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The Laws of the Indies (Leyes de Indias in Spanish) are the entire body of laws
Code (law)

A Code is a type of legislation that purports to exhaustively cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law as it existed at the time the code was enacted, by a process of codification....
 issued by the Spanish Crown
Crown of Castile

The Crown of Castile, as a historic entity, is usually considered to have begun in 1230 with the third and definitive union of the two kingdoms of Kingdom of Le?n and Kingdom of Castile, or more concretely, with the union of their parliaments a few decades later....
 for its American and Philippine possessions of its empire
Spanish Empire

The Spanish Empire was one of the largest empires in world history, and one of the first global empires. It included territories and colonies ruled by Spain in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania between the 15th and late 19th centuries....
. They regulated social, political and economic life in these areas. The laws included a mirad of decrees issued over the centuries and the important laws of the sixteenth century, which attempted to regulate the interactions between the settlers and natives, such as the Laws of Burgos (1512) and the New Laws
New Laws

The New Laws of 1542 , also known as the "New Laws of the Indies for the Good Treatment and Presevation of the Indians" were created to prevent the exploitation of the indigenous people by the Encomienda, or landowners, by strictly limiting their power, during the Spanish colonization of the Americas....
 (1542).






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The Laws of the Indies (Leyes de Indias in Spanish) are the entire body of laws
Code (law)

A Code is a type of legislation that purports to exhaustively cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law as it existed at the time the code was enacted, by a process of codification....
 issued by the Spanish Crown
Crown of Castile

The Crown of Castile, as a historic entity, is usually considered to have begun in 1230 with the third and definitive union of the two kingdoms of Kingdom of Le?n and Kingdom of Castile, or more concretely, with the union of their parliaments a few decades later....
 for its American and Philippine possessions of its empire
Spanish Empire

The Spanish Empire was one of the largest empires in world history, and one of the first global empires. It included territories and colonies ruled by Spain in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania between the 15th and late 19th centuries....
. They regulated social, political and economic life in these areas. The laws included a mirad of decrees issued over the centuries and the important laws of the sixteenth century, which attempted to regulate the interactions between the settlers and natives, such as the Laws of Burgos (1512) and the New Laws
New Laws

The New Laws of 1542 , also known as the "New Laws of the Indies for the Good Treatment and Presevation of the Indians" were created to prevent the exploitation of the indigenous people by the Encomienda, or landowners, by strictly limiting their power, during the Spanish colonization of the Americas....
 (1542). Throughout the five hundred years of Spanish presence in these parts of the world, the laws were compiled several times, most notably in 1680 under Charles II
Charles II of Spain

Charles II , was the last Habsburg Spain of Spain and the ruler of nearly all of Italy , the Spanish territories in the Southern Low Countries, and Spanish empire, stretching from Mexico to the Philippines....
 in the Recopilación de las Leyes de los Reynos de Indias (Compilation of the Laws of the Kingdoms of the Indies), which became the classic collection of the laws, despite the fact that later laws superseded parts of it and other compilations were issued. The 1680 compilation set the template by which the laws were organized.

History


With the often violent Spanish America
Spanish colonization of the Americas

The Spanish colonization of the Americas was Spain's conquest, settlement, and rule over much of the western hemisphere. Beginning with the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492, over three centuries the Spanish Empire expanded from early small settlements in the Caribbean to include Central America, most of South America, Mexico, what toda...
 conflict between Native American (Indian) communities and Spanish colonists arose. At the same time conflicts appeared between the colonists and the Crown. The laws also incorporated the ban against "New Christians"
Limpieza de sangre

Limpieza de sangre , Limpeza de sangue , both meaning "cleanliness of ancestry" played an important role in Modern Age Iberian peninsula history....
 on settling in the Americas.

