Editing Chios (section)

===Genoese period (1304–1566)===
{{See also|Lordship of Chios|Maona of Chios and Phocaea}}
[[File:ΚΑΣΤΡΟ ΧΙΟΥ ΕΙΣΟΔΟΣ.jpg|thumb|[[Castle of Chios]]]]
[[File:Map of Chios - Bordone Benedetto - 1547.jpg|thumb|Chios map by [[Benedetto Bordone]], 1547]]
[[File:Εσωτερική άποψη Κτήμα Αργέντικον 07.jpg|thumb|Building in [[Kampochora|Kampos]]]]
[[File:Francesco Solimena - The Massacre of the Giustiniani at Chios - WGA21628.jpg|thumb|''The Massacre of the Giustiniani at Chios'' by [[Francesco Solimena]]]]

The Byzantine rulers had little influence and through the [[Treaty of Nymphaeum (1261)|Treaty of Nymphaeum]], authority was ceded to the [[Republic of Genoa]] (1261).<ref>William Miller, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/624735 "The Zaccaria of Phocaea and Chios. (1275–1329.)"] ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'', Vol. 31, 1911 (1911), pp. 42–55; {{doi|10.2307/624735}}.</ref> At this time the island was frequently attacked by pirates, and by 1302–1303 was a target for the renewed Turkish fleets. To prevent Turkish expansion, the island was reconquered and kept as a renewable concession, at the behest of the Byzantine emperor [[Andronicus II Palaeologus]], by the Genovese [[Benedetto I Zaccaria]] (1304), then admiral to Philip of France. Zaccaria installed himself as ruler of the island, founding the short-lived [[Lordship of Chios]]. His rule was benign and effective control remained in the hands of the local Greek landowners. Benedetto Zacharia was followed by his son [[Paleologo Zaccaria|Paleologo]] and then his grandsons or nephews [[Benedetto II Zaccaria|Benedetto II]] and [[Martino Zaccaria|Martino]]. They attempted to turn the island towards the Latin and Papal powers, and away from the predominant Byzantine influence. The locals, still loyal to the Byzantine Empire, responded to a letter from the emperor and, despite a standing army of a thousand infantrymen, a hundred cavalrymen and two galleys, expelled the Zacharia family from the island (1329) and dissolved the fiefdom.<ref>Arbel, Benjamin, Bernard Hamilton, and David Jacob. ''Latins and Greeks in the Eastern Mediterranean After 1204''. {{ISBN|0-7146-3372-0}}.</ref>

Local rule was brief. In 1346, a chartered company or ''[[Maona]]'' (the "''[[Maona di Chio e di Focea]]''") was set up in Genoa to reconquer and exploit Chios and the neighbouring town of [[Phocaea]] in Asia Minor. Although the islanders firmly rejected an initial offer of protection, the island was invaded by a Genoese fleet, led by [[Simone Vignoso]], and the castle besieged. Again rule was transferred peacefully, as on 12 September the castle was surrendered and a treaty signed with no loss of privileges to the local landowners as long as the new authority was accepted. The Maona was controlled by the [[Giustiniani]] family.

The Genoese, being interested in profit rather than conquest, controlled the trade-posts and warehouses, in particular the trade of mastic, alum, salt and pitch. Other trades such as grain, wine oil and cloth and most professions were run jointly with the locals. After a failed uprising in 1347, and being heavily outnumbered (less than 10% of the population in 1395), the Latins maintained light control over the local population, remaining largely in the town and allowing full religious freedom. In this way the island remained under Genoese control for two centuries. A notable Genoese inhabitant from this period was [[Christopher Columbus]] who lived in Chios in the 1470s before his voyages to the Americas. In 1566, when Genoa lost Chios to the [[Ottoman Empire]], there were 12,000 Greeks and 2,500 Genoese (or 17% of the total population) in the island.<ref>[http://www.chioshistory.gr/en/itx/itx22.html Chios History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002113459/http://www.chioshistory.gr/en/itx/itx22.html |date=2 October 2011 }}</ref>