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Fichier:Alexander VI - Pinturicchio detail.jpg|Le pape Alexandre VI, fresque dePinturicchio, 1492-1495.
Fichier:Alexander VI - Pinturicchio detail.jpg|Pope Alexander VI, fresco by Pinturicchio, 1492-1495.
Fichier:Christopher_Columbus.PNG|Portrait posthume de Christophe Colomb peint par Sebastiano del Piombo.
Fichier:Christopher_Columbus.PNG|Posthumous portrait of Christopher Columbus painted by Sebastiano del Piombo.
Fichier:Isabel_la_Católica-2.jpg|Isabelle la Catholique.
Fichier:Isabel_la_Católica-2.jpg|Isabella the Catholic.
Fichier:Michiel_Jansz_van_Mierevelt_-_Hugo_Grotius.jpg|Hugo Grotius, Portrait par Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt (1631).
Fichier:Michiel_Jansz_van_Mierevelt_-_Hugo_Grotius.jpg|Hugo Grotius, Portrait par Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt (1631).
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Il existe globalement trois États qui conditionnent le débat juridique et politique sur la découverte du Nouveau Monde. Traditionnellement, on divise ce troisième mouvement impérial en trois étapes :
Overall, there are three states that condition the legal and political debate on the discovery of the New World. Traditionally, this third imperial movement is divided into three stages:
*1492 – 1530 : le Portugal et l’Espagne vont occuper le maximum de territoires que sont actuellement Saint-Domingue, Cuba, le Mexique et le sud de l’Amérique. C’est l’étape d’une conquête un peu débridée. Il va y avoir tout un débat sur la question des insignes et des drapeaux, les Français, les Néerlandais et les Anglais vont les contester, car c’est celui qui aurait la force qui peut détenir le territoire.  
*1492 - 1530: Portugal and Spain will occupy as many territories as possible, which are currently Santo Domingo, Cuba, Mexico and South America. It is the stage of a somewhat unbridled conquest. There is going to be a whole debate on the question of insignia and flags, the French, Dutch and English will contest them, because it is the one who has the strength to hold the territory.  
*1530 – 1625 : à partir de 1530, il y a une réflexion sur les conséquences politiques et militaires de l’empire.  
*1530 - 1625: from 1530 onwards, there is a reflection on the political and military consequences of the empire.  
*1625 – 1960/70 : cette période va durer jusqu’en 1625 où commence la nouvelle réflexion sur l’idée d’empire parce que sort un livre majeur en droit international public, De jure belli ac pacis de Grotius qui ouvre la nouvelle réflexion sur l’idée d’empire européen. Le moment grotien ne s’achèvera que relativement récemment. On trouvera des arguments des Grotius jusqu’à dans certains traités de droit international public dans les années 1960 et 1970.  
*1625 - 1960/70: this period lasts until 1625 when the new reflection on the idea of empire begins, because a major book on public international law, De jure belli ac pacis by Grotius, is published, which opens the new reflection on the idea of European empire. The Grotian moment will only come to an end relatively recently. Arguments from the Grotius to certain treaties of public international law can be found in the 1960s and 1970s.  


{{Translations
{{Translations
| fr = Les problèmes juridico-politiques de la conquête I
| fr = Les problèmes juridico-politiques de la conquête I
| es =  
| es = Los problemas legales y políticos de la conquista I
}}  
}}  


= Le débat juridique et politique sur la découverte du Nouveau Monde =
= The legal and political debate on the discovery of the New World =
À partir de 1530, on réfléchit en Europe à une série de questions théoriques. Un empire peut-il se constituer sur une conquête, sur une acquisition territoriale ? Ce débat émerge en Espagne à partir de 1530 à travers toute une série d’écrits sur le statut et la légitimité de l’occupation espagnole. Entre 1594 et 1530, on ne s’intéresse pas au statut des Indiens. Le débat sur la nature des Amérindiens dans une réflexion sur l’empire émerge et émergera en Espagne parce que l’Espagne avec le Portugal sont les grands Premiers empires européens qui naissent en parallèle au [[L’héritage occidental de Rome : le Saint Empire romain germanique|Saint Empire romain germanique]].


Si on répond à la question de savoir si ce sont des hommes, on répond à la question de savoir s’ils ont des droits et notamment le droit de propriété. Cette réflexion se fait dans trois directions. Trois textes répondent à la question du statut des Amérindiens. Sepulveda n’avait fait qu’un seul voyage tandis que La Casas avait vécu parmi les Indiens. Dans ses mémoires, Las Casas a fait œuvre de juriste, mais aussi d’anthropologue. Lors de la controverse de la Valladolid, sous la présidence du pape, il fallait déterminer si les Indiens avaient des droits ou pas et verra deux grands théologiens et juristes s’affronter.  
From 1530 onwards, a series of theoretical questions were considered in Europe. Can an empire be built on a conquest, on a territorial acquisition? This debate emerged in Spain from 1530 onwards through a whole series of writings on the status and legitimacy of the Spanish occupation. Between 1594 and 1530, there was no interest in the status of the Indians. The debate on the nature of the Amerindians in a reflection on the empire emerges and will emerge in Spain because Spain with Portugal are the great First European empires that were born in parallel to the [[Rome's Western heritage: the Holy Roman Empire|Holy Roman Empire of Germany]].


[[Fichier:Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda.jpg|thumb|Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda]]
If we answer the question of whether they are men, we answer the question of whether they have rights and especially the right of ownership. This reflection takes place in three directions. Three texts answer the question of the status of the Amerindians. Sepulveda had made only one trip while La Casas had lived among the Indians. In his memoirs, Las Casas worked as a jurist, but also as an anthropologist. During the Valladolid controversy, under the presidency of the Pope, it was necessary to determine whether the Indians had rights or not and saw two great theologians and jurists confront each other.  


Le premier texte de Sepulveda est le texte le plus indienophobe de l’époque qui répond au statut des autochtones et des peuples conquis.
[[Fichier:Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda.jpg|thumb|Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda.]]


{{citation bloc|Comparons ces qualités de prudence, de caractère, de maniabilité, de tempérance, d’humanité et de religion (des Espagnols) avec celles de ces hommelets (humunculi), dans lesquels on trouve à peine quelques vestiges d’humanité, qui non seulement manquent de toute culture, mais n’ont même pas l’usage, ni la connaissance de l’alphabet, ni ne conservent de monuments de leur histoire, SI ce n’est quelque vague, obscure et aveugle mémoire de quelques faits consignés dans quelques peintures, qui sont dépourvues de toute loi écrite et n’ont que des institutions et des coutumes barbares. Et à propos de leurs qualités, si l’on s’enquiert de leur tempérance et de leur douceur, qu’y a-t-il à espérer de ces hommes livrés à toutes espèces de passions et qui n’hésitent par pour certains à se nourrir de chair humaine (...) Quant au fait que certains d’entre eux paraissent avoir un certain talent comme en témoigne l’édification de certains ouvrages d’art, cela n’est pas un argument en faveur d’une quelconque prudence humaine, puisque nous voyons certaines bestioles comme les abeilles ou les araignées réaliser ce qu’aucune industrie humaine ne parvient à imiter [...]. Je me suis référé aux coutumes et aux caractères de ces barbares - que dire alors de leur religion impie et des sacrifices odieux qui la caractérisent, puisque vénérant comme des dieux le démon, ils ne croient pas pouvoir les apaiser avec de meilleurs sacrifices qu’en leur offrant des cœurs humains ?}}
The first Sepulveda text is the most indienophobic text of the time, responding to the status of the indigenous and conquered peoples.


Ce texte date de 1547 fut écrit par Sepulveda et traite des justes causes de la guerre contre les Indiens. C’est le premier grand texte de réflexion sur la nature des Amérindiens. C’est un texte représentatif de ceux qui répondront que les Indiens dans le nouvel empire en devenir n’ont pas de droits. Il est possible de diviser ce texte en trois parties.
{{citation bloc|Let us compare these qualities of prudence, character, manageability, temperance, humanity and religion (of the Spaniards) with those of these hommelets (humunculi), in which there are hardly any vestiges of humanity, which not only lack any culture, but are not even used, Neither knowledge of the alphabet, nor do they preserve monuments of their history, IF it is not some vague, obscure and blind memory of a few facts recorded in a few paintings, which are devoid of any written law and have only barbaric institutions and customs. And about their qualities, if one asks about their temperance and gentleness, what can one expect from these men who are given over to all kinds of passions and who, for some of them, do not hesitate to feed on human flesh (...). ) As for the fact that some of them seem to have a certain talent, as shown by the building of certain works of art, this is not an argument in favour of any human prudence, since we see certain creatures such as bees or spiders doing what no human industry manages to imitate [...]. I referred to the customs and characters of these barbarians - what then of their unholy religion and the odious sacrifices that characterise it, since worshipping the devil as gods, they do not believe they can appease them with better sacrifices than by offering them human hearts?}}
*Au fond, ce que Sepulveda nous dit, l’argument central de cette partie est que ces peuples n’ont pas de culture parce que la culture est une culture fondée sur l’écrit, sur l’histoire et sur les lois. En d’autres termes, Sepulveda a une définition européocentriste de la culture. Une civilisation ou une culture ne peut porter ce nom de culture ou de civilisation que si une communauté a des lois écrites, a une histoire, des monuments, un rapport à son passé qui est le même que le « notre ». Ce type d’argument rejaillit aujourd’hui avec l’idée de supériorité de culture sur d’autres. Les référents sont souvent des référents qui renvoient à Sepulveda.  
*Ce ne sont pas des hommes, mais des animaux parce ce sont des hommes qui ne sont pas dotés de raison et livrés à leurs vils passions et parce qu’ils sont livrés à leurs passions sont comme des animaux qui n’ont pas de raison. Il y a une double transition logique : les peuples indiens sont des êtres de passion, les animaux sont des êtres de passion non doués de raison, et donc les Indiens sont des animaux. L’équation entre les Indiens et les animaux est liée à l’absence de raison.
*L’argument du théologien l’emporte sur l’argument du juriste, parce qu’il n’y a qu’une seule culture, un critère permet de distinguer les animaux des hommes et il n’y a qu’une religion qui est la religion chrétienne à laquelle n’adhèrent pas les Indiens.


L’autre réponse est donnée par Las Casas qui est une grande réponse à Sepulveda. Ce texte est publié en 1542.
This text dates from 1547 and was written by Sepulveda and deals with the just causes of the war against the Indians. It is the first great text of reflection on the nature of the Amerindians. It is a text representative of those who would reply that the Indians in the new empire in the making have no rights. It is possible to divide this text into three parts.
* Basically, what Sepulveda tells us, the central argument of this part is that these peoples have no culture because culture is a culture based on the written word, on history and on laws. In other words, Sepulveda has a Eurocentric definition of culture. A civilization or culture can only be called culture or civilization if a community has written laws, has a history, has monuments, has a relationship to its past that is the same as "ours". This type of argument is today reflected in the idea of the superiority of culture over others. The referents are often referents that refer to Sepulveda.
*They are not men, but animals because they are men who are not endowed with reason and given over to their vile passions and because they are given over to their passions are like animals who have no reason. There is a double logical transition: Indian peoples are beings of passion, animals are beings of passion without reason, and therefore Indians are animals. The equation between Indians and animals is linked to the absence of reason.
* The theologian's argument prevails over the jurist's argument, because there is only one culture, there is only one criterion to distinguish animals from men and there is only one religion which is the Christian religion to which the Indians do not adhere.  


{{citation bloc|Les hommes qui habitent ces immenses régions ont un caractère simple, sans malice et sans duplicité ; ils sont soumis et fidèles à leurs maîtres indigènes il, ou aux chrétiens qu’ils sont obligés de servir : patients, tranquilles, pacifiques, incapables d’insubordination et de révolte, de division, de haine ou de vengeance [...]. Ces peuples ont l’intelligence vive, prompte ; ils sont sans préjugés ; de là leur grande docilité à recevoir toutes sortes de doctrines, qu’ils sont d’ailleurs très capables de comprendre ; leurs mœurs sont pures et on les trouve dans d’aussi bonnes et peut-être dans de meilleures dispositions pour embrasser la religion catholique qu’aucune autre nation qui soit au monde [...]}}
The other answer is given by Las Casas, which is a great answer to Sepulveda. This text is published in 1542.


[[Fichier:Bartolomedelascasas.jpg|vignette|Portrait de Bartolomé de las Casas (anonyme, xvie siècle).]]
{{citation bloc|The men who inhabit these immense regions have a simple character, without malice or duplicity; they are submissive and faithful to their native masters or to the Christians they are obliged to serve: patient, quiet, peaceful, incapable of insubordination and revolt, of division, hatred or vengeance [...]. These peoples have a keen, prompt intelligence; they are without prejudice; hence their great docility to receive all kinds of doctrines, which they are moreover very capable of understanding; their morals are pure and they are found in such good and perhaps better dispositions to embrace the Catholic religion than any other nation in the world.... [...]}}


C’est l’exact opposé de Sepulveda. La Casas, dans un texte très indienophile, défend le statut humain des indiens qui ont une capacité à comprendre et à apprendre. En disant que leurs mœurs sont pures, cela répond à Sepulveda qui faisait des Indiens des animaux quelque part par impureté de leurs mœurs. L’argument religieux est invoqué pour justifier sa position faisant des indiens des capables d’embrasser la religion catholique.  
[[Fichier:Bartolomedelascasas.jpg|vignette|Portrait of Bartolomé de las Casas (anonymous, 16th century).]]


