Bartolomé de Las Casas: An Interpretation of His Life and Writings

Hanke, Lewis, Bartolomé de Las Casas: An Interpretation of His Life and Writings, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1951. (cover destroyed by termites)

Contents:

Preface.

Chapter I – The Struggle for Justice in the Spanish Conquest of America.
The unique quality of Spanish colonization; Interpretations of the struggle for justice; The climate of opinion in sixteenth century Spain; The nature of the Indians; The sermons of Montesinos; The colonization attempts in Venezuela; Peaceful preaching in Guatemala; The passage and revocation of the New Laws.

Chapter II – Bartolomé de las Casas: Political Theorist and Historian.
What made Spanish domination in America legitimate?; The political theories of Las Casas; Free speech in America; Just and unjust titles to the New World; Influence of the dispute; Why Las Casas wrote history; The controversy concerning his historical work; His virtues and defects as historian; The publication of the History of the Indies; The ,,destruction of the Indies.

Chapter III – Bartolomé de las Casas: Anthropologist.
Was Las Casas an anthropologist?; The Apologetic History; What Las Casas tried to prove; Aristotle and America; Judgment on the anthropological work of Las Casas.

Chapter IV – Conclusion..