The Indian doubt is the crisis of conscience that assailed the Spanish kings Carlos I and Felipe II in the mid-sixteenth century about the legitimacy or not of the conquest of America and the maintenance of their sovereignty in those territories. In the same way, it also subjected to analysis
Tag: XVI century
The New Indias Law of 1542
The New Indian Laws of 1542 or "New Indian Laws and ordinances newly made by their majesty for the governorship of the Indies and good treatment and conservation of Indians" are a compilation of the legislation that has been applied in the New World since the beginning of the conquest.
Biography of the viceroy Antonio de Mendoza
Biography of the viceroy Antonio de Mendoza Location of birth: Antonio de Mendoza was born on September 12,1490 in Mondéjar (Guadalajara - Spain) Location of death: Antonio de Mendoza died on July 21,1552 in Lima (Virreinato del Perú). Positions held: - Commander of the Order of Santiago. - Councillor of the town hall and treasurer of the
Biography of Pedro de la Gasca
Biography of Pedro de la Gasca Location of birth: Pedro de la Gasca was born in August 1493 in Navarregadilla (Ávila - Spain) Location of death: Pedro de la Gasca died on November 13,1567 in Sigüenza (Guadalajara - Spain). Positions held: - Mayor of Panama and Name of God (1546). - Governor of the Viceroyalty of Peru
Biography of Blasco Núñez de Vela
Biography of Blasco Núñez de Vela Location of birth: Blasco Núñez de Vela was born in 1495 in Ávila (Spain) Location of death: Blasco Núñez de Vela died on January 18th,1546 in Quito (Virreinato del Perú). Positions held: - Corregidor of Málaga and Cuenca. - Gentleman of the Order of Santiago. - First captain general of the Indian
Biography of Gonzalo Pizarro
Biography of Gonzalo Pizarro Location of birth: Gonzalo Pizarro was born in 1510 in Trujillo (Cáceres - Spain) Location of death: Gonzalo Pizarro died on April 10,1548 in Cuzco, Peru. Positions held: - Governor of Quito from 1540 to 1542. - Lieutenant governor general of Cuzco in 1544. - Governor of Peru from 1544 to 1548. - Encomendero en
Biography of Francisco de Vitoria
Biography of Francisco de Vitoria Location of birth: Francisco de Vitoria was born on 1492 in Burgos (Spain). Location of death: Francisco de Vitoria died in August 12th,1546 in Salamanca (Spain). Positions held: - Professor of Theology in Paris and Valladolid. - Càtedra de Prima of the University of Salamanca in 1523. Most relevant facts starring Francisco de
Biography of Carlos I of Spain and V of Germany
Biography of Carlos I Location of birth: Carlos I was born on February 24th,1500 in Ghent, Flanders, Holy Roman Empire Germanic. Location of death: Carlos I died on September 21th,1558 in the Monastery of Yuste (Cuacos de Yuste - Spain). Positions held: - In 1515 he was appointed governor of the states of the Habsburg House:
The first round-the-world tour: the expedition of Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastián Elcano
The expedition organized and led by the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan was the first circumnavigation of the World of history. But he could not complete it because he died in a confrontation with the natives in the Philippines Islands. Juan Sebastian Elcano, who captained the expedition from Tidore to Spain,
Fernando Magallanes Biography
Fernando Magallanes Biography Location of birth: Fernando de Magallanes was born in 1480 in Sabrosa (Porto - Portugal). Location of death and burial site: - Fernando Magallanes died on April 27,1521 on the island of Mactan (Philippines) in a military action against some natives. His remains are lost. Exercised charges: - Fernando Magallanes was a Portuguese
The Burgos Laws of 1512
As I already mentioned in the entry on the Request in the Spanish crown, serious concerns had arisen about the ill-treatment of some encomenderos against the Indians. These facts would delegitimize the conquest and colonization of the new lands, since this legitimation was based on the papal bulls of
Governor Bobadilla and Columbus to Castile
After the investigation in which the bad habits of the admiral Christopher Columbus and his brothers in government were made very clear, Bobadilla set about his task without further delay. He tried to normalize relations between the Spaniards and the Spanish government by granting everything in his power so that
The government of Nicolas de Ovando (1502-1509)
Frey Nicolás de Ovando arrive in Santo Domingo in 1502 with the very clear orders of the Catholic Monarchs of what their government would be in the Indies. They can be summarized in two points: putting order in the administration, after the disastrous management of the brothers Columbus and Francisco
The Residencia Trials, the power against the power
A legal institution that played a major role in the political management and real control over the officials who performed their functions in the New World was the Residencia Trial. This was a judicial procedure by which officials of a certain rank (Virreyes, Presidents of Real Audiencia, mayors and bailiffs)
Juan Ponce de León explores and conquers Borinquen (Puerto Rico)
Ponce de León, Valladolid, arrived in the New World in 1502 together with the new governor of the Indies Nicolás de Ovando. He was forty-one years old and had participated in the guerra de Granada. He was of noble ancestry and was a page in the Court of Fernando el