Tordesillas Treaties

Tordesillas Treaties

The famous Treaty of Tordesillas divided the world in 1494 between the two greatest sea-powers and forces of discovery of the time: Spain and Portugal. The agreement was proposed and implemented by none less than Pope Alexander VI, the highest authority of the Catholic powers. After the unbelievable discoveries of the 15th centuries and the still-awaited further discoveries of new lands and regions, this New World had to be divided up. Thus the Treaty of Tordesillas, which followed several papal bulls, secured a definitive line of demarcation. The regions lying to the west of the line, thus the Americas – up to modern Brazil – were awarded to the Spanish, and the eastern regions went to Portugal. The treaty offers an exciting glimpse into this great Age of Discovery and the reorganization of the world!

An Imaginary Line through the Atlantic

“[…] a boundary or straight line be determined and drawn north and south, from pole to pole, on the said ocean sea, from the Arctic to the Antarctic pole. This boundary or line shall be drawn straight, as aforesaid, at a distance of three hundred and seventy leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands, being calculated by degrees, or by any other manner as may be considered the best and readiest, provided the distance shall be no greater than above said. And all lands, both islands and mainlands, found and discovered already, or to be found and discovered hereafter, by the said King of Portugal and by his vessels on this side of the said line and bound determined as above, toward the east, in either north or south latitude, on the eastern side of the said bound provided the said bound is not crossed, shall belong to, and remain in the possession of, and pertain forever to, the said King of Portugal and his successors. And all other lands, both islands and mainlands, found or to be found hereafter, discovered or to be discovered hereafter, which have been discovered or shall be discovered by the said King and Queen of Castile, Aragon, etc., and by their vessels, on the western side of the said bound, determined as above, after having passed the said bound toward the west, in either its north or south latitude, shall belong to, and remain in the possession of, and pertain forever to, the said King and Queen of Castile, Leon, etc., and to their successors.”

Lucrative Business and Exotic Lands

The Treaty of Tordesillas was concluded on June 7th, 1494, and was ratified on July 2nd by Spain and on September 5th by Portugal and from then on regulated the territorial claims between the two great sea-powers. They were in competition in particular for the numerous new discoveries of islands and whole continents in the 15th century. The so-called New World was to be divided into a Spanish and a Portuguese half. The focus of the Portuguese kingdom lay in maintaining the control of the sea route to India along the African coast. India and the sea route there and back promised, among other things, the profitable spice trade in the Pacific region. This African route was to be free of competing Spanish influence. Thus was the Spanish royal house allowed to seek a sea route to India over the Atlantic and in doing so discovered an unknown continent: America. They wanted to secure the control and right over these lands, which were first discovered by Christopher Columbus, in the west. The Portuguese King John II namely allowed, among others, for the proclamation of the Brazilian coast as a Portuguese region. Naturally, the Spanish did not want to allow that to happen.

The Pope as Arbitrator

The Borgia Pope Alexander VI (1492–1503) intervened as arbitrator between the two competing parties in the division of the New World. The pope held the highest authority in the Catholic lands and his word had to be complied with by both Spain as well as Portugal. At the end of the 15th century, there came a flood of papal bulls, which were meant to regulate the matter. Among them was the 1481 bull Aeternis regis that gave all regions south of the Canary Islands to Portugal. In the year 1493 there were several papal bulls, among them the bull Inter caetera, in which a line of demarcation was established. Portugal was nonetheless not in agreement with this and thus tough negotiations began. An agreement was reached about the shift of the line westward, so that Brazil went to Portugal.

A Final Settlement

This settlement was finally sealed in the famous Treaty of Tordesillas. Other sea powers such as England, Holland, or France were completely unaccounted for, as were the rights of the indigenous populations of the newly discovered regions. Agreements were recorded across the eight pages of the historically significant contract that would influence the further course of world history. It is an unbelievably exciting document of a 15th century and a certificate of the division of the world!