CHAPTER

20: Renaissance and Reformation

Lesson 1: The Renaissance Begins
ESSENTIAL QUESTION Why do people make economic choices?

The Renaissance in Italy

Why did the states of Italy become leading centers of culture during the Renaissance?
Between 1350 and 1650, ways of thinking changed greatly in Europe. As the Black Death eased, people
became more confident about the future. Their interest in learning and the arts was renewed. This new
interest in culture is called the Renaissance (reh nuh SAHNTZ), from the French word for "rebirth."

Rebirth of the Classics

The Renaissance sparked a renewed interest in ancient Greeks and Romans. European scholars
improved their understanding of Greek and Latin languages, which they used to study ancient Greek and
Roman writings.
Europeans also adopted many Greek and Roman ideas. They began to see that individual people could
make a difference. They began to believe that people could change the world for the better.
During the Renaissance, most Europeans were still religious. However, they also began to value human
efforts outside religion. As a result, people became more secular (SEH kyuh luhr). That is, they
became more interested in worldly ideas and events, not just religious ones.

The Renaissance is Born

The birthplace of the Renaissance was Italy, the heart of the old Roman Empire. The ruins and statues
were familiar to Italians. Because of this, Italians readily turned to ancient examples to inspire them in
their own artistic efforts.
Art also flourished because by the 1300s, Italian cities had become very wealthy. Their leading citizens
could pay painters, sculptors, and architects to produce many new works.
The powerful states of Italy encouraged the Renaissance. The population of Italy was becoming more
urban (UHR buhn). That is, more people were living in cities than in the country. In other parts of
Europe, most people still lived in rural areas, including the nobles who owned estates.
As a result of its city life, Italy began to develop a different society. Large city populations meant more
discussion among people. Strong economies developed. It also meant more customers for artists and
more money for a new kind of art. Like the city-states of ancient Greece, Renaissance Italy's urban
society and scholars produced many great works of art and literature.
Explaining Why did wealthy Italians support artists during the Renaissance?

The States of Italy

How did Italy's states become wealthy and powerful?
During the Middle Ages, Italy remained a collection of states, many of which were independent citystates. There were several reasons for this. The states of Italy did not want emperors and kings to rule
them. In addition, the Catholic Church did not want a united Italy. It did not want a powerful emperor or
king to control the pope.
The independent states in Italy were equally strong. They fought many wars and often took land from
each other. However, no state was able to rule the others. Florence (FLAWR uhntz), Venice (VEH
nuhs), Genoa (JEH nuh wuh), Milan (mih LAN), and Rome were some of the most important cities of
the Italian Renaissance. The Renaissance began in Italy because city life was stronger than in other
parts of Europe.
Above all, Italy's states were independent because of their riches. They used their wealth to build large
fleets of ships. They also hired mercenaries to fight in their armies. A mercenary (MUHR suh nehr
ee) is a full-time soldier who fights in an army for money. Wealthy merchants and bankers in Italy's
states also loaned money to the kings of Europe. The kings left the states alone so they could borrow
more money in the future.

Riches from Trade

The Italian states gained their wealth through trade. The long stretch of the Italian peninsula meant that
many of the cities were port cities located on the coast.
The Italian peninsula was in the center of the Mediterranean world. The Byzantine and Ottoman Empires
lay to the east, and Spain and France lay to the west. North Africa was only a short distance to the
south. Italy's location made trade with these regions easier.
In eastern ports like Constantinople, Italian merchants bought Chinese silk and Indian spices from
Byzantine, Turkish, and Arab merchants. The Italians sold these goods in Italy and Western Europe for
very high prices. Italian merchants bought wool, wine, and glass in Western Europe and sold them in the
Middle East. Meanwhile, Italian artisans bought raw materials and made goods to sell abroad for high
prices.
In addition to geography, two important events helped the Italians succeed in trade. One event was the
Crusades. These conflicts brought Italian merchants into contact with Arab merchants in the Middle
East. The second event was the Mongol conquests, which united much of Asia into one large trading
network.
The Mongols protected trade along the Silk Road. This made it easier and cheaper for caravans to carry
goods between China and the Middle East. As more silk and spices were sent from Asia, the price of
these goods fell. More Europeans could pay for the luxuries, and demand for the goods increased.

Who Was Marco Polo?

In the 1270s, the merchant Marco Polo, his father, and his uncle left their home in Venice and traveled to
China. Their goal was to meet Kublai Khan (KUH bluh KAHN), the Mongol emperor of China.
When the Polo family reached the Khan's court, the emperor was amazed by the stories that Marco Polo
told of his travels. Kublai sent Marco Polo on fact-finding trips all over China. Polo learned more about
Asia than any other European. After returning to Europe, Polo wrote a book about his adventures. His
stories about life in China amazed Europeans, who then wanted to buy Chinese goods.

