Cesare Borgia and the Seventh Chapter
By: Yosef Ibitayo
If a discerning individual reads Machiavelli’s The Prince, they would no doubt notice the inconsistencies within the text. To cite a few examples: the advisement that the titular prince should either destroy a republic that he desires, or else occupy the republic or impose an oligarchy and taxes on it, a rather extreme separation in terms of action, or the discussion over the qualities of a prince, and how one must use cruelty, a vice according to their subjects’ opinions, on occasion in order to stay in the people’s good graces. However, the greatest paradox, and one that has caused debates for many years, is Machiavelli’s use of Cesare Borgia and how his life is portrayed in Chapter VII of The Prince.
Two to three years before 1502, at the turn of the sixteenth century, Cesare had already begun proving himself to be a valuable asset to the expansion of papal power and influence by capturing Imola and Forlì in Romagna in northern Italy, areas both controlled by Caterina Sforza, and, by extension, the Medici family; at the same time, however, he also started the detrimental tendencies that led to his downfall after 1502 by gaining the support of King Louis XII of France and the Italian condottieri and beginning to lean on them for support. Cesare eventually came to control Romagna, being named as duke of the region in May 1501.
After dismantling a traitorous plot against him in the December of 1502 and executing the conspirators, Cesare lost the support of his father, Pope Alexander VI, and, by extension, the Papacy and his main source of maintaining power over Romagna, when the latter died from illness in 1503; through the next four years, Cesare came to support Pope Julius II, who was a long-time enemy of the Borgias, and subsequently lost his territories, his armies, and his freedom, becoming imprisoned in the Spanish castles of Chinchilla de Montearagón and, following a failed escape attempt from the former, La Mota, which he managed to escape from. Cesare ultimately died in 1507 at the Siege of Viana from a fatal spear injury.
At the time of his death, Cesare was reviled by all throughout Italy due to his ruthlessness and immoral actions; therefore, Machiavelli probably used him as a warning for Lorenzo de Medici, for whom The Prince was written, written in the guise of praise.
Two to three years before 1502, at the turn of the sixteenth century, Cesare had already begun proving himself to be a valuable asset to the expansion of papal power and influence by capturing Imola and Forlì in Romagna in northern Italy, areas both controlled by Caterina Sforza, and, by extension, the Medici family; at the same time, however, he also started the detrimental tendencies that led to his downfall after 1502 by gaining the support of King Louis XII of France and the Italian condottieri and beginning to lean on them for support. Cesare eventually came to control Romagna, being named as duke of the region in May 1501.
After dismantling a traitorous plot against him in the December of 1502 and executing the conspirators, Cesare lost the support of his father, Pope Alexander VI, and, by extension, the Papacy and his main source of maintaining power over Romagna, when the latter died from illness in 1503; through the next four years, Cesare came to support Pope Julius II, who was a long-time enemy of the Borgias, and subsequently lost his territories, his armies, and his freedom, becoming imprisoned in the Spanish castles of Chinchilla de Montearagón and, following a failed escape attempt from the former, La Mota, which he managed to escape from. Cesare ultimately died in 1507 at the Siege of Viana from a fatal spear injury.
At the time of his death, Cesare was reviled by all throughout Italy due to his ruthlessness and immoral actions; therefore, Machiavelli probably used him as a warning for Lorenzo de Medici, for whom The Prince was written, written in the guise of praise.
Works Cited:
"Cesare Borgia." New World Encyclopedia. MediaWiki, 22 Nov. 2014. Web. 21 April 2015.
Michael Edward, Mallett. "Rise to Power." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Jan. 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.
Michael Edward, Mallett. "Rise to Power." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Jan. 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.