The Crusades, the Genoese and the Latin East - DSpace at ...

two levels. On the one hand, merchants and politicians sought new markets for Genoese
commerce. On the other hand, individual Genoese led private enterprises to conquer lands and
inevitably engage in battle with Venice and Pisa. In the light of this new era, the activities of
some of the famous pirates should be studied.
The final years of the twelfth century and the beginning of the thirteenth century were
years in which powerful individuals operated in Genoa. Many of them played a crucial role
during this period. The activities of Guglielmo Embriaco maior as consul of Genoa who imposed
his authority in Genoa during his consulate in 1201 may be seen as part of the same pattern.
Much has been written about famous and infamous pirates such as Guglielmo Grasso and his
relative Count Henry of Malta and Count Alamanno de Costa of Syracuse. 232 The commune's
territorial, expansion and private enterprise were linked to their activities too. Steven Epstein
noted about the role of individual Genoese and the expansion of Genoa during this period that
`enterprising Genoese had been acquiring possessions in the Mediterranean since the time of the
First Crusade, and by now the pattern was well established that the commune would not directly
rule in these places. '233 Charles Dalli argued in his thesis about Malta and the Regno that `in the
Sicilian case strategic considerations were paramount for Genoese commerce in Syria, as was the
Pisan base at Syracuse. Similarly, Genoese feudal control over Malta through Genoese Counts
who were Sicilian vassals formed part of that commune's wider strategy of protecting Genoese
shipping from corsairs who built their nests at various points on the Mediterranean coast,
including Malta itself, to operate along the Levantine trade routes. '234
Syracuse in Sicily and the island of Malta were only first destinations for the count of
Malta `et amicissimi sui comitis Alamanni [de Costa]. '235 Their ambitions were almost
unrestrained and their presence was soon felt throughout the central and eastern Mediterranean.
Shortly after the conquest of Constantinople, they engaged in war with the Venetians. The
confrontation was handled mainly though acts of piracy, but within a short span it was also
transformed into an open conflict. One of the leading issues in this conflict was the island of
Crete. It was another consequence of the Fourth Crusade because in 1204 the island was awarded
to Boniface of Montferrat. He sold the island to the Venetians for 1000 silver marks. David
232
See David Abulafia, `Henry of Malta'. More recent works concerning piracy, such as Mark Aloisio's
thesis in progress on Maltese corsairs and Emily Tai thesis on Piracy in the Mediterranean in the fifteenth
century and Charles Dalli, Malta in the Regno, Political, Social and Economic Developments in the
Maltese Islands in a Central Mediterranean Context, 1240-1500, unpublished master's thesis (University
of Cambridge, 1992).
233
Steven Epstein, Genoa and the Genoese, 958-1528 (Chapel Hill, 1996), p. 103.
234
Charles Dalli, Malta in the Regno, p. 30.
235
Ann. Ian., vol. 2, p. 97.
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