the foundation of the Hanseatic League. This League was first formed,
solely to protect the carriage by land of merchandize between these cities;
it is supposed to have been began about the middle of the thirteenth
century. Other cities soon joined the League, and its objects became more
multiplied and extensive; but still having the protection and encouragement
of their commerce principally in view. The total number of confederated
cities was between seventy and eighty. Lubeck was fixed upon as the head of
the League: in it the assemblies met, and the archives were preserved.
Inland commerce, the protection of which had given rise to the League, was
still attended to; but the maritime commerce of the Baltic, as affording
greater facilities and wealth, was that with which the League chiefly
occupied itself. The confederated cities were the medium of exchange
between the productions of Germany, Flanders, France, and Spain; and the
timber, metals, fish, furs, &c. of the countries on this sea.
The conquest and conversion of the pagan countries between the Vistula and
the Gulf of Finland, by the Teutonic knights, was favourable to the
commercial views of the confederated cities; for the conquerors obliged the
natives to confine their attention and labour exclusively to agriculture,
permitting Germans alone to carry on commerce, and engage in trade. Hence
Germans emigrated to these countries; and the League, always quicksighted
to their own interests, soon connected themselves with the new settlers,
and formed commercial alliances, which were recognized and protected by the
Teutonic knights. Elbing, Dantzic, Revel, and Riga, were thus added to the
League--cities, which, from their situation, were admirably calculated to
obtain and forward the produce of the interior parts of Poland and Russia.
The northern countries of the Baltic shore, in a great measure inattentive
to commerce, and distracted by wars, were supplied by the League with
money, on condition that they should assign to them the sources of wealth
which their mines supplied, and moreover grant them commercial privileges,
immunities, and establishments. Lubeck was chiefly benefited and enriched
by the treaties thus formed; for she obtained the working of the mines of
Sweden and Norway, which do not seem to have been known, and were certainly
not productively and effectively worked before this time. The League also
obtained, by various means, the exclusive herring fishery of the Sound,
which became a source of so much wealth, that the "fishermen were
superintended, during the season, with as much jealousy as if they had been
employed in a diamond mine."
Towards the close of the thirteenth century, the king of Norway permitted
the League to establish a factory and the staple of their northern trade at
Bergen. A singular establishment seems soon to have been formed here: at
first the merchants of the League were permitted to trade to Bergen only in
the summer months; but they afterwards were allowed to reside here
permanently, and they formed twenty-one large factories, all the members of
which were unmarried, and lived together in messes within their factories.
Each factory was capable of accommodating about one hundred merchants, with
their servants. Their importations consisted of flax, corn, biscuit, flour,
malt, ale, cloth, wine, spirituous liquors, copper, silver, &c.; and they
exported ship-timber, masts, furs, butter, salmon, dried cod, fish-oil, &c.
As the grand object of the League was to secure to themselves the profits
arising from the mutual supply of the north and south of Europe, with the
merchandize of each, they had agents in France, Spain, &c. as well as in
the countries on the Baltic. England, at this period, did not carry on much
commerce, nor afford much merchandize or produce for exportation; yet even
in it the Hanseatic League established themselves. Towards the end of the
thirteenth century they had a factory in London, and were allowed to export
wool, sheep's skins, and tin, on condition that they kept in repair the
gate of the city called Bishopsgate: they were also allowed the privilege
of electing an alderman.
Bruges, which is said to have had regular weekly fairs for the sale of the
woollen manufactures of Flanders so early as the middle of the tenth
century, and to have been fixed upon by the Hanseatic League, in the middle
of the thirteenth, as an entrepôt for their trade, certainly became, soon
after this latter period, a city of great trade, probably from its
connection with the Hanseatic League, though it never was formally admitted
a member. We shall afterwards have occasion to notice it in our view of the
progress of the Hanseatic League.
As the commerce of the League encreased and extended in the Baltic, it
became necessary to fix on some depôt. Wisby, a city in the island of
Gothland, was chosen for this purpose, as being most central. Most
exaggerated accounts are given of the wealth and splendour to which its
inhabitants rose, in consequence of their commercial prosperity. It is
certain that its trade was very considerable, and that it was the resort of
merchants and vessels from all the north of Europe: for, as the latter
could not, in the imperfect state of navigation, perform their voyage in
one season, their cargoes were wintered and lodged in magazines on shore.
At this city was compiled a code of maritime laws, from which the modern
naval codes of Denmark and Sweden are borrowed; as those of Wisby were
founded on the laws of Oleren, (which will be noticed when we treat of the
commerce of England during this period,) and on the laws of Barcelona, of
which we have already spoken; and as these again were, in a great measure,
borrowed from the maritime code of Rhodes.
But to return to the more immediate history of the Hanseatic
League,--about the year 1369 their power in the Baltic was so great, that
they engaged in a successful war with the king of Denmark, and obliged him,
as the price of peace, to deliver to them several towns which were
favourably situated for their purpose.
The Hanseatic League, though they were frequently involved in disputes, and
sometimes in wars, with France, Flanders, Holland, Denmark, England, and
other powers, and though they undoubtedly aimed at, not only the monopoly,
but also the sovereignty of the Baltic, and encroached where-ever they were
permitted to fix themselves, yet were of wonderful service to civilization
and commerce. "In order to accomplish the views of nature, by extending the
intercourse of nations, it was necessary to open the Baltic to commercial
relations; it was necessary to instruct men, still barbarous, in the
elements of industry, and to familiarize them in the principles of
civilization. These great foundations were laid by the confederation; and
at the close of the fifteenth century, the Baltic and the neighbouring seas
had, by its means, become frequented routes of communication between the
North and the South. The people of the former were enabled to follow the
progress of the latter in knowledge and industry." The forests of Sweden,
Poland, &c. gave place to corn, hemp, and flax; the mines were wrought;
and, in return, the produce and manufactures of the South were received.
Towns and villages were erected in Scandinavia, where huts only were before
seen: the skins of the bear and wolf were exchanged for woollens, linens,
and silks: learning was introduced; and printing was scarcely invented
before it was practised in Denmark, Sweden, &c.
It was at this period that the Hanse towns were the most flourishing; and
that Bruges, largely partaking of their prosperity, and the sole staple for
all their goods, rose to its highest wealth and consequence, and, in fact,
was the grand entrepôt of the trade of Europe. The Hanse towns were at this
time divided into four classes: Lubeck was at the head of the whole League;
in it the meetings of the deputies from the other towns were held, and the
archives of the League were kept. Under it were Hamburgh, Rostok, Wismar,
and other nine towns situated in the north of Germany. Cologne was the
chief city of the second class, with twenty-nine towns under it, lying in
that part of Germany. Brunswick was the capital of the third class, having
under it twelve towns, farther to the south than those under Lubeck.
Dantzic was at the head of the fourth class, having under it eight towns in
its vicinity, besides some smaller ones more remote. The four chief
factories of the League were Novogorod in Russia, London, Bruges, and
Bergen.
From this period till the middle of the sixteenth century, their power,
though sometimes formidable, and their commerce, though sometimes
flourishing, were both on the decline. Several causes contributed to this:
they were often engaged in disputes, and not unfrequently in wars, with the
northern powers. That civilization, knowledge, and wealth, to which, as we
have remarked, they contributed so essentially, though indirectly, and
without having these objects in view, disposed and enabled other powers to
participate in the commerce which they had hitherto exclusively carried on.
It was not indeed to be supposed, that either the monarchs or the subjects
would willingly and cheerfully submit to have all their own trade in the
very heart of their own country conducted, and the fruit of it reaped by
foreign merchants. They, therefore, first used their efforts to gain
possession of their own commerce, and then aspired to participate in the
trade of other countries; succeeding by degrees, and after a length of
time, in both these objects, the Hanseatic League was necessarily depressed
in the same proportion.
The Dutch and the English first began to seek a participation in the
commerce of the North. The chief cities which formed the republic of
Holland had been among the earliest members or confederates of the League,
and when they threw off the yoke of Germany, and attached themselves to the
house of Bourbon, they ceased to form part of the League; and after much
dispute, and even hostility with the remaining members of it, they
succeeded in obtaining a part of the commerce of the Baltic, and commercial
treaties with the king of Denmark, and the knights of the Teutonic order.
