Justification of the war against the indians in Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda

Abstract

In this article, after a brief introduction on several aspects related to the war in the XVI century, and an outline on different theories concerning the same issue, we present the intellectual history of the humanist doctor Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda in his defense of Charles V’s American bellicist policy, along the following works: Exhortación a la Guerra contra el turco, Demócratas Primero, Del Reino y Demócratas Segundo o De las Justas causas de la Guerra contra los indios. The conclusion includes an analysis de the arguments used by the author in the light of contemporary political theory, relative to the policy of interventionism.