Controversy at Valladolid, The
Written by Jean-Claude CarriereDirected by David Jones
This play, produced in association with Laura Pels, was originally written for French television.
The colonization of the Americas by Catholic Spain has raised questions about the nature and spiritual state of the indigenous people. To resolve the issues, the Pope appoints two learned and spiritual men to argue the case before a Papal Legate at a monastery in Valladolid. Father Bartolome de Las Casas takes the part of the natives, declaring based upon his experiences in the New World that they have souls and are men just as the Spaniards are men; the philosopher Sepulveda argues the opposite, supporting the right of the Spanish colonists to use the lesser creatures as slaves. As the debate stretches on, an Indian family and a colonist are brought in as evidence. The ultimate decision upholds the humanity of the Indians but, in an unforeseen twist of logic, excludes other indigenous peoples and paves the way for the church-sanctioned enslavement of Africans.
source: nytimes.com