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A History of Venice, by John Julius Norwich, is an in-depth analysis of the history of the Republic of Venice from inception to its eclipse and demise. Venice came together around the time of the fall of the Western Roman Empire, as refugees from various Italian cities found themselves fleeing an onslaught of German and Hun invaders. As the Western Roman Empire crumbled, they found refuge amongst the lagoons of modern Venice, an ideal and strategic location that would serve the fledgling city well throughout its history. Successive waves of immigrants began to turn the area into a city, and soon, with the blessing of the Eastern Emperor, Venice emerged as a political entity with close relations to the Eastern Roman Empire in Constantinople. Venice was an ideal trading location, with easy access to the Adriatic Sea, highly defensible, and in a good location to act as a middleman between Western Europe and the Mediterranean world. This focus on trade would characterize the Republic as it began to turn itself from a small city state in Italy (one of many) into a trading Empire able to go toe-to-toe with any European power.
The Venetian Republic began to take shape for various reasons, mostly of self-interest. When pirates on the Dalmatian coast of modern Croatia began to make trouble for Venetian merchants (and thus Byzantine shipping as well) the Venetian, with the blessings of the Eastern Roman Empire, attacked and annexed some islands on the Dalmatian coast. These made good stopover points for Venetian merchants heading to Greece, and offered strategic timber resources to build up Venice's powerful merchant fleet. Venice began to play off interests in Italy as well, supporting Italian city states against each other, but largely remaining aloof to getting involved in Italian politics. This saved the Republic from the growing despotic aspects of many Italian city states (such as Milan and Florence), while allowing it to remain on the winning side of a conflict. Venice's merchant marine soon became a source of income outside of trading, as Venice began to ferry troops to take part in overseas conflicts, and especially in Crusades. Venice was a key mercenary-like participant in many crusades, and soon began to build an Empire of trading posts in Egypt, the Levant, Anatolia and Greece. These came as rewards for services rendered (for example, a district of Acre from the Crusader states as a reward for ferrying troops), or through outright aggression on Her part (the many Greek islands taken from the Eastern Empire in the Fourth Crusade, for example). On top of this, Venice began to take land on the Italian peninsula to shore up its defense of the Venetian lagoon. Verona, Treviso, Padua, Fruili and parts of Lombardy would all fall to Venetian arms as it began to take part in the turmoil of Renaissance Italian politics. Enemies could quickly become friends as Allies began to back-stab, and all the Italian states engaged in Machiavellian maneuvers to gain territory and defeat rising threats. Venice in its history was under indirect from the Pope many times, and would often switch allegiances in order to gain more territory. Venice also jealously guarded its salt monopoly along the Po river, and would go to war with any who tried to cash in on this lucrative trade.
Outside of Italy, Venice fought to defend and enlarge its colonial possessions. Venice turned against its one-time patron, the Eastern Roman Empire, as its power began to crumble. Venice annexed key islands of the Peloponnese, created ducal possessions out of the Naxos islands, annexed a chain of ports and fortresses down the Adriatic coast - in modern day Albania, Montenegro and Greece, and fought to defend her trading privileges in the Empire. She went into a deadly grudge match against rival Mercantile republic Genoa, which had taken territory in the islands of Chios and Lesbos, and owned the peninsula opposite Constantinople, along with a section of the city itself. Venice fought hard to take on the Genoese, and although looking dicey for a while, ultimately came out triumphant. She even managed to take over the Eastern Empire's remnants briefly, creating the short lived Venetian puppet, the Latin Empire during the complete mess called the Fourth Crusade, where Christian forces never even ended up leaving Europe, and instead fought for spoils with other Christian states in Greece. Hungary was a perennial rival, and Venice fought hard to retain her control over the Dalmatian coast, at times enlarging it, and at times losing it altogether. Venice also briefly annexed Cyprus in an act of political brinkmanship that was as impressive as it was ruthless.
Venice began to eclipse in the late 15th century, as jealous Italian rivals, a hostile papacy, and growing powers in France and Spain began to covet her Italian possessions. On the colonial front, Venice was constantly harried and eventually usurped in her Mediterranean possessions by the onslaught of military adventurism known as the Ottoman Empire. Her possessions in the Peloponnese, the Balkans and, finally, her crown jewel of Crete, were all lost over a period of time. On the land front, Venice's possessions were frayed away by hostile French/Milanese forces, by the Pope in Rome, and by the growing power of Austria. On top of this, the colonization of North America, and the use of alternate trade routes to Asia around the Horn of Africa, made the caravan routes that Venice relied upon to monopolize luxury imports irrelevant. Portugal and the Netherlands became the new clearing houses of Europe, and Italy began to wax into obscurity. Venice would remain a fledgling regional power until her lands in Italy were gobbled up by first French, then Austrian forces.
