24. Sforza Secures a Duchy
A year after marrying the Duke of Milan’s daughter, Francisco Sforza switched sides and left his father-in-law’s employ for that of his rival, Cosimo de Medici of Florence. In 1438, Sforza fought for Florence against his prospective father-in-law and inflicted crushing defeats on Milan. In 1441, he patched things up with Milan’s duke and finally married his daughter. Two years later, however, in 1443, he again switched sides and fought against his now-father-in-law. When the duke of Milan died in 1447 without a male heir, the Milanese rebelled and proclaimed a republic, and hired Sforza as their military commander.
A three-sided struggle then ensued between the Milanese republic, the rival city of Venice, and Sforza. When the Milanese signed a peace with Venice in 1449 against Sforza’s wishes, he turned on his employers and switched sides, this time backing himself. He besieged Milan, starved it into submission, and entered the city in 1450 as its new duke. Francesco Sforza’s shrewdness, opportunism, and successful deviousness made him the exemplar and model of Machiavelli’s prince. He had won his state by dint of his exceptional ability and skill rather than through luck or inheriting it by winning the lottery of birth. He then went on to consolidate his gains and secure them sufficiently to found a dynasty.