Two of the main sets of laws issued in the sixteenth century regulated Spanish contact with Indians, an issue about which the crown quickly became concerned soon after Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was a Republic of Genoa navigator, colonialist and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean?funded by Queen Isabella of Spain?led to general European awareness of the America in the Western Hemisphere....
's first voyages. The Laws of Burgos (1512), signed by King Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand II of Aragon

Ferdinand the Catholic was king of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia , Sardinia and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, de jure uxoris King of Crown of Castile and then Regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of his mentally unstable daughter Joanna the Mad....
, focused upon the welfare of the conquered Native Americans. The issue was revisited after Bartolome de las Casas
Bartolomé de Las Casas

File:Bartolomedelascasas.jpgBartolom? de las Casas, Dominican Order , was a 16th-century Spanish Empire Dominican Order priest, and the first resident Bishop of Chiapas....
 brought attention to abuses being carried out by encomenderos
Encomienda

The encomienda system is a trusteeship labor system that was employed by the Spanish crown during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The etymology of encomienda and encomendero lies in the Spanish verb encomendar, "to entrust"......
. The Laws of Burgos were revised by the New Laws of 1542
New Laws

The New Laws of 1542 , also known as the "New Laws of the Indies for the Good Treatment and Presevation of the Indians" were created to prevent the exploitation of the indigenous people by the Encomienda, or landowners, by strictly limiting their power, during the Spanish colonization of the Americas....
 issued by Charles I and quickly revised again in 1552, after the laws met resistance from colonists. These were then followed by the Ordinances Concerning Discoveries in 1573, which forbade any unauthorized operations against independent Native Americans..

To guide and regularize the establishment of presidio
Presidio

was a fortified base established by the Spain in North America during the 16th century to protect against pirates, or a base held by Spain in the 16th and 17th centuries in Italy, mostly on the Tuscan coast ....
s (military towns), missions, and pueblos (civilian towns), King Phillip II developed the first version of the Laws of the Indies, a comprehensive guide comprising of 148 ordinances to aid colonists in locating, building, and populating settlements. They codified the city planning process and represented some of the first attempts at a general plan. Signed in 1573, the Laws of the Indies are seen as the first wide-ranging guidelines towards design and development of communities. These laws were heavily influenced by Vitruvius
Vitruvius

File:Vitruvius.jpgMarcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Ancient Rome writer, architect and engineer , active in the 1st century BC. By his own description Vitruvius served as a Ballista , the third class of arms in the military offices....
' Ten Books of Architecture and Alberti
Alberti

Alberti may refer to:In places:* Alberti Partido, a partido of Buenos Aires Province, ArgentinaPeople with the surname Alberti:...
's treatises on the subject.

After some of the northern Spanish colonies became a part of the United States, the Laws of the Indies were influential in the creation of regulations that guided the development in the United States, particularly the Land Ordinance of 1785
Land Ordinance of 1785

The Land Ordinance of 1785 was adopted by the Congress of the Confederation on May 20, 1785. Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress did not have the power to raise revenue by direct taxation of the inhabitants of the United States....
, which introduced township
Township

A township is a settlement which has the status and powers of a unit of local government. Specific use of the term to describe political subdivisions has varied by country....
s and section
Section (United States land surveying)

In Public Land Survey System, a section is an area nominally one mile square, containing 640 acres . Nominally, 36 sections make up a survey township on a rectangular grid....
s as organizing devices..

About the Laws


In Book IV of the 1680 compilation of The Laws of the Indies, plans were set forth for settlers in high detail on every facet of creating a community. Examples of the diverse range of rules include:

  • Those [Colonists] who should want to make a commitment to building a new settlement in the form and manner already prescribed, be it of more or less than 30 neighbors, (know that) it should be of no less than twelve persons and be awarded the authorization and territory in accordance with the prescribed conditions.
  • Having made the selection of the site where the town is to be built, it must, as already stated, be in an elevated and healthy location; [be] with means of fortification; [have] fertile soil and with plenty of land for farming and pasturage; have fuel, timber, and resources; [have] fresh water, a native population, ease of transport, access and exit; [and be] open to the north wind
    North wind

