Bartolomé de las Casas

Born in Seville in 1484, Bartolomé de las Casas traveled to Hispaniola as a young man and at first took part in the colonial system he would later condemn. Over time, after witnessing the treatment of Indigenous communities, he became a priest and then a Dominican friar, devoting much of his life to arguing that Spain’s conquest and forced labor practices were morally wrong.

He is best known as a historian, reformer, and advocate for Indigenous rights. Las Casas served as bishop of Chiapas and wrote influential works including A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies and History of the Indies, using firsthand testimony and moral argument to press for change.

His legacy is complicated but lasting: he remains one of the earliest and most famous critics of colonial violence in the Americas. Even centuries later, he is remembered for forcing readers to confront what conquest meant for the people who suffered under it.