Age of Discovery

===Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)===
{{Main|Treaty of Tordesillas}}
[[File:Spain and Portugal.png|upright=1.35|thumb|The 1494 [[Treaty of Tordesillas]] meridian (purple) and the later [[Maluku Islands]] [[180th meridian|antimeridian]] (green), set at the [[Treaty of Zaragoza (1529)]]]]

Shortly after Columbus's return from what would later be called the "West Indies", a division of influence became necessary to avoid conflict between the Spanish and Portuguese.<ref>[[#DeLamar 1992|DeLamar 1992]], p. 345.</ref> On 4 May 1493, two months after Columbus's arrival, the [[Catholic Monarchs]] received a [[Papal bull|bull]] (''[[Inter caetera]]'') from [[Pope Alexander VI]] stating all lands west and south of a pole-to-pole line 100 leagues west and south of the [[Azores]] or the Cape Verde Islands should belong to Castile and, later, all mainlands and islands then belonging to India. It did not mention Portugal, which could not claim newly discovered lands east of the line.

King [[John II of Portugal]] was displeased with the arrangement, feeling that it gave him far too little land—preventing him from reaching India, his main goal. He then negotiated directly with King [[Ferdinand II of Aragon|Ferdinand]] and Queen [[Isabella I of Castile|Isabella]] of Spain to move the line west, and allowing him to claim newly discovered lands east of it.<ref>[[#Davenport 1917|Davenport 1917]], pp. 107–11.</ref> In 1494, the [[Treaty of Tordesillas]] divided the world between Portugal and Spain. Portugal gained control over Africa, Asia, and eastern South America (Brazil), encompassing everything outside Europe east of a line drawn 370 [[league (unit)|leagues]] west of the [[Cape Verde]] islands (already Portuguese). The Spanish (Castile) received everything west of this line, including the islands discovered by Columbus on [[First Voyage of Columbus|his first voyage]], named in the treaty as [[Names of Japan#Jipangu|Cipangu]] and [[Antilia]] (Cuba and [[Hispaniola]]). The dividing line, situated about halfway between Portuguese Cape Verde and Spanish discoveries in the Caribbean, split the known world of Atlantic islands evenly.

In 1500, [[Pedro Álvares Cabral]], initially considering the Brazilian coast as a large island, claimed it for Portugal east of the dividing line. This claim was acknowledged by the Spanish. Cabral, heading towards India, followed a corridor in the Atlantic negotiated by the treaty for favorable winds. While some speculate earlier secret Portuguese discovery of Brazil, there is no credible evidence for this. Similarly, suspicions about [[Duarte Pacheco Pereira]] alleged 1498 discovery lack credibility among historians.{{cn|date=January 2024}}

Later the Spanish territory would prove to include huge areas of the continental mainland of North and South America, though Portuguese-controlled Brazil would expand across the line, and settlements by other European powers ignored the treaty.