Consequences of a surviving Venetian democracy?

[Count]

Now as we all know the Venetian Republic once ruled over a not insignificant empire in the Aegean and Adriatic seas, as well as controlling a vast mercantile sphere of influence before being pushed out by the Ottomans and entering a steady decline until 1797, when Napoleon occupied it without a fight and abolished the republic. However, while the Republic ended there, the democracy had ended much earlier in 1297, with the Closing of the Great Council to any but those who sat on the Council for that year, the previous four years, and their lineal descendants.
This was itself the conclusion of a century-long effort to seize power for the aristocracy, dating back to a 1207 provision which replaced the Direct election of members of the Major Council by the Concio (assembly, similiar to the Plebian assembly of Rome) with the nomination of three, later seven representatives who would in turn choose the Major Council. This obviously led to the strengthening of the oligarchy and the gradual collapse of Venetian democracy.
So, if either of these bills were never passed, or the 1300 rebellion to restore the Concio’s power had succeeded, how would this affect the Republic of Venice and the rest of Europe?

 

[Lucius Verus]

"Democracy" is a bit too generous, republican oligarchy was probably closer to the real definition. There was plenty of non-citizens (50% of population), of the citizens there was a distinction between (40%)non-original and original (10%)(able to trace back lineage more than two centuries). Even at its most representative it was demagogues trying to win over the crowd at a plaza, with decisions going towards who was perceived to have the loudest supporters; no problems with biased moderators, disingenuous debates, or intimidation of/by crowds. Of the original doges, they tended to rule for life until they did something so incompetent/irritating that they were thrown out by a mob.

In a sense the entire Venetian Empire could be thought of as a corporate enterprise for the Patricians (who benefited greatly and disproportionately from overseas trade and state subsidies), welfare for all of the original citizens who got government jobs/handouts from it, plus some trick-down effects for the non-original citizens.

The thing is in the short and medium term (pre1700s) Venice maintained an unified oligarchy free from serious (but not all) internal coups and intrigues that plagued the other city-states, bishoprics, and monarchies which was a major boon. This was particularly due to the concentrated nature of Venice, the lack of feudal lords in Venice with all their cultural and economic differences (ie look at Genoa, feudal lords and shipping magnates do not mix well leading to dozens of coups), and the fact that most of the Patricians originally made their way through trade giving them a common culture and desires (of course this eventually turned into rent-seeking behavior).

This unity was also a problem in the long-run, with the powerful of society so unified in their desires what's to stop them from passing on decrees meant to advantage the financial and long-distance traders at the expense of the whole as they did historically?

You need a counter balance or something to keep the culturally and economically trade-based Patricians accountable. Putting off two bills won't change the imbalance of powers within Venice. Either create a strong faction that somehow rivals the sheer power of trade within Venice like guilds (which brings in their own monopolistic problems, though as the Venetian silver age (1500-1600) shows could be economically powerful), break the Patricians through an epidemic or slaughter, bring in feudal landlords (ie mainland lords are the only option with enough economic and military back), or best of all a persistent and hostile foreign threat.

 

[Count]

You need a counter balance or something to keep the culturally and economically trade-based Patricians accountable. Putting off two bills won't change the imbalance of powers within Venice. Either create a strong faction that somehow rivals the sheer power of trade within Venice like guilds (which brings in their own monopolistic problems, though as the Venetian silver age (1500-1600) shows could be economically powerful), break the Patricians through an epidemic or slaughter, bring in feudal landlords (ie mainland lords are the only option with enough economic and military back), or best of all a persistent and hostile foreign threat.

More details below:

"Democracy" is a bit too generous, republican oligarchy was probably closer to the real definition. There was plenty of non-citizens (50% of population), of the citizens there was a distinction between (40%)non-original and original (10%)(able to trace back lineage more than two centuries). Even at its most representative it was demagogues trying to win over the crowd at a plaza, with decisions going towards who was perceived to have the loudest supporters; no problems with biased moderators, disingenuous debates, or intimidation of/by crowds. Of the original doges, they tended to rule for life until they did something so incompetent/irritating that they were thrown out by a mob.

In a sense the entire Venetian Empire could be thought of as a corporate enterprise for the Patricians (who benefited greatly and disproportionately from overseas trade and state subsidies), welfare for all of the original citizens who got government jobs/handouts from it, plus some trick-down effects for the non-original citizens.

The thing is in the short and medium term (pre1700s) Venice maintained an unified oligarchy free from serious (but not all) of internal coups and intrigues that plagued the other city-states, bishoprics, and monarchies which was a major boon. This was particularly due to the concentrated nature of Venice, the lack of feudal lords in Venice with all their cultural and economic differences (ie look at Genoa, feudal lords and shipping magnates do not mix well leading to dozens of coups), and the fact that most of the Patricians originally made their way through trade giving them a common culture and desires (of course this eventually turned into rent-seeking behavior).

This unity was also a problem in the long-run, with the powerful of society so unified in their desires what's to stop them from passing on decrees meant to advantage the financial and long-distance traders at the expense of the whole as they did historically?

Interesting. I understand that Venice’s galleys were predominantly crewed by her native citizenry and could be requisitioned in time of war. Perhaps some form of long-lasting military conflict such as Ottoman-Venetian War #85 or a war with the Genoese could lead to reforms professionalising the military. This might reduce the power of the patricians relative to the state and incentivize gaining the loyalty of the citizens. Then again it also raises the risk of the creation of a strongman as in the Dutch & Florentine Republics

 

[Lucius Verus]

Interesting. I understand that Venice’s galleys were predominantly crewed by her native citizenry and could be requisitioned in time of war. Perhaps some form of long-lasting military conflict such as Ottoman-Venetian War #85 or a war with the Genoese could lead to reforms professionalising the military. This might reduce the power of the patricians relative to the state and incentivize gaining the loyalty of the citizens. Then again it also raises the risk of the creation of a strongman as in the Dutch & Florentine Republics

A strongman could be good, if he resorted to courting the people against the Patricians. At the end of the day, the thing which doomed most of the "Republics" was that no one saw a wide franchise as a good thing; if a guild took power give it 3 generations and they became aristocrats mimicking the ones they over-threw years ago. A healthy, non-coupy, non-treasonous balance of power is the best bet for that, it doesn't necessarily mean democracy, though it is more efficient at getting non-violent change to avert violent change. Now when I say democracy, I don't just mean elections but all the associated institutions that allow it to work.

They galleys were part of the problem, the tax funded Arsenale produced ships needed for long-distance trade yet for some mysterious reason, Patricians became the only ones to bid on these things after a while (effectively state-subsidies to aristocrats).