Bartolomé de Las Casas: Apologia gentium novi orbis. Verteidigung der Völker der Neuen Welt

Between 1550–1553 Bartolomé de Las Casas (1484–1566) wrote his work ›Apologia gentium novi orbis‹ (›Defence of the Indigenous Peoples‹). In his »Apology«, Las Casas presents a comprehensive defense of the indigenous peoples by arguing against the representatives of the Spanish colonial policy of his time. In particular, he contradicts Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda’s arguments for the wars of conquest in the New World by aggressively defending the dignity and logic of indigenous cultures. Las Casas read his »Apology« in a first version during the »Valladolid Disputation« of 1550/51. The »Apology« culminates in a manifesto of the unity of the human race. Such an image of man is the basis for a world order intended today, which grants all people and cultures the same rank, the same dignity and the same rights.