The Treaty of Tordesillas: How Spain and Portugal Split the World

In 1494, just two years after Columbus stumbled upon the Americas, Portugal and Spain signed a treaty that carved up the non-European world between them. This episode dives into the backroom negotiations, papal politics, and bitter rivalries that produced the Treaty of Tordesillas. Lucas and Luna explore how Pope Alexander VI's initial bulls gave Spain too much, how Portugal's King João II pushed back, and why a line 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands ended up shaping the destinies of Brazil, Africa, and Asia. They discuss the flawed geography of the era—how no one knew where the line actually fell—and the treaty's long legacy, from Portuguese claims in Brazil to the eventual irrelevance of a document that tried to divide the unexplored globe. Along the way, they touch on key figures like the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, the Portuguese king, and the Spanish-born pope who tried to keep the peace between two Catholic powers. It's a story of ambition, cartography, and the audacity of drawing lines on a map you've never seen. #TreatyOfTordesillas #Portugal #Spain #AgeOfDiscovery #Columbus #PopeAlexanderVI #KingJohnII #FerdinandAndIsabella #InterCaetera #Brazil #CapeVerde #History #FexingoHistory #GlobalHistory #Colonialism #Exploration #Diplomacy #Cartography #PortugueseEmpire #VascoDaGama Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo