Spain and Portugal Carving Up the New World

At first I planned to observe the anniversary of Inter Caetera by simply posting a link to an English translation of the Bull. The plan changed after I discovered a book[1] containing a collection of documents that illustrated, “the diplomatic aspects of the great struggle which, from the fifteenth century onwards, was in progress between the governments of the maritime powers of Europe, over the question of participation in the trade and territorial possession of the newly discovered lands.” For several hours, I was pleasantly diverted by these documents, and I realized that my simple anniversary posting needed to grow in order to situate Inter Caetera within a larger context, but still limited to the contest between Portugal and the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon from around the 1452 until 1529.  During this period, among other events:

·         Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453;

·         Castile and Aragon were united by the marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand, and they defeated the Emirate of Granada in 1491;

·         Charles V, Francis I and Henry VIII began their long reigns within a few years of each other;

·         Martin Luther wrote his 95 theses.

In his Bull, Pope Alexander VI had drawn a line of demarcation one hundred leagues west of any of the Azores or Cape Verde Islands, and had granted to Castile the exclusive right to acquire territorial possessions and to trade in all the lands west of that line, which, as of Christmas 1492, were not already in possession of “any Christian Prince.” I still vividly remember the illustration in my High School World History text for this event from the great “Age of Discovery”, which was supposed to explain to us why Brazilians speak Portuguese instead of Spanish.  

In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.  On his way back in 1493, he was driven by a storm into the Tagus River and, on March 9, was received by the King of Portugal, who was greatly vexed by Columbus’s recent voyage and discoveries.  What follows comes directly from European Treaties Bearing on the History of the United States and its Dependencies to 1648

Date	Document	Introductions to Documents
1455/01/08	Bull “Romanus Pontifex”, Nicholas V	Columbus, returning from his first voyage to America, was driven by storms into the river Tagus. On March 9, 1493, he was received by the King of Portugal, who " showed that he felt disgusted and grieved because he believed that this discovery [of the lands found by Columbus] was made within the seas and bounds of his lordship of Guinea which was prohibited and likewise because the said Admiral was somewhat raised from his condition and in the account of his affairs always went beyond the bounds of the truth ".' The king said " that he understood that, in the capitulation 2 between the sovereigns [of Castile] and himself, that conquest [which Columbus had made] belonged to him.' The admiral replied that he had not seen the capitulation, nor knew more than that the sovereigns had ordered him not to go either to La Mina * or to any other port of Guinea, and that this had been ordered to be proclaimed in all the ports of Andalusia before he sailed ".' Thus, before Columbus had arrived in Spain, his discoveries in the New World threatened to create an international difficulty. To explain this difficulty it is necessary to consider the earlier history of the conflicting claims of Portugal and Castile to the newly discovered lands. The first such conflict concerned the Canary Islands, rediscovered in the latter part of the thirteenth century. In 1344, on the ground that he wished to Christianize these islands, Don Luis de la Cerda, admiral of France and great-grandson of Alfonso the Wise, obtained a bull of investiture from Pope  Clement VI., and was crowned Prince of Fortunia * at Avignon. At this time the kings of Portugal and Castile agreed to set aside their own opposing claims to the archipelago and to help Luis in the enterprise to which the Pope had thus lent his support.' But Luis never entered into possession, and Portugal and Castile kept up the struggle for the islands. Papal bulls were issued, favorable now to one and now to the other party, and the question of ownership, which was argued before the Council of Basel in 1435, was not finally settled until 1479, when, by the treaty of Alcacovas, Portugal ceded the islands to Castile.' The second Castilian- Portuguese controversy concerned Africa, where Portugal was following up her conquest of Ceuta (141 5) by other military expeditions in Morocco, and by sending caravels southward along the western coast and opening up a trade with Guinea. In 1441 slaves and gold-dust were first brought back to Portugal from beyond Cape Bojador. By 1454 trade with that region had greatly developed ' so that Cadamosto, the Venetian, wrote that " from no traffic in the world could the like [gain] be had "!