At the beginning of the twelfth century Genoa used a system of government that was headed by a consulate elected from among the 43 noble families. One of the consulate’s main jobs was to acquire “Possessions”. Possessions could be many things; ports, houses, custom agreements, legal rights, ect. In the first half of the twelfth century, the average number of times each family was in the consulate was 2.98. This low number shows that people were not getting reelected meaning that there was no motivation to do well and obtain more possessions because the consulate only received gains from previous years and not from their own effort. “The existing incentive scheme did not motivate consuls to acquire possessions. Economic growth was constrained by Genoa’s political system.”
The second half of the twelfth century was very different from the first. The average number of times each family was in consulate was 3.9 and the family Della Volta held it 19 times. That’s 10.6% of the time. The Della Volta formed links with other noble families through marriages and families that dominated trade were married into the family as well. The Della Volta enhanced their political control by setting up a patronage network where they offered preferred access to Genoa’s possessions in return for political and military support. This monopoly of power caused internal strife in Genoa and led to Civil Wars 1164-69 and 1189-94. Decline in rent lead to loss of supporter and an attack by the faction’s opposition during these civil wars.
Della Volta’s fall began in 1182 when they lost privileges in Constantinople. Then in 1187 they began a war with Pisa, their arch rivals. At the same time Saladin, the ruler of Egypt, captured most of Genoas possessions in Jerusalem and war with the King of Majorca damaged trade in west. In 1191 trade with Sicily suffered a blow because Genoa had to join war for German emperor. Then, in 1194 King Henry VI attacked Sicily but Genoa was paralyzed by civil war so they couldn’t provide naval support. They conceded to get a podesteria, a single executive administrator, for one year as payment for not assisting in the war.
Genoa population saw that cooperation worked and that their existing political system would lead to de facto subjection to the emperor. It also helped them defeat the Pisans, their rival. Due to these thing, when the podesta died, Genoa replaced him with one they chose and changed their system of governing. The Genoese instead called the man they elected a Doge and he was to be in charge for 2 years before he had to leave the city and not return for several years. The man had to be non-Genoese and was in charge of military, judge, and administration. He brought soldiers and judges with him, the number of which was specified in his contract. He pacified and unified the city. This system of governing lasted 150 years.
While in Genoa our class took a tour of the city. On this tour I saw several connections to this article. The military technology available at the time made defense superior to offense. Due to this noble families had their family members and supporters live in close proximity to each other, well protected by defensive towers. While on our tour of the city the guide pointed out a couple private squares surrounded by houses such as this. They had belonged to one powerful family and shared a common square so they could shut out the outside city if needed. We also saw a palace that the tour guide said was used to house the Doge. It was kept empty so the Doge could move in with all their things and people and then move out two years later when he was replaced. She mentioned that passageways were created for the Doge’s personal use in order to keep him from interacting with the Genoese people and causing faction favor and corruption, like what the article mentioned.
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