Industrial Progress: A Story Of Venetian Suffrage (Haitus)

[Lucius Verus]

114. The Servi War Part 4

1490
Venice

"The founding of Torcello (before it was abandoned for Venice.) was the coming together of hundreds of tiny island communities. Compromise is in our blood." Pentata di Kulen


It was thought that the coming of rain would disperse the crowd, but the moisture just imposed an aggravating humidity upon the angry spirits. Crowds in the Plaza wasn't anything new, yet the sheer size of this one and the ominous chanting was disturbing. Feeling the pressure,

an over-stressed Patrician named Gaetano felt tingles in his todger and sent for his favorite mistress. Perhaps it was a misuse of ministerial privileges to employ the secret emergency entrance for carnal gratification, but it felt like an emergency to the senator. Hurrying to the Pozzi (Wells) that imprisoned convicts in dark, damp, and humid conditions underneath the ducal palace Gaetano was confronted with the confusingly arousing sight of his mistress Fiora and a throng of rough men beyond the gate of the secret entrance. Unkownst to the senator a fella in the crowd had recognized Fiora as a relation to Gaetano, called it to the attention of a crowd, and followed her closely with the implication of violence should she refuse. [1]

At a quick glance the senator understood the situation and the danger she was in. It would be safer, easier, and more logical to just walk away. Yet his loins ached and his resolve wavered at the sight of her pleading eyes. With a sigh the senator muttered about the "stupid sexy peasant", offered to lead them to the senate if they swore an oath of non-violence leading to the incredulous sight of the prominent senator announcing their arrival while his mistress clung onto him for dear life.

Like boiling cauldron kept calm by a thin layer of oil the senator was feeling the heat while awkwardly shifting to hide his stress hard-on. Riled up and lacking direction the crowd bumbled about looking for provocations. It could've gone in so many ways, scuttles could've broken out and should anyone ad died the crowd would've been inconsolable, the crowd could've been rallied by a firebrand, or the violence-prone, ignorant, and conspiratorial peasants of the crowd could've taken the lead. With patience running thin as he made his announcement, the senator turned away from the senate, scanned the crowd and motioned towards the best dressed and hopefully calmest person. [2]

Selected by chance, a woman by the name of Sofia d'Basile who was an esteemed member of a religious fraternity stepped up and addressed the senate. As an orginarii, Sofia was well informed of affairs of state and on the streets employing both in her speech. Demanding economic relief, the withdrawal of proposed tax measures, and active participation within the senate.

In one of the rare incidents of politics the now ancient Dogeressa Enrica slipped out the back, returned dressed in a simple robe without the ducal regalia, descended from the ducal throne's platform, and asked what she could do to make things right. The sight of the widowed Dogeressa, in plain clothes earnestly trying to help was enough to disperse the anger of the crowd. In a throw-back to the earliest doges, the next several hours was spent with the Dogeressa hearing out the personal complaints of the crowd. Exhausted the old woman eventually retired while the senate held several improvised votes. The final form, drafted at the end of the day was the inclusion of elected representatives from the cittadini (citizens) into the Maggior Consiglio, the body which elects Patricians for office. It was a compromise to vent the frustrations of the crowd, assuage the egos of the Patriciate which refused to sit beside peasants, and mostly importantly did not immediate affect anyone's interests as the effects would only affect the senate later when new senate members are elected. [3]

The following weeks would reveal plenty of support for widening of the political class with reservations. The colonial, exalted (men of military conquest), and bishopric Patricians were mostly in support once they realized that the mob was mostly anti-indirect taxation (anti-entrepôt). The originarii were split between the wealthy majority in support and the super-wealthy which brought several Patricianships in opposition to diluting their influence. The response among the poorer Patricians, many de-facto excluded from daily politics was a mix of relief from a consolation prize and identity crisis as they felt their title slowly crumbling. For better or worse, the Republic was taking the first tentative steps into the unknown.



[1] IOTL, the Pozzi were among the worst jails within the Republic, sometimes called Piombi for their lead roofs that invited the chills of winter and heat of summer. ITTL the jails were exclusively employed by the Council of Ten which gradually faded as an institution, no longer exclusively reserved for political prisoners the jails are now mostly to imprison politically sensitive clergy.
[2] IOTL, most mob of the time were undisciplined and lacked a directing ideology. The traditional result would've been either crushing military defeat or some concessions while the knights rallied and crushed the peasants. ITTL the residents of Venice lack both a class and political ideology yet it did have intellectuals
[3] IOTL, revolutionary France showed that if given the right to elect anyone at the time the most likely representatives would be lawyers and doctors with good incomes, law-abiding attitudes, and spare time for politics. ITTL Venice is trying something different to preserve the tier citizenship system while still allowing for some responsiveness.

