The indigenous people of Cuba were colonized by Christopher Columbus a few days after he arrived at the New World in 1492. In 1511, colonization systematically began when the Conquistador Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar established the Catholic Church in Cuba with the early priest Fray Bartolomé de las Casas known commonly as "the Protector of the Indians". Along with Catholicism, Protestantism came during the same time.