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THE ADVANTAGES OF THE Eaſt-India Trade TO ENGLAND, CONSIDER'D.

(Price 1s. 6d.)

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THE ADVANTAGES OF PEACE AND COMMERCE; WITH Some REMARKS on the Eaſt-India Trade.

LONDON: Printed for J. BROTHERTON and THO. COX in Cornhill, and ſold by A. DODD without Tem⯑ple-Bar. 1729.

THE ADVANTAGES OF Peace and Commerce.

[3]

PEACE and Trade have ſo far got the Start of War and the Sword, that the Trading Nations of the World are now become infinitely ſuperior in Wealth and Power, to thoſe who might properly be call'd the Fighting Nations, and whoſe Grandure depended upon the Ex⯑tent of their Dominions, and Number of con⯑quer'd Countries.

Nor is this Superiority obtain'd by the Po⯑licy of their Government, the Prudence of their Counſels, or the Valour of their Troops, ſo much as by the Increaſe of their Com⯑merce: This has enlarg'd their Wealth and Power, attracted Multitudes to dwell in the moſt narrow and preſcribed Bounds, and found [4] Subſiſtence for them, where the Country it ſelf could not maintain the tenth Part of them: By this they have raiſed a Naval Strength, which has made them terrible at Sea, as well as formidable on Shore: By this they have been able, on all Occaſions, to carry the War home to their Enemies Coaſts, however diſtant, and even in the remoteſt Parts of the Globe: By this they look into every Port, knock at every Door, command Peace or War; and, in a word, awe the World.

All the formidable Fleets of England, Holland, France, Spain, and the Baltick, what would they ſignify, if the reſpective Countries to which they belong, could not find able Seamen to man and manage them? 'Tis as they are or not able to do this, that even thoſe Maritime Powers are more or leſs potent at Sea; and this is all in pro⯑portion to their Trade. Their Seamen are the Strength of their Fleet; and thoſe Sea⯑men are nouriſh'd, increas'd, and in Time of Peace employ'd, and thereby kept up to their Number, only by Trade; nothing elſe can do it.

Abundance of uſeful Inferences might be drawn from theſe Obſervations; but I wave them for the preſent, to bring all down to the Point I have now more immediately in view, which is this: That whoever would learn to know the World, and would go [5] the beſt and readieſt Way to obtain a juſt Idea of its preſent State, as well as of the Si⯑tuation of the ſeveral Countries in it, has nothing to do but to ſtudy Trade.

Learn to underſtand the Commerce of the World, and of courſe you are led in⯑to its Geography, or the Deſcription of its Situation: By this means you will be in⯑ſenſibly drawn into a Knowledge of the Diſtances of one Country from another, of their Poſition on the Globe, and how they ſtand with reſpect to one another: By in⯑quiring which way their Commerce is car⯑ried on, you neceſſarily come to know, whether they are inland Countries, or bor⯑dering on the Sea; whether Iſlands, or con⯑tiguous to one another and to the Conti⯑nent; whether to be travell'd to and traded with by Land or by Water, or perhaps by both.

Nor is the Situation of Nations only known by the Study of Trade; but by this Means alſo their ſeveral Intereſts are judg'd of, as alſo their Ability to ſupport one an⯑other and themſelves, which way their Strength lies, and how it exerts it ſelf, whether by Land or Sea: And all their na⯑vigable Rivers and trading Ports are known by the Navigation which is employ'd between them, and the Trade which is carried on in them.

[6] The Number of the People, the Wealth, and conſequently the Strength of Nations, are all learnt by the ſame Study. By this you ſee the Richneſs of their Product, the Bulk of their Exportations, and Number of Ships employ'd in their Trade. Even the Diligence and Application of their People is judg'd of by the Quantity and Goodneſs of their Manufactures, and the Produce of their Country appearing in Trade.

To know Trade then is to know the World: And I may farther obſerve, That if any one Nation could govern Trade, that Nation would govern the World; could it give Laws to the Commerce, it would give Laws to the People, and the whole World would be its Dependents and Subjects.

Not ſo much the Hiſtories of paſt Times, as the many Examples of the preſent, con⯑firm this. The Trading Nations are certain⯑ly the moſt formidable at this time; and that they are ſo in conſequence of their Supe⯑riority in Trade, may appear, in that all thoſe Nations, which were formerly great in Trade, but ſince declin'd, are in pro⯑portion declin'd in their Strength as their Trade has fallen off. The City of Antwerp is a noted Inſtance of this, as are almoſt all the Hans Towns in Germany; alſo No⯑vogr [...]d in Ruſſia, and ſeveral others, whoſe Hiſtory we may find, as it reſpects their former Greatneſs, and particularly their pre⯑ſent [7] Decay, with the Cauſes of it, in the Atlas Maritimus, lately publiſh'd, which in almoſt every Part of it confirms this Maxim by Examples in the moſt conſiderable Cities and States in the World.

The late French King, Lewis XIV. (more juſtly on that account call'd Great, than for the Glory of his Arms) ſaw plainly that the Way to make the French Nation the Terror of the World, was not ſo much by the Succeſs of his Arms, and his Conqueſts upon his Neighbours, as by encouraging the Commerce of his own Country, and employing the vaſt Numbers of People, which his Dominions were every where full of, and which he found out of Buſineſs and ſtarving, in the ſeveral Branches of Trade, as Arts, Manufactures, Navigation, Fiſhing, &c. by which means the Poor were every where ſet to work, if not made to work, and of Conſequence fed and cloth'd; almoſt every Province being put in a Capacity to feed and employ their own Hands: and the Effects of this are, to this Day, very viſible and plain in the following Inſtances.

