tax policy Venice exercised towards its colony, both Cretans and Venetian settlers revolted in 1363. The revolt, which became known as the revolt of St. Titus, overthrew official Venetian rule and declared a Cretan Republic under the protection of Saint Titus, Crete's patron saint who had Christianized the island thirteen centuries earlier. A new rebellion occurred in 1365 and it was crushed by Venice to the point where life in Crete was very miserable. The Venetians decided to build a castle on the fertile plains east of Sfakia where they intended to place a strong military presence in order to protect Venetian nobles and their properties. This decision was a result of the constant incursions the Venetians were experiencing on the southern coast of Crete from pirates (some of whom were Sfakians). The castle itself would also serve to protect the Venetians from the Sfakians who lived in the mountains north and west of the plains and who were harassing Venetian nobles. In 1371, a Venetian fleet with soldiers and builders arrived on the fertile plain to begin construction on the castle. However, the local Sfakians were against having a castle on their territory. The Sfakians, under the leadership of the six Patsos brothers from the nearby settlement of Patsianos, would destroy every night what the Venetians built during the day. Eventually, the Venetians were forced to bring in additional troops that surrounded the whole area during the whole period that the castle was being built. The Patsos brothers, ready to resume their campaigns against the Venetians, were unfortunately betrayed, arrested and ultimately hanged at the site of the castle. In 1374, the castle was complete, but the Sfakians were not threatened in their stronghold by the Venetian troops who much preferred to be stationed at the castle looking out for pirates instead of trying to establish control over the Sfakians. The castle is now known as Frangokastello. War of the chickens (1470) Another major Sfakian revolution was known as the "Ornithopolemos" (or the "War of the Chickens"), which took place in 1470. This revolution was caused by the pressures the Venetians were placing on the Cretans in order to extract additional tax revenues. A new tax was introduced requiring all Cretan families to provide one well-fed chicken every month to the Venetian in charge of their area. As time went by and Cretan families began to multiply, the number