Lucrezia Borgia: Marriage as a tool of foreign policy

Contrary to what is considered nowadays, love has not always been the reason to initiatea marriage, in fact, in some common law countries the lack of thereof is not a valid reason to annul a matrimonial union. Marriage without love was a widespread situation in the past and the reasons were diverse; economic interests, financial security, dynasty survival... This essay intends to briefly explore the use of marriage as a foreign policy tool on behalf of political figures of the time. This will be achieved by delving into the multiple proposal arrangements and marriages of Lucrezia Borgia, daughter of Pope Alexander VI, head of the Catholic Church from 1942 to 1503.

As unimaginable as it may sound in 2018, having a child born in the nobility back in the XVth century represented a political opportunity. This was true especially for women, whose main contribution to the family was their ability to marry. The main reason is that marriage consisted of a suitable way in order to unite the patrimony, power and surname of powerful families. For chiefs of State it meant a key to build solid political alliances both for diplomatic and military purposes.Even though the best known examples of arranged marriages are the cases of European kings and queens, Pope Alexander VI was no less as he also counted with his own political agenda. His foremost goal was to protect his family amongst the competitive world of the Renaissance nobility, however, as he guaranteed his safety he adopted bigger aims; to control the Italian peninsula. This objective would encourage him to accept the papacy, the highest authority of the Catholic Church. Such a position in the pre-Westphalian world implied being granted with the ultimate say in political and moral matters all across Europe. As powerful as he was (and aimed to be), Alexander IV had to act wisely and think strategically about his moves. With the purpose of securing and increasing his power, he found in his children a meaningful tool to do so; he granted military privileges to his son Juan Borgia and appointed Cesare Borgia as cardinal and even later financed his military conquests across the Romagna. When it comes to his daughter Lucrezia, however, he found a different path for her in order to comply with his objectives which little had to do with her physical or intellectual capabilities; marriage.

The very first deal set for Lucrezia took place when she was only eleven years old to Valencian nobleman; Juan de Centelles. By this contract, Alexander VI sought to consolidate power in Valencia and the rest of the Iberian peninsula as it constituted the origins of his family and therefore a good way to safeguard his roots. Nevertheless, the contract was broken only two months later in favor of another candidate; Gaspare Aversa, a noble count from Naples with enough prestige and financial power to be a suitable husband. In 1492 the situation drastically shifted when Alexander VI (until then known as Rodrigo Borgia) accepted the papacy. The main consequence was that Lucrezia, which was publicly accepted and legitimized by Alexander VI despite his position, acquired enormous value as a bride, this gave way to a broader selection of spouses for her.

The more power Alexander VI acquired, the more cautious he had to be to secure it. By becoming the Pope he also became the head of State of the Papal States, this meant that diplomatically and militarily-wise he entered the arena of many powerful personalities of Europe where he had to defend his place. For that matter, he realized that the marriage of Lucrezia constituted a much more important issue than he previously thought. In order to understand the strategic importance of this marriage it is also necessary to consider that Italy was far from being the unified country currently in place; it consisted of fragmented dukedoms and counties which were permanently in conflict. Achieving political and military stability of the region could boost Alexander VI’s ability to unify the peninsula and subject it to the Church’s authority. Hence when the status of his only daughter increased, Alexander VI did not hesitate to annul the contract with count Gaspare Aversa and begin reflecting on better candidates that could favourably help him conduct foreign policy.

The attention of the new Pope shifted towards the house of Sforza, an Italian noble family ruling the Duchy of Milan. In 1493 Alexander VI acceded to marry Lucrezia to Giovanni Sforza, nephew of Ludovico Sforza who was the most powerful man of Milan. Forging an arranged marriage with the Sforza family meant that Milan and the Papal States would become allies, this did not only meant more political stability resulting from the peace among two powerful regions but also a crucial military advantage given the position of Milan as an entrance to the Italian Peninsula. By exercising influence over such territory, Alexander could much easier safeguard Italy against foreign influence and more effectively bring it under the direct command of the Church. Lucrezia did not have much of a say, she finally married at thirteen years old and was allegedly very unhappy with the union. Alexander VI was however very satisfied and considered it a political success.