 

[Sceonn]

Representative government will assuage a great deal of anger and certainly further stabilize Venice.

 

[Lucius Verus]

115. Industrial Progress: Part 2

Venetian Republic
1380s-1500s

The textile industry of the Republic employs over half of all industrial workers while its reach extends to every corner of the Republic and beyond. Divided roughly into four steps of raw material production, spinning, weaving, and tailoring each step of which is intimately interwoven into a wider international network.

At the very top of the profit margins, concentrated in Venice and the cities were the prestigious luxury tailors and textile houses. Venerable and steadfast the segment has changed little since the 1380s, the guilds still existed to maintain high quality through rigid regulation, the choice of opulent materials and styles moved at a glacial pace with costumers in the Republic's changing Patricians, new feudal patricians, and feudal international nobles with the majority of sales conducted by personal connections to the rich. [1]

Moving down the value chain were the weavers and tailors responsible for the processing of yarn into fabric and fabric into clothing respectively. Tailoring for the most part was unchanged, they worked in their homes measuring, repairing, and altering clothes from fabrics; due to the need for tailoring most textile trade were unfinished fabric/yarn or commissioned luxury items. There was a brief disruption in the 1450s with the proliferation of knitted clothing (socks, stockings, gloves…etc) which could stretch to fit most people and took away some demand from tailors. [2]

Weaving on the other hand saw dramatic changes. Traditionally weavers would create fabric from yarn (cotton, wool, flax, hemp & silk) with foot operated looms, yet the width of the clothe was limited by the reach of the weaver while the speed was limited by the weaver's hands. The first development was intensive as capital and labour were brought together in a more connected Republic. Called the wide loom two weavers would operate an expanded loom from two ends allowing for much wider clothe, which saved on labour (as it was often a child with an adult) while commanding better prices for wider clothe. The second change came from the series spinning wheel, which increased yarn production several-fold within a few years making yarn cheap and weavers in demand. Unable to multiply the number of skilled weavers as quickly aspiring and overworked weaving sheds created the pendulum loom which replaced the precision and time required to operate shaft bars in traditional looms with a design that allows the shaft bar to be simply thrown by a single person and halving labour requirements. Still this was not enough to cope with the glut of yarn being produced and more was needed. The unintended side effect of the pendulum loom was to reduce weaving into simple and discrete steps which could be automated and powered by water-mills, with many prospective ventures already underway by the end of the century. If successful the water-powered pendulum loom has the potential to make the current affair of dispersed families of weavers obsolete within a generation in favor of centralized water-looms and shift the limiting resource from labour towards wealth. [3]

Running hand-in-hand with weaving was the dye industry, while not necessarily the next step down the value chain was nonetheless an essential part of the textile industry. Despite the dramatic increase in demand caused by increases in spinning and weaving productivity change within the industry has been intensive rather than qualitative. Lacking an understanding of the natural world the dye industry is left stumbling in the dark, occasionally stumbling upon a lucky break but unable to achieve any real breakthrough. Building on economies of scale traditional dye baths have been steadily aggregated or replaced by dye-works hosting hundreds or thousands of dye-vats dying bleached fabrics/yarn into vibrant and expensive cloth/yarn. The dyes themselves are grown or harvested from various roots, plants, lichen, and insects with techniques acquired slowly and secretively through the generations. As the republic's population grows costs for dye plantations have risen due to the demand for arable land at the same time that a wealthier republic is demand more dyed textiles. Due to the nauseous odor the profession is considered a pauper's lot and second-choice of occupation for most. During the process mordants are employed to bind the dyes to the fabric, adjust the hue, and are considered the main limiting resources. Alum, the best mordant as it brightens colors is mined only in the Papal States and the Venetian island of Lesbos is limited and dyeworks are forced to resort to sub-optimal mordants such as copper. [4]
The next step down the value chain was spinning, the act of twisting and stretching sorted fibers into yarn with the assistance of spindles or spinning wheels. Tedious, of marginal profit, and considered women's work about 4 spinsters were needed for every weaver traditionally. The first change was organizational, as transportation improved within the Republic spinsters no longer brought fiber from the few local households that made fiber on the side (after which work had to stop for a lack of materials) but rather regional markets on credit; eventually amalgamating/hired into Patrician run/sponsored manufacturates that offered the stability of a salary in contrast to the volatility of personal yarn sales. Whether compelled by competition or luck the series spinning wheel was invented and brought into use, featuring multiple spindles placed in parallels aided by mechanisms for guiding and twisting fibers it was now possible for a single person to create multiple threads of yarn at once. Almost immediately protests and acts of vandalism occurred as a majority of spinsters were forced to choose between unemployment or competition at deprivation wages. Within the mainland and parts of the Republic with more patriarchal cultures most spinsters were women spinning on a part time basis and the loss was absorbed by the family, in contrast the other parts of the Republic saw much more vocal and violent disruption, especially in Venice where marriage came later and children are expected to strike out on their own. To the Patricians and well-off this was an inevitability with some wanting to assist the spinsters in moving on and others complaining that they'd paid their part with tithes, tolls, and taxes for the grain subsidy and admonishing the ungrateful and lazy. In the end the manufacturates won out by having transformed the entire yarn market, most yarn were being brought and sold by long-distance wholesalers to individual weavers, it was difficult for individuals to acquire the distribution necessary to work full-time and many had to bare the pains of occupation change. Property rights were rigorously protected with arrests and a few eyes symbolically plunked out though by the 1490s a good deal of representatives elected to the Maggior Consiglio had work camps and unemployment subsidy on their agendas.[5]


