Tratado de Confirmaciones Reales Encomiendas, Oficios I casos, en que se requieren par alas Indias Occidentales by Leon Pinelo, Antonio de - 1630

First edition, very rare; important legal treatise which primarily relates to the New Laws for the Indies, made in 1542, known as the "Leyes Nuevas", it was the first law issued addressed solely to the Spanish overseas colonies, which aimed at protecting the Indians. The New Laws were heavily opposed by colonist "many of which were rescinded later, after the rebellion of Gonzalo Pizarro, as the clauses affecting land-tenure and slave-grants had led to bitter dissatisfaction on the part of die descendants of the first Spanish settlers and conquistadores. The work was written at the request of Don Lorenco Ramirez de Prado, of the Council of the Indies, to whom it is dedicated. Leon Pinelo was asked to suggest which of the old laws he considered should be maintained or revived for the common welfare of the Indians, and in doing this work contributed a valuable commentary on the contemporary social and economic history of America." (Maggs).

Leon Pinelo deals with various matters of the colonial legislation, such as prescriptions for men active in the wars of Chile against the Araucanians, Indians, administration, etc.

As Sabin states, Leon Pinelo was perhaps not in possession of a copy of the Leyes (1543), which explains why he worked on original documents; it is in a way an entirely original work, by one of the most important and influential 17th century Spanish jurists for the Indies. "This important work was compiled from original documents" Sabin.

The work is rare in the market, the last copy to appear on the market was over 60 years ago, in the Dodero sale. By the 1930's the work was already rare; Palau refers to a copy offered by Maggs Bros. in 1935 for 105 GBP.

La obra trata de las leyes de Indias realizadas en 1542, que fueran publicadas en 1543; sin embargo, esta obra se realiza sobre la base de documentos originales, pues, como dice Sabin, Pinelo no parecería haber estado al tanto de la publicación de 1543. Para la época de su publicación y desde 1622, Pinelo estaba trabajando, junto con Rodrigo de Aguiar, en la realización de un compendio de las Leyes de Indias, que agrupara la intrincada legislación dada por la Corona para la regulación jurídica de las Indias; sin embargo, el nombre de Rodrigo de Aguiar no aparece como contribuyente en la realización de esta obra, que parece completamente escrita por Leon Pinelo. Trata exclusivamente de la legislación colonial y de temas tan variados como prescripciones para quienes actúan en las guerras de Chile, indios, puestos de administración, etc. Palau no parecería haberlo visto, y cita un ejemplar de Maggs catalogado a 105 Libras Esterlinas en 1935.