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Laws of the Indies

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The Laws of the Indies (Leyes de Indias in Spanish) are a set of guidelines signed by King Phillip II of Spain to instruct Spanish colonists on how to create and expand towns in Spanish America. They codified the city planning process and represented some of the first attempts at a general plan. The last revision of the growing text was signed in 1573 and published in 1681 with the addition of the design guidelines for colonists. These laws were heavily influenced by Vitruvius' Ten Books of Architecture and Alberti's treatises on the subject.

History

In the New World, with Native Americans (Indians) all around them, the colonists did not know where or how to build communities in which to live. To assist in the establishment of presidios (military towns), missions, and pueblos (civilian towns), King Phillip II developed the Laws of the Indies, a comprehensive guide comprising of 148 ordinances to aid colonists in locating, building, and populating settlements. Signed in 1573, the Laws of the Indies are seen as the first wide-ranging guidelines towards design and development of communities. It also incorporated the ban against "New Christians"[1] on settling in the Americas.

The Laws of the Indies are a revisitation of a document to regulate Indian contact with Spaniards. The Laws of Burgos (1512), signed by King Ferdinand II of Aragon, focused upon the welfare of the conquered Native Americans. It was revised into the New Laws of the Indies (1542) by Charles I and quickly revised again, after resistance was met from colonists, in 1552. The current and last known revision was decreed in 1573 and published in 1681, when it included the Ordinances Concerning Discoveries. In the final Ordinances, any unauthorized operations against Native Americans were forbidden.[2] Also in the last edition, the Ordinances Concerning Discoveries, examples and explanations could be found on how to set up, both physically and logistically, a colonial town.

After Northern Spanish colonies became a part of the United States, the Laws became influential to other later documents. “The [Laws of the] Indies were influential in subsequent regulations guiding development in the United States, particularly the 1785 Land Ordinance, which introduced the mile square grid, townships and sections as organizing devices.”[3].

About the Laws

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

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

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

Examples of cities implemented with The Laws

References

  1. ^ Estatutos de Limpieza de Sangre, Pablo A. Chami.
  2. ^ Indies, Laws of the. (2006). In Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 22, 2006, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online
  3. ^ Jackson, John (2003, June). Guiding Good Development Design. Retrieved November 22, 2006, from Indiana Association of Cities and Towns Web site
  4. ^ Messina, John (2002, March). Town Making]. Retrieved November 22, 2006, from Architecture and Urbanism of the Southwest Web site.

See also

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