Chapter 3

By David VIllacorta


This chapter is much longer than the first two, therefore it is more complex to understand. But

I think the main point is that Nicholas shows the ruthless way to govern in the past, and that, to

some extent it is still used in modern world. For example he says that if they conquer a principilaty

the line of the previous prince has to be wiped out. Meaning killing all of their relatives, this is in

order to avoid a future rise conducted by the defeated prince.

The other interesting point is that he explains how it is easier to control a population with the

same kinds of customs, culture and language. For Maquiavelo it is important to use the force

against the enemies who were defeated but says that there has to be some level of intelligence

when it comes to the way people is to be approached. He sort of mentions something important

to my little understanding, and that is that he says that there are people who are used to live

under hardships he says they should be fine with the new way of ruling. He only warns the prince

against the people who don’t like to be under a bad ruler. This means something to me, it means

that the author is saying that nations and cultures are different. Not all are the same. It also makes

sense in the case of central America, for example it can be said that Honduras and El Salvador

share many customs along with the language, but it’s different in Belize, even though it’s close to

all the other countries, their language and cultural root makes them a different place, so it makes

sense what Nicholas says, that the language makes it harder to rule a country.

I also think it’s interesting how the ancient world was moved by force. Basically, Nicholas was

saying it was right to conquer, make war, create losses, just in order to have power. I think this is

still the same today, only those in different levels, or maybe in a different way I believe. Now the

press and other external powers have the same effect.