Giovanni Botero (c. 1544-1617) was an Italian thinker, priest, poet, and diplomat, best known for his 1589 work The Reason of State. In this work, he argued against the amoral political philosophy associated with Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince, not only because it lacked a Christian foundation but also because it simply didn't work. Basing his political and economic ideas primarily on the thought of Thomas Aquinas, Botero argued for a more sophisticated relationship between princes and their subjects, one that would give the people more power in the political and economic matters of the state. In this way, Botero foreshadowed the thought of later liberal thinkers, such as John Locke, Adam Smith, and Thomas Malthus. Events April 11 - Battle of Ceresole - French forces under the Comte dEnghien defeat Imperial forces under the Marques Del Vasto near Turin. ... Events Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Ahmed I (1603-1617) to Mustafa I (1617-1623). ... Events Rebellion of the Catholic League against King Henry III of France, in revenge for his murder of Duke Henry of Guise. ... The Reason of State (Italian: Della Ragion di Stato) is a work of political philosophy by Italian Jesuit Giovanni Botero. ... Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (May 3, 1469 – June 21, 1527) was a political philosopher, musician, poet, and romantic comedic playwright. ... Il Principe (The Prince) is a political treatise by the Florentine writer Niccolò Machiavelli, originally called De Principatibus (About Principalities). ... Saint Thomas Aquinas [Thomas of Aquin, or Aquino] (c. ... Note: This entry discusses liberalism as a world wide ideology, not its manifestations in any specific country. ... John Locke (August 29, 1632 – October 28, 1704) was an influential English philosopher. ... Adam Smith, FRSE, (baptised and probably born June 5, 1723 O.S. (June 16 N.S.) – July 17, 1790) was a Scottish political economist and moral philosopher. ... Rev. ...

Early life

Born around 1544 in Bene Vagienna, in the northern Italian principality of Piedmont, Botero was sent to the Jesuit college in Palermo at the age of 15. A year later, he moved to the Roman College, he was introduced to the teaching of some of the most influential Catholic thinkers of the sixteenth century, including Juan Mariana, who, in his On the King and the Education of the King, would argue for the popular overthrow of tyrannical rulers. Events April 11 - Battle of Ceresole - French forces under the Comte dEnghien defeat Imperial forces under the Marques Del Vasto near Turin. ... Country Italy Region Piedmont Province Province of Cuneo (CN) Mayor Elevation 349 m Area 48. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... Nickname: Palermu Motto: Official website: http://www. ... The Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University is a Roman Catholic university in Rome. ... Juan de Mariana Juan de Mariana, (1536, Talavera - February 17, 1624, Madrid), was a Spanish historian. ...

In 1565, Botero was sent to teach philosophy and rhetoric at the Jesuit colleges in France, first in Billom, and then in Paris. The second half of the sixteenth century saw the kingdom dramatically, and often violently divided by the French Wars of Religion. Paris especially was heating up during Botero's stay there from 1567-1569, and he was recalled to Italy after getting too caught up in the excitement, apparently for his involvement in an anti-Spanish protest. // Events March 1 - the city of Rio de Janeiro is founded. ... The French Wars of Religion were a series of conflicts fought between Catholics and Huguenots (Protestants) from the middle of the sixteenth century to the Edict of Nantes in 1598, including civil infighting as well as military operations. ... Events The Duke of Alva arrives in the Netherlands with Spanish forces to suppress unrest there. ... Events January 11 - First recorded lottery in England. ...

Botero spent the 1570s drifting from one Jesuit college to another, Milan, Padua, Genoa, and then back in Milan. After a doctrinally incorrect sermon he gave questioning the Pope's temporal power, he was discharged from the Jesuit order in 1580. Significant Events and Trends Transition from the Muromachi to the Azuchi-Momoyama period in Japan Categories: 1570s ... By the expression temporal power is commonly indicated the political and governmental activity of the Popes of the Roman Catholic Church, as distinguished from their spiritual and pastoral activity (also called eternal power). ... Events March 1 - Michel de Montaigne signs the preface to his most significant work, Essays. ...

