Venetian Shipping During the Commercial Revolution Author(s): Frederic Chapin Lane Reviewed work(s): Source: The American

Historical Review, Vol. 38, No. 2 (Jan., 1933), pp. 219-239 Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the American Historical Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1838293 . Accessed: 06/05/2012 16:43
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

The University of Chicago Press and American Historical Association are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The American Historical Review.

http://www.jstor.org

Volume XXXYIIIJ

I933 Januarv,

[Number 2

VENETIAN SHIPPING DURING THE COMMERCIAL REVOLUTION comoftheCaperoute Venetian toIndia 1 guese discovery crippled fails tojustify that notion. Theefmerce. A study ofVenetian shipping trade have Venetian ofthe fects Portuguew discovery upon frequently of a failure todistinguish between because been long ships misrepresented Venetian attention discussions of and round Inmost commerce ships. has of a merchant been the built concentrated on galleys,'type long ship wares.But andother especially for thetransport of spices precious fifteenth andsixteenth both the centuries round throughout sailing ships formed a larger part of the merchant marine. centuries these the During relative usefulness ofthe two types oftechnical however, because shifted, in rigging andarmament. A recogniton ecoofthedistinct changes nomic ofthese functions different types inthe ofships fifteenth centurv, andoftheir changed status inthe sixteenth, is the key tothe history of Venetian shipping inthe period ofthe Commercial Revolution. When viewed as a whole theVenetian merchant marine employed in interPortutrade ofthe dislocation that TT isgenerally thought spice bythe

equipped with oars.Round ships were built for stability andfor heavy longships for speed andfor cargoes; fighting. ship was The round primarily a merchantman, the long ship wasprimarily a warship, and
1 For example, Alethea Wiel,The Navyof Venice(London, ig9o), pp.314 if. 2Detailed descriptions of the variations of both typesare given by Enrico Alberto d'Albertis, Le Costruzioni Navali e I'Arte della Navigazione al Tempo di Cristoforo Colombo,in RaccokadiDocumenge Studiptb. dalla R. Commisuione Colombiana (Rome,1893), vol. I., Pt. 4; by JohnForsyth Meigs,The Storyof the Seaman (London, Philadelplpia, 1924); and by A. Jal,Archiologie Navale (Paris, 1840)* 219

were obvious totheeye.2Roundships were highand wideand galley dependent entirely on sails; long shipswerelow and narrow and

grown incargo-carrying capacity during the sixteenth century. Thedifferences between the large round ship andthe ship or Iong

national commerce appears notto havedeclined, butactually to have

220

Frederic ChapinLane

some round ships were built especially for andsome long war, although ships were designed for yet even distinct so their functions were trade, incommerce and inwar.Thelong ship designed for trade carried light precious theround ship heavy cargoes. cargoes, Theorganization ofthe maritime trade of Venice inthe fifteenth cenwas-based on commral this in the functions of the two difference tury of ofspices and types.A monopol the transport some other light wares for ganized exporting andother spices Besides precious merchandise. the well-known "Flemish" which later didatleast asmuch busigalleys, ness inEngland asinFlanders and called atLisbon and various Mediterthere ranean were twoother fleets ofgreat merchant ports, galleyssent from theLevant to Venice hadbeengiven bylaw to thegreat galleys, a special oflongship? Voyages bythese ships westwardwere ortype

westward. Thegalleys ofAigues-Mortes served the shore northern of the western thegalleys visited Mediterranean, ofBaibary itssouthern andSpanish fleets shore, andboth called at Sicilian ports.4 ormerchant These galleys were notparticularly large great galleys vessels compared tomany ofthe Venetian round ofthe time. ships They carried between 140and250 deadweight tons ofcargo below deck?
3 Archivio bustai, al Cattaver, as A. S. V.), Ufficiali di Statodi Venezia (citedhereafter theprinciple cap. i, ff.65-7z. These regulations from that"lightgoods" could proceeded be brought to Venicefrom theLevantonlyby"armedships",laterinterpreted to meanthe galleysof the state. Exemptions greatgalleys, the merchant were thenmade forspecific to come on "unarmedships" timesalthoughmany wares permitted wares and specific even if loaded in the to thegalleys. But spices, (roundships)wereobligedto payfreight the transit Levantby otherships,could not complete to Venice,between1435 and I514, in a selected shipwhichtraveled werefilled, galleys, except in themerchant or,ifthegalleys cargo Suchships, whentheir to carry under thesamecommand with thegalleys thesurplus. and buta negligible is mentioned, carried belowon spiceimports, amount. See references reg.47, ff.19, I28; reg.48, if. 12I3, reg.5z, f. 14; r g. 57, f. I34; A. S. V., SenatoMisti, busta2, cap. 4, f. 25; A. S. V., SenatoMar.,reg. i8, f. 29; Arsenale, Ufficiali al Cattaver, busta8, ff.,-3; MarinoSanuto,7.Diarii,58 vols. (Venice, i879-1903), vOl.XVII., col. I,8; Vol. XXXVI.,col. 382. 4 The west-bound galleyswere obligedto load all the spicesand othe- Ight goods couldload heavygoodssuchas wine. See SenatoMisti, offered before they reg.47, f. o6 re , 49, if. 8I-84, 86, 9i; reg. 54, if. 68-69. of Flanders, thoseused on mostof the vovages, In I440 thegalleysof the measure to be over440 milliarii. SenatoMisti,reg. 60, f. 249. One miiarius wxere forbidden to be over 450 milliarii. A. S. V., tons. In I48I theywere forbidden .47 (leadweight werefixedin orderto checkthe tendency Senato Terra,reg. 8, f. I14. These limitations at the to enlargethegalleys of theshipwrights up to 5oo or 6oo milliari A computation of thepage, SenatoTerra,reg.3, f. 75, in 1452, showsthatat thattimethe merbottom on thestate forthevoyage was expected to collect thegalleyfrom freight chantwho rented of themeasure of Romaniawerelegallvof but 140 to x65 tons 430 nii iarii. The galleys burden. SenatoMar.,reg. x f? I3.

