Revolt of the Venetian settlers in Crete (1363-1366)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Division of Crete into sixths according to the city quarters of Venice

The uprising of the Venetian settlers in Crete was one of the most severe upheavals of the Venetian colonial empire . It lasted from August 1363 to at least April 1366 and caused demographic upheavals on the island of Crete and an economic crisis. Part of the Greek landowning class temporarily allied itself with the insurgents, who waged a kind of guerrilla war in the final phase . The uprising was suppressed by troops led by a condottiere .

As a result of the Fourth Crusade , the Venetians established a feudal structure on Crete based on the Western model and demanded that their settlers, who had been on the island since 1211, make large contributions to the food supply of the mother city and the maintenance of their large fleets. Nevertheless, the settlers usually achieved relatively low prices for their wheat , the main buyer of which was Venice. In addition, the municipality of the island's capital Candia (now Heraklion ) withdrew workers in its own interest. Venice also skimmed profits from the forced acceptance of overvalued coins at the expense of traders and settlers. In addition, the originally strong influence of the Venetians who settled in Crete on the politics of the lagoon city had strongly decreased.

The cause of the uprising is the economic policy aimed at supplying Venice with agricultural products , with numerous provisions, individual measures and customary rights forming the basis.

The immediate trigger was a perceived arbitrary setting of a special charge for the infrastructure. As a result of the fighting, but also due to economic isolation, the supporting layer of the feudal structure established by Venice on the island was called into question.

prehistory

As a result of the Fourth Crusade, Crete came to Venice by treaty from 1204, de facto from around 1210. From 1211 onwards, the city sent numerous settlers to the island in several batches, who lived as a feudal ruling class separated from the Greek population. The main tasks of the island were securing long-distance trade, manning the fleets and supplying food to Venice and its navy. The conditions were mainly set by the Venice Senate , which in times of crisis paid little attention to the needs of the settlers. The small feudal lords of Retimo (today Rethymno ) and La Canea ( Chania ) complained together in Venice in 1345 that the prices for their wheat were so low that it endangered their existence.

As a result of the waves of plague rampant in Europe , such crises occurred more frequently from 1348 onwards. Above all, however, it was the wars against Genoa which required extensive resources and which also had to be raised suddenly and in unpredictable quantities.

In addition, there was an economic crisis that hit Venice itself especially in the 1360s. The years from 1360 to 1362 mark the harshest phase of Venice's protectionist economic policy (cf. economic history of the Republic of Venice ), which was implemented on a large scale at the expense of the colonies. The population, which was drastically reduced by the plague of 1348 , had long had trouble working the ground due to a lack of labor - nevertheless Venice demanded men capable of fighting for its ships, especially during the war against Genoa from 1350 to 1355.

In 1354 there was a first conspiracy led by the Gradenigo and Venier, but it quickly collapsed. Little is known about them. Nevertheless, from 1359 onwards, Crete had to man and co-finance two galleys because of a feared invasion by the Turks of Aydin , an emirate on the coast of Asia Minor . In 1360, contrary to the usual law, the colonists were forbidden to carry goods on the galleys they had equipped themselves, which dried up another source of income. In addition, Venice rigorously refused any export permit for wheat and even banned its shipment between the Cretan ports.

Another devastating plague wave hit the island in 1362. When in this situation a large shipload of silver coins (Torneselli) came in and Venice demanded that they be exchanged at a rate that was far too high, while at the same time wages were delayed and taxes were increased twice, the island was faced with open outrage.

course

The insurgents

On August 8, 1363, the Cretans opposed an annual extra tariff for cleaning the port and repairing the dams. Serious riots broke out in Candia and the rebels stormed the palace of Duca di Candia Leonardo Dandolo, who almost died in the process. Some Venetians were killed and some arrested. The rest had to leave the island.

Marco Gradenigo, the elder, was raised to "Gubernator et Rector Crete". He was assisted by four of the insurgents. To strengthen their army, they released prisoners and debtors in return for six months of military service. Greeks were allowed to take part in the meetings of the Grand Council and the Assembly of Feudal Lords for the first time. The evangelist Mark was replaced as patron saint of the island by Saint Titus , who was considered the first bishop of Crete and was a student of the apostle Paul . Therefore, the state proclaimed by the rebels was occasionally referred to as the "Republic of St. Titus" and the uprising as the "Revolt of St. Titus". The capital Candia was the center of the rebellion. La Canea joined her and a little later the uprising spread across the island. Some men tried to get Negroponte (Evvia) as well as Modon and Koron to participate.

