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127-557: The Republic of Ragusa was an aristocratic maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik ( Ragusa in Italian and Latin; Raguxa in Venetian) in South Dalmatia (today in southernmost Croatia ) that carried that name from 1358 until 1808. It reached its commercial peak in the 15th and the 16th centuries, before being conquered by Napoleon 's French Empire and formally annexed by

254-557: A characterizing trait was the mixture of elements of the various Mediterranean artistic traditions, mainly Byzantine , Islamic and Romanesque elements. The modern Italian communities living in Greece, Turkey, Lebanon , Gibraltar , and Crimea descend, at least in part, from the colonies of the maritime republics, as well as the language island of the Tabarchino dialect in Sardinia and

381-739: A commercial triangle between the Arab East, the Byzantine Empire, and Italy. Until the discovery of America they were therefore essential nodes of trade between Europe and the other continents. Among the most important products were: The maritime republics' great prosperity deriving from trade had a significant impact on the history of art, to the point that five of them (Amalfi, Genoa, Venice, Pisa and Ragusa) are today included in UNESCO 's list of World Heritage Sites . Although an artistic current common to all of them and exclusive to them cannot be described,

508-621: A dilemma. The nearby Bay of Kotor was a Venetian frontier against the Ottomans. But while France held the land, the United Kingdom and Russia held the sea; and while French troops marched from Austerlitz to Dalmatia, eleven Russian ships of the line entered the Bay of Kotor, and landed 6,000 men, later supported by 16,000 Montenegrins under Petar I Petrović-Njegoš . As 5,000 Frenchmen under General Molitor marched southwards and peacefully took control of

635-538: A force under General Todor Milutinović offering to help their Ragusan allies. However, as was soon shown, their intention was to in fact replace the French occupation of Ragusa with their own. Seducing one of the temporary governors of the Republic, Biagio Bernardo Caboga , with promises of power and influence (which were later cut short and who died in ignominy, branded as a traitor by his people), they managed to convince him that

762-470: A leading role in this development. As many as six of these cities — Amalfi, Venice, Gaeta, Genoa, Ancona, and Ragusa — began their own history of autonomy and trade after being almost destroyed by terrible looting, or were founded by refugees from devastated lands. These cities, exposed to pirate raids and neglected by central powers, organized their own defence autonomously, coupling the exercise of maritime trade with that of their armed protection. Thus, in

889-507: A loan of 300,000 francs. It was clearly blackmail (a similar episode occurred in 1798, when a Revolutionary French fleet threatened invasion if the Republic did not pay a huge contribution). The Ragusan government instructed the emissaries to inform Molitor that the Russians told the Republic quite clearly that should any French troops enter Ragusan territory, the Russians and their Montenegrin allies would proceed to pillage and destroy every part of

1016-549: A long life, remaining independent until the Renaissance . Amalfi and Gaeta were instead the first to fall, having been conquered by the Normans in the 12th century. As highlighted in the following chronological table, the number of maritime republics has changed over the centuries, as follows: The following table compares the different duration of the maritime republics, their golden periods (indicated with more intense colours), and

1143-410: A republican order, and Amalfi, which became a duchy in 945, are also called maritime republics, as the term republic should not be understood in its modern meaning: until Machiavelli and Kant , "republic" was synonymous with "State", and was not opposed to monarchy. The Crusades offered the opportunity to expand trade. Amalfi, Genoa, Venice, Pisa, Ancona and Ragusa were already engaged in trade with

1270-470: A sandy shore to pull their ships out of the water for the rest period during the night. An ideal combination would have a fresh water source in the vicinity. Dubrovnik had both, being halfway between the Greek settlements of Budva and Korčula , which are 95 nautical miles (176 km; 109 mi) apart. During its first centuries the city was under the rule of the Byzantine Empire. The Saracens laid siege to

1397-505: A second raid by the Slavs in 656 resulted in the total destruction of Epidaurum. Slavs settled along the coast in the 7th century. The Slavs named their settlement Dubrovnik . The Byzantines and Slavs had an antagonistic relationship, though by the 12th century the two settlements had merged. The channel that divided the city was filled, creating the present-day main street (the Stradun ) which became

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1524-542: Is also the first official document where the city is referred to as Dubrovnik . In 1202, the Venetian Republic invaded Dalmatia with the forces of the Fourth Crusade , and Ragusa was forced to pay tribute. Ragusa began supplying Venice with products such as hides, wax, silver, and other metals. Venice used the city as its naval base in the southern Adriatic Sea . The Venetians used Ragusa as an important base for

1651-747: Is derived from the word dubrava , "an oak grove," by a folk etymology . The name Dubrovnik of the Adriatic city is first recorded in the Charter of Ban Kulin (1189). It came into use alongside Ragusa as early as the 14th century. The Latin , Italian and Dalmatian name Ragusa maybe derives its name from Lausa (from the Greek ξαυ : xau , "precipice"); it was later altered to Rausium , Rhagusium , Ragusium or Rausia (even Lavusa , Labusa , Raugia and Rachusa ) and finally into Ragusa . Another theory

1778-557: Is no evidence of the size of their estates, the nobles, undoubtedly, were in possession of most of the land. Eleven members of the Sorgo family, eight of Gozze, six of Ghetaldi , six of Pozza , four of Zamagna and three of the Saraca family were among the greatest landowners. The citizens belonging to the confraternities of St. Anthony and St. Lazarus owned considerable land outside the city. After seven years of French occupation, encouraged by

1905-491: Is that the term "Ragusa" derivatives from or is related to Proto-Albanian *rāguša meaning 'grape' (compare Modern-Albanian rrush (meaning "grape")), according to V. Orel . The official change of name from Ragusa to Dubrovnik came into effect after World War I. It is known in historiography as the Republic of Ragusa . The Republic ruled a compact area of southern Dalmatia – its final borders were formed by 1426 – comprising

