Cesare Borgia

Cesare Borgia (13 September 1475 – 13 March 1507) was an Italian Renaissance figure whose life bridged the worlds of church, war, and ruthless statecraft. Born in Subiaco in the Papal States, he was the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI and a central member of the powerful Borgia family. Initially destined for a career in the Catholic Church, Cesare later abandoned the cardinalate to pursue military and political power, becoming one of the most formidable condottieri of his age. His rise and fall would later inspire Niccolò Machiavelli’s political theories in The Prince.

Early Life

Cesare was born to Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia (later Pope Alexander VI) and Vannozza dei Cattanei. Like many Renaissance nobles, his exact birth year is disputed, though 1475 is most commonly accepted. He grew up alongside his siblings Giovanni, Lucrezia, and Gioffre Borgia, within a family that combined Spanish roots with immense influence in Italy.

The Borgias had risen rapidly in the 15th century, culminating in Rodrigo’s election as pope in 1492. Unlike most popes, Alexander VI openly acknowledged his children, clearing the way for Cesare’s rapid advancement.

Church Career and Resignation

Educated in Perugia, Pisa, and Rome, Cesare was groomed for ecclesiastical power from a young age. He became bishop and archbishop of several dioceses while still a teenager and was made a cardinal at just eighteen. Despite these honors, he had little interest in a clerical life.

The assassination of his brother Giovanni in 1497—under circumstances that remain mysterious—marked a turning point. With Giovanni gone, Cesare was free to pursue the military career he had long desired. In 1498, he resigned from the cardinalate, an extraordinary act at the time, and was formally released from his religious obligations.

Military and Political Rise

With the backing of his father and the support of France, Cesare entered the Italian Wars as a professional commander. King Louis XII granted him the title Duke of Valentinois, earning him the nickname Il Valentino. Cesare used French troops and papal authority to dismantle semi-independent lordships in central Italy, particularly in Romagna and the Marche.

Through conquest, betrayal, and calculated terror, he captured cities including Imola, Forlì, Rimini, Faenza, Urbino, and Camerino. By 1501 he had been named Duke of Romagna, ruling a newly consolidated state. While ruthless, his governance was often more orderly and effective than that of the petty tyrants he replaced.

One of his most infamous acts occurred in 1502, when he lured disloyal mercenary captains to a meeting in Senigallia and had them arrested and executed—an event later praised by Machiavelli as a masterstroke of political deception.

Decline After Alexander VI

Cesare’s power depended heavily on papal support. When Alexander VI died in 1503, Cesare was gravely ill and unable to secure his position during the papal transition. Although briefly supported by Pope Pius III, Cesare was soon undermined by the election of Pope Julius II, a longtime enemy of the Borgias.

Stripped of his territories and allies, Cesare was arrested in Naples, imprisoned in Spain, and transferred between fortresses. In 1506, he escaped and entered the service of the King of Navarre.

Death

In 1507, while besieging the castle of Viana in Navarre, Cesare pursued enemy troops during a storm and rode into an ambush. He was killed by a spear at the age of 31. His body was stripped and left nearly naked, a grim end for a man who had once dominated central Italy.

Burial and Legacy

Cesare was initially buried with honors in Viana, but his tomb was later destroyed, and his remains were moved multiple times over the centuries due to political and religious hostility. Today, he lies outside the Church of Santa María in Viana beneath a simple memorial stone.

Machiavelli and Historical Reputation

Cesare Borgia occupies a unique place in political thought. Machiavelli, who observed him firsthand, admired his decisiveness, strategic brilliance, and willingness to use cruelty when necessary. In The Prince, Cesare is presented as a model ruler undone not by lack of skill, but by misfortune and dependence on his father’s papacy.

Historians remain divided. Some view him as a proto-modern statesman; others see him as a symbol of Renaissance brutality. Either way, Cesare Borgia remains one of the most compelling—and controversial—figures of his era.

