Papal Bull Aeterni Regis Grants Land to Portugal
- When
- 1481
- Where
- Papal States
- Episodes
- 1
On 21 June 1481, Pope Sixtus IV issued the papal bull Aeterni regis, confirming the Treaty of Alcáçovas. The document granted Portugal territorial acquisitions in Africa and eastward to the Indies, while reaffirming Castile's possession of the Canary Islands.
Episodes
Background and detail
Issuance of the Bull. Pope Sixtus IV, head of the Catholic Church from 1471 to 1484, issued Aeterni regis on 21 June 1481. The document confirmed the substance of the earlier treaty, reiterating Castile's possession of the Canary Islands and granting Portugal further territorial acquisitions in Africa and eastward to the Indies.
Portuguese Territorial Rights. The papal bull confirmed the substance of the Treaty of Alcáçovas, granting Portugal all further territorial acquisitions made by Christian powers in Africa and eastward to the Indies. This reinforced the territorial division previously agreed upon by Portugal and Castile.
People involved
- Pope Sixtus IV · Issuer of the papal bull
- King Afonso V of Portugal · Monarch granting trade rights to his son
- Infante Joao · Recipient of trade and fisheries rights in Guinea
Sources
- Aeterni regis Wikipedia, revision of 2026-06-17
- Pope Sixtus IV Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-19
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.