Dudum Siquidem
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''Dudum siquidem'' (
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
for "A short while ago") was a
papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...
issued by
Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into t ...
on , one of the Bulls of Donation addressed to the
Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Isabella I of Castile, Queen Isabella I of Crown of Castile, Castile () and Ferdinand II of Aragon, King Ferdinand II of Crown of Aragón, Aragon (), whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of ...
Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...
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".


Background

The bull ''
Aeterni regis The papal bull ''Aeterni regis'' nglish: "Of the eternal king's [gracewas issued on 21 June 1481 by race">race">nglish: "Of the eternal king's [gracewas issued on 21 June 1481 by Pope Sixtus IV. It confirmed the substance of the Treaty of Alcá ...
'' of 1481, delivered by Pope Sixtus IV, had confirmed the substance of the Treaty of Alcáçovas, which itself had confirmed Castile in its possession of the
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
and had granted to Portugal all further new lands to be won by
Christendom The terms Christendom or Christian world commonly refer to the global Christian community, Christian states, Christian-majority countries or countries in which Christianity is dominant or prevails.SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christen ...
in Africa and the
East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...
.
At the beginning of the year 1492 the Christian reconquest of Spain was completed by the capture of
Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...
. The voyages of
Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...
, seeking a westerly route to the riches of the Indies, began in the summer of the same year, and on 12 October Columbus sighted land in the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
which he believed to be part of
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. He returned to Spain, with news of what he had found, in March 1493.John Malam, ''12 October 1492: Columbus Reaches the Americas'' (2003, ), p. 32 Columbus's discoveries in the '' annus mirabilis'' created a competitive frenzy between the two principal sea-powers of the day, Portugal and the new Spanish kingdom based in Castile and Aragon. A papal bull delivered on 4 May 1493, '' Inter caetera'', attempted to divide the non-Christian world beyond Europe between Portugal and Spain, from the point of view of future conquests. Among much else, it states:The Bull Inter Caetera (Alexander VI), May 4, 1493
at nativeweb.org, accessed 7 January 2013
This papal command signalled the beginning of the Spanish colonization of much of the
New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...
. An important, although accidental, effect of the combination of this papal bull and of the
Treaty of Tordesillas The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed in Tordesillas, Spain, on 7 June 1494, and ratified in Setúbal, Portugal, divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Crown of Castile, along a meridian (geography) ...
was that nearly all of the Pacific Ocean and the west coast of North America (the existence of both of which was still unknown) were allotted to Spain. However, it is still unclear whether the pope was issuing, so far as he could, a gift of
sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...
or a feudal infeodation or investiture. Differing interpretations have been argued.Jan Hendrik Willem Verzijl, W. P. Heere, J. P. S. Offerhaus, ''International Law in Historical Perspective'' (Martinus Nijhoff, 1979, ), pp. 230–234, 237 The Spanish are thought to have requested an extension to what they had already been granted by the pope because they foresaw that there were richer territories still to be discovered than those which were yet known.Miles H. Davidson, ''Columbus Then and Now: A Life Re-examined'' (1997, )
p. 293
/ref> In August 1493 the Portuguese ambassadors Pero Dias and Rui de Pina were in
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
negotiating with the Spanish over several issues, including the Portuguese intention to send a fleet to the New World to capture the islands discovered by Columbus, when Ferdinand and Isabella sent an appeal to the pope which resulted in the granting of ''Dudum siquidem'', dated 26 September.Davenport (1917)
pp. 79–80
/ref> The day before, on 25 September, Columbus had sailed from
Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...
on his second voyage of exploration, at the head of a fleet of seventeen ships containing some 1,200 people. Many of them were passengers who intended to make a new life in the Indies.


