lecture 3: Venice (Rileys quizlet) Flashcards
Early advantages of Venice
-lagoon geography (defense, independence, fish, salt)
-good communications (po delta+adriatic)
-gateway port between the near east and Europe
-initial pattern: exchanging European slaves for Eastern luxuries
Traded via Venice from each side
Europe: slaves, metals, furs, timber
East: olive oil, grain, cloths, sugar
colonies of Venice
-resident merchant communities that facilitated trade
-some received overland goods from Baghdad and Silk Road
Venice Political Structure
-city-state with a network of territorial dominance
-republic ruled by a doge (no king)
-citizenship an elite privilege, after 25 years of residence (no bolletino after 10 yrs)
-degree of democracy, ruled by and for mercantile elite
Germans in Venice
-key transalpine trade link
-one of largest and freest communities
-trading rights, tax privileges, obligations
-Fondaco dei Tedeschi, German inns and hotels
Greeks in Venice
-largest community in Venice
-ancient ties
-distinct neighborhood
-sailors, ship builders, soldiers
-church, education
Jews in Venice
-lived in ghetto with curfew
-different groups with different languages, cultures, religious practices, economic roles (either financial or mercantile)
Turks in Venice
-Fondaco dei Turchi
-behind walls with curfew
-differences within the community (like Jews)
-ambiguous, tense position
Early modern Venice
-commercial and political power fades (loses spice trade as French and English go around them to the Levant)
-cultural capital, tourist destination
-periods of famine, plague
Venice hierarchy
-Patricians: 5% of population, wealthy from commerce in the Golden Age
-Cittadini originari (citizens by birth): access to bureaucracy jobs, specific trading privileges, they had to be native born
-Popolani: almost 90% of population, artisans, laborers, wealthy shopkeepers, no specific privileges
