Show papal error that cost spain much territory king solomon offered to alide a small boy to whom two women laid claim and won a great reputation for wisdom by so doing pope alexander VI born roderick borgia actually did divide the world and got no special credit for it even in his own day ite he was an abler administrator a more versatile politician a more farsighted statesman a greater patron of the arts and sciences and a much better friend to the common people than was the hebrew mona monarch reb and about all the good it did him vasco da gama had rou rounded tided the cape of good hope to give portugal a foothold in india columbus had sailed west to discover what might prove to be a new continent and lie he represented spain it was inevitable that there should be conflicting claims and perfectly natural that the rival rulers should turn to tile pope as the logical umpire alexander did not find the problem difficult for generations the portuguese had been sailing southward along the est african coast and their claims were obviously to be preferred along the routes they followed the spaniards through their genoese agent as nt had found land in the west what was easier than to draw a line from north to south on oil the map and let the broad atlantic separate the new dominions of the chills every one w was as happy it was seven years before the por for 1 discovered that brazil studs stuck out so BO far to eastward that it crossed the popes line and that the holy father had glien ghen them far more mora than they had dreamed of they were quick to colonize and that la Is now how brazil speaks portuguese guese to this day although every other latin american land prefers spanish cleveland plain dealer |