Elizabethan Sea Dogs

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, New Age, History, Fiction & Literature
Cover of the book Elizabethan Sea Dogs by William Charles Henry Wood, Library of Alexandria
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: William Charles Henry Wood ISBN: 9781465566218
Publisher: Library of Alexandria Publication: March 8, 2015
Imprint: Language: English
Author: William Charles Henry Wood
ISBN: 9781465566218
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
Publication: March 8, 2015
Imprint:
Language: English

In the early spring of 1476 the Italian Giovanni Caboto, who, like Christopher Columbus, was a seafaring citizen of Genoa, transferred his allegiance to Venice. The Roman Empire had fallen a thousand years before. Rome now held temporal sway only over the States of the Church, which were weak in armed force, even when compared with the small republics, dukedoms, and principalities which lay north and south. But Papal Rome, as the head and heart of a spiritual empire, was still a world-power; and the disunited Italian states were first in the commercial enterprise of the age as well as in the glories of the Renaissance. North of the Papal domain, which cut the peninsula in two parts, stood three renowned Italian cities: Florence, the capital of Tuscany, leading the world in arts; Genoa, the home of Caboto and Columbus, teaching the world the science of navigation; and Venice, mistress of the great trade route between Europe and Asia, controlling the world's commerce. Thus, in becoming a citizen of Venice, Giovanni Caboto the Genoese was leaving the best home of scientific navigation for the best home of sea-borne trade. His very name was no bad credential. Surnames often come from nicknames; and for a Genoese to be called Il Caboto was as much as for an Arab of the Desert to be known to his people as The Horseman. Cabottággio now means no more than coasting trade. But before there was any real ocean commerce it referred to the regular sea-borne trade of the time; and Giovanni Caboto must have either upheld an exceptional family tradition or struck out an exceptional line for himself to have been known as John the Skipper among the many other expert skippers hailing from the port of Genoa.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In the early spring of 1476 the Italian Giovanni Caboto, who, like Christopher Columbus, was a seafaring citizen of Genoa, transferred his allegiance to Venice. The Roman Empire had fallen a thousand years before. Rome now held temporal sway only over the States of the Church, which were weak in armed force, even when compared with the small republics, dukedoms, and principalities which lay north and south. But Papal Rome, as the head and heart of a spiritual empire, was still a world-power; and the disunited Italian states were first in the commercial enterprise of the age as well as in the glories of the Renaissance. North of the Papal domain, which cut the peninsula in two parts, stood three renowned Italian cities: Florence, the capital of Tuscany, leading the world in arts; Genoa, the home of Caboto and Columbus, teaching the world the science of navigation; and Venice, mistress of the great trade route between Europe and Asia, controlling the world's commerce. Thus, in becoming a citizen of Venice, Giovanni Caboto the Genoese was leaving the best home of scientific navigation for the best home of sea-borne trade. His very name was no bad credential. Surnames often come from nicknames; and for a Genoese to be called Il Caboto was as much as for an Arab of the Desert to be known to his people as The Horseman. Cabottággio now means no more than coasting trade. But before there was any real ocean commerce it referred to the regular sea-borne trade of the time; and Giovanni Caboto must have either upheld an exceptional family tradition or struck out an exceptional line for himself to have been known as John the Skipper among the many other expert skippers hailing from the port of Genoa.

More books from Library of Alexandria

Cover of the book The Life, Crime and Capture of John Wilkes Booth by William Charles Henry Wood
Cover of the book Blackfoot Lodge Tales by William Charles Henry Wood
Cover of the book A Terrible Secret A Novel by William Charles Henry Wood
Cover of the book A Guide to the Scientific Knowledge of Things Familiar by William Charles Henry Wood
Cover of the book A History of Spanish Literature by William Charles Henry Wood
Cover of the book Around Old Bethany: A Story of the Adventures of Robert and Mary Davis by William Charles Henry Wood
Cover of the book Les Amours D'Une Empoisonneuse by William Charles Henry Wood
Cover of the book Of Parties in General by William Charles Henry Wood
Cover of the book The Eliminator; Or, Skeleton Keys to Sacerdotal Secrets by William Charles Henry Wood
Cover of the book Ballads, Lyrics, and Poems of Old France with Other Poems by Andrew Lang by William Charles Henry Wood
Cover of the book Recreations of Christopher North (Complete) by William Charles Henry Wood
Cover of the book The Poetical Works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning (Complete) by William Charles Henry Wood
Cover of the book Architecture and Democracy by William Charles Henry Wood
Cover of the book Brave Old Salt Or, Life on the Quarter Deck by William Charles Henry Wood
Cover of the book The Unjust Steward: The Minister's Debt by William Charles Henry Wood
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy