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This essay argues that the New Laws of 1542 responded both legislatively and narratively to contemporary suspicions that Spanish rule in America constituted a tyranny, which, if true, would invalidate Charles V's exclusive rights of sovereignty and property on the continent. To affirm the legitimacy of Charles's authority, the New Laws showed him exercising good governance: reforming the corrupt Consejo de Indias, expanding the duties of the lackadaisical Audiencias, restricting the privileges of abusive encomenderos, and mandating the good treatment of his Amerindian vassals. The changes that the New Laws prescribe for the councilors', oidores', and encomenderos' behavior tell the story of a righteous monarch defending the public good against the incursions of greedy and faithless subordinates, suggesting that they—not he—are the true authors of tyranny in Spanish America.
Molly Borowitz (Tue,) studied this question.
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