Chapter 20 Summary

A new prince in a newly acquired state never disarms his subjects. By arming them, you make their weapons your own. Those that are suspicious become loyal, and those that were already loyal continue to be. One cannot arm them all, but those that are armed will feel obligated to obey a prince. Those one does not arm will think it proper that those who take on added duties gain advantages. When a prince disarms the populace, it shows that he either distrusts or fears them, and both conditions will cause the people to hate him. Then one has to use mercenaries, whose shortcomings have already been discussed.

A prince who annexes a new state and adds it to his original dominion, on the other hand, should disarm the new subjects. Those that helped him acquire the state should keep their arms until...