Laws of Burgos of 1512.

Laws of Burgos of 1512.
Publisher: Testimonio, 1992.
Limited facsimile edition with book study with introduction by Manuel Ballesteros and diplomatic analysis by José Manuel Ruiz Asencio, copy 129/980.
Notarial certificate enclosed.
With gray velvet slipcase.
Measurements: 30,5 x 40 x 5 cm (slipcase).

Facsimile edition made in 1991 by Testimonio publishing house, which faithfully reproduces the Laws of Burgos of 1512, whose original title is Ordenanzas Reales para el buen regimiento y tratamiento de los indios. Approved in the city of Burgos on December 27, 1512, they were sanctioned by King Ferdinand the Catholic, on behalf of his daughter Juana I of Castile.

These ordinances were drafted by the Royal Council, with the participation of prominent jurists and theologians of the time, and constitute the first legal body of Spanish colonization in America. They establish a pioneering legal framework for regulating relations between the colonizers and the indigenous peoples.

The 35 ordinances that make up the text express a desire to protect the indigenous people, recognizing their humanity and establishing norms regarding their work, their treatment and their forced integration into the social and religious structures of the Spanish Empire. These provisions lay the foundations for what Fray Bartolomé de las Casas would call the "republic of Indians" as opposed to the "republic of Spaniards", enshrining at the same time the figure of the encomienda and a systematic policy of acculturation.

The facsimile consists of 14 folios printed on both sides (28 pages) on aged laid paper, bound with cotton ribbon in the traditional manner. The original is preserved in the General Archive of Simancas.

The set is presented in a blue velvety slipcase, accompanied by a 104-page study volume with introduction by Manuel Ballesteros and diplomatic analysis by José Manuel Ruiz Asencio. This volume is bound in paperback with dust jacket and flaps.

This edition is part of the Tabula Americae collection, published on the occasion of the Fifth Centenary of the Discovery of America, and is limited to 980 numbered and authenticated copies. Its historical rigor, documentary value and careful presentation make it an essential reference for researchers, collectors and scholars of colonial history and the legal thought of the Hispanic Monarchy.