1a. What did the Spaniards make native women and children do?
2a. How did the Spanish react to native efforts at self-defense?
3a. How were pearl divers treated by the Spaniards? What word does de la Casas use to describe their labor?
4a. In what various actions do the Spaniards disregard the divine concepts of love for their fellow men? How do the Spaniards seem to regard the Indians?
5a. Why do you think Bartolomé de las Casas risked everything, even incurring a charge of treason against Spain, to write the Relation?
1b. Why, according to de las Casas, did the Spaniards want so much food?
2b. Why did they punish the natives so severely?
3b. What was the inevitable fate of the pearl divers?
4b. What motivated the Spaniards in all their relations with the natives? What do you think motivated de las Casas in his relations with the natives, after his conversion in 1515?
5b. What would you do if you were a native of Hispaniola and suffered such mistreatment at the hands of the Spaniards? Would you resist, hiding in the mountains and killing Christians, or would you submit and try to survive the grueling labor? Explain your answer.
Mood. Describe the mood of the selection. Find four examples of concrete details that you feel support that mood.
Point of View. From what point of view is the selection told? How can you tell? Why does de las Casas use this point of view?
1. Imagine that you are a Lucayan Indian pearl diver working under the Spanish colonists. Write a journal entry describing a typical day on the job. Use descriptive detail to explain your thoughts and feelings as you repeatedly dive into the sea.
2. Imagine that you are a reporter from Spain who has witnessed the actions depicted in the selection. Write a newspaper article about these events. Since this is a factual article, try to remain objective and do not express any opinion or judgment about the events you are reporting. Use your own paper as necessary.
3. Suppose you are a Spanish judge or conqueror who has read the Relation and wishes to defend herself or himself against the charges of de las Casas. Write a brief speech explaining why your actions against the indigenous people are justified. Try to imagine what some of the attitudes of such a tyrant must have been. Use your own paper as necessary.
Cluster Chart. Working in groups of three or four, create a cluster chart like the one below showing the injustices done to the Indians by the Spanish conquerors and settlers. In each circle, write one of the unjust acts cited by de las Casas in his essay.
Research the Spanish Inquisition.Research other writing from the 1500s about the Spanish conquest and colonization of the New World. You may want to read from the writing of Hernan Cortes, a Spanish conquistador who conquered the Aztec people of Mexico, the work of Friar Diego de Landa in the book Yucatan Before and After the Conquest, or the work of any other early explorer of the Americas. Write a report comparing the attitudes of these writers to those of de las Casas. How are they different or similar? What justification might these authors have for the harsh treatment of the natives described in de las Casas's essay?
Alternatively, you might do research on the life of Bartolome de las Casas. What was his mission in the New World? What personal failings and personal triumphs did he experience?
Sources used:
