Bartolomé de las Casas (1474–1566) first voyaged to the Caribbean in 1502 with his father. He soon found himself taking part in Spanish attacks on the Taino people in response to a rebellion. Such attacks were common and exceedingly brutal. De las Casas was rewarded with a group of Native American slaves for his work in the attacks. He continued to receive such benefits even after becoming a priest in 1512 or 1513.

In 1515 de las Casas realized the cruelty and inhumanity that surrounded him and in which he participated. De las Casas became a spokesperson for rights of the native peoples of the New World. He gave up all of his slaves and urged other slaveholders to do the same. Returning to Spain to plead his case, he was appointed protector of the indigenous peoples. He used oral arguments, writings including The Very Brief Relation of the Devastation of the Indies, and his own example to argue his case for the end of enslavement.