1.
Warsaw
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Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It stands on the Vistula River in east-central Poland, roughly 260 kilometres from the Baltic Sea and 300 kilometres from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population is estimated at 1.750 million residents within a metropolitan area of 3.101 million residents. The city limits cover 516.9 square kilometres, while the area covers 6,100.43 square kilometres. Once described as Paris of the East, Warsaw was believed to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world until World War II. On 9 November 1939, the city was awarded Polands highest military decoration for heroism, Warsaw is one of Europe’s most dynamic metropolitan cities. In 2012 the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Warsaw as the 32nd most liveable city in the world, in 2017 the city came 4th in the “Business-friendly” category and 8th in the “Human capital and life style”. It was also ranked as one of the most liveable cities in Central, Warsaw is considered an Alpha– global city, a major international tourist destination and a significant cultural, political and economic hub. The city is a significant centre of research and development, BPO, ITO, the Warsaw Stock Exchange is the largest and most important in Central and Eastern Europe. Frontex, the European Union agency for external security, has its headquarters in Warsaw. Together with Frankfurt, London and Paris, Warsaw is also one of the cities with the highest number of skyscrapers in the European Union, the city is the seat of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra and the University of Warsaw. The historic city-centre of Warsaw with its picturesque Old Town in 1980 was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, buildings represent examples of nearly every European architectural style and historical period. Warsaw provides many examples of architecture from the gothic, renaissance, baroque, neoclassical and modern periods, furthermore, the city is positioning itself as Europes chic cultural capital with thriving art and club scenes and renowned restaurants. Folk etymology attributes the city name to a fisherman, Wars, according to legend, Sawa was a mermaid living in the Vistula River with whom Wars fell in love. In actuality, Warsz was a 12th/13th-century nobleman who owned a village located at the site of Mariensztat neighbourhood. See also the Vršovci family which had escaped to Poland, the official city name in full is miasto stołeczne Warszawa. A native or resident of Warsaw is known as a Varsovian – in Polish warszawiak, warszawianin, warszawianka, warszawiacy, other names for Warsaw include Varsovia and Varsóvia, Varsovie, Varsavia, Warschau, װאַרשע /Varshe, Варшава /Varšava /Varshava, Varšuva, Varsó. The first fortified settlements on the site of todays Warsaw were located in Bródno, after Jazdów was raided by nearby clans and dukes, a new similar settlement was established on the site of a small fishing village called Warszowa
2.
Nice
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Nice is the fifth most populous city in France and the capital of the Alpes-Maritimes département. The urban area of Nice extends beyond the city limits. Nice is about 13 kilometres from the principality of Monaco, the city is nicknamed Nice la Belle, which means Nice the Beautiful, which is also the title of the unofficial anthem of Nice, written by Menica Rondelly in 1912. The area of todays Nice contains Terra Amata, a site which displays evidence of a very early use of fire. Around 350 BC, Greeks of Marseille founded a permanent settlement and called it Nikaia, after Nike, through the ages, the town has changed hands many times. Its strategic location and port significantly contributed to its maritime strength, for centuries it was a dominion of Savoy, and was then part of France between 1792 and 1815, when it was returned to Piedmont-Sardinia until its re-annexation by France in 1860. The citys main seaside promenade, the Promenade des Anglais owes its name to visitors to the resort, for decades now, the picturesque Nicean surroundings have attracted not only those in search of relaxation, but also those seeking inspiration. The clear air and soft light have particularly appealed to some of Western cultures most outstanding painters, such as Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Niki de Saint Phalle and Arman. Their work is commemorated in many of the museums, including Musée Marc Chagall, Musée Matisse. Nice has the second largest hotel capacity in the country and it is one of its most visited cities and it also has the third busiest airport in France, after the two main Parisian ones. It is the capital city of the County of Nice. Nice was probably founded around 350 BC by the Greeks of Massalia, the ruins of Cemenelum are in Cimiez, now a district of Nice. In the 7th century, Nice joined the Genoese League formed by the towns of Liguria. In 729 the city repulsed the Saracens, but in 859 and again in 880 the Saracens pillaged and burned it, during the Middle Ages, Nice participated in the wars and history of Italy. As an ally of Pisa it was the enemy of Genoa, during the 13th and 14th centuries the city fell more than once into the hands of the Counts of Provence, but it regained its independence even though related to Genoa. The medieval city walls surrounded the Old Town, the landward side was protected by the River Paillon, which was later covered over and is now the tram route towards the Acropolis. The east side of the town was protected by fortifications on Castle Hill, another river flowed into the port on the east side of Castle Hill. Engravings suggest that the area was also defended by walls
3.
