Thewesternprovinceblog

Dia 6 – A trip to where the world was divided

Day 6 – History lessons for the future road ahead.

Good morning everyone! Today is an exciting day and the first proper excursion of the trip. This is one of an educational nature as it is in my opinion a must do before a trip to the Spanish speaking Americas, and this trip is a trip to the place where the world was divided between Spain and Portugal back in the day, #Tordesillas !

Tordesillas is about an hour on the bus from Salamanca although it was an earlier start than the day before. Up and out I was and was over to the bus station for the 0900 bus to Tordesillas.

The ride was uneventful as there is not much to see other than shrublands but we arrived on time and went for some breakfast then checked out the main attraction – The Tordesillas Treaty Museum. As you can guess this museum is all about the treaty and what it detailed and how it’s legacy still impacts this part of the world today. Within are also several pieces of history associated with the discovery of the Americas and the whole reasoning of why Spain and Portugal almost went to war with each other over claims in the then undiscovered lands. If you are into this sort of history I would highly recommend. See below for a more detailed summary on the museum itself.

Tordesillas outside of this is quite a small town and while it has a few other things to see nothing quite on the same level as Salamanca. Speaking of Salamanca I am now back on the bus. Thinking I will head to the square for some lunch before heading back for siesta time. Not sure of the plan for tomorrow you will have to think.

Overview of the Museum:

In the sleepy town of Tordesillas, Spain can be found the museum of the treaty of Tordesillas. This treaty signed in 1494, divided the world between Spain and Portugal and is historically significant even today due to what this treaty entailed and what leads up to it.

The treaty came about because of disputes around newly discovered land in the Americas between Spain and Portugal. But how so? You have to turn back the clock to 1453 with the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans. After the city & the last remnants of the Eastern Roman Empire fall to the Ottomans Europe becomes cut off from trade with the east, specifically for spices without having to go through the Ottomans + Venice/Genoa, prompting an acceleration in exploration for a route to Asia via the south & later west.

Portugal by that time had already done some exploring around West Africa by then but these events accelerated the process. Fast forward to 1492 with Christopher Columbus being sponsored by the Spanish Catholic Monarchs to sail west discovering the Carribbean although at the time it was unsure if it was truly a new continent. On his return to Spain he stops in Portugal informing King João II of his discovery prior to reporting back to Spain. Portugal stakes a claim to these lands & tensions rise with Spain. Soon the two strongest naval powers of Europe are on the brink of war.

Luckily for the Spanish monarchs, a Spanish pope (Alexander IV) was in control of The Curia at the time & called for papal intervention at the behest of the Spanish. Eventually the parties met at Tordesillas & agreed on the lines of division.

The world was divided pole to pole at the Azores. Portugal would in line with the previous treaty of Alcaçobas in 1479 would receive everything east of the Azores and south of the Canaries with Spain getting everything to the West. War was warned but Portugal would later dispute this leading to the line of division being moved 300 leagues west of the Azores allowing them to settle Brazil. It is unknown if Portugal knew of Brazil before disputing the line of division. What are your thoughts?