COMMERCE 
ral fpecies of gold, filver, and copper, had their rife. 
The firft moneys were wood, leather, and iron; and even 
at this day, it is the cuftom in fome places of both Indies 
to give a certain value in fea-lhells and cocoa-nuts, for 
merchandifes, drugs, &c. The firft inftance of this kind 
of commerce mentioned in the facred writings, is in the 
time of the patriarch Abraham; though we may obferve, 
that for many ages, barter was conducted on a very nar¬ 
row fcale, extending no farther than to the common necef- 
I'aries of life; the plowman giving his corn and his pulfe 
to the (hepherd, and receiving milkand wool in exchange. 
The difcovery of water-carriage unqueftionably became the 
grand means of the advancement of commerce ; though 
at firft merely by floats or rafts, acrofs rivers and lakes. 
But,, when thele were improved into vefiels of fuch capa¬ 
city as-emboldened men to launch into the wide ocean, a 
mutual correfpondence from nation to nation was let on 
foot; and thole who had the fuperiority of Ihipping natu¬ 
rally acquired the greateft lhare of wealth and power, ex¬ 
tending their commerce to more diftant climes, to which 
the invention of writing did not a little contribute. The 
Egyptians, Phoenicians, and the Carthaginians, who were 
a Tyrian colony, were the firft, the moll daring, and ex¬ 
pert, traders of all antiquity. They were the firft who 
ran the hazard of long voyages, and who fet on foot a 
traffic by fea between coalts very remote. Under the 
Aliatic and Grecian empires, we have the traces of a 
commerce cultivated by leveral nations; but it flourilhed 
more confiderably under the dominion of the Romans ; 
as appears from the vaft number of colleges and compa¬ 
nies of merchants in the feveral cities mentioned by his¬ 
torians, as well as by ancient infcriptions to their memory. 
The deftruCtion of the Roman empire by the irruptions 
of the barbarians, levelled that of commerce along with 
it, or at leaft fufpended its ordinary operation for fome 
time. By degrees it began to recover itfelf, and made a 
new progrels; efpecially in Italy. Hence, the Pifiins, 
Florentines, Genoeie, and Venetians, abounding in Ihip¬ 
ping, took occalion to fpread themlelves through all the 
ports of the Levant and Egypt, bringing thence filks, 
fpices, and other merchandile; and furnilhing the great- 
eft part of Europe therewith. Charlemagne having con¬ 
quered Saxony, and becoming jealous of the growing 
power cf thefe Italian traders, was determined to check 
them. For this purpofe he carried his fleet up the Adri¬ 
atic fea, amongft the numerous fmall Venetian iflcs; 
where, for want of knowing the channels, his attempt 
mifcarried, and he. was obliged to retire with lof3. To 
prevent future incurfions of this kind, the inhabitants, by 
degrees, joined all thole little contiguous illands together, 
by the means of bridges; the whole of which, being thus 
united, now conftitute the noble city of Venice. 
Thus was the modern commerce founded on the ruins 
of that of the ancient Greeks and Romans to the fame 
places; and thus did thole famous Italian republics ac¬ 
quire their luftre and power ; which were afterwards con¬ 
fiderably increafed by the effeCts of the crufades. Thefe 
republics furniflied the crufaders with tranfports, military 
liores, and provifions, and obtained charters very favour¬ 
able to the eftabliftnnent and extenfion of their commerce. 
When Conftantinople was taken, under the banner of the 
holy crols, many valuable branches of trade, which for¬ 
merly, centered in that city, were transferred to Venice, 
Genoa, and Pifa. The Germans, however, had a long¬ 
time carried on a feparate commerce, which was not bor¬ 
rowed from the Romans, nor did it fall with theirs. To- 
V/rirds the end of the twelfth century, the German cities, 
fituate on the coaft of the Baltic, and the rivers that run 
into it, got into a conliderable traffic with the neighbour¬ 
ing Hates. But, as their commerce was much interrupted, 
by pirates, feventy-two of them united together for their 
mutual defence, and were thence called Hanfeatic or Hans 
‘J'ovjnsi Thefe flourilhed till the end of the fifteenth, or 
beginning of the lixteenth, century, when a divilion 
VOL. IV'. No. 3-pp. 