La voie médiane est proposée par Vitoria qui publie en 1539 un texte fondateur sur les empires modernes intitulé ''De Indis''. Il est possible de voir la dimension synthétique de ce texte.
It is the exact opposite of Sepulveda. The Casas, in a very Indianophile text, defends the human status of Indians who have the capacity to understand and learn. By saying that their morals are pure, it responds to Sepulveda, who made Indians into animals somewhere because of the impurity of their morals. The religious argument is invoked to justify his position making Indians capable of embracing the Catholic religion.  


{{citation bloc|Car, en toute vérité, ils ne sont pas fous, mais ils possèdent à leur manière l’usage de la raison.
The Middle Way was proposed by Vitoria, who in 1539 published a founding text on modern empires entitled "De Indis". It is possible to see the synthetic dimension of this text.
1. Ils ont, en effet, une certaine organisation dans leurs affaires, puisqu’ils ont des villes où l’ordre règne ; ils connaissent l’institution du mariage ; ils ont des magistrats, des chefs, des lois, des œuvres d’art ; ils font du commerce. Tout cela suppose l’usage de la raison.
2. De même, ils ont une sorte de religion [...]. S’ils paraissent aussi stupides et obtus, je pense que cela vient en très grande partie d’une éducation mauvaise et barbare ; car on voit également chez nous beaucoup de paysans qui diffèrent à peine des animaux [...]. De tout ce qui précède, il résulte donc que, sans aucun doute, ces barbares avaient, tout comme les Chrétiens, un pouvoir véritable, tant public que privé.}}


Pour Vitoria, ce sont des hommes parce qu’ils sont rationnels. La culture amérindienne est certes différente de la culture européenne, mais elle n’est pas si différente que le prétend Sepulveda, de plus ils connaissent l’institution du mariage qui du point de vue juridique et théologique était un signe important de la culture européenne comme une sorte de référent.  
{{citation bloc|For, in all truth, they are not mad, but they possess in their own way the use of reason.
1. For they have a certain organisation in their affairs, since they have cities where order reigns; they know the institution of marriage; they have magistrates, chiefs, laws, works of art; they trade. All this presupposes the use of reason.
2. In the same way, they have a kind of religion [...]. If they seem so stupid and obtuse, I think that this is largely due to a bad and barbaric education; for we also see many peasants who are hardly different from animals [...]. From all the above, it follows that, without doubt, these barbarians had, like the Christians, real power, both public and private.}}


Dans la deuxième partie surgissent deux éléments importants. Ce ne sont pas des animaux parce qu’ils sont doués de raison. Ce sont des hommes qui ont tant un pouvoir public que privé, en d’autres termes, ils ont des droits. Cette affirmation fera de Vitoria un défenseur du droit de propriété des peuples indigènes.
For Vitoria, they are men because they are rational. Amerindian culture is certainly different from European culture, but it is not as different as Sepulveda claims, and they also know the institution of marriage, which from a legal and theological point of view was an important sign of European culture as a kind of referent.  


Existe-t-il des points communs entre ces trois auteurs ? Tous ces auteurs ont une claire conscience de la diversité dans lesquelles évoluent les cultures amérindiennes. Toutefois, ils raisonnent toujours dans des termes européens employant un langage eurocentriste. Sur le plan philosophique ou théorique, ils plaquent sur les Amérindiens des catégories européennes pour définir les Amérindiens.  
In the second part two important elements emerge. They are not animals because they are endowed with reason. They are men who have both public and private power, in other words, they have rights. This will make Vitoria a defender of the property rights of indigenous peoples.


Dans ces trois textes apparaît une vieille division qui vient du droit romain entre hommes libres et hommes esclaves. Pour ces auteurs, le monde est divisé entre hommes libres et hommes esclaves. Il y a aussi l’opposition entre peuples civilisés et entre peuples barbares irriguant, drainant toutes les conceptions impériales jusqu’à récemment. Jusque dans les années 1970, les grands traités de droit international public commençaient par diviser le monde entre États civilisés et État non civilisé. Encore aujourd’hui existe la division entre États civilisés et États non civilisés. Cette théorisation continue à irriguer notre mode de penser. La troisième catégorie qui permet de penser la relation entre les Amérindiens et les Espagnols est la relation entre croyant et infidèles. Tous ces auteurs comprennent le monde à travers le prisme entre croyants et infidèles. Ces catégories conceptuelles se retrouveront dans l’ordre juridique international jusqu’à très récemment.  
Is there anything in common between these three authors? All these authors have a clear awareness of the diversity in which Amerindian cultures evolve. However, they always reason in European terms using Eurocentric language. Philosophically or theoretically, they use European categories to define Amerindians.  


[[Fichier:Spain and Portugal-fr.png|thumb|La ligne de partage selon la bulle ''Inter cætera'' (en pointillés), selon le [[traité de Tordesillas]] (en violet), et son prolongement selon le [[traité de Saragosse]] (en vert).]]
In these three texts, an old division that comes from Roman law between free men and slave men appears. For these authors, the world is divided between free men and slave men. There is also the opposition between civilised peoples and between barbarian peoples irrigating, draining all imperial conceptions until recently. Until the 1970s, the great treaties of public international law began by dividing the world into civilised and uncivilised states. The division between civilised and uncivilised states still exists today. This theorising continues to permeate our way of thinking. The third category that allows us to think about the relationship between Amerindians and Spaniards is the relationship between believers and infidels. All these authors understand the world through the prism between believers and infidels. These conceptual categories will be found in the international legal order until very recently.  


Quelle est l’autorité légitime ? Qui a la souveraineté ? La ''bulle inter caetera'' a répondue à la question en 1493 parce qu’elle avait attribué au Portugal et à l’Espagne la juridiction les terres nouvellement conquises, mais elle n’avait pas répondu à la question de savoir si le droit de propriété s’applique, qui détient la souveraineté, qui est le souverain, qui est titulaire du dominus mundi. L’empereur germanique aura se déclare le dominus mundi tout comme le pape, mais qui le détient alors ?
[[Fichier:Spain and Portugal-fr.png|thumb|The dividing line according to the bubble ''Inter cætera'' (dotted line), according to the Treaty of Tordesillas (in purple), and its extension according to the Treaty of Zaragoza (in green).]]


Vitoria va renvoyer à dos et l’empereur et le pape dans ''De Indis'' de 1539 :
What is the legitimate authority? Who has sovereignty? The "bubble inter caetera" answered the question in 1493 because it had given Portugal and Spain jurisdiction over the newly conquered lands, but it had not answered the question of whether the right of ownership applies, who has sovereignty, who is the sovereign, who has dominus mundi. The Germanic emperor will have declared himself dominus mundi just like the pope, but who holds it then?
*l’empereur n’est pas titulaire du dominum mundi ;
*le pape n’est pas titulaire du dominum mundi ;
*il n’existe pas de droit de découverte à proprement parler, rien ne peut légitimer une prise de possession des Espagnols. En d’autres termes, il n’existe pas de droit du premier occupant ;
*Vitoria accepte et reconnaît la nécessité de propager le christianisme ;
*Vitoria récuse l’idée que le Nouveau Monde a été donné aux Espagnols par la volonté de Dieu.


Vitoria a un esprit de synthèse extrêmement fort, il procède par sommaire en présentant ces arguments qu’il développe ensuite :  
Vitoria will send back both the emperor and the pope in "De Indis" of 1539:
*1. l’empereur n’est pas le maitre du monde entier.
*the emperor does not hold the dominum mundi;
*2. même s’il était le maître du monde, l’empereur ne pourrait pas pour autant s’emparer des provinces des barbares, ni instituer de nouveaux maîtres, ni déposer les anciens, ni percevoir des impôts.
*the pope does not hold the dominum mundi;
*3. Si l’on parle proprement de la souveraineté et du pouvoir civils, le pape n’est pas le maître civil ou temporel du monde entier.
*there is no right of discovery strictly speaking, nothing can legitimise the taking of possession by the Spaniards. In other words, there is no right of the first occupant;
*6. Le pape n’a aucun pouvoir temporel sur les barbares des Indes, pas plus que sur les autres infidèles.
*Vitoria accepts and recognises the need to spread Christianity;
*12. Si les barbares sont invités et exhortés à entendre paisiblement les prédicateurs de la religion et s’ils refusent de le faire, ils ne sont pas excusés du péché mortel.
*Vitoria rejects the idea that the New World was given to the Spaniards by the will of God.  


[[Image:Francisco vitoria.jpg|thumb|Francisco de Vitoria]]
Vitoria has an extremely strong spirit of synthesis, it proceeds summarily by presenting these arguments, which it then develops :  
*1. the emperor is not the master of the whole world.
*2. even if he were master of the world, the emperor could not take over the provinces of the barbarians, nor institute new masters, nor deposit the old ones, nor collect taxes.
*3. If we speak properly of civil sovereignty and power, the pope is not the civil or temporal master of the whole world.
*6. The Pope has no temporal power over the barbarians of India, nor over other infidels.
*12. If the barbarians are invited and exhorted to listen peacefully to the preachers of religion and if they refuse to do so, they are not excused from mortal sin.


Lorsque Vitoria publie ''De Indis'' en 1539, il veut renvoyer dos à dos l’empereur et le pape voulant proposer une nouvelle vision de l’empire. Il accepte l’idée que les Indiens sont des hommes et donc ils ont des droits naturels. Un des droits essentiels est le droit de propriété. L’enjeu, puisque c’est un fait que les Espagnols sont en train de conquérir le Nouveau Monde, lequel est-il ? Vitoria remarque les Espagnols sont en train de conquérir, tuer et piller une partie de ce continent. La question est désormais de savoir quelles sont les conditions possibles afin d’entrer en guerre et quelles sont les conditions de la guerre juste. Si les Espagnols ou quelconques colonisateurs ont des droits, lesquels sont-ils ? Peut-il agir par la guerre ? À quelles conditions peut-on faire la guerre pour conquérir le monde ? Existe-t-il des critères de guerre juste qui permettent ou ne permettent pas de conquérir le monde ?
[[Image:Francisco vitoria.jpg|thumb|Francisco de Vitoria.]]


La troisième conception d’empire qui émerge en Europe est accompagnée par une vraie réflexion sur la guerre et plus précisément sur la guerre juste. Toute la vision impériale qui va se dessiner à partir de 1550 est accompagnée par une vaste réflexion sur la guerre qui accompagne la conception de l’idéologie impériale romaine. Chez les Romains, à la question de la justice et de la justesse d’une guerre vient avec le christianisme. Dans la doctrine chrétienne, dans l’ordre de la réflexion sur la guerre et la paix il y a le Sermon sur la montagne où Jésus Christ explique la doctrine de non-résistance du christianisme. Le Sermon sur la montagne est un « benchmark » important dans le rapport du christianisme à la violence. La doctrine de la guerre juste née dans le contexte ou l’on doit trouver une formule qui permette au citoyen romain de faire la guerre sans renier leur romanité.  
When Vitoria published "De Indis" in 1539, he wanted to send the emperor and the pope back to back to propose a new vision of the empire. He accepted the idea that the Indians were men and therefore had natural rights. One of the essential rights is the right of ownership. What is at stake, since it is a fact that the Spaniards are conquering the New World, which one is it? Vitoria notices that the Spaniards are conquering, killing and plundering part of this continent. The question now is what are the possible conditions for entering into war and what are the conditions for a just war. If the Spaniards or any colonisers have rights, what are they? Can they act through war? Under what conditions can war be waged to conquer the world? Are there criteria of just war that allow or do not allow the conquest of the world?


Vitoria développe l’argument {{citation|si l’empereur est le maitre du monde » comme première réponse. L’empereur n’est pas le maître du monde pour au moins trois raisons}}. En effet, il ne peut y avoir de droit qu’en vertu du droit naturel, du droit divin ou du droit humain. Or, on va le montrer, {{citation|l’empereur n’est maître du monde en vertu d’aucun de ces droits}}. En vertu de ces trois droits, l’empereur n’est pas détenteur du dominium mundi. L’empereur n’est pas le maitre du monde en vertu du droit divin, humain et naturel.
The third conception of empire that is emerging in Europe is accompanied by a real reflection on war and more precisely on just war. The entire imperial vision that would take shape from 1550 onwards is accompanied by a vast reflection on war that accompanies the conception of Roman imperial ideology. Among the Romans, the question of justice and the righteousness of a war comes with Christianity. In Christian doctrine, in the order of reflection on war and peace there is the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus Christ explains the doctrine of non-resistance of Christianity. The Sermon on the Mount is an important benchmark in Christianity's relationship to violence. The doctrine of just war was born in the context of finding a formula that would allow Roman citizens to wage war without denying their romanticism.  


La deuxième réponse {{citation|Même si l’empereur était le maître, du monde il ne pourrait s’emparer des Indes}}. Admettons que l’empereur est le dominum mundi, il ne pourrait pas s’emparer des indes. C’est une volonté très claire d’écarter l’empereur de toute prétention territoriale sur les indes.  
Vitoria develops the argument {{citation|if the emperor is the master of the world" as a first answer. The emperor is not the master of the world for at least three reasons}}. Indeed, there can only be a right under natural law, divine law or human law. Now, let us show this, {{citation|the emperor is not master of the world by virtue of any of these rights}}. By virtue of these three rights, the emperor is not the holder of dominium mundi. The emperor is not master of the world by virtue of divine, human and natural law.


[[Fichier:The Meeting of Cortés and Montezuma.jpg|thumb|left|La rencontre de Cortés et Moctezuma vue par un peintre anonyme du {{S -|XVII}}]]
The second answer {{citation|Even if the emperor was the master of the world, he could not take over the Indies}}. Let us suppose that the emperor is the dominum mundi, he could not take over the Indies. It is a very clear will to remove the emperor from any territorial claim on the Indies.


