| Genoese colonies Colonie genovesi(it) | |
|---|---|
| Colonies of theRepublic of Genoa | |
| 1096–1768 | |
 Map of the Genoese expansion. | |
| Historical era | Middle Ages |
• Genoese Fleet in theFirst Crusade | 1096 |
| 1261 | |
• Creation of theGazaria | 1266 |
• Fall of most of theEastern Mediterranean colonies | Late 15th century |
• Fall ofTabarka | 1742 |
| 1768 | |
• Disestablished | 1768 |
TheGenoesecolonies were a series of economic and trade posts in theMediterranean andBlack Seas. Some of them had been established directly under the patronage of the republican authorities to support the economy of the local merchants (especially after privileges obtained during theCrusades), while others originated as feudal possessions of Genoese nobles, or had been founded by powerful private institutions, such as theBank of Saint George.
During theEarly Middle Ages,Genoa was a small, poor fishing village of 4,000 inhabitants. By slowly building its merchant fleet, it rose as the leading commercial carrier of the Western Mediterranean, starting to become independent from theHoly Roman Empire around the 11th century. A meeting of all the city'strade associations (compagnie) and the noble lords of the surrounding valleys and coasts eventually signaled the birth of Genoese government. The then-borncity-state was known asCompagna Communis. The local organization maintained a political and social significance for centuries.[1]
The participation of theGenoese Fleet in the Crusades (particularly the conquests ofAntioch andAcre) enriched it enormously. During theFirst Crusade, the Genoese Republic obtained Acre (one third of the port's incomes) and Gibelet (present-dayByblos,Lebanon), which become a familiar possession of theEmbriaco family, who styled themselves as Lords of Gibelet (1100 – late 13th century).[2]
Other small colonies were formed inTartous (Syria),Tripoli (Libya), andBeirut (Lebanon). However, the Muslim reconquest in the following century removed Genoese presence from theHoly Land. Genoa also established colonies on the Spanish Mediterranean coast fromValencia toGibraltar, but these were also short-lived.[3] These colonies consisted usually of a city quarter (or even a single square) with wooden single- or double-floor houses with workshops in the lower floor.[4]
Direct territorial expansion of Genoa began in the 13th century with the occupation ofCorsica (annexed in 1284 and kept until the 18th century) and northernSardinia. Genoa remained dominant in theTyrrhenian Sea after the decisive naval victory againstPisa in theBattle of Meloria (1284). Genoa had also started to form colonies ofLigurians in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea in second half of the 13th century. The Genoese presence was not based on military occupation, but on economic "concessions" of Genoese and Ligurian families associated with the local traders and dominant classes.[5]
In the eastern Mediterranean, Genoa was greatly advanced by theTreaty of Nymphaeum (1261) with the Byzantine emperorMichael VIII Palaeologus, which, in exchange for the aid to the Byzantine reconquest of Constantinople, actually ousted the Venetians from the straits leading to the Black Sea. The main Genoese commercial bases wereChios andMytilene in theAegean Sea, andCaffa, the major trading center betweenMongol-ruled Eastern Europe and Central Asia and Western Europe. Other colonies included Cembalo (modernBalaklava), Soldaio (Sudak), Vosporo (Kerch), while other were located on theAzov Sea, includingTana[6] (Azov), Matrega (Taman), Mapa (Anapa), Bata (Novorossijsk) and others, on the Abkhazian coast, such as Savastopoli (Sukhumi), or on the Ukrainian coast, such as Salmastro or Moncastro (Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi), Ginestra (now part ofOdesa).[7]
During the greatest period of expansion, between the 13th and 15th centuries, the Republic of Genoa had many colonies and commercial/military ports in the region where is now present-dayRomania. The largest Genoese colonies in the region wereCalafat, Licostomo,Galați (Caladda),Constanța,Giurgiu (San Giorgio) andVicina. These Genoese settlements served primarily to protect the maritime trade routes that made the Republic a power in this area.[8][9]
In 1155, Genoa was given afondaco (store and market quarter) atGalata (Pera), facingConstantinople, by emperorManuel Komnenos, although in the following century the relationship with the Byzantine Empire were often strained. In 1201 the city also obtained privileges and quarters from theKingdom of Armenia. Pera fell to the Ottoman forces in 1453, when all of Constantinople was captured. Meanwhile,Chios remained a fief of the Giustiniani family until the Ottoman conquest in 1566.[10] There were some 33,000 descendants of the Genoese colonists in Constantinople andİzmir in 1933.[11] Genoa had also conquered the island ofTabarka off theTunisian coast, which was held by the Lomellini family from 1540 to 1742. Part of the latter's citizens later moved toCarloforte in Sardinia.
In addition to its possessions in Crimea, the most important Genoese colonies in the Black Sea area wereTaman,Copa,Bata,Maurolaca andMapa; most of them would survive under Genoese rule until the late 15th century.[12]
The decline of the Genoese colonies in Crimea coincided with the Ottoman expansion in the late 15th century. Aside from the Crimean cities, Genoa also lost its lands in theTaman Peninsula, which had belonged to the nobleGhisolfi family. Other losses included the commercial bases of Licostomo inMoldavia and Moncastro near Odesa. The fall of the eastern colonies caused a deep economical crisis which eventually turned into an unstoppable decline for the Republic of Genoa as a major European power.[13] It thus moved its interests in the western Mediterranean, establishing flourishing communities inCadiz,Lisbon andSeville.[14] Genoa, in particular, became an efficient banking base ofHabsburg Spain, supplying loans and organizingslave trade as holders of anAsiento. Genoese traders were active inOld Panama, one of the main ports on the Pacific, at least until 1671. The Spanish governor of Panama,Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera, even recruited Peruvians, Panamanians, and Genoese in Panama to foundZamboanga City after its conquest from the Muslim Sultanates of Sulu and Maguindanao in thePhilippines.[15]
The last Genoese colonies disappeared in the 18th century: Tabarka was occupied by the Ottoman Empire (1742), and Corsica was annexed by France after theTreaty of Versailles in 1768. The Republic itself ended in 1797, when it was conquered by theFrench First Republic underNapoleon and replaced with theLigurian Republic.
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