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@ Jamel
2025-05-19 08:35:49
Back in 1452, Pope Nicholas V gave permission to the King of Portugal, Afonso V, to fight against non-Christians, especially Muslims and people they called pagans. He gave this permission in a letter called a papal bull named Dum Diversas. In that letter, the Pope also said it was okay to capture those people and keep them as slaves forever. This gave Portugal a religious reason to begin taking African people as slaves.
Three years later in 1455, Pope Nicholas V wrote another letter called Romanus Pontifex. This one gave Portugal full rights to claim land they discovered and to enslave any non Christian people they found, especially in Africa. It also told other Christian countries not to interfere. This was during the time when European countries were exploring new parts of the world, so this letter gave them power to take land and enslave people in the name of the Church.
Because of these letters, many people believe that Pope Nicholas V helped start the slave trade in Africa. Although he did not mention Africans by race, he encouraged the idea that nonChristians could be treated as less than human. This later led to the kind of slavery where people were judged and enslaved based on their race, especially black Africans.
Some people say he “invented racism.” That is not fully accurate. Racism as we know it today grew over time. But it is true that Pope Nicholas V’s actions gave early support to the kind of thinking that allowed racism and slavery to grow.
As for the Moors, the Muslims who lived in Spain, Pope Nicholas V supported fighting them, but he did not personally expel them. That happened later in 1492, under the rule of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.