The policy of Catholic Monarchs and Popes in the New World on the Christianization of the population and the policy of local authorities (1492–1513)

The aim was to study the attitude towards slavery and freedom for the natives of the open lands of America on the part of the Spanish Crown, on the one hand, and Christopher Columbus in 14911504, and then his son Diego Columbus, appointed governor of Hispaniola in 1508 and became viceroy of the West Indies, on the other. As a result, the texts of the bulls of Pope Alexander VI for May 3 and May 4, September 26, 1493, letters of Catholic Monarchs, letters of Christopher Columbus, letters and orders of Bobadilla and Nicholas Ovando and the events of 1511 in Hispaniola described in the book of Las Casas, as well as documents on the results of the work of the Junta of Burgos in 1512 and the Junta of Valladolid in 1513 were studied and analyzed. The study showed the true and humane attitude of Catholic Monarchs towards the natives of America and the emergence of laws under which the natives of America were granted freedom and equal rights with the Castilians. It also shows the policy of slavery and exploitation set up by the House of Columbus against the Indians, and the political battles with the defenders of the Indians from the Dominican Order, that made possible Burgos Laws of 1512 and their amendments Laws of Valladolid laws of 1513 and their consequences for the freedom and life of the natives.

Humanism and Honour in the Making of Alessandro Farnese

Born into a noble family on the rise in Roman society, Alessandro Farnese’s development was framed by cultural expectations in humanism and in the code of honour. Humanism provided the script and the classical skills for elite males to perform on the social stage of Rome, a ‘theatre society’. Honour, the foundation of social worth, was the prize that performance continually sought. The pervasive yet contested nature of honour is illustrated in texts that unfold an episode between the young Cardinal Farnese, Pope Alexander VI and his mistress, Giulia Farnese, the cardinal’s sister. The episode shows how Alessandro Farnese understood honour and how it became a touchstone throughout his years as cardinal and pope.

Building a Catholic Empire

This chapter begins with the Castilian conquest and colonization of the Canary Islands, which deployed a medieval model that had been carried over to the Americas by Columbus. When the Aragonese pope Alexander VI granted half the globe for Spanish missionary work and imperial expansion, Isabella and Ferdinand lacked the policies, institutions, and laws to rule over native peoples who did not live like European Catholics. They also struggled to maintain control over their Spanish colonists, who often abandoned the new settlements to explore, plunder, and raid for slaves in other places. The chapter follows one of these wayward colonists, Francisco Pizarro, from Hispaniola to Panama and on to the exploration of the Pacific coast of South America. As Charles V attempted to establish law and order in his American colonies—and to face the challenges of the Protestant Reformation—he granted Pizarro permission to colonize Peru, a rich, civilized realm that had been contacted during a rare moment of success in the conquistador’s otherwise disastrous expeditions on the Peruvian coast.

Lucrezia Borgia

Lucrezia Borgia (b. 1480–d. 1519) is well known as the much-loved daughter of Pope Alexander VI, affectionate sister of the cleric-turned-soldier Cesare Borgia, unfortunate wife of Giovanni Sforza of Pesaro, distraught widow of Alfonso, duke of Bisceglie, and esteemed consort of Alfonso d’Este, duke of Ferrara. Outside the bonds of close family she is similarly defined by relationships with men, whether that be in terms of the passionate devotion of Pietro Bembo or the no less eloquent admiration of Ludovico Ariosto. It is therefore little wonder that recent authors have sought to present her as a person of substance and interest in her own right. As usual, students should begin with Reference Works. Biographies provide a popular format for conveying information about elite women of the Renaissance period and should be read early in any research process, but they often require padding with contextual material. Contexts therefore appears as the next section of this article. There is an ample number of published Primary Sources, though contemporary Archives and Diaries do not delve beneath outward formalities and the writers of Poetry and Letters necessarily or habitually idealized their subjects. Easily the best option for discovering more about Lucrezia is to set aside her Roman origins and concentrate on Lucrezia in Ferrara, which is precisely what happened in 2002 when the city of Ferrara celebrated an “Anno di Lucrezia Borgia” to mark the 500th anniversary of her arrival there as the bride of the future duke. Some of the lasting consequences of that celebration can be found among the Collections of Papers. Other article-length pieces can be accessed via Journals. The final section of this article charts the process by which the figure of Lucrezia Borgia has evolved From Fact to Fiction during the centuries since her death.

