Uncertain Identity in a Changing World

Useful maps

Map of North Africa from the Huntington
– Link 1

According to William P. Frank, the Curator of Hispanic, Cartographic, and Western Manuscripts at the Huntington Library, "Map 7 in the Vallard Atlas depicts western Africa from just south of the Equator on toward the north, but does not include the Mediterranean coastline. Having north at the top of a map was not yet the universal convention in the first half of the sixteenth century, and this particular atlas has its maps oriented with south at the top. The prime focus of the map, especially the visual decoration, is sub-Saharan west Africa from the Equator on north, with the Atlantic coast extending to the Straits of Gibraltar. At the top left is the Portuguese trading and slaving fortress of Sao Jorge da Mina, with an eclectic mix of African natives, ranging from local kings/chieftains on down."

Map of the Ottoman Empire
– Link 2

Locate Venice and Cyprus on the map in the linked page above. How does understanding their geographical relationships show why Venice seemed to represent the edge of the civilized Christian world?

Insights into Slavery in the African World

This is a recent account of slave trade in the Sudan that gives a historical overview relevant to Othello.
– Link 3

This course site from Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA, provides some perspective on racial issues in Othello.
– Link 4

The Battle of Lepanto

Although Shakespeare is not a historian, the events in his play recall a political crisis that came to a head about the year 1570. Links below provide more information about the conflict between the Venetian Christians and the Ottoman Turks in which Othello is engaged.

This site offers a good summary of the importance of Cyprus in the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century battles between European and Turkish forces.
– Link 5

This site belongs to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest, Hungary. Like the Venetians and the Viennese, the people of Hungary felt themselves exposed to the military advances of the Ottoman Turks.
– Link 6

On Venice and Venetians

This essay from the Christian Science Monitor provides a succinct review of the significance of Venice in medieval and Renaissance Europe.
– Link 7

An informative and well-illustrated site devoted to Venice, created by an eighth-grade class in the Ambrit-Rome International School.
– Link 8

This colorful site developed by the Tel Aviv University Science and Technology Education Center provides links to information about other Italian cities, as well as Venice.
– Link 9

Elegant Life in the Republic of Venice

A Tintoretto portrait of an important Venetian—compare Brabanzio. Notice the significance of his role in the Battle of Lepanto.
– Link 10

Venice: The Bride of the Sea
– Link 11

This great portrait of a Duke of Venice (the Doge) in Britain's National Gallery of Art typifies the grandeur associated with the city.
– Link 12

Images of Venetian courtesans and revelers illustrate the city's reputation as a city devoted to pleasure

This academic site developed for the study of Ben Jonson's Volpone offers a rich compilation of Internet materials about the depiction of Venice in Elizabethan drama, with some materials specifically about Othello.
– Link 13

A richly colored image from the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore.
– Link 14

This famous painting of "Two Venetian Ladies" by Carpaccio dates from the early 1500s.
– Link 15

This is an illustrated article by Carol Tucker of the University of Southern California giving details of research into the life of Veronica Franco, a magnificently dressed Venetian courtesan.
– Link 16

Compare the behavior of Iago and Roderigo to that of the "braves" described by Thomas Coryate in the conclusion of these selections.
– Link 17

Sant'iago Matamoros

Tiepolo's Saint James the Great Conquering the Moors. This is a typical heroic image of Sant'iago Matamoros, Saint James the Moor-Slayer.
– Link 18

General sources for searching Shakespeare's plays

– Link 19