The whole trade of the eastern Roman empire was thus at once transferred to
the Venetians; two branches of which particularly attracted their
attention,--the silk trade and that with India. The richest and most rare
kinds of silk were manufactured at Constantinople; and to carry on this
trade, many Venetians settled themselves in the city, and they soon
extended it very considerably, and introduced the manufacture itself into
Venice, with so much success, that the silks of Venice equalled those of
Greece and Sicily. The monopoly of the trade of the Black Sea was also
obtained by them, after the capture of Constantinople; and thus some of the
most valuable articles of India and China were obtained by them, either
exclusively, or in greater abundance, and at a cheaper rate than they could
be procured by any other route. In consequence of all these advantages,
Venice was almost the sole channel of commerce in this part of Europe,
during the period of the Latin empire in Constantinople. This empire,
however, was of very short continuance, not lasting more than 57 years.
In the interval, the merchants of Florence became distinguished for their
commercial transactions, and particularly by becoming dealers in money by
exchange, and by borrowing and lending on interest. In order to carry on
this new branch of traffic, they had agents and correspondents in different
cities of Europe; and thus the remittance of money by bills of exchange was
chiefly conducted by them.
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