1
ARTES
1837
VERITAS
LIBRARY
SCIENTIA
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
E-PLURIBUS-UNUM S
TURBOR
SIQUAERIS PENINSULAM AMOENAM
¿CIRCUMSPICE
1
і
і
*
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22
R27
1784
Plate VII
Vol. VI. page 1.
}
J. Collyer fe.
A
PHILOSOPHICAL AND POLITICAL
HIS T
OR Y
OF THE
SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
OF THE
EUROPEAN S
IN THE
EAST AND WEST INDIES.
REVISED, AUGMENTED, AND PUBLISHED,
IN TEN VOLUM E S,
BY THE ABBÉ RAY NA L.
NEWLY TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH,
By J. O. JUSTAMOND, F. R. S.
WITH A
NEW SET OF MAPS, ELEGANT ENGRAVINGS ADAPTED
TO THE WORK, AND A COPIOUS INDEX.
IN SIX VOLUME S.
VOLUME THE SIXT H.
DUBLIN:
PRINTED FOR JOHN EXSHAW, GRAFTON STREET,
AND LUKE WHITE, DAME STREET.
MDCC LXXXIV.
1
Lewis
CONTENTS
OF THE
SIXTH VOLUM E.
воок
XVIII.
ENGLISH Colonies founded in Pennsylvania,
Maryland, Virginia, Carolina, Georgia,
and Florida. General Reflections on all
thefe Settlements,
Parallel between a bad and a good government,
The Quakers found Pennſylvania. Manners of
that fect,
Origin and character of the Quakers,
Foundation of Pennſylvania by Penn. Principles
of his legiſlation,
Profperity of Pennſylvania,
Prefent ftate of Philadelphia,
Origin of Maryland. Nature of it's government,
Events which have happened at Maryland,
Preſent ſtate of Maryland. It's cultures,
What Maryland may become,
Page
I
ib.
30
ΙΟ
14
25
31
33
34
40
In what manner Virginia was eſtabliſhed, and by whom, 41
Obftacles to the profperity of Virginia,
Population, trade, and manners of Virginia,
Origin of the two Carolinas. Their firft, and their
laft government, both civil and religious,
Conformities between the two Carolinas,
44
51
56
61
What
707116
CONTENT S.
What diftinguiſhes North Carolina,
What diftinguiſhes South Carolina,
By whom, upon what occafion, and in what man-
ner, Georgia was founded,
Impediments that have prevented the progrefs of
Georgia,
Situation, and exportations of Georgia,
Florida becomes a Spaniſh poffeffion,
Florida is ceded to Great Britain by the court of
Madrid,
-
Page
02
67
What hath been done by England, and what ſhe
may expect to do in Florida,
Extent of the Britiſh dominions in North America,
Trees peculiar to North America,
Birds peculiar to North America,
Lurope fupplies North America with domeftic ani-
mals,
European grain hath been cultivated in North A-
merica,
72
76
78∞
12
81
82
87
88
94
96
99
ΙΟΙ
ib.
North America hath fupplied Europe with naval
ftores,
103
The iron of North America hath been conveyed
into our climates,
106
Can it be expected that wine and filk will profper
in North America,
108
With what kind of men the provinces of North
America were peopled,
III
To what degree the population of North America
hath ariſen,
123
Manners prevailing at prefent in North America, 125
Nature of the governments eftabliſhed in North
America,
127
The coin that has been current in the English co-
lonies in North America,
136
Regulations to which the internal induſtry, and
the external trade of North America had been
fubjected,
137
Diftreffed ftate of England in 1763,
England call it's colonies to it's alliſtance,
England exacts from her colonies what he ought
only to have asked of them,
142
143
150
England,
CONTENT S.
England, after having given way, wiſhes to be
obeyed by it's colonies. Meafures which they
take to refift it's authority,
The colonies had a right to ſeparate themſelves
from their mother-country, even if they had no
cauſe of difcontent,
Page
153
161
What meaſures would it have fuited England to adopt,
when ſhe ſaw the ferment raiſed in her colonies, 177
England refolves to reduce the colonies by force, 187
The colonies break the ties which united them to
England; and declare themſelves independent to
that country,
195
War begins between the United States and England, 202
What is the reaſon that the Engliſh have not fuc-
ceeded in ſubduing the confederate provinces,
Why have not the confederate provinces fucceeded
in driving the Engliſh from the continent of A-
merica,
France acknowledges the independence of the U-
nited States. This ftep occafions a war between
that crown and the crown of England,
Spain, not having fucceeded in conciliating Eng-
land with France, declares for the latter of theſe
powers,
207
214
221
234
What ought to be the policy of the houſe of Bour-
bon, fhould it be victorious,
240
What idea must be formed of the thirteen confe-
derated provinces,
244
воок
XIX.
Recapitulation,
Religion,
250
ib.
Government,
Policy,
War,
Navy,
Commerce,
Agriculture,
Manufactures,
388
404
436
450
Popu-
261
354
369
CONTENT S.
Page
Population,
462
Taxes,
479
Fine Arts, and Belles Lettres,
520
Philofophy,
537
Morals,
548
Reflections upon the good and the evil which the
diſcovery of the New World hath done to Eu-
rope,
566
A PHI
A
PHILOSOPHICAL AND POLITICAL
H IS TO R Y
OF THE
SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
OF THE
EUROPEAN S
IN THE
EAST AND WEST INDIES.
воок
XVIII.
English Colonies founded in Pennsylvania, Maryland,
Virginia, Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Ge-
neral Reflections on all thefe Settlements.
NA fo
XVIII.
bad and a
O fociety was ever founded on injuftice. BOOK
A people formed by a compact ſo extraor-
dinary, would have been, at the fame time, both Parallel
the moſt degraded and the moſt unfortunate of between a
people. Declared enemies of the human race, good go-
they would equally have been intitled to compaf-vernment.
fion, from the fentiments they would have inſpired,
and thoſe they would have experienced. Feared
and hated by all furrounding powers, they would
have inceffantly been agitated by the fame paf-
fions. Their misfortunes would have excited
univerfal joy, and their profperity general afflic-
tion. The nations would one day have united
VOL. VI.
B
to
2
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOO K to exterminate them; but time would have ren-
XVIII. dered this league ufelefs. It would have been
fufficient for their annihilation, and for the
avenging of other nations, that each of their
members fhould have modelled his conduct upon
the maxims of the ftate. Animated with the
fpirit of their inftitution, they would all have
been eager to raiſe themſelves upon the ruin of
each other. No meaſure would have appeared
too odious for this purpoſe. This would have
been realising the fable of the race engendered
from the teeth of the dragon, which Cadmus
fowed upon the earth, and which was, deſtroyed
as foon as created.
How different would be the deſtiny of an em-
pire founded on virtue! Agriculture, the arts,
the ſciences, and commerce, improved under
the protection of peace, would have expelled
idlenefs, ignorance, and mifery. The chief of
the ſtate would have protected the different ranks
of men in the ſtate, and would have been adored.
He would have underftood that not one of the
fociety could fuffer, without fome injury to the
whole body, and therefore he would have attended
to the happineſs of all. Impartial equity would
infure the obfervation of the treaties which it
had dictated; the ftability of laws, which it
had fimplified, and the diftribution of taxes,
which it would have proportioned to the public
expences. All the neighbouring powers, inte-
reſted in the prefervation of this people, would
arm in their defence, upon the leaft danger which
fhould threaten them. But in default of foreign
fuccours, they might themfelves oppofe, to the
unjuſt aggreffor, the impenetrable barrier of a
rich and numerous people, for whom the word
Country would not merely be a nominal idea.
I
This
SCIN THE BAST AND WEST INDIES,
3
•
This is what may be called imaginary excellence BOOK
in politics.
THESE two forts of government are equally
unknown in the annals of the world; which pre-
fent us with nothing but imperfect ſketches, more
or lefs reſembling the atrocious fublimity, or
more or lefs diftant from the affecting beauty of
one or the other of theſe great portraits. The
nations which have made the moft fplendid figure
on the theatre of the world, actuated by de-
ſtructive ambition, have diſplayed a greater re-
femblance to the former. Others, more wife in
their conftitution, more fimple in their manners,
more limited in their views, and enveloped, if
we may uſe the expreffion, with a kind of fecret
happineſs, feemed to be more conformable to
the fecond. Among the latter Pennſylvania may
be reckoned.
XVIII.
kers found
ners of
LUTHERANISM, which was deftined to caufe a The Qua-
remarkable change in Europe, either by it's own Penniviva-
influence, or by the example it gave, had occa-nia. Man-
fioned a great ferment in the minds of all men; that feet.
when there arofe, in the midſt of the commotions
it excited, a new religion, which, at firſt, appeared
much more like a rebellion guided by fanaticiſm,
then like a ſect that was governed by any fixed
principle. The generality of innovators in reli-
gion follow a regular fyftem, compofed of doc-
trines connected with each other, and contend,
at first, only to defend them; till perfecution
irritates and ftimulates them to rebellion, ſo that
at length they have recourfe to arms.
Anabaptifts, on the contrary, as if they had only
looked into the bible for the word of command
to attack, lifted up the ftandard of rebellion,
before they had agreed upon a fyftem of doctrine.
It is true, indeed, their leaders had taught, that
it was a ridiculous and ufelefs practice to admi-
niſter
B2
The
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK nifter baptifm to infants, and afferted that their
XVIII. opinion upon this point was the fame as that
of the primitive church; but they had not yet
ever reduced to practice this article of belief,
which was the only one that furnished a pretence
for their feparation. The fpirit of fedition pre-
vented them from paying a proper attention to
the fchifmatic tenets on which their divifion was
founded. To fhake off the tyrannical yoke of
church and ſtate, was their law and their faith.
To enliſt in the armies of the Lord, to join with
the faithful, who were to wield the fword of
Gideon, this was their device, their motive, and
their fignal for rallying.
IT was not till after they had carried fire and
fword into a great part of Germany, that the
Anabaptifts thought of giving fome bafis and
fome connection to their creed, and of marking
and cementing their confederacy by fome vifible
fign of union. Having been united at firft by
inſpiration to raiſe a body of troops, in 1525 they
were united to compofe a religious code.
IN this mixed fyftem of intoleration and mild-
nefs, the Anabaptift church, being the only one
in which the pure word of God is taught, neither
can nor ought to communicate with any other.
THE fpirit of the Lord blowing wherefoever it
lifterh, the power of preaching is not limited to
one order of the faithful, but is difpenfed to all.
Every one likewiſe has the gift of prophecy.
EVERY fect which hath not preferved a com-
munity of all things which conftituted the life and
fpirit of primitive Chriftianity, has degenerated,
and is for that reafon an impure fociety.
MAGISTRATES are uſeleſs in a fociety of the
truly faithful. A Chriftian never has occafion
for any; nor is a Chriftian allowed to be one
himfelf.
CHRIS-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
5
L
CHRISTIANS are not permitted to take up arms BOOK
even in their own defence, much lefs is it law. XVIII.
ful for them to enlift as foldiers in mercenary
armies.
BOTH law-fuits and oaths are forbidden the dif
ciples of Chrift, who has commanded them to let
their yea, be yea, and their nay, nay.
THE baptifm of infants is an invention of the
devil and the pope. The validity of baptifm
depends upon the voluntary confent of adults,
who alone are able to receive it with a conſciouf-
nefs of the engagement they take upon them-
felves.
SUCH was in it's origin the religious fyftem of
the Anabaptifts. Though it appears founded on
charity and mildnefs, yet it produced nothing but
violence and iniquity. The chimerical idea of an
equality of ftations, is the moft dangerous one
that can be adopted in a civilized fociety. To
preach this fyftem to the people, is not to put
them in mind of their rights; it is leading them
on to affaffination and plunder. It is letting do-
meſtic animals loofe, and transforming them into
wild beafts. The rulers of the people must be
more enlightened, or the laws by which they are
governed muſt be ſoftened; but there is in fact
no fuch thing in nature as a real equality; it
exifts only in the fyftem of equity. Even the
favages themſelves are not equal when once they
are collected into hords. They are only fo while
they wander in the woods; and even then the
man who fuffers the produce of his chace to be
taken from him, is not the equal of him who
deprives him of it. Such has been the origin of
all focieties.
A DOCTRINE, the bafis of which was the com-
munity of goods and equality of ranks, was
hardly calculated to find partifans any where but
among
6
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK among the poor. The peaſants therefore adopted
XVIII. it with the greater enthufiafm, in proportion as
of the
Quakers.
the yoke from which it delivered them was more
infupportable. The far greater part, efpecially
thoſe who were condemned to flavery, rofe up in
arms on all fides, to fupport a doctrine, which,
from being vaffals, made them equal to their
lords. The apprehenfion of feeing one of the
first bands of fociety, obedience to the magiftrate,
broken, united all other fects against them, who
could not fubfift without fubordination. After
having carried on a more obftinate refiftance than
could have been expected, they yielded at length
to the number of their enemies. Their fect,
notwithſtanding it had made it's way all over
Germany, and into a part of the North, was no
where prevalent, becauſe it had been every where
oppoſed and difperfed. It was but juſt tolerated
in thoſe countries, in which the greateſt latitude
of opinion was allowed; and there was not any
ftate in which it was able to fettle a church,
authorized by the civil power. This of courſe
weakened it, and from obfcurity it fell into con-
tempt. It's only glory is that of having, per-
haps, contributed to the foundation of the fect of
quakers.
Origin and
THIS humane and peaceable fe&t arofe in Eng-
character land, amidst the confufions of that bloody war,
which terminated in a monarch's being dragged
to the fcaffold by his own fubjects. The founder
of it, George Fox, was of the lower clafs of the
people; a man who had been formerly a mecha-
nic, but whom a fingular and contemplative turn
of mind had induced to quit his employment.
In order to wean himfelf entirely from all earthly
affections, he broke off all connections with his
own family; and for fear of being tempted to
renew them, he determined to have no fixed
abode.
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
7
}
abode. He often wandered alone in the woods, BOOK
without any other amufement but his bible. In XVIII.
time he even learned to go without that, when
he thought he had acquired from it a degree of
infpiration fimilar to that of the apoſtles and the
prophets.
He then began to think of making profelytes,
in which he found no difficulty in a country where
the minds of all men were filled and disturbed
with enthuſiaſtic notions. He was, therefore, foon
followed by a multitude of difciples, the novelty
and fingularity of whofe opinions, upon incompre-
henfible fubjects, could not fail of attracting and
fafcinating all thofe who were fond of the mar-
vellous.yes
THE first thing by which they caught the eye,
was the fimplicity of their drefs, in which there
was no gold or filver lace, no embroidery, laces,
or ruffles, and from which they affected to baniſh
every thing that was fuperfluous or unneceffary.
They would not fuffer either a button in the hat,
or a plate in the coat, becauſe it was poffible to do
without them. Such an extraordinary contempt
for eſtabliſhed modes reminded thoſe who adopted
it, that it became them to be more virtuous than
the rest of men, from whom they diftinguiſhed
themfelves by this external modeſty.
ALL outward marks of deference, which the
pride and tyranny of mankind exact from thofe
who are unable to refuſe them, were difdained by
the quakers, who difclaimed the names of mafter
and fervant. They condemned all titles, as be
ing tokens of pride in thoſe who claimed them,
and of meannefs in thofe who beftowed them,
They did not allow to any perfon whatever the
appellation of eminence or excellence, and fo far
they might be in, the right; but they refuſed to
comply with thofe reciprocal demonftrations of
refpe&
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
•
BOO Kreſpect which we call politeneſs, and in this they
XVIII. were to blame. The name of friend, they faid,
was not to be refuſed by one chriftian or citizen
to another, but the ceremony of bowing they
confidered as ridiculous and troubleſome. To
pull off the hat they held to be a want of refpect
to a man's felf, in order to fhew it to others.
They carried this idea fo far, that even the ma-
giftrates could not compel them to any external
mark of reverence; but they addreffed both them
and princes according to the ancient majefty of
language, in the fecond perfon and in the fingu
lar number; and they juftified this licenfe by
the cuſtom of theſe very perfons who were of
fended at it, and who ufed to addrefs their faints
and their God in the fame manner.
THE aufterity of their morals ennobled the fin
gularity of their manners. The ufe of arms,
confidered in every light, appeared a crime to
them. If it were to attack, it was violating the
laws of humanity, if to defend one's felf, it was
breaking through thofe of chriftianity. Univerfal
peace was the gofpel they had agreed to profefs
If any one fmote a quaker upon one cheek, he
immediately prefented the other; if any one
afked him for his coat, he offered his waiſtcoat
too. Nothing could engage thefe equitable
men to demand more than the lawful price for
their work, or to take lefs than what they de-
manded. An oath, even before a magiftrate, and
in fupport of a juft caufe, they deemed to be a
profanation of the name of God, in any of the
wretched difputes that arife between weak and
periſhable beings.
THE Contempt they entertained for the outward
forms of politenefs in civil life, was changed into
averfion for the ritual and ceremonial parts of re-
ligion. They looked upon churches merely as the
often-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
9
oftentatious edifices of pricftcraft, they confidered BOOK
the fabbath as a pernicious and idle inſtitution, and XVIII.
baptifm and the Lord's Supper as ridiculous fym-
bols. For this reafon they rejected all regular
orders of clergy. Every one of the faithful they
imagined received an immediate illumination
from the Holy Ghoft, which gave a charactér far
fuperior to that of the priesthood. When they
were affembled together, the first perfon who
found himſelf infpired, aroſe, and imparted the
lights he had received from heaven. Even wo-
men were often favoured with this gift of ſpeech,
which they called the gift of prophecy; fome-
times many of theſe holy brethren ſpoke at
the fame time; but much more frequently a pro-
found filence prevailed in their affemblies.
THE enthuſiaſm occafioned both by their medi-
tations and difcourfes, excited fuch a degree of
fenfibility in the nervous fyftem, that it threw
them into convulfions, for which reafon they were
called quakers. To have cured theſe people in
procefs of time of their folly, nothing more was
requifite than to turn it into ridicule; but inſtead
of this, perfecution contributed to make it more
general. While every other new fect met with
encouragement, this was expoſed to every kind of
puniſhment; impriſonments, whippings, pillories,
mad-houſes, were none of them thought too terri-
ble for bigots, whofe only crime was that of
wanting to be virtuous and reaſonable over-much.
The conftancy with which they bore their fuffer-
ings, at firft excited compaffion, and afterwards
admiration for them. Even Cromwell, who had
been one of their moſt violent enemies, becauſe
they uſed to infinuate themſelves into his camps,
and diffuade his foldiers from their profeffion,
gave them public marks of his efteem. His po-
licy exerted itſelf in endeavouring to draw them
into
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK into his party, in order to conciliate to himſelf a
XVIII. higher degree of refpect and confideration; but
tion of
Pennſylva-
nia by
Penn.
Principles
they either eluded his invitations, or rejected them;
and he afterwards confeffed, that this was the
only religion which was not to be influenced by
bribery.
.*
Founda- AMONG the feveral perfons who caft a tempo-
rary luftre on the fect, the only one who deſerves
to be remembered by pofterity, is William Penn.
He was the fon of an admiral, who had been for-
of his le tunate enough to be equally diftinguished by
giflation. Cromwell, and the two Stuarts, who held the
reins of government after him. This able feaman,
more fupple and more infinuating than men of
his profeffion ufually are, had made feveral confi-
derable advances to government in the different
expeditions in which he had been engaged. The
misfortunes of the times had not admitted of the
repayment of theſe loans during his life, and as
affairs were not in a better fituation at his death,
it was propofed to his fon, that inftead of money,
he fhould accept of an immenfe territory in Ame-
rica. It was a country, which, though long
fince diſcovered and furrounded by English co-
lonies, had always been neglected. A ſpirit of
benevolence made him accept with pleaſure this
kind of patrimony, which was ceded to him al-
moft as a fovereignty, and he determined to
make it the abode of virtue, and the afylum of
the unfortunate. With this generous defign,
towards the end of the year 1681, he fet fail for
his new poffeffions, which from that time took
the name of Pennfylvania. All the quakers were
defirous to follow him, in order to avoid the per-
fecution railed against them by the clergy, on
account of their not complying with the tithes and
other ecclefiaftical fees; but from prudential mo-
tives
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
11
tives he declined taking over any more than two BOOK
thousand.
His arrival in the New World was fignalized by
an act of equity, which made his perfon and prin-
ciples equally beloved. Not thoroughly fatisfied
with the right given him to his extenfive terri-
tory, by the grant he had received of it from the
British ministry, he determined to make it his own
property by purchaſing it of the natives. The
price he gave to the favages is not known; but
though fome people accuſe them of ſtupidity for
confenting to part with what they never ought to
have alienated upon any terms; yet Penn is not
lefs entitled to the glory of having given an ex-
ample of moderation and juftice in America, which
was never thought of before by the Europeans.
He rendered himſelf as much as poffible a legal
poffeffor of the territory, and by the uſe he made
of it fupplied any deficiency there might be in the
validity of his title. The Americans entertained
as great an affection for his colony, as they had
conceived an averfion for all thoſe which had been
founded in their neighbourhood without their con-
fent. From that time there arofe a mutual confi-
dence between the two people, founded upon
good faith, which nothing has ever been able to
hake.
PENN's humanity could not be confined to the
favages only, it extended itſelf to all thoſe who
were defirous of living under his laws. Senfible
that the happinefs of the people depended upon
the nature of the legiflation, he founded his upon
thoſe two first principles of public fplendour and
private felicity, liberty and property. If it were
allowed to borrow the language of fable, with re-
ſpect to an account that feems to be fabulous, we
fhould fay, that Aftræa, who had been gone up
into heaven for fo long a time, was now come
XVIII.
down
1 2
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
you
BOOK down upon earth again, and that the reign of in-
XVIII.
nocence and concord was going to be revived
among mankind. The mind of the writer and
of his reader dwells with pleafure on this part of
modern hiſtory, and feels fome kind of compen-
fation for the difguft, horror, or melancholy,
which the whole of it, but particularly the ac-
count of the European fettlements in America,
infpires. Hitherto we have only feen thefe bar-
barians depopulating the country before they
took poffeffion of it, and laying every thing wafte
before they cultivated it. It is time to obferve the
dawnings of reafon, happineſs, and humanity,
rifing from among the ruins of a hemifphere,
which ftill reeks with the blood of all it's people,
civilized as well as favage.
هم
THE Virtuous legiflator made toleration the ba-
fis of his fociety. He admitted every man who
acknowledged a God to the rights of a citizen, and
made every chriſtian eligible to ſtate employments.
But he left every one at liberty to invoke the Su-
preme Being as he thought proper, and neither
eſtabliſhed a reigning church in Pennfylvania, nor
exacted contributions for building places of pub-
lic worship, nor compelled any perfons to attend
them.
PENN, attached to his name, was defirous that
the property of the fettlement which he had
formed fhould remain in perpetuity to his family;
but he deprived them of any decifive influence
in the public refolutions, and ordained, that they
fhould not exercife any act of authority without the
concurrence of the deputies of the people. All
the citizens who had an intereft in the law, by
having one in the object of it, were to be electors,
and might be chofen. To avoid as much as
poffible every kind of corruption, it was ordained
that the repreſentatives fhould be chofen by fuf-
frages
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
13
frages privately given. To eftablifh a law, a BOOK
plurality of voices was fufficient; but a majority XVIII.
of two-thirds was neceffary to ſettle a tax. Such
a tax as this was certainly more like a free gift
than a fubfidy demanded by government; but
was it poffible to grant lefs indulgences to men
who were come fo far in fearch of peace?
*
SUCH was the opinion of that real philofopher
Penn. He gave a thoufand acres to all thofe who
could afford to pay 450 livres for them. Every
one who could not, obtained for himſelf, his wife,
each of his children above fixteen years old, and
each of his fervants, fifty acres of land, for the
annual quit-rent of one fol ten deniers and a
half per acre. Fifty acres were alfo given to
every citizen who when he was of age, confented
to pay an annual tribute of two livres five fols t.
To fix thefe properties for ever, he established
tribunals to maintain the laws made for the pre-
fervation of property. But it is not protecting the
property of lands to make thoſe who are in pof-
feffion of them purchaſe the decree of juſtice that
fecures them for in that cafe every individual is
obliged to part with fome of his property, in or-
der to fecure the reft; and law, when protracted,
exhauſts the very treaſures it fhould preferve, and
the property it should defend. Left any perfons
fhould be found whofe intereft it might be to en-
courage or prolong law-fuits, he forbad under
very ſtrict penalties all thofe who were engaged
in the adminiftration of juftice, to receive any fa-
lary or gratuity whatfoever. And further, every
diſtrict was obliged to chufe three arbitrators,
whoſe buſineſs it was to endeavour to prevent,
and accommodate, any difputes that might hap-
pen, before they were carried into a court of
juftice.
181. 15s.
+ About Id.
I is. tod. h.
THIS
14
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
1
BOOK THIS attention to prevent law-fuits ſprang from
XVIII. the defire of preventing crimes. All the laws,
that they might have no vices to punish, were cal
culated to put a stop to them even in their very
fources, poverty and idleness. It was enacted that
every child above twelve years old, fhould be
obliged to learn a profeffion, let his condition be
what it would. This régulation, at the fame
time that it fecured the poor man a fubfiftence,
furniſhed the rich man with a refource againſt
every reverſe of fortune, preferved the natural
equality of mankind, by recalling to every man's
remembrance his original eftimation, which is
that of labour, either of the mind or of the
body.
VIRTUE had never perhaps infpired a legifla-
tion better calculated to promote the felicity of
mankind. The opinions, the fentiments, and
the morals corrected whatever might be defective
in it, and remedied any part of it that might be
imperfect. Accordingly, the proſperity of Penn-
fylvania was very rapid. This republic, without
either wars, conquefts, ftruggles, or any of thoſe
revolutions which attract the eyes of the vulgar,
foon excited the admiration of the whole uni-
verſe. It's neighbours, notwithſtanding their
favage ftate, were foftened by the fweetnefs of it's
manners, and diftant nations, notwithstanding
their corruption, paid homage to it's virtues.
All were delighted to fee thofe heroic days of
antiquity realized, which European manners and
laws had long taught every one to confider as en-
tirely fabulous.
•
Profperity
PENNSYLVANIA is defended on the east by the
of Penn- ocean, on the north by New-York and New.
fylvania. Jerfey, on the fouth by Virginia and Maryland,
on the weft by the Indians; on all fides by
friends, and within itſelf by the virtue of it's in-
habitants.
1
THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
IN +
habitants. It's coafts, which are at firſt very BOOK
narrow, extend gradually to 120 miles, and the XVIII.
breadth of it, which has no other limits than it's
population and culture, already comprehends
145 miles.
PENNSYLVANIA PROPER, is divided into eleven
countries, Philadelphia, Bucks, Chefter, Lan-
caſter, York, Cumberland, Bucks, Northamp-
ton, Bedford, Northumberland, and Weftmore-
land.
In the fame region, the counties of Newcaſtle,
Kent, and Suffex, form a diftinct government,
but are regulated on the fame principles.
THE fky of the colony is pure and ferene, and
the climate, naturally very wholefome, has been
rendered ſtill more fo by cultivation; the waters,
equally falubrious and clear, always flow upon a
bed of rock or fand: and the year is tempered by
the regular return of the ſeaſons. Winter, which
begins in the month of January, laſts till the end
of March. As it is feldom accompanied with
clouds or fogs, the cold is, generally fpeaking,
moderate; fometimes, however, fharp enough to
freeze the largest rivers in a night's time. This
change, which is as fhort as it is fudden, is oc-
cafioned by the north-west winds, which blow
from the mountains and lakes of Canada.
fpring is ushered in by foft rains and a gentle
heat, which increafes gradually till the end of
June. The heats of the dog-days would be in-
fupportable, were it not for the refreſhing breezes
of the fouth-west wind, which afford almoſt a
conftant relief.
The
THOUGH the country be unequal, it is not on
that account lefs fertile. The foil in fome places
confifts of a yellow and black fand, in others it
is gravelly, and fometimes it is a greyish afh-co-
lour upon a stony bottom; generally ſpeaking, it
is
16
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK is a rich earth, particularly between the rivulets,
XVIII. which, interfecting it in all directions, contribute
more to the fertility of the country than navigable
rivers would.
$
WHEN the Europeans firſt came into the coun-
try, they found nothing but wood for building,
and iron mines. In procefs of time, by cutting
down the trees, and clearing the ground, they
covered it with innumerable herds, a great variety
of fruits, plantations of flax and hemp, many kinds
of vegetables, every fort of grain, and eſpecially
wheat and maize; which a happy experience had
fhewn to be particularly proper to the climate.
Cultivation was carried on in all parts with fuch
vigour and fuccefs as excited the astonishment of
all nations.
FROM whence could arife this extraordinary
profperity? From that civil and religious liberty.
which have attracted the Swedes, Dutch, French,
and particularly fome laborious Germans, into that
country. It has been the joint work of Quakers,
Anabaptifts, members of the Church of England,
Methodists, Preſbyterians, Moravians, Lutherans,
and Catholics.
AMONG the numerous fects which abound in
this country, a very diftinguiſhed one is that of
the Dumplers. It was founded by a German,
who, weary of the world, retired to an agreeable
folitude within fifty miles of Philadelphia, in order
to be more at liberty to give himſelf up to con-
templation. Curiofity brought feveral of his coun-
trymen to visit his retreat, and by degrees his
pious, fimple, and peaceable manners induced
them to ſettle near him, and they all formed a
little colony which they called Euphrates, in allu-
fion to the Hebrews, who used to fing pfalms on
the borders of that river.
THIS
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
17
THIS little city forms a triangle, the outfides of BOOK
which are bordered with mulberry and apple-trees, XVIII.
planted with regularity. In the middle of the
town is a very large orchard, and between the
orchard and thefe ranges of trees are houſes,
built of wood, three ftories high, where every
Dumpler is left to enjoy the pleaſures of his me-
ditations without difturbance. Thefe contempla-
tive men do not amount to above five hundred
in all; their territory is about 250 acres in extent,
the boundaries of which are marked by a river,
a piece of ftagnated water, and a mountain co-
vered with trees.
THE men and women live in feparate quarters.
of the city. They never fee each other but at
places of worſhip, nor are there any affemblies of
any kind but for public bufinefs. Their life is
fpent in labour, prayer, and fleep. Twice every
day and night they are called forth from their
cells to attend divine fervice. Like the Metho-
difts and Quakers, every individual among them
has the right of preaching when he thinks himſelf
infpired. The favourite fubjects on which they
difcourfe in their affemblies, are humility, tem-
perance, chaſtity, and the other chriftian virtues.
They never violate that day of repofe, which all
orders of men, whether idle or laborious, much
delight in. They admit a hell and a paradife ;
but reject the eternity of future puniſhments.
They abhor the doctrine of original fin as an im-
pious blafphemy, and in general every tenet that
is fevere to man appears to them injurious to the
divinity. As they do not allow merit to any but
voluntary works, they only adminifter baptifm to
the adult. At the fame time they think baptifm
fo effentially neceffary to falvation, that they ima-
gine the fouls of chriftians in another world are
VOL. VI.
employed
C
18
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK employed in converting thofe who have not died
XVIII. under the law of the gofpel.
STILL more difintereſted than the Quakers,
they never allow themſelves any law-fuits. One
may cheat, rob, and abuſe them without ever
being expofed to any retaliation, or even any
complaint from them. Religion has the fame
effect on them that philofophy had upon the
Stoics; it makes them infenfible to every kind of
infult.
NOTHING can be plainer than their drefs. In
winter, it is a long white gown, from whence
there hangs a hood, which ſerves inſtead of a hat,
a coarſe ſhirt, thick fhoes, and very wide breeches.
The only difference in fummer, is, that linen is
ufed inſtead of woollen. The women are dreffed
much like the men, except that they have no
breeches.
THEIR Common food confifts wholly of vege-
tables, not becauſe it is unlawful to eat any other,
but becauſe that kind of abftinence is looked upon
as more conformable to the fpirit of Chriſtianity
which has an averfion for blood.
EACH individual follows with cheerfulneſs the
branch of buſineſs allotted to him. The produce
of all their labours is depofited in a common
ſtock, in order to fupply the neceffities of every
one. This union of induftry has not only efta-
bliſhed agriculture, manufactures, and all the arts
neceffary for the ſupport of this little fociety, but
hath alfo fupplied, for the purpoſes of exchange,
fuperfluities proportioned to the degree of it's
population.
THOUGH the two fexes live feparate at Eu-
phrates, the Dumplers do not on that account fool-
iſhly renounce matrimony: but thoſe who find
themſelves difpoſed to it leave the city, and form
an eſtabliſhment in the country, which is fupport-
I
cd
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
19
ed at the public expence. They repay this by the B O O K
produce of their labours, which is all thrown into XVIII.
the public treaſury, and their children are fent to
be educated in the mother-country. Without this
wife privilege, the Dumplers would be no better
than monks, and in procefs of time would become
either favages or libertines.
THE most edifying, and at the fame time the
moft extraordinary circumftance, is the harmony
that fubfifts between all the fects eftabliſhed in
Pennfylvania, notwithſtanding the difference of
their religious opinions. Though not all of the
fame church, they all love and cheriſh one ano-
ther as children of the fame father. They have
always continued to live like brethren, becauſe
they had the liberty of thinking as men. To this
delightful harmony must be attributed more par-
ticularly the rapid progrefs of the colony.
Ar the beginning of the year 1774, the popu-
lation of this fettlement amounted to three hun-
dred and fifty thouſand inhabitants, according to
the calculations of the general congrefs. It muft
however be acknowledged, that thirty thoufand
Negroes made part of this numerous population;
but truth alfo requires us to fay, that flavery, in
this province, hath not been a fource of corrup-
tion, as it hath always been, and always will be,
in focieties that are not fo well regulated. The
manners are ftill pure, and even auftere, in Penn-
fylvania. Is this fingular advantage to be afcribed
to the climate, the laws, the religion, the emu-
lation conftantly fubfifting between the different
fects, or to fome other particular caufe? Let the
reader determine this queſtion.
THE Pennſylvanians are in general well made,
and their women of an agreeable figure. As they
fooner become mothers than in Europe, they
fooner ceafe breeding. If the heat of the climate
C 2
feems
20
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK feems on the one hand to haften the operations
XVIII. of nature, it's inconftancy weakens them on the
other. There is no place where the temperature
of the sky is more uncertain, for it fometimes
changes five or fix times in the fame day.
As, however, thefe varieties have neither any
dangerous influence upon animals, nor even upon
vegetables, and as they do not deftroy the har-
veſts, there is a conftant plenty, and an univerſal
appearance of eafy circumstances. The econo-
my which is fo particularly attended to in Penn-
fylvania, does not prevent both fexes from being
well-clothed; and their food is ſtill preferable in
it's kind to their clothing. The families whofe
circumſtances are the leaſt eaſy, have all of them
bread, meat, cyder, beer, and rum.
A very
great number are able to afford to drink con-
ftantly French and Spanish wines, punch, and
even liquors of a higher price. The abuſe of
theſe ſtrong drinks is lefs frequent than in other
places, but is not without example.
THE pleafing views of this abundance is never
diſturbed by the melancholy appearance of pover
ty. There are no poor in all Pennſylvania. All
thoſe whoſe birth or fortune have left them with-
out reſources, are ſuitably provided for out of the
public treaſury. The fpirit of benevolence is car-
ried ſtill farther, and is extended even to the moſt
engaging hoſpitality. A traveller is welcome to
ftop in any place, without the apprehenfions of
giving the leaft uneafy fenfation, except that of
regret for his departure.
THE happineſs of the colony is not disturbed
by the oppreffive burden of taxes. In 1766, they
did not amount to more than 280,140 livres *.
Moſt of them, even thoſe that were defigned to
repair the damages of war, were to ceafe in 1772.
* 11,6721. 10S.
If
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
21
If the people did not experience this alleviation at BOOK
that period, it was owen to the irruptions of the XVIII.
favages, which had occafioned extraordinary ex-
pences. This trifling inconvenience would not
have been attended to, if Penn's family could
have been prevailed upon to contribute to the
public expences, in proportion to the revenue they
obtained from the province: a circumftance re-
quired by the inhabitants, and which in equity
they ought to have complied with.
THE Pennſylvanians, happy poffeffors, and
peaceable tenants, of a country that uſually renders
them twenty or thirty fold for whatever they lay
out upon it, are not reftrained by fear from the
propagation of their ſpecies. There is hardly an
unmarried perſon to be met with in the country.
Marriage is the more happy and the more reve-
renced for it; the freedom as well as the fanctity
of it depends upon the choice of the parties; they
chufe the lawyer and the prieſt rather as witneffes,
than as the means to cement their engagement.
Whenever two lovers meet with any oppofition,
they go off on horſeback together, the man gets
behind his miſtreſs, and in this fituation they pre-
fent themſelves before the magiftrate, where the
girl declares fhe has run away with her lover, and
that they are come to be married. So folemn an
avowal cannot be rejected, nor has any perfon a
right to give them any moleftation. In all other
cafes, paternal authority is exceffive. The head
of a family, whofe affairs are involved, is allowed
to fell his children to his creditors; a puniſhment
one fhould imagine very fufficient to induce an af-
fectionate father to attend to his affairs. An adult
diſcharges in one year's fervice a debt of 112*
livres 1o fols*; children under twelve years of
10
age are obliged to ferve till they are one and
* 41. 138. gd.
twenty,
22
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
This
BOOKtwenty, in order to pay off the fame fum.
XVIII. is an image of the old patriarchal manners of the
eaft.
THOUGH there be ſeveral villages, and even
ſome cities in the colony, moſt of the inhabitants
may be faid to live feparately, as it were, within
their families. Every proprietor of land has his
houſe in the midſt of a large plantation, entirely
furrounded with quickfet hedges. Of courſe each
pariſh is near twelve or fifteen leagues in circum-
ference. This diſtance of the churches makes the
ceremonies of religion have little effect, and ftill
lefs influence. Children are not baptifed till a
few months, and fometimes not till a year or two
after their birth.
ALL the pomp of religion feems to be referved.
for the laſt honours man receives before he is ſhut
up in the grave for ever. As ſoon as any perſon
is dead in the country, the nearest neighbours
have notice given them of the day of the burial.
Theſe ſpread it in the habitations next to their's,
and within a few hours the news is thus conveyed
to a diftance. Every family fends at least one
perfon to attend the funeral. As they come in,
they are prefented with punch and cake. When
the affembly is complete, the corpfe is carried to
the burying-ground belonging to his fect, or if
that fhould be at too great a diſtance, into one of
the fields belonging to the family. There is ge-
nerally a train of four or five hundred perfons on
horfeback, who obferve a continual filence, and
have all the external appearance fuitable to the
melancholy nature of the ceremony. One fingu-
Jar circumftance is, that the Pennfylvanians, who
are the greateſt enemies to parade during their
lives, feem to forget this character of modesty at
their deaths. They are all defirous that the poor
remains of their fhort lives fhould be attended
with
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
23
with a funeral pomp proportioned to their rank BOOK
or fortune. It is a general obfervation, that plain XVII,
and virtuous people, even thofe that are favage
and poor, pay great attention to the ordering of
their funerals. The reafon is, that they look
upon theſe laſt honours as duties of the furvivors,
and the duties themſelves as fo many diftin&t
proofs of that principle of love, which is very
ſtrong in private families while they are in a ſtate
neareſt to that of nature. It is not the dying man
himſelf who exacts thefe honours; his parents,
his wife, his children, voluntarily pay them to
the aſhes of a huſband and father that has de-
ſerved to be lamented. Thefe ceremonies have
always more numerous attendants in fmall focie-
ties than in large ones, becauſe though there are
fewer families upon the whole, the number of in-
dividuals there is much larger, and all the ties
that connect them with each other are much
ftronger. This kind of intimate union has been
the reaſon why fo many fmall nations have over-
come larger ones; it drove Xerxes and the Per-
fians out of Greece, and it will fome time or other
expel the French from Corfica.
BUT from whence does Pennſylvania get the ar-
ticles neceffary for her own confumption, and in
what manner does fhe contrive to be abundantly
furniſhed with them? With the flax and hemp
that is produced at home, and the cotton fhe pro-
cures from South America, fhe fabricates a great
quantity of ordinary linens; and with the wool
that comes from Europe fhe manufactures many
coarſe cloths. Whatever her own induſtry is not
able to furniſh, ſhe purchaſes with the produce of
her territory. Her fhips carry over to the Eng-
lifh, French, Dutch, and Daniſh iſlands, biſcuit,
flour, butter, cheeſe, tallow, vegetables, fruits,
falt meat, cyder, beer, and all forts of wood for
building.
24
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK building. The cotton, fugar, coffee, brandy, and
XVIII. money received in exchange, are fo many mate-
rials for a freſh commerce with the mother-coun-
try, and with other European nations as well. as
with other colonies. The Azores, Madeira, the
Canaries, Spain and Portugal, open an advanta-
geous market for the corn and wood of Pennfylva-
nia, which they purchaſe with wine and piaftres.
The mother-country receives from Pennfylvania,
iron, flax, leather, furs, linfeed, mafts and yards,
for which it returns thread, fine cloths, tea, Iriſh
and India linens, hardware, and other articles of
luxury or neceffity. But all theſe branches of
trade have been hitherto prejudicial to the co-
lony, though it can neither be cenfured nor com-
miferated on this account. Whatever meaſures
may be adopted, it is unavoidably neceffary that
rifing ſtates ſhould contract debts; and the one
we are now ſpeaking of will remain in debt as
long as the clearing of the lands requires greater
expences than the produce will enable it to an-
fwer. Other colonies, which enjoy almoft ex-
clufively fome branches of trade, fuch as rice,
tobacco, and indigo, muft have grown rich very
rapidly. Pennſylvania, the riches of which are
founded on agriculture and the increaſe of her
flocks, will acquire them more gradually; but
her proſperity will be fixed upon a more firm
and permanent bafis.
IF any circumftance can retard the progrefs of
the colony, it must be the irregular manner in
which the plantations are formed. Penn's family,
who are the proprietors of all the lands, grant
them indifcriminately in all parts, and in as large
a proportion as they are required, provided they
are paid 112 ivres 10 fols for each hundred
acres, and that the purchaſers agree to give an
41. 135. 98.
annual
:
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
25
annual rent of 22 fols 6 deniers *. The confe- B O O K
quence of this is, that the province wants that XVIII.
fort of connection which is fo neceffary in all
eſtabliſhments, and that the fcattered inhabitants
eafily become the prey of the moſt infignificant
enemy that ventures to attack them.
THERE are different ways of clearing the lands
which are followed in the colony. Sometimes a
huntſman will fettle in the midſt of a foreſt, or
quite cloſe to it. His nearest neighbours affift him
in cutting down trees, and placing them one above
another and this conftitutes a houſe. Around
this ſpot he cultivates, without any affiftance, a
garden or a field, fufficient to fubfift himſelf and
his family.
A FEW years after the firſt labours are finiſhed,
fome more active or richer men arrive from the
mother-country. They indemnify the huntfman
for his labour, and agree with the proprietors of
the provinces for fome lands that have not yet
been paid for. They build more commodious
habitations, and clear a greater extent of terri-
tory.
AT length fome Germans, who come into the
New World from inclination, or are driven into it
by perfecution, complete theſe ſettlements that are
as yet unfiniſhed. The first and fecond order of
planters remove into other parts, with a more con-
fiderable ftock for carrying on agriculture than
they had at firſt.
IN 1767, the exports of Pennſylvania amounted
to 13,164,439 livres 5 fols 3 deniers †; and they
have fince increafed much more confiderably in
that colony than in any other.
PHILADELPHIA, or the city of Brothers, is the Prefent
center of this great trade. This famous city is fate of
* 18s. 4d. far. + About 548,5181. 6s. od. three farthings.
fituated
Philadel-
phia.
26
·HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK fituated at the conflux of the Delaware and the
XVIII. Schuylkill, at the diftance of 120 miles from the
fea. Penn, who deftined it for the metropolis of
a great empire, defigned it to be one mile in
breadth and two in length between the rivers;
but it's population has proved infufficient to cover
this extent of ground. Hitherto the banks of
the Delaware are only built upon; but without
giving up the ideas of the legiflator, or deviating
from his plan. Thefe precautions are highly pro-
per. Philadelphia muft become the moſt confi-
derable city of America, becauſe the colony
muft neceffarily improve greatly, and it's pro-
ductions muſt pafs through the harbour of the
capital before they arrive at the fea.
THE ſtreets of Philadelphia, which are all re-
gular, are from fifty to a hundred feet broad. On
each fide of them there are foot-paths defended
by pofts, placed at different diftances.
THE houſes, each of which has it's garden and
orchard, are commonly three ftories high, and
are built of brick. The prefent buildings have
received an additional decoration from a kind of
marble of different colours, which is found about
a mile out of the town. Of this, tables, chimney-
pieces, and other houſehold furniture are made;
befides which, it is become rather a confiderable
article of commerce with the greatest part of
America.
THESE valuable materials could not have been
found in common in the houſes, unleſs they had
been laviſhed in the churches. Every fect has
it's own church, and fome of them have feveral.
But there are a number of citizens, who have
neither churches, priefts, nor any public form
of worship, and who are ſtill happy, humane,
and virtuous.
THE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
27
XVIII.
THE town-houſe is a building holden in as much BOOK
veneration, though not fo much frequented as
the churches. It is conftructed with the greateſt
magnificence. There the legiflators of the colony
affemble every year, and more frequently if ne-
ceffary, to fettle every thing relative to public
bufinefs. Theſe men of truft are here fupplied
with every publication that may give them any
information refpecting government, trade, and
adminiſtration. Next to the town-houſe is a
moſt elegant library, formed in 1732, under the
care of the learned Dr. Franklin, and confifting of
the beſt Engliſh, with feveral French and Latin
authors. It is only open to the public on Satur-
days. The founders have free acceſs to it at all
times. Others pay a trifle for the loan of the
books, and a forfeit if they be not returned at a
ftated time. This little fund, which is conftantly
accumulating, is appropriated to the increaſe of
the library, to which have been lately added, in
order to make it more uſeful, fome mathematical
and philofophical inftruments, with a very fine
cabinet of natural hiſtory.
NoT far from this there is another monument
of the fame nature. This confifts of a fine col-
lection of Greek and Latin claffics, with their
moſt eſteemed commentators, and of the beft
performances that have graced the modern lan-
guages. This library was bequeathed to the pub-
lic, in 1752, by the learned and generous citizen
Logan, who had ſpent a long and laborious life
in collecting it.
THE College, which is intended to prepare the
mind for the attainment of all the fciences, owed
it's rife, in 1749, to the labours of Dr. Franklin,
whofe name ftands always recorded among the
great or uſeful things, accomplished in this coun-
try which
gave him birth. At first, it only ini-
tiated
28
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK tiated the youth in the belles lettres; but medi
XVIII. cine, chymiftry, botany, and natural philofophy,
have been fince taught there. Knowledge of
every kind, and maſters in every ſcience, will in-
creaſe, in proportion as the lands, which are be-
come their patrimony, fhall yield a greater pro-
duce. If ever defpotifm, fuperftition, or war,
fhould plunge Europe again into that ſtate of bar-
barifm out of which philofophy and the arts have
extricated it, the facred fire will be kept alive in
Philadelphia, and come from thence to enlighten
the world.
THIS city is amply fupplied with every affiftance
human nature can require, and with all the re-
fources induſtry can make ufe of. It's quays, the
principal of which is two hundred feet wide, pre
fent a fuite of convenient warehouſes, and docks
ingeniously contrived for fhip-building. Ships of
five hundred tons may land there without any dif
ficulty, except in times of froft. There, is taken
on board the merchandife which has either been
brought by the rivers Schuylkill and Delaware, or
carried along better roads than are to be met with
in moſt parts of Europe. Police has made a
greater progrefs in this part.of the New World,
than among the most ancient nations of the
Old.
*
Ir is impoffible to determine precifely the popu
lation of Philadelphia, as the bills of mortality are
not kept with any exactneſs, and there are ſeveral
fects who do not chriften their children. It ap-
pears, however, that in 1766 it contained 20,000.
inhabitants. As most of them are employed in
the fale of the productions of the colony, and in
fupplying it with what they draw from abroad,
their fortunes muft neceffarily be very confider-
able; and they muft increafe ftill further, in pro-
portion as the cultivation advances in a country:
where
:
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
29*
where not above one-fixth of the land has hitherto B O O K
XVIII.
been cleared.
PHILADELPHIA, as well as the other cities of
Pennſylvania, is entirely open. The whole coun-
try is equally without defence. This is a necef-
fary confequence of the principles of the Quakers.
Thefe fectaries cannot be too much favoured, on
account of their modefty, probity, love of la-
bour, and benevolence. One might, perhaps,
be tempted to accufe their legiflation of impru-
dence and temerity.
Ir may, perhaps, be faid, that when the found-
ers of the colony eſtabliſhed that civil fecurity
which protects one citizen from another, they
ſhould alſo have eſtabliſhed that political fecurity,
which protects one ftate from the incroachments
of another. The authority which hath been exerted
to maintain peace and good order at home, feems
to have done nothing, if it has not prevented inva-
fion from abroad. To pretend that the colony
would never have enemies, was to fuppofe the
world peopled with Quakers. It was encouraging
the ſtrong to fall upon the weak, leaving the lamb
to the mercy of the wolf, and fubmitting the whole
country to the oppreffive yoke of the firft tyrant
who ſhould think proper to fubdue it.
BUT on the other hand, how fhall we reconcile
the ftrictneſs of the gofpel maxims, by which the
Quakers are literally governed, with thoſe military
preparations, either offenfive or defenfive, which
maintain a continual ftate of war between all
Chriſtian nations? Befides, what could the enemy
do, if they were to enter Pennfylvania fword in
hand? Unleſs they maffacred, in the ſpace of a
night or a day's time, all the inhabitants of that
fortunate region, they would not be able totally to
extirpate the race of thofe mild and charitable
men. Violence has it's boundaries in it's very ex-
cefs;
за
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK cefs; it is confumed and extinguished, as the fire
XVIII. in the afhes that feed it. But virtue, when guided
by humanity and by the ſpirit of benevolence, is
revived as the tree under the edge of the pruning-
knife. The wicked ftand in need of numbers
to execute their fanguinary projects. But the
Quaker, who is a good man, wants only a brother
from whom he may receive, or to whom he may
give affiftance. Let then the warlike nations, let
people who are either flaves or tyrants, go into
Pennfylvania; there they will find all avenues
open to them, all property at their difpofal; not
fingle foldier, but numbers of merchants and
farmers. But if theſe inhabitants be tormented,
reftrained, or oppreffed, they will fly, and leave
their lands uncultivated, their manufactures de-
ftroyed, and their warehouſes empty. They will
cultivate, and fpread population in fome new
land; they will go round the world rather than
turn their arms againſt their purfuers, or fub-
mit to bear their yoke. Their enemies will have
only gained the hatred of mankind, and the exe-
cration of poſterity.
MAY I not be deceived in what I have ad-
vanced; and may I not have miſtaken the
wishes of my heart for a decree of truth! I am
diftreffed even at the bare fufpicion. Fortunate
and wife country! art thou then one day to expe-
rience the fatal deftiny of other countries? art
thou to be ravaged and fubdued as they have
been? Far be it from me to entertain a prefage
that might tend to invalidate, in my mind,
the moſt comfortable of all ideas; that there
exiſts a providence who watches over the preferva-
tion of the good! Nor let the numerous events
which feem to depofe the contrary have any in-
fluence over me!
IT
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
31
IT is upon this profpect that the Pènnfylvanians BOOK
have founded their opinion of their future fecu- XVIII.
rity Befides, as they do not perceive that the
moft warlike ſtates are the moft permanent; that
miftruft, which is ever upon it's guard, makes
men reft with greater tranquillity, or that there
can be any fatisfaction in the poffeffion of any
thing that is kept with fuch apprehenfions; they
enjoy the prefent moment without any concern
for the future. The people of Maryland are of a
different opinion.
Nature of
CHARLES the Firft, far from having any aver. Origin of
fion for the Catholics, as his predeceffors, had Maryland.
fome reaſon to protect them, from the zeal which, it's govern-
in hopes of being tolerated, they had fhewn for ment.
his intereſt. But when the accufation of being
favourable to popery had alienated the minds of
the people from that weak prince, whofe chief
aim was to eſtabliſh a defpotic government, he
was obliged to give the Catholics up to the rigour
of the laws enacted against them by Henry the
Eighth. Thefe circumftances induced Lord Bal-
timore to feek an afylum in Virginia, where he
might be indulged in a liberty of confcience. As
he found there no toleration for an exclufive fyf-
tem of faith, which was itſelf intolerant, he
formed the defign of a new fettlement in that un-
inhabited part of the country, which lay between
the river of Potowmack and Pennſylvania. His
death, which happened foon after he had obtained
powers from the crown for peopling this land,
put a stop to the project for that time; but it was
refumed, from the fame religious motives, by his
fon. This young nobleman left England in the
year 1633, with two hundred Roman Catholics,
moſt of them of good families. The education
they had received, the caufe of religion for which
they had left their country, and the fortune which
their
32
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK their leader promifed them, prevented thofe dif
XVIII. turbances which are but too common in infant
fettlements. The neighbouring favages, won by
mildneſs and acts of beneficence, concurred with
eagerness to affift the new colonifts in forming
their fettlement. With this unexpected help,
theſe fortunate perfons, attached to each other by
the fame principles of religion, and directed by
the prudent counfels of their chief, applied them-
felves unanimoufly to every kind of uſeful la-
bour: the view of the peace and happineſs they
enjoyed, invited among them a number of men
who were either perfecuted for the fame religion,
or for different opinions. The Catholics of Ma-
ryland gave up at length the intolerant prin-
ciples, of which they themſelves had been the
victims, after having firſt ſet the example of them,
and opened the doors of their colony to all fects,
of what religious principles foever. They all
enjoyed the rights of a city in the fame extent;
and the government was modelled upon that of
the mother-country.
THESE wife precautions, however, did not fe-
cure Baltimore, at the time of the fubverfion of
the monarchy, from lofing all the conceffions he
had obtained. Deprived of his poffeffions by
Cromwell, he was restored to them by Charles the
Second; after which they were again difputed
with him. Though he was perfectly clear from
any reproach of mal-adminiftration; and though
he was extremely zealous for the Tramontane
doctrines, and much attached to the intereſts of
the Stuarts; yet he had the mortification of find-
ing the legality of his charter attacked under the
arbitrary reign of James II. and of being obliged
to maintain an action at law for the jurifdi&tion
of a province which had been ceded to him by
the crown, and which he himfelf had formed at
his
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
33
7
his own expence. This prince, whoſe misfortune B O O K
it had always beeen not to diftinguifh his friends XVIII.
from his foes, and who had alſo the ridiculous
pride to think that regal authority was fufficient
to justify every act of violence, was preparing
a fecond time to deprive Baltimore of what had
been given him by the two kings, his father
and brother, when he was himfelf removed from
the throne which he was fo unfit to fill. The
fucceffor of this weak defpotic prince terminated
this conteft, which had arifen before his acceffion
to the crown, in a manner worthy of his political
character he left the Baltimores in poffeffion of
their revenues, but deprived them of their autho-
rity. When this family, who were more regard-
lefs of the prejudices of religion, became mem-
bers of the church of England, they were rein-
ſtated in the hereditary government of Mary-
land; they began again to conduct the colony,
affifted by a council, and two deputies choſen
by each diftrict.
FORTUNATELY for itfelf, Maryland hath been Events
lefs fruitful in events than any other fettlement which
have hap-
formed in the Northern continent. There are pened at
only two facts worthy of being recorded in it's Maryland.
hiſtory.
BERKLEY, extravagantly zealous for the church
of England, expelled froin Virginia thofe among
it's inhabitants who did not profefs this mode of
worship; and they were obliged to feek an
afylum in the province we are now fpeaking of.
The Virginians were highly incenſed at the fa-
vourable reception which thefe people met with;
and in the firft rage of an unjuſt refentment, they
perfuaded the favages that their new neighbours
were Spaniards. This odious name entirely
changed the fentiments of the Indians; and,
without deliberation, they ravaged the grounds
VOL. VI.
which
D
34
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK which they had affifted in clearing; and maf-
XVIII. facred, without mercy, thofe very men whom
they had juſt received in a brotherly manner. It
required a great deal of time, and patience, and
many facrifices, before theſe prejudiced minds
could be convinced of their miſtake.
Prefent
tures.
BALTIMORE, attending more to his reaſon than
to the prejudices of education, granted an equal
fhare in the government to every different pro-
feffor of Chriſtianity. The Catholics were ex-
cluded from it, at the memorable period when
this nobleman was deprived of his authority.
The Britiſh miniftry either could not, or would
not put a stop to this act of fanaticifm. It exert-
ed it's influence only in preventing the founders
of the colony from being driven out of it, and
the penal laws, which were not even attended to
in England, from being enforced.
THE province is very well watered. A number
ftate of
of fprings are found in it, and it is interfected
Maryland.
It's cul- by five navigable rivers. The air, which is much
too damp upon the coafts, becomes pure, light,
and thin, in proportion as the foil becomes more
elevated. Spring and autumn are moſt agreeably
temperate; but in the winter there are fome
exceedingly cold days; and in fummer, fome in
which the heat is very troubleſome. The circum-
ftance, however, which is the leaft fupportable
in this country, is the great quantity of difguft-
ing infects that are found there.
MARYLAND is one of the fmalleſt provinces of
North America: and accordingly, grants have
been made of almoſt all the territory, both in the
plains and upon the mountains. They remained
for a long time either fallow, or very ill cultivat-
ed; but the labours have increafed, fince the po-
pulation, according to the calculation of congrefs,
hath
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
35
hath amounted to three hundred and twenty thou- BOOK
fand inhabitants.
SEVERAL of thefe are Catholics, and a great
many more are Germans. Their manners have
more mildness than energy; and this may arife
from the women not being excluded from fociety,
as in moſt of the other parts of the continent.
The men who are free, and not very rich, who
are fettled upon the high grounds, and who ori-
ginally bred no flocks, cut no wood, and culti-
vated no corn, but for the uſe of the colony, have
gradually furniſhed a great quantity of thefe
articles to the West Indies. The profperity,
however, of the colony, hath been more parti-
cularly owen to the flaves employed at a greater
or leſs diſtance from the fea, in the plantations
of tobacco..
THIS is a fharp cauftic plant; formerly much
ufed, as it ftill is, fometimes in medicine, which,
if taken inwardly, in fubftance, is a real poifon,
more or less active, according to the dofe. It is
chewed, fmoaked in the leaves; and is in more
general uſe as fnuff.
It was diſcovered in the year 1520 near Ta-
bafco, in the Gulph of Mexico, from whence it
was carried to the neighbouring iſlands. It was
foon after introduced in our climates, where the
ufe of it became a matter of difpute among the
learned, which even the ignorant took a part
in; and thus tobacco acquired celebrity. By
degrees faſhion and cuſtom have greatly extend-
ed it's confumption in all parts of the known
world.
THE ftem of this plant is ftreight, hairy, and
viscous. It is three or four feet high. It's leaves,
equally downy, and difpofed alternately on the
ftem, are thick, pulpy, of a pale green, broad,
oval, terminating in a point, and much larger at
D 2
the
XVIII.
36
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK the foot than at the fummit of the plant. This
XVIII. fummit branches out into cluſters of flowers of
a light purple hue. Their tubular calix, which
hath five indentations, inclofes a corolla, length-
ened out in form of a funnel, ſpread out at the
top, divided into five parts, and furnished with
as many ſtamina. The piftil, concealed at the
bottom of the flower, and terminated by a fingle
ftyle, becomes, as it ripens, a capfula, with two
cavities filled with fmall feeds.
TOBACCO requires a moderately binding foil,
but rich, even, deep, and not too much expofed
to inundations. A virgin foil is very proper for
this plant, which abfords a great deal of moif
ture.
THE feeds of the tobacco are fown upon beds.
When it is grown to the height of two inches,
and hath got at leaſt half a dozen leaves, it is
gently pulled up, in damp weather, and tranſ-
planted, with great care, into a well prepared
foil, where the plants are placed at the diftance
of three feet from each other. When they are
put into the ground with theſe preparations, their
leaves do not fuffer the leaft injury; and all their
vigour is renewed in four-and-twenty hours.
THE cultivation of tobacco requires continual
attention. The weeds which grow round it muft
be plucked up; the top of it muſt be cut off,
when it is two feet and a half from the ground,
to prevent it from growing too high; it must be
ftripped of all fprouting fuckers; the leaves
which grow too near the bottom of the ftem,
thoſe that are in the leaft inclined to decay, and
thoſe which the infects have touched, muft all
be taken off, and their number reduced to eight
or ten at moſt. One induftrious man is able
to take care of two thoufand fix hundred plants,
1
which
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,
37
•
which ought to yield one thouſand weight of BOOK
tobacco...
THE plant is left about four months in the
ground. As it advances to maturity, the plea-
fant and lively green colour of it's leaves is
changed into a darker hue; the leaves are alfo
curved, the fcent of them grows ftronger, and
extends to a diſtance. The plant is then ripe,
and must be cut up.
t
THE plants, when collected, are laid in heaps
upon the ground that produced them; where
they are left to exfude only for one night. The
next day they are laid in warehouſes, conftructed
in fuch a manner that the air may have free ac-
cefs to them on all fides. Here they are left fe-
parately fufpended as long a time as is neceffary
to dry them properly. They are then ſpread up-
on hurdles, and well covered over, where they
ferment for a week or two. At laft they are
ftripped of their leaves, which are either put into
barrels, or made up into rolls. The other me-
thods of preparing the plant, which vary accord-
ing to the different taftes of the feveral nations
that uſe it, have nothing to do with it's cultiva-
tion.
THE inhabitants of the Eaft Indies, and of
Africa, cultivate tobacco only for their own ufe,
They neither fell nor purchaſe any.
SALONICA is the great mart for tobacco in the
Levant. Syria, the Morea, or the Peloponnefus,
and Egypt, fend there all their fuperfluous quan-
tity, from this port it is fent to Italy, where it is
fmoked, after it hath been mixed with the to-
bacco of Dalmatia and Croatia, to foften it's
cauftic quality.
THE tobacco of theſe two laft provinces is of a
very excellent kind: but it is fo ftrong, that it
cannot be uſed till mixed with a milder fort.
THE
XVIII.
38
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK THE tobacco of Hungary would be tolerably
XVIII. good, if it had not generally a fmell of fmoke
which is very diſguſting.
1
THE Ukraine, Livonia, Pruffia, and Pomera-
nia, cultivate a tolerably large quantity of this
production. It's leaves are wider than they are
long, are very thin, and have neither flavour nor
confiftence. In order to improve it, the court of
Ruffia hath caufed fome tobacco feeds, brought
from Virginia and from Hamersfort, to be fown
in their colonies of Sarratow, upon the Volga;
but this experiment hath been attended with little
or no fuccefs.
THE tobacco of the Palatinate is very indiffer
ent; but it hath the property of mixing with a
better kind, and of acquiring it's flavour.
HOLLAND alſo furniſhes tobacco. That which
is produced in the province of Utrecht, from
Hamersfort, and from four or five neighbouring
diftricts, is of a fuperior quality. It's leaves are
large, fupple, oily, and of a good colour. It
hath the uncommon advantage of communicating
it's delicious perfume to tobacco of an inferior
quality. There is a great deal of this latter fort
upon the territories of the Republic; but the
fpecies which grows in Guelderland is the worft
of any.
TOBACCO was formerly cultivated in France,
and with more fuccefs than any where elſe, near
Pont de l'Arche in Normandy; at Verton in Pi-
cardy; and at Montauban, Tonneins, and Cle-
ral, in Guyenne. It was prohibited in 1721, ex-
cept upon fome frontier towns, whofe original
terms of capitulation it was not thought proper to
infringe. Hainault, Artois, and Franche Comté,
profited very little from a liberty which the na-
ture of their foil did not allow them to make uſe
of. It has been more ufeful to Flanders and Al-
face;
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
39
face; for their tobaccos, though very weak, may BOOK
be mixed, without inconvenience, with others of XVIII.
a fuperior kind.
INthe beginning, the islands of the New
World attended to the culture of tobacco; but
it was fucceffively fucceeded by richer produc-
tions in them all, except at Cuba, which fupplies
all the fnuff confumed by the Spaniards of both
hemifpheres. It's perfume is exquifite, but too
ftrong. The fame crown derives from Caraccas
the tobacco which is fmoked by it's fubjects in
Europe. It is likewife ufed in the North, and in
Holland, becauſe there is none to be found any
where to be compared with it, for this pur-
poſe.
THE Brazils cultivated this production very
early, and have not fince difdained it. They
have been encouraged in this purfuit, by the
conftant repute which their tobacco hath enjoyed
upon the weſtern coafts of Africa. Even in our
climates, it is in tolerable requeſt among perfons
who fmoke. It could not be taken in fnuff, on
account of it's acrimony, without the prepara-
tions which it undergoes. Theſe preparations
confiſt in ſoaking every leaf in a decoction of
tobacco, and of gum copal. Thefe leaves, thus
fteeped, are formed into rolls, and wrapped up
in the ſkin of an ox, which keeps up their moif-
ture.
BUT the beſt tobaccos upon the face of the
earth grow in the North of America; and in
that part of the New World, the tobacco ga-
thered at Maryland is of the fecond fort. This
plant has not, however, an equal degree of per-
fection throughout the whole extent of the co-
lonies. That of the growth of Cheſter and of
Chouptan, reſembles the Virginia tobacco in
quality, and is confumed in France. That which
grows
40
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK grows in Patapfifco and Potuxant, which is very
XVIII. fit for fmoking, is confumed in the North, and
in Holland. Upon the northern fhores of the
Potowmack, the tobacco is excellent in the high-
er parts, and of moderate quality in the lower
What Ma-
ryland
may be-
come.
+
ones.
ter.
6
SAINT MARY, formerly the capital of the ftate,
is of no confequence at prefent; and Annapolis,
which now enjoys this prerogative, is fcarce more
confiderable. It is at Baltimore that almoſt all
the buſineſs is tranfacted, the harbour of which
can receive fhips that draw feventeen feet of wa-
Theſe three towns, the only ones which are
in the colony, are fituated upon the bay of Che-
fapeak, which runs two hundred and fifty miles
up the country, and the mean breadth of which
is twelve miles. There are two capes at it's en-
trance; and in the middle is a fand bank.
channel which is near Cape Charles can admit
none but very fmall veffels; while that which
runs a-long-fide Cape Henry, admits the largeſt
ſhips, at any ſeaſon of the year.
The
FEW of the lands between the Apalachian
mountains and the fea, are fo good as thofe of
Maryland. Thefe, however, are in general too
light, fandy, and fhallow, to reward the planter
for his labour and expences, in as fhort a time as
in our climates. Fertility, which always attends
the first clearing of the foil, is rapidly followed
by an extraordinary decreaſe in the quantity and
quality of the corn. The foil is ftill fooner ex-
hauſted by the culture of tobacco. This leaf
lofes much of it's ftrength, whenever the fame
ſpot hath yielded, without intermiffion, a few
crops of tobacco. For this reafon, infpectors
were created in 1733, who were impowered to
cauſe all the tobacco to be burnt which had not
the proper flavour. This was a prudent inftitu-
tion;
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
41
tion; but it ſeems to foretell, that the moft im- BOOK
portant production of the province muſt one day XVIII.
be given up, or that it will infenfibly be reduced
to very little.
THEN, or perhaps before, the iron mines,
which are in great abundance in the colony, will
be worked. This is a fource of profperity which
hath not hitherto been carried beyond the ufe of
ſeventeen or eighteen forges. A greater degree
of liberty, and new wants, will communicate
more ſtrength and more activity to the colo-
nifts.
OTHER manufactures will alfo undoubtedly
arife. Maryland had never any of any kind.
It received from Great Britain all the articles
it wanted for the moſt ordinary purpoſes of
life. This was one of the reafons which occa-
fioned it's being burdened with debts. Mr.
Stirenwith hath at length eſtabliſhed manufac-
tures for ftockings, for filk, woollen, and cotton
ſtuffs, and for all kinds of hardware, even fire-
arms. Theſe branches of induftry, at prefent
united in one manufacture, at a confiderable ex-
pence, and with extraordinary fagacity, will be
more or lefs rapidly difperfed throughout the pro-
vince; and, croffing the Potowmack, will be like-
wife adopted at Virginia.
and by
THIS other colony, with the fame kind of foil In what
and of climate as Maryland, hath a few advan- manner
Virginia
tages over the latter. It's extent is much more was efta-
confiderable. It's rivers can admit larger fhips, blifhed,
and allow them a longer navigation. It's inha- whom.
bitants have a more elevated turn of mind; have
more reſolution, and are more enterpriſing: this
may be attributed to their being generally of
Engliſh extraction,
VIRGINIA was, about two centuries ago, the
only country which England intended to occupy
on
42
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK on the continent of North America. This name
XVIII., doth not at prefent belong to any thing more
than the ſpace which is bounded by Maryland on
one fide, and by Carolina on the other.
THE English landed upon theſe favage fhores.
in 1606, and their first fettlement was James
Town. Unfortunately, the object that first pre-
fented itſelf to them, was a rivulet, which, iffu
ing from a fand-bank, carried along with it, a
quantity of talc, which glittered at the bottom
of a clear and running water. In an age when
gold and filver were the only object of men's
reſearches, this defpicable fubftance was imme-
diately taken for filver. The first and only em-
ployment of the new colonifts was to collect it
and the illufion was carried fo far, that two fhips,
which arrived there with neceffaries, were fent
home ſo fully freighted with theſe imaginary
riches, that there fcarce remained any room for a
few furs. As long as this infatuation lafted, the
coloniſts difdained to employ themfelves in clear-
ing the lands; fo that a dreadful famine was at
length the confequence of this foolish pride.
Sixty men only remained alive out of five hun-
dred who had been fent from Europe. Thefe
unfortunate few, having only a fortnight's pro-
vifion left, were upon the point of embarking
for Newfoundland, when Lord Delaware arrived
there with three fhips, a fresh colony, and fup-
plies of all kinds.
HISTORY has defcribed this nobleman to us as
a man whofe genius raiſed him above the common
prejudices of the times. His difintereſtedneſs
was equal to his knowledge. In accepting the
government of the colony, which was ſtill in it's
infancy, he had no motive but to gratify the in-
clination a virtuous mind has to do good, and to
fecure the eſteem of pofterity, which is the fe-
cond
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
43
XVIII.
cond reward of that generoſity that devotes itſelf B O O K
totally to the ſervice of the public, As foon as
he appeared, the knowledge of his character pro-
cured him- univerſal reſpect. He firſt endea-
voured to reconcile the wretched coloniſts to
their fatal country, to comfort them in their fuf-
ferings, and to make them hope for a ſpeedy con-
clufion of them. After this, joining the firmnefs of
an enlightened magiftrate to the tenderneſs of a
good father, he taught them how to direct their
labours to an uſeful end. Unfortunately for the
reviving colony, Delaware's declining health foor
obliged him to return to Europe; but he never
loft fight of his favourite coloniſts, nor ever failed
to make ufe of all his credit and intereſt at court
to fupport them.
THE Colony, however, made but little progrefs,
a circumftance that was attributed to the oppref-
fion of exclufive privileges. The company which
exerciſed them was diffolved upon Charles the
Firft's acceffion to the throne. Before that period,
all the authority had been entirely in the hands of
the monopoly. Virginia then came under the
immediate direction of the crown, which exacted
no more than a rent of 2 livres 5 fols, upon
every hundred acres that were cultivated.
TILL this time the colonists had known no
true enjoyment of property. Every individual
wandered where chance directed him, or fixed
himſelf in the place he liked beft, without con-
fulting any titles or agreements. At length
boundaries were afcertained, and thoſe who had
been fo long wanderers, now become citizens,
had determined limits to their plantations. The
eſtabliſhment of this firft law of fociety changed
the appearance of every thing. Freſh plantations
arofe on all fides. This activity drew great num-
Is. 1od. h.
bers
44
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADĖ
BOOK bers of enterprifing men over to Virginia, who
XVIII came either in fearch of fortune, or of liberty,
which is the only compenfation for the want of it.
The memorable troubles that produced a change
in the conftitution of England added to thefe a
multitude of Royalifts, who went there with a
refolution to wait, with Berkley, the governor
of the colony, who was alfo attached to king
Charles, the fate of that deferted monarch.
Berkley ftill continued to protect them, even
after the king's death; but fome of the inhabit-
ants, either brought over or bribed, and fup-
ported by the appearance of a powerful fleet, de-
livered up the colony to the Protector. If the
governor was compelled to follow the ftream
againſt his will, he was, at leaſt, among thoſe
whom Charles had honoured with pofts of con-
fidence and rank, the laft who fubmitted to
Cromwell, and the first who ſhook off his yoke.
This brave man was finking under the oppreffion
of the times, when, the voice of the people re-
called him to the place which his fucceffor's
death had left vacant; but far from yielding to
theſe flattering folicitations, he declared that he
never would ferve any but the legitimate heir of
the dethroned monarch. Such an example of
magnanimity, at a time when there were no
hopes of the reſtoration of the royal family, made
fuch an impreffion upon the minds of the people,
that Charles the Second was proclaimed in Vir-
ginia before he had been proclaimed in Eng-
to the pro-
land.
Obftacles THE Colony did not, however, receive from fo
fperity of generous a ſtep all the benefit that might have
Virginia. been expected. The new monarch, either from
weakneſs or corruption, granted to rapacious
courtiers immenfe territories, which abforbed the
poffeffions of a great number of obfcure citizens.
The
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
45
The act of navigation, fuggefted by the Pro-BOOK
tector for the purpofe of fecuring to the mother- XVIII.
country the fupplying of all their fettlements in
the New World with provifions, and the exclu-
five trade of all their productions, was obſerved
with fuch rigour, as to double almoſt the value
of the articles to be purchafed by Virginia, and
leffen ftill more the value of what they had to
fell. This double oppreffion exhaufted all the re-
fources, and difpelled all the hopes of the colony;
and to complete it's misfortunes, the favages at-
tacked it with a degree of fpirit and fkill which
they had not manifefted in any of the preceding
wars.
SCARCE had the English landed in theſe un-
known regions, than they had diſpoſed the na-
tives againſt them by the difhonefty they had
practifed in their exchanges. This fource of dif-
cord might have been put a stop to, had the
English confented to take Indian wives, as they
were folicited to do. But although they had
not yet any European women with them, they
rejected this connection with difdain. This con-
tempt exafperated the Americans, already alien-
ated by their want of faith, and they became
irreconcileable enemies. Their hatred was mani-
fefted by fecret affaffinations, and by public ho
ftilities, and in 1622, by a confpiracy, in which
three hundred and thirty-four people, loft their
lives, and which would even have deftroyed the
whole colony, had not the commanders been
apprized of the danger a few hours before the
time appointed for a general maffacre.
SINCE this act of treachery, many atrocious
ones have been committed on both fides. Truces
between the two nations were unfrequent, and ill
obferved. The rupture was ufually begun by the
English. The lefs profit they drew from their
planta-
46
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK plantations, the more artifice and force did they
XVIII. employ to deprive the favages of their furs. This
infatiable avidity, which indifcriminately feized
upon all the inhabitants, whether fettled or wan
dering, in the neighbourhood of the colony,
made the Americans again take up arms, towards
the end of the year 1675. They all, by agree-
ment, fell upon the fettlements, imprudently
difperfed, and at too great a diftance to afford
each other any affiftance.
SUCH a complication of misfortunes drove the
Virginians to deſpair. Berkley, who had fo long
been their idol, was accufed of wanting fortitude
to refift the oppreffions of the mother-country, and
activity to repel the irruptions of the favages. The
eyes of all were immediately fixed upon Bacon, a
young officer, full of vivacity, eloquence, and
intrepidity, of an infinuating difpofition, and an
agreeable perfon. They chofe him for their ge
neral, in an irregular and tumultuous manner.
Though his military fucceffes might have juſtified
this prepoffeffion of the licentious multitude, yet
this circumftance did not prevent the governor,
who, with his remaining partifans, had retired on
the borders of the Potowmack, from declaring
Bacon a traitor to his country. A fentence fo
fevere, and which was ill-timed, determined Ba-
con to affume a power by force, which he had
exerciſed peaceably, and without oppofition, for
fix months. Death put an end to all his projects.
The malecontents, difunited by the lofs of their
chief, and intimidated by the troops which were
coming from Europe, were induced to fue for
pardon, which was readily granted them. The
rebellion, therefore, was attended with no bad
confequences, and merely infured fubmiffion.
TRANQUILLITY was no fooner reftored, than
means were thought of to reconcile the Indians,
with
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
47
with whom all intercourfe had for fome time been B O O K
at an end. The communications were opened, XVIII.
again in the year 1678, by the general aſſembly;
but it was ftipulated, that the exchanges fhould
be made in no other markets, except fuch as
were fettled by themſelves. This innovation
diſpleaſed the favages, and matters foon returned
to their former courſe.
THE raifing of the value of tobacco was a
ftill more important object, as this was the moſt
confiderable, and almoft the only production of
the colony. It was thought that nothing would
contribute more effectually to raiſe it from the
ftate of degradation into which it had fallen, than
to refufe the tobaccos which were brought to
Virginia from Maryland and from Carolina, and
to fend them to Europe. If the legiflators had
been better informed, they would have under-
ftood, that this ftaple muft neceffarily, fooner or
later, draw into their own hands the freight of
this commodity, and would make them the arbi-
ters of it's price. By fending it away from their
ports through an ill-judged motive of avarice,
they drew upon themfelves, in all the markets,
competitors, who convinced them by dear-bought-
experience of the error of their principles.
THESE arrangements were fcarcely made, be-
fore there arrived a new governor to the colony,
in the fpring of 1679. This was Lord Colepep-
per. The troubles with which this fettlement
had been fo recently agitated, encouraged him to
propofe a law, which fhould condemn to one
year's impriſonment, or to a fine of 11,250
livres, all thofe citizens who ſhould ſpeak or
write any thing against their governor; and to
three months impriſonment, or to a fine of
2250 livres †, thofe who fhould fpeak or write
† 931. 155.
4681. 158.
•
againft
1
48
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK against the members of the council, or againſt
XVIII. any other magiftrate.
WAS this governor apprehenfive then, that
the faults of adminiftration, and the difhonefty of
it's adminiſtrators, fhould be ſuſpected? In what
part of the world would not the fame confe-
quences be drawn from the impofing of filence?
Is it praiſe or cenfure that is feared, when the
command for filence is iffued? Thefe prohibi-
tions calumniate the government, if it be good,
becauſe they tend to perfuade that it is not fo.
But what meaſures can be adopted to enforce the
obfervance of theſe prohibitions? Can we be
ignorant, that it is the nature of man to attempt
thofe actions, which, by becoming dangerous,
have a ſenſe of glory attached to them? To op-
prefs a man, and to prevent him from murmuring
and complaining, is an atrocious act of violence
againſt which he never fails to revolt. But how
will the government difcover thoſe who are re-
bellious to their orders? This can only be done
by ſpies, by informations, and by all thoſe mea-
fures which will certainly divide the citizens, and
raiſe miſtruſt and hatred among them. Whom
will government puniſh? The moſt honeft and
the moft generous men, who will never be filent
when they are perfuaded that it is their duty to
fpeak out. They will certainly bid defiance to
menaces, or will know how to elude them. If
they fhould adopt the firft of theſe refolutions,
will government dare to impriſon them? and if
it fhould, would they not foon find perfons to
avenge them? If it ſhould not, they would fall
into contempt. If thefe men had been allowed
to explain themſelves with frankneſs, they would
have blended dignity and moderation in their re-
monftrances. Conftraint, and the danger of pu-
nifhment, will transform theſe remonftrances into
:
:
violent,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,
49
violent, bitter, and feditious libels; and it is BOOK
XVIII.
the tyranny of government that will have ren-
dered them guilty. Sovereigns, or you who are
depofitaries of their authority, if your adminiftra
tion be a good one, deliver it up to all the feve-
rity of our examination; it can only inſure our
reſpect and ſubmiffion. If it be a bad one, cor-
rect it, or defend it by force. If you be a fet of
abominable tyrants, have at leaft the courage to
acknowledge it. If you be juft, let the people
talk and fleep in peace. If you be oppreffors,
tranquillity and fleep are not made for you, nor
will you ever enjoy them, notwithſtanding all
your efforts. Remember the fate of him who
was willing to be hated, provided he might be
feared. You will certainly experience the fame,
unleſs you be furrounded by vile flaves, fuch as
the inhabitants of Virginia at that time undoubt-
edly were. The reprefentatives of this province
granted, without heſitation, their confent to a
law, which fecured impunity to all the plunders
of their governors. The misfortunes of Virginia
were foon aggravated by other calamities.
Ar the origin of the colony, juftice was admi-
niſtered with a degree of difintereſtedneſs, which
warranted the equity of the judgments. One
fingle court took cognizance of all differences,
and decided upon them in a few days, with a
right of appeal to the general affembly, which
ufed as much diſpatch in fettling them. This
order of things gave the governors too little in-
fluence over the fortunes of individuals, for them
not to endeavour to fupprefs it. By their ma-
nœuvres, and under feveral pretences, they ob.
tained that the appeals, which till then had been
carried before the reprefentatives of the province,
fhould be made exclufively to their council.
VOL. VI.
E
A STILL
50
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
XVIII.
•
A STILL more fatal innovation was ordained in
1692, by another governor, who enacted, that
the laws, the tribunals, the formalities, every
thing, in a
chaos of word, that contributed to form the
chaos of English jurifprudence, fhould be efta-
blished in this government. Nothing was lefs
fuitable to the planters of Virginia, than ftatutes
fo fingular, fo complicated, and often fo contra-
dictory. Accordingly, thefe uninformed men
found themſelves engaged in a labyrinth to which
they could find no iffue. They were generally
alarmed for their rights and their properties; and
this apprehenfion flackened their labours for a
long time.
THESE were not carried on with vigour and
fucceſs, till after the beginning of the century, at
which time nothing impeded their increaſe; only
the frontiers of the colony were expofed in the
latter times to the devaftations of the favages,
whom they had exafperated by their acts of atro-
cioufnefs and injuftice. Theſe differences were
terminated in 1774. They would have been for-
gotten, had it not been for the ſpeech made by
Logan, chief of the Shawanefes, to Lord Dun-
more, governor of the province.
4.
"I Now afk of every white man, whether he
hath ever entered the cottage of Logan, when
preffed with hunger, and been refuſed food?
"Whether coming naked, and fhivering with
cold, Logan hath not given him fomething to
cover himſelf with. During the courſe of this
<
laft war, fo long and fo bloody, Logan hath
"remained quietly upon his mat, wishing to be
"the advocate of peace. Yes, fuch is my at-
tachment for white men, that even thofe of
my nation, when they paffed by me, pointed
"at me, faying, Logan is a friend to white men.
I had even thought of living amongst you;
ક
"but
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
51
"but that was before the injury which I have BOOK
"received from one of you. Laft fummer,
Colonel Creffop maffacred in cool blood, and
"without any provocation, all the relations of
"Logan, without fparing either his wife or his
children. There is not now one drop of my
"blood in the veins of any human creature ex-
ifting. This is what has excited my revenge.
"I have fought it; I have killed feveral of
your people, and my hatred is appeafed. I re-
"joice at feeing the profpect of peace brighten
❝ upon my country. But do not imagine that my
joy is inftigated by fear. Logan knows not
"what fear is. He will never turn his back,
"in order to fave his life. But, alas! no one
"remains to mourn for Logan when he fhall
"be no more!"
6.6
WHAT a beautiful, fimple, energetic, and af-
fecting fpeech! Are Demofthenes, Cicero, or
Boffuet, more eloquent than this favage? What
better proof can be adduced of the truth of that
well-known maxim, which fays, that from the
abundance of the heart the mouth Speaks.
VIRGINIA, like moft of the other colonies, was Popula-
inhabited at firft only by vagabonds, deftitute and man-
tion, trade,
of family and fortune. They foon obtained fome ners of
kind of wealth by labour, and they were defirous Virginia.
of fharing the fweets of it with a female compa-
nion. As there were no women in the province,
and that they would have none but fuch as were
decent, they gave 2250 livres for every young
perfon brought them from Europe with a cer-
tificate of virtue and chaſtity. This cuftom was
not of long duration. As foon as all doubts re-
fpecting the falubrity and fertility of the coun-
try were removed, whole families, even of re-
ſpectable rank, went to Virginia. The popula-
931. 158.
E 2
*
tion
52
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOO Ktion was increafing with fome degree of rapidity,
XVIII when it's progrefs was ftopped by fanaticifm.
THE religion of the mother-country was the
firft, and foon became the only one which was
followed in this province, when fome Non-con-
formifts alfo croffed the feas. Their tenets, or
their ceremonies, difgufted; and in 1642 a law
was made, which expelled from the province all
thoſe inhabitants who did not belong to the church
of England. The imperious law of neceffity foon
cauſed the revocation of this fatal decree: but a
toleration fo tardy, and which was evidently
granted with reluctance, did not produce the
great effects that were expected from it. A fmall
number only of Prefbyterians, Quakers, and
French refugees, ventured to put any truft in
this repentance. The religion of Henry VIII.
continued to be the prevailing one, and was al-
moft exclufive.
IN proceſs of time, however, men multiplied
upon this foil, the fertility of which was daily in-
creafing in reputation. The paffion for riches
with which the Old Continent was more and more
infected, gave citizens inceffantly to this part of
the New World. If the calculations of congrefs
be not exaggerated, the population amounts to
fix hundred and fifty thousand fouls, including
the flaves, whofe number, according to the com-
mon opinion, amounts to one hundred and fifty
thoufand. The Dutch firft introduced thefe un-
fortunate people into the colony in 162
THE labours of thefe white men, and of theſe
negroes, gave to the two hemifpheres, corn,
maize, dry vegetables, iron, hemp, hides, furs,
falt meats, tar, wood, mafts, and eſpecially to-
bacco, which is generally fuperior to that of
Maryland, though it be not equally excellent in
every part of the province. The preference is
:
given
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
53
given to that of York River; the ſecond beft is B O O K
reckoned to be that which grows along James's XVIII.
River, and that which grows on the borders of the
Rappahanoc, and to the fouth of the Potowmack,
is the leaft eſteemed.
FROM 1752 till the end of 1755, Great Britain
received from Virginia and Maryland together,
three million five hundred one thouſand one
hundred and ten quintals of tobacco, which made
for each of the four years, eight hundred and fe-
venty-five thousand two hundred and fourfcore
quintals. Virginia exported two million nine
hundred and eighty-nine thoufand eight hundred
quintals, which reduced it's annual confumption
to one hundred and twenty-feven thoufand eight
hundred and thirty quintals.
FROM the year 1763, till the end of 1770, the
two colonies fent to the mother-country no more
than fix million five hundred thouſand quintals
of tobacco, or eight hundred and twelve thou-
fand five hundred quintals each of the eight years.
No more was fold to foreigners than five million
one hundred and forty-eight thouſand quintals, or
fix hundred and forty-three thoufand five hun-
dred quintals per annum; the nation therefore
annually confumed one hundred and fixty-nine
thoufand quintals.
In the interval between thefe two periods the
importation, therefore, decreafed annually, one
year with another, fixty-two thoufand feven hun-
dred and fourfcore quintals, and the exportation
one hundred and three thoufand nine hundred
and fif
quintals; while the confumption in
England increafed forty-one thoufand one hun-
dred and ſeventy quintals every year.
THE ufe of tobacco hath not decreafed in Eu-
rope; the paffion for this fuperfluity hath even
increafed, notwithstanding the heavy duties with
which
54
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK which it hath been burdened by all govern
XVIII. ments. If the tobacco furniſhed by North Ame-
rica be daily lefs fought after among us, it is be-
caufe, Holland, Alfatia, the Palatinate, and prin
cipally Ruffia, have carried on this culture with
great induſtry.
*
IN 1769, Virginia and Maryland together fold
to the amount of 16,195,577 livres 4 fols 7 de-
niers of their productions. Two-thirds of this
fum belonged to the firft of thefe fettlements.
Tobacco was the principal of thefe productions;
fince one of the colonies exported fifty-feven mil-
lion three hundred and thirty-feven thoufand fe-
ven hundred and ninety-five pounds weight of it;
and the other, twenty-five million ſeven hundred
and eighty-one thouſand ſeven hundred and fixty-
nine pounds weight.