Est affirmé un argument absolument essentiel pour toute l’idéologie impériale « Ceux-là mêmes, en effet, qui attribuent à l’empereur un pouvoir sur le monde, ne disent pas qu’il a sur lui un pouvoir de possession, mais seulement un pouvoir de juridiction. Or, ce doit ne l’autorise pas à annexer des provinces à son profit personnel, ni à distribuer, à son gré, des places fortes et même des terres ». De manière très anodine, Vitoria nous dit que même si l’empereur avait des prétentions territoriales, il ne pourrait invoquer que la « juridictio » ou l’« imperium », mais pas le « dominium ».
[[Fichier:The Meeting of Cortés and Montezuma.jpg|thumb|left|The meeting of Cortés and Moctezuma as seen by an anonymous painter from the {{S -|XVII}}]]


Les Romains distinguaient l’« imperium » ou la « juridictio » qui est l’équivalent de la souveraineté du « dominium » qui est le pouvoir de propriété. L’empereur n’est pas à la fois détenteur de la propriété et de la souveraineté parce qu’il faut distinguer les deux choses. Cela va avoir des conséquences majeures du XVIème siècle au XXème siècle.  
An argument that is absolutely essential to the whole imperial ideology is affirmed: "Those who attribute to the emperor power over the world do not say that he has a power of possession over it, but only a power of jurisdiction. But this does not authorise him to annex provinces for his own personal profit, nor to distribute fortresses and even land as he pleases". In a very harmless way, Vitoria tells us that even if the emperor had territorial claims, he could only invoke "juridictio" or "imperium", but not "dominium".  


Les grands empires européens qui se mettent en place sur les décombres de la vision papale et de l’empire vont être différents proposant des modèles d’empire différents. Grotius va proposer un modèle de l’ordre international permettant aux grands empires européens de s’enraciner et de trouver un fondement juridique et de justifier leur expansion.
The Romans distinguished "imperium" or "juridictio", which is the equivalent of sovereignty from "dominium", which is the power of ownership. The emperor is not the holder of both property and sovereignty at the same time because a distinction must be made between the two. This will have major consequences from the sixteenth century to the twentieth century.  


[[Fichier:The entrance of Hernan Cortés into the city of Tabasco.jpg|vignette|Entrée de Cortés à Tabasco.]]
The great European empires that are being built on the rubble of the papal vision and empire will be different, offering different models of empire. Grotius will propose a model of the international order that will allow the great European empires to take root and find a legal basis and justify their expansion.


Vitoria est le premier juriste et théologien qui s’interroge à partir du modèle impérial espagnol sur les limites du modèle papal est impérial remettant en cause les compétences du pape en matière de dominium mundi et les compétences de l’empereur. Il ouvre une troisième voie pour les grands empires européens qui se mettent en place. Vitoria va ouvrir la voie, mais il appartiendra à Grotius de l’affiner, de la finir et de proposer une théorie de l’ordre international très favorable aux empires européens.  
[[Fichier:The entrance of Hernan Cortés into the city of Tabasco.jpg|vignette|Entrance of Cortés in Tabasco.]]


Vitoria récuse à la fois les prétentions de l’empereur papal et de l’empereur germanique. Vitoria reprend la distinction que l’on doit au droit public romain entre le dominium et l’imperium. La deuxième réponse de Vitoria est {{citation|Même si l’empereur était le maître du monde, il ne pourrait s’emparer des indes}}. C’est une contestation de la vision de la conception impériale de l’Empire en instrumentalisant la distinction entre le dominium et l’imperium soit le pouvoir de juridiction et le pouvoir de possession. Cette distinction que Grotius va reprendre en tant que théoricien des empires européens va servir de base à la vision grotienne.  
Vitoria is the first jurist and theologian to question the limits of the papal-imperial model from the Spanish imperial model, questioning the Pope's competence in matters of dominium mundi and the Emperor's competence. It opens a third way for the great European empires that are being established. Vitoria will open the way, but it will be up to Grotius to refine it, to finish it and to propose a theory of international order very favourable to European empires.  


Vitoria se pose la même question concernant le pape de savoir s’il est détenteur du dominium mundi, si le pape est le maître du monde. À la question est clairement posée « Le pape est-il le maître du monde ? », il en conclut que non. La première réponse est que « le pape n’est pas le maître temporel du monde ». Pour Vitoria, « le pape a un pouvoir ordonné au spirituel » l’explicitant ainsi : « Cela veut dire qu’il a un pouvoir temporel pour autant que c’est nécessaire à l’administration des choses spirituelles ». On voit très bien que Vitoria reprend la compétence papale issue du concordat de Worms qui laissait au pape la compétence de gestion des biens de l’Église ce que Vitoria assimile à un pouvoir temporel.
Vitoria rejects both the claims of the Papal Emperor and the German Emperor. Vitoria takes up the distinction made in Roman public law between dominium and imperium. Vitoria's second answer is {{citation|Even if the emperor was the master of the world, he could not take over the Indies}}. It is a challenge to the vision of the imperial conception of the Empire by instrumentalizing the distinction between dominium and imperium, i.e. the power of jurisdiction and the power of possession. This distinction, which Grotius will take up again as a theorist of European empires, will serve as a basis for the Grotian vision.  


En revanche, il limite l’intrusion du pouvoir spirituel dans le pouvoir temporel. Pour appuyer son point de vue, Vitoria pose que {{citation|le pape n’a aucun pouvoir temporel sur les indiens ni sur les autres infidèles}}. C’est une affirmation assez forte. En d’autres termes, les populations nouvellement conquises ainsi que les terres nouvellement conquissent ne dépendent pas de l’autorité du pape. Il n’y a pas de biens de l’Église sur les territoires nouvellement conquis, alors le pape ne peut réclamer une quelconque compétence sur ces territoires.  
Vitoria asks the same question about the pope, whether he is the holder of the dominium mundi, whether the pope is the master of the world. The question is clearly asked, "Is the pope the master of the world? "he concludes that he is not. The first answer is that "the pope is not the temporal master of the world". For Vitoria, "the pope has a power that is ordered to the spiritual", thus explaining it as follows: "This means that he has temporal power in so far as it is necessary for the administration of spiritual things". It is clear that Vitoria takes over the papal competence resulting from the Worms Concordat, which left the Pope the competence to manage the goods of the Church, which Vitoria assimilates to a temporal power.


[[File:Cortez-montezuma-mexico-city.jpg|thumb|Cortez et Moctezuma]]
On the other hand, it limits the intrusion of spiritual power into temporal power. In support of its point of view, Vitoria posits that {{citation|lhe pope has no temporal power over the Indians or other infidels}}. This is a rather strong statement. In other words, newly conquered populations and newly conquered lands do not depend on the authority of the pope. There is no Church property in the newly conquered territories, so the pope cannot claim any jurisdiction over them.


Le ''ius ocupacio'' ou droit de découverte ou droit du premier occupant est un droit débattu en Europe depuis le XIIème siècle et le XIIIème siècle pas tant pour les territoires des Amérindiens mais pour certains territoires européens qui ne sont pas occupés ou peu occupés. Cette question concerne à partir du XIIIème siècle des terres du nord de la Pologne, est la question est de savoir si le fait d’occuper ces terres ou de les découvrir donne à celui qui plante son drapeau le premier une base légale. C’est une question qui émerge déjà en Europe au XIIIème siècle pour des territoires européens qui sont actuellement dans des zones de l’Ukraine. La monarchie austro-hongroise les avait découvertes et se posait la question de la compétence.  
[[File:Cortez-montezuma-mexico-city.jpg|thumb|Cortez et Moctezuma.]]


Vitoria se pose la question de savoir si il y a ou existe-t-il un droit de découverte et s’il existe est-ce que ce droit donne des droits. Il pose la question de savoir si en vertu du jus gentium, il existe un droit de découverte concluant qu’en théorie oui, mais dans la pratique ce droit ne peut être invoqué pour occuper les terres amérindiennes. La raison est simple puisqu’il a tranché la question de savoir s’ils sont des hommes par l’affirmative. Donc, si ce sont des hommes, ils ont des droits et il n’est pas possible d’invoquer un droit supérieur aux droits naturels individuels, dont le droit de propriété. Il est cohérent dans sa logique, reconnaissant la possibilité d’invoquer le droit de découverte dans certaines régions du monde en théorie, toutefois, dans la pratique, dans le cadre de la conquête des indes, ce n’est pas invocable, car les Indiens sont des hommes, ont la propriété et sont propriétaires de leurs biens et de leurs terres.  
The ''ius ocupacio'' or right of discovery or right of the first occupant is a right that has been debated in Europe since the 12th and 13th centuries, not so much for the territories of the Amerindians but for certain European territories that are not occupied or only slightly occupied. This question concerns, from the 13th century onwards, lands in northern Poland, and the question is whether the fact of occupying these lands or discovering them gives the person who first plants his flag a legal basis. It is a question that already emerged in Europe in the 13th century for European territories that are currently in areas of the Ukraine. The Austro-Hungarian monarchy had discovered them and the question of jurisdiction arose.  


Dans la troisième partie de l’ouvrage, Vitoria titre « Titres légitimes de la domination des Espagnols sur les Indiens ». C’est une chose intéressante. Les deux premières parties visent à rejeter les prétentions papales ou impériales et la troisième partie vise à délimiter, définir et préciser la légitimité de l’aventure espagnole. Ont-ils le droit de découvrir les Amériques, de revendiquer le dominium ou l’imperium sur ces terres. En d’autres termes, quel est le droit applicable en l’état ? Cette partie montre que l’homme est beaucoup plus ambigu. L’homme va ouvrir une brèche aux conséquences terribles dans la justification de l’aventure impériale européenne.  
Vitoria wondered whether there was or is a right of discovery and whether this right gives rights. He asked whether under jus gentium there is a right of discovery concluding that in theory there is, but in practice this right cannot be invoked to occupy Amerindian lands. The reason is simple since he has decided whether they are men by the affirmative. Therefore, if they are men, they have rights and it is not possible to invoke a right that is superior to individual natural rights, including the right of ownership. It is consistent in its logic, recognising the possibility of invoking the right of discovery in certain regions of the world in theory, however, in practice, in the context of the conquest of the Indies, it is not invocable, because the Indians are men, they have property and they own their goods and their land.
 
In the third part of the book, Vitoria titles "Legitimate Titles of Spanish domination over the Indians". This is an interesting thing. The first two parts aim to reject papal or imperial claims and the third part aims to delimit, define and clarify the legitimacy of the Spanish adventure. Do they have the right to discover the Americas, to claim dominium or imperium over these lands. In other words, what is the applicable law as it stands? This part shows that man is much more ambiguous. Man is going to open a breach with terrible consequences in the justification of the European imperial adventure.  


[[Fichier:01-CORONICA Y BUEN GOBIERNO-Poma de Ayala.jpg|vignette|gauche]]
[[Fichier:01-CORONICA Y BUEN GOBIERNO-Poma de Ayala.jpg|vignette|gauche]]


Le sommaire de cette partie est parlant. Le deuxième paragraphe dit : {{citation|Les Espagnols ont le droit de se rendre et de demeurer dans les territoires des Indiens, mais à condition de ne pas leur porter préjudice, et ceux-ci ne peuvent les en empêcher}}. Ce paragraphe est ambigu puisque les Espagnols ont le droit de conquérir et d’occuper les terres nouvellement conquises, et surtout, les autres ne peuvent les en empêcher. Le quatrième paragraphe est aussi parlant : {{citation|Il n’est pas permis aux barbares d’empêcher les Espagnols de participer aux biens qui se trouvent sur leurs territoires et qui sont communs aux citoyens et aux étrangers}}. Vitoria visait l’or et les métaux précieux qui sont communs à tout le monde.  
The contents of this section speak for themselves. The second paragraph reads: {{citation|Spaniards have the right to go and stay in the territories of the Indians, but on condition that they do not harm them, and the Indians cannot prevent them from doing so}}. This paragraph is ambiguous since Spaniards have the right to conquer and occupy the newly conquered lands, and above all, others cannot prevent them from doing so. The fourth paragraph also speaks for itself: {{citation|It is not permitted for barbarians to prevent Spaniards from participating in the goods that are in their territories and that are common to citizens and foreigners}}. Vitoria aimed at gold and precious metals which are common to everyone.  


Toute l’ambiguïté de Vitoria se voit à travers l’introduction du jus comunicatio qui est le droit de société et de communication. C’est sur la base de ce droit que les Espagnols ont des titres légitimes sur ces terres nouvellement conquises. Quelle est la base légale qui permet aux Espagnols de conquérir et d’occuper les terres nouvellement découvertes ? {{citation|Les Espagnols ont le droit d’aller et de vivre aux indes}}. Pour Vitoria, c’est un droit fondamental que de se déplacer.  
All of Vitoria's ambiguity can be seen in the introduction of the jus comunicatio, which is the right of society and communication. It is on the basis of this right that the Spaniards have legitimate titles to these newly conquered lands. What is the legal basis that allows the Spanish to conquer and occupy the newly discovered lands? {{citation|Spaniards have the right to go and live in India}}. For Vitoria, it is a fundamental right to move.  


