A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Xviii Part 16

Within the period to which the present chapter is confined, there are few traces of commerce in any other parts of Europe besides the Italian states and the Hanseatic League: the former monopolizing the commerce of the south of Europe and of Asia, and the latter that of the north of Europe, particularly of the Baltic, engrossed among them and the cities which were advantageously situated for intermediate depots, nearly all the trade that then existed. There are, however, a few notices of commercial spirit and enterprize in other parts of Europe, during this period, which must not be omitted.

In Domesday-book a few particulars are set down relating to the internal and foreign trade of England. In Southwark the king had a duty on s.h.i.+ps coming into a dock, and also a toll on the Strand. Gloucester must have enjoyed some manufactures of trade in iron, as it was obliged to supply iron and iron rods for the king's s.h.i.+ps. Martins' skins were imported into Chester, either from Iceland or Germany. The navigation of the Trent and the Fosse, and the road to York, were carefully attended to.

If we may believe Fitz-Stephen, London, in the middle of the twelfth century, possessed a considerable portion of trade: among the imports, he mentions gold, spices, and frankincense from Arabia; precious stones from Egypt; purple drapery from India, palm oil from Bagdad: but it is certain that all these articles were obtained directly from Italian merchants. The furs of Norway and Russia were brought by German merchants, who, according to William of Malmsbury, were the princ.i.p.al foreign merchants who traded to England. The same author mentions Exeter, as a city much resorted to by foreign merchants; and that vessels from Norway, Iceland, and other countries, frequented the port of Bristol. Chester at this period also possessed much trade, particularly with Iceland, Aquitaine, Spain, and Germany. Henry I. made a navigable ca.n.a.l from the Trent to the Witham at Lincoln, which rendered this place one of the most flouris.h.i.+ng seats of home and foreign trade in England. The Icelandic Chronicles inform us that Grimsby was a port much resorted by the merchants of Norway, Scotland, Orkney, and the Western Islands.

Previous to the reign of Henry II., the sovereigns and lords of manors in England claimed, as their right, the property of all wrecked vessels; but this monarch pa.s.sed a law, enacting, that if any one human creature, or even a beast, were found alive in the s.h.i.+p, or belonging to her, the property should be kept for the owners, provided they claimed it in three months. This law, as politic as it was humane and just, must have encouraged foreign trade. In this reign the chief exports seem to have been lead, tin, and wool, and small quant.i.ties of honey, wax, cheese, and salmon. The chief imports were wine from the king's French dominions, woad for dying, spiceries, jewels, silks, furs, &c.

The laws of Oleron, an island near the coast of France belonging to England, are generally supposed to have been pa.s.sed by Richard I.; both these, however, and their exact date, are uncertain: they were copied from the Rhodian law, or rather from the maritime laws of Barcelona.

Though it appears by official doc.u.ments in the reign of king John, that the south coast of England, and the east coast only, as far as Norfolk, were esteemed the princ.i.p.al part of the country; yet, very shortly after the date of these doc.u.ments, Newcastle certainly had some foreign trade, particularly with the northern nations of Europe for furs. In this reign are the first records of English letters of credit.

Some idea may be formed of the importation of wine at the beginning of the fourteenth century, by the following facts: in the year ending 20th Nov.

1299, the number of vessels that arrived in London and the other ports, (with the exception of the Cinque ports,) bringing cargoes of wine amounting to more than nineteen tuns, was seventy-three; and the number in the next year was seventy-one. It is probable, however, that we may double these numbers, since the Cinque ports, being exempted from the duty on wine, would import much more than any other equal number of ports. From a charter granted to foreign merchants in 1302, it appears that they came from the following countries to trade in England:--Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Navarre, Lombardy, Tuscany, Provence, Catalonia, Aquitaine, Thoulouse, Quercy, Flanders, and Brabant. The very important privileges and immunities granted to them sufficiently proves, that at this period the commerce of England was mainly dependent on them. That there were, however, native merchants of considerable wealth and importance, cannot be doubted.

In the year 1318, the king called a council of English merchants on staple business: they formed a board of themselves; and one was appointed to preside, under the t.i.tle of mayor of the merchants, or mayor of the staple.

