240 ADAM SMITH. 



different principles. Their names sufficiently show this 

 diversity. The Greek settlement was called, ajroiKia, a 



toing from home ; the Latin, colonia, a plantation ; the 

 )rmer kinds of colony lost all connexion with the 

 parent state ; the latter were its advanced posts or gar- 

 risons in a conquered country ; both originated or at 

 least had some connexion with the narrowness of the 

 home territory, and the necessity of obtaining settle- 

 ments elsewhere. With the Greeks, no other purpose 

 was served but to get rid of their surplus population ; 

 with the Romans, beside this, the securing their con- 

 quests formed a motive for colonising. The modern 

 colonies had some concern with the convenience of 

 emigration, but far more with the promotion of com- 

 merce and the extension of dominion. After the Vene- 

 tians and Portuguese had enriched themselves by the 

 East Indian commerce, the Spaniards and Portuguese 

 turned themselves to exploring and settling the islands 

 and continent of South America, where the rich returns 

 of gold and silver gave them so great commercial re- 

 nown, that England, France, and Holland pursued a 

 like course, and planted colonies in the American islands 

 and continents. The jealousy with which Spain and 

 Portugal prevented all foreign intercourse with their 

 colonies made it necessary for other countries to obtain 

 similar possessions, if they would have any trade in 

 the valuable produce of those distant fertile countries ; 

 and each nation successively founded its colonial policy 

 upon the same jealous and exclusive spirit which had 

 shut them all out of the colonies first established. The 

 motive of all these colonizing projects was the thirst 

 of gold ; in all of them the traffic in other produce was 

 soon found to be the most valuable ; and the commerce 

 in commodities at first despised, gives rise now to the 

 bulk of the European intercourse with the new world. 

 2. The abundance of good land, and the knowledge 

 of agriculture and the arts which settlers take out with 

 them to a new or a conquered colony, are the causes 



