In January 1494, A Congress Of Ambassadors From Spain And Portugal Was
Held At Tordesillas, For The Settlement Of All Disputes Between The Two
Countries Respecting The New Discoveries.
The plenipotentiaries from
Spain were Don Henry Henriques, Don John de Cardenas, and the Doctor
Maldonado; those from Portugal, Ruy de Sosa, his son Don John, and the
doctor Ayres de Almada.
After some conference, these plenipotentiaries
divided the world between the two crowns, by a meridian line drawn from
north to south, 300 leagues to the west of the islands of Cape Verd, all
to the east of this line being appropriated to Portugal, and all to the
west to Spain; leaving, however, the liberty of navigation equally to
both[7]. In 1495, John II. King of Portugal, died, and was succeeded by
his cousin Emanuel.
In the year 1496, a Venetian named John Cabota, or Gabota, went to
England; and having acquired a knowledge of the new discoveries, and
perceiving by the globe that the islands of the Antilles were almost in
the same latitude with his own country, and lay much nearer to England
than Spain and Portugal, he acquainted Henry VII. with this circumstance,
and offered his services to make discoveries for the crown of England.
Henry was much pleased with the proposal, and furnished him with two
ships and three hundred men, with which he set sail in the spring of that
year, and sailed west till he came in sight of land, in lat. 45 deg.N. Whence
he sailed northwards till he came into the latitude of 60 degrees, where
the day is 18 hours long, and the night is very clear and bright. He
there found the air very cold, with great islands of ice, and found no
bottom with a line of 100 fathoms. From thence, finding the land turn
eastwards, he coasted along it, discovering all the bay and river named
Deseado[8], to see if it passed on to the other side of the land. Cabot
afterwards sailed down the coast to the lat. of 38 deg.N. though some people
allege that he reached Cape Florida, in 25 deg.N.
In the year 1497, Columbus was again sent out on discovery, with six
ships furnished by the crown of Spain, and two others fitted out at his
own expence. Sending his brother before, he sailed from Cadiz, taking his
son Don Diego along with him. It was then reported, that he meant to take
the island of Madeira, because he distrusted the Frenchmen, and therefore
sent three ships thither; others say, that his object was for the
Canaries. However this may be, he went with four ships to the Cape de
Verd islands, whence he ran along a parallel, finding great rains and
calms, and the first land he came to in the Antilles was an island in
nine degrees of north latitude, called Trinidada,[9] which lies close to
the main land. Here he entered the Gulf of Paria, and came out by the
Bocca de Dragone, or Dragons-mouth.
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