Republic of Ragusa The Republic of Ragusa , or Republic of Dubrovnik , was a maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik ( ' in Italian and Latin ) in Dalmatia ( today in southernmost modern Croatia ) , that existed from 1358 to 1808 . It reached its commercial peak in the 15th and the 16th centuries , under the protection of the Ottoman Empire , before being conquered by Napoleon ' s French Empire in 1808 . It had a population of about 30 , 000 people , of whom 5 , 000 lived within the city walls . It had the motto ' ( Latin for " Liberty is not well sold for all the gold " ) . Names . Originally named " Communitas Ragusina " ( Latin for " Ragusan municipality " or " community " ) , in the 14th century it was renamed " Respublica Ragusina " , first mentioned in 1385 ( Latin for " Ragusan Republic " ) . In Italian it is called " Repubblica di Ragusa " ; in Croatian , it is called " Dubrovačka Republika " . The Croatian name " Dubrovnik " is derived from the word " dubrava " , an oak grove ; by a strange folk etymology , the Turks have corrupted this into " Dobro - Venedik " , meaning Good - Venice . It came into use alongside " Ragusa " as early as the 14th century . The Latin , Italian and Dalmatian name " Ragusa " derives its name from " Lausa " ( from the Greek ξαυ : " xau " , " precipice " ) ; it was later altered in " Rausium " ( Appendini says that until after AD 1100 , the sea passed over the site of modern " Ragusa " , if so , it could only have been over the Placa or Stradun ) or " Rausia " ( even " Lavusa " , " Labusa " , " Raugia " and " Rachusa " ) and finally into " Ragusa " . The official change of name came into effect when so ordered by the Yugoslav government after the Second World War . The name Ragusa was to be changed as it was Italian or at least looked like it . However , the name Ragusa comes directly from the Illyrian tongue and was in use back to that period of regional history . Coat of arms . Today the coat of arms of Ragusa , in its red and blue version , can be seen in the coat of arms on the Croatian flag as it constitutes a historic part of Croatia . Territory . The Republic ruled a compact area of southern Dalmatia – its final borders were formed by 1426 – comprising the mainland coast from Neum to the Prevlaka peninsula as well as the Pelješac peninsula and the islands of Lastovo and Mljet , as well as a number of smaller islands off Lastovo and Dubrovnik such as Koločep , Lopud , and Šipan . In the 15th century the Ragusan republic also acquired the islands of Korčula , Brač and Hvar for about eight years . However they had to be given up due to the resistance of local minor aristocrats sympathizing with Venice which was granting them some privileges . History . Origins . The city was established in the 7th century ( circa 614 ) after Avar and Slavic raiders destroyed the Roman city of Epidaurum , today ' s Cavtat . Some of the survivors moved north to a small island near the coast where they founded a new settlement , Lausa . It has been claimed that a second raid by the Slavs in 656 resulted in the total destruction of Epidaurum . Epidaurum had earlier been destroyed in AD 265 by the Goths and , according to English writer John Gardner Wilkinson , " Rausium ( Ragusa ) probably was founded long before Epidaurus was finally destroyed , and that the various eruptions of barbarians , in the third and succeeding centuries , had led to the original establishment of this place of refuge " . The refugees from Roman Epidaurum built their new settlement on the small island ( some sources say peninsula ) of Lausa off the shore while other populations ( primarily Croats ) settled along the coast in the following centuries , directly across the narrow channel , and named their settlement " Dubrovnik " . Initially the populations were skeptical of each other . Over time they grew closer and finally in the 12th century the two settlements merged . The channel that divided the city was filled creating the present - day main street ( the " Stradun " ) which became the city centre . Thus , " Dubrovnik " became the Slavic name for the united town . Recently another theory appeared , based on new archaeological excavations . New findings , including a chapel and part of the city walls , were dated to the 5th century , clashing with earlier theories . The size of the old chapel indicates that there was quite a large settlement at that time . A new theory appeared dating construction of Dubrovnik back to Greek times . The Greek theory was boosted with recent findings of numerous Greek artifacts during excavations in the Port of Dubrovnik . Antun Ničetić , in his book " Povijest dubrovačke luke " ( " History of the Port of Dubrovnik " ) explains his theory that Dubrovnik was established by Greek sailors . The key element in this theory is the fact that ships in ancient time traveled about 45 to 50 nautical miles per day , and required a sandy shore to pull their ships out of the