If King Henry VII wrote a letter to the Pope about the Treaty of Tordsillas, what might he have written?
1 Answer
Some ideas below:
Explanation:
A couple of ideas that might help:
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The Treaty of Tordesillas came about shortly after Columbus discovered the Americas in 1492. Columbus' patron was Queen Isabella of Spain, so she felt that everything resulting from Columbus' discovery should accrue to Spain. She was specifically concerned with Portugal's desire to expand, but she was quite happy to have all potential claimants frozen out of having anything to do with Columbus' discovery.
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The pope at the time, Alexander VI, was Spanish. He was quite happy to write a treaty that gave Spain huge territory claims.
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Note that the Treaty doesn't mention any other European nation, except to state that Spain and Portugal were not allowed to take over from another Christian nation or power.
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King Henry VII was King of England starting in 1485, having defeated King Richard III during the War of the Roses. He was the first Tudor on the throne of England.
So we have an ambitious English king who was the first of a new dynasty being told indirectly by the Pope that he isn't allowed to set up colonies - only Spain and Portugal were allowed.
England, The Netherlands, and other European nations ignored the Pope's restrictions.
I don't believe King Henry VII wrote a letter to the Pope, but he might have brought forward some of the ideas above (or others in the links below) if he had.