The commerce of the League was also curtailed in the Baltic, where it had
always been most formidable and flourishing, by the English, who, in the
beginning of the fifteenth century, gained admission for their vessels into
Dantzic and the ports of Sweden and Denmark. The only port of consequence
in the northern nations, to which the ships of the League were exclusively
admitted, was Bergen, which at this period was rather under their dominion
than under that of Norway. In the middle of the sixteenth century, however,
they abandoned it, in consequence of disputes with the king of Denmark.
About the same time they abandoned Novogorod, the czar having treated their
merchants there in a very arbitrary and tyrannical manner. These, and other
circumstances to which we have already adverted, made their commerce and
power decline; and, towards the beginning of the seventeenth century, they
had ceased to be of much consequence. Though, however, the League itself at
this period had lost its influence and commerce, yet some cities, which had
been from the first members of it, still retained a lucrative trade: this
remark applies chiefly to Lubeck and Hamburgh; the former of these cities
possessed, about the middle of the seventeenth century, 600 ships, some of
which were very large; and the commerce by which Hamburgh is still
distinguished, is in some measure the result of what it enjoyed as a member
of the Hanseatic League.
We shall now turn our attention to the Italian states: Venice and Amalfi
were the first which directed their labours to the arts of domestic
industry, the forerunners and causes of commercial prosperity. New wants
and desires being created, and a taste for elegance and luxury formed,
foreign countries were visited. Muratori mentions several circumstances
which indicate a revival of a commercial spirit; and, as Dr. Robertson
remarks, from the close of the seventh century, an attentive observer may
discern faint traces of its progress. Indeed, towards the beginning of the
sixth century, the Venetians had become so expert at sea, that Cassiodorus
addressed a letter to the maritime tribunes of Venice, (which is still
extant,) in which he requests them to undertake the transporting of the
public stores of wine and oil from Istria to Ravenna. In this letter, a
curious but rather poetical account is given of the state of the city and
its inhabitants: all the houses were alike: all the citizens lived on the
same food, viz. fish: the manufacture to which they chiefly applied
themselves was salt; an article, he says, more indispensable to them than
gold. He adds, that they tie their boats to their walls, as people tie
their cows and horses in other places.
In the middle of the eighth century, the Venetians no longer confined their
navigation to the Adriatic, but ventured to double the southern promontory
of Greece, and to trade to Constantinople itself. The principal merchandize
with which they freighted their ships, on their return-voyage, consisted of
silk, the rich produce of the East, the drapery of Tyre, and furs; about a
century afterwards, they ventured to trade to Alexandria. Amalfi, Genoa,
and Pisa followed their example; but their trade never became very
considerable till the period of the crusades, when the treasures of the
West were in fact placed in their hands, and thus fresh vigour was given to
their carrying trade, manufactures, and commerce.
There are a few notices, however, respecting the commerce of Venice, and
the other states of Italy, prior to the crusades, which it may be necessary
very briefly to give. About the year 969, Venice and Amalfi are
represented, by contemporary authors, as possessing an equal share of
trade. The latter traded to Africa, Constantinople, and, it would appear,
to some ports in the east end of the Mediterranean; and Italy, as well as
the rest of Europe, entirely depended on these two states for their supply
of the produce of the East. At the beginning of the eleventh century, the
citizens of Amalfi seem to nave got the start of the Venetians in the favor
and commerce of the Mahomedan states of the East: they were permitted to
establish factories in the maritime towns, and even in Jerusalem; and those
privileges were granted them expressly because they imported many articles
of merchandize hitherto unknown in the East.
In the middle of the same century, Pisa rose into eminence for its
commerce; it traded principally with the Saracen king of Sicily, and with
Africa. The Genoese also, at this period, are represented as possessing a
large portion of the trade of the Levant, particularly of Joppa.
As the most lucrative branch of commerce of all the Italian states was that
in the productions of the East, and as these could only be obtained through
Constantinople or Egypt, each state was eager to gain the favor of rulers
of these places. The favor of the Greek emperor could be obtained
principally by affording him succours against his enemies; and these the
Venetians afforded in 1082 so effectually, that, in return, they were
allowed to build a number of warehouses at Constantinople, and were
favoured with exclusive commercial privileges. Dalmatia and Croatia were
also ceded to them.
We now come to the period of the crusades, from which may be dated the
rapid increase of the commerce and power of the Italian states. As none of
the other European powers had ships numerous enough to convey the crusaders
to Dalmatia, whence they marched to Constantinople, the fleets of Venice,
Pisa, and Genoa were employed for this purpose. But before they agreed to
lend their fleets, they bargained, that on the reduction of any city
favorable to commerce, they should be permitted to trade there without duty
or molestation, and be favoured with every privilege and protection which
they might desire. In consequence of this bargain, they obtained, in some
places, the exclusive right over whole streets, and the appointment of
judges to try all who lived in them, or traded under their protection.
A quarrel which took place between the Venetians and the Greek Emperor
Manuel, in 1171, is worthy of notice, as being connected with the origin of
the bank of Venice. The republic not being able to supply, from its own
sources, the means of carrying on the war, was obliged to raise money from
her citizens. To regulate this the chamber of loans was established: the
contributors to the loan were made creditors to the chamber, and an annual
interest of 4 per cent. was allotted to them. If this rate of interest was
not compulsive, it is a sure criterion of a most flourishing state of
trade, and of very great abundance of money; but there is every reason to
believe if was compulsive.
At the beginning of the 13th century, Constantinople was conquered by the
Venetians, and the leaders of the fourth crusade: this event enabled them
to supply Europe more abundantly with all the productions of the East. In
the partition of the Greek empire which followed this success, the
Venetians obtained part of the Peloponnesus, where, at that period, silk
was manufactured to a great extent. By this accession, to which was added
several of the largest islands in the Archipelago, their sea coast extended
from Venice to Constantinople: they likewise purchased the isle of Crete.
The whole trade of the eastern Roman empire was thus at once transferred to
the Venetians; two branches of which particularly attracted their
attention,--the silk trade and that with India. The richest and most rare
kinds of silk were manufactured at Constantinople; and to carry on this
trade, many Venetians settled themselves in the city, and they soon
extended it very considerably, and introduced the manufacture itself into
Venice, with so much success, that the silks of Venice equalled those of
Greece and Sicily. The monopoly of the trade of the Black Sea was also
obtained by them, after the capture of Constantinople; and thus some of the
most valuable articles of India and China were obtained by them, either
exclusively, or in greater abundance, and at a cheaper rate than they could
be procured by any other route. In consequence of all these advantages,
Venice was almost the sole channel of commerce in this part of Europe,
during the period of the Latin empire in Constantinople. This empire,
however, was of very short continuance, not lasting more than 57 years.
In the interval, the merchants of Florence became distinguished for their
commercial transactions, and particularly by becoming dealers in money by
exchange, and by borrowing and lending on interest. In order to carry on
this new branch of traffic, they had agents and correspondents in different
cities of Europe; and thus the remittance of money by bills of exchange was
chiefly conducted by them. Other Italian states followed their example; and
a new branch of commerce, and consequently a new source of wealth, was thus
struck out.
In the year 1261, the Greek emperor regained Constantinople through the
assistance of the Genoese; and the latter, as usual, were amply repaid for
their services on this occasion. Pera, the chief suburb of Constantinople,
was allotted to them: here they had their own laws, administered by their
own magistrates; and they were exempted from the accustomed duties on goods
imported and exported. These privileges raised their commerce in this part
of the world above that of the Venetians and Pisans; who, however, were
still permitted to retain their factories. The Genoese soon began to aim at
more extensive power and trade; and under the pretext that the Venetians
were going to attack their new settlement, they obtained permission to
surround it, and their factories in the neighbouring coasts, with
fortifications. The trade of the Black Sea was under the dominion of the
Greek emperor, who, by the possession of Constantinople, commanded its
narrow entrance: even the sultan of Egypt solicited liberty to send a
vessel annually to purchase slaves in Circassia and Lesser Tartary. The
Genoese eagerly looked to participating in the valuable commerce of this
sea; and this object they soon obtained. In return they supplied the Greeks
with fish and corn. "The waters of the Don, the Oxus, the Caspian, and the
Wolga, opened a rare and laborious passage for the gems and spices of
India; and after three months march, the caravans of Carizme met the
Italian vessels in the harbours of the Crimea." These various branches of
trade were monopolized by the diligence and power of the Genoese; and their
rivals of Venice and Pisa were forcibly expelled. The Greek emperor,
alarmed at their power and encroachments, was at length engaged in a
maritime war with them; but though he was assisted by the Venetians, the
Genoese were victorious.
