[anchor=11]
The ship was sailing northward in a placid Adriatic Sea, followed by the transport fleet. Few clouds didn't represent a menace and Gabriele knew that enemy vessels couldn't venture so far from their docks. The galley was actually overcrowded of soldiers and this fact didn't facilitate Gabriele attention. For a while again he considered the fact that the ship that carried him and other 3.000 soldiers to fight was named after his beloved mother Antonia. Commissioned three years before for more than 11.000 ducats (a huge amount of gold, corresponding to two years of earnings), the galley was the prize of Apulian fleet, but the Duchess wasn't able to see it in action: actually, she had died two years before, leaving Duke Raimondo in a pitiful state. Together with the loss of the mother, also the discreditable dismissal of his elder sister Laura from the court of Chambery was another sad episode of his youth. Actually, after the Apulian access to the French alliance, Laura had gone promised spouse to the younger Savoyard heir Charles le Bon to build up a blood relationship with the allied Italo-French house. After three years among the icy valleys and people of Savoy, when the duchy fell under the control of Paris the Valois Kings of France imposed another wife for their future vassal Charles and thus he repudiated Laura. She was not fond of her experience there and thus accepted with favour the chance to come back home, but the shock for the court of Taranto was significant.
But on the whole the last decade had been joyful for Gabriele and the nation, a decade of peace and general prosperity. Their fate started to converge since 1503, when Duke Raimondo introduced an important innovation with the title of Count of Lecce. That was the title he got from his father when he was young and defended against Ferrante's wishes. As a result, when his first male son and heir to the ducal title was twenty years old and married Lavinia Sanseverino, he decided to award him as matrimonial gift the County of Lecce, the town he moved from to conquer his status. Everyday Gabriele remembered with pride that day, culminated in a ceremony attended by Pope Julius II: the spouse, marvellous in the white dress, his joyful parents, and the crowd…
His father's generation was gradually fading away. Raimondo was a lonely old widow; almost all his dearest friends had died: Antonello Sanseverino, Lavinia's father, died during the outbreak of syphilis, actually the last that fell over the country with an extreme virulence; Malo, the Castellan, died in mysterious circumstances (his body was found in a well) in 1505 and six years later Mino, the manager of Brindisi port, reached his friends in Heaven. Also Raimondo's worst enemies had passed away: in 1504 with the death in exile of Fredrigo – the last King of Naples – there were no more pretenders to the crown of the Kingdom. A new generation was emerging from the previous one: Antonello's son, Roberto, was a clever captain of the Ducal Guard. Marco, one of the numerous Malo's illegitimate sons, was Gabriele's cadet onboard, showing a good degree of commitment and skill. And another generation was just blooming: two births brought happiness in the court four years before. Both Lavinia and Roberto's wife bore two vital and healthy babies, Raimondo (II) and Ferdinando [go back to the genealogy on 1st post if you need an overall picture]. The future of Apulia was developing in their cradles.
But Gabriele, standing up in front of the sea, felt that something was still missing in his life. He learnt everything about the glorious war of independence against Naples and his father's glory on the battlefields of Apulia and Calabria. What Gabriele missed was just there: a mission. His twenties had gone away without action. Now, on the brink of the thirties, he was a pleased husband and father, beloved by the subjects and rich (oh, the excellent ministry of Pietro "the bailiff" had reached new summits of careful management in those years – 58.000 ducats in the coffers couldn't be a chance – and Benjamin Levi's mercantile activities in Venice had been basically outstanding). But … what he had to fight for, or against?
Apparently, Benjamin couldn't be more satisfied: Levi's grasp on Venetian business activities had increased during all the decade. Upon inheritance of his uncle Aaron's concern, the Levis were only one of the dozens mercantile enterprises trading in Venice, and not among the most important. In few years Benjamin's management produced a radical change: by 1504 the Levis had five traders who dealt with 1/4 of total shipments; twice in a year red & white (which were the colours of the ducal coat of arms) flagged vessels cruised Adriatic Sea packed with Apulian salt, wine and wheat and came back with textiles, luxury goods and German wood. Profits were notable, even if Venetian authorities prevented with any kind of instrument the emergence of a monopoly in their marketplaces. Yet, the Jewish merchant was anxious: not about the market share, rather about the total size of transactions executed in the Adriatic emporium. His ancestors knew the impact of the fall of Constantinople in the hands of the Ottoman Turks. Spice and silk trade with Asia was cut–off, export of foodstuff and luxury goods to the Imperial city ended. Ottoman Sultans imposed their own ships to Eastern Mediterranean merchants and buccaneers often attacked Christian vessels.
