A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Xviii Part 14

During the voyage from Methone, where fresh bread was taken on board to the southern coast of Sicily, from which, according to modern language, they were to take their departure for Africa, they were becalmed, and 161 days were spent in this navigation. An incident is mentioned relating to this part of the voyage, which points out the method used by the ancients to preserve their water when at sea. As the general himself was exposed to the intolerable hards.h.i.+p of thirst, or the necessity of drinking bad water, that which was meant for his use was put into gla.s.s bottles, which were buried deep in the sand, in a part of the s.h.i.+p to which the rays of the sun could not reach. Three months after the departure of the fleet from Constantinople, the troops were landed near Carthage; Belisarius being anxious to effect this as soon as possible, as his men did not hesitate to express their belief, that they were not able to contend at once with the winds, the waves, and the barbarians. The result of this expedition was the conquest of the African provinces, Sardinia, and Corsica.

The absurd and injudicious regulations of Justinian, respecting the corn trade of the empire have been already noticed; nor did his other measures indicate, either a better acquaintance with the principles of commerce, or more regard to its interests. The masters of vessels who traded to Constantinople were often obliged to carry cargoes for him to Africa or Italy, without any remuneration; or, if they escaped this hards.h.i.+p, enormous duties were levied on the merchandize they imported. A monopoly in the sale of silk was granted to the imperial treasurer; and, indeed, no species of trade seems to have been open and free, except that in cloth.

His addition of one-seventh to the ordinary price of copper, so that his money-changers gave only 180 ounces of that metal, instead of 210, for one-sixth of an ounce of gold, seems rather to have been the result of ignorance than of fraud and avarice; since he did not alter the gold coin, in which alone all public and private payments were made. At this time, the geographical knowledge of the Romans, respecting what had formerly const.i.tuted a portion of their empire, must have declined in a striking manner, if we may judge from the absurd and fabulous account which Procopius gives of Britain. And the commercial relations of the Britons themselves had entirely disappeared, even with their nearest neighbours; since, in the history of Gregory of Tours, there is not a single allusion to any trade between Britain and France.

At the beginning of the seventh century we glean our last notice of any event connected with the commerce and maritime enterprise of the Romans; and the same period introduces us to the rising power and commerce of the Arabians.

Alexandria, though its importance and wealth as a commercial city had long been on the wane, princ.i.p.ally by the removal of most of the oriental trade to Persia, was still the commercial capital of the Mediterranean, and was of the utmost importance to Constantinople, which continued to draw from it an annual supply of about 250,000 quarters of corn; but in the beginning of this century it was conquered by the Persians, and the emperor was obliged to enter into a treaty with the conquerors, by which he agreed to pay a heavy and disgraceful tribute for the corn which was absolutely necessary for the support of his capital. But a sudden and most extraordinary change took place in the character of Heraclius: he roused himself from his sloth, indolence and despair; he fitted out a large fleet; exerted his skill, and displayed his courage and coolness in a storm which it encountered; carried his armies into Persia itself, and succeeded in recovering Egypt and the other provinces which the Persians had wrested from the empire.

The very early commerce of the Arabians, by means of caravans, with India, and their settlements on the Red Sea and the coasts of Africa and India at a later period, for the purposes of commerce, have been already noticed.

