Read more
This book focuses on the network of the Genoese colonies in the Black Sea area and their diverse multi-ethnic societies. It raises the problems of continuity of the colonial patterns, reveals the importance of the formation of the late medieval / early modern colonialism, the urban demography, and the functioning of the polyethnic entangled society of Caffa in its interaction with the outer world. It offers a novel interpretation of the functioning of this late medieval colonial polyethnic society and rejects the widely accepted narrative portraying the whole history of Caffa of the fifteenth century as a period of constant decline and depopulation.
List of contents
Introduction
1. Overview of Historiography and Sources
2. To the Origins of the Genoese Black Sea Colonization: The Genoese Gazaria in Its Genesis and Shaping, 13th-14th Centuries
3. Understanding Colonial Space: Topography and Spatial Layout of the Cities and Hinterland of the Genoese Gazaria
4. Governing the Overseas Colonies: Evolution and Transformation of the Administrative System
5. The World of Entangled Identities: The Dynamics of the Population of Caffa in Its Ethnic and Religious Categories
6. Prestige, Stratification, and Social Groups in the Society of Caffa
7. Caffa as a Centre of Trade: Dynamics of Economic Activity, Traffic, and Communications
8. Politics and International Relationships in the Black Sea Area in 1400-1475: Transformation and Fall of Caffa
Conclusion
Summary
This book focuses on the network of the Genoese colonies in the Black Sea area and their diverse multi-ethnic societies. It raises the problems of continuity of the colonial patterns, reveals the importance of the formation of the late medieval / early modern colonialism, the urban demography, and the functioning of the polyethnic entangled society