In Virginia, veffels employed for the exporta-
tion of theſe productions do not find them col-
lected in a ſmall number of ftaples, as in the
other commercial ftates of the globe. They are
obliged to form their cargo by detail from the
plantations themſelves, which are fituated at a
greater or lefs distance from the ocean, upon
navigable rivers, of one or two hundred miles in
length. This custom fatigues the navigators,
and makes their voyage tedious. Great Britain,
which is always attentive to the preſervation of
her ſeamen, and is particularly careful of leffen-
ing the number of their voyages, wifhed, and
even ordered, that fame towns fhould be built at
the mouth of the rivers, where the productions
of the province might be fent. But neither infi-
nuations, nor the conſtraint of the laws, were of
any avail. A few fmall villages only were built,
which could ſcarce fulfil even the leaſt part of the
* About 674,815l. 14s. 4. farthing.
views
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
55
ር
views of the mother-country. Williamsburg it- BOOK
felf, hath no more than two thoufand inhabit- XVIII.
ants, though it be the refidence of the governor,
the place where the national affemblies, and the
courts of juftice are holden, and where colleges
are inftituted; though it be decorated with the
fineſt public edifices on the Northern continent;
and though it be the capital of the colony, fince
the ruin of James-town.
!
MEN, who prefer the tranquillity of a rural life
to the tumultuous abode of cities, ought natu-
rally to be œconomical and laborious; but this
was never the cafe in Virginia. It's inhabitants
were always very expenfive in the furniture of
their houfes; they were always fond of enter-
taining their neighbours with oftentation. They
always liked to diſplay the greateſt luxury before
the English navigators, whom bufinefs brought
to their plantations. They always gave them-
felves up to that effeminacy, and to that negli-
gence, fo common in countries where flavery is
eſtabliſhed. Accordingly, the engagements of
the colony became habitually very confiderable.
At the beginning of the troubles, they were fup-
pofed to amount to 25,000,000 of livres *. This
prodigious fum was due to the merchants of
Great Britain, for Negroes, or for other articles,
which they had furniſhed. The confidence of
thefe bold lenders was particularly founded upon
an unjust law, which fecured their payment in
preference to every other debt, though previously
contracted.
THE Colony hath great powers to extricate itſelf
from a fituation apparently fo defperate. It will
fucceed, when more fimplicity fhall prevail in the
manners, and more moderation in the expences;
when availing itſelf of the refources offered by
1,041,6661. 13s. 4d.
4
an
56
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK an immenfe and fertile territory, it fhall vary and
XVIII. improve it's cultures; it will fucceed, when it
Origin of
the two
laft go-
vernment,
fhall no longer receive from foreigners the moft
ordinary houſehold furniture, and that which is
in moft general ufe; when it's manufactures fhall
no longer be confined to the employing of fome
fmall quantities of cotton, which is of too indiffer-
ent a quality to be fought for in the European ma-
nufactures; and when it's public coffers, lefs plun-
dered, and better regulated, fhall admit of the
diminution of the taxes, which are much more
confiderable in that province than in any other of
this continent. Several of thefe councils may
concern the two Carolinas.
THE vaft country which thefe provinces occu-
Carolinas. Py, was diſcovered by the Spaniards, foon after
Their first their firft expeditions in the New World; they
and their defpifed it, becauſe it did not offer any gold to
their avarice. Admiral Coligny, more wife, and
both civil more able, opened there a fource of induſtry to
and reli- the French proteftants; but fanaticifm, which
purſued them, ruined their hopes by the affaffina-
tion of this juft, humane, and enlightened man.
They were fucceeded by a few Englishmen to-
wards the end of the fixteenth century; who by
an inexplicable caprice forfook this infant fettle-
ment, to go and cultivate a harfher foil, under a
lefs temperate climate.
gious.
THERE was not a fingle European feen in Ca-
rolina, when the lords Berkley, Clarendon, Albe-
marle, Craven, Afhley, and Meffrs. Carteret, Berk-
ley, and Colleton, obtained from Charles II. in
1663, a grant of this fine country. The plan of
government for this new colony was drawn up by
the famous Locke. A philofopher, who was a
friend to mankind, and to that moderation and
juſtice which ſhould be the only rule of their ac-
tions, ought to have deftroyed the very foundati-
ons
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
57
ons of that fanaticifm, which in all countries hath в O O K
excited divifions among them, and which will in- XVIII.
duce them to take up arms againſt each other to
the end of time.
-
INTOLERATION, however horrid it may appear
to us, is a neceffary confequence of the fpirit of
fuperftition. Will it not be acknowledged, that
puniſhments fhould be proportioned to the nature
of offences? What crime then can be greater
than that of infidelity, in the eyes of him who
confiders religion as the fundamental bafis of
morality? According to thefe principles, the
irreligious man is the common enemy of all foci-
ety; the breaker of the only tie that connects men
with each other; the promoter of all the crimes
that may eſcape the feverity of the laws. It is he
who ftifles every remorfe, who fets the paffions
loofe from every reftraint, and who keeps, as it
were, a fchool of wickednefs. What! ſhall we
lead to the gibbet an unfortunate man, whom in-
digence conceals upon the highway, who rufhes
out upon the traveller with a piftol in his hand,
and demands a ſmall pittance that may be necef-
fary for the fubfiftence of his wife and children,
who may be expiring with mifery; and fhall we
pardon a robber infinitely more dangerous? We
think meanly of the man who fuffers his friend to
be ill ſpoken of in his preſence; and fhall we re-
quire that the religious man ſhall ſuffer the infi-
del to blafpheme his Mafter, his Father, and his
Creator with impunity? We muſt either admit
that all faith is abfurd, or we muſt put up with
intoleration as a neceffary evil. Saint Lewis rea-
foned very confiftently when he ſaid to Joinville,
If thou shouldst ever hear any one fpeak ill of God,
draw thy fword and ftab him through the heart; I
allow thee to do it. So important it is in all coun-
tries, as we are affured is the cafe in China, that
+
fove-
58
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK fovereigns, and the depofitaries of their authority,
XVIII. fhould not be attached to any tenet, to any fect,
nor to any form of religious worship.
EVERY thing induces us to imagine that fuch
was the opinion of Locke. But not daring to
attack too openly the prejudices of the times,
founded equally on virtues and vices, he wished
to conciliate them as much as could be confiftent
with a principle dictated by reaſon and humanity.
As the favage inhabitants of America, faid he,
have no idea of a revelation, it would be the height
of folly to torment them for their ignorance..
Thoſe Chriſtians who fhould come to people the
colony, would undoubtedly come in queft of a:
liberty of confcience, which priests and princes
deny them in Europe: it would therefore not be
confiftent with good faith to perfecute, after hav-
ing received them. The Jews and the Pagans
did not more deferve to be rejected, for an infa-
tuation which mildneſs and perfuafion might have.
put a stop to.
THUS it was that the English philofopher rea-
foned with men whofe minds were imbued and
prejudiced with tenets which it had not yet been-
allowed to difcufs. Out of regard to their weak-
nefs, he placed the fyftem of toleration which he
was eſtabliſhing under the following reftriction:
that every perfon above feventeen years of age,
who fhould claim the protection of the laws,
fhould cauſe his name to be regiſtered in fome
communion. This was a breach made in his
fyftem. The liberty of confcience admits of no
kind of modification. This is an account which
man owes to God alone. In whatever manner
the magistrate may be made to interfere in it,
it is an act of injuftice. A Deift could not poffi-
bly ſubſcribe to fuch terms.
CIVIL
•
59
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
CIVIL liberty, however, was much lefs favoured BO O K
by Locke. Whether this proceeded from motives XVII.
of complaiſance for thoſe who employed him, a
kind of meannefs which we are averfe from fuf-
pecting him of; or whether, being more of a me-
taphyſician than a ſtateſman, he had purſued phi-
lofophy only in thofe tracts which had been open-
ed by Deſcartes and Leibnitz, it is certain, that
the fame man who had diffipated and deſtroyed ſo
many errors in his theory concerning the origin of
ideas, made but very feeble and uncertain advances
in the paths of legiſlation. The author of a work,
the permanency of which will render the glory of
the French nation immortal, even when tyranny
ſhall have broken all the fprings, and all the mo-
numents of the genius of a people efteemed by
the whole world for fo many brilliant and amiable
qualities; even Montefquieu himſelf did not per-
ceive that he was making men for governments,
inſtead of governments for men.
THE Code of Carolina, by a fingularity not to be
accounted for in an Engliſhman and in a philofo-
pher, gave to the eight proprietors who founded
the fettlement, and to their heirs, not only all the
rights of fovereignty, but all the powers of le-
giflation.
THE firſt uſe theſe fovereigns made of their
authority was to create three orders of nobility.
Thoſe to whom they gave no more than twelve
thouſand acres of land were called barons; thofe
who received twenty-four thouſand were called
caciques, and the title of landgrave was beſtowed
on thoſe two who obtained fourfcore thouſand
each. Theſe conceffions could never be alien-
ated in detail, and their fortunate poffeffors were
alone to form the houfe of peers. The houſe of
commons was compofed of the reprefentatives of
the towns and counties, but with privileges lefs
confi-
60
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
XVIII.
The
B O O K confiderable than in the mother-country
affembly was called a court palatine. Every te-
nant was obliged to pay annually livre 2 fols
6 deniers * per acre, but he was allowed to re-
deem this duty.
THE progrefs of this great fettlement, was for
too long a time impeded by powerful obftacles.
THE Colony had from it's origin been open in-
difcriminately to all fects, which had all enjoyed
the fame privileges. It had been underfood,
that this was the only way to make an infant ftate
acquire rapid and great profperity. The mem-
bers of the church of England being afterwards
jealous of the non-conformiſts, wanted to exclude
them from government, and even to oblige them
to fhut up the houfes where they performed di-
vine ſervice. Thefe acts of folly and of violence
were annulled in 1706 by the mother-country,
as being contrary to humanity, to juſtice, to rea-
fon, and to policy. From the collifion of thefe
opinions aroſe cabals and tumults, which divert-
ed the inhabitants from ufeful labours, and turn-
ed their attention to a multitude of abfurdities,
which will be never fo much defpifed as they de-
ferve to be.
*
Two wars, which were carried on againſt the
favages, were almoſt as extravagant and as de-
ftructive of every improvement. All the wan-
dering or fixed nations between the ocean and the
Apalachian mountains, were attacked and maffa-
cred without any intereft or motive; thoſe who
efcaped being put to the fword, either fubmitted
or were diſperſed. In the mean while, a form of
conftitution il arranged, was the principal caufe
of an almoft general indolence. The lords who
were proprietors, imbued with defpotic prin-
ciples, ufed their utmoſt efforts to establish an
*11d. farthing.
arbitrary
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,.
61
:
XVIII.
arbitrary government. The coloniſts, on the BOOK
other hand, who were not ignorant of the rights
of mankind, exerted themſelves with equal
warmth to avoid fervitude. It was neceffary
either to eſtabliſh a new order of things, or to
fuffer, that a vaft country, from which fuch great
advantages had been expected, fhould remain in
perpetual humiliation, mifery, and anarchy. The
British fenate at length took the refolution, in
1728, to reſtore this fine country to the nation,
and to grant to it's firft mafters 540,000 livres *
in compenfation. Granville alone, from motives
which are unknown to us, was left in poffeffion
of his eighth fhare, which was fituated on the
confines of Virginia: but even this part was not
long before it recovered it's independence. The
English government, as it was already eſtabliſhed
in the other provinces of the New World, was
fubftituted to the whimfical arrangement, which,
in times of extreme corruption, had been extort-
ed from an indolent and weak monarch, by infa-
tiable favourites. The country might then ex-
pect to profper. It was divided into two diftinct
governments, under the names of North and
South Carolina, in order to facilitate the admi-
niſtration of it.
+
tween the
THE two countries united, occupy more than Confor-
four hundred thousand miles upon the coaft, and mities be-
about two hundred thouſand miles in the inland two Caro-
parts. It is a plain, in general fandy, which is linas.
rendered very marshy by the overflowing of the
rivers, and by heavy and frequent rains. The
foil doth not begin to rife, till at the distance of
fourfcore or a hundred miles from the fea; and
it continues rifing as far as the Apalachian moun-
tains. Upon thefe latitudes, and in the midst of
pine-trees, which are irregularly placed there by
* 22,5001.
nature,
62
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK nature, a few ſheep, extremely degenerated, both
XVIII. in their flesh and in their fleece, feed upon a
What dif
North Ca-
ftrong and coarſe grafs; there are alfo a number
of horned cattle, who have not preferved all their
ftrength and all their beauty; and an innume-
rable quantity of hogs, who appear to have im-
proved.
THE Country is watered by a great number of
rivers, fome of which are navigable. They
would be fo for a longer ſpace, were it not for
the rocks and the water-falls which interrupt the
navigation.
THOUGH the climate be as variable as the reft
of North America, it is commonly agreeably
temperate. A piercing cold is never felt but in
the evening and morning, and there are feldom
any exceffive heats Though fogs be frequent,
they are at leaſt difpelled in the middle of the
day. Unfortunately, in the months of July,
Auguft, September, and October, intermittent
fevers prevail in the plains, and are fometimes
fatal to the natives themſelves, and, too often,
deſtroy foreigners.
SUCH is the natural organization of the two
Carolinas; let us fee what diftinguishes them
from each other.
NORTH CAROLINA is one of the largeſt pro-
tinguiſhes vinces of the continent; it unfortunately doth
rolina. not offer advantages proportioned to it's extent.
It's foil is generally flatter, more fandy, and
more marfhy, than that of South Carolina.
Theſe melancholy plains are covered with pines
or cedars, which announce a barren foil; and
are interfected at intervals by a fmall number of
oaks, too full of fap to be employed in the con-
ſtruction of fhips. The coafts, generally blocked
up by a fand bank, which keeps navigators at a
diſtance, are not more favourable to population
than
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
63
than the inland countries. Finally, the country BOOK
is more expofed than the neighbouring regions XVIII.
to the hurricanes that come from the South-
Eaft.
THESE were undoubtedly the motives which
prevented the Engliſh of North Carolina from
fettling there, though that country was the firſt
which they difcovered in the New World. None
of the numerous people who were driven to that
part of the hemifphere, either from inclination
or neceffity, carried there their mifery or their
reftleffnefs. It was long after, that a few vaga-
bonds, without friends, without laws, and with-
out plan to fix themfelves, fettled there. But,
in proceſs of time, the lands in the other colonies
became fcarce, and then men who were not able
to purchaſe them, betook themfelves to a coun-
try where they could get lands without purchaſe.
According to the account of congrefs, three
hundred thouſand fouls, in which few flaves are
included, are ſtill found in the province. There
are but few of thefe inhabitants which are either
English, Irish, or German. Most of them are
of Scotch origin, and for this reafon:
THESE Highlanders, whofe character has been
fo boldly defcribed by a maſterly hand, were ne-
ver enflaved either by the Romans, the Saxons,
or the Danes. They bravely repulfed every in-
vafion, and no foreign customs could penetrate
beyond the foot of their inacceffible habitations.
Separated from the rest of the globe, they dif-
played in their manners the politenefs of courts,
without having any of their vices; their counte-
nance fhewed the pride with which the nobility
of their origin had infpired them; and they were
poffeffed of all the delicacy of our point of ho-
nour, but without it's fufpicious minutiæ. As
induſtry had not transformed them into mere.
machines,
64
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK machines, and as the nature of their foil and
XVIII. climate did not require the labours of the fields.
for more than two feafons in the year, they had
a great deal of leifure time, which they em-
ployed in war, in hunting, in dancing, or in
converfations animated by picturefque expreffi-
ons, and original ideas. Moft of them were
muſicians. Schools were every where opened
for the inftruction of youth. Under every roof
was found one hiftorian, to recall to their minds
great events, and a poet to celebrate them. The
lakes, the forefts, the caves, the cataracts, the
majeſtic grandeur of all the objects that fur-
rounded them, inſpired them with an elevation of
mind, caſt a ſhade of melancholy over their cha-
racters, and kept up in their hearts a facred enthu-
fiafm. Theſe people eſteemed themſelves, with-
out defpifing other nations. Their afpect ftruck
the civilized man with awe, in whom they only
beheld one of their equals, whatever title he
might be decorated with. They received all fo-
reigners who came to them with a fimple and
cordial affection. They kept a long time in
their memory, a refentment for any injury offered
of them: which was rendered common to
them all by the ties of blood. After an engage-
ment they dreffed their enemies wounds before
their own. As they were always armed, the ha-
bitual uſe of deftructive weapons, prevented them
from having any fear of them. They believed in
fpirits; and if the lightning fhone during the
night, if thunder rolled over their heads, if the
ftorm rooted up the trees around their houfes, or
fhook their roofs, they imagined that it was fome
forgotten hero reproaching them for their filence:
they then took up their inftruments, and fang a
hymn to his honour; they affured him that his
memory would never be forgotten among the
to any
children
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
65
children of men. They believed in preſages and in B O O K
divination. They all fubmitted to the eſtabliſhed XVIII.
form of worship; fuperftition never excited quar-
rels among them, nor caufed the effufion of one
drop of blood.
THESE manners were never altered; nor could
they be fo. The Scotch formed a great number
of tribes, called clans; each of which bore a
different name, and lived upon the eftate of ſome
particular lord. It was the hereditary patriarch
of a family, from whom they all claimed their
defcent, and they all knew to what degree.
THE caftle was in fome meaſure a common
property, where every perfon was fure of meeting
with an honourable reception, and where they all
reforted upon the first rumour of war. They all
revered their own dignity in their chief; they had
a brotherly affection for the other members of the
confederation. They all patiently fupported their
fate, becauſe it never had any thing humiliating
in it. The head of the clan, on his fide, was the
common father of them all, as well from grati-
tude as from intereſt.
THIS order of things fubfifted during a long
feries of ages, without the leaft alteration. At
laft the noblemen contracted the habit of ſpending
a great part of their lives in travelling, at Lon-
don, or at court. Thefe repeated abfences de-
tached from them their vaffals, who faw them
lefs frequently, and were no longer affifted by
them. Theſe men, who were no longer re-
ftrained by any tie of affection in their barren
and favage mountains, then difperfed themſelves.
Several of them went in fearch of another coun-
try, in divers provinces of America. The great-
eft number took refuge in North Carolina.
THESE Colonifts are feldom affembled together,
and they are therefore the leaft informed of the
VOL. VI.
F
Ameri-
66
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK Americans, and the moſt indifferent to the public
XVIII. intereft. Moft of them live difperfed upon their
plantations, without ambition or forefight. They
are but little inclined to labour, and they are fel-
dom good planters. Though they have the Eng-
liſh form of government, the laws have very little
force among them. Their domeftic are better
than their focial manners, and there is ſcarce an
inſtance of any one of them having had any con-
nection with a flave. Their food confifts of pork,
milk, and maize; and they can be accuſed of no
other kind of intemperance, than an inordinate
paffion for ſpirituous liquors.
THE firft unfortunate people whom chance.
difperfed along thefe favage coafts, confined
themſelves to the cutting of wood, which they
delivered to the navigators, who came to pur-
chaſe it. In a fhort time they collected from the
pine tree, which covered the country, turpen-
tine, tar, and pitch. To collect the turpentine
it was fufficient to make incifions in the trunk of
the tree, which being carried on to the foot of it,
terminated in veffels placed there to receive it
When they wanted tar, they raiſed a circular
platform of potter's earth, on which they laid
piles of pines; to theſe they ſet fire, and the
refin diftilled from them into cafks placed under-
neath. The tar was converted into pitch, either
in great iron pots, in which they boiled it, or in
pits formed of potter's earth into which it was
poured while in a fluid ftate. In procefs of time,
the province was enabled to furnish Europe with
hides, a fmall quantity of wax, a few furs, ten
or twelve millions weight of an inferior kind of
tobacco; and the Weft Indies, with a great quan-
tity of falt pork, maize, dried vegetables, a fmall
quantity of indifferent flour, and feveral objects
of lefs importance. The exportations of the
colony
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,
€7
colony did not, however, exceed twelve or fifteen в O O K
hundred thouſand livres *.
NORTH CAROLINA hath not yet attended to the
exportation of it's own productions. What it's
foil furniſhes to the New Hemiſphere, hath been
hitherto taken away by the navigators of the
North of America; who brought in exchange
rum, of which it hath ftill continued to make an
immenfe confumption. The articles which the
colony delivers to the Old World, have paffed
through the hands of the Engliſh, who fupplied
it with clothes, inftruments for agriculture, and
fome Negroes.
THROUGH the whole extent of the coaſts,
there is no port but that of Brunſwick, which can
receive the veffels deftined for thoſe tranſactions.
Thoſe which draw no more than fixteen feet wa-
ter, anchor at that town, which is built almoſt at
the mouth of the river of Cape Fear, towards the
fouthern extremity of the province. Wilmington,
..it's capital, fituated higher up upon the fame river,
admits only much fmaller veffels.
XVIII.
SOUTH CAROLINA furniſhes to the trade of both What dif
tinguiſhes
hemifpheres as North Carolina, but in lefs quan- South Ca
tity. It's labours have been chiefly turned to-rolina.
wards rice and indigo.
RICE is a plant very much refembling wheat
in ſhape and colour, and in the figure and diſpo-
fition of it's leaves. The panicle which termi-
nates the ſtem is compofed of fmall flowers,
diſtinct from each other, which have four un-
equal fcales, fix ftamina, and one piftil, fur-
rounded with two ftyles. This piftil becomes a
white feed, extremely farenaceous, covered with
two interior ſcales; which are larger, yellowish,
covered with light afperities, and furniſhed with
everal falient coſtæ, the middle one of which ter-
From 50,000l. to 62,500l.
F 2
minates
68
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK minates in an elongated extremity. This plant
XVIII. thrives only in low, damp, and marshy lands,
when they are even a little overflowed. The
period of it's diſcovery is traced to the remoteft
antiquity.
EGYPT, unfortunately for itſelf, first attended
to it. The pernicious effect of this culture, ren-
dered the country the moft unhealthy in the
known world; conftantly ravaged by epidemical
diſorders, and afflicted with cutaneous diſeaſes,
which paffed from that region to the others,
where they have been perpetuated during whole
centuries, and where they have only been put a
ftop to, by the contrary caufe to that which had
occafioned them; to wit, the drying up of the
marſhes, and the reſtoring of falubrity to the air
and to the waters. China, and the Eaft Indies,
muſt experience the fame calamities, if art doth
not oppoſe prefervatives to nature, whofe benefits
are fometimes accompanied with evils; or if the
heat of the torrid zone doth not quickly difpel the
damp, and malignant vapours which are exhaled
from the rice grounds. It is a known fact, that
in the rice grounds of the Milanefe, the cultivat-
ors are all livid and dropfical.
OPINIONS differ about the manner in which rice
hath been naturalized in Carolina. But whether
the province may have acquired it by a fhip-wreck,
or whether it may have been carried there with
flaves, or whether it be fent from England, it is
certain that the foil feemed favourable for it. It
multiplied, however, very flowly, becauſe the co-
loniſts, who were obliged to fend their harveſts
into the ports of the mother-country, by which
they were fent into Spain and Portugal, where
they were confumed, acquired ſo ſmall a profit
from their productions, that it was fcarcely fuffi--
cient to defray the expences of cultivation. In
1730,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
69
1730, a more enlightened adminiſtration per- B O O K
mitted the direct exportation of this grain beyond XVIII.
Cape Finisterre. Some years afterwards it was
allowed to be carried to the Weft Indies, and
then the provinces being fure of felling the good
rice advantageoufly in Europe, and the inferior
or ſpoilt rice in America, attended ſeriouſly to
the cultivation of it. This production grows, by
the care of the Negroes, in the moraffes which
are near the coafts. At a great diſtance from the
ocean, indigo is cultivated by the fame hands,
but with leſs danger.
THIS plant, which originally comes from In-
doftan, fucceeded at firft at Mexico; afterwards
at the Antilles, and laftly in South Carolina. The
firſt experiments made in this province, yielded
only a produce of an exceedingly inferior qua-
lity but this dye acquires daily a greater degree
of perfection. It's cultivators do not even de-
fpair of fupplanting, in time, the Spaniards and
the French in all the markets. Their hopes are
founded upon the extent of their foil, upon the
abundance and the cheapnefs of fubfiftence, and
eſpecially upon the custom which they have of
ploughing their grounds with animals, and of
fowing the indigo in them in the fame manner as
corn; while, on the contrary, in the Weſt Indies,
they are the flaves who prepare the grounds, and
who throw the feed into holes, difpofed at differ-
ent diſtances to receive it.
IF, contrary to all probability, this revolution
in trade fhould ever happen, South Carolina,
which at preſent reckons two hundred and fifty
thouſand inhabitants, half white people and half
Negroes, and the exportations of which, in-
cluding thofe of North Carolina, amounted, in
the year 1769, to 10,601,336 livres *, would
44,7221. 6s, 8d.
1
foon
70
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK foon double it's population and it's cultures. It
XVIII. is already the richeſt of all the provinces of the
Northern continent. Accordingly, the tafte for
the conveniences of life is generally prevalent,
and the expences are carried as far as luxury.
This magnificence was more particularly remark-
ed fome time ago in the funerals. As
As many citi-
zens as it was poffible to collect were affembled
at them; expenſive diſhes were ferved up, and
the most exquifite wines, and the fcarceft liquors
were laviſhed. To the plate which the family
had, was added that of the relations, the neigh-
bours, and the friends. It was common to fee
fortunes either much incroached upon, or even
deranged by theſe obfequies. The fanguinary
and ruinous conteſts between the mother-country
and the colonies have put a stop to theſe profufi-
ons; but without aboliſhing a cuſtom perhaps ftill
more extravagant.
FROM the origin of the ſettlement, the minif-
ters of religion adopted the cuftom of pronounc-
ing indiſcriminately, in the churches, an elogium
upon every one of their flock after death. The
praiſe was never in proportion to the actions and
virtues of the deceaſed, but to the greater or lefs
reward which they were to receive for the funeral
oration. So that while, in our countries, the Ca-
tholic prieſts were making a traffic of prayer, the
clergy of the church of England were carrying
on, in the other hemifphere, the more odious
traffic of the praiſes of the dead.
COULD there be a more effectual method of
degrading virtue, of diminiſhing the horror of
vice, and of corrupting in men's minds the true
notions of each? Could there be any thing more
ſcandalous to a whole Chriſtian audience, than the
impudence of an orator, of a preacher of the gof-
pel extolling a citizen who had been abhorred for
his
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,
71
a
his avarice, his cruelty, and his debauchery; аBOOK
bad father, an ungrateful fon, or married perfons XVIII.
who had led a life of diffolutenefs; and placing
in heaven thoſe whom the Almighty Judge had
precipitated into the depth of the infernal re-
gions?
SOUTH CAROLINA hath only three cities worthy
of being called fo; and theſe are alfo ports.
GEORGE TOWN, fituated at the mouth of the
Black River, is ftill very inconfiderable; but
it's fituation muſt render it one day more im-
portant.
BEAUFORT, or Port Royal, will never emerge
from a ſtate of mediocrity, though it's road be
capable of receiving and fecuring the largeſt
fhips.
IT is Charleſtown, the capital of the colony,
which is at preſent the moſt important ftaple, and
which must neceffarily become ftill more fo.
THE channel which leads up to it is full of
breakers, and embarraffed with a fand-bank: but
with the affiſtance of a good pilot, a ſhip arrives
fafely in the harbour. It can receive three hun-
dred fail; and fhips of three hundred and fifty.
or four hundred tons burden can enter it at all
times, with their entire cargo.
THE town occupies a great ſpace, at the
confluence of the two navigable rivers, Afhley,
and Cooper. It's ftreets are very regular, and
moſt of them large; it hath two thoufand conve-
nient houſes, and a few public buildings, which
would be reckoned handſome even in Europe.
The double advantage which Charleſtown enjoys
of being the ftaple for the productions of the
colony which are to be exported, and of all the
foreign merchandiſe that can be confumed there,
keeps up a conſtant activity in it, and hath fuc-
ceffively
72
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK ceffively been the caufe of making fome confi-
XVIII. derable fortunes.
By whom,
upon what
occafion,
and in
ner, Geor-
THE two Carolinas are ftill very far from at-
taining to that degree of fplendour to which they
have a right to afpire. North Carolina doth not
cultivate all the productions of which it's foil is
fufceptible, and thofe which it feems to attend a
little to, are in a manner left to chance. The
inhabitants of South Carolina are more intelli-
gent, and more active: but they have not yet
found out, at least not fufficiently, how far they
might improve their fortune by the culture of the
above tree, and of filk. Neither of theſe pro-
vinces have cleared one quarter of their territory
which may be uſefully employed. This labour is
referved for future generations, and for an in-
creaſe of population. Then undoubtedly fome
kind of induſtry will be eſtabliſhed in provinces,
where there would not exift the leaſt appearance
of any, if the French refugees had not brought a
linen manufactory to them.
BETWEEN Carolina and Florida, there is a flip
of land, which extends fixty miles along the fea-
fide, which acquires, by degrees, a breadth of
what man- one hundred and fifty miles, and hath three
gia was
hundred miles in depth, as far as the Apalachian
founded. mountains. This country is limited on the
North by the Savannah river, and to the South
by the river of Alatamaha.
THE Engliſh miniftry had been long defirous
of erecting a colony on this tract of country,
that was confidered as dependent upon Carolina.
One of thoſe inftances of benevolence, which
liberty, the fource of every patriotic virtue, ren-
ders more frequent in England than in any other
country, ferved to determine the views of go-
vernment with regard to this place. A rich and
humane citizen, at his death, left the whole of
his
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
73
A
his eſtate to ſet at liberty fuch infolvent debtors as BOOK
were detained in prifon by their creditors. Where XVIII.
fhall we find, either in France or in other parts,
any perſon who fhall thus propoſe to expiate a
long abufe of proſperity? Several will die, after
having fquandered away millions, without being
able to recollect one good action they have done.
Several will die, and will leave behind them, to
heirs who are anxious for their death, treaſures
acquired by ufury and concuffion, without repair-
ing, by fome honourable and uſeful inftitution,
the crime of their opulence. Is it then one of
the neceffary effects of gold, to harden the heart
to the laſt, and to ftifle remorfe; fince there is
ſcarce any man who hath known how to make a
good ufe of it during his life; ſcarce any man
who has employed it in procuring tranquillity to
himſelf in his laft moments? Prudential reaſons
of policy concurred in the performance of this
will dictated by humanity; and the govern-
ment gave orders, that fuch unhappy prifoners as
were releaſed, ſhould be tranfplanted into that
defert country, that was now intended to be
peopled. It was named Georgia in honour of the
reigning fovereign.
THIS inftance of refpect, the more pleaſing, as
it was not the effect of flattery; and the execution
of a defign of fo much real advantage to the ſtate,
were entirely the work of the nation. The par-
liament added 225,000 livres * to the eſtate left
by the will of the citizen; and a voluntary fub-
fcription produced a much more confiderable
fum. General Oglethorpe, a man who had dif
tinguiſhed himſelf in the houſe of commons by
his tafte for great defigns, by his zeal for his
country, and his paffion for glory, was fixed upon
to direct theſe public finances, and to carry into
* 9,3751.
execution
74
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BO O K execution fo excellent a project. Defirous of
XVIII. maintaining the reputation he had acquired, he
chofe to conduct himſelf the first coloniſts that
were fent to Georgia; where he arrived in Ja-
nuary 1733, and fixed his people on a fpot ten
miles diftant from the fea, in an agreeable and
fertile plain on the banks of the Savannah. The
river gave it's name to this feeble fettlement,
which might one day become the capital of a
flourishing colony. It confifted at firft of no
more than one hundred perfons; but before the
end of the year the number was increaſed to fix
hundred and eighteen; of whom one hundred
and twenty-feven had emigrated at their own
expence. Three hundred men, and one hun-
dred and thirteen women, one hundred and two
lads, and eighty-three girls, formed the begin-
ning of this new population, and the hopes of a
numerous pofterity.
THIS fettlement was increafed in 1735 by the
arrival of fome Scotch highlanders. Their na-
tional courage induced them to accept an eſta-
bliſhment offered them upon the borders of the
Alatamaha, to defend the colony, if neceffary,
againſt the attacks of the neighbouring Spaniards.
Here they built the town of Darien, five leagues
diftant from the island of St. Simon, where the
hamlet of Frederica was already eſtabliſhed.
In the fame year, a great number of Proteftants,
driven out of Saltzburg by a fanatical prieft, em-
barked for Georgia to enjoy peace and liberty
of conſcience. Ebenezer, fituated upon the river
Savannah, fixteen leagues from the ocean, owed
it's rife to theſe victims of an odious fuperftition.
SOME Switzers followed the example of theſe
wife Saltzburgers, though they had not, like
them, been perfecuted. They alfo fettled on the
bank of the Savannah, but three leagues lower,
and
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
75
and upon a ſpot which fubjected them to the BOOK
laws of Carolina. Their colony, confifling of a XVIII.
hundred habitations, was named Puryfburg, from
Pury their founder, who having been at the
expence of their fettlement, was deſervedly
chofen their chief, in teftimony of their grati-
tude to him.
In theſe four or five colonies, fome men were
found more inclined to trade than agriculture.
Theſe, therefore, feparated from the reft, in or-
der to build the city of Augufta, one hundred
and forty-five miles diftant from the ocean. The
goodness of the foil was not the object they had
in view; but they wished to fhare with Virginia
and the Carolinas the peltries which thefe pro-
vinces obtained from the Creeks, the Chickafaws,
and the Cherokees, which were the moſt nume-
rous favage nations of this continent. Their pro-
ject was fo fuccefsful, that as early as the year
1739, fix hundred people were employed in this
commerce. The fale of theſe furs was with
much greater facility carried on, from the cir-
cumſtance of the Savannah admitting, during the
greateſt part of the year, fhips from twenty to
thirty tons burden as far as the walls of Au-
guſta.
THE mother-country ought, one would ima
gine, to have formed great expectations from a
colony which had received, in a very fhort space.
of time, five thouſand inhabitants, which had
coft the treafury 1,485,000 livres *, and the
zealous patriots a great deal more. What muſt
not therefore have been their aftonifhment, when
in 1741 they were informed, that moſt of the un-
fortunate people who had fought an aſylum in
Georgia, had fucceffively withdrawn themſelves
from it; and that the few who remained there
* 61,8751.
feemed
i
76
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOO K feemed only defirous to fix in a lefs infupportable
XVIII. fpot. The reafons of this fingular event were in-
quired into and diſcovered.
ments that
have pre-
Impedi- THIS Colony, even in it's origin, brought with
it the feeds of it's decay. The government, to-
vented the gether with the property of Georgia, had been
progrefs of ceded to individuals. The example of Carolina
Georgia. ought to have prevented this imprudent ſcheme;
but nations, any more than individuals, do not
learn inftruction from their paft mifconduct. Facts
are generally unknown; and if they ſhould not be,
ftill bad confequences are imputed to unable pre-
deceffors, or elfe fome trifling difference in cir-
cumſtances, or in fome frivolous precautions, af
ford a pretence for giving a falfe colouring to
meaſures that are faulty in themfelves. Hence it
happens, that an enlightened government, though
checked by the watchful eye of the people, is not
always able to guard againſt every mifufe of it's
confidence. The English miniftry, therefore, fa-
crificed the public intereft to the rapacious views
of intereſted individuals.
THE firft ufe which the proprietors of Georgia
made of the unlimited power they were inveſted
with, was to eſtabliſh a ſyſtem of legiflation,
that made them entirely mafters not only of
the police, juſtice, and finances of the country,
but even of the lives and eftates of it's inhabit-
ants. Every fpecies of right was withdrawn from
the people, who are the original poffeffors of
every right. Obedience was required of them,
though contrary to their intereſt and knowledge;
and it was confidered as their duty and their
fate.
As great inconveniences had been found to arife
in other colonies from large poffeffions, it was
thought proper in Georgia to allow each family
only fifty acres of land at firft, and never more
·
than
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
77
XVIII.
than five hundred; which they were not permit- B 0.0 K
ted to mortgage, or even to difpofe of by will to
their female iffue. This laft regulation, of making
only the male iffue capable of inheritance, was
foon abolished; but there ſtill remained too many
obſtacles to excite a fpirit of emulation.
WHEN a man is neither purſued by the laws,
nor driven away to avoid ignominy, nor tor-
mented by religious tyranny, by the perfecutions
of his creditors, by fhame or miſery, or by the
want of every kind of reſource in his own coun-
try, he doth not renounce his relations, his
friends, and his fellow-citizens; he doth not ba-
niſh himſelf, he doth not croſs the feas, he doth
not go in fearch of a diftant land, unlefs he be
attracted there by hopes which are more powerful
than the allurements of his native foil, than the
value he fets upon his existence, and the dan-
gers to which he expofes himfelf. To go, on
board of fhip, in order to be landed on an un-
known region, is the act of a defperate man,
unleſs the imagination be influenced by the prof-
pect of fome great happineſs; a profpect which
the leaft alarm will diffipate. If the vague and
unlimited confidence the emigrant hath in his in-
duftry, in which his whole fortune confifts, be
fhaken by any means whatever, he will remain
upon the ſhore. Such muft neceffarily have been
the effect of the boundaries affigned to every
plantation. Several other errors ftill affected the
original plan of this country, and prevented it's
increaſe.
THE taxes impofed upon the moft fertile of the
English colonies are very inconfiderable, and even
thefe are not levied, till the fettlements have ac-
quired fome degree of vigour and profperity.
From it's infant ftate, Georgia had been fubjected
to the fines of a feudal government, with which
it
78
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK it had been, as it were, fettered. The revenues
XVIII. raiſed by this kind of fervice, muft have increafed
beyond meaſure in proceſs of time. The found-
ers of it, blinded by a ſpirit of avidity, did not
perceive, that the fmalleft duty impofed upon a
populous and flouriſhing province, would much
fooner enrich them, than the heaviest taxes laid
upon a barren and uncultivated country.
To this fpecies of oppreffion was added an
arrangement which became a freſh cauſe of inacti-
vity. The diſorders which were the confequence
of the uſe of fpirituous liquors throughout all
the continent of North America, occafioned the
importation of rum to be prohibited in Georgia.
This prohibition, however laudable the motive
for it might be, deprived the coloniſts of the only
drink which could correct the bad effects of the
water of the country, which they found every
where unhealthy, and of the only means they had
of repairing their ftrength, exhaufted by continual
perfpiration. It alfo fecluded them from the trade
of the Weſt Indies, where they were no more al-
lowed to exchange for thefe liquors the wood, the
feeds, and the cattle, which ought to have conſti-
tuted their firſt riches.
WEAK as theſe reſources were, they must have
increaſed very flowly, on account of a prohibition
which would deferve recommendation, had it
been dictated by a fentiment of humanity, and
not by policy. The planters of Georgia were not
allowed the uſe of flaves. Other colonies having
been eſtabliſhed without their affiftance, it was
thought that a country, deftined to be the bul-
wark of thofe poffeffions, ought not to be peo-
pled by a fet of flaves, who could not be in the
leaſt intereſted in the defence of their oppref-
fors. But would this prohibition have taken place,
had it been foreſeen that coloniſts, who were
lefs
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
79
XVIII.
lefs favoured by the mother-country than their B O O K
neighbours, who were fituated in a country lefs
fufceptible of culture, and in a hotter climate,
would want ftrength and fpirit to undertake a
cultivation that required greater encourage-
ment?
THE demands of the people, and the refufals
of the government, may be equally extravagant.
The people liften only to their wants, and fove-
reigns confult only their perfonal intereſt. The
former, commonly very indifferent, eſpecially in
diſtant countries, with refpect to the powers to
which they belong, and thofe which they may re-
ceive by an invafion, neglect their political fecu-
rity, in order to attend only to their perfonal
welfare. The latter, on the contrary, will never
hefitate between the felicity of the people, and
the folidity of their poffeffions; and will always
prefer a ſteady and permanent authority over a
fet of miferable beings, to an uncertain and pre-
carious fway over men who are happy. Their
miſtruſt, which a long feries of vexations hath
too well juftified, will induce them to confider
the people as flaves, ever ready to eſcape from
them by revolt or by flight; and it will not en-
ter into the thoughts of any one of them, that
this habitual fentiment of hatred, which they
ſuppoſe to exiſt againſt them becauſe they have
deſerved it, and which is but too real, would be
extinguiſhed, if they could experience a few years
of a mild and paternal adminiſtration: for no-
thing is alienated with fo much difficulty as the
affection of the people. It is founded on the
advantages rarely felt, but always acknowledged,
of a fupreme authority, whatever it may be,
which directs, which is watchful, which protects,
and which defends. For the fame reaſon, nothing
is more eafily recovered, when alienated. The
delufive
80
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK delufive hope of a change for the better is alone
XVIII. fufficient to quiet our imagination, and to pro-
long our miferies without end. What I here
advance is confirmed by the almoſt univerſal
example of the whole world. At the death of
a tyrant, all nations flatter themſelves with the
hopes of a king. The tyrants continue their
fyftem of oppreffion, and die in peace; and the
people ſtill continue to groan under it, and to
expect with patience a king who never appears.
The fucceffor, educated as his father or his
grandfather, is prepared from his infancy to mo-
del himſelf after their example, unleſs he fhould
have received from nature a ftrength of genius, a
firmnefs of foul, a rectitude of judgment, and a
fund of benevolence and equity, which may cor-
rect the defect of his education. Without this
fortunate difpofition, he will not inquire, in any
circumftance, what is proper to be done, but
what hath been done before him. He will not
afk what is moſt fuitable to the good of his fub-
jects, whom he will confider as his neareft ene-
mies, on account of the parade of guards that
furround him; but he will ftudy what will in-
creaſe his defpotifm, and their fervitude. He will
remain ignorant during life of the moſt fimple
and moſt evident of truths; which is, that their
ftrength and his are infeparable from each other.
The example of the paſt will be his only rule of
conduct, both on thofe occafions when it may
be prudent to follow it, and on thoſe when it
would be proper to deviate from it. The mea-
fure which the miniftry will adopt in politics, will
always be that which fhall be moft analogous to
the spirit of tyranny, the only one which has
been decorated with the title of the great art of
governing. When, therefore, the inhabitants
of Georgia afked for flaves, in order to know
whether
I.
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
81
whether they ſhould have been granted or re- BOOK
fuſed to them, it was only neceffary to examine, XVIII.
whether they were required for the better culti-
vation of the lands, and the greater fecurity of
the property of the colony.
In the mean while, the truly defperate fituation
of the new fettlement proclaimed too forcibly the
imprudence of the miniftry, to make it poffible
to perſevere in fuch fatal meaſures. At length
the province received the fame form of govern-
ment which made the other colonies profper.
When it ceaſed to be a fief belonging to indivi-
duals, it became a truly national poffeffion.
tations
SINCE this fortunate revolution, Georgia hath Situation
and expec-
improved confiderably, though not fo rapidly as tons of
was expected. It is true, that neither the vine, the Georgia.
olive-tree, nor filk, have been cultivated, as the
mother-country wished; but it's marſhes have
furniſhed a tolerable quantity of rice, and indigo,
fuperior in quality to that of Carolina, hath been
produced upon the higher grounds. Before the
1st January 1768, a grant had been made of
fix hundred thirty-feven thoufand one hundred
and ſeventy acres of land. Thoſe which, in
1763, were worth no more than 3 livres 7 fols
6 deniers *, were fold in 1776 for 67 livres to
folst. In 1769, the exportations of the colony
amounted to 1,625,418 livres 9 fols 5 deniers †;
and fince that time they have confiderably in-
creaſed.
THIS profperity will undoubtedly be augment-
ed. In proportion as the forefts fhall be felled,
the air will become more falubrious, and the
productions will increafe with the population,
which at prefent doth not exceed thirty thoufand
men, most of whom are flaves. However, as
† 21. 16s. 3d.
I About-67,7251. 15s. 4d. three farthings.
VOL. VI.
*2s. 9d. three farthings.
G
the
62
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK the lands are not fo extenfive in Georgia as int
XVIII. moſt of the other provinces, and that in the ſame
proportion lefs of them are fufceptible of
Florida
the riches of that colony will always be limited.
Let us fee whether Florida hath a right to expect
a more brilliant deſtiny.
UNDER this name the ambition of Spain com-
becomes a prehended formerly all that tract of land in Ame-
Spaniſh
poffeffion. rica, which extended from the Gulph of Mexico
to the moſt Northern regions. But fortune,
which ſports with the vanity of nations, hath long
fince confined this unlimited denomination to the
peninfula formed by the fea, between Georgia
and Louiſiana.
It was Luke Velafquès, whofe memory ought.
to be holden in execration in this world, as he
deferves to be puniſhed in the next; it was that
monfter, to whom I can fcarce give the name of
man, who first landed upon this region, with
the intention of obtaining flaves, either by ftra-
tagem or by force. The novelty of the fpectacle
attracted the neighbouring favages. They were
invited to come on board the fhips; they were
intoxicated, put in irons, and the anchor was
weighed, while the guns were fired upon the reft
of the Indians, who remained upon the fhore.
Several of theſe unfortunate people, fo cruelly
torn from their own country, refuſed to take the
food which was offered them, and perifhed from
inanition. Others died of grief; and thoſe who
furvived their defpair, were buried in the mines.
of Mexico.
THESE infatiable gulphs required more victims.
The perfidious Velafquès went in fearch of them
again in the ſame country. He was known, and
half of his infamous companions were murdered
on their arrival. Thofe who fled from a juftly
implacable enemy, were fhipwrecked; he him-
felf
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
83
ſelf only eſcaped the fury of the waves, to lead BOOK
the remainder of his detefted life in fhame, mi- XVIII.
fery, and remorfe.
SPAIN had forgotten that part of the New
World, when the memory of it was revived by a
ſettlement made there by the French. The court
of Madrid thought proper to drive from their
rich poffeffions fo active a nation; and they ac-
cordingly gave orders for the deftruction of the
infant colony. This command was put in execu-
tion in 1565; and the conquerors re-occupied
the place, which was rendered an abfolute defert
by their cruelties. They were threatened with a
lingering death, when they were relieved by the
culture of faffafras.
THIS tree, which is an evergreen, is peculiar
to America, and is better at Florida than in any
other part of that hemifphere. It grows equally
on the borders of the fea and upon the mountains,
but always in a foil which is neither too dry nor
too damp. It's roots are even with the furface
of the ground. It's trunk, which is very straight,
without leaves, and not high, is covered with a
thick and dirty bark, of an afh colour, and
throws out at it's fummit fome branches which
ſpread out on the coafts. The leaves are difpofed
alternately, green on the upper, and white on the
under furface, and are divided into three lobes.
Sometimes they are found entire, efpecially in
young plants. The branches are terminated by
cluſters of fmall yellow flowers. They are of the
fame kind as thoſe of the laurel or cinnamon tree.
The fruits, which fucceed, are ſmall, blue, pend-
ent berries, fixed to a red pedicle, and to a calix
of the fame colour.
}
Ir's flower is taken in infufion, as mullein
and tea is. The decoction of it's root is uſed
with effect in intermittent fevers.
G 2
The bark of
the
SA
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK the trunk hath an acrid and aromatic tafte, and
XVIII. a fmell fimilar to that of fennel and anifeed. The
wood is whitifh and leſs odoriferous. They are
both uſed in medicine to promote perfpiration,
to attenuate thick and vifcid humours, to remove
obftructions, to cure the gout and the palfy.
Saffafras was alfo formerly much prefcribed in the
venereal diſeaſe.
THE firft Spaniards who fettled there would
probably have fallen a facrifice to this laft difor-
der, at leaſt they would not have recovered from
thoſe dangerous fevers with which most of them
were attacked on their arrival in Florida, either
in confequence of the food of the country, or of
the badnefs of the waters. But the favages taught
them, that by drinking fafting, and at their
meals, water in which the root of faffafras had
been boiled they might depend upon a ſpeedy
recovery. The experiment upon trial proved
fuccefsful.
WHAT can be the reaſon that this medicine,
and fo many others which produce extraordinary
cures in thofe diftant countries, feem to have
loft almoſt all their efficacy when tranfplanted in-
to our's? It muſt probably be owen to the cli-
mate being more favourable for perfpiration, to
the nature of the plant which degenerates and
lofes fome part of it's ftrength during a long voy-
age, and efpecially to the nature of the difeafe,
when joined to our intemperate way of living;
and the obftinacy of which increaſes from the
numberleſs diſorders prevailing in our conftitu-
tions.
THE Spaniards eſtabliſhed fome fmall poſts at
San Matheo, at Saint Marc, and at Saint Jofeph;
but it was only at Saint Auguftine, and at Penfa-
cola that they properly formed fettlements; the
former
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
85
XVIII.
former on their arrival in the country, and the BOOK
latter in 1696.
PENSACOLA was attacked and taken by the
French during the fhort contefts which divided
the two houfes of Bourbon in 1718; but it was
foon reftored.
IN 1740, the English befieged the former of
thefe fettlements in vain. The Scotch High-
landers, in endeavouring to cover the retreat of
the affailants, were beaten and flain. One of their
ferjeants only was fpared by the favage Indians,
who, while they were fighting for the Spaniards,
reſerved him to undergo thofe torments which
they inflict upon their prifoners. This man, it is
faid, on feeing the horrid tortures that awaited
him, addreffed the blood-thirsty multitude in the
following manner:
"HEROES and patriarchs of the weſtern world,
you were not the enemies that I fought for; but
&& you have at laft been the conquerors. The
"chance of war has thrown me in your power.
"Make what ufe you think proper of the right
of conqueft. This is a right I do not call in
queftion. But as it is cuſtomary in my coun-
try to offer a ranſom for one's life, liften to a
propofal not unworthy of your notice.
،،
૮૬
હું
66
ઃઃ
66
KNOW then, valiant Americans, that in the
country of which I am a native, there are fome
men who poffefs a fuperior knowledge of the
"fecrets of nature. One of thofe fages, connected
"to me by the ties of kindred, imparted to me,
"when I became a foldier, a charm to make me
invulnerable. You muſt have obferved how I
"have efcaped all your darts. Without fuch a
"charm would it have been poffible for me to
"have furvived all the mortal blows you have
"aimed at me? For I appeal to your own valour,
66
to teftify that mine has fufficiently exerted it-
ſelf,
86
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
XVIII.
<c
66
BOOK" felf, and has not avoided any danger. Life is
"not fo much the object of my request, as the
glory of communicating to you a fecret of fo
much confequence to your fafety, and of ren-
dering the moſt valiant nation upon the earth
invincible. Suffer me only to have one of my
"hands at liberty, in order to perform the cere-
❝monies of inchantment, of which I will now
"make trial on myſelf before you."
❝
THE Indians liſtened with eagerness to this dif-
courſe, which was flattering both to their warlike
character, and their turn for the marvellous.
After a ſhort conſultation, they untied one of the
priſoner's arms. The highlander begged that they
would put his broad fword into the hands of the
moſt expert and ftouteft man among them; and
at the fame time laying bare his neck, after having
rubbed it, and muttering fome words accompanied
with magic figns, he cried aloud with a cheerful
countenance, "Obferve now, O valiant Indians,
"an inconteftible proof of my honefty. Thou
"warrior, who now holdeſt my keen cutting
weapon, do thou now ftrike with all thy
"ftrength: far from being able to fever my head
" from my body, thou wilt not even wound the
"fkin of my neck."
C.6
He had fcarcely ſpoken theſe words, when the
Indian aiming the moſt violent blow, ftruck off
the head of the ferjeant, to the diſtance of twenty
feet. The favages aftoniſhed, ſtood motionleſs,
viewing the bloody corpfe of the stranger; and
then turned their eyes upon one another, as if to
reproach each other with their blind credulity.
But admiring the artifice the prifoner had made
ufe of to avoid the torture by haftening his death,
they beſtowed on his body the funeral honours of
their country. If this fact, the date of which is
too recent to admit of credit, has not all the
marks
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
87
XVIII.
marks of authenticity it fhould have, it will only BOOK
be one falfehood more to be added to the accounts
of travellers.
Great Bri-
Madrid,
THE treaty of peace of 1763, put in the power Florida is
of Great Britain, that fame Florida which had ceded to
refifted the strength of their arms twenty-three tain by the
years before. At that time there were no more court of
than fix hundred inhabitants. It was with the
fale of their hides, and with the provifions they
furniſhed to their garrifon, that they were to pro-
vide themſelves with clothes, and to fupply a
fmall part of their wants, which were exceedingly
confined. Theſe miſerable people went all to
Cuba, though convinced that they would be ob-
liged to beg their bread, if their monarch, moved
with fuch an inftance of affection, did not provide
for their fubfiftence.
WHAT motive could induce the Spaniards to
prefer an oppreffive to a free government? Was
it fuperftition, which cannot fuffer the altars of
the heretics near it's own? Was it prejudice,
which renders fufpicious the morals and the pro-
bity of thoſe who profefs a different religion?
Was it the fear of feduction for themſelves, and
ftill more for their children? Long accustomed
to idleness, did they imagine that they ſhould be
compelled to labour? Or hath man fo bad an
opinion of man, that he ſhould rather chooſe to
difpofe of himſelf and his fate, than to abandon it
to the mercy of his fellow-creature? However it
may be, nothing but a defert remained to the
power that obtained the poffeffion; but was it
not an acquifition to lofe inhabitants not inured
to fatigue, and who would never have been well
affected?
GREAT BRITAIN congratulated itſelf upon the
acquifition of the property of an immenfe province,
the limits of which were ſtill extended as far as the
Miffiffippi,
83
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK Miffiffippi, by the ceffion of one part of Louifiaña.
XVIII. That power had for a long time been defirous of
fettling on a territory which would open an eafy
communication to them with the richeft of the
Spanish colonies. They did not give up the
hopes of a ſmuggling trade, but they were aware
that this precarious and momentary advantage
was not fufficient to render their conquefts flou-
rithing, and they turned their labours and ex-
pectations principally towards cultivation. :
What hath THE new acquifition was divided into two go-
been done
by Eng-
vernments. It was thought that this would be a
land, and powerful inducement to carry on with greater
what the zeal, and to direct with more vigour the cultiva
pect to do tion of the lands. Miniftry might alſo have de-
in Florida. termined upon this divifion, in expectation of
always finding more fubmiffion in two feparate
provinces than in one alone.
may ex-
SAINT AUGUSTINE became the capital of Eaft
Florida, and Penfacola of Weft Florida. Theſe
capitals, which were at the fame time tolerable
good harbours, did not undoubtedly unite all the
conveniences they were fufceptible of, but it
was ſtill a very fortunate circumftance to find
thoſe which they really did poffefs. The other
colonies did not enjoy this advantage at their
origin.
THE first coloniſts who fettled in thefe coun-
tries were half-pay officers and difbanded foldiers.
All thofe among them who had ferved in Ame-
rica and were fettled there, obtained the grant
of a piece of land proportionable to their rank.
This favour was not extended to all the army that
had fought in the New World. It would have
been apprehended, that the military men of the
three kingdoms who were in the fame fituation,
might be tempted to forfake the mother-country,
already too much exhauſted by the laft hoftilities.
THE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
89
THE new colony received alfo cultivators from BOOK
the neighbouring fettlements, from the mother- XVIII.
country, and from feveral Proteftant ftates. It
alfo obtained fome, whofe arrival was a matter
of aſtoniſhment to both hemifpheres.
THE Greeks groan under the Ottoman tyranny
and muſt be inclined to fhake off this detefted
yoke. This was the opinion of Dr. Turnbull,
when in 1767, he went to offer an aſylum in
Britiſh America to the inhabitants of the Pelopon-
nefus. Several of them yielded to his folicita-
tions, and for the fum of one hundred guineas
he obtained leave from the government of the
place to embark them at Modon. He landed in
Corfica and at Minorca, and prevailed alfo upon
fome of the inhabitants of thoſe two iflands to fol-
low him. S
►
THE emigrants, to the number of a thouſand,
arrived in Eaft Florida with their prudent con-
ductor, where fixty thouſand acres of land were
granted to them. This would have been an im-
menfe poffeffion, even if the climate had not
deftroyed any of them; but they had unfortu-
nately been fo much thwarted by the winds as to
prevent their landing before fummer, which is a
dangerous feafon, and which deftroyed one quar-
ter of their number. They were moftly the old
people who perifhed. They were numerous, be-
caufe the judicious Turnbull choſe to carry none
with him but whole families.
THOSE Who eſcaped this firft diſaſter have fince
enjoyed perfect health, which has only been af-
fected by a few fevers. The men are become
ftronger in their conftitutions, and the women,
who, on account of the change of climate, did
not breed often at firft, are at prefent very fruit-
ful. It is prefumed, that the children will be
taller
90
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK taller than they would have been in the country
XVIII. from whence their parents came.dds
<
THE fmall colony have received from their
founder, inftitutions, which they have themſelves
approved, and which are obferved. They are
ftill no more than one entire family, where the
fpirit of concord must be kept up for a long time.
On the first of January 1776, they had already
cleared two thouſand three hundred acres of a
tolerably fertile foil. They had animals fufficient
for their fubfiftence and for their labour. Their
crops were fufficient for their own confumption,
and they fold for 67,500 livres * worth of indigo.
The induſtry and activity by which they are dif
tinguiſhed, give great expectations from time and
experience.
WHY fhould not Athens and Lacedæmon be
one day revived in North America? Why fhould
not the city of Turnbull become in a few centu-
ries the refidence of politeness, of the fine arts,
is lefs diftant
and of eloquence? The new colony barbarous
-
from this flouriſhing ſtate than were the barbarous
Pelafgians from the fellow citizens of Pericles.
What difference there is between a fettlement
conceived and founded by a wife and pacific man,
and the conquefts of a long ſeries of avaricious,
extravagant, and fanguinary men; between the
preſent ſtate of South America and what it might
have been, had thoſe who diſcovered it, took pof-
feffion of it and laid it waſte, been animated with
the fame ſpirit as the worthy Turnbull? Will
not nations learn by his example, that the foun-
dation of a colony requires more wiſdom than ex-
pence? The univerſe hath been peopled by one
man and one woman only.
THE two Floridas, which in 1769, did not ex-
port productions to the amount of more than
* 2,8121, 10s.
673,209
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
91
XVIII.
673,209 livres 18 fols 9 deniers *, have a re-BOOK
markable advantage over the reft of this great
continent. Situated in a great meaſure between
two feas, they have nothing to fear from the
frozen winds nor from the unforeſeen variations
in the temperature of the air, which at all feafons
occafion fuch frequent and fatal devaſtations in
the neighbourhood. It is therefore to be hoped
that the vine, the olive, the cotton tree, and
other delicate plants will profper there fooner and
better than in any of the adjacent provinces. In
1774, the fociety inftituted in London for the
encouragement of arts, manufactures, and fci-
ences, gave a gold medal to Mr. Strachey, for his
having produced as fine indigo as that which
comes from Guatimala. Although, in the first
paroxyfms of enthufiafm, the qualities of this
production have been but moderately attended
to, yet it will become a fource of riches for the
colony.
THE foil of Eaft Florida, however, being a
great deal too fandy, conftantly drove away all
men who were defirous of making a rapid for-
tune. It would fcarce have been peopled, except
by fome extraordinary event. The troubles with
which North America hath been agitated, have
driven to that commonly barren. foil a few peace-
ful citizens, who had a fettled averfion for dif
putes, and a ſtill greater number of men, who,
either from ambition, habit, or prejudice, were
devoted to the intereft of the mother-country.
THE fame inducements have given coloniſts
to the other Florida, which is much more fertile,
efpecially on the pleaſant borders of the Miffiffip-
pi. This province hath had the advantage to
furnish Jamaica, and feveral of the British islands
in the Weft Indies with wood, and with various
* About 28,0451. 8s. gd. halfp.
articles
92
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK articles which they formerly received from the
XVIII. feveral countries of New England. This popu-
lation would have been ftill more rapid if the
coafts of Penſacola had been more acceffible, and
if it's harbours had been lefs infefted with worms.
How greatly might the improvements of the two
provinces be accelerated, if the new fovereigns
of North America would depart from the maxims
they have uniformly purfued, and would condef-
cend to intermarriages with Indian families! And
for what reaſon fhould this method of civilizing
the favage tribes, which has been fo fuccefsfully
employed by the moſt enlightened politicians, be
rejected by a free people, who, from their princi-
ples, muſt admit a greater equality than other na-
tions? Would the English then be ftill reduced to
the cruel alternative of feeing their crops burnt,
and their huſbandmen maffacred, or of perfecut-
ing without intermiffion, and exterminating with-
out pity, thoſe wandering bands of natives?
Ought they not to prefer to fanguinary and inglo-
rious hoftilities, a humane and infallible method
of difarming the only enemy that remains to dif
turb their tranquillity?
THE English flatter themfélves, that without
the affiſtance of theſe alliances they ſhall foon be
freed from the little interruption that remains. It
is the fate of favage nations, fay they, to wafte
away in proportion as the people of civilized ftates
come to fettle among them. Unable to fubmit
to the labour of cultivation, and failing of their
uſual ſubfiftence from the chace, they are reduced
to the neceffity of abandoning all thofe tracts of
lands which induſtry and activity have undertaken
to clear. This is actually the cafe with all the
natives bordering on the European fettlements.
They keep daily retiring further into the woods;
they fall back upon the Affenipouals and Hud-
fon's
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
93
XVIII
fon's bay, where they must neceffarily incroach BOOK
upon each other, and in a fhort time muft periſh
for want of fubfiftence.
BUT before this total deftruction is brought
about, events of a very ferious nature may occur.
We have not yet forgotten the generous Pondiack.
That formidable warriour had broken with the
Engliſh in 1762. Major Roberts, who was em-
ployed to reconcile him, fent him a preſent of
brandy. Some Iroquois, who were ſtanding round
their chief, fhuddered at the fight of this liquor.
Not doubting but that it was poiſoned, they infifted
that he fhould not accept fo fufpicious a prefent.
How can it be, faid their leader, that a man, who
knows my esteem for him, and the fignal fervices I
have done him, fhould entertain a thought of taking
awway my life? Saying this, he received and drank
the brandy with a confidence equal to that of the
moſt renowned hero of antiquity.
By many inftances of magnanimity fimilar to
this, the eyes of the favage nations had all been
fixed upon Pondiack. His defign was to unite
them in a body for the defence of their lands and
independence. Several unfortunate circumſtances
concurred to defeat this grand project; but it may
be reſumed, and it is not impoffible that it may
fucceed. The ufurpers would then be under a
neceffity of protecting their frontier againſt an
enemy, that hath none of thofe expences to fuf-
tain, or evils to dread, which war brings with it
among civilized nations; and will find the advan-
tages they have promiſed themſelves from con-
quefts made at the expence of fo much treaſure
and fo much blood, confiderably retarded, at leaſt,
if not entirely loft. Should the Engliſh difdain
an advice dictated to them through me by juftice.
and humanity, may another Pondiack ariſe from
his afhes and confummate his plan.
THE
94:
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK THE two Floridas, part of Louiſiana, and all
XVIII. Canada, obtained at the fame æra, either by con-
Extent of queft or treaty, rendered the English mafters of
the British all that fpace, which extends from the river St.
dominions Lawrence to the Miffiffippi; fo that without
America. reckoning Hudfon's Bay, Newfoundland, and the
other iflands of North America, they would have
been in poffeffion of the most extenfive empire,
that ever was formed upon the face of the globe.
in North
THIS vaſt territory is divided from north to
fouth by a chain of high mountains, which alter-
nately receding from and approaching to the coaft,
leave between them and the ocean a tract of land
of a hundred and fifty, two hundred, and fome-
times three hundred miles in breadth. Beyond
thefe Apalachian mountains is an immenfe defert,
into which fome travellers have ventured as far
as eight hundred leagues, without finding an end
to it. It is fuppofed that the rivers at the extre-
mity of theſe uncultivated regions have a com,
munication with the South-fea. If this conjec-
ture, which is not deftitute of probability, fhould
be confirmed by experience, England would
unite in her colonies all the branches of com-
munication and commerce of the world. As her
territories extend from one American fea to the
other, the may be faid to join the four quarters
of the world. From all her European ports,
from all her African fettlements, the freights
and fends out fhips to the New World. From
her maritime fettlements in the eaft fhe would
have a direct channel to the Weſt Indies by the
Pacific Ocean. She would difcover thofe flips
of land, or branches of the fea, the ifthmus of the
freight, which lies between the northern extremi
ties of Afia and America. By the vast extent of
her colonies fhe would have in her own power all
the avenues of trade, and would fecure all the ad-
vantages
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
95.
BOOK
XVIII.
vantages of it by her numerous fleets. Perhaps, B O O K
by having the empire of all the feas, ſhe might
afpire to the fupremacy of both worlds. But it is
not in the deſtiny of any fingle nation to attain to
fuch a pitch of greatnefs. Is then extent of do-
minion fo flattering an object, when conquefts
are made only to be loft again? Let the Romans
fpeak! Does it conftitute power, to poffefs fuch a
ſhare of the globe, that fome part ſhall always be
enlightened by the rays of the fun, if while we
reign in one world we are to languiſh in obfcurity
in the other? Let the Spaniards anſwer!
THE English will be happy if they can pre-
ferve, by the means of culture and navigation, an
empire, which muft ever be found too extenſive,
when it cannot be maintained without bloodshed.
But as this is the price, which ambition muſt al-
ways pay for the fuccefs of it's enterpriſes, it is
by commerce alone that conquefts can become
valuable to a maritime power. Never did war
procure for any conqueror a territory more in-
proveable by human induſtry than that of the
northern continent of America. Although the
land in general be fo low near the fea, that in
many parts it is ſcarcely diſtinguiſhable from the
top of the mainmaft, even after anchoring in
fourteen fathom, yet the coaft is very eafy of
accefs, becauſe the depth diminiſhes infenfibly as
you advance. From this circumftance it is eaſy
to determine exactly by the line the diftance of
the main land. Befide this, the mariner has an-
other fign, which is the appearance of trees,
that, feeming to rife out of the fea, form an en-
chanting object to his view upon a fhore, which
preſents roads and harbours without number, for
the reception and prefervation of fhipping.
THE productions of the earth arife in great
abundance from a foil newly cleared; but on the.
other
96
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK other hand, they are a long time before they come
XVIII. to maturity. Many plants are even fo late in
flower, that the winter prevents their ripening;
while, on our continent, both the fruit and the
feed of them are gathered in a more northern la-
titude. What can be the cauſe of this phænome-
non? Before the arrival of the Europeans, the
North Americans, living upon the produce of
their hunting and fishery, left their lands totally
uncultivated. The whole country was covered
with woods and thickets. Under the fhade of
thefe forefts, grew a multitude of plants. The
leaves, which fell every winter from the trees,
formed a bed three or four inches thick. Before
the damps had quite rooted this fpecies of ma-
nure, the fummer came on; and nature, left en
tirely to herſelf, continued heaping inceffantly
upon each other theſe effects of her fertility.
The plants buried under wet leaves, through
which they with difficulty made their way in a
long courſe of time, became accuſtomed to a
long vegetation. The force of culture has not
yet been able to fubdue the habit fixed and con-
firmed by ages, nor have the difpofitions of na-
ture given way to the influence of art. But this
climate, fo long unknown or neglected by man-
kind, prefents them with advantages, which fup-
ply the defects and ill confequences of that omif-
fion.
Trees pe-
1
IT produces almoft all the trees that are na-
culiar to tives of our climate. It has alfo others peculiar
to itſelf, among which are the fugar maple, and
the candleburry myrtle.
North A-
merica.
THE latter, thus named on account of it's pro-
duce, is a branching, tortuous fhrub, rather ir-
regular, and which delights in a moift foil. It is
therefore ſeldom found at any diſtance from the
fea, or from large rivers. It's leaves, alternately
difpofed,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
97
difpofed, are narrow, entire, or denticulated, and B O O K
always covered with fmall gilded points, which, XVIII.
are almoſt imperceptible. It bears male and
female flowers, upon two different plants: The
firſt form a bezil, every ſcale of which bears fix
ftamina. The ſecond, difpofed alike on young
fprigs, have, inftead of ftamina, an ovary, fur-
mounted with ftyles, which becomes a very fmall,
hard, and ſpherical fhell, which is covered with
a granulated, white, and unctuous fubftance.
Thefe fruits, which, together, appear like a
bunch of grapes, are gathered at the end of
the autumn, and thrown into boiling water.
The fubftance with which they are covered, de-
taches itſelf, ſwims at the top, and is ſkimmed
off. As ſoon as this is grown cold, it is com-
monly of a dirty green colour. To purify it,
it is boiled a fecond time, when it becomes
tranſparent, and acquires an agreeable green
colour.
THIS fubftance, which in quality and confift-
ence is a medium between tallow and wax, fup-
plied the place of both to the firft Europeans who
landed in this country. The dearnefs of it has
occafioned it to be lefs ufed, in proportion as the
number of domeftic animals hath increaſed. Ne-
vertheleſs, as it burns flower than tallow, is lefs
fubject to melt, and has not that difagreeable
fmell, it is ftill preferred, wherever it can be
procured at a moderate price. If it be mixed
with a fourth part of tallow, it burns much bet-
ter, but this is not it's only property. It ferves
to make excellent foap and plaifters for wounds:
it is even employed for the purpoſe of fealing
letters. The fugar maple merits no lefs attention
than the candleburry myrtle, as may be conceived
from it's name.
VOL. VI.
H
THIS
98
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
THIS tree, the nature of which is to flouriſh by
XVIII. the fide of streams, or in marshy places, grows
to the height of the oak. It's trunk is ftraight
and cylindrical, and covered with a tolerably thin
bark. It's branches, which are always oppofite,
are covered with leaves difpofed in the fame
manner, which are whitifh underneath, and are
divided into five acute lobes. It's flowers, col-
lected in cluſters, have a calix, with five divifions,
charged with as many petals, and eight ftamina,
which are fometimes abortive. In the center of
them is a piftil, which becomes a fruit, compofed
of two pods, preffed together, and clofed at the
bottom, open and alated at the top, and filled
with a fingle feed.
IN the month of March, an incifion, of the
depth of three or four inches, is made at the lower
part of the trunk of the maple. A pipe is put
into the orifice, through which the juice that
flows from it, is conveyed into a veffel placed to
receive it. The young trees are fo full of this
liquor, that in half an hour they will fill a quart
bottle. The old ones afford lefs, but of much
better quality. No more than one incifion, or
two at moſt, can be made without draining and
weakening the tree. If three or four pipes be
applied, it foon dies.
THE fap of this tree has naturally the flavour
of honey. To reduce it to fugar, it is evapo-
rated by fire, till it has acquired the confiftence
of a thick fyrup. It is then poured into moulds
of earthen ware, or bark of the birch-tree. The
fyrup hardens as it cools, and becomes a red kind
of fugar, almoft tranfparent, and pleafant enough
to the tafte. To give it a whitenefs, flour is
fometimes mixed up with it in the making; but
this ingredient always changes the flavour of it.
This kind of fugar is ufed for the fame purpoſes,
as
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
99
as that which is made from canes; but eighteen BOOK
or twenty pounds of juice go to the making of XVIII.
one pound of fugar, fo that it can be of no great
ufe in trade. Honey is the fugar of the favages
of our countries; the maple is the fugar of the
favages of America. Nature difplays, in all parts,
it's fweets, and it's wonders.
North A-
AMIDST the multitude of birds which inhabit Birds pe-
the foreſts of North America, there is one ex- culiar to
tremely fingular in it's kind; this is the hum- merica.
ming bird, a fpecies of which, on account of it's
fmallneſs, is called Poiſeau mouche, or the fly bird.
It's beak is long and pointed like a needle; and
it's claws are not thicker than a common pin.
Upon it's head it has a black tuft of incomparable
beauty. It's breaſt is of a roſe colour, and it's
belly white as milk. The back, wings, and tail
are grey, bordered with filver, and ftreaked with
the brighteſt gold. The down, which covers all
the plumage of this little bird, gives it fo delicate
a caft, that it reſembles a velvet flower, the beauty
of which fades on the flighteſt touch.
THE fpring is the only feafon for this charming
bird. It's neft, perched on the middle of a bough,
is covered on the outfide with a grey and greenish
mofs, and on the infide lined with a very foft down
gathered from yellow flowers. This neft is half
an inch in depth, and about an inch in diameter.
There are never found more than two eggs in it,
about the fize of the ſmalleſt peas. Many attempts
have been made to rear the young ones; but they
have never lived more than three weeks or a
month at moft.
THE humming bird lives entirely on the juice.
of flowers, fluttering from one to another, like
the bees. Sometimes it buries itfelf in the calix
of the largeſt flowers. It's flight produces a
buzzing noife like that of a fpinning-wheel.
When
H 2
2
A
100
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK When tired, it lights upon the neareſt tree or
XVIII. ftake; refts a few minutes, and flies again to the
flowers. Notwithstanding it's weaknefs, it does
not appear timid; but will fuffer a man to ap-
proach within eight or ten feet of it.
WHO would imagine, that fo diminutive an ani-
mal could be malicious, paffionate, and quarrel-
fome? Theſe birds are often feen fighting toge-
ther with great fury and obftinacy. The ftrokes
they give with their beak are fo fudden and fo
quick, that they are not diftinguiſhable by the
eye. Their wings move with fuch agility, that
they ſeem not to have any kind of motion. They
are more heard than feen; and their noife re-
fembles that of a fparrow.
THESE little birds are all impatience. When
they come near a flower, if they find it faded and
withered, they tear all the leaves afunder. The
precipitation with which they peck it, betrays, as
it is faid, the rage with which they are animated.
Towards the end of the fummer, thouſands of
flowers may be ſeen ſtript of all their leaves by the
fury of the humming birds. It may be doubted,
however, whether this mark of refentment is not
rather an effect of hunger than of an unneceffarily
deftructive inſtinct.
EVERY fpecies of beings hath another that is
an enemy to it. That of the fly-bird is a large
fpider, which is very greedy of it's eggs. This
is the fword which is continually fufpended over
the tyrant's head.
NORTH AMERICA was formerly devoured by
infects. As the air was not then purified, the
ground cleared, the woods cut down, nor the
waters drained off, thefe little animals deftroyed,
without oppofition, all the productions of nature.
None of them were uſeful to mankind. There is
only one at preſent, which is the bee; but this is
ſuppoſed
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
101
•
fuppofed to have been carried from the Old to the BOOK
New World. The favages call it the English XVII.
fly; and it is only found near the coafts. Thefe
circumſtances announce it to be of foreign ori-
ginal. The bees fly in numerous fwarms through
the forefts of the New World. Their numbers
are continually increaſing, and their honey, which
is converted to feveral ufes, fupplies many per-
fons with food. Their wax becomes daily a con-
fiderable branch of trade.
with do-
THE bee is not the only prefent which Europe Europe
fupplies
has had it in her power to make to America. North
She has enriched her alfo with a breed of America
domeftic animals, for the favages had none. meftic
America had not yet affociated beafts with men animals.
in the labours of cultivation, when the Europeans
carried over thither oxen, fheep, and horfes.
They were all, at firft, expofed, as well as man,
to epidemical difeafes. If the contagion did not
attack them, as it did their proud fovereign, in
the fource even of their generation, feveral of
their fpecies were at leaft re-produced with much
difficulty. All of them, except the hog, loft
much of their ftrength and fize. It was not till
late, and that only in fome places, that they re-
covered their original properties. Without doubt,
it was the climate, the nature of the air, and the
foil, which prevented the fuccefs of their tranf-
plantation. Such is the law of climates, which
wills every people, every animal and vegetable
fpecies to grow and flouriſh in it's native foil.
The love of their country ſeems an ordinance of
nature prefcribed to all beings, as the defire of
preferving their exiſtence.
grain hath
YET there are certain correfpondences of cli- European
mate, which form expectations to the general rule been culti-
against the tranfplanting of animals and plants, vated
When the Engliſh firft landed on the North-Ame- America
rican
North
102
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK rican continent, the wandering inhabitants of thoſe
XVIII. defolate regions had ſcarcely arrived at the culti-
vation of a fmall quantity of maize, a plant which
reſembles a reed. It's leaves, which are large,
and very long, furround, at their bafis, the ftem,
which is round and knotty at intervals. It is ter-
minated by a panicle of male flowers. Each of
the bunches which compofe it, hath two flowers,
covered with two common fcales; and each
flower hath three ftamina, incloſed between two
ſcales proper to them. At the axilla of the infe-
rior leaves, the female flowers are found, diſ-
pofed in a very clofe cluſter, upon a thick and
fleshy axis, concealed under feveral coverings.
The pistil of theſe flowers, furrounded with fome
ſmall ſcales, and furmounted with a long ftyle,
becomes a farinaceous feed, almoſt ſpherical, and
half funk into the common axis. It's maturity
is known by it's colour, and by the feparation of
the covering, through which the blade of corn
may be feen.
THIS fpecies of corn, unknown at that time
in Europe, was the only one known in the New
World. The culture of it was by no means dif-
ficult. The favages contented themfelves with
taking off the turf, making a few holes in the
ground, with a ſtick, and throwing into each of
them a ſingle grain, which produced two hun-
dred and fifty or three hundred. The method of
preparing it for food was not more complicated.
They pounded it in a wooden or ftone mortar,
and made it into a pafte, which they baked under
embers. They often ate it toafted merely upon
the coals.
THE maize has many advantages. It's leaves
are uſeful in feeding cattle; a circumftance of
great moment where there are very few meadows.
A hungry, light, fandy foil, agrees beft with this
I
plant.
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
103
plant. The feed may be frozen in the fpring two BOOK
or three times without impairing the harvest. In XVIII.
fhort, it is of all plants the one that is leaft injured
by the excess of drought or moisture.
THESE Caufes, which introduced the cultivation
of it in that part of the world, induced the Eng-
liſh to preſerve and even promote it in their fet-
tlements. They fold it to the fouthern part of
Europe, and to the Eaft Indies, and employed it
for their own ufe. They did not, however, ne-
glect to enrich their plantations with European
grains, all of which fucceeded, though not ſo per-
fectly as in their native foil. With the fuperfluity
of their harveſts, the produce of their herds, and
the clearing of their forefts, the coloniſts formed
a trade with all the wealthieſt and moſt populous
provinces of the New World.
THE mother-country, finding that her northern
colonies had fupplanted her in her trade with
South America, and fearing that they would foon
become her rivals, even in Europe, at all the
markets for falt provifions and corn, endeavoured
to divert their induftry to objects that might be
more uſeful to her. An opportunity foon pre-
fented itſelf.
merica
горе
naval
THE greateſt part of the pitch and tar the Eng- North A-
liſh wanted for their fleet, uſed to be furniſhed by hath fup-
Sweden. In 1703, that ftate was fo blind to it's plied Eu-
true intereft, as to lay this important branch of rope with
commerce under the reftrictions of an exclufive ftores.
charter. The firft effect of this monopoly was a
fudden and confiderable increaſe of price. England
taking advantage of this blunder of the Swedes,
encouraged by confiderable premiums the im-
portation of all forts of naval ftores which North-
America could furnish.
THESE rewards did not immediately produce
the effects that was expected from them. A bloody
war,
*
104
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK war, raging in each of the four quarters of the
XVIII. world, prevented both the mother-country and
the colonies from giving to this beginning revo-
lution in commerce, the attention which it me-
rited. The northern nations, which had all the
fame motives of intereft, taking this inaction,
which was only occafioned by the hurry of a war,
for an abfolute proof of inability, thought they
might without danger lay every reftrictive claufe
upon the exportation of marine ftores, that could
contribute to enhance the price of them. For
this purpoſe they entered into mutual engage-
ments which were made public in 1718, a time,
when all the maritime powers ftill felt the effects
of a war, that had continued fourteen years.
ENGLAND was alarmed at fo odious a conven-
tion. She diſpatched to America men of fufficient
ability to convince the inhabitants how neceffary
it was for them to affift the views of the mother-
country; and of fufficient experience to direct
their first attempts towards great objects, without
making them pafs through thofe minute details,
which quickly extinguiſh an ardour excited with
difficulty. In a very fhort time, fuch quantities.
of pitch, tar, turpentine, yards, and mafts, were
brought into the harbours of Great Britain, that
ſhe was enabled to fupply the nations around
her.
THIS fudden fuccefs blinded the British go-
vernment. The cheapnefs of the naval ſtores
furniſhed by the colonies, in compariſon of thoſe
which were brought from the Baltic, gave them
an advantage, which feemed to infure a conftant
preference. Upon this the miniftry concluded
that the bounties might be withdrawn. But they
had not taken into their calculation the difference
of freight, which was entirely in favour of their
rivals. A total ftop enfued in this branch of
!
tra
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
105
trade, and made them fenfible of their error. In E OOK
1729, they revived the bounties; which, though XVIII.
they were not laid fo high as formerly, were fuf-
ficient to give to the vent of American ftores the
greatest fuperiority, at leaſt in England, over
thoſe of the northern nations.
THE Woods, though they conſtituted one of
the principal riches of the colonies, had hitherto
been overlooked by the governors of the mother-
country. The produce of them had long been
exported by the English to Spain, Portugal, and
the different markets in the Mediterranean, where
it was bought up for building and other uſes. As
theſe traders did not take in return merchandiſe
fufficient to complete their cargoes, it had been a
practice with the Hamburghers, and even the
Dutch to import on their bottoms the produce of
the moſt fertile climates of Europe. This double
trade of export, and carrying the merchandiſe of
other nations, had confiderably augmented the
Britiſh navigation. The parliament, being inform-
ed of this advantage, in the year 1722, immedi-
ately exempted the timber of the colonies from all
thoſe duties of importation, to which Ruffian,
Swediſh, and Daniſh timber are fubject. This
firſt favour was followed by a bounty, which, at
the fame time that it comprehended every fpe-
cies of wood in general, was principally calcu-
lated for thoſe which are employed in fhip-build-
ing. Unfortunately, the materials of the New
World were found to be very inferior in quality
to thoſe of the Old; they were, however, em-
ployed preferably to the latter by the Engliſh na-
vy. England drew it's yards and it's mafts from
North America, and was likewife defirous of get-
ting fails and rigging from thence.
THE French Proteftants, who, when driven
from their country by a prince, become infected
with
106
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
*
BOOK with a ſpirit of bigotry, carried their national in-
XVIII. duftry into all the countries of his enemies, and
taught England the value of flax and hemp, two
commodities of the utmost importance to a mari-
time power. Both thefe plants were cultivated
with fuccefs in Scotland and Ireland; but the
manufactures of the nation were chiefly fupplied
with them from Ruffia. To put a stop to this
foreign importation, it was propofed to grant a
bounty to North America of 135 livres for
every ton of thefe articles. This was doing a
great deal; and yet fo confiderable an encou-
ragement had no great fuccefs. There were not
many lands in that part of the New World which
were good enough for a production which prof-
pers only upon an excellent foil. This region
abounds more in iron, that metal which is def-
tined to conquer the gold and filver of the
fouth.
The iron
of North
America
into our
climates.
•
THIS moft ferviceable of metals, fo neceffary to
mankind, was unknown to the Americans, till
hath been the Europeans taught them the moft fatal ufe of
conveyed it, that of making weapons. The Engliſh them-
felves long neglected the iron mines, which na-
ture had laviſhed on the continent where they
were fettled. That channel of wealth had been
diverted from the mother-country by being clog-
ged with enormous duties. The proprietors of
the national mines, in concert with thofe of the
coppice woods, which are uſed in the working of
them, had procured impofts to be laid on them
that amounted to a prohibition. By corruption,
intrigue, and ſophiſtry, theſe enemies to the pub-
lic good, had ftifled a competition, which would
have been fatal to their interefts. At length the
government took the first step towards a right
conduct. The importation of American iron into
* 51. 12s.
the
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
107
the port of London was granted, duty free; but BOOK
at the fame time it was forbidden to be carried to XVIII.
any other ports, or even more than ten miles in-
land. This whimſical reſtriction continued till
1757. At that time the general voice of the
people called upon the parliament to repeal an
ordinance fo manifeftly contrary to every principle
of public utility, and to extend to the whole king-
dom a privilege which had been granted exclu-
fively to the capital.
.
THOUGH nothing could be more reaſonable
than this demand, it met with the ſtrongeſt oppo-
fition. Combinations of intereſted individuals
were formed, to repreſent, that the hundred and
nine forges worked in England, not reckoning
thofe of Scotland, produced annually eighteen
thouſand tons of iron, and employed a great
number of able workmen; that the mines, which
were inexhaustible, would have fupplied a much
greater quantity, had not a perpetual apprehen-
fion prevailed, that the duties on American iron.
would be taken off; that the iron works carried
on in England confumed annually one hundred
and ninety-eight thouſand cords of underwood,
and that thofe woods furnished, moreover, bark
for the tanneries, and materials for fhip-building;
and that the American iron, not being proper for
fteel, for making fharp inftruments, or many of
the utenfils of navigation, would contribute very
little to leffen the importation from abroad, and
would have no other effect than that of putting a
ftop to the forges of Great Britain.
THESE groundleſs reprefentations had no weight
with the parliament, who faw clearly, that unlefs
the price of the original materials could be lef
fened, the nation would foon lofe the numberless
manufactures of iron and ſteel, by which it had ſo
long been enriched; and there was no time to be
loft
108
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK loft in putting a stop to the progrefs other nations.
XVIII. were making in thefe works. It was therefore re-
Can it be
folved, that the free importation of iron from
America fhould be permitted in all the ports of
England. This wife refolution was accompanied
with an act of juftice. The proprietors of cop-
pices were, by a ftatute of Henry the Eighth, for-
bidden to clear their lands; but the parliament
took off this prohibition, and left them at liberty
to make ufe of their eftates as they fhould think
proper.
PREVIOUS to theſe regulations, Great Britain
uſed to pay annually to Spain, Norway, Sweden,
and Ruffia, ten millions of livres for the iron ſhe
purchaſed of them. This tribute is greatly lef-
fened, and will ſtill decreaſe. The ore is found
in fuch quantities in America, and is ſo eaſily ſe-
parated from the ground, that the Engliſh did
not deſpair of having it in their power to furnish
Portugal, Turkey, Africa, the Eaft Indies, and
every country in the world with which they had
any commercial connections.
PERHAPS the English might be too fanguine in
their repreſentations of the advantages they ex-
pected from fo many articles of importance to
their navy.
But it was fufficient for them, if by
the affiftance of their colonies they could free
themſelves from that dependence in which the
northern powers of Europe had hitherto kept
them, with regard to the equipment of their
fleets. Nothing appeared to them more capable
of checking their natural ardour for the empire.
of the fea, which alone could infure to them the
empire of the New World.
AFTER having paved the way to that grand ob-
expected ject, by forming a free, independent navy, fupe-
rior to that of every other nation; England has
that wine
and filk
* 416,6661. 138. 4d.
adopted
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
109
XVIII.
North
America.
adopted every meaſure that could contribute to BOOK
her enjoyment of a fpecies of conqueft fhe had
made in America, not fo much by the force of will prof-
her arms as by her induftry. In proportion as per in-
the fettlements, from their natural tendency, ad-
vanced from the north to the fouth, freſh projects
and enterpriſes, fuitable to the nature of the foil
and of the climate, fuggefted themfelves. To
the wood, the grains, and the cattle, which had
been the former productions, were added fuccef-
fively, rice, tobacco, indigo, and other riches.
The English, who had no wine of their own growth
in Europe, refolved to endeavour to procure that
alfo from the New Hemifphere.
UPON the northern continent of North Ame-
rica are found prodigious quantities of wild vines,
which bear grapes, different in colour, fize, and
quantity, but all of a four and difagreeable fla-
vour. It was fuppofed that good management
would give theſe plants that perfection, which
unaffifted nature had denied them; and French
vine-dreffers were invited into a country, where
neither public nor private impofitions took away
their inclination to labour, by depriving them of
the fruits of their induſtry. The repeated expe-
riments they made, both with American and Eu-
ropean plants, were all equally unfuccefsful. The
juice of the grape was too watery, too weak, and
too difficult to preferve. The country was too
full of woods, which attract and confine the moift
and hot vapours; the feaſons were too unfettled,
and the infects too numerous near the forefts, to
fuffer a production to grow up and proſper, of
which the English, and all other nations who
have it not, are fo ambitious. The time will
come, perhaps, when this country will furnish a
liquor, in the preparation of which moft parts of
the globe are employed, and the uſe of which
many
110
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK many other parts are fo much attached to: but
XVIII. this event will not happen for feveral centuries,
and after feveral repeated experiments. It is
moſt probable that the harvest of the vine will
be preceded by that of filk; the work of that lit-
tle worm which clothes mankind with the leaves
of trees digeſted in it's entrails.
A VERY confiderable fum of money was an-
nually exported from Great Britain for the pur-
chaſe of this rich production; it was therefore
determined to obtain it from Carolina; which,
from the mildneſs of the climate, and the great
abundance of mulberry trees, feemed favourable
to the project. Some attempts made by the
government to attract fome Switzers into the
colony, were yet more fucceſsful than could have
been expected. Yet the progrefs of this branch
of trade has not been anfwerable to fo promifing
a beginning. The blame has been laid on the
inhabitants, who buying only Negro men, from
whom they received an immediate and certain
profit, neglected to have women, who with their
children might have been employed in bringing
up filk-worms, an occupation fuitable to the
weaknefs of that fex, and to the tendereft age.
