Download FLORENCE AS A REPUBLIC

FLORENCE AS A REPUBLIC
PART ONE:
ITALY - A SHORT POLITICAL
HISTORY
THE ETRUSCANS
Linguist origins of
“Tuscany”
First city-builders in
Italy
Linked in a
Confederation
FLORENCE AS A
REPUBLIC
THE ETRUSCANS
FLORENCE AS A
REPUBLIC
THE ARRIVAL OF THE ROMANS
Aeneas
Romulus and Remus
FLORENCE AS A
REPUBLIC
ROMAN REPUBLIC
A basic principle of political philosophy:
FOR THE PEOPLE, OF THE PEOPLE, BY
THE PEOPLE!!
Was lost
Still lost
But found….by the French?
FLORENCE AS A
REPUBLIC
SRQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus
FLORENCE AS A
REPUBLIC
STRUCTURE OF GOV’T
CONSULS (2): chief civil and military magistrates; invested with imperium (consular imperium was
considered maius ("greater") than that of praetors); convened senate and curiate and centuriate assemblies.
PRAETORS (2-8): had imperium ; main functions (1) military commands (governors) (2) administered
civil law at Rome.
AEDILES (2): plebian (plebian only) and curule (plebian or patrician); in charge of religious festivals,
public games, temples, upkeep of city, regulation of marketplaces, grain supply.
QUAESTORS (2-40): financial officers and administrative assistants (civil and military); in charge of state
treasury at Rome; in field, served as quartermasters and seconds- in-command.
TRIBUNES (2-10): charged with protection of lives and property of plebians; their persons were inviolable
(sacrosanct); had power of veto (Lat. "I forbid") over elections, laws, decrees of the senate, and the acts of
all other magistrates (except dictator); convened tribal assembly and elicited plebiscites, which after 287
B.C. ( lex Hortensia ) had force of law.
CENSORS (2): elected every 5 years to conduct census, enroll new citizens, review roll of senate;
controlled public morals and supervised leasing of public contracts; in protocol ranked below praetors and
above aediles, but in practice, the pinnacle of a senatorial career (ex- consuls only) -- enormous prestige
and influence ( auctoritas ).
DICTATOR (1): in times of military emergency appointed by consuls; dictator appointed a Master of the
Horse to lead cavalry; tenure limited to 6 months or duration of crisis, whichever was shorter; not subject
to veto.
FLORENCE AS A
REPUBLIC
ROMAN EMPIRE 395 AD
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FLORENCE AS A
REPUBLIC
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MIDDLE AGES & EARLY RENAISSANCE
A new system of
government begins to
develop: the CityState.
AKA the ‘commune’
Secular
Elected officers
de facto independence
but,
There were lordships of
emperor, pope, king, or
duke
FLORENCE AS A
REPUBLIC
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‘Commune’ ORGANIZATION
‘Consuls’: central officials
Elected by various methods
Decisions had to be approved by councils
Varied in size
Took the place of the popular assembly
Elected by various methods
Members represented the citizens
Protected against corruption
Only in office for short period of time
Lived in isolation
FLORENCE AS A
REPUBLIC
‘Signore’ IS THE ALTERNATIVE
Powerful families
Retained retained
Republican institutions
Historians have
MISLEAD us all!!
FLORENCE AS A
REPUBLIC
GUELPHS vs. GHIBELLINES
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FLORENCE AS A
REPUBLIC
Guelphs split but further
Blacks v. Whites
Warfare
Ciompi revolt
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FLOWERING of the FLORENTINE RENAISSANCE
Florence becomes a city-state in the 15th century.
The Medici family
FLORENCE AS A
REPUBLIC
STRUCTURE OF GOV’T
GONFALONIERE : was elected for only two months. Had very specific powers, had to be a member
of one of the seven great guilds, or arti.
POPOLO GRASSO : the greater guilds and had the dominant position with in the government
POPOLO MINUTO : the lesser guild, represented the small people
PRIORI: (8) lower executive officers, six had to be fro the greater guilds while the other two had to
be from the lesser guilds
SIGNORIA : gonfaloniere and priori together
CONSIGLIO DEL COMMUNE : one of the two legislative houses, the upper house; elected on a
constituency basis by the four quartieri, or the four quarters of Florence. Location of nobility
CONSIGLIO DEL POPOLO : the second/lower house of the legislature. Seats were strictly for the
arti
PARLAMENTO : ultimate constitutional sanction. Citizenship was restricted to members of the arti,
who could be called together by the bell in the Palazzo Vecchio, where propositions put to the
parlamento by the signoria could be approved or disapproved by the shouts of the citizens.
FLORENCE AS A
REPUBLIC
FLORENCE AS A REPUBLIC
PART TWO:
FLORENCE’S POWERFUL FAMILIES
& THEIR POLITCAL INFLUENCE