Chios, the last Genoese colony in the Near East.

Pera was -by far the most important Genoese colony in the Near East- governed by its Podesta’ in Greek territory. The loss of this colony had detrimental effects on Genoa’s political prestige and was increasing the danger of loosing further ground by the insatiable, young and very ambitious Sultan. It was soon realized that the Republic was unable to protect Chios from the peril of the Sultan that for sure would not tolerate the Genoese presence for long although they had agreed to pay a tribute that was satisfactory for the Sultan’s treasury for the time being. The Genoese government claimed that Chios was a valuable settlement connecting Genoa with its Black Sea colonies that had also an uncertain future given that the Turks had under their complete control the Dardanelles after the occupation of Pera. The real reason for retaining Chios under their control apart from its strategic value was the commercial profit that they could make by exploiting the island.

The fortifications of the island were not adequate for withstanding an attack of the same scale as the one employed in Constantinople. The Mahonesi conscious of this fact decided to reinforce the town’s defense by additional walls of greater strength and thickness and more towers. The implicated expenses were beyond the capacity of their treasury given that they had to pay tributes to the Commune and the Sultan. The request of the Mahonesi to increase their revenues by raising the trading taxes was examined by the Doge and Council on 18 December 1454 and approved for as long as they had to pay the tribute to the Sultan. In the summer of 1455, the Turks with a powerful fleet besieged the town of Rhodes and asked the Knights of Saint John to pay a tribute to the Sultan. Their venture was unsuccessful and the expedition turned against Chios. The admiral of the fleet Hamza Beg demanded a payment of 40,000 ducats, which the Mahonesi rejected trusting the ability of their garrison to defend the island. Hamza noticed that the island was well prepared for resisting any kind of attack and he decided to invite a delegation of Mahonesi so as to negotiate with them. The two envoys sent were captured and taken away from the island when the Turkish fleet set sail for Cos. The Turks besieged Cos for 20 days with no success and on their way back continued to harass Chios that repelled them successfully by sinking one of their galleys. The Sultan threatened to send another fleet against Chios and a compromise was found by paying an increased tribute of 30,000 ducats.          

The Mahonesi feeling the pressure from the rapidly expanding Turkish threat appealed for help to the Republic and to the Pope Calixtus III. In the letter sent, the Mahonesi were pointing out the fact that they were incapable on their own of withstanding the overwhelming military forces of Mahomet II. The Pope’s reply was enthusiastic and congratulating regarding the way the Mahonesi had managed to deal with the Turkish advance in the Levant so far, but he offered only spiritual aid to the courageous defenders by granting full remission of their sins.

The mother country though was more helpful. On 18 November 1455 the Doge and his Council decided to send two ships and at least 500-1000 men, but even this modest expedition could not be easily afforded by the Public Treasury. Hence, the Genoese requested the support of other Christian Princesses in the West and particularly Henry VI of England in their struggle against the enemy of the Faith. The Turks being aware of the preparations reacted with the organization of a disciplinary expedition to Chios of twenty triremes commanded by Janus Beg. Although the fleet was disturbed and seriously inhibited by a windstorm the Turks managed to capture New Phocaea governed by Paride Giustiniani. They looted the Genoese properties, raped boys and girls and most of the adults were sold as slaves. The inhabitants of New Phocaea experienced the same savagery, but the Mahonesi saved them-selves by paying a compensation of 30,000 ducats for the Turkish loses during the expedition and an extra amount of 10,000 ducats charged annually as an increase in the tribute to the Sultan.  

After the conquest of Constantinople the Sultan Mahomet II had been successful in a number of campaigns against his East European and Asia Minor enemies. He won a series of battles in Wallachia, Serbia, Bosnia, Sinope and Trebizond. In the summer of 1462, the Sultan launched a naval campaign in the Aegean by sending a Turkish fleet of 150 vessels so as to harass the Italian lords and inhabitants of some of the islands. The fleet attacked Mitylene ruled by Niccolo’ Gattilusio. The island of Lesvos bravely defended by resisting wholeheartedly, but after a siege of 15 days the Greco-Genoese succumbed. Initially, the Turks guaranteed the lives of the Christian population, but they did not keep their word. They exercised their accustomed cruelty by forcing to religious conversion to Islam all the young men of the island that were recruited as janissaries in the Sultan’s army. The girls were distributed among the Turkish officers and the middle aged inhabitants were sold as slaves. The defenders Greeks and Italians alike were impaled and the governor Gattilusio with all the members of his administration and island’s nobility were transferred to Constantinople where they were strangled.  All these occurred under the discrete presence of the Venetian fleet that refused to intervene, because the Venetians were directly provoked.

