Keeping up with the Contarinis: Understanding family ties and power dynamics in the Republic of Venice through social network analysis

Abstract

For the best part of a millennium, the Republic of Venice was a state with a stable form of government equivalent to an elective monarchy. Rulers, called doges, were chosen from the noble families following a complicated procedure that essentially guaranteed a very wide majority was needed to support that specific person. The need for a qualified majority implied that social capital was essential to achieve that specific job; this was also true for every other job in the host of institutions that supported the government. Social capital was accrued by families, not by individuals, since nobility was hereditary and there were certain restrictions to having several members of the same family in collegiate institutions; and this was done through commercial, political, and also social acts: trade and mutual investment or joint ventures, support through endorsements for government jobs, and also marriage. Thus, understanding the social network and its evolution is essential to gather some insights on the tenure and standing of some families, some of which managed to "make doge" for several centuries, as well as how new families had a head start to those very coveted positions and how others simply vanished. In this paper we will, through samples of that social network obtained from existing and available open sources, namely, marriages of doges, registered marriages, and joint commercial ventures, analyze the main actors in those social networks, as well as study its dynamics and how it correlates to other events in the history of the Republic. We will also try and check if there was some hints of strategizing for better positions in the social networks for the families involved. The position of certain families in the social network will be analyzed and matched to their historical record.