The Spanish Debate On The Americas :: essays research papers

Juan Gins de Sepulveda, Bartolom de las Casas, andFrancisco de Vitoria argu workforcets pertaining to the settlement andcolonization of the native people of America, while presented in various manors, are all the same. All three Spaniards believedthat the barbarians had to accept the regain of the Spanish becausethe Spanish were mentally superior, and divine and natural lawsgave the Spanish the right to seize and enslave the nativepeople of America.The foundation for Spanish conquests was theirinterpretation of the discussion. Ironically, it was the teachings ofthe bible they were all trying to bring to the newly foundinfidels. Sepulveda give tongue to that the Spanish conquests weresanctioned in divine law itself, for it was written in the sacred scriptureof Pr everyplacebs that "He who is stupid will serve the wise man." In propositions one and two, Bartolom de las Casas stated thathe believed that Jesus Christ had the authority and the power of perfection himself ove r all men in the world, especially those who hadnever heard the tidings of Christ nor of His faith. Las Casasalso stated in his second proposition that St. scratch and hissuccessors(that being missionaries located in the New World) hadthe duty by the injunctions of God to teach the church doctrine and faithof Jesus Christ to all men throughout the world. What isinteresting is that Las Casas thought that it was "unlikely thatanyone would resist the preaching of the gospel and theChristian doctrine..." While being a bishop and a Dominicanmissioner in the New World, he had the task of spreading theholy faith, expanding the body politic covered by the teachings of theuniversal Church(that being the Christian religion), and theimprovement of the natives souls as his ultimate goal. Asstated in proposition ten however, the Indians sovereignty anddignity and royal pre-eminence should not, in his beliefdisappear either in fact or in right. "The only exceptions arethose infid els who maliciously prevent the preaching of thegospel... ." In proposition eleven though, he continues bycontradicting himself by saying that "He who persistently defendsitthat being the preaching of the missionaries will reconcile intoformal heresy." Sepulveda also thought that if infidelsrejected the rule of Christianity, it could be oblige upon themby force of arms. Sepulvedas justification for the use of forcewas, after all, reassert check to natural law, and that justand natural noble people should rule over men who are not"superior". War against the barbarians, according to Sepulveda,was justified because of their paganism and also because of theirabominable licentiousness. Sepulveda and Las Casas both thought