A close examination of Yugoslav literature based on the Archives of Ragusa, the Maritime Museum, and other depositories in those parts of the eastern Adriatic which have had a world-wide historical orientation and experience,1 reveals the existence of a considerable wealth of unsuspected archival materials of interest for Hispanic American colonial history from its beginning in the days of Columbus to its end, three centuries later, in the time of Bolívar. Works recently published by the academies of science, by historical associations in Belgrade, Zagreb, Dubrovnik (Ragusa), and by other local centers of learning provide increasing evidence to this effect. Since the end of World War II five new institutes have been founded in the ancient maritime cities of Dalmatia and Bocche di Cattaro, and these have already produced important new results.2 Of particular significance are references to ships and navigation, but information on other themes may also be found.
Historians engaged in research in these 16th, 17th, and 18th century archival sources have, however, made investigations in the realm of Hispanic American scholarly interest as part of their national and regional historical studies or in some other incidental manner and have accordingly given us only fragmentary materials and concepts.
Within several specific areas of research, the more relevant details which I have been able to gather together from the published sources and transcripts at this stage are here summarized.
1. Cooperation of Ragusan Ships
The main reservoir of the greatest interest from the point of view of Hispanic American history is provided by that category of local material which throws light on the participation of Ragusan war and cargo ships in the navigation between Spain and America. The far-reaching significance of this largely unexplored research area can be properly understood only when we bear in mind the consequences of the momentous decision adopted by the Ragusans in the latter half of the 16th century (c. 1580) to transfer their large fighting fleets and their merchant marine from the Levant and the Far East to the Atlantic and the Caribbean3 and to place them at the disposal of the Spanish kings to be used in the Flota and the Galleons for the protection of transoceanic lines of communication, operation of the convoy system, transportation of the American bullion and trade, and generally as a contribution to the Hispanic American maritime defense.
Certain vessels participated in groups called Hispanic-Ragusan squadrons,4 while others acted singly.5
The research worker who enters this area may look for possible information on the following specific themes: 1) numerical strength and capacity of Ragusan ships cooperating with Spain; 2) organization and forms of Ragusan cooperation; and 3) history of Ragusan cooperation.
The fragmentary and incomplete data already made public enable us to conduct further inquiries on the basis of a series of established facts almost entirely unknown6 outside of the local area.
Luetic says:7 “Many Ragusan ships were used for the benefit of other states, mostly in the service of Spain.”
Incomplete statistical information so far offered about the Ragusan ships employed in the operations of the convoy system in the Indies shows8 that the Hispanic-Ragusan squadrons which escorted the American transports along the threatened transatlantic routes in the latter half of the 16th century were composed at certain periods of as many as twelve ships, normally galleons equipped for war. No less enlightening numerical details are provided about the Ragusan vessels which cooperated with the Spanish armadas, both as part of the Hispanic-Ragusan squadrons and otherwise, within the broader Atlantic belt controlling the approaches to the coasts of America. Tadic9 cites a document (Litterae et Commissiones Ponentis, IV, 106, Seac. XVI)10 which shows that according to the information given by the Ragusan Ambassador, F. Gundulic, to the viceroy of Naples in 1581, the number of Ragusan ships in the Spanish armada on the occasion of the destruction of Portuguese power and seizure of Brazil in 1580 was 35. V. Novak estimates11 on the basis of a Ragusan document now in the British Museum, London,12 that the number of Ragusan ships in the Invincible Armada (1588) was “easily one quarter, indeed the largest and the best quarter, of the total.” Bacic13 informs us that a document published in 1728 puts the number of Ragusan vessels of different sizes in the Spanish service in the period 1584-1654 at 178.
A careful note should be made of the fact that the Hispanic-Ragusan squadrons employed in the Indies and the Atlantic had their own status, their own distinct national character, their own capitana (flagship), and their own commander. These fleets were widely known under their distinct international titles, such as “Squadra dell’ Indie” and “Squadra del Mar Oceano.”14 The ships sailed under their own Ragusan flotilla flag.15 They were owned and manned by Ragusans.16 The squadron constituted a unit (“division”) within a larger fleet composed of divers elements. It was commanded by admirals holding commissions from the kings of Spain.
In the local literature the squadron’s original international titles are preserved to the present day.
The ships cooperated on three different bases: 1) contract, 2) loan, and 3) requisition. Tadic tells us17 that some of the Ragusan ships in the service of Spain “were seized forcibly, while others, according to the practice which was prevalent in Ragusa, entered into the service of Spain voluntarily in order to earn money.” He cited the ease of the ship owned by Vice Petrov (“seized in Sicily”)18 and gives information on Ragusan apologies to Queen Elizabeth of England after the battle of the Armada (“the ships were forced to join the Spanish fleet after being seized in Spanish ports where they went on commercial business.”19 However, he does not fail to point out that this did not apply to the ships of the Hispanic-Ragusan squadron which served the Spaniards voluntarily.
