South America: Spanish and Portuguese empires

Spanish and Portuguese empires ; The Spanish crown claimed sovereignty over all American territory to the west of the line laid down at the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494, while Portugal was given the territory to the east. This formed the basis of the two empires. In practice, however, Spanish wealth in South America was concentrated in Peru, while the Portuguese empire extended across the line along the Amazon and into the Mato Grosso region to the south.