The Valladolid Debate

The treatment of the native population in our colonies has become the subject of great debate among the our culture intellectuals. A priest named Bartolomé de las Casas have made himself the spokesman of the natives and demand that we recognize their free will to receive Christ rather than force them into slavery and compelled conversions. The discussion has been going on for some time in various publications and has now culminated in a great debate being held in Valladolid at the request of our ruler.\nLas Casas main opponent, Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, argues that the natives are naturally disposed towards slavery and that this is the only sure way to get them to stop their barbaric customs of cannibalism and human sacrifice in order to make them convert to the true faith.