Vinaver20 provides a reference to negotiations with the Spanish delegate Pedro Núñez for a loan of Ragusan ships in 1625. Unfortunately, he does not give the source.
A great deal of information exists about the type and equipment of the vessels. Luetic publishes the original text of a contract concluded in 1586 by Magister Joannes Pomenicehio marangonus (sic) de Curzula for the construction of a Ragusan galleon. The Archives of Ragusa possess several such contracts. The published text21 gives exact technical specifications on the basis of which it would be easy to reconstruct the true model of the Ragusan galleon used by Spaniards in America in the 16th century.
A contemporary oil painting in the Franciscan Church in Slano, Dalmatia,22 represents a perfect visual example.
Information on Ragusan manufacture and supply of armament for Spanish ships is offered by Fiskovic23 on the basis of archival records (Diversa Notariae, 84, fol. 134) and local literature.
Facts about the voyages are among the least known in the present phase of archival investigations. Only a few isolated details are provided. The Maritime Museum in Dubrovnik catalogues “the covers of the log-book of Capt. D. Sagri-Sagroevic, 1580.”24 No mention is made of the log-book.
A major task of local historians is to expand the initial archival studies and advance knowledge in this direction.
2. Spanish Admirals and Galleon Commanders
Navigators from Ragusa, Slano, and other traditional shipping centers in Dalmatia, who were in Spanish employ, constitute a separate field of research. Many of these skilled mariners were in command of the chartered Hispanic-Ragusan “Squadra dell’ Indie” and “Squadra del Mar Oceano,” etc. Some of them apparently held command posts in the Royal Spanish fleets as well.
Local sources throw light on their families, names, personal status, and histories, contemporary ranks and uniforms, positions held, and ships commanded. Some information on their experiences may also be available on rare occasions.
According to published Yugoslav sources, four families provided most of the leading Spanish admirals and galleon commanders of Ragusan descent.
a) Ohmuchievich Family
Elaborate monographs25 and other extensive references26 are devoted to this Ragusan family, originally from Hum (Chelmenia) and Bosnia, and to its role in Spain and the Spanish dominions in America.
The following fragmentary information, incidentally inserted in this voluminous local material, is of special interest.
Four members of the older branch of the Ohmuchievich family, sons of Iveglia, a trader and shipowner from Slano, Dalmatia, served in the Spanish navy under Philip II and Philip III. One of them, Don Pedro d’Iveglia Ohmuchievich, obtained fame as a Spanish admiral. He was in command of the first Hispanic-Ragusan squadron, organized by him under Philip II. His local biographers, Gelcich and others, tell us that the Hispanic-Ragusan squadron which operated in the Indies and the Atlantic in the service of the kings of Spain under the supreme command of Admiral Don Pedro d’Iveglia Ohmuchievich, had exactly 12 big galleons.27 The ships were heavily armed, built with three masts, and large enough to accommodate an imposing fighting force. Each had c. 600 colli burden.28 To mark the significance assigned to the 12 ships of Don Pedro’s squadron, Philip II called them “the 12 apostles.”29 In all probability the selection of the number of twelve was also due to the same religious consideration. Six of the ships were owned by Don Pedro and six by other members of his family. The ships carried a complement of 3,200 men, mostly from the territory of Ragusa.30 Gelcich publishes the names of the twelve galleons commanded by Don Pedro together with the names of the twelve galleon commanders who served under him.31 The names of the commanders show that they were Slavs. The capitana (flagship) of the squadron, called the S. Girolamo, was a large Ragusan carrack of 1,000 colli burden.32
The ships flew their Ragusan flotilla flag33 to show that they were different in terms of international law from other Ragusan ships which sailed under their “neutral flag.”34
Solovjev, a reliable author, puts the date of the first appearance of Don Pedro’s squadron at 1588,35 which would indicate that the Hispanic-Ragusan flotilla, the constant aid of the Spanish crown in the defense of its dominions in America throughout the period of its prosperity and hegemony, was not organized on the occasion of the cooperation of Ragusan ships in Portugal (1580) but on the occasion of their cooperation in the Invincible Armada.
In the course of ceaseless voyages across the Atlantic over a period of twenty-six years36 Don Pedro gained for his original squadron and for all the other Hispanic-Ragusan squadrons which followed in its wake the widely recognized and still remembered title “Squadra dell’ Indie” and “Squadra del Mar Oceano.”
The 12 galleons which he himself commanded were known also under the equally meaningful title “elassis illyrica,”37 the Illyrian fleet, symbolizing the naval and maritime traditions of Dalmatia, ancient Illyria and the even more ancient Liburnia.*
Don Pedro died in 1599 as Capetano generale del Mar38 under Philip III. He died in Lisbon, Portugal, apparently a center for Spanish operations in Brazil.