water for the rest period during the night . An ideal combination would have a fresh water source in the vicinity . Dubrovnik had both , being half way between the Greek settlements of Budva and Korčula , which are apart . Early centuries . The Saracens laid siege to Dubrovnik in 866 and 867 ; the siege lasted for fifteen months and was raised due to the intervention of the Byzantine Emperor , Basil the Macedonian , who sent a fleet under Niketas Oryphas in relief . With the weakening of Byzantium , Venice began to see Ragusa as a rival that needed to be brought under her control , but the attempt to conquer the city in 948 failed . The citizens of the city attributed this to Saint Blaise ( ) , whom they adopted as the patron saint . Ragusa in those early medieval centuries was an island , and had a population of Latinized Illyrians , who spoke their own Romance Dalmatian language In 1050 , Croatian king Stjepan I , ruler of Croatia and Dalmatia , made a grant of land along the coast that extended the boundaries of Ragusa to Zaton , north of the original city , giving the republic control of the abundant supply of fresh water that emerges from a " source vauclusienne " at the head of the Ombla inlet . Stephen ' s grant also included the harbour of Gruž , which is now the commercial port for Dubrovnik . In the 11th century , Dubrovnik and the surrounding area were described in the work of the famous Arab geographer Muhammad al - Idrisi . In his work , he mentioned Dubrovnik as the southernmost city of " the country of Croatia and Dalmatia " . In 1191 , the city ' s merchants were granted the right to trade freely in Byzantium by Emperor Isaac II Angelos . Similar privileges were obtained several years earlier from Serbia ( 1186 ) and from Bosnia ( 1189 ) . The treaty with Bosnian Ban Kulin is also the first official document where the city is referred to as Dubrovnik . Venetian suzerainty ( 1205 – 1358 ) . When , in 1205 , the Republic of Venice invaded Dalmatia with the forces of the Fourth Crusade , Ragusa was forced to pay a tribute and became a source of supplies for Venice ( hides , wax , silver and other metals ) . Venice used the city as its naval base in the southern Adriatic Sea . Unlike with Zadar , there was not much friction between Ragusa and Venice as the city had not yet begun to compete as an alternate carrier in the trade between East and West ; in addition , the city retained most of its independence . The people , however , resented the ever growing tribute and an almost epic hatred between Ragusa and Venice began to grow . In the middle of the thirteenth century the island of Lastovo was added to the original territory . Then in 1333 , the Pelješac Peninsula and Dubrovačko primorje were purchased from Serbia with the blessing of Bosnia ; the island of Mljet was acquired in 1345 . In January 1348 , the Black Death visited the city . Independence from Venice and establishment of the Republic ( 1358 ) . After Venice was forced in 1358 , by the Treaty of Zadar , to yield all claims to Dalmatia , the city accepted the mild hegemony of King Louis I of Hungary . On 27 June 1358 , the final agreement was reached at Visegrád between Louis and the Archbishop Ivan Saraka . The city recognized Hungarian sovereignty , but the local nobility continued to rule with little interference from Buda . The Republic profited from the suzerainty of Louis of Hungary , whose kingdom was not a naval power , and with whom they would have little conflict of interest . The last Venetian rector left , apparently in a hurry . In 1399 , the city acquired the area between Ragusa and Pelješac , called the " Primorje " . Moreover , between 1419 and 1426 , the Konavle region south of Astarea , including the city of Cavtat , was added to the republic ' s possessions . In the first half of the 15th century Cardinal Ivan Stojković ( " Johannes de Carvatia " ) was active in Dubrovnik as a Church reformer and writer . Ottoman suzerainty . In 1458 , the Republic signed a treaty with the Ottoman Empire which made it a tributary of the sultan . Moreover , it was obliged to send an ambassador to Constantinople by 1 November of each year in order to deliver the tribute . When in 1481 the city passed into Ottoman " protection " , it was to pay an increased tribute of 12 , 500 ducats . For all other purposes , however , Ragusa was virtually independent . It could enter into relations with foreign powers and make treaties with them , and its ships sailed under its own flag . Ottoman vassalage also conferred special rights in trade that extended within the Empire . Ragusa handled the Adriatic trade on behalf of the Ottomans , and its merchants received special tax exemption s and trading benefits from the Porte . It also operated colonies that enjoyed extraterritorial rights in major Ottoman cities . Merchants from Ragusa could enter the Black Sea which was otherwise closed to non - Ottoman shipping . They paid less in than other foreign