In its golden age Dubrovnik flourished with the riches it earn from trading silver and lead from Bosnian and Serbian mines. In demand from Florence and Venice the merchants of Dubrovnik flourished until the Turks took Bosnia and Serbia. Dubrovnik was forced to look elsewhere for new opportunities. Boat building became more important and the republic still controlled important salt producing areas. As the Americas were discovered and new shipping routes around Africa to India were opened Dubrovnik started to decline. In a bid to halt this the Republic's ships sailed further to open new shipping routes. Vice Bune, master mariner , entered Spanish service in the late 16th century and sailed to East India. He invested in a new port in Goa and . Even with the down turn by the end of the 18th century Dubrovnik had a fleet of 673 sailing ships, of which 255 were large long distance merchant ships.
Dubrovnik's ambassadors had embassies in all major cities and were expert in diplomacy which made for good trading partnerships. Mastering the art of diplomacy kept Dubrovnik out of conflict with the Turks and the Venetians and they were not involved in any wars after the 15th century.
This stability made Dubrovnik the perfect centre for science and art to flourish. Poets like Karlo Pucis and Jakov Bunic thrived writing poems in latin. This led to the first Croatian poems and . Marin Drzic became foremost in Europe for his creative dramatic works. Painters workshops flourished but unfortunately most of their work was destroyed in the Great Earthquake in 1667. More than 5000 people were killed and Gothic and Romanesque Dubrovnik lay in ruins.
It was hard for the city to recover from such a great tragedy. The new buildings were built in Roman Baroque style with shops on the ground floor. The Rectors Palace was renovated in the old style and the city wall remained in tact.
Napoleon finished the Republic in 1808 and then Dubrovnik became part of the Austrian Empire. Hopes of the Republic being reinstated were dashed and Dubrovnik became a provincial town of Croatia.
In 1990 Dubrovnik became the most important city of free Croatia. In 1991 the Yugoslav People Army launched a devastating attack on Dubrovnik and it unarmed civilians. For months the town was shelled and and Dubrovnik's cultural heritage was shattered. After a long period of restoration, Dubrovnik has now been returned to its former glory as the jewel of Europe. |