The Encouragement this gave to his Peo⯑ple, and their Opulence by Sea, evidently appear'd, even to the Terror of Europe, in [9] the mighty Fleets which he fitted out in a few Years after he began thoſe Regulations; Fleets ſuperior even to the united Naval Powers of England and Holland: Nor had this Naval Power of France been broken, had it not been for the meer Arrogance of the King himſelf, who in a miſtaken Confidence of his own Power, poſitively order'd Monſ. Tour⯑ville, his Admiral, to fight the Confederate Fleet, (not thinking they were join'd, and) whether they were join'd or no; by which means he was overthrown, and ſome of the fineſt Ships in the World ſet on fire in their own Ports, and ſome even by their own Hands; a Loſs they never recover'd: But this by the way. The fitting out ſuch a Fleet as the French had in the Action at Beachy, in the Year 1690, is fully to the Point in Hand, where they had 90 Men of War of the Line, from 55 Guns and up⯑wards, among which were no leſs than 17 three-Deck Ships, and as I have been told, above 50000 Men, whereof 32000 were a⯑ble Seamen of their own. All theſe Advan⯑ces in the French King's Dominions, by means of Trade, are at large deſcrib'd in the foremention'd Book, to which I refer the Curious.

Theſe are the Effects of Trade, where the Increaſe and Cultivation of it are made the Care of the Publick. The States of Holland are another Inſtance hereof, whoſe formida⯑ble [10] Power has increas'd with their Trade, and by the Aſſiſtance of that only; as on the other hand, the Decay of the Spaniſh Power (which in the Time of Philip II. was a Terror to the whole World, and was rais'd on the meer Increaſe of their Trade) has apparently been occaſion'd by the De⯑cay of their Trade, out of which they were every where driven by the Dutch.

The whole World, as well Pagan as Chriſtian, is full of Examples of this kind: But to give one for all the reſt; a Com⯑pariſon between the Eaſtern Provinces of Aſia (ſuch as we call the Eaſt-Indies and China) and the whole Country of Africa, will confirm this Obſervation beyond all Contradiction.

We ſee the whole Quarter of the World call'd Africa, large to an Extreme, ſuited by its Climate and Situation for all manner of Improvements, as well by Cultivation as Commerce; populous (at leaſt on the Sea Coaſts) equally almoſt to any other Part, and in ſome Places more populous than moſt other Parts of the World.

Their Ports, Harbours, Rivers and Bays, were they frequented, and the ſafe Roads fully deſcribed, are more in number than in moſt other Countries; and their prodigious Length of Coaſt cannot but render this Part of the World admirably ſituated for the Ad⯑vantages of Commerce: For the whole [11] Country call'd Africa is an Iſland, except the ſmall Iſthmus or Neck of Land from Suez on the Red Sea to Alexandria, which is not above 60 Miles. Nay, ſo well fitted for Trade is Africa, that a late Author tells, us, there are more and greater Rivers in it, and more adapted to Commerce, and to In⯑land Navigation, than in all the Country of America; thoſe of Virginia and Carolina only excepted.

But in the midſt of all theſe Advantages, thro' the Indolence and Ignorance of the Natives on one hand, and the barbarous Tyranny of the Moors and Turks on the other, (the European Nations having planted but few Colonies on her Continent) we ſee this whole Country in a manner left deſo⯑late, no Improvement, no ſettled Govern⯑ment; but vaſt Extents of Land neglected, whole Provinces left wild, and like a Terra deſerta, remaining in a meer State of Na⯑ture: And all for want of Trade.

The Soil is in many Places very rich, and the Product of Nature exceeds all the reſt of the known World. The North Coaſt, for almoſt 2000 Miles, commonly call'd the Coaſt of Barbary, produces the fineſt Cop⯑per, and in great Quantities: All the Fruits that the South Coaſt of Spain is ſo famous for, are produced here in the greateſt Plenty and perfection; ſuch as Raiſins, Pomegra⯑nates, Lemons, Oranges, Almonds; and to ſum up all, ſuch a prodigious Quantity of the [12] beſt Wheat*, that were it not inhabited by the worſt of Diones, and govern'd by the worſt of Tyrants, the Turks and Moors, it would be the Granary of Europe: Where⯑as now it is poor, naked, and much of it barren, and almoſt ſtarves its indolent, un⯑improving Inhabitants.

The Weſt Coaſt produces Honey, Wax, Guinea Grains, Furrs, Civet, Drugs and Gums, of very rich kinds; and beſides all theſe, Gold and Elephants Teeth in abun⯑dance. The Eaſt Coaſt produces Gold and Teeth alſo, and Black Cattle without Num⯑ber; and going North from the Coaſt of Zanguebar up to the Red Sea, it furniſhes Arabia with the fineſt and beſt Breed of Horſes. And beſides all this, were not the Weſt Shore of the Red Sea poſſeſs'd by the Turks, who will ſuffer no free Trade with Aethiopia, it is not to be expreſs'd what a Scene of Wealth and Commerce would open it ſelf there.

And Africa is not only thus rich in its actual Produce, but the Soil is of ſuch a Nature as to be capable of vaſt Improve⯑ments, were it duly cultivated and manag'd. The Author of the Atlas aſſures us, that the Sugars of Barbadoes and Jamaica, as alſo Cotton, Ginger, Indico and Cocoa, have all been try'd there, and thrive to a Wonder: And other Authors, as well Engliſh as Dutch, [13] concur with him, and tell us that Experi⯑ments have been made of the Coffee of Mocha, the Tea of China and Japan, &c. and we are told there are Plants of both now in the Africa Company's Garden at Cape-Coaſt Caſtle: And indeed why ſhould thoſe valuable Productions fail in Africa, when planted in the very ſame Climate in which they grow to ſuch Perfection in Arabia and China? But for a farther Ac⯑count, and indeed a very particular one, of the probable 'Improvements that might be made in this Part of the World, I muſt re⯑fer to the Book before mention'd; it not being poſſible to treat particularly of theſe things in the Compaſs of ſo ſhort a Piece as this is.

