The economy of Renaissance Florence / / Richard A. Goldthwaite

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910822089003321
• Autore: Goldthwaite Richard A
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Baltimore, : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008
• ISBN: 0-8018-9688-6
• Edizione: [1st ed.]
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (xviii, 649 p. ) : ill., maps
• Classificazione: 15.70
• Disciplina: 330.945/51105
• Soggetti: Renaissance - Italy - Florence; Florence (Italy) Economic conditions
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Intro -- Contents -- List of Tables, Figures, and Maps -- Preface -- Introduction: The Commercial Revolution -- Economic Growth and Development in Italy to 1300 -- Trade with the Levant -- Links to the North -- The Tuscan Towns -- Florence -- Rise to Predominance -- The Dynamics of Growth -- PART I: INTERNATIONAL MERCHANT BANKING -- 1 The Network -- Performance -- Structures -- The Center -- 2 The Shifting Geography of Commerce -- Northwestern Europe -- Naples and Southern Italy -- The Western Mediterranean -- Central Italy and Rome -- Venice, the Adriatic, and the Levant -- Central Europe -- 3 Banking and Finance -- Banking -- The International Exchange Market -- Government Finance -- PART II: THE URBAN ECONOMY -- 4 The Textile Industries -- General Performance -- Business Organization -- Production -- Recapitulation: Wool, Silk, and the Economy -- 5 Artisans, Shopkeepers, Workers -- The Work Force -- Performance of the Artisan Sector -- 6 Banking and Credit -- Banking Institutions through the Fifteenth Century -- Performance of the Banking Sector -- Banking outside of Banks -- New Directions in the Sixteenth Century -- 7 Contexts -- Government and the Economy -- The Region and the City -- Private Wealth -- Conclusion -- Economic Culture -- Attitudes and Behavior -- Notions about the Economy -- Performance -- The Economy in the Short Run -- A Final Judgment -- Appendix: Changing Values of the Florin -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- X -- Y -- Z.
• Sommario/riassunto: Richard A. Goldthwaite, a leading economic historian of the Italian Renaissance, has spent his career studying the Florentine economy. In this magisterial work, Goldthwaite brings together a lifetime of research and insight on the subject, clarifying and explaining the complex workings of Florence's commercial, banking, and artisan sectors. Florence was one of the most industrialized cities in medieval Europe, thanks to its thriving textile industries. The importation of raw materials and the exportation of finished cloth necessitated the creation of commercial and banking practices that extended far beyond Florence's boundaries. Part I situates Florence within this wider international context and describes the commercial and banking networks through which the city's merchant-bankers operated. Part II focuses on the urban economy of Florence itself, including various industries, merchants, artisans, and investors. It also evaluates the role of government in the economy, the relationship of the urban economy to the region, and the distribution of wealth throughout the society. While political, social, and cultural histories of Florence abound, none focuses solely on the economic history of the city. The Economy of Renaissance Florence offers both a systematic description of the city's major economic activities and a comprehensive overview of its economic development from the late Middle Ages through the Renaissance to 1600.