2032-596: The De Administrando Imperio of the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos , the city was founded, probably in the 7th century, by the inhabitants of the Greek city of Epidaurum (modern Cavtat) after its destruction by the Avars and Slavs c. 615. Some of the survivors moved 25 kilometres (16 miles) north to a small island near the coast where they founded a new settlement, Lausa. It has been claimed that

2159-720: The Congress of Vienna decreed Genoa's annexation to the Kingdom of Sardinia . The artistic importance of Genoa has been recognized by UNESCO by listing the Strade Nuove and the complex of the Palazzi dei Rolli among the World Heritage Sites . The indissoluble link between Genoa and navigation is testified by Lancelotto Malocello , by Vandino and Ugolino Vivaldi , and most prominently by Christopher Columbus . Epidaurum During

2286-471: The Duchy of Milan . The republic was weakened by the state's own arrangement, which, based on private agreements between the main families, led to incredibly short and unstable governments and very frequent factional strife. Following the plagues and foreign dominations of the 14th and 15th centuries, the city experienced a second apogee upon regaining self-government in 1528 through the efforts of Andrea Doria , to

2413-659: The First Crusade , which procured great privileges for the Genoese colonists in the Holy Land . The apogee of Genoese fortunes came in the 13th century, following the Treaty of Nymphaeum (1261) and the double victory over Pisa ( Battle of Meloria (1284) ) and Venice ( Battle of Curzola (1298)). "The Superb", a name for the city derived from Petrarch 's work Itinerarium breve de Ianua ad Ierusalem (1358) in which he described it, dominated

2540-579: The Garigliano (915). At the dawn of AD 1000 , Amalfi was the most prosperous city of Longobardia , and in terms of population (probably 80,000 inhabitants) and prosperity, the only one able to compete with the great Arab metropolises: it minted its own gold coin, the tarì , which was current in all the main Mediterranean ports; the Amalfian Laws , a code of maritime law which remained in force throughout

2667-823: The Gothic and Renaissance styles – palaces, churches and monasteries – were destroyed. Of the city's major public buildings, only the Sponza Palace and the front part of the Rector's Palace at Luža Square survived. Gradually the city was rebuilt in the more modest Baroque style. With great effort, Ragusa recovered a bit but still remained a shadow of the former Republic. In 1677 Marin Caboga (1630–1692) and Nikola Bunić (ca. 1635–1678) arrived in Constantinople in an attempt to avert an imminent threat to Ragusa: Kara-Mustafa's pretensions for

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2794-668: The Levant , but with the Crusades thousands of inhabitants of the seaside cities poured into the East, creating warehouses, colonies and commercial establishments. They exercised great political influence at the local level: Italian merchants set up trade associations in their business centers with the aim of obtaining jurisdictional, fiscal and customs privileges from foreign governments. Only Venice, Genoa and Pisa had territorial expansion overseas, i.e. they possessed large regions and numerous islands along

2921-993: The Mediterranean . Moreover, the discovery of the Americas started a crisis in Mediterranean shipping. This was the beginning of the decline of both the Venetian and Ragusan republics. Charles VIII of France granted trading rights to the Ragusans in 1497, and Louis XII in 1502. In the first decade of the 16th century, Ragusan consuls were sent to France while their French counterparts were sent to Ragusa. Prominent Ragusans in France included Simon de Benessa, Lovro Gigants, D. de Bonda, Ivan Cvletković, captain Ivan Florio, Petar Lukarić (Petrus de Luccari), Serafin Gozze, and Luca de Sorgo. The Ragusan aristocracy

3048-719: The Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea and controlled a large part of Liguria , Corsica , the Sardinian Judicate of Logudoro , the North Aegean , and southern Crimea . The 14th century marked a serious economic, political and social crisis for Genoa, which, weakened by internal strife, lost Sardinia to the Aragonese, was defeated by Venice at Alghero (1353) and Chioggia (1379) and subjected several times to France and to

3175-724: The Middle Ages , date back to that time; in Jerusalem, the noble merchant Mauro Pantaleone built the hospital from which the Knights Hospitaller would originate. The far-sighted dukes of Amalfi were able to safeguard their power over the centuries, allying themselves, depending on the circumstances, with the Byzantines, the Pope, or the Muslims. On the basis of an erroneous reading of a passage by

3302-463: The Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1808. It had a population of about 30,000 people, of whom 5,000 lived within the city walls. Its motto was " Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro ", a Latin phrase which can be translated as "Liberty is not well sold for all the gold". Originally named Communitas Ragusina (Latin for "Ragusan municipality" or "community"), in the 14th century it

3429-468: The Ottoman Empire defining its status. In 1458, the Republic signed a treaty with the Ottomans which made it a tributary of the sultan . Under the treaty, the Republic owed the sultan "fidelity", "truthfulness", and "submission", and an annual tribute, which was in 1481 defined at 12,500 gold coins. The sultan guaranteed to protect Ragusa and granted them extensive trading privileges. Under the agreement,

3556-609: The Ploče Gates . After almost eight years of occupation, the French troops marched out of Dubrovnik on 27 and 28 January 1814. On the afternoon of 28 January 1814, the Austrian and British troops made their way into the city through the Pile Gates. With Caboga's support, General Milutinović ignored the agreement he had made with the nobility in Gruž. The events which followed can be best epitomized in

3683-720: The War of Austrian succession (1741–48) and in the Seven Years' War (1756–63). In 1783, the Ragusan Council did not answer the proposition put forward by their diplomatic representative in Paris, Frano Favi , that they should establish diplomatic relations with America, although the Americans agreed to allow Ragusan ships free passage in their ports. The first years of the French war were prosperous for Ragusa. The flag of Saint Blaise being neutral,

3810-448: The de facto freedom acquired, the other to that of law. From an institutional point of view, in line with their municipal origins, the maritime cities were oligarchic republics, generally governed, in a more or less declared manner, by the main merchant families. The governments were therefore an expression of the merchant class, which constituted the backbone of their power. For this reason, these cities are sometimes referred to with

