View source for Place:Republic of Ragusa

{{Infobox former country
|conventional_long_name = Republic of Ragusa
|native_name            = {{native name|la|Respublica Ragusina}}<br/>{{native name|it|Repubblica di Ragusa}}<br/>{{native name|hr|Dubrovačka Republika}}
|common_name            = Ragusa<!-- Only one name here; it's used for category sorting -->
|image_flag             = Republic of Dubrovnik Flag.png
|flag                   = Flag of Dubrovnik
|image_coat             = Dubrovnik grb.svg
|image_map              = Ragusa.png
|image_map_caption      = Borders of the Republic of Ragusa, from 1426
|continent              = Europe
|region                 = Balkans
|status                 = Vassal state of:{{unbulleted list|item_style=margin:0;font-size:smaller
|[[History:Kingdom of Hungary|Kingdom of Hungary]] {{small|(1358–1458)}}
|[[Place:Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Empire]] {{small|(1458–1684)}}
|Habsburg Austria {{small|(1684–1806)}}
|[[Place:First French Empire|French Empire]] and [[History:Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)|Kingdom of Italy]] {{small|(1806–1808)}}}}
|era                    = Middle Age, [[Philosophy:Renaissance|Renaissance]], Early Modern Age
|government_type        = [[Social:Aristocracy|Aristocratic]]   [[Philosophy:Oligarchy|merchant]] [[Social:Republic|republic]] (City-state)
|year_start             = 1358
|year_end               = 1808
|event_pre              = City established
|date_pre               = {{circa}} 614
|event_start            = <!-- Default: Established -->
|date_start             =
|event1                 = Fourth Crusade<br />([[Place:Republic of Venice|Venetian]] invasion)
|date_event1            = <br/>1205
|event2                 = Treaty of Zadar
|date_event2            = 27 June 1358
|event3                 = [[Place:Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] tributary
|date_event3            = from 1458
|event4                 = [[Social:Protectorate#Joint protectorates|Joint protectorate]]
|date_event4            = from 1684
|event5                 = [[Place:First French Empire|Invasion by France]]
|date_event5            = 26 May 1806
|event6                 = Treaties of Tilsit
|date_event6            = 9 July 1807
|event_end              = [[History:Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)|Annexation by Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy]]
|date_end               = 31 January
|p1                     = Republic of Venice
|flag_p1                = Flag of Most Serene Republic of Venice.svg
|s1                     = Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy
|flag_s1                = Flag of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy.svg
|s2                     = Illyrian Provinces
|flag_s2                = Flag of France.svg
|national_anthem        =
|religion               = [[Organization:Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]]
|capital                = Ragusa (Dubrovnik)<br/>{{Coord|42|39|N|18|04|E|}}
|national_motto = {{lang-la|Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro}}<br/>{{lang-hr|Sloboda se ne prodaje za sve zlato svijeta}}<br/>{{lang-it|La libertà non si vende nemmeno per tutto l'oro del mondo}}<br/>"Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world"
|currency               = Ragusa perpera and others
|common_languages =
{{Collapsible list
|expand=on
|title = Official<ref name=Lodge>R. Anthony Lodge, Stefan Pugh: Language contact and minority languages on the littorals of Europe, 2007, p. 235–238</ref>
|1=[[Social:Latin|Latin]] {{small|(1358–1492)}}
|2=Venetian {{small|(1492–1807)}}
}}
{{Collapsible list
|expand=off
|title = Common<ref name=Lodge/>
|1=[[Social:Dalmatian language|Dalmatian]]{{ref label|a|a}}
|2=Croatian{{ref label|b|b}}
}}
|title_leader           = Rector as [[Social:Head of state|Head of state]]
|leader1                = Nicola de Sorgo
|year_leader1           = 1358–1370
|leader2                = Simone de Giorgi
|year_leader2           = 1808
|stat_area1             = 1500
|stat_pop1              = 30000
|stat_year1             = 1808 <small>(?)</small>
|today                  = {{plainlist|
*{{flag|Croatia}}
*{{flag|Montenegro}}}}
| footnotes = {{note label|a|a}} A Romance language closely related to both Venetian and [[Social:Romanian language|Romanian]]; it was primarily the language of the middle class and peasantry but spoken by most Ragusans, nobles and commoners alike.<ref name=Lodge/>
{{note label|b|b}} While present in the region even before the establishment of the Republic, Croatian language, referred to as ''Slavic'' at the time, had not become widely spoken until late 15th century.<ref name=Lodge/>
}}
[[File:Dubrovnik in 1667 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Dubrovnik before the 1667 earthquake, Photogravure Kowalczyk 1909]]
[[File:Vistaderagusa1667.jpg|thumb|Painting of Dubrovnik from 1667]]
The '''Republic of Ragusa''' was a maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik (''{{lang|la|Ragusa}}'' in [[Social:Italian language|Italian]], [[Social:German language|German]] and [[Social:Latin|Latin]]; ''{{lang|fr|Raguse}}'' in [[Social:French language|French]]) in Dalmatia (today in southernmost Croatia) that carried that name from 1358 until 1808. It reached its commercial peak in the 15th and the 16th centuries, before being conquered by Napoleon's [[Place:First French Empire|French Empire]] and formally annexed by the [[History:Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)|Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy]] in 1808. It had a population of about 30,000 people, out of whom 5,000 lived within the city walls.<ref>{{cite book |author=David Rheubottom |year=2000 |title=Age, Marriage, and Politics in Fifteenth-Century Ragusa |publisher=[[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]] |isbn=0-19-823412-0}}</ref> Its Latin motto was ''"{{lang|la|Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro}}"'', which means "Liberty is not well sold for all the gold".<ref>{{cite book |title=Dictionary of Latin quotations, proverbs, maxims, and mottos |last=Riley |first= Henry Thomas |year=1866 |publisher=Bell & Daldy |location=Covent Garden |page=274 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fIIVAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA274 |accessdate=28 February 2010}}</ref>

== Names ==
Originally named ''{{lang|la|Communitas Ragusina}}'' (Latin for "Ragusan municipality" or "community"), in the 14th century it was renamed ''{{lang|la|Respublica Ragusina}}'' (Latin for ''Ragusan Republic''), first mentioned in 1385.<ref>{{cite book|title=Dubrovnik Annals|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ws1pAAAAMAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Zavod za povijesne znanosti Hrvatske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti u Dubrovniku}}</ref> (It was nevertheless a Republic under its previous name, although its Rector was appointed by Venice rather than by Ragusa's own Grand Council. In Italian it is called ''{{lang|it|Repubblica di Ragusa}}''; in Croatian it is called ''{{lang|hr|Dubrovačka republika}}'' ({{IPA-sh|dǔbroʋat͡ʃkaː repǔblika|hr}}).