About the middle of this century, Dover, London, Yarmouth, Boston, and Hull, were appointed places for exchanging foreign money; and the entire management was given to William de la Pole. His name deserves particular notice, as one of the richest and most enlightened of the early merchants of England. His son, Michael, was also a merchant, and was created earl of Suffolk by Richard II. "His posterity flourished as earls, marquises, and dukes of Suffolk, till a royal marriage, and a promise of the succession to the crown, brought the family to ruin."

When Edward III. went to the siege of Calais, the different ports of England furnished him with s.h.i.+ps. From the list of these it appears, that the whole number supplied was 700, manned by 14,151 seamen, averaging under twenty men for each vessel. Gosford is the only port whose vessels average thirty-one men. Yarmouth sent forty-three vessels; Fowey, forty-seven; Dartmouth, thirty-one; Bristol, twenty-four; Plymouth, twenty-six; London, twenty-five; Margate, fifteen; Sandwich, twenty-two; Southampton, twenty-one; Winchelsea, twenty-one; Newcastle, sixteen; Hull, seventeen.

In the year 1354 we have a regular account of such exports and imports as paid duty; from which it appears, that there were exported 31,651 sacks of wool, 3036 cwt. of woad, sixty-five wool-fells, 4774 pieces of cloth, and 8061 pieces of worsted stuff; and there were imported 1831 pieces of fine cloth, 397 cwt. of wax, and 1829 tuns of wine, besides linen, mercery, groceries, &c. As tin, lead, and several other articles are not enumerated, it may be inferred that they paid no duty. In the year 1372 there is the earliest record of direct trade with Prussia. As the woollen manufactures of England began to flourish, the importation of woollen cloths necessarily diminished; so that, in the act of 1378, reviving the acts of 1335 and 1351 for the encouragement of foreign merchants, though cloth of gold and silver, stuffs of silk, napery, linen, canvas, &c. are enumerated as imported by them, woollen cloth is not mentoned. The trade to the Baltic gradually increased as the ports in the north of England, particularly Newcastle, rose in wealth. In 1378 coals and grindstones were exported from this place to Prussia, Norway, Schonen, and other ports of the Baltic. Soon afterwards, in consequence of some disputes between the Prussians and English, a commercial treaty was formed between the Grand Master of Prussia and Edward III., by which it was agreed that the Prussian merchants in London should be protected, and that English merchants should have free access to every part of Prussia, to trade freely, as it used to be in ancient times. In order to carry this treaty into full effect on the part of the English, a citizen of London was chosen to be governor of the English merchants in Prussia and the other countries on the Baltic.

Disputes, however, still arose, and piracies were committed on both sides.

Meetings were therefore held at the Hague, to hear and settle the complaints of each party. From the statements then given in, it appears, that woollen clothes now formed a considerable part of the exports of England to the Baltic. That they were also exported in considerable quant.i.ty to the south of Europe, appears from other doc.u.ments.

At the beginning of the fifteenth century the foreign commerce of England had considerably increased; for we are informed, that some merchants of London s.h.i.+pped wool and other goods, to the value of 24,000_l_., to the Mediterranean; and nearly about the same time, the English merchants possessed valuable warehouses and an extensive trade at Bergen in Norway, and sent vessels of the size of 200 tons to Portugal. The freight of one of these is stated to have been worth 6000 crowns in gold. The improvement of the woollen manufactures may be inferred from the following circ.u.mstance: alum is very useful to fullers and dyers. About the year 1422, the Genoese obtained from the Greek emperor the lease of a hill in Asia Minor, containing alum: England was one of the chief customers for this article; but it undoubtedly was imported, not in English, but in Genoese vessels. In the year 1450 the Genoese delivered alum to the value of 4000l. to Henry VI. Bristol seems to have been one of the most commercial cities in England. One merchant of it is mentioned as having been possessed of 2470 tuns of s.h.i.+pping: he traded to Finmark and Iceland for fish, and to the Baltic for timber and other bulky articles in very large s.h.i.+ps, some of which are said to have been of the burden of 400, 500, and even 900 tons.

Towards the latter end of the fifteenth century, the parliament, in order to encourage English s.h.i.+pping, (as. .h.i.therto the greatest part of the foreign trade of England had been carried on by foreign merchants in foreign vessels,) enacted a species of navigation law, and prohibited the king's subjects from s.h.i.+pping goods in England and Wales on board any vessel owned by a foreigner, unless when sufficient freight could not be found in English vessels.

