Niccolò Machiavelli died on 21 June 1527 in Sant'Andrea in Percussina, aged 58. A Florentine diplomat, civil servant and political thinker, Machiavelli served the Republic of Florence as a secretary and envoy until the Medici returned to power in 1512, when he was removed from office and briefly tortured and imprisoned. In retirement he wrote The Prince, a short guide on how rulers can gain and keep power that treats politics as a matter of practical results rather than morality. His longer Discourses on Livy defend republican government, and he also wrote a history of Florence and a comic play, The Mandrake. The word Machiavellian is used for cunning politics, though scholars debate his real intentions.
Before and after
- from 29 August 1526 to 12 November 1918Habsburg monarchy
- from 11 November 1526 to 16 August 1570Eastern Hungarian Kingdom
- 1527Origins of Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine
- 21 May 1527Birth of Philip II of Spain
- 21 June 1527Death of Niccolò Machiavelli
- 22 June 1527Founding of Jakarta
- 6 April 1528Death of Albrecht Dürer
- 22 April 1529Treaty of Zaragoza
- from 24 October 1529 to 10 August 1530Siege of Florence
More in Art, literature & culture
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- 18 April 1506Construction of St. Peter's Basilica
- from 31 October 1517 to 1 January 1648Protestant Reformation
- 1 January 1519Origins of Reformed Christianity
- 1605Publication of Don Quixote
- from 1660 to 1725Rise of Classicism
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 16th century.