But it ought to have been confidered, that men,
coming from another hemifphere into a rude un-
cultivated country, would apply their firft care to
the cultivation of efculent plants, breeding cattle,
and the toils of immediate neceffity. This is the
natural and conftant proceeding of well-governed
ftates. From agriculture, which is the fource of
population, they rife to the arts of luxury; and
the arts of luxury nouriſh commerce, which is
the child of induſtry and parent of wealth. In
1769, the parliament were of opinion that this
period was at length arrived; and they granted a
bounty of 25 per cent. for feveral years on all raw
filks
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
III
I
filks imported from the colonies; a bounty of 20 BOOK
per cent. for ſeven years following, and for feven XVIII.
years after that a bounty of 15 per cent.
This
encouragement would neceffarily be followed by
the cultivation of cotton and olive trees, and of
feveral other plants. The nation thought, that
there are few productions, either of Europe or
Afia, which might not be tranfplanted and culti-
vated with more or lefs fuccefs on fome of the
vaſt countries of North America. Men only were
wanting; and no proper precautions were ne-
glected to increaſe their number.
kind of
of North
America
THE firſt perſons who landed in this defert and With what
favage region were Englifhmen, who had been men the
perfecuted at home for their civil and religious provinces
opinions.
It was not to be expected that this firſt emi- were peo-
gration would be attended with important confe- pled.,
quences. The inhabitants of Great Britain are ſo
ftrongly attached to their native foil, that nothing
lefs than civil wars or revolutions can incline thoſe
among them, who have any property, character,
or induſtry, to a change of climate and country:
for which reaſon, the re-eſtabliſhment of public
tranquillity in the mother-country was likely to
put an infurmountable bar to the progrefs of Ame-
rican cultivation.
ADD to this, that the English, though natu-
rally active, ambitious, and enterprifing, were ill-
adapted to the bufinefs of clearing the foil of the
New World. Accuſtomed to a quiet life, eaſe,
and many conveniences, nothing but the enthu-
fiaſm of religion or politics could fupport them
under the labours, miferies, wants and calamities,
infeparable from new plantations.
It is further to be obferved, that, though Eng-
land might have been able to overcome thefe diffi-
culties, the ought not to have wifhed to do it.
Without
112
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK Without doubt, the founding of colonies, render-
XVIII. ing them flourishing, and enriching herſelf with
their productions, was an advantageous profpect
to her; but thofe advantages would be dearly
purchaſed at the expence of her own popula-
tion.
HAPPILY for her, the intolerant and defpotic
ſpirit that prevailed in moſt countries in Europe,
forced numberlefs victims to take refuge in an un-
cultivated tract, which, in it's ftate of defolation,
feemed to implore that affiſtance for itſelf which it
offered to the unfortunate. Theſe men, who had
eſcaped from the rod of tyranny, in croffing the
feas, abandoned all the hopes of return, and at-
tached themſelves for ever to a country, which at
the fame time afforded them an afylum and an
eafy quiet fubfiftence. Their good fortune could
not remain for ever unknown. Multitudes, par-
ticularly from Germany, flocked to partake of it.
One of the advantages which the emigrants pro-
pofed to themſelves was the becoming citizens
throughout the whole extent of the Britiſh domi-
nions, after a refidence of feven years in any of
the colonies.
WHILE tyranny and perfecution were deſtroy-
ing and exhauſting population in Europe, Engliſh
America was beginning to be filled with three
forts of inhabitants. The firft clafs, which is the
moſt numerous, confifts of freemen.
THE Europeans, who overrun and defolate
the globe for theſe three centuries paft, have
ſcattered colonies in most of the points of it's
circumference; and their race hath more or less
degenerated every where. The English fettle-
ments of North America appeared to have under-
gone a fimilar fate. The inhabitants were uni-
verfally thought to be lefs robuft in labour, leſs
powerful in war, and lefs adapted to the arts,
than
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
113
•
than their anceſtors.
Becauſe the care of clear- B O OK
ing the lands, of purifying the air, of altering the XVIII.
climate, and of improving nature, had abſorbed
all the faculties of this people; tranfplanted under
another ſky, it was concluded that they were
degenerated, and unable to elevate their minds
to any complicated fpeculations.
In order to difpel this fatal prejudice, it be
came neceffary that a Franklin ſhould teach the
philofophers of our continent the art of govern-
ing the thunder. It was neceffary that the pupils
of this illuftrious man, fhould throw a ftriking
light upon feveral branches of the natural fciences.
It was neceffary that eloquence ſhould renew, in
that part of the New World, thoſe ſtrong and
rapid impreffions which it had made in the
proudest republics of antiquity. It was necef-
fary that the rights of mankind, and the rights of
nations, ſhould be firmly eſtabliſhed there, in ori-
ginal writings, which will be the delight and the
confolation of the moſt diftant ages.
WORKS of imagination, and of taſte, will foon
follow thoſe of reafoning and obfervation. New
England will foon, perhaps, be able to quote it's
Homer, it's Theocritus, and it's Sophocles. Nei-
ther affiſtance, nor maſters, nor models, are
now wanting. Education is diffuſed, and im-
proves daily. There are, in proportion, more
perfons well brought up, and they have more lei-
fure for profecuting the bent of their genius, than
men have in Europe, where the education, even
of youth, is often contrary to the progrefs and to
the unfolding of genius and of reafon.
By a fingular contraft with the Old World, in
which the arts have paffed from the fouth to-
wards the north, we fhall find that in the New
World, the north will ferve to enlighten the
fouthern parts. Hitherto, the mind as well as
VCL. VI.
I
the
114.
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK the body hath appeared enervated in the Weft
XVIII. Indies. Men in thofe parts, endowed with viva-
city and early penetration, have a quick.concep-
tion, but they do not perfevere in ftudy, nor do
they uſe themſelves to long-continued thought.
Most of them have a great facility for acquiring
every kind of knowledge, but have no decifive
turn for any particular fcience. As they are for-
ward, and come to maturity before us, they are
far from perfection, and we are almoft as near to
it as we can be. The glory and happineſs of
ducing a change in their difpofitions must be
the work of English America. But it is necef-
fary that it ſhould take ſteps conformable to this
noble defign, and aim, by juftice and laudable.
means, to form a fet of people fit for the creation
of a New World. This is what hath not yet
been done.
pro-
THE fecond clafs of colonifts was formerly
compoſed of malefactors which the mother-coun-
try tranſported, after condemnation, to America,
and who were bound to a fervitude of feven or
fourteen years to the planters who had purchaſed
them from the courts of juftice. Theſe corrupt
men, always difpofed to commit fresh crimes,
have at length been univerfally neglected.
THEY have been replaced by indigent perfons,
whom the impoffibility of fubfifting in Europe has
driven into the New World. After having bought
and fold the Negro, there was but one crime
which could go beyond this, this was, to fell one's
countryman, without having bought him; and to
find ſome perfon who would buy him; accord-
ingly this has been done. Having embarked
without being able to pay for their paffage, thefe
wretched men are at the difpofal of their captain,
who fells them to whom he chufes. This fort of
flavery is for a longer or fhorter time; but it
can
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
115
can never exceed eight years. If among thefe BOOK
emigrants there are any who are not of age, their XVIII.
fervitude lafts till they arrive at that period,
which is fixed at twenty-one for the boys, and
eighteen for the girls.
NONE of thoſe who are contracted for, have a
right to marry without the approbation of their
mafter, who fets what price he chufes on his con-
fent. If any one of them fhould run away, and be
retaken, he is to ſerve a week for each day's abſence,
a month for every week, and fix months for one.
The proprietor who does not think proper to re-
ceive again one who has deferted from his ſervice,
may fell him to whom he chufes, but that is only
for the term of the first contract. Befides, this
ſervice doth not carry any ignominy with it; and
the purchafer does all that lies in his power to
leffen the ftain received by this kind of ſale and
purchaſe. At the end of his fervitude, the con-
tracted perſon enjoys all the rights of a free citi-
zen. With his freedom, he receives from the
mafter whom he has ferved, either implements for
huſbandry, or utenfils proper for his work.
•
BUT with whatever appearance of juftice this
fpecies of traffic may be coloured, the greateſt
part of the ftrangers who go over to America un-
der thefe conditions, would never go on board a
fhip, if they were not inveigled away. Some
artful kidnappers from the fens of Holland ſpread
themſelves over the Palatinate, Suabia, and the
cantons of Germany, which are the beft peopled
or the leaft happy. There they fet forth with
raptures the delights of the New World, and the
fortunes eafily acquired in that country. Simple
men, feduced by thefe magnificent promifes,
blindly follow thefe infamous brokers, engaged
in this fcandalous commerce, who deliver them
over to factors at Amfterdam, or Rotterdam.
Thefe,
I 2
116.
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK Thefe, who are in the pay of companies, who have
XVIII. undertaken to ſtock the colonies with inhabitants,
give a gratuity to the men employed in this
fervice. Whole families are fold, without their
knowledge, to maſters at a diſtance, who impoſe
the harder conditions upon them, as hunger and
neceffity do not permit the fufferers to give a re-
füfal. America acquires it's fupplies of men for
huſbandry, as princes do for war, by the fame
artifices; but with a lefs honeft, and perhaps,
a more inhuman defign; for who knows the
number of thofe who die, or who furvive their
expectations! The deception is perpetually car-
ried on in Europe, by carefully fuppreffing all
correfpondence with America, which might un-
veil a myſtery of impoſture and iniquity, too well
diſguiſed by the interested principles which gave
rife to it.
BUT, in a word, there would not be fo many
dupes, if there were fewer victims. It is the op-
preffion of government which makes thefe chime-
rical ideas of fortune be adopted by the credulity
of the people. Men, unfortunate in their private
affairs, vagabonds, or contemptible at home, have
nothing worſe to fear in a foreign climate, and eafi-
ly purſue the profpect of a better lot. The means
made uſe of to retain them in a country, where
chance has given them birth, are only calculated
tó excite in them a defire to quit it. It is vainly
ſuppoſed that they are to be confined by prohibi-
tions, menaces, and puniſhments: thefe do but
exafperate them, and drive them to defertion by
the very forbidding of it. They fhould be at-
tached by milder means, and by future expecta-
tions; whereas they are impriſoned and bound:
man, born free, is reftrained from attempting
to exift in regions, where heaven and earth offer
him an afylum. It has been thought better to
ftifle
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,
117
ftifle him in his cradle, than to let him feek for в O O K
his fubfiftence in fome favourable climate. It is XVIII.
not judged proper even to leave him the choice
of his burial-place.-Tyrants in policy! thefe
are the effects of your laws! People, where then
are your rights?
Is it then become neceffary to lay open to the
nations the ſchemes that are formed againſt their
liberty? Muſt they be told, that by a confpiracy
of the most odious nature, certain powers have
lately entered into an agreement, which muft de-
prive even defpair itſelf of every reſource? For
theſe two centuries paft, all the princes of Europe
have been fabricating, in the fecret receffes of the
cabinet, that long and heavy chain with which the
people are encompaffed on every fide. At every
negociation freſh links were added to the chain fo
artificially contrived. Wars tended not to make
ftates more extenfive, but fubjects more fubmif-
five, by gradually fubftituting military govern-
ment to the mild and gentle influence of laws
and morality. The feveral fovereigns have all
equally ftrengthened themfelves in their tyran-
ny by their conqueſts, or by their loffes. When
they were victorious they reigned by their ar-
mies; when humbled by defeat, they held the
command by the mifery of their pufillanimous
fubjects; if they were either competitors or ad-
verfaries from motives of ambition, they entered
into league or alliance, only to aggravate the
fervitude of their people, Whether they meant
to excite war, or to preferve peace, they were
certain of turning to the advantage of their au-
thority, either the aggrandifement, or the humi-
liation of their people. If they ceded a province,
they exhauſted every other, that they might either
recover it, or indemnify themfelves for the lofs.
If they acquired a new one, the haughtinefs they
affected
118
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOO Kaffected out of it, was the occafion of cruelty and
XVIII. extortion within. They borrowed one of another,
by turns, every art and invention, whether of
peace or of war, that might concur fometimes to
foment natural antipathy and rivalſhip, fometimes
to obliterate the character of the nations; as if
there had been a tacit agreement among the
rulers to fubje&t the nations, one by means of
another, to the defpotifm they had conftantly
been preparing for them. Ye people, who all
groan more or lefs fecretly, be not blinded with
reſpect to your condition; thoſe who never en-
tertained any affection for you, are come now
not to have any fear for you. In the extremity
of wretchedneſs one fingle refource remained for
you; that of eſcape and emigration. Even that
has been fhut againſt you.
PRINCES have agreed among themſelves to re-
ftore to one another deferters, who, for the moſt
part, enlifted by compulfion or by fraud, have a
right to eſcape; not only villains, who, in reali-
ty, ought not to find a refuge any where; but
indifferently all their fubjects, whatever may be
the motive that obliged them to quit their coun-
try.
THUS all ye unhappy labourers, who find nei-
ther fubfiftence nor work in your own countries,
after they have been ravaged and rendered barren
by the exactions of finance; thus ye die where ye
had the misfortune to be born, ye have no refuge
but in the grave. All ye artiſts and workmen of
every fpecies, haraffed by monopolies, who are
refufed the right of working at your own free dif
pofal, unleſs you have purchaſed the privileges of
your calling: ye who are kept for your whole life
in the workshop, for the purpofe of enriching a
privileged factor: ye whom a court-mourning
leaves for months together without bread or
wages;
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,
119
XVIII.
wages; never expect to live out of a country BOOK
where foldiers and guards keep you impriſoned;
go, wander in defpair, and die of regret. If ye
venture to complain, your cries will be re-echoed
and loft in the depth of a dungeon; if ye make
your efcape, ye will be purfued even beyond
mountains and rivers; ye will be fent back, or
given up, bound hand and foot, to torture; and
to that eternal reſtraint, to which you have been
condemned from your birth. Do you likewife,
whom nature has endowed with a free fpirit,
independent of prejudice and error, who dare to
think and talk like men, do you erafe from
your
minds every idea of truth, nature, and humanity!
Applaud every incroachment made on your coun-
try and your fellow-citizens, or elfe maintain a
profound filence in the receffes of obfcurity and
concealment. All ye who were born in thofe
barbarous ftates, where the condition for the
mutual reſtoration of deferters has been entered
into by the feveral princes, and fealed by a trea-
ty; recollect the infcription Dante has engraven
on the gate of his infernal region: Voi ch' entrate,
lafciate omai ogni fperanza: You who enter here,
leave behind you every hope.
WHAT! is there then no afylum remaining
beyond the feas? Will not England open her co-
lonies to thoſe wretches, who voluntarily prefer
her dominion to the infupportable yoke of their
own country? What occafion has fhe for that
infamous band of contracted flaves, feduced and
debauched by the fhameful means employed by
every ſtate to increaſe their armies? What need
has the of thofe beings ftill more miferable, of
whom the compofes another clafs of her inha-
bitants?
YES, by an antiquity, the more fhocking as it
is apparently the lefs neceffary; the northern pro-
1
vinces
120
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BO Ò K vinces have had recourfe to the traffic and flavery
XVIII of the Negroes. It will not be difowned, that
they may be better fed, better clothed, lefs ill-
treated, and less overburdened with toil, than im
the iſlands. The laws protect them more effec-
tually, and they feldom become the victims of
the barbarity or caprice of an odious tyrant. But
ftill, what must be the burden of a man's life who
is condemned to languifh in eternal flavery?
Some humane fectaries, Chriſtians who look for
virtues in the gofpel, more than for opinions,
have often been defirous of reftoring to their
flaves that liberty for which they cannot receive
any adequate compenfation; but they have been
a long time withholden by a law, which direct-
ed that an affignment of a fufficiency for fub-
fiftence, fhould be made to thoſe who were fêt
at liberty.
LET us rather fay, they have been prevented
from doing this by the convenient cuftom of be-
ing waited on by flaves; by the fondnefs they
have for power, which they attempt to juſtify by
pretending to alleviate their fervitude; and by
the opinion fo readily entertained that the flaves
do not complain of a ftate, which is by time
changed into nature: theſe are the fophifms of
felf-love, calculated to appeaſe the clamours of
confcience. The generality of mankind are not
born with evil difpofitions, or prone to do ill by
choice; but even among thoſe whom nature
feems to have formed juft and good, there are
but few who poffefs a foul fufficiently difin-
tereſted, courageous, and great, to do any good
action, if they muft facrifice fome advantage
for it.
BUT fill the Quakers have lately fet an example
which ought to make an epocha in the hiſtory of
religion and humanity. In one of their affem-
2
blies,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
121
P
blies, where every one of the faithful, who con- BOOK
ceives himſelf moved by the impulfe of the holy XVIII.
fpirit, has a right of fpeaking; one of the bre-
thren, who was himfelf undoubtedly infpired on
this occafion, aroſe and faid: "How long then
fhall we have two confciences, two meafures,
"two ſcales! one in our own favour, one for the -
ruin of our neighbour, both equally falfe? Is it
❝for us, brethren, to complain at this moment,
"that the parliament of England wishes to en-
"flave us, and to impofe upon us the yoke of
fubjects, without leaving us the rights of ci-
"tizens; while for this century paft, we have
G.C
:
been calmly acting the part of tyrants, by
"keeping in bonds of the hardeſt flavery men
who are our equals and our brethren? What
"have thofe unhappy men done to us, whom
"nature had ſeparated from us by barriers fo
"formidable, whom our avarice has fought after
"through ftorms and wrecks, and brought away
"from the midft of their burning fands, or from
"their dark foreſts inhabited by tygers? What
"crime have they been guilty of, that they
"fhould be torn from a country which fed them
66
•
without toil, and that they fhould be tranf-
"planted by us to a land where they perifh under
"the labours of fervitude? Father of Heaven,
what family haft Thou then created, in which
"the elder born, after having feized on the pro-
perty of their brethren, are ftill refolved to
"compel them, with ftripes, to manure with the
"blood of their veins and the ſweat of their brow
"that very inheritance of which they have been
"robbed? Deplorable race, whom we render
"brutes to tyrannize over them; in whom we
"extinguiſh every power of the foul, to load
"their limbs and their bodies with burdens;
"in whom we efface the image of God, and the
..
[
**
"ftamp
122
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
..66.
BOOK" ftamp of manhood. A race mutilated and
XVIII. « difhonoured as to the faculties of mind and
body, throughout it's existence, by us who are
"Chriftians and Engliſhmen! Engliſhmen, ye
people favoured by Heaven, and refpected on
"the feas, would ye be free and tyrants at the
fame inftant? No, brethren! it is time we
"fhould be confiftent with ourfelves. Let us fet
66
free thofe miferable victims of our pride: Let
66 US reftore the Negroes to that liberty, which
"man fhould never take from man. May all
"Chriftian focieties be induced, by our example,
"to repair an injuftice authorized by the crimes
"and plunders of two centuries! May men too
"long degraded, at length raiſe to Heaven their
"arms freed from chains, and their eyes bathed
"in tears of gratitude! Alas! theſe unhappy
mortals have hitherto ſhed no tears but thoſe
"of deſpair!"
THIS difcourfe awakened remorfe, and the
fmall number of flaves who belonged to the
Quakers were fet at liberty. If the fetters of
thefe unfortunate people were not broken by the
other coloniſts of North America, yet Pennfyl-
vania, New Jerſey, and Virginia, warmly foli-
cited that this infamous traffic of men fhould be
prohibited. Every colony of this vaft continent
appeared difpofed to follow this example: but
they were prevented by an order from the mo-
ther-country to it's delegates, to reject every
propofal tending to this humane project. This
cruel prohibition would not have been furprifing,
if it had come from thoſe countries which are as
deep funk in barbarifm by the fhackles of vice,
as they have formerly been by thofe of ignorance.
When a government, both facerdotal and mili-
tary, has brought every thing, even the opinions
of men, under it's yoke; when man, become an
impoftor,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
123
!
impoftor, has perfuaded the armed multitude, BOOK
that he holds from Heaven the right of oppref- XVIII.
fing the earth, there is no fhadow of liberty left
for civilized nations. Why fhould they not take
their revenge on the people of the torrid zone?
But I fhall never comprehend by what fatality
that legiflation, which is the moſt happily plan-
ned of any that hath ever exifted, hath been ca-
pable of preferring the intereft of a few of it's
merchants, to the dictates of nature, of reaſon,
and of virtue.
popula-
North
THE population of North America confifts of To what
four hundred thouſand Negroes, and of two mil-degree the
lions five or fix hundred thoufand white people, tion of
if the calculations of congrefs be not exaggerated. America
The number of citizens doubles every fifteen or hath ari-
fixteen years, in fome of thofe provinces, and fen.
every eighteen or twenty years in others. So ra-
pid an increaſe muſt have two fources; the first
is that a number of Irifhmen, Jews, Frenchmen,
Switzers, Palatines, Moravians, and Saltzburgh-
ers, after having been worn out with the politi-
cal and religious troubles they had experienced
in Europe, have gone in fearch of peace and
quietnefs in thefe diftant climates. The fecond
fource of that amazing increaſe arifes from the
climate itſelf of the colonies, where experience
has fhewn that the people naturally doubled their
numbers every five-and-twenty years. The ob-
fervations of Mr. Franklin will make thefe truths
evident.
THE numbers of the people, fays that philofo-
pher, increaſe every where in proportion to the
number of marriages; and that number increaſes
as the means of fubfifting a family are rendered
more eaſy. In a country where the means of fub-
fiftence abound, more people marry early. In a
fociety, whofe profperity is a mark of it's anti-
quity,
124
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK quity, the rich, alarmed at the expences which
XVIII. female luxury brings along with it, engage as
late as poffible in a ftate, which is difficult to
enter into, and expenfive to maintain; and the
perfons, who have no fortunes, paſs their days in
a celibacy which diſturbs the married ſtate. The
mafters have but few children, the fervants have
none at all; and the artiſans are afraid of having
any. This circumftance is fo evident, efpecially
in great towns, that the population in them is not.
kept up to it's uſual ſtandard, and that we con-
ftantly find there a greater number of deaths than
births. Happily for us this decreaſe has not yet
penetrated into the country, where the conftant
practice of making up the deficiency of the towns,
gives a little more fcope for population. But
the lands being every where occupied, and let at
the higheſt rate, thofe who cannot acquire pro-
perty of their own, are hired by thofe who are in
poffeffion of it. Competition, which arifes from
the multitude of workmen, lowers the price of
labour, and the fmallneſs of profit takes away the
defire and the hope of, as well as the abilities re-
quifite for, increaſe by marriage. Such is the
prefent ſtate of Europe,
THAT of America prefents an appearance of a
quite contrary nature. Tracts of land, wafte and
uncultivated, are either given away, or may be
obtained for fo moderate a price, that a man of
the leaft turn for labour, is furniſhed in a fhort
time with an extent, which, while it is fufficient to
rear a numerous family, will maintain his pofte-
rity for a confiderable time. The inhabitants,
therefore, of the New World, marry in greater
numbers, and at an earlier time of life, than the
inhabitants of Europe. Where one hundred en-
ter into the married ftate in Europe, there are
two hundred in America; and if we reckon four
children
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
125
children to each marriage in our climates, we BOOK
fhould allow, at leaft, eight in the New Hemi- XVIII.
ſphere. If we multiply theſe families by their
produce, it will appear that in lefs than two cen-
turies, North America will arrive at an immenfe
degree of population, unleſs it's natural progrefs
fhould be impeded by obftacles which it is not
poffible to forefee.
It is now peopled with healthy and robuft Manners
men, of a ftature above the common fize. Thefe Prevailing
at preſent
Creoles come to their full growth fooner, than the in North
Europeans, but do not live fo long. The inha: America.
bitants are fupplied with great plenty of every
thing requifite for food, by the low price of meat,
fifh, grain, game, fruits, cyder, and' vegetables.
Clothing is not fo eafily procured, that being
ftill very dear, whether it be brought from Eu-
rope, or made in the country. Manners are in
the ſtate they ſhould be among young colonies,
and people given to cultivation, who are not yet
poliſhed nor corrupted by reſiding in great cities.
Throughout the families in general, there reigns
œconomy, neatnefs, and regularity. Gallantry
and gaming, the paffions of indolent opulence,
feldom interrupt that happy tranquillity. The
female fex are ftill what they fhould be, gentle,
modeft, compaffionate, and uſeful; they are in
poffeffion of thofe virtues which perpetuate the
empire of their charms. The men are engaged
in their first occupations, the care and improve-
ment of their plantations, which will be the fup-
port of their pofterity. One general fentiment
of benevolence unites every family. Nothing
contributes to this union fo much as a certain
equality of ſtation, a fecurity that arifes from
property, hope, and a general facility of increaf-
ing it; in a word, nothing contributes to it fo
much as the reciprocal independence in which all
men
1260
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK men live, with refpect to their wants, joined to
XVIII. the neceffity of focial connections for the purpofes
·
of their pleaſures. Inftead of luxury, which
brings mifery in it's train, inſtead of this afflicting
and fhocking contraft, an univerfal cafe, wifely
dealt out in the original diftribution of the lands,
has by the influence of induſtry given rife in eve-
ry breaſt to the mutual defire of pleafing; a defire,
without doubt, more fatisfactory than the fecret
difpofition to injure our brethren, which is infe-
parable from an extreme inequality of fortune and
condition. Men never meet without fatisfaction,
when they are neither in that ſtate of mutual dif-
tance which leads to indifference, nor in that way
of rivalſhip which borders on hatred. They come
nearer together and unite in focieties; in fhort, it
is in the colonies that men lead fuch a rural life
as was the original deftination of mankind, beſt
fuited to the health and increaſe of the fpecies:
probably they enjoy all the happiness confiftent
with the frailty of human nature. We do not,
indeed, find there thofe graces, thofe talents,
thoſe refined enjoyments, the means and expence
of which wear out and fatigue the fprings of the
foul, and bring on the vapours of melancholy
which fo naturally follow the diſguſt arifing from
fenfual enjoyment; but there are the pleaſures of
domeftic life, the mutual attachments of parents
and children, and conjugal love, that paffion fo
pure and fo delicious to the foul that can taſte it,
and defpife all other gratifications. This is the
enchanting profpect exhibited throughout North
America. It is in the wilds of Florida and Vir-
ginia, even in the forefts of Canada, that men are
enabled to continue to love during their whole
life what was the object of their first affection,
that innocence and virtue, which never entirely
lofe their beauty.
IF
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
127
If there be any circumftance wanting to the BOOK
happineſs of British America, it is that of form- XVIII.
ing one entire nation. Families are there found
fometimes re-united, fometimes difperfed, origi-
nating from all the different countries of Europe.
Thefe colonifts, in whatever fpot chance or dif
cernment may have placed them, all preferve,
with a prejudice not to be worn out, their mo-
ther-tongue, the partialities and the customs of
their own country. Separate ſchools and churches
hinder them from mixing with the hofpitable peo-
ple, who afforded them a place of refuge. Still
more eſtranged from this people by worship, by
manners, and probably by their feelings, they har-
bour feeds of diffention that may one day prove
the ruin and total overthrow of the colonies.
The only prefervative againſt this difafter depends
entirely on the conduct of the governments they
belong to.
vernments
By governments muſt not be underſtood thoſe Nature of
ftrange conftitutions of Europe, which are an ab. the go-
furd mixture of facred and profane laws. English established
America was wife or happy enough not to admit in North
any ecclefiaftical power: being from the begin-America.
ning inhabited by Prefbyterians, the rejected with
horror every thing that might revive the idea of
it. All affairs which in the other parts of the
globe are determined by the ecclefiaftical courts,
are here brought before the civil magiftrate, or
the national affemblies. The attempts made by the
members of the English church to eſtabliſh their
hierarchy in that country, have ever been abor-
tive, notwithſtanding the fupport given them by
the mother country: but ftill they are equally
concerned in the adminiftration as well as thofe
of other fects. None but Catholics have been ex-
cluded, on account of their refufing thoſe oaths
which the public tranquillity feemed to require.
In
128
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK In this view American government has deferved
XVIII. the greateſt commendation; but in other refpects,
it is not fo well regulated.
1
POLICY, in it's aim and principal object, re-
fembles the education of children. They both
tend to form men, and ſhould be in feveral re-
fpects fimilar to each other. Savage people, firſt
united in fociety, require, as much as children,
to be fometimes led on by gentle means, and
fometimes reftrained by compulfion. For want
of experience, which alone forms our reaſon, as
theſe ſavages are incapable of governing them-
felves in the feveral changes of things and the va-
rious concerns that belong to a rifing fociety, the
government that conducts them fhould itſelf be
enlightened, and guide them by authority to years
of maturity. Thus it is that barbarous nations are
naturally ſubject to the oppreffive yoke of def-
potic power, till in the advanced ftate of fo-
ciety their intereſts teach them to connect them-
felves.
CIVILIZED nations, like young men, more or
leſs advanced, not in proportion to their abilities,
but from the conduct of their early education, as
foon as they become fenfible of their own ſtrength,
and right, require to be managed and even at-
tended to by their governors. A fon well edu-
cated fhould engage in no undertaking without
confulting his father: a prince, on the contrary,
fhould make no regulations without confulting
his people further, the fon, in refolutions where
he follows the advice of his father, frequently
hazards nothing but his own happineſs; in all
that a prince ordains, the happiness of his people
is concerned. The opinion of the public, in a
nation that thinks and ſpeaks, is the rule of the
government: and the prince ſhould never thwart
that opinion without public reafons, nor oppofe
it
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
129
it without having first convinced the people of B O O K
their error. Government is to model all it's XVIII.
forms according to public opinion: this, it is
well known, varies with manners, habits, and
information. So that one prince may, without
finding the leaſt reſiſtance, do an act of authority,
not to be revived by his fucceffor, without ex-
citing the public indignation. From whence
does this difference arife? The firft cannot have
thwarted an opinion that was not fprung up in
his time, but the latter may have openly coun-
teracted it a century after. The firft, if I may be
allowed the expreffion, may, without the know-
ledge of the public, have taken a ſtep, the violence
of which he may have foftened or made amends
for by the happy fuccefs of his government; the
other fhall, perhaps, have increaſed the public
calamities by fuch unjuft acts of wilful authority,
as may perpetuate it's firft abuſes. Public re-
monftrance is generally the refult of opinion; and
the general opinion is the rule of government:
and becauſe the public opinion governs man-
kind, kings, for this reafon, become the rulers
of men. Governments then, as well as opinions,
ought to improve and advance to perfection. But
what is the rule for opinions among an enlight-
ened people? It is the permanent intereft of fo-
ciety, the fafety and advantage of the nation.
This intereft is modified by the turn of events and
fituations; public opinion and the form of the go-
vernment follow thefe feveral modifications. This
is the fource of all the forms of government, efta-
bliſhed by the English, who are rational and free,
throughout North America.
THE government of Nova-Scotia, of one of the
provinces in New-England, New-York, New-
Jerfey, Virginia, the two Carolinas, and Georgia,
is ftyled royal; becauſe the king of England is
VOL. VI.
K
there
130
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK there invefted with the fupreme authority. Re-
XVIII. prefentatives of the people form a houfe of com-
mons, as in the mother-country: a felect council,
approved by the king, intended to fupport the
prerogatives of the crown, reprefents the houſe
of peers, and maintains that repreſentation by the
fortune and rank of the moft diftinguiſhed per-
fons in the country, who are members of it. A
governor convenes, prorogues, and diffolves their
affemblies; gives or refufes affent to their deli-
berations, which receive from his approbation the
force of law, till the king, to whom they are
tranfinitted, has rejected them.
THE fecond kind of government which takes
place in the colonies, is known by the name of
proprietary government. When the Engliſh firſt
fettled in thofe diſtant regions, a rapacious and
active court-favourite eafily obtained in thoſe
waſtes, which were as large as kingdoms, a pro-
perty and authority without bounds. A bow and
a few fkins, the only homage exacted by the
crown, purchaſed for a man in power the right of
fovereignty, or of governing at pleaſure in an un-
known country: fuch was the origin of govern-
ment in the greater part of the colonies. At pre-
fent, Maryland and Pennfylvania are the only
provinces under this fingular form of government,
or rather this fingular foundation of fovereignty.
Maryland, indeed, differs from the reft of the
provinces only by receiving it's governor from
the family of Baltimore, whofe nomination is
to be approved by the king. In Pennfylvania,
the governor named by the proprietary family,
and confirmed by the crown, is not fupported by
a council, which gives a kind of fuperiority, and
he is obliged to agree with the commons, in
whom is naturally vefted all authority.
A THIRD
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
131
XVIII.
A THIRD form, ftyled by the Engliſh Charter BOOK
government, feems more calculated to produce
harmony in the conftitution. At prefent this ſub-
fifts only in Connecticut and Rhode-Ifland; but
it was formerly extended to all the provinces in
New England. It may be confidered as a mere
democracy. The inhabitants of themfelves elect
and depofe all their officers, and make whatever
laws they think proper, without being obliged to
have the affent of the king, or his having any
right to annul them.
AT length the conqueft of Canada, joined to
the acquifition of Florida, has given rife to a form
of legiſlation hitherto unknown throughout the
realm of Great Britain. Thofe provinces have
been put or left under the yoke of military, and
confequently abfolute authority. Without any
right to affemble in a national body, they receive
immediately from the court of London every or-
der of government.
THIS diverfity of governments is not the work
of the mother-country. We do not find in it the
traces of a reaſonable, uniform, and regular legif-
lation. It is chance, climate, the prejudices of
the times, and of the founders of the colonies,
that have produced this motley variety of con-
ftitutions. It is not the province of men, who
are caft by chance upon a defert coaſt, to
conftitute legiflation.
Y
ALL legiflation, in it's nature, fhould aim at
the happinefs of fociety. The means by which
it is to attain this great end, depend entirely on
it's natural qualities. Climate, that is to fay, the
fky and the foil, are the firſt rule for the legifla-
His refources dictate to him his duties. In
the firſt inftance, the local pofition fhould be con-
fulted. A number of people thrown on a mari-
time coaft, will have laws more or leſs relative to
agriculture
tor
*
K 2
132
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK agriculture or navigation, in proportion to the
XVIII. influence the fea or land may have on the fubfift-
ence of the inhabitants who are to people that
defert coaft. If the new colony be led by the
courfe of fome large river far within land, a legif-
lator ought to have regard to the quality of the
foil, and the degree of it's fertility, as well as to
the connections the colony will have either at
home or abroad by the traffic of commodities
moſt conducive to it's profperity.
BUT the wiſdom of legiflation will chiefly ap-
pear in the diſtribution of property. It is a gene-
ral rule, which obtains in all countries, that when
a colony is founded, an extent of land be given to
every perfon fufficient for the maintenance of a fa-
mily; more fhould be given to thofe who have
abilities to make the neceffary advances towards
improvement; and fome fhould be reſerved for
poſterity, or for additional fettlers, with which the
colony may in time be augmented.
THE first object of a rifing colony is fubfiftence
and population: the next is the proſperity likely
to flow from thefe two fources. To avoid occa-
fions of war, whether offenfive or defenfive; to
turn induſtry towards thofe objects which are
moft advantageous; not to form connections
around them, except fuch as are unavoidable, and
may be proportioned to the ftability which the
colony acquires by the numbers of it's inhabit-
ants, and the nature of it's refources; to intro-
duce, above all things, a partial and local ſpirit
in a nation which is going to be eſtabliſhed, a
fpirit of union within, and of peace without; to
refer every inftitution to a diftant but fixed point;
and to make every occafional law fubfervient to
the fettled regulation which alone is to effect an
increaſe of numbers, and to give ſtability to the
fettle-
:
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
133
fettlement: thefe circumftances make no more B O OK
XVIII.
than a ſketch of a legiſlation.
THE moral fyftem is to be formed on the na-
ture of the climate; a large field for population is
at firſt to be laid open by facilitating marriage.
which depends upon the facility of procuring fub.
fiftence. Sanctity of manners ſhould be eſtabliſh.
ed by opinion. In a barbarous ifland, which is tc
be ſtocked with children, no more would be ne.
ceffary than to leave the principles of truth to un-
fold themſelves with the natural progrefs of rea-
fon. By proper precautions against thofe idle
fears which proceed from ignorance, the errors of
fuperftition fhould be removed, till that period
when the warmth of the natural paffions, fortu-
nately uniting with the rational powers, diffipates
every phantom. But when people, already ad-
vanced in life, are to be eſtabliſhed in a new coun-
try, the ability of legiflation confifts in removing
every injurious opinion or habit which may be
cured or corrected. If we wish that thefe fhould
not be tranfmitted to pofterity, we ſhould attend
to the fecond generation, by inftituting a general
and public education of the children. A prince or
legiflator fhould never found a colony, without
previouſly fending thither fome proper perfons for
the education of youth; that is, fome governors
rather than teachers: for it is of lefs moment to
teach them what is good, than to guard them from
evil. Good education is ineffectual, when the
people are already corrupted. The feeds of mo-
rality and virtue, fown in the infant ſtate of a ge-
neration already vitiated, are annihilated in the
early ſtages of manhood by debauchery, and the
contagion of fuch vices as have already become
habitual in fociety. The best educated young
men cannot come into the world without making
engagements, and forming connections, which
will
134:
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK will wholly influence them during the remainder
XVIII. of their lives. If they marry, follow any profef-
fion, or purſuit, they find the feeds of evil and
corruption rooted in every condition; a conduct
entirely oppoſite to their principles; example and
difcourfe which difconcerts and combats their beſt
refolutions.
BUT in a rifing colony, the influence of the firft
generation may be corrected by the manners of the.
fucceeding one. The minds of all are prepared
for virtue by labour. The neceffities of life re-
move all vices proceeding from want of employ-
ment. The overflowing of it's population hath a
natural tendency towards the mother-country,
where luxury continually invites and feduces the
rich and voluptuous planter. A legiflator, who in-
tends to refine the conftitution and manners of
a colony, will meet with every affiftance he can
require. If he be only poffeffed of abilities and
virtue, the lands and the people he has to ma-
nage, will fuggeft to his mind a plan of fo-
ciety, that a writer can only mark out in a vague
manner, liable to all the uncertainty of hypo-
thefes that are varied and complicated by an infi-
nity of circumftances too difficult to be forefeen
and combined.
BUT the chief bafis of a fociety for cultivation
or commerce, is property. It is the feed of good
and evil, natural or moral, confequent on the
focial ſtate. Every nation feems to be divided in-
to two irreconcileable parties. The rich and the
poor, the men of property and the hirelings; that
is to fay, mafters and flaves, form two claffes of
citizens, unfortunately, in oppofition to one ano-
ther. In vain have fome modern authors wished
by fophiftry to eſtabliſh a treaty of peace between
theſe two ſtates. The rich on all occafions are
diſpoſed to obtain a great deal from the poor at
little
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
135
little expence; and the poor are ever inclined to BOOK
fet too high a value on their labour: while the XVIII.
rich man must always give the law in this too un-
equal bargain. Hence arifes the fyftem of coun-
terpoiſe eſtabliſhed in fo many countries. The
people have not wifhed to attack property which
they confidered as facred, but they have made at-
tempts to fetter it, and to check it's natural ten-
dency to univerfal power. Theſe counterpoifes
have almoſt always been ill-applied, as they were
but a feeble remedy againſt the original evil in
fociety. It is then to the repartition of lands
that a legiflator will turn his principal attention.
The more wifely that diftribution fhall be ma-
naged, the more fimple, uniform, and exact will
be thofe laws of the country which chiefly conduce
to the prefervation of property.
THE English colonies partake, in this reſpect,
of the radical vice inherent in the ancient confti-
tution of the mother-country. As it's prefent go-
vernment is but a reformation of that feudal fyf-
tem which had oppreffed all Europe, it ftill re-
tains many ufages, which being originally nothing
more than abufes of fervitude, are ftill more fen-
fibly felt by their contraft with the liberty which
the people have recovered. It has, therefore,
been found neceffary to join the laws which left
many rights to the nobility, to thofe which mo.
dify, leffen, abrogate, or foften the feudal rights.
Hence fo many laws of exception for one original
law; fo many of interpretation for one funda-
mental; fo many new laws that are at variance
with the old. Hence it is agreed, there is not in
the whole world a code fo diffufe, fo perplexed,
as that of the civil law of Great Britain. The
wifeft men of that enlightened nation have often
exclaimed againſt this diſorder. They have either
not been heard, or the changes which have been
pro
136
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK produced by their remonftrances have only ferved
XVIII. to increaſe the confufion.
The coin
that has
been cur-
colonies
..
+
By their dependence, and their ignorance, the
colonies have blindly adopted that deformed and
ill-digefted code, the burden of which oppreffed
their anceſtors: they have added to that obfcure
heap of materials by every new law that the times,
manners, and place could introduce. From this
mixture has refulted a chaos the most difficult to
put in order; a collection of contradictions that
require much pains to reconcile. Immediately
there ſprang up a numerous body of lawyers, to
prey upon the lands and inhabitants of thoſe new
fettled climates. The fortune and influence they
have acquired in a fhort time, have brought into
fubjection to their rapaciouſneſs the valuable clafs
of citizens employed in agriculture, commerce, in
all the arts and labours moft indifpenfably necef-
fary for every fociety, but almoft fingularly effen-
tial to a rifing community. To the fevere evil of
chicane, which has fixed itfelf on the branches,
in order to feize on the fruit, has fucceeded that
of finance, which deftroys the heart and the root
of the tree.
IN the origin of the colonies, the coin bore
the fame value as in the mother-country. The
rent in the fcarcity of it foon occafioned a rife of one-third.
English That inconvenience was not remedied by the
in North abundance of fpecie which came from the Spaniſh
America. colonies; becauſe it was neceffary to tranfmit that
into England in order to pay for the merchandiſe
wanted from thence. This was a gulph that ab-
forbed the circulation in the colonies. It was,
however, neceffary to eftabliſh a mode of ex-
change; and every province, except Virginia,
fought for it in the creation of a paper currency.
THE general government made at firft but a
moderate uſe of this expedient; but the difputes
I
with
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
1:37
•
XVIII.
with the favages increafing, as well as the wars B O O K
againſt Canada, occafioned men of an enter-
prifing ſpirit to form complicated and extenfive
projects; and the management of the public trea-
fury was intrufted to rapacious or unfkilful hands.
This refource was then more freely employed
than was proper. In vain were taxes levied at
firft, in order to pay the intereft of the paper,
and to take up the paper itfelf at a ftipulated pe-
riod. New debts were contracted to fatisfy freſh
wants, and engagements were generally carried
beyond all excefs. In Pennfylvania alone, the
paper currency of the ftate preferved unremit-
tingly its entire value. The credit of it was
fhaken in two or three other colonies, though
it was not entirely loft. But in the two Caro-
linas, and in the four provinces which conſtitute
what is commonly called New England, it fell in-
to fuch difcredit from the multiplicity of it,
that it could no longer be circulated at any rate.
Maffachufett's Bay, which had conquered Cape
Breton from the French, received from the mo-
ther-country 4,050,000 livres * of indemnifica-
tion. With this fum they paid off twelve times
the value in their paper, and thoſe who received
the money thought they had made a very good
bargain. The parliament, aware of this miſchief,
made fome attempts to remedy it; but their
meaſures were only very imperfectly fuccefsful.
It would certainly have been a more effectual ſtep,
than any of thoſe which had been invented by ei-
ther a good or bad policy, to have broken the fet-
ters with which the internal induſtry, and the ex-
ternal commerce, of fo many great fettlements
were fhackled.
tions to
THE first colonists who peopled North America Regula-
applied themſelves folely to agriculture. They which the
* 168,7501.
foon
138
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
and the
external
trade of
North
America
BOOK foon perceived that their exports did not enable
XVIII. them to buy what they wanted, and they there-
internal fore found themſelves in a manner compelled to
industry fet up fome rude manufactures. The interefts of
the mother-country feemed to be affected by this
innovation; which was made a matter of parlia-
mentary inquiry, and difcuffed with all the at-
had been tention it deferved. There were men bold enough
Subjected. to defend the cauſe of the coloniſts. They urged,
that as the bufinefs of tillage did not employ
men all the year, it was tyranny to oblige them
to waſte in idlenefs the time which the land did
not require that as the produce of agriculture
and hunting did not furniſh them to the extent of
their wants, the preventing them from providing
against them by a new fpecies of induftry, was
in fact reducing them to the greateſt diftrefs: in
a word, that the prohibition of manufactures on-
ly tended to enhance the price of all provifions
in a rifing ſtate, to leffen, or, perhaps, ftop the
fale of them, and to deter fuch perfons as might
intend to fettle in it.
THE evidence of theſe principles was not to be
controverted: they were complied with after great
debates. The Antericans were permitted to ma-
nufacture their own clothes themſelves, but with
fuch reſtrictions as betrayed how much avarice
regretted, what an appearance of juſtice could not
but allow. All communication from one pro-.
vince to another on this account was feverely
prohibited. They were forbidden, under the
heaviest penalties, to traffic with each other for
wool of any fort, raw or manufactured. How-
ever, fome manufacturers of hats ventured to
break through thefe reftrictions. To put a ftop!
to what was termed a heinous diforderly practice,'
the parliament had recourfe to the mean and
cruel expedient of law, A workman was not at
liberty
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
139
liberty to fet up for himſelf till after ſeven years BOOK
apprenticeſhip; a maſter was not allowed to have XVIII.
more than two apprentices at a time, nor to em-
ploy any flave in his work-fhop.
IRON mines, which feem to put into men's
hands the inftruments of their own independence,
were laid under reftrictions ftill more fevere. It
was not allowed to carry iron in bars, or rough
pieces, any where but to the mother-country,
Without being provided with crucibles to melt it,
or machines to bend it, without hammers or an-
vils to faſhion it, they had ftill lefs liberty of con-
verting it into fteel.
IMPORTATION was fubjected to ftill further re-
ftraints. All foreign veffels, unleſs in evident dif
trefs or danger of wreck, or freighted with gold or
filver, were not to come into any of the ports of
North America. Even English veffels were not
admitted there, unless they came immediately
from fome port of the country. The fhips of the
colonies going to Europe, were to bring back no
merchandiſe but from the mother-country. Every
thing was included in this profcription, except
wine from the Madeiras, the Azores, and the
Canaries, and falt for the fifheries.
ALL exportations were originally to terminate
in England but important reafons determined
the government to relax and abate this extreme
feverity. The colonists were allowed to carry
directly fouth of Cape Finisterre, grain, meal,
rice, vegetables, fruit, falt fifh, planks, and tim-
ber. All other productions were referved for
the mother-country. Even Ireland, which af
forded an advantageous mart for corn, flax, and
pipe-faves, has been fhut against them by an act
of parliament.
THE parliament, which reprefents the nation,
affumed the right of directing commerce in it's
2
whole
·140
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK whole extent throughout the British dominions. It
XVIII is by this authority it pretends to regulate the
connections between the mother-country and the
colonies, to maintain a communication, an advan-
tageous reciprocal re-action between the fcattered
parts of an immenfe empire. There fhould, in
fact, be one power to appeal to, in order to de-
termine finally upon the concerns that may be
ufeful or prejudicial to the general good of the
whole fociety. The parliament is the only body
that can affume fuch an important power. But it
ought to employ it to the advantage of every
member of fociety. This is an inviolable maxim,
efpecially in a ſtate where all the powers are form-
ed and directed for the prefervation of national
liberty.
THAT principle of impartiality was unattended
to, which alone can maintain an equal ftate of in-
dependence among the feveral members of a free
government; when the colonies were obliged to
vent in the mother-country all their productions,
even thoſe which were not for their own con-
fumption when they were obliged to take from
the mother-country all kinds of merchandiſe,
even thoſe which came from foreign nations.
This imperious and uſeleſs reſtraint, loading the
fales and purchaſes of the Americans with unne-
ceffary and ruinous charges, has neceffarily lef
fened their induſtry, and confequently diminished
their profits; and it has been only for the purpoſe
of enriching a few merchants, or fome factors at
home, that the rights and interefts of the colonies
have thus been facrificed. All they owed to Eng-
land for the protection they received from her,
was only a preference in the fale and importation
of all fuch of their commodities as fhe fhould
confume; and a preference in the purchaſe and in
the exportation of all fuch merchandiſe as came
from
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
141
from her hands: fo far all fubmiffion was a return B O O K
É
of gratitude beyond it all obligation was vio- XVIII.
lence.
THUS it is that tyranny has given birth to con-
traband trade. Tranfgreffion is the firft effect
produced by unreaſonable laws. In vain has it
frequently been repeated to the colonies, that
fmuggling was contrary to the fundamental in-
tereft of their fettlements, to all reafon of govern-
ment, and to the exprefs intentions of law. In
vain has it been continually laid down in public
writings, that the fubject who pays duty is oppref-
fed by him who does not pay it; and that the
fraudulent merchant robs the fair trader by diſap-
pointing him of his lawful profit. In vain have
precautions been multiplied for preventing fuch
frauds, and freth penalties inflicted for the pu-
nifhment of them. The voice of intereft, reafon,
and equity has prevailed over all the numberless
clamours and various attempts of finance. Fo-
reign importations fmuggled into North America,
amount to one-third of thofe which pay duty.
C
AN indefinite liberty, or merely reftrained
within proper limits, would have put a stop to
the prohibited engagements of which fo much
complaint had been made. Then the colonies
would have arrived to a ſtate of affluence, which
would have enabled them to diſcharge a load of
debt due to the mother-country, amounting to
one hundred and twenty, or one hundred and
thirty millions of livres *. They would then have
drawn from thence annually goods to the amourt
of forty-five millions of livres t, the fum to which
their wants had been raifed in the moft fuccefs-
ful periods. But inftead of having their destiny
alleviated, as they were inceffantly demanding,
*From 5,000,000l. to 5,416,6661. r3s. 4d.
+ 1,875,000l.
thefe
142
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK theſe great fettlements faw themfelves threatened
XVIII. with a tax.
Diftrefs'd
ftate of
in 1763.
ENGLAND had juft emerged from a long and
bloody war, during which her fleets had been
England victorious in all the feas, and her conquefts had
enlarged her dominions, already too extenfive,
with an immenfe acquifition of territory in the
Eaft and Weft Indies. This fplendour might
perhaps externally dazzle the nations; but the
country was continually obliged to lament it's
acquifitions and it's triumphs. Oppreffed with a
load of debt to the amount of 3,330,000,000 of
livres *, that coft her an intereft of 111,577,490
livres a year; fhe was fcarce able to fupport
the neceffary expences of the ftate, with a reve-
nue of 130,000,000 of livres ; and that revenue
was fo far from increafing, that it was not even
certain it would continue.
THE lands were charged with a heavier tax than
had ever been impofed in time of peace. New
duties were laid on houfes and windows; and the
controul of the acts was oppreffive on all kinds of
property. Wine, plate, cards, dice, and every
thing which was confidered as an object of luxury
or amuſement, paid more than it could have been
thought poffible. To compenfate for the facrifice
which had been made for the prefervation of
the citizens, by prohibiting fpirituous liquors,
duties were laid on the ordinary drink of the
common people, on malt, cyder, and beer. The
ports diſpatched nothing for foreign kingdoms,
and received nothing from them, but what was
loaded with duties, both of export and import.
Materials and workmanship had ſo prodigiouſly
rifen in price in Great Britain, that her merchants
were fupplanted even in the countries where they
+ 4,649,0621. Is. 8d.
*138,750,000l.
I 5,416,6661. 135. 4d.
had
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
143
had not till then met with any competitors. The BOOK
commercial profits of England with every part of XVIII.
the world, did not amount annually to more than
56,000,000 livres*; but of this balance 35,000,000
livres + were to be deducted, to pay the arrears of
the fums which foreigners had placed in the pub-
lic funds.
THE fprings of the State were all ftrained. The
mufcles of the body politic being in a ſtate of ex-
treme tenfion, were in fome meaſure thrown out
of their place. The crifis was a violent one. The
people ſhould have been allowed time to recover.
They could not be eafed by a diminution of ex-
pences; for thofe made by government were ne-
ceffary, either for the purpoſe of improving the
conquefts, purchafed at the price of fo much blood
and treaſure, or to reſtrain the refentment of the
houſe of Bourbon, irritated by the humiliations
of the late war, and the facrifices of the late peace.
As other means did not occur, which might fe-
cure the prefent, as well as future profperity of
the nation, it was thought proper to call in the
colonies to the aid of the mother-country. Theſe
views were prudent and juft.
calls it's
fiftance.
THE members of a confederate body must all England
of them contribute to it's defence and it's fplen- colonies
dour, in proportion to their refpective abilities; to it's af-
as it is only by public ſtrength that each clafs is
enabled to preferve the entire and peaceful enjoy-
ment of it's poffeffions. The poor are certainly
lefs intereſted in this than the wealthy; but yet
their tranquillity is concerned in it, in the firft
place, and in the fecond place, the national
riches, which they are called upon to fhare by
their induſtry. There can be no focial prin-
ciple more evident, and yet the infringement of
*2,333,3331. 6s. 8d.
+1,458,3331. 6s. 8d."
it
144
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK it is the moſt ordinary of all political faults.
XVIII. From whence can arife this perpetual contradic-
tion between the conviction and the conduct of
government?
Ir ariſes from the fault of the legiſlative power,
in exaggerating the means for maintaining the
public ftrength, and in employing for it's own ca-
prices part of the funds deftined for this purpoſe.
The wealth of the merchant and of the farmer,
and the fubfiftence of the poor, taken from them
în the country places and in the towns in the name
of the State, and proſtituted in the courts to the
purpoſes of intereft and vice, are employed to in-
creaſe the pomp of a number of men, who flat-
ter, deteft, and corrupt their mafter; or pafs into
ftill baſer hands than thefe, to pay for the fcandal
and ſhame of his pleaſures. Theſe treaſures are
laviſhed for a parade of grandeur, the vain deco-
ration of thoſe who can have no real grandeur;
and for feſtivals, the refource of idlenefs, unable
to exert itself, in the midſt of the cares and la-
bours which the government of an empire would
require. A portion of them, it is true, is given.
to the public wants: but thefe, from incapacity
or inattention, are applied without judgment as
without œconomy. Authority deceived, and dif-,
daining even to endeavour to be otherwife, ad-
mits of an unjuſt diſtribution of the tax, and of
a mode of collecting it, which is itſelf an addi-
tional oppreffion. Then every patriotic fentiment
becomes extinct. A war is excited between the
prince and his fubjects. Thoſe who levy the
revenues of the ftate, appear nothing but the
enemies of the citizen. He defends his fortune
from the impoft, as he would defend it from in-
croachment. Every thing which cunning can,
take from power appears a lawful gain; and the
fubjects, corrupted by the government, make ufe
of
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
145
XVIII.
of repriſals against a mafter who plunders them. BOOK
They do not perceive that, in this unequal con-
flict, they are themſelves both dupes and victims.
The infatiable and eager treafury, lefs fatisfied
with what is given to them than irritated for what
is refufed, perfecutes every individual delinquent
by a variety of means. They join activity to in-
tereft; and vexations are multiplied. They go un-
der the denomination of puniſhment and juftice;
and the monſter, who reduces to poverty all thoſe
whom he profecutes, returns thanks to Heaven
for the number of culprits whom he puniſhes,
and for the multiplicity of offences by which he
enriches himſelf. Happy is the fovereign who,
to prevent ſo many abuſes, would not diſdain to
give his people an exact account of the manner
in which all the fums he had required of them
were employed. But this fovereign hath not yet
appeared; nor indeed will he ever appear. Ne-
vertheleſs, the debt due by the protected perfon
to the State which protects him, is equally necef-
fary and facred; and has been acknowledged by
all people. The English colonies of North America
had not difavowed this obligation; and the Bri-
tiſh miniſtry had never applied to them without
obtaining the affiftance they folicited.
*
BUT theſe were gifts and not taxes, fince the
grant was preceded by free and public delibera-
tions in the affemblies of each fettlement. The
mother-country had been engaged in expenſive
and cruel wars. Tumultuous and enterprifing
parliaments had disturbed it's tranquillity. It
had had a fet of bold and corrupt minifters, un-
fortunately inclined to raiſe the authority of the
throne on the ruin of all the powers and all the
rights of the people. Revolutions had fucceeded
each other, while the idea had never fuggefted
VOL. VI.
itſelf,
'
L
146
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK itſelf, of attacking a cuftom, confirmed by two
XVIII. centuries of fortunate experience.
THE provinces of the New World were accuf-
tomed to confider as a right this mode of furnish-
ing their contingent in men and money. Whe-
ther this claim had been doubtful or erroneous,
prudence would have required that it ſhould not
have been too openly attacked. The art of main-
taining authority is a delicate one, which re-
quires more circumfpection than is generally
thought. Thofe who govern, are perhaps too
much accuſtomed to defpife men. They con-
fider them as flaves, bowed down by nature,
whereas they are only fo by habit. If they be
oppreffed with a freſh weight, take care left they
fhould rise up again with fury. Let it not be
forgotten, that the lever of power hath no other
ſupport but that of opinion; and that the
ftrength of thoſe who govern, is really nothing
more than the ftrength of thoſe who fuffer
themſelves to be governed. Let not the peo-
ple who are diverted by their employments, or
who fleep in their chains, be inftructed to pry in-
to truths which are too formidable for govern-
ment; and when they obey, let them not be
made to recollect that they have the right to
command. As foon as the inftant of this terrible
alarm ſhall arrive; as foon as they fhall think
that they are not made for their chiefs, but
that their chiefs are made for them; as ſoon as
they fhall have been able to collect together, and
to hear each other unanimoufly exclaim, We will
not have this law, the custom is difpleafing to us;
there is then no alternative left, but either to
fubmit or to puniſh, to be weak or to be tyrants;
and from that time the authority of government
being detefted or defpifed, whatever meaſures
they may take, they will have nothing to expect
from
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
147
from the people but open infolence or concealed B O O K
hatred.
THE firft duty of a prudent adminiſtration is
therefore to reſpect the prevailing opinions of a
country; for opinions are the kind of property to
which the people are more attached than even to
that of their fortune. It may indeed endeavour to
rectify them by knowledge, or alter them by per-
fuafion, if they fhould be prejudicial to the
ftrength of the ftate. But it is not allowable to
contradict them without neceffity; and there ne-
ver was any to reject the fyftem adopted by North
America.
In fact, whether the feveral countries of the New
World were authorized, as they wished to do, to
ſend repreſentatives to parliament, in order to deli-
berate with their fellow-citizens on the exigences of
the Britiſh empire; or whether they continued to
examine within themſelves what contribution it was
convenient for them to grant; the treaſury could
not have experienced any embarraffment from ei-
ther of theſe modes. In the firſt inftance, the re-
monftrances of their deputies would have been
loft in the multitude, and the provinces would
have been legally charged with part of the burden
intended for them to bear. In the fecond, the
miniſtry difpofing of the dignities of the em-
ployments, of the penfions, and even of the elec-
tions, would not have experienced moré oppofi-
tion to their will in the other hemifphere, than
they do in this.
BUT the maxims which were holden facred in
America, had ſome other foundation beſide preju-
dice. The people relied upon the nature of their
charters; they relied ftill more firmly upon the
right which every English citizen hath, not to be
taxed without his confent, or that of his repre-
fentatives: This right, which ought to belong
L 2
to
XVIII.
148
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK to all people, fince it is founded on the eternal
XVIII. code of reafon, was traced to it's origin as far
+
C
1
back as the reign of Edward I. Since that pe-
riod, the Engliſh never loft fight of it. In peace
and in war, under the dominion of ferocious
kings, as well as under that of weak monarchs,
in times of flavery as in periods of anarchy, they
never ceafed to claim it. The English, under
the Tudors, were feen to abandon their moſt va-
luable rights, and to deliver up their defenceleſs
heads to the ftroke of the tyrant, but they were
never ſeen to renounce the right of taxing them-
felves. It was in defence of this right that they
fhed torrents of blood, that they dethroned or
puniſhed their kings. Finally, at the revolution
of 1688, this right was folemnly acknowledged by
the famous act, in which liberty, with the fame
hand that ſhe was expelling a defpotic king, was
drawing the conditions of the contract between
the nation and the new fovereign they had just
chofen. This prerogative of the people, much
more facred undoubtedly than fo many imagi-
nary rights which fuperftition hath endeavoured
to fanctify in tyrants, was at once in England
the inftrument and the bulwark of it's liberty.
The nation thought and perceived that this was
the only dike which could for ever put a stop to
defpotiſm; that the moment which deprives a
people of this privilege condemns them to op-
preffion, and that the funds, raiſed apparently for
their fafety, are employed fooner or later to ruin
them. The English, when they founded their co-
lonies, had carried theſe principles beyond the
feas, and the fame ideas were tranfmitted to their
posterity.
ALAS! if in thofe countries even of Europe,
where flavery ſeems for a long time to have taken
up it's refidence in the midst of vices, of riches,
and
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
149.
XVIII.
and of the arts; where the defpotifm of armies B O O K
maintains the defpotifm of courts; where man,
fettered from his cradle, and bound by the two-
fold bands of fuperftition and policy, hath never
breathed the air of liberty; if, even in thoſe coun-
tries, perfons who have reflected once in their
lives on the deftiny of States, cannot avoid the
adopting of theſe maxims, and envying the for-
tunate nation which hath contrived to make them
the foundation and the bafis of it's conftitution;
how much more muſt the English, the children
of America, be attached to them; they who
have received this intelligence from their ancef-
tors, and who know at what price they have pur-
chafed it? Even the foil they inhabit muſt keep
up in them a fentiment favourable to thefe ideas.
Difperfed over an immenſe continent, free as na-
ture, which furrounds them, amidst the rocks,
the mountains, the vaft plains of their deferts,
and on the fkirts of thofe forefts, where every
thing is ftill wild, and where nothing calls to
mind neither the fervitude nor the tyranny of
man, they ſeem to receive from natural objects
leffons of liberty and independence. Befides,
thefe people, who are almoſt all of them devoted
to agriculture, to commerce and to ufeful la-
bours, which elevate and ftrengthen the mind by
giving fimplicity to the manners, who have been
hitherto as far removed from riches as from po-
verty, cannot yet be corrupted either by an ex-
cefs of luxury or by a multiplicity of wants. It is
this ſtate more eſpecially, that man who enjoys
liberty can maintain it, and can fhew himfelf
jealous of defending an hereditary right which
feems to be the fure guarantee of all the other
rights. Such was the refolution of the Ameri-
cans.
WHETHER
L
150
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
from her
to have
afked of
WHETHER the British miniftry were yet un-
XVIII. acquainted with thefe difpofitions, or whether
England they hoped that their delegates would fucceed in
exa&ts altering them, they however embraced the op-
colonies portunity of a glorious peace to exact a forced
what the contribution from the colonies. For, let it be
ought only well obferved, that a war, whether fortunate or
unfortunate, ferves always as a pretence to the
ufurpations of government, as if the views of the
chiefs of the belligerent Powers were lefs to con-
quer their enemies than to enslave their ſubjects.
The year 1764 gave birth to the famous ftamp
act, which forbad the admiffion into the tribunals
of any claim which had not been written upon
paper ftamped and fold for the benefit of the
treaſury.
them.
THE English provinces of the North of Ame-
rica were all incenfed at this ufurpation of their
moſt valuable and moft facred rights. By una-
nimous confent they refufed to confume what was
furniſhed them by the mother-country, till this
illegal and oppreffive bill was withdrawn. The
women, whoſe weakneſs might have been feared,
were the moſt eager in facrificing what ferved for
their ornament, and the men, animated by this
example, gave up on their parts other enjoyments.
Many cultivators quitted the plough, in order to
accuftom themſelves to the work of manufac-
tures; and the woollen, linen, and cotton, coarfe-
ly wrought, were bought up at the price that was
previouſly given for the fineft clothes and moſt
beautiful ftuffs.
THIS kind of combination furpriſed the go-
vernment, and their anxiety was increafed by the
clamours of the merchants who found no market
for their goods. Thefe difcontents were fupport-
ed by the enemies of the miniftry, and the ſtamp
act was repealed after two years of a commotion,
which
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
151
which in other times would have kindled a civil в O O K
war.
:
BUT the triumph of the colonies was of fhort
duration. The parliament, which had retracted
only with extreme reluctance, ordained in 1767,
that the revenue which they had not been able to
obtain by means of the ftamp, fhould be collect-
ed by the glaſs, the lead, the paſte-board, the
colours, the figured paper, and the tea, which
were conveyed from England to America. The
people of the northern continent were not leſs in-
cenfed with this innovation than with the former.
In vain was it reprefented to them, that no one
could conteft with Great Britain the power of
fettling upon her exports fuch duties as were fuit-
able to her interefts; fince fhe did not deprive
her eſtabliſhments beyond the feas of the liberty
of manufacturing themſelves the commodities
which were fubjected to the new taxes. This
fubterfuge appeared a mark of derifion to men,
who, being merely cultivators, and compelled to
have no communication except with the mother-
country, could neither procure for themſelves by
their own induftry, nor by foreign connections,
the articles that were taxed. Whether the tribute
were paid in the Old or in the New World, they
underſtood that the name made no alteration in
the thing, and that their liberty would be no lefs
attacked in this manner than it had been in the
former, which had been repulfed with fuccefs.
The coloniſts faw clearly that the government
meant to deceive them, and they would not be
impofed upon. Thefe political fophifms appear-
ed to them as they really are, the maſk of ty
ranny.
NATIONS in general are more adapted to feel
than to think. Moft of them have never thought
of analyzing the nature of the power which go-
verns
XVIII:
152
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK vern's them. They obey without reflection, and
XVIII. becauſe they are in the habit of obeying. The
origin and object of the first national affociations
being unknown to them, every reſiſtance to their
will appears to them a crime. It is chiefly in
thofe ftates where the principles of legiflation are
blended with thoſe of religion, that this error was
common. The habit of believing is favourable
to the habit of fuffering. Man doth not renounce
with impunity one fingle object. It feems as if
nature avenged herſelf of him who ventures thus
to degrade her. This fervile difpofition of the
foul extends to every thing; it makes a duty of
refignation as of meannefs, and reſpecting every
chain that binds it, trembles to enter into an ex-
amination of the laws as well as of the tenets. In
the fame manner as one fingle extravagance in
religious opinions, is fufficient to induce minds
that are once deceived to adopt numberlefs others,
fo the firſt ufurpation of government opens the
door to all the reft. He who believes the moſt
believes alfo the leaft, and he who can exert the
moſt power can exert alfo the leaft. It is by this
double abufe of credulity and of authority, that
all the abfurdities in matters of religion and poli-
tics have been introduced in the world to cruſh
mankind. Accordingly, the first fignal of liberty
among the nations hath excited them to fhake off
theſe two yokes at once, and the period in which
the human mind began to difcufs the abufes of
the church and of the clergy, is that when reafon
became at length fenfible of the rights of the
people, and when courage endeavoured to fix the
firft limits to defpotifm. The principles of tole-
ration and of liberty eſtabliſhed in the English
colonies, had made them a people very different
from others. There it was known what the dig-
nity of man was, and when it was violated by the
British
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
153
༈
Britiſh miniſtry, it neceffarily followed, that a BOOK
people, compofed entirely of citizens, fhould rife XVIII.
againſt this attempt.
;
THREE years elapfed, and none of the taxes
which had fo much offended the Americans were
yet levied. This was fomething, but it was not
all that was expected from men jealous of their
prerogatives. They wanted a general and formal
renunciation of what had been illegally ordained,
and this fatisfaction was granted to them in 1770.
The tea only was excepted. The intent indeed of
this referve, was merely to palliate the difgrace of
giving up entirely the fuperiority of the mother-
country over it's colonies, for this duty was not
more exacted than the others had been.
after hav
thority.
THE miniſtry, deceived by their delegates, cer- England
tainly imagined that the difpofitions of the people ing given
were altered in the New World, when in 1773 way, wifh-
they ordered the tax on the tea to be levied. es to be o-
Ár this news the indignation became general it's celo-
beyed by
throughout North America. In fome provinces, nies.
thanks were decreed to thofe navigators who had Meafures
which they
refuſed to take any of this article on board. In take to re-
others, the merchants to whom it was addreffed fift it's au-
refuſed to receive it. In one place, whoever fold
it was declared an enemy to his country. In an-
other, the fame mark of ignominy was bestowed
upon thoſe who fhould keep it in their ware-
houſes. Several diftricts folemnly renounced the
ufe of this liquor, and a greater number of them
burnt all the tea they had remaining, which had
hitherto been in fuch high eſtimation among them.
The tea fent to this part of the globe was valued
at five or fix millions of livres *, and not a ſingle
cheft of it was landed. Bofton was the chief
fcene of this infurrection. It's inhabitants de-
!
* From 208,3331. 6s. 8d. to 250,0001.
ftroyed
154
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK ftroyed in the harbour three cargoes of tea,
XVIII. which had arrived from Europe.
THIS great city had always appeared more at-
tentive to their rights than the reft of America.
The leaſt attempt againſt their privileges was re-
pulfed without diſcretion. This refiſtance fome-
times accompanied with troubles, had for fome
years paſt diſturbed the government. The mi-
niftry, who had fome motives of revenge to gra
tify, too hastily ſeized upon the circumftance of
this blameable exceſs, and demanded of the par-
liament a fevere puniſhment.
་
MODERATE people wifhed that the guilty city
fhould be condemned to furnish an indemnity pro-
portioned to the damage done in it's harbour, and
which it deferved for not having puniſhed this
act of violence. This penalty was judged too
flight, and on the 13th of March 1774, a bill
was paffed which ſhut up the port of Boſton, and
which forbad that any thing fhould be carried
there.
THE Court of London congratulated itſelf upon
this rigorous law, and doubted not but that it
would bring the Boftonians to that ſpirit of fervi-
tude with which it had been hitherto attempted
in vain to inſpire them. If contrary to every ap-
pearance, theſe bold men ſhould perſevere in their
pretenfions, their neighbours would eagerly avail
themfelves of the prohibition thrown upon the
principal port of the colonies. At the worst, the
other colonies which had been for a long time
jealous of that of Maffachuſett's Bay, would aban-
don it with indifference to it's melancholy fate,
and would collect the immenfe trade which theſe
misfortunes would caufe to flow in upon them.
In this manner the union of the feveral fettle-
ments, which, in the opinion of the mother-coun-
try,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
155
try, had for fome years paft acquired too much в O O K
confiftence, would be broken.
THE expectations of the miniftry were in gene-
ral fruſtrated, an act of rigour fometimes ftrikes
awe. The people who have murmured while the
ftorm was only preparing at a diſtance, ſubmit
when it comes to fall upon them. It is then that
they weigh the advantages and diſadvantages of
reſiſtance, that they meaſure their ftrength with
that of their oppreffors; it is then that a panic
terror feizes thofe which have every thing to lole
and nothing to gain; that they raiſe their voices,
that they intimidate, and that they bribe; that
divifion is excited in the minds of men, and that
fociety is divided between two factions which irri-
tate each other, which fometimes take up arms
and flay each other in the view of their tyrants,
who behold with complacency and fatisfaction
the effufion of their blood. But tyrants fcarcely
find any accomplices unlefs among people already
corrupt. It is vice which gives them confederates
among thoſe whom they opprefs. It is effemina-
cy which takes the alarm, and cannot venture to
exchange it's tranquillity for. honourable dan-
gers. It is the vile ambition of commanding
which lends it's affiftance to defpotifm, and con-
ſents to be a flave for the fake of acquiring do-
minion, to give up a people in order to divide
their ſpoils, and to renounce the ſenſe of honour
in order to obtain honours and titles. It is efpe-
cially that indifferent and cold perfonality, the laſt
of the crimes of the people, the laft of the vices
of governments, for it is government which al-
ways gives rife to them; it is government which,
from principle, facrifices a nation to a man, and
the happineſs of a century and of pofterity to the
enjoyment of a day and of a moment. All theſe
vices, which are the fruits of an opulent and `vo-
luptuous
་
XVIII.
156
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK luptuous fociety, of a fociety grown old and
XVIII, come to it's laſt period, do not belong to recent
people engaged in the toils of agriculture. The
Americans remained united among themſelves.
The carrying into execution a bill which they
called inhuman, barbarous, and deftructive, ferv
ed only to confirm them in the refolution of fup-
porting their rights with more unanimity and
iteadineſs.
·
THE minds of men grew more and more ex-
alted at Boſton. The cry of liberty was rein-
forced by that of religion. The churches refound-
ed with the moſt violent exhortations againſt
England. It was undoubtedly an interefting
fpectacle for philofophy, to fee that in the tem-
ples and at the feet of the altars, where fuperfti-
tion had fo often bleffed the change of the people,
where the prieſts had fo often flattered the ty-
rants, that liberty fhould raiſe it's voice to defend
the privileges of an oppreffed nation; and if we
believe that the deity condefcends to caft an eye
upon the unfortunate conteſts of mankind, it
preferred certainly to fee it's fanctuary confecrat-
ed to this ufe, and to hear hymns to liberty be-
come part of the worſhip, addreffed to it by it's
minifters. Thefe difcourfes must have produced
a great effect; and when a free people invokes
the aid of heaven. againſt oppreffion, they foon
have recourſe to arms.
T
THE other inhabitants of Maffachufett's Bay dif
dained even the idea of taking the leaft advan-
tage of the difafters of the capital. They thought
of nothing but tightening the bands which con-
nected them with the Boftonians, and were in-
clined to bury themſelves under the ruins of their
common country, rather than fuffer the leaft in-
croachment upon rights which they had learned
to cheriſh more than life.
ALL
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
1157
ALL the provinces attached themſelves to the BOOK
caufe of Boſton, and their attachment increaſed XVIII.
in proportion to the calamities and fufferings of
that unfortunate city. Being almoft guilty of the
fame refiftance which had been fo feverely pu-
niſhed, they were fenfible that the vengeance of
the mother-country againſt them was only delay-
ed, and that all the grace which the moſt favour-
ed of them can poffibly expect, will be to be the
laſt object of it's revenge.
THESE difpofitions to a general infurrection
were increaſed by the act against Boſton, which
was circulated throughout the continent upon
paper edged with black, as an emblem of the
mourning of liberty. Anxiety foon communi-
cates from one houfe to another. The citizens
affemble, and converfe, in the places. All the
preffes teem with writings full of eloquence and
vigour.
..
66
THE feverities of the Britiſh parliament
againſt Boſton ought to make all the Ame-
rican provinces tremble. They have now only
. to chooſe between fire and the fword, between
"the horrors of death and the yoke of a fervile
and bafe obedience. The period of an im-
"portant revolution is at length arrived, the for-
66 tunate or unfortunate fuccefs of which will for
r ever determine the regret or admiration of
pofterity.
"SHALL we be free, or fhall we be flaves?
"It is upon the folution of this great problem, that
"the deſtiny of three millions of men will de-
"pend for the preſent and for the future, the
"happineſs or mifery of their numberleſs de-
"fcendants.
"ROUSE yourfelves up, therefore, O you Ame-
ricans! for the regions you inhabit were never
covered with fuch dreadful clouds; you are
called
158€
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK" called rebels, becauſe you will be taxed only
XVII. 6 by your reprefentatives. Juftify this claim by
your courage, or feal the lofs of it with your
"blood.
<<
66
"Ir is no longer time to deliberate, when the
"hand of the oppreffor is inceffantly at work in
forging chains for you; filence would be a
"crime, and inaction infamy. The prefervation
"of the rights of the republic, that is the fu-
preme law. He would be the loweſt of flaves,
"who, in the danger which now threatens the
"liberty of America, would not exert his utmoſt
"efforts to preſerve it."
66
SUCH was the general difpofition; but the moſt
important object, and the most difficult matter to
effect in the midft of the general tumult, was
to bring about a calm, by means of which a har-
mony of inclinations might be produced, which
might give dignity, ftrength, and confiftence to
the refolutions. It is this kind of harmony,
which, from a number of looſe and fcattered parts,
all of them eafily broken, compofes one com-
plete whole, which it is impoffible to fubdue,
unleſs one can fucceed in dividing it either by
ſtrength or by policy. The neceffity of this great
union was perceived by the provinces of New
Hampſhire, of Maffachufett's Bay, of Rhode
Ifland, of Connecticut, of New-York, of New-
Jerfey, of the three counties of the Delaware, of
Pennſylvania, of Maryland, of Virginia, and of
the two Carolinas. Theſe twelve colonies, tò
which Georgia hath fince acceded, fent deputies
to Philadelphia in the month of September 1774,
who were appointed to defend their rights and
their intereſts.
to
THE difputes between the mother-country and
it's colonies acquired at this period a degree of
importance which they had not had before. It
was
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
159
XVIII.
was no more a few individuals who oppofed a BOOK
ſtubborn reſiſtance to imperious mafters. It was
the ſtruggle between one body of men and an-
other, between the congrefs of America and the
parliament of England, between one nation and
another. The refolutions taken on each fide in-
flamed the minds of men ftill more and more,
and increaſed the animofity. Every hope of re-
conciliation was diffipated. The fword was drawn
on both fides; Great Britain fent troops into the
New World, and this other hemifphere prepared
for it's defence. It's citizens became foldiers.
The materials for the conflagration are collected,
and the fire will foon break out.
GENERAL GAGE, who commanded the royal
troops, fent a detachment from Bofton on the
night of the 18th of Auguft 1775, with orders to
deſtroy a magazine of arms and provifions col-
lected by the Americans at Concord. This de-
tachment met with fome militia at Lexington,
whom they difperfed without much difficulty,
continued their march with rapidity, and execut-
ed the orders they had received. But they had
fcarcely reſumed the road to the capital, before
they were affailed in a ſpace of fifteen miles by a
furious multitude whom they deftroyed, and by
whom they were alfo flain. The blood of Eng-
lifhmen, fo often fpilt in England by the hands
of Engliſhmen, was now fpilt in America, and
the civil war was begun.
MORE regular engagements were fought upon
the fame field of battle in the enfuing months.
Warren was the victim of theſe deftructive and
unnatural actions. The congrefs did honour to
his remains.
"He is not dead, faid the orator; this excel-
"lent citizen fhall not die. His memory will
be eternally prefent, eternally dear to all good
I
66 men,
160
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK“ men, to all lovers of their country. He hath
XVIII. cc difplayed, in the limited career of a life of thir
ty-three years, the talents of a ſtateſman, the
"virtues of a fenator, and the foul of a hero...
<<
66
"ALL you who are animated with the fame
intereft, approach the bloody corfe of Warren.
"Bathe his honourable wounds with your tears;
"but do not remain too long over this inanimate
"body. Return to your habitations, to inſpire a
"deteftation of the crime of tyranny. Let the
"hair of your children ſtart upon their heads at
"this horrible repreſentation, let their eyes fpar-
"kle, let their brows become threatening, and
"let their voices exprefs their indignation; then
•
you will give them arms, and your last with
"will be, that they may either return conquerors,
or periſh like Warren."
(6
THE troubles with which Maffachufett's Bay was
agitated, were extended to the other provinces.
The tranfactionswere not indeed bloody in them,
becauſe there were no Britiſh troops; but in all
parts the Americans feized upon the forts, the
arms, and the provifions; they expelled their
chiefs and the other agents of government, and
ill-treated the inhabitants who appeared to favour
the cauſe of the mother-country. Some enter-
prifing men carried their boldneſs fo far as to
feize upon the works formerly erected by the
French near Lake Champlain, between New-Eng
fand and Canada, and even made an irruption in-
to that vaft region.
!
WHILE private individuals, or feparate diſtricts,
were fo ufefully ferving the common caufe, the
congrefs was employed in the care of affembling
an army, the command of which was given to
George Washington, a native of Virginia, and
known by a few fuccefsful actions in the pre-
ceding wars. The new general immediately flew
to
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
161
to Maffachufett's Bay, drove the royal troops from BOOK
one poſt to another, and compelled them to fhut XVIII.
themſelves up in Bofton. Six thouſand of his
old foldiers, who had eſcaped the ſword, fickneſs,
and every other kind of diſtreſs, preffed either by
hunger or by the enemy, embarked on the 24th
of March 1776, with a precipitation which had
all the appearance of flight. They went to feek
an afylum in Nova Scotia, which, as well as Flo-
rida, had remained faithful to it's former mafters.
nies had a
from their
THIS fuccefs was the firft ftep of Engliſh Ame- The colo-
rica towards the revolution. It began to be open- right to
ly wished for, and the principles which juſtified it feparate
were univerfally diffuſed. Thefe principles, which themfelves
originated in Europe, and particularly in England, mother-
had been tranfplanted by philofophy into America. country,
The knowledge of the mother-country was turned
againſt itſelf, and it was faid:
even if
they had
had no
diſcontent.
ONE must be very careful not to confound fo- caufe of
cieties and government with each other. Let us
inveſtigate their origin in order to diſtinguiſh
theme:
...
MAN, thrown upon the globe as it were by
chance, furrounded with all the evils of nature,
obliged to defend and protect his life againſt the
ftorms and hurricanes of the air, againſt the in-
undations of the waters, against the fires and the
conflagrations of volcanos, againſt the intem-
perature of the zones, either torrid or frozen,
againſt the barrennefs of the earth, which refuſes
to yield him any fubfiftence, or againſt it's un-
fortunate fertility, which produces poifons under
his feet, againſt the teeth of ferocious animals,
who difpute with him his abode and his prey,
and, by combating him themfelves, feem to in-
tend to acquire the dominion of the globe, of
which he thinks himſelf the maſter: man, in this
ſtate alone, and abandoned to himfelf, could do
VOL. VI.
nothing
M
162
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
1
BOOK nothing for his own prefervation. It was there-
XVIII. fore neceffary, that he fhould unite and affociate
with his fellow-creatures, in order to make a
common ſtock of their ftrength and underſtand-
ing. It is by this union that he hath been able
to triumph over fo many evils, that he hath fafhi-
oned the globe to his own ufe, kept the rivers
within their boundaries, fubdued the feas, infured
his fubfiftence, conquered one part of the ani-
mals by compelling them to ferve him, and driven
away the reft to a diſtance from his empire, in the
midſt of deſerts or of foreſts, where their numbers
diminiſh from one century to another. Men,
united among themſelves, have carried into exe-
cution what one man alone could never have ac-
compliſhed, and they all together concur in pre-
ferving their work. Such is the origin, fuch are
the advantages and the end of fociety.
GOVERNMENT owes it's rife to the neceffity of
preventing, and of repelling, the injuries which
the affociates had to fear from each other. It is
the centinel who watches to prevent the common
labours from being diſturbed.
SOCIETY hath therefore arifen from the necef
ſities of mankind, and government owes it's ori-
gin to their vices. Society always tends to good;
government ought always to tend towards repref-
fing evil. Society is the firft, and in it's origin
independent and free; government hath been in-
ftituted for it and is only it's inftrument. The
former has the right of commanding, the latter
inuft obey. Society hath created, public ftrength,
and government, which hath received it from it's
hands, ought to confecrate it entirely to it's ufe.
In a word, fociety is effentially good; govern-
ment, as it is well known, may be, and is but
too often bad.
IT
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
163
In hath been faid, that we were all born equals ; BOOK
but that is not true. That we had all the fame XVIII.
rights. I do not know what rights are, where
there is an inequality of talents and of strength,
and no guarantee nor fanction. That Nature hath
offered to us all the fame habitation and the
fame reſources; that is not true. That we are
indiſcriminately endowed with the fame means
of defence; that is not true: nor do I know in
what fenſe it can be true that we enjoy the fame
qualities of body and of mind.
{
THERE is an original inequality between men
which nothing can remedy. It must laft for ever;
and all that can be obtained from the beft legifla-
tion will not be to deftroy it, but to prevent it's
abuſes.
BUT hath not. Nature herfelf produced the
feeds of tyranny, by dealing with her children
like a ſtepmother, and by creating fome children
weak, and others ftrong? It is fcarce poffible to
deny this, eſpecially if we go back to a period pre-
vious to all legiflation, when we fhall fee men as
paffionate and as unreaſonable as brutes.
WHAT views then can the founders of nations,
and the legiſlators, have had? To obviate all the
difafters of this detefted principle, by a kind of
artificial equality, which fhould fubject the mem-
bers of a fociety, without exception, to one fingle
impartial authority. It is a fword which is indif-
criminately fufpended over every head; but this
fword was only ideal. It was neceffary that fome
hand, fome natural being, ſhould hold it.
THE refult of this hath been, that the hiſtory
of civilized man is nothing more than the hiftory
of his mifery. All the pages of it are ftained
with blood, fome with that of the oppreffors, the
reft with that of the oppreffed.
M 2
IN
164
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK IN this point of view, man appears more
XVIII. wicked, and more unfortunate than animals.
The different fpecies of animals fubfift at the ex-
pence of each other; but the focieties of men
have never ceafed to attack each other. There
is no condition in the fame fociety, which doth not
either devour, or hath not itfelf devoured, what-
ever may have been, or whatever may be the
form of government, or of artificial equality,
which hath been oppofed to the primitive or na-
tural inequality.
A
Bur thefe forms of government, freely chofen
by our forefathers, whatever fanction they may
have received, either from oath, or from unani-
mous confent, or from permanency, are they to
be confidered as binding to their defcendants?
Certainly not and it is impoffible that you, Eng-
liſhmen, who have fucceffively undergone fo many
different revolutions in your political conftitu-
tion; who have been driven from monarchy to
tyranny, from tyranny to aristocracy, from arifto-
cracy to democracy, and from democracy to
anarchy, it is impoffible, I fay, that you can
think differently from me, without accufing your-
felves of rebellion and perjury.
We examine things as philofophers; and it is
well known that our ſpeculations have not occa-
fioned civil wars. No fubjects are more patient
than we are. I fhall therefore purfue my ob-
ject, without any apprehenfion for the confe-
quences. If people be happy under their form of
government, they will maintain it. If they be
wretched, it will be neither your opinion nor
mine, but the impoffibility of fuffering any more,
or for any longer time, which will determine
them to change. A falutary commotion, which
the oppreffor will call revolt, though it be not
more than the legal exercife of an unalienable and
natural
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
165
natural right, of the man who is oppreffed, and BOOK
even of him who is not oppreffed.
MAN has a will, and a choice of his own; but
he can neither have a will nor a choice for ano-
ther; and it would be an extravagance to exer-
cife his will and his choice for him who is not yet
born, for him who will not exift for many centu-
ries after. There is no individual who hath not
a right to feek elſewhere a better form of govern-
ment, if he be diffatisfied with that of his own
country. There is no fociety which hath not the
fame liberty of altering it's own form of govern-
ment, as it's anceſtors had to adopt it. Upon
this point, focieties are in the ſame ſtate as in the
firſt inſtant of their civilization. It would be a
great evil, if it were not fo; and indeed in that
cafe, there could be no remedy against the
greateft of all evils. Millions of men must have
been condemned to endlefs misfortune. It will
therefore be admitted in conformity to my prin-
ciples:
THAT there is no form of government, the pre-
rogative of which is to be immutable.
THAT there is no political authority, created
either yeſterday or a thouſand years ago, which
cannot be abrogated, either ten years hence, or
to-morrow.
WHOEVER thinks otherwife is a flave; he is
the idolater of the works of his own hands.
WHOEVER thinks otherwife is a madman, who
devotes himſelf, as well as his family, his children,
and his children's children, to everlafting mi-
fery, by granting to his anceſtors the right of
ftipulating for him when he was not in being,
and by arrogating to himfelf the right of tipu-
lating for his defcendants, who are not yet in
being.
ALL
XVIII.
166
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK ALL authority in this world hath begun either
XVIII. by the conſent of the fubjects, or by the ftrength
of the master. It may be legally put a ftop to in
either of the cafes. There is nothing which fa-
vours tyranny againſt liberty.
THE truth of thefe principles is the more effen-
tial, as every power tends, by it's nature to defpo-
tifm, even in that nation which is the moft jea-
lous of it's rights, even in England.
:
འ
I HAVE heard a Whig fay, that as long as a bad
fovereign, or at leaſt a bad miniſter, could not be
fent to Tyburn with as little formality, parade,
tumult, and ſurpriſe, as the moſt obfcure male-
factor, the nation would never either have a pro-
per idea, nor the full enjoyment of it's rights,
in a manner fuitable to a people who venture to
think, and to call themfelves a free people. This
man was perhaps a fanatic; but madmen fome-
times utter words of profound fenfe. Neverthe-
lefs, an adminiſtration which you yourſelves own
to be ignorant, corrupt, and audacious, fhall im-
periouſly precipitate you with impunity into the
deepeſt abyss of misfortune.
THE quantity of fpecie circulating among you
is not very confiderable. You are overburdened
with paper-currency, under every denomination.
All the gold of Europe, heaped up in your treaſury,
would be ſcarce fufficient to pay off your national
debt. It is not known by what kind of incredible
illuſion this fictitious coin is kept up. The moſt
trifling event may in a moment bring it into dif
credit. One fingle alarm is fufficient to induce a
fudden bankruptcy. The dreadful confequences of
this breach of faith are beyond our imagination.