Norwich has written an excellent and in-depth history of the Venetian Republic, an interesting state that focused on trade, and maintained a solid oligarchic system of governance for many hundreds of years, resisting the allure of despotism and monarchical rule that shattered Italian city states during the Renaissance. Norwich goes through its long and storied history by Doge, listing the current ruler, his achievements, and the wider political context of what was happening to Venice. He also adds the construction of the city and its fabulous architecture in this account, mentioning when specific churches, monuments and public works were completed and why. This is certainly an excellent book to read on the Venetian Republic, both for those interested in the state itself, and those interested in wider Republican political theory. Venice went through the ringer throughout its history, and there is a lot to learn about Republican systems from its trials and tribulations throughout its centuries long history. A great read, and easily recommended.
The Venetian Republic began to take shape for various reasons, mostly of self-interest. When pirates on the Dalmatian coast of modern Croatia began to make trouble for Venetian merchants (and thus Byzantine shipping as well) the Venetian, with the blessings of the Eastern Roman Empire, attacked and annexed some islands on the Dalmatian coast. These made good stopover points for Venetian merchants heading to Greece, and offered strategic timber resources to build up Venice's powerful merchant fleet. Venice began to play off interests in Italy as well, supporting Italian city states against each other, but largely remaining aloof to getting involved in Italian politics. This saved the Republic from the growing despotic aspects of many Italian city states (such as Milan and Florence), while allowing it to remain on the winning side of a conflict. Venice's merchant marine soon became a source of income outside of trading, as Venice began to ferry troops to take part in overseas conflicts, and especially in Crusades. Venice was a key mercenary-like participant in many crusades, and soon began to build an Empire of trading posts in Egypt, the Levant, Anatolia and Greece. These came as rewards for services rendered (for example, a district of Acre from the Crusader states as a reward for ferrying troops), or through outright aggression on Her part (the many Greek islands taken from the Eastern Empire in the Fourth Crusade, for example). On top of this, Venice began to take land on the Italian peninsula to shore up its defense of the Venetian lagoon. Verona, Treviso, Padua, Fruili and parts of Lombardy would all fall to Venetian arms as it began to take part in the turmoil of Renaissance Italian politics. Enemies could quickly become friends as Allies began to back-stab, and all the Italian states engaged in Machiavellian maneuvers to gain territory and defeat rising threats. Venice in its history was under indirect from the Pope many times, and would often switch allegiances in order to gain more territory. Venice also jealously guarded its salt monopoly along the Po river, and would go to war with any who tried to cash in on this lucrative trade.
Outside of Italy, Venice fought to defend and enlarge its colonial possessions. Venice turned against its one-time patron, the Eastern Roman Empire, as its power began to crumble. Venice annexed key islands of the Peloponnese, created ducal possessions out of the Naxos islands, annexed a chain of ports and fortresses down the Adriatic coast - in modern day Albania, Montenegro and Greece, and fought to defend her trading privileges in the Empire. She went into a deadly grudge match against rival Mercantile republic Genoa, which had taken territory in the islands of Chios and Lesbos, and owned the peninsula opposite Constantinople, along with a section of the city itself. Venice fought hard to take on the Genoese, and although looking dicey for a while, ultimately came out triumphant. She even managed to take over the Eastern Empire's remnants briefly, creating the short lived Venetian puppet, the Latin Empire during the complete mess called the Fourth Crusade, where Christian forces never even ended up leaving Europe, and instead fought for spoils with other Christian states in Greece. Hungary was a perennial rival, and Venice fought hard to retain her control over the Dalmatian coast, at times enlarging it, and at times losing it altogether. Venice also briefly annexed Cyprus in an act of political brinkmanship that was as impressive as it was ruthless.
Venice began to eclipse in the late 15th century, as jealous Italian rivals, a hostile papacy, and growing powers in France and Spain began to covet her Italian possessions. On the colonial front, Venice was constantly harried and eventually usurped in her Mediterranean possessions by the onslaught of military adventurism known as the Ottoman Empire. Her possessions in the Peloponnese, the Balkans and, finally, her crown jewel of Crete, were all lost over a period of time. On the land front, Venice's possessions were frayed away by hostile French/Milanese forces, by the Pope in Rome, and by the growing power of Austria. On top of this, the colonization of North America, and the use of alternate trade routes to Asia around the Horn of Africa, made the caravan routes that Venice relied upon to monopolize luxury imports irrelevant. Portugal and the Netherlands became the new clearing houses of Europe, and Italy began to wax into obscurity. Venice would remain a fledgling regional power until her lands in Italy were gobbled up by first French, then Austrian forces.
Norwich has written an excellent and in-depth history of the Venetian Republic, an interesting state that focused on trade, and maintained a solid oligarchic system of governance for many hundreds of years, resisting the allure of despotism and monarchical rule that shattered Italian city states during the Renaissance. Norwich goes through its long and storied history by Doge, listing the current ruler, his achievements, and the wider political context of what was happening to Venice. He also adds the construction of the city and its fabulous architecture in this account, mentioning when specific churches, monuments and public works were completed and why. This is certainly an excellent book to read on the Venetian Republic, both for those interested in the state itself, and those interested in wider Republican political theory. Venice went through the ringer throughout its history, and there is a lot to learn about Republican systems from its trials and tribulations throughout its centuries long history. A great read, and easily recommended.
