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Ragusan views of Venetian Rule (1205-1358)

In the centuries following the Visegrad Treaty, political relations between the Republics of Dubrovnik and Venice were subject to oscillation, but in the other fields they blossomed. The Serenissima never recognized Dubrovnik as a republic, but the Ragusan government, freed from political subordination, focused its attention on new diplomatic relations built on equal terms. Although the two republics were constantly on the verge of conflict, economic relations were always maintained. Under the rule of the Hungarian king, the Ragusans freed themselves from the trade and sailing restrictions imposed by Venice, creating favourable grounds for economic upswing and political independence, and at the same time kept good and useful relations with Venice. The end of Venetian rule gave a fresh impetus to Ragusan shipping and maritime development, so that in the 1370s more extensive construction of larger vessels took place. Also, new opportunities for Ragusan trade in the Levant emerged. Pragmatic Ragusan policies towards Venice are described in the letter of the Ragusan government drafted on August 8, 1461, during the upheavals in the southern Adriatic and the growing Ottoman menace. Requesting protection of Ragusan ships en route to Apulia and help against the Turks, the Ragusan government gave the Venetian Signoria the satisfaction of acknowledging their lordship over the Adriatic Sea. The Venetians attached such grave importance to this letter that they registered it under the title Exemplum quarundam litterarum communitatis Ragusii, quibus fatentur, culphum esse illustrissimi dominii Venetiarum. In the course of the sixteenth century, relations remained more or less the same. Venice did not dare to go directly against Dubrovnik, as it was protected by Spain, the Ottoman Empire and the Pope, but persisted in in-tegrating it into its trade system, since it could not establish colonies on the European territory of the Ottoman Empire. The Ragusan government tried to avoid such control and achieve political and economic independence, in which it proved successful. On that and many other occasions, the Ragusan government was mostly concerned with the maintenance of good relations with the Republic of Venice and all the benefits it implied. Remaining loyal to the Hungarian crown, Dubrovnik never discontinued its relations with Venice, which occasionally provoked tensions with the Hungarian court. The sea both republics were wedded to gave them life, economic prosperity and unavoidable communication with each other. Alongside seafaring and trade, a similarity of social relations and cultural atmosphere in that part of the Mediterranean contributed significantly to their closeness.

Dubrovnik, Venice, Middle Ages, politcs, economy, chronicles

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