Page 180 - 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. 180
krvavi poljub svobode
The Origin of the Galley-rowers and the Composition
of the Crew on the Galley Loredana
These aspects of the story are presented in the form of tables, maps and
pictures to be found the book and in the Appendix.
The Mutiny on the Galley Loredana in the Context
of the Adriatic History Around 1605
Largely basing on the research work carried out by Tenenti and Lo Bas-
so, but also on other sources, the life and the struggle of the galley-rowers is
presented here, along with the economic system of the Venetian galley fleet,
which comprised different categories of rowers (actual slaves (a minority),
waged rowers, and men sentenced to work on the galley). All these themes
are highlighted with examples from the galley Loredana. Furthermore, the
wider geostrategic conjuncture in the Adriatic and in the Eastern Mediterra-
nean is presented in the period between the end of the sixteenth and the be-
ginning of the seventeenth centuries. Particular attention is paid to the dif-
ficulties faced by the Republic of Venice, exemplified by the mutiny on the
galley Loredana, which serves as a prism, reflecting a wider spectre of issues
within the complex situation of that period. Also mentioned is the struggle
of the Austrian Habsburgs to gain access to free navigation in the Adriatic,
controlled at the time by Venice, going as far as to back the Uskok pirates as
a means to their end. In conclusion, the chapter points out the fact that the
peasants of the Karst were very well informed about the actual political ten-
sions, since they feared that the fugitive galley-rowers were Venetian soldiers
invading the Austrian territory. In fact, the war between Venice and (Inner)
Austria, involving also the Uskoks, took place exactly ten years later.
The Bloody Carnival on the Galley Loredana
In the last chapter the very actions of the rebellious mutineers on the
galley are analysed in detail through the lens of historical-anthropological
concepts, as well as through examples from some other early modern rebel-
lions, such as the “bloody carnival” in Friuli (Scott, Zemon-Davis, Muir, Bi-
anco). The “white flag of freedom” that the mutineers raised on the galley
Loredana, the clothing and the tasks of galley-officers they took-over dur-
ing their navigation towards freedom, their wine-drinking and wine-wast-
ing practices, all these are examples of such rebellious actions. Specific acts of
murder and actions accompanying them are interpreted as acts of vengeance
and peace-making, practiced in Europe and the Adriatic area. Presented are
examples of such behaviour, such as a mutineer licking the blade covered with
the blood of the man he had just killed, and even forcing another mutineer to
180
The Origin of the Galley-rowers and the Composition
of the Crew on the Galley Loredana
These aspects of the story are presented in the form of tables, maps and
pictures to be found the book and in the Appendix.
The Mutiny on the Galley Loredana in the Context
of the Adriatic History Around 1605
Largely basing on the research work carried out by Tenenti and Lo Bas-
so, but also on other sources, the life and the struggle of the galley-rowers is
presented here, along with the economic system of the Venetian galley fleet,
which comprised different categories of rowers (actual slaves (a minority),
waged rowers, and men sentenced to work on the galley). All these themes
are highlighted with examples from the galley Loredana. Furthermore, the
wider geostrategic conjuncture in the Adriatic and in the Eastern Mediterra-
nean is presented in the period between the end of the sixteenth and the be-
ginning of the seventeenth centuries. Particular attention is paid to the dif-
ficulties faced by the Republic of Venice, exemplified by the mutiny on the
galley Loredana, which serves as a prism, reflecting a wider spectre of issues
within the complex situation of that period. Also mentioned is the struggle
of the Austrian Habsburgs to gain access to free navigation in the Adriatic,
controlled at the time by Venice, going as far as to back the Uskok pirates as
a means to their end. In conclusion, the chapter points out the fact that the
peasants of the Karst were very well informed about the actual political ten-
sions, since they feared that the fugitive galley-rowers were Venetian soldiers
invading the Austrian territory. In fact, the war between Venice and (Inner)
Austria, involving also the Uskoks, took place exactly ten years later.
The Bloody Carnival on the Galley Loredana
In the last chapter the very actions of the rebellious mutineers on the
galley are analysed in detail through the lens of historical-anthropological
concepts, as well as through examples from some other early modern rebel-
lions, such as the “bloody carnival” in Friuli (Scott, Zemon-Davis, Muir, Bi-
anco). The “white flag of freedom” that the mutineers raised on the galley
Loredana, the clothing and the tasks of galley-officers they took-over dur-
ing their navigation towards freedom, their wine-drinking and wine-wast-
ing practices, all these are examples of such rebellious actions. Specific acts of
murder and actions accompanying them are interpreted as acts of vengeance
and peace-making, practiced in Europe and the Adriatic area. Presented are
examples of such behaviour, such as a mutineer licking the blade covered with
the blood of the man he had just killed, and even forcing another mutineer to
180
