Mediterranean trade after AD 1200 was controlled by Italian towns including Genoa and Venice.
Italian city-states controlled trade on the Mediterranean Sea during the late Middle Ages.
Venice and Rome are some examples. However, Italy collectively truly controlled the Mediterranean trade route.
Venice and Genova.
Rome and Carthage fought each other for the control of the Mediterranean trade. Whoever controlled the trade routs, controlled the wealth.
During the Middle Ages, trade on the Mediterranean Sea was primarily controlled by a combination of Italian city-states, such as Venice, Genoa, and Pisa, which established powerful maritime republics. These cities dominated trade routes and established networks for the exchange of goods, including spices, textiles, and precious metals. Additionally, the Byzantine Empire and later the Ottoman Empire played significant roles in controlling trade, particularly in the eastern Mediterranean. This dynamic led to a complex interplay of commerce, politics, and culture throughout the region.
Italy as a united country has never controlled trade with Arabs. The city-state of Venice controlled the spice trade along with the Arabs in 1500s and 1600s, but most other forms of trade in Italy were dispersed throughout different provinces at different time periods.
Italy
Some of the Italian city states that controlled trade in the 1200's were Venice, Florence, Milan, and Siena.
Venetian inspired assault on Constantinople
They were centrally located near the Mediterranean Sea
Ottoman Empire
it qa