Such are the most instructive and important notices respecting the state and progress of English commerce, which occur prior to the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope and America. We shall now proceed to give similar notices of the commerce of Scotland, Ireland, France, and the other countries of Europe; these, however, shall be very brief and few. In the middle of the twelfth century, Berwick, which then belonged to Scotland, is described as having more foreign commerce than any other port in that kingdom, and as possessing many s.h.i.+ps. One of the merchants of this town was distinguished by the appellation of _the opulent_. Inverluth, or Leith, is described merely as possessing a harbour, but no mention is made of its trade.

Strivelen had some vessels and trade, and likewise Perth. There was some trade between Aberdeen and Norway. There were no trading towns on the west coast of Scotland at this period; but about twenty years afterwards, a weekly market, and an annual fair were granted by charter to Glasgow.

It is probable that the foreign commerce of Scotland, being confined to the east coast, was princ.i.p.ally carried on with Norway: with which country, indeed, Scotland had intimate connection; for we do not find any notice of foreign merchants from other countries trading to or settling in Scotland, till towards the end of the thirteenth century, when some Flemish merchants established a factory at Berwick. Wool, wool-fells, hides, &c. were the chief articles of export; salmon also was exported. Of the importance and value of the trade of this place we may form some idea, from the circ.u.mstance, that the custom duties amounted to upwards of 2,000_l_.

sterling; and of 1,500 marks a year settled on the widow of Alexander prince of Scotland, 1,300 were paid by Berwick.

In the year 1428. foreign commerce attracted considerable attention in Scotland; and in order to encourage the native merchants to carry it on themselves, and by their own vessels, the parliament of Scotland seem, some time previous to this date, to have pa.s.sed a navigation act; for in an act pa.s.sed this year, the Scotch merchants were permitted for a year ensuing, to s.h.i.+p their goods in foreign vessels, where Scotch ones were not to be found, notwithstanding the statute to the contrary. Indeed, during the civil wars in England, between the houses of York and Lancaster, when the manufactures and commerce of that country necessarily declined, the commerce of Scotland began to flourish, and was protected and encouraged by its monarchs. The herring fishery was encouraged; duties were laid on the exportation of wool, and a staple for Scotch commerce was fixed in the Netherlands, In the year 1420 Glasgow began to acquire wealth by the fisheries; but until the discovery of America and the West Indies, it had little or no foreign trade. Towards the middle of the fifteenth century, several acts of parliament were pa.s.sed to encourage agriculture, the fisheries, and commerce; the Scotch merchants had now acquired so much wealth and general respectability, that they were frequently employed, along with the clergy and n.o.bles, in emba.s.sies. Even some of the Scotch barons were engaged in trade. In 1467 several acts were pa.s.sed: among the most important enactments were those which related to the freight of s.h.i.+ps, the mode of stowing it, the mode of fixing the average in case goods were thrown overboard, and the time of the year when vessels might sail to foreign countries.

The commerce of Ireland, when its ports were frequented by the Ostmen, has been already noticed. In the middle of the twelfth century, we are informed, that foreign merchants brought gold to Ireland, and that wheat and wine were imported from Bretagne into Wexford; but the exports in return are not particularized. About this period, some trade seems to have been carried on between Bristol and Dublin; and on the conquest of Ireland by Henry II., that monarch gave his city of Dublin to be inhabited by his men of Bristol. A charter granted by the same monarch, gives to the burgesses of that city free trade to England, Normandy, Wales, and the other ports of Ireland. From this time the commerce of Dublin seems to have flourished. It is certain, that at the middle of the fourteenth century the Irish stuffs were in such request abroad, that imitations of them were attempted by the Catalans, and they were worn as articles of luxury by the ladies of Florence. But of the mode in which they were conveyed to foreign countries, and the articles which were received in exchange for them, we have no certain information.

