Values and Attitudes

New Laws of (1542)

Bartolome de Las Casas convinced the King of Spain to institute these laws, which ended American Indian slavery, ended forced Indian labor, and began the process of ending the encomienda systems. (p. 11)

Valladolid Debate (1550)

Concerned the treatment of natives of the New World. It concerned two main attitudes towards the conquest of the Americas. Bartolomé de las Casas argued Amerindians were creations of God and deserved same treatment as Christian Europeans. Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda thought that the natives should be slaves because of their crimes against nature and against God.

The Lost Colony

The Lost Colony of Roanoke illustrates the challenges early European settlers faced, including uncertainty, strained relationships with Native Americans, logistical issues, and a lack of survival skills

Bartolome de Las Casas

First bishop of Chiapas, in southern Mexico. He devoted most of his life to protecting Amerindian peoples from exploitation. His major achievement was the New Laws of 1542, which limited the ability of Spanish settlers to compel Amerindians to labor.

Juan Gines de Sepulveda

In the Valladolid Debate, this Spaniard argued that the American Indians were less than human. (p. 11)