Origins.

The European societies who conquered the Americas had centuries of experience in conquering and subjugating other peoples, and with this experience came legal support for both conquest and governance of the newly acquired territories. In the Crusades of 1096-1291 Europeans attempted to "free" the Holy Lands from the control of Islamic peoples. Pope Innocent IV argued that he was given authority by Jesus himself over all peoples for the good of their souls, an authority first given to Peter and handed down from pope to pope. Obviously, not all peoples respected this authority, and the pope was to use it only to the degree necessary to protect the wellbeing of souls. A pagan people who disallowed the preaching of the Gospel, Innocent claimed, were subject to coercion for their own good. The Pope could, if necessary, even declare war on such...