04B: Venice and the Spice Trade

Venice, Genoa, Pisa: dominated medieval European spice trade

  • How did the spice trade work from the perspective of Venice?
  • How did it affect political development?
  • How was it connected to luxury trade? To other types of food trade?
  • What were the main changes over time?

Venice in early Middle Ages

  • Post-classical: Romans fleeing Germanic invasions in lagoon
  • San Giacomo di Rialto founded 421; first doge 697
  • Part of Ostrogothic Kingdom
  • Exarchate of Ravenna
  • Carolingians: invasions failed, remained Byzantine, recognition of trading rights in region

Venice  and early trade 

Po: salt (from lagoon) and Byzantine goods (brought to Venice)  upstream; grain on return        (image: Rhine barge from 8th c, found Kalkar-Niedermörhmter)

Carolingian era: Venetians move into Adriatic trade

  • basic route: from Po: lumber, grain to E. Adriatic ports: slaves to N Africa; cash to Constantinople for luxury goods to Venice
  • 828: relics of Mark the Evangelist from Alexandria to Venice
  • Rialto the market center, city granary; shipbuilding, ropemaking (tana) moved

10th c: patrolling N. Adriatic for pirates in name of Byzantines

dominating rival cities (boycotts, conquest)

regional powers: HRE, Byzantium; plus Slavs, Magyars

11th c:

  • selling ships to others
  • defense of lower Adriatic against Normans

Crusades (1095+)

Council of Clermont: Urban II, request from Alexius II Comnenus

Crusader states:

  1. County of Edessa (1098-1150)
  2. Principality of Antioch (1098-1268)
  3. County of Tripoli (1102-1289)
  4. Kingdom of Jerusalem (1099-1291)

Venice: maintain, increase port interests

ports of Jaffa, Haifa

Other issues: Hungarians, Normans

1204 Fourth Crusade: Capture of Constantinople for Venice (until 1261)

round ships (13th c): model

Galleys (14th c+) 

14th c innovations

  • Technology
    • compass
    • portolan charts
    • Ships: from round ship to cogs, merchant galleys 
    • Pilgrims arrive in Jaffa on a galley, Bernard von Breidenbach, 1490

  • Routes: from Bruges to Tana
  • Insurance; bills of exchange
  • Venetian manufacture: silk; glass; soap; dyes, saltpeter; paper; tile, rope

15th century changes

breakup of Mongol empire: Tana too unstable; alternate routes

Portuguese enter trade competition, including violence wrt India, Red Sea trade

1470 changes in sugar production: Madeira Islands

1492 Columbus (Genoan supported by Spain)

Rival products: cochineal (New World) vs kermes (Crete) red dye

Venice diversifies production on terrafirma holdings: corn