The Church, the Pope, was a powerful ruler of Europe for over a thousand years, and it was only once Martin Luther came about with his 95 theses that their power was questioned. It was a papal decision how much land Spain would receive from Columbus’ discovery, the Pope at that point was born in Spain. Portugal was unhappy with the amount allocated to them, so in a more civil manner than swords, they sought to mediate the issues in Tordesillas.
On this day June 7th, in 1494, Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Tordesillas. Tordesillas is a city in central Spain. The agreement made between Portugal and Spain was not endorsed by the Pope (Julius II) until 1506. This new boundary included Brazil which Pedro Alvares Cabral discovered in 1500.
The land that they had agreed upon was not even seen by any of the people mediating. This treaty was very important in dividing Latin America. Other nations ignored this treaty, and furthermore it fostered a lot of resentment towards the papacy for having gotten involved. It should be noted that the Church claimed land for itself as well. This helped spark the Protestant Reformation, and when Martin Luther questioned the Church in 1517 with his theses. The Treaty of Tordesillas has since been raised in both Chile and Argentina in the 20th century.