Bartolomé de las Casas

Bartolomé de las Casas was a 16th-century Spanish Dominican friar and missionary known for advocating for the rights of Indigenous peoples in the Americas. Initially, he owned enslaved Indigenous people but later underwent a moral transformation. He became an outspoken critic of colonial abuses, arguing against the violence and exploitation perpetrated by Spanish colonizers. His writings, particularly "A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies," highlighted the suffering of Indigenous populations and called for their humane treatment, making him an important, albeit controversial, figure in the history of human rights and colonialism.