Spain and Portugal Divide the New World
The year after Columbus discovered the Americas, Pope Alexander the VI issued a papal decree known as The Inter Caetera of 1493. The concept was to divide new land discoveries between Spain and Portugal in order to bring native peoples to the Catholic faith.
As should have been expected, granting two kingdoms shared dominion over the so-called “New World” resulted in conflicts over what territories each could actually claim. To sort this out, the Treaty of Tordesillas was agreed to a year later, setting an actual dividing line on a map of the globe. The treaty gave Portugal everything east of the line, which included most of modern-day Brazil, and granted everything west of the line, including most of Central and South America, to Spain. The other side of the world was divided between Spain and Portugal a few decades later in the Treaty of Zaragoza.
These decrees established a religious incentive for the exploration and colonization of the New World. Unfortunately, they also gave the Spaniards a perceived religious authority over the longstanding, indigenous cultures of Central and South America, an ill-advised motivation for targeting lands for conquest.
Spain and Portugal Divide the New World
Randall acts as the lead writer for ColdWater’s Drive Thru History® TV series and Drive Thru History® “Adventures” curriculum.