under their protection, are appointed to be tried by their own laws, and by judges of their own appointment."
A.D. 1124.
Venice claims the dominion of the Adriatic, A.D. 1159.
Nor were the Venetians in all cases satisfied with
a moiety of the spoils of war beyond their gains by
trade. Historians say[1] that, when Tyre was besieged
by the united forces of the republic and of Varemond,
bishop of Jerusalem, the Venetians stipulated that
on its reduction they should receive two-thirds of the
spoil and property captured. Indeed, the troops on
shore complained loudly that while all the fatigue,
dangers, and hardships of the two months' siege
fell upon them, the Venetians lay at ease in their
ships, deriving large profits on everything they supplied,
and exacting their full portion of the plunder
agreed upon before the operations commenced. Thus
riches poured into Venice securing for her a
position far beyond that of any other republic.
Having brought under subjection the people inhabiting
the shores of the Adriatic, she claimed
its dominion; the declaration of Pope Alexander
III. when he visited Venice confirmed her claims;
and other nations admitted them when they asked
permission to pass their merchandise and ships
through the Gulf. But when the Pope exclaimed
to the Doge, "That the sea be subject to you, as
the spouse is to her husband, since you have acquired
it by victory," he had little idea that the
Venetians would consider its dominion as more than
an honorary title, much less that they would compel
- ↑ History of Venice, Universal History, xxiii. p. 414, and E. Smedley, "Sketches of Venetian History," i. p. 72.
