"Deliver those who are led to death"

the defense of the innocent and the conquest of America

Abstract

Virtually all participants in the controversies about the justice of the Conquest of America accepted that, in principle, war against the Aztec rulers could be justified as a way of defending innocent Indians from being victims of human sacrifice, cannibalism and tyranny. This article examines the principle of the defense of the innocent in canon law and medieval moral philosophy, prior to the debate about the Conquest. It then explains the reasons that led Spanish theorists to perceive the principle of the defense of the innocent as a possible just cause of war in the American context. The final section discusses, under two different interpretations, the limits to the powers of those who intervene in compliance with the precept of the defense of the innocent.