born August 1474, Sevilla?
died July 17, 1566, Madrid
Spanish historian and missionary, called the Apostle of the Indies.
He sailed on encomienda system aroused implacable opposition. His proposed and quickly regretted solution, the importation of slaves from Africa, was adopted, but the servitude of the Indians had already been irreversibly established. His Brief Report on the Destruction of the Indians (1552) and his unfinished History of the Indians inspired {{link=Bol%C3%ADvar, Sim%C3%B3n">Simón Bolívar and other revolutionary heroes. See also black legend .