* The kings of Castile, basing their claims on the same grounds that they had employed in respect to the Canaries — possession by their ancestors, the Visigothic kings — asserted their right to the conquest of the lands of Africa" and to Guinea and the Guinea trade. They even imposed a tax upon the merchandise brought from those parts." The Castilian-Portuguese controversy over the Guinea trade began as early as 1454. On April 10 of that year the King of Castile, John II., wrote a letter " to the King of Portugal, Alfonso V., containing comptetru’s"and demands in respect to the Canaries, and also in respect to the seizure by a Portuguese captain of an Andalusian vessel which, together with others also belonging to the citizens of Seville and Cadiz, had arrived within a league of Cadiz on its return from a trading voyage to Guinea." The King of Castile, or rather the two ecclesiastics who a few months before had begun their energetic management of his affairs," demanded the restitution of the captured subjects of the Castilian crown and of the caravel and her cargo of Guinea merchandise. At the same time " these virtual rulers of Castile sent ambassadors to the King of Portugal to threaten war unless he should desist from the " conquest " of Barbary and of Guinea, which belonged to Castile. The King of Portugal, although greatly vexed, replied with much moderation that it was certain that that " conquest " belonged to him and to the kingdom of Portugal, and urged that the peace should not be broken until the truth as to the proprietorship were ascertained. Before this reply had reached the King of Castile he had fallen ill and he died in July of this year." His successor, Henry IV., a king of weak character, was little fitted to oppose the pretensions of Portugal. Moreover, by August, 1454, he was already engaged in negotiating a marriage with the sister of the Portuguese king." It is probable that King Alfonso deemed the time especially propitious for a settlement of the dispute over the proprietorship of Morocco, Guinea, and the Guinea trade. In attempting to establish his claims, he would naturally seek aid from the Pope, for that potentate's independent position made him the arbitrator between nations, while his spiritual authority, in particular his powers of excommunication and interdict, gave weight to his decisions." Moreover, as spiritual fathers of all the peoples of the earth, the popes had long undertaken to regulate the relations — including the commercial relations — between Christians and unbelievers. The Lateran Council of 1179 prohibited the sale to the Saracens of arms, iron, wood to be used in construction, and anything else useful for warfare. Certain later popes prohibited all commerce with the infidels.** These prohibitions were, however, tempered by papal licenses to trade, which were on occasion granted to monarchs, communities, or individuals, or by the absolutions sometimes purchased by re- turning merchants. In order the more readily to obtain these favors, the applicant sometimes pointed out to the Pope how commerce tended to the spread of the Christian faith.*1 On January 8, 1455, doubtless in accordance with the request of King Alfonso, Nicholas V. issued the bull Romanus pontifex, which marks a definite stage in the colonial history of Portugal. By the bull Rex regum, January 5, 1443, Eugenius IV. had taken neutral ground in the dispute between Portugal and Castile concerning their rights in Africa ; by the bull Dum diversas, June 18, 1452, Nicholas V. granted King Alfonso general and indefinite powers to search out and conquer all pagans, enslave them and appropriate their lands and goods." The bull Romanus pontifex, on the other hand, settled the dispute between Portugal and Castile in favor of the former, and, apparently for the first time," granted Portugal exclusive rights in a vast southerly region. It confirmed the bull Dum diversas, specified the district to which it applied — Ceuta, and the district from Capes Bojador and Nâo through all Guinea, and " beyond towards that southern shore " — and declared that this, together with all other lands acquired by Portugal from the infidels before or after 1452, belonged to King Alfonso, his successors, and Prince Henry, and to no others. It further declared that King Alfonso, his successors, and Prince Henry might make laws or impose restrictions and tribute in regard to these lands and seas, and that they and persons licensed by them might trade there with the infidels, except in the prohibited articles, but that no other Catholics should trade there or enter those seas or harbors under pain of excommunication or interdict.
1456/03/13	Bull “Inter Caetera”, Callixtus III	Calixtus III., who succeeded Nicholas V. on April 8, 1455, was a Spaniard of fiery spirit and religious zeal, who exerted himself to the utmost to rouse the nations of Europe to a crusade against the Turk. For this purpose he despatched legates to many countries,' and among them he sent Alvaro, bishop of SHves, an executor of the bull Romanus pontifex ' and a man of great authority in the Roman Court,' as legate a latere to King Alfonso V. of Portugal. At the same time (February-March, 1456) he granted that monarch a number of concessions,* including the following bull, for which Prince Henry and Alfonso had petitioned. Besides confirming the bull Romanus pontifex, this bull conferred upon the Portuguese military Order of Christ,1 of which Prince Henry was governor,' the spiritualities in all the lands acquired and to be acquired " from Capes Bojador and Nam through the whole of Guinea and beyond its southern shore as far as to the Indians ". Whether the phrase " usque ad Indos " referred to the subjects of Prester John or to the East Indians remains a point of controversy.'
