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Venetian Commercial Expansion
In the 1270s, the Republic of Venice greatly expanded its eastern Mediterranean trade network, exploiting the aftermath of the Crusades and Byzantine…
Timeline
- 1270Crete · CreteIn 1270 Venice launched a military expedition against Crete, defeating local Byzantine forces and consolidating colonial rule, turning Crete into Venice's granary and trade transit base in the eastern Mediterranean.
- 1271Constantinople · MarmaraVenice signed a new trade treaty with Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII, restoring and expanding Venetian merchants' trading privileges within the empire and lowering tariffs, in exchange for Venetian diplomatic support on the question of church union.
- 1272–1279Eastern Mediterranean · Eastern MediterraneanVenetian merchants further penetrated Black Sea ports and Levant trading posts in the 1270s, competing with Genoa in the spice and silk trade, and protecting overseas expatriate commercial interests through the consular system, consolidating maritime trade hegemony.
Sources
- Venice: A Maritime Republic — Frederic C. Lane (1973)
- A History of Venice — John Julius Norwich (1989)