Nazmul Hossain September 29, 2014 History 101 Niccolò Machiavelli is best known for his book “The Prince”. He is considered one of the first modern political thinkers because influenced many writers, thinkers, leader’s. “The Prince” is a guide on how a ruler should rule. Although Machiavelli’s way of thinking is extreme, but it was wise at the same time. Niccolò Machiavelli was born in Florence, Italy, on May 3, 1469. Italy at this time was a political mess. It was separated into four different states and each with its own struggle for power. Each state competed with itself for power and against each other. For the most of Machiavelli’s life, The Medici family ruled Florence; but the Medici family wealth was drained because of Lorenzo de …show more content…
Principality is the way a prince comes to power . A prince can come to power in many ways, some less desirable than others. A prince can come to power with criminal acts or in favor of the people, He can be fortunate or he can be skilled. How a prince rises to power can affect the way people view him. The way a prince is viewed very important. The prince should keep up a solid appearance. He should be feared, but not hated, he should be cruel, but to a certain extent. It is better for a prince to break promises then to then to keep them, if the promise gets in the way. The prince should also build his reputation and choose wise advisors. Machiavelli also mentions the importance of having a stable military. Having a stable army ensures power and dominance. But having an army does not mean it’s a good one, there are many types and some better than others. A prince can choose to hire mercenaries, create an alliance that will provide military assist, create one that is filled with citizens only and lastly a mixed army. Machiavelli points out that Mercenaries and alliances are unstable and unreliable. A native army, composed of its own citizen is the most desirable. Machiavelli’s last point in the book is the use of evil. According to Machiavelli, the end justifies the mean. “Do all the harm you must do at one and the same time, that way the full extent of it will not be noticed, and it …show more content…
He wrote the prince in hopes that it will show his knowledge as an advisor, but it did him no good. His political career was over and he spent the remainder of his life in exile. After his death, “The Prince” influenced people of all kinds. There were people who saw Machiavelli’s text as a way to preserve monarchy; that is where the term Machiavellian originated from. While there were other who took his text and learned from it, such as Thomas