However, several of the Greek archons and landlord families wanted to shake off Venetian rule entirely, including some members of the Kalergis family.

Venice's attempt to isolate the island

News of the uprising reached Venice on September 10th. A call by Doge Lorenzo Celsi to stand still was not heeded by the insurgents.

Venice initially asked Rhodes , Cyprus , Byzantium and Genoa to boycott trade - as it turned out later, the Genoese of Pera and Chios secretly provided grain for the rebels. Andrea Querini, the Bailò in Constantinople , representative of the large Venetian merchant colony there, should do everything in his power to isolate the island.

On October 11, further letters were sent to Louis I , the King of Hungary , again to Cyprus, to Johanna , Queen of Naples , the (theoretical) Latin Emperor and Duke of Taranto and Achaia , Robert , as well as to the papal legate Pierre Thomas .

Pope Urban V sent a warning letter to the insurgents on October 15. They are "largely" Venetians and only Venice can defend them against schismatics and Muslims . They also endangered the crusade that King Peter I of Cyprus was preparing and which wanted to travel from Venice to the Holy Land . In a letter of December 17th to the Pope, the college claimed that the Venetian feudal lords on the island had always been treated like “brothers and sons”, “born of the same parents and the same country (patria)” and that they were the same Would have enjoyed honors and dignity.

War preparations

The first Venetian galleys sealed off the waters around the island, and troops were recruited in Istria , Dalmatia and Chioggia . The recruitment of Turkish troops was initially refrained from, but an Angelo Michiel was sent to the Turks to procure aids.

This was followed by a strict ban on all caulkers from working outside the arsenal . Soon eight large galleys were ready. In addition, 300 Englishmen were recruited. In the middle of winter at the end of January 1364, three galleys with weapons and food on board broke open. A few days later, 1,000 riders and 2,000 infantry were ready. However, they were still waiting for an army of thousand crusaders on their way to Cyprus.

On January 24, the crusaders waiting in Bologna, led by the King of Cyprus and the papal legate, sent a letter to the Doge that they were ready to leave in the spring. Venice, for its part, agreed to take up to a thousand men to the remaining ships to retake Crete. Amadeus VI was also expected . of Savoy , which they wanted to bring to the Holy Land if he would help put down the uprising. Still, as one letter put it, they hoped for an easy and quick reconquest.

However, through the indiscretion of a notary named Desiderio, the insurgents gained knowledge of details of the preparations.

When the legates and ambassadors of Peter I called in Venice in February, they had to announce that Peter now wanted transport capacity for 2000 instead of 1000 horses and that he was not willing to stay on the island until the uprising was put down. The four Venetian Savi , as the negotiators were called, that is, connoisseurs of the matter, negotiated for ten days, but Peter pushed through his demands. The doge made the king the generous offer to invite his people to Otranto , to bring 2,000 horses and them and other troops to the Holy Land. On February 26th, the Doge Lorenzo Celsi wrote to the Pope about his commitment to the crusade. At the same time, the Pope recruited new crusade participants, especially in England and France , but could not prevent Amadeus from postponing his participation further and further.

The Venetians by no means pushed, but could now prepare for the reconquest in a different way. After a condottiere by the name of Galeotto Malatesta was rejected as too expensive with his demand for 5000  gold florins , 200  knights and 500 foot soldiers, the Veronese Luchino dal Verme , who had been recruited in Milan , was given the task of suppressing the uprising. Venice paid a total of at least 20,000 ducats for him and his army leaders alone  .

At the beginning of February 1364, the notary Raffaino Caresini succeeded in concluding a corresponding contract with the Condottiere, who was considered a friend of Petrarch . On March 3rd he came to Venice and in a solemn ceremony the Doge presented him with the banner of St. Mark on the 28th.

