The New and Old Maona of Chios (1346-1373).

In the meantime Simone Vignoso -the real ruler of the island- had encouraged the immigration of Genoese citizens to Chios, providing the settlers with houses and lands including gardens and vineyards under the condition to participate in the defense of the island in case of emergency and be subject to taxation.

After Vignoso’s retirement, the revenues of Chios and Phocaea were no longer collected by the Old Mahona directly, but by a society of appaltatori known as the new Mahona. In 1359 representatives of the new Mahona upon request of the old Mahona agreed to declare all the mastic in their possession on 1 May 1360. However, serious differences arose between the Old and New Mahona and the Republic of Genoa that were resolved by the intervention of the Doge Simone Boccanegra, who arranged a settlement in the form of a convention signed on 8 March 1362 before the end of the twenty year period of agreement that was established between the Mahonesi and the Commune back in 1346. It was then re-established that the conditions of the first convention regarding the redemption of the island should remain valid up to the end of twenty years. After that, the Republic could only start redeeming from February 1370 till February 1374 by paying to the shareholders 75 lire for each share that is a total amount of 152,250 lire, otherwise the lordship and ownership of the island (dominion et proprietas) comprising the castles, town and the territories of Old and New Phocaea with all their revenues would remain to the shareholders of the Mahona in full right and the Commune would have no chance of recovering them. The redemption was performed as planned and the shareholders sold to the Doge Domenico Campofregoso, to his Council and Treasury the promised lands and their deriving revenues in accordance with the terms of the first and second convention. The money for the purchase had been borrowed from the same shareholders to whom it was to be repaid as the cost of redeeming their shares. The only right that remained to the Mahonesi shareholders was the ownership of the mastic.