The Spanish Requirement of 1513 was the declaration of the Spanish monarchy’s ‘divinely’ ordained right to take possession of Indigenous Peoples land and to subjugate, exploit and, when necessary, fight for that right. It came about, in part, because of six Dominican Friars in Hispaniola who were proposing the exact opposite.
In August 1510 six Dominican Friars arrived on the island of Hispaniola. These particular Dominicans were from a reformist sect and were appalled at how badly the Indigenous Peoples of the island were being treated. Their leader and spokesperson was Antonio de Montesinos who on December 4, 1511, gave a sermon in which he reportedly chastised his fellow Spaniards about the horrors he had seen. He asked how the colonizers could possibly keep the Indians in such a cruel and horrible condition? And implied all those who enslaved the original inhabitants of Hispaniola were damned. He then informed the congregation that he and his fellow Dominicans would no longer hear confessions from the colonists.
The colonists, including Bartolome de las Casas, were outraged and appealed to the colony’s Governor, Diego Columbus, who was Christopher Columbus’s son, to take some action. (To learn more about de las Casas click HERE) The Dominicans refused to retract their position and it finally took King Fernando of Spain to settle the matter by having the Friars return to Spain in 1512 to present their concerns to a group of theologians and legal experts. The Dominicans stated that waging war against those who had knowledge of Christ, such as the Muslims, but who still rejected him, was legitimate. But wars against Indigenous Peoples who had never heard of Christianity was not legitimate. Against the monks’ claim was the Catholic position that placed spiritual salvation above temporal and civic concerns. Further, the King held that seizing the land was not a war between states, but a civilized society taking rightful possession from a barbarous enemy. That clarified the difference between an infidel – one who knew of Christ, but still rejected Christianity – and the heathen, savage, barbarian as one who was uninformed of Christ and Christianity. So the King’s commission proposed a statement be created that would fully inform the uninformed of how the world was organized and offer them the opportunity to join in. It was called the Spanish Requirement, though ‘Demand’ or perhaps ‘Ultimatum’ would have been more appropriate.
Interestingly, a series of ‘Ordinances’ also were developed beginning around the same time, prompted by these same Dominican Friars. These laws professed a goal of protecting the Indians from excessive exploitation, allowing them to celebrate their holidays, get paid (in goods, not money) and in general receive humane treatment. The overall theme of these laws were to convert the natives, not to enslave or kill them. There is little evidence these rules, sometimes referred to as the Laws of Burgos, were implemented, or even taken seriously by the Spanish colonizers. Their approach was that the conquest of Indigenous Peoples was justified by the Papal Bulls and ordered by their king. Historically, those were the only requirements for war against non-Christians including Indigenous Peoples.
Rather than the Laws of Burgos, the Spanish Requirement became the primary colonization practice for Spain beginning around 1513. It was read to a targeted group of natives to ‘inform’ them of Spain’s right to conquer them and how resisters would be considered in defiance of God’s plan and would necessarily suffer the consequences. The document is relatively long, detailed and written in the style of the time. It begins with an explanation of how the world and humans were created by God and how humans have multiplied to live in many regions with different customs and lifestyles. It then explains how God authorized a man named St. Peter as his worldly administrator and gave him the title of ‘Pope’. All of God’s administrators since then have been named Pope. One of those Popes gave various lands to various kings to own and control on the Pope’s behalf, and it so happens that the land the native residents were living on was one of those places. But, the natives should not be concerned. They can continue to live their lives as they have been used to doing, it isn’t even necessary to become a Christian. As long as they now understand the true history of the world and agree to accept the rule of the king and teachings of Christianity. The natives were asked to reflect on the information presented and make a decision whether or not to accept the conditions being offered. If the answer is yes, the person, or persons, will be rewarded with privileges and benefits from the king.
If the listener declined or did not respond at all (generally the case), the Requirement stated: “… we shall powerfully enter into your country, and shall make war against you in all ways and manners that we can, and shall subject you to the yoke and obedience of the Church and of their Highnesses; we shall take you and your wives and your children, and shall make slaves of them, … and we shall take away your goods, and shall do you all the mischief and damage that we can, … and we protest that the deaths and losses which shall accrue from this are your fault, ….” (To read the full Spanish Requirement click on this link – Requirement)
The Requirement was read aloud by a priest or monk to an Indigenous village before an invasion – in a language that was not understood by the listeners; sometimes read at night when the village was asleep; even from ships anchored off-shore and outside of normal hearing range. All the region’s inhabitants were thus considered to have been advised of Spain’s religious and legal rights to conquest and forewarned of the consequences of ignoring the warning or resisting the invaders. It was used from 1513 until rescinded in 1556. It was, in the opinion of many historians and scholars, the ultimate colonization practice.