1^6 A. D. 14. 



During the long and peaceful reign of Auguflus the Britifh princes 

 courted his friendfhip by embaflies and prefents : and the Britons by 

 their long-continued friendly intercourfe with the Romanized Gauls 

 became acquainted with the Romans, and in fome degree with their 

 arts and fciences. Even before Caefar vifited this ifland, their own 

 knowlege of agriculture was by no means contemptible, as appears from 

 their long experience in the ufe of a variety of marles enumerated by- 

 Pliny*, [L. xvii, cc. 6, 7, 8] and their plentiful crops, which now (and 

 perhaps before now) enabled them to fpare fome corn for exportation. 

 They had now alfo adopted many improvements from their Gallic neigh- 

 bours, and were fo generally induflrious, that a negligent management 

 of the dairy, or the want of a garden, came to be noted as marks of 

 inferior talents or flothfulnefs in fome few individuals. [Strabo, L. iv. 



It was, no doubt, in this interval of tranquillity and advancing pro- 

 fperity, that Cunobelin, king of the countries lying between the Thames 

 and the Nen, eflabliflied his inint at Camulodunum [Colchejler), and 

 coined money of gold, filver, and brafs ; ot all which at leaft forty dif- 

 ferent fpecimensf have reached our times. And thus, inflead of dwell- 

 ing fome centuries upon brafen money, and then flowly creeping to 

 liiver, and at laft to gold, like the Romans, did the firfi: effort of the 

 Britifh coinage at once comprehend all the ufeful varieties of current 

 money %. Camulodunum by means of its^ mint has the advantage of 

 being the firft Britifli town, which is authentically known by its ge- 

 nuine antient name ; as it is alfo the very firfl that is mentioned by any 



* Pliny [/,.xvii,(-. 8] obfcrves, that the ftrength with fome Yanations of fpelh'ng, on many of thofe 



of the Britifli chalk marie (the pits of which he coins, which moft of our antiquaries (though 



defcrihes exaftly as they are now to be feen in Dodor Pettingall almoll Humbled upon the truth 



Kent) laftcd eighty years, and that there was no in a Diffcrtatiou written exprefsly on the fcnfe of 



inftance of any man ufing it twice in his life time that word) have ftrangely interpreted tax, or tri- 



on the fame land. Ste this fubjeft more largely bute, payable to the Romans, at a time when 



liandled in Wh'itaker^i Hjjlory of Manchffler, B. i, they had no dominion in this idand ; but which, 



(h. 7, \ 3. according to his interpretation, fignifies leader or 



It appears from an infcription found in Zeland, i'nf, as, indeed, variations of the worcf do in the 



that the Britifli chalk was exported to improve the Gaelic languages to this day. — That the Britons 



mardiy groimds of that country by people, who ponclfed and wrought mines of gold and filver be- 



werc called Britifli chalk-merchants, and the poly- fore the Roman conqueft, appears unquellionably 



theiftic fpirit of the Romans created a new god- from Strabo, and may be inferred from Tacitus ; 



dcfs to prefide over this mw trade, the date of though Cicero, writing when Julius Cxfar was in 



which is unknown, but is apparently older than Britain, and fcarcely any thing was known of it 



Varro (who died A. U. 27) as he was in fome in Rome, had faid, that there was no gold or filver 



diftridts on the banks of the Rhine, where the in the ifland. \_Slrnbo, L. iv, p. 305. — Tac. Vit. 



lands were manured with chalk (' Candida foffitia yf^ric. c. 12.— Cic. adfamil. L. vii, ep. 7 ; ad jit' 



* crcta'). \_Varro de re rujliea, L. i, c. 9. — Caw's tic. L. iv, cp. 15.] 

 ylntonine, p. 43, tor the infcription.] \ Some have fuppofed, that the Britons had the 



f Prints of them may be fcen in Speed's H'ljlorie, ufe of money befurc Ca:far's iiivalion. But the 



Camden's Brilnnnin, i'eg^e^s Ceins of Cunobelin, fuppolition is founded oil an explanation, apparent- 



IVhilaker's Ilijlury rif Mmchrjler, Uc. Mr. Whit- ly erroneous, of a paflagc of Casfar, [A//. Gall. 



aker, in his fecond edition, has apparently given L. v, c. 12] which is conteilcd, and fecms to be 



the true explanation of the word Tojc, occurring, corrupted. 