Suppression of the uprising

On April 10, the fleet, under the leadership of Admiral Domenico Michiel di Santa Fosca, set out from Venice and reached Crete around 10 kilometers from Candia at Fraschia . Only a few days after landing, Lucchino dal Verme was able to defeat the rebels and take the capital on May 10th. Leonardo Dandolo was taken out of his prison and the rebel leader Gradenigo was beheaded in the main square.

The rapid success of dal Vermes, for which he received an annuity of 1000 ducats per year by resolution of the Grand Council of June 16, 1366, was made much easier for him because the rebels had fallen out in the meantime. The Greeks, led by Zanachi Kalergis, had killed numerous Venetians, including some of the leading rebels, such as members of the Venetian aristocratic families of the Corner, Gritti and Venier. Marco Gradenigo the Elder escaped an assassination attempt and the leader of the Greeks was thrown out of the window.

A bounty was placed on the insurgents who had fled, those who were marginally involved were banished. The property of the Gradenigo and Venier was confiscated. The Senate now tried - the uprising dragged on well into 1366 - a policy of reconciliation. The leaders of the rebellion, however, were dealt with with the greatest severity. This was especially true for Micheletto Falier, a member of the family of that Marin Falier , who ten years earlier as a doge had attempted to overthrow Venice.

Guerrilla warfare

Even after the harsh winter of 1364/65, the rebellion had not finally been stifled. Their leader was now Tito Venier. On August 10th, the rebels declared allegiance to the Byzantine Emperor John V , but they frightened him when they presented themselves as a champion of Orthodoxy against Latin Catholicism . The insurgents withdrew into the mountains and started a guerrilla war.

Now Venice recruited Turkish mercenaries , initially 1,000, later up to 5,000 . Vasmulli , descendants of Latins and Greeks, and slaves were also recruited.

The long-lasting fighting, displacement and murder of the population as well as the burning of the crops still standing on the stalk caused great damage to agriculture, especially in the areas of Canea and Retimo.

Venice now had allies against the remaining insurgents on the island, especially among the influential Greek families. On March 20, 1365, the Rector of Canea and the Proveditor Giovanni Mocenigo received instructions from Venice to support the Kalergis family - under unspecified precautions - because of their loyalty with soldiers against the local rebels. It is unclear whether the Kalergis feared revenge actions for betraying the insurgents.

Apparently the rebels were not only harassing the rural areas, but also the cities of Canea and Retimo, which were only connected to each other by sea. Now the Venetian troops were supposed to destroy the small ships and burn down the crops as well as recruit soldiers. Galleys patrolled the coast at the time, which resulted in high costs.

Almost a year later, on February 5, 1366, five new Proveditors were announced, one for Canea, one for Retimo and three for Candia. You should have a free hand to the last remnants of the rebels (rebelles) to suppress. For this purpose, a strong garrison should be placed in the Kissamos fortress . In fact, three galleys were soon allowed to return to Venice. In April 1366 the leading men of the uprising fell into Venetian hands and were executed. It is not known when the last insurgents gave up.

Victory celebrations

News of the end of the uprising reached Venice on June 4, 1364, when Petrarch was standing at the window of a palace, probably the Palazzo Molina on the Riva degli Schiavoni . It was brought in from a galley that carried the insurgents' flags as booty. On June 12th, Lucchino dal Verme received a letter of thanks. A day later, a letter with the news of victory left the city for Constantinople, because the Bailò was supposed to present it to the emperor. The outgoing letters to the most important potentates were followed by corresponding letters of congratulation from Rome, Hungary, Naples, Taranto and also from Emperor Charles IV.

When Lucchino dal Verme arrived in Venice on June 25, 1364, the city held large-scale celebrations, which Petrarch, who had lived in Venice since 1362, described in a letter. This also included knightly fighting games.

The 10th of May was celebrated every year from 1365 in Candia with processions and horse races. The capital was soon followed by Retimo (Rethymno) and Canea (Chania).

aftermath

From 1367 to 1371 attempts were made to auction the numerous fiefs that had been confiscated. But only 18 nobles, eight “citizens” and two “from the lower classes” were willing to provide the required consideration. The island recovered slowly from the uprising, but the situation of the settlers improved in small steps. However, the realization that the settlers had been overburdened only slowly took hold. After all, in 1374 the fines for late payment of taxes, which had been imposed on the settlers since 1358, were reduced by half.