Fenetian Shipping

22I

smaller were considered safer than the round Though they ships because most ofthe inaddition tothe sails onwhich they relied during voyage Moreover hadoars andleaving the touseinentering galleys ports. they 200 men armed asthe were with ofover warships crews Signoria might andcommanded direct bya noble whom itselected.6 of Butthebulk merchant marine wascomposed oftheVenetian from round ships. Inthe proverbial golden ageofVenice, roughly I420 toI450, she had300such ships ofioodeadweight tons ormore.7 Most ofthese 300were probably used for fishing orfor carrying about the Adriatic such humble cargoes asgrain, oil, wood, andstone, anddidnot aslong distance carriers onthe ofinterregional trade. routes figure great Butitmay beestimated that atleast thirty tothirty-five ofthem were of and were ships 240 tons ormore habitually used onvoyages beyond the Adriatic, mainly onthe longest well-established voyages such asthose to England, Syria, andthe Crimea.8 They were the great merchantmen of their day, distinct inrigging andinstructure from the coasting vesselsY
6 For thelargecrew,see SenatoMisti, reg.49, ff.II4-II5. Detailsof thearmament, the military command, theportsof call, the freight rates, etc.,were determined foreach voyageby the terms of the resolutions underwhichthegalleyswere auctioned. For the yearsbefore I440 these resolutions are contained in theseriesSenatoMisti, forI440-I469 in Senato Mar., and afterI469 in a specialseriescalled Senato,Deliberazione, Incanti Galere, whichcomesdownto I569. In thislastseries theyearsI499-I5I9 are missing but thediary ofMarino Sanutodoesmuchto fillthegap. 7 This figure is givenbothin SenatoMar.,reg. I5, f. 145 (I502), wheretherecords of the Consolidei Mercanti are referred to as thesourceof information, and in the "Deathbed Oration" ofDoge TommasoMocenigo ofwhichthemostconvenient edition is in HeinrichKretschmayr, von Venedig(Gotha, I905, I920), II. 6I7. The figures Geschichte in Mocenigo's oration are thesubject of somedispute, but theplausibility of thoseconcerning shipping maybe independently established, if notas in thiscase confirmed, and thefinancial figures have been supported by independent evidenceby Gino Luzzato, Sull'Attendibilitadi alcuneStatistiche Economiche Medievale, in the Giornale degli Economisti, anno XLIV., no. 3, p. 126. For theratios of conversion of weights and measures used here,sec the dissertation by the authordeposited in the HarvardCollegeLibrary, "VenetianShips and Shipbuilders of theFifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries". 8The estimate to thirty-five" of the ratiofoundto is obtainedby extension "thirty existin Table B below. Table B givesa comparison of thenumber of shipsemployed on threefairly representative about I448-1449 and in I558-I560. The totalnumvoyages bersemployed on thethree wereeighteen at theearlier voyages dateand twenty at thelater date. The totalnumber of shipsof the typehereconsidered was at the laterdate forty (see below). The assumption if "x" equals thenumber is that, of suchshipsabout I448I449, then18:20 as X:40. The result, has beenmodified in consideration of the thirty-six, probably greater of grainat thelaterdate in viewof theincrease importation in thepopulationof Venice. Giulio Beloch,La Popolazionedi Venezia nei Secoli XVI. e XVII., in Nuovo Archivio Veneto, n. ser.,annoII., t. III., pp. I-49. 9 Albertis, op. cit. Throughout the following discussion of round ships and their voyagesthe assumption is made that ships of 240 tons,or more,predominated in the

222

Frederic ChapinLane

Theytraveled muchthesameroutes as themerchant galleysbutwith different Creteto and alum from winefrom Syria, cargoes--cotton England, slaves and foodstuffs from theBlackSea, and grain, oil,and alWt between various Mhediterranean ports.'0 In thevolume of cargothey carried thethirty to thirty-five great round ships were a much more important part ofthemerchant marine in thefifteenth century than were ortwenty theeighteen merchant galleys which annually sailed at that time. Thirty-five round ships would havecarried aboutI5,000 tons ofcargo11 and twenty merchant galleys
and thatthe number of such ships-in the tradeoutsidethe Adriatic, Venetiancarrying voyagediscussed-is an indexof the on a particular marine or employed wholemerchant theship especially is dictated by thesources, 240 tons, volumeof trade. The exactfigure, listsof i558-i560 citedbelow,and theassumption impliesa morecommonuse of large is be expected. But in the case of Venicesome distinction shipsat thattimethanmight supconsiderations and the following local and international necessary between shipping, on a particular voyagedependsupon the porttheassumption.The size of shipprofitable and thevolumeofgoodsmovedin thattrade. Besidesthespecializaof thevoyage length between merchantmen and shapewhichthenexistedin theMediterranean tionin rigging in size is to be expected. Such and forcoasting voyages, specialization forlong voyages if not dictatedby the Venetiangovernment.It forbade was encouraged specialization shipsof less than240 tonsto load salt at Cyprus(Senato Mar.,reg. 13, f. 24; reg. 15, f. or coasting theAdriatic they 145). Whenshipsof theAdriatic type beganto tradebeyond in to do so. SenatoMar.,reg. 9, f. I9; law of August13, 1602, printed wereforbidden di Pregadi;con diversiLeggi cavatedadStatuto Conseglio PartipreseneIl'Eccellentissimo existed in Materiade Navi e sua Navigatione(Venice,n. d.). That such specialization in shiplistsin theNotathefactthatout of I35 shipsmentioned appearsfrom in practice Venice to go from torio di Collegio(A. S. V.) nos. 5-II, 1384-1457, as goingor intending were of 240 tons,or more,fourhave no sizes to Syria,the Crimea,or Alexandria, I29 given,and onlytwo,and twothatdid,not go, are givenas less than240 tons. To be sure, thevoyageto voyage. Concerning fortheSyrian out of the 135 ships,ioo wereapplicants forthe voyage. necessary England,it is clearthatshipswell over240 tonswereconsidered SenatoMar.,reg.9, f. i62;, reg. 1 i, . 56-157; reg 13, f. 27. 1 Cottonand 'alum,SenatoMisti,reg. 55 f. I8I. Oll, fruitsoap, ibd., reg. 57 f. 244; SenatoTerra,reg. I0, f. 170. Wine,SenatoMar.,reg. 9, f. I62 and below. Grain, SenatoMisti, reg.55, f.;184, SenatoMar.,reg. 4, f. 19. Salt,SenatoMisti,reg.54, f. 37; SenatoMar.,reg. 6, f. 27. Black Sea trade,SenatoMisti,reg. 54, f. 102. The transport was forbidden, ibid.,reg.4g, f. I14. of slaveson merchant galleys of theroundshipswas made on thesamebasisas was of thecapacity ilIf theestimate theresult would be about I4,000 tons. But anothermeh of their number theestimate di Collegio,no. io, between forin ship listsin theNotatorio Jan.,1449, and is available, oftwenty-one of there is mention different shipswit a totalcapacity April,1450 inclusive, do notincludeall shipsof anygivenclass,but are 10,153 tons. The listsin theNotatorio or to take partin the Syria-n to serveagainstpirates voyage. listsof shipsapplying merely of, indicate thefullnumber ship of 240 tonsor does not,therefore, twenty-one The figure. of suchshipsis better estimated as thirty to thirty-five, as exthenumber more. Instead, by addingto theknowncapacmaybe calculated plainedabove. Hence thetotalcapacity on thebasis additional estimated, ships, shipsthatof ninetp fourteen ityof thetwenty-one is 13,393 tO15,193 as 360 tonseach. The result of those knownand withdue allowances, tons.

Fenetian Shipping

223

a companson about serves 4500tons.Such the ofplacing purpose the merchant fleets in proper galley as buta small ofthe perspective part ofVenice Adriatic. fleets outside the In the trading shipping industry were thegalleys Butthey ofprimary were ofsecondary importance. inthe asthe "world maintenance ofVenice importance market" leading ofthe fifteenth carried more century. They consistently precious cargoes than other a comparison so that ships ofvalue instead onthebasis of capacity would yield results. quite different their Moreover, average
total burden was wellover 250 tons since thecargo in thehold besides
12 anda number they carried on deck a very large crew ofpassengers. Both and crew were allowed tokeep with them some passengers personal which possessions found among for a certain ofsalamount they place ablewares, so that thetotal ofpersons, andgoods weight equipment,

carried on deck wasprobably as great as that below deck.13

These two distinct ofVenetian types and merchantmen, great galleys round ships, were products ofdistinct branches ofthe inshipbuilding dustry. Thegreat galleys were built bythestate inthearsenal. The round ships ofcommerce were built by private enterprise inprivate shipyards. When atthe end ofthe fifteenth century the state felt it necessary tobuild round ships the government resorted toprivate shipyards. But
in themaintheproduction ofround ships is synonymous with private

shipbuilding. After I460 the two parts ofthe shipbuilding industry andofthe merchant marine thus distinguished had different and frequently contrasting histories. Thelatter part ofthe fifteenth century wasthe period when
thegalleyvoyages weremostnumerous and regular and whenthis

branch ofthe Venetian merchant marine wasatthe height ofitsfame. that During same period the fleet oflarge round ships wasreduced to half itsformer size. In thefirst half ofthesixteenth century, on the other hand, the merchant galley fleets dwindled andalmost disappeared, but the large round ships increased innumber sothat inI560 they were certainly larger andprobably more numerous than they hadever been. Thedecline ofprivate shipbuilding at Venice wasmost severe between I463 and I488. By1487 building wascompletely at a standstill.'4
13The resolutions forauctioning the galleysare full of rulesto stopoverloading on deck. A description of thegreatgalleys in 150I, quotedbyJal,I. 384-387, said thatthey carried 500 milliarii belowdeckand 5oo millianiion deck. The averagesize of thegalleys increased somewhat becausethe smallertypegradually duringthe fifteenth century went out of use. 14 Senato Mar., reg. 9, f. I9; reg.12, ff.125, I87.