Secretary and diplomat

Botero's life took a major turn at this time, when he was commissioned by Bishop Carlo Borromeo of Milan as a personal assistant. Borromeo introduced Botero to the practical side of Church administration, often socializing with the nobility of northern Italy, most notably Duke Carlo Emmanuele I of Savoy. When the Bishop died in 1584, Botero continued his service to the family as assistant to Carlo Borromeo's nephew, Federico. 210. ... Redirect Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy ... 1584 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

Before his work with Federico began, however, Botero took part in a diplomatic mission to France on behalf of Carlo Emmanuele. For most of 1585, Botero was in Paris, discussing affairs of the day, and perhaps overhearing the conspiratorial debate on whether the pope would grant license for the French Duke of Guise, assisted by the Duke of Savoy and Philip II of Spain, to kill the French King, so they could then launch a massive offensive against the French and Swiss Calvinists. The license was never granted, and the offensive was postponed and made more modest, but this conspiracy tells of what kind of political debate was being had, and just what kind of trouble there was in 1580s France. 1585 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. ... Duc de Guise was a title in the French nobility. ... Philip II of Spain Philip II, King of Portugal, King of Naples, King of Spain and Sicily, King Consort of England, Prince of Asturias (Spanish: Felipe II de Habsburgo; Portuguese: Filipe I) (May 21, 1527 – September 13, 1598) was the first official King of Spain from 1556 until 1598, king... In an unadorned church, the 17th century congregation stands to hear the sermon. ... Events and Trends The beginnings of the Golden Age of Literature in England Sir Humphrey Gilbert claims Newfoundland as Englands first overseas colony in 1583 Francis Drake had come back from going around the world, bringing back with him many treasures. ...

Works and thought

By the late 1580s, Botero had already published a few works, most notably an epic-style poem dedicated to Henry III of France in 1573 and a Latin commentary on Hebrew Scriptures titled On Kingly Wisdom in 1583, but his most important works were yet to come. In 1588, Botero first published his On the Greatness of Cities. Foreshadowing the work of Thomas Malthus, here Botero outlines the generative and nutritive virtues of a city, the former being the rate of human reproduction, and the latter being the ability of the products of the city and its countryside to maintain the people. Cities grow when their nutritive virtue is greater than the generative, but at the inevitable point when these virtues are inverted, the city begins to die. Henry III (French: Henri III) (September 19, 1551 – August 2, 1589), born Alexandre-Édouard, was a member of the Valois Dynasty, King of France from May 30, 1574 until his death. ... Events January - articles of Warsaw Confederation signed, sanctioning religious freedom in Poland. ... 1583 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... 1588 was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ...

In 1589, Botero completed his most famous work, The Reason of State. In this work, Botero argues that a prince's power must be based on some form of consent of his subjects, and princes must make every effort to win the people's affection and admiration. This differed from Machiavelli's philosophy in that, it is not sufficient to seem like a just prince, for one's true nature will always shine through; one must actually be a just prince by the advice Botero lays out. Events Rebellion of the Catholic League against King Henry III of France, in revenge for his murder of Duke Henry of Guise. ...

Botero's idea of justness came from his exposure to Thomist thought and natural law circulating the Jesuit college system, which had been greatly influenced by the work of Dominican theologians Francisco de Vitoria and Domingo de Soto of the School of Salamanca. Thomas Aquinas had argued that God infused each individual with certain natural rights, and by the use of reason, human beings could come together to create just societies. Politically, Aquinas imagined that the people would decide on a suitable king, and invest him with certain powers to protect them and allow their prosperity. If the king turned tyrant, Aquinas argued, the people were within their natural rights to depose him. This was in direct opposition to the ideas on the God-given absolute sovereignty of kings that were being proffered by Protestant theologians in the early sixteenth century, and by political thinkers like the French jurist Jean Bodin at the end of the century. Thomism is the philosophical school that followed in the legacy of St. ... Natural law (Latin jus naturale) is law that exists independently of the positive law of a given political order, society or nation-state. ... Francisco de Vitoria (1492-1546) was a Renaissance theologian, founder of the tradition in philosophy known as the School of Salamanca, noted especially for his contributions to the theory of Just War. ... Domingo de Soto was a Dominican priest and theologian born 1494, Segovia, Spain and died 1560 in Salamanca. ... The School of Salamanca is the renaissance of thought in diverse intellectual areas by Spanish theologians, rooted in the intellectual and pedagogical work of Francisco de Vitoria. ... The Divine Right of Kings is a European political and religious doctrine of political absolutism. ... Jean Bodin (1530-1596) was a French jurist, member of the Parliament of Paris and professor of Law in Toulouse. ...

