A detailed chronicle of early colonial expeditions across Caribbean islands and adjacent mainland, documenting encounters with indigenous communities, widespread violence, forced labor, and resulting depopulation. It recounts rivalries and administrative disputes among colonial leaders, describes missionary and relief efforts, and follows the author's journeys and legal petitions made in the metropole to seek protections for native peoples. Episodic reports, official acts, and moral commentary combine to argue for humanitarian and legal reform while recording the social and political consequences of conquest.