> Babelio : https://www.babelio.com/livres/Casas-Tres-breve-relation-de-la-destruction-des-I...

> TRÈS BRÈVE RELATION DE LA DESTRUCTION DES INDES, de Bartolomé de Las Casas, traduit de l’espagnol par Franchita Gonzales Batlle, La Découverte/Poche, Paris, 1996, 153 pages — Soixante ans après le premier voyage de Christophe Colomb, le dominicain Bartolomé de Las Casas a rédigé à l'usage du souverain d’Espagne un court texte dénonçant la colonisation en Amérique. Avec une précision inouïe, un style direct et puissant, le religieux décrit les atrocités et la bêtise qui triomphent en ces terres nouvelles où les Indiens sont massacrés au nom de Dieu. Un critique du magazine français Télérama a très justement dit de ce texte qu’il s'agissait d'un rapport d’Amnistie internationale écrit avec quatre siècles d’avance: « Même ton précis, même souci d’accumuler détails et exemples.» (Marcel JEAN)
—Le devoir, 28 septembre 1996, Cahier D, (p. 4)

Exagerado o no (cuestión sobre la cual siglos después se sigue discutiendo) es la crónica histórica contemporánea de mayor impacto, al menos que yo haya leído, en la revelación y denuncia de los abusos de los conquistadores españoles en América.

Si se aborda sin pedirle peras al olmo (como pretender el reconocimiento de la injusticia intrínseca de la conquista en sí) y si se hace una lectura crítica, es un valioso testimonio que revela abusos en el ejercicio de un poder hegemónico pero también las primeras voces de resistencia de una lucha que aún no ha terminado. ( )

Agony to read, but an amazing example of 15th century rhetoric. ( )

Heritage Studies Book 7

Conquistador-turned-friar Bartolome De Las Casas wrote this account detailing the atrocities that the Spanish were subjecting onto the indigenous peoples. He wrote this to shed light onto the horrors and not only to inform the public but hoped that Charles V, the king of Spain at the time, would enact laws preventing further destruction and chaos in the Caribbean and Latin America.

I have read books on Christopher Columbus and the colonization of the Americas and this book almost always is used as a primary source. One historian who’s book I read about the Columbus voyages brought up a good point when speaking of Las Casas’ work: since this was written in the hopes of persuading the Spanish Crown, exaggeration and embellishment is an unfortunate possibility. Any work that is 500 years old also suffers from mistranslation and the skewing of information.

However, I feel that doesn’t take away from the overall work. It is no secret that the Spanish did terrible things to the Amerindians. Disease was certainly a major factor in wiping out large swaths of the population, but the conquistadors didn’t stand by idly. Guns and steel were used without discrimination. Las Casas may have ballooned the figures of those killed, but the methods he describes may have certainly been used.

Overall, this is an important piece of literature concerning the bloody colonization of Latin America. The crashing of the “Old World” and “New World” was a destructive collision and a story of violent upheaval as evidenced in this gruesomely descriptive work. At the same time, because of this tumultuous meeting of two worlds we now have today a wonderful vibrant mix of cultures. ( )

JG-6