Industrial Progress: A Story Of Venetian Suffrage (Haitus)

[markus meecham]

brazilian sugar production being financed and traded in europe by venetians instead of dutch could make for a lot of interesting stuff. (maybe a different refining setup? who knows... more power to the house of avis, i guess)

 

[Lucius Verus]

brazilian sugar production being financed and traded in europe by venetians instead of dutch could make for a lot of interesting stuff. (maybe a different refining setup? who knows... more power to the house of avis, i guess)

Not necessarily, the house of Aviz would have the choice between northerners and southerners with all the advantages that comes with.

 

[markus meecham]

Not necessarily, the house of Aviz would have the choice between northerners and southerners with all the advantages that comes with.

awesome

 

[BootOnFace]

This plan to extend the PLC to Moscow is very interesting. As is the early rise of Moscow. This could easily change the entire nature of Eastern Europe to one barely recognizable to OTL.

 

[Lucius Verus]

This plan to extend the PLC to Moscow is very interesting. As is the early rise of Moscow. This could easily change the entire nature of Eastern Europe to one barely recognizable to OTL.

A full PLC would redefine central Europe, but the focus is economic with regards to Venice.

 

[Lucius Verus]

79. The Big Picture: Part I

中華 (middle kingdom)
1400-1450s

Known as the middle kingdom the Ming empire has gone from strength to strength, expelling the Mongols and enforcing tributary status upon most of its neighbours, yet as vast as its political reach was its economy reached even further as the center of gravity. Since it has thrown off the shackles of the Mongols the massive weight of the middle kingdom has pulled the center of the world's economy to Indonesia from the temporary center of India.

The founder of the Ming dynasty; 朱元璋(Zhū Yuánzhāng) aka Zhu the Immensely Mighty (1368-1398) was the living legend which drove out the Mongols, humbled the enuchs, and created a society of militarized and self-sufficient agricultural communes. Zhu's son 朱標, ZhuBiao (1398-?) was quickly deposed after his father's death by his uncle 朱允炆 (Zhū Yǔnwén) or Zhu the civilizer (1402-1424) who ruthless usurped power and began a series of economic and political reforms that strengthened the middle kingdom. Uncertain of his predecessor's fate Yǔnwén would finance Zheng He's maritime expeditions (1405-1433) to seek out the former emperor, aggravating spice prices through their immense purchases with a profound impact on Venetian actions in the Near East. The spice trade, which had been strong but declining as a proportion of total trade was suddenly given a premium as supply dwindled and prices rose. [1]

In what economic historians would later call the Snob effect (Veblen goods) the increased rarity and cost led to greater demand as nobles and, merchants, and the clergy strive to proven themselves wealthier and better than their peers restoring Venetian attention to a Near East written off after Timur's slaughter. [2]

But the Middle Kingdom was not done with Venice yet, in a series of confusing edicts in the 1430s the Ming court switched the payment of taxes from grain to silver; legitimatizing a trend since the late Tang empire of increasing payment in silver as a substitute for grain and fait currency before banning the mining of silver shortly after. Despite the lack of direct linkages between the two ends of the earth the Ming's hunger for illegal silver was a gaping maw that gave vitality to silver mines in the German Alps, Hungarian Carpathians, and Venetian Kosovo. [3]

The increasing draw of silver had an unintentional effect in the minds of Venetian bureaucrats of the increasing link between the value of currency, supply of currency, minting, debasement, and net trade flow in and out of Venice. It was only a matter of time, for the city was within living memory a highly concentrated economy where it was easy to observe the correlation between the exodus of silver for the semi-annual Levant convoys and the accompanying fluctuation in the value of silver within Venice. By the 1430s, there was increasing calls to stabilize the value of the ducat (standard Venetian silver coin) for ease of commerce. [4]

The last effect if it could be called as such was the shift in the gold to silver exchange ratio, while formerly a region of abundant gold mines and scant silver production the ratio started reversing itself over two centuries ago as silver mines opened and gold production depleted and the value of silver began to decline against ever scarcer gold.[5]


[1] Just as IOTL
[2] A proven economic concept that IOTL included additional factors such as speculators, people influenced by the idea that more expensive things are better, that more people join the bandwagon increasing demand, that increased demand also expands spice distribution networks bringing more costumers in the fold.
[3] Just as IOTL except Kosovo's mines are not denied to the Ottomans and destroyed by the Serbians.
[4] An old concept that many before Venice had implemented only to fail to the allure of debasement in dire times, time will tell for Venice.
[5] Just as IOTL

 

[BootOnFace]

Hopefully we get a currency even more divorced from the specie.

