The Problem of Eurocentrism in the Thought of Francisco de Vitoria

Abstract

This paper focuses upon the reception of Vitoria’s lectures ‘On the American Indians’, from the seventeenth century to the present. It argues that what Vitoria’s text meant at various moments in time depended to a large degree upon which aspects of his discussion were emphasised. Those who have seen him as a defender of American peoples focused upon his discussion of occupation, while those who see him as an apologist for empire focus upon his analysis of the rights of communication. The paper concludes with an exploration of the current controversy over what purpose history, including the thought of Vitoria, serves for the present.