Bio of niccolo machiavelli

The Prince also emphasised the importance of a state being well armed, with a reliable military — not relying on mercenaries but employing citizens who felt a loyalty to the state. Machiavelli also felt the need for a strong leader. The Prince has been seen as revolutionary for promoting modern political philosophy rooted in realism and not idealism.

It was a a discussion of how people behave — rather than how they should behave. Famously he stated that it is better for a ruler to be feared rather than loved. But since the two rarely come together, anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being loved. Mussolini was one of the few rulers who publically praised the book.

Napoleon is said to have kept a copy under his pillow and taken it very seriously. However, in his other writings, such as Discourses on LivyMachiavelli is more supportive of the Republican government.

Bio of niccolo machiavelli

This in part reflected his life experiences and the conflict between idealism and the reality of life in 16th Century Italy. In truth, the writings of Machiavelli are left open to interpretation. Others criticised him for the promotion of evil. On a personal note, it seems Machiavelli was far from Machiavellian himself. Following the demise of the Girolamo Savonarola government inhe rose to acclaim and established himself as a very important statesman for almost a decade and half in Florence, Italy.

He found himself imprisoned and perhaps even tortured by the authorities. From then onward, he was never able to regain the influence he had had before. He did however spend those years out of politics very productively, writing brilliant political works, most famous of them all, The Prince and Discourses on Livy. Many historians consider the former, a brilliantly written handbook for politicians and rulers.

It ranks as one of the most famous political philosophy works of the Renaissance era, if not of all time. From his years of interacting with many influential political figures in Europe of the early 16th century, he was able to form several political theories that encouraged Florence rulers to adopt in order to stay in power as well as maintain a thriving and peaceful republic.

Machiavelli hailed from a relatively wealthy and powerful family, whose members held a number of public offices in Florence, Italy. He had three siblings — two older sisters and a younger brother. His father Bernardo was lawyer who as a result of his unscrupulous practices was prevented from holding any public office in the republic. As a result, Bernardo did not make as much money as his other bio of niccolo machiavelli members.

Machiavelli grew up in a slightly turbulent time in Florence, when the Catholic Popes in Rome waged war against many Italian city-states. Those conflicts exacerbated the political turmoil in Florence, which frequently resulted in governments and rulers not lasting for long in power. Florence at the time was basically the battle ground for European powers such as France, the Holy Roman Empire and Spain, all of who vied for control and influence in Florence.

Although not much is known about the details of his early life, we could say that he benefited a lot from the fact that the city of Florence was at the time the hub of philosophical studies and scholarship in Europe. For someone of his social stature, he learned Latin, grammar, rhetoric, and Greek. It is also likely that he was tutored in a number of areas in humanist subjects.

The Dominican friar and later ruler of Florence Girolamo Savonarola was also one of the notable people that had an influence on the young mind of Machiavelli. He often attended lectures and sermons given by Savonarola. Following the execution of Florence ruler Girolmo Savonarola inMachiavelli began to ascend the political ladder. Only around 29 years old by then, Machiavelli was appointed as head of the second chancery of the republic.

In that position, which is almost the equivalent of the Lord Chancellor, he was the caretaker of public deeds, contracts, and other official documents of the ruler of Florence. What this meant was that he was in charge of seals and official documents and correspondences of the republic. Machiavelli was the chief advisor on foreign affairs of the republic.

Although he had no earlier experience in that position, he distinguished himself brilliantly in that position. Historians to this day are left scratching their heads as to how Machiavelli rose to such lofty position in the republic, considering the fact that he was still very young and relatively inexperienced. Only around 29 years old by then, Machiavelli was appointed as head of the of the public records and archives cancelleria.

The two men introduced a number of reforms in the military apparatus of Florence, replacing foreign mercenaries with a state militia in Machiavelli was then placed in charge of the militia, thereby further enhancing his influence in the republic. He was an influential diplomat of the republic who led several delegations to many places in Europe, including meeting with several high-ranking officials of the French court and the papacy.

He noticed how Cesare, a member of the Borgias, kept power by willing to act in a corrupt, manipulative and treacherous manner, provided the outcomes were beneficial to people he ruled. As we shall see below, Machiavelli cites the Borgias as an exemplification of the ideal rulers, i. Machiavelli was part of the delegation from Florence that attended the conclave that elected Pope Julius II.

In his almost one and half decade time in in the ruling class of Florence, he is said to have gone on more than three dozen military and diplomatic missions abroad. According to the Florentine diplomat and civil servant Machiavelli politicians are not immoral and bad because they lie and use bio of niccolo machiavelli maneuvers to achieve a goal.

Machiavelli noted that a good politician is not someone who is friendly, honest and just. Instead a good and effective politician is one who uses all means to gain and hold on to power in order to promote the greater good of the society. To Machiavelli being nice and good were virtues incompatible with being an effective politician.

The Italian philosopher states that fortune needs to be controlled and sometimes dominated if the leader is to be successful. Good people fail to be effective leaders because they are incapable of taking immoral actions to maintain order and stability. He goes further to state in that it is impossible to be a good politician and still have moral virtues in the traditional Christian sense.

The perfect example of an ideal ruler is one who is capable of being brutal, emotionless, and scheming in order to keep his homeland prosperous, peaceful and his subjects loyal. The Prince must be able to crush all opposition in a swift manner. The short work, which was titled On the Way to Deal with the Rebel Subjects of the Valdichiana Del modo di trattare i sudditi della Val di Chiana ribellatiprovided two possible recourse on how to handle rebels.

After close to a decade and a half among the ruling class in Florence, Machiavelli fell from grace and found himself behind bars. Inmany of his political friends, including the gonfalonier Soderini, were removed from power Pope Julius II with the help of the Spanish army. Although he still had links with the Medici family, Machiavelli could not avoid going to prison on the charge of conspiracy.

After enduring a humiliating experience, including torture, he was exiled out of Florence and sent to live in San Casciano. It was during his exile that he produced two of his most brilliant works — The Prince and Discourses on Livy. As the official historian of Florence, Machiavelli was in charge with minor government duties. Though it was initially a dark period for his career, Machiavelli's time away from politics gave him the opportunity to read Roman history and to write political treatises, most notably The Prince.

The main theme of this short work about monarchal rule and survival is man's capacity for determining his own destiny in opposition to the power of fate, which has been interpreted as the political philosophy that one may resort to any means in order to establish and preserve total authority. The work has been regarded as a handbook for politicians on the use of ruthless, self-serving cunning, and inspired the term "Machiavellian.

One excerpt from the book reads: "Since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved. In addition to The PrinceMachiavelli wrote the treatise On the Art of Waramong others, and several poems and plays, including 's satirical The Mandrake. In his later years, Machiavelli resided in a small village just outside of Florence.

He died in the city on June 21, This diplomatic activity lasted for 14 years, during which he organized a militia in and witnessed the state-building methods used by Pope Alexander VI and his son, Cesare Borgia, who was later used as an example of a successful ruler in Il Principe. Inwith the aid of the Spanish army, the Medici family managed to dissolve the Florentine republic and Machiavelli was accused of conspiracy against them, which led to his imprisonment and torture for weeks.

Shortly after, he retired to his farm located outside of Florence. The Discourses was written over a four-year period and it was also published posthumously in