Eugene IV

Pope Eugene IV (born Gabriele Condulmer; Latin: Eugenius IV; Italian: Eugenio IV; 1383 – 23 February 1447) was head of the Catholic Church and leader of the Papal States from 11 March 1431 to his death in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian and a nephew of Pope Gregory XII. In 1431, he was elected pope. He is the most recent pope to take the pontifical name "Eugene".

His tenure was marked by conflict: first with the Colonna, relatives of his predecessor Pope Martin V; and later with the Conciliar movement. In 1434, after a complaint by bishop of the Canary Islands Fernando Calvetos, Eugene IV issued the bull "Creator Omnium", rescinding any recognition of Portugal's right to conquer the islands, and rescinding any right to Christianize their native populations. Eugene also resisted slavery: he excommunicated anyone who had enslaved newly-converted Christians, such penalty to remain in place until the enslaved were restored to their liberty and possessions.

Eugene initially sought to protect the Jews, and was quite active against a rampant societal anti-semitism—he issued decrees protecting their rights, opposing forced baptisms, and permitting wider economic activity. In 1442, however, he promulgated the bull Dudum ad nostram audientiam, which was later used as the legal basis for the creation of Jewish ghettos in Europe. In 1443, Eugene decided to take a neutral position on territorial disputes between Castile and Portugal and regarding rights claimed along the coast of Africa.