Personal Life

In 1499, Cesare married Charlotte of Albret, sister of the King of Navarre, with whom he had one legitimate daughter, Louise Borgia. He also fathered numerous illegitimate children. Contemporary accounts describe him as charismatic, volatile, tireless, and intensely ambitious—capable of charm and generosity one moment, and merciless violence the next.

Pope Alexander VI (Italian: Alessandro VI; Valencian: Alexandre VI; Spanish: Alejandro VI), born Roderic Llançol i de Borja around 1431 and later known as Rodrigo Borgia, served as pope from 1492 until his death in 1503. He was both head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States during the height of the Renaissance.

Born in Xàtiva, in the Kingdom of Valencia under the Crown of Aragon, Rodrigo came from the influential Borja (Borgia) family. He adopted his mother’s surname after the election of his uncle, Alonso de Borja, as Pope Callixtus III in 1455. Rodrigo studied law at the University of Bologna, earning a reputation as an outstanding jurist.

His uncle’s papacy accelerated his rise. Ordained deacon and made a cardinal in 1456, Rodrigo was appointed vice-chancellor of the Catholic Church a year later—a powerful and lucrative post he held for 35 years, serving under four popes. During this time, he amassed considerable wealth and influence within the Roman Curia.

In 1492, Rodrigo was elected pope and took the name Alexander VI. His pontificate was marked by assertive diplomacy, family advancement, and controversy. In 1493, his papal bulls—most notably Inter caetera—confirmed Spanish claims to newly discovered lands in the Americas following Christopher Columbus’s voyages, laying groundwork for the Treaty of Tordesillas.

Alexander VI pursued a foreign policy aimed largely at strengthening the position of his family. He supported his son Cesare Borgia as a military commander (condottiero), particularly during the Italian wars, and used papal authority to secure titles, lands, and advantageous marriages for his children.

He remains one of the most controversial Renaissance popes. Unlike many predecessors, Alexander openly acknowledged several children born to his mistresses, including Cesare, Giovanni, Lucrezia, and Gioffre. As a result, the name Borgia became synonymous with nepotism, political ambition, and moral excess, traits often associated—fairly or not—with his reign.

Despite scandal and opposition from reformers such as Girolamo Savonarola, Alexander VI proved to be an effective administrator who strengthened papal control over the Papal States and navigated the volatile politics of Renaissance Italy. He died in 1503, leaving behind a legacy that continues to fascinate historians for its blend of power, corruption, and statecraft.

Christopher Columbus (born sometime between August 25 and October 31, 1451; died May 20, 1506) was an Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who led four Spanish-sponsored voyages across the Atlantic. Backed by Spain’s Catholic Monarchs, his expeditions helped open the way for sustained European exploration and colonization of the Americas. They are also the earliest well-documented European voyages to the Caribbean and to parts of Central and South America.

“Christopher Columbus” is the English form of the Latin Christophorus Columbus. Raised along the Ligurian coast, he went to sea young and traveled widely—north to the British Isles and south to West Africa (in what is now Ghana). He lived for years in Lisbon and married the Portuguese noblewoman Filipa Moniz Perestrelo, with whom he had a son, Diego. Later, he had a relationship with Beatriz Enríquez de Arana in Castile; they had a son, Ferdinand.

Mostly self-taught, Columbus studied geography, astronomy, and history and became convinced he could reach the East Indies by sailing west, aiming to profit from the spice trade. After years of lobbying European courts, he finally won support from Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II. In August 1492 he sailed from Castile with three ships and made landfall in the Americas on October 12, reaching an island in today’s Bahamas called Guanahani by its Indigenous inhabitants. He then traveled to Cuba and Hispaniola and helped establish a colony in what is now Haiti. Returning to Spain in early 1493, he brought captive Indigenous people and news that quickly spread across Europe.

