Who is Antonio de Montesinos and why is he important?
Antonio de Montesinos (Montesino, Montezinos; d. c. 1530), a Dominican priest who was the first public exponent of the rights of the Indians in the New World. Montesinos criticized Spanish treatment of the indigenous inhabitants on Hispaniola during the early sixteenth century.
What did Montesinos say?
Speaking on the text, “I am a voice crying in the wilderness,” Montesinos delivered the first important and deliberate public protest against the kind of treatment being accorded the Indians by his Spanish countrymen.
Where was Antonio de Montesinos born?
SpainAntonio de Montesinos / Place of birth
What was the main message of Montesinos sermons?
On December 21, 1511, the fourth Sunday of Advent, Montesinos preached an impassioned sermon. He criticized the practices of the Spanish colonial encomienda system, and decrying the abuse of the Taíno Indian people on Hispaniola.
What did Montesinos accuse the settlers of?
While he did not question the right of the Spanish government to expand its empire into the New World or its means of doing so, he did accuse the colonists of abuse of power.
What did Montesinos do?
In July 1526, under the leadership of Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón, Montesinos, two other Dominicans, and 600 colonists established San Miguel de Gualdape, the first European settlement in what would later become the United States.
How did Montesinos arrive in the New World?
He likely studied at the University of Salamanca before electing to join the Dominican order. In August 1510, he was one of the first six Dominican friars to arrive in the New World, landing on the island of Hispaniola, which today is politically divided between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
How did Montesinos help the Indians?
Las Casas became well known for his advocacy of the rights of indigenous peoples of the Americas. The primary goal of the Preaching Friars (Dominicans) in the New World was to aid and represent the aboriginal American Indians under Spanish and Portuguese rules, for which they fought for over three centuries.
Did de las Casas know Columbus?
Bartolomé de Las Casas was a contemporary of Christopher Columbus. He witnessed Columbus present himself as a devout Christian while he kidnapped, maimed, and killed the indigenous people of Hispaniola in pursuit of gold.
What mainly killed out the indigenous people at the time of the arrival of the Spanish?
It was long held that the island Arawak were virtually wiped out by Old World diseases to which they had no immunity (see Columbian Exchange), but more recent scholarship has emphasized the role played by Spanish violence, brutality, and oppression (including enslavement) in their demise.
Did Bartolome de las Casas own slaves?
Las Casas became a hacendado and slave owner, receiving a piece of land in the province of Cibao. He participated in slave raids and military expeditions against the native Taíno population of Hispaniola.
What is Bartolome de las Casas famous for?
Bartolomé de Las Casas, (born 1474 or 1484, Sevilla?, Spain—died July 1566, Madrid), early Spanish historian and Dominican missionary who was the first to expose the oppression of indigenous peoples by Europeans in the Americas and to call for the abolition of slavery there.