857 
arifing amongft them, and about the fame time a new paf- 
fage to the Indies, by the Cape of Good Hope, being dif- 
covered by the Portuguefe, and fettlements made on the 
coalts of Africa, Arabia, and the Indies, the Italian and 
Hqnfeatic commerce funk, and the chief trade came into 
the hands of the Portuguefe. 
The Portuguefe had not poffeffed thofe different trades 
above an hundred years, when, about the beginning of 
the feventeenth century, the Dutch began to lhare it with 
them ; and in a little time difpofleffed them of almoft the 
whole. The Englilh, French, Danes, and Hamburghers, 
excited by their fuccefs, then began to make fettlements 
in the Indies, and on the coalts of Africa ; in which the 
Englilh foon became fuperior. The difcovery of Ame¬ 
rica by Columbus in 1493, in favour of the Spaniards, 
likewife became the object of a new, vaft, and molt im¬ 
portant, commerce for every nation in Europe, whereof 
Cadiz and Seville were made the center. It is true the 
firft conquerors of this new world, the Spaniards,/ftill 
poffeis the greateft and richeft part of it, and preferve the 
commerce thereof to themfelves with a jealous eye; yet 
the Englilh, French, Dutch, and Portuguefe, have had 
feveral rich and flourilhing colonies both in the illands 
and on the continent. And it is pretty certain that it is 
as much for other, nations as themfelves, that the Spa 
niards every year fend their galleons for the treafures of 
Peru and Mexico. 
Notwithftanding the introduction of this new and im¬ 
portant commerce to America, the former trade of Eu¬ 
rope by no means lufferedby it; and the north andfouth 
regions have ftill the fame occafion for exchanges with, 
each other as before. The navigation from the Baltic to 
the Mediterranean was tedious and difficult: the fituation 
of Flanders, and the manufactories which flourilhed 
there from the tenth century, together with the free fairs 
of that country, foon engaged the merchants, both of the 
north and fouth, to eftablilh large magazines there, firft at 
Bruges, and then in Antwerp, where riches and magnifi¬ 
cence quickly followed. The republic of Holland, foon 
after its eftablilhment, beheld thofe commercial cities 
with envy, and became competitors with them. The 
amazing induftry and perfeverance of this people, added 
to the favourable reception their laws gave to Arrangers, 
and the refuge afforded thereby to religionaries, drew 
ftore of merchants and manufacturers to it, and loon funk 
the extenfive commerce of Antwerp. The fucceffes of 
the Hollanders excited in the London merchants a limilar 
thirfc for commercial enterprife and fpeculation ; which 
the convenience and multitude of the Englilh ports, the 
goodnefs of the wools, and the induftry of the people, fo- 
amply feconded, that it quickly brought into Britain a 
confiderable lhare of the commerce of Europe; whence 
was laid the foundation of the growing wealth and mag¬ 
nificence of London, and the increaling profperity and 
glory of the Britilh empire. 
The tnoft important circumftance for the benefit of 
commerce would now be a regulation and revision of 
what is termed Jlrand-right, or the mafs of ufage and of 
law relative to fliips and cargoes wrecked and ftramded. 
Many iniquitous practices of different European maritime 
countries are on thefe melancholy occafions carried 011 
with impunity ; and fome jurifdidtions of this nature have 
even a ftronger tendency to conliftt the profit of the love- 
reign and of his agents, than the permanent interefts of 
the merchant; and they do not commonly excel in the 
expedition and cheapnefs of their proceedings. Yet to 
luch courts, and not to juries of merchants and Ihip- 
owners, are intrufted, in molt countries, the decifion of 
maritime caufes. How vaft a fequeltration of Britilh pro¬ 
perty, in Spain, has refulted during the French revolu¬ 
tionary war, from a ralh condemnation in the admiralty 
court, of fome filks belonging to the court of Yranda l 
This donative of a few thoulands to our tailors, coft to 
our manufacturers the confifcation of millions 1 It is im- 
JQ I gor.tana* 
