5th to 9th Centuries

Roman Empire was split into Eastern and Western Empires.

◦ Roman empire was straining, due to internal strife.

◦ Empire was too large for it to be administered from Rome effectively.

Political Instability

◦ The Western Empire declined due to repeated conflict with tribes outside the empire.

◦ In 476 AD, the western empire collapsed and split into smaller kingdoms and territories.

◦ Venice emerged during this time.

Factor 1: Geography

◦ Venice is located in Northern Italy.

◦ Consists of 120 small islands.

◦ Protected from Adriatic Sea by larger islands.

◦ Venice’s location contributed to its development as a city-state and rise as a maritime empire.

Factor 2: Early Settlers

◦ Many were refugees from Roman cities escaping raids from Germanic tribes.

◦ Early settlers included men who had knowledge of crafts, fishing and salt production.

◦ Small land areas meant could not live on agriculture.

◦ Heavily dependent on food from mainland.

Factor 3: Venetian Society.

◦ Venetians created urban planning to organize the way they lived and worked.

◦ Venice divided into 6 districts. Each district further divided into smaller administrative and social units.

◦ Social gatherings in the church square created opportunities for poor and rich to interact.

◦ Why is this important?

Factor 4: Economic Activities

◦ Venice surrounded by sea, early Venetians took advantage of the sea. (i.e. Salt harvesting and fishing).

◦ Traded salt and fish for grain from the hinterland. Established trade agreements with communities living at the river mouth to supply them with wood.

◦ They used wood to build ships and also to trade with Egypt – obtained more expensive products. Gold, spice and incense.

Factor 5: System of Government

◦ Vassal state but allowed to choose their own leader through elections.

◦ Leader = Doge experienced and chosen from the ruling families of Venice.

◦ Doge assisted by Ducal Council of two advisers.

◦ General Assembly – function was to elect the Doge. Passed laws on essential issues such as housing and trade.

What are the common factors between Singapore and Venice?

◦ Select 4 common factors

Draw two columns and mark them Singapore and Venice.

Divide Rows into Early history, Social Life, Economy and System of government.

What were the reasons for Venice to become a major trading hub in the 5th to the 9th Centuries?

Name four common factors between Singapore and Venice

Piracy◦ By the 10th Century, the Byzantine Empire weakened

and Arabs from the Middle East and North Africa challenged its dominance. Empire could no longer offer protection to Venice.

◦ Venetian navy was ineffective in defeating the pirates and Venice had to resort to paying out “annual gifts” to guarantee safe passage for Venetian ships in the Adriatic Sea.

◦ Ships travelled in convoys to avoid being attacked

◦

Maintaining diplomatic relations

◦ The Kingdoms in the Italian peninsula and the Byzantine Empire were great rivals.

◦ As Venice needed friendly ties with both in order to thrive, Venice maintained a delicate balancing act in having good relations.

◦ Venice became very good at maintaining good relations with rival powers and this continued as relations between the countries and boundaries changed over the centuries

From small trading hub to European Commercial Powerhouse

Retnasamy, Arasumani, Social Studies, Secondary 4 & 5 – A Perfect Guide, Marshall-Cavendish Education, Singapore: 2011

Seah, Josee, - Upper Secondary Social Studies Skills Application for Source-Based case studies & Structured Essay Questions, Wisemann Publishing Pte. Ltd, Singapore: 2009

You have read that Venice grew out of the desperate circumstances after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire

Through hard work and resilience plus a little ingenuity, early settlers of Venice were able to transform it into a commercial capital.

Let’s journey to find out how this was able to take place.

A more stable Europe

◦ After centuries of warfare more stable kingdoms began to be established in this part of Europe.

◦ Steadier food production and even food surplus.◦ Surplus food fuelled trade with other regions.

◦ Many cities became centres of trade and became prosperous.

◦ Prosperity led to the rise of institutes of learning and transformed many cities into centres of art and architecture.

