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The European Renaissance
Part A
The Economic Origins of the Italian
Renaissance
1. What does the term Renaissance mean?
• Rebirth
• Or…”born again”
2. What does the term rebirth suggest?
• Something once lived
• Something once died
• Something became alive again
Renaissance Architecture in the 1400s:
The Cathedral in Florence
3. In Europe, what was reborn?
• An understanding of ancient Greek and Roman
(Classical) arts and learning
4. In terms of religion, what is significant about this
rediscovery of Classical (Greek and Roman) arts and
learning?
• In addition to Christianity, Renaissance Europeans
were looking to Pagan (non-Christian) cultures for
inspiration
Ancient Roman Structures still
standing
The Coliseum of Ancient Rome
The Pantheon of Ancient Rome
5. Where was the European Renaissance born?
• For the most part, in city-states on the Italian
Peninsula
• Florence was one of the more notable Italian citystates
6. In Italian city-states, what type of economic
environment became dominant?
• Commerce (Buying and selling)
Renaissance Innovation:
The Rise of Modern Banking
7. What historical period prompted the growth of
business in the Italian city-states?
• The Crusades (1096 A.D. to the Late-1200s)
8. What were the Crusades?
• A series of attempts by Medieval Catholics to
retake the Holy Land for Christendom.
• By the 11th Century A.D., Muslims controlled
much of the Holy Land, i.e. the lands of Ancient
Israel/Judea, the lands of Christ and the Apostles
The Crusades:
1096 A.D. to Late-1200s A.D.
9. How did the Crusades influence the
development of commerce in Italy
• Christian crusaders came into contact with
Middle Eastern and Asian goods such as spices
and silks
• In short, Christian Europe developed new
appetites for goods not previously
experienced
Spices and International Trade
#9 continued…
• Christian Europe also learned better sailing
and navigation techniques along with better
mathematics, advances learned from Muslims
• As a result, the desire for goods from the Near
East and Far East inspired the development of
European merchants who could deliver such
goods for profit
Sailing ships with triangular sails:
Such vessels could sail into the wind
10. The growth of merchant trading also led to
the development of what European business
improvement?
• The growth of money as a medium of
exchange
• The growth of modern banking
• The rise of double-entry bookkeeping and
financial accounting
The Gold Florin
(Gold coin from Florence)
11. How do banks prosper?
• By renting out money for a fee (interest)
12. Prior to the mid-1800s, was Italy a unified
nation-state?
• No…Italy was a place, not a nation
Map of Italian Peninsula, c. 1494
13. What were three important Italian city-states
during the Renaissance?
• Milan
• Venice
• Florence
14. What was another reason why Renaissance
Italians were interested in ancient Roman culture?
• Roman ruins (old buildings, outdoor theatres,
pillars, ancient roads, etc.) were all over Italy
Ancient Roman Structure:
Arch of Constantine
15. What merchant family became rulers of
Florence, beginning in 1434?
• The Medici family, led first by Cosimo de
Medici
16. Who was Cosimo de Medici’s grandson, a
man who ruled Florence in the late 1400s and
financed numerous art projects?
• Lorenzo the Magnificent
The Medici Family:
Patrons of the Italian Renaissance
Cosimo de Medici
Lorenzo de Medici
17. Who was Girolamo Savonarola?
• A Dominican monk who preached against the
“worldliness” of Florence
• He preached against Church corruption
• At one point he presided over a “bonfire of the
vanities,” a burning of unapproved writings and
art
• He drove out the Medici but he was later accused
of heresy and put to death
• The Medici returned to power
18. What were the Italian Wars of the late 1400s
and early 1500s?
• A series of wars between France and Spain for
control of the Italian peninsula
19. In 1527, what did Spanish troops do to
Rome, the capital of Catholic Christianity?
• They sacked Rome
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V:
Reigned 1519-1556
20. What did Niccolo Machiavelli argue in The
Prince?
• In order for a prince to maintain power it is
important to do what works, not what is right
• Machiavelli’s outlook was secular (this-worldly)
and practical, not Christian and moral
• Machiavelli’s writings signal a shift to a worldview
less concerned with Heaven and Hell, and more
concerned with the here-and-now
Niccolo Machiavelli
1469-1527
21. Who were the movers-and-shakers of the
European Renaissance?
• Nobles (Aristocrats who were born into an
honored social position, and born into power)
• Bourgeoisie (a merchant class whose money
brought power)
European Bourgeoisie and Nobility
c. 1400s
22. What was an important Renaissance
invention that began an information revolution?
• The Printing Press, a device invented by
Johann Gutenberg in Germany in the 1450s
• The Gutenberg Bible was one of the first
printed Bibles
The Gutenberg Bible