Comments on: East meets West, where?

By: Nicolaas Vergunst

Nicolaas Vergunst — Wed, 21 May 2014 12:05:17 +0000

The meridian doesn't exist today, Deenanath, although Chile and Argentina recently used the Treaty of Tordesillas to claim their part of the Antarctic and Falklands, respectively. Until 1898 the treaty divided territories between Spain and Portugal, and thus shaped modern Latin America. However, already long before this other nations simply ignored the treaty and extended their colonial powers on both sides of the line: "If you can take it, even if it belongs to others, then its yours." This rule governed the expanding new world. Read further here: Treaty of Tordesillas.

By: Deenanath Patil

Deenanath Patil — Wed, 21 May 2014 11:03:51 +0000

Interesting, is it still in use today, the Treaty of Tordesillas?

By: Mike Golby

Mike Golby — Sat, 28 Dec 2013 09:28:32 +0000

That the Treaty of Tordesillas was signed in June 1494, a mere six years after Dias’s landing at the Cape, shows how fast history was moving.

By: Nicolaas Vergunst

Nicolaas Vergunst — Fri, 10 May 2013 09:30:40 +0000

West meets East in ‘Portugal, Jesuits, and Japan’ exhibition at Boston College’s McMullen Museum of Art. Click here for more images.

By: Rory Bester

Rory Bester — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 19:16:59 +0000

This is amazing.

By: Nicolaas Vergunst

Nicolaas Vergunst — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 16:02:28 +0000

Thank you, Edwin. From a proto-Dutch or Frisian perspective—as too for the Saxons, Franks and Galicians facing the ocean—the open sea was where the sun went each day and where the departed souls journeyed in the afterlife. Thus to the West, across the Atlantic, lay their future. Similarly, the modern Atlantic nations—Holland, England, France and Portugal—became great naval powers whose future lay across the Atlantic. Curiously, the Phoenicians had faced west too and pre-empted the Age of Discoveries. (KoS p.135)

By: Edwin Brooke Hoogerbrugge

Edwin Brooke Hoogerbrugge — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 23:32:55 +0000

Er is een vreemde versie van de Germaanse mythologie. In Nederland zijn er plaatsen die verwijzen naar deze mythologie, zoals Hellegatsplein, Hellegat, etc. Vanuit het Westland zouden de doden reizen naar Engeland.

By: Nicolaas Vergunst

Nicolaas Vergunst — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 09:53:04 +0000

Curiously, the Cape of Good Hope also served as a boundary for Portugal's Estado da Índia after the overseas empire had been established by Viceroy D’Almeida, the central character in Knot of Stone. It was at the Cape itself, on the western border of Almeida's realm, that the witches predicted his ill-fated death. See my reference to the witches of Cochin and their prophecy.

By: Edwin Brooke Hoogerbrugge

Edwin Brooke Hoogerbrugge — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 08:34:20 +0000

My apologies. I wanted to suggest the following. The Dutch divided their world into two parts. The East and the West. Het handelsgebied van de Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie strekte zich uit van Kaap de Goede Hoop tot Japan. Het handelsgebied van de WIC was gelegen tussen twee meridianen: als westgrens de meridiaan door de oostpunt van Nieuw-Guinea en als oostgrens de meridiaan van Kaap de Goede Hoop.

By: Nicolaas Vergunst

Nicolaas Vergunst — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 18:56:13 +0000

While your comments are of interest and appreciated, Edwin, they do not add to the specific content of this page. May I suggest you first read Knot of Stone or, at least, look at our homepage to inform yourself of the novel's historical scope and cultural perspective.

By: Edwin Brooke Hoogerbrugge

Edwin Brooke Hoogerbrugge — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 18:32:01 +0000

In Nederland had je de VOC (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie) en de WIC (West-Indische Compagnie).

By: Nicolaas Vergunst

Nicolaas Vergunst — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:27:25 +0000

I’m delighted to see you back on our page, Chitra, and to hear from you again. Glad you enjoyed our East-West story.

By: Chitra Ragulan

Chitra Ragulan — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:19:11 +0000

Very interesting to read. Thanks : )

By: Vineet (AmoAm)

Vineet (AmoAm) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:08:52 +0000

Great read… I especially liked your depiction of Table Mountain as Adamastor! Intriguing indeed how our history has progressed…

By: Esmoreit Lutters

Esmoreit Lutters — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 13:59:15 +0000

Your East meets West blog story gives a great overview for anyone interested in history and international relations. As a group of young film makers in Europe we have also explored this theme in a short video called the Mystery of Love. We like the animated Globaïa video and Finé's world map in the form of a heart! Esmoreit and Flore Lutters