Machiavelli+background

Machiavelli was born 3 May 1469 in Florence. Very little is said to be known about his life up until he was made the Second Chancellor of the Republic of Florence. He travelled on behalf of Florance to other areas of Italy, France and various parts of Europe. He was Second Chancellor at the time when the Medici Family, with the help of Spanish troops, defeated Florance's Republican army. As a result of the take-over Machiavelli was placed under internal exile. It is said that he was wrongly accused of a plot against the Medici Family and was tortured. After this, he left Florence for his farm where he began writing. His first piece was "The Prince" which was written in 1513 or 1514 but was not published until 1532 after Machiavelli's death. He spent years writing literature which included plays, poetry and the works "The Art of War" and "Discourses on the Ten Books of Titus Livy".

Later in life, around 1520, he was brought back into the Medici Family fold when he was commissioned to write "History of Florence" for Cardinal Giulio de'Medici. Before he could make a strong impression on the Medici Family, on 21 June 1527, he passed away.

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/machiavelli/

Machiavelli was born into a noble Florentine family, however it was one of the poorest families of this particular branch. His comparatively meager upbringing will have influenced his future beliefs, in that he understood what life had in store for him and how he had to be pro-active and take his destiny into his own hands.

He looked up to powerful figures like Julius Caesar and Romulus because of their willingness to do whatever it took to seize and maintain their power. **Consider [|book I, chapter 10] of the //Discourses//, where he quite strongly criticizes Caesar for destroying the Roman republic. It does not seem that Machiavelli was too enamoured of Caesar! Consider also the reasons for which he praises Romulus in the same chapter1218755056**

Machiavelli was influenced by the Humanist Movement -- which emphasized that a man's greatness comes from God **Machiavelli seems to have a lot of contempt for Christianity, though 1218755056** and man has the ability to achieve anything, not just living in accordance with Christian principles (which was the norm at the time).

Machiavelli saw Christianity as holding people back from their full potential as human beings, and because of his patriotic feelings towards his country he desparately wanted this to cease **Wanted what to cease? 1218755056**.
 * Source? Also, integrate with the other background above 1218755056**