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Title: History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce, Volume I (of 4)
Author: W. S. Lindsay
Release date: June 2, 2024 [eBook #73757]
Language: English
Original publication: London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, and Searle, 1874
Credits: Melissa McDaniel and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF MERCHANT SHIPPING AND ANCIENT COMMERCE, VOLUME I (OF 4) ***
HISTORY
OF
MERCHANT SHIPPING
AND
ANCIENT COMMERCE.
BY
W. S. LINDSAY.
_IN FOUR VOLUMES._
VOL. I.
With numerous Illustrations.
LONDON:
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, LOW, AND SEARLE,
CROWN BUILDINGS, 188 FLEET STREET.
1874.
[_All Rights reserved._]
LONDON:
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS,
STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.
PREFACE.
Although familiar with most subjects relating to Merchant Ships, I
have found it alike necessary and desirable to look to others for aid
in collecting some of the materials for this work; and I am especially
indebted to my friends Mr. Vaux, F.R.S., late of the British Museum,
and Sir Patrick Colquhoun, Q.C., for much valuable assistance rendered
by them in connection with the two volumes now presented to the public.
By combining the learning of my friends, so far as regards the records
of the ships and commerce of ancient times, with my own knowledge of
the subject, I am not without hope that the work may in some respects
prove useful.
I am also much indebted to Mr. T. H. Farrer, of the Board of Trade,
and to his assistant, Mr. Thomas Gray, of the Marine Department, for
many valuable suggestions; and in thanking them for their courtesy,
I venture to express the belief that by their assistance and that of
other friends I shall be able to give in the two succeeding volumes
necessary to complete the work an impartial narrative of the many
important events and changes which have occurred within my own time, I
might say within my own experience, together with an accurate account
of the ships and maritime commerce of the age in which we live.
W. S. LINDSAY.
SHEPPERTON MANOR, MIDDLESEX.
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTORY. Pages xv-xliv
Introductory—The first attempt to float, by means of a
hollowed log and raft—The Ark—Boats of skin—Earliest
boats or ships—Their form—Mode of construction—Names of
ships—Decorations—Launching, &c.—Master—Mate—Boatswain—St. Paul’s
ship—Rig and Sails—Undergirders—Anchors and cables—Decks—Nautical
instruments—Mariner’s compass—Speed of ancient ships
CHAPTER I. 1-24
Maritime commerce of Antiquity—Coasting—Tyre—Argonautic
Expedition—Queen Semiramis—The Phœnicians—Early notices of
them—The prophecy of Ezekiel—Trade in tin—Origin of the name
“Cassiterides Insulæ”—Amber—Mainland trade of Phœnicia—Cause of
prosperity—Carthage—Utica—Commercial policy—Trade with Spain—Trade in
Africa—The commercial policy of Carthage—Limits of trade
CHAPTER II. 25-43
Earliest caravan trade—Ophir—Port of Ezion-geber—The
voyages of the Jewish ships—The inland commerce of
Solomon—Babylon—Gerrha and Tylos—Babylonian commerce—Assyrian
boats—Lydia—Ionia—Caria—Phrygia—Scythians—Their caravan routes to
India, _viâ_ the Caspian
CHAPTER III. 44-78
Egypt—Commerce—Sesostris—Naucratis—The Nile—Sailors of Egypt—Their
boats—How navigated—Mode of building them—Cargo barges—Their
rig—Steering—Passage and cargo boats—Boat for the conveyance of the
dead—Variety of boats, and their superiority—Prosperity of Egypt
under the Ptolemies, B.C. 283—Canal over the Isthmus—Ptolemy’s
great ship—Analysis of her dimensions—The _Thalamegus_, her size and
splendour—Great size of other Egyptian monuments—Probability of such
vessels having been constructed—Hiero’s great ship—Not unlike a modern
inland American steamer—Details of her construction, accommodation,
outfit, and decorations—Greek ships—Habits of piracy—Corinth—Athens—The
size of her ships as described by Herodotus—Discrepancy between the
different accounts
CHAPTER IV. 79-121
Route _viâ_ the Cape to India, discovered by the Phœnicians, B.C.
610-594—Voyage of the first Eudoxus—Story of the second Eudoxus
(of Cyzicus)—Opinion of Dr. Vincent on the circumnavigation of
Africa—Remarks upon his opinion—Routes to India and to the East by
land—Origin of the caravans—Resting-places—Their management—The more
important routes—Eastern—Southern—Northern—The character, size, and
discipline of the caravans—The route from Sardes to Susa, described
by Herodotus—Between Tyre and Gerrha—Length of journey—Importance
of Petra—Intercourse between Syria and Babylon—Value of the trade
of Babylon—Caravan routes from that city to Candahar, Cashmir,
Ecbatana, and Peucela on the Indus—Earliest land and sea combined
routes—Commercial efforts of Alexander in the East, and the impetus
he gave to the development of the trade with India by the erection of
Alexandria, B.C. 331—Time of the departure of the fleets—Residence of
the merchants and course of trade from Alexandria to the East—Value of
the trade with India—The ports through which it was conducted—Course
of the voyage to India—Outwards—Homewards—The vessels engaged in
the trade with India—The nature of their cargoes—Immense demand
at Rome for the luxuries of the East, and the enormous prices
paid for them—Imports and exports to and from Pattala—Barygaza or
Baroach—Musiris—Cape Comorin—Ceylon—Time of departure of the fleets
for Africa and the coasts of Arabia—Rhapta, or Quiloa—Sofala—Articles
of commerce—Moosa—Yemen, or Arabia Felix—Its great wealth, and the
importance attached to its trade—Kane—Sachal—Moskha—Maskat—Omana
CHAPTER V. 122-161
Ancient India—Expedition of Sesostris—Doubts of Dr. Robertson with
regard to it—Hindustan, its early commerce, and the probability, from
its great value, of its having attracted Sesostris—The conquests of
Darius, and of Alexander—Trade with China—Its maritime intercourse—A
comparison of the Chinese boats with those of the ancient Britons—The
conquests of Alexander in India, B.C. 327-5—The gain to commerce by
his conquests—The spread of knowledge—His march into India—Preparations
for the voyage down the Indus—Departure of his fleet from Nicæa,
B.C. 326—Description of the vessels employed—Progress of the
fleet—Establishment of new cities on the banks of the Indus—Character
of the vessels engaged on the voyage from the Indus to Susa—Time
occupied—Future voyages—Death of Alexander, B.C. 323—Eastern
India—Ceylon—Internal commerce of India—Manufactures of India—State of
the trade of India from the sixth to the ninth century—Change in the
course of trade—Persian trade with India—The Muhammedans, A.D. 622—The
extent of their commerce with the East—The trade between Constantinople
and India and China
CHAPTER VI. 162-189
Rome—The repugnance of the Romans to seafaring pursuits—Single-banked
galleys of the Liburni—The fleets of Rome—Their creation and slow
progress—The form and construction of their galleys—War with
the pirates of Cilicia—First treaty with Carthage, B.C. 509—Its
purport—College of merchants, established B.C. 494—No senator allowed
to own ships, B.C. 226—Cicero’s opinion of merchants—Contempt for
mariners—Reduction of Egypt, B.C. 30, and trade with India—Customs’
duties—The excise—Bounties on the importation of corn, A.D. 14—System
of collecting the taxes—Value of the trade with Alexandria—Its
extent—Vessels of Spain—Pharos or lighthouse at Gessoriacum—The
shipping described by Tacitus—Rhodians—Their maritime laws—System of
accounts in use at Rome—The corn trade of the city—Port of Ostia
CHAPTER VII. 190-221
Roman empire—The cause of its decline—First invasion of Goths, A.D.
217—Their habits—Defeat the Emperor Decius, A.D. 257—Rebellion of
Egypt, A.D. 273—Franks and Allemanni—The Veneti on the coast of
Gaul—Constantinople founded, A.D. 323—Its commercial advantages
and harbour—The extent of its ancient trade—Black Sea and Sea of
Azov—Oppressive taxation—The laws affecting shipping—Constans and
Julian—Produce of certain lands applied to the sea service—Neglect and
decline of commerce, and sufferings of the people—Siege of Rome by
Alaric and the Goths, A.D. 408—Genseric—His capture of Rome—Rise of
Constantinople—Customs’ duties—Silk trade—Naval expedition of Justinian
against the Vandals, A.D. 533, and conquest of Carthage—Rise of the
Muhammedan power, A.D. 622—Rapid conquests; of Jerusalem, A.D. 636; of
Alexandria, A.D. 638; and of Africa, A.D. 647—Sieges of Constantinople,
A.D. 668-675
CHAPTER VIII. 222-252
Constantinople, A.D. 718-1453: its increased prosperity—Manufactures
of Greece—System of taxation, and of expenditure—Fleets and mode of
warfare—Struggle for maritime supremacy—Scandinavians—Muscovites,
their trade and ships—Russians; their early commerce, and attempts
to capture Constantinople—Their ships—The Normans, and their
expeditions—Establish themselves in Italy, A.D. 1016—Amalfi—Futile
attempts of the Normans to take Constantinople, A.D. 1081-1084—Rise of
Venice—The cause of its prosperity—Spread of the Scythians, Huns, or
Turks, A.D. 997-1028—The Crusades, A.D. 1095-1099—Siege of Acre, A.D.
1189—Armistice, A.D. 1192—Fourth Crusade, A.D. 1202—The effect of the
Crusades on the commerce of Constantinople, and on its fall—Power of
Venice, A.D. 1202; her ships join in the Crusade, which was afterwards
altered from its original design—They besiege and take Constantinople,
A.D. 1204—Commerce declines under the Latins, but revives on the
restoration of the Empire, A.D. 1261—Genoa—Genoese settlement at Galata
and Pera—Arrogance of the Genoese, who at last rebel, A.D. 1348, and
declare war, A.D. 1349—The progress of the Turks, A.D. 1341-47—Their
fleet—First use of gunpowder and of large cannon—The Turks finally
become masters of the Eastern capital, A.D. 1453
CHAPTER IX. 253-297
Ancient galleys—Different descriptions—Their outfit—Beaks—Stern—Masts
and sails—Oars—Mode of rowing—Single-banked galleys—French
galley—General Melvill’s theory—Charnock’s theory—Vossius’s views—Mr.
Howell’s plan—Plan of Rev. J. O. W. Haweis (Appendix No. 1)—Our own
views—Biremes—Triremes—Quadriremes—Quinqueremes—Hexiremes and larger
galleys—Suggested plan of placing the rowers—Summary
CHAPTER X. 298-330
Britain: its maritime position, and limited extent of over-sea
trade—The vessels of the ancient Britons, and the larger kind used by
the Veneti—Encouragement by law to construct superior vessels—Britain
and its inhabitants little known—Cæsar’s reasons for invading
Britain—First invasion, B.C. 55—Size of his transports—Second invasion,
B.C. 54—Cæsar’s preference for small vessels—Violent storm, and great
loss of ships—Final action on the banks of the Thames—Cæsar makes terms
with the Britons, and re-embarks his legions—Advantages derived by the
Britons from their intercourse with the Romans—Conquest of Britain,
A.D. 43: its state of civilization—Speech of Caractacus—The course of
commerce with Rome—Inland water traffic—Transit duties—Articles of
commerce, and knowledge of manufactures and of the arts—Colchester
and its mint—London—Agricola, A.D. 78-85—His fleet sails round
Britain—The influence of the rule of Agricola on the Britons—Hadrian,
A.D. 120—State of commerce in and after his reign—The Caledonian
incursions—Piratical invasions of the Germans—Carausius seizes the
fleet of Maximian, and declares himself Emperor of Britain—Welsh and
Scots, A.D. 360—Saxons, A.D. 364—Their ships—State of the Britons when
abandoned by the Romans
CHAPTER XI. 331-372
The early Scandinavian Vikings settle on the coast of Scotland and
elsewhere—Great skill as seamen—Discovery of ancient ship, and of other
early relics—Incursions of the Saxons and Angles into Britain; and its
state soon afterwards—London—Accession of Offa, A.D. 755—Restrictions
on trade and commerce—Salutary regulations—Charlemagne’s first treaty
of commerce with England, A.D. 796—Extension of French commerce, A.D.
813—Commerce of England harassed by the Danes—Their ships, and the
habits of their owners—Increase of the Northern marauders—Language
of the Northmen still spoken by mariners in the North—Accession of
Alfred the Great, A.D. 871: his efforts to improve navigation, and to
extend the knowledge of geography—Foundation of a royal and commercial
navy—His voyages of discovery and missions to the East—Reign of Edward
the Elder, A.D. 901-25, and of his son Athelstan, A.D. 925-41—Edgar’s
fleet, and his arrangements for suppressing piracy—The wisdom of his
policy—Ethelred II., A.D. 979-1016—Sufferings of the people—Charges on
vessels trading to London—Olaf, king of Norway, his ships, and those of
Swein—Love of display—Mode of navigating—Canute, A.D. 1016—Reduction
of the English fleet—Prosperity of commerce—Norman invasion, A.D.
1066—Number of vessels engaged, and their form—State of trade and
commerce—Exports—Manufactures—Wealth—Imports—Taxation—London specially
favoured—Chester specially burdened—State of the people at the time of
the Conquest
CHAPTER XII. 373-422
Increase of the English fleet, A.D. 1066—Its participation in the
Crusades to the Holy Land—Departure of the English expedition—Arrival
at Messina—Number of ships—Their order of sailing—Arrival
at, and capture of, Acre, 10th June, 1191—Richard returns to
England—Maritime laws founded on the “Rôles d’Oléron”—Power to
pledge ship and tackle—The sailors consulted—Laws relating to
hiring—Drunkenness—Sickness—Damage to ship and cargo—Quarrels—Mooring
of ships—Partnership in freight—Food—Obligation to carry the
ship to her destination—Rules as to sailors—Demurrage—Bottomry—A
bad pilot forfeited his head—Punishments—Shares in fishing
vessels—Wreckers—Jetsam and flotsam—Royal fish—Timber of wrecks—Remarks
on these laws—Code of Wisby—Magna Charta, A.D. 1215—Henry III.,
A.D. 1216—Naval actions—Cinque Ports—Increase of piracy—Measures
for its suppression—Treaty of commerce with Norway, A.D. 1217, and
facilities afforded to foreign merchants—English merchants first
open trading establishments abroad—Origin of the Hanseatic League,
A.D. 1241—Corporate seals—Sandwich—Poole—Dover—Faversham—Stanhope,
vice-admiral of Suffolk—Duties of the Cinque Ports—Increased privileges
to foreign merchants—Letters of marque first issued—Law for the
recovery of debts, and adjustment of average—Shipping of Scotland,
A.D. 1249—Extremely liberal Navigation Act—Chief ports of England and
extent of its shipping and commerce—Edward II., A.D. 1307-1327—Edward
III., A.D. 1326-7-1377—Extension of English commerce—The discovery
of coal—First complete roll of the English fleet, A.D. 1347—Quota
of different ports—Pay of soldiers, sailors, &c.—War renewed, A.D.
1354—Death of Edward III., A.D. 1377—State of the merchant navy during
his reign—Loss sustained by war, and encouragement afforded thereby to
foreign nations—Rapid increase of the trade of Flanders—Trade between
Italy and Flanders—Commercial importance of Bruges and Antwerp—Wealth
of Flanders, and extent of its manufactures and commerce—Special
privileges to her merchants—Progress of the Hanseatic League, and its
system of business: its power too frequently abused
CHAPTER XIII. 423-461
Treaties with Spain and the merchants of Portugal—Early claim
of the right of search—Restrictive laws against the English,
and in favour of foreign traders—Accession of Richard II., A.D.
1377—Character of the imports from Italy—Sudden change of policy—First
Navigation Act, A.D. 1381—A rage for legislation—Relaxation of the
Navigation Act, A.D. 1382-8—Free issue of letters of marque; and
of commissions for privateering—Special tax for the support of the
Navy, A.D. 1377—Superiority of English seamen—Their intrepidity
and skill—Chaucer’s description of the seamen of his time—Henry
IV., A.D. 1399-1413—Disputes between the Hanse and the English
merchants—Agreement for guarding the English coasts—Henry V., A.D.
1413: his liberal policy, and ambition—The extent of his fleet—Size
and splendour of the royal ships—Prologue of the “Dominion of the
Sea”—England first formally claims dominion of the sea, about A.D.
1416—Prerogatives conferred thereby—First accounts of revenue and
expenditure, A.D. 1421—Law for the admeasurement of ships and coal
barges—Henry VI. crowded, A.D. 1422—Marauding expedition of the
Earl of Warwick—Distress among shipowners not royal favourites, A.D.
1461—Fresh legislative enactments—First “sliding scale” applied to the
importation of corn—Relaxation of the laws by means of treaties, A.D.
1467—Treaties of reciprocity—Extension of distant maritime commerce,
A.D. 1485—First English consul in the Mediterranean, A.D. 1490—The
advantages derived from reciprocal intercourse
CHAPTER XIV. 462-503
Early efforts of France to restore the civilization of
Europe—Charlemagne, A.D. 771-814—Protection against pirates—Efforts
of Venice to suppress piracy—Rise of Marseilles—Monopoly in
shipping trade—Customs on shipping—Spain; its early commercial
importance—Superior influence of the Venetians, which was invariably
used to their own advantage—Participation of Genoa and Pisa in the
profits derived from the Crusades—Venice claims the dominion of the
Adriatic, A.D. 1159—Annual ceremony of espousing the Adriatic—Bucentaur
state barge—Form of espousal—The progress and commercial policy of
Venice—Variable character of her laws, A.D. 1272; which were protective
generally, especially as regards her ships—Official exposition of
the trade of Venice—Her ships and dockyards—Merchant galleys—Their
greatest size—Contract for the construction of vessels—Great variety of
classes—The Gondola—The Tarida—The Zelander—The Huissier—The Cat—The
Saitie—The Galliot, &c.—The Galeass—The Galleon—The Buzo—Government
merchant galleys—How engaged, equipped, and manned—Nobles’ sons taken
on board—Capacity of these vessels—Crew, and regulations on board—Value
of their cargoes—Despatch boats—Consuls; their establishment,
duties and emoluments—Ancient ships’ consuls; their duties—The
Cartel—Conditions of the contract—Restraints upon seamen—Extraordinary
display on the departure of any important expedition—The reception of
the commander, and his plan of inspection—Signal to depart—Adaptation
of merchant vessels to the purposes of war—Regulations at sea—Stringent
rules to regulate the loading of vessels
CHAPTER XV. 504-546
Prohibition to trade with infidels—Its futility—Commercial policy
of the Italian republics—Genoa—Genoese fleets and treaties with
the Venetians—The Genoese restore the Greek dynasty, and secure
a more permanent footing at Constantinople—Galata—Kaffa—Genoese
vessels—Details of contract with the ship-builders—Napier’s description
of a large Genoese ship of the fifteenth century—Evident mistakes in
the account—First great improvement in the Genoese ships—Genoese
carrack—Their corsairs and pirates—The most daring of the pirates;
their terrible fate—Corsairs—Bologna and Ancona—Importance of Pisa—Her
trade with the Saracens, about A.D. 1100; and ships—Her first great
misfortune—Mode of conducting her trade—Florence—The Florentines
ship goods from a port of Pisa—Sale and transfer of Leghorn, A.D.
1421—First expeditions to Egypt, Constantinople, and Majorca—Freedom
of commercial intercourse amongst the Florentines—Their frugality,
contrasted with their magnificent public displays—Duties and powers
of the board of the “six consuls of the sea”—Their public vessels,
and the trade in which they were employed—Consular agents—Extent
of the Florentine commerce, and cause of its decline—The smaller
states—Decorations and traditionary emblems of ships—Signals—Manners
and customs of seamen—Their legends—Punishments for gambling and
swearing—Superstitions—Manners and morals, A.D. 1420—General severity
of punishments—Impaling, flogging, &c.—Branding
CHAPTER XVI. 547-581
Spain and Portugal—Importance of their commerce in ancient times; and
its decline during the Middle Ages—Trade with the coasts of Africa—The
maritime discoveries of the Portuguese—Expeditions along the West
Coast of Africa by order of Prince Henry—Discovery of Madeira, A.D.
1418—Capes Boyador and Blanco, A.D. 1441—Cape Verde Islands, A.D.
1446, and Azores, A.D. 1449—Equator crossed, A.D. 1471—John II. of
Portugal—First attempt to reach India by the Cape of Good Hope, A.D.
1487—Ancient dread of the Atlantic—Christopher Columbus—His ideas of
the form of the earth, and love for maritime discovery—His visit to
Lisbon, and treatment by the Portuguese—His formal proposal in 1480
to the crown of Portugal, which is referred to a learned junto, who
ridicule his idea—He leaves Lisbon, A.D. 1484; and visits Spain,
A.D. 1485—His kind reception by the prior of the convent of La
Rabida—First interview with the sovereigns of Spain—Its result—The
ridicule he endured—Evidences of an inhabited country to the West of
Europe—Orders given by Ferdinand to provide Columbus with the vessels
and stores necessary for his voyage to the West—Conditions signed 17th
April, 1492—Vessels at last provided for the expedition—Their size
and character—Smallness of the expedition—Its departure, 3rd August,
1492—Arrival at the Canary Islands—Great fear and discontent among the
crews—Matters become serious—Contemplated mutiny—Land discovered 12th
October, A.D. 1492—Columbus takes possession of the island of Guanahani
in the name of Spain—The first impressions of the natives on Columbus
CHAPTER XVII. 582-620
The state of the West India Islands when discovered—Wreck of one of
the vessels of the expedition—A colony established—Columbus sets sail
for Spain, 4th January, 1493—Arrives at St. Mary’s, 18th February,
and in the Tagus a few days afterwards—Re-enters, with his ship, the
harbour of Palos, 15th March—Great rejoicings—He proceeds to Seville
and Barcelona—Orders for a fresh expedition—Its extent, and departure,
25th Sept., 1493—Reaches Dominica, 2nd Nov., 1493, and Santa Cruz, 14th
Nov.—Arrives at Hayti, 22nd Nov.—Founds a fresh colony at Hispaniola or
Hayti—Sufferings of the colonists, and disappointment of Columbus—His
sanguine expectations for the future—Threatened mutiny among the
colonists—Columbus proceeds on further explorations—Discovery of the
island of Jamaica—Surveys Cuba, and returns to Isabella—Arrival of
Bartholomew Columbus—Intrigues at home—Commission of inquiry despatched
to Hayti—Columbus sets sail for Europe, 10th March, 1496—Arrives at
Cadiz, 11th June, 1496—Re-visits the West, May 1498—Reaches Trinidad,
31st July—Discovers Tobago, Granada, and other islands, reaching
Hispaniola, 19th August—Finds everything in disorder—Makes a tour of
inspection, but is arrested, and sent a prisoner to Spain—Arrives at
Cadiz, Nov. 1500, and is restored to the royal favour—A fleet sails
for the colony with Ovando, Feb. 1502, and two months afterwards (9th
May) Columbus follows, and reaches St. Domingo, 29th June—Discovers
the island of Guanaga 30th July—Trading canoe—Her cargo—Prosecutes his
researches to the South—Reaches Cape Honduras—Discovers and explores
the Mosquito coast—Puerto Bello—Forms a settlement on the river Belem,
6th Feb., 1503—Anchors at Jamaica, June 1503, and Dominica, 13th August
of that year—Sails for Spain, 12th September, which he reaches 7th
Nov., 1504—His sufferings and death, 20th May, 1506.
APPENDICES.
PAGE
APPENDIX No. 1 625
” No. 2 628
” No. 3 629
” No. 4 629
” No. 5 632
” No. 6 634
” No. 7 636
” No. 8 642
” No. 9 650
” No. 10 652
” No. 11 653
” No. 12 653
” No. 13 654
INDEX 657
INTRODUCTORY.
Introductory—The first attempt to float, by means of a
hollowed log and raft—The Ark—Boats of skin—Earliest
boats or ships—Their form—Mode of construction—Names of
ships—Decorations—Launching, &c.—Master—Mate—Boatswain—St. Paul’s
ship—Rig and sails—Undergirders—Anchors and cables—Decks—Nautical
instruments—Mariner’s compass—Speed of ancient ships.
[Sidenote: Introductory.]
It is my intention to write a History of Merchant Shipping; I am not
aware that there exists any work of the kind contemplated. No doubt
everything relating to the vessels of ancient times has been published
in one form or another, as also an account of all that is known of
the maritime commerce of the Middle Ages; but this information is
widely scattered, and frequently so diffused among other matters
of a very different description, that considerable research is
necessary to ascertain where it is to be found. I desire to remedy
this inconvenience, and to furnish from those fragmentary materials a
consecutive, though necessarily a condensed, account of the Merchant
Shipping, Ancient and Modern, of those nations which at different
periods have carried on an extensive over-sea commerce. I shall also
presume to correct some errors and misapprehensions which have found
their way into the writings of men who, though far more competent to
undertake the work of an historian, have not had an opportunity of
gaining a practical knowledge of this special subject.
It is only from Holy Writ, from the fragments in the works of heathen
historians and poets, and from the sculptured monuments of the East,
that information can be obtained about the vessels and commerce of
very ancient times. From such sources I shall endeavour to compile,
in a manner as brief as possible consistently with perspicuity, a
narrative of how these vessels were constructed, manned, and navigated,
separating, as far as my knowledge and experience will permit, facts
from fiction, and omitting legends frequently accepted as historical
truths. It can serve no good purpose to record descriptions of ships
evidently the creations of romance; and, in a work professing to deal
with established facts, care must be taken to admit nothing improbable
unless well authenticated.
It will not be the least pleasing portion of my work to furnish, as
fully as I can, a description of the manners and customs of the seamen
of all nations, and, at the same time, to notice incidentally their
habits, prejudices, and superstitions. To illustrate the effects
produced upon maritime commerce by the laws of different nations, it
will be necessary to direct attention to those legislative measures
which have had a marked bearing upon its prosperity or otherwise.
Towards the close of this work, the merchant vessels of our own
time, the cost of construction, speed, and capacity for cargo, will
be fully described, as well as the number and duties of the crew, and
the expenses of management. I shall endeavour to supply every material
fact connected with the business of the shipowner, which nowadays is
separated from that of the merchant, so that hereafter a complaint
may not be urged against me for having followed the example of other
writers, and by so doing omitted interesting and instructive knowledge,
simply because it was of a character hitherto considered beyond the
province of the historian.
Many years have already been employed in collecting materials for
this work, but hitherto time has been wanting for the study and
elucidation of a subject which, from the nature of my avocations, can
hardly fail to prove interesting to myself, whatever it may be to my
readers. To trace the origin of navigation, and to detail the numerous
steps by which the merchant vessels of the great trading nations of
the world have reached their present state of perfection; to record
those discoveries in science and art connected with navigation,
which enable the mariner to cross the ocean without fear and with
unerring certainty; to dilate upon those triumphs of man’s genius and
skill whereby he can bid defiance to the elements; and to enter in
these pages the names of the men who have benefited mankind by their
maritime discoveries, or by affording greatly increased facilities for
intercourse between nations, is to me a task of the most gratifying
description.
But as many of my readers may not take so lively an interest in a
subject necessarily dry in its character and technical in its details,
I shall endeavour to describe everything relating to shipping in clear
and condensed language, so as to induce them, if possible, to accompany
me in my researches; and it is to be hoped that at least the ships and
commerce of the ancient Egyptians and Phœnicians, and of those nations
which, like Carthage and Assyria, have long since passed away, may
prove not uninteresting to the general public.
Passing from very remote ages, I purpose to examine the maritime
commerce and shipping of the different nations which flourished from
about the time when, on the decline of the power of Rome, the Italian
Republics arose; and thence through the Middle Ages, till Spain sent
forth her celebrated Armada, to the period when Great Britain, slowly
but surely extending her influence upon the ocean, claimed to be
“Mistress of the Seas.”
Considerable space must likewise be devoted to an account of the
principal institutions connected with shipping, and to the vast changes
which have taken place in the over-sea carrying trade since Vasco da
Gama doubled the Cape of Good Hope, and Christopher Columbus discovered
a new and now mighty world to the West.
But the larger portion of this work will be devoted to the progress of
Modern Shipping. Since the introduction of steam, the merchant navies
of the world have increased to an enormous extent; and in comfort,
beauty, and speed, the vessels of the present day immeasurably surpass
those of any other period. Modern appliances in their propulsion, while
altering the mode in which commercial pursuits are conducted, have also
materially changed the seats and centres of maritime commerce. Changes
such as these necessarily require to be fully described, and their
results carefully recorded.
As the ports of Great Britain are now free to the vessels of all
nations, it will be my duty to explain the nature of the navigation
laws of Cromwell and of the reciprocity treaties of Huskisson, and
to show how, step by step, all barriers to free navigation have been
removed. The fallacy of endeavouring to enrich ourselves by the ruin of
our neighbours will be exposed, and, from the experience of the past, I
shall hope to inculcate lessons of use for the future.
Ample materials are to be found for the elucidation of most of
these subjects, and there can be no excuse to plead, beyond my own
incapacity, if I fail to produce a work which shall hereafter be
useful for reference, especially with regard to the merchant vessels
of modern times. Though the enterprising traders of Tyre extended
their commercial intercourse to all parts of the Mediterranean and
even to the Northern and the Erythræan Seas, yet her merchants,
“who were princes,” and her traffickers, who were “the great men
of the earth,” have left no records of their vast commerce, nor of
the vessels which were engaged in it. No mercantile man appears to
have written an account of how he conducted his trade, or given to
posterity a drawing of his ship; nor, indeed, to have recorded anything
relating to the great maritime state to which he belonged. Our limited
knowledge of Tyre is derived therefore almost exclusively from other
sources. If these early navigators had taken one-half the pains to
transmit to posterity the sum of their acquired knowledge, practical
and historical, which the Egyptians have done, a vast amount of
information would have been added to the science of ancient navigation
and commerce. Unfortunately, almost every vestige of Phœnicia has been
swept away, a significant example that the most extended commerce,
enjoyed by a purely trading people, cannot alone save them from
eventual insignificance and oblivion.
In concluding these introductory remarks, I may be fairly permitted to
indulge the hope that, from the vast stores of knowledge bequeathed
to us, we may leave more lasting records of our maritime commerce
than either Tyre or Carthage, and that the improved civilization
and extensive colonial possessions of Great Britain may render her
pre-eminence at sea and her commercial greatness much more enduring
than the once celebrated maritime city of the Phœnicians, which has
become “a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea,” and
“a spoil to the nations.”
[Sidenote: The first attempt to float, by means of a hollowed log, and
raft.]
It is impossible to say who first taught man to float upon a log or
an inflated skin, or who had the genius to construct the earliest
raft. The exclusive honour of the discovery of navigation—which now,
through the successive improvements of many ages, and the application
of steam as a motive power, has arrived at its present high state of
development, tending to the safety, convenience, and civilization of
mankind—is too great an honour to be awarded to any single individual.
Indeed it is a glory which writers alike in ancient and in modern
times have declined to confer on any frail mortal like themselves.
Accordingly the Libyans and the Greeks ascribed the merit of the
invention to the gods. Neptune, however little in other respects may be
known of this mythological personage, was not only worshipped by the
ancients as the first inventor of navigation and supreme ruler of the
sea, but his glory has survived the wreck of empires and the extinction
of races, and the name of a heathen god is still associated with the
dominion of the ocean.
There is, however, no difficulty in conceiving what would give the
first idea of flotation. At the period of the earliest history of man
acknowledged by Christian nations, our first parents must have noticed
leaves or branches of trees floating in the river “which went out of
Eden to water the garden.” Thus would be conceived at the creation of
man the idea of a vessel or of a substance which would float and could
be made useful for his wants.[1] The buoyancy of the branch or trunk
of a tree would suggest the means of carrying him across unfordable
rivers; and there is no doubt that, long anterior to the era assigned
to Noah, the first step in the art of ship-building was taken in
hollowing out the log by fire, or by some rude instrument, in order to
render more secure the position of any adventurous navigator. A pole
or paddle might be used to propel the rude barque, but probably ages
passed away without any improvement in this respect. In fact, to this
day, some of the inhabitants of the Polynesian Islands have not made
any greater progress in the construction of their primitive vessels;
and the canoes in the Pacific, and in various parts of South America,
are still formed on what is evidently the most ancient model of vessels.
While the hollow log was made to answer the purpose of a boat, a
number of logs placed together would suggest the idea of a raft, for
the carrying of a number of persons or animals, or of any article of
greater weight than could be conveyed in a canoe across a lake or
river. These, by degrees, would be improved in form, in strength, or
in capacity, to suit the wants of man or the navigation for which they
were intended. The ingenuity of even the rudest savages would lead
them, it may be easily supposed, in course of time, to construct their
raft so as to make it more easy of propulsion, and thus give to it the
first form of a ship.
[Sidenote: The Ark.]
But it is doubtful if any progress were made in ship-building beyond
the mere raft, anterior to the period assigned to the Flood; and
the Ark[2] of Noah is unquestionably the first ship of which we have
any notice, either in acknowledged history or in the legends of the
earliest nations. As this vessel, however, has been so much a matter
of controversy, some of our readers may think it well, in imitation
of other modern writers, that we should omit the consideration of the
subject. But the difficulties, physical and practical, surrounding it
ought not to induce us to pass over altogether unnoticed the earliest
recorded effort of naval architecture. This great ship is described
in Scripture[3] as having been three hundred cubits in length, fifty
in breadth, and thirty in height or depth—dimensions corresponding
very nearly with those of the most approved models of the sailing
vessels of the present day. If the cubit be taken at eighteen inches,
her registered tonnage, reckoned according to the present mode of
admeasurement, would not have been more than fifteen thousand tons, or
considerably less than that of the _Great Eastern_.
But the probability is that, after all, the Ark was simply a raft of
stupendous size, bearing on it a structure of the above dimensions
resembling a huge warehouse, roofed in the usual manner, and built
to float on the breast of a great flood, the narrative in the Bible
neither suggesting nor requiring any means of propulsion.[4]
[Sidenote: Boats of skin.]
Although for years after the Flood[5] the raft may have been the only
form of vessel for carrying heavy burthens, other means of flotation
must soon have suggested themselves; and of these, the inflated skins
of animals would seem to have prevailed the most generally and the
most widely. Thus on the ancient monuments recently discovered by Mr.
Layard, we find numerous representations of the Assyrians crossing a
river—probably the Tigris—on inflated skins; and rafts may also be
seen on which goods and men are floating down similarly supported.[6]
The same practice is still in use among the present inhabitants of
the country, and is also noticed as common on the Setlege by Baron
Hügel, in his interesting “Travels in Cashmir.”[7] Baron Hügel
also speaks of baskets, suspended from ropes firmly tied to each
shore, for crossing the mountain waters of the same river; while
_coracles_—basket-work over which leather or prepared flannel has been
stretched—may still be seen in Wales, thus enabling the inhabitants to
fish, and to cross streams not otherwise fordable. It is also worthy
of note that Pliny[8] alludes to this custom, where he states that
“Even now, in British waters, vessels of vine-twigs sewn round with
leather are used.” Mr. Layard[9] likewise speaks of still finding on
the Tigris light boats called _terradas_, constructed by the Southern
Mesopotamians of twisted reeds, rendered watertight by bitumen, and
often of sufficient consistency to support four or five men. As a
remarkable proof of the long persistency of custom and of trade, we may
add that the bitumen of Babylonia was exported to Egypt so early as the
reign of Thothmes III., B.C. 1500, from the Is (now Hit) of Herodotus,
where it is still abundant.
The _balza_ of the western coast of South America, in use within the
last hundred years, appears to have been a raft of logs of very light
wood carefully fastened together, and capable of carrying occasionally
as much as twenty tons.[10]
Such were probably the rude beginnings of the art of ship-building.
[Sidenote: Earliest boats or ships.]
Though it is impossible to give any authentic details of forms and
means of navigation, such as those we have mentioned—remembrances as
they are of pre-historic times—we need not doubt that the earliest
people who practised navigation, in any sense after the manner since
recognised, by ships or boats as distinguished from rafts, were the
inhabitants of the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, and, notably,
the Phœnicians of Sidon and Tyre.
The Phœnicians, however, as is now admitted, were not originally
inhabitants of the territory they have made famous by their commercial
operations, but immigrants from the shores of the Persian Gulf, whence
they carried with them the nautical tastes and knowledge they had been
maturing, perhaps for centuries, to develop them in a new and enlarged
sphere. Indeed, it is not unlikely that, antecedently to History, these
enterprising people had made voyages even to the far-distant East, as
the “Erythræan Sea” comprehended an area far wider than our Red Sea,
being really, as in Herodotus,[11] what we now call the “Indian Ocean.”
If it be true that Jacob’s blessing,[12] “Zebulun shall dwell at the
haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships,” is probably
the earliest written document implying navigation of _any_ kind, it is
at the same time impossible to determine at what period that prophecy
was to take place, while the occurrence of the name Zidon in the
next paragraph, “His border shall be unto Zidon,” might suggest the
inference that the wording of this announcement, as we have it now, is
of later date than Jacob himself.
Neither the Egyptians nor the Greeks have any claim to be considered
among the first navigators; indeed, the former people were during their
whole history averse to seafaring pursuits, and were dependent on the
Phœnicians for nearly all their carrying trade, beyond what passed
along their own great river, while the first Greek expedition—that of
the Argonauts, to which we shall refer presently—was possibly as much a
Phœnician as a Greek adventure.
[Sidenote: Their form.]
In form, we may be sure that the first boats were flat-bottomed—barges
for river service rather than ships for the sea. But keels must have
been added as soon as ever coasting voyages commenced, or any speed was
needed. In shallow waters they may have been propelled by poles, like
modern punts; but oars, and at least one sail of simple construction,
must have been introduced very early.
Passing over the exploits attributed to Perseus, Theseus, and
Bellerophon, from which no facts worthy of record are deducible, it
is enough to state here that in the construction of the earliest
rafts or boats the axe or the adze was, probably, the only implement
the builders possessed, the result of their work being doubtless of
the rudest character;[13] and that the timber first employed would
be that most ready at hand in the countries where such vessels were
first required; though but a short time would elapse, and but little
experience be needed, to insure the selection of those woods which
were the best for the purpose intended. Phœnicia, Cyprus, and Greece
were well supplied with all the timber that could have been wanted.
Hence we have early notices of the employment of the oak, the chestnut,
and the cedar; while the pine, together with the alder, the ilex, and
the ash, were in general use for ship-building. Many fanciful stories
are told in Hesiod, Vegetius, and other writers, of the methods adopted
by the ancient workmen to secure sound and durable timber; but on these
we need not here dwell.
[Sidenote: Mode of construction.]
It may be inferred from the passage in Homer that in his time sawn
timber was not unknown; and, though nearly all the then voyages were
performed by coasting from headland to headland, it is clear from
other passages[14] that the navigators did even then sometimes venture
out of sight of land: their vessels were, however, then, and for many
years later, undecked; few representations of any ancient galleys, even
on the earliest vases, having come down to us in which there is any
certain indication of a deck: while Thucydides distinctly gives it as
his opinion that the Homeric vessels were only large open boats.[15]
The larger ones had, perhaps, a sort of half-deck, to give the people
in them a little shelter. Being flat-floored and of small immersion,
they as it were glided over the surface of the water, having little
or no power of resistance to the action of the waves, and being,
therefore, capable of very little progress except when sailing before
the wind. To enable them to resist the penetrating power of the
water, the ancients appear to have used in very early times a species
of pounded sea-shells, introduced carefully into the seams and chinks
between the planks—a process found to answer well for a short time;
when, however, the ship strained, this caulking was liable to fall out,
letting in the water as before. A somewhat similar method is described
in the Transactions of the Embassy sent to China in 1792, as seen there
at that time.
In later days, other methods were adopted; one of which, attributed by
Pliny to the Belgæ,[16] consisted in beating pounded seeds into the
fissures between the planks of vessels—a substance, he says, found to
be more tenacious than glue, and more to be relied on than pitch. This
is evidently the same in principle as the modern practice of caulking.
In the same way we find in remote times that pitch and wax were used
partly for the prevention of leakage, and partly also to preserve the
planks from the sea-weeds and animalculæ with which the waters of the
Mediterranean abound.[17] The discovery, too, of what is supposed to
have been a galley of Trajan at the bottom of Lake Riccio shows clearly
that, in Roman times, sheathing as well as caulking were used to
preserve the bottoms of ships. The famous Locke,[18] alluding to this
discovery, says, “Here we have caulking and sheathing together above
sixteen hundred years ago; for I suppose no one can doubt that the
sheet of lead nailed over the outside with copper nails was sheathing,
and that in great perfection; the copper nails being used rather than
iron, which, when once rusted in water with the working of the ship,
soon lose their hold and drop out.”
[Sidenote: Names of ships.]
Ships in ancient times were known by a great variety of names, most of
which are descriptive of the purposes for which they were built, or of
the services in which they were employed.
Omitting _triremes_, the most usual _ships of war_, the following list
enumerates their chief varieties:—
Thus _olkas_ was a large heavy tow-barge; _ponto_—a word of Gallic or
Celtic origin[19]—a _punt_.
_Gaulos_, a round heavy merchant vessel, named probably so originally
by the Phœnicians, and preserved to modern days in the galleon or
galeass of the Middle Ages, and the _galley_ of later times.
_Corbitæ_, slow sailing ships of burthen—so called because they carried
baskets at their mast-heads. _Hippagogi_, as their name implies,
carried horses. The characteristic of all these vessels was that their
structure was bulky, their sides and bottom rounded from the flat, and,
though not without rowers, that they were chiefly dependent on their
sails.
Of a lighter class, and for greater speed, were the _scapha_ (or
skiff); the _acation_, or _acatus_; and the _linter_, which, though
like _ratis_, often used for any kind of vessel, was more strictly a
light boat or wherry.[20] Generically, merchant vessels were called
_mercatoriæ_, or _vectoriæ_, as being the carriers of merchandise. So
_piscatoriæ_ were boats used for fishing.
[Sidenote: Decorations.]
The ships of the Greeks had various ornaments attached to the prow and
stern, most of which were afterwards adopted by the Romans, and may
even still be seen on the waters of the Mediterranean. Thus an eye
painted on each side of the prow was supposed to indicate watchfulness
and to ward off ill-luck; while the prow itself terminated in the
_acrostolium_, the head of an animal or bird—corresponding in principle
with our figure-head. An original goose-head (technically called
_cheniscus_) is still preserved in the Bibliothèque at Paris.[21] So,
at a later period, St. Paul’s ship had for its “ensign” the “sign of
Castor and Pollux,”[22] while Ovid’s ship, which bore him to the land
of his exile, had a head of Minerva painted on her prow.[23]
On the stern was the _aplustre_, forming a kind of roof over the
steersman, and bearing also the image of the tutelary Deity—a flag or
pennon—sometimes a lantern, as may be seen on Trajan’s Column, and
the purple sail which, in Roman times, marked the Admiral’s ship.[24]
Ships, it appears, were from remote times painted with various colours.
Thus Homer specifies black, red, and purple,[25] and Herodotus speaks
of red paint;[26] while Plautus, in a well-known passage, classes
together ships and women as equally greedy of ornament.[27] It was
also, occasionally, the custom to paint the sails with stripes of
various colours.
As a rule, the names of the ships were, in ancient days, feminine, and
named from celebrated women, as Nausicaa; hence Aristophanes calls
them “Virgins.”[28] The Romans, on the other hand, sometimes gave them
masculine names.
[Sidenote: Launching, &c.]
From the earliest ages, the launch of a vessel has been attended with
considerable ceremonies; frequently with feasting and bands of music,
and a dedication to various deities who were supposed to watch over her
safety in an especial manner. On setting sail, she was adorned with
flowers and garlands indicative of future prosperity; and the special
aid of Neptune, Minerva, and of the other gods invoked with solemn
prayer and sacrifices for her success.[29] When large fleets started,
it was usual to send the lighter vessels first, then the ships which
acted as convoy, and lastly those of heavy burthen or deep draught of
water. The oars, when not required, were triced up to the sides of the
vessels. On the completion of the voyage, ships were generally hauled
up on shore and protected from the weather; similar prayers being
again offered to Nereus, Glaucus, Melicertes, and the other deities
of the sea, or to Mercury, to whom the merchant and shipowner (then
almost invariably identical in meaning) had specially committed their
ships.[30]
Men who had escaped shipwreck felt bound to make special offerings to
the gods in testimony of their gratitude; sometimes hanging up in a
neighbouring temple the garment in which they had been saved,[31] or
shaving their hair—a custom Petronius justly calls the last vow of men
who have saved nothing but their lives.[32]
Rigid discipline was maintained on board the ships, and punishments
of great severity inflicted on those who failed to keep proper ward
and watch; nay, even the barbarous practice of “keel-hauling,” once
not uncommon in the English service, was not wholly unknown to the
ancients. The crews were generally composed of two classes; the
mariners, who attended to the navigation and trimming of the sails,
and the rowers. These offices were usually kept distinct, the mariners
being rarely, except in cases of great emergency, compelled to labour
at the oars.[33]
The work of the rowers, to which we shall allude more particularly
hereafter, was one of severe toil; hence, as in modern times, the
music of the voice or the pipe stimulated the rowers to fresh exertion
or tended to relieve the depressing monotony of their work.[34] Many
ancient writers, and notably Xenophon, Polybius, and Arrian,[35] have
left us interesting accounts of the way in which the rowers were
trained; the practice of the Greeks and Romans, and especially that of
the latter people, having been remarkable for its perfection in the
execution of the most difficult manœuvres.
[Sidenote: Master.]
The master or pilot, whose place was in the stern, though not himself
required to steer, was expected to understand the due management of the
rudder and sails, the usual course of the winds, the indications in
the sky of a change of weather, and the situation of the harbours most
fitting for his vessel, or of the shoals the most to be avoided.[36]
He was also expected to take proper cognizance of the omens offered by
the sea-fowl and fishes, with divers other phenomena, as the murmuring
of the floods, the dashing of waves against the shore, and other signs
believed to import changes in the weather.[37]
[Sidenote: Mate.]
[Sidenote: Boatswain.]
Next in authority to the master was the mate, whose place was at
the prow of the ship, and who had charge of the tackle and of the
rowers, who were placed by him on their proper seats.[38] With him was
associated a third officer, whom we may call the boatswain and steward,
as he gave the word to the rowers and distributed the rations.[39]
There was also a fourth officer, whose especial duty it was to take
heed of possible rocks or shoals, and to direct the ship at night by
the aid of long poles.
[Illustration: ST. PAUL’S SHIP, FROM THE WORK BY MR. SMITH OF JORDAN
HILL.]
[Sidenote: St. Paul’s ship.]
It is remarkable that while we have many notices of matters
comparatively unimportant, no writer of antiquity has given us any
intelligible account of the capacity of their ships of burthen, at
least anterior to the Christian era. Nor have the speculations of
modern authors been much more successful; with the exception of Mr.
Smith, of Jordan Hill. His essay “On the Voyage and Shipwreck of St.
Paul,” the work of a man of much practical experience in the management
of sailing craft, and a yachtsman of thirty years’ practice, is a
really valuable contribution to the history of ancient merchant ships.
Mr. Smith has tested, by modern experiences, the details furnished by
St. Luke,[40] and has himself worked out the “dead reckoning” of St.
Paul’s ship—a feat requiring both knowledge and skill. He has also,
by a diligent comparison of the representations of ancient vessels on
coins, and on the marbles and paintings of Pompeii, with the scriptural
account of St. Paul’s ship, reproduced as perfect a drawing as we are
ever likely to obtain of the Mediterranean merchant-ship at the dawn of
Christianity.
St. Paul’s ship must have been one of considerable size, as, besides
her cargo of grain, she had on board two hundred and seventy-six souls.
Moreover, as she had to make a long and, as it turned out, a boisterous
voyage, she must have been completely decked, and probably had two
decks from the number of passengers she carried, besides a high poop
and forecastle, like the ships of two or three centuries ago, though
these are not shown in the illustration; her bulwarks were formed of
battens fastened horizontally across the stanchions.
Mr. Smith has collected many instances bearing upon the arrangement
of different parts of ancient ships. Thus, from a painting at
Herculaneum, said to represent the ship of Theseus, he has shown that
the ancient sailors knew the use of the capstan and hawser; but it
still remains a difficulty to understand how their large ships were
steered, unless some machinery were used of which we have no account,
to work the very large oars thrust through portholes in either quarter.
Mr. Smith has also proved, from representations on the Leaning Tower of
Pisa, on the Bayeux Tapestry, and on the gold nobles of Edward III.,
that the primitive mode of steering by one or more oars—as visible on
the reliefs of Trajan’s Column—prevailed as late as the fourteenth
century; such rude appliances, however, could have been available only
for small vessels.[41]
[Sidenote: Rig and sails.]
For a long period the rig of ancient ships was of the simplest kind—a
single large square sail on the mainmast being the chief means of
propulsion. In the case of large vessels there was a sort of square
sail on a short mast at the stern, and a similar one at the bow; but
these would be of more use in steering than in propelling. The Romans
appear to have had a small triangular sail, like the Greek letter Delta
(Δ), which bore the name of _suppara_, from its supposed resemblance to
a woman’s shift;[42] but such a sail could only have been used in fair
weather.
[Sidenote: Undergirders.]
“Undergirding” a ship, as mentioned by St. Luke, is rarely practised
at the present day; but implements for that purpose—probably stream
cables or hempen hawsers—would seem certainly to have been part of the
occasional outfit of ancient vessels. They are mentioned as having been
kept in store in the Athenian arsenals, and to have been served out for
voyages known to be of unusual danger.[43]
[Sidenote: Anchors and cables.]
The use of anchors was early understood, but, in Homer’s time,
they were simply large stones attached by ropes to the prow.[44]
In after-times, much attention seems to have been paid to their
construction,[45] and ships often carried several (as St. Paul’s, which
had four[46]). A cork float marked where the anchor was sunken;[47]
and _chain_ cables were sometimes used, as is noticed by Arrian in his
account of the siege of Tyre by Alexander.[48] In St. Paul’s case, the
fact that the ship was able to anchor by the stern probably saved the
lives of those on board, as otherwise she might have driven broadside
on the rocks.
[Sidenote: Decks.]
But though, as we have stated, the small early coasting vessels may
have had no decks, the large grain-carrying ships, which performed
the voyages between Alexandria and Italy, were unquestionably fully
decked. In the so-called “ship of Theseus,”[49] there is a complete
deck, and also what would seem to be a skylight; nor need we doubt
that, in the largest and best-fitted ships, there was adequate
accommodation for both men and officers. The great ships constructed by
Ptolemy Philopater and Hiero were (as we shall see hereafter) rather
“show-ships,” and cannot be considered as representing the usual type
of even the most sumptuous of ancient merchant vessels.
[Sidenote: Nautical instruments.]
The skilled mariners of ancient days determined their latitude by
means still in use, but their instruments were very inferior. The
gnomon, in some form or other, was their most common instrument for
measuring the length of the sun’s shadow at noon on different days and
in different places. We know from Herodotus,[50] that this instrument
was of great antiquity—indeed, he ascribes the invention of it to the
Babylonians; but the report of Arrian to the Emperor Hadrian[51] of
his shipwreck implies that there were other instruments besides this
on board. Pytheas, the first known navigator of the North Sea, is said
to have determined the summer solstice at Marseilles by observing the
proportion of the shadow of the gnomon.[52] Further, Eratosthenes drew
a parallel of latitude through Gibraltar, Rhodes, and Lycia to India;
while Hipparchus made the first map, on the principle of “Mercator’s
Projection,” by transferring the celestial latitudes and longitudes
to the terrestrial globe. On the other hand, Ptolemy erred so far in
his calculation of the longitude, that he placed China 60° nearer
Europe than it really is, and thus led Columbus to fancy the distance
he had to traverse to the New World was just so much less. It must
not, however, be forgotten that Aristotle, centuries before him, when
reasoning from the assumed sphericity of the earth, was really the
first to point out that the west coast of Spain was the fittest point
of departure for India.
The latitudes were reckoned in _stadia_ from the Equator to Syracuse,
the stadium being about two hundred and one yards and one foot. The
determination of the longitude was, however, a far more difficult
problem; as the only phenomena whereby men could readily determine
the distance between any two places, viz. eclipses of the moon, would
have been of no practical value in calculating a ship’s position
at sea; moreover, it would not be easy to secure certainty in such
observations, nor could they easily be repeated. Hence the ancients
were led to depend either on actual survey, or on the vague information
obtainable from the reckonings of sailors, or on the itineraries of
travellers. We need not, therefore, be surprised when we see how
Ptolemy and the greatest of ancient geographers have erred, owing to
the impossibility of fixing with even tolerable accuracy the longitudes
of different places. It is likely that their practice of constantly
landing might have in some degree supplied their deficiency in this
particular; but we have now no record of any astronomical observations
which were made at sea, by even the most skilful of ancient navigators.
A sort of dead-reckoning—an observation of the position of the sun
during the day, or of certain stars during night—was the haphazard mode
by which their positions at sea were chiefly ascertained. If they
had been accustomed to steer a direct course instead of following the
coast line, or if they had been acquainted with the properties of the
compass, or of any instrument by which the bearings of the different
headlands could have been determined, they might, having found their
latitude, have depended, as mariners in modern times have been often
obliged to depend, with some confidence upon their dead-reckoning.
The wonder is that they should ever have ceased to hug the land, and
that they really ventured on the long voyages they unquestionably
accomplished.
[Sidenote: Mariner’s compass.]
Some writers have attempted to show that the Arabians and the Chinese
were acquainted with the mariner’s compass even in those remote ages;
but for this idea there does not seem to be any warrant whatever.
Certain it is that Marco Polo, who made voyages on the Chinese seas
in native boats, nowhere alludes to it; while Niccola de’ Conti, who
navigated the Indian waters in an Indian vessel, in 1420, after the
properties of the magnet were known in Italy, expressly states that the
mariners had no compass, but were guided by the stars of the Southern
Pole, the elevation of which they knew how to measure. Nor is there any
reason to believe that the Chinese had any greater knowledge, though
there may be in some Chinese books a notice of the physical fact that,
by constant hammering, an iron rod becomes magnetized—in other words,
has imparted to it the property of pointing to the north and to the
south.
Such a discovery, so important for purposes of navigation, would at
once have been recognised, and could not have been kept secret for ten
centuries. Moreover, there is really abundant evidence to show that
the compass had been long in use among the nations of the West before
it was adopted by the Chinese; Dr. Robertson having justly remarked
that in Arabic, Turkish, and Persian, there is not only no original
word for it, but that the name they give it is the Italian _bossolo_:
nay, further, that the Arabians have nowhere recorded any observation
by them of the variation of the needle.[53] We may add that Dr.
Robertson’s view is completely confirmed by Sir John Chardin, one of
the most learned of Eastern travellers, who made special inquiries on
this subject. “I have sailed,” says he, “from the Indies to Persia in
Indian ships when no European has been on board but myself. The pilots
were all Indians, and they used the forestaff and quadrant for their
observations. These instruments they have from us, and made by our
artists, and they do not in the least vary from ours, except that the
characters are Arabic.”[54]
[Sidenote: Speed of ancient ships.]
A few notices remain to us of the time occupied in the performance of
different voyages by ancient vessels, from which we may deduce the
general fact, that though owing to their construction—being generally
from three to four times as long as they were broad, with shallow
keels, and rarely other than square sails—they could not have made
much way _on_ a wind, they were capable of considerable speed when
the wind was right aft. Thus Pliny states that a merchant-ship passed
from Messina to Alexandria in six days; another from the Pillars of
Hercules to Ostia in seven; another from the nearest port of Spain
in four; another from Narbonne in three, and another from Africa in
two.[55] So, too, Arrian relates that the ship in which he sailed on
the Euxine accomplished five hundred stadia (or, as is more probable,
three hundred stadia) before mid-day;[56] and St. Luke tells us that he
ran from Rhegium to Puteoli (one hundred and eighty-two miles) by the
second day after he had started:[57] but, in all these cases, we may be
quite sure that the sailors had (as St. Luke distinctly states was his
case) a good stiff breeze abaft.
[Illustration: ANCIENT CARAVAN AND OTHER ROUTES.
_Engraved for Lindsay’s History of Merchant Shipping._
_Stanford’s Geog. Estabt. 6 & 7 Charing Cross_
London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low, & Searle.]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See a good passage in Claudian’s “Rape of Proserpine,” on this
subject; and Virgil, Georg. i. 136.
[2] Noah’s Ark, B.C. 2348.
[3] Gen. vi. 15.
[4] Gen. vii. 16, 17. Cory, “Ancient Fragm.,” for traditions of the Ark
in various lands.
[5] The Scriptural narrative of a great flood, and of a great vessel
to float upon it, has just met with a remarkable confirmation. At a
meeting of the Society of Biblical Archæology, Sir Henry Rawlinson
in the chair, on December 3, 1872, Mr. George Smith, of the British
Museum, read a paper, giving an account of his discovery, on cuneiform
tablets (part of the so-called library of Ashur-ban-i-pal, king of
Nineveh), of an unquestionable account of the Deluge. The name of the
king under whom this event occurred cannot as yet be deciphered, nor
can anything like a certain date be assigned to it; but Sir Henry
Rawlinson accepted fully the truth of Mr. Smith’s decipherings. Of the
inscription describing the Flood, there are fragments of three copies,
containing duplicate texts.
[6] Layard, First Series. Pls. 10, 12, 13, 15, 25, 27, 28.
[7] Hügel, “Travels in Cashmir,” p. 27, with a picture, p. 247.
[8] Pliny, vii. 57. Cf. also Lucan, Phars. iv. 131. Such vessels were
called “boats sewn together,” Plin. xxiv. 65; and Virgil (Æn. vi. 448)
gives the same title to Charon’s boat.
[9] Layard, “Nineveh and Babylon,” pp. 522-524.
[10] “Relaçion historica del Viage a la America Meridional,” 1748;
Charnock, “Hist. Mar. Arch.” i. p. 12.
[11] Herod. i. 1.
[12] Gen. xlix. 13.
[13] Homer (Od. v. 243), &c., gives some curious details of the
building of the vessel of Ulysses; whence it appears that he made
use of an axe, had means of cutting planks, together with a boring
instrument to make holes for nails and hooks: he had also ropes, and at
least one sail. His bulwark was raised higher by wickerwork, to prevent
the sea dashing over.
[14] Hom. Od. xii. 403, as compared xiv. 302.
[15] Thucyd. ii. 13, 14.
[16] Pliny, xvi. 158.
[17] Ovid, Metam. xi. 516, and Epist. ad Œnonen, v. 42.
[18] John Locke, “Hist. of Navigation,” prefixed to Harris’s “Coll. of
Voyages.”
[19] Cæsar, Bell. Gall. iii. 29.
[20] Livy, iv. 21. Cæsar, Bell. Gall. i. 12. Tibull. ii. 5, 34.
[21] Millin’s “Dict. de Beaux-Arts.”
[22] Acts xxviii. 11.
[23] Ovid, Trist. i. 9, 2.
[24] Pliny, xix. 5.
[25] Hom. Il. ii. 637. Od. ix. 125; xi. 124.
[26] Herod. iii. 58.
[27] Plaut. Pœn. i. 2, 6.
[28] Aristoph. Equit. 1313.
[29] Virg. Æn. iii. 119.
[30] Hom. Odyss. iii. 4. Anthol. vi. c. xxi. Ep. 1.
[31] Horat. Od. i. 5, 15.
[32] Petron. c. lxiii.
[33] Polyb. lib. x.
[34] Stat. Theb. v. 343. Silius, vi. 361.
[35] Xenoph. Hist. i. Polyb. lib. x. Arrian, Peripl. Mar. Eux.
[36] Ovid. Metam. iii.
[37] Propert. lib. ii. v. 990.
[38] Xen. Œcon. v. Athen. xv.
[39] Arrian, Exp. Alex. vi.
[40] James Smith, “Voyage of St. Paul,” pp. 147-150.
[41] See Smith, pp. 143-147. The same practice may be noticed on some
of the English municipal seals: see below, p. 399, &c.
[42] Lucan, v. 428; Stat. vii. 32.
[43] Polyb. xxviii. 3. Appian, v. 91. Cf. Boeckh, Seewesen, &c., p. 134.
[44] Hom. Il. i. 436. Od. ix. 137.
[45] Pliny, vii. 209.
[46] Acts xxvii. 29.
[47] Paus. viii. 12. Pliny, xvi. 34.
[48] Arrian, Exped. Alex. ii. 21.
[49] Antichità di Ercolano, ii. 1. 14.
[50] Herod, ii. 109.
[51] Arrian, Peripl. Mar. Eux.
[52] Strabo, ii. 8.
[53] Hist. of India; Notes and Observations, p. 333—and below, p. 233.
[54] Chardin’s Travels, p. 441 _et seq._
[55] Nat. Hist. xix. 3, 4.
[56] Peripl. Mar. Eux. c. 7.
[57] Acts xxviii. 13.
MERCHANT SHIPPING.
CHAPTER I.
Maritime commerce of Antiquity—Coasting—Tyre—Argonautic
Expedition—Queen Semiramis—The Phœnicians—Early notices of
them—The prophecy of Ezekiel—Trade in tin—Origin of the name
“Cassiterides Insulæ.”—Amber—Mainland trade of Phœnicia—Cause of
prosperity—Carthage—Utica—Commercial policy—Trade with Spain—Trade
in Africa—The commercial policy of Carthage—Limits of trade.
[Sidenote: Maritime commerce of Antiquity.]
When different tribes were desirous of exchanging with each other
the commodities their countries respectively produced, their first
consideration would naturally be the means of transport; and though we
may not be able to fix the period when it commenced, the interchange of
goods by barter must have been nearly coexistent with the existence of
man himself. In the most ancient times the chief commercial routes were
undoubtedly overland; but it may safely be assumed that at a scarcely
less early period trading vessels had begun to creep along the shores
of the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Mediterranean, and to pass from
island to island amid the land-locked waters of the Levant.
[Sidenote: Coasting.]
There can, indeed, be no doubt that, till a period comparatively
recent, the characteristic of all early navigation was that of a
coasting trade, the mariners seldom quitting the land except when
constrained to do so by some unavoidable necessity, such as the
violence of a gale or the force of currents, or when a great saving
of distance could be effected by crossing the mouths of deep bays
where the headlands were at a moderate distance from each other. But
a coasting navigation is really subject to greater difficulties and
dangers than any other, and hence has in all times had the property
of forming the most expert seamen. Thus it was that the seamen of
Tyre found their way to Carthage, and ultimately through the pillars
of Hercules to Gades and the tin-bearing islands of the West: and
thus, too, the States of Tyre and of her great colony, Carthage, for
centuries maintained their power and lofty position in the midst of
nations in other respects greatly their superiors. By the prosecution,
too, of coasting voyages the Portuguese, in later ages, passed the
Cape of Good Hope, and reached the East Indies. Indeed nothing was
more likely to advance discovery than voyages of such a character,
for which the position of the three continents of the ancient world
afforded considerable natural facilities, especially when taken in
connection with the two long narrow seas known as the Red Sea and the
Persian Gulf. Again, the Mediterranean, with its subordinate portions,
comprising the Adriatic and the Levant, with the Black Sea and the Sea
of Azov, was peculiarly adapted for the commencement of an over-sea
trade with a shipping still rude and with sailors little skilled; while
its position in the centre, as it were, of these three continents,
surrounded by the most fruitful and civilized regions of the then
known world, prepared it, naturally, to be the principal scene of such
an intercourse.
It should also be remembered that the Mediterranean possesses the
singular advantages of a very considerable number of excellent harbours
and roadsteads, with numerous islands, projecting promontories, and
deep bays, affording excellent shelter for small undecked craft; and,
more than this, that the two nations who were, in remote ages, the most
eminent among its merchant navigators, the Tyrians and Carthaginians,
were, as a rule, peaceful traders, and slow to take up arms except
in self-defence. The Indian Ocean, within prescribed limits, and the
Persian and Arabian Gulfs, afforded somewhat similar facilities,
from the moderate distance between the opposite shores, and from the
periodical winds, which change their direction twice in the year—a
fact which could hardly fail to have been early recognised, though the
reason of this change may have remained long unsuspected. Bearing,
therefore, these physical facts and conditions in mind, it is not
unreasonable to believe that long and distant voyages were accomplished
with no greater nautical science than has been generally conceded to
the most ancient mariners.
[Sidenote: Tyre.]
We find, too, as might be supposed, that the nations who held in their
hands the means of conducting the largest amount of maritime commerce
were the most prosperous as well as the most powerful. The small state
of Phœnicia, of which, in its most prosperous days, Tyre was the
capital, though insignificant in territory and population, as compared
with either Syria or Egypt, possessed in some respects far greater
power than either. Holding, during many centuries, the command of the
sea, she was able, in great measure, to control them as she pleased,
and to prohibit their intercourse with any nations that could not be
reached by their caravans. Phœnicia, therefore, as the leading maritime
state at the earliest period to which any reliable records ascend, is
entitled to the first consideration in any work having for its object
an historical account of Merchant Shipping. To trace the course of the
extensive maritime trade of the Phœnicians is to elucidate the progress
of navigation in ancient times.
[Sidenote: Argonautic Expedition.]
Before, however, we speak of the Phœnicians we must briefly notice
two maritime adventures, which, though fabulous in most of their
details, were highly estimated by the ancients, and had, doubtless,
some foundation in fact. The first of these, the Argonautic Expedition,
as it was called, was evidently a commercial enterprise, promoted by
reports of abundant deposits of gold along the eastern shores of the
Black Sea. It is remarkable that the name of the ship from which the
expedition itself derived its appellation is almost certainly taken
from the Semitic word _arek_, “long,”[58] suggesting that it was
perhaps the first “long” ship, and indicating a direct connection with
the Phœnicians, who spoke the dialect to which this name belongs.
[Sidenote: Queen Semiramis.]
The second is the celebrated legend of Queen Semiramis, and of the
fleet she employed the Phœnicians in building, which is given at
great length by Diodorus.[59] That such a fleet was ever built, or
that Semiramis invaded India by its means, may well be questioned;
but, since the interpretation by Sir Henry Rawlinson of the Assyrian
inscriptions, we know that Semiramis is not a mythical personage, but a
real queen within historical times. In the Assyrian Hall at the British
Museum stand two statues of the god Nebo, each bearing a cuneiform
inscription, with the statement that they were made for Queen Semiramis
by a sculptor of Nineveh. Semiramis was, in fact, the wife of the
Assyrian king who is mentioned in the Bible under the name of Pul.[60]
[Sidenote: The Phœnicians.]
To recur to the Phœnicians. There has been much discussion as to
whence they came; and many able writers a few years since, as Bochart
and Heeren, held the view that they were the same as the Canaanites.
Modern research, however, fully confirms the judgment of Herodotus,[61]
that they were really immigrants from the shores of the Persian Gulf;
thereby, in themselves, affording an illustration of that great law of
migration westwards, of which that of Abraham and of his family, and
that of Chedorlaomer from Elam to the valley of the Jordan, are the
earliest recorded instances. There seems, indeed, to have been a marked
distinction between the Phœnicians and the Canaanites; the former
having been a peaceable mercantile population, generally on terms of
good will with the Jews, while the Canaanites were a fierce and warlike
race. The names, too, of many of the Phœnician cities in Syria are
believed to be of Hamite, and not of Semitic origin, as, for instance,
those of Askalon, Arka, Aradus, Gaza, and, most probably, those also of
Sidon and Tyre.
It is remarkable that a district, whose people became so famous in the
early history of the world, should have been confined within so limited
an area; for the average breadth of Phœnicia never exceeded twelve
miles, while sometimes it is considerably less. In length it was about
two hundred and twenty-five miles, from Aradus in the north to Joppa in
the south.
[Sidenote: Early notices of them.]
But if its territory was small, its position was admirably fitted for
the grandest development of over-sea trade; and Tyre itself occupied
pre-eminently the situation best fitted for carrying on the commerce
of the then known world. We shall, therefore, briefly trace the course
of that commerce, with a sketch of the chief places to which the
Tyrians traded, and with some notice of the colonies they founded in
the prosecution of this object; for to the activity of this remarkable
people we owe the first link connecting the civilization of the East
with Europe and Western Africa.[62]
The inhabitants of Phœnicia are first mentioned as Sidonians of the
coast (though the name Phœnician also occurs), whose trinkets, like
those of Autolycus, captivated the maidens of the Grecian islands,[63]
and the produce of the Sidonian looms is said in the Iliad[64] to have
been used for the most costly offerings to the gods. A little later we
are able to trace them to Cyprus, Carthage, Malta, Sicily, the Balearic
Islands, and, through the Pillars of Hercules, to Cadiz on the shores
of the Atlantic. At first, probably, kidnapping went hand-in-hand
with more legitimate trade; but, even in remote times, the presence
of the Phœnicians must have been deemed beneficial, or Pindar would
not have compared his own relations with his patron Hiero to those of
a Phœnician merchant.[65] Indeed there is no recognised value in the
dealings of the civilized with the uncivilized when they first meet;
hence those Phœnicians need not be deemed unjust who exchanged the
pottery of Athens against the ivory of Africa.[66]
[Sidenote: The prophecy of Ezekiel.]
Phœnician commerce was probably at its highest when Nebuchadnezzar,
with the view, it is likely, of obtaining a powerful navy, made his
famous attack upon Tyre. Hence the description of Tyre, and of her
dealings with the nations around her, in the celebrated prophecy of
Ezekiel, ch. xxvii., has great value as showing what her state was
(about B.C. 588) when ruin was immediately impending over her; and
it becomes worth while to give an attentive consideration to the
statements of the prophet, who was evidently well acquainted with the
history of Tyre. Thus, after stating that Tyre was “a merchant of the
people for many isles,”[67] Ezekiel tells us that her “ship boards”
were made “of fir-trees of Senir,” her masts of “cedars from Lebanon,”
her oars “of the oaks of Bashan,” and the benches of her galleys “of
ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim.”[68] It is true that doubts
have been expressed as to the fitness of some of these materials for
the purposes mentioned; but it is, perhaps, best not to strain to the
uttermost a description obviously poetical. The “ivory” here noticed is
most likely box-wood,[69] the abundant produce of Corsica, Italy, and
Spain, of the “Isles of Chittim,” or Western Europe.
“The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad” (Aradus, now Ruad,) “were thy
mariners;”[70] but Tyre kept the command of her ships in her own hands,
for “thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots.”[71]
“The ancients of Gebal,” Ezekiel continues, “and the wise men thereof
were in thee thy calkers. All the ships of the sea with their mariners
were in thee to occupy their merchandise;”[72] that is, besides their
own shipping, they largely employed those of surrounding and seafaring
peoples, as those of Cyprus, and probably of Rhodes and Crete. “Fine
linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest
forth to be thy sail; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was
that which covered thee.”[73] The isles of Elishah are generally
supposed to be the Greek Archipelago, and Pausanias states that the
purple of the coast of Laconia, which was but little inferior to that
of Tyre itself, was used for the decoration of awnings.[74] “Javan”
(the Ionian Greeks) “Tubal, and Meshech” (probably the people of the
southern coasts of the Black Sea) “they were thy merchants; they traded
the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market;”[75] a trade
in slaves which has survived to the present day from the neighbouring
district of Circassia; as, also, many of the brazen vessels procurable
at Mosul and other Turkish entrepôts derive their copper from the
mountain districts of the Taurus.
Again, “They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses
and horsemen and mules,”[76] a species of merchandise equally existent
now in Armenia (or Togarmah),[77] that country being still as famous
for its horses and mules as it was then. The constant denunciations of
the prophets show how the baneful trade in slaves prevailed of old.[78]
The Mossynoeci and Chalybes were famous for their mineral wealth;[79]
and the prophet adds, “Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the
multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they
traded in thy fairs.”[80] “The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in
thy market.”[81] Tarshish has been identified by some with Tartessus
in Spain, by others with other places; but the probability is that
the phrase “ships of Tarshish” was an accepted term for any vessels
with large and rich cargoes, like our name “Indiamen.” Ancient history
abounds with notices of the mineral wealth of the Spanish Peninsula.
Aristotle tells us that silver was once so abundant there, that the
Phœnicians not only freighted their ships with it, but even made their
anchors of that precious metal;[82] and iron, lead, salt, corn, and
wine, were among its most common productions.[83]
[Sidenote: Trade in tin.]
Tin, which has been often attributed, as by the prophet, to Spain,
probably came thence only in small quantities;[84] though some is,
indeed, still found in Porto, Beira, and Bragança, and was exhibited
in the Exhibition of 1862. The great bulk, however, of this metal was
brought from the _Cassiterides Insulæ_, unquestionably the Scilly
Islands, and from Cornwall; partly, as may be readily believed, by
Phœnician vessels which sailed thither from Gades, and partly from St.
Michael’s Mount, whence it was conveyed, through France, on the backs
of horses, as Diodorus has pointed out, to the great Roman colonies of
Marseilles and Narbonne.[85]
In the Museum at Truro is still preserved a pig of tin, supposed by
some to be one of the original Phœnician blocks. It is impossible to
assign even a probable period for the commencement of the tin trade;
but this is certain, that some of the earliest objects in metal which
have come down to us, are formed of an alloy of copper with tin,
generally in nearly the same proportions, _viz._ ten to twelve per
cent. of tin. Such monuments are the nails which fastened on the plates
of the so-called Treasury of Atreus at Mycenæ, the instruments found in
the earliest Egyptian tombs, the bowls and lion-weights from Nineveh,
and the so-called “celts” from European graves. All these facts tend
to show that the ancient world must have been acquainted with tin at a
very remote period.
[Sidenote: Origin of the name “Insulæ Cassiterides.”]
There has been much discussion as to the meaning of the word
_cassiteros_, which has no equivalent in either the Semitic or the
Greek families of languages; on the other hand, the Sanscrit name
for tin, _kastira_, is almost the same. It seems, therefore, not
improbable that the Phœnicians, while still in their old homes on
the Persian Gulf, may have found their way in pre-historic ages to
India, and may there have met with it, as it is abundant at Banka in
the Straits of Sumatra; then, when in later days they found it again
in even greater abundance in England, that they gave it the name they
had previously adopted from the far East.[86] The trade in tin was so
valuable that the Phœnicians did their best to keep secret the locality
whence they obtained it; and Strabo tells a curious tale of a merchant
captain, whose ship was pursued by the Romans, and who preferred
stranding his vessel to allowing her to fall into their hands, whereby
the secret would have been discovered; and moreover, that on his return
home, he recovered from his government the value of the ship he had
thus sacrificed for the public weal of his country.[87]
[Sidenote: Amber.]
Another very important trade may be noticed here, though it is not
strictly of Phœnician origin, that in _amber_. This semi-mineral
substance, as is well known, is procured chiefly from the shores of
the Baltic, though it is not unknown elsewhere. There is a curious
record of what was supposed to be its discovery, in Pliny’s account[88]
of an exploratory voyage by Pytheas, of Marseilles, who named the
island whence he obtained it Abulus. Xenophon of Lampsacus, however,
calls the island Baltia—whence obviously our Baltic. The amber trade
is strangely mixed up with one of the most poetical of ancient
legends, that of the daughters of Phaethon, who are said to have been
changed into poplars, and to have wept amber by the banks of a river
called Eridanus, generally identified with the great river of Italy,
the Po. But there was also an Eridanus on the Baltic shores, which
has left traces of its name in that of a small river still flowing
near the modern town of Dantzig. Tacitus, referring to amber as an
article of commerce—the native name of which he states to be _glesum_
(_glass?_)—refers to the Suionæ, who dwelt along those shores, and had
vessels differing from the Roman type in that they were equally high
at prow and stern. This is even now characteristic of what are called
Norway yawls.[89]
[Sidenote: Mainland trade of Phœnicia.]
It is not so easy to trace the course of Phœnician commerce with the
countries on the mainland to the north, east, and south, as it is in
the case of the islands of the west. But here, too, the statements
of the Prophet come to our aid, and enable us to fill up an outline
which would have been otherwise very incomplete. Thus we find Ezekiel
saying, “The men of Dedan were thy merchants ... they brought thee
for a present horns of ivory and ebony,”[90] and “precious cloths for
chariots.”[91] So Syria,[92] Dan and Javan,[93] and “the merchants
of Sheba and Raamah,”[94] dealt with Tyre in precious stones, fine
linen, broidered work, and gold. From “Judah and the land of Israel,”
from “Minnith and Pannag,” she obtained “wheat and honey, and oil and
balm;”[95] from Damascus, “the wine of Helbon and white wool;”[96]
and from “Arabia and all the princes of Kedar,” lambs and rams and
goats.[97] Lastly, to those “of Persia, and of Lud, and of Phut,” she
was indebted for her mercenaries, for they “were in thine army, thy men
of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy
comeliness. The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round
about, and the Gammadims were in thy towers: they hanged their shields
upon thy walls round about; they have made thy beauty perfect.”[98]
The probability is that most of the Tyrian commerce with the East
was carried on by the aid of caravans passing through Arabia Felix
to Petra, and thence to the western seaports of Gaza, Askalon, and
Ashdod.[99] Many of the more precious articles were obtainable direct
from Arabia;[100] spices, of which cinnamon and cassia (the produce of
the same plant, _Laurus cassia_), were of great importance, were best
procured thence up to the discovery of Ceylon;[101] while some, like
the “bright iron” and the calamus (_Calamus aromaticus_) point to India
itself for their origin. The “bright iron,” for which Diodorus states
that the Arabians exchanged equal weights of gold,[102] is perhaps the
famous _Wootz_ steel.[103] Asshur and Chilmad, who were “thy merchants
in all sorts of things, in blue clothes, and broidered work, and in
chests of rich apparel, bound with cords, and made of cedar,”[104]
point to articles of commerce for which, from a very early period,
Babylon and Nineveh were famous.[105] We may also gather that it must
have been for the extension of Babylonian commerce, from the Persian
Gulf to Damascus on the north, that Nebuchadnezzar built Teredon, near
the present Bussorah.[106] The mode of packing rich garments, like
those described in Ezekiel, is one still in use among the natives of
Upper India.
We may add that civilization owes to the Phœnicians the invention of
the alphabet; and, probably, that of the well-known weight of ancient
Greece, the _mna_, or _mina_, which is found on certain lion-weights
from Nineveh, bearing bilingual legends in Assyrian and Phœnician,
their value being expressed in the latter tongue:[107] they also
discovered the Cynosure (called after them, Phœnice), the last star in
the Little Bear, which, as nearly identical with the Pole Star, gave
superior fixity to their observations;[108] while they are said to
have noticed at Gades the connection between the moon and the oceanic
tides.[109]
[Sidenote: Cause of prosperity.]
It is not difficult to discern the principal causes of the success and
prosperity of these Phœnician traders, which we may be sure did not
rest, as some writers[110] have supposed, on an extensive system of
piracy. This, and other evils of a similar character, may have existed
among them, as elsewhere, for a certain period; but they would not have
ruled the maritime commerce of the world, had not their power rested
on foundations far more firm than those of robbery and plunder. No
nation has ever become great merely by lawless acts. We believe their
success was chiefly due to the practice of dealing with any one who was
willing to deal with them, and to the encouragement they invariably
gave to perfect freedom of intercourse. Nor must it be forgotten that
they largely imported the raw materials of other countries, assorting
their various products to suit the demand, and transporting them when
thus assorted, together with their own manufactures, to all parts of
the world.
Their practice, indeed, was as perfect as their policy was wise. The
merchants of Tyre were the first to establish the system of factories
or agencies, where they were able not only to dispose of their several
cargoes to the best advantage, but to collect the produce of other
lands so as to be ready for shipment on the arrival of their fleets.
Every nation was, in fact, their merchant; just as every nation is, at
the present moment, manufacturing or producing something for England.
Again, to the Tyrians belongs the credit of the establishment of the
first regular colonies; some of which, as Carthage, probably far
surpassed in wealth and power those of the mother city—nay, what is
more, they succeeded in planting their colonies on terms so liberal
as to retain through all time an affectionate remembrance from their
children; for we know that, as Tyre refused the aid of her fleet to
Cambyses when he wished to attack Carthage[111] so Carthage offered
a refuge to the inhabitants of Tyre when besieged by Alexander.[112]
Thus, without the aid of conquering armies, this remarkable people
spread over the remotest parts of the then known world, establishing
the arts of peace among nations previously buried in darkness and
barbarism, and making the “solitary places of the earth to rejoice.”
No commercial nation of either ancient or modern times presents a
history, so far as we can trace it, more worthy of imitation than that
of Phœnicia. Liberal, by comparison, in its policy, and enlightened
in its intercourse with other peoples, it offered, in the plenitude
of its power, an example to the ancient world of what industry and a
sound policy could effect—a course worthy of imitation, even now. All
nations “were merchants of Tyre;” that is, all nations found it to
their advantage to be on good terms with such a people; and it would
be well if some of the nations of our own times could be persuaded to
act on Tyrian principles, and if, instead of checking free intercourse
by the imposition of high protective duties, they would do as Tyre did
2600 years ago, invite all nations to be their merchants.[113]
[Sidenote: Carthage.]
[Sidenote: Utica.]
Of all her colonies, Carthage was the one of which Tyre had the best
reason to be proud. Situated on a peninsula, in Lat. 36° 55´ N.,
10° 20´ E., with a long narrow neck of land westward, forming a
double harbour for ships of war and commerce, it is believed to have
been founded between B.C. 878 and B.C. 826, the Roman writers, as a
rule, assuming Carthage to have been only a collection of huts till
Dido[114] came. On the other hand, Utica[115] is distinctly stated from
_Phœnician records_ to have been in existence two hundred and eighty
years before Carthage. As, too, it was earlier in date, so did it long
survive the greater city, being, according to Strabo, in his time, the
metropolis of Northern Africa. Utica appears also as an independent
power in the treaties between Carthage and the Romans.
The headland first occupied by the Tyrians, near the harbour now called
the Goletta, is exactly the kind of place Thucydides[116] says the
Phœnicians always selected; a promontory easy of defence and commanding
an adjoining port. Modern travellers have recognized in the “Hill
of St. Louis,”[117] the site of the ancient Byrsa (itself a genuine
Phœnician word, meaning _fortress_).
[Sidenote: Commercial policy.]
Unfortunately, no ancient historian has given us any reliable
information as to the means whereby Carthage raised herself so far
above the other Phœnician colonies. But these may be in part traced
to the natural fertility of her soil, the excellent situation of the
city for carrying on a large inland as well as maritime commerce, and,
above all, to the firmness with which she adhered to the enlightened
policy of her founders. The Carthaginians closely followed the example
of the Tyrians, in establishing colonies of their own, whenever
they could do so advantageously, their first object being maritime
commerce, a preference being, therefore, naturally given by them to
islands such as Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, the Baleares, and Melita
(Malta). “Carthage,” says Aristotle,[118] “continually sent out
colonies composed of her citizens into the districts around her, and by
these means gave them wealth. It is a proof,” he adds, “of a mild and
intelligent government, that it assists the poor by accustoming them
to labour.” Thus the Carthaginians, while they enriched themselves,
increased the prosperity of surrounding states and tribes; and, by
promoting colonization, prevented the too great increase of their home
population. Many of their colonies embraced the rich provinces to the
west of Carthage, and the territory under the immediate control of the
republic was little less than two hundred geographical miles in length.
As the native population of these provinces comprised many of the nomad
tribes, the Carthaginians were enabled to direct their attention to the
inland trade of Africa, by caravans which crossed the Libyan Desert,
and penetrated as far as the Niger and Æthiopia on the one hand, and to
Upper Egypt and the Nile on the other.
There is no justice in the assertion that Carthage ever exhibited
a lust of conquest. Throughout her whole career she seems to have
acted in the spirit of her Tyrian ancestors; as long as her merchants
were free to trade, her neighbours were not disturbed, her naval
reputation in later days having been mainly caused by the necessity of
protecting her commerce and her colonies from the piratical attacks of
other nations. With Spain, for instance, she maintained for centuries
extensive and peaceful commercial relations: nor was it till the Greeks
and Romans had become the most daring marauders in the Mediterranean,
that Carthage, in self-defence, fitted out a navy, and thus became a
great naval power. That these peaceful employments were crowned with
success, we learn from the universal testimony of antiquity, it being
generally admitted that, in the manufactures she had transplanted from
Tyre and Sidon, she greatly surpassed in excellence whatever reputation
the parent state had acquired. Moreover, we have still extant a series
of coins of extraordinary beauty, struck for her no doubt, in many
instances, by Greek artists of Sicily and Magna Græcia, yet which could
hardly have been intended, as some numismatists have thought, for only
her colonial cities of Panormus, Segesta, &c.[119]
Acknowledged by Polybius[120] to have possessed hereditary pre-eminence
in nautical matters, with the undisputed dominion of the sea for a long
period, it may be fairly assumed that her ships were then unrivalled.
Indeed Aristotle states that the Carthaginians were the first to
increase the size of their galleys from three to four banks of oars.
[Sidenote: Trade with Spain.]
As the Carthaginians followed in the wake of the Phœnicians, it is
impossible to ascertain the exact period of their colonization of
Spain; but it is well known that Gades (Cadiz) was one of their
earliest and most important commercial entrepôts, and that thence
they sent expeditions to the south and to the north, along the
western shores of Africa and Europe, securing for themselves the most
favourable positions as marts for their merchandise.
Their first expedition to the western shores of Africa was that of
Hanno, it is said, with sixty ships, of fifty oars each, and an
incredible number of emigrants. Though all traces of their settlements
have long since been obliterated, there is no reason to question the
fact that such a voyage was really made, that Hanno did reach the small
island of Cerne (probably the modern Arguin in N. Lat. 20.5), that he
laid the foundations of six towns, or trading stations, and that he
proceeded farther along a coast, inhabited by negro races, for a period
of twenty-six days, in all probability passing Cape Verde, even if he
did not visit the islands of that name.[121]
About the same time Himilco[122] was sent to explore the north-western
coasts of Europe, founding, as he proceeded, if we may believe the
very curious poem of Festus Avienus, settlements even in Britain and
Ireland. The whole of this story (which has been carefully translated
by Heeren, “Asiatic Nations,” i., p. 502, and appendix) is well worthy
perusal; and is almost certainly based on reliable traditions or
records. Among other things, the navigator speaks of men who dwelt in
lands rich in tin and lead; who used boats made of skins and leather;
of the Œstrymnades, or Scilly Islands; of the ancient trade between
them and Tartessus; and of a sea where weeds abounded so much that
navigation was impeded (probably part of the Sargasso). Nor ought it
to be forgotten that many antiquaries, more perhaps formerly than
now, have been of the opinion that metallic objects of unquestionably
Phœnician workmanship have been found in Irish bogs.
[Sidenote: Trade in Africa.]
On the western coast of Africa, the island of Cerne was the chief
Carthaginian depôt; the goods from the merchant vessels being here
unladen, and placed under tents, to be conveyed thence in smaller
vessels to the continent. This trade itself was conducted wholly by
barter. The method is well described by Herodotus. “The Carthaginians,”
says he,[123] “are wont to sail to a nation beyond the Pillars of
Hercules, on the Libyan coast. When they come there, they transport
their wares on shore and leave them, and, after kindling a fire, go
back to their ships. Upon this signal the natives come down to the sea,
and placing gold against the wares, again return. The Carthaginians
then again approach, and see whether what they have left be sufficient.
If it be, they take it and depart; should it, however, not be enough
for their wares, they again go back to their ships and wait; and the
other party bring more gold, until the strangers are satisfied. But
neither party deals unfairly by the other, for the one touches not the
gold till the value of the wares be brought, nor the other the wares
until the gold be taken away.”
A similar system of silent barter has been noticed by many travellers.
Thus Captain Lyon states that “In Soudan, beyond the desert, in the
countries abounding in gold, there dwells an invisible nation who are
said to trade only by night. Those who come to traffic for their gold,
lay their merchandise in heaps, and retire. In the morning they find
a certain quantity of gold dust placed against every heap, which, if
they think sufficient, they leave the goods, if not, they let them
both remain until more of the precious ore is added.”[124] Hoest says
the same thing in the case of very large caravans, from Marocco to
Timbuctoo. “The Moors enter not into the Negro country, but only go to
a certain place on the frontiers, where one of each party exhibits and
exchanges the goods, without scarcely opening their lips.”[125]
[Sidenote: The commercial policy of Carthage.]
The commercial treaties between Carthage and Rome, to which fuller
reference will hereafter be made, show that if the duties levied were
in some cases heavy, they were not differential or protective, but
chiefly with the object of securing a sufficient revenue. That, like
all commercial nations, the Carthaginians were jealous of competitors
need not be doubted, but while other nations were content with profits
derived from intercourse among their own people, Tyre and Carthage
sought the trade of all nations and erected entrepôts where required
for this commerce.
At the same time, it must be borne in mind that free trade, pure and
simple, as now understood, could, in ancient times, have been possible
only with a very considerable modification; especially where, as was
the case with Carthage and Tyre, a large portion of the dealings with
barbarous nations was by barter; for competition, while tending
seriously to reduce the profits, could not then have increased the
demand to an extent equivalent to the reduction in price. As long as
the savage is kept in ignorance, he is ready to exchange goods of great
value for mere trifles, and rivalry would only serve to enlighten him
as to their actual value. Moreover with uncivilized nations whose wants
are limited, it is impossible to create a demand adequate to the loss
accruing from open competition. Hence Carthage watched these branches
of her trade with peculiar jealousy, and, while throwing wide open the
harbours of the capital, closed as far as possible her colonial ports
to the shipping of rival nations.
It seems, therefore, unreasonable for Heeren to call the commercial
policy of Carthage “paltry and selfish:”[126] for if she did guard the
colonial trade which her genius and industry had created, her policy
generally, as compared with that of contemporaneous nations, was as
liberal as that of Great Britain now is in comparison with that of the
United States of America. Carthage acted on principles of reciprocity,
while her neighbours were rigid protectionists. She was ready to grant,
as her treaties show, reciprocal privileges to all nations ready to
deal with her on similar conditions; and on such terms, she dealt
largely with Greece and with Egypt during the reign of the Ptolemies,
and even with Rome.
[Sidenote: Limits of trade.]
The trade of Carthage, as might be anticipated from her position,
was almost entirely with the west, her chief rivals being Sicily,
Italy, and Massalia (Marseilles), who prevented her from obtaining
anything like an exclusive monopoly. Yet the abundant details given
by Herodotus, Diodorus, Aristotle, Strabo, Terence, and Plautus, show
clearly that, even with these places, her commercial relations attained
considerable dimensions. The wines and oils of Sicily and Italy found
their best market in Carthage, the return being black slaves from
Central Africa. Malta, Corsica, Elba, produced fine cloths, wax and
honey, and iron, respectively; while the mines of Spain, with her great
port Cadiz, the entrepôt for tin from Britain, before the Massalians
brought it overland through France, produced the largest and most
enduring portion of her revenue.
To her commerce with the interior of Africa by means of caravans
mention has already been made; and it is scarcely necessary to add
that the details which Herodotus and other ancient writers give of
this trade, read much like a page out of Livingstone, or Baker, or
Du Chaillu. Then, as now, the wants of the respective populations
were much the same; if the interior could send abundance of ivory or
gold-dust, salt, a need of their daily life, could be procured only
from the Mediterranean shores. Lastly, it is certain that Carthage,
like the United States of America in modern times, was mainly indebted
for her navy to her merchant service, inasmuch as in times of peace she
set apart scarcely any shipping for merely warlike purposes.
FOOTNOTES:
[58] Gesen. Hebr. Lex. p. lxxix.
[59] Diod. ii. 16-19.
[60] 2 Kings xv. 19.
[61] Her. i. 1.
[62] Herod. i. 1; Mela, i. 12.
[63] Odys. xv. 414, &c. xiv. 29.
[64] Il. vi. 290.
[65] Pyth. ii. 125.
[66] Scyl. c. iii.
[67] Ezek. xxvii. ver. 3.
[68] Ver. 5, 6.
[69] Cf. Plin. xvi. 16; Diod. v. 14; Virg. x. 135.
[70] Ezek. xxvii. ver. 8.
[71] Ver. 8.
[72] Ver. 9.
[73] Ver. 7.
[74] Paus. iii. 21.
[75] Ver. 13.
[76] Ver. 14.
[77] Cf. Strab. xi. 553.
[78] Joel iii. 6; Amos i. 6, 9.
[79] Plin. xxxiv. 2; Fest. in Virg. Æn. xii. 6.
[80] Ezek. xxvii. ver. 12.
[81] Ver. 25.
[82] De Mirab. Ausc. 147; cf. Diod. v. 35.
[83] Lucret. v. 1256; Strab. iii. 147 and 159; Polyb. x. 10; Plin.
xxxiv. 15; Martial, iv. 35.
[84] Plin. iv. 34; xxxiv. 47; Strab. iii. 147.
[85] Diod. v. 38, 5.
[86] _Vide_ Lassen ap. Ritter’s Erdkunde, v. p. 549; and cf. Hom. Il.
xxiii. 503, who was clearly aware of the practice of tinning.
[87] Strabo, iii. 5. For further details of the tin trade, _vide_
Herod. iii. 115; Arist. de Mundo, viii. 3; Polyb. iii. 37; Strab. v.
10; Phillips’ Mineralogy, p. 249.
[88] Plin. iii. 26.
[89] Tac. Germ. 44, 45.
[90] Ezek. xxvii. ver. 15.
[91] Ver. 20.
[92] Ver. 16.
[93] Ver. 19.
[94] Ver. 22.
[95] Ver. 17.
[96] Ezek. ver. 18.
[97] Ver. 21.
[98] Vers. 10 and 11.
[99] The Azotus of Herod. iii. 5.
[100] Cf. Strab. xvi. 777; Diod. ii. 50, for gold in “nuggets.”
[101] Cf. Vincent, ii. 702. Ezek. v. 19.
[102] Diod. iii. 45.
[103] Cf. Ritter, Erdk. v. 521; Michael. Spicel. ii. 173.
[104] Ver. 24.
[105] Cf. Nahum iii. 16; 2 Kings iii. 4; Plin. H. N. viii. 48; and
the “goodly garments of Shinar,” for the secreting of which Achan was
punished, Josh. vii. 21.
[106] Euseb. Præp. Evang. ix. 41.
[107] Norris, ap. Trans. As. Soc. xvi. 221.
[108] Manil. Astron. i. 304; Hygin. Astron. ii. 2; Callimach. Fragm. 94.
[109] Strab. i. 173.
[110] Heeren. As. Nat. i. pp. 30, 285.
[111] Herod, iii. 17, 19.
[112] Diod. ii. 190.
[113] Xenophon, in his “Œconomics,” c. 18, gives some interesting
details of a large Phœnician merchant ship which he went over, when at
anchor in the Piræeus. He appears to have entered into conversation
with the “prow’s-man” (who probably acted as supercargo), and to have
been greatly surprised at the care with which everything was arranged,
so that it could be got at at once. From the phraseology Xenophon
uses it would seem that such a vessel came, in his day, annually to
Athens. Heliodorus (v. 18) speaks, too, of the “beauty and magnitude of
Phœnician ships.”
[114] Virgil. Æn. i. 421.
[115] Arist. de Mirab. Ausc. c. 146. Strabo, xvii. p. 832. Polyb. iii.
24.
[116] Thucyd. vi. 2.
[117] Barth. “Wanderungen,” p. 94. Sir Grenville Temple’s “Excursions,”
ii. 37. Admiral W. H. Smyth’s “Mediterranean,” p. 92.
[118] Arist. Polit. ii. 11, vi. 5, and Heeren i. p. 40.
[119] The question of the reality of Carthaginian coins has been fully
examined by Müller, “Études Numismatiques,” and by Vaux, “Numism.
Chron.” vol. xxi.
[120] Polyb. i. 7, 16.
[121] Plin. ii. 169. Hanno’s “Periplus,” ap. Geogr. Græc. Minor.
Hanno’s voyage was really rather one of discovery.
[122] Plin. ibid.
[123] Herod. iv. cap. 196; cf. Scylac. “Periplus,” c. 112.
[124] Lyon’s Narrative, p. 149.
[125] Hoest, p. 279.
[126] Heeren’s “Ancient Nations of Africa,” vol. i. p. 159.
CHAPTER II.
Earliest caravan trade—Ophir—Port of Ezion-geber—The
voyages of the Jewish ships—The inland commerce of
Solomon—Babylon—Gerrha and Tylos—Babylonian commerce—Assyrian
boats—Lydia—Ionia—Caria—Phrygia—Scythians—Their caravan routes to
India, _viâ_ the Caspian.
[Sidenote: Earliest caravan trade.]
Reference has already incidentally been made to a few of the caravan
routes of very ancient times: these and other more important routes
will now and hereafter be considered somewhat more in detail, as,
antecedently to the invention of boats, there must have existed some
interchange of commodities between different nations and tribes on
land, by the agencies of different kinds of beasts of burthen; and,
here, the records of Holy Writ are, as in so many other cases, the
first available; the earliest caravan noticed in history being that
mentioned in the 37th chapter of the book of Genesis, v. 25: “behold,
a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing
spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt;” and
again, v. 28: “Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they
drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the
Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver.”
Here there is a clearly defined trade at a very remote period of
authentic history, and one which there is no reason to suppose was even
then new or unusual.
Moreover, a somewhat subsequent statement, “all countries came into
Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn” (Gen. xli. 57), proves that Egypt was
already what it remained for many centuries, the granary of adjacent,
and even of distant nations; while some of the goods she received from
Palestine in exchange were in great demand for the embalmment of the
Egyptian dead.
This the first regular trade appears to have been conducted wholly
by camels, the “ships of the desert:” an animal marvellously adapted
by Providence for the toil it has to undergo in traversing for many
continuous days almost waterless deserts.
It is worthy of note, too, that in the earliest notice we have of any
trade at all, we find slave-dealing in full operation; and, supposing
for a moment the Biblical date B.C. 1862 to be correct, it is an
interesting though accidental coincidence, that in the year 1862
_after_ Christ, the same inhuman commerce was finally put a stop to in
the United States by the direct action of its government.
But the brief words of Genesis imply more than is at first obvious—they
imply a trade with Arabia—possibly even with the yet more remote
India; for balsam and myrrh are products of the Arabian province,
Hadramaut, and the spices may have come either thence or from India.
In like manner there is reasonable probability for believing that in
the remotest ages there was a trade between Egypt and the borders
of the Persian Gulf and Indian Oceans; indeed, recent researches
strongly lead to the belief that the Egyptians, like the Phœnicians,
were immigrants from the same neighbourhood, and connected, therefore,
with the chief cities of Chaldæa, such as “Ur of the Chaldees,” the
primitive Babel, and other sites, the great mounds of which have been
partially explored by Loftus and Taylor, though it is not as yet
possible in all cases to assign to them their true ancient names.
Babylon, the great city of Nebuchadnezzar, did not then exist, nor
could Nineveh have been of importance, at least commercially. All the
evidence available, and especially that obtainable through the latest
interpretation of the Cuneiform Inscriptions, tends to show that the
greatest people in the earliest period were the Chaldæans—a race
probably older than the Egyptians, and like them of Hamite origin—the
true inventors of alphabetic writing, astronomy, agriculture,
navigation, and of other sciences, which the Semites, in after days,
claimed as their own exclusive discoveries.
It was in connexion with this trade that the ports at the head of the
Ælanitic gulf came first into existence. As the caravans of Edom or
Idumæa passed to and fro between Egypt and the borders of Arabia, the
foundation of Elath and Ezion-geber would be but the satisfying of a
necessary want; becoming, when seized by King David, places of much
greater importance than they could have been in the hands of Hadad, or
of any other petty Idumæan prince.
[Sidenote: Ophir.]
David would seem to have been the first, in connection with caravans
from Petra and from the west, to open up, by means of a line of ships,
that trade with “Ophir” which his son Solomon afterwards made so
famous. Where and what “Ophir” was, has been the subject of innumerable
essays by men of learning, but to enter into a discussion of this
uncertain though interesting inquiry, would be out of our province.
Let it suffice that the first notice in the Bible[127] clearly means
by “Ophir” someplace in Arabia, where great wealth was found, and
was no doubt applicable afterwards to all other similar places.
Those writers who, relying on the native Indian names of some of the
products said to have come thence, assert Ophir to be the name of a
people near the mouths of the Indus, advance opinions more ingenious
than convincing. If Ophir were an Arabian entrepôt for the trade of
India, the occurrence of Indian names for certain Indian products
would be as natural as the use in English of the Persian word _shâl_,
which we pronounce as they do, “shawl.” Then David’s “gold of Ophir”
may have been simply descriptive of quality, as we used to speak of
“guinea-gold.”[128]
Be this, however, as it may, it is certain that to David the Jews owe
their first practical knowledge of the result of successful commerce,
though a careful consideration of the story of his life suggests that
his coffers were filled, not so much by any legitimate trade, however
extended, as by the conquest and plunder of his neighbours. Though
probably not averse to royal monopolies, the fashion of his day, David
was a great warrior, and it is likely, indeed it is so stated on more
than one occasion, that it was by the capture of Philistine (Phœnician)
towns, the overthrow of Moab, the plunder of Hadadezer, the
garrisoning of Syria and of its chief city, Damascus, and the extortion
of heavy tribute as the condition of peace, that David accumulated
the enormous wealth which he proposed devoting to the building and
decoration of the future Temple at Jerusalem:[129] but God said, “Thou
shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much
blood upon the earth in my sight.”[130]
To Solomon more strictly belongs the great commercial results of a long
and peaceful reign, materially aided as this was by the king’s personal
superintendence, by his visits to Elath and Ezion-geber, by his treaty
of amity, mutual forbearance, and important commercial arrangements
with Hiram, King of Tyre, and last, not least, by the extraordinary
fame he thus obtained, leading, to the memorable visit to him by the
Queen of Sheba, and to the display of his wisdom and wealth, till she
felt, on beholding them, that “there was no more spirit in her.”[131]
[Sidenote: Port of Ezion-geber.]
Dean Stanley, in his “Lectures on the History of the Jewish Church,”
has eloquently described the position of Solomon’s chief port, where,
he says,[132] “Ezion-geber, the ‘Giant’s backbone,’ so called,
probably, from the huge range of mountains on each side of it, became
an emporium teeming with life and activity; the same, on the eastern
branch, that Suez has, in our own time, become on the western branch
of the Red Sea. Beneath that line of palm trees which now shelters the
wretched village of Akaba, was then heard the stir of ship-builders
and sailors. Thence went forth the fleet of Solomon, manned by Tyrian
sailors, to Ophir, in the far East, on the coast of India or Arabia.
From Arabia also, near or distant, came a constant traffic of spices,
both from private individuals and from the chiefs. So great was
Solomon’s interest in these, that he actually travelled himself to the
gulf of Akaba to see the port.”
It appears that the fleets though manned by Tyrian sailors, were under
charge of Jewish supercargoes, who were responsible for the stores
and merchandise, and conducted all the trading operations. This happy
alliance materially extended the commerce of both countries; for
shut out from the Mediterranean by the inefficiency of the ports of
Palestine, and with no communication with the Indian Ocean, except by
caravans traversing the Arabian desert, the Jewish people could in no
other way have derived material advantages from the valuable and much
coveted trade of the East. For the first time, too, the trade of Europe
was opened to the Jews through their connexion with the Tyrians; while,
on the other hand, the merchants of Tyre found in Israel a large and
lucrative field for the full development of their commerce.
[Sidenote: The voyages of the Jewish ships.]
So far as can now be ascertained, the joint fleets of Hiram and
Solomon sailed periodically from the Ælanitic or Akaba gulf, for
the East, somewhere between November and March, when the winds are
favourable for a voyage down the Red Sea. Thence, probably, a portion
of the ships shaped their course for the south-east shores of Africa,
from the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, to Zanzibar and Sofala; while a
second portion coasted to the northward till they reached the shores
of Beloochistan, Baroach (Barygaza), and even the western coasts of
Hindostan. Over-sea voyages from Arabia to India were doubtless of
considerably later date, when the character and use of the monsoons
had been more or less ascertained. “Every three years once came the
ships of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and
peacocks;”[133] a length of time which, at first sight, seems scarcely
credible, yet is accounted for by the habits of those early mariners.
The merchants of those days had no factors as consignees of their
produce or home manufactures, with orders to have ready a cargo in
return. They were therefore obliged to keep their ships as a floating
warehouse until the exported cargo had been sold, and the produce of
the country they were to take in exchange was ready for shipment.
Indeed Herodotus states, what seems to have been a common custom, that
when their stock of corn was exhausted, the mariners landed at some
convenient spot, sowed corn, and reaped the harvest, before proceeding
with their voyage.[134]
[Sidenote: The inland commerce of Solomon.]
There is some difficulty, looking at the present desolate and barren
state of Palestine and of the districts around it, in realizing the
possibility of such vast productiveness as the story of Solomon
evidently implies; and the face of the country must have greatly
changed in the last two thousand eight hundred years, for, now at
least, the land of the Edomites, and a great portion of Arabia from
the Persian Gulf to the Euphrates on the one side, and to the Red Sea
on the other, is perfectly barren. Yet, that Babylonia was once of
extraordinary fertility we know from the statements of Herodotus, and
it is possible that much of Palestine, now withering under the bane of
Turkish despotism, might revive with better and wiser treatment.
Mr. Rich[135] states that Babylonia “is not cultivated to above half
the degree of which it is susceptible;” and General Chesney[136] says
“that those portions of Mesopotamia which are still cultivated, as
the country about Hillah, show that the region has all the fertility
ascribed to it by Herodotus.”[137]
But though the Jewish trade under Solomon had reached proportions
so unusually large, these soon fell away and dwindled almost to
nothing under his successors. With his death came wars and divisions;
Jehoshaphat lost his ships at Ezion-geber, the Edomites revolted, the
Syrians under Rezin seized the port, till at length it fell into the
more powerful grasp of Tiglath Pileser, who thus finally destroyed
the only maritime career in which the Jewish people had ever taken an
active or successful part.
[Sidenote: Babylon.]
There is reason to believe that it was not many years before the time
of David that the great cities of Mesopotamia, strictly so called,
Babylon, and Nineveh, made themselves known as commercial entrepôts,
for the storing of goods on their way from the East to the West; and
that at first, and for a considerable period, Babylon was of the two
the most important. Placed advantageously so as to make available
both the Euphrates and Tigris, Babylon secured easy communication
with the interior of Asia, and was able, therefore, to supply all
the surrounding populations with the produce of the far East. She
soon became what the prophet calls her, “a land of traffic—a city of
merchants,” partly, no doubt, because the navigation of the Persian
Gulf presented fewer difficulties and dangers than that of the Red Sea,
while her traders were largely aided by the Phœnician settlement of
Tylos among the Bahrein Islands and by Gerrha, a port on the western
shores of the Persian Gulf.[138]
In Babylon itself there were manufactories of cotton and linen, which,
with the maritime imports not required for the use of the great city,
were carried by water as far as Thapsacus and thence distributed by
caravans all over Asia.
[Sidenote: Gerrha and Tylos.]
Gerrha was a place of large trade, and its merchants and ship-owners
are probably as old as any recorded in history, for they were not
merely the factors for the precious commodities of Asia and Europe,
but, in conjunction with the Midianites and Edomites, conducted the
first caravans on record. From the remotest times they carried on
an extensive trade with the Phœnicians in spices and aromatics, and
with Babylon in mineral salt and cotton, which the island of Tylos
produced in great abundance. Indeed, the words of Herodotus in his
first chapter clearly indicate the existence of such an ancient trade
conducted by aid of the Phœnicians.
[Sidenote: Babylonian commerce.]
Though frequently interrupted by the great internal revolutions of
Asia, in which Babylon was constantly compelled to take part, and
though the trading routes between Babylon and Tyre lay through wild and
inhospitable deserts, the intercourse between them continued for many
centuries, nor ceased, so far as we know from history, till the final
overthrow of Babylon by Cyrus and the Medes and Persians.
Of the objects of this commerce a tolerably certain account has been
preserved; and among these are found corn (which has been supposed to
be indigenous in Babylonia), dogs of an extraordinary breed, carpets,
cotton and woollen fabrics, woven and embroidered with figures of
mythic animals and famous alike for their texture and workmanship and
for the richness and variety of their colours. These native products
were exchanged for spices, ivory, ebony, cinnamon and precious stones.
The _sindones_, or flowing garments, of Babylon had a great reputation
from remote times, for it was “a goodly Babylonian garment,” which
tempted Achan to his destruction (Josh. vii. v. 21); and, centuries
after Babylon had almost ceased to be counted among the nations, an
Edict of Diocletian, A.D. 284, the purpose of which was to regulate the
maximum prices of articles in the empire, speaks of several products of
Babylonian manufacture.[139]
Herodotus[140] has given a curious description of the boats seen by
him when he was at Babylon—made of willows from Armenia, sewn round
with hides, so that they must have as much resembled the Welsh coracles
still in use, as they do some of the boats on the Assyrian monuments.
[Sidenote: Assyrian boats.]
If, indeed, we may assume that there was little difference between
Assyrian and Babylonian boats, the recently disentombed monuments of
Nineveh will afford excellent evidence of their character, whether for
purposes of war or pleasure, and confirm remarkably the accuracy of the
“Father of History.” Mr. Layard remarks, that vessels (or rather rafts)
of an exactly similar construction were used by him for the conveyance
of the sculptures he discovered, from Nimrúd to Bussorah. They were
generally built of twigs and boughs, and covered with skins smeared
with bitumen, to render them water-proof. Other boats represented on
the sculptures would seem to have been constructed of planks of poplar,
fastened together by wooden pins or trenails, and in some instances
by iron nails. But, though using boats and rafts of a rude type for
the conveyance of merchandise, there is no reason to suppose that
either the Assyrians or the Babylonians had any naval tastes. Like the
Egyptians and the Jews, when they wanted vessels of large dimension
or strength, they had recourse to their Phœnician neighbours. Thus,
Phœnician shipwrights built the vessels for Sennacherib’s invasion of
Chaldæa; as they were said to have done for Semiramis.[141]
Again, Shalmaneser, when about to besiege Tyre, manned his ships with
Phœnician sailors.[142]
It is probable that the vessels on the Assyrian sculptures range in
date from Tiglath Pileser I., B.C. 1110, to nearly the fall of the
empire, B.C. 625. The earliest are those of wicker work, covered with
skins.
[Illustration: (LAYARD, II. Series, Pl. 28.)]
On other sculptures we see:—
(1.) Vessels—carrying two chariots, and apparently
constructed of planks, with a double
arrangement of oars, one set for steering,
the other for rowing (Layard, I. Series,
Pl. 15, 16).
(2.) —— conveying planks, large stones, &c.
(Layard, II. Series, Pl. 10, 12, 13, &c.).
(3.) —— carrying horses (Layard’s Nin. and
Bab. p. 232).
In one instance, where a huge carved block of stone is being moved
(one of the great bulls weighing 10 tons), the boat is evidently a
flat-bottomed barge or raft.
After the Cypriote expedition, the Assyrian boats show signs of
improvement, hence a lighter and more ornamental class of vessel; one
of the best has the prow in the form of a horse’s head.
[Illustration]
Others have a broad top to their masts, not unlike the crow’s nest,
visible in some of the medieval boats, represented on the Corporate
seals of different English port towns.
Lastly, we find vessels wherein the oarsmen are obviously placed so as
to row to the best advantage. The ships are generally _biremes_, with
perhaps thirty rowers, and are decked.
On the deck of the second of these last illustrations two figures may
be noticed with white head-dresses or veils; these are, no doubt,
the wives who are accompanying their husbands in the expedition. The
circular objects attached to the sides of the ships are probably the
shields of the warriors. The rowers are evidently placed on a lower as
well as on an upper deck.
[Illustration: (LAYARD, I. Series, Pl. 71.)]
[Illustration: (LAYARD, I. Series, Pl. 71.)]
No representations of naval engagements have as yet been met with on
the Assyrian bas-reliefs, but they may be found hereafter.
The sculptures further show, contrary to what was long the received
opinion, that the ancients possessed mechanical contrivances for
diminishing manual labour, not unlike those now made use of. Indeed,
the genius that planned and carried out the sculptures at Nineveh,
might have been deemed equal to the knowledge of the pulley, or of the
wheel and axle; and such we find to have been the case. In the museum
at Leyden there exists a well made pulley, brought from Egypt; and on
a bas-relief from Nineveh we clearly discern that the old mechanical
contrivances differed inappreciably from those of modern days. Similar
appliances would certainly have been adopted on shipboard, and ancient
vessels must have been furnished with pulleys, or such other simple
mechanical contrivances as were required for raising the anchor,
hoisting heavy sails, or otherwise assisting manual labour.
In fact, the sculptures exhibit most of the common implements in
actual use, as the saw, the pickaxe, the adze, and the handspike (or
lever of the first class). Moreover, there are still preserved in the
British Museum specimens of the metallic parts of all the above-named
instruments.
Having called attention to the more important nations, the Tyrians, the
Carthaginians, the Babylonians and the Assyrians, some other peoples
who, in the ancient history of the world, played an important part, as
maritime or naval states, require to be noticed, but more briefly.
Among these are the following: Lydia, Ionia, Caria, Phrygia, Sinope,
Cilicia, and Scythia.
[Sidenote: Lydia.]
To take first Lydia. There can be no doubt that the Persians deemed
the conquest of Lydia one of the most important of their achievements,
in the erroneous belief that the Lydians were a great naval power. The
Lydians had a navy, and may have built it themselves (though Heeren
thinks not); but their real wealth lay in the great power of their
capital, Sardes,[143] and in the fertility of the plains above and
below it. The city has well nigh perished, but the meadows, once her
joy, still retain their marvellous luxuriance. Moreover, that Lydia
was very early a state unusually rich, may be inferred from the gold
coins still occasionally found there. These, it is now believed, are
the oldest specimens of coined money, a fact affording a striking proof
of the accuracy of Herodotus,[144] who, as a Greek, would naturally
have given the first origin of coinage to Argos, or to some other Greek
state.
[Sidenote: Ionia.]
Next in order, as memorable for their sea-faring and trading abilities,
are the inhabitants of Phocæa, Ephesus, and Smyrna, who long contested
with the Phœnicians the supremacy of the Archipelago; cities too,
which, in a humbler degree, would seem to have worked out an
inter-commercial system, much resembling the Hanseatic League of later
days.
[Sidenote: Caria.]
[Sidenote: Phrygia.]
Miletus, again, as the capital of Caria, achieved no small maritime
renown, and was the parent of colonies maintaining their sway for
centuries along the inhospitable shores of the northern side of the
Black Sea. “Her extensive commerce,” says Heeren, “was not confined
to the Mediterranean, but sought to monopolize the navigation of the
Euxine and of the Sea of Azov.”[145] Again, Phrygia, one of the
earliest commercial populations of Asia Minor, was famous for its
capital, Celænæ, a great internal entrepôt, and, in a less degree, for
the possession of Sinope, itself a colony of Miletus, and a port which
until now has attracted to itself a very considerable trade with the
populations on the shores of the Black Sea.
[Sidenote: Scythians.]
The Scythians, with boundaries perfectly undefinable, but who may be
roughly described as the inhabitants of the great Steppe country, now
known as Little Russia, and of the districts north of Circassia, for
centuries played an important part in the commerce of the ancient
world. Though chiefly nomads, they were also, to a great extent,
carriers by land, while no inconsiderable section of their population
devoted itself to agriculture. Strangely, however, they cultivated, not
that they might themselves enjoy the produce, but that they might sell
it to other nations. From the same districts, embracing Odessa, and
from the ports of the Sea of Azov, vast quantities of corn are still
annually imported into England.[146]
Nor was this all: like the modern inhabitants of the eastern shores of
the Black Sea, the Scythians were also notorious for their extensive
traffic in slaves, the countries situated to the north and east of this
inland lake affording then, as now, inexhaustible magazines for this
lucrative branch of commerce: they at the same time extended thence
their trading operations far into the interior of Asia. “As far as the
Argyppæi” (the modern Calmucks), says Herodotus,[147] “the country is
well known; and also that of the other nations which we have mentioned
before. For it is often visited either by the Scythians, of whom
inquiry may easily be made, or by the Greeks of the commercial towns on
the Borysthenes [Dnieper] and Pontus. The Scythians who go into these
districts usually carry on their affairs in seven different languages,
by the assistance of the same number of interpreters.”
[Sidenote: Their caravan routes.]
The Scythian caravans probably crossed the southern end of the Ural
mountains, and passed on, round the Caspian Sea, to Great Mongolia and
the Sea of Aral. Travelling with immense herds and numerous beasts
of burden, they were able to conduct with advantage the overland
trade through Asia Minor; following, during part of their journeys, a
road which Herodotus carefully describes and to which reference will
hereafter be made.
Herodotus states that their principal trade was in furs, and that it
had been carried on from time immemorial. They also probably dealt
largely in horses,[148] and other beasts of burden, and exchanged the
manufactures of the West for such animals, and for furs and metals of
various kinds, including gold, which was apparently to be procured in
considerable quantities.
[Sidenote: To India, _via_ the Caspian.]
These routes, as well as those through Bactra (Balkh) and Maracanda
(Samarcand), the two principal marts for Indian merchandise, were all
in connection with the Caspian Sea, across which, Herodotus informs us,
there existed an organised system of navigation.[149] On this point
Heeren remarks:[150] “In the Macedonian period, the productions of
India and Bactra were carried down the Oxus to the Caspian Sea; then
over this sea to the mouths of the Araxes and Cyrus; after that by land
to the Phasis, where they were once again conveyed by water to the
different cities on the coast of the Euxine Sea.”[151]
By means such as these, the chief trade between the western shores of
the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and the East was carried on during
the earliest periods of history. Babylon, Susa, and Nineveh, on the one
hand, with David and Solomon on the other, having been the chief causes
alike of its early success and of its vast extension.
FOOTNOTES:
[127] Gen. x. 29.
[128] Taking all things into consideration, it looks very much as
if the Saphara of Ptolemy (vi. 7, 41), described as a metropolis of
Arabia, was the original Ophir.
[129] 1 Sam. xviii.; xix. 8; xxvii. 8; 2 Chron. viii. 17, &c.
[130] 1 Chron. xxii. 8.
[131] 2 Chron. ix. 4.
[132] Stanley Lectures, xxvi. p. 182.
[133] 2 Chron. ix. 21.
[134] Herod. iv. 42. Voyage of Pharaoh Necho.
[135] Rich, “First Memoir,” p. 12.
[136] Chesney, Euphrat Exped. ii. 602-3.
[137] Cf. also Ammianus (“March of Julian,” xxiv. 3) and Zosimus
(iii.) with Layard (“Nineveh” ii. 6), and Ker Porter (ii. p. 355), for
the luxuriance of the date-bearing districts, and the general sylvan
character of many of these plains.
[138] It has been supposed that the Babylonian vessels passed along
the Persian Gulf, from Bussorah to Crokala near Kurachi, and that
they there met the vessels of Gerrha and Tylos, and proceeded onwards
along the western coast of Hindustan to Ceylon; but there seems little
probability that any ships strictly Babylonian found their way to
India. Probably between Ceylon and Babylon there was more than one
transhipment of Indian and other produce.
[139] This Edict is a great curiosity. It was first copied by Sherard
in 1709 at Eski-Hissar (Stratonicæa), and this copy is preserved in the
Harleian MSS. at the British Museum, No. 7509. Leake, “Asia Minor,” pp.
229-239. It has been recently (1866) re-edited by Mr. W. H. Waddington
with great care.
[140] Herod. i. 194. Compare, also, description of boats at Rhapta
(Arrian’s Peripl. c. 16); and the name derived from the way the boats
were made by being sewn together.
[141] See Journ. of Roy. Asiat. Soc. xix. 154.
[142] Menander ap. Joseph. Ant. Jud. ix. 14.
[143] Dion. lxxiv. Herod. i 80. Fellows’ “Asia Minor,” p. 281.
[144] Herod. i. 91.
[145] Heeren’s “Asiatic Nations,” vol. i. p. 70.
[146] The fisheries of the Black Sea were also particularly famous
in ancient times, the brackish waters of the Sea of Azov providing
excellent breeding grounds. Plin. ix. 15. Ælian. De Animal, xv. 5.
Athen. vii. p. 303. Polyb. iv. c. 5.
[147] Herod. iv. 24.
[148] Some of the names of the tribes near the Caspian, as the
Arimaspi, bear names which are compounded of the Sanscrit word for
“horse.”
[149] Herod. i. 203.
[150] Heeren’s “Asiatic Nations,” vol. ii. p. 32.
[151] There seems reason to doubt whether the Oxus ever flowed into the
Caspian Sea—it now flows into the Aral. (See Alex. Burnes’s “Journey to
Bokhara,” ii. p. 188.) On the other hand, Conolly believed he crossed
the bed of the river which did formerly flow by one branch into the
Caspian. (“Travels,” i. p. 50.) Dr. Vincent goes so far as to express
his belief that communication between the west and east, by one of the
routes specified above, was even more ancient than that by the Red Sea.
(“Commerce of the Euxine,” p. 113.)
CHAPTER III.
Egypt—Commerce—Sesostris—Naucratis—The Nile—Sailors of
Egypt—Their boats—How navigated—Mode of building them—Cargo
barges—Their rig—Steering—Passage and cargo boats—Boat for
the conveyance of the dead—Variety of boats, and their
superiority—Prosperity of Egypt under the Ptolemies, B.C.
283—Canal over the Isthmus—Ptolemy’s great ship—Analysis of her
dimensions—The Thalamegus, her size and splendour—Great size of
other Egyptian monuments—Probability of such vessels having been
constructed—Hiero’s great ship—Not unlike a modern inland American
steamer—Details of her construction, accommodation, outfit, and
decorations—Greek ships—Habits of piracy—Corinth—Athens—The size
of her ships as described by Herodotus—Discrepancy between the
different accounts.
[Sidenote: Egypt.]
The ancient history of Egypt is to be found almost exclusively in the
works of Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus; but it has been materially
supplemented, and in many respects confirmed by the researches of
modern scholars. Moreover, from the time when Young[152] discovered
the key to the hieroglyphical writings, a flood of light has been
thrown upon it by the labours of Champollion, Lepsius, Bunsen, Birch,
De Rougé, Chabas, Goodwin and Wilkinson; the works of the last-named
writer being especially full of information with reference to its ships
and commerce.
Of the period of the commencement of civilization in Egypt there is
no reliable information, nor are modern scholars at all agreed as to
the evidence deducible from Herodotus, as compared with the monuments.
There is no certainty about the age of Menes, or about the reign in
which the Exodus took place; even the date of the invasion of Judæa by
Shishak is not undisputed; and it would require more materials than are
yet at our disposal to harmonize all the Biblical with the Monumental
records. There can be no doubt, however, that the country was richly
cultivated and fully peopled many centuries before the classical
nations, or even the Phœnicians, were known as merchants or warriors.
As already noticed, there is further reason for believing that the
populations depicted on the sculptures were not originally natives of
the Valley of the Nile, but immigrants thither from Chaldæa and its
neighbourhood.
The skulls of Egyptians from the mummy-pits are Caucasian, and have no
affinity with those of Africa, and the grammar of their language is
not Semitic. Again, the name “Egypt” is not found on any of the early
monuments: the country is simply called “_Cheme_,” the “black-land”;
the “land of Ham,” the “Caphtorim” (Genesis x. 14). Moreover, the
complexion and features of the people prove that the immigrants did
not appreciably mingle with the primitive population, the lineaments
of many of even the existing inhabitants still showing these marks of
Asiatic origin.
[Sidenote: Commerce.]
Egypt under the Pharaohs was almost entirely an agricultural country;
commerce and manufactures (excepting in the case of cloths of various
descriptions) were neglected. With a soil of unexampled richness,
annually renewed by the Nile floods, the Egyptians acted wisely in
devoting their attention chiefly to the development of their own vast
natural resources.
The paintings on the walls of their tombs, and other monuments, suffice
to show the attention the early population paid to agricultural
pursuits; for there was obviously no higher tribute to the memory of a
deceased landowner than to represent him overlooking his labourers in
the field, cultivating the soil, or reaping, and carrying, in nets and
baskets, the produce to the thrashing floor. In fact, apart from the
records of Herodotus, valuable as they undoubtedly are, the monuments
furnish a great amount of information, with regard to the state and
progress of the arts and sciences among this ancient people. To measure
and to calculate the fitting seasons for their various religious
ceremonies, they observed, with much accuracy, the courses of the
heavenly bodies, especially those of the sun and stars; at the same
time keeping a careful registry of their movements, little, if at all,
inferior to that of the Chaldæans. But while a practical acquaintance
with geometry was a necessity to the men who constructed the Pyramids
and the great dams and dykes required for the complete utilizing of the
periodical inundations of the Nile, the study of this exact science
was still more stimulated by the mechanism necessary to enable them
to transport from the quarries the enormous blocks of stone of which
the Pyramids and temples were constructed, some of these having to be
brought for more than five hundred miles. Such works could not have
failed to demand considerable mechanical invention.
Nor indeed is this all. Remains still existing show that the Egyptians
were well skilled in the use of metals, and in their application
to delicate as well as rough work. The paintings in the tombs, and
abundant drawings preserved on the Egyptian _papyri_, demonstrate also
their knowledge of at least the elementary branches of the Fine Arts;
while their colossal statues exhibit great power in the working of
sculptures in a very hard and untractable material.
[Sidenote: Sesostris.]
During the earliest periods there is no record of any large vessels
having been in use, for those employed for the conveyance of the huge
blocks of stone from the quarries were doubtless rather rafts or barges
than boats. In the reign, however, of Rameses II. (the Sesostris of
the Greeks) we hear of vessels of large dimensions; these, however,
it is most likely were all of Phœnician origin, and simply hired for
use during his foreign expeditions. Prodigious sculptured memorials of
this king exist all over Egypt, and there is still a curious relief of
him at the Nahr el Kelb near Beyrût, which was seen by Herodotus.[153]
Tacitus[154] further tells us that others were shown to Germanicus
when in Egypt. It is not necessary here to discuss the vexed question
of the conquests of Sesostris; it is enough to suggest that, in
whatever extensive expeditions by sea he may have been engaged, he
was indebted to the Phœnicians for his fleet—and that, by their agency
if at all, he was able to destroy “the Khairetans of the sea and the
Tokhari” (probably the Cretans and Carians), nautical races, who, from
the mythical till the commencement of the historical period, were
highly esteemed by the Greeks for their skill as sailors. A figure
discovered by the Rev. G. C. Renouard, and engraved in Texier’s “Asie
Mineure”[155] is almost certainly the Sesostris of Herodotus. It is on
the highway from Sardes to Smyrna, but the inscriptions on it are no
longer legible.
[Sidenote: Naucratis.]
There seems no reason to suppose that the native population of Egypt
was at any time of its history accustomed to nautical pursuits. As the
Phœnicians supplied the navy of Sesostris, so other foreign shipping
were engaged in the later times of Egyptian history. Hence it was that
the famous port of Naucratis was founded on the Canopic mouth of the
Nile, foreign merchants and sailors being restricted to this and to one
or two other places: a practice recalling the custom of the Chinese
up to a very recent period. Herodotus says that the abodes of these
foreign settlers were generally called “Camps;”[156] and gives some
details which show how jealously the Egyptians provided against the
advent of strangers to any but the one port of Naucratis. “There was,”
he says, “no other in Egypt for them” (the merchants). “If a merchant
or a ship-owner entered any other branch of the Nile than that of the
Canopic mouth, he was compelled to swear he had come there against his
will through stress of weather; and he was required to sail in his own
ship to the Canopic mouth, or to have his cargo transported in barges,
should the winds prove adverse, round the Delta, to the factory at the
port of Naucratis, which had an exclusive privilege.”[157]
In the reign of Amasis (B.C. 556) special privileges were granted to
the Greeks by that king, with protection to those who made Naucratis
their place of abode; while for those who did not care to reside there
permanently, but were simply sea-faring traders, he appropriated sites
for temples and altars to their gods, and sanctuaries where their lives
and properties would at all times be secure. But these privileges seem
to have been restricted to the Greeks; for when another nation claimed
a similar protection, Herodotus[158] simply remarks that “they claim
what does not belong to them.”
Thus the Greeks became the sole agents and ship brokers through whom
business could be transacted at Naucratis, and, though at first
reluctantly admitted within its sacred soil, they, in the end, largely
aided in promoting the wealth and prosperity of Egypt. The merchandise
imported by them gave rise to new fashions and new wants, and by
degrees, the introduction of Greek manners and customs produced an
influence over nearly the whole of Egypt, and prevailed in spite of
numerous revolutions throughout the rule of the Persians till the time
of Alexander the Great.
[Sidenote: The Nile.]
But the Nile itself was, after all, the chief source or cause of the
wealth of Egypt. Although the only river in the world which has during
so long a course so few tributaries of any magnitude, it has, or rather
had, several mouths, and these, with various canals, were the principal
high roads for Egyptian traffic. The external character of the greatest
of these canals (the Bahr-Jusuf, or “River of Joseph”), which runs
parallel with the Nile on its western side from a little below Cairo
for three hundred and fifty miles, though now no longer navigable,
rendered it, up to the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, the most
important work of the kind in Egypt. Nor were there wanting canals
which received the surplus of the inundations of the great river.
[Sidenote: Sailors of Egypt.]
The sailors of Egypt—a numerous class—were chiefly boatmen employed on
the Nile and the canals—bargemen rather than seamen. So vast, however,
was the trade on this river that, according to Herodotus, no fewer than
seven hundred thousand sailors (persons, we must presume) assembled
on board different vessels on the occasion of one of the principal
festivals;[159] while, then as now, during the periodical inundations,
a large portion of the population were compelled to live in boats and
barges, where fairs and markets were also held, giving fresh impulse to
trade and navigation.
[Sidenote: Their boats.]
[Sidenote: How navigated.]
Herodotus has furnished an interesting description of how the Egyptian
boats and barges were built. From the acantha[160] tree the Egyptians
cut planks about two cubits in length, arranging them like bricks.
“They attach them,”[161] he adds, “to a number of long poles till
the hull is complete, when they lay the cross planks on the top from
side to side. They make no use of ribs, but caulk the seams with the
papyrus; they make only one rudder, and that is driven through the
keel. They use a mast of acantha and sails of papyrus. These vessels
are unable to sail up the stream unless they have a brisk breeze, but
are towed from the shore. They are thus carried down the stream. There
is to each a raft made of tamarisk, wattled with a band of reeds, and a
stone, bored through the middle, of about two talents[162] in weight;
the raft is fastened to the vessel by a cable, and allowed to float
down in front, while the stone is held by another cable at the stern;
by this means the raft, by the stream bearing hard upon it, moves
quickly, and draws along the ‘baris’ (for this is the name given to
these vessels); but the stone being dragged at the stern, and sunk to
the bottom, keeps the vessel straight. They have very many of these
vessels, and some of them carry many thousand talents.”
[Sidenote: Mode of building them.]
