''Sublimis Deus'' (English: ''The sublime God''; erroneously cited as ''Sublimus Dei'' and occasionally as ''Sic Dilexit'') is a

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

promulgated Promulgation is the formal proclamation or the declaration that a new statutory or administrative law is enacted after its final approval. In some jurisdictions, this additional step is necessary before the law can take effect. After a new law ...

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Paul III on June 2, 1537, which forbids the enslavement of the

indigenous peoples of the Americas The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...

(called "Indians of the West and the South") and all other people who could be discovered later. It states that the Indians are fully rational human beings who have rights to

freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving one ...

and

private property Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property and personal property, which is owned by a state entity, and from collective or ...

, even if they are

heathen __NOTOC__ Heathen or Heathens may refer to: Religion *Heathen, another name for a pagan *Heathen, an adherent of Heathenry Music *Band of Heathens, a North American rock and roll band *Heathen (band), a North American thrash metal band * The He ...

. Another related document is the ecclesiastical letter '' Pastorale officium'', issued May 29, 1537, and usually seen as a companion document to ''Sublimis Deus''. There is still some controversy about how this bull is related to the documents known as ''Veritas ipsa'', ''Unigenitus Deus'' and '' Pastorale officium'' (May 29, 1537). Alberto de la Hera believes that ''Veritas ipsa'' and ''Unigenitus Deus'' are simply other versions of ''Sublimis Deus'', and not separate bulls. Joel Panzer sees ''Veritas ipsa'' as an earlier draft of ''Sublimis Deus''. While some scholars see'' Sublimis Deus'' as a primary example of Papal advocacy of Indian rights, others see it as part of an inconsistent and politically convenient stance by Paul III, who later removed all ecclesiastical penalties (interdict and excommunication) for any violation of the terms of the document ''Sublimis Deus'' or the ''Pastorale'' in 1538. In ''Sublimis Deus'', Paul III declares the

to be "truly men and that they are not only capable of understanding the Catholic Faith but, according to our information, they desire exceedingly to receive it", and denounces any idea to the contrary as directly inspired by the " enemy of the human race". He goes on to condemn their reduction to

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

in the strongest terms, declaring it null and void for any people known as well as any that could be discovered in the future, entitles their right to

liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

and

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...

, and concludes with a call for their evangelization. The bull had a strong impact on the Valladolid debate. Its principles became part of

New Laws The New Laws ( Spanish: ''Leyes Nuevas''), also known as the New Laws of the Indies for the Good Treatment and Preservation of the Indians ( Spanish: ''Leyes y ordenanzas nuevamente hechas por su Majestad para la gobernación de las Indias y buen ...

issued by

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

in Spain, although such laws were often ignored by the colonists and

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, ...

es themselves. The executing brief for the bull ("Pastorale Officium") was annulled by Paul in 1537 at the request of the Spanish who had rescinded the decree previously issued by Charles.

Background

In late spring of 1452 Byzantine Emperor

Constantine XI Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos or Dragaš Palaeologus ( el, Κωνσταντῖνος Δραγάσης Παλαιολόγος, ''Kōnstantînos Dragásēs Palaiológos''; 8 February 1405 – 29 May 1453) was the last List of Byzantine em ...

wrote to Pope Nicholas for help against the impending siege of Constantinople by Ottoman Sultan

Mehmed the Conqueror Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...

. Nicholas issued the bull '' Dum Diversas'' (18 June 1452) authorizing King

Alfonso V of Portugal Afonso V () (15 January 1432 – 28 August 1481), known by the sobriquet the African (), was King of Portugal from 1438 until his death in 1481, with a brief interruption in 1477. His sobriquet refers to his military conquests in Northern Africa. ...

to "attack, conquer, and subjugate Saracens, pagans and other enemies of Christ wherever they may be found". Issued less than a year before the

Fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city fell on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 53-day siege which had begun o ...

in 1453, the bull may have been intended to begin another crusade against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

.Sardar, Ziauddin, and Davies, Merryl Wyn. 2004. ''The No-Nonsense Guide to Islam''. Verso. . p. 94. Furthermore, the bull ''

Romanus Pontifex (from Latin: "The Roman Pontiff") are papal bulls issued in 1436 by Pope Eugenius IV and in 1455 by Pope Nicholas V praising catholic King Afonso V of Portugal for his battles against the Muslims, endorsing his military expeditions into Weste ...

'' (1455) gave the right of taking for reason of punishment for crime

saracens upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia ...

(who, as Muslims in general were slavers themselves, often capturing Christians) and

pagans Pagans may refer to: * Paganism, a group of pre-Christian religions practiced in the Roman Empire * Modern Paganism, a group of contemporary religious practices * Order of the Vine, a druidic faction in the ''Thief'' video game series * Pagan's M ...

as perpetual slaves. With the realization that the Americas represented regions of the Earth of which the Europeans were not aware earlier, there arose intense speculation over the question whether the natives of these lands were true humans or not. Together with that went a debate over the (mis)treatment of these natives by the Conquistadores and colonists. The main impetus for ''Sublimis Deus'' was a council held by prominent Missionaries in Mexico in 1537, including Archbishop

Juan de Zumárraga Juan de Zumárraga, OFM (1468 – June 3, 1548) was a Spanish Basque Franciscan prelate and the first Bishop of Mexico. He was also the region's first inquisitor. He wrote ''Doctrina breve'', the first book published in the Western Hemisph ...

