Original scientific paper
THE AUSTRIAN-VENETIAN WAR BETWEEN 1615-1618
ANNA MARIA GRUENFELDER
Abstract
The aim of this work was to describe and analyze the position of the Croatian Littoral in the framework of the Venetian political ambitions, i.e. their "Dominio del mare". The author pointed out that it was Senj and its Uscocs to inspire Venetian diplomacy in order to achieve the Hapsburgs Littoral. Venice decided to take over the exclusive responsability, authority and jurisdiction on the Adriatic. Just the "Venetian Adriatic" was the aim of the Venetian politics. The important aim was also to regain the exclusive position at 'Terraferma" in northen Italy, which was lost during the war against the Emperor Maximilian the First in 1508. The climax of those political aims was the war between 1615 - 1618, whose main military operations took place in Friuli and Istria. In view of Hapsburgs intention to reaffirm their position in the important Adriatic ports, an armed conflict between Venice and Austria was obviously unavoidable. The piracy of uscocs from Senj seemed to be a wellcome argument to the Venetians for expelling them from Croatian Littoral. Thus, Senj and its uscocs had an important role in the ceasefire negotiations (in fact, the official declaration of war between Venice and the Hapsburgs obviously never existed) and in the Peace Contracts between Paris and Madrid (1617). Historigraphs on uscocs from Senj, both in Croatian and Austrian political history, are of the opinion that those peace contracts have absolutely marked an epoch. Further researches, however, are expected to prove the argument that the activities of uscocs from Senj continued to disturb the relations between Austria and the Republic of Venice.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
42972
URI
Publication date:
15.12.1997.
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