Provisions

The bull ''Dudum siquidem'', which is also known as the "extension of the donation", extending the land grants of Inter caetera, foresees that "it may happen that your envoys and captains, or vassals, while voyaging towards the west or the south, might bring their ships to land in eastern regions and there discover islands and mainlands that belonged or belong to India".Dudum siquidem
at reformation.org, accessed 5 January 2013
In view of that, the pope adds to his previous grants to Ferdinand and Isabella


Effect

Pope Alexander VI was himself a native of
Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
in Spain, and his bulls seem to have been intended to assist Spanish expansion more than that of Portugal. While he confirmed the concessions already granted to the Portuguese,Davenport (1917)
p. 56
/ref> the pope's ''Dudum siquidem'' increased the rights of Spain to the prejudice of Portugal. The specific mention of India caused consternation in Portugal, which mounted a diplomatic campaign aimed at damage limitation.John Horace Parry, ''The Discovery of the Sea'' (University of California Press, 1981, )
p. 206
/ref> The pope refused to reconsider his position, so King John II of Portugal negotiated directly with Ferdinand and Isabella, accepting ''Inter caetera'' as the starting point. This resulted in an agreement to move the boundary line established in ''Inter caetera'' 270 leagues further to the west, given effect as the
Treaty of Tordesillas The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed in Tordesillas, Spain, on 7 June 1494, and ratified in Setúbal, Portugal, divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Crown of Castile, along a meridian (geography) ...
. In later centuries ''Dudum siquidem'' was understood as giving Spain a free hand in the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
. It developed a long-term presence there, especially in the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
.


Texts

According to the American historian Frances Gardiner Davenport, no copy of this bull has been found in the records of the
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...
, but in the
General Archive of the Indies The ''Archivo General de Indias'' (; standard abbreviation AGI; ), often simply called the Archive of the Indies, was created by Carlos III of Spain, Carlos III and inaugurated in 1785. It is housed in the former Consulado de mercaderes, merchan ...
in
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
two original manuscripts of it survive, both with the papal lead seal attached, although not marked "Registrata", as is usual. Until these originals of the bull were revealed during the 20th century, there was some doubt about the authenticity of what had been quoted from it.


See also

* Bulls of Donation *
Catholic Church and the Age of Discovery The Catholic Church during the Age of Discovery inaugurated a major effort to spread Christianity in the New World and to convert the indigenous peoples of the Americas and other indigenous peoples. The evangelical effort was a major part of, and ...
* History of the west coast of North America *
Portuguese colonization of the Americas Portuguese colonization of the Americas () constituted territories in the Americas belonging to the Kingdom of Portugal. Portugal was the leading country in the European exploration of the world in the 15th century. The Treaty of Tordesillas in ...
*
Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...
*
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...


References


Further reading

*H. Vander Linden, 'Alexander VI and the demarcation of the maritime and colonial domains of Spain and Portugal 1493–4', ''
The American Historical Review ''The American Historical Review'' is a quarterly academic history journal published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Historical Association, for which it is an official publication. It targets readers interested in all period ...
'' 22 (1916) *E. Staedler, 'Die ''Donatio Alexandrina'' und die ''Divisio Mundi'' von 1493' in ''Archiv für Katholisches Kirchenrecht'' (Mainz: 1937) *Manuel Giménez Fernández, ''Nuevas Consideraciones sobre la Hist́oria, Sentido y Valor de las Bulas Alejandrinas referentes a las Indias'' (Seville: 1944) *Manuel Giménez Fernández, ''Algo más sobre las bulas alejandrinas de 1493 referentes a las Indias'' (1946) *Luis Weckmann, ''Las bulas alejandrinas de 1493 y la teoría política del Papado medieval: estudio de la supremacía papal sobre las islas'' (Mexico: 1949) * Emma Helen Blair, James Alexander Robertson,
The Philippine Islands 1493–1803
'


External links

* ''Dudum siquidem'' (copy in Latin) at Wikisource {{Colonial Empires 1493 documents Spanish colonization of the Americas 1493 in Portugal 15th century in Brazil 15th-century papal bulls Documents of Pope Alexander VI Portuguese colonization of the Americas