RAGUSAN DIPLOMACY

Freedom as a base for the existence, continuation, development, political, cultural and

economic growth was by all means the main pillar of Dubrovnik. The Republic of Dubrovnik,

in its relatively long history, succeeded on numerous occasions in preserving its freedom not

by virtue of the blood spilt by its small army but by reasoning of its diplomacy and the sweet

of its diplomats. To clarify it I will quote Napoleon’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Charles-

Maurice Talleygrand-Perigord, in his instructions given to the French Chargee d’Affaires in

Dubrovnik in 1806. He described the situation of Dubrovnik in all but a few words:

‘Dubrovnik is already too weak to defend itself, thus is always seeking protection from

foreigners. Its system has bowed down before the stronger, and through political events has

come about not to participate with them.’1

People of Dubrovnik realized their position very early. Therefore, they played a role

that was only possible one. They played it according to the maxim: if you want to be free,

there is but one way; it is to guarantee an equally full measure of liberty to all your

neighbours. There is no other.

Dubrovnik never equipped itself or held an army, which would have been able to lead

a conquering war against its neighbours. Without any significant armed force Republic had to

find other ways to preserve its freedom. Deep-rooted awareness that the small states in

complex international relations could not hold long with their own forces meant that

Dubrovnik needed a strong protector with great power. The republic of Dubrovnik over time

had a number of powerful protectors starting with Byzantium, Venetians, later Croatian-

Hungarian Kingdom, The Pope, the Spanish King, and finally, the Turks. For this kind of

protection Dubrovnik was paying levies that are characterized as limiting of its own

independence and a sign of weakness. Maybe we can agree with this statement, but we have

to take into consideration that paying these levies cost less than having to maintain a much

bigger national military force, which in any case, would not be sufficient enough to fight

against much stronger military force. Nevertheless, significant benefits were gained especially

on the trade provisions because of the fact that Dubrovnik was paying for the protection and

1 M. Gavrilovic, Writings, from Parisian Archives, Belgrade 1904, p. 41

therefore in the wartime was considered as a neutral state. By being a neutral state Dubrovnik

had an open route to trade with both war sides when it was not possible to the others.

This would not be possible without having a clear picture of what they were, what do

they wanted and to who they would bound in order to get it. Thus, it was essential to have a

structure that gives the state opportunity to analyze the circumstances that surrounded it. In

turbulent times, in which Republic existed, it was not easy to keep order within the boundaries

of a small but wealthy state. Balancing on a thin line between East and West, between mighty

and frequently unfriendly neighbours, made the small state of Dubrovnik a diplomatic

tightrope walker expert in maintaining an upright position. Preservation of neutrality in

international conflicts and the defence of its borders were mainly in the hands of diplomatic

representatives. It is remarkable fact that at the times of great political difficulties, which I am

going to describe in following chapters, Dubrovnik had people who were in some certain

matter fit for the tasks that have been given to them. Throughout history Dubrovnik’s

individuals of exceptional capability dealt with the matters of politics and diplomacy. It is

significant that most of them had an aristocratic background, although some of them were of

other origins.

Sometimes, especially in complex and difficult situations, Dubrovnik’s diplomats

were instructed to use falsity or even lie for the Republic. By being a small player in the game

of big players sometimes ‘…you have to pretend that you don’t know what you know very

well, and make out that you know what infact you did not actually know; make out that you

understand what you do not and that you do not understand what you actually understand very

well; transform power outside your own power; speak of the need to preserve secrets where

there is no secrecy; look deeply down when you have nothing to say; to pretend to be very

important person…’.2 To survive in the game of big players for such a long time was an art of

itself. It was, without any doubt, the ‘art of possible’.

DUBROVNIK UNDER VENETIAN RULE (1205-1358)2 P.-A. Beaumarchais, Le marriage de Figaro, III, 5

The Pope, Inocent III, had sought a new Crusade, actually the fourth one, in which the

combined strength of Western and Eastern Christendom should be brought to bear against

Infidel. Venice for its part wanted to punish Byzantium for its past obduracy, exclude rivals

from trade and secure a dominant position on Levant. With great naval capability Venice had

a unique opportunity to get significant gains from the organizers of the crusade in exchange

for agreeing to transport crusaders to Holy Land. The organizers promised to Venetians

impossibly large sum for the transport.

In 1202, after postponing demands for payment, the Venetians persuaded the knights

to seize Zadar for them from Hungary. The following year, after the failure of the negotiations

and various upheavals within the Constantinople knights seized and plundered the city. Of

course, Venetian navy transported knights. Since Venetians had still not been paid they

demanded recompense. They obtained three-eighths share of Byzantium territories. Venetian

Tommaso Morosini was made a Patriarch of Constantinople. In 1205, on the way back from

Constantinople he was the one who secured the submission of Ragusa to Venetian rule. The

rift within Ragusan government made this task much easier.