merchants , and the city - state enjoyed diplomatic support from the Ottoman administration in trade disputes with the Venetians . For their part , Ottomans regarded Ragusa as a port of major importance . After all , most of the traffic between Florence and Bursa ( an Ottoman port in northwestern Anatolia ) was carried out via Ragusa . Florentine cargoes would leave the Italian ports of Pesaro , Fano or Ancona to reach Ragusa . From that point on they would take the land route Bosnasaray ( Sarajevo ) – Novibazar – Skopje – Plovdiv – Edirne . When in the late 16th century , Ragusa placed its merchant marine at the disposal of the Spanish Empire , on condition that its participation in the Spanish military ventures would not affect the interest of the Ottoman Empire , the latter tolerated the situation as the trade of Ragusa permitted the importation of goods from states with which the Ottoman Empire was at war . Along with England , Spain and Genoa , Ragusa was one of the Venice ' s most damaging competitors in the 15th century on all seas , even in the Adriatic . Thanks to its proximity to the plentiful oak forests of Gargano , it was able to bid cargoes away from the Venetians . Population . Vekaric , ( 1998 ) used tax evidence from Dubrovacko Promorje [ the Dubrovnik littoral ] and a census to find that the Dubrovnik republic ( Ragusa ) had a population of nearly ninety thousand by 1500 ; it was rather overpopulated . From then to 1700 the population declined : in the first half of the 16th century , it had more than 50 , 000 inhabitants ; in the second half of the 16th century , between 50 , 000 and 60 , 000 ; in the 1630s , about 40 , 000 ; and in 1673 - 74 , only 26 , 000 inhabitants . In the second half of the 15th century , due to Turkish expansion , Dubrovnik received a large number of Christian refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina , offering them the less fertile land . Numerous epidemics , the Candian War of 1645 - 69 , the 1667 earthquake , and emigration greatly reduced the population levels . The population of the republic never again reached its previous levels . Decline of the Republic . With the great Portuguese explorations which opened up new ocean routes , the spice trade no longer went through the Mediterranean sea . Moreover , the discovery of America started a crisis of Mediterranean shipping . That was the beginning of the decline of both the Venetian and Ragusan Republics . Charles VIII of France granted trading rights to the Ragusans in 1497 . These rights were also granted by Louis XII in 1502 . In the first decade of the 16th century , Ragusan consuls were in France while their French counterparts were sent to Ragusa . Prominent Ragusans were in France during this period and include such dignitaries as Simon Benessa , Lovro Gigants , D . Bondić , Ivan Cvletković , Captain Ivan Florio , Petar Lukarić , Serafin Gucetić , Luka Sorkočević . The Ragusan aristocracy was also well represented at the Sorbonne University in Paris at this time . The fate of Ragusa was linked to that of the Ottoman Empire . Ragusa and Venice lent technical assistance to the Ottoman – Egypt ian – Zamorin ' s Calicut – Gujarati alliance that was defeated by the Portuguese in the Battle of Diu in the Indian Ocean ( 1509 ) . On 6 April 1667 , a devastating earthquake struck and killed over 5 , 000 citizens , including many patricians and the Rector ( ) Šišmundo Getaldić . The earthquake also levelled most of the city ' s public buildings , leaving only the outer walls intact . Buildings in the Gothic and Renaissance styles – palaces , churches and monasteries – were destroyed . Of the city ' s major public buildings , only the Sponza Palace and the front part of the Rector ' s Palace at Luza Square surviving . Gradually the city was rebuilt in the more modest Baroque style . With great effort Ragusa recovered a bit , but still remained a shadow of the former Republic . In 1677 Marin Kaboga ( 1630 – 1692 ) and Nikola Bunić ( " ca " 1635 – 1678 ) arrived in Constantinople in an attempt of aversion of the imminent threat to Ragusa : Kara - Mustafa ' s pretensions for the annexation of Ragusa to the Ottoman Empire . The Grand - Vizier , struck with the capacity Marin showed in the arts of persuasion , and acquainted with his resources in active life , resolved to deprive his country of so able a diplomat , and on 13 December he was imprisoned , where he was to remain for several years . In 1683 , Kara - Mustafa was killed in the attacks on Vienna , and Marin was soon free to return to Ragusa . In 1684 , the emissaries renewed an agreement contracted in Višegrad in the year 1358 and accepted the sovereignty of the Austrian Emperor over Ragusa as a Hungarian King , with an annual tax of 500 ducats . At the same time Ragusa continued to recognize the sovereignty of Turkey ; which was nothing unusual in those days . After this even greater opportunities opened up for Ragusa ships in ports all along