At that moment, the story seemed to repeat itself: Doge Leonardo Loredano's campaigns had been really poor and a series of military setbacks where hammering Venetian projection outside the Adriatic. After the loss of Mantua to the Duchy of Milan, the Ottomans were devouring one after the other Venetian outposts in Eastern Mediterranean. Particularly disrupting had been the conflict lasted from 1503 until the Treaty of Zara in 1508. Pressed also by north, where the Austro-Hungarian alliance was always eager to regain an access to sea, the Most Serene Republic had to give up to the Infidels all its overseas provinces: the treaty had officially sanctioned the conquest of Crete, Cyprus, Ragusa and Corfu by the Ottoman armies. And after janissaries had come an army of beys, merchants and bureaucrats who gradually shifted the economy of those territories under the sphere of influence of the Sublime Porte.
As if the loss of the Mediterranean islands was not enough, early signs of increasing competition from the Iberian ports alarmed even more Benjamin. Spice and silk had always been among the most profitable trades in the "lagoon" since the times of Marco Polo. But Portuguese explorations to India and the discovery of the New World were at that time hampering the monopoly of Venice. Vasco da Gama had returned from his unbelievable voyage around the Cape of Good Hope with pepper, cinnamon and ginger. Then King Manuel's cannons were doing their job in order to consolidate his control over the spice trade in the Ocean Indian. Spaniards ventures in the New World were heavily funded by the Fuggers and their conquistadors' robberies in the Aztec Empire were becoming legendary (in 1506, few Spaniards adventurers captured a treasury worthy over 200.000 ducats). With all this gold, Iberian colonists in the Americas were starting the production in large scale of allspice, vanilla and red peppers, traded only by Spanish merchants on the other side of the Atlantic. In July 1506 with the Treaty of Tordesillas the Kings of Spain and Portugal had agreed a partition of the known (and unknown) world along a meridian crossing the Ocean. Benjamin had no doubts: the tiny background of Venice in the Mediterranean basin wouldn't survive eternally to the resolutions of Zara and Tordesillas.
Chapter 11: the future of Apulia
[/anchor]April 1512, on board of galley "Duchess Antonia"
The ship was sailing northward in a placid Adriatic Sea, followed by the transport fleet. Few clouds didn't represent a menace and Gabriele knew that enemy vessels couldn't venture so far from their docks. The galley was actually overcrowded of soldiers and this fact didn't facilitate Gabriele attention. For a while again he considered the fact that the ship that carried him and other 3.000 soldiers to fight was named after his beloved mother Antonia. Commissioned three years before for more than 11.000 ducats (a huge amount of gold, corresponding to two years of earnings), the galley was the prize of Apulian fleet, but the Duchess wasn't able to see it in action: actually, she had died two years before, leaving Duke Raimondo in a pitiful state. Together with the loss of the mother, also the discreditable dismissal of his elder sister Laura from the court of Chambery was another sad episode of his youth. Actually, after the Apulian access to the French alliance, Laura had gone promised spouse to the younger Savoyard heir Charles le Bon to build up a blood relationship with the allied Italo-French house. After three years among the icy valleys and people of Savoy, when the duchy fell under the control of Paris the Valois Kings of France imposed another wife for their future vassal Charles and thus he repudiated Laura. She was not fond of her experience there and thus accepted with favour the chance to come back home, but the shock for the court of Taranto was significant.
But on the whole the last decade had been joyful for Gabriele and the nation, a decade of peace and general prosperity. Their fate started to converge since 1503, when Duke Raimondo introduced an important innovation with the title of Count of Lecce. That was the title he got from his father when he was young and defended against Ferrante's wishes. As a result, when his first male son and heir to the ducal title was twenty years old and married Lavinia Sanseverino, he decided to award him as matrimonial gift the County of Lecce, the town he moved from to conquer his status. Everyday Gabriele remembered with pride that day, culminated in a ceremony attended by Pope Julius II: the spouse, marvellous in the white dress, his joyful parents, and the crowd…
His father's generation was gradually fading away. Raimondo was a lonely old widow; almost all his dearest friends had died: Antonello Sanseverino, Lavinia's father, died during the outbreak of syphilis, actually the last that fell over the country with an extreme virulence; Malo, the Castellan, died in mysterious circumstances (his body was found in a well) in 1505 and six years later Mino, the manager of Brindisi port, reached his friends in Heaven. Also Raimondo's worst enemies had passed away: in 1504 with the death in exile of Fredrigo – the last King of Naples – there were no more pretenders to the crown of the Kingdom. A new generation was emerging from the previous one: Antonello's son, Roberto, was a clever captain of the Ducal Guard. Marco, one of the numerous Malo's illegitimate sons, was Gabriele's cadet onboard, showing a good degree of commitment and skill. And another generation was just blooming: two births brought happiness in the court four years before. Both Lavinia and Roberto's wife bore two vital and healthy babies, Raimondo (II) and Ferdinando [go back to the genealogy on 1st post if you need an overall picture]. The future of Apulia was developing in their cradles.