The next and final steps down the process are the production of the various types of fibers; wool, linen, cotton, and silk. Wool was warm, resistant to dirt and water though it was itchy, shrinks with water, and too warm for a Mediterranean summer. Linen in contrast was cool, breathable, and more lustrous though it suffered from poor elasticity and a tendency to wrinkle. Cotton for the most part was a better fabric as it combined the best of both wool and linen, although it still wrinkled and suffered from high labor costs in its production. Finally, considered the best fabric was silk at the top; strong, shiny, and comfortable its lustrous appearance alone was enough to overcome its price, middling tear resistance, weakness to sunlight and lack of absorbency. The republic for the most part preferred Irish linen for its thrift, breathability, and the fact that the flax which linen is made from grows poorly in warm climates. Manufacturing on the other hand was primarily wool, for the relatively cheap labor cost and silk for the price margins. The cost of pasture can be and is sometimes outsourced towards the Turks and the Balkans while the higher profit stages of bleaching, dying, and weaving is hopefully done within the Republic. Labour intensive and requiring some chemical input water-power has come a long way in reducing the most burdensome parts of linen and wool production while silk relied upon the traditional pair of nimble hands. [5]



[1] Even today, a good deal of luxury goods are limited production runs due to small market/artificial scarcity. IOTL the restrictive regulations and industrial culture led to the downfall of the industry in the late 17th century as newer techniques and styles from Lyon took over. IOTL the industry fell not for a lack of effort, as records show the government and guilds making determined attempts to steal/attract French talent and technique. The problem was conceptual, even when they did steal some technique or style Lyon would've produced a new style within a few months; what they were missing was a competitive and innovative market with institutions to support that.
[2] Just as IOTL knitted clothing was one of the few finished textile goods that could be exported, in essence shifting jobs from export markets to domestic knitters.
[3] Unlike IOTL where the flying shuttle simplified weaving and created bottlenecks in yarn production the reverse is true in ITTL, where increased yarn production is dragging along loom improvements. Also ITTL Venetian water power is more abundant and developed than coal power leading to the logical looms powered by water.
[4] Just as IOTL showed the field of chemistry was heavily knee-capped by a lack of theoretical basis and improvements are always incremental, accidental, and a far-cry from the breakthroughs that the textile industry needs.
[5] Similar to IOTL, linen was mostly a north European thing due to climate and kept artificially low by English desires to price-dump and suppress competitors.

 

[Sceonn]

How far along is the intensive industrialization of Venice spreading to other large cities within the Republic?

 

[Lucius Verus]

How far along is the intensive industrialization of Venice spreading to other large cities within the Republic?

