The Prince

Machiavelli would spend 14 years as the "Florentine secretary." During this period, he had opportunities to meet and observe many of the major political figures of the period. Observing and negotiating for the Florentine republic, he visited the courts of Caterina Sforza (in 1499), King Louis XII of France (in 1500, 1504, 1510, and 1511), Cesare Borgia (in 1502 and 1503), Pandolfo Petrucci (in 1503 and 1504), Pope Julius II (in 1503 and 1506), and Emperor Maximilian II (from 1507 to 1508). These visits and his experience in foreign policy would later form the basis of many of the principles he expresses in The Prince, and the great personages that he met form the examples from which he draws his lessons. He also became a friend of Piero Soderini, who in 1502 was named gonfaloniere (head of the Florentine government) for life. Dismayed by the performance of mercenaries hired by the Florentine government, he persuaded Soderini to back a plan to create a native Florentine militia, very much against the wishes of the Florentine aristocracy. Machiavelli personally supervised the project, overseeing everything from the selection of uniforms to training and maneuvers. He was vindicated in 1509 when the Florentine militia were finally able to take the neighboring city of Pisa after conflicts that had dragged on for 15 years. This marked the high point of Machiavelli's career. However, Florence was a staunch ally of the French, and Pope Julius II was working to drive the French out of Italy. This put Florence into conflict with the pope and his Spanish allies, who sent armies to Florence to remove the Soderini government. Soderini was a man of responsibility and integrity, but Machiavelli would later have harsh words for Soderini's complete inability to control his opponents in Florence or to cut his losses with the French. In 1512, Machiavelli's Florentine militia was cut down by more experienced Spanish troops at the nearby town of Prato, and Soderini was forced to resign in the aftermath. The Medici family returned to Florence, and the people soon demanded that they be put back in power. Soderini was exiled. As a supporter of the Soderini government, Machiavelli was removed from his office by the new regime, fined, and forbidden to travel outside Florentine territory.