The Genoese maritime empire in the eastern Mediterranean came to an end with the Ottoman conquest, yet the Genoese soon became the most powerful bankers in Europe. How and why did this happen? The Genoese bring us into an era we recognize readily as our own, demonstrating the relationship between, on the one hand, violence and colonial exploitation, and on the other, the more subtle and hidden sovereignty of financial power.
Padraic Rohan received the Ph.D from Stanford in 2021, after eventful earlier careers as a public school teacher, nonprofit entrepreneur, and foreign correspondent in Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. His research on medieval Genoa and its global reach traces the Genoese presence from the Black Sea and Bosphorous regions to the Atlantic world, beginning with the crusades and continuing through the voyages of Columbus, as well as their interactions with other colonial powers, including the Ottoman, Spanish, and Portuguese empires.
