The greatest human rights activist of the early modern history of the West, Las Casas, started his life on the island as a farmer. His father had been given some land by Columbus, and it is not surprising that the younger Las Casas farmed some of the land to grow provisions to sell to outgoing fleets. What did Las Casas see as he moved around the island on his father's business?

He knew, or was told, that the Taínos were in rebellion, which was good for the settler class wishing to exploit them, since anyone in rebellion was subject to enslavement. Others, those who couldn't escape into mountains, were distributed by the Spanish governors such as Columbus and Ovando to various settlers in an institution called the encomienda. It was a form of servitude resembling slavery but not quite classic slavery.

Taínos were “commended” to individual Spaniards, kind of like serfs in the Middle Ages of Europe, to work in the service of the encomenderos, or those who owned the encomiendas. The work consisted of panning for gold, personal service, or, in the worst instance – looking at it from the perspective of the Taínos – working in the gold mines. The encomienda became the central instrument of Indigenous depopulation and exploitation on the island.

Examining the Evidence

Here we have to stand back a bit and examine not only the primary evidence of what was happening – largely from the writings of Las Casas – but also the modern interpretations, largely the Black Legend, which we define and explore below as one of the principal contributions to Las Casas as an iconic figure.