And this is the moment which hath been chofen
to make you declare againſt your colonies; that is
to fay, to involve yourſelves in an unjuft, fenfe-
lefs, and ruinous war. What will become of
you,
when
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
167
when one important branch of your commerce BOOK
fhall be annihilated; when you fhall have loft XVIII.
one third of your poffeffions; when you fhall
have maffacred one or two millions of your fel-
low-citizens; when your ftrength fhall be ex-
haufted, your merchants ruined, your manufac-
turers reduced to perish for want; when your
debt ſhall be increafed, and your revenue dimi-
nifhed? Beware! the blood of the Americans.
will fooner or later fall upon your own heads.
It's effufion will be revenged by your own hands;
and the moment is at hand.
But, you ſay, they are rebels. Why are
they fo? Becauſe they will not be your flaves?
A people who are fubject to the will of another,
who can difpofe at pleaſure of their government,
of their laws, and of their commerce, who can
tax them according to their own fancy, limit
their induftry, and fetter it by arbitrary prohibi-
tions, are flaves, and their fervitude is worfe
than that which they would experience under a
tyrant; becauſe a tyrant may be got rid of, either
by expulfion or by affaffination. Both thefe acts
have been done by you. But a nation can neither
be put to death nor expelled. Liberty can be
expected only from a rupture, the confequence
of which must be the ruin of one or the other of
the nations, and fometimes of both. A tyrant is.
a monſter with only one head, which may be
ftricken off at a blow. A defpotic nation is a
hydra with a thouſand heads, which can only be
fmitten off by a thoufand fwords at once. The
crime of the oppreffion exerciſed by a tyrant, ex-
cites univerfal indignation against himſelf alone.
The fame crime, committed by a numerous fo-
ciety, fpreads the horror and the fhame of it
amongst a multitude, which is never afhamed.
It is the crime of every body, and of no body;
and
168
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK and the fentiment of mifguided defpair knows not
XVII. upon what object to fix it's refentment..
But they are our ſubjects. - - Your fubjects!
not more than the inhabitants of the province of
Wales are the fubjects of the county of Lancaf-
ter. The authority of one nation over another
can only be founded upon conqueft, upon gene-
ral confent, or upon propofed and accepted con-
ditions. Conqueft is no more binding than rob-
bery. The confent of anceſtors cannot compel
deſcendants; and no conditions can be confiftent
with the facrifice of liberty. Liberty cannot be
bartered for any thing, becauſe no equivalent
can be given for it. This is the fpeech you have
made to your tyrants, and we now addrefs it to
you in favour of your colonists.
The land which they occupy is our's. --- Your's!
It is thus you call it, becauſe you have invaded
it. But fuppofing it be ſo, doth not the charter
of conceffion oblige you to treat the Americans,
as your countrymen? and do you comply with
this obligation? But to what purpoſe are con-
ceffions and charters, which grant what one is not
mafter of, and which, confequently, one hath no
right of granting, to a fmall number of feeble
men, compelled by circumftances to receive as a
gratuity what they have a natural right to. Be-
fides, have the defcendants, who are now alive,
been invited to accede to a compact, figned by
their anceſtors? The truth of this principle muft
be acknowledged, or the defcendants of James
must be recalled. What right was there to drive
him away, which we had not equally to feparate
from you? fay the Americans. And what anfwer
can be made to them?
They are ungrateful; we are their founders; we
have been their defenders; we have indebted our felves
for them.
For yourſelves, you may fay, as
much,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
169
XVIE
much, or more than for them. If you have de- BOOK
fended them, it is in the fame manner as you
would have defended the Sultan of Conftanti-
nople, if your ambition or your intereſt had re-
quired it. But have they not repaid this obliga-
tion, by delivering to you their productions, by
excluſively receiving your merchandiſe, at the
exorbitant price you have chofen to put upon
it by fubmitting to the prohibitions, which
thwarted their induſtry, and to the reftrictions
with which you have oppreffed their property
Have they not affifted you, and indebted them-
felves for you? Have they not taken up arms,
and fought for you? Have they not acceded to
your demands, when you have made them in a
manner fuitable to freemen? When have they
ever refufed you any thing, unleſs when prefent-
ing your bayonets to their breafts, you have faid
to them, Your treaſure, or your life; die, or be our
faves. What! becauſe you have been benefi-
cent, have you the right to become oppreffors!
Will the nations, alfo, convert their expectations
of gratitude into a barbarous pretence to difgrace
and infult thoſe who have had the misfortune
to receive their benefits? Individuals, perhaps,
though it be not their duty, may in their bene-
factors bear with their tyrants. In them, un-
doubtedly, it is great, it is magnanimous, to
confent to be unhappy, rather than be ungrate-
ful. But the fyftem of morality among nations
is different. The public felicity is the first law,
as it is the firft duty. The primary obligation
of theſe great bodies is towards themfelves.
They owe, above all things, liberty and justice
to thoſe who compoſe them. Every child who is
born in a ſtate, every citizen who comes to breathe
the air of a country which he hath chofen for
himfelf, or which nature hath given him, has a
right
170
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK right to the greateſt degree of happineſs he can
XVIII. poffibly enjoy. Every obligation which cannot
be reconciled with that principle is void. Every
contrary claim is an incroachment upon his rights.
Of what concern is it to him, if his anceſtors
have been favoured, when he himſelf is deſtined
to be the victim? By what right can we exact the
payment of this ufurious debt of benefits, which:
he hath not even experienced? No. To arrogate
to one's felf a fimilar claim, againſt a whole na-
tion and it's poſterity, is to fubvert all the ideas of
order and policy; it is to betray all the laws of
morality, while we invoke their countenance.
What hath not England done for Hanover! But
is Hanover fubject to your command? All the re-
publics of Greece were connected with each other
by mutual fervices: Did any one of them exact,
as a token of gratitude, the right of difpofing of
the adminiſtration of the republic that had receiv
ed the obligation?
Say rather,
But our honour is compromised.
the honour of your bad minifters, and not your
own. In what confifts the real honour of him
who is in an error? Is it to perfift in it, or to
acknowledge it? The man who returns to fenti-
ments of juſtice hath no occafion to be aſhamed.
Engliſhmen, you have been too precipitate. Why
did you not wait till riches had corrupted the
Americans, as you are corrupted? Then they
would have been as little concerned for their li
berty, as you for your's. Then, fubdued by.
wealth, your arms would have been ufelefs. But
you have attacked them in an inftant, when what
they had to lofe, liberty, could not be balanced by
what they had to preſerve.
But in later times they would have become ftill more
numerous. ---- I acknowledge it. You have there-
fore only attempted the enflaving of a people,
whom
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
171
whom time would have fet free in fpite of you. BOOK
In twenty or thirty years, the remembrance of XVIII.
your atrocious deeds will be recent; and the fruit
of them will be taken away from you: then, no-
thing but ſhame and remorfe will remain to you.
There is a decree of nature which you cannot
change; it is, that great bodies always give law
to finaller ones. But if the Americans fhould
then undertake againſt Great Britain what you
have undertaken against them, would you not fay
to them exactly what they fay to you at this in-
ftant. Wherefore fhould motives which affect
you but little, coming from them, appear more
folid when coming from you
?
They will neither obey our parliament, nor adopt
our conftitution. - Have they made, or can
they change them?
them.
We obey them without having had, either in paft
times, or without having at prefent, any influence over
That is to fay, that you are flaves,
and that you cannot fuffer freemen. Neverthe-
lefs, do not confound the pofition of the Ameri-
cans with your's. You have reprefentatives, and
they have none; you have voices which ſpeak for
you, and no one ftipulates for them. If the
voices be bought and fold, this is an excellent
reafon for them to diſclaim this advantage.
They would be independent of us. - ·
you fo of them?
Are not
They will never be able to fupport themselves with-
out us. -- If that be the cafe, keep quiet; ne-
ceffity will bring them back to you.
But what if we could not ſubſiſt without them?
This would be a great misfortune: but to cut
their throats, in order to prevent it, is a fingular
expedient.
It is for their intereft, it is for their good, that we
are angry with them, as we are with children who
behave
172
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK behave improperly.. - Their intereft and their
XVIII. good! Who hath appointed you the judges of
theſe two points which touch them fo nearly, and
which they ought to know better than you? If it
fhould happen that a citizen fhould enter by force
into the houſe of another, upon a pretence that he
was a man of great underſtanding, and that no one
was more capable of maintaining good order and
peace at his neighbour's houfe; would not his
neighbour have a right to defire him to withdraw,
and concern himfelf about his own affairs? But
what fhall we fay if the affairs of this officious
hypocrite were much in diforder. If he were
nothing more than an ambitious man, who under
pretence of governing wanted to ufurp; if under
the maſk of benevolence he concealed only views
full of injuſtice, fuch for inftance, as the endea-
vour to relieve his own difficulties at the expence
of his fellow-citizens?
*
We are the mother-country.-What, are the moſt
facred names always to ferve as veils to ambition
and to intereft? If you be the mother-country
fulfil the duties of it. Moreover, the colony is
formed of different nations, among whom fome
will grant and others will refufe you this title.
While all of them will fay to you at once; there
is a time when the authority of parents over their
children is to ceafe, and this time is that when
children can provide for themſelves. What term
have you fixed for our emancipation? Be honeft,
and confefs you flattered yourſelves that you
fhould have kept us under perpetual tutelage.
This tutelage however might be fupportable, if
it were not changed for us into an unbearable
conſtraint; if our advantage were not inceffantly
facrificed to your's; if we were not obliged to
fuffer a multitude of oppreffions in detail from
the governors, the judges, the financiers, and
the
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
173
the military men whom you fend to us; if moft B O O K
of them at their arrival in our climates did not XVIII.
bring with them degraded characters, ruined
fortunes, rapacious hands, and the infolence of
fubaltern tyrants, who, tired with obeying the
laws in their own country, come to indemnify
themſelves in a New World, by exercifing there
a power which is too frequently arbitrary. You
are the mother-country, but far from encourag-
ing our progreſs you ftand in awe of it. You
confine our induftry and you counteract our ri-
fing ftrength. Nature, in favouring us, difap-
points your fecret wishes; or rather, it is your
defire that the fhould remain in a ftate of eternal
infancy, with refpect to every thing that may be
ufeful to us; and notwithſtanding this, that we
fhould ſtill be robuft flaves to ferve you, and in-
ceffantly to fupply your avidity with new fources.
of wealth. Is this being a mother? Is this be
ing our country? Alas! in the forefts that fur-
round us, Nature hath beftowed a milder in-
ftinct on the wild beast, who, when fhe is become
a mother, doth not at leaſt devour thofe to whom
fhe hath given birth.
If we agreed to all their pretenfions they would
foon be happier than we are. And why not? If you
be corrupted why fhould they be fo? If you in-
cline to flavery, muft they alfo imitate your ex-
ample? If you were their mafter, why ſhould you
not confer the property of another power to your
fovereign? Why thould you not make him your
defpot, as you have declared him by a folemn
act the defpot of Canada? Muft they then have
ratified this extravagant conceffion? and if they
had ratified it, muft they have obeyed the fove-
reign you would have given them? and muft they
have taken up arms againſt you in obedience to
his orders? The king of England hath a negative
power.
I
174
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK power. No law can be enacted there without
XVIII. his confent. This power, the inconvenience of
which you daily experience, why fhould the
Americans grant it to him among themfelves?
Would it be to deprive him of it one day by tak-
ing up arms, as it will happen to you if your go-
vernment fhould be improved? What advantage
can you find in fubjecting them to a vicious con-
ftitution?
Vicious or not, this conftitution is our's, and it muſt
be generally acknowledged and accepted by all who
bear the English name; otherwife, each of our pro-
vinces governing itself in it's own way, having it's
own laws, and pretending to independence, we should
ceaſe to form a national body, and should be nothing
more than a collection of small infulated republics
divided, inceffantly at war with each other, and ea-
fily invaded by a common enemy. The fagacious and
powerful Philip, capable of undertaking this enter-
prife, is near us.
may
SUPPOSING him to be near you, he is at a
diſtance from the Americans. A privilege which
be attended with fome inconvenience to you,
is not the lefs a privilege. But, feparated as they
are from Great Britain, by immenfe feas, of
what concern is it to you whether your colonies
accept or reject your conftitutions? What has this
to do either for or against your ftrength, or for
or against your fecurity? That unity, of which
you exaggerate the advantages, is alfo nothing
more than a vain pretence. You urge your laws
to them when they are oppreffed by them, and
you trample upon them yourſelves when they ap-
peal to them in their favour. You tax yourſelves,
and you want to tax them. When the leaft in-
croachment is attempted upon this privilege, you
exclaim with rage, you take up arms, and you
are ready to devote yourſelves to death, and yet
you
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
175
XVIII.
you put the poniard to the throat of your fellow BOOK
citizen to compel him to renounce it. Your
ports are open to all nations, and you fhut up
thofe of the colonists from them. Your mer-
chandiſe is conveyed to all parts where you chooſe
to fend it, and their's is forced to be fent to you.
You manufacture, and you will not fuffer them
to do the fame. They have hides and they have
iron, and you compel them to deliver thefe hides
and this iron to you in the rough ftate. What
you get at a low price, they must purchaſe from
you at the price which your rapacioufnefs ex-
acted. You facrifice them to your merchants;
and becauſe your Eaft India Company was in
danger, it was neceffary that their loffes fhould
be repaired by the Americans. And yet you
call them your fellow-citizens, and it is thus
you invite them to accept your conftitution.
This unity, this league, which feems fo necef-
fary to you, is nothing more than the league of
the foolish animals in the fable, among which
you have reſerved to yourfelf the part of the
lion.
A
PERHAPS you have only fuffered yourſelves to
be induced to fill the New World with blood and
ravages, merely from a falfe point of honour.
We like to perfuade ourſelves, that fo many enor-
mities have not been the confequence of a pro-
ject coolly concerted. You have been told, that
the Americans were nothing more than a baſe
herd of cowards, whom the leaft threat would
induce with fear and confternation to comply
with every thing you chofe to exact. Instead of
thofe pufillanimous men, who had been deſcribed
to you, and whom you had been taught to ex-
pect, you met with brave people, true English-
men, and fellow-citizens worthy of you. Was
this a reafon for increafing your anger? What!
have
176
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK have your anceſtors admired the Dutch fhaking off
XVIII. the Spaniſh yoke; and ſhall you be aſtoniſhed that
your defcendants, your countrymen, your brethren,
thoſe who felt your blood circulating in their
veins, fhould rather chooſe to fpill it than fub-
mit to the yoke, and fhould prefer death to a life
of flavery? A ftranger, over whom you would
affume the fame pretenfions, would have difarm-
ed you; if laying bare his breaft he had faid,
Bury your dagger here, or leave me free. And yet
you murder your brother, and you murder him
without remorfe, becauſe he is your brother!
Engliſhmen! what can be more ignominious than
the ferocioufnefs of a man proud of his liberty,
and incroaching upon that of another? Muft we
be taught to believe, that the greateſt enemy of
liberty is the man who enjoys it? Alas! we are
but too much difpofed to believe it. Enemies
to kings, you have all their haughtinefs. Ene-
mies to the royal prerogative, you diſplay it in
all parts.
You fhew yourfelves tyrants every
where. Tyrants of nations and of your colonies;
if
you ſhould prevail in this conteſt, it is becaufe
heaven will have been inattentive to the vows
that are addreffed to it from all regions of the
earth.
•
SINCE the feas have not fwallowed up your
proud fatellites, tell me what will become of them,
if there fhould arife in the New World an elo-
quent man, who fhould promife eternal falvation
to thoſe who ſhould perifh fword in hand, the
martyrs of liberty. Americans, let your prieſts
be inceffantly feen in your pulpits, with crowns
in their hands, and fhewing you the heavens
opened. Priefts of the New World, it is time
to expiate the ancient fanaticifm, which hath de-
folated and ravaged America, by a fanaticifm more
fortunate, the offspring of politics and of liberty.
But
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,
177
But you will not deceive your fellow-citizens. B O OK
God who is the first principle of justice and of XVIII.
order abhors tyrants. God hath imprinted in the
heart of man the facred love of liberty, and will
not fuffer that fervitude fhould degrade and diſ-
figure the moſt beautiful of his works. If apo-
theofis be due to man, it is certainly to him who
fights and dies for his country. Place his image
in your churches, and put it near your altars. It
will be the worship of the country. Compofe a
political and religious calendar, in which every
day fhall be marked with the name of fome one
of thofe heroes who fhall have fpilt his blood to
make you free. Your pofterity will read them
one day with a holy refpect; they will fay,
theſe are the names of thofe who have fet half
the world at liberty, and who, exerting themſelves
for our happiness before we exifted, have pre-
vented that at our birth we ſhould hear the rattling
of chains over our cradles.
meaſures
WHEN the caufe of the colonies was debated What
in the national affemblies, we have heard many would it
excellent pleadings pronounced in their favour. have fuit-
But perhaps the following would have been the ed Eng-
moft proper to addrefs to them:
CC
CC
land to
adopt,
faw the
nies.
"I WILL fay nothing to you, Gentlemen, of the when the
"juftice or injuftice of your pretenfions. I am ferment
not ſo much a ſtranger to public affairs, to be ig- raifed in
norant that this preliminary examination, which her colo-
"is facred in all other circumftances of life, would
"be improper and ridiculous in this. I will not
"enter into what expectations you may have of
"fuccefs, nor will I examine whether you will
"prevail in this caufe, although this fubject
"might appear of fome importance to you, and
might probably engage your attention. Nor
"will I even compare the advantages of your
"fituation if you fhould fucceed, with the con-
VOL. VI.
N
" fequences
<6
178
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK" fequences that will follow if you fhould fail.
XVIII. But I will fuppofe at once, that you have re-
"duced the colonies to the degree of fervitude
"which you require. I only wish to be informed
"how you will maintain them in it. Will it be
"by a ſtanding army? But this army, which
will exhauft you of men and money, will it
"follow or not the increaſe of population? There
re are but two anſwers to be made to this queftion,
"and of theſe two anfwers one ſeems to me to be
"abfurd, and the other brings you back to the
"fituation in which you now are. I have re-
"flected much upon the matter, and if I miſtake
not, I have difcovered the only reaſonable.
and fure meaſure you have to purfue. This
is, as foon as you fhall have made yourfelves
"maſters of them, to stop the progreſs of popula-
❝tion, fince it appears to you more advanta-
<s
ઃઃ
geous, more honourable, and more proper to
<rule over a fmall number of flaves, than to
"have a nation of freemen for your equals and
« friends.
"BUT you will aſk me how is the progrefs of
"population to be ſtopped? The expedient
se might perhaps difguft men of weak and pufil-
"lanimous minds; but fortunately there are
"none fuch in this auguft affembly. This ex-
"pedient is to put to death, without mercy, the
"greateſt part of thefe unworthy rebels, and to
"reduce the reft to the condition of Negroes.
The brave and generous Spartans, fo celebrat-
"ed in ancient and modern hiftory, have fet you
"the example. Like them, with their faces
❝
muffled up in their cloaks, let our fellow-citi-
"zens and fatellites go out clandeftinely in the
66
night-time, and maffacre the children of our
"Helots by the fide of their fathers and on the
"breafts of their mothers, leaving only a fuffi-
<< cient
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
179
cient number of them alive for the labours, B O O K
and for our fecurity."
ENGLISHMEN, you fhudder at this horrid pro-
pofal, and you ask what meaſure might be
adopted; either conquerors or conquered, this is
what you have to do: If the refentment excited
by your barbarities can be calmed, if the Ame-
ricans can fhut their eyes upon the ravages that
furround them, if when walking over the ruins
of their cities reduced to afhes, and of their ha-
bitations deſtroyed, over the bones of their fel-
low-citizens fcattered in the field; if while they
breathe the ſcent of blood which your hands have
fpilt in all parts, it can be poffible that they
fhould forget the enormities of your defpotiſm;
if they can allow themſelves to put the leaſt truſt
in your difcourfes, and can perfuade themſelves
that you have ſeriouſly renounced the injuftice of
your pretenfions, begin by recalling the affaffins
who are in your pay; reftore liberty to their
ports, which you now keep blocked up;
let your
veffels depart from their coafts; and if there be a
wife citizen among you, let him take an olive
branch in his hand, let him preſent himſelf to
them and ſay:
"O YOU, our fellow-citizens and our old
"friends, allow us to uſe this title; we have
"indeed profaned it, but our repentance makes
"us worthy of refuming it, and we ſhall here-
"after afpire to the glory of preferving it; we
"confefs, in the prefence of Heaven, and of this
"earth, which have been witneffes of it, that
ઃઃ
our pretenfions have been unjuſt, and our pro-
"ceedings barbarous. Forget them as we do.
"Build up your ramparts and your fortreffes.
"Affemble yourſelves again in your peaceable
habitations. Let us wipe out from our me-
mory even the last drop of blood that has been
N 2
" ſpilt.
XVIII.
180
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
XVIII.
66
BOOK" fpilt. We admire the generous fpirit which
"hath directed you. It is the fame to which in
fimilar circumftances we have owed our falva-
❝tion. It is particularly by thefe figns that we
"know you to be our fellow-citizens and our
"brethren: Your wish is liberty and you ſhall
"be free. You fhall be free in all the extent
that we ourfelves have attached to this facred
<name. It is not from us that you hold this
. right, we can neither give it nor take it away
" from you. You have received it as we have,
from nature, which the crime and the fword of
" tyrants can fight againſt but cannot deftroy.
"We pretend not to any kind of fuperiority over
"you, the honour of afpiring to an equality is
fufficiently glorious for us. We are too well
"acquainted with the inestimable advantage of
"governing ourſelves, to be defirous hereafter of
"depriving you of it.
"MASTERS and fupreme arbitrators of your
own legiſlation, if in your States you can cre-
ate a better form of government than our's is,
"we congratulate you previously upon it. Your
"happineſs will infpire us with no other fenti-
❝ment than the defire of imitating you. Form
66
for yourſelves conftitutions adapted to your
climate, to your foil, and to the New World,
" which you are civilizing. Who can be better
acquainted with your own wants than your-
felves? Proud and virtuous fouls, fuch as
"your's are, ought not to obey any laws ex-
.. cept thoſe which they give themſelves. Every
other yoke would be unworthy of them. Re-
"gulate your taxes yourſelves. We only afk of
"you to conform to our cuftom in the levying
" of the impoft. We will prefent you with a
"ftate of our wants, and you will determine
"yourfelves
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
181
"yourfelves the juft proportion between your BOOK
fupplies and your riches.
"MOREOVER, exerciſe your own induſtry as
"we do our's, and that without any reftraint.
"Make the best advantage of the benefits of Na-
66 ture, and of the fertile regions which you in-
habit. Let the iron of your mines, the fleeces
6
6.6
your flocks, the fkins of the wild animals wan-
dering in your forefts, be prepared in your
own manufactures, and acquire in your hands
an additional value. Let your ports be free.
"Let your commodities and the productions
"of your arts be conveyed to all parts of the
"world, from whence you may alfo derive all
"thofe which you are in want of. This is one
of our privileges, let it alſo be your's. The
"empire of the ocean, which we have fubdued
"by two centuries of grandeur and glory, belongs
. to you as well as to us. We will be united
"by the ties of commerce.
You will bring your
productions to us, which we will accept in pre-
ference to thoſe of all other people, and we
hope that you will prefer our's to thofe of fo-
reign nations, without however being reftrain-
"ed to it by any law, unlefs by that of the com-
mon intereft, and by the title of fellow-citizens
and friends.
દ
66.
"LET your fhips and our's, decorated with
the fame flag, cover the feas, and when theſe
friendly veffels fhall meet in the midſt of the
"deferts of the ocean, let fhouts of joy be heard
"on both fides. Let peace be renewed, and let
"concord laft for ever between us. We under-
"ftand at length, that the chain of reciprocal
"benevolence, is the only one that can connect
ແ
.
empires at fuch a. diftance, and that every
"other principle of union would be unjuſt and
precarious.
" ACCORD-
XVIII.
F182
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
<<
'
"ACCORDING to this new plan of everlaſting
XVIII. friendship, let agriculture, induftry, legifla-
"tion, the arts, and that first of all fciences.
"that of doing the greateſt good to States and
to mankind, be improved among us. Let the
account of your happineſs invite around your
dwellings all the unfortunate men upon the
"face of the earth. Let tyrants of all countries,
" and all oppreffors, whether political or reli-
"gious, know, that there exifts a place upon
"the earth where one may eſcape from their
"chains; where humanity difgraced hath raiſed
"it's head again; where the harvests grow for
"the poor; where the laws are no more than
"the guarantee of happineſs; where religion is
free, and confcience hath ceaſed to be a ſlave;
"where Nature, in a word, feems to wish to
"juftify herſelf for having created man, and
where government for fo long a time guilty
"over all the earth, at length makes ample re-
"paration for it's crimes. Let the idea of fuch
an afylum alarm the defpots, and ferve as a
"reſtraint to them; for if the happineſs of man-
"kind be a matter of indifference to them, they
"are at leaſt ambitious and avaricious, and are
therefore anxious to preferve both their power
"and their riches.
"WE ourſelves, O! our fellow-citizens and our
friends, we ourſelves will profit by your example.
If our conftitution fhould be impaired; if pub-
licwealth fhould corrupt the court, and the court
the nation; if our kings, to whom we have
"given fo many terrible leffons, fhould at length
' forget them; if we who were an auguſt people,
"were threatened with becoming the meaneft
" and vileft of all herds by felling ourfelves;
"the fight of your virtues and of your laws might
perhaps reanimate us. It would recall to our
<<
"degraded
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
183
. degraded minds both the value and the gran- BOOK
deur of liberty; and if this example fhould be XVIII.
"ineffectual; if flavery, the confequence of ve-
"nal corruption, fhould one day eſtabliſh itſelf
in that fame country, which hath been de-
"luged with blood in the caufe of liberty, and
"where our fathers have feen ſcaffolds erected
"for tyrants; we will then abandon this un-
"grateful land devoted to defpotifm, and we
"will leave the monster to reign over a defert,
"You will then receive us as friends and bre-
"thren. You will partake with us that ſoil, that
ic air, as free as the fouls of it's generous inha-
"bitants; and thanks to your virtues, we fhall
"find England and a country again.
CC
''
SUCH are, brave fellow-citizens, both our
hopes and our wishes. Receive therefore our
"oaths as the pledges of fo holy an alliance. Let
Ge us invoke, to render this treaty more folemn, let
"us invoke our common anceſtors, who have
"all been animated with the fpirit of liberty as
66 you are, and who have not feared to die in it's
<defence Let us call to witnefs the memory
"of the illuftrious founders of your colonies,
"that of your auguft legiflators, of the philofo
"pher Locke, who was the first man upon earth
"who made a code of toleration, and of the ve.
"nerable Penn, who firft founded a city of
"brothers. The fouls of thefe great men, whofe
"eyes are undoubtedly in this moment fixed
upon us, are worthy to prefide at a treaty
1,
which is to fecure the peace of two worlds.
"Let us fwear in their prefence, and upon thoſe
"arms with which you have fought us, to re-
main ever united and faithful; and when we
"have pronounced all together an oath of peace,
EC then let thefe fame arms be taken up, and let
"them be conveyed into a facred depofit, where
« fathers
184
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
66
BOOK" fathers will fhew them to every riſing geñera-
XVIII. «tion; and there let them be kept faithfully from
age to age, in order to be one day turned
"against the first man, whether English or Ame
rican, who fhall dare to propofe the breaking
"off of this alliance, equally uſeful and equally
"honourable to both nations."
66
Ar this difcourfe methinks I hear the cities,
the hamlets, the fields, and all the fhores of North
America, refound with acclamations, and repeat-
ing with emotion the name of their English bre-
thren, the name of the mother-country. Joyful
fireworks fucceed to the conflagrations of difcord,
and in the mean while, the nations, jealous of your
power, will remain filent in aftoniſhment and de-
ſpair.
THE parliament is going to affemble, and what
have we to expect? Will the voice of reafon be
heard there, or will they perfevere in their folly?
Will they be the defenders of the people, or the
inftrument of the tyranny of minifters? Will their
acts be the decrees of a free nation, or edicts
dictated by the court? I attend at the debates.
Thefe revered places refound with haranguès
full of moderation and wiſdom. Soft perfuafion
ſeems to flow from the lips of the most diftin-
guifhed orators. They draw tears from the au-
dience. My heart is elated with hope, when fud-
denly a voice, the organ of defpotifm and of war,
fufpends this delightful emotion.
"ENGLISHMEN," faith this furious declaimer,
"can you hefitate one moment? They are your
rr rights, your most important interests; it is
"the glory of your name which must be de
"fended. Thefe great benefits are not attacked
'' by a foreign power, but threatened by a do-
"meſtic enemy. The danger is the greater, the
outrage more fenfibly felt.
66
"BE-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
185
"BETWEEN two rival nations in arms for mu- BOOK
"tual pretenfions, policy may fometimes fufpend XVIII.
"the fight. Againſt rebellious ſubjects the great-
"eft fault is delay. All moderation is weakneſs.
"The ſtandard of rebellion was raiſed by bold-
"nefs; let it be pulled down by force. Let the
"fword of juftice fall upon thoſe who have un-
"fheathed it. Let us lofe no time: to ftifle re-
❝volutions, there is a firft moment which muſt
"be feized upon. Let us not leave to aſtoniſh-
"ed minds the leiſure to accuftom themſelves to
"their crime; to the chiefs, the time to con-
"firm their power; nor to the people, that of
"learning to obey new mafters. The people in
"a rebellion are almoſt always drawn away by
"fome foreign impulſe; neither their fury, nor
"their hatred, nor their attachment, belong to
"them. Their paffions are given to them as
"their weapons. Let us difplay before their
BC
eyes the ſtrength and majefty of the British
empire. They will foon fall down at our
"feet; they will paſs on, in an inftant, from
"terror to remorfe, and from remorfe to obe-
"dience. If we muft have recourfe to the fe-
"verity of arms, let there be no quarter. In
"civil war, mercy is the moft falfe of all vir-
<6
tues. When once the fword is drawn, it
"fhould never be fheathed till fubmiffion be
"attained. Henceforward it is their's to anfwer
" to heaven and to earth for their own misfor-
❝ tunes.
Let us confider, that a temporary fe-
"verity, exerciſed in thefe rebellious regions,
"muft fecure to us obedience and peace for ages
66
❝ to come.
26
"To fufpend our exertions, and to difarm us,
we are repeatedly told, that this country is
"peopled with our fellow-citizens, our friends,
"and our brothers. What, fhall we invoke in
"their
186
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
cc
BOOK" their favour names which they have outraged,
XVIII. and ties which they have broken? Theſe
names, and theſe facred ties, are the things
"that accuſe them, and pronounce them guilty.
"Since when do thofe titles, fo revered, im-
"pofe duties only upon us? Since when have
"rebellious children the right of taking up arms
.C.C
CG.
against their mother, of depriving her of her
"inheritance, and of tearing her to pieces?
દ They talk of liberty. I reſpect the name as
"much as they do: but, is this liberty inde-
pendence? Is it the right of fubverting a le-
giflation, eſtabliſhed and founded for two cen-
"turies paft? Is it the right of ufurping all our
rights? They talk of liberty; and I talk of
"the fupremacy and the fovereign power of
“England,
..
-66
"WHAT, if they had any complaints to make,
"if they refuſed to bear with us a ſmall portion
"of the burden which oppreffes us, and to fhare
"in our expences, as we make them fhare in
"our grandeur, had they no other way of doing
"this, but by rebellion, but by arms? They are
called our fellow-citizens, and our friends;
"but I behold in them nothing more than our
"perfecutors, and the most cruel enemies of our
"country. Undoubtedly, we have had common
66
66
anceſtors; but theſe refpectable forefathers I
myſelf call upon with
with confidence. If their
"fhades could refume their place here, their
indignation would be equal to our's. With
"what refentment would thefe virtuous citizens
"hear, that thofe of their defcendants who had
"fettled beyond the feas, had no fooner felt their
"own ftrength, than they had made the guilty
"trial of it againſt their country; and that they
"have turned her own benefits againft her.
"All of them, yes, all of them, even that pa-
❝cific
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
187
'
XVIII.
"cific fet into whom their founder inftilled the BOOK
duty of never fteeping their hands in blood;
"they who had reſpected the rights and the lives
"of favage people; they who, in the enthuſiaſm
"of humanity, have broken the fetters of their
flaves; at prefent equally faithlefs to their
"country and to their religion, take up arms
for the purpoſe of carnage, and to uſe them
વ against you. They treat all men as their bre-
thren, and you alone, of all people, are ex-
"cluded from this title. They have taught the
world, that the favage Americans, and the
"Negroes of Africa, are henceforth lefs ftrangers
"to them than the citizens of England.
ટ
"ARM yourſelves, therefore, avenge your of
fended rights, avenge your greatneſs betrayed.
"Difplay that power, which makes itſelf be
"feared in Europe, in Africa, and in India ;
" and which hath fo often aftonifhed America
itfelf; and fince between a fovereign people,
"and the fubject that rebels, there can hence-
forth be no other treaty than that of force, let
"force determine the matter. Preferve, and re-
"take that univerfe which belongs to you, and
which ingratitude and boldnefs would deprive
"you of."
reduce her
THE fophifms of a vehement orator, fupported England
by the influence of the crown, and by national refolves to
pride, extinguifhed in moſt of the reprefentatives colonies
of the people the defire of a pacific arrangement. by force.
The new refolutions are fimilar to the former.
Every thing in them even bears, in a more deci-
five manner, the ſtamp of ferociouſneſs and defpo-
tifm. Armies are raiſed, and fleets are equipped.
The generals and the admirals fail towards the
New World, with deftructive and fanguinary or
ders and plans. Nothing but unreferved fubmif-
}
fion
188
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK fion can preſerve or put a stop to the ravages or-
XVIII. dained against the colonies.
TILL this memorable period, the Americans
had confined themſelves to a refiftance authorized
by the Engliſh laws themfelves. They had fhewn
no other ambition, but that of being maintained
in the very limited rights which they had always
enjoyed. Their chiefs, even, who might be fup-
poſed to have more extenfive views, had not yet
ventured to fpeak to the people of any thing
more than an advantageous accommodation. By
going further, they would have been apprehen-
five of lofing the confidence of the people, at-
tached by habit to an empire under the protec-
tion of which they had profpered. The report
of the great preparations that were making for
war in the Old Hemifphere, either to enflave or
to reduce the New one to afhes, extinguifhed
what remains there might be of affection for the
original government. It now remained only to
inſpire the minds of men with energy. This ef-
fect was produced by a work intitled Common
Senfe. We fhall here give an account of the
ground-work of this doctrine, without confining
ourſelves preciſely to the order the writer hath
adopted.
NEVER, fays the author of this celebrated work,
never did an intereft of greater importance en-
gage the attention of the nations. It is not the
concern of a city, or of a province, it is that of
an immenſe continent, and of a great part of the
globe. It is not the concern of a day, it is that
of ages. The prefent period will determine the
fate of a long futurity; and many hundred years.
after the ceffation of our exiſtence, the fun, in
giving light to this hemifphere, will fhine either
upon our fhame or our glory. We have for a
long time talked of reconciliation and peace; but
1
every
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
189
every thing is changed. As foon as arms are BOOK
taken up, as foon as the first drop of blood is XVIII.
fpilt, the time for debate is paſt. One day hath
given rife to a revolution.
ported us into a new age.
One day hath tranf-
MEN of timorous minds, and who judge of the
future by the paſt, think we are in want of the
protection of England. She may be uſeful to a
rifing colony; fhe is become dangerous to a na-
tion completely formed. Infancy ftands in need
of fupport, but youth muft walk free, and with
the elevation that is ſuitable to it. Between one
nation and another, as between man and man,
he who can have the power and the right to pro-
tect me, may alſo have the power and the will to
do me an injury. I give up the protector, in or-
der that I may not have a maſter to fear.
IN Europe, the people are too clofely preffed
together, to admit this part of the globe to enjoy
conftant peace. The interefts of courts and of
nations are always clafhing with each other. As
the friends of England, we are obliged to have
all her enemies. The dowry which this alliance
will bring to America is perpetual war.
Let us,
therefore, ſeparate. Neutrality, trade, and peace;
fuch are the foundations of our grandeur.
THE authority of Great Britain muft, fooner or
later, have an end. This is the operation of na-
ture, of neceffity, and of time. The Engliſh go-
vernment, therefore, can only give us a temporary
conftitution; and we ſhall only bequeath to our
poſterity, an American ftate, burdened with dif
fenfions and debts. If we be defirous of fecuring
our happineſs, let us feparate. If we be fathers,
and if we love our children, let us feparate.
Laws and liberty, fuch is the inheritance we owe
them.
ENGLAND
190
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
XVIII.
ENGLAND is at too great a distance from us
to govern us. What, fhall we always crofs two
thouſand leagues to demand the protection of
laws, to claim juſtice, to juſtify ourſelves of ima-
ginary crimes, and meanly to folicit the court
and the miniftry of a foreign climate? Muft we
wait whole years for every anfwer, fuppofing it
were not even too often injuſtice that we were
obliged to go in fearch of acrofs the ocean? No,
for a great ſtate, the center and the feat of power
muft neceffarily be in the ftate itfelf. Nothing
but the defpotifm of the Eaft can poffibly have
accuſtomed the people thus to receive laws from
diftant maſters, or from bafhaws, who are the re-
preſentatives of invifible tyrants. But remember,
that the more the diſtance increaſes, the heavier
is the weight of defpotifm; and that the people,
then deprived of almoſt all the benefits of go-
vernment, have none but the misfortunes and
vices of it.
NATURE hath not created a world, in order to
fubject it to the inhabitants of an iſland in ano-
ther hemifphere. Nature hath eſtabliſhed laws
of equilibrium, which the follows in all parts,
in the heavens as on the earth. By the rule of
quantity and of distance, America can belong
only to itſelf.
THERE is no government without a mutual
confidence, between him who commands and him
who obeys. Otherwiſe all is over, the commu-
nication is interrupted, and cannot poffibly be
renewed. England hath fhewn too evidently,
that the wanted to command us as flaves; Ame-
rica, that ſhe was equally fenfible of her rights
and her ſtrength. Each of them hath betrayed
it's fecret; and from that moment no treaty can
take place. It would be figned by hatred and
*
miftruft;
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
191
miſtruſt; hatred which cannot forgive, and miſ- B O O K
truft, which in it's nature is irreconcileable.
WOULD you know what would be the conſe-
quence of an accommodation? Your ruin. You
ftand in need of laws, and will not obtain them.
Who is to give them to you? The Engliſh na-
tion? But fhe is jealous of your increaſe. The
king? He is your enemy. Yourſelves, in your
affemblies? Do you not recollect, that every le-
giflation is fubject to the negative right of the
monarch who wishes to fubdue you? This right
would be a terrible one, inceffantly militating
against you. Should you make demands, they
will be eluded: fhould you form plans of gran-
deur and commerce, they would become an ob-
ject of alarm for the mother-country. Your go-
vernment would be nothing more than a clandef
tine war, fuch as that of an enemy who wishes to
deſtroy without fighting; it would be, in politi-
cal œconomy, a flow and concealed affaffination,
which gives rife to languor, which prolongs and
entertains weakneſs, and which, by a deſtructive
art, keeps the body equally fufpended between
life and death. If you should fubmit to England,
fuch will be your fate.
WE have a right to take up arms. Our rights
are, neceffity, a juft defence; our misfortunes,
thofe of our children, the enormities committed
againſt us. Our rights are our auguſt title of na-
tion. The fword muft decide between us. The
tribunal of war is henceforth the only tribunal
that exifts for us. If we must fight, let it at
leaſt be for a caufe that is worthy, and which will
reward us for the laviſhment of our riches and
our blood. What! fhall we expofe ourſelves to
ſee our cities deftroyed, our countries ravaged,
our families put to the fword, merely to obtain
an honourable accommodation, that is to fay, to
intreat
XVIII.
192
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK intreat for new chains, and to cement ourſelves
XVIII. the edifice of our flavery? What! fhall it be by
the light of conflagrations; fhall it be over the
graves of our fathers, of our children, and of our
wives, that we fhall fign a treaty with our op-
preffion? And will they, covered over with our
blood, condefcend to forgive us? Alas! we
fhould then be nothing more than a vile object of
aſtoniſhment to Europe, of indignation to Ame-
rica, and of contempt even to our enemies. If
we can obey, we have had no right to contend.
Liberty alone can abfolve us. Liberty, and en-
tire liberty, is the only aim worthy of our efforts,
and of our perils. What do I fay? It belongs to
us from this moment. It is in the bloody plains
of Lexington that our claims are regiſtered; it is
there that England hath torn in pieces that
contract which united us to her. Yes, at the
inftant when England fired the first shot againſt
us, nature herſelf proclaimed us free and inde-
pendent.
LET us avail ourfelves of the benefits we re-
ceive from our enemies. The youth of nations is
the age the moſt favourable to their independ-
ence. It is the period of energy and vigour.
Our minds are not yet furrounded with that
parade of luxury, which ferves as a hoftage to
tyranny. Our limbs are not yet enervated by the
arts of effeminacy. There is none of that nobility
bearing fway among us, which, even by it's con-
ftitution, is allied to kings; which is no further
attached to liberty, than when it can make it the
means of oppreffion; that nobility, eager of rights
and titles, for whom, in times of revolution and
crifis, the people are nothing more than an in-
ftrument, and for whom the fupreme power is a
corrupter always at hand..
YOUR
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,
193
✔
YOUR colonies are formed of plain and cou- B O O K
rageous, laborious and proud men; men who are XVIII.
at once the proprietors and the cultivators of
their lands. Liberty is the firft of their wants.
Ruftic labours have previously inured them to
war. Public enthufiafm will bring forth talents
unknown. It is in revolutions that the minds of
men are enlarged, that heroes make their ap-
pearance, and take their poft. Recall Holland to
your memory, and the multitude of extraordinary
men to whom the conteft for her liberty gave
birth: fuch is your example. Recollect her fuc-
cefs: fuch is your prefage.
LET our first meaſure be to form a conftitution
that may unite us. The moment is come. Later
than this, it would be abandoned to an uncertain
futurity, and to the caprices of chance. The
more we acquire men and riches, the more bar-
riers will ariſe between us. How fhall we then
conciliate ſo many interefts, and fo many pro-
vinces? For a union of this kind, it is neceffary
that every people fhould be fenfible at once of
the weakneſs and ftrength of the whole. Great
calamities, or great apprehenfions, muſt prevail.
Then it is, that among nations, as among indi
viduals, thofe vigorous and rooted friendſhips
take place, which reciprocally bind the fouls and
the intereſt of men. Then it is, that one fingle
ſpirit univerfally prevailing, forms the genius of
ftates; and that all the fcattered forces become,
by being collected, one fole and terrible force.
Thanks to our perfecutors, we are now at that
period; and if we have courage, it will be a for-
tunate one for us. Few nations have feized the
favourable moment for the formation of their
go-
vernment. If this moment fhould once eſcape, it
never returns; and men are confequently punifh-
ed with ages of anarchy and flavery. Let not a
VOL. VI.
fimilar
·
Q
194
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
us, which
BO O K fimilar fault prepare fimilar regrets for us,
XVIII. would be ineffectual.
LET us, therefore, feize upon the moment
which is the only one for us.
It is in our power
to form the fineft conftitution that ever exifted
among men. You have read in your facred writ
ings, the hiftory of mankind buried under a gene-
ral deluge of the globe. One fingle family fur-
vived, and was commiffioned by the Supreme Be-
ing to renew the earth. We are that family. De-
ſpotifm hath overwhelmed every thing; and we
can renew the world a fecond time.
AT this inftant, we are going to determine the
fate of a race of men more numerous, perhaps,
than all the people of Europe taken together.
Shall we wait 'till we become the prey of the
conqueror, and till the hopes of the univerfe fhall
be fruftrated? Let us fuppofe, that all the future
generations of the world have at this moment
their eyes fixed upon us, and are afking us for
liberty. We are going to fettle their deftiny. If
we betray them, they will one day walk over our
graves with their chains, and perhaps load us with
imprecations.
REMEMBER a work that hath appeared among
us, and the motto of which was, UNION OR
DEATH.
LET us therefore unite, and begin by declaring
our INDEPENDENCE. That alone can efface the
title of rebellious fubjects, which our infolent op-
preffors dare to beftow upon us. That alone can
make us rife to that dignity that is our due, in-
fure us allies among the powers, and imprint re-
ſpect even on our enemies; and if we treat with
them, that alone can give us the right of treat-
ing with that right and majefty which belongs to
a nation.
BUT
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
195
We all look
BUT I will repeat it: Let us lofe no time. Our в O O K
uncertainty occafions our weakneſs. Let us dare XVIII.
to be free, and we are fo. When we are ready
to get over this ſtep, we ſtart back.
at each other with anxious curiofity. It feems as
if we were aſtoniſhed at our boldneſs, and fright-
ened at our courage. But it is no longer time to
calculate. In great affairs, and where there is but
one great meaſure to adopt, too much circum-
ſpection ceaſes to be prudence. Whatever is ex-
treme, demands an extreme refolution. Then the
moſt enterpriſing ſteps are the moſt prudent; and
the excess of boldnefs becomes even the means
and the warrant of fuccefs.
break the
the united
had England;
this and de-
them to
SUCH was the bafis of the fentiments and ideas The co-
diffuſed in this work. They confirmed. in their lonies
principles thoſe bold men, who for a long time ties which
paſt had aſked to be entirely detached from
mother-country. The timid citizens, who
hitherto hefitated, at length determined on
great feparation. The wifh for independence had clare
a fufficient number of partizans, to enable the ge- felves in-
neral congrefs to declare it on the 4th of July pendent
1776.
O, THAT I had received from nature the genius.
and eloquence of the celebrated orators of Athens
and Rome! With what fublimity, with what en-
thuſiaſm ſhould I not fpeak of thofe generous
men, who by their patience, their wiſdom, and
their courage, have erected this grand edifice.
Handcock, Franklin, and the two Adams's, were
the principal perfons in this intereſting ſcene;
but they were not the only ones. Pofterity will
be acquainted with them all. Their celebrated
names will be tranfmitted to it by a more fortu-
nate pen than mine. The marble and the bronze
will exhibit them to the remoteft ages. At fight
of them, the friend of liberty will feel his eyes
O 2
filled
them-
of that
country.
196
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK filled with pleafing tears, and his heart will bound
XVIII. with joy. Under the buft of one of them has
been written, HE TOOK FROM HEAVEN IT'S
THUNDER, AND FROM TYRANTS THEIR SCEP-
TRE. They will all partake with him the laſt
words of this encomium.
HEROIC region! mine advanced age will not
allow me to vifit thee! I fhall never be prefent
amidſt the reſpectable perfons who compofe your
Areopagus. I fhall never affift at the deliberati-
ons of your Congrefs. I fhall die without having
feen the refidence of toleration, of morality, and
of found laws; of virtue, and of liberty. A free
and facred land will not cover my afhres: but I
could have wifhed it; and my laft words fhall be
vows addreffed to Heaven for your profperity.
2
ALTHOUGH America was affured that her con-
duct would meet with univerfal approbation, yet
fhe thought it her duty to lay before the nations
the motives of it. She publiſhed her manifefto*
in which we read; the hiftory of the English na-
tion, and of it's king, will offer to pofterity, in
ſpeaking of them and of us, nothing but a heap
of outrages and ufurpations, all equally tending
to the eſtabliſhment of abfolute tyranny in theſe
provinces.
THIS hiſtory will fay, that it's monarch hath
refuſed to give his confent to laws which were the
moſt falutary and the moſt neceffary for the pub-
lic good.
THAT he hath transferred the affemblies to in-
convenient places, at a diftance from the records,
in order to bring the deputies more eafily into his
views.
*The English reader will eafily perceive, that this account is
not taken literally from the original manifefto publiſhed by the
Americans.
THAT
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
197
THAT he hath ſeveral times diffolved the cham- B O O K
ber of the reprefentatives, becauſe the rights of XVIII.
the people were ftrenuouſly defended there.
THAT after the diffolution, the ſtates have been
left too long without repreſentatives; and were
confequently expofed to the inconveniences re-
fulting from the want of an affembly.
THAT he hath endeavoured to put a stop to po-
pulation, by making it difficult for a foreigner to
be naturalized, and by requiring too much for
the lands of which he granted the property.
THAT he hath put the judges too much under
his dependence, by enacting that they fhould hold
their offices and their ſalaries from him alone.
THAT he hath created new places, and filled thoſe
regions with a multitude of agents, who devour-
ed our fubftance and diſturbed our tranquillity.
THAT in time of full peace he hath kept up
confiderable forces in the midſt of us, without the
confent of the legiſlative power.
THAT he hath rendered the military power inde-
pendent of, and even fuperior to, the civil law.
THAT he hath fettled with corrupt men to
lodge armed foldiers in our houſes, and to fhelter
them from puniſhment for the murders which
they might commit in America; to deſtroy our
trade in all the parts of the globe; to impoſe
taxes on us without our confent; to deprive us
in feveral cafes of our trials, by juries; to tranf-
port us beyond feas that we might be brought to
trial there; to take away our characters, ſuppreſs
our beſt laws, and alter the bafis and the form of
our government; to fufpend our own legiſlation
in order to give us other laws.
THAT he hath himſelf abdicated his govern-
ment over the provinces of America, by declar-
ing that we had forfeited his protection, and by
waging war againſt us.
THAT
198
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
XVIII.
THAT he hath caufed our coafts to be ravaged,
our ports to be deſtroyed, and our people to be
maffacred.
THAT he hath compelled our fellow-citizens,
taken priſoners at fea, to bear arms againſt their
country, to become the affaffins of their friends
and their brethren, or to perish themſelves by
thofe beloved hands.
THAT he hath fomented inteftine divifions
amongst us, and endeavoured to excite againſt
our peaceful inhabitants, barbarous favages, ac-
cuſtomed to maffacre without diftinction of rank,
of ſex, or of age, every perſon they met with.
THAT at this time mercenary and foreign ar-
mies have arrived on our fhores, who were in-
tended to confummate the work of defolation and
of death.
AND that a prince, whofe character was thus
marked by all the features of tyranny, was not
fit to govern a free people.
A PROCEEDING which diffolved the ties formed
by confanguinity, by religion, and by habit, ought
to have been fupported by a great unanimity and
by prudent and vigorous meaſures. The united
ftates of America gave themſelves a confederate
conftitution, which added all the exterior ſtrength
of the monarchy to all the interior advantages of
a republican government.
EACH province had an affembly formed by the
reprefentatives of the different diftricts, and who
were intrufted with the legislative power. The
executive power was veſted in the prefident. It.
was his right and his duty to hear the complaints
of all the citizens, to convene them when cir-
cumftances required it, to provide for the equip-
ment and fubfiftence of the troops, and to con-
cert the operations with their chiefs. He was
placed at the head of a fecret committee, whofe
bufinefs
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
199
buſineſs it was to keep up a conſtant intercourſe BO O K
with the general Congrefs. The time of his ad-, XVIII.
miniſtration is limited to two years, but the laws
allowed it to be prolonged.
THE provinces were not obliged to give an ac-
count of their adminiſtration to the great council
of the nation, although it was compofed of the
deputies of all the colonies. The fuperiority of
the general congrefs over each particular con-
grefs was limited to what concerned policy and
war.
傀
​BUT fome people have judged that the inftitu-
tion of this body was not fo well planned as the
legiſlation of the provinces. It fhould feem in-
deed, that confederate States, who emerge from
the condition of fubjects to rife to independence,
cannot without danger intruft their delegates with
an unlimited power of making peace or war.
For if theſe were either faithlefs or not much en-
lightened, they might again fubject the whole State
to the fame yoke from which it attempts to free
itſelf. It ſeems that in the inftant of a revolu
tion, the public wishes cannot be too much known
nor too literally explained. It is undoubtedly
neceffary, fay they, that all the meaſures, all the
operations which concur to the common attack
or defence, fhould be decided by the common
reprefentatives of the body of the State; but the
continuation of the war, and the conditions of
peace ought to be debated in each province; and
the deliberations fhould be tranfmitted to the
congrefs by the deputies, who ſhould ſubmit the
opinion of their provinces to the majority of votes,
Laſtly, it is added, that if it be right in eſtab-
lifhed governments for the people to confide in
the wifdom of the fenate, it is neceffary in a State
where the conftitution is forming, where the peo
ple, ftill uncertain of their fate, require their li
berty
200
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
XVIII.
BOOKberty fword in hand, that all the citizens ſhould
continually attend at the councils in the army, and
in the public places, and that they ſhould always
keep a watchful eye over the reprefentatives to
whom they have intrufted their deſtiny.
THOUGH theſe principles be generally true, it
may however be anſwered, that it was difficult
perhaps to apply them to the new republic form-
ed by the Americans. The cafe is not with them
as with the confederate republics we fee in Eu-
rope, I mean Holland and Switzerland, which
only occupy a territory of ſmall extent, and where
it is an eafy matter to eſtabliſh a rapid commu-
nication between the feveral provinces. The
fame thing may be faid of the confederacies of
ancient Greece. Theſe States were fituated at a
fmall diſtance from each other, almoft entirely
confined within the limits of the Peloponnefus, or
within the circuit of a narrow Archipelago. But
the United States of America, difperfed over an
immenfe continent, occupying in the New World
a ſpace of near fifteen degrees, feparated by de-
ferts, mountains, gulphs, and by a vaſt extent
of coafts, cannot enjoy fo ſpeedy a communica-
tion. If congrefs were not impowered to decide
upon political interefts without the particular de-
liberations of each province; if upon every oc-
cafion of the leaft importance, and every unfore-
feen event, it were neceffary for the repreſentatives
to receive new orders, and as it were a new pow-
er, this body would remain in a ſtate of inacti
vity. The diftances to be traverſed, together
with the length and the multiplicity of the de-
bates might be too frequently prejudicial to the
general good.
BESIDES, it is never in the infancy of a confti-
tution, and in the midst of the great commotions
for liberty, that we need apprehend that a body
of
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
201
of repreſentatives fhould betray, either from cor- BOOK
ruption or weakneſs, the interefts with which they XVIII.
are intruſted. The general fpirit will rather be
inflamed and exalted in fuch a body. There it
is that the genius of the nation refides in all it's
vigour. Chofen by the efteem of their fellow-
citizens, chofen at a time when every public
function is dangerous, and every vote an honour;
placed at the head of thoſe who will eternally
compofe this celebrated Areopagus, and on that
account naturally induced to confider public li-
berty as the work of their own hands, they muſt
be poffeffed with the enthufiafm of founders,
whoſe pride it is to engrave for future centuries
their names upon the frontispiece of the auguſt
monument which is erecting. The apprehenfions
which the favourers of the contrary fyftem might
have upon this account, appear therefore to be
ill-founded.
I WILL go further ftill. It might happen that
a people who fight for their liberty, fatigued
with a long and painful ftruggle, and more af-
fected with the dangers of the moment than with
the idea of their future happinefs, might feel
their courage dampt, and might one day, per-
haps, be tempted to prefer dependence and peace
to a tempestuous independence, which would ex-
poſe them to dangers and bloodshed. It is then
that it would be advantageous to thofe people to
have deprived themfelves of the power of making
peace with their oppreffors, and to have vefted
that power in the hands of a fenate which they
had chofen to be the organ of their will at a time
when that will was free, haughty, and courage-
ous. It ſeems as if they had told their fenate at
the time of their inftitution, We raiſe the ſtand-
ard of war against our tyrants; if our arms fhould
grow weary of the fight, if we fhould ever be ca-
pable
i.
202
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK pable of degrading ourſelves fo far as to fue for
XVIII. repofe, fupport us against our weakness: Do not
War be-
gins be-
States and
attend to wiſhes unworthy of ourſelves, which we
previouſly difavow; and do not pronounce the
name of peace till our chains fhall be entirely
broken.
ACCORDINGLY, if we confult the hiſtory of re-
publics, we ſhall find that the multitude have almoſt
always the impetuofity and the ardour of the firft
moment; but that it is only in a fmall number
of men chofen and fit to ferve as chiefs, in whom
refide thoſe conftant and vigorous refolutions
which proceed with a firm and certain ftep to-
wards a great aim, and which are never altered,
but obftinately ftruggle againſt calamities, for-
tune, and mankind.
HOWEVER this may be, and whatever fide we
tween the may take in this political difcuffion, the Ameri
United cans had not yet formed their ſyſtem of govern
England. ment, when in the month of March, Hopkins
was carrying off from the English islands of Pro-
vidence a very numerous artillery, and a great
quantity of warlike ftores; when at the beginning
of May, Carleton drove away from Canada the
Provincials who were employed in reducing Que-
bec, in order to finish the conqueft of that great
poffeffion; when in June, Clinton and Parker
were fo vigorously driven back upon the coafts of
South America. The declaration of independ
ence was followed by greater fcenes.
Howe had fucceeded the feeble Gage. It was
even the new general who had evacuated Bofton,
Received in Hallifax on the fecond of April, he
quitted it the tenth of June to go to Staten
Iland, where he was fucceffively joined by the
land and fea forces which he expected; and on
the 28th of Auguft he landed without oppofition
upon Long Island, under the protection of a fleet,
com.
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
203
}
commanded by the admiral his brother. The в OOK
Americans did not difplay much more vigour in XVIII.
the inland countries than upon the coafts. After
a trifling reſiſtance and confiderable loffes they
took refuge on the continent, with a facility which
a conqueror, who had known how to improve his
advantages, would never have given them.
THE new republicans forfook the city of New
York with ftill greater facility than they had eva-
cuated Long Island, and they retired to Kingf.
bridge, where every thing feemed diſpoſed for an
obftinate refiftance.
HAD the English followed up their first fuc-
ceffes with that activity which the circumſtances.
required, the new levies which were oppoſed to
them would infallibly have been difperfed or
obliged to lay down their arms. Six weeks
were allowed them to recover themfelves, and
they did not abandon their intrenchments till the
night of the 2d of November, when they were
convinced, by the motions which were made un-
der their eyes, that their camp was going to be
attacked,
ཝཱ
WASHINGTON their chief, did not chooſe to
truſt the fate of his country to an action, which
might have been, and which muft naturally have
been, decifive against the great interefts he was
intrufted with. He knew that delays are always
favourable to the inhabitants of a country and
fatal to ſtrangers. This conviction determined
him to fall back upon the Jerſeys with the inten-
tion of protracting the war. Favoured by the
winter, by the knowledge of the country, by the
nature of the territory, which deprived difcipline
of part of it's advantages, he might flatter him.
felf that he fhould be able to cover the greateſt
part of this fertile province, and to keep the ene
my at a distance from Pennfylvania, All of a
fudden
204
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK fudden he found his colours forfaken by foldiers,
XVIII. who were engaged for no more than fix or even
three months, and from an army of five and
twenty thousand men, he fcarcely kept together
two thouſand five hundred, with whom he found
himſelf very fortunate to eſcape beyond the De-
laware.
WITHOUT lofing a moment the royal troops
ought to have croffed the river in purfuit of this
fmall number of fugitives, and to have completed
the difperfion of them. If the five thousand men
deſtined for the conqueft of Rhode Iſland, had
gone up the river upon the fhips they were on
board of, the junction of the two corps would
have been made without oppofition in Philadel-
phia itſelf, and the new republic would have been
extinguiſhed in the famous and interefting city
which had given it birth.
能
​THE Engliſh general was perhaps cenfured at
that time for having been too timorous and too
circumfpect in the operations of the field. It is
however certain, that he was rafh in the distri-
bution of his winter-quarters. He fettled them
as if there had not been a fingle individual in
America, who either had the power or the incli
nation to moleft them.
THIS prefumption emboldened the militia of
Pennſylvania, of Maryland, and of Virginia, who
had united for their common fafety. The 25th
of December, they croffed the Delaware, and fell
unawares upon Trentown, which was occupied
by fifteen hundred of the twelve thouſand Hef-
fians, who had been ſo bafely fold to Great Bri-
tain by their avaricious mafter. This corps was
either maffacred, taken, or intirely difperfed. A
week after, three English regiments were alfo
driven out of Princes Town, but not without hav-
ing fhewn more courage than the foreign troops
in
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
205
in their pay. Theſe unexpected events reduced BOOK
the enemies of America in Jerſey, to the poſts of XVIII.
Amboy and of Brunfwick; and they were even
much haraffed there during the remainder of the
bad feaſon. The effect of great paffions and great
dangers is frequently to aftonifh the foul, and to
plunge it in a kind of ftupor which deprives it of
the uſe of it's powers. By degrees it comes to
itſelf and recovers. All it's faculties fufpended
for a moment, exert themſelves with greater
energy. It ftrains all it's fprings, and it's ftrength
becomes equal to it's fituation. In a great mul-
titude fome individuals firft experience this effect,
and it is quickly communicated to all. This re-
volution had been accompliſhed in the confede-
rate States, and armed men iffued forth from all
quarters of them.
THE campaign of 1777, was opened very late.
The English army defpairing of making a road to
Pennſylvania through the Jerfeys, embarked at
length on the 23d of July, and arrived by Che-
feapeak Bay, in a country which their generals
might be cenfured for not having invaded the pre-
ceding year. Their march was not interrupted.
till they came to Brandewine, where they attacked
and defeated the Americans on the 11th of Sep-
tember, and arrived on the 30th at Philadelphia,
which had been abandoned by Congrefs on the
25th, and by a great number of the inhabitants
fome days fooner or later.
THIS Conqueft was attended with no confe-
quences. The conquerors beheld nothing but
hatred and devaſtation around them. Confined
in a very circumfcribed fpace, they, met with un-
furmountable obftacles in extending themſelves.
upon an uncultivated territory. Their gold even
did not furnish them with refources from the
neighbouring diſtricts, and they could only ac-
1
quire
206
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK quire their fubfiftence from acrofs the feas.
XVIII. Wearied with a confinement which had lafted
nine months, they determined to regain New
York by the Jerſeys; and this long and danger-
ous retreat was accompliſhed under the command
of Clinton, who had fucceeded Howe, with leſs
lofs than they would have fuffered from a more
experienced enemy.
WHILE the Engliſh were languishing in Penn-
fylvania a vaſt ſcene was opening in the more
northern countries of America. In the month of
May 1776, Carleton had driven away the pro-
vincials from Canada, and deftroyed in October
the ſhips of war which had been conſtructed upon
lake Champlain. This fuccefs carried Burgoyne
to Ticonderago, in the month of July of the
enfuing year. At his approach, the garrison of
four thousand men abandoned this important
poft with the loſs of their artillery, ammunition,
and rear guard.
:
THE English general was naturally prefumptu-
ous, and his boldnefs was increaſed by thefe evi-
dent figns of weaknefs. He had conceived the
deſign of uniting the troops of Canada with thoſe
of New York by the fhores of Hudfon's Bay.
This project was great and daring. Had it fuc-
ceeded it would have divided South America into
But
two parts and perhaps have ended the war.
in order to make it fucceed, it was neceffary that
while one army was going down the river another
fhould be coming up it. This plan having failed,
Burgoyne ought to have perceived from the
first that his enterprife was chimerical. It be-
came more fo every march. His communica-
tion became more diftant and his provifions were
diminishing. The courage of the Americans be-
ing revived, they affembled and clofed him on
all fides. At length this unfortunate army found
itfelf
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
207
itſelf ſurrounded on the 13th October at Sarato- B O O K
ga, and the nations heard with aftonishment, XVIII.
that fix thouſand of the beſt difciplined troops of
the Old Hemiſphere, had laid down their arms
before the hufbandmen of the New Hemiſphere,
under the conduct of the fortunate Gates. Thofe
who recollected that the Swedes of Charles XII.
who had till then been invincible, had capitu-
lated to the Ruffians, who were ftill in a ftate of
barbariſm, did not cenfure the Engliſh troops,
and only blamed the imprudence of their ge-
neral.
THIS event, fo decifive in the opinion of our
politicians, was attended with no greater confe-
quences than had refulted from actions lefs fa-
vourable to the American arms. After three years
fpent in battles, devaftation and maffacres, affairs
were much in the fame fituation as they were a
fortnight after the commencement of hoftilities.
Let us endeavour to inveſtigate the cauſe of this
ſtrange fingularity.
the reafon
that the
fucceeded
confede-
ENGLAND, accuftomed to ftormy times in her What is
own country, did not at first perceive all the
dangerous tendency of the tempeft which was English
rifing in her diftant poffeffions. Her troops had have not
been a long time infulted at Boſton. An autho- in fubdu-
rity independent of her own had been formed in ing the
Maffachufett's Bay; the other colonies were pre-rate pro-
paring to follow that example before adminiftra- vinces.
tion had ſeriouſly attended to thofe great objects.
When they were laid before parliament they ex-
cited much clamours in both houſes, and there
was no end to the debates. The fenate of the
nation at length determined, that the country
which rebelled against it's decrees fhould be com-
pelled by force to fubmit to them. But this vio-
lent refolution was carried into execution with that
delay which is but too common in free States.
•
ENG-
208
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
ENGLAND was generally of opinion, that de-
XVIII. fencelefs coafts and countries, which were en
tirely laid open, could not long refift her fleets
and her armies. It did not appear to her that
this expedition would continue long enough to
give the peaceful cultivators of America time to
inftruct themfelves in the art of war. She did
not take into confideration the climate, the rivers,
the defiles, the woods, the moraffes, the want of
fubfiftence increafing in proportion as one ad-
vanced in the inland countries, together with an
infinite number of other natural obftacles which
would impede any rapid progreſs in a country
three-fourths of which were uncultivated, and
which ought to be confidered as a recent one.
THE fucceffes were ftill more retarded by the
influence of moral caufes.
GREAT BRITAIN is the region of parties. Her
kings have moſt generally been convinced of the
neceffity of abandoning the direction of affairs to
the prevailing faction, by which they were com-
monly conducted with intelligence and vigour,
becauſe the principal agents who compofed it
were animated with one common intereft. At
that time, to the public fpirit which prevails
more in England than in any European govern-
ment, was added the ftrength of faction, and
that fpirit of party which is perhaps the firſt ſpring
of a republic, and which fo powerfully agitates
the foul, becauſe it is always the effect of fome
paffion.
George III. in order to free himſelf from
this long tutelage, compofed his council of mem-
bers unconnected with each other. This inno-
vation was not attended with great inconveni-
ences, as long as events moved on in their ordi-
nary circle. But when the American war had
complicated a machine which was already too
intricate, it was perceived that it had no longer
that
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
209
J.
that power and that union fo neceffary to accom-BOOK
pliſh great things. The wheels, too much di. XVIII.
vided, wanted as it were one common impulfe
and a center of motion. Their progreffion was
alternately tardy and precipitate. The admini-
ſtration reſembled too much that of an ordinary
monarchy, when the principle of action doth not
come from the head of an active and intelligent
monarch, who himſelf collects under his own
management all the fprings of government.
There was no longer any harmony in the enter-
priſes, nor was there any more in the execution
of them.
A MINISTRY without harmony and without
concord was expofed to the attacks inceffantly
renewed of an adverfe body of men united and
compacted together. Their refolutions, whatever
they might be, were oppofed with ridicule and
with argument. They were cenfured for having.
acted with violence againſt citizens at a diſtance,
and they would have been equally cenfured, had
they treated them with more circumfpection.
Even thoſe who in parliament exclaimed the moſt
vehemently againſt the treatment the Americans
had met with, thoſe who encouraged them the
moſt to reſiſtance, thofe who perhaps fent them
fecret fuccours, were as much averfe from their
independence, as the minifter whom they were
inceffantly endeavouring to degrade or to render
odious. If the oppofition had fucceeded in dif-
gufting the prince of his confidents, or had pre-
vailed upon him to facrifice them on account of
the clamours of the nation, the project of con-
quering America would ftill have been purfued;
but with more dignity, with more ſtrength, and
with meaſures perhaps better adapted. But as the
reduction of the provinces was not to be accom-
pliſhed by them, they chofe rather that this im-
VOL. VI.
menſe
P
216
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK menfe part of the British empire fhould be fepa
XVIII rated from it, than that it fhould remain attached
to it by any other means than their's.
The
THE generals did not repair, by their activity,
the errors of theſe contradictions, and of the de-
lays which were the confequence of them. They
granted too long repofe to the foldiers; they
wafted in deliberation the time which they ſhould
have employed in action; they marched up to
new-raiſed troops with as much precaution as
they would have taken againſt veterans.
Engliſh, who are fo impetuous in their factions,
diſplay on all other occafions a calm and cool
character. They require violent paffions to agi-
tate them. When this ftimulus is wanting, they
calculate all their motions... Then they conduct
themſelves according to the tenor of their cha-
racter, which in general, except in the arts of
imagination and tafte, is univerfally mechanical
and prudent. In war, their valour never lofes
fight of military principles, and leaves little to
chance. They ſcarce ever leave upon their flanks,
or in their rear, any thing that can give them
uneafinefs. This fyftem hath it's advantages,
eſpecially in a narrow and confined country,
in a country thick fet with fortreffes, or mili
tary pofts. But in the prefent circumftances,
and on the vaft continent of America, againft
a people to whom one fhould not have allowed
time to fortify themſelves, nor to inure them-
felves to war, the perfection of the art would
perhaps have been, to lay it entirely afide; to
fubftitute to it an impetuous and rapid march,
and that boldneſs which at once aſtoniſhes, ftrikes,
and overthrows. It was in the firft inftances efpe-
cially, that it would have been proper to imprefs
the Americans, not with the terror of ravages,
which irritate rather than they frighten a people:
..
armed
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.-
21 1:
1:
armed for their liberty; but with that which BOOK
arifes from the fuperiority of talents and of XVIII.
arms, and which a warlike people of the
Old World ought naturally to have carried into
the New One. The confidence of victory would
foon have been victory itſelf. But by too much
circumfpection, by too fervile an attachment to
principles and to rules, commanders of little ſkill
failed in rendering that fervice to their country
which the expected, and had a right to expect
from them.
1
-
THE troops, on the other hand, did not prefs
their officers to lead them on to action. They
arrived from a country, where the caufe which
had obliged them to croſs fo many feas excited no
concern. It was, in the
It was, in the eyes of the people, an
effervefcence which would have no confequences.
They confounded the debates which it occafioned
in parliament, with other debates, which were
often of little importance. It was not talked
of; and if any perfon happened to mention it,
they appeared to be no more intereſted in it,
than in that kind of news which, in great cities,
employs the lounging hours of every day. The
indifference of the nation had communicated it-
ſelf to thoſe who were to defend their rights.
Perhaps even they were apprehenfive of gaining
too decifive an advantage over fellow-citizens,
who had only taken up arms to prevent flavery.
In all the monarchies of Europe, the foldier is
only the inſtrument of defpotifm, and his fenti-
ments are analogous. He thinks he belongs to
the throne, and not to his country; and a hun
dred thousand men in arms are nothing more
than one hundred thouſand difciplined and ter-
rible ſlaves. The habit even of exercising the
empire of force, to which every thing gives way,
contributes to extinguish in them all idea of
P 2
liberty.
212
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK liberty.
Finally, the difcipline, and military
XVIII. fubordination, which, at the command of one
fingle man, puts thoufands in motion; which
doth not fuffer the foldier either to fee or to
afk queftions; and which, on the firft fignal,
makes it a rule to kill or to die, tends com-
pletely to change in them thofe fentiments
into principles, and makes them as it were the
moral fyftem of their condition. It is not the
fame in England. The influence of the con-
ftitution is fo powerful, that it extends even
to the troops. A man there is a citizen before he
is a foldier. Public opinion agreeing with the con-
ftitution, honours one of theſe titles, and thinks
little of the other. Accordingly, we fee from
the hiſtory of the revolutions that have happened
in this turbulent iſland, that the English foldier,
though enliſted for life, preferves a paffion for
political liberty, the idea of which cannot be
eafily conceived in our regions of flavery.
How is it poffible that the ardour which was
wanting to the British troops fhould have ani-
mated the Heffians, the Brunfwickers, and the
other Germans, ranged under the fame ftand-
ards, and all of them equally diffatisfied with the
fovereigns who had fold them, diffatisfied with
the prince who had purchaſed them, diffatisfied
with the nation that paid them, and diffatisfied
with their comrades, who defpifed them as mer-
cenaries. Befides, they had alfo in the enemy's
camp, brothers whom they were afraid of de-
ftroying, and by whofe hands they would not
have wished to be wounded.
THE fpirit of the Britiſh armies was alfo
changed, in confequence of a revolution which
had taken place in the manners of the nation for
about fifteen or eighteen years paft. The fuc-
ceffes of the laft war; the extenfion commerce
had
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,
213
had received after the peace; the great acquifi- BOOK
tions made in the Eaft Indies; all thefe means of XVIII.
wealth had accumulated uninterruptedly prodi-
gious riches in Great Britain. Thefe treaſures
kindled the defire of freſh enjoyments. The
great went in fearch of this art in foreign coun-
tries, eſpecially in France, and brought with
them the poifon of it into their own country.
From the men of high rank, it foon diffuſed it-
felf among all orders of men. To a haughty,
fimple, and reſerved character, fucceeded the
tafte for parade, diffipation, and gallantry. The
travellers who had formerly vifited this ifland fo
celebrated, thought themfelves under another
fky. The contagion had even gained the troops;
they carried into the New Hemiſphere that paf-
fion they had contracted in the Old one, for play,
the inclination for all the conveniences of life,
and for high living. In quitting the coafts, they
fhould have renounced all the fuperfluities to
which they were attached; and that tafte for
luxury, that ardour, fo much the more violent as
it was recent, did not encourage them to follow
into the inland parts, men who were always ready
to fall back upon them. Ye new politicians,
who advance with fo much confidence, that the
manners have no kind of influence upon the de-
ſtiny of ſtates; that for them, the meaſure of their
grandeur is that of their riches; that the luxury
of peace, and the voluptuous purfuits of the citi-
zen, cannot weaken the effect of thofe great ma-
chines which are called armies, and the ſenſible
and terrible impulfe of which European difci-
pline hath brought to fo great perfection: you
who, to fupport your opinion, turn your eyes
away from the afhes of Carthage and the ruins
of Rome; fufpend at leaſt your judgment at the
account I am giving you, and acknowledge that
I
there
214
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK there may perhaps be opportunities of fuccefs,
XVIII. which luxury prevents us from availing ourfelves
of. Acknowledge that for troops even that are
brave, it has been often the first fource of victory,
that they had no wants. It is too eafy a matter,
perhaps, to have nothing but death to face. Na-
tions corrupted by wealth have a more difficult
trial to undergo; that of fupporting the priva-
tion of their pleaſures.
Why have
not the
LET us add to all theſe reaſons, that the inftru-
ments of war do not often arrive acroſs the feas
in the proper ſeaſons for action. Let us add,
that the councils of George III. had too much
influence over military operations, which were to
be carried on at fo great a distance from them;
and we ſhall then comprehend most of the ob-
ftacles which impeded the fuccefs of the ruinous
efforts of the mother-country againſt the liberty
of the colonies.
BUT wherefore did not America herſelf repulfe
from her fhores the Europeans who were bring-
rate pro- ing death or flavery to her?
confede-
vinces fuc-
ceeded in
THIS New World was defended by regular
driving
troops, which at first had been enlifted only for
the Eng- three or fix months, and afterwards for three
the conti- years, or even for all the time hoftilities might
nent of A- laft. It was defended by citizens, who only
lith from
merica?
took the field when their particular province was
either invaded or threatened. Neither the ftand-
ing army, nor the militia affembled for a time,
breathed the military fpirit. They were planters,
merchants, lawyers, exerciſed only in the arts of
peace, and led on to danger by commanders as
little verfed as their fubalterns in the very com-
plicated ſcience of military actions. In this ftate
of things, what hope was there of their acting
with advantage against men grown old in dif-
cipline, trained to evolutions, fkilled in tactics,
}
and
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
215
1
f
and abundantly provided with all the inftruments BOOK
neceffary for a brisk attack, and for an obftinate XVIII.
refiftance?
ENTHUSIASM alone could have furmounted
fuch difficulties. But did it really exift more in
the colonies than in the mother-country?
THE general opinion in England was, that the
parliament had effentially the right of taxing all
the regions which conftituted a part of the Britiſh
empire. At the commencement of the troubles,
there were not perhaps a hundred individuals
who would have called this authority in queſtion.
Nevertheless, the refufal of the Americans to ac-
knowledge it, did not fet the minds of men againſt
them. There was no hatred entertained againſt
them, even after they had taken up arms to fup-
port their pretenfions. As the labours in the in-
land parts of the kingdom were not affected, and
as the thunder was only heard at a distance,
every one attended peaceably to his own affairs,
or devoted himſelf quietly to his pleaſures. All
of them expected, without impatience, the end
of a ſcene, the termination of which did not in-
deed appear uncertain to them.
THE ferment muſt at firft have broken out
with more violence in the New than in the Old
Hemiſphere. Hath ever the odious name of ty-
ranny, or the pleafing word of independence,
been pronounced to the nations, without raifing
emotions in them? But was this ardour kep up?
If the imaginations of men had been maintained
in their firſt ſtate of commotion, would it not
have been the bufinefs of a rifing authority to at-
tend to the fuppreffion of the excefs of it? But
far from having boldneſs to reſtrain, it was cow-
ardice they had to guard againft. They punished
defertion with death, and ftained the ftandard of
liberty with affaffinations. They refufed to ex-
1
change
-21-6
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
•
BOOK change prifoners, for fear of increafing, in the
XVIII. troops, their inclination to furrender at the first
fummons. They were reduced to the neceffity of
erecting tribunals, appointed to profecute their
generals or their lieutenants who fhould abandon
too lightly the pofts committed to their truft. It
is true, an old man of fourfcore years of age,
whom they wanted to fend back to his home,
exclaimed: My death may be useful; I fhall cover
with my body a younger man than I am. It is true,
that Putnam faid to a loyalist who was his pri-
foner: Return to your commander; and if he ſhould
aſk you how many troops I have, tell him I have
enough; that if even he should beat them, there will
remain enough; and that he will experience, in the
end, that Ifball have enough for him, and for the
tyrants whom he ferves. Theſe fentiments were
heroic, but rare; and they became lefs common
every day.
THE intoxication was never general, and in-
deed could only be temporary. Of all the cauſes
of energy
which have produced fo many revo-
lutions on the globe, none exifted in the North
of America. No outrage had been committed
either againſt religion or the laws. The blood
of martyrs and of citizens had not flowed upon
the fcaffolds. The morals had received no infult.
The manners and the customs, none of thoſe ob-
jects to which the people are ſo much attached,
had been delivered up to ridicule. Arbitrary
power had not dragged any inhabitant from the
midſt of his family and his friends, to plunge
him into the horrors of a prifon. Public order
had not been fubverted. The principles of admi-
niftration had not been altered; and the maxims
of government had remained always the fame.
The only circumftance was to know, whether the
mother-country had or had not the right, directly
or
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
217
or indirectly, of laying a flight tax on the colo- E O O K
nies for the accumulated grievances mentioned XVIII.
in the manifeſto arofe only from this firſt griev-
ance. This queſtion, which is almoft a meta-
phyſical one, was fcarce proper to raiſe an in-
furrection among the multitude, or at leaſt to
intereft them ftrongly in a quarrel, for which
they faw their lands deprived of the affiftances
neceffary to fertilize them, their harveſts ravaged,
and their fields covered with the dead bodies of
their relations, or ftained with their own blood.
To thefe calamities, which were occafioned by the
royal troops on the coaft, others were foon added,
ſtill more infupportable, in the inland parts of
the country.
WHENEVER the reftleffneſs of the courts of
London and Verfailles had diſturbed North Ame
rica, thoſe two powers had always drawn into
their fanguinary contefts the wandering inhabi-
tants of this part of the New Hemifphere. In-
formed by experience how much weight theſe
hords of favages could throw into the fcale, the
Engliſh and the coloniſts refolved equally to em-
ploy them to their mutual deftruction.
CARLETON firft endeavoured to put arms into
the hands of theſe barbarians in Canada. They
anſwered his applications with faying: "This is
"a difpute between a father and his children; it
"does not become us to interfere in this do-
"meftic quarrel."-" But if the rebels fhould
❝come to attack this province, would you not
"affift us in repelling them ?"-" Since the
66.
peace, the hatchet of war is buried forty fathom
"deep."" You could certainly find it, if you
"were to dig for it." The handle is rotten,
" and we could make no ufe of it."
THE United States were not more fuccessful.
"We have heard of the differences that have
❝arifen
218
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK ariſen between Old and New England," ſaid
XVIII. the tribe of the Oneidas to their deputies. We
"will never take a part in contefts of fo atro-
"cious a nature. A war between brothers is a
"thing new and unknown in theſe regions. Our
"traditions have not left us any inftance of this
kind. Extinguish your extravagant hatred;
and may a more ferene fky difpel the dark
"cloud that furrounds you.'
THE Mafphis alone feemed to intereft them-
felves in the fate of the Americans.
"Here are
"fixteen fhillings for you," faid thefe good fa-
vages. "It is all we are worth. We intended to
"buy fome rum with it; but we will drink wa-
"ter. We will go to the chace; and if we ſhould
kill any animals, we will fell their ſkins, and
bring you the money."
4
BUT in procefs of time, the very active emiffa-
ries of Great Britain fucceeded in bringing over
to her fide ſeveral of the original nations. Her
intereſts were preferred to thoſe of her enemies,
becauſe the diſtance had not allowed her fubjects
to commit the fame outrages against the favages
as they had received from their proud neigh-
bours; and becaufe fhe was both able and in-
clined to pay more liberally for the fervices fhè
might receive from them. Under her colours
thefe allies, whofe ferocious character knew no
reſtraint, did infinitely more mifchief to the co-
loniſts fettled near the mountains, than fuch of
their fellow-citizens who had the good fortune to
be ſettled near the borders of the ocean received
from the royal troops.
:
:
THESE calamities fell only upon a more or lefs
confiderable number of the Americans; but they
were foon all of them afflicted with an internal
misfortune.
THE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
219
XVIII.
THE metals, which cover the face of the whole B O O K
globe, and reprefent all the objects of commerce,
were never abundant in this part of the New
World. The fmall quantity that was found
there even diſappeared at the firft breaking out
of hoftilities. To thefe figns of univerfal con-
vention were ſubſtituted others peculiar to theſe
diſtricts. Paper fupplied the want of money. T
give fome kind of dignity to this new pledge, i
was furrounded with emblems calculated to re
call continually to the minds of the people the
greatnefs of their enterpriſe, the inestimable va
lue of liberty, and the neceffity of a perfeverance
fuperior to all misfortunes. The artifice did no
fucceed; and thefe ideal riches were rejected
The more did neceffity oblige them to be multi
plied, the more did their difcredit increaſe. The
congrefs was offended with the infult done to
their coin; and they declared traitors to their
country
all thoſe who ſhould not receive it as they
would have received gold.
DID not the congrefs then know, that autho
rity can no more be exerted over the mind than
over opinion? Were they not fenfible, that in
the prefent crifis, every reaſonable citizen would
be apprehenſive of rifking his fortune? Did they
not perceive, that at the origin of the republic,
they indulged themſelves in acts of defpotifm un
known in countries that are even formed to fer.
vitude? Could they conceal from themfelves, that
they puniſhed a want of confidence with the fame
puniſhment which would fcarce have been merit-
ed for revolt and treafon? The congrefs perceived
all this; but had no choice of means. Their
contemptible and rejected paper was actually thirty
times below it's original value, when they fabri-
cated more of it. On the 13th September 1779,
there was circulating among the public to the
•
amount
220
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK amount of 799,744,000 livres of it. The ftate
XVIII. was then indebted 188,670,525 livres +, exclufive
of the debts peculiar to each province.
THE people were not indemnified for a cala-
mity which might be called domeftic, by a free
intercourfe with all the other parts of the globe.
Great Britain had intercepted their navigation
with the West Indies, and with all the latitudes.
which were covered with their fhips. They then
declared to the world, "It is the English name
"which hath rendered us odious; we folemnly
66
-1
abjure it. All men are our brethren. We are
the friends of every nation. All flags may ap-
pear upon our coafts, and frequent our ports
"without fear of infult." But this invitation,
apparently fo alluring, was not complied with.
The ſtates that were really commercial being ap-
prized that North America had been obliged to
contract debts, at the period even of it's greateſt
profperity, judicioufly imagined, that in it's pre-
fent diftrefs, it would be able to pay very little
for what was brought to it. The French alone
dared to brave the inconveniences of this new
connection. But by the enlightened vigilance of
Admiral Howe, moſt of the fhips which they fitted
out were taken before they arrived to the place
of their deſtination, and the reft at their departure
from the American fhores. Of feveral hundred
fhips fent out from France, no more than twenty-
five or thirty returned; and even thefe were of
little or no benefit to their owners.
7
A NUMBER of privations, added to fo many ca-
lamities, might have made the Americans regret
their former tranquillity, and inclined them to a
reconciliation with England. In vain were the
people bound by the faith of oaths, and by the
* 33,322,6661. 13s. 4d.
+7,861,2711. 12s. 6d.
influence
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
221
influence of religion, to the new government. BOOK
In vain had it been endeavoured to convince them XVIII.
of the impoffibility of negotiating fafely with a
mother-country, in which one parliament could
fubvert what had been regulated by another.
In vain had they been threatened with the eternal
refentment of an affronted and vindictive enemy.
It was poffible that theſe diftant apprehenfions.
might not counterbalance the weight of the pre-
fent calamities.
SUCH was the opinion of the Britiſh miniſtry,
when they fent public agents into the New World,
who were authorized to offer any terms fhort of
independence, to thofe very Americans, from
whom, two years before, an unlimited fubmiffion
had been required. There is fome probability,
that this plan of conciliation might have been
fuccefsful fome months before. But at the period
when the court of London fent to propofe it, it
was haughtily rejected, becauſe this ſtep appear-
ed only to be the effect of fear and weaknefs.
The people were already re-animated; the con-
grefs, the generals, the troops, the intelligent or
bold, men who in every colony had affumed the
authority, all, in a word, had recovered their
former fpirit. This was the effect of a treaty of
friendſhip and commerce between the United
States and the court of Verfailles, which was
figned on the 6th of February 1778.
>
es the in-
United
HAD the English miniſtry reflected, they would France ac-
have comprehended that the fame delirium which knowledg-
cauſed them to attack their colonies, fhould have depend-
compelled them inftantly to declare war againft ence of the
France. The circumfpection which ought always States.
to attend a new reign then prevailed in the coun- This ftep
cils of this crown. Their finances were then in
that ſtate of confufion, into which they had been tween that
plunged by twenty years perfeverance in folly, crown and
The
occafions
a war be-
222
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
the crown
land,
BOOK The ruined ftate of their navy then raiſed anxiety
XVIII. in the breaſt of every citizen. Spain, already ha-
raffed with her extravagant expedition against Al-
of Eng- giers, was then ſurrounded with difficulties which
would have prevented her from being able to affift
her allies. England might, without rafhnefs, have
flattered herſelf with fuccefs against the moſt
powerful of her enemies; and might have inti-
midated America, by victories obtained in it's
neighbourhood. The importance it was of to
this crown, to deprive it's rebellious fubjects of
the only ſupport they were certain of, would
have diminiſhed the indignation excited by the
violation of the moſt folemn treaties.
GEORGE III. faw nothing of all this. The:
clandeftine fuccours which the court of Verfailles
ufed to fend to the provinces in arms for the de-
fence of their rights did not open his eyes. The
dock-yards of this power were filled with fhip-
builders; it's arfenals were ſtocking with artil-
lery, and there remained no more room in it's
magazines for freſh naval ftores. It's harbours
prefented the moft menacing afpect; and yet this
ſtrange infatuation ftill continued. To roufe the
court of St. James's from it's lethargy, it was
neceffary that Lewis XVI. fhould caufe it to be
fignified to them on the 14th March, that he had
acknowledged the independence of the United
States.
THIS declaration was a declaration of war.
It was impoffible that a nation, more accuſtomed
to give than to take an affront, fhould patiently
ſuffer that it's fubjects ſhould be releaſed from
their oath of allegiance, and be raiſed with fplen-
dour to the rank of fovereign powers. All Eu-
rope forefaw that two nations which had been
rivals for fo many centuries, were going to ftain
with blood the waters of the ocean, and engage
again
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
223.
again in that terrible conflict in which public B⋅ O O K
proſperity can never compenfate private diftrefs. XVIII.
Thofe in whom ambition had not extinguiſhed
every fentiment of benevolence towards their fel-
low-creatures, previouſly deplored the calamities
which were ready to fall upon the human race in
both hemifpheres.
THE bloody ſcene however was not yet begun,.
and this delay infpired fome credulous perfons
with the hopes that peace would continue. It
was not known that a fleet had failed from Tou-
lon with directions to attack the English in the
North of America. It was not known, that there
were orders fent from London to drive away the
French out of the East Indies. Without being
initiated in theſe myfteries of perfidy, which an
infidious policy hath made to be confidered as
great ftrokes of ftate, men who were really en--
lightened, judged that hoftilities were unavoid-
able, and even near at hand on our own ocean..
