Bartolomé de las Casas - Changing Your Mind - Extra History

spain 1550 two men of the church stand opposed to one another in a public debate the question at hand do indigenous peoples have rights under the spanish empire on one side a priest representing the majority of spaniards argues that indigenous people are inferior and therefore deserve to be subjugated but the man on the other side has witnessed the atrocities committed by the spaniards in the new world in fact he himself previously participated in those atrocities and he's been spending his life trying to atone for it his name is bartolome de las casas and he's the world's first human rights activist [Music] this episode is sponsored by wargaming's brand new podcast series the finest half hour give it a listen at the link below born in the late 1400s in seville bartolome de las casas made his first voyage to the new world in 1502 sailing with his father to hispaniola an island currently divided between haiti and the dominican republic there he did what so many young spanish men did to make their way in the world he pillaged the caribbean he fought as a soldier in battles against the native islanders raided for slaves and took captives he also helped conquer cuba and for his service to the spanish crown was granted an encomienda the encomienda was a spanish system dividing the territory of conquered peoples into units of land and labor in short the crown gave las casas control over both a large tract of land and the indigenous peoples on it to exploit for his own monetary gain it was a horrifying system that took people already scarred by war and subjugated them to conversion slavery and extreme violence but at the time las casas didn't question that system even in 1510 when he became the first catholic priest ordained in the americas he continued to financially benefit from the cruelty that kept his land grant running then a few months after his ordination a group of dominican friars arrived and were appalled at the conditions of the encomienda system the starvation whippings abuse and wanton slaughter which today we would most certainly call genocide they preached passionate sermons condemning the system they even denied enslavers the right to confession including bartolome de las casas furious las casas and the other colonists petitioned the king and had the dominicans recalled to spain a victory and yet something began to stir in him then in 1514 he was studying a scripture passage in preparation for a sermon when a particular line struck him he that sacrifices a thing wrongfully gotten it said his offering is ridiculous and the gifts of unjust men are not accepted the most high is not pleased with the offerings of the wicked whoever brings an offering of the goods of the poor does as one that killed the son before the father's eyes the bread of the needy is their life he that defrauds them of it is a man of blood as he sat with the passage and grappled with its meaning something truly amazing happened las casas did something that took true strength and courage that few people even today ever managed to do he changed his mind from the seeds planted by the dominican friars years ago doubt grew until he realized that his actions and the actions of the spanish colonists in general were wrong he freed all of the enslaved people whose labor skills and knowledge of native agriculture he had stolen and gave up the land he realized was not rightfully his and he began to preach that others should follow in his footsteps and as you can imagine his colonist friends did not take kindly to this and rallied against him so in 1515 now unwelcome in the new world las casas returned to his homeland to fight against the enslavement and abuse of native people at the source but that was easier said than done most people in power either owned and comey and dust themselves or at the very least profited from the vast wealth coming in from the colonies king ferdinand was ill that winter but even so he briefly met with las casas on christmas eve to discuss the situation las casas laid out the arguments but due to the king's weakened state the monarch said he would need to save the meat of their discussion for when he recovered while he waited las casas published papers and reports on the inhumane conditions he'd witnessed in spanish america writings that were met with scorn and mockery but if he could convince the king las casas knew if he made the case and put his faith in king ferdinand's ability to see what was right the rest of society would follow but sadly that was not to be for king ferdinand died exactly a month after their meeting on january 25th 1516. thankfully he managed to snare a new patron as the next king came of age and the political regime shifted a powerful cardinal bestowed on las casas the official title protector of the indians a role where he'd advise colonial governors and speak on behalf of native people in spanish courts and a council of monks was meant to assist him in this task despite the new fancy title las casas faced determined opposition even from his own ranks most spanish including the monks meant to guard the rights of the colonized looked at indigenous people as even savages not only worshipping false gods but unable to live in a society without heavy-handed spanish control but really the simple fact was that the encomienda