the Lord God for their sins. Moreover,
the Castle rock was seen to burst open and close again twice, and the
waters of the sea sank back four times. Even the wells dried up
completely. The land fort remained untouched; the sea fort, the dogana,
and the lazaretto were partially damaged, but can be repaired in a short
time. Many, moved by compassion at hearing the lamentable cries of those
buried among the ruins, struggled to remove the rubbish of stones and
timber with which they were covered, and found some still alive,
although they had been three, four, or even five days in that terrible
condition" (from a Venetian book of 1667). A good deal of plundering
went on, the peasants and Morlacchi looking on the catastrophe as a
godsend. Biagio Caboga and Michele Bosdari armed their retainers, and
kept watch over the ruined churches and public buildings: the relics and
remains of the cathedral treasure were removed to a chapel in the
Dominican monastery, and bricked up, with a barred aperture only left;
and the State treasure was taken to Fort Leverone, where a provisional
government was established. The situation appeared so hopeless that it
was proposed to move the town to Gravosa, but the citizens would not
leave the place. Apparently some 5,000 people had been killed, but the
fragments of Venetian architecture on the slopes of Monte Sergio, as
well as the one house pointed out beyond the cathedral, show that a good
many houses survived in part.

In 1796, when the French occupied the Ionian Islands, a French
commissary appeared at Ragusa, and asked for a loan of 1,000,000 francs.
It was granted, but produced a rebellion which brought about a short
occupation by Austrian troops. By the peace of Presburg (1805), Austria
ceded Dalmatia and the Bocche to France. The Bocchesi and Montenegrins
determined rather to give themselves to Russia, and, with the help of a
squadron sent from Corfu, took the Bocche from Austria as far as
Castelnuovo. The French moved towards Ragusa, meaning to occupy Cattaro.
General Lauriston, with 800 men, crossed the Ombla and entered the city
under pretext of resting his soldiers. The news reached Cattaro, and the
Bocchesi, Montenegrins, and Russians invaded the territory of the
Republic, beating the French near Ragusa Vecchia, and besieging them in
Ragusa. On July 6, 1806, Gravosa was burnt, with the shipping and
stores. In 1808 Marmont declared the Republic dead and buried, and the
French retained