Abstract

MENDEZ-ALONZO, Manuel. Enslaving to settle, educate and evangelize: the theological and legal justification of chichimeca slavery in the northern bordelands of spanish america in the sixteenth century. Anu.hist.reg.front. [online]. 2023, vol.28, n.2, pp.21-52.  Epub July 21, 2023. ISSN 0122-2066.  https://doi.org/10.18273/revanu.v28n2-2023002.

The objective of this paper is to present the theoretical arguments used by New Spain clergy to continue justifying indigenous slavery in the Indies after its prohibition following the enactment of the New Laws of 1542, especially in regions where the Spanish political and religious authority was disputed by local populations, such as the Chichimecas tribes. These nomadic groups did not appear to usufruct their lands and they did not have an organized religion. Due to their bellicosity, the only solution for the Spanish colonial authorities was to subdue these groups under slavery-like regimes. Under the iron supervision of the mendicant orders, a new conception of time would be imposed to nomadic indigenous population in Northern New Spain in spaces created ex nihilo for the evangelization and, at the same time, the defense of the Spanish settlements. Finally, we will try to prove that the writings of the School of Salamanca offered general propositions that could be used as criteria to discern, based on the law of nations and natural law, about the moral world of the Indians and, subsequently, in relevant cases, to justify their submission.

Keywords : borders; settlement; indigenous slavery; chichimecas; law of nations..

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