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The Rise and Fall of Venice
She was the jewel of the Empire, the gleaming city in the sea. Born out of the ashes of Rome she is Venice. But why did Venice become the power that she did? Why once she rose to ascendancy did she fall? Surprisingly the answer to both these questions is the same. Venice rose because of her naval power and her key placement on the trade routes and in the sea and she fell for these same reasons.
Refugees fleeing the fall of Rome and the barbarian invasions that followed founded Venice. (Norwhich pg 7) In the beginning the islands in the lagoon that would one day become Venice were seen as nothing more then a temporary refuge from the barbarian hordes that were destroying the Italian mainland; however when the barbarians showed no signs of leaving the refugees in the lagoon began to view it as more then a temporary refuge and Venice was born. (Norwhich pg 9) Created by a people sick of war and the devastation it left in its wake the people of Venice were leery of granting anyone power over them. They created a democracy with an elaborate set of checks and balances to ensure that no one would have the sort of power that led to the corruption and fall of Rome in their new home of Venice. (Roper)

The people of Venice were also weary of being driven from their homes and forced to swear allegiance to foreign powers. (Norwhich pg 15) The lagoon gave them a strong natural defence and often made them too much of a bother to go after (Roper) but they worried this was not enough to ensure the safety of their home. Already surrounded by water and in need of ships simply to survive what they did next was only logical: they built a navy. Not just any navy but one, which would become the most powerful in the known world and make them the undisputed masters of the waves. (Norwhich pg 32)
Still while this navy was powerful one must not forget that it was built by a people weary of war and as such its primary purpose was not military. Venice built a fleet of merchant ships with which to rule the waves. (Roper) Not only that but her people also became merchants. Venice was not to be a city built on war but one built on trade. There was nowhere her ships could not go and nothing they did not carry. (Roper) The entire world went through Venice. She was right in the middle of the all the major trade routes including those to the Orient. At that time Venice could do no wrong; all the world vied for a seat at her table and she was truly the jewel

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