What we have now to obſerve, and which is to our preſent Purpoſe, is; That with all this Wealth in Nature, and all the Im⯑provements which might be added by the help of Induſtry and Art, there is no Com⯑merce worth naming in Africa. The Nor⯑thern People deſpiſing Trade, live by Ra⯑pine, being almoſt all Corſairs and Pirates; ſuch as the Algerines, Tuniſeens and Tri⯑polins, together with the Moors of Sallee and Alfarache on the North-weſt Shore. The other Weſtern Coaſts have ſo little Em⯑ployment for the many Millions that inha⯑bit it, (I mean from the Rio Grande or Ni⯑ger, North, to the Congo, South) that for [14] want of Produce they ſell one another, and the People are carried away by Thouſands, Men, Women and Children, to the Number, as ſome think, of 300000 in a Year, to la⯑bour and work for the more diligent Euro⯑peans in America. Here is a flagrant Ex⯑ample of the Weakneſs and Deficiency of a Country for want of Trade, in ſpite of all the Bounty of Nature, and of the moſt e⯑vident Capacity for the beſt Trade in the World.

I might enlarge here upon the Situation of Africa for Improvement and Commerce, as, its lying between all the Trading Quar⯑ters of the World, and its Nearneſs to Eu⯑rope, which is the Market for all its Pro⯑ductions; alſo how it might be encourag'd to build, and employ Ships, and might raiſe a ſufficient Fund of Goods for the Employ⯑ment of Shipping, as well as Gold to pay them. But all this is fully done in the At⯑las, which gives a diſtinct Account of the Commerce, both as it now is, and as it is capable of being increas'd; and ſhews how much ſuperior Africa would be to America, or even to India it ſelf, if it was encourag'd by ſettled Colonies, as the former, or inha⯑bited by a trading manufacturing People, as the latter. I cannot therefore leave this Particular, without recommending it to the Age to ſtudy the enlarging of Commerce, the encouraging of Induſtry, the planting [15] of deſolate Countries, and the employing thoſe indolent Nations, who tho they may be ſaid to be idle, yet 'tis not ſo much for want of Will to work, as for want of ſome to employ them, and inſtruct them what to do.

I have now done with one Branch of the Compariſon, viz. the State of Africa, with reſpect to Trade: Let us next look in⯑to an Extreme the other Way, I mean in the Indies, that is to ſay, the Countries of Malabar, India Proper, Ceylon, Coromandel, Bengal, Siam, Pegu, Cochin-China, with Chi⯑na it ſelf, and Japan.

It cannot be ſaid but that the Natives of ſome if not moſt of theſe Countries, are (or were originally) as ignorant and ſtupid as the Negroes of Africa; excepting al⯑ways the People of China, and even in Africa the People of Aethiopia.

But the Indians are enur'd to Trade, and have a natural Genius to Induſtry and Ap⯑plication; and ſo they fall upon Labour, whilſt the Africans are indolent; and ſpread their Manufactures, the Work of their Peo⯑ple, over the whole World, whereas the o⯑ther ſell not the Work of the People but the People themſelves.

And what is the Conſequence of all this, but that theſe Nations of India are rich, populous and powerful? Nay, the Mogul, [16] who is call'd the moſt powerful Emperor of India, and the Grand Tartar, who is the like in China, are made ſo rich and ſtrong, meerly by the immenſe Wealth ariſing from their Trade.

The Chineſe have not any Sea Coaſt, ex⯑cept along the Eaſtern Shore of their Coun⯑try; and yet they ſpread the Sea with their Ships, and have ſuch an infinite Number, that one who deſcribes that Country, ſaid he be⯑lieved they had Ships enough to make a Bridge from thence into France. It is ſup⯑poſed he would not be taken literally; but we may venture to conclude from thence, that he found there an infinite Number of Veſſels of all kinds.

The Power and Riches of China are well worth a large Deſcription; as alſo the Mul⯑titude of Cities, of which ſome are ſo great as to contain, by Report, 5 or 6,000000 of People; and the Provinces, which how⯑ever remote from the Sea, or from the ca⯑pital City, are full of conſiderable Towns, large Villages, ſcattered Hamlets and Dwel⯑lings, and all ſurprizingly full of People.

If we inquire into the Reaſon of this, we ſhall find it all owing to Trade, and the mighty Commerce they carry on as well by Land as by Sea. We ſee the Produce of their Land is coveted by all the Europeans, and by us in particular; witneſs, eſpecially, their Tea, their China Ware, and ſeveral of [17] their Drugs and other Growth of their Soil: And as for their Manufactures, they were not only brought hither in vaſt Quantities, but they became, as it were, the Terror of Europe in Trade, and of Great Britain in particu⯑lar; ſo that we were oblig'd to make Laws to keep them out, and to prohibit the Uſe and Wearing of them; otherwiſe they would ru⯑in and deſtroy our own Manufacture.

How theſe populous Countries purſue their Commerce, and eſpecially their Manufac⯑tures, with an indefatigable Application, ap⯑pears from the immenſe Quantity of Goods they would import upon us, if they were not prohibited; and the Author of the At⯑las has prov'd, that the People of India and China are able to clothe the whole World with their Manufactures; and that they trade with Europe infinitely to its Loſs, and to their own Gain, for that in effect all the ready Money of the other three Parts of the World, all the Gold and Silver of Africa and America, would be hardly able to ſerve for Returns: all which he makes out very clearly, even to the meaneſt Capacity.

