Elliot Taylor           

October 26, 2015

Reflection of the Readings from Week Three

In terms of diplomacy, the relationship between the Venetians and Ottoman Empire in the Middle Ages parallels the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Ottomans and Venetians were strong, influential states in the Mediterranean and the Soviet Union and United States were hegemons on the international level. The use of slander was prevalent in both examples as well.

We saw the cooperation between the United States and the Soviet Union during World War II, but the end of the War ignited the Cold War. Both sides grew increasingly wary of the other. Similarly, as time elapsed, the Venetians and Ottoman Empire grew increasingly suspicious of one another. We learned in Carboni’s piece that Venice was interested in having a peace conference with the Ottoman Empire but never materialized (2007: 17,18). What is more, as time went on, the Venetians and Ottomans became increasingly distrustful of one another beginning in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade when the Venetians attacked Constantinople (2007: 19). Although the Venetians and Ottoman Empire continued to trade with one another after this event, the nature of their relationship was forever changed, similar to how World War II changed the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union.

In both the Cold War and during the Middle Ages, the use of satire and propaganda was well established. During the Cold War, the United States had a myriad of vitriolic posters depicting the Soviets. The posters ranged from stating “There’s a Communist Under Every Bed” to “If Russia and the Communists should win the next world war, many American men would be sterilized.” Similarly, we learned in Carboni’s piece that there is a painting “populated exclusively with Ottoman figures represents the stoning of St. Stephen, as if Muslims ought to be the only characters responsible for evil acts against Christians” (2007:26). Furthermore, today in class we read an abridged version of Shakespeare’s Othello. In the play Ensign, is depicted as an untrustworthy and conniving individual and is an allegory of Muslims while Othello, a Christian Moor, embodies the West. In both situations, the two sides were suspicious of one another.

The East- West dynamic of the Middle Ages embodied by the relationship between the Venetian and the Ottoman Empire parallels the relationship between the First and Third World of the United States and Soviet Union, respectively. In both situations, there was a growing fear and paranoia in regards to the actions that the other would or would not perform. In both examples, satire, propaganda, and slander were used to humiliate and dehumanize the other.

Week 3 Reflection

Shw Lew

27 October 2015

Making the Mediterranean

Week 3 Reflection

            We have learned that the Mediterranean is known to be a contact zone where different trade routes intertwine and where different cultures meet and clashes. This week’s reading and lecture continues to expand on that idea. Braudel states that the Mediterranean area is the sum of its trade routes where immense urban networks. Autostrada, for example, a great cross-country highway linking towns exists in such area (Braudel, 203). The Mediterranean trade routes were not only exclusively through sea but it also included land. Braudel also states that the Mediterranean is not only a source for trade but it is a source of unity between different nations and countries. Because of these trade routes and unification, small cities such as Venice and Genoa were able to have a massive population increase in the 15^th and 16^th century. Venice, due to its geographical location, was subjected to many flows of immigration from Albanians to Greeks to Persians and to Armenians.

            Venice and Genoa were known to be the two greatest cities in the 16^th century of the Mediterranean and because of their trade connection and reliance with Constantinople, Venice and Genoa’s commercial and economic status continues to increase (Wright, 1999). Venetians merchants and agents had access to all sorts of products of the East, Syria and Egypt including spices and silk.  Wright mentions that Venice was able to enter “a self-contained system of budding capitalists’ (252).  Venice continues to grow richer and more wealthier and attracting more people to the city and its territories. Venice eventually became fantastically rich where merchants could be found all over the world.  Furthermore, wealthy people who saw the land as a protection against inflation soon populated the city and territories of Venice (Wright, 256).   

            Venice and Genoa continues to thrive from the trade networks and more and more immigrants continued to come to these small cities. The increase of population and increase in wealth positively affected Venetian’s lifestyle. As we learned in class, Venetians were known to live a luxurious lifestyle where they were fashionable people wearing fancy items of clothing, and they were able to entertain themselves with various activities such as fine dining, drinking wine, dancing in ball rooms and listening to music. We were able to watch from a clip of Shakespeare’s The Merchants of Venice where we saw Venetians to be living a pleasant lifestyle and them being portrayed as high in their society. Additionally, the movie portrayed Venetians courtesans to be elite and educated far apart from normal prostitutes.

