ith the Pope and, before the conversion
of the natives has been accomplished, they have the same power over
them as has His Holiness.
22. The Catholic Faith may be best spread throughout the New World by
imitating the example of our Lord in establishing His religion upon
earth. The natives are submissive, docile people, who may be won by
kindness, charity, and good examples of holy living. They should be
encouraged and favoured, and treated as brothers.
23. The Romans, Mahometans, Moors, and Turks have propagated their
doctrines by the sword, but such means are tyrannical, and it is
blasphemy for Christians to imitate such cruelties; what has already
been done in the Indies has caused the natives to believe the
Christian God to be the most merciless and cruel of all deities.
24. It is only natural that the Indians should defend their countries
from armed invasion, thus they resist the propagation of the Faith.
25. The Spanish sovereigns have from the outset repeatedly forbidden
wars, conquests, and acts of cruelty. Those officials who have
pretended to act by royal authority in such wars and acts have lied,
and the warrants they have shown are forgeries.
26. It follows that all the wars, invasions, and conquests that have
been made, have been tyrannical, contrary to justice and authority,
and hence, in fact, null and void: this is proven by the record of
the proceedings in Council against all such tyrants and usurpers who
have been found guilty.
27. It is the duty of the Spanish sovereigns to maintain and
re-establish all laws and usages amongst the Indians which are good,
and that is to say the most of them; those which are bad should be
abolished, and the preaching and application of the Gospel is the
best means for effecting this.
28. The Devil himself could not have worked greater harm than have the
Spaniards, by their tyranny and cruel greed; they have treated the
Indians like beasts, worked them to death, and persecuted those who
have wished to learn from the friars, even more than others.
29. The system of giving the Indians in encomienda and repartimiento is
absolutely contrary to the royal commands issued by Queen Isabella
to Columbus and his successors during her reign. The Queen ordered
all Indians who had been brought to Spain