THI 1501 all Chriftendom. The acceffion of the vaft dominions of Spain to the House of Auftria HIS Century abounds with interefting revolutions and material alterations almoft over by a marriage, was such a conjunction as feemed greatly to endanger the equilibrium of Europe for the greatest part of this century, and had a confiderable influence on commerce. Whilst Portugal pursued her commerce and rapid conquefts in Eaft India, fo that the city of Lisbon foon became (what the now declining city of Venice had been for many centuries VOL. II. A past) A. D. 1501 past) the great magazine of all the rich productions of the East,-Spain, with an equal and unrivalled rapidity, first made herself mistress of the ifles, and next the best part of the continent of America, excepting Brafil, discovered and poffeffed by Portugal; in confequence of which, the cities of Seville and Cadiz became the storehouses for the riches of the newly dif covered western world. England at length made only fome faint and fruitless attempts for the colonizing of North America, towards the latter part of this century, as France had likewise done in Canada, with little better fuccefs. In the mean time, the happy fituation of Antwerp foon renders her the great central staple of Europe, for the merchandize of both the Indies, as well as for the naval ftores and other bulky commodities of the northern parts of Europe, thereby drawing incredible wealth to that city, and to the adjacent country. Which state of commercial matters began gradually to prejudice the Hans-towns, more especially thofe on the Baltic fhores, which, for, the two preceding centuries, had been the great managers of trade for almost all the European nations without the Mediterranean Sea. A great part of Christendom shakes off the Papal yoke; a circumftance which produced also confiderable alterations in Europe. England begins early to establish a permanent navy-royal -and, after much difpute, gets entirely rid of the German Hanfeatic merchants of the Steelyard at London-commences a great fishery on the banks of Newfoundland—and also a whale fishery at Spitsbergen or Greenland-and her trade to Ruffia; and, by means of her important discovery of a paffage by fea to that country round the north cape of Lapland, opens an extenfive field for other new discoveries, and new branches of commerce.-She alfo commences her Turkey and Guinea traffic-defeats the grand attempt of the renowned Spanish armada—and, in the very last year of this century, incorporates an Eaft India Company. Holland too, nearly about the fame time, commenced her trade to the Eaft Indies, and erected a great company for that commerce. France begins and afterwards much improves her broad filk manufacture. Spain's cruel bigotry, firft, by expelling the remaining Moors of Granada, and next the Proteftants of the Netherlands, and by the fiege, &c. of Antwerp, difpeoples her country, and thereby fupplies England, Holland, and the Hans-towns with great numbers of wealthy and industrious manufacturers and artificers, as well as with an acceffion of excellent and most beneficial new manufactures.-An inundation of filver flows into Europe from America; which is foon again, for the most part, exported to the Eaft Indies by the Portuguese, who grow marvelously rich by their importations in that commerce, and alfo by their importation from Brafil, of gold, &c. A new and potent maritime and commercial power fuddenly starts up, by the revolt of Seven of the Netherland provinces from the dominions of Spain; which crown, on the other hand, feizes on and adds to their monarchy, the kingdom of Portugal. So bold and adventurous are the navigators of this age become, (who, in little more than one century preceding this, durft fcarce venture out of fight of land) that the terraqueous globe is four times failed round by men of three different nations! Many very hazardous, though unfuccefsful attempts, are made alfo, by feveral different na A. D. 1501 tions, to explore a paffage by fea to China and India, as well by the north weft as the north cast. The Turkish empire continues to triumph throughout all this century, not only by its conquefts from the ftate of Venice, and particularly of the famous ifland of Cyprus,-as alfo of Rhodes from the Knights of St. John of Jerufalem; but, likewife, by several very important encroachments on the fide of Hungary and Poland,-by reducing the Crimea (or Crim Tartary) to its fubjection-and by the abfolute conqueft of all Syria and Egypt; fo vaft an increase of territory and dominion within the compafs of one century, made all Christendom to tremble. The Dukes of Ruffia, till this century obfcure, and till now often tributary to the Tartars, make