On the “Temerity” of Ragusans: Venetian-Ragusan Conflict in the Summer of 1630

Abstract

The article is dedicated to one of the most serious incidents between the Venetian and Ragusan Republics: the armed conflict between the Venetian galleys and Ragusan armed ship and fortresses in front of Ragusa on 28 July 1630. The first part of the article offers a comprehensive reconstruction of the event itself, represented in very different ways in the Venetian and Ragusan documents. The second part addresses the immediate aftermath of the event, that is, the reactions of the Venetian and Ragusan governments and various diplomatic initiatives that followed. Finally, the third part investigates the significance and long-term consequences of this incident, questioning the established interpretation according to which it was the beginning of the so-called “Lokrum crisis”, a prolonged diplomatic conflict between Venice and Ragusa. The article is largely based on the hitherto unknown documents from the Venetian archive, which not only bring a wealth of new data, but also reveal a serious methodological issue inherent in relying exclusively on Ragusan documents when reconstructing the diplomatic history of the small state. The appendix of the article is the transcription of the report regarding the incident, written by the commander of Venetian forces, Giovanni Battista Grimani.