110 Law and Morality Abroad (to ca. ad 1550)Th at the Portuguese government was sternly watchful of its rights under
this treaty was forcefully demonstrated to Christopher Columbus during
his fi rst voyage to the New World. En route back to Spain, he put into the
Azores under pressure of weather, only to be promptly arrested by the Por-
tuguese governor of the islands for suspected illegal trading with Africa in
violation of the treaty. He was allowed to continue his voyage only aft er
these suspicions were allayed.
With Columbus’s discoveries in the New World, the rivalry between the
two exploring nations became more heated than ever. Th e papacy then en-
tered the picture again. In 1493, the very year aft er Columbus’s arrival in the
West Indies, Pope Alexander VI (originally from Spain, as it happened) is-
sued two bulls, dated to two successive days and both entitled, rather con-
fusingly, Inter Caetera. Th e more important of these mea sures was the
later Inter Caetera bull, dated May 4, 1493 (though actually draft ed some
months later than that and backdated). Superseding all previous pronounce-
ments, it drew a north- south demarcation line, located one hundred leagues
west of the Azores and Cape Verde Islands. Newly discovered lands west of
the line were given to Spain, and east of it to Portugal. Th e two countries were
granted trade monopolies in their respective zones— with interlopers auto-
matically excommunicated. In return for these privileges, the two countries
were to take on the task of converting the native populations to the Catholic
faith. Th e trade monopolies were designed to cover the cost of the conversion
eff orts.
Th e Portuguese government was displeased at this arrangement. It pre-
ferred an east- west dividing line to a north- south one, and it was resentful at
the loss of its previous claims. Rather than resorting to the pope, it entered
into direct negotiations with Spain, resulting in the Treaty of Tordesillas in
July 1494. Th e principle of a north- south division was retained, but Portu-
gal was placated by a westward shift of the dividing line, which was now
placed 370 leagues west of the Azores and the Cape Verdes. Diff erences soon
surfaced over just what the length of a league was. A supplementary treaty
was concluded the following year to deal with this diffi culty (in Portugal’s
favor). Still outstanding, though, was the problem of allocation of zones in
the Eastern Hemi sphere. Th is was eventually resolved, in 1529, by another
bilateral agreement, the Treaty of Saragossa. Its eff ect was to allocate the
East Indies to Portugal and the Philippines to Spain.