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How did the papal bull Romanus Pontifex relate to the Portuguese slave trade?

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Montúfar, Antonio: Saint Francis of Assisi Appearing Before Pope Nicholas V, with Donors — Nicholas V *Saint Francis of Assisi Appearing Before Pope Nicholas V, with Donors*, oil on canvas by Antonio Montúfar, 1628; in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. 107.95 × 87.63 cm.

The papal bull Romanus Pontifex, issued by Pope Nicholas V in 1455, is widely interpreted as a document that facilitated the Portuguese slave trade and legitimized European colonization in Africa.1

Building upon the 1452 bull Dum Diversas, which authorized King Afonso V of Portugal to conquer "Saracens (Muslims) and pagans" and subject them to "perpetual servitude," Romanus Pontifex further solidified these rights. Historians argue that these edicts granted the Portuguese the legal authority to acquire enslaved people along the African coast through both force and trade. By providing religious and legal sanction for these actions, the bull played a significant role in the expansion of the slave trade from West Africa and the broader European colonial enterprise on the continent.1