Not very, as I've mentioned its more of a rural thing; more about proximity to resources than markets. Venice has to deal with high rents, labour costs, and disease-of course there are good reasons to be in the cities as well being the focal point of finance, shipping, trade and talent. The mainland cities on the other hand aren't the center of regional states anymore and plenty have waned in population which along with the old-fashioned guilds within them convinced plenty of newer industries to steer clear of them. There are also the Adriatic cities, mostly regional trade & industry hubs along trade routes with plenty of activity in the countryside; possibly the purest application of Venetian law and intentions due to its history. On the other hand there's Rashid (Rosetta) in the Nile, despite the flooding and poor water-power the city is the regional hub of the Nile and point of entry for dye and textile imports from India. Cyprus is a special case of industrial serfdom while Crete is still mired in its feudal legacy.

 

[Lucius Verus]

116. The Sullen Years

Venetian Republic
1380s-1500s


Called the Sullen years, the 1490s was a depressing time for Terrafirma. In order of severity hunger, infighting, chaos, battle, and finally vetting and execution by the State Inquisition had chopped down the ranks of the urban population. Just like how Rashid had bloomed into the regional center of the Nile after the Mamluks fell in the vacuum of Cairo the same process occurred in reverse in Terrafirma. No longer the political, economic, nor military centers of their city-states they had persisted by inertia in insular pockets putting off change. The process was far from universal as Milan, Genoa, Mantua, Bologna, and Ferrara were natural economic and/or military centers by geography and/or labour pools and would in the coming decades see their populations rise once they recovered from the shock. [1]

Politically traditional measures such as limited autonomy were no longer seen as viable for the mainland; it was simply too strategically important and unlike the Mediterranean territories impossible to dominate with naval power alone. Autonomy and privileges were reined in, with the exception of loyalists who were granted non-inheritable lifelong privileges for their current families. Important loyalists, nobles, and patricians from the mainland were given Patricianship to make it easier for the Inquisition to keep an eye on them. It had stopped just short of taking noble and patrician children hostage just like the Dalmatians historically if only for the logistical problems. Podestàs, magistrates, and numerous other positions were consolidated under the authority of the Rector (the Venetian rank for governor) who is chosen in Venice; whether they wanted it or not gaining civil power was about working with Venice and now divorced from direct economic gains. Those who raised arms against Venice but did not commit severe transgressions were barred from politics, military, and civil service. Proud, stubborn, and petty the changes led to another round of vicious rebellions in a doomed attempt against the still mobilized Sons of Erasmus. Of particular interest is the great ease with which Genoese patricians adapted and prospered to the new situation in Venice. Hailing from the former Genoese republic, a government sharing many similarities to a public corporation where one participates by buying a stake within the Senate provided an imperial reach unmatched by the Genoese Republic at its height.[2]

Economically the region was finally becoming integrated into the Republic; no longer were there tolls between historic city-states or city-gates, no longer were guilds given local monopolies, no longer were there several dozen sets of commune law codes, no longer were there dozens of types of coins with specific values, no longer was tax collection an ad-hoc matter, and no longer were institutions funded by local taxation, graft, and private wealth but transfers from Venice. [3]

The reactions were mixed, for some the changes was welcome, a massive effort and expenditure went into exchanging old coins for Venetian script and coin with the cost of restoring the metallic purity. Yet for others the same measure was an insult to the commune's pride, a violation of their traditional autonomy, and a loss of a revenue source for the political class. For many of the higher middling population, which were politically involved and had acquired at great cost offices with the expectation of returns from graft this was a massive crisis with those counting themselves as fortunate to find new positions with the Venetian bureaucracy to the many now impoverished literati exclaiming their grievances and revulsion of the state of affairs. While a minority and elitist the literati were the most publicized in Terrafirma.

Despite the effective changes in law the people of the communes mostly continued on as they've had before organized around families, guilds, and patrons going about in very personal and petty ways. Belief in the moral economy was still strong with concepts of supply and demand dismissed as esoteric manure; good honest labour should be rewarded with good living and it was wasn't then scapegoating was demanded. General fears about Venice dominating and exploiting the mainland grew, only muted by the fatalism and dejection from being defeated again. [4]

As later anthropologists would note "material culture affects and is affected by social culture" mainland urban society adapted to the new economic conditions. Exposed to Venetian industry that had gone through their own evolution decades ago the various guilds, workshops, and artisans were subject to brutal competition with a general decline in income despite some prospering with access to cheap credit and a massive market while others saw their income decline or their careers rendered unnecessary. Two factors delayed the change and prolonged the pain. The first being the lack of a free-labour market; despite the legal framework employers and workers were still in the city-state mind-set and nepotism, neighbourhood xenophobia, and personal preference dominated hiring and firing practices forcing many bright workers to seek manufactorates in the countryside or within the old regions of the Republic. The second being hubris and reluctance to change; for the half of urban workers which were involved in guilds it was a matter of identity in which many took pride in, the guild was where they meet most of their friends and family with intermarrying between families in a guild was common, and the guild was where they received social and economic support. There were riots which were suppressed while banditry was minimal as the pain was mostly urban.

