Manuscript No. 052 - First Blacks in The Americas

Date: 1514, October 18. Valbuena, Spain.
Theme: License for bishop Pedro Suárez de Deza to ship from Seville to La Española ten slaves to work in the construction of the church at the village of La Concepción or at others in its diocese
Source: PARES, Portal de Archivos Españoles–Archivo General de Indias, INDIFERENTE, 419, L.5, F. 275V

[fo. 275 v.]

Bishop of La Concepción /

license to transfer twenty [1] /
slaves to work /
in the construction of the church/

The King /
Our officials of the Casa de la Contratación /
of the Indies that reside in the/
city of Seville: Be aware that I have /
given license and I hereby give it to Reverend /
in Christ father don Pero Suares de Deza /
bishop of La Concepción of the Española island /
so that he or whoever may have power from him /
may transfer ten slaves to the said island /
so they may work in the labors and works /
of the church of the said city of La Con /
cepción and of the other churches of the said /
bishopry. Therefore I order you that the /
person who may have the power of the said bishop /
you allow and consent that she carries the /
said ten slaves, provided it is under the /
conditions and in the fashion and way that we /
have it mandated, without raising any /
impediment, regardless /
any prohibition and forbiddance that may be /
contrary to it, since in this regard I /
hereby lift it and suspend it, /
the purpose of this my letter being /
written down in the first place /
in the books of that said Casa, and /
do not do otherwise. Done in Valbuena /
on nineteen days of October of dxiii years. I /
the King, signed and certified/
by the said ones [etcetera?]

[1] On the margin, the manuscript says “xx” (twenty, in Roman numbers) but in the main text of the letter it says “diez” (ten).

Date: 1514, October 18. Valbuena, Spain
Theme: License for bishop Pedro Suárez de Deza to ship from Seville to La Española ten slaves to work in the construction of the church at the village of La Concepción or at others in its diocese
Source: PARES, Portal de Archivos Españoles–Archivo General de Indias, INDIFERENTE, 419, L.5, F. 275V

The Catholic church as it was developing in La Española in 1514 used enslaved laborers (“esclavos”), presumably Black Africans since white slaves were rare, in the construction of its church buildings. The particular batch of ten slaves being allowed here to be taken to La Española, understanding this was done “under the conditions and in the form and manner that we have mandated,” were initially destined to the erection of a church in La Concepción (also known today as La Vega), one of the early towns of the colony located on the Eastern slopes of the Central Mountains of the island, but it was contemplated that they could be deployed to alternate locations where other churches were being built.

As it may be seen at the time in other situations, the Christianity of the colonizers, in these case the Church’s officials themselves, did not prevent them from using human beings as slaves. In fact, as other colonists, the church officials were taking these Blacks to La Española with the exclusive immediate purpose of having them work as forced laborers.

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