The Treaty of Zaragoza settles the Moluccas by sale
Unable to determine where the Tordesillas antimeridian actually fell, Castile and Portugal ended the dispute over the Spice Islands commercially rather than geographically: Charles V relinquished the Castilian claim in exchange for a large payment in gold, and a line was fixed east of the Moluccas. It is the clearest single demonstration of the period's central technical limit — a boundary that cannot be measured is settled by whoever needs the money less. Castile retained a presence in the western Pacific that later became the Philippines, on ground that arguably lay on the Portuguese side of the new line.
Historical — it happened, and the record is settled.
Subjects
- The Moluccas (Maluku Islands) · region · Indonesia
- Celestial navigation (latitude sailing) · technology · not located
Evidence
Partly verified — Core facts are sourced; some optional detail is deliberately absent.
Treaty of Tordesillas
The text establishing the meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands as the division of navigation and possession between the two crowns. V55 verification basis: NOT consulted in this session. The 370-league figure is stated from the author's knowledge; the Memory of the World inscription is likewise recalled and its year is deliberately not stated. A curator should confirm both against the archives named.
Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, Lisbon, and Archivo General de Indias, Seville · 1494-06-07 · Partly verified
Treaty between Castile and Portugal signed at Tordesillas, 7 June 1494; original instruments held at the Torre do Tombo and the Archivo General de Indias, and inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register as a joint Portuguese–Spanish nomination
Recorded on The Moluccas (Maluku Islands)
- The Treaty of Tordesillas divides the ocean
- Albuquerque takes Malacca
- The Magellan expedition sails from Sanlúcar
- The Victoria completes the first circumnavigation
- The Treaty of Zaragoza settles the Moluccas by sale
Related
Related because they share a subject in the Atlas — never because the text looks similar.
- The Victoria completes the first circumnavigation · 1522-09-06
- The Magellan expedition sails from Sanlúcar · 1519-09-20
- Albuquerque takes Malacca · 1511-08
- The Treaty of Tordesillas divides the ocean · 1494-06-07