1479/09/14	Treaty of Alcáçovas	In 1460 the Infante Henry died and the sovereignty of the newly discovered lands became vested in the crown of Portugal. King Alfonso V., however, whose chief ambitions were to extend his Moorish conquests and annex Castile, did not directly concern himself with continuing the work of exploration. This was left to private enterprise, and the impetus given by the infante gradually wore itself out, although the Guinea trade was actively prosecuted. In 1475 Alfonso invaded Castile, and, to strengthen his pretensions to that country, became betrothed to the Princess Joanna, Queen Isabella's rival for the Castilian crown. The resulting War of Succession extended beyond the limits of the peninsula into the Canary Islands, where the Portuguese aided the natives against the Castilians ; * and it gave the Castilians the chance to engage vigorously in trade with Guinea — a country which, in spite of the bull Romanus pontifex, they continued to claim.* As the result of preliminary negotiations held at Alcantara in March, 1479, between Queen Isabella of Castile and her aunt, the Infanta Beatrice of Portugal, the bases for a settlement were laid, and it was agreed that a peace should be negotiated and concluded in Portugal.' In the following June, in pursuance of this agreement, Queen Isabella dispatched Dr. Rodrigo Maldonado, of Talavera, a lawyer in whom she had great confidence, as ambassador to Portugal with full powers to treat.' On the side of Portugal, D. Joao da Silveira, baron d'Alvito, was appointed plenipotentiary," but negotiations were principally directed by Prince John. On September 4 the plenipotentiaries concluded two treaties at Alcagovas. One, called the Tercerias, dealt mostly with dynastic matters ; ' the second, a treaty of perpetual peace, incorporated and ratified the treaty of peace con- j eluded on October 30, 1431, between John I. of Portugal and John II. of^ Castile, and also included a number of additional articles. These related mostly to such matters as the restitution of places, release of prisoners, pardoning of offenders, demolition of fortresses, and suppression of robberies committed on land or sea by the subjects of one crown against those of the other. But by the eighth of these additional articles,' Ferdinand and Isabella bound themselves not to disturb Portugal in her possession of the trade and lands of Guinea,' or of the Azores, Madeira, or Cape Verde Islands, or of any other islands in the region from the Canaries towards Guinea, and not to interfere in the conquest of Morocco. On the other hand, by the ninth article,* King Alfonso and Prince John ceded the Canaries to Castile. The treaty was apparently ratified by Alfonso and Prince John at Evora on September 8, 1479" It was ratified by Queen Isabella (King Ferdinand being absent in his kingdoms of Aragon) at Trujillo, on September 27, 1479;" proclaimed and published in the frontier cities of Badajoz and Elvas on September 1 5, and at Evora on September 30 ; " and was ratified by Ferdinand and Isabella at Toledo on March 6, 1480. Portugal at once took measures to secure her rights. On April 6, 1480, Alfonso ordered the captains of ships sent by Prince John to Guinea to capture such foreign ships as they might encounter within the limits laid down by the treaty of Alcagovas ("das Canarias pera baixo e adjante contra Guinea") and to cast their crews into the sea." In the following year the Pope confirmed the clause of the treaty that excluded foreigners from Guinea." It was pursuant to this treaty that, in 1492, the Catholic sovereigns ordered Columbus not to go to La Mina; and that, in 1493, the King of Portugal claimed the lands discovered by Columbus as his own.
1481/06/21	Bull “Aeterni Regis”, Sixtus IV	This bull is a confirmation by Pope Sixtus IV. of the bulls Romanus pontifex (1455)' and Inter caetera (1456),* sanctioning Portugal's claims to exclusive rights in Guinea ; and it also includes an important new concession, since it confirms that article in the recently ratified treaty of Alcacovas * whereby the sovereigns of Castile promised not to disturb Portugal in Guinea or in certain of the Atlantic islands or in Morocco. The weight of papal authority was thus brought to bear against any attempt on the part of Castile to evade her agreement. Such a bull was of particular value to Prince John at this juncture. Apparently the first bull of this kind issued since the death of the Infante Henry in 1460, it marks the beginning of a new stage in the history of African exploration. The Portuguese government had for a long time ceased to push forward the southern expeditions, but in 1481 they were energetically resumed by Prince John, who,. even in the lifetime of his father, was charged with the government of the places in Africa and received the revenues from the Guinea trade.4 Upon the death of Alfonso in August, 1481, the prince succeeded to the throne under the title of John II., and before the end of the year he dispatched an expedition under Diogo d'Azambuja to build the fort at Elmina, on the Gold Coast.' In 1482 he sent ambassadors to urge King Edward IV. of England to prevent his subjects from sailing to Guinea. At about the same time Edward petitioned the Pope to permit Englishmen to trade in any part of Africa.'
