The Treaty of Tordesillas

The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) was an agreement between Spain and Portugal, which divided all the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the two countries. The treaty was intended to settle a dispute that was created after the return of Christopher Columbus, whose voyage of discovery had been on behalf of Spain. However on his way back, he first reached Lisbon, in Portugal, where he had an audience with King John II of Portugal. King John felt that the newly discovered lands belonged to Portugal. The Spanish asked Pope Alexander VI to intercede, and he decided that all the lands west of a line 100 leagues west of the Azores should belong to Spain, and the lands to the east of the line should belong to Portugal. This was the Treaty of Tordesillas. Our paper engineering model shows two 15th century gentlemen busily sawing the world in half!