ABSTRACT
The Spanish invasion of the New World brought wealth and power to Spain, but at a high price to many Amerindians. The violence of Spanish conquest touched off a firestorm of debate in Spain and the rest of Europe about the legal and moral dimensions of colonialism, raising issues from the justice of armed conquest to the ethics of Christian proselytizing. The following chapter three Spanish and one Aztec, present varying interpretations of this early moment in North American colonial history. The Requerimiento remained in force throughout the sixteenth century despite copious criticism from within and outside the Spanish empire. Because the Spanish invasion of the Americas proved so destructive to Indians, it prompted strident debates about the morality of Europeans' conduct. The most vocal and effective critic of Spain's conquest was the Dominican priest, and later bishop, Bartolom de Las Casas. After a reasonably fair synopsis of Seplveda's position, Las Casas briefly introduces his own argument.