            Historically, Venice was known to attract wealthy people and that it was portrayed as a place of luxury, education and art. This is interesting to me because Venice and Italy as whole today, in my opinion, is still viewed as a place of luxury, education and art. For example, we see it as a place of luxury as Italy, especially Venice, because it attracts enormous amounts of tourists from all over the world. From my experiences in Florence and my weekend trip to Rome and Venice, I was able to see that Italy is definitely a place for education and art as many of the greatest artist like Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci’s works are displayed in museum all over Italy.

Reading Response Week 3

Reading Response 3

This week, both in lecture and in our readings, we learned about the Mediterranean as a contact zone. Through trade, large-scale industry, banking, political relations, and the changing structures of regions (from 14^th century city-states, to 15^th century territorial states, to 16^th century empires), the Mediterranean remained a place of cultural encounters between the East and the West. As Wright wrote, “there were two Mediterraneans- East and West, Turkish and Spanish, Islamic and Christian”. This week we learned more about the nuanced relationships between the East and West, as well as Western Europeans in the East and the Jews in Venice.

As we talked about in class, in the 16^th century, “Western Education” made the Ottoman Empire more accustomed to a diverse environment; the West was becoming more powerful, and dominating the East. Constantinople had many Genoese people and, as explained in the Fleet reading, Ottoman-Genoese relations were “based very firmly on mutual interest”; in the Ottoman Empire, many Catholics were converting to Islam and migrating to Ottoman lands as the places they were from were overpopulated. This worked out for the migrants who had access to the Ottoman market, and the Ottoman Empire needed skilled laborers, so it was a mutually beneficial relationship. When the Genoese left the Ottoman market, Fleet alludes that it was on their own accord.

With the fall of Constantinople, Venice became one of the richest cities in the known world; it was a wealthy, “superior” city. Venetian merchants were found all over the world, and Jewish moneylenders were confined to ghettos in Venice, which we learned in detail about during Thursday’s lecture. Though Venice was enjoying this great success, not a lot of people were moving from the East to the West because the West was more intolerant. Christian intolerance pervaded the Western world, as depicted by the ghettoization of the Jewish moneylenders in Venice. This was not the only example of Western intolerance; we learned about Catholic intolerance in the Spanish Inquisition in the 15^th century when Jews and Muslims were ordered to either convert to Catholicism or leave Spain. I would also argue that Christian intolerance has a legacy that has resulted in Christian privilege today. In America, for one example, (but also in much of the Western world), the Christian faith has carries benefits that other religions do not. American Christians have their religious holidays exempted from work schedules, they can freely discuss their religion and assume that, even if their company is not Christian, they will be educated about the Christian faith. It makes me wonder if the Christian intolerance of the 14^th and 15^th centuries actually set the precedence for the acceptance of Christian values into law, societal norms, etc; in the Western world.  

 As Western values became increasingly dominant, those who refused to accept them were feared and driven out of the West. For example, as we discussed in lecture and read in Braudel’s chapters, the Moriscos “represented the clash of civilizations”.  In denying the superiority of Western civilization, Moriscos challenged and threatened the Spanish Empire by not assimilating. They were repressed during the Spanish Inquisition, and they were driven out during the great expulsions of 1609-1614. The Jewish merchants of Venice experienced similar repression in their confinement in the Ghetto, and this exemplifies the reason that few Easterners went to the West; it was not a good place to be for those who didn’t fit into Western ideals of civilization and morality. Throughout the 14^th through 16^th century, these historical relationships paved the way for the political and economic conditions that exist today.

Symbolic Food and Culture Through Trade

In a world where food is of utmost symbolic and cultural importance and eating is equatable to identity, its movement is crucial to study. Spanning back to the earliest of times, specific goods move between cities changing the makeup of a place. As traders in Genoa and Venice profited and expanded despite their small size, they changed the makeup of Italian food and impacted what was eaten and how identity is defined. This creates an evolved definition of what “Italian” and “authentic” can be. Wright details the “great cities” of Genoa and Venice (253) and the ways in which trading with the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires influenced each, impacting cuisine and culture. As Venice expanded its role into one as a shrew, key trading area, the wealthy demonstrated their abundance through food, again signifying its symbolism.