Though France possessed excellent ports in the Mediterranean, particularly Ma.r.s.eilles, which, as we have seen, in very early times was celebrated for its commerce, yet she, as well as less favoured ports of Europe, was princ.i.p.ally indebted for her trade to the Lombards and other Italian merchants, during the middle ages. The political state of the country, indeed, was very unfavourable to commerce during this period; there are, consequently, few particulars of its commerce worth recording. About the beginning of the fourteenth century, Montpelier seems to have had a considerable trade; and they even sent s.h.i.+ps with various articles of merchandize to London. Mention of Bourdeaux occurs about the same time, as having sent out, in one year, 1350 vessels, laden with 13,429 tuns of wine; this gives nearly 100 tuns in each vessel on an average. But Bourdeaux was in fact an English possession at this time. That commerce between France and England would have flourished and extended considerably, had it not been interrupted by the frequent and bitter wars between these countries, is evident from the consequences which followed the truce which was concluded between their monarchs in 1384. The French, and particularly the Normans, taking immediate advantage of this truce, imported into England an immense quant.i.ty of wine, fruits, spiceries, and fish; gold and silver alone were given in exchange. The Normans appear to have traded very extensively in spiceries; but it is uncertain, whether they brought them directly from the Mediterranean: they likewise traded to the east country or Baltic countries. About a century afterwards, that is in 1453, France could boast of her wealthy merchant, as well as Florence and England. His name was Jacques Coeur: he is said to have employed 300 factors, and to have traded with the Turks and Persians; his exports were chiefly woollen cloth, linen, and paper; and his imports consisted of silks, spiceries, gold, silver, &c.

In all our preceding accounts of the trade of Europe, the Italian and Flemish merchants make a conspicuous figure. Flanders was celebrated for its woollen manufactures, as well as for containing the central depots of the trade between the south and north of Europe. Holland, which afterwards rose to such commercial importance, does not appear in the annals of commerce till the beginning of the fifteenth century. At this period, many of the manufacturers of Brabant and Flanders settled in Holland; and about the same time the Hollanders engaged in maritime commerce; but there are no particulars respecting it, that fall within the limits of the present chapter.

It remains to notice Spain. The commerce of Barcelona in its earliest stage has been already noticed. The Catalans, in the thirteenth century, engaged very extensively in the commerce of the Mediterranean, to almost every port of which they traded. The earliest navigation act known was pa.s.sed by the count of Barcelona about this time; and laws were also framed, containing rules for the owners and commanders of vessels, and the clerks employed to keep their accounts; for loading and discharging the cargo; for the mutual a.s.sistance to be given by vessels, &c. These laws, and others, to extend and improve commerce, were pa.s.sed during the reign of James I., king of Arragon, who was also count of Barcelona. The manufactures and commerce of this part of Spain continued to flourish from this time till the union of the crowns of Castile and Arragon, which event depressed the latter kingdom. In 1380, a Catalan s.h.i.+p was wrecked on the coast of Somersets.h.i.+re, on her voyage from Genoa to Sluys, the port of Bruges: her cargo consisted of green ginger, cured ginger, raisins, sulphur, writing paper, white sugar, prunes, cinnamon, &c. In 1401, a bank of exchange and deposit was established at Barcelona: the accommodation it afforded was extended to foreign as well as native merchants. The earliest bill of exchange of which we have any notice, is one dated 28th April, 1404, which was sold by a merchant of Lucca, residing in Bruges, to a merchant of Barcelona, also residing there, to be paid by a Florence merchant residing in Barcelona. By the book of duties on imports and exports, compiled in 1413, it appears, that the Barcelonians were very liberal and enlightened in their commercial policy; this doc.u.ment also gives us a high idea of the trade of the city of Barcelona. A still further proof and ill.u.s.tration of the intelligence of the Barcelona merchants, and of the advantages for which commerce is indebted to them, occurs soon afterwards: for about the year 1432 they framed regulations respecting maritime insurance, the princ.i.p.al of which were, that no vessel should be insured for more than three quarters of her real value,--that no merchandize belonging to foreigners should be insured in Barcelona, unless freighted in a vessel belonging to the king of Arrogan: the words, _more or less_, inserted frequently in policies, were prohibited: if a s.h.i.+p should not be heard of in six months, she was to be deemed lost.

Little commerce seems to have been carried on from any other port of Spain besides Barcelona at this period: the north of Spain, indeed, had a little commercial intercourse with England, as appears by the complaints of the Spanish merchants; complaints that several of their vessels bound to England from this part of Spain had been plundered by the people of Sandwich, Dartmouth, &c. Seven vessels are particularly mentioned: one of which, laden with wine, wool, and iron, was bound for Flanders; the others, laden with raisins, liquorice, spicery, incense, oranges, and cheese, were bound for England. The largest of these vessels was 120 tons: one vessel, with its cargo, was valued as high as 2500l.

The following short abstract of the exports and imports of the princ.i.p.al commercial places in Europe, about the middle of the fifteenth century, taken from a contemporary work, will very properly conclude and sum up all we have to say on this subject.

