Why Did Montezuma 2. Why Do We Need To Be Machiavellian?

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To be Machiavellian you must have certain characteristics that include, deceiving your people for the better, doing whatever it takes to prosper and being loved by your people, but also utilizing their fears to control them. Machiavelli a Florentine diplomat created principles to rule by which worked in Europe and around the world. Louis XIV a French monarch used these principles to keep his nobility in line and he reigned for a prosperous and very lengthy time. Also very successful Askia Muhammad I of Africa overthrew the Royal Songhai family to become one of the most well known leaders of his time. And lastly, but not the only other person that was successful using these principles, Montezuma II. Montezuma II, head of the Aztec state also …show more content…

Montezuma knew that doing whatever it takes was a must to grow a prosperous country. Askia was a great warrior, this allowed him to gain notoriety with the military gaining their trust and approval. Montezuma was a skillful fighter and gained notoriety when, “...he single-handedly captured three prisoners, a feat that enabled him to achieve the special rank of tequihua... Following the tradition of human sacrifice... Montezuma tied one of the prisoners to a stone, cut open his chest, and offered his heart to the gods...” (Gale, 2). Doing whatever it takes to keep his country running gained him much recognition and allowed for him to be in control of all the military might. Montezuma, “...quickly rose through the Aztec military ranks... [gaining] him overall control of the army; he was responsible for conquering new towns and punishing those who rebelled...” (Gale, 3). Montezuma knew that no matter what it took he must do what is right for his country, no matter if that was taking the lives of those he just freed from imprisonment or killing those who disagreed with him. Thus, making Montezuma a Machiavellian style

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