Empire, Sovereignty, And Justice In Francisco De Vitoria’s International Thought: A Re-interpretation Of De Indis (1532)

Resumen

This article attempts to offer an alternative interpretation of Francisco de
Vitoria’s international thought. Much of the literature on his De Indis (1532) characterizes
his view of international order as one that either opposed of justifi ed Spanish imperialism
in the New World. As against such conventional interpretations, I argue that this text is not
fundamentally about the condemnation or justifi cation of empire but, more importantly,
a broad view of order that limits the exercise of state power and the recourse to war.
Furthermore, it constructs a clear notion of sovereignty and international relations applicable
to political communities based on an iusnaturalistic conceptualization of law and politics in
the Spanish Renaissance.