The town of Alcáçovas commemorated this Friday, September 4, the 547th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Peace of Alcáçovas-Toledo, one of the most important diplomatic agreements of the Early Modern period. The treaty was signed on September 4, 1479, at Paço dos Henriques, between the kingdoms of Portugal and Castile, ending the war of succession of Castile and establishing areas of influence for the expansion of the two crowns.
The agreement defined dominion over the seas through an imaginary line situated at the level of the 27th parallel, in the Canary Islands zone. Castile was left with the Canary Islands, while Portugal saw its dominion over Madeira, the Azores, Cape Verde, and the Guinea Coast recognized. The treaty preceded the later Treaty of Tordesillas and transformed Alcáçovas into a place of particular importance in the history of European diplomacy.
Paço dos Henriques, the space that preserves the memory of this historic event, was requalified and inaugurated on September 4, 2016, precisely 537 years after the signing of the treaty. Currently, the building houses the Tourist Office and a branch of the Municipal Library, also integrating the Jardim das Conchinhas, and is open to visitors from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 14:00 to 18:00, during summer hours.
