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Question: Who did Italy trade with in the Renaissance and what!?
I need help with a project for history and so far I've found that Italy traded with the Islamic Middle East, the Byzantine empire, China and India!. But I don't know what they traded and I can't find a map of the trade routes! Help plz!Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
First of all there was no "Italy" at the time but a number of independent Italian city states!.

If you look on a map you'll see that Italy was ideally located to trade between the East and the West!.

So basically they imported products from the East and sold them to Western Europe (the reverse was also true)!.

So the Italian merchants chiefly traded with Egypt during the Renaissance!. Byzance had been a major client during the Middle Ages but was not doing that well during the early Renaissance!. After the fall of Constantinople, the Venetians would move in the Ottoman Empire chiefly in Istanbul and Aleppo!. Lesser trades were also conducted with North Africa!. China and India were not commonly reached by the Italian merchants themselves although numerous Chinese and Indian wares found their way to Europe through the Muslim world!.

In the West, the Italian merchants' strongholds were Lisbon, Antwerp, Bruge, London and Dantzig!. But nearly every major urban center had some Italian traders!. The Genoese went as far as investing in the first sugar plantations in Madeira and the Azores!.

It is also important to remember that the Italian businessmen (mostly Genoese) often behaved as middlemen for trades that did not go through Italy!. For instance they brought Spanish wool to Northern Europe!.

Some of the most important stuff traded were the goods from the East: silk, spices, etc!. They were also involved in the spreading of the Florentine or Venetian wares all over Europe (cloth mainly but also glass)!. They also traded wine and foodstuff (from the Greek islands first and then from Madeira)!. Finally they were also involved in bulk trade: wool, wood, grain, etc!.

It is also important to remember that there was no clear difference between a trader and a banker at the time!. So many Italians were involved in lending moeny, often very large sums to the kings and bishops!. So you could say that cash was another commodity they delt with!.Www@QuestionHome@Com