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Venice: An Introduction
 City-State
 600 AD a group of people from Italian mainland moved onto some swampy islands in a shallow lagoon in Northern Italy
to escape from wars on the Italian mainland. This group of islands became known as Venice.
 The Venetians made living from sea: sailing, shipbuilding, dominating salt trade
Factors that lead to the rise of Venice between the 9th and 15th centuries.
Good
Geographical
Location
Good
Leadership
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Located in the northern tip of the Adriatic Sea
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Salt marshes located around Venice
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It is located between Europe and the Middle East
Provides the port of Venice shelter & safety
for ships from the elements of the weather.
Salt was an important trading commodity.
Facilitated trading between the two regions
– enabling Venice to have a variety of
goods to trade
Exemplary Political System
 Very strong and well structured government
o Aristocratic Republic
o a model of a Republic in Middle Ages
o no one power or family dominate government
As no one power or family dominated the
government with the practice of
quality/meritocracy within nobility, the focus
was purely on the loyalty to citizens. There
was no one person/office to dominate
power
Establishing control in the Adriatic Sea
• Doge Pietro II Orseolo was a capable leader
Establishing a peaceful environment
• Reconciled feuding cities – maintained friendship with the Byzantine emperor & the facilitated trading and business dealings in
Germanic kings who were rivals.
the region.
• Negotiated treaties with major powers – established trade links with Muslim states
This, in turn, enabled Venice to prosper.
in North Africa
• Subdued the pirates in Dalmatia
Building the Venetian empire
• In the 12th Century, Doge Enrico Dandolo headed the 4th Crusade to free
This enabled Venice to gain recognition and
Jerusalem from Muslim control.
respect from other states. Venetian
• But during the crusade, the Byzantine Empire weakened and the capital,
influence spread.
Constantinople was captured by Venice.
• V took control of a few important territories that had been under Byzantine rule.
Reforms in
Expanding the Venetian empire
• With the capture of Constantinople, Venice’ maritime empire grew.
• It expanded in the Mediterranean Sea region
• To protect the trade routes, Venice established military outposts in the
Mediterranean.
Meeting the challenges of a growing city-state
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Destroying their rivals enabled Venice to
gain control and monopoly of trade in the
Mediterranean.
government
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The Great Council was created in the 12th Century
The Great Council had several main duties (a) to oversee the election of capable
members to all government councils ; (b) settle disputes between council members
(c) pass laws (d) met out punishments and grant pardons to criminals
Members came from influential, noble families
Many wanted to be in the Great Council and so its membership reached 400 to
enable more nobles to play a part in Venice’s future.
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As Venice grew and the political structure became more complex there was a need
for the specialisation of duties to handle the affairs of state.
• The Council of Forty was created in the 13th Century to handle matters of law,
finances & coinage.
• 60-member Senate was set up – handled foreign relations, commerce and the
operations of Venetian fleets.
Maintaining checks & balances
• 14th Century – The Council of Ten was formed – comprising Doge + 6 Ducal
Councillors + 3 Heads in the Council of Forty
• They monitored government & political activities to ensure no corruption / abuse of
power took place.
• Such acts or plots to overthrow the government were crushed
• No one in the government was above the law
• Even the Doge’s power was limited.
• In 1355 Doge Marin Falier was condemned to death after he led a failed attempt to
overthrow the government.
The creation of new committees helped the
government oversee all aspects of
administration.
Governance of Venice became efficient with
the specialization of duties.
A stable political, economic and social
environment was established in Venice
which enabled the city-state to grow &
prosper.
With corruption in check, the country
achieved political prosperity, which enabled
it to grow economically.
This convinced citizens that policies were
implemented for the benefit of the state and
not personal gain, ensuring the loyalty of
the citizens.
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Trade
developments
& expansion
For elections, a Nomination Committee was set up
They oversaw that the election process was fair and that no family or individual
could dominate the government
• Elections were done through balloting.
• Candidates were not allowed to campaign for support – to discourage rivalry and
bribery
• Appointed nobles were not allowed to reject the position.
Attitude towards trade
• Venetians were skilled diplomats and could secure more favourable trading
terms eg lower tax rates than their competitors
• Their skill enabled them to obtain the highly-prized spice trade.
• Another Italian city-state, Genoa, was unable to rival Venice.
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Venetians also had an enterprising spirit.
They opened up new trade routes to unknown lands and brought into Europe new
goods.
Eg the Polo family – explored the overland trade route to China & established
good relations with countries in the Far East.
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This enabled them to maintain a competitive
edge over their trading rivals.
Broadened their markets and expanded
their trade.
With the new goods, spices, silk, they were
able to reap great wealth and reputation.
