The () was a magistracy of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

responsible for the oversight of trade and manufacturing.

History

The magistracy was established for the first time, as an interim measure, in 1506,For the decree of their establishment, cf. . but was made permanent in 1517. The remit of the was from the beginning very broad, covering all aspects of overland or seaborne trade. The board was tasked with proposing laws to the

Full College The Full College () was the main executive body of the Republic of Venice, overseeing day-to-day governance and preparing the agenda for the Venetian Senate. Composition The Full College comprised the Doge of Venice and the rest of the Signor ...

, reviewing the taxes levied by the and the , and supervising all officials dealing with merchant goods. Along with the and the , the formed a college responsible for setting customs dues on imports and exports. The magistracy's authority was soon extended to cover wages (1540), the Levantine Jews of the Ghetto of Venice (1541), jurisdiction over the

Fondaco dei Tedeschi The ''Fondaco dei Tedeschi'', a historic building in Venice, Italy, is situated along the Grand Canal, close to the iconic Rialto Bridge. It was a hostel and a warehouse for the city's German ''(Tedeschi)'' merchants and their imports. After b ...

(1550) and approval of the resolutions of lay associations (1553), the supervision of the funds (1570), and of navigation and maritime insurance (1588). Further extensions followed with jurisdiction over Ottoman Jews (1625) and Armenians (1676), combating smuggling (1682)—a special province of a member of the Five known as the —and finally on the sale of tobacco (1723). In 1708–1756, in an unsuccessful attempt to halt the decline of Venetian commerce, a parallel magistracy, the , were established, whose meetings had to be attended by at least one of the .

References

Sources

* * {{Republic of Venice topics 1506 establishments Government of the Republic of Venice 1500s establishments in Italy 16th-century establishments in the Republic of Venice Economy of the Republic of Venice Trade