1493/05/03	Bull “Inter Caetera”, Alexander VI	the pope assigned to the present and future sovereigns of Castile the lands discovered and to be discovered by their envoys and not previously possessed by any Christian owner. On the other hand, he safeguarded the concessions already made to Portugal with the proviso that by this gift " no right conferred on any Christian prince is hereby to be understood as withdrawn or to be withdrawn ". The pope also commanded Ferdinand and Isabella to send men to instruct the inhabitants of these newly discovered lands in the Catholic faith and in good morals, and, following the precedent of the bull Romanus pontifex' forbade anyone to go to them for trade or other purposes without special permit from the rulers of Castile.4 He empowered the sovereigns of Castile to enjoy in respect to their discoveries the rights previously granted to Portugal in respect to hers, as if the terms of the grants to Portugal were repeated in this bull.
1493/05/03	Bull “Eximiae Devotionis”, Alexander VI	Although this bull bears the same date as the preceding,' it would seem that its expediting was not begun until July. In somewhat more precise and emphatic terms it repeats that concession of the earlier bull, which ex tended to the Catholic kings in respect to the lands discovered by Columbus the privileges previously granted to the kings of Portugal in respect to their discoveries in " Africa, Guinea, and the Gold Mine ".
1493/05/04	Bull “Inter Caetera”, Alexander VI	Like the bull Eximiae devotionis of May 3,1 the bull Inter caetera of May 4 is a restatement of part of the bull Inter caetera of May 3.* Taken together the two later bulls cover the same ground as the bull Inter caetera of May 3, for which they form a substitute. The changes introduced into the bull Inter caetera of May 4, are, however, of great importance, and highly favorable to Spain. Instead of merely granting to Castile the lands discovered by her envoys, and not under Christian rule, the revised bull draws a line of demarcation one hundred leagues west of any of the Azores or Cape Verde Islands, and assigns to Castile the exclusive right to acquire territorial possessions and to trade in all the lands west of that line, which at Christmas, 1492, were not in the possession of any Christian prince. The general safe guard to the possible conflicting rights of Portugal is lacking. All persons are forbidden to approach the lands west of the line without special license from the rulers of Castile. It is not probable that by this bull Alexander VI. intended to secure to Portugal an eastern route to the Indies, as some writers have maintained. In the bulls of May 3, the earlier papal grants to Portugal are said to have given her rights in the region of Guinea and the Gold Mine, but the Indies are not mentioned. The bull of May 4 does not name Portugal and refers to her only in the clause which excepts from the donation any lands west of the demarcation line, which at Christmas, 1492, might be in the possession of any Christian prince.
1493/09/26	Bull “Dudum Siquidem”, Alexander VI	Not long after- the interview of March 9, 1493, between Columbus and John II. of Portugal,1 the latter caused an armada to be fitted out to take possession of the lands found by Columbus. A report ' of these hostile prepa rations having reached the Spanish sovereigns they at once dispatched Lope de Herrera to the Portuguese court to request that ambassadors be sent them, and that the caravels should not sail, or Portuguese subjects go to those parts, until it should be determined within whose seas the discoveries lay. Meanwhile the King of Portugal had sent Ruy de Sande to the Spanish sovereigns to entreat them (among other things) to prohibit their subjects from fishing south of Cape Bojador till the limits of the possessions of both kingdoms should be fixed, and to make these limits the parallel of the Canaries, leaving the navigation south of this line to the Portuguese." In the middle of August the Portuguese ambassadors, Pero Diaz and Ruy de Pina, arrived in Barcelona, and an attempt at settlement was made. In the midst of the negotiations the Spanish sovereigns appealed to the Pope, who, on September 26, granted them a fourth bull, which confirmed the bull Inter caetera of May 4,' extended it so as to secure to Spain any lands discovered by her in her westward navigations, even though they should be in the eastern regions and belong to India, excluded the subjects of all other crowns from navigating or fishing or exploring in those parts, without license from Spain, and revoked all the earlier papal grants to Portugal which might seem to give her a claim to lands not already actually possessed by her in those regions.