The Venetians, who were thus driven from a most lucrative commerce,
endeavoured to compensate for their loss by extending their power and
commerce in other quarters: they claimed and received a toll on all vessels
navigating the Adriatic, especially from those sailing between the
south-point of Istria and Venice. But their commerce and power on the
Adriatic could be of little avail, unless they regained at least a portion
of that traffic in Indian merchandize, which at this period formed the
grand source of wealth. Constantinople, and consequently the Black Sea, was
shut up from them: on the latter the Genoese were extending their traffic;
they had seized on Caffa from the Tartars, and made it the principal
station of their commerce. The Venetians in this emergency looked towards
the ancient route to India, or rather the ancient depôt for Indian goods,--
Alexandria: this city had been shut against Christians for six centuries;
but it was now in the possession of the sultan of the Mamalukes, and he was
more favourable to them. Under the sanction of the Pope, the Venetians
entered into a treaty of commerce with the sultans of Egypt; by which they
were permitted to have one consul in Alexandria, and another in Damascus.
Venetian merchants and manufacturers were settled in both these cities. If
we may believe Sir John de Mandeville, their merchants frequently went to
the island of Ormus and the Persian Gulf, and sometimes even to Cambalu. By
their enterprize the Indian trade was almost entirely in their possession;
and they distributed the merchandize of the East among the nations of the
north of Europe, through Bruges and the Hanseatic League, and traded even
directly in their own vessels to England.
In the beginning of the fifteenth century, the annual value of the goods
exported from Venice amounted to ten millions of ducats; and the profits on
the home and outward voyages, were about four millions. Their shipping
consisted of 3000 vessels, of from 10 to 200 amphoras burden, carrying
17,000 sailors; 300 ships with 8000 seamen; and 45 gallies of various
sizes, manned by 11,000 seamen. In the dock-yard, 16,000 carpenters were
usually employed. Their trade to Syria and Egypt seems to have been
conducted entirely, or chiefly, by ready money; for 500,000 ducats were
sent into those countries annually: 100,000 ducats were sent to England.
From the Florentines they received annually 16,000 pieces of cloth: these
they exported to different ports of the Mediterranean; they also received
from the Florentines 7000 ducats weekly, which seems to have been the
balance between the cloth they sold to the Venetians, and the French and
Catalan wool, crimson grain, silk, gold and silver thread, wax, sugar,
violins, &c., which they bought at Venice. Their commerce, especially the
oriental branch of it, increased; and by the conquest of Constantinople by
the Turks, the consequence of which was the expulsion of the Genoese, they
were enabled, almost without a rival, to supply the encreasing demand of
Europe for the productions of the East. Their vessels visited every port of
the Mediterranean, and every coast of Europe; and their maritime commerce,
about the end of the fifteenth century, was probably greater than that of
all the rest of Europe. Their manufactures were also a great source of
wealth; the principal were silk, cloth of gold and silver, vessels of gold
and silver, and glass. The discovery of a passage to the East Indies by the
Cape of Good Hope, the powerful league of Cambray, and other circumstances,
weakened and gradually destroyed their commerce and power.
We have said that they supplied almost, without a rival, the demand in
Europe for the produce of the East. That rival was Florence: the success of
her merchants in a new branch of commerce has been already noticed. The
profits they derived from lending money on interest, and from negociating
bills of exchange, aided by their profits on their manufactures, for which,
particularly those of silk and woollen, they were celebrated so early as
the beginning of the fourteenth century, had rendered Florence one of the
first cities of Europe, and many of its merchants extremely rich. In the
year 1425, having purchased the port of Leghorn, they resolved, if
possible, to partake in the commerce of Alexandria. A negociation was
accordingly opened with the sultan: the result of which was, that the
Florentines obtained some share in the Indian trade; and soon afterwards it
appears that they imported spices into England. It is supposed, that the
famous family of the Medici were extensively concerned in the Indian trade
of Florence. Cosmo de Medici was the greatest merchant of the age: he had
agents and money transactions in every part of Europe; and his immense
wealth not only enabled him to gratify his love for literature and the fine
arts, but also to influence the politics of Italy, and occasionally of the
more remote parts of Europe. In the time of Lorenzo de Medici, about the
close of the fifteenth century, the commercial intercourse between Florence
and Egypt was greatly extended. Florence, indeed, was now in the zenith of
her prosperity; after this period her commerce declined, principally from
the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope.
In these brief notices of the commerce of the principal Italian states,
Venice, Genoa, and Florence, in the days of their greatest glory, we have
purposely omitted any reference to the other states, except stating a fact
or two relating to Amalfi and Pisa, during that period, when they nearly
rivalled the three great states. It will be proper, however, to subjoin to
this account of Italian commerce, as it existed prior to the discovery of
the Cape of Good Hope, some important facts respecting Amalfi, Pisa, Milan,
Modena, &c., in order that our sketch, though necessarily brief, may not be
deficient.
A great rivalship existed between Pisa and Amalfi in the twelfth century,
arising chiefly from commercial jealousy; and this rivalship leading to
war, Amalfi was twice taken and pillaged by the Pisans, who, indeed, during
the zenith of their power, had repeatedly triumphed over the Saracens of
Africa and Spain. Amalfi, however, soon recovered; but we possess no
memorials of her commerce after this period, which deserve insertion here.
Her maritime laws, the date of which is uncertain, seem to have been
generally adopted by the Italian states.
Towards the end of the twelfth century, the power and commerce of Pisa were
at their height: it partook, with Genoa and Venice, of the advantages
derived from the trade of Constantinople. In the beginning of the next
century, however, we find it became a mere auxiliary of Venice. Its
subsequent wars with Genoa, and the factions which arose within its walls,
reduced its commerce so low, about the middle of the fourteenth century,
that nothing respecting it worthy of notice occurs after this period.
The wealth derived by Florence from a traffic in money has been already
noticed. The example of this city was followed by Asti, an inland town of
Piedmont, Milan, Placentia, Sienna, Lucca, &c. Hence the name of Lombard,
or Tuscan merchant, was given to all who engaged in money transactions. The
silk manufacture was the principal one in Italy; it seems to have been
introduced by the Venetians, when they acquired part of the Greek empire.
In the beginning of the fourteenth century, Modena was the principal seat
of this manufacture; soon afterwards Florence, Lucca, Milan, and Bologna,
likewise engaged in it.
Within the period to which the present chapter is confined, there are few
traces of commerce in any other parts of Europe besides the Italian states
and the Hanseatic League: the former monopolizing the commerce of the south
of Europe and of Asia, and the latter that of the north of Europe,
particularly of the Baltic, engrossed among them and the cities which were
advantageously situated for intermediate depôts, nearly all the trade that
then existed. There are, however, a few notices of commercial spirit and
enterprize in other parts of Europe, during this period, which must not be
omitted.
In Domesday-book a few particulars are set down relating to the internal
and foreign trade of England. In Southwark the king had a duty on ships
coming into a dock, and also a toll on the Strand. Gloucester must have
enjoyed some manufactures of trade in iron, as it was obliged to supply
iron and iron rods for the king's ships. Martins' skins were imported into
Chester, either from Iceland or Germany. The navigation of the Trent and
the Fosse, and the road to York, were carefully attended to.
If we may believe Fitz-Stephen, London, in the middle of the twelfth
century, possessed a considerable portion of trade: among the imports, he
mentions gold, spices, and frankincense from Arabia; precious stones from
Egypt; purple drapery from India, palm oil from Bagdad: but it is certain
that all these articles were obtained directly from Italian merchants. The
furs of Norway and Russia were brought by German merchants, who, according
to William of Malmsbury, were the principal foreign merchants who traded to
England. The same author mentions Exeter, as a city much resorted to by
foreign merchants; and that vessels from Norway, Iceland, and other
countries, frequented the port of Bristol. Chester at this period also
possessed much trade, particularly with Iceland, Aquitaine, Spain, and
Germany. Henry I. made a navigable canal from the Trent to the Witham at
Lincoln, which rendered this place one of the most flourishing seats of
home and foreign trade in England. The Icelandic Chronicles inform us that
Grimsby was a port much resorted by the merchants of Norway, Scotland,
Orkney, and the Western Islands.
