Hey Michele, thanks for the comments!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Michele
So what are the arrangements as to religion? In a new world colony established by the Ottomans, will there be a church for the Venetian Catholic volunteers? Will there be one for the Greek Orthodox volunteers? Will these have the same rights as the Ottoman Muslim volunteers? If not (which is the most likely answer), then why won't the Venetians and Greeks form their own parties and strike out on their own, to establish their own free colony? That's why the Plymouth Colony came into being, you'll remember.
|
This is going to be very broad, so you may take it with a grain of salt.
I will start with the Ottoman Empire (since they are the biggest players in the alliance). As far as I know, at least under the regime of Sultan Suleiman people was allowed to practice other religions than Islam. In this respect, the inhabitants of the empire were allowed to carry their religious rituals at the designated places; however, given the approach of the Islam (e.g. their religion greatly reflects on the exterior) practitioners of other religions had to adjust their conducts in order to respect the traditions of the predominant religion; on the other hand, law in the Ottoman Empire was greatly involved with the Islam, so it would not be surprising if not-Islamic people found difficulties because of the cultural difference. I can think of 2 big (contextual) downsides at the time, (1) the devşirme (kidnaping Christians boys for the army) and (2) non-Islamic parties willingly demanding judgement under the Islamic laws to earn advantages over non-Islamic parties trying to apply their “native” laws.
Either way, you could say that freedom of religion in the Ottoman Empire was not perfect back then, but somewhat plausible.
Regarding the Venetians and the Greek.
Christianity was quite different during the 16th century; greatly oversimplifying the facts, it was a time in which being Anglican, Catholic, Orthodox, etc. was a component of your political allegiance. For example, if you were Catholic you were pledging you allegiance to Rome and if you were Anglican, you were with England, if you are an opposing party then you are an infidel/heretic, etc.; but perhaps religious practices did not change that much (at that time) from one Christian Church to another, and the most relevant matter was about “who’s in charge”. That said, the Venetians were not at the best terms with Rome back then (16th century), and this distanced them from the Church of Rome. On the other hand, Greece was practically gone and the Orthodox Church’s seat was moved to Russia, so Greece did not factor when it came to demanding anything. However, Christianity factored as a whole, in the entire world.
From this perspective, within the alliance Venetians and Greeks are simply Christians.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Michele
Or is the alliance establishing separate settlements for Muslims, Orthodox and Catholics? If so, you won't get the mixing you seem to wish for.
|
This will sound very smooth, but it’s just the way it works "on the paper":
The alliance in this setting starts from a principle of neutrality. Where Greece stands as the neutral land between the Ottomans and the Venetians. The alliance features a code/law to ensure all of the volunteers are judged equally, and also to administer the new land; this is in part to attract more volunteers to the cause and to avoid conflicts within the alliance.
The settlements are secular and might host members of several religions at once; however, people also can gather and form communities in which they might practice their customs and traditions freely. These areas are revised and authorized by the local authority (the diplomat); entrance to such areas is not restricted, but those interested in entering these spaces might be required to comply with their respective norms; if you want to live in such places you do require to pay a fee. Inhabitants could live in a secular (mixed) area instead of joining a community, paying a lower fee. The fees are employed to sustain the settlement.