The terms that Venice imposed to Ragusa were simply designed to ensure Venetian

continuing political hold. For instance, three times a year laudes in honour of the Doge and

Patriarch would be sung in the Cathedral, all Ragusans of thirteen years and over must take an

oath of loyalty to the Doge, and to each new count every ten years, each year twelve hostages

from most respectful noble families would be chosen and they would stay in Venice, Ragusa

would choose its archbishop from among Venetian clerics etc.

The new terms also regulated military and trade relations. Particularly significant ones

were provisions related to trade. On goods brought to Venice from all over Romania3 the

Ragusans were to pay dues of 5 per cent by value, from Sicily 2.5 percent and from Egypt,

Tunisia and Barbary Coast 20 percent. Nevertheless, the most important provisions were that

on the goods from Slavonia.4 The Ragusans were not obliged to pay custom dues at all. In the

Venice itself the Ragusans were not permitted to do business with foreigners.

3 The lands of the defunct Byzantine Empire 4 The lands of Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia and Dalmatia

These conditions, on which Dubrovnik once more acknowledged rule by Venice, are

revealing of the latter’s intentions during the whole period up to 1358, and to some extent

beyond. Venice showed no desire of sending Venetian nobles or soldiers to Ragusa. It gives

us a clear picture about Venice not being classical imperial power. Venice allowed Ragusans

enough political space to form their own sense of identity and even to form their own

institutions although the Count and Archbishop were Venetians and therefore formally

regarded as the supreme political and ecclesiastical authorities in the town. Behind this mostly

theoretical façade, however, reality was shifting. The Count’s power waned inevitably in the

course of thirteenth century, and his position had become largely ceremonial later. On 29 May

1272 in the public square, the codification of Ragusa’s laws5 was promulgated. It was a

framework, consisted of six books, within which political powers were deployed and secured.

Mainly it was written on the basis of the Venetian Statute.

During this period Ragusa had to deal with its hinterland not only on the field of trade

but also in ensuring its security. It was a time of many diplomatic turnovers, which, at the end,

resulted with the peace treaty in 1254, signed with King Stefan Uros I (1243-1276). From

1254 to 1268 Ragusa negotiated the provisions of this treaty and ended up with the treaty in

which both sides instituted so called Svetodimitarski dohodak (St Demetrius Revenue),

whereby the Ragusans undertook to pay Serbian king 2000 hyperperperi a year for the

security guaranteed to its merchants all over hinterland under Serbian rule. This kind of

tribute later passed into the hands of the kings of Bosnia and then lapsed after the Ottoman

conquest of the Balkans. Just to mention, this was not only tribute that Ragusans paid at that

moment. They paid tributes to Venetians too.

During this period Ragusa’s territories expanded. In 1301 Ragusa established full

control of the island of Mljet. The most important victory won on the diplomatic battlefield

was the one in which the Ragusa acquired territory of peninsula of Peljesac in 1333. This was

the first occasion when Ragusa fully demonstrated what would be regarded as its almost

legendary diplomatic virtuosity, by dabbling in other powers’ conflicts to advance its

interests. Ragusa, or at that time already known as Dubrovnik, found someone with whom it

could deal. Namely, King Stefan Uros IV Dusan (1331-1355) had his interests lay in

expansion towards the south rather than in drawn-out conflict over Peljesac between local

5 Liber Statutorum, popularly known as a Statute of Dubrovnik.

noble families. Meanwhile, Dubrovnik used its friends at the Serbian ruler ‘s court to

somehow influence the King. Finally, King Dusan agreed to yield to Dubrovnik his rights to

Peljesac, to the strategically important little island of Posrednica lying off the mouth of the

Neretva, and to Primorje, all in exchange for a cash payment of 8000 hyperperi and an annual

tribute of 500 Venetian ducats. The Bosnian ban, Stjepan Kotromanic, yielded to Dubrovnik

the rights he claimed over Peljesac6 in exchange for an annual tribute of 500 ducats. But he

refused to relinquish his rights to Posrednica and the coast from Neretva to Astarea, which

meant that Dubrovnik would have to try to defend and settle the Peljesac peninsula without

having overland access to it. But, for the time being Dubrovnik was, at least, in control of the

peninsula. After some 25 years later Dubrovnik made an acquisition of the heights of Zupa

just one year before the end of Venetian rule in Dubrovnik.