Hence we ſee the Juſtice of the Prohi⯑bitions in England, and alſo in France; I mean the prohibiting the Uſe and Wear⯑ing of theſe foreign Manufactures: For if Commerce be the Life and Soul of a Na⯑tion's Proſperity, if we are more or leſs rich and powerful as our Trade is more or [18] leſs flouriſhing; it muſt be underſtood of ſuch Trade only as we gain by, not of pernicious Trading, and which we cannot carry on but to our Loſs. And this may occaſion ſome unuſual Speculations concern⯑ing the great Strife we find among the Eu⯑ropean Powers, about who ſhall or ſhall not carry on this Trade to India: For if it be true, that Europe in general loſes by it, and that it exhauſts the Treaſure of all our Trading Countries, returning nothing but its own Produce and its own Manufactures, and receiving little from us but our Bulli⯑on and Coin, which is the Eſſence of our Produce (I mean by Ʋs here the Europe⯑ans;) I ſay, if this be true, it would be the undoubted Intereſt of all Europe to prohi⯑bit that Commerce, except what is abſo⯑lutely neceſſary for the ſupply of Europe's Wants, that is to ſay, things that we can⯑not be without; ſuch as Salt-petre, Pep⯑per, Spices, needful Drugs and Dye-ſtuffs, and the like; all which are the natural Product or Growth of the Country; and not to meddle with any of their Manufac⯑tures, which indeed are the things that in⯑jure the Commerce of Europe, and impo⯑veriſh the People.

As to the Coffee and Tea, which are the two great Articles ſo much in Demand, 'tis ſufficient to obſerve, that we might tranſplant thoſe Vegetables, and many more, [19] from Arabia, India and China, into Africa; and with a very little Application might raiſe them all, and in ſufficient Quantities, in our own Factories on the Coaſt of Guinea. This the Dutch have begun with ſucceſs in relation to the Coffee, which they have raiſed already in ſo great a Quantity at Ba [...]avia, that they ſetch very little now from Mocha: And we are told alſo, that they have made another Attempt for planting Coffee at Surinam on the Coaſt of Nova Audaluſia in America, where it alſo thrives very well. But this is a Digreſſion from the preſent Purpoſe; and for a farther Inquiry into theſe things, I refer the Reader to the foremention'd Atlas, where he will ſee them explain'd and treated on at large.

However, I cannot quit this Diſcourſe of the India Trade, without hinting as I go, that I think, while this Part of Europe is ſo buſily engag'd, even almoſt to a War, for preventing Encroachments upon this Trade, it is very ſtrange they ſhould entire⯑ly neglect a Back-Door by which all the moſt hurtful Part of the Eaſt-India Trade is like (and very quickly too) to break in upon them like a Flood, and that with a Force which they will not find it eaſy to reſiſt; I mean by the Way of Ruſſia, and that as well by Caravans over Land from China, as by Water, that is to ſay, by a [20] River Navigation from the Great Mogul's Dominions, which is more properly and particularly call'd Eaſt-India: Which I ſhall have occaſion to mention again by and by.

Let me now ſpeak a little of the Bene⯑fit and Advantage of Peace, in relation to Trade; as I join'd them together at firſt.

Peace is certainly the Right Hand of Trade; it is its Support and Defence: It is by Peace alone that the flouriſhing and proſperous State of Trade is preſerv'd, if not procur'd. The Hiſtory of our Trade in England would abundantly confirm this. The firſt Introduction of our Woollen Ma⯑nufacture was under the peaceable Reign of Henry VII. During thoſe twenty Years, it took its firſt and deepeſt Root. The next Reign was not ſo quiet: The Sup⯑preſſion of Monaſteries at home, the Per⯑plexities about the Queens, and the Wars in France and Flanders, embaraſs'd the Court and the Clergy; but the common People were generally kept out of the Quarrel, and their Trade ſtill took root at home.

Perſecution indeed in the latter End of King Henvy VIII's Reign, and thro' the whole Reign of his Daughter Queen Mary; nay even during the Reformation in Ed⯑ward VI's Reign, take them all together, [21] haraſs'd the People, and extremely interrup⯑ted Commerce. In one Reign one ſort of People were uneaſy, in the next another, in the third another: Alternately, one Side and the other fled from their Dwellings, ſecur'd their Effects, and hid themſelves for their Lives. In one Reign one Side rebell'd, and in another Reign another: In king Edward VI's Reign the Norfolk and the Devonſhire People rebelled for the Maſs; in Queen Mary's Time Sir Thomas Wyatt and the Kentiſh Men rebelled for the Re⯑formation: And by all theſe things Trade was interrupted.

When Queen Elizabeth came to the Crown, Trade flouriſh'd in ſuch a manner as ſurpriz'd the World; becauſe the Glory of her Arms gave her an Advantage to ſpread it abroad, as we may ſay, to all Nations; and the Root it had taken in the Times of Peace, under the two Henrys, had given the Mer⯑chants a Strength of Stock to extend it into the remoteſt Parts of the World.

The Queen, whatever Part ſhe bore in the Wars abroad, always kept her Subjects in Peace at home; the Intervals occaſion'd by the Inſurrection of the Earl of Weſtmor⯑land and others, were not worth naming. This Peace at home, and the Support and Aſſiſtance the Queen gave to her Merchants abroad, laid the Foundation of the moſt flouriſhing Branches of our Trade, viz. our [22] Turkey, Hamborough, and Muſcovy Compa⯑nies; and eſpecially the planting Colonies abroad, particularly in America.

Whoever conſults the above-mention'd Author, will find, that the Diſcovery and peopling of all our moſt conſiderable Co⯑lonies in America, were perform'd in her Reign; and will ſee from what ſmall Begin⯑nings thoſe flouriſhing Plantations have been raiſed to their preſent Greatneſs, the peace⯑able Poſſeſſion being preſerv'd by the powerful Influence of England.

