Biographical Script of Niccolò Machiavelli The man known to history as Niccolò Machiavelli
was born on the 3rd of May 1469 in Florence, in central Italy. Niccolò’s father was Bernardo Machiavelli,
who had studied law and gained a reputation as one of the leading legal minds of the time,
with a great interest in classical literature and philosophy. However, his family’s association with political
opposition to the rule of the Medici family combined with him falling into tax arrears
meant that Bernardo was unable to practise as a lawyer, and he struggled to make ends
meet using the income from his farm in the country. Bernardo’s debt threatened to make life
difficult for his young son Niccolò, since Florentine laws did not allow the sons of
debtors to hold public office, and in 1476 restrictions were placed on their ability
to inherit, since they would have to assume responsibility for any unpaid taxes. Niccolò’s mother, Bartolomea Machiavelli,
had grown up in a wealthy household in which she received an education that was usually
forbidden to young girls of the time. She first married the apothecary Niccolò
Benizi and had a daughter with him, but after the death of her husband in 1457 she married
Bernardo, with whom she had four children. She appears to have carried out business on
her own initiative even though there were limitations on the sorts of economic and commercial
activities women could take part in, and she otherwise spent her free time playing music
and reading and writing. The young Machiavelli was born in a large
house near the south bank of the River Arno, sometimes called the Palazzo Machiavelli,
which was divided between four branches of the family and housed some thirty people in
total. In spite of these cramped conditions, the
Machiavelli were an old and prestigious family in Florence who made and maintained their
fortune as lawyers, bankers, and merchants. Although Niccolò would follow his family’s
footsteps in joining the professional classes in Florence, he would leave behind a legacy
in his writings that made him the most famous and notorious member of his clan. Despite his family’s status and intellectual
credentials, Niccolò Machiavelli’s early prospects did not seem very bright, even though
his native city of Florence was experiencing its Golden Age as a centre of artistic creation
and intellectual thought. During the medieval period, Florence was one
of many independent city-states in northern Italy, and by the 15th century it had become
one of the wealthiest. Although it continued to follow some republican
traditions, Florentine politics was dominated by the wealthy Medici family who made their
fortune in banking. The Medici did not hold any formal political
offices but used their money and influence to control the city’s political institutions,
including the Signoria, the supreme executive body consisting of nine members and headed
by the gonfaloniere di giustizia, or standard-bearer of justice. Under Medici influence, Florence became the
centre of the Italian Renaissance, an artistic and cultural movement motivated by a desire
to revive and build on classical antiquity. The architectural jewel of the Renaissance
in Florence was the octagonal dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, designed
by Filippo Brunelleschi and completed in 1436. In December 1469, the year of Machiavelli’s
birth, the 20-year-old Lorenzo de’ Medici succeeded his father as the de facto ruler
of the city, and under his leadership the city would rise to new glories, earning him
the nickname Lorenzo the Magnificent. During the 15th century, knowledge of Latin
and Greek became increasingly important for aspiring Florentine public officials. An admirer of classical antiquity himself,
Bernardo Machiavelli intended for his son to have a classical education which would
open up a career in the law, state administration, or the Church. After learning to read between the ages of
four and six, Niccolò began studying Latin at the age of seven. Despite his father’s best efforts, Niccolò’s
education was often disrupted. After a failed conspiracy against the Medici
in 1478, war broke out between Florence and the Pope, who ruled over a large stretch of
territory in central Italy. With his income reduced due to the impact
of the war on his farms south of the city, Bernardo decided to cut costs and send Niccolò
to study with Benedetto Riccardini, who was already teaching a distant cousin. In early 1479, the bubonic plague struck Florence
and Bernardo decided to send Niccolò to live with relations in the countryside while remaining
in the city himself. During the summer Bernardo fell seriously
ill with the plague but survived the experience, enabling him to turn his attention to his
son’s continued education, and in January 1480 Niccolò was sent to study arithmetic
with Piero Maria Caladri, a distinguished teacher. After two years of arithmetic, in November
1481 Bernardo Machiavelli sent Niccolò and his younger brother Totto to study with Paolo
Sassi, a priest and grammar teacher. Sassi taught Niccolò classical literature,
including the works of such esteemed writers such as Cicero, Virgil and Livy. After learning how to read and understand
the rhetorical and literary techniques they used, Niccolò was taught how to translate
letters from Italian to Latin, imitating Cicero’s style. Since this instruction was intended to prepare
students for a career in the law or government service, the letters Niccolò was asked to
translate were designed to reflect real-life scenarios that he might face in his future
career, while the classical texts he studied usually included discussions of morality and
virtue which formed part of Florence’s civic culture. After studying with Sassi, Machiavelli enrolled
in the university between the ages of sixteen and eighteen, where he attended lectures by
the leading scholars of the day on the most influential classical texts. Machiavelli began to use the literary talents
he developed during his studies to gain favour with the Medici. Lorenzo the Magnificent died in 1492, leaving
three sons, Piero, Giovanni, and Giuliano, and Machiavelli wrote a number of verses in
praise of Giuliano. However, Lorenzo’s eldest son and successor
Piero de’ Medici proved to be a weak political leader, and when King Charles VIII of France
marched into Italy in the summer of 1494 to assert his claim to the Kingdom of Naples
in southern Italy, Piero was unable to resist and agreed to capitulate without consulting
the Signoria. The furious Florentines overthrew Piero but
struggled to form a new government, enabling the priest Girolamo Savonarola to take political
charge with widespread popular support. Preaching from his pulpit in the cathedral,
the moralistic Savonarola denounced the wealth of the Medici and claimed that the French
invasion was divine punishment for the city’s sins, and under his influence luxurious items
such as jewellery, paintings, books of poetry and musical instruments were burned in the
‘bonfires of the vanities.’ Although the Machiavelli family had been among
the opposition to the Medici, Niccolò’s efforts to seek favour with them threatened
to backfire. Meanwhile, his mother Bartolomea had died
in 1496, and his father Bernardo’s income remained low, leaving Niccolò and his brother
Totto in extreme hardship. During this time Machiavelli worked on a translation
