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40 Facts About the Borgias, One of History’s More Scandalous Dynasties

Tim Flight October 27, 2019 26 min

Jeremy Irons - The Borgias — Jeremy Irons as Pope Alexander VI in the TV series, The Borgias. The Hollywood Review

27. One of Alexander’s Papal Bulls endorsed slavery in the New World

Christopher Columbus lands in the New World, Spain, 1601. WordPress

In 1493, Alexander attempted to quell tensions between Portugal and Spain over territory in the New World. He issued a Papal Bull called Inter Caetera, which divided the new lands up between the two nations. However, it also endorsed slavery in the New World. Alexander ordered them to conquer lands so that ‘barbarous nations be overthrown and brought to the faith [Catholicism] itself’. Alexander explicitly legitimized slavery, giving Spain and Portugal permission ‘to bring under your sway the said mainlands and islands with their residents and inhabitants.

Written by

Tim Flight

I am a freelance historical and literary writer based in West Yorkshire, UK. I read for a funded PhD in English at the University of Oxford (Magdalen College) and graduated in 2016. I am a former lecturer in Medieval English Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London. My publications include peer-reviewed articles in academic publications, and pieces in mainstream magazines such as History Today and Fortean Times. For more information, please see www.drflight.co.uk