The black people in Venice in 1580 were certainly not slaves; Venice was at cross-roads of one of the major world trading routes, and the African kingdoms were at the apex of their power as trading and cultural centres. The title character of Shakespeare's Othello (The Moor of Venice) is a General from a distinguished (Royal?) family and I suspect Guido was riffing off Othello, since he's also a senior military advisor to the Venetian court.
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Date: 2010-06-28 06:46 am (UTC)