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    Memo Submitted by Avinash

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    Nishi
    This memo summarizes a chapter about the merchant mariners of Genoa and Venice from the 11th-14th centuries. It discusses how Genoa and Venice originated as port cities and expanded their trade networks through involvement in the Crusades. Both cities established trading colonies throughout the Mediterranean and grew wealthy. Technological advances like improved ships and the compass allowed their trade to expand further. Though both engaged in state-supported and private trade, Venice had a stronger state role while Genoa relied more on private partnerships. In the 13th-14th centuries Genoa and Venice competed for control of trade but both were impacted by the plague in the mid-14th century, with populations and economic activity declining severely.

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    Memo Submitted by Avinash

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    Nishi
    52 views4 pages
    This memo summarizes a chapter about the merchant mariners of Genoa and Venice from the 11th-14th centuries. It discusses how Genoa and Venice originated as port cities and expanded their trade networks through involvement in the Crusades. Both cities established trading colonies throughout the Mediterranean and grew wealthy. Technological advances like improved ships and the compass allowed their trade to expand further. Though both engaged in state-supported and private trade, Venice had a stronger state role while Genoa relied more on private partnerships. In the 13th-14th centuries Genoa and Venice competed for control of trade but both were impacted by the plague in the mid-14th century, with populations and economic activity declining severely.

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    This memo summarizes a chapter about the merchant mariners of Genoa and Venice from the 11th-14th centuries. It discusses how Genoa and Venice originated as port cities and expanded their trade networks through involvement in the Crusades. Both cities established trading colonies throughout the Mediterranean and grew wealthy. Technological advances like improved ships and the compass allowed their trade to expand further. Though both engaged in state-supported and private trade, Venice had a stronger state role while Genoa relied more on private partnerships. In the 13th-14th centuries Genoa and Venice competed for control of trade but both were impacted by the plague in the mid-14th century, with populations and economic activity declining severely.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    52 views4 pages

    Memo Submitted by Avinash

    Uploaded by

    Nishi
    This memo summarizes a chapter about the merchant mariners of Genoa and Venice from the 11th-14th centuries. It discusses how Genoa and Venice originated as port cities and expanded their trade networks through involvement in the Crusades. Both cities established trading colonies throughout the Mediterranean and grew wealthy. Technological advances like improved ships and the compass allowed their trade to expand further. Though both engaged in state-supported and private trade, Venice had a stronger state role while Genoa relied more on private partnerships. In the 13th-14th centuries Genoa and Venice competed for control of trade but both were impacted by the plague in the mid-14th century, with populations and economic activity declining severely.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 4

    Memo

    Submitted by Avinash (S213DEC12)


    On Dated – 25th AUG. 2022
    Memo on chapter 4 -The Merchant Mariners of Genoa and Venice

    The author Janet L. Abu-Lughod starts the discussion with origin of the two port
    cities, the one is Venice and the other is Genoa.
    Genoa is a harbor town with mountain base which was settled in 5th century BCE.
    The crusade commenced in this city at tenth century, where Genoa indulges in
    war against Muslims state. They received independence at the end of eleventh
    century and formed an association of citizens 10 consuls.
    Venice was established in 568, that time it was attached to Byzantium and due to
    this Venice was protected from Lombard's. Venice trade salt, fish, timber and
    slaves to their neighboring countries or states. They broke the blockade of
    Norman Kingdom and also they rescue the Byzantine fleet from enemies.
    Areas Covered by Genoa and Venice before Eleventh Century
    Genoa lies on the west coast of Italy; from there they commanded the western
    basin of the Mediterranean Sea. Genoa was gained significant trading from the
    Spain of Muslims community and North Africa. Whereas, the venetians of Venice
    strengthen their skills of communication in eastern basin of Mediterranean Sea.
    They also gain the access to ports of Aegean island as well as Constantinople and
    black sea.
    After this, Author discuss about the impacts of crusades on the two port cities.
    The Crusades leads the European region on the path of world economy. Genoese
    and Pisan ships came to rescue of French, Flemish and other European knights.
    Who had eagerly answered pope urban the second’s call for the “recon quest of
    holy land from Muslims. According to the relative level of civilization in Europe
    and the Levant, the crusaders are more akin to barbarians, who periodically
    preyed on the settled wealth of high cultures than to carriers of the Mission
    Civilisatrice. Moreover, crusaders helped the European economy by crushing their
    enemies in their own land; venetians also joined the hands with crusaders and
    help them in eliminating Jerusalem and Muslims population.
    As per the promise after the crusades both cities got some rewards, like, Genoa
    got one-third of city and suburbs of acre, one-fourth part of Jerusalem and of
    Jaffa. And Venice got one-third of town’s land, special trading concessions and
    allowed to form their own quarters.