The succeeding generations of the same family followed in the footsteps of their well known predecessor. The most famous of this younger line was Admiral Andrea de Nicolo Ohmuchievich who served under Philip IV.36 Simeon Ohmuchievich was capellán with the rank of predicador in Don Pedro’s squadron.40
The Maritime Museum in Dubrovnik has a highly decorative original canvas painted in oil by an unknown artist, entitled “Ohmuchievich of Slano, admiral in foreign navies, dressed in rich uniform, with family coat of arms, ship, globe, and compass.”41
b) D’Olisti Tasovcich Family
Several authors give information on the service in the Spanish Atlantic ocean command by members of this Ragusan family, actually a branch of the Ohmuchievich family on the female side. The d’Olisti Tasovcich family succeeded to the supreme command of the Hispanic-Ragusan flotilla in 1599 (death of Don Pedro),42 but the squadron met with disaster. Solovjev, quoting from Gelcich, gives some details. He tells us43 that Pietro d’Olisti Tasovcich joined the Spanish fleet apparently in 1570 and that five of his sons served under the flag of Admiral Don Pedro d’Iveglia Ohmuchievich. Some of them became famous in 1580 (conquest of Portugal and acquisition of Brazil). Stefano d’Olisti Tasovcich was made Capitano generale. Giorgio d’Olisti Tasovcich was an admiral. There are several other reports about them. Stefano is described by Luetic44 as the “general of one of the ocean divisions.” In another place45 he is described as the “admiral in command of an ocean division.” In Appendini’s catalogue, “Caracche, Galeoni, e Navi di Slano”46 Giorgio d’Olisti Tasovcich is listed as “signore capitano.”
If my reading of these records is correct, Stefano was the supreme commander of the Hispanic-Ragusan Atlantic galleon squadron, while Giorgio had a lesser command post.
Stefano together with his capitana and various other ships perished in a heavy storm off the Tereeira Islands in 1599, while waiting for the “Flotta dell’ Indie” to return from America (mentre aspettava di ritorno la flotta dell’ Indie).47 Some local reports say “the entire squadron with all hands aboard was lost.”48
c) Massibradi (Mazibradic) Family
The material which I have been able to find in the local Yugoslav sources concerning this Ragusan family, and its service for Spain shows that the employment of Ragusan galleon commanders in the Indies and the Atlantic was a continuous and well-established Spanish practice. Giovanni Massibradi (Ivan Mazibradic) was the first member of the family to hold a naval post in America. Luetic says49 that Ivan was in command of Hispanic-Ragusan shipping (sic) in the latter half of the 16th century for a certain period of time. However, the Massibradi (Mazibradic) family assumed a major command role only at the turn of the 16th century after the disaster which befell the squadron off the Terceira Islands in 1599.50 Two of the four sons of Giovanni (Ivan) who were in the Spanish service, Girolamo (Jeronim) and Nicolo, held positions of supreme responsibility. Jeronim, according to Luetic, was the admiral of an ocean flotilla; he was in charge of various other important duties in the Spanish naval service under Philip IV for two decades; he participated in numerous naval operations in the Atlantic and in the waters of the Central American islands.51 Nicolo Massibradi (Mazibradic), according to Appendini and Luetic, was in command of a Spanish ocean division under Philip IV in the 17th century for a long time.52 Another member of the same family, Marin Mazibradic, was a general in command of a Spanish naval division.53
d) Martolossi (Martolosic) Family
A document in the Archives of Ragusa, Testamenta de Notaria (Series X), vol. 61, fol. 81-83,54 the last will of Kristo Martolossi (Martolosic), son of Jacob (Jakov), of Isola di Mezzo (Lopud), Dalmatia, testifies that he was in the service of the Spanish navy as the commander of a squadron of ocean galleons at the beginning of the 17th century. Appendini55 lists “Martolossi” (sic) as the captain in command of the “Squadra dell’ Indie.” A brief biography by Luetic56 gives similar details.
Materials locally available about this family also make references to Dalmatian participation in the early voyages, an area not covered so far. The information they offer is based on local tradition rather than archival sources.
Appendini says:57 “Several individuals of the Martolossi family and others from Isola di Mezzo pride themselves (according to ancient tradition) on having provided several skilled pilots to the original discoverers of America.” Luetic 58has the following version of the same report: “Many Ragusan navigators were in the Spanish navy, while local tradition maintains that some of them participated even in the great discoveries.”
The tradition referred to evidently implies participation in the earliest voyages, perhaps one of the major voyages by Columbus.
It is not to be excluded that further search in the archives may uncover documentary evidence for this.
