Brevisima relacion de la destruccion de las Indias, Bartolome de las Casas' 1552 primary text from Sebastian Trujillo, Seville, is the Dominican friar's own indictment of Spanish conduct toward Indigenous peoples in the Americas. Its strength is that it is a primary firsthand text by a participant witness to Spanish colonial practice. Its limit is that it was written inside the same era's controversy over the justice of the conquest, in which accounts of Mexica sacrifice were themselves being used as a counter argument, so it should be read alongside that wider polemical context rather than as neutral reportage.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier2
Reliability tier 2: a primary firsthand account by a participant witness, valuable testimony though written inside the same era's polemical controversy over the conquest it addresses. NotesThe Dominican indictment of Spanish conduct in the Indies. Written inside the same controversy over the justice of the conquest in which accounts of Mexica sacrifice were being used as an argument for it.
Citation
AuthorBartolome de las Casas
PublisherSebastian Trujillo, Seville
1552 first edition, per the colophon. Publication Year1552
Source Typeprimary-text
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Americas directly: "toward Indigenous peoples in the Americas."
Claims Backed By This Source (10 claims)
This source backs 10 claims across the atlas. As facts: 8 well-attested. As cited relationships: 1 holds. Plus 1 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Sources, 8 claims: 7 well-attested, 1 holds.
- Sacred Sites, 2 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 general references.
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