82 



HOLLAND. 



Holland, medicine, such as camphor, vermilion, sulphur, borax, 

 v ~^r~~ 1; M>is l.i/.uli ; likewise pitch, tar, rosin, spermaceti, &c. 

 The oil mills ire numerous. The cordage made in 

 Holland is very good ; and Dutch paper, particularly 

 cartridge paper, is still exported in very great quanti- 

 ties, even to England, though we now rival or excel 

 ll.em in the manufacture of fine writing paper. The 

 preparation of diamonds, that is, the cutting, polish- 

 ii't;. and grinding of them, i> confined to Amsterd.-nn, 

 where many artists are employed for that purpose. 

 The manufacture of skaits is also of some consequence 

 in Holland. 



Commerce. The United Provinces were formerly pre-eminent 

 in commerce ; and the province of Holland, from its 

 r-'ater extent, population, and riches, as well as from 

 its possessing near all the sea-ports, enjoyed nearly 

 the whole of this commerce. Long before the French 

 Revolution, however the trade of the United Provin- 

 ces had begun to decline ; and the circumstances of 

 that tremendous event may be said to have utterly an- 

 nihilated the commerce of Holland. While it lasted, 

 it was carried on principally with France, England, 

 Spain, and Portugal, the Levant and Mediterranean 

 states, Russia, Sweden, and Denmark ; and with Ger- 

 many by means of the Elbe, the Ems, the Weser, the 

 Rhine, and the Meuse. The inland trade with Germany, 

 by the canals and the Rhine, is almost the only branch 

 which has escaped the ravages of war. Of this, the 

 most remarkable feature consists in the vast floats of 

 timber which arrive at Dort from Andernach and other 

 places on the Rhine. The length of these rafts is from 

 700 to 1000 feet ; the breadth from 50 to 90 ; and 

 .500 labourers direct them, living in a village of tim- 

 ber Imts erected on the rafts for their reception. The 

 navigation is conducted with the strictest regularity. 

 On their arrival at Dort, the sa!e of one raft occupies 

 several months, and frequently produces upwards of 

 j30,(K>0 sterling. The commerce of Holland was ei- 

 ther transit or direct. The articles of direct commerce 

 were supplied either by her agriculture, such as butter, 

 cheese, &c or by her manufactures, as prepared drugs 

 for medicine, dyeing, &c linen, woollen cloth, paper, 

 &c. ; or they were supplied by her East India posses- 

 sions and her fisheries In return, Holland received 

 either what was necessary for her own consumption, 

 particularly corn, or those articles which she again 

 distributed over the rest of Europe. In the year 1807, 

 nearly one million pounds of *ilk were imported into 

 England from Italy through the medium of Holland. 



Fopulition. The province of Holland is extremely populous; 

 perhaps more o than any other part of Europe. 'In 

 the year 1315, it contained only 45,000 houses. In the 

 year 17.32, the number of hoiftes was increased to 

 163. '62 De Witt, in his work on the true interests 



In 16J2. of Holland, informs us, that, in the year 1622, the 

 States laid a poll tax upon all inhabitants, none except- 

 ed but strangers, prisoners, and vagrants, and those 

 that were on the other side of the line; yet were 

 there found in all South Holland no more than 481,934, 

 although the instructions of the commissioners ap- 

 pointcd lor that purpose were very strict. The follow- 

 ing are the particulars, as registered in the Chamber of 

 Accounts : 



Dort, with its villages 40,523 



Haerlem, with its villages . . . 69,648 



Delft, witti its villages 41,744 



Ley den and Rhineland .... 94,285 



Amsterdam, and its villages . . . 115,022 



Rotterdam, and its villages . . . 28.339 



Goucla, and its villages .... 24,622 



Gornichem, and its villages ... 7 585 



Schiedam, and its villages . . . . 10.;'93 



Schoonhoven and its villages . . . 10,703 



Brill, with its villages 20, ! 56 



The Hague 17,430 



Heusden 1,141. 



481. ,934 



De W T itt supposes that West Friesland, or North Hol- 

 land, might have the fourth part of the inhabitants of 

 South Holland, or 120,483, which, added to 481,934, 

 would give 602.4-17 as the total population of the pro- 

 vide of Holland in the year 1622. This, however, in the 

 opinion of 1 >e Witt, was far below the truth, and he raises 

 the number to 2,400 000. This must be an exagge- 

 ration ; and it is given here, only for the purpose of 

 adding De Witt's calculation of the proportions of this 

 number, engaged in different employments : according 

 to him, 450,000 were employed, directly or indirectly, 

 in the fisheries : 2OO.OOO were supported by agricul- 

 ture, inland-fishing, herding, hay-making, turf making, 

 and by furnishing materials for these operations : 

 650,000 in manufactures : 250,000 in navigation and 

 trade: 650,000 in miscellaneous employments; and 

 200,000 gentry, magistrates, soldiers, &c In the year 

 1 732, the population of Holland certainly did not ex- 

 ceed 980,000. In the year 1796, an estimate of the In 1796. 

 population of the Seven United Provinces was made 

 by order of the National Assembly, which we shall 

 give entire, for the purpose of comparing the popula- 

 tion of Holland with that of the other provinces. 



Guelderland, in the towns, 64,994 



in the flat country . . . . 15:2,834 



217,828 



Holland, in towns 495,017 



in the flat country .... 333,525 



828,542 



Zealand, in towns 39,978 



in the flat country 42,234 



82,212 



Utrecht, in towns 45,204 



in the flat country 47,600 



92,904 



Friesland, in towns 44,824 



in the flat country . . . .116,689 



161,513 



Overyssel, in towns 41,805 



in the flat country .... 93,255 



Groningen, in towns, . . . 

 in the flat country 



135,060 

 23,770 



114,555 