Bits of culture were exchanged through trade and over conquest, power exchanges, and rule. Early laws in 1475 forbade excess in Venetian banquets and limited quantities of food, à la “ciborum lautica,” while famines were commonplace in the peasant’s countryside. With the 1453 Conquest of Constantinople, Venice experienced food issues because of their previous wheat deals. While Italian producers make a lot of the food consumed in the country, much is adopted and traded from other places and brought in for consumption. As Venice is considered a “strange” city, as a Republic and complete with canals rather than agricultural land, trade was crucial to survival; threats of shortages led to expansion of trade with new areas. 

Gender roles are similarly tied to the establishment of identity and culture. Much as the Harem’s importance to the Sultan could be political, Venetian Courtesans were the most educated and also considered influencers. Pedani details the role of women in all male environments: “In this period [male] foreign ambassadors acted… but they clearly understood that, if authority belonged to men, a large share of power belonged to women” (11). Imperial harem and kiras had the ear of the Sultan and impacted trade between Venice and the Ottoman Empire. This brought Venetian items into the Harem and exchanged cultural ideas between the two. While women are often erased and invisibilized in history, their stories are strong influencers of a society constructed over time. Esther Handali, Franceschina Zorzi Michiel, Fatma hatun, and Esperanza Malchi are not well-known names of the Ottoman Empire, but were integral to the development of the identity presented today. In 1591, Beatrice Michiel came from Venice to Istanbul as a spy in the harem, demonstrating the fluidity of people and culture between Italy and the Ottomans.

Much as Joanne the Mad married and therefore expanded her empire’s power and reach, so did the ladies of the Harem work in the Ottoman Empire to construct identity and culture. The state and the market are inherently linked in the study of Mediterranean cities and cultural patterns. As states make decisions, marriages, trade patterns, colonial pursuits, they determine food and culture. When we eat in Genoa and Venice today, we are eating pieces of historic decisions made by rulers and traders centuries ago, influenced by other territories and empires. When Joanne the Mad married Philippe I, she joined the Holy Roman Empire with Spain; when Philip II ruled as King of Spain in 1556, he was tied to England, Ireland, Naples, Sicily, Milan, Spain, and Portugal, able to impact the culture and formation of identity for all at that point in time and place, still relevant today.

While we call Constantinople a melting pot and can see it as such with renegades and people from other cultures welcome, I see a similar welcoming vibe in Florence like I felt in today's Istanbul. Here, there are tourists everywhere, yes, but also a sense of shared community with everyone you speak to. In Istanbul, hospitality was everything. In restaurants and on the street, people would always rush to help us out or lend a hand. I saw an old man trail after a mother and daughter couple wordlessly holding an umbrella over their heads as rain poured down, because the mom didn't have an umbrella to keep her kid dry in the rain. That is the why society acts, allowing people to come in and accepting them at least a little. That is not always the case, but it was definitely felt in specific moments.

Week 3: Exchanging Cultures Through Trade

Dolmabahace Palace, a blend of both Eastern and Western styles.

Trade between two cities not only involved an exchange of wealth, but an exchange of cultural products, architecture, and even lifestyles. An exemplary case is the cultural exchange between Venice and the East, as “new spices, soaps, and cotton” entered into Venice, so did influential Eastern “silks, glass, porcelain, illustrated manuscripts… portable works of Islamic art” (Carboni, 2007). However, this cultural exchange was a slow process as trade itself was difficult, and individuals were always skeptical of new products and ideas that entered into their city.