Indeed, Jean Bodin's influential Six Books of a Republic was an important infuence on Botero's writing of the Reason of State, even if, as with Machiavelli's Prince, much of that influence was negative. While Botero disagrees with Bodin's thought on sovereignty, preferring something more popularly based, he does agree with some of Bodin's economic ideas. Nonetheless, Botero's overall conception of political economy is again more 'liberal' than that of Bodin, who argued for active participation by kings in the economy of the country, including mercantilist policies that would be enacted wholeheartedly in seventeenth century France by Louis XIV and Colbert. Bodin cautioned kings only against trading with their own subjects; all other economic activity was allowed. Botero, on the other hand, argued that there were only three cases where the prince could take part in trade: 1) if no private citizen could afford it, 2) if a single private citizen would grow too powerful by the profits of it, or 3) there were some shortfall in supply whereby the prince would have to aid in the distribution of goods. Ultimately, Botero argued that economic activity was unbecoming a prince, and that the people were to be the prime economic mover in the state. Mercantilism is the economic theory that a nations prosperity depended upon its supply of gold and silver, that the total volume of trade is unchangeable. ... Louis XIV (Louis-Dieudonné) (September 5, 1638 – September 1, 1715) ruled as King of France and of Navarre from May 14, 1643 until his death just prior to his seventy-seventh birthday. ... Jean-Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (August 29, 1619 – September 6, 1683) served as the French minister of finance from 1665 to 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. He achieved a reputation for his work of improving the state of French manufacturing and bringing the economy back from...

Later works, life, and influence

Through the 1590s, Botero continued in the employ of Federico Borromeo, who would become Archbishop of Milan in 1595. Botero mixed in the high society of Rome and Milan in these years, and published another work for which he was to become quite well-known, the Universal Relations. Released in four volumes between 1591 and 1598 (a fifth volume was finally published in the late nineteenth century), the 'relations' of the title referred to those of the 'universal' (Catholic) church in various parts of the world, including France, the New World, and Asia. Indeed, Botero had always wanted to be sent on a Jesuit mission abroad, but was always refused by his superiors. Now that he was no longer technically a member of the order, he could only compose a work cataloging the missions of others. Events 1590 March 14 - Battle of Ivry - Henry IV of France again defeats the forces of the Catholic League under the Duc de Mayenne. ... Federico Borromeo (born August 16, 1564; died September 22, 1631) was cardinal and archbishop of Milan and the cousin of Saint Charles Borromeo. ... Events January 30 - William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet is performed for the first time. ... Events June - Capture of Zutphen by the Dutch under Maurice of Nassau. ... Events January 7 - Boris Godunov seizes the throne of Russia following the death of his brother-in-law, Tsar Feodor I. April 13 - Edict of Nantes - Henry IV of France grants French Huguenots equal rights with Catholics. ...