The following drawing, taken from Champollion’s “Description de
l’Egypte,” furnishes monumental proof of the accuracy of Herodotus, in
his description of their construction.[163]
Men may be seen building a boat, much resembling a modern barge, with
a high poop, and a long bow, apparently binding bands of papyrus round
the boards, while others are bringing, on their backs, baskets filled
with reeds, to be twisted into similar bands. But the larger vessels
must have been fastened together (though Herodotus does not mention
this) by either metal bolts, or trenails.
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: Cargo barges.]
Herodotus, therefore, probably refers to the smaller craft employed
upon the Nile.
Many interesting drawings of these river boats are to be found in
Wilkinson’s “Manners and Customs” of that ancient people. Most of them
have been copied from ancient monuments, and have evidently had their
imperfections corrected, as far as practicable, by a reference to the
boats and barges of modern times, similarly employed. For instance,
the following sketch, taken originally from one of the paintings on a
tomb at Kom-el-Ahmars,[164] near Minieh, represents, in many respects,
one of the large Nile barges still in use. From having twenty-two oars
on each side, her length could hardly have been less than from eighty
to one hundred feet, and her form shows considerable capacity for cargo.
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: Their rig.]
Like the other boats of the Nile, this vessel has only one sail, but
the mast appears to have been composed of two spars of similar size,
secured by backstays to her after-part. It is not easy to understand
why two spars should have been used; but it is possible that by these
means a large and heavy sail might in stormy weather be lowered on
either side, according to the direction of the wind; this, however,
would require some mechanical contrivance not indicated. If the yard
was a fixture aloft, moving on a pivot, the sail may have been triced
up and furled to it: the cross bars, at the top of the masts, serving
to enable the sailors more easily to furl the sail, tend to confirm
this supposition. Although such a mode of furling the sail would be
inconvenient and full of risk, if the ship were exposed to heavy seas,
it would answer very well for barges on the Nile, as the yard and
sail, when furled, would be entirely clear of the cargo while loading
or unloading. It has been supposed that the sail, in this vessel, was
made of papyrus, as noticed by Herodotus; but it may be doubted whether
papyrus could be manufactured into a material sufficiently tough to
form a large sail. The braces are apparently worked by a man seated in
the stern.
[Sidenote: Steering.]
The mode of steering here depicted is different from that usually seen
on the monuments, for, instead of a single oar, passing through the
stern frames, or one on each quarter, there are, in this instance,
three on the same quarter; and how this was managed it is not easy to
discern. Nor does the drawing show the mode in which the propelling
oars were triced up when not in use.
Tacitus[165] speaks of Germanic tribes who used a rudder at each end;
but the practice was not general, and none of the Egyptian boats or
barges were thus fitted, or had more than one sail, in these respects
resembling the earliest of the Greek vessels. Sometimes a single
rudder, instead of working in a rowlock, or in a porthole through the
stern, was applied outside, merely over the stern-rail, and held in its
place by a stout thong. This imperfect mode of steering was, however,
confined to the rudest river craft, and of these we have a model in the
museum at Berlin, as well as a painting at Thebes. The Berlin model
shows also the position of the rowers, the arrangements of the mast,
yard, and rigging, the place of the pegs and mallet, for fastening the
vessel to the shore, and the landing planks, which were always kept in
readiness at the bow, in charge of the man stationed there, to fathom
and report the depth of the water. This boat is decked, the cabins
occupying only a portion of the middle, like the pleasure vessels of
the Nile, or the passage-boats at Diarbekr. But in most of the larger
boats the cabin resembled our “round house,” extending from one side
to the other, and was often sufficiently spacious to contain cattle,
horses, and general stores.
[Sidenote: Passage and cargo boats.]
In another drawing, Wilkinson exhibits another description of Nile
boat. Here there is a single rudder or paddle, passing through the
counter, and evidently worked by some kind of machine attached to the
post against which its handle rests. Or it may be worked on the one
side, as the drawing is not very distinct, somewhat after the style
in use in large boats or river barges of the present day. Its general
character suggests that it is a passage-boat, as it has a round house,
with windows at each end and a semblance of decoration for the upper
yard. This yard is fitted with lines, for the purpose of drawing it
down with the sail when furled to the lower yard.
One of the illustrations subjoined, taken from a bas-relief at Thebes,
represents a double cattle-boat;[166] in other words, two canal boats
lashed together when descending the Nile, much like the “monkey-boats,”
or “wussers,” employed on the Thames or Severn. In the cabin a man
is represented, inflicting the bastinado on a boatman; an occurrence
probably not unusual, as we find it on the ordinary cattle-barge of
the period. In the same boat a cow eats hay out of a net, precisely
resembling the _sherif_ now used in Egypt. These boats are without
masts. The “house” appears to be of a light and a temporary character,
and as the sailors on the top are evidently making a rope fast to bind
it together, it may be inferred that such houses were chiefly used when
these vessels were employed in the conveyance of cattle, and that they
could be removed at pleasure.
[Sidenote: Boat for the conveyance of the dead.]
In Champollion’s great work, we find a sketch of another boat, in this
instance carrying a bier. It is taken from a bas-relief on the tomb
of Beni-Hassan. Here two rudders, one on each quarter, are clearly
represented. Their upper extremities are, by some mode not easily
understood, attached to separate upright posts, and the helmsmen appear
to hold lanyards or bow-lines for the regulation of the rudders,
proving that mechanical appliances of one sort or another were then in
use as tillers to assist the steerage.
Although a tolerably accurate impression may be formed from the
monuments of the various kinds of vessels employed on the great river
and the canals, there is, beyond these, no evidence of the form and
dimensions of their other vessels. We may, however, presume that, till
the times of the Ptolemies, the Egyptians did not build any large
sea-going ships; one reason of this probably being, that Egypt, within
her own territory, had no forest timber adapted for such a purpose.
Hence, indeed, as is well known, arose the sanguinary wars so long
and so fiercely waged between the Ptolemies and the Seleucidæ—the
inheritors from the Tyrians of the forests of Lebanon, who, mindful
of the elder times, as well as of the value of this property, were
little inclined to give the Egyptians the means of becoming a powerful
maritime people.
[Sidenote: Variety of boats, and their superiority.]
But though, from the scarcity of suitable timber,[167] and the
repugnance of its people to sea-faring pursuits, Egypt was never
destined to occupy a position of any influence as a maritime nation,
it surpassed all others of the old world in the number, variety, and
excellence of its boats for inland navigation. Beyond those already
described there were others of the most fanciful description, in form
and rig. The mode of keeping the sail flat introduced only a few years
ago by the famous yacht _America_, whose sails were lashed to spars
to prevent them from bellying, was, after all, only the double yard
used by the Egyptians four thousand years ago. The painted eye upon
the bow, still so common in the Mediterranean, was a favourite mode
of decorating the boats of ancient Egypt. Modern ship-owners of all
nations have adopted their plan of deck-houses; and the decoration of
the stems and sterns of their ships are in some respects not unlike
those of the Nile during the reign of the Pharaohs. But the ancient
Egyptians carried the decorations of their vessels sometimes to a
ludicrous extent. They were frequently wont to paint even the masts,
sails, and yards in the most variegated and gaudy colours. A lotus leaf
usually adorned the blade of the rudder, and some other design that of
the oars, the prevailing colours being, red, yellow, or green.[168]
[Sidenote: Prosperity of Egypt under the Ptolemies, B.C. 283.]
The conquest of Egypt by Alexander put an end to the internal
convulsions which had so long disturbed that country, and gave new
life to its trade, and Alexandria became the entrepôt of the trade
of India and the West. Favoured after his death by wise counsellors
and enterprising monarchs, Egypt flourished under the rule of the
Ptolemies, and devoted more attention to maritime commerce than she
had hitherto done. Ptolemy, son of Lagos, by a judicious exercise of
sovereign authority, and by encouraging by all means in his power
sea-faring pursuits and free intercourse with other nations, collected
a considerable body of traders at the new city; and perceiving what had
been the intentions and policy of Alexander, steadily endeavoured to
follow in his footsteps.
It was during this long and prosperous reign that the celebrated Pharos
at Alexandria was erected by Sostratus of Cnidus,[169] at the cost, it
is said, of eight hundred talents; and though Pliny doubts the value
of such buildings, and seems to think of them rather as snares to the
navigator,[170] Cæsar fully approved of the Alexandrian one.[171] The
upper storeys had windows, looking seaward; and fires therein at night
lighted ships into the harbour. A few similar structures are mentioned
in ancient history as those at Ostia, Ravenna, Brundusium, Capreæ, and
Gessoriacum (Boulogne). In England, it is believed that we have remains
of two similar structures—the Pharos in Dover Castle, and at Moel Van
in Flintshire.
Upon the front of the Alexandrian Pharos there was written the
appropriate inscription: “King Ptolemy to the God the Saviour, for the
benefit of sailors.”
[Sidenote: Canal over the Isthmus.]
More than one of the followers of Ptolemy I. pursued the same course,
and encouraged their subjects in the promotion of commerce. Thus
Philadelphus, his son, made a fresh attempt to cut a canal a hundred
cubits in breadth, between Arsinoe (on the Red Sea, not far from Suez)
to the Pelusiac or eastern branch of the Nile. But though he failed to
carry out his plan, as Necho had done two centuries before,[172] he
built on the south-western shores of the Red Sea the port of Berenice,
so that goods from Alexandria could be carried on camels’ backs for
shipment, either from Myos Hormus, or from this new port; while
stations were erected on the road, so as to facilitate the commercial
intercourse between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, Thus Egypt,
mainly through his instrumentality, enjoyed a line of commerce to India
uninterruptedly until the period of Augustus Cæsar, when Egypt became a
province of the Roman Empire.
Although, as we have seen, the Egyptians were not naturally fond of
maritime occupations, it is certain that, during the sway of the
Ptolemies, an Egyptian fleet was maintained in the Mediterranean of
sufficient size to command that sea, and to afford effectual protection
to their merchants and ship-owners. Appian, in his preface, enumerating
the naval and military forces of Ptolemy, the son of Lagos, says that
he had five hundred galleys, two thousand smaller vessels, and eight
hundred _thalamegi_, or pleasure boats; and Lucian[173] states that he
saw in Egypt a vessel of the country, one hundred and twenty cubits
long, thirty broad, and twenty-nine deep.
Again, another Ptolemy (Philopator) appears to have been no common
enthusiast in ship-building, for he constructed vessels of a size far
in excess of any before his day, either in his own or in any other
country—ships, indeed, as much larger than any then known, as the Great
Eastern is larger than any vessel built in modern times.
[Sidenote: Ptolemy’s great ship.]
One of these extraordinary vessels is described at length in
Athenæus,[174] from an Alexandrian historian named Callixenus. The
following are some of her chief peculiarities: she is said to have
been two hundred and eighty cubits long, thirty-eight broad, and
fifty-three from the highest part of the stern to the water; she had
four rudders, each thirty cubits long; and the oars of the _thranitæ_
were thirty-eight cubits long, with handles necessarily weighted with
lead. She had two heads, two sterns, and no fewer than seven beaks, one
of them much larger than the rest. She carried on board four thousand
rowers, and about three thousand mariners, besides a large body of men
under her decks, and a vast quantity of stores and provisions. She
was launched by means of a contrivance invented by a Phœnician, one,
indeed, which might probably have been adopted with success for the
launching of the Great Eastern, and, assuredly, at less cost.
[Sidenote: Analysis of her dimensions.]
[Illustration: GREAT SHIP OF PTOLEMY PHILOPATOR.]
Various imaginary drawings have been made of Ptolemy’s great vessel;
but as none of them appear to answer the only description of her which
has been preserved, or to fulfil the requirements of a structure meant
to float in safety, an endeavour has been made, in the drawing annexed,
to illustrate this remarkable ship, which was “well proportioned in an
extraordinary degree.”[175] If the cubit be taken at eighteen inches,
Ptolemy’s ship was four hundred and twenty feet in length, fifty-seven
feet beam, and had seventy-two feet depth of hold: proportions which,
as far as regards the length and breadth, accord very well with those
of the large steam-ships of our own time; but the depth is so great
and so much out of proportion to the length and breadth, that there is
no doubt a mistake in the figures. The depth was much more likely to
have been twenty-eight cubits, for which forty-eight has, through some
misapprehension, been substituted. There is no doubt, also, a mistake
in the height of the stern above the water, for though the ships of
the ancients had frequently very high poops or enormous castles
erected aft, a practice which prevailed up to the seventeenth century,
it is hardly possible to conceive that the highest portion of the poop
of Ptolemy’s ship was fifty-three cubits, or about eighty feet above
the water. The object of having so many as seven beaks is not easily
understood; two of them may, however, have been placed at the bluff, or
rounds of the bows, so as to protect, in some measure, the oars from
being destroyed by the ship of an enemy sheering alongside. “Some of
them,” we are informed, “were fixed to the ears of the ship.”
Nor is it easy to understand what is meant by the “ears,” unless they
represent that portion of the head or bow where the cat-heads are now
placed. A beak in that place would protect the upper bank of oars,
while another below it, a little above the water-line, would guard the
lower banks. Though inferior in length, breadth, and capacity to our
modern wonder, the Great Eastern, Ptolemy’s huge vessel could hardly
have been meant for sea-going purposes, if the dimensions given of
her depth, and the height of her poop, are accurate; nor could seven
or eight thousand men, besides a “large number under deck,” have been
accommodated in her ’tween decks; but, though the nautical knowledge of
the present day renders it difficult to accept all the recorded details
of this extraordinary vessel, it is not necessary to agree with the
writers who altogether deny her existence. The four thousand rowers
could perfectly well have been placed at their stations, though it is
most likely that she was never used except for display, or as an object
of ornament or luxury.
Other writers insist that the oars, by reason of their length, would be
unmanageable; but in approaching the question of rowing such ponderous
vessels, which more properly belongs to and shall be treated of in
a subsequent portion of this work, it will be found that the oars
described by Callixenus are not longer than those which have been
used in galleys, of which authentic accounts exist. It may be denied
that four thousand men could have been made available as oarsmen in
any vessel; but if it be possible to work the upper bank of oars,
which shall hereafter be shown to be practicable, it will be found on
examining the drawing and number of oar-ports, that with ten men to
each oar, two thousand rowers could be placed at their stations on each
side of the vessel, or, in all, “four thousand rowers,” as described by
Callixenus.
[Sidenote: The Thalamegus, her size and splendour.]
Nor was this the only vessel of huge dimensions constructed during the
reign of the Ptolemies. Callixenus describes another, the Thalamegus,
or the “carrier of the bed-chamber” which was half a stadium (three
hundred feet) in length, thirty cubits wide, and forty cubits high.
From his elaborate description we learn that she was fitted with every
conceivable luxury, and in a style of magnificence much superior to
that of any other ship or floating structure of the period; with
“colonnades,” “marble stairs,” and “gardens,” whence it may safely be
concluded that this vessel was never meant for sea-going purposes. But
there is no reason to question her existence. Such a vessel might have
remained moored on the Nile, or on one of the great lakes or canals,
as a pleasant place of resort during the hottest months of an Egyptian
summer.
[Sidenote: Great size of other Egyptian monuments.]
When, indeed, the colossal character of all Egyptian monuments (more
especially those of the Pyramids, now known to have been in some cases
tombs, as that of Mycerinus,) and that, too, of their temples, statues,
and canals, is borne in mind, the presumption is strong that this
love of the colossal extended to other Egyptian works, and further,
that in a country where so much mechanical genius was displayed, the
construction of one or two great ships would not form an exception,
even though a seafaring life may have been repugnant to the habits and
tastes of a majority of the people. Plutarch, in speaking of the great
war-ships built by Demetrius, observes, that while these could really
be used, the still larger ship of Philopator “was a mere matter of
curiosity, for she differed very little from an immovable building, and
was calculated more for show, as she could not be put in motion without
great difficulty and danger.”
[Sidenote: Probability of such vessels having been constructed.]
During the last three thousand years the steady tendency of commercial
enterprise has been towards the West, and may, in its circuit from New
York to California, even cross the Pacific and restore commercial life
to Assyria, Phœnicia, and Egypt. Three thousand years hence London may
have become a city of ruins, which an Egyptian antiquary may, in the
interests of science, consider worthy of a visit. By the year 4873 all
references to Ptolemy’s ship, constructed five thousand years before,
may have been destroyed, but some account of the Great Eastern, built
on the banks of the Thames in the nineteenth century of the Christian
era, may have endured. The supposed Egyptian traveller may seek
diligently for some proof that such a vessel was really built and
launched, yet all he may ascertain, by a careful measurement of the
ruined docks, will be that not one of them was large enough to receive
her: he will, therefore, conclude that what he has read about her was
but the vainglorious romance of the historian of the day.
[Sidenote: Hiero’s great ship.]
The Egyptian monarchs were, however, not alone in their desire of
building ships of gigantic proportions; but found a worthy rival
in Hiero, king of Syracuse; nay, more, while the Syracusan ruler
constructed a vessel scarcely if at all inferior to that of Ptolemy,
this ship surpassed the Egyptian one in accomplishing at least one
successful voyage. No details have been preserved of the dimensions of
Hiero’s ship; but from the description of the cargo she carried, of the
number of her decks, and of the structures of various kinds above her
hold, she must have been of even greater cubic contents than Ptolemy’s
ship.[176]
[Sidenote: Not unlike a modern inland American steamer.]
The probability is that Hiero’s vessel was simply an enormous barge,
and that, on this barge or hulk there were erected, much after the
fashion of the steam-vessels on the rivers and inland waters of
America, one or more decks or tiers of houses, suited to carry wool
or other kinds of light cargo, or capable of being fitted up for
passengers, as occasion might require. It is, however, more likely from
the description we have of her, that the decks immediately above the
hold were reserved entirely for cargo, and that the houses upon deck
were appropriated to the passengers and the crew.
[Sidenote: Details of her construction; accommodation, outfit, and
decorations.]
It is stated that, for the construction of this magnificent vessel,
Hiero cut down on Mount Etna trees enough to have built sixty triremes;
procuring stores of trenails, &c., from Italy and Sicily, ropes from
Spain, and hemp and pitch from the banks of the Rhone; and watching
himself over the progress of the works. To launch her effectively,
Archimedes invented a screw of great power; and the building was
pushed on with such rapidity, that, in six months from the time she
was commenced, great progress had been made, every part as it was
finished (referring no doubt to the sheathing of the bottom and to
the interstices on the upper decks or houses) being covered with
sheets of lead. She is further said to have had twenty banks of oars,
and three entrances, the lowest leading to the hold, the next to the
eating-rooms, while the third was appropriated to the armed men. On
both sides of the middle entrance thirty rooms, each containing four
couches, were assigned to the soldiers; the sailors’ supper-room held
fifteen, and there were, besides, three cabins, each containing three
couches. The floors of these rooms were composed of stone mosaic work,
bearing on it a pictorial representation of the whole story of the
Iliad. There was also a temple to Venus of cypress inlaid with ivory,
furnished with rich and valuable goblets and vases. This great ship was
fitted with four wooden and eight iron anchors; and the mainmast, of a
single tree, was procured after much search from the mountains of the
Bruttii.
But the most remarkable part of the story is that relating to her
freight, as it is stated that one or two of the launches belonging to
this ship, built, it may be presumed to attend upon her, were able
themselves to carry three thousand talents (about eighty tons); and
these tenders are said to have put on board of the _Alexandrian_ “sixty
thousand measures of corn, ten thousand jars of Sicilian salt fish,
twenty thousand talents’ weight of wool, and of other cargo twenty
thousand talents, all of which was in addition to the provisions
required for the crew.” It is further stated that she was sent to
Alexandria, partly because Hiero discovered he had no harbours in
Sicily that could contain her, and partly because he had heard that at
that time there was a dearth of corn in Egypt. She bore upon her the
following curious inscription: “Hiero, the son of Hierocles the Dorian,
who wields the sceptre of Sicily (sends this ship), bearing in her the
fruits of the earth—a rich gift to all Greece and her islands. Do thou,
O Neptune! preserve in safety this ship over the blue waves.”
There is no more reason for doubting the existence of this ship than
there is for questioning the vessel constructed by the Egyptian king;
though, in each case, there may be some exaggeration in the description
preserved. Vessels not differing much from her in form may be seen
on the Mississippi and traverse the stormy lakes of America; they
even trade along her shores, exposed to the boisterous waves of the
Atlantic; and hence it may be reasonably inferred that, though not well
adapted for sea-going purposes, Hiero’s ship may have made, in perfect
safety, voyages to both Greece and Alexandria.
[Sidenote: Greek ships.]
Although the Greeks were for many centuries well known alike for their
intellectual abilities and for their zeal as merchants and traders,
Herodotus speaks with some contempt of their geographical knowledge
in the time of Xerxes, and says they were so ignorant of the position
and distance of places, that they could with difficulty be prevailed
upon to advance as far as Delos,[177] and that all the countries beyond
that island and in the vicinity of Ionia were avoided by them. “They
believed,” he adds, “that it was as far from Ægina to Samos as from
Ægina to Gibraltar.”
[Sidenote: Habits of piracy.]
On the other hand, history clearly demonstrates that each Greek power,
as it became famous, turned its attention to the sea as a source of
wealth and greatness; and that, during the struggles between the
Lacedæmonians and Athenians, Philip of Macedon, with a powerful fleet
under his command, swept the seas of the pirates and marauders,
enriching himself by the spoils. The Greeks, moreover, paid a marked
attention to the mode of conducting their local commerce, forbidding
their vessels to sail with more than a specified number of men on
board. Plutarch, quoting from a more ancient author,[178] names a
limit of five persons only to each vessel; while others, referring
to later periods, speak of a general law applicable to all Greece,
which fixed the maximum crew of its merchant ships at one hundred men.
These restrictive navigation laws were passed professedly for the
suppression of piracy; but in those days, the strong were generally
held to be right and the weak to be wrong, for even Philip resorted to
the practice he had denounced, to recruit his finances at the siege
of Byzantium. Nor, indeed, are such principles wholly forgotten at the
present day; for, even now, while Great Britain captures and destroys
at sea the private property of the people with whom she may happen
to be at war (which is simply the right of the strong confirmed by
ancient usage and unhappily still sanctioned by international maritime
law), she does not allow depredations similar in their character to
be perpetrated by nations that sell their prisoners as captives of
war. We, like Philip of Macedon, denounce in others what we ourselves
practise, because it is sanctioned by usage and by law. Who will say
that the destruction at sea of the goods of private individuals is not
as barbarous as the practice which still prevails among illiterate
African chiefs? England, in this matter, simply overlooks the beam in
her own eye, though sacrificing much to extract the mote in that of
other and less civilized nations.
[Sidenote: Corinth.]
Corinth, once so celebrated, was among the first of the Greek states
to avail herself of the many advantages nature had given her. Built
a little to the west of the isthmus connecting the Peloponnesus with
northern Greece, she was destined by her position to be the entrepôt of
both. Nor did her people fail to appreciate this, for, contrary to what
Herodotus states generally of the Greeks, the Corinthians are known to
have been expert sailors, and to have made navigation and ship-building
their study, being, as Thucydides remarks (i. 13), the inventors of the
trireme.[179] In maritime pursuits, and by an extensive commercial
intercourse with the neighbouring states, they amassed great wealth.
Corinth also affords a striking instance that the cultivation of
commerce can be successfully combined with a taste for the most refined
arts, for the Corinthian column continues to this day the finest type
of architectural beauty; while Corinth was famous in antiquity for her
celebrated artists, and their works.[180]
[Sidenote: B.C. 326.]
The writers, however, of ancient Greece have left but few particulars
either of the merchant vessels or of the trade in which they were
engaged. Of the character and habits of its seamen, or of the
remuneration they received, the accounts are brief and fragmentary,
though we know that after the time of Demosthenes their wages were
provided for by a tax upon property. In cases of emergency, it would
seem that men of substance in Greece, besides paying the whole of this
special tax, fitted out at their own expense numerous vessels for
the service of the state, and that a patriotic and generous rivalry
prevailed among them, inducing them to do their utmost for the good
of their country. From this laudable public spirit arose, in a great
measure, that enlarged and enlightened system of commerce with foreign
nations, for which the Greeks have been in all times conspicuous, and
which still largely prevails among the leading Greek merchants resident
in England.
[Sidenote: Athens.]
Athens, too, though in a less degree than Corinth, was also a place
of commercial importance; for though at some distance from the sea,
it possessed three harbours—the Piræeus, Munychia, and Phalerum,
themselves forming a city as large as, if not larger than, Athens
herself. From the harbour of the Piræeus a large foreign trade,
chiefly in corn, was carried on with the countries bordering on the
Black Sea and the Crimea, as well as with Palestine and Egypt. The
Piræeus contained extensive warehouses for the reception of various
descriptions of produce, as well as a large portico or arcade, where,
after the fashion of eastern bazaars, manufactures of every description
were exposed for sale.
This portico (technically called the Deigma, or Show-Place) was in fact
the Royal Exchange of Athens, where her merchants transacted business
with those of Syria and of Asia Minor, who resorted thither in great
numbers; and though Athenian commerce, even at its best times, was
small when compared with that of Tyre, Carthage, or Miletus, Athenian
merchants held a high position in ancient times.[181]
But, if commercially inferior to some other states, Athens maintained
the highest rank among the naval cities of the ancient world, though it
is difficult from such records as still exist to determine either the
size or the number of the vessels belonging to her or to other Greek
states.[182]
[Sidenote: The size of her ships as described by Herodotus.]
The superiority of Athens was, however, due to political rather than
commercial causes; and her people were chiefly famed for their daring
and prowess as warriors at sea. To the Athenians, Greece was mainly
indebted for her freedom from the Persian yoke. It was the Athenian
fleet that resisted successfully the gigantic navy of Xerxes; and
the description of this fleet, by Herodotus, is almost the only
information we possess with regard to the size of Greek ships, and of
the relative maritime power of the different Greek states. Describing
the naval force which defeated the Persian fleet off the promontory
of Artemisium, Herodotus states:[183]—“The Greeks engaged in the
sea-service were these. The Athenians furnished one hundred and
twenty-seven vessels to the fleet; but the Platæans, from a spirit of
valour and zeal, though inexperienced in the sea-service, assisted
the Athenians in manning the ships. The Corinthians furnished forty
ships, the Megarians twenty; the Chalcideans manned twenty, the
Athenians having furnished them with ships; the Æginetans eighteen;
the Sicyonians twelve; the Lacedæmonians ten; the Epidaurians eight;
the Eretrians seven; the Trœzenians five; the Styreans two; and the
Cêans two ships, and two penteconters; the Opuntian Locrians also
came to their assistance with seven penteconters.” Of the individual
size of these vessels no mention is however made; but speaking, in
another portion of his history, of the preparations made to resist
the invasion of Xerxes, Herodotus[184] says: “Now the Grecians from
Thrace, and the islands contiguous to Thrace, furnished one hundred and
twenty ships; with crews in number amounting to twenty-four thousand
men,” equivalent to two hundred fighting-men a ship. The same author
further remarks,[185] that “Clinias,[186] son of Alcibiades, at his
own expense, joined the fleet with two hundred men and a ship of his
own:” on the other hand, Xenophon states that the Athenians in this
celebrated war put on board a fleet of a hundred sail only one thousand
marines, and four hundred archers, which is only fourteen men to each
vessel, besides the rowers.
[Sidenote: B.C. 481.]
The fleet of Xerxes, Herodotus adds,[187] amounted to twelve hundred
and seven triremes, carrying two hundred and forty-one thousand four
hundred men, or two hundred men to each vessel, exclusive of Persians,
Medes, and Sacæ, who served as marines, thirty to each ship, in
addition to the crew. The vessels must, therefore, have been larger
than those of the Athenians, described by Herodotus and Xenophon. But
besides the twelve hundred and seven triremes, Xerxes is said to have
brought with him three thousand transports and penteconters, with many
light boats, and long horse-transports, so that his whole naval force
must have consisted of four thousand two hundred and seven vessels of
one sort and another: a number almost as inconceivable as the reputed
catalogue of his combined land and sea force, even though he brought,
as was said of him, “all Asia in his train.”
This vast fleet had the misfortune to encounter a great storm on
the coast of Magnesia, in which four hundred vessels, besides store
ships, were totally wrecked; and so great were the spoils from the
derelict ships that, according to the testimony of Herodotus,[188] one
Ameinocles, who owned the land on the coast, became immensely rich from
the quantity of gold and silver Persian cups which were afterwards
found. Having described the coast of Magnesia, Herodotus says:[189]
“The ships of the first row were moored to the land, while the others
behind rode at anchor; and as the beach extended but a little way,
they had to anchor off the shore in eight rows. Thus they passed the
night, but at daybreak, after serene and tranquil weather, the sea
began to swell, and a heavy storm, with a violent gale from the east,
which those who inhabit these parts call Hellespontias, burst upon
them. As many of them, then, as perceived the gale increasing and were
able from their position to do so, avoided the storm by _hauling their
ships upon the beach_, and both they and their ships escaped. But such
of the ships as the storm caught at sea were driven ashore; some near
the place called Ipni, “the Ovens,” at the foot of Pelion, others on
the beach; some were dashed on Cape Sepias itself; some were wrecked
near the cities of Melibœa and of Casthanæa. The storm was indeed
irresistible.”
Hauling the ships on shore seems to have been customary in those days;
for, in another place, (when referring to the ship-canal Xerxes[190]
had ordered to be cut to the north of the headland of Athos,)
Herodotus[191] remarks that “it was possible, without any great labour,
to have drawn his ships over the isthmus.”
[Sidenote: Discrepancy between the different accounts.]
It is not easy to account for the discrepancy in the statements about
the number of men each of the vessels carried, or to comprehend the
facility with which they were drawn up on a beach in the face of an
approaching storm, or how they could, as Herodotus suggests, have been
transported across the isthmus. Possibly Herodotus was misinformed as
to the number of men in each of the vessels. Curiously enough, the
descriptions preserved of the fleets and maritime exploits of Cyrus,
and of other great conquerors, partake of the same character as these
recorded of Xerxes, and are equally inconsistent, when we look to
the capacity of the vessels as compared with the apparent ease with
which they could be moved about on dry land. Although the ancients had
capstans, of which Herodotus speaks, and were conversant with pulleys,
and with the best mode of transporting, by means of manual labour,
aided by blocks and rollers, heavy weights across land, it is difficult
to understand how any vessels competent to convey between two and three
hundred men each, could, just as a storm was coming on, have been
hauled high and dry upon a beach with sufficient speed.[192]
A vessel of size sufficient to take that number of men even for a
short distance and across a smooth sea, must have been, according to
the present mode of measurement, of at least seventy tons register.
But no vessel of that tonnage, or of three-fourths that size, could be
drawn up on a beach, much less across an isthmus, with the facility
the narrative of Herodotus presumes, unless the ancients had methods
for transporting their vessels on shore of which no accounts have been
preserved. A vessel of fifty-five tons register might hold between two
and three hundred men, and transport them, in a calm, across the smooth
and narrow waters of the Hellespont; but to attempt to make a voyage of
no greater distance than from Constantinople to Athens, in the craft
of those days, measuring fifty-five tons, with so many men on board,
would be attended with very considerable risk, and, this too, without
taking into consideration the convenience of the troops, or the space
required for their stores and accoutrements.
FOOTNOTES:
[152] Dr. Young, not Champollion, was the first to discover the true
method of deciphering the hieroglyphics by determining that “certain
characters in the Proper Names, whatever may have been their original
import, were employed to represent sounds.” This he published, in
1819, in the “Supplement to the Encyclopædia Britannica.” Two years
later, in 1821, M. Champollion published at Grenoble a work in which
he still asserted “that hieroglyphics are not phonetic,” and “that
hieroglyphical symbols are the signs of things, and not the signs of
sounds.”
[153] Herod. ii. 109.
[154] Tacit. Ann. ii. 60.
[155] Texier, “Asie Mineure,” ii. p. 304. Cf. Herod. i. 106.
[156] Herod. i. 112, 154. Compare also Strabo, xvii. 1147. Joseph. Ant.
Jud. xiv. 8.
[157] Herod. ii. 179.
[158] Herod. ii. 178.
[159] Herod. ii. 60.
[160] The Acantha is a species of Mimosa, or Acacia, still common
in Egypt, and the origin of our “gum Arabic,” perhaps the same as
the Shittim wood of Exodus. The present boats are built of it. The
Egyptians exported “fine linen” for sail-cloths to Phœnicia (Ezek.
xxvii. 7). Hempen (Herod. vii. 25) and palm ropes (not papyrus) were
used for the tackle. The process of making them may be seen on the
tombs at Beni-Hassan and Thebes, and specimens of them have been often
found. The modern boatmen place a stone aft to keep the boat’s head to
the stream. Col. Chesney (ii., p. 640) found the Arabs using a bundle
of hurdles and a stone for the _kufahs_ on the Euphrates, exactly as
described by Herodotus. _Baris_ occurs in Æschylus, technically, as
an Egyptian boat (Suppl. 815 and 858); see also Plutarch, Isis, c.
18; Iamblichus De Myst. 5, 6. All their larger, and even their market
boats, had cabins. Wilkinson adds that there is as much difference now
as of old in the size of the boats; and that there are some (which
can only navigate the Nile during the inundation) which are rated as
high as twenty-four thousand bushels of corn. The war vessels of the
eighteenth and nineteenth Dynasties had a single row of twenty to fifty
oars, like the Greek _penteconters_.
[161] Herodotus, book ii. c. 96.
[162] A talent is about sixty-five pounds weight.
[163] See also Rawlinson’s “Herodotus,” vol. ii. p. 132.
[164] Rawlinson’s “Herodotus,” vol. ii. p. 156.
[165] Tacit. Annal. ii. 6, and De Morib. German, c. xliv.
[166] See also Rawlinson’s “Herodotus,” vol. ii. p. 137.
[167] Egypt produced no forest timber nor any lofty trees, except the
date-palm and sycamore, of which the mummy cases are made.
[168] See an elaborate drawing of a ship in Rawlinson’s “Herodotus,”
vol. ii. p. 157.
[169] Plin. xxxvi. 12.
[170] Plin. xxxvi. 86.
[171] Cæsar, Bell. Civil. iii. 93.
[172] Herod. iv. 42. The canal was really commenced by Rameses II.,
and, probably, only re-opened by Necho and Darius.
[173] Lucian, Navig. 5.
[174] Athen. v. 37.
[175] See a further examination of her by Leroy, Mémoires de l’Acad.
d’Inscriptions, t. xxxvii.
[176] A long account is given of her by Athenæus (v. 40-44), who makes
use of three distinct words for the trenails, the ribs, and the upright
supports of the side planks.
[177] This is surely an exaggeration, as the passage through the
islands to Asia Minor must have been familiar to them. Even the
Spartans were used to the voyage (Herod. i. 70, 152; iii. 47, 57). The
reason was rather, as Mr. Grote suggests, “fear of an enemy’s country,
where they could not calculate the risk beforehand” (vol. v. p. 198).
[178] Plutarch in Thes. c. 19, where “trireme” is used in the sense of
any vessel.
[179] Cicero, de leg. Agrar. ii. 32; Eurip. Troad. 1097; and Hor.
Od. i. 7, 2, exactly describe the geographical position of Corinth.
The Phœnicians must have been there early, as a mountain at Corinth
bore the name of the “Phœnician” (Ephor. ap. Steph. Byz.), and the
“Phœnician Athene” was also worshipped there (Tzetz. ap Lycophr. 658.)
The Corinthians, too, were the founders of Syracuse and Corcyra (Corfu)
and of many ports along the coast of Greece. The principal port of
Corinth (represented on a coin of Antoninus Pius) was called Cenchreæ,
and is noticed in Acts xviii. 18, and Romans xvi. 1.
[180] Plin. xxxiv. 7; xxxvii. 49; xxxv. 15, 151; xxxvi. 178; xxxv. 152,
&c.
[181] The actual boundary stone of the mercantile port of the Piræeus,
of the date of the Peloponnesian war, was found _in situ_ in 1842
(Ulrich’s Athen. 1843). Themistocles planned, and Pericles carried out
the building of this port-town (Paus. i. 1; Schol. Arist. Equit. 974;
ibid. 547).
[182] The few following facts are, perhaps, worth recording. Thus,
an oar cost 5 drachmæ (Andoc. p. 81); and Lucian, Dial. de Mort. 4,
charges the anchor for Charon’s boat at 3 dr. The _tropoter_ cost 2
obols; a needle for sewing the sail, 3 obols; and the pitch, wax,
nails, &c., 2 drachmæ more. Again, Demosthenes speaks of a _bottomry_
bond of 3000 drachmæ; and Polyænus states, generally, that a ship
cost a talent. Usually the State found the hull, and the trierarch
the fittings. In the naval service the pay and the provisions were
generally joined together: 20 minæ was good pay for a month, and the
complement of a trireme about 200 men; the proportion of sailors,
rowers, and fighting men varying considerably at different times. The
_thranitæ_ got the best pay (Arnold’s note, Thucyd. vi. 43). The whole
equipment of shipping (for war) was under the control of _trierarchs_
(Böckh, Publ. Economy of Athens, bk. iv. c. 11).
[183] Herodotus, book viii. ch. 1 and 2.
[184] Herodotus, book vii. ch. 185.
[185] Ibid. book viii. ch. 17.
[186] This Clinias, who was killed at the battle of Coronæa, in B.C.
447, was the father of the famous Alcibiades. Plut. Alcib.
[187] Herod. vii. 184.
[188] Herod. vii. 190.
[189] Ibid. vii. 188.
[190] Some ancient, as well as many modern writers, have questioned the
story of this canal (Cf. Juvenal, x. 173, 174); but later researches
have shown that there are undoubted remains of this great work.
Captain Spratt, R.N., has surveyed it thoroughly, and has published
an account and map thereof in the “Journ. Roy. Geogr. Soc.” v. 17.
The canal now forms a line of ponds, from 2 to 8 feet deep, and from
60 to 90 broad, extending from sea to sea. It is cut through tertiary
sands, which would naturally fall in, as Herodotus states (vii. 23).
Previously to Spratt, the genuineness of this work had been maintained
by Choiseul-Gouffier, Voy. Pittor. ii. i. 148; Colonel Leake, “Northern
Greece,” ii. 145; and Sir George Bowen, “Athos,” p. 57. Moreover, we
can hardly fancy that Herodotus could be in error about a work of such
magnitude, and executed only thirty-six years before he publicly read
his history at the Olympic Games, B.C. 445.
[191] Herod. vii. ch. 24.
[192] There is no doubt that the ancients did adopt this plan of
hauling vessels over land to a great extent; a portion of the Isthmus
of Corinth was called _Diolcus_—as the spot where the ships were so
drawn across. Hesych. ad voc. Cf. Thucyd. iii. 81; iv. 8. Horat. Od. i.
4, 2.
CHAPTER IV.
Route _viâ_ the Cape to India, discovered by the Phœnicians, B.C.
610-594—Voyage of the first Eudoxus—Story of the second Eudoxus
(of Cyzicus)—Opinion of Dr. Vincent on the circumnavigation of
Africa—Remarks upon his opinion—Routes to India and to the East by
land—Origin of the caravans—Resting places—Their management—The
more important routes—Eastern—Southern—Northern—The character,
size, and discipline of the caravans—The route from Sardes to
Susa, described by Herodotus—Between Tyre and Gerrha—Length
of journey—Importance of Petra—Intercourse between Syria and
Babylon—Value of the trade of Babylon—Caravan routes from
that city—to Candahar—Cashmir—Ecbatana, and Peucela—on the
Indus—Earliest land and sea combined routes—Commercial efforts of
Alexander in the East, and the impetus he gave to the development
of the trade with India by the erection of Alexandria, B.C.
331—Time of the departure of the fleets—Residence of the merchants
and course of trade from Alexandria to the East—Value of the
trade with India—The ports through which it was conducted—Course
of the voyage to India—Outwards—Homewards—The vessels engaged in
the trade with India—The nature of their cargoes—Immense demand
at Rome for the luxuries of the East, and the enormous prices
paid for them—Imports and exports to and from Pattala—Barygaza
or Baroach—Musiris—Cape Comorin—Ceylon—Time of departure of
the fleets for Africa and the coasts of Arabia—Rhapta, or
Quiloa—Sofala—Articles of commerce—Moosa—Yemen, or Arabia
Felix—Its great wealth, and the importance attached to its
trade—Kane—Sachal—Moskha—Maskat—Omana.
[Sidenote: Route _viâ_ the Cape to India, discovered by the Phœnicians,
B.C. 610-594.]
It has been often questioned whether the ancients had really any
geographical knowledge south of the farthest point reached by Hanno,
or, speaking generally, far south of the Cape Verde Islands; but some
of the statements preserved in their writings are too definite to have
been the mere creation of imagination. We shall, therefore, briefly
examine these assertions. To take first the account in Herodotus,[193]
of the famous voyage undertaken by the orders of Pharaoh Necho. His
words are: “As for Libya, we know it to be washed on all sides by the
sea, except where it is attached to Asia. This discovery was first
made by Necho, the Egyptian king, who, on desisting from the canal he
had begun between the Nile and the Arabian Gulf, sent to sea a number
of ships manned by Phœnicians, with orders to make for the Pillars of
Hercules, and return to Egypt through them, and by the Northern sea
(the Mediterranean). The Phœnicians took their departure from Egypt by
the way of the Erythræan sea, and so sailed into the Southern ocean.
When autumn came they went ashore wherever they might happen to be,
and, having sown a tract of land with corn, waited until the grain was
fit to cut. Having reaped it, they set sail again; and thus it came to
pass that two whole years went by, and it was not till the third year
that they doubled the Pillars of Hercules, and made good their voyage
home. On their return, they declared—I for my part do not believe them,
but perhaps others may—that in sailing round Libya, they had the sun on
their right hand.”
But what Herodotus disbelieved, from ignorance of the principles of
spherical geography, affords the strongest confirmation of the report
of the Phœnician mariners; for, in sailing westwards, south of the
line, the sun would at noon appear on the right hand of the observer,
and not on his left, as in sailing westwards in the Mediterranean.
Herodotus relates a second story,[194] how one Sataspes was sent,
during the reign of Xerxes, by way of punishment, on a voyage through
the Pillars of Hercules, with orders to sail round Africa; and states
that this man, after having occupied many months in traversing unknown
seas and sailing along strange coasts, doubled a cape called Soloeis
(Cape Spartel), and thence returned to Egypt. Sataspes gave a minute
account of his journey, and of the strange, dwarfish men (probably
Bosjesmans) he had met with; but Xerxes, either not crediting his tale,
or angry because of his cowardice in turning back, ordered him to be
impaled.[195]
[Sidenote: Voyage of the first Eudoxus.]
[Sidenote: Story of the second Eudoxus (of Cyzicus.)]
A third expedition is reported by Pliny,[196] who states, on the
authority of Cornelius Nepos, that a certain Eudoxus, his contemporary,
in an attempt to escape the pursuit of Ptolemy Lathyrus, passing
down the Arabian Gulf, came at length to Gades; and further, on the
same authority, that Cœlius Antipater had seen a man who had made a
commercial voyage from Spain to Æthiopia. Lastly, we have the memorable
narrative in Strabo,[197] of Eudoxus of Cyzicus. This Eudoxus, he tells
us, was sent with sacrifices and oblations to the sacred games of
Proserpine, and travelled through Egypt in the reign of Ptolemy VII.
(Physcon). It befell that during his stay there, a certain Indian was
brought to the king, by his officers employed along the Arabian Gulf,
with the report that he had been found in a ship, alone and half dead,
and that they knew not who he was or whence he came, as he spoke a
language unintelligible to them.
Strabo further states that this Indian, when, after a certain time,
he had acquired a sufficient knowledge of the Greek language, related
how, after leaving the coast of India, he had lost his course, and
reached Egypt alone, all his companions having perished of hunger,
adding that he would point out to any persons sent with him by the
king the best and quickest route by sea to that part of India whence
he had started. Eudoxus, who had previously prevailed on the king to
attempt the exploration of the Nile, was able to carry out the wishes
of the Indian, by sailing to India in a vessel under his own charge
and with the Indian as his pilot. It appears, further, that the voyage
was successful, and that Eudoxus brought back in due time to Egypt, in
exchange for the presents he had taken with him, aromatics and precious
stones, some of which, he said, were collected among the pebbles of the
rivers, while others were dug out of the earth.
On the king’s widow, Cleopatra, succeeding him on the throne, Eudoxus
was despatched on a second voyage, with a still richer cargo, for
purposes of exchange; but his previous good fortune did not, on this
occasion, attend him; for, on his return, he was driven by adverse
winds on the south coast of Æthiopia, where he is said to have
conciliated the inhabitants by presents of grain, wine, and cakes of
pressed figs, articles the natives did not possess, receiving in
exchange a supply of water and pilots for his voyage. Before, however,
taking his departure, he had made himself acquainted with a few words
of their language, and having ascertained that the portion of a prow he
had seen on the beach, representing the head of a horse, belonged to a
vessel which the natives said had come from the west, he took it with
him to Egypt, where he exhibited it in the market-place. Some of the
Egyptian pilots, it is further stated, on examining this figure head,
recognized it as that of a vessel which had sailed from Gades (Cadiz),
beyond the river Lixus,[198] and had not returned. She was one, they
said, of a class of vessels styled “horses” (from the figure of that
animal borne upon the prow), which were employed in fishing around
Maurusia as far south as Lixus.[199]
Eudoxus, from the account of the pilots, inferred the possibility of
circumnavigating Africa, and resolved to attempt it, first visiting
various parts of Europe to procure the necessary funds. Having
succeeded in doing so, he equipped one large ship, and two swift boats
of considerable size, embarking merchandise of various kinds, as also
physicians and singing boys, no doubt to cure and delight the natives
of the places he proposed visiting. No particulars are given of this
voyage except that he unfortunately lost his ship, and returned to
Egypt. It must be added, that Strabo doubts the story of Eudoxus,
and sneers at the discovery of the head of the Spanish ship, thus
casting ridicule on a statement which has at least the merit of being
circumstantial, and which tends to confirm the general correctness of
the narrative as well as the authenticity of the voyage round the Cape
in the days of Pharaoh Necho, related by Herodotus.
But Strabo, to whom posterity is indebted for a vast amount of ancient
geographical knowledge, was in this case merely the exponent of the
ignorant prejudices of his age. Of the fact there is little doubt.
Few persons who have studied the observations of Rennell, Humboldt,
and Heeren, on this subject, without reference to the questionable
extent of the voyages of the Carthaginians under Hanno, will doubt
the accounts preserved by Herodotus and Strabo; though both these
distinguished authors treat as romance the circumstances they have
recorded.
[Sidenote: Opinion of Dr. Vincent on the circumnavigation of Africa.]
These voyages have, however, been seriously questioned by a modern
writer of no mean authority, Dr. Vincent,[200] who denies altogether
any circumnavigation of Africa previously to the expedition of the
Portuguese. “Nothing is more easy,” he says, “than to affirm the
accomplishment of these great attempts, where an author clogs himself
with neither circumstances nor particulars; but whenever we obtain
these, as we do in the journal of Nearchus, or the Periplus, we find,
indeed, that the ancients performed great things with slender means;
but we see also plainly what they could not do. We see with such
vessels as they had, they could neither have got round the Cape of
Good Hope, by adhering to the coast, where the violence of the ocean
must have been insupportable, nor could they have avoided this by
standing out to sea, as they had neither the means nor the knowledge to
regain the shore, if they had lost sight of it for a single week.” He
further asserts, that no voyages were accomplished except by coasting;
and that no vessels were accustomed to cross the stormy waves of the
ocean except, perhaps, the ships of the Veneti, in Brittany, noticed by
Cæsar.
And yet there is abundant ground for believing that the Phœnicians
as well as the Carthaginians carried on a regular trade with Cadiz,
and could hardly have failed to visit the British Isles; moreover,
they must have often done so at seasons when they would have been
liable to encounter heavy gales in the Bay of Biscay. Again, near
the commencement of the Christian era, the vessels of Crete engaged
in the commerce between Rome and Alexandria were evidently ships of
considerable dimensions; and though, from their style of build and rig,
they may not have been well adapted for long over-sea voyages, there
seems no valid reason why they should not have made a coasting voyage
round Africa. Besides, as the southern portions of that vast continent
were doubtless as thickly peopled as the north, why should the traders
on the east coast have limited their voyages and explorations to
Sofala, and those on the west coast to Cape Corrientes? Even if so
distant a trade did not prove sufficiently remunerative to encourage
constant voyages, this is no reason why such a voyage should never have
been made, or why the stories in Herodotus and Strabo should be deemed
to have no foundation in fact. The admitted coasting character of all
the early voyages in antiquity, is really one of the best arguments in
favour of the longest of these expeditions; so that what Dr. Vincent
states in support of his views, tells against the objection he raises,
and tends to confirm the probability of the stories as we have them.
[Sidenote: Remarks upon his opinion.]
He further admits that the very “inferior vessels” of ancient times
_did_ cross the Indian Ocean from Africa, and from Arabia to India,
when the nature of the monsoon winds was first fully understood,
fifteen hundred years before Vasco de Gama made his celebrated voyage;
and that long before even that early period Solomon’s ships found their
way to Sofala.
Nor does he doubt that the Carthaginians under Hanno had explored the
western shores of Africa, at least as far as the Equator. Now, if so
much be admitted, it is not easy to understand why the rest should not
be conceded also. It is true that no account has been preserved of the
size of the ships built at Ezion-geber; but, considering the length
of the voyages it is agreed they accomplished, there is no reason why
they should not, on an occasional voyage, have safely doubled even the
stormy promontory of the Cape, and also, perhaps as occasionally, have
found their way to the East Indies.
[Sidenote: Routes to India and to the East by land.]
Previously, however, to the time of Solomon, communication with
the East was, as has been incidentally noticed, chiefly carried on
by caravans, themselves in many instances vast undertakings. The
camels, or “ships of the desert,” put it in the power of many of the
ancient nomad tribes to become carriers through sandy and otherwise
impenetrable deserts; and, as Moses was forbidden to molest the sons
of Edom during the Jewish passage through the Wilderness,[201] it is
reasonable to infer that there was, even in his time, a considerable
commerce carried on through the country of Edom, or Idumea, by means
of caravans. Again, Gideon, when he conquered Midian, a few years
afterwards, found among the Midianites, an Idumean tribe, abundant gold
and camels and many other proofs of a large traffic, by which they had
evidently long flourished. He “demanded for his reward the earrings
of the men, and the chains that were about the camels’ necks;”[202]
decorations alike attesting the value of the animals, and the extent
and wealth of the commerce in which these people had been engaged.
[Sidenote: B.C. 1453.]
[Sidenote: Origin of the caravans.]
Indeed, when we consider the extent of the Asiatic continent, its
sterile deserts, and its geographical features, together with the
lawless hordes that roamed over them, it would seem to have been
impossible for any but a numerous company to conduct a trade across
it in safety and with success. Hence it became necessary to collect
companies of travellers or merchants in sufficient numbers, either to
defend themselves, or to pay for the protection of a body of guards.
Moreover, as it frequently happened that the merchants of any one
district were too few to cope with the marauders they were likely to
encounter on their journey, some central depôt or rendezvous was named
where the smaller caravans might meet. These were not a matter of
choice, but of established custom.
[Sidenote: Resting places.]
Happily, in the deserts they had to cross, Nature had allotted to
the traveller occasional spots, though few and far between, where
he could obtain rest for himself and his beasts of burden under the
shade of a cluster of palm trees, with the additional refreshment of
invigorating springs of cool, fresh water. These places of repose
naturally became entrepôts of commerce, where merchants from all parts
exchanged their commodities; and, hence, some of them, as Palmyra
and Petra, became wealthy and magnificent cities, and the sites of
temples and sanctuaries, to which the pilgrim and the merchant alike
resorted. From these and other great centres, the leading caravans took
their departure on their distant and dangerous journeys by routes as
untraceable to the eye as the track of a ship on the ocean.
[Sidenote: Their management.]
The entire management or safe conduct of the great Asiatic and Arabian
caravans was confided to the nomad tribes,[203] who provided the
means of transport and directed their movements. In their hands was
necessarily placed the important duty of breeding and rearing the
camels,[204] and, in the transport of the goods of the merchants across
the desert, they acted much as ship-owners now do in the conveyance of
goods across the ocean; such duties, then as now, forming a separate
and distinct branch of commercial enterprise. These undertakings
vast in themselves—for it would require about four thousand camels
to transport the amount of produce and manufactures constituting the
cargo of a single modern Indiaman—formed an important trust. Articles
of great value, in proportion to their bulk, such as silks, perfumes,
balsams, and rich manufactures of various sorts, besides gold and
silver, were entrusted to the care of those who had charge of the
caravan, and who had dangers even greater to encounter than the perils
of the sea. Nor was their responsibility limited to merchandise. All
classes, as well as merchants, availed themselves of these caravans, so
that arrangements had to be made on a large scale, and often for months
before the caravan started, for the means of conveyance and for the
requisite supply of water and provisions.
[Sidenote: The more important routes.]
Besides Petra and Palmyra, the cities of Sardes, Babylon, Gerrha,
Damascus, and Susa were all peculiarly well situated for carrying on
a large inland commerce; and these places, with Thebes and Memphis,
were as famous in their day as great commercial entrepôts, as London,
Liverpool, Glasgow, New York, Marseilles, or Hamburg are in our own
time. At the period to which we now refer, Arabia, including Asia
Minor, and the northern portion of Africa, may be said to have been
divided into four great caravan routes, with numerous tributaries. The
first embraced the traffic between Egypt and Palestine; the second
extended from the coast of Syria, including the trade of Phœnicia with
Babylon and Assyria, through the plains of Mesopotamia to the north,
and along the shores of the Red Sea to the south; the third traversed
Asia Minor to the north; and the fourth route lay through Africa, with
Thebes as its centre, and the Nile and ports of the Red Sea as its
outlets.
[Sidenote: Eastern.]
But Arabia, of all countries, was the most frequented by caravans. From
Petra, where vast numbers of travellers met, an important and lucrative
trade was carried on with Yemen and the fertile districts of the south,
especially with that portion of the great peninsula which lies between
the Persian and Arabian Gulfs, where it is washed by the Indian Ocean.
In a commercial point of view, Yemen was one of the most important
countries through which the caravans passed; not merely on account of
its own productions, but from being at a very early period a depôt of
Indian as well as of Ethiopian merchandise, and the principal mart in
those days for spices, perfumes, and especially frankincense.
[Sidenote: Southern.]
That branch of the caravan trade between Palestine and Egypt, mentioned
in the Mosaic records, is also noticed by Herodotus, who states that
the transport of Egyptian and Assyrian wares was the first business
carried on by the Phœnicians.[205] Tyre also sent large quantities of
wine into Egypt, receiving in exchange the “fine cotton and embroidered
work” of which Ezekiel speaks.[206]
In somewhat later times, Babylon became one of the principal places to
which the Phœnicians directed their attention, and traces are still to
be seen of the cities which marked alike the course and the extent of
this inland traffic.
[Sidenote: Northern.]
In considering the account in Ezekiel, we have already noticed the
trade between Tyre and the nations on the Black Sea such as “Tubal
and Meshech”: where a portion of the trade was probably by caravans,
especially that from “Togarmah” (Armenia), whence the Tyrians obtained
“horses of noble and common breeds, and mules for their wares.” The
same is probably true of the vessels of copper imported thence into
Tyre, the same range of mountains (the Taurus) affording at present
similar productions.
[Sidenote: The character, size, and discipline of the caravans.]
Though conducted wholly by nomad tribes, these caravans were,
nevertheless, as complete in their organization and control, as the
modern Indiamen which now occupy their place. Frequently consisting
of between one and two thousand persons, with numerous horses and
many thousand camels, they had a captain (pasha) of their own choice,
to whom all owed and gave implicit obedience. Separate officers were
likewise appointed to regulate the march, to perform the duties
of treasurers and paymasters, to superintend the servants and the
cattle, to take charge of the baggage and merchandise, and to make the
necessary arrangements for encampment. Thus the caravans had each their
captain, their pilot, their purser, and mates, who had their respective
duties to perform like those of the officers of the merchant-man of the
present day. It was a point of honour that each traveller should assist
the other; and if the humblest fell into difficulties, he had only to
claim the assistance of his companions. If a camel broke down, or even
if its load was thrown to the ground, the whole line halted until the
accident was repaired.
On the main routes, special seasons, well known to the merchants
and travellers, were appointed for the arrival and departure of the
caravans. Their departure was an animated sight. For several days,
persons destined for the journey were hourly arriving at the rendezvous
with their camels, horses, and merchandise. Provisions had to be
provided, and plans arranged for the comfort and safety of all who
were about to undertake so long and hazardous a journey. The risk of
falling short of food, or of being lost in the deserts, and the danger
of attack from the predatory tribes infesting them, required a careful
arrangement and strict discipline; but, though generally well armed,
the merchants often adopted the safer plan of paying a fixed sum to the
Bedouins, to secure a safe transit for themselves and their goods.
Some of the routes, were provided with numerous resting-places and
caravanserais, so that travelling along these lines was comparatively
safe and easy. Herodotus[207] furnishes a description of one
constructed by Cyrus, king of Persia, which was originally, it is true,
for military purposes, but which proved also to be of great importance
to the merchants trading between the leading cities of Persia, Asia
Minor, Babylonia, and India.
[Sidenote: The route from Sardes to Susa, described by Herodotus.]
Starting from Sardes, not from Smyrna and Ephesus, there appears to
have been one continuous road to Susa (a city second in importance only
to Babylon itself). “Royal stations and magnificent caravanserais,”
says Herodotus, “continually succeed each other in all parts of it,
and it passes through an inhabited and safe region all the way. First
(from Sardes) there are twenty stations through Lydia and Phrygia, or
ninety-four parasangs and a half (about two hundred and eighty-three
miles). Leaving Phrygia we come to the river Halys, near which there is
a guarded passage, necessary to be passed on our way over the river.
On the other side of the river we come to Cappadocia, and through this
country to the Cilician mountains, comprehending twenty-eight stations,
or a hundred and four parasangs. We penetrate into these mountains
through two sets of gates, at each of which there is a guard posted,
and then traverse Cilicia, a space of three stations, or fifteen
parasangs and a half. The river Euphrates, which can only be passed by
a ferry, separates Cilicia from Armenia, in which there are fifteen
stations, or fifty-six parasangs and a half. There is one place where a
guard is posted, and four rivers which are crossed in boats. The first
is the Tigris, the second and third bear the same appellation,[208]
without being either the same river or flowing from the same country,
as the first of them comes out of Armenia, and the other out of the
land of the Matienians; the fourth is the Gyndes, which Cyrus dispersed
by digging for it three hundred and sixty branches.[209] From Armenia
into the land of the Matienians there are four stations; and eleven
stations, or forty two parasangs and a half, from this country into
that of the Cissians (Khuzistan), as far as the river Choaspes, which
must likewise be passed in boats; and on the banks of this river stands
the city of Susa. Thus, in the journey from Susa to Sardes, there are
one hundred and eleven stations with the same number of caravanserais.”
Here, then, is a record, four hundred and fifty years before our era,
of a well made road of more than one thousand miles in length; and this
road is still in existence.[210]
[Sidenote: Between Tyre and Gerrha.]
The trading routes between Babylon and Tyre, and more especially
between Tyre and Gerrha[211] lay, in both cases, through long and
uninterrupted deserts; a course, some have thought, chosen as better
enabling merchants to preserve the secrecy of their business, and the
real character of the wares in which they were trading. Baalath and
“Tadmor in the desert”[212] (Baalbek and Palmyra) were, it is supposed,
founded by Solomon with the intention of obtaining for himself a share
of the commerce which the Phœnicians were at that time carrying on with
Babylon and other inland cities.
[Sidenote: Length of journey.]
Here many caravans assembled, and thence diverged to their different
destinations. Those destined for the East proceeded by way of
Palmyra,[213] and to this day, the commercial road from Damascus
to the Euphrates runs close to the ruins of that city. Seven days
were occupied in the journey from Baalbek to Palmyra, four of them
in passing through the desert which lay between that city and Emesa
(Hems), another celebrated city of Syria. From Palmyra, other four days
were required to reach Thapsacus,[214] where the caravan had the choice
either of following the course of the Euphrates, or of passing through
the plains of Mesopotamia. The southern, or rather the southern and
eastern routes, passed through Palestine (where Joseph was sold to the
caravan of Midianitish merchants) into Egypt, terminating at Memphis
on the Nile. The eastern route diverged from it to Petra,[215] a place
perhaps more celebrated than any other in the inland trade of ancient
times. From Petra, there were two great routes to the East, both
terminating in Gerrha on the Persian Gulf. Opposite to this place, and
about fifty miles distant, lay the island of Tylos,[216] a settlement
of the Phœnicians, as already stated. One of the routes lay along the
line of the eastern shore of the Arabian Gulf, but at some distance
from it, except where it touched Leuke Kome, and, most probably,
Mecca also, till it reached Saba or Saphar, perhaps, as already
suggested, the Ophir of Solomon, a distance of twelve hundred and sixty
geographical miles from Petra, or a caravan journey of seventy days;
thence the route lay through a great desert to Gerrha. The other route
was almost a straight line through a more northern desert, from Gerrha
to Petra, and was probably that by which Europe was first supplied with
the produce of India.
[Sidenote: Importance of Petra.]
While Gerrha was the chief commercial city of Arabia to the east,
Petra,[217] the capital of the Nabathæans, may be considered as
occupying a similar position in the north-west of that country. A city
equal in opulence to Gerrha, it constituted the chief western mart of
the Arabian spices and frankincense, of which immense quantities were
consumed in Egypt. Here important fairs were periodically held for the
exchange of different commodities; and here the traders from the south
met the merchants of Syria, and bartered the luxuries of the East for
the manufactures of Tyre, and of the other cities of Phœnicia and Syria.
According to the testimony of Ezekiel, the whole of this trade was
carried on by barter, being an exchange of merchandise for merchandise,
in which even the precious metals were included.
[Sidenote: Intercourse between Syria and Babylon.]
Many of the caravans of the northern route unloaded their merchandise
on the banks of the Euphrates, whence it was shipped for Babylon
and Susa, or conveyed through the canals, some of which were of
considerable magnitude.[218]
[Sidenote: Value of the trade of Babylon.]
Situated between the Indus and the Mediterranean, with a productive
soil, and commanding, by means of the Euphrates and Tigris, every
communication with the interior, and, by the Persian Gulf, with India
and the eastern shores of Arabia, the Babylonians, until they were
brought under the yoke of Persia, carried on a commercial intercourse
with surrounding nations which for many ages was second only to that of
the Phœnicians. Babylon stood in its relations with the East somewhat
as Tyre in its dealings with the West. Hence the traffic between these
two great centres of ancient commerce was necessarily of an important
character. Nor indeed was it ever seriously interrupted, except when
the ambition of Nebuchadnezzar vainly prompted him to attempt the
capture,[219] if not the destruction, of Tyre. Each had its own
spheres of commerce and its own means of usefulness, and those of
Tyre must have been materially impaired, if not annihilated, by the
siege of thirteen years, whether the Babylonian monarch did or did
not succeed. While Tyre increased in strength and wealth, spreading
her colonies over the west, Babylon continued her dealings with her
and with the nations dwelling on the Euxine and the Caspian Seas. By
means of her caravans, canals, and rivers, Babylon became also the
chief entrepôt for Western Asia, where the merchants of many countries
assembled to exchange their merchandise; and such it remained for
ages. Neither the heavy yoke of Asiatic despotism, nor the devastating
sword of conquering nations, could destroy, though they might for a
time overshadow, its splendour. It was only when the Persians, feeling
no interest in sea-borne commerce, and dreading the incursions of the
maritime powers, blocked up the Tigris, that its commercial greatness
began to decline.
[Sidenote: B.C. 604.]
Although Babylon did not reach the zenith of its power till
Nebuchadnezzar made it his capital, everything leads to the supposition
that, for many ages, it had been the seat of science and civilization,
and had carried on an extensive intercourse with distant as well
as with neighbouring nations. Highly skilled in astrology and in
astronomical observations, to which the clearness of the sky and the
brightness of the stars offered every encouragement, the Babylonians
were, however, not familiar with either the science or practice
of navigation; but that they, in connexion with the Chaldeans,
possessed an over-sea maritime commerce when their power was at its
height, may be inferred from the writings of Isaiah:[220] “Thus saith
the Lord, your deliverer; For your sakes have I sent to Babel, and
thrown to the ground all obstacles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is
in their ships.” While however they carried on a large inland trade
in vessels of their own, their oversea commerce was most probably
conducted by the Phœnician ships of Tylos, or by the Arabians. Indeed,
Heeren,[221] quoting Agatharchides, shows that the merchants of Gerrha
sent to Babylon in _their own ships_ the produce of India, as well
as frankincense and other perfumes from Arabia Felix. Of these the
consumption must have been enormous, for Herodotus states that no fewer
than a thousand talents were annually consumed by the Chaldeans in the
temple of Belus alone.[222] Besides, there was a large overplus, which
was conveyed up the Euphrates to Thapsacus, and then distributed by
caravans over the whole of Western Asia.
[Sidenote: Caravan routes from that city, to Candahar,]
While Babylon constituted the emporium on the river Euphrates, the
city of Opis,[223] on the Tigris, a few miles above Baghdad, formed
another centre of commerce, to which the merchants of Gerrha had, with
much success, directed their navigation from very early times, until
interrupted by the Persians. From Opis, an important caravan route
lay across Mesopotamia to Aradus, near Tyre; while from Susa, taking
first a northerly direction, there diverged another route almost due
east to Candahar, and thence by one of the branches of the Indus into
Cashmir,[224] running almost in a continuous line with the road through
Asia Minor mentioned by Herodotus. This great eastern route has been
fully described by both Strabo and Pliny, who derived their knowledge
chiefly from the writings of the companions of Alexander.
[Sidenote: Cashmir, Ecbatana, and, Peucela, on the Indus.]
According to these accounts, it appears to have gone directly east in
about 36° N. latitude to Ecbatana, the capital of Media, and thence
to the Caspian gates, through which everything coming from the west
necessarily passed. On the north lay the Hyrcanian mountains; on the
south an impenetrable desert; and on one portion of the route there
was the narrow defile, about eight Roman miles in length, which Pliny
describes as having been cut through the rocks.[225] From the Caspian
Pass, the road led with various considerable turns till it reached
Peucela on the Indus. From Alexandria in Ariis (Herát), and Ortospanum
(Kâbul), other routes turned off into Bactriana, and thence proceeded
into Great Tatary and Central Asia.[226] As there was considerable
commercial intercourse between the neighbouring inhabitants of the city
of Bactra (Balkh) and of Upper India, another route ran due north to
Marakanda (Samarcand); and Heeren is of opinion that caravans traversed
the desert from Badakhshan to Serica (China), and from that country to
the Ganges.
[Sidenote: Earliest land and sea combined routes.]
Herodotus relates that from the Greek establishments on the Black
Sea there were commercial routes through Central Asia, over the Ural
Mountains to the country of the Calmucks of Great Tatary.[227] These
different highways will be found laid down on a map, which has been
prepared for reference (see Frontispiece), wherein will also be found
the courses adopted by the vessels of ancient times in the navigation
of the Asiatic seas, which, as far as can now be ascertained, was
chiefly confined to the Arabian and Persian Gulfs, and the Indian
Ocean. The periodical winds in these gulfs when once ascertained,
rendered navigation comparatively easy, but, in navigating the Indian
Ocean at the time of Alexander’s expedition, the monsoons were either
not generally known to extend across the Indian Ocean, or were not
made available to any great extent. Voyages, in the days of Herodotus,
and for three centuries afterwards, were almost wholly of a coasting
character.
[Sidenote: Commercial efforts of Alexander in the East, and the impetus
he gave to the development of the trade with India, by the erection of
Alexandria, B.C. 331.]
Although Alexander endeavoured, when he took possession of Babylonia,
to remove the obstructions by which the Persians had blockaded the
river Tigris, and, by this and other means, hoped to restore the
maritime commerce they had destroyed, he was only partially successful;
hence, subsequently, the great bulk of the sea-borne trade between the
Western and Eastern world reverted to the Arabian Gulf, and, with a few
unimportant deviations, continued in that route until the Portuguese
successfully doubled the Cape of Good Hope. For some time, however,
after his death this new trade was materially retarded by the anarchy
which occurred on that event; nor did it thoroughly revive until
Ptolemy Philadelphus established an embassy on the coast of Hindustan,
and, at the same time, built the port of Berenice, on the Red Sea, at
the eastern end of the great commercial road from Coptos on the Nile.
Ptolemy, son of Lagos and father of Philadelphia, as soon as he had
taken possession of Egypt, established the seat of his government in
Alexandria, entering readily into the schemes which had led Alexander,
a few years before, to lay the foundations of that city. With a
rapidity truly astonishing, merchants from all parts flocked to the
new city, so that in a space of time incredibly short the commerce of
the East came to be carried on in the channel which the sagacity of
Alexander had anticipated for it.
By a prudent exercise of authority, by many acts of liberality, and,
above all, by the fame of a mild and judicious administration, Ptolemy
drew so many inhabitants to this place that it soon became one of the
most populous and wealthy cities in Egypt. Ptolemy had possessed, as
he well deserved, the confidence of the great conqueror more perfectly
than any of his other officers; hence he knew better than any of them
that Alexander’s chief object in founding Alexandria was to secure the
advantages arising from the trade with India. His long and prosperous
reign enabled him to carry out this purpose with great success; while
his general attention to the requirements of a wide maritime commerce
is exemplified by his construction of the celebrated Pharos, at the
mouth of the harbour of Alexandria, of which mention has already been
made.
From Alexandria the course of trade with the East seems to have at
first passed to Arsinoe, the present Suez, but the difficulties and
dangers of the navigation of the northern extremity of the Red Sea, led
to the formation by Ptolemy Philadelphus, on its western shores, of
the harbour of Myos Hormus, as well as the more important roadstead of
Berenice, whereby direct communication with the outer ocean was greatly
facilitated, and due advantage could be taken of the prevailing winds
within the Straits. Goods were conveyed by the Nile to Coptos, and were
thence transported over land by caravans to Myos Hormus, or Berenice.
To render these routes more easy and endurable during many days’ march
through torrid deserts, Philadelphus sought out the needful springs,
and established caravanserais at these necessary halting places.
Pliny[228] and the Itinerary of Antonine[229] give a list of them; and
it is worthy of record, that Belzoni recognized traces of many of these
routes when he visited that country.[230]
[Sidenote: Time of the departure of the fleets.]
From both Myos Hormus and Berenice the fleets appear to have sailed in
the month of September for Arabia, as well as for various ports on the
coast of Africa; and in July for India. These periods, from the course
of the prevailing winds, were the best adapted for proceeding upon
such voyages. In the first instance, clearing, as we may presume they
would do, the Straits in the month of November, they would probably
fall in with a wind during that month which would carry them down the
coast of Africa, and enable them to return with equal facility in the
course of the following months of May and June. By sailing in July from
Berenice, or Myos Hormus, they would reach Bab-el-Mandeb before the
1st of September, and would thus have a fair wind for nearly three
months. Thence they could easily reach the shores of Malabar, even by
adhering to an almost strictly coasting route, in the forty days, in
which, as we learn from Pliny, that portion of the voyage was usually
performed.[231]
[Sidenote: Residence of the merchants, and course of trade from
Alexandria to the East.]
The merchants who carried on these important trades, both under the
Ptolemies and the Romans, resided chiefly, if not altogether, at
Alexandria; and though the Ptolemies, for their own interest, were
willing to extend, as far as possible, mercantile privileges, the law
of Egypt still required (as in the case of Naucratis) the employment of
an Alexandrian factor for the transaction of the merchant’s business:
a custom which in a great measure accounts for the immense wealth of
Alexandria.
It is clear that the prevailing winds must now have been studied with
care, and the intercourse between West and East so arranged as to admit
of the utmost possible advantage being derived from them. Towards the
latter end of July the annual, or Etesian (north), wind commences its
influence and extends from the Euxine Sea to Syene in Upper Egypt.[232]
As a northerly wind, prevailing at the time of the year when the
Nile is at its greatest height, it affords an excellent opportunity
of advancing against the stream. Hence the voyage from Alexandria to
Coptos, a distance of three hundred and eight Roman miles, was usually
performed in twelve days.[233]
The Canopic branch of the Nile (the nearest to Alexandria) was then the
chief navigable approach to Egypt from the sea. From its entrance a
canal had been formed connecting it with Alexandria, so that traders
from Coptos could pass through it without landing their cargoes at
Alexandria, and without paying the custom-dues exacted from other
vessels.
It is worthy of remark, that though Berenice was built by Philadelphus,
the real value of its position was not at first recognised; nor was
it fully appreciated till the discovery of the regular uniformity of
the winds at certain seasons of the year gave a special impetus to the
trade with the far East.
It is needless to inquire when the monsoons were first noticed: it is
enough to know, that even if the principle of them was ascertained at
a remote period, little or no use was made of this knowledge by the
Alexandrian merchants till about the reign of Claudius, and of the
successful voyage of Hippalus.[234] The Romans perceiving the great
advantage Hippalus had made known by his adventurous voyage justly
named the monsoon wind after him.
These winds, now so familiar, extend with a variety of modifications
over all the seas of India, from Japan to Madagascar. Their general
course is north-east and south-west, with some fluctuations, and they
commence blowing from the north-east in October, though it is not till
November that they blow steadily from that quarter, and continue to do
so for four months. They begin again to fluctuate about the month of
March, and do not blow steadily from the south-west till April or May,
when they often increase to a strong gale. Previously to the discovery
of the monsoons, commercial adventure with the more remote regions of
the East had been generally carried on in comparatively small vessels,
that crept cautiously along the windings of the coast. As soon however
as Hippalus had shown the uniformity of these periodical winds, vessels
of a larger and of an improved description were constructed; and so
great was the impulse thus given to the trade between Europe and India,
that it soon became a subject of apprehension at Rome, lest the empire
should be drained of its specie to maintain the commerce with India.
According to Pliny,[235] silver, to the value of nearly a million and
a half sterling was annually required to pay for the spices, gems,
pearls, and silks then imported through Egypt.
[Sidenote: Value of the trade with India.]
From the earliest historic period, the productions of India have,
indeed, been in almost incessant demand by the nations of the West, and
from even the mysterious reign of Semiramis, the queen of Assyria, to
our own time, the possession of India has been in turn the envy of them
all. To Great Britain, India has perhaps been of less special value
since the differential duties were abolished and its ports thrown open
to the shipping and commerce of the world; but still that empire is a
prize she would not readily relinquish. To her merchants it has been a
source of immense wealth, and among her people its produce, either as
articles of necessity or luxury, is now as eagerly sought after as it
was in the palmy days of Tyre, of Rome, or of the Italian republics.
Vast quantities of silver are still gathered from all parts of the
Western world, for export to the East, in exchange for the products
of India; and complaints have been frequently made, even in our own
times, of the quantity of the precious metals sent from Europe to pay
for these commodities. Yet, so far from this being a just grievance,
nothing can be more certain than the prosperity of a people, who have
thus at their disposal, from one source or another, vast superabundant
stores for exportation and exchange for the raw material or even the
luxuries of the East.
[Sidenote: The ports through which it was conducted.]
[Sidenote: Course of the voyage to India.]
When Rome came into possession of Egypt, its commercial intercourse
was conducted chiefly through the port of Berenice, while the port
of Myos Hormus was in a great measure abandoned. Yet some trade was
still carried on from this port as also from Leuke Kome, on the
north-western coast of the Red Sea, near the entrance to the Gulf
of Akabah. The whole of these ports being in possession of Rome,
there were custom-houses established at each, with Roman officers to
collect the duty of twenty-five per cent. imposed on _all_ articles
of import and export, as well as Roman garrisons to enforce its
payment, where necessary. Caravans from Petra and from the shores of
the Mediterranean, brought to Leuke Kome the manufactures and other
produce of the North, destined for shipment to the East, while Berenice
became the chief port for the manufactures of Rome and of the West,
which were conveyed up the Nile, by the route described, to Coptos,
and thence forwarded by caravan. Caravans also, from Thebes and other
places in Upper Egypt, were the agents of an extensive trade through
Berenice and Myos Hormus. Pliny, as has been stated, when compared with
Arrian, gives a clear account of the length of time required to make
the voyage from Berenice to the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, a distance
between of five and six hundred miles; and the whole of this question
has been fully examined by Dr. Vincent.
[Sidenote: Outwards.]
It would seem that the chief anxiety of the fleets of those days arose
from the intricacy and consequent danger of the navigation, even
with a favourable wind, within the Straits, and hence that vessels
invariably anchored during the night when an opportunity offered. But
after passing Bab-el-Mandeb, the steady influence of a favourable
monsoon enabled the pilots to make a continuous and comparatively rapid
passage. Those ships destined for the more distant voyage to Malabar
remained at Okelis (the modern Ghella or Cella), near Aden, for a
longer time than those whose destination was only Guzerat. The pilots
had observed from the commencement of this new route to India, that the
interval between the change of the monsoons was invariable, not merely
fluctuating, but that in June and July the weather sometimes proved so
tempestuous as to render the navigation of the Indian Ocean perilous,
if not almost impracticable; that in August and September the winds
become more settled, and that by the month of October fine weather,
with steady breezes, could be depended upon. Accordingly, one portion
of the fleet, which left Berenice about the 10th of July, arriving at
the mouth of the Arabian Gulf within a month, remained at Okelis for
a week, ten days, or a fortnight, and by this arrangement the vessels
bound for the coast of Malabar reached their destination at the best
season of the year.[236]
[Sidenote: Homewards.]
The homeward voyage was regulated by the same experience. Remaining on
the coast of India from the end of September, or beginning of October,
to the early part of December, two months of the finest weather were
thus obtained for the discharge of the vessels and the disposal of
their cargoes, as also for taking on board the return lading in
exchange. The 13th of January was fixed as the latest date for leaving
the coast; and it is here worthy of remark, that the original order for
the fleets of Portugal, fifteen centuries afterwards, was subject to a
similar regulation. Quitting the coast of India on or about the 10th of
January, they would easily reach Aden in twenty or thirty days, where
they would most probably remain until they could derive the benefit of
the Gunseen winds, which, from about the middle of March, blow steadily
from the south for fifty or sixty days, and thus have a fair wind
to carry them to Berenice. Thus the winds prevailing in the Gulf at
different seasons of the year were as valuable to the ancient ships as
the true monsoons in the Indian Ocean.
[Sidenote: The vessels engaged in the trade with India.]
It is much to be regretted that no descriptions exist of the character
of these fleets, of the men by whom they were navigated, or of their
merchant owners. It seems, however, a reasonable conjecture that they
were in many respects similar to the vessels the Romans employed in the
grain trade between Alexandria and Egypt, of which St. Paul’s ship may
be considered as a type. In all likelihood they were chiefly owned by
the merchants of Rome and of Alexandria, and commanded by men from the
Grecian and other maritime states of the Roman empire; the crew, on the
other hand, were probably Arabians, as the natives of Arabia are known
to have been from remote times settled on the western shores of India.
Indeed, we learn the same fact from the historian of Vasco de Gama’s
celebrated voyage, who speaks of the vast number of Arabians whom the
Portuguese found settled at Calicut, and engaged in commercial and
maritime occupations.
[Sidenote: The nature of their cargoes.]
[Sidenote: Immense demand at Rome for the luxuries of the East, and the
enormous prices paid for them.]
The products of India were at no period sought after with greater
avidity than when Rome became mistress of the world. Tyre, in the
plenitude of her power, or Babylon in her greatest magnificence, were,
compared with Rome, moderate in their expenditure upon luxuries. It
was this extravagance which led Pliny to make the complaint to which
we have just referred, of the drain of precious metals to the East;
in itself just, because they were sent to purchase articles of luxury
as expensive as they were superfluous, instead of necessaries and raw
materials capable of conversion for the wants of the people, or of
re-exportation to other countries. Enriched by the spoil and tribute
of nearly every portion of the then known world, the inhabitants of
Rome had acquired a taste for every kind of luxury, and had resolved to
obtain it, regardless of the cost. Whatever was rare commanded fabulous
prices. To supply their demands, new and extraordinary efforts became
necessary to obtain from the East the articles they required. Silks,
precious stones, and pearls, were eagerly sought after, but spices and
aromatics were even greater objects of solicitude. Fortunes expended
upon frankincense had, they thought, the combined effect of raising
them in the estimation of their neighbours, and of securing the favour
and friendship of the gods. The greatest extravagance was displayed on
the funeral pile, which, as well as the body about to be consumed by
the flames, was frequently covered with the most costly spices. Nero is
reported to have burnt at the funeral of his wife Poppæa, a quantity
of cinnamon and cassia greater than the countries from which it was
imported were capable of producing in one year;[237] and two hundred
and ten burdens of spices are said to have been strewed upon the pile
which consumed to ashes the body of Sylla.
Among the precious jewels brought from the East, pearls were most in
demand, and for the finest and rarest of these the most extraordinary
prices were given. Julius Cæsar is said to have presented the mother of
Brutus with one for which he had paid 48,457_l._; and if we may credit
the statement of Pliny, the famous pearl earrings of Cleopatra were
valued at 161,458_l._ sterling.[238] That silk was an article greatly
prized is not a matter for wonder, when we consider the variety of
elegant fabrics into which it may be fashioned, and how much it must
have added to the splendour of dress so eagerly sought after by the
luxurious inhabitants of Rome. Its price was so exorbitant that women
of eminent rank and opulence alone could afford to use it; but this
did not render the demand for it less eager. Contrary to what usually
happens in the ordinary operations of trade, an increased demand for it
had not the effect of increasing the quantity imported to a sufficient
extent to materially reduce the price, for in the reign of Aurelian,
more than two hundred and fifty years from the time of its being first
introduced into Rome, silk continued to be valued at its weight in
gold. No doubt this arose in a great measure from the fact that the
merchants of Alexandria, by whom the silk was imported, had no direct
intercourse with China, the only country in which the silkworm was then
reared, while the place of production was too remote, and the means of
increasing the supply then too limited, to meet the greatly increasing
demand.
[Sidenote: Imports and exports to and from Pattala.]
Arrian[239] has left the fullest information now obtainable with
reference to the commodities in his time, which constituted the chief
articles of commercial intercourse between Europe and India. Pattala,
on the river Indus, was then the first mart for the vessels arriving
from Egypt, and from Leuke Kome. He states that the outward cargoes
consisted of woollen cloth of a light fabric, linen in chequer work,
glass vessels, wine, and aromatics of a sort unknown in India, besides
some precious stones, wrought silver, coral, borax, and specie. For
these were received cotton cloths, silk thread, and silk stuffs of
different sorts, black pepper, sapphires, and other gems, as well as
various kinds of spices.
[Sidenote: Barygaza or Baroach.]
[Sidenote: Musiris.]
Barygaza, on the same coast, soon, however, became a more important
mart than Pattala; and, by the minute description Arrian has given of
its position, that port would seem to correspond with Baroach, on the
great river Nerbudda, by means of which it had navigable communication
for many hundred miles into the rich interior of India. The articles
of import and export were much more various and abundant at Barygaza
than at Pattala. Besides those already mentioned, Arrian enumerates
among the former, Italian, Greek, and Arabian wines, brass, tin, lead,
girdles or sashes of curious textures, white glass, red arsenic, black
lead, and gold and silver coin. Among the exports were the onyx and
other gems, ivory, myrrh, various fabrics of cotton, both plain and
ornamented with flowers, and pepper. At Musiris, the port Hippalus
reached when he first took advantage of the monsoons, the articles
imported were much the same as at Barygaza; but, as it lay nearer to
the eastern parts of India, the commodities exported from it were
more numerous and more valuable. Pearls are specified as being there
obtainable in great abundance and of extraordinary beauty, besides
a variety of silk stuffs, rich perfumes, tortoise-shell, different
kinds of transparent gems, especially diamonds, and pepper of the best
quality.
[Sidenote: Cape Comorin.]
[Sidenote: Ceylon.]
Although Arrian, from the accurate description he has given of it,
would seem to have sailed along the coast as far as Cape Comorin, the
southernmost point of the Indian peninsula, the ships from Berenice
do not appear to have traded with any place on the coast south of
Musiris, where, however, various Egyptian commodities were to be found.
Probably these articles were received in exchange for the produce of
the East, brought by native vessels from the countries near the Ganges,
or from Malacca and China to Ceylon. Many native vessels were, however,
evidently confined, in their trading operations, exclusively to that
coast. Although the island of Ceylon was the great mart or depôt, where
the manufactures and produce of the West were exchanged for those of
the then far distant and almost unknown East, it is probable that the
ships from Egypt did not, at least during the early portion of their
operations, proceed as far as that island, but that their cargoes were
transported thither in the native coasters, and there bartered for silk
and for other commodities produced in Ceylon, or in the countries to
the eastward of it. In all likelihood the merchants of Alexandria were
deterred from sending their ships as far as Ceylon, through fear of the
dangers of which Pliny has preserved a report. “The sea,” he remarks,
“that lies between the island and the mainland, is full of shallows,
not more than six paces in depth; but in certain channels no anchor
has ever found a bottom. For these reasons,” he adds, “the vessels are
constructed with prows at each end, so that there may be no necessity
for tacking in channels which are extremely narrow.”[240]
[Sidenote: Time of departure of the fleets for Africa and the coasts of
Arabia.]
[Sidenote: Rhapta, or Quiloa.]
While the fleets for India sailed in July, the vessels destined for the
various ports on the coast of Africa or Arabia took their departure
with equal regularity in the month of September. By clearing the
gulf before November, they made certain of a favourable wind down
the eastern coasts of Africa, and had ample time to transact their
business, and to return with the change of wind by the following
May. Abdooli, contiguous to Orine, was the first port of call for
the African traders. Here large quantities of ivory and horn were
shipped, brought from Axume, an inland town eight days’ journey from
the coast, and an important mart for their collection and sale, as it
lay in the central part of the district, where both the elephant and
the rhinoceros were killed in great numbers. From Abdooli, the fleets,
after passing through the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, reached Malao,
Moondus, Mossulon, and Daphnon, four harbours, or rather roadsteads,
of some commercial importance, which lay not far from each other on
the line of coast extending to the eastward. At all of these places
boats or rafts had to be used for the transport of goods and produce
between the ships and the shore, as no attempt had been made to
construct wharves. After rounding Cape Aromata, the extreme eastern
point of the African continent, they shaped their course to the south,
steering about S.S.W., along the coast of Azania, calling at various
places, including Melinda, until they reached Rhapta or Quiloa, in
about nine degrees south latitude. The merchants of this place had many
ships of their own employed in the trade, on board of which they had
Arabian commanders and factors, employing such only as had experience
of the country, or as, having contracted marriages with the natives,
understood the language, and were familiar with the navigation.[241]
Arrian gives a picture of these people, and of their habits, resembling
much that presented to the Portuguese, fifteen centuries afterwards,
when they first cast anchor off Quiloa. Here, too, as well as from
the more northern port of Melinda, a trade seems, though we have no
positive knowledge of the fact, to have been carried on with India in
ages before Hippalus. Corn, rice, butter or ghee, oil of cinnamon,
cotton in the web, and in the flock for stuffing, sashes, and “honey
from the cane called sugar,” had, long before Arrian, been articles of
commerce imported thence. “Many vessels,” he says, “are employed in
this commerce, expressly for the importation of these articles; and
others, which have a further destination, dispose of part of their
cargoes on this coast, and take in such commodities as they find
here in return.” The cargoes specified are just such as could be now
imported from India.
[Sidenote: Sofala.]
[Sidenote: Articles of commerce.]
From Quiloa the Egyptian fleets appear to have traded as far south
as Sofala, obtaining thence the produce of Æthiopia as well as of
Abyssinia, and rhinoceros horns, tortoise-shell, myrrh, and odoriferous
gums, frankincense, cinnamon of a common description, and slaves of
a superior order, principally for the Egyptian market. In exchange,
Alexandria sent cloths of various kinds, and linen, glass, porcelain,
white copper for ornaments and for coin; brass for the manufacture of
culinary vessels, bracelets and ornaments for the legs, such as are
still worn in Abyssinia; iron for weapons of all sorts, as well as
hatchets, adzes, knives, and daggers, manufactured and ready for use.
The invoices also mention drinking vessels of brass, large and round;
denarii or Roman specie, for the use of the merchants resident on the
coast; Laodicean (or Syrian) and Italian wines; gold and silver plate,
according to the fashion of the country, as presents for the native
kings; jackets, watchcoats, coverlids, Indian cotton, besides cotton
in its raw state; sashes of variegated colours, and cloths with the
nap on, of various sorts, suited for the barbarian coasts. Tin, the
produce of the British mines, formed likewise an article of export
from Berenice and Leuke Kome, to the coast of Africa, although only
in small quantities. Plated silver, and flint glass, or crystal, were
shipped to a considerable extent; while corn from Egypt constituted one
of the most bulky articles of export to the more populous of the places
we have named.
[Sidenote: Moosa.]
The merchants of Alexandria, likewise, carried on an extensive and
valuable commerce with various ports in Arabia, especially with Moosa,
at the entrance to the Red Sea, a place believed to have had a very
ancient trade with India. Moosa also imported large quantities of
coffee from Africa, and, mixing it with the coffee of Arabia, sold the
adulterated article as the produce of the latter country. Its imports
from Egypt consisted, among other manufactures, of various descriptions
of cloths, and of clothes made up after the Arabian fashion, with
sleeves plain and embroidered. Its merchants gave in exchange the
produce of their own country, and that of India, imported in their own
vessels from Baroach.
[Sidenote: Yemen, or Arabia Felix.]
[Sidenote: Its great wealth, and the importance attached to its trade.]
There are few lands more extolled in ancient history for their natural
richness, both as regards its mines and the productiveness of its
soil, than Yemen, or Arabia Felix, the country of the Queen of Sheba,
of which Moosa was the chief port. Though separated from India by an
open sea, it was yet intimately connected with it by nature; a sky of
great serenity enabling its mariners to make full use of the stars as
their guides, and thus sparing them the labour and anxiety of slowly
creeping along the coast, as was elsewhere necessary. Arabia was above
all others the native country of frankincense, of myrrh, and of other
aromatic perfumes, productions then held in such repute, that scarcely
one of the then most civilized nations of the world would have dared to
offer a gift to their gods without them.
Greek and Hebrew writers alike speak of the country of the Queen of
Sheba as one of the richest of the ancient world. The Hebrew poets
cite the names of its various cities and harbours, and their writings
overflow with descriptions of its many treasures. No sooner had the
Greeks obtained a knowledge of these regions than they extolled to
the utmost the boundless riches concealed in Arabia Felix. “Its
inhabitants, the Sabæans,” remarks Diodorus[242] quoting from
Agatharchides, “not only surpass the neighbouring barbarians in wealth
and magnificence, but all other nations whatever. In buying and selling
their wares they maintain among all nations the highest prices for the
smallest quantities. As their distant situation protects them from
foreign plunderers, immense stores of precious metals have accumulated
among them, especially in the capital. Curiously wrought gold and
silver drinking vessels in great variety, couches, tripods with silver
feet, and an incredible profusion of costly furniture in general,
abound there.”
The whole of this vast wealth would seem, by the remarks of Diodorus,
to have been derived, not from war and plunder, but by the prosecution
throughout many ages of peaceful commerce and unwearied industry.
“Before merchants,” observes Arrian, “sailed from India to Egypt, and
from Egypt to India, Arabia Felix was the staple both for Egyptian and
Indian goods, much as Alexandria is now for the commodities of Egypt
and foreign merchandise;” a testimony fully borne out by abundant
statements in Holy Scripture. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel all speak
in glowing terms of the great wealth of Arabia Felix. Nowhere, too,
were the civilizing effects of commerce more noticeable than in Arabia
Felix. Although Dr. Vincent remarks that “the importance of this
commerce, as it appears in the “Periplus,” is manifestly far inferior
to the representation of it in Agatharchides,” he adds, “still it is
evident that the manners of the people in this quarter of Arabia were
civilized, that the government was consistent, and that the merchant
was protected. This character, as we learn from Niebuhr, Yemen still
maintains, in preference to the Hijar and the whole interior of the
peninsula. The same security is marked as strongly by the “Periplus”
in Hadramaut; and the whole coast on the ocean being commercial,
_the interests of commerce have subdued the natural ferocity of the
inhabitants_.”[243]
It would appear that, before the settlements at Moosa and Okelis, the
ships from Persia, Caramania, and the Indus came no farther than the
coast just outside the straits, near the modern Aden, and that here
the fleets of Egypt met them and exchanged their articles of commerce.
Many writers, too, on this subject, have maintained that the fleet of
Solomon, though fitted out with the view of going as far as Sofala, did
not proceed beyond the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, and that they there
exchanged the produce of the West for that of India, Yemen, and Africa.
We, however, adhere to the opinion already expressed, that at least a
portion of Solomon’s fleet visited both the Indus and the eastern coast
of Africa. It is not, in itself, likely that seamen so enterprising
and adventurous as the Phœnicians, would have failed in accomplishing
any voyage wherein the ships of other nations had been successful;
nor, viewing the profits the Arabians derived from their intercourse
with the East, can it be supposed that the merchants and shipowners
of Phœnicia would have cut short their voyages at the Straits of
Bab-el-Mandeb, knowing too, as they could not fail to have known,
many commercial reports about a vast country to the east abounding
in riches, which the Arabians had reached by sea. It seems also more
than probable that they had, at the same time, learnt something of the
character of the winds which favoured such voyages, and their reasoning
must have been, “What the inhabitants of the sea coasts of Arabia
and Africa can perform by vessels in every way inferior to those of
Phœnicia, we can accomplish so much the more successfully by means of
our well appointed fleets.”
[Sidenote: Kane.]
[Sidenote: Sachal.]
The Arabians had also a considerable intercourse with the East from
Kane,[244] a port on the south-western shores of Arabia, in Hadramaut,
a place enjoying a direct intercourse with Sana, and thence by the
great caravan route with Saba. The merchants of Kane traded, on the
one hand, with Baroach, Sindh, Ormus, and Persia, and on the other,
with Egypt, whence they imported wine, corn, cloths suited for the
Arabian market, salt, brass, tin, resin, specie, wrought plate, carved
images, and horses, and exported various commodities common to the
country, and especially frankincense and aloes. From Kane the Arabian
vessels, and afterwards some of the Egyptian traders in the time of
Arrian, proceeded along the coast to the north-east until they reached
Sachal, on the shores of Hadramaut, their chief trade being incense,
which, according to Arrian, was there “collected by the king’s slaves,
or by malefactors condemned to this service as a punishment.” Most of
the incense, however, was sent through Thomæra, the capital of the
Gebanites, to Gaza, on the coast of Palestine, by way of Petra, by
the important caravan route already noticed, and continued in a great
measure to find its way to Egypt by this inland route even after the
merchants of Alexandria had established a regular maritime commerce
with the East.
[Sidenote: Moshka.]
[Sidenote: Maskat.]
[Sidenote: Omana.]
From Sachal the traders on the coast proceeded to Moskha, where
vessels from Baroach and Larike, on the Gulf of Cambay, if too late
for the favourable monsoons, usually endeavoured to exchange their
Indian muslins for the frankincense of the place. From this place,
also, native vessels made a coasting voyage till they reached Maskat
and Kalaiso. Near these ports they were able to cross the gulf at its
narrowest parts, and steered nearly due north, or about N.N.E. for the
port of Omana, which evidently takes its name from Oman in Arabia, and
was, doubtless, a colony of Arabs, established on the coast opposite
to their own, for the purpose of approaching nearer to Western India.
From Omana they steered almost due east along the coast of Beloochistan
until they reached their destination at the mouth of the Indus or in
the Gulf of Cambay.
Although Omana was the centre of commerce between Arabia and India, and
afterwards became a place of great commercial importance, no produce
of the latter country appears to have been shipped from it at the time
of Arrian. Dates in large quantities were then, as they were long
afterwards, its chief articles of export; as also, coarse cloths, wine,
slaves, some gold, and many pearls. Here were built for the Arabians
the vessels they employed in the Persian Gulf, and along the whole line
of the coast, their hulls consisting of planks sewed together, without
nails. To this day similar vessels, known as _frankees_ and _dhows_,
may be seen in great numbers, engaged in much the same trade their
ancestors followed two or three thousand years ago.
We have now given a brief outline of the routes by land and by sea, by
which commerce was conducted with the East, before the commencement of
the Christian era, and the map we have prepared (see frontispiece) may
assist our readers in tracing the different routes. Of the maritime
commerce of India itself, and of the trade and shipping of the East
during the earliest periods of history, we shall attempt to furnish an
outline in the following chapter.
FOOTNOTES:
[193] Herod. iv. c. 42.
[194] Herod. iv. c. 33.
[195] It is probable that Sataspes got as far as the Gulf of Guinea,
and was then stopped by the south-east trade-winds. It is to avoid
these that our ships, bound to India _via_ the Cape of Good Hope, stand
across to South America.
[196] Plin. ii. 169.
[197] Strab. ii. 81.
[198] Larachi or Al Arish, on the coast of Marocco.
[199] Humboldt, in confirmation of this statement, quotes the case of a
counterpart for the horse’s head belonging to the Gades-ship, referred
to by Eudoxus, as having occurred in the remains of a ship of the Red
Sea, which was brought to Crete by westerly currents, according to
the account of the trustworthy Arabian historian Masudi.—Humboldt’s
“Cosmos,” vol. ii. p. 389.
[200] Periplus of the Erythræan Sea, vol. ii. p. 189 et seq.
[201] Numbers xx. 14.
[202] Judges viii. 24-26.
[203] Macpherson, i. pp. 7, 8.
[204] Heeren, Gen. Introd. p. xxv.
[205] Herod. i. 1.
[206] Ezek. xxvii. v. 7.
[207] Herod. v. 52.
[208] These are the greater and lesser Záb.
[209] Referring, probably, to the numerous canals this great conqueror
cut, for purposes of irrigation as well as navigation, between the
Euphrates and Tigris.
[210] “Royal stations” were the abodes of the king’s couriers. Cf.
Herod. viii. 98. These couriers were very rapid, like the Indian
_harkâreh_ of the present day. Strabo (xv. p. 725) states that
Alexander’s order for the execution of Parmenio, given near Herât, was
conveyed eight hundred and fifty miles in eleven days, to Ecbatana.
The present route from Smyrna to Baghdad, is nearly the same as that
described by Herodotus, from Sardes to Susa; it turns a little to
the N., to avoid the arid deserts about the Upper Euphrates and the
Upper Tigris, and passes Sart (Sardes), Allah Shehr (Philadelphia),
Kaisariyeh, Malatiyeh, Diarbekr, Mosul, Arbil (Arbela), and Kerkuk
(Circesium). If Herodotus went to Babylon, he would have gone by this
route as far as the river Gyndes (Diyala), where the route from Babylon
to Ecbatana crossed it, as is clear from the account of the march of
Cyrus. (Herod. i. 189.)
[211] Strabo, xvi. 766.
[212] 1 Kings ix. 18.
[213] Plin. v. 87. Procop. Bell. Pers. ii. 5. Gibbon, c. xi,
[214] Xenoph. Anab. i. 4, 11.
[215] Plin. vi. 144.
[216] Plin. vi. 28.
[217] Strab. xvi. 779. Diod. Sic. xix. 98.
[218] See note on principal canals of Babylonia, by Sir H. C.
Rawlinson, in Rawlinson’s Herodotus, i. p. 571.
[219] It is not distinctly stated anywhere that Tyre was actually
taken; but the inference from Ezek. c. xxvi. is that it was—or the
prophecy has remained unfulfilled.
[220] Isaiah, xliii. 14.
[221] Heeren, i. p. 438.
[222] Herod. i. 183.
[223] Arrian, vii. 7.
[224] Arrian, iii. 16.
[225] Pliny, vi. 17.
[226] Strabo, p. 782.
[227] Herod. iii. chap. 24.
[228] Plin. vi. 102.
[229] Itin. Antonin. p. 172.
[230] Belzoni, “Travels,” ii. p. 36.
[231] Plin. vi. 104.
[232] Herod. ii. 20, compared with vi. 140; vii. 168. Plin. vi. 102.
[233] Pliny, ibid.
[234] Hippalus is believed to have lived in the reign of the Emperor
Claudius.—Vincent, i. pp. 47-49.
[235] Plin. vi. 101.
[236] Dr. Vincent’s “Periplus,” p. 288.
[237] Plin. xii. 83.
[238] Plin. ix. 119-121. Gibbon, ch. 3.
[239] Arrian, the merchant, must not be confounded with the famous
Arrian of Nicomedia; nothing is, however, known about him.
[240] Pliny, vi. 82.
[241] Dr. Vincent’s “Periplus,” vol. ii. p. 170.
[242] Diodorus, iii. 46.
[243] “Periplus,” vol. ii. p. 317.
[244] Pliny, vi. 104, identified by Welsted with Hisn Ghorab, ii. p.
421.
CHAPTER V.
Ancient India—Expedition of Sesostris—Doubts of Dr. Robertson with
regard to it—Hindustan, its early commerce, and the probability,
from its great value, of its having attracted Sesostris—The
conquests of Darius, and of Alexander—Trade with China—Its
maritime intercourse—A comparison of the Chinese boats with those
of the ancient Britons—The conquests of Alexander in India,
B.C. 327-5—The gain to commerce by his conquests—The spread of
knowledge—His march into India—Preparations for the voyage down
the Indus—Departure of his fleet from Nicæa, B.C. 326—Description
of the vessels employed—Progress of the fleet—Establishment of
new cities on the banks of the Indus—Character of the vessels
engaged on the voyage from the Indus to Susa—Time occupied—Future
voyages—Death of Alexander, B.C. 323—Eastern India—Ceylon—Internal
commerce of India—Manufactures of India—State of the trade
of India from the sixth to the ninth century—Change in the
course of trade—Persian trade with India—The Muhammedans, A.D.
622—The extent of their commerce with the East—The trade between
Constantinople and India and China.
[Sidenote: Ancient India.]
It is impossible to say at how early a period the commerce of India
assumed a civilized form, and from the rude barter of the savage became
a regular system of exchange and account. The opinion of ancient as
well as of modern writers, is almost unanimous in considering the
Hindus as one of the oldest civilized nations in the world; but their
most ancient records are so blended with fables, that it would be a
waste of time to attempt to separate fact from fiction. Nor shall we do
more than allude to the supposed conquests of Sesostris and Semiramis,
as these are now generally held to have no historical foundation. That
the civilization of India may reach back two or three thousand years
before the Christian era is, however, not improbable, as the oldest
of the Indian sacred writings, the Vêdas, are believed by the best
Sanscrit scholars to have been handed down by tradition from about B.C.
1500.[245]
The historian who attempts to trace the operations of men in their
commercial pursuits during very remote ages, and to mark the various
steps of their progress, will soon have the mortification of finding
that the period of authentic history is limited to the time assigned
to it in Holy Writ; and that all the speculations about the high
civilization of the Hindus before the period usually assigned to the
Deluge are mere dreams of antiquarian enthusiasm. There is no reason
to doubt that the narrative usually attributed to Moses is the most
ancient we can now obtain, whatever modern philosophers may say to
the contrary; and it is on the whole, unquestionably, the most in
conformity with the facts now deducible from antiquarian or linguistic
research. Many centuries must have intervened before the first heathen
historian, Herodotus, wrote; and it is simply idle to attempt to write
a consecutive record of commercial enterprise for any period preceding
written history, as even the sculptured monuments of Egypt and Nineveh
add scarcely anything to the pages of the Bible. Dr. Robertson, who
wrote before anything was known of the meaning of the hieroglyphic
writing of Egypt, expresses grave doubts about the Indian expedition of
Sesostris, resting as this story does on the unsupported testimony of
Diodorus Siculus; but, though portions of it may be fabulous, others
may be true.
[Sidenote: Expedition of Sesostris.]
[Sidenote: Doubts of Dr. Robertson with regard to it.]
“Credulity and scepticism,” he says,[246] “are two opposite extremes
into which men are apt to run, in examining the events which are said
to have happened in the early ages of antiquity. Without incurring any
suspicion of a propensity to the latter of these, I may be allowed to
entertain doubts concerning the expedition of Sesostris into India, and
his conquest of that country. Few facts in ancient history seem to be
better established than that of the early aversion of the Egyptians to
a seafaring life. Even the power of despotism cannot at once change the
ideas and manners of a nation, especially when they have been confirmed
by long habit, and rendered sacred by the sanction of religion. That
Sesostris, in the course of a few years, should have so entirely
overcome the prejudices of a superstitious people, as to be able to
fit out four hundred ships of war in the Arabian Gulf, besides another
fleet which he had in the Mediterranean, appears to be extremely
improbable. Armaments of such magnitude would require the utmost
efforts of a great and long established maritime power.”[247]
On the other hand, we may remark that, though the extent of his fleet,
especially of vessels large enough to undertake so distant a voyage
as that to India, is, under any circumstances, very questionable, the
aversion of the Egyptians to a sea-faring life, would not in itself be
an insuperable objection against the probability of great and distant
expeditions, since, as we have already shown, the Phœnicians must have
had considerable fleets at an early period; and Sesostris (or whoever
he may be supposed to represent), is said to have employed Phœnician
ships and sailors. Nor does Herodotus’s omission of the expedition
attributed to the Egyptian monarch, prove that no such undertaking
could have been carried into effect. We must, in fact, be wary of
rejecting the possibility of some conquest or of some expedition,
while we reject unhesitatingly what is on the face of it fabulous, as
the story of the seventeen hundred associates of Sesostris, who were
born on the same day as the king, and were still alive: moreover, with
regard to Strabo, it should be remembered, that he, like Herodotus, has
doubted more than one story, which there is, nevertheless, sound reason
for believing. The first duty of an historian is to separate, to the
best of his judgment, fact from fiction, and especially, not to reject
what may have taken place, because the account of it is mixed up with
questionable or exaggerated anecdotes.
[Sidenote: Hindustan, its early commerce, and the probability, from its
great value, of its having attracted Sesostris.]
There are many reasons for supposing that Hindustan, to this day famous
for its riches, was at a very early period the seat of a lucrative
commerce and of much accumulated wealth. As such it would be the envy
of other nations, and more especially of ambitious monarchs. The
narrative of Arrian shows that this commerce was then regulated by
sounder principles, and carried on in a more civilized manner, than it
was fifteen centuries afterwards when Vasco de Gama first visited the
shores of India. As numerous elements of wealth and luxury, usually
found scattered over various regions of the earth, were the natural
products of Hindustan, it might be expected that a country so highly
favoured should, through the mists which over-hang the dawn of history,
have loomed forth imposingly in very ancient times as the special abode
of luxury and refinement.
But while not admitting the extravagant descriptions in the Hindu
poets and historians of the glory and wealth of their country, any
more than the whole of the Egyptian story of Sesostris, there is no
reason to doubt that the civilization of India dates from a period as
early as that of Egypt, and that the fame of its riches may have led
to more than one attempt to achieve its conquest. The Râmâyana, one
of the most ancient Hindu books, where it informs us, in the glowing
language of its poetry, that Ayodhya[248] (Oude), one of the leading
commercial cities of India, was “filled with merchants and artificers
of all kinds”; that “gold, precious stones, and jewels were there found
in great abundance”; that “every one wore costly garments, bracelets,
and necklaces”; that “the town always resounded with the noise and
bustle of men and women, like the shouts of contending armies”; that
“the great men were ever going to and fro upon chariots, elephants,
and prancing steeds”; and that “the gardens of pleasure were always
crowded with eager inquirers after their friends and lovers,” may
have furnished an exaggerated description of its wealth, but far
from a fabulous one, as the fame of that great city seems to rest on
satisfactory evidence.
[Sidenote: The conquests of Darius, and of Alexander.]
Of the actual commercial resources of India we have, however, no
reliable accounts previous to the conquests of Darius and to the
successful navigation of the Indus by his fleets. In his time, the
country through which he passed was represented to be very populous and
highly cultivated; and though his conquests did not extend beyond the
district watered by the Indus, below Peucela, we cannot but form a high
opinion of its opulence in ancient times, as well as of the number of
its inhabitants, when we learn from Herodotus that the tribute Darius
levied upon it was nearly one-third of the whole revenue of the Persian
monarchy.[249] But it was only when Alexander, two hundred years later,
undertook his celebrated expedition, that sufficient knowledge of
India was obtained to enable us fully to realize the real amount of
its wealth, and some of the actual conditions of its civilization and
commerce. Up to that period the more valuable commerce between Europe
and India was conducted mainly by caravans passing through Bactra[250]
(Balkh), “the mother of cities,” as it has been called from its great
antiquity. From this important seat of inland Asiatic trade, the Oxus
on the N.W., the Indus on the E. and S., and the Ganges to the S.E.,
stretched long-branching arms, and thus afforded ready means for the
distribution of the contents of the caravans to the most populous
districts. Founded, as is believed, before the dawn of history, Bactra
was for many centuries the most flourishing mart of Eastern commerce;
the western and the northern roads into India passed through it; and
the ruins still surrounding it for miles attest its former size and
splendour.
[Sidenote: Trade with China.]
It was the obvious policy of the Bactrian people, holding as they
did in their own hands the advantage of a great trade, to give as
little information as they could of the actual sources whence came
the wealth or the luxuries in such demand with the merchants of the
West. Hence the dismal tales of the sandy deserts to be traversed, of
the many dangers to be surmounted, and of the terrible “griffins,”
which, according to Herodotus and Ctesias, were the guardians of the
gold-bearing districts.[251] Even Arrian, the shrewd Alexandrian
merchant, speaks of the land whence the glistening hanks of silk
were obtained—the land of _Thina_ (China), as a country practically
inaccessible. “It is not easy to get there,” he says, “and of those
who attempt the journey, few are ever seen again. Once a year there
come to the borders of _Thina_, a set of ill-formed, broad-faced, and
flat-nosed savages, who bring with them their wives and children, and
carry great burdens in mats. They stop short at a certain place between
their own territory and that of Thina, where, seated on their mats,
they celebrate a kind of festival, and then, having disposed of their
goods, of which their silk is the chief, to the people of Thina,
they depart to whence they came. The county situated beyond Thina is
unexplored, either in consequence of cold and severe frosts, which
render travelling thither very difficult, or because the immortals have
so willed it.”[252]
The early navigation of China, like its commerce and everything else
connected with the history of that remarkable country, is involved
in the utmost obscurity, but there is no reason for accepting the
extravagant antiquity to which the Chinese themselves pretend. Modern
researches bring down the period of early Chinese civilization to a
date comparatively recent; and, though it is likely that, from an
early period, some of their vessels may have reached Hindustan or
Ceylon, it is equally clear that their chief commercial operations with
the nations of the West, previous to the time when the merchants of
Alexandria established a regular trade with the coasts of Malabar, were
conducted by means of the caravans already described, and, at the same
time, with as much secrecy and mystery as possible.
[Sidenote: Its maritime intercourse.]
Our knowledge of the early maritime routes to the far East is almost
exclusively confined to what has been already stated with reference to
those between Europe and Arabia and the western shores of Hindustan.
Beyond those shores, all that is certain is, that vessels from China,
from Bengal, and from other parts of the East, traded with Ceylon,
and that some of the products of China found their way by circuitous
routes, probably after passing through many hands, to the great central
mart of Alexandria; nor, indeed, is there any greater certainty or
knowledge about the character of the early Indian vessels, for,
like the Egyptians, the Indians were not, and are not, as a nation,
a seafaring people. Those Indians who followed seafaring pursuits,
were then, as now, of the lowest caste; hence the inference is natural
that their shipping would exhibit a corresponding inferiority in
construction.
Pliny[253] says that their boats consisted chiefly of a large
description of cane or bamboo, split down the middle, and capable of
carrying three persons; and Arrian remarks that, in his time, the
vessels employed on the Malabar coast were very inferior to those
of most other nations. He says the small vessels, called _madara_,
have their planks sewn together with coir—the inner fibre of the
cocoa-nut—like some of the native vessels of Arabia. Others, he
adds, were long vessels, _trappaga_ and _cotymba_ (in the native
dialect),[254] used by fishermen and pilots of the port of Barygaza.
But besides these, there were double canoes, which were lashed
together, and were by his description not unlike, though much inferior
to, those of the South Sea Islands, of which, from Captain Cook’s
description, the following is an illustration (Page 131).
The Chinese junk of the present day probably affords a tolerably
accurate representation of the Chinese merchant vessel of two or
perhaps three thousand years ago; for all that is known of China, and
of the habits of its population, tends to show that they have adhered
to established types with even more than Oriental tenacity.[255] In
the “Asiatic Researches” (vol. vi. p. 204) is a representation of one
of the oldest Chinese merchant vessels which have been preserved: it
exhibits a model almost as perfect as any of their vessels of our own
time.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: SMALL JUNK. PARO.]
[Sidenote: A comparison of the Chinese boats with those of the ancient
Britons.]
Moreover, the ordinary junk now in use for the coasting and inland
navigation of that country, will be noticed as forming an exact
counterpart of many of the Egyptian vessels engaged on the trade of the
Nile, and, more especially, that called _paro_, another description
of trading craft very common in China; while the account given by Sir
George Staunton of some of the small vessels of China exhibits a
remarkable similitude between these and the ancient boats of Britain.
“The boats,” he says, “commonly in use among them, consist of five
planks only, joined together without ribs or timber of any kind. These
planks are bent to the proper shape by being exposed some time to a
flame of fire. They are brought to a line at each end, and the edges
are joined together with wooden pins, and stitched[256] with bamboo
split into flexible threads, and the seams afterwards smeared with a
paste made with quicklime from sea-shells and water. Others are made
of wicker-work, smeared all over, and rendered watertight, by the same
composition as is used for the former. The owners affect to paint
eyes upon the heads of all these boats, as if to denote the vigilance
requisite in the conduct of them. They are remarkable for standing the
sudden shock of violent waves, as well as for being stiff upon the
water, and sailing expeditiously. The boat belonging to the chief of
the district was built upon the same plan, but on a larger scale, had
a carved and gilt head, bearing some resemblance to that of a tiger,
and a stern ornamented with sculpture, and painted with a variety of
designs in lively colours. In these boats the principal sitters are
generally at the stem, instead of being near the stern, as is the
custom of Europe.”
Considering themselves to be the most ancient and the most learned of
people, the Chinese were too vain to learn from others; they thought
they knew more than anybody else, and they think so still; for, having
daily before them some of the most magnificent European ships of modern
times, they still retain the ancient form of the junk. To a people so
fond of money, and so industrious, one would have thought that the
fact of such vessels conducting the most valuable trade on the Chinese
coast, would have induced them to make some endeavour, by means of
shipping better found and better fitted than are any they possess, to
retain a trade for centuries originally and exclusively their own.
Nowhere are their failings in this respect better exemplified than in
the report of the embassy under Lord Macartney, sent from Great Britain
to Pekin in 1792. “It is not uncommon,” remarks the writer of this
report, “on board Chinese vessels to have maps or sketches of their
intended route, with the neighbouring headlands cut out or engraved
upon the back of empty gourds, the round form of which corresponds
in some sort to the figure of the earth. Such a similitude may have
sometimes contributed to render these sketches somewhat less erroneous,
but the advantage is accidental, for neither the astronomers nor
navigators of China have varied much from the first rude notions
entertained among mankind, that the whole earth was one flat surface,
in the middle of which the Chinese took for granted that their own
empire was situated, thence emphatically styled by them, the ‘empire
of the middle;’ all other countries surrounding it being, in their
estimation, comparatively small, and lying towards the edge, or margin
of the earth, beyond which all must be a precipitate and dreadful void.”
[Sidenote: The conquests of Alexander in India, B.C. 327-5.]
With the conquests of Alexander commence our first really historical
knowledge of India. For, if Alexander left behind him, at his premature
death, the fame of a mighty conqueror, he no less deserves that of a
great civilizer, by the wisdom he displayed in opening up new channels
of commercial intercourse.[257] In the foundation of Alexandria (B.C.
332) he showed how keenly he was alive to the value of the commerce
between Europe and the East, while he was, at the same time, the first
to lay down the principle that the command of the sea secures the
possession of the land; and to carry that principle into practice, by
raising his fleets from insignificance until they held dominion over
all waters accessible to them. Alexander saw that the extension of the
commercial intercourse of his people would do more to consolidate his
power than military conquest; hence he had the wisdom to establish in
the path of his conquests, ports, cities, and institutions, with which
his name has been, and will be, imperishably associated. Although
there will always be some persons who can see nothing but desolation
and ruin in the paths of a great conqueror, who deem great soldiers
the necessary enemies of mankind, and who cannot recognise either
the foresight or the motives of men such as Alexander the Great, yet
even they must admit that the world ultimately reaped a rich harvest
through the creation of Alexandria, and that his triumphs in Asia gain
additional renown from his efforts to increase geographical knowledge,
and to bring India, by means of a more rapid communication by sea,
nearer to Europe than it had ever been before his time.
Nor were the designs of this great conqueror confined to an increase
of facilities for conducting with greater rapidity and safety the
commercial intercourse of the nations of the West, requiring, as
these did for their daily wants, commodities India could alone
supply. Alexander created new channels of trade, and fresh wants, and
fresh hopes for each country he successively overcame. Instead of
devastation and misery marking his progress through Syria and Asia
Minor, these countries were greatly enriched by his sovereignty, while
their inhabitants secured more freedom and prosperity than they had
ever enjoyed under their native princes. Egypt, under the dynasty of
the Ptolemies, the first founder of which, Ptolemy the son of Lagos,
was one of Alexander’s most trusted generals, obtained a commercial
pre-eminence it had not enjoyed during any previous period of its
history. Again, when Alexander advanced into the district now known as
the Panjâb, he conferred many advantages on the natives, and imparted
to them much practical and valuable knowledge. Almost everywhere
he founded Greek cities or colonies (Plutarch gives their number as
seventy), diffusing the manners and customs of his own people over
the vast tracts of land from the temple of Ammon in the Lybian oasis
to the banks of the Indus. Thus he brought into contact with his own
refined and civilized Greeks, not merely Oriental nations that were
highly gifted in their own way, but also the semi-barbarous tribes of
many lands, teaching them the advantages of commercial intercourse,
and extending by its influence the comforts which habits of industry
can alone bestow, together with the many blessings civilization
confers. His conquests, like the discoveries of Columbus, made known
the existence of rich regions before unsuspected, and countries where
millions of the human race could find remunerative occupation.
[Sidenote: The gain of commerce by his conquests.]
Articles of commerce, of which the Western World had had no previous
experience, were thus brought to light. Rice produced from irrigated
fields; a cotton tree of a superior growth, which, from its fine
tissues, furnished the materials for the manufacture of paper;
various descriptions of spices and opium; wine made from rice, and
from the juice of palms;[258] wool from the great bombax tree;[259]
shawls made of the fine hair of the Thibetan goats; silken tissues of
various kinds; oil from the white sesamum; and perfumes of the richest
description. These and other products, for the most part new to the
Western World, soon became articles of universal commerce, while some
of them were transported to Arabia, and thence to the shores of the
Mediterranean.
[Sidenote: The spread of knowledge.]
But, beyond numerous commercial advantages, the Macedonian campaigns
opened a large and beautiful portion of the earth to the influence of a
highly-gifted race, who courted the society of the most learned men of
the countries they conquered. Hence the geographical knowledge of the
Greeks was more than doubled in the course of a very few years by the
extraordinary and enlightened conquests of their chief.
While the comparison of notes between the geometricians, naturalists,
and astronomers of two of the most learned nations of ancient times
proved of immense benefit to mankind, we cannot doubt that the
scientific knowledge of the Greeks, when brought to bear upon the
practical experience of the Hindus with regard to the prevailing winds,
mainly induced Nearchus to start without fear on his celebrated voyage,
and, at the same time, encouraged the merchants of Europe to seek out
new means of communication with a country producing in such abundance
the articles they prized so highly.
[Sidenote: His march into India.]
The expedition through the northern portions of India, and the voyage
from the Indus to the Euphrates, if not the greatest of the exploits of
Alexander, were certainly, in many ways, the most important up to that
time in the history of commerce and navigation.
Arrian, whom we have had so often the pleasure of quoting, has
preserved copious extracts from the journal of Nearchus, and the
information thus obtained has been thoroughly investigated by Dr.
Robertson, in his “Disquisition on the Knowledge the Ancients had of
India”; by Heeren in his “Asiatic Nations”; and most fully of all by
Dr. Vincent in his “Commerce and Navigation of the Ancients in the
Indian Ocean.”
With a view to secure the commerce Tyre had so long and so successfully
carried on with India, Alexander, early in his career, as has been
shown, established the great Egyptian port which still bears his
name; and other events soon gave him the opportunity of obtaining the
sovereignty of those regions that supplied the rest of the world with
so many precious commodities. After his victory over the Persians,
the pursuit of Darius led him across Asia, from the Caspian Sea to
Maracanda (Samarcand), and during this adventurous march he naturally
learnt many things, not only of the tribes through whom he passed,
but also of India itself, with which those tribes had much commercial
intercourse. Decisive and prompt in his resolutions, he accordingly
set out from Bactra (Balkh), crossed the great chain of mountains that
constitutes the north-western boundary of India, and, passing the
Indus, marched on towards the Ganges and the rich provinces of the
south-east, now comprehended under the general name of Hindustan.
[Sidenote: Preparations for the voyage down the Indus.]
Nor would he have hesitated in pushing onwards to the then capital
of India, Palimbothra (now Patna), had he not been compelled by the
remonstrances of his native troops to retrace his steps homewards.
Being, however, unable to persuade his troops to cross the Hyphasis
(now Setlege), and to pass on to the conquest of India, Alexander fell
back upon the Hydaspes (now Jelum), where he found that the officers
to whom he had entrusted the construction and collection of as many
vessels as could be got ready, had so well executed his orders, that
they had assembled a numerous fleet, consisting of two thousand
vessels, according to Strabo, or, according to Arrian,[260] of about
eight hundred boats, thirty-one of which were ships of war, and the
rest such as were usually employed in the navigation of the river. But,
whichever number be right—and with the dense population of the Panjâb,
the larger one, comprehending anything and everything that could float,
is doubtless possible—it is certain, if we except that of Xerxes, that
this flotilla was one of the largest which had as yet, at least within
historical times, been got together.
It is very likely that, by his eight hundred, Arrian may have meant
only those employed for transports and fighting vessels, not deeming
it worth while to reckon up every small craft Alexander may have
pressed into his service. Moreover, Strabo[261] has remarked that in
the neighbourhood of Nicæa, whence the army embarked, there was an
abundant supply of fir, pine, cedar, and of other timber, fit for the
construction of boats and barges; while Arrian further records the fact
that Alexander, before he himself had reached the Indus, had already
caused a number of vessels to be built in the country of the Assacani
(the Afghâns), and to be sent down the Kophen (or river of Kâbul) to
Taxila (Manykyala). It was, probably, during the preparation of this
great fleet that Alexander obtained his most valuable information
about the state of inner or further India, both with regard to the
commerce of the country, and to the different places with which the
natives traded. Many of the natives, too, embarked with him, either
for the purpose of conducting the fleet, or with a view to their own
advantage; and, besides the natives who rendered their services in
the collection, fitting out and navigating the fleet, it is further
stated that an ample supply of mariners was obtained from a number of
Phœnicians, Egyptians, Cypriotes, Ionians, and others from the shores
of the Hellespont, and from the Ægean islands, who had accompanied the
army, in various capacities, as camp followers.[262]
[Sidenote: Departure of his fleet from Nicæa, B.C. 326.]
[Sidenote: Description of the vessels employed.]
Thus prepared, the expedition started from Nicæa on the 1st October,
B.C. 326. The voyage down the river is described rather as a triumphal
procession than a military progress. The size of many of the transport
vessels, and of the barges for the conveyance of horses, the splendour
of the equipments, the clang of arms, and the sound of musical
instruments, attracted the natives in vast numbers to the banks of the
river, as wondering spectators to the pomp. Nor, probably, were they
less surprised at the measured chant of the rowers, and the dashing
of the oars in the still waters: subjects on which all the historians
of this remarkable expedition have dwelt in detail, doubtless thereby
conveying an accurate account of this remarkable exploit. But though
there can be no doubt of the general truth of the story as handed down
to us by Arrian, the descriptions of the vessels which composed it
are, in some respects, inconsistent with each other. The transports
were probably short flat vessels, to which the ordinary small barge of
the present day bears, perhaps, a greater resemblance than any other
craft. The galleys are said to have been long and sharp, some of them
having two banks of oars; others were “half-decked vessels;”[263]
while some of them had keels so deep, that they could not be beached
without risk of their destruction. “As the tide fell,” remarks Dr.
Vincent,[264] “the vessels were left on ground; but upon the return
of the flood those only that had settled upright in the mud or ooze,
escaped unhurt, while all that lay inclined upon the harder ground,
were exposed to the most imminent danger, and several were lost.” As
any vessel, however, that is of sufficient stability to float upright,
would, when the tide returned, rise to it, it is very probable that the
cause of these occasional accidents was leakage, through straining or
from carelessness in beaching them on uneven ground. The greater part,
however, of the craft consisted, no doubt, of open boats and barges,
and especially that portion of it which had been built on the upper
branches of the Indus, and then transported overland to the Hydaspes.
[Sidenote: Progress of the fleet.]
The expedition having been disposed of in various divisions, had orders
to observe a due distance from each other in their movements, so that
no confusion might arise, its speed being at the same time regulated
so as to accommodate itself to the motions of the army on the shore.
Three vast armies, moving in separate divisions, encumbered with
baggage as well as with munitions of war, with no roads prepared for
them, and, for the most part, following the sinuosities of the river,
must have had numerous difficulties to surmount. It is, therefore,
unlikely that they were able to maintain their combined movement with
anything like order, or to average in their progress as much as the
fifteen miles a day Dr. Vincent considers a fair estimate for them.
Still less is it possible that they could have accomplished the six
hundred stadia, or seventy miles, in the time Pliny has recorded. The
estimate of Curtius of forty stadia, or four miles and three quarters a
day, is unquestionably nearer the truth, as we know that the fleet was
nine months floating down a distance of little more than one thousand
miles. Moreover, there were constant delays and interruptions, arising
from the arrangements Alexander considered it necessary to make with
the different tribes and provinces through whose territory he had to
advance.
[Sidenote: Establishment of new cities on the banks of the Indus.]
At the junction of the Acesines with the Indus, Alexander established
his first city on the banks of that river. The site was judiciously
chosen, as a city placed in such a position would necessarily partake
of all the commerce that passed up the Indus, to be distributed by
means of its various tributaries, from Candahar and Kâbul on the west,
to Upper India and Thibet on the north and north-east: moreover,
being the centre where all the streams united, it must, consequently,
derive equal emoluments from the commerce that passed downwards to the
coast.[265] From the establishment of this and of other cities on the
banks of the Indus, all of which he fortified, it is evident that the
Macedonian conqueror destined that river to be the eastern frontier
of his empire, and saw that, by holding the command of it, he would
combine, by means of a river navigation to the eastern portion of
his dominions, a maritime commerce with the richest portions of the
interior of India.
On the arrival of the expedition at Pattala, in after days a place
of great commercial importance for the maritime trade with the West,
Alexander made arrangements for despatching Nearchus, with the
largest and best portion of his fleet, to the Euphrates, he himself
proceeding with the bulk of his army, by land, to Susa and Babylon.
The importance of Nearchus’ expedition cannot be too highly estimated,
as on its success greatly depended the carrying out, with thorough
efficiency, that widely extended system of commerce by sea, between
India and Europe, Alexander obviously had in view, and of which the
fleet, under the command of Nearchus, was to serve as the pioneer.
The opening of the Indus, on the one hand, and the establishment of
Alexandria in Egypt on the other, are evidences of a comprehensive
scheme of commercial intercourse between all the leading points of the
then known world. Alexander could scarcely have failed to perceive
that the junction of the great ports of the East and of the West, with
well selected stations, at proper intervals between them, would secure
the stability of his vast empire; indeed, no other device could have
provided for it so well, or could, at the same time, have enabled him
to hold in his own hands by far the largest and most valuable trade
known to the merchants of ancient times.
[Sidenote: Character of the vessels engaged on the voyage from the
Indus to Susa.]
[Sidenote: Time occupied.]
Although Nearchus in his journal enters into the most minute details
of his voyage from the Indus to Susa on the Choaspes, it is remarkable
that he has given no account whatever of the size or number of vessels
under his command. An attentive perusal of his story shows however,
clearly enough, that they were of the smallest description of craft
then in use for sea-going purposes. During the whole voyage they
closely hugged the land, invariably anchoring during the night; and
though occasionally, when the wind was fair and strong, the journal
records a run of sixty, and once of even eighty miles, the average
distance did not exceed twenty-five, add to which, the joy of the
crew when they reached Karamania, and formed a naval camp on shore,
indicates but too plainly that, on board, they had been uncomfortably
crammed from want of space.[266]
The voyage itself is recorded with great care by Nearchus; and Heeren,
in his “Asiatic Nations,”[267] gives a condensed account of it, which
is alike interesting and clear, especially in that portion of it
referring to the leading outlines of the coast. It is interesting
to read in the records of Nearchus that he speaks of the marauding
habits of a people who, having reached a high state of civilization,
and even refinement, seem to have degenerated from what they were two
thousand years ago, and to observe that, by even this circumstance,
the navigator by sea and the traveller by land, of our own time, can
recognize the accuracy of his description.[268]
The whole time occupied on the voyage from the mouth of the Indus
to Susa, appears to have been 146 days—five lunar months and six
days, and not seven months, as stated by Pliny.[269] In calling
attention to this fact, Dr. Vincent remarks that a modern vessel can
perform in three weeks the passage which Nearchus was five months in
accomplishing. “Within the memory of man,” he adds,[270] “a voyage to
India required eight or nine months; but Dr. Robertson mentions that,
in 1788, the _Boddam_ East Indiaman reached Madras in 108 days, and it
has since been performed in 96.” To this we may add that the voyage to
India (Bombay), by way of Marseilles, Egypt, and the Red Sea, is now
performed in 28 days; that auxiliary screw steam-ships from Liverpool
and London perform the voyage, by way of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal,
to Bombay and Ceylon, heavily laden with cargoes each way, and back
to England in 80 days; and that by means of the electric telegraph we
can now communicate with any portion of that vast empire in a day,
practically in a few minutes if there are no obstacles in the way.[271]
[Sidenote: Future voyages.]
But conquests in Asia and Western India were not sufficient to satisfy
the ambition of Alexander, which knew no limits short of the then
known world. Whether he really contemplated the circumnavigation of
Africa, and also its subjugation, is a matter of doubt, but it is a
well established fact that he had in view the conquest of the whole
of Arabia. With that object, he commissioned Nearchus, with the ships
he had brought from the Indus, supplemented by forty-seven vessels
from Phœnicia, which had been built in pieces and conveyed overland
to Thapsacus, and by others constructed on the spot, of cypress, the
only wood Babylon afforded, to form a fleet, and take command of this
second great maritime expedition. Two of the vessels brought from
Phœnicia are described as of five banks, three of four, twelve of
three, while thirty were rowed with fifteen oars on a side.[272] The
object of Alexander was evidently not so much conquest as colonization.
