Переводчик Кибитов Ярослав Андреевич

The texts in this collection are by Spanish and native-American authors who lived through the period of Spain's 16th century imperial expansion. In a sense, Spain's conquest of the Americas was a continuation of the bellicosity of "the Reconquista," the centuries-long effort of Christian monarchs on the Iberian Peninsula to reclaim territories conquered by Muslim armies in the 8th Century. By 1492, Isabella of Castile and her husband, Ferdinand of Aragón, successfully defeated the Nasrid Dynasty, effectively ending 800 years of continuous Arab rule in Europe. In the process, they unified several Iberian territories into a single Spanish kingdom. In October 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed, at Isabella and Ferdinand's personal behest, for what would later be known as "the New World." And a year later, Pope Alexander VI issued a Papal Bull granting the Spanish crown sovereignty over all lands inhabited by non-Christians across the Atlantic. As a result, by 1519, Charles I – grandson of Isabella and Ferdinand and heir as well to the Habsburg Dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire – ruled over vast territories in central, western and southern Europe as well as a host of new colonies in the Caribbean, the Americas and Asia.
Spanish rulers during the early years of empire frequently consulted theologians and jurists on matters of foreign policy. Historian Anthony Pagden observes that the Habsburg court had appointed itself as the guardian of universal Christendom, as "defenders of the faith." Thus, it was very important that the crown should act – or be seen to act – according to Christian principles established by papally sanctioned experts As soon as Spanish explorers “discovered” America and found it inhabited by non-Christian peoples, questions arose about the permissibility of using military force to control the new lands and speed conversion of indigenous populations.