Chapter 1

Quiz for Document 1-4: Bartolome de Las Casas, A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies (1552)

Reader Quiz

Chapter 1d

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Question 1

Las Casas’s position as a friar made him particularly upset by the fact that the Spaniards did what to the native people they encountered?A. Enslaved the men and worked them brutally
B. Sexually assaulted hundreds of women and girls
C. Killed them before they had been converted to Christianity
D. Waged war against them in order to obtain their gold

Question 2

In his report, Las Casas describes the Native Americans in the sixteenth century asA. vicious, greedy, and corrupt.
B. interested in building great wealth in cooperation with the Spanish.
C. lazy and unintelligent.
D. innocent, pure, submissive, and intelligent.

Question 3

Las Casas estimated the number of Native Americans killed in the first forty years of Spanish “tyranny” to beA. 500,000 to 1 million.
B. 1.5 million to 5 million.
C. 12 to 50 million.
D. 75 to 100 million.

Question 4

In Las Casas’s opinion, what motivated the Spanish conquerors of the Americas in the sixteenth century to abuse and kill the native peoples?A. Greed and ambition
B. Racism and bigotry
C. Religious fervor
D. The orders of the king