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Niccolò Machiavell
Introduction
Niccolò Machiavelli was one of the most influential political theorists in western philosophy (Borghini, 2025). He had many ideas that he thought would make a nation stronger. Many of them are still being used to this day, especially in the US government. His early life played an important role for his future. He became a political philosopher and served as the secretary of the Florentine Republic (Mansfield, 2026). In his career he made many books that contained his political opinions which are still being used to this day.
Youth
Niccolò Machiavelli was born on May 3rd, 1469. He had three siblings: Primavera, Margherita, and Totto. His mother was Bartolomea di Stefano Nelli. His father was a doctor of law who bought many books and admired Cicero (Borghini, 2025). His father was an insolvent debtor, so they had to live frugally. As a result, Machiavelli learned about classical authors at a young age which greatly influenced him. He learned Latin well and probably knew some Greek. (Mansfield, 2026) When he was 12, he began to study under the priest Paolo da Ronciglione, a famous teacher who instructed many prominent humanists. Afterwards, he studied under Marcello di Virgilio Adriani, a professor at the University of Florence (Borghini, 2025).
Map of Florentine in the 15th century
Niccolò Machiavelli's home
Adult Life
Florence was a republican government since 1494, which changed after the leading Medici family and its supporters had been driven from power (Nederman, 2005). Later, Savonarola, the ruler of Florence was exiled (Mansfield, 2026). People were looking for a stable government so Machiavelli entered public service and was successful under the patronage of the city’s chief administrator, Piero Soderni, who was elected in 1502 (Nederman, 2005). He was the second chancery. This placed him in charge of the republic’s foreign affairs in subject territories (Mansfield, 2026). His job required traveling a lot. He recorded the events he saw throughout Europe while traveling. He also composed personal correspondence, poetic works, and short political analyses. Altogether, Machiavelli went on more than forty diplomatic missions during his fourteen years at the chancery. With the help of the Spanish, the Medici regained power and since Machiavelli was a direct victim of the regime change, he was immediately dismissed. He was wrongly suspected of conspiring against them, so he was captured and tortured for weeks and was released sometime in 1513. He retired that year and started writing many of his books (Nederman, 2005).
Important Writings
His first treatise, The Prince, became one of his most famous works. The treatise was a big deal because it turned Aristotle's ideas down. It claimed that for a country to gain power, the government needed to make actions based on the lessons from history (Britannica Editors, 2026). A strong leader is what a nation needed to succeed in his treatise. He said that a ruler shouldn’t make decisions based on what he thought was right. Many of the decisions made back then were based on religion, which he opposed (Mansfield, 2026). One thing about him was that he had many questionable ideas. In this treatise, he said that if the republic became corrupt, a strong leader should be willing to do anything to reform it. The idea of using past history lessons to make better choices are being used in almost all governments including the US. His second most famous work, The Discourses on Livy, talked about maintaining power unlike The Prince which talked about claiming it. Niccolò said that arguments helped improve the government since the disagreements would lead to better laws. He believed a strong leader would be necessary to reform the republic. Another one of his questionable ideas was in this treatise. He claimed that innocent citizens should be willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Governments implement this with civic participation and voting. In the end his ideas were so controversial and popular, that the term machiavellianism was created for people who shared similar ideas with him (Mansfield, 2026). He went on to make many other writings throughout his life.
This graph summarizes the correlations between MACH-IV (test of machivellianism) scores and age
Conclusion
Niccolò Machiavelli died on June 21st, 1527. He was an influential political philosopher. Even though many of his ideas were questionable, he was a prominent figure in politics for centuries to come. Some of his ideas are still being used today like the idea of using past history lessons and arguments to help improve the government. He may have lived a relatively modest life, but his impact on political thought was enormous. His legacy remains important because his ideas continue to influence political thought around the world.
References
Borghini, A. (2025, May 9). Niccolò Machiavelli - His Life, Philosophy and Influence. ThoughtCo. Retrieved June 18, 2026, from https://www.thoughtco.com/niccolo-machiavelli-1469-1527-2670474
Britannica Editors. (2026, May 9). The Prince. Britannica. Retrieved Jun 17, 2026, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Prince
Honeycutt, K. (n.d.). Machiavelli, Niccolò. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved June 17, 2026, from https://iep.utm.edu/machiave/#SH1a
Mansfield, H. (2026, April 29). Niccolo Machiavelli | Beliefs, Books, The Prince, Philosophy, Accomplishments, & Facts. Britannica. Retrieved June 17, 2026, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Niccolo-Machiavelli
Nederman, C. (2005, September 13). Niccolò Machiavelli (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved June 17, 2026, from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/machiavelli/
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