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The Laws of Burgos ( es, Leyes de Burgos), promulgated on 27 December 1512 in
Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of t ...
, Crown of Castile (Spain), was the first codified set of laws governing the behavior of
Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ...
in the Americas, particularly with regard to the
Indigenous people of the Americas The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...
("native Caribbean Indians"). They forbade the slavery of the indigenous people and endorsed their conversion to Catholicism. The laws were created following the conquest and
Spanish colonization of the Americas Spain began colonizing the Americas under the Crown of Castile and was spearheaded by the Spanish . The Americas were invaded and incorporated into the Spanish Empire, with the exception of Brazil, British America, and some small regions of ...
in the
West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater ...
, where the common law of Castile was not fully applicable. The scope of the laws was originally restricted to the island of
Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...
but was later extended to the islands of
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
and Santiago, later renamed
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispanio ...
. These laws authorized and legalized the colonial practice of creating , where Indians were grouped together to work under a colonial head of the estate for a salary, and limited the size of these establishments to between 40 and 150 people. They also established a minutely regulated regime of work, pay, provisioning, living quarters, and diet.Hanke 1949 Women more than four months pregnant were exempted from heavy labor. The document also prohibited the use of any form of punishment by the , reserving it for officials established in each town for the implementation of the laws. It also ordered that the Indians be catechized, outlawed
bigamy In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. I ...
, and required that the huts and cabins of the Indians be built together with those of the Spanish. It respected, in some ways, the traditional authorities, granting chiefs exemptions from ordinary jobs and granting them various Indians as servants.Hussey 1939 The limited fulfillment of the laws sometimes led to protests and claims. Sometimes they were seen as a legalization of the previously poorer situation, which created momentum for reform, later carried out through the ("New Laws") in 1542, a new set of stricter regulations about life in the
New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
including the rights of indigenous peoples, as well as the
Laws of the Indies The Laws of the Indies ( es, Leyes de las Indias) are the entire body of laws issued by the Spanish Crown for the American and the Asian possessions of its empire. They regulated social, political, religious, and economic life in these areas. ...
, to encompass the Papal bull and all edicts.


Origins

Cardinal Archbishop Domingo de Mendoza of
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsul ...
heard reports of the abuse of the Americas' Indians and sent a group of Dominican missionaries to
Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...
to stop the maltreatment. They could not legally stop it, but missionaries made complaints and stirred up a debate that the settlers feared would make them lose their property interests; Fray Antonio de Montesinos preached to the colonists that they were sinning and did not have the right to force the Indians to serve them, claiming they should only be converted to Christianity. The colonists disagreed and decided the best way to protect their interests was to come together as a group and choose a
Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...
Friar named
Alonso de Espinal Alonso is a Spanish name of Germanic origin that is a Castilian variant of ''Adalfuns''. Geographical distribution As of 2014, 36.6% of all known bearers of the surname ''Alonso'' were residents of Spain (frequency 1:222), 26.1% of Mexico (1:83 ...
to present their case to King
Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia from ...
and his daughter Queen
Joanna of Castile Joanna (6 November 1479 – 12 April 1555), historically known as Joanna the Mad ( es, link=no, Juana la Loca), was the nominal Queen of Castile from 1504 and Queen of Aragon from 1516 to her death in 1555. She was married by arrangement to Ph ...
, the co-rulers of Spain, and refute Montesinos's accusations. The colonists' plan backfired, though, and Spain was outraged by the cases of maltreatment of the Indians. To solve the moral and legal question, the rulers commissioned a group of theologians and academics to come up with a solution.
Dominican Friars The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...
, under the sponsorship of
Diego de Deza Diego de Deza y Tavera (1444 – 9 June 1523) was a theologian and inquisitor of Spain. He was one of the more notable figures in the Spanish Inquisition, and succeeded Tomás de Torquemada to the post of Grand Inquisitor. Early life Deza was b ...
, supported the scientific examination of Christopher Columbus's claims for exploring the West that Columbus presented to then
Queen of Castile This is a list of kings and queens of the Kingdom and Crown of Castile. For their predecessors, see List of Castilian counts. Kings and Queens of Castile Jiménez dynasty House of Ivrea The following dynasts are descendants, in the ...
,
Isabel I of Castile Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as Queen consort of Aragon from 1479 until 1504 by ...
and her husband,
King of Aragon This is a list of the kings and queens of Aragon. The Kingdom of Aragon was created sometime between 950 and 1035 when the County of Aragon, which had been acquired by the Kingdom of Navarre in the tenth century, was separated from Navarre in ...
Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia from ...
. After 1508, the friars made the case to defend the aboriginal American Indians from becoming
serfs Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...
or
slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
of the new colonists. The friars and other Spanish academics pressured King
Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia from ...
and his daughter, now the ruling
Queen of Castile This is a list of kings and queens of the Kingdom and Crown of Castile. For their predecessors, see List of Castilian counts. Kings and Queens of Castile Jiménez dynasty House of Ivrea The following dynasts are descendants, in the ...
,
Joanna I of Castile Joanna (6 November 1479 – 12 April 1555), historically known as Joanna the Mad ( es, link=no, Juana la Loca), was the nominal Queen of Castile from 1504 and Queen of Aragon from 1516 to her death in 1555. She was married by arrangement to Ph ...
, to pass a set of laws to protect the rights of the natives of the New World, which were to become the 1512 Laws of Burgos. In Burgos, on 27 December 1512, thirty-five laws were put into effect to secure the freedom of the
Indigenous peoples of the Americas The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...
and to enforce
Indian Reductions Reductions ( es, reducciones, also called ; , pl. ) were settlements created by Spanish rulers and Roman Catholic missionaries in Spanish America and the Spanish East Indies (the Philippines). In Portuguese-speaking Latin America, such redu ...
rules governing conversions.


