Pylos Regional Archaeological Project, Part VI: Administration and Settlement in Venetian Navarino

by Siriol Davies

Hesperia, Volume 73, Issue 1
Page(s): 59-120
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3182019
Year: 2004
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ABSTRACT:

Documentary sources dating from the Venetian occupation of the Peloponnese (1688-1715) confirm a pattern, established by the late 17th century, of Ottoman estates dominating the lowland plain while the majority of Greeks lived in inland villages. The Venetians encouraged migration to the cities in an attempt to create an urban society that would support their administration. They failed to achieve this aim, as this study of Venetian Navarino shows, not only for lack of an urban tradition, but also because their policies for land distribution and taxation did not provide political or economic incentives for moving to the city. As a result, the settlement pattern in the Peloponnese remained remarkably stable throughout the Venetian occupation.