Geografía, geopolítica y derecho internacional. La expansión atlántica a finales de la Edad Media

Resumen

This article looks at Iberian Atlantic policy during the 15th and 16th centuries through the lens of geopolitics, at the same time taking geographical space and spatial imagination into account. Focusing on the Canary Islands and their geostrategic importance for Portugal and Castile it becomes clear, that the conquest of the archipelago can only be understood in the context of the exploration of Africa, new sea routes to India and the Reconquista. Above that, the article analyses to what extent geographic knowledge was instrumentalized for political purposes during this period. Despite an increasing importance of experience and geographic accuracy, the relativity of geographical locations in international politics is a constant from the Late Middle Ages to the Early Modern Period.