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The Treaty of Tordesillas: How a Papal Bull Divided the World
In 1494, with barely a decade of Atlantic exploration behind them, Spain and Portugal drew a line down the map of the world — and both sides broke it within years. This episode dives into the Treaty of Tordesillas and its lesser-known sequel, the Treaty of Zaragoza, which carved Asia between the two Iberian powers. We explore the political maneuvering of Pope Alexander VI, the scientific debates over longitude, and the accidental discovery of Brazil by Pedro Álvares Cabral. We also unpack why the line shifted 270 leagues west of the original papal bull, how Portuguese explorer Ferdinand…
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