Republic of Ragusa

The Republic of Dubrovnik, also known as the Republic of Ragusa (Croatian: Dubrovačka republika), was a maritime city-state that was based in the city of Dubrovnik from the 14th century until 1808.

Respublica Ragusina

Motto: Libertas (Freedom)
(Coat of Arms)
File:Dubrovacka republika.gif Republic of Dubrovnik, before 1808
Official languages	Latin Ragusan Dalmatian Croatian (local dialect)
Established church	Roman Catholic Church
Capital	Dubrovnik/Ragusa
Largest City	Dubrovnik/Ragusa
Head of state	Knez (duke)
Area	? km²
Population	? million
Existed	14th century - 1808

Origins

From its establishment in the 7th century AD, the town of Ragusa (modern Dubrovnik) was under the protection of the Byzantine Empire. After the Crusades, Dubrovnik/Ragusa came under the sovereignty of Venice (1205–1358), and by the Peace Treaty of Zadar in 1358 it became a vassal of the Kingdom of Hungary.

The city was fortified and had two harbors. The Communitas Ragusina (Ragusa municipality or community) was renamed to Respublica Ragusina (Ragusan republic) in the 14th century.

History

Having been granted complete self-government, bound only to pay a tribute to the king and provide assistance with its fleet, Dubrovnik started its life as a free state. The Republic of Dubrovnik reached its peak in the 15th and 16th centuries, when the Dubrovnik thalassocracy rivalled Most Serene Republic of Venice and other Italian maritime republics.

Republic of Dubrovnik was well-known for its stouch, almost fanatical support of Catholicism; as in some cases, Orthodox property was seized, and they forced to convert. Non-Catholic could hold no magistrature or hold any office of the governmental infrustructure.

Supported by its wealth and skilled diplomacy, the Slavic - Croatian/Romanic - Ragusean Dubrovnik achieved a remarkable level of development during the 15th and 16th century. After 1492, the city received a group of Sephardim expelled from Spain and Portugal. They used their contacts with other Sephardim in the Turkish Empire and Europe for commercial benefit.

The city was ruled by aristocracy, and marriage between members of three different social classes was strictly forbidden. The nominal head of state was the duke (Knez), or during Venetian suzerainty the rector. Real power, however, was in the hands of two Councils (Vijeće) that were held by the nobility.

The government of Dubrovnik was liberal in some other ways. It abolished the slave trade in 1418 and became the first state to recognize the independence of the newly formed United States of America. The city's old flag has the word Libertas (freedom) on it, and the entrance to the Lovrijenac fortress just outside the city walls bears the inscription Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro, meaning "Liberty is not sold for any kind of gold".

However, it was a staunch opponent of both the Eastern Orthodox and Bogomil churches whose faithful it massively converted throughout its newly-acquired coastal possessions from Konavli to Pelješac. Furthermore, only Roman Catholics could acquire Ragusan citizenship which forced many Orthodox merchants and traders from neighbouring Herzegovina to convert.

In 1526 Republic of Dubrovnik acknowledged the supremacy of the Turkish Sultan (annual tribute was paid to the Sultan). A crisis of Mediterranean shipping and especially a catastrophic earthquake on the April 6 1667 that killed over 5,000 citizens, including the rector, and leveled most of the public buildings, ruined the well-being of the Republic. With great effort the Republic recovered a bit, but still remained a shadow of the former Republic.

With the January 26, 1699 peace agreement, the Republic of Dubrovnik sold/gave two patches of its coast to the Ottoman Empire so that the Venetians wouldn't be able to attack them from land, only from the sea. The northeastern land border, the small town of Neum, is still the only outlet of today's Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Adriatic sea. The southeastern border village of Sutorina later became part of Montenegro, which has coastline to the south.

In 1776, The Republic of Dubrovnik became the first foreign power to recognize the government of the United States.

In 1806 Republic of Dubrovnik surrendered to French forces, as that was the only way to cut a month's long siege by the Russian-Montenegrin fleets (during which 3,000 cannon balls fell on the city). The French lifted the siege and saved Dubrovnik for the time being. The French army, led by Napoleon, entered Dubrovnik in 1806. In 1808 Marshal Marmont abolished the Republic of Dubrovnik and amalgamated its territory into Illyrian provinces.

Culture

Latin language was the language of the higher social strata; this way local aristocrats distinguished themselves from the lower social classes. Ragusean Dalmatian was the language of the old residents. With the course of time, Croatian language poured itself into all areas of social life, pushing out the Romanic languages. Romanic population has peacefully assimilated through the ages into Croats.

The best and most fruitful literary works in Republic of Dubrovnik were written in Croatian. Continuity runs from Middle Ages; cultural level is much above the rest of Croatia. Because of these facts, the local Croatian dialect from Dubrovnik area was used as basis for Croatian standard language.

Among them are Džore Držić, Marin Držić, Ivan Bunić Vučić, Ignjat Đurđević, Ivan Gundulić, Šišmundo Menčetić, Dinko Ranjina, and following writers, beside others from 16. - 19. century (before the Age of Romantic National Awakenings) were explicit in declaring themselves as Croats and theirs language as Croatian: Vladislav Menčetić, Dominko (Dinko) Zlatarić, Bernardin Pavlović, Mavro Vetranović, Nikola Nalješković, Junije Palmotić, Jakov Mikalja, Joakim Stulli, Marko Bruerović.

External links

• HISTORICAL FACTS ABOUT DUBROVNIK