296 THE REPUBLIC OF RAGUSA
Gravosa, and blockaded Ragusa itself, which was defended by Marino Vodopic with a small body of Hungarian mercenaries. The Duke of Ossuna, the Spanish Viceroy of Naples, undertook the protection of Spain’s old ally, and sent a squadron up the Adriatic with the object of attacking Venice and co-operating in the Bedmar conspiracy. The plot was discovered and the fleet failed in its main object, but it succeeded in forcing the Venetians to abandon Gravosa. This, however, caused the Turks to accuse the Ragusans of having allied themselves with Spain to the detriment of the Ottoman Empire. At the same time certain persons whispered accusations of double-dealing against the Ragusans in the Spanish court itself. Venice nursed a resentment against the Ragusans for having been on good terms with Spain at the time of the conspiracy, and indulged in a “ policy of pin-pricks ” towards the little Republic. The latter also suffered annoyances from the Pashas of Bosnia, who were always imposing extortionate duties on Ragusan goods, and arresting Ragusan merchants as they passed through the country. These turbulent viceroys had to be pacified with presents and heavy bribes. When in 1647 the war of Candia broke out between the Venetians and the Turks, Ragusa feared that she too would be involved in the conflict, and appealed to the Pope for protection. But this time she succeeded in maintaining a neutral attitude without being molested, the Sultan’s plan for concentrating his troops at Ragusa for an invasion of Dalmatia having been luckily abandoned.
During the quieter period after 1631 the Ragusans