Line of Demarcation

The Line of Demarcation was an imaginary longitude drawn by Pope Alexander VI to divide Portuguese and Spanish claimed territory. This line was drawn in 1493 after Christopher Columbus returned after his maiden voyage to the Americas. Territorial disputes between the two seafaring nations led the Pope to draw this line in the hope that it would lead to peace between the two powers. It allocated territory as between Spain and Portugal, excepting only those areas already ruled by a Christian monarch or power; the interests of the people then inhabiting the affected lands were not otherwise taken into account.

The line drawn ran north to south about 560 kilometres (350 miles) west of the Azores and Cape Verde islands. On the other side of the globe, it ran just east of the Philippine islands. Portugal claimed the Philippine islands, which was recognised by Spain in the Treaty of Saragossa in 1529, which set the longitude 17° east of The Moluccas — The Spice Islands.

Portugal was allowed to claim land east of this line and Spain the west. This line was never surveyed and many historians suppose that it was near the 48° longitude. It just missed the South American coast which was undiscovered back then. However, neither side was satisfied with this settlement. A year later, they mutually agreed to shift the line 2,000 km (1,300 miles) west of the Cape Verde Islands in the Treaty of Tordesillas. This later gave the Portuguese the claim to Brazil.

In later treaties between the two nations, Portugal gave up its claim to the Philippines in exchange for Brazil. Although the line was created to settle territorial disputes between the sole powers at that time, it did not take into account the rise of other powers such as the British, France and the Dutch who ignored this demarcation to stake claims for themselves.