Inter Caetera — Pope Divides the New World
1493 AD
📂 COLONIAL
📖 About This Event
In 1493, Pope Alexander VI issued the bull 'Inter Caetera,' drawing a line of demarcation from pole to pole 100 leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde islands. Lands west of the line belonged to Spain; lands east belonged to Portugal. This papal bull effectively divided the non-Christian world between two Catholic powers and laid the foundation for the Spanish and Portuguese colonial empires.
The bull was controversial even in its own time. King Francis I of France reportedly remarked, 'I should like to see the clause in Adam's will that leaves me out.' The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) moved the line further west, giving Portugal claim to Brazil.
The colonization of the Americas brought both the Gospel and devastation to indigenous peoples. While many missionaries—such as St. Francis Xavier, St. Junípero Serra, and Bartolomé de las Casas—worked heroically to protect indigenous rights and evangelize, the Spanish conquest also brought disease, exploitation, and cultural destruction on an unprecedented scale. Key Sources: Inter Caetera (1493); Las Casas, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies; Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes 26
📜 Key Facts
Date
1493 AD
Category
Colonial
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