3937-429: The "causes of the rapid resurgence of Italian maritime trade - Amalfi, Venice, Genoa, Ancona, Pisa" and the "Settlement of the great Italian Navy". For the second class, at the beginning of the year, the teacher was arranged to recall the period in which the maritime republics grew and flourished. Every time the school programs were renewed, the study of the phenomenon of the maritime republics was always confirmed. In 1875,

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4064-462: The 13th century, and Ancona and Ragusa allied to resist Venetian power. Following the 14th century, while Pisa declined to the point of losing its autonomy, Venice and Genoa continued to dominate navigation, followed by Ragusa and Ancona, which experienced their golden age in the 15th century. In the 16th century, with Ancona's loss of autonomy, only the republics of Venice, Genoa, and Ragusa remained, which still experienced great moments of splendor until

4191-456: The 1811 decree abolished the centuries-old institution of fideicommissum in inheritance law, by which the French enabled younger noblemen to participate in that part of the family inheritance, which the former law had deprived them of. According to an 1813 inventory of the Ragusan district, 451 land proprietors were registered, including ecclesiastical institutions and the commune. Although there

4318-619: The 19th century, generally refers to four Italian cities, whose coats of arms have been shown since 1947 on the flags of the Italian Navy and the Italian Merchant Navy: Amalfi , Genoa , Pisa , and Venice . In addition to the four best known cities, Ancona , Gaeta , Noli , and, in Dalmatia , Ragusa , are also considered maritime republics; in certain historical periods, they had no secondary importance compared to some of

4445-461: The 7th century. Refugees from Epidaurus fled to the nearby island Laas or Laus (meaning "stone" in Greek), from which Ragusa (through rhotacism ) was founded, which over time evolved into Dubrovnik . Several Roman inscriptions are found amongst its ruins: the sepulchre of P. Cornelius Dolabella, who was the consul under Augustus and governor of Illyricum , and the remains of an aqueduct . In

4572-479: The 9th and 10th centuries, this phenomenon began with Amalfi and Gaeta, which soon reached their heyday. Meanwhile, Venice began its gradual ascent, while the other cities were still experiencing the long gestation that would lead them to their autonomy and to follow up on their seafaring vocation. After the 11th century, Amalfi and Gaeta declined rapidly, while Genoa and Venice became the most powerful republics. Pisa followed and experienced its most flourishing period in

4699-450: The 9th, 10th, and 11th centuries, they were able to go on the offensive, obtaining numerous victories over the Saracens , starting with the historic Battle of Ostia in 849. The traffic of these cities reached Africa and Asia, effectively inserting itself between the Byzantine and Islamic maritime powers, with which a complex relationship of competition and collaboration was established for

4826-462: The Adriatic trade on behalf of the Ottomans, and its merchants received special tax exemptions and trading benefits from the Porte . It also operated colonies that enjoyed extraterritorial rights in major Ottoman cities. Merchants from Ragusa could enter the Black Sea , which was otherwise closed to non-Ottoman shipping. The Ragusan merchants paid less in customs duties than other foreign merchants, and

4953-473: The Adriatic. Until that be effected, he will retain possession of Ragusa; but is there anyone who will believe, that if there was not a Russian flag or stand of colours to be seen in Albania, or on the Adriatic, that he would reestablish that Republic in its former independence?" Almost immediately after the beginning of the French occupation, Russian and Montenegrin troops entered Ragusan territory and began fighting

5080-504: The Amalfi people against Salerno, conquered the duchy. Amalfi remained substantially autonomous and often rebelled against the regents until 1100, when the last duke Marinus Sebastus was deposed by the Normans. This left Amalfi only an administrative autonomy, later revoked in 1131 by Roger II of Sicily . After the Norman conquest, the decline was not immediate, becoming in the meantime a seaport of

5207-635: The Arabs and founded mercantile bases in Southern Italy , North Africa and the Middle East in the 10th century. In the 11th century, Amalfi reached the height of its maritime power and had warehouses in Constantinople , Laodicea , Beirut , Jaffa , Tripoli of Syria , Cyprus , Alexandria , Ptolemais , Baghdad , and India . Amalfi's land borders extended from the Sarno River to Vietri sul Mare , while to

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5334-477: The Bay of Kotor and soon decided to order the occupation of the Republic. Upon entering Ragusan territory and approaching the capital, the French General Jacques Lauriston demanded that his troops be allowed to rest and be provided with food and drink in the city before continuing on to Kotor. However, this was a deception because as soon as they entered the city, they proceeded to occupy it in

5461-648: The Dalmatians to rise and expel the Russian–Montenegrin force, which met with a feeble response. Only three hundred men joined him, but a stratagem made up for his deficiency of numbers. A letter, seemingly confidential, was dispatched to General Lauriston in Ragusa, announcing his proximate arrival to raise the siege with such a force of Dalmatians as must overwhelm the Russians and the vast Montenegrin army; which letter was, as intended by Molitor, intercepted and believed by

5588-408: The French army, raiding and pillaging everything along the way and culminating in a siege of the occupied city during which 3,000 cannonballs fell on the city. The environs, thick with villas, the results of a long prosperity, were plundered, including half a million sterling . The city was in the utmost straits; General Molitor, who had advanced within a few days' march of Ragusa, made an appeal to

5715-452: The Mediterranean coasts. Genoa and Venice also came to dominate their entire region and part of the neighboring ones, becoming capitals of regional states. Venice was then the only one to dominate territories very far from the coast, up to occupying eastern Lombardy. Amalfi, Gaeta, Ancona, Ragusa and Noli, on the other hand, extended their dominion only to a part of the territory of their region, configuring themselves as city-states; however, all

5842-526: The Mediterranean, giving them an essential role in reestablishing contacts between Europe , Asia , and Africa , which had been interrupted during the early Middle Ages. They also had an essential role in the Crusades and produced renowned explorers and navigators such as Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus . Over the centuries, the maritime republics — both the best known and the lesser known but not always less important — experienced fluctuating fortunes. In