January Uprising
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The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire. It began on 22 January 1863 and lasted until the last insurgents were captured in 1864, the uprising began as a spontaneous protest by young Poles against conscription into the Imperial Russian Army. It was soon joined by high-ranking Polish-Lithuanian officers and various politicians, the insurrectionists, severely outnumbered and lacking serious outside support, were forced to resort to guerrilla warfare tactics. Public executions and deportations to Siberia led many Poles to abandon armed struggle and turn instead to the idea of work, economic. After the Russian Empire lost the Crimean war and was weakened economically and politically, in Vilna alone 116 demonstrations were held in 1861. In August 1861, protests in Vilna ended in clashes with the Imperial Russian Army, in spite of Russian police and Cossack interference, a symbolic meeting of hymn-singing Poles and Lithuanians took place on the bridge across the Niemen River. Another mass gathering took place in Horodło, where the Union of Horodło had been signed in 1413, the crowds sang Boże, broń Polskę in Lithuanian and Belarusian. In the autumn of 1861 Russians had introduced a state of emergency in Vilna Governorate, Kovno Governorate, after a series of patriotic riots, the Russian Namestnik of Tsar Alexander II, General Karl Lambert, introduced martial law in Poland on 14 October 1861. Public gatherings were banned and some leaders were declared outlaws. The future leaders of the uprising gathered secretly in St. Petersburg, Warsaw, Vilna, Paris, after this series of meetings two major factions emerged. The Reds represented united peasants, workers, and some clergy, while The Whites represented liberal minded landlords, in 1862 two initiative groups were formed for the two components of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. To deal with these units the Russian government had at its disposal an army of 90,000 men under General Ramsay in Poland. It looked as if the rebellion would be crushed quickly, the die was cast, however, the provisional government applied itself to this great task with fervor. It issued a manifesto in which it pronounced all sons of Poland are free and equal citizens without distinction of creed, condition and rank. The revolutionary government did its very best to supply with provisions the unarmed and scattered guerrillas who, during the month of February, met the Russians in eighty bloody encounters. Meanwhile, it issued an appeal to the nations of western Europe, pope Pius IX ordered a special prayer for the success of the Catholic Polish in their defence against the Orthodox Russians, and was very active in arousing sympathy for the Polish rebels. In Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, northern Ukraine and western Russia the uprising started on February 1,1863, a coalition government of the Reds and the Whites was formed. It was led by Zygmunt Sierakowski, Antanas Mackevičius and Konstanty Kalinowski and they fully supported their counterparts in Poland and adhered to the same policy
4.