Previous to the reign of Henry II., the sovereigns and lords of manors in
England claimed, as their right, the property of all wrecked vessels; but
this monarch passed a law, enacting, that if any one human creature, or
even a beast, were found alive in the ship, or belonging to her, the
property should be kept for the owners, provided they claimed it in three
months. This law, as politic as it was humane and just, must have
encouraged foreign trade. In this reign the chief exports seem to have been
lead, tin, and wool, and small quantities of honey, wax, cheese, and
salmon. The chief imports were wine from the king's French dominions, woad
for dying, spiceries, jewels, silks, furs, &c.
The laws of Oleron, an island near the coast of France belonging to
England, are generally supposed to have been passed by Richard I.; both
these, however, and their exact date, are uncertain: they were copied from
the Rhodian law, or rather from the maritime laws of Barcelona.
Though it appears by official documents in the reign of king John, that the
south coast of England, and the east coast only, as far as Norfolk, were
esteemed the principal part of the country; yet, very shortly after the
date of these documents, Newcastle certainly had some foreign trade,
particularly with the northern nations of Europe for furs. In this reign
are the first records of English letters of credit.
Some idea may be formed of the importation of wine at the beginning of the
fourteenth century, by the following facts: in the year ending 20th Nov.
1299, the number of vessels that arrived in London and the other ports,
(with the exception of the Cinque ports,) bringing cargoes of wine
amounting to more than nineteen tuns, was seventy-three; and the number in
the next year was seventy-one. It is probable, however, that we may double
these numbers, since the Cinque ports, being exempted from the duty on
wine, would import much more than any other equal number of ports. From a
charter granted to foreign merchants in 1302, it appears that they came
from the following countries to trade in England:--Germany, France, Spain,
Portugal, Navarre, Lombardy, Tuscany, Provence, Catalonia, Aquitaine,
Thoulouse, Quercy, Flanders, and Brabant. The very important privileges and
immunities granted to them sufficiently proves, that at this period the
commerce of England was mainly dependent on them. That there were, however,
native merchants of considerable wealth and importance, cannot be doubted.
In the year 1318, the king called a council of English merchants on staple
business: they formed a board of themselves; and one was appointed to
preside, under the title of mayor of the merchants, or mayor of the staple.
About the middle of this century, Dover, London, Yarmouth, Boston, and
Hull, were appointed places for exchanging foreign money; and the entire
management was given to William de la Pole. His name deserves particular
notice, as one of the richest and most enlightened of the early merchants
of England. His son, Michael, was also a merchant, and was created earl of
Suffolk by Richard II. "His posterity flourished as earls, marquises, and
dukes of Suffolk, till a royal marriage, and a promise of the succession to
the crown, brought the family to ruin."
When Edward III. went to the siege of Calais, the different ports of
England furnished him with ships. From the list of these it appears, that
the whole number supplied was 700, manned by 14,151 seamen, averaging under
twenty men for each vessel. Gosford is the only port whose vessels average
thirty-one men. Yarmouth sent forty-three vessels; Fowey, forty-seven;
Dartmouth, thirty-one; Bristol, twenty-four; Plymouth, twenty-six; London,
twenty-five; Margate, fifteen; Sandwich, twenty-two; Southampton,
twenty-one; Winchelsea, twenty-one; Newcastle, sixteen; Hull, seventeen.
In the year 1354 we have a regular account of such exports and imports as
paid duty; from which it appears, that there were exported 31,651 sacks of
wool, 3036 cwt. of woad, sixty-five wool-fells, 4774 pieces of cloth, and
8061 pieces of worsted stuff; and there were imported 1831 pieces of fine
cloth, 397 cwt. of wax, and 1829 tuns of wine, besides linen, mercery,
groceries, &c. As tin, lead, and several other articles are not enumerated,
it may be inferred that they paid no duty. In the year 1372 there is the
earliest record of direct trade with Prussia. As the woollen manufactures
of England began to flourish, the importation of woollen cloths necessarily
diminished; so that, in the act of 1378, reviving the acts of 1335 and 1351
for the encouragement of foreign merchants, though cloth of gold and
silver, stuffs of silk, napery, linen, canvas, &c. are enumerated as
imported by them, woollen cloth is not mentoned. The trade to the Baltic
gradually increased as the ports in the north of England, particularly
Newcastle, rose in wealth. In 1378 coals and grindstones were exported from
this place to Prussia, Norway, Schonen, and other ports of the Baltic. Soon
afterwards, in consequence of some disputes between the Prussians and
English, a commercial treaty was formed between the Grand Master of Prussia
and Edward III., by which it was agreed that the Prussian merchants in
London should be protected, and that English merchants should have free
access to every part of Prussia, to trade freely, as it used to be in
ancient times. In order to carry this treaty into full effect on the part
of the English, a citizen of London was chosen to be governor of the
English merchants in Prussia and the other countries on the Baltic.
Disputes, however, still arose, and piracies were committed on both sides.
Meetings were therefore held at the Hague, to hear and settle the
complaints of each party. From the statements then given in, it appears,
that woollen clothes now formed a considerable part of the exports of
England to the Baltic. That they were also exported in considerable
quantity to the south of Europe, appears from other documents.
At the beginning of the fifteenth century the foreign commerce of England
had considerably increased; for we are informed, that some merchants of
London shipped wool and other goods, to the value of 24,000_l_., to the
Mediterranean; and nearly about the same time, the English merchants
possessed valuable warehouses and an extensive trade at Bergen in Norway,
and sent vessels of the size of 200 tons to Portugal. The freight of one of
these is stated to have been worth 6000 crowns in gold. The improvement of
the woollen manufactures may be inferred from the following circumstance:
alum is very useful to fullers and dyers. About the year 1422, the Genoese
obtained from the Greek emperor the lease of a hill in Asia Minor,
containing alum: England was one of the chief customers for this article;
but it undoubtedly was imported, not in English, but in Genoese vessels. In
the year 1450 the Genoese delivered alum to the value of 4000l. to Henry
VI. Bristol seems to have been one of the most commercial cities in
England. One merchant of it is mentioned as having been possessed of 2470
tuns of shipping: he traded to Finmark and Iceland for fish, and to the
Baltic for timber and other bulky articles in very large ships, some of
which are said to have been of the burden of 400, 500, and even 900 tons.
Towards the latter end of the fifteenth century, the parliament, in order
to encourage English shipping, (as hitherto the greatest part of the
foreign trade of England had been carried on by foreign merchants in
foreign vessels,) enacted a species of navigation law, and prohibited the
king's subjects from shipping goods in England and Wales on board any
vessel owned by a foreigner, unless when sufficient freight could not be
found in English vessels.
Such are the most instructive and important notices respecting the state
and progress of English commerce, which occur prior to the discovery of the
Cape of Good Hope and America. We shall now proceed to give similar notices
of the commerce of Scotland, Ireland, France, and the other countries of
Europe; these, however, shall be very brief and few. In the middle of the
twelfth century, Berwick, which then belonged to Scotland, is described as
having more foreign commerce than any other port in that kingdom, and as
possessing many ships. One of the merchants of this town was distinguished
by the appellation of _the opulent_. Inverluth, or Leith, is described
merely as possessing a harbour, but no mention is made of its trade.
Strivelen had some vessels and trade, and likewise Perth. There was some
trade between Aberdeen and Norway. There were no trading towns on the west
coast of Scotland at this period; but about twenty years afterwards, a
weekly market, and an annual fair were granted by charter to Glasgow.
It is probable that the foreign commerce of Scotland, being confined to the
east coast, was principally carried on with Norway: with which country,
indeed, Scotland had intimate connection; for we do not find any notice of
foreign merchants from other countries trading to or settling in Scotland,
till towards the end of the thirteenth century, when some Flemish merchants
established a factory at Berwick. Wool, wool-fells, hides, &c. were the
chief articles of export; salmon also was exported. Of the importance and
value of the trade of this place we may form some idea, from the
circumstance, that the custom duties amounted to upwards of 2,000_l_.
sterling; and of 1,500 marks a year settled on the widow of Alexander
prince of Scotland, 1,300 were paid by Berwick.