    After receiving the rewards


    Genoa and Venetians, begun the long process of tipping the fulcrum of world
    system. In this competition the Italy gets an upper hand as both cities are integral
    part of it. But, this process of domination depends on some process.

    Colonial Expansion Aboard


    During 12th Century, Italians expanded their reach for more profitable terms of
    trade. By 1187 Muslims reoccupied Tiberius, Jaffa and Jerusalem. After five years
    situation normalized, traders re-established their colonies. Competition between
    the Italians and the Byzantine "Greeks" Increased in 1182 in Constantinople.
    The Fourth Crusade Of 1204
    In 1202, crusader forces were renting ships to take them to Egypt and then the
    holy land. Those who reached were not able to raise the fee demanded by
    venetians. A compromise was reached; reduction in price, they agreed to first
    travel to Zara to recapture the city.
    The 13th Century was a period of intense activity for the Venetians in Europe.
    They were conquering Asia and claiming her spice trade in 14th and 15th
    Centuries. Venice was the dominant force controlling Europeans access to spices
    and silks of Asia.

    New Technologies at Sea


    There was a heightened demand for ships to carry the thousands of pilgrims
    heading for the Holy Land. As commerce expanded, the size of the ships kept on
    increasing. The Italians used different types of ships varying in their
    maneuverability and storage capacity to serve different purposes. Due to these
    reasons, there was shipbuilding frenzy in the 12th and 13th century in Italy. All-
    weather sailing was a big breakthrough as before this sailing was possible only in
    summers. The Italians created nautical charts and navigation tables of high
    accuracy. Although the Chinese had long been using floating magnetic needles on
    their ships. Its adoption by the Italians in the form of a compass was really an
    improvement. The pooling of ships was one such important development. It was
    done to reduce hazards which were due to the wars on the high seas. All sailors
    were also fighters and the ships travelled together in caravans. This paved the
    way for the pooling of capital, which led to economic growth and the emergence
    of modern capitalism.

    Now, author discusses the alliance between the state and private capitalism.
    In Venice, the arrangements were closer to state capitalism with a strong sub
    component of individual enterprise. In Genoa, individual citizens were more
    involved than the state in direct investment. This variation is possibly derived
    from the difference in the origin of the two cities. Venice's elite class was less
    fractured by interfamily feuds and competitive struggles that plagued other city-
    states like Genoa. The nobility was derived from a landowning class that came
    from the hinterlands. This resulted in a perpetuation of old rural military conflicts
    into modern urban competition. In Venice, a municipal facility for shipbuilding
    The Venice Arsenal was set up, with most of the ships being built by the
    assistance of the wealthy families. In Genoa, shipbuilding was financed by
    privately pooled capital while the state played a regulatory and facilitating role.
    Another crucial institution to observe the variation is that of public debt. In
    Venice, forced loans emerged to finance large campaigns and debt was levied as a
    percentage of family wealth. In Genoa, the loans were subscribed voluntarily in
    the form of purchases of shares.

    Changes in the System of Trade, 1260 to 1350


    Genoa's recovery signaled a renewed struggle between two "superpowers" when
    the Genoese, poised for the kill on the Venetian island of Chioggia, were
    eventually vanquished. In 13th and 14th century, both expanded their reach to
    incorporate virtually every port of the developing European world economy.
    Linking to vital eastern trade that connected Asia Minor to china, Egypt to India,
    Malaysia and China, Western Europe finally entered this trading system.
    The Mid-Century Depression
    Using Venice and Genoa as examples, there are numerous methods to trace the
    consequences of increased commerce in the first half of the fourteenth century
    and the economic collapse that followed the Bubonic Plague in the mid-century.
    Effects on population, in 1500 the population of Venice was about the same size
    as it had been two hundred years earlier. Genoa suffered a similar fall by 1350 her
    population about 60% of what it had in 1341.
    Effects on physical changes in port facilities, In Venice, work on the waterfront
    was finally completed in 1324 after this no further improvements were made until
    1414. No changes made in Genoa’s harbor after 1328 until 1461.
    Declining size of convoys, in 1330’s 8-10 galleys sailed to Romania and black sea.
    Reason attributed early to Italy, difficult to attribute Genoa later collapse, Genoa
    poorly positioned to mobilize communal wealth to create a safety net for its
    merchant. Venice provides subsidies and insurance to its merchants, this is the
    advantage of Venice over Genoa.

    Lessons from Genoa and Venice


    Singapore, Hong Kong today, no less than champagne fairs of 13 th century. The
    textile towns of Flanders and port through which their goods were exported,
    Bruges. Routes of transportation are transversible and safety of goods without
    high protection costs.

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