may 4, 1493 - Inter caetera

Description:

A line of demarcation (left broken line in the image) drawn by the (Spanish-born) Pope Alexander VI. He granted King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain all land 100 leagues south and west of the Azores or Cape Verde islands. The Pope encouraged Spain to spread Catholicism to those who lived in the New World. The zone specifically excluded Portugal, Spain's primary colonial rival. The nation objected to the decree, claiming that the 1479 Treaty of Alcáçovas granted Portugal the right to any land south of the Canary Islands, which included the lands newly discovered by Christopher Columbus. Spain agreed to negotiate, and the next year the Treaty of Tordesillas was signed.