Portal de Turismo de Castilla y León

Dates

9 February to 27 February 2026

When?

Currently

Link

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From February 9 to 27, in the library's entrance hall.

In August 1550, the classrooms of the College of San Gregorio in Valladolid became the intellectual epicenter of the world. By order of Charles V, the conquests in America were halted to debate an unprecedented moral question: Is it lawful to wage war against the indigenous peoples in order to evangelize them?

The controversy at that time pitted two opposing views against each other:

• Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda: The humanist who, based on Aristotle, defended "just war." He maintained that Spain's cultural superiority justified the subjugation of the indigenous people for their own good and to eradicate "idolatry."
• Bartolomé de las Casas : The Dominican friar who denounced the abuses of the conquest. He argued that the indigenous people had souls, full property rights, and that the only path to evangelization was through peace and reason.

Although there was no official "winner," Valladolid marked a milestone: for the first time in history, an empire halted its expansion to question the ethics of its own actions. Today, this debate is considered the precursor to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Following the lecture that Professor Oscar Ramos will give on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, at the Public Library of Leon, entitled "The Valladolid Controversy and the Birth of Human Rights (1550-1551)"; this center wants to show its users some titles that allow us to follow, through the bibliographic path, the beginnings, development and consequences of this dispute.