Portugal: 1415-2015

Castelo São Jorge da Mina, Gana (mandado construir por D. João II, ca.1486)

O fim de um ciclo muito longo

O impasse actual do nosso regime democrático não resulta apenas, nem sobretudo, da corrupção que alastra sem vergonha nem punição, da incompetência quase demencial dos partidos, da esfinge inútil colocada na presidência da república, da overdose alucinogénica do euro, nem sequer da tradicional indolência de um povo que sempre preferiu emigrar antes de explodir ou escolher um tirano iluminado. O que começa de facto a pesar sobre a integridade e definição do meu país é o fim dum ciclo de 600 anos de sustentação e equilíbrios de poder. O que porventura já começou é um colapso histórico sem precedentes cuja mitigação exige muito mais do que o actual regime é capaz de dar.

Este ciclo de vida nacional é, resumindo, aquele que medeia entre a consolidação da nossa fronteira ibérica e a exaustão dos recursos estratégicos que lhe deram sustentação a partir da aliança firmada entre John of Gaunt, primeiro Duke of Lancaster, e João I de Portugal (1). A formação do império colonial português, um dos mais extensos e duradouros de quantos houve, começou verdadeiramente nesta aliança que, por outro lado, viria a contribuir decisivamente para resolver, até hoje, o problema do bloqueio muçulmano do Mediterrâneo. Só as potências atlânticas, antes e depois da colonização das Américas, estavam e continuam a estar em posição de compensar os cortes de comunicações, por terra ou pelo Mediterrâneo, entre o Ocidente e o Oriente. O posicionamento de charneira do Islão, entre o Oriente e o Ocidente, foi também a sua maior fraqueza. Ficou por outro lado claro, desde a Reforma Luterana, que a Alemanha, pela sua interioridade continental, nunca foi capaz, nem poderá sê-lo no futuro, de chamar a si o centro de gravidade da força estratégica necessária à preservação da cultura greco-latina sobre a qual assenta o essencial da identidade civilizacional do Ocidente.

O império colonial português teve início na conquista de Ceuta em 1415, no ano da morte da rainha —a inglesa Filipa de Lencastre— que tudo fez para que o grande projecto atlântico europeu tivesse lugar. A falta de conhecimentos de economia e de estratégia da esmagadora maioria dos nossos historiadores tem infelizmente gerado uma cortina de enganos e ilusões sobre as origens e causas efectivas da persistência de uma nação com quase 900 anos, mas cuja sobrevivência parece agora condenada à inexorável dissolução numa união europeia de destino incerto. Portugal levou apenas 50 anos a definir as suas fronteiras, teve o primeiro grande sobressalto com Castela em 1385 (Batalha de Aljubarrota), ficou sob domínio castelhano durante 60 anos (1580-1640), e hoje, depois de se ter retirado de todas as antigas colónias e concessões, tem pela frente um novo e fundamental problema de definição e sustentação estratégica. Como travar a velha Castela, agora uma monarquia decadente à beira da desintegração, na sua incansável perseguição da preciosa porta atlântica: Lisboa? Tudo dependerá, pelo menos em parte, da nova e urgente triangulação estratégica que Portugal deverá estabelecer com o Brasil e Angola, no quadro de um posicionamento diplomático tão independente quanto possível —honest broker—, que é de nossa estrita conveniência adoptar na esfera da nova globalização que previsivelmente sucederá àquela que neste preciso momento implode com estrondo.

O problema é ainda mais sério, como se vê, do que teme Medina Carreira, e do que afirmam os recém convertidos economistas portugueses ao problema do nosso galopante endividamento —externo, público e privado. A aposta de Mário Soares na União Europeia foi seguramente o passo mais acertado da política portuguesa depois de uma inevitável, dolorosa e trapalhona descolonização. Mas se a União Europeia colapsar, por exemplo, na sequência de uma guerra nuclear no Médio Oriente, onde ficaremos perante uma Espanha que em menos de uma década ou duas poderá mergulhar num explosivo processo de desintegração? Terá Madrid, outra vez, a tentação de invadir Portugal? A Espanha detém cerca de 1/3 da nossa dívida externa (ver gráfico) e, por outro lado, Portugal encontra-se de facto em situação de pré-bancarrota. A probabilidade de até 2015 ser inevitável declará-la, ou, não a declarando (porque é humilhante), proceder-se à sua reestruturação é muito alta (2).

As guerras são sempre muito caras. Pela sua duração (1337-1453) e pelo que estava em causa, saber se a França e o Reino Unido poderiam ser um só país europeu, a Guerra dos Cem Anos foi seguramente uma das que mais custaram aos bolsos dos contribuintes de ambos os lados do Canal da Mancha. Uma das provas de que a deterioração da balança comercial inglesa foi uma coisa séria é, por um lado, a progressiva substituição da prata pelo ouro como metal financeiro, e por outro, a subida de valor deste ao longo da guerra (3).

Reparemos de novo nas datas:

• em 1337 começa a guerra pela sucessão ao trono francês desencadeada pelo rei Edward III de Inglaterra, a qual duraria 23 anos (até 1360); 
• sete anos depois, em 1344, começa a circular o Noble, a primeira moeda de ouro inglesa com efectivo valor monetário; 
• entre 1373-1386 é estabelecida a aliança estratégica entre Inglaterra e Portugal, havendo que destacar aqui a contribuição das tropas inglesas para a derrota de Castela (que contava com tropas aliadas aragonesas, francesas e italianas) na decisiva Batalha de Aljubarrota, e o casamento de Filipa de Lencastre, irmã do futuro rei inglês Henrique IV, com o rei de Portugal, João I; 
• em 1415, ano da morte da rainha portuguesa e mãe da chamada Ínclita Geração (Duarte, Pedro, Henrique, Isabel, João e Fernando), João I com os filhos príncipes e as suas tropas, auxiliados por soldados ingleses, galegos e biscainhos, tomam a cidade muçulmana de Ceuta, dando início, não a uma expansão pelo Mediterrâneo, como alvitraram António Sérgio e Vitorino Magalhães Godinho, mas sim pela costa ocidental de África, em demanda do ouro que comerciantes nómadas do deserto há muito faziam chegar a Marrocos e daqui à Europa (4).

Sem o ouro da Guiné (donde o nome da moeda inglesa guinéu), a sorte da Guerra dos Cem Anos teria sido provavelmente outra, bem como o destino de Portugal e da mais antiga aliança estratégica entre dois países.

1415 é não apenas a data do início da grande expansão marítima europeia, iniciada pelo estado português, e a que rapidamente se juntaram outras nações europeias, mas também, por assim dizer, o ano de colapso da grande marinha comercial e militar chinesa por ordem de um imperador assustado com a pressão mongol a Norte da China. A circum-navegação do império Otomano e o colapso da expansão chinesa no Índico permitiram a uma Europa que rapidamente se desenvolvia, alavancada pelo nascente sistema financeiro, uma acumulação de riqueza sem precedentes, entre outras razões porque lhe foi quase sempre possível impor aos outros povos os termos de troca, e nalguns casos mesmo a pilhagem pura e simples, em virtude da sua superioridade militar e sofisticação cultural. Sem o ouro, sem os escravos, sem as especiarias, sem as sedas e pedras preciosas, sem chá, nem café, nem tabaco, sem o açúcar, o milho, ou a batata, que teria sido dos europeus? Ora bem, a descolonização mundial e a OPEP vieram mudar toda esta longa e frequentemente sanguinária safra!

A mais justa redistribuição dos recursos disponíveis por uma humanidade que entrara numa curva de crescimento demográfico exponencial é uma condição irrecusável do mundo actual, sobretudo à medida que novos países emergem da sua antiga condição de menoridade e começam a impor de facto condições às velhas potências dominantes. O embaraço conjunto dos Estados Unidos e da Europa perante as exigências crescentes dos grandes detentores de recursos energéticos, minerais, alimentares e laborais do planeta, já para não sublinhar o poder financeiro extraordinário que têm hoje países como a China, são sinais evidentes de que um longo ciclo civilizacional chegou ao fim.

