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The Renaissance: Why Italy?
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Transcript
The Renaissance:
Why Italy?
Depended on the creation of city-states
City States
A political unit made up a city and the surrounding countryside
City-states traded with the Middle East
Italy connected the East and West....it was in the perfect spot!
The Roman Empire built roads that facilitated trade
Area was not significantly hurt by the Black Death
Florence had a very lively textile industry
Developed banking helped finance internal trade and international commerce
The church no longer condemned the practice of usury as long as rates were not excessive
Florence's florin (coin) became standard currency in European trading centers
Capitalism weakened the power of the nobility
Area profited tremendously from the Crusades
Renaissance Italians had a passionate attachment to their individual city-states, which hindered the development of a single unified state
Five Powers Dominated...
Whenever one Italian state appeared to gain more more, other states combined to establish a balance of power against the major threat
Renaissance Italy was anything but democratic....
Higher social classes and government officials...
crushed urban revolts
killed enemies
used propaganda to maintain power
levied taxes
Popes were members of powerful Italian families, selected for their political skills, not their piety
A strict social structure prevented ALL people from having/practicing power...
Class warfare created conflicts like the Ciompi Revolt in 1378 where the poor overtook Florence for four years!
Venice was called a republic but...
Controlled by an oligarchy of merchants
Milan was called a republic but...
Despots of the Sforza family dominated
Florence was called a republic but...
Controlled by the Medici Family
Roots of modern diplomacy...
- Established permanent embassies with resident ambassadors to monitor political & commercial ties
- Failure to create a federal system led Italy to become the battleground for international ambitions
Kingdom of Naples
Venice
Milan
Florence
Papal States
5 min
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