Russian Empire
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The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until it was overthrown by the short-lived February Revolution in 1917. One of the largest empires in history, stretching over three continents, the Russian Empire was surpassed in landmass only by the British and Mongol empires. The rise of the Russian Empire happened in association with the decline of neighboring powers, the Swedish Empire, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Persia. It played a role in 1812–14 in defeating Napoleons ambitions to control Europe. The House of Romanov ruled the Russian Empire from 1721 until 1762, and its German-descended cadet branch, with 125.6 million subjects registered by the 1897 census, it had the third-largest population in the world at the time, after Qing China and India. Like all empires, it included a large disparity in terms of economics, ethnicity, there were numerous dissident elements, who launched numerous rebellions and assassination attempts, they were closely watched by the secret police, with thousands exiled to Siberia. Economically, the empire had an agricultural base, with low productivity on large estates worked by serfs. The economy slowly industrialized with the help of foreign investments in railways, the land was ruled by a nobility from the 10th through the 17th centuries, and subsequently by an emperor. Tsar Ivan III laid the groundwork for the empire that later emerged and he tripled the territory of his state, ended the dominance of the Golden Horde, renovated the Moscow Kremlin, and laid the foundations of the Russian state. Tsar Peter the Great fought numerous wars and expanded an already huge empire into a major European power, Catherine the Great presided over a golden age. She expanded the state by conquest, colonization and diplomacy, continuing Peter the Greats policy of modernisation along West European lines, Tsar Alexander II promoted numerous reforms, most dramatically the emancipation of all 23 million serfs in 1861. His policy in Eastern Europe involved protecting the Orthodox Christians under the rule of the Ottoman Empire and that connection by 1914 led to Russias entry into the First World War on the side of France, Britain, and Serbia, against the German, Austrian and Ottoman empires. The Russian Empire functioned as a monarchy until the Revolution of 1905. The empire collapsed during the February Revolution of 1917, largely as a result of failures in its participation in the First World War. Perhaps the latter was done to make Europe recognize Russia as more of a European country, Poland was divided in the 1790-1815 era, with much of the land and population going to Russia. Most of the 19th century growth came from adding territory in Asia, Peter I the Great introduced autocracy in Russia and played a major role in introducing his country to the European state system. However, this vast land had a population of 14 million, grain yields trailed behind those of agriculture in the West, compelling nearly the entire population to farm. Only a small percentage lived in towns, the class of kholops, close to the one of slavery, remained a major institution in Russia until 1723, when Peter I converted household kholops into house serfs, thus including them in poll taxation
5.
Humboldt University of Berlin
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The Humboldt university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities. In 1949, it changed its name to Humboldt-Universität in honour of both its founder Wilhelm and his brother, geographer Alexander von Humboldt. The first semester at the newly founded Berlin university occurred in 1810 with 256 students and 52 lecturers in faculties of law, medicine, theology, du Bois and European unifier Robert Schuman, as well as the influential surgeon Johann Friedrich Dieffenbach in the early half of the 1800s. The structure of German research-intensive universities, such as Humboldt, served as a model for institutions like Johns Hopkins University, Alexander von Humboldt, brother of the founder William, promoted the new learning. With the construction of research facilities in the second half of the 19th Century teaching of the natural sciences began. During this period of enlargement, Berlin University gradually expanded to other previously separate colleges in Berlin. An example would be the Charité, the Pépinière and the Collegium Medico-chirurgicum, in 1717, King Friedrich I had built a quarantine house for Plague at the city gates, which in 1727 was rechristened by the soldier king Friedrich Wilhelm, Es soll das Haus die Charité heißen. By 1829 the site became Berlin Universitys medical campus and remained so until 1927 when the more modern University Hospital was constructed, Berlin University started a natural history collection in 1810, which, by 1889 required a separate building and became the Museum für Naturkunde. The preexisting Tierarznei School, founded in 1790 and absorbed by the university, also the Landwirtschaftliche Hochschule Berlin, founded in 1881 was affiliated with the Agricultural Faculties of the University. After 1933, like all German universities, it was affected by the Nazi regime, the rector during this period was Eugen Fischer. The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service resulted in 250 Jewish professors and employees being fired during 1933/1934, students and scholars and political opponents of Nazis were ejected from the university and often deported. During this time one third of all of the staff were fired by the Nazis. The Soviet Military Administration in Germany ordered the opening of the university in January 1946, the SMAD wanted a redesigned Berlin University based on the Soviet model, however they insisted on the phrasing newly opened and not re-opened for political reasons. The University of Berlin must effectively start again in almost every way and you have before you this image of the old university. What remains of that is nought but ruins, the teaching was limited to seven departments working in reopened, war-damaged buildings, with many of the teachers dead or missing. However, by the semester of 1946, the Economic. This program existed at Berlin University until 1962, the East-West conflict in post-war Germany led to a growing communist influence in the university. This was controversial, and incited strong protests within the student body, Soviet NKVD secret police arrested a number of students in March 1947 as a response
6.