In the middle of the fourteenth century events have been taking place along the

Dalmatian coast, where Venice and Hungary were locked in the struggle that was approaching

its climax. The key to the conflict was the city of Zadar. A particularly virulent revolt against

Venetian rule broke out in 1345 and the Hungarian king Louis I of Anjou, sent troops to the

city to support it. Venice regained control over Zadar, but not for a long time. Venice’s

military position rapidly deteriorated with the renewal of the hostilities, as the Dalmatian

towns fell one by one into Hungarian hands. Dubrovnik was somehow different story. After

the news that the war along the Dalmatian coastline had resumed Ragusans pressed the

Venice. They wanted the Venetians to concede to Dubrovnik the right to choose its own count

and to accord greater economic privileges to Ragusan merchants, placing them on an equal

footing with those of Venice. In January 1358 Venetians granted Ragusans what they have

always previously refused, namely all the civic and commercial rights enjoyed by its own

citizens.

Instead of revolt against Venetian rule Ragusans made this transition from Venice to

Hungary in more diplomatic way. The strategy was to distinguish Dubrovnik in Venetian eyes

from the other ‘proud and rustic’ Dalmatians who had rudely ejected Venice’s representatives.

It meant that the Venetian count was sent off in a friendly fashion. The Ragusans even sent an

envoy to Venice to minimize the rift. Sending an envoy to Venice clearly distinguished

Ragusans from the Dalmatians. Many historians agree that envoy has been sent to reinforce

6 Actually the Bosnian ban did not in practice hold the peninsula itself, but he did hold Posrednica and the coast from the Neretva to Dubrovnik Astarea

the distinction that the Ragusans hoped might yield future commercial benefits. During the

ages of Serenissima Dubrovnik acquired several territories, improved its civic institutions and

became a significant trade force on the Adriatic and Levant.

After being a part of Venetian-controlled Dalmatia Dubrovnik faced a rare opportunity

to negotiate its future position. The Ragusans went to talk with King Louis I of Anjou. This

time they were faced with the biggest challenge. It was the moment to achieve both effective

self-government and protection. This time they had to bow down to the crown of St Stephen.

DUBROVNIK’S AUTONOMOUS DEVELOPMENT

UNDER HUNGARIAN SUZERAINTY

(1358-C. 1433)

On 18 February 1358 in Zadar Venice renounced in Hungary’s favour all its claims to

Dalmatia from the Kvarner to Durres. The names of each of the Dalmatian coast islands,

territories and towns were specified. Dubrovnik was no exception. Although Dubrovnik was

considered as a part of Venetian-controlled Dalmatia it has never been within Hungarian-

controlled Dalmatia. Unlike the other Dalmatian towns Dubrovnik had the cohesiveness of its

patriciate that had never been split by struggles between pro-Hungarian and pro-Venetian

factions. In the book Dubrovnik: A History Robin Harris mentioned:

It is on the face of it uprising, therefore, that Dubrovnik accepted so easily the

Hungarian claim to it as part of the newly conquered Dalmatia. It seems likely, however, that

what mattered to the Ragusans at this stage was reality not theory, and that realism suggested

giving an immediate warm welcome to the assertion of Hungarian claims. Dubrovnik always

needed outside protection and was always ultimately prepared to swallow its pride and pay

real or symbolic tribute to one or other great power in order to obtain it. Moreover, the easiest

power to deal with was – as it had been with Byzantium in the past and was with Hungary

now – one both sufficiently distant and sufficiently differently not be always intervening in

Ragusan business.7

The negotiations were to be held in Visegrad at the Hungarian royal court in 1358-

1359. It took two months of big debates in Dubrovnik’s Great Council until final position of

Dubrovnik’s negotiators was reached. In the instructions given to its ambassadors Dubrovnik

authorized them to recognize Hungarian king as its lord. In order to get widest autonomy as

regards its administration and internal security and the right to collect all its revenues for the

city own use Dubrovnik authorized its ambassadors to offer to Hungarian king a tribute.

These claims went so far that ambassadors sought confirmation for the existing territories that

Dubrovnik had and even for the territories of Primorje, Cavtat, Konavle, Dracevica and

Trebinje. Cunningly playing upon king’s presumed ignorance of local history and geography

they argued that these territories had been attached to ancient Epidaurum, of which their little

state was the proud successor. The embassy entrusted to negotiate was a distinguished and

impressive one.

7 Robin Harris, Dubrovnik: A History, Saqi Books, London 2003, pp.62-63.

The negotiations at Visegrad were friendly and productive. Hungarian crown raised no

objection to treating with Dubrovnik separately or to envisaging a diminution of the rights

previously enjoyed by Venice over the city’s affairs. Of course, king had his own

requirements that have been put into the documents that followed. For the most of these

requirements the Ragusans were prepared to accept but on the question of the appointment of

the count. Namely, the Ragusans wanted that the Ragusans themselves ‘from among faithful

subjects of the king’ choose the count. King would simply confirm their choice. Dubrovnik’s

Great Council would elect both the Senate and the count’s Small Council. The king was

persuaded and he made the concession upon this matter. Therefore, after the year 1358

Dubrovnik had for the first time to face up to the full implications of de facto independence.8

During the ages that followed Dubrovnik was chiefly preoccupied with its neighbours.

