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The family originated from Valencia in modern Spain, then in the Kingdom of Aragon. There have been claims that the family was of Jewish origin. The first prominent Borgia was Alfonse de Borja (1372-1458) who was a distinguished law professor who later worked in the Curia, (Papal bureaucracy) and became a cardinal. He eventually became Pope Calixtus II, at an advanced age, but he only reigned as Pope for less than three years <ref> Fusero, Clemete. The Borgias. (New York, Praeger Publishers, 1966), p. 67</ref>. He did not achieve much as Pope apart from appointing his nephew to the Curia. Rodrigo Borgia (1451-1503) was a brilliant and charismatic man who was a gifted canon lawyer and able diplomat. He was made a cardinal and proved an able administrator. Rodrigo was elected Pope in 1492 and became Alexander VI. Like many other clerics, at the time, he had illicit relationships with women and he had four children with the beautiful Giula Farnese. Pope Alexander was a loving father and did not hide his children from public view. Instead, he tried to arrange for their futures by marrying them to some of the most distinguished families in Europe. The family motto was ‘’Either a Caesar or nothing’’ and they lived up to this motto. They were ambitious and this was to make them very many enemies. Despite Alexander’s hopes, the family was soon embroiled in wars and feuds with the other leading families in Italy <ref> Fusero, p. 112</ref>. Cesare was probably the most capable and the most notorious family and he tried to influence the papacy, after the death of his father. However, after his attempts to elect a puppet, Pope failed he was forced to flee Italy and this was to make the end of the power of the Borgia’s in Italy.

The family is widely seen as evil and responsible for every crime and outrage. In truth, the Borgias were no better or worse than other leading Renaissance families and were certainly no worse than some of their rivals such as the Sforza’s in Milan. The ‘Borgia’ myth is still very powerful to this day. This is seen in the best-known female Borgia, Lucrezia, often portrayed as a vicious poisoner and schemer, but she was nothing like her image <ref>Bradford, Sarah (2005). Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love and Death in Renaissance Italy (Reprint ed.). Penguin. pp. 67–68 </ref>. The Borgia’s were widely condemned and vilified in Renaissance Italy because of their Spanish heritage. Many Italians hated the Borgias because they were outsiders and resented their role in the Papacy and Italy and this led to the creation of the ‘Borgia myth’ <ref> Bradford, p. 112</ref>.

Calixtus II, the first Borgia Pope was an old man by the time he became Pope and had no real impact on the Papacy. His nephew, the future Alexander VI was a different matter. As Cardinal, he oversaw the Curia, and he was a reformer<ref> Fusero, p. 114 </ref>. He curbed corruption in the Papacy and he reformed the bureaucracy, making it more efficient and flexible. When he became Pope, he continued to reform the Papacy and made sure that the Papal States were well governed and justice was administered fairly. Prior to his reign the States had been lawless places, where nobles preyed on the poor, especially the Orsini Family<ref> Fusero, p. 116</ref>. Alexander was never able to completely pacify the Papal States and the Orsini would defy him for many years. He also introduced new rituals and ceremonies. During the Jubilee year 1500, Alexander began the custom of opening a holy door on Christmas Eve and closing it on Christmas Day the following year. Pope Alexander’s predecessors had been weak and inactive men, and the Papacy was no longer active in international affairs. Alexander once more established the diplomatic role of the Papacy in Europe. He issued a Papal Bull which divided the New World between Portugal and Spain and this prevented war breaking out between the two kingdoms <ref>Hale, John R. Renaissance. New York, Time-Life Books, 1965)</ref> p. 85. Alexander was a committed reformer and he recognized that the Church was in need of reform. He decided to embark on an ambitious reform program and these included new rules prohibiting the sale of Church property, simony and stricter moral codes for priests. He was not in office long enough to implement his plans. Many of his reforms would be implemented during the Counter-Reformation by his successors. Alexander VI was known for his patronage of the arts, his reign was associated with a new style of architecture in Rome and he commissioned great works by artists as diverse such as Bramante. Raphael and Michelangelo <ref> Hale, p 119</ref>.

Despite these successes, Pope Alexander’s reign scandalized many and it was widely seen as corrupt. Many see his reign as Pope as the nadir of the Papacy. Pope Alexander was widely accused of holding orgies in the Vatican among other crimes. In 1494 a religious reformer, Savornola seized power in Florence and expelled the de Medici. He claimed he did so to save the city from the corrupt Pope Alexander<ref> Hale, p. 113</ref>. His successor, as Pope Julius II claimed that ‘’he desecrated the Holy Church as none before’’ <ref> Fusero, p. 214</ref>. Alexander was probably a decent man and was widely praised as an able Pope by some of his later successors. It cannot be denied that he did not live up to the ideals of a Pope and he sacrificed the interests of the Church at times, for his family. His nepotism and the ‘Borgia’ myth probably contributed to the growing disillusionment with the Catholic Church and Papacy that contributed to the rise of Protestantism in the sixteenth century<ref> Hale, p 114</ref>.