the Dalmatian coast , in which they anchored frequently . In 1683 the Turks were defeated in the Battle of Kahlenberg outside Vienna . The Field marshal of the Austrian army was Ragusan Frano Đivo Gundulić . In the Treaty of Karlowitz of 1699 , the Ottomans ceded all of Hungary , Transylvania , Slavonia , Dalmatia and Podolia to the victorious Habsburgs , Venetians , and Poles . The Ottoman Empire was no longer a threat to Christian Europe . After this , Venice captured a part of Ragusa ' s inland area and approached its borders . They presented the threat of completely surrounding and cutting off Ragusa ' s trade inland . In view of this danger and anticipating the defeat of the Turks in 1684 Ragusa sent emissaries to the Austrian Emperor Leopold in Vienna , hoping that the Austrian Army would capture Bosnia . Fortunately for the Republic , the Ottomans retained their control over their hinterland . With the 26 January 1699 peace agreement , the Republic of Ragusa ceded two patches of its coast to the Ottoman Empire so that the Republic of Venice would be unable to attack from land , only from the sea . One of them , the northwestern land border with the small town of Neum , is today the only outlet of present - day Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Adriatic Sea . The southeastern border village of Sutorina later became part of Montenegro , which has coastline to the south . Ragusa continued its policy of strict neutrality in the War of Austrian succession ( 1741 – 48 ) and in the Seven Years ' War ( 1756 – 63 ) . In 1783 the Ragusan Council did not answer the proposition put forward by their diplomatic representative in Paris , Frano Favi , that they should establish diplomatic relations with the USA , although the Americans agreed to allow Ragusan ships free passage in their ports . The first years of the French war were in recent times the most prosperous for Ragusa . The flag of Saint Blaise being neutral , the Republic became one of the chief carriers of the Mediterranean . The Continental blockade was the life of Ragusa ; and before the rise of Lissa the manufactures of England , excluded from the ports of France , Italy , Holland , and Germany , found their way to the centre of Europe through Saloniki and Ragusa . But this state , which had managed the Turks so skilfully , which had survived the Greek and Serbian Empires as well as the Republic of Venice , was unable to stand upright in the terrible contest which included the extremities of Europe in its sphere . The philanthropic republicans of France offered to fraternise with all other republics ; and we shall see that Napoleon , with the Imperial Crown on his head , did not despise the small Republic of Ragusa . The Battle of Austerlitz , and the consequent Treaty of Pressburg , having compelled Austria to hand over Dalmatia to France , Ragusa was put in a novel dilemma . Kotor held by the Venetians against the Turks , was always accessible to Venice , which was a naval power . But while France held the land , the United Kingdom and Russia held the sea ; and while France was marching her troops from Austerlitz to Dalmatia , eleven Russian sail of the line entered the Bay of Kotor , and landed 6000 men , later supported by 16000 Montenegrins under Petar I Petrović - Njegoš . As 5000 Frenchmen under Marshal Gabriel Jean Joseph Molitor marched southwards , and took pacific possession , one after another , of the fortresses of Dalmatia , the Russians pressed the senators of Ragusa to allow them to occupy their city , as it was an important fortress , – thus anticipating France might block the further progress to Kotor , as the reader will see by an examination of the map that there is no way from Dalmatia to Kotor but through Ragusa . Marshal Gabriel Molitor was equally abundant in friendly professions , pressing instances , and solemn pledges , to respect the integrity of the Republic , in his passage to Kotor . Ragusa felt herself without the power of causing her neutrality to be respected , and long and anxious were the debates that ensued . " Dear as this land is to me , " said Count Vlaho Kaboga , " consecrated as it is to our affections by its venerable institutions , its wise laws , and the memory of illustrious ancestors , it will henceforth cease to deserve the name of patria , if its independence be subverted . With our large fleet of merchantmen , let us embark our wives and our children , our state treasures and our laws , and ask of the Sultan an island in the Archipelago , which may become a new Epidaurus , and the sanctuary of our time - honoured institutions . " Serious as the dilemma was , the senator s were unprepared for so desperate a remedy . A large majority were for opening the gates to Russia ; but the echoes of Austerlitz had scarce died away , and such an act would have at once exposed them to the vengeance of Napoleon , then in the zenith of his lawless ambition and military power . So the occupation