Why did the Renaissance begin in Italy? Excellent Question!

I. Renaissance Basics Economic growth laid the material basis for the Italian Renaissance B/t 1050-1300 tremendous commercial and financial development population growth growing political power of self-governing cities late 13th -16th C. –lots of art Beginning of Renaissance was in Italy (Florence specifically)

A. Economic Growth as a Basis of the Renaissance 1. Venice, Milan, Genoa really rich b/c of overseas trade Venice has merchant marine & profited from fourth crusade to Constantinople Genoa & Milan wealthy from trade too—natural crossroads of trade TECHNOLOGY—Genoa & Venice improved shipbuilding techniques so they could sail all year long; improved ship construction allowed increased volume of goods transported, improvements in mechanics = accelerated speed all of these things means more trade & more $$$

2. Florence was a wealthy banking center FIRST SIGNS OF RENAISSANCE were in Florence i. Inland city—along a river ii. Florentine wool industry major factor in that city’s financial expansion & pop growth iii. By end of 13th C. –Fl. Bankers controlled papacy banking—tax collectors for papacy Began to dominate banking all over Europe & set up offices everywhere Profits from loans, investments, and money exchanges—it goes to Florence and goes into industries Medici Family is very wealthy—controlled politics and culture of their cities Economy in Florence so strong that it remained stable in the face of several crises: Black Death, 1344 King Edward III repudiates debts & forces some banks bankrupt, ciompi revolts of 1378

Political Evolution: Communes and Republics a. communes—in northern Italy, the larger cities won independence from local nobles and became self-governing communes of free men in the 12th C. -- (Milan, Florence, Genoa, Siena, and Pisa) i. won freedom from local nobles ii. local nobles moved into cities & marry into wealthy merchant families new social class=Urban nobility = Marriages b/t rural nobility and mercantile/commercial aristocracy New class group tied by blood, economic interests, & social connections Made citizenship dependent on property requirements, years of residence w/in city, and social connections (very few could qualify to hold gov’t office)

b. Popolo (the excluded) rebelled and in some cities set up republics popolo-group of over taxed and disenfranchised wanted places in communal gov’t and equal tax Throughout 13th C. city after city, popolo used force to take over city gov’t Republics set up in many states—Bologna, Siena, Parma, Florence, Genoa, & others Popolo leaders excluded those below & immigrants, so they never gained enough support Could not establish civil order w/in their cities Movement for republican gov’t fails

c. By 1300 republics had collapsed and despots or oligarchies governed most Italian cities for the next 200 years Signori-despots, or one-man rulers—despot pretended to follow law but really manipulated it to hid their illegality Oligarchies-rule of merchant aristocracies—had constitution, but typically through manipulation and schemes a small group controls the executive, judicial, and legislative functions of gov’t—façade of a republic only Renaissance nostalgia for ancient Roman gov’t combined w/ shrewdness led Venice Milan, and Florence to use “Republican” forms of gov’t

d. 15th C. political power and elite culture centered on princely courts of despots & oligarchs i. made laws, ambassadors, meals ii. gave despot opportunity to show off/assert wealth & power iii. extravagant celebrations for family things-weddings, baptisms, funerals, lots of $$/gifts to artists

C. Balance of Power Among Italian City-States Political loyalty toward city—all over peninsula, everyone loyal to their city, so it hinders unification & political centralization (need a national identity)—the opposite was happening in northern Europe

b. 1500—5 Italian powers—major powers controlled smaller cities & competed for land/power i. Venice(oligarchs) ii. Milan (despots-Sforza family) iii. Florence (elitists—Medicis-1434-1494-Cosimo & Lorenzo not officially in gov’t, but ruled from behind the scenes) iv. Papal States --Pope & Roman Catholic Church During Babylonian Captivity came under sway of important Roman families Pope Alexander VI (1492-1503) reasserted Papal authority (helped by his son Cesare Borgia—becomes hero of Machiavelli’s Prince b/c he ruthlessly taking over principalities that made up the Papal States v. Kingdom of Naples—disputed b/t France & Aragon; 1435 Aragon gets it vi. All--taxes, crushed revolts, killed enemies, public works to create jobs, art to awe; used spies & diplomacy to get information

c. Cities strove to maintain a balance of power among themselves, they invented the apparatus of modern diplomacy (permanent ambassadors in foreign capitals)—alliances shift until 1494 1450- Milan vs Venice over Sforza taking title Duke of Milan—Florence usually supports Venice, but changed mind this time & went against Venice & papal states Each city-state wanted to keep every other city-state from becoming more powerful than the group

d. b/c of disunity, target for invasion i. In 1494, the city of Milan invited intervention by the French King Charles VIII (it was targeted by Florence and Naples) ii. Charles invaded and conquered Florence, Rome, and Naples w/ little opposition iii. b/c of this Italy becomes target of European powers and the battleground of foreign armies iv. 1508-deal b/t Louis XII (Charles’s heir), the pope, and German emperor Maximilian—want to take Venice’s mainland possessions

v. Then pope worries about France and asks Spain and Germans to expel French from Italy—temporarily successful vi. 1522—French go back to Italy & Habsburg-Valois Wars began vii. 16th C.—political and social life of Italy was upset by the relentless competition for dominance between France and the HRE.—suffered from continual warfare viii. 1527—Rome sacked by Charles V of HRE

e. Failure of city-states to form some federal system, consolidate, or at least establish a common foreign policy led to the continuation of the centuries-old subjection of the peninsula by outside invaders. – f. not unified until 1870