                During the 16^th century, merchants mainly used land routes whenever possible since pirates threatened ships (Braudel, 1996). Venetian merchants would use land routes to carry non-perishable, valuables, and letters to Constantinople (Professor Villa’s lecture). They were safer, but they were also longer and slowed down trade. Another reason that cultural exchange was a slow process was due to neophobia, a fear of trying something new such as unfamiliar foods (Professor Villa’s lecture). This was the case with the tomato when it brought from the Old World to the New World. Historically, tomatoes were not accepted by European palates, but today, tomatoes are a crucial ingredient in many Italian dishes. Furthermore, there were cases where individuals rejected unfamiliar cultural elements, like the Moriscos who rejected Western civilization (Professor Villa’s lecture). Just like the acceptance of tomatoes by the Europeans, culture was exchanged and accepted between Venice and the Ottoman Empire.

            Venetians traded frequently with Constantinople under the Byzantine Empire during the 13^th and 14^th centuries, perpetuating Venice’s status as a wealthy and superior city. Venice came into contact with many of the East’s cultural elements, trading not only with Constantinople, but Syria and Egypt and imported goods such as silk and spices (Carboni, 2007). After the Ottoman Empire took control of Constantinople in 1453, the Ottoman still welcomed Venetian merchants into Constantinople. To further demonstrate the cultural exchange that happened, Venetian merchants remained in Constantinople, converted to Islam, and married women living there to trade (Carboni, 2007). When visiting Venice, one can see that the architecture is a blend of both European and Eastern influences. The exchange of culture between two culturally distinct cities was a two-way movement. Genoese merchants who frequented Constantinople erected Galata Tower in 1348 (Fleet, 2006), marking their presence in Constantinople, and continued to trade with Constantinople even when it was under the Ottoman’s control. Cultural elements of Western Europe were also imported into the Ottoman Empire as sultans were influenced by Western European styles, which were perceived as a sign of modernity starting in the 19^th century. For example, during my stay in Istanbul, I could see the blend of Eastern architecture with Western influences. The construction of Western-styled Dolmabahace Place was initiated by Sultan Abdulmecit as his new home in order to portray Constantinople (currently Istanbul) as a modernized city.  

            Trade was a means to enrich cities with new wealth and according to Braudel, was crucial in the development of a town by kick starting their economy (1996). By the 16^th century, Venetian lifestyle became fashionable and involved many leisurely activities (gambling and drinking), and many other cities wanted to imitate this lifestyle (Carboni, 2007). Their feasts became extremely extravagant such as the feasts that took place at Doge’s Palace and consisted of an appetizer, a first course, a main course, vegetables, and a final course (Wright, 1999). Courtesanas, prostitutes that were educated and even published renowned works of literature, also captured the pleasure of life in Venice (Carboni, 2007). However, trade bought so much more than wealth to a city. It also introduced distinct cultures.

Weekly Reflection #3

Viviana Rojas

October 27, 2015

Making the Mediterranean         

Weekly Reflection #3

This week’s reading focused on trade and the connection with the Ottoman Empire and Venice. As an American student I have always have stereotypes about European countries. When I think about Venice, I don’t think about trade, power, or even exporting and importing. When I hear the word Venice I automatically think water canals, love, romance, and gondolas how it’s constantly portrayed in movies.  However, in class we discussed what Venice really is and what it represented years ago. In Carboni’s reading the author explains the connection the venetians had with Constantinople. The Ottoman Empire played a crucial role in trade with the Europe’s gateway, Venice. In a way Muslims put aside their differences in order to better and develop their economy. In addition, we discussed in class the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the effects it had on trade. Genoa and Venice were practically ruling the world. Even though the Ottoman Empire was much bigger land wise, Venice and Genoa were more powerful than the Ottoman Empire. One trading point for Genoa was in Ottoman lands, they created colonies in the Ottoman Empire for trade where they would import and export goods. Venetians exported wines to Constantinople and were importing black pepper, spices, drugs, cotton, linens, silk, and other Eastern products. With money comes power and power can obtain privileges allowing Venice to be exempt from paying taxes.