But Gabriele, standing up in front of the sea, felt that something was still missing in his life. He learnt everything about the glorious war of independence against Naples and his father's glory on the battlefields of Apulia and Calabria. What Gabriele missed was just there: a mission. His twenties had gone away without action. Now, on the brink of the thirties, he was a pleased husband and father, beloved by the subjects and rich (oh, the excellent ministry of Pietro "the bailiff" had reached new summits of careful management in those years – 58.000 ducats in the coffers couldn't be a chance – and Benjamin Levi's mercantile activities in Venice had been basically outstanding). But … what he had to fight for, or against?
… In the meanwhile, in Levi's headquarters…
Apparently, Benjamin couldn't be more satisfied: Levi's grasp on Venetian business activities had increased during all the decade. Upon inheritance of his uncle Aaron's concern, the Levis were only one of the dozens mercantile enterprises trading in Venice, and not among the most important. In few years Benjamin's management produced a radical change: by 1504 the Levis had five traders who dealt with 1/4 of total shipments; twice in a year red & white (which were the colours of the ducal coat of arms) flagged vessels cruised Adriatic Sea packed with Apulian salt, wine and wheat and came back with textiles, luxury goods and German wood. Profits were notable, even if Venetian authorities prevented with any kind of instrument the emergence of a monopoly in their marketplaces. Yet, the Jewish merchant was anxious: not about the market share, rather about the total size of transactions executed in the Adriatic emporium. His ancestors knew the impact of the fall of Constantinople in the hands of the Ottoman Turks. Spice and silk trade with Asia was cut–off, export of foodstuff and luxury goods to the Imperial city ended. Ottoman Sultans imposed their own ships to Eastern Mediterranean merchants and buccaneers often attacked Christian vessels.
At that moment, the story seemed to repeat itself: Doge Leonardo Loredano's campaigns had been really poor and a series of military setbacks where hammering Venetian projection outside the Adriatic. After the loss of Mantua to the Duchy of Milan, the Ottomans were devouring one after the other Venetian outposts in Eastern Mediterranean. Particularly disrupting had been the conflict lasted from 1503 until the Treaty of Zara in 1508. Pressed also by north, where the Austro-Hungarian alliance was always eager to regain an access to sea, the Most Serene Republic had to give up to the Infidels all its overseas provinces: the treaty had officially sanctioned the conquest of Crete, Cyprus, Ragusa and Corfu by the Ottoman armies. And after janissaries had come an army of beys, merchants and bureaucrats who gradually shifted the economy of those territories under the sphere of influence of the Sublime Porte.
As if the loss of the Mediterranean islands was not enough, early signs of increasing competition from the Iberian ports alarmed even more Benjamin. Spice and silk had always been among the most profitable trades in the "lagoon" since the times of Marco Polo. But Portuguese explorations to India and the discovery of the New World were at that time hampering the monopoly of Venice. Vasco da Gama had returned from his unbelievable voyage around the Cape of Good Hope with pepper, cinnamon and ginger. Then King Manuel's cannons were doing their job in order to consolidate his control over the spice trade in the Ocean Indian. Spaniards ventures in the New World were heavily funded by the Fuggers and their conquistadors' robberies in the Aztec Empire were becoming legendary (in 1506, few Spaniards adventurers captured a treasury worthy over 200.000 ducats). With all this gold, Iberian colonists in the Americas were starting the production in large scale of allspice, vanilla and red peppers, traded only by Spanish merchants on the other side of the Atlantic. In July 1506 with the Treaty of Tordesillas the Kings of Spain and Portugal had agreed a partition of the known (and unknown) world along a meridian crossing the Ocean. Benjamin had no doubts: the tiny background of Venice in the Mediterranean basin wouldn't survive eternally to the resolutions of Zara and Tordesillas.