Ottoman–Venetian peace treaty (1419)

Background

In early 1416, the Ottoman fleet under the command of Chali Bey, attacked the islands of the Duchy of the Archipelago, a vassal of the Republic of Venice. The Ottomans then tried to intercept the Venetian trade convoys from the Black Sea, and attacked the Venetian colony of Negroponte, carrying off 1,500 inhabitants as prisoners. In response to the Ottoman raids, in April 1416 the Signoria appointed Pietro Loredan as captain-general and charged him with equipping a fleet of a dozen vessels and sail to Gallipoli with envoys to the Sultan. If the Ottomans refused to negotiate, Loredan was authorized to fight. In the event, Loredan's fleet was attacked by the Ottomans off Gallipoli, but Loredan scored a crushing victory on 29 May 1416. Nevertheless the conflict continued unresolved until a final conclusion of a peace treaty signed by the Venetian envoys Andrea Foscolo and Delfino Venier. Older historians placed the conclusion of the peace treaty in July 1416, but it is now put in November 1419.

Provisions

Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos volunteered to be the mediator, and the two sides agreed on the following:

1. Prisoners of war from both sides (those taken at Negroponte by the Ottomans and at Gallipoli by the Venetians) were exchanged.
2. The Duchy of the Archipelago was recognized as an independent party.
3. The rights of both parties to trade in each other's territories were affirmed.
4. The Sultan recognized, by name, Venetian control over 38 fortresses, islands, and localities in the Aegean and the coasts of the Balkans.
5. Venice promised to pay an annual tribute of 100 ducats to the Sultan for control of Lepanto, and of 200 ducats for Alessio, Drivasto, and Scutari.