About the book: 1968 / The conquest of the Indies (as the Spaniards called South and Central America) is portrayed by reactionary Spanish historians as a great civilizing mission. However, the testimonies of participants and eyewitnesses of the conquest that have reached us decisively refute this legend. A special place among such evidence is occupied by the book “History of the Indies” by Bartolomé de Las Casas (1474–1566). Based on what he saw and experienced, the humanist writer Las Casas shows that the conquest of the Indies was a series of wars of conquest, accompanied by the mass extermination of the indigenous population - the Indians and the predatory plunder of the natural resources of Latin America. Imbued with sincere sympathy for the Indians, Las Casas's book also contains a detailed description of their way of life, customs and culture. Las Casas's book is very large in volume, and it is not possible to publish it in full. In this regard, the compilers have selected for this publication only those books and chapters of the “History of the Indies” in which the author describes events directly related to the conquest of Central and South America.