
- How does acknowledging past cruelty inform present ethics?
- What lessons apply to modern conflicts?
A Different Perspective
Complexities of historical context may be oversimplified.
![“I read "The Conquest of New Spain" by Bernal Diz Del Castillo, which I recommend to a lot of people. He was an eyewitness of [Hernando] Cortez's conquest of Mexico. It's at once very brutal and at times very plodding. It tells what they did everyday, so days can go by and nothing happens. Then all…” quote by Laila Lalami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b63/laila-lalami-25030_brutal_i-read-the-conquest-of-new-spain-by-bern_2123570.jpg)
