Alternative History
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Urban Areas[]

The capital city of the Venetian Republic is Venice, which is also the most populous city and the richest with one of the highest amounts of foreign trade in the world. There are several other port cities however the majority of trade is still done through Venice. Venice is also home to one of the first replaceable parts factories in the world, the Venetian Arsenal, which gives Venice a great production capacity and allows them to field and supply huge fleets and armies, it also gives them the ability to produce a large amount of tradable commodities.

There are only two more cities that come close to the power of Venice and these are Verona and Padua. They have no specific function within the Republic other than to be de facto military headquarters due to the fact that they supply the majority of the Venetian Soldiers within the army.

Subdivisions[]

The Venetian Republic is divided into four states and then ten provinces and 60 districts. Each state is controlled by the Stato del Governo (State Government) who has the major power over their state and operate almost exactly like the Corte Veneziana di Governance however it varies by state (it should be noted that Venice has no Stato del Governo as it already has the Corte Venezia di Governance) although the Stato del Governo can have legislation forced upon it by the Corte Venezia di Governance. Each province is administered by a Consiglio Provinciale (Provincial Council), whose members are chosen by the Pregadi. The Consiglio Provinciale reside within the capital city of the province and take care of day to day operations (such as taxes, recruitment and internal trade) with the assistance of the Autorità Grande, however have no power in government and can have legislation forced upon them from the Corte Veneziana di Governo. Each district is controlled by an Assemblea dei Nobili (Assembly of Nobles) who each share dominion over the district and must provide what the council requests, these nobles are all from different houses and so are less likely to attempt a coup.

Culture[]

The official language of the Venetian Republic is Venetian however the common language (used for trade and documents) is Italian so that everyone from Italy can understand them. The state religion is Catholicism however it is not actively enforce but simply encouraged, this causes other religious populations to seep in through the massive Venetian trade fleet and stops high prejudice barring trade opportunities. The primary culture is Venetian and the old Venetian ideas of trade, industry and fleet with new Venetian ideas of strength, assertion and foot.

Government[]

Flag of Most Serene Republic of Venice

The Flag of the Republic of Venice

The official name of Venice is the Venetian Republic. The official name of the government is Corte Veneziana di Governance. The Venetian Republic is ruled by the Doge as head of state and head of all government institutions. Under him is the Collegio who comprises of a group of selected officials chosen by the Doge who act as the executive arm of the government. Then there is the Minor Consiglio who supervises the actions of the Collegio and may veto them. However, they too, can have vetoes forced on their decisions by the Doge. After them is the Consiglio dei Dieci which consists of ten chosen individuals (chosen by the Collegio) and have authority over all government actions. They are at the same level of control as the Pregadi who number 120 individuals (chosen by the Collegio) and take care of day to day legislation. Finally there is the Autorità Grande which forms the acting force of the Government who carry out decrees and government business.

The current ruler is Doge Constantino who is head of the Furioso family, currently the largest Venetian Patrician family and holds the most influence with both the working class and middle class. Constantino advocates free trade and a system where the merchants and businessmen of Venice form the main economic authority, he also believes that Catholicism is important though think that the Pope should not rule an empire and that the religion should be kept separate from government, he believes that only pure Venetians should have full citizenship and that other peoples under Venetian rule should have separate citizenship and also wishes to make Venice a strong military power.

History[]

The Venetian Republic of 1649 is considered substantially different from the pre-Roman occupation Republic and so the previous history of Venice is not considered a part of the Venetian modern history.

In 1649 Venice declared itself independent from the Holy Roman Empire with the Furioso family establishing themselves as the leaders of the new Republic, straight after in 1650 they proposed to the other north Italian states a process of unification with Venice so that they may be protected from Holy Roman Empire aggression.

Soon however Venice faced its first test, Hungary wary of Venice's rearmament and growing power decided to invade to protect their interests in the Adriatic. However, Venice managed to mobilize enough of its battaglione's fast enough to meet the entire Hungarian force close to the border and engaged in one of the largest battles to date, with around 60 percent of all Venetian troops facing off a Hungarian and Polish army numbering at least one and a half times the size. It turned out to be a major strategic victory while not a major tactical victory, it allowed the Venetian Army to force the Hungarians back. Then with reinforcements from Naples, they managed to mount a naval offensive with the gigantic Venetian fleet capturing all of the Adriatic coast, there were even small expeditions used to capture Hungarian colonial lands. The Hungarians soon filed for peace and the Doge accepted gaining a small colony in South America and The currently occupied land in the Adriatic.

