Hi to everyone.
I am Francesco Caprioli.
I am postdoctoral researcher
in early modern history at the University Autonoma Madrid.
In this lesson we will discuss the movement
of people, ideas and objects across religious and political borders,
paying particular attention to those movements that took place
in the early modern Mediterranean context
As a structure where will start by defining the concept of border,
a fundamental step to present our main topic. As a result of this
first section, we will explore several kinds of movements
across religious and political borders
thus, we will point out
the actors who moved willingly or unwillingly
across the Mediterranean sea how and where they moved.
Concluding how our lesson by talking about objects in motion
When we speak about early modern
Mediterranean, what borders are we talking about?
Looking at this image, we don't notice the presence
of any visible political frontier in that context.
From the Iberian Peninsula to the North Africa via
the Middle East, there seems to be no obstacles
between Christian, Jewish and Muslim societies and cultures.
In this sense, we can understand the Mediterranean
as a common space shared by all these human groups.
Actually starting from the Middle Ages,
a series of new frontiers were defined based on different
religions, cultures and political spaces,
particularly the 16th century Ottoman Habsburg clash for Mediterranean
supremacy brought about the consolidation of such frontiers.
As a result,
the early modern Mediterranean context was divided into two areas.
In one hand, a Christian north- western Mediterranean
defended by the Spanish Habsburg, and in the other hand
a southeastern Mediterranean under the control of the Ottomans.
However, the strict
separation was more theoretical and used for propaganda purposes.
The reality people, ideas and objects
continue to cross religious and political frontiers all the time.
The understanding of Mediterranean border
as a contact zone rather than frontier
that divide two worlds allow us
to avoid emphasizing the distorted view of the history of this sea.
Contact, exchange and movement are therefore key elements
in understanding how complex Mediterranean daily life was.
Since the Middle Ages, the Mediterranean was an area
characterized by high mobility, its surface has seen
the most intensive contact between those living on its shores, people
galleys and ideas have moved back and forth across its borders.
Such a high level of mobility can be summed up according to three
element, shaped by commercial, religious and political issues
trade, pilgrimage and war and diplomacy.
Let's start with trade.
Despite war and prohibition to trade in some ports due to a religious
or medical restriction
like the ban on Christian negotiating with Muslims in times of war,
or the local restriction due to the spread of plague in city ports,
travelers and merchants
circulated daily between Christian and Muslim borders,
giving rise to an intercultural trade and intensified the circulation
of ideas and practical knowledge between different societies.
Let's now continue with pilgrimage.
Beside the journeys of merchant, we find pilgrims
as other actors in motion in the early modern Mediterranean.
In order to fulfill their duties and visit the holy cities,
Christian believers
traveled to Jerusalem through the lands of the Ottoman Empire,
while Muslim believers traveled along the Mediterranean routes
to the east to reach the ports from which they start
their final journey to Medina and Mecca.
In so doing, they crossed multiple political borders,
risking their lives due to the presence of the enemies
army or bandits or pirates as well.
Finally, war and
diplomacy. Alongside economic and religious needs,
political issues also stimulated movements
in the Mediterranean arena. To face rivals on the battlefield
Mediterranean powers were constantly moving galleys
and soldiers back and forth from one shore to another.
At the same time, diplomatic agents travel between courts to mediate in
political conflicts, conclude peace treaties,
or spy on the enemies.
But not all the actors, however,
moved voluntarily in the Mediterranean.
The war between the Spanish monarchy
and the Ottoman Empire amplified the phenomenon of slavery
as they fell prisoner on the battlefield or raided by corsairs,
many Christians and Muslims were forced to leave their countries
and migrate on the other side of the Mediterranean.
While on several occasions these slaves renegaded their
religiouss beliefs
to acquire greater social rights in a new geopolitical context,
many preferred wait to be ransomed by merchants and friars
and return on safely.
Among these involuntary movements
we can include also the massive displacement or diasporas
of religious communities produced by political decision,
such as the 1494 Jewish expulsion from the Crown of Castile and Aragon,
or the expulsion of the Moriscos from the Iberian Peninsula
following the decisions made in 1609 by the Spanish
Habsburg government.
So far
we have talked about who crossed the borders and why.
But now we will stop briefly on the spaces where this movement
happened.
Alongside the two main contact zone, the Maghreb and the Balkans
there were also secondary scenarios
in which we can observe Mediterranean movements like ports,
neighborhoods, streets and squares.
A clear example appear in Galata,
a district of the Ottoman Constantinople.
As you can see in this slide,
this district was the main European trade and diplomatical center
in Eurasian context, separated from the Muslim heart
of the city on the opposite shore of the Bosphorus.
The movement
of former soldiers, Jewish brokers
and Christian merchants in and out of Galata walls
symbolized how a movement across borders took place every day
on a smaller scale too.
But as you can imagine,
not only people but also objects an ideas crossd the borders,
particularly the movement of slave soldiers, merchants
and diplomatic agents prompted new circulation among areas
subjected to different political and religious belief.
Often these actors in movement gathered several information
during their travels as spies or informers.
Then they passed such news on to friends, member of their families,
or local authorities, giving the opportunity to discover
in advance to rivals plans of attacks.
At the same time, such news were useful also
to improve the knowledge of distant places, cultures and societies.
In addition
to the goods that merchant transported on their cargo,
precious objects that Muslim and Christian political authorities
exchanged as gifts were constantly in motion
in the Mediterranean context. To cite just a few examples
one could witness in Constantinople, the unloading in the port
on numerous pieces of Murano glass given by the Republic
of Venice to the Ottoman minister to the embellish their
mosques, or the arrival of exotic animals
from the Maghreb in the ports of Marseille,
as in the case of the lions sent by the Ottoman governor of Algiers
to the French king in the mid 16th century.
Just to conclude
the movement of people, ideas and objects in the 16th century
Mediterranean, has shown the presence of theoretical borders,
that could be daily cross, despite cultural differences,
military conflicts, or religious prohibition.
All this reflects the early modern Mediterranean war,
not only as a contest of war and violence,
but also as a borderline characterized
by intercultural exchange and interfaith dialog.
Many thanks for your attention.