If War at any time interrupted them, as the Wars they had with the Natives often did, their Trade was greatly leſſen'd, the Plantations ſpoil'd, and the whole very much endanger'd; as has been the Caſe of Virginia and New England more than once.

In the ſame Queen's Reign the firſt Voy⯑ages were made to the Gold Coaſt of A⯑frica, which we now call Guinea; and all was ſupported by the Purſes of her Mer⯑chants and trading People, grown rich by the ſucceſs of Trade in the peaceable Reigns of her Predeceſſors: So that in her Reign it might be ſaid to arrive to its firſt Glory, and even to its Meridian Height, counting one Hundred Years from its Beginning.

It may be true, that the great Succeſs of Queen Elizabeth in her Maritime Affairs, and the Terror of her Name, gave a vaſt [23] Addition to the Glory of her Reign: But it was her prodigious Extending and En⯑couraging the Commerce of her Subjects, that gave Stability of Greatneſs and Power to the whole Kingdom; and it was upon the foot of the Greatneſs of her Trade, that the Nation became formidable over the whole World.

Witneſs for this, the Regard ſhewn to her Embaſſies (which, by the way, conſiſted of Merchants) chiefly at the Courts of Con⯑ſtantinople, Iſpahan in Perſia, and Moſcow; in all which her Merchants were admitted, and her Letters in their behalf receiv'd with the greateſt Reſpect, tho no Engliſh Miniſter of State or Envoy had ever been ſeen, or perhaps heard of, in any of thoſe Courts before.

From hence to this very Day, the Com⯑merce of Great Britain has been the Glory of our Country, as it is the Fund of our Power. Kings and Princes may declare War, and lead Armies, and Victory ſometimes at⯑tend the fortunate Inferior: But generally ſpeaking, the longeſt Purſe, not the longeſt Sword, gets the Day in the End; and as nothing can furniſh Money like Commerce, ſo the Trading Countries have manifeſtly the Advantage in a War.

This indeed is a good Reaſon why Eng⯑land, of all other Nations, ſhould be the leaſt afraid of a War: And yet at the [24] ſame time let me hint to our Countrymen who are ſo forward for Fighting, That we are likely always to ſuffer the greateſt Diſ⯑advantages in caſe of a War; and the Rea⯑ſon is plain, becauſe of our infinite Num⯑ber of Ships, and Merchants, and Mer⯑chants Effects, which are abroad in every Corner of the World: No Nation has ſo much to loſe, and no Nation can ſuffer ſo great Loſs in caſe of a War.

Therefore I cannot but pay a great De⯑ference to the Endeavours of thoſe Mini⯑ſters, who, notwithſtanding the Murmurs of the People, apply themſelves to the preſer⯑ving the Peace of Europe, and preventing a War. War to a Trading Nation is a De⯑gree of Death; it is a ſtrong Paralytick, it ſtagnates the Blood; and, in a word, is fatal, if not to the Trade it ſelf in general, yet to the Proſperity and Health of it. And tho our Trade, being the greateſt with⯑out Diſpute in the World, is therefore beſt able to ſupport us in a War; yet our Trade too would ſuffer moſt by a War, even for this very Reaſon, becauſe it is the greateſt.

But to look a little abroad again: Other Nations are viſibly increas'd in Power by the Help of their Commerce, as well as England; and the Dutch are the next Ex⯑ample.

[25] The Author of the Atlas gives a diſtinct View of the prodigious Trade they carry on. He touches upon their ſmall Begin⯑nings, and ſhews how they were elevated, meerly by their Commerce, from the Poor and Diſtreſſed States, the Style in which they addreſſed Queen Elizabeth for Aid againſt the Spaniards, to that of the High and Mighty Lords the States General, the Style in which they now treat both with their Allies and Enemies.

He deſcribes their foreign Trade, their Fiſheries, and their Greenland Trade in an eſpecial manner, of which there is indeed a ſurprizing Account: He gives the Hiſtory of their firſt Adventures to the Eaſt-Indies, and their Progreſs and Conqueſt there over the Portugueſe Settlements: He ſhews the Glory and Grandeur of their City of Bata⯑via; and indeed that very Place is a con⯑vincing Proof of what I have advanced, the formidable Power of that City, and of all the Dutch Settlements in the Indies, being en⯑tirely raiſed by Commerce, without the leaſt Aſſiſtance from the Government or the publick Stock in Holland.

He gives an Account likewiſe of all their Inland Trade, the greateſt perhaps of its kind in the World; a Trade wholly carry'd on by River Navigation, by the Help of Boats, Hoys, Bylanders, and ſuch Veſſels, upon the great Rivers of the Scheld, the Maes, [26] the Rhine, the Ems and the Weſer; and from thoſe Rivers again by the Lys, the Scarp and Sambre, the Moſelle, the Saar, the Maine, the Neckar, and abundance of other navigable Streams, into the very Heart of Germany, France, and the Auſtrian Ne⯑therlands, and quite up into Switzerland.

'Tis to be obſerv'd here likewiſe, that nothing but Peace could raiſe ſuch a Com⯑merce to a People diſtreſs'd, as they were before, by all the Extremities of War, to ſuch a Degree, that we have been told, they were once upon the Point of reſolving to ſhip themſelves all off, Poor and Rich, to quit their Country to the Spaniards, and go away to the Eaſt-Indies. But the War ending, firſt in a Truce of twelve Years, and after that in a perpetual Peace, how ſoon did the Caſe alter with them! Peace raiſed Trade, their Trade raiſed their Wealth, and their Wealth raiſed their Power; in which their Fleets are ſo formidable that, England only excepted, they are able to fight all the other Maritime Powers of Europe, I had almoſt ſaid if they were join'd together. Here is indeed an undoubted Teſtimony to my firſt Aſſertion, viz. That the Trading Nations are the moſt powerful Nations.

