Export permits of Šibenik and Trogir from 1576.- 1557.

Kontralitere ili izvozne dozvole važno su povijesno vrelo koje sadržava informacije o kretanju trgovine unutar priobalnog prostora Mletačke Republike, te drugih luka na Jadranu i Sredozemlju, koje nisu spadale pod upravu Signorie. Zbog svojeg geografskog položaja, Istočna jadranska obala nalazila se u neposrednoj blizini triju velikih sila: Mletačke Republike, Osmanskog Carstva, te Habsburške Monarhije. Venecija je dugi niz godina, ponajviše u srednjem vijeku, gospodarila prijevozom ljudi i dobara, te imala ulogu medijatora u trgovini među Zapadnom Europom i Levantom. Najveći konkurent Veneciji u pomorskoj trgovini na Jadranu u to doba bila je Dubrovačka Republika. Osvajanjem priobalnih gradova na Istočnoj jadranskoj obali Mlečani su naizgled osigurali svoj status pomorske velesile. Promijenje povijesne okolnosti 15. i 16. stoljeća poput, primjerice, širenja Osmanskog Carstva sve do zaleđa dalmatinskih gradova te pojedinih djelova priobalja, jačanje Habsburških luka na Kvarneru, te vješta diplomacija Dubrovačke Republike, ugroziti će dotad dominantnu Mletaćku trgovinu Jadranom. Osmanskim osvajanjem dalmatinskog zaleđa i dijela priobalja u 15. i 16. stoljeću, početi će usmjeravati veliki dio trgovine Istoka i Zapada, koja će tokom 16. stoljeća sve više biti bazirana na prijevoz dobara između dvaju jadranskih obala. Stoga, proučavanjem kontralitera, mogu se djelomično pratiti promjene u trgovini, izazvane širim kontekstom povijesnog kretanja odnosa Mletačke Republike i njezinih kolonija, kao i odnosa Venecije s ostalim velesilama na prostoru Europe.Contraliterae or export permits are an important historical source that contains traffic data within the coastal area of the Venetian Republic, as well as other ports in the Adriatic and Mediterranean, which have not been subject to management of the Signoria. Due to its geographic position, the eastern Adriatic coast was close to the three great powers: the Venetian Republic, Ottoman Empire, and the Habsburg Monarchy. For a number of years, Venice had, for the most part, in the Middle Ages, managed the transport of people and goods, and has played a significant role as a mediator in the naval trade business between Western Europe and Levant. The biggest competitor to Venice in terms of maritime trade on the Adriatic at the time was the Republic of Dubrovnik. By acquiring coastal cities on the eastern Adriatic coast, the Venetians seemingly secured their status as a naval power. Historical circumstances changed in the 15th and 16th century, for example, the expansion of the Ottoman Empire to the hinterland of Dalmatian towns, as well as parts of the coast, the strengthening of the Habsburg harbors in Kvarner, and the professional diplomacy of the Dubrovnik Republic threatened the dominant Venetian Adriatic trade. The Ottoman conquest of the Dalmatian hinterland and coastal parts in the 15th and 16th century will start to direct a large part of trade between East and West, which during the 16th century, will be increasingly focused on the transportation of goods between the the coasts of the Adriatic sea. Consequently, by studying the contraliterae, some of the changes in trade can partly be followed, which are caused by a wider context of the historical changes in the relationship between the Venetian Republic and its colonies, as well as relations between Venice and other European powers