 

[Lucius Verus]

Hopefully we get a currency even more divorced from the specie.

Its heading there, but only for domestic use; a side effect is the increasingly volume of silver available for foreign trade as Venetians switch to fiat currency. Most foreign trade is still conducted in silver and regardless of what Venetians merchants think bills are little good if foreigners won't trust them.

 

[victor vazquez]

I actually read that when the Spanish began importing gold and silver from the americas that some Venetian merchants advocated for trading Spanish silver with the Ottoman Empire because they had a shortage of hard currency but ultimately nothing came of it.

 

[Lucius Verus]

I actually read that when the Spanish began importing gold and silver from the americas that some Venetian merchants advocated for trading Spanish silver with the Ottoman Empire because they had a shortage of hard currency but ultimately nothing came of it.

Well that's partially because the Genoese beat them to the punch, IOTL the Genoese were able to dominate the Italian banking scene for a few decades in the later half of the 16th century. Lacking opportunity at home (limited state size after-all) they dabbled with funding sovereigns and all the risks that it carried, eventually they just decided that it was a stupid risk funding kings who can default with an army and withdrew in the early 17th century. ITTL Venice has Kosovo's silver mines, Hungary has the Carpathian mines, plus the Alpine mines Europe has a decent supply of silver depending on what happens in the Balkans in the future and Spanish silver should it happen will have different effects on Europe.

 

[Lucius Verus]

80. Saint Enrica

Venice
1413-1429

"What are you carrying?" anonymous
"A battle-board" Bolla the mighty, veteran Sconvòlger

As the sole child of an ancient Patrician line Enrica d'Venzone had colourful, if odd childhood. Raised by a Patrician who was absolutely befuddled with fatherhood Enrica was taught traditional etiquette with its demure self-isolation and betrothed to the prestigious Giacomo d'Scaliger but also given the "necessary" skills & relationships required for negotiation, accounting, finance, hunting, archery, and even swordplay. Exceptionally privileged Enrica spent a good deal of her childhood in study and play developing a keen interest in calligraphy, the bible, and ancient Rome. She read of the greats such as the blind Doge Enrico Dandolo who led Venice to greatness as he conquered Constantinople and Zara, Saint Lucia of Syracuse helped the poor, preached god's word, lived virtuously and fought against pagan oppression until her martyrdom among many others. [1]

It was because of her background that the first sight of the blind circus filled her with indignant rage. A spectacle that she discovered to her outrage which was apparently commonplace as the blind were given mock costumes and instruments to perform for amusement of the crowd. Resolving to eradicate this grotesque injustice the young Enrica set to work and developed the "Venzone" system, a written language based on 23 unique alphabetical characters imprinted on a system of raised dots, slashes, and semi-circles. Given the immense cost of hiring monks and scribes and the years required to transcribe books Enrica enlisted the help of her husband and three skilled craftswomen and commissioned an "imprint type", a contraption that could produce embossed symbols small and precise enough to be read by one fingertip. In the spirit of Saint Lucia Enrica taught the words of god and useful skills to the blind free of charge and gave out "Venzone" bibles, manuals, and treaties.[2][3][4]

The fact that the imprint type could've easily been adapted to lucrative bible/paper printing but was dismissed merely as baubles for the blind was a reflection of the lowly status of the blind within Venice. Adoption only began ten years afterwards when the first blind Sconvòlger knight-librarian (quartermaster and chaplain) left Venice and it was discovered that the simplified "Venzone" board had military value as a stealthy way to communicate at night, a skill indispensable in night-time piracy and warfare. [6]

Seen as an attribute of great men literacy was highly valued among Sconvòlgers both for its practical value in trade and communication and the piety of one able to read and interpret the bible, a culture that soon included literacy in "Venzone" in the decade afterwards. It was only when Patrician military-entrepreneurs within the Sons of Erasmus, the Republic's sixth military organ adopted selective "Venzone" training that the imprint type gained renown and offers were sent to Enrica, the patent owner. Finally in 1429, 16 years after its creation the imprint type was adapted as the modular type whose patent was held in trust for the blind community.[7]




