01.

03 Assessment Template
Step 1—Closely read and annotate the Sepúlveda and Las Casas documents. Highlight lines that relate to the Valladolid debate claims and
counterclaims.

Step 2—Complete the following charts.

Sepúlveda Claim Quote from Document 1 How Does the Quote Relate to or Support the
Claim?
Indians are barbarians and should be enslaved.
Indians commit crimes that violate natural law.
Indians subjugate and kill other innocent Indians.
Indians should be made to convert to Christianity by force.

Las Casas Claim Quote from Document 2 How Does the Quote Relate to or Support the
Claim?

Indians are rational human beings capable of learning.

Indians should be peacefully persuaded to convert to
Christianity, not forced.
Spain has no right to enslave or to make war on the
Indians.
Indians have complex language, and most do not practice
human sacrifice.

Step 3—Which quote from each document do you consider most powerful? Identify one quote from each document. Then discuss why you
chose each quote in a brief paragraph. Be sure to cite specific information from the lesson and/or your assigned reading to support your
answer. (The quotes do not have to be from those you placed in the chart.)