Berenberg family
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The Berenberg family was a Belgian-origined Hanseatic family of merchants, bankers and senators in Hamburg, with branches in London, Livorno and other European cities. The Berenbergs were originally cloth merchants and became involved in merchant banking in the 17th century, having existed continuously since 1590, Berenberg Bank is the worlds oldest surviving merchant bank. The Berenberg banking family became extinct in the line with Elisabeth Berenberg, she was married to Johann Hinrich Gossler. A branch of the family was ennobled by Prussia as Barons of Berenberg-Gossler. Several members of the Berenberg and Gossler families served in the Senate of Hamburg from 1735, richard J. Evans describes the family as one of Hamburgs great business families. The Gossler Islands in Antarctica are named for the family, Elisabeth Berenberg and Johann Hinrich Gossler presently have descendants with names including Gossler, Berenberg-Gossler, Wegner, Paus, Bernstorff and other names. Members of the Berenberg family have founded other companies. A London branch of the Berenberg family were prominent merchants in the West Indies trade from the 17th century, the Berenberg family originates from the Bergisches Land region in the Duchy of Berg. Its earliest known ancestor, Thillmann Berenberg, was born on the Groß-Berenberg estate in 1465, the growing linen industry of Brabant led Thillmanns son, Jan Berenberg, to take his family to Lier in Antwerp, where he became a burgher in 1515. He was married to Engele Segers, and they were the parents of Paul Berenberg, who was a merchant in Antwerp. Paul Berenberg was the father of Hans and Paul Berenberg, the two brothers married sisters Anna and Francina Snellinck, daughters of the Antwerp merchant Andries Snellinck and Françoise de Rénialme. The Berenbergs were one of 130 Dutch families that had become Lutheran during the Reformation, during the Eighty Years War, the family fled Lier and settled in the nearby city of Antwerp. The family left Antwerp in 1585 as a result of the Fall of Antwerp, many Dutch refugees settled in Hamburg, among them the brothers Hans and Paul Berenberg. In 1590, they founded the merchant house now known as Berenberg Bank and they were originally cloth merchants and active in the import-export business. In Hamburg, the Berenbergs initially formed part of a Dutch colony and intermarried with the citys leading Hanseatic families, while a number of Dutch refugees became Hamburg citizens, Hans and Paul Berenberg were not prepared to take that step. In 1605, the Hamburg council issued a decree that gave the Dutch merchants the rights as the burghers of Hamburg. Their son, Cornelius Berenberg, was the first to engage in merchant banking and developed the company into a successful merchant house. He forged trade links with France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, family connections of the Berenbergs were instrumental to the development, especially in Livorno and Lisbon with its colonies of wealthy Dutch merchants
7.
Bethmann family
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The Bethmann family has been remarkable for the high proportion of its males who succeeded at mercantile or financial endeavors. Even after the sale in 1976, there are von Bethmanns engaged in commercial real estate. The most notable of the Bethmanns was Simon Moritz von Bethmann, banker, diplomat, politician, philanthropist and his sister Maria Elisabeth was the mother of Marie dAgoult and the grandmother of Cosima Wagner, his sister Susanne Elisabeth, the great-grandmother of Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg. The Bethmann family, which produced the famous Bethmann banking dynasty, earlier ancestors had come from the northern German town of Goslar. There – as burghers but not feudal nobility – the Bethmanns were among the upper crust of urban families, the surname Bethmann likely was an occupational name, like Bäcker/Baker, given to collectors of the bede penninc, a tax requested from freemen in the Middle Ages. Subsequently other Bethmanns – a Tile, a Bartold, a Hans and an Albrecht – appear in the records of Goslar, as owners of houses on Stonestrate and Korngasse, in 1512 Henning Bethmann, the great-great-grandfather of Konrad Bethmann, is accepted into the merchants guild. In 1515 he is appointed Tafelherr, i. e, a Bartoldt Bethmann sold a house on Piepmäkerstraße in 1548 and another on Glockengießerstraße in 1566. Hennings grandson Hieronymus is recorded in 1590 as a member of the merchants guild, Hieronymus served as chairman of the merchants guild, as Kornherr responsible for grain stocks, town councillor, member of the Sechsmann inner council and finally of the Neuer or governing council. Hieronymus died as the Swedes were entering Goslar, the town never fully recovered from the ransacking and pillaging of the Thirty Years War, especially the three years of Swedish occupation. Some of the 19th century literature incorrectly claimed that the family had originated in the Netherlands, the family assigned