3. Civil Administrators
Records of Ragusans employed in the civil administration in America are not frequent, but they do occur. The case widely discussed is that of Vice (Vicko, Vicentio) Bune. He was a mariner, from Isola di Mezzo (Lopud),59 but served also in the capacity of public administrator. The local sources60 provide considerable details concerning him, his experiences and his travels, and throw some meager and inconclusive light on his naval and administrative functions in Hispanic America under Philip II. The main local sources are Bune’s last will and a commemorative stone tablet placed by his relatives in the Church of the Most Holy Trinity which he built in Lopud, Dalmatia, during his lifetime and finally used for his mausoleum. The last will was written in Naples in 1612 and registered in Ragusa in 1615 (Testamenta de Notaria, vol. 55, fol. 93).61 It is written in Italian and includes an addendum certified by V. Staianus, a notary public. The commemorative tablet carries an inscription in Latin62 in accordance with Bune’s direction given in 1612.
Appendini in describing the nature of Bune’s administrative functions in America63 introduces into the local documentation a new element (“viceroy of Mexico”) which does not exist in Bune’s last will (ho peregrinato in diverse parti del mondo in servitio della fede di Cristo e della corona di Spagna”) nor in his family’s commemorative tablet (“sub duobus Hispaniarum regibus Philippis secundo et tertio arduam utriusque orbis navigationem . . . in India fidei propagandae, in Belgio religionis tuendae diu occupato, dum egregiam in utroque officio navat regibus suis operam, regio nutu Neapolim revocato et acconsiliis pro regis deputato”). Appendini’s description is evidently nothing more than a liberal translation of Bune’s Spanish title and a somewhat over-exaggerated eulogy of his personal achievements.64 The most recent local attitude is65 that as long as there are no archival proofs—and it may be that something could be found in Madrid or in Vienna—this version should be accepted cum grano salis.
Two more eases are recorded, but with hardly any details. One refers to Pietro d’Olisti Tasovcich66 who was “entrusted with high administrative duties in Spanish overseas territories.” Appendini’s version67 reads as follows: “Pietro after many years of service in the Flota, considering his extraordinary prudence, was made viceroy (sic)* in the West Indies.”
The second case refers to Giorgio d’Olisti Tasovcich68 who was “highly qualified both in naval matters and in civil government.”
4. Missionaries and Other Specific Topics
The most valuable in this group from the point of view of Hispanic American studies is the material which throws light on the history of American Jesuits.
The Archives of Zagreb, Consilium Regnum Croaticum 1776, fasc. L.23,69 offers authentic autobiographical statements by Nikola Plantic (Nikolaus Blantisch),70 a Jesuit of note from Tucumán, Buenos Aires, and Montevideo, originally from Croatia, who was expelled from America in the anti-Jesuit developments in 1767, and maybe also by other Croat missionaries, banished on the same occasion.71 The Jesuit autobiographies, giving brief data about the persons to whom they refer and including details about their work and experience, were submitted to the local Croat authorities in writing upon the enactment of the local decree of suppression (1773), when every Jesuit was required to file a curriculum vitae.
The personal data provided in Plantic’s autobiography72 are of special interest, in view of the fact that in the campaign from Portugal (Pombal) and other anti-Jesuit centers in the time of these banishments, he (Plantic) was accused of having usurped the royal powers in the reductions of Paraguay and indeed of having assumed the title of rex Paraquaiae and organized uprisings and war by Indians against the Spanish regular army in an attempt to overthrow the legitimate Spanish and Portuguese governments.
Plantic says that he set out for Paraguay, a province in South America, to convert the native population to the church of Christ, and then continues: “Illorum autem, quibus de ipso arbitrandi jus erat omne, jussu ad erudiendam juventutem applicatus, primus Cordubae in Tucumania in regio Nationis hispanicae convictu ministrum egit annis duobus, mox in ejusdem urbis Universitate philosophiae theologiaeque placita explanavit annis septem. Hinc translatus ad collegium emporii Buenos Ayres, ibidem munia primum praefecti tradendorum exercitiorum spiritualium et scholarum altiorum, deinde autem rectoris annis sex abivit. Postremo residentiam in portu Monte Video gubernavit . . .”
Plantic’s autobiography was recently published in the local journals.73 His case gave rise to a considerable local literature74 providing a great deal of information on the history of the Jesuits in the reductions of Paraguay and generally in the estuary of La Plata in the period of the Spanish decree of banishment (1767).