No caso de Portugal a equação é simples: onde estão o ouro, o algodão, as especiarias, as sedas, o café, as madeiras extraordinárias, o petróleo e os diamantes que alimentaram seis séculos de prosperidade relativa, e sobretudo um certo estilo de improvisação social e institucional? Mais, onde está a mão de obra barata que outrora permitiu disfarçar a nossa falta de organização e de ciência? Alguém se deu já ao trabalho de calcular o nosso actual potencial produtivo e de poupança tendo em conta os recursos objectivamente disponíveis. Que modelo de desenvolvimento poderemos no futuro efectivamente suportar e garantir sem cairmos numa qualquer forma de escravidão?

É por termos fechado um ciclo muito longo de modelo civilizacional que não faz qualquer sentido reduzir os desafios que temos pela frente às actuais querelas partidárias. A insanidade actual dos partidos políticos portugueses é mais um sintoma do grande colapso que se aproxima, do que a sua causa eficiente. Acantonar a discussão necessária dos problemas no pingue-pongue entre o pobre Sócrates e o atordoado Passos de Coelho sobre se é preciso subir impostos ou cortar despesas é uma criminosa perda de tempo. No imediato, é evidente que são necessárias medidas imediatas de contenção da hemorragia financeira que em breve levará o país ao prego. Terão que subir e muito alguns impostos (por exemplo, o IVA), e terão que encerrar todos os serviços públicos redundantes ou que não traduzam a realização duma missão imprescindível do Estado (surgindo daí novas oportunidades para os sectores empresarial e cooperativo.) Ao mesmo tempo que estas decisões drásticas e difíceis são tomadas, medidas claras de moralização e justiça devem igualmente ser adoptadas, a começar pela eliminação dos escandalosos privilégios de que goza a casta incompetente dos políticos.

Mas uma verdadeira resposta à crise exige o enquadramento das análises, dos cenários e das soluções, à luz duma visão global dos problemas. Porque é de globalização que estamos efectivamente a falar, desde 1415!

NOTAS

1.  Em 1373 foi assinado o Pacto de Tagilde, e em 1386 celebrou-se o Tratado de Windsor, ambos fazendo parte daquilo que se chama a Aliança Luso-Britânica. A última vez que a Aliança foi invocada ocorreu em 1982, durante a Guerra das Malvinas (ou Falklands), para uso das facilidades aeroportuárias dos Açores, por sua vez obtidas pelos aliados anglo-americanos por iniciativa de Winston Churchill, em 1942.
   

   "I have an announcement", I said, "to make to the House arising out the treaty signed between this country and Portugal in the year 1373 between His Majesty King Edward III and King Ferdinand and Queen Eleanor of Portugal." I spoke in a level voice, and made a pause to allow the House to take in the date, 1373. As this soaked in there was something like a gasp. I do not suppose any such continuity of relations between two Powers has ever been, or will ever be, set forth in the ordinary day-to-day work of British diplomacy — Winston Churchill, Second World War, pp 146-7. Wikipedia.

2. "O grupo de países designados pejorativamente por PIIGS (acrónimo humorístico para Portugal, Irlanda, Itália, Grécia e Espanha) viu as probabilidades de incumprimento da dívida soberana dos seus membros num horizonte de cinco anos aumentar significativamente esta semana, de acordo com o monitor da CMA DataVision." — in Expresso, 28 Ago 2010.
3. O esforço de guerra britânico em compra de alianças, custos da interdição de exportações de lã para a Flandres, e outros desequilíbrios na balança comercial, pressionaria a necessidade de cobrir os défices com pagamentos em moeda metálica. Quanto mais valiosa fosse a moeda metálica, menos metal teria que ser exportado e menos caras seriam também as operações de transporte do metal precioso. Daí a necessidade de substituir a prata pelo ouro. Foi isso que os monarcas ingleses começaram a fazer, apesar das várias tentativas falhadas e resistência interna pouco depois de iniciado o ciclo de guerras que viria a ser conhecida por Guerra dos Cem Anos. Por causa dos óbvios efeitos inflacionistas causados por uma nova moeda forte —o mesmíssimo fenómeno que ocorreu entre nós com a introdução do euro— os preços subiram, incluindo, claro está, o preço do ouro! Datam de 1252 as primeiras tentativas (Gold penny) de introduzir moedas de ouro em Inglaterra, mas foi em 1334, isto é, três anos antes da primeira guerra entre ingleses e franceses, a chamada Edwardian War (1337-1360), que a primeira moeda de ouro começou efectivamente a circular em terras britânicas. Chamava-se Noble, teve 4 cunhagens e durou até ser substituído em 1465 pelo famoso Angel (1465-1663), que por sua vez daria lugar ao Guinea (1663-1813). Um Noble pesava 138,5 gr, entre 1344 e 1346; 128,5 gr, entre 1346 e 1351; 120 gr., entre 1351 e 1377. O impacto da guerra na necessidade de obter ouro não poderia ser mais evidente.
4. Dois motivos principais aconselharam em 1373-1386 a aliança entre ingleses e portugueses: um foi o facto de o acesso ao ouro do Oriente e de África, essencial para suportar os custos da Guerra dos Cem Anos, depender do acesso ao Mediterrâneo, fosse para chegar ao Norte de África, fosse para caminhar em direcção ao Oriente por terra, o que implicaria a impossível autorização da França, com quem a Grã Bretanha iniciara uma grande guerra; o outro, foi o conhecimento de que o Golfo da Guiné, sobretudo no actual Gana, dispunha de grandes recursos em ouro e escravos —duas componentes imprescindíveis ao modelo de crescimento económico que se perfilava no horizonte. Ceuta fica em frente a Gibraltar, então sob soberania castelhana, pelo que são posicionamentos estratégicos no controlo das entradas e saídas do Mediterrâneo. Hoje Espanha controla (vamos a ver por mais quantos anos) a outrora praça forte portuguesa de Ceuta. Não é pois por acaso que o Reino Unido não larga Gibraltar desde que teve oportunidade de deitar-lhe mão, em 1704, no decurso da Guerra de Sucessão Espanhola. Poder-se-à perguntar porque é que os povos mediterrânicos se não aventuraram há mais tempo na exploração da costa atlântica de África, tendo deixado aos portugueses o privilégio da iniciativa. Por incrível que pareça há uma razão geológica de fundo: as correntes superficiais do Atlântico entram pelo Mediterrâneo adentro a uma velocidade de 3 nós, causando inúmeros perigos à navegação entre os dois mares, precisamente no socalco submarino existente ao longo de todo o estreito de Gibraltar. O Mediterrâneo é um mar quente que evapora mais depressa do que o Atlântico, ficando por isso e ciclicamente abaixo do nível deste. Pelo princípio dos vasos comunicantes o Atlântico é assim levado a invadir o Mediterrâneo com gigantescas massa de água deslocando-se a três milhas náuticas por hora — o que é muito, se considerarmos que as caravelas atingiam então velocidades médias inferiores a 12 milhas náuticas por hora.

Última actualização: 29 Agosto 2010

Ouro

Uma nova febre a caminho?
Petróleo, ouro, prata, cobre... e obras de arte — refúgios para uma crise prolongada

A gold bubble may well be coming our way
With the US and other countries monetising budget deficits, the chance of rapid inflation has surged. — Telegraph.co.uk

A recomendação para comprar barras de ouro e moedas é algo que defendo há mais de dois anos. Entretanto, o preço tem vindo a subir, apesar das tentativas recorrentes dos Estados (sobretudo os EUA e Reino Unido) de desvalorizarem sistematicamente os metais preciosos. O que estes países fizeram periodicamente ao longo do século passado foi vender grandes quantidades de ouro, ou então expropriá-lo — como ocorreu quando Roosevelt obrigou os americanos a devolverem o ouro que tinham em casa, confiscando-o por "dez reis de mel coado". Mas desta vez a coisa está preta!