1494/06/07	Treaty of Tordesllas	In the negotiations begun at Barcelona in the middle of August, 1493,* Spain insisted that just as her navigators would refrain from visiting the regions reserved to Portugal — which Spain described as the Madeiras, Azores, Cape Verde, and other islands discovered prior to 1479, and the region from the Canaries down towards Guinea — so the Portuguese must keep away from Spain's discoveries.' No agreement, however, could be reached, because, as the Spanish sovereigns wrote to Columbus, the Portu guese ambassadors were not informed as to what belonged to Spain.* Accordingly, in November, 1493, a magnificent embassy, headed by Garcia de Carvajal, brother of the Spanish ambassador in Rome, and Pedro de Ayala, was dispatched to the Portuguese court; but it accomplished nothing. In March, 1494, the Portuguese commissioners, Ruy de Sousa, Joao de Sousa, his son, and Ayres de Almada, treated directly with the Spanish sovereigns in Medina del Campo. Portugal felt aggrieved by the papal bull,' which designated as the eastern limit of the Spanish demarcation a meridian only one hundred leagues west of the Azores or Cape Verde Islands. As their ships were continually sailing to these islands, the Portuguese considered the limits too narrow. They therefore wished another meridian to be agreed on, farther to the west, half-way between the Cape Verde Islands and the lands discovered by Columbus.' King John " was certain that within those limits famous lands and things must be found." This new line of demarc tion was agreed to by Ferdinand and Isabella, and on June 7, at Tordesillas near Valladolid, the Spanish representatives, Don Enrique Enriques, Don Gutierre de Cardenas, and Dr. Rodrigo Maldonado, concluded a treaty with the above-mentioned plenipotentiaries of Portugal. According to this treaty all lands lying east of a meridian located 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands, and discovered by Portugal, were to pertain to that country and all lands west of the line, discovered by Spain, were to pertain to Spain. If the sovereign of either country discovered lands within the bounds assigned to the other, he must surrender them to the other monarch. Within ten months after the date of the treaty each party was to send one or two caravels with pilots, astrologers, and mariners (the same number on each side) to assemble at the Grand Canary, sail to the Cape Verde Islands and thence west to deter mine the boundary ; if the line should intersect land, boundary towers or marks were to be erected. Spanish ships crossing the Portuguese seas east of the line must follow the most direct route to their destination. Lands discovered by Spain within the twenty days next following the conclusion of the treaty were to belong to Portugal if situated within the first 250 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands, otherwise to Spain. The pope was asked to confirm the treaty upon the request of either or both parties thereto. Since in the then existing state of knowledge it was impossible to deter mine the position of the delimiting meridian, the treaty led to further disagreements and its interpretation has been a matter of dispute down to modern times. At different periods, in accordance with her changing inter ests, Portugal claimed now one and now another of the Cape Verde group as the point of departure for measurement westwards. Another debated question was the number of leagues in a degree.
1495/05/07	Compact between Spain and Portugal	The rulers of Spain and Portugal did not put into effect the provision of the treaty of Tordesillas ' for dispatching caravels within ten months in order to determine the line of demarcation. On May 7, 1495, tne Spanish monarchs signed an agreement that during the following September commissioners should assemble on the frontier of the two kingdoms to decide upon the method of fixing the line; that upon notification by either party, the other party must cause the said line to be determined in accordance with the method approved by the commissioners ; that the departure of the caravels should be postponed, and orders given to place the line on all hydrographical maps made in either kingdom. The main stipulations of this compact were not carried out. Apparently it was not until 1512 that either monarch planned an expedition to determine the line.' The earliest of existing maps on which the line of demarcation appears, is the Cantino map, of 1502. On the Munich- Portuguese map of 1 519, and on the Weimar-Spanish (1527) and Ribero (1529) maps, this line does duty also as the prime meridian.'
