Lara Barnett (asker) Jan 23, 2022:

@ Muriel Thank you for your assistance, but I also have no wish for a discussion on my own question, when I have a job to complete for my client. However you seem to have misunderstood my use of the term structure, and also lost the thread of why I posted those links. I was certainly not comparing dividing lines as you seem to think. I was merely indicating to you how you had misunderstood my usage of the term "structure".
I am sorry if you did not understand my language usage, but if you consider the context around the rest of the paragraph, you may start to understand what I meant (I.e.the relevance is found either side of the line ).
Thank you for help, and once again, I am sorry if my figurative use of language has either confused or offended you, as seems to be the case.

Muriel Vasconcellos Jan 23, 2022:

@Lara I didn't really want to continue this discussion, but I think I need to point out that a straight line doesn't have a structure. The historic importance of the Treaty is that the line was absolutely straight, leading to a vast unexpected outcome. I hope you have looked at the map links that I posted. By contrast, the Ukrainian border wiggles all over the place; in fact, the article you cite refers to a line of fortresses, not the border itself. Your second example refers to the command structure of an Army division, which is composed of 3 or 4 brigades (about 10,000 servicemen). Please, let's both move on.

Lara Barnett (asker) Jan 23, 2022:

@ Muriel I think you have lost the thread of my conversation, I used the term to explain m usage of "structure", which you said you also did not understand. In the meantime, please see this article where you might begin to understand this figurative use of the word "structure". In the meantime, I need to get back to my translation and respective kudoz question. (basically I was using structure figuratively and not technically, so I apologise for confusing you.)

"Structure of the line"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_line#Structure_of_th...

https://www.waterlooassociation.org.uk/2016/06/15/pictons-di...
"This study looks at the STRUCTURE OF THE DIVISION from its famous commander downwards, through the Brigade and battalion officers to the regiments themselves, examining the command structure of such a formation. "

Lara Barnett (asker) Jan 23, 2022:

@ Muriel I used the word structure to describe the plan. I am aware that we are not talking about something that is built up and I did not suggest using the term "structure" in my choice of Kudoz term. This was a passing comment to describe the formation/shape of the line, which in this case happens to be case (i.e. I was using it figuratively). I am sorry if you did not understand what I meant.

Muriel Vasconcellos Jan 23, 2022:

@Lara Let's look at it this way: A dividing line doesn't create a 'structure'. If you slice a pizza down the middle, have you created a structure? I think you're adding a layer that doesn't exist.
I envy you this assignment! My husband was a Brazilian historian and historic preservationist. He used to give lectures about the Treaty of Tordesillas.

Muriel Vasconcellos Jan 22, 2022:

@Lara That seems odd to me and off-point. If I were reading the translation, I wouldn't understand what you meant. I offered some synonyms in my answer. One of them was 'partition'. In the first map link I sent you, you can see that the Treaty divided the entire world, including the seas, into two big slices. It's a matter of slices with no structure whatsoever.

Lara Barnett (asker) Jan 22, 2022:

@ Muriel Thank you for the information.
For your information, I was referring to the division/boundary when I said structuring. Sorry, maybe I should have just said line, but I was referring to the point it was placed with regards to the structure of Iberian land one side and Portuguese American the other.

Lara Barnett (asker) Jan 22, 2022:

@ Muriel Structuring is just a way of describing the organisation or plan of land, although this was obviously how it was imagined at the time. (i.e. in this case the structure would have been vertical or an edge or whatever).

Muriel Vasconcellos Jan 22, 2022:

@Lara If you want synonyms for 'division', I have listed a few in my answer below.

Muriel Vasconcellos Jan 22, 2022:

@Lara Another term might be 'territorial demarcation'. See this link:
https://vividmaps.com/spain-portugal-divided-world/

Below are two more links to maps showing how arbitrary the line was. Much of it covers open ocean.
https://crossingtheoceansea.com/OceanSeaPages/OS-64-Tordesil...
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/173740498098312164/

Muriel Vasconcellos Jan 22, 2022:

@Lara I don't understand what you mean by 'land structuring'. The Treaty of Tordesillas drew a straight vertical line: "a meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands, off the west coast of Africa. That line of demarcation was about halfway between the Cape Verde islands (already Portuguese) and the islands entered by Christopher Columbus on his first voyage (claimed for Castile and León)" Meridians run vertically from the North Pole to the South Pole. The signatories were unaware that a whole continent lay to the south and east. Take a ruler and look at the line on the map and you're have a better understanding of how it went and its future implications.

Lara Barnett (asker) Jan 22, 2022:

Line/Boundary Yes, as Muriel says, I am looking for a way that best expresses the line/division being described, within the phrasing given. Distribution and further events will certainly result from this land structuring, but does not exactly describe the term used in this part of the paragraph/sentence.
Barbara seems to have picked up on the nuance I was looking for because this relates to both the "cutting up" of land and the social administrative consequences.

Mario Freitas Jan 22, 2022:

@ Muriel Yes, dear, I was only adding to your story :)

Muriel Vasconcellos Jan 21, 2022:

@Mario Correct. But that doesn't affect the translation, which is simply referring to the line dividing up the territory between the two Iberian powers, ultimately/finally/definitively enshrined in the Treaty of Tordesillas/Tordesilhas. It was lucky for Portugal that no one knew how large the continent is!

Mario Freitas Jan 21, 2022:

Before Tordesillas Indeed, Muriel. But before that, there was the "Bula Papal" (Bula Inter Coetera), before they had any idea of the size of South America, and thought it was only an island, whose line was in the middle of the Atlantic and left almost nothing to Portugal. The powerful Portugal of that time complained thoroughly, until they started to discuss the new Tordesillas Treaty. Otherwise, Brazil would have been a Spanish colony, as well as the entire South America. Too bad they didn't give a slice to England, France or Holland. We'd certainly be a bit better off today :)

Muriel Vasconcellos Jan 21, 2022:

Treaty of Tordesillas This is a reference to the treaty that drew a line dividing up the land in South America between Spain and Portugal. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Tordesillas

Mario Freitas Jan 21, 2022:

@ Lara Ok, I changed it to History. Please let me know if you want something else :)

Lara Barnett (asker) Jan 21, 2022:

@ Mario I am happy for this to be changed also, but I have no idea the best place for it. I think History is more relevant than Geography, but even so there may be something better than that - maybe some kind of society-based field?

Mario Freitas Jan 21, 2022:

@ Lara IMO, General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters is not the best field for this question. Could we change it to History or even Geography?