Muda (convoy)

A muda was the convoy of merchant ships that usually left Venice in spring and came back in autumn.

In the earliest times, the mudas only visited ports in the Levant. In later years, the ships sailed also to European ports.

Along with merchants and goods, the mudas brought knowledge, new ideas and new cultures to Venice.

Muda were the commercial expeditions of the Republic of Venice, conducted annually by naval convoys that were organized by the state and subcontracted to private merchant companies. The mude system operated continuously between 1315 and 1533.

The Muda were distinguished from completely private merchant enterprises by the fact that they were made up of galea grossa da merchado (great merchant galleys) and were led by a commander, the Captain, appointed by the Venetian Senate, whose interests he officially represented in the destination markets. The mude took their names from the main regions in which they operated (Muda of Syria, Muda of Egypt, etc.) and the term itself (muda) was inspired by their periodicity (arrivals and departures occurred at certain times of the year), similar to that of migratory birds.