Revolt of St. Titus

Revolt of Saint Titus
The winged Lion of Saint Mark, symbol of the Venetian Republic, standing guard over the Regno di Candia
Date August 1363 – 1368 Location Crete Result Republic of Venice retains control of Crete
Belligerents
Republic of Venice	Latin feudatories allied with the Greek population
Commanders and leaders
Luchino dal Verme	Marco Gradenigo, Tito Venier, John Callergi

The Revolt of Saint Titus (Greek: Eπανάσταση του Αγίου Τίτου) was a fourteenth-century rebellion against the Republic of Venice in the Venetian colony of Crete. The rebels overthrew the official Venetian authorities and attempted to create an independent state, declaring Crete a republic under the protection of Saint Titus (Άγιος Τίτος): the "Republic of Saint Titus".

Crete had been under Venetian rule since 1211, having been sold to Venice by Boniface of Montferrat at the time of the Fourth Crusade. Owing to its central location along the trade routes, its size and its products, Crete had a strategic importance for the Venetian rule in the Eastern Mediterranean. Occupied Crete was divided into fiefs and a colony known as the "Kingdom of Candia" (Italian: Regno di Candia) had been established, having as capital the city of Candia (present-day Heraklion). The land was distributed to Venetian colonists (both nobles and citizens) on the condition that they paid taxes, manned Venetian warships and defended the possession in the name of the motherland. The Venetians ruled Crete primarily for their own interest, driving Cretans to forced labour or conscripting them for the wars of the Republic. During the five centuries of Venetian rule, Crete saw fourteen rebellions against Venice. That of Saint Titus was the first in which the Latin colonists were actively involved.

Venice demanded its colonies make large contributions to its food supply and the maintenance of its large fleets. On 8 August 1363, Latin feudatories in Candia were informed that a new tax, aimed to support the maintenance of the city's port, was to be imposed on them by the Venetian Senate. As the tax was viewed more beneficial to the Venetian merchants rather than to the land owners, there was strong objection among the feudatories. The news quickly reached the ears of Leonardo Dandolo, the duke of Candia (the colony's governor). After being informed about the feudatories' attitude, Dandolo summoned before him twenty of them and insisted that they conform to the Senate's order. Later in the day, around seventy of the feudatories gathered in the church of St. Titus, the island's patron saint. They decided to send three representatives to the duke, asking that the tax be suspended until a delegation had appealed to Doge Lorenzo Celsi and the Senate in Venice. Dandolo, however, refused to negotiate and ordered the new tax to be proclaimed to the assembled feudatories, asking them to consent on penalty of death and confiscation of property.

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