thumb|left|Dutch map of the Moluccas (north is at right) Initially, the line of demarcation did not encircle the earth. Instead, Spain and Portugal could conquer any new lands they were the first to discover, Spain to the west and Portugal to the east, even if they passed each other on the other side of the globe.Edward Gaylord Bourne, "Historical Introduction", in Blair. But Portugal's discovery of the highly valued Moluccas in 1512 caused Spain to argue in 1518 that the Treaty of Tordesillas divided the earth into two equal hemispheres. After the surviving ships of Magellan's fleet visited the Moluccas in 1521, Spain claimed that those islands were within its western hemisphere. The Treaty of Vitoria, negotiated between Spain and Portugal on 19 February 1524, called for the Junta of Badajoz to meet in an attempt to reach an agreement on the anti-meridian, which ultimately failed.Emma Helen Blair, The Philippine Islands, 1493–1803, part 2 It was finally agreed in the Treaty of Zaragoza (or Saragossa), signed on 22 April 1529, that Spain would relinquish its claims to the Moluccas upon the payment of 350,000 ducats of gold by Portugal to Spain. To prevent Spain from encroaching upon Portugal's Moluccas, the anti-meridian was to be leagues or 17° to the east of the Moluccas, passing through the islands of Las Velas and Santo Thome.Emma Helen Blair, The Philippine Islands, 1493–1803, part 3 This distance is slightly smaller than the 300 leagues determined by Magellan as the westward distance from los Ladrones to the Philippine island of Samar, which is just west of due north of the Moluccas.
thumb|left|Dutch map of the Moluccas (north is at right) Initially, the line of demarcation did not encircle the earth. Instead, Spain and Portugal could conquer any new lands they were the first to discover, Spain to the west and Portugal to the east, even if they passed each other on the other side of the globe.Edward Gaylord Bourne, "Historical Introduction", in Blair But Portugal's discovery of the highly valued Moluccas in 1512 caused Spain to argue in 1518 that the Treaty of Tordesillas divided the earth into two equal hemispheres. After the surviving ships of Magellan's fleet visited the Moluccas in 1521, Spain claimed that those islands were within its western hemisphere. The Treaty of Vitoria, negotiated between Spain and Portugal on 19 February 1524, called for the Junta of Badajoz to meet in an attempt to reach an agreement on the anti-meridian, which ultimately failed.Emma Helen Blair, The Philippine Islands, 1493–1803, part 2 It was finally agreed in the Treaty of Zaragoza (or Saragossa), signed on 22 April 1529, that Spain would relinquish its claims to the Moluccas upon the payment of 350,000 ducats of gold by Portugal to Spain. To prevent Spain from encroaching upon Portugal's Moluccas, the anti-meridian was to be leagues or 17° to the east of the Moluccas, passing through the islands of Las Velas and Santo Thome.Emma Helen Blair, The Philippine Islands, 1493–1803, part 3 This distance is slightly smaller than the 300 leagues determined by Magellan as the westward distance from los Ladrones to the Philippine island of Samar, which is just west of due north of the Moluccas.