To prepare the way for Nearchus, three single vessels were despatched
at different times down the Arabian side of the Persian Gulf, to learn
the nature of the coast, the character of the soil, and the best
sites for stations or towns. One of these vessels had instructions
to circumnavigate Arabia, and to proceed up the Red Sea as far as
Suez,[273] though it does not appear whether she ever reached her
destination.
[Sidenote: Death of Alexander, B.C. 323.]
Nearchus would, no doubt, have accomplished the task allotted to
him by Alexander, but when the expedition was ready to start, the
Macedonian conqueror lay on his death-bed. In the midst of the fever
of which he died, he, according to the diary of one of his officers,
“transacted business with his officers, and gave directions about the
fleet.”[274] On the following day, though “the fever now ran very high,
and oppressed him much, he nevertheless ordered the principal officers
to attend, and repeated his orders in regard to the fleet”; and on
the day of his death, when unable to speak, it would appear by the
diary preserved in the extracts made from it by Arrian, that his last
thoughts were directed to the conquest and colonization of Arabia. His
untimely death, however, not only put an end to this project, but also
to all his other splendid schemes.
As is well known, the body of Alexander was hardly cold, ere the great
empire he had founded fell to pieces, and was parcelled out among those
who had been his ablest lieutenants; but, though for a while suffering
from the rude conflict of rival selfishness, it is a remarkable fact
that the commercial relations between the different provinces he had
overrun had been so well established by the sagacity of the conqueror,
that on the final restoration of tranquillity, the Macedonian dominion,
and with it Greek principles of trade and mutual intercourse, prevailed
throughout Asia, no province succeeding for many years in shaking
off the yoke. Even in the distant East, though those portions of it
subdued by Alexander for a while joined a native chief Sandracottus
(Chandra-gupta), the ruler of a powerful nation on the banks of
the Ganges, whose plan was to attack those parts of the Macedonian
dominions bordering on his territories, order was soon restored;
while Alexander’s immediate successor in the government of the East,
Seleucus, who had carefully studied the principles of his great
master, conceived so clear an idea of the importance of a commercial
intercourse with India, that he marched into that country, and,
entering into relations with Ptolemy the son of Lagos, established on a
firm basis the trade between the Red Sea and Hindustan, as described in
the previous chapter.
[Sidenote: Eastern India.]
Of the more eastern portions of India little was then known. Indeed, so
late as the geographer Ptolemy, so erroneous are his ideas of the size
and position of even the great island of Ceylon, and of the peninsula
of Hindustan, that it is certain he obtained the information he has
recorded from the reports of persons of no scientific acquirements.
His description of the character of the coasts and of the chief ports
are, on the other hand, more accurate than might have been expected,
considering that his only source of information was from the lips of
unscientific sailors or merchants who had merely visited the places he
notices. Thus, in his account of Ceylon, we find a fair description,
not only of the sea coast of the island, but of the trade then carried
on, and, especially of the nature of the intercourse conducted by the
different nations who frequented its excellent harbours. Ptolemy,
also, notices the productions for which Ceylon was then celebrated, as
rice, honey, ginger, aromatic drugs, pearls, and precious stones, and
especially the beryl and the hyacinth. He likewise mentions gold and
silver, with a special reference to its elephants and tigers. Indeed,
his description of the island resembles in all material points that
given by Cosmas Indicopleustes, four centuries later. Both agree in
stating that the shores were occupied by foreigners, who held the
harbours and the chief seats of commerce, leaving the interior to the
aboriginal inhabitants.
Ptolemy speaks also of many small islands west of Ceylon—doubtless the
Maldives—and of those to the eastward, now called the Sunda Islands,
more especially of Jabadia (now Java), which he describes as the
richest of them all. Many other islands are also noticed by him which
cannot now be identified; it seems also probable that he knew something
of the Straits of Sunda, between Java and Sumatra. Indeed, he mentions
boats peculiar to the Java sea, as observed also by Pliny, constructed
of planks fastened together by trenails instead of iron. Moreover,
his account of India beyond the Ganges, and of the various ports and
cities of the peninsulas of Malacca and Serica (China), proves at least
this, that long before his time these countries were accessible to
navigators, and that Ceylon was the common mart for the trade of all
the vessels bound thence to the westward.
[Sidenote: Ceylon.]
From the “Periplus” of Arrian still more accurate information is
obtainable, and especially with regard to the Malabar coast he himself
visited: from his report we learn that Cochin and Travancore then
carried on a flourishing trade, and that Palæsimundum, the capital
of Ceylon, was considered by him to contain upwards of two hundred
thousand inhabitants, an estimate more likely to be true of the whole
island than of the capital alone. Palæsimundum was on the northern side
of the island, probably on or near the bay of Trincomalee, one of the
finest harbours in India, although then, as now, the port and harbour
of Galle on the south appears to have been the chief rendezvous for
merchant vessels. A glance at the map will show that for this purpose
Galle is eminently well placed.
Nor can the commercial reputation of Ceylon be said to have ever waned;
for of this island alone it may be said that, during all the changes
in the course of commerce, since the Phœnicians of Gerrha first, as we
believe, explored the western shores of the Indian peninsula, Ceylon
has maintained her natural position as the great maritime entrepôt
between the East and the West. Here, doubtless, the voyagers from each
distant land met, as it were, on neutral ground, none of them, perhaps,
for many ages, extending their own commercial relations beyond it. We
have also Pliny’s statement that the Singhalese ambassadors to Rome, in
the reign of Claudius,[275] asserted that their countrymen had reached
China by an overland route through India and across the Himalaya,
before ships had attempted the voyage thither; while it is further
certain that Ceylon also reaped the full share of the advantages
maritime adventure derived from the discovery of the monsoons, and
that, during the period when Rome carried on, by way of the Red Sea, an
extensive commercial intercourse with the East, this island was, as it
had been for so long, the chief emporium of the far East.
[Sidenote: Internal commerce of India.]
Passing on to the time when the transfer of the seat of empire was
made from Rome to Constantinople, and when the Persians vied with the
merchants of Egypt and the ship-owners of Arabia to divert the course
of the Oriental trade from the Red Sea and Alexandria to the Euphrates
and the Persian Gulf, Ceylon continued to be the great rendezvous
alike for the traders of the West and the East.[276] Nor has it lost
in any way its ancient fame as a place of call. At the harbour of
Galle the steamships from Europe, by way of the Red Sea, destined
for Calcutta and the ports of China, now exchange their passengers
and specie with the lines of steamships which trade to the ports of
Australia; while traders from Bombay to Bengal, and other ports of
the East, still make it the centre to which, and from which, their
respective routes converge or diverge. Again, India within itself has,
from the earliest period of authentic history, carried on a large
internal commerce both by land and sea. Rice and other necessaries of
life must have been transported from the countries along the Ganges,
where they grow abundantly, to the sandy shores of the peninsula; and
cotton, though manufactured with the same activity on the coasts as in
the interior, differed so much in each district, in its texture and
mode of preparation, that a large interchange of its various kinds must
naturally have occurred. Again, the mode of life, especially in such
cities as Ayodhya (Oude) implies the existence of a multitude of wants,
natural and artificial, which could only be supplied by a corresponding
system of active commerce between the different parts of India.
It is clear, from Ptolemy, that along the shores of the Indian
peninsula there were a number of ports known to the traders of his
time by the name of “Emporia,” or places of rendezvous; but, as Dr.
Robertson has pointed out, we have no means now of determining whether
these, or most of these, were simply ports for native vessels, or for
the larger ships that conveyed the merchandise of Alexandria and of the
West. It seems, however, probable from his strange ignorance of the
real size of Ceylon (in which ignorance he nearly equals Arrian), that
even then direct communication with that island was not very common;
add to which, that, beyond the Golden Chersonesus, Ptolemy has noticed
but one emporium, a fact clearly showing that few, if any, reports had
reached him of the trade beyond the present site of Singapore.
[Sidenote: Manufactures of India.]
But, however little we may know of the outline of the coasts of India,
or of its harbours to the eastward of Cape Comorin, previous to the
Christian era, there can be no doubt of the comparatively high state of
civilization then prevalent among the Hindus generally, and of their
skill in manufactures.
So great was the variety of cloths manufactured by it even in the days
of Arrian, who gives them in detail, that we can hardly suppose the
number to have afterwards much increased. In the “Periplus”[277] we
read of the finest Bengal muslins; of coarse, middle, and fine cloths;
of coarse and fine calicoes; of coloured shawls and sashes; of coarse
and fine purple goods, as well as of pieces of embroidery; of spun silk
and of furs from Serica: and it is further recorded that the Greeks who
visited India in the train of Alexander the Great, were struck with the
whiteness and fineness of the texture of the cotton garments of the
Hindus. Moreover, it is quite possible that the “coloured cloths and
rich apparel,” noticed by Ezekiel as brought to Tyre and Babylon, were
partly, at least, the production of India. Again, frequent mention
is made of these coloured cloths and fine garments by the poet of the
Râmâyana, and of “the rich woollen stuffs,” perhaps the shawls of
Cashmir, still among the richest portions of female attire in Eastern
countries. Herodotus, also, speaks of the bark of trees being used
in India from very remote times, for the purpose of manufacturing a
species of cloth, extensively worn by pious hermits and penitents. All
these facts establish beyond any question the great antiquity of Indian
civilization.
India, like Asia Minor and Arabia, had its caravans. In those of the
south, elephants were chiefly employed; for the whole of the peninsula
being traversed by rocky mountains, could scarcely, if at all, admit
of the employment of camels. The Ganges and its tributary streams,
however, afforded great facilities for the commercial intercourse of
Northern India, though Arrian adds also, and truly, that many of the
rivers of the south were equally available for trade, and that along
the eastern and western coasts extensive use was made of country-built
boats. Indeed, when we consider the high antiquity of the pearl
fisheries of Ceylon, we cannot doubt that such a coasting trade was
carried on for many hundred years before his time.
At particular periods of the year caravans proceeded to Benares and
Juggernaut, sanctuaries to which hundreds of thousands of pilgrims
resorted for purposes of commerce and devotion long before the
Christian era; and, as markets and fairs were established, and depôts
for goods erected, partly in the interior, but particularly on the
coast, to meet the wants of the vast concourse of pilgrims and traders,
there must, at such times, have been considerable employment for the
native vessels, beyond what was required in the pearl fisheries and in
the ordinary course of traffic.
[Sidenote: A.D. 527-65.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 535.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 150.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 1271-95.]
Though from the age of Ptolemy the trade between Western Europe and
India was carried on by the way of Egypt, Rome and Constantinople
being alike supplied by the agency of the merchants of Alexandria,
we have not, till the reign of Justinian, any further information
concerning the progress of the over-sea trade, or of any discoveries
with reference to the more remote regions of the East. In the course,
however, of his reign, Cosmas (commonly called, from the voyages he
made, Indicopleustes, an Egyptian merchant), went on more than one
occasion to India; and when, in after days, he renounced the pursuits
of commerce, and became a monk, he composed in the solitude and leisure
of his cell, several works, one of which (his “Christian Topography”)
has been preserved.[278] It is not, indeed, a work of any special
merit, consisting, as it does, chiefly of fanciful views about the
shape of the globe. With a condemnation of the notions of Ptolemy, and
of other “speculative” geographers, it contains, however, much curious
and reliable information with reference to the countries he had himself
visited, and especially, to the western coast of the Indian peninsula.
Indeed, from the time of the merchant Arrian to that of Marco Polo,
Cosmas, who traded on the coast of Malabar about the middle of the
sixth century, is the only writer of note who gives any account of the
maritime and commercial affairs of India, during a period of twelve
centuries.
[Sidenote: State of the trade of India, from the sixth to the ninth
century.]
From Cosmas we learn that, in his day, great numbers of vessels from
all parts of India, Persia, and Æthiopia, were in the habit of trading
with Ceylon; and that the island itself had “numerous fleets of ships
belonging to its own merchants.” He reckons the tonnage of these
vessels “as generally of about three thousand amphoræ”;[279] adding
that “their mariners do not make astronomical observations, but carry
birds to sea, and letting them go, from time to time, follow the course
they take for the land.” Cosmas further remarks, that “they devote
only four months in the year to the pursuits of navigation, and are
particularly careful not to trust themselves on the sea during the next
hundred days after the summer solstice, for within those seas it is, at
that time, the middle of winter.” But the “numerous fleets of ships” he
refers to were, probably, the property of Arabian merchants settled in
the island, navigated by their own countrymen, and not by the natives
of Ceylon. The Singhalese, indeed, in ancient and modern times alike,
have shown an apathy in all matters connected with navigation, the
more remarkable as, by its position and the character of its coasts,
Ceylon is singularly well adapted to be the nursery of an able race of
seamen. The boats now found there are all copies from models supplied
by other nations; even their strange canoes, with out-riggers and a
balance log, are but repetitions of the boats of the islanders of
the Eastern Archipelago; while their _ballams_, canoes of a larger
and more substantial description, are borrowed from the vessels of
Malabar. It is curious that, to this day, the gunwales of their dhows
are frequently topped by wicker-work, smeared with clay to protect the
deck from the wash of the sea, much after the fashion of the bulwarks
of the mythical craft of Ulysses.
It is remarkable also that in the enumeration of the exports of
the island of Ceylon given by Arrian, no mention whatever is made
of cinnamon. Nor does Cosmas refer to it. “I have searched,” says
Sir Emerson Tennent, in his work on Ceylon, “among the records of
the Greeks and Romans from the earliest time, until the period when
the commerce of the East had reached its climax in the hands of the
Persians and Arabians: the survey extends over fifteen centuries,
during which Ceylon and its productions were familiarly known to the
traders of all countries, and yet in the pages of no author, European
or Asiatic, from the earliest ages to the close of the thirteenth
century, is there the remotest allusion to cinnamon as an indigenous
production, or even as an article of commerce, in Ceylon. I may add,
that I have been equally unsuccessful in finding any allusions to it in
any Chinese work of ancient date.”[280] This is, in fact, but another,
though a striking instance, of the secrecy with which the ancients
conducted the more valuable portions of their trade, and fully confirms
the notice of the cinnamon trade of Herodotus, who could only have
obtained his information about it from the merchants[281] or mariners
who traded along the shores of Malabar or of Æthiopia to the south
of Zanzibar. He speaks of it as so mysterious in its growth, and so
difficult to obtain, that the most exorbitant prices were given for it
in the markets of Europe; adding that, though in great demand in Tyre,
Carthage, Miletus, and Alexandria, the merchants kept the secret of
its _provenance_ as the Carthaginians kept that of British tin.
[Sidenote: Change in the course of trade.]
[Sidenote: Persian trade with India.]
The trade which the Romans “opened” with India by the way of the Red
Sea, was conducted by them with success for more than five centuries;
but we learn from Cosmas that, but a short time before his travels,
they had met with a new and powerful rival in the Sassanian rulers
of Persia, who, having overthrown the Parthians, and restored the
ancient faith and monarchy of Persia, made early and vigorous efforts
to acquire a share in the lucrative commerce of India. Following in
the course of the early Phœnicians, the Persians with their ships
commenced anew this eastern trade with India, and, in return for the
productions of their own country, received the precious commodities of
Hindustan, conveying them up the Persian Gulf, and, by means of the
rivers Euphrates and Tigris, distributing them through every province
of their empire. Rome being then in its decline, a powerful rival, such
as Persia, could hardly fail to injure, if not to entirely destroy, the
commerce the merchants of Alexandria had for ages nurtured with so much
care. Moreover, the voyage from Persia to India, being much shorter,
and attended with fewer dangers, led to an increase of the intercourse
between the two countries, which the Greek merchants of Alexandria
vainly attempted to resist. Even then, if Cosmas be trustworthy, few
Europeans visited the eastern part of India, but were content to
receive thence its silk, spices, and other valuable productions, either
by caravans or the agency of native vessels.
About this period, China carried on the most prosperous trade of any
of the nations of the East, both by land and sea. Her caravans passed
through Asia and Tatary, and her merchants conducted an extensive
business with the provinces bordering on the Caspian, and in some
cases with the more distant nations to the west and the north. Four
hundred Chinese vessels are said to have been seen in the port of
Ormuz, at the entrance of the Persian Gulf, and China is stated to
have then received ambassadors from all the countries of Asia, as
well as from Constantinople, and the Khalif of Baghdad, thus holding
a direct intercourse with the whole civilized world. The vessels of
China, however, had ceased to repair to the Persian Gulf long before
the Portuguese made their appearance in Calicut; but from the time
of Cosmas to that of Marco Polo they appear to have shared with the
Arabians and Persians the carrying trade of the East, and to have even
extended their voyages to the remote island of Madagascar.
[Sidenote: The Muhammedans, A.D. 622.]
Within a hundred years after the death of Justinian, an event
happened, which occasioned a revolution still more considerable in the
intercourse of Europe with the East. A prophet and a conqueror arose
in Arabia; and within forty years of his death a great part of Asia,
and Africa, with no inconsiderable portion of Europe, had been subdued,
and the dominion of the followers of Muhammed extended from the shores
of the Atlantic to the frontier of China, with a rapidity of success
to which there is nothing similar in the history of mankind. “Egypt,”
remarks Dr. Robertson, “was one of their earliest conquests; and, as
they settled in that inviting country, and kept possession of it, the
Greeks were excluded from all intercourse with Alexandria, to which
they had long resorted as the chief mart of Indian goods. Nor was this
the only effect which the progress of the Muhammedan arms had upon
the commerce of Europe with India. Prior to the invasion of Egypt, the
Arabians had subdued the great kingdom of Persia, and added it to the
empire of the Khalifs.”[282]
[Sidenote: The extent of their commerce with the East.]
Finding their new subjects engaged in the trade with India, and
sensible of the vast advantages to be derived from it, the Muhammedan
rulers turned their attention to it with even greater vigour than
ever the Persians had done; and pursuing the same course they had
followed, their enterprising merchants soon advanced far beyond the
boundaries of ancient navigation as known to the nations of the West,
bringing many of the most precious commodities of the East directly
from the countries in which they were produced. Having founded the city
of Bussorah on the western banks of the great stream formed by the
junction of the Euphrates and Tigris, they thus secured the command
of these two rivers, so that this entrepôt soon became the seat of a
maritime commerce second only to Alexandria in its greatest prosperity.
Although their knowledge of navigation scarcely exceeded that which
the Phœnicians possessed when they launched their expeditions from
Gerrha some two thousand years before, the followers of Muhammed had
extended, as early as the ninth century, their voyages beyond the Gulf
of Siam, carrying on with Sumatra, and other islands of the Indian
Archipelago, a regular commerce, and extending their trading operations
even to the city of Canton. At many of the intervening ports numerous
Arabian merchants and ship-owners settled with their families, so
that the Arabian language was understood, and spoken at most places
of any importance between the mouths of the Euphrates and Tigris, and
Canton.[283]
The Muhammedans were, however, not without rivals in this lucrative
trade, as the Chinese themselves, who, seemingly, were much more
enterprising then as navigators than they are now, no longer limited
their communications with the traders of the West to the Island of
Ceylon; but, rounding Cape Comorin, traded directly with the ports
of Malabar and of the Persian Gulf, sometimes proceeding as far as
the Euphrates, but more frequently terminating their voyage at Siraf,
near to the mouth of that gulf. While these Eastern nations were thus
extending their operations, the people of Europe found themselves
excluded almost entirely from any intercourse with either India or
China. The great port of Alexandria was under the control of the
Muhammedans, and they, and the Christian subjects of the Khalifs, had,
in their own extensive dominions, sufficient demand for all the Indian
commodities they could import. Consequently the trading towns of the
Mediterranean were obliged to seek fresh, or rather to re-open old,
routes to the East, to obtain their supplies. Nor was this a task easy
of accomplishment; and the difficulties surmounted in accomplishing it
furnish a proof that the luxuries of the East were then in as great
demand as they had ever been in ancient times.
[Sidenote: The trade between Constantinople, and India and China.]
Indeed the fabulous prices obtained for silk and various other articles
of Indian produce enabled the trader to overcome any difficulty.
Starting from the banks of the Indus, he found his way by one of the
early routes, already described, to the river Oxus, or directly to
the Caspian, and thence to Constantinople, which became, even more
than it had hitherto been, the great centre of European commerce. The
intercourse between Constantinople and China was much more difficult
and dangerous; as in this case the trader had to proceed to the western
provinces of the Chinese empire, and, having purchased his silk, to
convey it by caravans, for an average of ninety days, to the banks of
the Oxus, and along that stream to the Caspian; thence he followed
the course of the river Cyrus, as far it was navigable, and, after a
five days’ march overland, found his way to the Euxine, by the river
Phasis.[284]
Such were the different means of conducting the commercial intercourse
between Europe and the East in ancient times, and such they practically
continued, amid various minor changes and through many wars and
vicissitudes, up to the period when Vasco de Gama discovered the new
and better way to India by doubling the Cape of Good Hope. We shall
hereafter glance at the maritime commerce of India from the ninth
century up to the time when the Portuguese landed on its shores,
with some notices of the celebrated travels of Marco Polo, of the
expulsion of the Arabians from its trade, and of the decline of the
vast influence so long exercised by the Moors; but in the meantime we
must endeavour to trace the maritime commerce of Rome, and especially
of the Italian Republics, which afterwards exercised more influence in
commercial affairs than the “mistress of the world” had done during her
most prosperous days.
FOOTNOTES:
[245] The earliest dated MS. (a Syriac one, now in the British Museum)
is dated in the first decade of the fifth century of our era. The
Alexandrian codex may be a few years earlier. The oldest Egyptian
inscriptions may ascend to B.C. 2000: that on the Moabite stone,
perhaps, to B.C. 890.
[246] Robertson’s “Hist. Disquis. on India,” note i. p. 179 (ed. 1791).
[247] It may be added, that while Herodotus alludes to other portions
of the history of Sesostris, he omits the tale of his Indian conquests;
that Strabo rejects it altogether (xv. p. 85); while Arrian equally
doubts it.
[248] Heeren, vol. ii. p. 227, in his “Asiatic Researches,” believes
this city to have been founded from 2,000 to 1,500 years before the
Christian era.
[249] Herod. iv. 42-44; iii. 84.
[250] Pliny, who calls this city Bactrum, points out the peculiarity of
its double-humped camel, yet seen on the Bactrian coins (vii. 87).
[251] Herod. iii. 116; iv. 27. Ctesias, ap. Ælian. Nat. Animal. iv. 27
Mela, ii. c. 11.
[252] Arrian, “Periplus,” c. 64, 65
[253] Plin. xiv. 162. Cuvier (ap. Rawlinson’s Herod. iii. 98) speaks
of a bamboo (_Bambus arundinacea_) which grows to the height of sixty
feet. Colonel Yule states that the largest bamboos are in the Malay
Islands and Cambodia. He has seen them from eighty to one hundred feet
high. “Early Travels to India,” 1867, p. 93.
[254] Arrian, “Periplus,” c. 44.
[255] Sir John Herschel has called attention to the fact that the
Chinese have preserved registers of comets and other celestial
phenomena for more than a thousand years before the Christian Era.
“Familiar Lectures,” p. 94, 1868.
[256] Friar Oderic (ap. Colonel Yule, p. 57) speaks of vessels, like
the ancient boats at Rhapta, stitched with twine, without any iron,
employed along the coast approaching the modern site of Bombay.
[257] See an excellent life of Alexander by Archdeacon Williams,
“Family Library,” No. iii. 1829.
[258] Arrian, Ind. vii.
[259] Strabo, book xv. p. 694.
[260] Arrian, Exped. Alex. v. 3.
[261] Lib. xvi. p. 752.
[262] Vincent, vol. i. p. 122. It is worthy of remark that not a single
native of Southern Greece—even of Athens—is mentioned among the leading
followers of Alexander. Nearchus was a Macedonian of Amphipolis; three
other naval chiefs were from Cos, Teos, and Cyprus.
[263] Vincent’s “Commerce in India,” vol. i. p. 169.
[264] Ibid. vol. i. p. 171.
[265] Vincent, i. p. 136. No modern site has as yet been recognised for
this city; nor is Wilson sure. Ariana Antiq. p. 207.
[266] Vincent, “Commerce in India,” vol. i. p. 326.
[267] Ibid. vol. i. chap. ii. p. 431.
[268] In 1838, the author, then a young man in command of the _Olive
Branch_, a barque of four hundred tons, sailed along the whole of
this coast, frequently following the route which Nearchus had taken,
and sometimes obliged to anchor on account of the intricacy of the
navigation, as Nearchus had done, overnight. He can, therefore,
confirm the accuracy of Heeren’s condensed description of the voyage
in its difficulties and dangers; and can testify to the abundance of
the dates, which formed a portion of the author’s return cargo to
Bombay; and also, he may add, to the “robbers” by whom he was attacked
when conveying, from an inland town in the vicinity of Bushire, some
treasure which was destined for his ship.
[269] Lib. vi. p. 136.
[270] Vincent, vol. i. p. 695.
[271] _The Telegraph._ Telegraphic communication with India is now so
far perfect, that electricity outstrips the speed of the earth, as it
frequently happens that messages transmitted from Calcutta at noon to
London are delivered by the Indo-European Telegraph Company at 10.30
A.M. Communication between London and Teherán (the terminus of the
Indian Government lines) is actually instantaneous.—_Times_, 5 April,
1870.
[272] Vincent, vol. i. p. 509.
[273] Pliny, xii. c. 11.
[274] Arrian, “Exp. Alex.” vii. 25.
[275] Pliny, vi. 88.
[276] Ammianus speaks of ambassadors from Ceylon to the Emperor Julian,
xx. 4.
[277] Arrian, “Periplus,” 13 to 36.
[278] This treatise of Cosmas exists in Montfaucon: Bibl. Nov. Patrum.
ii. p. 336.
[279] One thousand amphoræ are equal to about thirty-three tons.
[280] Tennent’s “Ceylon,” vol. i. p. 575.
[281] Herod. iii. 111.
[282] History of India, s. iii. p. 99.
[283] The Malay and many local dialects are still chiefly written in
Arabic characters.
[284] Robertson’s “History of India,” p. 106.
CHAPTER VI.
Rome—The repugnance of the Romans to seafaring
pursuits—Single-banked galleys of the Liburni—The fleets of
Rome—Their creation and slow progress—The form and construction of
their galleys—War with the pirates of Cilicia—First treaty with
Carthage, B.C. 509—Its purport—College of merchants, established
B.C. 494—No senator allowed to own ships, B.C. 226—Cicero’s
opinion of merchants—Contempt for mariners—Reduction of Egypt,
B.C. 30, and trade with India—Customs’ duties—The excise—Bounties
on the importation of corn, A.D. 14—System of collecting the
taxes—Value of the trade with Alexandria—Its extent—Vessels of
Spain—Pharos or lighthouse at Gessoriacum—The shipping described
by Tacitus—Rhodians—Their maritime laws—System of accounts in use
at Rome—The corn trade of the city—Port of Ostia.
[Sidenote: Rome.]
In a previous chapter an outline has been given of the commerce
and navigation of the Carthaginians in succession to that of the
Phœnicians. A rapid glance will now be taken of the shipping and
progress of the maritime commerce of the great nation that destroyed
Carthage, and, by the valour of its arms and the vigour of its
political system, rather than by its genius and industry, extended its
dominions over the whole of Italy, Syria, Egypt, and Western Asia,
ultimately reducing to the condition of provinces all the habitable
portions of Europe.
[Sidenote: The repugnance of the Romans to sea-faring pursuits.]
Great as soldiers, the citizens of Rome had, however, a repugnance
to maritime affairs. “Their ambition,” remarks Gibbon,[285] in his
history of their decline and fall, “was confined to the land; nor was
that warlike people ever actuated by the enterprising spirit which had
prompted the navigators of Tyre, of Carthage, and even of Marseilles,
to enlarge the bounds of the world, and to explore the most remote
coasts of the ocean. To the Romans the ocean remained an object of
terror rather than of curiosity.”
[Sidenote: Single-banked galleys of the Liburni.]
Unlike the Phœnicians and Carthaginians, the Romans had no inclination
to expeditions of mere discovery, and never cared to become acquainted
with any country whose remote situation appeared to defy their arms.
Vain of their own power and of the extent of their dominions, they
did not hesitate, in almost every instance, to bestow the name of
barbarians on the civilized inhabitants of India as well as on those of
other parts of the world, whose manners or customs were indistinctly
known to them. Despising commercial pursuits, they looked to Greece
and other nations to regulate their over-sea trade and to supply their
wants; and when their fleets obtained the dominion of the sea, their
object was less to protect their rapidly extending maritime commerce
than to consolidate and preserve their power and dominion upon the
land. In the reign of Augustus the plan of fixed naval stations was,
for the first time, adopted; two being appointed, one at Ravenna to
command the eastern, the other at Misenum to command the western
division of the Mediterranean. By this time the Romans had learned from
experience that galleys of more than three banks of oars were unsuited
for real service, and consequently their more important fleets, from
the reign of Augustus, consisted almost exclusively of the light and
swift vessels known as Liburnians, from the people who were the first
to build them.
[Sidenote: Single-banked galleys of the Liburni.]
Occupying a district a little north of the present Dalmatia, and
devoting their attention almost exclusively to sea-faring pursuits, the
Liburnians[286] had obtained a great reputation for their knowledge of
the art of navigation. Provided with excellent harbours, and holding in
their grasp many of the small islands of the Adriatic, which afforded
them shelter from storms and a convenient rendezvous for their swift
craft, they unfortunately made but little distinction between the
duties of the honest trader and the predatory habits of the buccaneer:
but to them Octavianus was mainly indebted for his victory over Antony
at Actium, and Rome itself for the introduction of a better and swifter
type of war-vessel.[287]
[Sidenote: The fleets of Rome.]
[Sidenote: Their creation and slow progress.]
[Sidenote: The form and construction of their galleys.]
Although Ravenna and Misenum were the principal stations of their
navy, the Romans had fleets at various other places. Forty ships and
three thousand soldiers then guarded the waters of the Euxine; a very
considerable force was stationed at Frejus (Forum-Julii); numbers
of Roman vessels cruised in the English Channel to preserve the
communication between Gaul and Britain; while, throughout the whole
period of her supremacy, a strong force was maintained on the Danube
and Rhine to protect the empire from the inroads of the Northern
barbarians. But these fleets were the slow growth of centuries; and the
navies of Rome were for a long time of comparatively little note, and
obtained celebrity only when the first Punic war roused her citizens
to extraordinary exertions to deprive Carthage of its maritime
supremacy.[288] Roman fleets were then constructed and spread over
the Mediterranean with such rapidity that the Carthaginians would not
credit the reports of their number and equipment. In their construction
they displayed the energy they had ever shown when they had once
determined on their plan. Skilled artisans, from friendly or subjected
states, were ready to execute their orders, and the banks of the Tiber
resounded with the noise of the axe, the adze, the hammer, and the
mallet. Nor is there any reason to suppose that the first fleet Rome
sent forth to oppose the powerful squadrons of the Carthaginians was so
much inferior to the galleys of Augustus as has been supposed by some
writers.[289] But the real character of the Roman vessels cannot now
be ascertained; as no Roman historian has thought it worth his while,
probably from ignorance on such matters, to give details from which
they could, even in imagination, be constructed.
It is, however, reasonable to suppose that they were much the same as
the ships of the Greeks and Carthaginians, or of the merchant vessel,
already described, in which St. Paul made his celebrated voyage, and
that their form and dimensions were regulated by the services they
were expected to perform. In a note we subjoin a list of the number of
fleets the Romans are known to have had in the brief space of twenty
years, as they will give a better idea than anything else of the vigour
of their administration, and of the energy wherewith, in the best days
of the republic, they surmounted disasters which would have crushed to
the ground a less self-reliant people.[290]
But so far as commerce is concerned, it was only when they had brought
the third Punic war to an end, and had destroyed the great trading
cities of Carthage and Corinth,[291] that the Romans really began
to devote their abilities to commercial pursuits, and recognize in
the site of one of them (Corinth), a great centre of trade for Asia,
Western Greece, and Italy. Hence it was that, when the Corinthian
people joined the Achæan League, for the preservation of the
independence of Greece, the Romans found an excuse for the capture,
though not for the plunder and destruction of Corinth.
[Sidenote: War with the pirates of Cilicia.]
By the burning of these two great towns, instigated as these acts
doubtless were, in no small degree, by a lust for plunder, the Romans
not merely lost, for a time, the advantages they might have derived
from a continuation of the trade hitherto successfully conducted by
the Carthaginian and Corinthian merchants and shipowners, but drove
those of the latter class, who had saved their property, and who had
no other means of subsistence, to join Mithradates, and to convert
their ships, as circumstances allowed or encouraged, into ships of
war, privateers, or pirates. Persons of rank and capital then embarked
to an extent previously unknown in marauding expeditions, with the
object either of personal gain, or of the destruction of the maritime
commerce of Rome. The organization of this confederacy was of the most
formidable character. They erected forts, watch-towers, arsenals, and
magazines; and from Cilicia, their citadel in chief, their squadrons
swept the seas. Hence their historical name of the Cilician pirates.
Every merchant ship that ventured forth became either their prize or
their prey. Commerce was seriously interrupted; and the citizens of
Rome lost their usual supplies of corn. The piratical ships increased
in numbers and in daring; they infested the coasts of Italy, plundered
the temples, and even ascended the Tiber in search of spoil. At
length Pompey put an end to their power, by a brilliant victory at
Coracesium, and in a campaign of only forty days’ duration.[292]
[Sidenote: B.C. 67.]
[Sidenote: First treaty with Carthage, B.C. 509.]
Having cleared the seas of the ships of this confederacy, the merchants
of Rome were free to carry on with more prospect of success the leading
branches of a commerce which had for centuries yielded large profits
to the merchants of Corinth and of Carthage. Hitherto commerce had
been held an ignoble occupation for Roman citizens, nor were there
apparently any facilities for its encouragement, or any advantages
sought in their commercial intercourse with strangers. Indeed, in
their first treaty with the Carthaginians, the earliest record of any
commercial treaty, the Romans were satisfied with conditions which
restricted any extension of such maritime trade as they then possessed.
“Let there be friendship,” says the treaty, “between us and the Romans,
together with their allies, on the following terms and conditions. Let
not the Romans nor their allies navigate beyond the Fair Promontory. If
they be driven by storm or chased by enemies beyond it—_i.e._, westward
of it—let them not buy or receive anything but what is necessary for
repairing their vessels, and for sacrifice; and let them take their
departure within five days of the time of their landing. Whatever
merchant or ship-owner may arrive on the business of merchandise let
him pay no duty, except the fee of the broker and the clerk. Let the
public faith be security for the seller, for whatever is sold in the
presence of these officers—that is to say, whatever is sold in Africa
or Sardinia. If any Romans arrive at that part of Sicily which is
subject to Carthage, let them have impartial justice. Let not the
Carthaginians do any injury to the people of Ardea, Antium, Laurentium,
Cercii, Tarracina, nor to any of the Latins who shall be subject to
Rome. Let them not attack the free towns of the Latins. If they shall
take any of them, let them deliver it up to the Romans free of any
damage. Let them build no fort in the land of the Latins. If they make
a hostile landing in the country, let them not remain all night in
it.”[293]
[Sidenote: Its purport.]
This convention gives a higher idea of the relative power of Rome
at that early period, than is to be gathered from the annalists.
It is clear that even then she must have had a naval force of some
importance, while the Latins are distinctly called the “subjects” of
Rome. It further shows very clearly how trade was then conducted.
The prohibition of sailing beyond the Fair Promontory was no doubt
inserted, lest, by directing their attention to maritime commerce, the
Romans should deprive the Carthaginians of a portion of their valuable
trade with Spain. Probably with the same view an interdiction was also
placed against the Romans trading with the fertile coasts of Africa, in
the vicinity of the Lesser Syrtis, showing that an occasional merchant
vessel must, even at that early period, have ventured as far. But the
Carthaginians were obviously at that time strong enough to dictate,
to a considerable extent, their own terms, and the Romans too weak to
resent this dictation.
[Sidenote: College of merchants established, B.C. 494.]
[Sidenote: No senator allowed to own ships, B.C. 226.]
It seems likely that this treaty induced the Romans to pay more
attention to commercial pursuits than they had previously done, for
Livy[294] states that within a few years of its execution, a college
of merchants, the precise nature of which is not known, was established
at Rome; centuries, however, elapsed before the State afforded any
real encouragement to commercial intercourse with other countries.
Indeed, as far as can now be ascertained, the supply of corn for the
capital formed the chief and for ages almost the only article of
commerce worthy of senatorial notice, as any scarcity in the supply
of that necessary article invariably produced tumults among the
people.[295] But it was only when their increasing wants obliged them
to direct attention to foreign trade, that the law so far encouraged
ship-building, as to exempt from municipal taxation those vessels
employed in the importation of corn. Every other trade with foreign
countries was restricted to a certain class of the citizens, who, with
constitutional jealousy, restrained the senators from embarking in what
was likely to prove highly remunerative. Quintus Claudius, a tribune
of the people, proposed a law, and carried it against the Senate,
Caius Flaminius alone assisting him, that no senator or the father
of a senator should be proprietor of a sea-going ship of a greater
capacity than three hundred amphoræ.[296] A vessel of this very limited
size might be large enough to carry the produce of their own lands to
market; but, in the opinion of the citizens no Roman senator ought
to take part in general mercantile operations which might lead him,
perhaps, to neglect his duties to the State.
Nor were any relaxations made in these laws during the most
flourishing periods of the empire. On the contrary, as was the case
during many previous centuries, noblemen, persons filling exalted
offices, and great capitalists, were forbidden the exercise of any
trade whatever, lest they should by such means become suddenly rich,
and thus draw down upon them the envy of the people.
[Sidenote: Cicero’s opinion of merchants.]
The emperors Honorius and Theodosius, in consolidating these laws,
state that “as trade might be carried on with greater ease among men
of base extraction, the respect due to persons of quality renders it
necessary to deprive them of the full liberty of trading.” And Cicero
observes, that “Trade is mean if it has only a small profit for its
object: but it is otherwise if it has large dealings, bringing many
sorts of merchandise from foreign parts, and distributing them to
the public without deceit; and if, after a reasonable profit, such
merchants are contented with the riches they have acquired, and
purchasing land with them retire into the country and apply themselves
to agriculture, I cannot,” says the great orator, in quite a vein of
aristocratical condescension, “perceive wherein is the dishonour of
that function.”[297]
[Sidenote: Contempt for mariners.]
From the whole tenor of this legislation it is easy to understand why
persons engaged in seafaring pursuits were so long despised; and that
the strongest measures were necessary to secure for them even ordinary
justice. Naturally, however, when, on the destruction of Corinth and
Carthage, a more extended trade arose, the prejudice against mariners
somewhat abated, though among the nobility and great landowners of
Rome, a lasting aversion prevailed against seafaring men. In the time
of Cicero, the advantages of foreign commerce were only beginning to be
felt at Rome, for previously her traders had been simply retailers of
corn and provisions. But when the empire of the seas fell indisputably
into the hands of the Romans, there arose merchants and large owners
of sea-going ships, who in their operations with distant countries
realised colossal fortunes, and were thus deemed by Cicero and his
class worthy of being distinguished from the mere retailers; and thus,
too, in Rome, as has befallen elsewhere, wealth at length supplied
the place of birth and genius, Roman merchants entering at last into
friendly relations with even its proudest landowners and citizens, and
Rome itself becoming the depôt for numberless articles produced abroad.
“The most remote countries of the ancient world,” remarks Gibbon,
“were ransacked, to supply the pomp and delicacy of Rome. The forests
of Scythia afforded some valuable furs. Amber was brought overland
from the shores of the Baltic to the Danube, and the barbarians
were astonished at the price which they received in exchange for so
useless a commodity. There was a considerable demand for Babylonian
carpets, and other manufactures of the East; but the most important and
unpopular branch of trade was carried on with Arabia and India.”[298]
[Sidenote: Reduction of Egypt, B.C. 30, and trade with India.]
No event, however, proved more advantageous to her merchants than the
reduction of Egypt to a Roman province, which was finally effected
by Octavianus after the battle of Actium. The Romans thus not merely
recovered the regular supply of corn they always so much needed, but
obtained a monopoly of nearly all the trade between India and Europe.
Though affording a vast source of wealth to those engaged in it, the
trade with India was unpopular with the bulk of the Roman people, who
saw a few individuals enriched by its incredible profits, while the
country was drained of specie to pay for every conceivable article
of luxury. The raw materials which alone could afford remunerative
employment to the Roman manufacturers were too costly in their transit
to constitute, as they do now, the chief articles of import; and
the natives of India and of Arabia were so well satisfied with the
productions and manufactures of their own territories, that silver was
almost the only article they would receive in exchange from the Romans.
Pliny computed the annual loss arising from these exchanges at eight
hundred thousand pounds sterling;[299] and Gibbon has noticed that a
pound of silk was at one period esteemed of the same value as a pound
of gold.[300]
[Sidenote: Customs’ duties.]
But though it is a mistake to suppose that in the ordinary course
of commerce, the export of the precious metals entails a loss when
exchanged for produce and manufactures, Pliny had some reason to
dread the results, while the industrious citizens had ample cause
for complaint when they saw the whole wealth of the empire exchanged
for pearls, precious stones, or costly aromatics required only for
the funeral pageants of a few wealthy citizens. Nor is it hard to
understand the accumulation of great riches about this period at Rome,
when we reflect on the number of valuable provinces over which its
rulers had the power of almost unlimited taxation. Gibbon estimates
the income of these provinces during the reign of Augustus at from
fifteen to twenty millions of our money.[301] Customs, too, were
introduced during this period, and were followed by a regulated scheme
of excise, whereby both the real and the personal property of the Roman
citizens were made subject to a system of taxation from which they had
been exempt for more than a century and a half.
[Sidenote: A.D. 222.]
But in great empires, such as Rome, the natural balance of money soon
establishes itself. The wealth at first attracted to the capital, as
the chief place of abode for the aristocracy, by degrees finds its
way to the industrial people in the provinces, to be employed in the
development of arts and manufactures, and is thus spread throughout
the whole kingdom, to find its way back to the capital, through the
medium of those who, having by commerce or otherwise accumulated a
superabundance, resort thither to spend it. In the reign of Augustus
and of his successors, the duties also imposed on every kind of
merchandise found their way through numerous channels to Rome, the
great centre of opulence and luxury, so that, in whatever manner the
law was expressed, the Roman purchaser, rather than the provincial
merchant, paid the tax. A higher duty was imposed on articles of luxury
than on those of necessity, varying from an eighth to the fortieth
part of the value of the commodity; and the productions raised or
manufactured by the labour of the people were wisely treated with
more indulgence than was shown to the luxurious products of India
and Arabia.[302] “There is still extant,” remarks Gibbon,[303] “a
long but imperfect catalogue of Eastern commodities which, about the
time of Alexander Severus, were subject to the payment of duties:
cinnamon, myrrh, pepper, ginger, and the whole tribe of aromatics, a
great variety of precious stones, among which the diamond was the most
remarkable for its price, and the emerald for its beauty; Parthian and
Babylonian leather, ebony, ivory, and eunuchs; and we may observe,”
adds this great historian, “that the value of these effeminate slaves
gradually rose with the decline of the empire.”
[Sidenote: The excise.]
Although the excise seldom exceeded one per cent. _ad valorem_, it
embraced whatever was sold by private contract, or in the markets by
public auction, from the largest purchase of lands and houses, to those
minute objects which have a value only from their infinite number and
daily consumption. Against taxes of this description there were, as
there have ever been in all countries, loud complaints on the part of
the people; but when the emperor endeavoured to substitute for these
obnoxious and vexatious imposts a new tax of five per cent. on all
legacies and inheritances, the nobles of Rome, who were more tenacious
of their property than of their freedom, were, in spite of their
indignant murmurs, compelled to acquiesce in the imposition of a land
tax.[304]
[Sidenote: Bounties on the importation of corn, A.D. 14.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 41.]
The annual tributes, customs, and direct taxation of the provinces,
tended still further to produce the balance of values. The farmers were
paid with their own money. The Romans laid not only heavy duties upon
the natural products of every country subject to their sway, but also
an export duty on produce sent away, as well as an import duty on any
article brought in for the consumption of the provinces. A transit duty
was even levied on goods and produce of British origin during their
passage through the Roman province of Gaul. At the other extremity
of the empire, on the coasts of the Arabian Gulf, the same system of
fixed taxation was enforced; but the high prices we have named as
prevailing at Rome for foreign goods of all kinds, especially those
of India, Arabia, and Babylonia, rendered this taxation comparatively
light. The _Portorium_[305] or tax on produce or manufactures brought
by sea, resembled greatly the custom duties levied at the ports of
Great Britain during the present century; they were exacted by officers
of the public revenue, at harbours, rivers, and sometimes also at
the passages of bridges. On the other hand, besides the relief from
municipal taxation, an adequate and regular supply of corn was deemed
so essential that shipowners were offered liberal bounties to bring it
from abroad. In the reign of Tiberius, it is stated by Tacitus,[306]
that, as the people murmured at the oppressive price of grain, the
emperor settled its price to the buyer, and undertook to pay two
sesterces a measure to the corn-dealers and importers. More than this,
the Emperor Claudius, unlike the rulers of some of the nations of our
own time, whose systems are too often prohibitory of the importation
of the staple article of food for the people, urged the ship-owners
to make voyages during the winter, when they usually laid up their
vessels, and besides confirming to them the allowances sanctioned by
Tiberius, with relief from municipal taxation, took on himself all
losses, at the same time securing the importers a certain rate of
profit.
[Sidenote: System of collecting the taxes.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 211.]
[Sidenote: Value of the trade with Alexandria.]
Of the several impositions introduced by Augustus the five per cent.
on legacies and inheritances was the most fruitful as well as the most
comprehensive. Farmed like nearly all other taxes (for in every age
the best and wisest of the Roman governors adhered to this pernicious
method of collecting the principal customs), the burden was increased
by the insolence and cupidity of the collectors; hence, when two
centuries afterwards Caracalla doubled the already heavy impost, this
act of oppression nearly cost him his throne and his life.[307] Yet,
in spite of the extravagant luxury of the wealthier classes, the
enormous value of the imperial commerce, together with the extent and
wealth of the provinces, enabled the government to maintain for a long
time an expenditure which, under other circumstances, could not have
been endured; and much, indeed, of this wealth was really due to the
possession of Egypt, apart altogether from the large commercial profits
derived from Alexandria. Besides corn, Egypt supplied the imperial
city with flax and linen of various qualities, cotton goods, costly
ointments, marble, alabaster, fine alum, salt, gums, and the papyrus,
from which paper was manufactured at Rome. Three hundred thousand of
the million inhabitants of Alexandria consisted of Roman citizens, but
its merchants and ship-owners were chiefly emigrants from Greece or of
Grecian origin.
[Sidenote: Its extent.]
Although the value of the trade with Egypt, which comprised the chief
portion of that with India and Arabia, was in itself greater than any
other, it fell far short of supplying the numerous wants of Rome.
Caravans traversed, as they had done centuries before that city became
mistress of the world, the whole latitude of Asia in two hundred and
forty-three days,[308] from the Chinese ocean to the sea coast of
Syria, to supply her with the silk her rich citizens were always eager
to obtain. Nor could Egypt alone supply her demands even for corn and
cattle. That fertile country, which stretches from the southern foot of
the Alps to the shores of the Mediterranean, grew large quantities of
corn for Rome, and reared numerous cattle for her market, while from
Northern Italy she drew her supplies of salt provisions for the use
of her troops and mariners. The Sabine country also furnished wheat,
rice, and barley; and thence large quantities of wine were imported,
as well as from Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily. Timber, suitable for
ship-building purposes, was extensively imported from Etruria. Genoa
exported largely, for the use of the Romans, wood for furniture, coarse
wool for the clothing of their slaves, hides, and honey.
There was likewise a very considerable trade between Malta and the
Tiber in white cloths of wool and linen. Greece, and the Greek
islands, Samos, Cos, and Thrace, furnished green marble, dyes,
cambrics, and earthenwares; and from the Euxine were imported wax,
hemp, and pitch, and wool of the finest quality; while the ancient
trade with Persia, through Trebizond, remained unbroken during the
Roman supremacy, greatly increasing when Constantinople became
the eastern capital of the empire. Phrygia produced alabaster;
Miletus woollen goods, and Tyrian purple; and Sidon and Tyre, glass
manufactures and rich work in embroidery. From Africa proper the
Romans imported very considerable quantities of corn, drugs, and
horses, together with the wild elephants and lions required for their
gladiatorial exhibitions.[309]
[Sidenote: Trade with Spain.]
Next to Egypt, Spain was the largest seat of their foreign trade. Its
products of lead, iron, copper, silver, and gold, were sources of vast
wealth; and the corn, wool, wine, oil, honey, wax, pitch, dyes, and
salted provisions of a superior quality afforded a large and lucrative
commerce to the merchants, ship-owners, and manufacturers of Rome.
Indeed, so extensive were the commercial transactions carried on in
the Spanish Peninsula, that nearly as many ships were employed in its
trade as in that with the whole of Africa. Nor need we doubt that the
vessels so occupied were as large as those engaged in the Egyptian
trade already noticed. New Carthage (Cartagena), Saguntum, Tarragona,
and Bilbilis (Bilboa), even then famous for its steel, had a large
commercial intercourse with Rome, in provisions, cordage, and linens
of remarkable whiteness and texture. The province of Gaul formed a
rich appendix to the Roman empire, though the only ports directly
connected with the Tiber were Massalia (Marseilles), Arelate (Arles),
and Narbo[310] (Narbonne), at that period the most frequented and most
populous city in Gaul. Narbonne has since suffered the same fate as
Ostia, the silting up of its port having entirely destroyed its value.
[Sidenote: Pharos, or lighthouse at Gessoriacum.]
The chief exports of Gaul appear to have been gold, silver, and iron
from its own mines; linens from every part of the country; corn and
cheese of superior quality; with excellent salt pork, and tartan
cloths. Burdigala (Bordeaux,) on the Garonne, was its chief port on
the west, and on the north the Portus Itius (by some supposed to be
Wissant, near Cape Grisnez, but more probably Boulogne). At this
port, called afterwards Gessoriacum,[311] and whence Cæsar sailed for
Britain, was the lighthouse constructed by Caligula, some remains of
which are said to have existed in the early part of the seventeenth
century. This tower, or Pharos, the first lighthouse on record for any
part of the coasts of the North Sea or English Channel, stood upon the
promontory or cliff which commanded the port. Of an octagonal form (if
Bucherius is right in supposing the building he has drawn to be the
remains of Caligula’s structure), it was twenty-five feet in breadth,
and the circumference of the whole at the base two hundred feet. It had
twelve storeys or spaces for galleries, rising above each other. Each
storey diminished in diameter as you ascended, and on the top of the
tower a fire was kindled every evening at sunset, and served as the
beacon light for the guidance of mariners.
[Sidenote: The shipping described by Tacitus.]
[Sidenote: Rhodians.]
Tacitus[312] has preserved a description of the expedition of
Germanicus, but his “Annals” throw little light upon the state of that
portion of the Roman navy which assisted in the conquest of Germany,
and frequented the northern seas about the period when the first
lighthouse was erected in the English Channel. Indeed his description
very imperfectly represents either the vessels or seamen of those
maritime nations, who, becoming subject to Rome, largely aided her
alike in her naval and in her commercial victories. Of these none have
left a more lasting record of their existence as a maritime people
than the Rhodians. Alike celebrated for their skill as navigators, and
their honesty and shrewdness as merchants, they excelled all others
as jurists. Their laws relating to navigation were introduced into
the Roman code, and formed the groundwork of maritime jurisprudence
throughout the civilized world. Colonized, no doubt, by some of the
more civilized nations of Western Asia, and probably by the Phœnicians,
the Rhodians from their position, in a small island and on the great
highway of commerce, as well as from their skill in astronomy and in
navigation, soon took a prominent part among nations more populous
and powerful than themselves. Accessible to all the surrounding naval
powers, and deriving their chief commercial wealth from their trade
with Egypt, the Rhodians from the first made it their business to keep
the police of the surrounding seas; and having punished the pirates who
then infested the Mediterranean with exemplary severity, pursued their
trade as merchant navigators with equal security and success.
During the great struggle between Ptolemy and Antigonus, the Rhodians
naturally sided with the former; and hence were compelled to undergo
one of the most celebrated sieges of antiquity, by Demetrius
Poliorcetes the son of Antigonus: their resistance, however, was so
remarkable that, on raising the siege, B.C. 304, Demetrius, out of
respect for their prowess, is said to have presented them with the
engines he had employed against them during the siege. The value of
these engines was so great as to enable the islanders to erect the
colossal statue of Apollo[313] (the work of Chares of Lindus, who was
engaged on it for twelve years), which is known in history as one of
the Seven Wonders of the world. Placed, according to the usual (though
probably fabulous) story, with extended legs on the two moles forming
the entrance of the smaller harbour, and in height seventy cubits,
all vessels entering and leaving passed under it. But this memorable
statue was overthrown, only fifty-six years after its erection, by an
earthquake (224 B.C.), which destroyed the naval arsenals and a great
portion of the once famous city; and, though liberal promises were made
towards its restoration, there is no satisfactory evidence that it ever
was replaced.[314]
[Sidenote: Their maritime laws.]
But the Rhodians, in their laws, have transmitted to posterity a
monument of their maritime wisdom, more enduring than the brass of
which the Colossus was composed. These laws were for ages the sovereign
judges of controversies relating to navigation. Even the Romans in such
questions almost invariably appealed to their judgment. Indeed the
Rhodian laws were held in such respect, that, on an appeal being made
to Marcus Aurelius by one Eudæmon of Nicomedia, whose goods had been
plundered on the wreck of his ship, that emperor replied: “I am the
sovereign of the world; but the Rhodian law is sovereign wheresoever it
does not run contrary to our statute law.”[315]
It would further appear, that the Rhodians were the first to
establish rules, subsequently accepted universally, with regard to
co-partnership, and the remuneration of the commanders, officers, and
seamen, by shares in the profits of the ship, much in the same manner
as is still done among whaling vessels. Again, they framed laws to be
observed by freighters and by passengers while on board ship; they
affixed penalties on the commander or seamen for injuries done to
goods on board of their vessels, from want of sufficient tarpaulins or
proper attention to the pumps, and for carelessness or absence from
their duties. They also imposed penalties for barratry, for robbery
of other ships, or for careless collisions, awarding a special and
severe punishment to any one who ran away with a ship which had been
placed under his charge. Punishments were likewise enforced for
plundering wrecks, and a compensation allotted to the heirs of seamen
who lost their lives in the service of the ship. The Rhodians were
also the first to make regulations affecting charterparties and bills
of lading, as well as contracts of partnership or joint adventures.
They laid down rules for bottomry, for average and salvage, specifying
a scale of rates for recovering goods from the bottom, in one and a
half, twelve, and twenty-two feet and a half water; and also for the
payment of demurrage.[316] The whole of these rules were copied by the
Roman legislators and incorporated with the Roman laws; and having been
thus handed down to the States of Europe, they constituted the main
features of the laws known as the “Rôles d’Oleron,” and the “Hanse Town
Ordinances of 1614 and 1681,” besides forming the basis of that English
system of maritime law, which was brought to almost human perfection by
the wisdom of Lord Mansfield.
[Sidenote: System of accounts in use at Rome.]
While the Romans were indebted to the Rhodians for their maritime
laws, it seems likely that they gained their knowledge of accounts and
book-keeping from the Greeks of Crete, who had themselves acquired the
elements of this knowledge from the Phœnicians. It is, however, more
than questionable whether the Romans improved upon the art. The private
arrangements of the Roman merchants and ship-owners respecting the
systematic practice of book-keeping were exemplary. Accounts were not
actually enforced, as in some modern nations, by positive enactment,
but as it was deemed base to charge what was not justly due, so it
was held to be nefarious to omit entering what was due to others.
The Roman merchants were evidently well acquainted with book-keeping
by single entry, as they kept their accounts, _Rationes_,[317] in a
book or ledger called _codex_, with headings in columns _accepti_
or _expensi_ (the received and the paid away); they had also a book
containing each debtor’s or creditor’s name, and they posted in the
ledger, at least once a month, the various items of debit and credit,
which it was incumbent on every trader to state fairly and punctually.
They had likewise a sort of waste-book (_adversaria_); and it was
deemed a suspicious circumstance if entries in this rough book were
neglected, and not duly entered on the _codex_[318] in the regular
course of business. But though the system of single entry adopted by
the Roman merchants and ship-owners much resembles that of modern
times, their books were entirely different from those now in use among
the traders of Europe and of the United States of America. They were
rather rolls[319] of papyrus, each roll or page being divided into
columns. The _codex_ or ledger contained the separate accounts, in
accordance with the still prevailing practice, headed with the proper
name and titles of the respective parties, every transaction being duly
transferred or posted into it for permanent observation and record. The
ledger was then, as it is now, legal evidence, producible in courts
of justice in cases of dispute. It contained in its debit and credit
divisions the full account of each transaction. When the _adversaria_,
containing the temporary memorandum of the transactions, on which
necessary alterations were made before the particulars were transferred
to the ledger at the end of each month, if not more frequently, was
full, it was thrown aside or destroyed, the ledger being the only
record preserved of the transactions which had been completed.
Although the Romans were slow in becoming a great naval power, it is
clear that very soon after the battle of Actium they became as powerful
at sea as on land; all the leading seafaring states having by this time
become subject to the engrossing power of the empire, and there being
no longer any naval power to contest with them the supremacy of the
Mediterranean Sea: hence, for many years, there was no employment for
their fleets, except to protect their commerce and to keep open the
communication with the distant colonies of the empire. But long after
Rome had swept the sea of her greater opponents, marauders of different
races continued to prey upon commerce, so that her merchant traders,
engaged on distant voyages, invariably took on board a number of Roman
archers to guard their ships from pirates. These men were engaged
either to protect the ship when an emergency arose,[320] or to man the
oars, and, like the marines of our own time, acted as soldiers, or
performed those portions of the sailor’s duties to which they had been
trained.
[Sidenote: The corn trade of the city.]
Although, unfortunately, no clearly defined records of the maritime
commerce of Rome at any period of her history have been preserved, its
extent may be conjectured by the number and wealth of her citizens.
One million and a quarter of people,[321] including nearly all the
wealthy inhabitants of the empire—for these flocked to the capital
in great numbers—would at any time require a large fleet of merchant
ships to supply their varied wants. Even during the time of the Roman
commonwealth, the vessels engaged in the corn trade alone of the city
were so numerous, that medals were struck in commemoration of the
traffic, bearing upon them the representation of the prow of a ship,
and the inscription, “By decree of the Senate, for the purchase of
corn.” That trade, as well as all others, increasing with the spread
of the metropolis, must, in the reign of the Cæsars, have required an
amount of shipping to supply its wants far in excess of that of any
other city of either ancient or modern times. If one steamship now
performs the work of at least three sailing vessels, each of equal
capacity to the steamer, then, considering the dilatory movements of
ancient vessels, it will not be an exaggerated estimate to allow six
thousand tons of shipping as necessary to conduct the same amount
of transport as one steamship of a thousand tons would now perform.
Allowing, therefore, that Rome was not one half the size of London,
and presuming that it required one half the amount of supplies from
abroad, the shipping employed in its over-sea trade would be more
than twice as great as that now necessary to supply the wants of the
inhabitants of the metropolis of Great Britain.
[Sidenote: A.D. 41.]
[Sidenote: Port of Ostia.]
Previous to the reign of Claudius[322] the chief over-sea intercourse
with the city was carried on by way of Puteoli, now Pozzuoli, near
the Bay of Naples, about seventy miles from Rome. Here the larger
description of vessels, employed in the trade of Alexandria and of
Spain, discharged their cargoes; but the inconvenience and expense of
land carriage became so enormous, especially upon low priced and bulky
articles, such as corn, as to fully justify the cost of erecting the
new port of Ostia, and the embanking and deepening of the Tiber. Half a
century afterwards, the Emperor Trajan, remarkable not merely for the
splendid edifices erected during his reign, in almost every part of the
empire, but for the interest he took in maritime affairs, constructed,
to meet the increasing wants of the provinces, the present Civita
Vecchia, as well as the town and port of Ancona on the Adriatic, where
may still be read an inscription on the monument of marble he raised
at the extremity of the Mole, dedicating the harbour to the use of the
mariners who frequented those seas.
But the port of Ostia was the most useful monument of Roman greatness
in connection with shipping established by the empire, and has been
described as one of the boldest and most stupendous works of Roman
magnificence.[323] The accidents to which the precarious subsistence
of the city was continually exposed in a winter navigation (a matter
more worthy of serious consideration than the costs of transit) and
in an open roadstead, had suggested to the genius of the first Cæsar
this useful design, which was executed under the reign of Claudius,
and finally completed under Nero. Within the artificial moles which
formed its narrow entrance, and advanced far into the sea, “the largest
vessels then engaged in the trade of Rome securely rode at anchor;” and
in its deep and capacious basins, which were situated on the north bank
of the Tiber, every facility was afforded for the discharge of their
cargoes. This great work was represented on numerous coins and medals
of the period, of which the following, struck by the Emperor Nero,
furnishes a fair example.
[Illustration]
But Ostia must have borne more resemblance to a wet dock of the present
day than to a harbour or “port.” At the entrance was a tall tower,
which served as a beacon by day, and a lighthouse by night for the
guidance of vessels coming into the harbour.[324]
FOOTNOTES:
[285] Gibbon, c. 1. Horat. Od. i. 3. Tacit. Germ. c. 34.
[286] Livy, x. 2; xliii. 48. Cæs. Bell. Gall. iii. 5. Horat. Epod. i. 1.
[287] Plut. Vit. Anton. c. 66.
[288] The first Roman ships were probably little better than the
boats used on the Tiber, called from their thick coarse planks _Naves
Caudicariæ_—whence Appius Claudius, A.U.C. 489, B.C. 264, who first
induced his people to fit out a fleet, obtained the name of Caudex
(Senec. de Brev. Vit. 13. Varro de Vit. Rom. 11). According to Polybius
a stranded Carthaginian ship was their first good model (i. 20, 21),
though this is hard to reconcile with Livy, ix. 30, 38. Possibly their
first ship of war was copied from one of Antium (Livy, viii. 14). The
treaties with Carthage long before the Punic wars prove that the Romans
had a fleet even then—though, probably, of a very inferior kind.
[289] Instances occur in which fleets were fitted out with great
rapidity—green wood being necessarily used. Thus Scipio fitted out a
large fleet within forty-five days after the timber had been felled
(Liv. xxxiii. 45), and Julius Cæsar in thirty days, at Arles, against
the people of Marseilles (Cæs. B. Civ. i. 34).
[290]
1. At the commencement of the first Punic war a fleet was hastily
built and, under the command of C. Duilius, destroyed that of the
Carthaginians, B.C. 260.
2. A second fleet was prepared, and a great victory was won over the
Carthaginians near Agrigentum, B.C. 256.
3. A third fleet was fitted out in B.C. 250, and nearly destroyed off
Drepana, in the next year.
4. About the same time a fourth fleet, conveying stores to the army
besieging Lilybæum, was entirely destroyed, together with the store
ships, by a hurricane off Camarina.
5. A fifth fleet was built, B.C. 241, to relieve Lilybæum, which had
now been besieged for eight years.
This fleet, under C. Lutatius Catulus, defeated the Carthaginians, and
put an end to the first Punic war in B.C. 241.
During the second and third Punic wars no fleets were employed, except
as transports.
[291] Carthage fell in B.C. 146, Corinth in B.C. 141.
[292] Details of Pompey’s triumph for this cause are given in Pliny
(vii. 98.)
[293] Polybius, iii. 22.
[294] Livy, ii. 27.
[295] “As long as the corn-fleets arrived duly from Sicily and Africa,
the populace cared little whether the victory was gained by Octavian or
his generals.”—Liddell’s “Hist. of Rome,” p. 628.
[296] Livy, xxi. 63.
[297] Cicer. De Offic. i. c. 151.
[298] Gibbon, c. 2.
[299] Pliny, H. N. xii. 84.
[300] Gibbon, c. 2.
[301] Gibbon, vol. i. c. 6.
[302] Pliny, vi. 101; xii. 84.
[303] Gibbon, c. 6.
[304] Dion. lv. and lvi.
[305] _Portoria_ existed from early times; were abolished by Metellus
Nepos, A.U.C. 694, and were restored by Augustus. The senate under Nero
declared that such taxes were absolutely necessary.—Tacit. Ann. xiii.
50. Cicero, in Pison. c. 36.
[306] Tacitus, b. ii. c. 87.
[307] Gibbon, c. vi., has relied on a passage in Dion., lxxvii., which
the best commentators doubt. The edict seems to have been made by M.
Antoninus, and was perhaps fathered on Caracalla from his general
unpopularity.
[308] Gibbon, c. xl. Procop. Persic, i. 20. Cf. Isidore of Charax in
Stathm. Parth., who gives the stations in the Persian empire, and Amm.
Marcell. lib. xxiii., who enumerates the provinces.
[309] The Roman laws went further than the game laws of England, as an
African was not permitted to kill a lion, even in his own defence.
[310] Pliny, iii. 31.
[311] Sueton. Calig. c. xlv. Mela. iii. 2. Sueton. Claud. c. xvii.
Eginhardt says that Charlemagne repaired this tower (Vit. Car. Magn.)
[312] Tacit. Annal. ii. 6. They were mostly broad flat-bottomed boats,
with rudders at each end.
[313] The head of Apollo, on the fine tetradrachms of Rhodes, is
believed to be a copy of the head of the Colossus.
[314] Strab. xiv. p. 654. In the time of Strabo and Pliny it was lying
as it had fallen. Plin. xxxiv. 41.
[315] Justin. Digest. xiv. 2, and the comment thereon by Sir Patrick de
Colquhoun (“Summary of the Roman Civil Law,” vol. iii. pp. 137-142.)
[316] One Rhodian Law quoted in the Digests decreed that _silk_, if
saved, when shipwrecked, from wetting, should pay a salvage of ten per
cent. as _being equal in value to gold_. Cf. Vopisc. in Aurel. c. xlv.
[317] Orelli. Inscript., Nos. 1494, 2973, &c. Cf. Horat. Ars. Poet. v.
329.
[318] Cicer. pro Rosc. 2, 3, and 9, where the whole argument turns
on the point that Roscius’s creditor, Fannius, claimed simply on the
assertion of a note in his “adversaria.” This, Cicero argues, is no
valid claim at all.
[319] “Volumina,” whence our “volumes.”
[320] In our own time, merchant ships have carried fire-arms for their
protection, and up to within the last few years there was an armoury on
board of all merchant vessels.
[321] Gibbon, c. xxxi. under A.D. 408, estimates the probable
population of Rome at 1,200,000 souls; and his reasoning seems
satisfactory. Its present population probably does not exceed
one-sixth of this amount. David Hume has an interesting essay, “Of the
Populousness of Ancient Nations,” in which he examines this and other
similar questions.
[322] Claudius began, and Nero and Trajan completed, this great work.
[323] Gibbon, c. xxxi. See also Admiral W. H. Smyth’s “Mediterranean.”
[324] Pliny, xxxvi. 83.
CHAPTER VII.
Roman empire—The cause of its decline—First invasion of
Goths, A.D. 217—Their habits—Defeat the Emperor Decius, A.D.
257—Rebellion of Egypt, A.D. 273—Franks and Allemanni—The Veneti
on the coast of Gaul—Constantinople founded, A.D. 323—Its
commercial advantages and harbour—The extent of its ancient
trade—Black Sea and Sea of Azov—The trading vessels on—Oppressive
taxation—The laws affecting shipping—Constans and Julian—Produce
of certain lands applied to the sea service—Neglect and decline
of commerce, and sufferings of the people—Siege of Rome by
Alaric and the Goths, A.D. 408—Genseric—His capture of Rome—Rise
of Constantinople—Customs’ duties—Silk trade—Naval expedition
of Justinian against the Vandals, A.D. 533, and conquest of
Carthage—Rise of the Muhammedan power, A.D. 622—Rapid conquests;
of Jerusalem, A.D. 636; of Alexandria, A.D. 638; and of Africa,
A.D. 647—Sieges of Constantinople, A.D. 668-675.
[Sidenote: Roman empire.]
[Sidenote: The cause of its decline.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 212-235.]
From the close of the last Punic war to the middle of the third
century after Christ, the Romans were the greatest if not the only
enemies of Rome. The extravagance and heedless folly of her citizens
were in themselves enough to ruin a less powerful nation. Without
competitors, she maintained a position for centuries which, under
other circumstances, the lavish expenditure of her people would have
destroyed in as many years. The mistress of the world could do as she
pleased; and the industry of the country districts was heavily burdened
to support, in indolence and luxury, its rulers at Rome. Under such
circumstances as these a fall must have come sooner or later; and so
we find that even under the excellent government of the Antonines the
decay of the imperial system had fully commenced. On their removal, and
on the accession of such princes as Commodus, Caracalla and Elagabalus,
the decay was much more rapid, till at length commerce, the true index
of the real state of a nation, failed to recover its former position,
even with the willing and active support of Alexander Severus. Nor
was it possible that the corruption of Rome throughout its whole
administration could be long kept a secret. On her distant and outlying
provinces she had jealous enemies, burning to avenge past injuries and
insults, and eagerly awaiting the opportunity of finding or making an
entrance through her armour.
[Sidenote: First invasion of Goths, A.D. 217.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 249.]
Already in the reign of Caracalla, the Goths had begun to move
southwards from their earliest known haunts in south Prussia and
Poland,[325] but their advance was for a time checked by that emperor.
This was their first attempt at marching in the direction of Rome.
A little later, in the reign of Philippus, they seized a great part
of the Roman province of Dacia (Hungary), and from this time their
attacks, though from time to time repelled, became more frequent and
more destructive. Under their two great divisions of Ostro-Goth and
Visi-Goth they waged a continual predatory war against Rome, becoming
able eventually to wrest from the Romans the whole of Italy, and to
capture the haughty city itself.
[Sidenote: Their habits.]
The character of the Goths has probably been sketched with sufficient
accuracy by Tacitus in his famous essay “De Germanis,” as that of a
wild, illiterate, brave nation, preserving in their habits and ordinary
mode of life their original savage character. They possessed nothing
that could be called a city; but dwelt in rude and temporary huts
wherever game and water were abundant. “The characteristic,” says
he, “of all these nations is the round shield, the short sword, and
obedience to their kings.”[326]
[Sidenote: Defeat the Emperor Decius, A.D. 257.]
Such were the people who, more than any others, caused the disruption
of the Roman empire. Devastating the country on all sides, as they
advanced through the Ukraine into Thrace, and having captured the city
of Philippopolis, and defeated and slain the Emperor Decius, they were
for a while checked by an ignominious peace, and by the payment of a
considerable sum in money by his successor, Gallus, which only showed
the weakness of the empire, and stimulated them to fresh attacks. The
province of Dacia, ceded to them by Aurelian, was one of the first
steps in advance they secured; for, though often repulsed with great
loss, their perseverance was indomitable, while they showed an aptitude
for war remarkable among men in other respects so ignorant; their
recovery from crushing defeats being often scarcely less glorious than
their victories. Thus, when joined with the Vandals in the expedition
that ended in the possession of Dacia, they soon made themselves
masters of the Black Sea. An enormous army needs an ample fleet; but it
would seem that the fearless courage of the Goths made up for want of
skill in the construction of their transport vessels. The natives of
the coasts of that sea had for centuries made use of very frail boats
for its navigation;[327] and there is no reason for supposing that the
Goths had better ships than Tacitus describes as on the Euxine in his
day. Speaking of a sudden invasion of Pontus, A.D. 69, that historian
says: “The barbarians even insolently scoured the sea, in hastily
constructed vessels of their own, called ‘cameræ,’ built with narrow
sides and broad bottoms, and joined together without fastenings of
brass and iron. Whenever the water is rough, they raise the bulwarks
with additional planks, according to the increasing height of the
waves, till the vessel is covered in like a house. Thus they roll about
amid the billows, and as they have a prow at both extremities alike,
and a convertible arrangement of oars, they may be paddled in one
direction or another, indifferently and without risk.”[328]
It was in such frail craft as these that the Goths committed themselves
to a sea with which they were wholly unacquainted, yet, under the
guidance of local and impressed mariners, they succeeded in surprising
the city of Trebizond, wherein immense treasures had been collected for
safety, its capture, with many of its merchants, being the reward of
their daring.
Seven years after obtaining possession of Dacia they were, however,
again driven from it by Probus; but the skill and courage of these
barbarous tribes were always conspicuous at sea; and in no instance
more so than in the case of a party of Franks, who had been settled
near the sea coast, and who, being suddenly seized with the desire of
returning to their homes, surprised a small fleet then on the Euxine,
and were thus enabled to carry out their plan. Unskilled in the art of
navigation, and unacquainted with any other except the Baltic and the
Black Seas, these adventurers made their way through the Dardanelles
into the Mediterranean, and, after sacking Syracuse and other towns,
boldly steered through the Straits of Gibraltar, entered the Atlantic
with a degree of hardihood almost unparalleled, and made a triumphant
passage to the Batavian or Frisian coasts.[329]
[Sidenote: Rebellion of Egypt, A.D. 273.]
Though repeatedly defeated, their successes, together with the steady
advance of other barbarian hordes from the north, were sufficient to
destroy the _prestige_ which had for centuries made Rome invincible. A
general spirit of revolt was now awakened in all the provinces. Even
Egypt, so long the most docile of the slaves of Rome, was aroused into
active rebellion by Firmus, a wealthy merchant of Alexandria, who,
after plundering that city at the head of a furious mob, maintained,
though for only sixty days, the imperial purple, published edicts,
and raised an army, supported, as he boasted vaingloriously, from the
profits of his paper trade.[330]
[Sidenote: Franks and Allemanni.]
The dangerous secret of the wealth and weakness of the empire once
clearly discerned, new swarms of barbarians, encouraged by the
successes of those who had gone before them, sprang into existence,
overran the northern districts, flooded Gaul and Spain, and carried
desolation and terror almost to the very walls of Rome. Of these the
most formidable were the Franks, or Freemen, who now occupied the
Rhenish frontier, and the Allemanni, a name now generally held to
imply a confederacy of many tribes of German origin. As in the case
of the Goths, their first successes were of short duration, and,
after three bloody battles, Aurelian was able to drive them out of
Italy, securing, at the same time, by the overthrow of Zenobia and
the destruction of Firmus, a short breathing time for the distracted
empire. But the policy now, though not for the first time, adopted by
the Roman generals, was not one likely to succeed against the hosts
now arrayed against the empire. The principle of building walls of
great size and length, which had failed in England and in Scotland,
failed even more conspicuously when adopted by Probus,[331] who, at
the head of his legions, still maintained vigorously the prowess and
the name of ancient Rome. His wall, two hundred miles in length, from
the Danube to the Rhine, could be of little real value against an
active and experienced enemy; indeed, Gibbon stated the truth when he
said, “The experience of the world has exposed the vain attempt of
fortifying an extensive tract of country.” Nor did Probus’s second
scheme of enlisting in the Roman armies large levies taken from tribes
but partially conquered, prove, as might have been anticipated, a
more effective source of security and strength. It must, indeed, have
been clear to any persons of observation, that no permanent stability
could be secured for a government which wasted its means by acts of
wanton and revolting extravagance, such as those which Gibbon has so
eloquently described in his “Decline and Fall” of the great empire.
The barbarians, ever on the alert, now discovered that there were
traitors within the Roman camps who gave fresh assistance to their
inroads. Such a traitor was Carausius, not, as Stukeley imagined,
a descendant of the blood royal of Britain, but a Dutch soldier of
fortune, of the tribe of the Menapii. Tampering with the fleet he
commanded in the name of Maximian, he crossed with it from Gessoriacum
(Boulogne), and, seizing on Britain, proclaimed himself Augustus
and struck money with his effigy. For seven years he maintained his
ill-gotten power, but, though at length murdered by his lieutenant,
Allectus, Carausius deserves some historical remembrance as the first
creator of a British-manned navy.
[Sidenote: A.D. 287.]
[Sidenote: The Veneti on the coast of Gaul.]
In the reign of Diocletian events somewhat similar occurred. The
Britons again revolted; Egypt was again the scene of fresh discord and
confusion, and though the various attempts to throw off the Roman yoke
still proved abortive, the general decline of intellectual power among
the Roman people became so apparent that fresh enemies arose against
her in almost every quarter. The Veneti, who, four centuries before,
had given Julius Cæsar[332] no little trouble ere he reduced them to
subjection, perceiving the weakness of Rome and the impunity with which
her territory had been ravaged by the Northern hordes, rose in arms
against her, and exercising an arbitrary dominion over the seas that
washed their coasts, exacted tribute from all strangers, and for a
while successfully bade defiance to Rome, whose mariners dreaded the
navigation of the Bay of Biscay.
[Sidenote: Constantinople founded, A.D. 323.]
[Sidenote: Its commercial advantages, and harbour.]
The reign, too, of Diocletian, who seems to have had an especial
dislike for Rome and the senate, saw the commencement of a new system
of imperial government, which, afterwards more fully developed by
Constantine, led to the removal of the chief seat of government to
Constantinople, a change which exerted a vast influence on commerce,
and essentially altered the course of navigation. The splendid
position of Constantinople, especially for all purposes of sea-borne
trade, has been fully noticed by every author who has treated of this
subject; and it seems probable that, when brought into communication
with the whole of Europe, by means of the railways now fast approaching
completion, it will rival in greatness any commercial city of the
continent. The new route to India by way of the Suez canal, of which
advantage will, no doubt, be taken by the establishment of a line
of steamers to Port Said, cannot fail to afford it such facilities
for becoming a great depôt for the produce of the East Indies, that
it will be the fault of its government and of its merchants if it
does not again assume and surpass the rank it held soon after its
re-construction by Constantine the Great. Gibbon’s description of its
position is as applicable now as ever.[333] “The imperial city,” he
remarks, “may be represented under that of an unequal triangle. The
obtuse point, which advances towards the east and the shores of Asia,
meets and repels the waves of the Thracian Bosphorus. The northern side
of the city is bounded by the harbour; and the southern is washed by
the Propontis, or Sea of Marmora: the basis of the triangle is opposed
to the west, and terminates the continent of Europe.”
“The epithet of ‘golden’ in ‘Golden Horn,’” he adds, “was expressive
of the riches which every wind wafted from the most distant countries
into the secure and capacious port of Constantinople. The river Lycus,
formed by the conflux of two little streams, pours into the harbour a
perpetual supply of fresh water, which serves to cleanse the bottom,
and to invite the periodical shoals of fish to seek their retreat in
that convenient recess. As the vicissitudes of the tides are scarcely
felt in those seas, the constant depth of the harbour allows goods to
be landed on the quays without the assistance of boats; and it has been
observed that, in many places, the largest vessels may rest their prows
against the houses, while the sterns are floating on the water. From
the mouth of the Lycus to that of the harbour this arm of the Bosphorus
is more than seven miles in length. The entrance is about five hundred
yards broad, and a chain could be occasionally drawn across it to guard
the port and city from the attack of a hostile navy.”
[Sidenote: The extent of its ancient trade.]
The Hellespont, in its winding course, is about sixty miles in length,
with an average breadth of three miles; its lower end, where Xerxes is
believed to have built his bridge of boats, is celebrated as the spot
where Leander, in ancient times, is said to have swum across, and which
has, in modern days, been certainly so crossed by Byron,[334] Ekenhead,
Colquhoun, and others. Altogether Constantinople would seem to have
been formed by nature as an important entrepôt for commerce; and this
was peculiarly the case in ancient times, as caravan routes placed it
in communication, not merely with the cities of Mesopotamia, but also
with those on the Indus and the Ganges, thus securing for it the trade
with the Euxine and the Caspian, and even the silk trade of China.
With the Bosphorus and the Hellespont for its gates, whoever secures
possession of these important passages can always shut them against a
naval enemy, and open them to the peaceable fleets of commerce.
[Sidenote: Black Sea and Sea of Azov.]
Although the trade of the Black Sea was considerable, even in remote
times, it greatly increased after the foundation of Constantinople.
Across this sea a large portion of the goods of Asia found their
way; while gold from Colchis; and from the surrounding coasts, corn,
leather, flax, honey, wax, flocks of sheep and goats, furs, medicinal
herbs, and timber suitable for ship-building, found a ready mart in the
markets of the new city. The fisheries of the Euxine and the Bosphorus
still maintained their ancient reputation. Sturgeon and tunny-fish,
abundant in the Black Sea,[335] had, of old, fetched excessive prices
in Greece and Italy, and, under the Greek emperors, contributed largely
to the revenues of the state. The city of Byzantium, also, raised large
sums annually from dues levied on shipping passing through the Straits.
The _Palus Mæotis_, or Sea of Azov, and the Tauric Chersonesus, now the
Crimea, became, after the time of Constantine, places of importance;
while Theodosia (now Kaffa) and Tanais (the present city of Azov) grew
to be of great commercial value when occupied by the Genoese. Of these,
Azov, Panticapæum (Kertch), and Odessa (probably at or near the ancient
Olbia), have retained an extensive trade in corn, wool, and tallow,
to the present time, the latter being now the most enterprising
commercial port on the shores of the Black Sea.
[Sidenote: The trading vessels on.]
The rude vessels the Goths used in crossing the Black Sea were probably
fair specimens of the ordinary craft in which the early maritime
commerce along its shores was conducted. The largest of the corn
ships employed within the Euxine and Azov seldom exceeded in capacity
from two hundred and fifty to three hundred and fifty quarters of
wheat, or from fifty to seventy tons. Some of those which passed on
to the Mediterranean may have been larger, for then, as now, there
was considerable difference (though not nearly so great as in our
own day) in the size of merchant vessels. It was not, however, until
Constantinople was founded, and revived the trade with Egypt, that
ships of great dimensions were constructed there, specially for the
purposes of commerce. Gibbon[336] has described as “canoes,” consisting
of a single tree hollowed out, the vessels used on the Black Sea by the
Goths in their descent on Trebizond; but no one will believe that, with
all their rash bravery, they actually trusted themselves to boats so
small as this view suggests; nor, indeed, does the passage in Strabo to
which Gibbon has referred, imply all that he has deduced from it. Many
vessels, vastly superior in build to the simple monoxyle, must have
existed; though their construction may easily have been so inartistic
that they were scarcely safer than canoes.
[Sidenote: Oppressive taxation.]
To increase as rapidly as possible the size and magnificence of the
new capital, the opulent senators of Rome and the great landowners
or merchants of the eastern provinces were, at first, induced to make
it their place of residence by the assignment to them, on the part of
Constantine, of many of the palaces and of the costly mansions he had
erected. In time, however, such encouragements became unnecessary and
were gradually abolished. The court, and the fact that Constantinople
had become the chief seat of government, attracted to it the wealthiest
inhabitants of the provinces; while others were induced to dwell
there through motives of interest, business, or pleasure, so that, in
less than a century from the time of its foundation, Constantinople
rivalled, if it did not equal, Rome herself, in population and in
wealth. Nor does it seem to have been much less extravagant or less
luxurious than the Western capital in life and morals, for the
magnificence of the first Cæsars was largely imitated by its founder.
The natural results followed in the form of an oppressive system of
taxation, which fell heavily upon the trading portion of the community.
Tributes of corn were exacted from Egypt, and the poorest traders, the
industrious manufacturers, and the most obscure retail dealer, were,
with the rich merchants, alike obliged to admit the officers of the
revenue into a partnership of their gains.
This general tax on industry, which was collected every fourth year,
appears to have caused such lamentation, that the approach of the
period for collecting it “was announced by the tears and terrors of
the citizens, who were often compelled, by the impending scourge, to
embrace the most abhorred and unnatural methods of procuring the sum
at which their property had been assessed.”[337] From the nature of
this tax, it may be inferred that it was arbitrary in its distribution,
while, from the rigorous mode of its collection, it could hardly fail
to be both unequal and oppressive in its operation. The income tax
of our own time has been frequently denounced for its inquisitorial
character and the irregularity of the burden imposed on different
sections of the people; and if it be difficult now to ascertain, in
various branches of trade, the actual amount of a trader’s gains, it
must have been far more so in ancient days, when the precarious profits
of art or labour were capable of only a discretionary valuation.
[Sidenote: The laws affecting shipping.]
[Sidenote: Constans and Julian.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 527.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 364 and 375.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 379-395.]
It is certain, however, that laws pressing heavily on the merchant
were now greatly modified in favour of those who followed maritime
pursuits—a remarkable fact, as contrasted with the former legislation
of Rome and the contempt in which seafaring persons had been previously
held. The emperors Valentinian, Theodosius, and Arcadius exempted the
ship-owners and the sailors who navigated their vessels, from the
payment of taxes, on the ground that the merchant was enriched by
foreign trade, while the mariners had all the trouble and risk. The
fifth title of the thirteenth book of the Theodosian code referred
exclusively to their interests; while the ninth law under that head,
enacted by the emperors Constans and Julian, further shelters them
from personal injuries and protects them “from all costs of violent
proceedings, as well as extortions, ordinary and extraordinary.”
Nearly two hundred years afterwards the Emperor Justinian considered
it politic to incorporate this law into his celebrated code;[338]
the same exemptions being granted by that emperor, in his fourth and
fifth law under the same table as the Theodosian code. The laws of
the emperors Valentinian, Valens, and Gratian, embodied in the Code
of Justinian, likewise forbid, on pain of death, that any one should
insult the persons of mariners, while the special enactments of
Arcadius, Honorius, and Theodosius treated them with the like respect.
The same code furnishes another law of Gratian, Valentinian, and
Theodosius, wherein these privileges are confirmed and ordered to be
continued for ever.
Such extraordinary privileges conferred on the seafaring population
of the empire—privileges unknown in any other country or in any other
age—were probably enacted in order to revive the nautical spirit which
had been so long practically treated with contempt. No doubt, special
bounties were needed to ensure the import of corn and the construction
of vessels adapted to this purpose. Indeed, the necessity of a constant
and steady supply of food sufficient to meet the wants of the people,
and to prevent the tumults which too frequently arose whenever there
was a prospect of a scarcity of corn, sufficiently accounts for the
encouragement afforded to this particular trade. But in the later days
it was found necessary to create laws to raise further in the social
scale the seafaring classes. Indeed this seems the only reason why the
emperors Valentinian, Theodosius, and Arcadius should have issued
ordinances to prevent persons adopting the sea as a profession who
had previously exercised any mean and disgraceful employment;[339]
endeavouring thus, so far as laws could do so, to counteract the
deep-rooted prejudice against seafaring pursuits. By the decrees of
Constantine and Julian, sailors were even raised to the dignity of
knighthood; while Valentinian, Valens, and Gratian enjoined that
persons filling the functions of mariners should be admitted into the
society of men of the most honourable and aristocratic parentage, and
even into the senate.
[Sidenote: Produce of certain lands applied to the sea service.]
But while the Roman laws enacted at the new capital conceded so many
privileges to persons who adopted the sea as a profession, the state
also required the possessors of certain lands (making this, indeed, the
condition of the grant) to perform the functions of public mariners;
but this arrangement was so contrived that actual personal service
was not enforced, although the expense of substitutes was charged
on the lands. The nature of this scheme is fully explained in the
Theodosian Code,[340] where the rights of the state and of the parties
are defined. When these lands were sold, the law enforced the same
obligations upon the purchasers; and the emperors Valentinian and
Valens enacted, that if they passed into the hands of strangers, they
should revert to “mariners,” on conditions regulated by the experience
and practice of the previous fifty years. On the other hand, those
persons who were employed in the service of the state were not
permitted, in such voyages, to carry any private merchandise; moreover,
the owners of vessels engaged in certain trades were required to hold
them at the disposal of the state. In spite, however, of all these
laws, the encouragement proposed or provided by them came too late.
[Sidenote: Neglect and decline of commerce, and sufferings of the
people.] But while a new life was being gradually infused into the
empire by the creation of Constantinople, overgrown wealth and luxury,
with the evils following in their train, indolence, waste, and
extravagance, were only too surely working out the downfall of old
Rome. Capital, which ought to have been used as a provision for fresh
channels of employment for an increasing population, was devoted to
pleasure and folly; while no middle class arose to create fresh capital
by its industry and to supply the place of the annual waste. In no
age or country have the extremes of wealth and poverty been so great;
even the provincial merchants came not to the capital to increase its
wealth, but rather to waste their own substance. They sought to rival,
in display, the ancient noblesse; they rented their palaces to enjoy
their society, and were ready to spend fortunes derived from commerce
to win a ready entrance into their salons.
So early as the Augustan age, Livy and Pliny have alluded to the
then enormous accumulation of wealth in Rome; the former describing
the mass of treasure accumulated there as something fabulous;[341]
the latter stating that there were side-boards in his time groaning
under more solid silver than had been transported by Scipio from
vanquished Carthage. Besides all this removable wealth in the shape
of plate, there was, no doubt, a still greater supply in jewels and
precious stones, in gold ornaments and in the current metallic coin
of the empire. Unlike their poor and invincible ancestors, who were
not distinguished from the meanest of the soldiers by the delicacy of
their food or the splendour of their apparel, the nobles of Rome, in
its latter days, were not merely fond of the most ostentatious display,
but magnified the rent rolls of their estates, too frequently living in
accordance with their imaginary rather than with their actual incomes.
The “Satires” of Juvenal portray but too distinctly the corruption of
manners which had in his time (the reign of Domitian) extended to the
female portion of the population.[342]
History, it has been truly said, repeats itself; and the reading of
the lengthened description Ammianus has given of the extravagance of
Rome reminds us of too many of the gay assemblies so frequently met
with in our own time. Nor is his description of the manners of the
Roman nobility wholly unlike what may too frequently be now seen in
the conduct of those persons who measure their importance by their
wealth and gay equipages, or who, by their rapid acquisition of large
fortunes, and their method of dealing with them, used to be known in
England as “Nabobs,” but who now bear a less flattering name.
While such was the state of the upper, the middle classes, who
derived their subsistence from their skill and industry, and who, in
all communities, constitute the mainstay of a nation, had become
comparatively insignificant, the still lower orders being reduced, in
most instances, to abject poverty. Large allowances of bread were daily
served out at the public expense; and, in one year, three millions six
hundred and twenty-eight thousand pounds of bacon are said to have been
distributed to the needy masses, as well as oil, indispensable alike
for the lamp and the bath, to the extent of three hundred thousand
English gallons; but the poor citizens had become almost as indolent
and depraved as their rulers. In the baths, constructed in every part
of the city with imperial magnificence for the indiscriminate use
of the senators and the people, the meanest Romans idled away their
time. For a small copper coin[343] they could there purchase the daily
enjoyment of a scene of pomp and luxury which might well have excited
the envy of princes. Baths, the extent of which we can now scarcely
comprehend, surrounded with granite pillars from the quarries of Egypt
and adorned with the precious green marble of Numidia, with streams
of ever-running hot water from mouths of bright and massive silver,
were the hourly resort of dirty and ragged plebeians without shoes or
mantles.
[Sidenote: Siege of Rome by Alaric and the Goths, A.D. 408.]
Such was the state of the western capital of the once proud and
powerful Roman empire, when the Gothic army first appeared before it.
The barbarian Goths had greatly improved in discipline since they made
their first invasion of Italy; they were well organised, and under the
absolute control of Alaric, a commander in whom they had a confidence
approaching to devotion. Their first action against the city itself was
rather in the nature of a blockade, for they cut off all communication
with it by land, while they held the mouths of the Tiber; hence, in
spite of their rage and humiliation, the Romans saw at once that they
had no alternative but submission, and it is to the credit of the
victorious leader of the Goths that the terms he imposed were neither
severe nor extravagant.
From Rome Alaric continued his march into Tuscany, where vast numbers
of enslaved barbarians flocked to his standard; so that with the
reinforcement of a large body of Goths and Huns, who had fought their
way from the banks of the Danube, he had now, under his command,
an army sufficient to overawe the whole of Italy. By this time the
_prestige_ of Rome had gone for ever; she was now destined to become
the frequent prey of the barbarians of the north, till the tribes of
Germany and Scythia, who had so long coveted her wealth, at length
accomplished her destruction.
[Sidenote: A.D. 409.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 413.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 427-439.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 409-426.]
The first half of the century which saw Rome blockaded was full of
events, all tending towards her final overthrow. Spain, separated from
the enemies of Rome by her insular position and the Pyrenean mountains,
had been almost undisturbed for four hundred years by foreign invaders
or civil wars. It was her turn now. Ten months after Alaric’s attack
on the capital, the Vandals and other barbarous tribes found their way
thither, and plundered her rich and prosperous cities, her valuable
mines, and her fruitful plains. Soon afterwards Africa revolted; the
consul, Heraclian, assumed the title of emperor, and prepared a vast
fleet for the invasion of Italy; but though he failed in his designs,
Carthage and the whole of Africa were prepared, by this outbreak, for
subjugation by the Vandals under Genseric, their able and energetic
leader. Revolutions arose in Gaul. Its most opulent provinces became
the prey of the barbarians, and its fairest and most fertile lands fell
into the hands of rapacious strangers, and were assigned for the use
of their families, their slaves, and their cattle. About the same time
the regular forces were withdrawn from Britain, and the defenceless
islanders abandoned to the Welsh and Scotch semi-savages and to the
Saxon invaders. We cannot, therefore, be surprised that, reduced as
she was by constant wars and invasions, distracted by the folly and
weakness of her own people, and despoiled of her best provinces, the
Imperial City itself fell an easy prey to the Vandal hosts of Genseric.
[Sidenote: Genseric.]
Having made himself master of Carthage, and having confiscated all
the estates belonging to the Roman nobles and senators, Genseric at
once resolved to build a fleet for the blockade of the Tiber, and to
treat the Imperial City as she had treated Carthage. His bold resolve
was executed with steady and active perseverance. The woods on Mount
Atlas afforded an inexhaustible supply of timber suitable for his
purpose, while the Moors and Africans, alike skilled in the arts of
ship-building and navigation, were ready to execute commands which held
out the hope of unlimited plunder. Nor, indeed, was Genseric without
other and certain inducements to act at once on the plan he had
proposed to himself. In the first place, he could hardly have failed
to know that since the invasion of Alaric, the nobles and senators of
Rome had sunk into their former state of apathy and indolence; that
they were giving no heed to the dangers besetting their capital, while
they had taken no warning from the losses they had sustained by the
frequent invasions of the barbarians. “Sufficient for the day is the
evil thereof” had become their maxim and that of the Emperor Maximus,
who, however incapable of administering an empire, might at least have
ascertained the extent and the object of the naval preparations on the
opposite shore of Africa. Yet, like his nobles, he was content to await
in luxurious ease the approach of the enemy, careless alike of any
means of defence, of negotiation, or of retreat.[344]
[Sidenote: His capture of Rome.]
Within three days of a popular tumult which closed in ignominy the
life of another feeble emperor, Genseric advanced from the port of
Ostia to the gates of the defenceless city. An unarmed procession,
headed by the bishop and clergy, met him and implored his mercy. But,
though the barbarian conqueror promised to spare the unresisting
multitude, to protect the buildings from fire, and to exempt the
captives from torture, Rome and its inhabitants were given over to
the licentious mercies of his army—a tardy but terrible revenge for
the Roman sack of Carthage. During fourteen days and nights there was
one almost uninterrupted scene of plunder and sacrilege, and all that
remained of public or private wealth, of sacred or profane treasure,
was transported to the vessels of the Vandal king. The “gold table”
and “the golden candlestick with seven branches,” which, three and a
half centuries before, Titus had carried away from Jerusalem, were
now transferred, by a barbarian conqueror, from Rome to Africa. The
gorgeous decorations of the Christian churches, and of the Pagan
temples, constituted a rich prize to the host of Genseric. Having
time to collect and ships to transport any removable article of value
in the capital, the conqueror spared neither church nor temple,
dwelling-house, nor palace. The magnificent furniture and massive plate
with which the palace of the emperor was furnished, were gathered up
with disorderly rapine; even brass and copper were not beneath the
notice of the Vandals, and were, whenever found, as carefully removed
as articles of gold and silver. The Empress Eudoxia herself, at whose
instigation, it is said, Genseric had been led to undertake his
expedition, was compelled, with her daughters, to follow as a captive
in the train of the conqueror, and to expiate, during a seven years’
exile in Africa, a treason of which her subjects alone had any ground
of complaint.[345]
[Sidenote: Rise of Constantinople.]
When Rome fell, the sovereign of the eastern empire claimed, and long
maintained, the fictitious title of Emperor of the Romans, adopting
the hereditary names of Cæsar and Augustus, and declaring himself the
legitimate successor of the imperial rulers of Rome; and, indeed,
if mere splendour was enough to support such a claim, the emperors
of Constantinople were well justified in all their assertions. The
palaces of Constantinople rivalled, if they did not surpass, the
gorgeousness of Rome in her proudest days; while in barbaric “pomp and
circumstance,” and in their Oriental and tawdry magnificence, they
unquestionably stood alone. Moreover, the emperor at Constantinople
was inaccessible alike to the complaints of his own people and to the
menaces of his enemies, the peninsular position of the city rendering
it during many centuries impregnable against the attack of foes from
without, so that the barbarian armies which had swept Europe and Africa
from end to end, turned aside from a fortress no military knowledge or
skill then available could have reduced.
For some time it would seem that Genseric remained undisturbed, for
Leo, the eastern emperor, was little disposed to avenge his brother
of the west. At length, however, he was obliged, or persuaded, to
join Egypt and Italy in an attempt to deliver the Mediterranean from
the sway of the Vandals, Genseric having become as oppressive on land
as he was formidable at sea. By extraordinary exertions a vast fleet
was collected, chiefly, as the historians inform us, at the cost of
the emperor himself; but it was feebly commanded, and its destruction
inevitable as soon as it should come into collision with so veteran a
general as Genseric. Though it would seem that, at the first landing
near Carthage, the attack on the Vandals was successful, their wily
leader, obtaining from the commander of the Greeks a hollow truce, and
watching the opportunity of a favourable change of the wind, suddenly
launched his fire-ships on his unsuspecting foes. More than half their
fleet was destroyed, and Genseric was again ready to complete the
final destruction of Rome.[346] “Leave the determination to the winds,”
was the favourite reply of the Vandal king when asked whither he meant
to steer; “they will transport us to the guilty coast whose inhabitants
have provoked Divine justice.”
During the fifty years that intervened between the fall of the Roman
empire of the West, and the memorable reign of Justinian, Italy revived
and flourished under the good and wise government of a Gothic king,
who, with abilities equal to those of Genseric, had few of his vices
and none of his predatory habits. During that period, also, the vast
changes which had taken place in the ancient provinces of Rome had
become consolidated, and out of these had arisen various independent
nations destined to occupy a conspicuous position in the maritime
commerce of the world. The rude tribes of the North had, to some extent
at least, been blended with the more civilized and refined inhabitants
of the South; and an admixture of races had taken place, which, though
adverse for a while to the cause of learning, was of solid advantage to
the people, tending, on the one hand, to save from entire annihilation
the little refinement still preserved, and, on the other, softening
and materially improving the hardier and ruder tribes. Constantinople,
undisturbed by foreign invaders, reaped the advantages of a prosperous
commerce, and when Justinian ascended the throne, was one of the most
important commercial cities in the world.
[Sidenote: A.D. 537.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 547.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 553.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 728.]
[Sidenote: Customs’ duties.]
Fortunate in the choice of his generals, and supported by eminent
lawyers, the thirty-eight years’ reign of Justinian was equally
distinguished by his conquests and by his laws, to the maritime
portion of which we have already referred. In his reign, the empire
of the Vandals in Africa was overthrown, and the kingdom of the
Ostro-Goths, in Italy, destroyed by Belisarius and Narses; while
Rome was restored to the Romans, and the chief power placed in the
hands of the descendants of its original population. In their hands
it remained, generally, in a state of peace till, nearly two hundred
years afterwards, it became independent under the rule of the Popes.
But the expenses of the many public buildings Justinian erected—among
which must be mentioned the great church (now the Mosque) of Sta.
Sophia—together with those incurred in his many wars, obliged him
to impose several new and vexatious imposts on his people. Beyond a
supply of corn, free of cost, for the use of the army and capital, he
levied heavy customs’ dues on all vessels and merchandise passing the
Bosphorus and Hellespont, which had hitherto been open to the freedom
of trade.
Happily for the people, the empire of the East possessed vast natural
advantages, which, in some measure, counteracted the injurious effects
of heavy taxation. Blessed by nature with superior soil, situation,
and climate, her people could bear burdens which would have ruined
the inhabitants of countries less favourably situated. Embracing the
nations Rome had conquered, from the Adriatic to the frontiers of
Æthiopia and Persia, the capital of the East had the means within
herself, in spite of tariffs, apparently ruinous, of creating and
maintaining an extensive and lucrative inland and maritime commerce.
Egypt still largely supplied her with corn, and afforded many other
advantages; commerce gradually extended itself along the coast of
the Mediterranean; and as her own wants in food and dress were many,
these combined, afforded a large and varied field for employment. The
Asiatic love of dress was duly—if not unduly—exhibited by the ladies
of Constantinople; and if Aurelian complained that a pound of silk at
Rome cost twelve ounces of gold, we may well believe that Justinian saw
with concern the Persians intercepting and obtaining a monopoly of this
important trade, and the wealth of his subjects continually drained by
a nation of fire-worshippers.
[Sidenote: Silk trade.]
An unexpected event, however, afforded Justinian the means of
cultivating in his own dominions that much prized article. Christian
missionaries were then, as they have often been since, the harbingers
of commerce, as well as of peace and good-will towards all men. Some of
them who had settled at Ceylon, or, perhaps, more probably on the coast
of Malabar, were induced, with a view of proselytising the Pagans,
to follow the footsteps of trade to the extremities of Asia. Two of
their number remained in China, and, in the course of their missionary
occupations, observed that the common dress of the Chinese consisted of
silk, at the same time noticing the myriads of silkworms, whence the
raw material was produced. Having carefully collected a large number
of the eggs in a hollow cane, they conveyed them to Constantinople,
and, imparting their discovery to Justinian, were liberally rewarded,
and encouraged to pursue the propagation of the valuable insect.
Under their direction the eggs were hatched at the proper season by
the artificial heat of dung; and the worms thus produced living and
labouring in a foreign climate, Europe ceased to be dependent for
her supply of this now necessary article on the chances of war or of
Asiatic caprice.[347]
[Sidenote: Naval expedition of Justinian against the Vandals, A.D. 533,
and conquest of Carthage.]
But the mind of Justinian was more occupied by foreign conquests than
by commerce. Among his earliest maritime expeditions may be ranked the
invasion of Africa and the overthrow of the Vandals, the preparations
for which were not unworthy of the last contest between Rome and
Carthage. Five hundred transports, navigated by twenty thousand
mariners of Egypt, Cilicia, and Ionia, were collected in the harbour
of Constantinople. If the smallest of these are computed at thirty,
and the largest at five hundred tons, the average will supply an
allowance liberal, if not profuse, of about one hundred thousand tons,
for the reception of thirty-five thousand soldiers and sailors, and
five thousand horses, with military stores and provisions sufficient
for a three months’ voyage. When the fleet lay moored ready for sea
before the gardens of the palace, the Patriarch, amid great pomp and
solemnity, pronounced his benediction for its safety and success; and
when the emperor had signified his last commands, the expedition, at
the sound of a trumpet, got under way. It was attended with the most
complete success. Carthage became subject to Justinian; and the Romans
were again masters of the sea—a position they maintained until a more
formidable power arose in the East, which declared war against the
empire both by land and by sea.
[Sidenote: Rise of the Muhammedan power, A.D. 622.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 633.]
It is not our province to trace the progress of that power, nor indeed
of that of any nation, except as may be necessary to furnish an idea of
the extent of its maritime commerce, so far as this can be ascertained
from the limited sources of information now extant. Muhammed had not
only introduced a new religion, but his warlike successors propagated
their newly accepted faith by the sword with a success unparalleled
in the history of the world. Nor were their exploits confined to the
land. The Arabians, distinguished by the name of Saracens (that is,
specifically “the _Easterns_”),[348] who, from the earliest period
of history, were skilled as navigators, and daring as seamen, had
by this time become not merely an important but a powerful maritime
people. Masters of Persia and of the whole of the Arabian Gulf, the
“true believers,” soon extended their conquests into Syria, nominally
to abolish “infidelity,” but with a clear eye to the advantages of
commerce.
[Sidenote: Rapid conquests;]
[Sidenote: of Jerusalem, A.D. 636;]
[Sidenote: of Alexandria, A.D. 638;]
[Sidenote: and of Africa, A.D. 647.]
Hatred of the Christians, love of spoil, and contempt for danger were
the ruling passions of the Saracens; nor could the prospect of instant
death shake their religious confidence, nor stay a course of conquest,
on all occasions made in “the name of the most merciful God.” Bozrah
and Damascus soon fell into their hands, as well as Abyla, thirty miles
distant, where the produce and manufactures of the country were then
collected at a great annual fair. Three years afterwards Jerusalem
was besieged and taken, and the Syrian seaports captured. The
possession of Tyre, not yet wholly obliterated, and of the province
of Cilicia, secured them the command of the whole of the eastern
Mediterranean. Extending their conquests to the shores of the Euxine,
they threatened—indeed, for a short time, besieged—Constantinople,
though in this, and in subsequent attempts, they failed with heavy
loss.[349] These facts show how early in their history they were able
to extend their conquering and marauding expeditions both by land and
by sea. Egypt was an easy and rich prey to them. But Alexandria, still
a great and flourishing city, offered the most strenuous resistance
to the invaders. Abundantly supplied, and easily replenished with the
means of subsistence and defence, her numerous inhabitants fought for
the dearest of human rights, religion and property; and if the Emperor
Heraclius had been awake to the public distress, fresh armies might
have been poured into the harbour before the fleet of the Saracens
had taken up their position before it. But the power of the Infidels
prevailed, and after a siege of fourteen months, and the loss of
twenty-three thousand of their men, the standard of Muhammed was
planted on the walls of the capital of Egypt. In ten years more Africa,
from the Nile to the Atlantic Ocean, fell into their hands. Shortly
afterwards Cyprus, Rhodes, and Sicily were taken; Spain overrun, except
the Asturias and Biscay; and Capua and Genoa became their possession by
conquest.
[Sidenote: Sieges of Constantinople, A.D. 668-675.]
Although it cost the Saracens a siege of fourteen months, and a heavy
loss of men, before they were able to take Alexandria, Constantinople
from its stronger position offered a still more determined resistance.
In the first siege thirty thousand Moslems are said to have been slain;
but the destruction which awaited them on the occasion of the second
was by far the heaviest reverse their arms had as yet sustained.
Commanded by their ablest general, at the head of one hundred and
twenty thousand men, they had deemed success certain, and little
anticipated the serious resistance the city really made. The Greeks
were, however, resolved at all costs to force back these terrible
invaders, who had plundered almost with impunity so many lands. All
persons not provided with the means of subsistence for a year’s siege
were ordered to leave the city, the public granaries and arsenals
were abundantly replenished, the walls restored and strengthened, and
engines for casting stones, or darts of fire, were stationed along
the ramparts or in vessels of war, of which an additional number
were hastily constructed. The Greeks, on perceiving that the Saracen
fleet had been largely reinforced from Egypt and Syria, were at first
induced to offer the large ransom of a piece of gold for each person
in the city; but, on the contemptuous rejection of this proposal, the
Muhammedan chief imagining he had the game in his own hands, they
determined on a most daring expedient to get rid of the fleet that
threatened their destruction. As it slowly approached, with a fair wind
and over a smooth sea, overshadowing the Straits like a moving forest,
the Greeks suddenly launched fire-ships[350] into the midst of the
dense mass, and involved in one general and terrible conflagration
their own and every vessel of the invading squadrons. The destruction
of the Saracenic Armada was complete.
The fate of the Saracen army, though not quite so disastrous, was one
of heavy loss and great suffering, materially increased by a severe
frost which covered the ground with snow for more than one hundred
days. In the spring the survivors, aided with new levies of troops from
Africa, made a fresh attempt to storm the city; but, on this proving as
futile as their former efforts had been, they at length withdrew, and
for seven hundred years more Constantinople was spared the desecration
of the Infidel flag.
FOOTNOTES:
[325] Much confusion has been made by various writers on the subject
of the Goths and Vandals, and, perhaps, by the majority of them, these
tribes have been somewhat carelessly classed together. The real fact
is, they were two distinct branches of the one great nation of the
Suevi. The distinction of Ostro (or Eastern) and Visi (or Western)
Goths was made in the third century, when they broke into Dacia. Those
from Mecklenburg and Pomerania were called Visi-Goths; those from south
Prussia and north-west Poland took the name of Ostro-Goths.
[326] Tacit. De Germanis, c. 43.
[327] The Ukraine and Black Sea boats of the middle ages resembled in
most respects, but with little or no improvement, those of more ancient
times. They usually had ten or fifteen oars of a side, and rowed
faster than the Turkish galleys. They had one mast, which carried an
ill-shaped sail, used only in fine weather, as their crews preferred
to row when it blew hard, and when, to prevent the waves from washing
on board, they formed temporary bulwarks of reeds, which were more
conveniently carried than planks. If about to undertake a hostile
expedition by sea, it was not uncommon to employ at once from five
to six thousand Cossacks skilled in seafaring matters, to construct
the necessary number of boats, and as sixty hands could complete one
in a fortnight, they could finish at least two hundred of them in a
month, well-armed and ready for action. In these frail craft, the hardy
mariners of the north frequently crossed the whole extent of the Black
Sea, sometimes performing the voyage from the Borysthenes to Anatolia
in from thirty-six to forty hours.
[328] Tacit. Hist. iii. 47. Strabo, xi. c. 12, notices the same native
boats, to which, like Tacitus, he gives the name of “cameræ,” or
“house-boats.” They carried, on an average, twenty-five men each.
[329] Gibbon, ch. xii. Zosimus, i. p. 66. Panegyr. Vet. v. 18.
[330] Ibid. ch. x. Vopiscus, ap. Hist. Aug. Script. pp. 220-242.
[331] Gibbon, ch. xii.
[332] Cæsar, Bell. Gall. iii. 8.
[333] Gibbon, ch. xvii.
[334]
“He could, perhaps, have pass’d the Hellespont,
As once (a feat on which ourselves we prided)
Leander, Mr. Ekenhead, and I did.”
BYRON, “Don Juan,” cant. ii. 105.
[335] Plin. ix. 15. Horat. ii. Sat. v. 44. Ovid, in Halieut. v. 98.
[336] Gibbon, ch. xxvi.
[337] Gibbon, ch. xvii.
[338] Cod. Justinian, bk. ii. tit. i. sec. 3. By this code six per
cent. was pronounced to be the ordinary and legal standard of interest;
eight was allowed for the convenience of manufacturers and merchants,
while twelve was granted to nautical insurance.
[339] Theodosian Code, bk. xiii. tit. v. secs. 14, 16, and 18.
[340] Book xiii. tit. vi. secs. 5-10.
[341] Livy, xxx. 45. Plin. xxxiii. 50. Gibbon, ch. xxxi., quoting from
Ammianus Marcellinus.
[342] Juvenal, Sat. iii., and passim.
[343] About half of a farthing. Horat. i. Sat. iii. 136. Juvenal, Sat.
vi. 146.
[344] Gibbon, ch. xxvi.
[345] Gibbon, ch. xxxii.
[346] Procop. Bell. Vandal, 1.
[347] Gibbon, c. 40. Procop. Gothic. iv. c. 17. Anced. c. 25: Theoph.
Byzant. ap. Photium.
[348] _Al Sherki._
[349] Gibbon, vol. ix. ch. 51, p. 425.
[350] The Greek fire was prepared chiefly from _naphtha_, with which
there was mixed sulphur and pitch, extracted from evergreen firs. The
admixture, when ignited, produced a fierce and obstinate flame, which
burned with equal vehemence in every direction, and, instead of being
extinguished, was nourished and quickened on the application of water.
Sand, urine, or vinegar, were the only known applications which could
damp its fury; the Greeks styled it appropriately the _liquid_ or
_maritime_ fire. For the annoyance of the enemy, it was employed either
by sea or by land, and with equal effect in battles or in sieges.
Sometimes it was poured from the ramparts of a besieged city from large
boilers, or launched in red-hot balls of stone or iron, or darted in
arrows and javelins, twisted round with flax or tow which had been
soaked in this inflammable oil. On other occasions it was deposited
in fire-ships, and thence often, by some unexplained contrivance,
blown through long tubes of copper, which were planted on the bow of a
galley, and fancifully shaped into the mouths of savage monsters, that
seemed to vomit a stream of liquid and consuming fire. Its composition
was jealously concealed, and the Greeks terrified their enemies, not
merely by the fire itself, but by the reports currently believed that
its knowledge had been revealed, by an angel, to the first and greatest
of the Constantines for the special use of the people of the eastern
portion of the Roman empire. The secret was kept by them for more than
four hundred years.
CHAPTER VIII.
Constantinople, A.D. 718-1453: its increased
prosperity—Manufactures of Greece—System of taxation, and
of expenditure—Fleets, and mode of warfare—Struggle for
maritime supremacy—Scandinavians—Muscovites, their trade
and ships—Russians; their early commerce, and attempts to
capture Constantinople—Their ships—The Normans, and their
expeditions—Establish themselves in Italy, A.D. 1016—Amalfi—Futile
attempts of the Normans to take Constantinople, A.D.
1081-1084—Rise of Venice—The cause of its prosperity—Spread of
the Scythians, Huns, or Turks, A.D. 997-1028—The Crusades, A.D.
1095-1099—Siege of Acre, A.D. 1189—Armistice, A.D. 1192—Fourth
Crusade, A.D. 1202—The effect of the Crusades on the commerce
of Constantinople, and on its fall—Power of Venice, A.D. 1202;
her ships join in the Crusade, which was afterwards altered from
its original design—They besiege and take Constantinople, A.D.
1204—Commerce declines under the Latins, but revives on the
restoration of the Empire, A.D. 1261—Genoa—Genoese settlement at
Galata and Pera—Arrogance of the Genoese, who at last rebel, A.D.
1348, and declare war, A.D. 1349—The progress of the Turks, A.D.
1341-47—Their fleet—First use of gunpowder and of large cannon—The
Turks finally become masters of the Eastern capital, A.D. 1453.
[Sidenote: Constantinople, A.D. 718-1453: its increased prosperity.]
Although the Greeks had suffered considerable hardship during the
thirteen months they were besieged by the Saracens, the siege was
no sooner raised than they returned to their usual occupations with
increased energy. The losses they had sustained, by an interruption
to their maritime commerce, and the curtailment of their home
manufactures, required to be met with renewed vigour. Fresh commercial
projects were formed and carried into effect with remarkable energy;
circumstances favoured their efforts; trade rapidly increased,
manufactures flourished; and, as the cities of the West had fallen
with the decline of the ancient empire, Constantinople secured a
large portion of their commerce, and became a centre of commercial
intercourse, equalled only in wealth and influence by Baghdad, the
capital city of the Arabian Khalifs.
Nor was her prosperity transient in its nature. During nearly
three centuries Constantinople continued to be the principal seat
of commercial exchange, increasing in power and influence as the
Christians of Syria, Egypt, and Africa respectively shook off the yoke
of the Khalifs, and returned to their allegiance to the emperor of
the East. Those who had gone to settle in the capital took with them
whatever portion of their movable wealth had eluded the search of their
oppressors, and Constantinople thus acquired the fugitive trade of
Alexandria and Tyre. The chiefs of Armenia and Scythia, flying from
hostile or religious persecution, were alike hospitably entertained,
and their followers encouraged to build new cities, and to cultivate
waste lands within the limits and under the protection of the empire.
Increased facilities were afforded to persons engaged in trade and
manufactures, and some symptoms of a liberal policy may be traced in a
law exempting from personal taxes the mariners of the Peloponnesus, the
workmen in parchment and purple, and the manufacturers of linen, wool,
and silk. These arts not merely afforded employment to many persons in
Constantinople, but to a still greater number in Corinth, Thebes, and
Argos. Moreover, from the reign of Justinian to the twelfth century,
Greece was the only country in Christendom possessing silkworms, or
workmen familiar with the art of preparing their produce.
[Sidenote: Manufactures of Greece.]
Gibbon describes the manufactures of Greece, during the period of
Constantinople’s greatest prosperity, as unequalled in elegance and
fineness by any similar manufactures of either ancient or modern
times. “The gifts,” he states, “which a rich and generous matron of
Peloponnesus presented to the Emperor Basil, her adopted son, were
doubtless fabricated in the Grecian looms. Danielis bestowed a carpet
of fine wool, of a pattern which imitated the spots of a peacock’s
tail, of a magnitude to overspread the floor of a new church, erected
in the triple names of Christ, of Michael the Archangel, and of the
prophet Elijah. She gave six hundred pieces of silk and linen of
various use and denomination; the silk was _painted_ with the Tyrian
die, and adorned by the labours of the needle; and the linen was so
exquisitely fine, that an entire piece might be rolled in the hollow of
a cane.”[351] The value of these manufactures was estimated according
to the weight and quality of the article, the closeness of the texture,
and the beauty of the colours; some, too, of the embroidery is said to
have been of the most exquisite description.
[Sidenote: System of taxation, and of expenditure.]
But though the mariners and some of the manufacturers were relieved
from personal taxation, we have the authority of Benjamin of Tudela,
who visited Constantinople in the twelfth century, for the statement
that the taxes fell very heavily on the ordinary shopkeepers, and on
the merchants of foreign countries who frequented the capital.[352]
Nor, indeed, could this have been otherwise, where a system of pomp and
luxury was promoted by the imperial rulers, scarcely less than that
which had mainly caused the ruin of Rome.
[Sidenote: Fleets, and mode of warfare.]
But, besides this, vast sums of money were required to maintain the
army and navy, as the command of the Mediterranean, from the mouth of
the Tanais (Don) to the Columns of Hercules, was always claimed and
often possessed by the successors of Constantine. To secure an adequate
fleet, the capital was filled with naval stores and skilled artificers;
the native Greeks, from long practice among their own bays and islands,
formed excellent sailors; while the trade of Venice and Amalfi also
supplied an excellent nursery of seamen for the imperial squadrons.
[Sidenote: A.D. 960.]
“Some estimate,” remarks Gibbon,[353] “may be formed of the power of
the Greek emperors by the curious and minute detail of the armament
which was prepared for the reduction of Crete. A fleet of one hundred
and twelve galleys, and seventy-five vessels of the Pamphylian style,
was equipped in the capital, the islands of the Ægean Sea, and the
seaports of Asia, Macedonia, and Greece. It carried thirty-four
thousand mariners, seven thousand three hundred and forty soldiers,
seven hundred Russians, and five thousand and eighty-seven Mardaites,
whose fathers had been transplanted from the mountains of Libanus.
Their pay, most probably of a month, was computed at thirty-four
centenaries of gold, about one hundred and thirty-six thousand pounds
sterling. Our fancy is bewildered by the endless recapitulation of arms
and engines, of clothes and linen, of bread for the men and forage for
the horses, and of stores and utensils of every description, inadequate
to the conquest of a petty island, but amply sufficient for the
establishment of a flourishing colony.”
[Sidenote: Struggle for maritime supremacy.]
For several centuries of that period, often termed, though with some
injustice, “The Dark Ages,” the contests for the maritime supremacy of
the Black Sea and Mediterranean were incessant. One barbarous nation
succeeded another just as their lust for plunder was stimulated by the
wealth of peaceful and unwarlike communities. The Goths and Vandals
were followed by the Franks, the Bulgarians, and the Hungarians. Then
arose the Russians and Normans, each contending for the chief rule at
sea, or for the plunder such superiority enabled them to secure. After
these came the Turks, the onward wave of the Tatars and of the Mongols
of Central Asia, who, under various names and dynasties, overran
the eastern empire, at the period of the Crusades to the Holy Land.
Neither the Bulgarians nor the Hungarians were, however, a maritime
people. The former took possession of a district of country south of
the Danube; and the latter directed their attention to the conquest
of the territory, a portion of which they still occupy. Both tribes,
with the Turks, were descendants from the same races; and all of them
originally, while following pastoral pursuits, had been trained to a
military life. With tents made from the skins of their cattle, and
dressed in furs, the produce of the hunt, they were easily housed and
clothed. Possessing within themselves every want, and trained from
their infancy to the use of arms and horses, they were most formidable
opponents; the immense hordes with which they advanced generally
enabling them to carry all before them.
[Sidenote: Scandinavians;]
[Sidenote: Muscovites, their trade and ships.]
Previous to the tenth century all the nations, or rather tribes,
east of Germany were heterogeneously classed as Scythians. Being
almost entirely nomadic, they as a rule disdained commerce, and
held peaceful arts, the certain signs of civilization, in contempt.
Those of them who were accustomed to the sea made piracy their chief
occupation, and gloried in their marauding expeditions. Of these the
Scandinavians were among the most daring. Impatient of a bleak climate,
and narrow limits, they were ever ready to make the most distant and
hazardous voyages, exploring every coast that promised either spoil
or settlement. Though the Baltic was the first scene of their naval
achievements, they extended their operations far beyond those seas, and
were frequently found in the Euxine, where, with others of the northern
tribes, they committed considerable havoc, and, from their superiority
in arms and discipline, were greatly feared. About the tenth century
there, however, arose among these barbarous hordes of the north the
Slavonians, a tribe then occupying Lithuania, but soon better known as
the Muscovites, who directed their attention to commercial pursuits.
Occupying the chief ports of the Baltic, these people traded in
leather, wool, flax, hemp, lead, and amber, receiving in exchange wine,
manufactured iron, with dry goods, and a limited supply of silk in
the web. But, however intrepid and disposed to persevere in commercial
pursuits, their vessels were of the rudest description, and their
knowledge of maritime affairs, or of the science and art of navigation,
was far behind that of the most ignorant of the nations of the South.
Nevertheless the Muscovites extended their trading operations farther
to the south and east than any of the northern nations had hitherto
done; and, not satisfied with the limited markets on the shores of the
Baltic, they visited as traders the North or Arctic Ocean, and the
Black and Caspian Seas. The internal navigation of the rivers Dwina,
Don, and Volga, extending almost from Archangel to Astrakhan, afforded
an almost inexhaustible field for inland and maritime commerce. Every
year increased the demand from the western countries of Europe for
their furs, salt, dried fish, train oil, honey, flax, and caviare;
till at length they also started a trade with Persia by the Black Sea,
and with India by the Caspian, being thus the first of modern nations
to avail themselves of the ancient overland routes to the far East.
St. Petersburgh and Moscow still carry on a considerable commercial
intercourse with China by the same means.
[Sidenote: Russians: their early commerce, and attempts to capture
Constantinople.]
Although it was not until the ninth century that the Russians are
mentioned by name, their monarchy, within one century afterwards,
obtained an important place in the map of Constantine, Novgorod and
Kief being then considerable entrepôts of commerce. “Between the
sea and Novgorod,” remarks Gibbon,[354] “an easy intercourse was
discovered; in the summer through a gulf, a lake, and a navigable
river; in the winter season, over the hard and level surface of
boundless snows. From the neighbourhood of that city, the Russians
descended the streams that fall into the Borysthenes; their canoes,
of a single tree, were laden with slaves of every age, furs of every
species, the spoil of their bee-hives, and the hides of their cattle;
and the whole produce of the north was collected and discharged in
the magazines of Kiow.” Thence, after many perils, they ultimately
reached Constantinople, and exchanged their cargoes for the produce
and manufactures of Greece, and often for the spices of India. A few
of their countrymen settled in the capital and the provinces, under
full protection of their persons and effects; but they soon abused the
hospitality of the Greeks, by inciting those whom they had left behind
to make no less than four attacks on the capital city during the first
two hundred years of their settlement. They had seen, tasted, and
envied the wealth of Constantinople; and then, as in more recent times,
they hoped to revel in luxuries they were too barbarous to obtain by
honest trade.
[Sidenote: Their ships.]
The vessels used in their first onslaught were in the form of canoes,
scraped out of the long stem of a beech or willow tree. “This slight
and narrow foundation,” says Gibbon, “was raised and continued on
either side with planks, till it attained the length of sixty, and the
height of about twelve feet. These boats were built without a deck,
but with two rudders and a mast, to move with sails and oars, and to
contain from forty to seventy men, with their arms and provisions of
fresh water and salt fish.”[355] In their first enterprise, and with an
insignificant fleet of two hundred vessels, the Russians, under the
princes of Kief, passed the Straits without opposition, and occupied
for a short time the port of Constantinople, from which, however, they
soon retreated. In the second, they do not appear to have met with
any better success; and the third, though chosen when the Greeks were
greatly harassed, and when the naval powers of the empire were employed
against the Saracens, proved most disastrous to the Russians. “Fifteen
broken and decayed galleys were boldly launched against the enemy;
but instead of the single tube of Greek fire, usually planted on the
prow, the sides and stern of each vessel were abundantly supplied with
that liquid combustible. The engineers were dexterous; the weather was
propitious; many thousand Russians, who chose rather to be drowned than
burnt, leaped into the sea; and those who escaped to the Thracian shore
were inhumanly slaughtered by the peasants and soldiers.”[356]
[Sidenote: A.D. 865.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 904.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 941.]
These attempts at naval invasion continued at long intervals, and with
varied success; but the fourth and last, ending in the destruction of
twenty-four of the Greek galleys, was brought to a close by treaty.
The Greeks found that, though victorious, every advantage lay on the
side of the Russians; their savage enemy gave no quarter; their poverty
promised no spoil; while their impenetrable retreats deprived the
conqueror of the hopes of revenge. The Greeks were, therefore, not
unwilling to grant liberal terms to their invaders, the terror these
attacks caused being increased by a supposed prophecy. “By the vulgar
of every rank,” remarks Gibbon, “it was asserted and believed that an
equestrian statue in the square of Taurus was secretly inscribed with
a prophecy, how the Russians, in the last days, should become masters
of Constantinople,”[357]—a belief which, as we know, was still largely
shared in, even so recently as the Crimean war of 1854-6.
[Sidenote: The Normans and their expeditions.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 918.]
Towards the decline of the Saracen empires, the Greeks had to contend
with the Normans or Northmen, a race as daring and adventurous as
the Russians, and much more skilled in sea-faring pursuits. This
remarkable people had recently left their frozen homes in Norway and
adventured upon unknown and distant oceans, penetrating as far as the
Mediterranean with numerous fleets, and rendering themselves more
dreaded by their maritime genius than the Russians or Saracens had ever
been. Ravaging Flanders, France, Spain, and Italy, after an infinite
series of piratical exploits, they compelled Charles the Simple to cede
and assign to them the large territory now known as Normandy; and,
following up this success by various adventures in the south of Europe,
obtained for themselves a great name and influence. Thus the Norman
kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, during the eleventh century, played an
important part in the drama of the history of Italy and of the eastern
empire.
[Sidenote: Establish themselves in Italy, A.D. 1016.]
It is not our intention in this work to follow the Normans in their
conquests or defeats, except in so far as these bear on their maritime
exploits, and on their connection, limited though this may be, with
commerce. At first, a large number of them appear to have earned their
daily subsistence by the sword, having constantly mixed themselves up
in the domestic quarrels then incessantly raging between the rulers
and people of the southern states of Italy; till at length, chiefly
through the aid of the Duke of Naples, whose cause they had espoused,
they secured their first settlement in Italy. Within eight miles of his
residence, he built and fortified for their use the town of Aversa,
granting to them, also, a considerable tract of the fertile country in
the vicinity, over which they were vested with complete control. Year
by year numerous pilgrims from all parts of Europe, but especially from
the north, found shelter under the independent standard of Aversa, and
were quickly assimilated with the manners and language of the Gallic
colony. But the Norman power soon extended far beyond the infant and
limited colony of Aversa, and embraced the whole of the territory,
which for centuries, and, indeed, until the last few years, was known
as the kingdom of Naples. Within that territory, thirty miles from
Naples, stood the commercially celebrated republic of Amalfi.
[Sidenote: Amalfi.]
Although the port of Amalfi, from which the republic derived its name,
is now an obscure place, no western harbour then contained a more
enterprising maritime population. Its position, not unlike that of
Tyre, afforded great facilities for carrying on an extensive sea-borne
commerce. Hence it was that Amalfi, in its day, had a very extensive
intercourse with all parts of the then known world, and was among the
earliest of the Italian republics to hold in its hands the trade of
the Mediterranean. Long before the Venetians and Genoese had become
famous, this small but indefatigable republic assumed the office of
supplying the western world with the manufactures and productions of
the East, and that trade proved then, as has been the case in all
ages, a source of immense profit. Though the city contained only fifty
thousand inhabitants, its wealth was enormous, and its merchants, who
had correspondence with all parts of the coasts of the Mediterranean,
dealt largely in the commodities of both Arabia and India. Their
settlements in Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria,
acquired the privileges of independent colonies. No city or seaport
of those days contained more mariners who excelled in the theory or
practice of navigation and astronomy than Amalfi; indeed, it was long
supposed, that to the skill of one of the seamen of this city, the
world owed the discovery of the mariner’s compass.[358]
[Sidenote: A.D. 1137.]
But, after three hundred years of great prosperity, arising entirely
from the energetic, and, at the same time, honest pursuit of commerce,
Amalfi, oppressed by the arms of the Normans, was at last brought
under their rule. Shorn of its independence, and depressed in spirit,
the city was soon after attacked by the jealousy of Pisa, one of its
commercial rivals; but the ruined palaces of its merchants, and the
remains of an arsenal and cathedral, still attest its former splendour
and importance.[359]
Not satisfied with the possessions they had already secured in Italy
and with their conquest of Sicily, the Normans next resolved on the
conquest of Constantinople itself.
[Sidenote: Futile attempts of the Normans to take Constantinople, A.D.
1081-1084.]
Their first attempt was made from the port of Otranto, where, after a
preparation of two years, they had collected a fleet of one hundred
and fifty vessels, and thirty thousand men, including one thousand
five hundred Norman knights. But this expedition proved a calamitous
failure. The Normans were no longer the experienced or adventurous
mariners, who had explored unknown oceans, from Greenland to Africa;
hence, in a great storm they encountered at the mouth of the Adriatic,
many of their ships were shattered, while others were dashed on shore
and became hopeless wrecks. Besides, a new, and a naval, enemy had
arisen in the Venetians, who, at the solicitations and promises of
the Byzantine court, were ready enough to aid in the overthrow of the
hated Normans, and, with a view of tempting commercial advantages
for themselves, to assist in defending the capital of the East. And
so it befell, that what the storm had spared of the Norman fleet,
the Venetians and Greek fire destroyed; add to which, the Greek
populations, sallying from their towns along the southern shores of
Italy, carried slaughter and dismay to the tents of the chiefs of the
Norman invaders.
