wensby argues that the balance of power in 17th century New Spain is maintained through each individual’s involvement in society rather than a top bottom power structure. Power alone was not what upheld justice because each social level held the capacity to exercise power that was contingent on the complex set of social conventions of 17th century New Spain. The law cannot be separated from the social norms that were the members of New Spain valued. The legal system itself can attest to this argument, as the courts specifically the tribunal made rulings based social norms instead of solely the law. The supposed powerless did hold sway in their outcome, as we see with the cases Owensby presents. The legal system does not follow a precedent instead it deals with each case on the individual level. It …show more content…
The ideal of ‘libertad’ is central to the functioning of power in the legal system. ‘Libertad’ is the idea that free will is God-given and that free will eclipses any circumstances of birth such as slavery. Slaves that proclaimed liberty were to be heard because ‘libertad’ was a right. This is seen in both Leonor’s and Juan’s cases as they proclaim their freedom the state must grant them the ability to demonstrate it without repercussions from their masters. In Leonor’s case she claimed that she was freed by her master years ago but it was never formalized. Her former owners contested this, as since no formal agreement of her freedom was made she was never free. However since libertad can be seen within this case the law’s power is not concrete instead the tribunal looks into the circumstances. This is what Owensby means, that, power is not simply projected from above instead it an interconnected web of social interactions and norms. The
After the influx of the Spanish in the seventeenth century, much of the native population yielded to illness. How did the ones who survived find success and what did the Spanish do to develop the county? The Natives ended up moving away or intermarried with the Europeans. The Spanish increased the population by giving fifty-nine leagues of ground on the north bank of the Rio Grande (including all of the section of Brownsville) to José Salvador de la Garza in 1781.
Spain in the New World As the Spanish began to conquer land in the Americas from the 1500s to 1600s, their demand for goods to bring back to Europe caused a greater need for labor in which the Spanish were not willing to provide themselves. The Spanish were also aspiring to spread the Christian faith unto the Native Americans. When such did not go as planned they used the Native’s rebellion against the Catholic faith as an excuse to use them to force them into laboring for the good of Spanish wealth. The Native Americans were treated unfairly under the system of Encomiendas, causing a change of attitude and governmental protocol by the Spaniards and soon imported the African population to supply their labor. Document one shows a letter written
Since the spoken word, hundreds of philosophers have defined law in different ways. Philosophy allows people to study the nature of people’s beliefs which can differ over time. Not even the law is exempt from the opinions of philosophers. Seeing law in different ways allows people to come to different conclusions about legal cases. The Fugitive Slave Law was a controversial law in American history, which allowed slave-owners to capture their slaves who have fled north to free states.
In 1494, the Treaty of Tordesillas was established in order to evenly divide unclaimed lands between Portugal and Spain. This led to the Line of Demarcation, in which the non-European world was divided into two zones. Portugal had rights to the eastern hemisphere, and Spain had rights to the western hemisphere. This allowed Spain to colonize areas in the New World. Even though they had this opportunity, they were not able to colonize specific areas in North America due to competition with other European countries.
In this week’s reading, “Spanish Conquest” by Elizabeth Carmichael and Chloe Sayer discuss the subjugation, ethnocide, and struggle the indigenous population of Mexico endured during the Spanish conquest. The Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortez, enslave and forced the Aztecs to believe that Christianity was the one true religion. Therefore, the indigenous people were forced to convert their faith through the Spanish missionaries to lose their indigenous roots. Later, the authors explain the many difficulties and conflicts Spanish priest underwent to teach the Christian faith to the Aztecs. The Spanish friar first taught the indigenous people Christianity in Nahuatl.
This excerpt is giving a sturdy explanation on the topic of tyranny,and how it gave us a clarification on how tyranny is being stopped by overpowering the king. Critics also argued that the king or queen could create laws that applied to only some people and not others, and that unelected officials could make decisions that negatively affected citizens. The people were exhausted and started to realize that they wanted to overthrow the king themselves. Critics of the monarch read and discussed what tyranny meant in order to argue for their notion of the rule of law.