Spain exported figs, raisins, wine of inferior quality, dates, liquorice, Seville oil, grain, Castile soap, wax, iron, wool, goat skins, saffron, and quicksilver; the most of these were exported to Bruges. The chief imports of Spain were Flemish woollen cloth and linen. This account, however, of the commerce of Spain, does not appear to include Barcelona. The exports of Portugal were wine, wax, grain, figs, raisins, honey, Cordovan leather, dates, salt, &c.; these were sent princ.i.p.ally to England. The imports are not mentioned.

Bretagne exported salt, wine, cloth, and canvas.

The exports of Scotland were wool, wool-fells, and hides to Flanders; from which they brought mercery, haberdashery, cart-wheels, and barrows. The exports of Ireland were hides, wool, salmon, and other fish; linen; the skins of martins, otters, hares, &c. The trade of England is not described: the author being an Englishman, and writing for his countrymen, we may suppose, thought it unnecessary.

The exports of Prussia were beer, bacon, copper, bow-staves, wax, putty, pitch, tar, boards, flax, thread of Cologne, and canvas; these were sent princ.i.p.ally to Flanders, from which were brought woollen cloths. The Prussians also imported salt from Biscay.

The Genoese employed large vessels in their trade; their princ.i.p.al exports were cloth of gold and silver, spiceries, woad, wool, oil, wood-ashes, alum, and good: the chief staple of their trade was in Flanders, to which they carried wool from England.

The Venetians and Florentines exported nearly the same articles as the Genoese; and their imports were nearly similar.

Flanders exported madder, wood, garlick, salt-fish, woollen cloths, &c. The English are represented as being the chief purchasers in the marts of Brabant, Flanders, and Zealand; to these marts were brought the merchandize of Hainault, France, Burgundy, Cologne, and Cambray, in carts. The commodities of the East, and of the south of Europe, were brought by the Italians: England sent her wool, and afterwards her woollen cloth.

From this view of the trade of Europe in the middle of the fifteenth century, it appears, that it was princ.i.p.ally conducted by the Italians, the Hanse merchants, and the Flemings; and that the great marts were in Flanders. Towards the end of this century, indeed, the other nations of Europe advancing in knowledge and enterprize, and having acquired some little commercial capital, each began, in some degree, to conduct its own trade. The people of Barcelona, at a very early period, form the only exception to this remark; they not only conducted their own trade, but partook largely in conducting the trade of other nations.

From the remotest period to which we can trace the operations of commerce, we have seen that they were chiefly directed to the luxuries of Asia; and as the desire of obtaining them in greater abundance, and more cheaply and easily, was the incitement which led to the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope by the Portuguese, it will be proper, before we narrate that event, briefly to give such particulars respecting Asiatic commerce as occur within the period which this chapter embraces, and to which, in our account of the Arabians, we have not already alluded. This will lead us to a notice of some very instructive and important travels in the East; and the information which they convey will point out the state of the geography of Asia, as well as its commerce, during the middle ages.

The dreadful revolutions which took place in Asia in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and which threatened to extend to Europe, induced the European powers, and particularly the Pope, to endeavour to avert the evil, by sending emba.s.sies to the Mogul potentates. So frequent were these missions, that, in the beginning of the fourteenth century, a work was composed which described the various routes to Grand Tartary. What was at first undertaken from policy and fear, was afterwards continued from religious zeal, curiosity, a love of knowledge, and other motives. So that, to the devastations of Genghis Khan we may justly deem ourselves indebted for the full and important information we possess respecting the remote parts of Asia during the middle ages.

The accounts of India and China by the two Mahomedan travellers have been already noticed: between the period of their journey, and the emba.s.sies and missions to which we have just alluded, the only account of the East which we possess is derived from the work of Benjamin, a Jew of Tudela in Spain.

It is doubted whether he visited all the places he describes: his object was princ.i.p.ally to describe those places where the Jews resided in great numbers.

After describing Barcelona as a place of great trade, frequented by merchants from Greece, Italy, and Alexandria, and a great resort of the Jews, and giving a similar character of Montpelier and Genoa, he proceeds to the East. The inhabitants of Constantinople being too lazy to carry on commerce themselves, the whole trade of this city, which is represented as surpa.s.sing all others, except Bagdad, in wealth, was conducted by foreign merchants, who resorted to it from every part of the world by land and sea.