of the city was assigned to the French under General Jacques Lauriston . No sooner did this take place than the Russian force moved to the siege of the city , and unhappily for Ragusa the 16 - thousand Montenegrin army accompanied the regular Russian troops ; and such a scene of horror had not been seen since the Huns and the Avars swept round Aquileia . The Montenegrin army was fully equipped to the standards of the Russian army , but the officers and generals of the army quite hated the Ragusans for their betrayal of Montenegro during Šćepan Mali ' s rule . The environs were studded thickly with villas , the results of a long prosperity ; and the inhuman scenes of rapine with which the wars of the Montenegrines with the Turks were accompanied were transferred to these abodes of ease and luxury . Accustomed to the poverty of their own mountains , these invaders could scarce believe their own eyes when , passing Cavtat , the smiling villa s and well - filled store - houses of Breno Ombla and Pile were presented to their cupidity , and the siege of Ragusa commenced by the burning and plundering of the villas , involving the irretrievable loss of above half a million sterling . The city was in the utmost straits ; General " Gabriel Molitor " , who had advanced within a few days ' march of Ragusa , made an appeal to the Dalmatians to rise and expel the Russians and Montenegrins , which met with a feeble response , for only three hundred men joined his standard ; but a stratagem made up for his deficiency of numbers . A letter , seemingly confidential , was despatched to General Lauriston in Ragusa , announcing his proximate arrival to raise the siege with such a force of Dalmatians as must overwhelm Russians and the vast Montenegrin army ; which letter was , as intended by Molitor , intercepted and believed by the besieging Russians . With his force thinly scattered , to make up a show , Molitor now advanced towards Ragusa , and turning the Montenegrin position in the valley behind , threatened to surround the Russians who occupied the summit of the hill between him and the city ; but seeing the risk of this , the Russians retreated back towards the Bay of Kotor , and the city was relieved . The Montenegrin army had followed the order of Admiral Dimitry Senyanin who was in charge of the Russian troops , and retreated to Cetinje End of the Republic . Around the year 1800 , the Republic had a highly organized network of consulates and consular offices in more than eighty cities and ports around the world . In 1806 , the Republic surrendered to forces of the Empire of France to end a months - long siege by the Russian fleets and the Montenegrin army ( during which 3 , 000 cannonballs fell on the city ) . The French lifted the siege and saved Ragusa . The French army , led by Napoleon , entered Ragusa in 1806 . In 1808 , Marshal Marmont abolished the Republic of Ragusa and amalgamated its territory into the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy , himself becoming the " Duke of Ragusa " ( " Duc de Raguse " ) . In 1810 Ragusa , with all Dalmatia , went to the newly created French Illyrian Provinces . Later , in the 1814 Battle of Paris , Marmont abandoned Napoleon and was branded a traitor . The word " ragusade " was coined in French to signify treason and " raguser " meant a cheat . The Ragusan nobility were disunited in their ideas and political behavior . Article " 44 " of the " 1811 Decree " abolished the centuries - old institution of " fideicommissum " in inheritance law , by which the French enabled younger noblemen to participate in that part of the family inheritance , which the former law had deprived them of . The annulment of " fideicommissum " struck at Antonio Degl ’ Ivellio . According to a 1813 inventory of the Dubrovnik district , 451 land proprietors were registered , including ecclesiastical institutions and the commune . Although there is no evidence of the size of their estates , the nobles , undoubtedly , were in possession of most of the land . Eleven members of the Sorgo family , eight of Gozze , six of Ghetaldi , six of Pozza , four of Zamagna and three members of the " Saraka " family were among the greatest landowners . Ragusan citizens belonging to the confraternities of St . Anthony and St . Lazarus owned considerable land outside the City . Regardless of the events taking place in the City , it was besieged by a Pro Austrian force of Croats under Todor Milutinović helped by the British Royal Navy who had enjoyed unopposed domination over the Adriatic sea . Captain William Hoste joined the siege in late January 1814 with his ships HMS " Bacchante " and HMS " Saracen " . They hauled canon up the hill and after a two day bombardment the French with 500 troops under General Joseph de Montrichard settled the surrender of the City under honorable terms . With the aim of avoiding greater conflict , the Austrian s agreed to the French conditions . General Milutinović promised that