De facto, o G20 recomendou uma recapitalização do FMI com base no aumento das suas reservas de ouro fino, e de "ouro papel" — os chamados Direitos Especiais de Saque (SDR). O problema é que o Reino Unido e a América estão literalmente falidos, e a União Europeia caminha para a deflação e para uma depressão económica prolongada, com taxas de desemprego que poderão chegar aos 20% lá para 2012 (o contrário, portanto, da propaganda imbecil do governo socratino.) Entretanto os chineses, árabes e japoneses (estes pela via piramidal do Yen Carry Trade), de quem o Ocidente espera ansiosamente mais patacas, já declararam que não vão continuar a alimentar burros a Pão de Ló, nem lançar mais pérolas a porcos!

Ou seja, a hiperinflação pode estar ao virar da esquina. Donde o valor inestimável do ouro fino e das acções das principais companhias mineiras envolvidas na extracção de metais preciosos e não só (ouro, prata, platina... cobre). Os SDRs e outras formas de ouro-papel, como títulos de ouro, são de evitar - pois estão na calha de uma nova bolha especulativa!!

Há já algum tempo que recomendo a compra de ouro fino aos portugueses. Dez por cento do que ganham investido em metais preciosos (ouro, platina e prata), sem lugar a pagamento de IVA, bem guardados, são decisões a pensar num futuro incerto. E o mais certo que temos neste momento é mesmo um futuro incerto.




A escassez do petróleo será uma realidade catastrófica da economia mundial a partir de 2015, ou seja muito antes de o tresloucado aeroporto intercontinental de Alcochete borregar no charco das dívidas pública e externa nacionais. A instabilidade decorrente desta escassez (quem poderá pagar no futuro o caríssimo petróleo canadiano, venezuelano, brasileiro ou russo?), para a qual não existe alternativa efectiva, nem poderá ser desenvolvida no prazo que medeia até que os efeitos catastróficos do Pico Petrolífero arrastem o declinante do modelo de desenvolvimento capitalista para a fossa da História, será seguramente responsável pela emergência do ouro, da platina, da prata, mas também do cobre e dos metais essenciais ao fabrico de pilhas recarregáveis e células de hidrogéneo (níquel, cádmio, lítio, etc.) como valores de refúgio para as poupanças mundiais.

As poupanças e os depósitos bancários estão permanentemente ameaçados pela usura fiscal das partidocracias e cleptocracias que paulatinamente vêm expropriando os povos dos seus mais elementares direitos: conservar o fruto do trabalho, poupar e investir no futuro livremente.

E quando não são expropriados legalmente pelas burocracias partidárias e corporativas, ou ainda pelas burguesias burocráticas aninhadas junto às tetas orçamentais, são-no pela lógica especulativa da inflação capitalista.

Perante este roubo devastador das economias individuais, familiares e privadas, só há uma saída: voltar à terra e respectivos bens essenciais, estabelecer circuitos de troca paralela (desencadeando uma economia informal sem precedentes), apostar na partilha universal de conhecimentos (nomeadamente pela via tecnológica), e acumular reservas de bens e valores universalmente aceites, como são, entre outros, os metais preciosos e os bens não deslocalizáveis (paisagem, clima, protecção ambiental e qualidade urbana). Os pilotos de caça da Força Aérea americana não levam dólares no bolso, mas moedas de ouro. Porquê? Pois para poderem comprar a sua liberdade caso caiam em mãos inimigas, nalguma montanha inóspita do Afeganistão. Querem melhor demonstração do que estamos a falar?


OAM 583 30-04-2009 14:33 (última actualização: 16:22)

Guiné-Bissau

Terra de negros

O chefe de estado-maior da Guiné-Bissau foi assassinado com uma explosão que praticamente destruiu o quartel-general. Poucas horas depois era a vez de Nino Vieira, presidente da jovem república democrática, sofrer o mesmo destino a tiros e catanadas. Em Portugal reina sobre o assunto um silêncio sepulcral. Fora as declarações piedosas do nosso ministro dos negócios estrangeiros e do nosso presidente da república, alguém ouviu um sussurro que seja dos superficiais intelectuais portugueses (nomeadamente historiadores) sobre o sucedido? Eu não, salvo a visão redutora e cómoda da violência na antiga colónia portuguesa plasmada por João Carlos Barradas.

É crível que a miséria de milhão e meio de guineenses seja insanável num futuro próximo.

Tudo é possível no meio da desordem, mas certo e seguro é que num estado falhado como a Guiné-Bissau só uma forte presença militar e policial estrangeira que comece por conter o tráfico de droga possa vir a dar alguma credibilidade a qualquer esforço de estabilização. — in Os tratos da Guiné por João Carlos Barradas. Jornal de Negócios.

Também ao contrário do que diz e escreve Miguel Portas, casos como este provam à evidência que Portugal não só tem interesses estratégicos vitais, que deve preservar e defender, como sobretudo tem uma enorme dívida e responsabilidade histórica pelo que andou a fazer pelo mundo nos últimos 600 anos!

O compromisso tolo do Bloco de Esquerda sobre a necessidade de acabar com a NATO, e antes disso retirar Portugal daquela aliança militar —como se as actuais intenções de voto naquele partido, procedentes sobretudo da irritação extrema com o capturado Partido Socialista, não devessem já ter posto tais cabecinhas radicalmente ocas a pensar com mais fundamento e menos folclore ideológico—, é deveras preocupante. Uma coisa é discutir as fronteiras da NATO, ou redefinir o âmbito prioritário das suas missões. Outra muito diferente é proclamar, no preciso momento em que o mundo se aproxima rapidamente de uma nova divisão global de territórios (imposta, por um lado, pela decadência do Ocidente, e por outro, pela ascensão da China e da Ásia em geral), que Portugal se deve suicidar pacificamente. A primeira coisa que o senhor Miguel Portas tem que fazer rapidamente, antes de dizer seja o que for durante a campanha eleitoral para as europeias, é estudar a História de Portugal!

Portugal deve sair da NATO. Somos um pequeno país sem interesses estratégicos vitais nos cinco cantos do planeta e que se deve especializar na mediação de conflitos e na arbitragem com base nos princípios do Direito Internacional. — in Miguel Portas/ Sem Muros, Compromisso eleitoral do BE às europeias 2009.

O melhor artigo que li sobre a degradação da Guiné-Bissau, de que os recentes acontecimentos são uma ilustração evidente, veio de Nova Iorque, pela mente sempre frontal e lúcida de Elaine Meinel Supkis.

A rather violent coup just happened in one of the poorest countries on earth. The top general of Guinea-Bissau was blown up and so the troops ran out of control and burned the Presidential Palace and shot the head of the ‘elected’ government. This is a land of pure chaos. But it also has a very long and interesting history: it was the Land of Gold and the British name for gold coins was, for hundreds of years, ‘Guineas’ and this is still used in the auction world in London.

This poor ‘nation’ is the victim of hundreds of years of the most rapine looting outside of South and Central America, of course, which were also brutally raped by European CHRISTIANS. I hope everyone tries to understand how various religions use their gods as a tool of rapine and looting! Many religions are very much addicted to this and we shall look closely at Guinea to see how this operates. — in Culture of Life News.

A Guiné está na origem da conquista de Ceuta pelos portugueses em 1415 e tem desde o início o travo agridoce da aliança anglo-portuguesa que preservou Portugal do eterno apetite espanhol.

Os nossos historiadores, serviçais como serviçal é a Justiça que temos, gostam muito de esconder a verdadeira causa das coisas. Fazem-no por gosto, subserviência (sempre ambicionaram dirigir a Torre do Tombo) ou então, quando a realidade lhes entra pelos olhos dentro, enterram a cabeça na areia, obscurecem a escrita e nos casos extremos endoidecem.

Um dos factos mais importantes da História Portuguesa é sem dúvida o casamento do tuga guerreiro e algo bronco João de Aviz com Philipa of Lancaster. Desta gestação saíu a prole das descobertas e conquistas "por mares nunca dantes navegados".

