Chap. I. to the I 
in Hiftor/i under the Tide of the Croifades, And the 
People of Conjlantimple having firft put out the Eyes of 
their Emperor Alexis^ and then throwing him from a 
high Place, beat him to Pieces, when he had reigned 
only ten Weeks ; Baldwin Earl of Flanders furprifed 
the City, A.D. 1204. and was proclaimed Emperor 
of the Eaft. 
He did not reign quite a Year, and was fucceeded by 
his Brother Henry Earl of Flanders, who held the Go- 
vernment ten Years. Peter Courteney (of that noble Fa- 
mily which flill fubfifts in England) having married his 
Daughter, fucceeded him, and was killed in the fixth 
Year of his Reign. His Son P/ai/ip yielded the. Empire 
to his Brother Robert, who was murdered after a Reign 
of feven Years. His Son Baldwin II. fucceeded, though 
a Child, under the Tutelage of de Brenne, who 
{tiled himfelf King of 
A. H. 630. A. D. 1232, Batu, Grandfon to Gengish- 
kan, the Founder of the Tartar Empire, after over- 
running Mufcovy, Poland, Silefta, Bohemia, and Hun- 
gary, advanced through Bulgaria to befiege Confianti- 
nople. Upon this Occafion, the Eajtern and JFeJlern 
Chriftians joined, gave him Battle, routed him, and 
forced him to abandon his Defign. In 1259, or, as 
fome fay, in 1262, Michael Paleologus recovered Con- 
fiantinople from Baldwin Courtenay, and the Greek Em- 
perors held it from that Time, though their Power was 
very weak. 
A,H. 857. A. D. 1453. Mahomet, Emperor of the 
Turks, laid Siege to this City on the 9th of April, and 
took it by Storm on Tuefday, May the 29th, in IVhitfun- 
TFeek. The Turks maffacred forty thoufand Men in 
cold Blood, pillaged the Churches, Monafteries, and Pa- 
laces, the Greek Emperor Conflantine Paleologus being 
killed, as fome lay, in the Breach ; or, as others report, 
trampled to Death by his own Soldiers in their Flight. 
It is a Point out of all Doubt, that the Chriftians in 
general are ftiled Franks at Conjlantinople, and through- 
out all the Eaji but it is not quite fo clear why they 
are called fo *, moft People imagine it is a Corruption of 
French, and that the Turks do not diftinguidi be- 
tween Frenchmen, and other Nations, who, like them, 
wear Hats, and not Turbants ; but others who have 
lived long in Turkye, affirm, that it is from the Italian 
Word Franco, which fignifies Free. In order to appre- 
hend this clearly, we are to confider, that once a Year 
the Turks coiledt a Tribute Irom all their Subjedls that 
are not Mahometans *, and this Capitation they hold to 
be very reafonablc, becaufe they enjoy the Protection of 
their Government without lighting for it in War, or un- 
dergoing any troublefome Offices in Time of Peace ; fo 
that if it were not for this Tax, they would be in a bet- 
ter Condition than their Makers, which in the TurkiJJo 
Logic would be very unreafonable. 
Another Maxim of theirs is, that the Grand Signior 
is the great Judge of the whole World, the Redreller of 
all Wrongs, and hence )x\?> Seraglio or Court is ftiled the 
Port, and upon this Principle they conlider his Domi- 
nions as the Refuge of Mankind in general ; fo that they 
admit all Strangers to come to them who wall, and to 
fettle amongft them if they pleafe, granting them im- 
mediately the fame Privileges with their native Subjeds. 
But then again it muft be alfo underftood, that all Sub- 
jeds in Turkey are held to be Slaves, and therefore not 
at Liberty to quit the Dominions of the Grand Signior 
without his Leave ; which if they do their Eftates are 
forfeited. But the Subjeds of Foreign Princes that come 
to reftde In the Grand Signior’s Country for the Sake of 
Trade, live there by Virtue of Capitulations granted by 
the Turkifh Monarch to them at the Requeft of their So- 
vereigns ; and being by this Means free from the Capi- 
tation Tax, and all the Confequences of being reputed 
Turkifh Subjeds, are from thence ftiled Franks. 
