Pedro de Córdoba
OP (c.1460–1525) was a Spanish missionary, author and inquisitor on the island of
Hispaniola. He was first to denounce the Spanish system known as the ''
Encomienda'', which amounted to the practical enslavement of natives of the New World, for the abuses that it engendered.
Life and career
He was born at
Córdoba, Andalusia, southern Spain. He studied
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
at the
University of Salamanca
The University of Salamanca ( es, Universidad de Salamanca) is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the city of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It was founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX. It is t ...
and there joined the order of
Dominicans.
[Bandelier, Adolph Francis. "Pedro de Cordova." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 10 Sept. 2014]
/ref>
In September 1510 he went to the Island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
of Hispaniola as vicar of the first band of Dominican missionaries and as the first inquisitor
An inquisitor was an official (usually with judicial or investigative functions) in an inquisition – an organization or program intended to eliminate heresy and other things contrary to the doctrine or teachings of the Catholic faith. Literall ...
appointed in the New World. He was a zealous protector of the Indians and a friend and mentor of Bartolomé de las Casas
Bartolomé de las Casas, OP ( ; ; 11 November 1484 – 18 July 1566) was a 16th-century Spanish landowner, friar, priest, and bishop, famed as a historian and social reformer. He arrived in Hispaniola as a layman then became a Dominican friar ...
.[
The objective of the friars consisted in the pastoral care to the Spaniards and, specially in the evangelization of the natives. Consequently, they came in direct contact with them, especially with the "naborias" as those who were servants in the homes of the Spaniards were called. Very soon the Dominicans became aware of the bad treatment received, and the abuse committed against, the inhabitants of that island.
Confronted with such a degree of submission and oppression of the Indians, the Dominican community dedicated countless hours in meetings to study the problem in depth, until they decided to make a public denouncement of the atrocities. Once they decided on the text and wrote it
down, it was signed by each one of the members of the community. Friar Pedro de Cordoba commissioned Friar Antonio Montesino to preach it at the High Mass on the Fourth Sunday of Advent which was December 21, 1511, just a little more than a year from the day of their arrival at the island.
In spite of the fact, the sermon was not preserved, but only an extract which, later on, Friar Bartolome de Las Casas would incorporate in his work on the History of the Indies, where one can read:
''“Sunday arrived and at the time for preaching, Fr Antonio de Montesinos got up in the pulpit and
took as the theme for the sermon, which was written and signed by all the other brothers, “Ego sum vox
clamantis in deserto”.''
Fundamental reason for the denunciations, consisted in the lack of acknowledgement of the human dignity of the Indians. And so, the questions: “''Are these not persons? Do they not have rational souls?”'' The other arguments, like the need to evangelize the Indians and baptize them, presuppose the previous ones. It was the community of friars, therefore, who in the name of human dignity and Christian duty, could and must give the following sentence against the colonizers:
* All of you are in mortal sin; in it you live and in it you die.
* In the state you are, you cannot be saved, as your behavior is equal to a lack of faith in Jesus Christ, and you have no desire for it
* If you continue mistreating the Indians, know for sure that the sins you confess will not receive our absolution.
His book, ''"Doctrina cristiana para instruccion é informacion de los Indios por manera de historia"'', was printed in 1544 at Mexico by directions of Bishop Zumárraga. It was destined for the education of the Indians, chiefly of the Caribbean islands, and is one of the earliest books of catechism known to have been composed in America.][
In 1513, Friar Pedro de Córdoba persuaded King Ferdinand II to allow the Dominicans of Hispaniola to go to the mainland to peacefully convert the natives there. Friar Antonio Montesinos lead the mission with Francisco de Córdoba and a lay brother, Juan Garcés. The Dominicans set up in the Chiribichi Valley in present-day ]Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
, where they were well-received by local chieftain "Alonso", who had been baptized years before. According to the royal grant, slavers and settlers were to give the Dominicans a wide berth.province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of the order and enjoyed the reputation of a model priest, highly respected by the clergy, the laity, and the Indians. He died on Santo Domingo in 1521.
Works
Among the works authored by Fray Pedro de Córdoba are:
*.
*Various , or Reports to the King on the social, cultural and economic condition of the Indians.
*.
*.
Many , or Letters, often written in collaboration with his fellow Dominican missionaries in defence of the Indians, including:
* (April or May 1517).
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cordoba, Pedro De
Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries
Inquisitors
1521 deaths
History of Hispaniola
Spanish Dominicans
15th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests
16th-century Spanish Roman Catholic priests
Year of birth uncertain
University of Salamanca alumni
Roman Catholic missionaries in New Spain