Pope Paul III Declares Indigenous People Are Human

Pope Paul III issues the papal bull Sublimis Deus, declaring that indigenous Americans are 'true men' with souls capable of salvation, and that they cannot be deprived of their liberty or property even if they are not yet Christian. The bull condemns slavery of indigenous people as invalid and orders enslaved indigenous people freed. While its practical effect was limited — Spain suppressed it at the request of Charles V — it establishes the theoretical basis for indigenous rights that Las Casas and others will invoke for decades.