Bartolome de las Casas

De Las Casas first came to New Spain in 1502 as a lawyer in the service of one of the Spanish governors. He was a tireless advocate of the interests of native Americans and fought for their interests against oppressive civil authorities in New Spain and in Spain itself. This earned him the resentment of colonists and Spaniards. De Las Casas persisted and eventually presented his case before Charles V and later Philip II of Spain. In 1510 Las Casas became a Dominican and in 1543 was appointed Bishop of Chiapas in Mexico. Returning to Spain in his old age, he remained an advocate of the native peoples of New Spain and a critic of colonial depredations there.