We explain what the Treaty of Tordesillas was, its characteristics, causes and consequences. Also, when it was abolished and where it is preserved.
What was the Treaty of Tordesillas?
The Treaty of Tordesillas was a pact signed on June 7, 1494 between the Spanish Crown (King Isabel I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon) and the Portuguese Crown (King John II of Portugal).
It was signed in order to establish mutual limits to the areas of exploration and conquest that each kingdom would have in the so-called New World, that is, in the American continent and other territories found in oceanic voyages. You must read about Mechanical Work once.
The name of the treaty comes from the town where it was signed, Tordesillas, located in the current province of Valladolid, in Spain.
The purpose of this treaty was to preserve the recently established peace between the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal, after the signing of the Treaty of Alcáçovas in 1479 put an end to the Castilian War of Succession (1474-1479).
The situation between both kingdoms was tense, due to the mutual competition for maritime control of the Atlantic and the African coasts. In addition, the return in 1493 of Christopher Columbus’ first expedition from the New World revived the rivalry between both kingdoms for control of the newly discovered territories and those that could be found in the future.
The Treaty of Tordesillas established the basis for the division of the territories of the New World through an imaginary line drawn 370 leagues from the Cape Verde Islands, which separated the areas of influence of both kingdoms and guaranteed that neither would interfere in the colonial affairs of the other.
Initially, the treaty was successful in preventing confrontation between the Spanish and the Portuguese, although the Portuguese violated it by expanding the borders of their Brazilian colony to the west, arguing that with the instruments of the time it was very difficult to fix the meridians accurately.
In addition, between 1580 and 1640 the treaty lost practical meaning, as the crowns of Spain and Portugal remained in the hands of the same Spanish monarch of the House of Austria. Finally, it was abolished in 1750 with the signing of the Treaty of Madrid, which updated the territorial division. Maybe you should definitely read about Tower of Babel once.
KEY POINTS
- The Treaty of Tordesillas was signed in 1494 by the crowns of Spain and Portugal to divide the lands that were being “discovered” outside the Old World.
- It established an imaginary line 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands that awarded the western lands to Spain and the eastern to Portugal.
- It was approved by Pope Julius II in the bull Ea quae pro bono pacis (1506).
- It influenced the colonial division of South America by allowing Portuguese colonization of the coast of Brazil, which then extended further west in violation of the treaty.
Characteristics of the Treaty of Tordesillas
The Treaty of Tordesillas had the following characteristics:
- It was signed in 1494 in the Spanish town of Tordesillas, with the presence of representatives of the Spanish and Portuguese crowns.
- It established an imaginary line 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands, which separated the territories that belonged to Spain (to the west) from those that belonged to Portugal (to the east).
- It guaranteed the division of the American lands, since shortly after its signing a Portuguese explorer reached the coasts of Brazil, which fell within the area of influence of Portugal.
- It forced both kingdoms to respect their respective maritime routes, which in the case of Spain went to the Antilles and in the case of Portugal to India via West Africa and the Cape of Good Hope.
- It was a relatively successful treaty, although difficult to apply to the letter, which was in force until the signing of the Treaty of Madrid in 1750.
- On the day of the signing of the Treaty of Tordesillas, a delimitation of the fishing areas between Cape Bojador and Río de Oro, on the northwest coast of Africa, was also signed, and the areas of influence in the North African kingdom of Fez were divided.
Causes of the Treaty of Tordesillas
The signing of the Treaty of Tordesillas had the following causes:
- The tense rivalry between the monarchies of Spain and Portugal, recently confronted during the war of Castilian succession, and the ambition of both empires to expand towards the west, on the lands recently discovered by Columbus. This forced the signing of some kind of agreement, to avoid new wars and confrontations that would weaken both kingdoms. The spread of the news of Columbus’ arrival in the New World throughout Europe, which was first known at the court of the Catholic Monarchs, when one of the caravels, La Pinta, arrived in Galicia, and later at the Portuguese court, when La Niña, in which Columbus was travelling, docked in Lisbon after stopping at the Portuguese island of Santa Maria. There, King John II of Portugal questioned the sailors and set out to claim possession of said lands, while the Spanish Crown defended its ownership of them.
