The New Laws, also known as the New Laws of the Indies for the Good Treatment and Preservation of the Indians were issued on November 20, 1542, by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (King Charles I of Spain) and regard the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Following denunciations and calls for reform from individuals such as the Dominican priest Bartolomé de Las Casas, these laws were intended to prevent the exploitation and mistreatment of the indigenous peoples of the Americas by the encomenderos, by limiting their power and dominion over groups of natives.