The Republic of Ragusa: An Episode of the Turkish ConquestVillari, Luigi
History
The Republic of Ragusa: An Episode of the Turkish Conquest
Villari, Luigi
Dubrovnik (Croatia) -- History
Ragusa’s international position, however, was now considerably
altered. The King of Hungary allowed the citizens the most absolute
liberty to manage their own affairs, and not only had he no Hungarian
representative in the town, but he did not even attempt to interfere
indirectly with the Government. Ragusa was merely bound to pay him a
tribute and to provide a naval contingent in time of war on the terms
set forth in the treaty of Višegrad. She always remained the faithful
friend and ally of Hungary, and was quite content to render this not
very onerous allegiance; in her relations with that Power there was no
trace of the constant recriminations and bickerings that there were
with Venice. The reason of this difference of feeling towards the two
Powers lies in the character of Venetian as compared with Hungarian
policy. Venice was ever extending her influence down the Adriatic
coast, consolidating her dominion, and destroying local autonomies.
Above all, Venice was a great maritime Power and could swoop down on
Ragusa or any other Adriatic town with her swift galleys at any moment;
commercial rivalry, too, had its effect, for Venice aspired to the
monopoly of the same trades as those in which Ragusa dealt. Hungary,
on the other hand, was purely a military State. Its aims were internal
consolidation and the security of its own immediate frontiers. It
did not aspire to distant dominions, as it had no powerful navy, and
it merely desired to possess Dalmatia so as to secure a wider outlet
to the sea than the Croatian coast; and it had no sea-borne trade to
interfere with that of Ragusa. On the land side it wished to secure the
allegiance of the Bosnian Banus, but there was little danger of its
establishing an absolute sway over the Slave lands immediately behind
Ragusa.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account