Firstly with Vojislav Vojinovic, lord of Trebinje and Konavle, then Nikola Altomanovic, the

nephew of Vojislav who ruled after his death. To maintain peace with them, although peace

was more than unstable, Dubrovnik agreed to pay a tribute.

With the subsequent destruction of Altomanovic, it was the ruler of Bosnia who

became Dubrovnik’s most powerful neighbour. Ban Tvrtko I (1353-1391) of Bosnia and

Dubrovnik for the most of the time maintained good relations. These relations were mostly

based on mutual economic interests. In 1367 the Bosnian ruler visited the city himself. This

has become more important after Tvrtko conquered Trebinje and Konavle and in 1377 had

himself crowned king. The following year Dubrovnik and Tvrtko negotiated a treaty by which

Dubrovnik agreed to pay him symbolically important tribute of the Revenue of St Demetrius,

which was taken as implying recognition of Bosnian rule over Trebinje and Konavle. The

Ragusans for their part were assured of the right to trade throughout Tvrtko’s lands while

paying the proper custom dues.

On 16 September 1382 Louis of Anjou died.9 After his death, Dubrovnik duly swore

allegiance to the two Hungarian queens and engaged their support in the city’s opposition to

Tvrtko’s attempts to build up his town of Novi as an alternative market for salt and wine. 8 Harris, op.cit., pp. 66-67.9 Louis of Anjou died without having male heirs. A bloody and complicated war broke out between rival contenders for the crown, Sigismund of Luxemburg, who had married Louis’s daughter Maria and Charles of Naples, the closest male relative of the dead king Louis and later his son Ladislas. The Bosnian king Tvrtko seized the opportunity of this struggle to break free of Hungarian suzerainty altogether and then under cover of support for the House of Naples grabbed a cover of Dalmatia. Later, his heir, Duke Hrvoje submitted to Sigismund

During this period Dubrovnik tried to defend its existing possessions, acquire whatever

further territory it thought would be commercially or strategically valuable, and seize every

occasion to expand its trade and increase its revenues. To achieve this it struck up alliances

with whichever of its neighbours seemed most useful, though at the same time it generally

honoured its obligations to the Hungarian crown. The Ragusans recognized and stayed loyal

to Sigismund of Luxemburg, son of Charles IV, King of Bohemia and Emperor of Germany,

after his coronation in 1387. Sigismund reigned for a long time, almost fifty years, up till

1437.

In 1391 Tvrtko died and Bosnian magnate Hrvoje Vukcic Hrvatinic emerged as a

strongest figure and together with his brother Vuk was appointed joint bans of Croatia and

Dalmatia. Dubrovnik friendship with Hrvoje was extremely useful as he was who persuaded

the Bosnian king Stjepan Ostoja to grant Dubrovnik the lands of Primorje,10 which at last

permitted the Ragusans uninterrupted access by land between Astarea and Peljesac. On 15

January 1399 after many months of hard bargaining Dubrovnik acquired Primorje. This time

it avoided having to pay a continuing tribute for the lands acquired. Instead, it simply

rewarded Ostoja and Hrvoje with membership of the Ragusan nobility, houses in the city

worth 1500 ducats and property in Primorje itself. This was not the end of the attempts to

acquire more territories. The Ragusans tried to acquire islands of Korcula, Hvar and Brac. In

June 1413 the Ragusans persuaded Sigismund to grant it possession of the three islands. But,

the realities of local obstructionism proved more than a match for Dubrovnik’s best efforts at

effective government. Finally, in September 1416, Sigismund simply removed the islands

from Dubrovnik and granted them to one of his courtiers. Nevertheless, the Ragusans had far

more important objective. The real objective was to acquire Konavle, region almost fertile as

Zupa Dubrovacka. This region had a powerful sentimental value for the Ragusans because it

was considered as a Ragusa’s birthplace. The problem with Konavle was that this region had

been under Bosnian authority. After the death of the Bosnia’s King Tvrtko I the Ragusans

quickly dispatched an embassy to the brothers of Radic and Beljak Sankovic who held

Konavle at the time and secretly bought it from them for an annual tribute of 1000 hyperperi.

But the barons of Bosnia were outraged and utterly refused to accept this alienation of

Bosnian land. The Sankovici were driven from Konavle and Dubrovnik was left frustrated.

