Francesco Pegolotti was a Florentine merchant and politician. He wrote the The Practice of Commerce in which he expressed the personal qualities he believed that merchants were most needed to survive, which were compliancy and the skill to work with others, and have understanding. Pegolotti’s history was based on the sensitivity to local rules and customs was the key to survival. In this paper it will argue that the personal qualities that was needed to succeed in the Silk Road trade. During the land of Cathy merchants, they must be willing to adapt to the community. In the book the human record Pegolotti states that “In the first place, you must let your beard grow long and not shave, (HR, p.397) this explain how they all present themselves
In the book, Giovanni and Lusanna, by Gene Bucker, he discusses the scandalous actions of a Florentine woman taking a wealthy high status man to court over the legality of their marriage. Published in 1988, the book explains the legal action taken for and against Lusanna and Giovanni, the social affects placed on both persons throughout their trial, and the roles of both men and women during the time. From the long and complicated trial, it can be inferred that women’s places within Florentine society were limited compared to their male counterparts and that women’s affairs should remain in the home. In this paper, I will examine the legal and societal place of women in Florentine society during the Renaissance. Here, I will argue that women were the “merchandise” of humanity and their main objective was to produce sons.
“I’ll be out of here and away from all you knaves for one time anyway, as not a month will pass before you’ll see whether I’m nobody or a somebody.” The story of Bianco Alfani reflected the nature of 14th century Florentine society where, as Alfani remarked, the election to public office could make or destroy a person. In late 14th century and early 15th century Florence, decreased population and expanding commerce provided a favorable environment for ambitious individuals. The real life examples of Buonaccorso Pitti and Gregorio Dati demonstrated the positive role of ambition in Florence. Pitti, a nobleman had an extremely successful career, partaking in military campaigns, holding public office in Florence and being an ambassador to foreign courts. Gregorio Dati, the grandson of purse venders, engaged in commerce, rising in social standing which culminated with his election to public office. Holding office was a definitive sign of success and recognition in Florence. In contrast was the tale Bianco Alfani, a deemed man unworthy of office. As told by Piero Veneziano, Alfani was the chief jailor in Florence who was duped into believing he had been named captain of the town of Norcia. Alfani publicly made a fool of himself, spending all his money and creating a great fanfare over his supposed appointment. Comparing the lives of Pitti and Dati to the story of Bianco Alfani illustrates how economic and social change in 14th century Florence produced a culture centered on reputation and commerce. For men like Pitti and Dati, who flourished within the constraints of Florentine society, their reward was election to office, a public mark of acceptance and social standing. Those who were ambitious but failed to abide by the values o...
2. Castiglione helped developed Italian courtly society with The Book of Courtier. In this book, he talks about certain ideals that aristocrats should have. This book soon became very popular and is a fundamental guidebook for European aristocrats. Castiglione described his ideal courtier with three basic attributes. First, they should have fundamental personality like impeccable character, grace talents, and noble birth. Second, they should do bodily and military exercises and fill his life with arts (musical instrument, drawing, and painting). Finally, nobles have to make good impressions but also be modest. They should show grace in their accomplishments.
The economic activity and industry are closely linked, and both played an important role in the everyday life of Pompeii’s citizens. Trade was a key aspect to the city’s economic activity. Strabo tells us that Pompeii was the port for Nuceria and Nola. Although archaeologists are yet to determine whether it was a sea port or a river p...
Throughout history there has been a common theme of progression towards more complex societies. The advent of agriculture enabled population sizes to increase, and allowed permanent settlements to arise. As extensive cultivation of farmland progressed, a surplus of food was created that enabled some people within a society to be non-food producers. These people who no longer were required to farm in order to survive were able to develop marketable goods that they could exchange for food. This transition towards interdependence, (craftsmen depending on exchanging their goods for food), brought with it an opportunity for the government within each society to exact some tribute for monitoring the economy, and making sure that exchanges went smoothly. This led to societies with a well-defined hierarchy and slowly led to the abolition of the egalitarian societies where everyone engages in the same means of production. Within these aforementioned egalitarian societies there is some occupational specialization, but it is based on the skill of the craftsmen, and no one is a full time specialist. The differences in the economies of Copan, Teotihuacan, and ancient Rome, can illustrate why and how economies increase in complexity, and what criteria are necessary for large-scale economic specialization. More specifically, what factors limited Copan and Teotihuacan, preventing them from attaining the population size, and economic complexity of ancient Rome.