Among other specific subjects on which local Yugoslav sources offer information the following may be of some consequence: 1) introduction of unknown diseases (tropical fever) by ships returning from America;75 2) appearance of new drugs in pharmaceutical industry after the discovery of America;76 and 3) impact of the flood of “cheap” gold and silver bullion from the Potosí mines in Peru.77
Records of the Ragusan embassy to Philip III on the occasion of his accession in 159878 may also prove to be of interest because they offer original contemporary evidence showing that, contrary to the policy generally pursued by the government in Madrid, Ragusans were permitted to immigrate into and to engage in lucrative activities in the Spanish dominions in America.
It is my hope that this brief documentary paper will be of some assistance to students of Hispanic American history and that its expansion into a more elaborate report will be possible in the near future.
The state papers of the Republic of Ragusa, the principal collection of archival material in this area, consist of 92 series covering the period 1023-1815. They are written mainly in Latin and Italian. Some of the “series” are divided into “subseries.” For example, Series X, Testamenta, has three subseries; Series LVI, Navigatio, has 22 subseries, etc. The series (when not divided into subseries) and the subseries (where they exist) are further divided into volumes. [(Arhivist, “Prijegled stanja fondova, zbirki i skupina Dravnog archiva u Dubrovniku na dan 22 travnja 1955” (Survey of the status of the funds, collections, and fascicles of the State Archive in Ragusa, on 22 June 1955), 1955 (2), Addendum IV (referred to hereafter as Arhivist, Addendum IV).] Several transcripts of selected documents are published, such as J. Radonic, Dubrovacka akta i povelje—Acta et diplomata ragusina, 16 vol. Citations usually show the title of the series, or subseries, the number of the volume, and the folio; occasionally they show also the century. The Maritime Museum in Dubrovnik, another important source, includes archival and other material on the maritime history of Ragusa [(J. Luetic, “Pomorstvo Dubrovacke Republike” (Maritime Navigation of the Republic of Ragusa), Historijski Zbornik (Historical Journal), Zagreb 1955 (1-4), 203-207, referred to hereafter as Lucite I).] Certain collections are in the archives of Kotor (Cattaro), Zadar (Zara), Zagreb, etc. The Archives of Kotor (partly scattered in World War II) includes two bulky funds: Acta Notarilia, 1326-1795, 181 volumes with one auxiliary volume (volume LI missing), and the Administrative-political Acts of the Proveditor Extraordinary of the Republic of Venice (Atti del Provveditore Estraordinario), 1684-1797, 199 volumes with 8 auxiliary volumes (volume CCVI missing) [(Arhivist, “Inventar Dravnog arhiva u Kotoru” (Inventory of the State Archive in Kotor), 1958(3-4), Addendum X, and 1959(1-2), Addendum XI).]
The Historical Institute of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts in Dubrovnik has published seven volumes of its periodical Anali (Annals); the Historical Institute of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts in Zadar (Zara) has published five volumes of its Radovi (Proceedings); the Maritime Museum in Kotor has published seven volumes of its Godisnjak (Yearbook), etc.
J. Luetic, “Pomorac i diplomat Vice Bune” (Navigator and diplomat Vicentio Bune), Anali 1952 (I), 255-256 (referred to hereafter as Luetic II); Nicholas Mirkovich, “Ragusa and the Portuguese Spice Trade,” The Slavonic and East European Review (American Series II), vol. 21, Part I, March 1943, 174-187; Vuk Vinaver, “Dubrovacka nova ekonomska politika pocetkom XVII. veka” (Ragusan new economic policy at the beginning of the 17th century), Anali 1955-56 (IV-V), 417, etc.
F. Appendini, Notizie istorico-critche sulla antichitat, storia e letteratura de’ Ragusei, vol. II, Ragusa 1803 (referred to hereafter as Appendini II), p. 200; J. Luetic, “Dubrovacki galijun druge polovine XVI. stoljeca” (The Ragusan galleon in the latter part of the 16th century), Anali 1957-59 (VI-VII) (referred to hereafter as Luetie III), 136, etc. (Appendini uses the term “flotta Ispano-Ragusina”).
V. Novak, “Ucesee dubrovaeke flote u Spanskoj Nepobedivoj armadi” (Participation of the Ragusan fleet in the Spanish Invincible Armada), Zgodovinski Casopis (Historical Journal), Ljubljana 1952-53 (VI-VII), 606.
Cf. C. H. Haring, Trade and Navigation between Spain and the Indies in the Time of the Habsburgs, 1918.
Luetic I, 204.
Cf. Bartolomeo Crescentio, Nautiea Mediterranea, Rome 1602 (A contemporary source, quoted by Luetie III, 132).
J. Tadic, Spanija i Dubrovnik u XVI v. (Spain and Ragusa in the 16th century), Serbian Academy of Science, Belgrade 1932, 118, footnote 1.