of the Andria by the Roman satirist Terence into his native Tuscan dialect. Rather than a faithful translation of the
Latin original, Machiavelli added his own vulgar jokes and inserted subtle references
criticising Savonarola. At around this time, Machiavelli met Marcello
Adriani, who had been appointed the professor of poetry and rhetoric at the university in
1494. Although Savonarola preached that it was sinful
to study the classics of pagan Rome and Greece, Adriani promoted the wisdom of the ancients
as a guide to contemporary society, and in particular encouraged his students to apply
rhetoric in the cause of republican liberty. By 1497, Savonarola’s authority in Florence
began to diminish, as Charles VIII signed a treaty with the League of Venice led by
the pope and withdrew from Italian affairs. The Florentine priest had depended on the
French alliance and was left exposed to attack by the papacy and its allies in the League. When Florence received reassurances that the
city would be left alone if they stopped Savonarola from preaching, his political opponents moved
against him. The Signoria struggled to deal with the political
turmoil that followed, and the death of the long-serving chancellor Bartolomeo Scala further
heightened tensions. The Florentines were determined to choose
a compromise candidate who was not associated with either Savonarola or the Medici. Machiavelli’s lack of political connections
was now an asset and in February 1498 he ran for the office of second chancellor, which
dealt with the city’s relationship to subject towns and domestic matters. Although he was unsuccessful, his friend and
mentor Marcello Adriani won election to the first chancellorship. Meanwhile, the political tensions in Florence
showed no sign of abating, and the Signoria’s reluctance to silence Savonarola prompted
Pope Alexander VI to place the city under a papal interdict. Eager to avoid the wrath of the Church falling
on their city, the Florentines arrested Savonarola and hanged him and two of his associates on
the 23rd of May and cracked down on his political supporters. With the incumbent second chancellor stripped
of his offices, the Signoria looked for a replacement, and on the 19th of June 1498,
the 29-year-old Niccolò Machiavelli became second chancellor. The fall of Savonarola transformed Machiavelli’s
political fortunes overnight, making him one of the most important officials in the Florentine
government. It was a difficult time for the city, which
was not only facing a constitutional crisis but was also heavily indebted due to the ongoing
war. Following the unexpected death of Charles
VIII in April 1498, Florence mounted a campaign to reconquer the port city of Pisa, which
had rebelled against Florentine rule during the French invasion four years earlier. Taking advantage of the situation, a Venetian
army crossed into Florentine territory from the northeast, including a detachment led
by Piero de’ Medici and his brothers. With the Venetians threatening the city of
Arezzo, the Florentine commander Paolo Vitelli was ordered to withdraw from Pisa to confront
the Venetian threat. In the meantime, the new French king Louis
XII aimed to attack Milan and to repair relations with both the pope and Venice, threatening
to leave Florence further isolated. The Florentine leaders were now faced with
choosing to stick to France, or to switch sides and unite with its Italian neighbours
against France. Although as second chancellor Machiavelli
did not have any formal responsibility for diplomatic affairs, previous holders of the
office routinely played a diplomatic role, sometimes even serving as ambassadors. In March 1499, Machiavelli was dispatched
on a diplomatic mission to negotiate with a mercenary captain who refused to fight,
carrying out his instructions effectively and signallinged that Florence was not going
to back down. Meanwhile, a peace offer from Venice in April
proved unacceptable to both Florence and Pisa, signalling that the Venetians wanted to withdraw
from the war and were now focusing their efforts on potential hostilities against the Ottoman
Empire to the east. This encouraged the Florentines to renew the
campaign against Pisa, and Machiavelli compiled a report summarising the opinions of Florence’s
generals, which concluded that Pisa could only be taken by a direct assault. However, he was less successful in July when
he returned empty handed from negotiations with the formidable Caterina Sforza, the regent
of Forli, an ally of both Florence and Milan who was being forced to choose between the
two. When French troops crossed into Italy and
attacked Milan in late July, the Florentines were obliged once again to side with France. The Florentine assault on Pisa in August was
initially successful and the city walls were breached, but rather than exploit his advantage
Vitelli hesitated and camped beneath the walls, while an outbreak of malaria weakened the
Florentine army and gave the Pisans the chance to recover. The Signoria was outraged but sent Vitelli
reinforcements to finish the job, but the commander raised the siege before he received
them. When the Signoria received letters from Louis
XII showing that Vitelli was in contact with Milan, he was arrested and brought back to
Florence. Machiavelli was convinced of Vitelli’s guilt
and approved his execution on the 1st of October. Meanwhile, the Florentine army continued to
struggle in Pisa, prompting the Signoria to ask Louis for military assistance. When 5,000 Swiss mercenaries arrived in the
spring of 1500, they were unwilling to fight. Machiavelli was given the task to persuade
the Swiss to fight but was unable to prevent a mutiny in July, when a group of mercenaries
took a Florentine commissioner prisoner and threatened to kill him if their demands for
their pay were not met. When Florence refused to be intimidated and
prepared to fight, the Swiss backed down and left, but with their departure the Florentine
army was no longer in a position to continue the siege of Pisa. The failure of the siege led to a breakdown
in relations between Florence and its French ally, with both sides blaming each other for
the misfortune. Machiavelli was one of two envoys sent to
France to make the Signoria’s case that the Swiss mercenaries had conspired with the
Pisans and Florence would not make any further payments for the mutinous soldiers. The Florentine envoys struggled to make their
case during a series of meetings in August and September with the king and his adviser
Cardinal Georges d’Amboise. The French were insistent that the Signoria
had to pay the 38,000 francs it still owed to the king, but as Machiavelli did not have
the authority to agree to these demands, he could only write to the Signoria asking for
further instructions and to send a permanent ambassador to France. Although the Signoria realised that there
was no other choice but to pay Louis and maintain the French alliance, the city was already
short on funds and unwilling to send an ambassador. However, Florence now needed help not only
to retake Pisa but also to defend its own lands. Cesare Borgia, the son of Pope Alexander VI,
had conquered the cities of Forli and Imola in the Romagna region and threatened Florentine
territory from the east. Louis was alarmed at these developments and
promised Machiavelli he would provide military assistance if Borgia were to attack Florence
