Why was "The Prince" Written?
            
            
            
             Italy was divided between four dominant city-states, and each of these was continually at the mercy of the stronger foreign government of Europe. Since 1434 the wealthy Medici family ruled Florence. Due to a reform movement, Medici rule was temporarily interrupted in 1434, in which Machiavelli became an important diplomat. The Medici family regained power in 1512 with the help of Spanish troops. At this time, Machiavelli was tortured and removed from public life. While being in political exile, he wrote a letter to his nephew. It was said to be "the most famous letter ever written by an Italian, shows how the hours spent each day in his study helped to bring a measure of balance and even exhilaration into his life as a whole"(Hale, 147). At this point Machiavelli is beginning his philosophies about the nature of princely rule, eventually, leading him to create, "The Prince." Nicocolo Machiavelli in 1513 wrote his masterpiece, The Prince, which remains one of the single mo!
             st important works in history. To this day scholars struggle over interpreting Machiavelli's precise point. For the next 10 years he devoted himself to writing history, political philosophies and even plays.
            
             What Machiavelli's precise intentions in writing the Prince were, apart from the desire to secure employment, remains unclear (Butters 225). The Prince was written and completed by Machiavelli in observation to Italy's persistent political problems and emergence of a new rule in Florence. Therefore, with these two situations at hand, Machiavelli carefully created "The Prince" and focused on the responsibilities, aims and objectives that a new prince should concentrate upon. The advises Machiavelli offers to princes are lessons in critical thinking. Rulers must be able to make decisions, consider alternative courses of action and evaluate their consequences. If the...