Final answer:
The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed in 1494, divided the new areas of the world discovered by Europeans between Spain and Portugal along a line west of the Cape Verde Islands. Option D is correct.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed in 1494, was a significant agreement between Spain and Portugal. It was negotiated after Christopher Columbus’s voyage to the Caribbean to manage the competition for new trade routes and territories discovered as a result of European explorations.
According to this treaty, the newly discovered lands were divided between the two countries along a meridian approximately one hundred leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands, off the coast of Africa. Spain was granted control over lands to the west of this line, which included most of the Americas, while Portugal was given lands to the east, including control over the routes around the Cape of Good Hope, leading to India and the rest of Asia.
In contrast with the Treaty of Tordesillas, another agreement, the Treaty of Zaragoza, was signed in 1529 to complement the division of the world by extending the line of demarcation to the Eastern Hemisphere. Together, these treaties effectively divided the “new” areas discovered by Europeans between Spain and Portugal, which had implications on the routes and control over the lucrative spice trade.
Therefore, the answer to the student's question is 'd. divided the "new" areas discovered by Europeans between Spain and Portugal'.