During the classical era, there were shifts worldwide with regards to economic imports and exports. As many societies transformed from hunting-gathering societies into specialization societies, global trade networks expanded. This led to the founding and growth of many complex trade networks, both on land and by sea. Two notable trade networks were the Mediterranean Sea network and the Silk Road. The Mediterranean Sea is in Europe, and the trade network lined the shores of Turkey and North Africa. The Silk Road was trans-Asian. It reached from China to the Eastern Mediterranean. While these networks had multiple similarities in their expansion and spread of religion and ideas, there were many differences. These included the type of materials
A rediscover of their history and recognition of early Greek philosophers changed the way that the influential families and Princes, in Italy, considered themselves. Their way of thinking of the Devine and need to promote one’s own aspirations through sponsorship of the arts, as well as, civic duty became not only fashionable but important to progress in the city states. Although Donatello’s David and Botticelli’s Primavera are master pieces in their own right, their influence on future generations of artists cannot be ignored. The spark that ignited the fire which we call the Renaissance was a transformation of societies thinking and values to a Humanistic approach to one duties to society and the church. These two works are a reflection of the changing attitudes which would eventually change all of
In Document 2, an advisor to the Mauryan emperor writes that merchants should be given strict guidelines under which they could operate. He proposes that the government regulate every aspect of trade to keep merchants from benefiting too greatly from their transactions. Document 3 is an excerpt from a Roman politician’s article, An Essay about Duties, suggesting that mercantilism is no better than murder. These two documents show the extreme attitudes of government officials and their willingness to go to great lengths to keep the merchants from possessing too much wealth. Document 7 is by a ruler of South India that imposed a tax on sea-voyaging merchants. Even though this reaction is relatively tolerant, the tax still restricts the growth of traders and merchants. Document 1 is an excerpt from a historical Chinese document conveying the idea that merchants, while scorned, are critically important to the stability of the Chinese state. However, this document must be approached with caution since it was written during the Warring States period. Government officials during this time would have done their best to ensure that no unnecessary conflict was started. Although not mentioned in the given documents, one reason why so many societies resented merchants and rejected them as a social class is that merchants were seen as people who profited from the labor of
The beard, which was worn in full at the beginning of the twelfth century, was modified both as to shape and length. At first it was cut in a point, and only covered the end of the chin. But the next fashion was to wear it so as to join the moustaches. Generally moustaches went out of fashion. Beards were worn only by country people, who, desired to preserve a "remembrance of their participation in the Crusades." At the end of the twelfth century, all chins were shaved.
The commercial activity has been, over the centuries, linked to human activity, due to the need to obtain satisfactory. The evolution of trade throughout history presents issues of immense importance to understand the current configuration of trade, However, for the purposes of this research we will be observing what is free trade so we can understand and interpret every point that we will be talking about in this investigation. Free Trade is an economic concept, referring to the sale of products between countries, duty-free and any form of trade barriers. Free trade involves the elimination of artificial barriers (government regulations) to trade between individuals and companies from different countries.
Through historical and economic data this research paper will express how Florence flourished from a mercantile economy in the Renaissance.
Baxandall, Michael. “Conditions of Trade.” Painting and Experience in Fifteenth-century Italy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.
Merchants were big contributors to their countries’ economy. They would buy raw materials, have several weavers and craftsmen make products out of the raw materials, and then sell it to people. They would tax all of the goods they sold and give that money to the owners of the land on which they were selling their goods. The idea merchants had, had been to find land where there was a lot of trade. Italy was a country benefited for tra...
People everywhere are yelling in a distinct accent that I have come to recognize in my week here in Italy. As I walk down one of Florence’s many markets with my father, men and women alike are shouting out descriptive adjectives for their products in butchered English. They were just a part of the medley of noises around me. Tourists are laughing and clicking away at their cameras; drivers are slamming doors to their vans after dropping off the merchandise to the vendors. There is an energy in the air. Carts are inches away from each other, packed in one after another as far as my eighth grade eye can see. Looking around I see other American tourists looking annoyed by the enthusiastic salesmen, but I am in my place, shopping. I can’t wait to start buying presents for my family and myself. We had just stopped at a bank that morning and I am eager to spend my new euros. Unbeknownst to me though are the unspoken rules of the market place: bartering.
‘The Merchant of Venice’ focuses on trade itself and its effects on society and religion. Antoni...