The San Marco horses at Manhattan's Metropolitan
One of the dirtiest political deals in history was made in 1202, when the Venetian Republic agreed to ship the Fourth Crusade to the Holy Land to conquer the infidel. An army of some 35,000 men, including hairy Prankish thugs as well as idealistic Catholic knights, assembled on the Lido, but no ships appeared; the Venetians wanted more money for the transport job. After months of delay and misery, the deal was made: as part of the fare, the Crusaders agreed to make a detour on their...
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