Treaty Between Spain and Portugal, Concluded at Alcacovas, September 4, 1479
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http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/modeur/sppo01.htm Treaty Between Spain and Portugal, Concluded at Alcacovas, September 4, 1479. (1) Ratification by Spain, March 6, 1480. Ratification by Portugal, September 8,1479. We, Don Ferdinand and Dona Isabella, by the grace of God, king and queen of Castile, Leon, Aragon, Sicily, Toledo, Valencia, Galicia, Majorca, Seville, Sardinia, Cordova, Corsica, Murcia, Jaen, the Algarves, Algeciras, and Gibraltar; count and countess of Barcelona; lord and lady of Biscay and Molina; duke and duchess of Athens and Neopatras; count and countess of Roussillon and Cerdagne; marquis and marchioness of Oristano and Gociano: make known to all who shall see the present letter that perpetual peace between us and the said our kingdoms and lordships, and our cousin, the very illustrious king of Portugal and the Algarves on this side and beyond the sea in Africa, and his son, the illustrious prince, Dom John, and the said their kingdoms and lordships, was negotiated, at our command, by Doctor Rodrigo Maldonado, oidor of our audiencia and member of our council, acting as our representative and ambassador. The said peace was first negotiated by Dom Joao da Silveira, baron d'Alvito, member of the council of the said king of Portugal and his private secretary, inspector of the treasury, and chancellor-in- chief of the said prince of Portugal, and by Pero Botello and Rodrigo Alfonso, knights and members of the council of the said king of Portugal. Afterward the peace was affirmed, signed, and sworn to by the said Baron d'Alvito acting as a competent and qualified representative of the said king and prince of Portugal, and as their representative and ambassador, as is set forth more fully in the instrument of agreement and treaty of peace which was made in regard to it. Among other things that instrument sets forth that whenever we should be notified on the part of the said very illustrious king of Portugal, and by his son, the illustrious prince, we should authorize, confirm, and swear to the said peace in our own person. And inasmuch as we have been notified by Ferrando de Silva, member of the council of the said king and prince of Portugal, and their representative and ambassador, to authorize, swear to, and sign the said peace, as it was authorized, signed, and sworn to by the said doctor, our representative and ambassador, we ordered the said instrument of agreement and treaty of the said peace to be brought before us, in order that we might see and examine it. Its tenor, word for word, is as follows: In the name of God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, three persons really distinct and separate, and one sole divine essence. Be manifest and publicly known to all who shall see it this public instrument of confirmation and agreement, revision, and rectification of perpetual peace which [was made] in the year of the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, 1479, on the fourth day of the month of September, in the city of Alcacobas, in the houses where the very illustrious infanta, Dona Beatrice, was lodging, in the presence of me, the notary public and general, below named, and of the undersigned witnesses, and being there the honorable and prudent doctor, Rodrigo Maldonado, oidor of the audiencia and member of the council of the very exalted and very powerful lord and lady, Don Ferdinand and Dona Isabella, king and queen of Castile, Leon, Aragon, Sicily, Toledo, Valencia, Galicia, Majorca, Seville, Sardinia, Cordova, Corsica, Murcia, Jaen, the Algarve, Algeciras, and Gibraltar, count and countess of Barcelona, lord and lady of Biscay and Molina, duke and duchess of Athens and Neopatras, count and countess of Roussillon and Cerdagne, marquis and marchioness of Oristano and Gociano, member of their council, and their ambassador and representative qualified to act in what is below written, and the honorable Dom Joao da Silveira, baron d'Alvito member of the council of the very exalted and very http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/modeur/sppo01.htm powerful lord, Dom Alfonso, by the grace of God, king of Portugal and the Algarves on this side and beyond the sea in Africa, private secretary to the king, inspector of the treasury, chancellor- in-chief of his firstborn son, the very illustrious prince, Dom John, heir of the said kingdoms and lordships, and qualified representative of the said lords of the other part-as both showed by the procurations of their constituents the said lords. [Here follow the powers granted by Ferdinand and Isabella to Rodrigo Maldonado, dated July a, 1479, and the powers granted by King Alfonso and Prince John, his son, to Joao, baron d'Alvito, dated August I9, 1479. The ratification then continues :] And thereupon the said representative of the said lord and lady, Don Ferdinand and Dona Isabella, king and queen of Castile, Aragon, etc., declared that inasmuch as since the death of the lord king Don Henry of glorious memory, former king of Castile, Leon, etc., there have been and are at present serious disputes, questions, discussions, and differences between his constituents, the said lord and lady of the one part, and the said representative of the said lords, the king and prince, of the other part, because the said lord and lady, King Don Ferdinand and Queen Dona Isabella called themselves king and queen of Castile, Leon, Portugal, and the Algarves, etc., and the said lord, King Dom Alfonso, called himself king of Castile, Leon, etc., which furnished the chief cause for very serious and very cruel wars that were waged here during the said time between the said lords, and from which resulted the deaths of many men, conflagrations, fires, innumerable acts of violence, imprisonments, ransoms and other injuries, offenses of different kinds, the capture of cities, towns, villages, and fortresses, many losses and injuries, waste and expenses, and intolerable evils, to the great disservice of God our Lord and of the said lords, and grave injury and detriment to the said their kingdoms and lordships, and the subjects and natives of the latter (and may this now be adjusted by our Lord, through His infinite goodness and clemency, as the Author of peace, for He always recommended and ordered that peace be procured and kept) and the said lady, Infanta Dona Beatrice, for His service and that of the said lord and lady, because of her relationship and great obligations toward them, tried and endeavored with all her might to obtain peace and harmony between them, and will set in motion and make use of any means whatsoever to free them from the said disputes and differences, and wars and evils, and cause agreement and peace between them-the said lord and lady, moved with zeal for the service of God and for the public welfare of the said kingdoms and lordships, and the subjects and natives of them, and desirous of continuing the peace of their progenitors, the very fortunate kings of glorious memory, who had observed here an inviolable peace for themselves and for the said their kingdoms and lordships from very remote and ancient times, and in order to preserve the close relationship that exists between them, and the great love and harmony which reigned between themselves and the said their kingdoms before the said wars, and in order to avoid the occurrence of other evils and injuries from this time forward, and which are increasing daily, do determine to confirm, revise, and agree to, for themselves and their successors, and for the said their kingdoms and lordships, between them, the ancient peace, with certain new articles and conditions, which were necessary for the better keeping of it. Of that contract of the ancient peace, with the rectification, revision, and additions now newly made, the tenor is this which follows: [Here follows the ancient treaty of peace concluded in 1431 between John I. of Portugal and his son, the infante Dom Duarte, and the other infantes, and King John of Castile.] http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/modeur/sppo01.htm The articles which were newly made, added, and appended to this treaty of peace commence: . [8.] Moreover, the aforesaid King and Queen of Castile, Aragon, Sicily, etc., willed and resolved, in order that this peace be firm, stable, and everlasting, and promised, henceforth and forever, that neither of themselves nor by another, publicly or secretly, or by their heirs and successors, will they disturb, trouble, or molest, in fact or in law, in court or out of court, 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.