The Rodia mansion dates back to the 15th century
The St. Mark's Basilica of Candia-Iràklion was built in 1239, but destroyed by earthquakes in 1303 and 1508. Each time it was rebuilt, later used as a mosque, it now houses the Pinakothek.

For the first time, Retimo settlers were allowed to carry out a quarter of the harvest within the colonial empire. As a punishment for the uprising, however, the Lasithi plain was not built on until 1463 - it was not until 1497 that agriculture began again.

The feudal ruling class had suffered heavy losses that could only be partially compensated. This gap was increasingly filled by Greeks. In addition, the unfavorable price structure ensured that many milites concentrated on other agricultural products, such as wine, sugar cane or cheese. In the long term, this reduced the island's dependence on wheat cultivation, but made it more difficult to provide regular supplies to Venice.

Sources and literature

The main source of the uprising is the Liber Secretorum [Collegii] , a collection of letters and resolutions of the power core of Venice, known as the Collegio , which was composed of the Doge , his six councilors and the three presidents of the Supreme Court. It is in the Venice State Archives , Collegio, Lettere Segrete. This compilation was owned by the Florentine Senator Marchese Gino Capponi in the 19th century. He bequeathed it to the State Archives in Venice . Johannes Jegerlehner was able to compile his description of the uprising from this. In addition, there are the resolutions of the Grand Council and the Senate as well as the compilation known as Duca di Candia (Duke of Candia, i.e. Heraklion) from the holdings of the bodies of the Cretan capital. Thereto has Ernst Gerland worked, he published The archive of the Duke of Kandia in the Royal State Archives in Venice , Strasbourg 1899 (in documents on pages 44 to 62), but most are from the period before 1360. Ertragreicher Predellis Diplomatarium Veneto-levantinum , Vol. 2, 1899, 391-428.

The Venetian historiography of the Middle Ages mainly refers to four authors, of whom Raffaino Caresini , Chronica, ad ann. 1363 (Editor Ester Pastorello , Bologna 1922) is the most productive for the uprising.

Scientific work in the modern sense did not appear until the 19th century as part of the extensive overview works. A brief version can be found in the classic work by Samuele Romanin : Storia documentata di Venezia. 10 volumes, Venice 1853–1861, Vol. 3, on pages 217 to 227. In 1904, Jegerlehner again wrote articles on the administrative history of Kandia in the 14th century , in: Byzantinische Zeitschrift 13 (1904) 435–479, which describes the far-reaching regulations of the everyday administrative work. Only Freddy Thiriet : Sui dissidi sorti tra il Comune di Venezia ei suoi feudatari di Creta nel Trecento , in: Archivio Storico Italiano 114 (1956) 699-712, devoted a new contribution to the uprising, without, however, going much beyond what had been collected up to that point.

