Luigi Villari

“ ENTRANCE TO THE HARBOUR OF RAGUSA THE REPUBLIC OF RAGUSA
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
THE eastern shore of the Adriatic from the Quarnero to the Bocche di Cattaro is a series of deep inlets and bays, with rocky mountains rising up behind, while countless islands, forming a veritable archipelago, follow the coastline. The country is for the most part bare and stony. The cypress, the olive, the vine grow on it, but never in great quantities. Patches of juniper and other bushes are often the only relief to the long stretches of sterile coast. ”

“ We can well imagine the semi-civilised and proud vojvods and župans gloating over a consignment of the choicest products of Florentine industry, and being thereby induced to concede almost any commercial or political privilege to the patient and cunning envoys from the Republic of St. Blaize. To this day the Slaves of Servia, Dalmatia, and Bosnia, even the very poorest, love to deck themselves out in the most gorgeous costumes and the brightest ornaments, which adds not a little to the picturesqueness of that country. ”

“ Venice was the nearest centre of civilisation to Ragusa, and the fountain-head of art. In spite of the jealousy and suspicion which the little Republic always felt towards its powerful neighbour, many Ragusan artists received their training in Venice, while many Venetians came to execute work on the public and private buildings of Ragusa. Venice was not, however, the only city which thus influenced Ragusa; other Italian towns, such as Ancona, Florence, Padua, and Naples, contributed towards her artistic development, in which even Hungary had some small share. ”

“ A new Power now makes its appearance as a factor in the history of Europe, the Ottoman Turks, who were destined in the space of two centuries to conquer the whole of the Balkan peninsula, a large part of Dalmatia, and nearly the whole of Hungary, humbling that kingdom to the dust. The Serbs and other South Slavonic peoples by their civil wars and mutual jealousies prepared the way for their greatest enemy and that of all Christendom. ”

“ In other parts of the Republic’s territory some few buildings of architectural interest survive. At Gravosa there are no churches of importance, but some fine villas, of which the most remarkable is that of Count Caboga; in the general style of its architecture it recalls the loggia of the Rector’s Palace. It was at Gravosa358 that the nobles of Ragusa had their villeggiatura, and all about among the pleasant groves of the Lapad promontory or on the banks of the Ombla rose many a stately pleasure-house, filled with works of art and books, and surrounded by lovely gardens. ”

“ Hence their system of exclusion, for they prefer to be absolute masters of very little rather than share a few benefits with people who are not their slaves. Above all, they imagine that the French, being sharper than other people, see the viciousness of their rule, the injustice of their administration, and the absurdity of their pretensions; they blush for very shame, and wish to be isolated so as to avoid being exposed to criticism. ”

“ The Ohmučevići were among the earliest exiles from the Herzegovina, who took refuge at Ragusa at the time of the Turkish conquest, and were granted lands at Slano. They at once began to devote themselves to maritime affairs, and in 1540 and 1541 the Republic hired their ships to transport grain from Italy. Their house at Slano was a miniature court, and fitted up with every luxury and elegance. It was a haven of refuge, where hospitality was dispensed to all sailors or voyagers who entered Slano harbour to escape from the tempest or from the pirates. ”

“ Now that the Bosnian king had humbled his neighbours and become the most powerful sovereign of the Southern Slaves he began to assume an unfriendly attitude towards Ragusa. His kingdom possessed a stretch of coast from the Bocche di Cattaro to the mouth of the Četina, but the two best ports of that region—Ragusa and Cattaro—were independent Republics owing allegiance to the King of Hungary, who was by no means likely to be always friendly to a powerful and independent Bosnia. If Tvrtko wished to establish a really strong Servian state he would have to occupy those towns. ”

“ Whenever the King or vassal lord was in need of money, what could be simpler than to pounce down upon a richly-laden caravan on its way to or from the coast and plunder it or take heavy toll of it, or to impose fresh taxes on the wealthy colonies of “Uitlanders” at Rudnik, Srebrnica, or Brskovo? Ragusa was often forced to pay tribute to this or that sovereign to ensure safety from depredation, and in those days the line of division between feudalism and brigandage was very vague. ”

