her island by night, and seize some of the
natives of both sexes, whom they sent to be sold in Spain."

[Footnote A: Collection vol. 1, page 576.]

After the settlement of America, those devastations, and the captivating
the miserable Africans, greatly increased.

Anderson, in his history of trade and commerce, at page 336, speaking of
what passed in the year 1508, writes, "That the Spaniards had by this
time found that the miserable Indian natives, whom they had made to work
in their mines and fields, were not so robust and proper for those
purposes as Negroes brought from Africa; wherefore they, about that
time, began to import Negroes for that end into Hispaniola, from the
Portugueze settlements on the Guinea coasts; and also afterwards for
their sugar works." This oppression of the Indians had, even before this
time, rouzed the zeal, as well as it did the compassion, of some of the
truly pious of that day; particularly that of Bartholomew De las Casas,
bishop of Chapia; whom a desire of being instrumental towards the
conversion of the Indians, had invited into America. It is generally
agreed by the writers of that age, that he was a man of perfect
disinterestedness, and ardent charity; being affected with this sad
spectacle, he returned to the court of Spain, and there made a true
report of the matter; but not without being strongly opposed by those
mercenary wretches, who had enslaved the Indians; yet being strong and
indefatigable, he went to and fro between Europe and America, firmly
determined not to give over his pursuit but with his life. After long
solicitation, and innumerable repulses, he obtained leave to lay the
matter before the Emperor Charles the Fifth, then King of Spain. As the
contents of the speech he made before the King in council, are very
applicable to the case of the enslaved Africans, and a lively evidence
that the spirit of true piety speaks the same language in the hearts of
faithful men in all ages, for the relief of their fellow creatures from
oppression of every kind, I think it may not be improper here to
transcribe the most interesting parts of it. "I was," says this pious
bishop, "one of the first who went to America; neither curiosity nor
interest prompted me to undertake so long and dangerous a voyage; the
saving the souls of the heathen was my sole object. Why was I not
permitted, even at the expence of my blood, to ransom so many thousand
souls, who fell unhappy victims to avari