After having failed at the Bosnian Court the Ragusans transferred their attention to

10 Dubrovnik entered into possession of the newly acquired 27,735 hectares of what were called the new territories (terre nuove).

Sigismund, their sovereign and Bosnia;s principal enemy. The Ragusans constantly badgered

him to concede in its favour his rights to Konavle. Nearly for a decade Ragusan diplomats

south to exploit every opportunity to bend Sigismund to theirs will. At the end the Ragusans

realized that the substantial negotiation would have to be with the real controllers of Konavle,

the Bosnians. This time the Ragusans had a good card in the game. Namely, most of the

Bosnian lords, since they were in some kind of military dispute, wanted a place of refuge.

As Philip de Diversis put it:

Perhaps someone will ask why these lords sell their lands. I will answer him: from

love and from the great and constant favour which the Ragusan patriciate in every

circumstance shows towards them… for in case some mishap befalls them, and the security of

haven, their most reliable refuge… I have heard that this is how the saying arose the Slavs:

‘When the hare chased by the hunters goes to a safe place, it goes to Dubrovnik.’11

In January 1419 envoys from Sandalj Hranic and Petar Pavlovic came to Dubrovnik to

negotiate. After negotiations Duke Sandalj was persuaded, but Petar Pavlovic was not. After

some time, Dubrovnik’s Senate agreed to obtain Duke Sandalj’s part hoping that in the near

future it would be possible to obtain Pavlovic’s part. In the treaty Dubrovnik confirmed him,

his brothers and his nephew Stjepan Vukcic Kosaca as members of its nobility, gave them a

house in the city, granted them an estate in Zupa worth 3000 hyperperi and promised a yearly

tribute of 500 hyperperi. Most important payment that Ragusans undertook was a large cash

payment of 12000 ducats (36000 hyperperi). Half of this would be paid immediately. The

other half would remain on deposit in Dubrovnik until the Ragusans actually gained

possession of the territory. After the Ragusans turned their attention to the lord of the other

part of Konavle, Petar Pavlovic. The negotiations went very well and were almost finished

when Sandalj Hranic and a force of Ottoman Turks killed Petar Pavlovic. In the document of

30 May 1420 Sandalj Hranic claimed that he had acquired Petar Pavlovic’s part of Konavle as

a gift from the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed I and gave it to Dubrovnik in exchange for the house

and estate, a 500-hyperperi annual tribute and a cash payment of 30000 hyperperi. But it was

far away from being done with the acquisition. Namely, Petar’s brother Radoslav Pavlovic

resisted giving the land to the agents that have been sent by Dubrovnik to take control of the

11 Philipus de Diversis de Quartigianis de Lucca, Situs Aedificiorum, Politiae et Laudabilium Consuetudinum Inclytae Civitatis Ragusii, ed. V. Brunelli, Zadar 1882, p.122.

land. Dubrovnik tried to influence Sandalj Hranic to force Radoslav to enter into negotiations

with the Ragusans. Pavlovic entered into negotiations in 1423. The Ragusans also kept up the

pressure on Radoslav by bribing his father-in-law and leading nobles of his household. We

have to be aware of the fact that this is taking place during big Turkish expansion on the

Balkans. Turkish attacks in 1426 also helped the Ragusans by making Radoslav desperate to

raise money to build a fortress from which to resist the onslaught. So it was that on 31

December 1426 and on terms very similar to those earlier agreed with Duke Sandalj,

Radoslav Pavlovic ceded the territory to Dubrovnik.

Years of persistent diplomacy, opportune bribery and judicious use of force had won

for the Ragusans what was to prove the final extension of their dominions. From this point on,

the Ragusans had to put their full attention to the new player in the game. And this player was

not a weak one. This time Dubrovnik had to bow down to the Dobri Nas Cace.12

DUBROVNIK WITHIN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE (C. 1396-1526)

Dubrovnik had an altogether specific relationship with the Turks, who had already in

the earlier half of 14th century, captured grain-producing regions from the western part of

Asia Minor up to the Byzantium dominions. Foreseeing that such a dangerous enemy could

one day knock at their own doors, the people of Dubrovnik wished to discourage the Turks

whilst there were still far from its border, so they initially formed special trade agreements,

which proved to be of vital importance for their future, first with Sultan Orhan (1326-1359)

12 ‘Good old dad’. This was an expression that the Ragusans often used to address Ottoman Sultan in their diplomatic documents.

and thereafter with Sultan Bayazit in 1397.13 While some powerful kingdoms surrendered to

Ottoman Empire, Dubrovnik, through these agreements with the Turks, not only ensured its

existence as an independent state, but also secured its trading security. Because of this, from

1458, it began to pay a levy to the Turks of 1000 ducats, which at the end of 15th century

stabilized at 12500 ducats.14 In exchange, they enjoyed complete freedom domestically, whilst

towards the exterior they obtained wide privileges in the whole of the Ottoman Empire and

the Sultan’s protection in the event of an external attack. But the Turks tried several times to

black-mail the Republic of Dubrovnik, in order to extract more money. That, it appears, lead

Dubrovnik to the conclusion that it, were possible, needed to have not one, but several

protector-states.