“ The Republic was in constant danger from the powerful enemies which surrounded it on all sides. The Venetians, who claimed the monopoly of the Adriatic, were ever anxious to increase their influence and to become absolute masters of the city, as they were of the other Dalmatian towns, and after their retirement from Ragusa in 1358 they made many attempts to reinstate their authority. On the mainland there was the King of Servia, the Banus of Bosnia, the Lord of Hlum, watching for an opportunity to occupy Ragusa, whose splendid harbour they envied. ”

“ The prosperity of the hinterland which Austria-Hungary has reclaimed to civilisation cannot fail to have a favourable effect on Ragusa. Had not the Turkish invasion swept over the Balkans in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries, Ragusa’s position as a civilising influence would have been still more considerable. Later its rôle changed to that of intermediary between the Christian Powers and the Sultan, and in its history we see reflected on a small scale the vast struggle which convulsed Europe for four hundred years. ”

“ But in spite of these disadvantages, along this shore a Latin civilisation arose and flourished which, if inferior to that of Italy, nevertheless played an important and valuable part in European development. Many wars were fought for the possession of Dalmatia. Roman, Byzantine Greek, Norman, Venetian, Hungarian, Slave, and Austrian struggled for it, and each left his impress on its civilisation, although the influence of two among these peoples far surpassed that of all the others—the Roman and the Venetian. ”

“ The ancient Illyrians were famous for their piracy, which first called the attention of the Romans to the country, and the Narentans proved worthy successors of the aborigines. The conformation of the coast with its numerous inlets, well-sheltered harbours, safe refuges, and countless islands lends itself to this species of occupation. The Narentans ravaged the coast towns of Dalmatia with their swift galleys, plundered peaceful merchantmen, and so harried Venetian trade that the Republic was forced to pay them blackmail for a hundred and fifty years. ”

“ The reason of this difference of feeling towards the two Powers lies in the character of Venetian as compared with Hungarian policy. Venice was ever extending her influence down the Adriatic coast, consolidating her dominion, and destroying local autonomies. Above all, Venice was a great maritime Power and could swoop down on Ragusa or any other Adriatic town with her swift galleys at any moment; commercial rivalry, too, had its effect, for Venice aspired to the monopoly of the same trades as those in which Ragusa dealt. Hungary, on the other hand, was purely a military State. ”

“ Before coming to the concluding chapter of the Republic’s history, I shall quote a few descriptions of Ragusa in the eighteenth century by different travellers. Prévot, who was French consul in 1750, gives a curious picture of the town, showing the character of its narrow oligarchy. “The Republic,” he writes, “i.e. those who govern it, do not care that foreigners of distinction, whether consuls or traders, should come to Ragusa, because they are obliged to use a certain measure of respect and justice towards them which they do not show to any of their own subjects. ”

“ In Italy the number of invaders who settled permanently in the country was never very great compared with that of the Latin inhabitants. The conquered were, therefore, soon able to absorb the conquerors, having civilisation as well as numbers on their side. But in Dalmatia the Slaves were, as we have said, far more numerous than the Latin burghers; and while the former could not absorb the communities of the coast, because they were more civilised, the latter, being so few in numbers, failed to absorb the Slaves. ”

“ To-day, under the rule of a Power which may be said to be all borderland, it is the scene of another nationalist conflict between two races. As before we still have a civilised fringe, a series of towns, with a vast hinterland inhabited by Slaves, by a race less civilised, yet wishing to become civilised on lines different from those of the Latin race. It is still the borderland between the Catholic and the Orthodox religions, and also between the two branches of the South-Slavonic people—the Croatians and the Serbs. ”

“ So jealous was the Republic of the shipbuilding industry, that no native builder (calafato or marangone) might lend his services to foreigners, under which heading the Slaves were included. In later times an exception was made in favour of the Turks. The harbour of Ragusa, which is too small for large modern steamers—these always land passengers and goods at Gravosa—in the Middle Ages was ever busy with arriving and departing ships, and the arsenal hands were always engaged in building or repairing craft of all kinds. ”