Biography of Bartolomé de Las Casas, Spanish Colonist

Biography of Bartolomà © de Las Casas, Spanish Colonist Bartolomà © de Las Casas (c. 1484–July 18, 1566) was a Spanish Dominican friar who became famous for his defense of the rights of the native people of the Americas. His brave stand against the horrors of the conquest and the colonization of the New World earned him the title â€Å"Defender of the Native Americans. Las Casas efforts led to legal reforms and early debates about the idea of human rights. Fast Facts: Bartolomà © de Las Casas Known For: Las Casas was a Spanish colonist and friar who advocated for better treatment of Native Americans.Born: c. 1484 in Seville, SpainDied: July 18, 1566 in Madrid, SpainPublished Works: A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Apologetic History of the Indies, History of the Indies Early Life Bartolomà © de Las Casas was born about 1484 in Seville, Spain. His father was a merchant and was acquainted with the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. Young Bartolomà ©, then about 9 years old, was in Seville when Columbus returned from his first voyage in 1493; he might have met members of the Taà ­no tribe that Columbus brought back with him from the Americas. Bartolomà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s father and uncle sailed with Columbus on his second voyage. The family became quite wealthy and had holdings on Hispaniola, an island in the Caribbean. The connection between the two families was strong: Bartolomà ©s father eventually interceded with the pope on the matter of securing certain rights on behalf of Columbus’s son Diego, and Bartolomà © de Las Casas himself edited Columbus’s travel journals. Las Casas eventually decided that he wanted to become a priest, and his father’s new wealth allowed him to attend the best schools of the era: the University of Salamanca and the University of Valladolid. Las Casas studied canon law  and eventually earned two degrees. He excelled in his studies, particularly Latin, and his strong academic background served him well in the years to come. First Trip to the Americas In 1502, Las Casas finally went to see the family holdings on Hispaniola. By then, the natives of the island had been mostly subdued, and the city of Santo Domingo was being used as a resupply point for Spanish incursions in the Caribbean. The young man accompanied the governor on two different military missions aimed at pacifying those natives who remained on the island. On one of these trips, Las Casas witnessed a massacre of poorly armed natives, a scene he would never forget. He traveled around the island a great deal and was able to see the deplorable conditions in which the natives lived. The Colonial Enterprise and Mortal Sin Over the next few years, Las Casas traveled to Spain and back several times, finishing his studies and learning more about the sad situation of the natives. By 1514, he decided that he could no longer be personally involved in the exploitation of the natives and renounced his family holdings on Hispaniola. He became convinced that the enslavement and slaughter of the native population was not only a crime but also a mortal sin as defined by the Catholic Church. It was this iron-clad conviction that would eventually make him such a staunch advocate for fair treatment of the natives. First Experiments Las Casas convinced Spanish authorities to allow him to try to save the few remaining Caribbean natives by taking them out of slavery and placing them in free towns, but the death of Spains King Ferdinand in 1516 and the resulting chaos over his successor caused these reforms to be delayed. Las Casas also asked for and received a section of the Venezuelan mainland for an experiment. He believed he could pacify the natives with religion rather than weapons. Unfortunately, the region that was selected had been heavily raided by slave traders, and the natives’ hostility to the Europeans was too intense to overcome. The Verapaz Experiment In 1537, Las Casas wanted to try again to demonstrate that natives could be controlled peacefully and that violence and conquest were unnecessary. He was able to persuade the crown to allow him to send missionaries to a region in north-central Guatemala where the natives had proved particularly fierce. His experiment worked, and the natives were peacefully brought under Spanish control. The experiment was called Verapaz, or â€Å"true peace,† and the region still bears the name. Unfortunately, once the region was brought under control, colonists took the lands and enslaved the natives, undoing almost all of Las Casas’ work. Death Later in life, Las Casas became a prolific writer, traveled frequently between the New World and Spain, and made allies and enemies in all corners of the Spanish Empire. His History of the Indies- a frank account of Spanish colonialism and the subjugation of the natives- was completed in 1561. Las Casas spent his final years living at the College of San Gregorio in Valladolid, Spain. He died on July 18, 1566. Legacy Las Casas’ early years were marked by his struggle to come to terms with the horrors he had seen and his understanding of how God could allow this kind of suffering among the Native Americans. Many of his contemporaries believed that God had delivered the New World to Spain as a reward of sorts to encourage the Spanish to continue to wage war upon heresy and idolatry as defined by the Roman Catholic Church. Las Casas agreed that God had led Spain to the New World, but he saw a different reason for it: He believed it was a test. God was testing the loyal Catholic nation of Spain to see if it could be just and merciful, and in Las Casas’ opinion, the country failed God’s test miserably. It is well known that Las Casas fought for justice and freedom for the New World natives, but it is frequently overlooked that his love for his countrymen was just as powerful. When he freed the natives working on the Las Casas family holdings in Hispaniola, he did it as much for the sake of his soul and those of his family members as he did for the natives themselves. Though widely disparaged in the years after his death for his critiques of colonialism, Las Casas is now seen as a significant early reformer whose work helped pave the way for the liberation theology movement of the 20th century. Sources Casas, Bartolomà © de las, and Francis Sullivan. Indian Freedom: the Cause of Bartolomà © De Las Casas, 1484-1566: A Reader. Sheed Ward, 1995.Casas, Bartolomà © de las. A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies. Penguin Classics, 2004.Nabokov, Peter. â€Å"Indians, Slaves, and Mass Murder: The  Hidden History.† The New York Review of Books, 24 Nov. 2016.

