Pelizza (saggi)_1 06/08/15 17:55 Pagina 359 Andrea Pelizza VENETIANS ROWING FOR THE OTTOMAN TURKS OTTOMAN TURKS ROWING FOR THE VENETIANS* ABSTRACT : In the long centuries of the modern age when the Mediterranean was crossed by galleys, a major concern for the navies was to obtain rowers in numbers sufficient to navigate their fleets, especially in wartime. The Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire were no exception, and they organized to meet the need. So even the corsair fleets of the North African Barbary states. When the free rowers were no longer sufficient, by both sides was provided, among other things, using – for the hard service of the galleys – prisoners of war and the unfortunate people caught at sea or during raids along enemy coasts. In this complex and various situation, the question of religious contrast was not always prevalent, stirring often to other more practical reasons of interest. KEYWORDS : galleys, rowers, corsairs, slaves, captives, Republic of Venice, Ottoman Empire. REMATORI VENEZIANI PER GLI OTTOMANI. REMATORI OTTOMANI PER I VENEZIANI SOMMARIO : Nei lunghi secoli dell’età moderna nei quali il Mediterraneo fu solcato dalle galee, una delle principali preoccupazioni delle marine era quella di assicurarsi i rematori in numero sufficiente a far navigare le loro flotte, specialmente in tempo di guerra. La Repubblica di Venezia e l'Impero ottomano non fecero eccezione, e si organizzarono per fare fronte alla bisogna. Così anche le flotte corsare degli stati barbareschi nordafricani. Quando i rematori volontari non erano più sufficienti, da entrambe le parti si provvedeva, tra l'altro, utilizzando nel duro servizio delle galee i prigionieri di guerra, gli sfortunati catturati in mare o durante le razzie lungo la costa avversaria. In questa complessa e diversificata situazione, la questione dell'appartenenza religiosa dell'avversario non fu sempre prevalente, mescolandosi sovente anche ad altre motivazioni d'interesse più pratico. PAROLE CHIAVE : galere, rematori, corsari, schiavi, captivi, Repubblica di Venezia, Impero ottomano. 1. Introduction 1 The aim of the following pages, through the analysis of some cases and concrete examples, will be to present a picture of the events expe - rienced by the Venetians who were assigned to row on board Ottoman galleys and by the Turks destined to the same task on board Venetian galleys, in the last two centuries of the modern age. A note of clarifica - tion: here and later, speaking of Venetian is meant to refer to the inhab - itants of the city of Venice, but also, in general, to the subjects of the Stato da Terra and of the Stato da Mar of the Most Serene Republic ( the Mainland and Maritime State of Venice ). By the term Turkish – derived * Abbreviations: Asve = Venetian State Archives. 1 I am grateful to Maria Francesca Tiepolo and Maria Pia Pedani for their careful reading of the present paper and their valuable advice. n. 34 Mediterranea - ricerche storiche - Anno XII - Agosto 2015 359 ISSN 1824-3010 (stampa) ISSN 1828-230X (online) Pelizza (saggi)_1 06/08/15 17:55 Pagina 360 Andrea Pelizza from the sources – instead, we will refer, for convenience of narration, to those who inhabited the vast territory of the Ottoman Empire. In an attempt to furnish appropriate illustration in the general his - torical context of the time, it will be necessary to propose a preliminary representation – albeit brief – of the reasons that stood at the origin of this unique experience. Mention will thus be made to the phenomenon of corsair warfare, foundation, even in time of peace, of what has been called Mediterranean slavery , and that of prisoners of war, which was rather a consequence of officially declared conflict. Both events, in fact, represented the main source of the capture of men on both sides who were then sent to row on enemy ships. 2. A hot topic: Mediterranean slavery Such a preliminary emphasis concerning the abundance, in recent years, of international historical publications on corsair warfare and Mediterranean slavery has become, one might say, a constant charac - teristic of each new contribution on the issue. The question is thus extremely current, and is in fact capable not only of arousing interest within the community of historians and specialists, but also impacting on a wider audience 2. For the latter aspect, limiting the scope to Italy, we can recall some of the latest suggestions. The first is the beatification ceremony of the Franciscan Father Francesco Zirano (a Sardinian friar particularly active in redeeming Christians who ended up as slaves of the corsairs, and who was flayed alive in Algiers in 1603), which took place in Sas - sari in October 2014. Another, of a very different order, is manifested in the so-called dramatized visit of the rooms of the Pio Monte della Misericordia in Naples – once the seat of a brotherhood that rescued the captives – animated by the narration, using professional actors, of the vicissitudes of slaves and Neapolitan redeemers 3. 