Slowly and with great pains, the Po Valley was joining the Republic.




[1] IOTL, many historic towns in the Po Valley were founded long-ago or due to feudal-castles/bishoprics. ITTL, as evident during the unification of Italy massive population changes occurred with (relative) freedom of movement and a changing economy. ITTL, this is happening with an unified Po Valley under a government keenly interested in commercial matters.
[2] IOTL the Genoese Republic was a corporate-libertarian's dream and nightmare, where government is brought by the rich and powerful for the rich and powerful. The system was adaptable, dynamic, and wealthy yet it was fractured and brittle with constant coups and vicious political struggles while being harsh for the bulk of the populace who are subject to abuses such as grain monopolies.
[3] The traditional Italian city-states controlled rural territories known as a "contrada", while not necessarily economically negative as with the case of pre-confederation German states (weak governments, effective free trade and movement as small states compete for business) it was generally negative in the Po Valley where stronger governments were able to impose barriers.
[4] ITTL and IOTL economic concepts are quite new with the majority of the populace adhere to a moral economy outlook and while the minority of Venetians are rather mercantile in outlook the is a considerable spectrum of views with the idea of invegràr (laissez faire) just one among many.

 

[Sceonn]

So the Po Valley countryside is also urbanizing?

 

[Lucius Verus]

So the Po Valley countryside is also urbanizing?

De-urbanizing in a lot of places and re-urbanizing later in some after the disruptions.

 

[Nyvis]

The new ruling class dabs on the old ruling class. Good to see some standardization. I imagine as time passes, new urban dwellers in the terrafirma will forget about the privileges the old cities' monopolies accorded them and learn to work with the broader Venetian industrialization trend. Or those cities will die and new ones will spout around the manufactories seeking to exploit the more flexible labourers.

Destroying all the trade barriers could also have interesting consequences for the countryside though. Rationalization of agriculture is probably going to displace a lot of people. I don't know if medieval Italy had commons to enclose? Traditional land owners are probably going to fall and be replaced by ones with more favour from Venice though.

Has there been any big innovations in matters of agriculture yet? Because that would really change the dynamic between cities and the countryside.

 

[Sceonn]

Rationalization of agriculture is probably going to displace a lot of people.

Egypt seems quite ready to take them in. This would truly turn it culturally Venetian/Italian.

 

[Lucius Verus]

The new ruling class dabs on the old ruling class. Good to see some standardization. I imagine as time passes, new urban dwellers in the terrafirma will forget about the privileges the old cities' monopolies accorded them and learn to work with the broader Venetian industrialization trend. Or those cities will die and new ones will spout around the manufactories seeking to exploit the more flexible labourers.

1494

Destroying all the trade barriers could also have interesting consequences for the countryside though. Rationalization of agriculture is probably going to displace a lot of people. I don't know if medieval Italy had commons to enclose? Traditional land owners are probably going to fall and be replaced by ones with more favour from Venice though.

Less than others, it was about 1/3 vs more than 1/2 for Naples. Church law is weird about land transfer, the "easiest" and most common way was for spendthrift bishops to loan out land, the creditor to improve the land beyond what the broke clergy could payback years later and transfer ownership as compensation instead.

Egypt seems quite ready to take them in. This would truly turn it culturally Venetian/Italian.

Good point, there was a lot of Venetian and Italian emigration post 1890s IOTL, partially due to the shuttering of churches and moral economies that helped support so many underemployed people.

Has there been any big innovations in matters of agriculture yet? Because that would really change the dynamic between cities and the countryside.

I've mentioned the transformation from grain-fallow towards convertible husbandry, animal power, and manure fertilization. More to come with a new-world exchange; Venice doesn't really affect that-in fact it helped finance and encourage Portuguese exploration with its monopoly on eastern trade.

 

[Nyvis]

Less than others, it was about 1/3 vs more than 1/2 for Naples. Church law is weird about land transfer, the "easiest" and most common way was for spendthrift bishops to loan out land, the creditor to improve the land beyond what the broke clergy could payback years later and transfer ownership as compensation instead.

