Treaty of Tordesillas

"The sun shines on me just the same as on the other; and I should like to see the clause in Adam's will that cuts me out of my share in the New World!"

German Arciniegas, a Colombian essayist and a historian, attributed the above given quote to Francis I of France and it is concerned with the Treaty of Tordesillas.

Before we dwell into the Treaty of Tordesillas, you should know the cause of this treaty. Christopher Columbus, the explorer and voyager was a Portuguese by birth. After the death of his wife in 1485, he with his son Diego moved to Spain. The reason was, the Portugal ruler did not support his quest for an exploratory voyage on the western side of Portugal. In Spain, he received the support for the westward voyage to China from the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand II and Isabella. They named Columbus "admiral of the ocean seas" and agreed to make him the governor of the lands he discovered. In return, Columbus vowed to spread the faith of Christianity to the people of the land he discovered. He also promised to return to Spain with spices, gold and silver. In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed west and discovered the continents that separated the two great oceans, Atlantic and the Pacific. These continents were North and South America. This discovery of land was called as"New World". Columbus also discovered a sea route to the Caribbean Sea.

Treaty of Tordesillas

The Treaty of Tordesillas was signed as an agreement between the Spanish and the Portuguese monarchs. The Treaty was signed to avoid the unwanted confusion between Spain and the Portugal on the claim of the land in the New World.

In 1493, Christopher Columbus returned to Spain. He narrated the stories about his voyage to Pope Alexander VI, a Spanish by birth. Understanding the need to divide the "New World" lands between Spain and Portugal he issued a "Papal Decree" (Papal Bull).

According to this Bull, the north-south line of demarcation of 100 leagues (1 league = 3 miles) west of Cape Verde Islands was established. The Non-Christian lands the west of this line came under Spanish possession and the lands on the east belonged to the Portuguese.

However, the Portuguese did not welcome this decision. In 1494, June 7, the government representatives of both Spain and Portugal met in Tordesillas, a Spanish town to negotiate the Papal Bull. On basis of mutual agreement a treaty was signed between the two nations and this treaty was known as "The Treaty of Tordesillas".

As part of the mutual agreement, the line of demarcation was shifted to 370 leagues west of Cape Verde Islands. This resulted in Portugal gaining control of most of the lands in South America including Brazil and also the entire Indian Ocean. On the basis of this treaty, Portugal colonized the countries like Macau and India in Asia. Spain also gained a large portion of the New World Land.

However, Pope Julius II officially recognized the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1506. Both Portugal and Spain respected the terms and conditions of the Treaty. Initially, the Spanish lamented their acceptance of this treaty, as they did not get much monetary benefits from their discoveries. Their views changed once they discovered the riches in Mexico.