190 - Concerning the arguments that were discussed by the negotiators, and how they did not reach an agreement

Summary

The ambassadors, having returned to where they were staying, sent a written declaration to their Portuguese counterparts, which started as follows:

It seems right and fitting that, for all men, particularly kings who wish to proceed with establishing a relationship through affection, the disagreements and wars that exist or may exist between them be totally eliminated, so that they may reach clear peace through goodwill by rooting out the disagreements and eliminating whatever has caused danger in the past. Accordingly, negotiations aiming at agreements ought to be such and so fairly designed that where there is a just and reasonable request for amends to be made or rectifications introduced, these can reasonably and in fairness satisfy what is rightly being demanded. Therefore, in view of the bygone issues that have until now existed between Portugal and Castile, and recognising too that we, by the grace of God, are gathered here to negotiate a peace that, if it so please Him, will prove perpetual, it is right and proper, lest other issues should arise, to order matters so that all things are dealt with in good faith, and subject to fair and equitable treatment. Thus, the great lords who have ordered these negotiations may be bound together by a shared desire for peace and goodwill.

Furthermore, as the ambassadors of our liege lord the King of Castile, we propose to set aside many matters that could in all justice and fairness be demanded on his behalf, and indeed granted by the opposing party. This is, because the wishes of the king our liege lord, of the queen his mother and of Prince Fernando, as our king's tutors and guardians of his realm, who sent us here, are in every respect clear and honourable with regard to the peace process on which we are now embarked. Accordingly, we declare before you that for that peace to be firm as it should be between the king our liege lord and his Portuguese adversary, we deem the latter liable to concede and fulfil the following obligations: