Question

What effect did the Treaty of Tordesillas have on Europe and exploration?

Answer 1

The treaty gave most of the Western Hemisphere to Spain. The pope was no longer the supreme religious and political authority in Europe. European nations stopped looking for new western routes to India.

Answer 2

The Treaty of Tordesillas was entered in 1494 ( two years after the discovery of America by Columbus) between the Crown of Castile and the Empire of Portugal. It established a line 370 leagues west of Cape Verde, (a Portuguese colony). League is a unit of measure like kilometer or mile, except that is closer to five kilometers each. By the treaty the lands east of the line would be Portuguese and those west would belong to Spain.