New Tyre was a place of considerable traffic, with a good harbour: gla.s.s and sugar were its princ.i.p.al exports. The great depot for the produce and manufactures of India, Persia, Arabia, &c., was an island in the Persian Gulf. He mentions Samarcand as a place of considerable importance, and Thibet as the country where the musk animal was found. But all beyond the Persian Gulf he describes in such vague terms, that little information can be gleaned. It is worthy of remark, that nearly all the Jews, whom he represents as very numerous in Thebes, Constantinople, Samarcand, &c., were dyers of wool: in Thebes alone, there were 2000 workers in scarlet and purple. After the conquest of the northern part of China by Genghis Khan, the city of Campion in Tangut seems to have been fixed upon by him as the seat of a great inland trade. Linens, stuffs made of cotton, gold, silver, silks, and porcelain, were brought hither by the Chinese merchants, and bought by merchants from Muscovy, Persia, Armenia, &c.

In the years 1245, 1246, the pope sent amba.s.sadors to the Tartar and Mogul khans: of these Carpini has given us the most detailed account of his emba.s.sy, and of the route which he followed. His journey occupied six months: he first went through Bohemia, Silesia, and Poland, to Kiov, at that time the capital of Russia. Thence he proceeded by the Dnieper to the Black Sea, till he arrived at the head quarters of the Khan Batou. To him we are indebted for the first information of the real names of the four great rivers which water the south of Russia, the Dnieper, the Don, the Volga, and the Jaik. He afterwards proceeded to the head quarters of another khan, on the eastern sh.o.r.es of the Caspian. After pa.s.sing a country where the famous Prester John is said to have reigned, he reached the end of his journey, the head quarters of the khan of the Moguls. Besides the information derived from his own observations, he inserts in his narrative all he had collected; so that he may be regarded as the first traveller who brought to the knowledge of western Europe these parts of Asia; but though his travels are important to geography, they throw little light on the commerce of these countries.

Rubruquis was sent, about this time, by the king of France to the Mogul emperor: he pa.s.sed through the Crimea, and along the sh.o.r.es of the Volga and the Caspian Sea; visited the Khans Sartach and Batou; and at length arrived at the great camp of the Moguls. Here he saw Chinese amba.s.sadors; from whom, and certain doc.u.ments which he found among the Moguls, he learnt many particulars respecting the north of China, the most curious of which is his accurate description of the Chinese language and characters. He returned by the same route by which he went. In his travels we meet with some information respecting the trade of Asia. The Mogul khans derived a considerable revenue from the salt of the Crimea. The alum of Caramonia was a great object of traffic. He is the first author, after Ammia.n.u.s Marcellinus, who mentions rhubarb as an article of medicine and commerce.

Among the Moguls he found a great number of Europeans, who had been taken prisoners: they were usually employed in working the mines, and in various manufactures. He is the first traveller who mentions _koumis_ and arrack; and he gives a very particular and accurate description of the cattle of Thibet, and the wild and fleet a.s.ses of the plains of Asia.

Geography is indebted to him for correcting the error of the ancients, which prevailed till his time, that the Caspian joined the Northern Ocean: he expressly represents it as a great inland sea,--the description given of it by Herodotus, but which was overlooked or disbelieved by all the other ancient geographers.

While the pope and the French monarch were thus endeavouring to conciliate the Moguls by emba.s.sies, the Emperor Frederic of Germany, having recovered Jerusalem, Tyre, and Sidon, formed an alliance with the princes of the East; and this alliance he took advantage of for the purposes of oriental commerce: for his merchants and factors travelled as far as India. In the last year of his reign, twelve camels, laden with gold and silver, the produce of his trade with the East, arrived in his dominions. The part of India to which he traded, and the route which was pursued, are not recorded.

Among the most celebrated travellers of the middle ages, was Marco Polo: he, his father, and uncle, after trading for some time in many of the commercial and opulent cities of Lesser Asia, reached the more eastern parts of that continent, as far as the court of the great khan, on the borders of China. For 26 years they were either engaged in mercantile transactions, or employed in negociations with the neighbouring states by the khan; they were thus enabled to see much, and to collect much important information, the result of which was drawn up by Marco Polo. He was the first European who reached China, India beyond the Ganges, and the greater number of the islands in the Indian Ocean. He describes j.a.pan from the accounts of others: notices great and little Java, supposed to be Borneo and Sumatra; and is the first who mentions Bengal and Guzerat by their present names, as great and opulent kingdoms. On the east coast of Africa, his knowledge did not reach beyond Zanguebar, and the port of Madagascar opposite to it: he first made known this island to Europe. Such is a sketch of the countries described by Marco Polo; from which it will easily be perceived, how much he added to the geographical knowledge of Asia possessed at that period.

