The () was a senior commander of the

ships of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colum ...

of the

navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

History and functions

The Venetian navy had traditionally been a

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

-based force. The first organized tactical formations of sailing ships began being formed in the late 15th century. The position of was established as the commander of the larger sailing ships built by the Venetian government, but he also assumed control—under the overall authority of the Captain General of the Sea—over all sailing ships in the battle fleet, which were mostly merchant vessels, chartered in Venice or abroad (usually Holland) for naval service. During the 17th century sailing

began to play a more important role and comprised a larger and larger portion of the Venetian battle fleet, particularly during the

War of Candia War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

. The increase in numbers necessitated the creation of more squadrons of sail, initially by the appointment of a second or of a , but on 25 May 1657 two new positions, the and the were created to command the second and third sailing ship divisions, while the commanded the first division. At the outbreak of the

Morean War The Morean War ( it, Guerra di Morea), also known as the Sixth Ottoman–Venetian War, was fought between 1684–1699 as part of the wider conflict known as the "Great Turkish War", between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire. Military ...

in 1684 the Republic mobilized 24 sailing ships along with 30 galleys, and during that conflict and the subsequent

Seventh Ottoman–Venetian War Seventh is the ordinal number (linguistics), ordinal form of the number 7, seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"T ...

, the sailing ships played the main role in fleet actions. During the latter two wars, when the Venetians sent as many as 36 ships of the line into battle, the senior position of was created, who now commanded the first division of 9 ships, while the commanded the second. The post of remained the highest peacetime rank for the commanders of the sailing fleet (). Appointment to the post was usually for three years. As distinctive signs, the flagship of the carried a single lantern aft, the

standard of Saint Mark The Flag of the Republic of Venice, commonly known as the Banner or Standard of Saint Mark (''stendardo di San Marco''), was the symbol of the Republic of Venice, until its dissolution in 1797. Its main charge was the Lion of Saint Mark, symboli ...

on the starboard side aft, and on the

mainmast The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the centre-line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, and giving necessary height to a navigation ligh ...

a square ensign of Saint Mark.

References

Sources

* * {{Venetian navy Republic of Venice admirals Military ranks of the Venetian navy 15th-century establishments in the Republic of Venice