Soon after they became the disciples of Mahomet, their commercial and enterprizing spirit revived, if indeed it had ever languished; and it certainly displayed itself with augmented zeal, vigour, and success, under the influence of their new religion, and the genius and ambition of their caliphs. Persia, Syria, Egypt, Africa, and Spain, were successively conquered by them; and one of their first and most favourite objects, after they had conquered a country, was the amelioration or extension of its commerce. When they conquered Persia, the trade between that country and India was extensive and flouris.h.i.+ng: the Persian merchants brought from India its most precious commodities. The luxury of the kings of Persia consumed a large quant.i.ty of camphire, mixed with wax, to illuminate their palaces; and this must have been brought, indirectly, through India, from j.a.pan, Sumatra, or Borneo, the only places where the camphire-tree grows: a curious and striking proof of the remote and extensive influence of the commerce and luxury of Persia, at the time it was conquered by the Arabians. The conquerors, aware of the importance of the Indian commerce, and of the advantages which the Tigris and Euphrates afforded for this purpose, very soon after their conquest, founded the city of Ba.s.sora: a place, which, from its situation midway between the junction and the mouth of these rivers, commands the trade and navigation of Persia. It soon rose to be a great commercial city; and its inhabitants, directing their princ.i.p.al attention and most vigorous enterprize to the East, soon pushed their voyages beyond Ceylon, and brought, directly from the place of their growth or manufacture, many of those articles which hitherto they had been obliged or content to purchase in that island. Soon after the conquest of Persia was completed, the Caliph Omar directed that a full and accurate survey and description, of the kingdom should be made, which comprehended the inhabitants, the cattle, and the fruits of the earth.

The conquest of Syria added comparatively little to the commerce of the Arabians; but in the account which is given of this enterprize, we are informed of a large fair, which was annually held at Abyla, between Damascus and Heliopolis, where the produce and manufactures of the country were collected and sold. In the account given of the conquest of Jerusalem by the Arabians, we have also an account of another fair held at Jerusalem, at which it is probable the goods brought from India by Ba.s.sora, the Euphrates, and the caravans, were sold. As soon as the conquest of the western part of Syria was completed, the Arabians took advantage of the timber of Liba.n.u.s, and of the maritime skill of the Phoenicians, which even yet survived: they fitted out a fleet of 1,700 barks, which soon rode triumphant in the Mediterranean. Cyprus, Rhodes, and the Cyclades, were subdued, and Constantinople itself was attacked, but without effect.

The conquest of Egypt, however, was of the most importance to the Arabian commerce, and therefore more especially demands our notice.--"In their annals of conquest," as Gibbon remarks, "the siege of Alexandria is perhaps the most arduous and important enterprize. The first trading city in the world was abundantly replenished with the means of subsistence and defence." But the Saracens were bold and skilful; the Greeks timid and unwarlike; and Alexandria fell into the possession of the disciples of Mahomet. As soon as the conquest of Egypt was completed, its administration was settled, and conducted on the most wise and liberal principles. In the management of the revenue, taxes were raised, not by the simple but oppressive mode of capitation, but on every branch from the clear profits of agriculture and commerce. A third part of these taxes was set apart, with the most religious exactness, to the annual repairs of the d.y.k.es and ca.n.a.ls. At first, the corn which used to supply Constantinople was sent to Medina from Memphis by camels; but Omrou, the conqueror of Egypt, soon renewed the maritime communication "which had been attempted or achieved by the Pharaohs, the Ptolemies, or the Caesars; and a ca.n.a.l, at least eighty miles in length, was opened from the Nile to the Red Sea. This inland navigation, which would have joined the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean, was soon, however, discontinued, as useless and dangerous;" and about the year 775, A.D., it was stopped up at the end next the Red Sea.

The conquest of Africa, though not nearly so advantageous to the commerce of the Arabians, was yet of some importance to them in this point of view: it gradually extended from the Nile to the Atlantic Ocean. Tripoly was the first maritime and commercial city which their arms reduced: Bugia and Tangier were next reduced. Cairoan was formed as a station for a caravan; a city, which, in its present decay, still holds the second rank in the kingdom of Tunis. Carthage was next attacked and reduced; but an attempt was made by forces sent from Constantinople, joined by the s.h.i.+ps and soldiers of Sicily, and a powerful reinforcement of Goths from Spain, to retake it. The Arabian conquerors had drawn a strong chain across the harbour; this the confederate fleet broke: the Arabians for a time were compelled to retreat; but they soon returned, defeated their enemies, burnt Carthage, and soon afterwards completed the conquest of this part of Africa.