Innovations in maritime technology
• 13th Century maritime technology, like the nautical charts and the mariner’s
compass, enabled Venice to be in the forefront of maritime trading and shipping
• They possessed advanced technology that gave them the ability to sail in winter
when visibility from mists and storms made shipping dangerous.
• Venetians were shipbuilders. Their superior vessels were able to sail swiftly using
both the wind (sails) and oarsmen.
• They could travel further.
• The first great galley was built in the 13th Century – it was both a merchant ship &
a war vessel. Pirates were daunted by them.
Efficiency in managing voyagers
• With the innovations above, shipping became more efficient in arrival & departure
• Venetian ships could make more travels per year, as it included winter
• The great galleys were able to transport more goods
• The Senate set up an effective management system to control & monitor
schedules of trade voyages.
• Traders had to travel in convoys enabling them to transport more goods safely.
Overcoming trade competition
• Main trade competitor & rival in the Mediterranean and Black Sea region was
Genoa
• Both city-states tried to seize control of the other’s ships and confiscate their
goods – both at sea and at ports
• Their conflict in political and commercial interests led to many wars.
• Venice defeated Genoa in the late 14th Century.
• This defeat gave Venice control of the Mediterranean Sea and brought them
international trade.
Trade monopoly
• 9th to 15th Century – 3 main traders in Europe – Venice, Genoa & the Hanseatic
League (an association of trading states in Northern Europe)
• Venice had a strategic geographical position – northern tip of the Adriatic Sea
• Central & Southern Europe depended on Venice for spices, sugar & diamonds
• Venetian traders used a combination of overland & sea routes
• They traded with Arabian port such as Alexandria & Hormuz
• Larger variety of goods (than any other city or port) & sold at a high price – high
profits
• Venice’s navy protected their fleets
• European states forced to trade with Venice
Industrial
Trade-related industry
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Dominate trade in the Mediterranean and
beyond throughout the year.
Facilitated trading beyond the reaches of
their rivals.
This protected their trade and made it
secure
Venetian traders and shippers were efficient
& dependable.
Shipping became safer – foreign traders
found Venetian ships reliable.
This helped to decrease cost of shipping.
Increased profits. Expand trade into new
regions.
The defeat gave Venice monopoly of the
Mediterranean trade - wealth
It geographical position gave it an
advantage over its rivals – enabling it to
dominate the trade with the Middle East
ports.
Navy ensured Venice’ monopoly of trade.
development
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The expansion of trade boosted its shipbuilding industry.
Ship building, which was scattered throughout Venice, was centralized in one
location – The Arsenal – to reduce noise pollution & overcrowding.
In time, the Arsenal was expanded to meet the growing demands for great galleys
in the 13th C.
Manufacturing industries
• As the Venetians grew in affluence there grew a demand for goods.
• Glassmaking industries – island of Murano
• Candles & scented soap
• Printing industry
• Many skilled craftsmen from Europe came to live & work in Venice.
Innovative practices
• Double-entry bookkeeping method – useful system to record business
transactions. It gave businessmen an efficient method of keeping track of their
credits & debits.
• Giro-banking – this method of payment was favoured as traders did not have to
carry large amounts of money. The Venetian banks provided this service – the
trader had only to ensure that he had enough funds in his banks to enable him to
carry out transactions using giro-banking.
The powerful ships were central to trading.
It gave Venice the means & advantage to
carry out their trade with distant regions.
The Venetian-made goods complimentary
its trade. The skilled craftsmanship that
went into its manufacturing industry, placed
their goods in high demand throughout
Europe.
This enabled business transactions to be
carried out with easy and efficiency. Traders
from other regions found it convenient to
trade with Venice.
Factors that led to the decline of Venice between the 15th and 18th centuries.
Foreign
threats
Involvement in the mainland
• Political developments in Europe forced Venice to turn its attention to
strengthening its influence in mainland Europe.
• It needed to secure its food, water & raw material supplies from the mainland in
order to sustain its growing population and industries.
• To achieve this, Venice had to play politics – taking advantage of the rivalry
between mainland states, for eg Spain & France
• It offered to help one state fight against another.
• Such switching of alliances often had negative repercussions – Venice had to be
wise on which mainland state to back.
• To deal with this, Venice had to build its military might.
• The rivalry made the overland trade routes unsafe as battles were fought there.
The Ottoman Empire
• The influence of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East spread and strengthened
in Europe in the 15th century, after the fall of Genoa.
• It became Venice’s greatest competitor for maritime control.
• Venice’s military involvement in mainland Europe weakened it, making it
vulnerable to the large Ottoman armies.
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Venice was forced to spend large amounts
of wealth & resources on building its military
strength. This diverted Venice’s attention
away from trade, which caused it to lose
some of its territories – hampering trade.
Venice developed a bad reputation by its
switching of alliances.
