Final answer:
Bartolome de las Casas was a former encomendero who became an ardent critic of the encomienda system, leading to its end with the New Laws of 1542. While he sought to protect Native Americans, the subsequent labor shortage led plantation owners to turn to African slavery as an alternative.
Step-by-step explanation:
The actions of Bartolome de las Casas indirectly led to the increase in African slavery in the Americas after he advocated for the end of the brutal encomienda system. Initially, de las Casas benefited from the encomienda system and partook in the exploitation of indigenous peoples. However, by 1514, he experienced a moral revelation and subsequently renounced his encomienda, advocating for the humane treatment of Native Americans. His efforts ultimately led to the implementation of the New Laws of 1542, aimed at ending the encomienda system.
Nevertheless, the end of the encomienda system created a labor vacuum in the Americas, especially in demanding agricultural sectors like sugar plantations. Plantation owners turned to African slavery as an alternative source of labor. Although de las Casas never directly supported the enslavement of Africans, his efforts to protect Indigenous peoples inadvertently shifted the focus to Africans to meet the intense European demand for labor in the New World.