Decline and weakening of the Byzantine Empire

◦ When the Byzantine Empire began to decline, Venice made use of the opportunity to expand its influence in the region.

◦ Venice acquired more trade and territories in the political vacuum created by the weakening of the Empire

Leadership

◦ Several visionary leaders emerged in Venice at that time to steer the country forward.

◦ Two leaders stand out in this area:

Doge Pietro II Orseolo – Established good relations with major powers and used diplomatic skills to settle feuds between rival cities and brought Dalmatian pirates under control – all this boosted trade in Venice.

Doge Enrico Dandolo – used military skills to further weaken the Byzantine Empire and eventually defeated them. Once Byzantines defeated – Venice became the most powerful country in the region.

Good Governance

◦ Adapting to changing times: Venetians realised that the old style of government that they started out with was out-dated and could not meet the demands of a changing society.

◦ Up to 10th Century: Doge, Ducal Council, General Assembly.

◦ After 10th Century: Doge, Ducal Council, The Council of Forty, The Senate, The Great Council and General Assembly

Good Governance (Cont’d)

◦ Creation of the Great Council

Allowed for greater participation of capable men in the governance of Venice.

Stopped rivalry between leading families for top government posts that would have caused the stability of Venice to be affected.

The Great Council gave an opportunity for capable men to participate in decision-making in Venice

Good Governance (Cont’d)

◦ Specialization of Duties

Great Council could not handle the increasing administrative work.

Several other government organizations were set up: Council of Forty and The Senate.

Council of 40 – handled laws, finances and coinage The Senate – took charge of foreign affairs, commerce,

operating the Venetian fleet.

Good Governance (Cont’d)

◦ Maintaining Checks and Balances

Council of Ten – formed in 14th Century. Comprised Doge, six Ducal Councillors and three heads

Formed to stop corruption and abuse of power

Ensured any plots against Venice was put down. Also ensured that no one was above the law and even Doge could be investigated and removed from power if found to be abusing power or was corrupt

Preventing Concentration of Power

◦ To ensure that only the best were elected to powerful positions – A Nominating Committee was formed.

◦ The Nominating Committee ensured:

The process of balloting was done fairly no nominee could campaign for support prevented rivalry bet. Candidates candidates elected based on merit.

What were the key political factors that led to the rise of Venice?

◦ Which one of these in your view was the most important?

◦ Introduction to essay writing….

Lesson 3: Trade, Industrial and Commercial Developments that led to the rise of Venice

Attitude towards trade

◦ Diplomatic skills of the Venetians enabled them to obtain favourable terms such as lower tax rates from the countries they traded with.

◦ Enterprising – able to obtain highly sought after spices from the East.

◦ Venetians constantly explored new trade routes by travelling into uncharted waters in search of new goods and markets.

Innovations in Maritime technology

◦ Venice was able to dominate trade with advanced technology.

◦ The Venetians designed and built superior vessels to meet their sailing needs.

◦ The first Venetian great galley was built in the 13th Century. It was formidable enough to discourage pirates from launching an attack on Venetian trading ships

Efficiency in managing voyages

◦ Voyages were more frequent as Venetian traders were able to travel during winter.

◦ The Senate organized and monitored the schedule of trade voyages. It grouped traders to travel in convoys as it was more profitable to trade in larger quantities.

Overcoming trade competition

◦ Venice and Genoa had conflicts of political and commercial interests.

◦ After a series of wars, Venice defeated Genoa and the Venetians were able to control the Mediterranean Sea.

Trade monopoly

◦ After Venice defeated Genoa, it gained monopoly in the Mediterranean region.

◦ Good strategic location and dominance of the navy allowed Venice to provide a larger variety of goods and reaped huge profits from goods such as spices and sugar and diamonds

Trade related industry

◦ Benefitted the ship-building industry and all the shipbuilders were centralised at a new location – the Arsenal.

