Bonus Blog Post 

Reminder:  You have 2 blog posts (inquiry reflection and venice is sinking) for term 3 so far.

If you went back in time to the Renaissance, would you have liked to be a banker? Why or why not?

In our previous Social Studies class we discussed the Medici family and explored the concept of banking during the Renaissance.
We learned about how the Medici became rich through the trade of wool and silk, and how that wealth led to the creation of the Medici Bank. We also had the chance to consider three famous members of the Medici family: Cosimo de Medici, Pope Leo X and Catherine de Medici. In doing so we saw how their power came from wealth, and just how far that power took them: Cosimo established the Medici rule of Florence, while Pope Leo X led the Catholic church and Catherine de Medici controlled France as a queen.
The lesson was also supplemented by a banking game, in which we broke into groups and found out just how difficult it is to make money as a bank through loans. We got to see who borrowed money from the Medici, what that money was used for and how likely people were to pay back their loans. Doing so helped us to understand that the Medici funded many, many projects across Europe- anything from wars to renovations!