Spanish Requirement of 1513 facts for kids
The Spanish Requirement of 1513 (called Requerimiento) was an official statement made by the Spanish monarchy. It was written by Juan López de Palacios Rubios, a legal expert from the Council of Castile. This document declared that Spain had a right from God to take over lands in the New World (the Americas). It also said Spain could control, use, and if needed, fight the native people living there.
The Requerimiento (which means "demand" in Spanish) was read aloud to Native Americans. It told them about Spain's right to conquer their lands. If the native people resisted, the Spanish believed they were going against God's plan. This way, the Spanish used their religious beliefs to explain why they were conquering new lands.
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Why the Requerimiento Was Created
In the 1400s, the Pope, Pope Nicholas V, issued a special order called Dum Diversas in 1452. This order allowed Portugal to make people captured in war into slaves, especially non-Christians.
Later, in 1510, some Dominican priests arrived in the Spanish settlement of Santo Domingo. They strongly spoke out against making the local Native people slaves. These priests, and others, told the Spanish king that treating native people this way was unfair and against the law.
At the same time, Spain had just finished a long war called the Reconquista. In 1492, the Moors (Muslims) in Granada were told to either become Christian or leave Spain. This long struggle made religious feelings very strong in Spain.
When the Spanish came to the Americas, they faced a new problem. In their wars against the Moors, they believed it was right to fight because the Moors knew about Christianity but rejected it. But the native people in the Americas had never heard of Christianity. Some religious leaders argued that it was wrong to fight people who had no knowledge of their faith.
To solve this, the Requerimiento was created. It gave a religious reason for war against the native people. It claimed that if the native people refused the "rightful authority" of the Spanish kings (given by the Pope), then war was justified.
So, the Requerimiento came about because Spanish leaders were debating how to treat the people in the Americas. They discussed war, slavery, and forcing people to move or change their religion. Many missionaries, like Bartolomé de las Casas, criticized the use of this document.
The King and Queen of Spain (Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile) believed their conquest was fair. They used an old idea called "just wars," which had been used against non-Christians like the Moors. Now, they applied it to the Native Americans.
Legal and Religious Reasons
The Spanish rulers, Ferdinand and Isabella, wanted to make sure they had control over the native people. They asked religious and legal experts for reasons to justify their conquests. At first, some argued that Native Americans were cannibals, so any way of controlling them was fine.
However, some of Christopher Columbus's actions led to native uprisings. In 1500, the king and queen sought more advice. They declared Native Americans to be "free vassals," meaning they were subjects of the king but not slaves. Even so, they could still be conquered in "just wars."
The Laws of Burgos in 1512 were the first rules meant to protect Native Americans from being treated too harshly. These laws said natives could have holidays, be paid for their work, and receive "good treatment." Other similar laws were made in 1513 and 1516.
Religion's Role in Conquest
Europeans at the time often used religion to explain why they were taking over new lands. In the Americas, the Christian duty to spread their faith meant converting native people. This was done by Catholic priests.
Many Europeans believed that the lands in the New World belonged to no one. This meant they could be taken. The Aztec and Mayan cultures were very different from European ones. They worshipped different gods and practiced human sacrifice. This made Europeans feel that their conquest was not just a war between countries. Instead, they saw it as a "civilized" society conquering a "barbarous" enemy.
Also, because the native people were not Christian, Europeans believed their own Christian faith gave them the right and duty to take the lands and people. They did this in the name of God and the Spanish Crown.
Catholic beliefs stated that saving souls was more important than worldly matters. So, converting native people to Christianity was the main reason and justification for Spain's conquests. The Spanish told the native people they had to accept the Catholic Church and the Spanish Crown. If they refused, the Spanish government was allowed to force them to obey, even by war.
What the Requerimiento Said
The 1513 Requerimiento was a demand to the native people of the Americas. It told them to accept Spanish rule and allow Catholic missionaries to preach to them. If they refused, they faced war, slavery, or death. The document didn't force conversion to Christianity directly. However, systems like the Encomienda and Mission often did lead to conversion.
This demand created a legal way to enslave people if they fought back. The document clearly stated: "We emphasise that any deaths that result from this [rejection of Christian rule] are your fault…."
The Requerimiento was written by Juan López de Palacios Rubios. He strongly believed in the divine right of kings and taking over new lands. It was first used in 1514 by Pedrarias Dávila, a Spanish noble and later Governor of Nicaragua.
The Spanish Requirement, issued in the names of King Ferdinand and his daughter Queen Juana, mixed religious and legal reasons. It explained why Spain could take New World lands and control their people. At the time, it was thought that Native Americans resisted because they were either evil or didn't know better. The Requirement was supposedly meant to fix this "ignorance."
A Spanish soldier would read El Requerimiento in Castilian to a group of native people. Often, the native people did not understand it, with or without a translator. But by reading it, the Spanish believed all the people in the area had been told about Spain's rights. They were also warned about what would happen if they resisted.
However, the true purpose of the Requerimiento was to clear the Spanish conscience. The act of reading the document, even if not understood, was meant to free the Spanish Crown and its soldiers from blame for conquering, enslaving, and killing Native Americans. Sometimes, the document was not even read before attacks.
The Requerimiento stated that God created the world and all people. God chose St. Peter to lead the Roman Catholic Church. St. Peter's successor, the Pope, lives in Rome. The Pope had given the New World lands to the King of Castile and ordered the conversion of the native people. If the native people listened and accepted this, it would be fair. If not, Spain would make war on them.
This document basically tried to fit the new lands and their people into the existing Spanish and European political and Christian belief system.
How People Felt About It
Many people who criticized the Spanish conquerors were shocked by how casually the Requerimiento was used. Bartolomé de las Casas famously said he didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he heard it.
Even though conquerors were told to use an interpreter, it wasn't always done. In many cases, it was read to people who couldn't understand a word. Sometimes, it was read to empty beaches or villages after the native people had already left. It was even read to prisoners after they were captured, or from ships when the coast was first seen.
Still, for the Spanish conquerors, it gave a religious reason for attacking and taking over the native population. Because it helped fill the Spanish royal treasury, the Requerimiento was generally not questioned until the Spanish Crown stopped its use in 1556.
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See also
- Black legend (Spain)
- La Toma
- Indian Reductions
- Spanish colonization of the Americas
- Valladolid debate