◦ The Arsenal was expanded to facilitate production and eventually became the backbone of Venice’s maritime industry and power.

Manufacturing industries

◦ With the increase in trade and wealth, the demand for goods promoted the growth of manufacturing industries such as the glassmaking and printing industries.

◦ With new industries, more jobs were created for the people and Venice continued to prosper.

Double-entry bookkeeping

◦ A useful system to record business transactions.◦ Standardised the credit and debit columns and

entries

Giro-banking

◦ A system which used bank accounts to make or receive payments for business transactions

Venice possessed territories along important trade routes.

These territories were important because they allowed the Venetian great galleys to replenish their supplies without incurring more costs.

Venice’s success at controlling piracy enabled it to consolidate its control over the Adriatic Sea region.

A cosmopolitan city

◦ Foreign traders were attracted to Venice because of the ease at which they could conduct their commercial activities.

◦ Many of these traders settled down in Venice.

◦ There was a serious labour shortage in Venice. ◦ The Venetian government offered special incentives

to attract foreign talent:

E.g. Housing and citizenship to merchants and skilled craftsmen from other parts of Europe to live in Venice.

Artistic achievements

◦ Venice was regarded as a centre of the arts in Europe as great pieces of work were produced by many artists and seen on public buildings in Venice.

◦ One famous form of art was the mosaic tiles which decorated many of the buildings in Venice even to this day.

Scientific and literary developments

◦ Venetians were exposed to ideas related to physics, medicine and psychology.

◦ The pursuit of scientific knowledge led to new areas of study such as astrology and astronomy.

What were the factors that led to the rise of Venice?

Which one of these factors was most instrumental in bringing about the rise of Venice?

From riches to collapse

Europe faced many challenges from the 15th Century onwards:

◦ There were many changes in economic, social and political aspects of life.

◦ Many countries wanted their share of the trade and territories and were willing to go to war to get what they wanted.

Venice’s trade monopoly and prosperity was threatened by these challenges. Venetians were complacent and failed to respond to them.

Mainland Countries

◦ Venice was dependant on the mainland territories for food and essential supplies.

◦ Venice had taken advantage of rivalries amongst the European countries. Its support was not constant and depended on its own interests. European countries started to distrust Venice.

◦ Danger from mainland = Venice increased size of military. Venice population small = recruit more mercenaries.

◦ Frequent wars with mainland – traders and merchants could not use overland routes safely…trade was effected.

The Rise of Ottoman Empire

◦ Ottomans expanded rapidly from Mid-East into Europe, replaced Genoa as Venice’s greatest rival.

◦ Venice’s rivalry with Ottomans drained much of the countries resources and prosperity.

◦ Ottomans gained territories in Adriatic – could launch more attacks on Venice. Venice forced to re-fit trading vessels as naval ships – caused a decline in trade.

◦ Venice fought several wars with Ottomans – these wars drained Venice’s resources and seriously disrupted trade. Venice tried to play-off the rivalry between Ottomans and European states. Earning great contempt of the Europeans.

The League of Cambrai

◦ Venice’s influence, prosperity and insensitivity made it unpopular with many European countries. They wanted to limit the power of Venice.

◦ Spain, Hungary and France formed a military alliance called the League of Cambrai in 1508. Objective: conquer Venetian territories and divide the control of these areas amongst them.

◦ Battle of Agnadello, Venice suffered a great defeat and many of its territories fell to the countries of the League.

◦ Venice attempted to get these back…but these came at a high cost. These wars drained Venice’s resources.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bataille_d%27Agnadel.jpg

Discovery of new trade routes

◦ The 15th Century was the age of exploration as Europeans set off to discover new trade routes.

◦ In 1497, Vasco da Gama (Portuguese) discovered the trade route to India via the Cape of Good Hope. Enabled Portuguese to trade directly with communities in India.

◦ No longer a need to get spices from Venice. Venice monopoly of spice vanished.

