Sam BarbaryProfessor LawlorHistory2/10/2014The BorgiasRenaissance Italy was full of powerful and famous families: the Medici who ruled Florence, the Sforzas ruled Milan and Forli. But among all, the Borgia family was the most famous and infamous to ever grace the pages of history. The Borgias are fascinating to study because history is so divided about them. They used the power of the Catholic Church for their personal wealth and political power. Rumor had it that they had committed every possible sin and vice. Many in their day thought they were mass poisoners. Yet at the same time, their sins were comparable to those of most nobility and royalty of that era, including previous popes. The Borgias presided over some of the most important events of the era; the fire of the vanities, the Spanish Inquisition, the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, the Italian Wars and the Treaty of Tordesillas. They also date back to the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation. This article chronicles the rise and fall of the Borgias within the papacy, their actions, and their impact on the world at the time. Before we can cover Rodrigo Borgia and his family, we must understand the period of time they lived specifically in Italy. By the 15th century, Italy was divided into dozens of city-states, kingdoms, and mini-republics, all vying for dominance over trade and land. There were five great powers in Italy during the Borgia era. These were the Kingdom of Milan, the Republic of Venice, the Republic of Florence, the Kingdom of Naples and of course, most importantly, Rome. (Chamberlin ix-xvi) Rome was an important player because the Church held both monetary and ecclesiastical power in Italy. Because of this power, the ...... middle of paper ...... in the papal election that Rodrigo had bought. Some were cardinals and princes who did not get the jobs or prestige they wanted. Others were truly pious priests and disgusted by the opulence of the Borgias. The old rumor that the Borgias practiced incest dates back to her first husband, Giovanni Sforza. When Alexander VI decided that the marriage was no longer politically useful, he wanted to annul it and remarry Lucrezia. There were two main ways to annul a marriage at this point: by proving that it was incestuous or by proving that one of the partners was impotent. Alexander VI chose the path of impotence and Giovanni was clearly not happy to be slandered in this way. In revenge, he began to spread the rumor that the real reason Alexander VI was breaking off the marriage was so that he could have his daughter all to himself or so that she would be alone. of his sons could.