In the year 1428. foreign commerce attracted considerable attention in
Scotland; and in order to encourage the native merchants to carry it on
themselves, and by their own vessels, the parliament of Scotland seem, some
time previous to this date, to have passed a navigation act; for in an act
passed this year, the Scotch merchants were permitted for a year ensuing,
to ship their goods in foreign vessels, where Scotch ones were not to be
found, notwithstanding the statute to the contrary. Indeed, during the
civil wars in England, between the houses of York and Lancaster, when the
manufactures and commerce of that country necessarily declined, the
commerce of Scotland began to flourish, and was protected and encouraged by
its monarchs. The herring fishery was encouraged; duties were laid on the
exportation of wool, and a staple for Scotch commerce was fixed in the
Netherlands, In the year 1420 Glasgow began to acquire wealth by the
fisheries; but until the discovery of America and the West Indies, it had
little or no foreign trade. Towards the middle of the fifteenth century,
several acts of parliament were passed to encourage agriculture, the
fisheries, and commerce; the Scotch merchants had now acquired so much
wealth and general respectability, that they were frequently employed,
along with the clergy and nobles, in embassies. Even some of the Scotch
barons were engaged in trade. In 1467 several acts were passed: among the
most important enactments were those which related to the freight of ships,
the mode of stowing it, the mode of fixing the average in case goods were
thrown overboard, and the time of the year when vessels might sail to
foreign countries.
The commerce of Ireland, when its ports were frequented by the Ostmen, has
been already noticed. In the middle of the twelfth century, we are
informed, that foreign merchants brought gold to Ireland, and that wheat
and wine were imported from Bretagne into Wexford; but the exports in
return are not particularized. About this period, some trade seems to have
been carried on between Bristol and Dublin; and on the conquest of Ireland
by Henry II., that monarch gave his city of Dublin to be inhabited by his
men of Bristol. A charter granted by the same monarch, gives to the
burgesses of that city free trade to England, Normandy, Wales, and the
other ports of Ireland. From this time the commerce of Dublin seems to have
flourished. It is certain, that at the middle of the fourteenth century the
Irish stuffs were in such request abroad, that imitations of them were
attempted by the Catalans, and they were worn as articles of luxury by the
ladies of Florence. But of the mode in which they were conveyed to foreign
countries, and the articles which were received in exchange for them, we
have no certain information.
Though France possessed excellent ports in the Mediterranean, particularly
Marseilles, which, as we have seen, in very early times was celebrated for
its commerce, yet she, as well as less favoured ports of Europe, was
principally indebted for her trade to the Lombards and other Italian
merchants, during the middle ages. The political state of the country,
indeed, was very unfavourable to commerce during this period; there are,
consequently, few particulars of its commerce worth recording. About the
beginning of the fourteenth century, Montpelier seems to have had a
considerable trade; and they even sent ships with various articles of
merchandize to London. Mention of Bourdeaux occurs about the same time, as
having sent out, in one year, 1350 vessels, laden with 13,429 tuns of wine;
this gives nearly 100 tuns in each vessel on an average. But Bourdeaux was
in fact an English possession at this time. That commerce between France
and England would have flourished and extended considerably, had it not
been interrupted by the frequent and bitter wars between these countries,
is evident from the consequences which followed the truce which was
concluded between their monarchs in 1384. The French, and particularly the
Normans, taking immediate advantage of this truce, imported into England an
immense quantity of wine, fruits, spiceries, and fish; gold and silver
alone were given in exchange. The Normans appear to have traded very
extensively in spiceries; but it is uncertain, whether they brought them
directly from the Mediterranean: they likewise traded to the east country
or Baltic countries. About a century afterwards, that is in 1453, France
could boast of her wealthy merchant, as well as Florence and England. His
name was Jacques Coeur: he is said to have employed 300 factors, and to
have traded with the Turks and Persians; his exports were chiefly woollen
cloth, linen, and paper; and his imports consisted of silks, spiceries,
gold, silver, &c.
In all our preceding accounts of the trade of Europe, the Italian and
Flemish merchants make a conspicuous figure. Flanders was celebrated for
its woollen manufactures, as well as for containing the central depôts of
the trade between the south and north of Europe. Holland, which afterwards
rose to such commercial importance, does not appear in the annals of
commerce till the beginning of the fifteenth century. At this period, many
of the manufacturers of Brabant and Flanders settled in Holland; and about
the same time the Hollanders engaged in maritime commerce; but there are no
particulars respecting it, that fall within the limits of the present
chapter.
It remains to notice Spain. The commerce of Barcelona in its earliest stage
has been already noticed. The Catalans, in the thirteenth century, engaged
very extensively in the commerce of the Mediterranean, to almost every port
of which they traded. The earliest navigation act known was passed by the
count of Barcelona about this time; and laws were also framed, containing
rules for the owners and commanders of vessels, and the clerks employed to
keep their accounts; for loading and discharging the cargo; for the mutual
assistance to be given by vessels, &c. These laws, and others, to extend
and improve commerce, were passed during the reign of James I., king of
Arragon, who was also count of Barcelona. The manufactures and commerce of
this part of Spain continued to flourish from this time till the union of
the crowns of Castile and Arragon, which event depressed the latter
kingdom. In 1380, a Catalan ship was wrecked on the coast of Somersetshire,
on her voyage from Genoa to Sluys, the port of Bruges: her cargo consisted
of green ginger, cured ginger, raisins, sulphur, writing paper, white
sugar, prunes, cinnamon, &c. In 1401, a bank of exchange and deposit was
established at Barcelona: the accommodation it afforded was extended to
foreign as well as native merchants. The earliest bill of exchange of which
we have any notice, is one dated 28th April, 1404, which was sold by a
merchant of Lucca, residing in Bruges, to a merchant of Barcelona, also
residing there, to be paid by a Florence merchant residing in Barcelona. By
the book of duties on imports and exports, compiled in 1413, it appears,
that the Barcelonians were very liberal and enlightened in their commercial
policy; this document also gives us a high idea of the trade of the city of
Barcelona. A still further proof and illustration of the intelligence of
the Barcelona merchants, and of the advantages for which commerce is
indebted to them, occurs soon afterwards: for about the year 1432 they
framed regulations respecting maritime insurance, the principal of which
were, that no vessel should be insured for more than three quarters of her
real value,--that no merchandize belonging to foreigners should be insured
in Barcelona, unless freighted in a vessel belonging to the king of
Arrogan: the words, _more or less_, inserted frequently in policies,
were prohibited: if a ship should not be heard of in six months, she was to
be deemed lost.
Little commerce seems to have been carried on from any other port of Spain
besides Barcelona at this period: the north of Spain, indeed, had a little
commercial intercourse with England, as appears by the complaints of the
Spanish merchants; complaints that several of their vessels bound to
England from this part of Spain had been plundered by the people of
Sandwich, Dartmouth, &c. Seven vessels are particularly mentioned: one of
which, laden with wine, wool, and iron, was bound for Flanders; the others,
laden with raisins, liquorice, spicery, incense, oranges, and cheese, were
bound for England. The largest of these vessels was 120 tons: one vessel,
with its cargo, was valued as high as 2500l.
The following short abstract of the exports and imports of the principal
commercial places in Europe, about the middle of the fifteenth century,
taken from a contemporary work, will very properly conclude and sum up all
we have to say on this subject.
Spain exported figs, raisins, wine of inferior quality, dates, liquorice,
Seville oil, grain, Castile soap, wax, iron, wool, goat skins, saffron, and
quicksilver; the most of these were exported to Bruges. The chief imports
of Spain were Flemish woollen cloth and linen. This account, however, of
the commerce of Spain, does not appear to include Barcelona. The exports of
Portugal were wine, wax, grain, figs, raisins, honey, Cordovan leather,
dates, salt, &c.; these were sent principally to England. The imports are
not mentioned.
Bretagne exported salt, wine, cloth, and canvas.
The exports of Scotland were wool, wool-fells, and hides to Flanders; from
which they brought mercery, haberdashery, cart-wheels, and barrows. The
exports of Ireland were hides, wool, salmon, and other fish; linen; the
skins of martins, otters, hares, &c. The trade of England is not described:
the author being an Englishman, and writing for his countrymen, we may
suppose, thought it unnecessary.
The exports of Prussia were beer, bacon, copper, bow-staves, wax, putty,
pitch, tar, boards, flax, thread of Cologne, and canvas; these were sent
principally to Flanders, from which were brought woollen cloths. The
Prussians also imported salt from Biscay.