The wars hindered trade.
The Ottomans eroded Venetian control,
influence and trade in the Mediterranean.
Wars with the Ottomans drained Venice of
its resources and manpower.
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The Ottomans acquired territories in the Adriatic Sea & launched a number of
attacks and wars against Venetian territory from there.
Galleys used for trading had to be used to fight against the Ottomans.
Venice often resorted to playing the Ottomans against the other European powers
– supporting one against the other and switching alliances when it suited their
commercial interest.
1463, the European states banded together to fight against the Ottomans, but they
excluded the Venetian.
Venice was left to defend itself. 1470 - Venice lost Negraponte, an important trade
outpost in the Mediterranean to the Ottomans.
The campaign by the Ottomans against Venice continued to the 17th C.
The League of Cambrai
• Venice’s power and influence made it unpopular with mainland states.
• These powers plotted to capture Venetian territories.
• 1508 – the League of Cambrai was formed – Spain, Hungary & France – to reduce
the power of Venice and split its territories among themselves.
• The mercenary army of Venice was no match to the might of the League. Venice
lost many of its territories.
• In order to recover from its losses, Venice negotiated for separate peace with
some states in the League, by giving concessions in terms of territories and wealth
to them.
• This together with renewed military campaigns, Venice recaptured some of its
territories.
Maritime
competition
Discovery of new sea routes
• 1497 - Vasco da Gama of Portugal discovered a new sea route to the East –
around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.
• The Portuguese were able to now buy spices directly from India.
• They became a competitor.
• This destroyed Venetian monopoly of the lucrative spice trade.
• Though the Venetian had a shorter overland route, it was unsafe due to robbers.
• Nevertheless, Venice continued to thrive as a trade centre in the western
Mediterranean – for Mediterranean goods like wine, raisins, glassware and Persian
silk which was in high demand.
New trade rivals
• The emergence of the Dutch East India Company in the 17th C
• The Dutch bypassed the Venetians to obtain supplies from the East.
• The British set up the English East India Company (EIC) – bringing cotton and
pepper from India, tea & porcelain from China.
• The Dutch & English had better designed ships.
• The Venetians copied their ships but their sailors were unable to operate them
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Trading in the Aegean & Adriatic Sea
became unstable and dangerous.
This disrupted trade.
Venice’s unsavoury politics caused
European states to develop a deep hostility
for it.
Venice was weakened economically.
The joined-military campaigns against
Venice drained and weakened it of its
resources.
Venice had to raise taxes to finance the
employment of mercenaries and supply of
weapons.
The loss of the spice trade robbed Venice of
business and earnings that it had reaped for
centuries.
The emergence of new trade rivals caused
Venice to lose much of its monopoly, trade
& business. They lost their competitive
edge.
skillfully.
The English and Dutch were able to negotiate favourable trading rights in new
ports.
In order to overcome these challenges, Venice imposed a protectionist policy
which meant the foreign traders had to pay higher taxes.
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Political
challenges
Incapable leadership
• By the 16th Century, corruption began to set in,
• A small group of nobles dominated the government
• Many policies were made to preserve the power, prestige and wealth of the
nobles, rather than for the development of Venice.
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The rotation of duties to prevent any individual or family from dominating govt
office unfortunately caused a lack of competency among officers. Officers were
rotated every term. Sometimes, incompetent ones replaced them.
15th C – 2 Captain-Generals of the navy, Nicolo da Canal (a proven ambassador)
& Antonio Grimani (a skillful financier) were appointed to lead the navy although
they lacked military skills. Venice suffered heavy losses under them.
Corruption in the government
• To fund the war against the Ottomans, civil servants had to take pay cuts
• Many nobles lost their wealth as the wars disrupted their trade & business.
• Poorer nobles resorted to selling their votes to the richer nobles
• This resulted in poor leadership as it fell in the hands of the rich who wanted
power, rather than to those who were competent leaders.
Over-dependence on mercenaries
• Venice hired foreign professional soldiers to fight for them.
• These mercenaries came from its Mediterranean territories and from France and
Holland.
• As the population of Venice was small, it had to depend on mercenaries.
• Dependence on mercenaries led of many problems:
o Soldiers left when there was a better offer from another country
o Some soldiers of certain nationalities began to plot to overthrow the
government.
o Some planned to rod the nobles’ palaces.
• The army could not be trusted
Social
challenges
Foreign traders took their business
elsewhere, leading to further economic
decline.
Corruption and poor policies, caused
political instability.
Poor leadership lead to grave losses and
had an adverse political and economic
impact on Venice.
Government became increasingly inefficient
as the interests of the nobility were served
first. Decisions were not made in favour of
Venice.
This made Venice vulnerable to its enemies
as the mercenary army rendered the
defence of Venice weak.
