As is known, the development of colonial activity on the American continent aroused the interest of several European nations interested in strengthening their political and economic institutions. In fact, every inch of explored land in America meant the expansion of income and the sanitation of the various demands of a State. For this reason, we see between the 16th and 18th centuries the promotion of countless wars that tried to define the dominance of each European nation in the New World.
Despite the intense rivalry, we must also take into account the important role played by diplomacy in resolving various issues involving colonial activity. One of the most expressive examples of this type of situation took place during the 18th century, a period in which the limits of colonial exploitation between Spaniards and Portuguese were visibly modified by a series of eventualities.
Shortly before that, the limits primarily instituted by the signing of the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) had invalidated at the time the Spanish and Portuguese crowns were united through the Iberian Union (1580 - 1640). In the meantime, the development of various activities - such as Girl Scouting and missionary action Jesuit – urged the colonizers to disregard the limits officially agreed upon at the end of the XV century.
In practical terms, the disorder at the borders ended up tripling the areas economically occupied by representatives or individuals linked to Portuguese colonial activity. To resolve this impasse, the Iberian governments decided to use a new criterion that could redraw territorial boundaries without causing an eventual loss for each of the nations involved. From then onwards, the signing of the Treaty of Madrid, of 1750, took place.
According to this new agreement, the Portuguese and Hispanic colonial boundaries would be defined through the principle of “uti possidetis”. This idea, originally proposed by Alexandre de Gusmão - Brazilian, born in Santos but Portuguese ambassador, suggested that the boundaries of each territory were defined through an investigation that would indicate who first occupied a region. Although functional, this proposal caused some discontinuities between the domains of the Iberian nations.
The most delicate problem occurred in the southern region, where Spaniards explored regions with predominantly Portuguese colonization and vice versa. To define this imbroglio, the statesmen decided to give up a portion of their territories in favor of a more reasonable solution. With that, a clause was added to the treaty in which Portugal gave up the Colony of Sacramento and Spain handed over the region of the Sete Povos das Missões.
By Rainer Sousa
Graduated in History
Brazil School Team
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Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUSA, Rainer Gonçalves. "Treaty of Madrid"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiab/tratado-madri.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
