New Laws

Cover of "Leyes Nuevas" of 1542.

The New Laws (Spanish: Leyes Nuevas), also known as the New Laws of the Indies for the Good Treatment and Preservation of the Indians, were issued on November 20, 1542, by King Charles V of Spain and regard the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Following complaints and calls for reform from individuals such as the Dominican friar Bartolomé de Las Casa, these laws were created to prevent the exploitation of the indigenous peoples of the Americas by the encomenderos (large enterprise landowners) by strictly limiting their power and dominion.[1]

Blasco Núñez Vela, the first Viceroy of Peru, enforced the New Laws, resulting in a revolt of some encomenderos in which he was killed in 1546 by the landowning faction led by Gonzalo Pizarro who wanted to maintain a political structure based on the pre existing Incan model. Although the New Laws were only partly successful due to the opposition of some colonists, they did result in the liberation of thousands of indigenous workers which had remained in a state of semi-slavery.

Origins

The New Laws were the results of a reform movement spurred by what was seen as the less effective, decades-old Leyes de Burgos (Laws of Burgos), issued by King Ferdinand II of Aragon on December 27, 1512. These laws were the first set of rules created to regulate relations between the Spaniards and the recently conquered indigenous people, regarded as the first example of humanitarian laws in the New World. These had been effective to a limited extent due to the opposition of some colonists. Some regarded the laws as legalizing the system of forced Indian labor. During the reign of King Charles I, the reformers gained strength, with a number of Spanish missionaries making the case for stricter rules, including the controversial Bartolomé de las Casas. His alleged goal was the abolition of the encomienda system, which forced the Indians to abandon their previous lifestyle and homelands. His role in the reform movement earned him the nickname "Defender of the Indians". However, his motivations were sometimes also political. Eventually, the reformists were able to influence the King to pass a new set of reforms that came to be known as the New Laws.

Contents

The New Laws consisted of many regulations on the encomienda system, including its solemn prohibition of the enslavement of the Indians and provisions for the gradual abolition of the encomienda system. The New Laws stated that the natives would be considered free persons, and the encomenderos could no longer demand their labor. The natives were only required to pay the encomenderos tribute, and, if they worked, they would be paid wages in exchange for their labor. The laws also prohibited the sending of indigenous people to work in the mines unless it was absolutely necessary, and required that they be taxed fairly and treated well. It ordered public officials or clergy with encomienda grants to return them immediately to the Crown, and stated that encomienda grants would not be hereditarily passed on, but would be canceled at the death of the individual encomenderos.

Resistance

When the New Laws were passed, every European man in Peru learned that his allotment of land and workforce could be confiscated if he was guilty of having taken part in the civil disturbances of Francisco Pizarro and Almagro. As a result, the promulgation of the New Laws caused great unrest in the Spanish Americas, leading to a revolt in Peru, led by Gonzalo Pizarro. Pizarro headed protesting landowners who took to arms in order to "maintain their rights by force".

Gonzalo Pizarro was invited by the Supreme Court to assume control over its government after marching from Bolivia to Lima with his troops. Pizarro forced himself upon Lima and Quito. The revolt led to the overthrow of Viceroy Blasco Núñez Vela, who had attempted to impose the decrees. Pizarro and his army defeated and killed Núñez Vela in 1546. Pizarro's power stretched all the way to Panama. Charles I and the court became alarmed and were convinced that the immediate abolition of the encomienda system would bring economic ruin to the colonies. To deal with the revolt, Charles I sent Pedro de la Gasca, a bishop and diplomat in the service of the king, without an army but with full powers to rule and negotiate a settlement. However, Pizarro declared Peru independent from the King. La Gasca saw fit to provisionally suspend the New Laws. Pizarro was later captured and executed accused of "traitor to the King".

Legacy

Finally, in 1545, the rule stating that the encomienda system would no longer be hereditary was revoked, and the place of the encomienda system was again secure. Although the New Laws were only partly successful, they did result in the liberation of thousands of indigenous workers.

Most of the ordinances of the New Laws went on to be incorporated into the general corpus of the Laws of the Indies, except where they were superseded by newer laws.

A weaker issue of the New Laws was issued in 1552.

See also

References

  1. ↑ García Icazbalceta, Joaquín "Colección de documentos para la historia de México" "Leyes y ordenanzas" (Dada en la ciudad de Barcelona, a veinte días del mes de Noviembre, año del nacimiento de nuestro Salvador Jesucristo de mill e quinientos e cuarenta y dos años) y addenda 4 de junio de 1543; 26 de junio de 1543; 26 de mayo de 1544 text on Internet Cervantes Virtual
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