Archives of Ragusa, Series XXVIII, Subseries 6. Series XXVIII, Litterae et Commissiones, is divided into 7 subseries: Litterae et Commissiones Levantis, 1359-1802, 107 volumes; Copia Litterarum diversarum, 1712-1782, 5 volumes; Minutae Litterarum veterum, 1656-1762, 9 volumes; Litterae et Relationes, 1740-1773, 2 volumes; Litterae et Relationes eomitum et capitaneorum territorii, 1705-1779, 18 volumes; Litterae et Commissiones Ponentis, 1556-1802, 136 volumes; Minutae Litterarum Ponentis, 1665-1758, 21 volumes. Litterae are communications written by the Government of Ragusa, by its organs, and more rarely by others; Commissiones are instructions issued or sent to Ragusan envoys abroad (Arhivist, Addendum IV).
Novak, 610.
Dominio, sito e costumi della Republica di Ragusa, Miscellanea (M.B.Add. 14,008), Papales de Dominios de Italia Manuscritos, fol.997ro to 1002ro (Novak, 607).
V. A. Bacic, Dubrovacki brodovi u doba procvata dubrovackog pomorstva u XVI. vijeku (Ragusan ships in the prime of the maritime navigation of Ragusa in the 16th century), Zagreb, 1940, 79-80 (quoted by Novak, 608, 610). (The document referred to is entitled “List of ships in the service of the kings of Spain”).
Appendini II, 200 (‘‘squadra dell’ Indie, o dell’ Oceano”); Luetic II, 256; Luetic III, 131; Mirkovic, op. cit., 175 etc.
Novak, 605.
Appendini II, 217 (“Nota delle Caracche, Galeoni, e Navi de’ Signori Capitani della citta di Ragusa”), 219 (“Caracche, Galeoni e Navi dell’ isola di Mezzo”), 221 (Caracche, Galeoni e Navi di Slano”), etc.
Tadic, 118. See also Novak, 609 (includes his comment).
Archives of Ragusa, Diversa Notariae (Series XXVI), vol. 125, fol. 156-163 (quoted by Tadic, 122). Series XXVI (documents issued by a notary public) covers the period 1310-1811 and has 147 volumes (Arhivist, Addendum IV); it is one of those series which are not divided into subseries.
Archives of Ragusa, Litterae et Commissiones Ponentis (Series XXVII, Subseries 6), vol. VI, fol. 123 (quoted by Tadic, 120).
V. Vinaver, op. cit., 429-430.
Archives of Ragusa, Diversa Notariae (Series XXVI), vol. 123, fol. 178vo (quoted by Luetic III, 138, footnote 23).
Luetic III, 134-136 (for sketch, see Luetic III, 131).
Cvito Fiskovic, “Ivan Rabljanin, prilog o naoruzanju dubrovackih brodova XVI. stoljeca” (Ivan of the Rab Island, contribution on the armament of Ragusan ships in the 16th century), Anali 1957-59 (VI-VII), 205.
Luetic I, 205.
G. Gelcich, I conti di Tuhelj, contributo alia storia della marina dalmata ne suoi rapporti colla Spagna, Dubrovnik 1890 (widely quoted); Alexander V. Solovjev, “Postanak Ilirske Heraldike i Porodica Ohmucevic” (Origin of the Illyrian heraldry and the Ohmuchievich family), Glasnik Skopskog Naucnog drustva (Proceedings of the Skopje Learned Society), vol. XII, 1933, 79-110; Ilarion Ruvarac, “O priviledjijama kuce Ohmucevica-Grgurica” (About the privileges of the House of Ohmuchievich-Gargurich), Glasnik Zemaljskog Muzeja u Bosni i Hercegovini (Proceedings of the Provincial Museum in Bosnia and Herzegovina), Sarajevo 1890 (II, 3), 263; Vladimir Mazuranic, “Ohmucevie,” Dodatci uz Prinose za hrvatski Pravno-povjesni rjecnik (Addenda to the Contributions to the Croat juridico-historical dictionary), Zagreb 1923, p. 20, column 2; V. Vuletic-Vukasovic, “Grbovi Ohmucevica u Slanome, u Dalmaciji” (The coats of arms of the Ohmuchievich family in Slano, Dalmatia), Glasnik Zemaljskog Muzeja u Bosni i Hercegovini, 1890 (II, 1), 40, etc.
V. Foretic, “Ohmucevie,” Pomorska Enciklopedija (Maritime Encyclopaedia), vol. 5, 637, Zagreb 1955 (brief family biography), etc. For genealogical data, see Archives of Ragusa, Fides et attestata (Series LXXXVI), vol. 1 (1624-1692), fol. 144-147 (transcript). Series LXXXVI covers the period 1624-1802 and has 11 volumes (Arhivist, Addendum IV).
Appendini II, 200 (12. grosse navi”); Solovjev, 83 (“12 big ships”); Foretic, loc. cit. (“fleet of 12 ships which participated in various naval operations conducted by Spain in the newly discovered lands.”)
