The Most Serene Republic of Venice

'''In OTL the Republic of Venice lasted from roughly 697 - 1797. In this article the POD is after the Battle of Lepanto (1571).'''

Strengthening the Republic
After Venice and the Holy League defeated the Ottomans at the Battle of Lepanto and still lost the island of Cyprus the Doge, The Council of Ten, and the Signoria realized they needed to restrengthen their Republic to protect themselves from the ever expanding Ottoman Empire.

The current government looked back to their history and how new and more powerful fleets of ships, both military and merchant were constructed when Doge Ordelafo



Faliero created what would become the Venetian Arsenal. During the 1580's the government began a program of constructing new ships, inviting shipbuilders, scientists, engineers, and other intellectuals into their Republic, allowing any and all the freedom to experiment with new technologies.

By the 1590's they also recognized the danger they were in with the discovery of the New World across the Atlantic and how their place as one of the most powerful nations in Europe, which could be attributed in part to the Spice and Silk Route across Asia, would begin to wane unless they could open new trade routes with foriegn ports. Since the richest areas of the New World were under the control of Spain, for the most part, they decided they would look south and east to seek trade and commerce. With this open invitation came some who petitioned the government to sponsor voyages of exploration, the majority of which looking to Africa and Asia for the most part, with a small minority petitioning for America.

Venice and The New World


Expeditions began venturing out towards the Atlantic and heading south hugging the coast of Africa. Since by now many of the European nations had begun staking their claims in Africa, Venice's motive was not colonization or an overseas empire, but rather creating trading partners. It had become rich through its salt making industry and the silk and spice road, and would continue to rely on business and trade to increase its wealth. The minority who had won sponsorship to the New World ended up landing in present day North Carolina. They were greeted by the natives of the area and trade was almost immediately begun. The item that the Venetians saw the most potential in after bringing samples of it back to Europe was a peculiar weed that came to be known as tobacco. The act of smoking it was catching on rather quickly and the Venetian merchants knew an opportunity when they saw one. A trading deal was struck between the natives and the merchants. By 1610 a small trading post was constructed in present day Wilmington with a small port that would allow for the loading and unloading of items from the growing number of ships. The native Algonquian and Catawba tribes in the area prospered and with the help of the Venetians were able to fend off raids attempted by the English to the north. This allowed these two tribes to create a stable and prospering nation for themselves. Another commodity that the Venetians brought back were slaves from the Americas. Raids were conducted on inland tribes and the captives were sold to the Venetians who in turn sold these captives to the highest bidder in Europe.

Venice was aware that the three main powers in the New World were Spain, France, and England, and while the small nation had grown in strength, it had to be careful not to anger any of these three nations to the point where any of them would force Venice to give up its trading rights in North America. The small trading post (along the present day Cape Fear River) was officially name Poca Padova (Little Padua). By the 1630's the bond between the Algonquians, Catawbas, and the Venetians had become so strong, thanks to intermarriage, mutual defense of the territory, and profit from slaves and agriculture, the three peoples entered into an agreement and established, not a colony, but the overseas territory of Nova Venizio (New Venice), which would be as much a part of the Republic of Venice as the European territories. Much the same as in Venice, the territory would be goverened by a council (Called the Council of Six, so this council would not rival the Council of Ten in Venice) and the head of the colonial government would be a Regolatore (Governor), and would also have representation in the Senate.

The American Venetians had conducted regular trade with the European colonies in the Carribean, exchanging the tobacco, rice, American slaves, and later cotton from Nova Venizio for sugar cane, indigo, African slaves, ginger, and other commodities. While slavery existed in Nova Venizio, it was possible for a slave to earn his freedom and even become part of society. By the late 1600's it was not strange to see freed African slaves walking the streets of Poca Padova or the newly founded Città del Sindacato (Union City name to honor the union between the Venetians, Algonquians, and Catawbas) or owning businesses, farms, or exporting slaves themselves. The territory became prosperous and profitable for both themselves and the Republic thanks to the salutary neglect of the Mother Country.