Florence: A Renaissance City

The city of Florence was the first major center of the Renaissance. Its wealth and central location
attracted many artists, sculptors, writers, and architects. Florence lay on the banks of the Arno River in
central Italy. The city was surrounded by walls with tall towers for defense. Soaring above the city was
the dome of its cathedral. A local architect, Filippo Brunelleschi (fih LEEP oh broon ehl EHS kee),
completed the dome in 1436. The dome is considered to be the greatest engineering achievement of
the time.
Florence gained its wealth from making and trading cloth made from English wool. Citizens of Florence
also made money from banking, which included lending money and charging interest. As goods poured
into Italy from abroad, merchants had to determine the value of currency, or money, from different
countries. Florentine bankers used the florin, the gold coin of Florence, to measure the value of other
money. The city's wealthiest family, the Medici (MEH duh chee), owned the largest bank in Europe
during the 1400s. The Medici had branch banks, or other offices, as far away as Flanders.

Venice: A City of Canals

Another leading Renaissance city was Venice. Located on the northern coast of the Adriatic Sea in
eastern Italy, Venice was built on many small islands. Venetians drove long wooden poles into mud to
support their buildings. Instead of paving roads, the Venetians built canals and used boats for
transportation around the city. Even today, Venice's canals and waterways serve as streets.
During the Renaissance, Venice became an important link between Europe and Asia. Venetian
merchants, such as Marco Polo, traveled abroad and made contacts with eastern civilizations. The city
also was known as a major shipbuilding center. In a part of the city called the Arsenal, teams of workers
built the wooden ships and also made the sails and oars.
Determining Cause and Effect How did the travels of Marco Polo affect Europeans?

A New Ruling Class

Who controlled the states of Italy?
Wealthy merchants and bankers in the Italian city-states formed a new kind of leadership. Before the
Renaissance, nobles in Europe gained their wealth from land, not trade.
In Italy, old noble families moved from the country to the cities. They became urban nobles. They formed
ties of business and friendship with wealthy merchants.
Meanwhile, merchants began to adopt the customs of the nobles. Soon, the sons and daughters of
nobles and rich merchants were marrying each other. These new families became the upper class of the
city-states.

Who Ruled Italian City-States?

Many Italian city-states began as republics. A republic is a government in which power comes from its
citizens. However, not all people in an Italian city-state were citizens. Citizenship belonged only to
merchants and artisans.
In ancient Rome, power was often given to a dictator during a war or revolt. A dictator was a ruler who
had absolute power. In many cases, the Italian city-states relied on a single powerful individual to run the
government. Some of these leaders ruled harshly, using force to keep control. Others used a more
gentle approach. To win support, these rulers improved city services.
In Venice, the ruler was the duke, or doge (DOHJ). He officially ran the city, but a council of wealthy
merchants held the real power. This council passed laws and elected the doge.
In Florence, the powerful Medici family controlled the government for many years. Lorenzo de' Medici
governed Florence from 1469 to 1492. He used his wealth to support artists, architects, and writers. As a
result of Florence's prosperity and fame, Lorenzo was known as "the Magnificent."

Keeping the Peace

Political affairs in Italy were complex, or complicated. Within each state, rulers had to put down revolts
by the poor. They also had to prevent other wealthy people and city leaders from seizing control. At the
same time, the rulers had to keep good relations with bordering states.
To deal with the neighboring states, the Italians developed diplomacy (duh PLOH muh see).
Diplomacy is the art of making agreements with other countries. Italians worked to be sure that no single
state had enough power to threaten the others.
How could a ruler keep his hold on power in the Italian states? Niccol Machiavelli (nee koh LOH
mah kee uh VEH lee), a diplomat in Florence, tried to answer this question. In 1513, he wrote The
Prince, a book that took a critical look at politics in Renaissance Italy. In this work, Machiavelli stated that
rulers should do whatever was necessary to keep power and protect their city, even if they had to lie and
kill. Machiavelli gave leaders the following advice:
"Upon this a question arises: whether it is better to be loved than feared or feared than loved? It may be
answered that one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it is
much safer to be feared than loved."
from The Prince, by Niccol Machiavelli

Today when we say someone is being "Machiavellian," we mean that person is cunning or acting without
a conscience.
Analyzing Why did the Italian states develop diplomacy?
END.