Romanus pontiff

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The Papal Bull Romanus Pontifex was on 8. January 1455 by Pope Nicholas V issued.

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The bull praises the merits of Henry the Navigator in the fight against the Saracens and in the spread of Christianity. In addition to the Bull Dum diversas , the Portuguese King Alfonso V , his successors and the Infante Heinrich were granted the right to attack the Saracens, pagans and other enemies of Christianity, to make them slaves forever and to take their property. Here the Portuguese received the sole right to the previously acquired areas and new conquests behind Cape Bojador . In return, churches and monasteries were to be built in the new colonies and priests were to be allowed to administer the sacraments.

prehistory

When Portugal's expansion plans failed in the 15th century due to the military strength of the neighboring countries, the idea arose to look for a sea ​​route to India in order to benefit from trade with Asia and the emerging Ottoman Empire through an alliance with the mythical Christian empire of To strategically grapple with the Priest King John.

Expeditions to explore the west coast of Africa turned out to be time-consuming and costly. The costs were covered by trade with African countries, although in some countries money could only be made by enslaving the locals. In the case of sea ​​trade with Africa and later Asia, however, competition from other countries was to be expected.

After the infant and administrator of the Order of Christ Henry the Navigator negotiated with the Pope and offered the church not only promises of missions but also seats in Portuguese government bodies, the bull was issued, through which the plans of the Portuguese were politically covered. The aftermath of the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453 can also be seen as a unifying motive for both sides to take action against the expansion of this Islamic empire.

Effects

Colonialism and trade

On October 5, 1455, King Alfonso V had the bull read to representatives of all foreign trade groups ( French , English , Castilians , Basques , Flemings ) in the Cathedral of Lisbon .

By the bull had been to a trade monopoly for maritime trade in Asia and provide a legal basis to foreign ships if necessary board . At first, there was hardly any competition for trade in Asia. In 1600, however, the Dutch succeeded in raising a Portuguese carrack in the Strait of Malacca and transferring it completely to Amsterdam . The auction brought a profit of 13 tons of gold. Now the Dutch recognized the values ​​that could be found in Asia. On behalf of the 1602 founded Dutch East India Company created the international law, Hugo Grotius 1604/05 the legal opinion De jure praedae ( "About the pinch of law "). A chapter from it was published in 1609 under the title Mare liberum ("The Free Sea"). The Catholic Church promptly indexed Mare liberum as it undermined the Treaty of Tordesillas . But this did not prevent the Calvinist Dutch from attacking Portuguese Asia.

mission

After Vasco da Gama discovered the sea route to India in 1498, the Portuguese focused on trade for four decades. Clerics in Portuguese India were only responsible for pastoral care among the Portuguese. When the Pope's envoy in Goa was arrested and sent back, the Portuguese King John III was threatened . to open the East to all Catholic Europeans. Around the year 1540 the Christian mission in India finally began by the Jesuits in Goa. The spread of Christianity was supported by the colonial administration, which offered Christians discounts. From Goa the mission spread into Asia.

See also

Web links

literature

  • Ronald Daus: The Invention of Colonialism . Peter Hammer Verlag, Wuppertal 1983, ISBN 3-87294-202-6 (published jointly with GEPA ).