Document One
The early 16th-century document known as "The Requerimiento" holds historical significance
regarding European exploration, colonization, and conquest. Penned by the Spanish, this
proclamation had a profound impact on interactions between the Spanish and the indigenous.
The author of the Requerimiento was Juan López de Palacios Rubios, whom was a member of
King Ferdinand’s council, Council of Castile. Written in 1513, this document was deeply
intertwined with the discovery and exploration of the Americas by the Spanish. During this
period, religion was a cause of many disputes and was directly tied with power.
The overarching purpose of the Requerimiento was to be formal written declaration that served
as a legal document of sorts and was used by Spanish conquistadors to justify their takeover of
indigenous lands and peoples. This proclamation aimed to assert Spain's divine right to rule over
the lands and convert the indigenous inhabitants to Christianity. In some ways, the document
echoed the same peace-driven sentiment found in the Islamic treaty from the conquest of Spain
about 800 years prior. Moreover, the document strategically fulfilled the legal requirement of
offering the native peoples an opportunity to voluntarily submit to the Spanish crown and
embrace Christianity, ostensibly justifying the use of force if they refused.
Within the Requerimiento, the Spanish threaten that if the indigenous populations “do not do this
[convert to Christianity], and maliciously make delay in it […], we […] shall make war against
you.” It is important to note that the Requerimiento was read out loud to native populations in
Spanish, a language that the native people did not speak, which reveals one of the underlying
goals of the author – the violent takeover of indigenous lands. The author wrote this document
knowing that the indigenous population could not speak nor understand Spanish, then used an
ultimatum of war. The usage of “malicious” as a descriptor for the native’s non-compliance
characterizes the author with a manipulative tone. This obvious preference for violence may
partially be due to previous historical context where religious conflicts in the region spurred
violence and Spain was no stranger to that trend. However, this inclination to violence could also
be due to economic benefits – it may have been cheaper to violently overtake a population in
days instead of spending capital to house, feed, and clothe natives until religious conversion.
Furthermore, the document also states that “the deaths and losses which shall accrue from this
are your fault, and not that of their Highnesses, or ours, nor of these cavaliers who come with
us.” This statement attempts to entirely shift the responsibility for the consequences onto the
natives, absolving the Spanish crown of any moral or legal culpability. The reference to the
"cavaliers who come with us" is an attempt to safeguard the reputation of the conquistadors
involved in the expedition. By placing the blame on the native populations, the author seeks to
portray the cavaliers as instruments of justice, rather than aggressors responsible for the
aforementioned suffering and devastation. Perhaps this document set the tone for future Spanish
expeditions, such as the one led by Hernando de Soto, whose men “tortured, raped, and enslaved
countless Indians and transmitted deadly diseases”, so that “little remained of the societies he
had encountered” (Foner 2019).
The Requerimiento is a complex and controversial document from early European exploration
and colonization of the Americas, representing the audacity of European imperialism and its
implications for the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Although originally seen as righteous,
further analysis can confirm the skewed, manipulative nature of the document.