Sixth Grade
Worksheets
Banking in the Renaissance
Banks are useful places. Located in suburbs, towns, and cities, banks are easy to find wherever you live. Nearly everyone uses them as a convenient way to take care of their finances.
They provide checking accounts - very useful for paying bills. They also provide savings accounts, used by parents and children, too. A quick visit to the teller at your local bank is all that is needed to deposit or withdraw money.
Some people have specialized accounts at their bank such as a Christmas account or a savings plan for their retirement.
Many people use banks to borrow money for big purchases like the mortgage on their house or a loan for a car. The credit and debit cards that many people use every day come from a bank, too, even though it may be a bank far away from their neighborhood.
Today, banks are seen as a necessary part of everyday life, but that wasn't always the case. During the Renaissance, everyday people had a very different view of banks and bankers. It would not have been unusual to hear bankers referred to by insulting names such as "thieves" or "swindlers."
