Otkriće Novoga svijeta postalo je izazov i za dominikanski red. Dominikanci su odigrali značajnu ulogu u evangelizaciji Amerike, ali i začetku onoga što će se u XX. stoljeću razviti u govor o ljudskim pravima. Važnu ulogu u tome imali su dominikanski teolozi Francisco de Vitoria i Domingo de Soto. Oni su, nadahnjujući se naukom Tome Akvinskoga, u rasprave o konkretnim problemima domorodačkih naroda u Novom svijetu unijeli pojmove naravnoga zakona i naravnoga prava. Naime dominikanci su u neposrednom kontaktu sa žrtvama nepoštovanja ljudskih prava u Novom svijetu, kao što su Pedro de Córdoba, Antonio Montesinos, Bartolomé de Las Casas, bili snažno povezani s dominikanskim teolozima na Sveučilištu u Salamanci u Španjolskoj koji su svoja mišljenja temeljili na nauku Tome Akvinskoga. Upravo je ta sinergija dominikanskoga intelektualnoga i apostolskoga života, najbolje izražena Akvinčevim »contemplata aliis tradere«, omogućila značajne pomake u obrani prava i ljudskoga dostojanstva domorodaca. The discovery of the New World became a challenge for the Dominican order as well. Dominicans played a significant role in the evangelization of America, but also in the beginnings of what will in the 20th century develop into a human rights discourse, particularly Dominican theologians Francisco de Vitoria and Domingo de Soto. Inspired by the teachings of Thomas Aquinas, they introduced the concepts of natural law and natural rights to discussions of concrete problems of indigenous peoples in the New World. Dominicans in direct contact with victims of human rights violations in the New World, such as Pedro de Córdoba, Antonio Montesinos, and Bartolomé de Las Casas, were strongly connected with Dominican theologians at the University of Salamanca in Spain, who based their thoughts on the teachings of Thomas Aquinas. It was this synergy of Dominican intellectual and apostolic life, best expressed in Aquinas’ »contemplata aliis tradere«, that enabled significant advances in defense of the human rights of the natives.