Critically Assess Machiavelli’s Main Arguments in the Prince

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Critically assess Machiavelli’s main arguments in The Prince This essay will critically analyse the ideas and concepts by Niccolo Machiavelli in his book ‘The Prince’ published in 1532. Firstly, I will give a brief background on Niccolo Machiavelli. He was born on May 3, 1469, in Florence, Italy. He had a wealthy, middle-class family with his father being a lawyer. Machiavelli entered the Florentine government as a clerk in 1494. In the same year the Medici family lost its power and went into exile after having ruled Florence for the previous 60 years. Machiavelli’s career had sprung then as he was appointed to serve as second chancellor of the Florentine Republic under the new government. His position as second chancellor included responsibilities for the foreign and diplomatic relations of the Republic which allowed Machiavelli to travel and witness first-hand the successes and failures of leaders throughout Europe. It was from these experiences that Machiavelli formed his beliefs about the organisation of an effective leadership. However, The Medici family returned to power and ended the Florentine Republic, in September 1512. Machiavelli was fired from his post and later he was suspected of plotting against the new Medicean government. This led him to imprisonment were he was tortured and received a huge fine. After his imprisonment Machiavelli found himself to be unemployed, he tried desperately to re-enter the political scene. He spent most of his remaining years producing his most significant works. This included, ‘History of Florence’, ‘Discourses on Livy’, ‘The Art of War’, etc… However, it was with ‘The Prince’ he hoped to regain political support. ‘The Prince’ was not published until five years after Machiavelli’s death. He originally dedicated it to Giuliano de'Medici. However, he changed this due to Giuliano's death; he then dedicated it to
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