Senato Misti, reg. 114-1I5. 49,ff.

12 In I412

the size of the crew fromcommancfer to cook was legallyfixedas

212.

224

Frederic ChapinLane

Themental habits ofthe political historian may leadhimtoassociate this decline with the navaladvance ofthe Ottoman Turks, butthe Venetians themselves, much as they were impressed with thepolitical andmilitary ofthat importance newdanger in theEast, didnotconsider itthecause oftheir merchant oftheweakening marine.Instead blamed they nearbetter bycompetitors materials. supplied with was thefirst The building craft afof smaller partof theindustry in Venetian boats were built fected. River andsmall barges possessions which hadonce in Italy toVenice for sale.'5 As theforests andbrought surrounded thelagoons thebargebuilders them disappeared, pursued backtowards themountains. of theVenetian The majorrolein thissudden industry depression eastern shore Adriatic. Thegreat wasplayed ofthe bythe outcry against in theyears a parcompeting ships against I467 and I469 was directed called "marani" which ticular most of werebuilt in Istria. They type hadbecome so numerous that it wasimpracticable forthestate to disat oncewith theuse of suchships pense in sending butthey supplies, disposed ofthe ofIstria competition inthe future byforbidding the buildingof anyshipofsixty tonsor more between Veniceand theGulfof
Quarnero.'6

The center of competition thenmoveddowntheAdriatic. The bitterest were raised protests against theRagusans whowere atthat time a leading gaining placeinthe Mediterranean carrying trade.The multiplication ofRagusan ships wasattributed bytheVenetians totheplentifulsupply ofwood, iron, and sailors available at Ragusa. To meet the situation thesenate levied an anchorage taxof ioo ducats on Ragusan shipsvisiting any portunderVenetian dominion. Well might the chronicler Malipiero say thatRagusanshipshad beenbannedfrom Venice.'7Laterexemption wasmadeofgrain ships since theneedfor food wasparamount.18 Buttheexclusion from Venetian trade ofships theRagusan flying flag, evenifit couldbe achieved, wouldnotrevive thehomeindustry. The advantages ofbuilding in Dalmatia werethe root ofthe trouble. Venetians andbuilt bought Ragusan ships their own there orin theVenetian ships in Dalmatia. Byvarious possessions subinthe terfuges Venetian Ragusans acquired cities citizenship ofDalmatia
15 Senato Misti,reg. 47, f. I51; reg. 54, f. 5; reg. 59, f. 134;
I 3-' 5. 16 SenatoMar.,reg.8, f. 144;

Arsenale, busta 6, if.

reg.9, ff.19, 2I, I36, 146, 157, I70. 17Ibid.,reg.i 2 f. 2I. DomenicoMalipiero, AnnaliVeneti, in Archivio Storico Italiano (Florence, I843), ser.i, vol. VII., pt. 2, p. 620. 18 SenatoMar., reg. i 6, f. 57.

Venetian Shipping

22-5

ofSan Marco. Between under theflag I487 and and keptup business in old laws forbidding such I490 thesenate was activeputtingteeth the wiles ofthe tomeet Ragusans. practices, andinpassing newmeasures ofanyship ofthirty the building The senate even went sofar as toforbid Dalmatian oftheir buttheprotests tons ormore in Venetian Dalmatia, final form In their themodification ofthis subjects provision.-secured to tocontinue these regulations were designed topermit theDalmatians the voyages, butto sever buildtheships they needed for their Adriatic from with Venetian andto Dalmatian capital, industry anyconnection
withthe Ragusans.'9 cut it offentirelyfromany association

oftheinland builders andthat ofthe Besides thecompetition barge suffered from theVenetian shipbuilders Istrian and Dalmatian coasts, the from more distant of therivalry Genoa,Portugal, regions.Ships werecompeting with theirs and evenEngland on the Basquecountry, hadbeenthechief ofthevery Venewhich largest longvoyages support tons. from 6oo to that size those of of were of tian special ships, 700 Ships because oftheir as navalauxiliaries and utility importance to thestate andthenrse oftheOttoman navy madetheneedofthem supply ships, acute. Consequently, whenoffers all themore ofloansand increased rates failed toinduce ofthedesired freight private citizens tobuildships wasforced tobuilditsown.' Betweensize,theSignoria I475 and I488 the andbetween 1488 state built four ships ranging from 6ooto2400 tons, and I498 ordered were built, most ofthem of six, ofwhich at least five ships needed tostrengthen state obtained thelarge I200 tonS.21 Thusthe import grain herwarfleet, hunt pirates, sendsupplies, and,ifnecessary, andsalt. Meanwhile efforts from the desperate had beenmadeto recapture ofVenice Crete toEngland and competitors thetransport ofwinefrom sinceI488 there oflarge private hadbeensomeincrease in thenumber ofprivate ships of240 ships.22 Shipslists of 1499 suggest that thefleet
99, I20-I2I, busta 6, f. io. Therewereno I62; Arsenale, private Venetian shipsof 6oo tonsor morein 1486 and I488. SenatoMar.,reg. I2, ff.87, I57. 21 SenatoTerra,reg. 7, ff.98-i00, I39-I40, 145, 157, i6I, 177, I79, 192; reg. 8, f. 74; Senato Mar., reg.10, ff. 155, I89; reg. ii, f. 103; reg. x2, f. 123, 153; reg. 13, ff. 50, p. 645; Sanuto, I. 849-850; II. I241-I249; IV. 51. go; reg.i4, f. I41; Malipiero, 22 On the Anglo-Venetian quarrelover the Cretanwine trade,see Calendarof State editedby Rawdon Brown (London, I864-), I. 175 ff.,and Georgvon Papers,Venetian, Schanz,Englische Handelspolitik gegenEnde des Mittelalters (Leipzig, i88i), I. I30-I42. tax on foreigners wine from Cretewas to some extent A Venetian successful in exporting of six shipsof 6oo tonsor more of largeships. Thereis mention thebuilding stimulating I. 8I, 504, and SenatoMar.,reg.12, I3, and 14. between 1488 and I497 in Sanuto,

19Ibid., reg.I2 f. 125, reg.9, ff. 20, 20lbid.,

I48, I87; reg. 13, f. 3-7, I5.

