Which of the following historical developments provides the best context for the treaty above?

(A) European maritime exploration (B) European engagement in the African slave trade (C) The Scientific Revolution (D) The Protestant ReformationExplanation: The Treaty of Tordesillas split the world and the territories discovered by Spain and Portugal in half. Eliminate (B) because the treaty mentions nothing about slaves. Eliminate (C) because the Scientific Revolution refers to a more systematized procedure for scientific discovery that the passage does not discuss. Eliminate (D) because the passage does not discuss Protestantism at all. Therefore, (A), European maritime exploration, is correct.