Alonso Gutiérrez, also known as Alonso de la Vera Cruz (c.1507–1584) was a Spanish philosopher and

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

, who took the religious name ''da Vera Cruz''. He became a major intellectual figure in

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...

, where he worked from 1535 to 1562, and from 1573 to his death, and in the history of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Gutiérrez was born in Caspueñas,

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

. He studied under

Francisco de Vitoria Francisco de Vitoria ( – 12 August 1546; also known as Francisco de Victoria) was a Spanish Roman Catholic philosophy, philosopher, theology, theologian, and jurist of Renaissance Spain. He is the founder of the tradition in philosophy known ...

, at

Salamanca University The University of Salamanca ( es, Universidad de Salamanca) is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the city of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It was founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX. It is th ...

. He wrote in favour of the

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

of the conquered peoples.
, in Spanish. In 1553 he became the first professor of the

University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

. He died in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

References

*John F. Blethen, ''The Educational Activities of Fray Alonso de La Vera Cruz in Sixteenth Century Mexico'', The Americas, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Jul., 1948), pp. 31–47 *Arthur Ennis (1957), ''Fray Alonso de la Vera Cruz, O.S.A. (1507-1584). A Study of His Life and His Contribution to the Religious and Intellectual Affairs of Early Mexico'' *Ernest J. Burrus, ''Writings of Alonso de la Vera Cruz'' (five volumes)

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Biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gutierrez, Alonso 1500s births 1584 deaths Augustinian friars Spanish philosophers School of Salamanca 16th-century Spanish philosophers