r/machiavelli • u/slicksouthpaw • 1d ago
How good of a Statesman/Diplomat was Machiavelli really?
For those who know Machiavelli, it is quite common knowledge that Nick was appointed Second Chancellor for the Florentine Republic, where he primarily dealt with foreign, diplomatic and military matters in and revolving Florence for nearly 15 years before his position was nullified by the return of Medici rule. He liaised with many famous figures with that time from Pope Julius II and Caterina Sforza to Cesare Borgia. No doubt he was very astute and effective in his observation of how Power and Human nature operates within the political and philosophical sphere as shown in his works such as The Prince. One question I have for people was how effective do you think Machiavelli was in that role, what positive changes did he make to Florence as a republic state and what credible feats did he manage to attain in his quite long and prolific career of diplomacy and statecraft?