Ragusa

Ragusa was an aristocratic maritime republic centred on Dubrovnik in Dalmatia. In 1337 it was subject to Venice; in 1333 it had taken over Pelješac and Ston, bought from the Serbian kings.

The 1358 Treaty of Zadar transferred its homage to Hungary, leaving it effectively independent. From 1458 it paid Ottoman tribute while its merchants gained tax exemptions and Black Sea access. An earthquake weakened it in 1667; Napoleon abolished the republic in 1808, and the Congress of Vienna assigned its territory to Austria in 1815.