Page 175 - Panjek, Aleksander. 2016. Krvavi poljub svobode: upor na galeji Loredani v Kopru in beg galjotov na Kras leta 1605. Založba Univerze na Primorskem, Založništvo tržaškega tiska, Koper - Trst
P. 175
Summary
The Bloody Kiss of Freedom
The Mutiny on the Venetian Galley Loredana
in Koper and Rowers’ Flight
to the Karst in 1605
This is the story and an interpretation of a spectacular mutiny on a
Venetian galley that occurred in 1605 in the northern Adriatic town
of Koper (Capodistria), when around 200 rebel galley-rowers, both
convicts and freemen, took over the ship with a fabulous load of public mon-
ey and arms, landed on the nearby Austrian shores and ran away, interacting
with peasants on their way and some joining the pirates (Uskoks) in the end.
The book presents the bloody uprising of the oarsmen, their escape, the reac-
tion of the local population and that of the Austrian and Venetian authori-
ties through the processes that were celebrated, and contextualizes the sto-
ry by giving the flight a historical framework. Besides its liveliness, the story
is somehow symptomatic and symbolic of the turning point indicating the
decline of the Venetian Republic under the pressure of corsairs, pirates and
the penetration of North-European navies in the Mediterranean Sea. The re-
search is largely based on the original archival material (of Venetian and Aus-
trian origin), namely, on hearings of over 150 of witnesses involved, who be-
longed to all social strata and were of diverse geographic origin.
The revolt on the galley Loredana in 1605 was not completely unknown
to historiography and has already been defined as the most spectacular event
of its kind (Klen). Perhaps one could claim that the mutiny and runaway of
the galley-rowers, along with their meetings and clashes with the Karst peas-
ants, represent another rare case of past events, in which the historian en-
counters such a perfect structure and a dramatically attractive story (Zemon
Davis, Martin Guerre). The complex reconstruction of events is followed
by their analysis, interpretation, and contextualisation within the time and
space frame. In fact, what seemed in the very beginning just a very good story,
proved to be much more than that. The dimensions of its content are consid-
summary: the bloody kiss of freedom 175
The Bloody Kiss of Freedom
The Mutiny on the Venetian Galley Loredana
in Koper and Rowers’ Flight
to the Karst in 1605
This is the story and an interpretation of a spectacular mutiny on a
Venetian galley that occurred in 1605 in the northern Adriatic town
of Koper (Capodistria), when around 200 rebel galley-rowers, both
convicts and freemen, took over the ship with a fabulous load of public mon-
ey and arms, landed on the nearby Austrian shores and ran away, interacting
with peasants on their way and some joining the pirates (Uskoks) in the end.
The book presents the bloody uprising of the oarsmen, their escape, the reac-
tion of the local population and that of the Austrian and Venetian authori-
ties through the processes that were celebrated, and contextualizes the sto-
ry by giving the flight a historical framework. Besides its liveliness, the story
is somehow symptomatic and symbolic of the turning point indicating the
decline of the Venetian Republic under the pressure of corsairs, pirates and
the penetration of North-European navies in the Mediterranean Sea. The re-
search is largely based on the original archival material (of Venetian and Aus-
trian origin), namely, on hearings of over 150 of witnesses involved, who be-
longed to all social strata and were of diverse geographic origin.
The revolt on the galley Loredana in 1605 was not completely unknown
to historiography and has already been defined as the most spectacular event
of its kind (Klen). Perhaps one could claim that the mutiny and runaway of
the galley-rowers, along with their meetings and clashes with the Karst peas-
ants, represent another rare case of past events, in which the historian en-
counters such a perfect structure and a dramatically attractive story (Zemon
Davis, Martin Guerre). The complex reconstruction of events is followed
by their analysis, interpretation, and contextualisation within the time and
space frame. In fact, what seemed in the very beginning just a very good story,
proved to be much more than that. The dimensions of its content are consid-
summary: the bloody kiss of freedom 175
