(Bartholomew de las), bishop of Chiapa, distinguished for his humanity and zeal for the conversion of the Indians, was born at Seville in 1474; and went with his father, who sailed to America with Christopher Columbus in 1493. At his return to Spain he embraced the state of an ecclesiastic, and obtained a curacy in the island of Cuba; but some time after quitted his cure in order to procure liberty for the Indians, whom he had treated by the Spaniards in the most cruel and barbarous manner, which naturally gave them an unconquerable aversion to Christianity. Bartholomew exerted himself with extraordinary zeal, for 50 years together, in his endeavours to persuade the Spaniards that they ought to treat the Indians with equity and mildness; for which he suffered a number of persecutions from his countrymen. At last the court, moved by his continual remonstrances, made laws in favour of the Indians, and gave orders to the governors to observe them, and see them executed*. He died at Madrid in 1566, aged 92. He wrote several works, which breathe nothing but humanity and virtue. The principal of them are,

1. An account of the destruction of the Indies. 2. Several treatises in favour of the Indies, against Dr Sepulveda, who wrote a book to justify the inhuman barbarities committed by the Spaniards. 3. A very curious, and now scarce, work in Latin, on this question, "Whether kings or princes can, consistently with conscience, or in virtue of any right or title, alienate their subjects, and place them under the dominion of another sovereign?"