its archives in 1965 to the city of Frankfurt. The Bethmann coat of arms can be traced to 1530, on the right-hand side of a split shield, half an eagle in black is displayed against a golden background, while the left-hand side displays two diagonal red bars against a silver background. At a later date, the motto tuebor was added, Konrad Bethmann was born in Goslar as the seventh child of the merchant Andreas Bethmann, four years after the Peace of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years War. Much of Germany then was a patchwork of small to medium-sized jurisdictions, while this factor impeded development towards a nation-state, it ensured plentiful job opportunities for ambitious bureaucrats and entrepreneurs. Konrad left his hometown for an apprenticeship in Eisleben and he bequeathed a substantial fortune to his widow, Anna Elisabeth, whom he had married in 1678. She was a native of the northern German town of Minden, where the church of St Simeon, Protestant since 1529, and this may explain why in subsequent generations, there was always one son named Simon Moritz. Three of her daughters married citizens of Frankfurt and her son Simon Moritz Bethmann served the House of Nassau-Weilburg as an Amtmann or bailiff-magistrate, in Bergnassau on the river Lahn. In his will, he bequeathed to his nephews half of his fortune, Johann Philipp and Simon Moritz took control of the Jacob Adami trading enterprise, out of which in 1748 the banking enterprise of Gebrüder Bethmann developed. This eventually became the House of Bethmann, Johann Jakob – the middle brother – established a trading branch in Bordeaux
8.
House of Borgia
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The House of Borgia was an Italo-Spanish noble family, which rose to prominence during the Italian Renaissance. They were from Valencia, the surname being a toponymic from Borja, then in the Crown of Aragon, especially during the reign of Alexander VI, they were suspected of many crimes, including adultery, incest, simony, theft, bribery, and murder. Because of their grasping for power, they made enemies of the Medici, the Sforza, and they were also patrons of the arts who contributed to the Renaissance. The Borja or Borgia originated in the town of Borja in the Kingdom of Valencia, there were numerous unsubstantiated claims that the family was of Jewish origin. These underground rumours were propagated by, among others, Giuliano della Rovere, the rumours have persisted in popular culture for centuries, listed in the Semi-Gotha of 1912. The family themselves propagated a spurious genealogical descent from a 12th-century claimant to the crown of the Kingdom of Aragon, Pedro de Atarés, Lord of Borja, who actually died childless. Alfons de Borja, later known as Pope Callixtus III, was born to Francina Llançol and Domingo de Borja in La Torreta, Canals, which was then situated in the Kingdom of Valencia. Alfons de Borja was a professor of law at the University of Lleida, at an advanced age, he was elected Pope Callixtus III in 1455 as a compromise candidate and reigned as Pope for just 3 years. Rodrigo Borgia, one of Alfonso’s nephews, was born in Xàtiva, also in the Kingdom of Valencia, to Isabel de Borja i Cavanilles and he studied law at Bologna and was appointed as cardinal by his uncle, Alfons Borgia, Pope Callixtus III. He was elected Pope in 1492, taking the regnal name Alexander VI, while a cardinal, he maintained a long-term illicit relationship with Vannozza dei Cattanei, with whom he had four children, Giovanni, Cesare, Lucrezia, and Gioffre. Rodrigo also had children by women, including one daughter with his mistress. As Alexander VI, Rodrigo was recognized as a politician and diplomat, but was widely criticized during his reign for his over-spending, sale of Church offices, lasciviousness. As Pope, he struggled to acquire more personal and papal power and wealth and he appointed his son, Giovanni, as captain-general of the papal army, his foremost military representative, and established another son, Cesare, as a cardinal. Alexander used the marriages of his children to build alliances with powerful families in Italy, at the time, the Sforza family, which comprised the Milanese faction, was one of the most powerful in Europe, so Alexander united the two families by marrying Lucrezia to Giovanni Sforza. He also married Gioffre, his youngest son from Vannozza, to Sancha of Aragon of the Crown of Aragon and it is reported that under Alexander VIs rule the Borgia hosted orgies in the Vatican palace. The Banquet of Chestnuts is considered one of the most disreputable balls of this kind, johann Burchard reports that fifty courtesans were in attendance for the entertainment of the banquet guests. It is alleged not only was the Pope present, but also two of his children, Lucrezia and Cesare. Other researchers however, such as Monsignor Peter de Roo, have rejected the rumors of the fifty courtesans as being at odds with Alexander VIs essentially decent, Pope Alexander VI died in Rome in 1503 after contracting a disease, generally believed to have been malaria
9.
