Editing Pope Alexander VI (section)

=== Early years in office ===

[[File:Påven Alexander VI blysigill Petrus Paulus 001.jpg|thumb| [[Papal bulla]] of Alexander VI]]

In contrast to the preceding pontificate, Pope Alexander VI adhered initially to strict administration of justice and orderly government. Before long, though, he began endowing his relatives at the Church's and at his neighbours' expense. [[Cesare Borgia]], his son, while a youth of seventeen and a student at [[Pisa]], was made [[Archbishop]] of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Valencia in Spain|Valencia]], and [[Giovanni Borgia, 2nd Duke of Gandia|Giovanni Borgia]] inherited the Spanish Dukedom of [[Gandia]], the Borgias' ancestral home in Spain. For the Duke of Gandia and for [[Gioffre Borgia|Gioffre]], also known as Goffredo, the Pope proposed to carve fiefs out of the [[Papal States]] and the [[Kingdom of Naples]]. Among the fiefs destined for the duke of Gandia were [[Cerveteri]] and [[Anguillara Sabazia|Anguillara]], lately acquired by [[Virginio Orsini]], head of that powerful house. This policy brought Alexander into conflict with [[Ferdinand I of Naples]] as well as with Cardinal della Rovere, whose candidature for the papacy had been backed by Ferdinand. Della Rovere fortified himself in his [[bishop of Ostia|bishopric of Ostia]] at the [[Tiber]]'s mouth as Alexander formed a league against Naples (25 April 1493) and prepared for war.<ref name="Villari" />

Ferdinand allied himself with [[Republic of Florence|Florence]], [[Duchy of Milan|Milan]] and [[Republic of Venice|Venice]]. He also appealed to Spain for help, but Spain was eager to be on good terms with the papacy to obtain the title to the recently discovered [[New World]]. Alexander, in the bull ''[[Inter caetera]]'' on 4 May 1493, divided the title between Spain and Portugal along a demarcation line. This became the basis of the [[Treaty of Tordesillas]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5kTneDFadcIC|title=International law in historical perspective. 10|first=Jan H.|last=Verzijl|date=26 September 1979|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers|isbn=90-286-0158-9 |via=Google Books}}</ref>