I read about the conquistadors and their conquests, and I also read about the priest Bartolome de las casas. I don't really think that I need to report on the Conquistadors of Spain but I do think that there is room to report on the Priest Bartolome. The priest Bartolome de las Casas was an ealry advocate for equal rights. He took his claims all the way up to the Spainish monarchs and eventually won the equal rights for the conquered native people of Mexico.
1.)Was there more to Cortez's story then published?
2.) Where the conquistadors really as ruthless as indicated?
3.) What did the Priest Bartolome witness that mad him change his ways?
4.) Who exactly opposed Bartolome in his quest?
5.) Where there other reasons besides moral ones that made the Monarchy rule in the Priest's favor?
The story of Las Casas would be an interesting research topic.
I don’t know much about this period of history, but in regards to question 4, I would suspect that those who opposed Las Casas were the imperialists proud of the new Spanish empire and the Spaniards, including Cortés, who hoped to make a fortune. Cortés said he conquered Mexico so he could end human sacrifice, but then he says he “came to get gold.”
Posted by: Thomas | February 03, 2008 at 07:37 PM