The Treaty of Tordesillas Line: How One Ruler Split the Globe

The Rise of Colonialism: How Europe Divided the World — Fexingo History · Aug 2, 2026 · 7m · transcript

In 1493, Pope Alexander VI drew a line on a map that divided the world between Spain and Portugal. The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed a year later, moved that line 270 leagues west — a decision that would shape the fate of continents. This episode looks beyond the treaty's famous meridian to the men who made it: King John II of Portugal, who outmaneuvered Spain at the negotiating table; the papal bulls that preceded it; and the carefully guarded cartography of the era. We trace how the line was set, why it kept shifting (including the 1529 Treaty of Zaragoza that split the Pacific), and…