The harac15 was a substantial burden, and on top of it must be added the various large

bribes, which the Ragusan envoys had to distribute on their visits to Constantinople. But when

compared both with the fate of its neighbours and with the great wealth which was soon to

flow from the Ragusan’s merchants unique position in the Empire, it was worthwhile. During

this whole period relations between the Ottoman Empire and Dubrovnik were developing at a

level other than that of public diplomacy. Individual Ragusans established contacts with the

Turks, which both for better and worse, had an important impact on the Republic of

Dubrovnik. Ragusans who farmed Ottoman taxes acquired invaluable insights into the way

business was conducted within the Empire, and they could certainly make large profits. The

reigns of Sultans Bayazit II and Selim I (1512-1520) and the early years of Suleyman I the

Magnificent (1520-1566) saw first the restoration and then the further aggressive expansion of

the Ottoman Empire, which now reached its zenith. After the fall of Bosnia, and as Turks

controlled greater areas of Croatia and Hungary, the Ragusans were not longer on the

frontline of hostilities. They have moved wholly into the Ottoman sphere of influence and

adeptly managed their relations with successive Sultans so as to take maximum advantage of

that fact.

Although under the Ottoman protectorate The Republic lost its lucrative transit trade

of the silver produced in Bosnia and Serbia and exported to the West via Dubrovnik, it 13 Stjepan Krasic, ‘The Republic of Dubrovnik and Maintaining Neutrality During International Conflicts’, International Symposium: Diplomacy of the Republic of Dubrovnik, Diplomatic Academy Year-Book, Zagreb 1998, p. 8914 The Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror wanted to increase levy much more than 12500 annually but it never occurred for Mehmed died in 1481 before it could be put into effect and his less aggressive successor Bayazit II (1481-1512) was satisfied with the annual payment of 12500 ducats.15 This is a Turkish expression for the levy.

compensated the loss by extending its trade throughout the Balkans and gained almost

monopoly in its role in the export of such bulky goods as hides, lather, wool and wax to Italy.

For Dubrovnik, the tribute the city paid to the Ottomans proved a most profitable investment.

The city also benefited from the lowest custom rate of 2 per cent, while Muslims still had to

pay 3 and non-Muslims foreigners 5 per cent. However under the Conqueror the standard rate

for Dubrovnik became 4 per cent. On the basis of custom revenues chroniclers calculated that

the total volume of annual imports and exports amounted to half a million ducats during this

period. The actual figures must have been higher since the merchants invested part of their

profits in Italian banks to avoid paying duty in Dubrovnik.

The Republic maintained its own government without any interference. It appointed

consuls in Ottoman territory and foreign countries, received envoys and established

diplomatic relations with them, and minted its own coinage. Only two Ottoman officers had

residences in the city and represented the Ottoman governors of Bosnia and Hercegovina in

levying the specific dues.16

Along with its vital role as the commercial transit centre, Dubrovnik was also a centre

of information and transfer of Western technology17 for the Empire. Dubrovnik supplied

intelligence to the Ottoman government as well as to Papacy and other Christian

governments. As practical businessmen interested primarily in their own pursuits, the

Ragusans leaned towards those patrons, which seemed to appear the most successful in the

power struggle.

The break, after the battle of Mohacs in 1526, there was no prospect of the Ottoman

backed candidate for the Crown of St Stephen, Janos Zapolyai, demanding tribute from the

Republic, for the Sultan regarded Dubrovnik as now within his own, not Hungary’s, sphere of

influence. But, there were some other players that wanted to claim Ragusan allegiance. It was

the time for the Ragusans to play the role of real diplomatic finesse. This time they had to

cope with the Ottomans, the Habsburgs and the ‘old noble friends’, the Venetians.

16 Halil Inalcik, ‘Dubrovnik and the Ottoman Empire’, International Symposium: Diplomacy of the Republic of Dubrovnik, Diplomatic Academy Year-Book, Zagreb 1998, p.12117 The technology was primarily in gunnery and shipbuilding. The Balkan nations learned gunnery through Dubrovnik in the 1380’s. After Dubrovnik became the center of gun making for the Balkan nations. Also in constructing warships, experts from Dubrovnik worked in the Ottoman arsenal in Constantinople.

