LONDON. 



highly intereftina; and important. To trace the fteps by 

 which London has rifen to its prefent opulence and gran- 

 deur, is in h&. to develope the fources of that diftingui/hed 

 rank which England now holds among the nations of the 

 earth. 



London was, doubtlefs, a place of confidersble trade at a 

 Tery early period. Tacitu? Ipeaks of it as the noiili empo- 

 rium of his time ; the great refort of merchants, and though 

 not a colony, famous for its commercial intercourfe. After 

 this, little is known of it, in refpeft to trade, until the clofe 

 of the lecond century of the Chrillian era, when ic is again 

 mentioned as having become " a great and wealthy city." 

 In the year 3 59, it is faid of England, that its " commerce 

 was fo extended, that 800 vefTels were employed in the port 

 of Ijondon for exportation of corn only." Three cen- 

 turic* afterwards Bede ftyles it " an emporium for many 

 nations repairing to it by land and fea." Fitz-Stephen, 

 who lived in the rei^n of Henry II. fays, that " no city 

 in the world exports its merchandi2e to fuch a dilVance 

 as London ;" but does not inform us what goods were ex- 

 ported, or to what countries they were carried. Among 

 the imports, however, he enumerates gold, fpices, and frank- 

 inccnfe from Arabia ; precious Hones from India ; and palm- 

 oil from Bagdad. But it feems more reafonable to fuppofe 

 thefe were obtained throus'h the meduim of the trading 

 cities of Italy, than by direct commerce to the refpeftivc 

 places. William of Malmfbury, who likevvife lived about 

 this period, calls " London a noble city, renowned for the 

 opulence of its citizens," and "filled with merchandize 

 broughl by the merchants of all countries." The fame author 

 adds, " that in cafe of fcarci^y of corn in other parts of 

 England, it is a granary, where it may be bought cheaper 

 than any where elfe." Thus it will be perceived, that even 

 in the infancy of European commerce, and at a time when 

 ignorance and barbarifm clouded almoil every portion of the 

 world, this city had made no inconliderable progrefs towards 

 its prifent celebrity and impcrtance. 



In the year 1220, the merchants of Cologne, in Germany, 

 probably in confequence of an invitation from king John 

 in 1203, eftabliihed a hall or factory in London, which 

 fhortly after became the general factory of all the German 

 merchants refident in the city. Not long fubfeqaent to this 

 period, -viz. in I 24^, fea coal " carbone maris," is mentioned 

 among the articles of inquifition into trelpaffes committed 

 in the king's forefts. Hence it may reafonably be inferred, 

 that coal was not only known and wrought before this time, 

 but aftually formed a part of the imports of London. 

 Sea-coal lane, in this city, was certainly fo named as early 

 as the year 1253, and according to Stow, received this 

 appellation from hme being burnt there with fea-coal. 



The dole of the thirteenth centuiy appears to have been 

 a remarkable era in the commercial hiilory of London. In 

 1296, the company of merchant-adventurers was iir.1 incoi'- 

 porated by Edward I. The Hanfards, or Hanfe mer- 

 chants, alfo received confiderable privileges about the fame 

 tim.e. In the year 1498, when all diredt commerce with the 

 Netherlands was fufpended, this body obtained very great 

 advantages over the merchant adventurers by importation of 

 va It quantities of thofe articles, through the medium of the 

 Hanfe towns, which before had come dirertly from the Ne- 

 therlands, where the trade of the latter company had been 

 chiefly eftabhfhed. In confequence of thefe circumftances, 

 the warchoufes of the merchants were attacked and rifled by 

 the mob ; but the offenders were foon fupprefled, and many 

 of them punifhed. 