The beginning of the eighth century is remarkable for their invasion of Spain, and for their second fruitless attack on Constantinople; during the latter, their fleet, which is said to have consisted of 1800 vessels, was totally destroyed by the Greek fire. With regard to their conquest of Spain, it was so rapid, that in a few months the whole of that great peninsula, which for two centuries withstood the power of the Roman republic at its greatest height, was reduced, except the mountainous districts of Asturia and Biscay, Here also the Arabians displayed the same attention to science by which they were distinguished in Asia: ten years after the conquest, a map of the province was made, exhibiting the seas, rivers, harbours, and cities, accompanied with a description of them, and of the inhabitants, the climate, soil, and mineral productions. "In the s.p.a.ce of two centuries, the gifts of nature were improved by the agriculture, the manufactures, and the commerce of an industrious people."

The first of the Ommiades who reigned in Spain, levied on the Christians of that country, 10,000 ounces of gold, 10,000 pounds of silver, 10,000 houses, &c. "The most powerful of his successors derived from the same kingdom the annual tribute of about six millions sterling. His royal seat of Cordova contained 600 mosques, 900 baths, and 200,000 houses: he gave laws to 80 cities of the first order, and to 300 of the second and third: and 12,000 villages and hamlets were situated on the banks of the Guadalquivir."

The religious prejudices, as well as the interests of the Arabians, led them to exclude the Christians from every channel through which they had received the produce of India. That they were precluded from all commercial intercourse with Egypt, is evident, from a fact noticed by Macpherson, in his Annals of Commerce. Before Egypt was conquered by the Arabians, writings of importance in Europe were executed on the Egyptian papyrus; but after that period, at least till the beginning of the ninth century, they are upon parchment.--This, as Macpherson observes, amounts almost to a proof, that the trade with Egypt, the only country producing papyrus, was interrupted.

In consequence of the supply of silks, spices, and other oriental luxuries which Constantinople derived from the fair at Jerusalem, (still allowed by the Arabians to be annually held,) not being sufficient for the demand of that dissipated capital, and their price in consequence having very much increased, some merchants were tempted to travel across Asia, beyond the northern boundary of the Arabian power, and to import, by means of caravans, the goods of China and India.

Towards the beginning of the ninth century, as we have already remarked, the commercial relations of the Arabians and the Christians of Europe commenced, and Alexandria was no longer closed to the latter. The merchants of Lyons, Ma.r.s.eilles, and other maritime towns in the south of France, in consequence of the friends.h.i.+p and treaties subsisting between Charlemagne and the Caliph Haroun Al Rasched, traded with their s.h.i.+ps twice a year to Alexandria; from this city they brought the produce of Arabia and India to the Rhone, and by means of it, and a land carriage to the Moselle and the Rhine, France and Germany were supplied with the luxuries of the east. The friends.h.i.+p between the emperor and the caliph seems in other cases to have been employed by the former to the advancement of the commercial intercourse between Asia and Europe; for we are expressly informed, that a Jewish merchant, a favourite of Charlemagne, made frequent voyages to Palestine, and returned with pictures,--merchandize before unknown in the west.

Hitherto we have viewed the Arabians chiefly as fostering and encouraging commerce; but they also deserve our notice, for their attention to geographical science and discoveries. From the period of their first conquests, the caliphs had given orders to their generals to draw up geographical descriptions of the countries conquered; and we have already noticed some of these descriptions. In 833, A.D., the Caliph Almamon employed three brothers of the name of Ben Schaker, to measure a degree of lat.i.tude, first in the desert of Sangdaar, betweeen Racca and Palmyra, and afterwards near Cufa, for the purpose of ascertaining the circ.u.mference of the globe.

We now arrive at the era of a most important doc.u.ment, ill.u.s.trative of the commerce of the eastern parts of India and of China, with which we are furnished by the Arabians: we allude to the "ancient Accounts of India and China, by two Mahomedan travellers, who went to those parts in the ninth century, translated from the Arabic by Renaudot." The genuineness and authenticity of these accounts were for a long time doubted; but De Guignes, from the Chinese annals, has completely removed all doubt on the subject.