likewife fuch efforts, by their conquefts from Poland;-by their difcovery and conquest of the large provinces of Siberia and Samoieda, till then abfolutely Pagan, and before unknown even to Ruffia itfelf;-and, laftly, by their conqueft of the two Tartar kingdoms of Cazan and Aftracan, that they at length conjoined all thofe very extenfive provinces to their dominion, which constitute the very potent modern Ruffian empire. Many extremely ufeful difcoveries and improvements are made in this century for the advancement of commerce, navigation, &c. as in Aftronomy by the famous Nicholas Copernicus of Thorn in Pruffia, and by Tycho Brahe of Denmark; alfo in the practical part of mercantile bufinefs, by the invention of merchants-accounts by double entry, commonly called Italian Book-keeping; by Decimal Arithmetic alfo, about the clofe of this century; when likewife Pocket Watches are first brought into England from Germany :-Knit Stockings come first from Spain, and the more beneficial improvement of the modern Stocking Frame is invented at Cambridge. 66 "In Italy," fays Voltaire, in his General History of Europe," the politer arts flourished, "not only at Rome and Florence, but at Venice, Naples, Genoa, &c. and King Francis I. "tranfplanted them into France, in whofe time there were only two coaches in Paris, one "for the Queen, and the other for Diana of Poitiers. In commercial matters, Marseil"les carried on a great foreign trade; Lyons alfo and the Netherlands abounded in the finest "manufactures. The correfpondence which the cities of Nurenburg and Augsburg in Germany had with Venice, ftill enabled them to be the first dispensers of the rich commodities "of Afia.—Industry, however, had not as yet changed thofe huts of wood and plaifter, of "which the city of Paris was compofed, into fumptuous palaces. London was ftill worse "built, and its inhabitants lived much harder; even the first peers of the realm carried their "wives behind them on horfeback when they went into the country. Thus it was, that all "the princeffes travelled, their heads covered with a kind of waxen linen in rainy weather, "and went in no other habit to the King's palace; and this usage continued till the middle "of the feventeenth century:" (Here Voltaire is certainly widely mistaken) "The magni"ficence of Charles V. Francis I. Henry VIII. and Leo X. was confined to days of fhew. "As early as the reign of Louis the Twelfth, they had began to introduce filken and gold ftuffs, manufactured in Italy, inftead of the coftly furs. There were no manufac"tures as yet at Lyons; goldfmiths ware was very bad; and Louis XII. having indif A. D. 1501 paft) the great magazine of all the rich productions of the Eaft,-Spain, with an equal and unrivalled rapidity, first made herself mistress of the ifles, and next the best part of the continent of America, excepting Brafil, discovered and poffeffed by Portugal; in confequence of which, the cities of Seville and Cadiz became the storehouses for the riches of the newly dif covered western world. England at length made only fome faint and fruitless attempts for the colonizing of North America, towards the latter part of this century, as France had likewise done in Canada, with little better success. In the mean time, the happy fituation of Antwerp foon renders her the great central staple of Europe, for the merchandize of both the Indies, as well as for the naval ftores and other bulky commodities of the northern parts of Europe, thereby drawing incredible wealth to that city, and to the adjacent country. Which state of commercial matters began gradually to prejudice the Hans-towns, more especially thofe on the Baltic fhores, which, for, the two preceding centuries, had been the great managers of trade for almost all the European nations without the Mediterranean Sea. A great part of Christendom shakes off the Papal yoke; a circumstance which produced also confiderable alterations in Europe. England begins early to establish a permanent navy-royal -and, after much difpute, gets entirely rid of the German Hanfeatic merchants of the Steelyard at London-commences a great fishery on the banks of Newfoundland-and also a whale fishery at Spitsbergen or Greenland—and her trade to Ruffia; and, by means of her important discovery of a passage by sea to that country round the north cape of Lapland, opens an extenfive field for other new discoveries, and new branches of commerce.