The information he gives respecting the commerce of the countries he either visited himself, or describes from the reports of others, is equally important. Beginning with the more western parts of Asia, he mentions Giazza, a city in the Levant, as possessed of a most excellent harbour, which was much frequented by Genoese and Venetian vessels, for spices and other merchandize. Rich silks were manufactured in Georgia, Bagdat, Tauris, and Persia, which were the source of great wealth to the manufacturers and merchants. All the pearls in Christendom are brought from Bagdat. The merchants from India bring spices, pearls, precious stones, &c. to Ormus: the vessels of this port are described as very stoutly built, with one mast, one deck, and one sail. Among the most remarkable cities of China, he particularly notices Cambalu, or Pekin, Nankin, and Quinsai. At the distance of 2,500 Italian miles from this last city, was the port of Cauzu, at which a considerable trade was carried on with India and the spice islands. The length of the voyage, in consequence of the monsoons, was a year. From the spice islands was brought, besides other articles, a quant.i.ty of pepper, infinitely greater than what was imported at Alexandria, though that place supplied all Europe. He represents the commerce and wealth of China as very great; and adds, that at Cambalu, where the merchants had their distinct warehouses, (in which they also lived,) according to the nation to which they belonged, a large proportion of them were Saracens. The money was made of the middle bark of the mulberry, stamped with the khan's mark. Letters were conveyed at the rate of 200 or 250 miles a day, by means of inns at short distances, where relays of horses were always kept. The tenth of all wool, silk, and hemp, and all other articles, the produce of the earth, was paid to the khan: sugar, spices, and arrack, paid only 3-1/2 per cent. The inland trade is immense, and is carried on princ.i.p.ally by numerous vessels on the ca.n.a.ls and rivers. Marco Polo describes porcelain, which was princ.i.p.ally made at a place he calls Trigui; it was very low-priced, as eight porcelain dishes might be bought for a Venetian groat: he takes no notice of tea. He supposes the cowries of the Maldives to be a species of white porcelaine.

Silver then, as now, must have been in great demand, and extremely scarce; it was much more valuable than gold, bearing the proportion to the latter, as 1 to 6 or 8. Fine skins also bore a very high price: another proof of the stability of almost every thing connected with China. He was particularly struck with what he calls black stones, which were brought from the mountains of Cathay, and burnt at Pekin, as wood, evidently meaning some kind of coal. The collieries of China are still worked, princ.i.p.ally for the use of the porcelaine manufactures.

Marco Polo seems to have regarded Bengal and Pegu as parts of China: he mentions the gold of Pegu, and the rice, cotton, and sugar of Bengal, as well as its ginger, spikenard, &c. The princ.i.p.al branch of the Bengal trade consisted in cotton goods. In Guzerat also, there was abundance of cotton: in Canhau, frankincense; and in Cambaia, indigo, cotton, &c. He describes the cities on the east and west coasts of India; but he does not seem either to have penetrated himself inland, or to have learnt any particulars regarding the interior from other persons. Horses were a great article of importation in all parts of India: they were brought from Persia and Arabia by sea. In the countries to the north of India, particularly Thibet, corals were in great demand, and brought a higher price than any other article: this was the case in the time of Pliny, who informs us, that the men in India were as fond of coral for an ornament, as the women of Rome were of the Indian pearls. In Pliny's time, corals were brought from the Mediterranean coast of France to Alexandria, and were thence exported by the Arabians to India. Marco Polo does not inform us by what means, or from what country they were imported into the north of India. The greater Java, which he represents as the greatest island in the world, carried on an extensive trade, particularly by means of the Chinese merchants, who imported gold and spices from it. In the lesser Java, the tree producing sago grows: he describes the process of making it. In this island there are also nuts as large as a man's head, containing a liquor superior to wine,--evidently the cocoa nut. He likewise mentions the rhinoceros. The knowledge of camphire, the produce of j.a.pan, Sumatra, and Borneo, was first brought to Europe by him. The fishery of pearls between Ceylon and the main land of India is described; and particular mention is made of the large ruby possessed by the king of that island. Madagascar is particularly mentioned, as supplying large exports of elephants' teeth.