Summary

It declared that the Indians are free people; that they ought to be instructed in the Christian faith; that they might be ordered to work, but so that their working should not hinder their conversion, and should be such as they could endure; that they should have cottages and lands of their own, and time to work for themselves; that they should be hold communication with the Christians; and that they should receive wages, not paid in money, but in clothes and furniture for their cottages. In total there were 35 laws promulgated by the Burgos document in 1512, summarized as follows:Laws of Burgos (1512–1513)
/ref>Simpson 1950 1: The Indians are to be moved to ''encomiendas''. For every fifty Indians, four lodges shall be built (thirty by fifteen feet). This land cannot be taken from them since they were taken from their original land. The Indians will do the planting of all of the food. During the proper seasons, the encomenderos (men looking over the Indians) will have the Indians plant corn and raise the hens. 2: The Indians will leave their land voluntarily to come to the ''encomiendas'' so that they shall not suffer from being removed by force. 3: The citizen to whom the Indians are given must erect a structure to be used as a church. In the church must be a picture of Our Lady and a bell with which to call the Indians to prayer time. The person who has them in the ''encomienda'' must go with them to church every night and make sure they cross themselves and sing several hymns. If an Indian does not come to the church, he is not allowed to rest the next day. 4: To make sure the Indians are learning Christianity properly, they shall be tested every two weeks and taught what they do not know by the Encomendero. He shall teach them the
Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...
, the
Seven Deadly Sins The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices within Christian teachings. Although they are not directly mentioned in the Bible, there are parallels with the seven things ...
, and the Articles of Faith. Any ''encomendero'' that does not do this properly will be fined six gold
peso The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the same sign, "$", as many currencies named "dollar" ...
s. 5: A church will be built equidistant from all estates. On Sundays, Mass shall be observed and a feast will be eaten. If the ''encomendero'' does not bring his Indians, he will be charged ten gold pesos. 6: If the church is too far away, another will be built. 7: The priests who collect
tithes A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more r ...
from the estates must have priests continually in the churches of the estates. 8: There shall be churches built at the mines so that the Indians working the mines may hear mass on Sundays. 9: Whoever has fifty Indians must choose one boy who the ''encomendero'' thinks is able, to be taught to read and write, and also the importance of Catholicism. This boy will then teach the other Indians because the Indians would more readily accept what the boy says than what the Spaniards says. If the encomendero has one hundred Indians, two boys shall be chosen. The faith must be ingrained into their heads so the souls of the Indians are saved. 10: If an Indian falls sick near where there is a priest, the priest must go to him and recite the
Credo In Christian liturgy, the credo (; Latin for "I believe") is the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed – or its shorter version, the Apostles' Creed – in the Mass, either as a prayer, a spoken text, or sung as Gregorian chant or other musical setti ...