- The promulgation by Pope Alexander VI, who had a good relationship with the Spanish Crown, of the so-called Alexandrian Bulls, with which he granted Spain the right of ownership over the lands and seas located 100 leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde islands, and threatened with excommunication those who ventured into those territories without Spanish permission. This affected the interests of the Portuguese Crown, since it was excluded from the colonisation of America.
- The need to map and geographically measure the Atlantic Ocean and the New World, which, although with the instruments of the time gave rise to inaccuracies and confusion, was expected to allow a more precise definition of the spheres of influence of each colonial empire. For example, the King of Portugal was initially convinced that the islands recently discovered by Columbus in the New World were south of the Canary Islands and that, therefore, they legally belonged to him, according to what was established in the Treaty of Alcáçovas, which was proven to be wrong when it was shown to him that they were to the west.
Terms of the Treaty of Tordesillas
The Treaty of Tordesillas was intended to delimit and organize the areas of colonial influence of each kingdom in the New World and other territories to be conquered, and to do so it established an imaginary line drawn from one pole to the other 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands.
Spain had the right to explore and conquer everything west of this border, and the Portuguese everything east of it, with the added stipulation that neither kingdom could send expeditions to the territory assigned to the other.
In addition, Spanish ships were granted freedom and security of transit through Portuguese waters when sailing to America, as long as they followed a straight line to their respective destinations.
Finally, since Columbus was underway on a new voyage, it was agreed that Spain would have the right of possession over the lands and islands that it discovered during that period between 250 and 370 leagues from Cape Verde until June 20, 1494, which did not happen since Columbus did not approach South America on his second voyage.
The treaty was signed in Tordesillas and ratified after one hundred days by the signature of the monarchs of each kingdom. Its terms established that it would be sent for confirmation to the Holy See in Rome, since it altered the terms established in the Alexandrian Bulls that stated that all territories 100 leagues west of Cape Verde belonged to Spain. However, Pope Alexander VI never confirmed the treaty, so its papal approval came only with his successor, Julius II, in 1506, through the bull Ea quae pro bono pacis.
Consequences of the Treaty of Tordesillas
Some of the consequences of the Treaty of Tordesillas were:
- The kingdoms of Spain and Portugal continued their expeditionary and colonial work in the New World without open military confrontations between them. The new boundaries established allowed Portugal to explore and colonize the easternmost coast of South America, where they established the colonies that later gave rise to Brazil.
- The Portuguese moved the borders of their territory to the west, which meant the need to sign new agreements over time. This was because the treaty established that the boundary line would be determined by a joint expedition that was never carried out. In addition, the terms of the treaty were inexact in geographical matters, and the instruments and criteria of the time were not very standardized, so each one interpreted it in its own way and convenience.
- The Brazilian territory became the largest in South America due to Portuguese expansion beyond the established limits, which was possible due to the inaccuracies inherent in the treaty, as well as its suspension during the years in which both crowns were unified.
Abolition of the Treaty of Tordesillas
The Treaty of Tordesillas was annulled in 1750, when the crowns of Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of Madrid, also called the Permuta Treaty, instead. This new treaty recognized the effective extension of Portuguese properties in Brazil.
The treaties of Zaragoza (1529) and Lisbon (1701), although the latter had already ceased to have effect, and the provisions of the Treaty of Utrecht (1713-1715) affecting Spain and Portugal were also annulled with this new pact.
However, the Treaty of Madrid was, in turn, annulled with the signing of the Treaty of El Pardo in 1761, in which the imaginary line of the Treaty of Tordesillas was reestablished. Finally, in 1777, this border line was definitively annulled with the signing of the Treaty of San Ildefonso, which updated the boundaries of each kingdom in South America.
The Treaty of Tordesillas today: The signed documents of the Treaty of Tordesillas currently reside in the General Archive of the Indies in Seville, Spain, and in the National Archive of the Torre de Tombo in Lisbon, Portugal. They are recognized by UNESCO as part of the Memory of the World Register.