L’ambiguïté apparaît avec le deuxième principe qui permet de justifier la conquête des Espagnols : {{citation|Les Espagnols ont le droit de faire du commerce avec les Indiens}}. C’est une affirmation extrêmement claire du droit de commercer. C’est parce qu’ils ont le droit de faire du commerce avec les Indiens que les Espagnols peuvent occuper, conquérir et s’étendre. Le commerce est un élément très important parce que le droit du commerce va devenir un leitmotiv des grands juristes fondateurs du jus gentium. Le droit de faire du commerce est un droit inaliénable et fondamental. D’en faire un droit fondamental implique que ceux qui ne respectent pas sont susceptibles de faire l’objet d’une guerre. En d’autres termes, si on ne respecte pas un certain nombre de droits fondamentaux, les États, les entités responsables du maintien et du respect de ces droits peuvent le cas échant attaquer pour cela.
The ambiguity arises with the second principle that justifies the conquest of the Spanish: {{citation|The Spaniards have the right to trade with the Indians}}. This is an extremely clear affirmation of the right to trade. It is because they have the right to trade with the Indians that the Spaniards can occupy, conquer and expand. Trade is a very important element because the right to trade will become a leitmotif of the great jurists who founded jus gentium. The right to trade is an inalienable and fundamental right. To make it a fundamental right implies that those who do not respect it are liable to be subjected to war. In other words, if a certain number of fundamental rights are not respected, States, the entities responsible for maintaining and respecting these rights can attack for this.


[[Fichier:De Bry 1c.JPG|vignette|upright=0.6|Les cruautés des Espagnols ([[Jean Théodore de Bry]]).]]
[[Fichier:De Bry 1c.JPG|vignette|upright=0.6|The cruelties of the Spaniards (Jean Théodore de Bry).]]


De plus, pour Vitoria : {{citation|Les Espagnols peuvent participer biens publics}} affirmant que {{citation|S’il existe chez les barbares des biens communs aux citoyens et aux étrangers, il n’est pas permis aux barbares d’empêcher les Espagnols d’y participer et d’en profiter}} sous-entendu de prétexte de guerre. Le titre de l’ouvrage est parlant {{citation|Leçon sur les Indiens et sur le droit de guerre}}. C’est une logique d’établissement des titres de propriété espagnol et dans une logique de mettre en place les conditions pour faire la guerre. Le non-respect d’une certain nombre de comme le droit du commerce ou de participer au droit public est un juste cause de guerre.
In addition, for Vitoria : {{citation|Spaniards can participate in public goods}} asserting that {{citation|If the barbarians have goods in common with citizens and foreigners, it is not allowed for the barbarians to prevent Spaniards from participating and enjoying them}} implying a pretext for war. The title of the work speaks for itself {{citation|LThe lesson on the Indians and the law of war}}. It is a logic of establishing Spanish property titles and in a logic of setting up the conditions for making war. Failure to respect a number of such things as the right to trade or to participate in public law is a just cause of war.


La quatrième réponse de Vitoria est que {{citation|Les Espagnols peuvent acquérir un droit de citoyenneté aux indes}}. Ils peuvent très bien être citoyens du territoire qu’ils ont conquis ouvrant la porte au partage de la souveraineté par les colons. La cinquième réponse de Vitoria est que « En cas d’hostilité de la part des Indiens, les Espagnols peuvent se défendre par la guerre ». Dans cette réponse, il n’y a plus d’ambiguïté : {{citation|supposons que les barbares veuillent interdire aux Espagnols ce qu’on a di plus haut leur être permis par le droit des gens, par exemple le commerce et les autres activités dont on a parlé. Les Espagnols doivent d’abord éviter le scandale en recourant à la sagesse et à la persuasion. Ils doivent montre pas toutes sortes de raison qu’ils ne sont pas venus pour nuire aux Indiens, mais qu’ils veulent être accueillis et vivre paisiblement sans leur porter préjudice. Et ils doivent non seulement l’affirme, mais aussi en donner des preuves, selon ce mot : il convient que les sages éprouvent d’abord toutes choses par la parole. Si les barbares ne veulent pas accepter les raisons qu’on leur donne, mais s’ils veulent recourir à la violence, alors les Espagnols peuvent se défendre et affaire tout ce qui est nécessaire pour leur sécurité, car il est permis de repousse la force par la force. Bien plus, s’ils ne peuvent obtenir la sécurité autrement, ils peuvent construire des citadelles et des fortifications ; et, s’ils ont subi une injustice, ils peuvent, sur la décision de leur prince, la punir par la guerre et exercer les autres droits de la guerre}}.  
Vitoria's fourth answer is that {{citation|Spaniards can acquire a right of citizenship in India}}. They may very well be citizens of the territory they have conquered, opening the door to the sharing of sovereignty by the colonists. Vitoria's fifth answer is that "In case of hostility from the Indians, the Spanish can defend themselves by war". There is no longer any ambiguity in this answer: {{citation|Let us suppose that the barbarians want to prohibit the Spaniards from doing the things that have been said above that are allowed to them by the law of nations, such as trade and the other activities we have been talking about. The Spaniards must first avoid scandal by using wisdom and persuasion. They must show all kinds of reason that they have not come to harm the Indians, but that they want to be welcomed and live peacefully without harming them. And they must not only affirm this, but also give proof of it, according to this word: it is fitting that the wise should first test all things by words. If the barbarians do not want to accept the reasons given to them, but if they want to resort to violence, then the Spaniards can defend themselves and do whatever is necessary for their safety, because it is permitted to repel force by force. Moreover, if they cannot obtain security otherwise, they can build citadels and fortifications; and, if they have suffered an injustice, they can, on the decision of their prince, punish it by war and exercise the other rights of war.}}.  


Le sort des populations dites « autochtones » était scellé, car les justes motifs de guerres sont clairement énoncés. Vitoria ouvre une brèche majeure que la conception papale ou impériale n’avait jamais abordée qui est l’apport d’un discours sur le droit de conquête et sur les conditions du droit de conquête et plus précisément sur les conditions d’une guerre juste. C’est un élément nouveau que l’on ne retrouve pas dans la conception traditionnelle impériale germanique ni dans la conception papale. En d’autres termes, jusqu’à Vitoria, il n’y avait pas ou peu de réflexion sur la guerre et sur le droit de découverte. C’est la réflexion de Vitoria qui va donner à l’idéologie européenne un nouveau caractère et une nouvelle portée.
The fate of the so-called "indigenous" populations was sealed, because the just motives for war are clearly stated. Vitoria opened a major breach that the papal or imperial conception had never addressed, which was the contribution of a discourse on the right of conquest and the conditions of the right of conquest, and more precisely on the conditions of a just war. This is a new element that is not found in the traditional imperial Germanic conception nor in the papal conception. In other words, until Vitoria there was little or no reflection on war and the right of discovery. It was the reflection in Vitoria that gave European ideology a new character and scope.


L’ambiguïté de Vitoria s’évapore lorsque Vitoria affirme {{citation|Les Espagnols peuvent soumettre les Indiens}}. L’ambiguïté que l’on percevait et que l’on décelait au début n’est plus du tout de rigueur : {{citation|Si les Espagnols ont essayé tous les moyens et s’ils ne peuvent obtenir la sécurité de la part des barbares qu’en s’emparant de leurs villes et en les soumettant, ils peuvent aussi le faire légitimement}}. Le ton était donnait. Cette phrase est capitale parce que Vitoria ouvre la voie à une vision beaucoup plus agressive des grands empires. La conquête était un élément important de l’Empire romain, mais Rome, de l’avis des historiens de Rome, n’a pas fait montre d’agressivité ou de conquête du monde. Rome n’a jamais eu la prétention de dominer le monde. Les conceptions papale et impériale ne se sont pas construites sur une vision agressive de l’ordre mondial. C’est une démarche de sécurisation des compétences de l’empereur ou de sécurisation et de protection des compétences du pape. Avec la découverte du Nouveau Monde, le nouveau modèle d’empire et les nouvelles conceptions d’empire qui voient le jour sont beaucoup plus ambitieuses et conquérantes. On voit très bien que le concept d’empire évolue dans un sens beaucoup plus expansionniste.
Vitoria's ambiguity evaporates when Vitoria says {{citation|Spaniards can subdue Indians}}. The ambiguity that was perceived and detected at the beginning is no longer at all de rigueur : {{citation|If the Spaniards have tried all means and if they can only obtain security from the barbarians by taking over their cities and subjugating them, they can also do so legitimately}}. The tone was set. This sentence is crucial because Vitoria opens the way to a much more aggressive vision of great empires. Conquest was an important part of the Roman Empire, but Rome, in the opinion of Roman historians, did not show aggression or conquest of the world. Rome never had any claim to world domination. Papal and imperial conceptions were not built on an aggressive vision of world order. It is a process of securing the emperor's competences or securing and protecting the pope's competences. With the discovery of the New World, the new model of empire and the new conceptions of empire that are emerging are much more ambitious and conquering. It is clear that the concept of empire is evolving in a much more expansionist direction.


[[Fichier:DelasCasasParraDF.JPG|vignette|Bartolomé de las Casas.]]
[[Fichier:DelasCasasParraDF.JPG|vignette|Bartolomé de las Casas.]]


La septième réponse de Vitoria est que {{citation|les Espagnols peuvent exercer contre les Indiens tous les droits de la guerre}}. Il est sous-entendu que les Espagnols sont légitimés à intervenir si les Indiens ne respectent pas un certain nombre de droits naturels.  
Vitoria's seventh answer is that {{citation|the Spaniards can exercise all the rights of war against the Indians}}. It is implied that the Spaniards are entitled to intervene if the Indians do not respect a number of natural rights.
 
The first part somewhere enumerated the fundamental rights in the international order, namely the right of discovery and the right to trade. The second part introduces another right which is the right of evangelization. This is a major contribution from Vitoria, which is a reflection on the right of evangelisation as a right that is part of and can be invoked by the great European empires in the making: "There may be another title: the expansion of the Christian religion". The first answer is that Christians have the right to evangelise the Indians.
 
The second answer is that "The evangelisation of the Indians was entrusted especially to the Spaniards". This will be contested by Grotius as a Protestant who will not understand at all why the Spaniards have a monopoly on evangelisation. The third answer is that "This evangelisation excludes the use of force". It is a right which is an invocable right, but which does not allow the use of war in order to impose it. The fourth answer removes any ambiguity which is that {{citation|Indians should not oppose evangelization}}. If they do, they are liable to be the object of war. In other words, if they oppose it, it is a just cause for war for the Spanish and Portuguese Empire: {{citation|It is clear from this answer that, if the Spaniards cannot otherwise promote the cause of religion, they are also allowed, for this reason, to take over their lands and provinces, to create new chiefs, to depose the old ones and to do, under the law of war, what could legitimately be done in other just wars. But they must always act with restraint and moderation, so as not to go further than is necessary. They must prefer to give up their own right rather than undertake something that is not allowed. Finally, they must constantly orient everything to the good of the barbarians rather than to their own advantage}}. The Indians have relatively little room for manoeuvre. In other words, if they refuse evangelisation, their chief can be changed, their provinces confiscated and all Spanish domination can be exercised without restraint. The right to evangelisation does not imply conversion limited to preaching. In other words, the Indians cannot be forced to convert, but they cannot prevent the Spanish and Portuguese from spreading the good word.
 
Vitoria postulates the following: {{citation|I have no doubt that the Spaniards were forced to resort to violence and weapons in order to stay there. But I fear that they went beyond what the law and justice allowed}}. It is necessary that the European powers that conquer the world show restraint and respect a certain number of rights, which will become jus in bello.
 
It is clear that Vitoria is still trapped by two visions. In other words, it is clear that when you read Vitoria's text, it oscillates between two attitudes. An attitude that rejects the Pope's competence and the emperor's competence to leave the Indians control, ownership and sovereignty over their territory. In the third part, the introduction of a number of rights in the name of jus gentium such as the right to trade, evangelise and communicate opens the way to an expansionist vision of European empires. There is a tension in Vitoria between a man who is aware of the horrors of conquest, but who somewhere provides a number of legal arguments to justify it. This tension can be found in Grotius, who will present a model and a coherent imperial vision.
 
Following Vitoria, the empires in Europe were set up and began to conquer part of the world. The characteristics of the empires are different. The Spanish and Portuguese Empires do not correspond to the English Empire, which is much later. The material characteristics are different.
 
= The European empires =


La première partie a quelque part énuméré les droits fondamentaux dans l’ordre international à savoir le droit de découverte et le droit de faire du commerce. La deuxième partie introduit un autre droit qui est le droit d’évangélisation. C’est un apport majeur de la part de Vitoria qui est une réflexion sur le droit d’évangélisation comme droit faisant partie et pouvant être invoqué par les grands empires européens en devenir : « Il peut y avoir un autre titre : l’expansion de la religion chrétienne ». La première réponse est que les chrétiens ont le droit d’évangéliser les Indiens.
== Portuguese Empire ==


La deuxième réponse est que « L’évangélisation des Indiens a été confiée spécialement aux Espagnols ». Cela sera contesté par Grotius en tant que protestant qui ne comprendra pas du tout pourquoi les Espagnols ont le monopole de l’évangélisation. La troisième réponse est que « Cette évangélisation exclut le recours à la force ». C’est un droit qui est un droit invocable, mais qui ne permet pas le recours à la guerre afin de l’imposer. La quatrième réponse évacue toute ambiguïté qui est que {{citation|Les Indiens ne doivent pas s’opposer à l’évangélisation}}. S’ils le font, ils sont susceptibles de faire l’objet d’une guerre. Autrement dit, s’ils s’y opposent, c’est un juste motif de guerre pour l’Empire espagnol et l’Empire portugais : {{citation|Il ressort clairement de cette réponse que, si les Espagnols ne peuvent promouvoir autrement la cause de la religion, il leur est également permis, pour cette raison, de s’emparer de leurs terres et de leurs provinces, de créer de nouveaux chefs, de déposer les anciens et de faire, en vertu du droit de la guerre, ce qu’on pourrait légitimement faire dans d’autres guerres justes. Mais ils doivent toujours agir avec mesure et modération, afin de ne pas aller plus loin qu’il ne faut. Ils doivent préférer abandonner leur propre droit plutôt qu’entreprendre une chose qui n’est pas permise. Enfin, ils doivent constamment tout orient au bien des barbares plutôt qu’à leur propre avantage}}. La marge de manœuvre des Indiens est relativement faible. En d’autres termes, s’ils refusent l’évangélisation, leur chef peut être changé, leurs provinces confisquées et toute la domination espagnole peut être exercées sans retenue. Le droit d’évangélisation n’implique pas la conversion se limitant à la prédication. En d’autres termes, on ne peut pas forcer les Indiens à se convertir, mais ils ne peuvent empêcher les Espagnols et les Portugais de propager la bonne parole.  
[[Fichier:Portugal Império total.png|vignette|The Portuguese Empire at its height.]]


