1494: From the Discovery of Christopher Columbus to the Treaty of Tordesillas (Collection) Facsimile Edition

This collection includes the following documents:

1.

Columbus Cristopher: Epistolae de insulis Indie super Gangem nuper inventis (Of the islands of India recently discovered beyond the Ganges). Letter from Christopher Columbus sent to the Castilian court on March 4, 1493, where he describes to the kings the journey of his voyage and his marvelous discoveries in the Caribbean.

Incunable print in Rome: Printing press of Stephen Plannck, 1493. Latin.

Biblioteca de Catalunya

2.

February 15, 1493. Canary Islands.

Letter from Christopher Columbus, Admiral of the Ocean Sea, written while aboard his caravel and sent to Luis Santangel, “escribano de ración” of the Council of Aragon and his lender, where he extols his discoveries and claims to have found a second Paradise. Originally accompanied by another missive that was to be delivered to the monarchs, which is preserved in the General Archive of Simancas (Spain). The back is marked "De las yslas halladas en las Yndias" (Of the islands found in the Indies).

Incunable print in Barcelona: Printing press of Pere Posa, 1493. Spanish.

New York Public Library, Office of Special Collections, Fundación Lenox

3.

February 15, 1493. Canary Islands.

Letter from Christopher Columbus addressed to the Castilian court, describing his discoveries in the New World. Contains four pioneering woodcut engravings of America: one representing Columbus about to disembark before a group of natives; the second is a caravel with its sails deployed sailing through the Antilles; another depicts the stern of a ship crossing the ocean, and a fourth shows the construction of a coastal city.

Incunable print in Basel (Switzerland): Printing press of Jakob Wolff, 1493. Latin.

John Carter Brown Library (Providence, Rhode Island)

4.

July 2, 1494. Arevalo (Segovia).

Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Portugal ratify the Treaty of Tordesillas agreed upon in Tordesillas on June 7, 1494, whereby both crowns divide the areas of influence of overseas navigation, as well as the exploration and conquest of the New World.

Manuscript. Original. Portuguese. Autograph signatures of the Castilian sovereigns.

Portugal, Archivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo (Losboa), gaveta 17, manuscrito 2, n. 24

5.

September 5, 1494. Setúbal (Portugal).

John II of Portugal ratifies the capitulations signed in Tordesillas on June 7, 1494, between the Catholic Monarchs and King John II of Portugal, negotiated by the ambassadors of both sovereigns, which contemplate the new demarcation line between both Crowns, which from pole to pole would be located 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Archipelago. Autograph signature of John II of Portugal.

Manuscript. Original. Portuguese. Autograph signature of John II of Portugal.

Spain, Archivo General de Indias (Sevilla), Patronato, leg. 1, n. 6, registro 1

6.

May 3, 1493. Torres Vedras (Portugal).

Letter from John II, king of Portugal, of the Algarves, "on this side and beyond the sea in Africa" and lord of Guinea, addressed to Ferdinand the Catholic, king of Castile, of Aragon, of Sicily and of Granada, informing him about the arrival of Admiral Christopher Columbus from Overseas to the port of Lisbon and announcing the sending of the knight Rui de Sande as envoy to negotiate important diplomatic matters.

Manuscript. Original. Portuguese.

Spain, Archivo Histórico de la Nobleza (Toledo), Villagonzalo, cp. 553, doc 10

7.

1493, May 23. Torres Vedras (Portugal).

Message letter from John II, king of Portugal, to Ferdinand II of Aragon and V of Castile, agreeing to halt for two months the departure of Portuguese caravels to the lands discovered by Christopher Columbus, giving time for his envoys to arrive for negotiations and "well establish and delimit the seas, islands and lands" of both kingdoms.

Manuscript. Original. Portuguese.

Spain, Archivo Histórico de la Nobleza (Toledo), Villagonzalo, cp. 553, doc 8