Week 3 Reading Reflection

Shane West

Professor Villa

28 October 2015

The Mediterranean region was once considered the trade center of the world, bridging between East and West with an extensive network of exchange unlike any other region. The Mediterranean was in fact described as “the sum of its routes” (Braudel 201). Sea and land trade rivaled, towns emerged and gained power, and cultures either coexisted or clashed. The latter half of the last millennium in the Mediterranean is characterized by interdependent economies, cultural and social hubs, and also frequent wars. Although it would seem as if a stark dichotomy existed between eastern and western nations, namely Venice and Constantinople, it is much less black and white than this. Communication and trade relations in the Mediterranean in this era were as dynamic as the identities of the people that inhabited it.

If the Mediterranean was the trade center of the world, then Venice was the nucleus inside of it, actually considered the undisputed center of the Mediterranean world in the 1400’s (Wright 253). Venice became a melting pot of east and west trade and culture as trade boomed and the Ottoman Empire expanded (Fleet 3). “Business was good in the Mediterranean, and Venetian ships were in the thick of it”. Venetians were “in the thick of it” their agents located in both gateways to spices, silk, and other products of the East, Syria, and Egypt”—cities and urban life in general were booming, but especially Venice, and as Venice got richer more people migrated to the city, and the cycle continued (Wright 256). The recipes in the excerpts of A Mediterranean Feast that we read are very meat and dairy centered, both luxuries that poorer parts of Italy did not have, thus reflecting the Venetian wealth at the time.

Unlike many other western societies, Venice did not carry out acts of aggression on the Ottomans, only taking part in Crusades to prevent the spoils from going to their rivals, and actively maintaining trade relations with the Muslim world (Carboni 43). In fact, trade was so interdependent between these two powers that Venetians would convert to Islam to establish trading careers in the Ottoman Empire, and then simply convert back to Christianity when they had finished (Safiye 23). West and East were constantly sharing goods, ideas, and culture, influencing each respective society immensely. I went on a day trip to Venice this Saturday and our tour guide pointed out the Ottoman influence in the architecture of St. Mark’s Basilica,  and the four horses atop it that were taken from Constantinople. Similarly, Galata Tower was built by Northern Italians, the Genoans. Although there was not necessarily outright aggression towards Ottoman societies by the Venice, they were involved in many wars, usually involving a loss on the Venetian’s part (Carboni 44). Venetian and Genoese relations with the Ottoman Empire contributed to its expansion and rise to an important global power, and rather than being two different worlds, these east and west relations both influenced and helped their respective societies as well as economies: “…the early Ottoman state needs to be seen not as something distinctly eastern as opposed to western, or viewed in the light of a western Christendom Muslim Turkish conflict, but to be understood as an integral part of the Mediterranean economy” (Fleet 11).

The Mediterranean was a contact zone, a network of trade routes and cultural influence. As commerce and exchange boomed, two major powers emerged: Constantinople and Venice, east and west. Yet it is more ambiguous than a simple two sided coin. Both sides intermingled, influenced each other through goods, art, architecture, etc., and contributed to the growth of the other despite also engaging in several wars. The relation between these two powers was a major cog in the system of Mediterranean exchange that was the center for world trade.