Venetians in Asia and Africa
The Venetian attempt to establish a trade route with Asia for spices and silks got off to a rocky start, at best. During the early 16th century the sailing routes rounding the Cape of Good Hope was dominated by the Portuguese giving them a monopoly in trading with Asia. While the Venetians had been constructing ships with more advanced technology, they were not being produced in numbers that made much of a difference in their attempts to dent Portuguese domination of the Southern Atlantic. Some attempts by the Venetians heading south were met with hostility from the Portuguese. This did not stop the Venetians from venturing into Africa. By the 1560's the Venetians made contact with the Portuguese at the islands that make up Cape Verde. The Portuguese had taken control of the islands 100 years earlier in 1462, making it an important stop along the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The Venetian merchants, after suffering numerous attacks on their vessels by the Portuguese, organized themselves into a union for mutual defense. With the blessing of the Pope (after making a generous "charitable" donation to the Vatican) and the permission of the Doge and the aid of the Venetian Navy an attack was mounted against the island Sal in the Cape Verde islands where the Venetians took control of the island. This sparked off a short 1 year conflict between the two maritime powers in 1564 that had ended with the Venetians gaining control of the northern islands (what are known as the Barlavento Islands), and the Portuguese retaining control of the southern islands (what are known as the Sotavento Islands).

Once the Venetians secured the Barlavento Islands they immediately set up an outpost on the island of Sal. Being virtually surrounded by the Portuguese the merchants began sending supplies and arms to reinforce the outpost. Once the reinforcements were complete, the Venetians wasted no time in moving south to gain control of the Sotavento Islands in 1566. The Portuguese turned to the Pope looking for papal aid in stopping the aggression of the Venetians. By the time the Pope could attempt to level any kind of decree to stop the conflict, the Venetians had been successful in destroying the Portuguese forces on the Sotavento Islands and holding off the Portuguese Navy coming from the North. Under pressure from the Portuguese, the Pope "implored" the Venetians to return the Sotavento Islands to the Portuguese. The Venetians, however, respectfully refused claiming the islands were compensation for the numerous attacks by the Portuguese on Venetian ships. With the control of the Cape Verde Islands under the Venetians in 1568, the Portuguese monopoly over the southern Atlantic was finally broken.

By 1571 the Venetians began pushing east towards the African coast, venturing into the territory of the Songhai Empire. Being a nation of merchants, the Venetians made numerous attempts to trade with the Africans, which were greeted cautiously, but curiously. Slowly, a trading relationship between the two peoples took root, which allowed the Venetians to venture into the African interior, making contact with different tribes.

...to be continued. (68.38.163.127 06:02, March 7, 2010 (UTC))

Strengthening the Adriatic
For centuries, the Republic of Venice was the most powerful nation in the Adriatic Sea. With the growing threat of the Ottoman Empire the Republic felt it had to strengthen its hold over the Adriatic. In the late 1570's the Republic began negotiating with the Ottoman Empire, offering them the islands that made up the Duchy of Archipelago (knowing from sources in the Ottoman Empire that they had desires for it) in exchange for aid in conquering coastal areas held by the Hapsburg ruler of Hungary, Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (as Hungary was part of the Holy Roman Empire) in the areas of Montenegro. Ten years later they negotiated with the Ottomans once again offering them Crete in exchange for the coastal territories that made up Croatia and Albania. By the early 1600's the Republic of Venice would be the major controlling force in the Adriatic Sea and took precautions to fortify their newly acquired territories.



They encouraged the local populations to send their children to schools and universities in the Veneto, and made efforts to spread their influence and ideas into these



new areas to make them part of the Republic, and not just client states. Local leaders were given respected positions and within the Signoria a version of a Senate was created resembling the Senate of ancient Rome to see that all areas of the Republic was represented. The government was still oligarchic for the most part, but this Senate went towards bringing a sort of unity among the expanded Republic of Venice.

The Venetians were careful to remain neutral when the Thirty Years War broke out in 1618. The Catholic Church still had a prominent place within the Republic, and partook of the profits the Republic was making in trade, exploration, and its new holdings in the New World. When the war was fully under way, it was Venice that the Holy Roman Empire turned to for ships and other new technologies, many of which were based on the designs of Leonardo da Vinci, such as the Battle Wagon (early version of the tank) which was enlarged to accomodate an early version of a steam engine used to turn a turret atop the Battle Wagon, as well as multiple barreled musket carts. Not wanting to miss out on a profit, they also secretly sold weapons to the Swedes and the French.

Because of these new technologies, the Thirty Years War became even more destructive than in OTL.

With the ever present threat of the Ottoman Empire the Venetians copied the idea of Oliver Cromwell and created a new army, making military service compulsory, with the option of making the military a career. The Ottomans had been keeping their eye on the little merchant nation and decided that they would make an excellent addition to their empire.

