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Article: Machiavelli, Niccolò (1469–1527)
- Article from:
- Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World
- Author:
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MACHIAVELLI, NICCOL
Ò
(1469
–
1527)
MACHIAVELLI, NICCOL
Ò
(1469
–
1527), political theorist. Niccol
ò
Machiavelli was born on 3 May 1469, the son of a lawyer of modest means from an old Florentine family. He received an excellent humanistic education in the classics, but nothing else is known about his early life until he was appointed head of the foreign policy chancery of the Florentine government in June and July 1498. He spent much of the next fourteen years traveling, negotiating agreements, and reporting to his government. This gave him the opportunity to visit Italian and foreign states and to observe rulers, statecraft, and military actions. He also ...