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The Treaty
The Treaty of Alcaçovas was an agreement between Portugal and Castile where ownership of the Canary Islands was transferred to Castile in exchange for claims in West Africa.
Also known as treaty or Peace of Alcaçovas-Toledo. Treaty signed between the kingdoms of Castile (Castilla) and Portugal in 1479 that puts an end of the Castillian civil war started in 1474 over the succession of the kingdom of Castile.
The Peace of Alcaçocas-Toledo settle the question of the succession of Castile in favor of the Isabel, as well as the disputes between Castile and Portugal over the control of the Atlantic in which Castilian control of the Canary islands was recognized but which also gave Portugal the Azores, Madeira, the Cape Verde islands and "lands discovered and to be discovered...and any other island which might be found and conquered from the Canary islands beyond toward Guinea." This treaty, ratified later by a Papal bull in 1481, essentially gave the Portuguese free reign to continue their exploration along the African coast while guaran- teeing Castilian sovereignty in the Canaries. It also prohibited Castilians from sailing to the Portuguese possessions without Portuguese licence. Noticeably, Aragon was not a signatory. The Treaty of Alcacovas established Castilian and Portuguese spheres of control in the Atlantic and settled, for a while, a period of open hostility, but it also created the basis for future claims and conflict.
- From article: Age of Discovery: Discovery of the Americas
Portugal's rival Castile had been somewhat slower than its neighbour to begin exploring the Atlantic, and it was not until late in the fifteenth century that Castilian sailors began to compete with their Iberian neighbours. The first contest was for control of the Canary Islands, which Castille won. It was not until the union of Aragon and Castille and the completion of the reconquista that the large nation became fully committed to looking for new trade routes and colonies overseas. In 1492 the joint rulers of the nation decided to fund Christopher Columbus' expedition that they hoped would bypass Portugal's lock on Africa and the Indian Ocean reaching Asia by travelling east.
Excerpt from Source Document
...the said King and Prince of Portugal or the future sovereigns of Portugal or their kingdoms, in their possession or quasi possession all the trade, lands, and barter in Guinea, with its gold-mines, or in any other islands, coasts, or lands, discovered or to be discovered, found or to be found', or in the islands of Madeira, Porto Santo, and Desierta, or in all the islands of the Azores, or the islands of Flores, as well as the islands of Cape Verde, or in all the islands hitherto discovered, or in all other islands which shall be found or acquired by conquest [in the region] from the Canary Islands down toward Guinea. For whatever has been found or shall be found, acquired by conquest, or discovered within the said limits, beyond what has already been found, occupied, or discovered, belongs to the said King and Prince of Portugal and to their kingdoms, excepting only the Canary Islands, to wit: Lancarote, Palma, Forteventura, Gomera, Ferro, Graciosa, Grand Canary, Teneriffe, and all the other Canary Islands, acquired or to be acquired, which belong to the kingdoms of Castile.' And in like manner, [they promised] not to disturb, trouble, or molest any persons whomsoever, who, under any title or in any way or manner whatsoever, shall trade or traffic in or acquire by conquest the said trade of Guinea or that of the said coasts or lands, discovered or to be discovered, in the name or under the authority of the said king and prince or their successors. On the contrary, by these presents, they do promise and assure, in good faith and without deceit, the said king and prince and their successors, that they will not, of themselves or through others, order or consent, but rather forbid, that any of their people, native or subject, in any place or at any time, or in any case, specified or not specified, or any other foreign people who might be within their kingdoms and dominions, or who shall be equipped or provisioned in their ports, go to traffic in the said trade or in the islands or lands of Guinea discovered or to be discovered.
Other Info
The king Alfonso V of Portugal was married to the daughter of Enrique IV of Castile, Juana, about whom rumors of illegitimacy were spread and was popularly known as Juana "la Beltraneja", for her alleged father Beltrán de la Cueva. When Isabel, whose rights were also under dispute, is crowned as Queen of Castile a civil war starts in the kingdom. Portugal on one side defended the rights of Juana "la Beltraneja", and on the other side the kingdom of Aragon, which prince Ferdinand was married to Isabel, defended the rights of this last one. Portugal was finally defeated in the Battles of Toro in 1476 and Albuera in 1479.
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