or Bologna, while the Signoria was prepared to pay 10,000 ducats immediately. In December 1500, the new Florentine ambassador
had arrived in France, allowing Machiavelli to return home. By May 1501, Florence had still not yet signed
an agreement with Louis when Borgia crossed into Florentine territory. In an effort to secure French help as soon
as possible, the Signoria sent the king 20,000 florins. Although Borgia promised Florence he would
not attack the city, he chose to blackmail the Florentines by demanding to be appointed
captain-general on an annual salary of 36,000 florins, while also demanding the restoration
of the Medici. The Signoria was incensed but had little choice
with the prospect of Borgia’s army of 10,000 men on its doorstep and agreed to negotiate. While Borgia dropped his demands for a change
in government, he was appointed captain-general even though the city had no means to pay him
the sum he demanded. However, in May Machiavelli heard that Louis
had written to Borgia to leave Florentine territory immediately, and on the 26th of
May Florence received news that 30,000 French troops were on their way to Naples, passing
through Tuscany on the way. In early June, the French army approached
Florence, and Borgia was forced to withdraw without receiving a single penny from Florence. Machiavelli spent most of 1501 attempting
to calm the factional conflict which had broken out in the nearby subject city of Pistoia. For most of the year, Machiavelli and the
Florentine representatives were unable to achieve much, but by the end of August both
sides were in the process of negotiating peace without Florence’s involvement. The Signoria was afraid that both factions
would unite and turn against Florence, and in October Machiavelli was sent to the city
to gather intelligence. Within days factional violence began to break
out again, and on the 18th of October Machiavelli was appointed assistant commissioner general
with instructions to maintain the peace agreement while also ensuring Pistoia’s subject status. Thanks to Machiavelli’s efforts, peace was
restored on the 20th, and Florence’s political and military situation much improved significantly. Away from his political duties, in August
1501 the 32-year-old Machiavelli married the 20-year old Marietta Corsini, who hailed from
a far wealthier family than Machiavelli’s own. Although it was likely an arranged marriage,
it proved to be a successful and loving partnership, and Marietta would often look after her husband’s
properties when he was abroad on government business. Despite these successes, Florence was by no
means out of danger. After helping King Louis capture Naples, Borgia
turned his attention back north with an eye to expanding his new duchy of Romagna and
demanding that Florence fulfil the agreement it signed in May. Rumours that Giuliano de’ Medici had offered
70,000 florins for French support in restoring the Medici to power in Florence alarmed the
Signoria, and in April 1502 it agreed to pay Louis 150,000 ducats in exchange for a promise
of French protection. Newly emboldened, the Florentines stepped
up their efforts against Pisa, only to receive the news that the city of Arezzo had been
captured by Vitellozzo Vitelli, brother of the mercenary captain executed by the Florentines
a couple of years earlier. Later in June, Piero de’ Medici arrived
in Arezzo to an enthusiastic welcome. Fearing the return of the Medici, the Signoria
dispatched Machiavelli to assist Francesco Soderini in negotiations with Borgia himself. Beginning at the end of June, negotiations
with Borgia in Urbino started poorly as the Duke of Romagna threatened to restore the
Medici and reminded Florence of its political and military weakness. Although Borgia dismissed the notion that
Louis would support Florence, in early July Louis was already leading an army into Italy
to defend Florence the city against Borgia. Even though a desperate Borgia had moderated
his terms, the Florentines were confident enough to break off negotiations. Although Florence managed to outmanoeuvre
Borgia on this occasion with French support, Machiavelli warned the authorities not to
underestimate the Duke of Romagna. The crisis in Arezzo prompted the Florentines
to make constitutional changes seeking greater political continuity. The gonfaloniere di giustizia had been Florence’s
most prominent political leader, but as with the rest of the members of the Signoria he
served only a two-month term. At the end of August, the Great Council agreed
to a gonfaloniere for life and appointed the experienced diplomat Piero Soderini to the
office. As the brother of Francesco Soderini, whom
Machiavelli had befriended on their mission to Borgia, the appointment was a positive
sign. In the meantime, Borgia had been in Milan
repairing his relations with King Louis, blaming Vitelli and his fellow mercenaries for the
outrages against Florence, and by early 1502 he regained the king’s favour and even had
his blessing to attack Bologna. Infuriated by Borgia’s conduct in Milan,
Vitelli and his fellow disgruntled mercenaries conspired to stir up rebellion in Romagna
and offered an alliance with Florence. The Florentines saw this approach as an opportunity
to make an alliance with Borgia from a position of strength, and in early October Machiavelli
was dispatched to Imola to lead the mission. Machiavelli found Borgia eager to strike a
deal and help Florence recover Pisa and Arezzo, but the Florentines could not make any agreement
without first consulting Louis. As the negotiations dragged on, Borgia’s
negotiating position strengthened as the rebellious mercenaries and their Bolognese allies proposed
that he should abandon his efforts against Bologna and attack Florence instead. Machiavelli wrote back to Florence advising
his political superiors to make a deal immediately, but by the time he was given the authority
to do so at the end of October, Borgia was already in advanced negotiations with the
mercenaries and Bologna. Although the agreement was not concluded until
the beginning of December, Machiavelli saw that Florence lost its opportunity and requested
to return home. The request was denied, and instead he was
to follow Borgia on campaign as he left Imola on the 10th of December to meet with the mercenary
captains he had re-employed. Although Machiavelli was relieved to learn
that Borgia decided against attacking Florentine territory, he was afraid Borgia could turn
his army on Florence at any time. After restoring his authority over the Romagna,
at the end of December Borgia arrested the mercenary captains who rebelled against him
and executed them over the following days. This show of strength finally convinced the
Signoria to send a special ambassador to Romagna and allowed Machiavelli to return home in
January 1503. Although the negotiations with Borgia had
not been entirely successful, Machiavelli was by now an experienced diplomat and retained
the support of the leading political figures in the city, enabling him to easily return
to office as second chancellor. Upon his return, he was almost immediately
asked by Soderini to draft a speech for him persuading the Florentine people to accept
new taxes to finance an increase in military expenditure. Machiavelli eloquently argued that Florence
