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Pope Paul III forbids the enslavement of Indigenous people.

1537

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The papal bull Sublimis Deus names Indigenous people as "rational human beings" who have the right to all the benefits of being human "even if they are heathens." The proclamation makes it illegal to enslave any of the known Indigenous people in the Americas, as well as any "discovered" in the future. While this does not stop colonizing forces from continuing to enslave Native people, it does open up the door to significant struggles and tensions within faith communities around the relationship between the state and the church.