Antonio de Montesinos held it down in the New World and defended the rights of the indegenous people. He was truly ahead of his time. This statue located in Santo Domingo’s colonial section is dear to my heart. I used to go play and ride my bike there all the time. The stone and bronze statue was a gift from Mexico and was made by artist Antonio Castellanos in 1982, a year before my birth. Below is Montecino’s famous quote, which as you could imagine enraged the Spanish King and all of the aristocracy at the time. #Legendary. “Tell me by what right of justice do you hold these Indians in such a cruel and horrible servitude? On what authority have you waged such detestable wars against these people who dealt quietly and peacefully on their own lands? Wars in which you have destroyed such an infinite number of them by homicides and slaughters never heard of before. Why do you keep them so oppressed and exhausted, without giving them enough to eat or curing them of the sicknesses they incur from the excessive labor you give them, and they die, or rather you kill them, in order to extract and acquire gold every day.”
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Legendary defender Montecino
Antonio de Montesinos held it down in the New World and defended the rights of the indegenous people. He was truly ahead of his time. This statue located in Santo Domingo’s colonial section is dear to my heart. I used to go play and ride my bike there all the time. The stone and bronze statue was a gift from Mexico and was made by artist Antonio Castellanos in 1982, a year before my birth. Below is Montecino’s famous quote, which as you could imagine enraged the Spanish King and all of the aristocracy at the time. #Legendary. “Tell me by what right of justice do you hold these Indians in such a cruel and horrible servitude? On what authority have you waged such detestable wars against these people who dealt quietly and peacefully on their own lands? Wars in which you have destroyed such an infinite number of them by homicides and slaughters never heard of before. Why do you keep them so oppressed and exhausted, without giving them enough to eat or curing them of the sicknesses they incur from the excessive labor you give them, and they die, or rather you kill them, in order to extract and acquire gold every day.”
Domincan Visionary
When you amble on the oceanfront walks of Santo Domingo, don’t miss the chance to say hello to Fray Anton-- This guy was a Spanish Dominican friar on the island of Hispaniola (now the Dominican Republic and Haiti) who, with prior, Fray Pedro de Córdoba and his community, preached against the enslavement and harsh treatment of the Indigenous peoples of the Island. Early visionary, si?
A Haunting Figure
Antonio de Montesinos was a Spanish Dominican friar who preached against the enslavement and poor treatment of the Dominican Republic’s indigenous peoples. When we came across this statue erected in his honor on El Malecón in Santo Domingo, I was struck by the statue’s enormity. We ventured inside the complex where the statue is and were disappointed to discover a strong stench of urine and to see that it was full of trash with maggots everywhere. Still, the statue itself is impressive albeit somewhat haunting.
