A. D. 500. 221 



its advinfages of climate, foil, and fituation, to fay nothing of its un- 

 tien' railiiary fupeviority, might have commanded at leaft the com- 

 merce of everv coafl: of the Mediterranean fea, if it had been in the 

 hands of au in'dufcrious and mercantile people. 



At the conclufion of the fifiii century of the Chriftian aera the weft- 

 em Roman empire, which had included the moft temperate and fertile, 

 the moft populous, and the beft cultivated, regions of Europe, and at 

 leaft an equal ftiare of the moft fertile part of y^.frica, was divided as 

 follows. Theodoric, king of the Goths and of Italy, poflefled, along 

 with it and Sicily, that part of Gaul which lies eaft of the Rhone, the 

 provinces of Rhsetia, Noricum, Pannonia, and Dalraatia, the Danube 

 forming the northern boundary of his ample dominions, which com- 

 prehended the moft valuable part of the late WeftexTi empire. The 

 African provinces were fubjed: to the Vandals. Spain was divided be- 

 tween the Goths and Swevians. Gaul, except what lay eaft from the 

 Rhone, was occupied by the Franks, the Burgundians, and a colony of 

 Britons. 



The Eaftern empire was ftill entire, if it could properly be called fo, 

 when not only the frontier provinces on the lov.^er Danube, but even 

 the whole country to the very gates of Conftantinople, and to the fouth- 

 ern extremity of Greece, were frequently pillaged with impunity, and 

 fometimes taken pofleflion of, by roving nations, who, whether they 

 profefled hoftility or fubjection to the empire, were almoft equally 

 dreadful to the unhappy fubjects, whom they fweeped before them in 

 war, or exhaufted by heavy tributes in peace. Such was generally the 

 condition of the Eaftern, Roman, Conftantinopolitan, or Greek, empire, 

 which dragged out a feeble exiftence of many centuries, till it was final- 

 ly fubdued by the Turks, in whofe hands it continues to this day. 



It muft be evident to every attentive reader of the preceding pages, 

 that, if we except the Oriental regions, the tranfactions of which are un- 

 fortunately almoft unknown to us, there was very little of real com- 

 merce in the world after the deftruftion of the illuftrious commercial 

 city of Carthage. The conveyance to Rome, and afterwards to Con- 

 ftantinople, of the corn and other provifions, the manufactures of all 

 parts of the empire, and the luxuries of the Eaft by the agency of the 

 merchants of Alexandria and thofe concerned in the over-land trade, 

 was all that remained to the fabjects of the Roman empire in place of 

 the active commerce by which industry had been created, animated, 

 and fupported, in every country which had the happinefs of being con- 

 nected with the MERCHANTS of SiDON, of Tyre, and of Carthage. 



The Britons, who had long ago been left to themfelves by the Ro- 

 mans, were ftruggling for their lives and liberties againft fierce invaders 

 on every fide. The Yutes, who fliowed the way to the other German 

 nations, had eftabliflied themfelves in their fmall kingdom of Kent, un- 



