598 



EGYPT. 



_]__ ' t!'.\ tV qmty <1". nni! which Mould bring upon them 

 "" the vengeance of the inhabitants and laws. 



The Mamelukes are race of people whose origin 

 has already been explained, and who were introduced 

 into the country by their Turkish masters, in the capa- 

 city of slaves, ami having bro>ine iiuinerous, ac<ju!red 

 o much property nnd influence, as to threaten the 

 cnct; of the NIahominedan government in Egypt. 

 Their numbers are still maintained by slaves imported 

 from the unpolished rountries of Georgia, and the 

 iilxjurhood of Mount Caucasus. But since the 

 grand signior was restored to his fonner power in 

 Egypt, after the intrusion of the French into that 

 country, the influence of the beys has been exceed- 

 ingly reduced, and the number of the Mamelukes is 

 upon the decline. The rest of the inhabitants are Jews 

 and Mahoiniiut tuns, or Christian merchants, who reside 

 in the principal parts of Egypt, for the benefit of trade 

 and commerce. 



Population. The fertility of Egypt lias long been celebrated, and 

 the number of its inhabitants is proportioned to its pro- 

 duce. The simple manner of living which the native 

 inhabitants observe, is well fitted to increase the popu- 

 lation, for it is a well known fact, that the inhabitants 

 of a country increase in proportion to the ease with 

 which their food and accommodation can be procured. 

 In the most prosperous and highly favoured condition 

 of Egypt, when the people lived in ease and safety, 

 under a powerful race of native kings, the population 

 must have been more numerous than in its future state 

 of distraction and violence ; more especially under the 

 injudicious government of the Turks : but the nnmber 

 of inhabitants assigned it in very ancient times, appears 

 to be extravagant. Notwithstanding the excessive po- 

 pulation of China, which may be in a situation similar to 

 the ancient condition of Egypt ; yet we can scarcely be- 

 lieve that Egypt ever contained, at one time, 20,000,000 

 of people, or even 7,500,000, as other authors have 

 maintained. Grand Cairo, which is supposed to com- 

 prehend more than the eighth part of the people of 

 Egypt, is not said to contain 500,000 persons, but, 

 perhaps, the whole may be fairly reckoned at 2,500,000. 

 To give us an idea of its ancient population, we are 

 told, that it contained from eighteen to twenty thou- 

 sand towns ; but the most of these, if that number did 

 really exist, must have been only scattered villages of 

 small extent and little population. For although 

 Egypt is a country of considerable extent, yet the 

 places which are capable of cultivation are but limited, 

 and, making every allowance for the times of its great- 

 est prosperity, could not have comprehended more than 

 an extent of 6000 square miles. 



Agricul- Among all the improvements which have pervaded 



ture. every department of life, the art of agriculture has, 



perhaps, made the least general progress. At any rate, 

 there is much to be done even in the most enlightened 

 countries in Europe. And if there be such deficiencies, 

 where nature needs so much aid, and where knowledge 

 has made so much progress, how lamentable must 

 be the defects in more favoured climates, where nature 

 does so much of her own accord, and where the human 

 mind remains in a state of inferior activity ! In Egypt, 

 as well as in other countries of this description, the 

 state of agriculture is low ; and yet, from its natural 

 fertility, it has often been found to give ample supplies 

 to other countries. The government of Egypt, and 

 the condition of its people, arc unfriendly to great exer- 

 tions cither of body or mind, and, consequently, the 

 manufactures of Egypt are few and inconsiderable. 



The country nf it -elf produce* an abundance of s.dt SiatiHr. 

 from the different mines, and though not pure, it ol>- * V^*" 

 tains a ready and extrusive .sale. Much of it is tinged Manufac. 

 with a red colour, mixed with a portion of calcareous turn, 

 earth, and by the inhabitants of the cuuntrv it is called 

 natron. 



This become* an article of commerce, with little 1 1- 

 bour to the jM-ople. But they have considerable manu- 

 factures of sal-ammoniac at Giza and Rosetta. But 

 their chief manufactures consist of linens, woollen, and 

 silk goods. They spin their yarn with the distaff', nnd 

 are altogether unacquainted with machinery, which is 

 so valuable and effectual in Europe. The fine linens 

 of Egypt were formerly in the highest estimation, and 

 far excelled every other manut'acture of the kind ; but 

 now the linens of that country are chiefly of a co irx r tex- 

 ture, and (it only for the more common purposes of life. 

 The fine linens haveyielded to the manufacture of mils] in. 

 which is generally worn by the higher classes of the 

 people, being not only more fine nnd showy, but better 

 fitted for the nature of the climate. Among their wool- 

 len goods, they form beautiful carpet. s. upon which 

 they sit in the divan, or in the halls ami houses of the 

 great. Their silk is chiefly brought from Syria, and i~ 

 manufactured into goods after various patterns, such as 

 taffetas and satins ; but all their goods of this sort are 

 inferior to those which are brought from India. The 

 Egyptian dress is a shirt, bound about the middle with 

 a kind of girdle, with an upper loose garment, more or 

 less warm, according to the season. 



The polishing of flints and precious stones is a con- 

 siderable business in Egypt, but is chiefly performed by 

 Jews; and the Copts arc excellent merchants, clerks, and 

 accountants. Formerly the Egyptians excelled in the art 

 of dyeing, and they imparted colours to glass and crystal 

 of such exquisite hues, that it was difficult to distinguish 

 them from valuable stones. Glass is at present manu- 

 factured in Egypt, but it is chiefly of an inferior kind. 

 Their mirrors are small, and glass windows are seldom 

 used in the country. Glass beads of diversified colours 

 form an article of traffic, but they are made at Venice, 

 and are transported to India and the interior of Africa, 

 whore the women adorn themselves with these bawbles, 

 as the ladies in Europe and Constantinople do with 

 jewels and diamonds. The Egyptians might excel in 

 the making of glass, because their country affords the 

 best materials which that manufacture requires : but 

 they are deficient in the knowledge of that art ; and 

 the fuel which they employ being only straw or other 

 feeble combustibles, is not of sufficient strength to melt 

 with propriety the articles which are necessary for 

 forming elegant glass. With the exception of a few 

 trifling articles, they have no manufacture of iron-ware, 

 and every thing valuable in the art of cutlery comes 

 from the markets of Britain, France, or Germany. 



Few situations are more convenient for commerce Commerce. 

 than Egypt ; and it was this conviction which induced 

 Alexander the Great to found the city which he called 

 after his own name, and which he intended to be the 

 capital of his conquests. His quick discernment ena- 

 bled him to see the means which it possessed of being 

 a commercial centre for Asia, Europe, and Africa. I lis 

 unexpected death prevented the execution ofhis schemes, 

 both civil and warlike ; but under the government of 

 the Ptolemies, Egypt acquired the commercial ascen- 

 dency which Alexander foresaw, and which its situa- 

 tion was calculated to bestow. 



The princes of this new dynasty encouraged a .spirit 

 of enterprise; and from the ports of the Red Sea vessels 