I might run thro' the particular Caſes of all the Nations in Europe, but I ſhall only add the Muſcovites or Ruſſians.

[27] How feeble this vaſtly extended Empire was about thirty Years ago, I need not ſay. They had not one Port in all the Trading Seas of the World, by which they could correſpond with any Part of Europe, Arch⯑angel on the frozen Northern Coaſt only ex⯑cepted.

For want of this, of what Conſideration were they in the Account of Europe's Strength? How little did they weigh in the Balance of Power? And they were re⯑garded in the ſeveral Courts of Europe ac⯑cordingly; ſo that the Turks told them up⯑on ſome Occaſion, that they neither under⯑ſtood how to make War or Peace. Thus contemptible were they, tho at the ſame time the Czar had a Country under his Dominion as big as all the reſt of Europe. And the Reaſon of all this low Figure they made, was evidently this, and nothing elſe, viz. That they had no Trade, no Commerce or Correſpondence with the reſt of the World.

Obſerve now the Difference: When the late Czar Peter came to the Government, and by his Prudence and Politicks ally'd himſelf with the Trading Countries of Eu⯑rope, beginning to teach his People the Arts of Navigation and Commerce; as ſoon as he did this, he got Money, rais'd Troops, ſhew'd the World that his Men might be taught to fight as well as other Nations, [28] and ſoon brought them to do ſo. As ſoon as the Proſperity of Trade made them feel ſomething of the Advantages accruing by it, we find him puſhing himſelf upon the Swedes, gaining from them the Maritime Provinces they poſſeſs'd in the Baltick; and as he open'd the Seas for his People to trade, they ſoon enabled him to ſpread thoſe Seas with his Men of War, ſo that he became an Over-match either for the Dane or the Swede; and had he lived a few Years longer, he would have begun to appear formidable in the Ocean as well as he had done in the Baltick Sea.

We have ſeen the Succeſſors of this Prince, however unactive in other Matters, extreme⯑ly diligent in this of Trade. The preſent Czar is now eſtabliſhing the Commerce of his Subjects to all Parts of the World, and his Eaſtern Commerce in particular in a ſur⯑prizing manner, as well with China as In⯑dia, Perſia, and Turkey. This he does partly by a Communication of Rivers, and partly by the Caſpian Sea, and alſo by Land. And this brings me back to what I mention'd before, viz. That the Trade with the Eaſt-Indies was likely to break in upon Europe this Way, in a Manner too powerful to be reſiſted, and in a Way more fatal than ei⯑ther the Emperor's late Company erected at Oſtend, or any other Rivals whatſoever.

[29] It is but a few Days ago, that Letters from Petersburg brought an Account of the Return of Monſ. Winderowitz, the Ruſſian Embaſſador to the Emperor of China, and of the Succeſs of his Embaſſy at that Court: How he had ſettled the Limits of the two Empires, which had in vain been attempted for above ſixty Years before; and withal had made a particular Treaty of Com⯑merce, by which a free Trade is eſtabliſh'd between the two Empires, and all the Hin⯑drances, Scruples, and troubleſom Ceremo⯑nies, which obſtructed it, and in particular the Tolls, Preſents, and other Demands made by the Chineſe Officers at the paſſing the great Wall of China, are taken off; and all other Tolls and Payments, Preſents or Fees taken at the Entrance into any City or Pro⯑vince, which were before uncertain and ar⯑bitrary, are all remov'd, and turn'd into one general Duty or Cuſtom of Import and Ex⯑port, as in other Countries; and this Duty or Cuſtom to be unalterable, except on due Notice given on both Sides.

Beſides this, they have ſettled the placing of Guards in proper Places, and the building of Caravanſeras or fortify'd Inns upon the Road, for the Reception of Merchants and their Goods; and the Governours of every Province are to be made anſwerable for any Robberies committed by the Tartars or any other Rovers within their Bounds; due Notice [30] being always given of the Approach of ſuch Merchants or their Caravans.

By this means they aſſure us, that the Trade between China and Ruſſia will be as ſafe and eaſy as it is or can be in Europe between one Province and another; and that the Caravans ſhall go and come with ſuch Freedom, that there ſhall arrive in Ruſſia at leaſt one great Caravan, conſiſting of four, five, or ſix Hundred Camels, a Month; and ſometimes three or four ſuch in a Month.

It would be worth while to deſcribe here the Manner of the March of theſe Caravans, how they are furniſh'd with Proviſions in ſuch great Deſarts as they are oblig'd to paſs over; what Hazards they run from the Robbers and Tartars upon the way, and the like: As alſo to deſcribe the Way it ſelf, and what vaſt Circuits they take for the Con⯑venience of coming to inhabited Countries and navigable Rivers, eſpecially the great Ri⯑vers Janizea and Oby, the River Irtisk, and at laſt the Dwina; by which they are brought up to Wo [...]gda, from whence they have but a ſhort Paſſage to the Lakes Onega and Ladoga, by which they come to Petersburg. But as this would be too tedious for the nar⯑row Compaſs of this Work, ſo it is not ſo directly to my preſent Purpoſe.

To return therefore to the Point which is more immediately before me: We are told, [31] that theſe Meaſures being enter'd into by the Government of Ruſſia, the Trade is to be carry'd on by a Company to be incorpo⯑rated, and to be furniſh'd with all needful royal Privileges, and Aſſurances of Protecti⯑on, and of a conſtant Care of their Intereſts at the Emperor of China's Court by the Ruſſian Emperor: And we are alſo told, that the Merchants of Lubec are, or are to be, very far intereſted in the ſaid Company.

