Why Did Machiavelli's Use Of Cavalry

During the Renaissance there was debate on whether infantry or cavalry was superior. In the midst of the debate Niccolo Machiavelli, a Florentine, argued that infantry were more appropriate in military campaigns than cavalry. In the year 1521, Machiavelli penned a military strategy book, “The Art of War,” that would change the course of modern warfare. In his book, Machiavelli contended that infantry was the superior military force when maneuverability and flexibility were critical. The psychology of horses demonstrated clearly why horses should not be used in engagements.

Machiavelli also asserts the financial and logistic advantages of infantry. Due to the extensive upkeep of horses and equipment, cavalry drains a state’s treasury more

Without the right ecosystem for horses, the ancient Greeks were forced to trade for horses, which were highly expensive. The ancient Greeks were then forced to come up with a way to counter the Persians’ use of cavalry, which they solved with the creation of the phalanx. A phalanx was a group of soldiers armed with 7- to 8-foot-long spears, short swords, and round shields that were able to interlock with other shields. The soldiers wore a helmet, breastplate, and usually greaves. A phalanx is made up of lines of men extending their spears towards the enemy's direction. If a soldier is killed, the soldier from behind is to take his place, and this continues until all of the soldiers are killed. Machiavelli wrote, “The injuries which the first rank suffered, depleted the last, and the first rank always remained complete; and thus the Phalanxes, because of their arrangement, were able rather to become depleted than broken, since the large (size of its) body made it more immobile.” Machiavelli greatly admired the phalanx and considered it to be a useful formation if used correctly. Eventually Phillip the II of Macedonia improved the phalanx by doubling the spear length and reducing the shield size, which greatly increased a phalanx’s mobility. The Greeks would line up their phalanxes, and when the Persian

Horses had always cost a substantial amount of money. One reason was because they provided so many services to an army, farmer, or business. Horses required a lot of food and needed their hooves taken care of regularly. The cavalry-men required saddles, stirrups, spurs, blankets, and many other items to stay on the horse, while making it as comfortable as possible. Each of the cavalry soldiers required armor and weaponry as well. Furthermore, horses were sometimes equipped with armor, which could cost a lot of gold or currency. Infantry troops, however, only needed a weapon, provisions, and armor. This made infantry considerably cheaper than cavalry. Machiavelli was lacking enough currency to pay for a mercenary or a full army, since they had been waging war against Pisa for several years. He decided to use wealth that the Florentines did have to build a militia force to take the coastal city of Pisa out once and for all. One of the reasons why Machiavelli couldn’t afford horses was because of the smaller population of horses in Italy compared to the rest of Europe. Horses did not naturally live in Italy and were brought in from Northern Europe, where the habit was more suitable for them. Most of their horses had been killed in previous wars with Pisa. Machiavelli was a firm believer that cavalry was ineffective and because of