Read the excerpt below.
'We define and declare... that the said Indians and all other people who may later be discovered by Christians, are by no means to be deprived of their liberty or the possession of their property, even though they be outside the faith of Jesus Christ; and that they may and should, freely and legitimately, enjoy their liberty and the possession of their property; nor should they be in any way enslaved; should the contrary happen, it shall be null and of no effect.'
— Pope Paul III, *Sublimis Deus*, 1537
The declaration in the excerpt was most directly shaped by which of the following sixteenth-century developments?
- Growing theological and philosophical debates over the humanity and rights of Indigenous populations.Answer
- BEfforts by the Spanish Crown to define the encomienda as a land-granting system rather than a method of extracting Native American labor.
- CA consensus among Spanish missionaries that all Indigenous societies possessed a singular, uniform culture that easily adapted to European governance.
- DConcerns over the demographic collapse of European colonizers caused by the spread of New World diseases like smallpox.
Answer
Growing theological and philosophical debates over the humanity and rights of Indigenous populations.
The correct answer is the option focusing on the growing theological and philosophical debates over the humanity and rights of Indigenous populations. Pope Paul III's declaration directly targeted the arguments used to justify the enslavement and subjugation of Native Americans by asserting their spiritual capacity, rationality, and natural right to liberty and property, reflecting the deep divisions among European religious and political leaders during early colonization.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Cultural and Ideological Debates on Colonization