The Italian Renaissance

When studying the Renaissance, most turn towards Italy and its revival of classicalism in both art and culture. They think of the grandeur of the paintings and the innumerable sculptures that were commissioned throughout the city states. People also tend to think of banking, focusing around areas such as the Republic of Florence and its mighty Medici family who were the bankers for nobles and the Papacy alike. These powerful families controlled finances for nations and governments to wage war, build monuments, and maintain standards of living that would have been impossible otherwise. However, financial power shifted during the mid to late 15th century from that of northern Italy to the Low Countries due to the decline in industrial and

These Low Country cities followed a progression of first Bruges (in the mid 15th century), Antwerp (early 16th century), and lastly Amsterdam (late 17th century). The cycle for the establishment of these new financial centers was the same. First, the raw materials sold by foreign merchants would move to a city more that was more fortuitous for their trade. Second, the craftsmen who finished these raw commodities would move to where the raw material went as they required easy access to their work. Lastly, financiers would follow the craftsmen as they were the ones who often drew short term loans to finance their operations. It was this progression of shipping of raw materials, to the migration of craftsmen, and lastly the emergence of financiers that allowed for the Low Countries to become the most dominant financial center in the world during the 17th century but also contributed to its

This inability to repay the debts by governments to the banks, but groups such as the Fuggers under huge pressure. For example, 1533-1560 Charles V increased his debts from 147,000 florins to 2,160,000 florins, and without the money owed to them the Fuggers became unable to repay their own creditors, creating a perpetual cycle of debt, thus forcing them to close their business. This debt cycle created a capital flight out of Antwerp as other bankers shut their doors due to inability to repay their capital, and also caused a decline in commercial trading as foreign merchants began to take their industry to other cities. For example, English merchants in 1564 transplanted their cloth trade to Emden and Brabançon and in the process, drew cloth finishers from Antwerp. This became more commonplace as finishers and craftsmen followed their raw materials. The last and most devastating blow to Antwerp as a financial center occurred in 1576, when the Spanish Army under the control of Duke Alba sacked Antwerp, due to delayed payment. The army plundered the city’s warehouses and destroyed cultural sections of the city, forcing many to leave and never