Vitoria postule la chose suivante : {{citation|Que les Espagnols aient été obligés de recourir à la violence et aux armes pour pouvoir se maintenir là-bas, j’e n’en doute pas. Mais je crains qu’ils soient allés au-delà de ce que permettaient le droit et la justice}}. Il est nécessaire que les puissances européennes qui conquièrent le monde montrent de retenu et respectent un certain nombre de droits ce qui deviendra le jus in bello.
The Portuguese Empire began to emerge at the end of the 15th century with the discovery of the India sea route in 1497. The Portuguese conquered part of South America, part of India with a number of trading posts, also in Africa, in the Arabian Peninsula with the occupation of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as islands such as Malaka, Java and Macau. Portugal will also occupy Brazil. It is an empire split with South America, some regions of South-East Asia, some African trading posts. It is an empire of trading posts built on the basis of a certain number of areas or ports, but it is not an empire that will penetrate inland. It is a maritime empire that is essentially based economically on monopoly. The comptoirs are only allowed to trade with Portugal.  


On voit très bien que Vitoria est encore prisonnier de deux visions. Autrement dit, on voit bien qu’en lisant le texte de Vitoria, il oscille entre deux attitudes. Une attitude qui rejette la compétence du pape et la compétence de l’empereur voulant laisser aux Indiens le contrôle, la propriété et la souveraineté sur leur territoire. Dans la troisième partie, l’introduction d’un certain nombre de droits au nom du jus gentium comme le droit de faire du commerce, d’évangéliser et de communiquer ouvre la voie à une vision expansionniste des empires européens. Il y a une tension chez Vitoria entre un homme qui est conscient des horreurs de la conquête, mais qui quelque part fournit un certain nombre d’arguments juridiques afin de la justifier. On retrouve cette tension chez Grotius qui présentera un modèle et une vision impériale cohérente.  
The empire is not going to last very long, falling apart very quickly because Portugal does not have the means to control its immense territories and its many trading posts. It is an empire that will become decentralised. The governors of the comptoirs would soon have a great deal of authority and a series of important competences.


À la suite de Vitoria, les empires en Europe se mettent en place commençant à conquérir une partie du monde. Les caractéristiques des empires sont différentes. Les Empires espagnols et portugais ne correspondent pas à l’Empire anglais qui est beaucoup plus tardif. Les caractéristiques matérielles sont différentes.
== The Spanish Empire ==


= Les empires =
[[Fichier:Spanish Empire Anachronous en.png|vignette|Anachronistic map of the Spanish Empire, at different periods.]]


== Empire portugais ==
This is not the case of the Spanish Empire, which was born at the same time. Colonisation was extremely different from that of the Portuguese, beginning with the Antilles in 1510, followed by the discovery of Mexico, Central America, South America and precisely Peru. Unlike the Portuguese Empire, the Spanish Empire is an extremely centralised empire, very well organised, divided into kingdoms and vice-kingdoms. It is an empire centralised from Madrid and extremely well organised. It is an empire divided into two viceroyalties, with the Kingdom of New Spain having Mexico City as its capital and the Kingdom of New Castile having Lima as its capital. The Spanish Empire is economically extremely well organised, not based on monopoly, but based on a form of plunder in order to recall to Spain as much common and public property as possible. The Spanish Empire is at the service of the Spanish monarchy economically speaking. Finally, the massive recourse and use of Spaniards to slavery. The institution of slavery will be made by the Spaniards a cardinal stone of their empire. As the Amerindian peoples were decimated by war and disease, the Spaniards were to be great importers of slaves from Africa and India. The Spaniards will be the ones to build their empire around this institution and make it their economic and political engine.
[[Fichier:Portugal Império total.png|vignette|L’Empire portugais à son apogée]]
L’Empire portugais est un empire qui commence à voir le jour à la fin du XVème siècle avec la découverte de la route maritime des indes en 1497. Les Portugais vont conquérir une partie de l’Amérique du Sud, une partie de l’Inde avec un certain nombre de comptoirs, également en Afrique, dans la péninsule arabique avec l’occupation du détroit d’Ormuz, vont être occupés aussi des iles comme Malaka, Java et Macao. Le Portugal va également occuper le Brésil. C’est un empire éclaté avec l’Amérique du sud, quelques régions de l’Asie du Sud-Est, quelques comptoirs africains. C’est un empire de comptoirs se construisant sur la base d’un certain nombre de zones ou de ports, mais ce n’est pas un empire qui va pénétrer dans les terres. C’est un empire maritime qui est essentiellement fondé économiquement sur le monopole. Les comptoirs n’ont le droit de commercer qu’avec le Portugal.  


L’Empire ne va pas durer très longtemps se délitant très vite parce que le Portugal n’a pas les moyens de contrôler ses immenses territoires et ses nombreux comptoirs. C’est un empire qui va devenir décentralisé. Les gouverneurs des comptoirs vont très vite avoir une autorité et une série de compétences importantes.
== The English Empire ==


== L’Empire espagnol ==
[[Fichier:The British Empire.png|vignette|Areas of the world that were once part of the British Empire. Current British overseas territories are highlighted in red.]]


[[Fichier:Spanish Empire Anachronous en.png|vignette|Carte anachronique de l’empire espagnol, à différentes périodes.]]
The third empire that is being established is the English Empire. Like the French Empire, it is a late empire. The Spaniards and the Portuguese would soon occupy it, while the English started late in 1583 with the discovery and annexation of a part of Canada known as Newfoundland. The English Empire was a relatively late empire that was formed in parts of Canada, mainly in what would become the American colonies and then some African trading posts, particularly in southern Africa. However, the English conquest came relatively late with the absorption of the French Empire in 1763. The great years of the English Empire were the 18th and 19th centuries. From 1587 onwards, they took possession of the American colonies where they established a whole series of trading posts in Massachusetts and Virginia. It is interesting to note that Florida was in Spanish hands. The Kingdom of Mexico also ruled over South Florida. It is a late empire, rather disparate, but concentrated mainly in North America. It is also an empire that was to be based on monopoly. The colonies could and should only trade with Great Britain. It is a model that all the great economists would later criticize, but it is a model based on monopoly. It's an extremely decentralised empire. For the part after 1750, the British crown would regain control of its empire, but until 1742, the British Empire was essentially decentralised.  


Ce n’est pas le cas de l’Empire espagnol qui nait à la même époque. La colonisation est extrêmement différente de celle des Portugais commençant par les Antilles dès 1510, puis vient la découverte du Mexique, de l’Amérique centrale, de l’Amérique du Sud et précisément le Pérou. Contrairement à l’Empire portugais, l’Empire espagnol est un empire extrêmement centralisé, très bien organisé divisé en royaumes et vice-royaumes. C’est un empire centralisé depuis Madrid et extrêmement bien organisé. C’est une emprise divisée en deux vice-royautés avec le royaume de la Nouvelle Espagne qui aura pour capitale Mexico et le royaume de la Nouvelle Castille qui aura pour capitale Lima. L’Empire espagnol est économiquement extrêmement bien organisé, pas fondé sur le monopole, mais fondé sur une forme de pillage s’agissant de rappeler vers l’Espagne un maximum de biens communs et de biens publics. L’Empire espagnol est au service de la monarchie espagnole économiquement parlant. Enfin, le recours et l’utilisation massives des Espagnols à l’esclavage. L’institution de l’esclavage va être faite par les espagnols une pierre cardinale de leur empire. Les peuples amérindiens étant décimés par la guerre et les maladies, les Espagnols vont être de grands importateurs d’esclaves venant d’Afrique et d’Inde. Les Espagnols seront ceux qui construiront leur empire autour de cette institution et qui en feront leur moteur économique et politique.
Like the Dutch Empire, it is a Protestant Empire. They are empires based on an extremely Protestant and Calvinist view of human nature. This religious dimension needs to be clarified because the Spanish and Portuguese empires are like the armed arms of the Church, claiming since the Bull inter caetera of 1493 to be the representatives of the Catholic Church in the new territories. Since the Reformation was established in Europe from 1517 onwards, the British and the Dutch wanted to retain their autonomy and not rely on the church to justify their conquest.


== L’Empire anglais ==
== The French Empire ==
[[Fichier:The British Empire.png|vignette|Les zones du monde qui firent à une époque partie de l’Empire britannique. Les actuels territoires britanniques d’outre-mer sont soulignés en rouge.]]
Le troisième empire qui se met en place est l’Empire anglais. Tout comme l’Empire français, c’est un empire tardif. Les Espagnols et les Portugais vont occuper très vite tandis que les Anglais vont démarrer tardivement en 1583 par la découverte et l’annexion d’une partie du Canada connue sous le nom de Terre-Neuve. L’empire anglais est un empire relativement tardif qui se constitue dans certaines parties du Canada, essentiellement dans ce qui va devenir les colonies américaines et puis certains comptoirs africains et plus précisément au sud de l’Afrique. Toutefois, la conquête anglaise se ferra relativement tardivement avec l’absorbation notamment de l’Empire français en 1763. Les grandes années de l’Empire anglais sont le XVIIIème siècle et le XIXème siècle. À partir de 1587, ils prennent possession des colonies américaines où ils établissent toute une série de comptoirs au Massachusetts et en Virginie. Il est intéressant de noter que la Floride était aux mains des Espagnols. Le royaume de Mexico régnait également sur le sud de la Floride. C’est un empire tardif, assez disparate, mais concentré essentiellement en Amérique du Nord. C’est aussi un empire qui va être fondé sur le monopole. Les colonies ne pouvaient et ne devaient commercer qu’avec la Grande-Bretagne. C’est un modèle que critiqueront tous les grands économistes plus tard, mais c’est un modèle fondé sur le monopole. C’est un empire extrêmement décentralisé. Pour la partie postérieure à 1750, la couronne britannique va reprendre le contrôle de son empire, mais jusqu’en 1742, l’Empire britannique est essentiellement décentralisé.


Tout comme l’Empire néerlandais, c’est un empire protestant. Ce sont des empires fondés sur une vision de la nature humaine extrêmement protestante et calviniste. Il faut préciser cette dimension religieuse parce que les empires espagnol et portugais sont comme les bras armés de l’Église se revendiquant depuis la Bulle inter caetera de 1493 comme les représentants de l’Église catholique dans les nouveaux territoires. Depuis l’instauration de la Réforme en Europe à partir de 1517, les Britanniques et les Néerlandais veulent garder leur autonomie et ne pas s’appuyer sur l’église pour justifier leur conquête.
[[Fichier:Anachronous map of the All French Empire (1534 -1970).png|vignette|Areas colonised by France throughout its colonial history.]]


== L’Empire français ==
The French Empire is also an extremely late empire, but ultimately quite small. The First French Empire was absorbed by the English by the Treaty of Paris in 1763, when France lost its entire colonial empire. It will reconstitute it in the 19th century from the Algerian affair in 1840 and in Africa from the Congress of Berlin. It is an empire which does not extend over immense territories. France was to occupy territories in Canada, colonies in Quebec, and in two other regions of North America, Florida and Louisiana, i.e. the Mississippi region from 1603. There is a Francophile tradition in Louisiana, which was sold to the United States by Napoleon. Basically, Louisiana remained under French rule, which had created a cordon between Canada and Louisiana. It is a paradoxically small and late empire, but above all it is an empire that is made up of a multitude of small trading posts and strongholds. Economically, it is an empire that is not based on monopoly, but on a form of free trade and on an extremely precise economic sector, which is the fur trade. It is not an empire built on gold or tin, it is not an empire that will be built on natural assets, but it is an empire essentially based on the fur trade. It is an empire founded not only on political and military conquest, but also on missionary work with the extremely marked help of religious orders, particularly the Jesuit order which played a capital role in the establishment of the First French Empire. The French called on Jesuit missionaries to help them occupy the conquered territories. What the English, Spanish and Portuguese did not have, the Jesuits were able to communicate with the indigenous populations. The first Iroquois, Inuit, dictionaries of the great Indian tribes of North America are Jesuit dictionaries translated into Latin from 1620 - 1630. These are truly people who speak the language, come into contact with the indigenous populations and live with them. The mediators are always Jesuits who speak both languages. In a way, the French Empire owes its longevity and development to the Jesuit order. It also means that the French Empire established different relations between the Spanish and the English and the indigenous people.
[[Fichier:Anachronous map of the All French Empire (1534 -1970).png|vignette|Espaces colonisés par la France au long de son histoire coloniale]]
L’Empire français est également un empire extrêmement tardif, mais finalement assez petit. Le Premier Empire français sera absorbé par les Anglais par le traité de Paris de 1763 où la France perdra l’intégralité de son empire colonial. Elle le reconstituera au XIXème siècle à partir de l’affaire d’Algérie en 1840 et en Afrique à partir du Congrès de Berlin. C’est un empire qui ne s’étend pas sur d’immenses territoires. La France va occuper des territoires au Canada, des colonies au Québec, et dans deux autres régions d’Amérique du Nord qui sont la région de la Floride et la Louisiane soit la région du Mississippi dès 1603. Il y a une tradition francophile en Louisiane qui d’ailleurs a été vendue aux États-Unis par Napoléon. Fondamentalement, la Louisiane est restée sous domination française qui avait créé un cordon entre le Canada et la Louisiane. C’est un empire paradoxalement peu étendu et tardif, mais surtout c’est un empire qui est constitué d’une multitude de petits comptoirs et de places fortes. Sur le plan économique, c’est un empire qui n’est pas fondé sur le monopole, mais sur une forme de libre-échange et sur un secteur économique extrêmement précis qui est le commerce des fourrures. Ce n’est pas un empire constitué sur l’or ou l’étain, ce n’est pas un empire qui se constituera sur des biens naturels, mais c’est un empire essentiellement fondé sur le commerce des fourrures. C’est un empire fondé non seulement sur une conquête politique et militaire, mais également sur le missionnariat avec l’aide extrêmement marquée d’ordres religieux et notamment l’ordre des Jésuites qui a joué un rôle capital dans la mise en place du Premier Empire français. Les Français ont fait appel à des missionnaires jésuites afin de les aider à occuper les territoires conquis. Ce que les Anglais, les Espagnols et les Portugais n’ont pas, les jésuites pouvaient communiquer avec les populations autochtones. Les premiers dictionnaires iroquois, inuit, des grands tributs indiens de l’Amérique du Nord sont des dictionnaires jésuites traduits vers le latin à partir de 1620 – 1630. Ce sont véritablement des gens qui parlent la langue, entre en contact avec les populations autochtones et qui vivent avec elles. Les médiateurs sont toujours des jésuites qui parlent les deux langues. D’une certaine manière, l’Empire français doit sa longévité et son développement à l’ordre des Jésuites. Cela veut aussi dire que l’Empire français a établi des relations différentes des Espagnols et des Anglais avec les autochtones.


