Antonio de Montesinos

Antonio de Montesinos was a Spanish Dominican friar and missionary who worked in Hispaniola during the early Spanish colonization of the Americas. On December 21, 1511, he delivered a landmark Advent sermon condemning the enslavement and abuse of Indigenous people, challenging the encomienda system and helping inspire later advocacy associated with Bartolomé de las Casas. He continued missionary work in the Caribbean and Venezuela until his death in 1540.