2 An overview of the titles appearing after 2000 in S. Bono, Schiavi europei e musul - mani (sec. XVI-XIX) , «Oriente Moderno», n.s., 91/2, 2011, pp. V -XX; M. Bosco, Il com - mercio dei captivi nel Mediterraneo di età moderna (secc. XVI-XVIII). Orientamenti e prospettive attuali di ricerca , «Cromohs – Cyber Review of Modern Historiography», 18, 2013, pp. 1-26; M.P. Pedani, Venezia e l’Oriente: note su recenti letture , «Mediterranea - ricerche storiche», 31, 2014, pp. 397-416. 3 La Nuova Sardegna, Era il 1579 quando entrò nel convento di Santa Maria , http://lanuovasardegna.gelocal.it/sassari/cronaca/2014/10/09/news/era-il-1579- quando-entro-nel-convento-di-santa-maria-1.10085324 (20/01/2015) ; Diario Parte - nopeo, Redimere i captivi. La visita teatralizzata al Pio Monte della Misericordia , http://www.diariopartenopeo.it/redimere-i-captivi-la-visita-teatralizzata-al-pio- monte-della-misericordia/#PIX&ptask=DSP&kdntuid=1&SPug=true&predirect=http: 360 Pelizza (saggi)_1 06/08/15 17:55 Pagina 361 Venetians rowing for the Ottoman Turks, Ottoman Turks rowing for the Venetians Fine musical initiatives surround the true revival of this important glimpse of ancient Mediterranean life. Again in Naples, examples of Oratorios composed in the late seventeenth century by the master from Apulia Gaetano Veneziano to animate the community life of the Con - gregazione della Redenzione de’ cattivi were rediscovered and conse - quently performed (in particular, La Santissima Trinità impiegata nella Concettione Immaculata di Maria , of 1693, has been recorded). Veneto responds with projects which are no less important; in Padua, in May 2014, has seen the interpretation, for the first time in modern times, of the Mass commissioned in 1765 by the Venetian Senate to the com - poser Baldassare Galuppi, to celebrate the return home of a large group of compatriots, redeemed in North Africa 4. Today, in discerning the form of Mediterranean slavery of the mod - ern age from contemporary Atlantic slavery and ancient slavery, many scholars currently make a distinction between the true slaves them - selves, on the one hand (which include those destined for the Ameri - cas), and, on the other hand, Europeans forcibly conducted into servitude in the Islamic area, to be defined as captives (not to mention the Islamics in turn abducted to Christian countries): «for these the possibility of redemption by money was more easily envisaged, espe - cially for wealthy subjects and with higher social connections» 5. The source of this particular form of slavery, the characteristics of which lasted for centuries (as has been observed, namely reciprocity, reversibility and fortuitousness), were the various forms of open or dis - guised belligerence, which for decades witnessed the opposition between the Ottoman world (in the broad sense) and many European states. Indeed, //srv.juiceadv.com/pubmatic_sync.asp?&np=0 (20/01/2015) . For a discussion on the adventures of religious Catholics in the North African area in the XVI-XVII centuries, at times martyred and later canonised: G. Fiume, Schiavitù mediterra - nee. Corsari, rinnegati e santi di età moderna , Bruno Mondadori, Milano, 2009, 199-330. 4 La Sala del Cembalo del caro Sassone, Gaetano Veneziano. La Santissima Trinità (Napoli 1693). Musica per la Congregazione della Redenzione de’ cattivi , http://www.sala - delcembalo.org/histories/gveneziano-santissimatrinita.html (20/01/2015); L’Ape Musi - cale. Rivista di musica, arti, cultura, Padova, concerto Veneto Festival, 23/05/2014 , http://www.apemusicale.it/joomla/recensioni/516-padova-concerto-veneto-festival-23- 05-2014?highlight=WyJnYWx1cHBpIl0= (20/01/2015). 5 S. Bono, Schiavi europei, ottomano-maghrebini, neri e altri nel mondo mediterraneo. Un confronto (XVI-XIX secolo) , in S. Hanss, J. Schiel, Mediterranean slavery revisited (500- 1800) , Chronos, Zürich, 2014, pp. 445-471, in particular pp. 450, 448-451; S. Marza - galli, review to Schiavi europei e musulmani d’Oltralpe (sec. XVI-XIX), dossier thématique sous la direction de Salvatore Bono, «Oriente moderno», vol. XCI, n. 2, 2011, pp. V-XX, 161-240, «Cahiers de la Méditerranée», 87, 2013, pp. 409-411. 361 Pelizza (saggi)_1 06/08/15 17:55 Pagina 362 Andrea Pelizza si riducevano in schiavitù non solo i combattenti nemici catturati, ma anche popolazioni civili coinvolte in quelle vicende; alle operazioni militari […] si aggiunsero […] le operazioni della guerra corsara, da ambedue le parti, mosse dall’intento principale di catturare uomini da porre al remo e in