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Primary sourceDocument2 June 1537

Sublimis Deus

Paul III · 2 June 1537

Pope Paul III's 1537 bull declaring Indigenous peoples rational and free, a text Las Casas cited in his campaigns against enslavement.

Las Casas's writings helped prompt this bull, which he later cited in his campaigns for Indigenous rights.

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Source: Wikisource

About this source

What it is

Sublimis Deus is a papal bull issued by Pope Paul III on 2 June 1537. It declares that Indigenous peoples of the Americas are fully rational human beings with rights to freedom and property, and forbids their enslavement.

Why it matters

The bull grew out of a council of missionaries in Mexico, including Bartolomé de las Casas, Archbishop Juan de Zumárraga, and Bishop Julián Garcés, who sent a recommendation to Rome based partly on Las Casas's own writings on converting Indigenous peoples. Its principles influenced Spain's New Laws and the Valladolid debate, though colonists often ignored them. It shows how churchmen like Las Casas tried to use religious authority to challenge the treatment of Indigenous peoples.

Look closer

  • Why might a religious argument be used to oppose slavery rather than a political or economic one?
  • Who had the power to enforce (or ignore) a document like this?
  • What does it tell us that Las Casas's writings helped shape an official Church statement?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Bartolomé de las Casas on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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