The Croatian name ''Dubrovnik'' is derived from the word ''{{lang|hr|dubrava}}'', an oak grove;<ref name=Wilkinson>John Gardner Wilkinson (1848). ''Dalmatia and Montenegro'', J. Murray</ref> by a [[Social:Folk etymology|folk etymology]], the Turks changed this into ''{{lang|hr|Dobro-Venedik}}'', meaning "Good-Venice". It came into use alongside ''Ragusa'' as early as the 14th century.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-43555 Croatia] (2006), ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''. Retrieved 23 August 2006, from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service</ref>
The Latin, Italian and [[Social:Dalmatian language|Dalmatian]] name ''{{lang|la|Ragusa}}'' derives its name from ''{{lang|la|Lausa}}'' (from the [[Social:Greek language|Greek]] {{lang|grc|ξαυ}}: ''{{lang|grc|xau}}'', "precipice"); it was later altered to ''{{lang|la|Rausium}}'', ''{{lang|la|Rhagusium}}'', ''{{lang|la|Ragusium}}'' or ''{{lang|la|Rausia}}'' (even ''{{lang|la|Lavusa}}'', ''{{lang|la|Labusa}}'', ''{{lang|la|Raugia}}'' and ''{{lang|la|Rachusa}}'') and finally into ''{{lang|la|Ragusa}}''. The official change of name from Ragusa to Dubrovnik came into effect after World War I. It is known in historiography as the ''Republic of Ragusa''.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Gerald Henry Blake |author2=Duško Topalović |author3=Clive H. Schofield |last-author-amp=yes |title=The maritime boundaries of the Adriatic Sea |publisher=IBRU |year=1996 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=lLVFW0an7NUC&pg=PA47 page 47] |isbn=978-1-897643-22-8 }}</ref>

== Territory ==
[[File:Territory of the Republic of Ragusa early 18th century.png|thumb|left|Territory of the Republic of Ragusa, early 18th century]]
The Republic ruled a compact area of southern Dalmatia – its final borders were formed by 1426<ref name=Sugar>Peter F. Sugar (1983). ''Southeastern Europe Under Ottoman Rule, 1354–1804'', University of Washington Press, {{ISBN|0-295-96033-7}}.</ref> – comprising the mainland coast from Neum to the Prevlaka peninsula as well as the Pelješac peninsula and the islands of Lastovo and Mljet, as well as a number of smaller islands such as Koločep, Lopud, and Šipan.

In the 15th century the Ragusan republic also acquired the islands of Korčula, Brač and Hvar for about eight years. However they had to be given up due to the resistance of local minor aristocrats sympathizing with Venice, which was granting them some privileges.

In the 16th century the administrative units of the Republic were: the City of Ragusa (Dubrovnik), counties (Konavle, Župa dubrovačka - Breno, Slano - Ragusan Littoral, Ston, Island of Lastovo, Island of Mljet, Islands of Šipan, Lopud and Koločep) and captaincies (Cavtat, Orebić, Janjina) with local magistrates appointed by the Grand Council. Lastovo and Mljet were semi-autonomous communities each having its own Statute.

==Historical background==

=== Origin of the city ===
According to the ''De administrando imperio'' of the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, the city was founded, probably in the 7th century, by the inhabitants of the Roman city of Epidaurum (modern Cavtat) after its destruction by the Avars and Slavs c. 615.<ref name="ODB">{{cite encyclopedia |title = Dubrovnik |last1 =  Krekić |first1 = Bariša |last2 = Kazhdan |first2 = Alexander |page = 665 |editor-last=Kazhdan |editor-first=Alexander |year=1991 |encyclopedia=The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium |publisher=Oxford University Press |location = Oxford and New York |isbn=978-0-19-504652-6}}</ref> Some of the survivors moved {{convert|25|km|0|abbr=off}} north to a small island near the coast where they founded a new settlement, Lausa. It has been claimed that a second raid by the Slavs in 656 resulted in the total destruction of Epidaurum.<ref name=Paton>Andrew Archibald Paton (1861). ''Researches on the Danube and the Adriatic; Or Contributions to the Modern History of Hungary and Transylvania, Dalmatia and Croatia, Servia and Bulgaria'', Brockhaus</ref> Slavs, including Croats and Serbs, settled along the coast in the 7th century. The Slavs named their settlement ''Dubrovnik''. The Romance ("Latin") and Slavs held each other antagonistically, though by the 12th century the two settlements had merged. The channel that divided the city was filled, creating the present-day main street (the ''Stradun'') which became the city centre. Thus, ''Dubrovnik'' became the Croatian name for the united town.<ref name=Sugar/> There are recent theories based on excavations that the city was established much earlier, at least in the 5th century and possibly during the Ancient Greek period (as per Antun Ničetić, in his book ''Povijest dubrovačke luke''). The key element in this theory is the fact that ships in ancient time traveled about 45 to 50 [[Nautical mile|nautical mile]]s per day, and mariners required a sandy shore to pull their ships out of the water for the rest period during the night. An ideal combination would have a fresh water source in the vicinity. Dubrovnik had both, being halfway between the Greek settlements of Budva and Korčula, which are {{convert|95|nmi|km mi}} apart.

=== Early centuries ===
During its first centuries the city was under the rule of the Byzantine Empire.<ref name="ODB"/> The Saracens laid siege to the city in 866–67; it lasted for fifteen months and was raised due to the intervention of Byzantine Emperor Basil I, who sent a fleet under Niketas Ooryphas in relief. Ooryphas' "showing of the flag" had swift results, as the Slavic tribes sent envoys to the Emperor, once more acknowledging his suzerainty. Basil dispatched officials, agents and missionaries to the region, restoring Byzantine rule over the coastal cities and regions in the form of the new theme of Dalmatia, while leaving the Slavic tribal principalities of the hinterland largely autonomous under their own rulers; the Christianization of the Serbs and the other Slavic tribes also began at this time.<ref>{{cite book |first = Donald MacGillivray|last = Nicol |title = Byzantium and Venice: A Study in Diplomatic and Cultural Relations |publisher = Cambridge University Press |year = 1992 |isbn = 0-521-42894-7 |pages=30–31}}</ref> With the weakening of Byzantium, [[Place:Republic of Venice|Venice]] began to see Ragusa as a rival that needed to be brought under its control, but an attempt to conquer the city in 948 failed. The citizens of the city attributed this to Saint Blaise, whom they adopted as their patron saint.<ref name=short>''A Short History of the Yugoslav Peoples'', {{wipe|Cambridge University Press}}, 1985, {{ISBN|0-521-27485-0}}</ref>

The city remained under Byzantine domination until 1204, with the exception of periods of [[Place:Republic of Venice|Venetian]] (1000–1030) and later Norman (1081–1085, 1172, 1189–90) rule.<ref name="ODB"/> In 1050, Croatian king Stjepan I (Stephen) made a land grant along the coast that extended the boundaries of Ragusa to Zaton, {{convert|16|km|0|abbr=on}} north of the original city, giving the republic control of the abundant supply of fresh water that emerges from a [[Earth:Spring (hydrology)|spring]] at the head of the Ombla inlet.<ref name=short/> Stephen's grant also included the harbour of Gruž, which is now the commercial port for Dubrovnik.<ref name=short/>

Thus the original territory of the Ragusan municipality or community comprised the city of Ragusa, Župa dubrovačka, Gruž, Ombla, Zaton, the Elafiti islands (Šipan, Lopud and Koločep) and some smaller islands near the city.

