Juan López de Palacios Rubios (1450–1524) was a Spanish jurist called ''El Doctor'' for his expertise in canon law. He was the primary author of the famous ''

Requerimiento The Spanish Requirement of 1513 (''Requerimiento'') was a declaration by the Spanish monarchy, written by the Council of Castile jurist Juan López de Palacios Rubios, of Castile's divinely ordained right to take possession of the territories o ...

'', read during the conquest of America to the Indians, instructing them to submit peacefully. The text informed the natives that they were vassals of the Castilian monarch and subjects of the pope and, if they opposed they would be subjugated by force and turned into slaves. López studied at the University of Salamanca, where he was later served as a professor of law. He served as College of San Bartolome, President of the Mesta during the reign of

Ferdinand and Isabella The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both ...

, judge of Valladolid, Minister of Council of India and Ambassador to Rome. In 1494 he was awarded the chair of premium charges at the University of Valladolid, exercising judicial functions in the chancery of the same city. Later follow the career system and reach the offices of the Royal Council member and president of the Royal Council of the Mesta (founded in 1273 by

Alfonso X the Wise Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Germ ...

). As a member of the

Council of Castile The Council of Castile ( es, Real y Supremo Consejo de Castilla), known earlier as the Royal Council ( es, Consejo Real), was a ruling body and key part of the domestic government of the Crown of Castile, second only to the monarch himself. It ...

from 1504, by appointment of the Catholic Monarchs, he was one of the drafters of the Laws of Toro (enacted in 1505), one of the main proponents of the issue of the Righteous Domain Titles of Castile on Indies. Specifically, in his ''Oceanis Insulis Libellus'' of legal reasoning makes a conscientious about the legitimacy of Spanish sovereignty in the American territories. Among his works are also found military writings, most notably the Treaty of heroic war effort (Salamanca, 1524), the only work he wrote in Castilian with a distinctly political tone.

Bibliography

* * * * * * 16th-century Spanish judges 1450 births 1524 deaths University of Salamanca alumni University of Salamanca faculty {{Spain-law-bio-stub