THE EARLIEST DIPLOMATIC DOCUMENTS ON AMERICA. THE PAPAL BULLS OF 1493 AND THE TREATY OF TORDESILLAS...

Berlin: Paul Gottschalk, 1927.. 89pp. plus 130 facsimiles. Folio. Original half vellum and brown cloth, gilt-lettered spine. Covers slightly bowed, boards a bit stained. Light foxing. Very good. In a plain dust jacket. From an edition limited to 172 copies, 150 of which were offered for sale. A very important guide for understanding the early diplomacy and exploration of the Americas. The four Bulls issued by Pope Alexander VI in 1493, as well as the Treaty of Tordesillas between Spain and Portugal of 1494, set the course for the early division of exploration of the New World and Asia. As a result of the "lines of demarcation" drawn between the two nations, Portugal was given rights to most of Asia but was confined to Brazil in the Americas, while Spain was given free rein in nearly all of North and South America. Gottschalk provides historical introductions to each of the documents, and reproduces the four Bulls and the Treaty in full-size facsimiles. Also included are facsimiles of three early maps showing the line of demarcation with regard to New World exploration. Gottschalk differs with the estimable Frances Davenport, who identifies pre-Columbian papal bulls of 1455, 1456, and 1481, as having a theoretical relationship to the future discovery and exploration in the Americas. Despite that disagreement this work, giving full facsimiles and historical context for the four earliest diplomatic documents relating directly to the Americas, is a very valuable source. DAVENPORT 5,6,7,8,9 (ref).