== L’Empire hollandais ==
== The Dutch Empire ==
[[Fichier:DutchEmpire4.png|thumb|450px|Carte des territoires colonisés à un moment ou à un autre par les Pays-Bas ou les Provinces-Unies. Ceux en vert foncé sont administrés par la Compagnie néerlandaise des Indes occidentales, ceux en vert clair par la Compagnie néerlandaise des Indes orientales.]]
[[Fichier:DutchEmpire4.png|thumb|450px|Map of the territories settled at one time or another by the Netherlands or the United Provinces. Those in dark green are administered by the Dutch West India Company, those in light green by the Dutch East India Company.]]


L’Empire hollandais va donner toute sa plénitude au XVIIème siècle. L’Empire hollandais est le plus tardif devenant un empire très vite extrêmement puissant. Il tient sa puissance du fait que les Hollandais ont compris avant tout le monde que la force d’un empire est sa flotte et sa marine. Le fait de posséder une flotte puissante de couvrir la surface de la Terre et de rapatrier les biens et un atout considérable. C’est un empire essentiellement maritime qui va permettre aux Hollandais d’occuper des régions extrêmement variées notamment en actuelle Indonésie, au Ceylan, en Afrique en Guinée et dans le golf de Guinée, en Guyane hollandaise, également au sud de l’Afrique dans la région du Cap. C’est un empire extrêmement bien organisé à la fois sur le plan de la gestion que sur le plan militaire. Est créée pour cela en 1608 la très puissante Compagnie des Indes orientales qui sera suivie en 1621 par la Compagnie des Indes occidentales. Il y a une forme de privatisation de l’empire hollandais dans le sens où l’empire hollandais a été géré par des compagnies privées. L’Espagne, le Portugal, la France, l’Angleterre, les gouverneurs devaient rapporter au pouvoir royal, mais pas dans le cas des Hollandais.  
The Dutch Empire will give all its fullness to the 17th century. The Dutch Empire is the latest to become an extremely powerful empire very quickly. It got its power from the fact that the Dutch understood before anyone else that the strength of an empire is its fleet and its navy. Having a powerful fleet to cover the surface of the earth and repatriate goods is a considerable asset. It is an essentially maritime empire that will allow the Dutch to occupy extremely varied regions, including present-day Indonesia, Ceylon, Africa in Guinea and the Gulf of Guinea, Dutch Guiana, and also southern Africa in the Cape region. It is an extremely well-organised empire both in terms of management and military organisation. The very powerful East India Company was created for this purpose in 1608, which was followed in 1621 by the West India Company. There is a form of privatisation of the Dutch empire in the sense that the Dutch empire was managed by private companies. Spain, Portugal, France, England, the governors had to report to the royal power, but not in the case of the Dutch.  


Ce sont ces deux compagnies privées à savoir la Compagnie des Indes orientales et occidentales de 1608 et 1621 qui auront la responsabilité de gérer l’Empire hollandais. Parmi les compétences qu’avaient ces deux compagnies, elles avaient la compétence accordée par le gouvernement hollandais de négocier des traités avec des puissances publiques et étrangères, de lever des armées. Ce sont des compagnies privées qui ont les compétences d’un État. C’est une véritable caractéristique de l’Empire hollandais qui a confié ses intérêts à deux compagnies avec la capacité de lever une armée et signer des traités. C’est un empire profondément fondé sur le libre-échange. Les Hollandais seront les grands défenseurs d’un droit fondamental auquel Vitoria n’avait pas pensé qui est un droit naturel dans l’ordre international qui ne relève pas du droit interne ni des droits individuels, mais du droit international classique qu’on appelait à l’époque le jus gentium dit aussi droit des gens. Jusqu’en 1781, on parlera de jus gentium. On recourt à l’appellation romaine pour le droit international. Il y a un droit fondamental que les Hollandais en bon libre-échangiste et en bon commerçant vont défendre qui est la libre circulation maritime. Ce sont des libre-échangistes qui créés un empire commercial et maritime. Afin de permettre à cet empire d’exister et de commercer, il faut non seulement défendre un droit de la mer ouvert et défendre l’idée que la mer n’appartient à personne. On doit une première réflexion sur la mer et la propriété de la mer est Grotius.
It was these two private companies, the East and West India Company of 1608 and 1621, that were responsible for managing the Dutch Empire. Among the powers of these two companies was the power granted by the Dutch government to negotiate treaties with public and foreign powers and to raise armies. They were private companies with the powers of a state. This is a true characteristic of the Dutch Empire, which entrusted its interests to two companies with the ability to raise armies and sign treaties. It is an empire deeply based on free trade. The Dutch will be the great defenders of a fundamental right that Vitoria had not thought of, which is a natural right in the international order that does not come under domestic law or individual rights, but under the classical international law that was called at the time jus gentium, also known as the right of the people. Until 1781, it was called jus gentium. The Roman name for international law is used. There is a fundamental right that the Dutch, as good free traders and merchants, will defend, namely the right to free movement of goods by sea. It was the free traders who created a commercial and maritime empire. In order to allow this empire to exist and to trade, we must not only defend an open law of the sea but also defend the idea that the sea belongs to no one. A first reflection on the sea and the property of the sea is Grotius.


= Annexes =
= Annexes =

Version actuelle datée du 8 janvier 2021 à 19:54

The legal and political problems of the conquest I
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The arrival of Christopher Columbus in America with two white banners emblazoned with a green cross and a yellow banner bearing the initials F and Y of the sovereigns Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile.

Professeur(s) Alexis Keller[1][2][3]
Cours History of legal and political thought: the concept of empire from its origins to the present day

Lectures


We have seen that the Roman idea of empire gives rise to two branches: the papal conception and the imperial conception of the empire through the birth and reflection on the Holy Roman Germanic Empire. With the discovery of the New World, the two ideas of empire will no longer be able to confront each other and will be absorbed into a third vision of the empire linked to this major historical fact. The beginnings, the characteristics of two great branches are no longer applicable to the two great imperial forms that were born.

This discovery had a colossal impact on the idea of empire because it forced the theories of empire to propose a new model of empire. The papal and Germanic visions no longer made it possible to propose a model because the questions facing Europeans from 1492 onwards were radically different from those posed by the pope or the Germanic empire. Another model will emerge. The great theorists of the empire, and the great imperial jurists will ask themselves two main categories of questions, namely theoretical and practical questions.

The practical questions they will ask themselves after the discovery of the New World are:

  • how to administer these new territories?
  • what kind of legal order should be applied to these territories?

The theoretical questions are very important. The discovery of the New World forces imperial lawyers to ask themselves a whole series of theoretical questions:

  • what is the status of the conquered peoples? What is the status of the individuals discovered? The stakes are high because these individuals will either have rights or they will not. Are they men?
  • these two visions of empire are not based on a right of conquest, the question arises from 1492 onwards as to whether there is a right of conquest, can an empire be constituted from a right jus ocupacio? This is the problem of the legitimacy of newly conquered territories.
  • Is there a particular mode of sovereignty? Who holds sovereignty over these new territories?

The first major theoretical answer to these questions, which emerged in the middle of the 15th century, was provided by Vitoria.

The Turks under the walls of Constantinople. Miniature attributed to Philippe de Mazerolles, taken from a manuscript of the Chronicle of the reign of Charles VII" by Jean Chartier., BNF Fr.2091.

Three dates allow us to understand the discovery of the New World and put this discovery into perspective:

  • the Byzantine Empire fell in 1453. Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire, it was the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire. This fall of Constantinople had a whole series of consequences, two of which are important. The first was the rupture of the route to the Indies, the end of trade between India and Europe and the rupture of the communication routes between Europe, India and China. This will force Europeans to look westwards. There is a very clear shift in the gaze of Europeans from Constantinople to the New World. Portugal is going to emerge as the relay power that will try to impose itself in this process of discovery and conquest.
  • 1492 is not so much the conquest of the New World, but rather the reconquest of Spain by Isabella the Catholic against the Muslim troops. 1492 is the fall of Granada, which completes the movement to reconquer Christianity from Islam in Spain. The extremely powerful Queen of Spain will finance by giving her the title of Admiral Christopher Columbus in order to gain access to the Indies since the fall of Constantinople cut off this route.
  • 1493 - Spain and Portugal will seek the advice of Pope Alexander VI to take a position on the right of conquest and in relation to the newly conquered territories. In 1493, Alexander VI promulgated the bull inter caetera, which was to be authoritative for decades. This bull promulgated the idea that all the territories conquered or to be conquered beyond Spain would belong to Portugal and Spain. The Pope gives full sovereignty to the Portuguese and Spanish "over all the Canary Islands discovered or to be discovered". The bull inter caetera will attribute to the two great imperial powers that will become the territories of the New World. This was contested a little later by the English, the French and the Dutch.

  • Pope Alexander VI, fresco by Pinturicchio, 1492-1495.

  • Posthumous portrait of Christopher Columbus painted by Sebastiano del Piombo.

  • Isabella the Catholic.

  • Hugo Grotius, Portrait par Michiel Jansz. van Mierevelt (1631).

Overall, there are three states that condition the legal and political debate on the discovery of the New World. Traditionally, this third imperial movement is divided into three stages:

  • 1492 - 1530: Portugal and Spain will occupy as many territories as possible, which are currently Santo Domingo, Cuba, Mexico and South America. It is the stage of a somewhat unbridled conquest. There is going to be a whole debate on the question of insignia and flags, the French, Dutch and English will contest them, because it is the one who has the strength to hold the territory.
  • 1530 - 1625: from 1530 onwards, there is a reflection on the political and military consequences of the empire.
  • 1625 - 1960/70: this period lasts until 1625 when the new reflection on the idea of empire begins, because a major book on public international law, De jure belli ac pacis by Grotius, is published, which opens the new reflection on the idea of European empire. The Grotian moment will only come to an end relatively recently. Arguments from the Grotius to certain treaties of public international law can be found in the 1960s and 1970s.
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The legal and political debate on the discovery of the New World[modifier | modifier le wikicode]

From 1530 onwards, a series of theoretical questions were considered in Europe. Can an empire be built on a conquest, on a territorial acquisition? This debate emerged in Spain from 1530 onwards through a whole series of writings on the status and legitimacy of the Spanish occupation. Between 1594 and 1530, there was no interest in the status of the Indians. The debate on the nature of the Amerindians in a reflection on the empire emerges and will emerge in Spain because Spain with Portugal are the great First European empires that were born in parallel to the Holy Roman Empire of Germany.

If we answer the question of whether they are men, we answer the question of whether they have rights and especially the right of ownership. This reflection takes place in three directions. Three texts answer the question of the status of the Amerindians. Sepulveda had made only one trip while La Casas had lived among the Indians. In his memoirs, Las Casas worked as a jurist, but also as an anthropologist. During the Valladolid controversy, under the presidency of the Pope, it was necessary to determine whether the Indians had rights or not and saw two great theologians and jurists confront each other.

Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda.

The first Sepulveda text is the most indienophobic text of the time, responding to the status of the indigenous and conquered peoples.

« Let us compare these qualities of prudence, character, manageability, temperance, humanity and religion (of the Spaniards) with those of these hommelets (humunculi), in which there are hardly any vestiges of humanity, which not only lack any culture, but are not even used, Neither knowledge of the alphabet, nor do they preserve monuments of their history, IF it is not some vague, obscure and blind memory of a few facts recorded in a few paintings, which are devoid of any written law and have only barbaric institutions and customs. And about their qualities, if one asks about their temperance and gentleness, what can one expect from these men who are given over to all kinds of passions and who, for some of them, do not hesitate to feed on human flesh (...). ) As for the fact that some of them seem to have a certain talent, as shown by the building of certain works of art, this is not an argument in favour of any human prudence, since we see certain creatures such as bees or spiders doing what no human industry manages to imitate [...]. I referred to the customs and characters of these barbarians - what then of their unholy religion and the odious sacrifices that characterise it, since worshipping the devil as gods, they do not believe they can appease them with better sacrifices than by offering them human hearts? »

This text dates from 1547 and was written by Sepulveda and deals with the just causes of the war against the Indians. It is the first great text of reflection on the nature of the Amerindians. It is a text representative of those who would reply that the Indians in the new empire in the making have no rights. It is possible to divide this text into three parts.

