Hi, sorry if this has been asked before. I did a search and didn't really find this exact question.
In school, we learned to associate Machiavelli with two phrases: "The end justifies the means," and "It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both." We learned to regurgitate these two phrases on our tests, but we never learned anything about what the actual implications of the text were.
Why is it considered such an important document? What were the actual effects it had on European politics?
Primary Reasons that it is an important work include, but are not limited to:
-Being printed in vernacular Italian rather than Latin. This made it far more accessible to people who wanted to read it.
-Being practical instead of theoretical. The Prince actually talks about things a leader should do instead of talking about lofty ideas, such as what Plato might have discussed.
-It was in direct conflict with Catholic doctrine at the time concerning politics and ethics. It created a lot of controversy and buzz over the book.
The book had a huge influence on monarchs of the time across Europe, such as Henry VIII, Charles V and the Medici's of Venice. It was the talk of Europe of the 17th Century as it grappled with the effects of the Counter Reformation and shaped political discourse on what a Leader should and should not do.
It influenced Literature, the founding of America, the English Civil War and the French Revolution. People go back to it time and time again, to point out what leaders should or should not be doing. It has really shaped the political landscape beyond the Two Swords doctrine and the Divine Right rule that had dominated Europe for so long.
Some excellent books on the subject.
De Alvarez, Leo Paul S (1999), The Machiavellian Enterprise; A Commentary on The Prince
Fischer, Markus (2000), Well-ordered License: On the Unity of Machiavelli's Thought, Lexington Book
Najemy, John (1993), Between Friends: Discourses of Power and Desire in the Machiavelli-Vettori Letters of 1513–1515, Princeton University Press
Rahe, Paul A. (2006), Machiavelli's Liberal Republican Legacy, Cambridge University Press