◦ Venice continued as a trade centre. Venetian manufactured products such as glass continued to be profitable.

New Trade Rivals

◦ By the 17th Century – Venice faced new trade rivals in the form of Dutch Netherlands and Britain.

◦ The Dutch formed the Dutch East India Company and bypassed Venice to get spices and other goods from the East. The British East India company did the same.

◦ British and Dutch built far superior ships and bought goods in greater quantities from the East.

◦ Venice imposed higher taxes on foreign traders. This caused foreign traders to shun Venice as a port of call.

Incapable Leadership

◦ Venice’s success led to complacency. Venetian officials felt no need to change the system of government that was established in the 12th Century.

◦ Political power concentrated in the hands of a few noble families. By 16th Century a small group of families dominated the government. These families – more interested in preserving their own wealth.

◦ No proper checks on the powers of these families, corruption became inevitable. Rotation of officers – worked well in the past because there were many capable men in Venice – now did not work so well as, when competent officers were rotated incompetent ones took their place.

E.g. Appointment of Nicolo Da Canal and Antonio Grimani as Captain-Generals of the Navy, both proved incompetent. Venice lost many navy battles

Corruption in the Government

◦ Wars with Ottomans and mainland states were costly. Government suspended the salaries of civil servants. This led to some taking bribes.

◦ As the higher positions in government were elected, many poorer nobles sold their votes to richer ones contesting the same posts. This resulted in corruption, as positions were bought and sold.

◦ Led to the entry of many rich but incompetent nobles into important posts in government. These leaders were more concerned with their own interests than with the interests of Venice.

Over-dependence on Mercenaries

◦ In Europe at the time – common practice to hire mercenaries to supplement armed forces.

◦ Venice more dependent, as country was small and dreaded plague reduced the numbers of men who could join the armed forces.

◦ Venice employed mercenaries from all over Europe. These men could not be expected to be loyal to Venice as they fought for whoever paid them the most.

In 1619 some mercenaries plotted to kill the leading nobles of Venice and rob their homes. This proved that they could not be trusted with the defence of Venice.

The rich and powerful Venetians kept away from the poorer Venetians and lived their own luxurious lifestyles.

All Venetians loved taking part in parties and the rich lavish celebrations such as CarnevaleCarnevale which would last for six months.

The Venetians loved gambling and many rich Venetians lost their fortunes in gambling halls (an early form of casinos)

With the Venetians living in their past glories and more interested in living lavish and decadent (corrupt) lifestyles – they became less interested in political and defence needs.

Not prepared to face external threats.

Venice failed to respond effectively to

internal and external changes.

In the 18th Century – France growing power

threatened many European states. Under

the leadership of Napolean Bonaparte, the

French swept across Western Europe and

moved into the Italian peninsula.

As news of the French army descending on Italian states became more certain, a small number of Venetian nobles supported the idea of fighting for their survival.

However, at this period of time, Venice’s

fortresses and armed forces were outdated as compared to the sophistication of the French army.

There were no capable nobles to organize and lead an army to defeat Napoleon’s soldiers.

When Venice was approached by the Italian states to join an alliance against France, it rejected the invitation for fear of provoking France.

Meanwhile a small number of Venetians plotted to overthrow the Venetian ruling government. They were supported by French agents and with their support, Napoleon advanced into Venice.

The venetian commanders who attempted to defend the city-state soon discovered that they did not have the means to defend themselves.

This was made worse by the other nobles’ absence of fighting spirit.

On 12th May 1797, when Napoleon demanded for Venice’s surrender, Doge Ludivico Manin surrendered the city-state to Napoleon without a single shot being fired.

That ended Venice’s sovereignty as an independent city-state. A once-enviable maritime empire was now reduced to a simple island state.

What were the Foreign Threats that caused the decline of Venice?

What were the economic factors that accelerated the decline?

How did political and social challenges cause the decline of Venice?