"A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies", English for "Brevísima relación de la destrucción de las Indias" was written by <u>Bartolomé de las Casas, </u>one of the most important (if not the biggest) defenders of the indigenous people of the Americas.
He was sent to the new continent in 1516 under the title of "Protector of the Indians" but it was until 1542 when he wrote the first chronicle of his years at the "New Spain" as it was called by the conquerors. The content of this book <u>is mainly a chronic and a critic to the spanish people</u>, due to the fact that anywhere Fray Bartolomé went, he always witnessed crimes and violence against the indigenous people.
The purpose of de las Casas was to persuade the King Carlos I (Charles I of Spain) to take action on this acts of injustice and mistreatment. Even though he wrote "A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies" back in 1542 it wasn't until 1552 when he got to publish it was dedicated to then Prince Felipe II (Phillip II of Spain), who became King in 1556. At first, his work didn't have a great relevance but after some years he was harshly critized by the Spanish aristocracy under the argument that it was an exaggerated wording of events.
Nowadays, <u>his work is considered to be the most reliable</u> one on the social and political life of the New Spain and it's legacy acquired great importance especially during the Valladolid debate where, the new laws of 1542 abolished for the first time the slavery of indigenous people of America.
