Las Casas, who was known for hyperbole and exaggeration, didn’t arrive on Hispaniola until 1502, a full decade after the first voyage. He wasn’t explicitly against the Spanish treatment of the native population until after he participated in the horrific Spanish invasion of Cuba in 1513. His “A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies” wasn’t published until 1552, half a century after he arrived in the New World.

It’s also important to note that the Spaniards weren’t particularly bloodthirsty men for their time. The first people Columbus encountered were there because they were fleeing their homes after they had been invaded by a cannibalistic tribe of warriors.