  • Basically, what Sepulveda tells us, the central argument of this part is that these peoples have no culture because culture is a culture based on the written word, on history and on laws. In other words, Sepulveda has a Eurocentric definition of culture. A civilization or culture can only be called culture or civilization if a community has written laws, has a history, has monuments, has a relationship to its past that is the same as "ours". This type of argument is today reflected in the idea of the superiority of culture over others. The referents are often referents that refer to Sepulveda.
  • They are not men, but animals because they are men who are not endowed with reason and given over to their vile passions and because they are given over to their passions are like animals who have no reason. There is a double logical transition: Indian peoples are beings of passion, animals are beings of passion without reason, and therefore Indians are animals. The equation between Indians and animals is linked to the absence of reason.
  • The theologian's argument prevails over the jurist's argument, because there is only one culture, there is only one criterion to distinguish animals from men and there is only one religion which is the Christian religion to which the Indians do not adhere.

The other answer is given by Las Casas, which is a great answer to Sepulveda. This text is published in 1542.

« The men who inhabit these immense regions have a simple character, without malice or duplicity; they are submissive and faithful to their native masters or to the Christians they are obliged to serve: patient, quiet, peaceful, incapable of insubordination and revolt, of division, hatred or vengeance [...]. These peoples have a keen, prompt intelligence; they are without prejudice; hence their great docility to receive all kinds of doctrines, which they are moreover very capable of understanding; their morals are pure and they are found in such good and perhaps better dispositions to embrace the Catholic religion than any other nation in the world.... [...] »

Portrait of Bartolomé de las Casas (anonymous, 16th century).

It is the exact opposite of Sepulveda. The Casas, in a very Indianophile text, defends the human status of Indians who have the capacity to understand and learn. By saying that their morals are pure, it responds to Sepulveda, who made Indians into animals somewhere because of the impurity of their morals. The religious argument is invoked to justify his position making Indians capable of embracing the Catholic religion.

The Middle Way was proposed by Vitoria, who in 1539 published a founding text on modern empires entitled "De Indis". It is possible to see the synthetic dimension of this text.

« For, in all truth, they are not mad, but they possess in their own way the use of reason. 1. For they have a certain organisation in their affairs, since they have cities where order reigns; they know the institution of marriage; they have magistrates, chiefs, laws, works of art; they trade. All this presupposes the use of reason. 2. In the same way, they have a kind of religion [...]. If they seem so stupid and obtuse, I think that this is largely due to a bad and barbaric education; for we also see many peasants who are hardly different from animals [...]. From all the above, it follows that, without doubt, these barbarians had, like the Christians, real power, both public and private. »

For Vitoria, they are men because they are rational. Amerindian culture is certainly different from European culture, but it is not as different as Sepulveda claims, and they also know the institution of marriage, which from a legal and theological point of view was an important sign of European culture as a kind of referent.

In the second part two important elements emerge. They are not animals because they are endowed with reason. They are men who have both public and private power, in other words, they have rights. This will make Vitoria a defender of the property rights of indigenous peoples.

Is there anything in common between these three authors? All these authors have a clear awareness of the diversity in which Amerindian cultures evolve. However, they always reason in European terms using Eurocentric language. Philosophically or theoretically, they use European categories to define Amerindians.

In these three texts, an old division that comes from Roman law between free men and slave men appears. For these authors, the world is divided between free men and slave men. There is also the opposition between civilised peoples and between barbarian peoples irrigating, draining all imperial conceptions until recently. Until the 1970s, the great treaties of public international law began by dividing the world into civilised and uncivilised states. The division between civilised and uncivilised states still exists today. This theorising continues to permeate our way of thinking. The third category that allows us to think about the relationship between Amerindians and Spaniards is the relationship between believers and infidels. All these authors understand the world through the prism between believers and infidels. These conceptual categories will be found in the international legal order until very recently.

The dividing line according to the bubble Inter cætera (dotted line), according to the Treaty of Tordesillas (in purple), and its extension according to the Treaty of Zaragoza (in green).

What is the legitimate authority? Who has sovereignty? The "bubble inter caetera" answered the question in 1493 because it had given Portugal and Spain jurisdiction over the newly conquered lands, but it had not answered the question of whether the right of ownership applies, who has sovereignty, who is the sovereign, who has dominus mundi. The Germanic emperor will have declared himself dominus mundi just like the pope, but who holds it then?

Vitoria will send back both the emperor and the pope in "De Indis" of 1539:

  • the emperor does not hold the dominum mundi;
  • the pope does not hold the dominum mundi;
  • there is no right of discovery strictly speaking, nothing can legitimise the taking of possession by the Spaniards. In other words, there is no right of the first occupant;
  • Vitoria accepts and recognises the need to spread Christianity;
  • Vitoria rejects the idea that the New World was given to the Spaniards by the will of God.

Vitoria has an extremely strong spirit of synthesis, it proceeds summarily by presenting these arguments, which it then develops :

  • 1. the emperor is not the master of the whole world.
  • 2. even if he were master of the world, the emperor could not take over the provinces of the barbarians, nor institute new masters, nor deposit the old ones, nor collect taxes.
  • 3. If we speak properly of civil sovereignty and power, the pope is not the civil or temporal master of the whole world.
  • 6. The Pope has no temporal power over the barbarians of India, nor over other infidels.
  • 12. If the barbarians are invited and exhorted to listen peacefully to the preachers of religion and if they refuse to do so, they are not excused from mortal sin.
Francisco de Vitoria.

When Vitoria published "De Indis" in 1539, he wanted to send the emperor and the pope back to back to propose a new vision of the empire. He accepted the idea that the Indians were men and therefore had natural rights. One of the essential rights is the right of ownership. What is at stake, since it is a fact that the Spaniards are conquering the New World, which one is it? Vitoria notices that the Spaniards are conquering, killing and plundering part of this continent. The question now is what are the possible conditions for entering into war and what are the conditions for a just war. If the Spaniards or any colonisers have rights, what are they? Can they act through war? Under what conditions can war be waged to conquer the world? Are there criteria of just war that allow or do not allow the conquest of the world?

The third conception of empire that is emerging in Europe is accompanied by a real reflection on war and more precisely on just war. The entire imperial vision that would take shape from 1550 onwards is accompanied by a vast reflection on war that accompanies the conception of Roman imperial ideology. Among the Romans, the question of justice and the righteousness of a war comes with Christianity. In Christian doctrine, in the order of reflection on war and peace there is the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus Christ explains the doctrine of non-resistance of Christianity. The Sermon on the Mount is an important benchmark in Christianity's relationship to violence. The doctrine of just war was born in the context of finding a formula that would allow Roman citizens to wage war without denying their romanticism.

Vitoria develops the argument « if the emperor is the master of the world" as a first answer. The emperor is not the master of the world for at least three reasons ». Indeed, there can only be a right under natural law, divine law or human law. Now, let us show this, « the emperor is not master of the world by virtue of any of these rights ». By virtue of these three rights, the emperor is not the holder of dominium mundi. The emperor is not master of the world by virtue of divine, human and natural law.

The second answer « Even if the emperor was the master of the world, he could not take over the Indies ». Let us suppose that the emperor is the dominum mundi, he could not take over the Indies. It is a very clear will to remove the emperor from any territorial claim on the Indies.

The meeting of Cortés and Moctezuma as seen by an anonymous painter from the Modèle:S -

An argument that is absolutely essential to the whole imperial ideology is affirmed: "Those who attribute to the emperor power over the world do not say that he has a power of possession over it, but only a power of jurisdiction. But this does not authorise him to annex provinces for his own personal profit, nor to distribute fortresses and even land as he pleases". In a very harmless way, Vitoria tells us that even if the emperor had territorial claims, he could only invoke "juridictio" or "imperium", but not "dominium".

The Romans distinguished "imperium" or "juridictio", which is the equivalent of sovereignty from "dominium", which is the power of ownership. The emperor is not the holder of both property and sovereignty at the same time because a distinction must be made between the two. This will have major consequences from the sixteenth century to the twentieth century.

The great European empires that are being built on the rubble of the papal vision and empire will be different, offering different models of empire. Grotius will propose a model of the international order that will allow the great European empires to take root and find a legal basis and justify their expansion.

Entrance of Cortés in Tabasco.

Vitoria is the first jurist and theologian to question the limits of the papal-imperial model from the Spanish imperial model, questioning the Pope's competence in matters of dominium mundi and the Emperor's competence. It opens a third way for the great European empires that are being established. Vitoria will open the way, but it will be up to Grotius to refine it, to finish it and to propose a theory of international order very favourable to European empires.

Vitoria rejects both the claims of the Papal Emperor and the German Emperor. Vitoria takes up the distinction made in Roman public law between dominium and imperium. Vitoria's second answer is « Even if the emperor was the master of the world, he could not take over the Indies ». It is a challenge to the vision of the imperial conception of the Empire by instrumentalizing the distinction between dominium and imperium, i.e. the power of jurisdiction and the power of possession. This distinction, which Grotius will take up again as a theorist of European empires, will serve as a basis for the Grotian vision.

Vitoria asks the same question about the pope, whether he is the holder of the dominium mundi, whether the pope is the master of the world. The question is clearly asked, "Is the pope the master of the world? "he concludes that he is not. The first answer is that "the pope is not the temporal master of the world". For Vitoria, "the pope has a power that is ordered to the spiritual", thus explaining it as follows: "This means that he has temporal power in so far as it is necessary for the administration of spiritual things". It is clear that Vitoria takes over the papal competence resulting from the Worms Concordat, which left the Pope the competence to manage the goods of the Church, which Vitoria assimilates to a temporal power.

On the other hand, it limits the intrusion of spiritual power into temporal power. In support of its point of view, Vitoria posits that « lhe pope has no temporal power over the Indians or other infidels ». This is a rather strong statement. In other words, newly conquered populations and newly conquered lands do not depend on the authority of the pope. There is no Church property in the newly conquered territories, so the pope cannot claim any jurisdiction over them.

Cortez et Moctezuma.

The ius ocupacio or right of discovery or right of the first occupant is a right that has been debated in Europe since the 12th and 13th centuries, not so much for the territories of the Amerindians but for certain European territories that are not occupied or only slightly occupied. This question concerns, from the 13th century onwards, lands in northern Poland, and the question is whether the fact of occupying these lands or discovering them gives the person who first plants his flag a legal basis. It is a question that already emerged in Europe in the 13th century for European territories that are currently in areas of the Ukraine. The Austro-Hungarian monarchy had discovered them and the question of jurisdiction arose.

Vitoria wondered whether there was or is a right of discovery and whether this right gives rights. He asked whether under jus gentium there is a right of discovery concluding that in theory there is, but in practice this right cannot be invoked to occupy Amerindian lands. The reason is simple since he has decided whether they are men by the affirmative. Therefore, if they are men, they have rights and it is not possible to invoke a right that is superior to individual natural rights, including the right of ownership. It is consistent in its logic, recognising the possibility of invoking the right of discovery in certain regions of the world in theory, however, in practice, in the context of the conquest of the Indies, it is not invocable, because the Indians are men, they have property and they own their goods and their land.

In the third part of the book, Vitoria titles "Legitimate Titles of Spanish domination over the Indians". This is an interesting thing. The first two parts aim to reject papal or imperial claims and the third part aims to delimit, define and clarify the legitimacy of the Spanish adventure. Do they have the right to discover the Americas, to claim dominium or imperium over these lands. In other words, what is the applicable law as it stands? This part shows that man is much more ambiguous. Man is going to open a breach with terrible consequences in the justification of the European imperial adventure.

01-CORONICA Y BUEN GOBIERNO-Poma de Ayala.jpg

The contents of this section speak for themselves. The second paragraph reads: « Spaniards have the right to go and stay in the territories of the Indians, but on condition that they do not harm them, and the Indians cannot prevent them from doing so ». This paragraph is ambiguous since Spaniards have the right to conquer and occupy the newly conquered lands, and above all, others cannot prevent them from doing so. The fourth paragraph also speaks for itself: « It is not permitted for barbarians to prevent Spaniards from participating in the goods that are in their territories and that are common to citizens and foreigners ». Vitoria aimed at gold and precious metals which are common to everyone.

All of Vitoria's ambiguity can be seen in the introduction of the jus comunicatio, which is the right of society and communication. It is on the basis of this right that the Spaniards have legitimate titles to these newly conquered lands. What is the legal basis that allows the Spanish to conquer and occupy the newly discovered lands? « Spaniards have the right to go and live in India ». For Vitoria, it is a fundamental right to move.

The ambiguity arises with the second principle that justifies the conquest of the Spanish: « The Spaniards have the right to trade with the Indians ». This is an extremely clear affirmation of the right to trade. It is because they have the right to trade with the Indians that the Spaniards can occupy, conquer and expand. Trade is a very important element because the right to trade will become a leitmotif of the great jurists who founded jus gentium. The right to trade is an inalienable and fundamental right. To make it a fundamental right implies that those who do not respect it are liable to be subjected to war. In other words, if a certain number of fundamental rights are not respected, States, the entities responsible for maintaining and respecting these rights can attack for this.

