Final answer:
Bartolomé de las Casas wrote a letter to King Charles V criticizing the brutal treatment of indigenous people and advocating for reforms, which influenced the creation of the New Laws of 1542 to protect Native Americans.
Step-by-step explanation:
When Bartolomé de las Casas wrote a letter to King Charles V, he criticized the mistreatment of indigenous people. Las Casas, who was initially a recipient of an encomienda and partook in the oppression of the Native Americans, had a dramatic change of heart.
By 1514, he released his enslaved natives and began advocating for their humane treatment. His efforts were fundamentally oriented towards reform, culminating in his influential work, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, which pushed for the implementation of the New Laws of 1542 aimed at ending the brutal encomienda system.
Although Las Casas initially came to the New World as an adventurer, he subsequently became a fierce opponent of the encomienda system and the violence it perpetuated against the native people. His advocacy played a significant role in the issuance of the New Laws which sought to protect and preserve the rights of indigenous peoples in the Spanish colonies.