|
( Treaty of Tordesillas)
The Treaty of Tordesillas (Portuguese Tratado de Tordesilhas, Spanish Tratado de Tordesillas), signed at Tordesillas (now in Valladolid province, Spain), June 7, 1494, divided the "newly discovered" lands outside Europe between Spain and Portugal along a north-south meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands (off the west coast of Africa). This was about halfway between the Cape Verde Islands (already Portuguese) and the islands discovered by Christopher Columbus on his first voyage (claimed for Spain), named in the treaty as Cipangu and Antilia (Cuba and Hispaniola). The lands to the east would belong to Portugal and the lands to the west to Spain. The treaty was ratified by Spain (at the time, the Crowns of Castile and Aragon), July 2, 1494 and by Portugal, September 5, 1494. The other side of the world would be divided a few decades later by the Treaty of Saragossa or Treaty of Zaragoza, signed on April 22, 1529, which specified the anti-meridian to the line of demarcation specified in the Treaty of Tordesillas. Originals of both treaties are kept at the Archivo General de Indias in Spain and at the Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo in Portugal.[1] The Treaty of Tordesillas was intended to resolve the dispute that had been created following the return of Christopher Columbus. In 1481 the papal Bull Aeterni regis had granted all land south of the Canary Islands to Portugal. On May 4, 1493 the Spanish-born Pope Alexander VI decreed in the bull Inter caetera that all lands west and south of a pole-to-pole line 100 leagues west and south of any of the islands of the Azores or the Cape Verde Islands should belong to Spain, although territory under Christian rule as of Christmas 1492 would remain untouched. The bull did not mention Portugal or its lands, so Portugal couldn't claim newly discovered lands even if they were east of the line. Another bull, Dudum siquidem, entitled Extension of the Apostolic Grant and Donation of the Indies and dated September 25, 1493, gave all mainlands and islands then belonging to India to Spain, even if east of the line. The Portuguese King John II was not pleased with that arrangement, feeling that it gave him far too little land — it prevented him from possessing India, his near term goal (as of 1493, Portuguese explorers had only reached the east coast of Africa). He opened negotiations with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain to move the line to the west and allow him to claim newly discovered lands east of the line. The treaty effectively countered the bulls of Alexander VI and was sanctioned by Pope Julius II in a new bull of 1506. Very little of the newly divided area had actually been seen by Europeans, as it was only divided according within the treaty. Spain gained lands including most of the Americas. The easternmost part of current Brazil, when it was discovered accidently in 1500 by Pedro Álvares Cabral, while on route to India, was granted to Portugal. However some historians contend that the Portuguese knew of the South American bulge that makes up most of Brazil before this time, and that his landing in Brazil was not an accident. Vasco da Gama warned Cabral about the doldrums that existed off of the African route to India, and so decided to sail far west. They point out that Gama's pilot went along with the crew, winds were reportedly extremely favorable, and that the captain must have known it would be unneccessary to sail so far west to reach India.[citation needed] Maps of new territories and accounts of voyages previously taken by the Portuguese were not permitted to be published in Portugal at the time, and this would explain the prudent foresight that the Portuguese exhibited in their persuasion of Spain to sign the treaty.[citation needed] The line was not strictly enforced — the Spanish did not resist the Portuguese expansion of Brazil across the meridian. The treaty was rendered meaningless between 1580 and 1640 while the Spanish King was also King of Portugal. It was superseded by the 1750 Treaty of Madrid which granted Portugal control of the lands it occupied in South America. However, the latter treaty was immediately repudiated by Spain. The Treaty of Tordesillas only specified its demarcation line in leagues from the Cape Verde Islands. It did not specify the line in degrees, nor did it identify the specific island or the specific length of its league. Instead, the treaty stated that these matters were to be settled by a joint voyage, which never occurred. The number of degrees can be determined via a ratio of marine leagues to degrees which applies to any sized Earth or via a specific marine league applied to the true size of the Earth.
|
Treaty of Tordesillas Subcategories
Treaty of Tordesillas Articles
|
|
