 The issue reached its apex in a debate between Juan Ginés Sepúlveda, who defended the Spanish Crown’s right to forcibly impose its legal and religious practices on the indigenous populations of the Americas, and Bartolomé de Las Casas, a Dominican friar and the first Bishop of Chiapas. Las Casas argued for a nuanced reading of the idea of natural slavery, while insisting on the full rationality of the indigenous populations, the need for peaceful evangelization of those populations, and for strict limits on the means used on behalf of Spanish interest in the Americas.  The results of the debate were inclusive—Sepúlveda’s work was suppressed for a time, but Las Casas’ position on the limits of Spanish use of force never became officially adopted by the Spanish Crown. Nevertheless, Las Casas continued to play a prominent role in the Spanish Imperial court, tirelessly arguing on behalf of the native populations. 