Rereading Fray Bartolomé De Las Casas : the history of the Indians

Abstract

Fray Bartolomé de De Las Casas is known as one of the chroniclers of the Indies, in the sense that "the chroniclers" were, in general, people who wrote about their experiences in the new world, after the historical enterprise of "the discovery". His stories have been essential to know the origins and development of life in America, and especially, in the case of De Las Casas, the life of the island "La Española", today Dominican Republic. The chronicler, Fray Bartolomé de De Las Casas, who knows the history and founding of colonial America, pointed out his experiences in various "Treaties", all characterized by the accuracy and precision of his stories, prolonged until his death. Their stories are a cry of protest considered as the betrayal of a legal and moral commitment to evangelization of the first inhabitants of "Las Indias"; commitment that was for De Las Casas, the most important goal of discovery and colonization.