History, Italian

Italy’s Long Globalization TWO PART ASSIGNMENT

PART ONE: Respond to this topic in 5-7 clear, complete, competent college level, professionally written content, using as reference and possibly citations from, “The Pursuit of Italy”, By David Gilmore, “The Commercial Revolution of the Middle Ages 950-1350” by Robert S. Lopez, “Romans & Their World,” by Brian Campbell, “The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy”, by Jacob Burckhardt.

WHAT TO DO, DO THIS(in 5-7 paragraphs), Assuming you are a Venetian merchant from 1507. You have heard about Columbus's discovery of "Asia," but thanks to a Florentine merchant-explorer named Amerigo Vespucci (and the guy who gave his name to America), you now know that Columbus actually discovered a new continent. You also know about Vasco da Gama's successful Portuguese expedition to India. You see that the world of commerce is changing. You are eager to secure your personal wealth - as well as the wealth and prestige of your beloved Venice. What kind of economic and diplomatic strategies do you propose to your city's government as it prepares to meet new challenges? Remember, you don't know what will happen in the future. You only know what a well-informed, wealthy Venetian from 1507 would know.

PART TWO: Respond to THREE Topics in 2-3 paragraphs for each topic? Please title each topic answer? Respond in 1st person conversational to each comment

MY Act – TOPIC ONE

I like to think some moments demand a shrewd attitude in seizing the moment. Venice’s access to great deep water ports should allow for easy expansion of maritime ambitions. Invest in ship building and developing ships that are sea worthy to challenge other regions interested or competent in developing their maritime industries. Have the city provide the means to facilitate and prepare itself to challenge emerging rivaling centers. Also have the city directly invest in shipbuilding as a means to gain their interest, as profits will be shared with the city. The material incentive should aid in pushing the city into supporting my endeavor.

WHAT TO DO – TOPIC TWO

Well, two things could happen to meet the new challenges of the economy. One, the Italian city-states would have to unite into a nation state, causing the creation of the Italian identity and Italian state. At this point, Italy does not have only one identity, one language, or one group of people, but it would be smart to unite into one to overcome the decline of the economy together. Two, Italian city-states should have allied with each other to defeat outsiders in competition with. Italian city-states should ally with either Spain or French and this information should be presented to the city's government for review and consideration. In result, the Italian city-state, as well as the wealthy Venetian from 1507 should notice positive growth within the community and wealth.  It should also be considered and understood that the process will take time in order to see great change

· Here's an Idea – TOPIC THREE

It’s tough to not see what happens in the future and think about it from what a wealthy Venetian from 1507 would know, but here we go!

The money is being made by the Spanish, Portuguese, Hapsburgs and French at this point. The Spanish and Portuguese are especially finding money at this point due to exploration efforts of Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama.

Venice has been profitable and wealthy previously because of its location on the Mediterranean and having trade routes come through there to connect Asia and Europe. However, look at what Columbus and da Gama are doing. Columbus found an entirely new continent, and da Gama found a way that may take less travel time to send goods to Asia.

To make Venice more prosperous, the city-state must ally with one of Spain or Portugal. The might of the navy and the number of merchants in those empires vastly outnumber the population of Venice. They would have the ability to better transport Venetian goods to new places or new markets, and more trading can occur. More trading means more money can be made.

Should we choose a more known quantity in trading with Asia, or an unknown quantity with the new continent that Columbus discovered? My bet would be on the known quantity. The Silk Road has already been established, and Venetians know the quality of the goods that can be traded with the Chinese and the Indians. There is a vast amount of money that could be made by trading with the Asians.

Therefore, the Venetian government should choose to ally with Portugal and assist them in whatever fashion they see fit in order to use their vessels to trade with the Asians. The Venetians can continue to produce goods at their current rate (or expand production) and sell more in new marketplaces. Navigation by ships should be much faster for trading than travelling across the Silk Road. While going with Spain and the New World may be more profitable in the future, we just do not know what exists over there yet. We really do not know how big or small it is at this time. It is too much of a gamble – we must focus on trading with Asia to make more money.

Siding with the Portuguese may have some diplomatic issues with our neighbors, but the economic benefits will most likely be greater than any costs that will be incurred. We should appease our neighboring cities and stay out of conflict, and we should try to stay autonomous in the event of conquests by monarchs in other European nations. But, if we are subjected to problems, we might be able to trade and pay our way out of it.