The famous 12th century Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi mentioned Dubrovnik and the surrounding area. In his work, he referred to Dubrovnik as the southernmost city of Croatia.{{sfn|Bresc|Nef|1999|p=387}}<ref name=Oman>{{cite encyclopedia |author=G. Oman, Al-Idrīsī |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam |edition=New |volume=3 |origyear=1971 |year=1986 |pages=1032–35 |publisher=[[Company:Brill Publishers|Brill Publishers]] |isbn=90-04-03275-4}}</ref><ref name=croatianhistory>{{cite web |url=http://www.croatianhistory.net/etf/et01.html |title=Croatia&nbsp;– historical and cultural overview |work=Croatianhistory.net |first=Darko |last=Zubrinic |location=Zagreb  |year=1995 |accessdate=4 November 2009}}</ref>

In 1191, Emperor Isaac II Angelos granted the city's merchants the right to trade freely in Byzantium. Similar privileges were obtained several years earlier from Serbia (1186) and from Bosnia (1189). The Charter of Ban Kulin of Bosnia is also the first official document where the city is referred to as Dubrovnik.<ref name=Sugar/>

=== Venetian suzerainty (1205–1358) ===
When, in 1205, the [[Place:Republic of Venice|Venetian Republic]] invaded Dalmatia with the forces of the Fourth Crusade, Ragusa was forced to pay a tribute and became a source of supplies for Venice such as hides, wax, silver and other metals. Venice used the city as its naval base in the southern [[Place:Adriatic Sea|Adriatic Sea]]. Unlike with Zadar, there was not much friction between Ragusa and Venice as the city had not yet begun to compete as an alternative carrier in the trade between East and West; in addition, the city retained most of its independence. The people, however, resented the ever-growing tribute.<ref name="ReferenceA">Frederic Chapin Lane (1973). ''Venice, a Maritime Republic'', Johns Hopkins University Press, {{ISBN|0-8018-1460-X}}</ref>

In the middle of the 13th century the island of Lastovo was added to the original territory. On 22 January 1325, Serbian king Stefan Uroš III issued a document for the sale of his maritime possessions of the city of Ston and peninsula of Pelješac to Ragusa.<ref>Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti 1908, p. 252</ref><ref>Istorijski institut u Beogradu, SANU 1976, p. 21</ref> In 1333, during the rule of Serbian king Stefan Dušan (Stefan Uroš IV, r. 1331–1355), the two possessions were handed over to Ragusa.<ref name="Blagojević2001">{{cite book|author=Miloš Blagojević|title=Državna uprava u srpskim srednjovekovnim zemljama|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=srAVAQAAIAAJ|year=2001|publisher=Službeni list SRJ|page=211}}</ref> In January 1348, the Black Death visited the city.<ref>OLE J Benedictow (1973). ''The Black Death, 1346–1353'', Boydell & Brewer, {{ISBN|0-85115-943-5}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Independence from Venice (1358) ===
In 1358, the Treaty of Zadar forced Venice to yield all claims to Dalmatia. The city accepted the mild hegemony of King Louis I of Hungary. On 27 June 1358, the final agreement was reached at Visegrád between Louis and the [[Religion:Archbishop|Archbishop]] Ivan Saraka. The city recognized [[History:Kingdom of Hungary|Hungarian]] sovereignty, but the local nobility continued to rule with little interference from Hungarian court at Buda. The Republic profited from the suzerainty of Louis of Hungary, whose kingdom was not a naval power, and with whom they would have little conflict of interest.<ref>Kenneth Meyer Setton (1978). ''The Papacy and the Levant, 1204–1571'' Vol. 2, (Diane Publishing), {{ISBN|0-87169-127-2}}</ref> The last Venetian conte left, apparently in a hurry.{{sfn|Harris|2003|p=61}}

In 1399, the city acquired the area between Ragusa and Pelješac, called the ''Primorje'' (Dubrovačko primorje) with Slano (lat. ''Terrae novae''). It was purchased from Bosnian king Stephen Ostoja. A brief war with Bosnia in 1403 ended with Bosnian withdrawal. Between 1419 and 1426, the Konavle region, south of Astarea (Župa dubrovačka), including the city of Cavtat, was added to the Republic's possessions.<ref name=Sugar/>

In the first half of the 15th century Cardinal Ivan Stojković (''Johannes de Carvatia'') was active in Dubrovnik as a Church reformer and writer.

=== Ottoman suzerainty ===
In 1458, the Republic signed a treaty with the [[Place:Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Empire]] which made it a tributary of the [[Religion:Sultan|sultan]]. Moreover, it was obliged to send an ambassador to Constantinople by 1 November of each year in order to deliver the tribute.<ref>Theoharis Stavrides (2001). ''The Sultan of Vezirs'', Brill Academic Publishers, {{ISBN|90-04-12106-4}}</ref>{{page needed|date=March 2016}}

When in 1481 the city passed into Ottoman protection, it was to pay an increased tribute of 12,500 ducats. For all other purposes, however, Ragusa was virtually independent and usually allied with Maritime Republic of Ancona.<ref>Sergio Anselmi, ''Venezia, Ancona, Ragusa tra cinque e seicento'', Ancona 1969</ref>

It could enter into relations with foreign powers and make treaties with them (as long as not conflicting with Ottoman interests), and its ships sailed under its own flag. Ottoman vassalage also conferred special trade rights that extended within the Empire. Ragusa handled the Adriatic trade on behalf of the Ottomans, and its merchants received special [[Finance:Tax exemption|tax exemption]]s and trading benefits from the Porte. It also operated colonies that enjoyed extraterritorial rights in major Ottoman cities.<ref>Barbara Jelavich (1983). ''History of the Balkans'', Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|0-521-27458-3}}</ref>{{page needed|date=March 2016}}

Merchants from Ragusa could enter the Black Sea, which was otherwise closed to non-Ottoman shipping. They paid less in customs duties than other foreign merchants, and the city-state enjoyed diplomatic support from the Ottoman administration in trade disputes with the Venetians.<ref name=Faroqhi>Suraiya Faroqhi, Bruce McGowan, Donald Quataert, Sevket Pamuk (1997). ''An Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire'', Vol. 2, Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|0-521-57455-2}}</ref>{{page needed|date=March 2016}}

For their part, Ottomans regarded Ragusa as a port of major importance, since most of the traffic between [[Place:Florence|Florence]] and [[Place:Bursa|Bursa]] (an Ottoman port in northwestern [[Earth:Anatolia|Anatolia]]) was carried out via Ragusa. Florentine cargoes would leave the Italian ports of Pesaro, Fano or Ancona to reach Ragusa. From that point on they would take the land route [[Place:Sarajevo|Bosnasaray]] (Sarajevo)–Novibazar–[[Place:Skopje|Skopje]]–[[Place:Plovdiv|Plovdiv]]–[[Place:Edirne|Edirne]].<ref>Halil Inalcik, ''An Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire'', Vol. 1, Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|0-521-57455-2}}</ref>{{page needed|date=March 2016}}

When, in the late 16th century, Ragusa placed its merchant marine at the disposal of the [[Place:Spanish Empire|Spanish Empire]] on condition that its participation in the Spanish military ventures would not affect the interest of the Ottoman Empire, the latter tolerated the situation as the trade of Ragusa permitted the importation of goods from states with which the Ottoman Empire was at war.<ref name=Faroqhi/>

Along with England, Spain and Genoa, Ragusa was one of Venice's most damaging competitors in the 15th century on all seas, even in the Adriatic. Thanks to its proximity to the plentiful [[Biology:Oak|oak]] forests of Gargano, it was able to bid cargoes away from the Venetians.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

=== Decline of the Republic ===
With the great [[Place:Portuguese Empire|Portuguese explorations]] which opened up new ocean routes, the [[Finance:Spice trade|spice trade]] no longer went through the Mediterranean. Moreover, the discovery of the Americas started a crisis of Mediterranean shipping. That was the beginning of the decline of both the Venetian and Ragusan republics.

