Tales of Venice

In the year 1000, Venice consisted only of underground wooden houses, docks, and warehouses, nowhere near the maritime empire it would later become.

After merchant ships left Venice in those days, they were often attacked by pirates—sometimes Normans, sometimes mercenaries with no other work. This seriously hindered Venice's commercial development.

Before Orseolo became Doge, they had relied on paying tribute to pirates to keep trade safe. Once he became master of the Doge's Palace, he refused to pay tribute, built a powerful navy, personally took part in expeditions against pirates, and relied on military strength to safeguard Venice.

Venice had little land suitable for farming. If it wanted to develop—or even survive—it had to achieve more through commerce.

So after taking office, before expanding the navy, Orseolo first sought to broaden Venice's trading partners as much as possible.

Thus, Orseolo sent ambassadors to sign trade agreements with countries that practiced Islam and explore more trade routes.

Merchants had always been despised by nobles, because they were said to have neither faith nor loyalty. But was Venice's approach fundamentally any different from the Sacrilegious League formed later by France and the Ottoman Empire? Both were relationships built on profit.

No country maintained itself for a thousand years without changing its system of government as Venice did. Even China, with its five thousand years of history, could not compare. The Republic of Florence, founded on faith in human conscience, came to an end in 1530, while the Republic of Venice, founded on distrust of human conscience, survived another three hundred years after Florence fell.

The former marshlands transformed into a city upon the sea. Though it had many unscrupulous merchants, Venetians were kind by nature and valued peace. They did not wish to become pirates.

Many tourists came to Venice and complained