_The Portuguese have no right of sovereignty over the East Indies by
virtue of title based on the Papal Donation_
Next, if the partition made by the Pope Alexander VI* is to be
used by the Portuguese as authority for jurisdiction in the East
Indies, then before all things else two points must be taken into
consideration.
* [The Cambridge Modern History, I, 23-24, has a good paragraph upon
this famous Papal Bull of May 14, 1493 (modified June 7, 1494, by
treaty of Tordesillas).]
First, did the Pope merely desire to settle the disputes between the
Portuguese and the Spaniards?
This was clearly within his power, inasmuch as he had been chosen
to arbitrate between them, and in fact the kings of both countries
had previously concluded certain treaties with each other on this
very matter.[29] Now if this be the case, seeing that the question
concerns only the Portuguese and Spaniards, the decision of the Pope
will of course not affect the other peoples of the world.
Second, did the Pope intend to give to two nations, each one third of
the whole world?
But even if the Pope had intended and had had the power to make such
a gift, still it would not have made the Portuguese sovereigns of
those places. For it is not a donation that makes a sovereign, it is
the consequent delivery of a thing[30] and the subsequent possession
thereof.
Now, if any one will scrutinize either divine or human law, not
merely with a view to his own interests, he will
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deprehendet donationem eiusmodi ut rei alienae nullius esse momenti.
Disputationem de potestate Pontificis, hoc est Episcopi Romanae
Ecclesiae, hic non aggrediar, nec quicquam ponam nisi ex hypothesi,
hoc est, quod confitentur homines inter eos eruditissimi, qui
plurimum Pontificiae tribuunt auctoritati, maxime Hispani, qui cum
pro sua perspicacia facile vident Dominum Christum omne a se terrenum
imperium abdicasse,[31a] mundi certe totius dominium, qua homo fuit,
non habuisse, et si habuisset, nullis tamen argumentis astrui posse
ius illud in Petrum, aut Romanam Ecclesiam Vicarii iure translatum;
cum alias etiam certum sit, multa Christum habuisse in quae Pontifex
non successerit,[32a] intrepide affirmarunt (utar ipsorum verbis)
Pontificem non esse dominum civilem aut temporalem totius orbis.[33a]
Immo etiam si quam talem potestatem in mundo haberet, eam tamen non
recte exerciturum, cum spirituali sua iurisdictione contentus esse
debeat, saecularibus autem Principibus eam concedere nullo modo
posse. Tum vero si quam habeat potestatem, eam habere, ut loquuntur
in ordine ad spiritualia.[34a] Quocirca nullam illi esse potestatem
in populos infideles, ut qui ad Ecclesiam non pertineant.[35a]
Unde sequitur ex sententia Caietani et Victoriae et
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easily apprehend that a donation of this kind, dealing with the
property of others, is of no effect. I shall not enter here upon any
discussion as to the power of the Pope, that is the Bishop of the
Roman Church, nor shall I advance anything but a hypothesis which
is accepted by men of the greatest erudition, who lay the greatest
stress on the power of the Pope, especially the Spaniards, who with
their perspicacity easily see that our Lord Jesus Christ when he
said “My kingdom is not of this world” thereby renounced all earthly
power,[31] and that while He was on earth as a man, He certainly
did not have dominion over the whole world, and if He had had such
dominion, still by no arguments could such a right be transferred
to Peter, or be transmitted to the Roman Church by authority of the
‘Vicar of Christ’; indeed, inasmuch as Christ had many things to
which the Pope did not succeed,[32] it has been boldly affirmed--and
I shall use the very words of the writers--that the Pope is neither
civil nor temporal Lord of the whole world.[33] On the contrary, even
if the Pope did have any such power on earth, still he would not be
right in using it, because he ought to be satisfied with his own
spiritual jurisdiction, and be utterly unable to grant that power
to temporal princes. So then, if the Pope has any power at all, he
has it, as they say, in the spiritual realm only.[34] Therefore he
has no authority over infidel nations, for they do not belong to the
Church.[35]
It follows therefore according to the opinions of
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potioris partis tam Theologorum quam Canonistarum,[36a] non esse
idoneum titulum adversus Indos, vel quia Papa dederit provincias
illas tamquam dominus absolute, vel quia non recognoscunt dominium
Papae; atque adeo ne Saracenos quidem isto titulo umquam spoliatos.
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Cajetan and Victoria and the more authoritative of the Theologians
and writers on Canon Law,[36] that there is no clear title against
the East Indians, based either on the ground that the Pope made an
absolute grant of those provinces as if he were their sovereign,
or on the pretext that the East Indians do not recognize his
sovereignty. Indeed, and in truth, it may be affirmed that no such
pretext as that was ever invoked to despoil even the Saracens.
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CAPVT IV
_Lusitanos in Indos non habere ius dominii titulo belli_
His igitur sublatis cum manifestum sit, quod et Victoria
scribit,[37a] Hispanos ad terras remotiores illas navigantes nullum
ius secum attulisse occupandi eas provincias, unus dumtaxat titulus
belli restat, qui et ipse si iustus esset, tamen ad dominium
proficere non posset, nisi iure praedae, hoc est post occupationem.
Atqui tantum abest ut Lusitani eas res occupaverint, ut cum plerisque
gentibus quas Batavi accesserunt, bellum eo tempore nullum haberent.
Et sic igitur nullum ius illis quaeri potuit, cum etiam si quas ab
Indis pertulissent iniurias, eas longa pace et amicis commerciis
remisisse merito censeantur.
Quamquam ne fuit quidem quod bello obtenderent. Nam qui Barbaros
bello persequuntur ut Americanos Hispani, duo solent praetexere, quod
ab illis commercio arceantur, aut quod doctrinam verae religionis
illi nolent agnoscere. Et commercia quidem Lusitani ab Indis
impetrarunt,[38a] ut hac in parte nihil habeant quod querantur.
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