Evaluate the impact of Bartolomé de las Casas on the treatment of indigenous peoples in the Americas.

The question requires that candidates make an appraisal of the impact of Bartolomé de las Casas on the treatment of indigenous peoples in the Americas. Bartolomé de las Casas proposed the recognition of indigenous people from America as free men, fought against their enslavement, and promoted the prohibition of new encomiendas. Candidates may state that las Casas had an impact on beginning a discussion about the Spanish dominion in America, being influential in the revision of legal codes, and in the creation of the New Laws (1542–43). Candidates may also evaluate the impact of las Casas’s plan for a peaceful colonization recruiting farmers as colonists, and his project to create “towns of free Indians” (communities of Spaniards and Indians), a proposal accepted by King Charles I. On the other hand, candidates may evaluate that even when his ideas were well received, his plans were not successful. Las Casas failed to recruit sufficient farmers for the “town of free Indians”. He also faced the opposition of the encomenderos and suffered attacks by indigenous peoples. Las Casas also failed to stop the progressive enslavement of the indigenous peoples. Candidates’ opinions or conclusions will be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.

Few responses recorded for the question demanding an evaluation of the impact of Bartolomé de las Casas on the treatment of indigenous peoples in the Americas. On the whole, there was generalised knowledge on the role of de las Casas with a limited evaluation of his impact.