Article contents
The Professionalization of Cryptology in Sixteenth-Century Venice
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 September 2018
Abstract
This article examines the evolution of cryptology as a business trait and a distinct state-controlled and -regulated profession in sixteenth-century Venice. It begins by briefly discussing the systematic development of cryptology in the Renaissance. Following an examination of the amateur use of codes and ciphers by members of the Venetian merchant and ruling classes, and subsequently by members of all layers of Venetian society, the article moves on to discuss the professionalization of cryptology in sixteenth-century Venice. This was premised on specialist skills formation, a shared professional identity, and an emerging professional ethos. The article explores a potential link between the amateur use of cryptology, especially as it had been instigated by merchants in the form of merchant-style codes, and its professional use by the Venetian authorities. It also adds the profession of the cifrista—the professional cipher secretary—to the list of more “conventional” early modern professions.
- Type
- Article
- Information
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Author 2018. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Business History Conference. All rights reserved.
Footnotes
She has published her research in The Economic History Review and Intelligence and National Security. She is the author of the forthcoming monograph, Venice’s Secret Service: Intelligence Organisation in the Renaissance (Oxford University Press, 2019) and coeditor of Spy Chiefs I: Intelligence Leaders in the United States and United Kingdom and Spy Chiefs II: Intelligence Leaders in the Europe, the Middle East, and Asia (Georgetown University Press, 2018). Research for this article was financially supported by the Business Archives Council, a British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grant (SG160507), and an Internal Small Grant offered by Oxford Brookes Business School. I am grateful to Alex Bamji, Christopher Moran, Rosa Salzberg, and Richard Mohun for their input at different stages of writing this article. My most sincere thanks to Andrew Popp and the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback and excellent guidance throughout the review process.
References
Bibliography of Works Cited
- 3
- Cited by