II. Actividades del Ministerio durante 2013
2. PROTECCIÓN DE LOS RECURSOS PESQUEROS
peasants for the lord’s benefit and the other subdivided into individual plots
for village use. As well as cultivating the lord’s land, the serf was obligated to
pay a percentage o f other products o f his labor, including such items as wine,
Introduction
honey, and livestock. Sim ilarly enserfed shepherds w ere expected to deliver part o f their flocks. T he local noble in m ost regions had full jurisdiction over his people. H e collected taxes for the governm ent, and he had com plete ad ministrative and judicial authority in his estate. H e kept order, judged crim inal cases, and levied fines and punishments. In addition to the payments to the lord, the peasant ow ed state taxes and labor obligations. H e w as com pelled to w ork on the roads, bridges, and fortifications. In wartim e he was expected not only to fight, but also to provide provisions and transportation.
In contrast to the countryside, m ost cities enjoyed a w ide measure o f self- governm ent. T h ey were usually administered by councils o f prom inent citi zens. Situated on the great trade and com m unication routes, they were the centers for com merce and the crafts. Ports, such as C onstantinople, Thessa loniki, and D ubrovnik, played a m ajor role in the life o f the region at a time w hen w ater transport was far easier than land. T he cities w ere also, o f course, the administrative and m ilitary centers.
W hen in the fourteenth century the Balkan peninsula faced the invasion o f the O ttom an Turks, certain o f the inherent weaknesses in the political and social system w ere to aid the conquerors. M ost im portant was the lack o f unity am ong the Christian princes. A lthough sharing a com m on religion, m any Balkan leaders in fact allied w ith the M uslim power. A s far as the peas antry was concerned, the heavy burden o f feudalism made them often w el com e new rulers w h o had another land system. T h e last ruler o f Bosnia told the pope that the Turkish authorities had w on over the peasants by promises o f better conditions.
T he O ttom an conquest
A fter the seventh century, as w e have seen, the Byzantine Em pire had to meet challenges from M uslim pow ers, first from the A rabs and then from the Sel- juk Turks. A t the end o f the thirteenth century a Turkish grou p o f warriors established itself in northwest A natolia, near the Sea o f M arm ora. T he name
Ottoman which was to be given these people derives from that o f the prom inent leader O sm an o r O thm an (1290-1326). T he expansion o f their pow er was rapid, w ith the initial great conquests made in the Balkans. G allipoli, taken in 1354, was the first urban center held by the Ottom ans in E urope. T he fourteenth century provided certain general conditions favorable to O ttom an interests. A t this time the plague spread through E u ro p e; the Black Death decim ated large sections o f the population and spread terror and panic. F rom 1338 to 1453 British and French energies were absorbed in the H un dred Years’ War. T h e church at R o m e was weakened by internal conflicts. Venice and G enoa, the rival com mercial giants, were engaged in m utually destructive conflict. U nder these conditions there was little likelihood that the West would be capable o f uniting to m ount a great crusade to aid the Christian East. T he
Introduction
weakness and division in the West were reflected in the Balkans. T h e feudal states, each w ith m ajor problem s o f internal organization, were separated by their jealousies and hatreds. Byzantium , which had stood for centuries as a barrier to invasions from the East, never fully regained its pow er after the restoration in 1261.
T he O ttom an advance was also immensely aided by the leadership o f a series o f extrem ely able sultans, each o f w hom added territory to the state. M urad I (1360-1389) first took A drianople (1360) and then, after a m ajor victory on the M aritsa R iv er (1371), was able to take control in the Bulgarian, M acedonian, and southern Serbian lands. Sofia was acquired in 1385, N is in 1386, and Thessaloniki in 1387. D u rin g this stage o f its advance the O ttom an governm ent left: som e o f the conquered native princes in power, but as vassals they w ere obligated to pay tribute and render m ilitary aid. In the campaigns the sultans thus were supported regularly by Balkan contingents. O ther areas and the m ajor urban centers were placed under direct O ttom an rule.
A lth ough the O ttom an victory o f the M aritsa was the m ost decisive en gagem ent for the future o f the peninsula, the battle o f K o so vo Polje (Field o f the Blackbirds) in June 1389 was to be best remem bered in legend and epic poetry. H ere the O ttom an forces met an arm y o f Serbs, Bosnians, and A lb a nians. This event was to have a particular significance for Serbia, since it was later com m em orated as the sym bolic end o f the independent Serbian m edie val state. Its prince, Lazar (1371-1389), and Sultan M urad both died at K o sovo.
The next sultan, Bayezid the Thunderbolt (1389-1402), continued the pat tern o f conquest. Ttirnovo was taken in 1393; the ruler o f Wallachia, M ircea the O ld (1386—1418), also became a vassal. A t this point Western Christendom did make a weak attempt to organize a resistance. A nsw ering a call from Pope Boniface IX (138 9 -140 4), K in g Sigism und (1387-1437) o f H u n gary led a cru sade in w hich French, G erm an, and British knights participated. T h is army was defeated at N icopolis (N icop) in 1396 by Bayezid. The victorious O tto man advance was tem porarily halted by the activities o f Tamerlane (1369- 14 0 5 ), the last great conqueror to em erge from A sia. T he O ttom an forces were crushed at the battle o f A nkara in 1402, w here Bayezid was taken pris oner.
A fter the collapse o f Tamerlane’s em pire follow in g his death, and after a civil w ar in the O ttom an state (14 0 3-14 13), M ehm ed I (1413-14 2 1) and the next sultan, M urad II (1421—1451), were able to resume the march forw ard. A new crusade was organized under the leadership o f V ladislav (1434—144 4), the king o f Poland and H ungary, w ith the support o f Wallachia and the S er bian noble, G eorge Brankovic. T he real direction o f the undertaking was, how ever, in the hands o f John H unyadi, known in Rom anian historiography as Iancu o f H unadoara, a R om anian in H ungarian service w h o was the g o v ernor o f Transylvania. A lth ou gh the Christian forces w on som e early suc