Charles VIII of France granted trading rights to the Ragusans in 1497, and Louis XII in 1502. In the first decade of the 16th century, Ragusan consuls were sent to France while their French counterparts were sent to Ragusa.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} Prominent Ragusans in France included Simon de Benessa, Lovro Gigants, D. de Bonda, Ivan Cvletković, captain Ivan Florio, Petar Lukarić (Petrus de Luccari), Serafin Gozze, and Luca de Sorgo. The Ragusan aristocracy was also well represented at the Sorbonne University in Paris at this time.

 [[File:map of Ragusa.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Old map of the Republic of Ragusa, dated 1678]]
The fate of Ragusa was linked to that of the Ottoman Empire. Ragusa and Venice lent technical assistance to the Ottoman–[[Place:Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mameluke]]–Zamorin alliance that was defeated by the Portuguese in the Battle of Diu in the Indian Ocean (1509).

On 6 April 1667, a devastating earthquake struck and killed over 5,000 citizens, including many patricians and the Rector ({{lang-hr|knez}}) Šišmundo Getaldić. The earthquake also levelled most of the city's public buildings, leaving only the outer walls intact. Buildings in the Gothic and Renaissance styles – palaces, churches and monasteries – were destroyed. Of the city's major public buildings, only the Sponza Palace and the front part of the Rector's Palace at Luža Square survived. Gradually the city was rebuilt in the more modest Baroque style. With great effort Ragusa recovered a bit, but still remained a shadow of the former Republic.

In 1677 Marin Caboga (1630–1692)<ref>Andrew Archibald Paton, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=fATxz5DB5BUC&pg=PA226 Researches on the Danube and the Adriatic; or Contributions to the modern history of Hungary and Translvania, Dalmatia and Croatia, Servia and Bulgaria]'', p. 226</ref> and Nikola Bunić (ca. 1635–1678) arrived in Constantinople in an attempt to avert an imminent threat to Ragusa: Kara-Mustafa's pretensions for the annexation of Ragusa to the Ottoman Empire. The Grand-Vizier, struck with the capacity Marin showed in the arts of persuasion, and acquainted with his resources in active life, resolved to deprive his country of so able a diplomat, and on 13 December he was imprisoned, where he was to remain for several years. In 1683, Kara-Mustafa was killed in the attacks on [[Place:Vienna|Vienna]], and Marin was soon free to return to Ragusa.

[[File:Mercante Raguseo.jpg|thumb|upright|A merchant from the Republic, 1708]]
In 1683 the Ottomans were defeated in the Battle of Kahlenberg outside Vienna. The Field marshal of the Austrian army was Ragusan Frano Đivo Gundulić. In 1684, the emissaries renewed an agreement contracted in Visegrád in the year 1358 and accepted the sovereignty of Habsburg as Hungarian Kings over Ragusa, with an annual tax of 500 ducats. At the same time Ragusa continued to recognize the sovereignty of the Ottomans, a common arrangement at the time. This opened up greater opportunities for Ragusa ships in ports all along the Dalmatian coast, in which they anchored frequently. In the Treaty of Karlowitz (1699), the Ottomans ceded all of [[History:Kingdom of Hungary|Hungary]], [[Place:Transylvania|Transylvania]], [[Place:Slavonia|Slavonia]], Dalmatia and [[Place:Podolia|Podolia]] to the victorious Habsburgs, Venetians, and Poles. After this, Venice captured a part of Ragusa's inland area and approached its borders. They presented the threat of completely surrounding and cutting off Ragusa's trade inland. In view of this danger and anticipating the defeat of the Otomans in 1684 Ragusa sent emissaries to Emperor Leopold in Vienna, hoping that the Austrian Army would capture Bosnia. Fortunately for the Republic, the Ottomans retained control over their hinterland. With the 26 January 1699 peace agreement, the Republic of Ragusa ceded two patches of its coast to the Ottoman Empire so that the Republic of Venice would be unable to attack from land, only from the sea. One of them, the northwestern land border with the small town of Neum, is today the only outlet of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Adriatic Sea. The southeastern border village of Sutorina later became part of Montenegro, which has coastline to the south. Ragusa continued its policy of strict neutrality in the War of Austrian succession (1741–48) and in the Seven Years' War (1756–63).

 [[File:Tallero Ragusa 1752-131252.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Ragusan ducat of 1753 with the effigy of the sitting Rector]]
 [[File:Ragusa-flags French-Encyclopedie.gif|thumb|Flags of the Republic of Ragusa in the 18th century, according to the French ''[[History:Encyclopédie|Encyclopédie]]'']]
In 1783 the Ragusan Council did not answer the proposition put forward by their diplomatic representative in Paris, Frano Favi, that they should establish diplomatic relations with America, although the Americans agreed to allow Ragusan ships free passage in their ports.

The first years of the French war were prosperous for Ragusa. The flag of Saint Blaise being neutral, the Republic became one of the chief carriers of the Mediterranean. The Continental blockade was the life of Ragusa; and before the rise of Lissa the manufactures of England, excluded from the ports of France, Italy, Holland, and Germany, found their way to the centre of Europe through Saloniki and Ragusa.

=== French occupation ===
The Battle of Austerlitz and the consequent peace treaty, having compelled Austria to hand over Dalmatia to France, put Ragusa in a dilemma. The nearby Bay of Kotor was a Venetian frontier against the Ottomans. But while France held the land, the United Kingdom and Russia held the sea; and while French troops marched from Austerlitz to Dalmatia, eleven Russian [[Engineering:Ship of the line|ships of the line]] entered the Bay of Kotor, and landed 6,000 men, later supported by 16,000 Montenegrins under Petar I Petrović-Njegoš. As 5,000 Frenchmen under General Molitor marched southwards and peacefully took control of the fortresses of Dalmatia, the Russians pressed the senators of Ragusa to allow them to occupy the city, as it was an important fortress – thus anticipating France might block the further progress to Kotor. As there is no way from Dalmatia to Kotor but through Ragusa, General Molitor was equally abundant in trying to win Ragusa's support.

"Dear as this land is to me," said Count Vlaho Caboga, "consecrated as it is to our affections by its venerable institutions, its wise laws, and the memory of illustrious ancestors, it will henceforth cease to deserve the name of patria, if its independence be subverted. With our large fleet of merchantmen, let us embark our wives and our children, our state treasures and our laws, and ask of the Sultan an island in the Archipelago, which may become a new Epidaurus, and the sanctuary of our time-honoured institutions."{{citation needed|date=March 2010}}

Serious as the dilemma was, the senators were unprepared for so desperate a remedy. A large majority were for opening the gates to Russia; however, that would expose them to the vengeance of Napoleon, then in the zenith of his ambition and military power, so the occupation of the city was assigned to the French under General Jacques Lauriston. Soon thereafter, the Russian force moved to besiege the city, accompanied by the Montenegrins which was equipped to the standards of the Russian army, but the officers and generals of the army quite hated the Ragusans for their betrayal of Montenegro during Šćepan Mali's rule. The environs, thick with villas, the results of a long prosperity, were plundered, including half a million [[Finance:Pound sterling|sterling]].

