Stjepan Buća, Kotor’s Nobleman and Commander of the Venetian Overseas Infantry, and the Composition of His Regiment (First Half of the 18th Century)

Abstract

Rad proučava vojnu karijeru Stjepana Buće, kotorskoga plemića i časnika mletačke vojske u 18. stoljeću. Pripadnici ove ugledne kotorske plemićke obitelji generacijama su se isticali u obnašanju važnih službi Mletačke Republike. Posljednjih desetljeća 17. stoljeća, u vrijeme ratova protiv Osmanlija, Buće ulaze u vojnu službu Republike. Upravo Stjepan, njegov brat Franjo i njihov otac Jeronim ostvaruju vrlo zapaženu vojnu karijeru. Stoga se proučavanjem vojne karijere ovih časnika, a rad je usredotočen na Stjepanovu, jasno ocrtava obrazac integracije lokalnih elita istočnojadranskoga prostora u mletački pomorski imperij. Sadržaj rada počiva na proučavanju izvorne građe nastale djelovanjem mletačke vojne administracije, koja se danas nalazi pohranjena u Archivio di Stato di Venezia i Državnome arhivu u Zadru. Glavni dio rada usmjeren je na analizu pješačke pukovnije Oltramarina u razdoblju od 1715. do 1741. godine, kojom je zapovijedao pukovnik Stjepan Buća. U prilogu rada donose se prijepisi dokumenata izravno vezanih uz vojno djelovanje Stjepana Buće kao pukovnika mletačkih pješačkih postrojbi.One of the key preconditions for building up and maintaining the Venetian naval empire in the early modern period was a successful connection between the interests of the local elites and the central authorities. The Venetian possessions in the Eastern Adriatic were no exception to this rule, and the noble families from the communes of Dalmatia and Bokelj played a particularly important role in this respect. For generations, their members held various public posts of local significance throughout the said area. From the mid-17th century, the local elites were increasingly involved in the Venetian military service. In this way, the Venetian military organization in the Eastern Adriatic region became the most important field in which the interests of the central authorities in Venice and the local elites were intertwined and firmly connected. An excellent example for studying this form of integration between the local elites and the state is the noble family of Buća (Bucchia), one of the ancient and especially respectable noble kindreds of Kotor. After some members of the family distinguished themselves in important civil services of the Republic, the Buća became more intensely involved in the Venetian military organization during the last decades of the 17th century. Stjepan Buća, his brother Franjo, and their father Jeronim made an excellent military career. Studying the military path of these officers, and this paper focuses on Stjepan’s in particular, clearly outlines the pattern of integration of the Eastern Adriatic local elites into the Venetian maritime empire. The main part of the study is an analysis of the infantry regiment Oltramarina, commanded by Colonel Stjepan Buća, in the period from 1715 to 1741. The authors bring transcripts of various documents that are directly related to the military activity of Stjepan Buća as a colonel in Venetian infantry units