Rough Draft: The Medici and Their Secrets to Success

In Florence during the time of the Italian Renaissance, a very influential family took power. The Medici family became the leading family of Florence, staying in power for a little over three generations; much longer than other families of the time. But why were they so successful? Why were they well-liked by the citizens of Florence? They were well educated, they genuinely cared about Florence, and they knew what it took to be good leaders. Even though adversaries worked against them, the Medici had a prominent rule in Florence beginning with Cosimo and ending with Lorenzo during the Italian Renaissance because the they were not arrogant and they did not take their position for granted as they founded and maintained Europe's most prosperous bank; however, when subsequent Medici rulers did in fact start to stray from the usual fairness and started reaching too far into the pockets of the people and the church, the powerful bank collapsed -- along with the Medici rule.   

            The Medici’s were not always so well-known and popular. The family started out as far less notable than many other families of the time. The Medici’s slowly gained their prominent position through time, some family members becoming well known in the 14^th century for wool trade. They were later became a more elite through a marriage, and this moved them into a central position. They became involved with a plot in 1400 which resulted in their exile from Florentine politics for 20 years. However, two members of the family were excused from this exile, and they were the ones who started the Medici dynasty.

            Averardo de’ Medici was the first of the Medici’s in a place of political power. He was not a very successful banker or businessman. His son, Giovanni di Bicci, on the other hand, had been well trained by his uncle, and he founded the Medici bank, which would become the source of the Medici’s power. Right when the bank was opened, the Medici’s began gaining more money and power, and Giovanni became one of the richest men in Florence. The Medici bank was reliable, and more and more people came to like and respect the Medici bank and the Medici family.

            Founded in 1397, the Medici bank was the largest and most respected bank in Europe of its time. There are many improvements and innovations that the Medici’s came up with that revolutionized banking, like the development of the ledger system through the development of double entry system of tracking and debits. At one point, the currency of Europe was a coin made by the Medici based on a vote of the people. Although the initial rise of the bank brought Giovanni lots of fame and fortune, he was not the one that became head of state: his son, Cosimo, did.

            Cosimo was able to smoothly take control of the bank when Giovanni died. Nothing was disrupted or interfered with. Cosimo’s key to success was the fact that he tried to please the people. Whatever the people expected or wanted in a leader, they got it in Cosimo. Florentine people liked the idea of having a democracy, so Cosimo carefully stayed in control without technically holding any political offices. He used his plentiful wealth to control the voting, and thus was able to easily stay in power. His tricks did not bring dislike from his people; instead, they enjoyed his rule! In fact, Cosimo had so much power that other families felt threatened by him. These families conspired against him, and they were able to get him accused of something and sent to prison. Cosimo, however, had no intentions of going to prison. He turned the prison sentence into an exile, and when he left, he took his bank with them. He had such a large and loyal group of clients who all followed the bank wherever he took it. The population of Florence went way down, and eventually the exile had to be lifted so that they could come back to Florence. Cosimo, after gaining vast amounts of money and fame, passes away and leaves all of it for his son, Piero.

            When his father passed the bank onto him, Piero was all set and ready to go. He had already planned and prepared a financial overview and knew where he was going to take the bank. He made many people pay off outstanding loans that his father had just let be there, which did make some people very unhappy, but it only made the bank more successful. He was a good ruler despite the few unhappy people, continuing his family’s tradition of artistic patronage. His son Lorenzo de’ Medici was a bit more liked than him.

            Florence flourished under Lorenzo’s rule. Other jealous families targeted him, and he and his brother were once attacked. His brother was killed and Lorenzo was stabbed but luckily, he made it away alive. After this, Lorenzo made it a point to pursue peace in Florence, and there was a good balance of power between the northern Italian states.