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Rh Third, the earlier bulls to Portugal, and Alexander's, formed the corner stone of the old colonial system with its rigorous monopoly of commerce for the mother country, from the evils of which the civilized world is not yet free.

Men now smile when they read or hear of the attempt of Alexander Sixth to divide the undiscovered world between Spain and Portugal, but what single act of any Pope in the history of the Church has exercised directly and indirectly a more momentous influence on human affairs than this last reminder of the bygone world sovereignty of the Holy See?