jan 4, 1494 - Treaty of Tordesillas

Description:

Once Europeans realized the riches of the Americas, Spain and Portugal were quick to quarrel over land ownership. Thus, the Treaty of Tordesillas was established in 1494 - an agreement that temporarily settled the land dispute. Spain received a vast majority of the land in the New World, stretching from the Caribbean Islands to Mexico to the west coast of South America, whereas Portugal received some land on the east coast of South America, compensated by land all along the coast of Africa. Spain's claims established by this treaty in the Caribbean Island eventually led to the encomienda system, a system that "gave" Indians to colonists basically as slaves in return for their Christianization because the Indians there were easy to subdue and acted as lab rats. The Caribbean Islands also acted as Spain's base of operations for raiding more powerful Indian civilizations, such as Cortés' conquest of the Aztecs.