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Secondary sourceBook1896

The Life of Las Casas, the Apostle of the Indies

Arthur Helps · 1896

A Victorian-era biography of Las Casas by Arthur Helps, praising him as a philanthropist, historian and missionary.

A Victorian biography presenting Las Casas as a philanthropist and defender of Indigenous peoples.

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The Life of Las Casas, the Apostle of the IndiesPDF · 338 pages
Arthur Helps, The Life of Las Casas, the Apostle of the Indies, 1896. Scanned book, Internet Archive.

About this source

What it is

This book, written by Sir Arthur Helps and published in 1896, is a biography of Bartolomé de las Casas. It covers his roles as missionary, historian, colonist and churchman.

Why it matters

Helps presents Las Casas as one of the most remarkable figures in history, admired for his defense of Indigenous peoples. The book shows how later writers in the British Empire viewed Las Casas's fight against the mistreatment of Indigenous people in the Americas, and it includes references connecting his life to the treatment of Indigenous peoples across Latin America.

Look closer

  • Why does the author call Las Casas one of the most interesting people he has studied?
  • How might the author's own time and background shape his admiration for Las Casas?
  • What topics does the book list as part of Las Casas's life, and what does that tell us about his many roles?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Bartolomé de las Casas on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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