La Lucrècia Borja de ficció en el drama d’Hugo i els seus derivats

Resum: El drama Lucrèce Borgia de Victor Hugo confereix al personatge històric una sèrie d’atributs en sintonia amb el gust sensacionalista de l’època: en ser dona, poderosa, bella i formada. Lucrècia Borja és el millor exemple d’allò que Kristeva anomena «l’abjecte» en les Pouvoirs de l’horreur (1980). Una imatge de femme fatale lligada al verí o l’incest que es popularitzarà gràcies a les nombroses obres derivades del drama: de l’òpera de Donizetti als romanços populars de manera que les característiques del personatge de ficció s’imposaran a l’històric en l’imaginari col·lectiu. Lucrècia Borja, que fins aleshores havia estat considerada un instrument al servei de les polítiques familiars, entrarà a formar part per «mèrits» propis del triangle del mal junt amb l germà, Cèsar Borja, i son pare, el papa Alexandre VI. Paraules clau: Lucrècia Borja, Victor Hugo, Gaetano Donizetti, llegenda negra, literatura de cordell, paròdia, segle XIX, Francesc Godó, abjecte Abstract: The Victor Hugo’s drama Lucrezia Borgia gives to the historical character some attributes in line with the sensationalist preferences of that time: being a female, powerful, beautiful and educated. Lucrezia Borgia is the best example of what Kristeva names «the abject» in Pouvoirs de l’horreur (1980). The character is a femme fatale image linked to poison or incest and it was popularized thanks to the many works resulting from this drama. So that, the features of the fictional character prevailed to the real historical character in the popular beliefs, this happened in Donizetti's opera, but also in the chapbooks of that time. Lucrezia Borgia had previously been considered an instrument in the service for family policies, but she became part of an evil triangle, thanks to her own attitude, along with her brother, Cesare Borgia, and her father, the pope Alexander VI. Keywords: Lucrezia Borgia, Victor Hugo, Gaetano Donizetti, black legend, chapbook, parody, nineteenth century, Francesc Xavier Godó, abject

Itàlia i la configuració de la llegenda negra borgiana.

Resum: La llegenda negra dels Borja va començar a Itàlia i la van començar els italians en el segle XV. Començada a forjar per cronistes, informadors, cardenals… i contràriament al que es podria pensar, aquesta no va començar després de la mort del segon papa Borja Alexandre VI, sinó durant el seu cardenalat, el seu pontificat i com no, després de la seua mort i continuant els segles posteriors amb acusacions falses com la simonia, el incest, els assassinats… Paraules clau: Borja, Roderic de Borja, Alexandre VI, llegenda negra, Bichi, Tiara, papa, conclave, simonia, Ascanio Sforza. Abstract: The black legend of Borja began in Italy and Italians began in the fifteenth century. Created by reporters, cardinals ... and contrary to what you might think, not this black legend began after the death of the second Pope Alexander VI Borja but the cardinal time, and of his pontificate, after his death and continue over the following centuries with false accusations as simony, the incest, murder … Keywords: Borja, Roderic de Borja, Pope Alexander VI, black legend, Bichi, Tiara, Pope conclave, simony, Ascanio Sforza.

Pope Alexander vi, Slavery and Voluntary Subjection: ‘Ineffabilis et Summi Patris’ in Context

‘Ineffabilis et summi patris’ (1 June 1497), a little-known letter from Alexander VI to Manuel i, king of Portugal (1495–1521), plays an important role in Joel Panzer's The popes and slavery (1996). For Panzer, ‘Ineffabilis’ clarifies the voluntary nature of submission by newly-encountered peoples to Iberian monarchs. A new and complete translation of ‘Ineffabilis’ shows that it is part of a legal tradition wherein voluntary subjection was one mode of enslavement. ‘Ineffabilis’ also reflects Manuel's broader attempt to gain an advantage over Spain in light of Vasco da Gama's impending voyage to India in July 1497.