Niccolo Machiavelli was a Florentine scholar (1469-1527) who was a major figure of the Florentine politics of his time. He was the author of The Prince and other works. The Prince was his most well-known book which he wrote in 1513, but it was only published 5 years after his death. In The Prince, he wrote how rulers should rule. His most important maxim was that man must be adaptable to any situation he came upon. He was an unofficial ambassador, sent to neighboring countries as the Secretary of the council Ten of War after the Medici were thrown out in 1492. It worked out very well for him, as he also analyzed each country he went to. His life remained like this until 1502.
In 1502, Borgia, the son of the Spanish Pope Alexander VI, set his sight on conquering Italy. He had already gained control of most the area. As Machiavelli examined his tactical moves, he was able to win a case for a citizen militia using Borgia's philosophy, and in 1509, Machiavelli led a thousand citizens to conquer Pisa. Machiavelli's army stood together until 1512, when his troops broke ranks, and left Florence open to Medici and his comrades. Medici overthrew the republic and seized control of the city. Then Machiavelli's militia and the Great Council were dismissed and he was jobless. He hoped that the Medici's would find his talents useful. It was then when he wrote The Prince, which made him famous as that book was responsible for many events in other countries.
In 1522, there was a plot to murder Giulio de' Medici which originated in the anti-Medici circle that Machiavelli was involved in. The plot failed and the circle was broken; it's members exiled or killed. Although Machiavelli was part of the circle, his friends could not trust him to keep the secret because he worked for the Medici family. In 1527, the Medici was overthrown, but Machiavelli, at 58, could no longer be trusted to serve the Republic. He died just a month after the Republic was restored.
Why do I write about Machiavelli?
TO BE CONTINUED
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