The synod or council was composed of the five bishops of Mexico, Chiapa, Guatemala, Oaxaca, and Mechoacan, with possibly a sixth from Tiazcala; besides these, there were the prelates and chief theologians of the religious orders, and finally, all the learned men of the colony. The outcome of their deliberations was contained in eight propositions, of which the five principal ones were as follows:
| 1.1. | All infidels, of whatsoever sect or religion they may be or whatever may be their sins, hold and possess in conformity with the natural and divine law and the law of nations, the property they acquire without prejudice to others; and likewise their principalities, kingdoms, estates, lordships, dignities, and jurisdictions. |
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| 2.2. | Although four different classes of infidels exist, there is but one method instituted by divine providence for teaching the true religion, namely, persuading the understanding by reasoning and [pg 274] attracting the will by gentleness. This is common to all men in the world, without regard to difference of errors or sects, or corruption of morals. |
| 3.3. | The sole and final cause why the Apostolic See granted supreme sovereignty and imperial jurisdiction over the Indies to the Kings of Castile and Leon was the preaching of the Gospel, the spread of the Christian religion, and the conversion of the nations of those regions, and not to increase their dignity or to make them richer princes than they were. |
| 4.4. | The Holy See, in granting the said supreme sovereignty, did not intend to deprive the native sovereigns and rulers of their estates, lordships, jurisdiction, honours, and dignities, nor did it intend to give the Kings of Castile and Leon any license by which the spread of the Gospel should be impeded and the conversion of the people of those regions be retarded. |
| 5.5. | The said sovereigns of Castile, who offered and bound themselves of their own choice to see that the faith was preached and the Indians converted, are obliged by divine precept to bear the necessary expenses for accomplishing these ends. |
These were the most important of the eight articles approved by the synod, and they were grounded upon and defended by a multitude of arguments drawn from the Fathers and General Councils: they were not adopted without opposition, and every point was fought over in endless debates, for the conquerors and all holders of encomiendas contested stoutly for what they held to be their rights. The synod also established the conditions on which [pg 275] sacraments should be administered to the colonists, and addressed a full report of the proceedings to the Emperor, soliciting his confirmation and the royal authority for executing all that had been enacted.
Although Las Casas had several times essayed to bring the question of slavery before the council, no direct or explicit decision was given on that important point, and as his efforts were embarrassing, the Viceroy quickly told him that reasons of State had compelled him to defer a definite solution of that question. Far from quieting Las Casas, this information aroused his zeal all the more, and as a hearing in the council was denied him, he preached a few days later when the Viceroy was present, taking for his text this significant passage from the thirtieth chapter of the prophet Isaias: “For this is a rebellious people; lying children, children that will not hear the law of God. Who say to the seers, see not; and to the prophets, prophesy not right things unto us; speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits.”
The sermon was not without the intended effect, and the Viceroy began to regret the exclusion of the subject of slavery from the council: as a compromise, he consented that separate meetings should be held in the convent of San Domingo to consider this subject, offering to transmit to the Emperor the conclusions adopted. Las Casas was ably seconded in the proceedings of these meetings, by Fray Luis Cancer, and a declaration was drawn up declaring that the Indians—with few exceptions—had been unjustly enslaved and that those who held them were bound to set them free: slave-holders were described [pg 276] as tyrants and all personal services exacted from the defenceless natives were condemned. Those who took part in these meetings and signed the decisions, were destitute of any means to give effect to them, but they adopted measures to publish and distribute copies of them throughout the colonies, in the hope that they might influence public opinion in the right direction.
Las Casas named the Canon, Juan Perera, as his Vicar-General in the diocese of Chiapa, on the ninth of November, 1546, and at the same time appointed as confessors the friars Tomas Casillas, Tomas de la Torre, Domingo de Arana, and Alonso de Villabra, to whom he furnished copies of the instructions approved by the council of Mexico, in which were comprised the twelve rules. The colonists appealed to the Emperor against the instructions, which they held to be unduly severe and onerous for them, and, in reply to their petition, a royal order dated in Valladolid on the twenty-eighth of November, 1542, was received by the Audiencia of Mexico ordering a copy of the disputed regulations to be sent to Spain for examination.
In the early part of the year 1547, Las Casas arrived in Vera Cruz to embark for Spain, and after some delay there, until a ship could be found for the voyage, left the shores of America for the last time[65]