The Theory of Rights of Bartolomé de Las Casas: A dialogue between Las Casas and Locke as forerunners of human rights

Bartolomé de Las Casas (1484-1566) has been described as a “forerunner” of a distinctly Latin American tradition of human rights, but little attention has been paid to the particular features of his theory of rights which are said to have inaugurated this tradition. To draw out the distinctiveness of his political theory, I offer a novel in-depth comparison between Las Casas and his Anglo-American counterpart from the early-modern period, John Locke. By means of this comparison, I identify several distinguishing features of Las Casas’ theory of rights, such as his alternative to the Lockean understanding of property rights, his emphasis on rights of conscience as foundational for all others, and his concern for truth-telling and documenting injustices to foster a society that respects the rights of individuals. An original argument I advance in my dissertation is that Las Casas’ relationship with the natural law tradition was more complex than has been recognized. I venture that Las Casas was aware of the extent to which he departed from elements of natural law, through the parallels which he invites the reader to make between himself and Christopher Columbus, to whom Las Casas was closely connected. Through his theory of “evangelical rights,” I argue that Las Casas’ pioneered a new kind of law, centred on evangelism, which served as the foundation of his defense of Indigenous peoples.

Department dc:contributor.department

Political Science

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Gates, Logan

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Orwin, Clifford

• colonialism
• human rights
• Latin America

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1807/145141

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:utoronto.scholaris.ca:1807/145141