By the way, what happens to land owned by the church now that Venice is bringing its own law to the terrafirma? Does it get rolled into the state church? If so, that probably makes it a major landowner. But it would probably irk the pope so maybe not?

 

[Lucius Verus]

By the way, what happens to land owned by the church now that Venice is bringing its own law to the terrafirma? Does it get rolled into the state church? If so, that probably makes it a major landowner. But it would probably irk the pope so maybe not?

Does it ever? Papal relations had always been tough and fickle, some popes look at a map of the Aragonite-Venetian alliance and decided better while other popes try to assert the authority of the Papacy against the Republic; despite the lack of a military the church is rich and influential across the monarchs of Christiandom.

 

[Nyvis]

Does it ever? Papal relations had always been tough and fickle, some popes look at a map of the Aragonite-Venetian alliance and decided better while other popes try to assert the authority of the Papacy against the Republic; despite the lack of a military the church is rich and influential across the monarchs of Christiandom.

I don't understand your answer. Did they take the property under the state church? If so, I understand your answer as various popes flip flopping on the issue? But yeah the church could probably try to buy a king or emperor into trying to discipline Venice if they're really annoyed. It would be very similar to past investiture crises.

 

[Lucius Verus]

I don't understand your answer. Did they take the property under the state church? If so, I understand your answer as various popes flip flopping on the issue? But yeah the church could probably try to buy a king or emperor into trying to discipline Venice if they're really annoyed. It would be very similar to past investiture crises.

Its coming in a few updates, stay tuned.

 

[Lucius Verus]

117. Military Reforms
Venetian Republic
1490-1494

From antediluvian times war was costly and grows ever so everyday. When the first rocks were sharpened for war cost overruns occurred with rarer, harder, and sharper rocks demanded. Old Adage.

There was just too many armies, in 1378 there were three armies; the "Forza ordinary" drafted from Venetian citizens in times of war, often to serve as oarsmen, the Forza sussidiaria drawn from colonial regions such as the tribes of Albania, and the Forca straordinari hired by mercenaries which made up the majority of the military. Adding to this in 1379 was the addition of the Sconvòlgers, initially trained under an unified command the force fractured post-war as adventurous bands elected their own leaders and trained their own replacements. Eventually, as the Sconvòlgers raided and conquered important or dangerous lands they had to be brought under control in-exchange for religious and economic concessions under the Ministry of Peace during the 1410s. Finally, the Sons of Erasmus were created a decade later as a part of the political tug-of-war with between the patriciate and the ducal throne only to have its Patrician founders diverge overtime fragmenting command and supply with them. [1]

The result was that while trained in similar manners, the subsequent years of service warped their organization and habits so that bureaucratic chaos ensured when they were brought together during the Servi Rebellion. No company was of the same size, readiness, and each answered to different command arrangements with their personal style. Most were more suited to guard duty, raiding, sailing, boarding actions and often civilian side-jobs turned into full-time occupations than land warfare with the consolation being that their opponents were often feudal levees and mercenaries less organized, less trained on average, and less supplied than they were. The lack of uniformity showed instantly as cooperation between companies was fraught with difficulties as each company fought their own way as self-contained units without arrangements for communications. While the semi-private Patrician companies were cheap they didn't fight as well as the 2,000 old trainers in Dalmatia thrown in a panic onto the mainland. Experienced, esteemed, and having personally trained most of the forces in Terrafirma these old men turned into natural leaders, regardless of rank and suffered grievous causalities leading and protecting the boys they trained.

Redundancy was rampant as each company was designed to operate independently of its patron/sponsors and the need for an unified command was evident from the first botched battles. Every company had its own quartermasters, its own procurement agents, its own cobblers, its own knight-librarian and more. As the Servi war dragged on more stress factures appeared. It was realized that many Patricians had either neglected the maintenance of their companies trusting the typical months it took for armies to move to arm their men or neglected their training. In their defense for many Patricians it was a rational choice, war always came with months of warning and that was more than enough time. Some of the wealthy patrons haphazardly took command themselves or brought commissions only for the esteem of command. Not by intent but rather by inertia and the short-sighted desire to have a command beholden to the Patricians was a return to the days of the old Republic, where the blood requirement of command being swapped with wealth. Were the Venetian elite not so united politically and socially the decentralization of military power would've been the foundation for the civil wars that chronically plagued monarchies.