But three years afterwards, their indefatigable duke (Robert Guiscard)
resumed the design of his eastern conquests; preferring, on this
occasion, as the season was far advanced, the harbour of Brundusium to
the open road of Otranto for the assembling of his fleet of one hundred
and twenty vessels. However, in the interval Alexius, the emperor,
had assiduously laboured to restore the naval forces of the empire,
obtaining at the same time, at an exorbitant price, the aid from the
republic of Venice of thirty-six transports, fourteen galleys, and
nine galiots, or ships of unusual strength and magnitude. The goods
and merchandise of the rivals of the Venetians at Amalfi were taxed to
raise the required sum; and by granting special privileges, such as the
licence or monopoly of trade in the port of Constantinople, with the
gift of many shops and houses, Alexius propitiated the good will of the
Venetian merchants. But this expedition was so far successful, that
the Normans captured and destroyed many of the vessels of the combined
fleets; it failed, however, to take Constantinople, against which the
Normans relinquished any attempts worthy of notice after the death in
the following year of their prince, Guiscard.
[Sidenote: Rise of Venice.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 452.]
While the power and name of the Romans was passing away under the
imbecile rule of the Greek emperors, and commerce and navigation
shared in the general decay, a new maritime power, the State of
Venice, destined to become the greatest of the Italian republics,
was imperceptibly increasing in strength and renown. From the time
when the inhabitants of that portion of Italy, now known as Venetian
Lombardy, were driven by Alaric, the barbarian conqueror, to seek
refuge in the small islands of the Adriatic, near the mouth of the
Brenta, their progress had been one of almost uninterrupted prosperity.
Devoting their attention exclusively to the pursuits of commerce, and
avoiding, by every means in their power, interference with the affairs
of their neighbours, the Venetians drew towards their infant colony
all whose habits and tempers induced them to seek industrial pursuits.
Among these, many families of Aquileia, Padua, and other towns, fleeing
from the sword of the Huns and similar barbarous tribes, found a safe
but obscure refuge. A modern writer[360] has eloquently described
Venice as “immoveable on the bosom of the waters from which her
palaces emerge, contemplating the tides of continental convulsions and
invasions, the rise and fall of empires, and the change of dynasties;”
and certainly no description could be more true of the splendour and
position of Venice, and of the policy of its rulers, when at the height
of its prosperity.
[Sidenote: The cause of its prosperity.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 997.]
But many centuries elapsed from the time when the infant colony was
planted, before “the water fowl, who had fixed their nests on the bosom
of the waves,”[361] obtained a prominent and independent position as a
great maritime nation. Although in the early career of the Venetians
their independence was more especially due to their determination to
attend to their own affairs, and not to trouble themselves with those
of their neighbours, at a later period the western[362] and eastern
empires, in turn, claimed authority over them, and thus they were
invaded and at last conquered by Pepin, father of Charlemagne, though
ultimately restored to the Greek empire in the tenth century. The
Venetians therefore can hardly be considered as a really independent
republic till they had acquired the maritime cities of Dalmatia and
Istria, including the people of Ragusa, the posterity of the mariners
who, in classical times, owned and manned the fast sailing Liburnians.
The population of these coasts still retained the piratical habits
of their ancestors; and having in some respects identical interests
to defend, were not unwilling to place themselves under the strong
government of the Venetians. From that period the Venetians carried
on, for between four and five centuries, a most important commercial
intercourse with other nations, and exercised, as a trading people,
more influence than any other country had done before them. The long
duration of this enterprising republic, with its maritime greatness and
vast commerce, will, with the story of the sister republics of Genoa
and Pisa, form a subject to which we shall frequently have occasion
hereafter to refer. It is enough now to remark that these cities, all
favourably situated for conducting an extensive maritime commerce,
were among the first to revive the genuine spirit of trade in the
south of Europe after it had been almost annihilated by the repeated
inundations of the barbarians.
[Sidenote: Spread of the Scythians, Huns, or Turks, A.D. 997-1028. A.D.
1074-1084.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 1076-1096.]
[Sidenote: The Crusades, A.D. 1095-1099.]
The nomad Tatar, or so-called Scythian populations, have been already
slightly noticed; the rapidity with which they spread their arms over
Asia having been a matter of surprise to every historian who has
written on the subject. About the time of Mahmud of Ghazna, after
having overrun the West of India, an important section of them settled
in great force in Asia Minor. Opposed to the Greeks and their religion,
they became the most powerful enemies the eastern Roman empire had yet
encountered; and their occupation of the Holy Land, with their conquest
of Jerusalem, led to conflicts with the Greeks only less terrible than
had been the earlier wars between the Saracens and the nations of the
West. Their ignorance of navigation alone deferred for a time the fall
of the eastern empire, though internally weak and decrepid, chiefly
owing to the blow it received during the Crusades, and from which it
had never recovered.[363] The first Crusade, made about twenty years
after the conquest of Jerusalem, had for its object the recovery of
the Holy City from the infidel. To replace the Cross in Palestine,
where the Crescent had been impiously raised, was a duty the whole of
Christendom considered itself bound to accomplish. But the Christians
in their enthusiasm undertook a task as wild as it was disastrous, and
one, too, so miserably planned, that three hundred thousand of the
first Crusaders lost their lives, either by fatigue and hunger or by
disease and the weapons of the Saracens, before they rescued a single
city from their grasp.
[Sidenote: A.D. 1147.]
[Sidenote: Siege of Acre, A.D. 1189.]
[Sidenote: Armistice, A.D. 1192.]
The second Crusade called into action the whole of the West, from Rome
to Britain. At its head were displayed the banners of the dukes of
Burgundy, Bavaria, and Aquitaine; and the kings of Poland and Bohemia
obeyed the summons of the leader of an army estimated at more than four
hundred thousand men. But the numbers appear to have been still greater
in the third Crusade, which was made both by sea and land, and included
the siege of Acre, graphically described by Gibbon[364] in his “Decline
and Fall of the Roman Empire.” After the surrender of Acre, and the
departure of Philip, Richard of England, whose name was long an object
of terror among the Saracens, led the Crusaders to the recovery of the
sea-coast; and the cities of Cæsarea and Jaffa, afterwards added to
the fragments of the kingdom of Guy de Lusignan, fell into his hands,
as Jerusalem would also have done, had he not been deceived by the
envy or the treachery of his companions. But Plantagenet and Saládin
became, in time, alike weary of a war so tedious and disastrous in
its results, especially as both had suffered in health. An agreement
between them was, after much delay, brought about, and was, naturally,
disapproved by the zealots of both parties alike—the Roman pontiff and
the Khalif of Baghdad. Its leading features were, that Jerusalem and
the Holy Sepulchre should be open, without hindrance or tribute, to
the pilgrimages of the Latin Christians; and that during three years
and three months all hostilities should cease. In the following year
Saládin died; and, immediately after the conclusion of the treaty,
Richard returned to Europe “to seek a long captivity and a premature
grave.”
[Sidenote: Fourth Crusade, A.D. 1202.]
But the spirit of religious warfare did not rest. Will it ever do so?
A fourth Crusade soon followed. In this case, however, the Crusade was
directed from Syria to Constantinople; and as there was an armistice
between the Crescent and the Cross, the self-constituted avengers of
the latter quarrelled among themselves—the restoration of the western
empire by Charlemagne having created differences between the Greek and
Latin Churches, which had in course of time become serious feuds, to
be settled only by bloodshed. The aversion existing between the Greeks
and Latins had been manifested in the three first expeditions. Though
alike opposed to the creed of the Muhammedans, the pride of the emperor
of the East was wounded by the intrusion of foreign armies, who claimed
the right of traversing his dominions, and of passing under the walls
of the capital. He urged, not without reason, that his subjects were
insulted and plundered by the rude strangers of the West; perhaps, too,
he secretly envied the bold enterprises of the Franks.
[Sidenote: The effect of the Crusades on the commerce of
Constantinople, A.D. 1148.]
While, however, the passage of vast armies in their pilgrimage to
the Holy Land roused feelings of animosity between the two great
sections of professing Christians, they very materially increased their
commercial intercourse, and enlarged their knowledge without abating
their religious prejudices. Constantinople proved, commercially, of
great importance to the West, as the then chief entrepôt of exchange
with the distant nations of the East, and as requiring for the wants
of her own wealthy and luxurious people the productions of every
climate. From her situation she invited the commerce of the world,
and the art and labour of her numerous inhabitants, while it balanced
the imports, afforded profitable employment to the number of foreign
merchants resident at Constantinople, and to their ships in which her
over-sea trade was chiefly conducted. After the decline of Amalfi, the
Venetians, Pisans, and Genoese, had introduced their factories and
settlements into the capital of the empire, had acquired possession of
land and houses, and had greatly increased in numbers, intermingling by
marriage, and in all the social relations of life, with the natives.
Constantinople was therefore largely indebted for her prosperity and
wealth to the foreign merchants resident in, or frequenting her port;
and, hence when these demanded the right of worshipping in accordance
with the Latin forms of Christianity, the emperor, who had tolerated
a Muhammedan mosque,[365] was unable to refuse the demand of the
Christians of the West.
[Sidenote: and on its fall.]
But his good intentions, and those of his successor, Alexius, were
stopped by a popular tumult, which ended in a terrible massacre of all
the Latins whom the vengeance of a mob, headed and applauded by the
Greek priesthood, could reach. Many, however, of the foreign merchants
had escaped on the first alarm to their vessels, and in these they
proceeded to the western ports to seek protection and redress for the
wrongs inflicted upon themselves and their countrymen.
[Sidenote: Power of Venice, A.D. 1202.]
Joined in their appeal by the son[366] of the dethroned monarch,
Alexius Angelus, who had escaped in the disguise of a common sailor on
board an Italian vessel, their case was at once promised consideration,
and was soon after brought under the notice of the leading pilgrims of
the West, Baldwin, Count of Flanders, and the Marquis of Montferrat,
then assembled at Venice, to negotiate with that republic for shipping
to convey them on the Fourth Crusade.[367] For many centuries the
inhabitants of Venice had been considered as a portion of the subjects
of the Greek empire; but when their power and influence had greatly
increased, notably by the acquisition of the cities on the coasts of
Istria and Dalmatia, the extent of their maritime commerce entitled
them to assume an independent position. “The sea was their patrimony;”
and with the chief command of the western shores of the Mediterranean,
the Venetian galleys had now secured the still more lucrative commerce
of Greece and Egypt.
Nor were they simply traders: Venetian glass and silk manufactures
had an early reputation; while their system of banking and of foreign
exchange, which they worked on a much more extensive scale than any
other nation, gave them a great commercial preponderance in the south
of Europe. To assert these rights and to protect the freedom of their
subjects, they are said to have been able to equip at very short notice
one hundred galleys; but their usual policy was essentially that of
merchants, and was almost wholly regulated by their trading interests.
In their religious dogmas the Venetians avoided the schism of the
Greeks without yielding a servile obedience to the Roman pontiff; while
an unrestrained intercourse with the Muhammedans, as well as with other
nations, encouraged in her people a spirit of toleration unknown to the
Crusaders.
[Sidenote: Her ships join in the Crusade, which was afterwards altered
from its original design.]
Venice was, therefore, in no haste to launch into a holy war, and the
appeal of the pilgrim ambassadors, “sent by the greatest and most
powerful barons of France, to implore the aid of the masters of the sea
for the deliverance of Jerusalem,” though ultimately successful, was
granted only with reservation and mainly on selfish conditions. The
Crusaders, after considering these (they had, indeed, little option),
determined to assemble at Venice, so as to start on their expedition
on the feast of St. John of the ensuing year; the Venetians, at the
same time, engaging to provide flat-bottomed vessels enough for the
conveyance of four thousand five hundred knights and twenty thousand
foot, with the necessary provisions for nine months, together with a
squadron of fifty galleys. The pilgrims, on the other hand, promised
to pay the Venetians, before their departure, eighty-four thousand
marks of silver; any conquests by sea and land to be equally divided
between the confederates. These exorbitant demands were acceded to,
the enthusiasm of the people enabling fifty-two thousand marks to be
collected and paid within a short time.
But the expedition was diverted from its original design. Thirty-two
thousand of the promised marks being still wanted to complete the
stipulated sum, the Doge, Henry Dandolo, offered to waive this claim,
provided the combined forces were first employed in the reduction of
Zara, a strong city on the opposite shores of the Adriatic, which had
recently thrown off its allegiance to Venice. After much discussion
and many differences of opinion this proposal was accepted, and proved
fully successful; but the sack of Zara scattered wide the seeds of
discord and scandal; and many were shocked that the arms of professing
Crusaders should have been first stained with the blood, not of the
Infidel, but of the Christian.
The presence of this great force revived the hopes of the young
Alexius, while the tale of the massacre of the Latins at Constantinople
seemed to demand a punishment adequate to its atrocity. The separate
interests of many and various parties supported his appeal; the Doge
hoped to increase the commercial power of Venice by humbling that of
the eastern capital; Alexius was warmly backed by Philip of Germany and
the Marquis of Montferrat; while the promises of the young man himself
were liberal enough to suggest more than a suspicion of his honesty.
In the end it was determined to make a further diversion of the hosts
originally consecrated to the deliverance of Jerusalem, and to employ
them on what to the miscellaneous multitude must have been the far
more congenial office of ravaging and plundering the Greek empire.
It can, indeed, hardly be supposed that many of the Crusaders could
have believed themselves bound to aid in the restoration of an exiled
prince as a step in any way necessary for the recovery of Jerusalem;
while the savage treatment the unfortunate Jews met with at their hands
in every city they passed through, shows how little their enthusiasm
for the Cross was tempered by anything resembling Christianity. The
large majority were, doubtless, mainly swayed by the hope or the
certainty of public plunder or private gain.
[Sidenote: They besiege and take Constantinople, A.D. 1204.]
Although the boldest hearts were appalled by the report of the naval
power and impregnable strength of Constantinople, the Venetians
vigorously urged on the scheme, seeing clearly that for them it was
now or never, and that, with the aid of the formidable forces at
their disposal, they would be able to avenge themselves for many
insults and injuries they had received from the Byzantine court.
No such armament had, indeed, for ages, if ever, assembled on the
waters of the Adriatic. Consisting of no less than one hundred and
twenty flat-bottomed vessels for the horses; of two hundred and forty
transports filled with men and arms; of seventy store ships laden with
provisions; and of fifty stout galleys prepared to encounter any enemy,
the expedition presented a most imposing appearance.
Favoured with fine weather and a fair wind the fleet made rapid
progress, and, without interruption or loss, anchored, after an
unusually quick passage, at Abydos, on the Asiatic side of the
Hellespont. But here a strong gale sprung up, and swept them to the
eastward, and so close were they brought to the city, that some volleys
of stones and darts were exchanged between them and the ramparts. Most
of the invaders then beheld, for the first time, the capital of the
East; and few cities can boast of so imposing an appearance; nor could
it fail to create a deep impression on the minds of the invaders. Vain,
indeed, would have been the attempt of the Crusaders to conquer such
a city had its people been united, or its ruler a man of ability and
honesty. The sixteen hundred fishing boats of Constantinople could in
themselves have manned a fleet, which, with their fire-ships, would
have been sufficient to have annihilated the forces of the Crusaders;
but the negligence of the prince, and the venality of his ministers
rendered the great city under their charge an easy prey. There was of
course a show of resistance, but it was so feeble that the tower of
Galata, in the suburb of Pera, was quickly stormed, and easily captured
by the French; while the Venetians forced the boom or chain that was
stretched from the tower to the Byzantine shores, captured or destroyed
twenty Grecian ships of war, and made themselves masters of the port of
Constantinople.
[Sidenote: Commerce declines under the Latins, but revives on the
restoration of the empire, A.D. 1261.]
During the sixty years that the Latins held in their hands the empire
of the East, the Greek emperors kept their court and maintained a
feeble dignity at Nicæa (Nice), the most important city in Bithynia.
Yet, though at that city a certain show of pomp and power was
maintained, the removal of the empire from Constantinople, and the sway
there of the Latin princes, produced the most disastrous effects on
the trade of the capital: a race alien in religion and language, and
anarchy withal, were not, indeed, likely to be favourable to peaceful
arts or commerce. When, however, the Greek empire was afterwards
restored in the person of Manuel, that wise monarch paid little heed to
the factions of the Venetians and of other republicans from Italy, but
encouraged their industry by many privileges, and allowed them full
use of their own customs. Thus the merchants resident at Constantinople
preserved their respective quarters in the city, trading thence whither
and how they pleased.
[Sidenote: Genoa.]
The early history of Genoa was not unlike that of Venice; in so far
at least, that, like it, Genoa had been for some centuries under the
control, if not the vassal, of the eastern empire: at the period,
however, to which we are now referring, the Genoese had a large colony
at the seaport town of Heraclea, in Thrace. From this place the
gratitude of the Greek emperor, Michael, recalled them, at the same
time giving them the exclusive privilege of the suburb of Galata—a
settlement whereby, more than by anything else, the commerce of the
Byzantine empire was revived.[368]
[Sidenote: Genoese settlement at Galata and Pera.]
Though indulged in the use of their own laws and magistrates, the
Genoese were required to submit to the duties of subjects, and
undertook, in case of a defensive war, to supply the Greek emperor with
fifty empty galleys and fifty more completely armed and equipped. In
consideration of these services, and to afford them protection from the
Venetian fleets, the Genoese were allowed the dangerous privilege of
surrounding Galata with a strong wall and wet ditch, with lofty towers
and engines of war on their ramparts. No wonder that, having secured
so much, they should seek to acquire more, and that, within a short
space of time, they had covered the adjacent hills with their villas
and castles, each fort being connected with the next, and protected
by new fortifications. Nor, as was natural, did they stop here; they
soon sought to possess themselves of the whole trade of the Black Sea,
long the especial patrimony of the emperors of Constantinople, and a
prerogative which, in the reign of Michael, had been acknowledged by
even Bibars, the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt.
[Sidenote: Arrogance of the Genoese, who at last rebel, A.D. 1348,]
Nor, having resolved on the end, were they long in hesitating about the
means to it; first, in seemingly friendly alliance with the Greeks,
they secured for their colonies at Galata and Pera the bulk of the corn
trade; while, at the same time, their fishermen supplied the wants
of the city, the salt fish largely required by the Catholic nations,
and caviare for the Russians. Next, they secured for themselves the
produce of the inland caravan trade with the remote East, which still,
as formerly, found its way by the waters of the Oxus and the Caspian to
the eastern shores of the Euxine. In almost every case, their course
of business was a strict monopoly, the Venetians and all other rivals
being carefully excluded from any participation in their trade. So
powerful, indeed, did they become, that, while they awed the Greeks
into a reluctant submission, they resisted effectually, at their chief
settlement, Caffa,[369] the inroad of the Tatar hosts. The demands of
the Genoese merchants were in proportion to their rapacity, and at last
they actually usurped the customs and even the tolls of the Bosphorus,
securing for themselves alone a revenue of two hundred thousand pieces
of gold, of which they reluctantly doled out to the emperor thirty
thousand.
The usurpations of the Genoese, which extended over nearly a century,
every year increasing in their arrogance, ended, as might have
been anticipated, with a demand for the empire itself. Having been
refused some commanding heights at Pera, on which to erect additional
fortifications, they embraced the opportunity of the emperor’s
temporary absence from his capital to rise in open rebellion. “A
Byzantine vessel,” remarks Gibbon,[370] “which had presumed to fish
at the mouth of the harbour, was sunk by these audacious strangers;
the fishermen were murdered. Instead of suing for pardon, the Genoese
demanded satisfaction; required in a haughty strain that the Greeks
should renounce the exercise of navigation; and encountered with
regular arms the first sallies of the popular indignation. They
instantly occupied the debatable land; and by the labour of a whole
people, of either sex and of every age, the wall was raised, and the
ditch was sunk with incredible speed. At the same time, they attacked
and burnt two Byzantine galleys; while the three others, the remainder
of the imperial navy, escaped from their hands; the habitations
without the gates or along the shore were pillaged and destroyed; and
the care of the regent, of the empress Irene, was confined to the
preservation of the city. The return of Cantacuzene dispelled the
public consternation; the emperor inclined to peaceful counsels, but he
yielded to the obstinacy of his enemies, who rejected all reasonable
terms, and to the ardour of his subjects, who threatened, in the style
of Scripture, ‘to break them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’...
The merchants of the colony, who had believed that a few days would
terminate the war, already murmured at their losses; the succours from
their mother-country were delayed by the factions of Genoa; and the
most cautious embraced the opportunity of a Rhodian vessel to remove
their families and effects from the scene of hostility.”
[Sidenote: and declare war, A.D. 1349.]
The peaceful counsels of the emperor having proved of no avail, the
Byzantine fleet in the spring of the following year attacked Pera by
sea, while the Greek troops assaulted its walls and ramparts. The
attack, however, wholly failed; the Genoese carried all before them,
and, crowning their galleys with flowers, they added to this insult
the throwing, by means of their engines, of large stones into the very
heart of the imperial city. To insults such as these even Cantacuzene
could not submit; but, discerning clearly his own weakness, it occurred
to him that other and known enemies of Genoa might do for him what he
had not strength to do for himself: hence his appeal to Venice, as the
great naval rival of Genoa, and a yet more fatal coquetry with the
Turkish hosts, who by this time were in full possession of the wide
plains of Asia Minor.
Nor were the Venetians slow to accept an offer likely to lead to
the humbling of enemies so inveterate. The war assumed proportions
nowise foreseen, and fluctuated for more than a century with alternate
success, but with ultimate ruin to the Genoese, whose audacity had
provoked it. During the whole of this struggle the eastern empire
practically counted as nothing, and would, but for the intervention
of the Venetians, have sunk into a province of Genoa. The connection,
however, with the Turkish tribes led to more deplorable disasters, in
that, owing to the weakness of the emperor, an opportunity was now,
for the first time, afforded to them of obtaining a footing on the
sacred land of Europe itself.
[Sidenote: The progress of the Turks, A.D. 1341-1347.]
[Sidenote: Their fleet.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 1353.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 1360-1389.]
The time had indeed come when a Greek emperor, more fearful of his own
life than of the honour of his people, could seek the advice, if not
the direct aid, of the enemies of his faith and country. The Turks,
seeing the chance of great ultimate advantages, were not unwilling to
grant his requests. Under the pretence of protecting one of their race,
who had taken up his residence at the Greek court, they assembled at
Smyrna a fleet of three hundred vessels and twenty-nine thousand men,
in the depth of winter, and casting anchor at the mouth of the Hebrus,
under the further pretext of guarding their fleet, landed nine thousand
five hundred of their men; thus for the first time establishing
themselves on the continent of Europe. A position, however small, thus
obtained, the further spread of the Turkish arms was but a question of
time. In a few years they were settled in their new homes; a little
later, the whole province of Roumania and of Thrace fell into their
hands; and, in less than forty years from their first arrival, all the
country round Constantinople, including Adrianople, which they had made
their western capital, became subject to them. From this time the fate
of Constantinople was sealed, and the overthrow of the Cross by the
Crescent but a question of a few years.
[Sidenote: First use of gunpowder, and of large cannon.]
Various reasons, however, prevented the immediate capture of
Constantinople; nor was it till sixty years after the Turks had secured
Adrianople, that Muhammed II., who had unceasingly sighed for its
possession, resolved, by an attack of sufficient magnitude, and at
any cost, to make it the centre of the Muhammedan arms and religion,
and to haul down the Christian banner, which for more than a thousand
years had waved over its battlements. Nor was he unsupported by many
favouring accidents, of which the most valuable was the discovery of
gunpowder, as this engine of destruction rendered the Greek fire of
comparatively little advantage, and left success to those who had best
studied the qualities of the new explosive compound.[371] Muhammed at
once devoted himself to its serious study, the result being that the
cannon he cast for the siege of Constantinople are generally admitted
to have been greatly superior to any weapons of the class hitherto
invented.
While Muhammed threatened the capital of the East, the Greek emperor
implored in vain the assistance of the Christian powers of the
West, who were either too weak or too much engaged with their own
contentions, even where favourably disposed, to render him assistance.
Even the princes of the Morea and of the Greek islands affected a cold
neutrality, while the Sultan indulged the Genoese in the delusive hope
that they would still be allowed to retain the advantages they had
possessed under the empire as regarded their trade with the city and on
the Euxine.
[Sidenote: The Turks finally become masters of the Eastern capital,
A.D. 1453.]
But Constantinople did not fall without a desperate and bloody
struggle; and had the zeal and ability of its inhabitants equalled the
heroism of the last Constantine, the banner of the Cross might have
floated even until now over the great city of the Eastern Empire.
FOOTNOTES:
[351] Gibbon, ch. liii. Constantine, Vit. Basil. ch. lxxiv-lxxvi.
[352] Voyage of Benjamin of Tudela, book i. ch. v. p. 44-52.
[353] Gibbon, c. liii.
[354] Gibbon, c. lv.
[355] Gibbon, c. lv.
[356] Gibbon, c. lv.
[357] Gibbon, c. lv.
[358] There seems much doubt about the story of the invention of the
mariner’s compass by Flavio Gioga, an Amalfite, in A.D. 1307. The city
had ceased to have any commercial importance since its sack by the
Pisans in A.D. 1137 (Sismondi, i. p. 303); while, on the other hand,
Hallam shows that the compass was known as early as A.D. 1100 (Mid.
Ages, iii. 394); and Wachsmuth proves that it was used in Sweden in
A.D. 1250 (Ersch und Grüber’s Encycl. iii. 302). The Italian _bussola_,
from the French _boussole_, comes again from the Flemish _Boxel_
(box);—hence, probably, our term of “boxing” the compass. It was most
likely a northern discovery.
[359] Hallam remarks that “it was the singular fate of this city to
have filled up the interval between two periods of civilization, in
neither of which she was destined to be distinguished. Scarcely known
before the end of the sixth century, Amalfi ran a brilliant career as a
free and trading republic, which was checked by the arms of a conqueror
in the middle of the twelfth.”—Mid. Ages, iii. 300.
[360] Sismondi, Republ. Ital. du Moyen Age, i. p. 203.
[361] Cassiodor. Var. l. 12. Epist. 24.
[362] The power of Venice at this early period (A.D. 774) is well shown
by the aid it gave to Charlemagne, at his request, during his siege
of Pavia, of twenty-four galleons said to have carried six thousand
horse and foot. This fact has been recently illustrated by Mr. W. De
Gray Birch, of the MS. Room of the British Museum, who has published a
contemporary leaden tablet, in which it is recorded. (Archæol. xliv.
pp. 123-136. 1872.)
[363] Speaking of Timúr, Gibbon observes, “the lord of so many myriads
of horse was not master of a single galley,” c. lxv.
[364] Gibbon, c. lix.
[365] Gibbon, c. lix.
[366] Gibbon, c. lx.
[367] It seems worth while to append here a note concerning the results
of the principal Crusades.
_First Crusade._—Preached by Peter the Hermit, and led by Robert
Guiscard and Godfrey de Bouillon, chiefly against the Seljuk Turks,
A.D. 1096. Jerusalem taken, A.D. 1099.
_Second Crusade._—Preached by St. Bernard, and led by Louis VII. and
Conrad III., A.D. 1146. Stopped by the Seljuk Turks, by their victory
at Iconium (Konieh), A.D. 1147.
_Third Crusade._—To avenge the capture in A.D. 1187 of Jerusalem by
Saladin; and led by Frederick Barbarossa, Richard Cœur-de-Lion, and
Philip of France, A.D. 1188. Results: Acre, Joppa, and Askalon taken
from Saladin, A.D. 1192.
_Fourth Crusade._—Led by Baldwin, Count of Flanders, with aid from
Venice, A.D. 1202. Results: taking of Zara and of Constantinople, A.D.
1204.
The remaining Crusades were, comparatively, unimportant.
[368] Gibbon, ch. lxiii.
[369] So late as Chardin, four hundred sail of vessels were occupied at
Caffa during forty days in the corn and fish trade. (“Voy. en Pérse,”
i. pp. 46-48.) Clarke found it wholly demolished by the Russians
(“Travels,” i. p. 144)—and so it is now.
[370] Gibbon, ch. lxiii.
[371] The precise era of the invention and application of gunpowder
is involved in doubt, and has formed the subject of many learned
disquisitions, not the least interesting of which will be found in the
1st and 2nd vols. of Bishop Watson’s “Chemical Essays.”
CHAPTER IX.
Ancient galleys—Different descriptions—Their
outfit—Beaks—Stern—Masts and sails—Oars—Mode of
rowing—Single-banked galleys—French galley—General Melvill’s
theory—Charnock’s theory—Vossius’s views—Mr. Howell’s
plan—Plan of Revd. J. O. W. Haweis (Appendix No. 1)—Our own
views—Biremes—Triremes—Quadriremes—Quinqueremes—Hexiremes and
larger galleys—Suggested plan of placing the rowers—Summary.
[Sidenote: Ancient galleys.]
Frequent reference has been made in the course of this work to the
row-galleys of the ancients, and no subject connected with shipping has
called forth more conflicting opinions: nor is this surprising. Most
ancient writers who refer to it are less or more at variance with each
other; while the representations on coins and monumental sculptures
are generally on so small a scale as to afford little assistance in
its elucidation. Within the last two centuries numerous authors have
endeavoured to solve the problem how these galleys were classed and
rowed, and to establish a system of propulsion which, while applicable
to every class, would harmonize with the accounts preserved of the size
of these vessels and of the number of rowers employed on board of them.
[Sidenote: Different descriptions.]
Galleys appear to have been rated by their bank of oars, that is,
uniremes had one, biremes two, triremes three, quadriremes four,
quinqueremes five, and so forth, up to the enormous ship of Ptolemy
Philopator, which we have already noticed. But the chief point of
controversy has been what constituted a bank.
According to Homer,[372] the Greek fleet at the siege of Troy consisted
entirely of uniremes. They were then undecked, with the exception of
a platform at each end on which the archers or principal fighting men
stood, and were guided by oars or sweeps at both extremities so as to
ensure rapid evolution. Pliny[373] states that the Erythræans were the
first who built biremes. Various ancient writers give the Corinthians
the credit for having been the first to construct triremes. “And now
Greece,” remarks Thucydides,[374] “began to construct navies and to
apply herself more assiduously to nautical affairs. The first who
introduced a change in the structure of vessels, so as to form them
very nearly in the present mode, are said to have been the Corinthians;
and _triremes_ are thought to have been built first for Greece at
Corinth. It appears, too, that Ameinocles, a Corinthian ship-builder,
also constructed four such vessels for the Samians.”
[Sidenote: B.C. 430.]
Although triremes, in the time of Thucydides, and for some centuries
afterwards, were more approved for purposes of war than any other
description of vessel, the authority of Pliny, Athenæus,[375]
Polybius,[376] and others is sufficient proof that vessels of four,
five, six, and ten banks of oars were built;—that Alexander increased
the number of banks to twelve;—that Philip, father of Perseus, had
a galley of sixteen banks;[377] and—that vessels of four and five
banks were frequently engaged in war. The triremes, however, were
much more numerous than any other class of galleys except those which
had only one bank of oars. Themistocles built three hundred triremes
for the purpose of carrying on the war against Ægina; and obtained a
decree authorizing the construction of a further, but limited number
of these vessels from the produce of the mines of Laureium.[378] By
his influence twenty triremes were annually built by the Athenians so
as to maintain in efficient order a permanent fleet of from three to
four hundred vessels of this description.[379] Triremes consisted of
two classes, fighting ships and transports. The former were propelled
at great speed, frequently reaching seven to eight miles an hour; the
number of rowers employed on each varying from fifty to two hundred.
The transports were bulkier and stronger vessels, and, though armed,
were not brought into action except in cases of urgent necessity.
[Sidenote: B.C. 431-403.]
[Sidenote: B.C. 400.]
[Sidenote: B.C. 255.]
No mention is made of any vessel with more than three banks of oars
having been employed in the Peloponnesian war, but quadriremes and
quinqueremes were known in the reign of Dionysius I., of Syracuse, and
were employed by the Carthaginians in the first Punic war, who had also
in their service some vessels of the hexireme and septireme class.
From the ease, however, with which the Romans captured these large
vessels (even allowing for their superior energy and vigorous mode of
close action), they were evidently much less efficient in proportion
to their size than triremes. Nevertheless, according to the testimony
of Plutarch, very large galleys were in high favour with Demetrius
Poliorcetes,[380] whom he represents as a prince possessing superior
knowledge of the arts, and of a highly inventive turn of mind. This
prince, he states, caused several of fifteen and sixteen banks to be
built, he himself superintending their construction; and so formidable
are these vessels said to have appeared, that Lysimachus, when he had
ocular confirmation of the reports he had heard of their strength and
capacity, raised the siege of Rhodes rather than encounter them in
action. Plutarch also states that Antony[381] possessed a fleet of no
less than five hundred armed vessels, magnificently adorned, having
eight and ten banks of oars, and that he selected the best and largest
of them for the celebrated battle of Actium. However exaggerated some
of the accounts preserved of these very large galleys may be, and
however imperfect and inconsistent the descriptions of them by ancient
authors, their existence has been established beyond all doubt.
[Sidenote: Their outfit.]
[Sidenote: Beaks.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: Stern.]
[Sidenote: Masts and sails.]
With reference to their outfit, it is sufficient to state that, in
nearly every instance, they were highly ornamented with figures
carved on the bow and stern. Below the bow, and between it and the
fore-foot or keel, there was generally a projecting piece of very
strong timber, to which was attached either a ram’s head, sharp metal
bolts, cleavers, or some other instrument of destruction. These
beaks were at first constructed so as to be visible above the water,
but afterwards they were immersed, like the beaks of the iron-clad
rams of our own time, themselves evidently copies from the original
Grecian and Roman designs. The most trustworthy illustrations of
these have been taken from the Trajan column and a few coins of the
period, of which the accompanying drawings are fair representations.
Nearly the whole of the ancient war-galleys had their bows and sterns
considerably elevated above the level of the deck. From the former, or
the “_coursier_”—centre platform—an officer regulated the duties of the
rowers; whilst the pilot directed, from the quarterdeck, the course of
the ship. In many cases, this officer sat under a highly ornamented
canopy, from which he issued his commands, and behind it there was
usually carved the image of the tutelar deity of the galley. From the
flag-staff floated her ensign or private signal; and, sometimes, a
large vane on the taffrail pointed to the direction of the wind. On
the column of Trajan a lantern is shown suspended close to the stern
in one of the galleys. Each trireme carried two wooden ladders and
three “spreads,” poles of different lengths. Although the oars were
the chief means of propulsion, almost every vessel above the size of
a trireme had either one or two masts, but one of them, from raking
forward and being comparatively small, resembled in many respects a
bowsprit, so that, practically, there was only one mast except in very
large vessels, which, with the yard and square sail attached, usually
completed their rig. The portion of the mast immediately above the
yard formed a “top,” or structure similar to a basin, serving for the
purpose of a look-out or as a place from which arrows or other missiles
could be discharged. All the Athenian galleys had square sails only, as
may be seen in numerous illustrations; and it is very questionable if
any of the Greek vessels used topsails of a triangular form, Δ, though
they were known to the Romans;[382] but, from their form, the wide part
being attached to the yard and the point reaching the topmast head,
they could, under any circumstances, have been of very little service,
and none whatever when the wind was abeam or before the beam.
[Sidenote: Oars.]
The oars varied in size according to the bank on which they were used,
of course increasing in length as they ascended. Their length in a
trireme is stated at from 9 to 9¼ cubits, but no mention is made of the
part of the vessel to which they belonged. An oar, however, of only
fourteen feet in length could have been of no service unless used on
the lowest rank and almost on a level with the water. Those employed in
the smallest wherries of the Thames are from twelve to fourteen feet
long. Thucydides,[383] in describing the attack of the Peloponnesian
commanders on the Piræeus, the harbour of Athens, remarks, “The plan
was that each sailor should take with him his oar, his cushion and his
thong, and go by land from Corinth to the sea over against Athens,
and, proceeding with all speed to Megara, should put off with forty
triremes which happened to be at Nisæa, their naval station, and sail
immediately for Piræeus.” From these remarks it may be inferred that
none of the oars belonging to a trireme were of greater weight than one
man could carry for a distance of four or five miles; and that only
one man was stationed at an oar, unless “his oar” might be construed
as meaning the oar under his charge. But though no mention is made of
different-sized oars having been used on board of a trireme, there can
be no doubt that the oars of the ancients differed far more in size
than those of the river barge or man-of-war sweeps as compared with the
sculls of the Thames wherry of modern times.
[Sidenote: Mode of rowing.]
This is clear from the fact that while various ancient writers mention
oars of 9½ cubits in length, Athenæus distinctly states that the
oars belonging to Ptolemy Philopator’s large ship were thirty-eight
cubits long.[384] Here we have a specific account of oars varying
from fourteen to fifty-seven feet in length, the latter requiring to
have lead embedded in their handles as a counterpoise to the weight
outside the rowlock.[385] Besides, it is clear that the oars must have
increased in size according to the banks on which they were employed.
In the case of the oar fifty-seven feet in length, if worked from a
great height a large portion of it would require to be inboard—say
nineteen feet against thirty-eight; and even the one-third would
not, at a line of nine feet above the water, be sufficient as a
counterpoise, unless the shoulder of the oar were of unwieldy thickness
or heavily weighted by lead. In all single-banked vessels the oar
worked on the gunwale, and was kept in its place by means of a leather
thong. In larger galleys it passed through an oar-port. Various ancient
writers assert that there was only one man to each oar, and add, that
he sat, when rowing, on a single bench or small stool attached to the
ribs of the vessel, and within a very short distance from the _scalmus_
of his oar.
But these assertions, though they increase the difficulty of solving
the intricate problem of how galleys, with more than one bank of
oars, were propelled, can have no weight when opposed to practical
experience. It is clear, without any testimony beyond our knowledge of
the physical power of man, that no one man, however herculean, unless
he had the aid of machinery, of which there is no proof, could work an
oar in the manner described. Indeed, we know that in ancient galleys
of every description, above the smallest uniremes, more men than one
_were_ frequently employed upon the same oar. Such was the case in the
celebrated Liburnian[386] galleys, already described.
Here the question arises how many men could, with convenience, sit on
each bench? Presuming that, in the case of an oar fifty-seven feet
in length, one-third, or nineteen feet, remained within board, there
would, allowing fifteen inches for each rower, be space for fifteen men
to work at the one oar; and if the men who sat within six feet of the
row-port were of no service, there is still ample space left to place
ten effective rowers.
If in comparatively modern times, when rowers were by no means
crowded, eighteen inches for each man abreast was considered more
than sufficient, we may infer that five men to an oar was far from
an unfrequent practice in manning the state galleys of the Italian
Republics. But while there is no difficulty in understanding how five
or even ten men could be rendered serviceable in working the oars of
single-banked galleys, a great difficulty arises when we inquire how
that number of men could effectively handle the upper bank oars of
the quadriremes and quinqueremes. On these and on many other matters
the accounts of the ancients are conflicting: nor do the imperfect
illustrations on ancient monuments and on coins materially assist in
their elucidation. Assured of the fact that there were many vessels of
much larger dimensions than even quinqueremes propelled by oars, we
have to consider _how this was done_. Now the only mode of arriving at
correct conclusions on this, the most conflicting and intricate of all
the problems connected with shipping which ancient authors have left
for solution, is to trace the progress of the galleys themselves, from
the single-banked craft or unireme upwards.
[Sidenote: Single-banked galleys.]
With the exception of the extraordinary Liburnian galleys, every
account extant leads to the conviction that the single-banked galleys
of the Venetians and Genoese resembled in many respects those of the
Romans and ancient Greeks. Drawings of Venetian galleys, to which
references will hereafter be made, have been preserved, but, as no
detailed account of them exists, we are obliged to seek for information
from a writer of a comparatively modern date.[387]
[Sidenote: French galley.]
In its leading features, a French galley, constructed somewhere about
the close of the seventeenth century, would appear to have resembled
those of Venice and of Rome of a similar class. She is described as
having been one hundred and fifty feet long and _fifty feet broad_; but
there is evidently a mistake in the description of her width, as there
is no record of any war galley, either ancient or modern, where the
length was only three times the breadth of beam. They were invariably
from five to ten times longer than they were wide. All writers on
the ships of the ancients or of the middle ages are agreed upon this
point; nor is there any account of a vessel propelled by oars of our
own times, which is not at least six times longer than she is wide;
therefore, it is safe to assume that the French galley of one hundred
and fifty feet in length did not much exceed thirty feet in width.
In other respects, with the exception of the length of oars, the
description of this single-banked galley is evidently quite reliable.
The author says, that she “consists but of one deck, which covers the
hold; this hold is in the middle nine feet, but at the sides of the
galley only six feet high. By this we may see that the deck rises
about a foot in the middle, and slopes towards the edges to let the
water more easily run off; for when a galley is loaded, it seems to
swim under water, at least the sea constantly washes the deck. The sea
would then necessarily enter the hold by the apertures where the masts
are placed, were it not prevented by what is called the _coursier_.
This is a long case of boards fixed on the middle or highest part of
the deck, and running from one end of the galley to the other. There
is also a hatchway into the hold as high as the _coursier_. From this
superficial description, perhaps, it may be imagined that the slaves
and the rest of the crew have their feet always in the water; but the
case is otherwise; to each bench there is a board raised a foot from
the deck, which serves as a footstool to the rowers, under which the
water passes. For the soldiers and marines there is, running on each
side along the gunwale of the vessel, what is called a _bande_, which
is a bench about the same height with the _coursier_, and two feet
broad. They never lie here, but each leans on his own particular bundle
of clothes in a very incommodious posture. The officers themselves are
not better accommodated, for the chambers in the hold are designed only
to hold the provisions and naval stores of the galley.”
The author then proceeds to state that the French galley had a chamber
in the poop or raised deck, only large enough to hold the captain’s
bed; that, contiguous to it, were compartments for the more valuable
stores; and, after remarking on various details, he adds, that she
had twenty-five benches for the rowers on each side of the vessel.
These fifty benches, which were four feet apart, and ten feet long,
are described as having been “covered with sackcloth, stuffed with
flocks, and over this is thrown a cow-hide, which, reaching down to the
_banquet_ or footstool, gives them the resemblance of large trunks. To
these the slaves are chained, six to a bench; along the _bande_ runs
a large rim of timber, about a foot thick which forms the gunwale of
the galley. On this, which is called the apostic, the oars are worked.
These _are fifty feet long_, and are poised in equilibrio upon the
afore-mentioned piece of timber, so that the thirteen feet of oar which
come inboard are equal in weight to the thirty-seven feet outboard; and
as it would be impossible to hold them in the hand, because of their
thickness, they have handles by which they are managed by the slaves.”
If the oars of this vessel, which in their leading features no doubt
resembled those of the large single-banked galleys of the ancients and
of the middle ages, were fifty feet in length, then a beam of thirty
feet would not suffice for oars of that enormous length. But if the
beam was only one-fifth of her length, we may assume that the oars were
not more than thirty-nine feet long, especially as that length would
be amply sufficient for propelling a single-banked vessel. In that
case the oar would be “thirteen” feet inboard as described, affording
abundance of space for six slaves to be stationed at it, although the
two nearest the side would be of comparatively less service in rowing.
To enable the rowers, and especially those who were stationed nearest
the centre of the galley, to work with effect, their benches must have
been placed in a slightly oblique position.
From this description, there is no difficulty in understanding the
character of the uniremes; it is only when we come to inquire what
was meant by biremes, triremes, and so forth, and how they were
propelled, that the most conflicting statements are met with. Although
Scheffer,[388] General Melvill, and others, have bestowed an immense
deal of learning in their endeavours to prove that each oar was rowed
by one man only, and that the banks were placed directly one over the
other, the bulk of the testimony of ancient writers, confirmed by
experience, is opposed to any such views. Besides, the most casual
inquiry will show that it would be impracticable to row any galley with
more than two banks of oars on the plan suggested. Every additional
rank adds to the difficulty in a greatly increased ratio; and if
hexiremes were efficient ships, which, on the authority of Polybius
they were,[389] it would have been altogether impracticable to propel
them by oars on the plan suggested.
[Sidenote: General Melvill’s theory.]
It might be unnecessary to offer any further remarks on this branch of
the subject, had not Mr. Mitford, the celebrated historian of Greece,
expressed so strong an opinion in favour of it. “The most satisfactory
conjectures,” he remarks, “that I have met with by far, are those of
General Melvill.”[390] It may, however, be here explained that General
Melvill, in common with other writers, had previously entertained the
opinion that the number of banks were measured by the number of men
at an oar. That is to say, a unireme, he considered, had only one man
placed at an oar, a bireme two, a trireme three, and so forth, up to
the great ship of Ptolemy Philopator, which had, according to this
theory, forty men to each of its fifty-seven feet oars. As the General
on examination found such a theory to be untenable, he conceived the
idea that in no case was there more than one man to an oar. “He,”
then,[391] “set himself to investigate the subject for confirmation
of this opinion on fact, as he should find that fact to turn out
in the descriptions of sea-fights and other naval transactions, as
given by the ancient authors, particularly Polybius, Cæsar, Livy, and
Florus.” Impressed with his new idea, it occurred to him, that “the
indispensable requisites were, that in the arrangement of the rowers
within, each side ought to have been such as to admit of the greatest
number possible, that they should be so placed as not to impede each
other; that they should be enabled to row to the best advantage; and
that the highest tiers, both in respect to length and weight, should be
sufficiently manageable: from these grounds the discovery immediately
resulted to him, which was, that by a combination of two obliquities
between the galley and a rower’s gallery running along its waist part,
projecting outwards from a small distance above the water’s edge, with
an angle of 45°, and rows of horizontal seats of about two feet in
length, fixed obliquely upwards from the bottom of this gallery against
this obliquely projecting part of the side, with no more space betwixt
them in all directions than should be found necessary for the free
movement of men when rowing together, a quincunx or chequer order would
be formed, with all the above-mentioned requisites, to the highest
degree of advantage which could co-exist consistent with each other.”
It is not easy to understand the General’s scheme by this description
of it. He lays down, practically enough, some essential points which
require to be considered; but while the oar adapted for the lowest
banks might be “sufficiently manageable,” the oars of the upper banks,
even if well balanced, could not be effectively worked by one man. Nor
is it easy to understand what is meant by “rows of horizontal seats, of
about two feet in length, fixed obliquely upwards from the bottom of
this gallery.” However, the General caused a model of a quinquereme to
be erected against a high wall belonging to his house in London, which
was of the same proportions as would have been required for a “fifth
part of a real galley.” The model is said to “have held, in a very
small space, but with sufficient ease, the rowers of five tiers, of
six men in each, lengthways, making one-fifth the rowers on each side
of a quinquereme, according to Polybius, who mentions three hundred
as the whole number of rowers in it, besides one hundred and twenty
fighting men.” But this further explanation does not assist in the
elucidation of his theory of “one man to each oar.” On the contrary, it
rather tends to confuse, unless the General means that there were one
hundred and fifty row-ports on each side of the quinquereme mentioned
by Polybius, which would be absurd.
But the impracticability of the whole plan is shown when an examination
is made of the space that would be required to place, single file,
three hundred rowers at the oars of a quinquereme.
The sweep of an oar is measured by its length, and would require a
certain defined space for its movement, irrespective of the number of
men at work upon it. The single-banked French galley already described
was one hundred and fifty feet long, having twenty five benches on
each side, requiring a length of one hundred feet. All other accounts,
as well as experience, show that the benches were, and required to
be, three feet apart: and, allowing one foot for the breadth of the
bench, each oar would require a space of four feet in a horizontal
line. According to the General’s theory there would be thirty oar-ports
on each bank, which, allowing for their obliquity, would require the
gallery attached to the side of his galley to be somewhere about two
hundred feet in length for the accommodation of the rowers. No doubt
such a vessel could be built, but it is very questionable if any
such vessel _ever was built_. Ptolemy Philopator’s ship would have
required two thousand oar-ports on each side, to afford employment to
her rowers. There is, however, another equally valid objection to the
General’s scheme: a bank of oars means something whereby one class of
galleys could be clearly distinguished from another class. Ships of
war, up to a comparatively recent period, were rated as mounting so
many guns, just as ancient galleys were rated by their banks of oars;
the one measured the fighting, the other the propelling power. But if,
according to the General’s plan, triremes or quinqueremes were known
by the number of banks, what was the measure of vessels of the larger
size? for he does not profess to work any galley on his plan with more
than five tiers; nor does he maintain that the size of his galley
was measured by the number of her oars, which would depend upon her
length. In whatever way this scheme is examined it will be found to be
altogether untenable.
[Sidenote: Charnock’s theory.]
Charnock, in his “History of Marine Architecture,”[392] has evidently
devoted more space than thought to the elucidation of this intricate
subject. While he, with all other writers on the subject, accurately
describes “uniremes” as “those galleys or vessels which had only one
row of oars extending between their masts, or perhaps the entire length
of the vessel,” he breaks down at the first step beyond a unireme, when
he says that “the biremes had one tier of oars between their masts,
and another abaft the main or principal mast.” Indeed, all theories
must necessarily fail which cannot be made applicable to vessels of
every description; and it is no solution of the difficulty to deny, as
Mr. Charnock and others have done, the existence of vessels beyond a
certain size, when it is found that a theory practicable within certain
limits would be altogether impracticable if carried beyond them.
That this would be the case in Mr. Charnock’s plan he himself admits.
He says that a trireme was a galley more formidable than the bireme,
“having one tier of oars extending between the masts, a second abaft
the mainmast, and a third forward, near the prow or stem before the
foremast.” The quadriremes he describes as having had “their oars
ranged like the triremes, with the difference of having two tiers of
oars one above the other, abaft the mainmast.” “The quinqueremes,”
he adds, “were also of the same description, with the addition of
the second tier of oars forward.” He then goes on to state that “the
octoremes had two tiers of oars in the midships, and _three_ at the
stem and stern, making in all eight.” This is no doubt an easy method
of solving the difficulty, so far as regards biremes, triremes,
quadriremes and octoremes, but our author fails to explain how his
principle can be applied to vessels of a larger description, or even
how the number of rowers each of these classes are said to have
contained was placed at the oars. The latter he does not attempt,
and as summarily dismisses the former by questioning the existence
altogether of any vessels with more than three tiers of oars placed
either directly or obliquely above each other, in the face of the most
ample evidence to the contrary. However, the theory Mr. Charnock
considers unanswerable would not be the most perfect in practice, even
in vessels of an inferior class to the octoreme. The oars would be more
effective in midships than at any other part of the vessel, yet our
author places the greatest number of these aft and forward, near “the
prow or stem and near the stern.” If there is any merit in his scheme,
it would consist in placing the three banks in midships, and one aft
in the case of a quadrireme; one aft and one forward in the case of a
quinquereme; and two instead of three near the “stem and stern.”
[Sidenote: Vossius’s views.]
The whole of the question of rowing ancient galleys has been
exceedingly well put by Vossius, in his “Dissertation on the
Construction of Ancient Ships.”[393] Speaking of the largest of all
these ships, of which any record remains, he says: “If we compare the
oars that must necessarily have been used on board of this (Ptolemy’s)
ship with those by which the modern galley is worked, and allow for
their different proportions in respect to length, we must also keep
in view a similar comparison in regard to their size and thickness,
and we shall then have a correct idea of their relative dimensions,
as well as their strength.” He then goes on to remark, “Let us now
consider in what manner the four thousand rowers, which are said to
have been employed on board this vessel, were employed or stationed
at the forty banks of oars. It is not my intention,” he continues,
“to combat or examine what many learned men have already written on
this subject, both in France and in other countries. Their opinion
is certainly correct in respect to the tiers of oars being placed
obliquely over each other. Existing remnants of antiquity convince us
clearly of the fact; but there still remains a much heavier difficulty
to be got over: it is, in what manner the oars of the upper tier could
be worked and managed by one person only; for it is denied that more
than one was stationed to each oar, and the perplexity of the enigma is
not a little increased by the assertion that a very small part of the
oar reached within board. It is well known that there are no weights
whatever which, by the proper assistance and combination of mechanical
power, may not be moved even by a single person; but we are at the same
time certain, that the greater the weights are, so much the slower
can they be moved. Oars, it must be remembered, become almost useless
unless they are impelled with quickness and spirit, as well as brought
back to their original station, for a renewal of the stroke with equal
celerity. The mechanical powers are of no use in this instance, as
the law remains fixed and immutable, that any operation which, in
the ordinary course of things, requires ten men to perform it, and
one only is employed, may indeed be executed by that one, but will
require a period ten times as long to perform it in; for nature will
not suffer herself to be deceived, or her laws perverted by any such
vainly-hoped-for advantage.”
While Vossius was of opinion that no vessel had ever more than seven
tiers of oars,—though he does not show how that number could have been
worked,—he, for the reasons just quoted, arrived at the conclusion
“that in the lower tier one man only was stationed to an oar, which
being short, and but trivially elevated above the surface of the water,
he might be able to work without much difficulty.” He then explains
that, in his opinion, as to which there can be no question, “the oars
in all superior tiers, as they increased in height from the water,
increased also in length, within board as well as without, leaving room
for a greater number of rowers to work, each in progressive proportion
to their length;” but he draws a false conclusion from right premises
when he remarks that the difficulty consists “not in so many tiers, but
in the number of seats of rowers comprised in one oblique tier.”[394]
Such are the views of a few of the leading writers on this intricate
question. While agreeing with Vossius in the opinion that the oar-ports
were placed obliquely in the sides of the vessel, and that the number
of men to an oar was regulated by its length and position, there are
many objections to his theory that the galleys of the ancients were
classed, either by the number of men or by the number of their seats;
and any seaman who takes the trouble to put the theory into practice
will find that even the principle of obliquity will not admit of the
effective working of more than five tiers of oars.
Each theory, however, contains less or more truth; and by a careful
examination of the whole, the problem which has occupied the attention
of so many writers may be successfully solved, if there be less
attempt to harmonize statements made by ancient authors, who were
not practically conversant with the subject, or whose writings have
been misquoted or imperfectly interpreted. All writers agree in the
opinion that the uniremes had only one bank or tier of oars, and there
is no difference of opinion with regard to the mode of propelling
these vessels. Although “seated” (and this expression has led to much
controversy), the rowers, in the case of large vessels, doubtless, rose
simultaneously to their oars at the word of command, stretching out the
handles as far as the allotted space would permit, and then throwing
themselves back uniformly upon their seats, and, with their whole
weight, propelling the galley forwards. This mode of rowing may be seen
in the Mediterranean and elsewhere at the present day.
Writers differ with regard to the number of men placed at an oar;
but herein there is, practically also, no difference of opinion, for
the number of men at an oar must depend on the size of the vessel. A
jolly-boat has never more than one man at an oar, but a launch has
two, and, in the phraseology of our own time, launches thus rowed are
called “double-banked,” although this expression was not applicable to
the galleys of the ancients. Nor is there much difference of opinion
with reference to what was meant by a bireme. Apart, therefore, from
direct testimony, there can be no doubt that a bireme (as a rule) meant
a vessel, not with two rowers to an oar, but with two banks or tiers
of oars. Some writers, as already explained, have maintained that the
oar-ports were placed directly one above the other; but this could
only be possible in vessels such as the bireme. On the other hand,
a careful examination of Trajan’s column, and of other remains of
ancient sculpture, proves that the oars were placed _obliquely_ over
each other: thus, on coins of the Emperor Gordian, two tiers of oars
so placed are very conspicuous. If, however, any doubts still exist on
this point, they are entirely set at rest by the recent discoveries of
Layard and others.
The illustration on the next page, a copy of an alabaster slab found
at Kouyunjik, the site of ancient Nineveh, clearly shows the oar-ports
arranged obliquely on the broad side of the galley. The only further
question is, to what extent this principle could be applied, so as to
place at work the vast number of rowers some galleys are said to have
carried, and also to afford accommodation for the troops and stores.
[Sidenote: Mr. Howell’s plan.]
[Illustration: GALLEY FROM KOUYUNJIK (NINEVEH).]
Mr. Howell, a comparatively modern writer,[395] adopts many of the
views of Vossius, but differs from him in that he maintains that
it would be impossible to work with effect more than five banks of
oars. As his views are more in accordance with our own than those of
any other writer, we shall refer to them at greater length, although
differing also from him in some of his most important conclusions.
And here it ought to be stated, that all modern writers, Mr. Howell
included, appear to have given too little consideration to the facts,
that ancient galleys varied quite as much in size as the vessels of
modern times, that their power or dimensions were not, in all cases,
measured by the number of their banks of oars, and that in proportion
to the number of rowers the capacity of the hold would require to be
increased. A war-galley would be comparatively useless if she had not
ample capacity for fighting men, and for their munitions of every
kind, besides stores, including water. All these points must, however,
have been fully considered by the ancients, who evidently saw, when
they wished to have more than thirty oars on each side of a galley,
that an increase could not be obtained on the single-bank principle
without constructing her of an unwieldy length in proportion to her
depth and breadth, and thus sacrificing an unnecessarily large amount
of space. Consequently, they invented the bireme, whereby they could,
in little more than the length required for fifteen oars, place double
that number without any corresponding sacrifice of space; while in the
trireme, they would in nearly the same length obtain space for three
times the number of oars, and secure for the use of the soldiers and
stores ample accommodation and any extra length they might desire.
Mr. Howell, in discussing this principle as applicable to quinqueremes,
shows that, by adopting the oblique ascent, the rowers of the first
and highest bank can be placed so as not to interfere with the rowers
on the second, their oars having space to play free of the benches
before them. “That a bank or bench of oars,” he adds, “never contained
more than five oars, I think, can be proved, whatever the size of
the galley was, whether a bireme or trireme, up to the galley of
Philopator, which had forty banks, nine feet being the highest point
from the water for the _scalmi_, from which they could pull with
effect.”[396]
Mr. Howell, in confirmation, as he conceives, of this opinion, quotes
Athenæus;[397] but, though there is nothing in the description of the
great ship to lead to the conclusion that the _scalmi_ of her highest
bank of oars were only nine feet above the level of the water, we
agree with Mr. Howell that an oar could not be worked effectively at
a greater height, and that the seats of the rowers were arranged by
the system of obliquity, so as not to interfere with each other. We,
however, differ from him in other respects. “A Greek trireme,” he
remarks, “at the time of the invasion of Xerxes, had from one hundred
and fifty to one hundred and sixty rowers and forty armed foot, while
the average-sized Persian triremes carried two hundred rowers and
thirty soldiers.” Presuming these to be established facts, Mr. Howell
endeavours to make his theory harmonize with them. “I have shown,”
he says, referring to the French vessel, of which we have furnished
particulars, “that a modern galley pulling fifty oars has six rowers on
a bench. If I am correct,” he continues, “a trireme pulled thirty oars,
that is, three banks, five oars in each, thus:—
[Illustration]
Now, to a vessel of her bulk, with elevated poop and stern,” he goes
on to state, “less than five men cannot be allowed to each seat. Thus
there are twenty-five rowers in each bank, and six times twenty-five
make one hundred and fifty.” But though this mode of calculation
(which, by the way, does not allow for any “watch-and-watch” or
reliefs[398]) makes the Grecian galley agree with his scheme of
manning her so far as regards the number of rowers, it is based upon
the presumption that every oar had the same number of men. But this
could not have been the case; for even if five men could be placed to
advantage on each of the upper tiers of oars, two of them, at least,
would be useless on the lower tiers of a vessel of this size, as they
would not have space to work at it. The same fallacy runs throughout
his arguments in other places. Thus he accounts for the Persian trireme
with her two hundred men, by saying that she “must have had six men to
an oar, which is not improbable, the Asiatics being not so athletic as
the Greeks. Six times thirty,” he adds, “is one hundred and eighty,
leaving twenty men for casualties, etc., etc.”
This is an exceedingly easy mode of attempting to solve an intricate
question; but Mr. Howell, instead of overcoming the difficulty, only
increases it when he says that there must have been six men to an oar,
for six men would be less easily placed at each of the lower tiers of
oars than five. Nor does he aid in the solution of this vexed problem
when he comes to deal with vessels of five banks. Practically his
arguments are the same, and show the mistakes which learned men are
liable to make when dealing with questions requiring experience as
well as learning. “Polybius,” remarks Mr. Howell, “informs us the crew
of a quinquereme was three hundred rowers, and one hundred and twenty
fighting men. Now a quinquereme,” he reasons, “having five banks, thus—
[Illustration]
pulled fifty oars, or twenty-five aside, the same number as the modern
galley. As by this arrangement, adding to the banks of the galley,”
he continues, “did not add to her height, and not in any great degree
to her length, seven feet being sufficient for a bank, I think the
addition of one man to an oar was all she could require. Six times five
is thirty, and ten times thirty, three hundred. Both of these,” he
concludes, by saying with evident self-satisfaction, “are remarkable
coincidences, and tally better with the description of ancient authors
than any solution that has yet been given.”
“I shall now,” he continues, “show how remarkably it agrees with
Athenæus; thus taking in the whole range and applying to all, a thing
it could never do were it not near the truth. The tesseracontoros
having,” he adds, “forty banks, five oars to a bench, makes her have
two hundred oars of a side, or four hundred in all. Considering her
size, she could not have less than ten men to an oar.” The Liburnia
of Caligula, according to the testimony of Suetonius, had, he states,
that number of men to an oar, forgetting that she was a single-banked
galley, and consequently he concludes that that number was attached to
each of the four hundred oars in Philopator’s ship, which “gives four
thousand, the number mentioned by Athenæus.” Here again he overlooks
the impracticability of placing ten men at each of the lower tier of
oars.
[Sidenote: Our own views.]
[Sidenote: Biremes.]
Now, while there can be no doubt that all vessels had their ports
placed obliquely in cases where there were more than one tier of oars;
that there were vessels of five tiers of oars thus placed and no more,
and that the Grecian trireme had one hundred and fifty rowers, and
the Persian two hundred, it is clear from the descriptions of ancient
authors that there were many triremes of much smaller dimensions,
especially from the facility with which they were hauled upon the
beach: while there were others carrying even more men than the galleys
he refers to.[399] But presuming Mr. Howell to be correct in his
supposition, that a trireme derived her name from “having three rows of
five tiers and no more,” as he illustrates, then a bireme would derive
her name because she had only two rows of five tiers, thus:—
[Illustration]
No practical man, however, could entertain the idea that ten oars,
arranged as he suggests, would be as efficient as a similar number in
single lines or even in double tiers; nor would a galley of this size
be nearly so efficient as she would be with her ports in a horizontal
line, for she would be much too high in proportion to her length.
Similar remarks apply with nearly equal force in the case of triremes.
[Sidenote: Triremes.]
The perusal of ancient authors, as well as experience, leads to the
conviction that galleys, from the unireme to the quinquereme inclusive,
had their oars arranged not merely in oblique vertical rows, but also
in horizontal rows according to circumstances. Besides, the plan
illustrated on the sculpture from Nineveh is much more practicable than
the one suggested by the theory of Mr. Howell. A galley with only ten
oars on a side would be more efficient if they were placed as follows:—
[Illustration]
than if arranged in the manner suggested by Mr. Howell. Nor would they
occupy more space, the saving of which evidently induced the ancients
to increase the number of tiers.
[Sidenote: Quadriremes.]
[Sidenote: Hexiremes and larger galleys.]
As the galleys of the ancients must have varied very much in their
capacity and dimensions, it would be more reasonable to suppose that,
from the unireme to the quinquereme inclusive, they derived their names
from the number of oars placed horizontally over each other, rather
than from the number of oblique rows as suggested by Mr. Howell. That
is to say, though a trireme bore that name because she had three tiers
of oars placed thus:—
[Illustration]
she was, nevertheless, still a trireme, if she had four, five, ten,
or even twenty oblique rows of oar-ports, only she would be a trireme
of a larger size, just as we have or had frigates—single-decked
vessels, which have varied in size from 600 to 6,000 tons. A trireme
might therefore be a much more powerful vessel than a quadrireme or
quinquereme. On a similar principle, a quadrireme would have four
horizontal tiers of oars, as follows:—
[Illustration]
but, as in the case of the trireme, she would still be a quadrireme,
only of a larger size, if she had more than four oblique rows. There
is, however, a limit beyond which oars could not be worked when placed
over each other in any fashion. That limit would be reached at the
fifth horizontal row, and, for the reasons already named, a sixth row,
however obliquely placed—for obliquity has also its limits—would be
useless. Therefore, while a quinquereme had five horizontal rows, and
the same number of oblique rows, forming a _quincunx_ thus:—
[Illustration]
a galley must have acquired another name when she had _more than five
of these oblique rows_. For instance, vessels with six oblique rows
were, in our opinion, called hexiremes; with seven rows, septiremes;
with eight rows, octoremes, and so forth; up to Ptolemy Philopator’s
tesseracontoros. That the number of men placed on board the ships of
the ancients was regulated, as at present, by the work they had to
perform, and by the size of the ship, there can be no doubt; but the
number of men had nothing in itself to do with the class or grade of
the galley. In some triremes there may have been only fifty rowers, in
others five hundred. Our theory does not require the number of men to
harmonize with the number assigned by Polybius, Athenæus, and other
authors, to differently-rated galleys. Thus, in the trireme, with the
thirty oars and one hundred and fifty rowers, it would not be necessary
to place five men at _each_ oar, as Mr. Howell has proposed.
[Illustration: TRANSVERSE MIDSHIP-SECTION OF A QUINQUEREME.]
[Sidenote: Suggested plan of placing the rowers.]
Six men to each of the oars of the highest bank, five to each oar of
the second, and four men to each oar of the third bank, would give the
requisite number of one hundred and fifty rowers, who would be far more
effective than if placed in the manner he describes. So in the case of
the quinquereme, with her three hundred rowers, instead of placing six
men (presuming there were no reliefs) to each of her fifty oars, our
theory, while it equally solves the difficulty created by the statement
of Polybius (a difficulty which could only arise in quinqueremes with
so large a crew as three hundred rowers), is one which could be carried
out with much more practical effect; for, by placing on the 1st bank 8
men × 5 = 40; 2nd, 7 × 5 = 35; 3rd, 6 × 5 = 30; 4th, 5 × 5 = 25; 5th,
4 × 5 = 20; there would be 150 on each side, or 300 rowers in all, as
represented on the preceding page, in the transverse midship-section of
what a quinquereme really must have been.
Before proceeding to examine in detail how rowers thus arranged could
work with effect, it will be desirable to show that the outline of
the vessel, of which a section is here given, corresponds not merely
with the imperfect information obtained from ancient authors, but with
what would be practicable. To work the number of men here shown, the
breadth of the beam of the galley would, presuming every rower on board
to be employed at the same time, require to be, at least, forty-two
feet, which would allow eighteen feet for the range inside of each of
the oars on the upper bank, and six feet for the width of the raised
midship-deck, where the hatches were placed. That width would allow
for oars fifty-four feet in length, which would be ample where the
highest row-port was nine feet above the level of the water; and as
thirty men would be able to work on each oblique row, a hexireme, of no
greater width, could carry three hundred and sixty rowers, a septireme
four hundred and twenty, an octoreme four hundred and eighty, and so
forth. In the case of a tesseracontoros, with no greater beam, two
thousand four hundred rowers could find employment; but as vessels of
that enormous size—if, indeed, more than this one was ever built—were
very considerably wider,[400] it would be an improvement on the plan
proposed by Mr. Howell, of ten men to each of the four hundred oars,
to place fourteen rowers upon each of the oars of the upper bank,
twelve on the second, ten on the third, eight on the fourth, and six
on the fifth or lowest bank, which would give the required number of
four thousand, though, in either case, many of the men would be more
ornamental than serviceable. There is, however, no doubt that about
three thousand men could be placed so as to row in each individual case
with effect if they were apportioned to their oars in somewhat the
scale of ten, nine, seven, six, and five, or say, thirty-seven men to
each of the forty banks or oblique rows of oars, which would leave one
thousand and forty for reliefs.
If the men were arranged in the manner suggested, and as represented
in the following front view of their positions when placed at their
stations before they commenced work on board of a trireme, the various
objections which have been raised to the plan of working oars placed
one over the other are removed.
A practised eye will at once perceive that rowers thus arranged
could work with great effect and simultaneously, without in any way
interfering with the movements of each other. Nor would there be any
difficulty in placing to the best advantage, as may be seen in our
illustration (see p. 285) of the tranverse midship-section of the
quinquereme, the large number of three hundred rowers required for
vessels of that class.
[Illustration]
If this theory be correct, then the problem of how the various classes
of galleys were rowed is solved; for, if this was the principle of
their classification, the difficulty does not increase with their
dimensions, as is the case in all other theories; the extreme height of
the highest bank of rowers, either in the case of the quinquereme, or
in that of any of the larger vessels, being not necessarily more than
nine feet above the water.
At the word of command from the officer, who walked upon the elevated
portion of the deck, and guided by the leading men, who were stationed
at the inner end of the oars, the rowers, when seated, stretched the
handles of their oars as far aft as their arms would permit, as shown
in the following representation:—
[Illustration]
The action of the rowers would, however, in some measure be regulated
by the size of the galley and the space at their disposal. Placed
alternately, those who worked at the lower tiers would, in all galleys,
have full swing for their oars, as the footstools of the rowers who sat
above them would not interfere with the free action of their bodies,
though such might appear to be the case by the side representation,
which in itself, and without reference to the front view, necessarily
fails to show their exact position. But while the men in small galleys,
no doubt, rowed from their seats, there is every reason to suppose that
in the larger vessels, where great numbers of rowers were employed,
they rose, if seated, and after moving forward, according to the space
at their disposal, threw themselves backward into their seats with
an impetus as simultaneous and harmonious as it would be possible to
attain without the aid of a machine to regulate their joint action.
Indeed, the ancients practised this art with the greatest care, and the
rowers were frequently exercised on benches erected on the shore, and
their harmonious movements were sometimes made an object of display
in their theatres. In nearly every case they plied their oars to the
sound of either vocal or instrumental music, so that a fleet of the
larger description of galleys, when under way on the smooth waters of
the Levant, must have been, as various ancient authors describe, a
heart-stirring and magnificent display.
Vossius, Le Roy, and all who have written on the subject of how the
rowers were placed at their oars, though they differ less or more from
each other, and fail, as we conceive, to propound a theory applicable
to vessels of every class, agree in the opinion that the rowers were
divided into classes, and that the _thranitæ_, who pulled the longest
and highest oars and had the greatest amount of labour, “were exposed
to the darts of the enemy.” For these reasons they received, as we
learn from Thucydides, the highest pay; and from the same authority
we ascertain that even the largest description of galleys “were _not_
decked _throughout_.”[401]
These statements are important, as they show a thoroughly organized
system among the rowers, without which it would have been impossible
to make available, in a limited space, large numbers of men, and in so
far as they answer objections, frequently raised, to the employing so
many men close together in the hold of a ship. In our illustration (p.
293) it will be seen that by our theory the galleys were only decked
somewhat less than halfway across, a large space remaining open for
ventilation, while the rowers of the upper tier were above the level of
the deck, and were consequently exposed to the darts of the enemy.
As far as we can now judge from the writings of the ancients,
first-class galleys were divided into compartments, not unlike the
steamers of our own day, verifying the adage that there is “nothing new
under the sun;” and certainly this holds true on comparing the bows
of the war galleys of the ancients with the iron-clad rams of modern
times. Our theory, therefore, after the most careful inquiry, is that
_the paddle-wheel steamer of to-day resembles in her structure_ (though
materially improved, and possessing the vast advantage of mechanical
power) _the row galley of the ancients_. Her machinery and coal bunkers
are distinct and separate from the hold, cabins, or any other portions
of the ship; while the engines and the paddle-wheels take the position
and act the part of the rowers and their oars. Here modern genius
and skill, as in a thousand other instances, substitutes mechanical
for manual labour. The modern paddle, in its revolutions, performs
exactly the same duty as the oars of the ancients in their simultaneous
movements, and the well-trained crews of the Grecian and Roman galleys
in their action at the oars were, so far as is traceable, almost as
regular as the beat of the paddle-wheel.
Nor was it necessary to appropriate for the use of the rowers, even
when three hundred men were engaged, a larger space in the ship than
would now be required for a steam engine of one hundred and fifty
horse-power, and her fuel for twenty days. A glance at the illustration
will show that, by the plan suggested, the whole of the fore and after
holds, with the midship portion of the galley, besides a large space
below the platform of the rowers, could be appropriated to cargo and
stores, the fore and after main-decks to troops, while the rowers
themselves could be berthed in that portion of the vessel where they
performed their daily toil, and where there would be space, however
uncomfortable, for their beds and scanty apparel.
By reference to the accompanying deck plan, and by comparing it with
the midship-section previously given, it will be seen that though the
portion of the galley occupied by the rowers was open, it could be
covered with an awning in warm, and by a tarpaulin in wet, weather.
To have enclosed this space would have been fatal to the men, who,
especially during the summer months, when the galleys were chiefly
employed, could not have existed, much less have laboured in a confined
hold.
[Illustration: DECK PLAN.
_A. Castle_
_B. Deck_
_C. Hatch_
_D. Coursier Deck_
_E. Catastroma Deck_]
In confirmation of this opinion, Thucydides, in describing the galleys
of the Bœotians and of Philoctetes, of whom Homer also writes, says,
“Nor had they, as yet, _covered_ ships;”[402] and we find in the
“Iliad” such expressions as, “He marched upon the _hatches_ with
long strides;”[403] and in the “Odyssey,” where Ulysses is preparing
to encounter Scylla, “upon the _hatches_ of the prow of the ship he
went.”[404] Mr. Howell, in opposition to the views of most translators,
remarks that the hatches should be construed as meaning “the thwarts
or seats upon which the rowers sat:”[405] but it is obvious that no
other construction can be put upon the word except that it meant the
hatches of the hold, which, being slightly elevated above the level of
the deck, would be a much more likely place for the master or officer
of the galley to walk than upon the thwarts where the rowers sat;
and this opinion is also confirmed by the expression in the latter
quotation, where “the hatches _of the prow_” are distinctly mentioned
as the covering of the entrance to the fore-compartment or hold of the
galley.
Though parts only of the galleys were open, the proportion of open
and closed spaces varied with the class and size of the galleys or
the purposes for which they were employed. In all such matters, also,
different nations had doubtless different arrangements, if not in the
form, at least in the outfit and general equipment of their galleys,
and these no doubt have undergone great changes in the course of
centuries. Nor does this fact modify the opinion that “hatches” in
their literal sense are meant; for, in the time of Homer, though the
galleys were all single-banked and “open,” they had a deck in midships
and at the bow and the stern, as well as the catastroma or platform in
the waist, for the use of the soldiers.
Although many of the war-galleys of the ancients had high towers at the
stern, and at the bow, these were frequently temporary erections, not
interfering with the general plan of the hull of the ship, and varying
in form and size; the oar-ports, too, could not have been of the form
generally drawn. They are more likely to have been oblong, fashioned
so as to allow the oar—which in galleys of many banks could only have
been unshipped by being passed outwards—to be brought pretty close
alongside of the vessel when the rowers ceased work. In regard to the
seats, stools, or benches of the rowers, so frequently mentioned, and
which have created a good deal of controversy, the plan here suggested
satisfies all these requirements, for to each rower a separate seat or
stool attached to the oblique benches or steps is appropriated. The
height of each of the oar-ports above the level of the water in that of
the quinquereme, and in all vessels of greater dimensions, would be as
follows:—
ft. in.
From the first or lowest _port_ to water-line 2 0
Distance between 1st and 2nd port 1 9
” ” 2nd ” 3rd ” 1 9
” ” 3rd ” 4th ” 1 9
” ” 4th ” 5th ” 1 9
----
9 0
So that the height of the sill of the port on the fifth or highest bank
would be nine feet above the water-line.
The space between the rowers, seated on their respective benches or
platforms, doubtless varied according to the size of the galley. While
from four to six feet between each rower seated on the same level would
be ample in the case of uniremes, biremes, or triremes, galleys of the
larger class, in many cases, most likely had an intervening space of
from six to even ten feet, so as to afford room for the sweep of the
handles of the oars, and to enable the rowers to walk one or two steps
forward, and then throw themselves backwards with greater impetus into
their seats, as already described.
[Sidenote: Summary.]
The conclusions at which we have arrived may be condensed as follows:—
1. Ancient galleys were classed or rated according to their number of
banks, rows or tiers of oars.
2. All galleys above the unireme had their oar-ports placed obliquely
above each other in horizontal rows.
3. No galley had more than five horizontal rows.
4. Every galley, from the unireme to the quinquereme inclusive, derived
its name or class from the number of _horizontal_ rows.
5. All galleys, above a quinquereme, were likewise classed according
to the number of rows. In their case, however, the _oblique_ rows were
counted; but, in all cases, from the smallest to the largest, including
Ptolemy’s tesseracontoros, _each row, whether oblique or horizontal,
was a distinct bank of oars_, which, like the number of guns, wherever
they were placed, in wooden men-of-war, _constituted the only basis for
their classification_.
6. The portion of the galley appropriated to the rowers and their
oars was as separate from the other portions of the vessel as is the
machinery of a paddle-wheel steamer. The rowers, also, like modern
engineers and stokers, were entirely distinct from the seamen and
marines; and among them were leaders and crack rowers, who were as
indispensable to get the galley under way and keep the rest of the
rowers in time as are the engineers of our own day, who start and keep
the machinery in proper working order.
In a word, the row-galley constituted the steamship of the ancients,
as distinguished from their sailing vessels. She had sails to aid her
progress when the winds were fair, as a steamer now has, but the one
depended on her oars as much as the other now does upon her machinery;
and, however vast the improvements, there is really no difference in
principle between the galley of the ancients and the steamship of
to-day. In practice they are the same, except that steam is substituted
for manual labour. An oar is a paddle, and the blades of the oars
fastened together, like the spokes round the axle of a wheel, and
projecting into the water, constitute the paddle-wheel of modern times.
FOOTNOTES:
[372] Hom. Il. ii. 510. Od. xii. 409, &c.
[373] Plin. vii. 207, cf. Cic. ad Attic. xvi. 4. The _biremis_ was
often a little boat managed by two oars. Horat. iii. 29, 62. Lucan,
viii. 562.
[374] Thucyd. i. c. 13.
[375] Athen. v. 37.
[376] Polyb. in Excerpt.
[377] Liv. xlv. 34.
[378] Plutarch, Themist. c. 4.
[379] Plut. ibid.
[380] Plut. Vit. Demet. c. 10.
[381] Plut. Vit. Anton. c. 4. Hor. iv. ii. 4. Virg. Æn. viii. 691. Dio.
L. 33.
[382] As noticed in the Introduction to this work, these sails were
called Suppara. Lucan, v. 429. Stat. Sylv. ii. 2, 27. Senec. Epist. c.
77.
[383] Thucyd. ii. c. 93.
[384] Athen. v. c. 37.
[385] Athen. v. c. 37.
[386] Dio. xxix. 32. Horat. Epod. i. 1. Veget. iv. 33. Sueton. Vit.
Calig. c. 37.
[387] In the “Monthly Magazine,” vol. xviii., London, 1758, p. 445,
there is a review of a work, entitled “The Memoirs of a Protestant
condemned to the Galleys of France,” written by himself, which
contains, in minute detail, a description of a French galley in
which, in the year 1701, he was condemned to labour. The account was
originally published at the Hague, and was afterwards translated into
English, 2 vols. 12mo.
[388] The curious treatise by Scheffer, entitled “I. Schefferi de
varietate Navium,” is preserved in Gronovius’s “Thesaurus Antiq. Græc.”
vol. viii fol. In the same vast collection are treatises by Bayfius,
Doletus, and Laurentius, on similar subjects, which are worthy of
examination.
[389] Polyb. i. c. 23.
[390] Mitford’s Hist. of Greece, vol. ii. p. 194.
[391] Pownall’s “Treatise on the Study of Antiquities,” Appendix, no.
iii., pp. 236-40.
[392] Vol. i. p. 47.
[393] Vossius’ Treatise, entitled “I. Vossii de Triremium et
Liburnicarum constructione dissertatio,” is printed in Graevii Thes.
Antiq. Roman, vol. xii. fol. See also “Charnock’s History,” vol. i. p.
52. etc.
[394] In the course of our examination of this subject we have received
from the Revd. J. O. W. Haweis, of Colwood, Crawley, in the county of
Sussex, a paper so ingenious and original, that, though we doubt its
practicability, we have much pleasure in printing it in the Appendix to
this volume.—See Appendix No. 1, pp. 625-8.
[395] “An Essay (pamphlet) on the War-Galleys of the Ancients.” By John
Howell. W. Blackwood: Edinburgh, 1826.
[396] Howell’s Pamphlet, p. 48.
[397] Athen. v. c. 37.
[398] Although Homer (Odys. xiii. v. 81-95) states that Ulysses was
rowed from Corcyra (Corfu) to Ithaca, a distance of eighty nautical
miles, without apparently any resting of the oarsmen, there is no proof
that ancient galleys were propelled _continuously_ by their oars, or
for a longer period on a stretch than the one set of rowers could
endure. To this day the Malay pirates sometimes row more than ten hours
without change, and are fed at their oars. Nor is there anything to
show how many spare men were carried for reliefs, in case of accident.
[399] Thucyd. i. c. xciv., etc., etc.
[400] Ptolemy’s ship had a beam of 57 feet.
[401] Thucyd. i. c. xiv.
[402] Thucyd. c. x.
[403] Hom. Il. xiv.
[404] Hom. Odys. xii.
[405] Howell’s Pamphlet, p. 7.
CHAPTER X.
Britain: its maritime position, and limited extent of over-sea
trade—The vessels of the Ancient Britons, and the larger kind
used by the Veneti—Encouragement by law to construct superior
vessels—Britain and its inhabitants little known—Cæsar’s
reasons for invading Britain—First invasion, B.C. 55—Size of
his transports—Second invasion, B.C. 54—Cæsar’s preference for
small vessels—Violent storm, and great loss of ships—Final action
on the banks of the Thames—Cæsar makes terms with the Britons,
and re-embarks his legions—Advantages derived by the Britons
from their intercourse with the Romans—Conquest of Britain,
A.D. 43: its state of civilization—Speech of Caractacus—The
course of commerce with Rome—Inland water traffic—Transit
duties—Articles of commerce, and knowledge of manufactures and of
the arts—Colchester and its mint—London—Agricola, A.D. 78-85—His
fleet sails round Britain—The influence of the rule of Agricola
on the Britons—Hadrian, A.D. 120—State of commerce in and after
his reign—The Caledonian incursions—Piratical invasions of the
Germans—Carausius seizes the fleet of Maximian, and declares
himself Emperor of Britain—Welsh and Scots, A.D. 360—Saxons, A.D.
364—Their ships—State of the Britons when abandoned by the Romans.
[Sidenote: Britain:]
The successful career which has distinguished the Royal Navy of Great
Britain in her contests for many centuries on the ocean, and the
vast proportions to which her merchant shipping has extended during
the present generation, render the details of her incipient attempts
at navigation one of the most interesting portions of her domestic
history. Nor is the task to obtain these a difficult one. The early
annals of the ancient Britons, though very limited with regard to
their shipping and maritime commerce, have been so often thoroughly
investigated that little remains to be done beyond collecting
the leading facts which antiquarian industry has preserved, and
endeavouring to re-produce them in a manner as pleasing and instructive
as possible.
[Sidenote: its maritime position, and limited extent of over-sea trade.]
[Sidenote: The vessels of the ancient Britons, and the larger kind used
by the Veneti.]
Separated from the rest of Europe by a sea, which in winter is very
boisterous, and in summer often disturbed by currents and uncertain
winds; surrounded by a coast full of danger, and with the channels to
its principal havens interspersed with treacherous sand-banks, the
ancient Britons must have been an adventurous race to launch their
frail barks, for even a limited voyage, on waters so often disturbed by
storm and tempest. Their trade, moreover, during the early periods of
their history, was very inconsiderable, notwithstanding the convenient
situation of their island for carrying on an extensive commerce; and
the greater number of their vessels were of the rudest description.
Cæsar speaks of them as being, even in his time, of the slightest
construction, with the keels and ribs framed of some light wood and
covered with leather; and Lucan[406] says “they were constructed of
osiers, twisted and interwoven with each other, and then covered with
strong hides.” In such vessels as these the Britons worked their way
along their iron-bound and tempest-tossed shores, and frequently
made the passage to Ireland and the coasts of Gaul. From the fact,
however, that they carried on a trade, though limited, in their own
vessels with the Veneti on the coasts of Brittany, sometimes extending
their voyages to the river Garonne, it is a fair inference that they
possessed other vessels of a larger and stronger description, and
that they had learnt something of ship-building from the Veneti,
and, possibly, from the Phœnicians. But if it were true, as has been
asserted by more than one author, that when the Britons undertook a
voyage they abstained from food till it was completed, these voyages
must have been very short, indeed, not longer than to Gaul or Ireland.
[Sidenote: Encouragement by law to construct superior vessels.]
As has been already noticed, some almost circular boats, made of
wicker-work, are still in use in Wales, and may fairly be supposed to
represent a similar class of boats of much earlier times. On the other
hand, we know pretty well, from Cæsar’s description, the character
of the larger and stronger vessels of the Veneti.[407] Thus from him
we learn that they were built flatter than the Roman merchant ships,
for convenience in navigating shallow waters, and that having erect
stems and full bows, they were well adapted to resist the violence
of the waves in a storm; while he further admits that, as they were
constructed entirely of oak, they were not easily damaged by the
sharp iron beaks of the Roman galleys. Such vessels could hardly have
failed to attract the attention of the Britons, with whom the Veneti
long maintained friendly and commercial intercourse, while it is very
probable that, from them, the Britons learnt the art of constructing
ships of war. But though it is likely that their intercourse with the
Veneti may have had some advantages, it is, at the same time, probable
that there was no marked improvement in the form and construction
of the greater number of British merchant vessels till the Emperor
Claudius bestowed by law various privileges upon those persons who
built vessels of a superior class for trading purposes.[408] As these
privileges, however, only applied to ships capable of carrying ten
thousand Roman modii, or about three hundred and twelve quarters of
wheat, it is further evident that the framer of the law was desirous
of encouraging the building of a larger and better class of vessels
than then existed. But though a vessel capable of carrying only about
sixty tons weight is much less than the average size of the coasters
of the present century, little or no increase had apparently been made
in their dimensions even three hundred years afterwards; for the trade
in corn alone between Britain and the ports of Gaul required for its
conduct, in the reign of Julian, eight hundred vessels.
[Sidenote: Britain and its inhabitants little known.]
Although Britain had been for so many centuries more or less known to
the Phœnicians, the Carthaginians, and the neighbouring continental
tribes, it continued up to the time of the invasion of Julius Cæsar,
B.C., to be a _terra incognita_ to the rest of the ancient world;
the preservation of such ignorance having been no doubt a matter of
state policy with those who had some acquaintance with it, in order
that the monopoly of their trade might not be interfered with by any
interlopers. Hence, too, the stories sedulously spread of the barbarous
character of its inhabitants, of the naked bodies painted with colours
in imitation of beasts of prey, though Cæsar himself only says that
“they stained themselves blue with woad, and wore their hair long,
with moustachios.”
On the other hand, there is good reason for believing that the Britons
of the south and south-eastern parts of England were by no means the
barbarians some writers have asserted. It is certain that they were
of the same race, and nearly connected with the Belgæ of the opposite
continents, for Cæsar tells us that many names of cities in the two
countries were the same; that their manners greatly resembled those of
the Gauls;[409] that Divitiacus, a king of one of the Belgian tribes,
was also the ruler of a wide district in England,[410] much as in
later times our Edwards and Henries held large provinces of France;
that Cingetorix, though ruler of the Treviri on the Moselle, was also
a king in Kent;[411] and that the buildings of South Britain and Gaul
bore a great similarity one to the other.[412] More than this, we know
that the languages of the two countries, divided as they were from one
another only by the narrowest part of the English Channel, must have
been, as Tacitus[413] states, very similar—a fact partially supported
by Cæsar’s mission to England of Comius, the chief of the Atrebates
(Artois), that he might advocate the cause of the Romans in the British
language.[414]
We know further that the southern portions of England were then thickly
peopled, and that the Britons were in some respects so far in advance
of their neighbours that the Gauls used to send their sons to England
for the purpose of learning the sacred rites of the Druids, an order
of priests, be it remembered, who made use of Greek letters for both
their public and private transactions.[415] It is further clear,
from Cæsar’s narrative, that there must have been no inconsiderable
extent of land under cultivation, and therefore cleared, at least
partially, of forests, probably for the most part among the Cantii,
or men of Kent, whom he calls the “most polished;”[416] moreover, if
Cassivelaunus had only one-tenth of the “four thousand war chariots”
mentioned by Cæsar,[417] he must have required roads, and well-made
roads, too, along which to manœuvre them; not forgetting also the
fact, that the construction of such chariots implies considerable
mechanical skill. Cæsar adds, that the Britons made use of iron which
they obtained from their maritime districts, a statement confirmed by
the existence, till within a recent period, of numerous furnaces in the
Weald of Sussex, for the extraction of iron from the iron sand of that
district.[418] The extremely barbarous Britons, to whom the popular
stories refer, were no doubt those of the more northern and central
districts—Celts, who had been driven back by the advancing tide of the
Belgæ of Northern France.
[Sidenote: Cæsar’s reasons for invading Britain.]
The invasion by Cæsar was the result of various and mixed
circumstances, among which we may well believe one inducement to have
been the desire on his part of making his rule in Gaul pre-eminently
famous by the subjugation, under Roman rule, of an island about which
so many stories were current among his countrymen. Britain, described
in Virgil[419] as “beyond the limits of the known world,” was supposed
to be rich in gold and silver, with an ocean fertile in pearls;[420]
indeed, Suetonius speaks of it as a popular belief, that it was in
quest of pearls that Cæsar crossed the Channel. But a more probable
reason for his proposed attempt is that alleged by Napoleon III., viz.,
his having found the natives of Britain invariably aiding his enemies
in his Gallic wars, and especially in his conflict with the Veneti,
during the summer of the year of his first invasion, B.C. 55.[421]
Moreover, intestine divisions[422] had about that time broken out in
England, and hence there was then a better chance of Roman success than
there would have been had the islanders stood firmly together to resist
the invader.
Having resolved then to make the attempt, Cæsar looked about him
to procure information about the unknown island: but here he was
completely foiled; for the Gauls stood too well by their friends
and relations in Britain to volunteer the information they might
easily have given the Roman commander. The Veneti, as might have
been expected, did what they could to thwart him, while the Morini,
dwelling around and to the east of Boulogne, are specially mentioned
as friendly to the Britons.[423] Moreover, Cæsar himself remarks that
no one but merchants ever visited Britain,[424] unless, indeed, they
fled thither for their lives; Britain having been then, as now, the
refuge for continental exiles of all classes. In spite, however, of
these adverse circumstances, increased in some degree by the lateness
of the season, Cæsar judged it best to make the attempt, hoping,
probably, to strike an effective blow before the petty states in
Britain had had time to weld themselves into a compact body, although,
too, he had an almost certain prospect of an uprising in his rear of
the only half-subdued Gauls as soon as his legions were fully employed
in Britain. He therefore, as a last chance of procuring news about the
island, despatched one of his lieutenants, C. Volusenus, in a “long
ship” (_i.e._, light war-galley),[425] giving him orders, as soon as he
had made the necessary inquiries, to return to him with all possible
speed; a step which showed clearly what his intentions were, and led to
an embassy from the Britons, offering terms of submission he, perhaps,
disbelieved, at all events declined accepting.
[Sidenote: First invasion, B.C. 55.]
Cæsar soon after collected about eighty vessels of burden, placed in
them two legions, and, having made his final arrangements, started for
England from Boulogne at midnight on August 26, B.C. 55, having on
board a force of about eight thousand men. Eighteen other transports
conveyed about eight hundred horses for the cavalry.[426] Beyond the
number of the vessels, Cæsar has left us no information in regard
to them, and no indication of their capacity beyond the incidental
statement that two of the galleys, which on his return got adrift,
carried altogether three hundred men.
The number of men constituting a legion varied very much during the
different periods of Roman history, and, in Cæsar’s time, amounted
to about five thousand two hundred and eighty men, all told; but as
Cæsar obviously took with him as few troops as possible, intending his
first descent upon England to be rather a visit of observation than
a conquest, it is likely that the whole number of his force did not
exceed what we have stated, making for each of the eighty galleys a
complement of somewhere about one hundred men.
[Sidenote: Size of his transports.]
At present about three hundred passengers can be accommodated in a
sailing vessel of one thousand tons register on a distant voyage; but,
in coasting vessels, the number is very much greater.[427] It may
therefore be assumed that the average size of the vessels in which
Cæsar embarked his legions on this occasion was not more than one
hundred tons register. The horse transports[428] may have been somewhat
larger, as more than thirty-three horses, with their provender, water,
and attendants, could not well be conveyed in a vessel of less register
than one hundred tons, even on so short a voyage as from Boulogne to
Romney[429] or Lymne, performed, as this voyage was, with a fair wind,
in fifteen hours, or at the rate of about two miles an hour. The ships
of burden or transports were all flat-bottomed, that they might float
in shallow water, and be more expeditiously freighted.
Although the facts preserved with regard to the ships which Cæsar
employed on his first invasion are of the most meagre description,
they are sufficient to show that they drew comparatively little water,
or the men could not have “jumped” out of them, and made good their
footing on the beach with their standard and arms against the whole
British force: most likely, they were rather good stout-decked or
half-decked barges than the ordinary sea-going coasting vessel, which,
if one hundred tons burden, would draw, when laden, from seven to eight
feet of water. There is no record of the ports where these vessels were
constructed; but some of them, Cæsar tells us, had been employed by
him, earlier in the same year, in his war with the Veneti.
[Sidenote: Second invasion, B.C. 54.]
The vessels employed in Cæsar’s second invasion were somewhat similar
in form to those in the first; but his army on this occasion consisted
of five legions, with two thousand cavalry, for the transport of
which he had about six hundred boats; there were also twenty-eight
war-galleys.[430] If we appropriate one hundred vessels for the
transport of the two thousand horses, and from seventy to one hundred
for the transport of stores and munitions of war, and, if the number
conveyed was about twenty-seven thousand men, the rate would be
forty-five men to each vessel, so that the vessels on the second and
more important expedition were, on an average, only about one-half the
size of those which had been engaged on the first, and, like those,
consisted, probably, in great measure of undecked and flat-bottomed
boats or barges.
[Sidenote: Cæsar’s preference for small vessels.]
One of the reasons Cæsar assigns for the preference he gave in his
second expedition to small vessels was, that he had learned by his
experience of the frequent changes of the tide in the Channel that the
waves were not so violent as he had expected, and, therefore,[431] that
smaller boats were sufficient for his purpose; but this does not seem
to be a very satisfactory view. It is true that when wind and tide are
together the violence of the waves is modified materially; but when
they are opposed, their violence is greatly increased. We should rather
suppose that, in preferring open row boats to sailing vessels for his
second expedition, Cæsar had more especially in his mind the facility
with which they could be beached. One effect of Cæsar’s selection of
this large flotilla became, however, at once manifest in the terror
it caused to the Britons, who, instead of resisting his landing, fled
precipitately in all directions at the sight of so numerous a squadron,
and retired into the interior. The debarkation of the troops on the
second invasion was therefore effected without obstruction; and the
vessels, after having discharged their freights, were anchored in
Dungeness Bay. Finding that the British forces had retreated in the
direction of Canterbury, then, as now, the capital of Kent, Cæsar
determined on a rapid advance, most probably crossing the river Stour
at Wye, about twelve miles from Lymne, near to which, as before, he had
disembarked. Challock Wood, a considerable military post in the wars
between the kings of Kent and Sussex, is, with reasonable probability,
believed to have been the scene of the first encounter between
the British and Roman forces. In this battle, though on the whole
successful, it is clear that Cæsar had not much to plume himself upon;
moreover, it was followed by a great disaster, in a gale which wrecked
forty, and more or less disabled the whole of the vessels in which he
had crossed the Channel. But the Roman general was not dismayed; having
collected those least injured, he hauled them up on the shore, threw a
rampart around them to preserve them from the attacks of the Britons,
and leaving Labienus to collect fresh ships in Gaul, at once placed
himself at the head of his legions.[432]
[Sidenote: Violent storm and great loss of ships.]
The British force having, however, gathered strength in the interval,
now assumed a more threatening aspect; as Cassivelaunus, king of
Hertfordshire and Middlesex, having triumphed in the wars in which he
had been engaged at the time of Cæsar’s first invasion, now claimed
dominion over the whole of the south-east of England, and was,
therefore, able to oppose the new assault on Britain with a vast army,
aided, it is said, with no less than four thousand chariots.[433]
[Sidenote: Final action on the banks of the Thames.]
But though some of the encounters were at first of doubtful success,
the steady discipline of the Romans forced back the hosts of
Cassivelaunus, and Cæsar apparently followed his retreating forces,
first, in a north-westerly, and then in a direction due north, till
they arrived at the banks of the Thames, a little to the west of Walton
bridge. Here Cassivelaunus resolved to resist the further progress
of Cæsar,[434] but was defeated in a well contested action, which
rendered any further struggle against the Romans in that part, at
least, of England, hopeless.
[Sidenote: Cæsar makes terms with the Britons, and re-embarks his
legions.]
The legions of Cæsar had suffered so severely in this campaign, that he
was equally glad with the native princes to enter into negotiations for
peace; and, on the conclusion of these, he withdrew his army to Gaul,
in little more than two months after his disembarkation at Lymne. As
his homeward journey across the Channel lasted but eight hours, he must
have had the wind in his favour.
[Sidenote: Advantages derived by the Britons from their intercourse
with the Romans.]
When the magnitude of the preparations which Cæsar made for his second
expedition are considered, it can hardly be doubted that his intentions
were to subjugate the whole of Britain. Tacitus, however, in his life
of Agricola, confesses that Cæsar, in his two campaigns, only made
the discovery of Britain; that, though victorious, he was unable to
maintain his position;[435][436] that, on leaving the island, not a
single Roman was left behind him; and that, for nearly a hundred years
afterwards, the Britons were as free as ever, and paid no tribute to
the imperial city.[437] Yet the Romans and ancient Britons were alike
gainers by their mutual intercourse; for, from this period, their
commercial intercourse rapidly increased. The corn and cattle of the
Britons rose to a value hitherto unknown, while iron, and pearls of
an inferior description, were eagerly sought after by the Romans. A
new and vast field was opened up for their tin, lead, wool, and skins.
Their slaves,[438] and dogs, of a remarkable breed, were in great
demand; and were readily exchanged for the cut ivory, bridles, gold
chains, cups of amber, drinking glasses, and trinkets of various kinds
which the Romans exported. A considerable trade also arose between
the two countries in lime, marl, and chalk, and in the manufacture of
baskets, graceful in design, and curious in workmanship, for which the
Britons were famous.
[Sidenote: Conquest of Britain, A.D. 43.]
[Sidenote: Its state of civilization.]
Beyond these facts, however, nothing is known of what passed in Britain
between the time when Julius Cæsar left it, and the period when it
first became a Roman province under Claudius. When, however, the armies
of Claudius landed upon its soil, the Britons had advanced far beyond
the painted savages who first exchanged their tin for the trinkets of
Phœnicia; and although, in the remote portions of the island, there
were still to be found many barbarous tribes, the inhabitants of the
coast and of the commercial cities were then scarcely less civilized
than they were a thousand years afterwards at the period of the Norman
Conquest. London, or Londinium, is described by Tacitus as a place then
of considerable trade, though not dignified with the name of a colony,
and as the chief residence of the merchants. Clausentum[439] (old
Southampton), and Rutupi (Richborough) were commercial ports of some
importance, and were occupied by traders who dealt largely with those
of Gaul, and extended their business even to Rome itself.
Traders from the neighbouring coasts, but more especially from that
section of the Germans known by the name of Belgæ,[440] who centuries
before had settled on the opposite coast between the Rhine and the
Seine, were, in many cases, the intermediate dealers between the
Britons and the continental tribes. The whole country was then, as had
no doubt been the case for some time previous to the invasion, divided
into several small states presided over by chiefs, who are dignified
by historians with the title of king. Ptolemy, in his geography,[441]
mentions various towns in different parts of Britain of sufficient
importance in his time to be recorded, all tending to show that a
state of civilization then prevailed throughout the island, and that
barbarism and savage life were the exception rather than the rule.
Amongst the towns noticed by Ptolemy may be mentioned Isca Damnoniorum
(Exeter); Durnium (Dorchester); Venta Belgarum (Winchester), which
was a place of great fame in his time; Aquæ-solis (Bath), so called
from its hot waters; Ischalis, now Ilchester, and Guildford in Surrey
(Noviomagus). Numerous towns and seaports are also noticed by him, as,
for instance, in Kent, Rochester, Dover, and Lymne; and in the west
and north-west of England, Gleva (Gloucester); Deva (Chester); and
near it Uriconium (Wroxeter), the curious remains of which have been
quite recently explored;[442] Carlisle and Mona (Anglesey), the great
seat of the Druidical worship. In the interior of the country we may
record, as among the most famous of the Roman stations or colonies,
Eboracum (York); Lindum (Lincoln); Camalodunum (Colchester); Corinium,
(Cirencester); and Dorovernia (Canterbury); at or near all of which
places extensive Roman remains may still be seen.
The principality of Wales, formerly comprehending the whole country
beyond the Severn, was supposed by Tacitus[443] to have been originally
peopled by emigrants from Spain, and here too may be still traced the
vestiges of several Roman camps, as at Usk and Caerleon. At Stonehenge
and Abury, in Wiltshire, are still more ancient remains, monuments of
great interest, both for the size and the elegant disposition of the
stones of which they are formed; and which, at the same time, denote
considerable progress in the mechanical arts at a period antecedent,
perhaps, by centuries to the invasion of Cæsar.[444] Wherever we
go, we find that the Britons at the commencement of the Christian
era occupied a position, which, if far short of the high state of
civilization the Romans had reached, was greatly superior to that of
most of the northern nations of Europe, or to that of the Goths and
Vandals, when, three centuries afterwards, they overran the empire and
became masters of the imperial city.[445]
[Sidenote: Speech of Caractacus.]
Indeed, the famous speech of Caractacus, when taken captive to
Rome, shows a nobility of character, nay, we may add, an amount of
civilization that would not have been anticipated. “If I had made,”
said the noble Briton, “that prudent use of prosperity which my rank
and fortune enabled me to do, I might have come hither as your friend
rather than as your prisoner; nor would you have disdained the alliance
of a king descended from illustrious ancestors, and ruling over many
nations. My present condition, degrading as it is to me, reflects
glory on you. I once had horses, men, arms, and money; what wonder
is it if I was reluctant to part with them! Your object is to obtain
universal empire, and we must all be slaves! If I had submitted to you
without a blow, neither my own fortune nor your glory would have been
conspicuous, and all remembrances of me would have vanished when I had
received my punishment; but spare me my life, and I shall be a lasting
monument of your clemency.”
[Sidenote: The course of commerce with Rome.]
When the course of events is considered, it is not surprising that the
ancient Britons should have made less opposition to Claudius than they
had done ninety-seven years before to Julius Cæsar. They had learned in
the interval the advantages to be derived by intercourse with a much
more wealthy and more polished people than themselves. They saw that
not only the enlightenment of the mind accompanies civilization in its
progress, but that, as civilization increases, it creates wants which
require to be supplied, and luxuries which crave to be satisfied.
The routes taken by merchants and travellers continued for many
centuries much as they had been in the earliest times. Claudius,
however, when he left Rome for the seat of war in Britain, set sail
from the port of Ostia at the mouth of the Tiber, went by sea to
Massalia (Marseilles), and afterwards journeying, partly by land and
partly by the rivers till he reached the coast of Gaul on the English
Channel,[446] crossed over to Britain, and there joined “the forces
which awaited him near the Thames.” “There were then four ports,”
remarks Strabo,[447] “at which voyagers generally crossed from the
mainland to the island, at the mouths respectively of the river Rhône,
the Seine, the Loire, and the Garonne; but the travellers who crossed
from the country about the Rhine did not set sail from the mouth of
that river, preferring to pass through the Morini and to embark at its
port of Boulogne.”
[Sidenote: Inland water traffic.]
The ordinary traffic of those times was conveyed either on the backs
of mules or horses, across Gaul, as was the case with tin, or by the
rivers of that country: indeed, for a long period the merchant vessels
of Britain were not of a construction to brave the heavy gales and
stormy seas of the rude Atlantic, while Gaul was a country peculiarly
favoured in the conveniences it afforded for such an inland water
transit. Everywhere intersected by navigable rivers running in very
opposite directions, goods could be carried between the Mediterranean
and the English Channel, or the shores of the Atlantic, with little
assistance of land carriage. From Narbo, an ancient commercial port
of first-class importance already noticed, goods were carried a few
miles overland and re-shipped on the Garonne, which carried them to
Burdigala (Bordeaux). In the same way the Loire, the Seine, and the
Rhine afforded navigable facilities into the very heart of the country,
while all of them were easily connected with the Rhône or its great
navigable branches, thus completing the inland water-carriage between
the Mediterranean and the western and northern shores of Gaul.
[Sidenote: Transit duties.]
British goods destined for Rome, or for any port of the Mediterranean,
were chiefly conveyed by either of these inland routes, or across
country by the few highways or beaten tracks then in use.[448] In the
centre of this inland conveyance, at the junction of the Rhône with
the Saône (Arar), and within an easy distance of the other navigable
rivers flowing in the opposite direction, stood the great inland
emporium of Lyons (Lugdunum), a city then of much commercial importance
and second only to Narbo. This inland navigation, while of material
advantage to the inhabitants of the districts traversed, was, even
before the Roman conquest, a source of considerable emolument to the
proprietors of the lands adjacent to the rivers, as they were thus
able to levy a toll or transit duty on the boats passing through their
territories. These duties, we may presume from Strabo, were transferred
to the Roman coffers soon after Gaul became a Roman province, as he
distinctly asserts that (in his day at least) the duties on the imports
and exports of Britain constituted the only species of revenue derived
from Gaul by the Romans.[449] It is, moreover, not likely that the
government of Rome would permit its subjects to levy dues for their own
individual benefit.
[Sidenote: Articles of commerce, and knowledge of manufactures and of
the arts.]
“The commercial and friendly intercourse,” remarks Macpherson in his
Annals of Commerce,[450] “between the Britons and Gauls, which had
subsisted before the invasion of Julius Cæsar, still continued, and was
probably increased in consequence of the greater assortment of goods
now in the hands of the Romanized Gallic merchants.” Tin, which was
still the chief article of British commerce, after being cast into
cubic masses, remained, and long continued, the general staple of the
British trade. “But besides it,” continues the same author, “there was
then exported to Gaul, either for sale in that country, or for further
transit, lead, corn, cattle, hides, under the description of which,
perhaps, wool is included; gold, silver, iron, ornaments for bridles,
and various toys made of a substance which the Romans called ivory,
but more probably the bone of some large fish; ornamental chains,
vessels made of amber and of glass, with some other trifling articles;
also precious stones and pearls; slaves, who were captives taken in
the wars carried on by the tribes against each other; dogs of various
species, all excellent in their kinds, which were highly valued by the
Roman connoisseurs in hunting, and by the Gauls, who used them not only
against wild animals in the chase, but also against their enemies in
the field of battle; and bears for the sanguinary sport of the Roman
circus, though probably not so early as the age of Augustus.”
Brass, brazen vessels, salt, and earthenware, were then, with the
lighter articles and trinkets previously named, the chief articles of
import from Gaul into Britain. Though chiefly occupied in pastoral
and agricultural pursuits, the ancient Britons, from the character of
their exports, evidently understood, not merely the arts of extracting
tin and lead and even gold silver and iron from their mines, but were
skilled in the manufacture of objects in glass and amber, and also in
some works purely ornamental, as well as in the conversion of iron
to many useful purposes. Skins were no doubt still used as articles
of dress by many of the less civilized inhabitants who resided in
the remote parts of the island; but those Britons who occupied the
frequented parts of the coast, or the chief towns, were, from the
observations of Cæsar, clothed in better and more comfortable garments,
very likely in woollen cloths. As manufactures in wool were among
the earliest arts which first brought England into notice as a great
commercial nation many centuries afterwards, it is reasonable to
suppose that woollen fabrics may, even in early times, have been part
of the staple of the country.
[Sidenote: Colchester, and its mint.]
Colchester, the principal city of eastern Britain, was made by
Claudius,[451] at the commencement of the Christian era, as appears
from his coins, a Roman colony. Here Cunobeline, king of the countries
lying between the Thames and the Nen, established a mint, of which
as many as sixty varieties have been engraved by Mr. Evans.[452] No
descriptive account of this ancient town has been preserved, but
it is reasonable to suppose that, as the capital in which the king
resided, it was better built than the “fenced collection of huts” Cæsar
describes.
[Sidenote: London.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 61.]
Some doubts have been expressed as to the very early antiquity
of London; and, on the whole, it is most likely that it was not
till Claudius had appointed Plautius to the supreme command of the
island, that the Romans directed their attention to London,[453]
and established it as the chief commercial centre for the arts and
manufactures of Kent and of the valley of the Thames, over which river,
if the testimony of Dio can be relied on, the Britons had already
constructed a bridge somewhere near the site of the lowest of the
existing structures. Ten years afterwards, in the reign of Nero, we
hear of the now famous city, the greatest and wealthiest the world
has ever seen, having become the residence of a great number of such
dealers as the Romans dignified with the title of merchants, and
between whom and the small traders of Rome, Cicero drew, as we have
already noticed, so marked and so supercilious a distinction.
[Sidenote: Agricola, A.D. 78-85.]
It is not the province of this work to follow in detail the course of
Roman conquest. It is sufficient to state that the Romans only gained
their footing in Britain by slow degrees, and that the legions which
had conquered other countries almost as soon as they marched into them,
had to encounter many a sturdy foe, and to achieve many a hard-earned
victory, ere they obtained full control over a people, who, though
fully alive to the advantages of a commercial intercourse with Rome,
cherished a love of independence unsurpassed by any other nation of
antiquity. Indeed, it was not until the governorship of Agricola
that Britain could in any sense be called a Roman province; and that
Agricola succeeded where other generals, such as Plautius and Ostorius
Scapula, had failed, is mainly attributable to the care and gentleness
of his administration, and to his obvious desire to make the chains he
had forged for the British as agreeable as possible to them. Agricola
was the first Roman general who had penetrated into Scotland; he was
also the first to sail round the whole country, an undertaking then of
no ordinary danger, especially at the advanced season of the year when
it was performed. It is a striking remark of Tacitus that the harbours
of Ireland, which one or two centuries before had been visited by the
Gauls, and perhaps at a still earlier period by the Carthaginians, were
then better known to continental merchants by means of their commerce
than to those of Britain.
[Sidenote: His fleet sails round Britain.]
[Sidenote: The influence of the rule of Agricola on the Britons.]
Altogether the rule of Agricola proved as remarkable as it was
certainly at variance with the usual habits and practices of Roman
proconsuls. When once he had laid down the sword, he encouraged a taste
among the Britons for the pleasures of civilized life; first exhorting,
then assisting them to build temples and places of public resort, and
commending and rewarding those who were assiduous and forward in such
pursuits: in this way he hoped to subdue their restless spirit, and to
give scope to their excitement in other pursuits than those of war.
He also took care to have the sons of their chiefs instructed in the
liberal sciences, inducing many of them to study the Roman language,
which they had previously despised, to copy the manners and customs
of Rome, and even to adopt the costume of its citizens. Nor were his
efforts confined to the improvement and amelioration of their social
position. He had learned, from the conduct of those who had preceded
him in the government of Britain, how little arms avail to settle a
province, if victory is followed by grievances and oppressions; he
therefore displayed his superior wisdom by removing every just cause
for complaint. Beginning with himself, and with those around him, he
regulated his own household, so that in its conduct it might be an
example for others to follow; his domestics, according to Tacitus,[454]
were not allowed to transact any business concerning the public; and,
in promoting or rewarding the soldiers, he was induced to do so by
no personal interest or partiality, nor by the recommendations of
centurions, but by his own opinion and knowledge of them. By such means
as these Agricola, by degrees, reconciled the Britons to the government
of Rome; and, though their love of independence was never actually
subdued, they were content to live, if unopposed, in peace, and in
friendly intercourse with the invaders of their soil. Caledonia alone
kept up an angry hostility to the yoke of Rome, and seized, on the
departure of Agricola, the castles and forts he had raised in various
parts of Scotland.
[Sidenote: Hadrian, A.D. 120.]
[Sidenote: State of commerce in and after his reign.]
During the thirty-five years which elapsed after the recall of
Agricola, until the reign of the Emperor Hadrian, the Roman historians,
from whom alone we derive our information, hardly deign to notice
the island; while, as is well known, no native records, or even what
might perhaps have been a copy of a native record, have come down to
us: indeed, it may be seriously doubted whether letters were at all
generally known beyond the schools of the Druids. There is, however,
every reason to suppose that the Britons pursued with persevering
industry those commercial occupations we have already named; that the
advice and example of Agricola had not been given in vain, or neglected
on his departure; and, that, long ere that time, trade and commerce
must have taken deep root in the island, as the city of London had
even then given tokens of its aptitude to become the mercantile capital
of the world.[455] The pearl fisheries, abandoned afterwards from
the inherent defects of British pearls, were developed to an extent
hitherto unknown; and a trade was opened out in oysters, which were
actually conveyed, probably by one of the overland routes, to Rome, to
satisfy the cravings of the epicures of the imperial city. Indeed, they
were in such demand as to form a subject for the poet’s satire.
“Could at one bite the oyster’s taste decide,
And say if at Circæan rocks, or in
The Lucrine lake, or on the coasts of Richborough,
In Britain, they were bred.”[456]
Another extensive trade, the manufacture of baskets, is casually
mentioned, in the same strain of wit, by another Roman poet in the
following lines:—
“Work of barbaric art, a basket, _I_
From painted Britain came, but the Roman city
Now call the painted Britons’ art their own.”[457]
[Sidenote: The Caledonian incursions.]
We also learn, incidentally,[458] that the people of the northern part
of Scotland, although the shores swarmed with fish, did not eat them,
but subsisted entirely by hunting and on the fruits of the earth.
Not satisfied with the possession of the forts Agricola had erected
for the protection of the Britons against the Caledonians, the Emperor
Hadrian, who visited the island in person, finding that they had
extended their warlike and predatory excursions to the south of the
Tyne, was compelled to drive them back to their mountain fastnesses by
the superior force of fresh legions. Alarmed, however, by their daring
and intrepidity, or not considering it worth while to follow them north
of that river, he caused the wall to be built which still bears his
name, from the Eden in Cumberland to the Tyne in Northumberland, to
restrain them from again making incursions into the Roman province.
Hadrian’s rampart, however, was soon breached, for seventy miles of
wall required more soldiers to protect it than the Romans could spare,
and though subsequent walls were built at different times, all of these
proved equally ineffective in repressing the advances of the Picts:
till, at length, Severus was compelled to purchase a peace by money
which his arms had failed to secure.[459]
[Sidenote: Piratical invasions of the Germans.]
[Sidenote: Carausius seizes the fleet of Maximian, and declares himself
Emperor of Britain.]
But Rome had innumerable difficulties to contend against in the
government of Britain beyond the inroads of the Caledonians, who
had ever spurned and resisted her rule. The Franks and other German
nations had for some time invaded the coasts adjacent to them with
piratical incursions, and had reaped a rich harvest from the plunder
of the sea-coast towns and of the vessels of the traders employed
between Britain and Gaul. In order to repress these sea-robbers, the
Emperor Maximian built a fleet of ships, the command of which he gave
to Carausius, an officer of great experience in naval and military
affairs, to whose history we have already alluded. Though a traitor
to the government he professed to serve, and possessing himself no
claims to the allegiance of the Britons, there is no doubt that the
island prospered under his brief rule, and for the first time was able
to claim the proud title of mistress of the northern seas, a title,
however, she soon lost, and only regained after tremendous struggles,
twelve centuries afterwards. Britain, during the seven years’ reign
of Carausius, seems to have possessed more wealth and prosperity
than during any similar period of Roman rule, while the flourishing
state of the arts at that period of her history is shown by the
number and elegance of his coins, three hundred varieties of which,
in gold, silver, or copper, are now preserved in different numismatic
collections.
But though Britain may have flourished in material prosperity under
Carausius, no Roman emperor could have allowed his rebellious acts to
remain unchastised, and hence, after a long preparation, Constantius
was sent to England with a powerful force, and in a short space
of time restored the imperial sway; not the less easily, perhaps,
that Carausius had in the meanwhile been murdered by his lieutenant
Allectus. No mention is made of the number of ships or troops
constituting the expedition of Constantius, but it must have been on
an extensive scale, as it captured in its first attempt the port of
Boulogne, with part of the British fleet.[460]
[Sidenote: Welsh and Scots, A.D. 360.]
[Sidenote: Saxons, A.D. 364.]
[Sidenote: Their ships.]
Nor do historians afford much information with regard to the affairs
of Britain from the death of Constantius, father of Constantine the
Great, until more than fifty years afterwards, when its Roman subjects
were seriously harassed by the Welsh on the west, and the Caledonians
on the north, who ravaged the frontiers and spread terror throughout
the now civilized provinces of Britannia Romana. Nor was this all:
while harassed by the descendants of the Celts, the Germanic Saxons
invaded England on the east and south, startling the Romans and their
subjects by the daring intrepidity with which they skimmed over the
roughest seas in “boats of leather,” and, without respect of persons
or property, plundered and carried off everything worthy of removal.
Besides these frail craft the Saxons, however, possessed more than one
description of vessel altogether superior to their leather-covered
boats, called by the old historians in Latin, _Kiulæ_; in Saxon,
_Ceol_, or _Ciol_; and in English, _Keels_.[461] Some writers also
maintain that they had strong open boats adapted to warfare at sea.
That these German rovers possessed larger vessels than even their
war-galleys is ascertained by the fact that, within seventy or
eighty years after they first gained a secure footing in Britain,
they received a reinforcement of “five thousand men, in seventeen
ships,”[462] or at the rate of about three hundred men to a ship,
besides provisions, stores, and munitions of war. But of their form,
size, or equipment no accounts have been preserved, and it can,
therefore, tend to no useful purpose to attempt, as Mr. Strutt has
done, the reproduction of the supposed types of the vessels of Canute,
as all such drawings are only the creations of fancy.
It may be reasonable, however, to infer that the better class of
Saxon vessels were copies of the Roman or British galleys, used by
Carausius or Constantius, possibly with some addition, such as higher
bulwarks, fitting them the better to resist the stormy and pitching
sea of the German Ocean. However slow the progress of improvement may
have been among a body of merchants and shipowners, whose property was
perpetually exposed to depredation and destruction, there can be no
doubt that the princes of those days in Britain and throughout northern
Europe availed themselves of all the resources of the time to display
their maritime consequence and power to the best advantage. It can,
indeed, be hardly questioned that the long and comparatively peaceful
intercourse between the seamen of the north and the south must have
familiarized the Vikings with such improvements in the construction
of shipping as had been worked out by the nations bordering on the
Mediterranean; and though, for short and hasty expeditions, the
Northmen or the Saxons may have been willing to trust themselves to
small or ill-constructed open boats, there is no reason to suppose this
would be the case, either when they had heavy and bulky merchandise,
or their best and bravest warriors, to convey in safety on long and
perilous voyages.
On the invasion of the Celts and of the Teutonic tribes, the
inhabitants of Britain were unable to make an adequate defence. Unlike
their hardy forefathers, who had needed no aid but their own good
right hands, they had become accustomed to look for protection to
their Roman masters, and to delegate to others what they ought to have
achieved themselves. Nor were the northern tribes their only foes.
Besides their new invaders, they had to contend with gangs of Roman
soldiers, who, cheated of their pay by their officers, infested the
highways as robbers, and extorted provisions from the natives.[463]
[Sidenote: State of the Britons when abandoned by the Romans.]
It might have been supposed that the Britons, improved in learning,
in agriculture, in manufactures, and in the arts and sciences by
four centuries of Roman instruction, would have become a great and
flourishing people. They had, indeed, natural advantages superior to
all their rivals, in the possession of some of the finest harbours in
the world, of minerals, and of a soil as fruitful, if not more so than
that of any of the countries around them. But while Rome had raised
the Britons in the social scale, and imparted to them knowledge of the
highest value for the development of their vast natural resources, she
had, especially towards the close of her career, greatly weakened them,
by the heavy drafts of their best sons for employment in local wars,
or to be posted far away as garrisons in distant provinces. It is,
therefore, probable that Rome left our forefathers comparatively poorer
and, assuredly, in a weaker condition than they were when she usurped
the government of their island.
Of the origin of the Saxons, whose aid the Britons are said to have
sought after the departure of the Romans, nothing is distinctly known,
except that they had, for some time previously, made themselves masters
of the territory lying between the Elbe and the Rhine, pushing forwards
their conquests or occupation of the country as far as the coasts of
Zealand, part of the present kingdom of Holland. Their occupation of
England was probably exceedingly gradual, the south and east having
been early peopled with these strangers, so that the so-called Saxon
conquest was really, therefore, rather the slow result of their
increasing numbers than of such a development of military or naval
genius as is seen in the later inroads of the Danes or of William the
Norman.
FOOTNOTES:
[406] Lucan, Phars. iv. cf. Fest. Avienus, “Ora Maritima,” v. 80-130,
and Plin. iv. c. 16.
[407] Cæsar describes the ships of the Veneti, B. G. iii. 13.
[408] Sueton. Claud. c. 18. Cod. Theodos. v. 13, 5.
[409] Cæs. Bell. Gall. v. 12, 14.
[410] Ibid. ii. 4.
[411] Ibid. v. 22.
[412] Ibid. v. 12.
[413] Tacit. Agric. c. ii.
[414] Cæs. Bell. Gall. iv. 19.
[415] Cæs. Bell. Gall. vi. 13, 14.
[416] Ibid. v. 10.
[417] Ibid. v. 15.
[418] Sussex was the chief seat of the iron manufacture of England till
coal became abundant. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth seventy-three
furnaces are said to have been at work, and the last, at Ashburnham,
was only blown out in 1827. The railings round St. Paul’s Cathedral
(temp. Queen Anne) are made of Sussex iron.
[419] Virgil, Eclog. i. 67.
[420] Tacit. Agric. Sueton. Cæs. c. 46, 47.
[421] Cæs. Bell. Gall. iv. 18.
[422] Ibid. v. 16.
[423] Dio. xxxix. 51.
[424] Cæs. Bell. Gall. iv. 18.
[425] Cæs. Bell. Gall. iv. c. 21.
[426] It would be out of place here to discuss the vexed question of
the places, respectively, whence Cæsar started from France, and where
he landed in England. We can only say that, having read the several
memoirs on this subject, by Halley, d’Anville, Dr. Guest, Master of
Caius Coll., Cambr., the Astronomer Royal, and Mr. Lewin, we are
inclined to think that the essay by the last-named writer (London,
1859) is the most consistent with the language of Cæsar himself. In the
following pages, therefore, his views have been generally adopted.
[427] By the Passengers Act, which applies to all British possessions,
except India and Hong Kong, the space allowed in passenger ships to
each statute adult is not to be less than 15 clear superficial feet
in the poop or in the upper passenger-deck, nor less than 18 clear
superficial feet on the lower passenger-deck; and the height between
decks is not to be less than 6 feet for the upper passenger-deck, nor
less than 7 feet for the lower passenger-deck. Each person of twelve
years and upwards, and two children between one and twelve years, count
as an adult.
By the 16 and 17 Vict. cap. 84, however, the governors of colonies may,
by proclamation, reduce this space to 12 superficial feet in the case
of passengers, _being natives of Asia and Africa_, sailing from their
governments.
[428] Cæs. B. G. iv. 32, 33.
[429] It seems a reasonable conjecture that in the name of Romney
(_i.e._, Roman marsh or island) we have a relic of Cæsar’s invasion.
[430] Cæs. B. G. v. 2.
[431] Cæs. B. G. v. 1.
[432] The “Invasion of Britain by Julius Cæsar,” by Thomas Lewin, Esq.,
M.A., 1859.
[433] Cæs. B. G. v. 19; and Roach Smith’s “Antiquities of Richborough,
Reculver, and Lymne. Lond. 1850.”
[434] It is generally supposed that Cassivelaunus, in execution of a
well concerted plan, retired, followed by Cæsar, from the banks of
the Stour along the southern side of the chalk hills running from Wye
to Dorking, and then down the right bank of the Mole to the nearest
point of the Thames at “Coway stakes,” situated between Walton and
Shepperton. In the year 1855, the author of this work purchased the
principal property in the latter parish, and a few years afterwards
that of Halliford, so named from the ford at Coway, where the Romans
are supposed to have crossed the Thames. Since then he has resided
almost constantly in the Manor-house of Shepperton, which, on the
authority of Stukeley and of other antiquaries, occupies the site where
Cæsar pitched his camp after the final defeat of the ancient Britons.
The paddock, about fourteen acres in extent, attached to his house,
is said to have derived its name from the fact that there the battle
between the Romans and Britons raged in its greatest fury, and that
there it ended, with great carnage, in the overthrow of Cassivelaunus.
In the recent Ordnance maps, as well as in some maps of an ancient
date, this paddock is described as “War-close field, from which there
has been dug spears, swords, and great quantities of human bones.”
Cæsar in his Commentaries remarks (book v. c. xvii): ‘Cæsar, perceiving
their design, marched the army to the river Thames, towards the
territory of Cassivelaunus; that river was fordable only at one place,
and there with difficulty. When he arrived, he saw that the enemy was
drawn up in great force at the opposite bank of the river; but the
bank was fortified with stakes fixed in front; stakes also of the same
kind were driven into the bed of the river, concealed from view by the
stream. Cæsar, learning this from the prisoners and deserters, having
sent the cavalry before, ordered the legions to follow closely. This
the soldiers did with such celerity and vigour, their heads only seen
above water, that the enemy could not sustain the shock of the legions
and cavalry, but abandoned the banks and betook themselves to flight.
Besides the traces of a great Roman camp, still distinctly visible
on the brow of St. George’s hill, about two miles from Coway stakes,
the footprints of the legions are to be seen in many places round
Shepperton, and have been noted by Bede, Roy, Camden, Salmon, Gale,
Stukeley, and other antiquarian writers. To these the author may add
his own testimony, having found, in different parts of the property
(especially when cleaning out a ditch which runs through War-close),
various Roman coins and spikes, resembling spear-heads. Other relics of
the Romans, such as urns, have frequently been dug from the gravel-pits
opened during his time in different fields in the parish.
[435] Tacit. Agric. c. 13; and Strabo confirms this view (iv. c. 4.).
[436] Ibid. c. 15.
[437] Tacit. Ann. xii. 34.
[438] Strabo speaks, from personal observation, of the large stature of
the Britons whom he saw at Rome.
[439] Generally considered to be represented by the village of Bittern,
about one and a half miles up the Itchen, above the present Southampton.
[440] Cæs. B. G. vi. 13 and 14. Ibid. v. 14.
[441] Ptol. Geogr. ii. c. 3.
[442] “Uriconium, or Wroxeter,” by T. Wright, F.S.A. Lond. 1872.
[443] Tacit. Ann. xii. c. 31.
[444] “Abury Illustrated,” by W. Long, M.A. Devizes, 1858.
[445] Nor can we omit noticing here a matter which has in former
times been much disputed, whether or no there are any coins, clearly
British, antecedent to the invasion of Cæsar. On the evidence of all
the best MSS. of Cæsar’s Commentaries, especially of a very fine one
of the tenth century in the British Museum, we find Cæsar distinctly
stating that the Britons “use either brass money or gold money, or
instead of money, iron rings, adjusted to a certain weight.” (Cæs.
Bell. Gall. v. 10. E. Hawkins’ “Silver Coins of England” (1841), pp.
9-14. Evans’ “Coins of the Ancient Britons,” pp. 18 and 285. Lond.
1864.) It was only about the seventeenth century that the editors of
Cæsar, Scaliger leading the way, corrupted this passage and made him
assert that only substitutes for money were used by the natives. All
the facts are in favour of the MSS., for coins of gold, sometimes of
silver, but very rarely of copper, are found in different parts of
England, and as is evident to any eye, are in form, fabric, and type,
constructed on a model differing essentially from any thing of Roman
origin. Indeed, as is well known to numismatists, the original British
coins were constructed on Greek models, and, however rude, may be
traced back, step by step, to the gold money (staters) of Philip, the
father of Alexander the Great. Plenty of coins exist of the time of
Cæsar’s second invasion and of Cunobeline, who was alive in the reign
of Claudius; the first, in a purely British (_i.e._, Greek) type, the
second, with an obvious imitation of those of the Romans—and perhaps
executed, as some have thought, by Roman artists.—Tacit. Annals, xii.
31-36.
[446] Dion. Cass. lx. c. 21.
[447] Strabo, iv. 2.
[448] Strabo, iii. p. 119; ii. p. 190; iv. pp. 279, 318. Diod. Sic. v.
s. 22.
[449] Ibid. ii. p. 176; and iv. p. 306.
[450] Ibid. i. p. 132.
[451] Dion. lx. 21.
[452] J. Evans, “Coins of the Ancient Britons,” p. 284, &c. Lond. 1864.
[453] Details of early London in Ptol. i. 15; vi. 8. Tacit. Ann. xiv.
33. It is first mentioned by Tacitus.
[454] Tacit. Vit. Agric. c. 19.
[455] Tacit. Ann. xiv. 33.
[456] Juvenal, Sat. iv. 140.
[457] Martial, xiv. 99.
[458] Dion. lxvi. 12.
[459] For further details, see Rev. J. C. Bruce, “The Roman Wall from
Tyne to Solway.” 4to., 1867.
[460] An attempt has been made by one or two writers to connect the
name of Carausius with the “War of Caros” in the so-called “Poems of
Ossian.” For this there will be some pretence, whenever it shall be
shown that Ossian exists, except in the brain of Macpherson.
[461] Camden describes Kiulæ as a general name for all Saxon vessels.
Other writers say that Kiula meant “long ships,” _i.e._, men of war, or
galleys, whatever might be their precise shape. _Keel_ now represents
a description of barge which has long been in use in the north of
England, and especially on the Tyne, built to hold twenty-one tons four
hundredweight, or a keel of coals.
[462] Macpherson’s “Annals of Commerce,” i. p. 217.
[463] Bede places the final withdrawal of the Roman forces from
England, and the consequent misfortunes which befell the native
Britons, at just before the siege of Rome by Attila, A.D. 409. Eccles.
Hist. i. c. 2. See also “Uriconium,” by T. Wright. 8vo., 1872.
CHAPTER XI.
