Why Princes Have Built Fortresses

Nowadays, there are only a few countries were both parties are satisfied and live happily. In chapter 20 we find princes who have disarmed subjects who benefited their enemies, who divided their conquered territories, or who built or destroyed fortresses. Princes have never disarmed their subjects, they have always armed them and when he arms them, they are to become faithful to the prince. When a prince gets a new state, he must disarm its inhabitants and arm those who helped him acquire the state. Those princes who wish to acquire fame, fortune will put enemies and wars in their path so that they may have the opportunity of overcoming and thus acquiring fame. Princes have built fortresses in order to protect themselves, but these fortresses can be useful, sometimes they are not. A prince should build a fortress only when he is afraid of his subjects, not of strangers. The best fortress is not to be hated by the people. I think the word arms in this chapter could not only mean weapons, but also anything that the nobility could use--laws, power, influence, etc--that they can use against the people or the prince. Nothing brings a prince more reputation than great enterprises and proof of his capacity. Princes who can frankly said who their
friends or who their enemies are well esteemed. It is not good to stay neutral when a prince’s neighbors go on war because the prince will become prey of the victor. He who is not the prince’s friend will ask him to stay neutral, while he who is his friend will ask him to show his friendship by taking arms with him. Princes often fail in these situations. This was chapter 21. Reading chapter 22 made me think of my country’s government and the people in power.
It is the second presidential term ran by the “wannabe” socialist party and most the people they put in office are uneducated people who fought in the civil war. Our president is not, and does not look like the smartest guy out there, and the people he is surrounded by have done nothing good for the country. Machiavelli mentions that the “readiest conjecture we can form of the character and sagacity of a Prince, is from seeing what sort of men he has about him.” I think that if a prince has wise people working with him, he is either smart and chose them wisely, or he needs them to do the job for him, which is dangerous for the
state. Chapter 23. A prudent prince should prefer to be surrounded by wise people from his state, to whom he can ask anything but after asking, he should reflect on his subjects’ opinions and he is to judge for himself. Machiavelli, in chapter 24 tells us that when a new prince follows his lessons, he will seem like a prince who has been in that state for a long time. Men like present things more than past things, and this will make them happy, thus they will be ready to defend their prince. This way a new prince will have a twofold glory, in having created a new state and of improving it with good laws, arms, friends, and deeds.
In the last two chapters, Machiavelli talks of the power of fortune and how even though luck plays a certain role in the affairs of princes, not everything depends on it. In chapter 26, it seems like Machiavelli wants to see an Italy with a new prince because the country is at its lowest point. There are many basic concepts I read in this book that made me open my eyes even more about current republics. Even though this book is a few hundred years old, many of the methods mentioned in there we can still apply to today’s republics. This is a book every person who aspires to be hold a position in office should read.