Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian aristocrat from Florence who lived from 1469 to 1527, during the Renaissance in Europe. During this era, Italy lacked the stability and security of a unified nation; the country was made up of powerful city-states, without the guidance and authority of a government...

Niccolò Machiavelli dedicated his book The Prince to the ruling Florentine party in 1516. The book was written as a ruling guide for the Medici family, who had just come to power in Florence, Italy. In the very first paragraph of the book, Machiavelli offers the book to Lorenzo de’ Medici as a ...