What were the Laws of Burgos of 1512?
The Laws of Burgos
Las Leyes de Burgos
1512. In December 1511 the Dominican Antonio de Montesinos preached a sermon on Hispaniola asking the colonists by what right they held the Taíno in servitude.
Where: Spain, The Spanish Caribbean, Dominican Republic
What happened
In December 1511 the Dominican Antonio de Montesinos preached a sermon on Hispaniola asking the colonists by what right they held the Taíno in servitude. The scandal reached the court, and in 1512 a junta at Burgos produced the first laws to regulate the encomienda, the grant that gave a Spaniard the labour and tribute of Indigenous people in return for 'protection' and Christian teaching. The Laws of Burgos said Indians were free, must be paid and instructed in the faith, and set rules on their work, food, housing and care; they also ordered them to live in villages near the Spaniards. In practice the laws were widely ignored, but they began a long argument in Spain about the rights of the peoples of the Americas.
Say it
Las leyes decían que los indios eran libres, pero pocos las cumplían.
The laws said the Indians were free, but few obeyed them.
Why it matters
It is the first time a European state wrote laws about how to treat the people it was conquering, and the first step on the road to Las Casas and the Valladolid debate.
Read about it
Connected
- The demographic collapse of the Americas (1492–1650)
- The demographic collapse of the Americas (1492–1650)
- The New Laws of the Indies (20 November 1542)
- The New Laws of the Indies (20 November 1542)
- The Valladolid debate (August 1550–1551)
- The Valladolid debate (August 1550–1551)
- Before: The Treaty of Tordesillas
- After: The revolt of the Comuneros
Sources
- Las congregaciones de Veracruz en la época hispánica (Juan Pablo Salazar Andreu), Iushistoria — Universidad del Salvador (Argentina)
- Cronología de Bartolomé de las Casas — Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes
- Encomienda — World History Encyclopedia