Download Name: Date: ______ Period: ______ On June 7, 1494, the

Name: ______________________________
Date: ______
Period: ______
On June 7, 1494, the governments of Spain and Portugal agreed to the Treaty of Tordesillas,
named for the city in Spain in which it was created. The Treaty of Tordesillas neatly divided
the “New World” of the Americas between the two superpowers of exploration.
Spain and Portugal divided the New World by drawing a line in the Atlantic Ocean, about
370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands, then controlled by Portugal. All lands east of
that line (about 46 degrees, 37 minutes West) were claimed by Portugal. All lands west of
that line were claimed by Spain.
The treaty ignored any future claims of the British and French, the other European
superpowers of the time. The British, French, and Russian empires did not claim parts of the
Americas for years after the Treaty of Tordesillas.
Most importantly, however, the Treaty of Tordesillas, completely ignored the millions of
people already living in established communities in the Americas. The treaty stipulated that
any lands with a “Christian king” would not be colonized. Christianity had not spread to the
Americas, and the resulting colonization proved disastrous for indigenous cultures such as
the Inca, Taino, Aztec, Tupi, and thousands of other bands throughout the Americas.
Name: ______________________________
Date: ______
Period: ______
Analysis Questions:
1. What does indigenous mean?
2. What was the purpose of the Treaty of Tordesillas?
3. Use the RACE strategy to answer the following question: How did the Treaty of Tordesillas
impact colonization?
4. Use the RACE strategy to answer the following question: How did the Treaty of Tordesillas
impact the indigenous people of Latin America?