This foreſeen event was brought about by an en-
gagement between two frigates on the 17th June.
1778.
HERE our taſk becomes more and more diffi-
cult. Our fole aim is to be uſeful and true. Far
from us be that ſpirit of party which fafcinates
and difgraces thoſe who lead mankind, or who:
afpire to inftruct them. Our wishes will be for
our country, and we ſhall pay homage to juſtice.
In whatever place, and under whatever form
virtue fhall prefent herſelf to us, we fhall honour.
her. The diftinction of fociety and of ftates can-
not eftrange us from her, and the juft and mag-
nanimous man will every where be our fellow-ci-
tizen. If in the different events which we re-
view, we have the courage to blame what appears
to us to deſerve it, we do not feek the melan-
choly and idle fatisfaction of dealing out indifcri-
minate
224
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
1
"
BOO K minate cenfure. But we addrefs ourſelves to the
XVIII. nations and to pofterity. It is our duty faithfully
to tranſmit to them whatever may influence the
public felicity. It is our duty to give them the
hiſtory of the faults that are committed, in order
that they may be inftructed to avoid them.
Should we dare to betray this noble duty, we
fhould perhaps flatter the prefent generation,
which is fleeting and paffeth away; but juſtice
and truth, which are eternal, would denounce us
to future generations, which would read us with
contempt, and would never pronounce our name
without disdain. In this long career we have un-
dertaken, we will be juft to thofe who ftill ex-
ift, as we have been to thoſe who are no more.
If among men in power there be any who are
offended with this liberty, we will not be afraid to
fay to them, that we are only the organs of a fu-
preme tribunal, which is at length erected by
reafon upon an immoveable foundation. Every
government in Europe muft henceforth dread it's
decrees. The public opinion, which becomes
more and more enlightened, and which is neither
ſtopped nor intimidated by any thing, is perpe-
tually attentive to nations and to courts. It pe-
netrates into cabinets where policy is fhut
up;
there it judges the depofitaries of power, their
paffions, and their weakneſs, and by the empire
of genius and knowledge raiſes itſelf above the
governors of mankind, either to direct or to reftrain
them! Woe to thofe who either difdain this tri-
bunal or fet it at defiance! This apparent bold-
nefs arifes only from inability. Woe to thoſe
whoſe talents are infufficient to bear it's examina-
tion! Let them do themſelves juſtice, let them
lay down a burden too heavy for their feeble.
hands. They will at leaft no longer compromiſe
themſelves and the States.
FRANCE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
241
XVIII.
ponderance upon the globe. Theſe confidera- B O O K
tions fhould determine them to urge on the at-
tacks, and not to leave time to a provident, or
perhaps only a jealous policy, to make freſh
plans. Let them efpecially ftop in time, and let
not an immoderate defire of lowering their com-
mon enemy blind them with regard to their true
intereſts.
THE United States have openly diſcovered the
project of drawing all North America into their
confederation. Several ſteps, and particularly
that of foliciting Canada to rebellion, muft have
induced an opinion, that it was likewife the defire
of France. Spain may be fufpected of having
equally adopted this idea.
THE Conduct of the provinces which have
fhaken off the yoke of Great Britain is fimple,
and fuch as one would expect. But would not
their allies be deficient in forefight, if they had
really the fame fyftem? The New Hemiſphere
must one day be detached from the Old. This
great evulfion is prepared in Europe, by the fer-
ment and by the clafh of opinions; by the over-
throw of our rights, which conftituted our cou-
rage; by the luxury of our courts, and the mi-
fery of our country places; by the everlaſting
hatred there is between effeminate men who
poffefs every thing, and robuft, and even virtuous
men, who have nothing to lofe but their lives.
It is prepared in America, by the increaſe of po-
pulation, of cultures, of induftry, and of know-
ledge. Every thing is tending towards this fepa-
ration, both the progreſs of evil in one world,
and the progrefs of good in another.
Bur can it be fuitable to France and Spain,
whofe poffeffions in the New Hemiſphere are an
inexhauftible fource, of wealth, can it be fuitable.
to them to haften this divifion? Yet this is what
would
VOL. VI.
R
i
842
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK would happen, if the whole northern part of thoſe
XVIII regions were fubject to the fame laws, or con-
nected by one coinmon intereft.
The
SCARCE Would the liberty of this vaft conti-
nent be confirmed, than it would become the
afylum of all the intriguing, feditious, branded,
or ruined men, who are feen amongst us. Nei-
ther agriculture, the arts, nor commerce, would
be the reſource of refugees of this character. A
lefs laborious, and more turbulent life, would be
neceffary for them. This turn of mind, equally
averfe from labour and reft, would be difpofed
to conquefts; and a paffion which is fo feducing
would readily fubdue the first coloniſts, diverted-
from their ancient labours by a long war.
new people would have finiſhed their preparati
ons for invafion before the report of them could
have reached our climates. They would chufe
their enemies, their field of battle, and the mo-
ment of victory. Their attacks would always fall.
upon defenceleſs feas, or upon coafts taken by
furpriſe. In a fhort time the fouthern provinces.
would become the prey of the northern ones,
and would compenfate, by the richneſs of their
productions, for the mediocrity of thofe of the
latter. Perhaps even the poffeffions of our abſo-
lute monarchies would endeavour to enter into
the confederation of free people, or would de-
tach themſelves from Europe, to belong only to
themſelves.
THE meaſures which the courts of Madrid and
Verfailles ought to purfue, if they are at liberty
to chufe, is to leave fubfifting in the northern
part of America, two powers which fhall watch
over, reftrain, and balance each other. Then
ages will elapfe before England, and the repub-
lics formed at her expence, will be united. This
reciprocal miftruft will prevent them from under-
taking
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
243
XVIII.
taking any thing at a distance; and the eſtabliſh-BOOK
ment of other nations in the New World will en-
joy that ſtate of tranquillity which hitherto hath
been fo much difturbed.
It is even probable, that this order of things
would be moft fuitable to the confederate pro-
vinces. Their refpective limits have not been re-
gulated. A great jealoufy prevails between the
countries of the North and thofe of the South.
Political principles vary from one river to another.
Great animofities are obferved to fubfift between
the citizens of a town, and the members of a
family. Each of them will be defirous of re-
moving from themfelves the oppreffive burden
of the public expences and debts. An infinite
number of feeds of divifion are univerfally brood-
ing in the heart of the United States.
once all dangers were removed, how would it be
poffible to prevent the breaking out of fo many
difcontents? How would it be poffible to keep
attached to the fame center, ſo many deluded
and exasperated minds? Let the real friends of
America reflect upon this, and they will find,
that the only way to prevent disturbances among
the people, would be to leave upon their fron-
tiers a powerful rival, always difpofed to avail it-
felf of their diffenfions.
:
When
PEACE and fecurity are neceffary for monar-
chies; agitation, and a formidable enemy for
republics. Rome food in need of Carthage;
and he who deſtroyed the liberty of the Romans
was neither Scylla. nor Cæfar; it was the firſt
Cato, when his narrow and ftern fyftem of poli-
tics deprived Rome of a rival, by kindling in
the fenate thoſe flames which reduced Carthage
to aſhes. Venice herſelf perhaps would have lost
her government, and her laws, four hundred
years ago, if the had not had at her gates, and
R 2
almoft
*244
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK almoſt under her walls, powerful neighbours,
XVIII. who might become her enemies or her maſters.
BUT according to this fyftem, to what degree
of felicity, fplendour, and ftrength, can the con-
formed of federate provinces attain in procefs of time?
What idea
muft be
the thir-
teen con-
provinces.
In this place, to form a proper judgment, let
federated us begin by fetting afide that intereft which all
men, ſlaves not excepted, have taken in the ge-
nerous efforts of a nation, which expofed itſelf to
all calamities in order to be free. The name
of liberty is fo alluring, that all thofe who fight
for it are fure of obtaining our fecret wifhes in
their favour. Their caufe is that of the whole
human race, and becomes our own.
We avenge
ourſelves of our oppreffors, by venting at leaft
freely our hatred againſt foreign oppreffors. At
the noiſe of theſe chains that are breaking, it
feems to us that our's are going to become light-
er; and for a few moments we think we breathe
a purer air, when we learn that the univerſe reck-
ons fome tyrants lefs. Beſides, thefe great revo-
lutions of liberty are leffons to defpots. They warn
them not to reckon upon too long a continuance
of the people's patience, and upon eternal impu-
nity. So, where fociety and the laws avenge
themſelves of the crimes of individuals, the good
man hopes that the puniſhment of the guilty may
prevent the commiffion of fresh crimes. Terror
fometimes fupplies the place of justice with re-
gard to the robber, and of conſcience with regard
to the affaffin. Such is the fource of the great
concern we take in every war for liberty. Such
hath been that with which the Americans have in-
fpired us. Our imaginations have been heated in
their favour. We have taken a part in their vic-
tories and their defeats. The ſpirit of juftice,
which delights in compenfating former calamities.
by future happineſs, is pleafed with the idea, that
.
this
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
245
XVIII.
this part of the New World cannot fail to become B O O K
one of the moſt flourishing countries on the globe.
It is even fuppofed, that Europe may one day find
her maſters in her children. Let us venture to
reſiſt the torrent of opinion, and that of public
enthuſiaſm. Let us not ſuffer ourſelves to be mif-
led by imagination, which embelliſhes every thing;
and by fentiment, which delights in forming illu-
fions, and which realizes every hope. It is our
duty to combat all prejudices, even thofe which
are moſt confonant to the wishes of our hearts.
Above all things, it behoves us to be true, and
not to betray that pure and upright confcience:
which prefides over our writings, and dictates our
judgments. At this moment, perhaps, we fhall
not be believed; but a bold conjecture, which is
confirmed at the end of ſeveral centuries, does
more honour to the hiſtorian, than a long ſeries
of facts, the truth of which cannot be conteſted :·
and I do not write for my cotemporaries alone,
who will only furvive me a fmall number of
years. When a few more revolutions of the
fun are paffed, both they and I fhall be no more.
But I deliver up my ideas to pofterity, and to
time. It is their's to judge me.
THE fpace occupied by the thirteen republics,
between the mountains and the fea, is no more
than fixty-ſeven ſea leagues; but their extent
upon the coaft, in a direct line, is three hundred
and forty-five, from the river of Sancta Crux to
that of Savannah.
THE lands in that region are almoſt generally
bad, or at leaſt indifferent.
SCARCE any thing but maize grows in the four
moft northern colonies, The only refource of
the inhabitants is fifhing, the annual produce of
which doth not amount to more than 6,000,000
of livres*.
* 250,009).
CORN
246
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
CORN is the principal fupport of the provinces
XVIII. of New York, the Jerfeys, and Pennfylvania.
But the foil hath degenerated fo rapidly, that an
acre, which formerly yielded fixty bushels of wheat,
very feldom produces even twenty at prefent.
THOUGH the lands of Maryland and of Virgi-
nia be much fupérior to all the reft, yet they
cannot be deemed extremely fertile. The ancient
plantations yield no more than one third of the
tobacco which was formerly gathered. It is not
poffible to make any new ones; and the planters
have been reduced to the neceffity of turning
their labours towards other objects.
NORTH CAROLINA produces fome grain, but
of fo inferior a quality as to be fold in all markets
twenty-five or thirty per cent. cheaper than the
others.
THE foil of South Carolina and of Georgia is
perfectly even, as far as fifty miles from the
ocean. The exceffive rains which fall there not
finding any outlet, form numerous moraffes, where
rice is cultivated to the great detriment of the
freemen and of the flaves employed in this cul-
ture. In the intervening fpaces between thefe
large bodies of water fo frequently met with, an
inferior kind of indigo grows, which must be
tranſplanted every year. In the elevated part of
the country nothing is to be found except barren
fands and frightful rocks, interfected at great dif-
tances by paſture grounds of the nature of rufhes.
THE English government, convinced that North
America would never enrich them by it's natural
productions, employed the powerful incentive of
gratuities in order to produce in that part of the
New World, flax, vines, and filk. The poor-
nefs of the foil difconcerted the first of thefe
views; the defect of the climate prevented the
fucceſs of the ſecond, and the want of hands did
not
IN THE EAST AND WEST, INDIES...
247
not permit the third to be purfued. The fociety BOOK
eſtabliſhed in London for the encouragement of XVIII.
arts was not more fortunate than adminiſtration.
Their benefactions did not bring forth any of the
objects which they had propoſed to the activity
and induſtry of thofe countries.
*
GREAT BRITAIN was obliged to be content-
ed with felling every year to the countries we are
fpeaking of, to the amount of about 50,000,000
livres of merchandiſe. Thofe by whom they were
confumed delivered to her exclufively their indi-
goes, their iron, their tobacco, and their peltries.
They alfo delivered to her all the money and rough
materials which they had received from the rest of
the globe in exchange for their grain, their fish,
their rice, and their falt proviſions.
THE balance however was always fo unfavour-
able to them that at the beginning of the trou-
bles the colonies were indebted one hundred and
twenty, or one hundred and thirty millions of
livres † to the mother-country, and they had no
fpecie in circulation.
t
NOTWITHSTANDING thefe diſadvantages, there
had been fucceffively formed in the midft of the
thirteen provinces, a population of two millions
nine hundred eighty-one thoufand fix hundred
and feventy-eight perfons, including four hun-
dred thoufand Negroes. New inhabitants were
conftantly driven there by oppreffion and intole
ration. The unfortunate have been deprived of
this refuge by war; but peace will reftore it to
them again; and they will refort there in greater
numbers than ever. Thoſe who fhall go there
with plans of cultivation, will not have all the
fatisfaction they may expect, becauſe they will
find all the good, and even the indifferent lands
2,083,3331. 6s. `8d
+ From 5,000,0ool, to 5,416,6661. 135. Ad.
occupied,
248
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK occupied, and that fcarce any thing remainsto
XVIII offer them, except barren fands, unwholeſome
moraffes, or ſteep mountains. The emigrations
will be more favourable to manufacturers and to
artists, though perhaps they will gain nothing by
changing their country and their climates.
IT cannot be determined without rafhnefs, what
will
one day be the population of the United
States. This calculation, generally very difficult,
becomes impracticable in a region where the
lands degenerate very rapidly, and where repro-
duction is not in proportion to the labours and
expences beſtowed upon them. It will be a con-
fiderable thing, if ten millions of men can ever
find a certain fubfiftence in theſe provinces, and
even then the exports will be reduced to little or
nothing but internal industry will fupply the
place of foreign induftry. The country will
nearly be able to fupply it's own wants, provided
the inhabitants know how to be happy by cecono-
my, and in mediocrity.
PEOPLE of North America, let the example of
all the nations which have preceded you, and efpe-
cially that of the mother-country, ferve as a leffon
to you. Dread the influence of gold, which, with
luxury, introduces corruption of manners and
contempt of the laws. Dread too unequal a re-
partition of riches, which indicates a fmall num-
ber of wealthy citizens, and a multitude of citi-
zens plunged in mifery; from whence arifes the
infolence of the former and the degradation of the
latter. Keep yourſelves free from the fpirit of
conqueft. The tranquillity of an empire, dimi-
niſhes in proportion as it extends itſelf. Have
arms to defend yourſelves, but not to attack.
Search for affluence and health in labour; for
profperity in the cultivation of the lands, and in
the manufactures of induſtry, for ftrength in good
2
manners
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
249
manners and in virtue. Encourage the profperity BOOK
of the arts and ſciences, which diftinguish the ci- XVIII.
vilized man from the favage. Attend, above all
things, to the education of your children. Be
convinced, that from public fchools come forth
enlightened magiftrates, valiant and well-inform-
ed officers, good fathers, good huſbands, good
brothers, good friends, and honeſt men. Wher-
ever depravity of manners is obferved among the
youth, the nation is upon it's decline. Let liberty
have a firm and unalterable bafis in the wifdom of
your conftitutions, and let it be the everlaſting
cement which connects your provinces together.
Eſtabliſh no legal preference between the modes.
of divine worship. Superftition is every where
innocent, where it is neither protected nor per-
fecuted; and may your duration, if poffible, be
long as that of the world!
?
MAY this with be accompliſhed, and conſole
the prefent expiring race with the hopes that a
better will fucceed to it! But waving the confi-
deration of future times, let us take a view of the
refult of three memorable ages. Having feen in
the beginning of this work the ſtate of mifery and
ignorance in which Europe was plunged in the
infancy of America, let us examine to what ſtate
the conquest of the New World hath led and ad-
vanced thofe that made it. This was the defign
of a book undertaken with the hopes of being
ufeful; if the end be anſwered the author will
have difcharged his duty to the age he lives in,
and to fociety.
BOOK
250
OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
HISTORY 1
BOOK
XIX.
Religion.
воок
XIX.
WE are advancing in a career, upon which
we ſhould not have entered without knów-
ing the extent and the difficulties of it, and which
we ſhould ſeveral times have quitted, had we not
been ſupported by motives, which always make
us forget the difproportion between our powers
and the experiment. In the event of a confla-
gration we fometimes attempt and accomplish
things which would deprefs our courage were it
not ſtimulated by the danger, and which aftonish
it when the danger is over. After a battle either
won or loft, a military man faid at the fight of a
mountain which he had climbed up in order to
reach the enemy: Who would ever have done
that, if there had not been a mufket fhot to receive?
I was certainly animated with the fame fentiment
when I began this work, and it muſt undoubt-
edly animate me ftill fince I continue.
We have first defcribed the ftate of Europe
before the diſcovery of the Eaft and Weſt Indies.
AFTER this we have purfued the uncertain, ty-
rannical, and fanguinary progrefs of the fettle-
ments formed in theſe diſtant regions.
It now remains to unfold the influence which
the intercourfe eftabliſhed with the New World
has had upon the opinions, government, induftry,
arts, manners, and happineſs of the Old.
Let us
begin by religion.
HAD man uninterruptedly enjoyed complete
felicity; had the earth fanctified of itfelf all the
variety of his wants, it may be prefumed that
much time would have elapfed before the fenti-
ment
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
251
ment of admiration and gratitude would have BOOK
turned towards the Gods, the attention of that XIX.
being naturally ungrateful. But a barren foil
did not anſwer to his labours. The torrents ra-
vaged the fields which he had cultivated. A
burning fky deſtroyed his harveſts. He experi-
enced famine, he became acquainted with dif
eaſe, and he endeavoured to find out the cauſe of
his miſery.
To explain the myſtery of his exiſtence, of his
happineſs, and of his misfortune, he invented
different ſyſtems equally abfurd. He peopled the
univerfe with good and evil fpirits; and fuch was
the origin of Polytheifm, the most ancient and
the most univerfal of all religions. From Poly-
theifm aroſe Manicheifm, the veftiges of which
will laſt perpetually, whatever may be the pro-
grefs of reafon. Manicheifm fimplified, engen-
dered deifm, and in the midſt of this diverſity of
opinions there aroſe a claſs of men mediators be-
tween Heaven and earth.
THEN the regions of the earth were covered
with altars; in one place the hymn of joy re-
founded, while in another were heard the com-
plaints of pain; then recourfe was had to prayer
and to facrifice, the two natural modes of obtain-
ing favour and of deprecating anger. The har-
veft was offered up; the lamb, the goat, and the
bull, were flain, and the holy fod was even ſtain-
ed with the blood of man.
IN the mean while the good man was often
feen in adverfity, while the wicked, and even the
impious man profpered, and then the doctrine
of immortality was fuggefted. The fouls freed
from the body, either circulated among the dif-
ferent beings of nature, or went into another
world to receive the reward of their virtues or the
puniſhment of their crimes. But it is a proble-
matical
252
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
XIX.
C
BOOK matical circumftance, whether man became bet
ter on this account. It is certain, however, that
from the inſtant of his birth to that of his death,
he was tormented with the fear of invifible pow-
ers, and reduced to a much more wretched ftate
than that which he had before enjoyed.
MOST legiflators have availed themfelves of
this propenfity of the mind, to govern the people
and ſtill more to enflame them. Some have af-
ferted, that they held from Heaven the right of
commanding; and thus was theocracy or facred
despotifm eſtabliſhed, the moft cruel and the
moft immoral of all legislations; that in which
man, proud, malevolent, intereſted and vicious
with impunity, commands man from God; that
in which there is nothing juft or unjuft, but what
is either agreeable or difpleafing to him, or that
fupreme Being with whom he communicates, and
whom he cauſes to ſpeak according to his paf-
fions, in which it is a crime to examine his or-
ders, and impiety to oppoſe them; in which con-
tradictory revolutions are fubftituted to reafon and
confcience, which are reduced to filence by pro-
digies or by enormous crimes; in which the na-
tions, in a word, cannot have any ideas concern-
ing the rights of men, refpecting what is good
and what is evil, becauſe they fearch for the
foundation of their privileges and of their duties,
only in facred writings the interpretation of which
is denied to them.
If this kind of government had a more fublime
origin in Paleſtine, ftill it was not more exempt
than any where elfe from the calamities which ne
ceffarily ariſe from it.
CHRISTIANITY fucceeded the Jewish inftitu-
tion. The fubjection that Rome, miftrefs of the
world, was under to the moft favage tyrants; the
dreadful miferies, which the luxury of a court and
!
the
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
253
XIX.
the maintenance of armies had occafioned through- BOOK
out this vaft empire under the reigns of the Neros;
the fucceffive irruptions of the barbarians, who
difmembered this great body; the lofs of pro-
vinces either by revolt or invafion; all theſe na-
tural evils had already prepared the minds of men
for a new religion, and the changes in politics
muft neceffarily have induced an innovation in the
form of worship. In paganifm, which had exift-
ed for fo many ages, there remained only the
fables to which it owed it's origin, the folly or the
vices of it's gods, the avarice of it's priefts, and
the infamy and licentious conduct of the kings
who fupported them. Then the people, deſpairing
to obtain relief from their tyrants upon earth, had
recourfe to Heaven for protection.
A
CHRISTIANITY appeared, and afforded them
comfort, at the fame time that it taught them to
fuffer with patience. While the tyranny and
licentioufnefs of princes tended to the deftruction
of paganifm as well as to that of the empire, the
fubjects, who had been oppreffed and fpoiled, and
who had embraced the new doctrines, were com-
pleting it's ruin by the examples they gave of thofe
virtues, which always accompany the zeal of new-
made profelytes. But a religion that aroſe in the
midſt of public calamity, muſt neceffarily give it's
preachers a confiderable influence over the un-
happy perfons who took refuge in it. Thus the
power of the clergy commenced, as it were, with
the gofpel.
FROM the remains of pagan fuperftitions and
philofophic fects, a code of rights and tenets was
formed, which the fimplicity of the primitive
chriftians fanctified with real and affecting piety;
but which at the fame time left the feeds of de-
bates and controverfies, from whence arofe a va-
riety of paffions difguifed under, and dignified with,
the
254
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK the name of zeal. Thefe diffenfions produced
XIX. fchools, doctors, a tribunal, and a hierarchy.
Chriſtianity had begun to be preached by a fet of
fishermen, deftitute of every knowledge but that
of the gofpel; it was entirely eſtabliſhed by
bifhops who formed the church. After this it
gained ground by degrees, till at length it at-
tracted the notice of the emperors. Some of theſe
tolerated chriſtianity either from motives of con-
tempt or humanity; others perfecuted it. Per-
fecution haſtened it's progrefs, for which toleration
had paved the way. Connivance and profcrip-
tion, clemency and rigour, were all equally ad-
vantageous to it. The fenfe of freedom fo natural
to the human mind, induced many perfons to
embrace it in it's infancy, as it has made others
reject it fince it has been eſtabliſhed. This fpirit
of independence, rather adapted to truth than to
novelty, would neceffarily have induced a mul-
titude of perfons of all ranks to become con-
verts to chriſtianity, if even the characters it bore
had not been calculated to infpire veneration and
reſpect.
PAGANISM, unmasked by philofophy, and
brought into difcredit by the fathers of the
church, with a fufficient number of temples, but
with priests who were not rich, fank from day to
day, and gave way to the new form of worſhip.
This penetrated into the hearts of the women by
devotion, which is fo naturally allied to tender-
nefs, and into the minds of children, who are
fond of prodigies, and even of the most rigid
morality. Thus it was introduced into courts,
where every thing which can become a paffion, is
certain of finding accefs. A prince, who bathed
in the blood of his family, had, as it were, fallen
aſleep in the arms of impunity; a prince, who
had great crimes and great weakneffes to expiate,
embraced
I
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
255
XIX.
embraced Chriftianity, which forgave him every BOOK
thing on account of his zeal, and to which he
gave up every thing in order to be freed from his
remorfe.
CONSTANTINE, inftead of uniting the prieſt-
hood to the crown, when he was converted to
Chriſtianity, as they had been united in the per-
fons of the Pagan emperors, granted to the clergy
ſuch a ſhare of wealth and authority, and afforded
them ſo many means of future aggrandizement,
that theſe blind conceffions produced an eccle-
fiaftical defpotifm entirely new.
PROFOUND ignorance was the moſt certain
fupport of this afcendency over the minds of men.
The Pontiffs of Rome diffufed this ignorance by
oppofing every kind of Pagan erudition. If
from time to time fome efforts were made to dif-
pel this obfcurity, they were extinguiſhed by
capital puniſhments.
WHILE the Popes were undeceiving the minds
of men refpecting their authority, even by the
abuſe they made of it, knowledge was paffing on
from the Eaft to the Weft. As foon as the maf-
ter-pieces of antiquity had revived the tafte for
ufeful ftudy, reafon recovered fome of the rights
which it had loft. The hiftory of the church
was inveſtigated, and the falſe pretenfions of the
court of Rome were diſcovered. Part of Europe
fhook off the yoke. A monk fet almoſt all
Germany, and almoft the whole North, free
from it; a prieſt, fome provinces of France; and
a king, all England, for the fake of a woman.
If other fovereigns firmly maintained the Catholic
religion throughout their poffeffions, it was, per-
haps, becauſe it was more favourable to that blind
and paffive obedience which they require from
their people, and which the popish clergy have
always preached for their own interefts.
IN
~256
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
XIX.
BOOK IN the mean while, the defire, on one hand,
of preferving the pontifical authority, and the
with of deftroying it on the other, have produced
two oppofite fyftems. The Catholic divines have
undertaken, and even fucceſsfully, to prove that
the holy books are not of themſelves the touch-
ftone of orthodoxy. They have demonftrated,
that fince the first preaching of the gospel to our
times, the fcriptures, differently understood, had
given rife to the moft oppofite, the most extra-
vagant, and the moſt impious opinions; and that
with this divine word, the most contradictory
tenets may have been maintained, as long as in-
ward fentiment hath been the only interpreter of
the revelation.
*
+
THE writers of the reformed religion have
fhewn the abfurdity of believing, that one man
alone was conftantly infpired from heaven, upon
a throne, or in a chair, in which the moſt mon-
ftrous vices have been committed; where diffo-
lution was feated by the fide of infpiration;
where adultery and concubinage profaned the
idols who were invefted with the character and
with the name of fanctity; where the fpirit of
falfehood and of artifice dictated the pretended
oracles of truth. They have demonftrated, that
the church, affembled in council, and compofed
of intriguing prelates, under the emperors of the
primitive church, of ignorant and debauched
ones, in the times of barbarifm and of ambition,
and of oftentatious ones in the ages of fchifm; that
fuch a church could not be more enlightened by
fupernatural inſpiration, than the vicar of Jefus
himſelf that the fpirit of God did not more
vifibly communicate itſelf to two hundred fathers
of the council, than to the holy father himſelf,
who was often the moft profligate of men; that
Germans and Spaniards, without learning,
French,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
257
French, without morals, and Italians, without BOOK
any virtue, were not fo well qualified for the fpi- XIX.
rit of revolution, as a fimple flock of peasants,
who fincerely feek after God by prayer and by
labour. In a word, if they have not been able to
fupport their new fyftem in the eyes of reafon,
they have at least entirely deftroyed that of the
ancient church.
IN the midſt of theſe ruins, philoſophy hath
arifen, and ſaid: If the text of the fcripture be
not fufficiently clear, precife, and authentic, to
be the fole and infallible rule of doctrine and of
worship: If the tradition of the church, from it's
firſt inſtitution to the times of Luther and Cal-
vin, hath been corrupted with the manners of
prieſts, and of it's followers; if the councils have
doubted, varied, and decided contradictorily in
their affemblies; if it be unworthy of the Divi-
nity to communicate it's fpirit and it's word to
one fingle man, debauched in his youth, reduced
to imbecility in his old age; fubject, in a word,
to the paffions, the errors, and the infirmities of
man: then, fay they, there is no firm and ftable
fupport for the infallibility of the Chriſtian faith;
confequently, that religion is not of divine infti-
tution, and God hath not intended that it fhould
be eternal.
THIS dilemma is very embarraffing. As long
as the fenfe of the fcriptures fhall remain open to
the conteſts it hath ever experienced, and that
tradition fhall be as problematical as it hath ap-
peared to be, from the immenfe labours of the
clergy of different communions, Chriftianity can
have no fupport but from the civil authority, and
the power of the magiftrate. The proper force
of religion, which fubdues the mind, and re-
ftrains the confcience by conviction, will be
wanting to it.
VOL. VI.
ហ
ACCORD
258
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
+
ACCORDINGLY, thefe difputes have gradually
XIX. led the nations, which had fhaken off the yoke
of an authority, confidered 'till then as infallible,
farther than it had been foreſeen. They have
almoſt generally rejected, from the ancient mode
of worſhip, what was contrary to their reaſon,
and have only preferved a Chriſtianity difengaged
from all myfteries. Revolution itfelf hath been
abandoned in thefe regions, though at a later
period, by fome men more bold, or who thought
themſelves more enlightened than the multitude.
A manner of thinking, fo proud and independent,
hath extended itſelf, in procefs of time, to thofe
ftates which had remained fubject to Rome. As
in thefe countries knowledge had made lefs
grefs, and opinions had been more confined,
licentioufnels in them hath been carried to it's
utmoſt extent. Atheiſm, the fyſtem either of
difcontented and gloomy fpirit which fees no-
thing but confufion in nature, or of a wicked
man who dreads future vengeance, or of a fet of
philofophers neither gloomy nor wicked, who
vainly imagine they find in the properties of
eternal matter, a fufficient caufe for all the
phoenomena which excite our admiration.
pro-
By an impulfe founded on the nature of reli-
gions themſelves, Catholicifm tends inceffantly to
Proteftantifm, Proteftantifm to Socinianifm, So-
cinianifm to Deifm, and Deifm to Scepticifm.
Incredulity is become too general, to allow us to
hope, with any degree of foundation, that the
ancient tenets can regain the afcendant which
they enjoyed during fo many centuries.
Let
them be always freely followed, by fuch of their
fectators who are attached to them from con-
fcience, by all thoſe who find matter of confola-
tion in them, and by all whom they incite to per-
form the duties of a citizen: but, let all fects, the
principles
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,
259
principles of which are not contrary to public BOOK
order, find in general the fame indulgence. It XIX.
would be confiftent with the dignity, as well as
with the wiſdom of all governments, to have the
fame moral code of religion, from which it
fhould not be allowed to deviate, and to give the
reft up to difcuffions, in which the tranquillity
of the world was not concerned. This would be
the fureft way of extinguishing, infenfibly, the
fanaticism of the clergy, and the enthufiafm of
the people.
IT is partly to the difcovery of the New World
that we ſhall owe that religious toleration which
ought to be, and certainly will be, introduced in
the Old. Perfecution would only haften the
downfall of the religions that are now eſtabliſhed.
Induſtry and the means of information have now
prevailed among the nations, and gained an in-
fluence that muft reftore a certain equilibrium in
the moral and civil order of fociety: the human
mind is undeceived with regard to it's former
fuperftitions. If we do not avail ourſelves of the
preſent time to re-eſtabliſh the empire of reafon,
it muft neceffarily be given up to new fuper-
ftitions.
EVERY thing has concurred, for thefe two laſt
centuries, to extinguifh that furious zeal which
ravaged the globe. The depredations of the Spa-
niards throughout America, have fhewn the world
to what excefs fanaticifm may be carried. In
eſtabliſhing their religion by fire and fword
through exhaufted and depopulated countries,
they have rendered it odious in Europe; and their
cruelties have contributed to feparate a greater
number of Catholics from the church of Rome,
than they have gained converts to Chriftianity
among the Indians. The concourfe of perfons of
all fects in North-America has neceffarily diffuſed
S 2
the
260
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK the ſpirit of toleration into diftant countries, and
XIX. put a stop to religious wars in our climates. The
fending of miffionaries has delivered us from thofe
turbulent men, who might have inflamed our
country, and who are gone to carry the firebrands
and fwords of the gofpel beyond the feas. Navi-
gation and long voyages have infenfibly detached
a great number of the people from the abfurd
ideas which fuperftition infpires. The variety of
religious worſhip, and the difference of nations,
has accuſtomed the most vulgar minds to a fort of
indifference for the object that had the greateft
influence over their imaginations. Trade carried
on between perfons of the moſt oppoſite fects, has
leffened that religious hatred which was the caufe
of their divifions. It has been found that mora-
lity and integrity were not inconfiftent with any
opinions whatever, and that irregularity of man-
ners and avarice were equally prevalent every
where; and hence it has been concluded that the
manners of men have been regulated by the diffe-
rence of climate and of government, and by focial
and national intereſt.
SINCE an intercourfe has been eſtabliſhed be-
tween the two hemifpheres of this world, our
thoughts have been lefs engaged about that other
world, which was the hope of the few, and the
torment of the many. The diverfity and multi-.
plicity of objects industry hath prefented to the
mind and to the fenfes, have divided the attach-
ments of men, and weakened the force of every
fentiment. The characters of men have been
foftened, and the fpirit of fanaticifm, as well as
that of chivalry, muft neceffarily have been extin-
guifhed, together with all thofe ftriking extra-
vagancies which have prevailed among people.
who were indolent and averfe from labour. The.
fame caufes that have produced this revolution in
the
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
261
the manners, have yet had a more fudden influ- в O O K
ence on the nature of government.
XIX.
-
SOCIETY naturally refults from population, and Govern-
government is a part of the focial ftate. From ment.
confidering the few wants men have, in propor-
tion to the refources nature affords them, the
little affiſtance and happineſs they find in a civi-
lized ftate, in compariſon of the pains and evils
they are expofed to in it; their defire of inde-
pendence and liberty, common to them with all
other living beings; together with various other
reafons deduced from the conftitutions of human
nature; from confidering all theſe circumftances,
it has been doubted whether the focial ſtate was
fo natural to mankind as it has generally been
thought.
INSULATED men have generally been compared
to feparate fprings. If in the ftate of nature,
without legiflation, without government, without
chiefs, without magiftrates, without tribunals,
and without laws, one of thefe fprings fhould
clafh with another, either the latter broke
the former, or was broken by it, or they were
both of them broken. But when, by collecting
and arranging thefe fprings, one of thofe enor-
mous machines, called focieties, had been formed,
in which, being ftretched one against the other,
they act and re-act with all the violence of their
particular energy, a real ftate of war was artifi-
cially created, and that of war diverfified by an
innumerable multitude of interefts and opi-
nions. The confufion was ftill infinitely greater,
when two, three, four or five of thefe terrible
machines came to fhock each other at the fame
time. It was then, that in the ſpace of a few
hours, more fprings were broken, and de-
ftroyed, than would have been in the courſe of
twenty centuries, either before or without this
་
fublime
262
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK fublime inftitution. Thus it is that the first
XIX. founders of nations are fatirized, under the fup-
pofition of an ideal and chimerical ſavage ſtate.
Men were never infulated in the manner here de-
fcribed. They bore within themſelves a germen
of fociability, which was inceffantly tending to
unfold itfelf. Had they been inclined to feparate,
they could not have done it; and fuppofing they
could, they ought not; the defects of their affo
ciation being compenfated by greater advan-
tages.
THE weakneſs and long continuance of the in-
fant ftate of man; the nakednefs of his body,
which has no natural covering like that of other
animals; the tendency of his mind to perfection,
the neceffary confequence of the length of his
life; the fondnefs of a mother for her child,
which is increaſed by cares and fatigues, who, af-
ter fhe has carried it in the womb for nine
months, fuckles and bears it in her arms for
whole years; the reciprocal attachment arifing
from this habitual connection between two beings
who relieve and carefs each other; the numerous
figns of intercourfe in an organization, which, be-
fide the accents of the voice common to fo
many animals, adds alfo the language of the
fingers, and of geftures peculiar to the human
race; natural events, which in a hundred differ-
ent ways may bring together, or re-unite wan-
dering and free individuals; accidents and un-
forefeen wants, which oblige them to meet for
the purpoſes of hunting, fishing, or even of de-
fence; in a word, the example of fo many crea-
tures that live collected together in great num-
bers, fuch as amphibious animals and fea mon-
fters, flights of cranes and other birds, even in-
fects that are found in columns and fwarms: all
thefe facts and reafons feem to prove, that men
are
}
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
263
are by nature formed for fociety, and that they BOOK
are the fooner difpofed to enter into it, becaufe XIX.
they cannot multiply greatly under the torrid
zone, unleſs they be collected into wandering or
fedentary tribes; nor can they diffuſe themfelves
much under the other zones, without affociating
with their fellow-creatures, for the prey and the
fpoils which the neceffities of food and clothing
require.
FROM the neceffity of affociation, ariſes that of
eſtabliſhing laws relative to the focial ftate: that
is to fay, of forming, by a combination of all
common and particular inftincts, one general
plan, that ſhall maintain the collective body, and
the majority of individuals. For if nature direct
man to his fellow-creature, it is undoubtedly by
a confequence of that univerfal attraction, which
tends to the preſervation and reproduction of the
fpecies. All the propenfities which man brings
with him into fociety, and all the impreffions he
receives in it, ought to be fubordinate to this
firft impulfe. To live and to propagate being
the deſtination of every living fpecies, it fhould
feem that fociety, if it be one of the firft prin-
ciples of man, fhould concur in affifting this
double end of nature; and that inftinct, which
leads him to the focial ftate, fhould neceffarily
direct all moral and political laws, fo as that they
fhould be more durable, and contribute more to
the happineſs of the majority of mankind. If,
however, we confider merely the effect, we fhould
think that the principal or fupreme law of all fo-
ciety has been, to fupport the ruling power. Whence
can arife the fingular contraft between the end
and the means; between the laws of nature and
thofe of politics?
This is a queftion to which it is difficult to
give a proper anfwer, without forming to one's
felf
264
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK felf just notions of nature, and of the fucceffion of
XIX. the feveral governments; and history fcarce af
;
fords us any affiftance refpecting this great object.
All the foundations of the fociety at prefent are
loft in the ruins of fome cataſtrophe, fome natural
revolution. In all parts we fee men driven away
by fubterraneous fires or by war, by inunda
tions or by devouring infects, by want or fa-
mine; and joining again in fome uninhabited
corner of the world, or difperfing and ſpreading
themſelves over places already peopled. Police!
always arifes from plunder, and order from
anarchy; but in order to obtain fome conclu
fion which ſhall be fatisfactory to reaſon, theſe
momentary ſhocks muſt not be attended to, and
nations must be confidered in a ſtationary and:
tranquil ſtate, in which the fingularities of go-
vernment may appear without controul.
IT hath been faid that there are two worlds,
the natural and the moral. The more extenfive
the mind fhall become, and the more experience
it fhall acquire, the more fhall we be convinced.
that there is but one, viz. the natural world,
which leads every thing, when it is not oppofed
by fortuitous caufes, without which we fhould
conſtantly have obferved the fame concatenation
in thoſe moral events, which ftrike us with moft
aftoniſhment, fuch as the origin of religious.
ideas, the progrefs of the human mind, the dif
covery of truths, the fource and the fucceffion of
errors, the beginning and the end of prejudices,
the formation of focieties, and the periodical or-
der of the ſeveral governments.
ALL civilized people have been favages; and
all favages, left to their natural impulfe, were
deftined to become civilized. A family was the
first fociety, and the first government was the pa-
triarchal, founded upon attachment, obedience,
and
SKIN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.CAE
265-
and reſpect. The family is extended and divided; BOOK
oppofite intereſts excite wars between brothers, XIX.
who difavow each other. One people takes up
arms againſt another. The vanquished become
the flaves of the conquerors, who fhare among
themſelves their plains, their children, and their
wives. The country is governed by a chief, by
his lieutenants, and by his foldiers, who repre-
ſent the free part of the nation, while all the reft
is fubjected to the atrocioufnefs and to the humi-
liations of fervitude. In this ftate of anarchy,
blinded with jealoufy and ferocioufnefs, peace is
foon disturbed. Theſe reftlefs men march againſt
and exterminate each other. In procefs of time,
there remains only a monarch, or a defpot under
the monarch. There is a fhadow of juftice; le-
giſlation makes fome progrefs; ideas of property
are unfolded; and the name of flave is changed
into that of ſubject. Under the fupreme will of
a defpot, nothing prevails but terror, meanñeſs,
flattery, ftupidity, and fuperftition. This intole-
rable fituation ceafes, either by the affaffination
of the tyrant, or by the diffolution of the empire;
and democracy is raifed upon it's ruins. It is
then, for the firſt time, that the facred name of
one's country is heard. It is then that man, bent
down to earth, raifes his head, and appears in
his dignity. Then the annals of the nation are
filled with heroic deeds. Then there are fathers,
mothers, children, friends, fellow-citizens, pub-
lic and domeſtic virtues. Then the empire of the
laws is eſtabliſhed, foars to it's extremeft height,
the ſciences arife, and uſeful labours are no longer
degraded...
*
UNFORTUNATELY, this ftate of happinefs is
only temporary. In all parts, revolutions in go-
vernment fucceed each other with a rapidity
fcarce to be followed. There are few countries
who
266
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK who have not experienced them all; and there is
XIX. not any one which, in procefs of time, will not
fulfil this periodical motion. They will all, more
or lefs frequently, follow a regular circle of mis-
fortunes and profperities, of liberty and flavery,
of morals and corruption, of knowledge and ig-
norance, of ſplendour and weakneſs; they will
all go through the feveral points of this fatal ho-
rizon. The law of nature, which requires that
focieties fhould gravitate towards defpotifm
and diffolution, that empires fhould arife, and be
annihilated, will not be fufpended for any one of
them. While, like the needle which indicates the
conftant direction of the winds, they are either
advancing or going back, let us fee by what means
Europe is arrived to that ſtate of civilization in
which it now exifts.
all
WAVING any further account of the Jewiſh
government, unleſs juſt to obferve, that this fin-
gular nation hath maintained it's character, un-
der all the viciffitudes of it's deftiny; that the
Jews, conquered, fubdued, difperfed, hated, and
defpifed, have ſtill remained attached to their na-
tion; that they have carried their annals, and
their country with them, into all climates; that
whatever region they inhabit, they live in expec-
tation of a deliverer, and die with their looks
fixed upon their ancient temple; let us pafs on to
the ſtates of Greece.
THESE were founded by robbers, who deftroy-
ed a few monſters, and a great number of men,
in order to become kings. It was there, that
during a fhort ſpace of time, at leaſt if we date
from heroic ages, and in a narrow circuit, we
have a review of all the fpecies of governments,
of ariftocracy, of democracy, of monarchy, of
defpotiſm, and of anarchy, which was only fuf
pended, without being extinguifhed, by the ap
proach
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
257
XIX.
proach of the common enemy. There it was, B O O K
that the imminent danger of flavery gave birth
and ſtability to patriotism, which leads in it's train
the origin of all great talents; fublime inſtance
of all vices, and of all virtues; an infinite number
of ſchools of wiſdom, in the midſt of debauchery;
and fome models in the fine arts, which in all
ages art will always imitate, but will never equal.
The Greeks were a frivolous, pleaſant, lying, and
ungrateful people; they were the only original
people that have exifted, or perhaps will ever exift
upon the face of the earth.
ROME, it is faid, was founded by people who
efcaped from the flames of Troy, or was only a
retreat for fome banditti from Greece and Italy :
but from this fcum of the human race aroſe a na-
tion of heroes, the fcourge of all nations, the de-
vourers of themſelves; a people more aftoniſhing
than admirable, great by their qualities, and wor-
thy of execration by the ufe they made of them,
in the times of the republic; the bafeſt and moſt
corrupt people under their emperors; a people,
of whom one of the moft virtuous men of his age
uſed to ſay: If the kings be ferocious animals,
who devour nations, what kind of beaſt muſt the
Roman people be, who devour kings?
WAR, which, from all the great nations of Eu-
rope together, had formed only the Roman em
pire, made theſe very Romans who were fo nu-
merous, become barbarians again. As the difpo-
fitions and manners of the conquering people are
generally impreffed upon the conquered, thoſe
who had been enlightened with the knowledge of
Rome at the period when it was diftinguished by
it's learning, now fank again into the darkneſs of
ftupid and ferocious Scythians. During ages of
ignorance, when fuperior ftrength, always gave
the law, and chance or hunger had compelled the
people
268
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK people of the north to invade the fouthern coun-
XIX. tries, the continual ebb and flow of emigrations
prevented laws from being fettled in any place.
As foon as a multitude of fmall nations had de-
ftroyed a large one, many chiefs or tyrants di-
vided each vaſt monarchy into feveral fiefs. The
people, who gained no advantage by the govern
ment of one, or of feveral men, were always op-
preffed and trampled upon from thefe difmember-
ings of the feudal anarchy. Petty wars were con-
tinually kept up between neighbouring towns, in-
ſtead of thoſe great wars that now prevail between
nations.
In the mean while, a continual ferment led the
nations to eſtabliſh themſelves into fome regular
and confiftent form of government. Kings were
defirous of raifing themſelves upon the ruins of
thofe individuals, or of thofe powerful bodies of
men, by whom the commotions were kept up;
and to effect this, they had recourfe to the affift-
ance of the people. They were civilized, polifh-
ed, and more rational laws were given them.
SLAVERY had oppreffed their national vigour,
property reftored it; and commerce, which pre-
vailed after the diſcovery of the New World, in-
creaſed all their powers, by exciting univerfal
émulation.
THESE changes were attended with a revolution
of another kind. The monarchs had not been
capable of aggrandizing their power without di-
minishing that of the clergy, without favouring
religious opinions, or endeavouring to bring them
into difcredit. Innovators, who ventured to attack
the church, were fupported by the throne. From
that time, the human understanding was ftrength-
ened by exerting itſelf againſt the phantoms of
imagination, and recovering the path of nature
and of reafon, difcovered the true principles of
govern-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
269
XIX.
government. Luther and Columbus appeared; BOOK
the whole univerfe trembled, and all Europe was
in commotion; but this ftorm.left it's horizon
clear for ages to come. The former awakened
the underſtandings of men, the latter excited
their activity. Since they have laid open all the
avenues of induftry and freedom, moft of the
European nations have attended with fome fuc-
cefs to the correction or improvement of legifla-
tion, upon which the felicity of mankind entirely
depends. But this fpirit of information hath not
yet reached the Turks.
THE Turks were not known in Afia till the
beginning of the thirteenth century, at which
time the Tartars, of whom they were a tribe,
made frequent excurfions upon the territories of
the eaſtern empire, as the Goths had formerly
done in the weſtern provinces. It was in 1300,
that Ottoman was declared fultan by his nation,
who living till then upon plunder, or felling their
ſervice to fome Afiatic prince, had not yet thought
of forming an independent empire. Ottoman
became the chief among thefe barbarians, as a
favage diftinguished by his bravery, becomes a
chief among his equals; for the Turks at that
time were only a hord fixed in the neighbourhood
of a people who were half civilized.
UNDER this prince, and his fucceffors, the Ot-
toman power was daily making freſh progreſs;
nothing refifted it. Princes brought up in the
midſt of camps and born captains, armies accuf-
tomed to victory by continual wars, and better
difciplined than thofe of the Chriſtians, repaired
the defects of a bad government.
CONSTANTINOPLE, taken by Mohammed in
1453
3, became the capital of their empire, and the
princes of Europe, plunged in ignorance and bar-
barifm, could only have oppofed an ineffectual
dike
270
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK dike to this overflowing torrent: if the firft fuc-
XIX. ceffors of Mohammed, at the head of a nation
which ſtill preſerved the manners, the genius, and
the difcipline of it's founders, had not been obliged
to interrupt their expeditions in Poland, in Hun-
gary, or upon the domains of the republic of
Venice, in order to go fometimes into Afia, fome-
times into Africa, either againft rebellious fub-
jects or turbulent neighbours. Their fortune
began to fall off as foon as their forces were di-
vided. Succeffes lefs rapid and lefs brilliant oc-
cafioned their armies to lofe that confidence
which was the foul of their exploits. The reft
of the empire, crushed under the moft rigorous
defpotifm, had not attained to any degree of
fplendor. It had acquired no real ftrength fron
conquefts, becauſe it had not known how to take
advantage of them by prudent regulations. De-
ftroying in order to preferve, the conquerors had
acquired nothing. They reigned only over pro-
vinces laid wafte, and over the wrecks of the
powers whom they had ruined.
WHILE a deceitful profperity was preparing the
fall of the Ottoman empire, a contrary revolution
was taking place in Christendom. The minds of
men were beginning to be enlightened. Princi
plès lefs extravagant were introducing themfelves
into Poland. Feudal government, the fertile
fource of fo many calamities, and which had laft-
ed for fo long a time, gave way in feveral ftates
to a more regular form of government. In other
ftates it was gradually altered, either by laws or
by new customs, with which fome fortunate cir-
cumftances obliged it to comply. At length a
power was formed in the neighbourhood of the
Turks capable of refifting them. I mean the ac-
ceffion of Ferdinand to the throne of Hungary.
This prince, mafter of the poffeflions of the Houfe
of
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
271
of Auſtria in Germany, was befides certain, from BOOK
his Imperial crown, of powerful fuccours againſt XIX.
the common enemy.
A MILITARY government tends to defpotifm,
and reciprocally in every defpotic government,
the military man difpofes fooner or later of the
fovereign authority. The prince, freed from all
kind of law which might reftrain his power, doth
not fail of abufing it, and foon commands over
none but flaves, who take no kind of concern
about his fate. He who oppreffes finds no de-
fender, becauſe he deferves none. His grandeur
is without foundation. His own fears are awak-
ened from the fame motives by which he hath
excited terror in others. The ufe he makes of
the militia against his fubjects, teaches this very
militia what they can do against himſelf. They
try their strength, they mutiny, and they revolt.
The want of power in the prince makes them in-
folent. They acquire a fpirit of fedition, and it
is then that they decide of the fate of their maſter
and of his minifters.
SOLIMAN, informed by the internal commotions
which had agitated the empire under the reigns.
of Bajazet II. and Selim II. of the dangers which
threatened himſelf and his fucceffors, thought that
he could adopt no better expedient than to enact
a law which deprived the princes of his houfe,
both of the command of the armies and of the
government of the provinces. It was by burying
in the obfcure idleness of a feraglio thofe to whom
their birth gave any pretenfions to the empire,
that he flattered himfelf he fhould remove from
the Janiffaries every pretence of fedition; but
he was deceived. This bad policy ferved only
to increaſe the mifchief of an evil that was per-
haps till greater. His fucceffors corrupted by
an effeminate education, bore without authority
the
!
272
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
*
BOOK the fword which had founded and had extended
XIX. the empire. Ignorant princes, who had frequent-
ed none but women, and converfed with none but
eunuchs, were invefted with an unlimited autho-
rity, the moſt unparalleled abuſe of which com-
pleted the hatred and mifery of their fubjects,
and plunged them in an abfolute dependence on
the Janiffaries, become more avaricious and more
untractable than ever. If fometimes, by chance,
a fovereign was raiſed to the throne, who was
worthy of occupying it, he was driven from it
by minifters, enemies of a mafter who was able
to reſtrain and examine their power, and pene-
trate into their conduct.
THOUGH the Grand Seignior poffeffes vaft do-
mains, though the fituation of his empire ought
to intereft him in the difputes of the Chriftian
princes, he hath fcarce any influence in the ge-
neral fyftem of Europe. This is the effect of the
ignorance prevailing among the ministry of the
Porte, of their prejudices, of the unvariableneſs
of their principles, of the other vices which flow
from defpotiſm, and which will perpetuate their
bad policy; for tyrants dread nothing fo much as
novelty. They imagine that all is right, and in
fact, nothing advances more rapidly towards per-
fection than defpotifm. The beſt princes leave
always a great deal of good to be done by their
fucceffors, while the firft defpot fcarce ever leaves
any evil for a fecond to do. Befides, how fhould
a Grand Seignior, funk in the voluptuoufneſs of a
feraglio, fufpect that the adminiſtration of his
dominions is deteftable? How is it poffible he
fhould not admire the wonderful exactnefs of the
fprings, the prodigious harmony of the princi-
ples, and of the means which all concur to pro-
duce that fingle and fuper-excellent end, his moft
unlimited power, and the moſt profound fervitude
I
of
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,
273
XIX.
of his fubjects. None of them are warned by the BOOK
fate of fo many of their predeceffors, who have
been either ftabbed or ftrangled.
THE fultans have never changed their prin-
ciples. The fcimitar, at Conftantinople, is ſtill
the interpreter of the Koran. Though the Grand
Signior may not be feen coming in and going
out of the Seraglio, like the tyrant of Morocco,
with a bloody head in his hand, yet a numerous
cohort of fatellites is engaged to execute thefe
horrid murders. The people fometimes maffacred
by their ruler, at other times affaffinate the exe-
cutioner in their turn; but fatisfied with this
temporary vengeance, they think not of provid-
ing for their future fafety, or for the happineſs of
their pofterity. Eaftern nations will not be at the
trouble of guarding the public fafety by laws,
which it is a laborious taſk to form, to ſettle, and
to preſerve. If their tyrants carry their oppref-
fions or cruelties too far, the head of the vizir is
demanded, that of the defpot is ftricken off, and
thus public tranquillity is reftored. This remon-
ftrance, which fhould be the privilege of the
whole nation, is only that of the Janiffaries. Even
the moſt powerful men in the kingdom have not
the leaft idea of the right of nations.
As per
fonal fafety in Turkey belongs only to people of
a mean and abject condition, the chief families
pride themſelves in the very danger they are ex-
pofed to from the government. A Bafhaw will
tell you, that a man of his rank, is not defined,
like an obfcure perfon, to finifh his days quietly
in his bed. One may frequently fee widows,
whoſe hufbands have been juft ftrangled, exulting
that they have been deſtroyed in a manner fuita-
ble to their rank.
Ir is to this pitch of extravagance that men
are led, when tyranny is confecrated by religious
VOL. VI.
T
ideas,
274
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
:
When
BOOK ideas, which fooner or later it muft be.
XIX. men ceaſe to take pride in their chains in the
eyes of the deity, they look upon them with con-
tempt, and foon proceed to break them. If the
apotheofis of the tyrants of Rome had not been a
farce, Tiberius would not have been ftifled,
nor would the murders committed by Nero
have been avenged. Oppreffion, authorized by
Heaven inſpires fuch a contempt for life, that it
induces the flave to take pride even in his abject
ftate. He is vain of being become in the eyes
of his mafter a being of fufficient importance,
that he fhould not difdain to put him to death.
What difference is there between man and man?
A Roman will kill himſelf for fear of owing his
life to his equal; and the Muffulman will glory
in the fentence of death pronounced against him
by his mafter. Imagination, which can meaſure
the diſtance of the earth from the firmament,
cannot comprehend this. But what is ftill more
furprifing is, that the affaffination of a defpot, fo
profoundly revered, far from exciting horror,
doth not make the leaft impreffion. The man
who would have joyfully offered him his own
head a few minutes before, beholds without
emotion his maſter's ftricken off by the fcimitar.
His indifference feems to fay, that whether the
tyrant be dead or alive, he cannot fail of the ho-
nour of being ftrangled under his fucceffor.
THE Ruffians and the Danes do not entertain
the fame prejudices, though fubject to a power
equally arbitrary; becauſe theſe two nations have
the advantage of a more tolerable adminiftration,
and of fome written laws. They can venture to
think, or even to fay, that their government is
limited; but have never been able to perfuade
any enlightened man of the truth of their affer-
tion. While the fovereign makes and annuls the
laws,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
275
laws, extends or reftrains them, and permits or B O O K
fufpends the execution of them at pleafure; while XIX.
his paffions are the only rule of his conduct; while
he is the only, the central being to whom every
thing tends; while nothing is either juft or un-
juft, but what he makes fo; while his caprice is
the law, and his favour the ſtandard of public
eſteem; if this be not defpotifm, what other kind
of government can it poffibly be?
IN fuch a ſtate of degradation, what are men?
Enſlaved as they are, they can fcarce venture to
look up to Heaven. They are infenfible of their
chains, as well as of the fhame that attends them.
The powers of their minds, extinguished in the
bonds of flavery, have not fufficient energy to
diſcover the rights infeparable from their exiſt-
ence. It may be a matter of doubt whether thefe
flaves be not as culpable as their tyrants; and
whether the ſpirit of liberty may not have greater
reaſon to complain of the arrogance of thoſe who
invade her rights, than of the weaknefs of thofe
who know not how to defend them.
IT hath however been frequently afferted, that
the moſt happy form of government would be that
of a juft and enlightened defpotic prince. The
abfurdity of this is evident; for it might eaſily
happen that the will of this abfolute monarch
might be in direct oppofition to the will of his
fubjects. In that cafe notwithſtanding all his
juftice and all his abilities, he would deferve cen-
fure to deprive them of their rights, even though
it were for their own benefit. No man whatfo-
ever is entitled to treat his fellow-creatures like
ſo many beaſts. Beafts may be forced to ex-
change a bad pafture for a better; but to uſe
fuch compulfion with men, would be an act of
tyranny. If they fhould fay, that they are very
well where they are, or even if they fhould agree
T 2
in
276
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK in allowing that their fituation is a bad one, but
XIX. that they chufe to ftay in it; we may endeavour
سا
to enlighten them, to undeceive them, and to
bring them to jufter notions by the means of per-
fuafion, but never by thofe of compulfion. The
beſt of princes, who fhould even have done good
againſt the general confent of his people, would
be culpable, if it were only becauſe he had gone
beyond his right. He would be culpable not
only for the time, but even with regard to pofte-
rity; for though he might be juſt and enlighten-
ed, yet his fucceffor, without inheriting either his
abilities or his virtues, will certainly inherit his
authority, of which the nation will become the
victim. A firſt defpot, juft, fteady, and enlightened,
is a great calamity; a fecond defpot, juft, ſteady,
and enlightened, would be a ftill greater one;
but a third, who fhould fucceed with all thefe
great qualities, would be the moft terrible fcourge
with which a nation could be afflicted. It is pof-
fible to emerge from a ftate of flavery into which
we may have been plunged by violence, but
never from that into which we have been led by
time and juftice. If the lethargy of the people
be the forerunner of the lofs of their liberty, what
lethargy can be more mild, more profound,
and more perfidious, than that which hath lafted
during three reigns, and which hath been kept
up by acts of kindnefs?.
LET not therefore thefe pretended mafters of
the people be allowed even to do good againft
the general confent. Let it be confidered, that
the condition of thoſe rulers is exactly the fame
as that of the cacique, who being afked, Whether
he had any flaves? anfwered: Slaves! I know but
one flave in all my district, and that is myself.
IT is of fo much importance to prevent the
eſtabliſhment of arbitrary power, and the calami-
ties
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
277
XIX.
ties which are the infallible confequences of it, BOOK
that it is impoffible for the defpot himſelf to re-
medy theſe great evils. Should he have been
upon the throne for half a century; fhould his
adminiſtration have been entirely tranquil, fhould
he have had the most extenfive knowledge, and
fhould his zeal for the happineſs of the people not
have been one moment flackened, ftill nothing
would be done. The enfranchiſement, or, what
is the fame thing under another name, the civili-
zation of an empire, is a long and difficult work.
Before a nation hath been confirmed, by habit,
in a durable attachment for this new order of
things, a prince, either from inability, indolence,
prejudice, or jealoufy; from a predilection for
ancient cuſtoms, or from a fpirit of tyranny, may
annihilate all the good accomplished in the courfe
of two or three reigns; or may fuffer it to be in-
effectual. All monuments therefore atteft, that
the civilization of ſtates hath been more the effect
of circumftances, than of the wifdom of fove-
reigns. All nations have changed from bar-
bariſm to a ſtate of civilization; and from a
civilized ftate to barbarifm, till fome unforeſeen
cauſes have brought them to that level which
they never perfectly maintain.
We may perhaps be allowed to doubt, whether
all thefe cauſes concur with the efforts which are
at prefent making towards the civilization of
Ruffia.
Is the climate of this region very favourable
to civilization, and to population, which is fome-
times the caufe and fometimes the effect of them?
Doth not the coldness of the climate require the
preſervation of the large forefts, and confequent-
ly, must not immenfe fpaces remain uninhabit-
ed? As an exceffive length of winter fufpends the
labours for the fpace of feven or eight months
of
278
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK of the year, doth not the nation during this
XIX. time of lethargy, devote itfelf to gaming, to
wine, to debauchery, and to an immoderate ufe
of fpirituous liquors? Can good manners be in-
troduced notwithstanding the climate? and is it
poffible to civilize a barbarous people without
manners?
DOTH not the immenfe extent of the empire,
which embraces all kinds of climates, from the
coldeſt to the hotteſt, oppoſe a powerful obftacle to
the legiflator? Could one and the fame code fuit fo
many different regions? and is not the neceffity
of having feveral codes, the fame thing as the
impoffibility of having only one? Can any means
be conceived of fubjecting to one fame rule,
people who do not understand each other; who
fpeak feventeen or eighteen different languages,
and who preferve, from times immemorial, cuf-
toms and fuperftitions, to which they are more
attached than to their exiſtence?
As authority weakens, in proportion as the
fubjects are diſtant from the center of dominion,
is it poffible to be obeyed at a thousand miles
diftance from the fpot from whence the commands.
are iffued? Should any body tell me that the
matter is poffible by the influence of govern-
ment, I fhall only reply by the fpeech of one of
thefe indifcreet delegates, who revealed what
paffed in the mind of all the others: God is very
high; the emperor is at a great diftance; and I am
mafter here.
As the empire is divided into two claffes of
men, that of the mafters, and that of the flaves,
how can fuch oppofite interefts be conciliated?
Tyrants will never freely confent to the extinc-
tion of fervitude; and in order to bring them
to this, it would be neceffary to ruin, or to ex-
terminate them. But fuppofing this obftacle
removed,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
279
removed, how is it poffible to raiſe from
degraded ſtate of flavery, to the fentiment and to
the dignity of liberty, people who are fo entirely
ftrangers to it, as to be either helpleſs or fero-
cious, whenever they are releaſed from their fet-
ters? Thefe difficulties will certainly fuggeft the
idea of creating a third order in the ftate; but
by what means is this to be accomplished; and
fuppofing the means difcovered, how many ages
would it require to obtain any fenfible effect from
them?
IN expectation of the formation of this third
claſs of men, which might, perhaps, be accele-
rated by colonists invited from the free countries
of Europe, it would be neceffary that an entire
fecurity fhould be eſtabliſhed, both with refpect
to perfons and to property; and could fuch a
fecurity be eſtabliſhed in a country where the
tribunals are occupied by the lords alone; where
theſe ſpecies of magiftrates reciprocally favour
each other; where there can be no profecution
against them, or against their creatures, from
which either the natives or the foreigners can
expect that the injuries they have received fhould
be redreffed, and where venality pronounces the
fentence in every kind of conteft? We fhall afk,
whether there can be any civilization without
juſtice, and whether it be poffible to eſtabliſh juf-
tice in fuch an empire?
THE towns are diftributed over an immenfe
territory. There are no roads, and thoſe which
might be conftructed, would be foon ſpoiled by
the climate. Accordingly, defolation is univer-
fal, when a damp winter puts a ſtop to every
communication.. Let us travel over all the
countries of the earth, and wherever we fhall
find no facility of trading from a city to a town,
and from a village to a hamlet, we may pro-
+
nounce
BOOK
XIX.
280
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BO O Knounce the people to be barbarians; and we fhall
XIX. only be deceived refpecting the degree of barba-
rifm. In this ftate of things, the greateſt happi-
nefs that could happen to a country of an enor-
mous extent, would be to be difmembered by
fome great revolution, and to be divided into fe-
veral petty fovereignties, contiguous to each other,
where the order introduced into fome of them,
would be diffuſed through the reft. If it be very
difficult to govern properly a large civilized em-
pire, muſt it not be more fo to civilize a vaſt and
barbarous empire?
TOLERATION, it is true, fubfifts at Peterf-
bourg, and almoft in an unlimited degree.
Judaiſm alone is excluded, becauſe it hath been
thought that it's fectators were either too crafty,
or too deceitful in trade, to expofe to their
fnares, a people who had not experience enough
to preferve themfelves from them. This tolera-
tion in the capital, would be a great ſtep towards
civilization, if in the rest of the empire the peo-
ple did not remain immerſed in the moft grofs fu-
perftitions; and if thefe fuperftitions were not
fomented by a numerous clergy, plunged in de-
bauchery and ignorance, without being the lefs
revered. How can a ftate be civilized without
the interference of priests, who are neceffarily
prejudicial if not ufeful?
THE high opinion that, according to the ex-
ample of the Chineſe, the Ruffians have of them-
felves, is another obſtacle to reformation. They
truly confider themſelves as the moſt fenfible peo-
ple upon the earth, and are confirmed in this ab-
furd vanity, by thofe among them who have vi-
fited the rest of Europe. Theſe travellers bring
back, or feign to bring back, into their coun-
try, the prejudice of their own fuperiority, and
enrich it only with the vices, which they have
A
acquired
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
281
acquired in the divers regions where chance hath BOOK
conducted them. Accordingly, a foreign ob- XIX.
ferver, who had gone over the greateſt part of the
empire, ufed to fay, that the Ruffian was rotten,
before he had been ripe.
We might extend ourſelves more upon the
difficulties which nature and cuftoms obftinately
oppoſe to the civilization of Ruffia. Let us exa-
mine the means which have been contrived to
fucceed in it.
CATHERINE hath undoubtedly been very well
convinced, that liberty was the only fource of
public happineſs: and yet, hath fhe really abdi-
cated defpotic authority? In reading attentively
her inftructions to the deputies of the empire,
apparently intrufted with the formation of the
laws, is any thing more found in them than the
defire of altering denominations, and of being
called monarch, inftead of autocratrix? Of call-
ing her people fubjects, inſtead of flaves? Will
the Ruffians, blind as they are, take the name, in-
ftead of the thing, for any length of time? and
will their character be elevated by this farce,
to that great degree of energy with which it was
propoſed to infpire them?
A SOVEREIGN, however great his genius may
be, feldom makes alterations of any confequence
by himſelf, and ftill more unfrequently gives
them any degree of ftability. He ftands in need
of affiftance, and Ruffia can offer no other than
that of fighting. It's foldiers are hardy, fober,
indefatigable. Slavery, which hath infpired them
with a contempt of life, hath united with fuper-
ftition, which hath infpired them with contempt
of death. They are perfuaded, that whatever
crimes they may have committed, their foul will
afcend to heaven from the field of battle. But
military men, if they defend the provinces, do
not
2821
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK not civilize them. In vain do we feek for ſtatef
XIX. men about the perfon of Catherine. What fhe
hath done of herfelf may be aftonifhing; but who
can be ſubſtituted to her, when fhe fhall be no
more.
THIS princeſs hath founded houſes, in which
young people of both fexes are brought up with
the fentiment of liberty. This will undoubtedly
produce a different race from the prefent. But
are theſe eſtabliſhments founded upon a folid
bafis? Are they fuftained by themſelves, or by
the fuccours which are inceffantly laviſhed upon
them? If the prefent reign hath feen the origin
of them, will not the fucceeding reign fee them
annihilated? Are they very agreeable to the great,
who perceive the deftination of them? Will not
the climate, which difpofes of every thing, prevail
at length over good principles? Will corruption
fpare thoſe young people, who are loft in the
immenſity of the empire, and who are affailed on
all fides by bad morals?
1
THERE are a great number of academies of all
kinds in the capital; and if theſe be filled by
foreigners, will not thefe eftabliſhments be ufe-
lefs and ruinous, in a country where the learned
are not underſtood, and where there is no em-
ployment for artifts. In order that talents and
knowledge might thrive, it would be neceffary,
that being offsprings of the foil, they fhould be
the effect of a fuperabundant population. When
will this population arrive to the proper degree of
increafe, in a country where the flave, to confole
himſelf for the wretchednefs of his condition, may
indeed produce as many children as he can, but
will care very little about preferving them.
ALL thofe who are admitted and brought up
in the hoſpital, recently eſtabliſhed for found-
lings, are for ever emancipated from flavery.
Their
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
283
XIX.
Their defcendants will not fubmit to the yoke B O O K
again; and as in Spain there are old or new
Chriftians, fo in Ruffia there will be old and new
freemen. But the effect of this innovation can
only be proportioned to it's continuance: and
can we reckon upon the duration of any eſtabliſh-
ment, in a country where the fucceffion to the
empire is not yet inviolably confirmed, and where
the inconftancy, which is natural to an enflaved
people, brings on frequent and fudden revoluti-
ons? If the authors of theſe confpiracies do not
form a body, as in Turkey, if they be a ſet of
infulated individuals, they are foon affembled to-
gether, by a fecret ferment, and by a common
hatred.
DURING the laft war, a fund was created for
the uſe of all the members of the empire, even
of flaves. By this idea of found and deep policy,
the government acquired a capital, of which it
ſtood in great need; and it fheltered, as much as
poffible, the vaffals from the vexations of their
tyrants. It is in the nature of things, that the
confidence with which this paper money hath been
received, fhould change, and be annulled. It
doth not belong to a defpot to obtain credit;
and if fome fingular events have procured it to
him, it is a neceffary confequence, that fucceed-
ing events will make him lofe it.
SUCH are the difficulties which have appeared
to us to counteract the civilization of the Ruffian
empire. If Catherine II. fhould fucceed in fur-
mounting them, we fhall have made the moſt
magnificent eulogium of her courage and her ge-
nius, and perhaps the beft apology, if the fhould
fail in this great defign.
SWEDEN is fituated between Ruffia and Den-
mark. Let us examine the hiftory of it's confti-
tution,
284
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK tution, and endeavour, if poffible, to find out the
XIX. nature of it.
NATIONS that are poor are almoft neceffarily
warlike; becauſe their very poverty, the burden
of which they conftantly feel, infpires them fooner
or later with a defire of freeing themfelves from
it; and this defire, in proceſs of time, becomes
the general fpirit of the nation, and the fpring of
the government.
IT only requires a fucceffion of fovereigns, for-
tunate in war, to change fuddenly the government
of fuch a country, from the ftate of a mild mo-
narchy, to that of the moſt abfolute defpotifm.
The monarch, proud of his triumph, thinks he
will be fuffered to do whatever he chooſes, begins
to acknowledge no law but his will; and his fol-
diers, whom he hath led fo often to victory, ready
to ferve him in all things, and againſt all men, be-
come, by their attachment to the prince, the ter-
ror of their fellow-citizens. The people, on the
other hand, dare not refufe the chains, when
offered to them by him, who, to the authority of
his rank, joins that which he holds from their ad-
miration and gratitude.
THE yoke impoſed by a monarch who has con-
quered the enemies of the ſtate, is certainly bur-
denfome; but the fubjects dare not fhake it off.
It even grows heavier under fucceffors, who have
not the fame claim to the indulgence of the peo-
ple. Whenever any confiderable reverſe of for-
tune takes place, the defpot will be left to their
mercy. Then the people, irritated by their long
fufferings, feldom fail to avail themfelves of the
opportunity of recovering their rights. But as
they have neither views nor plans, they quickly
paſs from flavery to anarchy. In the midst of this
general confufion, one exclamation only is heard,
and that is, Liberty. But, as they know not
I
how
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
285
how to fecure to themſelves this ineftimable bene-E OOK
fit, the nation becomes immediately divided into XIX.
various factions, which are guided by different in-
terefts.
If there be one among theſe factions that de-
fpairs of prevailing over the others, that faction
feparates itſelf from the reft, unmindful of the
general good; and being more anxious to preju-
dice it's rivals than to ferve it's country, it fides
with the fovereign. From that moment there
are but two parties in the ftate, diftinguiſhed by
two different names, which, whatever they be,
never mean any thing more than royalifts and anti-
royalifts. This is the period of great commotions
and confpiracies.
THE neighbouring powers then act the fame
part they have ever acted at all times, and in all
countries, upon fimilar occafions. They foment
jealoufies between the people and their prince;
they fuggeft to the fubjects every poffible method
of debafing, degrading, and annihilating the fove-
reignty; they corrupt even thofe who are neareft
the throne; they occafion fome form of admi-
niftration to be adopted, prejudicial both to the
whole body of the nation, which it impoverishes
under pretence of exerting itſelf for their liberty,
and injurious to the fovereign, whofe prerogative
it reduces to nothing.
THE monarch then meets with as many autho-
rities oppoſed to his, as there are ranks in the
ftate. His will is then nothing without their con-
currence. Affemblies muſt then be holden, pra-
pofals made, and affairs of the leaft importance
debated. Tutors are affigned to him, as to a pu-
pil in his non-age; and thofe tutors are perfons
whom he may always expect to find ill-intention-
ed towards him.
Bur
286
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK BUT what is then the ftate of the nation? The
XIX.
neighbouring powers have now, by their influence,
thrown every thing into confufion; they have
overturned the ftate, or feduced all the members
of it by bribery or intrigues. There is now but
one party in the kingdom, and that is the party
which efpouſes the intereft of the foreign powers.
The members of the factions are all diffemblers.
Attachment to the king is an hypocrify, and aver-
fion for monarchy another. They are two differ-
ent maſks to conceal ambition and avarice. The
whole nation is now entirely compofed of infa
•
mous and venal men.
IT is not difficult to conceive what must happen
after this. The foreign powers that had corrupt
ed the nation must be deceived in their expecta-
tions. They did not perceive that they carried
matters too far; that, perhaps, they acted a part
quite contrary to that which a deeper policy
would have fuggeſted; that they were deſtroying
the power of the nation, while they meant only to
reſtrain that of the fovereign, which might one
-day exert itself with all it's force, and meet with
no refiftance capable of checking it; and that
this unexpected effect might be brought about in
an inftant, and by one man.
THAT inftant is come; that man hath appeared:
and all theſe baſe creatures of adverſe powers
have proftrated themfelves before him. He told
thefe men, who thought themfelves all-powerful,
that they were nothing. He told them, I am your
mafter; and they declared unanimously that he
was. He told them, theſe are the conditions to
which I would have you fubmit; and they an-
fwered, we agree to them. Scarce one diffenting
voice was heard among them. It is impoffible
for any man to know what will be the confe-
quence of this revolution. If the king will avail
himfelf
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
287
himſelf of theſe circumftances, Sweden will never B O O K
have been governed by a more abfolute monarch. XIX.
If he be prudent; if he underſtand, that an unli-
mited fovereign can have no fubjects, becauſe he
can have no perfons under him poffeffed of pro-
perty; and that authority can only be exerted
over thoſe who have ſome kind of property; the
nation may, perhaps, recover it's original cha-
racter. Whatever may be his defigns or his in-
clinations, Sweden cannot poffibly be more un-
happy than fhe was before.
POLAND, which has none but flaves within, and
therefore deferves to meet with none but oppreffors
without, ftill preferves, however, the fhadow and
the name of liberty. This kingdom is, at pre-
fent, no better than all the European ftates were
ten centuries ago, fubject to a powerful arifto-
cracy, which elects a king, in order to make him
fubfervient to it's will. Each nobleman, by vir-
tue of his feudal tenure, which he preferves with
his fword, as his anceſtors acquired it, holds a
perfonal and hereditary authority over his vaffals.
The feudal government prevails there in all the
force of it's primitive inftitution. It is an em-
pire compofed of as many ftates as there are
lands. All the laws are fettled there, and all re-
folutions taken, not by the majority, but by the
unanimity of the fuffrages. Upon falfe notions
of right and perfection, it has been ſuppoſed that
a law was only juft when it was adopted by una-
nimous conſent; becauſe it has undoubtedly been
thought, that what was right would both be per-
ceived and put in practice by all; two things that
are impoffible in a national affembly. But can we
even afcribe ſuch pure intentions to a fet of ty-
rants? For this conftitution, which boafts the
title of a republic, and profanes it, is only a
league of petty tyrants against the people. In
this
288
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK this country, every one has the power to reftrain,
XIX. and no one the power to act. Here the will of
each individual may be in oppofition to the ge-
neral one; and here only a fool, a wicked man,
and a madman, is fure to prevail over a whole
nation.
;
In this ſtate of anarchy, there is a perpetual
ftruggle between the great and the monarch.
The former torment the chief of the ftate by
their avidity, their ambition, and their miſtruſt
they irritate him againſt liberty, and compel him
to have recourfe to intrigue. The prince, on his
part, divides in order to command, feduces in
order to defend himfelf, and oppofes artifice to
artifice, in order to maintain himfelf. The fac-
tions are inflamed, diſcord throws every thing
into confufion, and the provinces are delivered
up to fire, to fword, and to devaftation. If the
confederacy fhould prevail, he who fhould have
governed the nation is expelled from the throne,
or reduced to the moſt ignominious dependence.
If it ſhould be fubdued, the fovereign reigns only
over carcafes. Whatever may happen, the fate
of the multitude experiences no fortunate revo-
lution. Such of theſe unhappy people who have
efcaped from famine and carnage, continue to
bear the chains with which they were crushed.
If we go over thefe vaft regions, what fhall we
fee in them? The regal dignity, with the title of
a republic; the pomp of the throne, with the in-
ability of infuring obedience; the extravagant
love of independence, with all the meannefs of
flavery; liberty, with cupidity; laws, with anar-
chy; the moft exceffive luxury, with the greateft
indigènce; a fertile foil, with fallow lands; a
tafte for all the arts, without any one of them.
Such are the enormous contrafts Poland will ex-
hibit.
>
IT
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
289
XIX.
It will be found expoſed to every danger. The B O O K
weakest of it's enemies may enter with impunity,
and without precaution, upon it's territory, levy
contributions, deftroy the towns, ravage the coun-
try places, and maffacre or carry off the inhabi-
tants. Deftitute of troops, of fortreffes, of artil-
lery, of ammunition, of money, of generals, and
totally ignorant of military principles, what defence
could it think of making? With a fufficient po-
pulation, with fufficient genius and refources to
appear of fome confequence, Poland is become
the opprobrium and the fport of nations.
IF turbulent and enterprifing neighbours had
not yet invaded it's poffeffions; if they had been
fatisfied with laying it waſte, with dictating to it,
and with giving it kings; it is becauſe they were
continually mistrustful of each other; but parti-
cular circumftances have united them. It was
referved for our days to fee this ftate torn in
pieces by three powerful rivals, who have appro-
priated to themfelves thofe provinces that were
moft fuitable to them, while no power of Europe
hath exerted itſelf to prevent this invafion. It
is in the midſt of the fecurity of peace, without
rights, without pretenfions, without grievances,
and without a fhadow of justice, that the revolu-
tion hath been accomplished by the terrible prin-
ciple of force, which is, unfortunately, the beft
argument of kings. How great Poniatowski
would have appeared, if, when he faw the pre-
paratives for this divifion, he had prefented him-
felf in the midft of the diet, and there abdicating
the marks of his dignity, had proudly faid to his
nobles affembled: "It is your choice that hath
"raiſed me to the throne. If you repent of it, I
"refign the royal dignity. The crown which you
"have placed upon my head, let it devolve to
any one whom you ſhall think more worthy of
VOL. VI.
66
U
"" it
2
290
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK" it than me: name him, and I will withdraw.
XIX. But if you perfift in your former caths, let us
fight together to fave our country, or let us
perih along with it." I appeal to the dividing
powers, whether fo generous a ftep would not
have faved Poland from ruin, and it's prince
from the difgrace of having been it's laft fove-
reign. But fate hath determined the matter
otherwife. May this crime of ambition turn out
to the advantage of mankind; and by prudently
recurring to the found principles of good policy,
may the ufurpers break the chains of the moſt
laborious part of their new fubjects! Thefe peo-
ple, become less unhappy, will be more intelli-
gent, more active, more affectionate, and more
faithful.
IN a monarchy, the forces and wills of every
individual are at the difpofal of one fingle man; in
the government of Germany, each ſeparate ſtate
conftitutes a body. This is, perhaps, the nation
that reſembles moft what it formerly was. The
ancient Germans, divided into colonies by im-
menfe forefts, had no occafion for a very refined
legiſlation. But in proportion as their defcend-
ants have multiplied and come nearer each other,
art has kept up in this country what nature had
eftabliſhed, the feparation of the people and their
political union. The fmall ftates that compofe
this confederate republic, preſerve the character
of the firſt families. Each particular government
is not always parental, or the rulers of the nations
are not always mild and humane. But ftill reafon
and liberty, which unite the chiefs to each other,
foften the feverity of their difpofitions, and the
rigour of their authority: a prince in Germany
cannot be a tyrant with the fame fecurity as in
large monarchies.
THE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
29F
THE Germans, who are rather warriors than a B O O K
warlike people, becauſe they are rather proficients. XIX.
in the art of war than addicted to it from inclina-
tion, have been conquered but once; and it was
Charlemagne who conquered, but could not re-
duce them to fubjection. They obeyed the man,
who, by talents fuperior to the age he lived in, had
fubdued and enlightened it's barbarifm; but they
fhook off the yoke of his fucceffors. They pre-
ferved, however, the title of emperor to their
chief; but it was merely a name, fince, in fact, the
power refided almoſt entirely in the barons who
poffeffed the lands. The people, who in all coun-
tries have unfortunately always been enslaved,
fpoiled, and kept in a state of mifery and igno-
rance, each the effect of the other, reaped no
advantage from the legislation. This fubverted
that focial equality which does not tend to reduce
all conditions and eftates to the fame degree, but
to a more general diffufion of property; and upon
it's ruins was formed the feudal government, the
characteristic of which is anarchy. Every noble-
man lived in a total independence, and each people
under the moſt abfolute tyranny. This was the
unavoidable confequence of a government, where
the crown was elective. In thofe ftates where it
was hereditary, the people had, at leaſt, a bulwark
and a permanent refuge againſt oppreffion. The
regal authority could not extend itſelf, without
alleviating for fome time the fate of the vaffals by
diminiſhing the power of the nobles.
1
BUT in Germany, where the nobles took ad-
vantage of each interregnum to invade and to re-
train the rights of the Imperial power, the go.
vernment could not but degenerate. Superior
force decided every difpute between thofe who
could appeal to the fword. Countries and people
were only the cauſes or the objects of war be-
U 2
tween
292
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOO K tween the proprietors. Crimes were the fupport
XIX. of injuftice. Rapine, murder, and conflagrations,
not only became frequent, but even lawful. Su-
perftition, which had confecrated tyranny, was
compelled to reſtrain it. The church, which af-
forded an afylum to banditti of every kind, efta-
bliſhed a truce between them. The protection of
faints was implored to eſcape the fury of the no-
bles. The afhes of the dead were only fufficient
to awe the ferocioufnefs of thefe people fo alarm-
ing are the terrors of the grave, even to men of
cruel and favage difpofitions.
WHEN the minds of men, kept in conftant
alarm, were difpofed to tranquillity through fear;
policy, which avails itſelf equally of reafon and
the paffions, of ignorance and underſtanding, to
rule over mankind, attempted to reform the go-
vernment. On the one hand, feveral inhabitants
in the countries were infranchifed: and on the
other, exemptions were granted in favour of the
cities. A number of men in all parts were made
free. The emperors, who, to fecure their elec-
tion even among ignorant and ferocious princes,
were obliged to diſcover fome abilities and fome
virtues, prepared the way for the improvement of
the legislation.
MAXIMILIAN improved the means of happinefs
which time and particular events had concurred to
produce in his age. He put an end to the anarchy
of the great. In France and Spain, they had been
made fubject to regal authority; in Germany, the
emperors made them fubmit to the authority of
the laws. For the fake of the public tranquillity,
every prince is amenable to juftice. It is true, that
thefe laws eftabliſhed among princes, who may be
confidered as lions, do not fave the people, who
may be compared to lambs: they are ftill at the
mercy of their rulers, who are only bound one
towards
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
293
towards another. But as public tranquillity can- BOOK
not be violated, nor war commenced, without XIX.
the prince who is the cauſe of it being fubject to
the penalties of a tribunal that is always open, and
fupported by all the forces of the empire, the peo-
ple are lefs expofed to thofe fudden irruptions,
and unforeſeen hoftilities, which, threatening the
property of the fovereigns, continually endanger-
ed the lives and fafety of the ſubjects.
WHY fhould not Europe be one day entirely
fubject to the fame form of government? Why
ſhould there not be the ban of Europe, as there
is the ban of the empire? Why fhould not the
princes compofing fuch a tribunal, the authority
of which fhould be confented to by all, and
maintained unanimoufly against any one refrac-
tory member, realize the beautiful vifionary fyf-
tem of the Abbé St. Pierre? Why fhould not the
complaints of the fubjects be carried to this tri-
bunal, as well as the complaints of one fove-
reign againſt another? Then would wiſdom reign
upon the earth.
WHILE this perpetual peace, which hath been
fo long wifhed for, and which is ftill at fuch a
diſtance, is expected, war, which formerly eſta-
bliſhed right, is now fubject to conditions that
moderate it's fury. The claims of humanity are
heard even in the midſt of carnage. Thus Eu-
rope is indebted to Germany for the improvement
of the legiflation in all ftates; regularity and
forms even in the revenge of nations; a certain
equity even in the abufe of power; moderation
in the midst of victory; a check to the ambition
of all potentates; in a word, freſh obftacles to
war, and freſh encouragements to peace.
THIS happy conftitution of the German empire
has improved with the progrefs of reafon ever fince
the reign of Maximilian. Neverthelefs the Ger
mans
294
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK mans themfelves complain, that although they
XIX. form a national body, diftinguiſhed by the fame
سه
name, fpeaking the fame language, living under
the fame chief, enjoying the fame privileges, and
connected by the fame interefts, yet their empire
has not the advantage of that tranquillity, that
power, and confideration, which it ought to
have.
THE caufes of this misfortune are obvious. The
first is the obfcurity of the laws. The writings
upon the jus publicum of Germany are numberless;
and there are but few Germans who are verfed in
the conſtitution of their country. All the mem-
bers of the empire now ſend their repreſentatives
to the national affembly, whereas they formerly
fat there themſelves. The military turn, which
is become univerfal, has precluded all application
to buſineſs, fuppreffed every generous fentiment of
patriotifm, and all attachment -to fellow-citizens.
There is not one of the princes, who has not
fettled his court too magnificently for his income,
and who does not authorize the moſt flagrant op-
preffions to fupport this ridiculous pomp. In
fhort, nothing contributes to the decay of the
empire fo much, as the too extenfive dominion of
fome of it's princes. The fovereigns become too
powerful, feparate their private intereft from the
general good. This reciprocal difunion among
the ſtates, is the reaſon that in dangers which are
common to all, each province is left to itſelf. It
is obliged to fubmit to that prince, whoever he
may be, whofe power is fuperior; and thus the
Germanic conftitution degenerates infenfibly into
flavery or tyranny.
GREAT BRITAIN was but little known before
the Romans had carried their arms there. After
thefe proud conquerors had forfaken it, as well
as the other provinces diftant from their domi-
nion,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
295
XIX.
nion, in order to defend the center of their em- BOOK
pire againſt the barbarians, it became the prey
of the inhabitants of the Baltic Sea. The natives
of the country were maffacred, and upon their
remains ſeveral ſovereignties were founded, which
were in time united into one. The principles
by which the Anglo-Saxons were guided have
never been handed down to us; but we know,
that like all the northern nations, they had a
king and a body of nobility.
WILLIAM fubdued the fouthern part of the
iſland, which even at that time was called Eng-
land, and eſtabliſhed a feudal government in it,
but very different from that which was feen in
the rest of Europe. In other parts, government
was nothing but a labyrinth without an iffue, a
perpetual anarchy, and the right of the ſtrongeſt.
This terrible conqueror eftabliſhed it upon a more
refpectable, a more regular, and a more perma-
nent footing, referving to himſelf exclufively the
right of hunting and of war, the power of levy-
ing taxes, the advantage of having a court of
juſtice, where civil or criminal caufes of all the
orders of the ftate were ultimately adjudged by
him and by the great officers of his crown, whom
he appointed or difmiffed at pleaſure.