The events that took place in the nearby island created panic and horror in Chios. The Mahonesi sent an appeal to the Genoese Government for help. It was decided by the Doge Ludovico Campofregoso and the Anziani in collaboration with members of the Officium Chii to provide 150 infantry men and a capable high rank officer that would organize the defense of the island. In 1463, the new doge Paolo Campofregoso and his council realized that the imposed extra taxes for supporting Chios’ defense were not adequate and at least double that amount was required for maintaining a small defending force of 300-400 men on the island. Therefore, it was the Mahonesi’s obligation to provide the rest given that the defense of the island was their primary responsibility according to the agreements they had with the Genoese Commune. The Mahonesi were unable to cover the expenses on their own, because so far they were charged with the cost of fortifications and the tribute to the Sultan. The Republic was convinced and a new additional tax was imposed. The Mahonesi also requested permission for organizing a Food Office and an Office of Defense two authorities that would be responsible for the handling of critical situations that would arise in case of war and the defense of the island itself. The requests of the Mahonesi were accepted and a permanent garrison of at least 300 men was allowed to be established.

In the autumn of 1468, the Turks started preparing a fleet to attack the Venetians in the Aegean and early in the following year, a Turkish ultimatum was presented to the Mahonesi that was ordering them to obey to the commands of Mahmud Pasha and send immediately sixty caulkers to a place of galley concentration in Gallipoli. The Mahonesi in panic sent an envoy to the Sultan to pay the agreed tribute and at the same time they contacted the Venetians asking them to keep all their ships in harbours under Venetian control. In Chios itself, the situation was not very favourable and the people were not united against the enemy. A conspiracy to hand over the island to the Turks was revealed and the organizers confessed their guilt. Clearly the public life of Chios was poisoned with personal hatred. The Commune was aware of the attitude of some of the Mahonesi, but had exhibited tolerance to many malpractices, because of the force of the circumstances. The Mahonesi were reminded that they were the ones charged with the obligation and duty to defend the island according to the agreements and that they constituted the temporary owners of Chios, whose sovereignty belonged to the Republic. The Mahonesi had lost control of the island’s administration, because lots of illegal activities of some of them were left unpunished and had been greatly tolerated by others. Thefts, homicides and acts of violence were tolerated and the new Podesta’ Giovanni Francesco Giustiniani was ordered to report any acts of disorder to the Genoese government.

In 1470 Mahomet II using land and sea forces organized an attack in the island of Euboea. The Venetians resisted four attacks, but their capital in Chalkis fell into the Sultan’s hands while waiting for re-enforcements. The news of the capturing of Chalkis by the Turks caused a shock in Genoa and the meetings to discuss the defense of the island were endless. The Mahonesi in an attempt of good will offered to hand in to the Commune all their shares of the Mahona in case they were not consistent with the agreements they had with Genoa, expecting in return to be protected by the government that would guarantee their safety and their personal possessions in Chios. The Republic had clearly lost its trust to the Mahonesi. The futile attempts to change island’s fate by interminable conversations could not be successful because they concluded to the same ideas and arguments from both parts.

The Commune was insisting that the Mahonesi were responsible for the defense of the island and the Mahonesi were replying that their capacities were limited by the financial resources. Eventually, an agreement was established that involved the transport of 300 infantry men to Chios for its defense in 1475 sponsored by Cristoforo Cattaneo, Leonardo Cibo and Gerolamo Spinola di Dominico carried on three ships owned by Pietro Giustiniani, Baldassare Doria and Andrea da Passano. The Commune was entrusting these military forces and their accompanied munitions to the Mahonesi that promised to use them sensibly and for the sake of the island’s defense only. Furthermore, in April 1475 it was decided to send 235 men more and in June all Genoese forces had arrived in Chios.

The Turks had already begun to advance to the West and it seemed impossible to be stopped, although the Mahonesi to the best of their ability were preparing the island for a battle against the infidels. There are testimonies from unbiased travelers and merchants of that time that verify the preparations and the fortification works that took place. The Genoese morale had crashed after the fall of Kaffa and the Republic was doing its best to support the Mahonesi. Even an envoy was sent to the Vatican in an attempt of obtaining some support from the Pope, pointing out the catastrophic consequences that the fall of Chios would have to Christendom. The atrocities inflicted by the Turks in Kaffa had created an atmosphere of panic in the island that lacked the resources for defending itself. Moreover, it was believed that the Turks were negotiating a peace treaty with Venice, an event that would have detrimental effects on Chios.