5969-415: The Norman-Swabian state. However, the commercial basin of Amalfi was reduced to the western Mediterranean and gradually the city was supplanted, locally by Naples and Salerno, and at the Mediterranean level by Pisa, Venice and Genoa. Genoa had revived at the dawn of the 10th century when, following the city's destruction by the Saracens, its inhabitants returned to the sea. In the mid-10th century, entering

6096-528: The Ottoman Empire so that the Republic of Venice would be unable to attack from land, only from the sea. One of them, the northwestern land border with the small town of Neum, is today the only outlet of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Adriatic Sea. The southeastern border village of Sutorina later became part of Montenegro , which has a coastline to the south. After the treaty, Neum and Sutorina were attached to Sanjak of Herzegovina of Bosnia Eyalet . Ragusa continued its policy of strict neutrality in

6223-412: The Ottoman Empire was at war. Along with England, Spain and Genoa , Ragusa was one of Venice's most damaging competitors in the 15th century on all seas, even in the Adriatic. Thanks to its proximity to the plentiful oak forests of Gargano , it was able to bid cargoes away from the Venetians. With the Portuguese explorations which opened up new ocean routes, the spice trade no longer went through

6350-438: The Ottomans in 1684 Ragusa sent emissaries to Emperor Leopold in Vienna, hoping that the Austrian Army would capture Bosnia. Unfortunately for the Republic, the Ottomans retained control over their hinterland. In the Treaty of Karlowitz (1699), the Ottomans ceded large territories to the victorious Habsburgs , Venetians, Poles , and Russians , but retained Herzegovina . The Republic of Ragusa ceded two patches of its coast to

6477-407: The Ottomans were defeated in the Battle of Kahlenberg outside Vienna. The field marshal of the Austrian army was Ragusan Frano Đivo Gundulić . In 1684, the emissaries renewed an agreement contracted in Visegrád in the year 1358 and accepted the sovereignty of Habsburg as Hungarian Kings over Ragusa, with an annual tax of 500 ducats. At the same time, Ragusa continued to recognize the sovereignty of

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6604-408: The Ottomans, a common arrangement at the time. This opened up greater opportunities for Ragusa ships in ports all along the Dalmatian coast, in which they anchored frequently. After this, Venice captured a part of Ragusa's inland area and approached its borders. They presented the threat of completely surrounding and cutting off Ragusa's trade inland. In view of this danger and anticipating the defeat of

6731-446: The Republic became one of the chief carriers of the Mediterranean. The Continental Blockade was the life of Ragusa; and before the rise of Lissa the manufacturers of England, excluded from the ports of France, Italy, Holland, and Germany, found their way to the center of Europe through Saloniki and Ragusa. The Battle of Austerlitz and the consequent peace treaty , having compelled Austria to hand over Dalmatia to France, put Ragusa in

6858-409: The Republic, and also to inform him that the Republic could neither afford to pay such an amount of money, nor could it raise such an amount from its population without the Russians being alerted, provoking an invasion. Even though the emissaries managed to persuade General Molitor not to violate Ragusan territory, Napoleon was not content with the stalemate between France and Russia concerning Ragusa and

6985-430: The annexation of Ragusa to the Ottoman Empire. The Grand-Vizier, struck with the capacity Marin showed in the arts of persuasion and acquainted with his resources in active life, resolved to deprive his country of so able a diplomat, and on 13 December he was imprisoned, where he was to remain for several years. In 1683, Kara-Mustafa was killed in the attacks on Vienna , and Marin was soon free to return to Ragusa. In 1683

7112-413: The besieging Russians. With his force thinly scattered, to make up a show, Molitor now advanced towards Ragusa, and turning the Montenegrin position in the valley behind, threatened to surround the Russians who occupied the summit of the hill between him and the city; but seeing the risk of this, the Russians retreated back towards the Bay of Kotor, and the city was relieved. The Montenegrin army had followed

7239-428: The better known cities. Uniformly scattered across the Italian peninsula, the maritime republics were important not only for the history of navigation and commerce: in addition to precious goods otherwise unobtainable in Europe, new artistic ideas and news concerning distant countries also spread. From the 10th century, they built fleets of ships both for their own protection and to support extensive trade networks across

7366-404: The circumstance to stand upon its own unqualified foundations of state necessity and the right of the strongest. A very important fact is, however, disclosed in this Proclamation. It is not the surrender of Cattaro, it seems, that will satisfy the Emperor of the French. He looks forward to the evacuation of Corfu, and the whole of the Seven Islands, as well as the retreat of the Russian squadron from

7493-485: The city centre. Thus, Dubrovnik became the Slavic name for the united town. There are recent theories based on excavations that the city was established much earlier, at least in the 5th century and possibly during the Ancient Greek period (as per Antun Ničetić, in his book Povijest dubrovačke luke ). The key element in this theory is the fact that ships in ancient time traveled about 45 to 50 nautical miles (83 to 93 km; 52 to 58 mi) per day, and mariners required

7620-413: The city in 866–867 ; it lasted for fifteen months and was raised due to the intervention of Byzantine Emperor Basil I , who sent a fleet under Niketas Ooryphas in relief. Ooryphas' "showing of the flag" had swift results, as the Slavic tribes sent envoys to the Emperor, once more acknowledging his suzerainty. Basil dispatched officials, agents and missionaries to the region, restoring Byzantine rule over

7747-461: The city in 948 failed. The citizens of the city attributed this to Saint Blaise , whom they adopted as their patron saint. The city remained under Byzantine domination until 1204, with the exception of periods of Venetian (1000–1030) and later Norman (1081–1085, 1172, 1189–1190) rule. In 1050, Croatian king Stjepan I (Stephen) made a land grant along the coast that extended the boundaries of Ragusa to Zaton , 16 km (10 mi) north of

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7874-437: The city of Amalfi to the East is also testified by the art that flourished in the centuries of independence and in which Byzantine and Arab-Norman influences harmoniously merged. Towards the middle of the 11th century, the power of the duchy began to fade: in 1039, due to internal strife, it was conquered by Guaimar IV of Salerno , who would be expelled in 1052 by his brother John II . In 1073, Robert Guiscard , summoned by