Finishing his employment with Federico Borromeo in 1599, Botero returned to the House of Savoy, to be tutor to three sons of Carlo Emmanuele. He would tour Spain with his three charges from 1603 to 1607, no doubt associating with the closest of Philip III's advisors, from whom his ideas would be passed on to Philip IV's most trusted policy-maker, the Count-Duke of Olivares. Events The Jesuit educational plan known as the Ratio Studiorum is issued (January 8). ... The House of Shavoy or in Italian, La Casa dei Savoia, or simply Casa Savoia, (or Savoie, French) is a dynasty of nobles who traditionally had their domain in Savoy, a region that includes present-day Piemonte, other parts of Northern Italy, and a smaller region in France. ... King James I of England/VII of Scotland, the first monarch to rule the Kingdoms of England and Scotland at the same time Events March - Samuel de Champlain, French explorer, sails to Canada March 24 - Elizabeth I of England dies and is succeeded by her cousin King James I of... Events January 20 - Tidal wave swept along the Bristol Channel, killing 2000 people. ... Philip III of Spain Philip III (Spanish: Felipe III) (April 14, 1578 – March 31, 1621) was the king of Spain and Portugal (as Philip II Portuguese: Filipe II), from 1598 until his death. ... Philip IV, King of Portugal (), (April 8, 1605 – September 17, 1665). ... Gaspar de Guzman, conde de Olivares y duque de San Lucar (January 6, 1587 - July 22, 1645), was a Spanish royal favourite and minister. ...

Here is where Botero's work began to have an influence. Olivares seems to have used Botero's Reason of State to outline the strategy for preserving the Spanish Empire in his famous Memorial on the Union of Arms. There is also evidence that Duke Maximilian of Bavaria, one of the staunchest political supporters of Catholic reform and a leading figure of the Thirty Years' War, had discussed the Reason of State with his advisors. Thus, Botero's thought was able to shape at least some of the policy among the European states of the very troubled seventeenth century. Military flag of the Spanish Empire from the 16th century up to 1843. ... Maximilian I, Elector and Duke of Bavaria and his second wife, Maria Anna of Austria Maximilian I, Elector and Duke of Bavaria (17 April 1573 – 27 September 1651), called the Great,, was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and an prince-elector (Kurfürst) of the Holy Roman Empire. ... The Catholic Reformation or the Counter-Reformation was a strong reaffirmation of the doctrine and structure of the Catholic Church, climaxing at the Council of Trent, partly in reaction to the growth of Protestantism. ... Combatants Protestantism: Sweden,Denmark, France, Scotland and protestant German countries like Saxony Roman Catholic Church: Holy Roman Empire, Spain Commanders Gustav II Adolf Ferdinand II The Thirty Years War was fought between 1618 and 1648, principally on the territory of todays Germany, also involving most of the major European... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ...

Botero's work would also influence the next generation of political and economic thinkers. Thomas Mun's liberal mercantilist treatise England's Treasure by Foreign Trade, written in 1624, but not published until 1664, owes something to the Reason of State, and there is evidence that the great Belgian thinker Justus Lipsius read the Reason of State. Thomas Mun (1571 - 1641) was a British writer on economics. ... Events January 24 - Alfonso Mendez, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Prelate of Ethiopia, arrives at Massawa from Goa. ... Events March 12 - New Jersey becomes a colony of England. ... Justus Lipsius, Joost Lips or Josse Lips (October 18, 1547 — March 23, 1606), was a Flemish philologian and humanist. ...

References

• Aquinas, St. Thomas, On Law, Morality, and Ethics. Edited, with an introduction by William J. Baumgarth and Richard S. Regan. Indianapolis, 1988.
• Bireley, Robert, The Counter-Reformation Prince: Anti-Machiavellianism or Catholic Statecraft in Early Modern Europe. Chapel Hill, 1990.
• Botero, Giovanni, The Reason of State, translated by P.J. Waley and D.P. Waley, with notes by D.P. Waley. New Haven, 1956.
• Brodrick, James, The Economic Morals of the Jesuits. New York, 1972.
• Grice-Hutchinson, Marjorie, The School of Salamanca. Oxford, 1952.
• Hamilton, Bernice, Political Thought in Sixteenth Century Spain. Oxford, 1963.
• O'Malley, John W., The First Jesuits. Cambridge, 1993.
• Skinner, Quentin, The Foundations of Modern Political Thought, Vol. I: The Renaissance; Vol. II: The Age of Reformation. Cambridge, 1978.

External links

• The Greatness of Cities- Full English Text

• The Earthly Structures of Divine Ideas, master's thesis on the influences on Botero's political and economic theory