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Events on Sunday 16 May 1204 1
1204 – 1205The Latin Empire establishedBaldwin of Flanders is elected the first Latin Emperor of Constantinople on 16 May 1204. The empire is divided according to the Partitio Romaniae: Venice receives three-eighths of Constantinople and the key maritime positions (Crete, the Cyclades, strategic ports); the Crusaders divide the remaining territories. The Latin Empire is a colonial extraction enterprise that never achieves legitimacy with the Greek population. It is perpetually short of money and men, harassed by the Bulgarian Empire, Greek successor states and Muslim powers simultaneously. Its 57 years are a story of continuous crisis.