Over three later voyages, Columbus explored additional Caribbean islands, reached Trinidad and the northern coast of South America, and sailed along the eastern coast of Central America. He called the peoples he encountered indios (“Indians”), and it remains unclear how fully he understood that these lands were separate from Asia; he never clearly abandoned his belief that he had reached the Far East. As governor in the Spanish colonies, he faced accusations of severe brutality and misrule, was arrested, and was removed from Hispaniola in 1500. His disputes with the Castilian Crown dragged on in court for years, including lawsuits pursued by his heirs.

Columbus’s voyages marked the start of centuries of conquest and colonization and intensified exchange between the Old World and New World—later termed the Columbian Exchange. At the same time, disease, enslavement, and violent exploitation devastated Caribbean Indigenous communities, especially the Taíno, contributing to Columbus’s deeply contested legacy.

Santa María

Santa María de la Inmaculada Concepción, commonly known as Santa María, was the largest of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus during his first transatlantic voyage in 1492. Originally named La Gallega, the ship was owned and mastered by Juan de la Cosa and served as the expedition’s flagship under the patronage of the Spanish Crown.

Overview

• Type: Carrack (nau)

• Owner & Master: Juan de la Cosa

• Launched: c. 1460

• Displacement: ~150 metric tons

• Crew: ~40

• Armament: 4 bombards, culebrinas

• Fate: Ran aground and wrecked, 25 December 1492

History

Built in Pontevedra, Galicia, Santa María was a medium-sized commercial vessel with three masts and a single deck approximately 62 feet (19 m) long. Contemporary sources described her as slightly over 100 tons burthen, making her larger than Columbus’s other ships, Niña and Pinta, which were both smaller caravel-type merchant vessels.

Although none of the three ships were purpose-built for exploration, all were typical of late 15th-century Iberian coastal and Atlantic trade. Based on archaeological comparisons with similar wrecks from the period, Santa María’s estimated dimensions were approximately 19 m in overall length, 12.6 m keel length, and 5–6 m beam.

Shipwreck

On the night of 24 December 1492, while returning from the New World, Santa María ran aground on a sandbank near present-day Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, on the island of Hispaniola. With Columbus asleep, the ship was under the control of a cabin boy when currents pushed her onto the shoal. She was declared beyond repair and broke apart the following day.

Columbus ordered the salvage of her timbers, which were used to construct Fort La Navidad near modern Limonade. Santa María carried several anchors; one is preserved today at the Musée du Panthéon National Haïtien in Port-au-Prince.

In 2014, explorer Barry Clifford announced the discovery of the wreck, but a subsequent UNESCO investigation concluded that the remains dated to the 17th or 18th century and could not be Santa María.

Crew

Contrary to popular legend, the crew was not made up of criminals. Most were experienced sailors from Palos de la Frontera, Andalusia, and Galicia. While royal amnesty was offered to convicts, only four accepted.

The voyage was financed primarily by a consortium of Genoese bankers based in Seville, rather than by the Spanish queen’s personal wealth. Records for the expedition were kept there as well.

Although the crew’s first names are well documented, many surnames are incomplete or unknown, leading historians to identify individuals by place of origin.

Replicas

Because no original plans or illustrations survive, the exact dimensions of Santa María remain uncertain. Since the 19th century, numerous replicas have been constructed, each reflecting different scholarly interpretations.

Notable replicas include:

• 1892 Quadricentennial replica (Spain)

• West Edmonton Mall replica (Canada, 1986)

• Marigalante (1991; sank in 2025 without loss of life)

• Columbus, Ohio replica (1991 quincentennial)

• Wharf of the Caravels, Palos de la Frontera (1992)

• Madeira sailing replica (1998, still active)

• Arkady Fiedler Museum, Puszczykowo, Poland (2008)

The House of Orléans (French: Maison d’Orléans), sometimes known as the House of Bourbon-Orléans (Maison de Bourbon-Orléans), is the fourth bearer of a dynastic name historically used by several branches of the French royal family. All of these branches descend in the legitimate male line from Hugh Capet, founder of the Capetian dynasty.

