Niccolò Machiavelli

“ All states, or sovereignties, which have, or have had, authority over mankind, have been and are, either republics or principalities.
Principalities are divided into those which are hereditary in one house who has long reigned over them, or into new ones. ”

“ These states, thus acquired, either live under a prince, or enjoy their liberty. The conqueror renders himself master of them, either by foreign arms, or by his own, by some fortunate event, or by his personal courage and his talents. ”