the victorious Montenegrin , Austrian and British armies would not march into the city before the last Frenchman was evacuated from the city by ship . On 27 January , the French capitulation was signed in Gruž and ratified the same day . It was then that Vlaho Kaboga openly sided with the Austrians , dismissing the rebel army in Konavle . Meanwhile , Đivo Natali and his men were still waiting outside the Ploče Gates . After almost eight years of occupation , the French troops marched out of Dubrovnik on 27 and 28 January 1814 . On the afternoon of 28 January 1814 , the Montenegrin , Austrian and British troops made their way into the city through the Pile Gates , denying admission to the Ragusa rebels . Intoxicated by success , and with Vlaho Kaboga ' s support , General Milutinović ignored the Gruž agreement he had made with the nobility in Gruž . The events which followed can be best epitomized in the so - called flag episode . The Flag of Saint Blaise was flown alongside the Austrian and British colors , but only for two days because , on 30 January , General Milutinović ordered the Mayor Savo Đorđi to lower it . Overwhelmed by a feeling of deep patriotic pride , Đorđi , the last Rector of the Republic and a loyal francophile , refused to do so " " jer da ga je pripeo puk " " ( " for the masses had hoisted it " ) . Subsequent events proved that Austria took every possible opportunity to invade the entire coast of the eastern Adriatic , from Venice to Kotor . The allies did ever anything in their power to eliminate the Ragusa issue at the Vienna Congress of 1815 . The Ragusa representative , Miho Bona , was denied participation in the Congress , while Milutinović , prior to the final agreement of the allies , assumed complete control of the city . In his 1908 book " The Fall of Dubrovnik " ( " Pad Dubrovnika " ) , Lujo Vojnović , the younger brother of Ivo Vojnović , makes every effort to justify the popular actions and prove the solidarity of all social groups in achieving their common goal to restore the Republic . The records , however , seem to indicate a different situation . There was in fact little understanding between the nobility , the bourgeoisie , and the peasantry , and slim chances of these groups of having any common basis for further activities . The three groups had different reasons to be dissatisfied with the French government , and the moment when they rejoiced together over their victory was not strong enough to unite all the segments of Dubrovnik society in a struggle to restore the Republic . After Ragusa suffered a political breakdown , it was brought to the verge of economic ruin , and was forsaken by the international community ; the City and its territories were handed over to the Habsburg Monarchy in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna . In 1814 , led by general Todor Milutinović , the Austrian army marched into Dubrovnik . With them came the British army and the local insurgents against the French occupation . At the Congress of Vienna in 1815 , Ragusa was made a part of the crown land of the Kingdom of Dalmatia , ruled by Austria - Hungary , which it remained a part of until 1918 . In 1815 , nobles of the former Ragusan Government met for the last time , with their efforts to re - establish the Republic of Ragusa eventually failing . After the fall of the Republic most of the aristocracy died out or emigrated overseas ; around one fifth of the noble families were recognized by the Austrian empire . Some of the families that were recognized and survived were Ghetaldi - Gundula , Gozze , Kaboga , Sorgo , Zlatarić , Zamagna , Pozza , Gradi , and Bona . The Greater Council met for the last time on 29 August 1814 in the Vila Đorđi ( the home of Sabo Đorđi ) in Mokošica . Government . The Republican Constitution of Ragusa was strictly aristocratic . The population was divided into three classes : nobility , citizens , and artisans or plebeians . All effective power was concentrated in the hands of aristocracy . The citizens were permitted to hold only minor offices , while plebeians had no voice in government . Marriage between members of different classes of the society was forbidden . The organization of the government was based on the Venetian model : the administrative bodies were the Grand Council ( supreme governing body ) and the Small Council ( executive power ) ( from 1238 ) and the Senate ( from 1253 ) . The head of the state was the Rector , elected for a term of office for one month . The Grand Council ( " Consilium maius " ) consisted only of members of the aristocracy ; every noble took his seat at the age of 18 . Every year , 11 members of the Small Council ( " Consilium minus " ) were elected . Together with a duke , the Small Council had both executive and representative functions . The main power was in the hands of the Senate ( " Consilium rogatorum " ) , which had 45 members elected for one year . This organization was designed to prevent any