For more than twenty years Chios -the last Genoese colony left- had experienced the permanent Turkish threat. Genoa was not indifferent, but the Republic believed despite the desperate calls for financial support by the Mahonesi that there were if not plenty, but surely adequate funds in private hands that could be used for the defense of the island. In 1476 the Commune sent the Podesta’ Leonardo Giustiniani with two vessels and 300 men and was instructed to inspect the moat of the town (fossa urbis), the defense works and to ensure that the Genoese public funds were sensibly spent.

In the same year, the lease was expiring and the Commune had to carefully think whether to renew it or to redeem the island. The Commune was not in a position to redeem the island, because apparently could not meet the cost, so the only alternative was to renew the lease with the Mahona for another twenty-nine years. During the years that followed, reinforcements were sent to Chios and appeals for help were made to the Pope and the Commune. The Mahonesi were struggling with the tribute that had to be paid to the Sultan and the Turkish threat was constantly culminating.

Mahomet II was organizing his troops for another brave expedition, the conquest of Rome. Many people believed that he was trying to revive the Ancient Roman Empire under Muslim rule. In 1480, he attacked unsuccessfully the island of Rhodes and the Knights of Saint John that repelled him. On the way back they harassed Chios and threatened to attack the island, but the Mahonesi paid them the 10,000 gold-florin annual tribute that actually satisfied them. Mahomet did not abandon his plans. He attacked and conquered Otranto (see map 2) that resisted for 14 days. The town was sacked, the defenders were decapitated and the rest of the inhabitants were sold as slaves in a manic attempt to terrify Europe and especially Papal Rome. The Infidel was established in Italy and the Pope Sixtus IV encouraged all Italians to forget their internal rivalries and to repel the threat coming from the common enemy. All Christian princes were requested to contribute to the Holy Cause that took the form of a signed agreement under which Genoa had to contribute five armed and fully equipped galleys at her own expenses.

In the meantime Mahomet II died on 3 May 1481 and Genoa started making plans for re-obtaining the lost lands of Kaffa, Pera and Mitylene. The Genoese tried to persuade the Vatican that it was sensible to send the gathered Papal fleet to the Levant against the Turks that were now involved in a civil war for succession between the two sons of Mahomet II. The Genoese argued that an attempt to recover their former settlements in the area would operate in the future as a massive line of defense for the whole Christendom against the Infidel. Once, more the Genoese proved to be opportunistic and without political consistency. When they needed the political or military support of the Pope they could instantly adopt the ‘so favourable dogma’ of the ‘Cross against the Crescent’, but when their commercial interests were against Pope’s beliefs or intentions, they argued that the Pope should be only involved in ecclesiastical issues regarding exclusively his flock.

While these events were occurring, Genoa was informed by the Mahonesi in July 1481 that Bayazet had defeated his brother Tizim in the civil war for succession. The Ottoman Empire had soon recovered and now had an only and absolute ruler. It was now against the interests of the Mahonesi to provoke the Turks. Hence, they sent two envoys Francesco and Casano Giustiniani to honor the new Sultan. At the same time, they strongly requested from the Pope to cancel his orders and to retrieve his fleet that was preparing for setting sail to Chios under the commands of Cardinal Campofregoso. The Turks of Otranto experiencing the same pressures of the Mahonesi of Chios, being surrounded by Christian States surrendered in September 1481.

During the years that followed the news regarding Turkish military preparations alarmed the Mahonesi several times that were desperately seeking help from the mother country. Some reforms were introduced by Genoa regarding administration, finances and the distribution of goods, but the constant political disturbances in Chios and in Genoa had led to financial problems concerning the value of the Genoese currency in Chios. Throughout the last half of the 15th century, three times in 1479, 1484 and in 1498, it was reported that the currency had lost its corresponding value. Τhe Genoese government had to take measures against the continuously reported troubles of debased coinage in Chios, which had an extremely bad impact on Chian economy. Finally, in 1498, the Commune ordered the Mahonesi to withdraw all the possessed copper coins within a fortnight without receiving any compensation in an attempt to eradicate the financial abuses in which the Mahonesi had indulged in the past.  

