The New Laws of the Indies, or Leyes Nuevas, were reforms issued by King Charles V in 1542 to protect native people in the Americas from exploitation by Spanish colonists in the New World. Influenced in part by Bartolomé de las Casas and other critics of harsh treatment of natives, the laws prohibited the enslavement of natives and tried to restrict the Encomienda System. They also sought to prevent Encomiendas from becoming hereditary. Colonists resisted the reforms, and some provisions were weakened or revoked, but the laws represented an important effort by the Spanish Crown to regulate colonial labor practices.
- Canary Islands
- Casa de Contratación
- Council of the Indies
- Ferdinand and Isabella
- Bartolomé de Las Casas
- Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda
- Spanish Requirement of 1513
- Valladolid Debate (1550–1551)
AP US History Alignment
