The management of the plague in Florence at the beginning of the Renaissance: The role of the partnership between the Republic and the Confraternita of Misericordia

Abstract

The role of charities in the administration of health care and poverty, and the use of accounting in their control mechanisms, is a relatively unexplored topic in the accounting history literature. This study aims to enrich the literature by studying how accounting systems were used in the management of the plague by a charity organisation – the Confraternita of Misericordia – during the first decades of the Renaissance in Florence, focusing on the role of the partnership between the Republic of Florence and the Misericordia. This research is the result of the analysis of rare documents, statutes and account books concerning the administration of the Misericordia from 1490 to 1530. Our analysis employs Foucault’s theories on the ‘government of the poor’ and Dean’s thoughts on ‘technologies of government’ and ‘policing the poor’ to highlight the link between religious values, political power and the accountability practices of the Misericordia.