The City Dubrovnik- Pearl of the Adriatic

On the Dalmatian coast of the Adriatic Sea, perches a city with origins that span nearly two millennia. The joining of two small towns, Dubrava and Laus, birthed the city of Dubrovnik. Dubrava was a community of Slavic immigrants, which was located at the foot of the woody Srd hill. Laus was a town on a little island off the southern Dalmatian coast. This town often gave shelter and protection to the Italian immigrants from the neighboring city of Cavtat. The origin of the city, as a joining of different worlds, was to be the harbinger for everything that would come of it.

Beginning with its formation in 7th century, when it was mapped and called Ragusium, Dubrovnik fell under the defense and fortification of the Byzantine Empire. This pledge of loyalty lasted through the Crusades up to year 1205. As soon as crusades subsided, Dubrovnik came to be under the authority and dominance of Venice ("Dubrovnik"1). During this period Dubrovnik was safeguarded from outside threats as a profitable seaport.

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There were two harbors constructed on each side of the isthmus. Two importance political papers helped to shape the history of the city from this period.

The Dubrovnik Statute, signed in 1272, and the Customs Statute signed in 1277. Title VII of the Statute, Chapter 67 is dedicated to the systematization of maritime customs and law. This covered ship equipment and maintenance, sea routes, crew member ratings, tonnage, general averages, their obligations and rights, sea rescue, general underwriting and averages, arsenals of the ship, and maritime trade agreements.

The rise of Dubrovnik to the position of an independent state, and a prosperous and booming maritime city, was due directly to the success of these acts (“Shipping”).

When the city of Dubrovnik governed itself as a free state it adopted the name “Respublica Ragusina. ” This is translated as the Republic of Ragusa, and was sometimes refered to as the Republic of Dubrovnik. During these prosperous times of the Venetian occupancy, a strip of swampland down the middle of the two parts of the town was reclaimed. This combined the two halves of the city around a newly built plaza, which is now called Stradun, or Placa ("Dubrovnik"1) and became the new center of the town. This plaza was not renovated again until the middle of 14th century, under the reign of the Hungarian-Croatian Kingdom.

They came to power through the 1358 Peace Treaty of Zadar. In 1358, the Zadar Peace Treaty Dubrovnik free to return focus to shipbuilding at home. By the year 1525, a national shipyard was constructed in Gruz (“Shipping”). Ragusa’s Republic attained its historic financial and political peak of power during 15th and 16th centuries. At this time, they were competing with, and in cases surpassing, the prosperity of the renowned republic of Venice, as well as Italian maritime states. The power of the city state was governed by an aristocracy. They developed and maintained two City Councils.

These Councils were responsible for enacting, and upholding laws, which were not only profitable on material terms, but also extremely progressive on the humanitarian front. Despite the firm authoritarian system, which was comprised of structured social classes, they valued liberty very highly. The Republic of Ragusa eradicated slave trade within their ports and surrounding lands in the early part of 15th century. This encouraged growth via emigration. Balthasar de Faria to King John reported one example; in the year 1544 a ship arrived packed with Portuguese evacuees ("Dubrovnik"2).

While continuing to prosper, and gaining an international reputation, the city was able to balance its domestic power and authority with the interests of outsiders, such as the Ottoman Empire and Venice, for centuries. It was not the failure of the government that would lead to the inevitable fall from grace. In 1667 a natural disaster, an earthquake, struck the area. It was disastrous for the majority of the Mediterranean shipping ports, and left the Ragusa Republic badly weakened. Two years after, the governing body was compelled to sell two areas of its territory to the Ottomans.

The intent was to stabilize the economy and to defend itself from the improving Venetian armed forces. This maneuver worked well, protecting them from the Venetian forces, but as many others, Ragusa met with its conclusive downfall at the hands of Napoleon. The forces of Napoleon occupied and conquered the Venetian regions first, and followed by Dubrovnik state in 1806. At the beginning, Napoleon only asked for a free passage for the troops he led. He promised not to conquer the territory and places great emphasis on a treaty with the joint allies, the French.