Historedia
EuropeEvent

Treaty of Saragossa

When
1529
Where
Zaragoza
Episodes
1

Signed on 22 April 1529 in Zaragoza, the Treaty of Saragossa resolved the Moluccas dispute between Castile and Portugal. It established a demarcation line 297.5 leagues east of the Maluku Islands, assigning the Spice Islands to Portugal and the Pacific to Spain.

Episodes

  1. 22 April 1529 · ZaragozaSigning of the Treaty

    Castile and Portugal signed the peace treaty in Zaragoza to resolve competing claims over the Spice Islands.

Background and detail

Terms. The agreement set the eastern border 297.5 leagues, or 17 degrees, east of the Maluku Islands. This placed the islands within the Portuguese domain. Portugal gained control of lands and seas west of the line, including Asia, while Spain retained most of the Pacific Ocean.

Implications. The treaty did not modify the Tordesillas line or validate Spain's claim to equal hemispheres. Consequently, the two lines divided the Earth into unequal portions, with Portugal holding roughly 191 degrees of circumference and Spain holding roughly 169 degrees.

People involved

Sources

  1. Treaty of Zaragoza Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-03

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.