The Genoese employed large vessels in their trade; their principal exports
were cloth of gold and silver, spiceries, woad, wool, oil, wood-ashes,
alum, and good: the chief staple of their trade was in Flanders, to which
they carried wool from England.
The Venetians and Florentines exported nearly the same articles as the
Genoese; and their imports were nearly similar.
Flanders exported madder, wood, garlick, salt-fish, woollen cloths, &c. The
English are represented as being the chief purchasers in the marts of
Brabant, Flanders, and Zealand; to these marts were brought the merchandize
of Hainault, France, Burgundy, Cologne, and Cambray, in carts. The
commodities of the East, and of the south of Europe, were brought by the
Italians: England sent her wool, and afterwards her woollen cloth.
From this view of the trade of Europe in the middle of the fifteenth
century, it appears, that it was principally conducted by the Italians, the
Hanse merchants, and the Flemings; and that the great marts were in
Flanders. Towards the end of this century, indeed, the other nations of
Europe advancing in knowledge and enterprize, and having acquired some
little commercial capital, each began, in some degree, to conduct its own
trade. The people of Barcelona, at a very early period, form the only
exception to this remark; they not only conducted their own trade, but
partook largely in conducting the trade of other nations.
From the remotest period to which we can trace the operations of commerce,
we have seen that they were chiefly directed to the luxuries of Asia; and
as the desire of obtaining them in greater abundance, and more cheaply and
easily, was the incitement which led to the discovery of the Cape of Good
Hope by the Portuguese, it will be proper, before we narrate that event,
briefly to give such particulars respecting Asiatic commerce as occur
within the period which this chapter embraces, and to which, in our account
of the Arabians, we have not already alluded. This will lead us to a notice
of some very instructive and important travels in the East; and the
information which they convey will point out the state of the geography of
Asia, as well as its commerce, during the middle ages.
The dreadful revolutions which took place in Asia in the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries, and which threatened to extend to Europe, induced the
European powers, and particularly the Pope, to endeavour to avert the evil,
by sending embassies to the Mogul potentates. So frequent were these
missions, that, in the beginning of the fourteenth century, a work was
composed which described the various routes to Grand Tartary. What was at
first undertaken from policy and fear, was afterwards continued from
religious zeal, curiosity, a love of knowledge, and other motives. So that,
to the devastations of Genghis Khan we may justly deem ourselves indebted
for the full and important information we possess respecting the remote
parts of Asia during the middle ages.
The accounts of India and China by the two Mahomedan travellers have been
already noticed: between the period of their journey, and the embassies and
missions to which we have just alluded, the only account of the East which
we possess is derived from the work of Benjamin, a Jew of Tudela in Spain.
It is doubted whether he visited all the places he describes: his object
was principally to describe those places where the Jews resided in great
numbers.
After describing Barcelona as a place of great trade, frequented by
merchants from Greece, Italy, and Alexandria, and a great resort of the
Jews, and giving a similar character of Montpelier and Genoa, he proceeds
to the East. The inhabitants of Constantinople being too lazy to carry on
commerce themselves, the whole trade of this city, which is represented as
surpassing all others, except Bagdad, in wealth, was conducted by foreign
merchants, who resorted to it from every part of the world by land and sea.
New Tyre was a place of considerable traffic, with a good harbour: glass
and sugar were its principal exports. The great depôt for the produce and
manufactures of India, Persia, Arabia, &c., was an island in the Persian
Gulf. He mentions Samarcand as a place of considerable importance, and
Thibet as the country where the musk animal was found. But all beyond the
Persian Gulf he describes in such vague terms, that little information can
be gleaned. It is worthy of remark, that nearly all the Jews, whom he
represents as very numerous in Thebes, Constantinople, Samarcand, &c., were
dyers of wool: in Thebes alone, there were 2000 workers in scarlet and
purple. After the conquest of the northern part of China by Genghis Khan,
the city of Campion in Tangut seems to have been fixed upon by him as the
seat of a great inland trade. Linens, stuffs made of cotton, gold, silver,
silks, and porcelain, were brought hither by the Chinese merchants, and
bought by merchants from Muscovy, Persia, Armenia, &c.
In the years 1245, 1246, the pope sent ambassadors to the Tartar and Mogul
khans: of these Carpini has given us the most detailed account of his
embassy, and of the route which he followed. His journey occupied six
months: he first went through Bohemia, Silesia, and Poland, to Kiov, at
that time the capital of Russia. Thence he proceeded by the Dnieper to the
Black Sea, till he arrived at the head quarters of the Khan Batou. To him
we are indebted for the first information of the real names of the four
great rivers which water the south of Russia, the Dnieper, the Don, the
Volga, and the Jaik. He afterwards proceeded to the head quarters of
another khan, on the eastern shores of the Caspian. After passing a country
where the famous Prester John is said to have reigned, he reached the end
of his journey, the head quarters of the khan of the Moguls. Besides the
information derived from his own observations, he inserts in his narrative
all he had collected; so that he may be regarded as the first traveller who
brought to the knowledge of western Europe these parts of Asia; but though
his travels are important to geography, they throw little light on the
commerce of these countries.
Rubruquis was sent, about this time, by the king of France to the Mogul
emperor: he passed through the Crimea, and along the shores of the Volga
and the Caspian Sea; visited the Khans Sartach and Batou; and at length
arrived at the great camp of the Moguls. Here he saw Chinese ambassadors;
from whom, and certain documents which he found among the Moguls, he learnt
many particulars respecting the north of China, the most curious of which
is his accurate description of the Chinese language and characters. He
returned by the same route by which he went. In his travels we meet with
some information respecting the trade of Asia. The Mogul khans derived a
considerable revenue from the salt of the Crimea. The alum of Caramonia was
a great object of traffic. He is the first author, after Ammianus
Marcellinus, who mentions rhubarb as an article of medicine and commerce.
Among the Moguls he found a great number of Europeans, who had been taken
prisoners: they were usually employed in working the mines, and in various
manufactures. He is the first traveller who mentions _koumis_ and
arrack; and he gives a very particular and accurate description of the
cattle of Thibet, and the wild and fleet asses of the plains of Asia.
Geography is indebted to him for correcting the error of the ancients,
which prevailed till his time, that the Caspian joined the Northern Ocean:
he expressly represents it as a great inland sea,--the description given of
it by Herodotus, but which was overlooked or disbelieved by all the other
ancient geographers.
While the pope and the French monarch were thus endeavouring to conciliate
the Moguls by embassies, the Emperor Frederic of Germany, having recovered
Jerusalem, Tyre, and Sidon, formed an alliance with the princes of the
East; and this alliance he took advantage of for the purposes of oriental
commerce: for his merchants and factors travelled as far as India. In the
last year of his reign, twelve camels, laden with gold and silver, the
produce of his trade with the East, arrived in his dominions. The part of
India to which he traded, and the route which was pursued, are not
recorded.
Among the most celebrated travellers of the middle ages, was Marco Polo:
he, his father, and uncle, after trading for some time in many of the
commercial and opulent cities of Lesser Asia, reached the more eastern
parts of that continent, as far as the court of the great khan, on the
borders of China. For 26 years they were either engaged in mercantile
transactions, or employed in negociations with the neighbouring states by
the khan; they were thus enabled to see much, and to collect much important
information, the result of which was drawn up by Marco Polo. He was the
first European who reached China, India beyond the Ganges, and the greater
number of the islands in the Indian Ocean. He describes Japan from the
accounts of others: notices great and little Java, supposed to be Borneo
and Sumatra; and is the first who mentions Bengal and Guzerat by their
present names, as great and opulent kingdoms. On the east coast of Africa,
his knowledge did not reach beyond Zanguebar, and the port of Madagascar
opposite to it: he first made known this island to Europe. Such is a sketch
of the countries described by Marco Polo; from which it will easily be
perceived, how much he added to the geographical knowledge of Asia
possessed at that period.