The early Scandinavian Vikings settle on the coast of Scotland
and elsewhere—Great skill as seamen—Discovery of ancient ship,
and of other early relics—Incursions of the Saxons and Angles
into Britain; and its state soon afterwards—London—Accession
of Offa, A.D. 755—Restrictions on trade and commerce—Salutary
regulations—Charlemagne’s first treaty of commerce with England,
A.D. 796—Extension of French commerce, A.D. 813—Commerce of
England harassed by the Danes—Their ships, and the habits of
their owners—Increase of the Northern marauders—Language of the
Northmen still spoken by mariners in the North—Accession of
Alfred the Great, A.D. 871: his efforts to improve navigation,
and to extend the knowledge of geography—Foundation of a royal
and commercial navy—His voyages of discovery and missions to
the East—Reign of Edward the Elder, A.D. 901-25, and of his son
Athelstan, A.D. 925-41—Edgar’s fleet, and his arrangements for
suppressing piracy—The wisdom of his policy—Ethelred II., A.D.
979-1016—Sufferings of the people—Charges on vessels trading to
London—Olaf, king of Norway, his ships, and those of Swein—Love
of display—Mode of navigating—Canute, A.D. 1016—Reduction of
the English fleet—Prosperity of commerce—Norman invasion, A.D.
1066—Number of vessels engaged, and their form—State of trade
and commerce—Exports—Manufactures—Wealth—Imports—Taxation—London
specially favoured—Chester specially burdened—State of the people
at the time of the Conquest.
[Sidenote: The early Scandinavian Vikings settle on the coast of
Scotland, and elsewhere.]
Among the numerous tribes which overran Europe during the third,
fourth, and fifth centuries, it would not be easy to give to any one
a position of superiority over the others in the theory and practice
of maritime commerce. Requiring wider fields for their energy, and a
soil more suited for a superabundant population than could be found
amidst the barren mountains of Scandinavia or in the northern portions
of Germany, the first object of most of them, as was the case with
the Goths and Vandals, was, doubtless, to obtain greater means of
subsistence. But desolate hills, and a string of small islands along a
deeply indented coast, with deep and narrow water between them and the
mainland, afforded a natural home for the Vikings’ tribe; while the
mainland itself became available as a great sea-fortress for countless
fleets.
By the physical structure of the country, there run out from a solid
centre of mountain-land a multitude of rocks, like great prongs, with
deep gulfs between them filled from the sea. These are the celebrated
Fiords, which send branches or inlets through the mountains on either
side, some of them longer than the longest sea lochs of the West
Highlands of Scotland. Except in the few places where large rivers
make deltas of silt, the rocks run sheer down into deep water, so that
vessels can lie close to the land in the smallest crevices or bays.
The entrances to wide stretches of fiord are sometimes so narrow, and
consequently so easily defended, that the people speak of the stones
rolling from the tops of the high rocky banks, and bounding across the
water, so as to strike the opposite shore. It was of little consequence
to the Vikings that the soil around them was hard and barren, for the
value to them of that soil was in protection, not in produce. The only
articles they required for home industry were the timber, iron, and
pitch, for the building of their vessels, and the fish which abounded
in their narrow seas. All their other wants were provided by plunder
from the industrious and affluent communities of other lands.
In the Hebrides and the sea-lochs of the Highlands they found harbours
of retreat the same in character, though not in greatness, as those
they left behind them; and we may fairly suppose that it was for
these, not necessarily for any temptation in the prospect of plunder,
that those districts were frequented by them. Hence it was that the
Orkney and other Northern Isles, and even a great part of the north of
Scotland, came in hand more naturally to the monarch ruling in Norway
than to the king of the Scots.
When we find these sea-rovers in the north-west of Scotland and in
Ireland, it becomes obvious, and is confirmed by facts, that they took
the north-east coast of Scotland and the northern islands in their way.
As the Shetland Islands are not more than two hundred miles distant
from the mouths of two of their greatest fiords—the Hardanger and the
Sogne, it may be inferred that these islands, or Caithness, was their
first landfall, where they could swarm off to the Faroes or Iceland, on
the one side, or to Scotland, England, and Ireland, on the other.
[Sidenote: Great skill as seamen.]
As the Vikings must have been thorough seamen, with a great capacity
in the handling of their vessels, it is to be regretted, for the sake
of arts and inventions, that we have not a fuller knowledge of the
details of their craft, and of their method of working them. With,
perhaps, the exception of the Phœnicians and Carthaginians, their
achievements in navigation were on a scale unknown in the world
of ancient history. Whether or not they were the first discoverers
of Vinland (or North America), they quickly found their way to the
Mediterranean, and were known on every European coast from Iceland to
Constantinople. Their rapid movements directly across wide, stormy
oceans show a start in seamanship passing at once beyond the capacity
of the earlier navigators who crept along the shore. Their ordinary
galleys were adapted to the Mediterranean, where they were used down
to the seventeenth century. They had small square sails merely to get
help from a stern wind, their chief mode of propulsion being oars; but
it may be reasonably supposed that the Vikings, when they performed,
as they so often did, the feat of sailing from their place of retreat
straight across a stormy ocean, and of pouncing unexpectedly on the
opposite shore, had made considerable advance in the rigging and
handling of sailing vessels.
From incidental allusions in the Sagas, it is believed that a fleet
fitted out for fighting and plunder was accompanied by lumber ships
to carry slaves for the drudgery work, provisions, munitions, and
perhaps the heavier portion of the plunder. As to the size of their
light narrow war ships, it has been calculated by an ardent and skilful
student of the habits of the Norsemen, that one favourite vessel, “the
Long Serpent,” must have been above a hundred feet in length.[464]
The monk of the Irish house of St. Gall, who tells the story of
Charlemagne weeping when he saw a pirate fleet in the Mediterranean,
also tells how the emperor’s acute eye at once detected, from the
build and swiftness of the vessels, that their purpose was not trade
but mischief.[465]
[Sidenote: Discovery of ancient ship and of other early relics.]
Some remarkable discoveries in Denmark have revealed recently the
remains of a plank-built boat sufficiently complete to admit of the
entire reconstruction of the vessel as it floated. If we compare this
vessel (see page 336) with the accounts of the hide-covered coracles
which carried the Scots from Ireland, or with the lumbering canoe
cut out of the solid wood, such as may still be seen on the lakes of
Bavaria, we obtain at a glance the measure of the high capacity of
those who built the vessels for the Vikings. The Northern antiquaries
have fixed her date as “the early iron age,” probably about the
fifth century. Close examination has led to the conclusion that she
was entirely a row-boat, with no arrangement for help from canvas;
“yet it is seventy-seven feet long, measured from stem to stern, and
proportionally rather broad in the middle.”[466]
It immediately recalls the light handy boats of smaller size still used
on the Norwegian coast, and in the Shetlands; and its structure is so
thoroughly adapted to a union of lightness, speed, and strength, that
it has been compared with the class of vessels now called clippers.
[Illustration: ANCIENT DANISH VESSEL.]
There are peculiarities in its structure, testifying to the abundance
both of material and skilled labour. The timber or heavy planks, for
instance, instead of being sawn into boards of equal thickness—or
thinness—throughout, are cut thin where thinness was desirable, but
thick at points of juncture, that they may be mortised into the
cross-beams and gunwale, instead of being merely nailed. The vessel has
two bows, or rather is alike at bow and stern, with thirty rowlocks,
and it is noticed that these, along with the helm, are reversible,
so as to permit the vessel to be rowed with either end forward.[467]
The gunwale rises with the keel, at each extremity, into a high beak
or prow, a notable feature of the Norwegian boats of the present day.
The build is of the kind technically called “clinker,” each plank
overlapping that immediately below, from the gunwale to the keel: in
the peat-moss containing these remains many other testimonies to wealth
and industrial civilization, especially to boat-building, were found.
It is alike interesting and instructive to trace the progress of these
northern tribes, and the mechanical means at their disposal which
enabled them to construct vessels which could in safety navigate
distant seas, for there can be no doubt that these wild adventurers,
barbarous as they undoubtedly were, became, in the hands of Providence,
useful instruments for saving from extinction a large portion of the
human race, who, under the Roman rule in the later days of its folly,
had become unable to maintain their position either as independent
nations, or as provinces of the imperial city. Surely it was good for
mankind that the Goths and Vandals became masters of Rome, when Rome in
her last decay could no longer govern herself.
[Sidenote: Incursions of the Saxons and Angles into Britain;]
Nor was the change of people to the disadvantage of Britain. Though
not to the same extent, the Romanized Britons had imbibed the vices
of their rulers, and were too effeminate to defend the lands the
Romans had, in their extremity, abandoned. The coming of a new race,
the Saxons and Angles of Schleswig, was needed to revive the energies
of a population who had not been able to drive back the far more
barbarous Picts, though, for a long time, under the Anglo-Saxon rule,
also, commercial enterprise in Britain remained at a low ebb. For
a while, indeed, even the faint light of learning, which remained
when the Romans left, appears to have been almost extinguished by
the long-continued and bloody wars which, during this gloomy period,
depopulated the country and desolated the cities of Britain.
[Sidenote: and its state soon afterwards.]
Almost everything that is known of the state of Britain, and of its
commerce and manufactures, from the time of its evacuation by Rome till
the commencement of the eighth century, is derived from the ancient
biographies of the Saints, then the chief, if not the sole, histories
of the Western world; and faint indeed is the glimmering of light
which these writers throw upon the state of navigation during those
periods.[468] From these writers we get the story of the first Saxon
expedition, together with the traditional tales of Hengist and Horsa,
and of the fifteen hundred men, and the three long vessels or “ships”
they came in. No reliance can, however, be placed, as Mr. Kemble has
shown, on this statement; nor is it likely that the vessels of the
northern pirates were superior to those Saxon craft already noticed, in
which, on their second expedition, the Saxons are said to have landed
seventeen thousand men on the shores of Britain.
[Sidenote: London.]
Indeed, the accounts of the internal state of Britain and Ireland
during that portion of the dark ages to which we now refer, so far as
regards its trade and manufactures, are of the most meagre description;
and the little we do find is rather in the form of incidental notices
in books devoted to other objects than commerce or science. For
instance, it is merely to an incidental remark of the venerable
Bede[469] that we are indebted for the earliest notes of London after
the abdication of the Romans. Speaking of the East-Saxons, at the
commencement of the seventh century, he says that “their metropolis
is the city of London, which is situated on the bank of the aforesaid
river (Thames), and is the mart of many nations resorting to it by sea
and land;” adding that “King Ethelbert built the church of St. Paul,
in the city of London, where he and his successors should have their
episcopal see.”
That the Britons then possessed no naval force fitted to compete with
the Saxons is clear, from the fact that their contests with them were
invariably carried on by land, and that no effectual resistance by sea
was offered to the vast numbers of Saxons and Angles who poured into
the island. It is, indeed, not improbable that the Romans, when they
assumed the government of Britain, discouraged the inhabitants from
the creation of a fleet, which might endanger their possession of the
island, a fact which would naturally account for the inferiority of the
Britons when matched against invaders, who, from the nature of their
previous lives, were more at home on the sea than on land.
[Sidenote: Accession of Offa, A.D. 755.]
One only of the kings of the Heptarchy, Offa of Mercia,[470] exerted
himself to resuscitate the declining trade and commerce of Britain.
Offa, having in view the raising of a naval force to defend his
dominions, encouraged his subjects to fit out ships, and to carry goods
in their own bottoms instead of trusting for transport to so large an
extent as they had hitherto done, to the vessels of foreign nations.
But his praiseworthy efforts were only transient in their character.
Some of the English traders who resorted to the continent (including
Rome and Venice), in order to evade payment of the customs exacted
from them in their transit through France, pretended to be pilgrims on
their journey to the imperial city, whose baggage was exempted from
duties. This attempt to evade the duties was discovered, and reported
to Charlemagne by his collectors of customs; the payment of the duties
was enforced, and the goods of the English merchants, consisting
chiefly of works in gold and silver, for which English workmen were
then famous, and which were in great demand in Italy,[471] were seized
and confiscated until the pleasure of the emperor was known. The
merchants appealed to Offa for redress, who, by way of retaliation,
laid an embargo upon the French shipping frequenting his ports. Thus
differences arose between Charlemagne and Offa which continued for
some years, and thus the improvement in commerce which, since the time
of the Roman dominion in Britain, had been well-nigh extinguished,
was nipped almost in its bud. These differences, combined with the
incessant wars then waged between the Anglo-Saxons and their remote
ancestors, the Danes and Norwegians or Northmen, for the supremacy of
the Northern Ocean, prevented for the time all hope of any permanent
improvement in the maritime commerce of Britain.
[Sidenote: Restrictions on trade and commerce.]
Nor, indeed, did the laws of the Saxon kings afford much encouragement
to the development of trade. Those of Kent, which were considered as
patterns for the other kingdoms, enacted that if any Kentish Saxon
should buy anything in London, and bring it into Kent, he should have
two or three honest men, or the Portreeve (the chief magistrate of
the city), present at the bargain.[472] By the same laws, no man was
allowed to buy anything above the value of twenty pence, except in a
town, and in the presence of a magistrate or some other trustworthy and
responsible witness. Similar, and even greater restraints were imposed
on bartering one commodity for another. In fact, during a considerable
period of time, no bargain could be contracted without the personal
presence of some principal person or chief magistrate as a witness; a
restrictive system, which may have been necessary when few, if any, of
the traders could write, and disputes were frequent and inevitable, but
which, like some laws of much more recent times, seriously retarded the
progress of commerce. It is curious to note that the origin of every
protective or restrictive law, even from the infancy of commerce, has
proposed for its object the securing individual profits or the supposed
safety of the revenue. At this period of English history the king
claimed a portion of the price of all goods imported or sold within his
dominions above the value of twenty pence; a practice which we learn,
from an entry in Domesday, prevailed till after the Norman invasion.
It is there stated that a certain per centage of everything bought or
sold in the borough of Lewes was to be paid to the Portreeve (royal tax
collector), and especially the sum of fourpence for every man sold as a
slave within its boundaries.[473]
[Sidenote: Salutary regulations.]
The limited trade of the Saxons was, however, regulated by some
salutary provisions, such as that preventing the execution of bargains
and sales on Sundays, on which day the people were, without exception,
expected to assemble for the performance of their religious duties.
The contests, on these grounds, between the clergy and people were as
violent then as now, but with this difference, that modern legislation
strikes at the humble retailer, whereas in those days the great
merchant was equally compelled to obey the law. Not that we are to
suppose that no trade was done clandestinely under the guise of these
Religious Assemblies—the origin, no doubt, at least partially, of the
Statute Fairs of later ages—but this is certain, that bargains, though
planned and discussed, could not be completed till the next “lawful”
day.
[Sidenote: Charlemagne’s first treaty of commerce with England, A.D.
796.]
But though the maritime commerce of England made little progress till
the reign of Alfred the Great, there can be no doubt that it derived
various advantages from the impulse given to that of the neighbouring
country of France by the exertions of Charlemagne, as that wise and
able monarch is justly deemed to have laid the foundations of French
trade with distant countries. Nowhere do we find a more striking
instance of his _tact_ than is displayed in his letter to Offa, with
the object of renewing the commercial relations between France and
England:[474]
“Charles by the grace of God, king of the Franks and Lombards, and
patrician of the Romans, to our venerable and most dear brother Offa,
king of the Mercians, greeting. First, we give thanks to Almighty God
for the sincere Catholic faith, which we see so laudably expressed
in your letters. Concerning the strangers, who, for the love of God
and the salvation of their souls, wish to repair to the thresholds of
the Blessed Apostles, let them travel in peace without any trouble.
Nevertheless, if any are found among them not in the service of
religion but in pursuit of gain, let them pay the established duties
at the proper places. We also will, that merchants shall have lawful
protection in our kingdom according to our command; and if they are in
any place unjustly aggrieved, let them apply to us or our judges, and
we shall take care that ample justice be done to them.”
[Sidenote: Extension of French commerce, A.D. 813.]
It is, further, no small evidence of the effect produced by the
energetic rule of Charlemagne that, only a few years later, the
merchants of Lyons, Marseilles, and Avignon, confiding in his power
and fame, and in the friendship between him and Harún-al-Rashíd,
whose ships were then supreme in the Mediterranean, made a joint plan
for sending vessels twice a year to Alexandria, whither no Christian
vessels had adventured since it came into the possession of the
Muhammedans. The spices of India and the perfumes of Arabia were then
for the first time brought direct to their own port of Marseilles by
the merchants of France, and one of the most ancient trades was thus
re-opened.[475] From Marseilles these goods were conveyed by one of the
inland continental routes we have already described, up the Rhône and
the Saône, then re-embarked on the Moselle for the Rhine, and, by means
of this latter river, distributed through Germany and the northern
countries.
[Sidenote: Commerce of England harassed by the Danes.]
[Sidenote: Their ships, and the habits of their owners.]
Nor can we doubt that England would have followed where France had
so cleverly led the way, but for the ruin caused by the ceaseless
incursions of the Danes, who, having effected their first landing on
the island of Thanet,[476] soon made good other settlements in the
northern and eastern portions of Britain whence they were never wholly
expelled till the Norman conquest. As a maritime people the Danes
equalled, if they did not surpass, all the nations or tribes of the
north of Europe, and possessed, even at this early period of their
history, vessels superior and more varied than any of their northern
competitors, and rivalling all others for many centuries afterwards.
These vessels were chiefly distinguished by the name of Drakers and
Holkers; the former of which has been supposed to have derived its name
from the figure of a dragon on its bows. These and other vessels are
said to have carried the ancient Danish flag of the raven at the top of
their masts.
The _Holker_ was originally a small boat, hollowed out of the trunk of
a tree, but in process of time the word “hulk” was used evidently for
vessels of larger dimensions, adapted for the conveyance of troops, and
even for landing them with facility on a beach; hence it is probable
that it bore much resemblance to the ordinary barge. But this name
was first applied to light vessels used for exploring purposes, or
for “scouts,” and other swift craft engaged in carrying despatches.
The Danes and most of the other Scandinavian nations had also another
kind of vessel they called Snekkar (serpent), apparently shorter in
proportion to her breadth, and therefore not unlike the ordinary Dutch
merchant galliot of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.[477]
Nature furnished abundance of materials to the mariners of the north
for the building of their vessels; indeed, to this day, the primeval
forests of Norway and Sweden supply vast quantities of timber, for
ship-building and other purposes, to the European markets. The outfit
of these vessels seems to have been singularly inexpensive—even
provisions were supplied to them but scantily—their commanders being
constantly in the habit of landing in the course of their passage to
replenish their limited stock of meat, wine, and beer. Indeed this
practice became a constant tax upon the people of the countries they
visited, and whom they but too frequently pillaged of their whole stock
of provisions. Nor was this all: it was customary in Sweden and Norway
to compel the people of the maritime districts to hold in readiness
a stated number of ships for the use of the king and, nominally, for
purposes of defence: these vessels were, however, not unfrequently
used for warlike and predatory expeditions, a custom which doubtless
led to many of the unwarrantable attacks, whereby England and other
parts of Europe were in succession, and for many ages, laid waste. From
this marauding and unconquerable race, the daring and hardy sailors
of England had their descent; and the adventures of this progeny of
the Scandinavians, in more recent times, show that they have retained
for many ages the adventurous, and too often lawless, spirit of their
ancestors.
[Sidenote: Increase of the northern marauders.]
[Sidenote: Language of the Northmen still spoken by mariners in the
North.]
The piratical expeditions of the Northmen were more easily suppressed
in France than in England, where, among the numerous islands contiguous
to her coasts, their vessels could take refuge. Thus Wales suffered
severely from their marauding attacks; the island of Anglesey was more
than once pillaged by them; while, in Ireland, they long held the
ports of Dublin, Waterford, Limerick, and Cork. A Danish king resided
in Dublin and in Waterford; and the invaders preserved their warlike
spirit and predatory habits long after the remaining portions of the
kingdom had acquired peaceful habits.[478] The Scandinavian language
survived the independence of the Northern pirates; and, centuries
after these had ceased to dominate the seas, a Norse dialect was still
spoken. Even to this day remnants of this original language remain in
the Orkneys and Shetland Islands, and is often used among the seafaring
population, especially for the ordinary nautical expressions employed
on board of their ships.
[Sidenote: Accession of Alfred the Great, A.D. 871:]
[Sidenote: his efforts to improve navigation, and to extend the
knowledge of geography.]
When Alfred ascended the throne, he found England overrun by the Danes,
so that for a short time he was obliged to dissemble and to conceal
himself, with the few faithful subjects who had not deserted him. In
his retreat, however, he was the better able to arrange future plans,
as he at once perceived that without an effective maritime force his
island must be ever at the mercy of every piratical adventurer. He
accordingly determined to meet the enemies of England on the sea,
and having studied the best models of the Danes, and added many
improvements of his own, his efforts were in the end completely
successful. His galleys are said to have been twice as long as those of
the enemy, and to have carried sixty oars. They were also loftier and
better built, and proved of much greater speed.[479]
Alfred, who, by the attention he devoted to maritime pursuits, has
justly earned the title of the “Father of the British Navy,” was
also the first native of Britain who made an attempt to extend the
science of geography. Having obtained information from Ohthere, a
Norwegian,[480] and from other sources, of the Baltic Sea and adjacent
countries stretching to the extreme northern regions of Europe, he
corrected many of the prevailing errors of geographers. Ohthere, who
had coasted along the country of the Fins, now known as Lapland, and
had passed the North Cape and penetrated into the bay where Archangel
now stands, speaks of the vast abundance of whales and seals along that
northern coast, and gives a description of the mode of life of the
natives, which is not unlike that of the ancient Scythians. They brewed
no ale; mead was the ordinary drink of the poorer classes; while the
rich drank a species of liquor prepared from the milk of goats.
[Sidenote: Foundation of a royal and commercial navy.]
But though Alfred was successful in raising, after four years’ labour,
six small vessels, with which he put to sea and overcame seven of the
Danish ships, capturing one and driving back the rest, intestine
troubles compelled him for a considerable time to neglect maritime
affairs: after some years, however, having induced those of the Danes
whom he had brought under subjection to embrace Christianity, he
assigned them lands in the kingdom of the East Angles, and made it
their interest to defend that portion of Britain with which, from their
own repeated descents upon it, they were most familiar. These newly
settled people possessed many vessels, were skilled in ship-building,
and excellent mariners, and thus aided him effectually in fitting out
a powerful fleet with which he encountered, with varied success, the
Danish ships who still claimed the dominion of the northern seas.
Many of his subjects were likewise persuaded to acquire the art of
navigation, to study for themselves the best mode of conducting naval
warfare, and to devote their attention to commercial and maritime
pursuits, which, while they increased the number of merchant vessels,
laid at the same time the surest foundation for the creation and
maintenance of a royal navy.
The exertions of his people were so energetically supported by their
king, that at length a fleet was raised sufficiently powerful to guard
the sea coast, and protect the foreign trade of the country. Nor were
the defences of the sea-port towns, and especially those of London,
where the chief commercial wealth of the country had been collected
and stored, forgotten.[481] In addition to these judicious measures,
he introduced new manufactures, and discovered new articles of growth
which, if exported, would prove a considerable source of profit to
those merchants who undertook their shipment to other countries. It
was by such means, by liberal and wise laws, and by well conceived
arrangements for the best development of the natural resources of
England, that he greatly increased the wealth of his people, and laid
the foundation of that powerful royal and commercial navy, which,
through many vicissitudes, has continued, though often neglected, to be
the pride and boast of the English people.
[Sidenote: His voyages of discovery and missions to the East.]
Nor, indeed, was this all. Alfred, also, sent out ships on voyages of
discovery to the south as well as to the north; and, having opened
communications with the patriarch of Jerusalem, obtained from him much
information on various important subjects, which ultimately proved of
great value to his people: moreover, if William of Malmesbury can be
relied on, he sent Sighelm, bishop of Sherbourne, with many gifts to
the Nestorian Christians of St. Thomas, at Maliapur, on the Coromandel
coast, and received from them in return various products of Indian
growth and manufacture.[482]
To Alfred the Great, England also owes the first attempt to secure a
more speedy and equal distribution of justice by the division of the
kingdom into hundreds and tithings, combined with a careful survey
of the whole country, known as the “Book of Winchester,” the model
probably of the later and still more famous Domesday Book. The laws
of the Anglo-Saxons were also revised, and a code was formed with
selections from the best of those of other nations. The wisdom and the
justice of Alfred first raised England out of the darkness of one of
the darkest ages, and secured for her a position at sea she had never
previously held; and, though a thousand years have since passed away,
we cannot but think that those statesmen who are now devoting their
attention to the commercial and maritime interests of their country
would do well to study the policy of Alfred at a period of bigotry,
superstition, and ignorance, when piracy at sea, and plunder on land,
afforded a large source of remunerative employment to the people.
[Sidenote: Reign of Edward the Elder, A.D. 901-925, and of his son
Athelstan, A.D. 925-941.]
His son Edward followed his example in the care he bestowed on his
fleet; and, though much of his time was occupied in constructing
castles to keep back the ever encroaching Danes, he was able to equip
and to maintain during his reign one hundred ships to protect trade
and guard the coasts. But his son, Athelstan, displayed even greater
anxiety to increase the power of his fleet, being at the same time the
first English monarch who, by his laws, made trade a road to honour.
One of these laws enacted, that if any merchant or mariner successfully
accomplished three voyages on the high seas with a ship and cargo
of his own, he should thenceforth be advanced to the dignity of a
Thane and entitled to all the privileges attaching to his rank; and
he, at the same time, established mints in such towns as enjoyed any
considerable amount of foreign trade, with the necessary provisions
to ensure the purity and just weight of the coins issued.[483]
These salutary laws and other prudent regulations had the effect of
considerably improving trade during his reign.
William of Malmesbury has preserved the record of a gift by Harold,
king of Norway, to Athelstan, about the year 931, of a ship adorned
with a golden prow, having a purple sail, and armed with a complete
bulwark of shields. A similar arrangement of shields may be seen on
many of the ships delineated on the Bayeux tapestry.[484]
[Sidenote: Edgar’s fleet, and his arrangements for suppressing piracy.]
From the death of Athelstan to the accession of Edgar, there are no
incidents in connection with shipping or commerce worthy of record.
Edgar, however, greatly increased the royal navy; nay, the monkish
writers of the period assert that he had three or four thousand
vessels, an exaggeration not requiring refutation.[485] Edgar, besides
living in considerable splendour, spent large sums of money on
monastic foundations; hence the only historians of his day took care
to sound his praises with their highest notes. The more effectually
to repress the ravages of the Danes, he is said to have divided
his fleet into three divisions, and to have sent each squadron to
separate stations, thus, for the first time, stationing his ships in
a systematic manner along the English coasts, so as to guard against
surprise, and protect the merchantmen trading with his seaports.
Nor was he satisfied with the mere organization of his plans. Every
summer he himself visited the fleets, making excursions from station
to station, and by his vigilance kept the sea from being disturbed by
marauders, thereby greatly contributing to the strength of his kingdom.
[Sidenote: The wisdom of his policy.]
But though he has been credited with numerous victories, nay even with
the complete subjugation of Ireland, it is clear that his policy was
really one of peace and progress, and that he was anxious to maintain
peace as the best safeguard for progress by the maintenance of a
force sufficient for that purpose, rather than by increasing it to
such dimensions as might have overawed his neighbours and rendered it
an aggressive one. To be prepared for war is undoubtedly a guarantee
for peace; but a naval force exceeding what is necessary for the
protection of its shores and commerce is dangerous to the nation which
has created it, as other nations then naturally increase their forces,
and a rivalry in arms arises, with war for its probable result. Edgar
evidently knew where to draw the line, and having secured the safety
of his dominions from foreign aggression, he devoted his attention to
the improvement of his internal affairs. Thus, to facilitate commerce,
all money coined in the kingdom was decreed to be of one kind in its
relative value,[486] so far as regards receipts and payments; and
the Winchester measures were fixed as the standard of all measures
throughout the country. Many restrictions were enforced as to the
method of transacting business; and no one was permitted to buy or
sell except in the presence of two or more witnesses. Every member of
a tithing was required, if he went to a distant market, to inform the
borst-holder, not merely what he intended to purchase or dispose of,
but on his return to declare into what transactions he had entered.
Restrictions, however, which would be ruinous to modern commerce may
have been necessary in its infancy.
[Sidenote: Ethelred II., A.D. 979-1016. Sufferings of the people.]
The annals of the long and disastrous reign of Ethelred II. afford but
one continued picture of rapine and plunder. “The Danish and Norwegian
robbers,” remarks Macpherson, in his Annals of Commerce,[487] “now
united, and led by Swein, king of Denmark, and Olaf Trygvason, who
afterwards became king of Norway, spread the horrors of slaughter,
captivity, and desolation over all the country. After wasting the
lands, and utterly extinguishing cultivation and industry, they
compelled the miserable people to bring in provisions for their
subsistence; and they moreover extorted in the name of tribute, as the
price of peace, but in reality the premium for invasion, the enormous
sums of ten thousand pounds of silver in the year 991, sixteen thousand
pounds in 1007, and forty-eight thousand pounds in 1012. After
which the greatest part of the country sunk under the power of the
Danes.”[488] Nor was this all. London itself was burnt; extraordinary
inundations prevailed in different parts of the country, followed by
contagious disorders destructive of both man and beast.
[Sidenote: Charges upon vessels trading to London.]
Yet amid all the desolations of this unhappy reign, some attention was
paid to maritime and internal commerce, and a law was passed commanding
every proprietor of 310 hides[489] of land to furnish a ship for the
protection of the State; the result being a larger naval force than
had ever been collected before.[490] Fresh regulations were also made
with reference to the coasting trade. Boats arriving at Billingsgate
were required to pay a toll of a halfpenny, a penny, or four pennies,
according to their size and build. Each vessel with wood left one piece
as toll or tribute; boats with fish coming to London bridge (first
mentioned, according to Spelman, in the reign of Ethelred)[491] paid
either one halfpenny, or one penny, according to their size. Foreign
merchants from Rouen, Flanders, and Liege, frequenting the Port of
London with their ships and manufactures, were in some respects
privileged, but were still required to pay the duties, and forbidden
to “forestall the market to the prejudice of the citizens.” At Easter
and Christmas the German merchants,[492] resident in the city, were
further required to pay for the privilege of trading two pieces of grey
cloth and one piece of brown cloth, ten pounds of pepper, five pairs
of gloves, and two casks of wine. The larger description of vessels
engaged at this period in the foreign trade, appear to have discharged
their cargoes on the Middlesex shore at wharves or jetties, between
the Tower and London bridge, while the smaller craft lay above bridge,
chiefly in the Fleet river near the port of Ludgate, where many of the
merchants then resided. Within the limits of the Fleet to the west,
and of Billingsgate to the east, were to be found the warehouses and
dwellings of all the traders, and the chief portion of London was then,
and, indeed, for two or three centuries after the Conquest, embraced
within those limits.
[Sidenote: Olaf, king of Norway, his ships, and those of Swein.]
Olaf, who had given so much trouble to Ethelred, having by his
piratical excursions gained considerable knowledge of the wants of
various countries, endeavoured on his accession to the crown of Norway
to encourage commerce in his own country. With this object he founded
Nidaros, now known as Drontheim, and made it an emporium for trade. He
also built various ships of war, larger than had ever been seen in the
Northern seas. One of these, the Dreki, or “Dragon,” is described as
having a hull one hundred and eleven feet in length, with thirty-four
benches or thwarts for rowers. Her head and stern were finely adorned
with carved work, elaborately gilt, and from the description of her
which has been preserved, she must have resembled in many respects
the state galleys of the Italian republics during the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries, thus showing very considerable advancement in the
science of ship-building among the nations of the north.[493]
Some record has also been preserved of the ships with which Swein,
the father of Canute, made a descent in A.D. 1004 on the coasts of
Norfolk. Each vessel had a high deck, and their prows were ornamented
with figures of lions, bulls, dolphins, or men, made of copper gilt;
at their mast-heads were vanes in the shape of birds with expanded
wings to show the quarter whence the wind blew. Swein’s own ship, also
called “the Great Dragon,” is said to have been built in the form of
the animal whose name it bore; its head forming the prow, and its tail
the stern. It bore also a standard of white silk, having in the centre
a raven with extended wings and open beak, which had been embroidered
by three of that monarch’s sisters.[494]
[Sidenote: Love of display.]
Nor need we suppose that there was much exaggeration in the chronicles
describing these and other ships of that time. It was evidently a
period when gorgeous displays were not uncommon. Only a few years
later, Earl Godwin, to appease the wrath of Hardicanute, presented him
with a ship, the prow of which was richly decorated with gold;[495] and
Macpherson has recorded how the step-father of Olaf, though usually a
plain man and good farmer, would, on state occasions, dress himself
in “breeches or trousers of Cordovan leather, and clothes made of
silk, with a scarlet cloak over them. His sword,” remarks the same
writer,[496] “was richly adorned with carving in gold, and his helmet
and spurs were gilded. His horse had a saddle embellished with golden
ornaments, and a bridle shining with gold and gems.”[497]
It is probable that such decorations were not unfrequently the prizes
of piracy rather than of fair trade: for, though some of the people
of the southern portions of Norway are said to have been considerable
traders to England, Ireland, Saxony, Flanders, and Denmark, yet their
attachment to trade in no way interfered with occasional amusements
of a very different kind, or with quartering themselves during the
winters on the countries of the Christians. Nor were they particular
in their objects of plunder. In the periodical fairs of Germany, which
were established about this period, a large portion of the merchandise
brought to them for sale consisted of slaves of both sexes; ordinary
slaves of either sex realizing about a mark, or eight ounces of
silver, while three times that sum was frequently given, at these
northern fairs, for female slaves who were “fair in form and beautiful
in countenance.” Helmold relates that he saw seven thousand Danish
slaves at one time exposed for sale in the market at Mecklenburg.[498]
[Sidenote: Mode of navigating.]
Long before the compass was known, the seamen of Norway, like the
ancient mariners of the Island of Ceylon, regulated their track through
the ocean by the flight of birds set free from on board their vessels;
a proof that, in regions of the world far removed from each other,
the same primitive practices prevailed. It is related of Flok,[499]
a famous Norwegian navigator, that when about to set out from
Shetland[500] to Iceland, he took with him some crows on board of his
ship. Under the impression that he had made considerable progress in
his voyage, he liberated one of these birds, which, seeing land astern,
flew for it; whereby Flok, considering that he was nearer Shetland or
Faroe “than any other land, kept on his course for some time, and then
sent out another crow, which, seeing no land at all,” returned to the
vessel. At last, as he conceived, having accomplished the greatest part
of his voyage, a third crow was set at liberty, which seeing land ahead
immediately flew for it, and Flok, following his guide, fell in with
the east end of the island of Iceland.
[Sidenote: Canute, A.D. 1016. Reduction of the English fleet.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 1031.]
Happily, the accession of Canute to the throne of England had put a
stop to the cruel wars so long waged between the Danes and English, and
commerce once more began to flourish; the influence and dread of this
prince being so great, that he found it unnecessary to maintain more
than forty[501] ships at sea to protect his coasts and his maritime
commerce, a number which was afterwards reduced to sixteen.[502]
Indeed, so far from entertaining any apprehensions of an inclination to
revolt among the English, he frequently made voyages to the Continent,
once proceeding even as far as Rome, where he met the Emperor Conrad
II. and other princes, from whom he obtained, for all his subjects,
whether merchants or pilgrims, a complete exemption from the heavy
tolls usually exacted on their visits to that city.[503] Canute,
indeed, by his conquest of Norway, represented in his own person both
the English whom he had subjugated, and the Danes, who had been their
constant and persevering rivals, thus uniting under one sovereignty all
the maritime nations of the north.
[Sidenote: Prosperity of commerce.]
Under such favourable circumstances as these, the trade and shipping
of England could hardly fail to prosper, although there are no records
left whereby we can measure their extent or character. But as Canute
materially increased the number of mints[504] throughout the kingdom,
and as the merchants of London had become sufficiently powerful to
be the chief instruments in placing his son Harold upon the throne
at his death,[505] it may be inferred that the mercantile community,
while requiring a greater amount of currency for the conduct of their
business, had likewise become an important element in the State. It is
further recorded, that the merchants of London, with the _seamen_ of
that city, many of whom had probably become Thanes, mingled with the
nobility and performed a leading and conspicuous part at the coronation
of Harold at Oxford, who soon afterwards increased the wages of the
sailors of his fleet, giving to each of them eight mancusses[506]
(2_l._ 16_s._ 8_d._) annually; but when Hardicanute increased his navy
to seventy-two ships,[507] a further advance was required to be made in
the wages of the seamen, who were discontented with the remuneration
they received.
[Sidenote: Norman invasion, A.D. 1066.]
During the short period of the restoration of the Saxon monarchy the
Danes resumed their marauding expeditions; but, after ravaging the
coasts of Wales and Sussex, they were repulsed with great slaughter
by the English under Harold II., who was however less successful in
resisting the Norman invasion under William the Conqueror, whose
accession constitutes a new era in the commercial and maritime, as well
as in the political and general, history of Britain.
[Sidenote: Number of vessels engaged, and their form.]
The stories as to the number of vessels under the orders of the
Conqueror on this memorable expedition are very conflicting. Some
writers have asserted that the total number amounted to no less than
three thousand, of which six or seven hundred were of a superior order,
the remainder consisting chiefly of boats temporarily built, and of the
most fragile description. Others place the whole fleet at not more than
eight hundred vessels of every sort, and this number is likely to be
the nearest to the truth. There are now no means of ascertaining their
size; but their form may be conjectured from the representations of
these vessels on the famous roll of tapestry still preserved at Bayeux,
from which the following has been copied.[508]
[Illustration]
It is related that when William meditated his descent upon England,
he ordered for that purpose “large ships” to be constructed at his
seaports, collecting, wherever they could be found, smaller vessels or
boats to accompany them. But even the largest must have been of little
value, as the whole fleet were by his orders burned and destroyed as
soon as he landed with his army, so as to cut off all retreat and to
save the expense of their maintenance.[509]
Those of our readers who have visited the north of Scotland, during
the herring-fishery season, will readily notice the resemblance to
the traditional form of the war vessels of the Saxons in the eleventh
century exhibited by the larger boats owned by the present Wick or
Lerwick fishermen. But as we have more than once had occasion to
observe, though we are greatly indebted to antiquaries for their
researches, the few drawings of ancient vessels preserved are scarcely
objects of instruction. Even the vessels on the Bayeux tapestry give us
little that is definite, and we can hardly infer from them more than
that we see in them an ideal but imperfect representation of the boats
which were hastily constructed for William the Norman; while we may at
the same time feel sure that the Saxon and Danish ships in ordinary
use must have been stronger and better adapted to encounter stormy
weather and rough seas than the vessels of a similar size and class
in the Mediterranean. All details respecting them must, however, be
conjectural; and a drawing of one class, even if accurate, may give as
faint an impression of ships of another class, as the collier of to-day
would afford of a modern Indiaman or Ocean-Steamer.
Nor, indeed, is it likely that the Conqueror’s fleet included many
ships of a superior class or size, as we know that the great bulk, if
not the whole of them, were built or collected, and fitted between the
first of January and the latter end of August. Norman writers of the
period state that their merchant vessels or transports were in length
about three times their breadth, sometimes propelled by oars, but
generally by sails: their galleys appear to have been of two sorts,
the larger, occasionally called galleons, carrying in some instances
sixty men, well armed with iron armour, besides the rowers. The smaller
galleys, which are not specially described, doubtless resembled ships’
launches in size, but of a form enabling them to be propelled at
considerable speed. Besides these, the Normans would appear to have
also used, for purposes of war, small light boats covered with leather
resembling those already described.[510]
[Sidenote: State of trade and commerce.]
It is almost as difficult to arrive at any sound conclusion with regard
to the actual state of trade and commerce in England at the time of
the Conquest as it is with regard to the shipping. Agriculture, which
had been in so flourishing a state under the Roman government, that
large shipments of corn were frequently made to the Continent, had
been much neglected during the long wars between the Britons, Saxons,
and Danes; and there is no instance on record of any export of grain
of any sort during the whole period of the Anglo-Saxon rule. On the
other hand, in unfavourable seasons, the Britons did not grow enough
for themselves, though the country must have been thinly peopled, and,
consequently, but too frequently suffered severely from famine. In the
account of the sales of church property and of other estates, many
records of which are still extant,[511] we find that land even of the
best quality seldom realized a higher price than five pounds[512] of
silver for a hide of land, showing that while the people must have been
widely scattered few persons were in opulent circumstances.
[Sidenote: Exports.]
Wool was however produced to a considerable extent, the rich pastures
of England having furnished from the earliest ages ample food for large
flocks of sheep. By the eighth law of King Edgar, the highest price
which could be taken for wool was somewhat less than three-fourths
of a penny for a pound; and though there is no positive information
on the subject, the Flemings, who were then and for some centuries
afterwards the chief manufacturers of fine woollen goods for the whole
of Europe, must have bought wool largely in the markets of England,
and carried it away to be spun and woven in their own country. Lead
was frequently used for the roofs of churches and other buildings; and
from the records in Domesday Book it is clear that, during the reign
of Edward the Confessor, there were iron works in the neighbourhood of
Gloucester, of a date perhaps as early as the Roman colonization.[513]
Although there is no account of the exportation of any metals in the
age now under consideration, it is reasonable to suppose that the
demand at home and abroad for lead, tin, and iron, could never have
wholly ceased, and that they must have formed a considerable part of
the few exports during the Anglo-Saxon period.[514]
Horses, it may be presumed, were sometimes exported, as King
Athelstan made a law against carrying any out of the kingdom except
as presents.[515] The natives of Britain, too, were not unfrequently
exported to the Continent and even to Rome, the handsome figures of
these female slaves naturally attracting much attention. The merchants
of Bristol and of Northumberland appear to have been the chief dealers
in this inhuman traffic, the former finding in Ireland the readiest and
the largest market for their slaves.[516]
[Sidenote: Manufactures.]
Concerning the ordinary description of manufactures, the meagre
chronicles of the period furnish little information. We find,
however, that Northumberland was then comparatively famous, as it
has been ever since, for the manufacture of glass, while the English
jewellers and workers in gold surpassed those of most other nations.
Nor were the women of England less famous for their taste and skill
in the embroidering of silk of various colours interspersed with
threads of gold and silver. So famous, indeed, were they in this
description of work, that when William the Conqueror sent to his
patron, Pope Alexander II., the banner of Harold wrought for him
by them, it was remarked that “it might be greatly admired even in
Constantinople,”[517] then the wealthiest and most refined city of
the world; and similar presents made by him to the church of Caen in
Normandy are said to have been “such as strangers of the highest rank,
who had seen the treasures of many noble churches, might look upon them
with delight; and even the natives of Greece and Arabia, if they were
to travel thither, would be equally charmed with them.”[518]
[Sidenote: Wealth.]
At this early period there must have been a considerable amount of
accumulated wealth in England, to have enabled Canute to have expended
the vast sums he is said to have done on his pilgrimage to Rome, or to
have allowed Edward the Confessor to build the Abbey of St. Peter’s at
Westminster, and many other churches, at an enormous expense. Nor do
the resources of his treasury appear to have been drained by all this
expenditure; for the quantity of money the Conqueror took from Harold
enabled him to be, in the words of his biographer, “incredibly liberal”
to the Church of Rome;[519] moreover, that some of the nobles had great
wealth, may be inferred from the present of Earl Godwin to Hardicanute
already alluded to, together with the other rich gifts which he
bestowed upon the Church.[520]
[Sidenote: Imports.]
But the governing class and the great ecclesiastics must have had
in those days the bulk of the wealth of the country in their hands;
indeed, the limited extent of trade, and the character of the imports
of the period, demonstrate plainly that such was the case. Silk,
and similar expensive articles of dress, precious stones, perfumes,
and other oriental luxuries, purchased in the ports of Italy or at
Marseilles, are, with one or two extraordinary exceptions, the only
items the historians of the period record as having been brought from
foreign countries: these exceptions, strange to relate, consisted of
portions of legs, arms, fingers, and toes, supposed to have belonged
to canonized saints. It is almost impossible now to conceive that such
articles constituted, at any period of English history, important items
of her imports. There is, however, no doubt of the fact; and so high
in estimation were such remains held, that Egelnoth, archbishop of
Canterbury, is said[521] to have purchased at Paris, on his return from
Rome, an arm of St. Augustine for one hundred talents of silver and one
talent of gold; while Elfsig, abbot of Peterborough, gave no less than
five thousand pounds of silver for a headless body, which some knavish
dealer had pronounced to be that of a distinguished saint.[522]
[Sidenote: Taxation.]
[Sidenote: London specially favoured.]
By the records of Domesday, nearly all the cities and boroughs of
England appear to have been, in the reign of Edward the Confessor, the
property of the king, or of some noble to whom the inhabitants looked
for protection and paid a rent or borough-mail. London, Winchester,
York, and Exeter alone enjoyed exemptions from taxes imposed on other
cities of the kingdom. London was afterwards especially favoured by
the Conqueror, who, recognizing the great importance of that city,
endeavoured to conciliate the goodwill of the inhabitants by a charter,
which not merely confirmed all the privileges they had previously
possessed, but enjoined that “every child should be his father’s heir
after his death.” To William the City owes the jurisdiction of the
Thames,[523] the conservancy of which is even now to some extent in its
hands, the Lord Mayor being still _ex-officio_ chairman of the present
board for that purpose. The inhabitants, or burgesses of London, also
enjoyed the highly-prized privilege of hunting in the extensive chases
of Chiltern, Middlesex, and Surrey, which, with the conservancy over
the Thames, was confirmed by subsequent charters, and especially by
that of Henry I.
[Sidenote: Chester specially burdened.]
It is clear that the taxes imposed on the seaport as well as
inland towns, were not arranged by any systematic law. Thus, for no
especial reason that can now be discerned, Chester was taxed far
more heavily than any other city in the reigns of both William I.
and his predecessor, Edward. Dover again paid 18_l._ annually, but
the burgesses, who were required to provide twenty ships, carrying
twenty-one men each, for fifteen days in the year, were exempted from
all tolls throughout the country. Sandwich was placed on a similar
footing, but only paid 15_l._ per annum. In Southwark, the king claimed
a duty on all vessels entering the “dock,” and levied a toll on those
that used the strand for the delivering or loading of their cargoes.
Colchester paid two marks of silver, and also, as a composition for the
rent of six pennies on every house, 15_l._ 5_s._ 4_d._, of which 4_l._
was paid by the coiners. Yarmouth, which had seventy burgesses, was
taxed to the extent of 27_l._ by toll to the king and earl. In Ipswich
there were eight hundred and eight burgesses paying custom to the king,
but the amount is not stated.
No determinate principle can now be discerned why such dues were
exacted, small towns being in many cases required to pay more than
others of double their size. In some places the taxes were paid in
produce or merchandise—as, for instance, at Gloucester, where, besides
36_l._ levied in toll, the inhabitants had to contribute twelve gallons
of honey, and one hundred iron rods to the king’s ships, together
with a few other petty customs. Again, Leicester had also to provide
honey, and twelve burgesses to supply the king’s army, and four horses
to carry arms and stores to London when any maritime expedition was
about to sail from the Thames. In Shrewsbury the king levied a tax
of ten shillings on the marriage of every maid, and twenty shillings
on that of every widow, besides numerous taxes upon the people in
the shape of services or customs; and in Hereford, the king had one
hundred and three tenants, including six blacksmiths, who performed
certain services in lieu of rents, while the burgesses had, among other
burdens, to provide “a bear, and six dogs for the bear.” At Sandwich,
forty thousand herrings were demanded for the use of the monks of the
neighbourhood.[524]
[Sidenote: State of the people at the time of the Conquest.]
In many places, the records of Domesday show that considerable portions
of the inhabitants were too poor to pay any taxes. Thus, in Norwich,
while six hundred and sixty-five are rated among the burgesses, there
are no less than four hundred and eighty heads of families who had no
means of contributing. Notices are also preserved of the number of
houses at that time in a state of decay or disuse: thus, at Winchester,
whole streets and many churches were in a state of ruin; in Thetford,
there were one hundred and twenty houses empty; in Ipswich, more than
three hundred and twenty-eight falling to decay. In Chester, once so
flourishing and so heavily taxed, there were, soon after the Conquest,
two hundred and five houses lying waste; while, in York, four hundred
houses were so much decayed, as to pay only one penny each, or even
less; five hundred and forty were waste, and paid nothing; and one
hundred and forty-five were occupied by Frenchmen, who were relieved
from the tax.
But while poverty and oppressive taxation ground down the masses of the
people, the nobles abandoned themselves to the excesses of gluttony,
drunkenness, and promiscuous concubinage, frequently not scrupling to
consign the objects of their lust, and even their own offspring, to
the miseries of slavery, for paltry sums of money to be squandered in
wretched folly. Learning was almost at as low an ebb as it had been at
the commencement of the reign of Alfred; while the middle classes, with
some, though few, exceptions, were, in many respects, no better than
the nobles, and trade and commerce languished and declined. Such was
the state of things in England when the Norman conqueror landed on its
shores.[525]
FOOTNOTES:
[464] Laing’s Transl. of the Heimskringla, p. 135.
[465] Monach. Sangall. De rebus Caroli Magni ap. Muratori. Antiq. v. 1.
[466] Full details of this, and of two other less perfect vessels
discovered about the same time, at Thorsbjerg and Nydam, in S. Jutland,
are given in the very interesting work by Mr. C. Engelhardt, entitled
“Denmark in the early Iron Age,” Lond. 4to. 1866. From the frontispiece
of this work the accompanying plate has been taken. Special attention
has been called to it by Mr. J. H. Burton, to whose “History of
Scotland” we are indebted for some of the notices of the Scandinavians.
[467] We have also a record of the discovery in England of two very
ancient oak boats of considerable size. The first was found in 1822,
in a deserted bed of the River Rother, near Matham, in Kent, and has
been fully described in the Archæol. vol. xx. p. 553. This boat, which
was sixty-three feet long by fifteen feet broad, appears to have been
half-decked, and to have had at least one mast. It had been caulked
with moss. The second was found in 1833, at North Stoke, near Arundel,
in what was formerly a creek running into the River Arun. This boat,
which was made of the half of a single oak-tree, hollowed out like a
canoe, was thirty-five feet four inches long, and four feet six inches
broad. It is now preserved in the British Museum, having been presented
to that institution by the Earl of Egremont.—_Vide_ Archæol. vol. xxvi.
[468] St. Patrick flourished from A.D. 432, the year of his mission to
England, to 493; St. Brigit, about 500; and St. Columba, from 522-97.
The venerable and more trustworthy Bede, who mentions Horsa by name
(Eccles. Hist. i. c. 15), lived at a much later period, A.D. 750.
[469] Bede, ii. 3.
[470] The kingdom of Mercia comprised the midland and western counties.
[471] Muratori, Antiq. v. 12.
[472] Laws of Hlothar and Eadric, ap. Schmid’s Anglo-Sax. Laws, c. 1-5,
p. 11. Leipsig, 1858.
[473] Scriptores Brit. Gale, p. 762.
[474] William of Malmesbury, s. 17, and M. Paris Vit. Offæ.
[475] Macpherson, i. p. 251; and compare Monach. Sangall, i. c. 13, ap.
Muratori, Antiq. v. 1.
[4765] This first Danish invasion is said to have taken place A.D. 753.
Macpherson, i. p. 247; and Chronic. Augustin, ap. Twysden.
[477] Sir H. Nicolas (“Hist. Roy. Navy,” i. p. 10) states that the
Snekkar, or Serpent, was manned by twenty rowers. See also Depping,
“Hist. des Exped. Maritimes des Normands.” i. 71-73.
[478] Macpherson, in his “Annals of Commerce,” vol. i. p. 254, says
that “the Norwegians and Danes, under the names of Ostmen (_i.e._
eastern men), Gauls, Gentiles, Pagans, &c., were the chief, or rather
the only commercial, people in Ireland, and continued for several
centuries to carry on trade with the mother countries, and other places
on the west coast of Europe, from their Irish settlements.”
[479] See Saxon Chronicle A.D. 897, Florence of Worcester; Simeon of
Durham, the Chronicle of Melros; and Pauli, “Life of Alfred,” p. 212.
[480] Pauli, “Life,” &c., p. 178.
[481] If Asser is correct in his statements, London had been almost
destroyed by the Danes just before the accession of Alfred.—Asser,
“Vit. Alfred,” p. 51.
[482] William of Malmesbury, Gest. Reg. Angl. 24, a. Some of the
jewels of curious manufacture which Bishop Sighelm brought home were
to be seen among the treasures of the church at Sherbourne; and Asser
says that King Alfred one morning gave him a silk robe, and as much
frankincense (incense) as a man could carry; from which it may be
inferred that, after the visit of Sighelm, a trade was opened out
between England and India, or with other countries of the East, where
frankincense was produced or stored. For the Christians in Malabar,
see a curious story in the “Legenda Aurea;” in Buchanan’s “Christian
Researches;” in the Journal of Bishop Heber; and in Thomas’s “Prinsep’s
Indian Essays,” vol. ii. p. 214. Sighelm, who had previously been sent
to Rome by King Alfred, is thought by Pauli to have been a layman, as
his name is not found in the episcopal registers of Sherbourne.—Life of
Alfred, p. 146.
[483] Thorpe, “Ancient Laws of England,” p. 31; and Macpherson, vol. i.
pp. 266-268. There is another order of Ethelred, “that the ships of war
should be ready every year at Easter.”—Ancient Laws, p. 137.
[484] William of Malmesbury, i. p. 215.
[485] The Saxon Chronicle gives to his predecessor, Edward the Elder,
a fleet of some hundreds of ships, but this number is evidently too
indefinite for any historical purpose. (Sax. Chron. A.D. 911.) If the
charter granted to Worcester by this king in A.D. 964 be genuine, which
Kemble doubts (Cod. Diplom. Ævi Saxon. ii. 404), he would seem to have
been the first English monarch who claimed the “sovereignty of the sea.”
[486] Bp. Wilkins, “Leg. Saxon.” p. 78. Nearly eighty mints of Edgar’s
money are known. Hawkins’s “Silver Coins of England,” p. 57.
[487] Vol. i. p. 275. A list of all these Danish invasions may be
consulted in Sir H. Nicolas’s “Hist. Royal Navy,” vol. i. pp. 10-28.
[488] This was the well-known tax called “Dane geld,” imposed,
apparently for the first time, about A.D. 991; see also Saxon Chron.,
A.D. 994, 1002, 1007. Stow, p. 114, ed. 1600.
[489] Mr. Kemble, in an elaborate chapter on the “Hide,” has determined
that it was probably a little less than 100 statute acres of arable
land. (“Anglo-Saxons,” vol. i. c. 4, p. 88-121.) It is clear, however,
that the word was often used for a much smaller, though indefinite
extent of land. In Bosworth’s Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (_in voc._ Hyde)
many examples are quoted, showing that it was popularly held to be as
much land as “could be tilled in a year by one plough.”
[490] Saxon Chron., A.D. 1009.
[491] London Bridge is noticed in the Saxon Chronicle under A.D. 1016,
The first stone bridge is said to have been commenced, A.D. 1176, and
finished, A.D. 1209.—Stow’s Survey, pp. 50, 52, 682.
[492] Then called “Emperor’s men,” the forerunners, probably, of the
“Merchants of the Steel-yard.” See also Brompton, p. 897, quoted by
Macpherson, p. 277, and “Ancient Laws,” p. 127; Prynne, “Annales,” p.
105.
[493] Snorro, “Hist. Olaf. Trygv.” cc. 124-8.
[494] “Heimskringla,” vol. ii. p. 125. Cf. Reginæ Emmæ Encomium, ap.
Script. Rer. Normann. pp. 166, 170.
[495] “Florence of Worcester,” p. 623, who calls the vessel a “trierem.”
[496] “Annals of Commerce,” vol. i. p. 279.
[497] It may not be generally known that a considerable number of the
charters and deeds preserved in the collections of the British Museum,
and of the libraries of the Bodleian and of Magdalen College at Oxford,
bear seals impressed with ancient Roman, and occasionally with Greek,
gems, all, or nearly all, of which are now lost.
[498] Thorkelin’s “Essay on the Slave Trade,” pp. 4-9.
[499] Arngrim Jonas. For the story of the Singhalese sailors, see Plin.
H. N. vi. 83.
[500] The Shetland as well as the Orkney Islands were then in the
possession of the Norwegians, and Sutherland, the most northern portion
of Great Britain, obtained this title as the land to the south of the
Orkneys.
[501] Saxon Chron. A.D. 1018.
[502] This fact is mentioned, incidentally, in the Saxon Chronicle
under the reign of Hardicanute, A.D. 1039.
[503] William of Malmesbury gives a letter from Canute to the English
nobility stating his success in this matter, ii. c. 11.
[504] See Ruding, “Annals of the Coinage of England,” and Hawkins,
“Silver Coins of England.” No other English king had so many mints, at
least 350 of the names of his moneyers having been preserved.
[505] Saxon Chron., A.D. 1036.
[506] Saxon Chron., A.D. 1039-40. A mancus was worth about seven
shillings and a penny, sterling. Spelman (p. 387) has pointed out that
accounts differ as to whether we are to read here mancusses or marks,
and that these two denominations of money were sometimes interchanged.
[507] Saxon Chron., A.D. 1039.
[508] It will be observed that in this, as in other boats, in the
tapestry, the steersman holds the sheet in his left hand. The man at
the masthead may indicate the sailor whom Wace (who heard the story
from his father) says William sent aloft to look out.—Will. Poict., p.
199.
[509] Mr. Freeman, who has recently and most fully examined every
record relating to the Norman invasion, states that he finds the
largest number of ships recorded to have amounted to 3000, the smallest
to 693. Most of the ships were gifts from the great barons or prelates.
Thus, W. Fitz-Osborn gave 60; the Count de Mortain, 120; the Bishop of
Bayeux, 100; while the finest of all, that in which William himself
came over, was presented to him by his Duchess Matilda, and was called
the “Mora.” (E. A. Freeman, “Norman Conquest,” vol. iii. c. 15, pp
376-1381. 1869.) Sir H. Nicolas has examined at considerable length the
evidence of the Bayeux Tapestry, pp. 63-66.
[510] Judging from the records of the chronicles of the period, it
seems that William the Conqueror had not at any time a fleet capable of
competing with those of the Northmen, who appear to have made descents
on the coasts much as they had done in earlier years. Cf. Saxon
Chronicle for the years 1069, 1070, 1083; and Selden, “Mare Clausum,”
c. xxv.
[511] See the histories of Ramsey and Ely, and others.
[512] No data exist from which we can calculate with any certainty the
value of a pound of silver in the Conqueror’s reign.
[513] Pliny states that lead was found so abundantly on the surface in
Britain, that a law was passed to limit the supply. H. N. xxxiv. 49;
cf. also Wright’s “Uriconium,” pp. 6, 7, 8.
[514] Matthew Paris, Hist. p. 570. Camden, Britan. p. 134.
[515] Wilkins, “Leges Anglo-Saxon,” p. 52.
[516] William of Malmesbury, i. c. 3. Wharton, “Angl. Sacr.” ii. p.
258. According also to Bede, it appears that the sight of English
slaves in the market-place at Rome first led Gregory to think of
evangelizing the country.—Hist. Eccles. ii. c. 1.
[517] William of Poictiers, p. 216.
[518] Ibid. Muratori, Antiq. v. coll. 404, 405.
[519] William of Poictiers, chaplain to William the Conqueror, speaks
of his rich gifts to Rome, p. 206.
[520] William of Malmesb. p. 43.
[521] Ibid. p. 42.
[522] Saxon Chron. The list of relics preserved (till quite recently)
in the Escurial in Spain, would satisfy the wildest curiosity of any
owner of a “rag and bone shop.” Cf. also W. of Malmesb. De Pontif. 5.
Bede, Hist. Abbat. Weremouth.
[523] Thom. Chron. ap. Twysden, ed. 1793.
[524] For these and other references to Domesday, see Macpherson, i.
pp. 293-7, and i. pp. 303-7.
[525] The above particulars are derived from the records of Domesday,
which were, however, never completed for several of the northern
counties, possibly owing to the great northern up-rising against
William the Conqueror. It is also remarkable that there are no
notices of London and Winchester in the Conqueror’s Domesday. (See
Spelman’s Gloss, s. v. Domesday, and Ayloffe’s Calendar, p. xviii.)
For Winchester, there was a separate register known as the “Winchester
Book.” A portion of the _original_ survey, with the title of
“Inquisitio Eliensis” (from which that in Domesday has been _reduced_)
has been recently discovered in the British Museum, and will shortly
be published, under the direction of the Royal Society of Literature,
by Mr. N. E. S. A. Hamilton, Librarian to the Society, and late of the
Dep. of MSS., British Museum.
CHAPTER XII.
Increase of the English fleet, A.D. 1066—Its participation
in the Crusades to the Holy Land—Departure of the English
expedition—Arrival at Messina—Number of ships—Their order
of sailing—Arrival at, and capture of, Acre, 10th June,
1191—Richard returns to England—Maritime laws founded on the
“Rôles d’Oleron”—Power to pledge ship and tackle—The sailors
consulted—Laws relating to hiring—Drunkenness—Sickness—Damage
to ship and cargo—Quarrels—Mooring of ships—Partnership in
freight—Food—Obligation to carry the ship to her destination—Rules
as to sailors—Demurrage—Bottomry—A bad pilot forfeited his
head—Punishments—Shares in fishing vessels—Wreckers—Jetsam and
flotsam—Royal fish—Timber of wrecks—Remarks on these laws—Code
of Wisby—Magna Charta, A.D. 1215—Henry III., A.D. 1216—Naval
actions—Cinque Ports—Increase of piracy—Measures for its
suppression—Treaty of commerce with Norway, A.D. 1217, and
facilities afforded to foreign merchants—English merchants first
open trading establishments abroad—Origin of the Hanseatic League,
A.D. 1241—Corporate seals—Sandwich—Poole—Dover—Faversham—Stanhope,
vice-admiral of Suffolk—Duties of the Cinque Ports—Increased
privileges to foreign merchants—Letters of marque first issued—Law
for the recovery of debts, and adjustment of average—Shipping
of Scotland, A.D. 1249—Extremely liberal Navigation Act—Chief
ports of England, and extent of its shipping and commerce—Edward
II., A.D. 1307-1327—Edward III., A.D. 1326-7-1377—Extension of
English commerce—The discovery of coal—First complete roll of the
English fleet, A.D. 1347—Quota of different ports—Pay of soldiers,
sailors, &c.—War renewed, A.D. 1354—Death of Edward III., A.D.
1377—State of the merchant navy during his reign—Loss sustained by
war, and encouragement afforded thereby to foreign nations—Rapid
increase of the trade of Flanders—Trade between Italy and
Flanders—Commercial importance of Bruges and Antwerp—Wealth of
Flanders, and extent of its manufactures and commerce—Special
privileges to her merchants—Progress of the Hanseatic League, and
its system of business: its power too frequently abused.
[Sidenote: Increase of the English fleet, A.D. 1066.]
The accession of William the Conqueror to the throne of England
produced important changes in the maritime affairs of that country,
and gave to its over-sea commerce greatly increased security and
stability. In their anxiety to recover the throne of Canute, the
Danes had prepared a fleet for the purpose of invasion, which obliged
the Conqueror to summon to his aid the whole of the naval resources
of the island. Dover, Sandwich, and Romney were each called upon to
provide, at their own expense, twenty vessels, equipped for sea, with
crews of twenty-one men and provisions for fifteen days.[526] Rye and
Winchelsea rendered similar assistance, and in return had conferred on
them privileges similar to those which had been granted to the former
places by Edward the Confessor. These ports were then for the first
time styled the Cinque Ports, by which distinctive title they have ever
since been known. Other ports had also to provide their quota. The
fleet thus provided by the Conqueror was so fully maintained by Rufus,
his second son and successor, that the learned Selden dates England’s
maritime supremacy from that very early period. Still, for more than a
century after the Conquest, her ships seldom ventured beyond the Bay
of Biscay on the one hand, or the entrance to the Baltic on the other;
and there is no record of any long voyages by English ships until the
time of the Crusades, which, whatever they may have done for the cause
of the Cross, undoubtedly gave the first great impetus to the shipping
of England. The number of rich and powerful princes and nobles, who
embarked their fortunes in these extraordinary expeditions, offered
the chance of lucrative employment to any nation which could supply
the requisite amount of tonnage; and English shipowners made great
exertions to reap a share of the gains.
[Sidenote: Its participation in the Crusades to the Holy Land.]
The Earl of Essex appears to have been the first English nobleman
who fitted out an expedition for the Holy Land, while, twelve years
afterwards, Richard Cœur de Lion, on ascending the throne, made vast
levies on the people for the same object; and, with the aid of Philip
II. of France and of other princes, resolved to attempt to save the
Cross from the grasp of the Infidels. Extraordinary exertions were made
throughout both countries to provide the requisite armaments; and,
towards the close of 1189, two fleets had been collected, one at Dover,
to convey Richard and his followers (among whom were the Archbishop of
Canterbury, the Bishop of Salisbury, and the Chief Justice of England)
across the Channel; and a second and still larger one at Dartmouth,
consisting of numerous vessels from Normandy, Poitou, Brittany, and
Aquitaine, for the conveyance of the great bulk of the Crusaders, to
join Richard at Marseilles.
[Sidenote: Departure of the English expedition.]
This expedition from Dartmouth set sail, under the command of Robert
de Sabloil and Richard de Camville, towards the end of April 1190,
and, after a disastrous voyage, showing clearly the incompetence alike
of both officers and ships, succeeded in reaching Lisbon, where they
committed such a series of disgraceful outrages upon the inhabitants,
that seven hundred of them were for a time imprisoned: thence, they
passed on, and at length, on the 22nd of August, reached Marseilles,
from which, after a brief delay for necessary repairs, they followed
the kings to the Straits of Messina, where they were all assembled on
the 14th of September.[527]
[Sidenote: Arrival at Messina.]
Vinisauf[528] has described in glowing language the appearance of
the fleet as it entered Messina. “As soon as the people heard of its
arrival,” he says, “they rushed in crowds to the shore to behold the
glorious king of England, and at a distance saw the sea covered with
innumerable galleys, and the sounds of trumpets from afar, with the
sharper and shriller blasts of clarions, sounded in the rear, and
they beheld the galleys rowing in order nearer to the land, adorned
and furnished with all manner of arms, countless pennons floating in
the wind, ensigns at the ends of the lances, the beaks of the galleys
distinguished by various paintings, and glittering shields suspended
to the prows. The sea appeared to boil with the multitude of the
rowers. The clangour of their trumpets was deafening; the greatest
joy was testified at the arrival of the various multitudes, when thus
our magnificent king, attended by crowds of those who navigated the
galleys, as if to see what was unknown to him, or to be beheld by those
to whom he was unknown, stood on a prow more ornamented and higher than
the others, and, landing, displayed himself elegantly adorned to all
who pressed to the shore to see him.”
[Sidenote: Number of ships.]
It was not, however, till the following year (April 10) that the fleet
actually got under weigh for the Holy Land, numbering one hundred
ships[529] (that is, of a larger kind), and fourteen busses. Each
of the large ships carried, it is said, besides her crew of fifteen
sailors, forty soldiers and forty horses, and provisions for one
twelvemonth. The commander was also aided by fourteen other picked men,
whom the chronicler calls “slaves.” But these, and other accounts of
the capacity of ancient vessels are, like too many of the tales about
shipping, not now reconcilable. We can only account for the numerous
discrepancies as to the size of the vessels and the number of men and
horses embarked, by some misapprehension on the part of the writers,
or by some confusion in their application of the nautical expressions
used by ancient writers, few of whom had any practical knowledge of the
subject.
[Sidenote: Their order of sailing.]
Vinisauf describes the fleet as proceeding in the following order.
Three large ships, filled with soldiers and stores, formed the van.
The second line consisted of thirteen vessels, described as “dromons
and busses;”[530] the third of fourteen vessels; the fourth of twenty;
the fifth of thirty; the sixth of forty, and the seventh of sixty; the
king himself, with all his galleys, forming the eighth line, and thus
bringing up the rear for the better protection, as was considered, of
the whole convoy. The lines were sufficiently near for a trumpet to
be heard from one to the other; and each ship also was near enough to
her consort to communicate by hailing. But though such an order of
sailing might have succeeded during fine weather, the fleet was soon
after dispersed during a gale off Ætna, the crews being “sea-sick and
frightened;” while three ships were wholly lost on the island of Cyprus
and their crews drowned, together with the Vice-Chancellor of England,
whose body was washed on shore, with the Great Seal tied round his neck.
[Sidenote: Arrival at, and capture of, Acre, June 10, 1191.]
[Sidenote: Richard returns to England.]
After the successful capture of Acre, and a truce, as its consequence,
with Saládin, Richard set out for England, where, however, he did not
arrive till 13th March, 1194. On landing at Sandwich, he was received
“amidst the joyful acclamations of his subjects,” or, as we may
presume, of those chiefly who dwelt in the seaport towns; for these
could hardly have failed to greet joyfully a monarch who had opened
out the means of affording ample and lucrative employment to their
shipping and seafaring population. Nor, indeed, were the merchants
less handsomely remunerated; for to them, the progress of the Crusades
procured the opportunity of developing many new and valuable markets
for commercial enterprise.
[Sidenote: Maritime laws founded on the “Rôles d’Oleron.”]
Prevented by the jealousy and the restrictive policy of the Italian
cities, English traders had hitherto not ventured on voyages so
distant as the Levant, the general policy of the republics of the
south throwing various difficulties in the way of foreign shipping.
By the Crusades, however, the eyes of English merchants and mariners
were alike opened to the successful undertakings of the Mediterranean
traders; to them also is largely due the constitution of England’s
first shipping code, based, as this was, on more ancient laws, with
many improvements derived from the increased knowledge due to the
recent experience of her mariners.[531]
[Sidenote: Power to pledge ship and tackle.]
By the first article in these laws a master had power to pledge, with
the advice of his mariners, the tackle of the ship for the necessary
provisions; but could not sell the hull without special authority from
the owners. Previously, it had not been thought safe to entrust any
one with the command of a ship unless he was a part owner or a freeman;
but, by the laws of Richard I., these restrictions were abolished,
and the qualifications and duties of the captain for the first time
defined by statute. Everything on board being placed under the master’s
care, he was required to understand thoroughly the art of piloting
and navigation, that he might control the pilot. In a merchantman,
the first officer was then practically the master, the second, the
pilot;[532] the third, the mate; the fourth, the factor or supercargo;
then followed his assistant, and after him came the accountants,
surgeon, steward, four corporals, cook, gunner, and coxswain, the two
latter having their quarters before the mast with the ship’s crew, but
receiving higher wages.
[Sidenote: The sailors consulted.]
By the second article if a vessel lay in port, waiting for weather and
a wind, the master was instructed, when the time for departure arrived,
to call together his ship’s company and inquire what they thought of
the wind and weather. A difference of opinion arising, he was bound to
be guided by the majority, and was legally responsible, if any accident
happened, to make good damages caused by his unsupported act. It was,
in fact, a standing rule for the master to act with the advice of the
greater part of his ship’s company and of the merchants, if any were on
board.
The third clause provided, that if the ship’s crew should not, unless
under compulsion, do everything in their power to save the vessel and
cargo from shipwreck, they should forfeit their wages. If they saved a
part of the cargo they were sent home, by raising money on the goods so
saved.
The fourth article, relating to salvage, was very similar to that
enacted by the Rhodian law, the allowance of the half, third, or tenth
of the articles saved being regulated according to the depth of the
water out of which they were raised. Any promises extorted by danger
were either void or not too strictly interpreted.
The fifth article provided, that no sailors in port should leave the
vessel without the master’s consent. The practice of the time required
that the sailors should carefully look after everything that related
to the preservation of the ship and goods; and if any damage accrued
by their absence without licence, they were punished by a year’s
imprisonment and kept on bread and water. If any accident happened so
as to cause death, resulting from their absence, they were flogged.
Special punishments were by law, as well as practice, inflicted
for damaging the cargo; and very detailed instructions were given
how certain goods were to be stowed and delivered. The laws in all
cases against desertion were very severe. In some places the sailors
were marked in the face with a red-hot iron, so that they might be
recognised as long as they lived.
[Sidenote: Laws relating to hiring.]
Provision was, however, made for such seamen as ran away by reason of
ill-usage;[533] while in the case of a double engagement, the master
first hiring a sailor was entitled to claim him, and any master
knowingly engaging a hired sailor, was amerced in double the amount of
wages. The sailor became entitled to his discharge on four grounds:
in the event of his being made master or mate of another ship; if he
married, in which case, however, he was obliged to refund what he had
received; if he made any proviso in his articles for quitting the ship;
and if the voyage was concluded, and the ship disarmed and unloaded,
with her sails, tackle, and furniture taken away and secured. Provision
was also made for compensation to the sailor, in the case of a master
giving him his discharge at his pleasure only and without lawful cause.
A master, however, could dismiss a mariner for incompetency, especially
a pilot, and in such cases no wages were payable. Unqualified persons
were in many cases punished for having accepted situations on board for
which they were incompetent; and a sailor proved by two witnesses to
have any infectious distemper, could be put on shore. The law quaintly
laid down that a master might turn away any quarrelsome or thievish,
factious fellow, but as to the latter, “he should have a little
patience to see if he can be brought to reason.”
[Sidenote: Drunkenness.]
[Sidenote: Sickness.]
[Sidenote: Damage to ship and cargo.]
By article sixth, drunkenness, quarrelling, and fighting, were
severally punishable, and mutinous mariners were compelled to refund
their wages. Mariners wounded in the service of the ship were provided
for. The seventh regulation stipulated that in the case of sickness
seizing any of the crew while in the service of the ship, they were
to be sent on shore with a ship’s boy to attend upon them. The eighth
prescribed the formalities to be observed in throwing goods overboard
to lighten the ship, which were much in the same way as had been laid
down in the Rhodian laws. Similarly the proportional average, pound for
pound, payable by each party so damnified, was framed upon the French
law, _livre à livre_. The ninth article applied to the destruction
of the masts and sails, in order to save the ship and cargo; and the
rules to be followed were nearly the same for collecting the averages
as those which are now adopted. The tenth article relates to damage
arising from imperfect dunage, for which the master and mariners were
liable to the merchant in the event of any injury, through neglect in
this respect, to his merchandise.
Article eleventh refers to damage of goods, or loss of wines or other
liquids, by the breaking in of the head of the cask, and generally
to all damage arising from improper stowage. It would appear that
persons, like the present Stevedores, who look to the stowage of the
cargo, existed at a remote period, with the title of _arrimeurs_, or
stowers. They were then paid by the merchant, and their business was
“to dispose the cargo properly, stowing it closely, and arranging the
several casks, bales, boxes, bundles, in such a manner as to balance
both sides, fill up the vacant spaces, and manage everything to the
best advantage.” There was also a class called Sacquiers, who were
very ancient officers. Their business was to load and unload vessels
with cargoes of salt, corn, and fish, to prevent the ship’s crew
defrauding the merchant by false tale, or otherwise cheating him of his
merchandise.
[Sidenote: Quarrels.]
The twelfth article throws great light upon the existing manners of the
sailors of those days. The master having hired his crew was invested
with the duty of keeping peace. He was, in fact, their judge. If any
of them gave the lie to another at a table, where there was wine and
bread, he was fined four _deniers_; but the master himself offending
in that way had to pay a double fine. If any sailor impudently
contradicted the master, he was fined eight deniers; and if the master
struck him, whether with the fist or the open hand, he was required to
bear the stroke; but if he struck more than one blow the sailor might
defend himself; whereas, if the sailor committed the first assault, he
had to pay one hundred _sous_, or lose his hand. It would appear that
the master might call the sailor opprobrious names, and in such case he
was advised to submit, and hide himself in the forecastle out of his
superior’s sight; but if the master followed, the sailor might stand
upon his defence, for the master “ought not to pass into the forecastle
after him.”
The thirteenth article[534] enacted, that, if a difference arose
between the master and the seaman, the former ought to deny him his
mess thrice[535] before he turned him out of the ship. If the latter
offered satisfaction and was refused and turned out of the ship, he
could follow the ship to her port of discharge and claim full wages.
The master not taking any seaman in his stead, in such cases, rendered
himself liable for any damage accruing. The Hanseatic laws required
the master not to give the seamen any cause to mutiny; nor to provoke
them by calling them names, nor wrong them, nor “keep anything from
them that is theirs, but to use them well, and pay them honestly what
is their due.”
[Sidenote: Mooring of ships.]
The fourteenth and fifteenth articles relate to the regulations of
mooring ships, and to injuries sustained through “striking against each
other.” The law of damage is laid down at great length, and buoys, made
of empty barrels, pieces of any description of light wood, baskets,
or any articles which float buoyantly on the top of the water, are
required to be used to prevent accidents and show where the anchors
lie, when in port.
[Sidenote: Partnership in freight.]
The sixteenth clause required the master to ask the crew, when a
ship was ready to load, “Will you freight your share yourselves, or
be allowed for it in proportion with the ship’s general freight?”
and the sailors were there and then bound to answer, and make their
election.[536] If they elected to take their risk, a curious practice
resulted. In the event of taking on board a cask of water instead of a
cask of wine, they might deal with their own stowage as of right; and,
in the event of throwing cargo overboard, to lighten the ship, they had
the privilege of refusing to throw over a cask of water in preference
to a cask of wine. If the water, however, was thrown overboard, the
mariner came in upon the general average; although, by the common law
of England, a tun of water was never rated, pound by pound in value,
with a tun of wine.
[Sidenote: Food.]
By the seventeenth clause the sailors of Brittany were restricted to
one meal a day from the kitchen, while those of Normandy had two meals;
and when the ship arrived in a wine country, the master had to provide
them with wine.[537] The practice of serving out a certain allowance
of food is very ancient, and to prevent jealousies, complaints, and
quarrels on this account, the law prescribed a specified quantity to be
supplied to each man exactly alike. When wine was provided, the mariner
had one meal per day, but when water alone was served out, he had two
meals.
[Sidenote: Obligation to carry the ship to her destination.]
The eighteenth article provided, that when a ship was unladen, the
sailors could demand their freight; but from those of them having
neither bed, chest, nor trunk on board, the master could retain a
portion of their wages, till the vessel was brought back to her final
port of destination. It was ruled that the wages were not due till the
work had been entirely done, unless a special agreement subsisted to
the contrary, for “freight was the mother of wages.”[538]
[Sidenote: Rules as to sailors.]
The rights of sailors hired per day, or week, or month, where freight
was not procurable, were secured by the nineteenth article, which
stipulated that if an engagement was broken off by war, pirates, or the
command of his sovereign, the seaman was entitled to have a quarter
part of his wages for the full term of his engagement.
The twentieth clause provided that, when in a foreign port, only two
sailors from the ship might go on shore at a time, and take with them
one meal of victuals, “as much as they can eat at once,” but no drink.
They were bound to return to the ship in season, so as not to lose a
tide, and they were held responsible for any damage resulting from
their default.
[Sidenote: Demurrage.]
The twenty-first clause related to detentions, and provided for the
payment of demurrage. If a merchant, having freighted a ship, did not
load her by the time appointed, he was bound to make compensation for
such delay, and the sailors were entitled to a fourth part of the
amount; the remainder being allotted to the master, he finding the
crew in provisions. Formerly, eight days were allowed the merchant to
unload, which afterwards was extended to fifteen. But that did not
affect the payment of freight, which was required to be paid in eight
days, whether the ship was discharged or not. The master could not
detain the goods on board for freight, but when in a boat or lighter,
he was entitled to stop them until he was satisfied.
[Sidenote: Bottomry.]
The twenty-second clause relates to selling goods on board, to provide
for the ship, in which the laws of bottomry were enforced.[539]
[Sidenote: A bad pilot forfeited his head.]
The twenty-third clause was a frightful instance, copied from the
so-called Rhodian laws,[540] of barbarous legislation. It enacted
that if a pilot, or “lockman,”[541] for such was the term applied to
harbour pilots, undertook to carry a vessel into port, and the vessel
miscarried through his ignorance, and he had no means to make good the
damage, or otherwise render full satisfaction, he was condemned to
lose his head.[542] While the twenty-fourth clause actually gave the
master, or any of the mariners, or merchants on board, power to cut off
the head of the offender without being bound in law to answer for it;
they were only required to be very certain that the unlucky lockman who
was hired at every river to guide the ship, in order to avoid rocks,
shelves, shoals, and sand-banks, had not wherewith to make pecuniary
satisfaction.
[Sidenote: Punishments.]
The twenty-fifth clause aimed at altering “the unreasonable and
accursed custom” of lords of the coast, where a vessel was wrecked,
claiming and seizing the third or fourth part of the ship, leaving
only the remainder to the master, the merchant, and the mariners.
“Therefore, all pilots who, in connivance with the lords on the coast,”
or to ingratiate themselves with such nobles, ran the ship on shore,
were doomed to a most rigorous and unmerciful death on “high gibbets
near the place where these accursed pilots brought the ship to ruin,
which said gibbets are to abide and remain to succeeding ages on that
place, as a visible caution to other vessels that sail thereby.” The
lords or others, who took away any of the goods, were also declared to
be “accursed,” and were frequently punished as “robbers and thieves.”
Indeed the twenty-sixth clause declared that, “If the lord of the
place be so barbarous as not only to permit such inhuman people, but
also to maintain and assist them in such villanies, so that he may have
a share in such wrecks, the said lord shall be apprehended, and all
his goods confiscated and sold, in order to make restitution to the
parties, and himself be fastened to a post or stake in the midst of his
own mansion-house, which being fired at the four corners, all shall
be burned together; the walls thereof shall be demolished, the stones
pulled down, and the place converted into a marketplace for the sale of
hogs and swine only, to all posterity.”[543]
The frightful severity of this punishment was adopted to stop even
greater barbarities inflicted upon wrecked mariners, in addition
to the plundering of the ship and cargo. Neither the Gauls nor
Britons hesitated to sacrifice strangers cast on their shores; and,
unfortunately, the piracies of the Scandinavians and the Normans had
the effect of perpetuating this sanguinary custom. Foreigners cast
on shore were too frequently immediately despatched, and the right
of plundering a wrecked ship extended alike to friend and foe. The
execution of pirates, and such as were condemned for crimes committed
on the high seas, and their being left to hang in chains by the water
side, has survived in practice even to the present century.
Clause twenty-seven relates to the adjustment of losses by any accident
resulting from an inferior outfit, and stipulates that when a vessel
arrived at her port of discharge, she was to be hauled up on dry
ground, the sails taken down, and everything properly stowed away; and
that then the master ought to consider an increase of wages, “kenning
by kenning.”[544]
[Sidenote: Shares in fishing vessels.]
The twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth, and thirtieth clauses adjust the
respective shares of fishing vessels, when several were working in
partnership, and provide that in the case of the loss of one vessel,
the representatives of the parties who had perished could claim their
quota of the fish caught as well as of the fishing instruments. They
further relate to the salvage of shipwrecked vessels, in which the
right of all shipwrecked persons to their goods is fully maintained;
and refer to derelict ships and goods whose owners have been drowned,
stipulating that such goods be kept a year, and if not claimed in that
time be vested in the Church under certain conditions.
[Sidenote: Wreckers.]
The thirty-first clause provides that any wreckers who plundered a
ship, or who, “more barbarous, cruel, and inhuman than mad dogs, did
sometimes, to gain their apparel, monies or goods, murder and destroy
poor distressed seamen; in this case, the lord of the country ought
to execute justice on such wretches, to punish corporally as well as
pecuniarily, to plunge them in the sea till they be half dead, and then
to have them drawn from the sea and stoned to death.”
[Sidenote: Jetsam and flotsam.]
The thirty-second to the thirty-sixth articles inclusive refer to the
laws of jetsam and flotsam, and provide that goods thrown overboard
to preserve the ship and cargo do not change their proprietorship.
Whilst the thirty-seventh clause relates to strays of the sea, such as
whales[545] and other oil-fish, stipulating that if a man on horseback
could reach the stray with his lance it was deemed a royalty belonging
to the lord. But if the fish was found farther off the shore, the lord
had no right to it, though afterwards brought or driven on shore.
[Sidenote: Royal fish.]
The five clauses which followed regulated the prevailing customs
relating to sturgeon, salmon, turbot, the sea dragon, the sea barbel,
and in general all fish fit for a king’s table; besides oil-fish
such as whales, and porpoises, or of any fish of which oil could be
made, and in which the lord had a title to a share. All other fish
were declared to be the property of those who caught them in the
sea, whether in deep or shallow waters; whilst the forty-third and
forty-fourth clauses adjusted the title to goods which had become
derelict. The forty-fifth provided that a vessel cutting her cables
and putting to sea through stress of weather was entitled to recover
their value. Buoys were directed to be placed over the anchors, and any
person detaining them from the lawful owners was to be reputed as “a
thief and a robber.”
[Sidenote: Timber of wrecks.]
The forty-sixth and forty-seventh articles applied to the timber
of wrecks, when the crew were lost and had perished. The pieces of
the ship were declared to belong to the owners, notwithstanding any
custom to the contrary. “And any participators of the said wreck,
whether bishops, prelates, or clerks, shall be deposed and deprived of
their benefices respectively.” If they were laymen, they incurred the
penalties previously recited.
[Sidenote: Remarks on these laws.]
Whatever opinion may be entertained of the barbarous character of the
punishments enforced by these laws, it is undeniable that they are
framed in a spirit of wisdom and justice towards the ship-owner. The
lawless spirit of piracy, prevailing along the coasts in the time of
Richard I., rendered it absolutely necessary, if a merchant navy was
desirable, to protect the ships and the mariners, as well as the goods
in them, by the stern authority of the civil law. The experience that
Richard had acquired in sea affairs during his voyage to the Holy
Land, made him sensible of the necessity of introducing into England
the most salutary maritime regulations in force abroad. Accordingly
the above code, of which we have furnished only a brief abstract, was
established by him, or shortly after his death, to afford protection
to those persons and interests, on which he saw clearly the commercial
prosperity of England in great measure depended.
[Sidenote: Code of Wisby.]
At a later period, the merchants of Wisby[546] framed their laws on the
Rôles d’Oleron, which became, in fact, during the succeeding century
and subsequently, the authoritative rule for deciding all maritime
controversies not only in the Hanse Towns, but among all nations on
the Baltic Sea. Further, it was declared by the forty-first article of
Magna Charta, A.D. 1215, “that all merchants shall have safe conduct
to go out of or come into England, and to stay there. To pass either
by land or by water, and to buy and sell by the ancient and allowed
customs without any civil tolls (an excessive tax on sales), except in
time of war, or when there shall happen to be any nation at war with
us.”
[Sidenote: Magna Charta, A.D. 1215.]
Lord Justice Coke, in his comments on this famous charter,[547] is
of opinion that the merchants here mentioned were strangers, as few
Englishmen at that time traded directly with foreign countries; some
years elapsing before an English association began conducting, on its
own account, a foreign trade with English wool, tin, lead, and leather.
But during the reign of King John, the merchant navy found abundance
of profitable employment, for the wars he engaged in required a large
amount of tonnage. Moreover, the ship-owners and seamen are known to
have supported him in his contentions with the nobles;[548] and William
of Malmesbury speaks of the fame of London for its extensive commerce,
and of the crowd of foreign merchants, especially Germans, who flocked
there, and filled the Thames with their ships. Bristol, also, appears
from the same authority to have been then a flourishing port for ships
from Ireland, Norway, or other foreign parts. But the people, and
especially the monks and nobles, complained loudly of the taxes levied
for the hire of the merchant shipping, although a large portion of the
great wealth amassed by the ecclesiastics of the period was undoubtedly
derived from trade, and most likely from their private and personal
investments in maritime pursuits.
[Sidenote: Henry III., A.D. 1216.]
[Sidenote: Naval actions.]
[Sidenote: Cinque Ports.]
When Henry III. ascended the throne, and the barons arrayed themselves
in opposition to Louis of France, their former ally, so many actions
by sea ensued that the maintenance of the navy became a necessity.
An English fleet of forty galleys and other vessels attacked and
defeated a French squadron of more than double its size; the English,
on the authority of Matthew Paris,[549] attacking their opponents by
“a dreadful discharge of arrows from the crossbow-men and archers,”
rushing against them with their iron beaks, “and availing themselves of
their position to windward by throwing pulverised quicklime into the
French, whereby the men were blinded.” In this celebrated action, which
some have called the commencement of England’s dominion of the sea,
the vessels contributed by the Cinque Ports[550] greatly distinguished
themselves, and obtained thereby further privileges. Thus they were
commissioned “to annoy the subjects of France,”—in other words, to
plunder, as they pleased, not merely the merchant vessels of that
country, but “all they met of whatever nation, not sparing even their
own acquaintances and relations,”[551]—a system of piracy which other
Channel ports were not slow in adopting. Indeed, between the privateer
and the pirate there was then so little distinction that, when Henry
attempted to suppress these lawless acts, he found it necessary to hang
indiscriminately about thirty of the most guilty.
[Sidenote: Increase of piracy.]
[Sidenote: Measures for its suppression.]
But piracy, under the plea of retaliation, rapidly spread among the
ships of other nations. The Normans, Scotch, Irish, and Welsh fitted
out their marauders, pillaging not merely every vessel they could
successfully cope with at sea, but also various towns along the coast.
The whole Channel swarmed with pirates, and the spoils of rapine were
too often preferred to the slower acquisitions of honest industry by
those who thought themselves powerful enough to be robbers; a state of
things naturally much increased during the long contest between Henry
III. and his nobles. During this period, indeed, foreign commerce was
almost annihilated. Wines, which used to sell for forty shillings,
realized ten marks; wax rose from forty shillings to eight marks, and
pepper from six pennies to three shillings a pound; while the scarcity
of ordinary merchandise, especially of salt, iron, steel, and cloth,
together with the stagnation in all exportable articles, owing to the
interruption to navigation, was so great, that the industrial classes
and many of the merchants were reduced to want and beggary. Still more
stringent measures were therefore found necessary to sweep the seas of
these pirates; for the English nation had become seriously alarmed.
A great increase was consequently made in the fleet. A lord high
admiral, and guardian of the sea and maritime ports, by the name of
Topham, was for the first time appointed; and to him all ships of war
were rendered responsible for their conduct.
[Sidenote: Treaty of commerce with Norway, A.D. 1217, and facilities
afforded to foreign merchants.]
But though so much trouble had arisen from pirates and other marauders,
many changes of great importance in the development of the maritime
commerce of England were inaugurated during the long, though generally
feeble, reign of Henry III. Thus a treaty of friendship between England
and Norway[552] formed one of his earliest acts, whereby the merchants
and subjects of both kingdoms obtained full liberty of personal
intercourse. The merchants of Cologne[553] were then also allowed to
establish a hall or factory (known as their Guildhall), which soon
became the general rendezvous in London of all German merchants, and
the place of business where they disposed of their merchandise, and
found safe and comfortable abodes; while, not long afterwards, they
were allowed to trade at all the fairs throughout England.[554] French
ships, laden with corn, wine, or provisions, then received permission
to come into, or go out of, English ports unfettered by former
restrictions. A quay was formed at Queenhithe, where vessels belonging
to the Cinque Ports could discharge their cargoes; and here, also, the
first fish market was established.
[Sidenote: English merchants first open trading establishments abroad.]
[Sidenote: Origin of the Hanseatic League, A.D. 1241.]
Liverpool then first became known as a place of maritime trade,
although it continued to be ranked as a “village,” attached to the
parish of Walton, till as late as 1699.[555] Brunswick was invited to
have commercial dealings with England, and protection was afforded to
its citizens. In Henry’s reign, too, there were built at Yarmouth,
Winchelsea, and other ports, many vessels of a superior description to
any that England had hitherto produced.[556] During the same period
an association of English merchants obtained privileges from the Earl
of Flanders (A.D. 1248), and established in the Netherlands depôts of
English wool, lead, and tin. These adventurers were long known as the
merchants of the staples of England. Previous to the reign of Henry
III. all foreign merchants had been compelled to sell their goods on
board their vessels; but in consideration of a payment of 100_l._
(cash) towards a supply of fresh water for the city of London, and of
fifty marks to the lord mayor (annually), the merchants of Amiens,
Nele, and Corbie, and of Normandy, were then allowed to land and store
their cargoes.[557]
The formation of the Hanseatic Association was, however, the most
important commercial event of Henry’s reign. Though its origin, like
that of many other great communities, cannot be precisely ascertained,
it seems probable that it arose out of an agreement, entered into
in the year 1241 between the merchants of Hamburg and Lubeck, to
establish a guard for the mutual protection of their merchandise
against robbers; a precaution the more necessary, as men of the first
rank were then but too ready to profess openly the trade of robbery on
land, and of piracy on the seas.[558] As this powerful corporation,
the most important in the commercial history of the middle ages, in
time exercised great influence over the commerce of England, and of the
whole of the north of Europe, we shall have frequent occasion to refer
to its commercial operations.
[Sidenote: Corporate Seals.]
It is to be regretted that no reliable information as to the number,
size, or form of the English merchant vessels of this period has been
preserved. We have, consequently, been obliged to seek information
on this subject from the Corporate Seals of different towns which
have fortunately been preserved, and are represented in the following
drawings.
[Sidenote: Sandwich.]
1. Is a corporate seal of the cinque port Sandwich, of about the
date A.D. 1238. This curious seal shows that English ships were then
provided with sails, which were furled aloft as at the present time,
and, further, that they carried their long-boat on deck amid-ships, as
do most merchant vessels now.
[Illustration: SANDWICH.]
[Sidenote: Poole.]
2. A seal of the town of Poole, A.D. 1325, exhibits a sheer of
remarkable height, with the representation of the castle aft and
forwards, the name of which is preserved in the present word
“forecastle,” for the portion of the vessel towards the bow. The anchor
may also be noticed, hanging clear over the bows and ready for use.
[Illustration: POOLE.]
[Sidenote: Dover.]
3. Is an exceedingly well preserved seal of Dover, of A.D. 1284,
exhibiting similar elevated portions at the stern and bow for the use
of the fighting men, with a curious representation, also, of a sailor
ascending the shrouds, across which, no doubt, ratline lines were
placed, though these can hardly be detected in the drawing. This seal
has some other special details, as on the forecastle two men blowing
trumpets in different directions; on the after deck, a man steering
with a long oar over the side; and on the main deck, two sailors
apparently coiling the cable.
[Illustration: DOVER.]
[Sidenote: Faversham.]
4. Is the seal of about the same period of the town of Faversham. It
is remarkable for the amount of detail preserved on it. On this, as on
the seal of Sandwich, two sailors may be noticed seated aloft on the
yard in the act of furling the sail. On the deck is an officer giving
the word of command, and in the castle over the poop a man holding
a standard. On the fore deck are five soldiers variously armed with
spears and axes, and, near the top of the mast, is the castellated
object often observed on similar seals, indicating the crow’s nest.
[Illustration: FAVERSHAM.]
[Sidenote: Stanhope, vice-admiral of Suffolk.]
5. A seal of Michael Stanhope, vice-admiral of Suffolk, of a somewhat
later date, is remarkable in that it represents a ship with _four_
masts and a bowsprit. Each mast has a single yard, with the lug sail
furled on the three smaller ones, and set on the fourth and largest.
The bow is ornamented with a crocodile’s head, his back appearing to
form the roof of the forecastle. Over the bow is the anchor triced up
to the side of the vessel.[559]
[Illustration: MICHAEL STANHOPE, VICE-ADMIRAL OF SUFFOLK.]
[Sidenote: Duties of the Cinque Ports.]
By the charter granted in the twenty-second year of the reign of Edward
I., the Cinque Ports[560] were bound to provide, at any time the king
passed over the sea, not less than fifty-seven ships fully equipped,
each to have twenty armed soldiers maintained at the cost of the
ship-owner for fifteen days. Soon afterwards, the constable of Dover
Castle set forth, in a proclamation, the proportion of ships which
these and other ports, admitted to certain privileges, were bound to
furnish. The total number thus collected amounted to seventy-eight
vessels, of which Hastings had to supply eighteen; Bekesbourne, in
Kent, seven; Rye, five; Winchelsea, ten; Dover, nineteen; Folkestone,
seven; Faversham, a similar number; and Sandwich with Deal and other
minor places, five: the whole to be ready and properly “armed and
arrayed,” each to carry twenty men besides the master and mariners, who
were to serve five days at the expense of the ports and afterwards at
that of the king’s.
The nucleus of a national navy was thus established. In cases of
emergency, other vessels were obtainable from London or built for the
occasion by the government; and to make certain of a still further
supply, the whole merchant service were required to be ready within
forty days from the time of the summons. The “Cinque Ports,” for
their five days’ service, paid the masters sixpence, and the sailors
threepence per day.[561]
[Sidenote: Increased privileges to foreign merchants.]
Although the reign of Edward, like that of his predecessor, was
unfortunately marked by many contentions at home and abroad, the
interests of commerce were not neglected, and foreigners obtained
privileges far beyond any they had previously enjoyed.[562] Those, for
instance, who repaired to England were not merely granted full quiet
and security, but they were exempted from all differential duties and
special restrictions, and from the payment of either “murage, pontage,
or pavage,” although in cities they were only allowed to sell their
goods by wholesale, except in the case of spices or mercery wares.
Goods of any kind might be exported or imported, with the exception of
wine, which could not be re-exported without a special licence. Foreign
merchants were also allowed to take up their abode at any town or
borough in the kingdom, subject only to the civil and municipal laws of
the country. The crown promised not to seize their goods without making
full satisfaction. Bargains were to be enforced after the “earnest
penny” had passed between the buyer and seller; and all bailiffs and
officers of fairs were commanded to do justice without delay, from
day to day, “according to the law of merchants.” Before goods were
weighed, it was stipulated that both buyer and seller were to see that
the scales were empty and of equal balance, and all weights were to
be of one standard. When the scales were balanced, “the weigher” was
expressly required to remove his hands. Moreover, in all trials by
jury, in which strangers were interested, the jury was to consist of
half Englishmen and half foreigners.
[Sidenote: Letters of marque first issued.]
It was also in the reign of Edward I. that letters of marque appear
to have been for the first time issued. A merchant of Bayonne,[563]
at that time a port of the English dominions in Gascony, had shipped
a cargo of fruit from Malaga, which, on its passage along the coast
of Portugal, was seized and carried into Lisbon by an armed cruiser
belonging to that country then at peace with England. The king of
Portugal, who had received one-tenth part of the property, declined
to restore the ship and cargo, or make good the loss; whereupon King
Edward’s lieutenant in Gascony granted the owner of the ship and his
heirs licence, to be in force for five years, to seize the property of
the Portuguese, and especially of the inhabitants of Lisbon, to the
extent of the loss he had sustained and of the expenses of recovery.
[Sidenote: Law for the recovery of debts, and adjustment of average.]
It was likewise during the reign of Edward (10th Oct., 1283) that
parliament passed the famous “statute of merchants,” which gave a
remedy for the due recovery of debts, “as for want of such a law many
merchants were impoverished, and many foreign merchants desisted from
trading with England.” It is remarkable that, in the required process,
the debtor was supposed incapable of writing, and was, therefore,
required to put his seal to a bill drawn by the mayor’s clerk, who
thereupon affixed the royal seal prepared for that purpose. If, on
judgment against him, the debtor was proved to have no property, he was
imprisoned and fed on bread and water until the just demands of the
creditors were satisfied.
Nor were Edward’s commercial enactments confined to those we have
thus briefly noticed; for, understanding that certain citizens of
London,[564] together with other merchants of England, Ireland,
Gascony, and Wales, were in the habit of compelling the barons of the
Cinque Ports and others to pay an average on articles which ought to
have been exempted, as in the case of goods thrown overboard in storms,
he ordained that the vessel with her apparel, provisions, and cooking
utensils, “the master’s ring, necklace, sash, and silver cup,” as well
as the freight for the goods brought into port, should be free of all
such payments: on the other hand, that all other things in the vessel,
not excepting even the seamen’s bedding, should bear a proportion of
the loss incurred, and that the master should not be permitted to claim
freight for goods so thrown overboard.[565]
[Sidenote: Shipping of Scotland, A.D. 1249.]
[Sidenote: Extremely liberal Navigation Act.]
In Scotland, as might have been expected, commerce was of even slower
growth than in England, nor was it till the reign of Alexander III.
that there was any real maritime force; and although the vassals
of Scotland, as, for instance, the king of Man, were required to
contribute ships for the use of the state in proportion to their lands,
the king does not appear to have considered that such merchant vessels
as these were of much value, as he passed a law whereby his merchants
were prohibited for a limited period from exporting any goods in their
own vessels, “because some of them had been captured by pirates, and
others lost by shipwreck and by arrestments in foreign ports.” Of
course, the inevitable result followed that, for a time, the merchant
vessels of Scotland were totally extinguished. The enactment, however,
for some unaccountable reason, seems to have given satisfaction, as
the historians of the period remark that—“in consequence of these laws
the kingdom abounded in a few years with corn, money, cattle, sheep,
and all kinds of merchandise, and the arts flourished.”[566] It is,
indeed, possible that Scotland may have imbibed the spirit of extreme
liberality in its maritime policy which then prevailed throughout
England, where it was evidently supposed that foreign merchants
brought wealth which England could not otherwise have obtained. It
is, perhaps, remarkable that we have no notice of any trading port of
Scotland except that of Dunbar, which, at that time, was subject to the
English crown.
[Sidenote: Chief ports of England, and extent of its shipping and
commerce.]
Fortunately, however, a document has been preserved which furnishes
the names of the chief ports of England during the reign of Edward
I.[567] It is interesting and instructive. They were then as follows:
Dover, Sandwich, Romney, Winchester, Rye, Hythe, Faversham, Hastings,
Shoreham, Seaford, Portsmouth, Southampton, Dartmouth, Lymington,
Weymouth, Poole, Humble, Lymne, Sidmouth, Chichester, Teignmouth,
Frome, Fowey, Looe, Bodmin, Wareham, Falmouth, Bristol, Haverford-West,
Caernarvon, Caermarthen, Landpadanour, Conway, Chester, Bridgewater,
Cardiff, Oystermouth, Rochester, Gravesend, Northfleet, London,
Harwich, Ipswich, Dunwich, Orford, Yarmouth, Blackney, Lynn, Boston,
Wainfleet, Saltfleet, Grimsby, Hull, Ravensburg, Scarborough,
Tynemouth, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Berwick-upon-Tweed, and Dunbar. Such were
the principal ports of England at the commencement of the fourteenth
century. Some of these places are now hardly known for their trade,
while the very names of others among them have long since disappeared.
How changed since then are the seats and centres of England’s maritime
commerce!
But we know nothing of the amount of shipping belonging to these ports
for more than half a century afterwards; nor, till a comparatively
recent period, of the extent of business carried on in England. Had
such records been preserved, we should probably have seen that in the
port of Liverpool alone, then scarcely recognisable, a larger amount
of tonnage now arrives and departs during a week or even a day, than
entered and left all these ports in the course of a year. The only
document in the shape of statistics referring to shipping of the
thirteenth century that can be discovered, is a return which states
that, in the year ending 20th November, 1299, there arrived in the
port of London, and in all the other ports of the kingdom, except the
Cinque Ports, seventy-three vessels with cargoes of wine, of which the
smallest had not less than nineteen tuns on board, from each of which
the king, by ancient law, had the right to take, at a fixed price, two
tuns for the use of his household.
But even this return conveys but a very vague and imperfect idea of
the number of vessels then belonging to England, or of the extent of
its maritime commerce; moreover, the importation of wine was then much
larger in proportion to that of other articles of commerce than it is
now. The Cinque Ports, from their wealth and exclusive privileges,
were, doubtless, large consumers of wine and had great facilities for
its storage.[568] London had long been, as it is now, pre-eminently the
port for wine. To Edward I. is due the selection of the Vintry (a name
still remaining) on the banks of the Thames, where vessels delivered
their cargoes alongside the wharf. Thence they often proceeded up the
river Fleet, as far as Holborn Bridge, to take in their return cargoes,
the smaller ones occasionally ascending even as far as Battle Bridge,
near the present station of the Great Northern Railway at King’s Cross.
[Sidenote: Edward II., A.D. 1307-27.]
[Sidenote: Edward III., A.D. 1326-7—1377.]
[Sidenote: Extension of English commerce.]
The twenty years’ reign of Edward II. is not marked by any events
worthy of note relating to maritime commerce. Retrogression rather than
progress was the result of his policy and of his constant troubles
and contentions with neighbouring nations. When, however, he had been
deposed, indeed almost immediately after the accession of Edward
III., a considerable step in advance was made by the grant of fresh
patents and charters to secure for the merchants of England further
staples on the Continent. Nearly the whole of the wool trade had been
previously carried on by foreigners, but the English now aimed at
having “staples” in Brabant and Artois as well as in Flanders, whither
they could freely send their own wool and dispose of it themselves from
their own entrepôts. And in this they at length succeeded; for with
their own capital they bought their wool, and exporting it in their
own bottoms to a staple in Holland, Flanders, or France, disposed of
it in those countries without the intervention of any second party or
foreign merchant. This privilege was considered at the time a great
step in advance; but now it is not easy to understand how the laws of
any country could have withheld from its merchants the right to trade
wherever or whenever other nations did not object.
[Sidenote: The discovery of coal.]
Such changes in the mode of transacting business tended materially
to enlarge the knowledge of the English merchants, acquiring as they
did from year to year, by their intercourse with the more refined
and intelligent merchants of Holland and France, much information on
subjects they might have learnt at an earlier period of their history
had their rulers not embroiled them in constant wars with the very
nations with whom they were now in direct communication. Again, though
it is certain that, at least on the western side of England, the Romans
had worked coal on or near the surface,[569] the opening of the great
coal-fields near Newcastle first took place in the reign of this wise
monarch—though, curiously enough, its value was sooner appreciated by
foreigners than by the people of the country in which this vast source
of wealth was found. For a considerable period after its discovery, the
consumption of coal was supposed to be so unhealthy that a royal edict
prohibited its use in the city of London while the queen resided there,
in case it might prove “pernicious to her health.”[570] On the other
hand, while England was thus prohibiting the use of the article which
has made her by far the most famous commercial nation of either ancient
or modern times, France sent her ships laden with corn to Newcastle,
receiving coal as their return cargoes, and her merchants were the
first to carry this now great article of commerce to foreign countries.
[Sidenote: First complete roll of the English fleet, A.D. 1347.]
For the first time we obtain also at this period something like
reliable information with regard to the extent of trade of England
and the number and size of her merchant vessels. Hitherto everything
with regard to them, and indeed to the vessels of almost all other
countries, has been, in a great measure, a matter of conjecture, the
accounts preserved being so conflicting that scarcely more than the
vaguest idea of their form or size can be ascertained. Nor, indeed, so
far as we know, were there any returns of the actual strength of the
navy of England or of the number of vessels which each port could send
to sea on an emergency, until Edward III. ordered a roll to be prepared
of the fleet he employed in the blockade and siege of Calais.[571]
From the details given in this roll we have the means of forming a
tolerably correct impression of the merchant shipping of the time; and
it is remarkable how small was the proportion of ships and men which
the king himself supplied. Many of the ports, it will be seen, supplied
a larger number of both than the king himself, these being, obviously,
the merchant shipping at other times employed in the foreign trade of
the country. This interesting document clearly shows that from the
earliest period up to the siege of Calais, as was also the case for
a long period subsequently, the English fleets were composed almost
exclusively of merchant ships, contributed by the chief ports in the
kingdom or in the dependent provinces.
[Sidenote: Quota of different ports.]
That Yarmouth, in Norfolk, should have supplied the largest number of
vessels, is probably due to its herring fisheries, and to the great
quantities of wool which were then shipped from that port to Brabant
and the ports of Flanders and Holland.[572] Again, Fowey, in Cornwall,
furnished more seamen than London, in all likelihood on account of
the tin trade; while the now extinct port of Winchelsea, in Sussex,
occupied the first position amongst the Cinque Ports, perhaps from
its neighbourhood to the then chief ironworks in the country. Those
places directly interested in foreign trade contributed rateably, in
accordance with its extent, and not with reference to the number of
their inhabitants. For instance, the city of York furnished only one
small vessel with nine men on board; whilst the town of Newcastle,
now becoming important as the port of shipment of sea-borne coals,
furnished no fewer than seventeen ships.
[Sidenote: Pay of soldiers, sailors, &c.]
We also learn from this record that the Prince of Wales, who
distinguished himself greatly in the expedition, had as his wage
20_s._ per diem; the Bishop of Durham, 6_s._ 8_d._; thirteen earls
6_s._ 8_d._ each; forty-four barons and bannerets, 4_s._; one thousand
knights, 2_s._ Esquires, constables, captains and leaders, of whom
there were four thousand and twenty-two, received 1_s._ each. Masons,
carpenters, smiths, engineers, tent-makers, miners, armed gunners,
from 10_d._ to 3_d._ per day; mariners, 4_d._; whilst the Welshmen on
foot had 4_d._ and 2_d._ But this roll is also valuable for what it
omits to tell us. Thus if it be the record of the fleet before Calais,
we cannot doubt that England then had many other vessels of naval and
commercial importance, for, even at this period of English history,
we find organized piracy was not extinct: thus, in November 1347, a
Spanish fleet piratically seized and sunk (for the two nations were
then at peace) ten English ships, on which a fleet of fifty ships was
immediately sent to sea to make reprisals. In this fleet the King
himself, with the Prince of Wales, and many of the nobility, embarked,
and attacked off Winchelsea forty large Spanish carracks, fully manned
and armed, and richly laden with cloth and other valuable commodities,
capturing no less than one-half, and sinking or disabling most of the
others.
[Sidenote: War renewed, A.D. 1354.]
[Sidenote: Death of Edward III., A.D. 1377.]
Unfortunately, in 1354, France again became the scene of war, which
ended in the celebrated battle of Poictiers under Edward the Black
Prince. In the campaign which followed the expiration of the truce,
consequent upon the capture of the French king and the most of his army
on the field of Poictiers, Edward collected a fleet of no less than
eleven hundred vessels, in which were embarked one hundred thousand
men, by whom Paris was successfully invaded; but at the siege of La
Rochelle his good fortune deserted him, and his whole fleet, then under
the command of the Earl of Pembroke, became the prize of the combined
squadrons of France and of Castile. Although, on pressing demands for
succour, Edward was enabled to fit out a fresh fleet of four hundred
ships, of which he personally assumed the command, fortune and the
winds proved adverse; and, after having been nine weeks at sea, he
was unable to effect a landing on the French coast. Greater reverses
followed, and the vast territories which the English possessed in
France, and which they had maintained at so great a cost, soon sank
into comparatively insignificant proportions. The death of the Black
Prince, in 1376, preyed so heavily upon the king that he only survived
him for twelve months; and in June, 1377, he died, after a reign of
more than half a century, broken-hearted at the loss of his brave and
distinguished son.
[Sidenote: State of the merchant navy during his reign.]
[Sidenote: Loss sustained by war, and encouragement afforded thereby to
foreign nations.]
Although Edward, throughout the whole of his long reign, had encouraged
a liberal commercial policy, and had devoted, in an especial manner,
his attention to naval affairs, it was impossible for maritime commerce
to flourish in the midst of turmoil and war. England, though she lost
the greater portion of her unnatural territory in France, may have
preserved, as against the fleets of that country, her superiority at
sea, and her wars with France on the one hand, and with Scotland on
the other, may have developed the natural bull-dog courage of her
seamen; but war, while it lasted, transferred the bulk of her over-sea
carrying trade to the ships of Spain, Flanders, Holland, and of the
Mediterranean nations, the whole energy of her people, which might
have been better employed in the development of her natural resources
and manufactures, having been devoted to war and to the creation of
its instruments of destruction. Commissioners were even summoned to
London to hold a sort of naval parliament during these struggles with
France, and to render an account of the number of vessels which each
port could supply to the naval force of the country. The press warrants
authorized the appointed officers to seize not merely all vessels lying
in the several ports, but every vessel which came from sea during
the continuance of the commission; and these vessels were frequently
compelled immediately to discharge the whole of their cargoes, although
their last port of destination had not been reached, till Edward,
during the greater part of his reign, had actually more than one-half
of the merchant vessels of the kingdom in his service.[573] Operations
such as these could not fail to seriously injure the maritime commerce
of England, and, at the same time, afford encouragement to foreigners
to absorb her over-sea carrying trade.
But although the ships of Spain and of the Mediterranean were at
first the chief gainers by this state of things, those of the more
northern nations of Europe soon became, from the same causes, the
most formidable commercial rivals of England. While the English were
engaged in unprofitable conflicts, they were steadily increasing in
wealth and commercial greatness. Flemish ship-owners, taking advantage
of the constant disputes of England with France and Scotland, acquired
a considerable portion of the trade which would otherwise have fallen
to England, and materially increased their business relations with the
Mediterranean, with Egypt, and the East. Nor were they alone in their
efforts. The advantages to be derived from distant commerce had now
become known to all the nations of the North; while they were rapidly
gaining an insight into the most profitable mode of conducting it, and
ascertaining the class of goods best adapted for the markets of the
East, and the description of vessels most suitable for carrying on the
trade.
[Sidenote: Rapid increase of the trade of Flanders.]
The people occupying the Netherlands, observing on the one hand how
English genius and energy were being wasted in war, and, on the other,
perceiving the vast progress of the Italian republics, and the wealth
which their inhabitants had accumulated by their intercourse with the
East, endeavoured, and with success, to imitate their example. Besides
being carriers by sea they became themselves large manufacturers,
opening up an extensive trade with Persia through the medium of
Constantinople, and enjoying during the reign of Baldwin, Count of
Flanders, an amount of prosperity second only to that of Venice, then
the chief of the Italian republics. Protected by the franchises which
their energy had wrung from their lords paramount, the inhabitants
of Flanders were thus induced to apply themselves with vigour to
commercial and manufacturing pursuits. Almost every town emulated its
neighbour in works of usefulness or taste, exhibiting alike their
habits of industry and their inventive genius. Their population
increased to an astonishing extent, their wealth in a yet greater
ratio; and the modern traveller may note in buildings still extant the
superabundant pecuniary resources of that period, and the joint results
of freedom from war and of unwearied industry.
[Sidenote: Trade between Italy and Flanders.]
Somewhere towards the close of the thirteenth century the merchant
vessels of the Italian republics first began to frequent the markets
of the Netherlands, and in 1318 Venetian ships brought to Antwerp
spices, drugs, and silk-stuffs. The Hanseatic League, which had now
become a commercial association of considerable importance, readily
entered into relations with the Italian traders, so that the markets of
Flanders became the best supplied of any in the north of Europe with
the products and manufactures of the Mediterranean, Arabia and India,
furnishing in exchange from their factories a variety of fine cloths
in assortments adapted to the wants of the Eastern people. Thus, while
England was distracted and impoverished by war, foreign merchants
found safety and protection, and became greatly enriched, under the
government of the Count of Flanders. The Flemings were satisfied
with moderate duties. Whilst clearing their coasts of pirates and of
hostile corsairs to the utmost extent in their power, they in all cases
respected the property of shipwrecked vessels, which had too often been
considered the prize of any promiscuous wrecker, and encouraged traders
from all nations to frequent or settle on the banks of the Scheldt and
the Meuse, many of whom realized large profits out of England’s folly
or misfortunes.
[Sidenote: Commercial importance of Bruges and Antwerp.]
During the period of the commercial splendour of the Netherlands,
Bruges and Antwerp were the chief entrepôts of the north of Europe for
foreign goods. The former of these, in the course of the fourteenth
century, had successfully negotiated favourable commercial treaties
with the German empire, as also with Spain, Portugal, England,
Scotland, and Ireland, which, in the following century, were extended
with great advantage to Venice, Genoa, and Aragon; but, towards the
close of the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth century
Bruges was surpassed by Antwerp, where, after the discovery of the
passage to India by the Cape, Flemish vessels trading with the East
landed their cargoes. Antwerp had, indeed, previously to that period
enjoyed a large and profitable maritime commerce. Apart from the many
advantages which the port possessed, the liberal policy established by
the Duke of Brabant and the privileges he conferred on foreigners had
induced English, German, Genoese, and Florentine merchants to make it a
rendezvous for their ships, and a depôt for storing their goods, whence
they were distributed throughout the continent and the whole of the
north of Europe.
[Sidenote: Wealth of Flanders, and extent of its manufactures and
commerce.]
Some idea may be formed of the importance of Flanders and the Low
Countries, and how they then surpassed all the other nations of
northern Europe in wealth and commercial enterprise, from the fact
that Ghent had no less than forty thousand looms constantly at work in
the manufacture of cotton and woollen cloths. She likewise supplied
in great abundance, and of superior quality, serges, fustians, and
tapestries. Courtray possessed, in the sixteenth century, six thousand
weavers’ looms; Ypres, four thousand, which produced very fine cloths,
especially those of the scarlet colour so frequently specified in the
tariffs of the countries of the South and East; while the Cloth Hall
of that place was considered one of the most beautiful edifices of all
Flanders. Oudenarde supplied tapestries which rivalled those of Arras:
Tournay was famed for a peculiar description of serges. Louvain,
though somewhat injured by the growth of other places, had employed in
the fourteenth century four thousand looms; Mechlin, three thousand
four hundred; and Brussels was, even at that early period, renowned for
its woollen fabrics.[574]
Middleburgh, in Zealand, had then attracted to its market the merchants
of Italy, Spain, and Portugal, who trafficked in its manufactures as
well as in the productions generally of the country. Haarlem wove in
its looms an extraordinary quantity of fine cloth and velvets much
in request by the wealthy and prosperous Italian republics. The Low
Countries received in return from Venice, spices, drugs, perfumes,
cotton-prints, and silk stuffs. Genoa, Florence, Ancona, and Bologna,
despatched also to Holland their silks, cloths of gold and silver,
corselets, pearls, cotton, silk twist, alum, oils, and other articles
of manufacture and produce. France sent to her ports the fine cloths of
Paris and of Rouen, the common velvets of Tours, and the linen yarns of
Lyons, besides wines in great abundance.
[Sidenote: Special privileges to her merchants.]
About this period the merchants of Brabant, Flanders, Zealand, and
Holland, obtained from the king of France the privilege of establishing
agencies in her chief commercial cities. Spain was likewise then
largely engaged in over-sea commerce, and competed with the merchants
of France and Italy in importing to the North sugar, cotton, dye-woods,
and other articles of foreign growth; but it appears that they were
so much molested by pirates, especially by the English, that in 1340
the cities of Ghent, Ypres, and Bruges, were obliged to seek and
obtain from Edward III. a safe conduct[575] for the merchant shipping
of Catalonia, Castille, and Majorca. In spite, however, of the king’s
protection, so daring and regardless of all law were these marauders,
that a few years afterwards two vessels laden with valuable cargoes,
and sent by the merchants of Barcelona and Valencia for Flanders, were
captured by pirates from Bayonne, and carried into an English port.[576]
[Sidenote: Progress of the Hanseatic League, and its system of
business.]
The Hanseatic League having now become by far the most important
commercial association in Europe, its merchants entered with zeal into
the rich and prosperous trade which made Flanders and the Low Countries
so conspicuous in the annals of the commercial history of the period.
More than seventy cities and towns were associated with the League. Its
chief agencies, firmly established at Bruges in Flanders, at Bergen in
Norway, and at Novgorod in Russia, entirely monopolized for many years
the trade of these countries. Its agents and factors, all of whom were
mercantile men, were guided by rules and instructions emanating from
head-quarters at Lubeck, and from these they had no power to deviate
unless under extraordinary circumstances. They were not permitted to
have any common interest with strangers, or to trust their goods on
board any other merchant ships than those belonging to the places with
which the association was in league. Wholly occupied in extending
their own privileges and in securing for themselves the business of any
place where they had established themselves, they soon became obnoxious
to their rivals, and their counting-houses were frequently exposed
to popular fury. When unable to obtain redress for the outrages thus
committed against it, the League closed its warehouses, and its members
withdrew from the place. They could inflict no more severe punishment
for the wrongs they had sustained; indeed, the withdrawal of their
trade was often considered so great a calamity to the inhabitants,
that large concessions were made and new privileges granted to induce
their return. More than once the League transferred their quarters from
Bruges to Dordrecht in Holland, and, on each occasion, obtained fresh
grants before they agreed to resume business in the former city.
[Sidenote: Its power too frequently abused.]
But the League was unable to obtain at Bruges the power and influence
it too frequently exercised at other places; for it had there to
contend with men of business habits and of considerable wealth, whose
firms had long conducted business with distant countries, and who
held large stocks of the same description of merchandise from which
the League itself derived its chief profits. Moreover, the Flemings
of Bruges imported in their own ships, or in those of the nations
with whom they were in direct correspondence, the products of the
East, the manufactures of Italy, and the wines of the South. At other
places, however, and especially in the North, where the League had
comparatively few competitors and none whom it could not crush when
necessary, it exercised, at times, an overbearing dominion. Arrogant
and despotic, it even claimed the right of having submitted for its
sanction the question of the succession of the Danish princes to the
throne. At Bergen it persecuted with inveterate rancour any foreigner
who attempted to oppose it in trade; and, at Novgorod, it behaved in
such a manner as more than once to arouse the severe displeasure of the
Russian government. Nor did it hesitate, when it suited its purpose, to
carry on maritime wars, frequently exercising the power of an European
sovereign; and more than one potentate of the North experienced the
terrible ravages caused by the fleets of this powerful and haughty
commercial association.[577]
FOOTNOTES:
[526] Domesday Book.
[527] Peter Langtoft says that Richard’s own ship was called the
“Trenche-le-mer,” a good name for a swift sailing vessel; and the name
of Trenchemer occurs frequently in subsequent records, even as late as
Henry V., as that of commanders of ships.
[528] Geoffry de Vinisauf, ap. Gale, Script. Hist. Anglic., vol. ii.
[529] These numbers are given from Richard of Devizes (p. 17), who
appears to be the only writer who gives details of the fleet at
Messina. The number given subsequently, during the passage of Richard
to the Holy Land, by Vinisauf and others, is considerably larger, and
probably comprehends vessels of all descriptions.—Sir H. Nicolas’s
“Hist. Roy. Navy,” vol. i. p. 77, &c.
[530] Buss, Bussa, Buscia, or Burcia, and Dromon, or Dromond, seem to
have been used indifferently for large vessels. As the specific name
given to the large ship belonging to Saladin which Richard I. captured,
it has been supposed that the word Dromond is of Arabic origin.—Spelman
in voc. Dromunda.
[531] The whole of these and of the more ancient maritime laws have
been recently edited (A.D. 1828-1847) by a learned French lawyer, M.
Pardessus. According to his researches, it appears most probable that
these documents belong to the ancient French code, called the “Rôles
ou Jugemens d’Oleron.” It is impossible to determine now who first
compiled them, hence they have been claimed for different nations and
tribes; Selden, Coke, Prynne, Godolphin, and others, deemed them of
English origin, and due to Richard I., but there is no evidence that he
ever went to Oleron. M. Pardessus has shown from the authority of MSS.
at Oxford and in the British Museum, and from their coincidence with a
very early translation into Spanish, that the first twenty-six articles
are the most genuine. The others he considers to be later additions,
as, indeed, their intrinsic evidence tends to show. The place of
the departure of the ships being generally Bordeaux suggests that
they were originally embodied for the coasting trade of the west of
France.—Pardessus’ “Collection de lois Maritimes,” Paris, 4to, 1828-47.
Sir Harris Nicolas, quoting from Brompton, Hoveden, and others, states
that Richard drew up at Chinon, on his way to Marseilles, what he
calls “the earliest articles of war.” (“Hist. Roy. Navy,” pp. 89-91.)
Still more recently (1871) Sir Travers Twiss, in his edition of “The
Black Book of the Admiralty,” has examined very fully the real or
supposed claims of Richard to be the author or the editor of the “Rôles
d’Oleron.” In doing so he quotes a memorandum of 12 Edw. III. (A.D.
1284), stating that these laws (i.e., the ten last articles of the
Rôles) “were by the Lord Richard, formerly king of England, on his
return from the Holy Land, corrected, interpreted, and declared, and
were published in the island of Oleron, and were named in the French
tongue (Gallica lingua) ‘La Ley Olyroun.’”—Introd. pp. lvii.-lviii.
[532] We need not point out that the order of precedency differs
nowadays. The supercargoes in after years claimed priority in
everything except in that which related to the navigation of the vessel.
[533] Some of the following rules are noted in the “Ordinances made by
King Richard to be observed among sea-faring men.” See Appendix No. 2,
628.
[534] This is the fourteenth article in Pardessus, p. 333. His article
thirteen relates to charter-parties to different places between
Bourdeaux and Yarmouth.
[535] The old Gascony phrase was _Oster la touaille_, which signifies
denying him the table-cloths or victuals for three meals, by which was
understood one day and a half.
[536] The fishermen of Blankeness, on the Elbe, and the sailors of the
Levant, and in various other places, still navigate in shares for wages.
[537] This article affords some evidence that these laws were drawn up
in France for French sailors.
[538] Pardessus refers to an unedited Rhodian Law, as having suggested
this article, p. 337.
[539] It was further ordained, that the wines on board the ship should
be sold at the price customary at the place to which she had come.
[540] It has been shown by Pardessus and others that these so-called
“Rhodian Laws” are a compilation of the eleventh and twelfth centuries,
and distinct from the one famous Rhodian Law whose title, “De Jactu,”
has been preserved.
[541] Pardessus retains this form of the word, but the MSS. read
“lodman” (_i.e._ leading-man, pilot), which is probably the true
form.—See Brit. Mus. Add. MSS. 7965, fol. 89, &c.
[542] A French law, so late as Aug. 22, 1790, sent a pilot to the
galleys for three years who accidentally lost his vessel; and sentenced
him to death if he did so wilfully.—Pardessus, p. 341.
[543] These and the following Articles, which, doubtless, faithfully
represent the manners of the times, are found in early editions of
Garcia and Cleirac, but not in the MSS.—Pardessus, p. 346, note 3.
[544] “Kenning” is a very ancient word in sea language. It means view,
or course, “course by course,” and was employed when navigation was
performed by views and by observation from one land to another, prior
to the use of the compass. Admiral W. H. Smyth, in his “Sailor’s
Word Book,” states that “it was a mode of increasing wages formerly,
according to whaling law, by seeing how a man performed his duty.”
[545] For notice of whales caught so far south as Biarritz, see
“Syllabus of Rymer’s Fœdera,” Appendix No. 8, p. 648, s. a. 1338.
[546] In the island of Gothland, Baltic. These laws are believed to
have been reduced to three, their present form, by Magnus, who became
king of Sweden in A.D. 1320. (Pardessus, p. 426.) They are almost
identical with those in the Rôles d’Oleron, North German names of
places of departure, &c. being substituted for Bordeaux, &c.
[547] Cap. 30.
[548] King John, in his edict of Hastings, A.D. 1200, ordered his
captains to seize and to confiscate the cargoes of every ship that did
not strike their topsails to them. (Selden, “Mare Clausum,” ii. c. 26.)
He is also said to have destroyed the whole naval force of France.
Trivet, “Ann. ad ann. 1214,” quoted by Spelman, in his Glossary.
[549] M. Paris, p. 298. Ann. of Waverl. p. 183. Gale, ap. Robert of
Gloucester, p. 515.
[550] See Appendix No. 4, pp. 629-632, for charter of Edward I.
(1272-1307) to the Cinque Ports. This appears to be the earliest
charter that has been preserved, but it is only confirmatory of the
charters given by previous kings.
[551] M. Paris, p. 589.
[552] There is constant notice of intercourse between England and
Norway during this period of English history. See Appendix No. 3, p.
629.
[553] This was about A.D. 1220. This “Guild-hall” (“Gildalla
Teutonicorum”) was distinct from the guildhall of the merchants of the
Steel-yard. (Madox, Hist. Excheq. ii. 2.) The former obtained a charter
from Henry III. in A.D. 1259. Rymer, Fœd. v. 2.
[554] Hakluyt’s “Voyages,” vol. i. p. 130.
[555] Atkins’s “Manchester,” p. 332. Liverpool appears to have had
burgesses as early as A.D. 1207. Rot. Patent. 9 Johan.
[556] M. Paris, p. 889.
[557] Stow’s “Survey of London,” p. 130. Rymer, Fœd. vol. v. p. 105.
[558] Lambecii, Orig. Hamburg, ii. p. 26.
[559] The following are the legends, on the five seals, respectively:—
1. SANDWICH—SIGILL. CONSILII. BARONVM. DE. SANDWICO.
2. POOLE—SIGILLVM. COMMVNE. DE. LA. POLE.
3. DOVER—SIGILLVM. COMMVNE. BARONVM. DE. DOVORIA.
4. FAVERSHAM—SIGILLVM. BARONVM. DE. FAVERSHAM.
5. SUFFOLK—SIGILLVM. MICHAELIS. STANHOPE. ARMIGERI.
VICE-ADMIRALLI. COMITATVS. SVFFOLCIE.
[560] See Appendix No. 4.
[561] Hakluyt’s “Voyages,” vol. i. p. 17.
[562] A charter granting these privileges will be found at length in
Hakluyt, vol. i. p. 135. It was confirmed by Henry IV. and Henry V.
[563] Rymer, “Fœdera,” v. p. 691.
[564] Ibid. v. p. 298.
[565] Act. ii. Edward I.
[566] Ayloffe’s Calendar, p. 335.
[567] The Act of Edward I. prohibiting the exportation of bullion, and
relating to his new coinage, was ordered to be sent to all the chief
ports in the kingdom. For the wages of the sailors in the fleets of
Edward I., see Appendix No. 5, pp. 632-4.
[568] To this day the visitor to the quaint old town of Winchelsea may
observe under houses, now cottages, extensive cellars—some with roofs
of Gothic arches. The Ward-robe books of the 25th, 29th, and 32nd years
of Edward I. (now in the British Museum) give ample details on all
these subjects.
[569] Mr. Wright, in his excavations at Uriconium (Wroxeter), found
abundant evidences of the use of coal. Roman candles have also been met
with in some of the neighbouring mines. As early as A.D. 1253 there
was a lane behind Newgate, in London, called Sea-coal Lane. Ayloffe’s
Calend., p. 11. It appears also that coal was used in A.D. 1337 in the
manufacture of iron anchors. See “Syllabus of Rymer’s Fœdera,” Appendix
No. 8, p. 648, s. a. 1337.
[570] Stow’s “Survey of London,” p. 925.
[571] See Appendix No. 6, pp. 634-6, where the original documents
preserved in the Cotton and Harleian Collections are given in parallel
columns, to show their variations. At the end of this roll are also
notices of some of the more remarkable items in the repairs of Edward
III.’s galleys from another contemporary MS. Appendix No. 7, pp.
636-641.
[572] It appears also from the warrants contained in a MS. of the
Harleian Collection, No. 433, that besides the trade with Iceland
from Bristol, many vessels went thither from the ports of Norfolk and
Suffolk. See Appendix No. 12, p. 654.
