Editing New Laws (section)

==Origins==
The New Laws were the results of a reform movement in reaction to what were considered to be the less effective, decades-old ''[[Leyes de Burgos]]'' (Laws of Burgos), issued by King [[Ferdinand II of Aragon]] on December 27, 1512.<ref>{{Citation |title=The New Laws |date=2012 |work=Bartolomé de las Casas: A Biography |pages=270–284 |editor-last=Clayton |editor-first=Lawrence A. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/bartolome-de-las-casas/new-laws/71F9F9D9FAC6C109939340CDD0CD6558 |access-date=2025-02-08 |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-00121-3}}</ref> These laws were the first intended to regulate relations between the Spanish and the recently conquered indigenous peoples of the New World. These are regarded as the first [[humanitarian]] laws in the New World. They were not fully implemented because of opposition by powerful colonists.

While some encomenderos opposed the restrictions imposed by the laws as against their interests, others were opposed because they believed the laws institutionalized the system of forced Indian labor. During the reign of King Charles I, the reformers gained strength. A number of Spanish missionaries argued for stricter rules, including [[Bartolomé de las Casas]] and [[Francisco de Vitoria]]. Their goal was to protect the Indians against forced labor and expropriation, and to preserve their cultures. Some discussions challenged the very legitimacy of the conquest and colonization.

Eventually, the reformists influenced the King and his court to pass reforms that came to be known as the '''New Laws'''.