1. Renaissance
Chapter Two:
The Expansion of Trade

2. The Crusade and Trade
• Trade between Venice and other Italian
cities and the East had actually been re-
established several centuries before the
Polos’ journeys.
• This happened as a result of a series of
religious wars known as “The Crusades”
• Two important results of the Crusades
– Contact with Muslim civilizations
– Trade

3. More Crusades
• During the time of the Crusades, the
Muslim world was more advanced than
Europe
• During their travels and contacts, the
Europeans were exposed to new ideas
about medicine, astronomy, philosophy,
math, and ancient literature
• Muslim societies were inclusive because
they welcomed contributions from
Christian and Jewish scholars

4. • Crusades brought new goods back from
the Muslim world including:
– Oil, spices, and new varieties of fruit
– Spices were the most sought after good
• Because Europeans wanted more of these
goods, an increase in trade occurred
between Europe and the East
• Other goods that the Italian states brought
by sea, after the Crusades, included
jewels, rugs, and fabrics like silk, muslin,
taffeta, and satin

5. Moving Goods and Resources
• It cost a lot of money to transport goods
during these times
• Goods were moved to market towns on
ships along the coast, on boats along the
rivers, or over land by horse, mule, or ox
• There was a great deal of trade within
Europe for local resources and goods, and
luxury goods

6. • Areas rich in resources like minerals (salt,
iron, copper, lead, and precious metals),
timber, fur, and fish exchanged these for cloth
and manufactured goods produced in other
areas
• The market was not centred around paying
money for goods, rather it relied on trading
one thing for something else
• The same interest in trade occurred when
Europeans landed in North America and
discovered that the First Nations people were
anxious to trade furs for knives and iron.

7. The Italian City-States
• During the times of the Renaissance most
countries were not known as countries…
they were more like kingdoms, empires, or
principalities
– All of these were likely ruled by a monarch
• Italy was a collection of city-states
– A city-state consists of a city that is politically
independent and the rural are around it (this
rural area was called the hinderland)

8. Success of the City-States
• 4 contributing factors to a successful city-
states
• Geography
• Climate
• Leadership
• Social Organization

9. Geography
• Italy was closest to the port cities of North
Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean Sea
where spices and other luxury goods were
available
• Because of this transporting goods were
easier and cheaper to do

10. Climate
• Climate is a lot milder in Italy than in other
European countries
• This meant that trade was not interrupted
by winter weather
• This also allowed for a longer growing
season

11. Leadership
• In pre-modern Europe, most countries
were monarchies
• Northern Italy was a collection of
independent city-states
– This meant that each city state had their own
government, armies, and were in charge of
their own affairs (how they ran things)
• Venice, Milan, Florence, and Genoa
became the wealthiest trading, business,
and banking centres in Europe

12. Social Organization
• Feudalism wasn’t as high in Italy as in the
rest of Europe
• Nobles in Italy would typically move into
town, living in the upper classes of urban
society.
• The nobles typically got involved in either
running a business or politics

13. Competition For Trade
• The city states were always rivaling one another
because they all wanted to expand their trade and
business
– i.e. Venice and Genoa competed for control of the
Mediterranean Sea
• Venice became a great trading place because of all the
trading they did with the East
• Genoa had some trade routes on the Mediterranean sea,
but they also had some in the Black Sea.
– Genoa would typically trade with Spanish ports in Barcelona and
Valencia
• Genoa was always an equal to Venice in terms of money
brought in from trade until the naval battle with Venice in
1380

14. Commerce in the City-States