[1] Both prominent blind people IOTL.
[2] IOTL and ITTL the blind of the era were seen as either cripples if they weren't born blind or mentally deficient if they were and treated as described.
[3] IOTL the printing press was invented in 1439 by Johannes Gutenberg, the technology and market was present IOTL for a long time but it still took time until someone had the money and desperation/desire to create one. ITTL the imprint type was never meant to be commercial.
[4] IOTL Charles Barbier invented a "dot board" as a way for Napoleon's army to communicate without bullet attracting lamps at night, unfortunately the 12-dot system was too complicated, too slow, too big, and never saw mass use. It was only when Louis Braille simplified the system to 6 dots and changed the focus from representing the sound to representing the written word that Braille gained mass attraction.
[5] IOTL the Venetian alphabet had 28 unique characters and 6 accented variants, whereas Venetian Venzone has only 23 characters as it is both a simplified short-hand and invented in an era without standardized vocabularies with many words/characters invented by Enrica on the spot.
[6] IOTL piracy and raids involved small numbers of men that would sneak onto unsuspecting ships/villages and kill/torture the villagers for their ship/wealth. Surprise was paramount as without it piracy becomes naval battles and raids extremely difficult against villagers that would scatter and hide their valuables.
[7] IOTL the Venetian Republic had an admiralty, a system of long-term mercenaries, and a militia. ITTL Venice would boast the Ministry of Peace , the Most Serene Department of Defense, in addition to the sons of Erasmus.

 

[Sceonn]

Finally in 1429, 16 years after its creation the imprint type was adapted as the modular type whose patent was held in trust for the blind community.

Wow, that is going to bring some mighty changes!

 

[wannis]

I'm surprised that commercial patents on intellectual property were a thing back then.

 

[Lucius Verus]

I'm surprised that commercial patents on intellectual property were a thing back then.

Venice has a long history of enticing skilled workers with the promise of tax exemptions and exclusive market rights (ie Luccan and Pisan silk weavers, Byzantine glassblowers...etc), while others did monopolies through guilds the Venetians preferred patents. The problem decades later IOTL was that when the city expanded it became difficult to enforce monopolies and patents on semi-independent mainland cities, ITTL the problem is a bureaucracy trying to keep up with colonial expansions but its slightly alleviated by the fact that a good deal of colonial manufacturers are Patricians that passed the same laws to begin with.

 

[Lucius Verus]

81. The Traitor Returns

Polish-Lithuanian Union
1400-1450s

Here at the eastern frontier of Christendom there was a lot of land without a lot of people. After the acquisition of the depleted Russian lands the Polish-Lithuanian Union was a kingdom that was roughly 3 times the size of the kingdom of France but just under half its 16 million souls. Given the abundance of land and the demise of the Tartars there was a continuous migration of peasants east towards unclaimed soils which deprived noble estates of their workforce. To counter the scarcity of labour the Polish-Lithuanian Sejm (senate) the nobles of the Union began to enact strict laws binding peasants to the land for the benefit of the nobles that exports their produce. With the conquest of the Crimea and the restoration of Crimean trade the Union's nobility became even richer as they could commanded higher prices for their in auctions between the Baltic merchants North and the Venetian merchants South. A side effect of which was the immeasurable boost the Venetian shipbuilding industry got from the vast reserves of Black Sea timber and a nail in the coffin of the Hanseatic League's monopoly on shipbuilding.[1]

For the Venetians the expansion of the Union seemed to have assured the stability of the region as well as disruptions in trade; due to depopulation, the demise of Tartar slavers, and the premium placed on peasant labour by the Union's nobles slaves were no longer sold in sufficient quantities in the Black Sea to the ire of Venetian planters and mine managers. Whether the nobles of the Union knew it or not their desire to horde their serfs compelled Venetian investors and Sconvòlgers towards the Portugese islands and the Saharan slave trade.

Similarly guns and cannons were no longer major items of trade as the Union's military consists solely of nobles and their private mounted armies with mercenaries fulfilling the roles of infantry but, Venetian gun manufacturers were unconcerned busy as they were with the Sons of Eramus. And at last, despite considerable amounts of Venetian silver making its way up the Dnieper, Bug, and Dnjestr waterways the rudimentary Rus market saw little change as caravans to the east fed the bottomless hunger of Ming in exchange for porcelain, tea, and silk. Ever short of silver the Venetians found depressed prices (as scarce silver is relatively more valuable) which was quickly re-exported west for a profit.[2][3][4]

While relatively quite given the Union's lack of enemies besides the Prussians and nomads in the far east there was one exception by the name of Timur. Crossing the straits in pursuit of the Ottomans a majority of Patricians were content to wait out the slaughter of their recent Ottoman enemies hoping that Venice would be ignored or accepting simply the loss of Greek colonies but it was never that simple. Backed by an army of 130,000 Theodōros the "water-general" laid anchor in Venetian controlled Athens to discuss Venice's vassalage to the khan.