Bartolomé de Las Casas Bartolomé de las Casas, OP ( ; ; 11 November 1484 – 18 July 1566) was a 16th-century Spanish landowner, friar, priest, and bishop, famed as a historian and social reformer. He arrived in Hispaniola as a layman then became a Dominican friar ...

and Bishop of Puebla

Julián Garcés Julián Garcés, O.P. (''Ordo Praedicatorum'', "Dominican Order") was a Spanish Dominican priest born in Munébrega in the Kingdom of Aragon. Made Bishop in the Diocese of Yucatán in 1519 and subsequently first acting bishop of New Spain in th ...

. They discussed the methods of converting the natives, especially the Franciscan practice of mass baptism. Basing a recommendation to the pope on Las Casas' treatise on how to convert the Indians, "De Unico Vocationis Modo", they sent a letter to Rome with Dominican friar named Bernardino de Minaya (born c. 1489). In 1537, Minaya arrived in Rome and pleaded his case on behalf of the Indians. In response, Paul issued ''Sublimis Deus'' on June 2, 1537. "Pastorale officium", a

papal brief A papal brief or breve is a formal document emanating from the Pope, in a somewhat simpler and more modern form than a papal bull. History The introduction of briefs, which occurred at the beginning of the pontificate of Pope Eugene IV (3 Ma ...

apparently used in conjunction with the ''Sublimis Deus'' by Minaya, declared automatic excommunication for anyone who failed to abide by the new ruling.''The Encyclopedia Of Christianity'', p. 212 Stogre (1992) notes that ''Sublimis Deus'' is not present in Denzinger, the authoritative compendium of official teachings of the Catholic Church, and that the executing brief for it ("Pastorale officium") was annulled the following year. Davis (1988) asserts it was annulled due to a dispute with the Spanish crown. The Council of The West Indies and the Crown concluded that the documents broke their patronato rights and the Pope withdrew them, though they continued to circulate and be quoted by La Casas and others who supported Indian rights. According to Falkowski (2002) ''Sublimis Deus'' had the effect of revoking

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...

's bull '' Inter caetera'' but still leaving the colonizers the duty of converting the native people. Prein (2008) observes the difficulty in reconciling these decrees with ''Inter caetera''. Father Gustavo Gutierrez describes ''Sublimis Deus'' as the most important papal document relating to the condition of native Indians and that it was addressed to all Christians. Maxwell (1975) notes that the bull did not change the traditional teaching that the enslavement of Indians was permissible if they were considered "enemies of Christendom" as this would be considered by the Church as a "just war". Stogre (1992) further argues that the Indian nations had every right to self-defense. Rodney Stark (2003) describes the bull as "magnificent" and believes the reason that, in his opinion, it has belatedly come to light is due to the neglect of Protestant historians. Falola asserts that the bull related to the native populations of the New World and did not condemn the transatlantic slave trade stimulated by the Spanish monarchy and the Holy Roman Emperor.Falola, p. 107

References

Sources

* ''The problem of slavery in Western culture'', David Brion Davis, Oxford University Press US, 1988, * ''Indigenous peoples and human rights'', Patrick Thornberry, Manchester University Press, 2002, * ''Slavery and the Catholic Church, The history of Catholic teaching concerning the moral legitimacy of the institution of slavery'', John Francis Maxwell, 1975, Chichester Barry-Rose, * ''The Popes and Slavery'', Father Joel S Panzer, The Church In History Centre, 22 April 200

retrieved 9 August 2009 * ''That the world may believe: the development of Papal social thought on aboriginal rights'', Michael Stogre S.J, Médiaspaul, 1992, * "The Truth About the Catholic Church and Slavery", Rodney Stark, ''Christianity Today'', 7 January 200
The Truth About the Catholic Church and Slavery
*''Encyclopedia of the middle passage'',

Toyin Falola Toyin Omoyeni Falola (born January 1, 1953) is a Nigerian historian and professor of African Studies. Falola is a Fellow of the Historical Society of Nigeria and of the Nigerian Academy of Letters, and has served as the president of the Afric ...

, Amanda Warnock, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007, = * ''That the world may believe: the development of Papal social thought on aboriginal rights'', Michael Stogre S.J, Médiaspaul, 1992, * ''Religions and the abolition of slavery - a comparative approach'', W. G. Clarence-Smit
Professor William Gervase Clarence-Smith , Staff , SOAS University of London
Professor of the Economic History of Asia and Africa, University of London, retrieved 11 August 200

* ''The Encyclopedia Of Christianity'', Volume 5, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2008, *''Christianity in the Caribbean: essays on church history'', Armando Lampe, 2001, University of the West Indies Press,

External links

* {{Authority control 16th-century Catholicism Abolitionism in South America 16th century in Portugal 16th century in Spain 1537 works Christianity and law in the 16th century 16th-century papal bulls Indigenous land rights Catholicism and slavery Documents of Pope Paul III Papal encyclicals 1537 in Christianity

Background

See also

References

Sources

Further reading

External links