Furthermore, In Fernand Braudel The Mediterranean the author explains the life of the Venetians. Wealth was a huge part of the daily life many were living a lavish, fancy, and crazy life. They were the envy and everyone wanted to be like them. Individuals began to live their life by “Serene Republic” which meant pursuit of good living. At this point the Mediterranean belong to Venice after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The interaction between Constantinople and Venice led to an economic development for both the Ottoman Empire the Venice. “Commerce with the Turks contributed considerably to the wealth of the state of Genoa.” Those individuals who were wealthy enough began purchasing land and made investments in Venice. The wealthy began to build all around the city making huge statements with homes and villas as a symbol of their power. Their wealth was extreme resulting in laws being created to monitor the amount of wealth one could expose and enjoy. Not all individuals who lived in Venice were wealthy and not all could afford to live a lavish lifestyle. Individuals who didn’t belong to that wealthy group were forced out of the city. Many were migrating to the country side in hopes of living a decent life. Finally, we cannot mention the Venetians and Constantinople without mentioning the Jews. The Jews play such a vital role in the economy for Venice. Since Jews were consider less they were not able to purchase land. However, they were allowed and were lending money to Venetians.  Jews were constantly being oppressed as less individuals and were forced to live in Jewish ghettos.

            Concluding this week’s reading I’ve made observations in Florence as well as Istanbul about items that have made an impact in the culture. In European lands coffee has assimilated into the culture. Coffee shops can be found in every corner from cappuccinos to hot chocolates. Many can’t go a day without their daily dose of coffee. Moreover, while my stay in Istanbul I noticed the European influences. For instance, the Grand Bazar has dedicated an entire section to carpets which was an early item that was traded during the 14tht and 15^th century.

Making the Mediterranean Reflection Italy: Week 3

The role of women in the 16th and 17th century has been previously overlooked in the Ottoman Empire and in Italian society in many ways. In our reading, “Safiye’s Household and Venetian Diplomacy” by Maria Pendani, she analyzes the role of Venetian and European women in the Ottoman Empire, which had been overlooked by her predecessors. Many women in the Ottoman Empire who could obtain power were mostly foreign. Christian boys were kidnapped and converted to Islam, where they were made into slaves and trained as a janissary or were educated to be the high officials of the Ottoman Empire. Others decided travelled to the Ottoman Empire on their own will in an attempt to make a career for themselves. Many of the converts thought that having a strong family tie within the Empire was important, so they would call upon their female relatives join them. “In the upper classes women became more and more important since marriages were used to cement alliances and it was necessary for men to have mothers, sisters, and wives well introduced in the imperial harem” (Pendani, 2000).

Women also had certain “rights” when it came to religion. If a woman was either single or marrying a Muslim man, they would  not have to convert, but if they were marrying a Muslim man for their second marriage, they would have to convert. But despite these rights”and upper class privileges, Venetian women were used to improve the power of Venetian men though the passing of information from the harem or via marriage. Ottoman women had right to dispose of their dowry, go to court, the imperial council, and had more autonomous power in the Empire. As a woman, it was better to be a subject of the Ottoman Empire than in Europe because there were more women rights.

Venetian courtesans in Venetian lands were were used by men as well, but in different ways. In “The Mediterranean Feast” by Clifford Wright stated that courtesans were more than prostitutes . They were educated and cultured to intellectually stimulate the upper class men of Venice. Courtesans were used to preserve pleasure in Venice. Unlike harem women in the Ottoman Empire who were slaves, courtesans were highly paid. Artists even had to pay them more to paint them, than what upper class men paid to be entertained by them (Wright, 2000).

Yesterday, I attended the film screening of “La Grande Bellezza” which I had no idea what to expect when I came in. I did not know that it would have such deep messages within the story line and have such stylistic similarities to French New Wave film such as Godard or Truffaut's work. In this film, the main character, Jep, and his friends, who were part of the Roman elite, enjoyed giant parties, outrageous expositions of art, extensive meals, and the company of strippers. Yet as I watched this film, I realized that Jep was tired of his empty life and kept thinking of his past. Venetian renegades had done something similar. When they had tired of Constantinople, they moved back to Venice to rejoin their loved ones and reconverted. The lifestyle of Jep and his high class friends were much how the upper class Venetians lived. The way Venice is characterized here is comparable to the way life was portrayed in Rome in the film, “La Grande Bellezza.” “Venetian style meant fashionable people who listened to music, engaged in witty conversation, all with proper doses of theater, gambling, drinking, and fine dining” (Wright, 2000).