“The Reason the Christians Have Murdered on Such a Vast Scale…”

The building of many a nation is filled with heroic stories, some of which are true, some are glorious fantasies designed to appeal to the adventurous schoolboy within us and others are simply gruesome.

The discovery of the New World is no exception and for those of you interested in learning more, we would recommend a book written in 1542 by a Catholic priest by the name of Bartolomé de las Casas entitled ‘A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies‘ which is available at Amazon.com

“Las Casas was so horrified by the wholesale massacre he witnessed that he dedicated his life to protecting the native community.”

It was written to warn the Spanish crown; ‘… that if the atrocities continued God would destroy Spain as a punishment.’

Although it was written more than 465 years ago, much of it is applicable today: ‘Indeed, the indigenous peoples of the New World are by nature extremely generous…’

‘The reason the Christians have murdered on such a vast scale and killed anyone and everyone in their way is purely and simply greed. They have set out to line their pockets with gold and to amass private fortunes as quickly as possible…’

‘The way they (the Spanish) normally dealt with the native leaders and nobles was to tie them to a kind of griddle consisting of sticks resting on pitchforks driven into the ground and then grill them over s small fire, with the result that they howled in agony and despair as they died a lingering death.’

All of this, Bartolomé de las Casas said had ‘given reason for the name of Christ to be loathed and abominated by countless people.’

Yet in my conversations with many people from different parts of Central America, I must admit to being perplexed that they appear to be more proud of their connection to Spain than their connection to the indigenous populations.

Maybe it’s just that most people prefer to be considered part of the winning team and not one of the losers?

Written by Scott Oliver, author of How To Buy Costa Rica Real Estate Without Losing Your Camisa and Costa Rica’s Guide To Making Money Offshore.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.