The most remarkable circ.u.mstance connected with this journey is, that in the ninth century the Mahomedans should have been able to reach China; but our surprise on this point will cease, when we consider the extent of the Mahomedan dominions towards the east of Asia, the utmost limits of which, in this direction, approached very nearly the frontiers of China. If, therefore, they travelled by land, no serious difficulty would lie in their way; but Renaudot thinks it more probable, that they proceeded thither by sea.

According to these travellers, the Arabian merchants, no longer confining themselves to a traffic at Ceylon for the commodities of the east of Asia, traded to every part of that quarter of the globe, even as far as the south coast of China. The account they give of the traffic with this latter country, is very minute: "When foreign vessels arrive at Canfu, which is supposed to be Canton, the Chinese take possession of their cargoes, and store them in warehouses, till the arrival of all the other s.h.i.+ps which are expected: it thus happens that the vessels which first arrive are detained six months. They then take about a third part of all the merchandize, as duty, and give the rest up to the merchants: of these the emperor is the preferable purchaser, but only for ready money, and at the highest price of the market." One circ.u.mstance is particularly noticed, which proves, that at this period the Arabians were numerous and respected in China; for a cadi, or judge, of their own religion, was appointed to preside over them, under the emperor. The Chinese are described as sailing along the coast as far as the Persian Gulf, where they loaded their vessels with merchandize from Ba.s.sora. Other particulars are mentioned, respecting their trade, &c., which agree wonderfully with what we know of them at present: they regarded gold and silver merely as merchandize: dressed in silk, summer and winter: had no wine, but drank a liquor made from rice. Tea is mentioned under the name of _sak_--an infusion of this they drank, and a large revenue was derived from the duty on it. Their porcelaine also is described and praised, as equally fine and transparent as gla.s.s. Every male child was registered as soon as born; at 18 he began to pay the capitation tax; and at 80 was ent.i.tled to a pension.

These Arabian travellers likewise supply us with some information respecting the trade of the Red Sea. The west side of it was in their time nearly deserted by merchant s.h.i.+ps; those from the Persian Gulf sailed to Judda on the Arabian coast of it: here were always found many small coasting vessels, by means of which the goods from India, Persia, &c. were conveyed to Cairo. If this particular is accurate, it would seem to prove that at this period the ca.n.a.l between the Nile and the Red Sea, which had been rendered navigable by Omrou, was regularly used for the purposes of commerce.

In these accounts, the typhon, or whirlwind, so common in the Chinese seas, is mentioned under that appellation: the flying fish and unicorn are described; and we have notices of ambergrise, the musk, and the animal from which it is produced: the last is mentioned as coming from Thibet.

The next Arabian author, in point of time, from whom we derive information respecting geography and commerce, is Ma.s.soudi. He died at Cairo in 957: he was the author of a work describing the most celebrated kingdoms in Europe, Africa, and Asia; but the details respecting Africa, India, and the lesser Asia, are the most accurate and laboured. The account we shall afterwards give of the geographical knowledge of the Arabians, renders it unnecessary to present any abstract, in this place, of the geographical part of his work; we shall therefore confine ourselves to the notices interspersed respecting commerce. The Arabians traded to nearly every port of India, from Cashmere to Cape Comorin; and seem to have been protected and particularly favoured in their commercial pursuits. In the year 877 a great rebellion occurred in China, and the Arabian merchants had been ma.s.sacred at Canfn. According to Ma.s.soudi, however, in his time this city had recovered from its disasters; confidence had revived; the Arabian merchants from Ba.s.sora, and other ports in Persia, resorted to it; and vessels from India and the adjacent islands. He also describes a route to China by land frequented by traders: this seems to have been through Korasin, Thibet, and a country he calls Ilestan. With regard to the Arabian commerce with Africa, the merchants settled at Omar traded to Sofala for gold, and to an island, which is supposed to be Madagascar, where they had established colonies.