The government had to worry about their
internal security as well.
Complacency
• As Venice became prosperous, Venetians took their security - peace and stability
- for granted and focused more on the enjoyment of their wealth.
Over-indulgence in affluent lifestyle
• The nobles shifted their focus from their thriving business and the administration &
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Their lack of interest in ensuring the
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development of their city-state.
Nobles began to pursue activities of entertainment and pleasure & indulge in
lavish parties and celebrations.
Some nobles lost their wealth through gambling.
success of their businesses led to the
economic decline of Venice.
The Fall of Venice to France (May 1797)
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Venice’s gradual decline was its failure to respond effectively to internal & external challenges & changes.
This led to the weakening of the government and gradual loss of its territories.
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Napoleon Bonaparte, the ruler of France, was determined to gain the control of the whole of Europe.
Many European states formed an alliance to oppose France. Venice did not join this alliance for fear of antagonizing France.
Napoleon Bonaparte demanded for the surrender of Venice – Venice was in no position to defend itself due to poor leadership and military
strength. Many nobles fled the beleaguered state.
12 May 1797 – the last Doge, Lodovico Manin, accepted Bonaparte’s demands.
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Social transformation
Benefits gained by Venice from its development
 Venice gained territories along the trade routes & around the
Territorial
Mediterranean Sea
possession
Cosmopolitan
city-state
Artistic
achievements
Scientific &
literary
 These ports enabled Venetian galleys to
replenish supplies – and reduce trading
cost
 Oarsmen & crew could rest at new ports
 Hence, these territories aided Venice in
being more competitive in their trade
 & to establish its dominant commercial
power.
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After the 4th crusade – Venice captured many territories belonging
to the Byzantine Empire, eg Constantinople
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Its wealth and reputation attracted many foreign traders &
merchants who settled down there.
The Venetian govt offered many special incentives like housing &
citizenship to attract merchants & skilled craftsmen
 This solved Venice’s labour shortage
problem & enabled it to sustain its
commercial activities
 Venetian society became more diverse
with the many foreigners.
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Its artistic achievements made it renown in Europe
Much of the work adorned the walls of public buildings
Eg: Mosaic art on the walls of the church at St Marco Square
Its architecture was outstanding.
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As Venice was exposed to many cultures and ideas, Venetians
began to explore subjects like physics, medicine, law.
Its universities became reputable and the govt attracted and hired
 Venice became famous and was a
popular destination for nobles from other
European states
 This enhanced its reputation and
stimulated further growth.
 Not only did Venice attract merchants, it
also brought in scholars as it became a
centre for learning
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developments
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Economic
prosperity
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distinguished professors
Interest in scientific knowledge led to studies in astrology and
astronomy.
Venetian professors went on overseas learning trips and brought
back a wealth of knowledge
As its trade expanded, so did its industrial development.
Craftsmen produced glass, bricks, soap, dyes
They were talented & well-paid
Guilds (trade unions) were created to ensure job security & high
quality of goods produced
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This resulted in higher demand for
Venetian-made products and increased
trade.
Venice earned higher revenue and the
people enjoyed better salaries &
standard of living.
Lessons Learnt
Lesson 1: Capable and Committed Leadership
Venice at its peak:
 leaders placed interest above self
 capable and forward-looking
good leadership today is not guarantee for the future
we have to choose our leaders wisely
we have to make sure we have the right leader for the right job
Venice in decline:
 leaders neglected responsibilities
 more concerned for self than state
Lesson 2: Adaptability
Venice at its peak:
 Venetians were well informed
 eg banking and manufacturing
important to adapt to changes taking place
eg globalisation and Information Technology
the quicker one adapts, the better the chance of survival
Venice in decline:
 did nothing to keep up with the times
 eg followed own style of shipping despite rise of VOC and EIC
Lesson 3: Good International Relations
Venice at its peak:
 asserted its power and cared less for others
 able to survive because the other states were weak
important to have friendly relations with other states
competition should be there but a state should not
attempt to rise to power at the expense of another
Venice in decline:
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unable to assert power because of rise of other states
other states were stronger and challenged Venice’s authority
Lesson 4: Strong Defence Force
Venice at its peak:
 mercenaries served Venice because they were well paid
 Venetians fought for the city-state
better to rely on own citizens’ army than on others
National Service is important
allrounded education like Total Defence is important
Venice in decline:
 mercenaries preferred to serve other states which paid them better
 more concerned for self than state
 Venetians did not care for state
Lesson 5: A Committed Citizenry
Venice at its peak:
 proud to be Venetians
 loyal to Venice
we must be prepared to make sacrifices
must remain committed to the nation
Venice in decline:
 complacent due to past success
 cared more for self than state
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