New Laws
1542 Spanish laws to protect indigenous peoples from encomendero exploitation.
via Wikipedia: New Laws · see source
The New Laws (Spanish: Leyes Nuevas), issued on November 20, 1542, by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (King Charles I of Spain), were a set of royal decrees intended to prevent the exploitation and mistreatment of indigenous peoples in the Spanish colonies. They were prompted by denunciations from figures such as the Dominican friar Bartolomé de Las Casas and aimed to limit the power of encomenderos over groups of natives. The laws are notable for sparking a major revolt in Peru led by Gonzalo Pizarro, who killed the first Viceroy of Peru, Blasco Núñez Vela, in 1546.
Quick Facts
- Issued
- November 20, 1542
- Issued by
- Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (King Charles I of Spain)
- Also known as
- New Laws of the Indies for the Good Treatment and Preservation of the Indians
- Year of viceroy's death
- 1546
- Opposition leader in peru
- Gonzalo Pizarro
Facts from the source article.
Origins
The New Laws arose from a reform movement reacting to the earlier Leyes de Burgos (Laws of Burgos), issued by King Ferdinand II of Aragon on December 27, 1512. Those laws, the first to regulate relations between Spaniards and conquered indigenous peoples, were regarded as the first humanitarian laws in the New World but were not fully implemented due to opposition by powerful colonists. During the reign of King Charles I, reformers gained strength, including missionaries Bartolomé de las Casas and Francisco de Vitoria, who argued for stricter rules to protect indigenous peoples from forced labor and expropriation. Some discussions even challenged the legitimacy of the conquest itself, eventually influencing the King and his court to pass the New Laws.
Contents
The New Laws required governors to care for the well-being of Native Americans and prohibited enslaving them for any reason, including war or rebellion. All current enslaved Native Americans had to be freed immediately unless the owner could prove full juridical legitimacy in Spain. The laws ended the forced labor of Native Americans as tamames and forbade taking them to remote regions to fish for pearls. Only the viceroy could establish encomiendas, and religious orders, hospitals, commonalities, and civil servants were prohibited from doing so. Encomiendas granted to original conquerors would revert to the Crown upon the holder's death. The laws also provided for gradual abolition of the encomienda system by forbidding inheritance, and stated that natives were free persons whose labour could no longer be demanded by encomenderos. Some laws were redundant, and some granted protections that native Spaniards did not have; the Crown could not fully monitor compliance due to distance.
Effects
The New Laws reorganized overseas colonial administration, establishing several General Captainships such as the Kingdom of Guatemala. In Peru, every European man holding an encomienda learned that his grant could be confiscated if he had taken part in the civil disturbances of Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro. Privileged colonists were disturbed, and Gonzalo Pizarro led a revolt of encomenderos who took up arms to maintain control of Indian lands and labor. The Supreme Court of Peru invited Pizarro to take control after his forces reached Lima from Bolivia; he took over Lima and Quito, and his army killed Viceroy Blasco Núñez Vela in 1546. Pizarro's power stretched from Peru north to Panama. Alarmed, Charles I sent Pedro de la Gasca, a bishop and diplomat with full powers to negotiate. Pizarro declared Peru independent, and La Gasca provisionally suspended the New Laws. Pizarro was later captured and executed as a traitor.
Level of compliance
In New Spain (Mexico), encomenderos initially did not comply but did not rebel as in Peru. Over time, encomenderos complied with most aspects: they maintained a horse and arms, established residence in a Spanish settlement, hired priests to minister to Indians, and were permitted to bequeath encomiendas once. Indians could fulfill obligations by tribute, often in produce. Epidemic disease caused dramatic population declines, resulting in economic losses for encomenderos. In the Province of Paraguay, non-compliance was systematic and extensively documented. The primary violation was trafficking of indigenous women: Guaraní women were bought, sold, and exported as slaves to the Portuguese port of São Vicente, with royal officials collecting taxes on those transactions.
More in Spanish Colonization of the Americas
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced