Treaty of Tordesillas

The Treaty of Tordesillas was an agreement between Spain and Portugal to divide newly discovered lands outside Europe between them. It followed Columbus's first voyage and papal bulls issued in 1493 by Alexander VI, which Portugal considered unfavourable. By the treaty, a north-south line was drawn in the Atlantic some 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands: lands to the west would belong to Spain and lands to the east to Portugal. The line later allowed Portugal to claim Brazil, whereas most of the rest of the Americas became Spanish. Other European powers never accepted the division, and a similar dispute in the Pacific was settled by the Treaty of Zaragoza in 1529.

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