The ironworks, freighters, granaries and the plethora of industries required to maintain an army was disrupted by the sudden revolt and proved inadequate for the task. The 6-12 months for it took for gunpowder imports to arrive from India had nearly halted Venetian offenses as military stockpiles ran dangerously low-shaking Venetian confidence and security for the few in the know. [2]

Reform was needed, yet given second-thought to the urgency of suppressing and preventing revolts while restoring state finances. No longer were commissions sold to the Sons of Erasmus, to the vocal and few protests at the loss of value from military commission owners; most were humbled and shaken by the Servi rebellion. Command was to be unified into three categorizes of regulars, irregulars, and mercenaries all of which suffered from limited budgets. The regulars had to be tested and retrained-even veterans of the Servi war needed retraining so that companies could be brought together, operate in a similar manner, and cooperate. Budget restrictions meant that only a small core were maintained with the hope of scaling up during war. Irregulars were no longer defined on residency and is instead based on citizenship tier to reflect imperial realities and fears of rebellion. To cope with the lack of numbers for the regulars; men would be paid and honoured, with thrifty emphasis on the later (relaxed sumptuary laws, titles, and such) to attend seasonal training and being liable to be called up during war. For mercenaries the creation of institutions was meant to integrate the sell-swords into more predictable and reliable long-term contracts.

Administratively, India (Bengal specifically) was suddenly more important as the sole source of gunpowder-so much so that a budget was created for stockpiles despite the depressed military budget. To deal with the greater complexities of war the Admiralty planned to subsidize cargo ships and industries vital to war making potential and despite the correct criticism of graft and favoritism the initiative was relatively effective. The insecurity caused by the Servi War was also unintentionally helpful in taxing the rich, who are more willing to pay for collective defense. The final change was the separation and creation of The War Ministry from the Admiralty under the simple logic that great admirals did not necessarily make great generals. [2]

For all their reformist aspirations, come the summer of 1494 and it would prove to be too little too late.


[1] Just as IOTL, the three arms of the Venetian military has become more institutionalized (with the general trend in the Republic) and more fragmented due to ITTL's politics. Simple matters such as a commission holder's son having a loss of family fortune, daughters without interest in martial command, among all the randomness of life entropied the leadership of the Sons of Erasmus.
[2] IOTL, until the introduction of South America nitrates in the 19th century Bengal and Mālwa was responsible for the majority of gunpowder (saltpeter) production in the world. IOTL the alternative was urine processing, which tends to cut into fertilizer and food production and couldn't be concentrated to the same extent or power as mined saltpeter.

 

[Sceonn]

Venetian Army will finally be. Force to be recon with.

 

[Lucius Verus]

Venetian Army will finally be. Force to be recon with.

All militaries tends to wax and wane, if only because the staff and soldiers grow old and die. The only consistent factor is that helps is getting the shit kicked out of a military every few decades. From the near catastrophic defeat of 1380 came innovations and reforms that brought decades of violent expansion and it is by this logic that the pain of the Servi War shall serve Venice in the future, if they get implemented.

 

[Al-numbers]

For all their reformist aspirations, come the summer of 1494 and it would prove to be too little too late.

Well that doesn't sound ominous at all...

 

[Lucius Verus]

118. Exile And Return

1488-1495
Venetian Republic

During the Servi war many fled the chaos, danger, and starvation with more after as the State Inquisition and vengeful Sconvòlgers took control. As the rich nobles, patricians, and patricians fled their entourage of painters, sculptors, and writers followed their employers and social niches. Patronage of the arts and ancients was a matter of politically power and propaganda within the confines of a city-state with plenty of exiled elites willing to pay for the luxury if only out of habit while in exile in the French monarchy and Burgundian court. Here these men found a rich market of nobles and bishop nobles wishing to snub their peers and inflate their egos and took on lucrative positions catering to the whims of patrons. [1]

In their fields they achieved great advancements in artistry, yet little else outside of it. There was an obsession with the ancients and contempt for ideas that weren't related to neo-Platonism. The most immediate effect was the simply lobbying of lords for expeditions against the Republic to little effect if only because of the hassle of fighting what was a considered a middle-weight fighter over the Alpine mountains. In the decades that followed church Latin began to stagnate and ossify as a language when French and Burgundian priests began to insist on rigid fidelity to the ancients. Even slower was the spread of individualism preached by the humanist exiles, something eagerly adopted by aristocrats and the rich in their self-aggrandizement. Yet perhaps the most important effect was the slow diversion of the educated population from Scholasticism, the precursor to scientific methods towards the eloquence and classical knowledge more useful in feudal courts. [2]