    A north wind is a wind that originates in the north and blows south....
    ; and, if on the coast, due consideration should be paid to the quality of the harbor and that the sea does not lie to the south or west; and if possible not near lagoons or marshes in which poisonous animals and polluted air and water breed.
  • They [Colonists] shall try as far as possible to have the buildings all of one type for the sake of the beauty of the town.
  • Within the town, a commons shall be delimited, large enough that although the population may experience a rapid expansion, there will always be sufficient space where the people may go to for recreation and take their cattle to pasture without them making any damage.
  • The site and building lots for slaughter houses, fisheries, tanneries, and other business which produce filth shall be so placed that the filth can easily be disposed of.


These regulations are included in a body of 143 others (totaling 148) configuring any settlement according to the rule of Spain and its colonies. This continued as a precedent in all towns of Spanish control until the relinquishing of the land to others, as in the case of the American colonies and their growth; however, the Laws of the Indies still serve as an example to design guidelines for communities today.

Examples of cities implemented with The Laws


  • Santa Fe, New Mexico
    Santa Fe, New Mexico

    Santa Fe is the Capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the List of cities in New Mexico and is the county seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 62,203 at the United States Census, 2000; the estimate for July 1, 2006, is 72,056....
  • Álamos
    Alamos

    The name ?lamos can refer to the following:*?lamos, Guanajuato*?lamos, Sonora*Alamos, the band*The plural form of The Alamo...
    , Mexico
  • Albuquerque, New Mexico
  • Tucson, Arizona
    Tucson, Arizona

    Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, Arizona, United States, located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix, Arizona and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border....
  • Fernandina, Florida (1811)
  • Laredo, Texas
    Laredo, Texas

    Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico....
     (1767)


Sources

  • Spain/Council of the Indies and Juan Manzano Manzano. Recopilación de leyes de los reynos de las Indias. 4 vols. Madrid: Ediciones Cultura Hispánica, 1973 [1681] ISBN 9788472322042
  • Spain/Council of the Indies. Recopilación de leyes de los reynos de las Indias, 1681. 5 vols. Mexico: M. A. Porrúa, 1987. ISBN 9789688420911
  • Spain/Council of the Indies. Recopilación de leyes de los reynos de las Indias. 3 vols. Madrid: Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitutionales: Boletín Oficial del Estado, 1998 [1681]. ISBN 9788434010406
  • Tyler, S. Lyman. The Indian Cause in the Spanish Laws of the Indies: With an Introduction and the First English Translation of Book VI, Concerning the Indians, from the Recopilación de leyes de los reinos de las Indias, Madrid, 1681. Salt Lake City: American West Center, University of Utah, 1980.
  • Tyler, S. Lyman. Spanish Laws Concerning Discoveries, Pacifications, and Settlements among the Indians: With an Introduction and the First English Translation of the New Ordinances of Philip II, July 1573, and of Book IV of the Recopilación de leyes de los reinos de las Indias, Relating to these Subjects. Salt Lake City: American West Center, University of Utah, 1980.


External links

Spanish language
Spanish language

Spanish or Castilian is a Romance languages that originated in northern Spain, and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile and evolved into the principal language of government and trade....
, PDF
Portable Document Format

Portable Document Format is a file format created by Adobe Systems in 1993 for document exchange. PDF is used for representing two-dimensional documents in a manner independent of the application software, hardware, and operating system....
, facsimile version of the compilation on site of the Congress of the Republic of Peru
Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
.

See also

  • Laws of Burgos
  • New Laws
    New Laws

    The New Laws of 1542 , also known as the "New Laws of the Indies for the Good Treatment and Presevation of the Indians" were created to prevent the exploitation of the indigenous people by the Encomienda, or landowners, by strictly limiting their power, during the Spanish colonization of the Americas....
  • Urban planning
    Urban planning

    Urban, city, and town planning is the integration of the disciplines of land use planning and transport planning, to explore a very wide range of aspects of the built and social environments of urbanized municipalities and communities....