Venice and the Ottoman Empire: Crash Course World History #19

CrashCourse
31 May 201210:11
EducationalLearning
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TLDRThe video examines the mutually beneficial trade relationship between Venice and the Ottoman Empire starting in the 15th century. Venice was built for maritime trade but lacked resources, so relied on trade. They traded with Byzantines and later Ottomans when Constantinople fell in 1453, especially benefiting from Ottoman grain. Venice also imported special ash from Ottomans to make glass. The trade made Venice very wealthy, funding the Renaissance. Meanwhile the Ottoman Empire expanded significantly under the leadership of two great Sultans. The strong Venice-Ottoman trade meant other European powers started exploring alternate routes east, leading to Portugal rounding Africa and Columbus sailing west to try reaching Asia.

Takeaways
  • 😊 Venice was built for ocean-going trade and became expert shipbuilders and sailors
  • 🌊 Venice's economy relied on trade, especially pepper from Egypt and grain from the Ottomans
  • 🛳 The Venetians claimed trade with Egypt was just a cover to smuggle out saint relics
  • 💰 Trade made Venice very wealthy, funding architecture and the Renaissance
  • 🕌 The Ottoman Empire lasted over 600 years and expanded under famous sultans
  • 👑 The Ottomans used a "slave aristocracy" instead of nobles to staff the government
  • 🔪 This included the practice of devshirme - taking Christian boys to serve the sultan
  • 🤝 The Venetian-Ottoman trade partnership was mutually beneficial and very lucrative
  • 📚 Their trade spread ideas, helping to spark the European Renaissance
  • 🗺 Their control of trade led Europeans to explore and accidentally find the Americas
Q & A

  • What was the origin and purpose of Venice as a city?

    -Venice was built across islands in the Adriatic Sea for the purpose of ocean-going trade, since it did not have many natural resources besides fish and mustaches.

  • How did Venice establish trade relationships in the Mediterranean?

    -Venice made trade treaties with the Byzantines first and then the Ottomans after Constantinople fell. They also claimed to be retrieving saint bodies from Egypt as a cover for trade.

  • What goods and resources did Venice and the Ottomans trade?

    -Venice imported a lot of grain from the Ottomans, who had abundant supplies. Venice exported things like textiles and glass. The Ottomans also provided a special ash used to color Venetian glass.

  • How was Venice governed differently than the Ottoman Empire?

    -Venice was a republic ruled by elected leaders like the doge, whereas the Ottoman Empire was a monarchy ruled by the hereditary sultan.

  • How did the Ottoman empire maintain control over its territories?

    -The Ottomans used a system called the devshirme to take Christian boys, convert them to Islam, and train them as military fighters or government bureaucrats who were loyal only to the sultan.

  • What was the importance of Ottoman eunuchs?

    -Ottoman eunuchs originally guarded harems but became very powerful and wealthy bureaucrats essential to running the government.

  • How was the Venetian-Ottoman trade relationship mutually beneficial?

    -Venice got rich enabling its Renaissance, while the Ottomans taxed the trade. The ideas exchange also benefited Europe.

  • How did the Venetian-Ottoman trade relationship spur exploration?

    -Other European countries wanted direct access to Eastern riches, so they explored routes around Africa and west to find India and China.

  • What was the European Renaissance connected to?

    -The European Renaissance was connected to and enabled by the vast wealth that entered Italy, especially Venice, through trade relationships like that with the Ottoman Empire.

  • What were some results of cultural mixing because of the Venetian-Ottoman trade?

    -Some results were the spread of ideas from the Islamic world back into Europe, such as ancient Greek writings that had been preserved and expanded on by Muslim scholars.

Outlines
00:00
🎥 Introducing Crash Course World History and the relationship between Venice and the Ottomans

The video introduces the Crash Course World History series and the host John Green. It then previews the key topics to be discussed - the relationship between the city of Venice and the Ottoman Empire, how this relationship led to the European Renaissance and Christopher Columbus's voyages, Venice's geography and reliance on trade, its mutually beneficial economic partnership with the Ottomans spanning centuries.

