1) An Alternate History of the United States of America.
A gem in the Crown.
2) Warning: Cognitive dissonance ahead...
3) 1497: The Venetian, Zuan Chabotto, using the sovereignty of the England, lands in North America and plants the English flag in its soil...
The Pisan / Venitian alliance was at war with the Spanish / Genoan alliance.
For control over the Roman Cult--Known as the Vatican.
4) He was named by Henry VII, "Admiral of the Ocean Sea," The very FIRST time the word Admiral was used in England.
He claimed the land known as America for the CROWN of England.
5) This pissed of Spain and Genoa, as they already laid claim on this land for the Papacy. The Vatican had several papal Bulla to back up their legitimacy.
Years earlier, it was claimed by Christopher Columbus (Genoan) for Spain.
It was called Hispania.
6) At this time, if Venice could be the first to the East Indies (Asia), they would have the world's first global network over trade, exchange, money.. Total control.
Remember... Marco Polo was Venetian--representing the DOMINANT Western super power. Who did he make a deal with?
7) That's right... This guy.
Kublai Khan
8) Let's take a look at what Kublai Khan brought to the table... Just for perspective...
9) And here is what Marco Polo was representing... For perspective.
10) See it? That little red dot?
Let's ZOOM in...
11) That little red dot... Amazing.
12) And that is the whole point.
Venice never beat their opponents w/ their land, or their natural resources, or their military might...
But they whooped ass on EVERYONE with their MINDS.
Use logic... A TINY island... Sovereign.
13) An era of supreme political gamesmanship...
Again, for perspective... Machiavelli... Same time period.
His advice for Prince's was administered to the LOSING side... He was unemployed.
Think about that.
The winner never published their game plan :)
14) Cosimo de’ Medici of Florence and his successors, were a threat to Venice.
Why?
Because the Renaissance was an expression of the mind. To the Doge, this was epistemological warfare.
That's why Venice destroyed the Renaissance in Italy, and made sure England never had one.
15) I know what you're thinking... What do Italian's have to do with America?
First... They're NOT Italians.
They were Veneti--Slavic.
And they had deep ties w/ Constantinople. Not Rome!
Remember, after the Fall of Rome, the Empire split.
In the West, but allied w/ the East.
16) and guess who had a very SPECIAL relationship with Constantinople?
As a reward for defending Constantinople from the Vikings, they were handed the rights to trade freely, exempt from tax, all across the Byzantine realm...
Including the Black Sea.
17) The key point here is that Venice always had open door policies to the East, and took advantage of the Silk Road.
Including the finances in managing SLAVES.
Not African slaves, but RUSSIAN ones... Mostly.
The Crimean SLAVE TRADE
But from who?
The Golden Horde.
18) The very word "slave" has its roots in this forgotten chapter of history.
Latin: Sclavus -> Slav -> Slave
Old French: Esclave
Definition:
"person who is the CHATTEL or property of another."
Been going on a LONG time...
19) Venice didn't start the slave trade... They simply were the de facto middlemen.
Why?
They owned the Bank.
They controlled the FX market
They controlled negotiable instruments
They wrote the Law
Which law?
The old Law Merchant + Maritime Law
The Law of the Sea
ADMIRALTY
20) The Houses of Europe, The Holy Roman Empire, The Vatican, and other long-time foes decided they were DONE with the Doge.
1500-1600 brought wars and shifting alliances.
No longer could Venice hide its enormous wealth and power.
Island = Easy target
Time to MOVE. But where?
21) Everywhere... metastasis. But predominantly...
Antwerp, Amsterdam, and London.
They brought their banks. They brought their money. They brought their law.
And they brought their MINDS.
22) Before we jump to Europe, it's important to understand 4 things:
1- They invented the Law of the Sea--ADMIRALTY
2- Which--as we'll soon see--is PIRACY
3- Both 1 & 2 (above) enable & allow for SLAVERY
4- Both 1 & 2 (above) enable & allow for PLUNDER
All Legal, of course--SMH
23) Interesting to note that the Venetian trading routes focused on the old lands of Canaan (Tyre, Sidon), the Black Sea, Crimea, Malta, Cadiz, etc...
Most of these ports were on islands, peninsulas, near rivers or canals.
Always WATER.
The Law of the Sea.
THEIR jurisdiction
24) It shouldn't be any surprise that Amsterdam, London, and Antwerp fit the bill...
Oh, case you didn't know... Admiralty Law extends to all navigable waterways, including:
- high seas
- bays
- inlets
- harbors
- tidewaters
- lakes
- rivers
Is COMMERCE involved?
Admiralty.
25) Just for perspective, let's jump a head a hundred years, and let's look at their future ports of interest...
New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bombay...
Wonder if those places ever turned out to be commercially viable...
See the pattern?
26) Let's also not forget that the Venetian Black Nobility were conquering Europe in a much different way.
Strategic marriages.
Why?
Ahhhh... Because inheritance is a DIFFERENT form of law... Title, trusts, common law, canon law, etc... All come into play.
Control everything.
27) Remember Machiavelli? Well, about the time he was looking for a job, the best Italian SPY MASTER was busy turning other nations against themselves.
Another war against the whole of Europe could not be sustained.
Venice needed the best.
Cardinal Gasparo Contarini
28) He was the secret financier and supporter of Martin Luther.
Yep... A Cardinal.
Can you imagine? Was this really about faith?
Or family name?
Contarini was an ancient founding family in Venice. No less than 8 Doge's were Contarini
29) So..... That was major. The Vipers of Venice essentially created the Protestant Reformation!
Which was precisely the point. Venice needed Germany--at much of Northern Europe--at war with the Papacy.
Martin Luther was their vehicle.
Pretty sneaky... Asymmetrical warfare.
30) Oh, but I'm just getting started.
Want to know what else they did?
When King Henry VIII sent out letters to the great thinkers of Europe--whether he could or could not get a divorce--Francesco Zorzi (Venetian) was quick to support this decision.
That's all the King Needed
31) England was the only power that supported Venice in the war of Cambrai.
The King and the Crown knew their place.
Contarini and Zorzi made sure King Henry VIII was surrounded by agents friendly to Venice.
Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell
32) Recap:
- Venice sponsored the Protestant Reformation via Martin Luther
- Venice supported King Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragorn (Catholic)
- Venice supported the idea of him being the leader of the English Church (not the Pope!)
Guess what else Venice created...
33) The JESUITS
34) I know what you're thinking...
Why would Venice sponsor and secretly control both sides of a conflict?
You just don't understand the Venetians.
That's their Modus Operandi... Subvert, infiltrate, corrupt, control, destroy.
Religions, Nations, wars...
Step and repeat.
35) Also, it may help if you look at it from another angle.
1500-1600: Who posed the biggest threat to the Venetian power?
1. Papacy
2. Spain
3. Monarchy
4. People
One at a time...
Let us not forget that Venice--for the first time--was not top dog in Trade.
Eye on the Prize.
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