Las Casas Publishes A Short Account
1552
The Dominican friar Bartolome de las Casas published A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, cataloguing Spanish atrocities in lurid, eyewitness detail. Translated across Europe, it fed the so-called Black Legend of Spanish cruelty and gave enemies of the Catholic king a ready arsenal of horror stories. Translated into Dutch, English, and French, it gave Protestant rivals powerful propaganda shaping perceptions of Spanish colonialism for centuries.
In context
Also in 1552 (3 other events on record)
- Ivan the Terrible Takes Kazan · Europe · War
- Death of Francis Xavier · East Asia · Religion
- First Greek Orthodox Printing at Venice · Europe · Culture
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Religion
Era
Renaissance (1501–1650), one of 715 events from that era on Saeculum.