The president of the Cortes, Carlos Pollán, assured this Thursday that the Valladolid controversy is the best argument to dismantle the false idea that the Spanish Empire was a “predatory” empire, and he countered it during the debate held there 474 years ago in San Gregorio in the capital of Valladolid, it became clear that Spain’s conquest of America was a “generative” process.
Pollán, who participated this afternoon in a day dedicated to the Valladolid controversy, organized by the Foundation of Castilla y León in collaboration with the European University Miguel de Cervantes (UEMC), indicated that it is enough to travel n “anywhere in Latin America” read on the faces of its people the historical truth that, centuries ago, no genocide had been committed there.
In his speech, the president of the regional parliament also advocated abandoning the “black legend” and declared that the discovery of America is a historical event “worthy of celebration.” In this sense, he argued that defending the rights of indigenous peoples is present throughout the history of Spain since the Catholic Monarchs, given that the Constitution of Cádiz of 1812 also defines the Spanish nation as “the union of all Spaniards of the two hemispheres”, which, according to asserted, “would not be possible without the prior consideration of the natives of the viceroyalties as equal in rights and obligations to those of the metropolis”, says Ical.
The event was also inaugurated with the presence of the rector of the UEMC, David García López, who claimed the importance of the university in the conclave of Valladolid, given the participation of the disciples of Francisco de Vitoria, professor at the University of Salamanca. considered the father of international law, as Bartolomé de las Casas and Domingo Soto.
Furthermore, in his speech he defended the importance of debate and confrontation of ideas based on listening, respect and in-depth argumentation, “extremely powerful tools for the progress of humanity and which we use every day in the field of higher education”, to emphasize that, since then, the role of the academic institution in issues related to humanity rights has been essential.
For his part, the director of the National Sculpture Museum, Alejandro Nuevo, recalled that the San Gregorio school and its controversy are part of history written in golden letters, in addition to becoming the main center of European intellectuality of the 16th century, while the director of the Castilla y León Foundation, Juan Zapatero, added that the debate held in Valladolid in 1550 was an event that “changed the course of history.”
The subdelegate of the Government of Valladolid, Jacinto Canales, also spoke at the inauguration and also described the controversy as the birth of human rights, rights that, as he warned, “are never acquired forever”, this is why he advocated to continue to fight daily to continue moving forward.
The program began with a presentation by the doctor in American history from the Complutense University and professor at the CEU-San Pablo University of Madrid, Maria Saavedra Inarajawhich gave rise to an intervention by the professor of history of Spanish thought Francisco Castilla Urbano. The professor of criminal law from the University of Castile-La Mancha also participated in the event. Luis Arroyo Zapaterowho, in statements prior to Ical, summarized that the essence of the controversy is that “It is very clear that there cannot be slaves for reasons of race or religion.”
