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2009
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Signed on 22 April, 1529, the Zaragoza Treaty was the final step in a process of demarcation of spheres of influence in the overseas expansion undertaken by the two Iberian kingdoms. Initiated by the Treaty of Alcáçovas in 1479, this process continued with the signature of the Treaty of Tordesillas, which divided the Atlantic into two zones of influence. In the Treaty of Zaragoza, the dispute over the Moluccan archipelago was resolved in favor of the Portuguese Crown, and an anti-meridian was demarcated, as opposed to the semi-meridian of Tordesillas, which had marked the expanse of the zones of influence in the Orient.
Signed in 1494, the Treaty of Tordesillas between Dom João II and the Catholic Kings established a meridian that was 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde archipelago, dividing the ocean into two zones of influence, eastern and western; both the discovered and the yet to be discovered lands within these zones would belong respectively to the Portuguese Crown and to the Spanish Monarchy. However, this treaty did not include any dispositions relative to an anti-meridian to demarcate the zones of influence on the opposite side of the globe.
This question only became pressing after the turn of the century, because after Vasco da Gama´s pioneering trip in 1498, the Portuguese proceeded to explore the Indian Ocean, occupying the region and seeking control of the commercial riches of the Orient. In this process, the establishing of a Portuguese Estado da Índia was fundamental to the conquest of Malacca in 1511 by Afonso de Albuquerque, the governor-general. Since the previous century, Malacca had been one of the great commercial centers of the Orient, and its conquest enabled the Portuguese to infiltrate the main Asian commercial networks. The Moluccan Island spice trade was prominent among these. Located at the eastern end of Insulindia (maritime Southeast Asia) this archipelago assumed key significance as the only producer of rare and valuable spices; cloves were especially significant among these. For this reason, through the centuries, the Moluccan Islands had been visited by merchants of diverse origins, as the Portuguese, shortly after the conquest of Malacca, tried to include these islands and their spices in their commercial network. The rival sultanates of Tidore and Ternate were the main Moluccan political potentates; the Portuguese established closer relations with the latter, as the connections between Malacca and the Moluccan archipelago became ever more regular and fruitful.
The wealth of the archipelago, however, soon attracted the interest of the Spanish Monarchy, who claimed their rights over the islands. This claim was founded on the premise that the islands were already within their demarcated area, which was supported by the Spanish Court cosmographers. The plan that was considered in 1512, to send a fleet to these islands under the command of Juan Dias de Solis, is evidence of the Spanish intentions regarding the spice islands, as the Moluccan archipelago was also known.
The Spanish pretensions gained new impetus beginning in 1517, when Fernando de Magalhães, a Portuguese navigator who had served in the Orient and later had offered his services to the Spanish Monarchy, presented to the future emperor, Charles V, his project of leading an expedition that would reach the archipelago by navigating west, asserting that the Moluccas were not within the Portuguese demarcated area. This expedition, which departed on 10 August, 1519 from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, an Andaluzian harbor, resulted in the first circumnavigation of the globe.
Although Magalhães died in combat in what currently is the Archipelago of the Philippines, the discovery of a passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, as well as the successful navigation of the latter, revealed to the Spanish the existence of a direct route to the Moluccan Islands.
Once they arrived in the archipelago, the Castillians set themselves up in Tidore, the island that would become their main base in the region after the refusal of the Sultan of Ternate, a Portuguese ally, and where they were able to load spices. In light of these events, the Portuguese sought to reinforce their bonds with Ternate and, in the summer of 1522, initiated the construction of a fortress on the island. In the year 1522, the survivors of Magalhães´ fleet also returned to Europe, under the command of the pilot, Juan Sebástian Elcano, and the most intense period of dispute over the possession of the islands began.
Despite protestation by the Portuguese Crown, in the years that followed, Charles V planned to send new fleets to the Moluccan Islands, insisting that these were located in the Castillian demarcated area. The establishing of the Casa de Contratación de la Especiería in Corunna, from where the fleets sailed to the archipelago, fit into this effort.