The Goods to be imported this Way from China, are (to be ſure) all the fineſt and moſt portable; ſuch as wrought and raw Silks, the former in the known Variety in which we uſually imported them from thence; al⯑ſo Gold in Specie, Drugs of various kinds, and Tea. Whether any of the Goods uſually brought from the Bay of Bengal, and other Parts of India, may find their Way by this Rout, we cannot determine. But if this Trade ſhould now be open'd as above, and all theſe Goods be brought upon ſuch eaſy Terms of Carriage as they aſſure us ſhall be done, and we ſhould ſee them publickly put up in open ſale at Petersburg, and perhaps at Lubec; it naturally leads me to ask, to what Purpoſe is all this Streſs laid upon the erecting an Oſtend Company? Certainly the opening a Trade to India in general is the main thing to be conſider'd; not whether it ſhall be done by one Nation or another, one Prince or another: For a Sale of Eaſt-India [32] and China Goods at Lubec or at Oſtend, at Petersburg in the Gulph of Fin⯑land, or at Trieſte in the Gulph of Venice, is much the ſame thing to the Commerce of Europe. Unleſs therefore ſome Check can be put to the erecting ſuch a Company as this, (and that I do not ſee is any way practi⯑cable) the ſuppreſſing that at Oſtend does not, in my Opinion, ſeem to promiſe much to the Commerce. But to go on with the Muſcovite Company:

Beſides this Back-Door Trade (for ſo it may be juſtly call'd) to China, the late Czar had laid a Scheme for another; and I muſt acknowledge it ſeems very practicable, ac⯑cording to the Situation of the Country, and the Sources and Courſes of the Rivers Indus, Ganges, and Oxus; as they are laid down in the ſaid Atlas Maritimus.

This Trade, according to the Czar's Deſign, was thus, viz. That by a ſhort Paſſage over Land from the Ganges and the Indus, the one running into the Bay of Bengal by the Fac⯑tories of Hugeley and Calcuta, and the o⯑ther running into the Indian Ocean not far from Suratte, and between that and the Gulph of Perſia: I ſay, the Czar's Deſign was, that Caravans ſhould be appointed from both thoſe great Rivers to the River Oxus, (the Diſtance from either of them being not above 120 to 140 Miles) and all the rich Goods of either Coaſt of India, viz. of the [33] Coaſt of India and Malabar, by the Indus, and of the Coaſt of Coromandel and Gol⯑conda, by the Ganges, ſhould be brought into the Caſpian Sea; from thence by Ship to Aſtracan on the Wolga; and from Aſ⯑tracan, by the Wolga, and by the new Ca⯑nal which the Czar begun, into the Lake Ladoga, and then by the Neva to Peterſ⯑burg. So that all this Trade would be carry'd on by Water from the remoteſt Parts of India, except about 120 to 140 Miles, as above.

I need not enumerate all the ſeveral ſorts of Goods which would come into Europe by this Paſſage; it is enough to ſay, that they would leave us under no Neceſſity to bring any thing about by long Sea, except the heavy and bulky Goods. As for Spices, we ſee them even already ſold at Moſcow cheaper than we can buy them here; and the like of the raw Silk of Georgia and Guylan, which has been brought, if I am not miſinform'd, to Petersburg, and thence to Lubec and to Hamburgh, cheaper than by the Turkey Trade to London.

If the Carriage by theſe Rivers and Ca⯑ravans does not add too much to the Va⯑lue of theſe Goods, as we are told it does not, (the Labour of the People or Cattle amounting to but very little in thoſe Coun⯑tries) I do not ſee that the immoderate Length of the Paſſage bears any Weight in the Ac⯑count. [34] Beſides, here is one Advantage which the Paſſage by Sea wants, viz. here is no hazard of Loſs, no Premium to be given for Inſurance, no Fear of Enemies or Pi⯑rates, or of long and chargeable Embargoes, no Averages to allow upon damag'd Goods, or Abatement for Goods touch'd with ſalt Water.

The Navigation of the Rivers is without Risk, the Paſſage over the Caſpian Sea is a Trifle; if the Veſſels are well built, they very rarely miſcarry: Whereas we find the Ships, which go on with our Trade, often ſubjected to Loſs and Miſcarriage, ſometimes foundring at Sea, blown up by Accident with Powder, taken by Pirates and Corſairs, as one of the Oſtend Ships was lately by the Turks of Barbary: And it is but a few Years ſince no leſs than fourteen Sail of the beſt Ships, Engliſh as well as Dutch, very richly laden, were caſt away at the Cape of Good Hope, as they rode there at Anchor; and all the Goods and People loſt. If theſe Loſſes are diſcounted out of the Profits of the Company they belong to, I am of Opinion they would more than balance the Difference of Freight in ſeven Years Commerce. But let the Freight or Carriage be what it will, if they ſell their Goods as cheap at Market as our Com⯑panies do or can do, I think the Queſtion is anſwer'd; and it appears that theſe Back-Doors [35] will in a very little time rob Eu⯑rope of as much Money in their Eaſt-India Commerce, as not the Oſtend Company on⯑ly, but as all the other Companies put to⯑gether.

Nor is it poſſible, at leaſt I do not ſee it poſſible, for all the Powers of Europe to prevent it. As for us, and the other Ma⯑ritime Powers, our Naval Strength does not ſignify one Farthing to it; for not a Ship, if we had twenty times as many, can come near to act in any Capacity in the whole Trade from India to Petersburg: Fleets and Navies are all out of the Queſtion; the Carriage is all by Rivers, except one great Pond (for the Mare Caſpium is no more;) and theſe Rivers, take the Czar and the Great Mogul together, are all within their own Territories, and out of every Body's Reach.