had to build up its military capacity in order to more effectively negotiate with powerful
men such as King Louis and Cesare Borgia, and past experience had shown that political
tides could turn quickly and the city had to be prepared to confront all potential threats. When Soderini delivered the speech on the
28th of March, it was well received and Machiavelli became a trusted adviser to the gonfaloniere. In April 1503, relations between France and
the Borgias had deteriorated to the point that conflict appeared inevitable. Pope Alexander set about forming an anti-French
league and reached out to Florence, offering to recognise the border between Florence and
the Duchy of Romagna, but Florence was not ready to abandon its French ally, especially
as a French army would soon arrive in Tuscany. Having seen Borgia at close quarters, Machiavelli
warned his superiors not to underestimate him, and in August he wrote a report describing
how effectively Borgia had dealt with the rebellion of his mercenary captains and his
cunning ploy to trap Vitelli and his associates. At around the same time, Machiavelli was working
on a report advising how Florence should respond should Arezzo rise up again and join Borgia’s
cause. Drawing on lessons from Roman history, he
argued that rebellious cities should either be treated with kindness or punished severely,
and that Florence’s policy of moderation had not been effective. Although Machiavelli proposed a pre-emptive
strike against Arezzo, his superiors were afraid that any action would encourage its
citizens to side with Borgia. The arrival of a French army heading south
to Naples diverted Borgia’s attention, but the French were unable to spare any reinforcements
for Florence. On the 18th of August, Pope Alexander VI died,
possibly from poisoning while at dinner with one of his cardinals. Cesare had fallen ill at the same dinner and
hurriedly made his way to Rome to influence the election of a new pope who would support
his interests. He was initially confirmed in his offices
by the newly elected Pius III, but upon arriving in Rome his opponents took to the streets
and forced him to take refuge in the Castel Sant’Angelo. When the 64-year-old Pope Pius died on the
18th of October after less than a month in office, Borgia supported the candidacy of
Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere, who promised to confirm him as captain-general of the Church. Machiavelli was sent to Rome to observe the
papal conclave on the 31st of October, when della Rovere was elected unanimously and took
the name Julius II. Although Florence welcomed the election, Machiavelli
was cautious, knowing that the new pope could not deliver on all the promises he had made. In November, when Venetian troops captured
Imola and threatened to take the whole of the Romagna, Machiavelli received assurances
of the pope’s support if the Venetians were to attack Florence. Meanwhile, Borgia was infuriated upon hearing
his duchy was occupied by the Venetians and began to behave erratically, doubting the
pope would fulfil his promises. In late November Julius arrested Borgia, and
by early 1504 he was a prisoner in Spain. The fall of Borgia eliminated one of Florence’s
most formidable enemies, but military developments in Naples caused further concerns. In May 1503, Naples had been captured by Gonzalo
Fernández de Córdoba, an officer in the service of the Spanish kingdom of Aragon. In late December, a French army sent to retake
the city was defeated by Gonzalo, leaving France considerably weakened. Florence was now vulnerable to the Spanish
in the south, the Venetians to the east, not to mention the possibility of an invasion
by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, whose empire included much of Germany and had once
incorporated northern Italy. Maximilian’s predecessors had been crowned
emperor in Rome, often forcing a reluctant pope to do so by military invasion. In such an event, Florence could not rely
on continued French military assistance, and in January Machiavelli was sent to France
to confer with King Louis. Although the king promised that he would makde
peace with Spain and the Holy Roman Empire and then support the Florentines against Venice,
under the terms of the Franco-Spanish treaty, Venice was placed under Spanish protection. Machiavelli returned to Florence in early
March frustrated with his fruitless mission, while the Florentines prepared for war with
Aragon. In May, Gonzalo sent a detachment to Pisa
and declared that the city was under the protection of King Ferdinand of Aragon, seeking to provoke
a war with Florence. The city’s morale remained high, and when
Michelangelo’s magnificent sculpture of David was completed and moved to the Piazza
della Signoria on the 14th of May, the Florentines saw it as a symbol of defiance against a stronger
foe. The Florentines decided that they had to capture
Pisa before the Aragonese arrived in force, and devised a plan to build two canals to
divert the flow of the River Arno in order to dry up Pisa’s port and prevent the city
from being supplied by sea. Machiavelli was tasked with supervising the
scheme, but soon began to have doubts about the original plans and suggested an alternative
proposed by Leonardo da Vinci, but by the end of September the project was abandoned. Piero Soderini had been an enthusiastic supporter
of the scheme, and its failure left the gonfaloniere politically weakened. Machiavelli spent early 1505 attempting to
shore up Soderini’s authority, but the prospect of a Medici restoration was all too real,
especially if Florence were to be defeated by the Aragonese army. On the 17th of August 1505, the Florentine
army clashed with the Aragonese invasion force of 3,000 men under the command of Bartolomeo
d’Alviano. Both sides were evenly matched in terms of
numbers, after several hours of bitter fighting, the Florentines emerged triumphant. The success encouraged Soderini and the Florentine
government to make another attempt at Pisa, and Machiavelli was closely involved in the
preparations for the campaign. Although the campaign started well and the
capture of Pisa seemed inevitable, disagreements among the Florentine commanders fatally undermined
the assault, and by mid-September the Florentine army was forced to withdraw in the wake of
additional Spanish reinforcements. Once again military failure called into question
Soderini’s leadership, and the Great Council refused to approve more taxes for the effort. With Florence in desperate need tof more manpower,
Soderini agreed to Machiavelli’s suggestion to revive a citizen militia, and the latter
set about recruiting men from the Tuscan countryside. On the 15th of February 400 new recruits paraded
through the city, and Machiavelli was widely praised for his efforts recruiting and training
the men, even though the force had not yet received official recognition by the Great
Council. In the summer of 1506, Pope Julius II planned
to restore the papacy’s position in the Romagna and requested Florence’s assistance
for the campaign. Although Machiavelli was sent to Rome to negotiate
with the pope, Julius began his campaign without the Florentine troops he requested. Between September and late October, Machiavelli
accompanied the pope in his march northwards, and Julius successfully took Perugia and ousted
its lord Giampaolo Baglioni, a mercenary captain who had formerly been in the service of Florence
