The Impact of Antonio Montesinos
Once settled, Las Casas dabbled in slaves raids and military sorties against the Tainos. He soon became a slave owner, as well as the proprietor of a small plantation, where he stewarded over his own encomienda. However, his desire to make money through the oppression of the Indians began to shift around 1514. Several events spurred an empathetic change of heart in Las Casas. In 1511, a Dominican friar named Antonio Montesinos preached a sermon in Santo Domingo unreservedly condemning the ill treatment of the Tainos. Montesinos questioned his audience, “By what right and by what law do you hold these Indians in such cruel and horrible servitude? By whose authority have you made such detestable war on these people who lived peacefully in their lands? How can you hold them so oppressed and exhausted, without giving them food nor curing their illnesses? They die daily for the work you demand of them. Let me be perfectly clear. You are killing them to get the gold you so crave! And who among you is taking care to teach them about God the creator? Who is baptizing them, leading them to mass, celebrating holidays and Sundays?” The sermon infuriated many local officials, and was received with mostly negative criticism. Las Casas’ enlightenment was not a direct result of Montesinos’ sermon, though it surely shook his indifferent attitude. Later, in 1511, Las Casas was invited by Diego de Velasquez to take part in an expedition to Cuba as chaplain. He agreed, unaware of the atrocities that he was soon to witness and the impact this trip would have on the rest of his life.