September 21st, 1462
I have had enough of living off of my family name, relying on the position given to me by my cousin, Ferdinand, to support myself. Thus, I have decided that it is time for me to devise a plan to acquire my own fortune. I debated going into banking, but anyone wishing to do business on a large scale with a bank would go to Florence, as there are many great bankers there. Of course there is to be competition within any profession, but I should try to make the most of what I have right here in Naples. Our land is not very good for crops, like Milan’s is, and we do not share their fortune of being located right in the middle of the important land trade routes that run all across Europe, however, we have something even better, the sea.
Yes, I think that is how I shall go about earning my wealth, by following the lead of Naples’ many great merchants, and funding a trading operation along the Mediterranean Sea. Oh, I can see it now, ships bearing my name sailing all the way around the Mediterranean, to Africa, Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, before finally making their way back to Naples, filled to the brim with gold. But what is it that I should trade in? The competition from Florence will be far too harsh if I try selling textiles, and Milan practically has a monopoly on cloth and war supplies! However, Milan is landlocked, and it would be much more efficient to send goods across long distances on ships than in caravans, perhaps I can use this to my advantage.
I have a good idea of what I shall do now; I shall import silk from Milan, and then ship it South across the sea, to places too far for Milan’s trade routes to reach. It would be nice to be able to manufacture my goods right here in Naples to cut down on costs, but I do not have the kind of money to start up such a large project; I am already putting all that I own on the line with my investment in a fleet of trade ships. It seems that that is the only way that any real business ever gets started in this economy, by someone willing to make a large investment in the hopes that it will pay off.
Anyway, once my investment does pay off, as I hope that it will, I shall show people just how rich I am by funding some sort of building project, I think. Something grand, that will draw lots of attention, that way people will see how I will be able to afford to make such extravagant expenditures, and perhaps then they will come to me with some of their trading needs, allowing me to make even more money. If all goes according to plan, I shall soon be a very wealthy man.
Sources:
"A Divided Italy: Home of the Renaissance." Renaissance and Reformation Reference Library. Ed. Julie L. Carnagie, Peggy Saari, and Aaron Saari. Vol. 1: Vol.1: Almanac. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 45-89. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 27 Sept. 2013.
"Education and Training." Renaissance and Reformation Reference Library. Ed. Julie L. Carnagie, Peggy Saari, and Aaron Saari. Vol. 2: Vol. 2: Almanac. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 515-539. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 16 Sept. 2013.
Abaterusso, Federica, screenwriter. Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance. Prod.
Justin Hardy. PBS, 2004. Film.
"Ferdinand I of Naples (1423–1494)." The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of The Renaissance. Tom Streissguth. Ed. Konrad Eisenbichler. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. 123. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 16 Sept. 2013.
"Alfonso V of Aragon (the Magnanimous) (1396–1458)." The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of The Renaissance. Tom Streissguth. Ed. Konrad Eisenbichler. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. 24. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 16 Sept. 2013.
"Naples." The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of The Renaissance. Tom Streissguth. Ed. Konrad Eisenbichler. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. 225-226. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 16 Sept. 2013.
"Ferdinand II of Aragon (Ferdinand V of Castile) (1452–1516)." The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of The Renaissance. Tom Streissguth. Ed. Konrad Eisenbichler. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. 123-124. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 16 Sept. 2013.
I have had enough of living off of my family name, relying on the position given to me by my cousin, Ferdinand, to support myself. Thus, I have decided that it is time for me to devise a plan to acquire my own fortune. I debated going into banking, but anyone wishing to do business on a large scale with a bank would go to Florence, as there are many great bankers there. Of course there is to be competition within any profession, but I should try to make the most of what I have right here in Naples. Our land is not very good for crops, like Milan’s is, and we do not share their fortune of being located right in the middle of the important land trade routes that run all across Europe, however, we have something even better, the sea.
Yes, I think that is how I shall go about earning my wealth, by following the lead of Naples’ many great merchants, and funding a trading operation along the Mediterranean Sea. Oh, I can see it now, ships bearing my name sailing all the way around the Mediterranean, to Africa, Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, before finally making their way back to Naples, filled to the brim with gold. But what is it that I should trade in? The competition from Florence will be far too harsh if I try selling textiles, and Milan practically has a monopoly on cloth and war supplies! However, Milan is landlocked, and it would be much more efficient to send goods across long distances on ships than in caravans, perhaps I can use this to my advantage.
I have a good idea of what I shall do now; I shall import silk from Milan, and then ship it South across the sea, to places too far for Milan’s trade routes to reach. It would be nice to be able to manufacture my goods right here in Naples to cut down on costs, but I do not have the kind of money to start up such a large project; I am already putting all that I own on the line with my investment in a fleet of trade ships. It seems that that is the only way that any real business ever gets started in this economy, by someone willing to make a large investment in the hopes that it will pay off.
Anyway, once my investment does pay off, as I hope that it will, I shall show people just how rich I am by funding some sort of building project, I think. Something grand, that will draw lots of attention, that way people will see how I will be able to afford to make such extravagant expenditures, and perhaps then they will come to me with some of their trading needs, allowing me to make even more money. If all goes according to plan, I shall soon be a very wealthy man.
Sources:
"A Divided Italy: Home of the Renaissance." Renaissance and Reformation Reference Library. Ed. Julie L. Carnagie, Peggy Saari, and Aaron Saari. Vol. 1: Vol.1: Almanac. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 45-89. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 27 Sept. 2013.
"Education and Training." Renaissance and Reformation Reference Library. Ed. Julie L. Carnagie, Peggy Saari, and Aaron Saari. Vol. 2: Vol. 2: Almanac. Detroit: UXL, 2002. 515-539. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 16 Sept. 2013.
Abaterusso, Federica, screenwriter. Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance. Prod.
Justin Hardy. PBS, 2004. Film.
"Ferdinand I of Naples (1423–1494)." The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of The Renaissance. Tom Streissguth. Ed. Konrad Eisenbichler. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. 123. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 16 Sept. 2013.
"Alfonso V of Aragon (the Magnanimous) (1396–1458)." The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of The Renaissance. Tom Streissguth. Ed. Konrad Eisenbichler. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. 24. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 16 Sept. 2013.
"Naples." The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of The Renaissance. Tom Streissguth. Ed. Konrad Eisenbichler. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. 225-226. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 16 Sept. 2013.
"Ferdinand II of Aragon (Ferdinand V of Castile) (1452–1516)." The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of The Renaissance. Tom Streissguth. Ed. Konrad Eisenbichler. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. 123-124. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 16 Sept. 2013.