In face of this deadlock, the two Crowns agreed to a meeting between the cosmographers and cartographers of both kingdoms, so that the dispute could be resolved. In the end, the meeting, which occurred in April and May of 1524 between Badajoz and Elvas produced no practical results.
In light of this failure, preparations for sending a new fleet to the Moluccan archipelago in 1525 were itensified in northern Spain; however, diplomatic contacts were maintained, as exemplified that same year by the Emperor´s proposal of ceding to the Portuguese Crown for six years the monopoly of Moluccan spice commerce in exchange for 40,000 ducados.
Despite the unresolved dispute, the good relations between the two crowns grew. In two years, 1525 and 1526, two marriages were celebrated between the ruling dynasties. Dona Isabel, daughter of the Portuguese King, married Charles V, and the marriage of Dom João III to the Castillian Princess, Dona Catarina, was also celebrated. This favorable political situation, paired with the difficulties the Castillians experienced when trying to send their fleets to the Moluccan archipelago on a regular basis, finally afforded the opportunity to resolve the ongoing dispute. In fact, the fleet that had left Corunna under the command of Jofré de Loayza, despite having succeeded at reinforcing the alliance with Tidore, suffered great losses when crossing the Pacific. The possibility that began to take shape was that of "purchase" of rights to the islands by the Portuguese Crown. The Spanish Crown was involved in various conflicts in Europe, so that all financing was essential to maintaining the Monarchy´s financial viability.
Thus, despite the negotiations dragging on for a few more years, both parties reached an agreement at the beginning of 1529. On 22 April, 1529, a treaty was signed in Zaragoza, which stipulated that the Spanish Monarchy would set aside all its claims to possession of the Moluccan Islands, including the right to navigate and engage in commerce in these waters. Thus, the Tordesillas semi-meridian would become a meridian, lying 297.5 leagues west of the archipelago, and joint studies were proposed to resolve conclusively the matter of the zone of demarcation where the islands were situated. The Portuguese Crown, in turn, agreed not to build additional fortresses in the region, and was also to pay 350,000 ducados, in exchange for which this Monarchy´s rights would be recognized.
The treaty was ratified by Charles V in Llérida on 23 April, 1529, but Dom João III, who was hesitant about some of concessions that were made, only ratified it on 30 June, 1530, intiating the onerous effort of amassing the amount to be paid. News of the treaty arrived in the Moluccan Archipelago in November 1530, easing the tensions that had been building between the Portuguese and the Castillians in the archipelago.
The agreement that was reached in Zaragoza allowed the Portuguese to officialize their hegemony over the Moluccan Islands and their lucrative commerce. The commerce of spices, namely clover, while being essential to the Portuguese Estado da India, was expendable to the Castillians despite being lucrative, which explains the sale and the agreement that was reached in Zaragoza. This situation resulted not only from the difficulties in establishing direct connections between the possessions of the Spanish Monarchy and the Moluccan Islands, but also from the fact that this commerce was profitable because of its integration in the Asian trading networks that were controlled by the Portuguese.
The Portuguese retained control of these commercial routes, and several unpredictable changes took place until the turn of the century, when their presence in the region had to face the double threat posed by local enemies and the Dutch East India Company. The treaty also allowed for completing the process of delineating the overseas demarcation zones between the two Iberian kingdoms, although the inability to verify these demarcations beyond all doubt, continued. This incapacity, which had initiated the contention over the Moluccan Islands, reflected the incapability to calculate longitudes at sea, a technological advance that would occur in the 18th century.
Bibliography: BUESCU, Ana Isabel, D. João III, Lisboa, Círculo de Leitores, 2005. BRAGA, Isabel Drumond, "Molucas" in História dos Portugueses no Extremo Oriente, tomo II, Lisboa, Fundação Oriente, 2000, pp. 297-347. MORALES PADRÓN, Francisco, Historia del descubrimiento y conquista de América, Madrid, Ed. Nacional, 1981. THOMAZ, Luís Filipe, "Maluco e Malaca" in De Ceuta a Timor, Lisboa, Difel, 1994, pp. 537-565.