The cruelties of the Spaniards (Jean Théodore de Bry).

In addition, for Vitoria : « Spaniards can participate in public goods » asserting that « If the barbarians have goods in common with citizens and foreigners, it is not allowed for the barbarians to prevent Spaniards from participating and enjoying them » implying a pretext for war. The title of the work speaks for itself « LThe lesson on the Indians and the law of war ». It is a logic of establishing Spanish property titles and in a logic of setting up the conditions for making war. Failure to respect a number of such things as the right to trade or to participate in public law is a just cause of war.

Vitoria's fourth answer is that « Spaniards can acquire a right of citizenship in India ». They may very well be citizens of the territory they have conquered, opening the door to the sharing of sovereignty by the colonists. Vitoria's fifth answer is that "In case of hostility from the Indians, the Spanish can defend themselves by war". There is no longer any ambiguity in this answer: « Let us suppose that the barbarians want to prohibit the Spaniards from doing the things that have been said above that are allowed to them by the law of nations, such as trade and the other activities we have been talking about. The Spaniards must first avoid scandal by using wisdom and persuasion. They must show all kinds of reason that they have not come to harm the Indians, but that they want to be welcomed and live peacefully without harming them. And they must not only affirm this, but also give proof of it, according to this word: it is fitting that the wise should first test all things by words. If the barbarians do not want to accept the reasons given to them, but if they want to resort to violence, then the Spaniards can defend themselves and do whatever is necessary for their safety, because it is permitted to repel force by force. Moreover, if they cannot obtain security otherwise, they can build citadels and fortifications; and, if they have suffered an injustice, they can, on the decision of their prince, punish it by war and exercise the other rights of war. ».

The fate of the so-called "indigenous" populations was sealed, because the just motives for war are clearly stated. Vitoria opened a major breach that the papal or imperial conception had never addressed, which was the contribution of a discourse on the right of conquest and the conditions of the right of conquest, and more precisely on the conditions of a just war. This is a new element that is not found in the traditional imperial Germanic conception nor in the papal conception. In other words, until Vitoria there was little or no reflection on war and the right of discovery. It was the reflection in Vitoria that gave European ideology a new character and scope.

Vitoria's ambiguity evaporates when Vitoria says « Spaniards can subdue Indians ». The ambiguity that was perceived and detected at the beginning is no longer at all de rigueur : « If the Spaniards have tried all means and if they can only obtain security from the barbarians by taking over their cities and subjugating them, they can also do so legitimately ». The tone was set. This sentence is crucial because Vitoria opens the way to a much more aggressive vision of great empires. Conquest was an important part of the Roman Empire, but Rome, in the opinion of Roman historians, did not show aggression or conquest of the world. Rome never had any claim to world domination. Papal and imperial conceptions were not built on an aggressive vision of world order. It is a process of securing the emperor's competences or securing and protecting the pope's competences. With the discovery of the New World, the new model of empire and the new conceptions of empire that are emerging are much more ambitious and conquering. It is clear that the concept of empire is evolving in a much more expansionist direction.

Bartolomé de las Casas.

Vitoria's seventh answer is that « the Spaniards can exercise all the rights of war against the Indians ». It is implied that the Spaniards are entitled to intervene if the Indians do not respect a number of natural rights.

The first part somewhere enumerated the fundamental rights in the international order, namely the right of discovery and the right to trade. The second part introduces another right which is the right of evangelization. This is a major contribution from Vitoria, which is a reflection on the right of evangelisation as a right that is part of and can be invoked by the great European empires in the making: "There may be another title: the expansion of the Christian religion". The first answer is that Christians have the right to evangelise the Indians.

The second answer is that "The evangelisation of the Indians was entrusted especially to the Spaniards". This will be contested by Grotius as a Protestant who will not understand at all why the Spaniards have a monopoly on evangelisation. The third answer is that "This evangelisation excludes the use of force". It is a right which is an invocable right, but which does not allow the use of war in order to impose it. The fourth answer removes any ambiguity which is that « Indians should not oppose evangelization ». If they do, they are liable to be the object of war. In other words, if they oppose it, it is a just cause for war for the Spanish and Portuguese Empire: « It is clear from this answer that, if the Spaniards cannot otherwise promote the cause of religion, they are also allowed, for this reason, to take over their lands and provinces, to create new chiefs, to depose the old ones and to do, under the law of war, what could legitimately be done in other just wars. But they must always act with restraint and moderation, so as not to go further than is necessary. They must prefer to give up their own right rather than undertake something that is not allowed. Finally, they must constantly orient everything to the good of the barbarians rather than to their own advantage ». The Indians have relatively little room for manoeuvre. In other words, if they refuse evangelisation, their chief can be changed, their provinces confiscated and all Spanish domination can be exercised without restraint. The right to evangelisation does not imply conversion limited to preaching. In other words, the Indians cannot be forced to convert, but they cannot prevent the Spanish and Portuguese from spreading the good word.

Vitoria postulates the following: « I have no doubt that the Spaniards were forced to resort to violence and weapons in order to stay there. But I fear that they went beyond what the law and justice allowed ». It is necessary that the European powers that conquer the world show restraint and respect a certain number of rights, which will become jus in bello.

It is clear that Vitoria is still trapped by two visions. In other words, it is clear that when you read Vitoria's text, it oscillates between two attitudes. An attitude that rejects the Pope's competence and the emperor's competence to leave the Indians control, ownership and sovereignty over their territory. In the third part, the introduction of a number of rights in the name of jus gentium such as the right to trade, evangelise and communicate opens the way to an expansionist vision of European empires. There is a tension in Vitoria between a man who is aware of the horrors of conquest, but who somewhere provides a number of legal arguments to justify it. This tension can be found in Grotius, who will present a model and a coherent imperial vision.

Following Vitoria, the empires in Europe were set up and began to conquer part of the world. The characteristics of the empires are different. The Spanish and Portuguese Empires do not correspond to the English Empire, which is much later. The material characteristics are different.

The European empires[modifier | modifier le wikicode]

Portuguese Empire[modifier | modifier le wikicode]

The Portuguese Empire at its height.

The Portuguese Empire began to emerge at the end of the 15th century with the discovery of the India sea route in 1497. The Portuguese conquered part of South America, part of India with a number of trading posts, also in Africa, in the Arabian Peninsula with the occupation of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as islands such as Malaka, Java and Macau. Portugal will also occupy Brazil. It is an empire split with South America, some regions of South-East Asia, some African trading posts. It is an empire of trading posts built on the basis of a certain number of areas or ports, but it is not an empire that will penetrate inland. It is a maritime empire that is essentially based economically on monopoly. The comptoirs are only allowed to trade with Portugal.

The empire is not going to last very long, falling apart very quickly because Portugal does not have the means to control its immense territories and its many trading posts. It is an empire that will become decentralised. The governors of the comptoirs would soon have a great deal of authority and a series of important competences.

The Spanish Empire[modifier | modifier le wikicode]

Anachronistic map of the Spanish Empire, at different periods.

This is not the case of the Spanish Empire, which was born at the same time. Colonisation was extremely different from that of the Portuguese, beginning with the Antilles in 1510, followed by the discovery of Mexico, Central America, South America and precisely Peru. Unlike the Portuguese Empire, the Spanish Empire is an extremely centralised empire, very well organised, divided into kingdoms and vice-kingdoms. It is an empire centralised from Madrid and extremely well organised. It is an empire divided into two viceroyalties, with the Kingdom of New Spain having Mexico City as its capital and the Kingdom of New Castile having Lima as its capital. The Spanish Empire is economically extremely well organised, not based on monopoly, but based on a form of plunder in order to recall to Spain as much common and public property as possible. The Spanish Empire is at the service of the Spanish monarchy economically speaking. Finally, the massive recourse and use of Spaniards to slavery. The institution of slavery will be made by the Spaniards a cardinal stone of their empire. As the Amerindian peoples were decimated by war and disease, the Spaniards were to be great importers of slaves from Africa and India. The Spaniards will be the ones to build their empire around this institution and make it their economic and political engine.

The English Empire[modifier | modifier le wikicode]

Areas of the world that were once part of the British Empire. Current British overseas territories are highlighted in red.

The third empire that is being established is the English Empire. Like the French Empire, it is a late empire. The Spaniards and the Portuguese would soon occupy it, while the English started late in 1583 with the discovery and annexation of a part of Canada known as Newfoundland. The English Empire was a relatively late empire that was formed in parts of Canada, mainly in what would become the American colonies and then some African trading posts, particularly in southern Africa. However, the English conquest came relatively late with the absorption of the French Empire in 1763. The great years of the English Empire were the 18th and 19th centuries. From 1587 onwards, they took possession of the American colonies where they established a whole series of trading posts in Massachusetts and Virginia. It is interesting to note that Florida was in Spanish hands. The Kingdom of Mexico also ruled over South Florida. It is a late empire, rather disparate, but concentrated mainly in North America. It is also an empire that was to be based on monopoly. The colonies could and should only trade with Great Britain. It is a model that all the great economists would later criticize, but it is a model based on monopoly. It's an extremely decentralised empire. For the part after 1750, the British crown would regain control of its empire, but until 1742, the British Empire was essentially decentralised.

Like the Dutch Empire, it is a Protestant Empire. They are empires based on an extremely Protestant and Calvinist view of human nature. This religious dimension needs to be clarified because the Spanish and Portuguese empires are like the armed arms of the Church, claiming since the Bull inter caetera of 1493 to be the representatives of the Catholic Church in the new territories. Since the Reformation was established in Europe from 1517 onwards, the British and the Dutch wanted to retain their autonomy and not rely on the church to justify their conquest.

The French Empire[modifier | modifier le wikicode]

Areas colonised by France throughout its colonial history.

The French Empire is also an extremely late empire, but ultimately quite small. The First French Empire was absorbed by the English by the Treaty of Paris in 1763, when France lost its entire colonial empire. It will reconstitute it in the 19th century from the Algerian affair in 1840 and in Africa from the Congress of Berlin. It is an empire which does not extend over immense territories. France was to occupy territories in Canada, colonies in Quebec, and in two other regions of North America, Florida and Louisiana, i.e. the Mississippi region from 1603. There is a Francophile tradition in Louisiana, which was sold to the United States by Napoleon. Basically, Louisiana remained under French rule, which had created a cordon between Canada and Louisiana. It is a paradoxically small and late empire, but above all it is an empire that is made up of a multitude of small trading posts and strongholds. Economically, it is an empire that is not based on monopoly, but on a form of free trade and on an extremely precise economic sector, which is the fur trade. It is not an empire built on gold or tin, it is not an empire that will be built on natural assets, but it is an empire essentially based on the fur trade. It is an empire founded not only on political and military conquest, but also on missionary work with the extremely marked help of religious orders, particularly the Jesuit order which played a capital role in the establishment of the First French Empire. The French called on Jesuit missionaries to help them occupy the conquered territories. What the English, Spanish and Portuguese did not have, the Jesuits were able to communicate with the indigenous populations. The first Iroquois, Inuit, dictionaries of the great Indian tribes of North America are Jesuit dictionaries translated into Latin from 1620 - 1630. These are truly people who speak the language, come into contact with the indigenous populations and live with them. The mediators are always Jesuits who speak both languages. In a way, the French Empire owes its longevity and development to the Jesuit order. It also means that the French Empire established different relations between the Spanish and the English and the indigenous people.

The Dutch Empire[modifier | modifier le wikicode]

Map of the territories settled at one time or another by the Netherlands or the United Provinces. Those in dark green are administered by the Dutch West India Company, those in light green by the Dutch East India Company.

The Dutch Empire will give all its fullness to the 17th century. The Dutch Empire is the latest to become an extremely powerful empire very quickly. It got its power from the fact that the Dutch understood before anyone else that the strength of an empire is its fleet and its navy. Having a powerful fleet to cover the surface of the earth and repatriate goods is a considerable asset. It is an essentially maritime empire that will allow the Dutch to occupy extremely varied regions, including present-day Indonesia, Ceylon, Africa in Guinea and the Gulf of Guinea, Dutch Guiana, and also southern Africa in the Cape region. It is an extremely well-organised empire both in terms of management and military organisation. The very powerful East India Company was created for this purpose in 1608, which was followed in 1621 by the West India Company. There is a form of privatisation of the Dutch empire in the sense that the Dutch empire was managed by private companies. Spain, Portugal, France, England, the governors had to report to the royal power, but not in the case of the Dutch.

It was these two private companies, the East and West India Company of 1608 and 1621, that were responsible for managing the Dutch Empire. Among the powers of these two companies was the power granted by the Dutch government to negotiate treaties with public and foreign powers and to raise armies. They were private companies with the powers of a state. This is a true characteristic of the Dutch Empire, which entrusted its interests to two companies with the ability to raise armies and sign treaties. It is an empire deeply based on free trade. The Dutch will be the great defenders of a fundamental right that Vitoria had not thought of, which is a natural right in the international order that does not come under domestic law or individual rights, but under the classical international law that was called at the time jus gentium, also known as the right of the people. Until 1781, it was called jus gentium. The Roman name for international law is used. There is a fundamental right that the Dutch, as good free traders and merchants, will defend, namely the right to free movement of goods by sea. It was the free traders who created a commercial and maritime empire. In order to allow this empire to exist and to trade, we must not only defend an open law of the sea but also defend the idea that the sea belongs to no one. A first reflection on the sea and the property of the sea is Grotius.

Annexes[modifier | modifier le wikicode]

References[modifier | modifier le wikicode]

  1. ↑ Alexis Keller - Wikipedia
  2. ↑ Alexis Keller - Faculté de droit - UNIGE
  3. ↑ Alexis Keller | International Center for Transitional Justice
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