Dwindling Nobility

Ever since the Great Plague of the 1630s we have had problems filling the positions of the Venetian government. Conferring nobility on new people must be done with care, however, as any new member of the Great Council will have a vote a dramatic amount of newcomers might lead to entirely unpredictable results. It has been suggested that the best way to vet candidates for membership is to try their willingness to contribute to the state. A number of richer families might be ennobled if they contribute a good sum to the treasury. Those without wealth are simply not the kind of people we would want to decide the fate of our Republic.