WEALTH OF NATIONS. 241 



of its rapid increase in population and in wealth. The 

 American plantations greatly surpass the Greek in this 

 respect, and very greatly surpass the Roman, while their 

 distance from the mother country gives them far greater 

 freedom than the latter had in managing their own 

 concerns. Even under the tyrannical government and 

 bad management of Spain, Mexico had 100,000 inha- 

 bitants a century ago, five times as many as at the con- 

 quest. Brazil had above half a million of Portuguese, 

 or their descendants ; while in British North America, 

 the number of the people doubles in seventeen or 

 eighteen years, and now amounts to nearly 20,000,000. 

 The more rapid progress of our colonies is owing to 

 four leading circumstances : the law preventing land 

 from being engrossed in a few hands, and preventing 

 it being conveyed unless a certain portion is cultivated ; 

 the general law of equal division by succession, with- 

 out regard to primogeniture ; the low amount of the 

 taxes ; the more favourable trading system, which gives 

 no exclusive companies the monopoly of their com- 

 merce, and allows certain produce to be freely imported 

 into the mother country, throwing open for all produce 

 all her ports, and giving them all the inestimable ad- 

 vantages of a free and popular government. 



3. The advantages derived from the colonies have 

 been either those obtained by Europe at large, or those 

 obtained by the several colonizing Powers. 



(1.) The comforts and enjoyments of life have been 

 varied and increased to all nations in the old world. 

 The industry of all has been stimulated by the new 

 vent for their produce, and countries which even do 

 not directly trade with the colonies, have benefited by 

 their produce, and by the surplus produce of the coun- 

 tries that conduct the trade, which is occasioned by the 

 colonial demand. 



(2.) The colonizing countries have derived not only 

 the benefit which all States receive from their own 

 dominions, but also the peculiar advantages of their 



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