Issuance of Papal Bull Inter caetera

Date: May 4, 1493 • Location: Madrid, Spain

Pope Alexander VI (pictured) issued the papal bull Inter caetera, establishing a line of demarcation dividing the New World between Spain and Portugal.

Pope Alexander VI was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. A member of the House of Borgia, he is one of several popes alleged to have been sexually active during their papacy. Alexander reigned as pope during the High Renaissance, a period in which nepotism and simony were widespread among the clergy.