CRETAN SOCIETY IN LATE VENETIAN TIMES
In the 13th and 14th century, Crete was in constant turmoil on account of the rebellions that broke out against Venice, the colonial power. Once this period drew to a close, the island entered a new era. According to the scholar Manousos Manoussakas: “the time around 1600 was one when the economy and culture reached their peak on Venetian Crete.”. The loss of Cyprus and the Cypriots’ unwillingness to fight alongside Venice forced the Serenissimi to take a new stance towards Crete, for fear of a new Venetian-Ottoman war. The Venetians’ aim was one of rapprochement with the Cretan population, which accounts for the observable improvement in relations between the two faiths. The phrase “siamo prima Veneziani e poi Cristiani” (we are first Venetians and then Christians) stands as proof of Venice’s will to bring an end to social division along religious lines.
Over time, increasing numbers of locals began to participate in the island’s administration, many of whom acquired Cretan nobility. The nobles’ councils grew more active, sending more frequent diplomatic delegations to the mother city to demand that their own interests – and by implication those of the lower classes - be secured. At the same time, there is also evidence of high-handedness by feudal lords and local officials towards the underprivileged. The avarice of landowners forced farmers into paying exorbitant tithes and carrying out forced labour for those whose land they cultivated. In many cases the feudal lords behaved like foul-mouthed common criminals, beating and raping women or even murdering defenceless villagers. Nevertheless, being set on improving the lot of farmers, Venice would punish offenders regardless of their social status. Attempts by the mother city to embrace the Cretans met with opposition from the local nobility, which provided financial support for Venice in times of crisis. In the late 16th century, isolated as she was from her Western allies, the Serenissima could not afford to break off ties with the leadership of her far-flung possession.
Fear of war led Venice to set about re-constructing existing fortresses and fortifications and building new ones. Apart from supplying water to the towns, the erection of fountains served aesthetic ends. The same period also saw the construction of imposing buildings aimed at lending prestige to Venice. Numerous Orthodox monasteries and churches were renovated, such as Akrotiriani (Toplou), Arkadi and Tzagaroloi.
The 16th century brought to the fore a number of major figures in the fields of religion, scholarship and the arts. Born of this era were the patriarch scholars Meletios Pegas and Kyrillos Loukaris; Bishop Gavriel Seviros of Philadelphia and Bishop Maximos Margounios of Kythera; the outstanding artists Michail Damaskinos and Domenicos Theotocopoulos; poets Georgios Chortatzis and Vicenzos Cornaros (author of Erotokritos). Other products of the era were the numerous doctors and lawyers (dottori), graduates from Italian universities – mainly of Padua - who brought the spirit of the Renaissance to Crete.
