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BARTOLOME DE See also: time See also: bishop of Chiapa in Mexico, and known to posterity as " The Apostle of the Indies," was a native of Seville
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His See also: father, one of the companions of See also: Columbus in the voyage which resulted in the See also: discovery of the New See also: World, sent him to Salamanca, where he graduated
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In 1498 he accompanied his father inan expedition under Columbus to the West Indies, and in 1502 he went with Nicolas de Ovando, the governor, to Hayti, where in 1510 he was admitted to See also: holy orders, being the first See also: priest ordained in the See also: American colonies
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In 1511 he passed over to See also: Cuba to take See also: part in the See also: work of " population and pacification," and in 1513 or 1514 he witnessed and vainly endeavoured to check the See also: massacre of See also: Indians at Caonao
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Soon afterwards there was assigned to him and his friend Renteria a large See also: village in the neighbourhood of Zagua, with a number of Indians attached to it in what was known as repartimiento (allotment); like the rest of his countrymen he made the most of this opportunity for growing See also: rich, but occasionally celebrated mass axa,d preached
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Soon, however, having become convinced of the injustice connected with the repartimiento See also: system, he began to preach against it, at the same time giving up his own slaves
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With the consent of his partner he resolved to go to See also: Spain on behalf of the op. pressed natives, and the result of his representations was that in 1516 See also: Cardinal Jimenes caused a commission to be sent out for the reform of abuses, See also: Las Casas himself, with the title of " See also: protector of the Indians," being appointed to advise and report on them
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This commission had not been long at See also: San Domingo before Las Casas perceived the indifference of his coadjutors to the cause which he himself had at See also: heart, and See also: July 1517 found him again in Spain, where he See also: developed his scheme for the See also: complete liberation of the Indians—a scheme which not only included facilities for emigration from Spain, but was intended to give to each See also: Spanish See also: resident in the colonies the right of importing twelve See also: negro slaves
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The emigration See also: movement proved a failure, and Las Casas lived long enough to express his shame for having been so slow to see that Africans were as much entitled to freedom as were the natives of the New World
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Overwhelmed with disappointment, he retired to the Dominican monastery in Haiti; he joined the See also: order in 1522 and devoted eight years to study
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About 1530 he appears to have revisited the Spanish See also: court, but on what precise errand is not known; the confusion concerning this See also: period of his See also: life extends to the time when, after visits to Mexico, See also: Nicaragua, See also: Peru and See also: Guatemala, he undertook an expedition in 1537 into Tuzulutlan, the inhabitants of which were, chiefly through his tact, peaceably converted to See also: Christianity, mass being celebrated for the first time amongst them in the newly founded See also: town of Rabinal in 1538
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In 1539 Las Casas was sent to Spain to obtain Dominican recruits, and through Loaysa, general of the order, and See also: confessor of See also: Charles V., he was successful in obtaining royal orders and letters favouring his enterprise
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During this stay in See also: Europe, which lasted more than four years, he visited See also: Germany to see the emperor; he also (1542) wrote his Veynte Razones, in defence of the liberties of the Indians and the Brevisima Relation de la Destruycion See also: des las Indias occidentales, the latter of which was published some twelve years later
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In 1543 he refused the Mexican bishopric of See also: Cuzco, but was prevailed upon to accept that of Chiapa, for which he sailed in 1544
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Thwarted at every point by the officials, and outraged by his countrymen in his attempt to carry out the new See also: laws which his humanity had procured, he returned to Spain and resigned his dignity (1547)
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In 1550 he met Sepi1lveda in public debate on the theses See also: drawn from the recently published Apologia See also: pro libro de justis belli causis, in which the latter had maintained the lawfulness of waging unprovoked war upon the natives of the New World
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The course of the discussion may be traced in the account of. the Disputa contained in the Obras (1552)
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In 1565 Las Casas successfully remonstrated with See also: Philip II. against the
See also: financial project for selling the reversion of the encomiendas—a project which would have involved the Indians in hopeless bondage
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In July of the following See also: year he died at See also: Madrid, whither he had gone to urge (and with success) the See also: necessity of restoring a court of See also: justice which had been suppressed in Guatemala
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His Historia de las Indias was not published till 1875-1876
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See also: Sir Arthur See also: Helps' Life of Las Casas (See also: London, 1868) has not been superseded; but see also F
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A
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MacNutt, Bartholomew de Las Casas (1909)
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