After the Black Death swept through Europe, massive population loss created a labor shortage. Factory owners who had once been able to exploit workers at will had no choice but to raise wages, or their factories would be unable to operate while others continued production. Failing to fulfill contract orders would not only mean paying penalties, but also risk losing every order they had.
But factory owners were not fools. They would not let workers name whatever price they wanted. Guilds were essentially alliances for mutual defense, and they established industry rules and standardized wages. That way, every factory paid the same, and there would be no bidding wars driven by competition.
No one was willing to be exploited forever. Venice's prosperity depended on maritime trade, and sailors were indispensable.
Yet conditions aboard ships were enclosed. If someone infected with the Black Death came aboard, everyone on that ship would die. As Minister of the Navy, Giovanni Dandolo ordered the boatswain to find replacements, but this provoked the sailors' resentment.
They gathered in a tavern, talking over one another, and eventually decided to teach that arrogant nobleman a lesson. Armed with daggers, they lay in wait near the Doge's Palace.
Dandolo, returning late after working overtime, sensed that something was wrong and did not walk home as usual.
Venice's doge was chosen by lottery. Even without sitting in that seat, the Minister of the Navy was still an important position.
Ever since Enrico Dandolo had allowed the French Crusaders to sack Constantinople, the Dandolo family had held an unshakable position in Venice. Like the Medici family of Florence, they were Venice's uncrowned kings. Unlike the Medici family, however, the Dandolos were not feudal lords, because the Eastern Roman Empire that had once invested Venice's doges no longer had the power