On June 7, 1494, the governments of Spain and Portugal agreed to the Treaty of Tordesillas, named for the city in Spain in which it was created. The Treaty of Tordesillas neatly divided the “New World” of the Americas between the two superpowers.
Spain and Portugal divided the New World by drawing a line in the Atlantic Ocean, about 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands, then controlled by Portugal. All lands east of that line (about 46 degrees, 37 minutes West) were claimed by Portugal. All lands west of that line were claimed by Spain.
Spain and Portugal adhered to the treaty without major conflict, and the results linger throughout the Americas today. Most Latin American nations are Spanish-speaking countries, for instance, but Portuguese is the leading official language in Brazil. This is because the eastern tip of Brazil penetrates the line agreed to in the Treaty of Tordesillas, so the region was colonized by Portugal.
The treaty ignored any future claims of the British and French, the other European superpowers of the time. The British, French, and Russian empires did not claim parts of the Americas for years after the Treaty of Tordesillas.
Most importantly, however, the Treaty of Tordesillas, completely ignored the millions of people already living in established communities in the Americas. The treaty stipulated that any lands with a “Christian king” would not be colonized. Christianity had not spread to the Americas, and the resulting colonization proved disastrous for indigenous cultures such as the Inca, Taino, Aztec, Tupi, and thousands of other bands throughout the Americas.
