Economic Change and the Emerging Florentine Territorial State

Abstract

Even at the height of Florentine prosperity, the total income of the commune was barely sufficient to cover half of the republic's ever-mounting expenditures. This circumstance stemmed from the costly wars that Florence was compelled to wage throughout the fourteenth century. Earlier, the armies of Florence had been drawn from the populace, and the budget had reflected this fact. In 1303 the communal debt was a trifling sum, but within a generation it had increased to the grand total of 450,000 florins, and this was in excess of the amount that the city could hope to raise from all revenue sources over a sixteen-month period.