But then the trend changed. The days of affluence and confidence ebbed away. The coming of the Black Death in 1348, which killed off at least one-third of Italy’s population, was the coup de grâce. The wars became more desperate and the mercenary captain or condottiere, who led a city’s army to plunder its neighbors, more necessary. In one city after another, economic depression triggered social unrest and polarized communal politics. Self-government gave way to government by a single individual—the condottiere, who turned his success on the battlefield into absolute power, sometimes even a
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