Translated by: Maria João Pimentel
Signed in 1494, the Treaty of Tordesillas between Dom João II and the Catholic Kings established a meridian that was 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde archipelago, dividing the ocean into two zones of influence, eastern and western; both the discovered and the yet to be discovered lands within these zones would belong respectively to the Portuguese Crown and to the Spanish Monarchy. However, this treaty did not include any dispositions relative to an anti-meridian to demarcate the zones of influence on the opposite side of the globe.
This question only became pressing after the turn of the century, because after Vasco da Gama´s pioneering trip in 1498, the Portuguese proceeded to explore the Indian Ocean, occupying the region and seeking control of the commercial riches of the Orient. In this process, the establishing of a Portuguese Estado da Índia was fundamental to the conquest of Malacca in 1511 by Afonso de Albuquerque, the governor-general. Since the previous century, Malacca had been one of the great commercial centers of the Orient, and its conquest enabled the Portuguese to infiltrate the main Asian commercial networks. The Moluccan Island spice trade was prominent among these. Located at the eastern end of Insulindia (maritime Southeast Asia) this archipelago assumed key significance as the only producer of rare and valuable spices; cloves were especially significant among these. For this reason, through the centuries, the Moluccan Islands had been visited by merchants of diverse origins, as the Portuguese, shortly after the conquest of Malacca, tried to include these islands and their spices in their commercial network. The rival sultanates of Tidore and Ternate were the main Moluccan political potentates; the Portuguese established closer relations with the latter, as the connections between Malacca and the Moluccan archipelago became ever more regular and fruitful.
The wealth of the archipelago, however, soon attracted the interest of the Spanish Monarchy, who claimed their rights over the islands. This claim was founded on the premise that the islands were already within their demarcated area, which was supported by the Spanish Court cosmographers. The plan that was considered in 1512, to send a fleet to these islands under the command of Juan Dias de Solis, is evidence of the Spanish intentions regarding the spice islands, as the Moluccan archipelago was also known.
The Spanish pretensions gained new impetus beginning in 1517, when Fernando de Magalhães, a Portuguese navigator who had served in the Orient and later had offered his services to the Spanish Monarchy, presented to the future emperor, Charles V, his project of leading an expedition that would reach the archipelago by navigating west, asserting that the Moluccas were not within the Portuguese demarcated area. This expedition, which departed on 10 August, 1519 from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, an Andaluzian harbor, resulted in the first circumnavigation of the globe.
Although Magalhães died in combat in what currently is the Archipelago of the Philippines, the discovery of a passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, as well as the successful navigation of the latter, revealed to the Spanish the existence of a direct route to the Moluccan Islands.
Once they arrived in the archipelago, the Castillians set themselves up in Tidore, the island that would become their main base in the region after the refusal of the Sultan of Ternate, a Portuguese ally, and where they were able to load spices. In light of these events, the Portuguese sought to reinforce their bonds with Ternate and, in the summer of 1522, initiated the construction of a fortress on the island. In the year 1522, the survivors of Magalhães´ fleet also returned to Europe, under the command of the pilot, Juan Sebástian Elcano, and the most intense period of dispute over the possession of the islands began.
Despite protestation by the Portuguese Crown, in the years that followed, Charles V planned to send new fleets to the Moluccan Islands, insisting that these were located in the Castillian demarcated area. The establishing of the Casa de Contratación de la Especiería in Corunna, from where the fleets sailed to the archipelago, fit into this effort.
In face of this deadlock, the two Crowns agreed to a meeting between the cosmographers and cartographers of both kingdoms, so that the dispute could be resolved. In the end, the meeting, which occurred in April and May of 1524 between Badajoz and Elvas produced no practical results.
