5j 20 The Difcovery, Settlement, and Commerce Book I. 
ineans to enter into a eonfiderable Trade in Spices, Drugs, 
Cotton, Silk, and other Indian Commodities. At laft the 
Turks grew jealous of the Intercourfe of the Genoefe in 
thefe Parts, and abfolutely excluded them, as well as all 
other Nations, from trading to, or even entering into the 
Black-Sea . Yet this did not immediately put an End to 
the Commerce between this Place and Genoa-, for the Tar- 
tars preferved fo ftrong a Senfe of the Advantages derived 
from this Commerce, that for fome time they profecuted 
it in their own Veffels, and carried the Spices and other 
Indian Goods which they received by Caravans from Aftra- 
can , and which had been brought thither from the oppofite 
Side of the Cafpian-Sea to Genoa ; but the Turks , equally 
jealous of this, as they had been of the former Correfpon- 
dence, foon put an end to this Commerce likewife, and 
thereby fecured themfelves from the Fears of feeing a 
Chriftian Fleet in thole Seas. 
Yet Caff a ftill remains a Place of very great Trade, 
and the Staple of the Black-Sm , infomuch that Sir John 
Chardin s tells us, he faw in the fpace of forty Days no 
lefs than four hundred Ships fail in and out of this Port. 
The Venetians , in hopes perhaps of reviving, in fome mea- 
fure, the old Trade, procured, at a great Expence in the 
Year 1672, Leave from the Port to fend annually a Cargo 
of their Manufactures on board a fmall Squadron of their 
own into the Black-Sea *, but this Trade did not laft long, 
for the Jews infmuated fo many Dangers would arife from 
permitting this Commerce, that in a Year’s time the Li- 
cence was retraced ; and thus ended all Attempts for re- 
trieving the Commerce of the Indies by this Rout. In pro- 
cefs of time, however, it is not at all incredible that it may 
be reftored ; for fmce the Ruffians are Mafters of A 7; off, 
.and have a eonfiderable Number of trading Veffels in thofe 
Seas, it is not impoffible that fome fuch Revolution may 
happen, as will fet the Navigation of the Black-Sea en- 
tirely open, and thereby reftore to the Europeans in gene- 
ral, but more efpecially to the Italian States, a Commerce 
highly profitable in itfelf, and capable of great Improve- 
ments. 
13. We have now entirely done with the ancient Hif- 
tory of this Commerce, and fhall add only a very few 
Obfervations on this, as on the former Sections, and thofe 
with no other view, than to convince the Reader of the 
Importance of this Hiftory, and to fbew what an EffeCt 
it has had, and is ever like to have, in favour of thofe 
who are poffeffed of it. 
Every one of the four great Empires, which, in paft Ages, 
have had the fupreme Dominion, and the Hiftory of which 
ftill makes fo great a part of that Learning which is moft 
valued, had each of them a large Share, and many of them 
the entire Monopoly of the Trade to the Indies. 
The Accounts we have of the Affyrian Empire, are very 
Ihort, as well as very obfeure ; and yet the Attempt made 
by Semiramis to conquer the Indies , is the moft confide- 
rable Event of which, with refpeCI to that Monarchy, we 
have any Account. The Perfians , as we have fhewn at 
large, owed a great part of their Wealth to this Com- 
merce, as it was carried on by Land, while their conftant 
Allies, the Tyrians, derived from it much of their Mari- 
time Power, which was almoft all the Perfians had to de- 
pend upon by Sea. The ProfpeCt of ingrafting it was the 
principal ObjeCt which Alexander the Great had in View, 
which afterwards occupied the Thoughts of his principal 
Commanders, and which was, at length, in a great mea- 
fure accompli fhed by the Ptolemies in Egypt. The Ro- 
mans acquired it, together with the Dominions of thofe 
Princes, and held it as long as they retained any Power 
anfwerable to their ancient Reputation. The Arabians 
became Mafters of it in confequence of their rapid Victo- 
ries, and it has fince proved the great Source of Maritime 
Power in the Weft. 
This feems to be a very full and convincing Anfwer to 
die Objection that has been made, as if the Trade to the 
« Sir John Chardin's, Travels to Perfia. 
