Neil Adams
Professor Cara Chang
Humanities 300
07 September 2012
Exploring The Major Themes of Machiavelli's "The Prince"
To find out what motivated Machiavelli to write “The Prince”, it is necessary to look at the Italy that he lived in at the time and where he gained his insights into governance. He grew up in a time where Popes had their own armies and went to war with Italian city-states in hopes of gaining more territory. Power held by the rulers was tumultuous at best; people and cities might fall at any time. The Popes weren’t the only forces that major cities such as Venice and Florence had to deal with. Foreign countries such as France, Spain, the Catholic Church, and Switzerland also were engaged in battles for control and influence in the region. Most of these major cities relied heavily upon mercenaries to help fight their battles. These Condottieri, or mercenary leaders, were very fickle and changed sides without warning which made political and military alliances very weak, which in turn made Italy as a whole weak ("Niccolò Machiavelli").
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, was a founder of modern political science who lived in Florence during the Renaissance period. He was born on May 3, 1469, in Florence, Italy. Niccolò was the first son and third child of attorney, Bernardo di Niccolò Machiavelli, and his wife, Bartolomea di Stefano Nelli. At a young age became a pupil of a renowned Latin teacher, Paolo da Ronciglione, where he was taught history, humanities, grammar, rhetoric, and Latin. Although there are no official records, it is thought that he attended the University of Florence. Not much more known about his life until he enters public office ("Machiavelli").
In 1498, at the age of 29, Niccolò was appointed as Second Chancellor of the Florentine Republic. The reason for his appointment to this post came from the Italian