05:02
🏙️ The origins and expansion of the Ottoman Empire

This paragraph provides background on the Ottoman Empire - its origins from Osman Bey in around 1300 CE, its expansion under Mehmed the Conqueror and Suleiman the Magnificent from the 15th to 16th centuries, the extensive territories it conquered and controlled, and its new ruling class system called the slave aristocracy.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡Venice
Venice is the Italian city built across many small islands. It became extremely wealthy and powerful through maritime trade. Venice had important economic ties and cultural exchanges with the Ottoman Empire. This mutually beneficial relationship drove progress in both civilizations, fueling the European Renaissance and furthering exploration like Columbus's journey.
💡Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire was one of the world's richest and longest lasting empires, ruling from 1300-1919 CE. Under influential leaders like Suleiman, the Ottomans expanded control over the Mediterranean and Near East. This gave them command of extremely valuable trade routes between Europe and Asia.
💡trade
Trade, especially maritime trade, is central to the video's narrative. Venice's economy and influence stemmed from trade partnerships with powers like the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. Control of trade routes also drove European exploration to find alternate paths to the riches of Asia when Ottoman expansion dominated Mediterranean trade.
💡Renaissance
The video argues Venice's vast wealth from trade was a prerequisite for sparking the European Renaissance. Concentration of money allowed investment in arts and learning that defined the Renaissance occurring across Italy's city-states.
💡exploration
When Ottoman ascendancy in the Mediterranean cut off easy trade access, European kingdoms invested heavily in exploration, with Spain dispatching Columbus west and Portugal sailing east around Africa. They were seeking alternate routes to regain trade access and profits.
💡geography
Geography profoundly shaped Venice, as the city's islands and maritime location determined its destiny as a trading empire reliant on the sea. Geography also drove the Ottoman Empire to expand control over its neighbors to benefit from trade routes.
💡Janissaries
The Janissaries were an elite military slave army created by the Ottoman Empire to bypass disloyal nobles and ensure loyal protection for the Sultan. Boys were kidnapped and raised to fiercely serve the state.
💡devshirme
The devshirme was the Ottoman system of kidnapped Christian boys converted and trained to serve as Janissary soldiers or administrative slave bureaucrats. They could become very powerful but were forbidden to have heirs.
💡eunuchs
Eunuchs, castrated men, were ubiquitous in Ottoman government as they were seen as more trustworthy. Eunuchs rose to extremely influential positions in the imperial court and administration without threat of establishing dynasties.
💡Suleiman
Suleiman the Magnificent presided over the Ottoman golden age from 1520-1560 CE, vastly expanding imperial territory and trade influence. His conquest of Egypt secured domination over Mediterranean trade.
Highlights

Venice was literally built for ocean-going trade

The Venetians formed trade treaties with the Byzantines, and later the Ottomans when Istanbul became Constantinople

The Venetians claimed St. Mark as their own by stealing his body from Egypt and hiding it in a pork shipment

Venice imported a lot of grain from the Ottomans and produced textiles and glass, coloring it with Ottoman ash

Venice was a republic with elected leaders unlike the Ottoman empire ruled by the Sultan

The Ottoman empire lasted from 1300-1919 CE, one of the longest and richest empires in history

The Ottomans created a "slave aristocracy" - an army and bureaucracy made of kidnapped Christian boys

Many in the Ottoman government were eunuchs, which prevented hereditary nobles and ensured loyalty

After taking Egypt, the Ottomans controlled Mediterranean trade but let the Venetians do the shipping

The trade made Venice super rich, a prerequisite for the European Renaissance

The Venetian-Ottoman trade established connections between Europe and the Islamic world for idea flow

Other Europeans looked for new trade routes, fueling exploration like the Portuguese and Columbus

Relationships must be mutually beneficial to work, like the Venetians and Ottomans

The devshirme program kidnapped Christian boys and made them Janissaries or bureaucrats

Few were as wealthy and important in the Ottoman Empire as many eunuchs were

Transcripts

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