HIS243H1 Lecture : Stages of Medici Control 1 of 2
Document Summary
The location does not have any natural advantages (for example no wool, but by buying and selling wool create a great deal of wealth, which leads to a number of large banking families) Stability; have a strong currency, gold coin called the florin which is used around europe because it"s known to be reliable (where other governments will "mix" alloys in the gold of their coin, making them unreliable). Problems when developing their economy; international trading city, but not on a coastline and therefore overshadowed for a long time by these coastal cities (genoa, naples, etc. ). This is not an issue til the 14 & 15 cent. til they decide they do need sea access, which leads to issue with a number of neighboring territories - esp. Pisa, milan, venice, and states of the church (in the center of the italian peninsula). Milan interested in expanding due to ambitions of visconti family.
