structural:expansion, linguistic:translation, quality:correction
Trade

From its early history, trade was the basis of the Republic of Venice's success and political rise: in 829, the Doge Giustiniano Participazio was involved not only in the management of his feudal assets but also in commercial affairs by sea. The commercial enterprises of Venetian citizens increased in the 12th century, a period which saw the creation of the mude, caravans of merchant galleys which, escorted by armed ships, headed towards the eastern markets, starting with that of Constantinople. Venice had a privileged relationship with the Byzantine Empire starting from 1082 when, with the issuing of the Golden Bull, Venetian merchants were allowed to exchange goods with the Byzantines without any tax and to establish an inhabited nucleus directly in the capital, a privilege which however ended violently in 1171 by the decree of Manuel I Komnenos. Commercial traffic reached its peak in the 13th century, but continued to be fundamental in the political and social life of Venice until the end of the 16th century. This period saw the establishment of state-sanctioned mude, convoys of ships contracted to merchants which were used to reach faraway lands including India, China, England and Flanders. The Republic's trade was so extensive that in 1325 the existence of Venetian settlements was noted in northern European cities including Southampton and Bruges and in Asian cities such as Zaiton, Sudak, Azov, Trabzon, and Amman as well as other settlements on the shores of the Aral Sea. Venetian trade suffered a sharp decline at the end of the 16th century when competition from the Portuguese, Spanish, English and Dutch became suffocating for Venetian merchants.

The goods that the Venetians exchanged mostly by sea and which crowded the central Rialto market were: cotton, fabrics, iron, wood, alum, salt and spices exchanged as early as the 9th century; the testament of Bishop Orso Participazio, in which pepper is mentioned, dates back to 853. In addition to pepper, Venice traded large quantities of cinnamon, cumin, coriander, cloves and many other spices which played a fundamental role in the preservation of meat, for the flavoring of wines and for medical treatments of which Venetian medicine made a large use. Spices also include sugar, produced in Cyprus and refined in Venice and all the perfumes and incenses widely used by Venetian patricians and during religious functions. In addition to spices, the East also supplied precious stones and silk, vice versa Venice brought European metals, wood, leather and fabrics to the East. Another good of which Venice held a monopoly was salt, which was shared wherever there was some, and given its usefulness the Republic obliged every merchant to transport a certain quantity. The salt monopoly, as well as being a commercial privilege, was also a political deterrent against foreign nations. Another commodity of fundamental importance was the cereals which were managed by the Wheat Chamber to combat possible famines. There was also a large import of oil used not only in seasoning but also for lighting.