Author

Francisco de Vitoria

About Francisco de Vitoria

Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546) was a Spanish Dominican friar and theologian. Educated in Paris, he held the chief chair of theology at the University of Salamanca from 1526 until his death and founded the School of Salamanca. His lectures on the rights of the native peoples and on just war made him a founder of international law.

On this site

On the American Indians (De Indis)

1539 (lecture); printed 1557 · Renaissance Early Modern · Political Theory

On the American Indians (De Indis) is a public lecture, or relection, given by the Dominican theologian Francisco de Vitoria at the University of Salamanca in January 1539. It asks by what right the Spanish had taken possession of the lands and peoples of the Americas.