Indies was in itfelf prejudicial to the Europeans . For 
how is it poffible to conceive there can be any Truth in 
this, when we plainly fee that Riches and Empire con- 
ftantiy attended it, and have been as conftantly loft, .toge- 
ther with this Trade. This too will the more ftrongly 
appear, when we refieCt on the Rife and on the Decline 
of the Italian Republicks, which, as they owed their Fame 
and their Riches, the flouriftiing State of their Affairs 
at home, and their great Power by Sea, to the Share 
they had in this Commerce, fo together with that they 
loft both, and have made a Figure fince by Dint chiefly 
on the Remains of that Wealth and Strength which that 
Commerce procured them. 
It is a Point alfo extremely worthy of Notice, that all 
the Routs known to, and praCtifed by, the Ancients, are 
ftill in fome meafure preferved fo that almoft all the 
different Nations in Europe , have ftill, fome Way or other. 
Views upon this Trade. In the North, Sweden and Den - 
mark carry it on by Sea, with fome Pains and Difficulty 
indeed, but, at the fame time, with eonfiderable Profit. 
The Ruffians have three Ways of coming at the Indies 5 
the firft is, by failing North-about from Archangel to 
Japan, which though never hitherto accompli fhed, they 
ftill believed practicable •, and if ever that Rout ftionld be 
brought into Practice, it will be by them ; which however 
could not be done without changing, in a great meafure; 
the Face of Affairs in Europe, fince the Wealth of the 
Indies, joined to the Force of the Mufcovite Empire, muft 
raife fuch a Po\yer in the North, as could not but pro- 
duce extraordinary Confequences. The fecond is, by 
Caravans from Mofcow to China directly *, and the third, 
by the Cafpian-Sea, joined to the Caravans that are conti- 
nually palling through the Greater ^ and Leffier Bucharia. 
Such of the German Hanfe Towns as ftill preferve any 
Power by Sea, fuch as Lubeck , Bremen , and Hamburgh , 
keep up a conftant Correfpondence with Venice and Alex- 
andria. Great-Britain , Holland , and France, have Set- 
tlements in the Eaft-Indies, and trade thither by the Cape 
of Good-Hope. The Spaniards fupply their Empire in the 
IVeJl- Indies with the Commodities of the Eaft-Indies , from 
the Philippines but it does not appear that they bring 
much of the Merchandize of thofe Parts into Europe. 
The Portugueze have yet in their Hands the Remains of 
thofe vaft Dominions which they once poffeffed, and con- 
fequently have ftill a Share in this Commerce. The Ve- 
netians drive yet a very eonfiderable Trade at Alexandria, 
in Spices, Drugs, Perfumes, Cottqn, and Silk Manu- 
factures from the Indies. 
It is eafy to difeern from this general Account of the 
paft and prefent State of this important Commerce, that 
it ftill engroffes the Attention of all the Mercantile World, 
that Projects are continually forming to enlarge it in 
Countries where it is already fettled, and to transfer it 
into thofe where at prefent it is not exercifed : And how 
far any of thefe Projects are, or may be practicable, the 
Reader will belt judge from what has been laid down 
concerning the feveral Routs thither in this SeCtion, which 
we fhall conclude with this Remark, That the Oriental 
Nations have, generally fpeaking, adhered clolely to their 
own Maxims, and have never once been tempted, by tire 
many Vifits made them by the different Nations of Eu - 
rope, to fit out any Fleet, or even to fend fo much as a 
fingle Ship beyond the Cape of Good-Hope ; though, with 
refpeCt to their Commerce by Land, as the Indian Mer- 
chants formerly travelled to great Diftances in Caravans, 
they do the fame at prefent ; for though Cuftom be every 
where a Law, yet among the Eaftern Nations it remains 
moft inviolate •, and, as the Reader will obfefve from the 
fubfequent Travels, what was praCtifed Ages ago, is ftill 
the Ufage in thofe Parts, or at lead Variations have been 
introduced by Force, and cannot therefore be imputed in 
any degree to the Genius of the People* 
4 
SECT. 
