Francisco Vitoria and his search for justice: A theological and rhetorical consideration

The subject of this dissertation is Francisco Vitoria as a moral theologian. Vitoria was a sixteenth century Spanish theologian who held the Prime Chair in Theology at the Universidad de Salamanca, the most prestigious university in Spain. He is also referred to as the father of international law. Vitoria stands at the cusp of modernity as he beheld the mistreatment of the natives in New Spain and the presence and force of the Spanish empire. He brought together both humanism and scholasticism to develop a legal and theological argument that would address the cultural deficit he saw: a legal rhetoric in search of justice. His use of rhetoric and scholasticism also introduced a new approach to theology, which would later be known as neo-scholasticism.;This dissertation explores Vitoria's use of rhetoric, both as a style and as a philosophy, to address the legal situation of the Spanish empire's presence in New Spain as well as considering the defense of the natives. Like the humanists, Vitoria believed that the eloquence of rhetoric moves the will of people to act morally. He employed safe-criticism as a rhetorical device to persuade Charles I to act justly toward the natives. Legally, Vitoria develops ius gentium, law of the nations, to convince the Emperor to align himself with laws that are just in their application to all people. What is unique in Vitoria is that he applied rhetoric to law so as to persuade the Spanish emperor to intervene against the mistreatment of the natives in New Spain. For Vitoria, then, law is a means for persuading human beings so they act morally.;Finally, this dissertation clarifies the terrain of constructive theology by upholding the dialogue that ought to be taking place between theology, political attentiveness, and the legal discipline. It seeks to open up new levels of constructive thought for Latino/a and Hispanic thought.