The Treaty of Tordesillas and the Treaty of Zaragoza (1494–1529)

This map, published as part of the National Atlas of Spain in 2023, shows the boundaries established by the Treaties of Tordesillas (1494) and Zaragoza (1529).

The Treaty of Tordesillas was an agreement signed by the Spanish Empire and the Portuguese Empire on 7 June 1494, whereby both empires delimited their areas of navigation by means of a line located 370 leagues east of the Cape Verde Islands. The map shows the measurement proposed by Spanish cartographers (with a yellow dotted line) and, in green, the proposal by Portuguese cartographers (with a green dotted line). Finally, the route marked on the map with a red line was agreed upon.

Following a trade dispute in the Moluccas archipelago in Southeast Asia, in 1529 both empires signed a new treaty, the Treaty of Zaragoza, which established the meridian opposite the Meridian of Tordesillas. Thus, with both meridians, the hemispheres of influence of the Spanish Empire and the Portuguese Empire were defined, which would be decisive for the territorial and commercial expansion of both.

Sources

• The division of land: Tordesillas and Zaragoza