<Articles>Sciences and Politics on the Demarcacion : the case of the Moluccas question

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  • <論説>世界分割の科学と政治 : 「モルッカ問題」をめぐって
  • 世界分割の科学と政治--「モルッカ問題」をめぐって
  • セカイ ブンカツ ノ カガク ト セイジ モルッカ モンダイ オ メグッテ

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The spices from South Asia, especially cloves and nutmegs, were most attractive to the Europeans in the age of discovery. The Portuguese arrived at the Molucca Islands, the only natural home of cloves, for the first time around the end of 1512. However, the Spanish squadron commanded by Magellan (and after his death by Del Cano) called at the Moluccas in November of 1521, and the surviving ship of the squadron, the Victoria, arrived back home with cloves after its circumnavigation of the globe on September 6, 1522. This brought about the "Moluccas Question" between the Spanish crown and the Portuguese. The matter was referred to the Spanish-Portuguese joint council at Badajoz-Elvas from April 11 to May 31, 1524. The council was divided into two committees, one consisting of astronomers and navigators to discuss the conflicting claims to the Moluccas in relation to the treaty of the Demarcacion, the other consisting of jurists to discuss the legal status of its occupation. These committees failed reach agreement on the scientific and lagal issues. U.S. Lamb insisted that the council had the potential to produce great scientific achievements and that there was "a large area of agreement" overriding politics at least among the members of the scientific committee. In this article I examine the discussions in close detail, focussing on the common ground concerning the understanding of the Demarcacion within the scientific committee and on the politicization of its discussions. In conclusion the common understanding had a dual aspect, a superficial one advantageous to Spain but also deeper one of which it is difficult to judge to whom it was more advantageous, for which reason agreement was not forthcoming. Moreover it had a political substructure, the idea of the "Antimeridian", which shut the door to another understanding of the Demarcacion. Despite Lamb's view, the scientific committee and its advisers were indeed heavily influenced by politics.

Journal

  • 史林

    史林 75 (6), 829-864, 1992-11-01

    THE SHIGAKU KENKYUKAI (The Society of Historical Research), Kyoto University

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