Debates and problems related to the currency carried on for more than a decade till 1511. The Officium Chii and the Commune in an attempt to resolve the subject took several measures and issued decrees that the Podesta’ and the Governors in Chios had to apply, because it was strongly believed that this would have been beneficial for the commercial competitiveness of the island.  In the meantime, Chios was experiencing many threats by being exposed to the Turkish pirates that were particularly attracted by the wealth and resources of the Southern part of the island (currently known as Mastichochora). The Mastic gum was a commodity that was highly desirable and appreciated by the Turks and its trade was very lucrative. To assist the island’s security the Genoese authorized four Genoese merchants named Tommaso Doria, Cristoforo de Ferrari, Lorenzo Lecavello and Agostino Fatinati to spend whatever was necessary for the defense of the island and to ensure that the mastic production was not looted. Also, two commissioners were sent by the Governor of Genoa to abolish the abuses regarding administration and take action against the so frequently encountered symptoms of disorder and indiscipline against the authority of the Podesta’. As far as defense was concerned troops were distributed among the most vulnerable points of attack and the dredging of the harbour was also organized and performed. The decisions regarding the defense and the implicated expenses had to be taken unanimously and were put into effect by a committee in which the Podesta’ and some governors were members.    

On 15 June 1513, the lease of the island was renewed for a further period of twenty-nine years with the stipulation that a committee had to be appointed and decide in what currency the payment should be made given that debased coinage still constituted an issue for debates in any transaction. The renewal of the contract -followed by some substantial changes in administration- were welcomed by both sides, that is the Mahonesi and the Commune and it restored the confidence and the mutual trust in a period of great insecurity. After the agreement the works to fortify the town walls and strengthen the town’s defense started progressing with a fast pace and it was evident that by the end of the scheduled amendments, the island would regain its lost military confidence. However, outside the island the pirates continued their action attacking Genoese vessels. In 1516, Domenico Giustiniani was sent as an envoy to the Sultan to recover a cargo of clothes that was stolen by Turkish pirates. The Turks returned the cargo and the Mahonesi were pleased with that development and the act of conciliation exhibited by the Turks.  During the years that followed, the relations between the two sides can be characterized as friendly and the co-operation regarding the trade in the area was satisfactory given that the Chians were granted permission to import wheat from Turkey. However, these signs of good will did not prevent the Mahonesi from continuing their preparations regarding the defense of the island by reinforcing the city walls and other fortifications on the island even though there was no immediate need to do so.

At the same time, the expenditure of the Mahonesi was out of control in the sense that it was not balanced by their revenues. Debts were increasing and the situation was nearly out of control. The Governors of Chios requested help and advice from their counterparts in Genoa in 1522, but the reply they received was excluding any possibility for further financial support and was accompanied by a strong and rather patronizing recommendation urging them to reduce their expenses and exhibit the expected seriousness and the required sense of responsibility that the circumstances demanded. They also recommended to the Mahonesi to be inflexible with the debtors and those that showed no discipline to the law and order represented by the local authorities before it was too late. Clearly the relationship between the mother country and the Mahonesi of Chios was reaching a dead end, where intolerance and lack of trust and respect had been built up during the last decades. Meanwhile, a new Podesta’ was appointed and he was instructed to avoid provoking the Turks and to be punctual with the tribute payment to the Sultan. He was strongly advised to maintain law, order and justice and to ensure that no debased coins were minted on the island. Also, he was strongly encouraged to complete the works of defense paying particular attention to the stretch of walls near San Francisco and the ramparts of the tower ‘de migli’.

In 1522 Soliman I that had succeeded Selim I after his death in 1520 turned his attention towards the capture of the island of Rhodes, which had been under the command of the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem for more than two centuries. He organized a fleet of 300 ships carrying 300,000 troops that disembarked in the bay of Perambolino in Rhodes and started the siege, which lasted for six months. The inhabitants of Rhodes resisted the furious attack, but were finally defeated. By the end of the year the island was under Turkish control and remained so until 1911 when it was occupied by the Italians. That unfavorable development was particularly alarming for the fate and future prospects of Chios, which was now the only remaining outpost of the Westerners in the Levant. The Chians were now fully convinced about the greed and hostility of the Infidels and they could clearly see their end approaching.

The Turks were closer than ever and they were greatly facilitated by the political turmoil in Genoa and the whole Italian peninsula as well as by the maladministration and lack of funds that Chios was experiencing.  In the same decade in Italy, after a series of political disturbances between 1525 and 1528, Genoa was liberated by the French in September 1528. The two political parties that had supported the administration under the rule of the Duke of Milan initially and the King of France subsequently were abolished and entirely removed from the Genoese public life. Genoa was again an independent, sovereign state including the two Riviere (the Eastern and Wetern Ligurian coasts known as Riviere di Levante and di Ponente respectively) and Savona in its borders (see map 2).