Literature and Sources

  • David Holton : Literature and Society in Renaissance Crete. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge et al. 1991, ISBN 0-521-32579-X .
  • Johannes Jegerlehner: The revolt of the Kandiotischen knighthood against the motherland Venice. 1363-65. In: Byzantine Journal . Vol. 12, No. 1, 1903, pp. 78–125, doi : 10.1515 / byzs.1903.12.1.78 , (pp. 101 ff .: Part II: documents for the elevation of the Cretans against Venice 1363-1365. ).
  • Sally McKee : Uncommon Dominion. Venetian Crete and the Myth of Ethnic Purity. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia PA 2000, ISBN 0-8122-3562-2 .
  • Sally McKee: The Revolt of St Tito in fourteenth-century Venetian Crete: A reassessment , in: Mediterranean Historical Review 9 (1994) 173-204, doi : 10.1080 / 09518969408569670 .
  • Raimondo Morozzo della Rocca (Ed.): Lettere di Mercanti a Pignol Zucchello. (1336-1350). Il Comitato per la pubblicazione delle fonti relative alla Storia di Venezia, Venice 1957.
  • Hippolyte Noiret (ed.): Documents inédits pour servir à l'histoire de la domination vénitienne en Crète de 1380 à 1485. Tirés des archives de Venises (= Bibliothèque des Écoles Françaises d'Athènes et de Rome. 61, ISSN  0257-4101 ). Thorin, Paris 1892, ( digitized version ).
  • Paola Ratti Vidulich (Ed.): Duca di Candia. Bandi, 1313-1329. Il Comitato per la pubblicazione delle fonti relative alla Storia di Venezia, Venice 1965.
  • Freddy Thiriet (Ed.): Duca di Candia. Ducali e lettere ricevute (1358-1360, 1401-1405). Il Comitato per la pubblicazione delle fonti relative alla storia di Venezia, Venice 1978.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Freddy Thiriet: Deliberations of Assemblées Venitiennes, concernant la Romanie. Volume 1: 1160-1363 (= Documents et recherches sur l'économie des pays byzantins, islamiques et slaves et leurs relations commerciales au Moyen Âge. 8, ISSN  0070-6957 ). Mouton, Paris 1966, No. 516, 26-29. September 1345.
  2. ↑ Smuggling was evidently widespread and, if necessary, was even allowed informally by waiving the penalty for wheat smugglers caught afterwards and not confiscating the wheat. One of numerous examples: Venice State Archives: Cassiere della Bolla Ducale , No. 48, January 13th 1300: There two men from Chioggia who had smuggled 8 Star wheat, had delivered their cargo to a Marino Morosini. The quantity given is a measure of measure , in this case it was a total of around 650 liters of wheat, almost half a ton.
  3. ↑ Tit 1.5  EU . S. a. Letter from Paul to Titus .
  4. ↑ Diether R. Reinsch : Eine Krretische Kleinchronik from the end of the 14th century , in: Byzantinische Zeitschrift 86 / 87,1 (1994) 75-78, doi : 10.1515 / byzs.1994.86-87.1.75 .
  5. ↑ Daniela Rando : De là da mar - Venice's »colonies« from a »postcolonial« perspective , in: Reinhard Härtel (ed.): Akkulturation im Mittelalter , Sigmaringen 2014, pp. 371–393, here: p. 383 ( online , PDF ).
  6. ^ Venice State Archives: Lettere segrete del Collegio (1363-1366). f. 46r.
  7. ^ Venice State Archives: Lettere segrete del Collegio (1363-1366). f. 64v.
  8. ↑ Freddy Thiriet: Deliberations of Assemblées Venitiennes, concernant la Romanie. Volume 1: 1164–1463 (= Documents et recherches sur l'économie des pays byzantins, islamiques et slaves et leurs relations commerciales au Moyen Âge. 11, ISSN  0070-6957 ). Mouton, Paris 1971, No. 773, March 20, 1365, complete transcription pp. 282 f.
  9. ↑ Freddy Thiriet: Deliberations of Assemblées Venitiennes, concernant la Romanie. Volume 1: 1164–1463 (= Documents et recherches sur l'économie des pays byzantins, islamiques et slaves et leurs relations commerciales au Moyen Âge. 11, ISSN  0070-6957 ). Mouton, Paris 1971, no.789, February 5, 1366.
  10. ^ Samuele Romanin : Storia Documentata di Venezia , Vol. 3, Pietro Naratovich, Venice 1855, pp. 225 f.
  11. ^ This is how Heinrich Kretschmayr put it : History of Venice. 3 volumes. Perthes, Gotha 1905 and 1920, Stuttgart 1934, reprint: Scientia, Aalen 1984–1986, ISBN 3-511-01240-6 .
  12. ↑ Freddy Thiriet: Deliberations of Assemblées Venitiennes, concernant la Romanie. Volume 1: 1164–1463 (= Documents et recherches sur l'économie des pays byzantins, islamiques et slaves et leurs relations commerciales au Moyen Âge. 11, ISSN  0070-6957 ). Mouton, Paris 1971, no.822, May 28, 1374.
  13. ^ Sara Paton, Rolf M. Schneider: Imperial Splendor in the Province: Imported Marble on Roman Crete , in: Angelos Chaniotis (ed.): From Minoan Farmers to Roman Traders. Sidelights on the Economy of Ancient Crete , Franz Steiner, Stuttgart 1999, pp. 279-304, here: p. 281.
  14. ↑ Johannes Jegerlehner: The revolt of the Candiotischen knighthood against the motherland Venice. 1363-65. In: Byzantine Journal. Vol. 12, No. 1, 1903, pp. 78-125, here p. 97.
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on November 26, 2008 .