Business & Politics

By: Lorenzo, Hayoung, Valerie, & Sabrina

The Italian States

• The lack of a centralized government allowed for city-states to develop.

• Milan • Venice • Florence

Milan

• Located in northern Italy at the crossroads of the main trade routes.

• One of the richest city states in Italy.• The Visconti family established themselves

as dukes of Milan.• After the last Visconti ruler died, Francesco

Sforza became ruler.• Both these two family worked to build a

strong government and made large sums of money through taxes from the government.

Venice

• Became an international power because it linked Asia and western Europe.

• It officially was a republic with a leader called a doge.

• But actually a small group of rich merchants ran the government of Venice for their own interests.

Florence

• Cultural center of Italy• The Medici family controlled the government

from around themselves.• Savonarola was in power for a short period

of time before government.

Machiavelli

• Niccolo' Machiavelli wrote the book The Prince.

• The Prince is about how to gain and maintain political power.

Renaissance Society: The Nobility

• The Book of the Courtier explains what was expected if you were a noble.

A noble was born, not made. They were expected to have character, grace, and talent.

Noble needed to be a warrior and be educated.

Nobles needed to follow a certain code of conduct.

Renaissance Society: The Peasants and Townspeople

• The Urban Societyo Patricians: They dominated economically,

socially, politically.• Burghers: Shopkeepers, artisans, guild

masters.• Workers: Poor class. They earned pitiful

wages and lived miserably.

Renaissance Society: Family and Marriage.

• Parents arranged marriages• Dowry: was a sum of money paid to the

family of the husband by the wife's family.• Father / Husband controlled the lives of

everyone in the household.• Fathers had to go to court to free his

children.This is when adulthood came about.

Key Terms

• Guild: a type of trade association• Apprentice: a young person being trained in

craft• Capitalism: based on trade and capital• Commercial Revolution: New business

methods and models