Francis Augustus MacNutt’s biography takes us straight into the heart of the 16th-century Spanish Empire. We meet Bartholomew de Las Casas not as a saint, but as a young man: a settler and slave owner in Hispaniola. The story really kicks off when he witnesses the horrific violence of the encomienda system firsthand. This experience sparks a radical transformation. Ordained as a priest, he gives up his own enslaved laborers and dedicates his life to a single, seemingly impossible mission: convincing the Spanish Crown that Indigenous people are fully human and deserve freedom and fair treatment.

The Story

The book follows Las Casas’s fifty-year campaign. It’s a wild ride of sailing back and forth across the Atlantic, passionate debates in royal courts, and writing explosive accounts of atrocities to sway public opinion. We see him propose alternative colonies, fail spectacularly in some of his projects, and tirelessly lobby popes and emperors. The central drama is his ideological battle with other thinkers of the day, who argued conquest was justified. MacNutt uses Las Casas’s own detailed writings to show us a man who was often unpopular, stubborn, and wholly consumed by his cause.

Why You Should Read It

What grabbed me was how modern this 500-year-old struggle feels. This isn’t a story about a perfect hero. Las Casas was a product of his time, and his proposed solutions were sometimes flawed. But his core conviction—that you cannot build a society on cruelty and theft—rings incredibly loud today. Reading his arguments with power feels less like studying history and more like watching a tense, high-stakes drama. You’re pulled into the question: Can one person’s voice actually change the course of an empire driven by gold?

Final Verdict

Perfect for anyone who loves biographies of complicated figures or stories about moral courage. If you enjoyed books like Killers of the Flower Moon or the ethical conflicts in Hamilton, you’ll find a kindred spirit in Las Casas. It’s also a great pick for readers who want a deeper, more human look at the Age of Exploration beyond the dates and maps. MacNutt gives us a portrait that’s scholarly but never dry, letting the passion and conflict of the era speak for itself.