3 May: Machiavelli

On this date in 1469, Niccolo di Bernardo de Machiavelli was born. Here are 10 things you might not know about Machiavelli.

1. He was born in Florence, Italy, into an old family believed to be descended from the old marquesses of Tuscany. His parents were called Bernado and Bartolomea.
2. His family believed in education, and so the young Machiavelli was taught languages and classics in preparation for a career in public service.
3. As a young man, he worked for a banker and then as a diplomat. He was just 29 when appointed head of the Second Chancery, which controlled the city's foreign relations. Machiavelli held the post for 14 years, during which time he travelled extensively on diplomatic missions to places such as France, Switzerland, and Germany.
4. Machiavelli oversaw the recruitment and training of an official militia to prevent the Medici family from returning to power. However, the Medicis had the support of the Pope and were able to muster a bigger army. When they retook Florence in 1512, Machiavelli was imprisoned, tortured and banished from Florence for 13 years. In 1525, the Medici family called him back and gave him a job, but it only lasted two years before the Medicis were overthrown and Machiavelli was fired again.
5. It was during his time of exile and imprisonment that he started writing. His most famous work, influenced by ancient Roman political philosophers was The Prince, basically a handbook for power-hungry politicians giving advice on how to seize power and hang on to it, including being underhand and devious. Hence the term “Machiavellian”. His advice included killing innocent people if necessary and became known for “evil recommendations to tyrants to help them maintain their power.” The Pope banned it.
6. He didn't just write about politics. He also wrote comedies, carnival songs, and poetry. One such work was Mandragola (The Mandrake) a five act comedy play which was made into a film in 1965.
7. Machiavelli married Marietta Corsini in 1502. The couple had six children. It was one of his grandsons, Giovanni Ricci, who preserved his letters.
8. He was a close friend of Leonardo da Vinci, helping the artist get commissions, and in due course giving him the post of military engineer for Florence in 1502. Machiavelli hoped Leonardo's ideas would help him capture the city of Pisa. Leonardo's idea was a system of dams to block off Pisa's water supply but the plan failed as Florence's own farms were affected. Leonardo left the post after eight months. However, Leonardo left Machiavelli with the belief that technological innovation could be the deciding factor in a war. Also, Machiavelli's writing uses expressions that Leonardo also used in his notebooks.
9. In his writing, Machiavelli portrays religion as man made, and a useful tool for controlling the masses. He compared Christianity unfavourably with previous pagan religions. He criticised popes for their scandalous lives and political activities, for being a greedy minority subjugating ordinary people. Perhaps that was the real reason his writings were banned by the pope! That said, it may well have been the activities of the church, rather than Christianity itself which he despised. He called for a return to some kind of original creed, and before he died, aged 58, he received the last rites.
10. Machiavelli's influence spread quickly and endures to this day. Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare used the term Machiavill or Machiavel to describe greedy, ambitious people. Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII and later Joseph Stalin were all fans of The Prince. More recently, American rapper Tupac Shakur studied Machiavelli while in prison and was impressed enough to change his rap name from 2Pac to Makaveli. In a 2013 revival of the TV series Dallas, the infamous J.R. Ewing wills his copy of The Prince to his adopted nephew Christopher Ewing, saying, "use it, because being smart and sneaky is an unbeatable combination."

New!

Closing the Circle

A stable wormhole has been established between Earth and Infinitus. Power Blaster and his friends can finally go home.

Desi Troyes is still at large on Earth - Power Blaster has vowed to bring him to justice. His wedding to Shanna is under threat as the Desperadoes launch an attempt to rescue their leader. 

Someone from Power Blaster's past plays an unexpected and significant role in capturing Troyes.

The return home brings its own challenges. Not everyone can return to the life they left behind, and for some, there is unfinished business to be dealt with before they can start anew.

Ben Cole in particular cannot resume his old life as a surgeon because technology no longer works around him. He plans a new life in Classica, away from technology. Shanna hears there could be a way to reverse his condition and sets out to find it, putting herself in great danger. She doesn't know she is about to uncover the secret of Power Blaster's mysterious past.

Available from:

Amazon (Paperback)

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Completes The Raiders Trilogy. 

Other books in the series:

Book One

Book Two