Florence had amassed huge wealth because of their famous bankers who gained power. These bankers and politicians, most notably the Medici family, used their wealth to pay for commissions from famous artists of the time which enriched the society. This is one of the reasons why the renaissance began in Italy.<span />
The European colonization had devastating impact on Native Americans due to environmental changes and the introduction of diseases:
- The introduction of European weapons linked to the popularity of beavers led to overhunting. <u>Overhunting led to the extinction of beavers which affected the ecosystem as a whole. Europeans also brought pigs to the new land that ended up eating the foods deers and other animals depended on leading to scarcity.</u>
- <u>Europeans brought with them diseases (such as smallpox) that the native population were NOT immune to which resulted in a great number of deaths. The high mortality rate of the older population meant the loss of both tradition and knowledge.</u>
John Brown stirred up a lot of controversy with his attack on "Harper's" Ferry in Virginia
Houston love of flashy clothes and his reputation for frontier boldness and lamars somber dress and enjoyment of quieter leaders and their vastly different visions for the new republic would do much to shape the future of Texas.
