#and then no spaniard daring to do so like lmaooo

[ducavalentinos]

Who was Gonzalvo de Cordova? Thank you.

Gonzalo de Córdoba was a Spanish general who served the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabelle I of Castille. He led sucessful military campaigns for them during the Conquest of Granada, and then during the Italian Wars, which earned him the nickname El Gran Capitán (the Great Captain.) He aided Pope Alexander VI in re-taking Ostia during the French invasion of 1495, against a man called Menaldo Guerra. In five days, Córdoba and his men were able to force to surrender Guerra and his men, taking them as prisoners. For that Alexander VI granted him the Golden Rose. In 1504, after the battle of Garigliano, where the French were defeated by the Spaniards, Córdoba was named Viceroy of Naples, governing it for four years with the full authority of a sovereign. And 1505, he conceded a safe-conduct to Cesare Borgia in Naples, later arresting and sending him to Spain. And here enters controversy. The action of Córdoba was seen as a diplomatic scandal by some contemporaries, since the document of a safe-conduct was regarded as having a significant worth in the world of politics of the time. To violated it was a gross offence and a dishonour to the man’s reputation. A debate started then, which continues to this day, with some trying to justify it, like Spaniard historian Zurita, or one of Córdoba’s own biographers, Manuel José Quintana. And others, like Paolo Giovio and Guicciardini, who absolutely had no sympathy for the Borgia family, much less Cesare himself, therefore had no reason to defend him, accusing Córdoba of bad faith. It is unclear if Córdoba had or not in his mind the intention of honouring the safe-conduct. Some scholars even question if a safe-conduct was indeed offered to Cesare, although today imo there’s more evidence pointing for that than against it. But it’s something we will likely never know for sure. The political conjuncture during this time was turbulent and intense. With different political aims, and lots of political maneuvers by all parties involved. Some modern scholars reasonably see in Córdoba’s safe-conduct a trap, meant to take Cesare to Naples, capture him and then send him over to Spain for the very beginning. Arguing he was seen as a serious menace to the ambitions of Córdoba in Naples, Pope Julius II concerning the Romagna, and the Catholic Monarchs of Spain. King Ferdinand in particular, had always saw the Borgias as a dangerous stronghold for his expansionists plans in Italy. Other scholars offer the possibility Córdoba either acted out on his own deliberate judgement in not honouring the safe-conduct after he allegedly found out Cesare was making plans to take back the Romagna, which needless to say would have incurred the rage of pope Julius II against him and his Sovereigns in Spain, or that he was pressured afterwards not to honour the safe-conduct by his Sovereigns and by the Pope, and to arrest and deliver Cesare to them instead. Whatever the case, this action truly seems to have bothered Córdoba until his final days. To the point that shortly after this happened, he apparently threatened one of Cesare’s men, Baldassare da Scipione, to give him the safe-conduct in question, which Scipione had in his possession, so that he could destroy it. And there’s another anecdote where Córdoba supposedly later admitted, with great regret, to have faltered with his word three times, and one of these times was with Cesare Borgia. As you can see anon, everything I know about him is connected to the Borgia family, more so with Cesare, so that I don’t know if that was what you wanted, but I hope it was somehow helpful. **This same Baldassare da Scipione, one of the men who remained loyal to Cesare until the end, was so outraged by this betrayal of Spain against his Duke, he actually put up a letter in public places, “for all of Christendom”, where he challenged to trial by combat any Spaniard who dared to deny: “Il duca Valentino non essere stato ritenuto in Napoli sopra un salvocondotto del re Ferdinando e della Regina Isabella, con grande infamia e molta mancanza delle fede delle loro Corone.” (“Duke Valentino had been detained a prisoner in Naples in spite of the safe-conduct granted him in the name of Ferdinand and Isabella, with great shame and infamy to their crown”.) No Spaniard seems to have taken up his challenge. Source: a letter by Luigi da Porto, March 16, 1510 in Lettere Storiche.

#anon ask #ask answered #i know the last part has zero to do with the question #but i couldn't help but to add it because in this blog we love baldassare da scipione even if we don't know much about him ok #first of all: his last name is cool and so close to scipio that it reminds me of ancient rome and THAT Scipio #then i just love his love and loyalty for cesare (shocking i know) #but most of all i love his drama #can you imagine him putting up this letter and basically calling to a fight whoever dared to deny the gross betrayal his lord suffered? #and then no spaniard daring to do so like lmaooo #i wonder if cesare heard of this and i would like to see his reaction to it too #<3