CASAS
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CASAS
the Antilles to work in mines. After that they were
repeatedly imported, but without his co-operation.
Besides, slavery was at that time sanctioned by
Spanish custom and law. But the fact that he
tolerated slavery in the case of negroes, while con-
demning Indian servitude, appears to us a logical
inconsistency. It did not occur to him that the
personal liberty of negroes and Indians alike was
sacred, and that in point of civilization there was
little difference between the two races. At a later
period lie recognized his error, but the cause of the
Indians had so completely absorbed his sympathies
that he did nothing for the black race.
The first attempt of Las Casas to carry out his plan of educating the Indian apart from the white man resulted in disastrous failure, caused by the Indians themselves. After establishing a post at Cumana, Las Casas returned to give an account of what he had done. In the meantime the aborigines, seeing a large building of frail material, filled with commodities ultimately destined for distribution among them as time went on, forcibly appropriated the supplies, set fire to the buildings, and, after killing as many of the Europeans as could not escape, with- drew to the interior with their booty. It was a sore blow to the priest, but, instead of drawing the true lesson from it, he laid the blame on his countrymen, accusing them of having instigated the catastrophe out of ill will towards himself and his projects. Thereafter the colonization of the New World became in his eyes a grave offence, even a sin. Embittered in spirit, he joined the Dominican Order and began a fierce crusade for what he considered the rights and interests of the Indians.
In his active sympathy for the American aborigines Las Casas had not stood alone. He had on his side, in principle, the sovereigns and the most influential men and women of Spain. He was sincerely ad- mired for his absolute devotion to the cause of human- ity, his untiring activity and zeal. He stood out among the men of his day as an exceptionally noble personality. But the more perspicacious among iiis admirers saw, also, that he was eminently un- practical, and, while they supported within reason, they could not approve the extremes which he per- emptorily demanded. His very popularity spoiled his character. Among the clergy, the Hieronymites, who had been entrusted with the conversion and training of the Antillean natives, were his first active supporters. After his entry into the Order of Preachers, the Dominicans naturally stood by him. The conquest of Mexico brought the Spaniards into intimate contact with the most numerous and most cultured groups of Indians in America. The degree of culture and the civil polity of these groups were overrated, and the character of the people misunder- stood, as well as their social organization. They were represented as highly civilized, and the coercion accompanying the conquest, even if indispensable for the changes which alone could set the aborigines upon the path of progress, appeared to many to be wanton cruelty. Las Casas was prompt to raise the cry of condemnation.
It was in 1522 that, after the failure of his plan at Cumana, Las Casas retired to a Dominican convent on the Island of Santo Domingo, where lie soon after began to write his voluminous " Historia de las Indias". His picture of the earliest times of Spanish colonization is gruesome. He exaggerated the num- ber of aborigines on the island at the time of dis- covery, and magnified into a deed of revolting cruelty every act which savoured of injustice. Sober com- mon sense demands the revision and correction of his indictments. The life which I. a- Casas would have desired to lead could not, in the face of his disap- pointments, be led by a man of his temperament. At the same time the authorities favoured further
investigations into the condition of the Indians,
chiefly in the regions last occupied. He therefore
went to Nicaragua in 1527. Everywhere he found
abuses, and everywhere painted them in the blackest
colours, making no allowances for local conditions
or for the dark side of the Indian character. That
the natives, owing to centuries of isolation, were
unable to understand European civilization did not
enter his mind. He saw in them only victims of
unjustifiable aggression. It is greatly to the credit
of the Spanish Government's goodwill to have not
only tolerated but encouraged the visionary designs
of Las Casas, who became more and more aggressive.
Some of his biographers have unjustifiably extended
the scope of his travels at that time. He is credited
with having made a journey to Peru in the execution
of his philanthropic mission; the truth is that Las
Casas never touched South America, except on its
northern coast. Nevertheless, he addressed to the
king a memorial, couched in violent terms, on
Peruvian affairs, of which he had not the least per-
sonal knowledge.
The critical question was that of Indian labour. Slavery had repeatedly been abolished, except in the case of prisoners of war and as a punishment for rebellion. The most rational solution appeared to be to let the Indian pass to enfranchisement through progressive stages of training under the supervision of the whites, such as might have the effect of initiat- ing him little by little in the ways of European civiliza- tion. This plan demanded a feudal condition of things, and the Repartimientos and Eneomiendas, while abolishing personal servitude, substituted for it agrarian serfdom. While not eliminating the possibility of individual and official abuses, however, it checked them in many ways. Las Casas was not satisfied with the improvement; it was not radical enough for him. He continued to agitate, and, though he does not appear as the framer of the "New Laws" for the Indies (promulgated in 1542), it is certain that those enactments were due to his influence with the Government, with the clergy, and with persons who, guided more by humanitarian theories than by practical knowledge of the New World, would not have stopped short of complete emancipation, regardless of its consequences to European settlement. The strong support which Las Casas found in Spain discredits the accusations of tyranny brought against the Spaniards by Las Casas himself and by his partisans. His violent denunciations were not only unjust, but extremely ungrateful. Throughout his career he never lacked either the means for support or for carrying out his schemes. But his vehemence and sweeping injustice estranged more and more those who. fully desirous of aiding the Indians, had to acknowledge that gradual reform, and not sudden re volution, was the true policy.
The " New Laws", with their amendments of 1543 and 1544, were a surprise and a source of much con- cern, especially in America. They did not abolish serfdom, but they limited it in such a manner that the original settlers (Conqvistadores) saw before them utter ruin by the eventual loss of their fiefs. The newly acquired territories belonged to the Crown. Those who had suffered unspeakable hardships, ex- posures, and sacrifices to secure this new continent for Spain had a right to expect compensation for themselves and their descendants. That expecta- tion was now suddenly threatened with disappoint- ment. Not only this, but the Indians obtained such favours that, as long as Spanish rule lasted in America, the reproach was justly made to the mother country that a native enjoyed more privileges than a Creole. A storm of indignation broke out in America against the new code, and against Las Casas as its promoter. About that time the Emperor Charles V had Las Casas proposed for the episcopal
