It's the month of March in the year 1513.

A Florentine diplomat, whose name has become synonymous with manipulation,

scheming and deceiving, is freshly released from prison,

and now in exile from the city of Florence.

He looks out over his Tuscan farm estate and thinks about the year

just gone. His body is still in excruciating pain from three weeks of incessant torture. The

Medici family, who had been run out of Florence for the last two decades, have returned to rule

and have reasserted their power. And they were concerned that one Niccolo Machiavelli,

who had been serving in the important position of second chancellor during their absence, was part of

a plot to stop their return to power

by means of assassination. Whilst imprisoned, Machiavelli was tortured by means of strapado. His hands

were tied behind his back. He was raised to a great height with weights attached to his body,

and then he was dropped, dislocating his shoulders and his arms. Throughout the brutal

punishment and interrogation, the diplomat maintained his innocence, and he was eventually released.

And now, in retirement from his public life and

political career, Machiavelli begins writing what he referred to as his little book. At less than

a hundred pages in most volumes, the book may indeed be little, but it would go on to exert a large influence, and the writings contained therein would cause an enormous ripple effect through the ages, and would gain its writer the reputation as father of political science.

In Il Principi, or the Prince, Machiavelli aimed to offer pragmatic advice about statecraft

to new rulers wishing to claim and maintain power.

We could see this work as, in in effect Machiavelli's job application to the

Medici. This was a way of showcasing his political knowledge so as to bring him out of enforced

retirement. He would dedicate the work as a sign of his devotion to Lorenzo Medici, the grandson of Lorenzo the Magnificent.

...