The Asia-Pacific at the JCBL

Books by Spanish Authors

In 1493 following Columbus's discovery of a New World and Bartolomeu Dias's passage around the Cape Peninsula of Africa, Pope Alexander VI divided the Atlantic—hence the world in 15th-century cartography—between the two Iberian empires, with Portugal taking the eastern half and Spain the western.  Ultimately, this division, which was reinforced in successive treaties, "gave" the Pacific Ocean to the Spanish.  With the growth of New Spain and its vast Pacific coastline, it was not long before the Spanish were navigating the Mar del Sur, South Sea, establishing Manila as its eastern capital in 1564.  Although the Portuguese were navigating the coastal regions of the East Asian from the Spice Islands to Japan, and had a thriving settlement in Macau, the Spanish dominated the Pacific Ocean. They also came to dominate publishing on the Pacific region in the 16th century. 
Spanish(author)