The Laws of the Indies (Leyes de Indias in Spanish) are a set of guidelines signed by King Phillip II of Spain to instruct Spanish colonists on how to create and expand towns in Spanish America. Philip II (Felipe II de España Filipe I ( May 21, 1527 &ndash September 13 1598) was King of Spain from 1556 until 1598 The Spanish colonization of the Americas was Spain 's conquest settlement and rule over much of the Western hemisphere. They codified the city planning process and represented some of the first attempts at a general plan. The last revision of the growing text was signed in 1573 and published in 1681 with the addition of the design guidelines for colonists. These laws were heavily influenced by Vitruvius' Ten Books of Architecture and Alberti's treatises on the subject. Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (born c 80–70 BC died after c 15 BC was a Roman Writer, Architect and Engineer (possibly praefectus fabrum

Contents 1 History 2 About the Laws 3 Examples of cities implemented with The Laws 4 References 5 See also

History

With the often violent Spanish conquest of the New World conflict between Native American (Indian) communities and Spanish colonists arose. At the same time conflicts appeared between the colonists and the Crown. To guide and regularize the establishment of presidios (military towns), missions, and pueblos (civilian towns), King Phillip II developed the Laws of the Indies, a comprehensive guide comprising of 148 ordinances to aid colonists in locating, building, and populating settlements. Pueblos are traditional communities of Native Americans in the southwestern United States of America. Signed in 1573, the Laws of the Indies are seen as the first wide-ranging guidelines towards design and development of communities. It also incorporated the ban against "New Christians"^[1] on settling in the Americas. Limpieza de sangre is also a novel in the Captain Alatriste series by Arturo Pérez-Reverte.

The Laws of the Indies are the accretion of a various laws issued to regulate Spanish contact with Indians. The Laws of Burgos (1512), signed by King Ferdinand II of Aragon, focused upon the welfare of the conquered Native Americans. The document known as the Leyes de Burgos ( Laws of Burgos) was promulgated on December 27, 1512 in Burgos, Ferdinand II of Aragon the Catholic (Fernando II de Aragón y V de Castilla "el Católico" Ferran II d'Aragó "el Catòlic" Ferrando II d'Aragón These were revised by the New Laws of 1542 issued by Charles I and quickly revised againin 1552, after the laws met resistance from colonists, followed by the Ordinances Concerning Discoveries in 1573, which forbade any unauthorized operations against independent Native Americans. The New Laws (or Leyes Nuevas in Spanish) of 1542 were created to prevent the exploitation of the indigenous people by the encomenderos Charles V (24 February 1500 &ndash 21 September 1558 was ^[2]. In 1680 Charles II ordered all of the laws concerning the Indies to be recompiled and issued again in the Recopilación de Leyes de Indias, which became known as the classic collection of the laws, despite the fact that later laws were issued. Charles II ( November 6 1661, Madrid – November 1 1700, Madrid was the last Habsburg King of Spain and the

After some of the northern Spanish colonies became a part of the United States, the Laws of the Indies were influential in the creation of regulations that guided the development in the United States, particularly the Land Ordinance of 1785, which introduced townships and sections as organizing devices. The Land Ordinance of 1785 was adopted by the United States Congress on May 20, 1785. A township (or Municipality) is a settlement which has the status and powers of a unit of local government In US land surveying, a section is an area nominally one Mile square containing 640 Acres (2 ^[3].

About the Laws

In the final edition of The Laws of the Indies, plans were set forth for settlers in high detail on every facet of creating a community. Examples of the diverse range of rules include:

• Those [Colonists] who should want to make a commitment to building a new settlement in the form and manner already prescribed, be it of more or less than 30 neighbors, (know that) it should be of no less than twelve persons and be awarded the authorization and territory in accordance with the prescribed conditions.
• Having made the selection of the site where the town is to be built, it must, as already stated, be in an elevated and healthy location; [be] with means of fortification; [have] fertile soil and with plenty of land for farming and pasturage; have fuel, timber, and resources; [have] fresh water, a native population, ease of transport, access and exit; [and be] open to the north wind; and, if on the coast, due consideration should be paid to the quality of the harbor and that the sea does not lie to the south or west; and if possible not near lagoons or marshes in which poisonous animals and polluted air and water breed. A north wind is a Wind that originates in the North and blows South.
• They [Colonists] shall try as far as possible to have the buildings all of one type for the sake of the beauty of the town.
• Within the town, a commons shall be delimited, large enough that although the population may experience a rapid expansion, there will always be sufficient space where the people may go to for recreation and take their cattle to pasture without them making any damage. Common land (a common) is a piece of land owned by one person but over which other people can exercise certain traditional rights such as allowing their livestock to graze
• The site and building lots for slaughter houses, fisheries, tanneries, and other business which produce filth shall be so placed that the filth can easily be disposed of.

These regulations are included in a body of 143 others (totaling 148) configuring any settlement according to the rule of Spain and its colonies. This continued as a precedent in all towns of Spanish control until the relinquishing of the land to others, as in the case of the American colonies and their growth; however, the Laws of the Indies still serve as an example to design guidelines for communities today.

Examples of cities implemented with The Laws

• Santa Fe, New Mexico^[4]
• Álamos, Mexico
• Albuquerque, New Mexico
• Tucson, Arizona
• Fernandina, Florida (1811)
• Laredo, Texas (1767)

References

See also

• Laws of Burgos
• New Laws
• Urban planning

The document known as the Leyes de Burgos ( Laws of Burgos) was promulgated on December 27, 1512 in Burgos, The New Laws (or Leyes Nuevas in Spanish) of 1542 were created to prevent the exploitation of the indigenous people by the encomenderos

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