The city was in the utmost straits; General Molitor, who had advanced within a few days' march of Ragusa, made an appeal to the Dalmatians to rise and expel the Russian–Montenegrin force, which met with a feeble response. Only three hundred men joined him, but a stratagem made up for his deficiency of numbers. A letter, seemingly confidential, was despatched to General Lauriston in Ragusa, announcing his proximate arrival to raise the siege with such a force of Dalmatians as must overwhelm Russians and the vast Montenegrin army; which letter was, as intended by Molitor, intercepted and believed by the besieging Russians. With his force thinly scattered, to make up a show, Molitor now advanced towards Ragusa, and turning the Montenegrin position in the valley behind, threatened to surround the Russians who occupied the summit of the hill between him and the city; but seeing the risk of this, the Russians retreated back towards the Bay of Kotor, and the city was relieved. The Montenegrin army had followed the order of Admiral Dmitry Senyavin who was in charge of the Russian troops, and retreated to [[Place:Cetinje|Cetinje]].

=== End of the Republic ===
[[File:Marmont.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Marshal Auguste de Marmont, Duke of Ragusa during French rule]]
Around the year 1800, the Republic had a highly organized network of consulates and consular offices in more than eighty cities and ports around the world. In 1806, the Republic surrendered to forces of the [[Place:First French Empire|Empire of France]]<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=e8YJAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA378 Dalmatia and Montenegro: Volume 2] by Sir John Gardner Wilkinson</ref> to end a months-long siege by the Russian fleets and the Montenegrin army (during which 3,000 cannonballs fell on the city). The French lifted the siege and saved Ragusa. The French army, led by Napoleon, entered Ragusa in 1806. In 1808, Marshal Marmont abolished the Republic of Ragusa and amalgamated its territory into the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, himself becoming the "Duke of Ragusa" (''Duc de Raguse''). In 1810 Ragusa, with all Dalmatia, went to the newly created French Illyrian Provinces. Later, in the 1814 Battle of Paris, Marmont abandoned Napoleon and was branded a traitor. The word ''ragusade'' was coined in French to signify treason and ''raguser'' meant a cheat.

The Ragusan nobility were disunited in their ideas and political behavior. Article "44" of the ''1811 Decree'' abolished the centuries-old institution of ''fideicommissum'' in inheritance law, by which the French enabled younger noblemen to participate in that part of the family inheritance, which the former law had deprived them of. According to an 1813 inventory of the Dubrovnik district, 451 land proprietors were registered, including ecclesiastical institutions and the commune. Although there is no evidence of the size of their estates, the nobles, undoubtedly, were in possession of most of the land. Eleven members of the Sorgo family, eight of Gozze, six of Ghetaldi, six of Pozza, four of Zamagna and three of the Saraca family were among the greatest landowners. Ragusan citizens belonging to the confraternities of St. Anthony and St. Lazarus owned considerable land outside the City.

Regardless of the events taking place in the City, it was besieged by a Habsburg force under Todor Milutinović helped by the British Royal Navy, who had enjoyed unopposed domination over the Adriatic sea. Captain William Hoste joined the siege in late January 1814 with his ships HMS ''Bacchante'' and {{HMS|Saracen|1812|6}}. They hauled cannon up the hill and after a two-day bombardment the French with 500 troops under General Joseph de Montrichard settled the surrender of the City under honorable terms. With the aim of avoiding greater conflict, the [[Place:Austrian Empire|Austrian]]s agreed to the French conditions. General Milutinović promised that the victorious Montenegrin, Austrian, and British armies would not march into the city before the last Frenchman had left the city by ship.

The Great Council of the Ragusan nobility (as the assembly of 44 patricians who had been members of the Great Council before the Republic was abolished by France) met for the last time on 18 January 1814 in the Villa Giorgi in Mokošica, Ombla, with the efforts to re-establish the Republic of Ragusa eventually failing.

On 27 January, the French capitulation was signed in Gruž and ratified the same day. It was then that Biagio Bernardo Caboga openly sided with the Austrians, dismissing the rebel army in Konavle. Meanwhile, Đivo Natali and his men were still waiting outside the Ploče Gates. After almost eight years of occupation, the French troops marched out of Dubrovnik on 27 and 28 January 1814. On the afternoon of 28 January 1814, the Austrian and British troops made their way into the city through the Pile Gates, denying admission to the Ragusa rebels. Intoxicated by success, and with Caboga's support, General Milutinović ignored the agreement he had made with the nobility in Gruž. The events which followed can be best epitomized in the so-called flag episode.<ref name="Cosic2000">{{cite journal |title=Dubrovnik Under French Rule (1810–1814) |first=Stjepan |last=Ćosić |url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/file/12648 |format=PDF |journal=Dubrovnik Annals |year=2000 |issue=4 |pages=103–142 |accessdate=11 September 2009}}</ref>{{rp|141}}

The Flag of Saint Blaise was flown alongside the Austrian and British colors, but only for two days because, on 30 January, General Milutinović ordered Mayor Sabo Giorgi to lower it. Overwhelmed by a feeling of deep patriotic pride, Giorgi, the last Rector of the Republic and a loyal francophile, refused to do so "for the masses had hoisted it". Subsequent events proved that Austria took every possible opportunity to invade the entire coast of the eastern Adriatic, from Venice to Kotor. The allies did everything in their power to eliminate the Ragusa issue at the [[Organization:Congress of Vienna|Congress of Vienna]]. Ragusan representative Miho Bona, elected at the last meeting of the Great Council, was denied participation in the Congress, while Milutinović, prior to the final agreement of the allies, assumed complete control of the city.<ref name="Cosic2000"/>{{rp|141–142}}

At the Congress of Vienna, Ragusa and the territories of the former Republic were made part of the crown land of the [[History:Kingdom of Dalmatia|Kingdom of Dalmatia]], ruled by the Habsburg Monarchy, after 1868 known as the [[Place:Austria-Hungary|Austria-Hungary]], which it remained a part of until 1918.

After the fall of the Republic most of the aristocracy died out or emigrated overseas; around one fifth of the noble families were recognized by the Habsburg Monarchy. Some of the families that were recognized and survived were the Ghetaldi-Gundula, Gozze, Kaboga, Sorgo, Zlatarić, Zamagna, Pozza, Gradi and Bona.

[[File:Dubrovnik Republic in Croatia.png|thumb|right|300px|Location of the Republic of Ragusa within present-day Croatia]]

== Government ==

[[File:Platz in Dubrovnik.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The Rector's Palace (the seat of the Rector, the Minor Council, the Senate and the administration of the Republic from the 14th century to 1808), behind it the Sponza Palace]]

The Republican Constitution of Ragusa was strictly aristocratic. The population was divided into three classes: nobility, citizens, and  plebeians, who were mainly artisans and peasants (serfs, coloni and freemen). All effective power was concentrated in the hands of the aristocracy. The citizens were permitted to hold only minor offices, while plebeians had no voice in government. Marriage between members of different classes of the society was forbidden.