8001-418: The city of Cavtat, was added to the Republic's possessions. In the first half of the 15th century Cardinal Ivan Stojković ( Johannes de Carvatia ) was active in Dubrovnik as a Church reformer and writer. During the peak of trade relations between the Bosnian kingdom and other neighboring regions, the largest caravan trade route was established between Podvisoki and Ragusa. This trading activity culminated in

8128-450: The city retained most of its independence. The people, however, resented the ever-growing tribute. In the middle of the 13th century the island of Lastovo was added to the original territory. On 22 January 1325, Serbian king Stefan Uroš III issued a document for the sale of his maritime possessions of the city of Ston and peninsula of Pelješac to Ragusa. In 1333, during the rule of Serbian king Stefan Dušan (Stefan Uroš IV, r. 1331–1355),

8255-427: The city successfully resisted both the royal and ban authority. In 1399, the city acquired the area between Ragusa and Pelješac, called the Primorje (Dubrovačko primorje) with Slano (lat. Terrae novae ). It was purchased from Bosnian King Stephen Ostoja . A brief war with Bosnia in 1403 and 1404 ended with Bosnian withdrawal. Between 1419 and 1426, the Konavle region, south of Astarea (Župa dubrovačka), including

8382-469: The city-state enjoyed diplomatic support from multiple foreign powers, including from the Ottomans, in disputes with the Venetians. For their part, Ottomans regarded Ragusa as a port of major importance, since most of the traffic between Florence and Bursa (an Ottoman port in northwestern Anatolia ) was carried out via Ragusa. Florentine cargoes would leave the Italian ports of Pesaro , Fano or Ancona to reach Ragusa. From that point on they would take

8509-433: The city. The famous 12th century Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi mentioned Ragusa and the surrounding area. In his work, he referred to Ragusa as the southernmost city of Croatia. In 1191, Emperor Isaac II Angelos granted the city's merchants the right to trade freely in Byzantium. Similar privileges were obtained several years earlier from Serbia (1186) and from Bosnia (1189). The Charter of Ban Kulin of Bosnia

8636-408: The civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey the city was besieged by M. Octavius but saved by the arrival of the consul Publius Vatinius . Pliny the Elder mentions Epidaurum in section 3.26.1 of Natural History while describing Dalmatian cities and settlements, "The colony of Epidaurum is distant from the river Naron 100 miles." The city was destroyed by Avars and Slavic invaders in

8763-418: The coastal cities and regions in the form of the new theme of Dalmatia , while leaving the Slavic tribal principalities of the hinterland largely autonomous under their own rulers. The Christianization of the Croats and the other Slavic tribes also began at this time. With the weakening of Byzantium, Venice began to see Ragusa as a rival that needed to be brought under its control, but an attempt to conquer

8890-442: The control of the Mediterranean routes. Each of the cities was favored by its geographical position, far from the main routes of passage of the armies and protected by mountains or lagoons , which isolated it and allowed it to devote itself undisturbed to maritime traffic. This led to a gradual administrative autonomy and, in some cases, to total independence from the central powers, which for some time were no longer able to control

9017-419: The desertion of French soldiers after the failed invasion of Russia and the reentry of Austria in the war , all the social classes of the Ragusan people rose up in a general insurrection, led by the patricians, against the Napoleonic invaders. On 18 June 1813, together with British forces they forced the surrender of the French garrison of the island of Šipan , soon also the heavily fortified town of Ston and

9144-537: The dispute between Berengar II and Otto the Great , it obtained de facto independence in 958, which was then made official in 1096 with the creation of the Compagna Communis , a union of merchants and feudal lords of the area. Meanwhile, its alliance with Pisa allowed the liberation of the western Mediterranean from Saracen pirates. The fortunes of the municipality increased considerably thanks to its participation in

9271-520: The entire coast of the eastern Adriatic, from Venice to Kotor . The Austrians did everything in their power to eliminate the Ragusa issue at the Congress of Vienna . Ragusan representative Miho Bona , elected at the last meeting of the Major Council, was denied participation in the Congress, while Milutinović, prior to the final agreement of the allies, assumed complete control of the city. Regardless of

9398-597: The expression and focused on the corresponding concept in his 1807 work History of the Italian Republics of the Middle Centuries . In Sismondi's text, the maritime republics were seen as cities dedicated above all to fighting each other over issues related to their commercial expansion, unlike the medieval communes , which instead fought together against the Empire courageously defending their freedom. In Italy, up until

9525-459: The extinct Italian community of Odesa . Amalfi , the first maritime republic to reach a leading importance, acquired de facto independence from the Duchy of Naples in 839 . That year, Sicard of Benevento , during a war against the Byzantines, conquered the city, and deported the population. When he died in a palace conspiracy, the Amalfi people rebelled, drove out the Lombard garrison and formed

9652-663: The fact that the government of the Ragusan Republic never signed any capitulation nor relinquished its sovereignty, which according to the rules of Klemens von Metternich that Austria adopted for the Vienna Congress should have meant that the Republic would be restored, the Austrian Empire managed to convince the other allies to allow it to keep the territory of the Republic. While many smaller and less significant cities and former countries were permitted an audience, that right

9779-619: The fortresses of Dalmatia, the Russians pressed the senators of Ragusa to allow them to occupy the city, as it was an important fortress – thus anticipating that France might block further progress to Kotor. As there was no way from Dalmatia to Kotor but through Ragusa, General Molitor was equally ardent in trying to win Ragusa's support. The Republic was determined to maintain its strict neutrality, knowing that anything else would mean its destruction. The Senate dispatched two emissaries to Molitor to dissuade him from entering Ragusan territory. Despite his statement that he intended to respect and defend

9906-709: The four cities represented in the navy flag inspired the Regatta of the Historical Marine Republics . Armando Lodolini's 1967 book The Republics of the Sea resumed the previous long list of maritime republics: Venice, Genoa, Pisa, Ancona, Gaeta, and the Dalmatian Ragusa. Noli's status as a small maritime republic would only come into focus in later decades after previously being affirmed only at an academic level. In 2000, Italian president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi summed up

