The Dawn of Human Rights : the Origins of the Debate about Human Rights in Spanish Late Scholasticism
Abstract
The origins of the modern concept of human rights are most frequently linked with the Enlightenment. However, one of the first discussions concerning the ‘rights of human beings’ can be found at the outset of the modern period, in the context of the so-called Spanish Late Scholastic period, and in connection with ethical reflection on the colonization of the New World.
The most notable participants in this discussion were Francisco de Vitoria, OP (1483–1546) and Bartolomé de Las Casas, OP (1484–1566). This essay will examine their views on human rights, which are of significance to the history of ideas.
It will conclude by pointing to the manner in which this human rights debate, which emerged from the occupation of territories in the New World, came to influence the human rights debate in the Enlightenment