The Destruction of the Indies by Bartolomé de las Casas

This is a very detailed account, from Bartolomé, of how the Indies was colonized. Friar Bartolomé de las Casas wrote to Prince Philip II in 1542 about the mistreatment of the Native Americans. The writing is repetitive and filled with examples over and over again of horrible cruelties the Natives had to endure.  The Friar was not only horrified by the treatment of the natives, he was also concerned that Spain would come under God’s judgment for these evil acts. According to him the poor natives never had a chance to know the real Christian God because of the cruelties they witnessed they associate Christianity with the Devil. Bishop Bartolomé said he witnessed liquid gold being poured down a man’s throat, many of them burned alive or had their mouths and noses cut off.

What I tried to get my head around is the total number of natives killed. Is it 10 million, 20 million?  I don’t know if I believe that the Prince had no idea of what was going on? Where is all the gold that was taken from the Natives? How sad that the Natives never recovered?