England was a Catholic country during the 15th century when the major Papal Bulls concerning colonization were issued. King Henry VII of England was surely aware of the attention given to Spain and Portugal by Popes Nicholas V and Alexander VI, and certainly was informed of Columbus’s activities in 1492 and later. It is interesting to note that Henry doesn’t appear to have made any pleas to receive equal treatment from the Vatican. He did however issue his own ‘Bull-like’ colonizing decree, called Letters Patent, in 1496.
NOTE: Letters Patent means the document is open for public view. “Patent’ is the English translation of the Latin term for ‘open’. The opposite of Letters Patent is Letters Close. In this usage the term Letters is both singular and plural.
This decree granted permission for John Cabot and his sons – Lewis, Sebastian and Sancio – to investigate, claim and take possession of any lands they would discover as long as they weren’t intruding on lands already claimed by Spain or Portugal. The document stated, in part:
“… to find, discover and investigate whatsoever islands, countries, regions or provinces of heathens and infidels, in whatsoever part of the world placed, which before this time were unknown to all Christians…. And that the before-mentioned John and his sons or their heirs and deputies may conquer, occupy and possess whatsoever such towns, castles, cities and islands by them thus discovered that they may be able to conquer, occupy and possess, as our vassals and governors lieutenants and deputies therein, acquiring for us the dominion, title and jurisdiction of the same towns, castles, cities, islands and mainlands so discovered;….”
While this Letters Patent doesn’t reference ‘enemies of Christ’ or ‘perpetual servitude/slavery’ as we saw in the 1452/54 Papal Bulls by Pope Nickolas V, it clearly utilizes a couple the standard colonization themes of conquering ‘heathens and infidels’ and acquiring ‘dominion’ over their lands.
John Cabot was born in Italy and became an expert navigator while he worked for a Venetian mercantile company. He moved to England in 1495 and had developed the same premise as Columbus – that the Far East could be reached by sailing West. King Henry VII engaged Cabot as his primary explorer of the western Atlantic with his Letters Patent of 1496. On Cabot’s first two journeys he claimed to have made landfalls, but hadn’t encountered any inhabitants. He reported that he felt certain he had reached the northeastern coast of Asia. His plan for the third journey was to continue from that point to Japan. He embarked on that third journey, but was never heard from again and was officially declared ‘lost-at-sea’ in 1499. Cabot did demonstrate the viability of a shorter northern route across the Atlantic which would later prove to be an important advantage during the establishment of the British colonies.
It is a bit surprising that the English monarchs after Henry VII didn’t further pursue journeys to follow up on Cabot’s efforts. Of course, his successor, Henry VIII was occupied with more domestic and personal issues for most of his reign, including breaking with the Catholic Church. But there doesn’t seem to be any evidence that those that followed him – Edward VI or Mary I – showed any interest in sponsoring exploration in the western Atlantic region. Elizabeth I finally restored English interest in the ‘New World’ by granting a charter to Humphrey Gilbert in 1578 to “explore and settle territories in the New World that were not already claimed by a Christian Monarch.” By this time Spain had already subdued most of the islands in the Caribbean; captured what would become Mexico and Central America; made significant intrusions into South America along with the Portuguese; and had explored, plundered and terrorized both the southeastern and southwestern portions of what is now the United States. All of that with the authorization of 15th century Papal Bulls.
Not only was England late in starting to colonize lands in the western Atlantic, its first efforts were unsuccessful. Gilbert attempted on three different voyages to establish a settlement and each time had to return home unsuccessful, the last time losing his life when his ship was sunk during a storm. Elizabeth then enlisted Gilbert’s half brother, Walter Raleigh, to organize the necessary resources to establish a colony on the coast of present day Virginia. In 1584 she granted Raleigh a charter which included, in part, these instructions:
“… to discover, search, finde out, and view such remote, heathen and barbarous lands, countries, and territories, not actually possessed of any Christian prince, nor inhabited by Christian people …. And forasmuch as upon the finding out, discovering, or inhabiting of such remote lands, countries, and territories as aforesaid, … Walter Ralegh, his heires and assignes for ever, … have full and mere power and authoritie to correct, punish, pardon, governe, and rule by their and every or any of their good discretions and policies, aswell [as well] causes capitall, or criminall, as civil, both marine and other, all such our subjects, as shall from time to time adventure themselves in the said journeys or voyages, or that shall at any time hereafter inhabite any such lands, countries, or territories as aforesaid ….”
The document does not mention the inhabitants of the land to be seized, only the inference that the land is ‘heathen and barbarous’. That’s still a strong colonizing statement, reflecting the presumed superior status of the invaders. By this time England could no longer be considered a Catholic nation. In fact, Elizabeth I was called by some as ‘the Protestant Queen’ and not in a complimentary manner. But religion, specifically Christian religion, was still an important colonization element. However, rather than being authorized by a Catholic Pope, it was sanctioned by divine providence as recorded in the Bible. (See Religious Practices)
One fundamental difference between the Papal Bulls and the English Letters Patent was that the Bulls were directed to and administered by royalty. The English monarchs, on the other hand, granted permission to individuals and organizations to direct and administer colonization on behalf of the monarchy. Thus, in the countries colonized by England, there is a presence of private trading and mercantile companies which carry out the colonizing practices.
Primary Sources: www.britannica.com/biography/John-Cabot; Royal Museum Greenwich