Fugger
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Alongside the Welser family, the family controlled much of the European economy in the sixteenth century and accumulated enormous wealth. This banking family replaced the de Medici family, who influenced all of Europe during the Renaissance, the Fuggers took over many of the Medicis assets and their political power and influence. They were closely affiliated with the House of Habsburg whose rise to power they financed. Unlike the citizenry of their hometown, they never converted to the Augsburg Confession, Jakob Fugger „the Rich“ was elevated to the nobility of the Holy Roman Empire in May 1511 and created Imperial Count of Kirchberg and Weissenhorn in 1514. The company was dissolved in 1657, however the Fuggers remained wealthy landowners and ruled the County of Kirchberg, the Babenhausen branch became Princes of the Holy Roman Empire in 1803, the Glött branch princes in the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1914. The founder of the family was Johann Fugger, a weaver at Graben and his son, also called Johann, settled in Augsburg, and the first reference to the Fugger family there is his arrival, recorded in the tax register of 1367. He married Klara Widolf and became an Augsburg citizen, after Klaras death, he married Elizabeth Gattermann. He joined the guild, and by 1396 he was ranked high in the list of taxpayers. He added the business of a merchant to that of a weaver and his eldest son, Andreas Fugger, was a merchant in the weaving trade, and was nicknamed Fugger the Rich after buying land and other properties. The Fugger family itemized and inventoried a large number of Asian rugs, andreass son, Lukas Fugger, was granted arms by the Emperor Frederick III, a golden deer on a blue background, and he was soon nicknamed the Fugger of the Deer. He was too ambitious, however, and went bankrupt and his descendants served their cousins of the famous younger branch and later went to Silesia. Contemporary members of the Fugger of the Deer are descendants of Matthäus Fugger, the current patriarch is Markus Fugger von dem Rech. Hans Fuggers younger son, Jakob the Elder, founded another branch of the family and this branch progressed more steadily and they became known as the Fuggers of the Lily after their chosen arms of a flowering lily on a gold and blue background. Jakob was a weaver, a merchant, and an alderman. He married Barbara Basinger, the daughter of a goldsmith and his fortune progressed, and by 1461, he was the twelfth richest man in Augsburg. Thus began a profitable relationship between the Fugger family and the Habsburgs. With the help of their brother in Rome, Markus, Ulrich and his brother George handled remittances to the court of monies for the sale of indulgences. From 1508 to 1515 they leased the Roman mint, when the Fuggers made their first loan to the Archduke Sigismund in 1487, they took as security an interest in silver and copper mines in the Tirol
10.
Hottinguer family
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Hottinger first appears in the annals of the town of Zöllikon, near Zurich, in 1362. The town had recently joined the Swiss Confederation, and was poised to become a center for trade. In 1401, three members of the Hottinger family were named Burghers of the city and their names Hans, Heinrich and Rudolf – or, in their French variants, Jean, Henri and Rodolphe – have marked the family dynasty for over 500 years. Klaus Hottinger, was the first martyr of the Swiss Protestant movement and his grandson Sébastien Hottinger, was a doctor and deputy of the Zurich City Council. Wolfgang Hottinger’s son, Hans-Rudolf charted a new destiny for the Hottingers as clergymen and his son, Rudolf, and grandson Hans-Rudolf also became pastors. There is little surprise, therefore, that a branch of the Hottinger family would become involved in commerce and it is from this branch that the financial dynasty would emerge. Johannes Hottinger was born in 1712, the surviving son among Hans-Rudolf. Johanness career would be aided by the fact that his uncle, Christof Hottinger, was Deputy of the City Council for the powerful saffron corporation. In 1734, Johannes married the daughter of Johannès Cramer, a draper, the couple’s three sons – Johann-Heinrich, Johannes and Johann-Rudolf would all be raised from an early age with a keen appreciation for trade and business. Like many sons of wealthy Zurich families, he was sent to Mulhouse in 1779 for a traineeship with a cotton factory. But Jean-Conrad was less interested in trading, silk printing or smelting than in impressing the economist