and other profitable things of the Catholic faith. The Indian shall make confession without being charged a fee. If the Indian is to die, he shall be buried with a cross near the church. If he is not buried, the ''encomendero'' owes a fine of four gold pesos. 11: The Indians must not be used as carriers for transporting things to the Indians at the mines. 12: All Spanish inhabitants who have Indians in an ''encomienda'' must have the infants baptized within a week of their birth. 13: After the Indians have been brought to the estates, gold shall be searched for as follows: Indians in an ''encomienda'' must search for gold for five months a year and at the end of the five months are allowed to rest for forty days. During the forty days, the Indians are not to be employed, unless they are a slave and accept to plant the crops. During the forty days, the Indians will be further instructed in faith since they have more time to learn. 14: The Indians must be allowed to perform their sacred dances. 15: All citizens who have Indians are required to feed them breads, yams, peppers, and on Sundays feed them dishes of cooked meat. For every offense, a fine of two gold pesos shall be paid. 16: According to Catholicism, the Indians are not allowed to have more than one wife at a time and they are not allowed to abandon their wives. 17: Sons of the chiefs of the Islands who are under the age of thirteen are to be given to the Friars so they can be taught how to read, write, and other things about Catholicism. When the sons reach the age of nineteen, they are to return to the encomienda and teach the others. 18: Pregnant women are not to be sent to the mines or made to plant the crops. They shall be kept on the estate and made to do household duties such as cooking and weeding. After the child is born, she can nurse it until it is three years old. After this time, she can return to the mines and other duties. 19: The Indians should not sleep on the ground. Each ''encomendero'' should provide his Indians with hammocks. 20: The Indians are to be given one gold peso every year to pay for clothing. 21: Indians may not change their masters. One ''encomendero'' cannot employ or house an Indian belonging to another ''encomendero''. 22: The Indian chiefs are allowed two Indians to perform personal duties for every forty of their subjects. Also, visitors to the estates must treat the Indians well and teach them what they know of Catholicism. 23: Official inspectors must keep records of the activities and also the treatment of the Indians in the ''encomiendas''. They must keep track of the population and how much gold is being mined. 24: The Indians are not to be physically or verbally abused for any reason. 25: The Indians are not to be used in private trade or for any other economic interest. 26: ''Encomenderos'' that have their Indians working in distant mines shall combine efforts with other estates to help provide food for the Indians. 27: Indians from other lands must also be taught the things of the Catholic faith. They are to be treated kindly, unless they are slaves. 28: If an ''encomendero'' dies, his successor takes control of the Indians. 29: Two inspectors should be appointed to each Estate. 30: The inspectors are to be chosen by the Admiral, judges, and officers. These people should be compensated by being given Indians in encomienda. 31: Villages should be inspected two times a year, once in the beginning of the year, and once in the summer. 32: If there is a runaway Indian, inspectors cannot apprehend them. They must be given to a man of good conscience who will find the Indians' ''encomendero''. 33: All inspectors should hold a copy of the Laws of Burgos, signed by the Governor. 34: Inspectors must be provided residences. 35: One person may not have more than one hundred and fifty Indians and no less than forty Indians in encomienda at one time. Amendments were added to the Laws or Burgos on 28 July 1513. 1: Indian women married to Indian men are not to be forced to serve with their husbands at the mines or anywhere else unless it is by their own free will or unless their husbands wish to take them. 2: Indian children do not have to do the work of adults until the reach the age of fourteen. They are then made to do the tasks of children, like weeding or working in their parents' estates. 3: Unmarried Indian women who are under the authority of their parents have to work with them on their lands. Those not under the authority of their parents must be kept apart so they do not become vagabonds. 4: After two years of service, the Indians are free to go. By this time they will be civilized and proper Christians, able to govern themselves.