Introduction: While freedom as a concept feels fairly intuitive, nuances in interpretation can change the basis of an argument. John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government and Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America do not define liberty in precisely the same way, which in turn guides two different visions in how a government should function. When examining a core concept in an argument, it is important to inquire to whether its treatment is adequate. Is either definition of liberty sufficient, and does either author’s envisioned government adequately address liberty in that system? This paper will argue that Locke’s definition of liberty remains in the literal sphere while Tocqueville’s is more conceptual, but neither Locke’s nor Tocqueville’s
Two Concepts of Liberty Summary of the essay: In this essay, the famous political theorist Isaiah Berlin tries to differentiate between the notions of positive liberty and negative liberty. Berlin briefly discusses the meaning of the word ‘freedom’. He says that a person is said to free when no man or body of men interferes with his activity. He makes reference to many philosophers in the essay, but there is more emphasis on the thoughts of J. S. Mill and Rousseau, the former being a firm advocate of negative liberty while the latter believes strongly in the ideals of positive liberty.
Architecture has the ability to remark and reflect any region, give a feeling and a sense of a place, and present thoughts and creativity. Across the world, especially in the United States, there are many cities that are distinguished by its architecture and unique styles: The skyline of New York City is defined by it’s skyscrapers; San Francisco’s mixture of Victorian and modern colored houses; New Orleans’ iconic Creole townhouses; and Miami’s modernist architecture. Los Angeles, San Diego and some of the cities in the same region are no different from the previous appreciable cities all around America. These cities are located in the state of California which is on the West Coast. They share some significant architectural characteristics
Sophocles’ play Antigone, and Martin Luther king Jr’s Letter from Birmingham Jail analyze the underlying truth concerning their moral situations tied in with the legal systems of their times. Antigone was faced with whether to follow her heart and go against her very own uncle, while King himself did not face any personal dilemmas but was providing the intended audience a choice, either to side with his methods or fall in to the power of their faulty legal system. In this paper, I will argue how both pieces face different moral and legal dilemmas in their own unique way which ultimately questions the jurisdictions set forth by those in power. Does law reflect morality? In this short play, Antigone is faced with the choice to either bury Polynecies
Furthermore, from two scholarly perspectives, authors Richard Rothstein and Kitty Calavita, we can deepen our engagement with this relationship in their books, The Color of Law and Invitation to Law and Society, An Introduction
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, in her article “Vertuous Women Found: New England Ministerial Literature, 1668-1735,” argues the ministerial writings of New England during the late seventeenth-early eighteenth century promoted an ideology of gender equality within a larger paradoxical environment. The dominant Puritan culture in which they lived created a separation of status within diverging social and spiritual fields. While legal, economic, and educational opportunities for women were severely limited in society, there existed a pervasive inherent equality among the sexes in regards to godly matters. (Ulrich, 37) To Support her claim, Ulrich relies heavily on ministerial literature, which consisted of marriage sermons, childbirth treatises, and funeral eulogies.
On the surface, it is easy to get the impression that the Spaniards’ goal for going to new lands focused on only gold. If it is only looked at in that aspect, it makes them look greedy. Often times in high school history classes, they focus on the voyages themselves rather than the culture of the Spanish society. They were very religious, as were many other empires. Despite a major concentration on the riches of the New World, the conquest of the Americas is best understood through the evangelism and theology of both the indigenous people and Spanish voyagers.
This state of nature was the conditions in which we lived before there were any political governments to rule over us and it described what societies would be like if we had no government at all. In this essay I will compare the opinions given by each philosopher regarding their understanding of the state and the law. I will also discuss how their theories have influenced our understanding of the law today. Thomas Hobbes – Regarding the State and Law Firstly I would like to begin my discussion with Thomas Hobbes.
[5] Common law works in a different way, the judges rather than the Parliament make common law or ‘judge-made law’. Considering criminal and civil cases, the judges take decisions based on the stare decisis principle (Latin “to stand by things decided”, the legal principle of determining points in litigation according to precedent [4]), deliver rulings and create precedents, thus applying the law to real life situations. Therefore, the value of the precedent is very high in the English Common Law system. The strengths of common law