Sublimus Dei and New Laws
Las Casas eventually reemerged as a public intellectual, engaging in debates and public discussions. In 1536, along with several other Dominican friars, he participated in a debate with a group of Fransiscans on the nature of conversion in the Indies. The debate led to a Papal Bull known as the “Sublimus Dei.” Signed by Pope Paul III, it recognized that Indians were sensible beings and deserved to be converted in a respectable, non-coercive way. Though this did represent a moral victory for Las Casas and the Dominicans, it was opposed by the Emperor Charles V, and therefore not enforced in the Indies. Discouraged but not defeated, Las Casas continued to appeal to Charles V to take action. He argued that the encomienda system had to be abolished and Indian slavery needed to be outlawed. Eventually, Charles succumbed to Las Casas’ perseverance, and passed the New Laws. These decrees abolished Indian slavery and instituted a plan to eliminate the encomienda. Again, however, the reforms were wildly unpopular in the Indies and only marginally enforced.