Chapter 494
To Genoa, Florence might have been a benefactor who helped them gain sovereignty.
Genoa had broken free from Milan after four Lombard Wars.
However, in the competition for economic interests in the Mediterranean region, including the Levant and Africa, concepts like repaying favors or making concessions simply didn’t exist.
In such competition, Spain – or more precisely, the United Kingdom of León-Castile – was Genoa’s prime prey.
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While reclaiming the Iberian Peninsula, the nobles of the León-Castile Kingdom had expelled the Islamic and Jewish forces that dominated the commercial sector.
Naturally, this devastated the economy, and Genoese merchants filled the void.
Later, as the United Kingdom of León-Castile and the Kingdom of Aragon moved toward forming a single political community, Genoa became even more deeply involved. Despite Aragon’s formidable maritime commercial power, Genoa gained the upper hand by controlling León-Castile’s finances and economy.
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