Editing Bartolomé de las Casas (section)

=== Conquest of Cuba and change of heart ===
[[File:Reconstruction of Taino village, Cuba.JPG|thumb|Reconstruction of a [[Taíno]] village from Las Casas's times in contemporary Cuba]]
In 1513, as a chaplain, Las Casas participated in [[Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar]]'s and [[Pánfilo de Narváez]]' conquest of [[Cuba]]. He participated in campaigns at [[Bayamo]] and [[Camagüey]] and in the massacre of [[Hatuey]].<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Giménez Fernández|1971|p=73}}</ref> He witnessed many atrocities committed by Spaniards against the native [[Ciboney]] and [[Guanahatabey]] peoples. He later wrote: "I saw here cruelty on a scale no living being has ever seen or expects to see."<ref name="Sullivan" /> Las Casas and his friend Pedro de la Rentería were awarded a joint encomienda which was rich in gold and slaves, located on the Arimao River close to [[Cienfuegos]]. During the next few years, he divided his time between being a colonist and his duties as an ordained priest.

In 1514, Las Casas was studying a passage in the book [[Ecclesiasticus]] ([[Sirach]])<ref name="Britannica" /> 34:18–22{{efn|"If one sacrifices from what has been wrongfully obtained, the offering is blemished; the gifts of the lawless are not acceptable.&nbsp;... Like one who kills a son before his father's eyes is the man who offers sacrifice from the property of the poor. The bread of the needy is the life of the poor; whoever deprives them of it is a man of blood." quoted from {{harvcoltxt|Brading|1997|pp=119–120}}.}} for a [[Pentecost]] sermon and pondering its meaning. Las Casas was finally convinced that all the actions of the Spanish in the New World had been illegal and that they constituted a great injustice. He made up his mind to give up his slaves and encomienda, and started to preach that other colonists should do the same. When his preaching met with resistance, he realized that he would have to go to Spain to fight there against the enslavement and abuse of the native people.<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Wagner|Parish|1967|pp=11–13}}</ref> Aided by Pedro de Córdoba and accompanied by Antonio de Montesinos, he left for Spain in September 1515, arriving in Seville in November.<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Baptiste|1990|p=69}}</ref><ref>{{harvcoltxt|Wagner|Parish|1967|pp=13–15}}</ref>