As a well-esteemed statesman, Machiavelli represented Florence on foreign missions and wrote reports about them which were highly respected for their contents as well as the manner in which he wrote them. Machiavelli’s purpose in writing ‘The Prince’ was twofold firstly, to show a ruler or would-be ruler how he could uphold a safe and prosperous state in the midst of the political turmoil of early 16th century in Italy and secondly, to redeem himself in the eyes of the ruler of Florence, Lorenzo de’ Medici, son of Piero de’ Medici.
‘The Prince’ was written in 1513 but was published posthumously in 1532, five years after his death. The book comprises 26 chapters and an opening dedication to Lorenzo de Medici. The book is considered as a persuasion for people in Italy to visualize a situation of an ideal head of state ruling a unified Italy. According to scholars, it, is a guidebook for an ideal prince, a handbook for politicians about the use of cruel, self-serving shrewd manner of ruling and an extended study of how to acquire as well as sustain political power.
‘The Prince’ is the first authentic book of political science which examines power. Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli popularly known as Niccolò Machiavelli (1469 - 1527) was an Italian politician, diplomat, philosopher as well as a writer based in Florence, Italy during the Renaissance.
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