Marco Polo's description of the vessels of India is very full and minute: as he sailed from China to the Indian islands in one of these vessels, we may suppose it is perfectly accurate. according to him, they were fitted up with many cabins, and each merchant had his own cabin. They had from two to four masts, all or any of which could be lowered; the hold was divided not merely for the purpose of keeping distinct each merchant's goods, but also to prevent the water from a leak in one division extending to the rest of the hold. The bottoms of the vessels were double planked at first, and each year a new sheathing was added; the s.h.i.+ps lasted only six years. They were caulked, as modern s.h.i.+ps are; the timbers and planks fixed with iron nails, and a composition of lime, oil, and hemp, spread over the surface. They were capable of holding 5000 or 6000 bags of pepper, and from 150 to 300 seamen and pa.s.sengers. They were supplied with oars as well as sails: four men were allotted to each oar. Smaller vessels seem to have accompanied the larger ones, which besides had boats on their decks.

When the power of the Romans was extinguished in Egypt, and the Mahomedans had gained possession of that country, Aden, which had been destroyed by the former in the reign of Claudius, resumed its rank as the centre of the trade between India and the Red Sea. In this situation it was found by Marco Polo. The s.h.i.+ps which came from the East, did not pa.s.s the straits, but landed their cargoes at Aden; here the _trankies_ of the Arabs, which brought the produce of Europe, Syria, and Egypt, received them, and conveyed them to a.s.sab, Cosir, or Jidda: ultimately they reached Alexandria. Marco Polo gives a magnificent picture of the wealth, power, and influence of Aden in the thirteenth century.

When the Christians were expelled from Syria, in the beginning of the fourteenth century, and, in order to procure the merchandize of the east, were obliged to submit to the exactions of the sultan of Egypt; Sanuto, a Venetian, addressed a work to the Pope, in which he proposed to suppress the Egyptian trade by force. In this work are many curious particulars of the Indian trade at this time; and it is highly interesting both on this account, and from the clear-sighted speculations of the author. It appears to have produced a strong sensation; and though his mode of suppressing the Egyptian trade was not followed, yet, in consequence of it, much more attention was paid to Oriental commerce. According to him, the productions of the East came to the Venetians in two different ways. Cloves, nutmegs, pearls, gems, and other articles of great value, and small bulk, were conveyed up the Persian Gulf and the Tigris to Ba.s.sora, and thence to Bagdat; from which they were carried to some port in the Mediterranean. The more bulky and less valuable articles were conveyed by Arabian merchants to the Red Sea, and thence across the desert and down the Nile to Alexandria.

He adds, that ginger and cinnamon, being apt to spoil on s.h.i.+pboard, were from ten to twenty per cent. better in quality, when brought by land carriage, though this conveyance was more expensive.

From the works of Sanuto, it appears that sugar and silk were the two articles from their trade in which the Saracens derived the greatest portion of their wealth. Cyprus, Rhodes, Amorea, and Marta (probably Malta), produced sugar; silk was the produce of Apulia, Romania, Crete, and Cyprus. Egypt was celebrated, as in old times, for the fineness of its flax; European flax was far inferior. The Egyptian manufactures of linen, silk, and linen and silk mixed, and also the dates and ca.s.sia of that country were exported to Turkey, Africa, the Black Sea, and the western ports of Europe, either in Saracen or Christian vessels. In return for these articles, the Egyptians received from Europe, gold, silver, bra.s.s, tin, lead, quicksilver, coral, and amber: of these, several were again exported from Egypt to Ethiopia and India, particularly bra.s.s and tin.

Sanuto further observes, that Egypt was dependent on Europe for timber, iron, pitch, and other materials for s.h.i.+p building.

As his plan was to cut off all trade with the Saracens, and for that purpose to build a number of armed galleys, he gives many curious particulars respecting the expence of fitting them out; he estimates that a galley capable of holding 250 men, will cost 1500 florins, and that the whole expence of one, including pay, provisions, &c. for nine months, would be 7000 florins. The seamen he proposes to draw from the following places, as affording the most expert: Italy, the north of Germany, Friesland, Holland, Slavia, Hamburgh, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.