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The Treaty of Tordesillas and Its Cartographic Afterlife

《托德西利亚斯条约》及其制图遗产

Signed in 1494, the Treaty of Tordesillas divided newly encountered lands between Spain and Portugal along a meridian 370 leagues west of Cape Verde.
Though negotiated without input from Indigenous peoples or rival powers, it became a reference point for European territorial claims across three centuries.
Cartographers incorporated the line into world maps—not as precise measurement but as symbolic assertion of papal and monarchical authority over geography.
Portuguese expansion eastward into Brazil followed the line’s southern extension, inadvertently legitimizing occupation of lands outside initial intent.
Spanish navigators used it to contest Portuguese presence in the Moluccas, leading to the 1529 Treaty of Zaragoza and complex jurisdictional overlaps.
Colonial administrators later invoked the treaty to justify land seizures, even where indigenous sovereignty remained unchallenged on the ground.
Its ambiguity—especially regarding longitude accuracy—created loopholes exploited by Dutch and English traders operating outside Iberian alliances.
By the 18th century, Enlightenment mapmakers critiqued it as obsolete, yet diplomatic archives still cited it during boundary negotiations in South America.
Modern historians treat it less as binding law and more as a lens into how spatial imagination shaped imperial legitimacy.
Its enduring presence in school textbooks reflects how cartographic decisions can outlive their political utility and enter collective historical memory.

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③ 学 · 重点表达

Its ambiguity—especially regarding longitude accuracy—created loopholes exploited by Dutch and English traders operating outside Iberian alliances. 条约固有的模糊性——尤其是经度测定不准——为脱离伊比利亚同盟的荷英商人提供了可乘之机。
Signed in 1494, the Treaty of Tordesillas divided newly encountered lands between Spain and Portugal along a meridian 370 leagues west of Cape Verde. 1494年签署的《托德西利亚斯条约》沿佛得角以西370里格的子午线，将新发现的土地划归西班牙与葡萄牙分治。
Though negotiated without input from Indigenous peoples or rival powers, it became a reference point for European territorial claims across three centuries. 尽管谈判未征询原住民或竞争列强意见，该条约却成为此后三百年欧洲列强领土主张的重要依据。

④ 懂 · 选一选

这篇中文题目最接近哪一句？《托德西利亚斯条约》及其制图遗产一次学校运动会的通知一份超市购物清单

课文第一句的意思更接近？ 1494年签署的《托德西利亚斯条约》沿佛得角以西370里格的子午线，将新发现的土地划归西班牙与葡萄牙分治。今天学校放假了。请把窗户打开。

这一课主要在讲什么？（看英文标题） The Treaty of Tordesillas and Its Cartographic Afterlife How to cook noodles A maths worksheet

⑤ 今天会说这一句

Its ambiguity—especially regarding longitude accuracy—created loopholes exploited by Dutch and English traders operating outside Iberian alliances.

⑥ 跟读并录音

Its ambiguity—especially regarding longitude accuracy—created loopholes exploited by Dutch and English traders operating outside Iberian alliances.

第一版：录下来、回听、再听标准音。系统打分以后再加。

⑦ 说 · 自己来一句

用今天的表达，自己说一句。

例子：Its ambiguity—especially regarding longitude accuracy—created loopholes exploited by Dutch and English traders operating outside Iberian alliances.