Treaty of Tordesillas

Definition

The Treaty of Tordesillas was an agreement signed in 1494 between Spain and Portugal to divide the newly discovered lands outside Europe. It assigned territories to each country, primarily in South America.

Analogy

Imagine you and your sibling find a huge bag of candy, but there's only one way to share it fairly. So you draw an imaginary line down the middle of the bag, giving each person their own side. That imaginary line is like the Treaty of Tordesillas dividing up South America between Spain and Portugal.

Related terms

Colonialism: The practice by which a nation extends its power over other countries or territories for economic gain.

Exploration: The act of traveling in order to discover new lands or resources.

Line of Demarcation: An imaginary line defined by the Pope during the Age of Exploration to separate Spanish and Portuguese territories in the New World.