Niccolo Machiavelli wrote “The Prince” in the 16th century in Florence, it’s important to notice that Machiavelli wrote this thinking about gaining the confidence of Lorenzo de’Medici. Machiavelli gives him advice and suggestions showing things that happened before in politics, Machiavelli wanted to get a political job but he didn’t get it.
His advice is direct manual, Machiavelli does not base his work in abstract ideas, instead, he shows examples from the past and proposes solutions to the ruler of how to retain control of the new state or control an existing one. This is the biggest change in the ruler’s way of thinking in Europe, they shifted from abstract ideas to concrete advice.
Nonetheless, “The Prince” is one of the most famous books in political philosophy. It is said that both Protestants and Catholic rulers were influenced by the book. Henry VIII, for example, was very much influenced by the book, it helped him to turn towards Protestantism and helped him control the Pilgrimage of Grace that was a rebellion against the Tudors.
