Portuguese Shipping Routes

Jesuits were quick to take advantage of the division of the known world decreed by the treaty of tordesias in 14 94. The portuguese padruato reau or the spanish patro nasco real, regulated all secular and ecclesiastical affairs in territories and colonies under their governments or spheres of influence. These shipping routes made it possible to send back to europe both letters and artifacts, some of which had never been seen before in rome, lisbon or madrid. They reflect the religious and cultural history of the early modern world and are regularly consulted by historians.