Of the geographical knowledge displayed by the next Arabian traveller in point of date, [Ebor->Ebn] Haukal, we shall at present take no notice, for the reason already a.s.signed; but confine ourselves to his notices regarding commerce. According to him, the most wealthy merchants resided at Siraf, where they traded very extensively and successfully in the commodities of India and China. Hormus was the princ.i.p.al trading place in Karmania; Daibul in Sind: the merchants here traded to all parts. The countries near the Caspian were celebrated for their manufactures of silk, wool, hair, and gold stuffs. In Armenia, hangings and carpets, dyed with a worm or insect a beautiful colour, called _kermez_, were made. Samarcand was celebrated for the excellency of its paper. Trebezond was the princ.i.p.al trading place on the Black Sea. Alexandria is celebrated for the grandeur of its buildings; but its trade is not mentioned.

About the beginning of the eleventh century we derive our earliest notice of the commerce of Spain under its Arabian conquerors. The port of Barcelona was at this period the princ.i.p.al station for commercial intercourse with the eastern nations bordering on the Mediterranean; and as a proof of the character which its merchants held, it may be noticed, that their usages were collected into a code: by this code all vessels arriving at, or sailing from, Barcelona, are a.s.sured of friendly treatment; and they are declared to be under the protection of the prince, so long as they are near the coast of Catalonia. How much Spain was indebted to the Arabians for their early commerce may be judged of from the number of commercial and maritime terms in the Spanish language, evidently derived from the Arabic.

In the middle of the twelfth century, Al Edrissi composed at the court of Roger King of Sicily, whose subject he was, his Geographical Amus.e.m.e.nts. In this work we find little that relates to commerce: its geographical details will a.s.sist us when we give our sketch of the geographical knowledge of the Arabians.

In the work of [Ebor->Ebn] Al Ouardi, which was drawn up in 1232, Africa, Arabia, and Syria are minutely described; but comparatively little is said on Europe, India, and the North of Asia.

The next Arabian geographer in point of time is Abulfeda: he wrote a very particular description of the earth, the countries being arranged according to climates, with the lat.i.tude and longitude of each place. In the introduction to this work he enters on the subject of mathematical geography, and describes the most celebrated mountains, rivers, and seas of the world. Abulfeda was a native of Syria; and this and the adjacent countries are described with most fullness and accuracy: the same remark applies to his description of Egypt and the north coast of Africa. The information contained in his work, respecting Tartary, China, &c., is not nearly so full and minute as might have been expected, considering the intercourse of the Arabians with those countries. Of Europe, and all other parts of Africa except Egypt and the north coast, he gives little or no information.

Within these very few years, some valuable notices have been received, through M. Burckhardt, and Mr. Kosegarten of Jena, of Ibn Batouta, an Arabian traveller of the fourteenth century. According to M. Burckhardt, he is, perhaps, the greatest land traveller that ever wrote his travels. He was a native of Tangier, and travelled for thirty years, from 1324 to 1354.

He traversed more than once Egypt, Syria, Arabia, Persia, the coast of the Red Sea, and the eastern coast of Africa. Bochara, Balk, Samarcand, Caubul, India, and China, were visited by him: he even ventured to explore several of the Indian islands; crossed the mountains of Thibet, traversed India, and then, taking s.h.i.+pping, went to Java. He again visited China, and returned thence by Calicut, Yeman, Bagdad, and Damascus, to Cairo. After having visited Spain, he directed his travels to Africa; reached the capital of Morocco, and thence as far as Sodjalmasa. From this place he crossed the Desert with the slave merchants to Taghary--twenty-five days journey: he represents the houses here as built of rock salt, and covered with camel skins. For twenty days more he crossed a desert without water or trees, and the sand of which was so loose, that it left no traces of footsteps. He now arrived at the frontier town of Soudan. After travelling for some time longer, he reached the banks of the Niger, which, according to the information he received, flowed into the Nile at the second cataract. He visited Tombuctoo and other places in this part of Africa, and finished his travels at Fez.

