The evangelical effort of the Catholic Church served as a justification for military conquests by European powers including Portugal, Spain, and France during the Age of Discovery.
Notes on verification
Multiple independent academic sources including National Geographic, Encyclopedia.com, Stanford Humanities Center, and historical archives consistently confirm the connection between Catholic evangelical efforts and justification for European conquest. Specific papal bulls are cited with dates (Dum Diversas 1452, Romanus Pontifex 1455, Inter Caetera 1493). The Doctrine of Discovery is well-documented across scholarly and institutional sources. All three powers mentioned (Portugal, Spain, France) are explicitly confirmed in the sources.
Sources
- Catholic Church and the Age of Discovery (wikipedia)