Bartholomew de Las Casas

Bartholomew de Las Casas lived from 1474 to 1566. He was a Dominican monk and missionary. He was assigned to be the chaplain for the Spanish Armies during their invasion of Cuba and witnessed first-hand a horrible massacre of the native people. As a result, he sent sensational descriptions to the Spanish government of the supposed atrocities the Conquistadors were committing against the natives. Las Casas' reports were quite exaggerated, but they resulted in the new Repartimientos, rules for the treatment of the natives.