The Renaissance was a period of enlightenment influenced by classicalism, the rediscovery of greco-roman arts. It is considered the bridge between the Dark Ages and the Modern era. The movement originated in Italy, the country that would eventually become the focal point for the rebirth of Europe. Although Italy is attributed with creation of the Renaissance, its success was simply a result of its relationship with the Islamic world. The Islamic world enabled Europe’s transition from the Medieval period to the Renaissance.
Italy became the center of the Renaissance because of its immense wealth. It was necessary for a society to be wealthy in order to support artists, for they were paid only through patronage, the financial aid that a
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He then repaid his liabilities, and distributed the remainder of the spices all over Europe. Mariano's immense profit encouraged the Venetian population to invest in the spice business. Eventually, the Venetians controlled the trade of spices in Europe. Venice's trade in the pepper business was the formative event in Venice’s business relationship with the Islamic world. The Venetians also profited from their adept shipbuilding and sailing. In 1082, the Byzantines established trade treaties with the Venetians. This agreement was formally known as the Byzantine-Venetian Treaty of 1082. The treaty provided Venice with concessions, a product that is granted in response to demands, in return for their help in the wars against the Normans. In 1453 the Byzantine Empire fell to the Arab Ottomans. It was likely that this event would mark the end of the Venetian’s concessions with Constantinople, which was now Istanbul. Nonetheless, Venice was quick to form trade treaties with the Turks, the new inhabitants of Constantinople. This mutually beneficial relationship with the Ottomans eventually became one of the most successful trade relationships in history. The Venetians and the Ottomans were logical trading partners. Venice lacked agricultural resources because of its geography. Therefore, they imported an abundance of grains provided to them by the Ottomans. The Ottomans’ plethora of grains was a result of them conquering Egypt and its Nile River,
Economically, during this period Italian merchants were able to expand their trade from the Mediterranean to other areas along the Atlantic seaboard (334). They became in contact with the increasingly powerful Hanseatic League of merchants. When the Italian merchants became hit by the plague, the Hanseatic League of Merchants continue to flourish.
Europe’s Age of Exploration and Discovery began around 1453 when the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople, which resulted in the fall of the Byzantine Empire. This conquest cut off most European access to this area, severely limiting trade with the Middle East, especially China and India. Furthermore, Venice and the Ottoman Empire established a monopoly over trade, which irritated Europe and sparked their desire to reconnect with the East and restore direct trade relations with Asia. Europe’s desire to discover alternate trade routes in order to participate in Asian silk and spice trades was ultimately a primary cause for European exploration and conquest during the 15th and 16th centuries. Secondarily, Europe’s intention to expand and
The Crusades required soldiers to travel across the Mediterranean Sea to reach Jerusalem. Hence, Italian merchants built fleets to carry to Crusaders to the Holy Land. According to the Description of the Economic Impact of the Crusades, after the crusades, Italian merchants “used those fleets to open new markets” and “kept these trade routes open” (Document 2). When the Crusaders came back from the Holy Land, new items such as sugar, cotton, and rice entered Europe for the first time since the fall of the Roman Empire. Once Europeans were exposed to luxuries, they wanted more and more. Trade increased all throughout Europe, and the West entered a period of economic expansion. However, not only did Europe experience perks from the crusades, but so did the Muslims. The passage Description of some of the Effects of the Crusades describes how Muslim rulers “encouraged trade with European businessmen” (Document 5). Because Europe was in desperate need of the Islamic Empire’s sugar, cotton, and rice, Islam markets experienced new wealth and riches. Thus, both Europe and the Muslim Empire benefited from an increase in
When the crusades began there was a rise in trade, decreased feudalism, and new access to trade with the Middle East. Europeans also had a desire for luxuries from the Byzantine Empire. The increase in trading with the Byzantine Empire led to new ideas, food products, and household goods. The food products from the Byzantine Empire were: rice, coffee, sherbet, dates, apricots, lemons, sugar, and spices such as ginger, melons, rhubarb and dates. The household goods traded were: mirrors, carpets, cotton cloth for clothing, ships compasses, writing
Added tension came from the Byzantine relationship with the Venetians. Because of a trade agreement, Venetians did not have to pay custom duties on imports and exports. In addition, Venice took control of several Byzantine trade routes. As a result, the trade profit of Byzantine merchants decreased significantly.
