Quite. Funnily enough, in older history, I find Venice at the center of similar intriques. Also interesting to me is some of the references to the 18th century

Quite. Funnily enough, in older history, I find Venice at the center of similar intriques. Also interesting to me is some of the references to the 18th century England political class as the "Venetian party" (such as in Benjamin Disraeli's Sybil). Dutch and British East India company history is something I really need to find a good book on.