1455/01/08
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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
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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
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Treaty of Alcáçovas
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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1526
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Draft
of unconcluded treaty between Spain and Portugal
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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.
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1529/04/17
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Treaty
(not ratified) between Spain and Portugal
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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.*
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1529/04/22
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Treaty
of Saragossa
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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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