As Catholic kings and princes, you have chosen with God’s help to bring the islands and mainlands you discover, along with the people living there, into your rule and into the Catholic faith. We praise this holy plan and urge you to carry it out, so that the name of our Savior may be spread in those places. Do not let dangers or hardships stop you, but trust that God will guide your work…
By the authority of Almighty God given to us, we grant to you and to your heirs, the kings of Castile and Leon, all the islands and mainlands that your captains have found or will find to the west and south. This includes all their lands, cities, and villages, along with the rights and powers that belong to them…
Pope Alexander VI, author of the Inter Caetera that stated the Doctrine of Discovery