The Spanish and Portuguese were the early settlers who established settlements in America after the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492. The Catholic Church played a significant role in giving the rights by issuing Inter caetera, to Spain and Portuguese to explore in New World. Papal Bull or Inter Caetera authorizes Spain and Portugal to colonize the New World and its Native peoples. The primary goal of both nations was to claim land in the name of their empires and gain wealth.
Black codes were restrictive laws designed to limit the freedom of African Americans and ensure their availability as a cheap labor force after slavery was abolished during the Civil War.
