Of all the descriptions of Spanish exploration and discovery in the 'New World', the voice of Bartolome de Las Casas can be heard keenly above all the others, impassioned with a fierce moral condemnation of the many atrocities he witnessed.
One of the first Spaniards to cross the Atlantic with Columbus, Las Casas was so appalled by the massacres, tortures and slavery perpetrated by his countrymen, that he dedicated his life to protecting the Native Indian peoples.
He wrote this treatise "A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies", and dedicated it to King Philip II of Spain to alert him to the many crimes that were being committed against the Indian people, who were (at least nominally) also the King's subjects. When this text arrived back in Europe it caused a state of moral outrage, forcing the Crown to take notice. As a result Las Casas was appointed the first 'Protector de Indios' by Cardinal Cisneros.
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