[573] Rymer’s “Fœdera.”
[574] The great wealth of Flanders at this time is well shown by the
fact that, in A.D. 1339, the Duke of Brabant paid Edward 50,000_l._ as
the dowry for his daughter on her espousal to Prince Edward.—Rymer,
Fœd. v. pp. 113, 118.
[575] See a specimen of the “Safe Conduct” usually given on these
occasions from a MS. in the Harleian Collection. Appendix No. 6.
[576] Rymer’s Fœd. v. pp. 179-203.
[577] The following are the most important dates in connection with the
history of this celebrated confederacy.
Great German Hansa established A.D. 1241, with the view of clearing the
Baltic and adjacent coasts of pirates. Their first cities were Lubeck
and Hamburg, then Bremen, ultimately Bergen and Brunswick; they were
supported, generally, by the emperors as a commercial counterpoise to
the feudal nobility—Lubeck was chosen as queen of the Hansa.
In 1281 the citizens of the Hanseatic League were placed on the same
footing as those of London.
From A.D. 1303 to 1475 they possessed many houses in London, with a
jury, half English, half foreign, to try their causes, and two English
aldermen to act as their chiefs. This was the period of their greatest
power. The power of the League began to decline in 1547, after the
death in this year of Henry VIII. Though Edward VI. renewed their
privileges, the English “Merchant Adventurers” proved too strong for
them.
In 1666 their buildings of the Steel-yard were burnt in the great fire
of London, but were reconstructed in 1680.
In 1852 the premises of the Hanseatic League were finally alienated,
and are now built over by the Cannon Street railway station.
CHAPTER XIII.
Treaties with Spain and the merchants of Portugal—Early
claim of the right of search—Restrictive laws against the
English, and in favour of foreign traders—Accession of Richard
II., A.D. 1377—Character of the imports from Italy—Sudden
change of policy—First Navigation Act, A.D. 1381—A rage
for legislation—Relaxation of the Navigation Act, A.D.
1382-8—Free issue of letters of marque; and of commissions
for privateering—Special tax for the support of the Navy,
A.D. 1377—Superiority of English seamen—Their intrepidity and
skill—Chaucer’s description of the seamen of his time—Henry
IV., A.D. 1399-1413—Disputes between the Hanse and the English
merchants—Agreement for guarding the English coasts—Henry V.,
A.D. 1413: his liberal policy, and ambition—The extent of his
fleet—Size and splendour of the royal ships—Prologue of the
“Dominion of the Sea”—England first formally claims dominion of
the sea, about A.D. 1416—Prerogatives conferred thereby—First
accounts of revenue and expenditure, A D. 1421—Law for the
admeasurement of ships and coal barges—Henry VI. crowned, A.D.
1422—Marauding expedition of the Earl of Warwick—Distress among
shipowners not royal favourites, A.D. 1461—Fresh legislative
enactments—First “sliding scale” applied to the importation
of corn—Relaxation of the laws by means of treaties, A.D.
1467—Treaties of reciprocity—Extension of distant maritime
commerce, A.D. 1485—First English consul in the Mediterranean,
A.D. 1490—The advantages derived from reciprocal intercourse.
[Sidenote: Treaties with Spain and the merchants of Portugal.]
Although Edward’s thoughts had been directed almost exclusively to
the wars with France and Scotland, he found time to extend English
enterprise beyond its then comparatively narrow limits by an
advantageous treaty with Spain[578] in A.D. 1351, consisting mainly
of an offensive and defensive alliance, so that neither nation were
to afford any assistance to their enemies, nor injure each other,
the merchants and seamen of both countries having, at the same time,
full liberty to proceed by land or sea wherever they pleased with
their merchandise. Spanish property found in any vessel taken by
the English was to be restored to the owners, and English property
similarly situated to be respected by Spanish captors; moreover,
Spanish fishermen were permitted to fish on the coasts of England and
Brittany, and were allowed to enter any English ports on the payment of
the same duties and customs to which English vessels were subjected.
A nearly similar treaty was concluded with Portugal in the name of
the merchants, mariners, and communities of Lisbon and Oporto, in
which, however, curiously enough, no mention is made of the king of
Portugal.[579]
[Sidenote: Early claim of the right of search.]
[Sidenote: Restrictive laws against the English, and in favour of
foreign traders.]
[Sidenote: Accession of Richard II., A.D. 1377.]
With the Flemings, treaties were made of a more restrictive character;
thus, they were not to carry goods belonging to either the French or
Spaniards; nor were the ship-owners of these countries allowed to
become burgesses, so as to sail with Flemish papers. The papers of the
Flemish ships were required to state the contents of their cargoes
and their port of discharge, and to be attested by the magistrates
of the port of departure, and also by the Count of Flanders. These
treaties[580] contain the first suggestion of the simulation of a
ship’s papers, so as to secure the ship and cargo from capture by
making their owners denizens of a neutral power. Then arose, for the
first time, those claims to the “Right of search” which England so long
insisted upon, and maintained against the world in arms; claims not
yet relinquished, though now rarely enforced. It must not, however,
be supposed from these so far salutary regulations that Edward or his
council had any knowledge of sound commercial legislation; for, in
1303, every English merchant was commanded to restrict his business
to one commodity only, and to select at once the article he would
trade in.[581] Five years afterwards they were by law prohibited
from importing wine from Gascony, though, at that time, an English
dependency;[582] while, with singular inconsistency, the Parliament of
England, by an Act of 1378,[583] perceiving “the advantages derived
from the resort of merchant strangers,” gave foreign merchants
permission to remain in the kingdom as long as they had occasion, and
to buy or to sell, wholesale or retail, provisions, spices, fruits,
furs, silk, gold and silver wire or thread, and numerous other small
wares. The merchant strangers could likewise dispose of various
descriptions of cloths, linen, canvas, and other bulky articles of
manufacture, in any city, fair, or market, though in quantities of not
less than a piece, it being the privilege of freemen only to dispose of
them by retail as well as wholesale, with the exclusive right also of
retailing wines, foreigners being restricted to their sale in the casks
in which they were imported.
In consequence of these changes in the laws, the merchants of Genoa,
Venice, Catalonia, Aragon, and of other western countries, brought
their carracks, galleys, and vessels of various descriptions to the
ports of England, where, disposing freely of their merchandise, they
received in exchange, wool, tin, lead, and other articles the produce
of that country: Southampton proved so convenient and favourite a
port of resort, that a Genoese merchant of great opulence offered to
raise it to a pre-eminence above any other port of Western Europe, as
the depôt for the Oriental goods the Genoese had hitherto conveyed to
Flanders, Normandy, and Bretagne, provided the king would allow him to
store his goods in the castle of Southampton. We cannot doubt that had
this offer been accepted, this port would have become, to the great
advantage of England, the entrepôt for the supply of the northern
markets of Europe. The foul murder of this enterprising stranger,
in the streets of London, put an end to his wisely-imagined scheme,
English merchants ignorantly supposing that their own trade would
prosper the more by the prevention of his plan.[584]
[Sidenote: Character of the imports from Italy.]
[Sidenote: Feb. 10th, 1380.]
[Sidenote: Sudden change of policy.]
From the accident of a Catalan ship, bound from Genoa to Sluys,
the port of Bruges in Flanders, having been wrecked at Dunster in
Somersetshire, an insight is obtained into the nature of the cargoes
shipped at that period from Italy to Flanders. The merchants, in
claiming the restoration of her cargo, enumerate its contents, viz.,
sulphur, wood, ginger, green and cured with lemon juice; raisins,
writing paper, flax, white sugar, prunes, cinnamon, pepper, and a
few other articles of minor importance;[585] thereby showing that
this ship was freighted with the produce of India as well as of the
Mediterranean. For all of these England might then have become the
depôt, but her merchants could not, as yet, discern the advantages of
a free intercourse with foreign nations; they still believed that a
ruinous competition and the loss of their bullion would be the probable
results; and in this spirit persuaded Parliament[586] to prohibit,
unless under special circumstances, the exportation of bullion, either
in the shape of coin or otherwise. They pretended, further, that under
the existing regulations all their carrying trade passed into the hands
of foreigners, who, in point of wealth, commercial experience, and
command of shipping were far superior to themselves.
[Sidenote: First Navigation Act, A.D. 1381.]
Doubtless, there was some justice in these complaints. Foreigners,
by law, were able to undersell the English in their own markets, as
they could bring goods from foreign ports at rates of freight which
would have been unremunerative to the shipowners of England. The first
Navigation Act[587] was consequently passed, but, as one extreme
frequently begets another, this law proved to be one of the most
restrictive kind against foreign vessels. What effect it produced upon
English shipping we have been unable to ascertain, as there are no
statistical returns nor accounts, however crude, now extant, of the
shipping and commerce of this period; but, unless it enhanced the rates
of freight to the injury of the consumer, it could not have benefited
those in whose interests it had been passed; while, on the other hand,
any increase in the rates of freight would assuredly have tended to
diminish the number of ships employed. The law of Edward I., in so far
as it granted special privileges to foreign traders and their shipping,
though it may have been necessary at the period, was certainly unjust
towards the merchants and ship-owners of England; and it is not,
therefore, surprising that they embraced the first opportunity to
resort to extreme retaliatory measures against their wealthy and
powerful foreign competitors.
Nevertheless, there was less wisdom in Richard’s law, “to freight none
but English ships,” than there was in Edward’s answer to a petition to
expel foreign shipping from his ports, “I am convinced that merchant
strangers are useful and beneficial to the greatness of the kingdom,
and therefore I shall not expel them:” but, while Edward’s policy
encouraged the establishment of foreign trading associations in
England, a clear advantage to the people generally, his ship-owners
unquestionably suffered, as they had to struggle against laws the
especial object of which had been the encouragement of foreign maritime
enterprise. Edward would have displayed greater wisdom and sounder
policy had he simply placed “merchant strangers” on an equal footing
with his own people, and his country would have been spared the
conflicts of navigation laws, which have raged with greater or less
bitterness almost to the present day.
[Sidenote: A rage for legislation.]
As was natural, a protective system once inaugurated, other classes
besides the ship-owners claimed its presumed advantages.[588] Thus,
immediately afterwards, Richard issued a general proclamation,
prohibiting the exportation of corn or malt to any foreign country,
except to the king’s territories in Gascony, Bayonne, Calais,
Brest, Cherburg, Berwick-upon-Tweed, and other forts held for his
majesty.[589] Nor was this all; frivolous pretensions led to frivolous
laws: thus, the fishmongers of London were prohibited from buying any
fresh fish to sell again, except eels or pikes.[590] No cloths could
be exposed to sale except of a manufacture sanctioned by law;[591]
dealers in provisions of all kinds were placed under the control of
the mayor and aldermen of London;[592] no one was permitted to carry
corn and malt, or food, or refreshments of any kind to Scotland;[593]
while laws were passed with the idle object of maintaining the relative
positions of the different classes of society, as though their rulers
were hopeless of talent, industry, or honesty reaping their natural
reward. Parliament actually enacted that no servant should remove from
one hundred to another, unless travelling upon his master’s business;
the wages for agricultural labour were fixed by law; children employed
in husbandry up to twelve years of age were to be confined to that
description of employment for life; farm servants were prohibited from
carrying weapons, except bows and arrows for practice on Sundays and
holidays; while enactments scarcely less absurd kept down the mechanics
and labourers of the cities and boroughs.[594]
[Sidenote: Relaxation of the Navigation Act, A.D. 1382-8.]
But these evils found their natural remedy: the evasion of such
restrictive laws was so general, that those affecting shipping were
relaxed almost as soon as they had come into operation. In October,
1382, permission was given to English merchants in foreign ports,
if they did not find in them sufficient native tonnage for their
purpose, to ship their goods for England in foreign vessels;[595]
aliens were allowed[596] to bring fish and provisions into any town
or city, preparing them for sale in any manner they pleased; lastly,
in 1388, it was enacted, in direct opposition to the recently adopted
restrictive policy, that foreign merchants might sell their goods by
retail or wholesale in London or elsewhere, any claims or privileges of
corporations or individuals notwithstanding, while the late impositions
on their merchandise were, at the same time, declared illegal and of no
effect.[597]
It is alike curious and instructive to examine the many and
inconsistent laws passed about this period to regulate maritime
commerce, and to compel Englishmen as well as foreigners to conduct
their business otherwise than they would have preferred for their own
interests. Thus, in 1390,[598] foreign merchants bringing goods to
England were required to give security to the officers of customs at
the port of landing, that they would invest half of the proceeds in
wool, hides, cloths, lead, tin, or other English commodities; while
another law passed in the same year[599] provided that a merchant,
drawing a bill of exchange on Rome or elsewhere, should lay out the
whole money received for it within three months on articles of English
growth or manufacture. But perhaps the most curious and unmeaning Act
of this year was one[600] which, in order “to keep up the price of
wool,” forbade any Englishman to buy that article from any one but
the owners of sheep or of the tithes, unless in the staple, or to
purchase wool, except on his own account for sale at the staple, or for
manufacture into cloth: he was also forbidden to export either wools,
hides, or wool-fells; although, by the same Act, full permission to do
so when and how they pleased was granted to foreigners. By another Act,
the merchants of England were obliged to export their merchandise in
English vessels only; and the ship-owners were desired to carry them
for “reasonable freights”!
[Sidenote: Free issue of letters of marque, and of commissions for
privateering.]
Few reigns, in proportion to its extent, were likewise more prolific
for the issue of letters of marque than that of Richard II. They were
freely granted, for the purpose of revenging or compensating hostile
aggressions on individuals, and also to enable the English creditor
to recover debts, not only from foreign countries, but likewise from
natives of his own country, whose property he could thus conveniently
confiscate. Among the most conspicuous of these were the letters
granted in 1399 to John de Waghen, of Beverley, against the subjects
of the Count of Holland, because that prince had not compelled two of
them to pay some money due to Waghen; while orders were actually issued
to detain all vessels and property in England, belonging to Holland
and Zealand, till the Count should determine this affair “according
to justice.”[601] The people of Dartmouth took the lead in these
semi-piratical acts, as they held from the king a general privateering
commission, whereby they brought away (1385) various rich vessels from
the mouth of the Seine, one of which, according to the testimony of
Walsingham,[602] bore the name of “Clisson’s Barge”[603] (Clisson being
at that time Constable of France), and “had not its equal in England
or France;” while one of their merchants, with a fleet of his own,
captured no less than thirty-three vessels, with fifteen hundred tuns
of Rochelle wine.[604]
[Sidenote: Special tax for the support of the Navy, A.D. 1377.]
There can be no doubt that, at the period of Richard’s accession, the
English navy was in a very neglected state, and wholly unfit to protect
even the comparatively small number of English merchant vessels then
engaged in foreign commerce. France, with fifty ships under the command
of Admiral Sir John de Vienne, had made a descent on Rye, and, after
plundering that town and neighbourhood, had levied a contribution
of one thousand marks upon the inhabitants of the Isle of Wight; on
the same occasion pillaging and burning Hastings, Plymouth, and
Dartmouth; while the Scots, under Mercer, one of their most daring
adventurers, plundered every English vessel that fell in his way, and
thereby realised enormous booty.[605] The English government became,
at length, seriously alarmed, and were induced, in October 1377, to
pass the first law on record, whereby dues were levied on all merchant
vessels frequenting English ports, for the purpose of restoring and
maintaining an efficient royal navy.[606] The only exceptions made
were those in favour of ships bringing merchandise from Flanders to
London, and of the traders from London to Calais with wool and hides;
every other vessel leaving the Thames was required to pay sixpence
per ton; while a similar tax, payable weekly, was levied on boats
engaged in the herring-fisheries, and one-third that amount on all
other fishing-boats. A monthly duty of 6_d._ per ton had likewise to
be paid by colliers, as well as by all merchant vessels sailing from
any port in England to Russia, Norway, or Sweden.[607] In the belief
that the Navy thus created would be applied as proposed, this tax was
readily voted and as willingly paid by the shipowners; but, in the
end, it was appropriated to entirely different purposes. There seems,
in those days, to have been a restless desire, scarcely now wholly
forgotten, to interfere with the affairs of other countries. Thus the
“grand fleet,” when equipped, sailed under the command of the Duke of
Lancaster and besieged St. Malo ineffectually, the natural result being
that French cruisers ravaged the coasts of Cornwall, while a combined
fleet of French and Spanish galleys sailed up the Thames to Gravesend,
plundering and destroying the towns and villages along the Kentish
shores.[608]
[Sidenote: Superiority of English seamen.]
Here again the merchant service came to the timely aid of the
state.[609] The hostile galleys, on their way down the Channel with
the view of ravaging every defenceless place on the coast, were met
by a fleet of west-country merchantmen,[610] who had united for their
mutual defence, and thus, for the present, checked their further
course. Though their vessels were generally much smaller than those
of the Spaniards and often more than over-matched by their superior
equipment, the English far surpassed the seamen of the south in daring
skill and hardihood. By the boldness of their attack, especially during
inclement weather, they often, as in the present instance, achieved
victories over their better found and more scientific adversaries.
They had, however, a long career of thankless, though of noble and
patriotic, struggles. Heavily taxed for the maintenance of a fleet, too
often used for purposes of no concern to the nation, they were still
obliged to create one of their own to protect their commerce and to
defend their homes, at a time, too, when legislative enactments threw
nearly the whole of their carrying trade into the hands of aliens and
strangers.[611]
[Sidenote: Their intrepidity and skill.]
But while narrow prejudices and mistaken legislation depressed the
maritime commerce of the country, English sailors continued to
maintain, in spite of every national blunder and vicissitude, their
superiority in activity and skill. During the whole period from the
Conquest to the end of the fourteenth century, they showed the highest
genius and daring in navigating their ships, and more and more courage
in their contests with the French, as the sphere of their efforts
became extended. The testimony of contemporary historians, foreign
as well as English, attest this opinion; and the imperishable glory
and renown of their exploits, under circumstances of the most adverse
character and in the face of apparently insurmountable difficulties,
contributed in a great measure to the extension of the maritime power
of England over that of most other nations. The splendid victory of
England off the Swyn, in 1340, had been mainly owing to the superiority
in naval tactics of her seamen, a race, it must be remembered, not
trained to fight in the disciplined manner of modern times, but, as has
so often been the case on subsequent occasions, chiefly distinguished
for their bravery, hearty exertions, and extraordinary, but natural
skill.[612]
[Sidenote: Chaucer’s description of the seamen of his time.]
Among the most graphic descriptions of the character of the English
seamen of the fourteenth century, is that of the renowned Chaucer[613]
in his “Prologue to the Canterbury Tales.” Although it is the picture
of a hardened, reckless “felawe,” who made no scruple to drown the
prisoners whom he captured—“by water he sent them home to every
land”—it affords an excellent insight into the manners and customs,
as well as the dress, of the seamen of his time. Indeed, the poet’s
description gives a good idea of the free-and-easy character of seamen
at all periods of English history; a class of men scarcely less
distinct and peculiar in their habits now than then; and while equally
expert and ready in tempestuous weather, no less fond, when at ease on
shore, of “their draught of wyn,” or of their glass of grog.
“A schipman was ther, wonyng fer by Weste:
For ought I woot, he was of Dertemouthe
He rood upon a rouncy, as he couthe,
In a gown of faldying to the kne.
A dagger hangyng on a laas hadde he
Aboute his nekke under his arm adoun.
The hoote somer had maad his hew al broun;
And certeinly he was a good felawe.
Ful many a draught of wyn had he drawe
From Burdeux-ward, whil that the chapman sleep.
Of nyce conscience took he no keep.
If that he foughte, and hadde the heigher hand,
By water he sente hem hoom to every land.
But of his craft to rikne wel the tydes,
His stremes and his dangers him bisides,
His herbergh and his mone, his lodemenage,
Ther was non such from Hulle to Cartage.
Hardy he was, and wys to undertake;
With many a tempest hadde his berd ben schake.
He knew wel alle the havenes, as thei were,
From Scotlond to the Cape of Fynestere,
And every cryk in Bretayne and in Spayne;
His barge y-clepud was the Magdelayne.”
It was, however, impossible, even with the aid of such daring and
skilful mariners, for England to maintain her position at sea, or
her commerce, in the face of the laws we have attempted briefly to
describe, and the lawless acts of too many of those of her people
engaged in maritime pursuits.
[Sidenote: Henry IV. A.D. 1399-1413.]
The reign of Henry IV., opening with conspiracies at home and troubles
abroad, afforded at first little hope of improvement in the laws
affecting English maritime commerce; that monarch, however, was able to
make arrangements with Prussia so as to restore the long interrupted
commercial intercourse between the two countries;[614] while two years
later he concluded a treaty with the Hanse Towns. By this treaty were
also settled many claims of those merchants and ship-owners against
English cruisers, who, however, in turn, alleged that their property
had been captured and destroyed by the Prussians, and their countrymen
taken from their ships and thrown into prison. The merchants of Lynn,
especially, “complained pitifully[615] that four of their ships, with
cargoes on board, consisting chiefly of cloth and wine, were captured
on their way to Prussia, some of their people being slain, while some
were grievously injured, and others put to extreme ransoms.”
[Sidenote: Disputes between the Hanse and the English merchants.]
On the other hand, the complaints of the Hanse Towns merchants
were not confined to losses sustained by the piratical acts of the
cruisers, who, after due inquiry, really appear to have been the
greatest delinquents; they alleged also not a few infringements by
English traders of their chartered privileges. They urged that many
new charges and duties had been exacted from their goods and shipping;
that, besides the ancient duty of 3_s._ 4_d._ upon every sack of wool,
a charge of 1_s._ 7_d._ was imposed by the town of Calais; that the
officers of the Customs over-rated the value of their goods, exacting
duties for various kinds of cloths formerly exempted by the charter
of merchants; that, in order to remove their goods from one port
of England to another, they had to pay duties twice over; and that
needless delays were created, whereby they often lost the market for
their goods, which were, further, sometimes damaged by lying three
or four weeks on the wharves. This, they asserted, was mainly due to
the neglect of the officers of the Customs. The English commissioners
retorted that the Hanse merchants had combined to destroy the commerce
and manufactures of England by refusing to hold intercourse with their
merchants in the Hanse Towns, or to buy English cloth from Englishmen,
and that they had even imposed fines on those who had English cloth
in their possession. They accused them also of passing the goods of
merchants not belonging to the Hanse under their name, to avoid paying
the proper duties.[616]
These differences, which had their origin mainly in absurd laws
framed to protect one nation from competition with another, though,
in reality, by endeavouring to put a stop to all intercourse between
nations, affording encouragement to violent dissensions, private
warfare and piracy, were at last settled by the payment of modified
sums to each of the claimants; but while England had to pay 32,326
nobles, there was found to be due to her people only 766! a pretty
convincing proof that she had been by far the greater delinquent in
fitting out these piratical expeditions.
[Sidenote: Agreement for guarding the English coasts.]
Although Henry made extraordinary exertions to provide England with
a royal navy, the entire guardianship of the sea from May 1406 to
Michaelmas of the following year was entrusted to her merchant
vessels,[617] the law requiring their owners “to maintain certain ships
on the seas.” They were further empowered to select out of their body
two fit persons, to whom the king granted commissions to act as his
admirals. As a recompense for their services, the owners of the vessels
thus employed were allowed three shillings per tun on all wines
imported during that period, and twelve pence per pound on the value
of all other merchandise exported or imported, with the fourth part
of the then existing subsidy on wool and leather. Although the king
complained shortly after these privileges were granted that “they had
not sufficiently guarded the seas according to contract,” the system of
entrusting, if not wholly, at least in a great measure, the protection
of its shores and maritime commerce to its merchant ship-owners,
prevailed for many years: indeed, as already shown, it was upon them
that England mainly depended in her maritime wars. In those early days
they had also their own wrongs to redress as well as those of the
nation.
[Sidenote: Henry V., A.D. 1413: his liberal policy, and ambition.]
When Henry V. ascended the throne, he, according to Rymer, confirmed
the privileges which had been granted by some of his predecessors to
foreign merchants and shipping frequenting his kingdom.[618] From the
same authority[619] we learn that the king, who held the sole right
of drawing bills of exchange for the use of persons visiting the
papal court, Venice, and other places abroad, leased this right for
three years at the annual rental of 133_l._ 16_s._ 8_d._, afterwards
increased to 208_l._, the contractor being bound not to export any gold
or silver on account of the bills he drew. Merchants, however, trading
with these places were allowed to draw bills for their merchandise,
but for no other purpose. In his reign also the exemption from the
obligation of carrying the staple goods to Paris, granted to the
commercial states of Italy and Spain by the act of the second year of
Richard II., was renewed.
The short and, as it has been called, “brilliant reign of Henry V.”
was disastrous to the commercial interests of England, in that it was
devoted more to foreign conquests than to the internal affairs of his
people. He had, indeed, hardly ascended the throne (March and April
1413), when he resolved to assert his claim to the crown of France by
force of arms. Every vessel in England, of twenty tons and upwards,
was pressed into the service and ordered to assemble at London,
Southampton, Sandwich, Winchelsea, and Bristol, ready for immediate
action. Nor could the ports of England supply his wants. Commissioners
were despatched to engage on hire whatever vessels could be obtained
in Holland and Zealand; his whole force, when collected ready for the
invasion of France, consisting of fifteen hundred vessels, English
and foreign, manned to a large extent by crews collected through the
instrumentality of the press-gang.[620]
[Sidenote: The extent of his fleet.]
[Sidenote: Size and splendour of the royal ships.]
Perhaps no finer fleet had before been despatched from the shores of
England, but it was created at an enormous cost. In vain the Parliament
remonstrated against the outlay, and “humbly” represented that the
conquest of France would be the ruin of England, while the merchants
and ship-owners, exhausted by former unprofitable wars, were equally
opposed to what they considered a vain-glorious expedition. But Henry
paid no attention to either their remonstrances or prayers. He had
fixed his mind upon the expedition. The expense was to him a matter
of little or no consideration. Observing that the vessels brought
to the assistance of the French by the Castilians and Genoese were
larger and better than any he possessed, he ordered to be built at
Southampton[621] the “Trinity,” “Holy Ghost,” and the “Grâce de Dieu,”
vessels said, from their size, rig, and power, to have been “such as
were never seen in the world before.”[622] But his two flag-ships,
styled the king’s chamber and his hall, in one of which he embarked,
were, from the descriptions preserved of them, the most magnificent of
his fleet. Adorned with purple sails, whereon the arms of England and
France were embroidered, they represented this proud monarch’s court
and palace upon the sea.
Although Henry doubtless achieved his object by restoring Normandy to
the dominion of England, the success of his expedition, however barren
in its ultimate results, was mainly due to his command of the Channel.
A document in metrical verse, illustrative of the war, and written
about this period, gives so graphic an account of the then existing
state of maritime commerce, and so well points out the wisdom of
England in maintaining her supremacy at sea, that a few extracts from
it cannot fail to be interesting and instructive to our readers. It
probably contains the views of the most enlightened men in England
on the impolicy of the course of continental conquest on which Henry
had embarked. This curious production, which occupies twenty-one or
twenty-two folios of closely printed black letter in Hakluyt, and
has been frequently referred to and quoted by writers upon English
shipping, is entitled—
[Sidenote: Prologue of the “Dominion of the Sea.”]
“Here beginneth the Prologue of the Processe of the _Libel of English
policie, exhorting all England to keepe the sea, and namely the narrowe
sea_; and shewing what profite commeth thereof, and also what worship
and saluation to _England_ and to all Englishmen.”
However much the people of England may at the time have been flattered
by Henry’s heroic deeds of arms, it is evident from this poem that
a large class were thoroughly convinced of the impolicy of the
aggressions of their monarch. But the all-important point the author
has in view is the necessity of maintaining the command of the Channel
as the only true safeguard of the shores of England; and almost every
statesman since then has endeavoured to carry into effect what the
author in his quaint old language so strongly recommends:
“The true Processe of English policie
Of otterward to keepe this regne in
Of our _England_, that no man may deny.
Ner say of _sooth_ but it is one of the best,
Is this, that who seeth South, North, East and West,
Cherish marchandise, keepe the admiraltie;
That we bee Masters of the narrowe sea.
“For _Sigismond_[623] the great Emperour
Wich yet reigneth, when he was in this land
With King _Henry_ the Fift, Prince of Honour
Here much glory, as him thought, he found,
A mightie land which had take in hand
To werre in _France_, and make mortalitie,
And euer well kept round about the sea.
“And to the king thus hee sayd: My Brother,
(When hee perceiued two Townes _Caleis_ and _Douer_)
Of all your Townes to chuse of one and other,
To keepe the sea and soone to come ouer
To werre outwards and your regne to recouer:
Keepe these two Townes sure, and your Majestee
As your tweyne eyne: so keepe the narrowe sea.
“For if this sea be kept in time of werre,
Who can heere passe without danger and woe?
Who may escape, who may mischiefe differre?
What Marchandie may forby bee agoe?
For needs hem must take trewes every foe:
_Flanders_ and _Spain_ and othere, trust to mee,
Or ellis hindred all for this Narrow sea.
“Therefore I cast mee by a little writing
To shewe at eye this conclusion,
For conscience and for mine acquiting
Against God and ageyne abusion,
And cowardise, and to our enemies confusion.
For FOURE things our Noble sheweth to me,
KING, SHIP, and SWERD, and POWER of the SEA.”
In the first chapter of his poem the author gives a very lucid account
of the course of the commerce then carried on between England, Spain,
and Flanders. No mention is made of France, as England was then engaged
in hostilities with that country; but from Spain English merchants
imported figs, raisins, wine, dates, licorice, oil, grains, white
pastile soap,[624] wax, iron, wool, wadmolle, goat fell, saffron, and
quicksilver; and, from Flanders, fine cloth of Ypres and of Courtray
were carried in Spanish ships homewards, with fustians and also linen
cloth. These cargoes requiring necessarily to pass between Calais
and Dover going and coming, Spain and Flanders being then mutually
dependent, while the raw material of the Flemish manufactures came
from England, it followed that the interest of both these powers lay
in keeping peace with that country, or the Flemish factories would be
starved. In the second chapter the trade with Portugal is described. It
represents that Portugal is England’s friend, her shipping resorting
thither to trade in wines, wax, grain, figs, raisins, dates, honey,
Cordovan leather, hides, &c., all of which merchandize were carried in
great quantities to Flanders, justly described as the largest “staple”
or market at that time in all Christendom. But Portugal is accused of
being changeable; “she is in our power while we are masters of the
narrow seas.”
In the third chapter, it is stated that the people of Bretagne were
great rovers on the sea, and had often done much havoc on the coasts
of England, landing, killing, and burning to her great disgrace, but
that they durst not be her open foes so long as she had possession of
the narrow seas. The vigour of Edward III. is extolled in granting
letters of reprisals to the seamen of Dartmouth, Plymouth, and Fowey,
by which the pirates from Brittany, especially those from St. Malo,
were extirpated. The trade of Scotland is reported to have consisted
of wool, wool-fells, and hides; but her wool was sent to Flanders
to be dressed, as it was not equal in quality to the English wool,
with which it was often mixed before being manufactured. Scotland, we
are also informed, brought from Flanders mercery and haberdashery in
great quantities: moreover, one-half of these Scottish ships were then
generally laden home from Flanders with cart-wheels and wheel-barrows.
The writer remarks that the Scotch ships must pass by the English coast
on their way to Flanders, and might therefore be easily intercepted,
“——If they would not our friends bee
We might lightly stoppe hem in the sea.”
The trade of the Easterlings,[625] Prussia, and Germany, consisted of
copper, beer, bacon, bow staves, steel, wax, pottery, pitch and tar,
fir, oak planks, Cologne thread, wool cards, fustian, canvas, and
buckram, exported to Flanders; whence were carried back silver plate
and wedges, and silver (which came to Flanders in great plenty from
Bohemia and Hungary); also woollen cloths of all colours. “And they
aventure full greatly unto the Bay For salt that is needefull;”
“They should not passe our streems withouten leve
It would not be, but if we should hem greue.”
There then follows a description of the commerce of Genoa, whose
merchants resorted to England in great caracks “arrayed withouten
lacke,” with cloth of gold, silk, black pepper, woad, wool, oil,
cotton, rock-alum, taking as a return cargo, wool, and woollen cloth
made with home-spun wool, proceeding frequently from England to
Flanders, then the chief market of north-eastern Europe.
“If they would be our full enemies,
They should not passe our streems with marchandise.”
The trade with Venice is next detailed in original and explicit terms,
and extends to great length.
“The great Galees of _Venice_ and _Florence_
Be well laden with things of complacence
All spicery and of grossers ware:
With sweete wines all maner of chaffare,
Apes and Japes and marmusets tayled,
Nifles and trifles that little have avayled:”
and so forth.
The author then alludes to the frauds committed by the Italian
bankers and factors, all which he strongly and with the deep feelings
of patriotic prejudice animadverts upon and condemns. He shows the
disadvantages English merchants laboured under in point of trade with
foreign markets. He claims at least reciprocal advantages, and after
showing how valuable the trade is likely to become, he concludes—
“Keep then the sea, shippes should not bring ne fetch,
And then the carreys wold not thidre stretch:
And so those marts wold full evil thee,
If we manly kept about the sea.”
In his eighth chapter the author describes the trade of Brabant,
Zealand, and Hainault, both by sea and land, and expatiates upon the
value of English merchandise, adding that the English are the best
customers at all the foreign fairs;
“As all the goods that come in shippes thider,
Which Englishmen bye most and bring it hither.”
He laments with deep regret the neglect of English shipping for the
guard of the sea.
“A prince riding with his swerd ydraw
In the other side sitting, soth it is in saw
Betokening good rule and punishing
In very deed of _England_, by the king.
And it is so, God blessed mought he bee.
So in likewise I would were on the sea,
By the _Noble_, that swerde should haue power,
And the ships on the sea about us here.”
Throughout the whole document the dominion of the sea is urgently
enforced, and the insolence of certain ships of the Hanse Towns
loudly complained of. The folly of English merchants colouring the
goods of foreigners is also condemned. The ninth chapter relates to
the trade with Ireland, of which it furnishes a copious account. The
author mentions gold and silver ore as being produced there in large
quantities, and urges the importance of quelling the wild Irish, and
keeping the country in strict obedience, all which, he states, cannot
be done without good ships, and being masters of the seas. The trade
of Iceland is also mentioned, and its important fisheries; and here
follows a distinct mention of the mariner’s compass, as having been
recently introduced by merchant mariners.
There can be no doubt that the mariner’s compass was at this period in
general use as the “shipman’s card” on board of English vessels; and
further, that English seamen were extensively employed in the trade
with Spain and Brittany.
“Of _Island_ to write is litle nede
Saue of stock-fish: yet forsooth indeed
Out of Bristowe (Bristol), and costes many one,
Men haue practised _by nedle and by stone_[626].
Thiderwardes, within litle a while,
Within twelue yeer, and without perill
Gon and come, as men were wont of old
Of _Scarborough_ unto the costes cold.
And nowe so fele shippes this yeere there ware
That moch losse for unfreyght they beare.”
This chapter concludes with some remarks upon the importance of Calais,
criticising several incidents in the reigns of Edgar, Edward III.,
and Henry V., and concluding with a most energetic exhortation to all
English statesmen to consider the deep national importance of his
arguments concerning English commerce, navigation, and the dominion
of the sea, upon which he re-asserts that the peace, prosperity, and
security of their island essentially depend.
“The ende of battaile is peace sikerly,
And power causeth peace finally.
Keepe then the sea, about in special
Which of _England_ is the town-wall.
As though _England_ were likened to a citie,
And the wall enuiron were the sea.
Kepe then the sea, that is the wall of _England_:
And then is _England_ kept by Goddes hande;
That as for any thing that is without,
_England_ were at ease, withouten doubt.”
[Sidenote: England first formally claims dominion of the sea, about
A.D. 1416.]
That the author of these curious metrical rhymes represented the
feelings of the age is, in some measure, confirmed by the fact that,
towards the close of the reign of Henry V., the Parliament of England,
for the first time, asserted their right to the dominion of the
sea in all their more important formal documents, or rather to its
sovereignty. “The Commons do pray,” ran these documents, “that seeing
our sovereign lord the king and his noble progenitors have ever been
lords of the sea,” &c., &c. Nor were these claims, then, whatever
they may have been in former ages, nominal titles. Without citing the
opinions of Hugo Grotius, and other jurisconsults, on the necessity
of a prince proclaiming by an overt act that he is lord of the sea,
there can be no doubt that the English, from the earliest periods, did
at least assert, if unable at all times to maintain, the dominion of
the English Channel and a large portion of the North Sea. In the year
1674[627] the extent of the dominions of the British sovereign in the
eastern and southern sea was ascertained and admitted to reach from the
middle point of the land of Vans Staten, in Norway, to Cape Finisterre
in Spain; a large extent of sea which England then asserted, and has
since the reign of Charles II. maintained by many hard-fought naval
engagements. Indeed, so far back as the reign of King John, we have
already noticed, in the records of his marine laws, one to the effect
that if a lieutenant of a king’s ship encounter any vessel or vessels,
laden or unladen, that will not strike and veil their bonnets[628] at
the command of the lieutenant of the king, they were to be taken and
condemned.
[Sidenote: Prerogatives conferred thereby.]
That this right was not then a barren title may be assumed from the
fact, that it involved mercantile interests of the most important
character, within the limits named, which were guarded with the utmost
jealousy for centuries. The prerogative claimed by the crown included,
1st, the royalty of granting the liberty of fishing for pearl, coral,
amber, and all other precious commodities. 2nd. The power of granting
licences to fish for whales, sturgeon, pilchard, salmon, herring, and
all other fish whatsoever, as then exercised in Spain and elsewhere.
3rd. The power of imposing tribute and custom on all merchant ships,
and fishermen, trading and fishing within the limits of the sea,
subjected to private dominion, in the same manner as if enjoying the
state’s protection in its dominion on land. 4th. The regular execution
of justice, by protecting the innocent, and punishing delinquents for
all crimes committed within the limits described, protection being due
to all who paid homage and tribute. 5th. The power of granting free
passage through such sea to any number of ships of war belonging to
any foreign prince, or of denying the same according to circumstances,
in like manner as foreign potentates may grant or deny free passage
of foreign troops through their territories by land. This right
being exercised in peace as well as during war, all foreign vessels
whatsoever, whether ships of war or others, navigating within those
seas, and there meeting any of the ships of war or others bearing
the colours of the sovereign of such seas, “are required to salute
the said ships of war by striking the flag, or lowering,” as we have
just mentioned, “one of her sails, by which sort of submission the
saluters are put in remembrance that they have entered a territory in
which there is sovereign power and jurisdiction to be acknowledged, and
protection to be expected.”[629]
Although from the earliest periods of history successive nations have
periodically claimed the sovereignty of certain seas, England appears
to have been the only one of either ancient or modern times which not
merely asserted and maintained that power in the English Channel and
neighbouring waters, but was fully acknowledged to possess it by other
nations, who admitted “the striking or veiling the bonnets” to be a
ceremonious homage in recognition of her absolute sovereignty.
[Sidenote: First accounts of revenue and expenditure, A.D. 1421.]
Towards the close of the reign of Henry V. an account is, for the
first time, published of the revenue of the kingdom. It appears to
have amounted, in 1421, to the sum of 55,743_l._, obtained chiefly,
if not altogether, by duties upon commerce; the customs and subsidy
upon wool alone amounting to more than one-half, or 30,000_l._; while
the small customs, and a duty of twelve pence in the pound in value
on other goods, realized 10,675_l._ Out of that year’s revenue there
was expended no less than 38,619_l._[630] in the custody and defence
of Calais, Scotland, and Roxburgh, and their “marches;” while the
custody and defence of England and Ireland were maintained for the
comparatively moderate sum of 6,990_l._ The officers of customs at
London and the outposts received 821_l._ for their services, but
the salaries of “dukes, earls, knights, esquires, and the abbess of
Shene,” amounted to 7,751_l._ A sum of 4,370_l._ was likewise charged
on the customs for “annuities,” but no mention is made of how they
were appropriated. A lump sum of 3,507_l._ appears to have been paid,
without distinguishing the items, “to the king’s and queen’s household
and wardrobe; the king’s works; the new tower at Portsmouth; the clerk
of the king’s ships; the king’s lions, and the constable of the tower;
artillery; the king’s prisoners, ambassadors, messengers, parchment,
and the Duchess of Holland;”[631]—a curious enough medley, but perhaps
not more promiscuous than some of the estimates of our own time,
frequently smuggled in one sum through Parliament, from the difficulty
and delicacy of defending many of them if produced in detail.
[Sidenote: Law for the admeasurement of ships and coal barges.]
Immediately before the close of the reign of Henry V., an Act[632]
was passed requiring all ships to be measured according to prescribed
forms, so as to ascertain their tonnage or capacity, and preclude the
possibility of one ship deriving advantage over another. By a clause
in this Act, the barges, or “keels,” then employed in the conveyance
of coals from the colliery wharves to the ships in the Tyne were also
required to be measured and marked by the Crown. From that day, until
now, every keel contains 21 tons 4 cwt. of coals, and in the north of
England the capacity of a ship is still better understood by the number
of keels she can carry than by her registered tonnage.
[Sidenote: Henry VI. crowned, A.D. 1422.]
[Sidenote: Marauding expedition of the Earl of Warwick.]
It is not our province to notice the long and terrible wars between
the Houses of York and Lancaster which followed the accession of the
infant Henry VI. to the throne of England.[633] War, in all cases,
would seem to have encouraged hordes of marauders to fit out armed
vessels, too frequently under the pretence of the national defence, but
practically for their own gain and aggrandisement. But the war which
now raged for supremacy between the rival claimants to the crown of
England was, perhaps, the one of all others which offered the greatest
encouragement to these disgraceful expeditions. Forms of licence were
hardly necessary, as the flags of Lancaster or of York were sufficient
covers to many crimes. Thus, under plea of aiding the cause of the
House of York, the Earl of Warwick, “the king-maker,” fitted out a
fleet on his own account, with which he attacked, in the Straits of
Dover, a fleet of _Genoese merchantmen_ bound for Lubeck, with a cargo
of Spanish merchandise, of which he captured six, rendered worthless
twenty-six, slaughtered one thousand of their crews, and plundered
merchandise to the value of 10,000_l._ sterling, with the loss, it is
said, of only fifty of his own men. In the face of such an act as this,
perpetrated by one of the most exalted of the English nobility, who
filled the highly responsible office of governor of Calais, the reader
of English history need not feel surprised at the acts of piracy which
too frequently disgrace its pages. On the dethronement of Henry VI.,
after an inglorious reign of nearly forty years, the Earl of March, who
had shortly before become Duke of York by his father’s death on the
field of Wakefield, was proclaimed king of England as Edward IV.
[Sidenote: Distress among shipowners, not royal favourites A.D. 1461.]
These intestine commotions and civil wars, combined with the impolicy
of the crown, had reduced the merchant shipping of England to a
state of great distress. A few merchants, however, during the long
but unfortunate reign of Henry VI. had been, by special favour,
enabled to realize large fortunes. John Taverner, a ship-owner of
Kingston-upon-Hull, having built in 1449 one of the largest merchant
vessels of the period, received a licence to take on board wool, tin,
lambs’-skins, hides, or any other merchandise, the property of English
or foreign merchants, and carry them to Italy, on “paying alien’s
duty.”[634] William Canynge, an eminent merchant of Bristol, who
sent his factors to foreign parts, was likewise favoured by letters
from the king to the grand master of Prussia and the magistrates of
Danzig, recommending to their good offices the representatives of “his
beloved and honourable merchant.”[635] Although prohibited by Act of
Parliament, Canynge, when mayor of Bristol, on account of services said
to have been rendered to the king, had a special licence to employ two
ships, of whatever burden he pleased, during two years, in the trade
between England and Iceland and Finmark, and to export any species
of goods not restricted by the staple of Calais.[636] Canynge appears
to have been one of the most important ship-owners of England of the
period. He is said to have possessed ships of four, five, and even
nine hundred tons burden, which were far above the average size of the
merchant vessels of the period. On one occasion he supplied Edward IV.
with two thousand six hundred and seventy tons of shipping, a fact
recorded on his famous monument in the church of St. Mary Redcliffe,
Bristol, itself one of the most beautiful structures of the fifteenth
century.[637]
[Sidenote: Fresh legislative enactments.]
[Sidenote: First “sliding scale,”]
As the commercial legislation of England, previously to the reign
of Edward IV., had been full of irregularities and inconsistencies,
exhibiting itself as at one time liberal in the extreme to foreigners
against its own subjects, at another retaliatory to its own prejudice
and unwise in its prohibitions; this monarch, on his accession to the
throne, introduced various legislative measures professing to regulate
upon something like fixed principles the maritime commerce of the
country. Thus Parliament, in the third year of his reign, granted the
king, for life, a subsidy of 3_s._ upon every tun of wine imported, and
a poundage of twelve pennies in perpetuity on the prime cost of all
goods exported or imported for the defence of the realm and especially
for the guard of the sea. Another Act in the same year, which had
for its object the encouragement of home manufactures, prohibited
foreigners from buying or shipping wool from either England or Wales;
and ordained, adopting the permissive principles of a former Act, that
no English merchant should ship any goods, outward or homeward, in
foreign vessels unless sufficient space could not be found in English
shipping.[638] In the following year the importation of corn, except
the produce of Wales, Ireland, or of the islands belonging to England,
was prohibited whenever wheat did not exceed 6_s._ 8_d._, rye, 4_s._,
and barley 3_s._ per quarter.
[Sidenote: applied to the importation of corn.]
Nor did these prohibitory and protective laws end here. Another
law[639] enacts, on the faith of “representations made by the male and
female artificers of London, and of other cities, towns, and villages
of England and Wales,” that as certain foreign articles were of
inferior quality, their importation be limited for a time by the king’s
pleasure; while the sale of woollen caps or cloths, ribands, fringes
of silk or thread, saddles, stirrups, harness, spurs, fire-tongs,
dripping-pans, dice, tennis-balls, purses, gloves, and innumerable
other articles, were entirely prohibited. It soon, however, became
apparent that the articles of foreign manufacture, which had been thus
prohibited, were far superior in quality to similar articles produced
in England; so that the change of the law, while greatly increasing
their cost, to the benefit, it is true, of the manufacturer, entailed a
corresponding loss upon those who were his customers.
[Sidenote: Relaxation of the laws by means of treaties, A.D. 1467.]
The Scottish Parliament, following the example of England, passed
several Acts of a similar character, all, no doubt, intended for the
advancement, but most of them probably operating for the obstruction,
of commerce. Experience soon proved to even the framers of these
prohibitory laws that considerable relaxation must be made. Indeed,
towards the close of the very year on which the most stringent of them
were passed, a treaty of alliance between England and Denmark allowed
the merchants of both countries free access to the ports of the other;
while a treaty between Edward and the Duke of Bretagne permitted the
subjects of both princes a mutual liberty of trade in all merchandise
not specially prohibited.[640]
[Sidenote: A.D. 1471.]
Various similar treaties appear to have been made in the fifth year of
Edward’s reign. Desirous of fortifying himself against the rival house
of Lancaster by the friendship of continental sovereigns, he entered
into treaties of offensive and defensive alliance with as many of the
neighbouring nations as possible, including the king of Castile, so
that the merchants of each country might, reciprocally, buy and sell
whatever merchandise they required, and be treated, in all respects,
the same as his own subjects.[641] Moreover, the English people
themselves soon perceived the evil effects of a prohibitory system, so
that, at their instigation, Edward, in the sixth year of his reign,
concluded a treaty with the Netherlands, whereby he and the Duke of
Burgundy agreed that, for thirty years, the subjects of both countries
were to have free access by land or water, with liberty to buy and
sell all kinds of merchandise, except warlike stores, on paying the
same duties as were established when formerly commerce had free course
between the two countries.[642] Soon afterwards similar commercial
treaties were made, with France, the towns of Flanders, and the people
of Zealand; and in the fourteenth year of his reign, Edward granted to
the Hanse merchants the absolute property of the Steelyard in London,
with certain other privileges, which they may be said to have enjoyed,
through various changes and vicissitudes, almost to our own time.[643]
He also favoured the merchants of Italy with an exemption from most of
the additional duties which had been imposed upon them during his own
and former reigns.[644]
[Sidenote: Treaties of reciprocity.]
[Sidenote: Extension of distant maritime commerce, A.D. 1485.]
These treaties of reciprocity greatly encouraged the ship-owners of
England in embarking on more distant voyages. Hitherto, their ships
had been confined almost exclusively to a coasting trade with the
Baltic and with the Spanish Peninsula. A few only of the more wealthy
and enterprising traders had ventured through the Straits of Gibraltar
to the Mediterranean ports; nor, indeed, had even they been able to
compete on equal terms with the larger vessels of the north of Europe
or with the still superior vessels of the Italian republics which,
throughout the middle ages, monopolised the most important and most
lucrative branches of the over-sea carrying trade. In the reign,
however, of Richard III., English merchants had increased their distant
operations to an extent sufficient to justify an application for the
appointment of an English consul at Pisa, who should have the power
of hearing and of summarily determining all disputes between English
subjects resident in Italy or belonging to ships frequenting the
ports of that country. Lorenzo Strozzi, a merchant of Florence, was,
consequently, at the request of the English merchants then in Italy,
appointed the first commercial representative of the English nation in
the ports of the Mediterranean.[645]
[Sidenote: First English consul in the Mediterranean, A.D. 1490.]
[Sidenote: The advantages derived from reciprocal intercourse.]
From this time the trade of England with the Mediterranean, conducted
in her own ships, steadily though slowly, increased. Five years
afterwards, a treaty with Florence enabled the English to resort
freely to all her territories, and carry thither any kind of lawful
merchandise, whether the produce of England or of other countries, not
even excepting those countries which might be at war with Florence.
On the other hand, the Florentines agreed not to admit any wool
produced in the English dominions, if imported in any vessels but those
belonging to subjects of England; while the English bound themselves
to carry every year to Pisa, the appointed staple port, as much wool
as used to be imported annually, on an average of former years, to all
the states of Italy, except Venice, unless circumstances, of which the
king should be judge, rendered this impracticable. Privileges, similar
to those which had been granted to the merchants of the Steelyard, were
also then allowed to an association of English traders in Italy. In
some respects, indeed, these were even more liberal. Besides having the
privilege of forming themselves into a corporate body at Pisa, with
power to frame their own regulations and to appoint their own officers,
they had placed at their disposal a suitable edifice or a site on which
to build one, and were to be independent of the jurisdiction of the
city, while enjoying all the advantages of its citizens or those of
Florence.[646]
From this period the business of the ship-owner may be considered as
distinct from that of the merchant, although, to the present day, many
of the latter are still owners of ships. For the first time English
ships were engaged in the trade between England and Italy as carriers
alone, deriving their remuneration entirely from the amount of freight
they earned. About this time, also, the spirit for discovery in far
distant and then unknown regions began to open up new and vast fields
of employment for merchant shipping, from which England, in after
years, derived greater advantages than any other nation.
FOOTNOTES:
[578] Rymer’s Fœd. v. p. 719; Macpherson i. pp. 544-5.
[579] In A.D. 1353; Rymer’s Fœd. v. p. 763.
[580] Rymer’s Fœd. vi. p. 659. The date of this famous treaty appears
to be Aug. 4, 1370. Macpherson i. p. 577.
[581] Stat. 37, Edw. III. cc. 5, 6.
[582] Stat. 42, Edw. III. c. 8.
[583] Stat. 1, 2, Rich. II. cc. 1, 2.
[584] Walsingham, pp. 227-553.
[585] Rymer’s Fœd., vol. vii. p. 233, and Macpherson i. p. 590. In A.D.
1383, a large Genoese ship bound to Flanders was driven by stress of
weather into Sandwich. Walsingham, p. 296.
[586] Stat. 1-5, Rich. II. c. 2.
[587] Ibid. c. 3.
[588] Among other persons, the Pope succeeded in carrying from the town
of Bristol, in 1382, a prodigious quantity of goods (the list is given
in full in Rymer’s Fœd. v. pp. 356-7, 577-90) _without paying any duty_.
[589] Rymer’s Fœd., vol. vii. p. 369.
[590] Stat. 1-6, Rich. II. c. 11.
[591] 7 Rich. II. c. 9.
[592] 7 Rich. II. c. 11.
[593] Ibid. c. 14.
[594] Stat. 12, Rich. II. cc. 3-9, A.D. 1388. These rigid rules seem to
have arisen from a reaction against the concessions extorted from the
feeble king by the insurrections of 1380 (Wat Tyler) and 1381.
[595] Stat. 1, Rich. II. c. 10.
[596] Stat. 1-6, Rich. II. c. 10.
[597] Stat. 2, Rich. II. cc. 7, 9.
[598] 14 Rich. II. c. 1.
[599] 14 Rich. II. c. 2.
[600] 14 Rich. II. cc. 4, 5.
[601] Fœdera, vol. viii. p. 96. It would seem that Waghen did not, on
this occasion, gain his object, as his letters of marque were renewed
in 1412 and 1414. Fœdera, v. p. 733.
[602] Fœdera, vol. viii. p. 318.
[603] It is, perhaps, worth remarking that, through the whole of this
period, the name of every vessel employed is carefully recorded on the
MSS., these names being almost as various as those at present existing.
[604] Knyghton col. 27-35.
[605] Sir H. Nicolas, from the various chronicles, &c., of the time,
has well traced the course of this French plundering expedition. (Hist.
Roy. Navy, ii. p. 260-264.) Mercer was ultimately crushed, not by
the “Royal Navy,” but by the courage and power of a London citizen,
John Philpott, who was created twice Lord Mayor in 1377 and 1378.
Walsingham, p. 213.
[606] Fœd., vol. vii. p. 220.
[607] Rot. Parl. iii. 63.
[608] Rot. Parl. ii. 42, iii. 46, quoted by Nicolas, ii. pp. 274-5.
[609] Here, again, the munificence of John Philpott is especially
noticed. Walsingham, p. 248.
[610] In July 1380. Walsingham, p. 249.
[611] The records of Parliament, at this period, are each year full of
these natural complaints, to which Richard and his ministers appear to
have paid little attention. See, especially, Rot. Parl. iii. p. 102.
s.a. 1382.
[612] Rymer, Fœd. v. pp. 195-97. Knyghton col. 2577. Stowe, p. 369.
This is believed to have been the first naval victory gained by the
king in person since the days of Alfred. Sir H. Nicolas suggests that
the gold nobles struck by Edward III. in 1344, on which the king is
represented standing in a large ship, were struck in allusion to, if
not in commemoration of, this action. (Hist. Roy. Navy, ii. p. 223.)
Selden quotes the lines:
“For foure things our noble sheweth to me,
King, shippe and sword, and power of the sea.”
_Mare Clausum_ ii. c. 25.
The same writer also gives this line:
“Thus made he _Nobles_ coyned of record,”
in honour, apparently, of the capture of Calais A.D. 1347.
[613] Chaucer is generally believed to have been born in 1328, and to
have died in 1400: it is certain that he flourished in the time of
Edward III. and of Richard II. The orthography of this extract is from
Bell’s ed. of Chaucer, 1855.
[614] Voluminous papers on this subject are given in Hakluyt, vol. i.
p. 157, _et seq._; with the letter of Henry IV. to the master-general
of Prussia, together with the treaty itself, and the Hanse-Towns
agreement.
[615] Rymer’s Fœdera, vol. viii. pp. 601-603. Hakluyt, vi. pp. 154-157.
There seems some doubt as to the date of this transaction. See
Macpherson, i. p. 625.
[616] Macpherson has collected from various sources all the details
of the disputes between the Hanse and English merchants, of which the
above is a condensed notice, vol. i. pp. 620-623, s.a. 1408-9.
[617] Rymer’s Fœd., vol. viii. p. 437.
[618] Rymer’s Fœdera, v. ix. p. 26-72.
[619] Ibid. v. ix. p. 13, ap.
[620] Fœdera, ix. pp. 215, 216-218, 238. Walsingham, p. 390.
[621] The same names of ships, and the place of their construction
(then called Hampton), are given in the “Dominion of the Sea,” as
preserved in Hakluyt, vol. i. See also the Chronicle of the Church
of the Holy Trinity at Winchester, in which, too, is a notice of the
action off Harfleur A.D. 1416. Sir H. Nicolas, quoting from the “Issue
Roll” of Henry V., states that 496_l._ was paid at Southampton for the
“Holy Ghost,” and 500_l._ for the “Grâce Dieu;” but this could have
been only a portion of the real cost of these ships. (Hist. Roy. Navy,
ii. 406.)
[622] Hakluyt, vol. i. pp. 187-203.
[623] The Emperor Sigismund came to London May 7, 1416, to try to make
peace between England and France.
[624] Query, Castile soap.
[625] The ancient word Easterlings or Osterlings (whence Sterling)
signifies from the east, and embraces the inhabitants of all the
seventy-two Hanse Towns.
[626] It used to be thought that “lodemenage” had some connection with
the mariner’s compass, but this is not the case. The word is a hybrid,
part English, part French, and means “pilotage.” It is used several
times in that sense in 3 George i. c. 13. Compare with it, “Loadsman”
(the priest), “Loadstar,” and “Loads-stone,” all agreeing in their
composition with “load,” _i.e._ some leading or guiding influence.
[627] See Treaty of Charles II. with the States-General.
[628] “The bonnet is belonging to another saile, and is commonly used
with none but the missen, maine, and fore-sailes, and the sprit-sailes.
I have seene, but it is very rare, a _top-saile bonnet_, and hold it
very useful in an easie gale, quarter-winde, or before a wind. This
is commonly one-third as deepe as the saile it belongs to; there is
no certaine proportion, for some will make the maine-sail so deep,
that with a showele bonnet, they will latch all the mast without a
drabbler.” Manwayring, Sir H., “Seamen’s Dictionary presented to the
late Duke of Buckingham,” Lond. 4to, 1644. See also “The Sailor’s
Word-Book,” by Admiral W. H. Smyth, Lond., 1867.
[629] Ordinance of Hastings. Sir Harris Nicolas has thrown some doubt
on this ordinance of King John, because we have no record that he
was ever at Hastings; on the other hand, Sir Travers Twiss—who is
supported in his view by Sir Duffus Hardy—shows that he may easily have
been there, and issued it in the second year of his reign, A.D. 1201.
(Black-Book, p. L.)
[630] This heavy expense doubtless applies to a time of war; but the
return speaks also of previous debts of Henry IV. on Calais which had
not been paid off.
[631] Fœdera, vol. v. p. 113.
[632] Act 9 Henry V. Stat. 1, ch. 10.
[633] To what extent England had been depopulated by the wars with
France, may be seen from the fact noticed in the Act 9 Henry V. Stat.
1-5, that the sheriffs were to remain in office, instead of being
changed annually, because a sufficient number of persons duly qualified
for the office could not be found.
[634] Fœdera, xi. p. 258.
[635] Ibid. xi. pp. 226-27.
[636] Fœdera, xi. p. 277.
[637] See interesting details of William Canynge (the ancestor of
George Canning), in “Illustrations of the History of Bristol,” p. 280,
1853, by S. Lucas, M.A., the first editor of “Once a Week.” Canynge’s
grandfather was mayor of Bristol six times, his father twice, and
himself five times.
[638] Act 3 Edward IV. c. i.
[639] Act 3 Edw. IV. c. 4.
[640] Fœdera, xi. p. 567.
[641] Ibid. xi. pp. 534-569, 572, 583.
[642] Fœdera, xi. p. 591. It is clear, also, from several notices in
the “Fœdera,” that Edward IV. was himself a considerable owner of
merchant vessels.
[643] Ibid. pp. 544-793.
[644] Rymer’s MS. Records, Edw. IV. vol. iii. p. 55.
[645] Fœd., xii. p. 270. Roscoe states that this Strozzi was still
alive so late as A.D. 1538 (Life of Lorenzo de’ Medici, c. 10). Henry
VII. appointed another English merchant, Christopher Spene, as consul
at Pisa (Fœd., xii. p. 314).
[646] Fœd., xii. p. 389.
CHAPTER XIV.
Early efforts of France to restore the civilization of
Europe—Charlemagne, A.D. 771-814—Protection against
pirates—Efforts of Venice to suppress piracy—Rise of
Marseilles—Monopoly in shipping trade—Customs on shipping—Spain;
its early commercial importance—Superior influence of
the Venetians, which was invariably used to their own
advantage—Participation of Genoa and Pisa in the profits derived
from the Crusades—Venice claims the dominion of the Adriatic,
A.D. 1159—Annual ceremony of espousing the Adriatic—Bucentaur
state barge—Form of espousal—The progress and commercial
policy of Venice—Variable character of her laws, A.D. 1272;
which were protective generally, especially as regards her
ships—Official exposition of the trade of Venice—Her ships and
dockyards—Merchant galleys—Their greatest size—Contract for the
construction of vessels—Great variety of classes—The Gondola—The
Tarida—The Zelander—The Huissier—The Cat—The Saitie—The Galliot,
&c.—The Galeass—The Galleon—The Buzo—Government merchant
galleys—How engaged, equipped, and manned—Nobles’ sons taken
on board—Capacity of these vessels—Crew, and regulations on
board—Value of their cargoes—Despatch boats—Consuls; their
establishment, duties and emoluments—Ancient ships’ consuls; their
duties—The Cartel—Conditions of the contract—Restraints upon
seamen—Extraordinary display on the departure of any important
expedition—The reception of the commander, and his plan of
inspection—Signal to depart—Adaptation of merchant vessels to the
purposes of war—Regulations at sea—Stringent rules to regulate the
loading of vessels.
[Sidenote: Early efforts of France to restore the civilization of
Europe.]
[Sidenote: About A.D. 500.]
France may be ranked among the earliest nations which emerged from
the darkness and inactivity into which Europe had fallen, after the
invasion of the barbarous tribes of the north; her Merovingian
princes, who were highly civilized compared with even the best of
the marauders who had overrun the Roman provinces, having devoted
themselves to agricultural and other industrial pursuits, and having
thus paved the way for the revival of maritime commerce. As the
barbarians had divided what Rome had united, and Europe was broken up
into innumerable communities with no interest in common, navigation
could not be otherwise than dangerous in seas infested by pirates,
while strangers could not count on friendly reception at ports occupied
by semi-civilized nations: the French princes, however, by the
suppression of the Visigoths, obtained possession of Marseilles, then,
with the exception of Constantinople, the most important commercial
city in Europe, and thus caused their civilizing influence to be felt
along the shores of the Levant.
But Amalfi, Pisa, Genoa, and Venice, at this period slowly succeeded
in rivalling, if not in superseding, the great maritime city of the
French. The practice of piracy, however, unfortunately continued long
after civilization had again dawned on the shores of the Levant; nor,
indeed, as we have seen, did Amalfi, though the first to do so, become
really worthy of note as a commercial entrepôt till the close of the
eighth century, and even then its maritime commerce was comparatively
insignificant and of little importance, until a more enlightened ruler
removed a yet further portion of the dark cloud still hanging over the
fairest portions of the continent of Europe.
[Sidenote: Charlemagne, A.D. 771-814.]
[Sidenote: Protection against pirates.]
The extensive conquests of Charlemagne, unlike those of but too many of
more ancient times, tended to spread far and wide the benign influence
of civilization, and to secure by all possible means the peaceful
operations of trade. The security of property once re-established, the
enterprise and cupidity of mankind discovered with alacrity cheap and
expeditious modes for exchanging the products of labour with distant
as well as with neighbouring nations. To encourage the people under
his rule to enter upon commercial transactions, Charlemagne concluded
treaties of commerce with various foreign princes, including the Saxon
kings of the Heptarchy, to which reference has been already made. He
repaired the lighthouse built by Caligula at Boulogne, erecting fresh
ones at those points where the greatest danger was to be apprehended,
provided effectual means of defence against the pirates and the
Saracens, and encouraged those of his people who were willing to embark
in over-sea occupations.
[Sidenote: A.D. 838.]
This new commercial energy, which first showed itself under the kings
of Lombardy, rapidly bore fruit, when Charlemagne resolved that the
trading rights of Amalfi, Venice, Marseilles, and of other cities
should be rigorously respected. His son, Louis le Débonnaire, followed
the bright example of his illustrious father; but the destruction of
Marseilles by the Saracens shortly after his death put an end for a
while to the progress of commerce in the south of France. Nor, indeed,
was Charles the Bold successful in recovering the losses sustained
by the capture of Marseilles, while the invasion and piracies of the
Normans on the north side of France, and the repeated attacks of the
Saracens on the south, well nigh destroyed the seeds of progress sown
by Charlemagne, so that the preservation of any form of civilization
for some time seemed almost hopeless.
[Sidenote: Efforts of Venice to suppress piracy.]
But the exiles from other nations, who had, three centuries before,
planted their future homes on a few barren isles in the Adriatic, now,
A.D. 997, raised a fleet to suppress the Istrians and Dalmatians, who
had made descents upon their city by sea as well as by land. Sailing
in pursuit of their enemies, they destroyed or captured many of their
vessels, compelling them to sue for peace, by these means proving to
the neighbouring nations that they were strong enough to vindicate
their rights and to protect their commerce. From that period the power
and influence of Venice steadily advanced. The natural advantages
of the city, in point of security, more than counterbalanced the
inconveniences attending her situation; while the character of her
constitution and laws afforded a guarantee that industrious and
intelligent citizens would reap the full reward of their labour.
Gradually rising by her industry, daring,[647] frugality, and above all
by her prudence in keeping aloof from the dissensions of other peoples,
and confining herself as much as possible to commerce, she obtained
extensive privileges from the Greek emperors, and became not only the
commercial emporium of Italy but also of Greece.
[Sidenote: Rise of Marseilles.]
We have already referred to the extensive trade carried on by
Marseilles at a very early period, and pointed out the many advantages
which the situation of that port conferred upon its possessors with
regard to the trade of the Mediterranean; advantages which might now
be extended and materially developed by the passage for large vessels
across the Isthmus of Suez, if the rulers of France would only adopt
a more liberal and enlightened policy. We have likewise attempted to
describe the commerce of Marseilles under the Roman Empire, which, so
far as can now be traced, must have been of considerable importance;
but, like other commercial towns, its early history, in connection with
the business of shipping, is shrouded in doubt and in the mystery of
romance.
Various writers, however, confirm the prevailing opinion that the
shipping belonging to or frequenting Marseilles was very considerable
during the dark and early part of the middle ages, as great numbers
of pilgrims took their departure from that port to the Holy Land,
although it is not until the time of the Crusades that we have any
authentic records of the extent of the intercourse between the two
places: however, from these records, it is manifest that trade
attracted pilgrims to Jerusalem quite as much as devotion, or, at
least, that one speculation by no means excluded the other. Though
ready to mingle commerce with their devotion, there is no doubt that
when the fervour for the Crusades rose to enthusiasm, the people of
Marseilles were among the foremost in this infatuation. They not
merely conveyed numbers of crusaders and pilgrims in their ships, but
the noble families of Marseilles entered freely into these fanatical
expeditions, while the city itself advanced large sums of money and
was liberal in its presents to the Frank lords who obtained oriental
principalities.[648]
[Sidenote: A.D. 1163.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 1190.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 1279.]
Hence, during the domination of the Franks in Syria, the most intimate
relations subsisted between them and the city of Marseilles. Thus, in
1163 the Marseillais lent Rodolph, bishop of Bethlehem, two thousand
two hundred and eight bezants upon security of his castle and his
possessions in the city of Acre. In 1190 they assisted in besieging
that city, and obtained, as the price of their services, various
commercial advantages. In 1279 they sent corn to the Grand Master of
the Order of Jerusalem, by which means their mercantile franchises were
confirmed in Palestine: indeed, the history of Marseilles records many
services rendered to the potentates of the time, the consideration
for which was, however, invariably the concession of some commercial
franchise or the confirmation of ancient privileges, so that amidst all
their religious enthusiasm they never forgot their own interests.
[Sidenote: Monopoly in shipping trade.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 1234.]
The spirit of monopoly soon, however, exhibited itself at Marseilles
as in other places. Her viscounts, who were the lords paramount at the
time, had permitted ships belonging to the order of the Temple and of
St. John of Jerusalem to frequent the port of Marseilles; but when the
commonalty of that city were enfranchised from the jurisdiction of
the viscounts, they refused to recognize the freedom of the ships of
the military orders, and levied upon them vexatious duties. The two
orders complained to the constable of the kingdom of Jerusalem, and the
vessels of the Marseillais with their other property were about to be
seized by force in the port of Acre, but a negotiation set on foot at
Marseilles happily prevented a rupture. In 1234 the burgesses, convened
together at the Hotel de Ville at Marseilles, gave permission by a
solemn act to the two orders of the Temple and of St. John of Jerusalem
to send respectively two ships each, annually, to their port, one at
Easter and one at Midsummer, to load or unload any goods they pleased
under payment of the usual duties. Each vessel might take on board
any number of merchant passengers who desired to make the voyage, and
fifteen hundred pilgrims. In the event of the Templars and Hospitallers
requiring more vessels to carry cargo belonging to their convents, they
were permitted to despatch them; but these supplementary vessels were
not permitted to embark either merchants, or pilgrims, as passengers.
[Sidenote: Customs on shipping.]
Although religious differences were professedly not allowed to
interfere with foreign commerce; and although in a convention made
between the bishop and the commonalty it was stipulated that all
Christians, Jews, and Saracens should have the right of frequenting
Marseilles with their merchandise, of discharging their ships’ cargoes,
and of selling and buying unrestrictedly; yet the records of the
Customs show, that while the duties were one denier per livre upon
numerous imports, the burgesses of Marseilles were exempt from this
duty, and that the shipping of the Levant was placed in a different
category. Syrian merchandise paid two bezants[649] and a half per
livre; from Alexandria, the rate was one bezant and a half; and from
the island of Gerbi, upon the coast of Africa, three bezants and a
half. There were also other municipal dues. If a foreign ship in the
port of Marseilles took on board pilgrims, passengers, or cargo for the
Levant, the owner was obliged to pay the commonalty one-third of the
freight. It will be seen, therefore, that Marseilles exacted as high
differential duties as her republican neighbours of Italy.
Again, while the Christian religious bodies received many privileges
as shippers, the Jews throughout the whole of this period were ground
down under excessive taxes. In the same spirit, the Venetians shut
them out from the Damascus trade; the Spaniards, as far as they could,
expelled them from Spain, and they were then universally persecuted,
as much, it may be, from popular indignation against the social
evils they were supposed to promote, as from the hatred engendered by
religious prejudice. Yet, in spite of the atrocious treatment which
the Jews[650] received from the so-called Christians, they were the
means of greatly developing the commerce of the middle ages, and have
ever since rendered important service in promoting friendly intercourse
between nations, and thereby extending civilization. To the Jews, as
much as to the Lombard merchants, we are indebted for the introduction
of bills of exchange, by which great facilities have been afforded for
the development of trade, and a system of the most perfect security
established for remittances to the most distant parts of the globe.
The records of Marseilles demonstrate that the French had for many
centuries carried on an important trade with all the Mediterranean
ports, as also with India by way of Alexandria,[651] but they do not
seem to have made voyages to any of the Atlantic ports. Though daring
as mariners in the early portion of their commercial career, the French
relapsed during the middle ages into idleness, and, with the exception
of the inhabitants of Marseilles, were more notorious as wreckers, who
plundered any vessel cast on their shores, than as industrious and
honest seamen. Those who resided on its western shores had a wide field
for their plunder; for in those days, when vessels hugged the land, the
wrecks were numerous along that portion of their coast and especially
in the Bay of Biscay, which has been proverbial throughout all time for
the storms and the heavy seas which roll in upon it from the Atlantic.
[Sidenote: Spain; its early commercial importance.]
Spain, after having been conquered by a mixed multitude of Orientals,
had by the eleventh century reached a position in manufactures,
commerce, and science, superior to that of any country of the West, its
port of Barcelona[652] being the principal centre of the intercourse
with the eastern countries bordering upon the Mediterranean. Relieved
too, except in its south-eastern provinces, towards the close of the
ninth century from the yoke of the Saracens, her people had slowly but
surely increased in influence and power. Intrepid as mariners, and
skilled in ship-building, the Catalonians built not merely all the
vessels they required for their own trade, but supplied foreigners to
a large extent with their galleys and ships of burden. The ship-owners
of Barcelona were then largely employed by the merchants of France,
Flanders, and other nations, and stood so high in repute that even the
nobility of Spain at that time, and for centuries afterwards, did not
disdain to be ship-owners. As the Barcelonians lived under neither an
oligarchy nor aristocracy, a certain republican equality subsisted
among its citizens. A hundred merchants administered the municipal
affairs of the city, and sent thirty-two members to the Council. They
also exercised the duties of the consulate and regulated the exchange,
sending men chosen from their body as representatives to the Cortes
of the provinces. The whole of the early history of the trade of
Barcelona[653] shows that its inhabitants owed their progress rather to
their natural inclinations for the sea, and their rapidity and skill as
mariners and ship-builders, than to the peculiar advantage of the port
or to any local consideration.
[Sidenote: Superior influence of the Venetians, which was invariably
used to their own advantage.]
But the Venetians still kept ahead of all their commercial rivals;
and when invited as we have seen to transport the Crusaders to the
Holy Land, they were strong enough to stipulate, over and above the
exorbitant freight which they had obtained, for the privilege of
establishing factories in any place where the arms of the Crescent
were replaced by those of the Cross. Nor were these extravagant terms
sufficient. In the latter Crusades their exactions were increased.
Thus, Venice then demanded and obtained a moiety of whatever the
Crusaders acquired by arms or by convention, with the assumption, after
the fall of Constantinople, of many special advantages, such as the
general lordship over Greece, and of the towns of Heraclea, Adrianople,
Gallipoli, Patras, and Durazzo, with the islands of Andros, Naxos, and
Zante. These acquisitions materially increased the wealth and influence
of the Venetian republic, and left it almost without a rival in the
waters of the Levant.
[Sidenote: Participation of Genoa and Pisa in the profits derived from
the Crusades.]
It may therefore be assumed that during the long and protracted wars
in the Holy Land, Venice was, without doubt, the first maritime power
in Christendom, for, as we have shown, there was then no other power
which had ships enough to convey the hosts of fanatics who, from every
nation in Europe, were hurrying on to the coasts of Syria;[654] and
although Genoa and Pisa also participated in the profits realized from
the Crusades, she was by far the greatest gainer. Indeed it has been
well said of her people, that while the Christians lavished money
on the Crusades without any return, the Venetians turned everything
they touched to an incredible profit. Besides furnishing the largest
proportion of the transports, she secured many contracts for military
stores and provisions; while her ships were the principal storehouses
from which the armies were supplied at enormous profits to their
owners. “There are charters yet extant,” remarks Dr. Robertson, in
his History of the Reign of Charles V.,[655] “containing grants to
the Venetians, Pisans, and Genoese, of the most extensive immunities
in the several settlements which the Christians made in Asia. All the
commodities which they imported or exported are thereby exempted from
any imposition; the property of entire suburbs in some of the maritime
towns, and of large streets in others, is vested in them; and all
questions arising among persons settled within their precincts, or who
traded under their protection, are appointed to be tried by their own
laws, and by judges of their own appointment.”
[Sidenote: A.D. 1124.]
[Sidenote: Venice claims the dominion of the Adriatic, A.D. 1159.]
Nor were the Venetians in all cases satisfied with a moiety of the
spoils of war beyond their gains by trade. Historians say[656] that,
when Tyre was besieged by the united forces of the republic and of
Varemond, bishop of Jerusalem, the Venetians stipulated that on its
reduction they should receive two-thirds of the spoil and property
captured. Indeed, the troops on shore complained loudly that while all
the fatigue, dangers, and hardships of the two months’ siege fell upon
them, the Venetians lay at ease in their ships, deriving large profits
on everything they supplied, and exacting their full portion of the
plunder agreed upon before the operations commenced. Thus riches poured
into Venice securing for her a position far beyond that of any other
republic. Having brought under subjection the people inhabiting the
shores of the Adriatic, she claimed its dominion; the declaration of
Pope Alexander III. when he visited Venice confirmed her claims; and
other nations admitted them when they asked permission to pass their
merchandise and ships through the Gulf. But when the Pope exclaimed
to the Doge, “That the sea be subject to you, as the spouse is to her
husband, since you have acquired it by victory,” he had little idea
that the Venetians would consider its dominion as more than an honorary
title, much less that they would compel even the clergy to pay their
share of the tax levied for the special defence of the Adriatic.
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: Annual ceremony of espousing the Adriatic.]
[Sidenote: Bucentaur state barge.]
On various occasions the Venetians exhibited the greatest
punctiliousness lest their rights to the sovereignty of that sea should
be infringed. Every year the ceremony of espousing the Adriatic was
performed with extraordinary magnificence by the Doge. A state galley,
celebrated as the Bucentaur,[657] preserved from time immemorial in the
Venetian arsenal, carried the Doge and Senate upon these occasions; and
everything which could add pomp and splendour to this annual ceremonial
was employed, the public functionaries and foreign ambassadors being
present as well as the senators and chief nobility. The Bucentaur, of
which the drawing on the preceding page is an imperfect representation,
measured 110 feet in length, and 21 feet in width. A covered deck was
specially appropriated for the Doge’s reception; and the splendour of
her equipment equalled the most gorgeous floating palaces of ancient
Egypt.
[Sidenote: Form of espousal.]
In this magnificent state barge the Doge, accompanied in the manner
described, was rowed, amid the sound of music and the loud acclamations
of the people, from the city to an appointed spot on the waters of
the Adriatic. As a sign of the perpetuity of the dominion of the
republic over that sea, the Doge cast into it a ring, in token of
his love, exclaiming, “We wed thee with this ring in sign of a real
and perpetual dominion!”[658] This peculiar and splendid matrimonial
ceremony was observed annually, throughout many centuries, until 1795,
when Napoleon, having conquered the once proud and powerful city,
handed Venice and all its wealth and territory over to Austria: nor
did the Bucentaur escape the notice of the rapacious conqueror, who
stripped her of her gold, which, with her other valuable contents, he
transferred to the treasury of Milan. The hulk afterwards, under the
name of the Hydra, became a guard-ship, mounting seven guns, and was
anchored to protect the mouth of the Lido, till, in 1824, a decree of
the Aulic Council ordered her final demolition. A model of this once
magnificent and historical barge, which, in the course of centuries
must have been frequently rebuilt, is now preserved in the arsenal of
Venice.
[Sidenote: The progress and commercial policy of Venice.]
Although the Holy Wars gave Venice, Genoa, and Pisa a position which
they might never otherwise have attained, other causes contributed to
revive the spirit of commerce between different and distant nations.
The Italians, by their intercourse and commercial relations with
various cities of the Greek empire, and especially with Constantinople,
had obtained a knowledge of the valuable trade of the East, and
had cultivated a taste for its precious commodities and curious
manufactures. They were consequently not slow to embrace and develop
direct intercourse with India; hence, in the course of the twelfth
century, Venice established a regular commerce with the East through
the ports of Egypt, which she maintained during four centuries.
Introducing into their own territories manufactories of various kinds,
and carrying on these with surprising ingenuity and vigour, the
Italians transplanted from warmer climates several new productions
which furnished the materials of a lucrative and extended trade. “All
these commodities,” remarks Dr. Robertson,[659] “whether imported
from Asia, or produced by their own skill, they disposed of to great
advantage among the other people of Europe, who began to acquire some
taste for an elegance in living unknown to their ancestors, or despised
by them. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the commerce of
Europe was almost entirely in the hands of the Italians, more commonly
known in these ages by the name of Lombards. Companies or societies of
Lombard merchants settled in every different kingdom, and were taken
under the immediate protection of the several governments, with the
enjoyment of extensive privileges and immunities. The operation of the
ancient barbarous laws concerning strangers were suspended with respect
to them; and they became the carriers, the manufacturers, and the
bankers of all Europe.”[660]
[Sidenote: Variable character of her laws, A.D. 1272;]
The commercial policy of the Venetian republic frequently varied,
and though generally protective and sometimes strictly prohibitory,
the most perfect freedom was in many instances allowed to foreign
merchants to encourage them to make Venice the chief depôt for the
supply of produce and manufactures to the markets of Europe. By the
decrees of the Grand Council, during the latter half of the thirteenth
century, when Venice had reached the zenith of wealth and splendour,
her merchants were allowed to import freely from the Levant, from
Marseilles, and from other ports of France, produce and manufactures
of every kind, provided they were warehoused in the markets of the
republic; while they had equal freedom in the export of their own
manufactures. This freedom was likewise extended to Flanders. Cloth
imported from that country paid no duty. Ship-owners were encouraged by
special laws to import iron, tin, and lead, the Senate having in view
the policy of concentrating in the city of Venice as many articles of
merchandise as possible, so as to attract merchants to that exclusive
market, and to secure there a stock of goods for the lading of Venetian
merchant ships to the Levant, as also an abundant supply of raw
materials for their home manufactures.
[Sidenote: which were protective generally, especially as regards her
ships.]
In the midst, however, of this liberal policy, the Venetians seem
always to have kept clearly before them the interests of their own
shipping. In the registers of Venice may be found numerous instances
of the anxiety of the merchants to monopolize in their own ships their
commercial intercourse with other countries. Thus, in the year 1319
there is a record of one Tomaso Loredano, a merchant of Venice, who had
despatched eleven hundred tons of sugar to London, stipulating that
the amount arising from its sale should be invested in English wool,
to be shipped exclusively in Venetian vessels. Laws were also in force
which levied differential duties equivalent to one-half their value
upon certain goods imported in foreign vessels; while in some cases the
ships of foreign nations were not allowed, under any circumstances, to
enter the ports of Venetia.
Again, a special law provided that neither German, Hungarian, nor
Bohemian traders should have any dealings with Venetian merchants
except in Venice itself: these traders were, therefore, compelled to
resort thither for the purchase of whatever goods they required, the
Venetian merchants being at the same time forbidden to convey them
inland, probably to avert any danger of plunder by the barbarians, by
whom the interior was too frequently infested. But, perhaps, the most
unwisely rigorous portion of this law consisted in the enactment which
forbade the Germans, trading with Venetia, from showing their own goods
to any foreigner before offering them to the Venetian merchants, and,
at the same time, prohibiting those who had brought their goods to
Venice to carry back to other places any portion of them that remained
unsold. Nevertheless, in spite of such prohibitory laws, a very
considerable foreign commerce was carried on with Venetia; the Germans,
Armenians, Moors, and Greeks, having each their respective places of
resort (_fondas_) in its capital, and the Jews from first to last being
its leading bankers.
[Sidenote: Official exposition of the trade of Venice, A.D. 1421.]
From a speech which the Doge, Tomaso Moncenigo, delivered in the Senate
of Venice to Francis Foscari and the Florentine ambassadors, who, in
A.D. 1421, sought the aid of the Venetians against the Duke of Milan,
some idea may be formed of the extent of the commerce of Venice in the
days of her prosperity. “Every week,”[661] remarks the Doge, “there
arrive from Milan seventeen to eighteen thousand ducats; from Como,
Tortona, Novara, Pavia, Cremona, Palermo, two thousand ducats each;
from Bergamo, one thousand and five hundred ducats; and from Monza,
Alexandria, and Piacenza, one thousand each.... The bankers, also,
declare that in every year the Milanese owe us a balance of one million
six hundred thousand ducats.” “The same and other cities,” he adds,
“import from us cloths to the value of nine hundred thousand ducats;
while France, Lombardy, and other countries receive annually from
Venice, pepper, ginger, woods for dyeing, slaves, and soap to the value
of one million eight hundred and seventy-one thousand ducats.” The
entire commercial wealth of Venice the Doge estimated at twenty-eight
millions and eight hundred thousand ducats. But he expressly states
that he does not include in this the duty on salt, which Filiasi values
at one hundred thousand ducats (47,500_l._), or that derived from
conquered districts, which he reckoned (in a subsequent speech) at
four hundred and sixty-four thousand (220,400_l._). “Consider how many
ships,” exclaims the Doge, “the collection and delivery of these goods
maintain in activity; whether to deliver them in Lombardy, whether to
seek them in Syria, Roumania, Catalonia, Flanders, Cyprus, or Sicily,
and all parts of the world. Venice gains from two and a half to three
per cent. on the freight. See how many persons gain a livelihood by
this business—brokers, artificers, sailors, thousands of families, and
at last the merchants, whose profits amount, at least, to six hundred
thousand ducats.... This is the produce of your garden; do you wish
to destroy it? Surely not; but we must defend it against all attacks;
seeing that you are the only people to whom the land and the sea are
equally open; you are the channel through which all riches flow; the
whole universe is interested in your prosperity; all the gold and
silver in the world come into your hands.”
Nor, indeed, though as Count Daru has suggested there may be some
inaccuracies in these numbers owing to the errors of copyists, were
the words of the old Doge those of merely idle bombast. Besides the
revenues recapitulated by him, in the home manufacture of silk, cloth,
arras, glass, gold, silver work, and wax, the Venetians, by means of
their wealth and skill, assisted in some measure by their system of
protection, and by their geographical position, carried on a very
extensive and lucrative trade, which, with other branches of their
commerce, greatly increased when they obtained the supremacy over their
commercial rivals, the Pisans and Genoese. Not the least valuable
object of merchandise at that period was the traffic in slaves; for,
strange inconsistency! while the Popes rigorously prohibited all
commerce with the Infidels, a prohibition to which the Venetians
reluctantly submitted, the Church allowed the purchase and sale of
slaves without hindrance in the open markets of Europe!
[Sidenote: Her ships and dockyards.]
[Sidenote: Merchant galleys.]
The arsenal of Venice, which included also the dockyards, had long been
the admiration of foreigners; and when that city reached the plenitude
of her power, there was nothing of the kind superior to it in the
world. Embracing a vast area of land and water, surrounded by walls,
and flanked with towers, it presented the appearance of a stupendous
fortress. The preparation and equipment of the fleets, destined either
for the service of the republic, or for trading purposes, were here
effected, as all commercial vessels trading to foreign ports were then,
and long afterwards, armed for defence. Some of their galleys employed
in distant voyages, such as to Flanders or England, are described as
having had two sails only, one on each mast, of very great dimensions,
the masts being of extraordinary length.[662]
[Sidenote: A.D. 1172.]
[Sidenote: Their greatest size.]
There is a tradition of a ship built at Venice, shortly before the
quarrel between the Venetians and the Emperor Manuel, so large that,
when she reached Constantinople, it was remarked that “no vessel of
so great a bulk had ever been within that port;” but no historian
has furnished posterity with her dimensions. She is merely described
as a vessel with three masts and “of immense size,”[663]—a statement
which may be one of comparison; and consequently she may not have
been greater in her capacity than the larger class merchant ships of
the present day. One historian[664] describes her as being large
enough “to make twenty ships” (coasters?); another[665] states that
being at Constantinople himself, at that time, he found that she
was able to shelter from fifteen hundred to two thousand fugitives,
whom she conveyed to the Adriatic. Nor, indeed, is there any reason
for doubting the existence of such a ship. Vessels employed in the
Crusades carried, in various instances, eight hundred persons,[666]
and the ships of Marseilles frequently took on board a thousand
passengers[667]—(pilgrims?); wherefore it is not unreasonable to
suppose that the Venetians may have built a ship which actually made a
somewhat distant voyage, with two thousand persons on board, and such
provisions, clothing, and valuables as the fugitives could collect in
the emergency. Although furnished with three masts, she does not appear
to have carried any sails except the foresail, mainsail, and mizen; nor
is there any mention of vessels of any nation, so early as the twelfth
century, fitted with topsails; though they occasionally may have
carried, in fair weather, triangular sails.
That the wealthy merchants of the Italian republics, and especially of
Venice, owned various vessels of considerable dimensions, there can be
even less doubt, as there is ample evidence in confirmation of this
opinion. Twenty years after the period when the Venetian merchants
resident at Constantinople found refuge in the large vessel to which
we have just referred, mention is made of five of their ships which
returned from Constantinople to Venice,[668] carrying seven thousand
men-at-arms; or fourteen hundred men to each, if equally distributed.
Although, in this case, the length of the voyage and the class of men
are supplied, the mere fact of a ship being able to carry so many
persons furnishes, in itself, a very imperfect idea of her dimensions,
as they may have consisted of cabin or steerage passengers, troops, or
pilgrims, to whom very different extents of space would be allotted.
Even at the present day the Muhammedans, in their over-sea pilgrimages
to the tomb of Muhammad, are satisfied with one-eighth of the space
which the law of England requires for the transport of her meanest
subjects; while the amount of space varies in different nations, and
materially depends upon the length and character of the voyage.
[Sidenote: Contract for the construction of vessels.]
The only definite information we possess with regard to the actual
dimensions of the vessels built by the Venetians during the periods
of their prosperity, is to be found in a contract which their
ship-builders made to furnish the king of France, in 1268, with fifteen
ships. Of these vessels M. Jal[669] has furnished a minute description,
together with their dimensions, as specified in the contract. The
largest, the _Roccaforte_, was 110 feet in length over all, and only 70
feet length of keel, with 40 feet width of beam, and no less than 39½
feet in depth. The _Saint Mary_ and _Saint Nicholas_ were respectively
2 and 10 feet shorter, their width and depth being in somewhat similar
proportions. The other twelve were smaller, having an extreme length
each of 86 feet, with a keel of 58, a beam of 18, and an extreme depth
of 29 feet. The two largest had each two decks, 5½ feet in height.
Their bows and sterns were somewhat alike, and contained several
cabins, with two poops, one above the other, the upper constituting
a castle or fighting-deck like the vessels of more ancient times.
Their respective crews consisted of 110 seamen; and the contract price
for the construction of the largest of these vessels appears to have
been fourteen hundred marks, or 933_l._ 6_s._ 8_d._ The smaller craft
cost 466_l._ 13_s._ 4_d._, and they carried 50 men for their working
crew.[670]
It is to be regretted that no details are given of the size or
number of their masts, yards, sails, rigging, stores, or armament.
The contract merely states that the larger vessels are to have two
masts and two square sails, the foremast reaching over the bows, and
answering the purpose of both mast and bowsprit; but what will strike
the nautical reader most in these vessels is their extreme depth and
their great width in comparison with their length.
[Sidenote: Great variety of classes.]
[Illustration: MALTESE GALLEYS.]
Every account shows that the classes of vessels belonging to the
Italian republics were even more numerous and varied than those of our
own time. Besides the galleys we have named, the Venetians had others,
which were about one hundred and thirty-five feet long, carrying
three sails, very rapid in their movements, and so easily manœuvred,
that they were kept almost exclusively for warlike purposes. A third
description of galleys, carrying four sails, known by the name of the
_Mossane_, were chiefly employed in the commerce of the Levant. Beyond
these, the whole of the Italian republics owned a description of ship
called coccas, or cocches,[671] of very large capacity, which were
also frequently employed in the trade of the Levant. The accompanying
drawing of two modern Maltese galleys, running side by side, which
exhibits a great resemblance to another plate given by M. Jal from a
drawing by an artist of the end of the fourteenth century, no doubt
fairly represents the Venetian war galley of that period, and is at the
same time not unlike another galley we also give by that author, the
original sketch of which is in the famous MS. of Virgil in the Riccardi
Library at Venice.
[Illustration: RICCARDI GALLEY, WITH THE EAGLES.]
[Sidenote: The Gondola.]
But though varying very much in class, size, and form, as well as in
name, ships were then generally distinguished, like the vessels of the
ancient Greeks and Phœnicians, as the “long ships” of war, and the
“round ships” of the mercantile marine, both being propelled, to a
greater or less extent, by oars. The Venetians likewise possessed the
Dromond and the Draker, vessels almost exclusively employed on short
voyages for the purposes of commerce. They had also a small trading
vessel called the Galleon, not unlike the galliot[672] of the present
day; and the Pamphyle, which, in the ninth century, was worked with
two banks of oars, but, in the fourteenth, had no oars, and during
the fifteenth century must have disappeared altogether, as no mention
is made of her after that period. From time immemorial they have had
their gondolas, still to be seen upon the canals of that once gay and
beautiful city. Though the following is the representation of the
modern gondola, time has made little if any change in its form.
[Illustration: PRESENT GONDOLA.]
[Sidenote: The Tarida.]
Beyond the galleys already named, the Italian republics, especially
the Genoese, possessed merchant galleys, which were named Taridas,
and were chiefly employed in the trade between the Levant and
Constantinople. Marino Torsello recommended the use of the Tarida,
which had been previously known under the name of Galata, to Pope John
XXII. towards the commencement of the fourteenth century.
[Sidenote: The Zelander.]
[Sidenote: The Huissier.]
During the tenth century the Zelander, or Galander,[673] figures with
the Dromond and the Pamphyle; but three centuries afterwards these
vessels had discontinued the use of oars and had become sailing vessels
under a somewhat similar name. The accounts which have been preserved
of the Zelander describe her as a vessel of extraordinary length and
great swiftness, having two banks of oars, and a crew of one hundred
and fifty men. Contemporary with the Zelander we have the Huissier, a
vessel of a peculiar description, and deriving her name from having
an opening or large port in her poop, through which horses were
shipped, for the conveyance of which these vessels seem to have been
more especially designed. This large opening, when the Huissier had
completed her loading, was securely closed and caulked, like the bow
and stern ports in the ships of our own time employed in the timber
trade.
[Sidenote: The Cat.]
[Sidenote: The Saitie.]
[Sidenote: The Galliot, &c.]
In the list of ships engaged for the expedition against Crete
(A.D. 949) mention is made, not merely of Huissiers, Zelanders,
and Pamphyles, but of vessels known as Zelander-Huissiers and
Zelander-Pamphyles, or of a description embodying the qualities and
advantages of both. “Cats,” to which William of Tyre, speaking of an
incident in 1121, calls attention, were sharp-beaked ships, larger than
galleys, having one hundred oars, each of which was worked by two men,
or “double banked” in the phraseology of our own time. The Saitie, or
Sagette (arrow), was a small, fast-rowing vessel, or barge, propelled
by oars, but considerably less than even the smallest class of galleys.
In the twelfth century this description of craft had from ten to
twelve oars on each side, and was employed during the five succeeding
centuries for the same purposes as the Brigantine. The Galliot, the
Furt, the Brigantine, and the Frigate became in the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries diminutives of the galley, and were known as the
Galeass, when large, broad, and heavily armed. The galeass had her oars
ranged, either in threes upon a single bank, or had twenty-six oars on
each side, in which case, the oar being larger and heavier, from six
to seven men, seated upon the same bench, were employed upon it.[674]
[Sidenote: The Galeass.]
The galeass figures among the drawings of other vessels of a similar
class in the representation of a naval engagement, of, as is presumed,
the fourteenth or fifteenth century. With the exception of the very
high poop, she, in nearly all other respects, resembles the galeasses
which formed the vanguard of the fleet at the battle of Lepanto (A.D.
1571). Of these a drawing may be seen in Charnock’s work on Naval
Architecture.
[Sidenote: The Galleon.]
In the tenth century the Saracens possessed large and very heavy
ships, which, according to the Emperor Leo, were called Cumbaries,
or Gombories. The Venetians adopted this large ship of burden, and
Sagarino, the chancellor, says that they, by whom they were called
Galleons, built and armed thirty-three of these vessels. Charnock
furnishes a drawing of a Galleon of the sixteenth century, A.D. 1564.
[Sidenote: The Buzo.]
These vessels were built with round sides, and broad throughout; short,
high out of the water, and of considerable draught when laden. The
Venetians had also a merchant vessel called the Buzo, or Busse, which
was not unlike the galleon, with the sides bulging out and sitting
well upon the water, capable of carrying very large and heavy cargoes.
According to Matthew Paris, Richard I. had several busses in the
fleet which he took to the Holy Land. Although they had three masts,
they were, he says, “scantily provided with sails.” It is not known
precisely in what manner the ships (nefs) differed from the busses,
but the Italians mark the union of the two ships in their buzo-navi.
A Venetian statute of 1255 makes mention of these, together with the
busses and the nefs or nés, each class being distinctly specified.
Like the nefs, and the common busses, the buzo-navi had two masts, and
carried lateen sails.[675]
Perhaps, however, the sketch on the opposite page (p. 493) furnishes a
better idea of the ordinary and smaller class of vessels of the Italian
republics between the tenth and sixteenth centuries than any other
which has been preserved. It appeared for the first time in a little
book, published by M. Lanetti,[676] and was copied by him from an old
painting by Vittore Carpacci, which, he says, he had often seen and
admired in the chapel of St. Ursula by the side of the church of San
Giovanni and Paolo at Venice.
[Sidenote: Government merchant galleys.]
Among the Italian republics, but more especially in Venice during the
plenitude of her power, the construction, equipment, and armament of
galleys for mercantile purposes constituted a very important branch
of the business of the government. Vessels thus built were put up to
auction for freightage only, and the privilege of employing them on
the “long voyage” was sold by the government. No other merchants of
Venice were permitted to send their ships to those ports to which the
privileged galleys were consigned.[677]
[Illustration: SMALL GALLEY.]
[Sidenote: How engaged, equipped, and manned.]
[Sidenote: Nobles’ sons taken on board.]
When the mercantile vessels thus engaged were completed and armed,
the public crier announced throughout the streets and highways of
Venice that a certain number of galeasses were ready for the annual
expeditions to Egypt and other countries. This proclamation, issued
under the authority of the Doge and the senate, while it allotted the
vessels to the highest bidders, required that the charterers should
submit to a severe examination, with the object of ascertaining
whether those who offered to incur the responsibility of navigating
the vessels, possessed the necessary capital and qualifications. Once
satisfied in this respect, the government handed over the ships all
ready for the voyage to their commanders. For some centuries a singular
law, or rather an ancient custom having the authority of law, prevailed
among the Venetians. With the object of assisting the families of the
indigent nobility, each of these hired galeasses, whatever might be
the voyage undertaken, were required to receive on board eight sons of
poor nobles, who were allowed the pay of seventy pieces of gold for the
expedition, with a mess suitable to their rank. These young nobles had
likewise the privilege of carrying four hundred quintals of specie or
an equivalent, free of freight, to defray their expenses at the ports
they visited, or they might turn the money to account in trade so as to
improve their condition.[678]
[Sidenote: Capacity of these vessels.]
[Sidenote: Crew, and regulations on board.]
Each of these vessels are said to have carried, on an average, five
hundred tons of cargo under hatches, besides a large quantity of
cargo upon their decks, a ton then consisting of only a thousand
weight. Their crews consisted of no less than two hundred men, of
whom one hundred and fifty were necessary to work the oars and sails.
Twelve of the smartest men of the crew were selected to attend to the
duty of steering the vessel under the order of the pilots, of whom
there were two in each vessel. These twelve men, on whom the more
important duties devolved, were required to take the lead in the work
of seamanship, especially in going aloft to furl sails: they bore
the name of “gallants,” whence, no doubt, the word _top-gallant_
sails. Although the master assumed the command, the crew were under
charge of the leading pilot, who had a chief mate, whose station, as
now, was invariably at the bow of the vessel. There were likewise on
board a carpenter, smith, archer, and armourer, and their assistants,
furnished from the government arsenal. Besides several cooks, there
was a storekeeper, and four inspectors, who kept an active watch over
everything shipped and delivered, under the direction of a clerk or
super-cargo, to whom all the merchandise was entrusted.
[Sidenote: Value of their cargoes.]
[Sidenote: Despatch boats.]
The value of the cargoes brought back in the galeasses, especially from
Egypt and Syria, amounted on an average to about two hundred thousand
ducats, and consisted to a considerable extent of precious stones,
spices, perfumes of Arabia, with everything tending to administer to
the luxuries and pleasures of the wealthy Venetians. Large quantities
of medicinal drugs were also imported, the greater portion of which
were afterwards distributed over the markets of Europe. This eastern
trade was a source of immense profit, alike to the merchants and
government. Paul Morosini, in a letter to the syndic at Nuremburg,[679]
says that in his time the republic had twenty-four large galleys,
divided into squadrons, with settled periods of departure for the East,
carrying the mails, or rather the despatches of the government, with
letters from private individuals. Besides these, the government had
in their service numerous despatch boats, known as “geippers,” which
served in war as scouts, and, during peace, for any service requiring
unusual speed.
[Sidenote: Consuls; their establishment, duties, and emoluments.]
In all the commercial places of importance throughout the
Mediterranean, where sovereignty was not exercised by the Venetians,
they established consuls, investing them with considerable power, so as
to ensure the respect of foreigners. Each consulate had a chaplain, a
notary, and a physician. The establishment was allowed to levy a duty
of two per cent. on all Venetian imports and exports, a percentage
which is said to have yielded the consuls of Syria and Alexandria an
annual income of no less than 25,000 ducats. The Venetian consuls were
not merely the advocates of their countrymen in any wrongs they might
suffer, but they had also judicial authority in cases of controversy,
and sometimes even decided disputes among the native population.
[Sidenote: Ancient ships’ consuls; their duties.]
Ships’ consuls appear to have existed at a very remote period in all
the ports of the Mediterranean.[680] Their duty was to watch over
the interests of the vessels of the nations they represented, to see
that no frauds were committed, and especially that the persons who
provisioned them used honest weights, and “mixed no water with the
wine” they sold. They were allowed a half share in all penalties
imposed, and were entitled to a present of a “carpet,” a curious gift,
for every enemy’s ship captured: should, however, the consul connive
at any of the frauds committed against the ships or crews it was their
duty to watch over, they were liable to lose their office, and even to
be branded on the forehead as rogues and outcasts. The same ordinance
ordained, that “any person who shall wilfully cut the cable of a ship
should be impaled alive.”
[Sidenote: The Cartel.]
It was a general rule at all the Mediterranean ports to engage by
“cartel,” or proclamation, such ships as were required for special
purposes. In those of Aragon and at Marseilles the cartel was usually
inscribed upon a board of wood, and affixed to the point of a spear
or lance. This cartel stated the number of ships required, and the
object and character of the expedition. The ceremony was one of a
formal and somewhat attractive description. Garlands of green leaves
and ribbons of the most conspicuous colours ornamented the cartel
board. The royal banner, or that of the prince who required the ships,
floated by the side of the cartel, and a herald repeated in a loud
voice the conditions of the charter, formal contracts being executed
in the presence of a notary. These contracts were very minute in their
details, and specified not only the size of each ship, the number of
the crew, the extent of space to be allotted to the passengers, or for
the conveyance of horses, but even the size of the rigging, with an
inventory of almost every article which had been shipped for the use of
the vessel and crew.
[Sidenote: Conditions of the contract.]
Like the contracts or charter-parties of our own time the conditions
varied. Sometimes the charter-commissioners were left to engage for the
whole ship, or at a stated rate for each passenger; such rates varying,
as now, with the nature of the accommodation afforded, and ranging
from the “paradise”[681] and other cabins, where the passengers had
the greatest convenience, down to the berths in the lower hold, where
they were exposed to stifling heat or offensive smells. In the case
of three-decked vessels, or more likely of those with lofty towers or
poops, the cost of passage from Marseilles to Syria averaged about
four livres tournois in the “paradises” or best parts of the vessel,
sixty sous tournois[682] on the main-deck, and forty sous tournois on
the lower deck. It is not stated whether the rates of passage included
provisions and other necessaries, but these were probably provided
by the passengers themselves. The conditions of the charters made at
Venice and at Genoa were similar to those entered into at Marseilles.
[Sidenote: Restraints upon seamen.]
It is a remarkable fact, that the seamen were occasionally obliged
to pay for their berths. Besides having a limited space in the hold
allowed for their clothes, they had a space on deck allotted to them
for sleeping; but if the mattress of any one of them exceeded, in
however small a degree, the regulated weight of fifteen pounds, or,
if placed upon a bed, the seaman was called upon to pay not only for
the excess, but for the total weight of his mattress, according to the
rate at which passengers were charged for their accommodation. The law,
indeed, provided sleeping places for the seamen; but the owners seem
to have expected them to spread their mattresses upon the sails or
coils of rope, or at least in places passengers would not occupy, and
it is certain that those who insisted on their legal rights were thus
punished whenever they in the slightest degree infringed them.
[Sidenote: Extra ordinary display on the departure of any important
expedition.]
[Sidenote: The reception of the commander, and his plan of inspection.]
In the case of vessels of war, or rather those vessels whose services
were more required for warlike than for commercial purposes, even
greater formalities were made use of when they took their departure
for a distant voyage or for an important expedition. When the hour for
departure arrived the commander came on board, preceded by trumpeters,
and followed by the officers of his staff. The most perfect silence
prevailed on board, and every man was at his post ready to answer any
question the commander might be pleased to put to him. The account,
in Joinville[683] of the scene on board of the galley of the Count de
Japhe describes what probably often took place. “This count,” he says,
“had disembarked in a most grand manner, for his galley was all painted
within side and without with escutcheons of his arms, which were a
cross _pattée gules_ on a field _or_. There were full three hundred
sailors on board the galley, each bearing a target of his arms, and on
each target was a small flag with his arms likewise of beaten gold.
It was a sight worthy to be viewed when he went to sea on account of
the noise which these flags made, as well as the sounds of the drums,
horns, and Saracen nacaires (tymbals or tambourines) which he had in
his galley.” The captain, seated in his state chair, having received
the homage of his officers, commenced his tour of inspection of every
part of the ship, ascertaining for himself that every oar was sound and
in its place, and the rowers on each bench thoroughly well trained and
effective. He then as carefully examined the men at arms, crossbow-men,
steersmen, and sailors, testing their various accoutrements and
appointments to see that everything was in order; the different
departments of the ship were then minutely gone over, including his own
cabin, which was generally in the lower range of the poop or under the
upper deck.
[Sidenote: Signal to depart.]
Everything being now ready for departure, the rowers, at the sound of
a trumpet, simultaneously moved their oars; but if the wind was fair,
the oars, at a given signal, were as simultaneously thrown upwards,
the sails set, and the vessel under full pressure of canvas proceeded
on her voyage. A general holiday usually accompanied the departure of
a fleet. In Venice, these rejoicings were celebrated with even greater
pomp and magnificence than that which characterized almost every public
solemnity of the middle ages. The Doge, with the dazzling pageantry of
his court and council; hundreds of gay gondolas covering the placid
waters, which flowed from the Adriatic among the numerous islets upon
which the proud city had been erected; senators in their scarlet robes,
and the _élite_ of the Venetian dames, famed for their grace and
beauty, and arrayed in the gorgeous dress of the period, constituted a
display of wealth and grandeur never since surpassed. But a dark cloud
overshadowed those gay and glittering scenes. The galley slaves, with
their hideous misery, or reckless daring, formed a saddening contrast
to the haughty bearing of the Doge and the splendour of his court, and
still more so, when we remember how much that court owed to the daring
and unwearied toil of these slaves who were the chief instruments of
its wealth.
[Sidenote: Adaptation of merchant vessels to the purposes of war.]
Throughout the middle ages, the nations of the Mediterranean depended
for the constitution of a navy on their merchant shipping almost as
much as England. The sovereigns of Europe and the Italian republics
had each, no doubt, some ships of their own, though generally these
were too few for carrying on war with rival nations of any maritime
position. The great barons also, during the feudal system, owned
vessels as well as castles; and those especially who lived on the
sea-shore possessed one or more ships, which they employed for war
or commerce, in accordance with their tastes or ambition. During the
period, too, of the Crusades, many noblemen who had no connection with
the sea, and whose estates were far away from it, built vessels for
themselves, which were always available for warlike purposes. When the
time for action arrived these ships were ranged under the flag of an
admiral chosen by their owners, generally though not always with the
approval of the sovereign. Nor was there much difficulty in converting
their trading vessels into ships of war, as most of them were already
armed, and every sailor being trained to war, an extra number of men,
with a few machines for throwing stones or arrows, were sufficient for
the purpose.
[Sidenote: Regulations at sea.]
In the management of their ships, and in almost everything relating to
maritime affairs, the Italian republics were in a great measure guided
by the ancient Rhodian laws.[684] These alike regulated the conduct
of merchants and masters. When a merchant sailed in a ship which he
had chartered on his own account, he was almost supreme on board. If
several merchants embarked, and shipped goods, having hired the vessel
among them, the majority decided upon the general management of the
ship. When bad weather supervened, and it was a question of shortening
sail, or when it became necessary to go out of the direct course to
avoid pirates, the master invariably consulted the charterers. But
if the merchants gave directions that the ship, for safety, or any
other purpose, should enter a certain harbour, in disregard of the
master’s advice, he was no longer responsible for any event or accident
arising from such a proceeding; on the other hand, if the master did
anything from which fatal consequences ensued, he was liable to heavy
punishment, and held responsible for all damages. In case of danger,
either by tempest or an enemy, every person on board, including
merchants and passengers, was bound to use his utmost endeavours for
the protection of the ship and cargo; and merchants, passengers,
master, pilots, steersmen, and sailors, all became soldiers whenever a
suspicious craft appeared. The trade of a ship-owner, even under the
best conditions one of a precarious and speculative character, was
doubtless then full of danger from the number of pirates in every sea,
and especially in the Mediterranean.
[Sidenote: Stringent rules to regulate the loading of vessels.]
Every merchant ship, by the laws in force among the Italian republics,
was subject to prescribed rules to prevent them from being overladen.
When launched, two experienced inspectors measured the ship’s capacity,
and, in conformity, marked upon her sides a line which it was forbidden
to submerge. At Venice this mark consisted of a cross painted or
carved, or formed with two plates of iron. The ships of Genoa had a
triple mark of three small plates of iron fastened upon a particular
line on each side of the hull, indicating a limit in depth which was
not to be exceeded; while, in Sardinia, the centre of a painted ring
marked the extent of the immersion allowed by law. The laws, also,
prescribed many other details in the loading of the ship and in the
stowage of her cargo, which, during the whole period of the middle
ages, were enforced with the utmost rigour.
FOOTNOTES:
[647] One of the most remarkable deeds of daring in the early history
of Venice was the carrying away the body of St. Mark from his previous
resting-place at Alexandria. This robbery is said to have been
committed by the crews of ten Venetian galleys in the year A.D. 827.
See Smedley, “Sketches of Venet. Hist.” i. p. 15.
[648] See, for all that is known of the early mediæval commerce of
Marseilles, De Ruffi, Hist. de la Ville de Marseille, 2 vols. fol.
1696; and Fabre, Hist. de Marseille, 2 vols. 8vo. 1829. It was owing to
the lead which the French took in the early Crusades, that Orientals
came to designate first the Western, and then all Christians by the
name of “Franks.”
[649] It is almost impossible now to determine the relative values
mentioned in records so old as the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
Moreover, research only shows that there was the greatest confusion
both as to the names and as to the values of the weights and measures
of that period. The Bezant (or Byzant), taking its name unquestionably
from the City of Byzantium, was a common term for gold money in
Western Europe from the tenth to the fourteenth century. Thus Dunstan
bought Hendon of King Edgar for two hundred Byzants (Camden’s “Remains
concerning Britain”), and Wyclif, in his translation of the Bible, uses
“besauntis” for the ten pieces of money in the parable. These Byzants
were not always of the same weight or purity, but it is generally
believed that, in the time of Constantine, seventy-two were coined
to the pound, and that therefore they were worth about the same as
the ducat (with which they are often confounded), viz., 9_s._ (Savile
Script. Dec. post Bedam, fol. 76, 6. Ducange Gloss. in voce.) Those of
Alex. Comnenus, A.D. 1081-1118, weigh about seventy grains English.
[650] One of the most atrocious massacres of the Jews on record is that
which broke out on the departure of Richard I. (who had protected them)
for the Holy Land in A.D. 1190. (William of Newbury, iv. c. 1. Matthew
Paris, p. 157.)
[651] See full details of the course of the trade of Marseilles in
Pardessus, i. pp. 62-5; ii. p. 6, &c. Ruffi, Hist. de Marseille, 2
vols. fol. 1696; and Fabre, Hist. de Marseille, i. p. 301, &c.
[652] Pardessus, ii. p. 66. Capmany, “Memorias,” vol. ii.
[653] Barcelona was indebted to the French for ridding it of the
Saracen rule, and subsequently to the wise rule of Raymond Berenger.
Pardessus, vol. ii.
[654] Pardessus observes that in reading the history of the period of
the Crusades, any one would suppose that the great maritime cities of
the Mediterranean imagined that these expeditions were made merely
to promote and extend their commerce. In vol. ii. p. 39, he gives a
remarkable list of the various privileges conceded to Marseilles,
Genoa, Pisa, and Venice, with the view of securing their aid (or at
least their neutrality) during these expeditions. See also Smedley,
“Sketches of Venet. Hist.,” i. p. 25-45, for details of exactions made
by the Venetians from the leaders of the Crusades.
[655] Vol. i. pp. 34-5.
[656] History of Venice, Universal History, xxiii. p. 414, and E.
Smedley, “Sketches of Venetian History,” i. p. 72.
[657] Though much has been written on the subject, no satisfactory
derivation has been given for this remarkable name.
[658] Smedley, “Sketches of Venetian History,” p. 74.
[659] History of Charles V. i. p. 94.
[660] Sanuto mentions, so early as A.D. 1171, the establishment of a
bank at Venice. On this occasion, the Doge Vitale enforced a loan from
the wealthiest citizens, and for this purpose established a “Chamber of
Loans” (Camera degl’ imprestiti). The contributors to the loan were to
receive interest at four per cent. (Vita de’ Duchi, p. 502.)
[661] This remarkable oration, necessarily condensed in the text, is
given at great length in Daru. Hist. de la Rép. de Venise, ii. pp.
293-308; cf. also Sanuto, Vita de’ Duchi. Ap. Muratori, Antiq. xx.
Rendered into English money (reckoning the ducat at 9_s._ 6_d._), the
following amounts are (for the year)—
Ducats.
1. From the northern towns 1,794,000 = 852,150 }
2. Imports of cloth 900,000 = 427,500 } Pounds
3. Spices, &c. 1,871,000 = 888,725 } sterling.
4. From all sources 28,800,000 = 13,680,000 }
5. Debt due by Milan 1,600,000 = 850,000 }
These amounts, however, do not represent the exact sums which flowed
into the Venetian exchequer, as we are ignorant of the relative value
of gold and silver at the period.
[662] M. Jal has given, in his work on Naval Architecture, a drawing of
one of these galleys, but of a much later period—A.D. 1620.
[663] It is stated by Cinnamis (p. 165) in his life of Manuel Comnenus,
that this vessel was built by a private Venetian noble, then sold by
the builder to his own republic, and then presented to Manuel. Nicetas
adds, that this vessel was in the arsenal at Constantinople in 1172,
when the emperor tried to imprison all the Venetians there; and that
they took it and made their escape in it, in spite of the fire-ships
immediately sent after it. M. Jal (ii. pp. 142-152) has given very
interesting extracts on the subject of this great vessel from the
treatises of Marino and Filiasi. Smedley shows that the Venetians had
owned another enormous ship at the siege of Ancona in 1157, which was
called from its magnitude “Il Mondo”—“The World.”—Sketches of Venet.
Hist. pp. 63, 64.
[664] Dandolo. Chron. Venet.
[665] Cinnam. Vit. Manuel Comnen.
[666] St. Louis returned from the Holy Land in a “Nef,” which carried
eight hundred persons. See M. Jal, “Mémoire sur les vaisseaux ronds de
Saint Louis,” ii. pp. 347-446, where all the passages are collected
which bear on this subject.
[667] Statut. Marseill. i. c. xxxiv.
[668] Ville-Hardouin, p. 154 (ed. 1657).
[669] Jal, ii. p. 377.
[670] See, also, “The Ship: its origin and progress,” 4to, 1849, by F.
Steinitz, p. 94, wherein the engravings and measurements of M. Jal are
reproduced.
[671] This name occurs spelt in various different ways. It is the same
as the English “Cog,” first noticed in the reign of King John (Spelman
_in voce_). Sir H. Nicolas, “Hist. Royal Navy,” i. p. 128.
[672] Admiral W. H. Smyth describes the galliot as a small Dutch or
Flemish merchant vessel.—Sailors’ Word-book, p. 332.
[673] These and the following vessels appear under various spellings,
the most correct form of which it is now scarcely possible to
determine. Smedley, in his excellent “Sketches of Venetian History,”
i. p. 87, adopts Palander. _Uissier_, from _Uis_, a door, was a
flat-bottomed vessel. Cf. also Gibbon, c. lx. A.D. 1203. For further
details of the names of vessels during the Middle Ages, see the works
of Mr. Steinitz, M. Jal, and of Sir H. Nicolas.
[674] Napier gives the names of most of these vessels, with some
remarks on their proportions and uses.—Hist. of Florence, iv. pp. 36-38.
[675] The words Nefs and Nés occur in many of the Norman descriptions
of the marine of those days. “La Blanche Nef” was the name of the ship
in which Prince William, the son of Henry I., was drowned, in Nov. A.D.
1120, while crossing from Normandy to England.
[676] An Italian who, in 1758, wrote a small book on certain arts in
use amongst the ancient Venetians, which was republished in 1841.
[677] A practice somewhat similar was adopted in later times by the
East India Company.
[678] A similar custom is mentioned at Florence, sub an. 1422. See
Napier’s “Flor. Hist.” iii. p. 56.
[679] MS. quoted by Filiasi, Memorie Storiche de Venet.
[680] The whole history of these consuls, with their duties, &c., has
been published by Pardessus, ii. pp. 49-420, under the title of “Droit
maritime connu sur le nom de Consulat de la Mer.” Capmany has published
the same as “Codigo de las costumbras maritimas.”
[681] Commentators have not settled where the “paradise” cabins were
situated, but they, no doubt, occupied the best part of what is known
as the poop in modern vessels.
[682] It is not possible now to determine how much these sums amount to
in present English money, the more so that the denier is sometimes used
for gold coin. The denier tournois was one-fourth less than the denier
Parisis.—Le Blanc, “Monnoies de France,” d. 1690. See also Fabre,
“Hist. de Marseille,” vol. i.
[683] Chronicles of the Crusades, p. 391, Bohn’s edition.
[684] The actual laws of the states were founded on a remembrance of
the codex of Justinian, previously to its re-discovery at Amalfi. This
codex embodied much of the previous Roman law, and with this whatever
the Roman jurists had borrowed from the Rhodians. The whole of this
question has been fully and carefully examined by Pardessus.
CHAPTER XV.
Prohibition to trade with infidels—Its futility—Commercial policy
of the Italian republics—Genoa—Genoese fleets and treaties with
the Venetians—The Genoese restore the Greek dynasty, and secure
a more permanent footing at Constantinople—Galata—Kaffa—Genoese
vessels—Details of contract with the ship-builders—Its
inaccuracies—Napier’s description of a large Genoese ship of
the fifteenth century—Evident mistakes in the account—First
great improvement in the Genoese ships—Genoese carrack—Their
corsairs and pirates—The most daring of the pirates; their
terrible fate—Corsairs—Bologna and Ancona—Importance of Pisa—Her
trade with the Saracens, about A.D. 1100; and ships—Her first
great misfortune—Mode of conducting her trade—Florence—The
Florentines ship goods from a port of Pisa—Sale and transfer of
Leghorn, A.D. 1421—First expeditions to Egypt, Constantinople,
and Majorca—Freedom of commercial intercourse amongst the
Florentines—Their frugality, contrasted with their magnificent
public displays—Duties and powers of the board of the “six
consuls of the sea”—Their public vessels, and trade in which
they were employed—Consular agents—Extent of the Florentine
commerce, and cause of its decline—The smaller states—Decorations
and traditionary emblems of ships—Signals—Manners and
customs of seamen—Their legends—Punishments for gambling and
swearing—Superstitions—Manners and morals, A.D. 1420—General
severity of punishments—Impaling, flogging, &c.—Branding.
[Sidenote: Prohibition to trade with infidels.]
While the Popes favoured the trade and influence of the Italian
republics in places beyond the seas, with a view to the extension
of the authority of the Church, they prohibited all dealings with
the Muhammedans. The Bull of Alexander III. even went so far as to
confiscate the property, and condemn to slavery every person who
furnished the Saracens with arms, iron, or timber for shipping. But
though the powers of the Church often struck down remorselessly those
who dared to resist the edicts of the successor of St. Peter, the
desire of gain and the daring character of the maritime nations often
counteracted the most dreadful anathemas of the Vatican. Venice was
by far the greatest delinquent; her proud and rapacious merchants,
on various occasions, openly resented this interference with their
commercial pursuits, and evaded whenever it suited their purpose the
observance of the Bulls. The trade with the Levant was too valuable to
be relinquished on threats of temporal or even of eternal punishment,
and this, too, when urged by an authority often too weak to carry
into effect its threats. Hence, while other and weaker nations had
occasionally to submit, the Venetians, conscious of their power,
resisted with such success the Papal edicts that they at last obtained
licences to trade with whomsoever they pleased, and even with the hated
followers of Muhammed.
[Sidenote: Its futility.]
It is curious now to reflect upon the bitter animosity which prevailed
among the Christians against the followers of the Crescent, and on the
extreme though vain measures adopted to prevent commercial intercourse
with them. When, in 1288, the famous Raymund Lully propounded his
scheme for the reduction of the Holy Land, he insisted on a prohibition
of all dealings with Egypt, and asserted that in six years only of such
abstention from trade the Egyptians would become so impoverished as to
be easily vanquished; he also urged the expediency of direct journeys
to Baghdad and India, to obtain thence the productions of the East
instead of from Alexandria. But abstract philosophy, however supported
by fanaticism and hatred, will not prevail against material profit; and
Lully failed to make converts of merchants and ship-owners to doctrines
which would have impoverished them quite as much as the enemies of
their faith.
Nor did the efforts of other enthusiasts, with the view of stopping the
slave trade and of cutting off the supply of Mamluks for the Sultan’s
army, prove more successful; nor did even the project of maintaining a
Christian fleet in the Mediterranean to prevent all intercourse with
Egypt answer the plan of its proposers. Where one country produces
articles which cannot be obtained elsewhere, nothing but an absolute
blockade of the ports of trans-shipment can prevent their exportation;
and, even then, though the price may be greatly enhanced, such articles
will find their way by circuitous routes to those who are willing to
purchase them regardless of the cost. The consumer invariably suffers
by all such attempts at prohibition; but the producer is rarely
injured. As the trade in Indian goods was the most profitable of all,
neither spiritual authority nor philosophical reasoning availed to
restrain the merchants of Europe from joining in it; moreover, the
religious prejudices of the age did not demand a total abstinence from
Eastern luxuries. The Venetians, indeed, on more than one occasion,
boldly defied the terrors of the Inquisition, and maintained that the
offence of trafficking in distant seas was only cognizable by the civil
tribunals.
[Sidenote: Commercial policy of the Italian republics.]
The stern, selfish policy of the Venetian republic and its conflicting
measures of protection and of freedom are to this day marvels of
success. During many centuries a small isolated community held their
own amid the revolutions of surrounding nations, and maintained
their high position till the discovery of the route to India by the
Cape of Good Hope gave the first serious blow to their commercial
supremacy. Venice, however, in her rise and progress had some powerful
competitors, and, of these, the Genoese were the most conspicuous.
[Sidenote: Genoa.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 1206.]
Situated on the western, or opposite shore of Italy to Venice, the
Genoese had long beheld with envy the superior wealth and power of
Venice, and had resolved, if possible, to acquire such strength as
would enable them to compete at sea with the Venetians whenever a
favourable opportunity might arise for the trial of their strength.
Hence, Genoa was early alive to the importance of securing a fleet
which would be at least sufficient to protect her own distant trade.
Indeed, before Venice rose to great power, Genoa had had commercial
establishments in the Levant, with factories along the coasts of Asia
and Africa, requiring from their great importance a protecting fleet.
Cruisers, under Venetian colours, too frequently molested her traders
with those settlements. But the Genoese had also their marauders;
and, strange to say, the hostilities between the rival republics
commenced with the capture of a celebrated Genoese pirate who had for a
considerable space of time infested the Mediterranean. The attack and
defeat of the first regular fleet of the Genoese quickly followed, and
the island of Candia (Crete) was captured by the superior forces of
the Venetians. To the rivalry between the Genoese and the Venetians in
the market of Constantinople, and to the long wars thence ensuing, we
have already referred.
[Sidenote: Genoese fleets and treaties with the Venetians.]
[Sidenote: The Genoese restore the Greek dynasty, and secure a more
permanent footing at Constantinople.]
But Genoa, though defeated, persevered in her determination to curtail,
if she could not grasp, the whole maritime commerce of her rival,
and while protecting her own vessels, to secure a portion of those
branches of trade the merchants of Venice had long monopolised. In
the bloody war for the possession of Chioggia in the Adriatic, Genoa
put to sea with eighty-four galleys, thirteen large ships, and one
hundred and thirteen transports; and in 1293 equipped one hundred and
twenty galleys, each manned by two hundred and twenty combatants.
Hence, a commercial treaty in 1298 was made between the two republics,
by which it was stipulated that, during thirteen years, no Venetian
vessel should navigate the Black Sea or pass beyond Constantinople.
The Genoese, however, though supported by a treaty with the emperor
which secured to them the monopoly of the Black Sea, were not able
to maintain that with Venice for the stipulated period. Repeated
quarrels arose; and the Genoese, continued for more than a century the
most powerful commercial rivals of the Venetians in all parts of the
East. Being masters of Galata, they interrupted the landing of the
Venetian ships at Constantinople, and forced the Venetian _podesta_
resident in that city to seek another anchorage for the merchant
traders of his city. But not content with this aggressive policy,
they resolved to overthrow the throne of the Latins; to reinstate
the Greek dynasty, then fugitive at Nicæa in Asia; and to demand as
their reward the entire command of the commerce of the empire, with
an exclusive monopoly of the trade of the Black Sea. Nothing could
well have surpassed the audacity of this enterprise. If Genoa failed,
her commerce in Greece, at least, would be extinguished; while if she
succeeded, she was certain to bring down upon herself the thunders of
the Latin Church, the hatred of the Franks, and the vengeance of the
Venetians. But the Genoese only thought of humiliating Venice, and of
securing for themselves fresh monopolies; and they were for a time
completely successful. Their navy brought back the Greek dynasty to
Constantinople, and they themselves, armed with an imperial diploma,
converted the suburbs of that city into a fortress for their own
protection.
[Sidenote: Galata.]
[Sidenote: Kaffa.]
Having made Galata (now Pera) a place of great strength, their port
soon became the entrepôt of commerce with the North and East. With
vessels especially adapted for the navigation of the Black Sea, the
Genoese, unlike the Greeks, did not intermit their voyages during
even the most inclement months of winter; and Kaffa, through their
enterprise and influence, thus became a place of great commercial
importance as the factory for the receipt of the productions of the
north of Persia and of India, which came thither by way of Astracan
and the Caspian Sea. The Genoese, however, like the Venetians, were
but too frequently harsh and imperious masters, forbidding foreigners
to make purchases or sales among themselves, and requiring that every
transaction should pass through the hands of their own people. These
restrictive laws necessarily diminished the value of their trade.
[Sidenote: Genoese vessels.]
[Sidenote: Details of contract, with the ship-builders.]
Although there are no drawings extant of the vessels of the Genoese
during the thirteenth century on which any reliance can be placed, they
were as skilful and even more daring in the management of them than
the Venetians; and that they were equally conversant with the art of
ship-building is certain, from the fact that, in 1268, when Louis IX.
king of France contracted with the Venetians for some ships, he also
contracted with the Genoese for some others. Of these, two are thus
described by Mr. F. Steinitz, from the contracts given at length in the
work of M. Jal.[685] “These,” he says, “were alike.” They were each,
by the condition of the contract, “to have thirty-one cubits of keel,
and fifty cubits of extreme length, with 40½ palms of beam. The depth
of the hold was 17½ palms; of the first deck, nine; of the second,
eight; and of the parisade, five palms. Each ship had a large boat,
two barges, and a gondola, or small boat, and two rudders (one on each
side), nine palms long; the fore-mast was fifty-one cubits in length,
and 12¾ palms in circumference. The main-mast was forty-seven cubits
long, and 11¾ palms in circumference. The fore-yard, which was made of
three pieces of different lengths, seems to have exceeded one hundred
cubits; and the main-yard, which was made of two pieces, to have been
four cubits shorter. There was also a separate yard, of the same length
as the main-yard, for the ‘velon,’ a large sail, the nature of which
has not been exactly ascertained; but as it had a separate yard, it
may have been used when going before the wind as an additional sail.
It seems to have been hoisted only on the fore-mast. Four thousand
ells of spun hemp to supply cordage, &c., was allowed to every ship,
and they had six cotton sails of the following dimensions: viz., for
the foresail, sixty-six cubits; for the ‘terrasole,’ sixty-one cubits;
another sail of fifty-six cubits, and another of fifty-two cubits. The
mainsail was fifty-eight cubits, and another sail was fifty-two cubits.
Two of these sails, namely, a ‘terrasole’ for the fore-mast, and a
‘velon’ also for the fore-mast, were to be made of Marseilles cotton.
Each ship had twenty-six iron anchors, twenty of which weighed eight
cantares, and the other ten cantares each, and casks for two thousand
‘mencaroles’ of water. The two ships were to be furnished with stabling
to carry one hundred horses between them; and they had fourteen hawsers
for fastenings, or moorings in port. The cost of these two ships, with
all their stores, was fourteen thousand livres tournois.”
The other ship, the _Paradise_, seems to have cost only three thousand
seven hundred and fifty livres tournois, and consequently must
have been smaller. Her dimensions are not given, but her fore-mast
is described as being fifty cubits in length, and 12½ palms in
circumference, and her main-mast somewhat smaller. She had seven sails,
some of which were, no doubt, duplicate or spare sails; twenty-five
anchors, twelve of which had buoys; three cables, thirty-one hawsers,
and “four mooring ropes at the bows.” She had a barge of fifty-two
oars, and two anchors; a boat of thirty-two, another of thirty-four,
and a gondola of twelve oars, the smallest of which could hardly have
been carried on her deck, and must, with the others, have followed
her at sea and attended upon her in harbour. In the contract, the
most minute details are given of her stores, in which are comprised a
sounding lead, three grapnels with chains, six lanterns, one being of
glass, hatchets, nails, hammers, scales, pitch kettles, and so forth.
[Sidenote: Its inaccuracies.]
There must, however, be various extraordinary inaccuracies in the
dimensions of these vessels, as supplied by Steinitz and other
historians. The cubit, as known to the Romans and Greeks, was about a
foot and a half. It was divided by the Romans into six breadths, or
palms, of three inches each; and such were, no doubt, the dimensions of
the cubit and palm as known to the Italian republics, and as understood
in our own time. If this be so, it follows that each of the larger
vessels was seventy-five feet extreme length, and only ten feet beam;
four and a half feet depth of hold, with a fore-mast seventy-seven feet
in length, of three feet in circumference, and a yard no less than
one hundred and fifty feet long. No doubt the yards of the vessels of
that period were of enormous length, as may be seen in the “lateen”
rigged craft of the present day, and far in excess of the yards of
modern ships as compared to the size and length of these vessels; but
it would be absurd to suppose that a vessel of only ten feet in width,
and under five feet deep, could carry a mast seventy-seven feet long,
much less a yard of double that length; nor could a vessel of the
dimensions supplied have stabling for fifty horses, or room to hold the
spare spars, sails, etc., named in the inventory. Nor is the matter
mended if we suppose the palm to have been nine inches; for then the
mast would be _nine_ feet in circumference, or equal to that of a
first-class modern line-of-battle ship.
