Believe: Number of the 3

Antón Montecino, a Dominican friar, relayed his opinion to the Spaniards about their treatment of natives in 1511. He observed their aggressive actions and argued in the natives' favor. The Spaniards were, in the friar's words, angry, irrational men with a corrupting lust for gold. Their actions contradict the teachings of their religious upbringings, and Friar Montecino believed that such torment of humans would no doubt lead to eternal damnation. The Destruction of the Indies, which was written by Bartolomè de Las Casas in 1552, portrayed the tragedy as savage and unjust. Spaniards killed anyone who stood in their way, even pregnant women and children. One Spanish warrior threw a baby aside, casually splattering his innards on walls and rocks. Though all this took place, the Spanish still believed that their actions were just. The Requerimiento was a document written by King Ferdinand and his advisors that the Spanish would read to the natives, who were to follow the rules or be punished. That makes sense, seeing as the Mexicas were there first, and couldn't understand a single word of it... right? Anyways, the document goes on to state that the Spanish conquest is divine, and they have the right to the land that they 'found'. It's like an advanced game of 'Finders-Keepers,' except the natives weren't playing.
Through the ages, people have failed to see the ignorance in their words and actions. Torturing, enslaving, and murdering any human is beyond my comprehension, I suppose. There are few situations where these actions are just, and the Spanish conquest was NOT one of them. I have never understood how someone can have more control over land than anyone else, simply because they were born into a position of power. The King of Spain had no right to send men to take over the Mexicas. Delving further, he had no right to call that land his own, seeing as it was inhabited prior to their exhibition. Being hungry for power, land and gold isn't a reason to send people to kill or be killed. Antón Montecino was correct to say "By what right do you make [the natives] die?" Really, I am sickened by the cockiness of The Requerimiento. Nobody has the divine right to end another's life, let along fifteen million lives, for personal gain.