Eximiae devotionis
Eximiae devotionis ( Latin : the serious [extraordinary] devotion ... ) is a papal bull with which Pope Alexander VI. entrusted the newly discovered lands and their people to the Spanish kings . Through this the lands should be incorporated into the church and the indigenous population should be evangelized .
Date
There are divergent statements about the date of this bull; the signature is said to have taken place in July 1493. However, the bull is said to have been backdated to May 3, 1493 so that it could be placed in the order before the other bull Inter caetera , dated May 4, 1493.
Valid for Spain and Portugal
The Spanish pope wrote this bull at the urgent request of the Spanish kings . This letter dealt with the upcoming disputes over territorial claims in the New World, between Spain and Portugal . Alexander VI. described this act as a donation and extraordinary gift to the kings of Castile and León , he assured them that they would exercise full power. The Pope promised all conceivable support and declared that these orders would continue to apply to the heirs. At the same time, the Pope extended the privileges to the areas on the coasts of Africa explored by the Portuguese .
No division of territory
The territorial division of the new western countries was not carried out in this bull, this only followed with the above-mentioned bull Inter caetera . It is believed that the author of Eximiae devotionis simply forgot the description of the demarcation lines , which also underlines the loss of the original. In the archives on the " West Indian Territories " in Seville there is only one copy from 1515.
See also
- Treaty of Tordesillas
- In close connection to this bull are also: Aeterni regis (June 21, 1481), Inter caetera (May 4, 1493), Piis fidelium (June 25, 1493) and Dudum siquidem (Alexander VI.) (September 26, 1493)
Web links
- Text of the bull
- Wikisource: Eximiae devotionis - Sources and full texts (Latin)
- eskunabarra.org (Spanish)
- The cosmographic revolution (page 20) (PDF; 222 kB)
- Conquista and Mission (Page 16) (PDF; 725 kB)
- The Jesuit missionaries Martin Dobrizhoffer and Florian Paucke and their contributions to the ethnography of the Gran Chaco in the 18th century (page 40) (PDF; 6.99 MB)