However imperfect the drawings which have been preserved, the reader
will by these form a more accurate idea of what the vessels were than
can be obtained from the few records we have of their dimensions. If,
therefore, the following representations, given by M. Jal, from the MS.
Virgil in the Riccardi library are examined, and an allowance made for
imperfection of the drawings, we may form a tolerable idea of the ships
of that period.
[Illustration]
Throughout the whole of the middle ages, and even until the seventeenth
century, every vessel was provided with trumpets and bugles, which were
played during fêtes and battles or used in foggy weather as signals:
such instruments are very distinctly represented on the Corporation
seal of Dover.
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: Napier’s description of a large Genoese ship of the
fifteenth century.]
Nor, indeed, do writers of nautical experience, who describe the
vessels of the Genoese even so late as the fifteenth century, supply
information on which reliance can be placed. For instance, Napier, in
his “Florentine History,” furnishes[686] the following description of
one of the largest vessels of the period. “The vessels built during
this century for commercial purposes,” he remarks, “were large in size,
but it would be difficult to ascertain their exact capacity; and by
the description of one belonging to the Genoese family of Doria, which
anchored at Porto Pisano in 1452, this was quite unequal to their
outward dimensions. Her burden was said to be three hundred “botti,”
or about two hundred and seventy English tons[687]; her length, on the
upper deck, one hundred and seventy-nine feet; the mast, _thirty-eight
feet in circumference_ at the lowest and thickest part, and one hundred
and eighty-four feet high; the height of her poop from the keel,
seventy-seven feet nearly, without the after-castle; that of her bow
nearly sixty-one, independent of the forecastle; her sail, and she
seems to have carried but one, was more than a hundred and fifty-three
feet broad, and ninety-six high. She was heavily rigged with so many
shrouds, says Cambi, that they alone were worth a treasure; her anchors
were numerous, and weighed about twenty-five hundred-weight each; she
had seventy cabins; her cables were twenty-three inches round, and
eighty fathoms long; she was fitted with ovens, cisterns, and stalls
for horses; her _long boat_ carried nearly seventy-two tons, and six
hundred souls were embarked in her. This was the largest vessel that
had been seen in a Florentine port for a long time, and no ordinary
seamanship must have been necessary to manage so unwieldy a sail as she
seems to have carried.”
[Sidenote: Evident mistakes in the accounts.]
We should rather have expected a Post-Captain in the British Navy to
have remarked that no such sail could have been carried on the vessel
he names, for its spread would have been equal to close upon fifteen
thousand square feet of canvas; dimensions, compared with which the
largest sail in the _Great Eastern_, of somewhere about twenty-four
thousand tons register, would be insignificant, and whose mainmast
is a walking stick in comparison with the mast of one hundred and
eighty-four feet high, and _thirty-eight feet in circumference_, of
which Captain Napier has furnished a description. Nor are we disposed
to place any more confidence in the account of her height which he
furnishes; and we are sure that he would not have considered it safe to
have commanded in rough weather a ship of the height he describes in
proportion to her length (the breadth is not given), much less would
he have attempted to hoist upon her deck a “long boat” which carried
“nearly seventy-two tons.”
There is no way of accounting for these numerous palpable mistakes
than by supposing that they arose “from a mistake in copying the MSS.,
or from typographical errors;” but how they should have arisen in so
many cases is perplexing. Moreover, it is wholly unaccountable why
historians, especially men with the experience and practical knowledge
of Napier, should not have directed special attention to errors so
glaring.
It may, however, from all the information we have been able to collect,
be affirmed that, previously to the fifteenth century, practical
or professed writers upon shipping were unknown; while those who
incidentally refer to it are so inaccurate, that their works have
little, if any, real value. Almost everything relating to shipping, and
especially to merchant shipping, before that time is, therefore, in a
great degree matter for conjecture. Nay, we are even inclined to think
that, on the whole, we possess more accurate accounts of the ships of
antiquity.
[Sidenote: First great improvement in the Genoese ships.]
Various causes and circumstances rendered the middle of the fifteenth
century a remarkable epoch in the annals of marine architecture, and
not the least of these was the competition for maritime supremacy
between the great Italian republics. But when Genoa and Venice wisely
gave up quarrelling, there was a still more marked improvement in the
form and equipment of their vessels. The rivalry of commerce took the
place of those foolish contentions which invariably resulted in war.
Each nation then strove to produce, not the best fighting ship, but the
one most suited to yield remunerative returns. From that period the
improvement steadily increased, until vessels not unlike those of our
own time were constructed towards the middle of the sixteenth century.
[Sidenote: Genoese carrack.]
The Genoese, though inferior in, perhaps, all other respects to the
Venetians, then surpassed them in the art of ship-building; and they
were, so far as can now be traced, the first to construct a ship
approaching to the modern form and rig, of which any account and
drawing has been preserved. The following, copied from Charnock,[688]
affords an excellent and, we believe, accurate illustration of the
large Genoese merchant carrack of the first half of the sixteenth
century,[689] some of which are said to have been of no less than from
fifteen hundred to two thousand tons burden.
[Sidenote: Their corsairs and pirates.]
[Sidenote: The most daring of the pirates, their terrible fate.]
[Illustration: A GENOESE CARRACK, 1542.]
The Genoese, more especially in the early part of their history, had,
as we have seen, their lawless cruisers as well as their peaceable
traders. But her corsairs, once so renowned, must not be confounded
with her pirates. The former resembled in many respects the privateers
of our own time; while their pirates were chiefly under the control of
men who had been banished from the republic either for some delinquency
against the laws or for political offences. A number of these political
exiles, belonging to what was known as the “Guelph faction,” having
been banished from the republic in 1323, fitted out ten galleys armed
as cruisers and infested the Mediterranean, pillaging indiscriminately
the ships and the coasts of Genoa as well as those of other nations. In
one cruise alone they took booty estimated at three hundred thousand
golden florins. Their success, however, proved the means of their
destruction. Pursued by a squadron of Genoese ships of war as far as
the Black Sea, they sought shelter in Sinope, then under a Turcoman
ruler, who, quickly learning the wealth they had on board their
vessels, took short and effective means to secure it for himself.
Inviting the pirate chiefs with their crews to a banquet, he surrounded
them in the height of their revelry with his troops and massacred
nearly all of them. No fewer than fifteen hundred persons, among whom
were forty nobles, perished by this one deed of treachery, and only
three galleys succeeded in making good their escape.
[Sidenote: Corsairs.]
The corsairs, on the other hand, were armed as privateers, if not with
the express approbation, at least with the tacit acquiescence of the
government, and professed to wage war only with the enemies of their
own republic. The corsairs also performed the duties of the men-of-war
of more modern times, by searching the vessels of neutral and friendly
powers to ascertain if they had on board provisions, arms, or
merchandise destined for the enemy. The booty thus acquired was divided
among the commanders and cruisers, in conformity with the ancient
maritime regulations preserved in the “_Consulado de la Mer_.”[690]
[Sidenote: Bologna and Ancona.]
The successful resistance of Genoa to the growing power of Venice had,
however, another result, in that it encouraged other states inferior
in power to either of them to resist as far as they could the commands
of these imperious masters. Bologna and Ancona,[691] the first to make
the attempt, signally failed; nor did the latter meet with better
success when she joined the Istrians in their revolt against Venice,
though her ships had the audacity to commit various depredations on the
commerce of that state, while she refused to pay the duty required by
the Venetians from all vessels which entered that part of the Adriatic
acknowledged to be within their dominion.
[Sidenote: Importance of Pisa.]
[Sidenote: Her trade with the Saracens, about A.D. 1100; and ships.]
Amalfi, long before Venice or Genoa, the possessor, as we have seen,
of a large and valuable commerce with the East, had now passed away as
a place of commercial importance; but Pisa, one of the most ancient
cities of Tuscany and the chief pillager of Amalfi,[692] still
maintained a high position, and proved, in some respects, a formidable
rival to the Venetian and Genoese traders. Despising, in their
commercial operations, the narrow dictates of religious bigotry, the
Pisans, in frequent voyages to Palermo about the middle of the eleventh
century, successfully traded with the Saracen inhabitants. They also
traded to the coast of Africa, and, on one occasion, in revenge for a
supposed injury, captured and held the royal city of Tunis until they
obtained redress. They now played a leading and brilliant part in the
maritime commerce of the Mediterranean. Pisa, in the twelfth century,
contained two hundred thousand inhabitants, and many beautiful
monuments still attest its former greatness and splendour.[693] Among
the most conspicuous may still be seen its leaning tower, from which
has been copied the following representation of one of its ships,
sculptured so far back as the year 1178.
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: Her first great misfortune.]
Besides different sorts of merchant vessels bearing a common
resemblance to those of the Venetians, the Pisans constructed ships of
war with towers of wood, and machines for attacking an enemy, which
they managed with a skill that rendered them most formidable opponents.
Their expeditions against the Moors of the Balearic Islands, and their
conquests in Corsica and Sardinia conferred on them a high military as
well as naval reputation. But the Pisans were not without their share
of the calamities of the times. In the year 1120, their city was almost
laid in ashes and their islands of Sardinia and Corsica taken from
them by the Saracens.[694] They, however, assisted by the Genoese, soon
after recovered these islands; but the division of the conquest, and
probably the exasperation created by commercial jealousy, immediately
kindled a war between the allies, in which the Genoese, with a fleet of
eighty galleys and four great ships, carrying warlike engines, besieged
their harbour, and obliged the Pisans to submit to their pleasure
respecting Corsica. The peace that followed was again soon broken; and
a sanguinary war, frequently interrupted by insincere pacifications or
truces, continued to distress the two neighbouring and rival republics
for almost two centuries.
[Sidenote: Mode of conducting her trade.]
The Pisans seem to have carried on their trade in a great measure by
companies, half laymen, half monastic, not altogether unlike some still
existing in the ports of Italy. By such means, also, the commerce with
their settlements at Tyre, Tripoli, Antioch, and St. Jean d’Acre,
was chiefly conducted; and when, in 1171, they gained a position at
Constantinople, owing to the quarrel between the Emperor Manuel and the
Venetians, they profited greatly by the working of their commercial
associations.[695] In less than a hundred years from this time, they
had become so powerful that the Venetians found it prudent to enter
into amicable arrangements with them, granting, among other favours
to the Pisan merchants, the privilege of trading to all their ports
of the Levant, Adriatic, and Archipelago, on the payment of only
one-fourth of the ordinary customs on the merchandise in which they
dealt.
[Sidenote: Florence, A.D. 1250.]
By this time Tuscany had become one of the most distinguished
commercial states of Italy, the merchants of Florence having
established relations or branch-houses in other parts of Italy,
and even in distant foreign countries; while many of them, who had
accumulated larger capital than could be conveniently employed in
trade, became dealers in money by exchange. By borrowing and lending
on interest at home, and by working their spare capital by means of
their _podestas_, or agents abroad, they for a time, in some measure,
monopolized the business of foreign exchange, realising immense
fortunes to themselves, while rendering a vast boon to every person who
had dealings with distant nations. The merchants of the other cities
of Italy soon followed the example of the Florentines (who, it may be
remarked, had risen from obscurity during the maritime wars of Pisa,
their neighbouring city) in dealing in money as well as merchandise.
The Florentines also established houses in France and in England,
though, as we have seen, Henry III. passed a law[696] forbidding his
people to borrow money from any foreign merchants. Having, together
with the Lombards,[697] establishments throughout Europe, they became
very useful to the Popes, who constantly employed them to receive and
remit the large sums they extracted from different nations in virtue
of their ecclesiastical supremacy. They were also doubtless useful in
lending on interest the vast fortunes the Popes then possessed—“sowing
their money to make it profitable,” as is happily expressed by one of
the most quaint and intelligent writers of the period.[698]
[Sidenote: The Florentines ship goods from a port of Pisa.]
[Sidenote: Sale and transfer of Leghorn, A.D. 1421.]
During one of those intervals of peace and goodwill of such rare
occurrence among these great commercial rivals in Italy, the
Florentines obtained permission to deposit and ship their goods from
a port of Pisa; but this good understanding proved of short duration.
The Pisans repented having made any concessions to their enterprising
and industrious neighbours, and soon afterwards the Florentines were
obliged to withdraw from Pisa. Further bickerings took place between
them, till at length, after holding for a short time an insignificant
port belonging to the people of Siena, Pisa had to mourn the success
of her rival, who purchased from Genoa the port of Leghorn, for one
hundred thousand florins.[699]
[Sidenote: First expeditions to Egypt, Constantinople, and Majorca.]
The acquisition of so convenient and valuable a port rendered Florence,
already a city of great wealth and influence, one of the richest
of Italy. Aspiring to possess a navy, she created a board known as
the “Six consuls of the sea,” to manage her naval affairs; but the
Florentine genius was more banking and commercial than maritime, and
her navy, even under the care of the Medicean princes and knights of
Stefano, never rose to much importance. She, however, soon obtained
merchant vessels sufficient to carry on her trade with the Muhammedans,
and to restore the factories which Pisa had formerly established in
the East. Her request to obtain, as successor to the Pisans, the
advantages they had formerly enjoyed, having been granted by the Sultan
of Egypt, the despatch of their first commercial galley to Alexandria
was a day of extraordinary exultation. That day inaugurated a new era
in the commerce of the now flourishing republic; a new outlet had been
opened for Florentine industry and enterprise; a new maritime power had
unfurled its flag on the blue waters of the Mediterranean, and it was
fitting that so auspicious an event should be opened with great public
rejoicings and solemn religious processions.[700]
Nor is it surprising that this day should have been one of exceeding
joy to the people of Florence. Though rivalling all other states in
the excellence of her manufactures and of her system of banking, she
had hitherto failed in establishing a maritime commerce, having, in
her earnest endeavours to gain such a position, been on all occasions
almost as strenuously opposed by the Venetians and Genoese as by her
more immediate neighbours, the Pisans. These obstacles had now been
overcome. The departure, therefore, of her own ships from her own port
was a matter to call forth something more than the ordinary tokens
of joy. The Florentine Argo destined to re-open the valuable trade
with Egypt and the far East contained, among its crew of two hundred
and fifty persons, twelve young men of the principal families of
Florence,[701] sent on board to acquire a knowledge of the trade of
the Levant and of maritime affairs. To facilitate, also, commercial
intercourse, knowing how difficult it is to reconcile people to a
strange coinage and reckoning, the Florentines coined golden florins
of the same value as those of Venice, called the “Galley florins,”
which they sent in large quantities with the expedition to secure an
easy currency at the foreign ports and to facilitate their commercial
transactions.[702]
Ambassadors were at the same time despatched to Egypt, with full
powers to treat on all commercial affairs; a second embassy obtained
mercantile concessions in Syria, Constantinople, and the Morea; while
a third proceeded to Majorca, to make the Florentine flag known and
respected in that part of the Mediterranean.
[Sidenote: Freedom of commercial intercourse among the Florentines.]
From this time the commerce of Florence increased so as to rival,
if not surpass that of Venice. Her merchants were indeed princes.
The trade with the East, opened in a measure by Cosimo de Medici,
was greatly extended and improved by his grandson Lorenzo. So highly
was this illustrious merchant esteemed by the Sultan of Egypt, that
he sent an embassy to him (a mark of respect seldom bestowed by
Muhammedan princes even on the most powerful Christian sovereigns)
with magnificent presents, including fine cotton cloths of various
kinds, and other rich Oriental manufactures, large vases of beautiful
porcelain, balsams and spices, and an Arabian horse of great value and
beauty.[703] Under this princely merchant, and heartily co-operating
with him in his wise administration, Florence reached the zenith of her
prosperity. Relieved from wars and tumults, the inhabitants exerted
their active spirit in commerce and manufactures. Besides developing
the intercourse with India, by way of Egypt, to an extent unknown since
the best days of the Roman empire, Florence opened up a large trade
with Spain and England, and became the chief buyer of their wools for
the supply of her vast manufactures. It was then that the English were
allowed to resort freely to the territories of Florence, and to carry
thither every kind of merchandise, whether the produce of their own or
other countries, not even excepting countries which were at war with
the republic. They might there buy and sell, with the Florentines or
any other people, all goods not already prohibited, or might carry even
prohibited goods through the Florentine territories to any country,
whether friendly or hostile, so that the policy of Florence, in her
desire to make all nations her merchants, and to centre within herself,
as far as possible, the trade of the world, resembled in many respects
that of Tyre, and was far more liberal than Venice.[704]
The fleets of Florence, though small compared to those of Venice, were
equipped and navigated under regulations similar to those of the proud
city of the Adriatic. Her state galleys, destined for the long voyages,
were in like manner conceded to the highest bidders. With the intention
of securing an abundant supply of raw materials for her manufactures,
Florence established agencies in Flanders and in France, under
arrangements akin to those she had opened in Spain and in England. Her
great commerce, numerous manufactures, and wide-spread banking, created
a large and constant flow of specie into the capital; and, in the
public and private buildings, of the architecture of the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries, which still adorn that beautiful city, may be seen
abundant proofs of the then enormous wealth of Florence.
[Sidenote: Their frugality, contrasted with their magnificent public
displays.]
But while no means were omitted by the Florentines to encourage
commerce and manufactures, they were themselves frugal in their habits
and discouraged all extravagance and wasteful luxury. The whole force
of the state was directed to keeping the market abundantly supplied
with food and to preventing its export in order that the manufacturing
population should live cheap, and the merchants, in consequence, be
able to undersell, with a profit to themselves, all other nations.
Warned by the example of Rome, the Florentines, while they spared no
expense in public works, carried their frugality to such an extent,
that laws were passed to prevent excess in personal indulgences.
The ornaments permitted and forbidden were defined and described
by law, and the quality of woollen cloth (the use of silk stuffs
being prohibited) was minutely specified. Statutory enactments even
regulated the fashion of dress for both sexes, the expense of nuptials,
and the number and quality of the viands allowed on such occasions, “in
order to avoid any appearance of luxury and extravagance in a people
depending on their own industry alone for their national greatness and
prosperity;” indeed, the enactments went so far as to forbid retail
dealings in some of the more costly descriptions of cloth, in order to
prevent their being worn by the citizens.[705]
[Sidenote: Duties and powers of the board of the “Six consuls of the
sea.”]
The influential and important board of the “Six consuls of the sea,”
which regulated the naval affairs of Florence, made all the commercial
agreements with foreign states, fixed the quantity and quality of
merchandise to be embarked in the public galleys destined for any new
and direct trade with the Levant, and kept minute accounts of these
voyages. Its members were responsible for their economical management.
With them also rested the appointment of the consuls in foreign states;
a general superintendence of commerce, with exclusive jurisdiction in
maritime causes; and the care of the woods, buildings, chases, and
fisheries, besides various other duties totally unconnected with either
ships or commerce. Nor did their multifarious duties, as multifarious
as those of a modern English Board of Trade, end here. They had power
to impose on certain classes of foreign goods and manufactures high
and, in some cases, prohibitory duties, “for the encouragement of
native industry in those spots where local circumstances, and the
natural bent of the people, promised successful competition.”[706]
[Sidenote: Their public vessels and trade in which they were employed.]
The public navy of Florence, consisting originally of only two galleys,
had been now increased to eleven, besides fifteen “Fuste,” or smaller
vessels.[707] Though manned and armed as ships of war, they were
principally employed in the conveyance of merchandise to all places
beyond Rome on the one side, and Genoa on the other, trading eastward
with Constantinople, Kaffa, Trebizond, Alexandria, Tunis, Tripoli,
and Sicily; and westward with Minorca, Majorca, Bona, and the western
coast of Barbary, as well as with Catalonia, England, and Flanders.
These voyages were timed so as not to interfere with each other. When
there were no private bidders for the public galleys put up to auction
for hire, which seldom happened, the voyage was made on account of the
government. The sea-consuls settled the number of the crew and the
armament of each galley, and nominated the captain, supercargo, and
other officers, none of whom were allowed to be in any way connected
with the consuls, or to own any part of the cargo: the consuls, too,
were not permitted to share in this trade, except when the vessels were
freighted on account of the government. The galleys bound westward
sailed in September, and those for the Levant in February.
“On the day of sailing,” remarks Napier,[708] “the various ports at
which the galleys were to touch, the period of their stay at each,
their ultimate destination, the rates of freight, the names of the
officers, and the number of the crews were duly published, except for
the voyages to Catalonia and Sicily, which were kept secret for fear
of pirates, by whom these coasts were particularly infested. A loan of
seven thousand five hundred florins was advanced to the conductor for
his expenses, but on good security; and the hire of a galley for the
Levant, in 1458, amounted to one thousand four hundred and fifty-eight
florins, all charges being paid by the conductor. A hundred and thirty
men formed the crew and combatants of one galley, and the conductors
of those in the Levant trade were bound to present a carpet, worth not
less than fifteen florins, to the seignory on their return, also to
carry public ambassadors, and those young men who were sent abroad to
learn the art of trading.”
Under the rule, however, of the enlightened Lorenzo, the privileges
conferred on these public galleys in their trading operations were
entirely abolished, and the public permitted to build, freight, and
sail such vessels as they pleased. Under his rule, also, the commercial
relations with England were firmly established, and fresh treaties,
more liberal in their character than even those of 1385, were made in
1490 and 1491.
[Sidenote: Consular agents.]
So far back as 1339, the Consulates of Florence, established in
various European countries, are mentioned as old and widely-extended
institutions. The appointment of the consul was for three years only;
and he had to see that treaties were strictly observed, to administer
justice, maintain order and reputable conduct amongst the merchants,
and, besides other miscellaneous duties, to prevent “gambling and
swearing.” Every Eastern consul was allowed a secretary at four florins
a month, two attendants, three horses, and a dragoman, with an annual
salary of four thousand aspers.[709] He was strictly prohibited from
carrying on trade of any kind on his own account, and was not allowed,
under a heavy penalty, to act as consul for other nations or advocate
the cause of strangers.
[Sidenote: Extent of the Florentine commerce, and cause of its decline.]
In London, the Florentine consul received by way of remuneration
one-twelfth of a penny for every pound sterling of exchange; a penny
and half-penny on every pound sterling value of merchandize bought and
sold; a penny and half-farthing on every pound sterling of securities;
and ten pounds sterling on the cargo of any Florentine galley that
arrived in England, on board of which the merchants were compelled to
embark their goods, or were subject to the freight if they did not do
so.[710] Similar privileges were granted to the consuls at Lyons and in
Flanders: in Bruges they were even more specially favoured, as there
the Florentine establishments, as we have seen, had flourished since
the commencement of the thirteenth century, and her merchants were the
most wealthy, and probably also the most numerous and influential in
the city. Indeed, so powerful had the Florentine merchants and bankers
become in foreign ports that, during the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries, they held a large portion of the trade of Europe in
their hands. The whole of the banking of France was then monopolised
by them, and a considerable part of her commerce. Spain, Portugal,
Flanders, England, and even Venice, her proud competitor, were full of
them. The Medici alone had at one time no fewer than sixteen banking
establishments in different parts of Europe; and such was the extent
and consequent credit of the Florentines, that many of the European
mints, towards the close of the thirteenth century, including that of
Edward I. of England, were mainly under their control.
Although the western nations, towards the close of the fifteenth
century, resolved to direct more attention than they had hitherto
done to commercial and maritime pursuits, their opposition would have
produced little effect in depriving the Italian republics of those
valuable branches of trade, of which they had long held almost an
exclusive monopoly, had not the discoveries of the Portuguese, and the
consequent alteration of the route of the trade with India, given to
them an advantage, against which the Italians, with all their wealth,
skill, and knowledge were unable to compete.
Nor were there wanting other causes beyond the discovery of a new route
to India to bring about the decline and, at last, the annihilation of
the once great republics of Italy. In spite of legislative enactments
in favour of frugality, the Florentines, as they increased in wealth,
became proud and haughty. There seems, indeed, to be a point in the
career of nations as well as of prosperous individuals, when every move
is attended with danger. Wealth, though a source of power, is fraught
with evil. It as often makes men as nations, vain, presumptuous, and
arrogant. Wealth is then no longer an instrument for its increase by
the development of new sources of trade and commerce, or of the natural
resources of a nation, but is made subservient to individual vanity in
the erection of magnificent houses, in luxurious entertainments, or in
other modes of extravagance prejudicial to the interests of the state.
Purse-proud men consider wealth essential to their greatness, and its
lavish expenditure necessary to the maintenance of their position.
They vie with each other in their houses, equipages, dress, dinners,
and fêtes of every kind. As it is with individuals so it is with
nations; and such was essentially the case with the Italian republics
in their career after the fifteenth century. Each of the great cities
then claimed for herself the honour of being the foremost in wealth,
in power, and in splendour. Independent of each other, they became
rivals, not merely for ascendancy, but in empty show. Trifling matters
of etiquette were too frequently magnified into national insults.
The most frivolous individual complaints were dealt with as matters
requiring the serious consideration of the respective states. These
petty animosities, the offsprings of overgrown wealth, and of its too
frequent accompaniments, arrogance and vanity, imperceptibly increased
in time into national jealousies and into a political rivalry, of a
character dangerous to the well-being of all the republics. Their
differences, craftily fermented by their more military neighbours, made
them at last an easy prey to the despotism of an overwhelming German
potentate, under whom the people of that rich and sunny land were held
in subjection until the sympathies of the free states of Europe and the
arms of a near and powerful nation were able in our own time to restore
Italy to independence.
[Sidenote: The smaller states.]
Reference has already been made to Amalfi,[711] Bologna, and Ancona,
and to the part they took during the Middle Ages in the commerce of
the Mediterranean. Though their trade, and that of Naples, Sicily, and
Milan, was insignificant when compared to the trade of Venice, Pisa,
Genoa, or Florence, it contributed essentially to the employment of
merchant shipping. Naples and Sicily, for instance, furnished large
quantities of grain, oil, cotton, sugar, and wines, requiring export
to distant parts where they were in demand. Bologna was famous for
its cloths and silks; Florence received a considerable portion of its
Indian produce through Ancona; and Milan, towards the close of the
Middle Ages, was an inland entrepôt of no mean commercial importance.
Before the close of the fifteenth century the maritime commerce of
Spain and Portugal had risen to a position second only to that of
Venice, which was destined soon to be eclipsed by the still greater
maritime discoveries of that period. But before taking a glance at
the progress of these nations during the Middle Ages, or referring to
those interesting episodes in their history, whereby they became the
instruments of discovering America, and of establishing a fresh route
to India, events which changed the seats and centres of commerce and
gave an astounding impetus to shipping, it may be desirable to furnish
an outline of the character of the sea-faring population at the period
to which we now refer, their customs and superstitions, and their love
for display in the decoration of their vessels.
[Sidenote: Decorations and traditionary emblems of ships.]
To cover the unsightly appearance of the resin and pitch necessary to
render their vessels tight and to preserve them from decay, pigments
were used of various colours, among which white, red lead, and
vermilion were long in the highest favour. Green, from its resemblance
to sea water, was adopted by piratical cruisers and explorers, to
avoid observation. Princes, and other opulent personages, frequently
decorated their ships in purple, richly gilt, with highly ornamented
poops and sterns, and figure-heads of the most beautiful devices
their artists could conceive. In these decorations the taste of the
Middle Ages appears to have adhered to the traditionary emblems of
the ancients. About the middle of the thirteenth century the Genoese,
who, in their encounters with the Pisans, had previously painted their
vessels green, assumed the colour of white, dotted with vermilion
crosses—the cross gules upon a silver ground being the shield of St.
George, the knight both of England and Genoa. In the sixteenth century,
red had become the prevailing colour, though frequently black and white
were intermingled in foliage, in varied lines or in capricious zigzags;
and, sometimes, the ground was entirely black, the ornaments alone
being of a dazzling vermilion. Except, however, on special occasions,
the colour of mourning, unrelieved by any other, seldom shed its
saddening influence over the vessels of the Middle Ages, as it does
almost invariably over those of our own time. Then its use was almost
exclusively confined to the bearers of death or of other disastrous
news. The galleys which conveyed to Manfred the intelligence of the
death of his brother Conrad were painted black, and their sails and
pendants of a similar colour. In 1525, when Francis I. was captured at
the battle of Pavia and carried captive to Barcelona, the six galleys
which conveyed the captive monarch and his suite were painted in that
sombre colour, from the topmasts down to the water-lines. The sails,
banners, pendants, awnings, and oars were all black, and the knights of
St. Stephen adopted the same colour when one of their captains was made
prisoner by the Turks, vowing never to wear any other until victory
should restore him to their country.
Although the ships of the ancients were frequently adorned with purple
and gold beyond the decorations to the hull already described, they
were surpassed in display by those of the Middle Ages, and, especially,
by the ships of the nobles of the Italian republics. Ornaments,
emblems, devices, and allegorical subjects with armorial bearings were
lavishly engraved or painted on the hulls; while alternate stripes or
squares of variegated colours decorated the sails. In the case of the
more ordinary vessels of the merchant or of the fisherman, the image
of a saint, of the Virgin Mary, or of some sacramental or cabalistic
charm, were common devices to ward off malignant influences.
[Sidenote: Signals.]
Signals were made by means of figured and painted sails, streamers, or
flags, and by the use of the ensigns. Indeed, nothing was wanting that
could render a ship “magnificent,” according to the prevailing tastes
of the period.
[Sidenote: Manners and customs of seamen.]
Having clung to the ancient mythological taste in the decorations of
the exterior of their vessels for so many ages, the ship-owners now
carried their pious zeal to the extremity of saintly image-worship,
which continued until the Reformation, then in its turn relapsing
again into pagan heresies. But the manners and habits of the seamen
continued almost unchanged. Throughout the whole of the Middle Ages
they were the same superstitious mortals, and as much addicted to the
marvellous as ever they had been. Prior to the Reformation, they, like
the rest of Europe, were of one catholic faith. They believed in God,
adored the Virgin Mary, and prayed to every saint in heaven supposed
to have any connection with the sea. They had, however, a great fear
of a priest, chiefly on account of his black gown; and in bad weather,
if peradventure any priest were on board, he would have risked being
pitched into the sea, if the master, as was often the case, happened to
be as superstitious and ignorant as his crew.
[Sidenote: Their legends.]
[Sidenote: Punishments for gambling, and swearing.]
Fantastic shapes and beings of another world, while they awed, pleased
their imagination, for they, too, had their sirens, of which their
poets sang. Nor were they without their sea-serpent. More marvellous
and tantalizing than even that of modern times, which matter-of-fact
men are always disputing, the sea-serpent of the dark ages was adorned
with a mitre on its head and had a dalmatic robe across its shoulders.
Indeed, many of the credulous world on shore believed as firmly in the
bishop-fish monster as the sailors themselves, especially since a
learned Jesuit confirmed the actual existence of this prodigy of the
ocean. But the sea monsters of the Middle Ages, unlike those of our
own day, were happily at times instruments of good. One of them, and
the statement is attested by a whole boat’s crew of seamen, actually
swallowed an unbelieving sailor who had been playing at dice, and who,
while at play, had wickedly defied the Virgin Mary. So thoroughly were
the authorities convinced that this marvellous story was a fact, that
to prevent any more sailors from being thus summarily disposed of, the
playing of dice was afterwards strictly forbidden on board ship. This
happy change appears to have extended to the ships of England, for when
Richard I. repaired to the Holy Land he enforced a regulation, that if
any seaman played at dice, or any other game of a similar character,
without licence, he should be plunged into the sea three mornings
successively by way of punishment.
Seamen of all ages would seem to have been grievously addicted to
swearing;[712] and, although the Church and State of every nation have
endeavoured to control this wicked and foolish practice, it still
prevails to a large extent on board of merchant ships, and is only
now curtailed or stifled in ships of war by the strict discipline
maintained in them. It was almost universal in the Middle Ages. The
French and Mediterranean sailor swore by his bread, by his wine, and by
his salt, in the same way that King Richard[713] swore by the “very
eyes of God.” The Church of Rome reproved in the strongest terms the
sailor’s oath, alleging that, under an apparently simple expression,
it covered one decidedly sinful. In the opinion of the Holy Father,
bread, wine, and salt were the bases of their daily food; they were
also the sacramental elements; they were the symbols of life itself
here and hereafter; to swear, therefore, by bread, wine, and salt, was
to commit indirectly, in their judgment, an act of horrible atrocity.
Accordingly, by a decree of 1543, the most severe penalties are
inflicted upon this most “damnable custom;” and these are renewed in a
later decree of 1582.[714]
Sailors have ever been a cosmopolitan race. As citizens of the world,
they have had almost a common language as well as a common religion.
The song which they still sing in lifting the anchor or in hoisting
the sails, of “Ye-ho, cheerily, men!” or some such words, for we have
never seen them in print, is the song, or at least the same tune sung
a thousand years ago by the Venetian sailors, and resembling, we dare
say, that lively and invigorating air re-echoed along the shores of
Syria from the ships of the ancient Phœnicians as they manned their
oars or spread their sails for sea.
[Sidenote: Superstitions.]
Their superstitions were universal. These may have varied in name
and form, but from a very early period even until now sailors have
considered Friday to be an unlucky day, and one on which no vessel
ought to take her departure from a safe harbour. In the Middle Ages
it was dreaded by seamen as the day of all days of ill-omen or
misfortune: again, salt being spilt horrified them, and knives placed
across were, in their opinion, the prognostications of calamity.
Divination, sorcery, witchcraft, and necromancy, were then practised
by even “thinking minds.” What, then, could have been expected from
the thoughtless sailor, who, to obtain a fair wind, invariably had
recourse to prayers and incantations? In the midst of the gale he
invoked a return of fair weather by various superstitious practices.
The Greeks of the Mediterranean during a storm threw small loaves into
the sea, which they called the loaves of “St. Nicholas.” The Russians,
to appease the evil spirit which stirs up the boiling waves, and charms
the mountain which the sea cannot pass, offered in humility a cake made
of flour and butter. The Portuguese, when in imminent peril, fixed to
the mast of the ship an image of St. Anthony, and to this idol prayed
until the wind changed to his liking.
Nor were these superstitions confined to the sailors of Europe. Some of
the Indians, when in danger on the ocean, supplicated the protection
of their prince of evil spirits, who was one of their gods, and drank
the blood of a cock, swallowing with it a small piece of burning coal,
the heat of which they did not feel in the excitement of their insane
delirium. When a waterspout was discovered ahead of the ship, the
practice prevailed, especially in the Mediterranean, for a sailor to
pull out his knife and make the sign of the cross or triple triangle
in the air, as representing the Trinity, uttering in his despair some
mystical or cabalistic words. If the handle of his knife turned black
the water spirit would not reach the ship, and they were safe; but if
the danger increased, two sailors resorted to a more powerful charm, a
practice which in some measure still prevails in the Levant. They drew
their swords and struck them against each other, taking especial care
that the weapons formed the figure of a cross every time they clashed.
This remedy, in their judgment, was sure to succeed. Some misbelieving
sailors would fire a gun against the waterspout in order to disperse
it, but these practical fellows, who had no faith in necromancy,
deserved to be drowned.
The sailors of the latter portion of the Middle Ages were, however,
though superstitious enough, not so superstitious as some of their
forefathers had been. They no longer believed that to cut their nails
or their hair during fine weather was unlucky, and that such necessary
and homely operations inevitably brought on a gale; but they thought,
as many sailors still do, that to whistle in a calm would bring wind,
and that to continue whistling when the wind came would arouse the
anger of the gods and create a storm. They rejected as an idle fable
the notion, that if a sailor heard a sneezing from the left hand when
going on board ship, it was a fatal omen to which he ought to yield
obedience; or, on the contrary, that the voyage would be propitious
if the sneezing sound came from the right. But they still implicitly
believed it to be a most unlucky sign if, at the moment when they were
shipping provisions, the vessel gave a list to starboard. They believed
devoutly in a goblin, and considered it a very mischievous imp, which
delighted in tormenting sailors during the night by opening their
knives, tangling their hair, tearing their bedding, and which, in some
of its freaks, would be bold enough to attack the ship herself, tying
the ropes into knots so that they would not run through the blocks,
carrying away the anchors in a calm, and tearing holes in the sails
when they were closely reefed.
[Sidenote: Manners and morals, A.D. 1420.]
[Sidenote: General severity of punishments.]
The laws regulating the manners and morals of seamen were frequently
very severe. Moncenigo,[715] in 1420, punished with flogging every man
guilty of blasphemy, or even of swearing, and inflicted a penalty of
one hundred sous on any sailor of the poop, any steersman, officer, or
gentleman, who was guilty of the like offence. The Norman code ordered
the sailor guilty of robbery to have his head shaved, and then to be
tarred and feathered. In this state he was made to pass through the
crew ranged in two files, and each man struck him a blow with a stick
or a stone, after which he was dismissed the ship.
In conformity with the earlier laws, Peter III., of Aragon, passed in
1354 an ordinance condemning every man to run the gauntlet who gambled
with his effects. In certain cases the admiral of a fleet could cut
the delinquent’s ears off for a similar offence; and he had even the
power also to cut out his tongue, if, for example, any unhappy culprit
should insult or menace the master or captain. In the commencement of
the fourteenth century, the Catalonian law inflicted the punishment
of chopping off the hand of any man who cut the cable of the ship
malignantly. In 1397, at Ancona, any sailor who abandoned a ship when
wrecked, before she was stranded, lost his right hand.
But when the mutilation of members was found to be injudicious, for
“afterwards a man was good for nothing,” this punishment was removed
from the law of Catalonia passed in the year 1354. The ordinance,
however, inflicting the loss of the tongue and the ears, and running
the gauntlet of sticks and stones along the deck, was not abrogated for
some centuries, whilst hanging a man at the yard-arm was for the first
time introduced. The laws of the North, terribly severe in the case
of a sailor who struck with a knife at the master of a ship, or who
merely raised any arms against him, enacted that the offender should
have his hand fastened to the mast with the knife which he had used,
so that he could only liberate himself by tearing away his own hand
by main force, leaving a portion of the member adhering to the mast.
Any quarrels among the sailors at Genoa which led to loss of life were
rigorously punished, and almost invariably with death. Pilots were most
severely dealt with. If any one of them had engaged to carry a vessel
into a harbour on the penalty of losing his head, he was decapitated if
he failed to do so; in the case of shipwreck he was liable to a similar
punishment, unless, indeed, he was rich enough to pay for the loss
occasioned by his ignorance and carelessness. Sometimes a man, who cut
the cable maliciously so as to cause the loss of the ship confided to
his care, was punished by being impaled.[716]
[Sidenote: Impaling, flogging, &c.]
But the pale, the whip, the cat-o’-nine tails, the mutilation of
members, the cutting out the tongue, the death by the axe or by a
punishment like the gibbet, were not the only chastisements inflicted
on mariners who were guilty of crime. Immersion in the water, repeated
three times successively, was one more commonly inflicted than any
other; and when, in the twelfth century, it was first used by the
English, it received the name of keel-hauling; and _cale_ (keel) by
the French, who inflicted it upon any sailor who used his knife in an
assault. At Marseilles three sailors were punished with keel-hauling,
who, in a joke, swore by the name of God or by that of any of the
saints.[717] Wreckers were punished with great severity by most, if not
all, the Mediterranean nations during the Middle Ages. If any person,
instead of aiding a ship in peril on a coast, endeavoured to plunder
her, and killed or wounded any one on board with a view to robbery, the
offenders were upon discovery hurled into the sea, and when taken out
half dead were stoned to death, “just as a wolf should be stoned to
death.”
[Sidenote: Branding.]
The brand was one of the most ignominious punishments which Venice
applied in the thirteenth century. By an enactment of 1232, any
seaman who had received advances on any part of his wages whatever by
anticipation, and did not fulfil his engagement, was enjoined forthwith
to reimburse twice the amount he had received, and was liable to be
flogged and branded on his forehead; while a law of the Hanseatic
League, renewed in 1418, 1447, and 1597, inflicted the punishment of
slitting the ears of any sailor who deserted the master of his ship in
time of danger.[718]
The penal statutes of the Christian countries of the Mediterranean
forbade, as already explained, any sale of arms or of ships to the
Saracens. Persons who violated this enactment were sometimes “hung by
the throat,” in the terms of the law of Jerusalem. The most lenient
punishment, the dispossession of everything the delinquent had in
the world and his exposure on the staircase of the tribunal to the
public execration,[719] allowed for selling a ship to the infidels,
and thereby “wronging the republics two-fold,” was by the statute of
Venice of 1232 adopted in principle, if not in all its details, by
other Christian countries. But in spite of these stringent laws the
Venetians, as already shown, if they did not sell ships or arms to the
Saracens, traded with them in other merchandise whenever it suited
their purpose. A similar humiliating exposure was inflicted on any
pilot or steersman, who, through negligence, had caused the ship under
his charge to be boarded, and thus to sustain serious damage or loss.
In this case, however, instead of being exposed upon the staircase
of the tribunal, the unfortunate offender was obliged, after the
confiscation of his property, to sit for six hours upon a cask in a
public thoroughfare, in the short dress worn by culprits, with his feet
naked, and holding in his hands a helm, amidst the laughter and scorn
of the populace.
FOOTNOTES:
[685] F. Steinitz, “The Ship: its origin and progress,” p. 101.
[686] Napier’s “Florentine History,” vol. iv. book ii. p. 36.
[687] “This,” remarks Captain Napier, “is probably a mistake in copying
the MS., or a typographical error, and is more likely to be three
thousand botti (to judge from her great dimensions), unless the ‘botti’
signified more in ship measurement than in the markets.”
[688] Vol. ii. p. 7.
[689] The original drawing is said to have been made at Genoa in 1542;
but M. Jal thinks it later, and that Charnock has misread 1542 for
1642—Arch. Nas. ii. p. 215.
[690] See Pardessus, vol. ii.
[691] For details of the war with Ancona about A.D. 1167, see Smedley,
“Sketches,” vol. i. p. 67, &c.
[692] Amalfi was taken by the Pisans A.D. 1137.—Sismondi, vol. i. p.
203.
[693] Pisa contributed the aid of its ships to the first and third
Crusades, but, like Genoa, declined to join in the fourth. (Gibbon, ch.
lx.) Its trade with Alexandria is mentioned as early as A.D. 823 by
Muratori, Ant. v.
[694] The sack of Pisa was no doubt in return for the aid they had
given to the Crusaders, from whom they had themselves derived great
advantages, with many privileges and charters from the princes of
Antioch and kings of Jerusalem. See original Charters ap. Muratori Ant.
v., and Stellæ Chronic. ibid.
[695] Brev. Hist. Pis. ap. Muratori V. vi. col. 186. In 1249 Pisan
sailors were in the fleet of Louis IX. at Damietta.—Matth. Paris, p.
793.
[696] 29 Hen. III. c. 6.
[697] The chief cities were in Lombardy, as Milan, Piacenza, Siena,
Lucca. Stow states that Lombard Street in London had acquired its name,
as the chief residence of these foreign merchants, so early as A.D.
1318.—Survey, p. 376.
[698] Matthew Paris, pp. 419-823, &c. It appears further that, in A.D.
1329, the whole of the customs of England were farmed to the great
commercial house of the Bardi at Florence, at a rate of twenty pounds
per diem (Rot. Pat. 4 Edw. III.); while the frequent notice of the
importation of horses into England from Lombardy (as well as Spain),
shows that there was a brisk trade between the two countries.—Rymer,
Fœd. V. iii. p. 124, &c.
[699] Napier’s “Florentine History,” vol. iii. p. 53.
[700] See full details of these exultations in Napier, vol. iii.
[701] A similar practice has been noticed in the case of Venice.
[702] The “Fiorino largo di Galea,” or “Broad Galley-piece,” was struck
of the exact size and weight of the Venetian ducat, A.D. 1422. See
Napier, “Flor. Hist.” iii. p. 56, and further details of the “Metallic
Currency of Florence,” vol. iv. p. 9. It may be added that the gold
coin—at first so unpopular in England—struck by Edward III. in A.D.
1344, is generally believed to have been made to facilitate trade with
Florence.—Cf. Rymer, Fœd. V. v. p. 403, &c.
[703] Roscoe’s “Life of Lorenzo,” vol. ii. p. 60.
[704] Fœd. V. xii. p. 389.
[705] Napier’s “Florentine History,” vol. iv. p. 16.
[706] Ibid. p. 26.
[707] Napier considers the “Fuste” to have been “a lighter species of
war-galley,” iv. p. 24. M. Jal gives elaborate details on the subject
of the names of mediæval ships, in which he differs very much from
writers who have gone before him. He, however, invariably gives the
authorities on whom he relies, which other writers have too frequently
omitted (see “Arch. Nav.” ii. p. 3, &c.).
[708] Napier’s “Flor. Hist.” iv. p. 29.
[709] As previously stated, it is not possible to reduce these sums
with accuracy to the modern English value. The asper seems to have
varied much in value, and is now superseded, as a money of account, by
the piastre.
[710] Napier’s “Florentine History,” vol. iv. p. 32.
[711] Liutprand, bishop of Cremona, gives the fullest account of the
trade of Amalfi in the tenth century (Muratori, “Script.” V. ii. p.
487; “Antiq.” v. ii. p. 884). The merchants of Amalfi built in A.D.
1020 two hospitals at Jerusalem, one dedicated to St. John, which gave
the title to the famous Knights Hospitallers, afterwards of Rhodes and
Malta (“W. of Tyre,” xviii. c. 4; Brencman, “De Republ. Amalf.” c. 8).
[712] The laws of Alençon and of La Roche inflicted the punishment of
cutting out the tongue of the sailor who offended for the second time.
Jal, “Arch. Nav.” ii. p. 109. The laws of Richard do not allude to this
habit.
[713] Chronic. Jocelyn. de Brakelond, p. 31-34.
[714] The punishment of death for swearing was enjoined by John of
Austria just before the battle of Lepanto in A.D. 1571; and similar
laws were promulgated by Colbert, the Czar Peter I., and others (Jal,
“Arch. Nav.” ibid.).
[715] Jal, “Arch. Nav.” ii. p. 107 _et seq._, who gives all the
punishments mentioned in the text, with reference to the authorities
for his statements.
[716] Cf. also Pardessus. v. p. 400.
[717] Keel-hauling seems to have been the common punishment for
swearing at Marseilles (see Stat. Mars. Lib. I. and Du Cange).
[718] The Hanseatic law also ordered the branding of the ears.
[719] Marino Faliero was thus exposed. This law would seem to have been
general, and not applicable to those only who sold their ships to the
infidels.
CHAPTER XVI.
Spain and Portugal—Importance of their commerce in ancient times,
and its decline during the Middle Ages—Trade with the coasts of
Africa—The maritime discoveries of the Portuguese—Expeditions
along the west coast of Africa by order of Prince Henry—Discovery
of Madeira, A.D. 1418—Capes Boyador and Blanco, A.D. 1441—Cape
Verde Islands, A.D. 1446, and Azores, A.D. 1449—Equator crossed,
A.D. 1471—John II. of Portugal—First attempt to reach India
by the Cape of Good Hope, A.D. 1487—Ancient dread of the
Atlantic—Christopher Columbus—His ideas of the form of the
earth, and love for maritime discovery—His visit to Lisbon, and
treatment by the Portuguese—His formal proposal in 1480 to the
crown of Portugal, which is referred to a learned junto who
ridicule his idea—He leaves Lisbon, A.D. 1484; and visits Spain,
A.D. 1485—His kind reception by the prior of the convent of La
Rabida—First interview with the sovereigns of Spain—Its result—The
ridicule he endured—Evidences of an inhabited country to the
West of Europe—Orders given by Ferdinand to provide Columbus
with the vessels and stores necessary for his voyage to the
West—Conditions signed 17th April, 1492—Vessels at last provided
for the expedition—Their size and character—Smallness of the
expedition—Its departure, 3rd August, 1492—Arrival at the Canary
Islands—Great fear and discontent among the crews—Matters become
serious—Contemplated mutiny—Land discovered 12th October, A.D.
1492—Columbus takes possession of the island of Guanahani in the
name of Spain—The first impressions of the natives on Columbus.
[Sidenote: Spain and Portugal.]
[Sidenote: Importance of their commerce in ancient times; and its
decline during the Middle Ages.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 711.]
[Sidenote: A.D. 1340.]
A brief outline has already been furnished of the maritime commerce
of Spain during the time of the Phœnicians and Carthaginians, and of
her trade with Britain, Western Africa, Asia Minor, and the shores of
the Mediterranean. Notice has also been taken of the course adopted by
the Romans to secure for themselves the commerce formerly in the hands
of the Carthaginians, and of the great value of the trade which Rome
ultimately carried on with Spain during the first four centuries of the
Christian era. We have also endeavoured to show that when the Vandals
wrested Spain from the Romans, the maritime trade of the Peninsula
was grievously neglected, and that it did not improve under the
semi-barbarous rule of the Visigoths. Three hundred years afterwards,
when the Saracens established themselves at Cordova, somewhat more
attention was paid to mercantile pursuits; but, throughout the whole
period of the Saracenic rule, the sea-borne commerce of Spain was
insignificant when compared with that of the leading Italian republics.
It is true that the invaders so long as they held Seville kept up some
commercial relations with the East; but the native population of the
country can hardly be said to have done anything worthy of note in
maritime matters, till the alliance by marriage of Ferdinand II. of
Aragon with Isabella of Castile brought nearly the whole Christian
dominion of Spain under one monarchy, and gave renewed life and energy
to its trade with other and distant nations.
[Sidenote: Trade with the coasts of Africa.]
From the commencement of the fourteenth century,[720] the trade
between the kingdom of Aragon and the coast of Africa had been slowly
but surely advancing, as, in spite of their religious differences,
the Christians of the West and the Muhammedans had throughout all
time mutually conceded to each other the same advantages in their
commercial conventions. Thus the Tunisians were allowed to trade as
freely at Barcelona as the Catalans did at Tunis, and the corsairs
of each country found safe refuge in the harbours of both nations.
International arrangements of an intimate character enabled the
ship-owners of Catalonia and Sardinia to enter into many profitable
joint adventures with those of Barbary and Marocco, especially in the
coral and other fisheries, and in the trade of corn, of which Spain
obtained, at a price fixed by treaty, large supplies from the coasts
of Africa.[721] By this time, too, Portugal had become alive to the
advantages to be derived from the discovery of other and distant lands.
[Sidenote: The maritime discoveries of the Portuguese.]
But though the travels of Marco Polo had more than a century before
shown to the nations of Europe the vast extent of the continent of
Asia, and had furnished the means of obtaining clearer ideas of its
unspeakable riches than had hitherto prevailed, the merchants of the
Mediterranean were too desirous of retaining in their own hands the
monopoly of the Indian trade to encourage expeditions which had for
their object merely the extension of geographical knowledge; the
merchants and seamen, who were the chief travellers, having been
induced to restrict their knowledge and experience to their own
classes. Indeed, such commerce as they advocated was essentially
practical, and adventurers who proposed novel channels of trade were
considered visionaries. It is, however, to an enlightened Portuguese
prince that the civilized world is indebted for first setting in motion
those expeditions of discovery, which, throughout the greater portion
of the fifteenth century, and especially towards its close, afforded so
much delight and astonishment to the nations of Europe.
[Sidenote: A.D. 1415.]
[Sidenote: Expeditions along the west coast of Africa, by order of
Prince Henry.]
Soon after the conquest of Ceuta by Dom John I., king of Portugal,
his fifth son Prince Henry, who had been appointed governor of the
conquered Moorish province, directed his attention to an exploration
of the western coast of Africa. Imbued with a spirit for maritime
discovery, this intelligent and accomplished prince was incessant in
his efforts to increase the geographical knowledge of the time. From
his boyhood he had made mathematics and navigation a continual study.
To facilitate his long-meditated voyages of discovery he had fixed his
abode in the kingdom of Algarve on the most elevated point of Cape St.
Vincent, a spot he considered more favourable than any other on the
coast of Spain for his astronomical observations, and where he founded
the town of Sagres.[722] The first expedition undertaken in 1417 with
two very indifferent vessels proved unsuccessful, having only proceeded
five degrees south from its point of departure, the currents at the
mouth of the Mediterranean being alleged as unsurmountable obstacles.
In the following year, however, João Gonçalvez Zarco, and Tristão
Vaz, two gentlemen of rank, annoyed at the difficulties which the
Portuguese mariners raised against any further progress southward, and
anxious to forward the views of their enlightened prince, volunteered
to double Cape Boyador, and to prosecute their voyage to the south. A
gale of wind drove them far away from the coast, and by this accident
they became acquainted with the position of the island of Madeira, of
which they took possession in the name of their sovereign. According
to a well-known tradition this island had, however, been previously
discovered by an Englishman named Machin, moreover had probably been
seen by Hanno or by some of the earlier Phœnician voyagers. Mr.
Major has quite recently shown[723] that there is good reason to
believe in the truth of the story of Machin. The merit, however, of
this important discovery is for all practical purposes due to the
Portuguese, who, thus encouraged, renewed their exertions and obtained
a grant from Martin V. of the dominion over all territories which
might thenceforward be discovered from Cape Boyador to the Indies;
but it was only in 1441 that Cape Blanco was reached. The discovery
of gold dust and the capture of some slaves still further stimulated
a spirit for adventure which had been originally roused by loftier
motives. Various Portuguese merchants of Lagos combined and equipped
six caravels, with which they sailed to the coast of Guinea. By them
the Cape Verde Islands were discovered in 1446; and another somewhat
similar expedition discovered the Azores in 1449. In 1471 the Equator
was first passed, and ten years afterwards the Portuguese founded a
fort and established a trading station on the coast of Guinea for the
purpose of maintaining a permanent commercial intercourse with the
natives.
[Sidenote: Discovery of Madeira, A.D. 1418.]
[Sidenote: Capes Boyador and Blanco, A.D. 1441.]
[Sidenote: Cape Verde Islands, A.D. 1446, and Azores, A.D. 1449.]
[Sidenote: Equator crossed, A.D. 1471.]
From this commercial alliance the Portuguese derived large profits,
while the crown received a considerable revenue from the ivory and gold
the natives offered in abundance in exchange for trinkets and baubles
of European manufacture. The greatest precautions were necessary to
preserve in their own hands the valuable trade they had discovered,
as other nations had indistinctly heard of the enormous profits the
Portuguese were deriving from their commercial intercourse with some
distant and hitherto unknown lands. They were, however, successful in
keeping this secret for a good many years.[724]
[Sidenote: John II. of Portugal.]
[Sidenote: First attempt to reach India by the Cape of Good Hope, A.D.
1487.]
The reign of Dom John II.[725] was likewise conspicuous for the still
wider extension of this spirit of maritime enterprise. Second only to
Prince Henry, this monarch displayed the greatest anxiety to foster
discoveries by sea. He had been taught to believe that, by coasting
along the African continent, a passage to the East Indies might be
discovered; and he not only equipped two small squadrons expressly
for this purpose, but despatched two of his subjects into India and
Abyssinia to find out the route to and between these vast regions, and
to ascertain what advantages the trade of his country might derive from
the knowledge thus acquired. These researches ultimately led to the
discovery of the Cape of Good Hope, in 1487, by Bartholomew Dias. The
rude winds and mountainous waves which assailed that now well-known
promontory led Dias to call it the Cape of Storms; but the king,
sanguine that beyond its rugged shores there would be found the rich
lands of India, gave it the name it now bears. Dias ventured only a
short distance beyond the promontory,[726] and ten years more elapsed
before it was doubled by Vasco de Gama, another still more celebrated
Portuguese navigator.
[Sidenote: Ancient dread of the Atlantic.]
While the Portuguese were striving to reach India by the eastern route,
another navigator, greater than any the world had hitherto produced,
was maturing his plans for endeavouring to reach that cherished land
by a voyage to the West. Hitherto the Atlantic Ocean had been regarded
with wonder and awe. It seemed to bound the then known world with an
impenetrable chaos, a chaos into which the most daring adventurers had
feared to penetrate. “No one,” says Edrisi, an Arabian writer, whose
countrymen for many ages had been the boldest of navigators, “has
been able to verify anything concerning it (the Atlantic Ocean), on
account of its difficult and perilous navigation, its great obscurity,
its profound depth, and frequent tempests; through fear of its mighty
fishes and its haughty winds; yet there are many islands in it, some
peopled, others uninhabited. There is no mariner who dares to enter
into its deep waters; or if any have done so, they have merely kept
along its coasts, fearful of departing from them. The waves of this
ocean, although they roll as high as mountains, yet maintain themselves
without breaking, for if they broke, it would be impossible for ship to
plough them.”[727]
[Sidenote: Christopher Columbus.]
One man was, however, at last found bold enough to brave the dangers
of the broad Atlantic and to force a passage across its troubled
waters. Only a few years before Vasco de Gama started on his voyage
of discovery in the East, a greater and better man had set sail to
the West, in the hopes of thus reaching the fabled land of “Cathay.”
Christopher Columbus, a Genoese, who had been trained from boyhood to
the sea, had long cherished the idea that if he could only penetrate
the mysterious waters of the Atlantic, he would find beyond them and
at less distance than was then supposed, the shores of India, whence
Europe had been so long supplied with its spices and numerous luxuries.
From the translations of the works of Ptolemy, Pliny, and Strabo,
then but recently made known, Columbus obtained all the knowledge the
ancients possessed of geography, a knowledge which, though happily
preserved, had lain buried amid the darkness and tumults of the Middle
Ages, and had been only brought again to light on the revival of
science and letters during the fifteenth century.
[Sidenote: His ideas of the form of the earth;]
Columbus had formed a crude idea of the extent of the waters which
covered the earth; and their presumed limited extent and the shortness
of the distance westward, as he supposed, between Spain and the Indies,
had, no doubt, exercised considerable influence over him in his
determination to fathom the mystery of the Atlantic Ocean.[728]
[Sidenote: and love for maritime discovery.]
[Sidenote: His visit to Lisbon, and treatment by the Portuguese.]
From his earliest youth he had evinced a strong inclination for the
study of geography as well as geometry and astronomy, of which he had
gained a superficial knowledge long before he resolved to push his
fortune from the ports of Spain. Trained to the sea at a period when
its followers were exposed to more than usual dangers by the piratical
habits then prevalent, he had become daring and adventurous, which,
combined with his love for geographical discoveries, rendered him
peculiarly well adapted for the exploration of unknown seas. Genoa, his
native city, was not then, however, in a position to aid his cherished
design, for this republic, once so powerful, had been languishing for
some time under the embarrassment of a foreign and a foolish war.
Falling slowly but surely from her once high estate, her spirit fell
with her fortunes, and she had not the inclination, even if she had had
the means, to enter upon extensive but doubtful adventures. Columbus
had, therefore, to seek aid in other lands. He repaired to Lisbon,
where many of his countrymen had settled; and there, in the full vigour
of his manhood, he took up his residence about the year 1470, and soon
afterwards married a daughter of Bartolomeo de Palestrello, who had
been one of the most distinguished navigators under Prince Henry of
Portugal and the colonizer and governor of Porto Santo.
By this marriage he obtained access to his father-in-law’s journals
and charts, while living with his widowed mother-in-law at Porto
Santo,[729] and these were treasures to Columbus. From these and other
sources he soon made himself conversant with the various distant sea
routes then known to the Portuguese, and learnt also their plans and
conceptions for other voyages still more distant, having been allowed
to sail occasionally with them in their expeditions to the coast of
Guinea. On shore he maintained himself and family by the construction
of maps and charts, an occupation which brought him into communication
with many men of learning and influence, and notably with Pedro
Correa, his wife’s brother-in-law and a famous navigator, and also
with Paulo Toscanelli of Florence, the most learned cosmographer of
the period.[730] The times, too, were favourable to his views. The
discoveries of the Cape Verde Islands and of the Azores, with the
explorations along the coasts of Africa, as far as the Cape of Good
Hope, had inflamed the imaginations of men with visions of other lands
of greater wealth and beauty yet to be discovered, and had again
revived the speculation of the ancients, the imaginary Atlantis of
Plato, and the great oceanic island which the Carthaginians were said
to have found. Columbus, therefore, applied himself with redoubled zeal
to the study of every writer on geography ancient or modern, being
himself firmly convinced that the earth was a sphere or globe, which
might be travelled round from east to west, and that men stood foot to
foot when on its opposite points.
Strabo had already expressed his opinion (following the judgments of
Homer and of Poseidonius) that an ocean surrounded the earth;[731]
and Marco Polo,[732] and perhaps also Sir John Maundeville, had in
the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries visited parts of Asia far
beyond the regions laid down by Ptolemy: from the narratives of
these travellers, Columbus judged that it would not be difficult to
sail from Spain to India on the same parallel, and that a voyage to
the West of no long duration would bring him to that far-famed but
mysterious land. The most eastern part of Asia known to the ancients,
he thought, could not be separated from the Azores by more than a third
of the circumference of the globe, the intervening space being in all
probability filled up by the unknown residue of Asia.[733]
“It is singular,” remarks Washington Irving in his interesting history
of the Life and Correspondence of Columbus,[734] “how much the success
of this great undertaking depended upon two happy errors, the
imaginary extent of Asia to the East, and the supposed smallness of the
earth, both errors of the most learned and profound philosophers, but
without which Columbus would hardly have ventured upon his enterprise.
As to the idea of finding land by sailing directly to the West, it is
at present so familiar to our minds, as in some measure to diminish the
merits of the first conception, and the hardihood of the first attempt;
but in those days, as has been well observed, the circumference of the
earth was yet unknown; no one could tell whether the ocean was not
of immense extent, impossible to be traversed; nor were the laws of
specific gravity, and of central gravitation, ascertained, by which,
granting the rotundity of the earth, the possibility of making the tour
of it would be manifest.”
Several years, however, elapsed before Columbus could make any progress
towards carrying into effect his favourite project. He was himself too
poor to render any pecuniary assistance towards the fitting out of the
requisite expedition; and the government of Portugal was then too much
engrossed in a war with Spain to engage the services of a foreigner in
any peaceful enterprise of an expensive nature. The public mind, also,
though elated by the discoveries which had already been made, was not
then prepared for so doubtful and perilous an undertaking, while the
sailors, who had rarely ventured far out of sight of land, considered
the project of a voyage directly westward into a boundless waste of
ocean as dangerous as it was extravagant and visionary. But when John
II., who had imbibed the passion for discovery from his grand-uncle,
Prince Henry, ascended the throne, a fresh impetus was given to voyages
of discovery. These, as we have seen, were prosecuted with increased
vigour to the south of the Equator and along the shores of Africa, and
soon afterwards preparations were made for extending these voyages
round the Cape of Good Hope, till at last India was reached by Vasco
de Gama, whose celebrated expedition we shall hereafter attempt to
describe.
[Sidenote: His formal proposal in 1480 to the crown of Portugal
is referred to a learned junto, who ridicule his idea.]
It was not, however, till 1480, when the successful application of
the astrolabe[735] to the purposes of navigation removed from the
contemplated expedition of Columbus much of its hazardous character,
that he formally proposed his great voyage of discovery to the crown
of Portugal. He had always felt it to be an enterprise only to be
undertaken in the service of some sovereign state which could assume
dominion over whatever territories he might discover, and which, with
the means of conquest and colonisation at its disposal, would be also
able to spread the Christian religion, a desire which seems to have
been at all times present in his meditations. In this year Columbus
obtained an audience with the king, and, being graciously received,
revealed his plans fully to the monarch. Though the king was at the
time discouraged from entering upon any new scheme of discovery, by
the cost and trouble already incurred in the as yet unsuccessful
exploration of the route along the African coast, he nevertheless gave
a favourable consideration to the scheme of Columbus, and referred it
to a learned junto, who were charged with all questions of maritime
enterprise. This scientific body, however, treated the project as
extravagant, an opinion confirmed by a council composed of the prelates
and persons of the greatest learning in the kingdom. But the junto,
though unwilling to accept the proposal of Columbus, were not slow to
profit by the information he had given to them; and while pretending
to afford him their best attention, despatched a vessel on their own
account to test some of his views. The whole plan failed; the mariners
after sailing for some days to the west of the Cape Verde Islands came
back in terror at the rough weather they had experienced, and the
seemingly vast extent of ocean to be sailed over; and Columbus, justly
indignant at the contemptible treatment he had received, at once took
his departure from such a court and country, to seek elsewhere a patron
surrounded by more honest counsellors.[736]
[Sidenote: He leaves Lisbon, A.D. 1484, and visits Spain, A.D. 1485.]
Broken-hearted, friendless, and almost penniless, he left Lisbon with
his son Diego, then a little boy, towards the close of 1484, and is
supposed to have retraced his steps to Genoa, and thence carried his
proposal to Venice. Receiving no encouragement at either of these
places, he found his way to Spain, in the winter of 1485, and there had
the good fortune to make friends at the ancient convent of La Rabida,
situated not far from the small seaport of Palos in Andalusia.
[Sidenote: His kind reception by the prior of the convent of La Rabida.]
At the gate of this convent the discoverer of a new world stopped to
ask a little bread and water for his famishing boy, and the prior, Juan
Perez de Marchena, happening to pass at the time, was struck with the
dignified, careworn, and poverty-stricken appearance of the stranger,
and, entering into conversation with him, soon ascertained the leading
incidents of his life, and the object of his visit to Spain. The prior
himself, a man of extensive information, who had already paid some
attention to geographical and nautical science, detained Columbus as
his guest, at the same time sending for a scientific friend, Garcia
Fernandez (to whom we are indebted for this account), to converse
with him; and, in the end, the prior’s first impressions were in some
measure confirmed by the ancient mariners of Palos, for they, too, had
heard of strange and rich lands beyond the setting sun. The earnest
manner of Columbus, and his extensive knowledge made, day by day, an
increasing impression on the prior and his friends, till at length in
the spring of 1485, when the Spanish court had reached the ancient city
of Cordova with the view of prosecuting the war against the Moorish
kingdom of Granada, Columbus, furnished with letters of introduction
from the worthy prior, determined to lay his grand scheme before
Ferdinand and Isabella.
[Sidenote: First interview with the sovereigns of Spain.]
[Sidenote: Its result.]
Nearly a year elapsed, however, before Columbus was enabled to obtain
an audience with the sovereigns, and even then his troubles were not
overcome. The king referred his project for consideration to a body
of “learned men,” who met in the Dominican convent of St. Stephen
in Salamanca; and although at this convent Columbus was hospitably
entertained during the course of the inquiry, his theory was received
with incredulity. Nor, indeed, was this surprising. An obscure mariner
and a member of no learned institution could hardly hope to convert at
once to his theory an erudite assembly, most of whom entertained the
impression that he was at the best a mere visionary. “Was it likely,”
exclaimed one of his learned examiners, in a burst of indignant
unbelief, “that there was a part of the world where the feet of the
people who inhabited it were opposite to ours; where they walk with
their heels upward, and their heads hanging down; where the trees grow
with their branches downward; where it rains, hails, and snows upward,
and where all things are topsy-turvy?” “Even ‘admitting’ the earth to
be spherical, it was only,” they said, “inhabitable in the northern
hemisphere, and in that section only was canopied by the heavens, the
opposite half being, in their opinion, a chaos, a gulph, or a mere
waste of water.” One of their objections was indeed amusing: “Should
a ship succeed in reaching,” they argued, “the extremity of India,
she could never get back again, for the rotundity of the globe would
present a kind of mountain, up which it would be impossible for her to
sail with the most favourable wind.”[737]
[Sidenote: The ridicule he endured.]
The sound reasoning, however, of Columbus made a deep impression on
the minds of some of the members of the conference (as especially on
Diego De Deza, afterwards Archbishop of Seville), and the seed thus
sown grew and in time prospered. In the meanwhile, however, he had
much to endure. The affairs of war hurried the court from place to
place, so that any question of less importance than the campaign was
disregarded. His plans, too, when known, were generally scoffed at and
ridiculed as the dreams of one of the wildest of schemers. The very
children of the towns were taught to regard him as a visionary madman,
and pointed to their foreheads as he passed them; though, amid the
sufferings hope long deferred creates, he was, on the whole, generously
treated by the court and his expenses paid while attending on it.
[Sidenote: Evidences of an inhabited country to the West of Europe.]
But while the learned scoffers at his theory had no valid answer to
give to arguments based on facts they could neither refute nor deny,
men of more enlightened views were open to conviction, and saw with
Columbus that as the gales from the West brought to Madeira trees
and canes of an unknown species, there must be some land, and that
too not very far distant, where these trees and canes had grown; and
further, that as other productions were found, evidently the work
of man, the unknown land must be the abode of human beings. Years,
however, elapsed before the sovereigns of Spain could be induced to
adopt means for solving the great problem of a new world in the West;
till, at length, Columbus, wearied with these continued delays, sent
his brother Bartholomew to England to endeavour to persuade Henry VII.
to afford him the means of carrying out his expedition of discovery.
Misfortunes befell Bartholomew on the way. The vessel in which he had
taken his passage having been boarded by pirates, who stripped him of
everything he possessed, he was compelled to live for a considerable
time after he arrived in London in poverty and obscurity, earning a
scanty existence by the construction and sale of sailing charts.[738]
When his circumstances were somewhat improved he obtained an audience
with Henry VII., and presented to his majesty a map of the world,
which bears the date of London, February 13, 1488.[739] He was well
received, and the English monarch appears to have expressed an interest
in the proposals of his brother Christopher, whom he invited to London.
But Columbus could not be induced to leave Spain, perhaps from the
still-cherished hope that he would at last succeed with Queen Isabella,
or from an attachment he had formed with a lady, with whom he had
become acquainted at Cordova.
In February, 1489, Ferdinand and Isabella received an embassy from
Henry VII., with whom they had formed an alliance. It does not,
however, appear that at that time Columbus was in possession of any
reply to the application he had made through his brother Bartholomew to
the English court. When the Spanish sovereigns returned to Cordova, in
May of that year, the proposals of Columbus received their attention,
and steps were at once taken to have the long-adjourned investigation
resumed.[740] But war and other matters again intervened, so that
it was not till the winter of 1491 that Columbus was enabled to
obtain another hearing of his case. This time he was successful.
Notwithstanding the unfavourable report of the learned junto of
Salamanca, an opinion favourable to his enterprise had gradually sprung
up at court, and the sovereigns of Spain were unwilling to close the
door upon a project which might prove highly advantageous to the
nation under their rule. Yet even then no definite orders were given
to provide the necessary means for the expedition, and Columbus had to
submit to another year’s delay.
[Sidenote: Orders given by Ferdinand to provide Columbus with the
vessels and stores necessary for his voyage to the West.]
At length, after ten years’ waste of time in Portugal, and seven
weary years of solicitations at the court of Spain, the conditions on
which the voyage of discovery was to be undertaken were drawn out and
executed. In virtue of these Columbus was nominated admiral, viceroy,
governor and judge of all islands and mainlands he might discover.
He was also constituted admiral of the ocean, with many of the
prerogatives enjoyed by the admiral of Castile; and these honours were
to pass to his heirs and successors for ever. He was further entitled
to reserve for himself one-tenth of all pearls, precious stones, gold,
silver, spices, and of every other article of merchandise, in whatever
manner found, bought, bartered, or gained within his admiralty, less
the cost of production. While he was allowed to contribute one-eighth
part of the expenses in fitting out these vessels, and of all vessels
which might hereafter engage in trade with any country he might
discover, he was also permitted to receive in return an eighth of their
profits.[741]
[Sidenote: Conditions signed April 17, 1492]
These conditions, liberal in themselves, but nothing more than the
Portuguese had granted to their discoverers, were signed by Ferdinand
and Isabella at the city of Santa Fé, in the plain of Granada, on
the 17th of April, 1492, and proclaimed throughout Spain, with the
announcement that Columbus and his heirs were authorized to prefix Don
to their names. Palos was fixed on as the place where the ships were
to be equipped and commissioned, the inhabitants of that place having,
for some reason, been condemned by the royal council to serve the
crown, for one year, with a certain number of armed caravels.
When the royal decree was issued, requiring the Andalusian shipowners
to provide three vessels ready for sea within ten days from the 30th
of April, and to sail in whatever direction Columbus might command,
they refused to furnish them for what they conceived to be a desperate
service; while the boldest of the Andalusian seamen shrunk from a wild
and chimerical cruise into the mysterious regions of an unknown and
stormy ocean; hence many weeks elapsed ere the royal commands could
be carried into effect, nor could the influence of the prior of La
Rabida induce the ship-owners and seamen of Palos to comply with the
decree of their sovereigns. It was only when absolute and threatening
mandates were issued on the 20th of June, ordering the magistrates of
the coast of Andalusia to press into the service any Spanish ships or
seamen they pleased, backed by the offer of Martin Alonzo Pinzon, a
rich and enterprising navigator, to take a large personal share in the
expedition, that the requisite vessels and crews were obtained. His
example, and that of his brother, likewise a navigator of great courage
and ability, and their combined determination to sail with Columbus,
induced many of their relations and friends to embark, so that the
equipment was completed within a month after they had resolved to risk
their lives and fortunes in the expedition.
[Sidenote: Vessels at last provided for the expedition.]
Three vessels were apparently all that Columbus had requested. Two
of them were light barques, called caravels, described, or rather,
from the drawings of the period, delineated as open and without deck
in the centre, rising to a considerable height at the bow and stern,
with forecastles and cabins for the accommodation of the crew. The
third vessel, according to the testimony of Peter Martyr, the learned
contemporary of Columbus, was decked throughout. The only reason
alleged for employing vessels without decks, or open in the waist, on
so hazardous a voyage, was, that from their smallness, Columbus might
be enabled to run close to the shore, and to enter shallow waters and
harbours, advantages which, he thought, overweighed the danger of an
ocean navigation, about which he was comparatively careless. More
likely they were really chosen because larger vessels could not readily
be obtained at Palos.
[Sidenote: Their size and character.]
But though the size and construction of her vessels were thus
accommodated to the short and easy voyages along the coast which they
were accustomed to perform, Spain possessed many larger. One hundred
and fifty years before the time of Columbus, mention is made in an
edict issued by Pedro IV. (1354) of Catalonian merchant ships of two
and three decks, and from 8,000 to 12,000 quintals burden.[742] Again,
in 1419, Alphonso of Aragon hired several merchant ships to transport
artillery and horses, &c., from Barcelona to Italy, two of which
carried one hundred and twenty horses each. Mention is also made of
a Venetian vessel of 700 tons arriving, in 1463, at Barcelona, from
England, laden with wheat, and of a Castilian ship which, in 1497,
conveyed to that port a cargo of 12,000 quintals burden. In fact, then
as now, all the great maritime nations possessed vessels of large
dimensions, although the smaller were comparatively far more numerous
than in modern times, being better adapted to the nature of the voyages
undertaken and the limited extent of maritime commerce.
If therefore Columbus set sail on his expedition with ships the largest
of which, as some writers have imagined, was only from 150 to 200 tons
burden, this must have been from choice, or for the reason just named;
it could not have arisen from ignorance on his part of the kind of
vessels best adapted for his purpose, or of the roughness of the sea
about to be explored, for he had made various voyages on the Atlantic,
had studied with care the logs of the Portuguese navigators in their
discoveries, and had himself visited Iceland,[743] and made a voyage to
the 73rd degree of north latitude, then a region of the ocean all but
unknown. But unfortunately history furnishes no definite account of the
vessels placed under his charge, and no authentic delineation of their
form. In the abridged edition[744] of Washington Irving’s interesting
work, there is, indeed, the representation of a Spanish galley from
the tomb of Fernando Columbus in the cathedral of Seville. But there
is no reason to suppose that this galley is an actual drawing of any
one of the three vessels in which Columbus made his ever memorable
voyage, though it probably represents the ordinary coasting vessel of
the period, or one of those occasionally employed in the trade between
Spain and the smaller Mediterranean ports.
In a small volume consisting only of ten leaves,[745] preserved in the
Grenville library, there are two drawings of vessels said to be copies
of the caravels of Columbus, but unfortunately no description whatever
is given of them; of these, one is given in the edition of Washington
Irving’s work just referred to,[746] with the statement that it is
“the sketch of a galley coasting the island of Hispaniola, from an
illustration contained in a letter written by Columbus to Don Gabriel
Sanchez, treasurer of the king of Spain;” and that “the original sketch
is supposed to have been made with a pen by Columbus.” But the sketch
does not represent the kind of vessel which an experienced navigator,
like Columbus, would have chosen for an Atlantic voyage, when he must
have had more suitable vessels at his disposal.
Though the word “caravel” was generally used to designate vessels of
a small size, in the Mediterranean it was occasionally given to the
largest class of ships of war among the Mussulmans. Thus, in a naval
classification made by King Alphonzo, in the middle of the thirteenth
century, large ships propelled only by sails are described as
Naos;[747] the second class, or smaller vessel, were known as Caraccas,
Fustas, Ballenares, Pinazas, and Carabelas; while boats of the smallest
size, with sails and oars, were called Galleys, Galliots, Tardantes,
and Sactias. To the latter class the vessel said to have been sketched
with a pen by Columbus, and inclosed in his letter[748] to Don Gabriel
Sanchez, evidently belongs. The following delineation from a picture
of the fifteenth century, in S. Giovanni e Paolo at Venice, fairly
represents the ordinary merchant vessel which might, at the time, have
been lying in the harbour of Palos; and her form, not unlike that of a
modern Dutch galliot, is well adapted to encounter in safety the large
rolling waves of the Atlantic.
[Illustration]
[Sidenote: Smallness of the expedition.]
It is surprising how inconsiderable was the equipment for so important
an expedition, but Columbus had evidently reduced his requisitions
to the narrowest limits, lest the expense should create further
impediments in the way of a voyage which had already caused him so
much anxious solicitude. Even until the last moment of his departure
he had numerous difficulties to overcome. The owners of one of the
smaller vessels impressed into the service showed throughout the
greatest repugnance to the voyage, and took an active part in creating
quarrels and contentions among the people employed in her equipment.
Caulkers performed their work in a careless and imperfect manner; the
stores were delayed, and when they arrived were either of the wrong
description, or improperly packed; the sails did not fit; the masts
were not properly rigged; and, in fact, everything had to be effected
by the most harsh and arbitrary measures, and in defiance of bitter
popular prejudice.
[Sidenote: Its departure, 3rd Aug., 1492.]
At length when seamen were found to supply the place of those who,
having enlisted willingly, had been persuaded by their friends to
desert, this ever memorable expedition took its departure on Friday,
the 3rd of August, 1492, Columbus hoisting his flag in the Santa Maria,
the largest vessel of the three; while the second, called the Pinta,
was commanded by Martin Alonzo Pinzon, accompanied by his brother,
Francisco Martin, as pilot; and the third, the Nina, by the third of
the brothers, Vicente Yañez Pinzon. There was besides an officer of
the crown, a notary, usually sent on government expeditions to keep an
official record of all transactions. A physician, Garcia Fernandez,
also accompanied the expedition, together with various private
adventurers, several servants, and ninety mariners, making in all one
hundred and twenty persons.
No pomp and display marked their departure. On the contrary, when
Columbus set sail, he and his crew were so impressed with the solemnity
of the occasion, that they confessed before their priests, as if they
had been doomed men, partook of the communion, and committed themselves
to the especial guidance and protection of heaven, while a deep gloom
spread over the whole community of Palos.
[Sidenote: Arrival at the Canary Islands.]
Columbus is supposed to have taken with him for his guidance a
conjectural chart prepared by Toscanelli of what he presumed to be the
position of the continent of which he was in search. On this map the
coasts of Europe and Africa, from the south of Ireland to the end of
Guinea; and opposite to them, on the other side of the Atlantic, the
supposed extremity of Asia, or, as it was termed, India, are believed
to have been delineated. Marco Polo had, as we have stated, placed
the island of Japan (Zipango) fifteen hundred miles distant from the
Asiatic coast; and Columbus had somehow advanced this island a thousand
leagues further to the East, supposing it to lie in nearly the same
position as Florida.[749] With this view he shaped his course from the
Canary Islands, where he had called for fresh supplies and remained for
three weeks, refitting the Pinta, which had lost her rudder and was
otherwise disabled.
From the Canaries, Columbus set sail early on the morning of the 6th
of September, bidding farewell to these frontier islands of the Old
World, and striking out into unknown seas to discover a New World which
seems destined to eclipse every other nation of ancient or of modern
times. For three days he lay becalmed, and it was not until Tuesday,
the 9th of September, that he lost sight of land. Then the hearts of
the sailors failed them; behind them lay everything dear to them on
earth; before them all was mystery, chaos, and peril.
[Sidenote: Great fear and discontent amongst the crews.]
The cheering hopes held out by Columbus, with the certainty of great
rewards when they reached the land of Cathay, where gold and precious
stones were said to be found in vast abundance, had no effect on these
disconsolate men, many of whom shed tears, while others broke into
loud lamentations, refusing to be comforted. Two days after, they had
lost sight of the Canaries, and when, about one hundred and fifty
leagues to the westward of Ferro, they fell in with the part of a mast,
covered with shells and seaweed, the fears of the trembling crew were
increased; till at length, when, on the 13th of September, Columbus,
for the first time, noticed that the variation of the needle increased
as he advanced to the westward, the great navigator himself became
really alarmed, though he did not make known his doubts and fears.
But the variation of the compass soon attracted the attention of the
pilots and filled them with consternation. The very laws of nature they
thought were changing as they proceeded westward. That instrument they
felt was about to lose its mysterious virtues, and without it they
would, on such a vast and trackless ocean, be lost for ever. Though
Columbus was able to give a plausible if not the correct reason for
the variation, it sufficed to satisfy the pilots and masters, who had
great confidence in his skill and genius, but the ordinary seamen
were not so easily pacified, and it was only when they reached the
favourable trade winds that their fears were somewhat allayed.
Day by day they became more resigned, and as the fine weather and fair
winds continued until they reached the course of the Gulf stream, their
spirits rose almost exultingly, under the impression that the numerous
weeds floating about betokened a near approach to the rich lands of
Cathay. Pilot and seamen alike vied with each other as to who should
catch the first sight of land; and though Columbus felt that they must
still be a great distance from the Florida of which he was in search,
he kept his own counsel. Frequently deceived by the dark clouds which
just before the rising or setting sun in these latitudes often exhibit
the appearance of distant land, the spirits of the seamen began again
to droop. They had advanced farther West than ever man had done before;
still they continued leaving home far away, and pressing onwards into
an apparently boundless abyss of ocean, through which they felt they
should never be able to retrace their course, till at last the fair
wind became in itself a source of the greatest alarm, from a notion
that it always blew from east to west, and that if they attempted to
return, they would never be able to reach the coast of Spain. At last
the seaweed, from being a source of joy and hope, became an object
of alarm. They considered these weeds as proof that the sea was
growing shallower, and then they talked of unseen rocks and shoals or
quicksands, on to which they might be drifted, and be for ever lost far
from any habitable land and beyond the reach of human aid. Then when
Columbus took soundings to appease their fears, and found no bottom
with a deep sea lead, the fact of no depth being found in water where
the surface was covered with weeds, which they supposed grew only on
shore or near land, increased their vague terrors and superstitious
fancies; everything differed, they said, in these strange regions from
the world to which they had been accustomed, and nothing but a return
to their fatherland would abate their terror and discontent.
[Sidenote: Matters become serious.]
[Sidenote: Contemplated mutiny.]
Matters now became very serious. In proportion as they approached
the regions where land should have been found, their impatience and
their fears increased. An open mutiny was feared, and plans were even
arranged that if Columbus should not meet their demands to return
to Spain, they should throw him overboard, and on their arrival at
home spread the report that he had fallen into the sea while engaged
in surveying the stars and signs of heaven with his astronomical
instruments. Though Columbus was not ignorant of these mutinous
intentions, he kept perfectly composed, but consulted seriously with
his pilots as to their position. In the midst of these consultations
they were aroused by a cheering shout from the Pinta of land to the
south-west. Every eye was stretched in that direction, and every voice
confirmed the sight of land. So impressed was Columbus with the fact,
that he threw himself on his knees, and devoutly thanked God for
guiding him in safety to the long-hoped-for shores. But alas, the
morning sun soon put an end to all their hopes. The Cathay of their
dreams was but another evening cloud.
The weather continued delightful; dolphins were now seen in great
numbers, and flying fish in every quarter; these for a time diverted
the attention, and amused the crew, but only for a time; loud murmurs
and menaces were again too frequently heard, until at last Columbus
and his crew were at open defiance and his situation became really
desperate. Matters could not remain much longer as they were; but
fortunately, ere a mutiny actually broke out, the vicinity to land
became so manifest as no longer to admit of doubt. Quantities of fresh
weeds, such as grow in rivers, made their appearance; a few green fish,
found only in the neighbourhood of rocks, were caught; then a branch of
thorn, with berries on it, floated past the ship; and at last a staff,
artificially carved, was picked up, which more than anything else
suggested their vicinity to some inhabited country.[750] The spirits of
the crew revived. Columbus felt certain that land must now be close at
hand. Appearances now authorized the precaution that they should not
sail after midnight. At sunset of the day on which he had issued this
precautionary order, the ships were running rapidly before a strong
easterly wind. When night approached, Columbus took his station on the
highest portion of the castle or poop of his own vessel; hardly an
eye in either vessel closed that night. About ten o’clock he thought
he saw a light glimmering in the distance, but it soon disappeared.
Again it appeared in a sudden and passing gleam. Others saw it as well
as himself; it looked like the torch of some fishing boat, rising and
falling with the roll of the ocean. Steadily they proceeded on their
course till midnight. Soon afterwards the loom of land could be faintly
traced. With feelings of the most intense anxiety they waited for the
dawn. As the first rays of the morning light broke slowly through the
clouds and haze which hung. about the horizon, the land became clearly
visible. The life-inspiring cry of “Land” now rang from ship to ship,
till at last there was no deception: the land lay not more than two
leagues distant. On the morning of Friday, 12th of October, 1492,
the great navigator first beheld one of the many islands which lie
contiguous to a new and now mighty world.
[Sidenote: Land discovered, 12th Oct. 1492.]
The land thus discovered proved to be Guanahani, one of the
south-eastern of the great cluster of the Lucayos or Bahama
Islands,[751] which stretch south-east and north-west from the coast of
Florida to Hispaniola, covering the northern coast of Cuba. There are
few islands more naturally rich or beautiful. The verdure everywhere
is green and luxuriant, and the whole island from the sea looks like
a highly cultivated garden. Well might every one on board of the
expedition feel grateful to Columbus. After all their trials and
dangers, they had at last reached, they thought, the fabled land of
Cathay. We well know how pleasing are our sensations when we again
see green fields and luxuriant trees after a long sea voyage, and
therefore we can conceive the exquisite sense of enjoyment and delight
of Columbus and his crew, when they cast anchor in the roadstead and
surveyed the island they had, at length, reached. It was thickly
inhabited. The natives knew not what to make of the strangers who
had come among them, richly attired, while they were in a state of
perfect nudity. From their attitudes and gestures, as they timidly
issued from the woods, and approached the shore, they were apparently
lost in wonder. The ships they had intently watched from the earliest
dawn of day were supposed to be huge monsters of the sea and their
crews supernatural beings. When the boats landed, they fled in great
trepidation; but by means of friendly signs, and other tokens of
goodwill, a few of the boldest of them were induced to draw near
Columbus and his captains when he unfurled the standard of Spain, and
took formal and solemn possession of the island in the name of the
Castilian sovereigns.
[Sidenote: Columbus takes possession of the island of Guanahani, in the
name of Spain.]
Columbus, from his commanding height, authoritative manner, and
splendid dress, attracted more especially the admiration of the
natives, who frequently prostrated themselves on the earth before
him with signs of adoration. Nor were his men who, only a few days
before, had concocted schemes for massacring him, less subservient.
They thronged around him before he left the ship in their overflowing
zeal, some embracing him, others kissing his hands. Abject spirits,
who had outraged him by their insolence, now crouched at his feet;
and those who had been the most mutinous during the voyage were now
as humble and as ready to lick the dust from his feet as the most
terrified of the natives. The natives soon recovered from their terror,
as no attempt was made to pursue or molest them. Extremely artless and
simple in themselves, the slightest acts of kindness were received with
gratitude, and the toys and trinkets presented for their acceptance
were accepted as gifts from heaven. Beyond cotton yarn, which they
possessed in abundance, and parrots, which were domesticated in great
numbers among them, they had little or nothing to give in return. Their
boats consisted entirely of canoes, formed and hollowed, like those of
the earliest on record, from a single tree, and capable of carrying
from one to fifty persons. Columbus mentions that he saw one which
could have contained one hundred and fifty persons, yet made from the
trunk of a single tree.[752]
[Sidenote: The first impressions of the natives on Columbus.]
The state in which Columbus found the natives is nowhere so well
described as in his own language. Writing to the treasurer of
Ferdinand and Isabella an account of his first voyage[753]—“As soon,”
says he, “as they saw our near approach, they would flee with such
precipitation, that a father would not even stop to protect his son;
and this not because any harm had been done to any of them, for, from
the first, wherever I went and got speech with them, I gave them of
all that I had, such as cloth, and many other things, without receiving
anything in return; but they are, as I have described, incurably timid.
It is true that when they are reassured, and have thrown off this
fear, they are guileless, and so liberal of all they have, that no one
would believe it who had not seen it. They never refuse anything that
they possess when it is asked of them; on the contrary, they offer it
themselves, and they exhibit so much loving-kindness that they would
even give their hearts; and, whether it be something of value or of
little worth that is offered to them, they are satisfied.
“I forbade that worthless things, such as pieces of broken glass, and
ends of straps, should be given to them; although, when they succeeded
in obtaining them, they thought they possessed the finest jewel in the
world.... They took even bits of the broken hoops of the wine barrels,
and gave, like fools, all that they possessed in exchange, insomuch
that I thought it was wrong, and forbade it. I gave away a thousand
good and pretty articles which I had brought with me, in order to win
their affections, and that they might be led to become Christians and
be well inclined to love and serve their Highnesses and the whole
Spanish nation, and that they might aid us by giving us things of which
we stand in need, and which they possess in abundance.
“They are not acquainted with any form of worship, and are not
idolaters, but believe that all power and, indeed, all good things,
are in heaven; and they are firmly convinced that I, with my vessels
and crews, came from heaven, and with this belief received me at every
place at which I touched, after they had overcome their apprehension.
And this does not spring from ignorance, for they are very intelligent,
and navigate all these seas, and relate everything to us, so that it is
astonishing what a good account they are able to give of everything;
but they have never seen men with clothes on, nor vessels like ours.”
Such was the character of the natives whom Columbus found in the
islands of the numerous Archipelago off the south coast of Cuba, and
in those of St. Catharine and Hispaniola, all of which he visited in
his first great voyage of discovery, and claimed as the property of
his sovereigns. In these formal proclamations and in the erection of
the fort, which was afterwards raised on the island of Hispaniola, the
innocent natives took an active part, rendering every assistance in
their power, little dreaming that these acts were the forerunners of
bondage, and of that horrible system of slavery which so long prevailed
in those islands, and still contaminates the soil of the largest of
them all, the only one that now remains in the possession of the crown
of Spain.
FOOTNOTES:
[720] Barcelona, in 1068, led the way by the creation of an
_al-fondech_ (Latin, fundicus), or exchange (Capmany v. i. 26). This
was greatly aided by the privileges given to it by James, king of
Aragon, in 1265, by Pedro III. in 1283, by Peter IV. in 1343, and by
many protections from English sovereigns, such as Edward III. in 1353
(Rymer, “Fœd.” V. v. p. 762).
[721] The original archives of Barcelona give many details of its large
ships about the year 1331 (Capmany V. i. p. 46). In one instance,
thirteen citizens built a “cog” of three decks, called the San
Clemento, which captured several Genoese and Pisan vessels.
[722] See full details of these subjects very carefully worked out in
an admirable “Life of Prince Henry the Navigator,” by R. H. Major,
F.S.A., M.R.S.L., and Keeper of the Department of Maps, British Museum.
Lond. 1868.
[723] Life of Prince Henry, p. 72.
[724] The famous motto of Prince Henry, which his life illustrated so
fully, was “Talent de bien faire.” It is carved on his tomb at Batalha,
of which Mr. Major gives a good engraving, p. 305.
[725] Major, pp. 322-391.
[726] Dias reached a river beyond Algoa Bay, now known as the great
Fish River (Major, p. 345). He discovered the Cape on his return voyage.
[727] Condé, “Historia de la dominación de los Arabes en España, 8vo.
Paris, 1840.”
[728] “Select Letters of Columbus,” edited, with a careful
Introduction, by E. H. Major, Esq., F.S.A., for the Hakluyt Society,
2nd ed. 1870 and “Life of Columbus,” by Washington Irving. Lond. 12mo.
1830.
[729] Columbus also resided some time at Funchal in Madeira, where his
house was still shown (in 1846).
[730] His correspondence with Toscanelli was in 1474 (Major, p. 350).
[731] Strabo, i. c. 3-5; ii. c. 5.
[732] The celebrated travels of Marco Polo have been recently edited
by Colonel Yule, C.B., an accomplished Oriental scholar, who has
shown much ability in arranging the mass of new material for their
illustration which has been discovered during the fifty years since
Marsden’s edition. Colonel Yule completely confirms the general
truthfulness of Polo’s narrative, and shows that the occasional
credulity of the traveller (like that of Herodotus) is mainly due to
the period in which he journeyed. The date of Marco Polo’s absence
from Venice is from 1271 to 1295 (Yule, Book of Ser Marco Polo, the
Venetian, 2 vols. 8vo. 1871).
[733] It seems probable that Columbus was more influenced by what he
heard from Toscanelli of the discoveries of Marco Polo than by anything
else. Martin Behaim, in 1492, constructed a map in which Zipango
(supposed to be Japan) is placed according to Polo’s description, and
it is believed that Columbus had a similar map with him on his first
voyage. A copy of this map, which was nearly, if not quite, the same as
Toscanelli’s, is given in W. Irving, p. 16 (Murray).
[734] W. Irving, p. 60.
[735] This instrument was certainly used by Vasco de Gama in 1497
(Major, p. 393). It was invented by Behaim about the year 1480, with
the aid of two physicians, Roderigo and Josef (Major, “Select Letters
of Columbus,” Introd. p. lvi.).
[736] W. Irving, p. 24.
[737] W. Irving, vol. i. p. 125, where it appears that these learned
men relied chiefly on the authority of the Fathers, Lactantius and St.
Augustine, holding that the views of Columbus were in opposition to
Holy Scripture.
[738] D. G. Spotomo, “Memoir of Columbus,” p. 243.
[739] Ibid. p. 44.
[740] Historia del Almirante, i. cap. 12. Washington Irving, vol. i. p.
137.
[741] Memoir of Columbus, p. 49. W. Irving, vol. i. p. 170.
[742] Capmany, vol. v. p. 58.
[743] It is now certain that Columbus heard in Iceland traditions of
the voyages of Icelanders to “Vinland” (Virginia and Carolina) between
the 10th and the 13th centuries.—Rafn. Antiq. American. Copenhagen,
fol. 1837.
[744] Murray: London, 1830. See frontispiece.
[745] Mr. Major (“Select Letters of Columbus”) has mentioned all the
known copies of this very rare tract.—Introd. p. cviii.
[746] W. Irving (Murray). Ibid. p. lxxxvii.
[747] Columbus calls his own ship the Christopher Nao; and M. Jal,
who has at great length discussed the size of Columbus’s ships on
his voyage, states that Nao was the usual title of an admiral’s
vessel.—Arch. Nav. ii. p. 249.
[748] The letter is entitled “De Insulis inventis. Epistola Cristoferi
Colom ... ad Magnificum dñm Raphaelem Sanxis ... 3 Kal. Maii, 1493,”
(Grenville Collect. No. 6663).
[749] Irving, p. 60.
[750] Many of the documents published by Navarette, are preserved in
the great collection at Simancas, from which Mr. Froude has drawn so
large a portion of the documents for his history.—Journal of Columbus,
Navarette Collection, book i. p. 19.
[751] Mr. Major, in an able article in the Journ. of the Roy. Geograph.
Soc. for 1871, entitled “The Landfall of Columbus,” has examined the
whole question as to the island on which he first landed on October
12, 1492, and has shown that Humboldt, Washington Irving, and himself
(in his edition for the Hakluyt Society of the “Select Letters of
Columbus”) have been in error, and that the island called by the
Indians Guanahani is unquestionably that now called “Watling Island.”
[752] Journal of Columbus, Navarrete Coll.
[753] Major, “Select Letters of Columbus,” p. 7.
CHAPTER XVII.
The state of the West India Islands when discovered—Wreck of one
of the vessels of the expedition—A colony established—Columbus
sets sail for Spain, 4th January, 1493—Arrives at St. Mary’s,
18th February, and in the Tagus a few days afterwards—Re-enters,
with his ship, the harbour of Palos, 15th March—Great
rejoicings—He proceeds to Seville and Barcelona—Orders for a fresh
expedition—Its extent, and departure, 25th Sept., 1493—Reaches
Dominica, 2nd Nov., 1493, and Santa Cruz, 14th Nov.—Arrives
at Hayti, 22nd Nov.—Founds a fresh colony at Hispaniola or
Hayti—Sufferings of the colonists, and disappointment of
Columbus—His sanguine expectations for the future—Threatened
mutiny among the colonists—Columbus proceeds on further
explorations—Discovery of the island of Jamaica—Surveys Cuba, and
returns to Isabella—Arrival of Bartholomew Columbus—Intrigues
at home—Commission of inquiry despatched to Hayti—Columbus
sets sail for Europe, 10th March, 1496—Arrives at Cadiz, 11th
June, 1496—Re-visits the West, May, 1498—Reaches Trinidad, 31st
July—Discovers Tobago, Granada, and other islands, reaching
Hispaniola, 19th August—Finds everything in disorder—Makes a
tour of inspection, but is arrested, and sent a prisoner to
Spain—Arrives at Cadiz, Nov. 1500, and is restored to the royal
favour—A fleet sails for the colony with Ovando, Feb. 1502, and
two months afterwards (9th May) Columbus follows, and reaches
St. Domingo, 29th June—Discovers the island of Guanaga 30th
July—Trading canoe—Her cargo—Prosecutes his researches to the
South—Reaches Cape Honduras—Discovers and explores the Mosquito
coast—Puerto Bello—Forms a settlement on the river Belem, 6th
Feb., 1503—Anchors at Jamaica, June 1503, and Dominica, 13th
August of that year—Sails for Spain, 12th September, which he
reaches 7th Nov., 1504—His sufferings and death, 20th May, 1506.
[Sidenote: The state of the West India Islands when discovered.]
Philosophers and philanthropists may ask with some show of reason when
they read the history of the West Indies during the last three hundred
years, and compare the state of its inhabitants with that in which
Columbus found them, if civilization has in all cases increased the
happiness of the human race. “Their habitations,” remarks Washington
Irving, referring to the aborigines, “were very simple, being in the
form of a pavilion, or high circular tent, constructed of branches of
trees, of reeds, and palm. They were kept very clean and neat, and
sheltered under beautiful and spreading trees. For beds they had nets
of cotton extended from two parts, which they called _hamacs_, a name
since adopted into universal use among seamen.”[754] Their groves were
more beautiful than ever Columbus had anywhere else beheld; and the
whole country, according to his description of it, was as fresh and
green as the richest and most verdant valleys of Andalusia during the
month of May, when the peninsula is adorned in its gayest colours.
Amply supplied with springs and streams of cool and sweet water,
and fruits of the richest description; with abundance of herbs of
various kind; with animal food reared on the land where they lived,
and abundant fish in the seas with which they were surrounded, what
more could the original inhabitants of the West India Islands desire?
“Here,” says Columbus in his journal, “are large lakes, with groves
about them marvellous in beauty and in richness. The singing of the
birds is such, that it seems as if one would never desire to depart
hence. There are flocks of parrots which obscure the sun, and other
birds large and small, of so many kinds, and so different from ours,
that it is wonderful; and besides, there are trees of a thousand
species, each having its particular fruit, and all of marvellous
flavour.” These pictures may have been in some respects over-coloured
by Columbus and his crew, after their arduous and weary voyage: but
contemporary writers confirm the original beauty of the West India
Islands; nor are there to this day many islands which look more
beautiful from the sea than those which were first made known to the
world by Christopher Columbus.[755] But even if the descriptions of the
happiness of the natives is in some respects overdrawn, their position,
under the patriarchal rule of their native _caciques_, with few wants
and little of fear or care, compares favourably with the state of these
islands at any period since they came under the rule of the highly
civilized nations of Europe. Nor were these poor people, though living
in a state of nature, without some of the consolations of religion.
“They confess,” remarks Peter Martyr, “the soul to be immortal, and
having put off the bodily clothing, they imagine it goeth forth to the
woods and the mountains, and that it liveth there perpetually in caves.”
Throughout the whole time Columbus was engaged in discovering and
surveying these islands, he was under the conviction—a conviction which
he carried to his grave—that they formed part of Asia, or rather of
India, the name by which the greater part of that continent was then
known, and that they were the islands spoken of by Marco Polo, as
lying opposite Cathay in the Chinese Sea. Indeed, the great navigator
construed everything he saw in harmony with the accounts of those
opulent regions. When the natives spoke of enemies to the north-west,
he concluded these to be people from the mainland of Asia, the subjects
of the great Khan of Tatary, who, the Venetian traveller stated, were
wont to make war on the islands and to enslave their inhabitants. When
they described the country to the south as abounding in gold, he felt
convinced that this must refer to the famous island of Zipango, of
the magnificent capital of which Marco Polo had given such a glowing
description. The fine gold trinkets the natives possessed confirmed
their reports and his own impressions, whetted the avarice of the
Spaniards, and made a search for the great Khan and his golden islands
the chief results of his expedition.
Indeed the main purpose of Columbus, like that of Vasco de Gama—though
the former was a man of far loftier character than the latter—was to
find an opulent and civilized country in the East, with whom he might
establish commercial relations, carrying home gold, spices, drugs, and
Oriental merchandise. He hoped, too, that he would thus have the means
of establishing the Christian religion in heathen lands, and from the
profits of the undertaking to rescue the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem
from the power of the Infidels. Such an enterprise had been the dream
of his early manhood; nor indeed was it forgotten when his own earthly
pilgrimage came to a close, for by his will he directs his son to
appropriate certain sums of money to that sacred cause.
[Sidenote: Wreck of one of the vessels of the expedition.]
While cruising among the islands, Columbus had the misfortune to lose
one of the three vessels of his expedition. She was swept during a
calm by the strong current and through the carelessness of the crew on
a sandbank, where she became a total wreck. Fortunately the weather
continued calm, so that the lives of the crew, as well as everything
on board, were saved. All the stores, with the assistance of the
natives, were carefully stowed away in huts on shore. Nor was there the
slightest disposition on their part to take the smallest advantage of
the strangers who had come among them. Not one article was pilfered;
not a “hawk’s bell,” nor a bead—to them objects of envy and delight—was
taken away; nor were the most trifling articles appropriated while
removing them in their canoes from the wreck to the shore. “So loving,
so tractable, so peaceable are these people,” says Columbus in his
journal, “that I swear to your Majesties, there is not in the world
a better nation, nor a better land. They love their neighbours as
themselves.”[756] What an example the uncivilized savage here presents
to the civilization of our own age, of which we so often make such
vaunted boasts!
[Sidenote: A colony established.]
As most of the shipwrecked crew, besides some other persons belonging
to the expedition, expressed a desire to be left behind, and as the
two vessels would have been overcrowded with the three crews, their
wishes suggested to Columbus the idea of constituting them the germ of
a future colony. The wreck of the caravel provided abundant material
for the fortress he had resolved to build. Her guns and ammunition were
ready for its protection; and with his crews so reduced in number, he
could spare provisions for the year, by the end of which he hoped to
return. Having completed his arrangements, Columbus and the remaining
caravels set sail for home on the 4th of January, 1493.
[Sidenote: Columbus sets sail for Spain 4th Jan., 1493.]
[Sidenote: Arrives at St. Mary’s 18th Feb., and in the Tagus a few days
afterwards.]
After suffering severely from a storm, and a long and wearisome
struggle with the trade-winds, the nature and character of which was
then unknown, Columbus reached the island of St. Mary’s on the 18th of
February following, where he was detained for two or three days,[757]
and was afterwards obliged, through stress of weather and scarcity of
provisions, to put into the Tagus.
When the tidings reached Lisbon that a Spanish barque lay anchored
in the Tagus, freighted with the people and productions of a newly
discovered world, the effect was electrical. For nearly a century
that city had derived its chief glory from its maritime discoveries;
but here was an achievement which eclipsed them all. The ship of a
neighbouring and friendly, though rival, nation had, by sailing to
the West, discovered the fabled land of Cathay, and had come from
Zipango (Japan), and the extremity of India, laden with its treasures.
Curiosity and envy combined could hardly have been more excited and
aroused had Columbus brought with him the produce of another planet.
For several days the once active but now lifeless though still
beautiful Tagus was covered with boats and barges of every kind, all
winding their way to the caravel. Visitors of every kind, from officers
of the crown and cavaliers of high distinction down to the humblest
of the people, thronged around the ship, eager to go on board and to
see the strange human beings, plants, and animals from the new-found
world, and to learn from the crew, if not from Columbus himself, the
events of this remarkable voyage. Messengers came from King John with
professions of congratulation on the great discovery, and an invitation
to the palace, which Columbus accepted with reluctance, and only
because the weather continued so stormy that he was unable to leave
with his vessel for Spain. The king and the principal cavaliers of his
household received him with much courtesy and pomp, though with jealous
envy of his success and with many expressions of distrust and doubt.
[Sidenote: Columbus re-enters, with his ship, the harbour of Palos 15th
March.]
Having satisfied the curiosity of the Portuguese court and people,
Columbus set sail from the Tagus on the 13th of March, and two days
afterwards entered the small harbour of Palos, having been seven months
and a half absent on the most important maritime expedition recorded in
history. Palos that day was the scene of extraordinary excitement and
rejoicings, not unmingled, however, with doubts. Almost every family
in the place had some relative or friend among the navigators. Great
anxiety prevailed as to the safety of the crew of the wrecked caravel,
who had remained to form the settlement at Hispaniola; and of the
Pinta, which had been separated from Columbus in a storm the expedition
had encountered before it reached St. Mary’s. But the fears for the
safety of the Pinta were soon removed. In the afternoon of the same day
on which Columbus arrived, and while the church and convent bells were
still pealing forth a welcome to the great discoverer, Martin Alonzo
Pinzon entered the river with his ship.
[Sidenote: Great rejoicings.]
Slavish, indeed, was the welcome offered by the people to the great
navigator, whose plans they had so recently rejected as mischievous and
idle dreams. The whole population joined him at their principal church
in offering thanks to God for a discovery, in the way of which they had
themselves thrown innumerable difficulties. Wherever Columbus passed,
the streets resounded with acclamations; and in that same place where
he first came, a poor wanderer, craving water and bread at the gate of
their convent for his famishing child, and where afterwards he had been
hooted and despised, he was welcomed with honours rarely rendered to
even monarchy itself.
[Sidenote: He proceeds to Seville and Barcelona.]
Columbus, having despatched a letter to the king and queen, then at
Barcelona, proceeded to Seville to await their orders, taking with him
six of the natives whom he had brought to Spain. The letter announcing
his discovery had produced an extraordinary sensation, not merely
at the Spanish court, but in every part of Europe whither the news
had spread. To Spain, then approaching the plenitude of her power,
this discovery, following so closely on the conquest of Granada, was
considered to be a special mark of Divine favour to the nation which
had subdued the Moors and extended the Christian faith. Throughout the
whole country it was hailed with the most enthusiastic delight, and
the journey of Columbus from Seville to Barcelona was one continued
triumph. Every preparation had been made at the latter city to give
him a solemn and magnificent reception. Surrounded by a brilliant
cavalcade of courtiers and Spanish chivalry, and followed by a long
retinue, of which the Indians formed a part, Columbus marched in
procession through streets crowded with people, and lined by houses
gaily decorated, to the chief square of the city, where the sovereigns,
under a rich canopy, awaited his arrival. The principal nobility of
Castile, Valentia, Catalonia, and Aragon, were there with Ferdinand
and Isabella, impatient to behold and welcome the great discoverer,
whose majestic and venerable appearance enhanced their admiration and
enthusiasm. When he approached, the sovereigns rose as if receiving
a person of the highest rank. Briefly delivering an account of his
voyage, Columbus displayed the strange Indians, animals, and plants,
with a few specimens of native gold, and some barbaric ornaments he had
brought from the new found country; and prayers were then offered by
the whole of that brilliant assembly, in which the king and queen on
their knees solemnly joined.
[Sidenote: Orders for a fresh expedition.]
A discovery so great and astounding soon spread far and wide, and
embassies and travelling merchants diffused the tidings in every land.
Sebastian Cabot describes the first receipt of the news in London,
and the talk and admiration created in the court of Henry VII., as
if it was “a thing more divine than human.”[758] Indeed, the whole
civilized world, filled with wonder and delight, rejoiced in an event
which opened out a new and unbounded field for inquiry and enterprise,
although no one had an idea of the real importance of the discovery,
nor that it was an entirely new and distinct portion of the globe
which had been discovered. Nor, indeed, was any time lost in securing
to the crown of Spain these valuable acquisitions. Arrangements
were at once made to fit out a fleet on an extensive scale, and the
royal injunctions, though highly arbitrary, were now obeyed with
the utmost alacrity. A fleet of seventeen vessels, large and small,
were soon ready. The best pilots were chosen for the service, while
skilled husbandmen, miners, and other mechanics, were engaged for the
colonies it was intended to found. Horses for military purposes and
for stocking the country, together with cattle and domestic animals
of various kinds, were likewise provided, as well as seeds of almost
every description, and plants, including vines and sugar canes; nor
was there wanting an abundant supply of trinkets, beads, hawks’-bells,
looking-glasses, and other showy trifles, to induce traffic among the
natives. The most exaggerated accounts spread of the fabulous wealth of
the territories, and adventurers of every kind, from the highest to the
very lowest, were equally eager to join in the expedition. Some were
doubtless inflamed with the mere hope and lust of wealth, while others
less selfish in their motives pictured to themselves a wide field for
the display of their military genius and skill, in what did not seem
impossible to them, the actual conquest of the grand Khan and the
capture of the fabled land of Cathay.
[Sidenote: Its extent, and departure, 25th Sept., 1493.]
The number of persons permitted to embark in the expedition had
been originally limited to one thousand, but the applications from
volunteers were so numerous that fifteen hundred persons were
eventually enrolled; and early on the morning of the 25th of September,
1493, they sailed from the bay of Cadiz in three large vessels and
fourteen caravels. No accounts of the size of any of these vessels
have been transmitted to posterity except the brief statement made in
a note by Washington Irving,[759] from the writings of Peter Martyr,
who says that they “were carracks (a large species of merchant vessel,
principally used in the coasting trade), of 100 tons.” But the carracks
of the commercial marine of the Venetians and Genoese of those days
were of very considerable dimensions, in some few instances from 1500
to 2000 tons, and were employed on the most distant voyages then known.
Of one of these, Charnock,[760] as we have seen, has given a drawing;
she is a full-rigged ship, well equipped, and evidently not less than
1500 tons register, taken from a painting at Genoa, dated 1542, so that
it may be fairly presumed that in his second voyage the largest of the
vessels of Columbus was far beyond 100 tons. Considering that he had
with him fifteen hundred persons, some of them members of the best
families of Spain, with large quantities of stores and merchandise, it
may be safely assumed that the “three large vessels” were carracks of
from 400 to 600 tons; while the fourteen caravels may have been craft
ranging from 250 down to 70 tons, as Columbus on more than one occasion
had urged the necessity of having small vessels, of light draft of
water, adapted for the survey of the coasts, or for river navigation.
[Sidenote: Reaches Dominica, 2nd Nov., 1493, and Santa Cruz, 14th Nov.]
The incidents of this voyage have been pleasantly related by one Dr.
Chanca, who was physician to the fleet, in a letter addressed by him
to the chapter of Seville.[761] Starting with a fair wind and fine
weather, Columbus, in six days, reached the great Canary Island, where
he anchored, and remained for a day to repair a leaky vessel of his
flotilla, after which they set sail for Gomera, which they were “four
or five days” in reaching, and thence, after another day’s rest, during
which they took in a fresh supply of wood, beef, and other provisions
and replenished their stock of water, they reached in twenty days the
island of Ferro; thence with a fair wind, and fine weather, they were
another twenty days in sighting land, which “should have been done in
fourteen or fifteen days, if the ship _Capitana_ had been as good a
sailer as the other vessels.” This land, which they made on the evening
of Saturday, the 2nd of November, proved to be a lofty island, to which
Columbus gave the name of Dominica, and “offered fervent prayers to
heaven” for their prosperous voyage. The island appeared to be wholly
uninhabited.
Proceeding to the island of Guadeloupe, they visited a village near the
shore; but the inhabitants at their approach fled in great trepidation,
leaving some of their children, around whose necks and arms the
Spaniards placed hawks’-bells, and other trinkets, soothing them at the
same time with their caresses, as the most sure means of winning the
confidence of their parents. Here provisions were found in abundance,
besides parrots of the most variegated plumage, as large as household
fowls, and many geese domesticated like those of Europe.
[Sidenote: Arrives at Hayti, 22nd Nov.]
After cruising among the other islands of the group of the Antilles,
the expedition anchored on the 14th of November off an island, to which
Columbus gave the name of Santa Cruz, which, like all the others, was
inhabited by Caribs. Thence pursuing his voyage, he shortly afterwards
came in sight of a cluster of small islands of various shapes and
appearances, some of them covered with forests, but the greater portion
naked and sterile, and all apparently uninhabited. To the largest of
these he gave the name of Sta. Ursula. Proceeding onwards he soon
arrived in sight of the large island, now known as Porto Rico, covered
with beautiful forests, and indented with fine havens, the inhabitants
of which, who appear to have been peaceful and populous, were much
troubled by the ravages of their implacable enemies, the Caribs. Having
remained here for two days, Columbus set sail for Hispaniola, where the
fleet anchored on the 22nd of November, and having coasted round to La
Navidad, where he had formed the settlement on the first voyage, he
was greatly grieved to learn the disasters which in the short interval
of a year had befallen the Spaniards whom he had left behind. Several
of them had died of sickness; others had fallen in a quarrel which had
occurred among themselves, and the remainder, it was said, had removed
to other parts of the island, where they had taken to themselves native
wives. Such was the end of the first European colonists in the New
World.
[Sidenote: Founds a fresh colony at Hispaniola, or Hayti.]
Arrangements were, however, made for the establishment of another
colony, though not on the same spot, the land in the vicinity being
low, moist, and unhealthy, and destitute of stone suitable for the
erection of a fortress and of other necessary buildings. After a
thorough search around the coast and up various rivers for a suitable
site, Columbus decided to settle upon the shores of an excellent
and capacious harbour, about ten leagues east of Monte Christo, and
disembarking his troops, labourers, and artificers, commenced erecting
a city on a well-devised plan, with streets, squares, church, public
storehouse, and residence for the admiral built of stone. To this, the
first permanent city in the Western world, Columbus gave the name of
Isabella, in honour of that enlightened sovereign, without whose aid
these islands would probably not have been discovered till many years
afterwards.
[Sidenote: Sufferings of the colonists, and disappointment of Columbus.]
But the new colony had a severe ordeal to pass through before it was
successfully established. Maladies of various kinds broke out among
the settlers. Many who had suffered severely from the sea voyage,
and from the salt provisions to which they had been reduced, soon
fell a prey to the exhalations of the hot climate, and to the humid
vapours from the rivers and undrained land; while others, accustomed
to highly-cultivated countries with the comforts of a superior home,
suffered severely from the stagnant air of the dense forests around
them. Most, too, of the settlers were grievously disappointed, that
they had not yet discovered the golden regions of Cathay and Zipango,
nor even a region of Indian luxury, or wide fields for chivalrous
enterprises. Gold, they soon found, could only be obtained in small
quantities, chiefly through the medium of barter with the natives:
even Columbus was disappointed. When the ships had discharged their
cargoes, and it was necessary to send the greater part of them back
to Spain, there was neither “gold nor precious merchandise” ready for
shipment, which he expected the Spaniards, whom he had left behind
on his previous voyage, would have collected. All these hopes had
been rudely dispelled. The most extravagant expectations having been
entertained in Spain, Columbus pictured to himself the disappointment
of his sovereigns and of the nation when his fleet returned empty, and
conveyed to an expectant and excited people the intelligence of the
disasters which had befallen the first colonists in a country of such
fabled wealth and unbounded resources.
However, in the twelve ships which were despatched to Spain, the
remaining five having been retained for his own purposes and for those
of the newly-established colony, Columbus sent home some specimens of
gold, and such fruits or plants as appeared to be either curious or
valuable, expressing his own confident and sanguine anticipations of
soon being able to make valuable shipments of precious metals, drugs,
and spices. “Without penetrating into the interior of the country,”
he remarks,[762] “we have found spots showing so many indications of
various spices, as naturally to suggest the hope of the best results
for the future. The same holds good with respect to the gold mines;
for two parties only who were sent out in different directions to
discover them, and who, because they had few people with them, remained
out but a short time, found, nevertheless, a great number of rivers,
whose sands contained this precious metal in such quantity, that each
man took up a sample of it in his hand; so that our two messengers
returned so joyous, and boasted so much of the abundance of gold, that
I feel a hesitation in speaking and writing of it to their highnesses.”
[Sidenote: His sanguine expectations for the future.]
So sanguine, indeed, was Columbus that gold would be found in great
abundance that, in the same memorial,[763] he adds, “I will undertake
to go in search of these rivers; either proceeding hence by land and
looking out for the best expedients that may offer, or else by sea,
rounding the island, until we come to the place which is described as
being only six or seven leagues from where these rivers that I speak of
are situated; so that we may collect the gold in safety, and put it in
security against all attacks in some stronghold or tower, which may be
quickly built for that purpose; and thus, when the two caravels shall
return thither, the gold may be taken away, and finally sent home in
safety at the first favourable season for making the voyage.”
[Sidenote: Threatened mutiny among the colonists.]
Few, however, of the thousand colonists who had settled at Isabella
were disposed to wait patiently for the happy time Columbus had
shadowed forth. Disappointed in their expectations of immediate wealth,
disgusted with the labours imposed upon them by which alone they were
enabled to erect their houses, and to obtain the necessary means of
existence, and appalled by the maladies prevalent throughout the
community, they began to look with horror on their situation: and when
the last sail disappeared which was destined for Spain, they felt as if
severed for ever from their homes, and that the strange land where they
had settled seemed destined to be their grave. To return to Spain soon
became their ruling idea. Discontent daily increased; and at last the
most daring spirits among them proposed that they should seize upon one
or all of the five ships then in harbour, and return home. The mutiny
was, however, checked for a time by the condign punishment of the
ringleaders.
When order had been somewhat restored Columbus made an expedition
into the interior, and on his return, on the 29th of March, 1494, he
was gratified to find that many of his expectations, in regard to the
future prosperity of the colony, were likely to be speedily realised.
The plants and fruits of the Old World gave promise of rapid increase;
the seeds had produced young plants; the sugar-cane had prospered
beyond his most sanguine anticipations; ears of corn made their
appearance from seed only sown in January; while cuttings from European
vines already began to form their clusters. Amid all his anxieties and
troubles, it was gratifying to find that the rich plains of Andalusia
were not to be compared to the virgin soil of the new-found world,
which, moistened by the rivers, and stimulated by an ardent sun,
possessed principles of fecundity unknown in any part of Europe. The
town of Isabella, however, proved to have been built on an unhealthy
situation, and in after years fell to ruins.
[Sidenote: Columbus proceeds on further explorations.]
Having left his brother, Don Diego, in charge of the colony, Columbus
set forth again, on the 24th of April, on a further voyage of
discovery, and steering to the westward, resolved to revisit the
coast of Cuba, at the point he had left it on his first voyage, and
thence to explore it on the southern side, under the conviction that
he must eventually arrive at Cathay. Though charmed beyond measure
with everything he saw, nothing indicated the lands Marco Polo had
described. A verdant soil, and coasts adorned by stately trees, watered
by navigable rivers, and indented by commodious harbours, spoke of
riches to come; while a fertile and populous country lay before him,
with peaceful and industrious inhabitants, who brought him food, and
fruits, and fish, in great abundance. There were however no mines
of gold, or palaces covered with that precious metal; but there was
everything that might encourage habits of industry, with little or
nothing to satisfy the cupidity of the settlers, or to lead them to
suppose they had discovered a land where man could live otherwise than
by the sweat of his brow.
[Sidenote: Discovery of the island of Jamaica.]
[Sidenote: Surveys Cuba, and returns to Isabella.]
At Santiago de Cuba Columbus was overwhelmed by the simple hospitality
of the natives; but as he approached the island of Jamaica he was met
by seventy or eighty canoes, filled with savages, gaily painted, and
decorated with feathers, advancing in warlike array, uttering loud
yells, and brandishing lances of pointed wood. An explanation, however,
from the interpreter, and a few presents to the crew of one of the
canoes who had ventured nearer than the rest, soothed the caciques
of the other canoes, some of which measured upwards of ninety feet
in length, and eight feet in breadth, and were hollowed out of one
magnificent tree. From Jamaica, Columbus proceeded to Cuba, and having
devoted many months to the survey of the whole of that portion of its
coast which he could reach, he set sail for Isabella, where he arrived
suffering in health, and with his ships greatly in need of repair, on
the 4th of September, 1494.
[Sidenote: Arrival of Bartholomew Columbus.]
Here he was greatly rejoiced to meet his brother Bartholomew, whom
he had not seen since he had commissioned him to lay his project of
discovery before Henry VII.; and who, on his return to Spain, with the
consent from that monarch, had learned that Christopher had made his
great voyage of discovery to the new world. The sight of his brother
was an inexpressible relief to Columbus, who, alone among strangers,
greatly needed the assistance of a man whose prompt action and fearless
spirit soon reduced the discontented colonists to a sense of their
duty. Anxious to relieve himself from the pressure of public business,
Columbus immediately invested his brother Bartholomew with the title
and authority of lieutenant-governor, in place of Diego, whose mild
and peaceable disposition rendered him little capable of managing the
concerns of a factious colony.
By his powerful assistance, and the timely receipt of fresh supplies of
stores from Spain, the reign of disorder which had so long prevailed,
especially during the absence of Columbus, was brought, in a great
measure, to an end; but the conduct of the Europeans had been such that
the native tribes turned against them, and for a time threatened the
entire annihilation of the colony.
[Sidenote: Intrigues at home.]
While however the restoration of order and the future security of
the colonists occupied the attention of Columbus and of his brother
Bartholomew, his enemies were undermining him at home. Reports were
circulated that the whole colony was in a state of anarchy, and that
Columbus was abusing his power, and neglecting its interests. Loud and
long were the complaints against him; and at last they were carried to
such an extent, that Ferdinand fitted out a fleet of caravels, which he
placed under charge of Diego Carillo, a commander of a military order,
giving him instructions that should Columbus be absent, he was to take
upon himself the government of the island and inquire into the alleged
evils and abuses, at the same time vesting him with power to remedy
such as should appear to him really in existence. A proclamation was
also issued, granting permission for any native-born Spanish subject
to settle in the island of Hispaniola and to undertake private voyages
of trade and discovery in the New World. Those who embarked at their
own expense were to have caravels assigned to them, and to be provided
with a supply of provisions sufficient for the first year, with a right
to hold certain lands and any houses they might erect upon them. They
likewise were to be allowed to retain one-third of whatever gold they
might collect, but the remaining two-thirds were to be handed over to
the crown of Spain, which was also to receive one-tenth of all the
other produce of the island; while one-tenth of the tonnage capacity of
any ship engaged in the trade of the New World was to be at the service
of the crown, free of charge.
[Sidenote: Commission of inquiry despatched to Hayti.]
But a few days before the departure of this expedition, the ships which
had carried out fresh supplies to Isabella returned to Spain, with
intelligence of the safe arrival of Columbus in Hispaniola, from his
long voyage along the southern coasts of Cuba, and bringing with them
specimens of the gold and of various animal and vegetable curiosities
he had collected. These news so far restored the great navigator to
the confidence of his sovereigns, that Juan Aguado, who had some time
before returned to Spain, highly recommended by the admiral, was
appointed to the command of the fleet about to sail, instead of Diego
Carillo, who was known to be personally hostile to Columbus.
When Aguado, with the four caravels under his command, well freighted
with supplies of every kind, arrived at Port Isabella in the month of
October, Columbus was absent in the interior, being at the time fully
occupied in re-establishing the tranquillity of the colony. Finding
Bartholomew in command, and conceiving that his commission authorized
him to supersede everyone except the admiral, he paid no respect to his
brother and ordered various persons to be arrested. Weak in himself and
puffed up with a little temporary power, Aguado lost sight alike of the
respect and gratitude due to Columbus, and of the nature and extent
of his own commission. The more discontented among the colonists at
once spread the report that the downfall of Columbus and of his family
was at hand, and that an ambassador had arrived from the sovereigns
of Spain empowered to hear and redress their grievances. Culprits and
offenders of every sort held high revel and were loud in their clamours
against the oppression of the admiral, ascribing every misfortune to
his mal-administration. To these clamours a weak and vain man, like
Aguado, lent but too ready an ear and daily became more arrogant.
When the news of his arrival and insolent conduct reached Columbus,
he hastened to Isabella, and received Aguado with the most grave and
punctilious courtesy, assuring him of his readiness to acquiesce in
whatever might be the pleasure of his sovereigns; but resolving in his
own mind to return as soon as practicable to Spain, and to ascertain
for himself the reason why this commission of inquiry had been
appointed.
[Sidenote: Columbus sets sail for Europe, 10th Mar. 1496.]
[Sidenote: Arrives at Cadiz, 11th June, 1496.]
Columbus was, however, detained longer than he wished. When his
arrangements were made for returning, a violent hurricane[764]
destroyed not merely the four caravels Aguado had brought out with him,
but all his own vessels, except the _Nina_, and she was left to him in
a very shattered condition. But she was soon repaired, and from the
wreck of the others he built a second vessel, which he named the _Santa
Cruz_, and set sail for Cadiz on the 10th of March, 1496, he embarking
in one of the vessels, and Aguado in the other, leaving his brother
Bartholomew in command of Hispaniola. Both caravels were loaded with
two hundred and fifty of the most discontented and profligate of the
colonists, as also with the sick and others who desired to return to
Spain. The voyage proved extremely tedious and toilsome, and it was not
until the 11th of June that they anchored in the Bay of Cadiz.
The enemies of Columbus had been only too successful in undermining
his popularity. The first excitement of a newly discovered world had
died away. Western India had not yielded the gold and spices and
wealth anticipated; and the means it really afforded for producing far
greater wealth than the fabled lands of Ophir or of the mines of Peru
have ever produced were then neither appreciated nor understood. The
richness which lay in its soil required time and industry to develop;
and the adventurous and enthusiastic Spaniards, who had interested
themselves in the New World, had neither studied the art of patience,
nor accustomed themselves to toil. But the sovereigns of Spain still
received Columbus with favour; and, the mission of the ungrateful and
arrogant Aguado not having accomplished at court all the injury he had
feared, Ferdinand and Isabella were still ready to meet the wishes of
the discoverer, and grant him ships for a third expedition.
It was not, however, until the spring of 1497, that any further
attention was given to the wishes of Columbus, and the affairs of
the New World. Although attractive and flattering to the pride of
Spain, the previous expeditions to the West had unquestionably fallen
far short of meeting the heavy expenses incurred upon them. No large
and immediate profits could at once be realized, such as those the
Portuguese reaped a few years afterwards from the discoveries of
Vasco de Gama. Hence there was great delay in fitting out this fresh
expedition, while the changes to be made in the future management of
the Indies of the West tended to increase the delay. At length, on the
30th of May, 1498, Columbus set sail from the port of San Lucar de
Barrameda, with a squadron of six vessels.
[Sidenote: Re-visits the West, May 1489.]
[Sidenote: Reaches Trinidad, 31st July;]
On this voyage he resolved to shape a course more to the southward
than he had done on either of the two previous ones. After taking
his departure from the Cape Verde Islands, he purposed sailing to
the south-west until he reached the equinoctial line, and then
steering directly west, until he arrived at land or in the longitude
of Hispaniola. Having taken his departure from the Cape Verde on the
5th of July, he by pursuing this course found himself, on the 13th
of that month, according to his observations, in the fifth degree of
north latitude, in the midst of calms, and under a bright and burning
sun. Continuing to steer to the west for some days, until he supposed
himself to be in the longitude of the Caribbee Islands, he shaped a
course for them to the northwards, intending to touch among them for
refreshments and repairs; but, being somewhat out of his reckoning, he
for the first time beheld, on the 31st of July, a large and fruitful
island, which he named La Trinidad.
Columbus had expected, from the heat of the sun, to find the land,
as he approached, parched and sterile; but Trinidad presented a very
different appearance. Stately groves of palm-trees and luxuriant
forests lined the shores, while the softness and purity of the climate,
and the balmy breeze from the land, reminded him of early spring in
the beautiful province of Valentia. While coasting along the island
in search of suitable anchorage, he descried land to the south, which
proved to be that low tract of coast intersected by the numerous
branches of the great River Orinoco, though he little suspected that
it was the vast continent of America. Remaining at the island, where
he found the natives peaceably disposed, and as usual, extravagantly
delighted with hawks’-bells and other trifling trinkets, Columbus
shaped his course for the coast of Paria, presuming it to be an
island, but, though delighted with the beauty of the country, which
was cultivated in many places, highly populous, and adorned with
magnificent vegetation, he was greatly astonished to find the water
fresh, and that it grew more and more so the further he proceeded. He
had reached the broad Gulf of Paria at the season of the year when
the rivers which empty themselves into it are swollen by rains, and
pour forth such quantities of fresh water as to conquer the saltness
of the ocean. Here the natives were of a superior class to any he had
hitherto seen. Their canoes were large and light, with a cabin in the
centre for the accommodation of the owner and his family. Many of the
men wore collars and burnished plates about their necks, of an inferior
description of gold, while some of the women had strings of pearls
round their arms, which they intimated, by signs, were procured on the
northern side of their sea-coast. Here, again, Columbus was treated
with profound reverence, as if he and his crews were beings descended
from heaven. The honour of a banquet of bread and of various fruits of
excellent flavour, together with different kinds of beverage, prepared
for him in the house of the cacique, was greatly enhanced by the
intelligent demeanour and martial frankness of the people, who seemed
every way worthy of the beautiful country they inhabited.
Imagining the coast of Paria to be an island, he resolved to
circumnavigate it, and, with that object, left the place where he
had received so much kindness, on the 10th of August, and continued
coasting westward within the gulf, in the vain search of an outlet to
the north. But, as his own vessel was too large for the purpose of
navigating these narrow waters, and as the stores of all his ships were
nearly exhausted, many of them having been entirely destroyed in the
tropics, whilst his own health was in a very precarious state, he felt
compelled to shorten his voyage, and hasten for Hispaniola.
