Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince

In an era of continental invasion, the problem of ensuring political stability within the context of European realpolitik is addressed in Machiavelli’s The Prince. Niccolo Machiavelli was born on May 3, 1469 and grew up in Florence, which was a humanist city-state right in the center of the Renaissance. Machiavelli’s father, as a Tuscan, who was both an attorney and humanist, focused heavily on his education hired private tutors to teach Machiavelli. According to his father, Machiavelli, like other Tuscans, was a bright individual who was steeped in classical history while growing up, learned Latin at the age of seven, and later wrote his own compositions in Latin1. Moreover, Machiavelli read Cicero’s Philippics and Livy’s history, both of which influenced him greatly. Upon the fall of the Medici family in 14942, France realized how easy it was to take over these city-states because of Florence’s lack of standing army. Due to the support of France, Medici’s rule of Florence fell and Florence, under the rule of Machiavelli, becomes a Republic until 1512. From this point onwards, France continues to act like a shadow that hung over Italian politics until Florence allying with Spain eventually drove them out.