Luetic III, 136.
Tadic, 120; Luetic II, 256; Luetic III, 132, etc.
Appendini II, 200, 225; Solovjev, 83.
Novak, 606, footnote 10.
Appendini II, 121 (see Ship No. 1, “Caracche, Galeoni, e Navi di Slano”). See also Solovjev, 83 (S. Girolamo was commanded by Don Pedro since 1581 and was built and armed at his own expense.)
Novak, 605.
Luetic III, 136.
Solovjev, 83.
Appendini II, 200.
Solovjev, 83.
Cf. ships used by Octavius in the battle of Actium, B.C. 31; and old Liburnian galleys (liburnae), etc.
Tadic, 120; Solovjev, 83; Luetic III, 133 (“grand admiral of the Spanish fleet”).
Solovjev, 89-90. Cf. also Bogoljub Petkovic, “Nesto o stampanju ciriliskih privilegija Andreje Ohmucevica” (A few words about the printing of the cyrillic privileges of Andrea Ohmuchievich), Prilozi za knjizevnost, jeztk, istoriju i folklor (Contributions in Literature, Language, History, and Folklore), Serbian Academy of Science, Book XXIV (1-2), 1958, 125; and Miroslav Pantic, “Nikola Ohmucevic, pisar najstarijeg rukopisa Gundulicevog “Osmana” i rani zapisivac narodne poezije” (Nicolo Ohmuchievich, scribe of the oldest manuscript of Gundulic’s “Osman” and early recorder of the popular poetry”), ibid., Book XXIII (3-4), 260.
Solovjev, 88.
Luetic I, 205.
Tadic, 121 (“after the death of his uncle, Don Pedro, in 1599, he commanded a division of the Spanish navy”).
Solovjev, 88-89 (quoting Gelcich, 87-92).
Luetic II, 256.
Luetic III, 132.
Appendini II, 221-222.
Appendini II, 200.
Tadic, 121 (quoting Gelcich, 88).
J. Luetic, “Mazibradie,” Pomorska Enciklopedija, vol. 5, 176 (referred to hereafter as Luetic IV).
Appendini II, 200.
Luetic IV.
Appendini II, 200-201.
Luetic IV.
Quoted by Luetic II, 256-257, footnote 5. Archives of Ragusa, Series X, Testamenta, has the following three subseries: Testamenta de Notaria, 1282-1815, 94 volumes; Distributiones testamentorum, 1349-1581, 33 volumes; and Tutores Notariae, 1534-1809, 15 volumes.
II, 217 (full name not given).
J. Luetic, “Martolosic Kristo,” Pomorska Enciklopedija, vol. 5, 159.
Appendini II, 201.
Luetic II, 256. See also Luetic III, 131 (quoting Appendini).
Vicko Lisicar, Lopud, Historicki i savremeni prikaz (Lopud: Historical and Contemporary Description), Chapter VII (Chapels in the old town of Lopud), p. 54, and Chapter IX (Famous Sons of Lopud), p. 75, Dubrovnik 1931; Milan Resetar, “Bune Vice,” Narodna enciklopedija srpsko-hrvatsko-slovenacka (Serbo-Croat-Slovene National Encyclopaedia), ed. St. Stanojevic, vol. I, 293, Zagreb; Josip Luetic, “Bune Vice,” Enciklopedija Jugoslavije (The Encyclopaedia of Yugoslavia), vol. 2, 302, Zagreb 1956; Jaroslav Sidak, “Bune Vice,” Hrvatska Enciklopedija (Croat Encyclopaedia), ed. M. Ujevic, vol. III, 513, Zagreb 1942; “Bune Vice 1556-1612,” Leksikon Minerva, 186, Zagreb 1936; Appendini II, 201-202; Luetic II, 257-266; Tadic, 134-136, etc.
Archives of Ragusa, Diversa Cancellariae (Series XXV), vol. 157, fol. 185 (year 1527); vol. 160, fol. 66 (documents concerning Bune’s father, quoted in Luetic II, 257, footnote 6); Diversa Cancellariae, vol. 184, fol. 140 (documents concerning his mother, quoted in Luetic II, ibid.). Series XXV covers the period 1282-1815 and has 233 volumes (Arhivist, Addendum IV).
Text in Luetic II, 264-265, footnote 34.
Text in Luetic II, 266, footnote 36, and in Lisicar, op. cit., Ch. VII (Chapels in the old town of Lopud).
II, 201.
Cf. Brantz Mayer, Mexico: Aztec, Spanish and Republican, vol. I, 1852 (Mayer’s chronological list of Spanish viceroys in Mexico does not include this name).
