The Humanist Ideal of Human Betterment and its Influence in Vasco de Quiroga

Abstract

In this research I intend to underline some aspects of Humanism that are present in Vasco de Quiroga’s “hospital-towns”, which he created to solve the practical and immediate problems he found at his arrival to New Spain. In order to do so, I consider some precisions regarding the Renaissance Humanism and its peculiarities within the University of Salamanca where Quiroga studied law. Moreover, I will consider how his earlier professional experiences as a lawyer have a direct influence in his project. Later, I will study the humanist aspects within his main sources of inspiration and how he performed a practical approach in order to adequate them to the needs he found in the indigenous communities he became responsible of. The core of this article shows that Vasco de Quiroga takes the ideal of “human betterment” as a universal principle; it can be reached through the political use of speech and a communitarian life, yet it is more viable in the American continent than in Europe, due to their natural habits and virtues, in contrast to the old continent state of corruption. Finally, Vasco de Quiroga’s vision and projection will contribute to stablish a peculiar humanism that defines both the philosophical thought and practical life of the New Spain.