Printable ScholarThe Treaty of Tordesillas, 1494
After Columbus returned from the Caribbean in 1493, Spain and Portugal argued over who could claim the lands their sailors reached. On June 7, 1494, at Tordesillas in Spain, representatives of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand and of King John II of Portugal agreed to draw a line from the North Pole to the South Pole, 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. Lands to the west would go to Spain, lands to the east to Portugal. No one asked the peoples who already lived in those lands, and other European kingdoms such as England and France did not accept it. The line cut through the eastern part of South America, which is why Brazil came to Portugal. This free primary source sheet sets part of the treaty, in the English translation Frances Gardiner Davenport published in 1917, beside plain English, with a map of the line and four document questions.
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The Treaty of Tordesillas: primary source, map and questions
PDFs sized for US Letter paper, in color and black and white.
The Treaty of Tordesillas, 1494
Four parts of the treaty in Davenport’s 1917 English beside a plain-English version: why it was made, the line, Portugal’s side and Spain’s side.
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Map, hard words and questions
A map of the line of 1494, the hard words explained, and four document questions.
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Teaching pack · Grades 5–8
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Every slide comes with teacher notes: what to say, what to ask, and sample answers.
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What the treaty did
The line
A line from pole to pole, 370 leagues (about 1,200 miles) west of the Cape Verde Islands. The treaty gave no longitude; it is usually placed at about 46 degrees 37 minutes west.
Spain’s side
Lands west of the line went to Spain: almost all of the Americas.
Portugal’s side
Lands east of the line went to Portugal: the route around Africa to India, and the eastern bulge of South America. Pedro Álvares Cabral reached Brazil in 1500 and claimed it for Portugal.
Who was left out
The Native peoples of the Americas were never asked. England, France and the Netherlands ignored the treaty and sent their own explorers.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the Treaty of Tordesillas important?
It divided the lands Europeans were reaching between Spain and Portugal. It is the reason Brazil speaks Portuguese while most of Latin America speaks Spanish.
What was the line of demarcation?
An earlier line drawn by Pope Alexander VI in 1493. Portugal wanted it moved farther west, and the Treaty of Tordesillas set the new line 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands.
What grade is this for?
Grades 5 to 8: the grade 5 exploration unit and grade 7 world history.