Josip Lucie, “Anali Historijskog Instituta u Dubrovniku, God. I, sv. 1, Dubrovnik 1952, str. 496’’ (Annals of the Historical Institute in Dubrovnik, Year I, vol. 1, Dubrovnik 1952, p. 496), Historijski Zbornik 1954 (1-4), 176 (includes review of Luetic’s article “Pomorae i diplomat Vice Bune”).
Luetic II, 256.
Appendini II, 200.
Most likely corregidor.
Ibid.
Archives of Zagreb, Documents of the Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia, and Dalmatia, Protocolla et Acta Consilii regii Croatid. These papers cover the period 1767-1779 and consist of 19 protocols (registers) and 312 volumes Arhimst, “Opci inventar Drzavnog arhiva u Zagrebu” (General Inventory of the State Archives in Zagreb), 1954(1). Addendum I.
Cf. A. Kobler, Florian Bauke, Ein Jesuit in Paraguay 1870, 704. (Bauke was a missionary in America in the latter half of the 18th century together with Plantic).
Fasc.L.23, Protocolla et Acta Consilii regii Croatid, 1776, was only recently returned to Zagreb after its removal outside the country in World War II and is still in a disorderly condition (Letters from Dr. Rotter and Dr. B. Stulli).
The original Latin text of Plantic’s autobiography, dated Varazdin 23 September 1776 (transcript received from Dr. Lisac) is written in Plantic’s own hand on the first two pages (fol. 1ro and fol. 1vo) of a sheet of paper folded in two and is provided with Plantie’s small red wax seal (information received from Dr. Rotter and Dr. Stulli).
The original Latin text is published by T. Matic, “Latinska autobiografija Nikole Plantica, 1776” (The Latin autobiography of Nikola Plantic, 1776), Vrela i prinosi (Sources and contributions), Sarajevo 1939, 130-132 [(Quoted by Dr. Andrija-Ljubomir Lisac, “Prilozi jugoslavenskoj arhivistickoj bibliografiji (Contributions to the Yugoslav archival bibliography), Arhivist 1960(2), 101).] A Serbo-Croat translation is published by J. Lachner, “Planticeva autobiografija” (Plantic’s autobiography), Katolicki List (The Catholic Journal), 1938 (40), 479-480.
M. Vanino, “Dali je Nikola Plantie bio kralj Paragvajski?” (Whether Nikola Plantic was king of Paraguay?), Hrvatska Prosvjeta (The Croat Enlightenment), 1917(4), 122-130, 202-206 (includes details on the local sources); ibid., “Nikola Plantic, paragvajski kralj? Osvrt na jednu mistifikaciju” (Nikola Plantic, king of Paraguay!? Comment on a mystification) Hrvatska Smotra (The Croat Observer) 1938(9), Zagreb, 442; F. Bucar, Znameniti i zasluzni Hrvati, te pomena vrijedna lica u Hrvatskoj povjesti od 935 do 1935 (Famous and deserving Croats and persons worthy of mention in the history of Croatia, from a.d. 925 to 1925), Zagreb 1925, 215; ibid., “Plantic Nikola,” Narodna Enciklopedija srpsko-hrvatsko-slovenacka, vol. III, 484; “Plantic Nikola (1720-1777),” Leksikon Minerva, 1078, etc.
B. Hrabak, “Kuga u balkanskim zemljama pod Turcima od 1450 do 1600 godine” (Pestilence in Balkan countries under Turkish rule from 1450 to 1600), Istoriski Glasnik 1957(1-2), 19-37.
H. Tartalja, “O lijecenju sublimatom u djelu neporznatog kotorskog lijecnika XVIII. stoljeca” (On the healing by sublimate in the book by an anonymous Cattaro physician in the XVIII. century), Anali 1955-56(IV-V), 527-544. The book is entitled: Georgii Christianopulo Phil. et Med. Doctoris quorundam Morborum gravissimorum curatu maxime difficilium, usu interno Mereurii sublimati corrosivi, feliciter sanatorum. The book is in the Library of the Institute of the History of Pharmacy, Zagreb.
Cf. J. Tadic, Dubrovacki Portreti (Ragusan biographies (Belgrade 1948, 149-151 (quoted by V. Vinaver, “Monetarna kriza u Turskoj 1575-1650 (Monetary crises in Turkey, 1575-1650), Istoriski Glasnik 1958 (3-4), 122, footnote 41.
Archives of Ragusa, Litterae et Commissiones Ponentis (Series XXVII, Subseries 6), VIII, fol. 33 (quoted by Tadic, 133-134) (Instruction from the Government of Ragusa to Ambassador Orsati Cerva in Madrid, c. February 1600.)
Author notes
The author is a professor at Dickinson College. The assistance of Dr. Leo Rotter of Zagreb and Mr. O. Acimovic of Belgrade is gratefully acknowledged.