226

Frederic ChapinLane

tons ormore n totaled about io,oo tons intwenty-five ships.dThe four ofthe round state afloat ships inI499 hada total of5T00 capacity tons. Butthese state ships only occasionally acted as merchantmen. itwasonly Moreover -an -so effort much extraordinary which kept shipthat the war afloat from with ping year.During Turkey I499 tO1502 the attempt tocontrol the Cretan wine trade hadtobeabandoned. In I502 it wasreported that there butsixteen were Venetian ofthe ships
type usedon longvoyages, of240 tons or more.24 namely,

Theseconid considered ofthe fifteenth half as a whole, century, was, ofVenetian accordingly, a period ofdecline Atthis time when shipping. thewealth ofVenice wastheenvy of all Christendom there wasa revival splendor. The brief of shipbuilding in theyears justbefore I499 wasof anartificial character. Theyears I488 andI502 represented the ofa prolonged double bottom Thestagnation depression. ofbuildduring ing wassuch that those innumber both and years, incapacity, the Venetian round to trade ships adapted theAdriatic beyond were not more hadbeen than half inthe what they middle ofthe century. The waslikewise loss ofsmaller Themerchant severe.25 ships sailed galleys rounds with admired their but yearly there wasnoincrease in regularity, number tocompensate their for the losses elsewhere. Theturn ofthe tide came inI502. Then occurred the most thoroughgoing andmost successful ofthe many attempts toaidthe shipbuilders. Theshipowners own views oftheir troubles were set forth atlength in the preamble tothe remedial lawofI502. They complained ofthe low freight rates secured byshippers, the innumerable dues andobligations laidonthe loss ships bythe the ofthe western trade state, because ofthe permission given toforeigners toloadinCrete, the restrictions oncarrying salt andgrain between different ports inthe western Mediterranean, andthe competition ofthe Portuguese, andSpanish, they Basque, who, hadearliernever said, come within the Straits ofGibraltar. Thesituationwasmet toprivate ships complete freedom toload all byrestoring
23 Lists in Sanuto,II. Io80-o08I, 1242-1249, and in the manuscript copy of the Diarii in theBiblioteca Marciana, Venice,MSS. It., Cl. VII. 230, if. 418, 48I-483. There are twomistakes in theprinting.The comprehensiveness of thelistsis indicated byrecords concerning themobilization of the merchant fleet, Sanuto,I. 780, 923; II. 629, 784, 919; SenatoMar.,reg. 14, f. x96. The listspresent difficulties of interpretation, but theresults maybe takenin conjunction withthegeneralstatements of thetime,like thosequotedin the textand thatin Sanuto,II. 225, thatin I498 therewere but twelveVenetianships of 300 tonsor more. 2 SenatoMar.,reg.14, f. I8I; reg.I5, f. 145. 25[bid., reg. 12, f. 125; reg. 15, f. I45; A. S. V., Cinque Savii alla Mercanzia, ser. I, busta135, f. 99-100.

therepublic ofthemaritime had risen weakening actilvity bywhich to

Venetian Shipping

227

cargoes three including saltandgrain butexduding classesspecial thegalleys, goods forbidden reserved for bytheChurch, and goods Moorish merchants andtheir laidupon the wares.Thedues ships by the state were ofminimum lessened. a schedule Thesenate approved freight rates, madeprovision andoffered for their prompt payment, generous bounties tobuilders ofnewships.2 So great ofround wasthe revival inthe the building ships following passage ofthis asnolonger lawthat inI507 the bounties were suspended necessary andtoo a burden great onthe finances ofthe Notonly state.27 were a good number oflarge seven but half ofthe ships being built, in process ofconstruction ofthe were very incommercial biggest type use.28 precisely the years when the ofthe route toIndia around the discovery ofGood its effect Cape onthe Levant trade ofVenice. Hopewashaving Butthat affected the discovery ofthe only not those cargoes of galleys, the round Itiseven ships. that the likely ofnew routes tothe discovery EastandWest Indies wasa distinct help tothe private shipbuilders of Venice. The Portuguese and Spanish hadbeenentering ships the Mediterranean andtaking cargoes from away the Venetians. Nowthey hadnewseas tosail. Therefore, from the ofview point ofthe largest ofthe part Venetian merchant marine, the round the ship, years followingthegreat discoveries were years ofexpansion. To be sure, this prosperity wasnot maintained without interruption. Complaints ofthe lack ofa sufficient number ofships occur from time totime andbetween

These years of for the prosperity pnvate shipbuilders, 1502-I507, were

sign ofdepression, but instead positive evidence that the number oflarge round ships haddoubled since the beginning ofthe century. Only the other branch ofthemerchant the great galley fleets, canthen marine, have been adversely affected bythe discovery ofthe new sailing routes. In the detailed story ofthe disruption andpractical disappearance of the ofthe voyages merchant galleys, quarrels with the sultan ofEgypt anddiplomatic andnaval difficulties elsewhere bulklarge,3 butit is generally agreed that these were but incidental circumstances andthat
26Senato Mar.,reg. 15, f. I45. 27 Ibid.,reg. I6, f. 152. A listof thelargeshipsbuiltor building in 1504 is givenin Sanuto,V. I000. 28 Listgivenin A. S. V., Notatorio di Collegio,no. 27, underdateJuly 5, 1507. 29 Gino Luzzato, Per la Storiadelle Costruzioni Navali a Venezia nei Secoli XV. e XVI., in Scritti Storici in Onoredi CamilloManfroni (Padua, 1925), pp. 38I-401. 30Wilhelm von Heyd, Histoiredu Commerce du Levant au MoyenAge (Leipzig, I886), II. 508-552, and innumerable references in Sanuto,op. cit. AM. HIST. REV., VOL. XXXVIII.-17

1534 and 1540 the freight rates onsalt were raised and offers of loans were made toencourage building.29 But inthe years isno 1540-I570 there

228

Frederic ChapinLane

the determining factors lay deeper. Three such factors determining may be mentioned-the revolutionary improvements in therigging ofthe round thedevelopment ofguns, andthediscovery oftheCape ship,

route toIndia. Ofthese three the lastonly hasusually beenemphasized

tothe complete neglect ofthe others. Thenature andextent ofthe influence ofthe Portuguese route are shown bythe rough statistics ofthe spice trade contained inthe diaries oftheVenetians Sanuto andin thereports atid ofCa' Masser Priuli, the ofthe secret observer Signoria inPortugal. Before the discoveries, about half ofthe galleys which left Venice each went Levant. year tothe ofthefifteenth item, andin thelast years back century they brought about English pounds of spices a year, of which about 2,500,000 3,500,ooo pepperYl Thecommercial effects ofthe to discovery ofthe Caperoute India were first felt inthe Levant in I502. In the four years I502-I505
camefrom andofwhich pounds tofifty Alexandria, forty percent. was In thereturn cargo ofthese nine ortengalleys formed thelargest spices

the i,ooo,ooo Venetians imported onan average notmore than of pounds

inthefour years Portuguese imported an average I503-I506 the ofabout

?2 Thefirst a year spices large cargoes arrived inPortugal in i503, and

2,300,000 pounds a year of which per cent. was The pepperP3 eighty-eight

ofthetwocountries average yearly was at this import combined time,

31 Estimate fromSanuto,II. Ii2, I28, I65, I72; IV. figures based on the following Scripin RerumItalicarum Priuli,1494-1512, published 38-39, 47; I Diarii di Girolamo 2nd ed., vol. XXIV., pt. 3 (Cittadi Castello,I9II), vol. I., pp. 73, 109. tores, colli spice cargo 2639g I497 galleysof Beirut from4320 spice cargo 2320 colli, corrected galleysof Alexandria colli pepper 1250 galleysof Alexandria spice cargo 3000 colli I498 galleysof Beirut spice cargo 2I55 colli galleysof Alexandria pepper galleysof Alexandria 933 colli spice cargo 3200 colli I50I galleysof Beirut spice cargo 2570 colli galleysof Alexandria pepper galleysof Alexandria 950 colli in I499 and I50I and during voyages galleys completing prevented The war withTurkey morespicesthan usual fromEgypt,Sanuto,III. 37, exported thoseyearsnon-Venetians 942; IV. 6-io. equalled about II20 lbs.,ibid.,XVII. I9I. For thebales on The collo of Alexandria by Priuli,see RinaldoFulin, the Beirutgalleyscolli and cachoare used interchangeably equal to Diariie DiaristiVeneziani(Venice,I88I), p. 247. This bale has beenconsidered loc. cit.;SenatoMar.,reg.12, f. I36; somemayhavebeenlarger.Sanuto, 290 lbs.,although reg.56, f. iog. 32 Sanuto, IV. 260-265; V. 78, 826-828, 902; VI. 129; Fulin,pp. I65-I82. dei Portoghesi riell'India, 33 Leonardoda Ca' Masser,Relazionesoprail Commercio (Florence,1845), II., 13 f. Previous Storico Italiano, Appendice in Archivio 1497-I506, in i1oi, and 173,000 lbs.in 1502. only hadbeen 224.000 lbs., imports Portuguese

