CANDIA. 



the French merchants, settled at Canca, purchased 

 wax and other articles, to the amount of nearly 80,000 

 lures. The whole exports of the island he valued at 

 'i,Q)(i livres. The oil trade, however, since that 

 time, has been considerably reduced, great quantitiesof 

 it being now consumed in the soap houses, of which 

 there are 25 at the town of Candia, 20 at Canca, and 8 

 at Retimo. Though the soap made here is not so good 

 as the French soap, yet it is preferred by the Turks for 

 its cheapness, and now constitutes a most important 

 branch of exportation. It passes to Tunis, Constan- 

 tinople, and all the towns of the Levant, and also to 

 Venice and Trieste. The other exports of Candia 

 are, wax, honey, cheese, raisins, almonds, walnuts, 

 chesnuts, St John's bread, lintseed, and liquorice-root. 

 The wax is chiefly purchased by the French, and 

 consumed in Europe. A small quantity of honey, 

 and Sphachian cheese, to the value of 30,000 livres, 

 pass to Constantinople ; raisins, and other fruits, and 

 a small quantity of laudanum, to Egypt, Syria, and 

 the Levant ; and lintseed is purchased by the Italians ; 

 also some hones, which are likewise sent to Marseilles. 

 The most considerable of the imports were formerly 

 from France ; but the trade with that country has, 

 within the last 30 years, greatly decreased. In 

 IT":), M. Savary says, that the French imported 

 goods into Candia to the value of 550,000 livres, 

 \vhich, according to M. Olivier, who visited the 

 island in 1795, is now reduced to 160,000 livres, con- 

 Mating of Carcassone woollen cloths, gilding, laces, 

 and stuffs of Lyons, imperial serges, manufactured at 

 Nismes, small shot, tin, iron, steel, coffee, sugar, nut- 

 megs, cloves, indigo, cochineal, paper, and various 

 articles of hardware. From Venice and Trieste they 

 receive glass-ware and hard-ware, but particularly 

 planks for making soap- cases. Their other wood is 

 procured in Caramania or Greece. From Salonica, 

 they draw corn, cotton, tobacco, and iron; from Con- 

 stantinople, Bursa stuffs, Angora bedsteads, shoes, 

 handkerchiefs, and copper utensils ; from Smyrna, 

 hides, Turkey leather, cotton, English shalloons, and 

 pome French goods ; from Gaza, ashes ; and from 

 Syria, corn and silk. Egypt supplies them with linen 

 cloths, flax, rice, and corn. Derna and Bengazi, on the 

 coabt of Africa, with butter ; and Tunis and Tripo- 

 li with caps. In Candia, Europeans pay three per 

 cent, in value of merchandise; the Turks only two and 

 a half; and the Greeks, Jews, and Arminians, five 

 per cent. Their principal manufactures are soap, 

 some cloths in silk and cotton, and in silk and flax, 

 also a few silk strings and ribbands, which are export- 

 ed to Constantinople. 



Among the people who inhabit this island, we may 

 remark the Abadiots and Sphachiots. The Abadi- 

 ots are the remains of the Saracens, who held the do- 

 minion of Candia for nearly a century and a half. 

 They are of a middle stature, meagre and swarthy, sus- 

 jiiciuus and vindictive, and are always armed. Among 

 themselves they speak the Arabic language, and oc- 

 cupy twenty little villages to the south of Mount Ida, 

 forming a population of nearly 4000. The Sphacbi- 

 ots, whom we have already mentioned, are the real 

 descendants of the ancient Cretans, and are distin- 

 guished from the other Candians by a majestic sta- 



voi,. v. I>ART i. 



ture, a handsome countenance, and a love of liberty. 

 Tlr y inhabit the mountains on the south of Canea 

 and Retimo; and, amidst the many revolution* in the 

 government of their country, have preserved their 

 ancient language, their customs, and their laws. The 

 other inhabitants are Turks and Greeks, amounting 

 in all, according to Olivier, to nearly 250,000 souU, 

 a number very disproportionate to the extent and 

 fertility, or even the ancient population of the ibland. 

 Crete, celebrated in antiquity for its hundred popu- 

 lous cities, must, upon the lowest calculation, have 

 contained above a million of inhabitants ; but, since 

 that time, it has been subjected to the tyranny of the 

 Romans, the ravages of the Saracens, and the despo- 

 tism of the Turks ; and its depopulation has been 

 gradually decreasing until now. Even in 1779, M. 

 Savary reckons the inhabitants of Candia at 350,200, 

 of whom 65,000 Greeks paid the carach, while M. 

 Olivier, about 14- years afterwards, reduces the num- 

 ber of Greeks subject to this tax to 20,000 ! Such 

 is the effect of the imprudent and oppressive mea- 

 sures of a despotic government. 



Were we to attempt a circumstantial detail of the 

 various revolutions which this island has undergone 

 since its first subjugation by the Romans, we should 

 far exceed the bounds prescribed for such articles in 

 this work ; we intend, therefore, to confine ourselves 

 to the more prominent events, which have brought 

 it to its present degradation. For the ancient histo- 

 ry of Candia, we refer our readers to the article 

 CRETE. Before this island was conquered by the 

 Romans, its inhabitants had greatly degenerated 

 from their ancient simplicity and virtue. Elated by 

 power, and enervated by prosperity, they had be- 

 come turbulent, covetous, and ambitious. The Ar- 

 chipelago was infested with their piratical fleets, 

 which disturbed the tranquillity, and molested the 

 commerce of the neighbouring states ; and they 

 continued their depredations, till the Rhodians arm- 

 ed themselves for the general defence, and succeeded 

 in sinking, burning, and dispersing their squadrons. 

 When attacked by the Romans, a spark of their 

 ancient valour still guided them in battle, and it was 

 not till after a long, obstinate, and vigorous resist- 

 ance, that the Cretans were obliged to yield to the ta- 

 lents and fortune of Quintus Metellus, in the year 60' 

 B. C. ; when the laws of Minos were abolished, and 

 those of Numa established in their stead. This island, 

 in conjunction with the small kingdom of Cyrene, on 

 the Lybian coast, was then converted into a Roman 

 province, and governed by a proconsul. It continued 

 under the dominion of the Roman emperors till the be- 

 ginning of the 9th century, when the Saracens, invited 

 by the beauty and fertility of the island, landed with- 

 out opposition, and built the strong fortress of Chan- 

 dak, which afterwards, under the Venetians, assumed 

 the name of Candia. From this citadel, they carried 

 havoc and devastation into the interior of the coun- 

 try ; and, notwithstanding the efforts of the emperor 

 Michael Balbus, they soon made themselves masters of 

 the whole island. Repeated attempts were made, both 

 by Michael and his successors, to expel the Saracens 

 from Crete, but without success ; and it was reser- 

 ved for the Emperor Nicephorus Phocas to deliver 



