1517-August-18: Following the rapid decline of the indigenous labor force, Bartholomew de las Casas, often called the “Apostle of the Indians,” sought a way …

1517-August-18: Following the rapid decline of the indigenous labor force, Bartholomew de las Casas, often called the “Apostle of the Indians,” sought a way to protect the remaining native people. He prevailed upon the Spanish government to permit the deportation of large numbers of African captives to the island to serve as a new labor source . This decision introduced a “human factor” that ensured the history of this part of the island would differ from any other European outpost in the West. The subsequent three centuries of the “diabolical slave trade” forced hundreds of thousands of Africans across the Atlantic in horrific conditions. Logan emphasizes that many participants in the 1791 insurrection still carried the memory of the “middle passage” where they were packed into filthy ships.