10033-474: The free republic of Amalfi. The people of Amalfi were governed by a republican order governed by comites , under which the praefecturii were in charge until 945, when Mastalus II assumed power and proclaimed himself duke . As early as the end of the 9th century, the duchy developed extensive trade with the Byzantine Empire and Egypt . Amalfitan merchants wrested the Mediterranean trade monopoly from

10160-421: The gate to the east was to be kept closed to the Ragusan forces and to let the Austrian forces enter the city from the west, without any Ragusan soldiers, once the French garrison of 500 troops under General Joseph de Montrichard had surrendered. The Major Council of the Ragusan nobility (as the assembly of 44 patricians who had been members of the Major Council before the Republic was occupied by France) met for

10287-483: The humanist Flavio Biondo , the invention of the compass was long attributed to Flavio Gioja from Amalfi. Despite the tenacious tradition that originated, a correct reading of Biondo's passage reveals that Flavio Gioia never existed, and that the glory of the Amalfi people was not that of inventing the compass (actually imported from China), but of having been the first to spread its use in Europe. The close bond that tied

10414-408: The independence of that little State is an obscure insinuation, that the enemies of France exercised too much influence there. The Proclamation does not mention in what respect this influence has proved prejudicial to France, although the dignity of Buonaparte, it seems, is concerned in putting an end to it. M. Lauriston would have come off much better, if he had disdained making any excuse, and suffered

10541-614: The independence of the Ragusan Republic, his words demonstrated that he had no qualms about violating the territory of a neutral nation on his way to take possession of Kotor, and he even said that he would cross the Ottoman territories of Neum and Sutorina (bordering the Republic to the north and south, respectively) without asking permission from the Ottoman Empire. To the emissaries' protestation he responded by promising to respect Ragusan neutrality and not enter its territory in exchange for

10668-455: The inviolability of the freedom and territory of the Republic. Maritime republics Timeline The maritime republics ( Italian : repubbliche marinare ), also called merchant republics ( Italian : repubbliche mercantili ), were Italian thalassocratic port cities which, starting from the Middle Ages , enjoyed political autonomy and economic prosperity brought about by their maritime activities. The term, coined during

10795-553: The island of Lopud , after which the insurrection spread throughout the mainland, starting with Konavle . They laid siege to the occupied city, helped by the British Royal Navy , who had enjoyed unopposed domination over the Adriatic sea , under the command of Captain William Hoste , with his ships HMS Bacchante and HMS  Saracen . Soon the population inside the city joined the insurrection. The Austrian Empire sent

10922-531: The land route Bosnasaray (Sarajevo)– Novibazar – Skopje – Plovdiv – Edirne . When, in the late 16th century, Ragusa placed its merchant marine at the disposal of the Spanish Empire on condition that its participation in the Spanish military ventures would not affect the interest of the Ottoman Empire; the latter tolerated the situation as the trade of Ragusa permitted the importation of goods from states with which

11049-569: The last time on 18 January 1814 in the Villa Giorgi in Mokošica , Ombla, in an effort to restore the Republic of Ragusa. On 27 January, the French capitulation was signed in Gruž and ratified the same day. It was then that Biagio Bernardo Caboga openly sided with the Austrians, dismissing the part of the rebel army which was from Konavle . Meanwhile, Đivo Natali and his men were still waiting outside

11176-419: The launch of European expansion towards the East and with the origins of modern capitalism as a mercantile and financial system. In these cities, gold coins , which had not been used for centuries, were minted, new exchange and accounting practices were developed, and thus international finance and commercial law were born. Technological advances in navigation were also encouraged; important in this regard

11303-523: The local nobility continued to rule with little interference from the Hungarian court at Buda . The Republic profited from the suzerainty of Louis of Hungary, whose kingdom was not a naval power, and with whom they would have little conflict of interest. The last Venetian conte left, apparently in a hurry. Although under the Visegrád agreement Dubrovnik was formally under the jurisdiction of the ban of Croatia ,

11430-543: The long list included Genoa, Venice, Pisa, Ancona, Amalfi and Gaeta. Crucial for the diffusion of the list of four maritime republics was a publication by Captain Umberto Moretti, who was tasked by the Royal Navy in 1904 with documenting the maritime history of Amalfi. The volume was released under the significant title The First Maritime Republic of Italy . From that moment on, the name of Amalfi definitively joined that of

11557-553: The mainland coast from Neum to the Prevlaka peninsula as well as the Pelješac peninsula and the islands of Lastovo and Mljet , as well as a number of smaller islands such as Koločep , Lopud , and Šipan . In the 15th century the Ragusan republic also acquired the islands of Korčula , Brač and Hvar for about eight years. However they had to be given up due to the resistance of local minor aristocrats sympathizing with Venice, which

11684-526: The maritime republics' historic role with these words: ... The Italy of the maritime republics ... reopened the ways of the world to Europe. Elements that characterized a maritime republic were: The economic recovery that took place in Europe starting with the 9th century , combined with hazardous mainland trading routes, enabled the development of major commercial routes along the Mediterranean coast. The growing autonomy acquired by some coastal cities gave them

11811-411: The medieval fights. Their return in 1860 was a sign of fraternal affection and of the now indissoluble union between the two cities, as can be read on the plaque affixed after the return. In 1860, the study of the maritime republics as a unitary phenomenon was introduced in the school curriculum, further popularizing the concept. From that year forward, the high school program required students to address

11938-531: The mid-17th century, followed by over a century of slow decline that ended with the Napoleonic invasion. The table below shows the periods of activity of the various maritime republics over the centuries. The expression maritime republics was coined by nineteenth-century historiography, almost coinciding with the end of the last of them: none of these states had ever defined itself as a maritime republic. Swiss historian Jean Charles Léonard de Sismondi introduced

