In A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Bartolomé de Las Casas vividly describes the brutality perpetrated by Europeans on the indigenous people of the Americas primarily for the purpose of announcing and spreading the Christian faith. Las Casas originally intended for this tale to reach the royal administration of Spain; however, it soon ended up in the hands of many international readers, especially after translation. Bartolomé de Las Casas illustrates to his readers an extremely graphic and dark reality using literary methods such as characterization, imagery, amplification, authorial intrusion and the invocation of providence while trying to attract his audience's sympathies for such atrocities. Las Casas highlights three main issues throughout his account. First, in nearly every chapter, Las Casas writes about the succulent qualities of the land and the diverse indigenous peoples who inhabit it. Second, it explains and details how the natives were quickly massacred by the Christian European invaders. Finally, Las Casas discusses how God brought justice to the Europeans for their evil acts towards the natives. Las Casas, himself a former slave owner, realized that those he had previously enslaved were just as human and capable of learning and practicing the Christian faith as he was. As bishop, he realized that he could do little for the natives except document his experiences (in as much detail as possible) and hope that the royal administration would have sympathy for the natives and establish laws to protect them from Europeans. Bartolomé de Las Casas begins by providing a vivid description of each land invaded by Europeans and the type of population......middle of paper......tent that at least allowed him to educate the natives in Christianity and that their previous experiences with Europeans were not of a Christian nature. Throughout the letter, Las Casas seems careful to be very consistent and never fails to ensure that his audience is aware of the atrocities committed by the people of his own land against the natives, his fellow men. God has a plan for everyone and this is not it.Works CitedDe Las Casas, Bartolomé A Short Account of the Destruction of the IndiesPenguin Classics1992Dutto, Rev. L.A. The Life of Bartolomé de Las Casas and the First Papers of American Ecclesiastical History St. Louis, MO : B. Herder 1902 Torrens, James S. Las Casas: Defender of the Indians 07/18/92-07/25/92. 27/02/07. http://www.lib.utexas.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9210050328&site=ehost-live