Venice.
The year 1618 is distinguished in the annals of Venice, by a conspiracy
of a more formidable nature than any hitherto mentioned. The design of
other conspiracies was a change in the form of government, or, at most,
the destruction of some particular class of men in power; but the present
plot had for its object the total annihilation of the Venetian republic.
I speak of the conspiracy formed by the Marquis of Bedmar, ambassador
from the Court of Spain, in conjunction with the Duke of Ossono, and the
Spanish governor of the Milanese.
The interesting manner in which this dark design has been described by
the Abbé St. Real, has made it more universally known than any other part
of the Venetian story. This writer is accused of having ornamented his
account with some fanciful circumstances, an objection often enviously
urged against some of the most agreeable writers, by authors whom nature
has guarded from the possibility of committing such an error; men, whose
truths are less interesting than fictions, and whose fictions are as dull
as the most insipid truths. Does any reader believe that the speeches
of the Generals before a battle, as recorded by Livy, were actually
pronounced in the terms of that author? Or, can any one wish they were
expunged from his history? Abbé St. Real has also put speeches into the
mouths of the conspirators, and has embellished, without materially
altering, the real circumstances of the story. For my own part, I feel
a degree of gratitude to every person who has entertained me; and while
my passions are agreeably agitated with St. Real’s lively history, I
cannot bear that a phlegmatic fellow should interrupt my enjoyment; and,
because of a few embellishments, declare, with an affected air of wisdom,
that the whole is an idle romance.
The discovery of this plot, and the impressions of jealousy and terror
which it left on the minds of the inhabitants of Venice, probably first
suggested a plan of a more wicked nature than any of the conspiracies we
have hitherto mentioned, and which was actually put in execution.
A set of villains combined together to accuse some of the nobility of
treasonable practices, merely for the sake of the rewards bestowed upon
informers. This horrid crime may be expected in all Governments where
spies and informers are encouraged; it certainly occurs frequently at
Venice; sometimes, no doubt, without being detected, and sometimes it is
detected, without being publicly punished, for fear of discouraging the
business of information: but on the discovery of the present combination,
all Venice was struck with such horror, that the Senate thought proper
to publish every circumstance.
A certain number of those miscreants acted the part of accusers; the
others, being seized by the information of their accomplices, appeared as
witnesses.
A noble Venetian, of a respectable character, and advanced in years, of
the name of Foscarini, fell a victim to this horrid cabal; and Venice
beheld with astonishment and sorrow, one of her most respectable citizens
accused, condemned, and executed as a traitor.
At length, accusations followed each other so close, that they created
suspicions in the minds of the Judges. The informers themselves were
seized, and examined separately, and the whole dreadful scheme became
manifest. These wretches suffered the punishment due to such complicated
villany; the honour of Foscarini was re-instated, and every possible
compensation made to his injured family. An instance like this, of the
despotic precipitancy of the Inquisitors, more than counterbalances all
the benefit which the State ever receives from them, or the odious race
of informers they encourage.
If the trial of the unfortunate Foscarini had been _open_, or _public_,
and not in secret, according to the form of the Inquisitor’s Court; and
if he had been allowed to call exculpatory evidence, and assisted by
those friends who knew all his actions, the falsehood and villany of
these accusers would probably have been discovered, and his life saved.
In the year 1645, the Turks made an unexpected and sudden descent
on the island of Candia. The Senate of Venice did not display their
usual vigilance on this occasion. They had seen the immense warlike
preparations going forward, and yet allowed themselves to be amused by
the Grand Seignior’s declaring war against Malta, and pretending that
the armament was intended against that island. The troops landed without
opposition, and the town of Canéa was taken after an obstinate defence.
This news being brought to Venice, excited an universal indignation
against the Turks; and the Senate resolved to defend, to the utmost, this
valuable part of the empire. Extraordinary ways and means of raising
money were fallen upon: among others, it was proposed to sell the rank of
nobility. Four citizens offered one hundred thousand ducats each for this
honour; and, notwithstanding some opposition, this measure was at last
carried. Eighty families were admitted into the Grand Council, and to the
honour and privileges of the nobility. What an idea does this give of the
wealth of the inhabitants of Venice?
The siege of Candia, the capital of the island of that name, is, in
some respects, more memorable than that of any town, which history,
or even which poetry, has recorded. It lasted twenty-four years. The
amazing efforts made by the republic of Venice astonished all Europe;
their courage interested the gallant spirits of every nation: volunteers
from every country came to Candia, to exercise their valour, to acquire
knowledge in the military art, and assist a brave people whom they
admired. The Duke of Beaufort, so much the darling of the Parisian
populace during the war of the Fronde, was killed here, with many more
gallant French officers.
During this famous siege, the Venetians gained many important victories
over the Turkish fleets. Sometimes they were driven from the walls of
Candia, and the Turkish garrison of Canéa was even besieged by the
Venetian fleets. The slaughter made of the Turkish armies is without
example; but new armies were soon found to supply their place, by a
Government which boasts such populous dominions, and which has despotic
authority over its subjects.
