Question

What role did Las Casas expect the Spaniards to play on Hispaniola? What did they do instead?

Answer 1

Bartolome De Las Casas expected the Spaniards to convert the native population to Christianity through civil means. Instead, they forced conversion on these people and used violence if individuals resisted this change in religion. De Las Casas was appauled by the efforts of the Spanish and described the brutal treatment that Spanish conquerors used against Native American populations. He recorded his observations in his book The Destruction of the Indies. This would become one of the most famous books about Spanish colonization during the 16th century.