Archivo: Statue of Antonio de Montesinos, Santo Domingo D.R

Description: This huge statue is the most important work of art representing Antonio de Montesinos. Montesinos is widely recognized by scholars as the first Human Rights leader in the Americas ("Protector of the American Indigenous People") and for sparking a crisis that created the first set of international laws concerning universal humanity. The statue portrays him as if shouting the words that made him famous: "Tell me by what right of justice do you hold these Indians in such a cruel and horrible servitude?" This statement was part of two homilies he gave in the colony of Santo Domingo on December 21, and 28, 1511, to a congregation full of encomenderos and conquistadors who were responsible for the massacre of millions of indigenous people of the Caribbean. Bartolomé de las Casas, another well-known Human Rights activist, was present there, and it was this sermon that prodded him to a career as a defender of the American Indigenous People. The statue is about 50 foot tall (15 meters) and the dark skies may represent the dark times and the abuses he was denouncing. Celebrated Mexican sculptor Antonio Castellanos Basich designed it. The Mexican government donated it to the Dominican People in 1982, and it stands today near to the site wherein 1511 the fearless Montesinos called out evil by its name two earth-shattering speeches. Montesinos later moved to other regions of the Americas (even to Virginia) on his Human Rights crusade. This statue is also Castellanos most recognized work.
Title: Statue of Antonio de Montesinos, Santo Domingo D.R
Credit: Own work
Author: Caballero1967
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Attribution Required?: Yes