The Adriatic War (1641 - 1647)
The Ottoman Empire had watched the Republic of Venice grow in wealth, power, and military might. With the naval fleet the Venetians had constructed, the more advanced technologies they were developing with the aid of the scientists and engineers that had moved to Venice, and the control they had over the Adriatic Sea, the Ottomans thought it was only a matter of time before they set their sights on the lands further south; Greece.

Under Sultan Ibrahim I, the Ottoman's, well aware that the Venetians had acquired Montenegro from the Holy Roman Empire with their aid, decided to negotiate with Emperor Ferdinand III to put help put down the "upstart republic". Their plan was to invade from the north and east coming over the mountains, and south coming up through the Adriatic. The conflict began in 1641. It turned out to be a massive blunder on the sides of both the Holy Roman Empire and the Ottoman Empire. Any and all weapons shipments to the Holy Roman Empire ceased. The people living in the areas of Montenegro that were part of the Republic fought hard to remain a part of the Republic. The Republic also gained reinforcements from the Algonquian, Catawba, and Venetian-Americans that were part of Nova Venizio across the Atlantic; however, many of the Native Americans died of illness before even making it to Europe, and the rest either died in Europe unable to stand against the tactics used by the Europeans, or proved too weak to fight. The advanced technologies the Venetians had developed for both sea and land were instrumental in the fight against the allied Empires. What had been a major tide turner for the Venetians had been the further advancements on the steam engine and the side paddle wheel design. These advancement made the ships more maneuverable and allowed the Venetians to easily destroy the Ottoman fleet. The plan of the Republic was to simply defend their borders against the Holy Roman Empire and hold out long enough for the Empire to realize they were expending too much men and material against the Republic, especially since they were fighting a larger war in the North (Thirty Years War).

With the destruction of a large portion of the Ottoman Navy in May, 1644, the Venetians were able to push South and captured the eastern portion of Greece and the Peloponnese. The Republic also regained the island of Crete. With the loss of Crete, the Ottoman Empire lost a major controlling point of the eastern Mediterranean. Across the Strait of Otranto, the Kingdom of Naples had been observing the war with great interest. With control of Eastern Greece and Crete going to the Venetians, the Spanish rulers of the Kingdom of Naples began to see Venice as a major threat. As the Republic gained control of more and more land they would be the dominant force in the central Mediterranean. In October, 1644, the Kingdom of Naples launched an attack across the Strait of Otranto in the Albanian region of the Republic. They had determined this would be the perfect time to stage an attack since much of the Venetian fleet would be in the south pursuing the Ottoman Fleet. The attack came as such a surprise to the Venetians they were unable to stop the Neapolitans, who were able to drive completely across the Venetian territory.

The Neapolitan forces than began to push north towards Venice. Their plan was for their land forces to travel northward with their navy supporting them. The Neapolitans negotiated with the Papal States to pass through their territory which would make attacking Venice by land easier. The Pope however refused not wanting to involve themselves in this conflict. This made the Neapolitans progress north that much more difficult.

The Neapolitans also were not as perpared as they thought to combat the Albanian, Serbian, Croat, Dalmatian, and Montenegran peoples. Their progress through the mountainous and heavily forested region was slow and bloody. The defense of the Balkans also saw the first use of a diving suit first invented by Leonardo da Vinci, now much improved, which was put to use harassing the anchored Neapolitan ships. The smaller ships that the Venetians had left in the Adriatic to provide some protection for the city of Venice itself acted as a harassing force which served to slow down the Neapolitan forces further. The Republic was able to hold the Neapolitan forces off until 1645. In 1646 word had reached the Venetian Navy who immediately made their way back to the Adriatic. As they entered through the Strait of Otranto they were greeted by a force of Neapolitan ships attempting to stop their progress. The Venetian forces were hampered by the Neapolitan forces, but were able to gain the upper hand thanks to the more advanced Venetian ships. This came to be known as known as the Battle of the Otranto Strait - 1646.

