Analysis of christopher columbus and bartolome de las casas viewpoints on the indians

Two explorers that were alike in many ways, but had different viewpoints on the Indians. In Christopher Columbus’s letters he tries to show the court that the Indians were easy to manipulate and talks about how “ freed and converted to their Holy Faith by love than force”. Columbus tries to show that their land was open and easy to take, he also mentions that they could force a religion on the Indies by using love, but not force.

Bartolome de las Casas had the same thoughts and eventually changed overtime when he “ given in trust by God and His Church to the king and queen of Castile”. Bartolome de las Casas was devastated when he found out the true meaning on what was wrong, he had a different perspective of thought when he was writing to the King of Spain and he wants to show the king that he gave trust to the Indians and uses words like majesty to show his power and how the king gives beliefs upon the Indians and shows that he shouldn’t let his people get harmed or get terrible things get set upon them. Columbus was telling the Court about how they could use them which made the court see that they could enslave them into doing work and also compares them like horses as “ almost like the hair of a horse’s tail”. And this similar compares the Indies to the horses saying that they could be tamed and used for labor or anything they would need to, as Casas compares the Spaniards “ like fierce wolves and tigers and lions who have gone many days without food or nourishment”. Casas compares the Spaniards to a wild animal that is hungry which meant they were destroying or killing anything in their way, this also make them more superior and makes any other animal helpless. The purpose he said that was to show that they were taking advantage of the Indies and the king should do something about it, also it shows that Columbus had a bad viewpoint on the Indies and just wanted to use/enslave them.

Christopher Columbus and Bartolome de las Casas use similar techniques by comparing them like animals and uses it for good points to show the court and king that they were doing something bad by enslaving them or should be helped. Casas sees the Indies as human and should be treated right, he wants the king to see that they were being treated like animals and did nothing wrong. Christopher Columbus and Bartolome de las Casas different viewpoints on the Indies and in conclusion the purpose why he wrote to the king because he wanted the king to know what’s happening on the indies and they should be helped out, on the other hand Columbus point of view was cruel and even though they had different viewpoints they both had similar thoughts on what they could do and what they would get out of it.