The Economic Expansion Of Venice

The decline of the western part of the old Roman Empire left Europe without the laws and protection the empire had provided. The vacuum was filled by the creation of a feudal hierarchy. In this hierarchy, the serf, or peasant, was protected by the lord of the manor, who, in turn, owed allegiance to and was protected by a higher overlord. And so the system went, ending eventually with the king. The strong protected the weak, but they did so at a high price. In return for payments of money, food, labor, or military allegiance, overlords granted the fief, or feudum – a hereditary right to use land – to their vassals. At the bottom was the serf, a peasant who

After the 4th century when Constantinople emerged as a great capital and church center, tensions sometimes arose between its leaders and the bishop of Rome. After the fall of Rome to Germanic invaders in 476, the Roman pope was the only guardian of Christian universalism in the West. He began more explicitly to attribute his dominance to Rome's being the burial place of Saint Peter, whom Jesus had called the "rock" on which the church was to be built. The Eastern Christians respected that tradition and recognized the Roman patriarch to a measure of honorable authority. But they never believed that this authority allowed the papacy to overrule another church or that it made the pope into a universally reliable figure within the larger

First, 14th century Florence was governed by a guild regime. The Florentine commune was led by priors elected from upper guilds for two month terms. The short term limits and election from higher guilds meant every citizen of rank in Florence had a chance to hold office. Those worthy of being elected would have belonged to an upper guild and had the respect of peers. Also, public office was important for reputation and social standing. The desire for election was not limited to Florence but applied abroad as well, “Florentines yearned to go abroad as foreign rectors both because of need of added income and in the avid quest for honor and reputation.” The many communes of the Italian peninsula made repeated office holding possible for many citizens. Moreover, events such as the black plague starting in 1348 allowed more than just nobleman to become officials. The sudden change had, “temporarily reshuffled the deck of social rank and entitlements.” Men who had enough ambition and effort could become high standing members of Florence no matter their station at birth. The desire to be recognized by society at large would shape the lives of Pitti, Dati and Alfani.

Also, during the renaissance stage, kings, dukes, earls and other nobles dominated the political field but as the feudal system began to collapse; these titles stared losing their influence. This shaped the beginning of varying unbalanced surroundings which promoted rapid development in all areas. This stage was subjugated by confrontations and wars not for the sake of winning territories but for the sake of protests, to satisfy the upper-class thirst for war. The downfall of the Roman Empire and the influence and authority of the papacy was consequential with the increase in independence and self reliance of city states in most of the Europe.

Commerce, throughout the post-renaissance era has become increasingly more important. In the seventeenth century, the idea of Technological Project (control of nature for human benefit) was introduced by Bacon and Descartes. This was very important because at the time, many people thought in terms of conformity to nature, not in terms of transforming nature for human benefit. Thinking in terms of conformity constrains individual freedom as far as innovation, which is the opposite of what TP is trying to accomplish. Inner-directed individuals are required for TP in order to produce innovative ideas that are both scientific and technical, in order to understand and

During those times, it was very hard to live, but it paved the way for modern day. 1450 brought about Renaissance, capitalism, the age of exploration, and the nation state. The Renaissance brought new attitudes toward the secular world and man's place in it. Capitalism brought new attitudes towards money and profit. The age of exploration brought new perspectives on Europe’s place in the world. The nation state brought ybw technology consisted of gunpowder, the printing press, better ships, and new navigation. There was also social change. Although it was tough for all classes, by 1500 peasants in Western Europe were free and had possession of their own land. The middle class was increasing through positions in the king's bureaucracy. Along with the change came new business techniques. The new business techniques consisted of joint stock companies, deposit banks and credit, and insurance companies. Joint stock companies granted people with low amounts of cash to participate in business enterprises such as merchant expeditions. The most important factor was that instead of people wasting their money, it was put into circulation with Europe's economy, which allowed it to grow more. Deposit banks and credit allowed bankers to invest more money in business ventures. Along with this, banking houses allowed branches to open, and it also extended a system of credit across Western Europe. Credit granted a businessman to use more

There were many political changes in Europe’s Medieval society. In Medieval Europe it showed the largest growth in the society in Europe. The government was also made into bureaucracies, bureaucrats did not have full control over the people. Europe helped influence many places around them. The rulers did not have complete rule of there people, it leads to a more self governed society. The rulers in the society more made rules for the people, made ideas for battle, and found out ways to strengthen their communities as a whole. This did cause plenty of fights in Medieval Europe over who had the most power. The popes were important to the people back then. After the fight between pope and government Europe was seeing the world with a new eye. Political changes helped sculpt the world that in present day, and will help effect life for a long time to come.

