The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1899-04-18
LOST THE PHHIPPINES.
Il
HOW PORTUGAL WAS DEPRIVED OF
THE ISLANDS -BY3sPAlN.

Romantic Voyage Of Magellan Which
EcSnlted in Their Discovery - But fol-
an hcci;,en: They Might BRre Fallen
Inio the Hands of Great Britain.
We who see Portugal il the period
Of her decay aad almost total eclipse
cannot understand how so small q
nation, occupying so Insignificant a
portion Of Eurore, staonly a reranda .
as one Of her writer's has. said-should
cut so important figure in the
W rld's history as she did in the ff'
teenth and sixteenth centuries.
Early in the eleventh century Prince
Henry, "the navigator,s Of Portugal,
obtained from Pope Eucenius " a
bull which gave to Portugal all dis
coveries between Cape Hun, in Mo-
rocco, and India. In 14f2, St. Thomas
Annobon and Princes islands were
added. When the equator was passed
and Fernando Pc gave his name to an
island in the Blight Of Bisfra he seized
50J leagues of the African coast and
tie King OF Portugal took the title Of
'Lord Of Guinea" -
Very carly in the days of discovery
and conquest, toward tbs end Of the
fifteenth century, the most Catholic
scvcreigns of Spain, Ferdinand and
Isabella, and his equally Catholic
ma csty, John II of Portugal, fell out
about The ownership of land yet to be
discovered.
Like faithful children of the church
they referred the whole matter to the
Holy Father at Rome, Pope Alelan-
der VI, q SEaniard, sEho cut the
Gordiau knot tby giving t:len the earth
and setting the limits of their respec-
tive possessions. An imaginary line
was to b. drawn from pole to poe, 100
degrees west of the Azores or the
Cape de Verde Islands; all west Of
this island was to belong to Spain,
aud all east Of it to Portugal. King
John was not satisfied, and the treaty
of Tordeselhas was made in 1494, CIV
ing to Portugal all lands east Of an
imaginary line drawn $50 leagues
from the most western point of the
Cape de Verde islands and all south
Of the Cape of Good Hope. To Spain
was allotted all lands west of this line,
ignoring completely all other nations.
Fernando de Magalbaes, or, as we
as we write it, Ferdinand Magellan,
and Ruy Faleiro, both Portuguese sub;
jects, who had differences with their
king on account of soma petty pen.
Sions, offered their services to Spain.
Both had served two years with Al
buquerQue, and knew all about. the
Portuguese possessions in the east
Magellan represente5 to- Charlee-- = y y
-? i.a..-----. --...-Ar Ar,-c.opalE, that ne
was sure the world was round-a
theory then credited by few. He de-
clared his ability to find shorter
passage to the East than any known
to the Portuguese, and would prove
that the Moluccas, rich spice islands,
were within Spanish territory. Charles
= had small feet fitted out and sent
Magellan with his companion in
charge: we'll equipped for those days.
Ee went south against the express
supulations of the treaty and dlscor-
cred the straits which bear his name.
His fleet crossed the broad southern
pecan. passed the Ladrones, and the
then unknown philippines, inspected
the Moiuccas and returned by way OF
Cale Of Good Hope.
Magellan lost his life, and out of
i've vessels which comprised his fleet,
Only one returned, under the COM
mand Of Sebastian del Cano, who
brought Magellan's written report Of
the expedition and map of the route,
showing that all OF the spice islands
and the whole of the Indian ocean
we're within the 1S0 degrees belong
ing to Spain under the treaty of Tor.
dcse;has. In the map Magellan had
deliberately cut 20 degrees of longl-
tute and brought the whole archipela-
go within Spain's half of the world.
He concealed the fact that the number
of miles in q degree Of longitude de-
creases towards the pole. ~--. '
Portugal protested and declared war,
which continued two years, when the
celebrated Congress of Notabilities"
was held in a small frontier town to
discuss the matter and discover the
real facts. Portugal was at mani
fest disadvantage. Magellan was tie
first and only man who had sailed
around the world, and his map Of the
southern seas was the only document
extant. Spain refused to give up her
alleged rights and Portugal held on to
the islands. The matter was finally
compromised by an indemnity of 25o.
900 cruzados of the gold of Molucca,
which Portugal paid to Spain for the
supposed Al 10 degrees OF Spanish
sea which she held. \ new line was
drawn frome pole to pole, starting
from the La trones. This division
gave to Portugal all west and south of
tue line, which was supposedto be 1o0
degrees from the other'line drawn,
36j leagues west of Cape de Verde.
This treaty was approved by Pope
Julian II in the bull, Ea que pro bono
paciS, and the matter was set.le1
Years afterwards Spanish eIpedi-
ton discovered the Philippines, so
named after Philip il, who as then
King Of Spain. These islands. though
many degrees within Portugal's line,
were taken possession Of by Spain.
Portugal protested, and would un-
doubtedIy have obtained possession
of them lad it not been for the disas-
ter to the Portuguese arms in Africa,
which threw Portugal into the hands
of Spain. where she remained for
sixty years. This period is known in
Portuguese history as the "oixty