tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post5914039378665392837..comments2024-03-28T18:32:05.933-04:00Comments on bensozia: A Walk Through VeniceJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037215533094998996noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-28385945734391501412020-04-19T18:03:43.700-04:002020-04-19T18:03:43.700-04:00This is why I visit everyday. Thank you!This is why I visit everyday. Thank you!Susihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08491909280925749677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-91552791793846338092020-04-18T15:42:03.792-04:002020-04-18T15:42:03.792-04:002/2
And so the fleet sails out, but things keep g...2/2<br /><br />And so the fleet sails out, but things keep going wrong - bad weather, screwed up plans, in-fighting between the princes, et cetera. It's misstart and misadventure one after another, and everybody is angry with everybody else, morale is awful, resources have dwindled to almost nothing, and the Crusade looks like it's on the verge of collapsing several times before it even really gets going.<br /><br />But then they get word of the Byzantines having a dispute over succession, and there are promises made of rich rewards if the Crusader army comes and helps one side win out over another, and it's on the way to the Holy Lands anyway, and if it works it solves everyone's problems and makes everyone happy, and so of course they go.<br /><br />And then of course everything goes wrong. It's this whole big thing, and in the end the claimant they back doesn't keep his promises to pay them, and the Venetians just throw up their hands and decide, "Screw it! We've got an army, Costantinople is in total disarray but still full of treasure, our survival as a nation depends on us getting paid, the Byzantines betrayed us anyway, and the common soldiers are just as pissed about not getting paid as we are and will follow us rather than their own commanding nobility! Sack the city!"<br /><br />And so they did, and so the Crusade survived long enough to continue into the Holy Land proper and blunder about ineffectually for a bit longer, while the Venetians sailed home ships laden with treasure to keep their economy afloat and grumbled about needing to remember to insist on payment up front in the future.G. Verlorennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-851901347400556812020-04-18T15:40:58.433-04:002020-04-18T15:40:58.433-04:001/2
"Of course they loved Byzantium so much ...1/2<br /><br />"Of course they loved Byzantium so much that in 1204 they sacked the city – maybe this was their way of announcing they had achieved adulthood and no longer needed a parent city to guide them – and brought home many treasures, most famously these four horses that became their symbol."<br /><br />From all I've read, it really was "just business".<br /><br />Venice actually had a faily amicable relationship with the Byzantines - they did a lot of trade with Venice, and they were a valuable buffer against the Turks, and also something of a religious counterbalance to the Pope who the Venetians were frequently at odds with.<br /><br />But then a bunch of German princes approached Venice saying they were putting together a massive army to go on Crusade with, and they wanted to place an order for a fleet big enough to transport that army to the Holy Land, because past experience had told them that marching across Eastern Europe to get there tended to be extremely slow and cause massive problems with the locals.<br /><br />The Venetians said, <i>"We're flattered that you came to us, and yes we are the best in the business, but we're still just one city with limited shipbuilding capacity. A fleet big enough to handle the number of troops you want to transport would take us a full year to construct, and we would be unable to do literally anything else for the entire year. You're asking us to devote essentially our entire economy to this project for the next year - we'll do it, but the price is going to be very high."</i><br /><br />The Germans said, <i>"Sure! That gives us a year to get all the troops in order, set in provisions, and collect the funds for your payment, which will easily pay your price."</i> They then spent the next year trying to collect on promised campaign contributions from various allies and members of the crusade, and finding out that while lots of people were happy to profess their support for the Crusade, when it came time to actually pay or provide troops, something always came up at the last moment and they couldn't really afford it at the moment, but maybe next year?<br /><br />So the Germans show up in Venice at the appointed time with a fraction of the troops they expected, and could they maybe get a partial refund since they wouldn't be needing all those ships after all? <i>"What? Are you insane? No! We had a deal! We put our entire economy on the line for your little Holy War! If you don't pay us, we go under! Our very survival is on the line! We're getting our money one way or another! We are taking you to the Holy Land, and you are going to fight your war, and we're coming with you make sure you do and to collect the loot you earn to pay off your debt!"</i><br /><br />The princes hate this, but it's either that or walk across Eastern Europe.G. Verlorennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-80314291012690724542020-04-18T14:48:30.292-04:002020-04-18T14:48:30.292-04:00There is a wonderful mystery series, by Donna Leon...There is a wonderful mystery series, by Donna Leon, set in Venice that is as geographically granular as this wonderful little tour route you have written up.<br /><br />There are I think 25 volumes, about Commissario Brunetti. They are all wonderful, and can really be read in almost any order. One or more is regularly $1.99 on kindle.<br /><br />I only allow myself 1 or 2 at a time, so I can savor the Venice Leon knows so well, having lived there for decades.pootrsoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05975929246429466067noreply@blogger.com