As long as the tyrant lived, the conquered
people, and the foreigners whom he had employ-
ed to fubdue them, fubmitted to this harsh yoke,
as it were, almoft unanimoufly, and without
murmuring openly. Afterwards, both the one
and the other being accuſtomed to a more mo-
derate authority endeavoured to recover fome of
their primitive rights. Defpotifm was fo firmly
eſtabliſhed as to render it impoffible to fubvert
it, without the most complete unanimity. Ac-
cordingly, a league was formed, in which all the
citizens without diftinction, either of noblemen
or
298
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK or of peasants, of inhabitants of towns or of
XIX. the country, united their refentments and their in-
terefts. This univerfal confederacy foftened a
little the deftiny of the nation under the reigns
of the two firft Henrys: but it was not till dur-
ing that of John, that it truly recovered it's li
berty. Fortunately this turbulent, cruel, igno
rant, and diffipating monarch, was compelled,
by force of arms, to grant that famous charter
which abolished the most oppreffive of the feudal
laws, and fecured to the vaffals, refpecting their
lords, the fame rights as were confirmed to the
lords in regard to kings; which put all perfons,
and every ſpecies of property, under the protection
of peers and of juries, and which even, in favour
of the vaffals, diminiſhed the oppreffion of flavery.
THIS arrangement fufpended for a fhort time.
the jealouſy ſubfifting between the barons and the
princes, without extinguishing entirely the fource
of it. The wars began again, and the people
availed themſelves of the idea they had given of
their ſtrength and courage during thefe commo
tions, in order to gain admiffion into parliament
under Edward I. Their deputies, it is true, had at
firft, no more than the rights of reprefentation in
this affembly; but this fuccefs was the prelude to
other advantages, and accordingly the commons
foon determined the fubfidies, and made part of the
legiſlation; they even foon acquired the preroga
tive of impeaching and bringing to judgment
thofe minifters who had abufed the authority they
were intrufted with.
THE nation had gradually reduced the power.
of the chiefs to what it ought to be when it be
came engaged in long and obftinate wars againft-
France, and when the pretenfions of the Houfes
of York and Lancaſter made all England a ſcene
of carnage and of defolation. During thefe
dreadful
CIN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
XIX.
dreadful commotions the din of arms alone was B OOK
heard. The laws were filent, and they did not
even recover the leaft part of their force when the
forms were appeafed. Tyranny was exerted
with fo many atrocious acts, that citizens of all
ranks gave up every idea of general liberty, in
order to attend only to their perfonal fafety.
This cruel defpotifm lafted more than a century.
Elizabeth herſelf, whofe adminiftration might, in
feveral reſpects, ferve as a model, always con-
ducted herſelf according to principles entirely ar-
bitrary.
JAMES I. apparently recalled to the minds of
the people thoſe rights which they feemed to have
forgotten; lefs wife than his predeceffors, who
had contented themſelves with tacitly enjoying
unlimited-power, and as it were, under the veil
of mystery, this prince, deceived by the name of
monarchy, encouraged in his illufion by his
courtiers and his clergy, openly avowed his pre-
tenfions with a degree of blind fimplicity, of
which there had been no example. The doctrine
of paffive obedience iffued from the throne, and
taught in the churches, diffufed univerfal alarm.
AT this period, liberty, that idol of elevated
minds, which renders them ferocious in a favage
ftate, and haughty in a civilized one, liberty,
which had reigned in the breafts of the Engliſh,
at a time even when they were but imperfectly
acquainted with it's advantages, inflamed the
minds of all men. In the reign of this firſt of the
Stuarts, however, it was only a perpetual ſtrug-
gle between the prerogatives of the crown and
the privileges of the citizens. Oppofition ap-
peared under another aſpect in the reign of the
obftinate fucceffor of this weak defpot. Arms
became the fole arbiter of theſe great concerns,
and the nation fhewed, that in combating form-
erly
208
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK erly for the choice of their tyrants, they had paved
XIX, the way for deftroying them, punishing, and ex-
pelling them at another time.
To put an end to the fpirit of revenge and
miftruft which would have been perpetuated be-
tween the king and the people as long as the
Stuarts had occupied the throne, the English
choſe from a foreign race, a prince who was ob
liged to accept at leaſt of that focial compact of
which all hereditary monarchs affect to be igno-.
rant. William III. received the crown on cer-
tain conditions, and contented himſelf with an
authority eſtabliſhed upon the fame bafis as the
rights of the people. Since a parliamentary claim
is become the fole foundation of royalty, the con-
ventions have not been infringed.
THE government is formed between abfolute
monarchy, which is tyranny; democracy, which
tends to anarchy; and ariftocracy, which fluctu-
ating between one and the other, falls into the
errors of both. The mixt government of the
Engliſh, combining the advantages of these three
powers, which mutually obferve, moderate, affift,
and check each other, tends from it's very prin-
ciples to the national good.
the national good. Theſe feveral
ſprings, by their action and reaction, form an equi-
librium from which liberty ariſes. This confti-
tution, of which there is no inftance among the
ancients, and which ought to ferve as a model to
all people, whofe geographical pofition will ad-
mit of it, will last for a long time, becauſe at it's
origin, which is ufually the work of commotions,
of manners, and of tranfient opinions, it became
the work of reafon and experience.
THE first fortunate fingularity in the conftitu-
tion of Great Britain, is to have a king. Moſt
of the republican ftates known in hiftory, had
formerly annual chiefs. This continual change
I
of
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
299
of magiftrates, proved an inexhauftible fource of E O OK
intrigues and confufion, and kept up a continual XIX.
commotion in the minds of men. By creating
one very great citizen England hath prevented
the rifing up of many. By this ftroke of wiſdom
thofe diffenfions have been prevented, which in
all popular affociations have induced the ruin of
liberty, and the real enjoyment of this firſt of
bleffings before it had been loft.
THE royal authority in England, is not only
for life, but is alfo hereditary. At firſt fight, no-
thing appears more advantageous for a nation
than the right of choofing it's mafters. An in-
exhauftible fource of talents and virtues feems to
fpring from this brilliant prerogative. This
would indeed be the cafe, if the crown were ne-
ceffarily to devolve to the citizen moft worthy to
wear it. But this is a chimerical idea, difproved
by the experience of all people and of all ages.
A throne hath always appeared to the eyes of
ambition, of too great a value to be the appurte-
nance of merit alone. Thoſe who afpire to it
have always had recourfe to intrigue, to corrup
tion, and to force. Their competition hath ex-
cited at every vacancy a civil war, the greateſt of
political calamities, and the perfon who hath ob-
tained the preference over his competitors, hath
been nothing more during the courfe of his reign
but the tyrant of the people, or the flave of thoſe
to whom he owed his elevation. The Britons
are therefore to be commended for having avert-
ed from themfelves thefe calamities, by putting
the reins of government into the hands of a fa-
mily that had merited and obtained their confi-
dence.
S
Ir was proper to fecure to the chiefs of the ftate
a revenue fufficient to fupport the dignity of his
rank. Accordingly, at his acceffion to the throne,
an
390
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK an annual ſubſidy is granted to him for his own
XIX. life, fit for a great king, and worthy of an opu-
lent nation. But this conceffion is not to be
made till after a strict examination of the ftate
of public affairs; after the abufes which might
have introduced themſelves in preceding reigns
have been reformed, and after the conftitution
hath been brought back to it's true principles.
By this management England hath obtained an
advantage which all free governments had endea-
voured to procure to themſelves, that is to fay, a
periodical reformation.
4
To affign to the monarch that kind of autho-
rity beft calculated for the good of the people
was not fo eafy a matter. All hiſtories atteſt,
that wherever the executive power hath been di-
vided, the minds of men have always been agi-
tated with endlefs hatred and jealoufies, and that
a fanguinary conteft hath always tended to the
ruin of the laws and to the eſtabliſhment of the
ftrongest power. This confideration determined
the Engliſh to confer on the king alone this fpe-
cies of power, which is nothing when it is divid-
ed; fince there is then neither that harmony, nor
that fecrecy, nor that difpatch, which can alone
impart energy to it.
FROM this great prerogative neceffarily follows
the difpofal of the forces of the republic. The
abuſes of them would have been difficult in times
when the militia were but feldom affembled, and
only for a few months, and when therefore they
had no time to loſe that attachment they owed to
their country. But fince all the princes of Europe
have contracted the ruinous habit of maintaining,
even in time of peace, a ftanding army of mer-
cenary troops, and fince the fafety of Great Bri-
tain hath required that the fhould conform to this
fatal cuftom, the danger is become greater, and
it
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
301
XIX.
it has been neceffary to increaſe the precautions. E O OK
The nation alone hath the power of affembling
the troops; she never fettles them for more than
a year, and the taxes eſtabliſhed for the payment
of them have only the faine duration. So that if
this mode of defence, which circumftances have
induced to think neceffary, fhould threaten liber-
ty, it would never be long before the troubles
would be put an end to.
A STILL firmer fupport to the Engliſh liberty,
is the divifion of the legiſlative power. Where-
ever the monarch can eſtabliſh or aboliſh laws at
pleaſure there is no government; the prince is a
defpot, and the people are flaves. If the legifla-
tive power be divided, a well-regulated conftitu-
tion will ſcarce ever be corrupted, and that only
for a fhort time. From the fear of being fufpect-
ed of ignorance or corruption, neither of the par-
ties would venture to make dangerous propofals,
and if either of them fhould, it would difgrace
itfelf to no purpoſe. In this arrangement of
things, the greateſt inconvenience that can hap-
pen, is that a good law ſhould be rejected, or that
it fhould not be adopted fo foon as the greateſt
poffible good might require. The portion of the
legiſlative power which the people have recovered,
is infured to them by the exclufive regulation
they have of the taxes. Every ftate hath both
cuſtomary and contingent wants. Neither the
one nor the other can be provided for any other-
wife than by taxes, and in Great Britain the fo-
vereign cannot exact one. He can only addrefs
himſelf to the Commons, who order what they
think moſt ſuitable to the national intereſt, and
who, after having regulated the taxes, have an
account given to them of the ufe they have been
put to.
IT
302
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
IT is not the multitude who exerciſe theſe in-
XIX., eftimable prerogatives which their courage and
!
;
their perfeverance hath procured to them. This
order of things, which may be proper for feeble
affociations, would neceffarily have fubverted
every thing in a great ftate. Reprefentatives,
chofen by the people themfelves, and whofe def
tiny is connected with their's, reflect, fpeak, and
act for them. As it was poffible, however, that
either from indolence, weakneſs, or corruption,
theſe repreſentatives might fail in the moſt auguſt
and the most important of duties, the remedy of
this great evil hath been found in the right of
election. As foon as the time of the commiffion
expires the electors are affembled. They grant
their confidence again to thoſe who have fhewn
themſelves worthy of it, and they reject with dif
dain thoſe who have betrayed it. As a difcern.
ment of this kind is not above the abilities of
common men, becauſe it depends upon facts,
which are uſually very fimple, thofe diforders are
thus terminated which did not derive their fource
from the effects of government, but from the
particular difpofitions of thoſe who directed it's
operations.
NEVERTHELESS, there might refult from this
diviſion of power between the king and the peo.
ple a continual ſtruggle, which, in procefs of time,
might have brought on either a republic or fla-
very. To prevent this inconvenience, an inter-
mediate body hath been eſtabliſhed, which must
be equally apprehenfive of both theſe revolutions:
This is the order of the nobility deſtined to lean
to the fide which might become the weakest, and
thus ever to maintain the equilibrium. The con-
ftitution, indeed, hath not given them the fame
degree of authority as to the commons; but the
fplendour of hereditary dignity, the privileges of
a feat
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
303
XIX.
a feat in the Houfe of Peers, belonging to them- BOOK
felves and without election, together with fome
other prerogatives of honour, have been contriv
ed to ſubſtitute as much as poffible to what they
wanted in real ftrength.
BUT if, notwithstanding fo many precautions,
it ſhould at length happen, that fome ambitious
and enterpriſing monarch, fhould wish to reign
without his parliament, or to compel them to
agree to his arbitrary deciſions, the only reſource
remaining to the nation would be refiftance.
It was upon a ſyſtem of paffive obedience, of
divine right, and of power not to be diffolved,
that the regal authority was formerly fupported.
Thefe abfurd and fatal prejudices had fubdued
all Europe, when in 1688, the English precipi-
tated from the throne a fuperftitious, perfecuting,
and defpotic prince. Then it was underſtood,
that the people did not belong to their chiefs;
then the neceffity of an equitable government
among mankind was inconteftibly eſtabliſhed
then were the foundations of focieties fettled
then the legitimate right of defence, the laſt re-
fource of nations that are oppreffed, was incon-
trovertibly fixed. At this memorable period, the
doctrine of reſiſtance, which had till then been
only one act of violence oppofed to other acts of
violence, was avowed in England by the law it-
felf.
;;
BUT how is it poffible to render this great prin-.
ciple uſeful and efficient? Will a fingle citizen,
left to his own ftrength, ever venture to ftrive
against the power, always formidable, of thofe
who govern? Will he not neceffarily be crushed
by their intrigues, or by their oppreffion? This
would undoubtedly be the cafe, were it not for
the indefinite liberty of the prefs. By this fortu-
nate expedient, the actions of the depofitaries of
autho-
304
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK authority, become public. Any vexations or out-
XIX. rages that have been committed over the moſt
obfcure individual, are foon brought to light.
His caufe becomes the caufe of all; and the op
preffors are puniſhed, or fatisfaction is only offer-
ed for the injury, according to the nature of the
offence, or the difpofition of the people.
.
THIS defcription of the Britiſh conftitution,
made without art, muft have convinced all per-
fons of a proper way of thinking, that there hath
never been a conftitution fo well regulated upon
the face of the globe. We fhall be confirmed in
this opinion, when we confider that the moſt im-
portant affairs have always been publicly can-
vaffed in the fenate of the nation, without any real
miſchief having ever refulted from it. Other
powers think they ftand in need of the veil of
myſtery, to cover their operations. Secrecy ap-
pears to them effential to their prefervation, or
to their profperity. They endeavour to conceal
their fituation, their projects, and their alliances,
from their enemies, from their rivals, and even
from their friends. The quality of being impe-
netrable, is the greateſt praiſe they think they
can bestow upon a ſtateſman. In England, the
internal, as well as external, proceedings of go-
vernment, are all open, all expofed to the face of
day. How noble and confident it is, in a nation,
to admit the univerſe to it's deliberations! How
honeft, and advantageous it is, to admit all the
citizens to them! Never hath Europe been told,
in a more energetic manner: We do not fear thee.
Never hath it been faid, with more confidence
and juſtice, to any nation: Try us, and fee whether
we be not faithful depofitaries of your intereft, of your
glory, and of your happiness. The empire is con
ftituted with fufficient ftrength, to refift the
ſhocks which are infeparable from fuch a cuſtom,
and
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
305
and to give this advantage to neighbours who BOOK
may not be favourably inclined.
BUT is this government a perfect one? Cer-
tainly not; becauſe there is not, neither can
there be, any thing perfect in this world. In a
matter fo complicated, how is it poffible to fore-
fee, and to obviate every thing? Perhaps, in or-
der that the chief of the nation fhould be as de-
pendant upon the will of the people, as would
be fuitable to their fecurity, liberty, and happi-
nefs, it would be neceffary that this chief fhould
have no property out of his kingdom. Other-
wife, the good of one country happening to claſh
with that of the other, the interefts of the preca-
rious fovereignty will often be facrificed to thoſe
of the hereditary fovereignty; otherwiſe, the
enemies of the ftate will have two powerful
means of molefting it; fometimes by intimi-
dating the king of Great Britain, by threats ad-
dreffed to the elector of Hanover; fometimes, by
engaging the king in fatal wars, which they will
prolong at pleaſure; fometimes, by compelling
the elector to put an end to theſe hoftilities by
a fhameful peace. Will the nation meanly aban-
don the king, in quarrels that are foreign to
them? and if they ſhould interfere, will it not
be at their expence, at the lofs of their revenues,
and of their population? Who knows whether
the danger of the foreign fovereign, will not
render him bafe, and even treacherous to the
national fovereign? In this cafe, the Britiſh na-
tion could do nothing better than to fay to their
fovereign: Either refign your fovereignty or your
electorate; abdicate the dominions you hold from
your ancestors, if you mean to keep thofe you hold
from us.
A
A CONSTITUTION, in which the legislative and
executive power are feparate, bears within itſelf,
VOL. VI.
X
the
XIX.
306
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK the feeds of perpetual conteft. It is impoffible
XIX that peace fhould reign between two oppofite,
political bodies. Prerogative muft endeavour to
extend itſelf, and prefs upon liberty, and vice
verfa.
WHATEVER admiration we may have for a go-
vernment, if it can only preferve itſelf by the
fame means by which it had been eſtabliſhed;
if it's future hiftory muft exhibit the fame fcenes
as the paſt, ſuch as rebellion, civil wars, deftruc-
tion of the people, the affaffination or expulfion
of kings, a ftate of perpetual alarms and com-
motions; who would with for a government
upon fuch conditions? If peace, both within and
without, be the object of adminiftration, what
fhall we think of an order of things that is in
compatible with it?
WOULD it not be to be wifhed, that the num-
ber of reprefentatives fhould be proportioned to
the value of property, and to the exact ratio of
patriotifm? Is it not abfurd that a poor hamlet,
or a wretched village, fhould depute as many
or more members to the affembly of the com-
mons, as the moft opulent city or district?
What intereft can thefe men take in the public
felicity, which they fcarce partake of? What fa-
cility will not bad minifters find in their indi-
gence to bribe them; and to obtain, by money,
that majority they ftand in need of? O, fhame!
The rich man purchaſes the fuffrages of his con-
tituents, to obtain the honour of reprefenting
them; and the court buys the vote of the repre-
fentative, in order to govern with more defpotic
fway. Would not a prudent nation endeavour
to prevent both the one and the other of theſe
corruptions? Is it not furprifing that this hath
not been done upon the day, when a reprefenta-
tive had the impudence to make his conftituents
wait
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
307
wait in his antichamber, and afterwards to fay to BOOK
them: I know not what you want, but I will only act__XIX.
as I think proper; I have bought you very dear, and
I am refolved to fell you as dear as I can: Or even
upon that day, when the minifter boafted of
having in his pocket-book the rates of every
man's probity in England?
Is there nothing to object against the effort of
thefe three powers, acting perpetually one upon
the other, and tending inceffantly to an equili-
brium which they will never obtain? This ftrug-
gle, is it not fomewhat fimilar to a continual
anarchy? Doth it not endanger commotions,
in which, from one moment to another, the
blood of the citizens may be fpilt, without our
being able to forefee, whether the advantage
will remain on the fide of tyranny or on that of
liberty? And, if all circumftances be well weigh-
ed, would not a nation lefs independent and more
quiet be happy?
THESE defects, and others added to them, will
they not one day bring on the decline of the go-
vernment? This is a circumftance we cannot
decide; but we are convinced it would be a great
misfortune for the nations; fince they all owe to
it a milder deſtiny than that which they before
enjoyed. The example of a free, rich, magna-
nimous, and happy people, in the midft of Eu-
rope, hath engaged the attention of all men.
The principles from which many benefits have
been derived, have been adopted, difcuffed, and
preſented to the monarchs, and to their delegates;
who, to avoid being accufed of tyranny, have
been obliged to adopt them, with more or lefs
modification. The ancient maxims would foon
be revived, if there did not exift, as it were, in
the midſt of us, a perpetual tribunal, which de-
monftrated the depravity and abfurdity of them.
X 2
BUT,
308
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
XIX.
BUT, if the enjoyments of luxury fhould hap-
pen totally to pervert the morals of the nation; if
the love of pleafure fhould foften the courage of
the commanders and officers of the fleets and
armies; if the, intoxication of temporary. fuc-
ceffes; if vain ideas of falfe greatnefs fhould ex-
cite the nation to enterpriſes above their ſtrength;
if they ſhould be deceived in the choice of their
enemies, or their allies; if they fhould loſe their
colonies, either by making them too extenfive,
or by laying reſtraints upon them; if their love
of patriotifm be not exalted to the love of hu-
manity; they will, fooner or later, be enflaved,
and return to that kind of infignificancy from
whence they emerged only through torrents of
blood, and through the calamities of two ages
of fanaticiſm and war. They will become like
other nations whom they deſpife, and Europe will
not be able to fhew the univerfe one nation in
which ſhe can venture to pride herfelf. Defpo-
tifm, which always oppreffes moft heavily minds
that are fubdued and degraded, will alone riſe
fuperior, amidst the ruin of arts, of morals, of
reaſon, and of liberty.
THE hiftory of the united provinces is replete
with very fingular events. Their combination
arofe from defpair, and almoſt all Europe en-
couraged their eſtabliſhment. They had but juft
triumphed over the long and powerful efforts of
the court of Spain to reduce them to fubjection,
when they were obliged to try their ftrength
against the Britons, and difconcerted the fchemes
of France. They afterwards gave a king to Eng-
land, and deprived Spain of the provinces the
poffeffed in Italy and the Low Countries, to give
them to Auftria. Since that period, Holland has
been difgufted of fuch a fyftem of politics, as
would engage her in war; fhe attends folely to
the
1
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
309
the preſervation of her conftitution, but, perhaps, BOOK
not with fufficient zeal, care, and integrity.
THE Conftitution of Holland, though previ-
oufly modelled on a plan that was the refult of
reflection, is not lefs defective than thofe which
have been formed by chance. One of it's prin-
cipal defects is, that the fovereignty is too much
divided.
IT is a mistake to fuppofe that the authority
refides in the States General fixed at the Hague.
The fact is, that the power of the members who
compofe this affembly, confifts only in deciding
upon matters of form, or police. In alliances,
peace, war, new taxes, or any other important
matter, each of the deputies muſt receive the
orders of his province; which is itſelf obliged
to obtain the confent of the cities. The confe-
quence of this complicated order of things is,
that the reſolutions which would require the
greateft fecrecy and celerity, are neceffarily tardy
and public.
IT feems, that in an union contracted between
this number of ftates, independent of each other,
and connected only by their common intereft,
each of them ought to have had an influence pro-
portioned to it's extent, to it's population, and
to it's riches: but this fortunate bafis, which
enlightened reafon ought to have founded, is not
adopted by the confederate body. The province
which bears more than half of the public ex-
pences, hath no more votes than that which con-
tributes only one hundredth part of them; and
in that province, a petty town, uninhabited, and
unknown, hath legally the fame weight as this
unparalleled city, the activity and induſtry of
which are a fubject of aftoniſhment and of jea-
loufy to all nations.
I
THE
XIX.
310
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
".
BOOK THE unanimity of the towns and provinces,
XIX. which is required for all important refolutions,
is not a meaſure of more judicious policy. If the
moft confiderable members of the republic fhould
refolve to act without the concurrence of the lefs
important branches, this would be a manifeft in-
fringement of the principles of the union; and
if they ſhould lay a great ftrefs upon obtaining
their fuffrages, they will not fucceed without much
folicitation or conceffions. Which ever of thefe
two expedients hath been adopted, when the par-
ties have differed, the harmony of the United
States hath uſually been difturbed, and frequently
in a violent and permanent manner.
THE imperfections of fuch a conſtitution did
not, in all probability, efcape the Prince of
Orange, the founder of this republic. If this
great man permitted that they fhould ferve as a
bafis to the government which was eſtabliſhing,
it was undoubtedly in hopes that they would
render the election of a Stadtholder neceffary,
and that this fupreme magiftrate would always be
choſen in his family. This view of a profound
ambition hath not always been attended with
fuccefs; and this fingular magiftracy, which,
united to the abfolute difpofal of the land and
fea forces, feveral other important prerogatives,
hath been twice aboliſhed.
AT thefe periods, which are remarkable in the
history of a ſtate, unparalleled in the annals of
the Old and of the New World, great changes
have been produced. The authors of the re-
volution have boldly divided all the authority
among themſelves. An intolerable tyranny hath
been every where eſtabliſhed, with more or lefs
effrontery. Under pretence that the general
affemblies were tumultuous, fatiguing, and dan-
gerous, the people have no longer been called in
to
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
311
XIX.
to elect the depofitaries of the public authority. B OOK
The burgomaſters have chofen their fheriffs, and
have feized upon the finances, of which they
gave no account, but to their equals or confti-
tuents. The fenators have arrogated to them-
felves the right of completing their own body.
Thus the magiftracy hath been confined to a few
families, who have affumed an almoſt excluſive
right of deputation to the States General. Each
province, and each town, have been at the dif-
pofal of a ſmall number of citizens, who, di-
viding the rights and the fpoils of the people,
have had the art of eluding their complaints, or
of preventing the effects of any extraordinary
difcontent. The government is become almoſt
Ariftocratic. Had the reformation been extended
only to what was defective in the conftitution,
the Houſe of Orange might have apprehended
that they ſhould no more be reinſtated in that
degree of fplendour from which they had fallen.
A lefs difinterefted conduct hath occafioned the
reſtoration of the Stadtholderſhip; and it hath
been made hereditary, even in the female line.
BUT will this dignity become in time an in-
ftrument of oppreffion? Enlightened men do not
think it poffible. Rome, fay they, is always
quoted as an example to all our free ſtates, that
have no circumftance in common with it. If the
dictator became the oppreffor of that republic,
it was in confequence of it's having oppreffed all
other nations; it was becauſe it's power having
been originally founded by war, muft neceffarily
be deftroyed by it; and becaufe a nation, com-
pofed of foldiers, could not eſcape the defpotifm
of a military government. However improbable
It may appear, it is yet certain, that the Roman
republic fubmitted to the yoke, becauſe it paid no
taxes. The conquered people were the only tri-
butaries
312
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK butaries to the treaſury. The public revenues,
therefore, neceffarily remaining the fame after the
revolution as before, property did not appear to
be attacked; and the citizen thought he fhould
be ftill free enough, while he had the difpofal of
his own.
HOLLAND, on the contrary, will maintain it's
liberty, becauſe, it is fubject to very confiderable
taxes. The Dutch cannot preferve their country
without great expences.
The fenfe of their
independence alone excites an induſtry propor-
tionable to the load of their contributions, and to
the patience neceffary to fupport the burden of
them. If to the enormous expences of the ſtate
it were neceffary to add thofe which the pomp of
a court requires; if the prince were to employ.in
maintaining the agents of. tyranny what ought to
be beſtowed on the foundations of a land obtain-
ed, as it were, from the fea, he would foon drive
the people to deſpair.
THE inhabitant of Holland, placed upon a
mountain, and who obſerves at a diſtance the fea
rifing eighteen or twenty feet above the level of
the lands, and dafhing it's waves againſt the dikes
he has raiſed, confiders within himſelf, that fooner
or later this boisterous element will get the better
of him. He difdains fo precarious a dwelling,
and his houfe, made either of wood or ſtone at
Amfterdam, is no longer looked upon as fuch;
it is his fhip that is his afylum, and by degrees he
acquires an indifference and manners conformable.
to this idea. The water is to him what the vici
nity of volcanos is to the other people.
+
IF to theſe natural caufes of the decay of a pa
triotic fpirit were joined the lofs of liberty, the
Dutch would quit a country, that cannot be cul-
tivated but by men who are free; and thofe peo-
ple, fo devoted to trade, would carry their ſpirit of
commerce,
i
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
313
commerce, together with their riches, to fome в O O K
other part of the globe. Their iſlands in Afia,, XIX,
their factories in Africa, their colonies in America,
and all the ports in Europe, would afford them an
afylum. What ſtadtholder, what prince, revered
by fuch a people, would wiſh, or dare to become
their tyrant?
:
A SENSELESS, ambitious man, or a ferocious
warrior, might poffibly attempt it. But among
thoſe who are deftined to govern the nation, are
fuch men rarely to be found. Every thing
feems to confpire in exciting the greateſt ap-
prehenfions in the republic upon this import-
ant point. There are fcarce any natives on
board their fleets, except a few officers. Their
armies are compofed of, recruited, and com-
manded by foreigners, devoted to a chief, who,
according to their ideas, can never arm them
againſt people to whom they are attached by no
tie. The fortreffes of the ftate are all governed
by generals who acknowledge no other laws befide
thoſe of the prince. Courtiers degraded in their
characters, overwhelmed with debts, deftitute of
virtue, and intereſted in the fubverfion of the
eſtabliſhed order, are perpetually raiſed to the
moſt important pofts. It is by favour, that a ſet
of commanders, devoid of fhame and of ability,
have been placed, and are maintained in the co-
lonies; men who, either from motives of grati-
tude or of cupidity, are inclined to accomplish the
flavery of thoſe diftant regions.
AGAINST fo many dangers, of what avail can
be the general lethargy, the thirft of riches, the
tafte for luxury, which begins to infinuate itſelf,
the fpirit of trade, and the perpetual condefcen-
fions fhewn for an hereditary authority? Ac-
cording to every probability, the United Pro-
vinces, without effufion of blood, and without
commotion,
314
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK commotion, muft infenfibly fall under the yoke
XIX. of a monarchy. As the fpirit of defpotifm, or the
defire of meeting with no oppofition to our
wiſhes, is inherent in the mind of every man in
a greater or lefs degree, fome ftadtholder may
arife, and perhaps foon, who, regardleſs of the
fatal confequences of his enterprife, will enflave
the nation. It concerns the Dutch attentively to
confider theſe obfervations.
THE Roman empire was fhaking on all fides,
when the Germans entered into Gaul, under the
guidance of a chief whom they had chofen them-
felves, and to whom they were rather companions
than fubjects. This was not an army, the ambi-
tion of which was limited to the feizing of fome
fortified places; it was the irruption of a people
in ſearch of a ſettlement. As they attacked none
but flaves, diffatisfied with their fate, or mafters
enervated by the luxuries of a long peace, they
met with no very obftinate refiftance. The con-
querors appropriated to themfelves the lands
which fuited them, and feparated foon after, in
order to enjoy their fortune in peace.
THE divifion was not the work of blind chance.
The poffeffions were fettled by the general af-
fembly, and they were enjoyed under it's autho-
rity. They were granted at firſt for no more than
one year; but this period was gradually prolong-
ed, and was at laft extended to the life of the
poffeffor. Matters were carried ſtill further,
when the fprings of government became entirely
relaxed; and under the feeble defcendants of
Charlemagne, hereditary poffeffion was almoft
generally eſtabliſhed. This ufurpation was confe-
crated by a folemn convention, at the acceffion
of Hugo Capet to the throne; and at that period
the feudal tenure, that most deftructive of all
rights, prevailed in all it's force.
FRANCE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
315
:
FRANCE was then no more than an affemblage BOOK
of petty fovereignties, fituated near each other, XIX.
but without having any connection. In this ſtate
of anarchy, the lords, entirely independent of the
apparent chief of the nation, oppreffed their fub-
jects, or their flaves, at pleaſure. If the monarch
intereſted himſelf in the fate of theſe unhappy
people, they declared war againſt him; and if
theſe people themſelves fometimes ventured to
appeal to the rights of mankind, the confequence
was, that the chains with which they were crufhed
became ftill more oppreffive.
IN the mean while, the extinction of fome
powerful houſes, together with various treaties
and conquefts, were fucceffively adding to the
royal domain, territories of greater or lefs extent.
This acquifition of feveral provinces gave to the
crown a mafs of power, which imparted to it
fome degree of energy. A perpetual conteſt be-
tween the kings and the nobles, an alternate fu-
periority of the power of one fingle perſon, or of
feveral; fuch was the kind of anarchy that lafted,
almoſt without interruption, till about the middle
of the fifteenth century.
THE character of the French was then changed
by a train of events which had altered the form of
government. The war which the Engliſh, in
conjunction with, or under the direction of the
Normans, had inceffantly carried on againft
France for two or thee hundred years paſt,
ſpread a general alarm, and occafioned great ra-
vages. The triumphs of the enemy, the tyranny
of the great, all confpired to make the nation wifh
that the prince might be inveſted with power
fufficient to expel foreigners out of the kingdom,
and to keep the nobles in fubjection. While
princes diftinguiſhed by their wifdom and bravery
were endeavouring to accomplish this great work,
a new
315
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
XIX.
BOOK a new generation arofe. Every individual, when
the general alarm was paſt, thought himſelf happy
enough in the privileges his anceſtors had en-
joyed. They neglected to trace the fource of the
power of kings, which was derived from the
nation; and Lewis XI. having few obftacles to
furmount, became more powerful than his pre-
deceffors.
BEFORE his time, the hiſtory of France prefents
us with an account of a variety of ſtates, fome-
times divided, and fometimes united. Since that
prince's reign, it is the hiftory of a great mo-
narchy. The power of feveral tyrants is centered
in one perfon. The people are not more free;
but the conftitution is different. Peace is enjoyed
with greater fecurity within, and war carried on
with more vigour without.
CIVIL wars, which tend to make a free people
become flaves, and to reſtore liberty to a nation
that is already enslaved, have had no other effect
in France, than that of humbling the great, with-
out éxalting the people. The minifters, who will
always be the creatures of the prince, while the
general fenfe of the nation has no influence in af-
fairs of government, have fold their fellow-citi-
zens to their maſter; and as the people, who were
poffeffed of nothing, could not be lofers by this
fervitude, the kings have found it the more eaſy
to carry their defigns into execution, eſpecially as
they were always concealed under pretence of po-
litical advantage, and even of alleviating the
burden of the people. The jealoufy excited by
a great inequality of conditions and fortunes,
hath favoured every fcheme that tended to ag-
grandize the regal authority. The princes have
had the art to engage the attention of the people,
fometimes by wars abroad, fometimes by reli-
gious difputes at home; to fuffer the minds of
men
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
317
men to be divided by opinions, and their hearts BOOK
by different interefts; to excite and keep up jea- XIX.
loufies between the feveral ranks of the ftate; to
flatter alternately each party with an appearance
of favour, and to fatisfy the natural envy of the
people by the depreffion of them all. The mul-
titude, reduced to poverty, and become the ob-
jects of contempt, having feen all-powerful bo-
dies brought low one after another, have at leaſt
loved in their monarch the enemy of their ene-
mies.
THE nation, though by inadvertency it has loft
the privilege of governing itſelf, has not, however,
ſubmitted to all the outrages of defpotifm. This
arifes from the lofs of it's liberty not having been
the effect of a tumultuous and fudden revolution,
but gradually brought about in a fucceffion of fe-
veral ages. The national character which hath
always influenced the princes as well as the
court, if it were only by means of the women,
hath eſtabliſhed a fort of balance of power: and
thus it is that polite manners having tempered the
exertion of force, and foftened the oppofition
that might be made to it, have prevented thoſe
fudden and violent commotions, from whence
refults either monarchical tyranny, or popular
liberty.
INCONSISTENCE, as natural to the minds of a
gay and lively people as it is to children, hath
fortunately prevailed over the fyftems of fome de-
fpotic minifters. Kings have been too fond of
pleaſure, and too converfant with the real fource
of it, not to be induced frequently to lay afide
the iron fceptre, which would have terrified the
people, and prevented them from indulging in
thofe frivolous amuſements to which they were
addicted. The fpirit of intrigue, which hath ever
prevailed among them, fince the nobles have been
invited
318
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOO K invited to court, hath occafioned continued re-
XIX. movals of ftatefmen, and confequently fubverted
all their projects. As the change in government
has been imperceptibly brought about, the fub-
jects have preferved a kind of dignity, which the
monarch himſelf feemed to refpect, confidering it
as the fource, or confequence of his own. He
has continued the fupreme legiflator for a long
time, without being either willing or able to abuſe
his whole power. Kept in awe by the bare idea
only of the fundamental laws of the nation he go-
verned, he has frequently been afraid to act con-
trary to the principles of them. He has been
fenfible that the people had right to oppofe to
him. In a word, there has been no tyrant, even
at a time when there was no liberty.
SUCH, and ftill more arbitrary, have been the
governments of Spain and Portugal, of Naples
and Piedmont, and of the feveral fmall principa-
lities of Italy. The people of the outh, whether
from inactivity of mind, or weaknefs of body,
feem to be born for defpotifm. The Spaniards,
though they are extremely proud; and the Itali-
ans, notwithſtanding all the powers of genius
they poffefs, have loſt all their rights, and every
idea of liberty. Wherever the monarchy is unli-
mited, it is impoffible to afcertain, with any de-
gree of precifion, what the form of government is,
fince that varies, not only with the character of
each fovereign, but even at every period of the
fame prince's life. Thefe ftates have written laws,
and cuftoms and focieties that enjoy certain pri-
vileges; but when the legiflator can fubvert the
laws and tribunals of juftice; when his authority
is founded only on fuperior ftrength, and when
he calls upon God with a view to infpire his fub-
jects with fear, inftead of imitating him in order to
become an object of affection; when the original
right
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
319
XIX.
right of fociety, the unalienable right of property BOOK
among citizens, when national conventions, and
the engagements of the prince, are in vain ap-
pealed to; in a word, when the government is
arbitrary, there is no longer any ſtate; the nation
is no more than the landed property of one fingle
individual.
IN fuch countries, no ftatefmen will ever be
formed. Far from it's being a duty to be ac-
quainted with public affairs, it is rather criminal
and dangerous to have any knowledge of the ad-
miniftration. The favour of the court, the choice
of the prince, fupply the place of talents. Ta-
lents, it is true, have their uſe; and are fome-
times of uſe to ferve the defigns of others, but ne-
ver to command. In thefe countries, the people
fubmit to the government their fuperiors impofe,
provided only they are indulged in their natural
indolence. There is only one fyftem of legiflation
in thefe delightful regions of Europe, that merits.
our attention; which is the republic of Venice.
Three great phænomena make this ftate remark-
able; theſe are, it's firft foundation, it's power at
the time of the crufades, and it's prefent form of
adminiftration.
A GREAT, magnificent, and rich city, impreg-
nable, though without walls or fortifications, rules
over ſeventy-two iflands. They are not rocks and
mountains raiſed by time in the midſt of a vaſt
fea; but rather a plain, parcelled out and cut into
channels by the ftagnations of a ſmall gulph, upon
the flope of a low land. Theſe iſlands, feparated
by canals, are at prefent joined by bridges. They
have been formed by the ravages of the fea, and
the ravages of war have occafioned them to be
peopled towards the middle of the fifth century.
The inhabitants of Italy flying from Attila,
fought an afylum on the fea.
THE
320
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
XIX.
哺
​1
THE Venetian Lagunes at firft neither made a
part of the fame city, nor of the fame republic:
United by one general commercial intereft, or
rather by the neceffity of defending themfelves,
they were, however, divided into as many fepa-
rate governments as iflands, each fubject to it's
reſpective tribune.
FROM the plurality of chiefs, contentions aroſe,
and the public good was confequently facrificed.
Theſe people, therefore, in order to conftitute one
body, chofe a prince, who, under the title of duke
or Doge, enjoyed for a confiderable time all the
rights of fovereignty, of which he only now re-
tains the figns. Thefe Doges were elected by the
people till 1173 at that period the nobles arro
gated to themſelves the exclufive privilege of ap-
pointing the chief of the republic; they feized
upon the authority, and formed an ariftocracy.
THOSE political writers who have given the
preference to this kind of government, have faid,
with fome fhew of reaſon, that all focieties, in
whatever way they may have been formed, have
been governed in this manner. If in democratic
ftates the people were to fettle their adminiftra-
tion themſelves, they would neceffarily fall into
extravagances; and they are therefore obliged,
for their own prefervation, to ſubmit to a fenate,
more or lefs numerous. If in monarchies, kings
pretended to fee every thing with their own eyes,
and to do every thing themfelves, nothing would
either be feen or done; and it hath therefore been
neceffary to have recourfe to councils, to preferve
empires from a ftagnation, more fatal, perhaps,
than a ſtate of action ill conducted. Every thing,
therefore, may be traced to the authority of
many, and of a ſmall number; every thing is
conducted according to the principles of arifto-
cracy.
BUT,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,
321
BUT, in the monarchical form of government, BOOK
command is not ſettled in one clafs of citizens, and XIX.
obedience in the reft; the road to honours and to
employments is open to every one who hath the
neceffary talents to obtain them; the nobles are not
every thing, and the people nothing. Subftitute
aristocracy to this form of government, and we
fhall find nothing but flavery and defpotifm.
VENICE, in it's origin, tempered as much as
poffible the defects of this odious and unjuſt go-
vernment. The feveral branches of power were
diftributed and balanced with remarkable accu-
racy. Prudent and fevere laws were enacted, to
fupprefs and ftrike awe into the ambition of the
nobles. The great reigned without difturbance,
and with a kind of equality, as the ftars fhine in
the firmament amidft the filence of the night.
They were obliged outwardly to conform to the
cuſtoms of the feveral orders of the republic, in
order that the diſtinction between patricians and
plebeians might become lefs odious. The hope
even of ſharing, in proceſs of time, the rights of
fovereignty, was extended to thoſe who from rank
were excluded from it, if by their fervices, and
their industry, they fhould one day acquire con-
fideration and riches.
THIS was the only regular form of government
then exifting in Europe. Such an advantage
raifed the Venetians to great opulence; enabled
them to keep armies in their pay; and imparted
to them that knowledge which made them a poli-
tical people, before any of the reit were. They
reigned over the feas; they had a manifeft pre-
ponderance in the continent; they formed or dif-
fipated leagues, according as it fuited their in-
tereft.
WHEN the commerce of the republic was ruin-
ed, by the diſcovery of the New World, and of
VOL. VI.
Y
the
322
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK the paffage to India, through the Cape of Good
XIX. Hope, it was deprived of every advantage which
had given it grandeur, ftrength, and courage.
To thoſe illufions, which in fome meaſure confole
the ſubjects for the lofs of their liberty, were ſub-
ftituted the feduction of voluptuoufnefs, pleafures,
and effeminacy. The great grew corrupt as well
as the people, the women as well as the men, the
prieſts as well as the laymen, and licentioufnefs
knew no bounds. Venice became the country
upon the earth where there were fewer factitious
vices and virtues.
IN proportion as the minds, the difpofitions,
and the power of men became enervated within,
it was a neceffary confequence that lefs vigour,
and leſs exertion fhould fhew itſelf without.Ac-
cordingly the republic fell into the moft pufilla-
nimous circumfpection. They affumed and added
ſtill more to the national character of Italy, which
is jealoufy and miftruft. With one half of the
treaſures and care which it hath coft them to main-
tain that neutrality they have obferved for two
centuries paſt, they would perhaps have freed
themſelves for ever from the dangers to which
their very precautions have expofed them.
THE republic doth not appear to be in a ſtate
of tranquillity, notwithſtanding all the cares that
have been taken for it's fecurity. It's anxiety is
manifeſted by the principles of it's government,
which become conftantly more fevere by the ex-
treme horror of every thing that is in the leaſt
elevated, by the averfion which it fhews for rea-
fon, the uſe of which it confiders as a crime,
by the myſterious and dark veils with which it
conceals it's operations, by the precaution which
it conſtantly takes to place foreign commanders
at the head of it's feeble troops, and to appoint
inſpectors over them; by the forbidding, in-
. I
difcri-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
323
difcriminately, all thofe who are it's fubjects, to BOOK
go and inure themſelves to war in the field of XIX.
battle; by it's informers; by all the refinements
of infidious policy, and by various other means
which diſcover continual apprehenfions and alarms.
It ſeems to place it's chief confidence in an inqui-
fitor, who is continually prying about amongſt
individuals, with the ax raifed over the head of
any one who fhall venture to diſturb public order
by his actions, or by his diſcourſes.
EVERY thing, however, is not cenfurable in
Venice. The impoft which fupplies the treaſury
with 25,000,000 of livres*, hath neither increaſed
nor diminiſhed fince the year 1707. Every me-
thod is taken to conceal from the citizens the
idea of their flavery, and to make them eafy and
cheerful. The form of worship is replete with
ceremonies. There are no great feſtivals without
public ſpectacles and mufic. One may ſay and
do what one chooſes at Venice, if one does not
ſpeak in public either of politics or of religion.
A Chriftian orator preaching before the chiefs of
the republic, imagined that he ought to begin
his difcourfe with an eulogium of the govern-
ment; immediately a fatellite was difpatched to
take him out of his pulpit; and being the next
day fummoned to appear before the tribunal of
the ſtate inquifitors, he was told: What need
have we of your encomiums? Be more cautious.
They were well aware, that an adminiſtration is
foon cenfured in every place where it is allowed
to be extolled. The ſtate inquifitors do not re-
tain their functions longer than eighteen months.
They are chofen from among the most moderate
perfons, and the leaft act of injuftice is followed
by their depofition. They addrefs all men in the
familiar mode of the fecond perfon, and would
1* 1,041,6661. 13s. 4d.
Y 2
even
324
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK even adopt it in fpeaking to the doge. Any per
XIX. fon who is fummoned before them is obliged to
appear without delay. A fecretary of state was
not excuſed by alleging the neceffity of finishing
his diſpatches. It is true, that the doors are
fhut while cauſes are trying; but theſe cauſes of
alarm to foreigners, are the real protection of
the people, and the counterpoize to the tyranny
of the aristocratic body. About fix years ago it
was deliberated in council, whether this formi-
dable tribunal fhould not be aboliſhed, and im-
mediately the moft wealthy citizens were prepar-
ing to withdraw themſelves, and a neighbouring
king foretold, that Venice would not exiſt ten
years longer after the fuppreffion of this magif
tracy. Accordingly, were it not for the terror
with which it infpires the citizens, they would
be inceffantly expofed to vexations from a núm-
ber of patricians who languiſh in indigence. Af-
ter fome violent contefts, the inquifition was con-
firmed by a majority of votes, and the four per-
fons who had moved the debate were punished
only by affigning to them honourable employ-
ments, which kept them at a distance from the
republic.
DURING the carnival, monks and priests go to
the public diverfions in maſks. It is well known,
that a degraded ecclefiaftic can have no influence.
A patrician, who is become either monk or
prieſt, is no more than a common citizen. The
horror of executions is kept up by the unfrequen-
cy of them. The people are perfuaded that the
devils are flying about the gibbet to feize upon the
fouls of the perfons executed. A capuchin friar
once thought of faying, that of a hundred drowned
perfons no one would be faved, and that of a hundred
perfons executed on the gallows not one would be damn-
ed. As it was of confequence to the Venetians that
one
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
325
one ſhould not fear being drowned, but that one B OOK
fhould fear being hanged, the preacher had orders, XiX.
to teach the contrary, notwithſtanding the autho
rity of St. Auſtin.
If the naval forces of the Venetians are com-
manded by a patrician alone, it is only fince the
celebrated Morofini, admiral of their fleet at the
expedition of the Peloponnefus, told them, that it
had been in his power to ftarve them. If the
land forces can only be commanded by a foreign
general, it is from the juft apprehenfion, that a
citizen, might take advantage of the affection of
the foldiers to become the tyrant of his country.
THERE are a multitude of magiftrates placed
at the head of different affairs, which must acce-
lerate the diſpatch of them. The doge may foli-
cit and obtain favours, but he cannot grant any.
There are prefervers of the laws, to whom the
new regulations propofed by the fenate to the
council are referred. They examine them and
make their reports to the council, who decide
accordingly. The council therefore repreſents
the republic, the fenate the legiſlative body fubor-
dinate to the council, and the ftate inquifitor is a
kind of tribune to protect the people.
AN inquifitor is not, in my opinion, a very tre-
mendous perfon, fince it is poffible to puniſh him
when he becomes infolent. There is no fuch
thing to be found in France as a fheriff's officer,
who would venture to deliver a fummons to a
magiftrate of a fuperior order. At Venice a le-
gal proceeding may be carried on againſt either a
patrician or an inquifitor. Their goods may be
fold, their perfons feized, and they may be thrown
into prifon.
THE Venetian miniftry have obfcure agents
in all the courts, by whom they are informed
of the character of the men in favour, and the
means
326
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK means of feducing them; they fupport them-
XIX. felves by their cunning. There is another re-
public which derives it's ftrength, and fupports
itſelf by it's form and it's courage, and that is
Switzerland.
THE Switzers, known in antiquity by the name
of Helvetians, were, as the Gauls and the Britons,
only to be fubdued by Cæfar, who was the greateſt
of the Romans, if he had been more attached to
his country. They were united to Germany, as a
Roman province, under the reign of Honorius.
Revolutions, which are frequent and eafily accom-
pliſhed in ſuch a country as the Alps, divided co-
lonies, that were feparated by large lakes or great
mountains, into feveral baronies. The moſt con-
fiderable of thefe, occupied by the Houfe of Au-
ftria, in procefs of time feized upon all the reſt.
Conqueft introduced flavery, oppreffion excited
the people to revolt, and thus liberty arofe from
an unbounded exertion of tyranny.
THERE are now thirteen cantons of robuft pea-
fants, who defend almoſt all the kings of Europe,
and fear none; who are better acquainted with
their real interefts than any other nation; and
who conftitute the moft fenfible people in all mo-
dern political ſtates. Thefe thirteen cantons com-
poſe among themſelves, not a republic as the ſeven
provinces of Holland, nor a fimple confederacy as
the Germanic body, but rather a league, à natu-
ral affociation of fo many independent republics.
Each canton has it's refpective fovereignty, it's.
alliances, and it's treaties feparate. The general
diet cannot make laws or regulations for either
of them.
THE three most ancient cantons are immedi-
ately connected with each of the others. It is
from this union of convenience, not of conftitu-
tion, that, if one of the thirteen cantons were
attacked,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
327
XIX.
attacked, all the reft would march to it's affiſtance. B O O K
But there is no common alliance between the
whole body and each particular canton. Thus the
branches of a tree are united among themſelves,
without having an immediate connection with the
common trunk.
THE union of the Switzers was, however, in-
diffoluble till the beginning of the 16th century;
when religion, which ought to be the bond of
peace and charity, difunited them. The reform-
ation cauſed a ſeparation of the Helvetic body,
and the ftate was divided by the church. All
public affairs are tranfacted in the feparate and
particular diets of the catholic and proteftant
parties. The general diets are affembled only
to preferve the appearance of union. Notwith-
ſtanding this fource of difcord, Switzerland has
enjoyed peace much more than any ftate in
Europe.
UNDER the Auftrian government, oppreffion
and the raifing of troops impeded population.
After the revolution, there was too great an in-
creaſe of the number of people in proportion to
the barrenneſs of the land. The Helvetic body
could not be enlarged without endangering it's
fafety, unleſs it made fome excurfions abroad.
The inhabitants of thefe mountains, as the tor-
rents that pour down from them, were to fpread
themſelves in the plains that border upon the
Alps. Theſe people would have deftroyed each
other, had they remained fequeftered among
themſelves. But ignorance of the arts, the want
of materials for manufactures, and the deficiency
of money, prevented the importation of foreign
merchandiſe, and excluded them from the means
of procuring the comforts of life, and of en-
couraging induſtry. They drew even from their
increaſe of numbers, a method of fubfifting and
acquiring
328
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOO Kacquiring riches, a fource, and an object of
XIX. trade.
THE duke of Milan, mafter of a rich country
open on every fide to invaſion, and not eafily de-
fended, was in want of foldiers. The Switzers,
who were his moft powerful neighbours, muft ne-
ceffarily become his enemies, if they were not his
allies, or rather his protectors. A kind of traffic
was therefore fet on foot between thefe people
and the Milanefe, in which men were bartered for
riches. The nation engaged troops fucceffively
in the fervice of France, of the emperor, of the
pope, of the duke of Savoy, and all the poten-
tates of Italy. They fold their blood to the moſt
diftant powers, and to the nations moft in enmity
with each other; to Holland, to Spain, and to
Portugal; as if thefe mountains were nothing
more than a repofitory of arms and foldiers, open
to every one who wanted to purchaſe the means
of carrying on war.
EACH canton treats with that power which of
fers the moſt advantageous terms. The fubjects
of the country are at liberty to engage in war at
a diſtance, with an allied nation. The Hollander
is, by the conftitution of his country, a citizen
of the world; the Switzer, by the fame circum-
ftance, a deſtroyer of Europe. The profits of
Holland are in proportion to the degree of cul-
tivation, and the confumption of merchandife;
the profperity of Switzerland increaſes in propor-
tion to the number of battles that are fought, and
the flaughter that attends them.
Ir is by war, that calamity infeparable from
mankind, whether in a ſtate of civilization or not,
that the republics of the Helvetic body are obliged
to live and fubfift. It is by this that they preſerve
a number of inhabitants within their country pro-
portioned to the extent and fertility of their lands,
'without
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
329
:
without forcing any of the fprings of government, BOOK
or reſtraining the inclinations of any individual. XIX.
It is by the traffic of troops with the powers at war
with each other, that Switzerland has not been
under the neceffity of making fudden emigrati-
ons, which are the caufe of invafions, and of at-
tempting conquefts, which would have occafi-
oned the lofs of it's liberty, as it caufed the fub-
verfion of all the republics of Greece.
As far as human forefight can penetrate into fu-
turity, the ſtate of theſe people muſt be more per-
manent than that of all other nations, if differences
in their form of worſhip do not become fatal to
them. From the top of their barren mountains,
they behold, groaning under the oppreffion of
tyranny, whole nations which nature hath placed
in more plentiful countries, while they enjoy in
peace the fruits of their labour, of their fru-
gality, of their moderation, and of all the vir-
tues that attend upon liberty. If it were poffible
that habit could blunt their fenfibility for fo mild
a deſtiny, it would be inceffantly revived in them
by that multitude of travellers who refort there
to enjoy the fight of that felicity which is not to
be feen elſewhere. Undoubtedly, the love of
riches hath fomewhat altered that amiable fim-
plicity of manners, in fuch of the cantons where
the arts and commerce have made any confider-
able progrefs; but the features of their primitive
character are not entirely effaced, and they fill
retain a kind of happiness unknown to other
men. Can it be apprehended that a nation may
grow tired of fuch an exiſtence?
THE weight of taxes cannot alter the advan-
tages of this deſtiny. Theſe fcourges of the hu
man race are unknown in moft of the cantons,
and in the reft they amount to little or nothing.
In fome places only, a dangerous abufe hath been
intro-
330
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK introduced.
Adminiſtrators, known under the
XIX. title of bailiffs, take upon themfelves to impofe
in their own jurifdiction arbitrary fines, which
they make use of for their own private benefit.
This extravagance of the feudal laws cannot laft,
and every veftige will foon be loft of fo odious a
cuſtom, which in proceſs of time would affect
the public felicity.
THE nation will never be diſturbed by it's pro-
penfities, which naturally lead it to order, tran-
quillity, and harmony. If any turbulent or dan-
gerous characters are to be found there, who may
be fond of factions and tumults, they mix in fo-
reign wars to endeavour to gratify this reſtleſs
difpofition.
IT is not poffible that the feveral cantons ſhould
attempt reciprocally to fubdue each other. Thofe
in which democracy is eſtabliſhed, are too feeble
to conceive fo unreaſonable a project; and in the
others, the patricians and plebeians will never
unite their wishes and their exertions for an ag-
grandizement, the confequences of which might
become fatal to one of the orders.
THE tranquillity of the Helvetic body is ftill lefs
in danger from their neighbours than from their
citizens. As in the difputes between crowned
heads, the Swifs obferve a very impartial neu-
trality, and as they never become guarantees of
any engagement, they are not known to have
any enemies. If any power fhould think it had
a cauſe of complaint againſt them, it would ftifle
it's refentment from the well-grounded appre-
henfion of miſcarrying in it's projects of revenge
against a country entirely military, and which
reckons as many foldiers as men. If even it were
%
certain of conquering them, they would never be
attacked, becauſe the blinded and moft violent
policy doth not exterminate a people to take pof-
feffion
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
331
feffion of nothing but rocks. Such are the mo. BOOK
tives which induce us to believe in the ſtability of XIX.
the republic of Switzerland.
IT now remains that we ſpeak of the ecclefi-
aftical government. If the foundation of Chrif
tianity preſents us with a ſcene that aſtoniſhes the
mind, the hiſtory of the revolutions in the go-
vernment of the church is not lefs furprifing.
What an enormous difference is there between
St. Peter, a poor fiſherman, on the borders of the
lake of Genezareth, and fervant of the fervants
of God; and fome of his proud fucceffors, their
brows girt with the triple crown, mafters of
Rome, and of a great part of Italy, and calling
themſelves the Kings of the Kings of the earth!
Let us trace things up to their origin; and let
us take a rapid view of the fplendour and of the
corruption of the church. Let us fee what it's
government is become in the fpace of eighteen
centuries; and let prefent and future fovereigns
learn what they are to expect from the prieſt-
hood, the fole principle of which is to render the
authority of the magiftrates fubordinate to the di-
vine authority, of which it is the depofitary..
In an obfcure village of Judea, and in the houſe
of a poor carpenter, there aroſe a man of auftere
morals. His candour was difgufted with the hy-
pocrify of the prieſts of his time. He had dif
covered the vanity of legal ceremonies, and the
vice of expiations; at thirty years of age this
virtuous perfon quitted his employment, and be-
gan to preach his opinions. The multitude,
from the villages and country places flocked
around him, liftened to him, and followed him.
He affociated to himfelf a fmall number of dif
ciples, ignorant and weak men, taken from the
lowest conditions of life. He wandered for fome
time about the capital, and at length ventured to
appear
332
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK appear there. One of his own difciples betrayed
XIX. him, and the other denied him. He was taken
up, accuſed of blafphemy, and crucified between
two thieves. After his death his difciples ap-
peared in the public places and in the great
cities, at Antioch, at Alexandria, and at Rome.
They announced, both to barbarous and civilized
people, at Athens and at Corinth, the refurrec-
tion of their Mafter; and the belief of their doc-
trine, which feemed fo contrary to reaſon, was
univerfally adopted. In all parts corrupt men
embraced a ſyſtem of morality, auftere in it's
principles, and unfociable in it's councils. Per-
fecution arofe; and the preachers, together with
their converts, were impriſoned, fcourged, and
put to death. The more blood is fpilt, the more
doth the fect extend itſelf. In lefs than three
centuries, the temples of idolatry are fubverted,
or abandoned; and notwithſtanding the hatred,
herefies, fchifms, and fanguinary quarrels,
which have torn Chriftianity fince it's origin,
even down to our latter times; yet there are
fcarce any altars remaining, except fuch as are
raiſed to the man God, who died upon a crofs.
·
IT was no difficult matter to demonftrate
to the Pagans the abfurdity of their worship;
and in all general, as well as particular difputes,
if we can prove that our adverſary is in the
wrong, he immediately concludes that we are in
the right. Providence, which tends to the ac-1
complishment of it's defigns by all forts of
means, intended that this mode of reafoning
ſhould lead men into the way of falvation. The
founder of Chriftianity did not arrogate to him-
felf any authority either over the partners of his
miffion, or over his followers, or over his fellow-
citizens. He refpected the authority of Cæfar.
When he faved the life of an adulterous woman,
he
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
333
he took care not to attack the law which con- B OOK
demned her to death, He referred two bro- XIX.
thers, who were at variance concerning the
divifion of an inheritance, to the civil tribunal.
When perfecuted, he fuffered perfecution. In
the midſt of intolerant perfons, he recommended
toleration. You shall not, faid he to his dif-
ciples, command fire to come down from heaven upon
the head of the unbeliever; you ſhall ſhake off the very
duft from your feet, and you shall retire: Faftened
to a crofs, his head crowned with thorns, his fide
pierced with a fpear, he faid to God: Father
forgive them, for they know not what they do. To
inftruct and to baptize the nations, was the ob-
ject of the miffion of the apoftles; to employ
perfuafion and not violence; to go about in the
fame manner God had fent his Son, fuch were the
means employed for the purpoſe. Priesthood
hath in no time conformed itfelf to fuch maxims;
and yet religion hath not been the leſs pro-
fperous.
་
IN proportion as the new doctrine gained
ground, a kind of hierarchy was inftituted among
it's minifters, confifting of biſhops, prieſts, aco-
lytes, and facriftans, or porters. The objects
of the adminiſtration itſelf, included doctrine,
diſcipline, and morals. To confer facred orders,
was the first act of the jurifdiction of the church.
To fet perfons free, or to bind them, and to ap-
point a fpiritual and voluntary expiation for
offences, was the fecond. To excommunicate the
rebellious finner, or the heretic, was the third;
and the fourth, which is common to every affo-
ciation, was to inftitute rules of difcipline. Theſe
rules, at firft kept fecret, and which were chiefly
on the adminiftration of the facraments, were
made public. Affemblies, or councils, were
holden. The bishops were the repreſentatives of
the
334
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK the apoftles; the reft of the clergy were fubordi-
XIX. nate to them. Nothing was decided without the
concurrence of the faithful; fo that this was a
true Democracy. Civil matters were referred to
the arbitration of the bifhops. The Chriftians
were blamed for having law-fuits; and ftill more
for expofing themfelves to be brought before the
magiftrate. It is probable that property was in
common, and that the bifhop difpofed of it at
pleaſure.
-
HITHERTO every thing was conducted without
the interference of the fecular power. But under
Aurelian, the Chriftians applied to the Emperor
for juſtice againſt Paul of Samofata. Conftan-
tine baniſhed Arius, and condemned his writings
to the flames; Theodofius perfecuted Neftorius;
and theſe innovations fixed the period of the fe-
cond ſtate of eclefiaftical jurifdiction: when it
had now deviated from it's primitive fimplicity,
and was become a mixture of ſpiritual power and
coercive authority. The faithful, already ex-
tremely numerous, in the fecond century, were
diftributed in different churches fubject to the
fame adminiftration. Among theſe churches,
there were fome more or lefs confiderable; fecu-
lar authority interfered in the election of bishops,
and the confufion between theſe two powers in-
creaſed. There were fome poor, and fome rich
among them, and this was the firſt origin of the
ambition of the clergy. There were indigent be-
lievers among them all; and the bishops be-
came the difpenfers of the alms: and this is
the moſt ancient fource of the corruption of the
church.
3.
:
WHAT a rapid progrefs hath ecclefiaftical au-
thority made fince the end of the third century!
Proceedings are carried on before the bishops;
and they become the arbiters in civil matters.
The
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
335
The judicial fentence of the bifhops admits of no BOOK
appeal; and the execution of it is referred to the XIX.
magiftrates. The trial of a priest cannot be car-
ried out of the province. A diſtinction arifes
between civil and ecclefiaftical crimes, and this
gives birth to the privilege of the clergy. The
appeal to the fovereign is allowed, if it fhould
happen that the fentence of the biſhop ſhould be
invalidated at the tribunal of the magiftrates.
Long before thefe conceffions, the bishops had
obtained the infpection over the police, and the
morals; they took cognizance of proftitutions,
foundlings, guardianfhips, lunatics, and minors;
they visited the prifons; they folicited the en-
largement of the prifoners; they denounced the
negligent judges to the fovereign; they inter-
fered with the difpofal of the public money; with
the conſtruction and repairing of the great roads,
and other edifices. Thus it is, that under pre-
tence of affifting each other, the two authorities
were blended, and paved the way for the diffen-
fions which were one day to arife between them.
Such was in the first centuries, in the profperous
days of the church; the third ſtate of it's govern-
ment, HALF CIVIL, HALF ECCLESIASTICAL, to
which, at prefent, we ſcarcely know what namė
to give. Was it from the weaknefs of the em-
perors, from their fear, from intrigue or from
fanctity of manners, that the chiefs of Chriftia-
nity conciliated to themſelves fo many important
prerogatives? At that time religious terror had
peopled the deferts with Anchorets, more than
feventy-fix thoufand of whom were reckoned;
this was a nurſery of deacons, prieſts, and bi-
fhops.
T
CONSTANTINE transferred the feat of empire
to Byzantium. Rome was no more it's capital.
The barbarians, who had taken it more than
once,
336
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK once, and ravaged it, were converted. It was the
XIX. fate of Chriſtianity, which had conquered the
gods of the Capitol, to fubdue the deſtroyers of
the throne of the Cæfars; but in changing their
religion, theſe chiefs of hords did not change their
manners. What ſtrange kind of Chriftians were
Clovis and his fucceffors, exclaims the author of
the hiftory of the church! Notwithſtanding the
analogy between the ecclefiaftical and the feudal
government, it would be an illufion to make onę
the model of the other. Literature was no longer
cultivated; and the prieſts employed the little
knowledge they had preferved, in forging titles,
and in fabricating legends. The harmony be-
tween the two powers was diſturbed. The origin
and the riches of the bishops attached the Ro-
mans, who neither had nor could have, any
thing but contempt and averfion for their new
mafters; fome of whom were Pagans, others He-
retics, and all of them ferocious. No man ever
doubted of the donation of Conftantine; and
that of Pepin was confirmed by Charlemange.
The grandeur of the bishops of Rome increaſed
under Lewis the Debonnaire, and under Otho.
They arrogated that fovereignty which their
benefactors had referved for themfelves. Like
other potentates, they founded their claim upon
profcription. The church was already infefted
with pernicious maxims; and the opinion that,
the bishop of Rome might depofe kings, was
univerfally adopted. Different caufes afterwards
concurred in eſtabliſhing the fupremacy of this
fee over the reft. The prince of the apoſtles had
been the first bishop of Rome. Rome was the
center of union between all the other churches,
the indigence of which fhe relieved. She had
been the capital of the world; and the Chriftians
were not ſo numerous any where elfe. The title
of
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
337
of pope was a title common to all biſhops, over BOOK
whom the biſhop of Rome did not obtain the fu- XIX.
periority, till the end of the eleventh century.
At that time ecclefiaftical government tended not
only to MONARCHY, but had even advanced to-
wards UNIVERSAL MONARCHY.
0
TOWARDS the end of the eighth century, the
famous decretals of Ifidorus of Seville appeared.
The pope announced himſelf to be infallible. He
withdrew himſelf from his former fubmiffion to
the councils. He held in his hand two fwords,
one the emblem of his fpiritual, the other of his
temporal power. Difcipline was no more. The
prieſts were the flaves of the pope; and kings
were his vaffals. He required tributes from them;
he abolished the ancient judges, and appointed
new ones. He created primates. The clergy
were exempted from all civil jurifdiction; and
Gratian the monk, by his decree, completed the
miſchief occafioned by the decretals. The clergy
employed themfelves in augmenting their in-
come, by every poffible mode. The poffeffion
of their eftates, was declared immutable and
facred. Men were terrified with temporal, 'as
well as fpiritual threats. Tithes were ex-
acted. A traffic was made of relics; and pil-
grimages were encouraged. This completed the
deſtruction of morality, and the laſt ſtroke was thus
given to the difcipline of the church. A crimi-
nal life was expiated by a wandering one. Events
were conſtrued into the judgments of God; and
decifions by water, by fire, or by the deſtiny of
the faints, were adopted. The folly of judiciary
aftrology was added to fuperftitious opinions.
Such was the ftate of the Weſtern church. AN
ABSOLUTE DESPOTISM, with all it's atrocious.
characters.
VOL. VI.
༈
Z
THE
338
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK THE Eaſtern church experienced alfo it's cala-
XIX. mities. The Grecian empire had been difmem-
3
bered by the Arabian Muffulmen, by modern
Scythians, by the Bulgarians, and by the Ruf
fians. Thefe laft were not amended by being
waſhed with the waters of baptifm. Mohamme-
difm deprived Chriftianity of part of it's fol-
lowers, and threw the reft into flavery. In the
Weft, the Barbarians converted to Chriftianity,
had carried their manners along with them into
the church. In the Eaft, the Greeks had be-
come depraved by their commercial intercourfe
with a race of men perfectly fimilar. Neverthe
lefs, literature ſeemed to revive, under the learned
and vicious Photius. While the clergy of the
Eaft were ſtriving againſt ignorance, our clergy in
the Weft became hunters, and warriors, and
were poffeffed of lordships fubject to military fer-
vice. Bishops and monks marched under ftand-
ards, maffacred, and were maffacred. The pri
vileges of their domains had engaged them in
public affairs. They wandered about with the
ambulatory courts; they affifted at the national
affemblies, which were become parliaments, or
councils; and this was the period of entire con-
fufion between the two powers. Then it was
that the bishops pretended openly to be the
judges of fovereigns; that Vamba was compelled
to do penance, invefted with a monk's habit, and
depofed; that the right of reigning was con-
tefted to Lewis the Debonnaire; that the popes
interfered in the quarrels between nations, not as
mediators but as defpots; that Adrian II. forbad
Charles the Bald to invade the ſtates of his
nephew Clotaire; and that Gregory IX. wrote to
St. Lewis in theſe terms: We have condemned
Frederick II., who called himself Emperor, and have
depofed
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,
339
depofed him; and we have elected in his ftead Count BOOK
Robert, your brother.
•
BUT if the clergy incroached upon the rights
of the temporal power, the lay lords appointed,
and inftalled priests, without the participation of
the bishops; regular benefices were given to fe-
culars, and the convents were pillaged. Neither
incontinence nor fimony excited any fhame.
Bishopricks were fold. Abbeys purchaſed. Priefts
had either a wife or a concubine. The public
temples were forfaken; and this diforder brought
on the abuſe and contempt of cenfures, which
were poured forth againſt kings, and againſt their
fubjects; and torrents of blood were fhed in all
countries. The church, and the empire, were
then in a ſtate of ANARCHY. Pilgrimages were
preludes to the crufades, or the expiation for
crimes and affaffinations. Ecclefiaftics of all
orders, believers of all ranks, enlifted themſelves.
Perfons loaded with debts were difpenfed from
paying them; malefactors eſcaped the purſuit of
the laws; corrupt monks broke through the re-
ftraints of their folitude; diffolute hufbands for-
fook their wives. Courtefans exerciſed their in-
famous trade, at the foot of the fepulchre of their
God, and near to the tent of their fovereign.
But it was impoffible to carry on this expedition,
and the fucceeding ones, without funds. An
impoft was levied, and this gave rife to the claims
of the pope upon all the eftates of the church;
to the inftitution of a multitude of military or-
ders; to the alternative given to the vanquiſhed,
of flavery, or of embracing Chriftianity; of
death, or of baptifm; and to confole the reader
for fo many calamities, this circumftance occa-
fioned the increaſe of navigation and commerce,
which enriched Venice, Genoa, Pifa, and Flo-
rence; the decline of the feudal government, by
Z z
the
XIX:
Uor M
340
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK the diforder in the fortunes of the noblemen,
XIX. and the habit of the fea, which, perhaps, paved
the way from afar for the diſcovery of the New
World. But I have not the courage to purfuc
any further the account of the diſorders, and of
the exorbitant increaſe of papal authority. Un-
der Innocent III. there was no more than one
tribunal in the world, and that was at Rome;
there was but one mafter, and he was at Rome,
from whence he reigned over Europe by his le-
gates. The ecclefiaftical hierarchy extended it-
felf one step further, by the creation of cardinals.
Nothing was now wanting to the defpot but Ja-
nifaries; whom he acquired by creating a multi-
tude of monaftic orders. Rome, formerly the
miſtreſs of the world by arms, became fo by
opinion. But why did the popes, who were all-
powerful over the minds of men, forget to main-
tain the terrors of their fpiritual thunder, by di-
recting it only againſt ambitious or unjuft fove-
reigns? Who knows whether this kind of tribu-
nal, fo much wifhed for, to which crowned
heads might be fummoned, would not have ex-
ifted to this day in Rome, and whether the
threats of one common father, fupported by
general fuperftition, might not have put an end
to every military conteft?
THE papal militia, compofed of monks, who
were laborious and auftere in their origin, became
corrupted. The bishops, tired out with the enter-
prifes of the legates, of the fecular magiftrates,
and of the monks, over their jurifdiction, in-
croached, on their parts, upon the fecular jurif-
diction, with a degre of boldneſs of which it is
difficult to form an idea. If the clergy could
have determined to erect gibbets, perhaps we
fhould at preſent be under a government entirely
facerdotal. It is the maxim, that the church ab-
hors
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
34!
bors the effufion of blood, which has preferved us BOOK
from it. There were fchools in France and in XIX. ·
Italy; and thofe at Paris were famous towards
the eleventh century. The number of colleges
was increaſed, and nevertheleſs this ftate of the
church, which we have deſcribed without malice,
or exaggeration, was continued in all Chriftian
countries, from the ninth to the fourteenth cen-
tury, an interval of four or five hundred years.
The emperors have loft Italy, and the popes have
acquired a great temporal power. No one hath
yet raiſed himſelf againſt their ſpiritual power.
The interefts of this fovereign are embraced by
all the Italians. The dignity of epifcopacy is
eclipfed by that of cardinal, and the fecular
clergy were always ruled by the regular clergy.
Venice alone hath known and defended it's
rights. The irruption of the Moors in Spain,
hath thrown Chriftianity there into an abject
ftate, from which it hath fcarce emerged, for
theſe two laſt centuries; and even down to our
days, the inquifition difplays it under the moſt
hideous afpect. The inquifition, a terrible tribu-
nal, a tribunal infulting to the fpirit of Jefus
Chrift. A tribunal, which ought to be detefted
by fovereigns, by bishops, by magiftrates, and by
fubjects. By fovereigns, whom it ventures to
threaten, and whom it hath fometimes cruelly
perfecuted; by bifhops, whofe jurifdiction it
annihilates; by the magiftrates, whofe legitimate
authority it ufurps; by the fubjects, whom it
keeps in continual terror; whom it reduces to
filence, and condemns to ftupidity; from the
danger that attends their acquiring inftruction,
their reading, their writing, and their ſpeak-
ing; a tribunal which hath only owed it's infti-
tution, and which only owes it's continuance, in
thofe regions where it is ftill maintained, to a
I
facri.
342
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK facrilegious policy, jealous of perpetuating preju-
XIX. dices and prerogatives, which could not have
been difcuffed, without being difpelled.
BEFORE the fchifm of Henry VIII. England
was fubject to the pope, even in temporal con-
cerns. London fhook off the yoke of Rome; but
this reformation was lefs the effect of reaſon than
of paffion. Germany hath been a continual fcene
of violence on both fides; and fince the time of
Luther, the Catholics, and Schifmatics, have
fhewn themſelves equally enthufiafts in that
country, the former for papal tyranny, the latter
for independence. Chriftianity was eſtabliſhed
in Poland, with all the claims of papal authority.
In France the temporal power was confidered as
fubordinate to the fpiritual power. According
to the fentiment of the favourers of the Tramon-
tane opinions, this kingdom, as well as all the
kingdoms of the earth, was fubject to the church
of Rome; it's princes might be excommuni-
cated, and it's fubjects freed from the oath of
allegiance. But the papal coloffus was fhaken,
and even fince the fourteenth century it ap-
Mitap-
proached the inftant of it's downfall. Then
literature was revived; the ancient languages
were cultivated; the firft Hebrew grammar was
printed, and the Royal College was founded.
Towards the middle of the fifteenth century, the
art of printing was invented. A multitude of
writings of all kinds were drawn out of the duft
of monaftic libraries, to be diffufed among the
people. The vulgar tongue was improved, and
tranflations were made. The fovereign, and in-
dividuals, collected great libraries. The decrees
of the councils, the fathers, and the holy fcrip-
tures were read. The canon law was attended
to, and the hiftory of the church was inveſti-
gated. The fpirit of criticifm arofe, and the
apocryphal
off
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
343
→
apocryphal books were detected; while infpired в O O K
writings were reftored to their original purity. XIX.
The eyes of the fovereigns and of the clergy
were opened, and they were enlightened by re-
ligious difputes. The origin of immunities, ex-
emptions, and privileges, was traced, and the
futility of them was demonftrated. Ancient times
were ſearched into, and their difcipline compared
to modern customs. The hierarchy of the church
refumed it's influence, and the two powers with-
drew into their refpective limits. The decifions
of the church refumed their efficacy; and if papal
tyranny hath not been extinguifhed in France, it
is at leaſt confined within very narrow bounds.
In 1681, the clergy of that kingdom decided,
that temporal power was independent of fpiritual
power, and that the pope was fubject to the
canons of the church. If the miffion of the prieſt
be of divine right; if it belong to him to fet
men free, and to encloſe them in bonds, can he
not excommunicate the impenitent finner, or the
heretic, whether he be a fovereign or a private
man? According to our principles, this is a
power that cannot be denied to him: but prudent
men perceived, in this violent proceeding, fuch
mifchievous confequences, that they have de-
clared it was ſcarce ever to be referred to.
Doth
excommunication involve the depofition of the
fovereign, and difengage the fubjects from their
oath of allegiance? It would be high-treafon to
fuppofe it. Hence we fee, that the ecclefiaftical
government, at leaſt, in France, hath paffed on,
from the tyranny of anarchy, to a kind of moderate
· Aristocracy.
BUT if I might be allowed to explain myſelf
upon a matter fo important, I fhould venture to
fay, that neither in England, nor in the countries
of Germany, of the United Provinces, and of the
North,
344
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK North, the true principles have been traced.
XIX. Had they been better known, how much blood
and how many troubles they would have fpared
:
the blood of Pagans, Heretics, and Chriftians;
fince the first origin of natural forms of worship
to the prefent day; and how much would they
fpare in future, if the rulers of the earth were
prudent and ſteady enough to conform to
them?
Ir. appears to me, that the ftate is not made
for religion, but religion for the ftates this is the
first principle.
ADITA DRVSTRES
THE general intereſt is the univerfal rule that
ought to prevail in a ftate: this is the fecond
principle.
mobe gir
THE people, or the fovereign authority, de-
pofitary of their's, have alone the right to judge
of the conformity of any inftitution whatever
with the general intereft. This is the third prin-
ciple.
THESE three principles appear to me incon-
teftibly evident; and the propofitions that fol-
low, are no more than corollaries deduced from
them.:
I therefore belongs to this authority, and to
this authority alone, to examine the tenets and
the difcipline of religion. The tenets, in order
to afcertain, whether, being contrary to common
fenfe, they will not expofe the public tranquillity
to commotions, fo much the more dangerous, as
the ideas of future happineſs will be complicated
with zeal for the glory of God; and with fubmif-
fion to truths, which will be confidered as re-
vealed. The difcipline, to obferve whether it
doth not clash with the prevailing manners, ex-
tinguiſh the ſpirit of patriotifm, damp the ardour
of courage, occafion an averfion for induſtry, for
marriage, and for public affairs; whether it be
not
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,
345
not injurious to population, and to the focial BOOK
ftate; whether it doth not infpire fanaticifm, and XIX.
a ſpirit of intoleration; whether it doth not fow
the feeds of divifion between the relations of the
fame family, between families of the fame city,
between the cities of the fame kingdom, and
between the ſeveral kingdoms of the earth; whe-
ther it doth not diminiſh the refpect due to the
fovereign, and the magiftrates, and whether it
doth not inculcate maxims fo auftere as to occa-
fion melancholy, or practices which lead on to
extravagance.
THIS authority, and this authority alone, can
therefore profcribe the eſtabliſhed mode of wor-
ſhip, adopt a new one, or even aboliſh every
form of worship, if it fhould find it convenient.
The general form of government being always
fettled at the firſt minute of it's adoption; how
is it poffible that religion fhould give the law by
it's antiquity?
>
THE ftate hath the fupremacy in every thing.
The diſtinction between a temporal and a fpiri-
tual power is a palpable abfurdity; and there nei-
ther can, nor ought to be, any more than one ſole
and fingle jurifdiction, wherever it belongs, to
public utility alone, to order, or to defend.
FOR every offence whatever there fhould be
but one tribunal; for every guilty perfon but one
prifon; for every illegal action but one law.
Every contrary claim is injurious to the equality
of the citizens; every poffeffion is an ufurpation
of the claimant, at the expence of the common
intereft.arsha
THERE fhould be no other councils than the
affembly of the minifters of the fovereign. When
the adminiftrators are affembled, the church is
affembled. When the ftate has pronounced, the
church has nothing more to fay.
THERE
1346
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
THERE fhould be no other canons, except the
XIX. edicts of the princes, and the decree of the courts
of judicature.":
WHAT is a common offence, and a privileged
offence, where there is but one law, and one pub-
lic matter, between the citizens.
1
IMMUNITIES, and other exclufive privileges,
are fo many acts of injuftice, exercifedt
the other ranks of fociety that are deprived of
them.
A BISHOP, a prieft, or a member of the cleri-
cal body, may quit his country, if he chooſes it
but then he is nothing. It belongs to the ſtate to
watch over his conduct, to appoint and to re-
move him.
If we underſtand by a benefice, any thing
more than the falary every citizen ought to reap
from his labour, this is an abuſe which requires a
fpeedy reformation. The man who doth nothing
hath no right to eat.
AND wherefore fhould not the priest acquire,
enrich himſelf, enjoy, fell, buy, and make his
will, as another citizen?
LET him be chafte, docile, humble, and even
indigent; let him not be fond of women, let him
be of a meek difpofition, and let him prefer bread
and water to all the conveniences of life; but let
him be forbidden to bind himſelf to thefe ob-
ſervances by vows. The vow of chaſtity is repug-
nant to nature, and injurious to population; the
vow of poverty is only that of a fooliſh, or of an
idle man; the vow of obedience to any other than
to the ruling power, and to the law, is that of a
flave or of a rebel.
If there exiſted, therefore, in any diſtrict of a
country, fixty thoufand citizens bound by fuch
vows, what could the fovereign do better, than
to repair to the fpot, with a fufficient number of
fatellites,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
347
XIX.
fatellites, armed with whips, and to fay to them BOOK
Go forth, ye lazy wretches, go forth; go to the
fields, to agriculture, to the manufactures, to the
militia?
CHARITY is the common duty of all thofe whofe
property exceeds their abfolute wants.
THE relief of old men, and of indigent and old
perfons, is the duty of the ſtate they have ferved.
LET there be no other apoſtles but the legifla-
tor, and the magiftrates.
LET there be no facred writings, except thoſe
which they ſhall acknowledge as fuch.
LET there be no divine right, but the good of
the republic.
I COULD extend thefe confequences to many
other objects; but I ftop here, proteſting, that if
in what I have faid there fhould be any thing
contrary to the good order of a well-regulated
fociety, and to the felicity of the citizens, I re-
tract although I can fcarce perfuade myſelf,
that the nations can become enlightened, and not
be fenfible one day of the truth of my principles.
As for the reft, I forewarn my readers, that I
have spoken only of the external forms of reli-
gion. With respect to internal religion, man is
only accountable for it to God. It is a fecret be-
tween man and him, who hath taken him out of
nothing, and can plunge him into it again.
IF
If we now take a review of what has been faid,
we fhall find, that all the governments of Europe
are comprehended under fome of the forms we
have been defcribing, and are differently modelled
according to the local fituation, the degree of po-
pulation, the extent of territory, the influence of
opinions and occupations, and the external con-
nections and viciffitudes of events that act upon
the fyftem of the body politic, as the impreffion of
furrounding fluids does upon natural bodies.
WE
348
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
We are not to imagine, as it is often afferted,
XIX that all governments nearly refemble each other,
and that the only difference between them confifts
in the character of thofe who govern. This maxim
may, perhaps, be true in abſolute governments,
among fuch nations as have no principles of liber-
ty. Theſe take the turn the prince gives them;
they are haughty, proud, and courageous, under a
monarch who is active and fond of glory; indo-
lent and ſtupid under a fuperftitious king; full of
hopes and fears under a young prince; of weak-
nefs and corruption under an old defpot; or ra-
ther alternately confident, and weak, under the
feveral minifters who are raifed by intrigue. In
fuch ſtates, government affumes the character of
the adminiſtration; but in free ftates it is just the
reverſe.
WHATEVER may be faid of the nature and
fprings of the different fyftems of government to
which men are fubject, the art of legiflation being
that which ought to be the moſt perfect, is alfo
the moſt proper to employ men of the firft genius.
The fcience of government does not contain ab-
ſtracted truths, or rather it has not one fingle prin-
ciple which does not extend to all the branches of
adminiſtration.
THE ftate is a very complicated machine, which
cannot be wound up or fet in motion without a
thorough knowledge of all it's component parts.
If any one of the parts be too much ftraitened
or relaxed, the whole muſt be in diforder. Every
project that may be beneficial to a certain num-
ber of citizens, or in critical times, may become
fatal to the whole nation, and prejudicial for a
long continuance. If we deftroy or change the
nature of any great body, thofe convulfive moti-
ons which are called ftrokes of state, will difturb
the whole nation, which may, perhaps, feel the
effects
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
349
effects of them for ages to come. All innovations BOOK
ought to be brought about infénfibly; they fhould XIX.
arife from neceffity, be the refult, as it were, of
the public clamour, or at leaſt agree with the
general wifhes. To abolifh old cuftoms, or to
introduce new ones on a fudden, tends only to
increaſe that which is bad, and to prevent the ef
fect of that which is good. To act without con-
fulting the will of the generality, without collect-
ing, as it were, the majority of votes in the pub-
lic opinions, is to alienate the hearts and minds of
men, and to bring every thing into diſcredit, even
what is honeft and good.
IT would be a defirable thing in Europe, that
the fovereigns, convinced of the neceffity of im-
proving the fcience of government, fhould imitate
a cuftom eſtabliſhed in China. In this empire,
the miniſters are diftinguiſhed into two claffes,
the thinkers, and the figners. While the latter are
employed in the arrangement and diſpatch of
public affairs, the firſt attend only to the forming
of projects, or to the examination of fuch as are
prefented to them. According to the admirers of
the Chineſe government, this is the fource of all
thofe judicious regulations, which eſtabliſh in
thoſe regions the moſt enlightened fyftems of le-
giflation, together with the most prudent admini-
ftration. All Afia is ſubject to a defpotic govern-
ment; but in Turkey and Perfia, it is a defpotifm
of opinion by means of religion; in China, it is
the defpotifm of the laws by the influence of rea-
fon. Among the Mohammedans, they believe
in the divine authority of the prince; among the
Chineſe, they believe in natural authority, found-
ed upon the law of reafon. But in thefe empires
it is conviction that influences the will.
IN the happy ftate of policy and knowledge to
which Europe hath attained, it is plain that this
conviction
350
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
XIX.
:
BOO K conviction of the mind, which produces a free,
eafy and general obedience, can proceed from
nothing but a certain evidence of the utility of
the laws. If the governments will not pay
thinkers, who may, perhaps, become fufpicious
or corrupt as foon as they are mercenary; let
them, at leaſt, allow men of fuperior underſtand-
ings to watch in fome meaſure over the public
good. Every writer of genius is born a magif-
trate of his country; and he ought to enlighten
it as much as it is in his power. His abilities
give him a right to do it. Whether he be an
obfcure or a diftinguifhed citizen, whatever be
his rank or birth, his mind, which is always no-
ble, derives it's claims from his talents. His tri-
bunal is the whole nation; his judge is the pub-
lic, not the defpot who does not hear him, nor
the miniſter who will not attend to him.
ALL theſe truths have, doubtlefs, their bounda-
ries; but it is always more dangerous to fupprefs
the freedom of thought, than to leave it to it's
bent or impetuofity. Reafon and truth triumph:
over thoſe daring and violent minds, which are
rouſed only by reſtraint, and irritated only by
perfecution. Kings and minifters, love your peo
ple, love mankind, and ye will be happy. Ye
will have then no reaſon to fear men of free fenti-
ments or unfatisfied minds, nor the revolt of bad;
men. The revolt of the heart is much more dan-
gerous; for virtue, when foured, and roufed into
indignation, is guilty of the moſt atrocious acts.
Cato and Brutus were both virtuous: they were
reduced to the alternative of choofing between
two great enormities, fuicide, or the death of
Cæfar.
REMEMBER that the interefts of government
and thoſe of the nation are the fame. Whoever
attempts
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
351
attempts to feparate them, is unacquainted with BOOK
their true nature, and will only injure them.
-
AUTHORITY divides, this great intereft, when
the wills of individuals are fubftituted to the efta-
blifhed order. The laws, and thoſe alone, ought
to have the fway. This univerfal rule is not a
yoke for the citizens, but a power which protects
them, and a watchfulneſs which infures their
tranquillity. They think themſelves free; and
this opinion, which conftitutes their happineſs,
determines their fubmiffion. If the arbitrary ca-
prices of a turbulent and enterprifing adminiftra-
tor fhould fubvert this fortunate fyftem, the
people, who from habit, prejudice, or felf-love,
are generally inclined to confider the government
under which they live as the beſt of all poffible
governments, are deprived of this illufion, to
which nothing can be fubftituted.
AUTHORITY divides this great intereft, when it
obftinately perfeveres in any error into which it
hath fallen. Let it not be blinded by a fooliſh
pride, and it will perceive that thofe changes,
which bring it back to what is true and good,
far from weakening it's fprings, will ftrengthen
them. To be undeceived with refpect to a dan-
gerous miſtake, is not to contradict one's felf; it
is not to diſplay to the people the inconftancy of
government; it is to demonftrate to them it's
wiſdom and it's uprightneſs. If their reſpect were
to diminish, it would be for that power which
would never know it's miſtakes, or would always:
juſtify them; and not for thoſe who would ayow
and correct them.
AUTHORITY divides this great intereft, when
it facrifices the tranquillity, eafe, and blood of
the people, to the terrible and tranfient bril-
liancy of warlike exploits. It is in vain that we
endeavour to juſtify theſe deſtructive propenſities,
by
XIX.
352
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK by ſtatues, and by infcriptions. Theſe monu-
XIX. ments of arrogance and flattery will one day be
deſtroyed by time, or overthrown by hatred.
