Editor's note: "'All things obey money"; "If riches abound, fear not"; "Whoever has the wealth may sail with fair wind and govern fortune as he wills" (July 8, 1526...". p. 265.
nedits: But to do this, to earn, to gain, to learn the fruits of wealth, you had to spend it. And to spend it, you had to have it. When the senate in Venice learned that the pope and France and half of Italy were declaring war in 1508, in Sanudo's 'great conflagration', - it was kinda their 9-11 - they had to raise money.
In our day, in one of those curious 180 degree opposites, Bush said Congress could pay for the war on terror later (and they still haven't eleven years later): which amounts to most of our ballooning debt.
But first Venice took tribute from the other towns in the lagoon (for protection purposes), from their towns on the Terraferma (also for protection) and these, if they could be collected in time (December 1508) might afford the Great Council an army and a navy for the next year. [Acc to one source, ~240,000 ducats] But as our Editors of Sanudo's Diaries point out (pp. 267-8), after Agnadello in May 1509, all these figures, calculations and preparations were dashed and no one was sure where security or money might lie.
Editor's note: "Nearly all the subject cities on the Terraferma were captured, and it would be years before the tribute they were intended to provide would be made once more available. The Venetian government had to look for other sources through direct and indirect taxes. But these, whether property taxes, which increased from three levies in 1508 to twenty-four in 1509, or duties on imports and exports such as wine and oil, or revenue from the salt monopoly, or exactions from the Jews, were still insufficient. So the government turned to loans. Loans to the government were not new. Two mechanisms to handle such loans already existed.... the Monte Vecchio, established in the late fourteenth century to consolidate the state's funded debt, which dated back to 1262;" p. 268
Editor's footnote: "This funded debt made Venice the first European state to fund its debt so that interest was regularly paid to all bondholders equally. Lane 1973b, 150" in Venice: a maritime republic , Frederic Chapin Lane, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Uni Press.
nedits: Monte Vecchio literally means 'the Old Hill' and Monte Nuovo of course, 'the New Hill'.
Editor's note: "and the Monte Nuove, established in the 1480's. Then, after the war [of the League of Cambrai] commenced, a third, the Monte Novissimo, [the most new hill] was established. Shares (which the Venetians called "capital") paid out interest averaging 5% and were considered a good investment. But those voluntary deposits were still not enough to meet the government's military needs, which by 1510 were twofold: to field an army against France and the Empire on the Terraferma and to strengthen the fleet to secure the Venetian sea routes if the Terraferma was occupied by enemy armies. So... there was a new system of loans made in exchange for political privileges and positions...." p 268
nedits: In the spring of 1510, men were bidding to become commanders in the fleet. Not always the highest bidder, but the highest bidder with the connections would get the office like Leonardo Emo on p.269. A week later they were adding men to the Senate at auction, with senatorial permission to increase the roles on p.270.
Editor's note: "During the succeeding years there were permutations of these arrangements whereby entry to office was achieved by loans. They had become so common that in early August 1515 a "general loan to deal with the great need" was declared. Neither patriotic actions nor native ability seemed to sway the subsequent elections, which went to the highest bidders ... Sanudo regretted that previous service counted so little." p. 272
Sanudo Diaries: August 16, 1515 (20:520-21); "All those who made loans were elected to the Senate, as will be seen from the list below, [sic, except for] Lorenzo Falier, who had also made a loan [but] failed to acquire [the requisite number of votes]. Many senior patricians who are entitled to serve were nominated but received few votes because the Great Council wants money. They are concerned with nothing else except getting those who loan money elected; neither age nor great service matters. The others who loaned money stood around to see about entering the Senate because by order of the Signoria they were informed that they would do. Therefore they were coming to the Signoria to offer their loans, which was both a fine and a ridiculous sight. In this way 4600 ducats were found.... The only ones deemed qualified are those who have money; the others are not."
nedits: Despite Sanudo's grumblings, this practice would continue even after the city was at war. All manners of offices were sold at auction: foreign posts in Cyprus and Candia, Crete, in Alexandria, the health commissioner, the provveditore of the Salt Office, all in exchange for loans. So successful, the Editors quip that new positions were being opened for this very purpose of raising money.
Editor's footnote: "Strictly speaking, only lower offices were really sold, and these purchases were usually for life " p. 273
All quotes as Sanudo Diaries or Editor's notes or Editor's Footnotes from Venice, Cita Excellentissima, Selection from the Renaissance Diaries of Marin Sanudo translated by Linda L Carroll, editors: Patricia H LaBalme and Laura Sanguineti White, published by Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008
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