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
and the rules they have to follow. Pegolotti did not want them to focus on their work but, he want them to focus on their physical appearance. He wants them to be willing to adapt to everyone around them. Through out this era Europeans was known to look elegant and the Silk Road looked masculine, mature and unapproachable. As a result, the Europeans award good hygiene and youthfulness, rather than a fierce or wise appearance. The author believes that “you shall not pay higher price for your goods because your money is of paper”.(HR p.398). He is saying that one should be more resourceful and use any other method that would effiecent for cost. Specifically, saying that you need to be about to readjust to their money and refrain from getting caught. Pegolotti in his book The Practice of Commerce made it obvious for a merchant to be wealthy. He states “But if the merchant in going or coming should die in enroute, everything belonging to him will become property of the lord of the country in which he dies, and the officers of the lord will take possession of all”(HR, p. 397) He want you to be intelligent enough to know that you have to bring another merchant with you so you can find more material , like salt fish, flour and also meat. Lastly, is when Pegolotti shows that you must have the technique and knowledge to work with others. He states “And besides the dragoman in would be good to take a least tow good man servants, who are acquainted with the Cummanian tongue. And if the merchants likes to take a woman with him from Tana, he can do so; if he does not like to take one there is no obligation, only if does take one her will kept much more comfortably than if he does take one.” (HR,p.397). he is trying to assimilate with where he was going, so he wanted to make sure that he had all the details covered someone who spoke the language, so he could communicate. But he also stated that . “You may reckon also from that from Tana to Sara the road is less safe than on any other part of the journey, and yet even when this part of the road is at its worst, if there are some 60 men in your company you will go as safely as if you were in your own house.” ( HR, p.397). he is basically telling the people that they need to be brave and make this travel but, it is safer if you have a good group of people to go with. He said this because he is expressing how much it is important to work with other people besides yourself. To conclude Pegolotti want the men to have knowledge, language skills, they need to be willing to adapt , well prepared, they need to look the part and always are always willing to travel . He wants them to be expert in Silk Road trade because he thinks it is an important factor of that era.
An African rhino horn for some Chinese silk, 6 Iron bars for 12 Ferghana horses, or Chinese orange trees for India’s spices. Trade was encouraged by the Silk Road because it was the earliest type of compromise when wars were fought, and supplies were demanded.
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.
Baxandall, Michael. “Conditions of Trade.” Painting and Experience in Fifteenth-century Italy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.
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...
In 1500 the attitudes towards trade and more specifically merchants, varied greatly. One’s religion was a major contributor to how individuals viewed merchants. Christians and Islamic people shared many similarities in their views (Documents 1, 4, and 5). For example, they believed that trade leads to unvirtuous lives, also believed that merchants were often corrupt. On the other hand, Muslims and Christians had opposing views in terms of merchants and their objectives (Documents 6 and 7). Some Christians believed that merchants are an important part of economic well being and they benefited the society and many artisans. Opposingly, the Islams believed that merchants only benefited themselves and rid other people of products. Throughout the
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.
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
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...
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.
Baxandall, Michael. “Conditions of Trade.” Painting and Experience in Fifteenth-century Italy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.
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...