Pope Alexander VI divides New World between Spain and Portugal

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)
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  • The Literary Encyclopedia. WORLD HISTORY AND IDEAS: A CROSS-CULTURAL VOLUME.

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Pope Alexander VI published a bull, 'Inter caetera', to divide the New World between Spain and Portugal. It decreed that all lands west and south of a meridian line 100 leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde islands rightfully belonged to Spain. However, it did not solve the tensions between the two colonising nations, partly since it failed to specify the lands on the other side of this line as Portuguese possessions. This led to Spain and Portugal clarifying matters in the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas.

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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Pope Alexander VI divides New World between Spain and Portugal". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 November 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=13912, accessed 28 March 2024.]

13912 Pope Alexander VI divides New World between Spain and Portugal 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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