The Valladolid debate concerned the treatment of natives of the New World. Held in the Colegio de San Gregorio, in the Spanish city of Valladolid, it consisted of two opposing views about the colonization of the Americas. Dominican friar and Bishop of Chiapas Bartolomé de las Casas argued that the Amerindians were free men in the natural order and deserved the same treatment as others, according to Catholic theology. Opposing him was fellow Dominican Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, who insisted that "in order to uproot crimes that offend nature" the Indians should be punished and therefore reducing them to slavery or serfdom was in accordance with Catholic theology and natural law. Although both Las Casas and Sepúlveda later claimed to have won the debate, no clear record supporting either claim exists. The affair served to establish las Casas as the primary defender of the Indians and saw the New Laws of 1542 upheld, providing some momentum to weaken the encomienda system further. Though it did not completely reverse the situation, the laws achieved some improvement in the treatment of indians. They also reflected a concern for morality and justice in 16th century Spain, that surfaced in other colonial powers centuries later. Wikipedia [ - ]

The Valladolid debate concerned the treatment of natives of the New World. Held in the Colegio... [ + ]