Niccolò Machiavelli started working for the chancery of the Republic of Florence at the age of 29, traveling on diplomatic missions around Europe. In the 14 years he served the chancery, he met great statesmen and politicians, including Louis XII, Emperor Maximilian and Cesare Borgia, and gained great insight into the political workings of Europe. He gave Florentine generals successful military advice concerning tactics and organizing infantry forces. He even established a Florentine militia. When the Medici came back into power in 1512, Machiavelli was arrested, tortured and exiled from Florence.[1]
- ^ Skinner, Quentin, Machiavelli, 1981