So the piazza was speedily cleared; and the Prince Giacomo, with
many words of thanks to his young and unknown deliverers, hurried
from the spot which had so nearly proved disastrous to him.
Changes came suddenly in those unsettled times. Within two years
both the Greek step-mother and the feeble old king were dead, and
Prince Giacomo, after a struggle for supremacy with his
half-sister Carlotta, became King of Cyprus.
Now Cyprus, though scarcely as large as the State of Connecticut,
was a very desirable possession, and one that Venice greatly
coveted. Some of her citizens owned land there, and among these
was Marco Cornaro, father of Catarina. And so it happened that,
soon after the accession of King Giacomo, Messer Andrea Cornaro,
the uncle of Catarina, came to Cyprus to inspect and improve the
lands belonging to his brother Marco.
Venice, in those days was so great a power that the Venetian
merchants were highly esteemed in all the courts of Europe. And
Uncle Andrea, who had probably loaned the new king of Cyprus a
goodly store of Venetian ducats, became quite, friendly with the
young monarch, and gave him much sage advice.
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