Nicholas Machiavelli wrote The Prince in 1513. It is ostensibly a manual for rulers to help them maintain their power. Still, many contradictions within the text make it unclear whether Machiavelli was ironic or serious. Understanding Machiavelli’s perspective requires one to analyze the time he lived. Machiavelli was born during the reign of the Borgias and the Medicis and studied the power struggles of the warring principalities of the Italian Renaissance (Shumer, 1979). During this period, dynastic families emerged. The period was also characterized by chaos; princes made and lost fortunes overnight. The understanding forms the basis for my support of Machiavelli's theory on political leadership.