By William Landon, Northern Kentucky University
In 1429, Florence declared war on its Tuscan neighbor, Lucca. The circumstances leading to that war were linked directly with Florentine public finances. Florence had been in almost constant war since 1406, when it acquired Pisa. Then it had been caught up in two wars with Milan and another with Naples.
Using a Necessary Evil
Nearly all of Florence’s campaigns, like those of the other city-states of Italy, were conducted by condottieri, mercenary captains who provided their own trained soldiers. These mercenaries would only fight when they were paid handsomely, fed well, and kept sloshing with wine. They also required camp hangers-on, washerwomen, and more importantly, prostitutes.
The condottieri and their men, understandably, were viewed with revulsion, but they were a necessary evil if city-states were to maintain a healthy male population by keeping them off the field of battle.
Forced Loans in Times of Need
On the whole, Florence did not directly tax its citizenry’s income, but it could force them to make loans to the city which were based on property and goods owned—via a mechanism referred to as the Monte, or Mountain of Public debt. In return, the city paid its citizen creditors interest on the loans it mandated. Interest payments varied from year to year, from 5 to 8 percent; in extraordinary cases, they could be as high as 15 percent.
After nearly three decades of warfare, and with the sieges at Lucca just beginning in 1429, the republican government assessed the values of all households in Florence and required immediate loans to be made to it.
Given his personal wealth, Cosimo de’ Medici contributed what was almost certainly the largest series of loans to Florence. The net result was that he owned the largest percentage of Florence’s public debt, which increased his standing and power in the city. In all likelihood, Florence would have gone bankrupt had Cosimo not bankrolled it. War proved profitable for him and for his family interests, even though it went poorly in the field for his native city.
This article comes directly from content in the video series How the Medici Shaped the Renaissance. Watch it now, on Wondrium.
War Wasn’t Worth the Trouble
Over the next three years, Milan, Genoa, Venice, and a number of smaller Italian states were brought into the Tuscan conflict. The Lucchese called upon Milan for support, and the Milanese in turn called on the Genoese for naval support. The Florentines turned to Venice to counterbalance the Milan/Genoa pact’s land and naval superiority.
In 1433, after the tides had shifted numerous times between the two coalitions, the Lombard Wars, as they came to be known, ground to a temporary stalemate in which all parties agreed to return to a pre-war status quo. A treaty was drawn up at Ferrara to commemorate this mutual agreement.
Countless lives were lost, and yet none of the warring parties had anything to show for their fiscal and human sacrifices. Florence, in particular, was nearly ruined financially. The interest rate it was obliged to pay its citizens for the forced loans was cut from an annual 5 percent to 3.5 percent.
Cosimo Benefited from the Circumstances
The government created another Monte, guaranteeing a 5 percent interest rate for citizens who paid the total of their assessed worth within 15 days of evaluation. Those who could come up with the necessary cash did so in hopes that the government would make good on its promises.
Individuals who were unable to pay their loan assessments were stripped of their rights to serve in government. Their property, which was deemed equal in value to the loan assessment, was confiscated by the universally hated ufficiali delle vendite—’sales officials’ (repo men). A further punishment could be exacted on Florentine nobility. They could be demoted to the rank of ‘magnate’, which meant they were stripped of all rights normally afforded to men of ancient status.
Cosimo came through all of this wealthier than ever, and with far more influence in government than he had previously. Even so, the party he headed was still small compared with the entirety of the Florentine nobility. But the elite were divided and fighting amongst themselves. Cosimo’s party was tightly organized and well managed—which eventually allowed the young Medici to seize power for himself, but only after a series of crises.
Common Questions about How Cosimo de’ Medici Benefited from Florence’s War in 1429
The condottieri were mercenary captains who provided their own trained soldiers. These mercenaries fought only when they were paid handsomely, fed well, and kept sloshing with wine. They also required camp hangers-on, washerwomen, and more importantly, prostitutes. Though the condottieri and their men were viewed with revulsion, they were a necessary evil if city-states wanted to maintain a healthy male population by keeping them off the field of battle.
Though Florence did not directly tax its citizenry’s income, it could force them to make loans to the city which were based on property and goods owned—via a mechanism referred to as the Monte, or Mountain of Public debt. In return, the city paid its citizen creditors interest on the loans it mandated.
In 1429, the republican government assessed the values of all households in Florence and required immediate loans to be made to it. Given his personal wealth, Cosimo de’ Medici contributed what was almost certainly the largest series of loans to Florence. The net result was that he owned the largest percentage of Florence’s public debt, which increased his standing and power in the city. Thus, war proved profitable for him and for his family interests.