system made so much money that no one wanted to dismantle it this disappointed and infuriated las casas who accused his fellow monks of perpetuating the system rather than helping improve it and after years of internal feuding he once again returned to spain in temporary defeat undeterred and convinced more than ever that the system was broken he then made it his personal years-long project to create new systems that would be more humane in one plan the encomienda would be abolished entirely with indigenous communities reorganizing into self-governing townships they would for all intents and purposes become like spanish peasants paying taxes to the crown he even started a few pilot towns to show it could work but the government's support wasn't there the underfunded and under-supplied bottle communities failed partially because neighboring towns proved too hostile frustrated and dispirited by the experience las casas took vows as a friar and entered a dominican monastery joining the very order of monks who had previously rallied against him now he was not only on their side but also one of them he continued to write and teach about the cruelty of spanish colonialism and wrote letters to politicians urging reform and when the spanish needed a representative two indigenous peoples they often called on las casas who would serve as a go-between even negotiating peace treaties by 1545 he was so known for this work that the pope appointed him bishop in the newly founded diocese of chiapas mexico though looking back the pope probably didn't realize what he'd done there las casas started a new policy he refused to forgive the sins of slave owners or those that owned an encomienda he also excommunicated anyone that mistreated indigenous people on your deathbed want to go to heaven great just free all your slaves and return their property and then i'll give you absolution don't worry i'll wait this made him not popular spanish colonists rioted against him and even took a shot at him once or twice and after a year he was forced to flee his own diocese but in spain his enemies were organizing to greet him they argued that his anti-slavery anti-encomienda positions undermined spanish rule in the americas he wasn't just a rabble rouser he was a traitor to the crown it was decided that las casas would defend himself in a public debate for him it was a chance to promote and defend his ideas for his enemies it was the perfect chance to discredit him thus began the first human rights debate in recorded history his opponents argued that the indigenous people were uncivilized and that the spanish were morally obligated to convert and subjugate them las casas went second he argued that scripture did not support war against indigenous people and that the tribes were not uncivilized they had their own societies and their own languages he did believe that conversion was a duty but one that must be done peacefully without abuse and slavery for months the judges debated disgust and in the end turned in an inconclusive ruling all of the things las casas hated would continue but he still didn't give up las casas would go on to spend 50 years the rest of his life advocating for the rights of indigenous people however sadly he wasn't able to gain much traction now it should be noted that las casas was not perfect not only did he first benefit from the oppressive systems he later decried but he also never argued against the campaigns of conversion campaigns that were culturally destructive even when peaceful and he was unfortunately not so quick to condemn african slavery though he did eventually what's interesting about las casas though is that he was willing to change his mind a former slave owner he realized his error and let go of wealth and power using his privilege and platform to advocate for the people he'd harmed unlike so many in his time when confronted with his complicity in violence and injustice he decided to learn grow and commit himself to doing better and doing better is something we can all do see you next time once again thank you to the finest half hour podcast for sponsoring this episode brought to you by our friends over at wargaming this audio series explores all the facets of the second world war from the legacy left behind by world war one to the strategies of the axis and allied powers to the struggles of ordinary soldiers and civilians narrated by british army veteran and armored warfare instructor richard cutland each week the finest half hour uses a rich soundscape including period recordings to explore the skies above london during the battle of britain the war in the desert at el alamein the massive tank battles on the eastern front and so much more so if all that info sounds up your alley give it a listen at the link below we see you ahmed zeon turk alicia bramble casey muschia dominic valenciana gunner clovis kyle murgatroyd in oreal's one thanks so much for being legendary [Music] patrons you

Channel: Extra Credits

Views: 241,110

Rating: 4.9048324 out of 5

Keywords: Extra credits, extra history, extra credits history, bartolome de las casas, coniqustadors, history of slavery, hispaniola, spanish history, encomienda, home learning, taino people, Valladolid debate, high school history

Id: vH65erzQBkY

Length: 10min 12sec (612 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 12 2020