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"What Good Can There Be In This Kind Of Human?" Spanish Justification For The Conquest Of The Americas, John R. Pittenger

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

The Spanish conquest of the Americas was one of the most brutal episodes in human history. Entire cultures of American natives were suppressed, murdered, raped, and enslaved by Spanish conquistadors on an incessant quest for precious metals and other material wealth. The devastation wrought upon the natives was so great that some Spaniards felt that what they were doing violated God's will and was naturally and morally wrong, but they were vastly outnumbered. The majority saw it as their right, duty, and privilege to conquer and subject these millions of people to Spanish rule. Since they were trying to justify …