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==De Medici-Background==
The Medici family originally originate in a small village to the north of Florence. In the thirteenth century, the first Medici arrived in Florence. The family soon prospered in their new home. The early De Medici’s made their money in the wool trade. They used the profits that they made in the wool trade to diversify their business interests. Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici (c. 1360–1429), increased the wealth of the family and established the Medici Bank, and became one of the richest men in the city of Florence.<ref> Hibbert, Christopher. <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0688053394/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0688053394&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=3a60f5b995328d84b5c49af6c25a9362 The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall]</i>. Morrow (London, Morrow, 1975) </ref> The Medici became involved in politics and they were often involved with the popular party in Florence. In general, the Medici liked to influence politics from behind the scene and used their wealth and connections to achieve their goals. In 1434 Cosimo the Elder was elected as one of the leaders of the Florentine Republic and although he was only one of several magistrates who ruled the city he came to dominate it.<ref> Ferdinand Schevill, <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006D8BXY/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0006D8BXY&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=d7f7869357eb87e0ad2906fa13cffb47 History of Florence: From the Founding of the City Through the Renaissance]</i> (London, Frederick Ungar, 1936), p. 113</ref>
Cosimo was a very effective leader and was a skilled negotiator and he brought stability to the city and made it even wealthier. Prior to Cosimo the city had been regularly disturbed and unsettled by political factions and powerful families. Cosimo was succeed by his son Piero who had little of the abilities of his father. He died while still quite young and was succeed by his son Lorenzo, who is known to history as Lorenzo the Magnificent. He was a very capable ruler and brought peace and prosperity to Florence and its hinterland.
However, the De Medici business fortunes began to falter and this was to ultimately weaken their hold on Florence. Lorenzo and the Medici survived a plot to kill them and seize power in 1474.<ref>Schevill, p. 115</ref> After Lorenzo died, his son became head of Florence but he was incompetent and he provoked a popular uprising against the family and this led to their expulsion from Florence from 1494-1512. The Family was restored to Florence in 1512 and they eventually became the Dukes of Florence. However, the glory days were gone, the later de Medici was not as powerful or as rich as their predecessors and Florence became a political and cultural backwater.<ref>Paul Strathern, <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1844130983/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1844130983&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=a398a7e529dca0fff02bd3e08ca6b25a The Medici—Godfathers of the Renaissance]</i> (London, Pimlico, 2005), p. 213</ref>
==de Medici and Florence==
In the 15th century when the de Medici were at the height of their powers they dominated Florence.<ref> Lauro Martines, <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/019517609X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=019517609X&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=654c7c84b58e8d9216a561104ef011e1 April Blood—Florence Blood: Florence and the Plot Against the Medici]</i> (Oxford, Oxford University Press 2003, p. 114)</ref> However, they were eager to appear as first among equals, they went to great lengths to allow the other noble and wealthy families to secure many of the offices in the City-Republic’s government.<ref> Schevill, p. 115</ref> This reconciled many of them to the domination of their Republic by one family. The de Medici were fabulously wealthy at least until the 1480s and their wealth was able to smooth out any difficulties that they had experienced. This meant that the City of Florence experienced a period of peace and stability. This was unique in the city’s history which was well-known for its political turbulence. The de Medici brought stability to the city and this allowed trade to flourish and also the arts. The stability that the de Medici provided allowed Florence to become a cultural center.
The city’s artists and writers took advantage of the peace and stability to develop new styles of art in security. Then the de Medici were quite tolerant for the times.<ref> Martines, p. 145</ref> They were largely secular in outlook and their power meant that the city’s artists and writers did not have to fear from the Inquisition or clerical interference.<ref>Schevill, p. 117</ref> The Medici, especially Lorenzo the Magnificent were broad-minded, indeed Lorenzo was himself a distinguished poet and this led to an atmosphere where new ideas and practices were encouraged and even promoted in Florence.<ref> Strathern, p. 117</ref> The de Medic had long been associated with the Humanists. Lorenzo the Magnificent was himself taught by a well-known Humanist and was sympathetic to the aims of the movement. This meant that humanism and its ideas on human reason and capabilities flourished in the city. Indeed, many humanists such as De Valla were able to secure employment in the de Medici administration and added to the cultural life of the city.<ref> Hibbert, p. 167</ref>
==De Medici and the Peace of Italy==
In the fifteenth century conditions in Italy became more peaceful. In previous centuries war was endemic in the Peninsula. There were conflicts between the city-states and often civil conflicts within them. These indeed led to the rise of many tyrants all over Italy especially, in the 14th century. The De Medici did not like to engage in war and did not want to expand Florentine territory.<ref> Hibbert, p. 156</ref> They favored peace and believed that war was bad for trade. In this, they had a decidedly modern outlook. Cosimo the Elder worked tirelessly for peace in the North of Italy. He sought to establish a balance of power in the region between the main powers and the exclusion of foreign powers such as the French and the Holy Roman Emperor. Cosimo helped to negotiate an end to a series of wars in Lombardy and helped the main players in Italy, Milan, Naples, Venice and Florence to reach an agreement to respect each other’s territorial integrity.
Lorenzo the Magnificent, followed his grandfather’s policies with regard to maintaining a balance of power in Italy. This led him and other Northern Italian leaders to negotiate the Treaty of Lodi that brought peace and stability to the North and Central Italy.<ref> Hibbert, p. 118</ref> The de Medici through their policies did much to bring peace and security to much of Italy and this was crucial for the Renaissance <ref>Miles J. Unger, <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/074325435X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=074325435X&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=ae832840e01fbaf68a8af9739f4806f4 Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de Medici]</i>, (London, Simon and Schuster 2008), p. 134</ref> It is no coincidence that the zenith of the Italian Renaissance when it produced the great works of Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Raphael, corresponded to a relatively peaceful period in Northern Italy in the fifteen century. In this way, the de Medici helped to create an ideal environment for the great artists of the era to grow and create peerless works of art.
==The De Medici and the revival of Greek Learning==