[Sidenote: Discovers Tobago, Granada, and other islands, reaching
Hispaniola 19th Aug.]
[Sidenote: Finds everything in disorder.]
Discovering on his way the islands of Tobago and Granada, as also the
islands of Margarita and Cubagna, afterwards famous for their pearl
fisheries, he made the island of Hispaniola on the 19th August, about
fifty leagues to the westward of the river Osema, the place of his
destination; and having, on the following morning, anchored under the
little island of Beata, he sent a boat on shore to procure an Indian
messenger, to take a letter to his brother Bartholomew, who, during
his absence, had formed a new settlement at Dominica. On his arrival
he found that between fresh wars with the natives, and seditions among
the colonists combined with their own indolence, everything had again
been thrown into a state of confusion and poverty, saved only from
utter annihilation by the tact and ability of Bartholomew. Too idle
to labour, and destitute of those resources prevalent at home as a
means of killing time, the colonists had quarrelled among themselves,
mutinied against their rulers, wasted their time in alternate riot
and despondency, while their evil passions, which had inflicted
great calamities on the once pure and innocent natives, had likewise
ensured a merited return of suffering to themselves. Confirming, by
proclamation, the measures of his brother, and denouncing the leaders
of the conspiracies which had been the cause of so much misery and
ruin during his absence, Columbus hoped to restore confidence and
order. But the ringleaders continued to be a source of trouble to
him, and, unfortunately, their hands were too frequently strengthened
by the arrival of numerous adventurers, who, taking advantage of
the encouragement which the government of Spain had afforded to any
persons who desired to emigrate to the New World, flocked there in
thousands. The insolence of the rebels against his brother’s authority
during his absence, though for a time subdued by his presence, had
so greatly increased by the accession of numbers of well-armed and
desperate confederates, that Columbus felt he required powers greater
than he possessed to ensure the fidelity of the well-disposed against
the intrigues of the discontented and lawless. He therefore made
arrangements for returning to Spain.
Aware that many of the most worthless settlers desired to return home,
he issued, on the 12th of September, a proclamation, offering free
passage and provisions for the voyage to all who wished to return to
Spain, hoping thus to relieve the colony of the idle and disaffected,
and to weaken the power of the leaders of revolt, until he could carry
into effect the necessary measures for their entire discomfiture and
subjection. A large portion of the more lawless of the early colonists
accepted the offer; and having sent full advices to his sovereigns,
by the vessels in which they sailed on the 18th October, of what was
going on in the island, Columbus entered into arrangements which he
hoped would tend to restore order before he himself returned to Spain.
Having been enabled to settle matters somewhat to his own satisfaction
at Dominica, he left his brother, Don Diego, in temporary command of
that place, and joined Bartholomew on a tour to visit the various
stations, and to restore, if possible, order throughout the whole of
the island.
[Sidenote: Makes a tour of inspection]
The tour of inspection and restoration required much more time than
Columbus had anticipated. Everything had fallen into confusion during
the late troubles. Farms lay neglected, mines were abandoned, the
flocks and herds were scattered or destroyed, the caciques had ceased
to pay their tribute, and the natives no longer cultivated their
allotted tracts of land. In the midst of these perplexities, and while
making herculean exertions to restore order, Columbus received a reply
from Spain to his communication, which, though furnishing him with
increased power, coldly stated that another investigation would shortly
be made into the state of affairs. He was greatly troubled in mind by
its tone, naturally feeling that his complaints had little weight with
the government, and that the misrepresentations of his enemies were
prejudicing him with his sovereigns; nevertheless, his zeal for their
cause never flagged, and his labour to restore order was incessant.
At length he triumphed; faction was subdued; the Spaniards renewed
their labour on the land; the fields which had lain waste were again
cultivated; and the natives, like their employers, seeing the folly of
resistance, and the loss they themselves sustained by it, submitted
patiently to the terms which Columbus had laid down and eventually
enforced.
[Sidenote: but is arrested, and sent a prisoner to Spain.]
But all these reforms had been brought about by a course which had
greatly increased the number of his enemies. Every worthless fellow
whom he had sent home or punished became his implacable foe and
intrigued for his downfall; and too many of them had influence at
court, which, in the absence of Columbus, produced its effect. At last
he was superseded; and, to the disgrace of Ferdinand and Isabella, who
lent too ready an ear to the calumnious reports spread against him,
this great and good man was arrested, and he and his two brothers sent
in chains back to the country to which he had given a new and a now
mighty world.
[Sidenote: Arrives at Cadiz, Nov. 1500.]
Thus humiliated, Christopher Columbus landed at Cadiz towards the
close of the year 1500. The fact of the ignominy to which he had been
subjected spoke with the voice of thunder to the feelings of the
people. They neither cared for nor inquired into the cause of his great
humiliation. It was sufficient for them to know that this noble-minded
man had been brought home in chains from the world he had discovered,
and the sensation thus produced was almost as great as the reception
which had awaited him on his triumphant return from the first discovery
of America, in March 1493.
His own feelings of the wrongs he had sustained at the hands of his
worthless enemies are nowhere so well described as in the letter he
addressed, immediately on his return to Spain, to a lady who was in
immediate attendance on the queen, and stood high in her favour.[765]
“I have now reached that point,” he remarks, “that there is no man so
vile but thinks it his right to insult me. The day will come when the
world will reckon it a virtue to him who has not given his consent to
their abuse. If I had plundered the Indies, even to the country where
is the fabled altar of St. Peter’s, and had given them all to the
Moors, they could not have shown towards me more bitter enmity than
they have done in Spain. Who would believe such things of a country
where there has always been so much nobility? I should much like to
clear myself of this affair, if only it were consistent with etiquette
to do so, face to face with my queen.... The slanders of worthless
men,” he continues, “have done me more injury than all my services have
profited me.... I have had so strange a character given to me that if
I were to build hospitals and churches, they would call them caves for
robbers.”
[Sidenote: And is restored to the royal favour.]
This letter, combined with other representations of the real facts of
the case, and with the unmistakeable expression of public opinion, made
a great impression on the mind of Isabella, and had at once the effect
of relieving Columbus and his brothers from their ignoble imprisonment.
He was invited to the court, then at Grenada, where he appeared on the
17th of December, not in a prison dress, and in the degraded position
in which he had landed at Cadiz, but in rich attire, and attended by
an honourable retinue. When the Queen saw the venerable navigator
approach, she was moved to tears at sufferings to which she and
Ferdinand had been the unwilling or unknowing parties—in so far that
they had superseded him and given to his successor power to inflict
grievous wrong on one of the noblest of men. When the brave old seaman
saw how his queen was affected, his spirit, which had endured with
lofty scorn the injuries and insults of ignoble men, gave way; he threw
himself upon his knees, and wept like a child. His sovereigns had found
that he was still as worthy as ever of their confidence, and _that_
thought was a sufficient solace for all he had suffered. Columbus was
soon reinstated in all his privileges and dignities, and those who had
injured him were degraded and disgraced. Everything was done which it
was in the power of Isabella to do, to vindicate herself to the world
from the charge of ingratitude towards the great navigator.
A considerable time, however, elapsed before any steps were taken to
fit out another expedition in which Columbus could return to Dominica
and there resume in triumph the viceroyalty of the colony. Many events
prevented the immediate despatch of another fleet, some of which were
in a measure beyond the control of the sovereigns of Spain. The delay
was, however, a grievous disappointment to Columbus. Though Bobadilla,
by whom he had been superseded and insulted, was dismissed, Ferdinand,
whose professions of friendship were far from being as sincere as
those of the queen, deemed it desirable to refill his place for two
years by some prudent and able officer, who could put a stop to all
remaining faction in the colony, and thus prepare the way for Columbus
to enjoy the rights and dignities of his government, both peacefully
and beneficially to the crown. But there were other reasons which
induced Ferdinand to appoint one Nicholas de Ovando as governor, for a
time, to the new found colony. Listening too readily to the calumnies
of the many enemies at court of Columbus, he had imbibed some vague
idea that the great navigator might set up an independent sovereignty,
or deliver his discoveries into the hands of the Genoese, or of some
other European power: he may also have felt that Columbus was no longer
indispensable to him, as the throne was daily besieged by applicants to
be allowed to fit out expeditions at their own expense, and to share
with the crown the profits upon them.
[Sidenote: A fleet sails for the colony with Ovando, Feb. 1502, and two
months afterwards (9th May) Columbus follows, and reaches Dominica,
29th June.]
Hence it was that the interests of Columbus were for a time overlooked.
Ovando, however, received orders to examine all his accounts; to
ascertain the damages he had sustained by his imprisonment, by the
interruption of his privileges, and by the confiscation of his effects.
His property, which Bobadilla had seized, was to be restored, and to
be made good if it had been sold. Equal care was also to be taken to
indemnify his brothers for their arrest and for the losses they had
sustained. The arrears of the revenue due to Columbus were to be paid
to him, and their punctual payment secured for the future. Such were
among the instructions given to Ovando, who, on the 13th of February,
1502, sailed in the largest fleet which had previously left for the new
colony.
Washington Irving, quoting from Las Casas, who, however, he states,
gives the figures from memory,[766] says “that this fleet consisted of
thirty sail, five of them from ninety to one hundred and fifty tons
burden; twenty-four caravels, from thirty to ninety, and one bark of
twenty-five tons. The number of souls,” he continues, “embarked in this
fleet, was about twenty-five hundred, many of them persons of rank and
distinction, with their families.” But as the smaller craft were not
adapted for a voyage across the Atlantic, and as the number of persons
embarked would give eighty-three, on an average, to each vessel, which
is a greater number than even the largest vessels could conveniently
carry with their luggage, and the requisite stores of provisions and
water for such a voyage, there is no doubt some error in the figures of
Las Casas. It is more likely, especially as the vessels conveyed many
persons of rank and distinction, that the smallest was one hundred, and
the largest somewhere about three hundred tons burthen. This fleet,
it would appear, did not arrive at Dominica until the 15th of April;
and in a violent storm, which it encountered soon after leaving Spain,
lost, according to the same authority, one of its number, with “one
hundred and twenty persons” on board.
[Sidenote: Discovers the island of Guanaga, 30th July.]
[Sidenote: Trading canoe.]
Age and care were rapidly reducing the otherwise strong frame of
Columbus, when, on the 9th of May, 1502, he set sail from Cadiz in
four small caravels on his fourth and last voyage of discovery. He
was then about sixty-six years of age; but from the hardships he
had encountered, and the mental sufferings he had undergone, his
constitution was so much impaired, that he was more infirm than many
men who were ten years his senior. In his brother, Don Bartholomew, and
in his younger son, Fernando, he however found wise counsellors and
able assistants, combined with sincere and affectionate sympathisers.
Arriving at the Grand Canary, on the 20th of May, he took in a fresh
supply of wood and water, and five days afterwards sailed for the
Caribbee Islands, which he reached without shifting sail on the 15th of
June, having had a fair wind and beautiful weather the whole way. On
the 29th of that month he arrived at Dominica, where matters were still
in so unsettled a state that he did not land, but proceeded to Port
Hermoso, to the west of that island, to effect some necessary repairs
to his vessels. Thence he sailed on his voyage of research, calling at
Port Brazil for shelter from a gale, and leaving that port on the 14th
of July, discovering, sixteen days afterwards, a small island within a
few leagues of the coast of Honduras, still known by the Indian name
of Guanaga or Bonacca. Here Columbus was struck with the contents of
a large trading canoe which lay in the harbour, supposed to have come
from the province of Yucatan, about forty leagues distant. This canoe,
“eight feet wide, and as long as a galley, formed from the trunk of a
single tree,” was filled with multifarious articles, the manufacture
and natural production of the adjacent countries. She was rowed by
twenty-five Indians; and under an awning, or cabin of palm leaves, in
form resembling that of the gondolas of Venice, sat a cacique, with his
wives and children, who, displaying no fear whatever of the Spaniards,
seemed to indicate that their ancestors had held intercourse with the
people of civilized nations; while the articles of commerce which the
canoe contained tended to confirm this impression. Washington Irving
adds, that, besides various Indian products Columbus had met with
before, this canoe had also in her, hatchets of copper, wooden swords
with sharp flints inserted, and made fast by lines of fish intestines,
several copper bells and a rude kind of crucible—with various utensils
in clay, marble, and hard wood. It also contained quantities of cacao,
a substance not then known to the Spaniards, and which the Indians
used both for food and as a species of currency. The Indians made use
of a beverage resembling beer, and made from maize; and their women
wore mantles, like those of the Moorish women at Granada. From some
intelligent natives who were on board this vessel Columbus learned that
they came from a rich and luxuriant country in the West, towards which
they strongly advised the admiral to steer; and had he acted on this
advice, he must have reached Yucatan in a day or two, and added to his
previous discoveries that also of Mexico.
[Sidenote: Prosecutes his researches to the South.]
[Sidenote: Reaches Cape Honduras.]
The discovery of the other opulent countries of New Spain would have
necessarily followed; while the disclosure of the Southern Ocean
would have revealed to him the true form of that interesting portion
of the world, and, affording a succession of splendid discoveries,
would have shed fresh renown on his declining years. But Columbus was
intent on discovering the imaginary strait which would lead him to the
land of Cathay, and the spice islands of India, which Marco Polo had
so glowingly described.[767] Consequently on leaving the island of
Guanaga, he stood southerly till he discovered the land now known as
Cape Honduras, where he again encountered heavy storms, by which his
vessel suffered much damage. “I have seen many storms,” said Columbus,
“but none so violent or of such long duration.” Against these he
struggled for forty days, having advanced in that time only about
seventy leagues, to another headland, to which he gave the name of
Gracias a Dios (Thanks to God): here the coast turned directly south,
and he obtained for his further course a fair wind for his leaky and
tempest-tost caravels.
[Sidenote: Discovers and explores the Mosquito coast.]
[Sidenote: Puerto Bello.]
Steering along the shore now known as the Mosquito coast, Columbus
passed a cluster of twelve small islands, which he named the Limanares,
and continuing south for about sixty-two leagues, reached, on the
16th of September, a copious river, where one of his boats, during an
expedition to obtain a supply of wood and fresh water, was totally
lost with her crew. Thence he proceeded to Cariavi, which he left, on
the 5th of October, for a cruise along the coast of Costa Rica until
he reached a large bay, called by the natives Carabaro, where he
anchored. Here the Spaniards met with specimens of pure gold, and many
indications of a higher state of cultivation if not of civilization
than they had hitherto seen; signs in the opinion of Columbus of his
approach to the territory of the Grand Khan. Pursuing his course, the
squadron, on the 2nd of November, anchored in a spacious and commodious
harbour, to which he gave the name of Puerto Bello, by which the town
and harbour are still known. Here they were detained for seven days by
heavy rain and stormy weather. Sailing hence on the 9th of November,
the squadron proceeded eight leagues to the eastward, to the point
since known as Nombre de Dios, where after visiting other places on
the coast, he determined to relinquish the further prosecution of the
voyage to the eastward, and return to the coast of Veragua. But the
wind suddenly veered to the west, directly adverse to the new course
he had adopted, accompanied by a succession of heavy gales, in which
he and his crew endured great sufferings. It was not until the 6th of
February, 1503, that Columbus reached the river Belem, where he formed
a settlement, under the impression that he had at last discovered one
of the richest parts of the Asiatic continent where gold abounded, and
(strange hallucination!) the part from whence King Solomon had drawn
most of his unbounded wealth.
[Sidenote: Forms a settlement on the River Belem, 6th Feb., 1503.]
[Sidenote: Anchors at Jamaica, June 1503.]
At this favoured spot his brother Bartholomew arranged to remain with
eighty men, while Columbus himself returned to Spain. No sooner,
however, had they commenced to erect houses, and form the colony, than
they were attacked by the Indians. Numerous encounters ensued, with
much loss of life and suffering. Unable to maintain their position, the
settlement was soon abandoned, and the squadron in a disabled state
made the best of its way to Hispaniola. On the 10th of May Columbus
sighted the north-west coast of that island, but again encountering
boisterous weather and adverse winds, he was unable to reach the port
of Dominica, and therefore steered for Jamaica, where he anchored. From
thence he despatched a message by canoe to Ovando, the governor of
Dominica, requesting that a vessel might be sent to his relief, his own
being unseaworthy.
[Sidenote: And Dominica, 13th August of that year.]
[Sidenote: Sails for Spain 12th Sept., which he reaches 7th Nov., 1504.]
More than eight months elapsed before Columbus received an answer of
any kind from Ovando; and when a boat at last came with a messenger,
it was only to leave a few trifling presents, and say that the
necessary vessels would be provided as soon as possible. These at
length arrived, and enabled him on the 28th of June, 1504, to leave his
unseaworthy vessels behind him, and to set sail for Dominica which he
reached on the 13th of August after a very stormy passage. Ovando and
the leading inhabitants gave him a show of welcome, and their conduct
was courteous towards him; but there were too deep causes of jealousy
and distrust for their intercourse to be cordial; nor was his sojourn
at Dominica calculated to restore confidence. The state of things in
the colony were far from satisfactory, and his own immediate concerns
in great confusion. His rents and dues were either uncollected, or he
could not obtain a satisfactory account of them; and the little he did
collect was entirely consumed in fitting out the two vessels which were
to convey himself and his crews to Spain. On the 12th of September
he set sail, and having experienced tempestuous weather throughout
the passage, did not arrive in the harbour of St. Lucar until the 7th
of November, whence he had himself conveyed, broken down in health
and spirits, to Seville, where he hoped to enjoy rest after the many
hardships and anxieties he had encountered.
[Sidenote: His sufferings, and death, 20th May, A.D. 1506.]
But there was no rest for the great navigator. Care and sorrow were
destined in his latter days to follow him by sea and land. All his
affairs were in confusion. Exhausted and infirm he was unable to seek
an audience of his sovereigns; the letters he addressed to them,
pleading for his rights, and asking simple justice at their hands,
remained unanswered; and the discoverer of a New World, who had adorned
the crown of Spain with by far its brightest jewels, broken down by
infirmities, lay despised and impoverished in the city of Seville.
This extraordinary conduct on the part of the sovereigns of Spain is,
however, in some measure accounted for by the fact that Isabella lay
dangerously ill, of an illness from which she never recovered; while
the cold-hearted Ferdinand, instigated no doubt by the enemies of
Columbus, treated all his applications, if he ever read them, with
indifference.
During the remainder of the winter, and a part of the spring, Columbus
was detained by painful illness at Seville, and when in May, 1505, he
was able to be removed to Segovia, where the court then sat, Ferdinand
had lost sight of all his past services, in what appeared to him the
inconvenience of his present demands, though receiving the once courted
navigator with many professions of kindness. Months were however spent
in unavailing attendance upon the court. In the meantime his cares
and sorrows were fast drawing to a close. He had for some time felt
that he was dying, and having arranged as best he could his worldly
affairs, he resigned himself into the hands of that great God whom he
had worshipped with the same sincerity in his hours of triumph as he
had done in the time of his deep adversity. On the day of Ascension,
the 20th of May, 1506, being about seventy years of age, Christopher
Columbus, who had done so much without reward, and suffered so much
without upbraiding, passed silently away to, I doubt not, a better and
a happier world.
FOOTNOTES:
[754] Voyages of Columbus, vol. i. p. 258.
[755] See “Letters from the Tropics,” by the Rev. C. Kingsley in “Good
Words” for 1870.
[756] W. Irving, p. 92.
[757] Select Letters of Columbus. Introd. p. lxiv.
[758] Hakluyt, “Col. Voyages,” p. 7.
[759] Voyages of Columbus, vol. ii. p. 1.
[760] Vol. ii. p. 7.
[761] Select Letters of Columbus, p. 19, _et seq._
[762] Memorial addressed by Columbus to Antonio de Torres, for
Ferdinand and Isabella, from the city of Isabella, dated Jan. 30th,
1494, in “Select Letters of Columbus,” p. 73, _et seq._
[763] Memorial, p. 79.
[764] This word is said to be derived from the Indian name for this
tempest, Urican.—W. Irving, p. 201.
[765] Letter of Columbus to Doña Juana de la Torres, in “Select Letters
of Columbus,” pp. 153 and 158.
[766] Voyages of Columbus, vol. iii. p. 164.
[767] Letter of Columbus from Jamaica, “Select Letters,” p. 20.
MERCHANT SHIPPING
VOL. I.
APPENDIX.
CONTENTS OF APPENDIX.
PAGE
1. Note by Rev. J. O. W. Haweis on the Rowing of Ancient Galleys 625
2. Ordinances of Richard I. for his sailors, A.D. 1190 628
3. Mandate for the “Cogge of Norway” 629
4. Charter of Edward I. to Cinque Ports, A.D. 1272-1307 629
5. Wages of Sailors, temp. Edward I. 632
6. Roll of the Ships of Edward III. before Calais 634
7. Cost of the Repairs of Edward III.’s Ships 636
8. Extracts from Sir T. Duffus Hardy’s Syllabus of Rymer’s
“Fœdera” 642
9. Form of “Safe Conduct” 650
10. Form of the “Arrest of Ships” 652
11. Form of the “Arrest of Mariners” 653
12. Extracts from “Register of Grants” 653
13. Ancient form of Procedure for the Restitution of Goods
unlawfully seized 654
APPENDICES.
APPENDIX No. 1.
_Note by Rev. J. O. W. Haweis on the rowing of ancient Galleys._
On a fine summer evening, when the author was seated beneath the tall
elm-trees which overshadow his residence at Shepperton, on the banks of
the Thames, he had the pleasure of a visit, accompanied by the Rector
of the parish, from the Rev. J. O. W. Haweis, of Colwood, Crawley, in
the county of Sussex. The author at the moment was in the midst of
various calculations, endeavouring to solve the vexed problem of how
the galleys of the ancients were rowed. As Mr. Haweis took an interest
in scientific pursuits, he handed to him for consideration the notes
he had made on the subject of rowing galleys, calling his attention to
the fact that all ancient authors had spoken of the operation as being
accompanied by the sound of music. Curious to know how a gentleman of
his turn of mind would deal with the question, the author requested to
be favoured with Mr. Haweis’s views on the subject under consideration.
The following notes and illustrations are the result. Though he does
not think they solve the problem, or would be applicable to the
various descriptions of ancient galleys of which accounts have been
preserved, they are sufficiently novel and ingenious as to be worthy of
preservation.
“I merely propose,” remarks Mr. Haweis, “a possible quinquereme, which
I imagine might be practically navigated. I am well aware that there is
no reason to suppose it the actual plan of any ancient galley. The two
sketches will explain themselves.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
“I assume the interior breadth as from 27 to 30 feet at the largest
part.
“The highest rowlock as 9 feet, the lowest 3 feet from water-line.
“The interior fittings waterproof to the height of 6 feet.
“The lower and second rowlocks, closeable at will by the rower drawing
a plug from without, as the rising sea makes them useless.
“The disposition of rowlocks would thus be, for a set:—
[Illustration]
I cannot find any other way in which to avoid collisions.
“The oars are 9 feet, 13 feet, 18 feet, 24 feet 6 inches, and 35 feet.
The long oars have handles thus:—
[Illustration]
and feather in reverse, by the pusher dropping his hands, and so
helping to recover the puller.
“Any two of these oars might be pulled in time with that next above
or below it without much inconvenience, but the loss of power in thus
working 1 and 5 would be enormous.
“Let 5 and 4 pull together to beat of drum; four strokes and returns to
eight beats—
[Illustration]
“Let 3 pull two strokes and returns—
[Illustration]
“Let 2 keep time with 3, the men advancing and retreating two steps.
“Let 1 take four steps forward in the two bars, and return in the same
time.
“Thus all commence the stroke together; 2 and 3 renew the impulse at
the bar; 4 and 5 do the same at half-bar.
“The beat of drum would be accented thus:—
[Illustration]
“Thus all would work together, and each man have the beginning of his
stroke marked.
“There might be also a deck or gangway on each side for the protection
of the men from sun and rain.
“Very large sweeps were exhibited as in actual use in the Exhibition of
1851, if I remember right.
“From some rude experiments with fir poles, I think 35-feet oars could
be efficiently handled.
“The lower tiers would ship first, and the hands assist the upper.
“These are mere notions; but if they should be new to you, I shall be
glad I entertained them.”
APPENDIX No. 2.
_Ordinances made by King Richard to be observed among seafaring men,
A.D. 1190, in the second year of his reign._
[Sidenote: Sleigers of men.]
“Firste, that if any man chanced to slea another on the Shipbord he
should be bound to the deed body and soe throwen into the sea.
“Secondly, if he killed him on land he should yett be bound to him as
before, and soe buryed quicke, together.
[Sidenote: Brauling.]
“Thirdly, if any man should be convicted by lawfull witnesse that he
drewe any weapon to strike any other, or chanced, by striking of any
man, to drawe blood of him that was smitten, he should loose his hand.
[Sidenote: The punishment for blood drawing.]
“Fourthly, if he give but a blowe with his fist, without
bloodsheddinge, he should be plunged three severall tymes over head and
eares in water.
[Sidenote: Revilers.]
“Fiftly, if any man reviled another he should for every tyme soe
missusinge himselfe forfeit an ounce of silver.
[Sidenote: Thefte and Pickerry.]
“Sixtely, if any man were taken with thefte or pickerye, and thereof
konuicted, he should have his head poolled and hot pitche powred upon
his pate and upon that the feathers of some pillowe or cushione shaken
aloft, that he might thereby be knowne for a theefe, and at the next
arrivall of the shipps to any land, be put forth of the Company to
seeke his adventure without all hope to retourne to his fellowes.”[768]
APPENDIX No. 3.
_A Mandate for the King of Norway, in favour of his ship the Cogge._
“Anno Domini 1229, 13th year of Henry III.
“Wee will and command all bailliffes of Portes att the which the Cogge
of Norway (wherein certain of the King of Norway, his souldiers, and
certayne Marchants of Saxonie, are cominge for England) shall touche,
that when the forsaid Cogge shall chance to arrive att any of there
hauens, they doe permitt the said Cogge safely to remayne in ther said
hauens, soe long as need shall require, and without impedimente alsoe
freely to deperte thence whensoever the governair of the said Shipp
shall thinke it expediente.
“Witnesse the Kinge.”[769]
APPENDIX No. 4.
_New Charter of the Liberties of the Cinque Ports, confirmed in
the time of King Edward, son of King Henry_ (EDWARD I., A.D.
1272-1307).
“EDWARD, by the grace of God, King of England, Lord of Ireland, and
Duke of Aquitaine, to the Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, Priors, Earls,
Barons, Justiciaries, Sheriffs, Provosts, Officers, and all Bailiffs
and his lieges health, Know ye that we, for the faithful service
which our Barons of the Cinque Ports have rendered heretofore to our
predecessors Kings of England and to us lately in our army of Wales,
and for the service to us and our heirs Kings of England faithfully to
be continued for the future, have granted and by this our Charter have
confirmed for us and our heirs to the same our Barons and their heirs
all their liberties and quittances, so that they may be quit of all
duty [thelonium] and from all custom, viz.: from all lastage, tallage,
passage, cayage, rivage, sponsage, and from all wrekke, and from all
their selling, buying, and redeeming [rechato] through all our land and
dominion with soc and sac and thol and theam; and that they may have
infangenethef; and that they may be Wrekfri and Wytefri and lastagefri
and lovetopfri; and that they may have Den and stronde at Gernemuthe,
according as it is contained in an ordinance by us made to that end,
and to be observed perpetually; and moreover that they may be quit from
shires and hundreds, so that if any shall wish to plead against them,
they may not answer nor plead otherwise than they were wont to plead in
the time of the Lord Henry the King, our great-grandsire; and that they
may have their findings in sea and on land; and that they may be quit
of all their property and of all their markets like as our free men;
and that they may have their honours in our court and their liberties
through all our land whithersoever they shall have come; and that for
all their lands which they possessed in the time of the Lord Henry the
King, our father, namely, in the year of his reign the forty-fourth,
they may be quit for ever of common summonses before our Justiciaries
for whatever pleas itinerant in whatever counties of this land they may
be; so that the same may not be bound to come before the Justiciaries
aforesaid unless any of the same Barons should implead any one or be
impleaded by any one; and that they may not plead elsewhere except
where they ought and where they were wont, namely, at Shypwey; and that
they may have the liberties and quittances aforesaid for the future as
they themselves and their predecessors have ever held them better more
fully and more honourably in the times of the Kings of England—Edward,
William the First, and Second, King Henry, our great-grandsire, and
in the times of King Richard and King John, our grandsire, and of the
Lord Henry the King, our father, by Charters of the same, like as those
Charters, which the same our Barons have to that effect, and which we
have inspected, reasonably testify. And we prohibit that any should
unjustly disturb them or their market on pain of forfeiture of ten
pounds; so however that when the same Barons shall have failed in doing
and receiving justice, our Warden, and the Warden of our heirs of the
Cinque ports for the time being, may enter their ports and liberties in
their default for the purpose of doing full justice therein; so also
that the said Barons and their heirs do to us and our heirs, Kings of
England, by the year their full service of fifty and seven ships at
their own cost for fifteen days at the summons of us and our heirs.
We have granted moreover to the same of our special grace that they
may have outfangenethef in their lands within the ports aforesaid in
the same manner as the Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, Earls, and Barons
have in their manors in the county of Kent; and that they be not put in
assizes of juries or in any recognitions by reason of their forinsec
tenure against their will; and that concerning their own wines, in
which they traffic, they may be quit of our right prise [_recta
prisa_], viz., one cask of wine before the mast and another behind the
mast. We have granted moreover to the same our Barons for ourselves
and our heirs that they may have for ever this liberty, namely, that
neither we nor our heirs shall have wardship or marriages of their
heirs by reason of their lands which they hold within the liberties
and ports aforesaid, for which they do their service aforesaid, and of
which neither we nor our predecessors have had wardship or marriages
in times past. The aforesaid our confirmation however of liberties and
quittances aforesaid, and other our grants following, we have caused
to be made to them anew of our special grace, saving always in all
things our Royal dignity, and saving to us and our heirs the pleas of
our crown of life and limbs. Wherefore we will and firmly command for
ourselves and our heirs that the aforesaid Barons and their heirs have
for ever all the liberties and quittances aforesaid, as the Charters
aforesaid reasonably testify; and that of our special grace they have
utfangenethef in their lands within the ports aforesaid in the same
manner as the Archbishops, Bishops, Abbots, Earls, and Barons have in
their manors in the county of Kent; and that they be not put in assizes
of juries or in any recognitions by reason of their forinsec tenure
against their will; and that concerning their own wines, in which they
traffic, they may be quit of our right prise, viz., one cask of wine
before the mast and another behind the mast; and that in like manner
they have for ever the liberty aforesaid, viz., that neither we nor
our heirs have wardship or marriage of their heirs by reason of their
lands which they hold within the liberties and ports aforesaid, for
which they do their service aforesaid, and of which neither we nor
our predecessors have had wardship or marriages in times past. The
aforesaid our confirmation however of the liberties and quittances
aforesaid and other our grants following we have caused to be made to
them anew of our special grace saving always in all things our Royal
dignity, and saving to us and our heirs the pleas of the crown of
life and limbs, as is aforesaid. These being Witnesses, the Venerable
Father Robert [Kilwarby], Bishop of Porto, Cardinal of the Holy Roman
Church, William de Valentia [Valence], our uncle, brother William de
Southampton, Prior provincial of Friars Preachers in England, Roger de
Mortuomari [Mortimer], Roger de Clifford, Master Walter Scamel, Dean
of Sarum, Master Robert de Scardeburg, Archdeacon of the East Riding,
Bartholomew de Suthleye, Thomas de Weylond, Walter de Hopton, Thomas de
Normanville, Stephen de Penecestre, Francis de Bouene, John de Louetot,
John de Metyngham, and others. Given by our hand at Westminster the
seventeenth day of June in the sixth year of our reign [1278].”[770]
APPENDIX No. 5.
_Account of the Freights and of the Wages of the Sailors of the
ships of Edward I. in divers fleets at divers ports, assembled
as well for the passage of the King to Flanders as also for the
Duchess of Brabant, &c._
£ _s._ _d._
[Sidenote: Ships carrying wheat to Gascony.]
To Ralph de Aldeburgh, Master of the ship called “The
Rose,” of Lenna (Lynn ?), loading in
the same ship of his own for Gascony for
the assistance of the king’s army there,
viz., as far as Burgh-on-the-sea, 428½ quarters of
wheat from the port of Herewich, and for the
freight of the same ship by way of expenses for it
and the crew of the same ship, going and returning,
paid into his own hands at Herewich, 30th
December 15 0 0
To William Helmyn, Master of “La Mariola,” of
Lenna, freighted in the same manner, from Herewich
to Burgh-on-the-sea with 428½ quarters, &c. 15 0 0
[Sidenote: Ipswich.]
To William Brum, Master of the “Virly,” of Ipswich,
one constable, 48 crew, for wages from
Jan. 12 to Feb. 2, 22 days inclusive 14 6 0
[Sidenote: The galley of Lenna.]
To Walter de Fordham, Master of the Galley of
Lenna, two constables, and 87 crew,
for wages from Dec. 30, when they
set sail from Lenna for Herewich
[Harwich], to Feb. 2, 25 days inclusive; the
Master and each constable 6_d._, each sailor 3_d._ per
_diem_ 40 13 9
To the same Walter for the payment of a Lodman
[pilot], hired to conduct the same galley to
Brabant 13 4
The principal places of embarcation are Gernemuth (Yarmouth),
Bautreseie, Gippewicus (Ipswich), Haveford (Haverfordwest), Herewicus
(Harwich), Schottele, Everwarton, Colneseie, Brithlingesei, Meresei
(Mersey), Lim (Lyme?), Loo in Cornwall, Portesmuth, Sandwich, La
Stroude, Saltcote, London, Hardeburgh.
_f._ 89 _b._ A lantern bought. To Robert Le Horner
for one large Lantern bought of the same, to hang
in the ship assigned to the Duchess of Brabant for
her passage to Brabant by precept of the king, that
the other ships may be able to follow her in the
sea at night 10_s._ 0_d._
[Sidenote: Pilot for the
King’s body.]
To John Jolif of Sandwich, Pilot (Lodman),
leading the ship called “The Coga of
St. Edward,” in which the body of the
king passed over from Winchelsey to
La Swyne, in his fleet for Flanders, paid into his
own hands at Bruges on the 3rd of September 26_s._ 8_d._
Then follows a long list of the ships carrying victuals to Gascony and
Flanders, with their names, quantities carried, masters and crews’
names, &c.; as for example:
To John de Barewe, Master of the “Alice,” carrying
12 barrels flour, 209½ quarters of oats, 23 carcases
of beef, wages for himself and six men for 14 days 28_s._
The names of the ships are interesting as:—La Messagere, La Plente,
La Mariole, La Godyer, La Seefare, La Stoule, La Blithe, Le Lionu,
La Grace Dieu, La Fankonu of Carmarthen, La Sauueye, La Johanette,
Coga St. Thomas, La Mariote, La Furmente, La Viryly, the Hulks of
the Blessed Mary, La Constance; many names of Sts., Andrew, Peter,
Catherine, Mary, the Trinity, St. Cross, &c., &c.
_f._ 96. A long account of the passage of the ships at Plymouth for
Gascony, arranged under the following ports:—Warham, Weymuth, Exemuth,
Tegnemuth, Dertemuth, Loo, Fowy, Briggewater, Bristoll’, Houue,
Seford, Shorham, Portesmuth, Southhampton and Hamele, Lemyngton,
Yaremuth, Pole, Warham, Weymuth, Lym (Lyme Regis), Sidemuth, Exemuth,
Tenemuth, Dertemuth, Plymuth, Loo, Fowy, Kermerdyn, (Carmarthen),
Briggewater, Chepstowe, Hertelpol, Ireland, Scardeburgh, Lenne,
Blakeneye, Scotesmuth, Holan, Thornham, Jernemuth, Donewycus (Dunwich),
Oreford, Goseford, Gippewycus (Ipswich), Herewycus (Harwich), Orewell,
Colecestre, Sandwycus, Dovorria, Faversham, Folkstan, Heth’, Romenale,
Rye, Winchelsey, Hastinges, Pevenese, Seford, Baiona (Bayonne),
Weymuth, Tegnemuth, Dertemuth.
_f._ 103. Wages of the sailors at Sandwich in the same year for the
fleet of ships for the passage of Robert Fitz-Payn, and his countess to
Flanders, arranged under ports with similar names to the above. These
additional ones also occur: Gravelinges, Karnarvan (Carnarvon).
Sum total of the wages of the Sailors, £5586 19_s._ 3_d._
APPENDIX No. 6.
_Ships of Edward III. at Calais._
MS. Harl. 246, f. 12_b_. | MS. Harl. 3968, f. 130.
|
The number of Shippes and maryners | The rolle of the huge ffleete of E. 3
that served Kinge Edw. 3 in these | before Callice to be seene in the
warres. | Kinges great Gardrobe in London,
| whereby appeareth the wonderfull
| strengthe of England by sea in those
| dayes.
|
THE SOWTHE FLEETE. | THE SOUTHE FLEET.
|
Shippes. Maryners. | Shippes. Marryners.
The Kinge 25 419 | The King’s 25 419
London 25 662 | London 25 662
Ayleforde 2 24 | Ailford 2 24
Hoo 2 24 | Hoo _alias_ Morne 2 24
Maydestone 2 51 | Maidston 2 51
Hope 2 59 | Sandwich 22 504
Margate 15 160 | Dover 16 336
Nonehethe 5 49 | Wighte 13 220
Montormont 2 23 | Winchelsey 21 596
Feversham 2 53 | Waymouth 15 263
Sandwiche 22 504 | Lyme 4 62
Dover 16 334 | Seton 2 25
Wighte 13 220 | Sidmouth 3 62
Wynchelsey 21 396 | Hope 2 59
Waymouthe 15 263 | Newhith 5 49
Lyme 4 62 | Margat 15 160
Seton 2 25 | Morne vel } 2 22
Sydmowthe 3 62 | Morne }
Exmowthe 10 193 | Feversham 2 25
Tegmouthe 7 120 | Exmouth 10 293
Dertmowthe 32 756 | Tegmouth 7 120
Portesmowthe 5 96 | Dartmouth 31 757
Plymowthe 26 603 | Plymouth 26 603
Loo 20 315 | Loo 20 315
Yalme 2 47 | Yalme 2 47
Fowey 47 770 | Fowey 47 770
Brystoll 22 608 | Bristoll 22 608
Tenmowthe 2 25 | Tenmouth 2 25
Haltinge 5 96 | Hastinge 5 96
Romner 4 65 | Romney 4 65
|
MS. Harl. 246, f. 13. | MS. Harl. 3968, f. 130_b_.
|
Rye 9 156 | Rye 9 156
Hythe 6 122 | Hithe 6 122
Shoram 20 329 | Shoreham 20 39
Soforde 5 80 | Soforde _alias_ Seforde 5 80
Newmowthe 2 18 | Newmouthe 2 18
Hannilhoke 7 117 | Hamowlhook 7 117
Hoke 11 208 | Hoke 11 208
Sowthampton 21 576 | Southampton 21 576
Leymingeton 9 159 | Lemyngton 9 159
Poole 4 94 | Poole 4 94
Warham 3 59 | Warham 3 59
Swansey 1 29 | Swanzey 1 29
Ilfrecombe 6 79 | Ilfrecoombe 6 79
Poterikstowe 2 27 | Padstowe _alias_ } 2 27
| Patrickstowe }
Polerwan 1 60 | Polerwan 1 60
Wadworthe 1 14 | Wadworth 1 14
Kerdiffe 1 51 | Kardiffe 1 51
Bridgewater 1 15 | Bridgwater 1 15
Carmarthen 1 16 | Caermarthen 1 16
Colechesworth 1 12 | Cailchworth 1 12
Mulbroke 1 12 | Mulbrook 1 12
|
| _Shippes_:
_Some of the Sowthe Fleete_: | The totall of the }
Shippes 473 | Shippes of the South } 467
Maryners 9307 | Fleet are }
|
| _Maryners_:
| The totall of the }
| Maryners of the } 9205
| same South Fleet are }
|
MS. Harl. 246, f. 13_b_. | MS. Harl. 3968, f. 131.
|
THE NORTHE FLEET. | THE NORTH FLEET.
|
Bamburghe 1 9 | Bamburgh 1 9
Newcaster 27 314 | Walerich 1 12
Wolriche 1 12 | Hartilpoole 5 145
Hertilpoole 5 145 | Hull 16 466
Hulle 16 466 | Ravenser 1 27
Yorke 1 9 | Yorke 1 9
Ravenser 1 27 | Woodhouse 1 22
Wodhowse 1 12 | Stockhith 1 10
Storkehithe 1 10 | Barton 3 30
Barton 3 30 | Swyneflete 1 11
Swynfleete 1 11 | Saltfleete 2 49
Saltfleete 2 49 | Grymesby 11 171
Grymsbye 11 171 | Waynfleet 2 49
Portsmouth 5 96 | Waynefleete 2 49
| Wrangle 1 8
Lemyce 19 382 | Newcastle 17 314
Blackney 2 38 | Yermouth 43 { 1075 _or_
| { 1950
Scarborowghe 1 19 | Donwiche 6 102
Yarmowthe 43 1950 | Orford 3 62
Dornewiche 6 102 | Goford 13 303
Orforde 13 303 | Herwich 14 383
Ipswiche 3 62 | Ipswich 12 239
Merrye 13 303 | Mersey 1 6
Brightelensey 14 283 | Brightlingsey 5 61
Colchester 12 239 | Colchester 5 90
Whibanes 1 6 | Whitbanes 1 17
Derwen 5 90 | Malden 2 32
Boston 17 361 | Derwen 1 15
Swynhomber 2 32 | Wrangle 1 8
Malden 2 32 | Lynne 16 382
Barton 5 61 | Blackney 2 38
| Scarborough 1 19
| Boston 17 361
| Swynhumber 1 32
| Barton 5 91
|
_Somma totalis of the_ | The whole totall } { 4383 _or_
_Northe Fleete_: | of the Shippes of } 215 { 5258
| the North Fleete } {
Shippes 234 |
Maryners 5624 |
|
_Somma totalis of all the_ | _The somme totall of all the_
| _Englishe Fleete_: | _Englishe Ffleete_:
|
Shippes 707 | Shipps 682
Maryners 14931 | Maryners { 13588 _or_
| { 14463
|
_Shippes and Maryners of Forrayne_ | MS. Harl. 3968, f. 131_b_.
_Countreyes_: | _The Shippes and Maryners of_
| _Strangers in this Ayde_:
|
Bayon 15 439 | Bayon 15 439
Spayne 7 184 | Spayne 7 184
Irelande 1 184 | Irland 1 25
Flaunders 14 133 | Flanders 14 133
Gelderlande 1 24 | Gelderland 1 24
|
_Somma totalis of all the_ |_The full nomber of the said Strangers_
_Strangers_: |_Shippes and Maryners_:[771]
|
Shippes 38 | Shipps 38
Maryners 964 | Maryners 805
APPENDIX No. 7.
_Abstract of some of the more remarkable items in the repairs of the
galleys and spinaces of King Edward III. at Bayonne._
_Tuesday_, 25 Feb.—To Dominic of St. Domyngo £ _s._ _d._ _f._
for xxj. lbs. of _Thomenk’_ [? tow] at ij. _d._
halfpenny a pound iiij. iiij. _ob._
To John de Speruent for one pound of
oil, bought for the use of the _calefetores_
[? caulkers]
To the same for j. quintal xxxvj.
lbs. of _gemma_ [? tar], bought
for the work of caulking the
great galley, at per quintal xv. vij.
To Peter Arñ for carriage of the
said _gemma_ from the house of the
said John to the bridge _ob._ iij.
To Peter Arñ Daufereyn for j. skin
of a sheep for caulking the said
galley vj.
To Riudo Berñ for vj. faggots of
brushwood bought for the
caulking, and for their carriage
to the bridge iiij. _ob. qr._
To Peter de Mouhay and his three
fellows drawing water from the
great galley, for one day iiij. vj.
To Dominic of St. Domyngo, caulker,
and his fellow; to the said
Dominic xvj. _d._ per diem, to the
other xij. _d._ ij. iiij.
Total of the day xxviij. _s._ vj.
_d._ qr. ma.
_Wednesday, 26 Feb._—To John de Ville
for v. boards bought for the
repair of the galleys, price of
each board, ij. _s._
To Joan de Tyrons for l. nails
bought for the work of the
galleys, price
To William Faber for j. gymbelette
bought for the work of the galleys
To Forcius de Lesgo and his fellow,
carpenters, to the said Forcius
xv. _d._ wages per diem, to the
other xx. _d._ ij. xi.
To Dominic of St. Domyngo, caulker,
and a certain servant; to the said
Dominic xvj. _d._ wages per diem,
to the other ix. _d._ ij. j.
To the same Dominic for xvj. lbs. of
Thomenk’, price per lb. ij. _d._
_ob._ iij. iiij.
To Pelegrinus de Lesgo for j. jar,
iij. saucers, in which the oil was
placed, and for scrapers
To Gerard Darbent for ij.
_corbatons_ at vj. _d._ each.
Total of the day xx. _s._ j. _d._ _ob. ma._
_27 Feb._—To John de Tyrons for c.
nails of _rym_ iiij.
_28 Feb._—To John de Tyrons for xij.
nails of _cauym_ v.
To Peter Johannis for xij. faggots
of wood for heating the _gemma_,
and for the carriage of the same ix. _ob._
_3 Mar._—To John de Speruent for one
lb. of oil for mixing with the
_gemma_
_4 Mar._—To Peter Johannis for one ell
of _tela_ [? woven stuff] for the
work of the caulkers xij.
_7 Mar._—To Joan de Tyrons for c. nails of
_Tylat_ xj.
_13 Mar._—To Dominic the caulker for
his expenses from Bourdeaux to
Bayonne iiij. vj.
_15 Mar._—To Thomas of Sandwich, for
carriage of the Serpent and
Bygord’ from the bridge to the
house of the painter ij.
To William Mustard for bread and
drink during three days given to
the workmen iiij. _ob._
_16 Mar._—To John de Tyrons for xij.
nails of _cauym_ v.
To John de Castete and his companion
for scraping the old painting of
the great galley, each per diem xv. ij. vj.
To the same John for a _calyp[~p]_,
hired for this work i. _ob._
To Forcius de Lesgo, and his four
companions, carpenters, working
upon the masts and yards, each
per diem xvj. _d._ vj. viij.
_18 Mar._—To John de Castete for hire
of a _calyp[~p]_; and for carrying
sea-sand for the galleys i. _ob._
To Adam of Northampton and his two
companions, for carrying the said
sand and drawing water for the
small and the large galley ij. ij.
To the same Adam for three _tribul’_
for throwing the sand from the
_calip[~p]_ to the galley i. _ob._
_20 Mar._—To John de Seyntmartre for
two anchors bought of him for the
great galley ix. x.
To William Martini for carriage of
the same from the house of the
said John to the smith’s, and
from the smith’s house to the
bridge xvij.
To Arn. Johannis de Lesgo for
_issues_ and ij. _plomas_ of the
said anchors ij. vj.
_22 Mar._—To William Rudi de Mamysan
for the repair of two anchors xij.
To John de Lussy for iiij. _gemell’_
of the masts x.
To William Rudi de Mamysan for
liiij. great nails made for the
_gemell’_ ix.
_28 Mar._—To Forcius de Lesgo and his
two companions for repairing the
seats of the galleys, each per
diem xvj. _d._ iiij.
To Joan de Tyrons for cccc. nails of
Tylat at xj. _d._ per hundred iij. viij.
To the same for ccc. nails of
Solira, at vj. _d._ per hundred xviij.
To the same for xlviij. nails of
Cauym at v. _d._ per dozen xx.
_29 Mar._—To John de Lussye for
_furtanes_ which were wanting in
the said galleys x.
To William Mustard ... for bread and
_pomadr’_ for all the workmen for
iiij. days iij. vj.
_ult. Mar._—To Joan de Tyrons for
xxiiij. nails of Cauym for the
repair of the hinder part of the
great galley x.
To Forcius de Lesgo for ij.
_corbatons_ for the work on the
great galley, price xij.
To the same Forcius for v. ells of
board bought for repairing the
_Bygorus_ xxij.
To Arn. Gerardi for ij. _ligna_
(_timbers_) for _loffis_ and
_bousprete_ ij. vj. _ob._
To William Rudi de Mamysau for j.
anchor purchased of him for the
great galley iiij. x.
&c. &c. &c.
_f. 5 b._ _Friday, 14 March._—Ryndo
de la Fyte for xxij. lbs. “folii
albi de extinctu” for the work of
painting the galleys, at xviij.
_d._ per lb. xxxiij.
To the same for vj. lbs. of Orpiment
at xvj. _d._ viij.
” ” ij. lbs. of Ind. at
ix. _s._ xviij.
” ” viij. lbs. of blankett
at viij. _d._ v. iiij.
” ” viij. lbs. of Certown
at viij. _d._ v. iiij.
” ” ix. lbs. of vernyz
at xx _d._ xv.
” ” iiij. lbs. of oil for
mixing with the colours, at ix.
_d._ per lb. iij.
” ” iij. lbs. “picturæ
deauratæ” (? gold paint) at
ij. _s._ vj.
To Petronilla la Mercadere for xij.
lbs. of vermylon at ij. _s._ xxiiij.
To John de London for xxxv. lbs.
and a half of “Cole” at v. _d._ xiij. ix. _ob._
” ” for ij. lbs. of “Sedes
de por[=c]” at iiij. _s._ viij.
To Master John de Troia for waters
for mixing with the colours xij.
” ” for a quintal of
“Craye” (chalk?) iij.
” ” for 1 lb. of wax ii. vj.
” ” for eggs for
mixing with the colours iii.
To Master John the painter,
commencing the painting of the
great galley, _per diem_ iij.
” ” for Thomas
the painter xx.
To Mark the painter and his
companion, each _per diem_
xij. _d._ ij.
_2 April._—To Master John de Troia
for verdeter xviij.
Expenses of the galley of W. Baydn de Furno.
To Benedicto de Pynak’ for 1 timber
called the Braunc’ bought for the
galiot vj.
To John de Gys for two timbers
called Tymon (rudder?) iij.
To Saubatus de Laste for iiij.
timbers called Juillate xii.
To Garsia Arñ de Castere for xviij.
tostes iij.
And many similar entries, mentioning ij. band’. ij. latons xxviiij.
lattes (laths). Estaunzons (staunchions). xviij. boards of Byerñ for
scanull nails of Tylate, Rym, and tasse. a _virga_ (or yard). Cavill’
and Coynz. Tymon (rudder?). breo albo. x. pipes for _cisera_ at iij.
_s._ ix. _d._ each, nails of Solira, and of Tilat iiij. Corbatouns.
Chastereux of the yard. repairing a broken anchor.
£ _s._ _d._
To John Garsia de Baeryz (Biarritz)
for his spinace hired of him for
seeking and carrying the victuals
for the mariners of the two
galleys of our lord the King, and
of one galeot, and for other
necessary carriages by sea from
Capebretoñ to England whenever
necessary xlv. vj.
Wages of the mariners conducting the
galley “St. George” from Bayonne
to England xxxv. xviij. iij.
_sterling_.
Wages &c. “St. Edward” xxij. x. viij.
_sterling._
Wages &c. the galiot xvij. iij. ix.
Sum total of all the expenses incurred ccc. iii-xx. j. _l._
xviij. _s._ viij. _d._ money equivalent to c.j. _l._ xvj. _s._
viij. _d._ _sterling_ ij. _d._ money.[772]
APPENDIX No. 8.
The following condensed syllabus from Rymer’s “Fœdera,” to which
great work repeated reference has been made in the foregoing pages,
will serve to indicate the course of commerce between England and
various states of the Continent between A.D. 1190 and A.D. 1460, and
to exhibit, by the number of safe-conducts demanded and granted,
the degrees in which it was interrupted by the disputes between
the different monarchs of the period, or by acts of piracy. Ample
illustration is also therein given of the custom of the day of pressing
into the king’s service any vessel or vessels he might want for any
purpose.
The names of all the states with which England was at war or at peace
have been preserved, and a few incidental notices with reference to the
course of trade, or of manners and customs. It will be observed that,
during the reign of Edward the Third, the impressment of ships for the
king’s war service descended as low as vessels of twenty tons; and that
in one instance, at least, the defence of the sea was specially laid as
a duty on the mercantile community. Special forms of safe-conduct, and
for the arrest of ships and mariners, are added in illustration from
MSS. in the British Museum.
_Extracts relating to Maritime affairs from Sir T. Duffus Hardy’s
“Syllabus of the Documents ... contained in Rymer’s ‘Fœdera.’”_
RICH. I. _1190._—Ordinances by the king for the punishment of
crimes committed on shipboard during the voyage to Jerusalem.
_1191, 27 March._—The king confirms to the men of Rye and
Winchelsea their privileges as under Henry II., they finding
two ships to complete the twenty ships of Hastings.
JOHN. _1208, 8 April._—The king requests his mariners and
merchants to aid the barons of the Cinque Ports in arresting all
ships found on the seas, and conveying them to England.
_1213, 3 March._—The king orders the whole shipping from
every port in England to be at Portsmouth by mid-Lent.
_1216, 2 June._—The king requests the jurats of Bayonne to
employ their galleys in annoying his enemies.
HEN. III. _1217, 10 Oct._—The king to the king of Norway; will
gladly promote commercial intercourse with that realm.
_1236, 26 May._—Proclamation respecting the goods of persons
escaping from shipwreck on the coasts of England, Poitou,
Gascony, and Oleron.
_1242, 8 June._—The king to the barons of the Cinque Ports
and the men of Dunwich, to fit out shipping to ravage the
coasts of France.
_1242, 7 July._—The king directs that the galleys of Bristol
and all the galleys of Ireland shall harass the coasts of
France.
_1243, 12 July._—Men of the Cinque Ports to make reprisals
upon John, duke of Brittany.
_1259, July._—The king permits Henry of Castile to engage
ships at Bordeaux and Bayonne for his expedition into Africa.
EDW. I. _1275, 23 Sept._—The king instructs Stephen de Penecastre,
constable of Dover, relative to the contentions between the
merchants of London and Seland (Zealand).
_1280, 17 July._—Writ of protection for the merchants of
Seiland trading with England.
_1285, 15 May._—Regulations by the king and his council as to
the compulsory unloading of ships in the Cinque Ports in time
of danger.
_1298, 14 Feb._—The king orders shipping (100 vessels) to be
provided at Sluys for his return into England from Flanders.
_1301, 14 Feb._—The king orders the bailiffs of Yarmouth and
forty-one other ports in England and Wales and six in Ireland
to supply him with shipping for the expedition against
Scotland.
_1301, 4 Oct._—Proclamation to be made cautioning masters of
ships and other sailors to be on their guard in their voyage
towards Gascony and other ports of France.
_1302, 7 Nov._—The king informs the warden of the Cinque
Ports that instead of fifty-seven ships (which the barons of
those ports are bound to furnish) he will be satisfied with
twenty-five for the Scottish war.
EDW. II. _1307, 26 Sept._—The king to Dionysius, king of Portugal,
respecting the restitution of an English ship recovered by the
Portuguese from some pirates.
_1307, 25 Nov._—The king orders the mayor and sheriffs of
London to provide a ship for the conveyance of his tents
[into France].
_1308, 20 March._—The king orders Robert de Kendale, warden
of the Cinque Ports, to take care that the merchants of
France have liberty to trade in England.
_1309, 12 May._—The king complains to Robert, count of
Flanders, that an English ship had been plundered off
Portsmouth by Flemish pirates.
_1312, 28 July._—The king orders the keepers of the passages
of the port of Dover to permit the abbots of seventeen houses
of the Cistercian order to cross on their way to Citeaux.
_1313, 15 Feb._—The king asks Robert, count of Flanders, to
prevent the export of victuals, arms, &c., from Flanders into
Scotland.
_1313, 22 May._—The king asks the pope to send to him certain
Florentine merchants arrested at his suit in the papal court
for having defrauded the English revenue.
_1314, 1 April._—The king orders the barons of the Cinque
Ports to send to him for the Scottish war the service of
ships which they are bound to provide.
_1314, 26 July._—Robert, count of Flanders, asks the king to
permit his subjects to trade with Flanders, and to consent to
the establishment of a staple at Bruges.
_1315, 13 April._—Robert, count of Flanders, complains to the
king of the pillage of a Flemish ship in the port of Orwelle.
_1315, 18 Sept._—The king orders the captains of his fleet to
do all possible injury to the Flemish shipping.
_1316, 18 June._—The king complains to the city of Genoa that
the Genoese furnish the Scotch with ships and arms.
_1316, 28 July._—Haco, king of Norway, informs the king of
England that he will meet any complaint brought against his
subjects respecting the arrest of a ship in the port of Selay.
_1316, 9 Aug._—Haco, king of Norway, narrates to the king
of England the facts of the complaints of the merchants of
Berwick.
_1318, 28 Jan._—Philip, king of France, complains to the king
of England of the illegal detention in London of the goods of
some French merchants.
_1318, 22 Nov._—General summons of citizens and merchants
to a conference to discuss the establishment of a staple in
Flanders.
_1322, 6 June._—The king orders that the goods and
merchandise of the subjects of John, duke of Brabant, shall
not be arrested.
_1323, 10 April._—Notification of the settlement of all
disputes between the captains of five galleys of Venice and
the town of Southampton.
_1323, 16 April._—The king having pardoned the misconduct of
the five Venetian galleys at Southampton, the Venetians may
therefore trade with England in safety.
_1324, 28 Jan._—The king orders that all ships belonging to
the subjects of the count of Zealand be arrested.
_1324, 10 May._—The king being about to vindicate his rights
in Aquitaine, orders the mayor of Southampton and twelve
other ports to provide him with shipping.
_1324, 10 May._—The king orders that the said ships shall be
ready upon three days’ notice.
_1324, 18 Sept._—The king of England assures Sanctius, king
of Majorca, that he is ready to do justice in the matter of
his ships, which are said to have been plundered by English
pirates.
_1324, 18 Dec._—The king orders that search may be made
at various ports for letters from abroad which may be
prejudicial to the crown.
_1325, 18 Feb._—The king of England to James, king of Aragon,
respecting the seizure of the galleys of the king of Majorca.
_1325, 7 May._—The king of England asks Alphonso, king of
Portugal, and his mother Isabella, to permit provisions to be
conveyed into Gascony.
_1325, 10 May._—The town of Bruges appoints proctors to treat
with the king respecting commercial intercourse between
Flanders and England.
EDW. III. _1326, 18 Feb._—The king orders inquiry to be made
respecting a whale cast ashore upon the manor of Walton, belonging
to the church of St. Paul’s London.
_1326, 3 Dec._—Writ for the payment of £10 to certain sailors
of Bayonne who had aided Queen Isabella in coming into
England from abroad.
_1327, 30 April._—The king to the burgomasters of Bruges,
offering to make reparation for the capture near Boulogne of
a ship of Nieuport by men of Sandwich and Winchelsea.
_1331, 5 Feb._—The king orders the sheriffs of Gloucester and
Somersetshire to allow William de Clyvedon and two others to
export 600 quarters of corn to Ireland, where there is great
scarcity.
_1331, 14 Oct._—William de Clynton, constable of Dover
Castle and warden of the Cinque Ports, is commanded to allow
fishermen to be paid for their goods in English money,
notwithstanding the act against taking money out of the realm.
_1333, 6 Oct._—The king requests Alphonso, king of Aragon, to
withdraw the letters of marque granted to Berenger de la Tone.
_1335, 16 May._—Power to William de la Pole and others to
treat with Louis, count of Flanders, and the commonalties of
Bruges, Ghent, and Ypres, about the piracies, &c., committed
on both sides.
_1335, 26 May._—The king requests John, duke of Brittany,
earl of Richmond, to make redress for four anchors taken
by his subjects from the ship of John Perbroun, of Great
Yarmouth, wrecked on the coast of Garound in Brittany.
_1335, 26 Aug._—The mayor and sheriffs of London are
commanded to send to the king the ships arrested in the port
of London, and to pay 60 marks of the 500 marks granted by
them in lieu of men.
_1335, 20 Sept._—The king orders William de Clynton, warden
of the Cinque Ports, to provide ships for the return home of
certain knights in the company of the count of Juliers.
_1336, 15 March._—The king orders the mayor and bailiffs of
Bristol to take sureties from all masters of ships of the
Cinque Ports which come to Bristol, that they will return
to their proper ports to be equipped for the defence of the
realm.
_1336, 3 May._—The exportation of timber or boards fit for
ship-building forbidden.
_1336, 6 May._—The king orders John de Cobham, John de
Segrave, and John de Wyndesore to pay 100 marks to Alexander
Hurtyn, of Dover, deputy of William de Clynton, warden of
the Cinque Ports, as part payment of £87 10_s._ which he has
spent on the passage of the count of Juliers.
_1336, 28 June._—The king, having heard that the crews of
the ships arrested in North Wales refuse to serve without
being prepaid their wages, orders Richard, earl of Arundel,
justiciary of North Wales, to survey the ships and give the
crews a reward. Similar letter to the justiciary of South
Wales.
_1336, 4 July._—The king releases the commonalty of Genoa
from the payment of customs, to the amount of 8,000 marks,
in recompense for a ship of Yoan Lucian taken by Hugh le
Despenser.
_1336, 5 Aug._—The king orders John de Norwich, admiral of
the fleet, from the Thames northward, who is searching for
hostile galleys, consisting of ships of Great Yarmouth, to
hold no communication with the men of the Cinque Ports, in
consequence of the dissensions between them and the men of
Yarmouth. Similar letter to Geoffrey de Say, admiral of the
fleet south of the Thames.
_1336, 2 Oct._—The king thanks Robert, king of Jerusalem and
Sicily, for having stopped the equipment of ships which,
under colour of assisting the Holy Land, were intended to be
used against England; and desires credence for Nicolin Flisco
of Genoa.
_1336, 2 Oct._—The king thanks the Genoese for having burnt
certain galleys which were being prepared against him; and
desires credence for Nicolin Flisco.
_1336, 2 Oct._—Power to Nicolin de Flasco [sic], called
“Cardinal of Genoa,” to hire galleys for the king’s service.
_1337, 28 Jan._—The sheriffs of London are ordered to deliver
to Thomas de Sapleford, overseer of the works in the Tower,
5000 (?) of iron, 200 Eastland boards, and 100 qrs. of
sea-coal, for making anchors for the _Cristoffre_ and the
_Cogge Edward_, and for other works.
_1337, 1 Aug._—The king orders William Fraunk and Reginald
de Donyngton to deliver a ship to William de la Pole, of
Kingston-on-Hull, and Reginald de Conductu, for the purpose
of exporting 30,000 sacks of wool. Similar letter to the
mayor and sheriffs of London.
_1338, 20 May._—The king has been petitioned by Peter de
Puyane, admiral of the fleet at Bayonne, to grant him the
rent of £6 on every whale caught at Biarritz, and other rents
and dues in Bedured, in the bailiwick of Goes; and desires
the seneschal of Gascony and the constable of Bordeaux to
report as to their value.
_1343, 20 May._—The king orders Richard de Aldeburgh and
four others, to make inquisition concerning the carrying of
two whales and two sturgeons, worth £3000, from the Manor of
Hoveden; the bishop of Durham having wrecks of the sea and
the right to the royal fish.
_1346, 20 Nov._—Thomas de Drayton and two others are
commissioned to provide twenty fishing smacks and ten boats
for the siege of Calais. Similar commission for thirty
vessels to Thomas Spigurnel and Philip de Whitton.
_1348, 1 Oct._—Writs to the sheriffs of London, and the
mayors and bailiff of seventeen seaports, to unload merchant
ships and send them to join the fleet.
_1354, 8 July._—The king informs the captain and council of
Genoa, that he has assigned the duty on 1000 sacks of wool
for the redress of injuries to Genoa ships.
_1355, 27 April._—Richard de Cortenhall and Robert de Baildon
are appointed to arrest ships of twenty tons and upwards from
the Thames to Lynn, and bring them to Southampton by June 11
for the conveyance of Edward, Prince of Wales, to Gascony.
_1360, 24 March._—John Beech, master of the sloop _La Cogg
Johan_, of Sandwich, is ordered to unload his ship and
prepare it for war. Similar orders to six other masters.
_1362, 22 Feb._—Commission to Hugh de Courtenaye, earl of
Devon, and two others, to inquire into the plunder of a ship
called _Tarrit_ (_Tarida?_), and other ships wrecked at
Plymouth.
HEN. IV. _1406, 6 April._—The king orders the mayor and sheriffs
of London, and the mayors and bailiffs of Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
and nineteen other towns, to arrange for the fulfilment of the
covenant made in parliament for committing the custody of the sea
to merchants.
_1406, 20 Oct._—The king forbids the collectors of subsidies
and customs in London, and fourteen other towns to pay the
sums assigned to the merchants for the custody of the sea, as
they have failed in their engagement.
_1410, 18 Nov._—The king orders Henry prince of Wales,
constable of Dover Castle, and warden of the Cinque Ports,
to make restitution to John Dirdolf and others of Berflet in
Flanders, whose ships have been taken by Sir John Prendergest.
_1411, 26 June._—Licence to John Ferkyn to send the two small
guns which he made for a ship, in the ship of Spain in which
the king is sending his great guns to Spain.
_1411, 9 Sept._—The king informs the council of North Berve,
in Norway, of his forbidding the Hanse merchants leaving
England in consequence of the injuries done to English
merchants, and of the licence given to nine merchants at St.
Botolph to leave England.
HEN. VI. _1436, 5 July._—Proclamations to be made by the sheriffs
of London, Kent, and three others, forbidding armourers and
victuallers increasing their prices in consequence of the assembly
of the duke of Gloucester’s troops; and ordering merchants to send
goods to Calais.
_1438, 29 Jan._—Licence to John, bishop of Skalholt, in
Iceland, to take a ship to Iceland and send it back with
merchandise for the payment of his creditors.
_1438, 18 Feb._—Similar licence to John, bishop of Holar.
_1440, 26 Feb._—Licence to John Secheford and John Candeler
to export corn and other victuals to Iceland for the use of
the bishop of Scalhelte, confessor of the king of Denmark.
_1449, 22 Dec._—Licence to John Taverner, of Hull, to export
goods to Italy through the straits of Marrot (Marocco), in
his new ship or carrack, called the _Grace Dieu_.
_1458, 8 June._—Licence to George Morsleyn, merchant of
Cracow, to bring a ruby weighing 214 carats, for sale to
England.
_1460, 9 May._—Safe-conduct for a ship laden with Caen stone
for the repairs of Westminster Abbey.
APPENDIX No. 9.
_Form of “Safe-Conduct.”_ (38 HEN. VI., A.D. 1459-60.)
[Sidenote: Concerning safe-conduct.]
The king by his letters patent, having force for one year, of his
special favour took into his safe and sure conduct, and into his
special protection, keeping, and defence, Robert le Forrester, Roger le
Clerk, Leonard Banche, and John de Cormeilles, merchants of Normandy,
and each of them and the factors, attorneys, and servants of them and
of each of them, with liberty to travel into the realms of the king of
England, and through other the domains, possessions, and territories
of the king whatsoever or whithersoever else it shall seem good to
them, with one ship called the _Grace Dieu_, of Rouen, of the burthen
of seventy casks or under, of which John Gognes, Nandin le Bastier,
Martin Handry, John le Blanc, John Masse, or William Emery is master,
with goods and merchandise of any kind whatsoever, and with twenty
mariners and one mate (_pagesto_) as steersman of the same ship,
together with the accoutrements, furniture, and other fittings of any
kind whatsoever, that may be necessary for their own persons and for
the defence of the said ship and of themselves, to be taken and borne
with them conjointly or separately, as well by land as by sea, either
on horseback or on foot, in journeying to the same place, tarrying,
sojourning, abiding, and transacting business as merchants; and in
unloading the aforesaid ship and reloading her with other goods and
articles of merchandise, of whatsoever kind they may be, not belonging
to the staple of Calais, in passing out of and returning into the same
kingdom, domains, possessions, and territories of the aforesaid king,
with the aforesaid ship reloaded, and with the master, mariners, and
mate, with their accoutrements, furniture, and fittings aforesaid,
safely and securely to foreign parts, so often as it shall seem good
to them during the continuance of the present safe-conduct of the
king, freely, without any let, disturbance, or hindrance whatsoever,
notwithstanding any marque, counter-marque, or reprisal granted or to
be granted, or any other cause or matter whatsoever. And therefore,
etc., provided always that good security be given to the king for the
customs, aids, and other moneys due to the king on account of the
aforesaid goods and merchandise, as is equitable. Provided also, that
the aforesaid Robert, Roger, Leonard, and John de Cormeilles, their
factors, attorneys, servants, master, mariners, and mate, and those
who accompany them, bear and conduct themselves properly and honestly
towards the king and his subjects, and do not attempt, or anyone of
them attempt, or dare to attempt, or any one of them dare to attempt
anything which may turn out to the contempt or injury, the loss or
inconvenience of the said king or of the subjects of the said king in
any way whatsoever. And that they, nor any one of them shall by any
means enter into any camp, fortress, or fortified town belonging to the
king unless they shall first show, or some one of them shall show, to
the commandants, mayors, or governors, there present, royal letters
of safe-conduct. And if it shall chance that any one of the aforesaid
Robert, Roger, Leonard, John de Cormeilles, their factors, attorneys,
servants, master, mariners, and mate, or any of those who accompany
them, does not wish to invalidate the present safe-conduct of the king,
and yet to others who do not invalidate it, any damage or inconvenience
should accrue, but he desires in the case of any individual or
individuals who thus invalidate it, that their persons and property
should be safe, then let them bring with them this _vidimus_, or a
transcript or translation of these presents, executed in conformity
with the king’s genuine seal of obedience, to which implicit belief
is to be yielded as it would be to the original. Witness, the king at
Westminster, the 9th day of April.[773]
By the king himself verbally
Conformable with original
(Signed)
WILLIAM RILEY.
APPENDIX No. 10.
_Form for the Arrest of Ships._
[Sidenote: Concerning the arrest of ships.]
The king to his well beloved John Accleve and John Scadlock, greeting.
Know ye that having full confidence in your fidelity and prudence we
have appointed you to arrest all and singular the ships and other
vessels both of our kingdom of England and of foreign parts of the
burthen of twenty casks and upwards lying in our port of London, and
to cause them to be conveyed with all possible speed to the port of
our town of Southampton, to serve on our present voyage for our moneys
reasonably to be expended in this part. Wherefore we command you that
you give due heed to these instructions and carry them out in the form
aforesaid. Moreover, we charge all and singular the sheriffs, mayors,
constables, bailiffs, ministers, and others concerned by the tenor
of these presents, and strictly enjoin them that they should assist
you in the execution of these presents, both by advice and by active
support as it is fitting. In witness whereof, &c. Witness the king at
Southampton the 27th July. By the king himself. Pat. 3 Hen. part i. M.
25 b.[774]
APPENDIX No. 11.
_Form for the Arrest of Mariners._
[Sidenote: Concerning the arrest of mariners.]
The king to his beloved Haukin Pytman, master of a certain ship called
the _Weathercock of the Tower_, (?) greeting. Know that we having full
confidence in your fidelity and prudence have appointed you to arrest
and seize so many mariners and servants as may be necessary for the
management of the said ship as well within the liberties as without,
and to place them and cause them to be placed in the aforesaid ship,
under our security for their reasonable wages to be paid through your
hands. Wherefore we enjoin you to give good heed in the matter of these
premises and carry them out in the form aforesaid. Moreover, we charge
all and singular the sheriffs, mayors, bailiffs, constables, ministers,
and others our lieges and subjects within and without the liberties by
the tenor of these presents, and strictly command that they afford you
aid in the execution of these presents, both by their advice and by
active assistance as is fitting. In witness whereof, &c. Witness the
king at Westminster the 2nd day of January. Patent 3 Henry, 5, part i.
M. 12 b.[775]
APPENDIX No. 12.
_Register of Grants._
“A book in fol. formerly belonging (as it is said) to the Lord
Treasurer Burleigh, but lately bought of Mr. Strype; being a register
of the grants, &c., passing the privy seal, royal signet, or sign
manual during the reigns of King Edward V. and King Richard III., with
some other entries made upon other occasions or in other reigns.”
Among them are the following entries:
1592.—Licence to Loys de Grymaldes, Merchaunt of the parties of
Jeane (Genoa), to bring into this realme Dyamount and other Gemmys
or preciouse stones; to th’ entent, that if they be for the king’s
pleasure, he may have the sale (_i.e._, the pre-emption) thereof
before alle other. Yeoven at London the 9th day of Decembre,
anno primo. f. 130.
1636.—Commission to the Magistrates, &c., of the Port Towns, to
man out their small Vessels and help the English Fleet in case
they shall see them engaged with the Fleet of the Bretons, now
lieng in Flannders. Yeven the 20th day of Dec., anno primo. f.
136.
1749.—Letter to the Owners, Maisters, &c., of the Naveye of the
Counties of Norff. & Suff. entending to departe unto the parties
of Islande (Iceland): requiring them not to depart towards the
said parties of Islande without the king’s licence: But to
assemble themselves well harneyshed & apparelled for their owne
suretie; and soo to departe alle togidere towarde Humbre, to
attend there upon the King’s Shippes of Hulle, as their Waughters
(_i.e._, Waiters, or Convoy) for the suertie of them alle. Yeven
the 23rd day of February, anno primo. f. 159. b.
2065.—Letters given to Gregory Walder, Maister of the Ship
Marie-Lewe, of Lebyke (Lubeck), for his discharge touching the
said ship, which being a stranger and dryven into Dertmouthe
was (according to the olde uses and custumes of Englande by the
Royall prerogatyve) reteyned for the King’s use and bought at
his reasonable price. Yeven at London 21 Jan., anno 2do. f.
203.[776]
APPENDIX No. 13.
_Ancient Form of Procedure for the restitution of Goods unlawfully
seized._
Endorsed in French. On the 15th day of June in the 13th year [of King
Richard II.], there being present at Westminster the Chancellor, the
Treasurer, the bishop of Lo[ndon], the bishop of Sarum, the bishop of
Hereford, Monsr. Richard Lescro[~p], Monsr. William Lescrop, this
examination was read, and the advice of the above persons and of the
Guardian of the Privy seal, that restitution be made of the xiiij. tuns
of wine.
[Sidenote: Original in Latin.]
The following examination was made on the 29th day of Novr., in the
13th year of King Richard II. [A.D. 1389], by Master Edmund Stafford,
keeper of the Privy seal, and Edward Dalingru[~gg], and Richard Stury,
knts., for the time being of the king’s council, by the same council
especially appointed for this affair, upon that, namely, that from a
certain ship of a certain Commendator of Germany, with certain casks of
wine and other divers merchandises of the goods of Valascus Vincentius
and Gunsalous Johannes, Merchants of Portugal, laden, and taken at sea
by Englishmen of Sandwich against the will of the said merchants, and
taken into the port of Sandwich, Robert de Assh’ton, while he lived,
Constable of Dover Castle, had, as is said, 14 casks of wine, applied
to his own uses, for which satisfaction had not yet been made, as is
said, although the same Robert while he lived had been frequently
applied to for it.
Thomas Elys, forty years of age and upwards, sworn, and examined, and
diligently required respecting the said matter, says that about 7 years
ago at Sandwich 14 casks of wine were taken from the aforesaid ship
on the part of Robert Assh’ton for his own uses, as he then heard of
public rumour, going about those parts. And of the other casks of wine
taken in the same ship restitution was made, as he says, by command of
the Council of the Lord King, as he heard from many persons, and he
believes truly, as he says, that satisfaction had not yet been given to
the said merchants for the 14 casks of wine under consideration.
John Godard, sworn, &c.: had heard from the relation of many, that such
a ship had been taken with wine upon Palm Sunday about 7 years ago, &c.
&c.
John Conduyt, sworn, &c.: Peter Conduyt, sworn, &c.: knew that such a
ship had been taken by his father with wine, and saw the same ship, &c.
Hugh atte Welle, sworn, &c.: heard of, and saw such a ship at Sandwich,
&c.; heard by common report that about the time of the last earthquake
restitution had been made, &c.
Robert Sandewych’, sworn, &c.: says that such a ship was taken and
carried into Sandewych, and the wine was sold to the knowledge of this
witness, who had charge of the _cista_ (chest) which held the money
received for this wine, and after that that party came from Portugal
with letters of the king of Portugal, by command of the Council of the
king of England restitution was made to them of that money for 100
casks of wine, exclusive of that for 14 casks which Robert Assh’ton
had for his own uses. And this deponent says that for a sum of money
between 100 shillings and 5 marks each of these casks were sold. This
deponent also says that he with those merchants stood security for
Robert Assh’ton for payment of the 14 casks; and the same Robert, to
the knowledge and hearing of this deponent, acknowledged his debt and
said that he was willing to pay for the same, but had made frequent
delay in the matter; and this deponent never heard of payment having
been made in the matter. The deponent also states that he was present
at the sale of the casks of wine, as is aforesaid.
And all the aforesaid witnesses, examined singly, said that they
estimate each of these casks at the value of six marks, after that the
said 14 casks had been taken out and selected by Robert Assh’ton as
being the best.[777]
FOOTNOTES:
[768] MS. Harleian, 158, fol. 2 b. A nearly similar statement is given
in MS. Sloane, 43, fol. 12.81
[769] MS. Harl. 293, fol. 80. See also a long letter from Henry III.
to Eric, King of Norway. Cotton. Nero, iii. p. 31, dated A.D. 1218,
November 28; and a letter from Haco, King of Norway, promising to meet
any complaints brought against his subjects. Rymer, “Fœd.” vol. i., sub
A.D. 1216-18.
[770] Cotton. Galba, E iv. f. 22.
[771] As the figures differ in the different records, it has been
thought best simply to add the sum of the figures given in the text.
[772] Add. MSS. 17364.
[773] MSS. Harl. 4819, fol. 123.
[774] Add. MSS. 4500, fol. 148.
[775] Add. MSS. 4500, fol. 149.
[776] MSS. Harl. 433.
[777] MS. Cott. Nero, B i. f. 18.
INDEX.
_Abdooli_, value of the port of, as the chief station for the trade
in ivory, p. 113
_Acesines_, at junction of, with Indus, Alexander builds a great
city, p. 142
_Ælanitic Gulf_, ports on, Elath and Ezion-geber, p. 27
_Africa_, ships destined for the trade with, cleared Arabian Gulf
before November, p. 113
---- largely supplies Rome with corn, horses, drugs, and with
animals for the games, p. 179
_Agricola_, his wise government of Britain; the first, also, who
sailed round the whole Island, p. 322
_Aguado_, a commission sent from Spain under the charge of, to
examine into the affairs of Columbus, p. 600
_Alexander the Great_ founds Alexandria, B.C. 331, with the view of
connecting Eastern and Western commerce, p. 100
---- not a mere conqueror, but a great promoter of commerce and of
civilization, pp. 134-137
---- is prevented from prosecuting his conquest of India by the
mutiny of his Greek troops in Hyphasis (Setlege), p. 138
----, Account of the fleet of, on the Indus, and of his conquests
and of the voyage of Nearchus, as detailed by Arrian, pp.
138-143
----, while dying, plans the conquest of Arabia, p. 146
----, disruption of the empire of, on his death, B.C. 323, p. 147
_Alexandria_, Pharos, or lighthouse, at, the model for future
buildings of the same kind, p. 58
_Alexandria_, course of Eastern trade thence, first by Arsinoe
(Suez), then by Myos Hormus and Berenice, p. 101
----, commerce of Rome with, chief items of, p. 177
_Alfred the Great_ ascends the throne of England, A.D. 871, p. 347
---- finds England overrun by the Danes, and commences to create a
Royal and Commercial Navy, pp. 349-50
---- justly called the “Father of the British Navy,” p. 348
---- said to have sent Missions to the East, p. 351
---- orders the compilation of the “Winchester Book,” the model of
the later “Doomsday Book,” p. 351
_Amalfi_, invention of mariner’s compass traditionally, but
erroneously, attributed to, p. 233
----, settlements of the republic of, at Constantinople, Antioch,
Jerusalem, and Alexandria, p. 238
----, its trade suppressed by the Pisans, A.D. 1137, p. 233
----, remarks of Mr. Hallam on the singular history of, p. 234,
_note_
_Amasis_, King, grants special privileges to the Greeks and founds
the port of Naucratis, B.C. 556, p. 49
_Amber_, story of its first discovery, and curious anecdotes
concerning the trade in, pp. 11, 12
_Antwerp and Bruges_ take the lead in Flemish trade, pp. 417-18
_Arabic language_ spoken for centuries at most ports between the
Euphrates and Canton, p. 160
_Aragon_, gradual advance of the trade between it and Africa, p.
549
_Archimedes_ invents a screw of great power for the launching of
Hiero’s great ship, p. 67
_Argonautic Expedition_ rather Phœnician than Greek, Introd. p.
xxvii, and probably a commercial enterprise in search of gold,
p. 4
_Aristotle_ states that the Phœnicians occasionally made their
anchors of silver from Spain, p. 9
_Ark of Noah_, simply a raft of stupendous size, roofed over like a
warehouse, Introd. p. xxiii
----, a notice of, recently discovered on Assyrian tablets by Mr.
George Smith, Introd. p. xxiv, _note_
_Arrest of Mariners_, form for, Append. 11, p. 653
_Arrest of Ships_, form for, Append. 10, p. 652
_Arrian, The Merchant_, not the same as the more famous writer of
Nicomedia, p. 111, _note_
----, various details given by, of the chief commodities passing
from the East to West, and _vice versâ_, pp. 111-112
---- describes the voyage of Nearchus, &c., pp. 138-43
---- visits himself the Malabar coast, p. 149
_Artemisium_, naval engagement off, and defeat of the Persians, p.
73
_Athens_, its commercial importance and three harbours, the
Piræeus, Munychia, and Phalerum, p. 72
----, fleet of, mainly instrumental in repelling Xerxes, p. 73
_Atlantic Ocean_, testimony of Edrisi to the dread the ancients had
of it, p. 553
_Author’s_ views on the arrangement of ancient rowers and on their
method of rowing, pp. 281-290
_Baalbek_, with Tadmor (Palmyra), founded by Solomon to obtain a
share of the commerce with Babylon and the East, p. 94
_Babylon_, admirable position of, as the entrepôt of Eastern
commerce, and early manufactories at, of cotton and linen, p. 33
----, its commerce still of value, as late as Diocletian, A.D. 284,
p. 34
_Babylon_, at the zenith of its greatness under Nebuchadnezzar, p.
97
_Babylonia_, ancient fertility of, confirmed by the statements of
Messrs. Rich and Chesney, p. 32
_Barcelona_, early Republican Government of, p. 471
_Barter_, trade by, of Carthaginians with natives of W. Africa, p.
21
----, the sole medium of caravan trade with the East, according to
Ezekiel, p. 96
_Barygaza_ (now Baroach), on the Nerbudda, a great commercial
entrepôt for the West, p. 111
_Bayeux Tapestry_, representation on, of the ships of William the
Conqueror, p. 362
_Bede, The Venerable_, the first writer after departure of the
Romans who mentions London, p. 339
_Behaim, Martin_, invents the astrolabe about A.D. 1480, p. 559
_Belgæ_, method of caulking ships in use among, as recorded by
Pliny, Introd. p. xxix
_Belzoni, M._, discovers remains of ancient stations between Coptos
and the Red Sea, p. 102
_Berenice_, fleets clear out thence eastwards in September for
Arabia and Africa; in July for India, p. 102
_Birch, Mr. Walter de Gray_, publishes in the “Archæologia” a
leaden tablet recording the aid given by Venice to Charlemagne
at siege of Pavia, A.D. 774, p. 237, _note_
_Birds_ used in navigation by the Northmen, as, according to Pliny,
by the ancient Cinghalese, p. 359
_Bitumen_ exported from Babylonia to Egypt in the time of Thothmes,
Introd. p. xxv
_Black Sea_, nature of the trade of, and of the Sea of Azov, pp.
200, 201
_Boats_, the earliest, flat-floored and without decks, keel-less
barges rather than ships, Introd. pp. xxvii-xxviii
----, Assyrian, on Tigris, &c., represented on the sculptures from
Nineveh, pp. 35-39
----, Assyria, resemble in shape those on the mediæval corporate
seals, p. 37
----, of the barbarians of the Euxine, description of, by Tacitus,
p. 193
_Boats of Skin_ on Assyrian sculptures, in use in Mesopotamia,
Introd. p. xxiv
---- noticed by Pliny as common in British waters, and occasionally
still met with in Wales and called _Coracles_, Introd. pp.
xxiv-xxv
_Boroughs, English_, in the time of Edward the Confessor, nearly
all in the hands of the King or of the nobility, p. 369
_Bristol_, trade from, to Iceland as early as King John, p. 393
_Britain_, position of, an island with dangerous coasts, rough seas
and sandbanks, p. 299
----, its vessels at first, according to Cæsar, with ribs and keels
of light wood covered with leather, p. 299
----, first known only to the Phœnicians or neighbouring tribes of
the Continent, p. 301
----, not noticed by any writer between the invasions of Cæsar and
of the Emperor Claudius, p. 312
----, list of towns in, recorded by Ptolemy, pp. 313-314
---- possessed a coinage of gold on Greek models before the time of
Cæsar, p. 315, _note_
---- for the first time “Mistress of the Seas” under the strong
rule of Carausius, p. 326
----, commerce of, at the time of the Conquest, in wool, lead, tin,
iron, and slaves, p. 366
_Britons_ closely connected with the Gauls, p. 302
---- ultimately gainers by the acquaintance they obtained with Rome
through Cæsar’s invasions, p. 312
---- had no fleet wherewith to resist the invasions of the
Northmen, p. 340
_Bucentaur_, state-barge of the Doge of Venice, historical details
of, pp. 475-7
_Cæsar, Julius_, various reasons of, for invasion of Britain, p. 303
---- unable to obtain from the Gauls any information about Britain,
p. 304
----, _first_ invasion of Britain, Aug. 26, B.C. 55, with, perhaps,
8000 men in 80 galleys, p. 305
----, _second_ invasion, B.C. 54, with, perhaps, 21,000 men and
2000 cavalry, p. 307
----, in _second_ invasion, crosses the Thames, probably between
Walton and Shepperton, and beats Cassivelaunus, pp. 310-311
----, invasions of Britain by, admitted by Tacitus and other Roman
writers to have been only discoveries, p. 311
_Canute_ ascends the throne, A.D. 1016, visits Rome and makes a
treaty with Emperor Conrad in favour of the English pilgrims,
and increases the number of mints in England, p. 360
_Canynge, William_, a celebrated merchant of Bristol in reign of
Edw. IV., pp. 455-6
_Caractacus_, celebrated speech of, p. 315
_Carausius_, a Menapian soldier, seizes the fleet of Maximian, and
reigns in Britain seven years, p. 197
_Caravans_, earliest notice of, in Genesis, ch. xxxvii., p. 25
----, route of Scythian, through Mongolia, Balkh, to N. of India
and China, pp. 42-43
----, up to the time of Solomon, the only means of communication
with the East, presumably used in the time of Moses—certainly
in that of Gideon, pp. 86-7
----, conduct and management of, pp. 88-92
----, the more important routes of, pp. 89-99
----, south-eastern from Petra to Yemen, and along Arabian Gulf to
Ophir (Saphar), northern from Tyre to the nations along the
Black Sea, and southern from Tyre to Egypt, pp. 89-90
----, by Palmyra to Thapsacus and Mesopotamia, pp. 94-95
----, from Thapsacus through Palestine to Memphis, and two routes
from Petra—both terminating at Gerrha, p. 95
----, route from Opis to Aradus, from Susa northwards, and thence
to Candahar, &c., and from Susa, through Caspian gates, by
Herât, Kâbul, and Peucela, to Central Asia, pp. 98-99
----, through Bactra, the chief route for commerce between India
and the West, before Alexander the Great, and the only method
of trading with China in the most remote ages, pp. 127-129
----, routes of, in India, chiefly for pilgrims to Benares and
Juggernaut, p. 153.
----, from China to Constantinople in ninety days, _viâ_ Oxus,
Caspian, Cyrus, and Phasis, p. 161
_Carthage_, the most important of the colonies of Tyre, p. 16
----, ancient site of, recognised by modern travellers as the “Hill
of St. Louis,” p. 17
----, in its commercial policy, adheres to the principles of Tyre,
did not, as has been asserted, exhibit a lust of conquest, and
only created a Navy in self-defence against the Romans, p. 19
----, _first_ expedition from, under Hanno, to western shores of
Africa; _second_ expedition under Himilco, to the N.W. of
Europe, p. 20
----, like the United States, indebted mainly to her
merchant-shipping for her Navy, p. 24
----, first Treaty with the Romans, B.C. 509, shows that Rome had
at that period little commerce, p. 169
_Carthaginian trade_ with Central Africa, Malta, Elba, Spain, &c.,
founded on reciprocity, while that of all her neighbours was
rigidly protectionist, pp. 23-24
_Cassiteros and “Insulæ Cassiterides,”_ most probable origin of
these names, p. 10
_Cerne, Island of_, the chief Carthaginian depôt in W. Africa, p. 21
_Ceylon_, the great entrepôt of the trade from the farthest East,
in the earliest days, in the time of the Persians and Arabs,
and to the present day, pp. 112-150
----, embassy from, to the Emperor Julian the Apostate, p. 151
----, description of its commerce by Cosmas Indicopleustes, A.D.
535, p. 155
_Chaldæans, Early_, like the Egyptians, of Hamite origin, and
shown, by the cuneiform inscriptions, to have been the greatest
people of the remotest ages, p. 27
_Chanca, Dr._, the physician of Columbus, writes an excellent
account of his Second Voyage, p. 592
_Charlemagne_ makes treaty of commerce with Offa, and extends
French commerce by alliance with Harún-al-Rashíd, A.D. 813, pp.
343-4
---- insists that the rights of Amalfi, Venice, &c., as commercial
cities, shall be respected, p. 464
_Charnock, Mr._, his view on the subject of ancient rowing, pp.
269-271
_Chaucer_, description of the English seamen of his time in
Prologue to “Canterbury Tales,” pp. 436-7
_China_, method of caulking ships used in 1792 not unlike that of
more remote times, Introd. p. xxix
---- (Thina), story of the trade with, in Herodotus, p. 128
_Cicero’s defence of Roscius_, argument in, turns on the method of
book-keeping practised at Rome, p. 185
_Cilician pirates_, war with, and destruction by Pompey at
Coracesium, p. 167
_Cinnamon_, one of the most valuable products of Ceylon, though not
mentioned as coming thence in any ancient author, p. 156
_Cinque Ports_ greatly distinguish themselves in action with the
French, A.D. 1216, with the earliest existing charter of, from
Edward I., A.D. 1272-1307, p. 394, _note_, and Appendix 4, pp.
629-632
----, duties imposed on, in return for their existing privileges,
p. 402
_Claudius, Emperor_, intelligent zeal of, with reference to the
importation of corn, pp. 176-7
----, by bounties, tries to improve the art of ship-building at
Rome, p. 301
_Coal-fields of Newcastle_ first opened temp. Edw. III., p. 410
_Coal-vessels and barges_, law for the admeasurement of, pp. 453-4
_Coasting_, the characteristic of all early navigation, p. 2
_Coasting_, difficulties and value of, as tending to form expert
seamen, p. 2
_Coasting character of the earliest voyages_ supports the story of
the circumnavigation of Africa from E. to W., p. 86
_Coasting trade_ from China to Bengal and Ceylon, p. 129
_Coasts of English Channel_ defended by the West-Country
merchantmen, and the French and Spanish fleets defeated, p. 434
_Colchester_, the principal city of Eastern Britain, made a Roman
colony by Claudius, p. 320
_Colonies, Phœnician_, their respect for and friendship with the
mother-country, p. 15
_Colonists of Columbus_, general disappointment of, at the scarcity
of the gold they had anticipated, pp. 597-8
_Columbus_ led by Ptolemy’s error in his longitude to fancy the New
World much nearer Europe than it is really, Introd. p. xl
---- repairs to Lisbon about 1470, and marries the daughter of
one of Prince Henry’s most famous navigators, Bartolomeo de
Palestrello, p. 555
---- obtains an audience with the King of Portugal about A.D. 1480,
but is not able to convince the learned Junto to whom his
scheme was referred, p. 559
---- is kindly welcomed by the prior of the Convent of La Rabida,
in Spain, A.D. 1485, p. 560
---- is received by Ferdinand and Isabella about A.D. 1486, p. 561
----, conditions on which he is to start on his voyage to the West
finally settled, April 17, 1492, p. 565
----, nature and character of the vessels employed by, in his first
voyage, pp. 567-571
---- starts from Palos on his _first_ voyage Aug. 3, 1492, and
sights land at the Island of Guanahani, Oct. 12, 1492, pp. 571-7
---- is fully persuaded that the land he had discovered was part of
Cathay, p. 578
----, account of the natives by, in letter to the Treasurer of
Ferdinand and Isabella, pp. 579-581
_Columbus_ loses one of his ships, establishes a colony, and sails
for Spain Jan. 4, 1493, p. 587
_Columbus_ is received on his return with the highest honours and
general rejoicings, pp. 588-590
----, on _second_ voyage, starts Sept. 26, 1493, p. 591
---- discovers Guadaloupe, the Antilles, Hispaniola, and builds a
new city, which he calls Isabella, pp. 593-4
---- discovers Cuba and Jamaica, p. 599
---- returns to Spain March 1496, leaving his brother Bartholomew
in command, p. 603
---- sets sail on his _third_ voyage to the West, May 30, 1498, p.
604
---- discovers Trinidad, May 31, 1498, and shortly afterwards
the Gulf of Paria, Tobago, and the islands of Margarita and
Cubagna, pp. 605-7
---- is sent in chains to Europe in 1500, with his brother
Bartholomew p. 610
----, letter from, to Doña Juana de la Torres, recounting his
wrongs and his sufferings, pp. 610-11
---- starts on his _fourth_ and last voyage to the West, May 9,
1502, p. 614
---- discovers island of Guanaga, Honduras, the Mosquito Coast,
Puerto Bello, and forms a settlement at the River Belem, pp.
615-18
---- reaches Spain on his return from his _last_ voyage, Nov. 7,
1504, p. 619
---- dies, neglected by the Court, May 20, 1506, p. 620
_Commerce_, nature and usual routes of, between Rome and Britain
under the Emperors, pp. 316-320
---- seriously restricted during the earlier Saxon period, pp. 342-3
_Compass, Mariners’_, not an invention of the Chinese, Introd. pp.
xlii-xliii
----, or, as used to be thought, of the people of Amalfi, p. 233
_Consul, the first English_, appointed at Florence, p. 460
“_Consuls of the Sea_,” board of “The Six,” created by Florence,
their powers and duties, pp. 524-530
_Consuls_ appointed to each ship, with their duties and emoluments,
p. 496
_Constantinople_ founded A.D. 323, p. 197
----, its splendid position for the purposes of trade, pp. 198-200
----, efforts made by its founder to induce merchants to settle at,
p. 201
----, commerce of, increased by the seizure of Alexandria and Syria
by the Muhammedans, p. 223
----, _Siege of_, by the Crusaders mainly promoted by the
commercial jealousy of Venice, p. 244
----, _Trade of_, much injured during the sixty years of the sway
of the Latins there, p. 246
---- taken by Muhammed II. A.D. 1453, p. 252
_Coptos_, on Nile, goods sent thence by caravans to Myos Hormus or
Berenice, p. 102
_Corinth_, excellent position of, as an entrepôt for commerce, p. 71
----, Isthmus of, called _Diolcus_, as the place where ships were
drawn across, p. 77
_Corinthians_, the first, according to Thucydides, to build
triremes, p. 70
_Corn_, bounties on, given at Rome on the importation of, p. 176
_Corn-trade_, enormous extent of, at Rome, at the commencement of
the Empire, p. 188
_Corsairs, Genoese_, performed the duties of the men-of-war of our
time, in searching neutral and friendly vessels, p. 519
_Cosmas Indicopleustes_, voyage to India and description of Ceylon,
A.D. 535, pp. 154-155
_Crete_, vast armament for the reduction of, prepared at
Constantinople, p. 225
_Crusades_, the four first, their objects and results, pp. 238-246
----, the _first_ and _second_, disastrous to those who planned
them, p. 238
----, the _third_, successful in the capture of Acre, Cæsarea, and
Jaffa, p. 239
----, the _fourth_, diverted from its original purpose to the aid
of Venice in the capturing of Zara and Constantinople, pp.
240-246
_Custom-houses, Roman_, with garrisons, in all the ports of the Red
Sea, p. 106
_Dacia_, province of, ceded to the Goths by Aurelian, p. 192
_Danes, The_, land in the Island of Thanet, A.D. 753, p. 345
----, nature, names, and outfit of their ships, pp. 345-6
_Danish Kings_ rule in Ireland and over Orkneys and Shetland
Islands, p. 347
_David, King_, the first to open out the trade with Ophir, p. 27
----, the Jews owe to him their first practical knowledge of
commerce, p. 28
_Dead-reckoning_ by observation of the sun and stars all that the
ancients had really to rely on, Introd. p. xli
_Dias, Bartholomew_, discovers the Cape of Good Hope on his return
voyage from Algoa Bay to Portugal, p. 553
_Duties_, higher, imposed by Augustus on articles of luxury than of
necessity, p. 174
_Eastern Empire_, its vast extent, from the Adriatic to Æthiopia
and Persia, p. 215
_Edgar_, the first to have separate fleets at different stations to
resist the Danish invasions, p. 358
_English Fleet_, wages of sailors of the fleet of Edward I.,
Append. 5, pp. 632-4
----, first roll of, A.D. 1347, p. 411; and at length in Append. 6,
pp. 634-6
----, item of repairs of ships of Edward III., at Bayonne, Append.
7, pp. 636-641
----, pay of sailors, soldiers, &c., on board of, pp. 412-13
_Egypt_, the oldest granary for corn, as proved from Genesis, ch.
xli., p. 26
----, under Pharaohs, an agricultural country, p. 46
----, commerce of, greatly promoted by the Greeks of Naucratis, p.
49
----, sailors of, bargemen employed on the Nile and canals rather
than seamen, p. 50
----, boats of, how built and navigated, according to Herodotus,
pp. 50-57
----, many and various kinds of vessels in, for cargoes,
passengers, funeral purposes, but no large sea-going boats in,
till the period of the Ptolemies, pp. 52-57
----, conquest of, by Octavianus, enormously promotes Roman
commerce with the East, p. 173
_Egyptian Records_ not to be harmonized with the Bible, p. 45
_Egyptian Tombs_, value of wall-paintings in, as delineating most
of the customs of the country, p. 46
_Egyptians_, not Caucasians, or Semites, as shown by their skulls
from the mummy-pits, p. 45
----, the first to build deck-houses on their vessels, p. 58
_Eratosthenes_ draws a parallel of latitude through Gibraltar,
Rhodes, and Lycia, to India, Introd. p. xl
_Essex, the Earl of_, the first to fit out an expedition to the
Holy Land, p. 376
_Ethelred, Law under_, that every owner of 310 hides of land should
furnish a ship for the Navy, p. 355
_Eudoxus the First_, voyage of, from Arabian Gulf to Gades, under
Ptolemy Lathyrus, p. 81
_Eudoxus the Second, of Cyzicus_, story of the finding of the prow
of an Egyptian ship, confirmed by Humboldt, p. 83
----, voyages to India, under Ptolemy Physcon and Cleopatra (his
queen), pp. 81-83
_Europe_, the commerce of, during the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries, wholly in the hands of the Lombard (or Italian)
merchants, p. 478
_Excise_, value of, at Rome under Augustus, p. 175
_Ezekiel_, prophecy relating to Tyre and mainland of Phœnicia, in
ch. xxvii., examined, pp. 7-14
_Ezion-geber, the “Giant’s backbone,”_ description of, by Dean
Stanley, p. 29
_Fairs, the Statute_, sprung out of the religious assemblies of the
Sundays, p. 343
_Festus Avienus_, curious poem of, noticing early settlements in
Britain and Ireland, p. 20
_Firmus_, a paper-maker, heads the revolt of Alexandria, A.D. 273,
p. 159
_Flanders_, great increase of its trade, especially with the
Italian republics and the East (_viâ_ Constantinople), pp.
416-17
_Flood_, Scriptural account of, confirmed by the discoveries of Mr.
George Smith, Introd. p. xxiv, _note_
_Florence_, early reputation of its banking establishments, pp.
523-4
----, naval expeditions of, to Egypt, Constantinople, and Majorca,
pp. 525-6
----, the freedom of trade at, not unlike the practice of ancient
Tyre, p. 527
----, the public galleys of, and their trade, pp. 530-1
----, consulates belonging to, established in various foreign
countries as early as A.D. 1339, p. 531
----, principal causes of its commercial decline, pp. 532-3
_Florin_, a gold coin struck by the Florentines in imitation of the
Venetian ducat, p. 526
_Flotation_, first invention of, in the hollowed log and raft,
ascribed by the ancients to the gods, Introd. pp. xxi-xxii
_Foreign Trade_, especially that of Flanders and of the Italian
republics, greatly advantaged by the wars in which England
wasted her strength, pp. 416-22
_Frankincense_, enormous consumption of, at Babylon, p. 98
_Franks_, celebrated return of, from Black Sea through Straits of
Gibraltar to Frisian coasts, p. 164
_French, The_, during the Middle Ages, with the exception of the
Marseillais, chiefly notorious as wreckers, p. 470
_Galley, French_, description of, in 1701, pp. 262-5
_Galleys_, ancient, their various sizes and mode of rating, p. 253
---- of large size attributed by the ancients to Dionysius I. and
to Demetrius Poliorcetes, pp. 255-6
----, general character of the ancient, pp. 256-9
----, difficulty of arranging the oars according to any ancient
account which has been preserved, pp. 260-1
----, central portion of all, probably covered with awning or
tarpaulin, p. 292
----, general conclusions relative to their rating or classing of,
p. 296
_Gaul_ supplies Rome with minerals, corn, salt pork, and cloths, p.
180
_Genoa_ of comparatively little importance till it obtained the
chief power in the East by its restoration of the Greek empire,
whereby it obtained settlements at Galata and Pera, p. 247
---- gradually absorbs the whole commerce of Constantinople with
the Black Sea and Central Asia, p. 248
---- makes war on Constantinople, whose Emperor, Cantacuzene,
appeals to the Venetians and Turks for aid, p. 250
----, long struggle between it and Venice, ending in its ruin, p.
250
---- restores Greek dynasty at Constantinople, p. 509
_Genoese_ famous as ship-builders—vessels built by them for Louis
IX., A.D. 1268, pp. 510-14
_Genoese pirates_ destroyed by the Turcoman ruler of Sinope, A.D.
1323, p. 519
_Genoese ship of thirteenth century_, probable representations of,
from the MS. Virgil in Riccardi library, p. 513
---- of the sixteenth century, as given by Charnock, p. 518
_Genoese ships_, improbability of those described by Napier in his
“History of Florence,” pp. 514-16
_Genseric_ seizes Carthage, crosses to Ostia, and captures Rome,
pp. 210-212
---- destroys the fleet of Leo the Emperor of Constantinople, who
had attempted to take Carthage, p. 213
_Gessoriacum_ (Boulogne), Pharos or lighthouse at, constructed by
Caligula, p. 180
_Glesum_ (_glass?_), the native name for amber among the Suionæ,
according to Tacitus, p. 12
_Gnomon_ the most usual ancient nautical instrument, Introd. p. xl
_Goods_, restitution of, ancient form for, Append. 13, pp. 654-6
_Goths_, first invasion of, A.D. 217, repressed by Caracalla, and
divided, generally, into Ostro (east) and Visi (west), p. 191,
_note_
----, general character of, ascertainable from the narrative of
Tacitus in his essay “De Germanis,” p. 192
---- take Philippopolis and slay the Emperor Decius, A.D. 257, p.
192
_Grants_, register of, Append. 12, pp. 653-4
_Greece_ the only European country which reared silkworms from the
time of Justinian to the twelfth century, p. 224
_Greek Empire at Constantinople_ restored by the Genoese, A.D.
1261, p. 246
_Guanahani_, the first land reached by Columbus, one of the cluster
of the Lucayos or Bahama Islands, now known as Watling Island,
p. 577
_Hadramaut_, chief trade of, frankincense, p. 120
_Hadrian_ builds the famous Roman wall from Walls End to the
Solway, p. 325
_Hanseatic League_, the first between Hamburg and Lübeck, commences
A.D. 1241, p. 397
----, its method of trading, pp. 420-2
_Hanse-Towns_, important treaty with, made by Henry IV., A.D. 1401,
p. 437
----, its charges of piracy against the English, and
counter-charges, pp. 438-9
_Haweis, Rev. J. O. W._, suggestions as to the arrangements of the
oars and seats, Appendix 1, pp. 625-8
_Henry V._ raises the finest fleet yet created in England, and
builds large ships at Southampton, pp. 441-2
_Henry, Prince of Portugal_, justly termed “the Navigator,” sends
expeditions along the Western Coast of Africa, pp. 550-1
_Hiero, King of Syracuse_, ship of, called the _Alexandrian_,
probably not unlike the large American inland steamers, pp.
66-68
_Hieroglyphics_, Egyptian, key to the interpretation of, first
discovered by Dr. Thomas Young, M.D., p. 44
_Hindustan_, the fame of its great wealth likely to attract
conquerors at any period of history, p. 125
_Hippalus_, the discoverer of the Monsoons, believed to have lived
in the reign of the Emperor Claudius, p. 104, _note_
_Hipparchus_ the first to construct a map on the principle of
“Mercator’s Projection,” Introd. p. xl
_Hoest_, trade by silent barter between Moors and Negroes, noticed
by, p. 22
_Holy Writ_, the only source of our earliest information about the
most ancient ships and commerce, Introd. p. xvi
_Howell, Mr._, views of, on ancients’ rowing, pp. 275-281
---- deems it impossible that vessels of more than five banks could
have been rowed, p. 275
_India_, value of the trade with, and ancient and modern fear lest
it should absorb too much of the precious metals required for
the currency, p. 105
----, no reliable account of its actual resources before the
invasion of Darius, p. 127
----, commerce of, with the West before Alexander the Great,
chiefly by caravans through Bactra (Balkh), but scarcely known
historically till he descends the Indus, pp. 127-134
----, comparative length of voyages to, in ancient and modern
times, p. 145
---- to the E. of Indus little known till the time of the Romans,
p. 148
---- shown by Arrian in his “Periplus” to have been very rich in
manufactures, p. 152
----, caravans in, to Benares and Juggernaut, p. 153
----, Roman trade with, lasted more than five centuries, but
interrupted by the Sassanian rulers of Persia, p. 157
----, Chinese trade with Western, and Ormuz, p. 158
_Indian trade_, no record of the ships, employed in, which,
however, probably resembled that of St. Paul, p. 108
----, nature of the cargoes, freights thence for Europe, p. 109
_Italian Republics_, great variety of shipping employed by, pp.
486-493
----, custom of selling ships not required for the State, by
proclamation, pp. 497-8
_Jews_, atrocious treatment of, during the whole of the Crusading
period, pp. 469-470
_Junks, Chinese_, and other Chinese vessels have varied little, if
at all, in the last 2000 years, pp. 131-3
_Junto, the Spanish_, are unwilling to admit the arguments of
Columbus, pp. 561-3
_Justinian, Reign of_, distinguished by the overthrow of the
Vandals in Africa, and of the Ostro-Goths in Italy, p. 215
_Kane_ (in Hadramaut), in remote times, a place, having a direct
trade with India, p. 119
_Latitude_, ancient, reckoned in _stadia_ (of 201 yds. 1 ft. each)
from the Equator to Syracuse, Introd. p. xli
_Laws, Maritime_, propounded by Richard I., founded on the “Rôles
d’Oléron,” pp. 379-392
_Leghorn_, sale of, by Genoa to Florence, in A.D. 1421, a heavy
loss to Pisa, p. 524
_Liburnians_, their light and swift galleys adopted by Octavianus
at the battle of Actium, pp. 163-4
_Lighthouses_, ancient, at Alexandria, Ostia, Ravenna, Brundusium,
Capreæ, and Gessoriacum—perhaps, too, at Dover Castle, and Moel
Van in Flintshire, p. 59
_London_ first mentioned by Tacitus, and then as a place of
considerable trade, p. 313
----, charges on ships trading to, p. 355
----, merchants of, so powerful as to secure the throne for
Canute’s son Harold, p. 361
----, William the Conqueror discerns its value, and gives its
citizens special privileges, p. 369
_Low Countries_, principal commercial towns of, pp. 418-20
_Lully, Raymund_, attempts to prevent trade between Christians and
Muhammedans, pp. 505-6
_Lydia_, Persians invade, in the hope of attaining thence a navy,
p. 40
_Lydians_ the first to strike coins, p. 40
_Lyon, Capt., R.N._, notice of trade by barter in the Soudan, p. 22
_Machin, Mr._, reasonable grounds for believing him the discoverer
of Madeira, p. 551
_Magna Charta_ granted by King John, A.D. 1215, p. 393
_Magnesia_, storm off the coast of, and heavy loss of Persian
ships, p. 75
_Major, Mr. R. H._, edits two editions of “The Select Letters of
Columbus,” p. 555
_Malabar_, ships for, left Berenice about the 10th of July, p. 107
----, ships from, left early in January, p. 108
----, notice in Arrian of the class of vessels employed in the
trade of, p. 130
_Malmesbury, William of_, speaks of the great trade of London in
reign of King John, p. 393
_Mariners_ greatly favoured by the Emperors of Constantinople, pp.
203-5
----, lands granted for the support of, by the Emperors Valentinian
and Valens, p. 205
_Maritime commerce_ illustrated by the legislative measures of
different nations, and traced from Phœnicia, through Greece,
Rome, and the Middle Ages to the present time, Introd. pp.
xvi-xviii
_Marque, Letters of_, first issued by Edward I., p. 404
_Marseilles_ a port of importance about A.D. 500, p. 463
----, shipping of, profit largely by the crusading rage, pp. 466-9
----, passage money exacted by, from pilgrims, &c., pp. 468-9
_Mediterranean_ peculiarly adapted, from its islands and bays, for
the employment of small undecked craft, p. 3
_Melvill, General_, theory of the arrangement of ancient oars, pp.
266-9
_Merchandise_, rapid demand at Rome for the most costly, at the
close of the Roman Republic, p. 172
_Merchant Navy of England_, state of during reign of Edward III.,
p. 414
_Merchant vessels_ during the Middle Ages, armed and used as ships
of war, p. 501
_Merchant vessels_ charged by Henry IV., A.D. 1406, with the
defence of the English coasts, pp. 439-40
_Merchants, College of_, established at Rome, B.C. 494, p. 169
_Merchants_, no senators permitted to be, and, as a class, looked
down upon by Cicero and others, pp. 170-1
----, English form commercial associations of, abroad, especially
with Flanders, A.D. 1248, p. 397
----, statute of, for the recovery of debts enacted by Edward I.,
A.D. 1283, p. 405
----, English, additional privileges given to, by Edward II. and
Edward III., A.D. 1326,7-77, p. 409
----, laws greatly favouring, under Richard II., A.D. 1377, pp.
425-6
_Merchants of Bristol, Northumberland_, &c., largely dealers in
slaves at the time of the Conquest, p. 366
_Miletus_, the parent of many colonies along the Black Sea, &c., p.
40
_Moncenigo, Tomaso_, famous speech of, as Doge, A.D. 1421,
recapitulating the revenues of Venice, and opposing wars as
unprofitable, pp. 480-2
_Monsoons_, periodical winds so called, first made known by voyage
of Hippalus, in the time of Claudius, p. 104
_Mosaic narrative_ of early history confirmed by antiquarian and
linguistic research, and especially by the discoveries in Egypt
and Nineveh, p. 123
_Muhammedans_, rise and rapid conquests of; their effects on
commerce, pp. 218-19
---- found the town of Bussorah, and carry their trade to Sumatra
and Canton, pp. 159-60
---- secure the entrepôt of Alexandria, and compel the natives of
the West to seek new routes for the trade with the East, p. 160
---- take Jerusalem A.D. 636, Alexandria A.D. 638, and Africa A.D.
647, p. 219; but fail in all their early attempts to take
Constantinople, pp. 219-21
----, papal bulls to prevent trade with, generally disregarded by
the Venetians, pp. 504-6
_Musiris_, the furthest port to the East to which the ships of the
West traded directly, p. 112
_Naucratis_, story of the port of, p. 48
_Navigation Act_, the first, A.D. 1381, of short duration, p. 427
_Navy, English_, great increase of, under Edward the Elder,
Athelstan, and Edgar, pp. 351-3
----, special tax for the support of, p. 433
_Nearchus_, nowhere specifies the size of his ships, p. 144
----, length of voyage of, from the Indus to Susa, p. 145
_Nebuchadnezzar_ builds Teredon, near Bussorah, p. 14
_Needle_, variation of, causes great alarm to Columbus and to his
sailors, pp. 573-4
_Nile, The_, the chief source of the wealth and prosperity of
Egypt, p. 50
_Norman Power_ in Italy first limited to Aversa, but soon
comprehends the modern kingdom of Naples, p. 232
_Normans_, origin of the; settlements in France and in Italy, p. 231
---- make two futile attempts to take Constantinople, A.D.
1081-1084, pp. 234-5
_Norway_, commercial treaty with, A.D. 1217, p. 396; and mandate
in favour of the king’s ship, the _Cogge_, Append. 3,
p. 629, and _note_
_Oars_, oblique arrangement of, shown on the relief from Trajan’s
Column and on sculpture from Kouyunjik, p. 275
_Offa_, accession of, A.D. 755, his able reign and attention to
commerce, pp. 340-341
----, dispute, but ultimate commercial treaty, with Charlemagne,
pp. 341-344
_Oleron, Rôles d’_, principal articles in, and various details, pp.
379-392, and _note_, p. 379
_Omana_ (_Oman_), vessels and trade with, in dates, &c., the same
now as in ancient times, pp. 120-121
_Ophir_, various opinions of learned men as to its true position,
p. 28
----, the “gold of,” probably a qualitative name, like
“guinea-gold,” p. 28
_Opis_, a centre of caravan routes to Aradus and other places, p. 98
_Ostia_, port of, proposed by Cæsar, but executed by Claudius and
Nero, commemorated on a brass medal of Nero, p. 189
_Ovando, Nicholas de_, sent as Governor to the West Indies, with
the object of re-establishing the authority of Columbus, Feb.
1502, p. 613
_Oxus_, doubt whether the main stream of, ever flowed into the
Caspian, p. 43
_Paddle-wheel Steamer_ greatly resembles the row-galley of the
ancients, p. 291
_Pardessus, M._, valuable work by, on the Maritime Laws of the
Mediæval Nations, pp. 379-390
_Pattala_ (_near Kurachi_), the most western mart of India, p. 111
_Petra_, the great centre of Arabian commerce, p. 95
_Phœnicia_, the leading maritime state at the earliest period, its
average length and breadth, and mainland trade of, with the
chief causes of its commercial success, pp. 4-14
_Phœnicians_, original seat of the, Introd. p. xxvi
----, advance of, from Persian Gulf to Mediterranean, illustrates
the great law of migration westwards, p. 5
---- form the connecting link between the civilization of the East
and of Europe and Western Africa, p. 6
----, the inventors of the alphabet, and the discoverers of the
Cynosure or last star in the Little Bear, p. 14
----, the first to double the Cape, by order of Pharaoh Necho, B.C.
610-594, p. 80
_Piracy_, universal, during the long weak reign of Henry III., A.D.
1216-72, p. 395
_Piræeus_, port of, planned by Themistocles and executed by
Pericles, p. 72
_Pisa_, early importance of, and trade with Saracens, p. 520
----, representation of ship on the Leaning Tower at, p. 521
----, long and bloody war with the Genoese for nearly two
centuries, p. 522
_Pliny_, dread by, of the absorption of the precious metals for the
useless luxuries of the East, p. 173
“_Policie—Libel of English_,” curious poem so called, asserting
England’s right to the “dominion of the narrow sea,” and notice
in of the trade of England with Flanders, Prussia, Germany,
Spain, Italian Republics, Iceland, &c., pp. 443-9
_Polo Marco_, effects of the travels of, and of Sir John
Maundeville, on the enthusiastic spirits of the fifteenth
century, p. 557
_Ports of England_, the chief, temp. Edward I., p. 407
_Portuguese_ take care to keep to themselves the secret of the
“Guinea Trade,” p. 552
----, maritime discoveries of, pp. 549-553
_Probus, Emperor_, wall of, 200 miles long, from Danube to the
Rhine, p. 196
_Ptolemy_ (_the Geographer_), by an error in longitude, places
China 60° nearer Europe than it is really, Introd. p. xl
---- in error with respect to the size but not to the commercial
importance of Ceylon, p. 148
----, his account of India beyond the Ganges shows that it had been
reached by navigators before his time, p. 149
---- places many “_Emporia_,” or places of call for merchants,
along the coasts of India, p. 151
_Ptolemy, son of Lagos_, first Greek ruler of Egypt, p. 58
---- carries out the designs of Alexander the Great with reference
to Alexandria, pp. 58 and 101
_Ptolemy_ (_Philopater_), description, in Athenæus, of his
great ship, built probably for show rather than use, of his
_Thalamegus_, and of other smaller vessels, pp. 60-64
_Ptolemy Philadelphus_ builds the port of Berenice, on the Red Sea,
and attempts to cut a canal from Arsinoe, on the Red Sea, to
the Pelusiac (or eastern) arm of the Nile, p. 59
_Pytheas_, the first to make a voyage to the North, account of, in
Pliny, p. 11
_Rámáyana_, description in, of the wealth of Ayodhya (Oude), p. 126
_Reciprocity, Treaties of_, and extension of maritime commerce
under Richard III., A.D. 1485, p. 459
_Relics_, disgusting purchase of, by ecclesiastics of the tenth and
eleventh centuries, p. 368
_Revenue and Expenditure_, first accounts of, A.D. 421, pp. 452-3
_Rhodian Maritime Law_, remark of M. Aurelius relative thereto, p.
183
---- accepted by the Romans, and ultimately embodied in the “Rôles
d’Oléron” and “Hanse Town Ordinances,” p. 184
----, the chief rule also for the ships of the Italian Republics,
p. 502
_Rhodians_, their character as merchants and jurists, p. 181
---- the first to establish regulations for co-partnership, payment
of officers, &c., p. 183
_Richard I., Cœur de Lion_, fits out an expedition in aid of the
Holy Land (the Second Crusade), A.D. 1189, p. 375
----, results of the expedition under, p. 378
---- Ordinances of, for seafaring men, Append. 2, p. 628
_Richard II._, strangely inconsistent and protective laws of, pp.
428-430
_Robertson, Dr._, remarks on the story of Sesostris’s conquest of
India, p. 124
_Roman Commerce_, its extraordinary extent and value under the
first Emperors, pp. 177-180
_Roman Commerce with the East_, its general effect, the enriching a
select few of the people, p. 173
_Roman Empire_, corruption and decay of, after the Antonine
Princes, pp. 190-191
_Roman Navy_, chief stations of, at the commencement of the Empire,
p. 164
----, slow in construction and at first very rude, with a list of
ships built and their fate, during the Punic Wars, pp. 165-6,
_note_
_Romans_ in early times averse to maritime affairs, and dependent
on Greece and foreign nations for the supply of their
commercial wants, p. 163
----, first pay real attention to commerce on the destruction of
Carthage and Corinth, p. 166
----, their method of book-keeping, pp. 184-6
_Rome_, the extremes of wealth and poverty visible there under the
later Emperors, pp. 206-7
----, enormous baths at, for the free use of rich and poor, under
the later Empire, p. 208
----, siege of, by Alaric and Goths, A.D. 408, p. 208
_Romney Marsh_, or Lymne, on each occasion the probable scene of
Cæsar’s disembarkations, p. 307
_Routes of Commerce_, by land and sea, between West and East, p. 100
_Rowers_, action of, mainly regulated by the size of the galley, p.
289
_Rowing of Ancient Galleys_, peculiar view on the, by the Rev. J.
O. W. Haweis, Append. 1, p. 625
_Russians_ first mentioned in history as the owners of the
entrepôts of Novgorod and Kief, and as settlers in
Constantinople, pp. 228-9
----, ships of, scarcely more than large canoes, p. 229
---- make four unsuccessful attempts to seize Constantinople, pp.
229-30
----, ancient tradition that, in the last days, they should become
masters of Constantinople, p. 231
_Rymer’s Fœdera_, condensed syllabus of, Append. 8, pp. 642-650
_Safe Conduct_, form of, Append. 9, pp. 650-2
_Sailors_, in ancient ships, chiefly of two classes, viz. mariners
and rowers, Introd. p. xxxiii
_Sailors, Greek_, ordinary pay of, in the time of Demosthenes, p. 73
_Saints, Biographies of the_, the only historical documents from
the fourth to the eighth centuries, p. 339
_Sardes, Royal Road from_, to Susa, described by Herodotus, pp.
92-93
_Sataspes, Voyage of_, and visit to a nation of dwarfs
(Bosjesmans?), p. 81
_Saxons_, first coming of, and of other Teutonic tribes; their
early ships probably copies of Roman galleys, pp. 327-8
_Scale, Sliding, the first_, applied to the importation of corn, p.
457
_Scotland_, no maritime force or trade in, till Alexander III.,
A.D. 1249, p. 406
_Sculptures from Assyria_ exhibit most of the ordinary mechanical
implements, as the pulley, saw, pick-axe, &c., p. 39
_Scythians_, according to Herodotus, carry on their trade in seven
distinct languages, and are partly nomad owners of caravans,
partly agriculturists, pp. 41-2
_Sea, the dominion of_, formally claimed by England in A.D. 1416,
pp. 449-450
----, the limits of, determined A.D. 1674, by treaty with
States-General, and not a mere barren title, pp. 451-2
_Seals, Corporate_, of the towns of Sandwich, Poole, Dover,
Faversham, &c., A.D. 1238-1325, pp. 398-402
_Seamen, English_, wages of, in reigns of Harold and Hardicanute,
p. 361
_Seamen, European_, manners, customs, and superstitions of, during
Middle Ages, pp. 531-546
_Seamen of London_ play important part in the coronation of Harold
at Oxford, p. 361
_Search, Right of_, first enforcement of, in the case of Flemish
ships, pp. 424-5
_Seleucus_, in treaty with Ptolemy the son of Lagos, establishes
the trade between Red Sea and Hindustan, p. 148
_Semiramis_ not a mythical personage, but an historical Queen of
Nineveh, p. 5
_Senators_ forbidden to engage in trade, lest they should neglect
their duties to the State, p. 170
_Sesostris_ (_or Rameses II._), sculptured memorials of, at
Nahr-el-Kelb, near Beyrût, and near Sardes, pp. 47-8
----, no evidence that he really conquered any part of India, pp.
123-4
_Sheba, Queen of_; her visit to Solomon, p. 29
_Ships_, decorations of, various names of, ceremonies at the
launching of, officers employed in—the master, mate, boatswain,
with various details of—rig and sails, undergirders, anchors
and cables, and decks, Introd. pp.xxx-xxxvii
----, speed of, recorded instances of, in ancient authors, Introd.
p. xliv
----, tin-freighted, anecdote of the captain of a, p. 11
----, possible that some as large as those of Ptolemy Philopater
may have been constructed, p. 65
----, remarkable, of Olaf and Swein, Kings of Norway, and of Earl
Godwin, pp. 357-8
---- of Italian Republics, stringent regulations regarding, when at
sea, p. 502
---- of the Middle Ages, their decorations, &c., pp. 536-7
_Silkworms_ brought from China by two monks, and reared by order of
Justinian, in Greece, p. 216
_Silver_ so abundant in Spain that Aristotle states that the
Phœnicians made their anchors of it, p. 9
_Singhalese_ at no period fond of maritime pursuits, p. 155
_Slaves_, a considerable item in the trade from Ireland, Saxony,
Denmark, &c., p. 358
_Solomon, King_, promotes Jewish commerce, by commercial
arrangements with Hiram, King of Tyre, his fleets being manned
by Tyrian sailors, but under Jewish supercargoes, pp. 29-30
---- his fleets essentially coasters, p. 31
----, commerce promoted by him died almost with his death, p. 32
_Spain_ largely supplied Rome with mineral products, p. 179
----, commercial treaty with England A.D. 1351, p. 424
_Spices_, enormous quantities of, imported from India to Rome, p.
110
_St. Paul_, account of the ship of, from a work by Mr. Smith, of
Jordan Hill, Introd. p. xxxvii
_Stanhope, Michael_, Vice-Admiral of Suffolk, fine seal of, p. 401
_Swyn_, splendid victory off, A.D. 1340, and superiority of English
sailors in naval tactics and intrepidity, p. 435
“_Tarshish_, ships of,” probably a phrase like our modern one of
“Indiamen,” p. 9
_Tennent, Sir Emerson_, excellent work on Ceylon by, p. 156
_Tin_ brought in the largest quantities from the Scilly Islands,
partly in Phœnician ships to Gades, partly on horses’ backs
across France to Narbonne, and early used with alloy of copper
in “lion-weights” from Nineveh, and “Celts” from European
graves, p. 10
_Toscanelli, P._, the best cosmographer of his days, supports the
views of Columbus, p. 556
_Trajan, Emperor_, supposed galley of, found at the bottom of Lake
Riccio, Introd. p. xxix
_Treaty_ between Charlemagne and Offa, A.D. 796, pp. 343-4
_Triremes_, the first, said to have been built by the Corinthians,
p. 254
_Truro_, pig of tin preserved there, p. 10
_Tudela, Benjamin of_, his testimony as to the state of
Constantinople and the East in the twelfth century, p. 224
_Turks, The_, first make good their footing in Europe A.D. 1341,
and gradually secure the country round Constantinople and
Adrianople A.D. 1360-1389, p. 251
_Tyre_, traders of, extended their commercial intercourse to the
Northern and Erythræan seas, Introd. p. xix
----, its commerce with the East carried on by caravans from Arabia
Felix to Petra, and thence to Gaza, Askalon, and Ashdod, p. 13
----, merchants of, the first to establish agencies and factories
and regular colonies, with a commercial policy liberal and
enlightened in intercourse with other peoples, and worthy of
imitation by some of the nations of our own times, pp. 15-16
_Ulysses_, ship of, described by Homer, Od. v. 243, Introd. p. xxvii
_Vandals_ plunder Spain and Africa, p. 209
_Venice_, its rapid rise, and the cause thereof, pp. 235-8
----, exorbitant demands of, for shipping supplied for the Fourth
Crusade, p. 243
----, galleys of, rob Alexandria of the body of St. Mark, p. 465
---- raises a fleet to suppress the Istrian and Dalmatian pirates,
p. 465
----, annual ceremonial at, of the espousal of the Adriatic, p. 475
----, laws and commercial policy of, liberal, but, on the whole,
protective, p. 479
----, special laws of, excluding from participation in her trade,
German, Hungarian, or Bohemian merchants, pp. 479-480
----, character and extent of its arsenal, p. 482
----, tradition of enormous ship built there, A.D. 1172, and
probability that she was so constructed, pp. 483-5
----, a fixed number of young and indigent nobles sent with each
ship, p. 494
----, rejoicings at, when a ship was ready to start on its voyage,
p. 500
_Venetian Merchant Ships_, value of their cargoes, p. 495
_Venetians_, in agreeing to carry Crusaders to Holy Land, demand an
exorbitant freight, with leave to establish factories, p. 472
----, complaint against, on part of the troops employed on shore at
siege of Tyre, p. 474
----, the Pope grants the dominion of the Adriatic to the, A.D.
1159, p. 474
----, contract by, to supply ships for Louis of France, A.D. 1268,
pp. 485-486
_Vienne, Sir John de_, with a French fleet, plunders the English
coasts from Rye to Plymouth, p. 432
_Vikings of Scandinavia_, account of, and of their remarkable skill
as seamen, pp. 331-5
----, occupy the Hebrides, sea-lochs of the Highlands, and the
north of Ireland; discover America (Vinland), and cruise along
the Mediterranean to Constantinople, pp. 334-5
----, ancient clinker-built boat of, discovered in Denmark, pp.
335-7
_Vincent, The Rev. Dr._, doubts any circumnavigation of Africa
before that of the Portuguese, p. 84
----, reply to his argument on this subject, pp. 85-6
_Vinisauf, Geoffrey de_, describes the crusading fleet of Richard
I., pp. 376-8
_Vossius’s_ discussion of ancient rowing in his “Construction of
Ancient Ships,” pp. 271-3
_Waghen, John de, of Beverley_, privateering commission granted to,
p. 432
_Warwick, Earl of_, “the King-maker,” piratical attack by, on a
fleet of Genoese merchantmen, p. 454
_Wealth of England_ at the time of the Conquest almost wholly in
the hands of the great ecclesiastics, pp. 367-8
_West, Evidences of land to the_, recognisable in objects washed
upon the western shores of Madeira, p. 563
_Whales_ caught as far south as Biarritz, p. 391, _note_, and
Append. 8, p. 648
_William the Conqueror_, character and number of vessels with which
he invaded England, pp. 362-3
----, his fleet, really of inferior vessels, small in size and
hastily put together—not, perhaps, unlike the present Lerwick
fishing-boats, pp. 363-4
----, state of commerce, &c., in England when he invaded it, and
taxation of different towns unequal, and on no determinate
principle, pp. 365-372
----, remarkable decay of many leading towns during his reign, as
shown by the returns of his “Domesday,” pp. 371-2
---- greatly increases the power of the English fleet mainly by aid
of the Cinque Ports, p. 374
_Winds, periodical_, in Persian and Arabian gulfs and in Indian
Ocean, favourable to early navigation in boats of small
capacity, p. 3
---- the Etesian (or annual), blow steadily from the N. in July,
between the Euxine Sea and Syene, during the period the Nile is
at its highest, p. 103
_Wine-Ships_, return of all that entered at any English ports
(except the Cinque Ports) for A.D. 1299, p. 408
_Wisby_, merchants of, adopt all essential particulars of the
“Rôles d’Oléron,” p. 392
_Xerxes_, ships of, difficulty as to the drawing them up on a lee
shore, with a gale coming on, pp. 75-6
----, ship-canal of, across Mount Athos, confirmed by recent
observations, p. 76
_Yemen_ (Arabia Felix), early notices of its remarkable wealth, and
of the importance of the trade with, pp. 116-18
END OF VOL. I.
LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS,
STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.
Transcriber's Note
[~gg] represents a double gg with a tilde.
[~p] represents a p with a tilde.
[=c] represents a c with a bar.
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