A Inglaterra precisava desesperadamente de ouro (1) para financiar os cofres esvaziados pela interminável Guerra dos 100 anos, coisa cada vez mais difícil de obter pelos velhos trilhos terrestres, que a situação periclitante de Constantinopla desaconselhava vivamente.

Por outro lado, abraços com uma crise dinástica, fome nos campos, revoltas económicas e a peste negra dizimando as cidades, Portugal estivera a ponto de perder a sua independência para o trono castelhano. Foi a chamada Crise de 1383-85.

Sabia-se que havia ouro na costa ocidental de África, nas paragens designadas pelos berberes, de aguinaou, "terra de negros" — i.e. Guiné. Sabemos também que Filipa de Lencastre era permanentemente aconselhada pela diplomacia inglesa, ou não fosse a monarquia um dos mais antigos e sofisticados sistemas de biopolítica. Por fim, era crucial para a Europa cristã contornar a expansão do Islão e o fecho previsível da porta mediterrânica do Oriente. Foi essa, muito provavelmente, a mensagem que a rainha portuguesa transmitiu insistentemente aos seus filhos, fazendo-os jurar no leito de morte que não deixariam de conquistar Ceuta e a partir daí buscar o caminho africano das Índias, o Preste João... e o ouro da Guiné!

Com a queda de Constantinopla em 1453 (2), e já no ano anterior, o trabalho de casa feito por ingleses e portugueses encontraria o devido respaldo de Roma. Menos de dois anos depois da queda do chamado Império Romano do Oriente, o Papa Nicolau V emitiu uma bula —Romanus Pontifex, Janeiro 8, 1455— conferindo direitos "virtualmente divinos" ao Infante dom Henrique para explorar os mares e escravizar as gentes com o fito de combater os Sarracenos e chegar por outras vias à Índia. Esta bula confirma a estratégia já estabelecida em 1452 na bula Dum Diversas. Vale a pena, sobretudo nos tempos que correm, ler integralmente estes documentos, nomeadamente aquele que viria mais tarde a limitar o alcance do direito conferido à Ordem de Cristo e a Portugal pelo Papa Nicolau V, conseguido a duras penas por Castela junto do então papa espanhol Alexandre VI, e na sequência da qual viria a ser negociado o célebre Tratado de Tordesilhas.

A Guiné-Bissau é apenas o pequeno território —do golfo com o mesmo nome— que os portugueses viriam a colonizar depois de perderem, em meados do século 17, o controlo das principais feitorias —Arguim (1445-1663) e Mina (1482-1663)— a partir das quais dominaram durante quase duzentos anos o comércio no grande e rico Golfo da Guiné.

O ouro, os escravos, o trigo, os tecidos coloridos e a goma-arábica foram durante centenas de anos o grande móbil do colonialismo lusitano, a que se juntariam ou substituiriam, 128 anos depois, os espanhóis; 188 anos depois, os holandeses, e a que se seguiriam franceses, alemães e ingleses. O colonialismo português perdurou até 1974.

O rico e densamente povoado Golfo da Guiné (conhecido por nomes tão sugestivos como Costa dos Escravos, Costa do Ouro, Costa do Marfim, Costa da Pimenta,) foi uma das principais fontes de alimento da Europa e alavanca humana da sua expansão colonial, sobretudo através do recurso à mão de obra escrava, muita dela enviada para as Antilhas, e depois para as Américas. Esta é uma história trágica! As feridas africanas são profundas e a nossa responsabilidade infinita. Em que "pequeno país sem interesses estratégicos vitais nos cinco cantos do planeta" pensou Miguel Portas quando estabeleceu a geoestratégia furada do Bloco de Esquerda?

A nossa culpa não foi ainda expiada e temos, sim, "interesses estratégicos vitais nos cinco cantos do planeta"!

O primeiro desses interesses diz respeito à necessidade de curar as feridas do colonialismo, ajudando com determinação e prioridade os martirizados povos africanos a encontrar o merecido equilíbrio que nós, cristãos, desfizemos ao longo de séculos. O segundo desses interesses é impedir o surgimento de novos colonialismos e desde já combater o neocolonialismo em curso.

Este problema é tanto mais candente quanto se avizinham novas pilhagens no Golfo da Guiné, desta vez por causa das suas imensas reservas petrolíferas (3).

O conhecimento que Portugal tem do planeta é um activo inalienável que não pode deitar borda fora, como se fosse um país de imbecis. Devemos a quem explorámos tudo o que sabemos e a vontade de impedir que outro pesadelo ocorra, desta vez em nome da guerra contra o terrorismo, ou outra fantasia qualquer. As relações entre colonizadores e colonizados não causaram apenas dor e exploração. Deram também lugar a uma complexa intimidade familiar, económica e linguística, na base da qual temos o dever de estabelecer uma aliança de interesses e deveres recíprocos. A dívida está por enquanto do nosso lado.

Iniciativas como a que recentemente foi levada a cabo pelo Conselho Internacional das 13 Avós Indígenas junto do Papa Benedicto XVI (4), para que sejam revogadas as bulas Dum diversas (1452), Romanus Pontifex (1455) e Inter Caetera (1493), podem e devem inspirar o governo português, e mais ainda a sociedade civil, no caminho do reconhecimento dos erros cometidos e do que podemos e devemos fazer para superá-los de forma positiva, e não recalcando a verdade sob um pesado manto de silêncio e hipocrisia.


NOTAS

1. Ainda hoje existe uma moeda inglesa chamada guinéu —Guinea (British coin)—, cuja origem é foi a importação de toneladas e toneladas de ouro do Golfo da Guiné, em particular da chamada Costa do Ouro.
   
   
2. 1453: Turks take Constantinople, for Europe, so cutting off trade routes with the East. 29 May 1453: The Fall of Constantinople.
   
   8 January 1454: Portugal: Pope Nicholas V gives to Henry the Navigator a Bull (a virtual divine right) to render navigable the seas by Africa ("the Indies"), to help western Christendom against the Saracens, and subdue the pagans left untouched by Islam. — From Renault, The Caravels of Christ, p. 84.
   
   1454-1455: Portugal: The Order of Christ (with Henry the Navigator as Grand Master), licences the Venetian merchant, Alvise da Ca' da Mosto (Cadamosto), to make two voyages to the upper Guinea Coast, resulting in perhaps the first European sighting of Cape Verde Islands. Cadamosto's narrative was not published till 1507 in Vicenza. — From J. H. Parry, The European Reconnaissance: Selected Documents. London, Macmillan, 1968., p. 57. Also, G. R. Crone, (Ed.), The Voyages of Cadamosto. London. Hakluyt Society, 1937.
   
   1455: Papal Bull Romanus pontifex grants exclusive rights to use of the Guinea Coast of Africa to Prince Henry's Order of Christ. — From J. H. Parry, The European Reconnaissance: Selected Documents. London, Macmillan, 1968., p. 14.
   
   in File - 1450-1500 - Merchants and Bankers Listings
   
   
3. Oil Policy in the Gulf of Guinea
   [the] “Third Scramble for Africa.” First came the European powers to divide up the continent more than 200 years ago. Later came the capitalist and communist superpowers to secure their spheres of influence. And now the tycoons are coming with their oil tankers in tow. Experts predict that American oil companies will invest 60 billion US Dollars in West Africa in the next 20 years – this is by far the largest influx of revenue in African history. It is also more than all development aid provided by Washington since the dawn of independence of most African states in the early 60s. — in "The Gulf of Guinea and the Global Oil Market: Supply and Demand by Johannes Dieterich, Frankfurter Rundschau". —(PDF)
   
   
4. The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers
   
   Open Statement of the Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers to His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI
   
   ... The relationship between nation-states and Indigenous peoples in the Americas, Africa, and Oceania rests on the foundation of the “doctrine of conquest” or alternatively, the “doctrine of discovery.” The origins of the governmental doctrines of “conquest” and “discovery” may be traced directly to various medieval papal bulls and edicts, notably the bulls Dum diversas, June 18, 1452, Romanus Pontifex, January 8, 1455, and Inter Caetera, May 4, 1493. These papal bulls granted imperial authority and dominion to European nations over lands which had been occupied by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years. They also laid the basis for the European “Age of Discovery,” setting in motion a disastrous chain of events, ultimately resulting in the outright theft of entire continents from Indigenous peoples worldwide.
   