[1] IOTL and ITTL Gdansk (Danzig) was a member of the Hanseatic league and a massive shipbuilding center, IOTL the league reached its peak by the 1420s as the Dutch broke their monopoly on Baltic trade by 1441 and ITTL the Venetians & the union's nobles are chipping away at the league's shipbuilding monopoly.
[2] IOTL Russia was relatively isolated and its main trading partner from the 16th-early 18th century were the Ottomans. By the time the Atlantic and German kingdoms started arriving in force the Tsar had already developed significant proto-industries within its domain. ITTL Russia is exposed to Venetian manufacturers from the start and lacks the strong state control of IOLT's Tsar for better or worse.
[3] IOTL Russia conducted trade with Ming across central Asia, due to the lack of control in a land populated by hostile natives and nomads the caravans banded together as large semi-annual convoys.
[4] IOTL the trend was that the more isolated a market was the lower the prices were, after all one can't ask for high prices on surplus harvests if they couldn't ship it out and could only find a few buyers in the region. Russia IOTL never developed advanced banking or significant cities and existed mostly as a network of small towns and villages up to the 18th century.

 

[Lucius Verus]

82. The Road's End

1397
Verona, Viscoti Duchy

The neighbours were rude, some thugs threatened me, and everyone makes fun of my accent. This is great!
Excerpt from Francesco Foscari Diary, ducal archives.


Given his wealth, martial skills, and esteemed connections there was little the self-exiled doge's son couldn't do just as he was certain that the Inquisition knew where he was at all times. Initially paranoid Francesco relaxed after a few months of inactivity and assumed that his father was for once willing to relinquish control and give him some space. Despite donning the mundane attire of the Sconvòlger, purposefully neglecting his dark curls, long sleeves conceal his physique and battle scars but his Patrician mannerisms showed itself without fail and the Veronese did not hesitate to inform him of their opinions.

Somewhat used to rough banter from his time at war the long reach of the Venetian Inquisition kept the men under his command reserved and cautious with their opinions; in contrast there was some comfort in knowing that the people here saw him as a simple traveler and didn't bother to speak empty flattery or attempt to entrap him.

Chancing upon agreeable lodgings in a rough part of town Francesco decided to make "The Road's End" inn his residence only to discover that the plump innkeeper only took barter or coin refusing his cheque in the same friendly manner a mother would to a child who forgot his way home. How nostalgic, thought Francesco as took back his cheque and reached for his purse. Inconvenient sure but, the novelty of it was just another reminder of that place he left and that he was truly free. Used to being noticed it was refreshing if dangerous to walk down the streets and alleys of Verona but once again something's could not be hidden. [1]

Upon asking for the traditional Venetian plate of liver and onion Francesco inquired about what spices the freckled innkeeper had for sale only to receive a delightful chuckle and raised eyebrow as if to say "What do you think this place is?". [2]

Shrugging Francesco took out his own spice box and applied it to the surprise of the innkeeper. Whose look was so genuine that it caused him to pause and examine himself just in case he committed some egregious faux pas. Oh I could think of so many things to do with that gaping mouth. While he had an idea of how different he was from the common person there was some habits which seemed so natural so obvious that it would never even occur to him to question them. Still it was a fascinating new world and he had much to learn, perhaps the alluring innkeeper could serve as a guide? [3]

and maybe some fun as well....





[1] IOTL cheques were in common use but only between merchants and large transactions, common daily facilities for commoners such as bars, restaurants, and so on were mostly paid either by collateral meant to be repaid later (say a blanket or cup held as collateral), by barter, and sometimes coin. ITTL spurred on by the unique circumstances in Venice and later the convenience of payment for employers and taxing for the authorities paper currency was adopted and exported within the Republic at breakneck speeds.
[2] The Venetians of IOTL, ITTL, and today like spicy food. Go figure.
[3] IOTL the 14th century Venetian was a paradoxical person who was thrifty, humble, and expedient in their private life but extravagant, generous, and pompous in their public life. ITTL the public side has become more humble and closer to the Venetian private life. Reflecting their lifestyle traditional everyday Venetian dishes tended to be simple and vegetarian, of course the rich like Francesco had different standards for the same dishes.

 

[Adelkman]

As an italian, I really like the local flavor you can read through the sentences.

If I remember correctly the class of "Italian medieval history", the Visconti dominion over Verona was short but tough, with at least one great revolt in 1390. Considering also how xenophobic was people at the time (REALLY xenophobic), I don't know how well could young Foscari fare.

 

[Lucius Verus]

As an italian, I really like the local flavor you can read through the sentences.

