''Sublimis Deus'' (English: ''The sublime God''; erroneously cited as ''Sublimus Dei'') is 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 ...

promulgated by

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

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

indigenous peoples of the Americas In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

(called "Indians of the West and the South") and all other indigenous people who could be discovered later or previously known. It states that the Indians are fully rational human beings who have rights to freedom and property, even if they are heathen. 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 is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

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 state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

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, re ...

, 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, were issued on November 20, 1542, by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (King Charles I of Spain) and regard t ...

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

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

es themselves. The

ecclesiastical letter Ecclesiastical letters are publications or announcements of the organs of Roman Catholic ecclesiastical authority, e.g. the synods, but more particularly of pope and bishops, addressed to the faithful in the form of letters. Letters of the po ...

'' Pastorale officium'', issued a few days before the encyclical, imposed excommunication on conquerors who enslave the indigenous people. This punishment was subsequently repealed after petition by the Emperor.

Background

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 natural slaves (and perhaps lesser 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,

Bartolomé de Las Casas Bartolomé de las Casas, Dominican Order, OP ( ; ); 11 November 1484 – 18 July 1566) was a Spanish clergyman, writer, and activist best known for his work as an historian and social reformer. He arrived in Hispaniola as a layman, then became ...

and Bishop of Puebla Julián Garcés. 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. In 1537, Minaya arrived in Rome and pleaded his case on behalf of the Indians. In response, Pope Paul III released ''Sublimis Deus'' on June 2, 1537. A few days before, he issued '' Pastorale officium,'' a brief that declared automatic excommunication for anyone who failed to abide by the new ruling, on May 29, 1537; Pastorale officium was later annulled. 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. John Francis Maxwell 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 further argues that the Indian nations had every right to self-defense. Rodney Stark 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. Toyin Faola asserts that the bull related to the native populations of the New World and did not condemn the transatlantic African slave trade stimulated by the Spanish monarchy and the Holy Roman Emperor. 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''. Michael Stogre notes that ''Sublimis Deus'' is not present in the ''Enchiridion'', the authoritative but incomplete compendium of official teachings of the Catholic Church (1854) (however, it is on the current Vatican website), and that the executing brief for it ('' Pastorale officium'') was annulled the following year, though this is not conclusive proof that ''Sublimis Deus'' itself was ever officially annulled.

David Brion Davis David Brion Davis (February 16, 1927 – April 14, 2019) was an American intellectual and cultural historian, and a leading authority on slavery and abolition in the Western world. He was a Sterling Professor of History at Yale University, ...

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 James E. Falkowski, ''Sublimis Deus'' had the effect of revoking

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 ...

's bull '' Inter caetera'' but still leaving the colonizers the duty of converting the native people.Thornberry 2002, p. 65, fn. 21. Hans-Jürgen Prein observes the difficulty in reconciling these decrees with ''Inter caetera''.''The Encyclopedia Of Christianity'', p. 212.

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, 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 1537 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