resigned to Portugal the field of oceanic discovery, Spain retaining only the Canaries; and he felt that a boundary line only a hundred leagues west of the Azores not only was an infringement on his rights but would be a practical embarrassment in that it would not allow his sailors adequate sea room for their African voyages.
His first contention was hardly valid; the second, however, was reasonable and, as Columbus had estimated the distance from the Canaries to the new islands at over nine hundred leagues, the Catholic sovereigns were disposed to make concessions. By the treaty of Tordesillas, June 7, 1494, it was agreed that the Demarcation Line should be drawn three hundred and seventy leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands.[1] This treaty accepted the principle of the Papal arbitration but shifted the boundary to a position supposed to be half-way between the Cape Verde Islands and the newly discovered islands of Cipangu and Antilia.[2]
Neither in the Papal Bulls nor in the Treaty of Tordesillas was there any specific reference to an extension of the Line around the globe or to a division of the world. The arrangement seems to have contemplated a free field for the exploration and conquest of the unknown parts of the world, to the eastward for Portugal, and to the westward for Spain. If
- ↑ For a fuller account of the negotiations relating to these bulls and the Treaty of Tordesillas see Harrisse: Diplomatic History of America, 1452–1494, S. E. Dawson: The Lines of Demarcation of Pope Alexander VI and the Treaty of Tordesillas, or E. G. Bourne: Essays in Historical Criticism. The texts are printed in this volume.
- ↑ The names used by Columbus in his interview with the King of Portugal. Ruy de Pina: Chronica d'el rey Joaõ II, Colleçaõ de Livros Ineditos de Historia Portugueze, ii, p. 177.