All I ſee poſſible to be done, is to pro⯑hibit Trade with Petersburg and the other Ruſſian Ports; or, if you will go a ſhorter Way, to commence a War, and beat the Muſcovites out of Livonia and Ingria, and ſo give them no Ingreſs to the Baltick Sea; tho this is not ſo eaſy to be done as ſome may imagine: And yet if it were done, they would ſtill find ſome Vent or other for their Trade; and if they had the Goods, we ſhould find ſome Way or other to come at them: For the Proſpect of Gain is al⯑ways [36] ſuch a Spur to the Merchant, that no⯑thing can reſtrain him: ‘—Extremos currit mercator ad Indos.’

That this Way of Trade from India to Muſcovy is not impracticable, may appear from hence, That it was always one of the Gates by which the Indian Goods found a Paſſage into Europe, before the Paſſage by Sea about the Cape of Good Hope was found out. For thoſe Goods were brought from the Ganges and the Indus to the Oxus; thence, touching at the great City Perſe⯑polis deſtroy'd by Alexander the Great, down the ſame River into the Caſpian Sea, and ſo into Muſcovy by the Wolga. This Channel of Trade the Muſcovites always kept open; only they did not then find a Way to carry on the Traffick into the reſt of Europe, they having little or no Corre⯑ſpondence with the Princes or Nations of any part of the World.

It were greatly to be wiſh'd indeed, that the Trade to China and India were in it ſelf a profitable Trade to the reſt of Eu⯑rope; then the opening theſe Back-Doors or By-Channels might be of ſome Uſe to us: but as it is, I muſt confeſs it ſeems to be nothing but opening a new Paſſage to let in more Thieves upon us, to carry away our ready Money; and that neither this [37] any more than the Oſtend Company ſhould be allow'd, if it could be help'd, nor our own be allow'd to bring any Goods but ſuch as are abſolutely neceſſary for our Uſe; and that as to wrought Silks, Callicoes printed or plain, they ſhould be all entirely expell'd, as things utterly inconſiſtent with the Proſperity of the Linen, Woollen, and Silk Manufactures, not of England only, but of all the Nations of Chriſtendom. But to return.

By all theſe great Improvements in Trade we ſee now the Opulence and Growth of Power in the Empire of Ruſſia: 'Twas in⯑deed the Czar's Conqueſts upon the unfor⯑tunate King of Sweden which gave him the Opportunity of launching thus out into Trade; and being a Prince of a penetrating Genius, he began himſelf, that he might ſhew his People the Advantages of Com⯑merce: Thus he took Tar, and ſome of his richeſt Furrs, and ſeveral other Goods, all into his own Hands, and traded with them infinitely to his own Advantage.

Then he erected a Silk Manufacture, and having the Silk imported by his own Mer⯑chants from Guilan, cauſed Manufactures, and Men skill'd in working and weaving Broad Silks, to be brought from France: By which he preſently found Means to ſet up the Silk Manufacture, and bred his own Subjects to that and other mechanical Employments.

[38] Above all he apply'd himſelf to the Study of the Mathematicks, and more particularly of Navigation, building and fitting out Ships of War, till we ſaw him his own Admi⯑ral at the Head of a Royal Navy; whereas he had not one Ship, no not a Yacht to ſet his Foot in, when he firſt came into England; nor a Port for them to enter, if he had had any, Archangel in the White Sea excepted.

Now we ſee his Subjects trading into Spain, as well as into other Countries, with Ships of good Burden; and carrying Naval Stores, the Product of their own Country, into France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy, as well as to Lubec, and Hamburg, and other Ports nearer home.

Since the Concluſion of the Treaty with Sweden, call'd the Peace of Abo, how infi⯑nitely are the Ruſſians increas'd in Know⯑ledge, in Shipping, and indeed in Wealth as well as Power! and all by Trade, and that Trade made flouriſhing by Peace: And if their young Emperor purſues the wiſe Mea⯑ſures of his Grandfather, and encourages the two inſeparable Friends, PEACE and TRADE, he may in time bring the Muſ⯑covites to be the moſt powerful Nation in all the Northern World.

I might here enlarge upon what I hinted before. viz. That ſeveral Nations having loſt their Trade, by which they were made ſo [39] formidable and conſiderable, they have alſo in proportion ſunk in their Strength, and loſt the Weight they bore in the Scale of Power in Europe.

The Portugueſe are an eminent Example of this, and the Genoeſe, both of them in former times very powerful and rich, but now much ſunk thro' want or neglect of Trade. As the Genoeſe loſt their Trade firſt, and their Poſſeſſions in the Euxine Sea af⯑terwards, by the Aggreſſion of the Turks; ſo likewiſe they abated in Power; and whereas before they could bring a ſtrong Fleet into the Levant Sea, and diſputed e⯑ven with the Venetians themſelves; now they have not above five or ſix Gallies and not one Man of War in their keeping: ſo naturally did their Power decline with their Commerce.

The ſame thing may in proportion be obſerv'd of the Flemings in general, and the City of Antwerp in particular; and as I ſaid above, of the Hans Towns, who were once ſo powerful that they beat and burnt the Daniſh Fleet in plain Fight at Sea; and when any War happen'd in that Part of the World, whoever had the Hans Fleet on their ſide, were ſure to conquer: But as their Trade ſupported and indeed form'd all that Power, ſo their Trade declining, they are no more a Body, their Power is gone, and the little Name of a Hans or Union of [40] Merchants, which once they had and made ſuch a Figure with, is ſunk into ſcarce a Memorial of it in the City of Lubec.

The Inference from all this might be very profitably turn'd upon our ſelves in the pre⯑ſent Conjuncture; namely, That if we would ſtill enjoy our Wealth and Power, our Fame and Glory, we muſt preſerve our Trade, and to that End, as far as we can, ſhould preſerve the publick Peace alſo; ſeeing Peace and Trade are Handmaids to one another.

FINIS.
Notes
*
Vide Capt, Braithwaite's late Hiſtory of the Revolutions in Morocco.
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