User blog:ThunderWaves/Essay

Hey! I did an essay and I call it "Machiavellian Catherine." Could you read it and tell me what you think? Thanks!

Catherine wanted power, and would do anything to keep or get it. Rumor has it that she had palace trapdoors and secret stashes of poison to do away with her enemies. Sounds like a fun person. Let’s dig in.

Many people describe Catherine as “Machiavellian.” Before moving on, I’d like to state what that means. Back in the day, there was a person named Machiavelli, and he wrote a book called “The Prince,” which stated that Machiavelli believed that brute force was acceptable if it furthered the kingdom. Catherine believed it too.

Now we know what that means. Well, Catherine wanted power so much that, on August 22 of 1572, she ordered that a Protestant man named Coligny (co li nyāy) be killed. Unfortunately for Catherine, Coligny lived, because the assassination failed.

Catherine’s son, Charles IX (who was close to Coligny), said to her (in jest), “If you’re going to kill Coligny, why don’t you kill all the Huguenots in France, so that there will be no one left to hate me?” Unfortunately for Charles, Catherine took this seriously. See? Fun person.

Now let me pause this for a second. You must be going, “What the heck are ‘Huguenots’?” Well, long story short, they were French Protestants. Back on subject. So then Catherine, to save her own butt, ordered the death of Coligny and all the Huguenot leaders in Paris. Well, this went really well. Coligny died…and all the Huguenot leaders in Paris…along with millions of other Huguenots.

Men, women, and even children were massacred. This day in history is called the “St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.” It’s not a joking matter. If you’re Protestant, like me, then you feel the pain of the millions of families killed and their loved ones massacred.

The killing started at 4 o’clock in the morning on August 24, 1572. It coincided within St. Bartholomew’s Day, which was a Catholic feast day. The first man killed on that day was Coligny, fortunately for Catherine. But how he was killed was rather appalling. He was killed on his knees; praying. Then that’s where it got a little messy. Charles watched in horror as what he joked to his mother came to life. Ouch, what an idiot. That’s why you never joke to Catherine de’ Medici.

Anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000 people were butchered. Even a bookmaker was burned to death with his seven children with his own books. This is where the war got really gruesome.

I warn you, if you don’t like gore, then do not read on.

Even the rivers were clogged up by the bodies, which I find extremely sad. This was all because of a botched-up murder of one man begun by Catherine, and now it was a gargantuan bloodbath.

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Now, let’s grant Catherine some amnesty. Even she was appalled by the mass murdering going on. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t start it. She wanted to save her butt and save her own position in royalty, so she murdered someone. So therefore, she is considered Machiavellian.

That concludes my essay on “Machiavellian Catherine.”

What do you think? Let me know in the comments! :D