The office he held should have given the Catholic world spiritual leadership; instead, he used it to promote his family's interests and to show kings that earthly treasure is to be accumulated and enjoyed. Innocent VIII, at the request of Alexander did not pause to consider the rights of the Indians who already occupied America, just as he gave no thought to the poor of the world, although Jesus (whose vicar he claimed to be) called them "blessed.". He offered to help Louis XII on condition that Sicily be given to Cesare, and then offered to help Spain in exchange for Siena, Pisa and Bologna.

Alexander VI had four children by his mistress (Vannozza dei Cattani), three sons and a daughter: Giovanni (1474), Cesare, Goffredo (or Giuffre) and Lucrezia Borgia. This policy brought Ferdinand I, King of Naples, into conflict with Pope Alexander VI, who was also opposed by Cardinal della Rovere, whose candidature for the papacy had been backed by Ferdinand. A military response to the French threat was set in motion: a Neapolitan army was to advance through the Romagna and attack Milan, while the fleet was to seize Genoa. The title was eventually divided between Spain and Portugal along a Demarcation Line and duly granted in the Bull Inter caetera, May 4, 1493.

A danger now arose in the shape of a conspiracy by the deposed despots, the Orsini, and of some of Cesare's own condottieri. He declared that henceforth the moral reform of the Catholic Church would be the sole object of his life, a resolution he did not keep. Her place in his affections was filled by the beautiful Giulia Farnese (Giulia Bella), wife of an Orsini, but his love for his children by Vannozza remained as strong as ever and proved, indeed, the determining factor of his whole career. But the expulsion of the French from Milan and the return of Lodovico Sforza interrupted his conquests, and he returned to Rome early in 1500.

Alexander VI was an extremely intelligent man that enjoyed luxury and excess in all aspects of his life.

The story of Alexander VI's relations with Savonarola is told in that article; it is enough to say here that the Pope's hostility was due to the friar's outspoken invectives against papal corruption and to his appeals for a General Council. To offer them an alternative prey, he engineered an alliance against the Ottomans with the real aim of getting the French out of Italy. Cardinal Borja and the Catholic Thus the two great houses of Orsini and Colonna, who had long fought for predominance in Rome and often flouted the Pope's authority, were subjugated and the Borgias' power increased. No conclusive explanation was ever reached, and it may be that the crime was simply as a result of one of Gandia's sexual liaisons. He is an ancestor of the queen consort Luisa María Francisca de Guzmán y Sandoval of Portugal, wife of King John IV. But eventually the Florentines tired of the friar's moralising and the Florentine government condemned the reformer to death (23 May 1498). Rodrigo went to Rome to join Alonso after the latter became a cardinal.

Opponents such as the powerful demagogic Florentine friar Girolamo Savonarola launched invectives against papal corruption and appealed for a general council to confront the papal abuses. It has been suggested that, having taken into account the unusual level of decomposition, Alexander VI was accidentally poisoned to death by his son, Cesare, with cantarella (which had been prepared to eliminate Cardinal Adriano), although some commentaries doubt these stories and attribute the Pope's death to malaria, then prevalent in Rome, or to another such pestilence. On 31 March 1495 the Holy League was formed between the Pope, the emperor, Venice, Lodovico il Moro and Ferdinand of Spain. Also Known As: Rodrigo de Borja y Doms, Rodrigo Borgia, children: 1st duke of Gandía, Bernardo Borgia, Cesare Borgia, Gioffre Borgia, Giovanni Borgia, Girolama Borgia, Isabella Borgia, Laura Orsini, Lucrezia Borgia, Ottaviano Borgia, Pier Luigi de Borgia, Rodrigo Borgia Pope Alexander VI, See the events in life of Pope Alexander VI in Chronological Order. Before his elevation to the papacy Cardinal Borgia's passion for Vannozza somewhat diminished, and she subsequently led a very retired life. Morales Padron (1979) concludes that these bulls gave power to enslave the natives. Italy was shown to be very vulnerable to the predations of the powerful nation-states, France and Spain, that had forged themselves during the previous century. As a priest, he received a severe reprimand from Pope Pius II for his riotous mode of life. He sought help from Charles VIII of France (1483–1498), who was allied to Ludovico "Il Moro" (the Moor, so called because of his swarthy complexion) Sforza, the de facto Duke of Milan, who needed French support to legitimise his rule. The Pope was unable to maintain order in his own dominions; the houses of Colonna and Orsini were at open war with each other, but after much fighting they made peace on a basis of alliance against the Pope. Among the fiefs destined for the duke of Gandia were Cerveteri and Anguillara, lately acquired by Virginio Orsini, head of that powerful house. Alexander VI has become almost a mythical character, and countless legends and traditions are attached to his name. Alexander VI's elevation did not at the time excite much alarm, and at first his reign was marked by a strict administration of justice and an orderly method of government in satisfactory contrast with the anarchy of the previous pontificate, as well as by great outward splendor. The decree asserts the rights of Spain and Portugal to colonize, convert, and enslave. Pope Alexander VI (Latin: Alexander Sextus; 1431–1503), born Rodrigo Lanzol y Borja, was an Spanish cleric of the Roman Catholic Church and the 215th Pope from 1492 to 1503. When Calixtus died in 1458 to be succeeded by Pius II Rodrigo's brother, who had even more illustrious titles including 'prefect of Rome' was literally chased out of Rome. He was also an ardent supporter of the further development of arts and sciences. He was a capable and intelligent leader, viewed as a ‘political priest’ by many. During his pontificate the Church was brought to its lowest level of degradation. He served in the Curia under five Popes (Calixtus III, Pius II, Paul II, Sixtus IV and Innocent VIII) and acquired much administrative experience, influence and wealth, although no great power. As King Ferdinand I of Naples was threatening to come to the aid of the rightful duke Gian Galeazzo, the husband of his granddaughter Isabella, Alexander VI encouraged the French king in his plan for the conquest of Naples.

There are only confessions extracted from Alexander’s servants, but those were given under severe torture, supervised by Julius II, a life-long enemy of Alexander. Through the intervention of the Spanish ambassador he made peace with Naples in July 1493 and cemented the peace by a marriage between his son Gioffre and Doña Sancha, another granddaughter of Ferdinand I. In this manner he was able to take advantage of the defeat of the French in order to break the power of the Orsini. On his return to Rome (June 1501) Cesare was created duke of Romagna.

He took the name of Alexander VI in honor of the ancient emperor Alexander the Great. Even if we do not accept all the stories of his murders and poisonings and immoralities as true, there is no doubt that his greed for money and his essentially vicious nature led him to commit a great number of crimes. He issued a papal bull, founding King’s College, Aberdeen, upon a petition from William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen, and King James IV of Scotland. [3] Borgia was elected on August 11 1492, assuming the name of Alexander VI. His favourite son, Giovanni or Juan, was murdered on June 14, 1497. Both nepotistic appointments were characteristic of the age. Orsino was related to Borgia through his mother Adriana, who was his cousin.