but had changed sides. The papal army’s success in Perugia was
welcomed by Florence, and the city eventually sent Julius the contingent he requested for
the invasion of Bologna, which was captured on the 1st of November. Machiavelli returned home to Florence with
an admiration for the pope’s boldness and decisiveness in battle, qualities which earned
Julius the nickname of ‘warrior pope.’ Machiavelli hoped to inspire Florence with
the same boldness that the pope had shown and spent the rest of the year making the
case for his militia, which had now grown to five thousand men. On the 6th of December, the bill that Machiavelli
drafted was passed by the Great Council, and he was appointed to oversee the militia’s
operations. Machiavelli spent the early months of 1507
working on the militia, where he proved a successful organiser despite his lack of military
experience, and within weeks small detachments were already raiding the Pisan countryside. In the meantime, Florentine diplomatic initiatives
to secure help from France or Aragon in its war with Pisa proved unsuccessful. As Emperor Maximilian was rumoured to be preparing
for another Italian campaign, Florence considered reaching out to him. By December 1507, Machiavelli was sent to
help the Florentine ambassador Francesco Vettori negotiate with the emperor, but it was not
until January that he caught up with the imperial court at Bolzano in the Tyrol. Vettori’s inexperience and the difficulties
in communicating with Florence caused the negotiations to flounder. The emperor demanded a sum of money that Florence
was unwilling to pay, while Florence demanded military support against Pisa that the emperor
was unwilling to provide. Meanwhile, the emperor surprised all observers
by declaring war on the Venetians, and although the campaign started well, the imperial armies
were eventually defeated. In June 1508, Maximilian signed a truce with
Venice and withdrew his forces from Italy, no longer being in a position to help or harm
Florence. Machiavelli returned home in June relieved
that Florence had avoided a costly mistake. In July, Machiavelli turned his attention
back to the militia. When Soderini convinced the Florentine councils
to besiege Pisa again, he mobilised the militia and ordered it to raid the Pisan countryside
and destroy the harvest. Since the militia was without a commander
for the time being, Machiavelli led this force to carry out the mission, and by November
Pisa was running short of supplies. In December, the anti-Venetian League of Cambrai
had been formed by Maximilian, Louis XII, Ferdinand of Aragon, and Pope Julius. Florence soon signed an agreement with France
and Aragon, promising to pay them 50,000 florins each for support against Pisa. Over the course of several weeks in early
1509, Machiavelli moved between the Florentine army camps to ensure that the besieging army
was well supplied, and on the 20th of May the Pisans offered to surrender. On the 8th of June 1509, Machiavelli was marching
at the head of the militia as the Florentine authorities took control of Pisa after a fifteen-year
war. The victory in Pisa strengthened Soderini’s
position in Florence, but the gonfaloniere’s position was being slowly undermined by a
campaign to return the Medici to power. With the death of Piero in 1503, Cardinal
Giovanni de’ Medici was now head of the family. Meanwhile, the League of Cambrai had won several
victories against Venice in the spring of 1509, but by the summer the Venetians were
fighting back. While Louis and Maximilian were arguing about
how to divide the spoils in northern Italy, the pope considered withdrawing from the alliance. He had achieved his objectives in the Romagna
and began to fear a strong French presence in northern Italy as much as the Venetians. In February 1510, the pope signed a treaty
with Venice, and the prospect of Julius leaving the alliance would have dire consequences
for Florence, especially as he had been won over to the Medici cause. In June, Machiavelli was sent to France with
instructions to persuade Louis to maintain his alliance with Maximilian, and to avoid
an open break with the pope. Louis instead insisted that Florence provide
military support against the pope, but Machiavelli managed to convince him that it was in France’s
interests for Florence to remain neutral to avoid provoking the pope. Despite these reassurances, when Machiavelli
returned to Florence in September he was given the task of recruiting 500 cavalrymen for
the militia should the city be dragged into a war against the pope, but during the winter
the war turned in France’s favour and allowed Florence a moment of calm. However, in the summer of 1511 Louis announced
his intention to hold a General Council of the Church to depose the pope and sought to
hold it in Pisa, and despite Machiavelli’s efforts to dissuade Louis, the king was adamant
that it would go ahead. On the 5th of October, Julius joined Aragon
and Venice in the Holy League directed at France, placing Florence in grave danger. In November the General Council met for a
few sessions in Pisa but left for Milan shortly thereafter due to local discontent. Florence stuck by its French ally, which defeated
a papal army at Ravenna on the 11th of April 1512, during which Giovanni de’ Medici,
the papal legate to the army, had been captured by the French army. The Florentines were delighted and it appeared
that a Medici restoration was out of the question, but over the next three months the armies
of the Holy League launched attacks on several fronts which the overstretched French armies
could not resist. By July, the French forces were expelled from
Italy, leaving Florence at the mercy of the Holy League. Despite Soderini and Machiavelli’s efforts
to mobilise the militia to defend the city, the papal army’s devastating campaign prompted
the gonfaloniere to resign at the end of August. Although Giuliano de’ Medici re-entered
Florence on the 1st of September and the Holy League had forced the Signoria to accept the
Medici restoration, Giuliano’s position was not secure and he attempted to achieve
consensus by working with moderates and Soderini’s supporters. Desperate to retain his political offices,
Machiavelli now showered the Medici with praise in his writings. However, when the radical pro-Medici faction
took control of the Signoria, Machiavelli was dismissed from his offices on the 7th
of November. Worse was to follow in February 1513, when
Machiavelli was arrested following the discovery of a conspiracy against the Medici. Following an investigation, Machiavelli was
to be released upon payment of 1,000 florins, but before he could raise the money, Pope
Julius died on the 21st of February and Cardinal Giovanni de’ Medici was elected in his place,
taking the name Leo X. The Medici were now unassailable in Florence,
and Giuliano declared a general amnesty, allowing Machiavelli to go free on the 11th of March. After emerging from his prison cell, Machiavelli
aspired to return to Florentine public service and appealed to Giuliano as well as Pope Leo
via his friends in Rome. These efforts proved fruitless, and he decided
to move his family to one of his properties in the countryside south of Florence. Although these surroundings gave him the opportunity
to relax, Machiavelli continued to serve as a source of advice for his old friend Francesco
