World History Online: Ep.1 - The Renaissance

Hey everyone, welcome to my World History Online videos. Today we are discussing one of my favorite topics, which is the Renaissance. Here are the questions I want you to be able to answer by the end of the video. The first is, what was the Renaissance? And the second is, why did the Renaissance begin in Italy? So you should be able to answer those questions after watching the video. The Renaissance was a historical period of time starting in the late 14th century. It's during this time that Western Europe begins to transform. This transformation is characterized by an extraordinary wave of artistic and cultural innovation in Europe. And the Renaissance is really important because it shatters this medieval view of the world, and it brings Europe into the time period historians designate as the modern age. So it's the shift from the old to the new. The word Renaissance translates into rebirth. And you may be asking yourself, hmm, a rebirth of what? It was the rebirth of an appreciation for and the study of classical times, such as ancient Greece and ancient Rome. It was also the rebirth of an interest of the individual and the human capacity to learn, which is called humanism. Tomorrow we'll be exploring humanism in class, but just know that this new concept was completely opposite of the medieval philosophies where excesses and individualism were seen as a sin in the eyes of the church. So why did the Renaissance begin in Italy? In many ways, Italy was unique compared to the rest of Europe during this time period. And it's because of these differences that the Renaissance is going to start there. There are specifically three reasons we are going to discuss. The first is its geography or its location and its direct access to trade. Second is Italy's healthy economy and a certain group of people called the merchant class who were very important to the development of the Renaissance. And third is Italy's unique political system and their city states. So we're going to go through all three of these and explain how each of these contributed to the birth of the Renaissance. It makes sense that the Renaissance begins in Italy because Italy is the home of ancient Rome. And they have a lot of access to the artifacts from ancient Rome, which is the society that Renaissance scholars and artists were trying to emulate. Italy also links Eastern and Western Europe together, making it easy for ideas to spread from Italy's central location. Additionally, Italy's advantageous location on the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas allowed for domestic and international trade to occur much easier in Italy than other parts of Europe. And this had been happening since the Crusades, which is why Italy held so much more wealth during this time period than other parts of Europe. Italy also had a particularly important relationship with the Ottoman Empire as they were trading partners and a lot of other places in Europe didn't have this. The Ottoman Empire is going to significantly influence the Italian Renaissance. Let's take a look at a map so you can see where this existed. So the grayish brown area designates the empire's borders, which encompass parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe. So they got pretty stinking rich due to the land and sea trade networks they controlled, and naturally they made really good trading partners. So yes, they were definitely an economic powerhouse. Also, the Ottomans and other Islamic empires were experiencing their golden age, which meant that they were on a serious pursuit of knowledge. They developed in further research subjects like mathematics, engineering, astronomy, and science to better understand the world around them. So long before the Italian Renaissance was taking place, the Middle East was already accomplishing significant cultural and scientific advancements. So as the Italians re-established their trade networks, they were exposed to the new ideas of the Middle East, along with more wealth, and this acted as a natural segue to the Italian Renaissance. The second reason why the Renaissance began in Italy was because of its economy and the large amount of wealth the merchant class controlled. During the medieval age, the political and economic system of feudalism, which was based on land ownership, dominated Europe, but it never really took hold in Italy. And this is because the majority of Italy's population resided in cities rather than on farms in rural areas. Thus, the majority of wealth was made through trade and commerce instead of farming. The class of people who benefited most from this were the merchants or the traders, and as their wealth grew, so did their political power. And I bet all of you are really, really happy that you no longer have to dress like that. Also, in the mid-14th century, the bubonic plague hits Italy and it wipes out 60% of Italy's population. And although death is generally seen as a negative phenomena, it actually had a really positive effect for the people who survived the plague. Since the population decreased significantly, there's going to be an excess of resources. So the common people and the merchant class now had more money, or an expendable income, to spend on interesting things like art. The third and final reason why the Renaissance began in Italy was because of Italy's unique political system. Instead of having a centralized government like a king or a queen who controlled the entire country, Italy was instead divided into several wealthy city-states. The four most influential at the time were Florence, Milan, Venice, and Rome. Each of these city-states operated independently of each other, meaning that they had separate laws, economies, and customs. And each city-state is going to become fairly wealthy based off the good or commodity each specialized in producing. For example, Milan was known for their arms and ammunition, while Florence produced some of the most luxurious cloth and textiles. So each city-state relied on these goods to promote their own economies, but they also had to rely on each other in order to make their economies successful. So Florence and Milan and Rome really had to rely on Venice to ship their goods out to the rest of the world as they had easiest access to the sea. The strong domestic trading network really solidified the economic superiority of Italy at the time. And again, because Italy had so much wealth, they could afford to spend money on the extraneous things instead of necessities. The city-state of Florence is often considered to be the epicenter of the Renaissance because it is here that many famous artists learned and perfected their craft. This is largely due to the wealthy merchant family who ruled Florence, the Medici's. The patriarch of the family, who apparently is Severus Snape, just kidding, Lorenzo di Medici, was a huge supporter of the arts, and he became a patron, or a person who commissions artworks to be done. He wanted to beautify Florence, so he's also going to encourage his other wealthy merchant friends to become patrons as well. This high demand for artists and architects alike prompted what I call the Flock to Florence. Eventually, many artists are going to find themselves dutifully employed and stay in Florence to expand and push the boundaries of art. At one time or another, famous artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael all had their beginnings in Florence, and still today their artwork has withstood the test of time. But if nothing else, the Renaissance did indeed give us the Ninja Turtles. That's all I have for you guys today. Be sure to take the quiz before class tomorrow. You can scan the QR code, click the link on the screen, and there's also a link below. See you then!