In defense of the Indians by Las Casas and On the...

Acceptance and understanding are major factors that must be met in order for people to come together. In many circumstances, it is up to the minority whom are joining the majority to adopt and change its customs and practices in order to assimilate into the majority. However, there are some circumstances in which the minority somehow becomes able to overpower majority and take control. This is the situation which occurred between the Natives and the Europeans during the 1513 conquest. The Spanish Conquest of Central and South America and the voyage to the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492 brought the Spanish crown a great amount of wealth. The native inhabitants which resided in the Americas prior to the discovery, saw what was†¦show more content†¦In 1514 he renounced his property and began to preach about the brutal treatment towards the native people in the Spanish colonies (PBS, 2010). Therefore de La Casas treatise is more reliable on the situation that occurred in the Americas because he was able to witness this first-hand. So indeed the facts and arguments that Las Casas makes within In Defense of the Indians are all true because he witnessed everything first-hand. Although there may be a discrepancy regarding the number of Native deaths due to diseases versus those caused by the Europeans, his treatises is full of true statements. Seigneur De Montaigne was known as a great renaissance thinker who was born into a wealthy merchant family (Edelman). He spent his younger years being raised by servants who only spoke Latin to him. He attended the college de Guienne , a highly reputable school (Edelman). In 1554, Montagine became councilor in the Bordeaux parliament (Edelman). In 1571 Montaigne retired to a life of study and contemplation (Edelman). In all his writings he tries to first search for the truth by reflecting on his readings, his travels as well as his experiences, both public and private. Unlike Las Casas treatises, Montaigne e ssay was not based off of first hand experiences but rather of other sources which he read about prior to writing his essay. For the most part his essay is