Le commerce vénitien dans l'Albanie vénitienne: méchanismes et conjonctures d'un espace économique au XV siècle

Abstract

Commercial activities of Venetian patricians in Albanian territory reach back to the 11th century and had its apogee in the period of the Serenissima's political domination of the coastal zone between Durazzo and the Scutari bassin (1392-1479). Members of the same patrician families often advantageously combined administrative duties and commercial interests. The short-time character of these "Albanian actions" did not allow however the formation of an Veneto-Albanian nobility comparable to the Veneto-Cretan élite. However, the Venetians succeeded in stabilizing their Albanian province in the turmoil of the 15th century by integrating local Albanian elements in the greater frame of Adriatic commerce.