The modern House of Orléans was founded by Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, the younger son of Louis XIII and younger brother of Louis XIV, the “Sun King.” From 1709 until the French Revolution, the dukes of Orléans stood next in the line of succession after the senior Bourbon line descended from Louis XIV. Although Louis XIV’s direct descendants retained the throne, the Orléans branch flourished until the collapse of the monarchy. Members of the House of Orléans ruled France from 1830 to 1848 and continue to claim the throne today.

A cadet branch, the House of Orléans-Braganza, was established through the marriage of Isabel of Braganza, Princess Imperial of Brazil, and Prince Gaston of Orléans, Count of Eu. Though never reigning, this branch has claimed the Brazilian throne since 1921.

Origins and Background

Under France’s ancien régime, it became customary for the Duchy of Orléans to be granted as an appanage to a younger son of the king, typically the second surviving son. As a result, each Orléans line descended from a junior prince closely related to the reigning monarch. These princes were often near the throne in succession and occasionally ascended it.

During the reign of Louis XIV, two Bourbon-Orléans branches existed simultaneously. The elder branch descended from Gaston, Duke of Anjou, younger son of Henry IV, who became Duke of Orléans in 1626. Upon his death in 1660, the duchy reverted to the Crown. Louis XIV subsequently granted the Orléans appanage to his own younger brother, Prince Philippe, who became Duke of Orléans and founder of the modern house.

At court, Gaston was known as Le Grand Monsieur, while Philippe was styled Le Petit Monsieur. Philippe later married Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, a noted writer and observer of court life, and together they established the House of Bourbon-Orléans as it is known today.

Rise to Prominence

Philippe’s son, Philippe II, served as regent of France during the minority of Louis XV following the death of Louis XIV in 1715. The Regency (La Régence) elevated the House of Orléans to a position of exceptional political influence. Philippe II governed France from the Palais-Royal in Paris, while the young king resided nearby in the Louvre.

After Louis XV reached his majority in 1723, Philippe II died later that year, and his son Louis d’Orléans succeeded him as Duke of Orléans and heir presumptive to the throne. From this point onward, the Orléans dukes ranked as premier princes du sang, meaning they stood first in succession should the king’s immediate family fail to produce an heir.

Louis d’Orléans, a deeply devout and withdrawn figure, lived a quiet life and died in religious seclusion. His son, Louis-Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, pursued a military career before retiring to private life.

Revolution and Exile

Under Louis XVI, the Orléans family reached both immense wealth and political peril. Louis-Philippe II d’Orléans, known as Philippe Égalité, openly supported the French Revolution and even voted for the execution of his cousin, the king. This act earned him temporary revolutionary favor but permanent enmity from royalists. He was arrested during the Reign of Terror and guillotined in 1793.

The remainder of the family fled or was imprisoned. Several members died in exile, while others scattered across Europe and the United States. Only Philippe Égalité’s widow remained in France for a time before being banished in 1797.

Restoration and the July Monarchy

Following the Bourbon Restoration in 1814, surviving members of the House of Orléans returned to France and regained their titles and properties. In 1830, the July Revolution deposed Charles X, and the throne passed to Louis-Philippe III d’Orléans, son of Philippe Égalité.

Louis-Philippe ruled as a constitutional monarch under the title “King of the French”, emphasizing popular sovereignty rather than divine right. His reign lasted until the Revolution of 1848, when he abdicated and fled to England.

Later Claims and Legacy

After 1848, France remained republican, but monarchist movements persisted. In the 1870s, Orléanists and Legitimists attempted to unite behind a single claimant, but disagreements—most notably over the national flag—prevented restoration. When the last senior Bourbon claimant died in 1883, many Legitimists recognized the House of Orléans as the rightful heirs, though others shifted allegiance to the Spanish Carlist line.

Today, supporters of the House of Orléans regard its head as the legitimate heir to both the constitutional title of King of the French and the traditional Legitimist title of King of France and Navarre, even though France has not had a monarch since 1848.