Part 22, African Army, African Drink
February: Maranazzo’s first battalion of African warriors is selected. These men are mostly Ethiopian, and each is in fine physical form. Most joined voluntarily, with anticipation of fighting aside their white Christian brothers against the Adals, convinced that the Venetians are a beacon of Ethiopian power in the region and reinforcements sent from God. This belief can be attributed to the words of Maranazzo himself, as he has been touting this rhetoric since his arrival. Some of the unwilling were coaxed out of their village by the Venetians with the threat of Muslim invasion and the wrath of God unleashed on their lands and families.
Maranazzo terms the group “La Guardia Nubiano” after the legendary Nubians who fought against the great classical Pharaohs of Egypt. The force, currently totaling 250 men and growing, will be given some Venetian military training, and will spend a considerable amount of time helping to build San Tommaso.
March: The peace in Europe achieved at Marignano begins to falter. Though the signatories of the Treaty of London are outwardly friendly, swearing to combine in attacking the nation who would first break the peace they concluded, matters in the continent have them divided. The chief issue is that of Imperial succession in the Holy Roman Empire. The current Emperor, Maximilian I, wills it that a Habsburg succeeds him, and begins campaigning for Charles of Spain. Meanwhile, Francis of France nominates himself as another candidate.
Adding to the tension is the rising influence of Martin Luther taking hold of German nobles, garnering much of the Papacy and Empire’s focus.
The perilous subjects at hand help put talk of a great crusade against the Turks, and the checking of Venetian growth into the back of the minds of these nation’s leaders.
April: Ottoman, and to a lesser extent Venetian diplomats begin a secret campaign to gather allies against the Portuguese. The expedition begins their work mid-southern India, attempting to gather the fractured Deccan sultanates to their cause. They hope that the Muslim rulers will still recall the nasty sting of their defeat by the Portuguese at Goa just 8 years earlier, and support the Ottomans and their Venetian friends against them.
For the Venetians in tow, the months leading up to this voyage were filled with excitement brought on by the quickly growing admiration for the idea of the Orient in the republic. Once in India, however, the men quickly grow distaste for the region upon seeing its cultural relics such as an eight arm deity (i).
May: Much of the Ottoman and Venetian reinforcing, building, and re-building of forts in the Red Sea is nearly completed. The final completion of most of the forts should coincide nicely with the estimated completion of the Ptolmeic Channel, estimated to open sometime next year. The first ships to pass through the Channel will be 35 Venetian carracks destined for the republic’s forts in the region.
June: Venetians stationed at San Tomasso have become enthralled with a local drink popular with the Ethiopians from the Kaffa region in the Ethiopian highlands. Referred to as qahwah by Arab traders, the Venetians term it 'cafè'. The beverage is black as ink, and as demonstrated by the locals, is usually consumed in the morning. Soldiers and merchants alike confirm that the drink is useful against numerous illnesses, particularly those of the stomach, and some merchants begin to ponder on its possible usefulness in Europe.
July: The wealthy Contarini family opts to build a Catholic Church in Alexandria. The church will be modest in size, but more than spacious enough to cater to the Catholics of the city. The family quickly designates this as a church for the merchants and tradespeople that are soon to inhabit Alexandria, turning down Venice’s request and offer of financial assistance to have the church cater to the garrison there. The site selected for the church is purposely located much too far to feasibly serve the Venetian garrison there. The city will have to build its own for the men, which will surely be less grand. The Contarini enlist the skills of celebrated Venetian craftsmen for the work on the church, including Tullio Lombardo, son of the recently deceased Pietro Lombardo, regarded as one of the greatest sculptors and architects of the time.
Feeling slighted by the family’s refusal to build the church with the garrison in mind, the Council of Ten accuse the Contarini of breaking the sumptuary laws of Venice with the building of such a decorated church, aimed solely for the grandeur of the their family name. The Contarinis counter that the church is to be only of modest size, and nowhere will there be any tributes to the family or its ancestors, or any such pomp. They argue instead that the church will be a beacon of Venetian architecture and culture on a foreign land, easing the minds of the merchants here by helping them feel as if they were in the lagoon city itself.
While the Contarini and the Council have it out, other wealthy families of Venice are once again made to feel bettered by a rival. With the charred Rialto quickly getting bought up, it seems that the next show of power is to own prestigious developments on the Mediterranean’s forgotten pearl. This however, is a gamble many of the Venetian rich are not willing to take.
