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Serenissima Repubblica di Venizia (Italian)
The Most Serene Republic of Venice (English). -
The roman empire is highly civilized, with an extensive trade going out of the empire.
There is an integrated economy, money (gold) is used. Rome is getting very old and decided it is too large to be one empire
- The western part is the Latin speaking culture with catholic.
- In the east, they speak Greek with an orthodox religion.
The byzantine empire is the east of the Roman Empire.
Constantinople is the capital. -
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia
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It is Byzantine
Venice is founded by refugees because it is 4km to the coast and the barbarians cannot reach it.
The city is developing in the long run. 400 bridges They put pilings (=logs) to petrify the underground • The access to water is an advantage to the Vancian.
• Fish is a very important and it is one of the main source of proteins at that time.
• Salt is very valuable and was trade (nice resources).
They had pretty much nothing. -
Germanic people who ruled large parts of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774.
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They were elected and it’s not hereditary.
They had power (but not dictators • Usually old: the doge was for life, if you are too young (around 50) you can’t be elected
• Family members barred from Government
• Books audited -> to see where there are illeguralety
• Complicated election
• You can’t punish the Doge but you can punish his family
Doge’s Election -> very complicated • “Si è morto il Doge, no la Signoria”
o The doge is dead, not the council -
1070 years
Almost unchanged for 500 years (1297-1797) -
Innovation: Heavy Plow, Horse Collars, Field Rotation (1 year you use one, the 2nd year the other one -> increase productivity)
+ Warming period: more food
= More people Not enough agricultural work so these people are going to go to the city
=> Urbanization
Town has to trade, has to produce something that interest people -
One of the venetian opportunities
- from the bizantines (because they asked the Venetians to help fight the normans.) Marching culture due to the trade of water -
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- the Venetian government need money, they forced the richest people to give them money
- 5% of what they forced every year forever
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Venetian ‘Parliament’
Lot of wealth with the trade with the east All the offices were limited: 6 to 12 month terms (except Doge)
could not succeed yourself but can do other functions and come back later.
No political campaigning. Venetian are very paranoid about person taking the power
Could not resign. If you don’t you get persecuted
Could not refuse office (if they are elected)
No land ownership because no land so the wealth is based on trade and to maintain this wealth you have to be active -
Intellectual stimulation
+ Commercial expansion
= European awakening They are going to become a Muslim civilization
Example of Muslim architecture: Notre Dame de Paris They are going to develop taste for spices, for perfume, for luxury things (all the richness of Asia)
They are in the middle of Europe trade and trade from the east, so they can take benefit of it.
Venetian are profiting from the trade -
They needed all the islands for the luxury trade
• Venetian Cog, with the Venetian Galley not a venetian invention, but they innovated it as they used it for trade because before it was only for war Advantages: fast, manoeuvrable, reliable (you don’t need wind to move)
200 people on this galley, to feed them, they stop on all the small islands -
The Great Council was open to anyone who had power/wealth.
It is time of the republic the most flexible.
rule of law: the law is not arbitrary:
Transparency: everybody understands and knows the laws
Due process: you have rights as a citizen and the government has to respect your rights
Accountability: if you violate the law you’ll be punished. In Venice everyone was accountable to the law (even the Doge)
Predictability: you can anticipate the law and the rules in advance. -
the Venetian government is closed (membership to the great council).
If you were part of the 150-200 families inscribed in the ‘Golden Book’.
At that time between 2000-2500 males over the age of 25 (eligible between themselves for Great Council) o Senate take care of foreign affairs and military
o Council of 40 deal with judiciary affairs
o Council of 10 executive body
o Doge part of the council of 10 -
In Genoa
not invented there Every credit is a debit
Every debit is a credit
Assets = Liabilities + Owner’s equity “It is among the finest inventions of the human mind” Goethe
for some people, the double entry accounting is the beginning of capitalism -
the father of accounting
From Tescani
Abbaco education = education in Italien, with mathematics (for business) (Before, Latin, religion)
Mathematician, travel around the world
Meet Leonard da Vinci, becoming Best friend, and teach him mathematics -
The rise of the Ottoman Turks
- Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople, both of the interests of Venetian and Ottoman Turks were the same so led the war and lots of money wasted in the war • The rise of nation-states
France or Spain united countries Begin to be at war with Venice • The opening of the Atlantic
Probably the worth one
The Venetians controlled the entry point for spices for centuries in Europe but the Portuguese find another way to pass and it destroyed the Venetian economy -
- Explain in perfect detail the mathematical knowledge of the time including double entry (the most important part)
- Published in Venice
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A republic: the ultimate authority resides on the citizen body.
It is not a democracy (= not everyone votes for the laws for example)
‘It is a government of laws not of men.’ (John Adams).
the role of the government is described and limited by the constitution which can be written
Venice never has a constitution but it has very strong and powerful traditions. It is a form of government in which representatives govern on behalf of the citizen body.