   For example, the Inter Caetera papal bull of 1493 called for the subjugation of “barbarous nations.” Similarly, the bulls Dum diversas and Romanus Pontifex authorized the monarchy of Portugal “to invade, search out, capture, vanquish and subdue all Saracens and pagans whatsoever, and other enemies of Christ wheresoever placed ...” and “reduce their persons to perpetual slavery.” (ler carta completa neste PDF)
   

REFERÊNCIAS

• The Romanus Pontifex Papal Bull of January 8 1455
  by Pope Nicholas V
  
  Background
  
  The bull Romanus Pontifex was published by Pope Nicholas V. It is an important document in the long struggle betwen Portugal and Spain for the control of the lands inhabited by the so called "unbelievers" ("heathens" and "infidels"). As an arbitror of disputes in the christian world empowered by his role as the"successor of the key-bearer of the heavenly kingdom and vicar of Christ", Nicholas V settled the matter in 1455 in favor of Portugal. The competition betwen the two monarchic states started nearly 100 years before the first voyage of Columbus in 1492. Portugal's later claim to the lands in the "new world", in 1493, was based on this Bull. Castile rejected that claim and sought the help of the Spanish Pope Alexander VI who countered the Portuguese initiative with the Bull Inter caetera of 1493.
  
  English Translation of the Bull Romanus Pontifex
  
  "Nicholas, bishop, servant of the servants of God. for a perpetual remembrance.
  
  The Roman pontiff, successor of the key-bearer of the heavenly kingdom and vicar of Jesus Christ, contemplating with a father's mind all the several climes of the world and the characteristics of all the nations dwelling in them and seeking and desiring the salvation of all, wholesomely ordains and disposes upon careful deliberation those things which he sees will be agreeable to the Divine Majesty and by which he may bring the sheep entrusted to him by God into the single divine fold, and may acquire for them the reward of eternal felicity, and obtain pardon for their souls. This we believe will more certainly come to pass, through the aid of the Lord, if we bestow suitable favors and special graces on those Catholic kings and princes, who, like athletes and intrepid champions of the Christian faith, as we know by the evidence of facts, not only restrain the savage excesses of the Saracens and of other infidels, enemies of the Christian name, but also for the defense and increase of the faith vanquish them and their kingdoms and habitations, though situated in the remotest parts unknown to us, and subject them to their own temporal dominion, sparing no labor and expense, in order that those kings and princes, relieved of all obstacles, may be the more animated to the prosecution of so salutary and laudable a work.
  
  We have lately heard, not without great joy and gratification, how our beloved son, the noble personage Henry, infante of Portugal, uncle of our most dear son in Christ, the illustrious Alfonso, king of the kingdoms of Portugal and Algarve, treading in the footsteps of John, of famous memory, king of the said kingdoms, his father, and greatly inflamed with zeal for the salvation of souls and with fervor of faith, as a Catholic and true soldier of Christ, the Creator of all things, and a most active and courageous defender and intrepid champion of the faith in Him, has aspired from his early youth with his utmost might to cause the most glorious name of the said Creator to be published, extolled, and revered throughout the whole world, even in the most remote and undiscovered places, and also to bring into the bosom of his faith the perfidious enemies of him and of the life-giving Cross by which we have been redeemed, namely the Saracens and all other infidels whatsoever, [and how] after the city of Ceuta, situated in Africa, had been subdued by the said King John to his dominion, and after many wars had been waged, sometimes in person, by the said infante, although in the name of the said King John, against the enemies and infidels aforesaid, not without the greatest labors and expense, and with dangers and loss of life and property, and the slaughter of very many of their natural subjects, the said infante being neither enfeebled nor terrified by so many and great labors, dangers, and losses, but growing daily more and more zealous in prosecuting this his so laudable and pious purpose, has peopled with orthodox Christians certain solitary islands in the ocean sea, and has caused churches and other pious places to be there founded and built, in which divine service is celebrated. Also by the laudable endeavor and industry of the said infante, very many inhabitants or dwellers in divers islands situated in the said sea, coming to the knowledge of the true God, have received holy baptism, to the praise and glory of God, the salvation of the souls of many, the propagation also of the orthodox faith, and the increase of divine worship.
  
  Moreover, since, some time ago, it had come to the knowledge of the said infante that never, or at least not within the memory of men, had it been customary to sail on this ocean sea toward the southern and eastern shores, and that it was so unknown to us westerners that we had no certain knowledge of the peoples of those parts, believing that he would best perform his duty to God in this matter, if by his effort and industry that sea might become navigable as far as to the Indians who are said to worship the name of Christ, and that thus he might be able to enter into relation with them, and to incite them to aid the Christians against the Saracens and other such enemies of the faith, and might also be able forthwith to subdue certain gentile or pagan peoples, living between, who are entirely free from infection by the sect of the most impious Mahomet, and to preach and cause to be preached to them the unknown but most sacred name of Christ, strengthened, however, always by the royal authority, he has not ceased for twenty-five years past to send almost yearly an army of the peoples of the said kingdoms with the greatest labor, danger, and expense, in very swift ships called caravels, to explore the sea and coast lands toward the south and the Antarctic pole. And so it came to pass that when a number of ships of this kind had explored and taken possession of very many harbors, islands, and seas, they at length came to the province of Guinea, and having taken possession of some islands and harbors and the sea adjacent to that province, sailing farther they came to the mouth of a certain great river commonly supposed to be the Nile, and war was waged for some years against the peoples of those parts in the name of the said King Alfonso and of the infante, and in it very many islands in that neighborhood were subdued and peacefully possessed, as they are still possessed together with the adjacent sea. Thence also many Guineamen and other negroes, taken by force, and some by barter of unprohibited articles, or by other lawful contract of purchase, have been sent to the said kingdoms. A large number of these have been converted to the Catholic faith, and it is hoped, by the help of divine mercy, that if such progress be continued with them, either those peoples will be converted to the faith or at least the souls of many of them will be gained for Christ.
  
