ALEXANDRIAN BULLS: ANTECEDENTS, CONTENT AND CONSEQUENCES - HISTORY - 2025

The Alexandrian bulls refer to the arbitration documents promulgated by Pope Alexander VI. They arise from the request of the kings Fernando II of Aragon and Isabel I of Castile and served to determine their alleged rights to the lands and the people found from the expeditions of Christopher Columbus.

The term "bull" comes from the Latin bulla. Refers to round metal objects of artisan creation. At the beginning they designated the metal medallions that hung from the neck of the young Roman nobles. These medallions were also used as stamps to give authenticity to some documents and correspondence.

The documents that the popes made were named in reference to the lead seal they exhibited. They were tied by a ribbon that represented the initials of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul. They were separated by a cross in the middle.

On the reverse side, the seal of the pope in force at that time authenticated them as valid. They were issued by the papal apostolic chancery and their content was mandatory for the world dominated by Catholicism.

Background

The kingdom of Portugal and Spain were fighting to conquer the routes of the seas. They often came into conflict of interest over mastering new boating trails. This would allow them to access the products of the East, specifically in what they called India.

It was in this environment that the struggle for power took place within the Church of the Valencian family of the Borja, or Borgia, as it would be known when adapting the surname to the Italian spelling.

In the year 1444 Alfonso de Borgia is named cardinal. This is achieved thanks to his skills as a negotiator and diplomat. His legal knowledge was also important to maintain the balance between Milan, Florence and Naples, as well as to face a common front against the Turks.

His transfer to Rome was an important step to climb the most important position in Europe. In 1455 he was named Pope; He was known by the name of Calixto III.

As the highest hierarch of the Catholic Church he promulgated several papal bulls, seeking to promote the crusades just as his predecessor Nicolás V.

His short reign also meant the establishment of the systematic nepotism of the Borgia family in Rome. He placed his relatives in important positions in the Church and his nephew Rodrigo appointed him first a cardinal and then vice chancellor of the Church.

In an environment of Italian infighting, the Borgias served as intermediaries and negotiators. This made them climb seats of power.

In 1492, in a fight between Neapolitans, Milanese and Genoese, Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia used their intermediation to negotiate alliances and crown himself as pontiff.

He was the second Spanish pope Alexander VI, whose most universal and significant legacy was the Alexandrian bulls.

Contents of the Alexandrian Bulls

Between Spain and Portugal there was competition for the dominion and occupation of the islands in North Africa. This led to the signing of the Treaty of Alcácovas in 1479 with the mediation of the Pope.

This confirmed the rights of the King of Portugal on the coasts of Africa south of the Canary Islands, and Spain was allowed to keep these.

After the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the West Indies, the Portuguese claimed for themselves the rights to the new lands. They did this because they considered that they were south of the Canary Islands.

Consequently, the Catholic kings requested the pope to issue an interpretation of the documents; these were the previous bulls, the signed agreement and the formulation of new documents taking into account the new reality.

The pope, after verifying the data provided by the navigators and taking into account their deep friendship and common interests with the kings of Castile and Aragon, issued new pontifical documents. In these he granted the Spanish rights to the new lands.

Inter Caetera I

It is known as a donation bull. In this it grants to the kings of Castile the rights over the territories discovered and to be discovered in the New World.

The condition was that they were not under the rule of another Christian king. As a counterpart was the obligation to Christianize the subjects of these new kingdoms.

Inter Caetera II

Known as a partition bull. By means of a line from north to south, she demarcated the territories into two halves: east of the Azores Island for the Portuguese and west of this meridian for the Spanish.

Eximiae devotionis

This bull granted the Catholic kings the same rights that the kings of Portugal had over the lands conquered on the route of the Indians to the east.

However, the Spaniards were granted them on the territories discovered or to be discovered in the territories of the route of the Indies to the west.

It is to be understood that these rights allowed the subjugation by force and the expropriation of the assets of the inhabitants of the New World.

Dudum siquidem

It is known as the donation extension. She extended the rights of the kings of Spain granted in the previous bulls to all the territories that appeared in the east or west, traveling west on the way to India.

Piis fidelium

Some historians do not take it into account as an Alexandrian bull because it was a personal task bull.

It was addressed to Fray Bernardo Boy, who was appointed by the kings of Castile for missionary work in the new lands.

Consequences

Thanks to the papal bulls, the legal framework was created to establish the dominion of the new territories found by the Europeans. They were justified in the infidelity of the natives of these lands to religious and legal principles.

Morally allowed the acceptance of the genocide of the original inhabitants. It legalized the dispossession, subjugation and systematic disappearance of culture and of the great majority of the original population of the continent, which would later be known as America.

The Tordesillas agreement was based on the content of the papal bulls known as Alejandrinas and other documents. By means of this treaty an established geographical boundary was defined.

He himself assumed an imaginary line drawn from pole to pole 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. This allowed Portugal the possession of what is today Brazil.

Although the Alexandrian bulls mark the beginning of one of the greatest genocides that humanity has witnessed, they also created a continental unity for the New World, since they allowed the Castilian language as a common language.

References

1. Alamo Bartolomé, Alicia. (2017). The Alexandrian bulls at the root of a continent. Recovered in: el-nacional.com
2. Bejarano Almada, Ma. From Lourdes. The Alexandrine Bulls: Triggers of evangelization in the New World. Recovered in scielo.org.mx
3. González, María del Refugio. Alexandrine Bulls. Recovered at: leyderecho.org
4. Mejía, Ricardo The Papal Bulls. Recovered at: es.scribd.com
5. S / D. (2011). Bulas Alejandrinas de 1493. Recovered at: elquiciodelamancebia.wordpress.com