The 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas meridian divided the world between the crowns of Portugal and of Spain. Pope Alexander VI (inset) | Illustration by Lencer via Wikimedia Creative Commons
Part III of the Ukraine Crisis
It appears that many of this column’s readers did not like the term “Federation of the United Nations of Five Countries” (F.U.N. Five), as used in Part II of this series. So, Dear Readers, how about making Ukraine the “Switzerland of East Europe and the Near East”? Perhaps the Russian Federation may tolerate such a designation as the “New Switzerland.” Maybe President Vladimir Putin will not raise any objection to the idea. And also stop his crimes against the people of Ukraine, which some of his critics dub as “genocide.”
Many people know where “East Europe” is found on maps. For most learned individuals, East Europe means the countries that lie in-between three bodies of water: the Baltic Sea (in the North), the Adriatic Sea (in the Southwest), and the Black Sea (in the Southeast).
But some people are lost if you ask them to locate the “Near East.” Or the “Middle East;” and the “Far East.”
When this columnist was studying in the Divine Word High School in now Sorsogon City (Philippines), Rev. Fr. Panfilo Gianan, SVD, (now deceased) was its rector and world-history teacher. He told his students how on June 7, 1494, Pope Alexander VI divided the world in half, bestowing the western portion on Spain and the eastern on Portugal. Pope Alexander VI published a bull, Inter caetera, to divide the New World between Spain and Portugal. It decreed that all lands west and south of a meridian line 100 leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde islands rightfully belonged to Spain. And thus, this writer wrote about one of the Gianan lectures on world history: The Term “Caucasian” Is a Historical Aberration.
“Pope Alexander VI divided the world in half, bestowing the western portion on Spain, and the eastern on Portugal. Pope Alexander VI published a bull, ‘Inter caetera’, to divide the New World between Spain and Portugal.”
Then Rector Gianan said that the Eastern part (meaning to the east of Turkey and east-south of the Caucasus Mountains) of the “New World,” as drawn by Pope Alexander VI, was in turn subdivided into three parts: 1) The Near East (parts of Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and other adjacent countries); 2) the Middle East (the Arab lands, Persia, which is now called Iran, Israel, Palestine, Iraq, and other nearby countries: 3) and the Far East (essentially the rest of the Asian continent and some Pacific Islands like the Philippines).
The “Caucasus” refers to the mountains and region lying between the Black Sea (west) and the Caspian Sea (east) and occupied by Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.
Rector Gianan cited more data. Like — as also mentioned in the National Geographic — the governments of Spain and Portugal agreed to the Treaty of Tordesillas, which divided their spheres of influence in the “New World” of the Americas.
“In my humble opinion, Ukraine can be the country in-between East Europe and the Near East. It may be the “New Switzerland,” which can become the land of neutrality.
The 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas neatly divided the “New World” (of the Americas) into Spain and Portugal’s land, resources, and people. The red vertical line cutting through eastern Brazil represents the divide. The treaty worked out well for the Spanish and Portuguese empires but less so for the 50 million people already living in established communities in the Americas.
Ukraine can be the country in-between East Europe and the Near East. It may be the “New Switzerland,” which can become the land of neutrality. And perhaps where the filthy rich clans and conglomerates can safely deposit their legally acquired wealth. It can be just like the “Old Switzerland” (of the Alps mountain range in the “Old World of Western Europe”). It can be the land of mediators and peacekeepers. In future cases of armed conflicts between the Russian Bloc and the NATO countries, Ukraine can shelter refugees and those that want no part of the war.
But then Ukraine has to be rebuilt first and restored to its condition before the present war between it and the Russian Federation, as aided by Belarus. The next segment of this series will discuss how to fund it.
