THE STORY: Imagine a time when the Catholic Church had the right to determine whether or not you were human. In a sixteenth-century Spanish monastery, the fate of millions of American natives from an ocean away hangs precariously in the balance. TH

This Companion aims to give an up-to-date overview of the historical context and the conceptual framework of Spanish imperial expansion during the early modern period, mostly during the 16th century. It intends to offer a nuanced and balanced account of the complexities of this historically controversial period analyzing first its historical underpinnings, then shedding light on the normative language behind imperial theorizing and finally discussing issues that arose with the experience of the conquest of American polities, such as colonialism, slavery or utopia. The aim of this volume is to uncover the structural and normative elements of the theological, legal and philosophical arguments about Spanish imperial ambitions in the early modern period. Contributors are Manuel Herrero Sánchez, José Luis Egío, Christiane Birr, Miguel Anxo Pena González, Tamar Herzog, Merio Scattola, Virpi Mäkinen, Wim Decock, Christian Schäfer, Francisco Castilla Urbano, Daniel Schwartz, Felipe Castañeda, José Luis Ramos Gorostiza, Luis Perdices de Blas, Beatriz Fernández Herrero.

Examines early modern Spanish contributions to international relations by focusing on ambivalence of natural rights in European colonial expansion to the Americas.

This introduction to human dignity explores the history of the notion from antiquity to the nineteenth century, and the way in which dignity is conceptualised in non-Western contexts. Building on this, it addresses a range of systematic conceptualisations, considers the theoretical and legal conditions for human dignity as a useful notion and analyses a number of philosophical and conceptual approaches to dignity. Finally, the book introduces current debates, paying particular attention to the legal implementation, human rights, justice and conflicts, medicine and bioethics, and provides an explicit systematic framework for discussing human dignity. Adopting a wide range of perspectives and taking into account numerous cultures and contexts, this handbook is a valuable resource for students, scholars and professionals working in philosophy, law, history and theology.

A Spanish friar documents the brutal treatment of Caribbean natives at the hands of colonial authorities in the sixteenth century. After traveling to the New World, Dominican friar Bartolomé de Las Casas witnessed conquistadors wreak unimaginable horrors upon the Indigenous people of the Caribbean. He later dedicated his life to fighting for their protection. Following numerous failed attempts to reason with authorities in Spain, he chose to document everything he had seen over a span of fifty years and to give it to Spain’s Prince Philip II. In A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Las Casas catalogues the atrocities he observed the Spanish colonial authorities inflict upon the native people. He discusses the brutal torture, mass genocide, and enslavement. He passionately pleas for an end to this treatment and for the native peoples to be given basic human rights.

Explores the impact the discovery of the New World had upon Europeans' perceptions of their identity and place in history