Fenetian Shipping

229

in I524, thegalleys back no spicesit was becausetheroundship brought Cornerahad taken themall, and the galleysloaded linen and wheat instead, waresusually carried byroundships. After II4 Venetian policy wavered. Some spiceswerebrought by roundships,and galleyswere sometimes sentinstead, or in addition, untilI570o5 A surprising index ofthesize ofthespicetradeat Alexandria in these years is contained in a loose sheetin the archives of the Dona della Rosa family. This documentpurports to be a copyfromthe books of the Venetiancolonyin Alexandria of the amountof peppersentfromAlexandria in theyears
I560-I564,

therefore, a little lessthan thetotal thediscovVenetian before imports eries-acomparison which that atleast the first few years the suggests for Portuguese were more successful in disorganizing theAlexandrian spice market than insupplying the needs ofEurope.In 1505 a dispute between the Venetians andthesultan ofEgypt ledtothe over theprice ofpepper astounding escape oftheVenetian galleys under thefire oftheforts of Alexandria and theseverance forsomeyears. Fromthe of relations resumption oftrade in I508 until Venetian from I5I4 the spice imports Alexandria remained only a quarter ofwhat hadbeenandpepper they became a distinctly minor item in thecargo Beirut lists.4 Tradewith was lessinterrupted, according to Sanuto, butwas likewise belowits former volume. After ofthegalley I514 therecords no longer voyages giveaccurate indexes of theamount of spices forin thatyearthe reaching Venice, galleys losttheir ofthetransport monopoly ofspices.The round ships were then permitted toloadspices in Alexandria for Venice, andwhen,

pepperfrom Alexandria alone,or fully as muchpepperas in theperiod before thePortuguese had entered thespicetrade.36Uncorroborated this
34 Sanuto,VI. I56-I57, I70, 199-207. Cargoesreaching Venicefrom Alexandria are recorded as follows: 1508, II00 colli,ibid.,VII. 59I, 597. 1509, nonereturned. 1510, I000 colli,ibid.,X. 799, XI. 57, 69; Fulin,p. 209.
I 51 I, none returned.
15I2, 15I3, 300 colli,ibid.,XVI. I77, 209. 35 Sanuto,XVIII. 178; XXXV. 254,332, 337; XXXVI. 382; SenatoMar., reg. i8, f. 29; Arsenale, busta8, ff. 2-3, busta9, f. 37; SenatoDeliberazione, IncantiGalere,reg. 2, libriiv and v. 36 Museo Civico,Venice,Archivio Don' della Rosa, busta217, f. 276. The authenticity of documents in thisbundleis discussed in the note to Table A. The figures are givenfirst in "collie nichesse" and thenin "cantara". The figure givenaboveis computed fromthe number of "cantara"assuming theywere the cantaraforfori,the measureused

inclusive. It shows an annual export of I,3I0,454 pounds of

Ii8o colli,Sanuto, XIV. 25-26.

230

Frederic Lane Chappin

onedocument may not beconsidered itsuggets conclusiv,but thessi-

ofa revision later the bility ofideas sixteenth concerning Levant century

trade.37 It is true, in theopening ofthesixteenth however, that years century theVenetiansupply was considerably of spices, especially of pepper, less traders than in it had been, Venetian and that throughout thecentury the Westmetcompetition from Portuguese sources. This maybe counted onereason whybetween of the 15o0 and i535 all thevovages Venetian merchant galleys westward werediscontinued. Asidefrom the risks resulting century, from: the wars ofthe early sixteenth there was farlessprospect of profit to warrant sending westto Spain,Portugal, orFlanders England, theexpensive great galleys whose solejustification had beentheir adaptability to precious cargoes. was nottheonlyreason Lack ofspices whythegalley were voyages solargely discontinued. Evenbefore the Portuguese discovery theVenetianstate hadbeenforced tooffer bounties with thegalleys topersuade anyone to rent them forthewestern voyages.Whereas in thepenrod 4I8-i427 theEngland and Flanders galleys wereauctioned for:prices which an average thestate of about5400ducats brought forthefleet eachyear,38 in theperiod I480-1489 a subsidy ofioooto5oooducats was offered with each auctioned andthe galley amounts bidwere far lessthan
thesesubsidies. For all three of thewestern voyages thestatewas prac-

tically giving theuseofthegalley and something besides in order that wares be safely moved and theposition ofVeniceas world market be maintained.9 To raise freight rates presumably would have handicapped
de Paxi, lbs. See Bartholomeo at Alexandriain sellingpepper,equal to ninety-four Tariffade Pexi e Mesure (Venice, 1503), nfo paging,and Adolf Schaube,HandrisgeV6lker des Mittelmeergebiets schichte derRomantischen biszum Ende derKreuzziige(Muthat"nichesse" been made by assuming nich,Berlin, I906), p. 814. Had thecomputation would have been I,66800oolbs. like "colli" contained II20 lbs.,theresult 37 Contrast Mnridionttude sur les ColoniesMarchandes byJ.A. Goris, thestatement by A. H. de I488 2 1567 (Louvain, I925), p. 195. See also thediscussion ales a Anvers of Oriental Trade,Eng, Hist.Rev.,XXX. 577, Turksand theRoutes Lybyer, The Ottoman Trade,in Amer. of theRise of theTurksupon theRoutesof Oriental and, The Influence

Annual Hist. Report, I914, I. I25. Assoc.,

38 The amountreceived of the senateafter forthegalleysis recorded in the registers occurat aboutthe same timeeach them. These resolutions forauctioning theresolutions or February.Galleysalso wentat thistime thosefortheFlemish galleysin January year, of and yieldedan averageyearly profit to Aigues-Mortes, usuallyauctionedin January about I85o ducats. at a loss to the statewere thoseto Flanders, 39 The threevoyages Aiguesoperated of the spicetransprotected by their Mortes and Barbary. The Levantgalleys, monopoly as in theearlier to yielda profit period. continued port,