-She alfo commences her Turkey and Guinea traffic-defeats the grand attempt of the renowned Spanish armada—and, in the very last year of this century, incorporates an Eaft India Company. Holland too, nearly about the fame time, commenced her trade to the Eaft Indies, and erected a great company for that commerce. France begins and afterwards much improves her broad filk manufacture. Spain's cruel bigotry, firft, by expelling the remaining Moors of Granada, and next the Proteftants of the Netherlands, and by the fiege, &c. of Antwerp, difpeoples her country, and thereby fupplies England, Holland, and the Hans-towns with great numbers of wealthy and industrious manufacturers and artificers, as well as with an acceffion of excellent and most beneficial new manufactures.-An inundation of filver flows into Europe from America; which is foon again, for the most part, exported to the Eaft Indies by the Portuguese, who grow marvelously rich by their importations in that commerce, and alfo by their importation from Brafil, of gold, &c. A new and potent maritime and commercial power fuddenly starts up, by the revolt of Seven of the Netherland provinces from the dominions of Spain; which crown, on the other hand, feizes on and adds to their monarchy, the kingdom of Portugal. So bold and adventurous are the navigators of this age become, (who, in little more than one century preceding this, durft fcarce venture out of fight of land) that the terraqueous globe is four times failed round by men of three different nations! very hazardous, though unfuccefsful attempts, are made alfo, by feveral different na Many 1501 tions, to explore a paffage by fea to China and India, as well by the north west as the north A. D. caft. The Turkish empire continues to triumph throughout all this century, not only by its conquefts from the state of Venice, and particularly of the famous ifland of Cyprus,-as also of Rhodes from the Knights of St. John of Jerufalem; but, likewise, by several very important encroachments on the fide of Hungary and Poland,-by reducing the Crimea (or Crim Tartary) to its fubjection-and by the abfolute conqueft of all Syria and Egypt; fo vaft an increase of territory and dominion within the compass of one century, made all Christendom to tremble. The Dukes of Ruffia, till this century obfcure, and till now often tributary to the Tartars, make likewise such efforts, by their conquests from Poland;-by their discovery and conquest of the large provinces of Siberia and Samoieda, till then abfolutely Pagan, and before unknown even to Ruffia itself;-and, laftly, by their conqueft of the two Tartar kingdoms of Cazan and Aftracan, that they at length conjoined all thofe very extenfive provinces to their dominion, which constitute the very potent modern Ruffian empire. Many extremely ufeful difcoveries and improvements are made in this century for the advancement of commerce, navigation, &c. as in Aftronomy by the famous Nicholas Copernicus of Thorn in Pruffia, and by Tycho Brahe of Denmark; also in the practical part of mercantile bufinefs, by the invention of merchants-accounts by double entry, commonly called Italian Book-keeping; by Decimal Arithmetic also, about the close of this century; when likewise Pocket Watches are firft brought into England from Germany :-Knit Stockings come first from Spain, and the more beneficial improvement of the modern Stocking Frame is invented at Cambridge. "In Italy," fays Voltaire, in his General History of Europe, "the politer arts flourished, "not only at Rome and Florence, but at Venice, Naples, Genoa, &c. and King Francis I. tranfplanted them into France, in whofe time there were only two coaches in Paris, one "for the Queen, and the other for Diana of Poitiers. In commercial matters, Marseil"les carried on a great foreign trade; Lyons alfo and the Netherlands abounded in the finest "manufactures. The correfpondence which the cities of Nurenburg and Augsburg in Ger"many had with Venice, ftill enabled them to be the firft difpenfers of the rich commodities "of Afia.-Industry, however, had not as yet changed those huts of wood and plaister, of "which the city of Paris was compofed, into fumptuous palaces. London was ftill worse. "built, and its inhabitants lived much harder; even the firft peers of the realm carried their "wives behind them on horfeback when they went into the country. Thus it was, that all "the princeffes travelled, their heads covered with a kind of waxen linen in rainy weather, "and went in no other habit to the King's palace; and this ufage continued till the middle "of the feventeenth century:" (Here Voltaire is certainly widely miftaken) "The magni"ficence of Charles V. Francis I. Henry VIII. and Leo X. was confined to days of fhew. -As early as the reign of Louis the Twelfth, they had began to introduce filken and gold ftuffs, manufactured in Italy, inftead of the coftly furs. There were no manufac"tures as yet at Lyons; goldfmiths ware was very bad; and Louis XII. having indifcreetly A 2 |