The memory of that prince only will be refpect-
ed, who fhall have preferred peace, which muft
have enfured happinefs to his fubjects, to victo-
ries, which would have been only for himſelf,
who fhall have confidered the empire as his fa-
mily; who fhall have made no other ufe of his
power, than for the advantage of thoſe who had
intrufted him with it. His name and his character
will be univerfally cheriſhed. Fathers will inform
pofterity of the happineſs which they enjoyed.
Their children will repeat it to their defcendants;
and this delightful remembrance will be preferved
from one age to another, and will be perpetuated
in each family, and to the remoteft centuries.
AUTHORITY divides this great intereft, when
the perfon into whofe hands the reins of govern-
ment have been placed, by birth or election,
fuffers them to be guided at pleaſure by blind.
chance; when he prefers a mean repoſe to the
dignity and the importance of the functions with
which he is intrufted. His inaction is criminal
and infamous. The indulgence with which his
faults might have been treated, will be justly de-
nied to his indolence. This feverity will be the
more lawful, as his character will have deter
mined him to chooſe for ſubſtitutes the firſt am-
bitious men who may offer, and thefe almoft ne-
ceffarily men of no capacity. If even he had the
fingular good fortune of making a good choice,
he would still be unpardonable, becauſe it is not
allowable to impofe our duties upon others. He
will die without having lived. His name will be
forgotten; or if remembered, it will only be as
the names of thoſe fluggard kings, the years of
•
+
whofe
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
353
i
whofe reign hiſtory hath with reafon difdained to BOOK
count.
AUTHORITY divides this great intereſt, when
the poſts which determine the public tranquillity
are intruſted to vile or corrupt men of intrigue;
when favour fhall obtain the rewards due to fer-
vices; when the powerful fprings, which infure
the grandeur and the duration of empires, are
deſtroyed. All emulation is extinct. The en-
lightened and laborious citizens either conceal
themſelves, or retire. The wicked and the auda-
cious fhew themſelves infolently, and profper.
Every thing is directed and determined by pre-
ſumption, by intereſt, and by the moſt difordi-
nate paffions. Juftice is difregarded, virtue is
degraded, and propriety, which might in fome
meaſure be a fubftitute to it, is confidered as an
old prejudice, or a ridiculous cuftom. Difcou-
ragement within, and opprobrium without, thefe
are all that remain to a nation formerly powerful
and refpected.
THERE may fometimes be people diffatisfied
under a good government; but where there are
many that are unhappy, without any kind of pub-
lic profperity, then it is that the government is vi-
cious in it's nature.
MANKIND are just as we would have them to
be; it is the mode of government which gives
them a good or an evil propenfity.
A STATE ought to have one object only in
view; and that is, public felicity. Every ftate
has a particular manner of promoting this end;
which may be confidered as it's fpirit, it's prin-
ciple, to which every thing elfe is fubordinate.
A NATION can have no induſtry for the arts, nor
courage for war, without a confidence in, and an
attachment to, the government. But when the
principle of fear hath broken every other fpring
VOL. VI.
A a
of
XIX.
354
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
:
BOOK of the foul, a nation then becomes of no confe-
XIX.
quence, the prince is expofed to a thouſand enter-
prifes from without, and a thouſand dangers from
within. Defpifed by his neighbours, and abhorred
by his fubjects, he must be in perpetual fear for
the fafety of his kingdom, as well as for that of
his own life. It is a happineſs for a nation, that
commerce, arts and fciences, fhould flourish within
it. It is even a happinefs for thoſe who govern,
when they are not inclined to exert acts of tyran-
ny. Upright minds are very easily led; but none
have a greater averfion for violence and flavery.
Let good monarchs be bleffed with enlightened
people; and let tyrants have none but brutes to
reign over.
Policy.
MILITARY power is both the cauſe and the de-
ftruction of defpotifin; which in it's infant ftate
may be compared to a lion that conceals his
talons in order to let them grow. In it's full vi-
gour, it may be confidered as a madman who
tears his body to pieces with his arms. In it's ad-
vanced age, it is like Saturn, who, after having
devoured his children, is fhamefully mutilated by
his own race.
!
GOVERNMENT may be divided into legiflation
and policy. Legiflation relates to the internal
management of the ftate, and policy to the exter-
nal direction of it.
:
SAVAGE nations, which are addicted to hunt-
ing, have rather a policy than a legiflation. Go-
verned among themſelves by manners and exam-
ple, the only conventions or laws they have, are
between one nation and another. Treaties of
peace or alliance conftitute their only code of le-
giflation.
SUCH were nearly the focieties of ancient times.
Separated by deferts, without any communication
of trade or voyages, they had only a prefent and
immediate
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
355
immediate intereft to fettle. All their negociati- B O O K
ons confiſted in putting an end to a war by fixing XIx.
the boundaries of a ſtate. As it was neceffary to
perſuade a nation, and not bribe a court by the
miftreffes or favourites of a prince, eloquent men
were employed for this purpoſe, and the names of
orator and embaſſador were fynonymous.
In the middle ages, when every thing, even
juftice itſelf, was decided by force; when the Go-
thic government divided by feparate interefts all
thoſe petty ſtates which owed their exiſtence to it's
conftitution; negociations had but little influence
over a wild and reclufe people, who knew no
right but that of war, no treaties but for truces.
or ranfoms.
DURING this long period of ignorance and bar-
barifm, policy was entirely confined to the court
of Rome. It had arifen from the artifices which
had founded the papal government. As the pon-
tiffs, by the laws of religion and the fyftem of the
hierarchy, influenced a very numerous clergy,
whofe profelytes extended perpetually in all the
chriſtian ſtates, the correfpondence kept up with
the biſhops, eſtabliſhed early at Rome a center of
communication for all the different churches, or
nations. All rights were fubordinate to a reli-
gion which exerciſed an abfolute authority over
the mind of every individual; it had a fhare in
almoſt every tranfaction, either as the motive or
the means; and the popes, by the Italian agents
they had placed in all the prelacies of the chriftian
ftate, were conftantly informed of every commo-
tion, and availed themſelves of every event. They
had the higheſt intereſt in this; that of attaining
univerſal monarchy. The barbarifm of the times
in which this project was conceived, does not
leffen it's greatnefs and fublimity. How daring
was the attempt, to fubdue, without troops, nations
A a 2
that
356
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND 'TRADE
BOOK that were always in arms! What art to make even
XIX. the weakneſs of the clergy refpectable and fa-
cred! What ſkill to agitate, to fhake thrones oné
after the other, in order to keep them all in fub-
jection! So deep, fo extenfive a defign could only
be carried into execution, by being concealed;
and therefore was inconfiftent with an hereditary
monarchy; in which the paffions of kings and the
intrigues of minifters are the caufe of fo much
inftability in affairs. This project, and the ge-
neral rule of conduct it requires, could not be
formed but in an elective government, in which
the chief is always chofe from a body animated
with the fame fpirit, and guided by the fame
maxims; in which an aristocratic court rather go-
verns the prince, than ſuffers itſelf to be governed
by him.
WHILE Italian policy was engaged in examin-
ing all the ſtates of Europe, and availing itſelf of
every opportunity to aggrandize and confirm the
power of the church, each fovereign faw with in-
difference the revolutions that were taking place
without. Moſt of them were too much engaged
in eſtabliſhing their authority in their own domi-
nions, in difputing the branches of power with the
feveral bodies which were in poffeffion of them, or
which were ſtriving againſt the natural bent that
monarchy has to defpotifm: they were not fuffi-
ciently mafters of their own inheritance, to inter-
fere in the difputes of their neighbours.
THE fifteenth century changed the order of
things. When the princes had collected their
forces, they were inclined to bring them to action,
and try their reſpective ſtrength. Till that time,
the nations had only carried on war with each other
upon their feveral frontiers. The feafon of the
campaign was loft in affembling troops, which
every baron always raifed very flowly. There were
then
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
357
XIX.
then only ſkirmishes between fmall parties, not в OOK
any regular battles between different armies.
When a prince, either by alliances or inheritance,
had acquired poffeffions in different ftates, the in-
tereſts were confounded, and contentions arofe
among the people. It was neceffary to ſend regu-
lar troops in the pay of the monarch, to defend at
a diſtance territories that did not belong to the
ftate. The crown of England no longer held pro-
vinces in the midft of France; but that of Spain
acquired fome rights in Germany; and that of
France laid fome claims in Italy. From that time
all Europe was in a perpetual alternate ſtate of war
and negociation.
THE ambition, talents, and rivalſhip of Charles
V. and Francis I. gave rife to the prefent fyftem
of modern politics. Before thefe two kings,
France and Spain had difputed the kingdom of
Naples, in the name of the houſes of Arragon
and Anjou. Their diffenfions had excited a fer-
ment throughout all Italy, and the republic of
Venice was the chief caufe of that inteftine com
motion that was excited againſt two foreign
powers. The Germans took a part in thefe dif-
turbances, either as auxiliaries, or as being in-
tereſted in them. The emperor and the pope
were concerned in them with almoſt all Chriften-
dom. But Francis I. and Charles V. engaged
in their fate, the views, the anxiety, the deſtiny
of all Europe. All the powers feemed to be di-
vided between two rival houfes, in order to
weaken alternately the moft powerful. Fortune
favoured the talents, the force, and the artifice of
Charles V. More ambitious and lefs voluptuous
than Francis I., his character turned the ſcale, and
Europe for a time inclined to his fide, but did not
continue always to favour the fame intereft.
PHILIP
358
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
XIX.
PHILIP II. who had all the fpirit of intrigue,
but not the military virtues of his father, inherited
his projects and ambitious views, and found the'
times favourable to his aggrandizement. He ex-
hauſted his kingdom of men and fhips, and even
of money, though he was in poffeffion of the
mines of the New World; and left behind him a
more extenfive monarchy, but Spain itſelf in a much
weaker ftate than it had been under his father.
His fon imagined he fhould again make all
Europe dependent, by an alliance with that branch
of his houfe which reigned in Germany. Philip
II. had through negligence relinquifhed this poli-
tical idea Philip III. refumed it. But in other
reſpects he followed the erroneous, narrow, ſuper-
ftitious and pedantic principles of his predeceffor.
Within the ſtate, there was much formality, but
no order, and no economy. The church was
perpetually incroaching upon the ftate. The
inquifition, that horrid monster, which con-
ceals it's head in the heavens, and it's feet in
the infernal regions, ftruck at the root of po-
pulation, which at the fame time fuffered con-
fiderably from war and the colonies. In the
external operations of the ftate, there were ftill
the fame ambitious views, and lefs fkilful mea
fures. Raſh and precipitate in his enterpriſes,
flow and obftinate in the execution of them,
Philip III. had all thofe defects which are preju-
dicial to each other, and occafion every project
to mifcarry. He deftroyed the fmall degree of
life and vigour the monarchy yet retained.
Richelieu availed himſelf of the weakneſs of
Spain, and the foibles of the king whom he ruled
over, to fill that period with his intrigues, and
cauſe his name to defcend to pofterity. Germa-
ny and Spain were in fome manner connected to
cach other by the Houſe of Auftria: to this
league,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
359
XIX.
league, he oppofed that of France with Sweden, B O O K
to counteract the effect of the former. This
ſyſtem would naturally have taken place in his
times, if it had not been the work of his genius.
Guſtavus Adolphus by his conquefts enflaved all
the north. All Europe concurred in lowering
the pride of the Houſe of Auftria; and the peace
of the Pyrenees turned the fcale against Spain in
favour of France.
CHARLES V. had been accufed of aiming at
univerfal monarchy; and Lewis XIV. was taxed
with the fame ambition. But neither of them
ever conceived fo high and fo rafh a project.
They were both of them paffionately defirous of
extending their empire, by the aggrandizement
of their families. This ambition is equally na-
tural to princes of common abilities, who are
born without any talents, as it is to monarchs of
fuperior underſtanding, who have no virtues or
moral qualifications. But neither Charles V. nor
Lewis XIV. had that kind of fpirit of refolution,
that impulſe of the foul to brave every thing,
which conftitutes heroic conquerors: they bore
no reſemblance in any particular to Alexander.
Nevertheleſs ufeful alarms were taken and ſpread
abroad. Such alarms cannot be too foon con-
ceived, nor too foon diffufed, when there arife
any powers that are formidable to their neigh-
bours. It is chiefly among nations, and with
reſpect to kings, that fear produces fafety.
he was.
WHEN Lewis XIV. began to reflect on his
own fituation, perhaps, he might be furpriſed at
feeing himself more powerful than he thought
His greatness was partly owen to the
little harmony that fubfifted between the forces
and the defigns of his enemies. Europe had, in-
deed, felt the neceffity of a general union, but
had not diſcovered the means of forming it. In
treating
360
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOO K treating with this monarch, proud of fuccefs, and
XIX. vain from the applauſe he had received, it was
thought a confiderable advantage if every thing
was not given up. In a word, the infults of France
which increaſed with her victories; the natural
turn of her intrigues to ſpread diffenfion every
where, in order to reign alone; her contempt for
the faith of treaties; the haughty and authorita-
tive tone ſhe ufurped, turned the general envy fhe
had excited into deteftation, and raiſed univerfal
alarms. Even thoſe princes, who had feen with-
out umbrage, or favoured the increafe of her
power, felt the neceffity of repairing this error in
politics, and of combining and raifing among
themſelves a body of forces fuperior to thofe of
France, in order to prevent her tyrannizing over
the nations.
LEAGUES were, therefore, formed, which were
for a long time ineffual. One man alone was
found capable to animate and conduct them.
Warmed with that public ſpirit, which only great
and virtuous fouls can poffefs, it was a prince,
though born in a republic, who for the general
cauſe of Europe was inflamed with that love of
liberty, fo natural to upright minds. He turned
his ambition towards the greateſt object and moft
worthy of the time in which he lived. His own
intereſt never warped him from that of the pub-
lic. With a courage peculiar to himſelf he knew
how to defy thofe very misfortunes which he fore-
faw; depending lefs for fuccefs upon his military
abilities, than waiting for a favourable turn of
affairs, from his patience and political activity.
Such was the fituation of affairs when the fuc
ceffion to the throne of Spain fet all Europe in
flames.
SINCE the empire of the Perſians and that of
the Romans, ambition had never been tempted by
fo
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
361
༧
fo rich a ſpoil. The prince, who might have BOOK
united this crown to his own, would naturally XIX.
have risen to that univerfal monarchy, the idea of
which raiſed a general alarm. It was, therefore,
neceffary to prevent this empire from becoming
the poffeffion of a power already formidable, and
to keep the balance equal between the Houſes of
Auſtria and Bourbon, which had the only here-
ditary right to the throne.
MEN well verfed in the knowledge of the man-
ners and affairs of Spain, have afferted, if we may
believe Bolingbroke, that had it not been for the
hoftilities, which were then excited by England
and Holland, we ſhould have feen Philip V.
as good a Spaniard as his predeceffors, and that
the French miniftry would then have had no in-
fluence over the Spaniſh adminiſtration; but that
the war raiſed againſt the Spaniards for the fake of
giving them a ruler, obliged them to have re-
courfe to the fleets and armies of a ſtate that was
alone capable of affifting them in fixing upon fuch
a king as they wanted. This juft idea, the refult
of deep reflection, has been confirmed by the ex-
perience of half a century. The turn of the Spa-
niards has never been able to coincide with the
taste of the French. Spain, from the character
of her inhabitants feems rather to belong to Africa
than to Europe.
THE train of events, however, anſwered to the
general wishes. The armies and the councils of
the quadruple alliance gained an equal fuperiority
over the common enemy. Inftead of thoſe lan-
guid and unfortunate campaigns which had tried
the patience of the prince of Orange, but not
diſcouraged him, all the operations of the confe-
derates were fuccefsful. France, in her turn,
humbled and defeated on every fide, was upon
the
362
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK the brink of ruin, when ſhe was reftored by the
XIX. death of the emperor.
IT was then perceived, that if the archduke.
Charles, crowned with the imperial diadem, and
fucceeding to all the dominions of the Houfe of
Auftria, fhould join Spain and the Weft-Indies to
this vaft inheritance, he would be in poffeffion of
that fame exorbitant power, which the Houſe of
Bourbon had been deprived of by the war. But
the enemies of France ftill perfifted in their de-
fign of dethroning Philip V. without thinking of
the perſon that was to fucceed him; while true
politicians, notwithſtanding their triumphs, grew
tired of a war, the very fuccefs of which always
became an evil,, when it could no longer do any
good.
THIS difference of opinions raifed diffenfions
among the allies, which prevented them from
reaping all thofe advantages from the peace of
Utrecht, they might reaſonably have expected
from their fuccefs. The beſt means that could be
deviſed to protect the provinces of the allies, were
to lay open the frontiers of France. Lewis XIV.
had employed forty years in fortifying them,
and his neighbours had fuffered him quietly to
raiſe theſe bulwarks which kept them in continual
awe. It was neceffary to demolish them for
every ſtrong power that puts itſelf in a pofture of
defence, intends to form an attack. Philip re-
mained upon the throne of Spain; and the forti-
fications were left ſtanding in Flanders, and on the
borders of the Rhine.
SINCE this period, no opportunity hath offered
to rectify the miſtake committed at the peace of
Utrecht. France hath always maintained it's fu-
périority on the continent; but chance hath often
diminifhed it's influence. The fcales of the poli-
tical balance will never be perfectly even, nor ac-
curate
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
363
#
-
curate enough to determine the degrees of power B O O K
with exact precifion. Perhaps, even this balance, XIX.
of power may be nothing more than a chimæra.
It can be only fixed by treaties; and thefe have
no validity, when they are only made between
abſolute monarchs, and not between nations.
Theſe acts must be permanent when made by
the people themſelves, becauſe the object of
them is their peace and fafety, which are their
greatest advantages: but a defpot always facrifices
his fubjects to his anxiety, and his engagements
to his ambition.
BUT it is not war alone that determines the fu-
periority of nations, as it hath been hitherto ima-
gined; fince during the laft half-century com-
merce hath had a much greater influence in it.
While the powers of the continent divided
Europe into unequal portions, which policy by
means of leagues, treaties, and alliances always
preſerved in a certain equilibrium; a maritime
people formed as it were a new ſyſtem, and by
their induſtry made the land ſubject to the fea;
as nature herſelf has done by her laws. They
formed, or brought to perfection that extenfive
commerce, which is founded on an excellent
fyftem of agriculture, flourishing manufactures,
and the richeſt poffeffions of the four quarters of
the world. This is the kind of univerſal mo-
narchy that Europe ought to wreft from England,
in restoring to each maritime ſtate that freedom,
and that power it hath a right to have upon the
element that ſurrounds it. This is a fyftem of
public good founded upon natural equity, and in
this cafe juftice is the voice of general intereſt.
The people cannot be too much warned to re-
fume all their powers, and to employ the re-
fources offered them by the climate and the foil
they
364
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK they inhabit, to acquire that national and diſtinct
independence in which they were born.
XIX.
}
U
IF all Europe were fufficiently enlightened, and
each nation were acquainted with it's rights and
it's real advantages, neither the continent, nor the
ocean would mutually give laws to each other ;
but a reciprocal influence would be eftablifhed
between the continental and maritime people, a
balance of induſtry and power, which would in-
duce a mutual intercourfe for the general bene-
fit. Each nation would fow and reap upon it's
proper element. The feveral ſtates would enjoy
the fame liberty of exportation and importation
that ſhould fubfift between the provinces of the
fame empire.
THERE is a great error that prevails in modern
politics, which is, that every ftate fhould endea-
vour to weaken it's enemies as much as poffible.
But no nation can feek the ruin of another ftate,
without paving the way for, and haftening it's own
flavery. There are certainly moments in which
fortune at once throws into the way of a people a
great increaſe of power; but fuch fudden eleva-
tions are not lafting. It is fometimes better to
fupport rivals, than to opprefs them. Sparta re-
fuſed to enflave Athens, and Rome repented of
having deſtroyed Carthage.
THESE noble and generous fentiments would
prevent policy from the neceffity of committing
many crimes, and afferting many falfehoods; po-
licy, which for theſe two or three centuries paſt
hath had more important and more various ob-
jects to attend to. The influence of policy was
formerly much limited, it feldom extended be-
yond the frontiers of the feveral nations. It's
fphere hath been fingularly enlarged in propor-
tion as the nations moft diftant from each other
have formed connections among themfelves. It
hath
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
365
hath particularly received an immenfe increaſe в O O K
fince the time, when by diſcoveries, either for XIX.
tunate or unfortunate, all the parts of the uni-
verſe have been rendered fubordinate to thoſe
which we inhabit.
-
As the operations of policy were multiplied in
proportion to the extent which it acquired, every
power thought it neceffary for their interefts to
fix agents in foreign courts, who had formerly
been employed there but for a very ſhort time.
The habit of treating inceffantly gave birth to
maxims unknown before that period. Delays and
artifices were fubftituted to the frankneſs and ce-
lerity of tranfient negociations. The powers
founded and ſtudied each other, and reciprocal
attempts were made to tire out or to ſurpriſe all
parties. Secrets which had been found impene-
trable were purchaſed with gold, and bribery
completed what intrigue had begun..
*
It appeared neceffary to furniſh a continual fup-
IT
ply of matter to quiet that ſpirit of anxiety with
which the minds of all the ambaffadors had been
impreffed. Policy, like that infidious infect that
weaves it's web in darkneſs, hath ftretched forth
it's net in the midſt of Europe, and faftened it,
as it were, to every court. One fingle thread
cannot be touched without drawing all the reſt.
The moſt petty fovereign hath fome fecret intereſt
in the treaties between the greater powers. Two
petty princes of Germany cannot exchange a fief,
or a domain, without being thwarted or feconded
by the courts of Vienna, Verfailles, or London.
Negociations muſt be carried on in all the cabi-
nets for years together for every the moft trifling
change in the difpofition of the land. The blood
of the people is the only thing that is not bar-
gained for. War is determined upon in a day
or two; the fettling of peace is protracted during
feveral
I
366
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
XIX.
BOOK ſeveral years. This flowness in negociations, which
proceeds from the nature of affairs, is alfo increafed
by the character of the negociators.
•
:
THESE are generally ignorant perfons, who are
treating with fome men of knowledge and abilities.
The chancellor Oxenftiern, ordered his fon to
prepare himſelf to go to Weftphalia, where the
troubles of the empire were to be pacified. But,
faid the young man, I have not attended to any
previous studies neceſſary for this important commiffi-
on. I will prepare you for it, replied the father.
A fortnight after, Oxenstiern, who had not ſpoken
upon the ſubject to his fon, ſaid to him, My Son,
you must fet out to-morrow. But, fir, you had pro-
miſed to inſtruct me and you have not done it. Go,
nevertheless, replied the experienced, minifter,
fhrugging up his fhoulders, and you will fee by
what kind of men the world is governed. There
are, perhaps, two or three wife and judicious
councils in Europe. The reft are in the poffeffion
of intriguing men, raiſed to the management of
affairs by the paffions and fhameful pleaſures of a
prince and his miftreffes. A man is advanced to
a fhare in the adminiftration, without any know-
ledge of the fubject; he adopts the firft fyftem
that is offered to his caprice; purfues it without
underſtanding it, and, with a degree of obftinacy
proportionate to his ignorance, he changes the
whole plan of his predeceffors, in order to intro-
duce his own fyftem of adminiftration, which he
will never be able to fupport. Richelieu's firft de-
claration, when he became minifter, was, the coun-
cil hath altered it's plan. This faying, which was
once found to be a good one, in the mouth of
one fingle man, has, perhaps, been repeated, or
thought of, by every one of Richelieu's fuccef-
fors. All men engaged in public affairs have the
vanity not only to proportion the parade of their
expence,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
367
expence, of their manner, and of their air, to в O O K
the importance of their office; but even to raiſe XIX.
the opinion they have of their own underſtand-
ing, in proportion to the influence of their au-
thority.
WHEN a nation is great and powerful, what
fhould it's governors be? The court and the peo-
ple will anſwer this queſtion, but in a very differ-
ent manner. The minifters fee nothing in their
office but the extent of their rights; the people
the extent only of their duties. The ideas of
the latter are juft; for the duties and rights arif-
ing from each mode of government ought to be
regulated by the wants and defires of each na-
tion. But this principle of the law of nature is
not applicable to the focial ſtate. As focieties,
whatever be their origin, are almoſt all of them
fubject to the authority of one fingle man, politi-
cal meaſures are dependent on the character of
the prince.
If the king be a weak and irrefolute man, his
government will change as his minifters, and his
politics will vary with his government. He will
alternately have minifters, that are ignorant or
enlightened, fteady or fickle, deceitful or fincere,
harth or humane, inclined to war or peace; fuch,
in a word, as the variety of intrigues will produce
them. Such a ſtate will have no regular fyftem
of politics; and all other governments will not be
able to maintain any permanent defigns and mea-
fures with it. The fyftem of politics must then
vary with the day, or the moment; that is, with
the humour of the prince. Under a weak and
unſteady reign none but temporary interefts ought
to prevail, and connections fubordinate to the in-
ſtability of the miniſtry.
THE reciprocal jealoufy prevailing between the
depofitaries of the royal authority is another cauſe
of
368
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
:
BOOK of this inftability. One man againſt the testimony
XIX. of his confcience and of his knowledge, counter-
acts from a motive of mean jealoufy a uſeful
meaſure, the honour of which would belong to
his rival. The next day the fame infamous part
is adopted by the latter. The fovereign alter-
nately grants what he had refuſed, or refufes what
he had granted. The negociator will eafily per-
ceive which of his minifters he has leaft confult-
ed, but it is impoffible for him to foreſee what
his laft refolution will be. In this embarraffment
to whom ſhall we have recourfe? To bribery and
to the women, if he be fent into a country go-
verned by a man. To bribery and to the men,
if he be fent into à country governed by a wo-
man. He must lay afide the character of the
ambaffador or of the envoy, in order to affume
that of the corrupter, the only one by which he
can fucceed. It is gold which he muft fubftitute
to the moſt profound policy. But if by fome
chance, of which perhaps there is ſcarce any ex-
ample, gold fhould fail of it's effect, the only
refource he has remaining is to folicit to be re-
called.
BUT the fate of nations and political intereſts
are very different in republican governments. As
the authority there refides in the collective body
of the people, there are certain principles and
fome public interefts attended to in every nego-
ciation. In this cafe the permanency of a fyftem
is not to be confined to the duration of the mi-
niſtry, or to the life of one fingle man.
The ge-
neral ſpirit that exifts and perpetuates itſelf in
the nation, is the only rule of every negociation.
Not but that a powerful citizen, or an eloquent
demagogue, may fometimes lead a popular go-
vernment into a political mistake; but this is
eafily recovered. Faults, in thefe inftances, may
be
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
369
XIX.
be confidered equally with fucceffes as leffons of BOOK
inftruction. Great events, and not men, pro-
duce remarkable periods in the hiſtory of repub-
lics. It is in vain to attempt to furpriſe a free
people by artifice, or intrigues, into a treaty of
peace or alliance. Their maxims will always
make them return to their lafting interefts, and
all engagements will give way to the fupreme
law. In thefe governments, it is the fafety of
the people that does every thing, while in others
it is the will of the ruler,
THIS contraft of political principles has ren-
dered every popular government fufpicious or
odious to all abfolute monarchs. They have
dreaded the influence of a republican ſpirit upon
their own fubjects, the weight of whofe chains
they are every day increafing. A kind of fecret
confpiracy may therefore be perceived between all
monarchies, to deſtroy, or infenfibly to fap, the
foundations of all free ftates. But liberty will
arife from the midft of oppreffion. It already
exiſts in every breaft; public writings will contri-
bute to inftil it into the minds of all enlightened
men; and tyranny into the hearts of the people.
All men will, at length, be fenfible, and this pe-
riod is at no great diſtance, that liberty is the firſt
gift of heaven, as it is the first fource of virtue.
The inftruments of defpotifm, will become it's
deftroyers; and the enemies of humanity, thofe
who feem armed at prefent merely to oppofe it,
will exert themfelves in it's defence.
In this place I was intending to ſpeak of war,
or that rage, which being kindled by injuftice,
ambition, and revenge, affembles, under two
adverſe commanders, a multitude of armed men,
impels them against each other, drenches the
earth with their blood, ftrews it with dead bodies,
and prepares nourishment for the animals that
VOL. VI.
Bb
come
War.
370
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK come after them, but who are lefs ferocious than
XIX. they.
BUT I have fuddenly poftponed my intention,
by aſking of myſelf what peace is, and whether it
exifts any where? Upon the fpot where I now
am, in the center of my own city, a multitude of
interefts oppofite to mine confine me, and I repel
them. If I pafs the limits of that ſpace which I
call my own country, I am confidered with an
anxious eye; I am accofted, and aſked, who I am,
from whence I came, and where I am going?
At length I obtain a bed, and am preparing to
take fome reft, when a fudden clamour compels
me to depart. If I remain, I am profcribed;
and the next day, the houſe which had given me
refuge, fhall be fet on fire, and thofe who have
treated me as a fellow-citizen, fhall be murdered
by affaffins who ſpeak my own language. Should
curiofity, or a thirft of knowledge induce me to
vifit another country; if I take fome pains to
examine it, I am immediately fufpected, and a
fpy is commiffioned to watch me. Should I have
the misfortune to worship God in my own way,
which happens not to be that of the country I am
vifiting, I am furrounded by priefts and executi-
oners. I then make my efcape, exclaiming, with
grief: Peace, then, that bleffing fo earneſtly wiſh-
ed for, exifts not in any place.
THE good man, however, hath his dreams;
and I will acknowledge, that being witnefs to
the progrefs of knowledge, which hath fhaken fo
many prejudices, and introduced fo much foft-
neſs in our manners, I have thought that it
was impoffible the infernal art of war fhould be
perpetuated, but that it would fink into oblivion.
The people who have brought it to perfection
will become accurfed; and the moment when
thefe formidable inftruments of death fhall be
generally
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,
371
XIX.
generally demolished, cannot be far diftant. The в OOK
univerſe will at length execrate thofe odious con-
querors, who have rather chofen to be the terror
of their neighbours, than the fathers of their fub-
jects; and to invade provinces rather than to
gain the affections of men; who have choſen that
the cries of grief fhould be the only hymn ac-
companying their victories; who have raiſed up
melancholy monuments, deftined to immortalize
their rage and their vanity, in the countries
which they had fpoiled, in the cities they had
reduced to afhes, and over the carcafes which
their fwords had heaped on each other; con-
querors, who have had no other wifh, than that
the hiſtory of their reign ſhould contain only the
remembrance of the calamities they had occa-
fioned. Mankind will no longer be deceived
reſpecting the objects of their admiration. They
will no longer, with abject infatuation, proftrate
themſelves before thoſe who trampled them un-
der their feet. Calamities will be confidered in
their proper light; and the nocturnal labours,
and talents of great artists, will no longer be
proſtituted to the commemoration of brilliant
crimes. Princes themfelves will partake of the
wiſdom of their age. The voice of philofophy
will revive in their minds fentiments which have
long lain dormant, and will infpire them with
horror, and a contempt for fanguinary glory.
They will be confirmed in theſe ideas by the mi-
nifters of religion; who, availing themfelves of
the facred privilege of their functions, will drag
them before the tribunal of the Great Judge,
where they will be obliged to anſwer for the
thouſands of unfortunate perfons facrificed to their
hatred or caprice. If it were refolved in the de-
crees of Heaven, that fovereigns fhould perfevere
in their frenzy, thofe numberless hords of affaf-
fins
Bb 2
372
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK fins who are kept in pay, would throw away
XIX.
their
arms. Filled with a juft horror for their deteft-
able employment, and with profound indignation
against the cruel abufe which was made of their
ftrength, and of their courage, they would leave
their extravagant defpots to fettle their quarrels
themſelves.
BUT this illufion did not laſt long. I was
foon perfuaded that the diſputes between kings
would never end, any more than their paffions,
and that they could only be decided by the fword.
I thought that it would be impoffible ever to diſ-
guft of the horrors of war, a people who, not-
withſtanding all forts of cruelties and devaftations
were committed around them without fcruple,
and without remorfe, upon the fcene of difcord,
ftill found, while fitting quietly by their fire-fide,
that there were not fieges, battles, or cataſtrophes
enough to fatisfy their curiofity, and amufe their
vacant hours. I thought, that there was nothing
either reaſonable or humane to be expected from
a ſet of ſubaltern butchers, who, far from giving
themſelves up to defpair, from tearing their hair,
from detefting themfelves, and from fhedding
rivers of tears at the fight of a vaft plain filled
with fcattered members, were, on the contrary,
able to go over it with an air of triumph, bathing
their feet in the blood of their friends and of their
enemies, walking over their carcafes, and mix-
ing fongs of mirth with the plaintive accents of
expiring men. It feemed to me, as if I heard
the ſpeech of one of thofe tygers, who, blending
flattery with ferocioufnefs, faid to a monarch,
feized with a confternation at the fight of a field
of battle covered with torn limbs and dead bo-
dies, fcarcely cold: Sir, it is not us, but those,
who are too happy; and thus prevented the tears
from falling from the eyes of a young prince;
tears,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
373
1.
XIX.
tears, which he ought rather to have prompted в OOK
him to fhed, by faying to him: “Behold, and
"confider the effects of thy ambition, of thy
66
folly, of thy rage, and of our's, and feel the
"drops of blood trickling down thy cheeks,
"which fall from the laurels with which we have
"crowned thee." Thefe diftreffing reflections
plunged me into melancholy; fo that it was fome
time before I could refume the thread of my
ideas, and go on with my fubje&t.
WAR has exiſted at all times and in all coun-
tries; but the art of war is only to be found in
certain ages of the world, and among certain
people. The Greeks inftituted it, and conquered
all the powers of Afia. The Romans improved
it, and fubdued the world. Theſe two nations,
worthy to command all others, as their genius
and virtue were the caufes of their profperity,
owed this fuperiority to their infantry, in which
every ſingle man exerts his whole ftrength. The
Grecian phalanx and the Roman legions were
every where victorious.
:
WHEN indolence had introduced a fuperior
number of cavalry into the armies of the ancients,
Rome loft fome of it's glory and fuccefs. Not-
withſtanding the exact diſcipline of it's troops, it
could no longer refift thoſe barbarous nations, that
fought on foot.
THESE men, however, little better than favages,
who, with arms only, and thoſe powers nature had
taught them the ufe of, had fubdued the most ex-
tenſive and the moſt civilized empire of the uni-
verfe, foon changed their infantry into cavalry.
This was properly called the line of battle, or the
army. All the nobility, who were the fole pof
feffors of lands and of privileges, thofe ufual at-
tendants of victory, chofe to ride on horfeback;
while the enslaved multitude were left on foot,
almoſt
374
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK almoſt without arms, and were ſcarce holden in
XIX. any degree of eſtimation.
IN times when the gentleman was diftinguiſhed
by his horſe; when the man himſelf was of little
confequence, and every idea of importance was
attached to the knight; when wars confifted in
ſmall incurfions, and campaigns laſted but a day;
when fuccefs depended upon the quicknefs of
marches; then the fate of armies was determined
by cavalry. During the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries, there were fcarce any other troops in
Europe. The dexterity and ſtrength of men was
no longer fhewn in wrestling, at the ceftus, in the
exercife of arms, and of all the mufcles of the
body; but in tournaments, in managing a horſe,
and in throwing the lance at full ſpeed. This
fpecies of war, better calculated for wandering
Tartars, than for fixed and fedentary focieties,was
one of the defects of the feudal government.
race of conquerors, whofe rights were to be de-
termined by their fwords; whofe merit and glory
was in their arms; whofe fole occupation was
hunting, could fcarce avoid riding on horfeback,
with all that parade and ſpirit of authority which
muft neceffarily arife from a rude and uncultivated
underſtanding. But what could troops of heavy-
armed cavalry avail in the attack and defence of
caſtles and towns, fortified by walls or by fur-
rounding waters?
A
To this imperfection of the military art, muft
be ascribed the duration of war for feveral ages,
without intermiffion, between France and Eng-
land. War continued inceffantly for want of a
ſufficient number of men. Whole months were
required to collect, to arm, to bring into the field
troops that were only to continue there a few
weeks. Kings could not affemble more than a
certain number of vaffals, and thoſe at ftated
times.
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
375
XIX.
times. The lords had only a right to call under B O O K
their banners fome of their tenants, upon ftipu-
lated terms. The time that ought to have been
employed in carrying on war, was loft in forms
and regulations, in the fame manner as courts of
juftice confume thofe eftates they are to deter-
mine. At length the French, tired with being
conftantly obliged to repulfe the Engliſh, like the
horſe that implored the affiftance of man againſt
the ftag, fuffered the yoke and burden to be im-
pofed upon them, which they bear to this day.
Kings raiſed and maintained at their own expence
a conftant body of troops. Charles VII. after
having expelled the English by the affiftance of
mercenary troops, when he disbanded his army,.
kept nine thouſand horſe, and fixteen thouſand
infantry.
THIS was the origin of the abaſement of the no-
bility, and the elevation of monarchy; of the po-
litical liberty of the nation without, and it's civil
flavery within. The people were delivered from
feudal tyranny, only to fall, fome time or other,
under the defpotiſm of kings. So much does
human nature ſeem born for flavery! It became
neceffary to raiſe a fund for the payment of an
army; and the taxes were arbitrary, and unli-
mited as the number of foldiers, who were diftri-
buted in the different parts of the kingdom, under
a pretence of guarding the frontiers againſt the
enemy; but in reality to reftrain and opprefs the
fubject. The officers, commanders, and gover-
nors, were tools of government always armed
againſt the nation itself. They, as well as their
foldiers, no longer confidered themfelves as ci-
tizens of the ſtate, folely devoted to the defence
of the property and rights of the people. They
acknowledged no longer any perfon in the king-
dom, except the king, in whofe name they were
ready
376
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK ready to maffacre their fathers and brothers. In
XIX. fhort, the body of troops raiſed by the nation was
nothing more than a royal army.
THE diſcovery of gunpowder, which required
confiderable expence and great preparation, forges,
magazines, and arfenals, made arms more than
ever dependent on kings, and determined the ad-
vantage that infantry hath over cavalry. The
latter prefented the flank of the man and horfe to
the former. A horfeman difmounted, was either
loft or good for nothing; and a horfe without a
leader, occafioned confufion and diforder among
the ranks. The havoc which the artillery and fire-
arms made in fquadrons, was more difficult to
repair than it was in battalions. In a word, men
could be bought and difciplined at a lefs expence
than horfes; and this made it eafy for kings to
procure foldiers.
THUS the innovation of Charles VII. fatal to
his fubjects, at leaſt in futurity, became from his
example prejudicial to the liberty of all the people
of Europe. Every nation was obliged to. keep
itſelf upon the defence againſt a nation always in
arms. The right ſyſtem of politics, if there were
any politics at a time when arts, literature, and
commerce, had not yet opened a communication
among people, ſhould have been, for the princes
to have jointly attacked that particular power that
had put itſelf into a ſtate of continual war. But
inſtead of compelling it to fubmit to peace, they
took up arms themſelves. This contagion ſpread
itſelf the quicker, as it appeared the fole remedy
againſt the danger of an invafion, the only gua-
rantee of the fecurity of the nations.
·
THERE was however a general want of the
knowledge neceffary to difcipline a body of in-
fantry, the importance of which began to be per-
ceived. The manner of fighting which the Swit-
1
zers
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
377
zers had employed againſt the Burgundians, had BOOK
rendered them as celebrated as formidable. With XIX.
heavy ſwords and long halberds, they had always
overcome the horfes and men of the feudal army.
As their ranks were impenetrable, and as they
marched in cloſe columns, they overthrew all that
attacked, and all that oppofed them. Every power
was then defirous of procuring fome Swifs foldiers.
But, the Switzers, fenfible of the need there was
of their affiftance, and fetting the purchaſe of it
at too high a rate, it became neceffary to refolve
not to employ them, and to form in all parts a
national infantry, in order not to depend upon
thefe auxiliary troops.
THE Germans first adopted a difcipline that re-
quired only ſtrength of body, and ſubordination.
As their country abounded in men and horſes,
they almoft rivalled the reputation of the Swifs
infantry, without lofing the advantage of their
own cavalry.
THE French, more lively, adopted, with greater
difficulty, and more flowly, a kind of military
fyftem that laid a reftraint upon all their motions,
and ſeemed rather to require perfeverance than
impetuofity. But the tafte for imitation and no-
velty prevailed among this light people, over that
vanity which is fond of it's own customs.
THE Spaniards, notwithstanding the pride they
have been reproached with, improved the military
art of the Switzers, by bringing to greater perfec-
tion the diſcipline of that warlike people. They
formed an infantry which became alternately the
terror and admiration of Europe.
IN proportion as the infantry increaſed, the
cuftom and fervice of the feudal militia ceafed in
all parts, and war became more general. The
conftitution of each nation had for ages paft fcarce
allowed the different people to wage war and
maffacre
378
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK maffacre one another beyond the barriers of their:
XIX. own ftates. War was carried on upon the fron-
tiers only between the neighbouring powers.
When France and Spain had carried their arms
to the most remote extremities of Italy, it was no
longer poffible to call together the ban and arriere
ban of the nations; becauſe it was not in fact the
people who made war against each other, but the
kings with their troops, for the honour of them-
felves or their families, without any regard to the
good of their fubjects. Not that the princes did
not endeavour to intereft the national pride of the
people in their quarrels; but this was done merely
to weaken, or totally to fubdue that ſpirit of inde-
pendence, which was ftill ftruggling among fome
ſets of men, againſt that abſolute authority which
the princes had gradually affumed.
ALL Europe was in commotion. The Germans
marched into Italy; the Italians into Germaný;
the French into both theſe countries. The Turks
befieged Naples and Nice; and the Spaniards
were at the fame time difperſed in Africa, in
Hungary, in Italy, in Germany, in France, and
in the Low Countries. All theſe people, inured
and practiſed in arms, acquired great ſkill in the
art of fighting and deſtroying each other with in-
fallible regularity and precifion.
IT was religion that caufed the Germans to
contend with the Germans; the French with the
French; but which more particularly excited
Flanders against Spain. It was on the fens of
Holland that all the rage of a bigoted and def-
potic king fell; of a fuperftitious and fanguinary
prince; of the two Philips, and of the duke of
Alva. It was in the Low Countries that a re-
public arofe from the perfecution of tyranny,
and the flames of the inquifition. When freedom
had broken her chains, and found an afylum in
the
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
379
the ocean, fhe raiſed her bulwarks upon the con- E O O K
tinent. The Dutch firft invented the art of for- XIX.
tifying places: fo much doth genius and inven-
tion belong to free minds. Their example was
generally followed. Extenſive ſtates had only oc-
cafion to fortify their frontiers. Germany and
Italy, divided among a number of princes, were
crowded with ſtrong citadels from one end to the
other. When we travel through theſe countries,
we meet every evening with gates fhut and draw-
bridges at the entrance of the towns.
WHILE Naffau, who had taken up arms to fe-
cure the independence of his country, was renew-
ing the fcience of fortification, the paffion for
glory ftimulated Guftavus Adolphus to invefti-
gate, according to the maxims of the ancients,
the principles of the military ſcience of the field,
which were almoſt entirely loft. He had the ho-
nour to diſcover, to apply, and to diffuſe them;
but if the moſt experienced judges may be cre-
dited, he did not introduce into thofe principles
the modifications which the difference of men's
minds, of conftitutions, and of arms, would have
required. The perfons trained up under him,
great captains as they were, could not venture to
be more bold or more enlightened than himfelf;
and this timid circumfpection prevented the al-
terations and improvements which might have
been made. Cohorn and Vauban alone inftructed
Europe in the art of defending, but especially in
that of attacking places. It happened, by one
of thoſe contradictions which are fometimes ob-
ferved among nations, as well as among indivi-
duals, that the French, notwithſtanding their
ardent and impetuous difpofition, appeared more
expert in fieges than any other nation; and that
they ſeemed to acquire at the foot of the walls
that patience and coolnefs, in which they are
moft
380
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK moſt commonly deficient in all other military
operations.
XIX.
THE King of Pruffia appeared, and with him a
new order of things was introduced. Without
fuffering himſelf to be swayed by the authority
of thoſe who had gone before him, this prince
created a ſyſtem of tactics almoft entirely new.
He demonftrated, that troops, however numer-
ous, might be difciplined and manoeuvred; that
the motions of the greateſt armies were not fub-
ject to calculations, more complicated, and lefs
certain than thoſe of the moft feeble corps; and
that the fame ſprings by which one battalion was
put in motion, when properly managed, and put
together by a great commander, might fet a hun-
dred thoufand men in motion. His genius fug-
geſted to him many ſcientific details, of which no
man had previouſly entertained the leaſt idea;
and by giving, in a manner, the advantage to the
legs over the arms, he introduced into his evolu-
tions, and into his marches, a celerity, which is
become neceffary, and almoft decifive, fince ar-
mies have been unfortunately fo much multiplied,
and fince they have been obliged to occupy a very.
extenfive front.
THIS prince, who, fince Alexander, hath not
had his equal in hiftory, for extent and variety
of talents; who, without having been himſelf
formed by Greeks, hath been able to form Lace-
demonians; this monarch, in a word, who hath
deſerved beyond all others that his name fhould
be recorded in his age, and who will have the
glory, fince it is one, of having carried the art
of war to a degree of perfection, from which, for-
tunately, it cannot but degenerate: Frederic
hath feen all Europe adopt his inftitutions with
enthuſiaſm. In imitation of the Roman people,
who, by inftructing themfelves at the ſchool of
their
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
381
their enemies, learnt the art of refifting, of van- BOOK
quifhing, and of enflaving them, the modern na- XIX.
tions have endeavoured to follow the example of
a neighbour, formidable by his military capacity,
and who might become dangerous by his fuccefs.
But have they accompliſhed their defign? Some
external parts of his difcipline have undoubtedly
been imitated; but let us be allowed to doubt,
whether his great principles have been perfectly
underſtood, thoroughly inveſtigated, and pro-
perly combined.
BUT even if this fublime and terrible doctrine
were become common among the powers, would
it be equally uſeful to them all? The Pruffians ne-
ver loſe fight of it one moment. They are igno-
rant of the intrigues of courts, the luxuries of
cities, and the idleness of a country life. Their
colours are their roofs; warlike fongs their amufe-
ments; the recital of their first exploits their con-
verfation; and freſh laurels their only hope. Eter-
nally under arms, eternally in exercife, they have
perpetually before them the image, and almoſt
the reality, of a prudent and obftinate war, whe-
ther they be collected together in camps, or dif-
perfed in garriſons.
MILITARY men of all countries draw the con-
traft between this deſcription, and that of your
education, of your laws, and of your manners;
and compare yourſelves to fuch men, if you can.
I will allow that the found of the trumpet may
roufe you from your lethargy; from balls, from
public amuſements; and that, from the arms of
your miſtreffes, you may rush with eagerness into
danger. But will a tranfient ardour fupply the place
of that vigilance, of that activity, of that appli-
cation, and of that forefight, which can alone de-
termine the operations of a war, or of a cam-
paign? Will a body, enervated by effeminate
habits,
382
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK habits, refift the horrors of famine, the rigour of
XIX. feafons, and the diverſity of climates? Will a
inind, ruled by the taſte for pleaſure, bend itſelf
to regular, profound, and ferious reflections? In
a heart replete with various and frivolous objects,
will not one of them be found which may be in-
compatible with courage? On the borders of the
Po, of the Rhine, and of the Danube, in the
midſt of thoſe deſtructions and ravages which al-
ways attend upon his fteps, will not the French-
man, covered with duft, his ftrength exhaufted,
and deftitute of every thing, turn his forrowful
eyes towards the fmiling borders of the Loire or
of the Seine? Will he not figh after thofe inge-
nious diverfions, thofe tender connections, thofe
charming focieties; and after thofe voluptuous
delights of every kind which he hath left there,
and which await him at his return? Imbued
with the abfurd and unfortunate prejudice, that
war, which is a profeffion for other nations, is
only a rank or condition of life to him, will he
not quit the camp as foon as he fhall think he can
do it without expofing his reputation too openly?
If example, or circumftances, do not allow him
to follow his inclinations, will he not exhauſt in a
few months the income of ten years, to change a
foraging party into a party of pleafure, or to dif
play his luxury at the head of the trenches? The
diflike of his duties, and his indifference for pub-
lic affairs, will they not expofe him to the ridi-
cule of an enemy, who may have different prin-
ciples, and a different rule of conduct?
It is not to the King of Pruffia, but to Lewis
XIV. that we must attribute that prodigious
number of troops, which prefents us with the
idea of war, even in the midft of peace. By
keeping always numerous armies on foot, that
proud monarch obliged his neighbours, or his
enemies,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
383
enemies, to exert efforts nearly fimilar. The con- BOOK
tagion ſpread itſelf even among the princes who XXI.
were too weak to raiſe diſturbances, and too poor
to keep them up. They fold the blood of their
legions to the greater powers, and the number of
foldiers was gradually raiſed in Europe to two
millions.
THE barbarous ages are ſpoken of with horror;
and yet war was then only a period of violence
and of commotions, but at prefent it is almoſt a
natural ſtate. Moft governments are either mili-
tary, or become fo; even the improvement in
our diſcipline is a proof of it. The fecurity we
enjoy in our fields, the tranquillity that prevails
in our cities, whether troops are paffing through,
or are quartered in them; the police which reigns
around the camps, and in garrifoned towns, pro-
claim indeed that arms are under fome kind of
controul, but at the fame time indicate that every
thing is fubject to their power.
FORTUNATELY, the hoftilities of our days do
not reſemble thofe of former times. At thofe
diſtant periods, the conquered provinces were
laid wafte; the towns fubdued were reduced to
afhes; the vanquished citizens were either put to
death, or reduced to fervitude. At prefent, war
is much leſs cruel. When the battle is at an end,
no more atrocious acts are committed; the pri-
foners are taken care of; the cities are no more
deſtroyed, nor the countries ravaged. The con-
tributions exacted from a fubdued people ſcarce
amount to as much as they paid for taxes before
their misfortunes; and when they are reſtored by
peace to their former mafters, no alteration ap-
pears in their fituation. When treaties infure
their fubmiffion to the conqueror, they enjoy the
fame advantages as all the other fubjects, and
fometimes even feveral very important preroga-
tives.
384
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK tives. Accordingly, the nations, even thofe which
XIX. are the leaft enlightened, fhew very little concern
for theſe diffenfions between princes; they confi
der thofe quarrels as difputes between one govern-
ment and another; and they would behold thefe
events with total indifference, were they not oblig-
ed to pay the mercenaries employed to fupport the
ambition, the turbulence, or the caprices of a ty-
rannical maſter.
THESE mercenaries are very ill paid. They coft
the nation four or five times lefs than the meaneft
mechanic. They receive no more than what is
abfolutely neceffary to keep them from ftarving.
Notwithstanding this, the troops, the generals,
the fortified places, the artillery, and the inftru-
ments of war, have been multiplied to fuch a de-
gree, that the maintenance of them hath driven
the people to deſpair. In order to provide for
thefe expences, it hath been neceffary to over-
burden all the claffes of fociety, which preffing
one upon another, muft crush the loweft and the
moſt uſeful of them, that of the husbandman.
The increaſe of taxes, and the difficulty of col-
lecting them, deftroy, through want or diftrefs,
thofe very families which are the parents and nur-
ſeries of the armies.
IF an univerfal oppreffion be the firft inconve-
nience arifing from the increaſe of foldiers, their
idleneſs is a fecond. Let them be inceffantly em-
ployed, but not to excefs, as foon as the din of
war fhall no longer be heard, and their morals
will be lefs diffolute, lefs contagious; the ftrength
neceffary to bear the fatigues of their profeffion
will always be preferved, and their health will
feldom be affected; they will no more be confum-
ed by hunger, tedium, or affliction; deſertions
and quarrels will no more be common among
them, and they may ſtill be uſeful to fociety af-
T
ter
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,
385
XIX.
ter the time of their ſervice ſhall be expired. For BOOK
a moderate increaſe of their pay, they will cheer-
fully make the roads over which they are to march;
they will level the mountains they are to climb up;
they will fortify the towns they are to defend;
they will dig the canals from whence they are to
derive their fubfiftence; they will improve the
ports in which they are to embark; they will de-
liver the people from the moſt cruel and the
moſt ignominious of all vexations, the labours of
vaffalage. After having expiated, by ufeful la-
bours, the misfortune of being devoted, by their
condition, to defolate the earth, and to maffacre
the inhabitants, they will perhaps ceafe to be de-
tefted; they will perhaps one day attain the ho-
nour of being confidered in the light of citizens.
THE Romans were acquainted with thefe truths,
and had made them the bafis of their conduct.
How is it come to paſs that we, who were for-
merly the flaves, and who are become at prefent
the difeiples of theſe maſters of the world, have
deviated fo much from this important object of
their principles? It is becaufe Europe hath be-
lieved, and doth ſtill believe, that men who are
deſtined to handle arms, and to gather laurels,
would be degraded by ufing inftruments which
are only in the hands of the loweft clafs of the
people. How long will this abfurd prejudice,
formed in barbarous times, fubfift? How long
ſhall we ſtill remain in the twelfth century?
A THIRD inconvenience arifing from the in-
creaſe of foldiers, is a decreaſe of courage. Few
men are born fit for war. If we except Lacede-
mon and Rome, where women who were citi-
zens, and free, brought forth foldiers; where
children were lulled to fleep by, and awakened
with the found of trumpets and fongs of war;
where education rendered men unnatural, and
VOL. VI.
Cc
made
386
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK made them beings of a different fpecies all
XIX. other nations have only had a few brave men
among them. And, indeed, the lefs troops are
raifed, the better will they be. In the earlier
ages of our anceſtors, who were lefs civilized,
but ftronger than we are, armies were much lefs
numerous than our's, but engagements were
more decifive. It was neceflary to be a noble
or a rich man to ferve in the army, which was
looked upon both as an honour and a privilege.
None but volunteers entered into the fervice.
All their engagements ended with the campaign ;
and any man who diſliked the art of war was at
liberty to withdraw. Befides, there was then
more of that ardour, and of that pride of fenti-
ment, which conftitutes true courage. At pre-
fent, what glory is there in ferving under abfo-
lute commanders, who judge of men by their
fize, eſtimate them by their pay, enlift them by
force or by ftratagem, and keep or diſcharge
them without their confent, as they have taken
them? What honour is there in afpiring to the
command of armies under the baneful influence
of courts, where every thing is given or taken
away without reafon; where men without merit
are raiſed, and others, though innocent, are de-
graded by mere caprice; where the department
of war is intrufted to a favourite, who hath not
diſtinguiſhed himself upon any occafion, and to
whom the art of war is unknown both in theory
and practice; where a favourite miftrefs marks
with patches, upon a map fpread out upon her
toilet, the route which the army is to take; or
where it is neceffary to fend to folicit permiffion at
court, before a battle can be given; a fatal delay,
during which time the enemy may have changed
his pofition, and the moment of victory be loft;
where a general, without the confent of the
prince,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
387
✔
XIX.
prince, hath fometimes been commanded, under BOOK
pain of difgrace, to fuffer himſelf to be beaten;
where jealouſy, hatred, and a variety of other
motives equally deteftable, fruftrate the hopes of
a fortunate campaign; where, either through
negligence or inability, camps are fuffered to
want provifions, forage, or ammunition; where
the perſon who is to obey, to march, or to ſtop,
to execute the motions concerted, betrays his
commander, and fet's difcipline at defiance, with-
out endangering his life? Accordingly, except in
rifing empires, or in the inftant of a crifis, the
greater number there are of foldiers in the ftate,
the more is the nation weakened and in propor-
tion as a ſtate is enfeebled, the number of it's
foldiers is increaſed.
A FOURTH inconvenience is, that the increaſe
of foldiers tends to defpotifm. A number of
troops, towns well fortified, magazines and arfe-
nals, may prevent invafions; but while they pre-
ferve a people from the irruptions of a conqueror,
they do not ſecure them from the incroachments of
a defpotic prince. Such a number of foldiers
ferve only to keep thofe, who are already flaves,
in chains. The tyrant then prevails, and makes
every thing conform to his will, as every thing is
fubfervient to his power. By the force of arms
alone, he fets the opinions of men at defiance,
and controuls their will. By the affiftance of fol-
diers he levies taxes; and by theſe he raifes fol-
diers. He imagines that his authority is fhewn
and exerciſed, by deſtroying what he hath form-
ed; but his exertions are vain and fruitless. He
is perpetually renewing his forces, without being
ever able to recover the national ftrength. In
vain do his foldiers keep his people in continual
war; if his fubjects tremble at his troops, his
troops in return will fly from the enemy. But in
Cc z
thefe
388
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
เ
BOOK thefe circumftances, the lofs of a battle is that of
XIX. a kingdom. The minds of all men being alien-
ated, they voluntarily fubmit to a foreign yoke;
becauſe, under the dominion of a conqueror,
hope is ftill left; while, under that of a defpot,
nothing remains but fear. When the progrefs of
the military government hath introduced defpo-
tifm, then the nation exifts no more. The fol-
diery foon becomes infolent and deteſted. Bar-
rennefs, occafioned by wretchednefs and debauch-
ery, is the cauſe of the extinction of families. A
ſpirit of difcord and hatred prevails among all or-
ders of men, who are either corrupted or difgraced.
Societies betray, fell, and plunder each other,
and give themſelves up, one after another, to the
fcourges of the tyrant, who plunders, oppreffes,
deſtroys, and annihilates them all. Such is the
end of that art of war, which paves the way for
a military government. Let us now confider what
influence the navy has.
Navy.
THE ancients have tranfmitted to us almoſt all
thoſe arts that have been revived with the refto-
ration of letters; but we have furpaffed them in
the military management of the navy. Tyre and
Sidon, Carthage and Rome, fcarce knew any
fea but the Mediterranean; to fail through which
it was only neceffary to have rafts, gallies, and
men to row them. Sea engagements might then
be bloody; but it required no great ſkill to con-
ftruct and equip the fleets. To pafs from Europe
into Africa, it was only neceffary to be fupplied
with boats, which may be called flat bottom ones,
which tranſmitted Carthaginians or Romans, the
only people almoſt who were engaged in fea-fights.
Commerce was, fortunately, a greater object of
attention to the Athenians, and the republics of
Afia, than victories at fea.
AFTER
IN THE EAST AND WEST. INDIES.
389
AFTER theſe famous nations had abandoned B OOK
both the land and the fea to plunderers and to pi-, XIX.
rates, the navy remained, during twelve centu-
ries, equally neglected with all the other arts.
Thofe fwarms of barbarians, who over-ran and
totally deſtroyed Rome in it's declining ftate,
came from the Baltic upon rafts or canoes, to ra-
vage and plunder our fea-coafts, without going
far from the continent. Theſe were not voyages,
but defcents upon the coafts, that were continu-
ally renewed.. The Danes and Normans were not
armed for a cruife, and fcarce knew how to fight
but upon land.
AT length, chance or the Chineſe ſupplied the
Europeans with the compaſs, and this was the
caufe of the difcovery of America. The needle,
which taught failors to know how far they were
diftant from the north, or how near they ap-
proached to it, emboldened them to attempt
longer voyages, and to lofe fight of land for
whole months together. Geometry and aftro-
nomy taught them how to compute the progreſs
of the conftellations, to determine the longitude
by them, and to judge pretty nearly how far they
were advancing to the eaft and weft. Even at
that time, the height and the diſtance of veffels
from the coaft might always have been known.
Though the knowledge of the longitude be much
more inaccurate than that of the latitude, yet they
both foon occafioned fuch improvement to be
made in navigation, as to give rife to the art of
carrying on war by fea. The firft effay, however,
of this art was made between gallies that were in
poffeffion of the Mediterranean. The moit cele-
brated engagement of the modern navy was that
of Lepanto, which was fought two centuries ago,
between two hundred and five Chriftian, and two
hundred and fixty Turkish gallies. This prodi-
gious
390
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK gious armament was entirely conftructed in Italy;
XIX. a country from which almoſt every invention of
art has been derived, though not preferved in it..
But at that time, it's trade, it's population, were
double what they are at prefent. Befides, thoſe
gallies were neither fo long nor fo large as thoſe
of our times, as we may judge from fome of the
old carcafes that are ftill preferved in the arſenal
of Venice. The number of rowers amounted to
one hundred and fifty, and the troops did not ex-
ceed fourſcore men in one galley. At prefent,
Venice hath more beautiful gallies, and lefs
influence, upon that fea which the doge mar-
ries, and which other powers frequent and trade
upon.
*
GALLIES, indeed, were proper for criminals;
but ſtronger veffels were required for foldiers. The
art of constructing fhips improved with that of
navigation. Philip II., king of all Spain, and of
the East and West Indies, employed all the docks
of Spain and Portugal, of Naples and Sicily,
which he then poffeffed, in conftructing fhips of
an extraordinary fize and ftrength; and his fleet
affumed the title of the Invincible Armada. It
confifted of one hundred and thirty fhips, near one
hundred of which were the largeſt that had yet
been feen on the ocean. Twenty finall fhips fol-
lowed this fleet, and failed or fought under it's
protection. The pride of the Spaniards, in the
fixteenth century, hath dwelt very much upon,
and exaggerated the pompous defcription of this
formidable armament. But a circumftance which
diffufed terror and admiration two centuries ago,
would now ferve only to excite laughter. The
largest of thofe fhips would be no more than a
third-rate in our fquadrons. They were fo hea-
vily armed, and fo ill managed, that they could
fcarce move, or fail near the wind, nor board án-
other
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
395
3
XIX.
other veffel, nor could the fhip be properly work-B O O K
ed in tempestuous weather. The failors were as
awkward as the fhips were heavy, and the pilots.
almoſt as ignorant as the failors.
THE English, who were already acquainted
with the weakneſs and little fkill of their enemies
at fea, concluded that inexperience would occa-
fion their defeat. They carefully avoided board-
ing theſe unwieldly machines, and burned a part
of them. Some of theſe enormous galleons were
taken, others difabled. A ftorm aroſe, in which
moft of the fhips loft their anchors, and were
abandoned by their crews to the fury of the
waves, and caft away, fome upon the weftern
coafts of Scotland, others upon the coafts of Ire-
land. Scarce one half of this invincible fleet was
able to return to Spain, where the damages it had
fuffered, joined to the terror of the failors, fpread
a general confternation, from which Spain has
never recovered. The Spaniards were for ever
depreffed by the lofs of an armament that had
coft three years preparation, and upon which all
the forces and revenues of the kingdom had been
almoft exhaufted.
THE deftruction of the Spaniſh navy occafioned
the dominion of the ſea to pafs into the hands of
the Dutch. The pride of their former tyrants
could not be more fignally puniſhed than by the
profperity of a people, forced by oppreffion to
break the yoke of regal authority. When this re-
public began to emerge from it's fens, the rest of
Europe was embroiled in civil wars by the fpirit
of fanaticifm. Perfecution drove men into Hol-
land from all other ftates. The inquifition which
the houſe of Auftria wifhed to extend over all
parts of it's dominions; the perfecution which
Henry II. raifed in France; the emiffaries of
Rome, who were fupported in England by Mary;
every
292
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK every thing, in a word, concurred to people Hol-
XIX. land with an immenfe number of refugees. This
country had neither lands nor harveft for their.
fubfiftence. They were obliged to feek it by fear
throughout the whole univerfe.. Almoft all the
commerce of Europe was engroffed by Lisbon,
Cadiz, and Antwerp, under one fovereign, whoſe
power and ambition rendered him a general ob-
ject of hatred and envy. The new republicans
having efcaped his tyranny, and being excited by
refentment and neceffity, became pirates, and
formed a navy at the expence of the Spaniards
and Portuguefe, whom they held in utter aver-
fion. France and England, who, in the progreſs
of this rifing republic, only perceived the humi-
liation of the houſe of Auftria, affifted Holland
in preferving the conqueft and ſpoils the had
made, the value of which fhe was yet unac-
quainted with. Thus the Dutch fecured to them-
felves eſtabliſhments wherever they chofe to di-
rect their forces; fixed themſelves in theſe ac-
quifitions before the jealoufy of other nations
could be excited, and imperceptibly made them-
felves mafters of all commerce by their induf
try, and of all the feas by the ftrength of their
fquadrons.
THE domeftic troubles in England were for
a while favourable to this profperity, which had
been fo filently acquired in remote countries. But
at length Cromwell excited in his country an emu-
lation for commerce, fo natural to the inhabitants
of an ifland. To fhare the empire of the feas with
the Engliſh was, in fact, to give it up to them;
and the Dutch was determined to maintain it.
Inftead of forming an alliance with England, they
courageoufly refolved upon war. They carried
it on for a long time with unequal force; and
this perfeverance against misfortune, preferved to
them,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
393
them, at leaſt, an honourable rivalfhip. Supe. в O O K
riority in the conſtruction and form of the fhips XIX.
often gave the victory to their enemies; but the
vanquished never met with any decifive loffes.
IN the mean while, thefe long and dreadful
combats had exhaufted, or at leaft diminiſhed
the ſtrength of the two nations, when Lewis XIV.,
willing to avail himself of their mutual weakneſs,
afpired to the empire of the fea. When this
prince firſt affumed the reins of government, he
found only eight or nine veffels in his harbours,
and thoſe very much decayed; neither were they
ſhips of the firft or ſecond rate. Richelieu had
perceived the neceffity of raifing a pier before
Rochelle, but not of forming a navy; the idea
of which must, however, have been conceived by
Henry IV. and his friend Sully. But it was re-
ferved to the moſt brilliant age of the French na-
tion to give birth to every improvement at once.
Lewis, who conceived, at leaſt, all the ideas of
grandeur he did not himſelf fuggeft, inſpired
his fubjects with the fame paffion which pre-
vailed in him. Five ports were opened to the
military navy. Docks and arfenals equally con-
venient and magnificent were conftructed. The
art of fhip-building, ftill very imperfect every
where, was eſtabliſhed upon more certain prin-
ciples. A fet of naval regulations much fuperior
to thofe of the other nations, and which they have
fince adopted, obtained the fanction of the laws.
Seamen emerged from the midſt of the ocean
as it were, already formed. In lefs than twenty
years the harbours of the kingdom reckoned one
hundred fhips of the line.
THE French navy firft exerted it's power
againſt the people of Barbary, who were beaten.
It afterwards obtained fome advantages over the
Spaniards. It then engaged the fleets of Eng-
land
394
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK land and Holland, fometimes feparately, and
XIX. fometimes combined, and generally obtained
the honour and advantage of the victory. The
firſt memorable defeat the French navy experi-
enced, was in 1692, when with forty fhips they
attacked 90 Engliſh and Dutch fhips oppofite La
Hogue, in order to give the English a king they
rejected, and who was not himſelf very defirous
of the title. The moft numerous fleet obtained
the victory. James the Second felt an involun-
tary pleaſure at the triumph of the people who
expelled him; as if at this inftant the blind love
of his country had prevailed within him, over his
ambition for the throne. Since that day the na-
val powers of France have been upon the decline,
and it was impoffible that they ſhould not be.n
LEWIS XIV. accuſtomed to carry on his en-
terpriſes with more haughtiness than method,
more ambitious of appearing powerful than of
being really fo, had begun by completing the
higher parts of his military navy before he had
fettled it's foundation. The only folid bafis
which could have been given to it would have
been an extenfive commercial navy, carried on
with activity; and there was not even the fhadow
of fuch a thing exiſting in the kingdom. The
trade with the Eaft Indies was ſtill in it's infancy.
The Dutch had appropriated to themſelves the
fmall quantity of commodities which the Ameri-
can Iſlands then produced. The French had not
yet thought of giving to the great fisheries that
degree of extenfion of which they were fufcepti-
ble. There were no French veffels admitted in
the northern harbours, and the fouthern very fel-
dom faw any. The State had even given up it's
coafting trade to foreigners. Was it not there-
fore unavoidable that this coloffus fhould be
overturned, and the illufion diffipated upon the
1
firſt
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
395
firft remarkable check which this proud difplay в O O K
of power ſhould receive?
FROM that period England acquired a fupe-
riority, which hath raiſed her to the greateſt prof-
perity. A people, who are at preſent the moſt
confiderable power at fea, eaſily perfuade them-
felves that they have always holden that empire.
Sometimes they trace their maritime power to the
æra of Julius Cæfar, fometimes they affert that
they have ruled over the ocean, at leaſt, fince the
ninth century. Perhaps, fome day or other, the
Corficans, who are at preſent a nation of little con-
fequence, when they are become a maritime peo-
ple, will record in their annals that they have al-
ways ruled over the Mediterranean. Such is the
vanity of man, which muſt endeavour to aggran-
dize itſelf in paft as well as future ages. Truth
alone, which exiſts before all nations, and furvives
them all, informs us, that there hath been no navy
in Europe from the chriftian æra till the 16th cen-
tury. The Engliſh themſelves had no need of it,
while they remained in poffeffion of Normandy
and of the coafts of France.
WHEN Henry VIII. was defirous of equipping
a fleet, he was obliged to hire veffels from Ham-
burgh, Lubeck, and Dantzic; but especially from
Genoa and Venice, in which ftates it was only
known how to build and conduct a fleet; which
fupplied failors and admirals; and which gave to
Europe a Columbus, an Americus, a Cabot, and
a Verezani, thoſe wonderful men who by their
difcoveries have added fo much to the extent of
the globe. Elizabeth was in want of a naval
force against Spain, and permitted her fubjects
to fit out fhips to act against the enemies of the
ftate. This permiffion formed failors for the fer-
vice. The queen herſelf went to fee a fhip that
had been round the world; on board of which
XIX.
fhe
396
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK fhe embraced Drake, at the time the knighted
XIX. him. She left forty-two men of war to her fuc-
ceffors. James and Charles the firft added fome
ſhips to the naval forces they had received from
the throne; but the commanders of this navy
were chofen from the nobility, who, fatisfied with
this mark of diftinction, left the labours to the
pilots; fo that the art of navigation received not
improvements.
THERE were few noblemen in the party that
dethroned the Stuarts. Ships of the line were
at that time given to captains of inferior birth,
but of uncommon fkill in navigation. They
improved, and rendered the Engliſh navy illuf-
trious.
WHEN Charles II. reafcended the throne, the
kingdom was poffeffed of fix and fifty fhips. The
navy increaſed under his reign, to the number of
eighty-three, fifty-eight of which were fhips of
the line. Nevertheleſs, towards the latter days of
this prince, it began to decline again. But his
brother, James II., reftored it to it's former luftre,
and raiſed it even to a greater degree of fplen-
dour. Being himſelf high-admiral before he came
to the throne, he had invented the art of regu-
lating the manoeuvres of the fleet, by the fignals
of the flag. Happy, if he had better underſtood
the art of governing a free people! When the
prince of Orange, his fon-in-law, became pof-
feffed of his crown, the English navy confifted of
one hundred and fixty-three veffels of all fizes,
armed with ſeven thouſand pieces of cannon, and
equipped with forty-two thouſand men. This
force was doubled during the war that was car-
ried on for the Spanish fucceffion. It hath fince
fo confiderably increaſed, that the Engliſh think
they are able alone to balance, by their maritime
forces, the navy of the whole univerſe. England
is
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,
397
is now at fea, what Rome formerly was upon B O O K
land, when the began to decline.
THE English nation confidered it's navy as the
bulwark of it's fafety, and the fource of it's
riches. On this they found all their hopes in
times of peace as well as war. They therefore
raife a fleet more willingly, and with greater
expedition than a battalion. They fpare no ex-
pence, and exert every political art to acquire
feamen.
THE foundations of this power were laid in the
middle of the laft century by the famous act of
navigation, which fecured to the English all the
productions of their vaft empire, and which pro-
miſed them a great fhare in thofe of other re-
gions. This law feemed to advife all people to
think only of themſelves. This leffon however
hath been of no ufe hitherto, and no government
hath made it the rule of their conduct. It is
poffible that the eyes of men may foon be open-
ed, but Great Britain will however have enjoyed,
during the ſpace of more than a century, the
fruits of it's forefight; and will perhaps have ac-
quired, during that long interval, fufficient ftrength
to perpetuate her advantages. It may readily be
fuppofed that the is inclined to employ all poffible
means to prevent the explofion of that mine,
which time is gradually and flowly digging under
the foundation of her fortune, and to declare
war against the first people who fhall attempt to
blow it up. Her formidable fleets impatiently
expect the fignal of hoftilities. Their activity
and their vigilance is redoubled, fince it hath
been decided, that the prizes were to belong en-
tirely to the officers and the crews of the victo-
rious fhip, fince the ftate hath granted a gratuity
of one hundred and thirty-two livres ten fols *, to
* 51. íös. ¿d.
every
XIX.
398
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK every perfon who fhould board, take, or fink,
XIX. any of the enemies fhips. This allurement of
gain will be increaſed if it be neceffary by other
rewards. Will the nations which are fo habitu-
ally divided by their interefts and by their jealou-
fies, confent together to fupprefs this boldneſs,
and if one of them fhould undertake it feparately,
will it fucceed in this terrible conflict?
THE navy is a new fpecies of power, which
hath given the univerfe in fome meaſure to Eu-
rope. This part of the globe, though ſo limited,
hath acquired by it's fquadrons an abfolute em-
pire over the reft, which are much more exten-
five. It hath feized upon thoſe regions that were
fuitable to it, and hath placed under it's depend-
ance the inhabitants and productions of all coun-
tries. A fuperiority ſo advantageous will laſt for
ever, unleſs fome event, which it is impoffible
to foreſee, ſhould difguft our defcendants of an
element in which fhipwrecks are fo frequent.
As long as they fhall have any fleets remaining
they will
pave the way for revolutions, they will
draw along with them the deftinies of nations,
and they will be the levers of the world.
1
BUT it is not only to the extremities of the
world or in barbarous regions that fhips have
" carried terror and dictated laws. Their influence
hath been ſenſibly felt even in the midst of our-
felves, and hath diſturbed the ancient fyſtems of
things. A new kind of equilibrium hath been
formed, and the balance of power hath been
transferred from the continent to the maritime
nations. In proportion as the nature of their
forces brought them nearer to all countries bor-
dering upon the ocean and it's feveral gulphs, fo
they have had it in their power to do good or mif-
chief to the greater number of ftates; confequent-
ly they muſt have had more allies, more confide-
ration,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
399
XIX.
ration, and more influence. Thefe advantages BOOK
have been evident to the governments, which by
their fituation were at hand to fhare them; and
there is ſcarce any one which hath not exerted
greater or leſs efforts to fucceed in it.
SINCE nature hath decided that men muſt be
in perpetual agitation upon our planet, and that
they ſhould continually diſturb it with their in-
quietude; it is a fortunate circumftance for, mo-
dern times, that the forces of the fea fhould make
a diverfion from thofe of the land. A power which
hath coaſts to protect will not eafily incroach upon
the territories of it's neighbours. It would re-
quire immenfe preparations, innumerable troops,
arfenals of all kinds, and a double ſupply of
means and of refources to execute it's project
of conqueft. Since Europe hath employed it's
forces on the fea, it enjoys greater fecurity than
before. It's wars are perhaps as frequent and as
bloody, but it is lefs ravaged and lefs weakened
by them. The operations are carried on with
greater harmony and with more regular plans,
and there are lefs of thofe great effects which de-
range all ſyſtems. There are greater efforts and
lefs fhocks. All the paffions are turned towards
one certain general good, one grand political aim,
towards a happy employment of all the natural
and moral powers, which is commerce.
THE importance to which the navy has arifen,
will lead, in procefs of time, every thing which
has a greater or lefs diftant affinity to it, to the
degree of perfection it is fufceptible of: till the
middle of the last century an uncertain routine
was followed in the construction of fhips. One
knows not what the fea requires, was ſtill a com-
mon proverb. At this period geometry carried
it's attention to this art, which was becoming
every day more interefting, and applied to it
fome
400
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK fome of it's principles. Since that, it's attention
XIX. has been more ſeriouſly engaged, and always with
fuccefs. Matters, however, are ftill far from
being brought to demonſtration, for there is ftill
great variety in the dimenfions adopted in the
different docks.
Is proportion as the navy became a fcience, it
became a neceffary object of ftudy to thoſe who
engaged in this profeffion. They were made to
underſtand, though very flowly, that thofe com-
manders who had general ideas, founded upon
mathematical rules, would have a great fuperio-
rity over officers, who having nothing but habit
to lead them, could only judge of the things they
had to do from their analogy to thofe which they
had already feen. Schools were opened on all
fides, where young men were inftructed in naval
tactics, and in other knowledge of equal import-
ance.
THIS was fomething, but it was not all. In a
profeffion where the difpofition of the fea and of the
currents, the motion of the fhips, the ftrength and
variety of the winds, the frequent accidents from
fire, the ordinary breaking of the fails and ropes,
and many other circumftances, infinitely multi-
ply the plans, where, in the midſt of the noiſe of
cannon, and of the greatest dangers, one muſt
inſtantly take a refolution, which fhall determine
at once either victory or defeat; where the evo-
lutions muſt be ſo rapid, that they ſeem rather to
be the effect of fentiment than the refult of re-
flection in fuch a profeffion, the moſt learned
theory cannot be fufficient. Deprived of that
certain and fpeedy effect of fight, which prac
tice, and that the moft conftant, can only give,
it would lofe in reflection the time for action
Experience must therefore complete the feamans
whofe education hath been begun by the study of
the
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
401
the exact ſciences. In procefs of time, this union B O O K
of theory with practice, must prevail in every place XIX.
where there are navigators, but no where more
ſpeedily than in an island, becauſe arts are fooner
brought to perfection, wherever they are of in-
difpenfible neceffity.
FOR the fame reaſon, in an ifland there will be
better failors, and more of them; but, will they
be treated with that juftice and humanity which
is due to them? Let us fuppofe that one of them,
who hath fortunately efcaped from the devouring
heats of the line, from the horror of ſtorms, and
from the intemperature of climates, returns from
a voyage of feveral years, and from the extremi-
ties of the globe. His wife expects him with im-
patience; his children are anxious to fee a father
whoſe name hath been repeated to them a multi-
tude of times; he himſelf fooths his anxiety, by
the pleafing hope that he ſhall foon fee again
what is moſt dear to him in the world; and anti-
cipates by his wishes, the delightful moment when
his heart will be comforted in the tender embraces
of his family. All at once, at the approach of
the fhore, within fight of his country, he is for-
cibly taken out of the fhip, in which, he had brav
ed the fury of the waves in order to enrich his
fellow-citizens, and is put, by a fet of infamous
fatellites, on board of a fleet, where thirty or
forty thoufand of his brave companions are to
fhare his misfortunes, till the end of hoftilities.
In vain do their tears flow, in vain do they appeal
to the laws; their deftiny is irrevocably fixed.
This is a feeble image of the atrociouſneſs of the
English mode of preffing.
#
IN our abfolute governments another mode is
adopted; perhaps, in fact, as cruel, though ap-
parently more moderate. The failor is there
enlifted, and for life. He is employed or dif-
banded
VOL. VI.
D d
402
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK banded at pleafure; his pay is regulated by ca-
XIX. price, which alfo fixes the period when he fhalt
receive it. Both in time of peace, as in time of
war, he hath never any will of his own, but is
always under the rod of a fubaltern, defpot, moſt
commonly unjust, cruel, and interefted. The
greatest difference I can obferve between thefe
two modes is, that the former is only a tempo-
rary fervitude, the latter is a flavery which hath
no end.
NEVERTHELESS, we fhall find fome apologifts,
and perhaps fome admirers of thefe inhuman cuf
toms. It will be faid, that in a ftate of fociety,
the wills of individuals muſt always be fubject to
the general will; and that their convenience muſt
always be facrificed to the public good. Such
hath been the practice of all nations, and of all
ages. It is upon this bafis alone that all inftitu
tions, ill or well planned, have been founded.
They will never deviate from this central point,
without haftening the inevitable period of their
ruin.
UNDOUBTEDLY the republic must be ferved,
and that by the citizens: but, is it not just that
every one ſhould contribute to this fervice, ac-
cording to his means? In order to preferve to
the poffeffor of millions, often unjust, the intire
enjoyment of his fortune, and of his delights,
muft the unfortunate failor be obliged to facrifice
two-thirds of his falary, the wants of his family,
and the most valuable of his property, his liberty?
Would not the country be ferved with more
zeal, with more vigour, and underſtanding, by
men, who ſhould voluntarily devote to it all the
natural and moral powers they have acquired, or
exerciſed, upon all the feas; than by flaves, who
are neceffarily and inceffantly employed in at
tending to the breaking of their chains? Impro-
perly
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
403
perly will the adminiſtrators of empires allege, in B OOK
juftification of their atrocious conduct, that thefe XIX.
navigators would refufe to employ their hands,
and exert their courage in engagements, if they
were not dragged to them againſt their inclina-
tions. Every circumftance confirms that their
moft favourite object would be to follow their
profeffions; and it is demonftrated, that even if
they had any diflike to it, ftill their neceffities,
which are ever renewed, would compel them to
attend to it.
BUT wherefore fhould we not declare, that go-
vernments are as well convinced as thoſe who
cenfure them, of the injuftice they commit to-
wards their failors; but they chooſe rather to ere&
tyranny into a principle, than to own that it is
impoffible for them to be juft. In the prefent
ftate of things, all of them, and more eſpecially
fome, have raiſed their naval forces beyond what
their circumftances would allow. Their pride
hath not yet fuffered them to defcend from that
exaggerated grandeur with which they had in-
toxicated both themfelves and their neighbours.
The time will come, however, and it cannot be
very diftant, when it will be neceffary to pro
portion armaments to the reſources of an ex-
hauſted treaſury. This will be
This will be a fortunate
epocha for Europe, if it fhould follow fo bright
an example. That part of the world which pof
feffes at prefent three hundred and ninety-two
fhips of the line, and four times that number
of fhips of war of an inferior order, will derive
great advantages from this revolution. The
ocean will then be ploughed with fewer fleets,
and thoſe will confift of a lefs number of fhips.
The mercantile navy will be enriched from the
military navy; and commerce will acquire a
greater
Dd 2
404
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK greater degree of extention throughout the whole
XIX. univerfe.
Com-
merce.
COMMERCE produces nothing of itfelf; for it
is not of a plaftic nature. It's bufinefs confifts in
exchanges. By it's operations, a town, a pro-
vince, a nation, a part of the globe are difen-
cumbered of what is ufelefs to them; and receive
what they are in want of. It is perpetually en-
gaged in fupplying the refpective wants of men.
It's knowledge, it's funds, and it's labours, are all
devoted to this honourable and neceffary office.
It's influence could not exift without the arts, and
without cultivation: but thefe would be very in-
fignificant without it's influence. By pervading
the earth, by croffing the feas, by raifing the
obftacles which oppoſed themſelves to the inter-
courſe of nations, by extending the fphere of
wants, and the thirft of enjoyments, it multiplies
labour, it encourages induſtry; and becomes, in
fome meaſure, the moving principle of the
world.
THE Phenicians were the firft merchants of
whom hiftory hath preferved the remembrance.
Situated on the borders of the fea, on the con-
fines of Afia and Africa, to receive and difpenfe
all the riches of the ancient world, they founded
their colonies, and built their cities, with no
other view but that of commerce. At Tyre,
they were the mafters of the Mediterranean; at
Carthage, they laid the foundations of a republic
that traded, by the ocean, upon the richeſt of the
European coafts.
THE Greeks, fucceeded the Phenicians, as the
Romans did the Carthaginians and the Greeks;
they held the dominion of the fea as well as of
the land; but they carried on no other kind of
commerce, except that of conveying into Italy,
for their own ufe, all. the riches of Africa, Afia,
and
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
405
XIX.
and the conquered world. When Rome had in-B O O K
vaded the whole world, and had loſt all her ac-
quifitions, commerce returned, as it were, to it's
original fource towards the Eaft. There it was
eftablished, while the Barbarians over-ran Eu-
rope. The empire was divided; the din of arms,
and the art of war remained in the Weft; Italy,
however, preferved it's communication with the
Levant, where all the treaſures of India were
circulated.
THE Crufades exhaufted in Afia all the rage of
zeal and ambition, of war and fanaticifm, with
which the Europeans were poffeffed; but they
were the caufe of introducing into Europe a taſte
for Afiatic luxury; and redeemed, by giving rife
to fome degree of traffic and induftry, the blood
and the lives they had coft. Three centuries,
taken up in wars and voyages to the Eaft, gave to
the reftlefs fpirit of Europe a recruit it flood in
need of, that it might not perifh by a kind of
internal confumption: they prepared the way for
that exertion of genius and activity, which fince
arofe, and difplayed itſelf in the conqueft and
trade of the Eaft-Indies, and of America.
THE Portugueſe attempted, by degrees, and
with circumfpection, to double the African coaft.
It was not till after fourfcore years of labours
and of war; and after having made themfelves
mafters of all the western coaft of that vaft region,
that they ventured to double the Cape of Good
Hope. The honour of clearing this formidable
barrier was referved to Vafco de Gama, in 1497,
who at length reached the coaft of Malabar,
where all the treafures of the most fertile coun-
tries of Afia were to be circulated. This was the
fcene on which the Portuguefe difplayed all their
conquefts.
WHILE
406
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
WHILE this nation made itfelf mafter of the
XIX. articles of trade, the Spaniards feized upon that
which purchaſes them, the mines of gold and
filver. Thefe metals became not only a ſtandard
to regulate the value, but alſo the object of com-
merce. In this double uſe they foon engroffed all
the reſt. All nations were in want of them to
facilitate the exchange of their commodities, and
obtain the conveniences they ftood in need of.
The luxury and the circulation of money in the
fouth of Europe, changed the nature as well as
the direction of commerce, at the fame time that
it extended it's bounds.
In the mean while, the two nations that had
fubdued the East and West Indies, neglected arts
and agriculture. They imagined every thing was
to be obtained by gold, without confidering that it
is labour alone that procures it: they were con-
vinced, though late, and at their own expence,
that the induſtry which they loft, was more valu-
able than the riches they acquired; and the Dutch
taught them this fevere leffon.
ام
THE Spaniards, and the Portuguefe, though
poffeffed of all the gold in the world, remained
or became poor; the Dutch prefently acquired
riches, without either lands or mines. As foon
as thefe intrepid republicans had taken refuge in
the midſt of the feas, with Liberty their tutelary
divinity, they perceived that their moraffes would
never be any thing more than the feat of their
habitation, and that they should be obliged to
feek refources and fubfiftence elfewhere. They
caſt their eyes over the globe, and faid to them-
felves: "The whole world is our domain; we
"will enjoy it by navigation and commerce.
The revolutions which fhall happen upon this
"immenfe, and perpetually agitated fcene, will
never be concealed from our knowledge.
"Indo-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
407
XIX.
Indolence and activity, flavery and independ- BOOK
ence, barbariſm and civilization, opulence and
poverty, culture and induſtry, purchaſes and
fales, the vices and the yirtues of men; we
will turn them all to our advantage. We will
"encourage the labours of the nations, or we
"will impede their profperity; we will urge them
"on to war, or we will endeavour to reſtore.
tranquillity among them, as it may be moft
fuitable to our own interefts."
TILL that period, Flanders had been the cen-
ter of communication between the North and
the South of Europe. The United Provinces of
Holland, which had detached themſelves from
it, in order to belong only to themſelves, took
it's place, and became, in their turn, the ſtaple
of all the powers which had more or lefs ex-
changes to make.
THE ambition of the new republic was limited
to this first advantage. After having drawn in-
to it's ports the productions of other countries,
it's navigators went themſelves in queft of them.
Holland foon became an immenfe magazine,
where all the productions of the feveral climates
were collected; and this union of fo many im-
portant objects increaſed continually, in propor-
tion as the wants of the people were multiplied,
with the means of fatisfying them. One mer-
chandiſe attracted another. The commodities of
the Old World invited thofe of the New. One
purchafer brought another; and the treafures al-
ready acquired, became a certain method of ac-
quiring more.
EVERY circumftance was favourable to the rife
and progreſs of the commerce of this republic.
It's pofition on the borders of the fea, at the
mouths of feveral great rivers; it's proximity to
the moſt fertile or beft cultivated lands of Eu-
rope;
408
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
XIX.
BOOK rope; it's natural connections with England and
Germany, which defended it againſt France;
the little extent and fertility of it's own foil,
which obliged the inhabitants to become fifher
men, failors, brokers, bankers, carriers, and
commiffaries; in a word, to endeavour to live by
induſtry for want of territory. Moral caufes con-
tributed, with thofe of the climate and the foil, to
eſtabliſh and advance it's profperity. The liberty
of it's government, which opened an afylum to
all ſtrangers diffatisfied with their own; the free-
dom of it's religion, which permitted a public and
quiet profeffion of all other modes of worſhips
that is to fay, the agreement of the voice of na-
ture with that of confcience, of interefts with
duty; in a word, that toleration, that univerfal
religion of all equitable and enlightened minds,
friends to heaven and earth; to God, as to their
father; to men, as to their brethren. Finally,
this commercial republic found out the fecret of
availing itſelf of all events, and of making even
the calamities and vices of other nations concur
in advancing it's felicity. It turned to it's own
advantage the civil wars which fanaticifm had
raiſed among people of a reſtleſs fpirit, or which
patriotifm had excited among a free people; it
profited by the indolence and ignorance which
bigotry ſupported among two nations who were
under the influence of the imagination.
