Pirate welfare played a prominent part in Mediterranean life during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Its influence was significant both in the decline of Venice and in the shift of the economic hegemony of Europe. Professor Tenenti maintains that Venice is a fitting focus for study of this period, for the mediterranean became and increasingly a centre of European activity. On one side was Venice which, in spite of a huge navy and a still sizable merchant fleet, observed the strictest neutrality and sought only to protect her trade. On the other were potentially or openly hostile navies, which clashed with one another and frequently also with Venetian shipping. english and Dutch navies forced their way into the area by a combination of trade and piracy and established themselves in positions of great strength. Professor Tenenti analyzes the impact of northern piracy on the trade of the Venetian republic and her failure to resist this threat. During the early seventeenth century Venetian prosperity was irreparably damaged, not only by competition from the north, but also by a severe shipbuilding crisis. He suggests that Venice wa unable to adapt the organization, equipment and discipline of her navy to the changed conditions; for these were spheres in which her pride was particularly strong and tradition enduring. He describes the different types of pirates from the Barbary pirates, the Knights of Malta and the English corsairs to the Uscocchi, whom even sophisticated Venetians regarded as necromancers. The translation of this important work fo Venetian economic history makes a valuable addition to the books on the period available to English readers. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1961.

A history of Venice from the earliest times - Crusades - Ships and navigation - Byzantine and Gothics - Humanism - Renaissance - Merchant shipping - Scuole.

ORIGINALLY published in 1934, this major study by Frederic Lane tracks the rise and decline of the great shipbuilding industry of Renaissance Venice. Drawing on a wealth of archival sources, Lane presents detailed descriptions of the Venetian arsenal, including the great galleys that doubled as cargo ships and warships; the sixteenth-century round ships, which introduced dramatic innovations in rigging and were less vulnerable to attack than the galleys; and the majestic galleons, whose straight lines and greater speed made them ideal for merchantmen but whose narrowness made them liable to capsize if loaded with artillery. Lane also includes vivid accounts of the rivalries between the famous shipbuilders of the period. There was the impassioned competition between Leonardo Bressan and Marco Francesco Rosso to design the quickest, lightest galley—a contest that Bressan won when Rosso was crushed to death; the race between Vettor Fausto and Matteo Bressan to build the best galleon for use against pirates; and the rivalry between Bernardo di Bernardo and Nicolò Palopano to be the master builder of great merchant galleys. Additional chapters detail the actual process of ship construction, from the design stage, to framing and ribbing the hull, to building the rigging; the organization and activity of the shipbuilders craft guilds and the various private shipyards; and the development and management of the Arsenal. Tables and appendixes detail the types, measurements, number, and capacity of the ships, as well as the wages of the shipbuilders.

Ships and Guns brings together experts from the field of historic artillery and underwater archaeologists to present a series of papers which focus on the development of naval ordnance in Europe and, especially, Venice, in the 15th-17th centuries, as exemplified by the maritime archaeological resource. Subjects include Venetian ordnance in shipwrecks of the Mediterranean and Atlantic, the race to develop big calibres in the first war of Morea, Genoese ordnance aboard galleys in the 16th century, the strategic logistics of guns at sea during the Spanish armada of 1588 and ships and guns of the Tudor navy. Often specialists in ordnance study artefacts recovered from wrecks without a complete knowledge of the archaeological context from which they have been recovered. Archaeologists investigating the context of the objects on the other hand, often do so with only a superficial knowledge of historic artillery. This volumes hopes to redress the balance, and also to present a large amount of information, often concerning little-known wrecks, on this important but under-published subject area.

An extraordinary chronicle of Venice, its people, and its grandeur Thomas Madden’s majestic, sprawling history of Venice is the first full portrait of the city in English in almost thirty years. Using long-buried archival material and a wealth of newly translated documents, Madden weaves a spellbinding story of a place and its people, tracing an arc from the city’s humble origins as a lagoon refuge to its apex as a vast maritime empire and Renaissance epicenter to its rebirth as a modern tourist hub. Madden explores all aspects of Venice’s breathtaking achievements: the construction of its unparalleled navy, its role as an economic powerhouse and birthplace of capitalism, its popularization of opera, the stunning architecture of its watery environs, and more. He sets these in the context of the rise and fall of the Byzantine Empire, the endless waves of Crusades to the Holy Land, and the awesome power of Turkish sultans. And perhaps most critically, Madden corrects the stereotype of Shakespeare’s money-lending Shylock that has distorted the Venetian character, uncovering instead a much more complex and fascinating story, peopled by men and women whose ingenuity and deep faith profoundly altered the course of civilization.

This book provides a comprehensive picture of Venice’s shipping industry from the days of glory to its definitive decline, challenging the accepted hierarchy of the political, economic, and environmental factors impacting the history of the maritime republic.

*Includes pictures *Includes contemporary accounts of the Venetian Arsenal *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading "As in the Arsenal of the Venetians Boils in winter the tenacious pitch To smear their unsound vessels over again For sail they cannot; and instead thereof One makes his vessel new, and one recaulks The ribs of that which many a voyage has made One hammers at the prow, one at the stern This one makes oars and that one cordage twists Another mends the mainsail and the mizzen..." - Dante's Inferno The mystical floating city of Venice has inspired awe for generations, and continues to be one of the most visited European cities for good reason. Tourists are drawn to the stunning blend of classical, Gothic, and Renaissance-inspired architecture across the picturesque towns and villages, the charming open-air markets, the mouthwatering traditional cuisine, and of course, the famous gondolas drifting down the twinkling blue waters. While these gondolas, along with the time-honored models of the Venetian vessels docked in the harbors, are one of the city's most defining landmarks, their beginnings are shrouded in a more obscure part of Venetian history. To the first settlers of the unpromising, marshy islands of Venice in the 5th century BCE, it appeared as if any attempt at civilization was doomed to fail. Yet, even with the cards stacked against them, the artful inhabitants mastered the unlivable terrain and slowly pieced together a society that would put the small, unassuming city right on the map. In time, the city evolved into the most powerful maritime empire in all of Europe. And behind this flourishing nautical force was the interconnected system of shipyards and armories - the legendary Venetian Arsenal. The Venetian Arsenal: The History and Legacy of the Weapons Industry that Made Venice the Mediterranean's Strongest Naval Power dives into the city's origin story, and what led up to the birth of the shipping and armory complex. It also examines the community of craftsmen, as well as the arsenal at its zenith, and its inevitable undoing. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Venetian Arsenal like never before.

"Wide-ranging in place and time, yet tightly focused on particular concerns, these new and original specialist articles show how observations on the early history of warfare based on the relatively stable conditions of the late seventeenth century ignore the realities of war at sea in the middle ages and renaissance. In these studies, naval historians firmly grounded in the best current understanding of the period take account of developments in ships, guns and the language of public policy on war at sea, and in so doing give a stimulating introduction to five hundred years of maritime violence in Europe."--BOOK JACKET.

This book provides an alternative understanding to Machiavelli's Renaissance Italy.