The information he gives respecting the commerce of the countries he either
visited himself, or describes from the reports of others, is equally
important. Beginning with the more western parts of Asia, he mentions
Giazza, a city in the Levant, as possessed of a most excellent harbour,
which was much frequented by Genoese and Venetian vessels, for spices and
other merchandize. Rich silks were manufactured in Georgia, Bagdat, Tauris,
and Persia, which were the source of great wealth to the manufacturers and
merchants. All the pearls in Christendom are brought from Bagdat. The
merchants from India bring spices, pearls, precious stones, &c. to Ormus:
the vessels of this port are described as very stoutly built, with one
mast, one deck, and one sail. Among the most remarkable cities of China, he
particularly notices Cambalu, or Pekin, Nankin, and Quinsai. At the
distance of 2,500 Italian miles from this last city, was the port of Cauzu,
at which a considerable trade was carried on with India and the spice
islands. The length of the voyage, in consequence of the monsoons, was a
year. From the spice islands was brought, besides other articles, a
quantity of pepper, infinitely greater than what was imported at
Alexandria, though that place supplied all Europe. He represents the
commerce and wealth of China as very great; and adds, that at Cambalu,
where the merchants had their distinct warehouses, (in which they also
lived,) according to the nation to which they belonged, a large proportion
of them were Saracens. The money was made of the middle bark of the
mulberry, stamped with the khan's mark. Letters were conveyed at the rate
of 200 or 250 miles a day, by means of inns at short distances, where
relays of horses were always kept. The tenth of all wool, silk, and hemp,
and all other articles, the produce of the earth, was paid to the khan:
sugar, spices, and arrack, paid only 3-1/2 per cent. The inland trade is
immense, and is carried on principally by numerous vessels on the canals
and rivers. Marco Polo describes porcelain, which was principally made at a
place he calls Trigui; it was very low-priced, as eight porcelain dishes
might be bought for a Venetian groat: he takes no notice of tea. He
supposes the cowries of the Maldives to be a species of white porcelaine.
Silver then, as now, must have been in great demand, and extremely scarce;
it was much more valuable than gold, bearing the proportion to the latter,
as 1 to 6 or 8. Fine skins also bore a very high price: another proof of
the stability of almost every thing connected with China. He was
particularly struck with what he calls black stones, which were brought
from the mountains of Cathay, and burnt at Pekin, as wood, evidently
meaning some kind of coal. The collieries of China are still worked,
principally for the use of the porcelaine manufactures.
Marco Polo seems to have regarded Bengal and Pegu as parts of China: he
mentions the gold of Pegu, and the rice, cotton, and sugar of Bengal, as
well as its ginger, spikenard, &c. The principal branch of the Bengal trade
consisted in cotton goods. In Guzerat also, there was abundance of cotton:
in Canhau, frankincense; and in Cambaia, indigo, cotton, &c. He describes
the cities on the east and west coasts of India; but he does not seem
either to have penetrated himself inland, or to have learnt any particulars
regarding the interior from other persons. Horses were a great article of
importation in all parts of India: they were brought from Persia and Arabia
by sea. In the countries to the north of India, particularly Thibet, corals
were in great demand, and brought a higher price than any other article:
this was the case in the time of Pliny, who informs us, that the men in
India were as fond of coral for an ornament, as the women of Rome were of
the Indian pearls. In Pliny's time, corals were brought from the
Mediterranean coast of France to Alexandria, and were thence exported by
the Arabians to India. Marco Polo does not inform us by what means, or from
what country they were imported into the north of India. The greater Java,
which he represents as the greatest island in the world, carried on an
extensive trade, particularly by means of the Chinese merchants, who
imported gold and spices from it. In the lesser Java, the tree producing
sago grows: he describes the process of making it. In this island there are
also nuts as large as a man's head, containing a liquor superior to
wine,--evidently the cocoa nut. He likewise mentions the rhinoceros. The
knowledge of camphire, the produce of Japan, Sumatra, and Borneo, was first
brought to Europe by him. The fishery of pearls between Ceylon and the main
land of India is described; and particular mention is made of the large
ruby possessed by the king of that island. Madagascar is particularly
mentioned, as supplying large exports of elephants' teeth.
Marco Polo's description of the vessels of India is very full and minute:
as he sailed from China to the Indian islands in one of these vessels, we
may suppose it is perfectly accurate. according to him, they were fitted up
with many cabins, and each merchant had his own cabin. They had from two to
four masts, all or any of which could be lowered; the hold was divided not
merely for the purpose of keeping distinct each merchant's goods, but also
to prevent the water from a leak in one division extending to the rest of
the hold. The bottoms of the vessels were double planked at first, and each
year a new sheathing was added; the ships lasted only six years. They were
caulked, as modern ships are; the timbers and planks fixed with iron nails,
and a composition of lime, oil, and hemp, spread over the surface. They
were capable of holding 5000 or 6000 bags of pepper, and from 150 to 300
seamen and passengers. They were supplied with oars as well as sails: four
men were allotted to each oar. Smaller vessels seem to have accompanied the
larger ones, which besides had boats on their decks.
When the power of the Romans was extinguished in Egypt, and the Mahomedans
had gained possession of that country, Aden, which had been destroyed by
the former in the reign of Claudius, resumed its rank as the centre of the
trade between India and the Red Sea. In this situation it was found by
Marco Polo. The ships which came from the East, did not pass the straits,
but landed their cargoes at Aden; here the _trankies_ of the Arabs,
which brought the produce of Europe, Syria, and Egypt, received them, and
conveyed them to Assab, Cosir, or Jidda: ultimately they reached
Alexandria. Marco Polo gives a magnificent picture of the wealth, power,
and influence of Aden in the thirteenth century.
When the Christians were expelled from Syria, in the beginning of the
fourteenth century, and, in order to procure the merchandize of the east,
were obliged to submit to the exactions of the sultan of Egypt; Sanuto, a
Venetian, addressed a work to the Pope, in which he proposed to suppress
the Egyptian trade by force. In this work are many curious particulars of
the Indian trade at this time; and it is highly interesting both on this
account, and from the clear-sighted speculations of the author. It appears
to have produced a strong sensation; and though his mode of suppressing the
Egyptian trade was not followed, yet, in consequence of it, much more
attention was paid to Oriental commerce. According to him, the productions
of the East came to the Venetians in two different ways. Cloves, nutmegs,
pearls, gems, and other articles of great value, and small bulk, were
conveyed up the Persian Gulf and the Tigris to Bassora, and thence to
Bagdat; from which they were carried to some port in the Mediterranean. The
more bulky and less valuable articles were conveyed by Arabian merchants to
the Red Sea, and thence across the desert and down the Nile to Alexandria.
He adds, that ginger and cinnamon, being apt to spoil on shipboard, were
from ten to twenty per cent. better in quality, when brought by land
carriage, though this conveyance was more expensive.
From the works of Sanuto, it appears that sugar and silk were the two
articles from their trade in which the Saracens derived the greatest
portion of their wealth. Cyprus, Rhodes, Amorea, and Marta (probably
Malta), produced sugar; silk was the produce of Apulia, Romania, Crete, and
Cyprus. Egypt was celebrated, as in old times, for the fineness of its
flax; European flax was far inferior. The Egyptian manufactures of linen,
silk, and linen and silk mixed, and also the dates and cassia of that
country were exported to Turkey, Africa, the Black Sea, and the western
ports of Europe, either in Saracen or Christian vessels. In return for
these articles, the Egyptians received from Europe, gold, silver, brass,
tin, lead, quicksilver, coral, and amber: of these, several were again
exported from Egypt to Ethiopia and India, particularly brass and tin.
Sanuto further observes, that Egypt was dependent on Europe for timber,
iron, pitch, and other materials for ship building.
As his plan was to cut off all trade with the Saracens, and for that
purpose to build a number of armed galleys, he gives many curious
particulars respecting the expence of fitting them out; he estimates that a
galley capable of holding 250 men, will cost 1500 florins, and that the
whole expence of one, including pay, provisions, &c. for nine months, would
be 7000 florins. The seamen he proposes to draw from the following places,
as affording the most expert: Italy, the north of Germany, Friesland,
Holland, Slavia, Hamburgh, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.
