Fray Bartolomé de las Casas May 10, 2022
So, why is this city called San Cristóbal de las Casas? Of the Houses, really? What are these Houses of which we speak, and am I perchance privileged enough to live in one of them?
No. As it turns out, “De Las Casas” is the surname of a Spaniard, Pedro de las Casas, whose own privileged son, Bartolomé, eventually grew to be one of the New World’s first liberation-theologists. The son’s radical notion that an Amerindian had a soul, and was thus worthy of human dignity, formed even before the Conquest of Mexico. Indeed, the transformation of young Bartolomé de las Casas began as early as 1515, following a troubling if lucrative career as an Encomendero, first in Cuba, then in Hispañola.
Bartolomé’s status gave him the ear of the King of Spain, and he pleaded his case for the humanity of Los Indios by having his transatlantic visitors perform tricks and stunts in Spanish Court before the admiring sovereign.
The would-be slave-master arrived in the New World as so many of his fellows of class—behind the swords of conquistadors, from Cortes to Mazariego—to establish a society and commerce based on indigenous subjugation in exchange for civil services, most especially Catholicism. These units of governance and enslavement were called Encomiendas, and their legacy carried into subsequent centuries as the Hacienda system of indentured servitude, which is still prevalent in southern Mexico.
With the King’s blessing, in 1522, Bartolomé attempted to form a different society in the Americas, on deeded Venezuelan coastline, one rooted in limited indigenous emancipation. However, his social experiment ended abysmally in financial ruin. Dejected and fresh out of ideas, Bartolomé entered a Dominican monastery, at the ripe old age of 38, and became Fray, a man of the cloth. He disappeared from public life for ten years.
By the time Bartolomé de las Casas reemerged on history’s stage, he had refashioned himself, simultaneously, as both a Catholic missionary and as an emissary for the Maya in Guatemala. By the mid-1500’s, the King was already reconsidering his harsh Indian policy, particularly after reading Barolomé’s seminal book, The Short Account of the Destruction of the Indians.
Thus did Bartolomé de las Casas find his place in history books and, in fact, the very name of this city. He was appointed the first Bishop of Chiapas in 1542. His tenure was not long to last. Immediately, powerful Encomenderos in Chiapas resented the Pontiff’s representative, and within just a few years he was recalled to the Court of Spain, where he lived the rest of his days, arguing in vain for the humanization and freedom of Amerindians.
Needless to say, in the 16th-century, his voice was crushed by the weight of imperialistic hegemony, but his impact on Chiapas was secured. From then until now, the Bishop of Chiapas would always preach a liberation theology. Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Centro de Derechos Humanos, the friar’s Center for Human Rights, is located today in San Cristóbal and continues to assist the Maya in their struggle to live with dignity.