19. Niccolo Machiavelli’s notorious political tract, The Prince, was based on Cesare’s outrageous life
During his victorious campaign over Senigallia, Cesare met a Florentine ambassador named Niccolo Machiavelli. Machiavelli was so impressed with Cesare’s ruthlessness and political instincts that he wrote a political treatise based on his life. Il Principe (‘The Prince’) instructs the reader to emulate Cesare’s tyrannical use of power and political cunning. Machiavelli taught that Cesare’s opportunism, aggression, and ruthlessness were vital qualities for anyone wishing to become a prince. Machiavelli’s text was crucial in establishing Cesare’s posthumous reputation. The famous term for someone like Cesare may be ‘Machiavellian’, but ‘Borgian’ would be far more accurate.
