ed harm, robbery, and treachery from them. Nay, they always
esteemed them immortal, and come from Heaven; and as such they
received them, until their deeds manifested their character and
intentions.
47. It is well to add something else, that from the beginning till the
present day the Spaniards have given no more thought to providing
for the preaching of the faith of Jesus Christ to these people than
if they were dogs or other animals: nay, they have persistently
afflicted and persecuted the monks, to prevent them from preaching,
because it seemed to them an impediment to the acquisition of the
gold and wealth they promised themselves in their greedy desires.
48. And to-day there is not in all the Indies more knowledge of God
among these people, as to whether He is of wood, or in heaven or on
earth, than there was a hundred years ago, except in new Spain,
where monks have gone and which is but a very little corner of the
Indies. And so all have perished and are perishing, without faith
and without Sacraments.

I was induced to write this work I, Fray Bartolomeus de las Casas,
or Casaus, friar of St. Dominic, who by God's mercy do go about this
Court of Spain, trying to drive the hell out of the Indies, and to
bring about that all those numberless multitudes of souls, redeemed
with the blood of Jesus Christ, shall not hopelessly perish forever;
moved also by the compassion I feel for my fatherland, Castile, that
God may not destroy it for such great sins, committed against His
faith and honour and against fellow creatures. A few persons of
quality who reside at this Court and are jealous of God's honour and
compassionate towards the afflictions and calamities of others,
urged me to this work although it was my own intention which my
continual occupations had never allowed me to put into effect.
2. I brought it to a close at Valencia the 8th of December 1542, when
all the violence was more terrible, and the oppression, tyranny,
massacres, robberies, destructions, slaughter, depopulation,
anguish, and calamity aforesaid, are actually at their height in all
the regions where the Christians of the Indies are; although in some
places they are fiercer, and more abominable than in others.
3. Mexico and its neighbourhood are a little l