This essay covers the major sources employed in the writing of this book. It is not exhaustive or comprehensive, but meant to be helpful in pointing out the significant historical literature on the subject.

The Complete Works

Not only was Las Casas a prolific writer, but those who have studied him over the years have also generated a vast outpouring of literature on the man and his times. This book was based as much as possible on the works of Las Casas himself, the latest and most complete compilation of his works being Fray Bartolomé de las Casas: Obras completas [Complete Works] (14 vols. Madrid, 1992). They were published between 1988 and 1998 by the Dominican Fundación “Instituto Bartolomé de las Casas” de los Dominicos de Andalucia and Alianza Editorial, Madrid. The overall director of the project was Paulino Castañeda Delgado. Some of these volumes number well over one thousand pages each. While not all are Las Casas’s works (the entire first volume, for example, is a biographical study by Álvaro Huerga), the output is impressive.