The Treaty of Tordesillas

"El Tratado de Tordesillas"
Spanish B1 writing exercise

Dive into history with The Treaty of Tordesillas, a pact that reshaped the world.

Pay attention to the hints!

Some vocabulary you may want to look up before or during this exercise: "New World", "colonizing", "conflict" and "to ensure".

Written by qualified Spanish expert Silvia Piriz BA
Last updated: 2024-03-12

I’ll give you some sentences to translate into Spanish

  • I’ll show you where you make mistakes
  • I’ll keep track of what you need to practise
  • Change my choices if you want
Start the exercise
How the test works
You’ll practise: El Pretérito Imperfecto, El Pretérito Indefinido, Aspecto imperfectivo

Here's a preview of the text for the writing challenge, when you're ready click the start button above:

The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed in 1494, divided the New World between Spain and Portugal. The imaginary line drawn in the Atlantic Ocean established what territories each country could colonize. Spain was granted rights over the territories west of the line, while Portugal obtained rights over the territories that were to the east. Pope Alexander VI promoted the signing of this treaty between the two colonizing powers of the time, and mediating it was not always easy. This agreement sought to avoid conflicts and ensure a fair distribution of the new lands found during the age of discovery. Of course, neither country made any provision for the claims of the indigenous people.

Thinking...