The Trade Relations between the Sanjak of Scutari (Shkodra) and the Republic of Venice in the First Half of the XVIIIth Century

Opis

The article lays stress on trade relations between the Sanjak of Scutari (Shkodra) and the Republic of Venice in the first half of the XVIIIth Century (1700-1757). The Venetian Trade Authority of ‘Cinque Savi alla Mercanzia’ established the Lazzaretto of Castelnovo (Herzeg Novi) ofMontenegro in 1701 to quarantine the wares from the port of San Sergius of Scutari (Shën Shirqi i Shkodrës) and other ports of Albania. They instituted also the Venetian customs duty of the ‘Cottimo of Durazzo, Boiana of Scutari (Buna e Shkodrës) and the other ports of Albania’, and opened the Venetian vice-consulate of Scutari in 1706. During the first twenty years of XVIIIth Century, the trade relations between Durazzo (Durrës) and Venice were at its peak. So did also the wool trade of Scutari (Shkodra) that rendered Albania the leading partner of wool trade with Venice, providing with the Albanian wool the textile industry of Venice and the Northern Italy. Scutari had eight hundred merchants, who brought from the Albanian and the Balkan marketplaces and fairs the main products such as wool, leather, wax, tobacco, oil etc. They had set up almost a hundred and thirty companies in Venice. In 1736, Scutari was known in Venice as the most important city of Albania with a bazaar and one thousand shops. In 1745, its foreign trade spread also in Triest, Ancona, and Apulia on account also of the Dolcignote (Ulqin) vessels. Besides, the Scutarine trade reached high values during the period 1744-6 and 1746-