New Worlds and Th eir Challenges 111
Once the geo graph i cal issues were more or less resolved, it became appar-
ent that the zones allocated to the two countries were very diff erent. Portugal
had one large land mass, Brazil, that was suitable for Eu ro pe an settlement,
but otherwise, its zone comprised areas of Africa that were chiefl y employed
as sources of slaves for New World plantations and mines, plus the Indian
Ocean region, where an elaborate trading system long predated the Portu-
guese arrival. Portugal’s chief task was therefore to make its trading monopoly
in the Indian Ocean region eff e c t i v e a g a i n s t w o u l d - b e E u r o p e a n i n t e r l o p e r s.
Spain’s zone, in contrast, comprised the huge land mass of the Americas (apart
from Brazil). Important questions arose, though, as to the true legal nature of
its title to those lands.
Spanish Sovereignty over New Lands
Th ere was not much in the way of fi rm legal doctrine or pre ce dent for the
acquisition of sovereignty over newly discovered lands. Th e Roman-law heri-
tage was, potentially, of some assistance, since it contained detailed rules on
the acquisition of title to property. Th ese consisted of “derivative” modes (ac-
quisition from a prior own er by purchase or gift ) and “natural” modes (acqui-
sition of title to something not previously owned by anyone). But there were
many diffi culties. For one thing, there was uncertainty as to whether these
rules applied to the acquisition of land territory or po liti cal sovereignty by
states, as opposed to acquisition of movable goods by private individuals. In
the absence of a clear and agreed set of rules, a certain amount of improvisa-
tion was called for. When Columbus made his various landings in the Ca rib-
be an area, he would typically plant fl ags on the land. Rather more theatrical
was the action of the Spanish explorer Vasco Nuñez de Balboa. Upon arrival
at the Pacifi c coast of the Isthmus of Panama in 1513, he waded into the wa-
ter breast- deep, in full armor with drawn sword, brandishing the banner of
Castile— purporting, by this gesture, to claim the whole of the ocean, together
with the lands on its shores, for his monarch. But there were grave doubts as to
the actual legal eff ects of these ceremonies.
One of the more remarkable facts of history is how serious the concern
was over the legal niceties of New World empire building. One historian has
referred to “[t]he juridical passion of the Castilian monarchs and their ad-
visers,” which entailed “an obsessive desire to justify in theory... all their