The Cross and the Sword in Spain’s New World: Bartolomé
De Las Casas and Hernán Cortés

1). How would you compare Las Casa’s and Cortés’s attitude about Native Americans, their cultures, and their conversion to Christianity? What assumptions shaped their conclusions? Which sources are the most revealing of those attitudes and assumptions?
Hernán Cortès felt that the Natives intelligence was far greater than those of the islands and that they provided sufficient intelligence to conduct themselves as reasonable beings. By proviong themselves intelligent, Cortès found it very important to compel them to serve the Spaniards in the same way the Natives in the Islands. Cortès believed that the conquerors and settlers would not be able to maintain themselves. He believed in increasing his Majesties revenues rather than diminish them after the long battles against the natives and the hardships and loss they may have been put to.
Las Casas attitude was the opposite as he tried many things to end the Encomiendas system. In 1510, Las Casa had no disagreements with the mistreatment of the Indians until 1512, when he joined an expedition led by Diego Velásquez and witnessed the slaughter of the Indians. The turning point came when he was preparing a sermon after discussing with some Dominicans who shared the same concerns. As he read through the bible he stumbled across a passage that he couldn’t let go of and it read, “Tainted his gifts who offers in sacrifice ill-gotten goods.” After reading that, Las Casas determined that the treatment of the Indians was “unjust and tyrannical.” Las Casas never doubted the need to save the Indians by making them economically productive. Las Casas believed that slavery did not civilize them but rather killed them and that they could only be converted and civilized through “love and tenderness.” Las Casas tried implementing a few different plans that would have the Indians living in their own villages, learn to govern themselves and claim to a share of profits by their labor. They would also be treated in a human manner all while continuing to work for the Spanish settlers.
2).What does the life of Cortés demonstrate about the forces behind the Spanish conquest of the Native Americans and the factors that influenced their fate?
Throughout the reading, it appears to me that Cortés was a huge success in the creation of the Encomeinda system although it began to decline due to the success of Las Casas efforts. When the system started to decline, a new system of labor exploitations arose. Cortés’s legacy was visible almost everywhere, even in New Spain’s remote borderlands. Cortés played a huge role in defining the nature of the Spanish experience in the New World and showed no signs of backing down and sealed the fate of millions of Indians.
The Encomeinda system was a huge factor that sealed the Indians fate along with new labor exploitations. The relentless pursuit to keep the Indians as slaves by the Spanish also was a result of the Native Americans fate.
3).What does Las Casas’s life reveal about the alternative possibilities regarding the fate of the Native Americans and the forces working against their realization? What was his influence?
His life revealed that the Indians should be converted to Christianity and civilized through love and tenderness rather than being forced to convert through war and free labor. Las Casas fully believes that the Indians are intelligent enough to live and govern themselves, and profit from their own labor while working for the Spanish settlers. Las Casas continued to struggle against the Spanish policies in the New World for the rest of his life and soon wrote two books “Very brief account of the destruction of the Indies” and “History of the Indies” in which both explain in gruesome detail Spanish atrocities in the west and Cortés conquest of Mexico. These books were translated into many languages and soon became a major impact. For all of his hard work to preserve the Indians, Las Casas had a bigger impact on Spain’s Image in the New World than on the Native peoples themselves. Long after Las Casas death, his writings had an influence on how later generations viewed Mexico’s conqueror.
4). In their writings, Las Casas and Cortés emphasize different aspects of life in the New World. How do their choices support their arguments?
I feel that Cortés never let the idea of keeping the Indians in Encomiendas down because the Spanish settlers heavily relied on them to keep their cities going. Cortés stated in his writing that they should seek in every way to increase their revenue to maintain the Spanish colonist and to better compensate for the continuing expenses. According to cortés all of this was done with the approval of persons who have great knowledge and experience of the country.
Las Casas had a different view on things. He wanted pagans to be subjected to the rule of Christian people to receive organized preaching. They would not force them to believe but would convince them by arguments and also draw them gently rather than enforcing Christianity through war because war in fact brings evil. He backs this theory up at the end of his writing by stating “A rational creature has a natural capacity for being moved, directed and drawn to any good gently because his freedom of choice, but if they find themselves injured, oppressed, saddened and afflicted by the misfortunes of war, the loss of their children, their good and their own liberty then why would they voluntarily move to listen to what is preached to them about faith, religion, justice and truth?” With that the message is certainly clear, why would anyone want to leave their comfort or safety zone voluntarily to go elsewhere, where violence and war will force a way of life onto them when there are other ways to be converted into Christianity without all of the violence?