In the year 1504, all the ancient privileges of the Hanfe, 

 or as they were likewife called, Steel-yard merchants, were 



conilrmed to them by ftatutc,andall the previous aAs whick 



had been made in derogation of them were annulled. A 



fimilar charter was alfo obtained by the Englifh merchants 



" trading in woollen cloths of all kinds to tht Netherlands," 



in which they are for the firft tim.e ftyled the " Fellowfliip 



of merchant-adventurers of England." This act ftriftly 



prol'.ibitcd the Steel-yard aflociation from interfering with 



their trade, by carrying cloths to any of their fettlements in 



the Low Countries. Notwithllandmg thefe unfavourable 



ciaufcs, however, the Hanfe-mcrchants feem to ha-e engrofled 



the chief trade of the city. Grievous accufations were con- 



fequently made againft them, for their proceedings were con- 



fidercd as tending to ruin the commerce of ihe native 



Englifh. The city of London at length inftituted an aAion, 



in the Star-chamber, againft them, the objedt of which was 



to deprive them of their privileges as a body. Accordingly, 



in the year 1597, a decree was obtained, annulling their 



aflociation, and ordering them, under fevere penalties, to quit 



the kingdom. See Han.se Tbron/. 



But to return : it maj-^be pjroper to remark, that during 

 the contentions between the houfes of York and Lancafter, 

 the commerce of London was very conliderably retarded. 

 In the reign of Henry VII. it again began to make rapid 

 progrefs. Still, however, if credit is to be given to Wheel* 

 er's " Treatife on Commerce," publiflied in 1601, the trade 

 of this city mufl: have been very low indeed, even as late a» 

 the year 1539; for that author exprefsly avers, that fixty 

 years before he wrote, there were not above four merchant 

 yeflels exceeding 1 20 tons burthen in the river Thames. 

 Nor would it appear that they had increafed much in the next 

 reign, if we are to believe the report of a London merchant, 

 who, in a letter to fir William Cecil fays, that there is not a 

 city in Europe " having the occupying that London bath, 

 fo flenderly provided with (hips." 



Notwithllanding thefe complaints, however, it is undoubt- 

 edly a faft, that a fpuit of enterprife was very general among 

 the merchants about this period. For, in 1553, we find a 

 great geographical and mercantile difcovery made by a com- 

 pany, conlllling of p^o fliareholders, inftituted for the pur- 

 pofe of profecuting difcoveries under the direction of Se- 

 baftian Cabot, a merchant of Briftol. (See C.^Bor, Sebas- 

 tian'.) This aflociation having fitted out three ftiips, one of 

 them accidentally fell into the bay of St. Nicholas, in the 

 White feas, and landing at Archangel, obtained from the 

 czar of Ruflia peculiar privileges of trade with the fubjeft* 

 of his dominions. Within a few years after, the London 

 merchants had alfo faftors fettled at the Canaries. The 

 Rulfia or Mufcovy merchants were incorporated in the rtign 

 of Philip and Mary, and had their charter fubfequently con- 

 firmed by Elizabeth, in her eighth year. This princefs, 

 likevvife, obtained an exclufive grant to the Englifh of the 

 whole foreign commerce of that extenfive empire, which 

 they coHtinujd to enjoy for a confiderable period. About 

 this time the civil diflfentions in Flanders began, upon which 

 a valt number of families from the Netherlands flocked to 

 London, and brought over with them their trade and riches. 

 This great addition to the population of the city, and the 

 confequent increafe of its commerce toon after, led to the 

 erection of the Royal Exchange, by the celebrated fir Tho- 

 mas Grefham, in the years 1566 and 1567. (See Royai, 

 Exrhange.) Previous to this the merchants wereaccuftomed 

 to meet twice every day in Lombard-ftreet, without any 

 other ref ige from the feverities of the weather but.what the 

 neighbouring fhops might ociafionally afford. In J 5 79, 

 the Levant, or Turkey Company, was eilablifhed, as wai 

 alfo the Eaftland Company ; both of which ftill exifl, but 

 the former only retains any degree of importance. On the 

 Rr 1 jsft 



