An Aspect of the Genoese Network and Its Colonial World in the Middle Ages
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
An Aspect of the Genoese Network and its Colonial World in the Middle Ages Yoko KAMENAGA-ANZAI Caractéristiques du réseau génois et son monde colonial au Moyen Age Les Génois au Moyen Age sont célèbres pour leurs activités commerciales. Ils possédaient de nombreux comptoirs commerciaux et coloniaux en Méditerranée, mer Noire, et dans le monde atlantique. Chios, l’île grecque de la mer Egée, est l’une des colonies génoises principales. Ce comptoir colonial occupait une place importante aux yeux des Génois, parce qu’il constituait un centre principal pour le négoce de l’alun produit en Focea et du mastic en provenance de Chios. Les génois ont dominé l’île à travers une definitif concession privée accordée par l’empereur byzantin au négociant, amiral et mercenaire génois Benedetto Zaccaria qui le avait occupé et ses descendants au cours de la première moitié du 14ème siècle, ainsi que à travers de la «maona», une structure coloniale spécifique aux génois, et ce aux alentours de la moitié du 14ème siècle jusqu’à la première moitié du 16ème siècle. J’évoque dans cet article certains aspects du réseau génois à travers l’analyse d’actes notariés établis par le notaire génois Giuliano Canella à Chios au cours de la seconde moitié du 14ème siècle, période de crise de l’histoire génoise. Tout d’abord, je déduis le nom du lieu d’après le nom patronymique du contractant et par la même occasion la base commerciale. Ensuite, j’entame un examen concret de la communication génoise avec des non-génois résidant à Chios, et ce en me référant à l’utilisation d’interprètes. Grâce à cette recherche, nous pouvons conclure que, même en période de crise et de dépression, la vitalité génoise à l’époque médiévale n’a pas diminué. Nous devons aussi noter le caractère international et multiculturel de la population de Chios à l’ère de la domination génoise, leur système de réseau étendu et minutieux et les implications qu’il comporte, ainsi que la scène de communication dans un contexte pratique. 138 Y. KAMENAGA-ANZAI I. Introduction Genoese merchant is famous for their wide commercial activity in the middle ages. They had many commercial and colonial bases in the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and the Atlantic world. In this paper, I show you some examples of their commercial network and the communication, analyzing the main sources in the second half of the 14th century1. The main sources contains 76 notarial acts stipulated by Genoese notary Giuliano Canella from 2 November 1380 to 31 March 1381, mainly in Chios2, a Greek island in the Aegean sea, and well-known Genoese colony in this period3. This period was that of the financial and political crisis for the Commune of Genoa and also that of the depression for the merchant4. But as we will see soon, their ways of activities do not change also in the crisis. In this paper, I analyze some aspects of the Genoese network and communication in their activities. First, I pay attention to the place name in the contractors’ name and as commercial base. Next, I notice concretely the Genoese communication with non-Genoese in Chios from the viewpoint of the use of interpreter. Through this research, we would understand some aspects of the international and multi-cultural character of Chios, the Genoese wider activity area, their wider and detailed network system and its meanings, and the scene of the communication in practice. As the results, this paper will show not only the Genoese activities but also the Genoese colonial world including non-Genoese. II. The one’s native place in the sources Here we guess the native places of each contractor or of their ancestor in the sources from the place in their surname or from their title5. 1 A cura di E. Basso, Notai genovesi in oltremare: atti rogati a Chio da Giuliano de Canella (2 Novembre 1380 – 31 Marzo 1381), Atene, 1993. 2 In the main sources, n. 1, 2 are stipulated in Zara, and n.3 in Cefalonia. 3 Chios is one of the most valuable colonies for the Genoese, because it is their important trading base for the alum produced in Focea and for the mastic produced in Chios. The Genoese began to dominate the island through the private privilege by Byzantine Emperor to the Genoese merchant-admiral-piracy Benedetto Zaccaria and its descendents in the first half of the 14th century. And through the “maona”, the Genoese special colonial body, this island is dominated by the Genoese from about the half of the 14th to about the first half of the 16th century. The number of historical studies in relation to the Genoese Chios is enormous. For example, Ph. Argenti, The Occupation of Chios by the Genoese and Their Administration of the Island 1346-1566, 3 vols, Cambridge, 1958; G. Pistarino, Chio dei Genovesi nel tempo di Cristoforo Colombo, Roma, 1995. 