We give you permission to make such Moros slaves, and to seize
their property. You are warned that you can make them slaves only
if the said Moros are such by birth and choice, and if they come to
preach their Mahometan doctrine, or to make war against you or against
the Indians, who are our subjects and in our royal service. But in
no way or manner shall you enslave the Indians who have embraced the
doctrine of Mahoma; on the contrary, you shall endeavor to persuade and
convert them to our holy Catholic faith by kind and lawful methods."
To make universal arrangements is to pass infallible rules, and in
law we can hardly find such a rule; therefore we must distinguish
in both times and occasions. With due respect, it seems to me that
all Mahometans are enemies of the Church; and all the Ismaelites,
their allies, confederates, and descendants must have the words of
the Scriptures (as found in the 16th chapter of Genesis) written in
their hearts: _Hic erit ferus homo, manus ejus contra omnes et manus
omnium contra eum_. [6] Wonderful events occurred (and it would be
well for your Majesty to have them examined and investigated) in the
histories of Portugal, in the _Decadas_ of Barros and in the books
of Osorio, the good bishop of Algarve, [7]--who, by command of his
Majesty the king, Cardinal Don Enrrique, wrote in Latin the history
of the life, deeds, and virtues of the most renowned king Don Manuel,
your Majesty's grandfather. All these books abound in accounts of
field and naval battles, which the viceroys and captains-general of
Malaca, Goa, Calicud, Ormus, and many other places, fought against
well-known Moros of that region and those from Samatra, Java, and
Bornei, who were aided by Turks, Mamelukes, Moors from Tunez [Tunis],
and Moors who were driven away from Granada at the time of the
Catholic kings. In a battle against Alfonso de Albuquerque [8] were
seven hundred Mamelukes, three hundred Turks, and a thousand Moors
from Tunez and Granada--sent there by the Sultan of Egipto [Egypt]
before the Turks had defeated him. They peopled and filled these
islands. Every year Turks come to Samatra and likewise to Borney; in
Maluco and in Ternate these Turks are gathered against your Majesty,
and have caused a great number of Christians who were instructed in
the Catholic faith to apostatize. Moreover the king of that place
is allied with the English heretics, and the Moros have inflicted
terrible martyrdoms upon the Chri
|