Part 10 (1/2)

VERY HIGH AND POTENT LORDS: To-day, Passion Sunday our Lord graciously bestowed on no to the representations of His church I do not knohy His Majesty ordered it to be so done, as it could not be done before-nor was there time to expect it could be done afterwards-on account of the haste of the fleet to sail: but however that lory and thanks, for he deserves the me wherever possible It was his nephew or relative, the Bishop Loaysa, who consecrated me, assisted by the Bishop of Honduras and the Bishop Torres The Bishop of Honduras was about setting out, but at reat poverty he has delayed his journey seven or eight days, the expenses of which I would have willingly paid if I had had the ithal I huhness to recompense him for what I owe hih no occasion should offer, I was thinking to ask Your Highness to graciously grant him some relief, so that that church, destitute of pastor and spiritual ministrations, reatly doubt that he would solicit anything I huhness that this be one of the first things attended to, as it is hness may adopt to supply that need, will be acceptable to hiing Your Highness to do me the favour to order the officials of this house [India House] to pay ranted me from the funds of the dead, because there are no others, and therefore I have foundthis the officials of this house dida certain banker to lend it ainst hness to doit to be issued, because the fleet is in a great hurry to sail and were the cedula delayed I would suffer great want and much annoyance, for if I could not repay what the creditor has lentfor hihness to order the necessary cedulas for the friars to be sent, that the officials of Hispaniola e to Puerto de Caballos, for I have one only to Quacaqualco, where we shall not be able to land on account of the bad harbour The other principal cedula authorises the officials of India House to pay the passage to Puerto de Caballos, but this cannot be done for lack of shi+ps, so the friars first diseo in Hispaniola and from there, they have to reeo have no authority for this, and if the friars had to reer

Everyone here is quite well and receiving shelter and charity from the monasteries The Provincial and the Prior of this convent of San Pablo and the others have well carried out Your Highness's orders in this respect All kiss the hands of Your Highness and pray God to prolong the life and Royal state of Your Highness, especially Fray Rodrigo-our cohness, for the service of God, to provide that the relief and freedoranted to the Indians in the island of Cuba may be made effective, before those who hold the them, for they are and have been most shamefully oppressed, afflicted, and reduced in number in all those parts of the Indies

Likewise, that, since the Archdeacon Alvaro de Castro, whoed with the care of the Indians in Hispaniola, is dead, Your Highness will order that duty assigned to some devout friar or ecclesiastic so that those who survive, few as they are, may not be deprived of the enjoyranted thehness so please, to bestow it on Canon Albaro de Leon who is a Canon of La Vega, or on Gregorio de Viguera, Dean of the saa

May the Lord increase and prosper the fortunate life and very high estate of Your Highness in His holy service, Amen Seville 31st March 1544 Your servant who kisses your Royal hands-

FRAY BARTHOLOMEW DE LAS CASAS, _Bishop_

In spite of all the anti-slavery legislation enacted, there were actually at that time a number of Indians held as slaves in Seville itself, and before starting for his distant diocese, Las Casas undertook as his first duty to secure their liberation His action aroused ainst him, but to that he was indifferent: the text of the Neas explicit, leaving no opening for false construction Success crowned his efforts and enabled him to leave, fully satisfied, for San Lucar de Barra for him to ereat po the time occupied in his final preparations, he and his friars received many donations of necessaries The fleet of twenty-seven shi+ps, ae and small only awaited the arrival of Dona Maria de Toledoof the Ado Coluhts of her children in some disputed questions of inheritance and upon her arrival, it immediately put to sea on July l0th

The new Bishop, with his faithful companion Ladrada and forty-five Dominican friars, embarked on the _San Salvador_ On that sare episcopal revenues, for an ordinance that had been passed to oblige the bishops of American dioceses to stay in thein fro insufficient, as there were sonity and preferred to remain in Spain, it was afterwards provided that their consecration must take place in America

CHAPTER XVI - LETTER TO PHILIP II VOYAGE TO AMERICA FEELING IN THE COLONIES ARRIVAL IN CHIAPA

Before sailing to take possession of his diocese, Las Casas addressed the following letter of farewell to Prince Philip (afterwards Philip II), then governing in the name of the Emperor, his father:

VERY HIGH AND VERY POTENT LORD: I received two letters sihness: the date of the last was April 1st and accoe frohness is sending to those provinces For all of which I kiss your Royal hands and for your kindness in granting that the bulls should be sent so promptly as to reach race, took place here in San Pablo on Passion Sunday as I already wrote Your Highness the day after I trust to God our Lord that this dignity, to which, by divine Providence, our lord and sovereign the Emperor has elevated me, despite any unworthiness and inability to support it,my old desires to do the will of God, of which God has deigned to make use in those countries It is His will that His Holy Faith should be preached and that the beings he has created and redeemed should know Him and that His predestined ones should be saved and His Majesty and Your Highness receive great services Concerning the two hundred and fifty ducats which Your Highness granted me, the officials of this house have not yet obtained them, but I hope they will seek theh it may be with difficulty, because everybody is aware that His Majesty has no money in this house and that so many demands daily arise that there is not a man ill lend a maravedi to His Majesty In truth, this is very injurious to His Majesty's service and to the greatness of his i as his enemies learn that this house is rich or is in want of money-so will they either fear him or presume to cause him annoyances In order that this house should always enjoy confidence to guarantee the above ht to command that, just as they keep account of what is spent in keeping an arht and day, on the royal and ihness, so also should it be provided that when this house has a surplus of twenty or thirty thousand ducats, it should be reported to have one or two hundred thousand Such su here, for they would be useful for reatest wants could be hness ordered, the nu, as soon as we are all united, God willing, at San Lucar

