Expert: Paul Walcutt - 1/14/2005

Question
Why was an imaginary line drawn, which ran north and south, through South America?  What was this line called? Thank you

Answer
The Pope, hoping to avoid conflicts between Catholic Spain and Portugal, drew the line in the 15th century.  All terrotories west of the line were deemed colonizedable by Spain, and all lands east, by Portugal.  It was referred to as the line of demarcation, and was changed in 1494 by the Treaty of Torsedillas.