Requerimiento

Explanation and Analysis of the Document

The Requerimiento is written in the second person, as addressed to the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It lays out what the Spanish believed to be the legal and spiritual foundations of Spanish claims to the Americas. It urges the Amerindians to submit themselves to Spanish rule and to convert to Catholicism. It threatens the people with war and conquest if they do not submit.

Paragraphs 1–3

The first paragraph announces that the source of the declaration is King Ferdinand, or Don Fernando, and his daughter, Doña Juana. The latter became queen of Castile (spelled “Castille” in the document) and León in 1504 after the death of Isabella, and later she would become queen of Aragon (as well as the mother of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V). She is often referred to by the Latin form of her name, Joanna, and she acquired the sobriquet Joanna the Mad (Juana la Loca) because of her obsession with her husband. The paragraph refers to the monarchs as “subduers of the barbarous nations” and begins to make the argument justifying this view, noting that God created heaven and earth as well as Adam and Eve, the progenitors of the whole human race. Over time, a “multitude” sprang from Adam and Eve, requiring the establishment of kingdoms and provinces because all the world's people could not be “sustained” in a single entity.

Paragraph 2 makes reference to the Catholic doctrine of apostolic succession. In the New Testament, Christ says to his apostle Peter that he is the “rock” on which Christ's church will be built (in fact, the name Peter means “rock”). Peter, then, is generally regarded as the first pope of the Catholic Church, and his successors hold their authority over the church as part of a line of succession from Christ through Saint Peter. Peter and his successors were given dominion over the human race, regardless of “law, sect, or belief.”

The third paragraph develops the argument of apostolic succession. As would be the case with his successors, Peter had his seat in Rome, but God “permitted him to have his seat in any other part of the world, and to judge and govern all Christians, Moors, Jews, Gentiles, and all other sects.” The document then informs listeners that this person is called “Pope,” a word analogous to “Great Father.” This line of popes who govern the universe “will continue till the end of the world.”

Paragraphs 4 and 5

Paragraph 4 makes the claim that one of Saint Peter's successors—Pope Alexander VI—donated “these isles and Tierra-firme” to the king and queen of Spain. “Tierra-firme,” meaning “solid ground,” is derived from the Latin terra firma and at the time referred to land around the Isthmus of Panama, which was under a grant dating to 1509. Already by this time, a number of provinces had been created in the region, and “Tierra-firme” referred specifically to the province on the westernmost portion of Honduras. Later, the term would be used to encompass a number of other islands and provinces, including Panama, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and various islands now under the control of Columbia. The paragraph goes on to make the rather absurd suggestion that if they wish, the Amerindians can examine the documents—written in Latin—granting these territories to Spain. The word “donation” is used, alluding to the papal bulls that gave Spain dominion over the New World, which collectively have been called the “Bulls of Donation.”

In paragraph 5 the claim is made that numerous peoples in the New World have voluntarily submitted themselves to Spanish rule and have converted to Catholicism. They have done so “in the way that subjects ought to do, with good will, without any resistance, immediately, without delay.” The monarchs have “joyfully and benignantly received them” as subjects and vassals, and the people have willingly listened to the monarchs' priests, who have come to preach the “Holy Faith.” The document then requires the listeners to do the same: to acknowledge the supremacy of the Catholic Church, to recognize the Spanish monarchs as lords and superiors, and to submit to the monarchs' emissaries.

Paragraphs 6 and 7

The remainder of the Requerimiento presents the listeners with two alternatives. One is to submit. If they do, the Spanish will receive them with “love and charity.” The promise is made that the people will not be reduced to a condition of servitude. The document also makes the somewhat dubious claim that if people submit themselves to the Spanish, they will not be required to convert to Catholicism: “They shall not compel you to turn Christians, unless you yourselves, when informed of the truth, should wish to be converted to our Holy Catholic Faith.” The document points out, though, that nearly everyone else in the isles has already chosen to do so. The paragraph concludes with another dubious claim, that the monarchs will grant the people “privileges,” “exemptions,” and “benefits” if they submit.

The document concludes with threats. If the people do not submit, the Spanish will make war and “subject you to the yoke and obedience of the Church and of their Highnesses.” People will be forced into slavery, and their goods will be seized. At this point the document makes a perplexing legal claim: “We protest that the deaths and losses which shall accrue from this are your fault, and not that of their Highnesses, or ours.” In other words, the accountability for any killings or losses will lie with the Amerindians, not the Spanish—as if to say that the Requerimiento has provided the colonizers with legal justification to perpetrate atrocities on the Amerindians in the name of God and country. The document concludes with the rather absurd request that the listeners bring forward a “notary” to assent in writing to the terms of the Requerimiento.