Trade and Commerce
Trade brought many new ideas and goods to Europe. A bustling economy created prosperous cities and new classes of people who had enough money to support art and learning. Italian city-states like Venice and Genoa were located on the trade routes that linked the rest of western Europe with the East. Both these city-states became bustling trading centers. Trading ships brought goods to England, Scandinavia, and present-day Russia. Towns along trading routes provided inns and other services for traveling merchants.
The increase of trade led to a new kind of economy. During the middle ages people traded goods for other goods. During the Renaissance people began using coins to buy goods which created a money economy. Moneychangers were needed to covert one type of currency into another. Therefore, many craftspeople, merchants, and bankers became more important i society. Crafts people produced goods that merchants traded all over Europe. Bankers exchanged currency, loaned money, and financed their own business.
Some merchants and bankers grew very rich. They could afford to help make their cities more beautiful. Many became patrons and provided new buildings and art; they helped found universities. This led many city-states to become a flourishing educational and cultural center.