1506/01/24	Bull “Ea Quae”, Julius II	In 1498 Vasco da Gama reached Calicut by way of the Cape of Good Hope. Two years later, Pedro Alvarez Cabral, hastening to India in command of a Portuguese fleet to follow up Gama's successes, landed, near 160 south, upon the coast of Brazil, of which, nearly three months previously, Pinzon, and, shortly after, Diego de Lepe, had taken formal possession for Castile. The fact that this portion of South America extended beyond the east or Portuguese side of the line of demarcation further complicated the relations of the two countries, whose rivalry now became intense. Expeditions in which Vespucius, detached for a time from Spanish service, sailed under a Portu guese captain (1 501-1502, 1 503-1 504), acquainted the Portuguese with the vast extent of the Brazilian coast, and far to the north, in 1500 and 1501, Gaspare Corte-Real visited lands which the Portuguese located on their side of the line.1 The line, therefore, now had a new value for the Portuguese and it was probably this fact that induced King Emmanuel to ask Pope Julius II. to confirm the treaty of Tordesillas that had established it.' Julius II. was well disposed toward King Emmanuel, who was so zealously laboring for the extension of the faith in Morocco, in Guinea, and notably in India, where the foundations of a colonial empire were beginning to be laid. In the early summer of 1505. a Portuguese embassy of obedience reached Rome, and before its return to Portugal in the following October, had obtained from the pontiff a number of important concessions." In the following spring, the pope bestowed upon the king the consecrated golden rose.4 A few months after the return of the embassy and before the bestowal of the rose, in response to a request from King Emmanuel, the pope granted three bulls, all dated January 24. 1506.' Of these bulls, the one here printed enjoined the Archbishop of Braga and the Bishop of Vizeu to confirm the treaty of Tordesillas, and cause it to be inviolably observed. The Archbishop of Braga was the distinguished prelate, Diogo da Souso, who had been elevated to this dignity only a few months previously, when he had been in Rome as head of the aforementioned embassy of obedience. The Bishop of Vizeu was Jorge da Costa, who had been created cardinal of Lisbon in 1476 and who as cardinal protector of Portugal resided in Rome from about that date till his death in 1508.
1514/11/03	Bull “Praecelsae Devotionis” Leo X	In March, 15 13, Leo X. became pope, and King Emmanuel soon gained his highest favor. A letter from the king to the pope, dated June 6, 1 5 1 3/ set forth the Portuguese successes in India, and especially in Malacca, the great emporium of the spice trade, captured by Albuquerque in 1511. The pope's enthusiastic reception of this news and of the later report of Portuguese victories in Morocco greatly pleased the king, who expressed his appreciation by sending to Rome in the spring of 1514 an embassy of obedience of unequalled splendor.' In return the pope showered favors upon the monarch who had so marvelously enlarged the field of missionary enterprise. Like Julius II., Leo X. sent the king the consecrated golden rose, and granted the requests preferred by the Portuguese ambassadors. When the embassy of obedience left Rome, late in May or early in June, Portuguese affairs remained in the hands of the ordinary ambassador, Joao de Faria, who obtained further concessions from the pope, among which was the bull of June 7, 1514, which gave to the king the patronage of ecclesiastical benefices in Africa and in all other places beyond the sea, acquired or to be acquired from the infidels, and subjected them to the spiritual jurisdiction of the Order of Christ.' On November 3, a bull was issued which renewed the earlier donations to Portugal, and amplified them in the way in which the bull of September 26, 1493,' extended the grants previously made to Castile. The bull of November 3 granted to Portugal the lands and other property acquired from the infidels, not only from capes Bojador and Nao to the Indies, but in any region whatsoever, even if then unknown. Thus it appears that Pope Leo X. regarded the demarcation line as confined to one hemisphere, where it served to determine for both powers the route that must be followed to the Indies. For the present bull permitted the Portuguese, following the eastern route, to acquire lands from the infidels, even though these lands were situated more than half-way around the globe. The Portuguese desired
1524/02/19	Treaty between Spain and Portugal	The attainment of India by the Portuguese incited the Spaniards to discover a strait leading westward to the Spice Islands. This was the purpose of Columbus's fourth voyage (1502-1504), and of several other Spanish expeditions, planned or undertaken in the following decade. The King of Portugal kept jealous watch of these enterprises and his protests caused at least one projected expedition of this kind to be postponed.' In 1 518 the Portuguese captain Magellan, who had served in the Far East, deeming himself ungratefully treated by King Emmanuel, transferred his allegiance to King Charles of Spain.' On the ground that the Spice Islands (Moluccas) lay on the Spanish side of the line of demarcation, he persuaded Charles to employ him to lead an expedition thither by the western route." Despite the King of Spain's assurances that his commanders were charged to respect existing international agreements touching the line of demarcation,' Portugal strove to frustrate Magellan's negotiations, and, failing in this, to obstruct the execution of his project.' These attempts failed and in November, 1521, the Spanish expedition, having discovered on the voyage the Ladrones and the Philippine Islands, reached the Moluccas, where the native rulers concluded treaties with the leaders of the expedition and declared themselves vassals of Spain.