The organization of the government was based on the [[Place:Republic of Venice#Government|Venetian model]]: the administrative bodies were the Grand Council (Great Council, ''Consilium maius'', ''Maggior Consiglio''), the Small Council (Minor Council, ''Consilium minus'', ''Minor Consiglio'') (from 1238) and the Senate (''Consilium rogatorum'', ''Consiglio dei Pregadi'') from 1253. The head of the state was the Rector.

[[File:KHM Wien A 141 - Ceremonial sword of the Rector of the Republic of Ragusa, 1466.jpg|thumb|100px|Ceremonial sword of the Rector of Ragusa, donated 1466 by King Matthias Corvinus as a sign of his judicial authority]]
The Grand Council consisted only of members of the aristocracy; every noble took his seat at the age of 18 (from 1332 when the council was "closed" and only male members of Ragusian noble families had seat in it - ''Serrata del Maggior Consiglio Raguseo''). It was the supreme governing and legislative body which (after 1358) elected other councils, officials and the Rector.

Every year, members of the Small Council were elected by the Grand Council. Together with the Rector, the Small Council had both executive and ceremonial functions. It consisted first of eleven members and after 1667 of seven members.

The main power was in the hands of the Senate, which had 45 members over 40 years of age, elected for one year also by the Grand Council. First it had only consultative functions, later (during the 16th century) the Senate became the real government of the Republic. In the 18th century the Senate was ''de facto'' the highest institution of the Republic and senators became "nobles of the nobility".
 
While the Republic was under the rule of Venice (1204&ndash;1358), the duke - head of the state ([[Social:Latin language|Latin]]: ''comes'', [[Social:Italian language|Italian]]: ''conte'', Croatian: ''knez'') was Venetian; but after 1358 the elected Rector (from 1358 nominal head of the state was known as [[Social:Latin language|Latin]]: ''rector'', [[Social:Italian language|Italian]]: ''rettore'', Croatian: ''knez'') was always a person from the Republic of Ragusa chosen by the Grand Council. The length of the Rector's service was only one month, and a person was eligible for reelection after two years. The rector lived and worked in the Rector's Palace.

This organization was designed to prevent any single family from gaining absolute control, such as the Medici had done in [[Place:Florence|Florence]]. Nevertheless, historians agree that the Giorgi and Sorgo families generally had the greatest influence (especially during the 18th century).

Until the 15th century, judicial functions were in the hand of the Small Council, then a separate civil court and criminal court were established, leaving the Small Council and the Senate only supreme appellate jurisdiction. Judges of the criminal and civil court were Ragusan patricians elected annually by the Grand Council.

The officials known as ''provveditori'' supervised the work and acts of the councils, courts, and other officials. Known as the "guardians of justice", they could suspend decisions of the Small Council, presenting them to the Senate for final deliberation. ''Provveditori'' were annually elected by the Grand Council among patricians above 50 years of age.

The government of the Republic was liberal in character and early showed its concern for justice and humanitarian principles, but also conservative considering government structure and social order. An inscription on the Council's offices read: ''Obliti privatorum publica curate'' (Manage the public affairs as if you had no private interests). The Republic's flag had the word ''Libertas'' (freedom) on it, and the entrance to the Saint Lawrence fortress (Lovrijenac) just outside the Ragusa city walls bears the inscription ''Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro'' (Liberty can not be sold for all the gold of the world). The slave trade was forbidden in 1416. The Republic was a staunch opponent of the [[Religion:Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox Church]] and only Roman Catholics could acquire Ragusan citizenship.

===Aristocracy===
The city was ruled by the aristocracy, and marriage between members of three different social classes was strictly forbidden. The Ragusan aristocracy<ref>Patrick Doreian, Vladimir Batagelj and Anuška Ferligoj (1998) {{cite web|url= http://vlado.fmf.uni-lj.si/pub/preprint/Joc00.pdf |title=Symmetric-Acyclic Decompositions of Networks }}&nbsp;{{small|(130&nbsp;[[Kibibyte|KiB]])}}, to appear in ''[[Journal of Classification]]''</ref> evolved in the 12th century through the 14th century. It was finally established by statute in 1332. New families were accepted only after the earthquake in 1667.

The Ragusan archives document, ''Speculum Maioris Consilii Rectores'', lists all the persons that were involved in the Republic's government between September 1440 and January 1808. Of 4397 rectors elected, 2764 (63%) were from "old patrician" families: Gozze, Bona, Caboga, Cerva, Ghetaldi, Giorgi, Gradi, Pozza, Saraca, Sorgo, and Zamanya. An 1802 list of the republic's governing bodies showed that six of the eight Small Council and 15 of the 20 Great Council members were from the same 11 families.

Because of the decrease of their numbers and lack of noble families in the neighborhood (the surroundings of Dubrovnik was under Ottoman control) the aristocracy became increasingly closely related, and marriages between relatives of the third and fourth degree were frequent.

=== Relations among the nobility ===
 [[File:Ragusan People.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Ragusan clothing]]
The nobility survived even when the classes were divided by internal disputes. When Marmont arrived in Dubrovnik in 1808, the nobility was divided into two blocks, the "Salamankezi" (''Salamanquinos'') and the "Sorbonezi" (''Sorboneses''). These names alluded to a certain controversy arisen from the wars between Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and King Francis I of France, which happened some 250 years previously. After the 1667 earthquake killed many nobles, some plebeians were introduced into the noble class. The "salamanquinos", those in favor of Spanish [[Social:Absolutism (European history)|absolutism]], did not treat these new nobles like equals; but the inclined "sorboneses", who sided with the French and to a certain liberalism, accepted them. Both sides retained their status and were seated together in the Council, but they did not maintain social relations and did not even greet each other in the streets; an inconvenient marriage between members of both groups was as striking as if it occurred between members of different classes. This social split was also reflected in the plebeians, who were divided into the rival brotherhoods of Saint Antony and Saint Lazarus, which were as unfriendly in their relations as the "salamanquinos" and "sorboneses".

== Coat of arms ==
Today the coat of arms of Ragusa, in its red and blue version, can be seen in the coat of arms on the Croatian flag as it constitutes a historic part of Croatia.

== Population ==
Records that date back as far as 1605 show that there was a numerous Vlach population. In Dalmatia the inhabitants of such cities as Split, Zadar, Trogir and Ragusa long continued to use the Latin speech. In order to destinguish between themselves and the mountain shepherds (Aromanians, Kutzo-Vlachs or Macedo-Romanians) they took referring to the latter as Black Vlachs/Morlachs<ref>Stanko Guldescu, The Croatian-Slavonian Kingdom: 1526–1792,Mouton, The hague. Paris,1970, p.69</ref>

Vekaric (1998) used tax evidence from the Dubrovnik littoral ({{lang-hr|Dubrovačko Primorje}}) and a census to find that the Republic of Dubrovnik (Ragusa) had a population of nearly ninety thousand by 1500. From then to 1700 the population declined: in the first half of the 16th century it had more than 50,000 inhabitants; in the second half of the 16th century, between 50,000 and 60,000; in the 1630s, about 40,000; and in 1673–74, only 26,000 inhabitants. In the second half of the 15th century, due to Turkish expansion, Dubrovnik received a large number of Christian refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina, offering them the less fertile land. Numerous epidemics, the Candian War of 1645&ndash;69, the 1667 earthquake, and emigration greatly reduced the population levels. The population of the republic never again reached its previous levels.<ref>Nenad Vekaric, "[http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=61245 The Population of the Dubrovnik Republic in the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Centuries]," ''Dubrovnik Annals'' 1998, Vol. 2, p7-28</ref>

== Languages ==
The republic was a polyglottic society. The official language until 1472 was Latin. Later, the Senate of the Republic decided that the official language of the Republic would be the Ragusan dialect of the Romance [[Social:Dalmatian language|Dalmatian language]], as opposed to the Slavic vernacular (Serbo-Croatian or Croatian), which was also forbidden for use in senatorial debate. The aristocracy (''gospari'') slowly lost their Dalmatian language over the centuries.

