ABSTRACT
Ceremonies of arrival, marking physical presence on the land, no matter how compelling, frequently used, or well witnessed were only the first step. Immediately after Columbus's return to Spain, the monarchs sought formal legal authorization for their title from the pope. For much of the sixteenth century, the Spanish crown's right to rule the New World was embedded in the 1493 donation of Pope Alexander VI and constituted by reading a text containing an account of that donation, called the Requirement. "Especial grace" designated the source of royal authority in medieval English thinking—the idea that royal authority derives from God and comes to the crown by grace. The authorization to occupy lands not possessed by another Christian monarch suggests that Elizabeth's jurisdiction was also implicitly grounded in the right of eminent domain of Christian rulers. After obtaining the patent, the next step was for European adventurers to establish the authority articulated therein.