DUBROVNIK BETWEEN HABSBURGS, VENICE AND THE PORTE

(1526-1667)

Given the new reality, Turkish presence in the Balkans and their inroads into Croatian

and Hungarian territory, Dubrovnik and its diplomacy could not ignore the new immediate

neighbour and, as of 1526, the Republic paid a rather substantial yearly tribute to the Porte.

The new reality meant also an end of the supremacy of Hungaro-Croatian kings and Austro-

German emperors. In such circumstances, which also involved the dynastic strife for the

Austrian crown, the Ragusan authorities and diplomacy were faced with challenges, which

had to be dealt with, and a new balance had to be established. It took some thirty years of

diplomatic inventiveness and manoeuvring in order to persuade Ferdinand I of Habsburg that

Dubrovnik could not pay a yearly tribute to him and to the Austrian rule. It meant that

Dubrovnik could not meet his constant requests for information on the Turks, protection of

the followers of the openly pro-Austrian orientation in Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik also had to

observe strict neutrality in the first anti-Turkish wars. The diplomatic emissaries of both sides,

the Ragusans in Vienna and the Austrians in the city and their activities bear witness to the

interwoven forces at play. For its part, Dubrovnik instructed its ambassadors to the Habsburg

court to remind the prince

…of the calamity18 which we have suffered for so many years past and which we still

suffer, our city is situated in the stony, sterile and arid place from which we cannot maintain

sustenance for two months for our subjects and inhabitants for the conservation of liberty and

Christianity…a very large tribute to the Great Lord Turk.

In order to make this hard luck story more convincing, the Ragusan ambassadors were

told to recount it with tears in their eyes. But Dubrovnik was a vital source of information at

the end, and the agents there supplied whatever was lacking in the intelligence, which the

Ragusan Senate itself found it prudent to transmit.

Through this rather prolonged period, the Ragusan diplomacy displayed all its well-

known traits: refined subtlety, restraint, sense of proportion, tactical skill, sacrifice for the

homeland, patriotic consciousness. The large number of archive sources, letters, reports,

instructions, intimate recordings, exchange of correspondence bears witness to the all-

embracing scope but also to the recurring thought in Dubrovnik’s diplomatic orientation to the

Habsburgs.

In dealing with the Porte, experience, which required the form of tradition,

prescription and even ritual, was just as important as Dubrovnik’s famed cleverness and

sinuosity in making the most of the relationship. In the approach to the Sultan the poklisari19

were urged by their government to adopt the grovelling appearance expected when dealing

with Eastern potentates, kissing his cloak, begging his favour, offering gifts. An equally

18 At that time the Plague spread all over Europe.19 They were Dubrovnik’s emissaries to the Porte, mostly engaged in delivering yearly tribute to the Sultan, so called harac.

important role, if not even more important, in contacts with the Turks was played by the

famous Ragusan dragomans,20 trained interpreters for Turkish. Some of them were able to

integrate themselves into the Turkish environment to such an extent that they were almost

considered to be natives.

The Venetians did not flinch before much in their relationship with the Republic of

Dubrovnik. They were already aware of their superiority to seek means other than force,

which was always close at hand for them. As a result, on numerous occasions, attempts were

made to wipe their small eastern neighbour off the map and thus remove it from the political

stage, using whatever excuse could be found. The complex international situation provided

for numerous such opportunities. It was enough for the Christian leaders to begin preparations

for war with the Turks, and especially if the war was already in progress, and the Venetians

immediately tried to involve the Dubrovnik Republic under this or that proclamation, or,

claiming they were protecting the Republic from the Turks and disallowing them to turn it

into one of their bases, tried to acquire it. Fate caused the small Republic of Dubrovnik to

experience this uncomfortable neighbour. The allegations against each other, both at the Papal

and the Sultan’s court, were almost daily events. Additionally, the Venetians were in

continual fear that the Turks should learn from the Republic of Dubrovnik of their political

and military plans against the Turks, just as they feared that it should come to the ears of the

Christian leaders what they were planning against them in collusion with the Turks. The

people of Dubrovnik had no less fear of the Venetians, who were wont not only to disclose

their eastern secrets, but also accuse them falsely, both in Constantinople and in Rome,

whether of being the enemies of Turks, or of being the enemies of Christianity and its

interests. Because of this, the Ragusans always warned their representatives at the Ottoman

Great Gate to be careful not to let the Venetians learn, through their Turkish informers, what

Dubrovnik in its relations with both its western and eastern neighbours had in mind to do.

