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A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies - Penguin Classics

Paperback (25 Jun 1992)

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Publisher's Synopsis

Bartolomé de Las Casas was the first and fiercest critic of Spanish colonialism in the New World. An early traveller to the Americas who sailed on one of Columbus's voyages, Las Casas was so horrified by the wholesale massacre he witnessed that he dedicated his life to protecting the Indian community. He wrote A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies in 1542, a shocking catalogue of mass slaughter, torture and slavery, which showed that the evangelizing vision of Columbus had descended under later conquistadors into genocide. Dedicated to Philip II to alert the Castilian Crown to these atrocities and demand that the Indians be entitled to the basic rights of humankind, this passionate work of documentary vividness outraged Europe and contributed to the idea of the Spanish 'Black Legend' that would last for centuries.

About the Publisher

Penguin Classics

In January 1946, the Penguin Classics list was launched with E. V. Rieu's translation of The Odyssey. The series now consists of over 800 titles including the best in English, American, European, classical and non-western literature and an extensive range of philosophy, religion, art, history and politics titles.

Book information

ISBN: 9780140445626
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Imprint: Penguin Classics
Pub date:
DEWEY: 323.119809031
DEWEY edition: 23
Language: English
Number of pages: 192
Weight: 148g
Height: 198mm
Width: 130mm
Spine width: 12mm