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Show terrible Calamities upon 'em, their God fuffers this without punilhing their Injuftice and Impiety after a and Cmelt-it's is: the WeftJndies. I 99 the Indians, if they muft be Vallals to the Spaniards, who treat 'em fo cruelly and inhumanly. When very remarkable manner. Thefe unfortunate Peo- we firfl: arriv'd in the New World, we faw innu- ple have no other Relief than what they find in their Tears, which they pour forth day and night, proteiting their own Gods were more kind and favourable than the God of the Europeans, and faying merable multitudes of People inhabiting the Provinces of Now-Spain, Cuba, jammed, and the lfle of Stjolm, which are now all defolate. The Pro- they enjoy'd a fettl'd Peace, and all the Conve- more deplorable condition, tho once as well peo- niences of Life while they ferv'd their own Gods, whereas ever fince they had been under the power of the Chriftians, they had been expos'd to all man. ner of Abufes. This makes 'em abhor the Catholic Faith, and by confequence puts thofe that preach l pled as Toledo and Seville. There's fcarce any place in the World where Men and other Animals multiply fo much as they do in the Indies, becaufe the Air of the Country being temperate, favours Generation. But the Spaniards have found out the art of entirely depopulating large Countries fill'd With infinit numbers of People, for they have un- iulily malfacred fome to poll‘efs themfelves of their 198 A Relation of the Spanifh Vojages to 'em out of a condition to attain their end: So that your Majelty is beyond all queftion oblig'd by the Law of God to refcue the Indians from the Yoke of the Spaniards, and to take 'em under your own Protection. vinces and Kingdoms of the Continent are in a yet Gold and Silver, others they have deltroy'd by exceflive Labors, or by forcing them to carry unrea- granted you by the Grace of God and the Suffrage fonable Burdens in long journies; ina word, they have facrific'd the poor Indians to enrich thcmfelves. We advance nothing but the very Truth, and all of the Church, both for the temporal and eternal that we have faid does not exprefs half of what we Advantage of the Indians, which Privilege is a kind have feen 5 nor will it be a difficult task to convince of neceli‘ary means of their Salvation. So that the them of fallhood who dare maintain the contrary Government of 'em belongs of right to none but your Majelly, with the exclufion of all other Powers whatfoever, unlefs they defire to frultrate all the before your Majelty. None but fuch as have lhar'd in the fruit of this Rapine and Cruelty, will oppofe the truth of fuch Facts as are known to all the Advantages both fpiritual and temporal, which the World. Indians might hope to reap from the ConvcrfatiOH contagious Diltemper has made a Country of zsoo of the Europeans. Your Majefty's Character and leagues defolate, which before was very populous. I farther add, that the power your Majefly has over the People of the New World, has been Jurifdifiion over 'em engages you to remove all Oh- And 'twill be in vain to pretend that any The manner of governing Kingdoms ought to be fiacles that may hinder them from obtaining theft conformable to the Law of God and Man, for the Advantages, and being fav'd through Faith by the EOOd and profit of the People, who are to be depreaching of the Gofpel. Your Majelty ought not i ended and preferv'd from the Violence and lnjultice to'fuffer your Authority to become infamous and‘ 0f thofe that are deltitute of the fear of God, and area tyrannical Power, merely obtain'd by Him-""0115, "01‘ your Subjects to ufurp a tyrannicas Power that Will infallibly iffue in the dCfl'IUCtilOR‘OI [111‘ patron, for the ruin and deltruétion of thol‘e that are 0 4 under |