In the year 1335, Pegoletti, an Italian, wrote a system of commercial
geography; in this, the route taken by the merchants who brought produce
and manufactures from China to Azof is particularly described. "In the
first place," he says, "from Azof to Astracan it is twenty-five days
journey with waggons drawn by oxen; but with waggons by horses, only ten or
twelve. From Astracan to Sara, by the river, one day; from Sara to
Saracanco, on the north-east coast of the Caspian Sea, eight days by water;
thence to Lake Aral, twenty days' journey with camels. At Organci on this
lake there was much traffic. To Oltrarra on the Sihon, thirty-five or forty
days, also with camels; to Almaley with asses, thirty-five days; to Camexu,
seventy days with asses; to a river, supposed to be the Hoangho, in China,
fifty days with horses; from this river the traveller may go to Cassai, to
dispose of his loading of silver there, and from this place he travels
through the whole of Cathay with the Chinese money he receives for his
silver; to Gambelecco, Cambalu, or Pekin, the capital of Cathay, is thirty
days' journey." So that the whole time occupied about 300 days. Each
merchant generally carried with him silver and goods to the value of 25,000
gold ducats; the expence of the whole journey was from 300 to 350 ducats.
The other travellers of the fourteenth century, from whom we derive any
information respecting Eastern geography and commerce, are Haitho, Oderic,
and Sir John Mandeville; they add little, however, to the full and accurate
details of Marco Polo, on which we can depend.
Haitho's work, comprehends the geography of the principal states of Asia;
his information was derived from Mogul writings, the relation of Haitho I.
king of Armenia, who had been at the head quarters of Mangu Khan, and from
his own personal knowledge.
Oderic is the first missionary upon record in India; the date of his
journey is 1334; among much that is marvellous, his relations contain some
extraordinary truths. He went, in company with other monks, as far as
China. There is little new or valuable till he reaches the coast of
Malabar: of the pepper trade on this coast he gives a clear and rational
account. He next describes Sumatra and the adjacent islands, and mentions
the sago tree. Respecting China, he informs us, among other things which
are fabulous, that persons of high rank keep their nails extremely long,
and that the feet of the women are very small. He expresses great surprise
and admiration at the wealth of the cities through which he passed on his
return from Zartan to Pekin. Tartary and Thibet were visited by him, after
leaving China; he mentions the high price of the rhubarb of the former
country and the Dalai Lama of Thibet. In his voyages in India he sailed on
board a vessel which carried 700 people,--a confirmation, as Dr. Vincent
observes, of the account we have from the time of Agatharcides down to the
sixteenth century,--which sailed from Guzerat and traversed the Indian
Ocean.
Sir John Mandeville, an Englishman, in order to gratify his desire of
seeing distant and foreign countries, served as a volunteer under the
Sultan of Egypt and the Grand Khan of Cathai. He travelled through Turkey,
Armenia, Egypt, Africa, Syria, Arabia, Persia, Chaldea, Ethiopia, Tartary,
India, and China. There is, however, little information in his travels on
our present subject. He represents the Venetians as not only trading
regularly to Ormus, but sometimes even penetrating as for as Cambalu.
Famagusta, in Cyprus, according to him, was one of the most commercial
places in the world, the resort of merchants of all nations, Christians and
Mahomedans.
Some curious and interesting particulars on the subject of Oriental
commerce are scattered in the travels of Clavigo, who formed part of an
embassy sent by Henry III. of Castile to Tamerlane, in 1403. Clavigo
returned to Spain in 1406. He passed through Constantinople, which he
represents as not one-third inhabited, up the Black Sea to Trebizond. Hence
he traversed Armenia, the north of Persia, and Khorasan. Tauris, according
to him, enjoyed a lucrative commerce: in its warehouses were an abundance
of pearls, silk, cotton goods, and perfumed oils. Sultania also was a great
mart for Indian commodities. Every year, between June and August, caravans
arrived at this place. Cotton goods of all colours, and cotton yarn were
brought from Khorasan; pearls and precious stones from Ormus; but the
principal lading of the caravans consisted of spices of various kinds: at
Sultania these were always found in great abundance, and of the best
quality. From Tauris to Samarcand there were regular stations, at which
horses were always ready to convey the orders of the khan or travellers. We
are indebted to Clavigo for the first information of this new route of the
commerce between India and Europe, by Sultania: it is supposed to have been
adopted on the destruction of Bagdat by the Moguls; but we learn from other
travellers that, towards the end of the fifteenth century, Sultania was
remarkable for nothing besides the minarets of a mosque, which were made of
metal, and displayed great taste and delicacy of workmanship.
Tamerlane lived in excessive magnificence and luxury at Samarcand; hither
he had brought all his captives, who were expert in any kind of
manufacture, especially in the silks of Damascus, and the sword cutlery of
Turkey. To this city the Russians and Tartars brought leather, hides, furs,
and cloth: silk goods, musk, pearls, precious stones, and rhubarb, were
brought from China, or Cathay. Six months were occupied in bringing
merchandize from Cambalu, the capital of Cathai, to Samarcand; two of these
were spent in the deserts. Samarcand had also a trade with India, from
which were received mace and other fine spices. Clavigo remarks, that such
spices were never brought to Alexandria.
Schildeberger, a native of Munich, was taken prisoner by the Turks in 1394:
he afterwards accompanied Tamerlane in his campaigns till the year 1406.
During this period, and his subsequent connexion with other Tartar chiefs,
he visited various parts of central Asia. But as he had not an opportunity
of writing down at the time what he saw and learnt, his narrative is
neither full, nor altogether to be depended upon for its accuracy. He was,
besides, illiterate, And therefore it is often extremely difficult to
ascertain, from his orthography, what places he actually means to name or
describe. With all these drawbacks and imperfections, however, there are a
few points on which he gives credible and curious information. He
particularizes the silk of Strana, and of Schirevan; and adds, that from
the last the raw silk is sent to Damascus, and there manufactured into the
stuffs or damasks, for which it was already so celebrated. Fine silk was
produced at Bursa, and exported to Venice and Lucca, for the manufacture of
velvet. It ought to be mentioned, that he takes no notice of Saray and
Astrakan, the latter of which was taken and destroyed by Tamerlane, in
1395. The wild asses in the mountainous deserts, and the dogs which were
harnessed to sledges, are particularly mentioned by this traveller.
The interior parts of the north of Asia were visited, in 1420, by the
ambassadors of the Emperor Tamerlane's son; and their journey is described
in the Book of the Wonders of the World, written by the Persian historian,
Emir Khond, from which it was translated into Dutch by Witsen, in his
Norden Oste Tartarye. Their route was through Samarcand to Cathay. On
entering this country, we are informed of a circumstance strikingly
characteristic of Chinese policy and suspicion. Cathayan secretaries took
down, in writing, the names of the ambassadors, and the number of their
suite. This was repeated at another place, the ambassadors being earnestly
requested to state the exact number of their servants; and the merchants,
who were with him, having been put down by him under the description of
servants, were, on that account, obliged to perform the particular duties
under which they were described. Among the presents made by the emperor to
the ambassadors, tin is mentioned. Paper-money seems, at this period, to
have given place to silver, which, however, from several circumstances
mentioned, must have been very scarce.
From the travels of Josaphat Barbaro, an ambassador from Venice, first to
Tana (Azof), and then to Persia, some information may be drawn respecting
the commerce of these parts of Asia, about the middle of the fifteenth
century. He particularly describes the Wolga as being navigable to within
three days' journey of Moscow, the inhabitants of which sail down it every
year to Astrakan for salt. Astrakan was formerly a place of consequence and
trade, but had been laid waste by Tamerlane. Russia is a fertile country,
but extremely cold. Oxen and other beasts are carried to market in the
winter, slaughtered, with their entrails taken out, and frozen so hard,
that it is impossible to cut them up: they are very numerous and cheap. The
only fruits are apples, nuts, and walnuts. Bossa, a kind of beer, is made
in Russia. This liquor is still drank in Russia: it is made from millet,
and is very inebriating. The drunkenness of the Russians is expressly and
pointedly dwelt upon. Barbaro adds, that the grand duke, in order to check
this vice, ordered that no more beer should be brewed, nor mead made, nor
hops used. The Russians formerly paid tribute to Tartary; but they had
lately conquered a country called Casan; to the left of the Wolga, in its
descent. In this country a considerable trade is carried on, especially in
furs, which are sent by way of Moscow to Poland, Prussia, and Flanders. The
furs, however, are not the produce of Kasan, but of countries to the
north-east, at a great distance.
Barbaro is very minute and circumstantial in his description of the
manners, dress, food, &c. of the Georgians. He visited the principal towns
of Persia. Schiraz contained 200,000 inhabitants. Yezd was distinguished
and enriched by its silk manufactures.