Padre
Bartolomé, gracias por este regalo de la cruda medianoche,
…desde el límite de
la agonía fundas la esperanza.
I. INTRODUCTION
In the following
research a specific work from a particular period of Las Casas’ life will be
examined. There are two special reasons for
this research: First, the Confesionario, a
singularly important work of Las Casas, has never been translated entirely into English. Second, this translation and commentary will help
those wanting to better understand his life, labor and legacy.
The commitment and writings of this
Dominican friar, who was controversial in and beyond his own lifetime, pose many potential
questions for study. However, this particular
investigation focuses on one written work from an important transitional point in his
life, his Confesionario. This work, prepared for the priests of his diocese
of Chiapa
shortly before Las Casas returned to Spain for the last time, is a brief legal tract that
was highly controversial, meeting stiff opposition from his critics.
This is the work of Las Casas translated and
analyzed in this thesis. The translation
attempts to be as faithful as possible to the original sixteenth Century Spanish text. This project presents the first complete English
translation of the text -- although there already existed an English paraphrase of select
passages. In addition to the translation, an introductory
account is provided of the legal principles that form its framework. In both the translation and analysis, consideration
is given to the important background considerations – religious, political, social,
economic and geographic – that surround Las Casas’ life and this work in
particular.