single family , such as the Medici in Florence , from gaining absolute control . Nevertheless , historians agree that the Sorgo family generally had the greatest influence . The Small Council ( " Consilium minus " ) consisted first of 11 members , and after 1667 of seven . Members were elected by the Rector . The Senate was added in 1235 as a consultative body . It consisted of 45 invited members , over 40 years of age . While the Republic was under the rule of Venice , the Rector was Venetian ; but after 1358 the Rector was always a person from the Republic of Ragusa . The length of the Rector ' s service was only one month , and a person was eligible for reelection after two years . The rector lived and worked in the Rector ' s Palace , but his family remained living in their own house . The government of the Republic was liberal in character and early showed its concern for justice and humanitarian principles . The Republic ' s flag had the word " Libertas " ( freedom ) on it , and the entrance to the Saint Lawrence fortress ( Lovrijenac ) just outside the Ragusa city walls bears the inscription " Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro " ( Liberty can not be sold for all the gold of the world ) . The Republic imposed some restrictions on the slave trade in 1416 . The Republic was also a staunch opponent of the Eastern Orthodox Church and only Roman Catholics could acquire Ragusan citizenship . An inscription on the Council ' s offices read : " Obliti privatorum publica curate " ( Manage the public affairs as if you had no private interests ) ; in the nineteenth century , the undertones of this political epigraph must have struck the Austrian governors of Ragusa as potentially dangerous , for they had it removed . The new government was probably irritated by its air of republicanism , a reminder of the statehood that was to be extirpated in integrating Ragusa into a new Habsburg frame . As a pregnant expression of civic virtue and republican values , this political maxim has been frequently cited ever since . Scarcely can be found a popular text on the heritage of Ragusan statehood or the political history of the Republic , whether printed , online , or spoken , in which this motto does not appear . Patrician families . The city was ruled by the aristocracy , and marriage between members of three different social classes was strictly forbidden . The nominal head of state was the Ragusan Duke , while during the period of Venetian suzerainty the rector held considerable influence . Real power , however , was in the hands of three councils that were held by the nobility . The Ragusan archives document , " Speculum Maioris Consilii Rectores " , lists all the persons that were involved in the Republic ' s government between September 1440 to June 1860 . There were 4397 rectors elected ; 2764 ( 63 % ) were from " old patrician " families : Gučetić , Bunić , Kabužić , Crijević , Gundulić , Getaldić , Đorđić , Gradić , Pucić , Saraka , Sorkočević , and Džamanjić . A big problem of Ragusan noble families was also that because of the decrease of their numbers and lack of noble families in the neighborhood ( the surroundings of Dubrovnik was under Turkish control ) they were becoming more and more closely related , the marriages between relatives of the third and fourth degree were frequent . An 1802 list of Dubrovnik Republic ' s governing bodies showed that six of the eight Small Council and 15 of the 20 Great Council members were from the same 11 families . The Ragusan aristocracy evolved in the 12th century through the 14th century . It was finally established by statute in 1332 . New families were accepted only after the earthquake in 1667 . In the Republic of Ragusa all political power was owned by noble males older than 18 years . These in total formed the Great Council ( Consilium majus ) which had the legislative function . Every year , 11 members of the Small Council ( Consilium minus ) were elected . Together with the duke ( who was elected for a period of one month ) it had both executive and representative functions . The main power was in the hands of the Senate ( " Consilium rogatorum " ) which had 45 members elected for one year . This organization prevented any single family , unlike the Medici in Florence , from prevailing . Nevertheless the historians agree that the Sorgo family was consistently among the most influential . Original patriciate : Families that joined the patriciate after the 1667 earthquake : Relations among the nobility . It is peculiar that the nobility survived even when the classes were divided by internal disputes . When Marmont arrived in Dubrovnik in 1808 , the nobility was divided into two blocks , the " Salamankezi " ( " Salamanquinos " ) and the " Sorbonezi " ( " Sorboneses " ) . These names alluded to certain controversy arisen from the wars between Charles V of Spain and Francis I of France , which happened some 250 years previously . It was in the 1667 