We shall now conclude our account of the Arabians, with a connected and condensed view of their geographical knowledge.

It is natural to suppose that they would be best acquainted with those countries which had embraced the faith of Mahomet; and that the prejudices and contempt with which his disciples have always regarded Christians, and, indeed, all who were of a different religion, would stand in the way of their seeking or acquiring information respecting those portions of the globe, the inhabitants of which were not of their faith. The exceptions to this are to be found princ.i.p.ally in those countries, from which they derived the princ.i.p.al articles of their commerce; or which, though not proselytized, were conquered by them.

Hence, Europe in general was scarcely known to them beyond their dominions in Spain, and the adjacent parts of France. There are, however, exceptions to this remark; for we find, scattered through their geographical works, notices tolerably accurate and just respecting Ireland, Paris, Antharvat, which seems to be England, the Duchy of Sleswig, the City of Kiov, and some other places.

The whole of the north of Africa having been subdued, was thoroughly known by them; and they seem to have extended their arms, or at least their knowledge, as far into the interior as the banks of the Niger. On the east side, their arms had penetrated to Sofala; but on the west their knowledge does not appear to have reached beyond Cape Blanco, in the Bay of Arguin.

The fortunate islands of the ancients were known to them, and the Pike of Teneriffe seems obscurely represented. Of the other islands and ports farther to the south on this side of Africa, it is impossible to ascertain their ident.i.ty; or whether, as represented by the Arabians, they may not be regarded as among those fables in geography, in which all the ancient nations indulged. We may, however, trace some resemblance, in name or description, to the Canary Islands, the River Senegal, and the Rio d'Ouro.

Malte Brun is of opinion, that their knowledge extended beyond Cape Boyador, for so long a time impa.s.sable by the Portugese.

On the eastern side of Africa, the Ethiopia of the Arabians seems to have terminated at Cape Corrientes: their power and religion were established from the Cape to the Red Sea. In their geographical descriptions of this part of Africa, we may trace many names of cities which they still retain.

But they adopted the error of Ptolemy in supposing that the southern parts of Africa and Asia joined; for Edrisi describes an extensive country, extending from the coast of Africa to that of India, beyond the Ganges.

The island of Madagascar seems to be faintly pourtrayed by them; and it is certain that Arabian colonies and the Mahometan religion were established in it from a very early period. Ma.s.soudi mentions an island, two days' sail from Zanguebar, which he calls Phanbalu, the inhabitants of which were Mahometans; and it is worthy of remark, as Malte Brun observes, that in the time of Aristotle a large island in this Ocean was known under a similar name, that of Phebol. It is surprizing that the island of Ceylon, with which the Arabians had such regular and constant intercourse, should be placed by Edrisi near the coast of Africa.

But it was in Asia that the conquest, and commerce, and religion of the Arabians spread most extensively; and hence their geographical knowledge of this part of the globe is more full, accurate, and minute, than what they had acquired of the other portions. By their conquest of Persia, the ancient Bactriana, Transoxiana, &c. fell into their power; and according to their wise plan, they immediately made themselves acquainted with the geography, productions, &c. of these countries. From their writers we can glean many new and curious particulars, respecting the districts which lie to the north and east of the Gihon: whether in all respects they are accurate, cannot now be ascertained; for these districts, besides that they are comparatively little known to the moderns, have suffered so much from various causes, that their ident.i.ty can hardly be determined.

On the west of Asia, near the Black Sea and the borders of Europe, the Arabian geographers throw much light; their information is minute and exact, and it reaches to the pa.s.ses of Caucasus. Red Russia, it is well known, derives its appellation from the colour of the hair of its inhabitants. Now the Arabian geographers describe a Sclavonic nation, inhabiting a country near Caucasus, called _Seclab_, remarkable for the redness of their hair. Hence, it is probable that the modern inhabitants of Red Russia, who are Sclavonic, emigrated to it from this district of Caucasus.