The Venetian Navy sailed further north and attacked the Neapolitan Navy. With the depletion of a great deal of the supplies of the Venetian Navy, the battle off the coast of Dalmatia was an extremely hard fight for the Ventians. They were able to finally defeat the Neapolitans by copying the English victory over the Spanish Armada and sent fire ships in and among the crippled Neapolitan fleet. The surviving Neapolitan ships fled west towards their home ports leaving their land forces to their fates in the Balkans. The Venetian forces were too weak after pursuing the Ottoman Navy, and than chasing the Neapolitan Navy from its shores to mount an attack after the Kingdom of Naples. However, the Doge and the Venetian government were well aware that Naples was going to be a constant threat to the Venetians, and it would not be long before they had to fight them again for control of the Strait of Otranto. For now, they needed to pull back, and bring their newly conquered territory under their control.

Survival of Nova Venizio
The years 1642 - 1649 were hard for Nova Venizio. The colonial territory had been cut off from the Mother Country during the entire duration of the war as well as two years following due to naval skirmishes with both the Neapolitan and Spanish Navy in the Mediterranean and in the Strait of Gibraltar. After two years of negotiations the combatants finally came to terms and stability returned to the region. By September 1649 the Venetians were able to sail through both the Straits of Otranto and Gibraltar unhindered. However, the Nova Venizio they had left, was not the Nova Venizio they found.

It wasn't until the early summer of 1642 that Nova Venizio experienced its first difficulty when 3 slave ships bound for the Republic were attacked by ships of the Spanish Navy. The slavers, having minimal armaments, were forced to turn back to the port of Poca Padova. Any further attempts to leave North America were met with the same welcome by the Spanish. This was the same for any ship that attempted to leave Nova Venizio. Raids on the southern reaches of Nova Venizio were made by the Spanish who were beginning to push northward from Florida, harassing the rice and tobacco planters and raiding the Native American villages. Not only was Nova Venizio robbed of the ability to export any goods, any country attempting to trade with the small colony was prevented from doing so. The ports of Poca Padova and Città del Sindacato began to overflow with goods like rice, tobacco, corn, and slaves. The colonial government had come to the conclusion that they were on their own, perhaps permanently, and if they were to survive drastic changes had to be made. The raids by the Spanish were increasing and they were gaining allies in the form of the Cherokee, the Monacan, and Shawnee tribes who were major targets of the slavers. Farms were burned, and massacres were occurring on the frontier of the colony leaving few survivors. The colonial Regolatore and the Council of 6 came to a consensus: all enslaving activity will cease indefinitely, the slaves crowding the ports will be released since they would be a toll on any remaining supplies, all remaining food stuffs will be brought into the fortified towns to be rationed out among the populace, and there was to be no offensive retaliation for the raids - defensive only.

There were some who slipped past the Spanish ships to make it into Poca Padova and Cittá del Sindacato, Dutch, Swedish, and English ships. It was from these sailors they came to find out about the war between the Republic and the Ottomans and the Spanish/Neapolitans. These ships, once in, many found it difficult getting back out. With these ships piling up in the harbors the colonial government came upon a plan that could help the colony. The ships stuck in the colony were contracted as privateers to act against the Spanish ships. They would be permitted to keep whatever booty they find, and take refuge within the outer banks off the coast of Nova Venizio where a ship could easily hide. In return they were expected to pay 5% of their take to the city as well as split any of the arms and munitions with the colony. This money would than be used to pay off the Spanish raiders and keep them at bay, which worked for a few years. While there were cases of death from starvation, the colony was able to sustain itself for a time through piracy and bribing the raiders to keep away from their borders. By 1646 the Venetians began trading with the English to the north more readily.

All the exposure to sailors from protestant lands and with the English to the north, a change began taking place within the colony. The intermingling of the numerous cultures: Italian, Croation, Swedish, Native American, Albanian, Dutch, African-Muslim, African-Pagan, English, Montenegran, and Serbian began to blend together, especially in the towns creating the beginnings of a new culture of sorts (much the same as what happened in New Orleans in OTL). New religious and political ideas bled into the colony and technological and scientific advances the colonists brought with them found their way out to many of the countries in Europe.

By 1648 the colony found it harder and harder to pay off the raiders, as their prices had gone up. Unable to meet their price, the colony was subject to more raids across their borders. However, they had also accumulated a supply of cannon, powder, shot, and muskets from the ships they were raiding, and coupling this with their own level of technology were able to hold off the attacks for the next two years.

The "Enlightened" Republic of Venice
The ideas and philosophies of the Enlightenment begin to filter into Venice... COMING SOON!!!

The Interdict of 1710
What's the Vatican ticked off about this time!? COMING SOON!!!