This work studies the nature of Venetian rule over the Slavs of Dalmatia during the 18th century, focusing on the cultural elaboration of an ideology of empire that was based on a civilizing mission toward the Slavs. It argues that the Enlightenment within the "Adriatic Empire" of Venice was deeply concerned with exploring the economic and social dimensions of backwardness in Dalmatia, in accordance with the evolving distinction between "Western Europe" and "Eastern Europe" across the continent. It further argues that the primitivism attributed to Dalmations by the Venetian Enlightenment was fundamental to the European intellectual discovery of the Slavs. The text discusses Venetian literary perspectives on Dalmatia, notably the drama of Carlo Goldoni and the memoirs of Carlo Gozzi. It then studies the work that brought the subject of Dalmatia to the attention of the European Enlightenment: the travel account of the Paduan philosopher Alberto Fortis, which was translated from Italian into English, French, and German.