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Bartolomé de las Casas
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=== The Cumaná venture === [[File:Mochima-park.jpg|thumb|View over the landscape of [[Mochima National Park]] in Venezuela, close to the original location of Las Casas's colony at [[Cumaná]]]] [[File:Masacre de Gonzalez de Ocampo en Cumana.jpg|thumb|The Natives of Cumaná attack the mission after [[Gonzalo de Ocampo]]'s slaving raid. Colored copperplate by [[Theodor de Bry]], published in the "Relación brevissima"]] Following a suggestion by his friend and mentor [[Pedro de Córdoba]], Las Casas petitioned a land grant to be allowed to establish a settlement in northern [[Venezuela]] at [[Cumaná]]. Founded in 1515, there was already a small Franciscan monastery in Cumana, and a Dominican one at Chiribichi, but the monks there were being harassed by Spaniards operating slave raids from the nearby Island of [[Cubagua]]. To make the proposal palatable to the king, Las Casas had to incorporate the prospect of profits for the royal treasury.<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Wagner|Parish|1967|pp=46–49}}</ref> He suggested fortifying the northern coast of Venezuela, establishing ten royal forts to protect the Indians and starting up a system of trade in gold and pearls. All the Indian slaves of the New World should be brought to live in these towns and become tribute paying subjects to the king. To secure the grant, Las Casas had to go through a long court fight against Bishop Fonseca and his supporters [[Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés|Gonzalo de Oviedo]] and Bishop Quevedo of [[Province of Tierra Firme|Tierra Firme]]. Las Casas's supporters were [[Diego Columbus]] and the new chancellor Gattinara. Las Casas's enemies slandered him to the king, accusing him of planning to escape with the money to [[Genoa]] or [[Rome]]. In 1520 Las Casas's concession was finally granted, but it was a much smaller grant than he had initially proposed; he was also denied the possibilities of extracting gold and pearls, which made it difficult for him to find investors for the venture. Las Casas committed himself to producing 15,000 [[ducat]]s of annual revenue, increasing to 60,000 after ten years, and to erecting three Christian towns of at least 40 settlers each. Some privileges were also granted to the initial 50 shareholders in Las Casas's scheme. The king also promised not to give any encomienda grants in Las Casas's area. That said, finding fifty men willing to invest 200 ducats each and three years of unpaid work proved impossible for Las Casas. He ended up leaving in November 1520 with just a small group of peasants, paying for the venture with money borrowed from his brother in-law.<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Wagner|Parish|1967|pp=60–62}}</ref> Arriving in [[Puerto Rico]], in January 1521, he received the terrible news that the Dominican convent at Chiribichi had been sacked by Indians, and that the Spaniards of the islands had launched a punitive expedition, led by Gonzalo de Ocampo, into the very heart of the territory that Las Casas wanted to colonize peacefully. The Indians had been provoked to attack the settlement of the monks because of the repeated slave raids by Spaniards operating from Cubagua. As Ocampo's ships began returning with slaves from the land Las Casas had been granted, he went to Hispaniola to complain to the [[Real Audiencia|Audiencia]]. After several months of negotiations Las Casas set sail alone; the peasants he had brought had deserted, and he arrived in his colony already ravaged by Spaniards.<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Wagner|Parish|1967|pp=63–66}}</ref> Las Casas worked there in adverse conditions for the following months, being constantly harassed by the Spanish [[pearl hunting|pearl fishers]] of [[Cubagua]] island who traded slaves for alcohol with the natives. Early in 1522, Las Casas left the settlement to complain to the authorities. While he was gone the native [[Island Caribs|Caribs]] attacked the settlement of Cumaná, burned it to the ground, and killed four of Las Casas's men.<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Wagner|Parish|1967|p=69}}</ref> He returned to Hispaniola in January 1522, and heard the news of the massacre. The rumours even included him among the dead.<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Giménez Fernández|1971|p=82}}</ref> To make matters worse, his detractors used the event as evidence of the need to pacify the Indians using military means.
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