Venice Defeats Genoa

Featuring Henry Hallam

Introduction to Venice Defeats Genoa:
Henry Hallam (1777 – 1859) wrote View of the State of Europe During the Middle Ages from which this passage is taken.

During the Middle Age the Mediterranean Sea was Western Europe’s main connection with the rest of the world. The Italian city-states dominated the trade routes. Two cities were above the others. This is the story of how one of those two finally came out on top. And now, Henry Hallam.

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Time: 1380
Place: Venice

The Grand Canal of Venice
circa 1760 by Francesco Guardi
Public domain image from Wikipedia.

Genoa did not stand alone in this war. A formidable confederacy was raised against Venice, which had given provocation to many enemies. Of this Francis Carrara, seignior of Padua, and the King of Hungary were the leaders. But the principal struggle was, as usual, upon the waves. During the winter of 1378 a Genoese fleet kept the sea, and ravaged the shores of Dalmatia. The Venetian armament had been weakened by an epidemic disease, and when Vittor Pisani, their admiral, gave battle to the enemy, he was compelled to fight with a hasty conscription of landsmen against the best sailors in the world.

The House of Hohenzollern Established in Brandenburg

Featuring Thomas Carlyle

Time:  1380
Place:  Berlin, Brandenburg

Blog’s Preface:
The Hohenzollern family had gotten rich and were ready to make their move into nobility by the late 1300’s.  Meanwhile in Berlin, the Elector Charles IV died.  Carlyle, in his own pictorial style describes the subsequent complications by which the Hohenzollerns got hold of the region.  They would eventually rule all of Germany and plunge the world into World War I but first they had to start.

Now begins Thomas Carlyle: