Moral Uncertainty and Doubt in the Affairs of the Indies: Vitoria, Las Casas, and Medina on Difficult Cases of Conscience

Sixteenth-century Spanish theologians frequently discussed matters of conscience, particularly regarding the dilemmas forced upon them by the Spanish conquest and domination of the Americas. In his Relectio de indis and his Relectio de iure belli, Francisco de Vitoria warned that persons of moral and intellectual authority should be consulted when attempting to solve difficult moral situations. Bartolomé de las Casas investigated such issues from a practical perspective when dealing with slavery, restitution, and war. In his commentary on Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologiae, professor Bartolomé de Medina addressed these issues from a theoretical perspective when dealing with the concepts of dominium and restitution. In this chapter, Vitoria's, Las Casas's and Medina's approaches to difficult ethical cases are discussed and placed in the context of early modern Spanish thought.