Vettori, serving as ambassador in Rome. The two men discussed the ever-changing diplomatic
situation, which saw the Holy League begin to disintegrate when Maximilian and the late
Julius II turned against Venice. Meanwhile, Ferdinand of Aragon signed a truce
with Louis XII, giving the French king the opportunity to retake Milan. In early May, a French army swept into Italy
and conquered much of the duchy of Milan, but was soundly defeated by an army of 8,000
Swiss mercenaries fighting for the Holy League. Although Machiavelli wrote to Vettori about
how the pope should respond to these developments, perhaps in an attempt to win the favour of
the Medici and return to office, he remained unemployed. From his countryside retreat, Machiavelli
wrote a short book that would guarantee his fame over the centuries. Known as The Prince, its author hoped that
the wisdom and insights contained within its pages would enable him to gain employment
with the Medici. Careful not to mention the Medici directly,
Machiavelli gave advice about how a prince who came to power through good fortune can
effectively consolidate his rule over his realm. In this task, he was following in an established
tradition of writers and intellectuals offering guidance to princes about how to govern. Both classical and Christian writers suggested
that the best way for a prince to maintain power was to be virtuous, but Machiavelli
rejected such idealistic notions and argued instead that in the real world, princes who
tried to be virtuous always suffered at the hands of external and internal enemies. He argued instead that princes must be bold
and audacious, and often cited Cesare Borgia as an example of an effective ruler in this
regard. In order to maintain their position, princes
should be motivated by glory and honour rather than virtue. Recalling his experiences serving the Florentine
government during the ongoing wars, Machiavelli argued that in order to deal with external
threats, such a prince had to have his own citizen militia rather than having to depend
on unreliable allies or mercenaries. With respect to maintaining internal order
and overcoming the factional politics that had plagued Florence for decades, he argued
that it was better for a prince to be feared than to be loved, and it was this belief which
contributed to his reputation as a philosopher who justified the doing of evil. Machiavelli hoped to send a copy of The Prince
to Giuliano de’ Medici, who spent much of his time in Rome and left Florentine matters
in the hands of his nephew Lorenzo, the son of Piero. In January 1514 he sent an early unfinished
draft to Vettori, who was immediately impressed, and during the following months Machiavelli
worked on refining the work, leaving stronger hints that a wise prince should employ experienced
and able public servants like himself. Aside from political matters, Machiavelli
and Vettori found the time to exchange stories about their love affairs. Although by now Machiavelli had three children
and his wife was expecting a fourth, he continued to indulge his passions not only with women
but also young boys, one of the darker practices from classical antiquity adopted by the men
of the Renaissance. In June 1514 These activities allowed Machiavelli
some consolation after he was informed by Vettori in June 1514 that the Medici were
still not well-disposed towards him, and neither he nor his book would be welcome in Rome. While Machiavelli was anticipating a lengthy
political exile, in December Vettori wrote to him on behalf of Cardinal Giulio de’
Medici, the pope’s cousin, asking for advice on whether the pope should ally with France
or with Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. Machiavelli argued in favour of a French alliance,
predicting that Louis would achieve victory no matter who the pope supported, but if the
pope were to back the wrong horse, Louis might try to depose him. By the end of December, Vettori wrote that
the letter was well-received by the pope, and although there was no offer of employment,
the Medici recognised Machiavelli’s talents. When Louis died on the 1st of January 1515,
his cousin and successor Francis I was equally intent on recovering Milan and launched his
campaign in the beginning of July. The pope had opened negotiations with France
but as Francis was unwilling to recognise papal sovereignty over the cities of Parma,
Reggio, Modena, and Piacenza, he joined the anti-French league. On the 13th of September, the French army
was surprised by a Swiss force at Marignano and was on the verge of defeat before their
Venetian allies arrived at the last minute and gained victory, enabling Francis to recapture
Milan a few weeks later. From his position of strength, the king signed
a truce with the pope placing the Papal States and Florence under his protection in return
for Parma and Piacenza. Back in July, Lorenzo de’ Piero de’ Medici,
who had taken over command of the Florentine militia, hadand asked Machiavelli for advice. Before Machiavelli could send over his instructions,
Lorenzo had been appointed captain-general of the papal army in the place of his uncle
Giuliano, who had fallen ill. After Francis and Leo came to their agreement,
Machiavelli hoped that he could win Lorenzo’s favour and rededicated The Prince to him in
January 1516. However, when he delivered his treatise to
the Palazzo Medici, Lorenzo had just received a pair of hunting dogs and paid little attention
to Machiavelli’s book. An infuriated Machiavelli vowed never to have
anything to do with the Medici, and instead looked forward to their demise. Recognising that his political career was
over, Machiavelli joined a group of Florentine intellectuals and writers who met in a secluded
garden called the Orti Oricellari. Machiavelli began a long poem called The Ass,
in which the narrator describes the experience of being on the island of the enchantress
Circe from Homer’s Odyssey, where he encounters the different animals into which Circe had
transformed men who arrived on her island. Making several digressions concerning Florentine
politics, Machiavelli’s animals are references to Florence’s political elite, and the narrator’s
transformation into an ass represented the author’s withdrawal from his former political
life. Despite such intentions, regardless of genre,
Machiavelli’s literary output could always be read as a critique of Florentine politics. During this period he wrote the play Mandragola,
a five-act comedy which sees a young Florentine man named Callimaco win his way into the bed
of Lucrezia, a beautiful childless married woman. Pretending to be a doctor, Callimaco offers
to help the couple conceive a child with a potion made from a mandrake root, but warns
them that the first person Lucrezia sleeps with would die. Despite her initial reluctance, Lucrezia agrees
to sleep with another man. Callimaco ditches his doctor’s disguise
and allows himself to be kidnapped to perform the task, but even after he reveals his identity,
Lucrezia proposes they become lovers, while her delighted husband is so grateful for Callimaco’s
supposed sacrifice he gives him the keys to his house. The Mandragola not only satirised Florentine
morality, but may also be read as an allegory of Florence being in a sterile union with
