1 24 A. D. 1558. 



to recommend to them, in this very year, the quieting of Livonia, then 

 greatly agitated. 



We have already obferved that the comptoir of the Hanfe towns at 

 Bergen in Norway began to be deferted about the year 1553, chiefly 

 owing (fay the Hanieatic writers) to the arbitrary and extravagant in- 

 creafe of the toll in the found by Chriftiern III of Denmark, which 

 produced much altercation, infomuch that in this year 1558, when that 

 king died, that comptoir was almofi: funk to nothing, after having 

 greatly flourifhed for about 300 years ; yet others impute the true caufe 

 of that decline to the Danes therafelves about this time, who began to 

 traffic on their own bottoms, whereby that court (like England) faw 

 the expediency of abridging thofe Hanfeatics of their antient exceflive 

 privileges and prerogatives at Bergen, which, they alleged, had been 

 granted to them by former Danifh kings. 



That moft diligent agent for the Ruflia company, Mr. Anthony Jen- 

 kinfon, now tirft fet on foot a new channel of trade, through Ruflia in- 

 to Perlia, for raw filk, &c. He failed down the great river Volga to 

 Nifi-Novogrod, Cafan, and Afl:racan, and thence acrofs the Cafpian fea 

 to Periia. At Eoghar, a goodly city, he foimd merchants from India, 

 Perfia, Ruflia, and Cathay (/. e. China), from which it was a nine months 

 journey to Boghar. Jenkinfon retiu-ned the fame way to Colmogro, in 

 the bay of St. Nicholas, in the year 1560, and fo home the fame year 

 to England. On his return, he publiflied the firfl: map of Ruflia that 

 had ever been made. This voyage, it feems, he performed feven dif- 

 lerent tinies : Yet fo promifing a profped: for that company was drop- 

 ped fome few years after, and remained as if it had never been, till the 

 year 1741, wlienit was revived by an ad: of parliament, enabling the 

 Ruflia company to trade thence into Perfia, upon which conflderable 

 quantities of raw filk were brought home by the very fame way that 

 Jenkinfon took from Perfia to Ruflia, and thence to England : Yet the 

 continual troubles and ravages in Perfia have fince ftifpended the good 

 effeds of that lav.'. 



In this lafl year of Queen IMary, a preft (.'. e. loan) ' v/as granted to 

 ' the queen by the citizens of London, of twenty thoufand pounds, 

 ' which was levied of the companies ; for the which fum, to be repaid 

 ' again, the queen bound certam lands, and alfo allowed for interefl: 

 ' of the mo-ney L12 of every hundred for a year.' \_Stow s Annaks, 

 p. 1370, cd. I 600.] 



in the fir ft year of Queen Elizabeth, the parliament pafiTed an ad 

 \c. 13.] repealing the former laws which prohibited the importation 

 and exportation of m.erchandize in any btit Englilh Ihips. This repeal 

 (clogged as it is with rellridions) would not perhaps be approved of in 

 our days ; yet there might probably be good grounds for it then ; at 

 lead: the legiflature thought the following a fufficieht reafon for it, viz. 