The union surprisingly did not last long. In 1494 it was known that Milan pledged loyalty to France, much to the disappointment of Alexander VI who sought to strengthen links with the Spanish Catholic king Ferdinand whose devotion was stronger than ever after the “Reconquista”.  Even though he did not wish to completely turn a blind to the Sforza family, and consequently to the Duchy of Milan as a whole, Alexander VI decided to answer the petition of king Ferdinand of creating an alliance with Naples, which was very much disputed between Spain and France. By securing Naples, Alexander VI would not only count with Spanishsupport in his policies but also control an area of maritime importance.

Fearing the weak and unstable loyalty of the Sforza family and also using the unhappiness of Lucrezia and an excuse, he was committed to break the marriage. He first thought of executing Giovanni, but that would have been too big of an offense against the Sforza family, hence he finally negotiated a generous monetary amount in exchange of the marriage annulment due to Giovanni’s alleged impotence and the resulting non-consummation of the union.

Once Lucrezia was freed from that marriage, Alexander VI already had in mind the following candidate; Alfonso d’Aragon, member of the Neapolitan royal family, the illegitimate son of the king of Naples. This union between Lucrezia and Alfonso could potentially open the possibility for her brother, Cesare Borgia, to marry the daughter of the king of Naples, Carlotta of Naples and forge a strong resistance against France in favour of Spain. Despite the marriage between Lucrezia and Alfonso celebrated in 1500, the negotiations for Cesare were not successful. France grew stronger and tensions in Spain built up as a result of rumours regarding the murder of Juan Borgia by which his family was ostracised, Alexander VI made a difficult decisions and considered that his alliance with Spain was not as fruitful as expected. This together with the threat of a French invasion conditioned Alexander VI to shift his interest towards the stronger player; France. Naples, who counted with the support of King Ferdinand of Aragon came to be in direct conflict with the new French-friendly policy of Alexander VI. Soon after that, Alfonso d’Aragon was murdered in suspicious circumstances.

At her short life, Lucrezia saw once again her marriage collapse, and in spite of the recent tragedy, her family was sooner than later searching for a third candidate to become her spouse. In 1502 Alexander VI finally chose Alfonso d’Este, duke of Ferrara. This union had both political and military implications; on one hand the family was established in the Romagna, a region in the north of the Peninsula which was vital for the Papal States unification, on the other, d’Este family had a strong relationship with the French nobility which helped solidify the new alliance with France. Luckily for Lucrezia this marriage lasted until the end of her days, as no further decisive political changes had taken place. She could finally lead a happy life in Ferrara away from the scrutiny of her family.

It is undoubtedly that the first years of Lucrezia’s life were very turbulent, her case helps understand how aggressively foreign policy of the time was conducted; it was a Hobbesian world in which power and security primed in order not to be destroyed. For the purpose of survival not even private life existed, Lucrezia was “sold” three times for marriage by her family in order to guarantee the geopolitical interest of the Borgia and the Papal States. Marriage represented a tool in order to solve the foreign policy challenges that Alexander VI faced and his decisions towards the fate of his daughter portray this very well. By exploring the life of Lucrezia Borgia it is possible to understand how the institution of marriage little had to do with love but with geopolitical interests.    

Bibliography:

- Berenstein Monica, “ALEJANDRO VI: EL INSACIABLE PAPA BORGIA QUE GOBERNO LA ROMA DEL RENACIMIENTO CONVIRTIENDO A SU FAMILIA EN UNA PODEROSA REALEZA”, Nowtilus, 2007.

- Lee Alexander “Were the Borgias Really So Bad?”,  History Today, 2013.

      

- Palau i Orta Josep, “Lucrezia Borgia: predator or pawn?”, National Geographic History Magazine, 2017.

- Puzo Mario, Gino Carol “Los Borgia”, Editorial Planeta, 1999.

- Wilde Robert “The Rise and the Fall of the Borgia Family” ThoughtCo, 2018.