Renaissance SocialPolitical

1
RenaissanceSocial/Political

• McKay Chapter 13

2
Communes and republics

• N. Italian cities evolved into communes from 1000
  to 1200
• Urban nobility evolved
• Only propertied class given citizenship
• Popolo
• middle class, was excluded from power
• popolo violently took over city governments and
  formed republics 1200-1300
• republican governments failed
• By 1300 despots (signori) or oligarchies took
  over city-states
• Maintained appearance of constitutional republics
• Used pomp and pageantry to maintain power
• Fueled the Renaissance

3
Balance of Power

• Patriotism limited to local city-state
• Italy balkanized
• divided into city-states
• political and economic competition among the
  city-states prevented centralization of power
• Shifting alliances among the city-states led to
  the creation of permanent ambassadors
• Established machinery for modern diplomacy
• Milan (threatened by Florence and Naples) asked
  for French aid (1494)
• After 1494 a divided Italy became a European
  battleground

4
Social change during the Renaissance

• Civic Humanism
• Humanists were interested in education,
  particularly the training of rulers, and moral
  behavior
• Encouraged an active, involved life
• Castiglione's The Courtier(1528)
• described the model Renaissance gentleman as a
  man of many talents, including intellectual and
  artistic skills
• Dance, sing, play instrument, wrestle, speak and
  write well
• Women were to learn how to be pleasing to men

5
Machiavelli

• Machiavelli's The Prince (1513) described how to
  acquire, maintain, and increase political power
• Humans are by nature greedy, selfish
• believed that the politician should manipulate
  people and use any means to gain power
• Rulers should be like a fox and a lion, be feared
  more than loved
• Medieval political theory stressed the way
  government OUGHT to be
• Machiavelli said a good gov. is one that ruler
  kept his power
• did not advocate amoral behavior but believed
  that political action cannot be governed by moral
  considerations

6
What would Machiavelli think Of?

• George Bush
• Karl Rove
• Bill Clinton
• Barack Obama
• John McCain