Vasco de Quiroga

Vasco de Quiroga (1470/78 – 14 March 1565) was the first bishop of Michoacán, Mexico, and one of the judges (''oidores'') in the second Real Audiencia of Mexico – the high court that governed New Spain – from January 10, 1531, to April 16, 1535.

Coming from a background as a lawyer and a judge he was appointed to be a judge in the second Audiencia after the first Audiencia's failure. As an ''oidor'' he took a strong interest in restoring order to the Michoacán area which had been ravaged by rebellions and unrest. He employed a strategy of congregating indigenous populations into congregated Hospital-towns called ''Republicas de Indios'', organized after principles derived from Thomas More's ''Utopia''. The purpose of this policy was to teach the Indians a trade and to instruct them in Christian values and lifestyles. He established multiple such hospitals: Santa Fé de México close to the town of Tacubaya in the Valley of Mexico, and Santa Fé de la Laguna close to Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, and Santa Fe Del Rio close to La Piedad, Michoacan.

Because of his contribution to the protection of the Indians, Vasco de Quiroga's legacy is recognized in America and Spain, and even venerated in the Catholic Church. Provided by Wikipedia