In light of this failure, preparations for sending a new fleet to the Moluccan archipelago in 1525 were itensified in northern Spain; however, diplomatic contacts were maintained, as exemplified that same year by the Emperor´s proposal of ceding to the Portuguese Crown for six years the monopoly of Moluccan spice commerce in exchange for 40,000 ducados.
Despite the unresolved dispute, the good relations between the two crowns grew. In two years, 1525 and 1526, two marriages were celebrated between the ruling dynasties. Dona Isabel, daughter of the Portuguese King, married Charles V, and the marriage of Dom João III to the Castillian Princess, Dona Catarina, was also celebrated. This favorable political situation, paired with the difficulties the Castillians experienced when trying to send their fleets to the Moluccan archipelago on a regular basis, finally afforded the opportunity to resolve the ongoing dispute. In fact, the fleet that had left Corunna under the command of Jofré de Loayza, despite having succeeded at reinforcing the alliance with Tidore, suffered great losses when crossing the Pacific. The possibility that began to take shape was that of "purchase" of rights to the islands by the Portuguese Crown. The Spanish Crown was involved in various conflicts in Europe, so that all financing was essential to maintaining the Monarchy´s financial viability.
Thus, despite the negotiations dragging on for a few more years, both parties reached an agreement at the beginning of 1529. On 22 April, 1529, a treaty was signed in Zaragoza, which stipulated that the Spanish Monarchy would set aside all its claims to possession of the Moluccan Islands, including the right to navigate and engage in commerce in these waters. Thus, the Tordesillas semi-meridian would become a meridian, lying 297.5 leagues west of the archipelago, and joint studies were proposed to resolve conclusively the matter of the zone of demarcation where the islands were situated. The Portuguese Crown, in turn, agreed not to build additional fortresses in the region, and was also to pay 350,000 ducados, in exchange for which this Monarchy´s rights would be recognized.
The treaty was ratified by Charles V in Llérida on 23 April, 1529, but Dom João III, who was hesitant about some of concessions that were made, only ratified it on 30 June, 1530, intiating the onerous effort of amassing the amount to be paid. News of the treaty arrived in the Moluccan Archipelago in November 1530, easing the tensions that had been building between the Portuguese and the Castillians in the archipelago.
The agreement that was reached in Zaragoza allowed the Portuguese to officialize their hegemony over the Moluccan Islands and their lucrative commerce. The commerce of spices, namely clover, while being essential to the Portuguese Estado da India, was expendable to the Castillians despite being lucrative, which explains the sale and the agreement that was reached in Zaragoza. This situation resulted not only from the difficulties in establishing direct connections between the possessions of the Spanish Monarchy and the Moluccan Islands, but also from the fact that this commerce was profitable because of its integration in the Asian trading networks that were controlled by the Portuguese.
The Portuguese retained control of these commercial routes, and several unpredictable changes took place until the turn of the century, when their presence in the region had to face the double threat posed by local enemies and the Dutch East India Company. The treaty also allowed for completing the process of delineating the overseas demarcation zones between the two Iberian kingdoms, although the inability to verify these demarcations beyond all doubt, continued. This incapacity, which had initiated the contention over the Moluccan Islands, reflected the incapability to calculate longitudes at sea, a technological advance that would occur in the 18th century.
Bibliography: BUESCU, Ana Isabel, D. João III, Lisboa, Círculo de Leitores, 2005. BRAGA, Isabel Drumond, "Molucas" in História dos Portugueses no Extremo Oriente, tomo II, Lisboa, Fundação Oriente, 2000, pp. 297-347. MORALES PADRÓN, Francisco, Historia del descubrimiento y conquista de América, Madrid, Ed. Nacional, 1981. THOMAZ, Luís Filipe, "Maluco e Malaca" in De Ceuta a Timor, Lisboa, Difel, 1994, pp. 537-565.
Translated by: Maria João Pimentel