earthquake that a great part of the nobles were annihilated , it was necessary for him to retain the control and so he did with the inclusion of certain plebeians into noble class . To these the " salamanquinos " , those in favor of Spanish absolutism , did not treat like equals ; but the inclined " sorboneses " , sided with the French and to a certain liberalism accepted them without reserves . Another factor that could have taken part in this conduct is that the " sorboneses " had been very decreased by the great earthquake and they did not want to lose their wealth and status . In any case , both sides retained their status and they seated together in the Council , but they did not maintain social relations and were not even greeting each other in the streets ; an inconvenient marriage between members of both groups was of so serious consequences as if it occurred between members of different classes . This social split was also reflected in the inferior layers : “ The plebeians , as well , were divided in the brotherhoods of Saint Antony and Saint Lazarus , who were so unfriendly in their relations as " salamanquinos " and " sorboneses " . But the nobility was always the essence of the Republic that always had to be defended from the neighboring empires – “ first Hungary , soon Venice , later Turkey ” – and that was structured for a reduced number of people , around the 33 original noble families from the 15th century . Languages . The official language until 1472 was Latin . Later , the Senate of the Republic decided that the official language of the Republic would be the Ragusan dialect of the Romance Dalmatian language ( as opposed to Croatian ) , and forbade the use of the Slavic language in senatorial debate . " The gospari " ( the aristocracy ) held on to their language for many a century , while it slowly disappeared . Although the Latin language was in official use until 1492 , inhabitants of the republic were mostly native speakers of the Croatian language ( as confirmed by P . A . Tolstoj in 1698 , when he noted " In Dalmatia . . . Dubrovnikans . . . called themselves as Croats " ) . Dalmatian was also spoken in the city . Italian , official since 1492 , as spoken in the republic , was heavily influenced by Venetian language and Tuscan dialect . Italian took root among the Dalmatian Romance - speaking merchant upper classes , as a result of Venetian influence . When Ragusa was part of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy , between 1808 and 1810 , the Italian language was yet in official use . Ragusan literature . The Ragusan literature in which Latin , Italian and Croatian languages coexisted blossomed in the 15th and 16th century . According to Graubard : Croatian language was normally used among lower classes , Italian in the upper . Ragusans were in general bilingual : speaking Croatian in common day to day duties and Italian in official occasions or mixing both . Literary works of famous Ragusans were written in both Croatian and Italian language . Among them are the works of writers Džore Držić , Marin Držić , Ivan Bunić Vučić , Ignjat Đurđević , Ivan Gundulić , Šišmundo ( Šiško ) Menčetić , Dinko Ranjina ; and following writers , beside others from the 16th to the 19th century ( before the Age of Romantic National Awakenings ) were explicit in declaring themselves as Croats and their language as Croatian : Vladislav Menčetić , Dominko ( Dinko ) Zlatarić ( see above ) , Bernardin Pavlović , Mavro Vetranović , Nikola Nalješković , Junije Palmotić , Jakov Mikalja , Joakim Stulli , Marko Bruerović , Peter Ignaz Sorgo , Antun Sorkočević ( 1749 – 1826 ) , Giovanni Francesco Sorgo ( 1706 – 71 ) . The Croatian - language works from republic of Dubrovnik had a large role in the developing of Croatian literature , as well as modern Croatian language . Ethnicity . The inhabitants of the Republic of Ragusa were chiefly of South Slavic ethnicity . They were Catholics and spoke the local variant of the Shtokavian dialect ( the same dialect upon which all modern regional languages are based ) . Among the modern South Slavic nations , Ragusans are mostly attributed to Croats in modern literature . However , discussions on the subject of Ragusan ethnicity are mainly based on revised concepts which developed after the fall of the Republic ; in particular , the time of Romantic Nationalism resulting from the French Revolution . Before this , states in general were not based on the contemporary unifying concepts such as nation , language or ethnicity ; loyalty was chiefly to family , city , and ( among Catholics such as the Ragusans ) the Church . The great cartographer , Muhammad al - Idrisi ( in 1154 ) , considered Dubrovnik as a part of the Croatian ( " Grwasiah " ) entity ( mentions it as " the last Croatian coastal city " ) in his book " Nuzhat al - Mushataq fi ikhtiraq al - afaq " ( ) . Currency . The Republic of Ragusa used various currencies over time and in a variety of systems :