Characterized by the existence of their efficient economy, the Byzantine empire is regarded as one of the most successful imperiums to thrive on the face of the earth. With countless factors contributing to their prosperity, the fundamental cause for their success was the amount of wealth they possessed throughout their reign. Compared to western culture, the Byzantines were unsurpassed, possessing a large amount of visible wealth. The lively markets and active traders were able to develop the economy as a whole. Metropolises such as Constantinople and Thessalonica were able to attract foreigners, who introduced new ideas, traditions, and materials into the empire. This exchange was primarily made through local, regional, and international
The Renaissance was a time of growth in the liberal arts. It started in the Italian City states as trading brought huge profits to all the city states, especially to Venice and Genoa. Due to the profits from trading, and to the regrowth of some other industries that had been devastated by the social upheavals of the fourteenth century, the Italian city-states became extremely prosperous. The richest in Italy who were the ones benefiting from this prosperity, such as the Medicis, became great patrons of the arts, allowing art to flourish in Italy as it had never done since Greco-Roman times. Because of individualism and humanism, Renaissance art started to emphasize mathematical perspective to art which gave art an element of 3D. New thinkers with new ideas also started to emerge such as Petrarch, who promoted humanism, the belief in the power of the individual and in the revival of ancient Greco-Roman texts and beliefs. The High Renaissance
Although it is true that in previous Crusades, infantrymen were granted gold and riches from their plunder, and land in some instances, avarice was ever-present in the progression of the Fourth. In it, the promise of heaps of wealth played such a pivotal role in the decisions of the invaders that this alone could set it apart from the earlier eastern campaigns. In these matters, the most important party, perhaps even more important than the Crusaders themselves, was the city state of Venice. Due to a series of unfortunate events, Venice was experiencing serious financial difficulties. The Crusaders needed a fleet to arrive at their initial destination of Egypt, and Venice agreed to provide this . An agreement was therefore reached: Venice would provide ships enough to carry 4,500 horses, 9,000 esquires, 4,500 knights and 20,000 infantrymen, along with provisions enough for nine months ; on top of this, the Venetians added fifty armed war galleys "for love of God". In return, the Crusaders agreed to pay 86,000 marks . However, things quickly went awry when only a fraction of the expected pilgrims assembled near Venice in 1202. It was quickly discovered, to the dismay of the Crusaders, that while the Venetians had held true to their end of the bargain and spent a fortune in the construction of this fleet, the
Byzantine merchants in Constantinople were situated along routes going in every direction and maintained direct commercial links with manufacturers and other merchants from all over Europe and Asia. Byzantium drew enormous amounts of wealth from the control of trade and the levying of customs duties on merchandise that passed through (Bentley, Ziegler, & Streets-salter, n.d.). Therefore, success came easily to Byzantine merchants, who enjoyed a very strong position in international trade. Eventually, the purchasing power of Byzantine merchants became such that it could influence prices in markets as far as Cairo and Alexandria (Laiou & Cecile, 2007). Also, in response to their success, emperors gave merchants the right to become members of the Senate (Laiou & Cecile, 2007).
In spite of the fact that the Venetians offered to supply more funds, the Crusaders declined to spare themselves from the inconvenience of paying back a bigger debt. Despite the fact that they got sufficient amounts of food, supplies, and other supplies from the city of Zara, it would not have been sufficient to make the long trek to Egypt. The Venetians additionally had one more choice, which would be their secret weapon: Constantinople, the wealthiest city in Asia Minor and their greatest trading
Ottoman relations with the West were fairly equal and constant during the 16th to the 18th centuries, as a result of regular trading and trade routes to Asia which went through the Ottoman Empire. European nations had been interested in exploring since the 15th century and had eventually begun exploring Asia in the 16th century. The Europeans who enjoyed the “luxury” goods of Asia, especially from China, began trading with them. Trade was a common occurrence because of high demand for the Asian products in Europe. During that time much of the traveling in order to trade was done by land and the route to Asia from Europe lead straight through the Ottoman Empire.The Europeans also traded with the Ottomans for such things as gunpowder.Contact
Some families founded banks which would lead to people being able to take out loans. Loans played a key part in the trading business. Having loans meant more ships could be built, and ships could afford to travel longer distances. After losing Constantinople in 1463 trade began to drop material was less accessible.
The Villa Barbaro is connected to the history of Venice from the start of the sixteenth century. Venice’s economic state and wealth relied on its overseas trade, the sales of imported goods, and the processing of goods for the Venetian market. The major overseas trade product was grain. However, a financial and economic failure occurred in 1453, when Constantinople lost power over the Turks, and trade centers in the Eastern Mediterranean were taken away from the Venetians. Furthermore, Venice lost trades with other countries who found faster and closer routes to other trade centres. For example, in 1498, Vasco da Gama used a direct route to India, and Venetian routes lost significance. This resulted in an economic downfall, unemployment for
This is a piece of the Medieval "European History Metanode". Exchange in addition to town had decline in “Europe” amid the early “Frankish Empire” and the Carolingian Dynasty. Exchange started to bounce back in Italy around “900 CE”. The “Venetians” started long-separation exchange with the “Byzantines” and the “Moslems” they sent out salt grain wine and glass and imported silk flavors,and extravagances. "Amalti" "Piza" and “Genoa” went with the same pattern. The Crusade be a protection to the “Italian economy” on the grounds that they transported fighters and products, and exchanged with the “Latin Kingdom” of “Jerusalem” “Damascus” and “Baghdad”. “Flanders” drove the route in the North,starting around "950". They produced fabric on the “Rhine River” near “England”. “Flanders” turned into a portal for exchange. Britain thusly turned into a critical supplier of crude fleece. “France” and “Spain” trade wine to the “British” isle the “British” Isle complete them by means of granule and "Scandanavia" sent hides timber and you got it herring toward the “South”.
In addition, the Europeans had also found away to gain more money from the Asians, but shortening the process of waiting for import from having the Europeans trade directly to the people who farms the spices. Through this process, European merchants were able to get the spices for a much cheaper price, and thus sell it to much more people and then gaining even more money and profit.