Domestic Hemp Growth and Regulation by the Arsenal of Venice

In the second half of the fifteenth century, domestic hemp growth was extremely important to the economy in Venice, Italy. As a water centered city with a powerful navy, the ropes and sails made from the hemp were essential to the success of the ships used by the Arsenal. After the Ottoman war, Venice found itself in a difficult situation in which Turkey, who was providing their ropes at the time, no longer could meet their demand. For both the protection of the city of Venice and the Arsenal, the State made the decision to set up hemp growing facilities in newly conquered land called terraferma. They would then take the hemp back to the Arsenal and weave the hemp fibers into massive ropes and sails. We saw these buildings today on our tour of the Arsenal. The whole process of growing and manufacturing was regulated by the Arsenal. There were many offices within the system that helped regulate these new rules. Though the land the hemp was grown on was private and owned by the farmers on it, the State had many regulations for the production of the hemp. For example, the farmers were not allowed to have any other crops on the land, and they were required to sign 10 year contracts stating their commitment to growing the hemp for the Arsenal.
One of the main issues of this system was the imbalance of the system regarding the payment of the farmers and price of the hemp products to the Arsenal. The farmers all had to be compensated fairly for their production, so the payment had to include the cost of seeds, manual labor, and even manure. At the same time though, the State wanted to offer the hemp products at a cheaper price so the Arsenal could save money. In the long run, this mistake was detrimental to their hemp growing and manufacturing industry.  Though it was a good idea in theory for both parties, in practice it helped lead to the end of the hemp growing by the Arsenal within 100 years.
Another aspect of this agreement was the conflict between the allowance of a free market, or the control by the State. The Arsenal decided to go with total control because they thought it would be more efficient. This also caused problems within the operation. At first, it seems like this problem would be isolated in the 15th century, while, in reality, it presents itself today. In our class discussion of the article, it was brought up that the United States did the same thing with steel production. The U.S. Army used the steel, and they stopped importing it and brought it the the United States to be manufactured because they did not trust other companies out of the country making it. So, while it may seem like a past issue, the idea of bringing a product into one's own country to be manufactured and highly regulating the process of manufacturing it, like the Arsenal did with hemp farming in Venice, is relevant and relatable to today.
Here are two of the buildings used by the Arsenal for the hemp production:

Here is the visual aid used in our early presentation describing the roles of those hired by the Arsenal. The most significant of these roles were the Patroni e Prowditori all'Arsenale (senior management and general control of production), the Provveditore ai canevi (quality, quantity, and personnell manager), the Stimador (book-keeper), and the Pesador (weighed the hemp).

Also, here is an interesting link to the way that hemp fibers are turned into rope: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=04X2eul5_ec