Motivating+events

Conquest of Cuba and change of heart
In 1513, as a chaplain, Las Casas participated in Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar's and Panfilo de Narvaez' conquest of Cuba. He participated in campaigns in Bayamo and Camagüey and in the massacre of Hatuey. 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". Las Casas and his friend Pablo de la Rentería were awarded a joint encomienda which was rich in gold and slaves, located on the Arimao river close to Cienfuego. During the next 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 34:18–22 for a Pentecos 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. Aided by Pedro de Córdoba and accompanied by Antonio de Montesinos, he left for Spain in September 1515 arriving in Seville in November.