  But since, as we are informed, although the king and infante aforesaid (who with so many and so great dangers, labors, and expenses, and also with loss of so many natives of their said kingdoms, very many of whom have perished in those expeditions, depending only upon the aid of those natives, have caused those provinces to be explored and have acquired and possessed such harbors, islands, and seas, as aforesaid, as the true lords of them), fearing lest strangers induced by covetousness should sail to those parts, and desiring to usurp to themselves the perfection, fruit, and praise of this work, or at least to hinder it, should therefore, either for the sake of gain or through malice, carry or transmit iron, arms, wood used for construction, and other things and goods prohibited to be carried to infidels or should teach those infidels the art of navigation, whereby they would become more powerful and obstinate enemies to the king and infante, and the prosecution of this enterprise would either be hindered, or would perhaps entirely fail, not without great offense to God and great reproach to all Christianity, to prevent this and to conserve their right and possession, [the said king and infante] under certain most severe penalties then expressed, have prohibited and in general have ordained that none, unless with their sailors and ships and on payment of a certain tribute and with an express license previously obtained from the said king or infante, should presume to sail to the said provinces or to trade in their ports or to fish in the sea, [although the king and infante have taken this action, yet in time it might happen that persons of other kingdoms or nations, led by envy, malice, or covetousness, might presume, contrary to the prohibition aforesaid, without license and payment of such tribute, to go to the said provinces, and in the provinces, harbors, islands, and sea, so acquired, to sail, trade, and fish; and thereupon between King Alfonso and the infante, who would by no means suffer themselves to be so trifled with in these things, and the presumptuous persons aforesaid, very many hatreds, rancors, dissensions, wars, and scandals, to the highest offense of God and danger of souls, probably might and would ensue -- We [therefore] weighing all and singular the premises with due meditation, and noting that since we had formerly by other letters of ours granted among other things free and ample faculty to the aforesaid King Alfonso -- to invade, search out, capture, vanquish, and subdue all Saracens and pagans whatsoever, and other enemies of Christ wheresoever placed, and the kingdoms, dukedoms, principalities, dominions, possessions, and all movable and immovable goods whatsoever held and possessed by them and to reduce their persons to perpetual slavery, and to apply and appropriate to himself and his successors the kingdoms, dukedoms, counties, principalities, dominions, possessions, and goods, and to convert them to his and their use and profit -- by having secured the said faculty, the said King Alfonso, or, by his authority, the aforesaid infante, justly and lawfully has acquired and possessed, and doth possess, these islands, lands, harbors, and seas, and they do of right belong and pertain to the said King Alfonso and his successors, nor without special license from King Alfonso and his successors themselves has any other even of the faithful of Christ been entitled hitherto, nor is he by any means now entitled lawfully to meddle therewith -- in order that King Alfonso himself and his successors and the infante.may be able the more zealously to pursue and may pursue this most pious and noble work, and most worthy of perpetual remembrance (which, since the salvation of souls, increase of the faith, and overthrow of its enemies may be procured thereby, we regard as a work wherein the glory of God, and faith in Him, and His commonwealth, the Universal Church, are concerned) in proportion as they, having been relieved of all the greater obstacles, shall find themselves supported by us and by the Apostolic See with favors and graces -- we, being very fully informed of all and singular the premises, do, motu proprio, not at the instance of King Alfonso or the infante, or on the petition of any other offered to us on their behalf in respect to this matter, and after mature deliberation, by apostolic authority, and from certain knowledge, in the fullness of apostolic power, by the tenor of these presents decree and declare that the aforesaid letters of faculty (the tenor whereof we wish to be considered as inserted word for word in these presents, with all and singular the clauses therein contained) are extended to Ceuta and to the aforesaid and all other acquisitions whatsoever, even those acquired before the date of the said letters of faculty, and to all those provinces, islands, harbors, and seas whatsoever, which hereafter, in the name of the said King Alfonso and of his successors and of the infante, in those parts and the adjoining, and in the more distant and remote parts, can be acquired from the hands of infidels or pagans, and that they are comprehended under the said letters of faculty. And by force of those and of the present letters of faculty the acquisitions already made, and what hereafter shall happen to be acquired, after they shall have been acquired, we do by the tenor of these presents decree and declare have pertained, and forever of right do belong and pertain, to the aforesaid king and to his successors and to the infante, and that the right of conquest which in the course of these letters we declare to be extended from the capes of Bojador and of Não, as far as through all Guinea, and beyond toward that southern shore, has belonged and pertained, and forever of right belongs and pertains, to the said King Alfonso, his successors, and the infante, and not to any others. We also by the tenor of these presents decree and declare that King Alfonso and his successors and the infante aforesaid might and may, now and henceforth, freely and lawfully, in these [acquisitions] and concerning them make any prohibitions, statutes, and decrees whatsoever, even penal ones, and with imposition of any tribute, and dispose and ordain concerning them as concerning their own property and their other dominions. And in order to confer a more effectual right and assurance we do by these presents forever give, grant, and appropriate to the aforesaid King Alfonso and his successors, kings of the said kingdoms, and to the infante, the provinces, islands, harbors, places, and seas whatsoever, how many soever, and of what sort soever they shall be, that have already been acquired and that shall hereafter come to be acquired, and the right of conquest also from the capes of Bojador and of Não aforesaid.
  
  Moreover, since this is fitting in many ways for the perfecting of a work of this kind, we allow that the aforesaid King Alfonso and [his] successors and the infante, as also the persons to whom they, or any one of them, shall think that this work ought to be committed, may (according to the grant made to the said King John by Martin V., of happy memory, and another grant made also to King Edward of illustrious memory, king of the same kingdoms, father of the said King Alfonso, by Eugenius IV., of pious memory, Roman pontiffs, our predecessors) make purchases and sales of any things and goods and victuals whatsoever, as it shall seem fit, with any Saracens and infidels, in the said regions; and also may enter into any contracts, transact business, bargain, buy and negotiate, and carry any commodities whatsoever to the places of those Saracens and infidels, provided they be not iron instruments, wood to be used for construction, cordage, ships, or any kinds of armor, and may sell them to the said Saracens and infidels; and also may do, perform, or prosecute all other and singular things [mentioned] in the premises, and things suitable or necessary in relation to these; and that the same King Alfonso, his successors, and the infante, in the provinces, islands, and places already acquired, and to be acquired by him, may found and [cause to be] founded and built any churches, monasteries, or other pious places whatsoever; and also may send over to them any ecclesiastical persons whatsoever, as volunteers, both seculars, and regulars of any of the mendicant orders (with license, however, from their superiors), and that those persons may abide there as long as they shall live, and hear confessions of all who live in the said parts or who come thither, and after the confessions have been heard they may give due absolution in all cases, except those reserved to the aforesaid see, and enjoin salutary penance, and also administer the ecclesiastical sacraments freely and lawfully, and this we allow and grant to Alfonso himself, and his successors, the kings of Portugal, who shall come afterwards, and to the aforesaid infante. Moreover, we entreat in the Lord, and by the sprinkling of the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom, as has been said, it concerneth, we exhort, and as they hope for the remission of their sins enjoin, and also by this perpetual edict of prohibition we more strictly inhibit, all and singular the faithful of Christ, ecclesiastics, seculars, and regulars of whatsoever orders, in whatsoever part of the world they live, and of whatsoever state, degree, order, condition, or pre-eminence they shall be, although endued with archiepiscopal, episcopal, imperial, royal, queenly, ducal, or any other greater ecclesiastical or worldly dignity, that they do not by any means presume to carry arms, iron, wood for construction, and other things prohibited by law from being in any way carried to the Saracens, to any of the provinces, islands, harbors, seas, and places whatsoever, acquired or possessed in the name of King Alfonso, or situated in this conquest or elsewhere, to the Saracens, infidels, or pagans; or even without special license from the said King Alfonso and his successors and the infante, to carry or cause to be carried merchandise and other things permitted by law, or to navigate or cause to be navigated those seas, or to fish in them, or to meddle with the provinces, islands, harbors, seas, and places, or any of them, or with this conquest, or to do anything by themselves or another or others, directly or indirectly, by deed or counsel, or to offer any obstruction whereby the aforesaid King Alfonso and his successors and the infante may be hindered from quietly enjoying their acquisitions and possessions, and prosecuting and carrying out this conquest.
  