the Medici, and that any attempt to restore her liberty was justified, even by deceit. Machiavelli enjoyed the discussions with his
companions at the Orti Oricellari, and soon came to the idea that the Florentine society
was so corrupt because it failed to learn the lessons of antiquity. He started work on the Discourses on Titus
Livius, framed as a commentary on the historian Livy’s history of Rome, but also an attempt
to establish a set of principles for the exercise of political power. While Machiavelli continued to view politics
through a realist rather than idealistic lens, he was no longer trying to curry favour with
the Medici. In the Discourses, Machiavelli concludes that
cities and states have only achieved greatness when they have been at liberty, and as soon
as they fell under tyranny their fortunes began to decline. For Machiavelli, liberty not only meant freedom
fromof oppression, but also the ability of citizens to enjoy equal political rights,
and for them to be willing to place the common good above individual interests. Echoing his earlier ideas in The Prince, Machiavelli’s
conception of this civic duty set aside any moral considerations. In order to guarantee liberty, Machiavelli
argued that states had to eliminate class divisions, enforce the law, establish a state
religion, and be led by men of virtue. At the end of the book, Machiavelli lamented
that Florence lacked the virtuous leader it sorely needed to eliminate corruption and
overcome factionalism but hoped that one would emerge soon. Soon after completing the Discourses, Machiavelli
was presented with an unexpected opportunity for a return to public office with the death
of Lorenzo de’ Medici at the age of 26 in May 1519. The pope sent his cousin Cardinal Giulio de’
Medici to take temporary charge of Florence, and the cardinal attempted to bridge the factional
divide by reforming the city’s constitution and widening political participation. Machiavelli saw an opportunity to return to
favour and serve the new moderate government, and once again turned to writing in an attempt
to secure employment. Following the death of Emperor Maximilian
in January 1519, his grandson Charles had been elected to succeed him. Charles was already the King of Spain following
the death of his maternal grandfather King Ferdinand of Aragon in 1516, from whom he
also inherited the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily in southern Italy. As Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, he could
threaten Florence and the Papal States from both north and south. In October 1519, after being unable to come
to terms with King Francis, Pope Leo came to an agreement with Charles against the French. Florence would inevitably be drawn into the
conflict. In November, Machiavelli set about writing
a treatise on military matters in an attempt to gain Giulio’s favour. In The Art of War, Machiavelli sets out his
ideas on the theory and practice of war through the mouthpiece of the mercenary captain Fabrizio
Colonna. Echoing his earlier writings, Machiavelli
argues that an effective military force is the best protector of a state’s liberty,
and that a citizen militia is preferable to mercenaries. By doing so, he was seeking to justify his
record as the organiser of the Florentine militia under Soderini’s government. In addition to organisation and training,
Machiavelli discussed weapons and fortifications extensively, championing the latest developments
in military technology including firearms and the new-style star-shaped fortresses which
provided better protection against artillery. The Art of War closes with the prediction
that whichever state effectively brings into practice the theories and technologies described
in the book would conquer the whole of Italy. Dedicated to Lorenzo Strozzi, a close ally
of the Medici, The Art of War facilitated a meeting between Machiavelli and the cardinal
in March 1520. Giulio was impressed enough to send a recommendation
to Pope Leo, who agreed to give Machiavelli a second chance. In April 1520, Machiavelli was informed that
he would be commissioned to write a history of the Florentine state, though before he
was awarded the contract in November, he was asked to carry out a few minor diplomatic
missions to prove his worth to the Medici. Machiavelli conducted himself so well that
in addition to his work as a historian, he was asked by the cardinal to draw up proposals
for constitutional reform. In his report, Machiavelli examined the changes
in government Florence experienced over the past century and argued Florence was suited
to a republican government. Acknowledging that such a proposal threatened
to diminish the Medici’s authority, Machiavelli suggested abolishing the Signoria and having
the pope appoint a body of 65 men who would serve for life and take turns carrying out
the functions of the Signoria. Machiavelli also proposed establishing a council
of 200 citizens appointed by the pope to satisfy the middle classes, and reviving the Great
Council to represent the popular masses. Recognising that the Medici would be unwilling
to re-establish the Great Council, Machiavelli proposed that the pope and the cardinal should
be given authority over the judicial system and the militia. Although these proposals proved too radical,
Machiavelli continued to enjoy the Medici’s confidence. In January 1521, as Machiavelli continued
to work on his history, war broke out between Francis I and Charles V, prompting the pope
to sign an alliance with Charles, who agreed to seize Milan from the French and guarantee
Medici rule in Florence in return for military support. Although he may have hoped to play some diplomatic
role during this latest round of hostilities, Machiavelli was instead asked to resolve a
dispute involving the Franciscan Order in Florence’s favour, which he successfully
did so by invoking the authority of the pope. Meanwhile, the fate of Italy hung in the balance
as the French and Papal-Imperial armies prepared to do battle. Machiavelli used this opportunity to publish
The Art of War and sent copies to the leading men of the day. Since he no longer harboured political ambitions,
his primary motivation was to encourage best practice in the Papal-Imperial army. By the end of the year the French army began
to disintegrate and on the 20th of November the Milanese rose in rebellion, forcing the
French to withdraw from Italy. In the winter of 1521 Machiavelli resumed
work on his history, but Florence was once again rocked by instability when Pope Leo
X died on the 1st of December. The death of the pope significantly weakened
the Medici’s control over Florence. With the promise of French support, Cardinal
Francesco Soderini plotted to expel the Medici and return his brother Piero to power. Even though Machiavelli had been friends and
allies with the Soderini, he continued to support the Medici and proposed a set of constitutional
reforms which reflected those he had suggested a couple of years earlier. The changing political landscape prompted
Cardinal Giulio to accept Machiavelli’s recommendations, but before they could be
implemented, the Soderini plot to assassinate the cardinal was uncovered and defeated in
April 1522. The Medici hold on power was as secure as
ever, especially when Piero Soderini died a few weeks after the failed coup. Machiavelli mourned the death of his old friend,
