Niccolò Machiavelli

Niccolò Machiavelli (May 3, 1469 – June 21, 1527) was a Florentine statesman and political philosopher. As a theorist, Machiavelli was the key figure in realistic political theory, crucial to European statecraft during the Renaissance. His two most famous books, Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio (Discourses on Livy) and Il Principe (The Prince), were written in the hopes of improving the conditions of the Northern Italian principalities, but became general handbooks for a new style in politics. The Prince, written to encourage the appearance of a political savior who would unify the corrupt city-states and fend off foreign conquest, advocated the theory that whatever was expedient was necessary—an early example of realpolitik.

Years in Office 1494-1512

The second period of his life was spent in the service of the free Republic of Florence, which flourished from the expulsion of the Medici in 1494 until their return in 1512. After serving four years in one of the public offices he was appointed Chancellor and Secretary to the Second Chancery, the Ten of Liberty and Peace. Here we are on firm ground when dealing with the events of Machiavelli's life, for during this time he took a leading part in the affairs of the Republic, and we have its decrees, records, and

Related Topics:
Republic - Medici - 1494 - 1512 - Chancellor

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dispatches to guide us, as well as his own writings. A mere recapitulation of a few of his transactions with the statesmen and soldiers of his time gives a fair indication of his activities, and supplies the sources from which he drew the experiences and characters which illustrate The Prince.

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His first mission was in 1499 to Catherina Sforza, "my lady of Forli"

Related Topics:
1499 - Catherina Sforza

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of The Prince, from whose conduct and fate he drew the moral that it

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is far better to earn the confidence of the people than to rely on

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fortresses. This is a very noticeable principle in Machiavelli, and is

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urged by him in many ways as a matter of vital importance to princes.

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In 1500 he was sent to France to obtain terms from Louis XII for

Related Topics:
1500 - France - Louis XII

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continuing the war against Pisa. Louis XII was the king who, in his conduct

Related Topics:
Pisa - Louis XII

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of affairs in Italy, committed the five capital errors in statecraft

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summarized in The Prince, and was consequently driven out. It was Louis XII who also made the dissolution of his marriage a condition of support

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to Pope Alexander VI which lead Machiavelli to refer those who urge

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that such promises should be kept to what he has written concerning

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the faith of princes.

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Machiavelli's public life was largely occupied with events arising out

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of the ambitions of Pope Alexander VI and his son, Cesare Borgia, the

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Duke Valentino, and these characters fill a large space of The Prince. Machiavelli never to carry him through, exclaims

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that it was not his fault, but an extraordinary and unforeseen fatality.

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On the death of Pope Pius III, in 1503, Machiavelli was sent to Rome to

Related Topics:
Pope Pius III - 1503 - Rome

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watch the election of his successor, and there he saw Cesare Borgia cheated into allowing the choice of the College to fall on Giuliano delle Rovere (Pope Julius II), who was one of the cardinals that had most reason to fear the duke. Machiavelli, when commenting on this election, says that he who thinks new favours will cause great personages to forget old injuries deceives himself. Julius did not rest until he had ruined Cesare.

Related Topics:
Election - Borgia - College - Pope Julius II - Cardinal

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It was to Julius II that Machiavelli was sent in 1506, when that pontiff was commencing his enterprise against Bologna; which he brought to a successful issue, as he did many of his other adventures, owing chiefly to his impetuous character. It is in reference to Pope Julius that Machiavelli moralizes on the resemblance between Fortune and women, and concludes that it is the bold rather than the cautious

Related Topics:
1506 - Bologna - Fortune - Women

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man that will win and hold them both.

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It is impossible to follow here the varying fortunes of the Italian states, which in 1507 were controlled by France, Spain, and Germany, with results that have lasted to our day; we are concerned with those events, and with the three great actors in them, so far only as they impinge on the personality of Machiavelli. He had several meetings with Louis XII of France, and his estimate of that monarch's character has already been alluded to. Machiavelli has painted Ferdinand II of Aragon as the man who accomplished great things under the cloak of religion, but who in reality had no mercy, faith, humanity, or integrity; and who, had he allowed himself to be influenced by such motives, would have been ruined. The Emperor Maximilian was one of the most interesting men of the age, and his character has been drawn by many hands; but Machiavelli, who was an envoy at his court in 1507-1508, reveals the secret of his many failures when he describes him as a secretive man, without force of character--ignoring the human agencies necessary to carry his schemes into effect, and never insisting on the fulfilment of his wishes.

Related Topics:
1507 - Spain - Germany - Ferdinand II of Aragon - Mercy - Faith - Humanity - Integrity - Emperor Maximilian - 1508

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The remaining years of Machiavelli's official career were filled with

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events arising out of the League of Cambrai, made in 1508 between the

Related Topics:
League of Cambrai - 1508

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three great European powers already mentioned and the pope, with the

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object of crushing the Venetian Republic. This result was attained in

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the Battle of Vaila (now usually known as the Battle of Agnadello), when Venice lost in one day all that she had won

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in eight hundred years. Florence had a difficult part to play during

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these events, complicated as they were by the feud which broke out

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between the pope and the French, because friendship with France had

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dictated the entire policy of the Republic. When, in 1511, Julius II

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finally formed the Holy League against France, and with the assistance

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of the Swiss drove the French out of Italy, Florence lay at the mercy

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of the Pope, and had to submit to his terms, one of which was that the

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Medici should be restored. The return of the Medici to Florence on

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September 1, 1512, and the consequent fall of the Republic, was the

Related Topics:
September 1 - 1512

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signal for the dismissal of Machiavelli and his friends, and thus put

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an end to his public career, for, as we have seen, he died without

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regaining office.

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