THE BEGINNING OF TRADE 



the great period of exploration set in, a period when men had some clear 

 idea of what they sought and sailed with a definite object. Sometimes 

 their discoveries were very different from their dreams but that made no 

 difference to the root principles of the age. 



CHAPTER XII— THE BEGINNING OF TRADE 



The Phoenicians. 



It is generally believed that the Phcenicians originated on the shores 

 of the Persian Gulf and there seems to be little enough to make one 

 doubt the theory, although few would venture on a definite date. They 

 had migrated to the Mediterranean and founded the City of Tyre 

 before the year 1200 B.C. for a certainty, and possibly far earlier. The 

 Indian coasts were probably navigated for some thousands of years 

 before that, but they are outside the ken of this work for many centuries 

 to come. The Phoenicians lived for their gold purely and simply, and 

 they had no desire for territory beyond what was necessary for their trad- 

 ing cities, their defence, and to some extent their feeding. They built 

 ships which were seaworthy, and they must have been possessed of 

 extraordinary courage to have ventured so far into the unknown. The 

 date of their first visit to Britain is unknown, and there are some who 

 disbelieve that they ever reached us although the evidence appears to 

 be tolerably conclusive. Presuming that they did, it must have been 

 very early indeed, and they also visited and established trading posts 

 in various other parts of the then known globe, always taking very good 

 care that no whisper of their discoveries should reach the ears of 

 possible trade rivals. They built ships for their own use and for sale 

 to anybody who would buy. They chartered ships fully manned to any 

 warring king who was willing to pay their price : the cause mattered 

 little or nothing to them. There is little doubt that they were hard 

 bargainers, scrupulous only when it suited their purpose, and often 

 enough very unpleasant people to meet. But they were willing to 

 work and run every risk for their profits, and with this aim they made 

 rapid progress. 



Roman Trade from Britain. 



There was apparently a very considerable trade from Britain during 

 the Roman occupation. Ireland is noted as having a regular commerce 

 as early as A.D. 81 and London is specially mentioned by Tacitus as hav- 

 ing a very considerable sea-borne trade. In those days it was apparently 

 in oysters, dogs, slaves, tin and lead, while Southampton and Rich- 

 borough also had a big trade. On the Gallic side Boulogne was the 

 principal port, and the mouths of the various rivers. Towards the end 

 of the Roman occupation there were said to be eight hundred ships 

 engaged regularly in the corn trade between Britain and Gaul. 



Saxon Commerce. 



The marriage of King Ethelbert to Bertha, daughter of the King 

 of the Franks, was a great fillip to Saxon commerce and several English 



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