If I remember correctly the class of "Italian medieval history", the Visconti dominion over Verona was short but tough, with at least one great revolt in 1390. Considering also how xenophobic was people at the time (REALLY xenophobic), I don't know how well could young Foscari fare.

Ah thank you, I have never met an Italian nor been to Italy so that's high praise to me. Foscari is 27 with a good sword arm and money, he'll be among the better off in Verona which sees its share of Venetians.

 

[Rakhasa]

As an italian, I really like the local flavor you can read through the sentences.

If I remember correctly the class of "Italian medieval history", the Visconti dominion over Verona was short but tough, with at least one great revolt in 1390. Considering also how xenophobic was people at the time (REALLY xenophobic), I don't know how well could young Foscari fare.

It seems he at least survives long enough to return his diary to the ducal archives, and the fact that it is kept in the dual archives in the first place is probably a hint that he lives long enough to become important for Venice somehow.

 

[Lucius Verus]

83. The Sons Of Eramus

Venetian Republic
1400s

The concept of the professional volunteer army that promised to be the future, that promised to win wars while the common man went about his business, that promised to only volunteers as causalities in war was dead. Within a decade of its inception the poor implementation in the Serene Department of Defense and new discoveries in the nature of gunpowder warfare had rendered the idea insufficient. Holding the pooled resources of the Sons of Erasmus and senate subsidies in trust Cristoforo Celesti set about the creation of the Sons of Erasmus. Traditionally the battlefields of Christendom have been dominated by quality over quantity; a squad of armored knights with a lifetime of training was able to slaughter dozens of peasant militias with impunity and the Sconvòlger reflected the ideal of quality. As pirates and raiders the Sconvòlger was if not the best then among the best in the Mediterranean Sea but this came at extensive costs in training, equipment, experience, and tactical specialization. Despite ample investment and a supporting pilgrim-adventurer culture the total number of Sconvòlgers never exceeded 15,000 with many unavailable at any time due to their dual commercial-military roles and dispersion throughout the world.

Cristoforo read in the books that that Venice had raised upwards of 30,000 in times of war at the cost of shutting down the economy of Venice but it was no longer just Venice was it? Of the estimated two million souls within the Republic about 1.4 million within easy reach of the sea, a theoretical 400,000 of them fit for seasonal fighting, and a theoretical 100,000 available for full time fighting. To Cristoforo the Sconvòlger was a vain indulgence by Venetians born into a high standard of living and the recent failures in Hungary only reinforced his opinion that they were too specialized, too expensive, and too perfumed for real war.

Spurred on by a customer base of wealthy pirates engaged in a lethal occupation the quality and cost of guns and bombards have improved dramatically in the two decades since their official adoption. Organized along the modular production methods of the Arsenale the foundries of Crete and Kosovo cast their guns with standardized parts for reliability, ease of repair, and quality of parts with two decades of refinement. These improvements in technology and organization made the "new army" possible.

He had seen what men with a few hours of musket practice could do to knights with a life-time of training and the Sons of Eramus was the "new army" based around the full implementation of the weapon. Instead of training men for months and equipping them at considerable expense the "new army" trained and equipped men in specific combat roles of musket-men, pikemen, and drummers in a much shorter and cheaper program. While Cristoforo never set foot in the Most Serene Department of Defense he had heard enough horror stories of incompetent and greedy leaders to understand that you get what you pay for; the Sons of Eramus will be commanded by well-paid officers and supplemented by Sconvòlgers, light Greek cavalry, combat engineers, and the mercenary contingents for the roles it lacked.

At 25,000 men the Sons of Eramus was a vast drain even upon the finances of a much enlarged Republic and there is much talk of the recent bonds issued "in perpetuity" at 2-4% interest as a permanent drain upon the government. Despite the cost there was little objection with the threat of Timur's horde in Greece, the collapse of the Visconti dukedom, and the various outraged committed against Venetian merchants in the Mamluk Sultanate; war it seems was coming to the Republic regardless.

Yet for all of his organizational talent Cristoforo and the Patricians overlooked a vital detail. While it was the norm of the day was to hire manpower from impoverished lands such as Swabia, the Swiss Cantons, or Scotland the Patricians wished to soften the cost of raising a loyal army by deferring costs into the future with the promise of pensions for the Republic's native recruits. Yet one of the very reasons the mainland cities preferred mercenaries was that they understood the problems of training and arming citizens that belonged to rival factions; something that the unified Venetian Patriciate had never even considered. Only time will tell what the political implications of a mass army will mean for the Republic.






*Footnotes coming later.