  And we decree that whosoever shall infringe these orders [shall incur the following penalties], besides the punishments pronounced by law against those who carry arms and other prohibited things to any of the Saracens, which we wish them to incur by so doing; if they be single persons, they shall incur the sentence of excommunication; if a community or corporation of a city, castle, village, or place, that city, castle, village, or place shall be thereby subject to the interdict; and we decree further that transgressors, collectively or individually, shall not be absolved from the sentence of excommunication, nor be able to obtain the relaxation of this interdict, by apostolic or any other authority, unless they shall first have made due satisfaction for their transgressions to Alfonso himself and his successors and to the infante, or shall have amicably agreed with them thereupon. By [these] apostolic writings we enjoin our venerable brothers, the archbishop of Lisbon, and the bishops of Silves and Ceuta, that they, or two or one of them, by himself, or another or others, as often as they or any of them shall be required on the part of the aforesaid King Alfonso and his successors and the infante or any one of them, on Sundays, and other festival days, in the churches, while a large multitude of people shall assemble there for divine worship, do declare and denounce by apostolic authority that those persons who have been proved to have incurred such sentences of excommunication and interdict, are excommunicated and interdicted, and have been and are involved in the other punishments aforesaid. And we decree that they shall also cause them to be denounced by others, and to be strictly avoided by all, till they shall have made satisfaction for or compromised their transgressions as aforesaid. Offenders are to be held in check by ecclesiastical censure, without regard to appeal, the apostolic constitutions and ordinances and all other things whatsoever to the contrary notwithstanding. But in order that the present letters, which have been issued by us of our certain knowledge and after mature deliberation thereupon, as is aforesaid, may not hereafter be impugned by anyone as fraudulent, secret, or void, we will, and by the authority, knowledge, and power aforementioned, we do likewise by these letters, decree and declare that the said letters and what is contained therein cannot in any wise be impugned, or the effect thereof hindered or obstructed, on account of any defect of fraudulency, secrecy, or nullity, not even from a defect of the ordinary or of any other authority, or from any other defect, but that they shall be valid forever and shall obtain full authority. And if anyone, by whatever authority, shall, wittingly or unwittingly, attempt anything inconsistent with these orders we decree that his act shall be null and void. Moreover, because it would be difficult to carry our present letters to all places whatsoever, we will, and by the said authority we decree by these letters, that faith shall be given as fully and permanently to copies of them, certified under the hand of a notary public and the seal of the episcopal or any superior ecclesiastical court, as if the said original letters were exhibited or shown; and we decree that within two months from the day when these present letters, or the paper or parchment containing the tenor of the same, shall be affixed to the doors of the church at Lisbon, the sentences of excommunication and the other sentences contained therein shall bind all and singular offenders as fully as if these present letters had been made known and presented to them in person and lawfully. Therefore let no one infringe or with rash boldness contravene this our declaration, constitution, gift, grant, appropriation, decree, supplication, exhortation, injunction, inhibition, mandate, and will. But if anyone should presume to do so, be it known to him that he will incur the wrath of Almighty God and of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul. Given at Rome, at Saint Peter's, on the eighth day of January, in the year of the incarnation of our Lord one thousand four hundred and fifty-four, and in the eighth year of our pontificate."
  P. de Noxeto.
  
  Bibliographic reference
  
  The English translation of Romanus Pontifex is a reproduction of its publication in European Treaties bearing on the History of the United States and its Dependencies to 1648 , Frances Gardiner Davenport, editor, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1917, Washington, D.C., at pp. 20-26. The original text in Latin is in the same volume, at pp. 13-20.
  
  
• The Inter Caetera, Papal Bull of May 4, 1493
  by Alexander VI
  
  Historical context
  
  The rivalry betwen Spain and Portugal for the possession of the newly discovered lands of the non christian world reached its highest point after the discorery of west indies by Columbus in 1492
  .
  The key element of this struggle was the control of the trade with the eastern portions of the world. The Italian and the Arabs were in the early 1400's the providers of goods from Africa and the Eastern nations. However, the kingdoms of Portugal and Castille gradually became serious contenders as sea fearer nations and started to challenge each other for strategic control of the routes and the possession of territories along the African west coast. It is not by accident that Columbus, an Italien navigator, sought the financial and military backing for his expedition in Portugal first and, when he could not succeed, made the same proposition to the sovereign of Castille who accepted.
  
  (Ref 1)
  Returning from his first voyage, Columbus landed on the Portuguese coast and was at once invited to Court. He reached Lisbon March 4, 1493, upon the invitation of the King of Portugal. On hearing his report, King John II claimed the newly discovered lands for Portugal by virtue of the Treaty of Alcacovas of 1479, sanctioned by the Bulls of Pope Sixtus IV, dated June 21, 1481. The text of the Treaty and the Bull contain some slight variations and thereby allow of different interpretations. It is difficult to decide, therefore, whether this claim of the Portuguese King was justified. Contemporary as well as modern historians have always differed widely in their opinions. It is generally believed that, with his famous message on his discoveries, Columbus dispatched to the Spanish Kings, who were at Barcelona, a report on the difficulties raised by the Portuguese King, but it is questioned whether this was sent from Lisbon by land or from Palos after having reached the latter port, March 14, 1493.
  
  King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain reported the great news at once to Pope Alexander VI. It is again doubtful whether this was done by a special messenger or by a courier sent to Cardinal Bernardin de Carvajal and to Ruiz de Medina, then Spanish ambassadors at the Holy See, and whether this was done in consequence of the Portuguese claims or according to a general custom of that period. Pope Alexander VI, himself a Spaniard, granted the request to confer the lately discovered lands on the Crown of Spain by three Bulls issued on May 3 and May 4 1493 (all much in favor of Spain, and depriving Portugal of nearly all privileges bestowed upon it by the Bulls of 1452 and 1454, issued by Nicholas V, and by that of 1481 of Sixtus IV and one of 1484 of Innocentius VIII). Some months later, on September 26, 1493, a fourth Bull was issued granting to Spain almost unlimited rights. But this act remained without consequence; for in the meantime, at the suggestion of the King of Spain, it was agreed that, to avoid complications already threatening, a conference should be held. Portuguese ambassadors were sent to Barcelona and, after many negotiations and some interruptions, a settlement was finally reached at the small Spanish town of Tordesillas and a treaty was signed on June 7, 1494. Obviously inspired by the corresponding passage in the second Bull "Inter caetera", but not referring to this or any other bulls or treaties, it was provided that there should be drawn a line running from North to South, 370 leagues west from Cape Verde Islands, and that everything west of this line should belong to Spain, everything east of it to Portugal.
  
  The sanction, which by the terms of the Treaty was to be asked, was never given by Alexander VI and not before the 24th of January, 1506, was a Bull to such effect issued by Pope Julius II. Although much disputed and very differently interpreted, this Treaty remained in force until January 13, 1750, when the Treaty of Madrid annulled the boundary line. It would seem, however, that this boundary line, first provided for in the second Bull "Inter caetera" and later corrected in the Treaty of Tordesillas, decided what parts of the western hemisphere as well as which regions of the eastern hemisphere were discovered, possessed and civilized by Spain and by Portugal respectively, and which still speak the language and show the influence of the culture of their first discoverers.
  (end ref. 1)
  
  (ref 2)
  Comments on the content of the Bull Inter Caetera
  
  Like the bull "Eximiae devotionis" of May 3, the bull "Inter caetera" of May 4 is a restatement of part of the bull "Inter caetera" of May 3. Taken together the two later bulls cover the same ground as the bull "Inter caetera" of May 3, for which they form a substitute. The changes introduced into the bull "Inter caetera" of May 4, are, however, of great importance, and highly favorable to Spain. Instead of merely granting to Castile the lands discovered by her envoys, and not under Christian rule, the revised bull draws a line of demarcation one hundred leagues west of any of the Azores or Cape Verde Islands, and assigns to Castile the exclusive right to acquire territorial possessions and to trade in all lands west of that line, which at Christmas, 1492, were not in the possession of any Christian prince. The general safeguard to the possible conflicting rights of Portugal is lacking. All persons are forbidden to approach the lands west of the line without special license from the rulers of Castile.
  