Scholasticism is a system of learning that places a strong emphasis on experimentation and dialectical reasoning. Originally introduced during the Carolingian era to reconcile the old classics and Catholicism the method has been employed by learned men of faith since. It was emphasized that the best way to acquire knowledge was by replicating the discovery process, something to be of great use to future natural scientists. For disputes/contradictions dialectical reasoning emphasized rational debate, devoid of rhetorical appeals to emotion or people and encouraged students to question teachers. [3]

Methodology aside, continuing the proud tradition the exiles have put forth their efforts in promoting the classics from Greco-Roman sources. Whether it’s a sign of the times, prejudice, a simple lack of access or the difficulty of language barriers the exiles rarely studied the Jewish nor Byzantine sources. This was in contrast to the Republic where Jewish and Ealim (Venetian-Muslim) minorities have kept scholarship alive and were generally more critical of the classics. [4]

Unbeknownst to most artists and intellectuals, Pope Innocent VIII had feuded with Naples for unpaid dues and offered the throne to Charles VIII of France on a flimsy and obscure claim. The pope had died and nothing came of the claim until the unexpected death of the Neapolitan king in 1494 leaving the throne without a clear heir. Young, audacious, and brash Charles sought to prove himself having spent most of his youth rebelling against his father and later exile with the rebellion's failure. Despite harboring little interest or skill in administration Charles was the beneficiary of his father's centralization efforts (the ones he had rebelled against) and was assisted by his intelligent and eloquent elder sister Anne. After ending the Hundred Years War, signing treaties with the Hapsburgs, bringing Brittany into the kingdom, and giving some land to the greedy Ferdinand Of Aragon Charles was free to invade Naples to assert his claim. Despite efforts to arrange a ferry Charles was unwilling to pay the Venetians while the Venetians were unwilling to offend their important ally Aragon. Numbering at 25,000 men, 8,000 and a few thousand exiles the French army marched through the countryside causing all the grief every feudal army did harassing and occasionally fighting with the locals. Yet the Republic was far from feudal, the soldo (newspaper) reported on and exaggerated every grievance at the hands of the army in transit, while the exiles in was perceived as both a grave insult and threat who took every chance to provoke the Venetians. [5]

Surprisingly, nothing came from all the tension; the Republic was embroiled in the unemployment and social turmoil of industrial progress and the French were only present for a few weeks before moving on to Florence then Milan. Rather it was the Republic's ally, the greedy Ferdinand Of Aragon who changed his mind, exercised his own dynastic claim on Naples, declared war on France and called on his ally Venice along with the Italian cities. Eager to avoid encirclement and presuming the Venetian Republic an ally of Aragon and thus hostile Charles marched his 40,000 men north, hoping to break through to France while the exiles rejoiced before returning to their schemes wondering "if it would be so fortunate if the French felt trapped and fought the Venetians to the death?" [6]




[1] IOTL, French was a common second language in the rough western of the Po Valley due to the various ties and later French occupation. ITTL, France made a decent place to escape the "tyrants of Venice". IOTL the dukes of Burgundy were rich and spent huge amounts on cultural pursuits, perfect grounds for exiled artists.
[2] IOTL, while the Renaissance (which only began to be call that in the 18th century by Italian nationalists) was a period of great improvements in artistic techniques but little in other fields with a mind-numbing idealization of the classics. The period is also hard to disentangle by the countless problems from religious war, Little Ice Age, famine, division, Signorial governments in the cities, and decreasing tolerance for thought deviation.
[3] IOTL scholasticism was the root of modern scientific methods, it was also IOTL backtracked by a century of religious war, repression, famine, and worship of the classics
[4] IOTL, the Irish monasteries were the only place where the classics survived in Western Europe during the 7-10th centuries and was by default a great center of learning/knowledge. The main difference with the exiles is that they are much more selective of their sources; glazing over the faults and errors in their unstinting praise of the ancients and their patrons who are supposed descendants. Arabic sources in particular, due to their degree of separation from the Latin-based languages was difficult to directly translate.
[5] Similar to IOTL with the exception of the Republic and exiles, medieval politics was very personal and convoluted. Let the Italian wars begin.
[6] IOTL, despite being paid with lands near the French border Ferdinand had a problematic agreement with Charles to partition Naples while also having a claim being the first cousin of the last King of Naples.