12065-532: The ministerial indication was also followed up in the history program for technical institutes. That year, Carlo O. Galli claimed in a scholastic textbook that "among all the peoples of Europe, the one who in the Middle Ages rose first to great power" in navigation was the Italian people, and he attributed this to the independence enjoyed by "the maritime republics of Italy, among which Amalfi, Pisa, Genoa, Ancona, Venice, Naples and Gaeta deserve more mention". In 1895,

12192-515: The more generic term of "merchant republic". They were endowed with an articulated system of magistracies, with sometimes complementary, sometimes overlapping competences, which over the centuries showed a decided tendency to change - not without a certain degree of instability - and to centralize power. Thus the government became the privilege of the merchant nobility in Venice (from 1297) and the duke in Amalfi (from 945). However, even Gaeta, which never had

12319-507: The name of Napoleon. The next day, Lauriston demanded an impossible contribution of a million francs. The Times in London reported these events in its edition of 24 June 1806: General Lauriston took possession of the City and Republic of Ragusa, on the 27th of May. The Proclamation which he published on that occasion is a most extraordinary document. The only reason advanced for this annihilation of

12446-425: The national imagination as an anticipation of the struggles of Italian patriots against foreign rulers. The episode, however, was included in the municipal epic and not in the seafaring one. In the first decades after Italian unification, post- Risorgimento patriotism fueled a rediscovery of the Middle Ages linked to a romantic nationalism , in particular to those aspects that seemed to prefigure national glory and

12573-410: The newly created title of "Duke of Ragusa" ( Duc de Raguse ). In 1810, Ragusa, together with Dalmatia and Istria, went to the newly created French Illyrian Provinces . Later, in the 1814 Battle of Paris , Marmont abandoned Napoleon and was branded a traitor. Since he was known as the "Duke of Ragusa", the word ragusade was coined in French to signify treason and raguser meant a cheat. Article 44 of

12700-477: The order of Admiral Dmitry Senyavin who was in charge of the Russian troops, and retreated to Cetinje . Around 1800, the Republic had a highly organized network of consulates and consular offices in more than eighty cities and ports around the world. In 1808, Marshal Marmont issued a proclamation abolishing the Republic of Ragusa and amalgamating its territory into the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy , himself claiming

12827-567: The original city, giving the republic control of the abundant supply of fresh water that emerges from a spring at the head of the Ombla inlet . Stephen's grant also included the harbour of Gruž , which is now the commercial port for Dubrovnik. Thus the original territory of the Ragusan municipality or community comprised the city of Ragusa, Župa dubrovačka, Gruž , Ombla , Zaton , the Elafiti islands (Šipan, Lopud and Koločep) and some smaller islands near

12954-458: The other republics in the short list, shifting the imbalance towards the centre-north of the country with its presence. In the 1930s, a list made up of four names was consolidated: Amalfi, Pisa, Genoa and Venice. This finally led to the inclusion of the symbols of the four cities in the Italian Navy's flag. The flag, approved in 1941, would not be adopted until 1947 due to World War II . In 1955,

13081-441: The period of the maritime republics as that history's most glorious phase. At the end of the 19th century, the history of the maritime republics was thus consolidated and consigned to the 20th century. The number "four", which still often occurs today associated with maritime republics, is, as can be seen, not original: the short list of maritime republics was limited to two (Genoa and Venice) or three cities (Genoa, Venice and Pisa);

13208-425: The periods of rise and decline (more or less light colours), determined by the wars won or lost, the commercial colonies in the Mediterranean, economic power, territorial possessions, and periods of temporary subjection to foreign powers. A different colour has been used for Noli to indicate the period of its incomplete independence. The dates placed at the beginning and at the end of each time line respectively indicate

13335-569: The peripheral provinces: the Byzantine Empire, the Holy Roman Empire , and the Papal States . The forms of independence that were created in these cities were varied, and the modern approach to considering political relations, which clearly distinguishes between administrative autonomy and political freedom, makes it difficult to orient itself among them. For this reason, in the table below there are two dates relating to independence: one refers to

13462-454: The point that the following century was called El siglo de los Genoveses . This definition was not due to maritime trade, but to the impressive banking penetration lent by the Bank of Saint George , which made it an authentic world economic power: several European monarchies , such as Spain , were tied to loans from Genoese bankers and its currency, the genovino , became one of the most important in

13589-452: The post-unification cultural climate, it was considered essential for the formation of the modern Italian people to remember that within the maritime republics and municipalities arose the industriousness that inaugurated the new civilization. In the Regia Marina , established immediately after the achievement of national unity and therefore only in 1861, there were heated contrasts between

13716-468: The republic retained its autonomous status and was virtually independent, and usually allied with the Maritime Republic of Ancona . It could enter into relations with foreign powers and make treaties with them (as long as not conflicting with Ottoman interests), and its ships sailed under its own flag. Ottoman vassalage also conferred special trade rights that extended within the Empire. Ragusa handled

13843-504: The republics had their own colonies and warehouses in the main Mediterranean ports, except Noli, which used those of the Genoese. If the absence of a strong central authority had been the premise for the birth of the merchant republics, their end was vice versa due to the affirmation of a powerful centralized state. Usually independence could last as long as trade was able to ensure prosperity and wealth, but when these ceased, an economic decline

13970-548: The sailor Augusto Vittorio Vecchi , founder of the Italian Naval League and better known as a writer under the pseudonym Jack la Bolina, wrote General History of the Navy , which was widely circulated and described the military exploits of the maritime cities in chronological order of origin and decay, from Amalfi to Pisa, Genoa and Ancona to Venice. In 1899, historian Camillo Manfroni wrote on Italy's maritime history, identifying

14097-457: The so-called flag episode. The Flag of Saint Blaise was flown alongside the Austrian and British colors, but only for two days because, on 30 January, General Milutinović ordered Mayor Sabo Giorgi to lower it. Overwhelmed by a feeling of deep patriotic pride, Giorgi, the last Rector of the Republic and a loyal francophile, refused to do so "for the masses had hoisted it". Subsequent events proved that Austria took every possible opportunity to invade

