![]() ![]() As often as not, the pepper that appeared on a king’s table was sold at some point by a Venetian trader. Spices harvested in the jungles of Asia were a symbol of wealth and status in medieval Europe. They were small, readily transferable, durable-and immensely desirable. As they moved between the jungles of South and Southeast Asia, where they were harvested, to their final points of sale in Europe, the value of spices mounted exponentially. But for reasons of simple economic alchemy, spices were the marquee good. Over the course of a long career, Mairano, like countless other traders, had a stake in many deals: for timber, slaves, textiles, wine, ships, grain, metals, and more. To understand how Venice became such a glorious city, it pays to look south and east, just as Mairano did. ![]() The remainder of the spices he sold in Venice at many times the purchase price. He was finally able to repay his creditors-not in cash, but in pepper. ![]() With money borrowed from a wealthy friend, he shipped a cargo of lumber to Alexandria, and in return he brought back spices. On this occasion, the gods of commerce smiled on Mairano. And Mairano would be doing business in a Muslim country nominally at war with Europe-its ruler none other than Saladin, who would later defeat the Crusaders. They had to outmaneuver Venice’s perennial enemies and competitors, the Genoese. No insurer backed their cargoes no coast guard patrolled the seas. Merchants ran the risk of attacks by pirates, and they were at the mercy of the volatile, violent politics of the age. For the Venetian merchant courageous or lucky enough, Alexandria was the gateway to riches.īut if the rewards were great, so too were the dangers. By virtue of its access to the Red Sea trade routes leading to Arabia and beyond, Alexandria was the chief entrepôt between East and West, the point where fine luxuries such as silks, perfumes, gems, and, above all, spices arrived from the most remote parts of Asia. Since well before the millennium, his forebears had sailed to Alexandria, the ancient Egyptian trading town at the head of the Nile Delta. Such schemes had enriched Venetian merchants for generations. Buy the Venice Issue of the Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarerlyĭiscover Venice anew, from its rich history and many cultural quirks to its delightful, present-day customs and excursions. ![]()
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