The Beginnings of the Portuguese Slave Trade…
1456 CE
The Beginnings of the Portuguese Slave Trade and Papal Endorsement (1434–1455)
By the mid-15th century, Portugal had become the first European power to systematically engage in the African slave trade, with the Catholic Church providing official sanction through papal bulls. These decrees legitimized the enslavement of non-Christians, laying the foundation for centuries of European colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade.
The First African Slaves in Portugal (1434)
- Portuguese traders first delivered a cargo of African slaves to Lisbon in 1434, marking the beginning of Portugal’s role in the trans-Saharan and later trans-Atlantic slave trade.
- The slave trade quickly became highly profitable, with enslaved Africans being used for:
- Domestic servitude in Portugal.
- Labor on sugar plantations in Madeira and the Azores.
- Expanding Portugal’s growing overseas economy.
Papal Bulls Sanctioning Slavery (1452–1455)
1. Dum Diversas (1452) – Pope Nicholas V
- Issued at the request of King Afonso V of Portugal, this bull granted the Portuguese Crown the right to:
- "Reduce any Saracens, pagans, and any other unbelievers" to perpetual slavery.
- Wage "holy war" against non-Christians, a justification for Portuguese conquests in North and West Africa.
2. Romanus Pontifex (1455) – Pope Nicholas V
- Expanded and reaffirmed the provisions of Dum Diversas, reinforcing:
- Portugal’s exclusive rights over newly discovered lands and trade in Africa.
- The enslavement of non-Christians as part of the expansion of Christendom.
3. Inter Caetera (1456) – Pope Calixtus III
- Further reinforced Portugal’s right to enslave non-Christians, viewing it as a legitimate part of empire-building.
- Pope Calixtus III, widely seen as weak and ineffective, continued to provide unquestioned papal support to Portuguese expansion.
Consequences: The Institutionalization of the African Slave Trade
- These papal decrees justified Portugal’s role in slavery, allowing:
- The establishment of regular slave trading routes between Africa and Europe.
- The expansion of plantation economies in Atlantic island colonies.
- The foundation for later European empires to exploit African labor on a massive scale.
- Over time, these papal bulls became legal precedents for:
- The Spanish transatlantic slave trade.
- The European justification of slavery in the New World.
Portugal’s Growing Slave Trade Economy
- By the 1460s, Portugal had regular slave-trading expeditions along the West African coast.
- Enslaved Africans were sold in Lisbon, Seville, and other European markets, while some were sent to plantations in the Atlantic islands.
- Gold and slaves became major commodities, fueling Portugal’s wealth and financing further exploration.
Legacy: The Church’s Endorsement of Colonial Slavery
- These papal bulls played a pivotal role in European colonialism and slavery, as they:
- Provided a religious justification for enslaving non-Christians.
- Allowed European powers to expand their empires without moral opposition from the Church.
- Shaped racialized systems of forced labor that would persist for centuries.
- Later, Spain, England, France, and the Netherlands would follow Portugal’s example, establishing the transatlantic slave trade.
The Catholic Church’s sanctioning of slavery during this period gave European powers the moral and legal authority to subjugate millions of Africans, shaping the course of global history and the brutal economic structures of colonialism.
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