eastern european eagle

Chapter 636: Genoa Behind
However, the Arabs had already entered a period of decline, and the great empire they once were was gone forever. The Roman Empire, which they had beaten half to death, was revived with full blood, and now their hard days were coming.

"Father"

Alexander came in, Peter looked at him appreciatively, and then said.

"Your decision saved Naples and the empire. Otherwise the current situation would have worsened."

Alexander was very happy to receive his father's praise.

"This is all for the Empire. Naples is our country's staunch ally. Now Aragon could take him away at any time. The Empire must quickly stabilize the situation and prevent Aragon from taking him away."

"Well, but now Aragorn has begun."

This was actually expected by everyone. As long as Naples was not lost, it didn't matter if other places were taken temporarily. At present, they also stabilized the situation. After the Sicilian army defended Palermo, it launched a counterattack. The rebel army could only retreat to the mountains and fight guerrilla warfare.

"The Roman navy is already patrolling the western Mediterranean and everything is going well. Genoa has sent someone to say they are not involved in the rebellion in Naples."

It is really ridiculous for Genoa to do this. You should know that in the western Mediterranean, Genoa has the second largest number of ships after Romania. And if Sardinia does not have sufficient supplies, how can there be so many rebellions? So, don't say that.

"The Genoese are fickle, probably still brooding over the Galata incident."

Alexander also knew this story. His father and grandfather showed a tough attitude towards Genoa, first forcing Genoa to make up the taxes, and then asking him to return them directly. This caused Genoa to lose all its colonies that had existed for hundreds of years.

Speaking of hatred, Genoa certainly hated it. But they didn't dare to fight because they were afraid that they would be wiped out if they fought. Genoa's army was at best a mood-making group. If it hadn't been for the alliance with other countries, it would have been wiped out long ago.

After losing the advantage of sea transportation, Genoa's gold coins also lost the Mediterranean market. The popularity of the lei caused the frequency of using Genoa gold coins in the Mediterranean to drop significantly. In the end, even Genoa began to use the lei because of its high quality.

Economic instability led to political instability. In the past 20 years, Genoa has experienced 12 revolutions, which has led to political instability and internal division. Moreover, the Genoese are the most cunning merchant group in the Mediterranean. Even the Venetians have suffered losses at their hands many times. The Genoese fleet even had an impressive record of capturing the Doge of Venice. Now that it has declined, everyone wants to kick it.

In order to survive, they began to seek help from Portugal. After Portugal acquired some islands in the south, they began to develop them. In their view, the Portuguese who were obsessed with navigation technology were hopeless fools. They had thrown countless money into developing navigation technology and were not keen on developing colonies. The only requirement they signed a preferential agreement with the Genoese was that they teach navigation technology, and the Genoese did so.

The Genoese also showed the unsophisticated Portuguese how to establish a sales monopoly and how to sail in the westerly winds. The Genoese merchants became the best teachers of the Portuguese in navigation. Encouraged by the Portuguese royal family, the Portuguese sailors continued to move towards Africa, and the Genoese merchants were not willing to be left out. They offered the Portuguese a route to the Land of Gold. The Genoese monopolized the sugar trade, and the Portuguese looked for more risky routes for gold and slaves. This became the division of labor between the Genoese and the Portuguese.

This division of labor gave the Genoese confidence, and they began to provide necessary financial support to other countries, especially Milan and Savoy. Genoa also began to develop land trade, and the economies of the three countries gradually became closer. With trade, political and military assistance would come naturally.

Looking back at Genoa's past 20 years, it was able to go from being in danger to what it is now because it seized the opportunity and took advantage of the opportunities of the Spanish and Portuguese voyages. At the same time, the demise of Venice and Florence also helped them, as they had two fewer rivals at sea, and the competition was less.

Venice was a powerful country on the sea, while the Florentines rode horses to every city in Western Europe and established connections with some cities. Now that these two powerful opponents were gone, Genoa's good days were coming.

In contrast, the Genoese can be regarded as multifaceted. The business acumen of the Genoese is also reflected in their preference for maritime trade, which is cheaper and more cost-effective. However, they did not slack off on the land side either. They established the oldest and most powerful guild - the Muleteers Guild. This became the basis for their development of land trade.

But diplomacy was still their weakness. Romania was balancing with France and Iberia, and both sides were eroding the Italian city-states. Genoa was under attack from both sides at this time. It had to fight with the major powers in the west and deal with Romania in the east, which was a headache.

Under this influence, Genoa embarked on the path of expansion again, but this time it was not land expansion, but economic expansion. They sought more profits and resources by further expanding their trade network. This led them to re-establish a commercial alliance including trading posts, ports, and fleets in the northwestern Apennines. In addition to finding new markets, Genoa also promoted expansion by acquiring resources. This included not only acquiring precious metals such as gold, silver, and copper, but also other important resources such as wood and agricultural products.

In order to avoid Romania, they began to follow Spain and Portugal to colonize southwards. Through local investigation and colonization, the colonization of Genoa began. And for the Genoese, there was almost no ideological prejudice. In their eyes, as long as it was business-related, everything could be coordinated.

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Peter watched their actions in the south, and Genoa's revival was indeed admirable. But his weak military was his Achilles' heel, and the reinforcements from Romania and Naples attacking from land would probably cause the local economy to depress.

(End of this chapter)