Results

Bartolomé de Las Casas Bartolomé de las Casas, OP ( ; ; 11 November 1484 – 18 July 1566) was a 16th-century Spanish landowner, friar, priest, and bishop, famed as a historian and social reformer. He arrived in Hispaniola as a layman then became a Dominican friar ...
believed that the New World was granted to Spain and Portugal solely for the conversion of the Native residents. The Indians, he believed, should not be used for other purposes, especially not for profit. The only solution was to remove the presence of the Spanish colonists from the Indians, except for practising missionaries. On 28 July 1513, four more laws were added in what is known today as Leyes Complementarias de Valladolid 1513, three related to Indian women and Indian children and another more related to Indian males. They were operational till 17 November 1526, when the so-called Ordenanzas de Granada 1526 came effective. These new amended laws reflected the theological and political disputes among the Spanish theologians, and the intervention of the Popes including their advisers. They had been under consideration since the creation of the
Council of the Indies The Council of the Indies ( es, Consejo de las Indias), officially the Royal and Supreme Council of the Indies ( es, Real y Supremo Consejo de las Indias, link=no, ), was the most important administrative organ of the Spanish Empire for the Amer ...
, March 1523, by king
Charles I of Spain Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (Crown of Castile, Castil ...
, the son of Queen
Joanna I of Castile Joanna (6 November 1479 – 12 April 1555), historically known as Joanna the Mad ( es, link=no, Juana la Loca), was the nominal Queen of Castile from 1504 and Queen of Aragon from 1516 to her death in 1555. She was married by arrangement to Ph ...
, whose first president was Dominican friar Juan Garcia de Loaysa (1478–1546), Cardinal since 1530 and
Archbishop of Seville The Archdiocese of Seville is part of the Catholic Church in Seville, Spain. The Diocese of Seville was founded in the 3rd century. It was raised to the level of an archdiocese in the 4th century. The current archbishop is José Ángel Saiz Me ...
, 1539 – 1546. The later "Ordenanzas de Granada," 1526, were discussed mainly between king
Charles I of Spain Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (Crown of Castile, Castil ...
and "Licenciado" Rodrigo de Figueroa as a consequence of the extensive Institutional Battling promoted by famous Dominican Father
Bartolomé de las Casas Bartolomé de las Casas, OP ( ; ; 11 November 1484 – 18 July 1566) was a 16th-century Spanish landowner, friar, priest, and bishop, famed as a historian and social reformer. He arrived in Hispaniola as a layman then became a Dominican friar ...
, an offspring of a merchant family from
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsul ...
, dealing in the past with black African slaves brought to the Caribbean islands, apparently, since no earlier than 1501, borrowing perhaps, in some cases, the sociological views on "evangelization" of renowned
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
Professor at
University of Paris The University of Paris (french: link=no, Université de Paris), metonymically known as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, active from 1150 to 1970, with the exception between 1793 and 1806 under the French Revolution. ...
, c. 1510,
John Mair John Mair may refer to: *John Major (philosopher) John Major (or Mair; also known in Latin as ''Joannes Majoris'' and ''Haddingtonus Scotus''; 1467–1550) was a Scottish philosopher, theologian, and historian who was much admired in his day ...
, (1467–1550).


See also

*
Catholic Church and the Age of Discovery The Catholic Church during the Age of Discovery inaugurated a major effort to spread Christianity in the New World and to convert the indigenous peoples of the Americas and other indigenous peoples. The evangelical effort was a major part of, an ...
*
Indigenous peoples of the Americas The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...
*
Spanish colonization of the Americas Spain began colonizing the Americas under the Crown of Castile and was spearheaded by the Spanish . The Americas were invaded and incorporated into the Spanish Empire, with the exception of Brazil, British America, and some small regions of ...
*
Sublimis Deus ''Sublimis Deus'' (English: ''The sublime God''; erroneously cited as ''Sublimus Dei'' and occasionally as ''Sic Dilexit'') is a bull promulgated by Pope Paul III on June 2, 1537, which forbids the enslavement of the indigenous peoples of the Ame ...


Notes


Sources

English * * * * * * Spanish *Pedro FERNANDEZ RODRIGUEZ. "los dominicos en el contexto de la primera evangelizacion de Mexico, (1526–1550)", Salamanca, Edit. San Esteban, 308 pages, (1994), *A. MORO OREJON. "Ordenanzas reales sobre los Indios, (Las Leyes de 1512–1513)". Anuario de Estudios Americanos, 13, (1956), pp 317 – 371. *R. KONETZKE. Coleccion de Documentos para la Historia de la Formacion Social de Hispano-America, 1493–1810, Vol. 1, 1493–1592, Madrid, C.S.I.C., (1953). *R. ALTAMIRA. "El texto de las Leyes de Burgos de 1512". Rev. de Historia de America, 4, (1938), pages 6 – 79. * V. D. CARRO. "La Teologia y los Teologos-Juristas Españoles en la Conquista de America", Madrid, C.S.I.C., 2 vols, (1944). 2nd edition, Salamanca, (1951).


External links


Laws of Burgos (1512–1513)The Laws of Burgos: 500 Years of Human Rights
on the
Law Library of Congress The Law Library of Congress is the law library of the United States Congress. The Law Library of Congress holds the single most comprehensive and authoritative collection of domestic, foreign, and international legal materials in the world. Est ...
blog {{Authority control Encomenderos Spanish colonization of the Americas Legal history of Spain 1512 in law History of indigenous peoples of the Americas Genocide of indigenous peoples of the Americas History of the Caribbean 1512 in Spain