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Abstract: In the 15th century sultans discovered the economic importance of the Adriatic. They accepted doges' rule on this sea but, at the end of the 16th century, the presence of Christian and Muslim pirates marred the relations between the two states. Ottoman merchants used to cross the Adriatic to reach the markets of Venice and Ancona. Besides regular trade there was also smuggling: above all arms were exported to the Empire while wheat went westwards. Several links united the two commercial communities: for instance, subjects of the Republic embarked sometimes on Ottoman ships; in the ports of the Serenissima the sultan's merchants used to pay the same customs as Venetians and, sometimes, they also insured themselves with Venetian companies. The wars of the end of the 17th century put a momentary stop to Muslim commercial activities in Venice and in the Adriatic. However, at the beginning of the following century, Albanian vessels charged with Ottoman goods appeared again at St. Mark's docks, even if soon after, in the 1720s', short-sighted Venetian protectionist politics pushed them to prefer the port of Trieste.
Keywords: Ottoman empire, Venice, Adriatic sea, trade, smuggling
Published in RUP: 10.07.2015; Views: 3188; Downloads: 20
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