494 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



Nor was there any vsigueness about the decision that the regions 

 " westwards and southwards" of a line drawn from pole to pole should 

 helong to 8i)ain. Those words covered, and were meant to cover, a 

 dangerous though unreasonable pretension of tlie King of Portugal 

 made known to Cohimljus and made manifest in subsequent disputes — 

 namely, tliat everything south of Cape Bojador whether west or east, 

 belonged to Portugal. The words "westwards and south\vards" cut 

 that notion clearly out. Moreover the line was not to pass a hundred 

 leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde Islands as if they were on 

 the same meridian. The Pope did not decide that, nor did he know 

 whether or not all the islands of those groups had been discovered. 

 The line was to be one hundred leagues westward of any one of the 

 iirlands whatsoever of those two groups. Both groups were held by the 

 King of Portugal — a Christian prince ; and a line one hundred leagues 

 *'a qualihct iusuhirvm,'' as Eden translates, "from any of the islands," 

 would be reasonable and allow a wide margin. The distance being 

 westwards would commence to be measured from the most western of 

 either of the groups. 



The main object of the Bull Inter cetera was to turn the enter- 

 prises of the two nations in opposite directions by giving each a free 

 scope east and west of the specified line, for as has been shown, the 

 Bulls to Portugal were not revoked but confirmed by the Eximiae 

 devotionis. For if the Pope had revoked these Bulls he could not have 

 referred to them as specifically setting fortli the powers he was granting 

 to Spain in the regions discovered by her sailors. The grants to Portu- 

 gal extended "ad Indos," and the grant to Spain was "versus Indiain" 

 — the expeditious of the former power were to be made east and south, 

 and of the latter west and south ; one would reach India on the west 

 side and the other on the east side. The Pope did not decide any line 

 in the remote East, that was left to be settled by the principle thialt 

 lands in the possession of any Christian prince were excepted from the 

 scope of the Bull. That point did not become practical until Magel- 

 lan's expedition reached the Philippine Islands and El Oano bro\ight 

 home the news. Meantime, in 1493, Portugal was chiefly concerned to 

 get more extended limits upon the Atlantic, because, for aught any one 

 then knew, somo groat southern continent might exist, such as Pom- 

 ponius Mela had indicated, and of that Portugal wanted to have as large 

 a share us possible. The principle is the same as that of the line of the 

 treaty of Tordesillas laid down in the following year (1491) which was 

 in effect (see appendix D) that the Catholic inonarchs might claim any- 

 thing discovered in sailing to the Fjast on a westward course even as 

 far as Arabia — if only the Spanish ships arrived there first. 



