Francisco Vitoria was the earliest and arguably the most important of the Thomist political philosophers of the Counter-Reformation. Not only did he write important essays on civil and ecclesiastical power, but he became celebrated for his defence of the new world Indians against the imperialism of his own master, the King of Spain. Vitoria's political works are thus of great importance for an understanding both of the rise of modern absolutism, and the debate about the emergent imperialism of the European powers. His works are also unusually accessible, since they survive mainly in the form of 'relectiones', or summaries delivered at the end of his lecture courses on law and theology at the University of Salamanca. Translated here into English for the first time, these texts comprise the core of Vitoria's thought, and will be of interest to specialists in political theory and the history of ideas, ecclesiastical history, and the history of early modern Spain. A comprehensive introduction, a chronology, and a bibliography accompany the texts.
Study of Vitoria by a leading figure in twentieth-century international law. Originally published: Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1934. 19a, 288, [6], clviii pp. Francisco de Vitoria [c.1483-1546] was a founder of international law. Scott holds that Vitoria's doctrines, popularized in his important Reflectiones, De Indis Noviter Inventis and De Jure Belli (the text of these are included in the appendix), are in fact the first works to address the law of nations, which was to become the international law of Christendom and the world at large. Vitoria held that pagans were entitled to freedom and property, declared slavery to be unsound and upheld the rights of Indians. He also questioned the legitimacy of Spain's recent conquest of the New World. This was the source of his thesis that the community of nations transcends Christendom. One of the greatest figures in modern international law, James Brown Scott [1866-1943] was the guiding force behind the American Society of International Law, and was editor-in-chief of the American Journal of International Law. He played a key role in several important diplomatic conferences and was secretary of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. His books include The American Institute of International Law: Its Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Nations (1916), The Catholic Conception of International Law (1934) and Law, The State and the International Community (1939).
Francisco Vitoria was the earliest and arguably the most important of the Thomist philosophers of the counter-Reformation. His works are of great importance for an understanding of both the rise of modern absolutism, and the debate about the emergent imperialism of the European powers, and are unusually accessible since they survive in the form of summaries of his lecture courses on law and theology. Translated here into English for the first time, these texts comprise the core of Vitoria's thought, and are accompanied by a comprehensive introduction, chronology, and bibliography.
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