American Civilization
Document Analysis Assignment #1
From Bartolomé de las Casas, History of the Indies (1528), and From “Declaration of Josephe” (1681) … 28
In the section taken from the History of the Indies by Bartolome de Las Casas he explains in grave detail the terrible treatment and agony endured by the Indians at the hands of the Spanish as they explored and conquered the new world. As we study the colonization of America and the development of slavery as a form of labor, I think that it is especially important to remember the people who were so negatively effected by forced servitude and the devastating effects it had on not only the individuals but the entire groups that they belonged to. Las Casas attempts to give us an understanding of the torture that the Indians were faced with, however, as he puts it, “...no one who has not seen it can understand.” The Indians were not only stripped of their freedom but they were forced to work in harsh conditions and were typically only relieved in the case of severe illness in which case they were deemed “useless”. I found it especially tragic that even when they were released for illness, the Native American slaves were left to find their own way home and to fend for themselves as if they were trash left to disintegrate. A prime example of this horrific treatment provided in the textbook is expeditions led by Hernando de Soto throughout the Pacific coast in the late 1530's. In the book, De Soto's group is described as “particularly brutal” for they were especially known for torturing and enslaving Indians during their voyages.
The second document I studied for this analysis assignment was from the Declaration of Josephe. This is basically a clip of Josephe's (a Spanish-speaking Indian) response while being questioned during an investigation that took place following the Pueblo Revolt which was, according to the book, the “most complete victory for the Native Americans over Europeans”. The Pueblo Revolt consisted of a large group of Indians who violently pushed colonists out of what is now New Mexico. In his response to the investigating attorney, Josephe explained that the Indians' revolt was secondary to the poor treatment they received from the Spanish. Josephe also provided answers as to why the Indians committed violent crimes toward the church and religion of the Spanish. In my own personal opinion, after studying the Pueblo Revolt and the explanations provided by Josephe, it seems as though the Indians grew to despise not only the Spanish for taking so much from them but their religion as well, likely because many of the Indians were forced into it. In considering the Indians' side of the story, I could certainly understand their reasoning for revolting given the treatment they received and all that they had lost at the hands of the Spanish colonists.
In reviewing each document and studying the context in which they are related, I certainly developed a better understanding of the horrific treatment that the Indians received. It is hard to imagine that any one group of people could acquire so much power over another group and it also seems almost inevitable that the subordinate group would rebel at some point or another as the Indians did in the Pueblo Revolt. I felt like Las Casas provided very specific and detailed examples of what the Indians had to go through while Josephe's explanations for the reasoning behind the Pueblo Revolt acted as confirmation to Las Casas claims. After studying all of the devastation that the Indians faced, it was encouraging to learn that the Indians continued to fight back and it finally paid off as the Spanish became more tolerant of the Indians towards the eighteenth century.
I also found it quite interesting to see the contrast in the ideas held by each group regarding freedom. It seems that the Spanish believed that they had reached ultimate freedom once they had established wealth and status in their communities. Achieving such wealth was nearly impossible without laborers to help with the work. In my opinion, this is why forced labor and slavery became more popular. It is ironic that the Spanish were stripping the Indians of their freedom in every aspect possible in order to achieve their own “freedom”. In contrast, from what I have gathered about the Indians during this time, it seems that they had an idea of freedom that compares closely to the modern definitions of freedom. Unfortunately, many of them died before their ideas of freedom became a reality.
