(I)Venice was a great sea-port in the thirteenth century. (II)Her warships controlled the eastern Mediterranean Sea and protected her merchant ships. (III) Her trade in goods from Asia for resale in Europe was the most important source of her wealth. (IV) Asia has always been attractive for Europeans because of such goods as" silk, precious stones and spices. (V) These goods, were not for the common people's markets, but for the rich people of Europe, the nobles and the new merchant classes.