Foreign Relations[]

The Kingdom of Naples

The Doge wishes to expand trading relations with Naples and bring in a treaty of free trade with no tariffs so that both economies may benefit from the mass increase in trade. He also wishes for Venice and Naples to not come to blows over the anti-Holy Roman Republic stance Venice takes.

The People feel that Naples is an ally and treat Neapolitans as equals a majority of the time, however feel that their governments support of the Pope is an act of ignorance in the face of Roman aggression.

Treaties with Naples

  • The Treaty of Italy, 1638


The Kingdom of Hungary

The Doge wishes for Hungary to keep away from Venetian territory and imposes heavy tariffs on Hungarians trying to trade with Venice however is glad that war is in the distance.

The People feel that Hungary is an aggressive imperial empire and are known to openly kill Hungarians, they think that the only Hungary that should exist is a tiny city-state version of the huge carnivore.

Treaties with Hungary


  • Non-Aggression Pact of 1652


The Holy Roman Republic

The Doge wishes for Rome to cease aggression against the northern Italian states and wishes for it to retract its attempts to influence the northern states.

The People feel that Rome is an enemy of Venice and consistently treat Romans with aggression and violence, they would approve of aggression against the state and the reduction of its power to simply Rome.

Treaties with Rome


  • none


The Tsardom of Russia

The Doge wishes that Russia and Venice become more closely intertwined and that a free trade agreement would be signed between the two and thinks that a military alliance would complement this.

The People feel that Russia is a foreign nation and treat Russians with awkwardness at worst. However, they hold no real grudges against Russians and are normally welcoming to them and enjoy the idea of an alliance between Russia and their nation.

Treaties with Russia


  • none



The Kingdom of Sweden

The Doge wishes that Sweden and Venice would organise a free trade agreement to allow better flow of resources, military and otherwise to Sweden and allow the Venetian economy to grow even more.

The People feel that Sweden is a similarly naval based nation and treat Swedes with civility, they normally enjoy the company of the Swedes and most stereotypes are positive.

Treaties with Sweden


  • none

Colonies[]

While the Venetian Republic possesses no colonies at the time, there are several interests overseas that some members of the Collegio wish to pursue. There are currently three separate proposed colonies which are:

Nuovo Venetia

Planned to be established on the eastern coast of North America, so that it may be used as a trading post within the new world and give access to new materials, territory and allies. This territory is also planned to be used as a way to start trading heavily with the large state of Itsaygahi and its many client states.

Terra di Calore

Planned to be on the eastern coast of South America, so that it may be used as a trading post within the new world and give access to new materials, territory and allies. This territory is also planned to be used as a way to open up closer ties with the South American nations, the Inca and Mayans.

Cinque Isole

Planned to be in the five eastern Bahamas, so that it may be used as a trading post within the new world and give access to new materials, territory and allies. This territory is also planned to be used as a new world military spring board to protect Venetian interests in the Americas.

Military[]

The Venetian military is based on conscription, with every noble of an Assemblea dei Nobili having to procure a battaglione of troops for the Venetian army. A battaglione of troops consists of four compagnia of foot (80 men each), two horse compagnia (80 men) and one artillery compagnia (80 men). Venetian troops are armed quite heavily with 60 men per compagnia of foot armed with muskets and swords along with some traditional Venetian armour and the other 20 being trained with pike and sword and wearing the same armour, the horse compagnia would all be trained with swords along with grenades allowing them to serve a raiding order with better efficiency than other cavalry units, artillery compagnia are trained with pike while also being able to use cannon although cannon size varies with smaller bore being more common in the northern compagnias and larger bore being common in the south. Should there be insufficient population for such a battaglione to be created then the noble would be required to hire at least 300 mercenaries to compensate.

Wars participated in:

  • Second Hungarian-Venetian War (1651-1653, Major Victory)
  • Venetian war of Milan (1652, Minor Victory)

Tactics[]

Economy[]

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