Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Alexander VI, Pope, 1431-1503 [Demarcation bull, granting Spain possession of lands discovered by Columbus]

Order a pdf of this item here.

A high-resolution version of this object is available for registered users. LOG IN

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04093 Author/Creator: Alexander VI, Pope, 1431-1503 Place Written: [Valladolio, Spain] Type: Broadside Date: 4 May 1493 Pagination: 1 p. : Height: 30.8 cm, Width: 24.8 cm Order a Copy

Broadside entitled "Copia de la bula del decreto y concession q[ue] hizo el papa / Alexandro sexto al Rey y la Reyna nuestros senores de las Indias conforme al capitu." A unique copy of the second version possibly printed at Valladolio, by Francisco Fernandez de Cordoba. Title in Spanish and text in Latin. This document is often known as the Doctrine of Discovery and established a demarcation line one hundred leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde Islands and assigned Spain the exclusive right to acquire territorial possessions and to trade in all lands west of that line. All others were forbidden to approach the lands west of the line without special license from the rulers of Spain. The Bull stated that any land not inhabited by Christians was available to be "discovered," claimed, and exploited by Christian rulers and declared that "the Catholic faith and the Christian religion be exalted and be everywhere increased and spread, that the health of souls be cared for and that barbarous nations be overthrown and brought to the faith itself."

Alexander VI, Pope, 1431-1503
Columbus, Christopher, 1451-1506
Ferdinand V, King of Spain, 1452-1516
Isabella I, Queen of Spain, 1451-1504

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources