Pope Sixtus IV (aug 9, 1471 – aug 12, 1484)

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Barbara Tuchman further describes how Pope Sixtus IV, in order to elevate and enrich his hitherto poor family, appointed five nephews and a grandnephew as cardinals, another grandnephew as bishop, and married six of his other relatives into ruling families.

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An inevitable result of the Inquisition was the fostering of greed and suspicion. Pope Sixtus IV complained that the inquisitors were showing more lust for gold than zeal for religion. Any wealthy person was in danger of being denounced, and although he might be “reconciled to the church” during the inquisitorial process, his goods would be confiscated anyway.

Others were judged posthumously, and their heirs were left penniless, sometimes on the basis of anonymous informers who would receive a percentage of the forfeited riches. The widespread use of spies and informers produced a climate of fear and suspicion. Often torture was invoked to obtain the names of “fellow heretics,” resulting in the arrest of many innocent people on the flimsiest of evidence.

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In 1479, in the Treaty of Alcáçovas, Afonso V of Portugal and his son, Prince John, surrendered sovereignty over the Canary Islands to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. In exchange, Spain recognized the Portuguese monopoly over African trade and Portuguese sovereignty over the Azores, the Cape Verde Islands, and Madeira. Two years later, Pope Sixtus IV reaffirmed this treaty, specifying that any new discoveries south and east of the Canary Islands would belong to Portugal.

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These included Sixtus IV (pope, 1471-84), who spent large sums to build the Sistine Chapel, named after himself.

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