Venetian Shipping

23I

Venetian traders other using were the there galleys, incase but only ships abletooffer better service inproportion towhat they charged Such a ship hadbeen which took created transformation the by place rigging in the ofround ships andbythe during the fifteenth century, development of firearms. Thetransformation one-masted ofthe into cog a full-rigged, three-masted ship possessed ofspritsail, and mizzen topsail, lateen sailoccurred about the middle ofthat Theimportance century. ofthe change specalists is stressed on by early Forexample, shipping. Oppenheim says that the sailing ships ofI485 differed less inappearance from sailing ships ofI785 than they didfrom those ofI425.44 These changes in rigging may not have materially increased ofthe the speed view ofsafety the advantages which the oars had tothe great given galley were thus counterbalanced by the new largely rig ofthe round ship. Equally important in robbing themerchant galley of thespecial security which hadalone justified itsexistence wastheincrease in the useofguns innaval warfare. A high round ship well furnished with cannon andproperly manned could provide as goodprotection from attack asa lowgalley whose crews were comparatively unprotected from gunshot. Thelight galley long remained important in Mediterranean war fleets because galleys were needed tochase galleys. Butmerchantmen required not offensive but defensive strength. Thegreat galley had been always soexpensive a vessel that its freight rates hadbeen double those ofthe round ships. Aslong asthe galleys were somuch safer that itwas considered unnecessary toinsure the wares they carried, they could maintain their position. But when better rigging andthe use ofmuskets andcannon deprived the merchant galley ofitssuperior safety, itcould nolonger with the compete cheaper type ofshipping. Certainly the decline ofthe merchant galley fleets ofVenice wasout ofallproportion tothe decline ofher trade. To some extent what had before I535 been carried bythe wasthereafter galleys carried byround
ships,41 and thismaybe one explanation oftherenewed prosperity of
40M. Oppenheim, A History of the Administration of the RoyalNavy and of MerchantShippingin Relationto the Navy (London, New York, i896), p. 40. See also A. Anthiaume, Le Navireet sa Construction en Franceet principalement chez les Normands (Paris, 1922), pp. 57, 64, I27; Bernhard Hagedorn,Die Entwicklung der Wichtigsten bis ins I9. Jahrhundert Schiffstypen (Berlin,19I4), pp. 54-64; and Romola and R. C. Anderson, The SailingShip (London,I926), ch. VII. 41 The ship listsof 1558-s56o cited below do not show, however, any voyagesby roundshipsto the NorthAfrican portswhichthe galleyshad visited. The rise of the pirate states is theprobable explanation of thelossof thistrade.

butthey madehermuchmoremanageable. ship, Fromthepoint of

232

ChapinLane Frederic

ofthegalley ofmost thediscontinuance atVenice after shipping private voyages. theVenewhen theperiod wasprobably c~ntury The mid-sixteenth theAdriatic, beyond ofships fortrade namely, fleet designed tianbuilt the Certainly in its history. was thelargest or more, of24o tons those had doubled in prv$ate ships hands ofsuchround andcapacity number countermore than far a gainwhich ofthecentury, thebeginning since fleets.In i558-I559 the galley of themerchant thedecline balanced of 240 tonsor roundships forty included marine merchant Venetian on 42 The principal ofi8oootons capacity a total having more voyages table in theaccompanying is shown theshipswereemployed which dateand at a at that thevoyages between (Table A). A comparison ofnew the discovery before well prosperity of period dateintheprevious from hasbeenmadein Table B, so faras information the routes trade at the havebeenfound no figures that Except permits. period earlier the voyages, short relatively the for or trade dateforthegrain earlier Theysuggest representative. fairly be considered may compared trades from center in trade Thereis a localshift stabilization. comparative for clearances no almost were forin 1558-I56o there to Cyprus, Syria Aphad beenofsecondary importance. in I450 Cyprus whereas Syria, thebulkofthe furnished century inthefifteenth which cotton, parently in century produced wasin thesixteenth from Syria, oftheships cargo had century, in thefifteenth famous sugar whose plantations, Cyprus, possesnewPortuguese ofthe competition bythe ruined meanwhile been thebulkofthe furnished Cyprus sions in theWest." While, however, and in Syria active still were Venetians in thesixteenth freight century, from orindirectly mayhavecomedirectly cargoes oftheship part some is theinthetwodates between change slight? themainland.Another in used. Shipsof 6ootonswerenumerous in thesizeof ships crease Venetians had, notonlybecause century Venicein themid-sixteenth between -trade thecarrying in part at least ofthem, regained bymeans suchships butalsobecause andtheEnglish Channel, theMediterranean voyages.That Mediterranean on purely employed weremore largely by the had beendecreased of trade thatthevolume doesnotsuggest discoveries. Portuguese in of Veniceappears -prosperity breakin thismanitime A definite
4 Onlyabout4000 tonsof activeshipping of galleyvoyages, was lostbythestoppage a fall from5000 tonsto i000 tons,between150I and 1540. A list of the names and of to therecord shipsof 240 tonsor morein 1557-156o, in addition sizes of all Venetian Don~della Rosa,busta217. is givenin Museo Civico,Venice,Archivio voyages, 43 Sanuto, 1902], P. 134. 1.270-271; The TravelsofPedroTeixeira[HakluytSociety,

Venetian Shipping
I570-I577

233

with theshort butexpensive warwith thelossof Turkey, andthe Cyprus, which killed plague a quarter toa third ofher population.Thenotable inthe fact resultant crisis isnot the blow dealt such by
a disastrous conjunction ofcalamities, thiswas adequate though cause

for aninterruption ofactivity, but the lack ofresilience which prevented Venice from again her establishing merchant former marine onits basis. Thisincapacity tocome back andregain her former wasnot position duetoa decline ofMediterranean ortoa decrease inthe trade, volume ofgoods tobemoved between her but tothe unstable ofher ports, basis shipbuilding industry. builders oflarge Thesmaller vessels ships. inbringing employed grain, oil,andcheese wine, toVenice hadnot been made inthe buthad city onthe voyages which these smaller, built foreign undertook. ships Such although the builders oflarge haddefinitely ships recovered the during sixteenth from century the depression which occurred inthe late fifteenth century, the part ofthe shipbuilding devoted industry tosupplying the more numerous small ships for the Adriatic trade had been definitely lost. Andthe oflarge building hadbeen ships atVenice kept chiefly by thepresence there ofskilled artisans andtheadvantages which were enjoyed by ships enitled tofly the banner ofSanMarco. Otherwise they, too, might have been purchased from foreigners. In I53I complaints of the number oflarge foreign built vessels which were being purchased by
wasthe ofthe testimony Venetian board oftrade." Thusitappears that been bought for there were noVenetian abroad, oftheir sizetogo ships The period before of prosperity I570 had beena time onlyforthe

Venice wassure ofgood will, andifhebought a foreign ship inorder tobring the grain itwaswith the hope that thet ship would begiven the privileges ofVenetian registry. Thus, inI542 andI543 five foreign ships were granted the tofly right the Venetian flag.Four hadbeen bought at Constantinople andsent toVenice with andthe grain, other wasa Basque ship which hadbeen inthe service ofthe state.4" Another way toevade the lawwastorefit orfinish atVenice a ship originally built elsewhere. Thepetition ofGiovanni for exMorello, ample, explained that heandhisassociates hadbegun a ship Po inthe
'Cinque Savii,ser. I, busta135,ff. 99-100. 4X ScnatoMar.,reg.22, f. 85. 46Ibid.,reg.26, f.72, 98, 99,107; reg.27, f. 30. That was an unusually largenumberforso short a space of titne and was occasioned by a particular grainshortagc.

