Jack Kingston
Poli 1041.07
Cesare Borgia: Machiavelli’s Perfect Prince
The purpose of Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince was to serve as a guide for rulers who wanted to obtain and maintain their principalities effectively. His is widely considered the first work of modern political philosophy because he wrote about the effectual truth as opposed to the imagined truth writers used in the past. This is evidenced by his constant usage of historical examples in almost every chapter, supporting his own political philosophy by showing how effective rulers were by following his theory, and showing ineffective rulers who did not employ Machiavelli’s political teachings. Though Machiavelli cites many different effective rulers, there is no ruler whom he celebrates more than Cesare Borgia. By maintaining his principality the way he did, following Machiavelli’s political teachings, Machiavelli clearly established Cesare Borgia as the most effective Prince.
In the beginning of chapter VII, Machiavelli begins by stating that those who become prince solely by fortune do so with ease. Maintaining their principalities, however, becomes a very difficult task. Since a ruler requires great virtue to know how to command, a prince who rises to power by fortune does not have the forces to support or trust them. Cesare Borgia was able to acquire his state based solely on the fortune of his father, Alexander VI. Because he did not become a prince by virtue, he should have had trouble laying the foundation of his principality, as Machiavelli says, “whoever does not lay his foundations at first might be able, with great virtue, to lay them later, although they might have to be laid with hardship for the architect and with danger to the building” (27). Borgia was able to lay a strong enough
Jack Kingston
Poli 1041.07
foundation to give himself future power, and so won the praise of Machiavelli as he exclaims how he couldn’t think of any better example for a new prince than Borgia. In order to give Borgia his own state, Alexander VI created turmoil throughout Italy by allowing the French into Italy in exchange for their support in conquering the Romagna region. It was by pacifying Romagna that Cesare Borgia would rise to power and become the most effective prince in the eyes of Niccolo Machiavelli.
Though he did not rise to power in the typical way a prince would hope, according to Machiavelli, it was what Cesare Borgia accomplished as prince that perfectly demonstrated Machiavelli’s political philosophy. After conquering the Romagna region, Borgia was concerned about the loyalty of the troops that he was given by the French. Realizing this, Borgia decided not to depend on the arms of others, but to rely solely on the arms of his people, following the teachings of Machiavelli when he says, “without its own arms no principality is secure” (57). By doing this, he was able to secure his own rule, becoming well respected by his subjects. In addition, Borgia seduced the Orsini rulers, promising alliances and gifts, and then as they came to him, Borgia killed them all, no longer needing to worry about one of Machiavelli’s concerns for a prince who wants to hold a newly acquired land. In order to address the second concern, he put Remirro de Orco in charge to restore order in the region. Ultimately, de Orco was very cruel in the way he ruled the region so that every subject 9 on him. Realizing that de Orco’s cruelty reflected poorly on himself, Borgia had him publicly executed so that every subject thought he did not support de Orco’s cruelty. This action ultimately made him feared by his subjects, but not hated, which is exactly what Machiavelli preached in chapter XVI, saying, “The prince should
Jack Kingston
Poli 1041.07
nonetheless make himself feared in such a mode that if he does not acquire love, he escapes hatred, because being feared and not being hated can go together very well” (67). Cesare Borgia, although before the writing of The Prince, followed exactly what Machiavelli would later write in how to maintain power within his principality.
As Borgia was looking to the future, he was fearful that a new successor in the Church would try to take away what his father, Alexander VI, had given him. In order to make sure this did not happen, Borgia developed his own four-step plan to secure his principality, and maintain it further. The first step was to eliminate the bloodlines of the lords he had already conquered. Second was to win the support of the Roman nobles. Third was to gain as much control as he could over the College of Cardinals who elected the pope, and the fourth step was to gain as much land as possible so that he would become too powerful to defeat.