Download Chapter 7, Section 1

Chapter 7, Section 1
• The
Renaissance
Begins
The Italian Renaissance
• Renaissance means “rebirth”
• Period from A.D. 1350-1550
• Europeans rediscovered Roman and Greek
art, literature, and architecture
• People became more secular, meaning more
interested in this world than the next
• Centered in Florence, Italy
Italian Renaissance cont.
• Italy was surrounded by the ruins of the
Roman civilization
• Many Italian cities had become extremely
wealthy
• Italy’s population was centered in the cities,
rather than the countryside
• They shared ideas about art, literature,
ideas, etc.
Rise of Italy’s City-States
• Italy was unable to consolidate into one
large country
• The Roman Catholic Church worked to stop
the rise of a powerful kingdom
• City-states developed and became very
wealthy
• They had enough money to hire soldiers,
fleets of ships, and even lend to kings
Italy’s City-States Grow in
Wealth
• Most of the city-states had port cities
• They grew very wealthy through trade
• The materials and goods imported from around the
world attracted artisans
• The Crusades and the Mongol empire helped to
create a large trade network throughout Europe
• As wealth grew, demand for the luxury items
produced by Italian artisans and they grew
wealthy
Marco Polo
• Marco Polo, a merchant from Venice,
traveled to China and wrote of his
experiences
• His book became a best seller and increased
the interest in China and encouraged people
to buy Chinese goods
The Wealth of Florence
• Florence was the first city-state to grow wealthy,
originally from selling wool from England
• Florence grew even more wealthy after they
turned to banking
• Bankers in Florence were experts in the value of
coins, and they lent money and charged interest
• The most successful of bankers were the Medici
family, who had branch banks as far away as
London
Venice
• Venice was another wealthy city
• They were known for their sailing and
shipbuilding
• Built on swampy islands, Venetians used
long wooden poles into mud to support their
buildings
• They used canals, rather than roads, to make
their way around the city
Urban Noble
• Merchants grew in power
• Money from trade became more acceptable
• Wealthy land nobles married into wealthy
merchant families
How Were Italian City-States Run
• At first, most city-states were republics
• After times of war, many city states gave power to
one man
• In Venice, the man was known as the duke, or
doge
• In Florence, the Medici family gained control
• Italians developed diplomacy, or negotiating with
other countries
Cont.
• Nicollò Machiavelli- wrote The Prince
• In The Prince, Machiavelli claimed that
people were self-centered and greedy. He
argued that a ruler was justified in lying, or
even killing, to maintain power.