The Line of Demarcation was an imaginary longitude, moved slightly from the line drawn by Pope Alexander VI to divide new lands claimed by Portugal from those of Spain. This line was drawn in 1493 after Christopher Columbus returned from his maiden voyage to the Americas. Territorial disputes between the two seafaring nations led the Pope to adjudicate in the hope that this 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. Longitude is the east-west geographic coordinate measurement most commonly utilized in cartography and global navigation. ... Pope Alexander VI (1 January 1431 – 18 August 1503), born Roderic Borja (Italian: Borgia), (reigned from 1492 to 1503), is the most controversial of the secular popes of the Renaissance and one whose surname became a byword for the debased standards of the papacy of that era. ... 1493 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Christopher Columbus (1451 – May 20, 1506) was a navigator, colonizer, and explorer and one of the first Europeans to explore the Americas after the Vikings. ... World map showing the Americas CIA political map of the Americas The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the continents of North America[1] and South America with their associated islands and regions. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ...

As such, the Pope's arbitaration could be considered as laying the legal and political foundation for countless other international documents drawn over the next four and a half centuries, based on the implicit or explicit assumption that European powers had the right to divide the rest of the world among themselves without regard to the wishes and aspirations of the peoples living there - an assumption still taken for granted in the Nineteenth Century (for example, in the partition of Africa between colonial powers in the Congress of Berlin) and only gradually coming into question during the Twentieth Century. Thus, Alexander VI can be considered to have laid an important cornerstone in the legal foundation of Colonialism. The Congress of Berlin (June 13 - July 13, 1878) was a meeting of the European Great Powers and the Ottoman Empires leading statesmen in Berlin in 1878. ... It has been suggested that Benign colonialism be merged into this article or section. ...

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 passed just east of the Philippine islands. Portugal's claim to the Philippines was recognized by Spain in the Treaty of Saragossa in 1529, which set the longitude 17° east of The Moluccas — The Spice Islands. Compass rose with north highlighted and at top Look up North in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A compass rose with South highlighted South is most commonly a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. ... “km” redirects here. ... “Miles” redirects here. ... A compass rose with west highlighted This article refers to the cardinal direction; for other uses see West (disambiguation). ... Motto (Portuguese for Rather die free than in peace subjugated) Anthem  (national)  (local) Capital Ponta Delgada1 Angra do Heroísmo2 Horta3 Largest city Ponta Delgada Official languages Portuguese Government Autonomous region  -  President Carlos César Establishment  -  Settled 1439   -  Autonomy 1976  Area  -  Total 2,333 km² (n/a) 911 sq mi... The Treaty of Tordesillas (signed at Tordesillas (Castile), June 7, 1494) divided the world outside of Europe in an exclusive duopoly between the Spanish and the Portuguese along a north-south meridian 370 leagues (1770 km; 1100 miles) west of the Cape Verde Islands (off the coast of Senegal in... Events April 22 - Treaty of Saragossa divides the eastern hemisphere between Spain and Portugal, stipulating that the dividing line should lie 297. ... This page is about the geography and history of the island group in Indonesia — for the political entities encompassing the islands, see Maluku (Indonesian province) and North Maluku. ... Spice Islands most commonly refers to the Maluku Islands (formerly the Moluccas), which lie on the equator, between Sulawesi (Celebes) and New Guinea in what is now Indonesia. ...

Portugal was allowed to claim land to the east of this line, and Spain to the west. The line was never surveyed and many historians suppose that it was near the 48° longitude. It also just missed crossing the South American coast which had not yet been discovered. However, neither nation was satisfied with this settlement, and a year later they mutually agreed by the Treaty of Tordesillas (signed in 1494) to shift the line 2,000 km (1,300 miles) to the west of the Cape Verde Islands. This later gave the Portuguese a claim to Brazil. South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Cantino planisphere of 1502 depicting the meridian designated by the treaty. ...

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 France, nor the Protestant nations of Britain or the Netherlands, who ignored the papal demarcation and staked their own claims.

See also

• Inter caetera