The Spanish Struggle for Justice in the Conquest of AmericaWhen Spain embarked on her conquest of America, it was no easy task for the crown to see that justice prevailed in her new dominions. Efforts in this direction became basically a spirited defense of the right of the Indians, a story unique in the history of empire-building. This concern for justice, especially in the treatment of the Indians, can be understood only in relation to the political and spiritual climate of opinion in sixteenth-century Spain, which author Lewis Hanke describes fully, showing how it influences Spanish action in America. The kings of Spain were confused by the multitude of differing voices raised at home and overseas to advise them how to discharge their temporal and spiritual responsibilities. What political and economic rights should Spain enjoy from her overlordship in America? Were the Indians rational beings, and, if so, under what circumstances could they be made to work for Spaniards, and when could war be justly waged against them? Two voices raised in America on behalf of the natives were those of Bartolomé de Las Casas and Antonio de Montesinos, both Dominican friars, as opposed to those who came to America for the sole purpose of getting rich and had no interest in the welfare of the Indians. The theories and writings of these two men are carefully examined to shed new light on our understanding of the Spanish colonization of America. Written by a distinguished historian of Latin America, this study describes the conflict of men and ideas as an integral part of the Spanish conquest which, contrary to popular belief, was one of the great attempts the world has seen "to make Christian precepts prevail in the relations between peoples." |
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... grant of land was made because the Bishop of Burgos strongly opposed the idea , but on September 3 , 1516 , a royal instruction had ordered that no one was to go to the Pearl Coast of Tierra Firme where the Domini- cans were preaching ...
... grant of land in Tierra Firme.27 All his hopes were now centered on establishing vil- lages of high - minded Spaniards in the thousand leagues along the northern coast of South America . The first big gun in this campaign was fired at ...
... grants in perpetuity , and even for a law which would hand over to the Spaniards , forever , civil and criminal jurisdiction over the Indians . Just at this juncture Las Casas arrived in Spain , fresh from the triumphs of peaceful ...
Contents
INTRODUCTION | 1 |
THE SERMONS OF FRIAR ANTONIO DE MONTESINOS | 17 |
THE BASIS OF SPAINS RIGHT TO RULE THE INDIES | 23 |
Copyright | |
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