Bartolome de las Casas was born in Sevilla in 1474. At the age of 18 he left Spain for the new world, where he managed his father’s ranch and subsequently became a priest. After many years of witnessing the ravages and atrocities of Spanish colonial policy and experiencing the failure of his own attempts at the peaceful colonization of Cumana, he wrote a brief account of the destruction of the Indies in 1542.

This work was investigated at the instigation of Charles V by a committee of lawyers and theologians, and the findings rejected. Colonial apologists also rejected las Casas’ view that the Indian was by nature virtuous and peacable, but corrupted by an alien civilization. This book examines this work.