The Reader will pleafe to obferve, that, though it be 
very true, that long before any fuch Capitulations were 
made, Chrijlians might be called Franks in the Ea(i, up- 
on the fore- mentioned Suppofition, yet this will by no 
Means prove that the latter Etymology is falfe, becaufe 
nothing is more common than this Kind of double 
Senfe of - the fame Word. As for Inftance, A- 
I E V A N T. 803 
mongft us, a Turk figniftes the fame Thing with Maho^ 
metan, and what they call IJlaifm, many of our Writers 
tranftate Turcifm, or the Religion of the Turks 5 and yec 
we make ufe of the fame Word in a more reftrained, and 
indeed in a more proper Senfe \ for the Nation govern’d 
by the Grand Signior, who by our old Writers is com- 
monly called from thence the Great Turk. 
Thefe are Things that may appear to be but of fmall 
Moment, but every Thing is of Moment that contri- 
butes to render what we read in Books of Hijlory and 
Voyages perfedly dear and diftind j and I dare afllire 
the Reader, that if he is very converfant in Books of 
this Kind, he will find thefe Remarks to be very ufefuf; 
as to the French Writers, they adhere unanimoufty to the 
firft Senfe of the Word, and would perfuade us, that the 
French King is regarded at Conjlantinople as the firft 
Prince in Chriflendorn j and for a clear Proof of this, 
they tell you, that he is ftiled Padijha, or Emperor, 
which is very true, but at the fame Time proves No- 
thing. For when the Lord Chandois, Anceftor to the 
prefent Duke, was our Ambaflad'or at Conjlantinople 
from King Charles II. he might have procured him the 
Title of Padijha alfo for a Prefent, but he thought 
that the Turks asked rather too much ; and as he 
knew they fet no great Value upon Tides, he thought 
it for the Honour of the Englifh Nation to fet lefs, or 
his Britannick Majefty had been at this Day ftiled Pa- 
dijha as well as he is King of France, and would have 
been alike the better for both. But it muft be allowed, 
that the French have a much clofer Correfpondence 
with the Turkifh Court than any other of the Chrijlian 
Powers ; the Reafon of which is, that other Powers 
have nothing to do with them but in a Commercial 
Way ; whereas the French treat with them allb on a poli- 
tical Confideration, and are in that Refpedl as good, per- 
haps I ftiould not much err if I had faid better Friends 
and Allies to thofe Infidels than to any of their Chriftian 
Neighbours ; and if this has procured them, greater 
Marks of Honour and Refpedl from the Turks, than 
are paid to other Nations, however it may flatter their 
Vanity, it adds but little to their Reputation. 
23. The Account given by our Author of the Man- 
ner in which Perfons are educated in the Seraglio, plain- 
ly proves, that it is a mere vulgar Miftake, which pre- 
vails as to the Ignorance of fuch as are advanced to 
Employments in that Empire. It appears, that far from 
wanting Education, they are regularly bred up in all 
that Sort of Knowledge which is requifite for the fuffici- 
ent Difcharge of thofe Offices to which there is a Pro- 
bability of their rifing •, and, perhaps, there is hardly 
a Nation in the World where fo much Care is taken. 
It is true, that thefe young People are brought up in a 
Manner very different from ours ; but then their Go- 
vernment is alfo very different % and provided they are 
fo educated, as to ferve effeclually that Government to 
the Service which they are bound ; this, with re.^pedt 
to them, is certainly a right Kind of Education. But 
I doubt whether our Author’s Account of the Turkijb 
Miniftry is quite fo exad, becaufe it is not eafy for a 
Traveller (let his Genius be what it will) to gain, in a 
few Weeks or even Months, an exact Knowledge of 
fuch Matters. Sir Dudley North, who refided many 
Years in Turky, and had many Opportunities of en- 
quiring into and obtaining a perfedl Acquaintance with 
the Manner in which Things are there adminiftred, has 
given us, in very few Words, a clear and more diftindl 
Account of this Matter, than is to be met with almoft 
in any other Writer : Which runs thus. 
“ For the better Underftanding of thefe Affairs, it 
“ is abfolutely neceffafy, firft, to fay fomething con- 
“ cerning the Nature of the Government, of the Office 
of Vizier- Azem or Chief Vifier, and of the feveral 
“ Kaimachams, which are his Subftituces, and acl onlv 
“ in his Abfence, The Turkijh Government is diredlly 
“ that of an Army, being under the fame Methods in 
“ the City, in Time of Peace, as in the Field during 
“ War. The Grand Signior is the General ; he hath 
indeed a double Capacity, the one as Head of the 
Empire, the other as a private Perfon. As Head of 
the Empire, he hath a daily Pay out of the publick 
Treafury | 
