Promotional Information

The book's sensational effect provides an early example of the power of the press... The topicality of the book is monstrous, has a penetratingly contemporary smell to it. [But] Las Casas is not our contemporary. His report treats of colonialism in its earliest stage; that is, of robbery pure and simple, of unconcealed plundering. -- Hans Magnus Enzensberger

Table of Contents

Introduction
The Devastation of the Indies: A Brief Account
Note On The Translation Of The Brevissima Relación
Notes

About the Author

Bill M. Donovan teaches Latin American history of Loyola College in Baltimore.

Reviews

Bartolome de Las Casas's critical account of the impact that the Spaniards had on the new continent has long been recognized as one of the major sources for the study on the interaction between whites and American Indians during the sixteenth century. The present translation of The Devastation of the Indies is based on the 1965 edition and appeared for the first time in 1974. The reprint is now accompanied by a penetrating introduction by Bill M. Donovan... All this makes the introduction to a provocative and stimulating essay, preparing the reader for the actual text by Las Casas. -- Albrecht Classen Journal of the Rocky Mountain Medieval and Renaissance Association [Does] justice to the heartfelt message of Bartolome de las Casas. British Bulletin of Publications