# Francesco Sforza — The Prince character guide

> Francesco Sforza in The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Francesco, Sforza

**First appearance:** 0007-i-how-many-kinds-of-principalities-there-are-and-by-what-means-they-are-acquired

## Who they are

A mercenary captain who seized Milan through sheer ability, becoming Machiavelli's prime example of a prince who owes his throne to no one but himself.

## Relationships

### [Cesare Borgia](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/characters/cesare_borgia)

_rivalry_

Cesare Borgia and Francesco Sforza were competing Italian rulers with conflicting territorial ambitions.

## In the story

### [I: How Many Kinds of Principalities There Are, and by What Means They Are Acquired](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/chapters/i-how-many-kinds-of-principalities-there-are-and-by-what-means-they-are-acquired)

Cited as an example of a prince who acquired an entirely new principality (Milan) through his own ability and arms.

### [VII: Concerning New Principalities Which Are Acquired Either by the Arms of Others or by Good Fortune](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/chapters/vii-concerning-new-principalities-which-are-acquired-either-by-the-arms-of-others-or-by-good-fortune)

Contrasted with Borgia; rose to Duke of Milan by ability and kept power with little trouble.

### [XII: How Many Kinds of Soldiery There Are, and Concerning Mercenaries](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/chapters/xii-how-many-kinds-of-soldiery-there-are-and-concerning-mercenaries)

Cited as a mercenary captain who, after defeating the Venetians at Caravaggio, allied with them to crush the Milanese who had hired him.

### [XIV: That Which Concerns a Prince on the Subject of the Art of War](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/chapters/xiv-that-which-concerns-a-prince-on-the-subject-of-the-art-of-war)

Cited as an example of a private person who became Duke of Milan through martial prowess.

### [XX: Are Fortresses, and Many Other Things to Which Princes Often Resort, Advantageous or Hurtful?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/chapters/xx-are-fortresses-and-many-other-things-to-which-princes-often-resort-advantageous-or-hurtful)

Builder of the castle of Milan, which caused more trouble for the house of Sforza than any other disorder.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/chapters/endnotes)

Born 1401, died 1466; married Bianca Maria Visconti and became Duke of Milan.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/characters/francesco_sforza
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_prince_se/characters