The Merchant of Venus, is a play written by William Shakespeare and is a majority of the time remembered for its scene with Shylock and Antonio. As intricate as the play wove itself, the word that seemed to occur a majority of the time “bonds”, had multiple meanings occurring throughout the play. Oxford English Dictionary (OED) tells us that Bonds can mean the bondage of a marriage, the ways of which a thing is bound or tied down, agreement or engagement binding to him of which who makes it, and a deed, by which binds himself, his heirs, executors, or assigns to pay a certain sum of money. In this play, we see a strong connection between bonds and goods reoccurring from start to finish. The term “bond”, is

Then there was Venice, which had the total opposite in picking their Political leaders. In Venice there was only one ruler, the Doge, who is elected for life. Meaning Venice elects one person to lead their city, they rule it till they die, then a new person gets elected to rule

Italy, positioned in southeastern Europe, is a beautiful country that is faced with high unemployment, corruption and massive debt. Although it appears to be one of the most developed countries in Europe, Italy is somewhat of a laggard in globalization. Ranking twenty-third in world population, Italy stands at 56,126,212 people as of July 2009. The north and south seem to be split in economic terms with the north being well developed industrially and the south facing high unemployment and poverty. Italy is a democratic republic that replaced a monarchy back in 1946. Although it ranks seventh in world GDP and public debt and attracts millions of tourists every year, its current debt to GDP ratio continues to skyrocket. World economists

Another relevant role of the medieval period was the development of parliament later in the period. It is of high relevance to society today – as the controlling force of the country arose from the proposed council of 25 (Magna Carta) and developed into the fully fledged House of Commons and Lords that we know today. Magna Carta also played other, hugely influential roles in the world as we know. The first written constitution is very important in America – with the declaration of independence, signed in ... - being based on this very document. However, the Magna Carta was not always this important, as it was annulled by Pope Urban shortly after King John signed it.

Italy holds a long and rich history, starting from how it became one country during ancient times. For thousands of years, people have lived in Italy, relying on its vast amount of assets and resources. There was no established group of settlers to arrive first, because the chief pioneers entailed many different types of people who spoke different languages. Italy was at first preceded by several non-Italian cultures, including Greeks. The Greeks occupied southern Italy, including areas around Sicily. This remained a wealthy extent of land because of the tremendously fertile soil, which then caused the sprout of new cities and civilization. These Greek cities ultimately stood taken over by Roman control. As far as northern city-states, the Etruscans lived in areas influenced by Greek culture. The Etruscans stayed well-known engineers, builders, and traders. Italy was always back and forth in the control of foreign authorities, but finally landed in the power of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire took over at about 450 B.C., but eventually collapsed. The land that now stands as Italy was ruled by Julius Caesar. There were many civil wars before and after Julius Caesar’s death. The land was then restored by Octavian, Caesar’s son, who later passed his throne to his son Tiberius. Although ancient Italy had been taken over by diverse commands, it still held on to its vast culture and

The city of Rome was the epicenter of the Roman Empire. Major decisions and world influence came from Rome. Rome transformed into a city that held almost a million people. Why did these people go to the city and what affect did the city have on them? Urbanization is a massive global trend in today’s world. People flock to cities in search of opportunities or a better way of life. What a city looks like today is vastly different than what Rome looked like almost two millennia ago. However, the causes for urbanization and the effects urbanization has on the inhabitants have stark similarities and differences in Ancient Rome and in cities today.

?Venice is one of the most fascinating places to travel in Europe.? Its intrigue lies in its unique beginnings, its dominant past, and its remarkable people and their buildings.? Its foundation is unique because of the need for protection that drove the early Venetians to their new home and the location of this new dwelling-place:? ?Rarely in human history has a vigorous and progressive civilization arisen in a less likely place than the mud flats of the Venetian lagoon.?1? Venice rose to power by its domination of the sea and reached its climax during the years of the Renaissance.? It is during this time period that it truly became ?the bride of the Adriatic and the unchallenged

instability, as the nation tried to re-create the social bonds broken by the war and