Antonio Priuli was the 94th Doge of Venice

Doge of Venice

The Doge of Venice , often mistranslated Duke was the chief magistrate and leader of the Most Serene Republic of Venice for over a thousand years. Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy. Commonly the person selected as Doge was the shrewdest elder in the city...

, reigning from May 17, 1618 until his death. Priuli became Doge in the midst of an ongoing Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 conspiracy orchestrated by the Spanish Ambassador

Ambassador

An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....

 to Venice, Alfonso de la Cueva, marqués de Bedmar

Alfonso de la Cueva, marqués de Bedmar

Alfonso de la Cueva-Benavides y Mendoza-Carrillo, marqués de Bedmar was a Spanish diplomat, bishop and Roman cardinal. He was born in Bedmar, in what is now the province of Jaén...

, a "spy war" that did not end until 1622.

Background, 1548-1618

Priuli was the son of Gerolamo Priuli and Elisabetta Cappello. He enjoyed a successful career as a sailor and a soldier. He married Elena Barbarigo and the couple had 14 children together, which resulted in the need for Priuli to become heavily indebted.

In 1618, he was appointed provveditore

Provveditore

The Italian title provveditore or proveditore , "he who sees to things", was the style of various local district governors in the extensive, mainly maritime empire of the Venetian dogal republic...

of Veglia. Upon the sudden death of Doge Nicolò Donato

Nicolò Donato

Nicolò Donà or Nicolò Donato was the 93rd Doge of Venice, reigning for only 35 days, from his election on April 10, 1618 until his death....

 only 35 days after his election, Priuli was recalled from Veglia to become Doge.

Doge, 1618-1623

Priuli was hurriedly elected as Doge on May 17, 1618, only days after the death of Donato. At the time of his election, it was widely believed that the Spanish, led by Bedmar, had landed mercenaries on Venetian territory; that Bedmar had successfully infiltrated the Venetian military; and that a Spanish fleet was poised to take Venice. Priuli's election began a brutal process of ferreting out individuals suspected of plotting against Venice. Hundreds were arrested, with or without cause, with attention specially focused on foreign soldiers and sailors. The manhunt led to the arrest of many actual plotters, but also of many innocent victims, such as Antonio Foscarini, a patrician who was executed on April 21, 1621, after attending an event at the English

Kingdom of England

The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...

 Embassy.

The hysteria ended in 1622, and on January 16, 1623, the Venetian government issued an apology to Alethea Talbot for Foscarini's execution, thus marking a scaling back of the manhunt. Venice and Spain continued to be at odds throughout the seventeenth century, but things never again reached the fever pitch of 1618-1622.

In February 1623, the Thirty Years War spilled into Venetian territory, though only in the Valtellina

Valtellina

Valtellina or the Valtelline valley ; is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Today it is known for its skiing, its hot spring spas, its cheeses and its wines...

. Priuli was, however, already too ill to participate, and died not long thereafter, on August 12, 1623.