Bartolomé de Las Casas is best known for speaking out against the treatment of which group?

Bartolomé de Las Casas is best known for speaking out against the treatment of which group?

• A. Spaniards
• B. Indigenous people
• C. Africans
• D. Mestizos

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is recognizing who Las Casas fought to defend in the colonial era. He was a 16th-century Dominican missionary who witnessed brutal mistreatment of Indigenous peoples in the Americas and argued that they were rational beings with rights who deserved humane treatment. He wrote powerful accounts of the abuses under the encomienda system and used his position to advocate for reform, even influencing debates in Europe and contributing to the attempt to implement the New Laws of 1542 aimed at protecting Indigenous populations. While he criticized the actions of the Spanish colonizers, his famous advocacy focused on Indigenous peoples, which is why this option is the best fit. The other groups were not the primary focus of his most well-known condemnations.

The main idea here is recognizing who Las Casas fought to defend in the colonial era. He was a 16th-century Dominican missionary who witnessed brutal mistreatment of Indigenous peoples in the Americas and argued that they were rational beings with rights who deserved humane treatment. He wrote powerful accounts of the abuses under the encomienda system and used his position to advocate for reform, even influencing debates in Europe and contributing to the attempt to implement the New Laws of 1542 aimed at protecting Indigenous populations. While he criticized the actions of the Spanish colonizers, his famous advocacy focused on Indigenous peoples, which is why this option is the best fit. The other groups were not the primary focus of his most well-known condemnations.