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angrywombat's review
4.0
Well.
I visited Venice a number of years ago, and was entranced by it. I often wondered how it stayed so "classical" - how did it retain so many of the medieval buildings so many centuries later...
Because it became obsolete and a backwater no one wanted to invest in...
This is the story of how this impossible city - with no land, no agriculture, and no way of supporting its population - became the richest and most important city in europe... and then fell to nothing.
This is a city and culture that was unapologetically capitalist. The entire state was run like a huge financial enterprise, it's government was composed of the richest merchants, and everything was run to optimise their profit. They trader with everyone (even when threatened by excommunication for trading with muslims), they "hijacked" a crusade to raid their commercial competitors and supported foreign rulers who gave them trade agreements.
It almost feels like a cautionary tale - although who in today's world should take the most notice I am not sure (everyone?)
Not quite as enjoyable as [b:Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire|25255039|Conquerors How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire|Roger Crowley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1427790451l/25255039._SY75_.jpg|44977025] as this book covers a longer time period, and there are more diverse personalities the author tries to follow. But still very engrossing.
I visited Venice a number of years ago, and was entranced by it. I often wondered how it stayed so "classical" - how did it retain so many of the medieval buildings so many centuries later...
Because it became obsolete and a backwater no one wanted to invest in...
This is the story of how this impossible city - with no land, no agriculture, and no way of supporting its population - became the richest and most important city in europe... and then fell to nothing.
This is a city and culture that was unapologetically capitalist. The entire state was run like a huge financial enterprise, it's government was composed of the richest merchants, and everything was run to optimise their profit. They trader with everyone (even when threatened by excommunication for trading with muslims), they "hijacked" a crusade to raid their commercial competitors and supported foreign rulers who gave them trade agreements.
It almost feels like a cautionary tale - although who in today's world should take the most notice I am not sure (everyone?)
Not quite as enjoyable as [b:Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire|25255039|Conquerors How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire|Roger Crowley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1427790451l/25255039._SY75_.jpg|44977025] as this book covers a longer time period, and there are more diverse personalities the author tries to follow. But still very engrossing.
wolvereader's review
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Roger Crowley takes us through the golden era of the Venetian Empire, starting just before the 4th Crusade and the sack of Constantinople, and continuing through Venice's fierce rivalry with Genoa until finally closing with the Venetian loss of Lepanto. (Interestingly, in one of Crowley's other books, Empires of the Sea: The Final Battle for the Mediterranean, 1521-1580 Lepanto is the site of the great naval battle where the West finally successfully broke Ottoman naval superiority in the Mediterranean, about 75 years after the devastating loss in 1500.)
Crowley's books are always entertaining, and this one shined a light on one of the key players in the Medieval Mediterranean.
Crowley's books are always entertaining, and this one shined a light on one of the key players in the Medieval Mediterranean.
linnaeusns's review
2.0
The history of Venice is fascinating, but Crowley seems intent on missing the point. he acknowledges that Venice's real power was in its trade, but rather than focusing on how that developed and grew, growing Venice's power in other areas, he focuses on Venice's great wars—the Fourth Crusade against Constantinople, the rivalry with Genoa and the final, fatal inclusion by the Ottomans. Absolutely missing the point.
linnaeus's review
2.0
The history of Venice is fascinating, but Crowley seems intent on missing the point. he acknowledges that Venice's real power was in its trade, but rather than focusing on how that developed and grew, growing Venice's power in other areas, he focuses on Venice's great wars—the Fourth Crusade against Constantinople, the rivalry with Genoa and the final, fatal inclusion by the Ottomans. Absolutely missing the point.
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