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(i): Inspired by Edward Said’s “Orientalism” (1978)
February: Maranazzo’s first battalion of African warriors is selected. These men are mostly Ethiopian, and each is in fine physical form. Most joined voluntarily, with anticipation of fighting aside their white Christian brothers against the Adals, convinced that the Venetians are a beacon of Ethiopian power in the region and reinforcements sent from God. This belief can be attributed to the words of Maranazzo himself, as he has been touting this rhetoric since his arrival. Some of the unwilling were coaxed out of their village by the Venetians with the threat of Muslim invasion and the wrath of God unleashed on their lands and families.
Maranazzo terms the group “La Guardia Nubiano” after the legendary Nubians who fought against the great classical Pharaohs of Egypt. The force, currently totaling 250 men and growing, will be given some Venetian military training, and will spend a considerable amount of time helping to build San Tommaso.
March: The peace in Europe achieved at Marignano begins to falter. Though the signatories of the Treaty of London are outwardly friendly, swearing to combine in attacking the nation who would first break the peace they concluded, matters in the continent have them divided. The chief issue is that of Imperial succession in the Holy Roman Empire. The current Emperor, Maximilian I, wills it that a Habsburg succeeds him, and begins campaigning for Charles of Spain. Meanwhile, Francis of France nominates himself as another candidate.
Adding to the tension is the rising influence of Martin Luther taking hold of German nobles, garnering much of the Papacy and Empire’s focus.
The perilous subjects at hand help put talk of a great crusade against the Turks, and the checking of Venetian growth into the back of the minds of these nation’s leaders.
April: Ottoman, and to a lesser extent Venetian diplomats begin a secret campaign to gather allies against the Portuguese. The expedition begins their work mid-southern India, attempting to gather the fractured Deccan sultanates to their cause. They hope that the Muslim rulers will still recall the nasty sting of their defeat by the Portuguese at Goa just 8 years earlier, and support the Ottomans and their Venetian friends against them.
For the Venetians in tow, the months leading up to this voyage were filled with excitement brought on by the quickly growing admiration for the idea of the Orient in the republic. Once in India, however, the men quickly grow distaste for the region upon seeing its cultural relics such as an eight arm deity (i).
May: Much of the Ottoman and Venetian reinforcing, building, and re-building of forts in the Red Sea is nearly completed. The final completion of most of the forts should coincide nicely with the estimated completion of the Ptolmeic Channel, estimated to open sometime next year. The first ships to pass through the Channel will be 35 Venetian carracks destined for the republic’s forts in the region.
June: Venetians stationed at San Tomasso have become enthralled with a local drink popular with the Ethiopians from the Kaffa region in the Ethiopian highlands. Referred to as qahwah by Arab traders, the Venetians term it 'cafè'. The beverage is black as ink, and as demonstrated by the locals, is usually consumed in the morning. Soldiers and merchants alike confirm that the drink is useful against numerous illnesses, particularly those of the stomach, and some merchants begin to ponder on its possible usefulness in Europe.
July: The wealthy Contarini family opts to build a Catholic Church in Alexandria. The church will be modest in size, but more than spacious enough to cater to the Catholics of the city. The family quickly designates this as a church for the merchants and tradespeople that are soon to inhabit Alexandria, turning down Venice’s request and offer of financial assistance to have the church cater to the garrison there. The site selected for the church is purposely located much too far to feasibly serve the Venetian garrison there. The city will have to build its own for the men, which will surely be less grand. The Contarini enlist the skills of celebrated Venetian craftsmen for the work on the church, including Tullio Lombardo, son of the recently deceased Pietro Lombardo, regarded as one of the greatest sculptors and architects of the time.
Feeling slighted by the family’s refusal to build the church with the garrison in mind, the Council of Ten accuse the Contarini of breaking the sumptuary laws of Venice with the building of such a decorated church, aimed solely for the grandeur of the their family name. The Contarinis counter that the church is to be only of modest size, and nowhere will there be any tributes to the family or its ancestors, or any such pomp. They argue instead that the church will be a beacon of Venetian architecture and culture on a foreign land, easing the minds of the merchants here by helping them feel as if they were in the lagoon city itself.
While the Contarini and the Council have it out, other wealthy families of Venice are once again made to feel bettered by a rival. With the charred Rialto quickly getting bought up, it seems that the next show of power is to own prestigious developments on the Mediterranean’s forgotten pearl. This however, is a gamble many of the Venetian rich are not willing to take.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
(i): Inspired by Edward Said’s “Orientalism” (1978)