<Articles>The Expansion of the Early Modern Venetian Patriciate

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  • <論説>近世ヴェネツィアの貴族階級における新家系の成立
  • 近世ヴェネツィアの貴族階級における新家系の成立
  • キンセイ ヴェネツィア ノ キゾク カイキュウ ニ オケル シン カケイ ノ セイリツ

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Abstract

In 1646, new families were aggregated to the Venetian patriciate, which had been a closed entity for nearly three centuries. This article investigates how the addition of these newcomers to the ruling class influenced the power base and social mobility of early modern Venetian society. Although many members of the patrician Great Council opposed this aggregation, Venetian leaders, pleading an extraordinary need for revenue to finance the war of Candia against the Turks, persuaded them to offer this status and its ensuing privileges to each applicant who paid the princely sum of 100, 000 ducats to the government. This expanding patriciate reflected the oligarchical nature of Venetian politics, and the newcomers were given the lowest possible place, and excluded from all influential council posts. These new families arose from the following groups : the nobility of Terraferma, Venetian territory in the Italian peninsula ; chancellery secretaries belonging to cittadini originari, citizens by birth ; and merchants. Terraferma nobility and chancellery secreteries were welcomed into the patriciate, but the old families reserved special opprobrium for immigrant merchants who had amassed wealth through 'vulgar trades, ' just like alchemy. In spite of this distinction, chancellery secretaries and merchants arose from similar social strata. Most chancellery secretaries came from merchant families. Hence this process of social mobility represented a continuation of fifteenth- century practices. Nevertheless, a geographical distinction can be drawn between the two groups. Most of the older secretaries originated in the east Mediterranean coastal areas of the Venetian territories. while most of the new merchants arose from Terraferma. Thus, one can say that Venice shifted from being an international maritime city to one more insular in character, centered in the Veneto. The reorganization of the elites of early modern Venice limited, however. The duality of the ruling structure, with the patrician oligarchy supported by bureaucratic secretaries remaining members of cittadini, unchanged. Likewise, within the regional state of Venice, the Venetian patriciate failed to aggregate Terraferma nobility as a whole. Venetian leaders missed a chance to create a unified elite until the end of the Republic.

Journal

  • 史林

    史林 84 (6), 866-898, 2001-11-01

    THE SHIGAKU KENKYUKAI (The Society of Historical Research), Kyoto University

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