illvedere:Location of the Republic of Ragusa within the boundaries of present-day Croatia.The Rector
illvedere:Location of the Republic of Ragusa within the boundaries of present-day Croatia.The Rector’s Palace and behind it the Sponza Palace. The Republic of Ragusa, or Republic of Dubrovnik,was a maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik (Ragusa in Italian and Latin) in Dalmatia (today in southernmost Croatia), that existed from 1358 to 1808. It reached its commercial peak in the 15th and the 16th centuries, before being conquered by Napoleon’s French Empire in 1808. It had a population of about 30,000 people, of whom 5,000 lived within the city walls. It had the motto Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro (Latin for “Liberty is not well sold for all the gold”).The Republican Constitution of Ragusa was strictly aristocratic. The population was divided into three classes: nobility, citizens, and artisans or plebeians. All effective power was concentrated in the hands of 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 Venetian model: the administrative bodies were the Grand Council (supreme governing body) and the Small Council (executive power) (from 1238) and the Senate (from 1253). The head of the state was the Rector, elected for a term of office for one month.The government of the Republic was liberal in character and early showed its concern for justice and humanitarian principles. 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 Republic imposed some restrictions on the slave trade in 1416. The Republic was also a staunch opponent of the Eastern Orthodox Church and only Roman Catholics could acquire Ragusan citizenship.The nominal head of state was the Ragusan Duke, while during the period of Venetian suzerainty the rector held considerable influence. Real power, however, was in the hands of three councils that were held by the nobility. -- source link
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