M. Wolf, with whom he resided, with his aptitude for drawing. As he became more and more interested in finance, Jean-Conrad eventually answered the call of his uncle Johann Heinrich Hottinger to join him in Geneva in 1783, home to many Protestant banking firms, Geneva was certainly better suited to Jean-Conrad Hottinger’s aspirations. Thanks to his uncle’s connections, Jean-Conrad was able to train as a banker with Passavant, de Candolle, over the ensuing years, Jean-Conrad Hottinger would display a thirst for knowledge and a deepening interest in the issue of public debt, notably in France and Great Britain. Soon he expressed a desire to go to Paris, following in the footsteps of Jacques Necker, Jean-Conrad Hottinger left for the French capital that same year with a letter of introduction by his former employees. This enabled him to start clerking for Le Couteulx & Cie, a reputable business. Jean Conrad Escher put forward the name of Hottinger, “the son of Jean Rodophe Hottinger and a clerk in the service of Le Couteulx. ”Arriving in Paris, Jean Conrad and Salomon Escher met with Denis de Rougemont de Chatellois, at the head of an old Parisian banking house. The Eschers were therefore able to suggest a partnership with the person of their choice and they met with then 23-year-old Jean-Conrad Hottinger, and an immediate bond was forged between the three men. Within the short space of a meeting, Jean-Conrad went from banking clerk to bank owner, in September 1786, the creation of “Rougemont, Hottinger & Cie” was announced
11.
House of Medici
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The family originated in the Mugello region of the Tuscan countryside, gradually rising until they were able to fund the Medici Bank. The bank was the largest in Europe during the 15th century, the Medici produced three Popes of the Catholic Church—Pope Leo X, Pope Clement VII, and Pope Leo XI, two regent queens of France—Catherine de Medici and Marie de Medici. In 1531, the family became hereditary Dukes of Florence, in 1569, the duchy was elevated to a grand duchy after territorial expansion. They ruled the Grand Duchy of Tuscany from its inception until 1737, the grand duchy witnessed degrees of economic growth under the earlier grand dukes, but by the time of Cosimo III de Medici, Tuscany was fiscally bankrupt. Their wealth and influence initially derived from the textile trade guided by the guild of the Arte della Lana. They, along with families of Italy—such as the Visconti and Sforza of Milan, the Este of Ferrara. The Medici Bank was one of the most prosperous and most respected institutions in Europe, there are some estimates that the Medici family were the wealthiest family in Europe for a time. From this base, they acquired political power initially in Florence and later in wider Italy, a notable contribution to the profession of accounting was the improvement of the general ledger system through the development of the double-entry bookkeeping system for tracking credits and debits. The Medici family were among the earliest businesses to use the system, the Medici family came from the agricultural Mugello region, north of Florence, being mentioned for the first time in a document of 1230. The origin of the name is uncertain, Medici is the plural of medico, also written del medico or delmedigo, meaning, medical doctor. It has been suggested that the derived from one Medico di Potrone, a castellan of Potrone in the late 11th century. The dynasty began with the founding of the Medici Bank, until the late 14th century, prior to the Medici, the leading family of Florence was the House of Albizzi. In 1293 the Ordinances of Justice were enacted, which became the constitution of the republic of Florence throughout the Italian Renaissance. The citys numerous luxurious palazzi were becoming surrounded by townhouses, built by the ever prospering merchant class. In 1298, one of the leading banking families of Europe, the main challengers to the Albizzi family were the Medicis, first under Giovanni de Medici, later under his son Cosimo di Giovanni de Medici and great-grandson, Lorenzo de Medici. The Medici controlled the Medici bank—then Europes largest bank—and an array of other enterprises in Florence, in 1433, the Albizzi managed to have Cosimo exiled. The next year, however, a pro-Medici Signoria was elected, the Medici became the citys leading family, a position they would hold for the next three centuries. Cosimo and Lorenzo rarely held official posts but were the unquestioned leaders, some examples of these families include the Bardi, Salviati, Cavalcanti, and the Tornabuoni
