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I. Five Major States
- a. Milan, venice, Florence, the Papal States, and Naples
- b. Northern Italy divided between duchy of Milan and republic of Venice
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Milan
- i. After death of last Visconti ruler of Milan in 1447, Francesco Sforza, one of leading condottieri, turned on Milanese employers, conquered city, and became new duke
- 1. Both Visconti and Sforza rulers worked to create a highly centralized territorial state
- a. Successful in devising systems of taxationà enormous revenues for government
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a. Maritime republic of Venice
- i. Stable political entity government by small oligarchy of merchant-aristocrats
- 1. Commercial empire= enormous revenie and status of an international power
- ii. End of 14th: Venice embarked on conquest of territorial state in n. Italy to protect its food supply and its overland trade routes
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a.
Republic
of Florence
- i. Dominated Tuscany
- ii. Governed by small merchant oligarchy that manipulated republican government
- 1. 1434: Cosimo de Medici took control of it
- a. Maintained republican forms of government for appearances, but ran government behind the scenes
- i. Lavish patronage and careful courting of political allies= Cosimo and grandson, Lorenzo the Magnificent, dominated city at a time when Florence was center of cultural Renaissance
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a. Papal States
- i. In central Italy
- ii. Under political control of the popes
- iii. Papal residence in Avignon and the Great Schism allowed individual territories and cities to become independent of papal authority
- 1. Urbino, Bologna, and Ferrara
- iv. Popes tried to reestablish control
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a. Kingdom of Naples
- i. Fought over by French and Aragonese until Aragonese dominated
- ii. Backward monarchy with population of poverty-stricken peasants dominated by unruly nobles
- 1. Little in cultural Renaissance
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I. Independent City State
- a. Besides five major ones, there were others under control of powerful families
- i. Mantua under Gonzaga lords
- ii. Ferrara under d’Este family
- iii. Urbino, under Montefeltro
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Urbino
- i. Federigo da Montefeltro ruled Urbino from 1444 to 1482
- 1. Received Classical education from humanist school in Mantua run by Vittorino da Feltre
- 2. Learned fighting since Montefeltro compensated poverty of Urbino by hiring selves as condottieri
- 3. Good ruler and unusual condottiere
- 4. Not a brilliant general, but reliable and honest
- a. Did not break promises, even when urged by papal legate
- 5. One of greatest patrons of Renaissance culture
- a. Under him, Urbino cultural and intellectual center
- 6. Benevllent
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Independent City State: Role of Women
Battista Sforza
- i. Battista Sforza: niece of ruler of Milan and wife of Frederigo
- 1. Intelligent and well versed in Greek and Latin
- 2. Fostered art and letters in Urbino
- 3. Respected for governing the state in husband’s absence
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Independent City States: Role of Women:
Isabella d'Este
- i. Isabella d’ Este: daughter of the duke of Ferrara who married Francesco Gonzaga
- 1. Their court was another important center of art and learning
- 2. Educated at brilliant court of Ferrar
- 3. Known for intelligence and political wisdom
- 4. Called the “first lady of the world”
- a. Attracted artists and intellectuals to Mantuan court/ responsible for amassing one of finest libraries in all of Italy
- b. Good sense of humor
- c. Before and after husband’s death, she ruled Mantua and won a reputation as a clever negotiator
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I. Warfare in Italy
- a. Fragmented Italian territorial statesà political practice of balancing power, designed to prevent the aggrandizement of any one state at the expense of the others
- i. Evident after 1454 when Italian states signed Peace of Lodi
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I. Warfare in Italy: Peace of Lodi
- 1. Ended almost a half-century of war and inaugurated a peaceful 40 year era in Italy
- a. Alliance system (Milan, Florence, and Naples versus Venice and the papacy) was created that led to a workable balance of power within Italy
- i. Failed to establish lasting cooperation among major powers or a common foreign policy
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I. Warfare in Italy
Growth of Powerful monarchical states
- a. à trouble for italians
- i. Italy battlefield for great power struggle between French and Spansih
- ii. Not so much attraction to wealth as it was breakdown of Italian balance of power that caused invasions and began Italian wars
- 1. Ludovico Sforza, duke of Milan, invited French to intervene in Italian politics
- a. French king Charles III advanced through Italy and occupied Napels in 1494 with 30000 men
- 2. Other Italian states turned to Spanish for help
- a. Ferdinand of Aragon intervenend
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I. Warfare in Italy
Next Fifteen Years
- 1. Next fifteen years: French and Spanish fought to control Italy
- a. After 1510: war continued by new rulers: Francis I of France and Charles I of Spain
- i. Part of a long struggle for power between Valois and Habsburg dynasties
- 1. Italy only served as good arena for fighting
- a. Terrible sack of Rome in 1527 by Spanish king Charles I ended Italian wars temporarilyà Spanisards dominated
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