Week 3 Team B paper MGT521

Week 3 Team B paper MGT521 Week 3 Team B paper MGT521 Back Lot Pete Bayot Gustavo Mirande Jason Sanchez Carlos Taitano MGT/521 February 10, 2014 Cecilia Williams This paper is address one strategic and operational plans with our company. The plans were developed using the SWOT analysis. The strategic plan is for the company to become a premier wholesale nursery. To become the premier wholesale nursery, the company will have to be the leader in the industry. The operational plan is for the company to have a large client base. This accomplish this goal, the company will have to reach out to new potential clients as well as clients that have contracts with other nurseries. Reach out and take the contract away from the other nursery. GOAL: Strategic Plan The mission of becoming a premier wholesale nursery will require the company to work towards a common goal. The company’s goal is to be the leading wholesale nursery in the region. This goal requires everyone in the organization to understand how their department or specific duties will contribute to achieving that goal. In order for the company to provide enough products to the region, the company will have to make some improvements in all aspects of the business. By conducting an analysis of other industries within the region, the company can predict better future orders. This analysis is the responsibility of the marketing personnel. First by gathering information about the area on the Internet, and then by personally visiting the area, marketing personnel will be able to view local businesses and target areas to market and sell company products. Another area that will require improvement is the company’s logistics department. Just as the marketing department conducted their research on businesses in the region, the logistics department will also need to research the region to determine what improvements are required to be able to provide product throughout the region. The finance department is responsible for ensuring that the company has sufficient financing to achieve its goals, such as conducting the initial research, making necessary internal improvement, and managing future operating and material costs. These are just a few examples of what it will take for the company to achieve its goal of becoming a premier wholesale nursery in the region. GOAL: Operational Plan One of the company’s goals is to accomplish the operational plan to acquire a larger client base. A strategy to obtain this goal is to provide incentives to our sales associates by having work on a commission basis. This will bring more clients to our business by giving employees an incentive to go out and get more clients. Our goal is to introduce the company to numerous potential clients and promotes newer products by advertising or marketing. The plan of having three sales associates and give them assigned part of town to sell will cover more areas and generate more sales. These sales associates will be trained by the owner and will report directly to them. Once the sales associate has an established customer in the area it is stored in the client database. The database will