Niccolò Machiavelli came from humble beginnings to become one of the most influential politicians of all time. He influenced western politics for centuries after his death. You might say that he was a mastermind. So it quite fitting that Taylor Swift makes a reference to him in her song Mastermind History Shelf Merch: https://history-shelf.creator-spring.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HistoryShelfPodcast Fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/kortney_jewell/advertise-for-you-on-my-podcast Riverside Link: https://riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_2&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=historyshelf Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/b/?node=11601506011&_encoding=UTF8&linkCode=ib1&tag=kortney0c-20&linkId=3d61959f57d3bc0c303494faf049bc56&ref_=ihub_curatedcontent_10d9c051-58f5-4648-8cab-a22034de7 Bookshop Link: https://bookshop.org/shop/History_Shelf. Sources: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Niccolo-Machiavelli https://thegreatthinkers.org/machiavelli/biography/#:~:text=Niccol%C3%B2%20Machiavelli%20was%20born%20in,Niccol%C3%B2%20with%20access%20to%20books. https://iep.utm.edu/machiave/#SH1a https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/niccolo-machiavelli-born https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/machiavelli/ https://jacobin.com/2024/06/niccolo-machiavelli-oligarchy-political-philosophy https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/people/girolamo-savonarola http://legalhistorysources.com/Machiavelli/PapersDrafts2000/TenPaper.htm Music: Music by Paul Winter from Pixabay Music by orangiromusik from Pixabay Music by TheoJT from Pixabay Music by Maryan D from Pixabay Music by Calvin Clavier from Pixabay Music by Nicholas Panek from Pixabay Music by Julius H. from Pixabay Music by Calvin Clavier from Pixabay Music by Simoulix from Pixabay Music by Calvin Clavier from Pixabay Music by Calvin Clavier from Pixabay