  It is not probable that by this bull Alexander VI intended to secure to Portugal an eastern route to the Indies, as some writers have maintained. In the bulls of May 3, the earlier papal grants to Portugal are said to have given her rights in the region of Guinea and the Gold Mine, but the Indies are not mentioned. The bull of May 4 does not name Portugal and refers to her only in the clause which excepts from the donation any lands west of the demarcation line, which at Christmas, 1492, might be in the possession of any Christian prince. (end of ref 2)
  
  (ref.3)
  
  The English Translation of the Bull Inter Caetera
  
  Alexander, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to the illustrious sovereigns, our very dear son in Christ, Ferdinand, king, and our very dear daughter in Christ, Isabella, queen of Castile, Leon, Aragon, Sicily, and Granada, health and apostolic benediction. Among other works well pleasing to the Divine Majesty and cherished of our heart, this assuredly ranks highest, that in our times especially 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. Wherefore inasmuch as by the favor of divine clemency, we, though of insufficient merits, have been called to this Holy See of Peter, recognizing that as true Catholic kings and princes, such as we have known you always to be, and as your illustrious deeds already known to almost the whole world declare, you not only eagerly desire but with every effort, zeal, and diligence, without regard to hardships, expenses, dangers, with the shedding even of your blood, are laboring to that end; recognizing also that you have long since dedicated to this purpose your whole soul and all your endeavors -- as witnessed in these times with so much glory to the Divine Name in your recovery of the kingdom of Granada from the yoke of the Saracens -- we therefore are rightly led, and hold it as our duty, to grant you even of our own accord and in your favor those things whereby with effort each day more hearty you may be enabled for the honor of God himself and the spread of the Christian rule to carry forward your holy and praiseworthy purpose so pleasing to immortal God. We have indeed learned that you, who for a long time had intended to seek out and discover certain islands and mainlands remote and unknown and not hitherto discovered by others, to the end that you might bring to the worship of our Redeemer and the profession of the Catholic faith their residents and inhabitants, having been up to the present time greatly engaged in the siege and recovery of the kingdom itself of Granada were unable to accomplish this holy and praiseworthy purpose; but the said kingdom having at length been regained, as was pleasing to the Lord, you, with the wish to fulfill your desire, chose our beloved son, Christopher Columbus, a man assuredly worthy and of the highest recommendations and fitted for so great an undertaking, whom you furnished with ships and men equipped for like designs, not without the greatest hardships, dangers, and expenses, to make diligent quest for these remote and unknown mainlands and islands through the sea, where hitherto no one had sailed; and they at length, with divine aid and with the utmost diligence sailing in the ocean sea, discovered certain very remote islands and even mainlands that hitherto had not been discovered by others; wherein dwell very many peoples living in peace, and, as reported, going unclothed, and not eating flesh. Moreover, as your aforesaid envoys are of opinion, these very peoples living in the said islands and countries believe in one God, the Creator in heaven, and seem sufficiently disposed to embrace the Catholic faith and be trained in good morals. And it is hoped that, were they instructed, the name of the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, would easily be introduced into the said countries and islands. Also, on one of the chief of these aforesaid islands the said Christopher has already caused to be put together and built a fortress fairly equipped, wherein he has stationed as garrison certain Christians, companions of his, who are to make search for other remote and unknown islands and mainlands. In the islands and countries already discovered are found gold, spices, and very many other precious things of divers kinds and qualities. Wherefore, as becomes Catholic kings and princes, after earnest consideration of all matters, especially of the rise and spread of the Catholic faith, as was the fashion of your ancestors, kings of renowned memory, you have purposed with the favor of divine clemency to bring under your sway the said mainlands and islands with their residents and inhabitants and to bring them to the Catholic faith. Hence, heartily commending in the Lord this your holy and praiseworthy purpose, and desirous that it be duly accomplished, and that the name of our Savior be carried into those regions, we exhort you very earnestly in the Lord and by your reception of holy baptism, whereby you are bound to our apostolic commands, and by the bowels of the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, enjoin strictly, that inasmuch as with eager zeal for the true faith you design to equip and despatch this expedition, you purpose also, as is your duty, to lead the peoples dwelling in those islands and countries to embrace the Christian religion; nor at any time let dangers or hardships deter you therefrom, with the stout hope and trust in your hearts that Almighty God will further your undertakings. And, in order that you may enter upon so great an undertaking with greater readiness and heartiness endowed with the benefit of our apostolic favor, we, of our own accord, not at your instance nor the request of anyone else in your regard, but of our own sole largess and certain knowledge and out of the fullness of our apostolic power, by the authority of Almighty God conferred upon us in blessed Peter and of the vicarship of Jesus Christ, which we hold on earth, do by tenor of these presents, should any of said islands have been found by your envoys and captains, give, grant, and assign to you and your heirs and successors, kings of Castile and Leon, forever, together with all their dominions, cities, camps, places, and villages, and all rights, jurisdictions, and appurtenances, all islands and mainlands found and to be found, discovered and to be discovered towards the west and south, by drawing and establishing a line from the Arctic pole, namely the north, to the Antarctic pole, namely the south, no matter whether the said mainlands and islands are found and to be found in the direction of India or towards any other quarter, the said line to be distant one hundred leagues towards the west and south from any of the islands commonly known as the Azores and Cape Verde. With this proviso however that none of the islands and mainlands, found and to be found, discovered and to be discovered, beyond that said line towards the west and south, be in the actual possession of any Christian king or prince up to the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ just past from which the present year one thousand four hundred and ninety-three begins. And we make, appoint, and depute you and your said heirs and successors lords of them with full and free power, authority, and jurisdiction of every kind; with this proviso however, that by this our gift, grant, and assignment no right acquired by any Christian prince, who may be in actual possession of said islands and mainlands prior to the said birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ, is hereby to be understood to be withdrawn or taken away. Moreover we command you in virtue of holy obedience that, employing all due diligence in the premises, as you also promise -- nor do we doubt your compliance therein in accordance with your loyalty and royal greatness of spirit -- you should appoint to the aforesaid mainlands and islands worthy, God-fearing, learned, skilled, and experienced men, in order to instruct the aforesaid inhabitants and residents in the Catholic faith and train them in good morals. Furthermore, under penalty of excommunication late sententie to be incurred ipso facto, should anyone thus contravene, we strictly forbid all persons of whatsoever rank, even imperial and royal, or of whatsoever estate, degree, order, or condition, to dare, without your special permit or that of your aforesaid heirs and successors, to go for the purpose of trade or any other reason to the islands or mainlands, found and to be found, discovered and to be discovered, towards the west and south, by drawing and establishing a line from the Arctic pole to the Antarctic pole, no matter whether the mainlands and islands, found and to be found, lie in the direction of India or toward any other quarter whatsoever, the said line to be distant one hundred leagues towards the west and south, as is aforesaid, from any of the islands commonly known as the Azores and Cape Verde; apostolic constitutions and ordinances and other decrees whatsoever to the contrary notwithstanding. We trust in Him from whom empires and governments and all good things proceed, that, should you, with the Lord's guidance, pursue this holy and praiseworthy undertaking, in a short while your hardships and endeavors will attain the most felicitous result, to the happiness and glory of all Christendom. But inasmuch as it would be difficult to have these present letters sent to all places where desirable, we wish, and with similar accord and knowledge do decree, that to copies of them, signed by the hand of a public notary commissioned therefor, and sealed with the seal of any ecclesiastical officer or ecclesiastical court, the same respect is to be shown in court and outside as well as anywhere else as would be given to these presents should they thus be exhibited or shown. Let no one, therefore, infringe, or with rash boldness contravene, this our recommendation, exhortation, requisition, gift, grant, assignment, constitution, deputation, decree, mandate, prohibition, and will. Should anyone presume to attempt this, be it known to him that he will incur the wrath of Almighty God and of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul. Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, in the year of the incarnation of our Lord one thousand four hundred and ninety-three, the fourth of May, and the first year of our pontificate.
  
  Gratis by order of our most holy lord, the pope.
  
  June. For the referendary, For J. Bufolinus,
  
  A. de Mucciarellis. A. Santoseverino.
  
  L. Podocatharus.
  
  Source
  Ref.1 : From Paul Gottschalk, "The Earliest Diplomatic Documents on America: The Papal Bulls of 1493 and the Treaty of Tordesillas Reproduced and Translated," Berlin, 1927.
  
  Ref.2 : From Frances Gardiner Davenport, ed., "European Treaties bearing on the History of the United States and its Dependencies to 1648," Washington, D.C., 1917.
  
  Ref.3 : The inter Caetera English translation is also from " European Treaties bearing on the History of the United States and its Dependencies to 1648", Frances Gardiner Davenport, editor, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1917, Washington, D.C., at pp. 75-78. The original text in Latin is in the same volume, at pp. 72-75.
  
  

OAM 547 04-03-2009 19:19