In Defense of the Indians, or Apologia

Description

Written toward the end of an active career of championing Indian rights, the _Defense_ may be seen as a summary of the teaching of Las Casas's life. This manuscript (the only one of Las Casas's writings never before published) was written in part as a translation and in part as a commentary on the _Apologia_ — a 500-page formal argument in Latin which Las Casas delivered at Valladolid in 1550–1551. The disputation between Sepúlveda and Las Casas was arranged by the Council of the Indies to settle the doctrinal issue on the conversion of the innocents. Sepúlveda was seeking permission to have his manuscript _Democrates_Alter_ published; his thesis was that the Indians of Mexico and Central America were no better than "beasts" to be enslaved or brutally forced into accepting the Catholic faith. Las Casas, on the other hand, saw them as innocent children, artistically and mechanically adroit, capable of learning when properly taught, and willing to accept the intrusion of the Spanish into their land. In Spain, the results of the debate were intended to be far-reaching and would establish the attitude of both the Crown and the Church towards slavery in the New World. The argument of Las Casas won the day: Sepúlvedás rude generalizations concerning Indian barbarity were overthrown by the carefully reasoned but emotionally charged defense of Las Casas. --from the cover