Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Venice today is very waterlogged. The waters of Venices many famed canals come right
up to every houses doorstep. You get around my walking and driving cars a little in that
case. !ot efficient transportation". #ut you also get around $y $oat. #oats are like the
cars of Venice. %t least& theyre used in a similar way. 'verything in transportation
terms" was a little different& $ut not super duper e(tremely different in 1720. There were
no cars& $ut there were $oats.
#oats in those times werent the super streamlined speeding piece of metal with all sorts
of gadgets and technology you see in speed$oats today. They also werent the enormous&
colossal Titanic ocean steamer ships that are so gigantic that you could fit resort and a
hotel on one you see today either. They were manually powered. This means they didnt
have petrol& com$ustion engines& or any of that fancy pants power stuff that we have
today. The $oats were rowed along $y terri$le singers and $oatmen they are only terri$le
singers& not terri$le $oatmen" called gondoliers& if the $oat was too $ig for one or two
people to power it. They were sort of like chauffeurs for $oats.
Venice in those days was slightly less waterlogged& and heres why) Venice started off as
a few communities $uilt on an island. They were $uilt together for protection in num$ers&
like herds of *e$ra you see in +enya today. They keep together as protection against
lions& leopards& hyenas& cheetahs& %frican wild hunting dogs& and other ghastly savannah
predators. The island communities did this to protect themselves against peoples such as
the ,uns and -om$ards as the #y*antine 'mpire that the emperor .ustinian the .ust had
greatly e(panded fell& as its power dwindled in northern /taly. 0ther steppe people $egan
to rise in a race for dominance as to who would ne(t $e king of he hill with an empire
mightier than any others near. 1o each set a$out e(panding their territory. The island
communities did not want to fall victim to any con2uerors& so the island communities
united& and had their first 3oge of Venice& 4rsus. The city was thus formed& al$eit not a
very $ig city. #ut Venice soon faced a sticky situation5 their island was $eginning to sink
into the depths of the sea666 Venice $ecame more and more waterlogged and several
$uildings were flooded and did not survive to the present day. #ut Venice is still good
and alive now in the present7for now& that is.
Venice had faced some trou$le a few years earlier& when the Turks made war on them in
3ecem$er 1718. %nd this would cost them dearly later on& as that $ig war had $een a $ig
factor in their decline.
Venices canal waters then& unfortunately& stank a whole lot. The tide reached up some
canals and swept them clean& $ut other canals were smelly due to the tides neglect of
them& and have at least some of Venices horri$ly rancid sewage. 3irty water was
simply dumped out the window $y some people& so you can imagine several sticky
situations that arose from that irresponsi$le practice& such as) a $ig e(pensive $oat with
its powerful owner on $oard& is $eing rowed along. 3irty water is dumped out of a
window on top& and the gondoliers are suddenly soaked in li2uid filth from a$ove. They
lose their concentration and crash the $oat& or capsi*e it. The owner gets all angry with
the dirty water thrower& and everything gets unpleasant. !o$ody $enefits and every$ody
suffers. 0r the owner could get soaked& and their e(pensive clothes are ruined. The owner
gets angry and every$ody suffers.
0h well& thats what you get for developing dirty ha$its like that. #ut then again& how
would any$ody dispose of his or her dirty water9
!ot my pro$lem.