A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies / Or, a faithful NARRATIVE OF THE Horrid and Unexampled Massacres, Butcheries, and all manner of Cruelties, that Hell and Malice could invent, committed by the Popish Spanish Party on the inhabitants of West-India, TOGETHER With the Devastations of several Kingdoms in America by Fire and Sword, for the space of Forty and Two Years, from the time of its first Discovery by them.

Name: A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies / Or, a faithful NARRATIVE OF THE Horrid and Unexampled Massacres, Butcheries, and all manner of Cruelties, that Hell and Malice could invent, committed by the Popish Spanish Party on the inhabitants of West-India, TOGETHER With the Devastations of several Kingdoms in America by Fire and Sword, for the space of Forty and Two Years, from the time of its first Discovery by them.
Author: Bartolomé de las Casas

A concise first‑hand and compiled narrative documenting extreme violence, exploitation, and depopulation inflicted on native peoples after contact with arriving colonizers. It interweaves vivid descriptions of indigenous communities with reports of systematic abuses — including massacres, enslavement, forced labor, torture, and the destruction of settlements — and traces economic and moral motives behind those actions. Framed as a moral indictment and appeal for reform, the account combines eyewitness testimony, collected reports, and reflective commentary on the human and social consequences of conquest.

By Bartolomé de las Casas

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About the Author

Bartolomé de las Casas

Bartolomé de las Casas was a 16th-century Spanish Dominican friar and historian, renowned for his advocacy on behalf of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. His most notable work, "A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies," provides a harrowing account of the atrocities committed by Spanish colonizers against Native Americans. Through his writings, de las Casas sought to expose the brutal realities of colonialism and argued for the rights and dignity of indigenous populations. His extensive work, "Historia de las Indias," further explores the history and impact of European colonization in the New World, making him a significant figure in the discourse on human rights and colonial ethics.