The Immigrants from Central-European Countries in Genoese Black Sea Colonies in the Changing Political Realities of 1400–1475

The fifteenth century was a time of wars and unrest, commercial ventures and great losses, intrigues and massacres, Catholic missionaries and military orders, Catholic church councils and unions of churches, internal struggle between the political elites in Genoa, successful Muslim jihad, and failed attempts at the last crusades of Latin Christendom. Among the consequences of these changes were the difficulties experienced by the people from Italy and Western Europe in accessing the Black Sea colonies. At the same time, however, it is during this period that newcomers from Central and Eastern Europe are arriving in bigger numbers. The most important sources on the ethnic and religious structure of Genoese Caffa, as well as migration to the city, are the financial documents, which are the main source of this study. The public books of accounts of Caffa were called massariae, and the annual officials responsible for these books were called massarii. Each year, two massarii were sent from Genoa to Caffa, along with a new consul, to work in the colony as chief accountants.