Machiavelli's Influence On The Prince

Machiavelli was an author and an aspiring political figure who had a strong influence on several aspects of Europe’s government. Due to his critical writings in The Prince, many historians see Machiavelli as a cruel and diabolical political figure whose true intentions were to gain power for himself. However, after looking further into Machiavelli’s political past, one can see that Machiavelli is in fact an intelligent man who possesses a hidden motive to write his novel. In his work, he covered several topics that were used by future city-state leaders to help them become successful. Machiavelli proves to be an astute political mind who used his political experience to assess the actions of famous princes and to write The Prince as a noteworthy
Machiavelli worked for the Florentine Republic before the Medici family came into power. According to Vincent Barnett, being a diplomat allowed Machiavelli to gain experience and knowledge on the “winding ways of power politics” and to learn about many powerful political figures. This political experience allowed him to assess the actions of past and present princes. Machiavelli’s Republican beliefs also explain why he disliked principalities. According to Barnett, Machiavelli lost his job in 1512 and was “imprisoned and tortured for his beliefs and associations” due to his support towards the Florentine Republic. These cruelties towards Machiavelli explain why he strongly believes that cruelty from princes can be unjust.

Machiavelli strategically writes The Prince as a satire in an attempt to accentuate the fact that princes are often cruel and unjust. In his book, Machiavelli
Contrary to popular belief, Machiavelli is not a diabolic political figure in search of power. He is instead an astute politician who uses his extensive knowledge of politics to analyze various princes and principalities in order to educate future