Treaty of Tordesillas

We explain what the Treaty of Tordesillas was, its characteristics, causes and consequences. Also, when it was abolished and where it is preserved.

treaty of tordesillas
The Treaty of Tordesillas defined the boundaries between Spain and Portugal in the New World.

What was the Treaty of Tordesillas?

The Treaty of Tordesillas was a pact signed on June 7, 1494 between the Spanish Crown (kings Isabella 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 that were found on ocean voyages. 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 War of Castilian Succession (1474-1479). The situation between both kingdoms was tense, due to mutual competition for maritime control of the Atlantic and the African coasts. Furthermore, the return in 1493 of Christopher Columbus's 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 bases for the distribution 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 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 establish the meridians accurately. Furthermore, 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.

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.
  • He established an imaginary line 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands that granted the western lands to Spain and the eastern lands to Portugal.
  • It had the approval of Pope Julius II through 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.
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See also: Spanish colonization

Characteristics of the Treaty of Tordesillas

treaty of tordesillas terms
The Treaty of Tordesillas took its name from the Spanish city where it was signed.

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.
  • He established an imaginary line 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands which separated the territories that corresponded to Spain (to the west) from those that corresponded to Portugal (to the east).
  • Guaranteed the distribution of American lands since shortly after its signing a Portuguese explorer reached the coasts of Brazil, which fell within Portugal's area of ​​influence.
  • It forced both kingdoms to respect their respective sea routes which in the Spanish case were heading to the Antilles and in the Portuguese case to India through 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 fishing areas was also signed between Cape Bojador and Río de Oro, on the northwest coast of Africa, and the areas of influence were distributed in the North African kingdom of Fez.

Causes of the Treaty of Tordesillas

The signing of the Treaty of Tordesillas had the following causes:

  • The tense rivalry between monarchies from Spain and Portugal recently clashed during the War of Castilian Succession, and the ambition of both empires to expand westward, over the lands newly discovered by Columbus. This required signing some type of agreement, to avoid new wars and confrontations that would weaken both kingdoms.
  • The spread in Europe of the news of Columbus's arrival in the New World which was first known at the court of the Catholic Monarchs, when one of the caravels, The Pintarrived in Galicia, and later at the Portuguese court, when The Girlwhere Columbus was traveling, docked in Lisbon after stopping on the Portuguese island of Santa María. There King John II of Portugal interrogated the sailors and prepared 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 it 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 colonization 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, it was expected that it would allow the spheres of influence of each colonial empire to be defined more precisely. For example, the king of Portugal was initially convinced that the islands newly discovered by Columbus in the New World were south of the Canary Islands and, therefore, legally belonged to him, according to the provisions of the Treaty of Alcáçovas, which was proven wrong when it was shown that they were to the west.

Terms of the Treaty of Tordesillas

The Treaty of Tordesillas had the purpose of delimiting and organizing the areas of colonial influence of each kingdom in the New World and other territories to be conquered, and for this 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 to the west of said border, and the Portuguese had the right to everything to the east, with the addition that neither kingdom could send expeditions to the territory assigned to the other.

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Besides, Spanish ships were granted freedom and security of transit through Portuguese waters when they sailed to America as long as they followed a straight line towards their respective destinations. Finally, given that a new voyage by Columbus was underway, it was agreed that until June 20, 1494, 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, which which did not happen given that on the second voyage Columbus did not approach South America.

The treaty was signed in Tordesillas and It was ratified after one hundred days by the signature of the monarchs of each kingdom. In its terms it was established that it would be sent for confirmation to the Holy See in Rome, since it altered the terms established in the Alexandrian Bulls which stated that all the territories 100 leagues west of Cape Verde belonged to Spain. However, Pope Alexander VI never confirmed the treaty, so his 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 with each other. The new boundaries drawn 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 through a joint expedition that was never carried out. Furthermore, the terms of the treaty were geographically inaccurate, and the instruments and criteria of the time were poorly standardized, so each person interpreted it in their own way and convenience.
  • The Brazilian territory became the largest in South America due to the Portuguese expansion beyond the established limits, which was possible due to the inaccuracies of the treaty, as well as its suspension during the years in which both crowns were unified.
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Abolition of the Treaty of Tordesillas

The Treaty of Tordesillas It became void in 1750, when the crowns of Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of Madrid in its place also called Exchange Treaty. This new treaty recognized the effective extension of Portuguese properties in Brazil. The treaties of Zaragoza (1529) and Lisbon (1701) were also annulled with this new pact, although the latter had already ceased to have effect, and the provisions of the Treaty of Utrecht (1713-1715) that affected Spain and Portugal.

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 limits 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.

References

  • Tordesillas City Council (sf). The treaty of Tordesillas. Tordesillas Tourism. https://www.tordesillas.net/
  • Britannica, Encyclopaedia (2023). Treaty of Tordesillas. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/
  • National Geographic Society (nd). Treaty of Tordesillas. National Geographic. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/
  • O'Gorman, E. (2010). The invention of America. Economic Culture Fund.