Author, researcher and publicist Petrit Latifi.

In the 17th century, a certain Ivan Ćudelić, known as “Puske”, is mentioned as a trader in the region of Budva. He is described as “an Albanian captain” by Venetian spies. Originally from Paštrović, he worked as a merchant transporting goods to and from Albania, Italy and Dubrovnik. The conflicts between the empires at the time eventually led to his property being seized. Puske was accused by the authorities for various crimes, and was imprisoned for a long time. When released, he became a spy for the Spanish.

Early trade and Albanian connections

By around 1580, Puska had settled in Budva, where he became a merchant. He worked with Albanian traders in the grain business and dealt in Tivar oil, exporting goods to Venice and Apulia. With a small boat purchased from Kotor, he transported fish from the Bojana River and Lake Shkodër. His connection with Dubrovnik merchants provided him with loans, protection letters, and access to Italian markets.

In this period, the Adriatic coast was a zone of exchange and risk, where Albanians, Venetians, and Slavs shared not only trade routes but also conflicts. Merchants like Puska were diplomats between states, languages, and empires.

Conflict and exile

Puske began experiencing difficulties. He got into a conflict with Venetian authorities, who confiscated part of his property. His fellow townsmen once threw his wife out of a Budva church during mass. In 1597, Puska offered his services to papal agents, saying that he knewboth Christian and Muslim leaders in Venetian Albania. He was given the mission to persuade Albanian soldiers in Venetian service to desert and join Captain Marko Gjini, also an Albanian and known Spanish and papal agent.

The plan was discovered by the Dubrovnik authorities, and Puska became a suspect. He was later captured by pirates, and released through charity funds, and eventually imprisoned in Dubrovnik in 1608 accused of robbery and conspiracy. Despite Venetian attempts to free him, the Ragusan Senate refused. He remained in prison until 1612, when a prisoner exchange finally secured his release.

Decline and conspiracy

After his freedom, Puska returned to Budva and later moved to southern Italy. By this time, his wealth and influence were gone. He tried to engage in trade between Naples and Trani but instead became involved in conspiracy activities. Through Albanians, he got in contact with Spanish agents working to start rebellions in the Balkans.

Venetian reports from 1624 describe him as “one of those Albanian captains who go up and down, from Italy to the Montenegrin coast, to maintain connections for the Spaniards.” He was in poverty and in old age, and he was disillusioned. He continued to act as a go-between, a man with too many loyalties and too few rewards.

Commentary on Albanian origin

I would like to suggest that Puska’s “original” name was likely Ivan Ćudeli, which has Albanian phonetics. The name Ćudeli, with its palatalized consonant and the -eli ending, aligns well with Albanian phonological patterns, where similar consonant clusters and vowel sequences are common.

This suggests that his family may have had Albanian linguistic roots, and that the spelling used in Venetian or Ragusan documents reflects an attempt to render an Albanian name in a Slavic or Latin script.

Reference

https://istorijskizapisi.me/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Istorijski-zapisi-1952-OCR.pdf