Editing Pope Alexander VI (section)

== Slavery ==
While the explorers of Spain imposed a form of slavery called "[[encomienda]]" on the indigenous peoples they met in the New World,<ref>"[http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/colonial/encomienda-slavery.pdf Encomienda or Slavery? The Spanish Crown's Choice of Labor Organization in Sixteenth-Century Spanish America.]" (PDF). Latin American Studies.</ref> some popes had spoken out against the practice of slavery. In 1435, [[Pope Eugene IV]] had issued an attack on slavery in the [[Canary Islands]] in his papal bull ''[[Sicut dudum]]'', which included the excommunication of all those who engaged in the slave trade with native chiefs there. A form of [[indentured servitude]] was allowed, being similar to a peasant's duty to his [[Homage (feudal)|liege lord]] in Europe.

In the wake of [[Christopher Columbus|Columbus]]'s landing in the New World, Pope Alexander was asked by the Spanish monarchy to confirm their ownership of these newly found lands.<ref>{{harvp|Stogre|1992|pp=69–70}}</ref> The bulls issued by Pope Alexander VI: ''[[Eximiae devotionis]]'' (3 May 1493), ''[[Inter caetera]]'' (4 May 1493) and ''[[Dudum siquidem]]'' (23 September 1493), granted rights to Spain with respect to the newly discovered lands in the Americas similar to those [[Pope Nicholas V]] had previously conferred on Portugal with the bulls ''[[Romanus Pontifex]]'' and ''[[Dum Diversas]]''.<ref>Raiswell, p. 469</ref><ref name="Minnich_281">{{harvp|Minnich|2010|p=281}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Rivera|1992|pp=25–28}}</ref> Morales Padron (1979) concludes that these bulls gave power to enslave the natives.<ref>cited by {{harvp|Rivera|1992|p=28}}</ref> Minnich (2010) asserts that this "slave trade" was permitted to facilitate conversions to Christianity.<ref name="Minnich_281" /> Other historians and Vatican scholars strongly disagree with these accusations and assert that Alexander never gave his approval to the practice of slavery.<ref>Patrick Madrid, "Pope Fiction"</ref> Other later popes, such as [[Pope Paul III]] in ''[[Sublimis Deus]]'' (1537), [[Pope Benedict XIV]] in ''Immensa Pastorium'' (1741), and [[Pope Gregory XVI]] in his letter ''[[In supremo apostolatus]]'' (1839), continued to condemn slavery.

Thornberry (2002) asserts that ''Inter caetera'' was applied in the [[Spanish Requirement of 1513]], which was read to American Indians (who could not understand the colonisers' language) before hostilities against them began. They were given the option to accept the authority of the pope and Spanish crown or face being attacked and subjugated.<ref name="Thornberry_65">{{harvp|Thornberry|2002|p=65}}</ref><ref>{{harvp|Rivera|1992|p=37}}</ref> In 1993, the Indigenous Law Institute called on Pope John Paul II to revoke ''Inter caetera'' and to make reparation for "this unreasonable historical grief". This was followed by a similar appeal in 1994 by the [[Parliament of World Religions]].<ref name="Thornberry_65" />