4 The period of the main sources that are between the battle at Chioggia against Venice (1379) and the treaty in Torino (1381) is at the end of the long conflict against Venice. But the treaty of Torino does not result in the change of the situation between the advantages of each two Italian sea power. In addition, Chios is far from the area of the conflict and its situation is relatively peaceful (Ibid., p. 98: A cura di E. Basso, Op. cit., p. 24). About the Genoese situation in those days, for example, see S. A . Epstein, Genoa and the Genoese: 958-1528, Chapel Hill and London, 1996, pp. 87-97. 5 Of course the place name in each persons’ surname does not exactly mean the native place. But at least it has the higher possibility that it should be his or his ancestor’s native place. AN ASPECT OF THE GENOESE NETWORK AND ITS COLONIAL WORLD IN THE MIDDLE AGES 139 About Genoa and Chios, the titles Genoese citizen (cives janue), immigrant to Chios (habitator syi), and habitants in Chios (burgensis syi) often appear in the main sources. And the fields of the place in the contractors’ surname spread very widely. See the table 1. In regard to the northern and central Italy, the list of the county that contains the place name in the sources are the followings: Liguria where Genoa belongs to, Piemonte, Emilia-Romagna, Toscana, Veneto, Umbria, Lazio, and Marche. In addition, the places in Southern Italy appear in the sources: Ischia and Tarlanto. And it contains the many names of place outside Italy: eastern Mediterranean, the Black Sea, Dalmatia, Iberian Peninsula, Flanders, and Maghreb. We can certify that the range of Genoese activities is not reduced even in the age of political crisis. Here we pay attention to Liguria. There are many places through from western to eastern Liguria. Historically, the commune of Genoa dominated many Ligurian cities or area since comparatively early period, about the half of the 12th century. But there are some cities that kept the independent tendency such as Savona, the biggest rival city against Genoa, and such as Ventimiglia, whose history repeated both the period controlled by Genoese dominant and by the count who had its fief. This phenomenon suggests that, the movement to Chios was not only limited to the Genoese and the people in the territory with friendship. But also spread all the Ligurian costal people. We now contrast this phenomenon to the former famous study by Michel Balard, who analyzed the Genoese enormous notarial acts in 1395-1408. His analysis is the followings: The number of all people in the main sources is 926. In this 926, the origin of 42 is unknown. The 406 of 926 are the people that have the Genoese origin. And he indicated that 161 are Ligurian in Chios. In this 161, the people from the coast of eastern Liguria are 61, and 47 are from that of western Liguria6. In the main sources, the number of people from both eastern Liguria and western one is not different largely. But Michel Balard stresses on the tendency that the immigrants from eastern Liguria are more than those from western Liguria and that this tendency is certified also in Pera (the suburb in Constantinople) and Caffa (a city in the Crimean peninsula), that are other well- known Genoese colonial area. He also explains its reason from the views of political relationship with Genoa. According to Michel Balard, The most part of eastern Liguria is dominated by Genoese Commune directly, while in western Liguria, many territories are dominated dividedly by each commune or feudal prince that are often opposed to Genoa, as Savona or Ventimiglia that I have already refered to. As Michel Balard insists, Eastern Liguria has more friendship than western one. But I would stress that political or territorial factor is less important for the Ligurian immigrants. In spite of a little local political situation, Genoese colonial world was 6 About the Genoese and Ligurian population in Romania, see M. Balard, La romaine génoise: XIIe- début du XV siècle, vol. 1, pp. 233-254. 140 Y. KAMENAGA-ANZAI open and generous one. III. The network in the place for the settlement of account Now we pay attention to the place or area for the settlement of account in the main sources. Some place names are connected with Genoese commercial activities. In particular, we can find the system of settlement of account from them. See the contents (according to the numbering in the main sources): (n. 6)7 This is the contract between Genoese citizen Giacomo Torsello and Genoese citizen Paolo Gentile; Giacomo promised to buy wool from Paolo, to receive it in Chios, and to pay its price in Pera by the change of 504 ducati d’ oro.