Some notices appear of those parts, of Russia which border on Russia: Maschput, which is represented as a city of consequence, probably is Moscow. On the borders of the salt plains of Susith, a country is described, called Boladal Rus, evidently Russia, the inhabitants of which are represented as noted for their filth.

With the figure and extent of the Caspian Sea, the Arabian geographers were tolerably well acquainted: and they describe, so as to be recognized, several tribes inhabiting the borders of this sea, as well as the vicinity of the Wolga. One is particularly noticed and celebrated, being called the People of the Throne of Gold, the khan of whom lived at Seray, near the mouth of the Wolga. To the east of the Caspian, the Arabian conquests did not extend farther than those of Alexander and his immediate successors.

Transoxiana was the limit of their dominions towards the north, in this part of the world.

Of many of the districts which the Arabians, conquered, in this part of Asia, they have furnished us with such accurate and full information, that modern discoveries have been able to add or correct very little. That they were acquainted with Thibet and China, has already appeared, from the account given of their commerce. Thibet they represent as divided into three parts, Thibet upper, central, and lower. At the beginning of the eighth century, Arabian amba.s.sadors were sent to China: they pa.s.sed through Cashgar. After this period, journies to China by the route of Samarcand were frequent. Besides Canfu, described by the Mahomedan travellers of Renaudot, other cities in China were visited by the Arabian merchants, most of which were in the interior; but the Arabian geographers seem to have been puzzled by the Chinese names. We learn, however, that the provinces of the north were distinguished from those of the south; the former were called Cathay and Tehar Cathar, or Cathay, which produces tea: its capital was Cambalu: the provinces in the south were called Tchin or Sin. The appellation of Cathay was that under which alone China was long known to the Europeans. Under the name of Sin, given to the southern districts, the Arabian geographers frequently comprehended all the country to the Ganges.

The Arabians divided the present Hindostan into two parts; Sind and Hind: the first seems to have comprised the countries lying on the Indus; Hind lay to the east, and comprehended Delhi, Agra, Oude, Bengal, &c. The Decan, at least the western part of it, belonged to Sind. The coast of Coromandel, as well as the interior, was unknown to them. On the west or Malabar coast, their information was full and accurate; but it terminated at Cape Comorin.

While part of the forces of the Caliph Walid were employed in the conquest of Spain, another part succeeded in reducing Multan and Lah.o.r.e; and the Arabian geographers, always ready to take advantage of the success of their arms, to promote geographical knowledge, describe their new eastern conquests, and the countries which bordered on them, in the most glowing language. The valley of Cashmere, in particular, affords ample matter for their panegyrics. The towns of Guzerat, Cambay, and Narwhorra are described: in the last resided the most powerful king of India; his kingdom extended from Guzerat and Concan to the Ganges. The city of Benares, celebrated as a school of Indian philosophy, and the almost impregnable fortress of Gevatior, are mentioned by them, as well as a colony of Jews in Cochin, and the Maldive islands: these they frequented to obtain cowries, which then, as now, were used as money.

It is supposed that the isle of Sumatra is described by them under the name of Lumery; for the peculiar productions are the same, and Sumatra was known under the name of Lambry in the time of Marc Paul, and Mandeville. Java is evidently meant by Al D'Javah: it is represented as rich in spices, but subject to volcanic eruptions; circ.u.mstances by which it is yet distinguished. A short period before the Portuguese reached these seas, Arabian colonists established themselves at Ternate and some of the other spice islands; and their language, religious opinions, and customs, may clearly be traced in the Philippine islands.

From the geographical discoveries, the travels by sea and land, and the commercial enterprize of the Arabians, we pa.s.s to those of the Scandinavians; under that appellation, including not only the Scandinavians, properly so called, who inhabited the sh.o.r.es of the Baltic and the coasts of Norway, but also those people who dwelt on the northern sh.o.r.es of the German Ocean; for they were of the same origin as the Baltic nations, and resembled them in manners and pursuits.