14224-402: The struggle for independence. The phenomenon of the "maritime republics" was then reinterpreted, freed from negative prejudice and placed side by side with the glorious history of the medieval communes; thus it also established itself on a popular level. Celebrating history, the Italian maritime cities did not consider their mutual struggles so much as their common seafaring enterprise. In fact, in

14351-428: The town of Gandaulim (Ilhas) . The town is said to have been a colonial outpost of Ragusa . On 6 April 1667, a devastating earthquake struck and killed around 2,000 citizens, and up to 1,000 in the rest of the republic, including many patricians and the Rector ( Croatian : knez ) Šišmundo Gundulić . The earthquake also leveled most of the city's public buildings, leaving only the outer walls intact. Buildings in

14478-792: The traffic of the ancient Balkan slave trade , from which slaves were transported from the Balkans across the Adriatic Sea to the Aegean Sea , from which they were sold on to either slavery in Spain in the West or slavery in Egypt in the South. Unlike with Zadar , there was not much friction between Ragusa and Venice as the city had not yet begun to compete as an alternative carrier in the trade between East and West; in addition,

14605-556: The two possessions were handed over to Ragusa. In January 1348, the Black Death struck the city and decimated the urban population. In 1358, the Treaty of Zadar forced Venice to yield all claims to Dalmatia. The city accepted the mild hegemony of King Louis I of Hungary . On 27 May 1358, the final agreement was reached at Visegrád between Louis and the Archbishop Ivan Saraka. The city recognized Hungarian sovereignty, but

14732-455: The unification, this determined a negative judgment on the maritime cities, because their history of mutual struggles appeared in stark contrast to the spirit of the Risorgimento . The only exception was considered the very difficult and finally victorious resistance of Ancona in the siege of 1173, which the city obtained against the imperial troops of Federico Barbarossa; that victory entered

14859-412: The various pre-unification navies: Sardinian, Tuscan, papal and Neapolitan. The exaltation of the seafaring spirit that united the maritime republics made it possible to highlight a common historical basis and overcome divisions. This necessitated the removal of ancient rivalries; in this regard, of great significance was the return of chains that had closed Pisa's port, which had been stolen by Genoa during

14986-581: The west it bordered the Duchy of Sorrento ; it also owned Capri , donated by the Byzantines as a reward for having defeated the Saracens at San Salvatore in 872. Furthermore, for only three years (from 831 to 833), the dukes Manso I and John I also had control of the Principality of Salerno , including the whole of Lucania . The Amalfi fleet helped to free the Tyrrhenian Sea from Saracen pirates, defeating them at Licosa (846), at Ostia (849), and on

15113-516: The world. However, the republic was then only independent de jure , because it found itself under the influence of the main neighboring powers, first the French and the Spanish, then the Austrians and the Savoys. The republic collapsed following Napoleon 's first Italian campaign : becoming the Ligurian Republic in 1797, it was annexed to France in 1805 with the second Italian campaign . In 1815,

15240-511: The year 1428, on 9 August, when a group of Vlachs pledged to the lord of Ragusa, Tomo Bunić, that they would provide a delivery of 600 horses along with 1500 modius of salt . The intended recipient of the delivery was Dobrašin Veseoković, and in exchange the Vlachs agreed to receive payment equal to half the amount of salt delivered. In 1430 and 1442, the Republic signed short-term arrangements with

15367-467: The year in which autonomy began and ended; any intermediate date indicates the year in which de facto independence passed to de jure independence. The notes refer to periods of temporary loss of freedom. The maritime republics reestablished contacts between Europe, Asia and Africa, which were almost interrupted after the fall of the Western Roman Empire ; their history is intertwined both with

15494-695: Was also well represented at the Sorbonne University in Paris. The fate of Ragusa was linked to that of the Ottoman Empire. Ragusa and Venice lent technical assistance to the Ottoman– Mameluke – Zamorin alliance that the Portuguese defeated in the Battle of Diu in the Indian Ocean (1509). There is some evidence of Ragusan trade with India in the 16th century. This has been historical evidence of this in

15621-496: Was granting them some privileges. In the 16th century the administrative units of the Republic were: the City of Ragusa (Dubrovnik), counties ( Konavle , Župa dubrovačka – Breno , Slano – Ragusan Littoral , Ston , Island of Lastovo , Island of Mljet, Islands of Šipan, Lopud and Koločep) and captaincies ( Cavtat , Orebić , Janjina ) with local magistrates appointed by the Major Council. Lastovo and Mljet were semi-autonomous communities each having its own Statute. According to

15748-581: Was refused to the representative of the Ragusan Republic. All of this was in blatant contradiction to the solemn treaties that the Austrian Emperors signed with the Republic: the first on 20 August 1684, in which Leopold I promised and guaranteed inviolate liberty ("inviolatam libertatem") to the Republic, and the second in 1772, in which the Empress Maria Theresa promised protection and respect of

15875-492: Was renamed Respublica Ragusina (Latin for Ragusan Republic ), first mentioned in 1385. It was nevertheless a Republic under its previous name, although its Rector was appointed by Venice rather than by Ragusa's own Major Council. In Italian it is called Repubblica di Ragusa ; in Croatian it is called Dubrovačka Republika ( Croatian pronunciation: [dǔbroʋat͡ʃkaː repǔblika] ). The Slavic name Dubrovnik

16002-514: Was the improvement and diffusion of the compass by the Amalfi people and the Venetian invention of the great galley . Navigation owes much to the maritime republics as regards nautical cartography : the maps of the 14th and 15th centuries that are still in use today all belong to the schools of Genoa, Venice, and Ancona. From the East, the maritime republics imported a vast range of goods unobtainable in Europe, which they then resold in other cities of Italy and central and northern Europe, creating

16129-550: Was triggered, ending with the annexation, not necessarily violent, to a strong and organized state. The longevity of the various maritime republics was quite varied: Venice had the longest life, from the High Middle Ages to the Napoleonic era ; Genoa and Ragusa also had a very long history, from the 1000s to the Napoleonic Age; Noli lasted as long, but stopped trading as early as the 15th century. However, Pisa and Ancona had

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