The Suarezian Proviso to African Slavery

Abstract

The Spanish theologians and jurist in early modern times harshly criticized the conditions of the African slave trade. They were inclined to reject the conditions of sale, although they still admitted the institution of slavery. Francisco Suárez also opined in this regard, limiting the slavery of blacks for reasons of the common good and compensating with a fair wage for their work in the mines. Until now, this opinion of Suárez was unknown because there are no direct writings but references of contemporaneous authors. In this article we will select arguments of 16th century theologians and jurists and expose Suárez’s solution, tracing the attributions. Probabilism facilitates reconciliation of freedom of conscience with the stability of social institutions, in particular with the institution of slavery.