By an inspection of the map it will appear, that all these tribes were situated nearly as favorably for maritime enterprize as the nations which inhabited the sh.o.r.es of the Mediterranean; and though their earliest expeditions by sea were not stimulated by the same cause, commercial pursuits, yet they arose from causes equally efficient. While the countries bordering on the Mediterranean were blessed with a fertile soil and a mild climate, those on the Baltic were comparatively barren and ungenial; their inhabitants, therefore, induced by their situation to attend to maritime affairs, were further led to employ their skill and power by sea, in endeavouring to establish themselves in more favored countries, or, at least, to draw from them by plunder, what they could not obtain in their own.

We have already mentioned the maritime expeditions of the Saxons, which struck terror into the Romans, during the decline of their empire. The other Scandinavian nations were acted on by the same causes and motives.

Neglecting the peaceful art of agriculture, inured to the sea from their earliest years, and the profession and practice of piracy being regarded as actually honourable by them, it is no wonder that their whole lives were spent in planning or executing maritime expeditions. Their internal wars also, by depriving many of their power or their property, compelled them to seek abroad that which they had lost at home. No sooner had a prince reached his eighteenth year, than he was entrusted by his father with a fleet; and by means of it he was ordered and expected to add to his glory and his wealth, by plunder and victory. Lands were divided into certain portions, and from each portion a certain number of s.h.i.+ps were to be fully equipped for sea. Their vessels, as well as themselves, were admirably adapted to the grand object of their lives; the former were well supplied with stones, arrows, and strong ropes, with which they overset small vessels, and with grappling irons to board them; and every individual was skilful in swimming. Each band possessed its own ports, magazines, &c.

Their s.h.i.+ps were at first small, being only a kind of twelve-oared barks; they were afterwards so much enlarged, that they were capable of containing 100 or 120 men.

It is not our intention to notice the piratical expeditions of Scandinavians, except so far as they tended to discovery, or commerce, or were productive of permanent effects. Among the first countries to which they directed themselves, and where they settled permanently, were England and Ireland; the result of their settlement in England was the establishment of the Anglo-Saxon dominion power in that kingdom; the result of their expeditions to Ireland was their settlement on its eastern coasts.

In the middle of the ninth century, the native Irish had been driven by them into the central and western parts of the country, while the Scandinavian conquerors, under the appellation of Ostmen, or Eastmen, possessed of all the maritime cities, carried on an extensive and lucrative commerce, not only with their native land, but also with other places in the west of Europe. Their settlements on the Shetland, Orkney, and western islands of Scotland, are only mentioned, because in these last the Scandinavians seem to have established and encouraged manufactures, the forerunner and support of commerce; for towards the end of the ninth century, the drapery of the Suderyans, (for so the inhabitants were called, as their country lay to the south of Shetland and Orkney,) was much celebrated and sought after.

About this period the Scandinavian nations began to mingle commerce and discovery with their piratical expeditions. Alfred, king of England, obliged to attend to maritime affairs, to defend his territories from the Danes, turned his ardent and penetrating mind to every thing connected with this important subject. He began by improving the structure of his vessels; "the form of the Saxon s.h.i.+ps (observes Mr. Strutt, who derives his description from contemporary drawings) at the end of the eighth century, or beginning of the ninth, is happily preserved in some of the ancient MSS.

of that date, they were scarcely more than a very large boat, and seem to be built of stout planks, laid one over the other, in the manner as is done in the present time; their heads and sterns are very erect, and rise high out of the water, ornamented at top with some uncouth head of an animal, rudely cut; they have but one mast, the top of which is also decorated with a bird, or some such device; to this mast is made fast a large sail, which, from its nature and construction, could only be useful when the vessel went before the wind. The s.h.i.+p was steered with a large oar, with a flat end, very broad, pa.s.sing by the side of the stern; and this was managed by the pilot, who sat in the stern, and thence issued his orders to the mariners."

The bird on the mast head, mentioned in this description, appears, from the account of Canute's fleet, given in Du Cange, to have been for the purpose of shewing the wind.