Up to now I think we have forty-three I a froht But all those who are going, do not want to separate froo to any other part of the Indies except where the latter do: the ious people The nureater, had not soht from Castile stayed behind I think that some were afraid and others were detained by reasonable obstacles: the latter, we hope will follohen the causes are rehness to order the Provincial, who is now appointed to this province and as formerly Prior of San Pablo in Valladolid, a true servant of God, and very zealous for God's honour and for the salvation of the Indians, to be induced to continually send monks to those parts, as I firmly believe he will a very necessary for the religious Your Highness will be sending to the Indies, and having great expenses on account of the poverty and want of this city, where everything costs a third htful-I huifts and by such alms as it may be possible to bestow on it: especially out of the funds of the dead For I hold it to be as necessary to give alms to the house, and just as beneficial to the souls of the dead-to whoive for the ospel in those parts where the deceased unrighteously ahness ood treatment shown here to the friars, tend to dispel their fears of the labours which friars in the Indies usually sustain Without such encourage would be just the contrary, and soed, as has heretofore happened Certainly, up to the present, great have been the care and comfort that our companions, servants of God, have received here from the provincial and the prior

Twenty or twenty-two have been given shelter here I therefore beg Your Highness to bear this in rant thehout Andalusia there is a large number of Indians held unjustly as slaves; and when the licentiate Gregorio Lopez was here by order of His Majesty, they kept iven for their release, so hidden and others taken into the country and elsewhere I have even been told by a reat deal of bribery and corruption a wicked people, who used three or four or ten ducats to outrage God, stealing the liberty of the Indians and thus leaving many in perpetual slavery: they also hid the truth by threatening the Indians who showed the facts froorio Lopez which he could not divine, but which should have been told hi to the officials of this house who are very good people as far as I can see and who have consciences, is that Your Highness should order to be proclaihout Andalusia that all those who have Indiansor send them to this house within a certain ti other penalties for nonco to the provision made by His Majesty, there should be an ie a title by purchase, which allows them to hold an Indian as a slave until it is ascertained from whom he was first acquired; for they stole them all and sold them when they arrived here Any such Indian should not remain in their possession but should be placed where he could earn enough to clothe himself and save sufficient to return to his country-because they subject his of that sort daily since my arrival San Pablo is croith Indians who think that I can take them or can relieve their captivity and the tor this by their absence promptly beat theorio Lopez left neither in slavery nor free Not to prolong this letter, I do not relateYour Highness to order some relief that is final and not indefinite, for the men ere thus left neither slaves nor free: because I do not knohat relief it can be considered, to leave them neither free nor slaves until they die; for meanwhile, they are daily treated worse and worse by those who call thes, because they consider that the licentiate Gregorio Lopez approved of their captivity, etc, tying their hands the htly I have seen what I state ever since I cah at and abominate the spice dealers of this city, who barter spices for Indians and for gold (as it is they whowar on the Indians, that makes thehness would do to protect all such Indians as are left neither slaves or freee their owners to exhibit a receipt of the sale: because it is clear to every one, save to those whose perceptions God has allowed to be weakened by their malice, audacity, and ambition, that there has never been a war in all the Indies for which there was any real authority given by His Majesty or by his royal predecessors The royal instructions on this point have never been heeded, as I have seen and on my conscience affirm, and as all those violaters admit Consequently, as there was never just cause, it follows that all the ere unjust and that no Indians could have been justly enslaved: all the more so since the Spaniards attacked them in ti the real truth, Your Highness should order that all such owners be obliged to prove the title of him who sold any such Indian, and so on back till the first one who stole or treacherously captured him is unearthed In the meantime the Indians should be taken from them and placed as above indicated, all of which should be done within a lis would not last eternally; and when they are finished the said Indian should be declared free

But what I would take on my conscience and would answer for to God on hout this kingdom that all the Indians here must be free-because in truth they are just as free as I aes and officials such as the treasurer, accountant, and agents, who seem to me to be those I have mentioned above, and some few minor officials, I see there is little zeal or kindness for the Indians, and I observe such disinclination to acco in their favour, that however small h it were a tower they had toto be done gratis and willingly;-or if not, then pay soreat need here for soreat want and more than miserable, because they do not kno to ask for justice They have been so intimidated and thrust down into the very abyss that they dare not cole man ill take pity on them: but on the contrary, every on persecutes, terrorizes, and despises theeance for all this It would be well if Your Highness would order a salary to be paid so all necessary authority to be attached to his office, and that the officials should help him in it If it is necessary to consult His Majesty for this, do not let these poor wretches suffer for want of protection as they have always done There is a porter in this House, a goodto what I have seen and the officials told hness to granthido hihness and to the Royal Council of the Indies Let this power be given to Diego Collantes, porter of the said House; and to ensure his using it the rant him a salary, I will pay him twenty ducats yearly, so that he h he is a good man, the position needs a man with much more authority but for the present he would suffice Juan de la Quadra, as secretary to the licentiate Gregorio Lopez while he was here, spoke to ht person and one who feels deeply the cri to Your Highness on the subject and I beseech Your Highness to order some remedy provided for the actual necessities He infor in the sense of what I said above

The licentiate Bartoloistered within the period intiainst the sentence before this Royal Council, also with regard to other Indians whom he held as slaves, despite the fact that they were free Ast these was an Indian woman as beyond question free, and had been declared free by Gregorio Lopez, who left orders for her to be sent at the licentiate's expense to the island of Cuba froht her

Ortiz also appealed froiven the letter and order of Your Highness per her to return with this fleet, Ortiz presented a state that his case was at present in appeal before this Royal Council