Bartolomé de las Casas

(noun)

(Seville, c. 1484– Madrid, July 18, 1566) Sixteenth-century Spanish historian, social reformer, and Dominican friar. Arriving as one of the first European settlers in the Americas, he participated in the atrocities committed against the Native Americans by the Spanish colonists. In 1515, he reformed his views and advocated before King Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, on behalf of rights for the natives.

Related Terms

Examples of Bartolomé de las Casas in the following topics:

  • The Aztec in the Colonial Period

    • When Cortés left Tenochtitlan to return to the coast and deal with the expedition of Pánfilo de Narváez, Pedro de Alvarado was left in charge.
    • The biography of Cortés by Francisco López de Gómara contains a description of the massacre.
    • Due to some horrifying instances of abuse against the indigenous peoples, Bishop Bartolomé de las Casas suggested importing black slaves to replace them (he later repented when he saw the even worse treatment given to the black slaves).

  • The Silo D'Oro

    • The last great writer of the period, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, died in 1681, and his death usually is considered the end of El Siglo de Oro in the arts and literature.
    • Bartolomé Esteban Murillo's works were influenced by realism.
    • Located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, it comprises two architectural complexes of great historical and cultural significance: El Real Monasterio de El Escorial itself and La Granjilla de La Fresneda, a royal hunting lodge and monastic retreat.
    • The other great dramatist of the 17th century was Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600–1681).
    • Mystical literature in Spanish reached its summit with the works of San Juan de la Cruz and Teresa of Ávila.

  • Spanish Architecture in the Baroque Period

    • Examples of the most eye-catching creations of Spanish Baroque are the energetic façades of the University of Valladolid (Diego Tome and Fray Pedro de la Visitación, 1719) and the western façade (or Fachada del Obradoiro) of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela (Fernando de Casas y Novoa, 1750).
    • The Royal Palaces of La Granja de San Ildefonso in Segovia and Aranjuez in Madrid are good examples of Baroque integration of architecture and gardening.
    • They have a noticeable French influence (La Granja was known as the Spanish Versailles) but contain local spatial conceptions that in some ways display the heritage of the Moorish occupation.
    • The facade of the Santiago de Compostela reflects the Churrigueresque facade; the lavish details of the facade have little structural use.
    • The Churrigueresque column, or estipite, was a central element of ornamental decoration in the Spanish Baroque, as shown here in the Estipite in the Church of Caravaca de la Cruz.

  • Mexican Painting: Frida Kahlo

    • Frida Kahlo de Rivera (July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954), born Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón, was a Mexican painter known especially for her self-portraits.
    • Kahlo's life began and ended in Mexico City, in the home she was born in, known as "La Casa Azul," or, the Blue House.

  • Napoleon's Upbringing

    • Napoleon was born in 1769 to Carlo Maria di Buonaparte and Maria Letizia Ramolino, in his family's ancestral home Casa Buonaparte in Ajaccio, the capital of the island of Corsica.
    • Upon graduating in 1785, Bonaparte was commissioned a second lieutenant in La Fère artillery regiment.
    • He returned to Corsica and came into conflict with Paoli, who had decided to split with France and sabotage the French assault on the Sardinian island of La Maddalena.
    • She was decreed "Madam, the Mother of His Imperial Majesty The Emperor" (Madame Mère de l'Empereur), Imperial Highness in 1804 or 1805.