Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.21857/ygjwrcp64y
The soldiers from Kotor in Venetian overseas infantry in the 18th century
Lovorka Čoralić
orcid.org/0000-0002-9333-7221
; Hrvatski institut za povijest, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Sažetak
The role of Croatian infantry troops within Venetian overseas ground units during the early Modern Age constitutes a crucial aspect of the history of the Eastern Adriatic coast and the Republic of Venice. Soldiers from Istria, Dalmatia, and Boka Kotorska, whether serving as local territorial forces, or as professional units (Fanti oltramarini for infantry and Croati a cavallo or Cavalleria Croati for cavalry), made significant contributions to safeguarding Venetian heritage from Veneto (terraferma) to the southernmost regions of the Eastern Adriatic coast. The study of the aforementioned topic is a challenging research question that requires long-term and careful processing of materials primarily stored in the Archivio di Stato di Venezia, but also in archives in Koper, Zadar, Split, and Kotor. As part of years of research of the mentioned topic, this paper focuses on the participation of soldiers from Kotor who served in the Croatian cavalry units under the banner of St. Mark during the 18th century. It is based on the research of material from the fund of the Venetian recruitment magistracy collection known as Inquisitori sopra l’amministrazione dei pubblici ruoli, preserved in the central Venetian state archives. By insight into said material and its analysis, it was established that soldiers from Kotor served in Croati a cavallo units, certainly one of the elite Venetian land units throughout the 18th century, especially in its beginning and at the end. There is a very frequent presence the Kotor infantrymen who were members of prominent noble families (Buća, Paskvali, and Vraćen) and were high-ranking officers (Franjo Buća is a particularly important example). Based on archival material, the paper determines duration of their military service and the dynamics of their advance from the rank of captain to general, but - primarily in the example of ordinary soldiers - their physical characteristics (age, stature). The deployment locations of the Kotor infantrymen within these units reflected the distribution of Venetian assets from terraferma, through Dalmatia to Boka Kotorska, illustrating the mobility of elite Venetian land units. It is worth noting that families involved in these units across several generations were highly interconnected, irrespective of their noble or non-noble social status. In conclusion, this paper asserts that soldiers from Kotor constituted a significant segment of the Croatian cavalry units under the banner of St. Mark. The analysis presented here contributes to our understanding of the military history of Boka Kotorska (specifically the city of Kotor) and the Republic of Venice during the last century of their shared existence as a unified state. A tabular review at the end of the paper presents a list of all surveyed Kotor infantrymen, non-commissioned officers and soldiers in the Croatian cavalry units.
Ključne riječi
Kotor; Boka Kotorska; Republic of Venice; Cavalleria Croati; military history; history of the 18th century
Hrčak ID:
312808
URI
Datum izdavanja:
30.12.2023.
Posjeta: 221 *