This was particularly important during the periods of Holly Wars in the 16th and 17th

centuries, which were dominated by more or less continuous Holly War against Ottoman

infidel. The government of the Republic of Dubrovnik did not accept this kind of

20 The Ragusan Minor Council regularly published competitions for so-called ‘young men of the language’ – students of Turkish. They were trained very practically and efficiently at the expense of the state. The Turkish mullah taught them basic Turkish and Arabic in Dubrovnik. Then they went to Constantinople (Istanbul), Edirne or another major city where they perfected their knowledge of the language, Ottoman customs, culture and civilization with the assistance of experienced dragomans, consuls and merchants. Thus trained they worked in the Turkish office in Dubrovnik and abroad as ambassadors or their attendants.

interpretation of events and sought by all possible means to maintain the Republic’s neutrality

and thus its prosperity and security. The War of the Holly League (1538-1540), the War of

Cyprus (1570-1573), the defeat of the Turkish fleet at Lepanto (1571), the Long War between

Austrians and the Turks (1593-1606) were the most important, out of many events that

Dubrovnik’s diplomats had to cope with. Maintaining the neutrality was, as I have already

mentioned, like balancing on a thin line between East and West, between mighty and

frequently unfriendly neighbours. This made the small state of Dubrovnik a diplomatic

tightrope walker expert in maintaining an upright position.

During the period of nearly fifty years starting from the beginning of the 17th century

Dubrovnik was a target of several attacks. In 1603 the Venetians occupied the island of

Lastovo until 1606. More serious for Dubrovnik’s security was the event that happened on 5

June 1631 when the Venetians seized the island of Lokrum, which happens to be just in front

of the city itself.. Dubrovnik protested to the viceroy of Naples, informed the Spanish and

even won the support of Cardinal Richelieu of France. After negotiations the Venetians

recognized Dubrovnik’s rights over Lokrum but refused to pay any reparations for the damage

they had inflicted.

In 1645 the Sultan authorized a Turkish invasion of Crete, which was under Venetian

control, so precipitating the ‘War of Crete’ (1645-1669). This certainly helped Dubrovnik’s

economy for the simple fact that the Ottoman trade with the West was channelled, as before

1590,21 through Dubrovnik.

Dubrovnik managed to go through some rough times and still to maintain its

independence. Probably the best example how international community saw the Ragusans is

in the cynical remark made by the Frenchman who visited Dubrovnik in January 1658.22

He wrote:

The Turks they fear; the Venetians they hate; the Spaniards they love, because they are

useful; the French they suffer because their fame; and foreigners they spy on very much.23

21 This war damaged Venetian interests on the Adriatic when its flourishing entrepot of Split was effectively closed down.22 The inhabitants of the Republic of Dubrovnik were known as ‘the Ragusans of the sette bandiere (seven flags)’ because they gave tribute to seven foreign rulers23 Harris, op.cit., p.122.

It is possible to tell the history of the Republic of Dubrovnik entirely in the terms of

diplomacy. And diplomacy by all means was the part of life of each Ragusan. To tell the story

about the Ragusan diplomacy would be like telling the story about the sensibility with which

the Ragusans approached to the challenges and difficulties throughout their history. This

means that we have to tell the story about the means by which the people of Dubrovnik

secured their peace and maintained power without war. This story has to contain the most

ideal of all Dubrovnik’s practices.

Since nothing increases harmony and protects the states, towns and fortresses more

than respect for domestic and international peace, and nothing increases both general and

private wealth to a greater extent, particularly in towns oriented towards trade and, since the

outcome or end of war can only be justified by peace, so that people often sank into war in

order to have the peace, the people of Dubrovnik took great care and invested great efforts

into maintaining peace and harmony with everyone; they made efforts through intelligence,

money and patience for as long as they could. They really believed, with justification, that

maintaining peace, by whatever means, was more beneficial than seeking to recreate peace

damaged by injustice and pillage.

If sometimes they were driven more by instinct than reason, they undertook all

measures, steps and precautions in their own councils, the Small Council or the Great

Council, in order to destroy their greed, to tame their restlessness, to pacify them and prevent

any trouble. They sent envoys to speak fine words and bestow gifts even to those who

threatened trouble, thus strengthening peace and friendship. That is the fact that they have,

peacefully, without arms and without force or deception, subdued people and territories of

neighbouring suzerains, getting the gentry to surrender voluntarily. Whilst most other nations

attempted to increase their power by war, force, fighting, arms and deception, the

municipality of Dubrovnik increased its territory peacefully and amicably. We could describe

many other commendable customs of the Ragusan diplomacy, from which it would be clearly

seen that they maintained the best standards in times of both peace and war. Surely the people

who did this have discovered the secret of human progressiveness and must have kept

themselves steadily in the turmoil of the past. The secret of the Ragusan diplomacy lies in just

one lapidary phrase inscribed in the fortress of St Lawrence: Non bene pro toto libertas

venditur auro.24

24 Freedom cannot be sold for all the money in the world.