Veneiansand evengranted theright to sailas Venetian led to thereenactment ofthe lawswhich forbade such practices.45 Butthe lawscould notbe strictly enforced. In times offamine whoever brought grain to

234

Frederic Chapin Lane

which couldno be had there ofwoodz ofthesupply River solely because great damage to thearsenal.Or again theQuerini at Venice without had from, which they a 720 tonship howthey hadlost brothers recounted butfound another andartillery.; Theywished tobuild salvaged rigging a woodand so bought and refitted thenecessary dfliculty in getting of the body petition explainedthat Another instructive ship. Basque decksand Venicewhilethetheshiponlyhad beenmadeawayfrom number ofsuch petitions castles hadbeenaddedatVeniceY4 The large pineand larchforsuperstructures thatalthough creates thesuspicion hadbecom-e for body timbers theoak essential couldbe had at Venice, tofind there. dearandvery hard oftheshipbuildbyan examination is strengthened Thisimpression century. ofCurzola in thesixteenth city ingindustry in theDalmatian had beenmadeto thegeneral rule In favor of Curzolaan exemption -capital, and inDalmatia byVenetian that should notbebuilt large ships were aided of300 to6ootons. They building there ships Venetians were thematenrals to export needed to finish their ships free of bylicenses ofwhat onewonder make why they may they exported duties.The list planks, from itinclude pne a larch away Venice since chose tobuild -isconveniently andcordage.ButCurzola masts and spars, iron, pitch, theAdriatic from theforests of MonteSan Angeloin placedacross Ragusan ships.'8 ofthetimbers usedinthecelebrated thesource Apulia, dominions did notsuffice in theVenetian theoaksgrown Certainly aid builders, for ofthe andthose ofthe private arsenal both thedemands theoak woods, effort ofthestate to preserve theconstant ship despite a taxwasproposed tofind.In i546when timbers wereharderandharder the affect that itwouldnotgr on licenses tocutoak,itwasasserted they did not cut in Ventian temrtory oflarge since onebuilders ships or be accurate that statement oftheoaklogs-they third used. Whether was sufficient to causethe thecutting of oak forprivatebuilders not, in 1559proarsenal alarm foritsownsupply.Accordingly, thesenate build state loansto help them all those receiving videdthat thereafter ofthe their Signoria. must tocutnooak inthedominions agree ships Therewasno complaint becaus ofthe nesofimmediate depression
47 Ibid., reg.28, ff. and Oct., 1545, Feb. 25, 1564. Sept. 85, 92; reg.36, f. II5; files, had of whom theynamed fourteen, statedthattwenty-five The Querinibrothers others, namely, Venetianregistry. been granted the favortheysought, 48 SenatoMar.,reg.2I, f. 6i, 85; reg.22, f. 13; reg.29, f. %68; Cinque Savii,ser. I, NVautica (Rome, 1607), pp. Crescentio, Mediterranea busta 135, ff.65, 83. Bartolomeo L'Armata Navale (Rome, i614), p. 67. Pantera, 3-5; Pantero Dec. 28, 1546; reg.34, f. 57. 49 SenatoMar.,files,

Venetian Shipping

235

ofseeking sity lumber abroad.Yetfrom abroad theessential buying timbers tobuying abroad the itself wasonly a step. ship ofbounties That wastaken about offer step the IS9oafter hadfailed torevive Venetian toitsformer shipbuilding levels.Thelawagainst such large ships for which Venetian registry wassought. that During lare ships sameperiod were built in Venice, and thirteen in

granting Venetianregistry to foreign and bebuilt was repealed ships tween I590 andI599 the. oftrade records ofthe board fifteen mention Venetian possessions.W TheVenetians from most bought Holland ships

although they found some in theisland ofPatmos andsome in the Black Sea. Theactivities ofFrancesco aresignificant for Morosimn the inthe international He was interested shipbuilding situation ofthe time. business oftransporting from wine tothe Crete butpreferred to West, build hisships in Holland instead ofin Venice.After one beginning 720 tonship in Holland he promised to build four more if he were granted bounties for them andVenetian registry. Although hisships were not granted bounties they were given Venetian registry andfive

were built.5' Some yearslater, in 1627, eventhosebuying approved however, foreign builtshipswereoffered bounties.2But before suchextreme measures weretaken, thefavors shown to purchasers of foreign ships
had enabledtheVenetianmarineto make a tardy and partialrecovery

from theslump which hadfollowed ofships of360 I577. The number tons ormore in thefleet in i6o6compares notunfavorably with similar for figures I55-I559 as follows: In I558-I559, 27 ships, totaltonnage14,850 tons. In i606, 27 ships,totaltonnageii,46o tons. Butmore thanhalf ofthefleet, fourteen werein i6o6offoreign ships, build.' Thecontinually increasing dependence on foreign built ships is
5-Cinque Savii, ser.x, busta25, ff. 7I-75, lOI, 112, 124; busta 26,ff. 35, 110, 117, 182, '93, 195; busta 27, f. 12; busta 138, f. I6o, I69; busta 5, 9, 70, 73, 139, ff. 135, i67; busta 140, f. 6i. 51Ibid., busta 27, f.37; busta 141, f. 124; Senato i39, ? 167;busta files, Mar., Mar.
I8I,

52Pari Prese. ... in Materia de Navi e sua Navigatione, PP. 32-33. Threeshipswere withtheaid of theloan; thebounties immediately bought and all three form, taking,that were"Fiamengo", ie., Dutch. Cinque Savii,ser. I, busta147, ff.113, 126, i86. 53 Museo Civico,Venice,Archivio Donh della Rosa, busta 217, f. 46, an abstract of a of the board of tradewhichis referred report to in theirarchive, Cinque Savii, ser. i, busta 141, f. 128, although statedthattherewere twenty-six it is there such shipsin all, twelveVenetian and fourteen built. foreign

29, 1597.

236

Frederic Chapin Lane

which fleet in x693 merchant emphasized byan enumeration ofthe gives 54 thefollowing figures: Four-masted ships, Made in Venice ....................9................. Of foreign makebought by Venetians .35 On theshipyards ..............5.............. forHebrews .............................. On voyage smaller usedin theAdriatic .68 Marciliane, ships

...

5 6

The decline was therefore far in Venetian shipbuilding obviously of the commerce.The papers greater thananydecline in Venetian board oftrade seventeenth theimpression that in theearly givevividly wasplenty oftrade donein theMediterranean there century being and to carry werenotnumerous eventhe that Venetian-built ships enough hands.Neither that wasinVenetian theadvance oftheTurk, business exhaustion nor the supposed of Venicein the Italianwars,nor the can be said to have reputed lossof thespicetrade to thePortuguese ruined her commerce. ofVenice was The passing ofthemaritime glory a failure primarily tokeepupwith other seagoing peoples whoexpanded more A basicreason rapidly. for this failure wastheexhaustion ofone ofthemost vital ofhernatural resources, shiptimber. Whenthis depletion oftheoak woods wasfirst clearly recognizedin thelasthalfofthefifteenth century-55 theshortage seems to have beenpeculiar to Venice. At leasttheRagusans and Basqueshad a sufficiently plentiful supply so that their competition was severely felt. Attheendofthesixteenth century thescarcity ofoaktimber appears to havebeengeneral throughout Mediterranean countries.56 In theseventeenth century maritime supremacy was definitely in thehands of that people whocontrolled thelumber resources oftheBaltic, theDutch.57
.

54

55 For specific statements of the concern of the government with the harmdone to

Cinque Savii,ser. 3, busta97.

private shipbuilding by the lack of oak timber, see Arsenale, busta 6, f. I6 and busta 8, ff.73-75; Senato Mar., reg. 19, f. 120. For the elaborate conservation policythendeveloped,see Adolfodi Berenger, Saggio Storicodella LegislazioneVenetaForestaledal Sec. VII. al XIX. (Venice, I863). 56The exhaustion of Spanishsupplies is indicated bvC. H. Haring, Tradeand Navigationbetween Spain and the Indiesin theTime of theHapsburgs(Cambridge, I9I8), pp. and Julius 259-26I, Klein,The Mesta:a Studyin SpanishEconomicHistory, 1273-1836 (Cambridge, 1920), pp. 320-321. 57 VioletBarbour, Dutch and EnglishMerchant in theSeventeenth Shipping Century, Ec. H-ist the extent Rev.,II. 26I ff. Miss Barbour emphasizes to whichthe supremacy of Dutchshipping theseventeenth is boundup withthe Dutchcontrol of the during century Baltictimber trade. On Balticsuppliesand Englishoak, see, R. G. Albion,Forests and Sea Power (Cambridge, 1926), chs. III. and IV.

