Page 176 - 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. 176
krvavi poljub svobode
erably multifaceted, since the story stretches over many levels and themes, re-
flecting the reality of that period and, at the same time, indicating profound
historical processes on a European scale. The components of the story are an
expression of everyday life of the common people as well as the geopolitical
situation in the Adriatic and the larger Mediterranean region. The protago-
nists are members of all social strata, from the enslaved Turkish rowers to the
Venetian chief-of state, including the common galley-rowers, peasants, ordi-
nary and prominent townspeople, noblemen, civil servants and state repre-
sentatives. Therefore, the work addresses diverse issues related not only to the
reconstruction of events, but mainly to their understanding and interpreta-
tion. Thus, the content of this book, besides the initial presentation of the
story itself, deals also with a number of thematic fields, such as everyday life
in the Austrian-Venetian border area at sea and on land, the response of the
rural population to the incursion of the galley-rowers in their territory, the
functioning of local authorities on the Venetian and Hapsburg side, the reac-
tion of the Venetian central government, the structure and functioning of ju-
dicial autonomy of the rural communities, the Venetian galleys’ system and
the problems with pirates in the Mediterranean and the Adriatic under the
pressure of Northern-European fleets, the working and living conditions on
the galleys and the origin of the galley-rowers, as well as with the behaviour
and actions of the rebels. In all these fields, the present research brings about
new and original insights.
For a long time the Mediterranean represented the centre of European
economy, a role it gained as the meeting point and the intermediator between
Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, with the Italian towns and cities play-
ing a major role. In the 17th century, the European economic centre moved
to the North-Western regions of Europe, along its Norther-Sea shores. This is
the period when the Republic of Venice was in decline, after several centuries
of domination of the Eastern Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas, as it connect-
ed the Middle-East and the Mediterranean with Central and even Western
Europe. The mutiny on the Venetian galley Loredana took place at this very
turning point in the European history, and the reconstruction of events con-
nected to the mutiny reveals it as a kaleidoscope of the different processes and
tensions characterizing the Venetian and the Adriatic history at that impor-
tant historical moment.
The book represents an original combination of two quite important
scholarly traditions in terms of its topic and the methodology adopted. One
the one hand, the research is set within the wider frame of European mari-
176
erably multifaceted, since the story stretches over many levels and themes, re-
flecting the reality of that period and, at the same time, indicating profound
historical processes on a European scale. The components of the story are an
expression of everyday life of the common people as well as the geopolitical
situation in the Adriatic and the larger Mediterranean region. The protago-
nists are members of all social strata, from the enslaved Turkish rowers to the
Venetian chief-of state, including the common galley-rowers, peasants, ordi-
nary and prominent townspeople, noblemen, civil servants and state repre-
sentatives. Therefore, the work addresses diverse issues related not only to the
reconstruction of events, but mainly to their understanding and interpreta-
tion. Thus, the content of this book, besides the initial presentation of the
story itself, deals also with a number of thematic fields, such as everyday life
in the Austrian-Venetian border area at sea and on land, the response of the
rural population to the incursion of the galley-rowers in their territory, the
functioning of local authorities on the Venetian and Hapsburg side, the reac-
tion of the Venetian central government, the structure and functioning of ju-
dicial autonomy of the rural communities, the Venetian galleys’ system and
the problems with pirates in the Mediterranean and the Adriatic under the
pressure of Northern-European fleets, the working and living conditions on
the galleys and the origin of the galley-rowers, as well as with the behaviour
and actions of the rebels. In all these fields, the present research brings about
new and original insights.
For a long time the Mediterranean represented the centre of European
economy, a role it gained as the meeting point and the intermediator between
Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, with the Italian towns and cities play-
ing a major role. In the 17th century, the European economic centre moved
to the North-Western regions of Europe, along its Norther-Sea shores. This is
the period when the Republic of Venice was in decline, after several centuries
of domination of the Eastern Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas, as it connect-
ed the Middle-East and the Mediterranean with Central and even Western
Europe. The mutiny on the Venetian galley Loredana took place at this very
turning point in the European history, and the reconstruction of events con-
nected to the mutiny reveals it as a kaleidoscope of the different processes and
tensions characterizing the Venetian and the Adriatic history at that impor-
tant historical moment.
The book represents an original combination of two quite important
scholarly traditions in terms of its topic and the methodology adopted. One
the one hand, the research is set within the wider frame of European mari-
176
