TRATADO DE LA IMPORTANCIA Y UTILIDAD QUE AY EN DAR POR ESCLAVOS A LOS INDIOS REBELADOS DE CHILE. DISPUTASE EN EL, SI ES LICITO, O NO EL DAR LOS POR ESCLAVOS: Y PONENSE RAZONES POR AMBAS PARTES, Y SUS RESPUESTAS: DEXANDO LA DETERMINACION A LOS SEÑORES VISOREY, Y AUDIENCIA DE LA CIUDAD DE LOS REYES

Calderón, Melchor

Published by [N.p., but likely Madrid, 1601

[2],24pp. Folio. Dbd. Dampstained and soiled, top and bottom edges worn. Worm holes throughout, affecting a few words on each page. Contemporary underlining and marginal lines throughout, contemporary handwritten folio numbers on each recto. Still a good copy. In a half morocco and cloth box. An extremely rare treatise which considers the question of whether rebellious Indians in Chile should become slaves. Addressed to the Viceroy and Audiencia of Peru, the work discusses whether slavery of conquered Indians is just or not, reviewing arguments on both sides of the question. Calderón approaches the problem in an intriguing manner by providing separate justifications, each in its own individual section of the text, for enslaving the Indians from the various points of view of the King, the Kingdom, and the Church. In turn, the author then provides responses to these various assertions, promoting the view that such slavery would be unjust. The last pages of the text consist of final responses and commentary. Calderón, the Canon of the Cathedral of Santiago, also served as Commissar of the Holy Office and the Holy Cross, and the General Vicar of the Bishopric of Santiago. He addresses the TRATADO. to the Viceroy of Peru, as well as numerous representatives of the royal government and the Catholic Church who have convened to consider strategies for waging war against the Araucanian Indians of Southern Chile. The campaign to conquer these Indians was one of the most difficult and drawn-out conflicts between Europeans and American Indians in the colonial period, lasting from the mid-16th to the mid-17th centuries. The appearance of this treatise followed a particularly harsh setback for the Spanish in 1598 when "a general insurrection forced the Spaniards to evacuate all the territory to the south of the river Bio-Bio. The epilogue to this story is symbolic: Governor Martin García de Loyola, husband of Princess Beatriz and former conqueror of Tupac Amaru, was put to death, and his head was paraded on the tip of an Araucanian pike" (CAMBRIDGE HISTORY OF LATIN AMERICA). In looking toward an end to hostilities with the Indians, the author hopes that the Viceroy and the Audiencia Real will be able to answer his query quickly. In order to assist these officials in considering these issues, he presents the various arguments in as orderly a fashion as possible. Arguments justifying slavery of the native populations include the principle that military victors who have not been compensated otherwise should receive the economic reward of possessing slaves. This is particularly true, it is noted, given the violent transgressions that the Indians have committed. It is also noted that as slaves, the Indians are able to be instructed in the Christian faith. In contesting the justifications for enslaving the Indians, the author notes the difficulty of differentiating those natives who were fighting the Spanish and those who did not engage in conflict. Calderón adds that many Indians have shown obedience to the crown and the church, have ridden themselves of their old tribal leaders, and have suffered greatly during the conflict with the Spanish. A fascinating work documenting both sides of the debate in the early 17th century concerning the legitimacy of enslaving conquered native populations. Extremely rare. OCLC records only two copies, at the Bancroft Library and at the National Library of Chile. Recognizing both the rarity and significance of the text, Medina provides a transcription of the entire work in his BIBLIOTECA HISPANO-CHILENA. MEDINA, BHC 195. PALAU 39732. OCLC 55243154, 15286831. CAMBRIDGE HISTORY OF LATIN AMERICA I, pp.244- 45 (Araucanian-Spanish conflict). Seller Inventory # WRCAM36796

Bibliographic Details

Title: TRATADO DE LA IMPORTANCIA Y UTILIDAD QUE AY ...
Publisher: [N.p., but likely Madrid
Publication Date: 1601