* In the Moluccas the Spaniards found themselves face to face with the Portuguese, who had discovered the islands ten years before, and manifested their resentment against the intruders by destroying a trading post that the Spaniards were attempting to establish, and by seizing a ship. Portuguese hostility was also displayed in another quarter, when the Victoria, the only vessel of the Spanish fleet that completed the voyage round the globe, was obliged, near the end of her course, to put in at the Cape Verde Islands.' Here the Portuguese detained several of her crew as prisoners, and the King of Portugal, learning what had occurred, dispatched four caravels in vain pursuit of the ship." Shortly after the return of the Victoria to Spain the two courts began negotiations relative to the Moluccas. Three closely related questions were distinguished: (1) the determination of the line of demarcation in accordance with the treaty of Tordesillas ; (2) the possession of the Moluccas; and (3) their ownership. Early in the negotiations the Emperor suggested that in addition to the caravels dispatched by each power to make a demarcation, Pope Adrian VI. should send a caravel, and act as umpire." As to possession, both parties claimed it. The Emperor argued that even if the Moluccas had been first seen or discovered by Portuguese ships, yet they had not been taken or possessed, and therefore not effectually found by them ; while he, on the other hand, was acknowledged by the native rulers as lord of those regions.1* He admitted, however, that the Portuguese were in possession of Malacca, although many believed that this also lay within the Spanish demarcation. The Portuguese, on the other hand, asserted that they had found the Moluccas, and that there fore, even if they were on the Spanish side of the line of demarcation, Spain should, in accordance with the treaty of Tordesillas, petition the Portuguese for them. The Spanish argued that, on the contrary, such petition should come from the Portuguese." Among the demands made by Portugal, one was especially displeasing to the Emperor and the Castilian Cortes — that while the questions of possession and ownership remained in dispute, neither party should dispatch a trading fleet to the Moluccas. The Victoria's cargo had proved of enormous value, and before the end of the year 1522 a second fleet was being hastily equipped to sail to the Spice Islands from Coruña. In consequence of Portugal's opposition, the Emperor postponed its departure, but in 1523 he promised the Cortes of Castile that it should be dispatched as soon as possible and that he would not surrender the " Spicery " or come to any other agreement respecting it that was prejudicial to Castile." The negotiations ended in the signing of a provisional treaty in the city of Vitoria on February 19, 1524. The principal stipulations were that each party should appoint three astrologers and three pilots to assemble not later than the end of March at the frontier of the two countries to determine the demarcation ; and three lawyers to meet at the same time and place to deter mine the question of possession. I f possible the questions were to be decided by the end of May, 1524. Before that time neither party was to dispatch a trading expedition to the Moluccas. The treaty was ratified by the Emperor on February 27, 1524.
1526	Draft of unconcluded treaty between Spain and Portugal	In fulfillment of the terms of the treaty of Vitoria,' the " junta of Badajoz " was held on the Spanish-Portuguese frontier between Badajoz and Elvas from April 11 to the end of May, 1524, when the Spanish commissioners voted against its further continuance." The conference was without result. In the case on possession neither side would act as plaintiff. In the case on ownership its failure was, indeed, inevitable ; for in the then existing state of knowledge it was impossible to prove the fundamental question of the length of an equatorial degree, and hence to locate the line of demarcation or determine the longitude of the Moluccas. The Portuguese commis sioners insisted that the 370 leagues should be measured from the eastern islands of the Cape Verde group, while the Spaniards were determined that the measurement should begin at the most westerly of these islands. As measured on the Portuguese and Spanish maps respectively, the distance from the eastern Cape Verde Islands to the Moluccas differed by 460. The Portuguese located the Moluccas 21 ° east of the demarcation line; the Spaniards, a greater distance west of that meridian. The conference having ended, diplomatic negotiations were resumed ; and it was not till the lapse of nearly five years that the dispute was terminated," in a manner altogether different from that which was at first proposed. The most important stages in this negotiation, up to 1526, are indicated in the following draft of a treaty, which was probably drawn up at Seville,' and was not concluded.