Venetian Shipping

237

Itisnot intended that the ofthe oceanic trades here todeny opening andmilitary resources Hernaval under other placed Venice handicaps. the herposition were so thoroughly to defending committed against admerchants to Turk that shecould not have given political backing hadbeen venturing tothe Indies.Herrigid commercial policy shaped her from with theonethought ofdrawing themaximum advantage Such ofher nobles as remained merchants were bound both bycapital andstill habits tothe investments andcommercial long exploited profitThe trade. of Western ableLevant peoples Europe, unhampered by such fetters ofpast andbred ofthe heavy tothenavigation greatness, could more open readily profit from the new opportunities. But ocean, Venice the faced itwould additional, and, decisive disadvantage seem, that she her depended upon competitors for the essential instruments of commerce, ships. Theneed for ships wasenormously increased inthe sixteenth century the ofthe transoceanic trades. This by development new demand could not bemet bythe oldshipbuilding centers inItaly.Anattempt tomeet but the end ofthe itwasmade Iberian by century their ports, before,the out.Thecarrying were trade ofboth supplies giving the Indies and even ofthe then that Mediterranean invery passed large measure tothe countries ofnorthwest able Europe todraw upon the still unexhausted forests ofthat In analyzing region. the shift ofeconomic leadership from the Mediterranean tonorthwest Europe oneshould consider notonly the the intrade shifts routes andtrade oftechnique, migration centers, and ofpolitical relative effectiveness but the alsothe organization, depletion ofthe resources Mediterranean natural ofthe regions.
FREDERIC CHAPIN LANE.

strategic location on the route betweenEurope and the Near East.

TheJohns University. Hopkins

238

Frederic ChapinLane
TABLE A

NUMBERAND CAPACTY OF Sn's OF z4o ToNs OR Mon EMnOYEDON

PRO VENICE, 558-1560 - DIFFERENT VOYAGES

Number and CapacityofShipscleared, by Periods. of Average 1558and 1559. VOYAGE Full year 1558. Full year 1559. six First, months of 150

CaCaCaCa-. NQ. pacity No. pacity No. pacity No. pacity of of in of of in. i-n in ships tons ships tons., ships tons: ships tons 41 11 0 20,04 6,060 48 15 20,760 8, 280 3,72 1,020 1,74 1,560 1,080 3,360 27 10 12,840 5,640
2,7580

All voyages ....... 44-45 20,400 and Cyprus Syria ........ 13 7,170 4,920 1,830

Grain .........
Englandand "West"........ Corfu -and Zante Alexandria ..... . Others ......

11
3

13
4 4 1 1

6,120
2,640 1,620 540 5,40

9
2 3 4 3 12

5
3 1 2 2 4

Constantinople.. 34 2-3 2 9-10

1,680
1,050 810 2,940

1,380 600 720 8 1,080

7 2, 520

of Leonardo DonG,doge Of Venice, i6oo-x612. handwriting

The table is based oh a document in theMuseo Civico, Venice, Archivio Doni della busta Rosa, 2I7, entitled NaviGrosse de Venetia, loroViaggi The bundle c loro Patroni. besides other contains, documents tointhe referred ofa treaty made present a copy articlc, Andrea in I442 through as in the Dondandvarious papers recognized bythearchivists
Apparently theyare all

accumulated papers bytheDonl family thefifteenth, and seventeenth during sixteenth, centuries. There is therefore noobvious todoubt theauthenticity ofthese reason shiplists. ofvoyages Thelist theexact andofthearrival in Istria andin gives dayofthedeparture ofMalamocco, theport ofthereturn ofmost oftheships that there is no mention except in I560. The earliest sailing on this listis ofOct.19, I557, andthelatest entry July 6, 1560, so that thelackofmention ofthereturn in 156o0 ofships that the sailing suggests list iscontemporaneous with the voyages. someof theships recorded as clearing Although forCyprus almost certainly loaded grain for also,voyages areentered grain as a separate item because some ships arementioned for a grain as clearing Thisis to be without voyage anymore precise designation; what areaandcollect could find.Ofthetotal oftwenty-seven grain they in ships clearing thetwoanda half for sixteen arerecorded without years grain, further indication, four for for sailed three "the twofor Volo, onefor La Cavalla, andonefor Archipelago", Sicily,
forbythefact thattheSignoria accounted withshipcaptains to sail overa general arranged

YenetianShipping

239

of bad cropson Cyprus. It is to be notedthattheyears in question wereas a wholeyears Istoria the mainlandand country people came to Venice to buy. AgostinoAgostini, Veneziano, Venice,MSS. Cl. IV., cod. I6. ff. 25I-262, in Bibi. QuiriniStampalia, forthe fullyearI560 If averages forthe three yearsweretaken,constructipg figures forthatyear from on theassumption thatthetotalclearances those forthefirst six months, forI558 and i559 wereto foritsfirst halfas thetotals werein thesameproportion to those fromthosegiven would not differ thefirst halvesof thoseyears, the averages so obtained byas muchas two shipsexceptin thecase of grain. Aboutseventy per cent.of thegrain theclearances forthe variedseasonally clearances werein Augustand sincegrainimports forthewholeyear. of theclearances first six months are notadequateevidence TABLE B COMPARISONOF THE NUMBER ANDCAPACITYOF SHIPS CLEARINGANNUALLY

ABOUT FORSELECTED VOYAGES i448-i449 ANDIN I558-I559

Number and Capacity of Ships cleared, by periods. VOYAGE Number of ships 1448-1449 1558-1559 Syria and/or Cyprus.............. English Channel and the "West" ..................,3 Constantinople and /or Black Sea . ............. 3 12 13 3 3-4 Capacity in tons 1448-1449 1558-1559 5,400 1, 800 1, 300 7, 170 1,830 1, 680

The figures forthelaterperiodare takenfromTable A. The figures fortheearlier obtained as follows: periodare estimates The estimates forthevoyage to Syriaand Cyprus are basedon statements of thenumber and capacity of the shipsgoingin the springmuda 1418, the springand fall mude andfall1427, spring I426, spring I428, spring andfallI431, fall1433, andfallI449. See Senato Misti, reg. 52, f. 66; reg. i8i-i9i; reg.56, f. I6, 25, 56, 7I, 75, 104, II4, 55,ff. I52-156; reg. 58,ff. I9, 22, 26, 46, 53, 6o, 62, 73, 190, 2I3; Notatorio di Collegio,nos.
7-I0.

The estimate of thenumber goingto Englandand the"West",whichis takento mean beyond theStraits of Gibraltar, is basedon mention of shipsin I446, 1448, 1449. Senato of capacity Mar.,reg.2, f. I56; reg.3, ff.43, 48-49, 70, 121, 135. The estimate is based on mention of thesize of someof theshipsin listsin theNotatorio, and on theconsiderationsthatthe largest shipswereused on thevoyageand thatthere wereat leastsix Venetianshipsof 6oo tonsor moreat thetime. Notatorio, nos. Io and I2, f. 98. The estimates forConstantinople and theBlack Sea are basedon themention of ships on thatvoyage in 1446-1448 (Senato Mar.,reg. 2, f. I34; reg.3, ff.48, 53, 58), and the statements of thenumber and size goingat thebeginning of thecentury, 1398, 1400-1402 (Notatorio, no. 5). The number of shipswas the same at the beginning and middleof thecentury.