https://academic.oup.com/jah/article-abstract/46/2/348/740140?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Bulls of Donation
The Bulls of Donation, also called the Alexandrine Bulls, are three papal bulls of Pope Alexander VI delivered in 1493 which purported to grant overseas territories to Portugal and the Catholic Monarchs of Spain.
Description[edit]
The Pope issued edicts dated 3 and 4 May 1493. The third superseded the first two. A final edict, Dudum siquidem of 26 September 1493, supplemented the Inter caetera.[1]
- The first bull, Inter caetera, dated 3 May, recognized Spain's claim to any discovered lands not already held by a Christian prince, and protected Portugal's previous rights. Both parties found this too vague.
- The second bull, Eximiae devotionis, also dated 3 May, granted to the kings of Castile and León and their successors the same privileges in the newly discovered land that had been granted to the kings of Portugal in the regions of Africa, and Guinea.[2]
- The third bull, also entitled Inter Caetera, dated 4 May, exhorts the Spanish monarchs to spread the faith west from a line drawn "... one hundred leagues towards the west and south from any of the islands commonly known as the Azores and Cape Verde". Diffie notes that it has been suggested that this change may have been prompted by the Portuguese ambassador.[3]
Dudum siquidem of 26 September 1493 addressed to the Catholic Monarchs Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon which supplemented the bull Inter caetera and purported to grant to them "all islands and mainlands whatsoever, found and to be found, discovered and to be discovered, that are or may be or may seem to be in the route of navigation or travel towards the west or south, whether they be in western parts, or in the regions of the south and east and of India".[4]
The bulls were the basis for negotiation between the two powers which resulted in the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494, dividing the non-Christian world beyond Europe between them. At first these arrangements were respected by most other European powers, but as the Protestant Reformation proceeded the states of Northern Europe came to consider them as a private arrangement between Spain and Portugal.
Review by Chip Clark
This painstakingly researched small volume recounts the Spaniards’ dealings with the people they encountered in the New World. The events that Lewis Hanke describes surround a formal debate in Spain during 1550 and 1551. On one side the scholar Juan Gines de Sepulveda argued for Aristotle’s doctrine of natural slavery: “that one part of mankind is set aside by nature to be slaves in the service of masters born for a life of virtue free of manual labor.” Sepulveda argued that the Indians of the New World were obviously natural slaves. The Spanish explorers, missionaries, and conquistadors should therefore use all means possible to subdue and enslave the Indians, he said. No form of brutality was inappropriate.
Sepulveda’s opponent was a priest who had spent nearly 50 years in the Americas. Father Bartholome de Las Casas not only rejected the Aristotelian doctrine of natural slavery. He argued eloquently that the Indians of the Americas were people of language, culture, and sensible government who should be treated with respect and only brought to Catholicism and Spanish citizenship through education and peaceful persuasion. He deplored the violence perpetrated against them and their enslavement.
A panel of judges failed to reach consensus about the winner of the debate, and the question lingered until 1573 when Spain enacted laws favoring Las Casas’s point of view. However, the distance between the Spanish court and the New World resulted in continued brutality against the Indians and continued slavery.
As we struggle with racism in America today, I am struck by the continued presence of both participants in the debate. While slavery is not legal here today, other voices echo Sepulveda’s assumptions of the inferior nature of people who are different‑-and the legitimacy of their exploitation. Las Casas’s fervent beliefs also live today–all peoples are alike in some fundamental ways, and difference does not warrant brutality.
Another disagreement between Sepulveda and Las Casas is more subtle. Las Casas learned from the Indians he knew. Sepulveda believed that nothing could be learned from them. This seems to be at the heart of racism: the belief that people who are different offer nothing of value except through physical exploitation. The Spaniards actually learned a great deal from the Indians. Wherever different peoples mingle peacefully, much mutually beneficial learning occurs. Perhaps believing in the possibility of learning, seeking ways to promote it, is the best antidote to racism. It is interesting to note that the mission of Las Casas was located in what is now Chiapas, Mexico.
From my perspective, the attitude of the following Indians of the Americas is strikingly similar to Las Casas’. Chief Joseph: “All men were made by the same Great Spirit Chief. They are all brothers. The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it…I believe much trouble and blood would be saved if we opened our hearts more to one another.” Sitting Bull: “Each man is good in the sight of the Great Spirit. It is not necessary for eagles to be crows.” (Citations are from Native American Wisdom by Nerburn and Mengelkoch, 1991.)
Chip Clark is a consultant in Mancos, Colorado
.
No comments:
Post a Comment