Defensa y diplomacia novohispanas: implicaciones jurídicas de la rebelión de Yanga.

Throughout the XVI century, the legal institution of slavery spread across Nueva España, as people were imported from Africa. Whereas traditional historiography has emphasized the sociopolitical aspect of the slave rebellion in Veracruz led by Yanga, this paper aims to clarify the juridical implications of the conflict, as well as the defensive and diplomatic policies implemented by the vice-royal authorities. The pragmatically prudent and diplomatic initial attitude of Viceroy Luis de Velasco towards the rebellious slaves, to avoid unnecessary public spending, switched gradually to an aggressive policy of interior defense that culminated with the pact that gave origin to the first free town in the American continent, which had an ex gratia legal nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]