Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)
1494 CE
Spain and Portugal divided newly discovered non-Christian territories by a north-south demarcation line in the Atlantic Ocean: lands west of the line belonged to Spain; those east belonged to Portugal. This agreement validated Portugal’s 1500 claim to Brazil, officially "discovered" by Pedro Cabral. Recognition of these territories as a distinct landmass later led European mapmakers to label the Western Hemisphere "America," honoring the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci.
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Spain and Portugal agree by the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas to divide the non-Christian world between them; all territories to the west of the demarcation line in the Atlantic Ocean are to be Spanish; all those to the east, Portuguese.
The shift makes possible the successful Portuguese claim to Brazil, officially “discovered” in 1500 by Pedro Cabral.
Once European cosmographers become aware that a "new world" indeed exists, the entire Western hemisphere becomes known as America, a name that they use on their maps supposedly in honor of the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci, who conducts some mapping of the area.
The shift makes possible the successful Portuguese claim to Brazil, officially “discovered” in 1500 by Pedro Cabral.
Once European cosmographers become aware that a "new world" indeed exists, the entire Western hemisphere becomes known as America, a name that they use on their maps supposedly in honor of the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci, who conducts some mapping of the area.