<P> 2 . If the captive was wealthy or had influential supporters, the captive could be ransomed . This would be the most advantageous plan, since the money exchange was immediate and direct, not long and drawn out as in the slave market business; </P> <P> 3 . The captive could be used immediately by the corsair for labour on the ship rather than traded . In battles during this era, prisoners of war were often captured and used as slaves . </P> <P> Emperors would take large numbers of prisoners, parade them through the capital, hold feasts in honour of their capture and parade diplomats in front of them as a display of victory . </P> <P> The Italian "Repubbliche Marinare" (Maritime Republics) of Venice, Genoa, Amalfi and Pisa developed their own "empires" in the Mediterranean shores . The Islamic states had never been major naval powers, and trade from the east to Europe was soon in the hands of Italian traders, especially the Genoese and the Venetians, who profited immensely from it . The Republic of Pisa and later the Republic of Ragusa used diplomacy to further trade and maintained a libertarian approach in civil matters to further sentiment in its inhabitants . </P>

Historically the european side of the mediterranean was mostly influenced by