Treaty of Madrid (1750)

A 1750 agreement between Spain and Portugal that redrew boundaries between their South American territories, replacing the boundary framework of the Treaty of Tordesillas.

Uti possidetis: A principle that territorial possession should follow effective occupation. The treaty used possession on the ground to justify Portuguese claims beyond the older demarcation line.
Guaraní War: A 1754–1756 conflict between Indigenous Guaraní communities and Spanish-Portuguese forces over mission territories. Guaraní resistance to the treaty’s transfer of mission lands obstructed its implementation.
Treaty of Utrecht (1713): A series of agreements ending major European conflicts, including the War of the Spanish Succession. Its settlement of Spanish and Portuguese claims helped shape the diplomatic disputes Madrid later addressed.
Treaty of Badajoz (1801): A 1801 agreement ending the War of the Oranges between Spain and Portugal. Its settlement further altered Iberian claims in South America after Madrid’s boundary arrangement collapsed.
Treaty of Tordesillas: A 1494 agreement dividing newly claimed lands outside Europe between Spain and Portugal along a meridian. Madrid replaced the meridian-based division with boundaries drawn around actual settlement and occupation.
Treaty of El Pardo (1761): A 1761 agreement between Spain and Portugal that annulled the Treaty of Madrid. The new agreement reversed Madrid’s territorial settlement after conflict and failed boundary implementation.
Alexander de Gusmão: A Portuguese diplomat and statesman who helped negotiate the Treaty of Madrid. He was a leading architect of the treaty’s territorial settlement on Portugal’s behalf.
Treaty of Limits: A general name for agreements that define boundaries between states or territories. Madrid belongs to the long history of treaties that attempted to delimit colonial frontiers.
Amazon Basin: The drainage basin of the Amazon River, spanning much of northern South America. The treaty recognized extensive Portuguese claims in this region, where settlement had crossed the old boundary.
Treaty of San Ildefonso (1777): A 1777 agreement that settled territorial disputes between Spain and Portugal in South America. It established a later boundary arrangement after Madrid’s terms had been set aside.

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