1529/04/17	Treaty (not ratified) between Spain and Portugal	Near the beginning of the year 1527, the Emperor Charles V., urgently needing money, entertained the project of selling, or pawning, to the Portu guese crown, his claim to the Moluccas.1 At about the same time, through the English ambassador in Spain, he attempted to interest Henry VIII. in pur chasing the islands.' As a condition of entering into the contract, the King of Portugal, John III., required it to be approved and authorized by the Cortes of Castile,' to whom the Emperor had given his word that he would not alienate the Moluccas/ The Emperor, on the other hand, adduced various reasons to prove that such authorization was unnecessary. It was finally agreed to refer the question of the legal necessity for such approval and authorization to the ten leading lawyers of the Emperor's Royal Council. If the lawyers agreed that the necessity did not exist, the King of Portugal promised to abide by their decision.' Near the beginning of 1528, when the Emperor was on the eve of war with France and England, he despatched Lope Hurtado as ambassador to Portugal, to procure the assistance of that crown against Spain's enemies." Hurtado was also instructed * to persuade King John to dismiss the French ambassador, Honore de Caix, who, objectionable on other grounds, apparently desired some concessions from Portugal in the matter of the spice trade.* Hurtado was instructed not to negotiate concerning the Spice Islands — that negotiation was being conducted chiefly through the Portuguese ambassador at the Spanish court — but his correspondence shows that both sovereigns were anxious to settle the long controversy. The Emperor's habitual need of money was intensified by his war with France and by his projected journey to Italy for his Coronation, and, in Hurtado's opinion, the King of Portugal's unwillingness to endanger his commerce by engaging in the Spanish war would make him the more ready to satisfy the Emperor in regard to the Spice Islands. Moreover, another Spanish fleet was being fitted out at Cortina.*
1529/04/22	Treaty of Saragossa	The treaty concluded at Saragossa on April 17, 1529,' by the plenipotentiaries of Spain and Portugal, was not ratified. Five days later, in the same city, the same plenipotentiaries, with one additional representative of Spain,' concluded a second treaty. This differed from the first in several particulars, most strikingly in the omission of the provisions of the twelfth article — that the Emperor should order his Royal Council to find out whether the treaty could be legally made without the approval of the pueblos. The omission of this article is explained by a document preserved in the National Archives at Lisbon, which contains : ( 1 ) the decision reached by lawyers of the Royal Council to the effect that the Emperor and King of Castile might legally enter into the contract in respect to the Moluccas, and that the consent, authorization, and approbation of his towns were not necessary ; (2) the Emperor's confirmation and promise to regard the lawyers' decision, and his abrogation of all contrary laws and regulations. The Emperor's letter is dated April 23, 1 529.' The treaty concluded on April 22, ratified by the Emperor on the following day and by the King of Portugal more than a year later, was disliked in Spain. As late as 1548, the Cortes petitioned the Emperor that the whole realm should redeem the Moluccas in order that Spain might have the benefit of their spice-trade, if only for six years.' By the terms of the treaty of Saragossa, the Philippine Islands fell within the Portuguese demarcation; and when, in 1542- 1543, Ruy Lopez de Villa lobos led a colonizing expedition thither from New Spain, the Portuguese governor of the Moluccas protested vigorously, demanding his withdrawal on the ground that his occupation of the Philippines violated the aforesaid treaty.' In 1568 a fruitless protest was made against Legazpi's colonization : * in 1580 Spain's annexation of the Portuguese crown quieted the dispute. Upon the separation of the crowns in 1640, however, as the Portuguese claimed, " the conditions of the Deed of Saragossa gave rise to a new title by which Portugal [might] claim restitution of or equivalent for all that the Spaniards had occupied to the west " of the line fixed by this treaty.' The controversy was not ended until 1750, when, by the first and second articles of a Spanish-Portuguese treaty signed at Madrid, it was stipulated that the demarcation lines provided for in the bull of Alexander VI." And in the treaties of Tordesillas * and Saragossa should be annulled ; that Spain should permanently retain the Philippines, " in spite of the conditions con tained in the Deed signed at Saragossa on the 22d of April, 1529 " ; and that the crown of Portugal should not be entitled to recover any part of the price which it paid under the sale effected by the said deed."

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[1] Davenport, Frances G. (Ed.); (1917); European Treaties Bearing on the History of the United States and its Dependencies to 1648; Washington, DC. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication No. 254.