Mahomet the Fourth, impatient at the length of this siege, came to
Negropont, that he might have more frequent opportunities of hearing from
the Vizier, who carried on the siege. An officer sent with dispatches,
was directed by the Vizier, to explain to Mahomet the manner in which he
made his approaches, and to assure him that he would take all possible
care to save the lives of the soldiers. The humane Emperor answered, That
he had sent the Vizier to take the place, and not to spare the lives of
soldiers; and he was on the point of ordering the head of the officer who
brought this message, to be cut off, merely to quicken the Vizier in his
operations, and to shew him how little he valued the lives of men.
In spite of the Vizier’s boasted parsimony, this war is said to have cost
the lives of two hundred thousand Turks. Candia capitulated in the year
1668: the conditions on this occasion were honourably fulfilled. Morsini,
the Venetian General, after displaying prodigies of valour and capacity,
marched out of the rubbish of this well-disputed city, with the honours
of war.
The expence of such a tedious war greatly exhausted the resources of
Venice, which could not now repair them so quickly as formerly, when she
enjoyed the rich monopoly of the Asiatic trade; the discovery of the
Cape of Good Hope having long since opened that valuable commerce to the
Portuguese and other nations.
This republic remained in a state of tranquillity, endeavouring, by the
arts of peace, and cultivation of that share of commerce which she still
retained, to fill her empty exchequer, till she was drawn into a new war,
in the year 1683, by the insolence of the Ottoman Court. The Venetians
had for some time endeavoured, by negociation, and many conciliatory
representations, to accommodate matters with the Turks; and though the
haughty conduct of her enemies afforded small hopes of success, yet such
was her aversion to war on the present occasion, that she still balanced,
whether to bear those insults, or repel them by arms; when she was
brought to decision by an event which gave the greatest joy to Venice,
and astonished all Europe. This was the great victory gained over the
Turkish army before the walls of Vienna, by Sobieski, King of Poland.
In this new war, their late General Morsini again had the command of the
fleets and armies of the republic, and sustained the great reputation he
had acquired in Candia. He conquered the Morea, which was ceded formally
to Venice, with some other acquisition, at the peace of Carlowitz, in the
last year of the last century.
During the war of the succession, the State of Venice observed a strict
neutrality. They considered that dispute as unconnected with their
interests, taking care, however, to keep on foot an army on their
frontiers in Italy, of sufficient force to make them respected by the
contending Powers. But, soon after the peace of Utrecht, the Venetians
were again attacked by their old enemies the Turks; who, beholding the
great European Powers exhausted by their late efforts, and unable to
assist the republic, thought this the favourable moment for recovering
the Morea, which had been so lately ravished from them. The Turks
obtained their object, and at the peace of Passarowitz, which terminated
this unsuccessful war, the Venetian State yielded up the Morea; the Grand
Seignior, on his part, restoring to them the small islands of Cerigo and
Cerigotto, with some places which his troops had taken during the course
of the war in Dalmatia. Those, with the islands of Corfou, Santa Maura,
Zante, and Cephalonia, the remains of their dominions in the Levant, they
have since fortified, at a great expence, as their only barriers against
the Turk.
Since this period no essential alteration has taken place in the Venetian
government, nor has there been any essential increase, or diminution, in
the extent of their dominions. They have little to fear at present from
the Turks, whose attention is sufficiently occupied by a more formidable
enemy than the republic and the House of Austria united. Besides, if
the Turks were more disengaged, as they have now stripped the republic
of Cyprus, Candia, and their possessions in Greece, what remains in the
Levant is hardly worth their attention.
The declension of Venice did not, like that of Rome, proceed from the
increase of luxury, or the revolt of their own armies in the distant
Colonies, or from civil wars of any kind. Venice has dwindled in power
and importance, from causes which could not be foreseen; or guarded
against by human prudence, although they had been foreseen. How could
this republic have prevented the discovery of a passage to Asia by the
Cape of Good Hope? or hinder other nations from being inspired with a
spirit of enterprise, industry, and commerce? In their present situation
there is little probability of their attempting new conquests; happy if
they are allowed to remain in the quiet possession of what they have.
Venice has a most formidable neighbour in the Emperor, whose dominions
border on those of this republic on all sides. The independency of the
republic entirely depends on his moderation; or, in case he should lose
that virtue, on the protection of some of the great Powers of Europe.
I have now finished the sketch I proposed, of the Venetian government,
with which I could not help intermingling many of the principal
historical events; indeed I enlarged on these, after you informed me,
that you intended to give your young friend copies of my letters on
this subject, before he begins his tour. I wish they were more perfect
on his account; they will, at least, prevent his being in the situation
of some travellers I have met with, who, after remaining here for many
months, knew no more of the ancient or modern state of Venice, than that
the inhabitants went about in boats instead of coaches, and, generally
speaking, wore masks.