Although Latin was in official use until 1492, by the end of the 14th century inhabitants of the republic were mostly native speakers of Croatian.<ref name=Lodge/><ref name = MarilynCvitanic112>{{cite book |last= Cvitanic |first = Marilyn |page=112 |url= |title=Culture and Customs of Croatia |year=2010 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn= 978-0-313-35117-4}}</ref> Dalmatian was also spoken in the city. [[Social:Italian language|Italian]], official since 1492, as spoken in the republic, was heavily influenced by the Venetian language and Tuscan dialect. Italian took root among the Dalmatian Romance-speaking merchant upper classes as a result of Venetian influence.<ref>{{citation |title = La presenza italiana in Dalmazia 1866–1943 |format = Tesi |first = Laurea |last = di Scaglioni Marzio |publisher=Facoltà di Scienze politiche, Università degli studi di Milano |url = http://xoomer.alice.it/histria/storiaecultura/testiedocumenti/tesiscaglioni/indexscaglioni.htm |trans-title=The Italian presence in Dalmatia 1866–1943 |language = Italian |place = Milano, IT}}.</ref>

There is still some debate over whether Shtokavian or Chakavian was the oldest vernacular in Ragusa. The oldest Slavic documents and the earlier prose was Shtokavian, while 16th-century poetry was Chakavian.<ref name="Birnbaum1974">{{cite book|author=Henrik Birnbaum|title=On Medieval and Renaissance Slavic Writing: Selected Essays|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f6SdCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA343|date=1 January 1974|publisher=De Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-088591-0|pages=343–}}</ref>

When Ragusa was part of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, between 1808 and 1810, the Italian language was still in official use.

== Ragusan literature ==

 [[File:Tears of the Prodigal Son.jpg|thumb|200px|right|''Tears of the Prodigal Son'', cover of the 1622 edition by Ivan Gundulić, Croatian Baroque poet]]
Ragusan literature, in which Latin, Italian and Croatian languages coexisted, blossomed in the 15th and 16th centuries.<ref>Heinrich F. Plett (1993). ''Renaissance Rhetoric/Renaissance-Rhetorik'', Walter de Gruyter, {{ISBN|3-11-013567-1}}</ref>

According to Graubard:
{{quote|During the Renaissance era, Venetian-ruled Dalmatia and Ragusa gave birth to influential intellectuals – mostly minor aristocrats and clergymen, Jesuits especially – who kept alive the memory of Croatia and the Croatian language when they composed or translated plays and books from Italian and Latin into the vernacular. No matter that the dialects of Dalmatia and Dubrovnik were different from each other ... and both these dialects were somewhat different from the dialect of Zagreb, capital of the Habsburg-ruled north. They still thought of it as Croatian. ... The Dubrovnik poet ''Dominko Zlatarić'' (1555–1610) explained on the frontispiece of his 1597 translation of Sophocles' tragedy Elektra and Tasso's Aminta that it had been "iz veće tudieh jezika u Hrvacki izlozene," "translated from more foreign languages in Croatian.<ref>Stephen R. Graubard (1998). ''A New Europe for the Old?'', Transaction Publishers, {{ISBN|0-7658-0465-4}}</ref>}}

Croatian was normally spoken among lower classes, Italian among the upper. Ragusans were in general bilingual, speaking Croatian in common day-to-day duties and Italian in official occasions or mixing both. Literary works of famous Ragusans were written in both Croatian and Italian. Among them are the works of writers Džore Držić, Marin Držić, Ivan Bunić Vučić, Ignjat Đurđević, Ivan Gundulić, Šišmundo (Šiško) Menčetić, and Dinko Ranjina.

The Croatian language works from the Republic of Ragusa had a large role in the developing of Croatian literature and the modern Croatian language, Dubrovnik Shtokavian dialect having been basis for the Standard Croatian language. Writers from the 16th to the 19th century (before the Age of Romantic National Awakenings) that were explicit in declaring themselves as Croats and their language as Croatian included Vladislav Menčetić, Dominko (Dinko) Zlatarić, Bernardin Pavlović, Mavro Vetranović, Nikola Nalješković, Junije Palmotić, Jakov Mikalja, Joakim Stulli, Marko Bruerović, Peter Ignaz Sorgo, Antun Sorkočević (1749–1826), and Franatica Sorkočević (1706–71).{{Citation needed|date=July 2018}}

== Ethnic groups ==
The inhabitants of the Republic of Ragusa were{{when|date=October 2016}} Catholics and spoke the local variant of the Shtokavian dialect, the same dialect upon which modern Croatian, Bosnian, [[Organization:Montenegrin language|Montenegrin]] and [[Social:Serbian language|Serbian]] are all based. Among the modern South Slavic nations, Ragusans are mostly attributed to Croats.<ref>Hastings, Adrian, ''The construction of nationhood: ethnicity, religion, and nationalism''; Cambridge University Press, 1997 {{ISBN|0-521-62544-0}}</ref><ref>Matjaž Klemenčič, Mitja Žagar; ''The former Yugoslavia's diverse peoples: a reference sourcebook''; ABC-CLIO, 2004 {{ISBN|1-57607-294-0}}</ref> However, discussions on the subject of Ragusan ethnicity are mainly based on revised concepts which developed after the fall of the Republic; in particular, the time of Romantic Nationalism resulting from the {{wipe|French Revolution}}. Before this, states in general were not based on the contemporary unifying concepts such as nation, language or ethnicity; loyalty was chiefly to family, city, and (among Catholics such as the Ragusans) the Church. Vlachs, also named Morlachs were dwelling inside the walls of Ragusa but majority of them were shepherds,
guards or carters living inside Dalmatia.

The great cartographer Muhammad al-Idrisi in 1154 considered Dubrovnik a part of Croatia (''Grwasiah'') and mentions it as the last Croatian coastal city in his book ''Nuzhat al-Mushataq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq'' ({{lang-en|Joy for those who wish to sail over the world}}).{{sfn|Bresc|Nef|1999|p=387}}<ref name="Oman"/><ref>See ''Tabula Rogeriana''.</ref>

==Currency==
The Republic of Ragusa used various currencies over time and in a variety of systems, including the Artiluc, perpera, dukat and libertine.

