requeriment

Requeriment, in its historical sense, refers to a formal declaration issued by the Crown of Castile in the early 16th century to justify and authorize Spanish claims over newly encountered peoples in the Americas. The document, usually read aloud by a Spaniard in the local language or in presence of indigenous communities, asserted that God and the Spanish monarch had given Spaniards the right to rule and to subjugate non-Christian peoples who refused submission. The text warned that failure to accept Spanish sovereignty would lead to war, seizure of people and property, and the imposition of Christianity.

Traditionally attributed to the jurist Juan López de Palacios Rubios and issued around 1513, the Requerimiento was part of a broader legal and religious framework used to legitimize conquest and colonization. In practice, it was read before military action, often to communities that did not understand the language, as a pretext for subsequent coercive measures. Its formalistic tone and the assumption of consent have led scholars to view it as a controversial instrument of imperial expansion rather than a genuine treaty or consultation.

Today, the Requerimiento is studied as an example of how law, religion, and power intersected during the early stages of Spanish colonization. It highlights the tensions between proclaimed legal procedures and the realities of conquest, and it remains a focal point in discussions of colonial violence and the ethics of conquest. In modern English usage, the term is usually spelled as Requerimiento in reference to the document; the everyday English term for a need or condition remains requirement. The spelling “requeriment” is uncommon and generally considered a misspelling.