as well as the exile of many of his young friends from the Orti Oricellari who had supported
the anti-Medici plot. Machiavelli’s spirits were further dampened
by the death of his younger brother Totto in June. On the 14th of September 1523, Leo X’s successor
Adrian VI died, and Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici was elected Pope Clement VII. Although the new pope had supported Charles
V in his wars against Francis, neither the papacy nor Florence could bear the costs of
continued fighting. Despite the absence of papal support, the
imperial armies pushed the French over the Alps. In 1524, Clement turned his attention to Florentine
affairs and sent his illegitimate cousins Ippolito and Alessandro Medici to rule over
the city. While peace was restored to Florence, Machiavelli
began an affair with the actress and singer Barbera Salutati, to whom he dedicated several
love poems. Recognising that he was mistreating his wife,
Machiavelli wrote the comedic play Clizia, mocking a married man who embarrasses himself
during an attempt to chase after a young girl. The play was an instant success following
its premiere on the 13th of January 1525. In March 1525, Machiavelli completed his history
of Florence, covering more than a thousand years of the city’s history from the decline
of the western Roman Empire to the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Throughout the book, Machiavelli was keen
to emphasise the city’s impact on Italian and European affairs. As with his political writings, Machiavelli’s
history was not only a retelling of Florence’s past but also served as a guide for how the
Medici could learn from the city’s history to keep the city united. He documented the endless cycle of factional
conflict which caused the government to be overthrown on a regular basis, criticising
the tendency for each faction to exclude their opponents once they had taken power. By commenting on the Medici’s tendency towards
tyrannical government, Machiavelli was advising them to open up the government to everyone,
and endeavour to balance the interests of all the political classes. By doing so, not only would they protect the
city from internal and external enemies, but they would also enable Florence to recover
its liberty and glory. While Machiavelli was finishing his history,
the imperial army won a decisive victory at Pavia on the 24th of February, during which
Francis had been taken prisoner. The battle was disastrous for the pope, who
had been forced to side with France in late 1524. During Clement’s negotiations with Charles,
the emperor demanded that Florence, Siena, and Lucca should be subject to imperial rule. These terms were unacceptable and the pope
knew that the alternative was war, even though he had no army. When Machiavelli presented his history to
the pope in May, he also delivered a proposal for the establishment of a citizen militia
in the Romagna to defend against the imperial army. Although Clement supported the idea, when
Machiavelli arrived in the Romagna he was informed that the scheme was unworkable. In January 1526, France and Spain signed a
treaty and Francis renounced his claims on Milan and Naples, but when Francis was released
from prison, he renounced the treaty and prepared for war. The pope was afraid that Charles would march
on Rome, and Florence stood in its way. Machiavelli examined the city’s defences
and reported that the walls would have to be strengthened in order to withstand modern
artillery. In April Machiavelli was summoned to Rome,
where he was asked to take charge of the city’s fortifications. On the 22nd of May, the anti-imperial League
of Cognac was formed, bringing together the Papacy, France, Venice, and Florence. By the end of June, the League’s armies
under Francesco della Rovere were on the outskirts of Milan. In May and June, Machiavelli busied himself
overseeing the repairs to Florence’s walls, but by early July he was sent to join the
League’s army. While della Rovere hesitated to launch an
assault on Milan, in September Machiavelli received news from Rome that the powerful
Colonna family had built up an army to oppose the pope, and Clement was forced to escape
to the Castel Sant’ Angelo. Thereafter, the situation only got worse,
when an imperial army of 16,000 German landsknechts swept through northern Italy in November and
seemed destined to move on to Tuscany. In February 1527 Machiavelli was sent to the
League’s headquarters to determine whether its armies would defend Florence. Upon his arrival, he learned that della Rovere
was unwilling to carry out his orders due to a dispute with the pope. Although Clement managed to sign a truce with
the imperial army, the underpaid landsknechts refused to stand by the truce and went on
the offensive, defying their commanders. Belatedly recognising the danger, Clement
hurriedly renewed his alliance with the French and Venetians and gave in to della Rovere’s
demands. In April, the imperial troops reached Arezzo
and were poised to attack Florence but decided to march on Rome rather than risk battle with
della Rovere. On the 6th of May, the imperial army sacked
Rome, and less than two weeks later on the 16th of May, the Medici were expelled from
Florence and the republic restored. When Machiavelli returned to Florence, he
welcomed the restoration of the republic and hoped that he would return to office, but
his ill-health and his association with the Medici meant that he was overlooked. The disappointment caused his health to decline
further, and on the 21st of June, he died at the age of 58 and was later buried at the
Church of Santa Croce in Florence, sharing his resting place with the scientist Galileo
and the artist Michelangelo. Niccolò Machiavelli dedicated his life to
serving his native Florence during a period of political instability and constant warfare
in the Italian peninsula. Although he preferred a republican government
at heart and spent much of his career serving the Florentine republic, he was willing to
set aside any factional sympathies in order to promote the city’s stability and prosperity. His experience as a diplomat responding to
constantly shifting alliances gave him a particular insight into the realities of political and
diplomatic affairs, and these insights have remained influential over the centuries through
his political writings. His advice for political actors to dismiss
moral and ethical considerations when exercising power horrified Christian moralists and liberal
philosophers alike and gave him a bad reputation. The Prince is often seen as a handbook for
tyrants and dictators, while the term Machiavellianism has entered the English language to refer
to manipulative behaviour. Although he is best known as a political writer,
Machiavelli also wrote poetry and fiction during his distinguished literary career,
his comedic plays were particularly well-received during his lifetime, while his letters to
friends are full of humour and wit. What do you think of Niccolò Machiavelli? Does he deserve his mainstream reputation
as an advocate of manipulative and deceitful political methods? Or was he a man of republican principles whose
political remedies were intended to create strong and stable states which guaranteed
prosperity and liberty for their inhabitants? Please let us know in the comment section
and in the meantime, thank you very much for watching.