==See also==
*List of notable Ragusans
*Walls of Dubrovnik
*Septinsular Republic
*Republic of Poljica

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Sources==
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite book|ref=harv|last1=Bresc|first1=Henri|last2=Nef|first2=Annliese|title=La première géographie de l'Occident|publisher=Flammarion|isbn=9782080710697|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zixvQgAACAAJ|year=1999}}
*{{cite book|ref=harv|last=Harris|first=Robin|title=Dubrovnik, A History|publisher=Saqi Books|isbn=0-86356-332-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?hl=de&id=9GxpAAAAMAAJ|year=2003}}
* Tomaz, Luigi, ''Il confine d'Italia in Istria e Dalmazia. Duemila anni di storia'', Think ADV, Conselve 2007.
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
*D'Atri, Stefano. "Ragusa (Dubrovnik) In Eta Moderna: Alcune Considerazioni Storiografiche," [Ragusa (Dubrovnik) in the modern era: some historiographic considerations] ''Societa e Storia''(giu 2005), Vol. 28 Issue 109, p599-609, covers 1500 to 1600
* Delis, Apostolos. "Shipping Finance and Risks in Sea Trade during the French Wars: Maritime Loan Operations in the Republic of Ragusa" ''International Journal of Maritime History'' (June 2012) 24#1 pp 229–242
*{{cite book|title=Dubrovačko Veliko vijeće|last=Rešetar|first=Milan|year=1929|language=Serbo-Croatian}}
* Vekaric, Nenad. "[http://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=61245 The Population of the Dubrovnik Republic in the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Centuries]," ''Dubrovnik Annals'' 1998, Vol. 2, pp 7–28
*{{cite book|author=Harriet Bjelovučić|title=The Ragusan Republic: Victim of Napoleon and Its Own Conservatism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f-cUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA171|year=1970|publisher=Brill Archive|pages=171–|id=GGKEY:1ERFSC27Z6S}}
*{{cite book|author=Antun Ničetić|title=Povijest Dubrovačke luke|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G7MzAAAAMAAJ|year=1996|publisher=Hrvatska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti u Zagrebu|isbn=978-953-154-038-4}}
*{{cite book|last=Luetić|first=Josip|title=Brodari i pomorci Dubrovačke republike|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yIvtAAAAMAAJ|date=1 January 1997|publisher=Nakladni zavod Matice hrvatske|isbn=978-953-6014-68-2}}
*{{cite book|last=Luetić|first=Josip|title=O Pomorstvu Dubrovacke Republike U XVII.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58bRAAAAMAAJ|year=1959}}
*{{cite book|last=Luetić|first=Josip|title=Mornarica Dubrovačke Republike|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8u0quAAACAAJ|year=1962|publisher=Dubrovački odbor za proslavu dvadesetogodišnjice mornarice}}
*{{cite book|last=Luetić|first=Josip|title=Brodovlje Dubrovačke Republike XVII stoljeća|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SMfRAAAAMAAJ|year=1964|publisher=Jugoslavenska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti u Zagrebu, Pomorski muzej}}
*{{cite book|last=Luetić|first=Josip|title=O državnoj zastavi Dubrovačke Republike|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tn3RAAAAMAAJ|year=1967|publisher=Društvo za proučavanje i unapređenje pomorstva Jugoslavije}}
*{{cite book|author=Dragan Roler|title=Agrarno-proizvodni odnosi na području Dubrovačke Republike: od XIII. do XV. stoljeća|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KQsZAAAAIAAJ|year=1955|publisher=Jugoslavenska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti}}
*{{cite book|last=Kostić|first=Lazo M.|title=Nasilno prisvajanje dubrovačke kulture: kulturno-istorijska i etnopolitička studija|url=|year=1975|publisher=|location=Melbourne}}
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last=Orbini|first=Mauro|year=1601|title=Il Regno de gli Slavi hoggi corrottamente detti Schiavoni|location=Pesaro|publisher=Apresso Girolamo Concordia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fx3OntcdUkQC}}
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last=Орбин|first=Мавро|year=1968|title=Краљевство Словена|location=Београд|publisher=Српска књижевна задруга|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MduZAAAAIAAJ}}
*{{cite book|author=Ratko Pasarić-Dubrovčanin|title=Srpsko-pravoslavno žiteljstvo zapadnih krajeva Dubrovačke Republike do u 14. stoljeće: Ston, Stonski Rât, Primorje|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZBrkAAAAMAAJ|year=1983|publisher=Srpska pravoslavna eparhija zagrebačka}}
*{{cite book|author=Josip Lučić|title=Spisi dubrovačke kancelarije|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yb3pnQEACAAJ|date=1980|publisher=Academia scientiarum et artium slavorum meridionalium}}
*{{cite book|author=Jean Dayre|title=Dubrovačke studije|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C98YAAAAMAAJ|year=1938|publisher=Redovno Izdanje Matice Hrvatske}}
*{{cite book|author=Lujo Vojnović|title=Kratka istorija Dubrovačke Republike|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J8IZAAAAIAAJ|year=1962|publisher=Marica Schidlof-Vojnović}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.dubrovnik-online.net/english/history.php Historical facts about Dubrovnik], from Dubrovnik Online
* [http://www.rbvex.it/ragusa.html Flags of Ragusa] {{it icon}}
* [http://www.roth37.it/COINS/Ragusa/index.html Storia e monetazione di Ragusa, oggi Dubrovnik (Dalmazia)] {{it icon}}
* [https://www.google.cl/books?id=A9MBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA211 ''Dalmatia and Montenegro''] by John Gardner Wilkinson, on [[Google Books]]
*[https://www.google.cl/books?id=RtQJAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA1 ''Aus Dalmatien''], by Ida Reinsberg-Düringsfeld (1857), on [[Google Books]]
*[https://www.google.cl/books?id=JIztEHioIYUC&pg=PA337 ''Universal Geography: Republic of Ragusa''], on [[Google Books]]
*[https://www.google.cl/books?id=6v8XAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA207 ''Bibliografia della Dalmazia e del Montenegro''], by Giuseppe Valentinelli, on [[Google Books]]
*[https://www.google.cl/books?id=9w4YAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA216 ''Bibliografia hrvatska''], Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski, on [[Google Books]] {{hr icon}}
*[https://www.google.cl/books?id=5NwBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1 ''Geschichte des Freystaates Ragusa''] by Johann Christian von Engel, on [[Google Books]] {{de icon}}
*[https://www.google.cl/books?id=Eq8kAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA242 ''The Ethnology of Europe''] by Robert Gordon Latham, on [[Google Books]]
*[https://www.google.cl/books?id=IBS_kaeJB08C&pg=PA31 ''Austria in 1848–49: Dalmatia''] by William Henry Stiles, on [[Google Books]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070818025216/http://www.marylandciviceducation.org/croatia/ragusa.htm Ragusa, the American Revolution, and Diplomatic Relations, 1763–1783]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070818025034/http://www.marylandciviceducation.org/croatia/francesicofavi.htm Francesico Favi, the Treaty of Paris of 1783, and Ragusan Commercial Trade with the United States]
*[https://books.google.cl/books?id=vUMTAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA2-PA192&dq=caboga+gondola&lr=&as_brr=1 Notizie Istorico-Critiche Sulle Antichita Storia de Letteratura dei Ragusei] by Francesco Maria Appendini.


{{DEFAULTSORT:Ragusa, Republic}}

{{Sourceattribution|Republic of Ragusa|1}}