THIS fpirit of induftry in Holland, with which
was intermixed a confiderable ſhare of that politi-
cal art which fows the feeds of jealouſy and dif-
cord among the nations, at length excited the at-
tention of other powers. The English were ther
first to perceive that traffic might be carried on
without the interpofition of the Dutch. England,
where the incroachments of defpotifm had given
birth to liberty, becauſe they were antecedent to
I
corrup-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
409
XIX.
corruption and effeminacy, was defirous of obtain- BOOK
ing riches by labour, which is their antidote.
The English first confidered commerce as the
proper fcience and ſupport of an enlightened,
powerful, and even a virtuous people. They
confidered it rather as an improvement of induſtry
than an acquifition of enjoyments: rather as an
encouragement and a fource of activity in favour
of population, than as a promoter of luxury and
magnificence, for the purpoſe of parade. In-
vited to trade by their fituation, this became the
fpirit of their government, and the means of their
ambition. All their ſchemes tended to this great
object. In other monarchies, trade is carried on
by the people; in this happy conſtitution by the
ſtate, or the whole nation: fhe carries it on indeed
with a conftant defire of dominion, which implies
that of enslaving other people, but by means, at
leaft, which conftitute the happineſs of the world
before it is fubdued. By war, the conqueror is
little happier than the conquered; becauſe inju-
ries and maffacres are their mutual object: but
by commerce, the conquering people neceffarily
introduce induſtry into the country, which they
would not have fubdued if it had been already
induſtrious, or in which they would not maintain
themſelves, if they had not brought induſtry in along
with them. Upon thefe principles England had
founded her commerce and her empire, and mu-
tually and alternately extended one by the other.
""
THE French, fituated under as favourable a fky,
and upon as happy a ſoil, have, for a long time,
flattered themſelves with the idea that they had
much to give to other nations, without being un-
der a neceffity of aſking ſcarce any return. But
Colbert was fenfible that in the ferment Europe:
was in at that time, there would be an evident
advantage for the culture and productions of a
country
410
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK country that ſhould employ thofe of the whole
XIX. world. He opened manufactures for all the arts.
{
The woollens, filks, dyes, embroideries, the gold
and filver ftuffs; all acquired, in the eſtabliſh-
ments the operations of which he directed, a de-
gree of perfection, which the other manufactures
could not attain. To increaſe the utility of theſe
arts, it was neceffary to poffefs the materials for
them. The culture of them was encouraged ac-
cording to the diverfity of climates and territory.
Some of them were required even of the pro-
vinces of the kingdom; and the reft from the
colonies which chance had given it in the New
World, as well as from all the navigators who
had for a century paft infefted the feas with their
robberies. The nation muſt then neceffarily have
made a double profit upon the materials and the
workmanſhip of the manufactures. The French
parfued, for a long time, this precarious and
temporary object of commerce, with an activity
and fpirit of emulation which muſt have made
them greatly furpaſs their rivals; and they ftill
enjoy that fuperiority over other nations, in all
thofe arts of luxury and ornament which procure
riches to induſtry.
વડ
1
THE natural volatility of the national character,
and it's propenfity to trifling purſuits, hath
brought treaſures to the ſtate, by the taste that
has fortunately prevailed for it's fafhions. Like
to that light and delicate fex, which teaches and
infpires us with a tafte for drefs, the French reign
in all courts, and in all regions, reſpecting every
thing that concerns ornament or magnificence,
and their art of pleafing is one of the myſterious
fources of their fortune and power. Other na-
tions have fubdued the world by thoſe fimple and
ruftic manners, which conftitute the virtues that
are fit for war; to them it was given to reign over
it
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES..
411
1.
it by their vices. Their empire will continue, BOOK
till being degraded and enflaved by their mafters, XIX.
by exertions of authority equally arbitrary and
unlimited, they will become contemptible in
their own eyes. Then they will lofe, with their
confidence in themſelves, that induſtry, which is
one of the fources of their opulence and of the
springs of their activity.
GERMANY, which hath only a few ports, and
thoſe bad ones, hath been obliged to behold, with
an indifferent or a jealous eye, it's ambitious
neighbours enriching themſelves with the fpoils of
the fea, and of the Eaft and the Weft Indies.
It's induſtry hath been reſtrained even upon. it's
frontiers, which were perpetually ravaged by de-
tructive wars, and as far as into the interior part
of it's provinces, by the nature of it's conſtitution,
which is fingularly complicated. A great deal of
time, extenſive knowledge, and confiderable ef-
forts, would be requifite, to eſtabliſh a commerce
of any importance in a region where every thing
feemed unfavourable to it. This period, however,
is now at hand. Flax and hemp are already induf-
triouſly cultivated, and appear under agreeable
forms. Wool and cotton are wrought with fkill;
and other manufactures are begun or improved.
If, as the laborious and fteady character of the in-
habitants induces us to hope, the empire fhould
ever attain to the advantage of paying, with it's
own productions and manufactures, for thofe
which it is obliged to provide itſelf with from
other nations; and to preferve within itfelf the me-
tals which are extracted from it's mines, it will
foon become one of the moſt opulent countries of
Europe.
IT would be abfurd to announce fo brilliant a
deſtiny to the northern nations, although com-
merce hath alſo begun to meliorate their con-
dition.
412
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK dition. The iron of their rude climate, which
XIX. formerly ferved only for their mutual deſtruction,
-
hath been turned to uſes beneficial to mankind,
and part of that which they uſed to deliver in it's
rough ſtate, is never fold at prefent till after it
hath been wrought. They have found a mart
for their naval ftores at a higher price than they
were formerly fold for, before navigation had
acquired that prodigious extenfion which afto-
niſhes us. If fome of thoſe people indolently wait
for purchaſers in their harbours, others carry out
their productions themſelves into foreign ports,
and this activity extends their ideas, their tranf-
actions, and their advantages.
THIS new principle of the moral world, hath
infinuated itſelf by degrees, till it is become, as
it were, neceffary to the formation and exiſtence
of political bodies. The tafte for luxury and
conveniences hath produced the love of labour,
which at prefent conftitutes the chief ftrength of
a ftate. The fedentary occupations of the me-
chanic arts indeed, render men more liable to be
affected by the injuries of the ſeaſons, lefs fit to
be expofed to the open air which is the firft nu-
tritive principle of life. But ftill, it is better that
the human race fhould be enervated under the
roofs of the workshops, than inured to hardſhips.
under tents; becaufe war deftroys, while com-
merce, on the contrary, gives new life to every
thing. By this ufeful revolution in manners, the
general maxims of politics have altered the face
of Europe. It is no longer a people immerfed
in poverty that becomes formidable to a rich na-
tion. Power is at preſent an attendant on riches,
becauſe they are no longer the fruit of conqueſt,
but the produce of conftant labour, and of a life
ſpent in perpetual employment. Gold and filver
corrupt only thoſe indolent minds which indulge
in
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
413
in the delights of luxury, upon the ftage of in- BOOK
trigue and meannefs, that is called greatnefs. XIX.
But theſe metals employ the hands and arms of
the people; they excite a fpirit of agriculture in
the fields; of navigation in the maritime cities;
and in the center of the ftate they lead to the
manufacturing of arms, clothing, furniture, and
the conftruction of buildings. A fpirit of emu-
lation exifts between man and nature: they are
perpetually improving each other. The people
are formed and fashioned by the arts they profefs.
If there be fome occupations which foften and
degrade the human race, there are others by
which it is hardened and repaired. If it be true
that art renders them unnatural, they do not, at
leaſt, propagate in order to deftroy themfelves,
as among the barbarous nations in heroic times.
It is certainly an eafy, as well as a captivating
fubject, to defcribe the Romans with the fingle
art of war, fubduing all the other arts, all other
nations indolent or commercial, civilized or fa-
vage; breaking or defpifing the vafes of Corinth,
more happy with their Gods made of clay, than
with the golden ftatues of their worthlefs em-
perors. But it is a more pleafing, and perhaps
a nobler fight, to behold all Europe peopled with
laborious nations, who are continually failing
round the globe, in order to cultivate and render
it fit for mankind; to fee them animate, by the
enlivening breath of induſtry, all the regenerat-
ing powers of nature; feek in the abyss of the
ocean, and in the bowels of rocks, for new means
of fubfiftence, or new enjoyments; ftir and raiſe
up the earth with all the mechanic powers invent-
ed by genius; eftablifh between the two hemi-
fpheres, by the happy improvements in the art of
navigation, a communication of flying bridges,
as it were, that re-unite one continent to the
other;
414
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK other; purfue all the tracks of the fun, overcome
XIX. it's annual barriers, and pafs from the tropics to
the poles upon the wings of the wind; in a word
to fee them open all the ftreams of population
and pleaſure, in order to pour them upon the face
of the earth through a thouſand channels. It is
then, perhaps, that the divinity contemplates his.
work with fatisfaction, and does not repent him
felf of having made man.
•
1
::
SUCH is the image of commerce; let us now
admire the genius of the merchant. The fame
underſtanding that Newton had to calculate the
motion of the ftars, the merchant exerts in trac
ing the progrefs of the commercial people that
fertilize the earth. His problems are the more
difficult to refolve, as the circumftances of them
are not taken from the immutable laws of nature,
as the ſyſtems of the geometrician are; but de-
pend upon the caprices of men, and the uncer-
tainty of a thouſand complicated events. That
accurate fpirit of combination that Cromwell and
Richelieu muſt have had, the one to deſtroy, the
other to eſtabliſh defpotic government, the mer-
chant alfo poffeffes and carries it further: for he
takes in both worlds at one view, and directs his
operations upon an infinite variety of relative con-
fiderations, which it is feldom given to the ſtatef
man, or even to the philofopher, to comprehend
and eftimate. Nothing muſt eſcape him; he
muſt foreſee the influence of the feafons, upon
the plenty, the ſcarcity, and the quality of
viſions; upon the departure or return of his fhips;
the influence of political affairs upon thofe of
commerce; the changes which war or peace muſt
neceffarily occafion in the prices and demands
for merchandiſe, in the quantity and choice of
provifions, in the ſtate of the cities and ports of
the whole world; he must know the confequences
pro-
that
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
415
XIX.
that an alliance of the two northern nations may BOOK
have under the torrid zone; the progrefs, either
towards aggrandizement or decay, of the feveral
trading companies; the effect that the fall of
any European power in India, may have over
Africa and America; the ftagnation that may be
produced in certain countries, by the blocking up
of fome channels of induftry; the reciprocal
connection there is between moft branches of
trade, and the mutual affiftances they lend by
the temporary injuries they feem to inflict upon
cach other; he muſt know the proper time to be
gin, and when to stop in every new undertaking:
in a word, he must be acquainted with the art of
making all other nations tributary to his own, and
of increafing his own fortune by increafing the
profperity of his country; or rather he muſt
know how to enrich himſelf by extending the ge-
neral proſperity of mankind. Such are the ob
jects that the profeffion of the merchant engages
him to attend to: and ſtill this is not the whole
extent of them.
COMMERCE is a fcience which requires the
knowledge of men ftill more than of things. It's
difficulties arife lefs from the multiplicity of it's
tranfactions than from the avidity of thofe who
are engaged in them. It is therefore neceffary
to treat with them apparently as if we were con-
vinced of their good faith, and at the fame time
to take as many precautions as if they were defti-
tute of every principle.
1
ALMOST all men are honeft out of their own
profeffion; but there are few who in the exercife
of it conform to the rules of fcrupulous probity.
This vice, which prevails from the higheſt to the
loweft ranks, arifes from the great number of
malverſations introduced by time and excufed by
cuſtom. Perfonal intereft and general habit
conceal
416
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK conceal the crime and the meannefs of fuch pro-
XIX. ceedings. I do no more, it is faid, than what
others do, and thus we accuftom ourſelves to com-
mit actions which our confcience foon ceafes to
reproach us with.
THESE kinds of fraud do not appear fo in the
eyes of thoſe who indulge themſelves in them.
As they are common to all profeffions, do they
not reciprocally expiate each other? I take out of
the purfe of thofe who deal with me, what thoſe
whom I have dealt with have taken too much out
of mine. Will it be required, that a merchant,
a workman, or any individual whatever, fhould
fuffer the tacit and fecret oppreffions of all thoſe
to whom his daily wants oblige him to addreſs
himſelf, without ever feeking his indemnity-from
any one of them? Since every thing is compen-
fated by general injuftice, all will be as well as if
the moſt rigid juftice prevailed.
❤
BUT can there be any kind of compenfation in
thefe rapines of detail exerciſed by one clafs of ci-
tizens over all the reft, or in thofe exercifed by
the latter over the former? Are all profeffions in
equal want of each other? Several of them, which
are expofed to frauds inceffantly renewed, do
they not moſtly want opportunities of impofing
in their turn? Do not circumſtances make an
alteration from one day to another in the propor
tion there is between theſe impofitions? Thefe
obfervations will perhaps appear too trifling; let
us therefore be allowed to dwell upon one more
important reflection. Will any wife man think
it to be a matter of indifference that iniquity
fhould be practifed with impunity, and almoft
with univerfal confent, in all ſtates; that the body
of a nation ſhould be corrupt, and to a degree of
corruption that knows neither reftraint nor bounds;
and that there is a material difference between a
་
theft
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
417
theft which hath the fanction of cuftom and is BOOK
daily repeated, and any other poffible act of in- XIX.
juſtice? Mares
THE evil muft, however, be thought irreme-
diable, at leaſt with refpect to retail trades, fince
the only fyftem of morality applicable to thofe
who follow them, is compriſed in thefe maxims:
"Endeavour not to be diſhonoured in your pro-
"feffion. If you fell dearer than other people,
"keep up at leaſt the reputation of felling better
"merchandife. Gain as much as you can; and
"
eſpecially avoid the having of two prices for
ક your goods. Make your fortune as fpeedily
"as you can. If you fhould not be ill-fpoken
"of, and ſhould not forfeit your character, all is
"well." Honefter principles might be ſubſti
tuted to theſe; but it would be in vain. The tri-
fling daily profits, thofe niggardly favings which
conſtitute effential refources in fome profeffions,
lower and degrade the foul, and extinguiſh in it
all fenfe of dignity, and nothing truly laudable
can be either recommended to, or expected from,
a fpecies of men who have arrived to fuch a pitch
of degradation.
It is not the fame thing with thoſe whoſe ſpe-
culations embrace all the countries of the earth,
whoſe complicated operations connect the moſt
diſtant nations, and by whofe means the whole
univerſe becomes one fingle family. Thefe men
may have a noble idea of their profeffion, and it
is almoſt unneceffary to fay to most of them, Be
honeſt in your dealings; becauſe diſhoneſty, while
it would be prejudicial to yourſelves, would alfo
be injurious to your fellow-citizens, and afperfe
the character of your nation.
Do not abuſe your credit; that is to fay, in
cafe of any unexpected misfortune, let your own
funds be able to replace, thoſe you have obtained
VOL. VI.
E e
from
418
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK from the confidence which your correfpondents
XIX. have repofed in your knowledge, your talents, and
your probity. In the midst of the fubverfion of
your fortunes, fhew yourſelves fimilar to thofe
great trees which the thunder hath thrown down,
but which still preferve all their appearance of
majeſty.
:
You will miſtruft yourſelves fo much the more,
as you are almoſt always the only judges of your
own probity.
:
I KNOW very well that you will be always re-
fpected by the multitude as long as you are weal-
thy; but how will you appear in your own eyes?
you have no regard for your own efteem, heap
up gold upon gold and be happy, if it be poffible
for a man deftitute of morals to be fo.
If
You muſt undoubtedly have retained, as you
ought, fome religious principles. Remember,
therefore, that a time will come when your con-
ſcience will reproach you for riches difhoneftly
acquired, and which you muft reftore, unlefs,
like madmen, you fet at defiance a judge whọ
is ready to call you to a rigid account of them.
SERVE all nations; but whatever advantage
may be offered to you from fpeculation, give it
up, if it fhould be injurious to your own country.
LET your word be facred. Be ruined if it be
neceffary, rather than break it; and fhew that
honour is more precious to you than gold.
Do not embrace too many objects at once.
Whatever ftrength of mind you may have, or
however extenfive your genius may be, remember
that the common day of the labouring man con-
fifts of little more than fix hours, and that all af-
fairs which may require a longer day, would be
neceffarily intrufted to your fubaltern affiftants.
A chaos would foon be formed around you, in
diffipating of which you might find yourſelf
plunged
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
419
XIX.
plunged from the fummit of profperity, where BOOK
you imagine yourſelf to be, to the bottomless pit
of misfortune.
'I SHALL never ceaſe to recommend order to
you without it, every thing becomes uncertain.
Nothing is done, or every thing is ill and haftily
done. Neglect renders all undertakings equally
ruinous.
ALTHOUGH there be perhaps not one govern-
ment honeſt enough to induce an individual to
affift it with his credit, nevertheleſs I adviſe you
to run the chance of it: but let not this affiftance
exceed your own fortune. You may injure your-
felf for your country, but none but yourſelf. The
love of one's country must be fubordinate to the
laws of honour and of juftice.
NEVER put yourſelf under the neceffity of dif
playing your forrows and your deſpair to a court,
who will coolly allege to you the public neceffity,
and will make you the fhameful offer of a fafe-
conduct. It is in you that the foreigners and the
citizens have placed their confidence, and not in
the miniſtry of a nation. It is in your hands that
they have depofited their funds, and nothing can
fcreen you from their reproaches and from thoſe
of your conſcience, if you have one.
You will be exceedingly prudent if you form
no other enterprifes, except thofe which may
miſcarry, without affecting your family or diſturb-
ing your own repofe.
BE neither pufillanimous nor rafh. Pufillani
mity would keep you in a ftate of mediocrity,
rafhneſs might deprive you in one day of the fruit
of feveral years labour.
THERE is no compariſon to be made between
fortune and credit. Fortune without credit is of
little confequence. Credit without fortune is un-
limited. As long as credit remains, ruin is not
completed;
Ee 2
420
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK completed; but the leaft fhock to your credit
XIX. may be followed by the worst of cataſtrophes. I
have known an inftance in which, at the end of
twenty years, it had not yet been forgotten, that
an opulent company had ftopped payment for
the space of four and twenty hours.
THE credit of a merchant is recovered with ftill
greater difficulty, than the honour of a woman:
Nothing but a kind of miracle can put a stop to
an alarm which ſpreads itſelf inftantaneously from
one hemifphere of the globe to the other.
THE merchant ought not to be lefs jealous of
his credit, than the military man of his honour.
If you have any elevation of mind, you will
rather chooſe to ſerve your fellow-citizens with
lefs advantage, than foreigners at a lefs rifk, with
leſs trouble, and with more profit.
PREFER an honeft to a more lucrative fpecula-
tion.
"
IT hath been faid, that the merchant, the
banker, and the factor, being citizens of the
world by profeffion, were not citizens of any par-
ticular country. Let fuch injurious diſcourſe no
longer be holden against you.
IF, when you quit trade, you ſhould only enjoy
among your fellow-citizens that degree of confi-
deration granted to confiderable riches, you will
not have acquired every thing which you might
have obtained from commerce.
THE Contempt of riches is perhaps incompati-
ble with the ſpirit of commerce: but woe be to
thoſe in whom that fpirit ſhould exclude all fenti-
ments of honour.
I HAVE raiſed an altar in my heart to four
claffes of citizens: to the philofopher, who
fearches after truth, who enlightens the nations,
and who preaches, by his example, virtue to
inen; to the magiftrate, who knows how to
maintain
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
421
XIX.
maintain an equal balance of juftice; to the mi- BOOK
litary man, who defends his country; and to the
honeft merchant, who enriches and honours it.
The hufbandman, by whom we are fed, will ex-
cufe me for having forgotten him.
IF the merchant doth not confider himſelf
among this diftinguiſhed rank of citizens, he doth
not hold himſelf in fufficient eftimation. He for-
gets, that in his morning's work a few ftrokes of
his pen put the four quarters of the world in mo-
tion for their mutual happineſs.
SUFFER not yourſelves to indulge any baſe jea-·
loufy for the profperity of another. If you thwart
his operations without any motive, you are a bad
man; and if you happen to difcover his operati-
ons, and appropriate them to yourfelf, you will
have robbed him.
THE influence of gold is as fatal to individuals
as to nations. If you do not take care, you will
be intoxicated with it. You will be defirous of
heaping wealth upon wealth, and you will be-
come either avaricious or prodigal. If you be
avaricious, you will be rigid, and the fentiment
of commiferation and benevolence will be extin-
guiſhed within you. If you be prodigal, after
having wafted the prime of your life in acquiring
riches, you will be reduced to indigence by ex-
travagant expences; and if you fhould eſcape this
misfortune, you will not eſcape contempt.
OPEN fometimes your purſe to the unfortunate
and induftrious man.
If you wiſh to be honoured during your life, and
after your death, confecrate a part of your fortune
to fome monument of public utility. Woe to your
heirs, if they be difpleafed at this expence.
REMEMBER, that when a man dies who hath
nothing but his wealth to boaſt of, he is no lofs to
fociety.
THESE
422
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
THESE maxims, which we have allowed our-
XIX. felves to recall to the memory of man, have al-
ways been, and will always be true. If it fhould
happen that they fhould appear problematical to
fome of thoſe perfons whofe actions they are in-
tended to regulate, the public authority muſt be
blamed for it. The rapacious and fervile trea-
fury encourage in all parts private injuſtice, by
the general acts of injuftice they are feen to com-
mit. They opprefs commerce with the number-
lefs impofts they lay upon it; they degrade the
merchant, by the injurious fufpicions which they
are inceffantly throwing out againſt his probity;
they render, in fome meaſure, fraud neceffary,
by the fatal invention of monopolies.
MONOPOLY is the exclufive privilege of one
citizen, over all others, to buy or to fell. At this
definition every fenfible man will ftart, and ſay:
Among citizens, all equals, all ferving fociety,
all contributing to it's expences, in proportion to
their means, how is it poffible that one of them
fhould have a right, of which another is legally
deprived? What matter, then, is this, fo facred in
it's nature, that any man whatever cannot acquire
it, if he be in want of it; or difpofe of it, if it
fhould belong to him.
IF
If any one could pretend to this privilege, it
would undoubtedly be the fovereign. Neverthe-
lefs, he cannot do it, for he is nothing more than
the first of the citizens. The body of the nation
may gratify him with it; but then it is only an
act of deference, and not the confequence of a
prerogative, which would neceffarily be tyranni-
cal. If, therefore, the fovereign cannot arrogate
it to himſelf, much lefs can he confer it upon an-
other. We cannot give away what is not our le-
gitimate property.
BUT
AT IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
423
XIX.
Bur if, contrary to the nature of things, there BOOK
fhould exiſt a people, having fome pretenfions to
liberty, and where the chief hath nevertheleſs arro-
gated to himself, or conferred a monopoly on
another, what hath been the confequence of this
infringement of general rights? Rebellion un-
doubtedly. No; it ought to have been, although
it has not. The reafon of this is, that a fociety is
an affemblage of men, employed in different
functions, having different interefts, jealous, pu-
fillanimous, preferring the peaceable enjoyment
of what is left them, to the having recourfe to
arms in the defence of what is taken from them;
living by the fide of each other, and preffing
upon each other, without any concurrence of in-
clination it is becauſe this unanimity, fo úfeful,
if even it ſhould fubfift among them, would nei-
ther give them the courage nor the ftrength they
are in want of, and confequently neither the hope
of conquering, nor the refolution of perishing: it
is, becauſe they would fee for themſelves an im-
minent danger in a fruitless attempt, while in
fuccefs they would fee only advantages for their
defcendants, whom they have lefs regard for
than they have for themfelves. - - - - Sometimes,
however, this circumſtance hath happened.
:
Yes, but it was brought about by the enthuſiaſm
of fanaticifm.
BUT in whatever country monopoly may have
taken place, it hath produced nothing but de-
vaftation. Exclufive privileges have ruined the
Old and the New World. There is no infant
colony in the New Hemiſphere which hath not
been either weakened or deftroyed by it. In our
hemifphere, there is no flouriſhing country the
fplendour of which it hath not extinguished; no
enterpriſe, however brilliant, which it hath not
obfcured; no circumftance, more or lefs flatter-
ing,
424
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOO King, which it hath not turned to the general detri-
XIX.
ment.
BUT by what fatality hath all this happened?
It was not a fatality, but a neceffity. It hath
been done, becaufe it was neceffary it fhould be
done, and for this reafon becauſe the poffeffor
of a privilege, however powerful he may be, can
never have either the credit or the reſources of a
whole nation becauſe his monopoly not being
able to laſt for ever, he avails himfelf of it as faſt
as he can, fees nothing but the preſent moment,
and every thing which is beyond the term of
his exclufive privilege is nothing to him; he
chooſes rather to be lefs rich without waiting,
than more rich by waiting. By an inftinct na-
tural to men, whofe enjoyments are founded
upon injuſtice, tyranny, and vexation, he is per-
petually in dread of the fuppreffion of a privilege
fatal to all. This has happened, becauſe his
intereſt is all to himſelf, and the intereſt of the
nation is nothing to him: it is becaufe, for a
ſmall and momentary advantage, but for a cer-
tain one, he fcruples not to do a great and per-
manent miſchief: it is becauſe the exclufive pri
vilege, when it comes to the ſpot where it is to
be exerciſed, introduces along with it the train of
all perfecutions: it is becaufe by the folly, the
vague extent, or the extenfion of the terms of his
grant, and by the power of him who hath either.
granted or protects it, he becomes mafter of all,
interferes with every thing, he reftrains and de-
ftroys every thing; he will annihilate a branch of
induſtry uſeful to all, in order to compel an-
other branch, prejudicial to all but himſelf; he
will pretend to command the foil, as he hath
commanded the labours, and the ground muſt
ceafe producing what is proper to it, in order to
produce only what is fuitable to the monopoly,
:
Or
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
425
or to become barren; for he will prefer barren- B O O K
nefs to a fertility which inetrferes with him, and XIX,
fcarcity which he does not feel, to plenty which
might diminiſh his profits: it is becauſe, accord-
ing to the nature of the thing of which he hath
got the exclufive trade, if it be an article of
primary neceffity, he will ftarve at once a whole
country, or leave it quite bare; if it be not an
article of primary neceffity, he will foon be able,
by indirect means, to make it one, and he will
ſtill ſtarve, and leave quite bare the country,
which he will eafily deprive of the means of ac-
quiring this article: it is becauſe it is almoſt
poffible for him, who is the fole vender, to make
himſelf, by contrivances as artful and deep as
they are atrocious, the only buyer; and that
then he will put at pleaſure the articles he fells, at
a very exorbitant price; and that which the peo-
ple are obliged to fell to him, at a very low one.
Then it is, that the feller, being difgufted of a
branch of induftry, of a culture and of a labour
which doth not bring him the equivalent of his
expences, every thing goes to ruin, and the na-
tion falls into miſery.
THE term of the exclufive privileges expires,
and the poffeffor of it retires opulent; but the
opulence of a fingle man, raiſed upon the ruin of
the multitude, is a great evil, and therefore why
hath it not been obviated? Wherefore is it not
oppoſed? From the prejudice, as cruel as it is
abfurd, that it is a matter of indifference to the
ftate, whether wealth be in the purſe of one man,
or of another; whether it be confined to one man,
or diſtributed among feveral. Abfurd, becauſe in
all cafes, and eſpecially in thofe of great necef-
fity, the fovereign addreffes himſelf to the nation;
that is, to a great number of men, who poffefs
fcarce any thing, and whofe ruin is completed by
the
426
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
XIX.
1
BOOK the little that is taken from them; and to a very
fmall number of men, who poffefs a great deal,
and who give a little, or indeed who never give
in proportion to what they poffefs; and whofe
contribution, if even it were upon a level with
their wealth, would never yield the hundredth
part of what might have been obtained, without
exaction, and without murmur, from a nume
rous ſet of people in eafy circumftances. Cruel,
becauſe, with equal advantages, it would be an
act of inhumanity to compel the multitude to
want and to fuffer.
*
BUT is the exclufive privilege gratuitoufly
granted? Sometimes; and it is then a mark of
acknowledgement either for great fervices, or for a
long train of mean fervilities, or the reſult of the
intrigues of a ſeries of fubalterns, bought and
fold; one extremity of which feries comes from
the loweſt claffes of fociety, while the other is
contiguous to the throne; and that is what is
called protection. When fold, it is never for it's
full value, and that for feveral reafons. It is im-
poffible that the price paid for it can compenfate
for the ravages it occafions. It's value cannot
yet be known, neither by the chief of the nation,
who knows nothing, nor by his repreſentative,
who is often as ill informed, befide that he is
fometimes a traitor to his mafter and to his coun-
try; nor even by the purchafer himſelf, who al-
ways calculates his acquifition by the rate of it's
leaſt produce. In a word, thefe fhameful bar-
gains being moftly made in times of crifis, the
adminiſtration accepts a fum little proportioned
to the value of the thing, but advanced in the
moment of urgent neceffity, or, what is more
common, of urgent caprice.
LASTLY, let us examine what is the refult of
theſe monopolies repeated, and of the difafters
which
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
427
which attend them; the ruin of the ftate, and в O O K
the contempt of public faith, After thefe acts of XIX.
infidelity, which cannot be mentioned without
exciting a blush, the nation is plunged into defo-
lation. In the midft of feveral millions of unfor-
tunate wretches, there arifes the proud head of
fome extortioners, gorged with riches, and infult-
ing over the mifery of all. The empire enervated,
totters for fome time on the borders of the abyss
into which it falls, amongst the acclamations of
contempt and ridicule from it's neighbours; un-
lefs heaven ſhould raiſe up a faviour in it's favour,
whom it always expects, but who doth not always
arrive, or who is foon diſgufted by the general
perfecution he experiences from thofe villains of
whom he is the terror.
THE obftacles with which the ſeveral govern-
ments clog the trade which their fubjects either
carry on, or ought to carry on, among them-
felves, are ſtill much more multiplied in that trade
which is carried on between one ftate and the reſt.
This jealouſy of the powers, which is almoſt of
modern date, might be taken for a fecret confpi-
racy to ruin each other, without advantage to
any one of them.
THOSE who govern the people, exert the ſame
ſkill in guarding against the induſtry of the na-
tions, as in preferving themfelves from the arti-
fices of the intriguing men by whom they are
furrounded. Acts of violence and reciprocal en-
mity univerfally prevail in all parts. Some igno-
rant, mean, and corrupt men, have filled Eu-
rope, and the whole world, with a multitude of
unbearable reftraints, which have been more and
more extended. Centinels and obftacles are placed
in every part of the fea and of the land. The tra-
veller enjoys no repofe, the merchant no pro-
perty; both are equally expofed to all the fnares
of
428
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK of an infidious legiſlation, that gives rife to crimes
XIX. by it's prohibition, and to penalties by crimes.
Men become culpable without knowing it, or
without defign; are arrefted, plundered, and
taxed, without having any thing to reproach
themſelves with. Such is the ftate of commerce
But what fhall we fay of com-
in time of peace.
mercial wars?
But
It is natural enough for a people, pent up in
the icy regions of the north, to dig out iron from
the bowels of the earth that refuſes them fubfift
ence; and to reap the harveſt of another nation
by force of arms: hunger, which is reftrained by
no laws, cannot violate any, and feems to plead an
excufe for thefe hoftilities. Men muft neceffarily
live by plunder, when they have no corn.
when a nation enjoys the privilege of an extenfive
commerce, and can fuppy feveral other ftates
from it's fuperfluity; what motive can induce it
to declare war againſt other induſtrious nations;
to obſtruct their navigation and their labours; in
a word, to forbid them to live, on pain of death?
Why does it arrogate to itſelf an exclufive branch
of trade, a right of fiſhing and of navigation, as
if it were a matter of property, and as if the fea
were to be divided into acres as well as the land?
The motives of fuch wars are eaſily diſcovered:
we know that the jealoufy of commerce is nothing
more than a jealouſy of power. But have any
people a right to obftruct a work they cannot
execute themſelves, and to condemn another na-
tion to indolence, becauſe they themſelves chooſe
to be entirely given up to it?
How unnatural and contradictory an expreffion
is a war of commerce! Commerce is the fource
and means of fubfiftence; war of deftruction.
Commerce may, poffibly, give rife to war, and
continue it; but war puts a top to every branch
of
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES:
429
XIX.
of commerce. Whatever advantage one nation B O O K
may
derive from another in trade, becomes a mo-
tive of induſtry and emulation to both in war,
on the contrary, the injury affects both; for plun-
der, fire, and fword, can neither improve lands,
nor enrich mankind. The wars of commerce are
fo much the more fatal, as by the prefent fuperio-
rity of the maritime powers over thofe of the con-
tinent, and of Europe over the three other parts
of the world, the conflagration becomes general;
and that the diffenfions of two maritime powers
excite the fpirit of difcord among all their allies,
and occafion inactivity even among the neutral
powers.
COASTS and feas ftained with blood, and co-
vered with dead bodies; the horrors of war ex-
tending from pole to pole, between Africa, Afia,
and America, as well throughout the fea that fe-
parates us from the New World, as throughout
the vast extent of the Pacific Ocean: fuch has
been the ſpectacle exhibited in the two laft wars,
in which all the powers of Europe have been al-
ternately fhaken, or have diftinguiſhed them-
felves by fome remarkable exertion. In the mean
while, the earth was depopulated, and commerce
did not fupply the loffes it had fuftained; the
lands were exhauſted by taxes, and the channels
of navigation did not affift the progrefs of agri-
culture. The loans of the ftate previously ruined
the fortunes of the citizens by ufurious profits,
the forerunners of bankruptcy. Even thofe
powers that were victorious, oppreffed by the
conqueſts they had made, and having acquired
a greater extent of land than they could keep or
cultivate, were involved in the ruin of their ene-
mies. The neutral powers, who were defirous of
enriching themſelves in peace, in the midst of this
commotion, were expofed, and tamely fubmitted
to
430
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
1
BOOK to infults more difgraceful than the defeats of an
XIX.
open war.
THE fpirit of difcord had been transferred from
the fovereigns to the people. The citizens of the
feveral ſtates took up arms reciprocally to plun-
der each other. Nothing was feen but merchant-
men changed into privateers: thofe by whom
they were commanded were not urged by necef
fity to follow this employment; fome of them
had fortunes, and the others might have received
advantageous falaries from all fides. An inor-
dinate paffion for plunder was the only ftimulus
they had to this depravity. When they met with
a peaceful merchantman, they were feized with a
ferocious joy, which manifefted itfelf in the moſt
lively tranſports: they were cruel, and homi-
cides. An enemy more fortunate, ftronger, or
bolder, might, in their turn, deprive them of their
prey, their liberty, and their life. But the aſpect
of a danger fo common did not diminiſh either
their avarice or their rage. This fpecies of fren-
zy was not new. It had been known in the moſt
diftant ages, and had been perpetuated from one
century to another. Man, at all times, though
not urged by the unconquerable ftimulus of hun-
ger, hath fought to devour man. The calamity,
however, which we here deplore, had never ari-
fen to that pitch at which we have feen it. The
activity of piracy hath increafed in proportion as
the feas have furniſhed it with more means to fa-
tisfy it's avidity, and it's turbulent fpirit.
WILL nations, then, never be convinced of the
neceffity of putting an end to thefe acts of bar-
barifm? Would not a reftraint which fhould
check their progrefs, prove a circumftance of
evident utility? Wherefore muft the productions
of the two worlds be either fwallowed up in the
abyfs of the ocean, together with the veffels
I
which
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
431
XIX.
which convey them; or become the prey of the BOOK
vices and debauchery of a few vagabonds, defti-
tute of morals and of principles? Will this in-
fatuation continue much longer, or will the ad-
miniſtrators of empires at length open their eyes
to the light? Should they one day be made ac-
quainted with their true interefts, with the effen-
tial interefts of the focieties at the head of
which they are placed, they will not limit their
policy to the clearing of the feas from pirates,
but they will extend it ſo far, as to leave a free
intercourſe to the connections fubfifting between
their reſpective ſubjects, during thoſe murderous
and deftructive-hoftilities which frequently harafs
and ravage the globe.
THEY are fortunately paffed thofe deplorable
times, when the nations fought for their mutual
annihilation. The remedies which at prefent di-
vide Europe, have not fo fatal an aim. It is
feldom that any other object is propofed, than the
reparation of fome injuſtice, or the maintenance
of a certain equilibrium between empires. The
belligerent powers will undoubtedly endeavour
to annoy and to weaken each other, as much as
poffible but if none of them could do more
miſchief than they fuffered, would it not be ge-
nerally uſeful to put a stop to theſe calamities?
This is what conftantly happens, when war fuf-
pends the operations of commerce.
THEN one ſtate rejects the productions and the
induſtry of the adverfe ftate, which, in it's turn,
rejects her productions and her induftry. This
is, on both fides, a diminution of labour, of pro-
fit, and of enjoyments. The interference of neu-
tral powers, in thofe circumftances, is not fo fa-
yourable as we are perhaps accuſtomed to confider
it. Befide that their agency muft neceffarily be ve-
ry expensive, they endeavour to raiſe themſelves
upon
432
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
XIX.
BOOK upon the ruin of thoſe whom they feem to ſerve.
Whatever their foil and their manufactures can
furniſh, is ſubſtituted, as much as poffible, to the
productions of the foil and manufactures of the
armed powers, which frequently do not recover
at the peace, what the hoftilities had made them
lofe. It will therefore be always confiftent with
the intereſts of the nations which make war
againſt each other, to continue, without reſtraint,
the exchanges they carried on before their dif
fenfions.
ALL truths hold by each other. Let this truth,
the importance of which we have eftablished,
direct the conduct of governments, and we fhall
foon fee thoſe innumerable barriers, which even
in times of the most profound tranquillity, fepa-
rate the nations, whatever may be the affinities
which nature or chance hath created between
them, will exiſt no more.
:
THE most fanguinary difputes were formerly
no more than tranfient explofions, after which,
each people repofed upon their arms, either de-
feated or triumphant. Peace, at that time, was
peace; but, at prefent, it is nothing more than
a tacit war. Every ſtate rejects foreign produc-
tions, either by prohibitions, or by restraints
often equivalent to prohibitions. Every ftate re-
fufes it's own, upon fuch equitable terms which
might make them be fought after, or extend their
confumption. The defire of mutually annoying
each other, is extended from one pole to the
other. In vain hath nature regulated, that, un-
der her wife laws, every country fhould be opu-
lent, powerful, and happy, from the wealth, the
power, and the felicity of the reft. They have,
unanimously as it were, difturbed this plan of uni-
verfal benevolence, to the detriment of them all.
Their ambition hath led them to infulate them-
felvės;
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
439
XIX.
felves; and this folitary fituation hath made themBOOK
defirous of an exclufive profperity. Evil for evil
hath then been returned. Artifices have been
oppofed to artifices, profcriptions to profcripti-
ons, and fraud to fraud. Nations have become
enervated, in attempting to enervate the rival
powers; and it was impoffible that it fhould be
otherwife. The connections of commerce are all
very cloſe. One of it's branches cannot expe
rience any oppofition, without the others being
fenfible of it. Commerce connects people and
fortunes together, and eſtabliſhes the intercourſe
of exchanges. It is one entire whole, the feveral
parts of which, attract, fupport, and balance each
other. It reſembles the human body, all the
parts of which are affected, when one of them
doth not fulfil the functions that were deftined
to it.
J
WOULD you wish to put an end to the calami-
ties which ill-contrived plans have brought upon
the whole earth, you muſt pull down the fatal
walls with which they have encompaffed them-
felves. You muſt reſtore that happy fraternity
which conſtituted the delight of the firft ages.
Let the people, in whatever country fate may
have placed them, to whatever government they
may be fubject, whatever religion they may pro-
fefs, communicate as freely with each other, as
the inhabitants of a hamlet with thofe of a neigh-
bouring one; with thofe of the moſt contiguous
town, and with all thofe of the fame empire; that
is to fay, free from duties, formalities, or predi-
lections.
With
THEN, but not before, the earth will be filled
productions, and thofe of an exquifite qua
lity. The frenzy of impofitions and prohibiti-
ons hath reduced each ftate to cultivate commo-
dities, which it's foil and it's climate rejected, and
Vol. VI.
Ff
which
#14
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK which were never either of good quality, or plen-
XIX. tiful. The labours will be directed to another
channel. When the earth can fatisfy it's wants in
a more pleaſant way, and at a cheaper rate, it will
turn all it's activity to objects for which nature
had deſtined it; and which being fuch as they
fhould be, will find an advantageous mart in thoſe
places even where an enlightened fyftem of eco-
nomy fhall have determined the people to reject
them,
THEN, but not before, all nations will attain
to that degree of profperity, to which they are
allowed to afpire; they will enjoy both their own
riches, and the riches of other nations. The
people who had till then had fome fuccefs in
trade, have hitherto imagined that their neigh-
bours could only make their own trade flourish
at the expence of their's. This preſumption had
made them behold with an anxious and fufpicious
eye, the efforts that were made to improve their
fituation; and had excited them to interrupt, by
the manœuvres of an active and unjuft cupidity,
labours, the confequences of which they dreaded.
They will alter their conduct, when they fhall have
underſtood, that the natural and moral order of
things is fubverted by the prefent ftate of them
that the idleness of one country is hurtful to all
the reft, either becauſe it condemns them to more
labour, or becauſe it deprives them of fome
enjoyments; that foreign induftry, far from con-
fining their's, will extend it; that the more be-
nefits fhall be multiplied around them, the more
eafy it will be for them to extend their conveni-
ences, and their exchanges; that their harveſts
and their manufactures must neceffarily fall to
ruin, if the marts, and their returns, are to be
deficient; that ſtates, as well as individuals, have
a viſible intereſt, habitually, to fell at the higheſt
;
price
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
435
price poffible, and to purchaſe at the higheſt BOOK
price poffible; and that this double advantage XIX.
can be found only in the greateft poffible compe-
tition, and in the greateft affluence, between the
fellers and the purchaſers. This is the intereſt of
every government, and it is therefore the intereſt
of all of them.
LET it not be faid, that, in the fyftem of a ge
neral and illimited liberty, fome people would
acquire a too determined afcendant over the reft.
The new plans will not deprive any ſtate of it's
foil, or of it's genius. Whatever advantages each
may have had in times of prohibition, it will pre-
ferve under the guidance of better principles.
It's utility will even increaſe confiderably, be-
cauſe it's neighbours, enjoying more wealth, will
more and more extend it's confumptions.
IF there exifted a country which might be
allowed to have fome diflike to the abolition of
the prohibitive government, it undoubtedly would
be that which improvident nature hath condemn-
ed to an eternal poverty. Accustomed to reject,
by fumptuary laws, the delights of more fortu-
nate countries, they might be apprehenſive that a
communication entirely free, with them, might
fubvert their maxims, corrupt their morals, and
pave the way for their ruin. Thefe alarms would
be ill-founded. Except, perhaps, a few moments
of illufion; every nation would regulate their
wants by their abilities.
HAPPY, then, and infinitely happy, will be that
power, which fhall be the firft to difencumber
itſelf of the reſtraints, the taxes, and the prohi-
bitions, which in all parts oppreſs and ſtop the
progrefs of commerce. Attracted by the liberty,
the facility, the fafety, and the multiplicity of
exchanges; the fhips, the productions, the com-
modities, and the merchants of all countries, will
Ff2
crowd
438
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK crowd into their ports. The caufes of fo fplendid
XIX. a profperity will foon be underſtood; and the na-
Agricul-
ture.
1
tions renouncing their ancient errors, and their
deftructive prejudices, will haften to adopt prin-
ciples fo fertile in favourable events. The revo-
lution will become general. Clouds will be dif
pelled in all parts; a ferene fky will fhine over the
face of the whole globe, and nature will refume
the reins of the world. Then, or never, will that
univerfal peace arife, which a warlike, but hu-
mane monarch did not think to be a chimerical
idea. If fo defirable and fo little expected a be-
nefit fhould not iffue from this new order of
things, from this great unfolding of reaſon, at
leaſt the general felicity of men will be efta-
bliſhed upon a more ſolid baſis.
COMMERCE, which naturally arifes from agri-
culture, returns to it by it's bent, and by it's
circulation. Thus it is that the rivers return to
the fea, which has produced them, by the exha-
lations of it's waters into vapours, and by the fall
of thoſe vapours into waters. The flow of gold
brought by the circulation and conſumption of
the fruits of the earth, returns, at length, into
the fields, there to produce all the neceffaries of
life, and the materials of commerce. If the lands
be not cultivated, all commerce is precarious;
becauſe it is deprived of it's original fupplies,
which are the productions of nature. Nations
that are only maritime, or commercial, enjoy, it
is true, the fruits of commerce; but the tree of
it belongs to thofe people who cultivate it.ĀL
griculture is therefore the firſt and real opulence
of a ſtate.
THESE benefits were not enjoyed in the infancy
of the world. The firft inhabitants of the globe
relied only upon chance, and upon their dexterity,
for procuring to themſelves an uncertain fubfift-
ence.
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
437
ence. They wandered from one region to ano-BOOK
ther. Inceffantly abforbed in the ideas of want, XIX.
or fear, they reciprocally fled from, or deſtroyed,
each other. The earth was ftirred up, and the
miferies of a vagabond life were alleviated. In
proportion as agriculture was extended, mankind
were multiplied with the means of ſubſiſtence.
Nations, and even great ones, were formed.
Some of them difdained the fource of their prof
perity, and were punished for that fenfelefs pride
by invafions. Upon the ruins of vaft monar
chies, funk in lethargy, by the neglect of uſeful
labours, new ſtates arofe; which having, in their
turn, contracted the habit of trufting the care of
their fubfiftence to their flaves, were not able to
refift the nations ftimulated either by indigence
or barbariſm.
臧
​1
SUCH was the fate of Rome. Proud of the
fpoils of the univerſe, fhe held in contempt the
rural occupations of her founders, and of her
moft illuftrious citizens. Her country-places were
filled with delightful retreats. She fubfifted
only upon foreign contributions. The people,
corrupted by perpetual profufions, abandoned
the labours of tillage. All the ufeful or honour-
able places were purchaſed with abundant diftri-
butions of corn. Hunger gave the law, in the
comitia. All the orders of the republic were no
longer governed by any thing but hunger and
amufement. Then the empire fell to ruin, de.
ſtroyed rather by it's internal vices, than by the
barbarians who tore it to pieces.
THE Contempt which the Romans had for
agriculture, in the intoxication of thoſe conqueſts
which had given them the whole world without
their cultivating it, was perpetuated. It was
adopted by thofe favage hords, who, deſtroying
by the fword, a power which was eſtabliſhed by
it,
438
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK it, left to the vaffals the clearing of the lands, of
XIX. which they referved to themſelves the fruits, and
the property. Even in the age fubfequent to the
diſcovery of the Eaft and Weft Indies, this truth
was unattended to; whether in Europe the people
were too much engaged in wars of ambition or
religion to confider it; or whether the conquefts
made by Portugal and Spain beyond the feas,
having brought us treafures without labour, we
contented ourſelves with enjoying them by en-
couraging luxury and the arts, before any method
had been thought of to fecure thefe riches.
But the time came, when plunder ceafed,
having no object on which it could be exerciſed.
When the conquered lands in the New World,
after having been much contefted for, were di
vided, it became neceffary to cultivate them, and
to fupport the colonifts who fettled there. As
theſe were natives of Europe, they cultivated for
that country fuch productions as it did not fur-
nifh, and required in return fuch provifions as
custom had made natural to them. In proportion
as the colonies were peopled, and as the number
of failors and manufacturers increafed with the
increaſe of productions, the lands muſt neceffarily
furniſh a greater quantity of fubfiftence for the in-
creafe of population; and an augmentation of
indigenous commodities, for foreign articles of
exchange and confumption. The laborious em-
ployment of navigation, and the fpoiling of pro-
vifions in the tranfport, caufing a greater lofs of
materials and produce, it became neceffary to
cultivate the earth with the greateſt care and affi-
duity, in order to render it more fruitful. The
confumption of American commodities, far from
leffening that of European productions, ſerved
only to increaſe and extend it upon all the feas, in
all the ports, and in all the cities where commerce
and
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
439
and industry prevailed. Thus the people who BOOK
were the moſt commercial, neceffarily became, at J
the fame time, the greateſt promoters of agricul-
ture.
ENGLAND first conceived the idea of this new
fyftem. She eſtabliſhed and encouraged it by
honours and premiums propoſed to the planters.
A medal was tricken and prefented to the duke
of Bedford, with the following infcription: For
having planted Oak. Triptolemus and Ceres were
adored in antiquity only from fimilar motives;
and yet temples and altars are till erected to in-
dolent monks. The God of nature will not fúf-
fer that mankind fhould perifh. He hath im-
planted in all noble and generous minds, in the
hearts of all people and of enlightened monarchs,
this idea, that labour is the firft duty of man,
and that the most important of all labours is that
of cultivating the land. The reward that attends
agriculture, the fatisfying of our wants, is the
beſt encomium that can be made of it. If I had a
fubject who could produce two blades of corn instead
of one, faid a monarch, I'fhould prefer him to all the
men of political genius in the state. How much is it
to be lamented that fuch a king and fuch an opi-
nion are merely the fiction of Swift's brain? But a
nation that can produce fuch writers, muft necef-
farily confirm the truth of this fublime idea; and
accordingly we find that England doubled the
produce of it's cultivation.
EUROPE had this great example for more than
half a century under her eyes, without it's mak-
ing a fufficient impreffion upon her to induce her
to follow it. The French, who, under the ad-
miniftration of three cardinals, had fcarce been
allowed to turn their thoughts to public affairs,
ventured at length, in 1750, to write on fubjects
of importance and general utility. The under-
taking
XIX.
440
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
XIX.
BOOK taking of an univerfal dictionary of arts and fciences
brought every great object to view, and exercifed
the thoughts of every man of genius and of know-
ledge. Montefquieu wrote the fpirit of laws, and
the boundaries of genius were extended. Natu-
ral history was written by a French Pliny, who
furpaffed Greece and Rome in the knowledge and
defcription of nature. This hiftory, bold and
fublime as it's fubject, warmed the imagination:
of every reader, and powerfully excited them to
fuch inquiries as a nation cannot relinquish with
out returning into a ſtate of barbarifm. It was
then that a great number of ſubjects became fen-
fible of the real wants of their country. Govern-
ment itſelf feemed to perceive that all kinds of
riches originated from the earth. They granted
fome encouragement to agriculture, but without
having the courage to remove the obftacles which
prevented it's improvement.
4
THE French huſbandman doth not yet enjoy the
happineſs of being taxed only in proportion to his
abilities. Arbitrary impofts ftill moleft and ruin
him. Jealous or rapacious neighbours have it
always in their power to exerciſe either their cu-
pidity or their revenge against him. A barbarous
collector, a haughty lord, an arrogant and au-
thorized monopolift, a man raiſed to fortune,
and who is a greater defpot than all the reft, may
humiliate, beat, and plunder him; they may de-
prive him, in a word, of all the rights of man-
kind, of property, of fafety, and of liberty. De-
graded by this kind of abject ſtate, his clothes,
his manners, his language, become an object of
derifion for all the other claffes of fociety; and
authority often gives a fanction by it's conduct to
this excefs of extravagance.
I HAVE heard that ftupid and ferocious ſtatef
man, and the indignation which he excited in
me
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
441-
}
me almoft prompts me to name him, and to give BOOK
up his memory to the execration of all honeft XIX.
and fenfible men; I have heard him fay, that
the labours of the field were fo hard, that if the
cultivator were allowed to acquire fome eafe in
his circumſtances, he would forfake his plough.
and leave the lands untilled. His advice was
therefore to perpetuate labour by mifery, and to
condemn to eternal indigence the man, without
the fweat of whofe brow he muft have been ftarved
to death. He ordered that the oxen fhould be
fattened, while he curtailed the fubfiftence of the
husbandman. He governed a province, and yet
he did not conceive that it was the impoffibility
of acquiring a ſmall degree of eaſe, and not the
danger of fatigue, which difgufted the hufbandman.
of his condition. He did not know that the ſtate
into which men are anxious to enter, is that which
they hope to quit by the acquifition of riches;
and that however hard may be the daily labours
of agriculture, it will nevertheleſs find more vo-
taries in proportion as the reward of it's labours
fhall be more certain and more abundant. He
had not noticed, that in the towns there were a
multitude of employments, which, although they
shortened the lives of thofe who were engaged in
them, yet this did not deter others from follow-
ing them. He did not know that in fome coun-
tries of vaft extent, there were miners who vo-
luntarily devoted themſelves to deftruction in the
bowels of the earth, and that even before they
were thirty years of age, upon condition of reap-
ing from this facrifice clothes and provifions for
their wives and children. It had never fuggeft-
ed itfelf to him, that, in all profeflions, that fort
of eaſe in circumftances, which admits of calling
in affiftance, alleviates the fatigue of them; and
that inhumanly to exclude the peafant from the
clafs
442
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK claſs of proprietors, was to put a stop to the pro-
XIX. grefs of the firft of the arts, which could not be-
come flouriſhing, as long as the perſon who tilled
the earth was obliged to till it for another. This
ſtateſman had never compared with his own im-
menfe vineyards, that fmall portion of vines be-
longing to his vine-dreffer, nor known the differ-
ence there is between the foil cultivated for one's
felf, and that which is cultivated for others.
FORTUNATELY for France, all the agents of
government have not had fuch deftructive pre-
judices; and more fortunately ftill, the obftacles
which impeded the improvement of the lands and
of agriculture in that country have been often
overcome. Germany, and after that the northern
climates, have been attracted by the taſte of the
age, which fenfible men have turned towards
thefe great objects. Thefe vaft regions have at
length understood, that the moft extenfive coun-
tries were of no value, if they were not rendered
ufeful by a perfeverance in labour; that the
clearing of a foil extended it, and that territories
the leaft favoured by nature, might become fer-
tile by prudent and fkilful expenditures beftowed
upon them. A multiplicity and a variety of pro-
ductions have been the reward of fo judicious a
proceeding. Nations, who have been in want
of the neceffaries of life, have been enabled to
furniſh provifions even to the fouthern parts of
Europe.
BUT how is it poffible that men ſituated upon
fo rich a territory, fhould have wanted foreign
affiſtance to fubfift? The great excellence of the
territory hath been perhaps the true reafon of
this. In the countries which were not fo favour-
ably treated by nature, it hath been neceffary
that the cultivator fhould have confiderable funds,
that he fhould condemn himſelf to affiduous
watch-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
443
XIX.
watchings, in order to acquire from the bofom в O O K
of an ungrateful or rebellious foil, harvests mo-
derately plentiful. Under a more fortunate ſky
it was only neceffary for him, as it were, to
fcratch the earth, and this advantage hath plunged
him into mifery and indolence. The climate
hath ftill increaſed his misfortunes, which have
been completed by religious inftitutions.
THE fabbath, confidering it even only under
a political point of view, is an admirable inftitu-
tion. It was proper to give a ſtated day of reſt
to mankind, that they might have time to reco-
ver themſelves, to lift up their eyes to heaven, to
enjoy life with reflection, to meditate upon paft
events, to reaſon upon prefent tranfactions, and
in fome meaſure to form plans for the future.
But by multiplying thofe days of inactivity hath
not that which was eſtabliſhed for the advantage
of individuals and of focieties, been converted
into a calamity for them? Would not a foil, which
fhould be ploughed three hundred days in the
year by ſtrong men and vigorous animals, yield
double the produce of that which ſhould only be
worked one hundred and fifty days in the year.
What ftrange infatuation! Torrents of blood
have been fhed an infinite number of times to
prevent the dismembering of a territory or to in-
creaſe it's extent; and yet the powers intrufted
with the maintenance and happinefs of empires,
have patiently fuffered that a prieft, fometimes
even a foreign prieſt, ſhould invade fucceffively
one third of this territory by the proportional di-
minution of labour which alone could fertilize it.
This inconceivable diforder hath ceafed in feveral
ftates; but it continues in the fouth of Europe.
This is one of the greateſt obſtacles to the increaſe
of it's fubfiftence and of it's population. The
importance of agriculture begins however to be
perceived;
•
444
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK perceived; even Spain hath exerted herfelf, and
XIX. for want of inhabitants, who would employ them-
-
felves in the labours of the field, fhe hath at laſt
invited foreigners to till her uncultivated pro-
vinces.
NOTWITHSTANDING this almoft univerfal emu-
lation, it muſt be acknowledged that agriculture
hath not made the fame progrefs as the other
arts. Since the revival of letters, the genius of
men hath meaſured the earth, calculated the mo-
tion of the ſtars and weighed the air. It hath
penetrated through the darkness which concealed
from it the natural and moral fyftem of the world.
By inveſtigating nature it hath difcovered an in-
finite number of fecrets, with which all the fci-
ences have enriched themſelves. It's empire hath
extended itſelf over a multitude of objects necef
fary to the happineſs of mankind. In this fer-
ment of men's minds, experimental philofophy,
which had but very imperfectly enlightened an-
cient philofophy, hath too feldom turned it's ob-
fervations towards the important part of the ve-
getable fyftem. The different qualities of the foil,
the number of which is fo various, are ſtill un-
known, as well as the kind of foil which is the
beſt adapted to every production, the quantity
and the quality of the feeds which it is proper
to fow in them; the feafons moſt propitious for
ploughing, fowing, and reaping them, and the
fpecies of manure fit to increafe their fertility.
No better information is procured concerning
the most advantageous manner of multiplying
flocks, of breeding and of feeding them, and
of improving their fleece. No greater light hath
been thrown upon the cultivation of trees. We
have ſcarce any but imperfect notions concerning
all thefe articles of primary neceffity, fuch as have
been tranfmitted to us by a blind routine, or
by
practice
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
445
practice followed with little reflection. Europe B O O K
Europeвоок
would be ſtill lefs advanced in this knowledge, XIX.
were it not for the obfervations of a few Engliſh
writers, who have fucceeded in eradicating fome
prejudices, and in introducing feveral excellent
methods. This zeal for the firft of arts hath been
communicated to the cultivators of their nation.
Fairchild, one of them hath carried his enthuſiaſm
fo far, as to order that the dignity of his profeffion
ſhould be annually celebrated by a public dif-
courfe. His will was complied with for the firſt
time in 1760, in St. Leonard's church in London,
and this useful ceremony hath never been omitted
fince that period.
}
IT is a fact fomewhat remarkable, though it
might naturally be expected, that men fhould
have returned to the exercife of agriculture the
first of the arts, only after they had fucceffively
tried the reſt. It is the common progreffion of
the human mind, not to regain the right path,
till after it hath exhauſted itſelf in purſuing falſe
tracks. It is always advancing; and as it relin-
quifhed agriculture, to purfue commerce and the
enjoyments of luxury, it. foon traverfed over the
different arts of life, and returned at laſt to agri-
culture, which is the fource and foundation of
all the reft, and to which it devoted it's whole
attention, from the fame motives of intereft that
had made it quit it before. Thus the eager and
inquifitive man, who voluntarily banishes himfelf
from his own country in his youth, wearied with
his conftant excurfions, returns at laft to live and
die in his native land.
EVERY thing, indeed, depends upon, and arifes
from, the cultivation of land. It forms the in-
ternal ſtrength of ftates; and occafions riches to
circulate into them from without. Every power
which comes from any other fource, is artificial
and
446
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK and precarious, either confidered in a natural or
XIX moral light. Induſtry and commerce which do
not directly affect the agriculture of a country,
are in the power of foreign nations, who may
either difpute theſe advantages through competi
tion, or deprive the country of them through
envy. This may be effected either by eſtabliſhing
the fame branch of induſtry among themſelves,
or by fuppreffing the exportation of their own un-
wrought materials, or the exportation of thofe
materials when manufactured. But a country
well cultivated occafions an increaſe of popula-
tion, and riches are the natural confequence of
that increaſe. This is not the teeth which the
dragon fows to bring forth foldiers to destroy
each other; it is the milk of Juno, which peoples
the heavens with an innumerable multitude of
stars.
THE government, therefore, fhould rather be
attentive to the ſupport of the country places, than
of great cities. The firft may be confidered as
parents and nurſeries always fruitful; the others
only as daughters which are often ungrateful and
barren. The cities can fcarce fubfift but from
the fuperfluous part of the population and pro.
duce of the countries. Even the fortified places
and ports of trade, which feem to be connected
with the whole world by their fhips, which diffufe
more riches than they poffefs, do not, however,
attract all the treaſures they difpenfe, but by means
of the produce of the countries that furround them.
The tree muft, therefore, be watered at it's root.
The cities will only be flouriſhing in proportion as
the fields are fruitful.
BUT this fertility depends ftill lefs upon the
foil than upon the inhabitants. Some countries,
though fituated under a climate the most favour
able to agriculture, produce lefs than others in-
ferior
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
447
XIX.
ferior to them in every refpect, becaufe the ef- BOOK
forts of nature are impeded in a thouſand ways
by the form of their government. In all parts
where the people are attached to the country by
property, by the fecurity of their funds and re-
venues, the lands will flouriſh; in all parts where
privileges are not confined to the cities, and la-
bour to the countries, every proprietor will be
fond of the inheritance of his anceſtors, will in-
creafe and embelliſh it by affiduous cultivation,
and his children will be multiplied in proportion
to his means, and theſe be increaſed in proportion
to his children.
IT is, therefore, the intereft of government to
favour the hufbandman, in preference to all the
indolent claffes of fociety. Nobility is but an
odious diftinction, when it is not founded upon
fervices of real and evident utility to the ftate;
fuch as the defence of the nation against the in-
croachments of conqueft, and against the enter-
priſes of defpotifm. The nobles furnish only a
precarious, and oftentimes fatal affiftance: when,
after having led an effeminate and licentious life
in the cities, they can only afford a weak defence
for their country upon her fleets and in her armies,
and afterwards return to court, to folicit, as a
reward for their bafenefs, places and honours,
which are revolting and burdenfome to the na-
tion. The clergy are a fet of men ufelefs, at leaſt,
to the earth, even when they are employed in
prayer. But when, with fcandalous morals, they
preach a doctrine which is rendered doubly incre-
dible and impracticable from their ignorance and
from their example; when, after having difgraced,
difcredited and overturned religion, by a variety
of abufes, of fophifms, of injuftices and ufurpa-
tions, they wish to fupport it by perfecution; then
this privileged, indolent, and turbulent clafs of
men,
448
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK men, become the moſt dreadful enemies of the
XIX. ftate and of the nation. The only good and re-
fpectable part of them that remains, is that portion
of the clergy who are moſt deſpiſed and moſt bur-
dened with duty, and who being fituated among
the lower clafs of people in the country, labour,
edify, adviſe, comfort, and relieve a multitude of
unhappy men.
:
THE husbandmen deferve to be preferred by
government, even to the manufacturers, and the
profeffors of either the mechanical or liberal arts.
To encourage and to protect the arts of luxury,
and at the fame time neglect the cultivation of the
land, that fource of induftry to which they owe
their exiſtence and fupport, is to forget the order
of the feveral relations between nature and fociety.
To favour the arts, and to neglect agriculture, is
the fame thing as to remove the bafis of a pyra-
mid, in order to finish the top. The mechanical
arts engage a fufficient number of hands by the
allurement of the riches they procure, by the
comforts they ſupply the workmen with, by the
eaſe, pleaſures, and conveniences that arife in ci-
ties, where the feveral branches of induſtry unite.
It is the life of the huſbandman that ſtands in need.
of encouragement for the hard labours it is ex-
poſed to, and of indemnification for the loffes and
vexations it ſuſtains. The huſbandman is placed
at a diſtance from every object that can either ex-
cite his ambition, or gratify his curiofity. He
lives in a ſtate of feparation from the diftinctions
and pleaſures of fociety. He cannot give his
children a polite education, without fending them
at a diſtance from him, nor place them in fuch a
fituation as may enable them to diſtinguiſh and
advance themſelves by the fortune they may ac-
quire. He does not enjoy the facrifices he makes
for them, while they are educated at a diſtance
I
from
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
449
XIX.
from him. In a word, he undergoes all the fa- BOOK
tigues that are incident to man, without enjoying
his pleafures, unleſs fupported by the paternal
care of government. Every thing is burdenfome
and humiliating to him, even the taxes, the very
name of which fometimes makes his condition
more wretched than any other.
MEN are naturally attached to the liberal arts
by the bent of their talents, which makes this
attachment grow up into a kind of paffion; and
likewife by the confideration they reflect on thofe
who diftinguish themſelves in the purfuit of them.
It is not poffible to admire the works of genius,
without efteeming and careffing the perfons en-.
dowed with that valuable gift of nature. But
the man devoted to the labours of huſbandry, if
he cannot enjoy in quiet what he poffeffes, and
what he gathers; if he be incapable of improv-
ing the benefits of his condition, becauſe the
ſweets of it are taken from him; if the military
fervice, if vaffalage and taxes are to deprive him
of his child, his cattle, and his corn, nothing
remains for him, but to imprecate both the ſky:
and the land that torment him, and to abandon
his fields and his country.
A WISE government cannot therefore refufe to
pay it's principal attention to agriculture, with-
out endangering it's very exiſtence: the moft
ready and effectual means of affifting it, is to
favour the multiplication of every kind of pro-
duction, by the moſt free and general circulation.
C
AN unreftrained liberty in the exchange of
commodities renders a people at the fame time
commercial and attentive to agriculture; it ex-
tends the views of the farmer towards trade, and
thofe of the merchant towards cultivation. It
connects them to each other by fuch relations as
are regular and conftant. All men belong equally
VOL VI.
G S
to
450
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK to the villages and to the cities, and there is a res
*XIX. ciprocal communication maintained between the
tures.
provinces. The circulation of commodities brings
on in reality the golden age, in which ſtreams of
milk and honey are faid to have flowed through
the plains. All the lands are cultivated; the
meadows are favourable to tillage, by the cattle
they feed; the growth of corn promotes that of
vines, by furniſhing a conftant and certain fub-
fiftence to him who neither fows nor reaps, but
plants, prunes, and gathers.
LET us now confider the effects of a contrary
fyftem, and attempt to regulate agriculture, and
the circulation of it's produce, by particular laws;
and let us obferve what calamities will enfue.
Power will not only be defirous of obſerving and
being informed of every action, but will even
want to affume every important act to itſelf, in
confequence of which nothing will fucceed. Men
will be led like their cattle, or tranfported like
their corn; they will be collected and difperfed at
the will of a tyrant, to be flaughtered in war, or
periſh upon fleets, or in different colonies. That
which conſtitutes the life of a ftate will become
it's deftruction. Neither the lands, nor the people
will profper, and the ſtates will tend quickly to
their diffolution; that is, to that feparation which
is always preceded by the maffacre of the people,
as well as their tyrants. What will then become
of manufactures?
Manufac- AGRICULTURE gives birth to the arts, when
it is carried to that degree of plenty, which
gives men leiſure to invent, and procure them-
felves the conveniences of life; and when it
has occafioned a population fufficiently numer
ous to be employed in other labours, befide thofe
of the land, then a people muſt neceffarily be
come either foldiers, navigators, or manufactur-
2
ers.
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
45%
XIX.
ers. As foon as war has changed the rude and в O O K
favage manners of a laborious people; as foon as
it has nearly circumfcribed the extent of their
empire, thofe men who were before engaged in
the exerciſe of arms, muft then apply themſelves
to the management of the oar, the ropes, the
fciffars, or the fhuttle; in a word, of all the in-
ftruments of commerce and induſtry; for the
land, which ſupported fuch a number of men
without the affiftance of their own labour, does
not any more ftand in need of it. As the arts
ever have a country of their own, their peculiar
place of refuge, where they are carried on and
flourish in tranquillity, it is eaſier to repair thither
in fearch of them, than to wait at home till they
fhall have grown up, and advanced with the tardy
progreffion of ages, and the favour of chance
which prefides over the difcoveries of genius.
Thus every nation of Europe that has had any in-
duſtry, has borrowed the moſt confiderable ſhare
of the arts from Afia. There invention feems to
have been coëval with mankind.
THE beauty and fertility of thofe climates hath
always produced a moft numerous race of people,
as well as abundance of fruits of all kinds. There
laws and arts, the offspring of genius and tran-
quillity, have arifen from the ftability of empires;
and luxury, the fource of every enjoyment that
attends induſtry, has fprung out of the richneſs
of the foil. India, China, Perfia, and Egypt
were in poffeflion not only of all the treaſures of
nature, but alſo of the moſt brilliant inventions of
art. War in thefe countries hath often deſtroyed
every monument of genius, but they rife again
out of their own ruins, as well as mankind. Not
unlike thofe laborious fwarms we fee perifh in
their hives by the wintry blaft of the north, and
which reproduce themfelves in fpring, retaining
G g 2
ftill
452
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK ftill the fame love of toil and order; there are cer
XIX. tain Afiatic nations which have ftill preferved the
arts of luxury with the materials that fupply them,
notwithſtanding the invafions and conquefts of the
Tartars.
!
IT was in a country fucceffively fubdued by the
Scythians, Romans, and Saracens, that the na-
tions of Europe, which not even chriſtianity nor
time could civilize, recovered the arts and fciences
without endeavouring to difcover them. The
Cruſades exhaufted the fanatic zeal of thofe who
engaged in them, and changed their barbarous
manners at Conftantinople. It was by journeying
to viſit the tomb of their Saviour, who was born
in a manger, and died on a cross, that they ac-
quired a tafte for magnificence, pomp, and wealth.
By them the Afiatic grandeur was introduced
into the courts of Europe. Italy, the feat from
whence religion fpread her empire over other
countries, was the first to adopt a fpecies of in-
duſtry that was of benefit to her temples, the ce-
remonies of her worship, and thofe proceffions
which ſerve to keep up devotion by means of the
fenfes, when once it has engaged the heart.
Chriſtian Rome, after having borrowed her rites.
from the Eaſtern nations, was ftill to draw from
thence the wealth by which they are fupported.
+
VENICE, whofe gallies were ranged under the
banner of liberty, could not fail of being induftri-
ous. The people of Italy eftablished manufac-
tures, and were a long time in poffeffion of all the
arts, even when the conqueft of the Eaft and
Weft Indies had cauſed the treaſures of the whole
world to circulate in Europe. Flanders derived
her manual arts from Italy; England obtained
thofe fhe eſtabliſhed from Flanders; and France
borrowed the general induſtry of all countries.
Of the English the purchafed her ftocking-looms,
which
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
453
which work ten times as faft as the needle. The BOOK
number of hands unoccupied from the introduc- XIX.
tion of the loom, were employed in making of
lace, which was taken from the Flemings. Paris
furpaffed Perfia in her carpets, and Flanders in
her tapeſtry, in the elegance of her patterns, and
the beauty of her dyes; and excelled Venice in the
tranſparency and fize of her mirrors. France
learned to diſpenſe with part of the filks fhe re-
ceived from Italy, and with English broad cloths.
Germany, together with her iron and copper
mines, has always preferved the fuperiority fhe
had acquired in melting, tempering, and work-
ing up thofe metals. But the art of giving the
poliſh and faſhion to every article that can be
concerned in the ornaments of luxury, and the
conveniences of life, feems to belong peculiarly
to the French; whether it be that, from the va-
nity of pleafing others, they find the means of
fucceeding by all the outward appearances of bril-
liant fhew; or that in reality grace and eafe are
the conftant attendants of a people naturally
lively and gay, and who by instinct are in poffef-
fion of taſte!
EVERY people given to agriculture ought to
have arts to employ their materials, and ſhould
multiply their productions to maintain their
artists. Were they acquainted only with the la-
bours of the field, their induftry must be confined
in it's caufe, it's means, and it's effects. Having
but a few wants and defires, they would exert
themſelves but little, employ fewer hands, and
work lefs time. Their cultivation would neither
be extended nor improved. Should fuch a people
be poffeffed of more arts than materials, they
muſt be indebted to ftrangers, who would ruin
their manufactures, by finking the price of their
articles of luxury, and raifing the value of their
fubfift.
454
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK fubfiftence. But when a people, engaged in agri-
XIX. culture, join induftry to property, the culture of
their produce to the art of working it up, they
have then within themſelves every thing neceffary
for their exiſtence and prefervation, every fource
of greatnefs and profperity. Such a people is en-
dued with a power of accompliſhing every thing
they wish, and ſtimulated with a defire of ac-
quiring every thing that is poffible.
NOTHING is more favourable to liberty than the
arts; it may be faid to be their element, and that
they are, in their nature, citizens of the world.
An able artiſt may work in every country, becauſe
he works for the world in general. Genius and
abilities every where avoid flavery, while foldiers
find it in all parts. When, through the want of
toleration in the clergy, the Proteftants were
driven out of France, they opened to themſelves
a refuge in every civilized ſtate in Europe: but
prieſts, banished from their own country, have
found no afylum any where; not even in Italy,
the parent of monachiſm and intoleration.
THE arts multiply the means of acquiring
riches, and contribute, by a greater diftribution
of wealth, to a more equitable repartition of pro-
perty. Thus is prevented that exceffive inequa-
lity among men, the unhappy confequence of op-
preffion, tyranny, and lethargic ftate of a whole
people.
How many objects of inftruction and admira-
tion doth not the moſt enlightened man find in
manufactures and workshops! To ftudy the pro-
ductions of nature is undoubtedly beautiful; but
is it not more interefting to know the different
means made ufe of by the arts, either to alleviate
the misfortunes, or to increaſe the enjoyments of
life? Should we be in fearch of genius, let us
go in the workshops, and there we shall find it
under
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
455
i
under a thoufand different forms. If one man BOOK
alone had been the inventor of the manufacture for XIX.
figured ſtuffs, he would have diſplayed more in-
telligence than Leibnitz or Newton and I may
venture to fay, that there is no problem in the
mathematical principles of the latter, more diffi-
cult to be folved, than that of weaving a thread
by the affiftance of a machine. Is it not a fhame-
ful thing, to ſee the objects which furround us
viewing themſelves in a glaſs, while they are un-
acquainted with the manner in which glaſs is
melted; or clothing themſelves in velvet to
keep out the cold, while they know not how it is
manufactured? Let men who are well informed,
go and affift with their knowledge the wretched
artifan, condemned blindly to follow the routine
he has been uſed to, and they may be certain of
being indemnified by the fecrets he will impart
to them. The torch of induftry ferves to en-
lighten at once a vaft horizon. No art is fingle:
the greater part of them have their forms, modes,
inftruments, and elements, that are peculiar to
them. The mechanics themfelves have contributed
prodigioufly to extend the ſtudy of mathematics.
Every branch of the genealogical tree of fcience
has unfolded itſelf with the progrefs of the arts,
as well liberal as manual. Mines, mills, the ma-
nufacture and dying of cloth, have enlarged the
fphere of philofophy and natural hiftory. Luxury
has given rife to the art of enjoyment, which is
entirely dependent on the liberal arts. As foon
as architecture admits of ornaments without, it
brings with it decorations for the infide of our
houfes; while ſculpture and painting are at the
fame time employed in the embellishment and
adorning of the edifice. The art of defign is ap
plied to our drefs and furniture. The pencil, ever
fertile in new défigns, is varying without end it's
sketches
456
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK ſketches and fhades on our. ftuffs and our porce-
XIX. lain. The powers of genius are exerted in com-
pofing at leiſure mafter-pieces of poetry and elo-
quence, or thofe happy fyftems of policy and phi-
lofophy, which reftore to the people their natural
rights, and to fovereigns all their glory, which
confifts in reigning over the heart and the mind,
over the opinion and will of their fubjects, by the
means of reaſon and equity.
THEN it is that the arts produce that fpirit of
fociety which conftitutes the happinefs of civil
life, which gives relaxation to the more ſerious
occupations, by entertainments, fhews, concerts,
converiations, in fhort, by every ſpecies of a
able amufement. Eafe gives to every virtuous
enjoyment an air of liberty, which connects and
mingles the feveral ranks of men. Employment
adds a value or a charm to the pleaſures that are
it's recompence. Every citizen depending upon
the produce of his induftry for fubfiftence, has
leifure for all the agreeable or toilfome occupa-
tions of life, as well as that repofe of mind which
leads on to the fweets of fleep. Many, indeed,
fall. victims to avarice, but ftill lefs than to war or
fuperftition, the continual fcourges of an idle
people.
AFTER the cultivation of the land, the encou-
ragement of the arts and fciences is the next ob-
ject that deſerves the attention of man. At pre-
fent, both ſerve to conftitute the ftrength of civi-
lized governments. If the arts have tended to
weaken mankind, then the weaker people muft
have prevailed over the ftrong; for the balance
of Europe is in the hands of thofe nations which
are in poffeffion of the arts.
SINCE manufactures have prevailed in Europe,
the human heart, as well as the mind, have chan-
ged their bent and difpofition. The defire of wealth
has
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
457
has arifen in all parts from the love of pleaſure. B O O K
We no longer fee any people fatisfied with being XIX.
poor, becauſe poverty is no longer the bulwark
of liberty. We are obliged, indeed, to confefs,
that the arts in this world fupply the place of vir-
tues. Induſtry may give birth to vices; but it
baniſhes, however, thoſe of idlenefs, which are
infinitely more dangerous. As information gra-
dually difpels every fpecies of fanaticifm, while
men are employed in the gratifications of luxury,
they do not destroy one another through fuperfti-
tion. At leaſt, human blood is never fpilt with-
out fome appearance of intereft, and war, pro-
bably, deſtroys only thofe violent and turbulent
men, who in every ſtate are born to be enemies
to, and diſturbers of all order, without any other
talent, any other propenfity, than that of doing
miſchief. The arts reftrain that fpirit of diffen-
fion, by fübjecting man to ftated and daily em-
ployments. They beftow on every rank of life
the means and the hopes of enjoyment, and give
even the meaneft a kind of eftimation and im-
portance, by the advantage that refults from
them. A workman at forty has been of more
real value to the ftate than a whole family of vaſ-
fals who were employed in tillage under the old
feudal fyftem. An opulent manufacture brings
more benefit into a village, than twenty caftles of
ancient barons, whether hunters or warriors, ever
conferred on their province.
Ir it be a fact, that in the preſent ſtate of
things, the people who are the moſt induftrious
ought to be the most happy and the moſt power-
ful, either becauſe in wars that are unavoidable
they furniſh of themfelves, or purchaſe by their
wealth, more foldiers, more ammunition, more
forces, both for fea or land fervice; or that hav-
ing a greater intereſt in maintaining peace, they
avoid
458
F
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
*
BOOK avoid conteſts, or terminate them by négocia
XIX. tion; or that, in cafe of a defeat, they the more
readily repair their loffes by the effect of la-
bour; or that they are bleffed with a milder and
more enlightened government, notwithſtanding
the means of corruption and flavery that tyranny.
is ſupplied with, by the effeminacy which luxury
produces; in a word, if the arts really civilize
nations, a ftate ought to neglect no opportunity
of making manufactures flourish.
•
THESE Opportunities depend on the climate,
which, as Polybius fays, forms the character,
complexion, and manners of nations. The moſt
temperate climate muft neceffarily be the moft fa-
vourable to that kind of induftry which requires
leſs exertion. If the climate be too hot, it is in-
confiftent with the eſtabliſhment of manufactures,
which require the concurrence of feveral perfons
together to carry on the fame work; and it ex-
cludes all thofe arts which employ furnaces, or
ftrong lights. If the climate prove too cold, it
is not proper for thofe arts which can only be
carried on in the open air. At too great or too
fmall a diſtance from the equator, man is unfit
for ſeveral labours, which feem peculiarly adapted
to a mild temperature. In vain did Peter the
Great fearch among the beſt regulated ſtates for
all fuch arts as were beft calculated to civilize his
people: during a period of fifty years, not one of
thefe principles of civilization has been able to
flouriſh among the frozen regions of Ruffia. All
artifts are ftrangers in that land, and if they en-
deavour to refide there, their talents and their
works foon die with them. When Lewis XIV.,
in his old age (as if that were the time of life
for profcriptions) perfecuted the Proteftants, in
vain did they introduce their arts and trades
among the people who received them; they were
no
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES:
459
XIX.
no longer able to work in the fame manner as BOOK
they had done in France. Though they were
equally active and laborious, the arts they had
introduced were loft, or they declined, from not
having the advantage of the fame climate and
heat to animate them.
To the favourable difpofition of climate, for the
encouragement of manufactures, fhould be added
the advantage of the political fituation of the
ftate. When it is of fuch extent as to have no-
thing to fear or want in point of ſecurity; when
it is in the neighbourhood of the fea for the land-
ing of it's materials, and the exportation of it's
manufactures; when it is fituated between powers
that have iron mines to employ it's induftry, and
others that have mines of gold to reward it;
when it has nations on each fide, with ports and
roads open on every fide; fuch a ftate will have
all the external advantages neceffary to excite a
people to open a variety of manufactures.
BUT one advantage ftill more effential is ferti-
lity of foil. If cultivation fhould require too
many hands, there will be a want of labourers,
or the manufacturers will employ fo many hands,
that there will not be men enough to cultivate
the fields; and this muft occafion a dearnefs of
provifions, which, while it raifes the price of
workmanſhip, will alſo diminiſh the number of
trades.
WHERE fertility of foil is wanting, manufac-
tures require, at leaft, as few men to be employed
as poffible. A nation that ſhould expend much
on it's mere fubfiftence, would abford the whole
profits of it's induftry. When the gratifications
of luxury are greater or more expenſive than the
means of fupplying them, the fource from which
they are derived is loft, and they can no longer be
fupported. If the workman will feed and clothe
himſelf.
460
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK himſelf like the manufacturer who employs him,
XIX. the manufacture is foon ruined. The degree of
frugality that republican nations adhere to from
motives of virtue, the manufacturer ought to ob-
ferve from views of parfimony. This may be
the reafon, perhaps, that the arts, even thofe of
luxury, are more adapted to republics than mo-
narchies; for, under monarchical inftitutions, po-
verty is not always the fharpeft fpur with the
people to induftry. Labour, proceeding from
hunger, is narrow and confined, like the appetite
it fprings from; but the work that arifes from
ambition fpreads and increaſes as naturally as the
vice itſelf.
ment.
NATIONAL character has confiderable influence
over the progrefs of the arts of luxury and orna-
Some people are fitted for invention by
that levity which naturally inclines them to no-
velty. The fame nation is fitted for the arts, by
their vanity, which inclines them to the ornament
of drefs. Another nation, lefs lively, has lefs
tafte for trivial matters, and is not fond of
changing faſhions. Being of a more ſerious turn,
thefe people are more inclined to indulge in ex-
ceffes of the table, and to drinking, which re-
lieves them from all anxiety and apprehenfion.
Of thefe nations, the one muft fucceed better
than it's rival in the arts of decoration, and muſt
have the preference over it among all the other
nations which are fond of the fame arts.
THE advantages which manufactures derive
from nature, are further feconded by the form
of government. While induftry is favourable to
national liberty, that in return fhould affift in-
duftry. Exclufive privileges are enemies to com-
merce and the arts, which are to be encouraged
only by competition. Even the rights of appren-
ticeship, and the value fet on corporations, are a
kind
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
461
kind of monopoly. The ftate is prejudiced by BOOK
that fort of privilege which favours incorporated XIX.
trades; that is to fay, petty communities are pro-
tected at the expence of the greater body. By
taking from the lower clafs of the people the li-
berty of choosing the profeffion that fuits them,
every profeffion is filled with bad workmen. Such
as require greater talents are exercifed by thoſe
who are the most wealthy; the meaner, and lefs
expenfive, fall often to the fhare of men born to
excel in fome fuperior art.
As both are engaged
in a profeffion for which they have no tafte, they
neglect their work, and prejudice the art: the
firft, becauſe they have no abilities; the latter,
becauſe they are convinced that their abilities are
fuperior to it. But if we remove the impediment
of corporate bodies, we fhall produce a competi-
tion in the workmen, and confequently the work
will increaſe as well as be more perfect.
It may be a queſtion, whether it be beneficial
to collect manufactures in large towns, or to diſ-
perfe them over the country. This point is deter-
mined by facts. The arts of primary neceffity
have remained where they were firft produced, in
thofe places which have furnished the materials for
them. Forges are in the neighbourhood of the
mine, and linen near the flax. But the compli-
cated arts of induftry and luxury cannot be car-
ried on in the country. If we difperfe over a
large extent of territory all the arts which are
combined in watch and clock-making, we fhall
ruin Geneva, with all the works that fupport it.
If we difperfe among the different provinces of
France, the fixty thouſand workmen who are
employed in the ftuff manufactory of Lyons, we
fhall annihilate tafte, which is kept up only by
the competition of a great number of rivals, who
are conftantly employed in endeavouring to fur-
paſs
462
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
XIX
BOOK paſs each other. The perfection of ftuffs re-
quires their being made in a town, where fine
dyes may at once be united with beautiful pat-
terns, and the art of working up woollens and
filks with that of making gold and filver lace. If
there be wanting eighteen hands to make a pin,
Popula-
tion.
through how many manual arts, and artic pin
རྩྭ་
muſt a laced coat, or an embroidered waiſtcoat
pafs? How fhall we be able to find, amidſt an
interior central province, the immenfe apparatus
of arts that contribute to the furniſhing of a
palace, or the entertainment of a court. Thofe
arts, therefore, that are moft fimple and uncon-
nected with others, muſt be confined to the coun-
try; and fuch clothes as are fit for the lower
claſs of people muſt be made in the provinces.
We muſt eſtabliſh between the capital and the
other towns a reciprocal dependence of wants and
conveniences, of materials and works; but ftill
nothing muſt be done by authority or compulfion;
workmen must be left to act for themfelves. Let
there be freedom of traffic, and freedom of induf-
try, and manufactures will profper, population
will increaſe.
HAs the world been more peopled at one time
than another? This is not to be afcertained from
history, on account of the deficiency of hiftorians
in one half of the globe that has been inhabited,
and becauſe one half of what is related by hifto-
rians is fabulous. Who has ever taken, or could
at any time take, an account of the inhabitants of
the earth? She was, it is faid, more fruitful in
earlier times. But when was the period of this
golden age? Was it when a dry fand arofe from
the bed of the fea, purged itſelf in the rays of
the fun; and caufed the flime to produce vegeta-
bles, animals, and human creatures? But the
whole furface of the earth muft alternately have
been
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
463
been covered by the ocean.
always had, like the individuals of every fpecies,
an infant ſtate, a ftate of weakneſs and fterility,
before the arrived at the age of fertility. All
countries have been for a long time buried under
water, lying uncultivated beneath fands and mo-
raffes, wild and overgrown with buſhes and fo-
refts, till the human fpecies, being thrown by ac-
cident on theſe deſerts and folitudes, has cleared,
altered, and peopled the land. But as all the
caufes of population are fubordinate to thofe na-
tural laws which govern the univerſe, as well as
to the influences of foil and atmoſphere, which
are fubject to a number of calamities, it muſt
ever have varied with thoſe periods of nature that
have been either adverfe or favourable to the in-
creaſe of mankind. However, as the lot of every
fpecies feems in a manner to depend on it's fa-
culties, the hiſtory of the progrefs and improve-
ment of human induſtry must therefore, in gene-
ral, fupply us with the hiftory of the population
of the earth. On this ground of calculation, it
is at leaſt doubtful, whether the world was for-
merly better inhabited and more peopled than it
is at preſent.
The earth has then B O O K
LET us leave Afia under the veil of that anti-
quity which reports it to us ever covered with in-
numerable nations, and fwarms of people fo pro-
digious, that (notwithſtanding the fertility of a
foil which ſtands in need but of one ray of the fun
to enable it to produce all forts of fruit) men did
but just arife, and fucceed one another with the
utmoſt rapidity, and were deftroyed either by fa
mine, peftilence, or war. Let us confider with
more attention the population of Europe, which
feems to have taken the place of Afia, by confer
ring upon art all the powers of nature.
XIX.
IN
464
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
XIX.
IN order to determine whether our continent
was, in former ages, more inhabited than at pre-
fent, it would be neceffary to know whether pub-
lic fecurity was better eſtabliſhed at that time;
whether the arts were in a more flourishing condi-
tion, and whether the land was better cultivated.
This is what we muft inveftigate.
FIRST, in thefe diftant periods, the political
inftitutions were very defective. Thofe ill-regu-
lated governments were agitated with continual
factions. The civil wars which ſprang from theſe
divifions were frequent and cruel. It often hap-
pened that one half of the people were maffacred
by the other half. Thofe citizens who had efcaped
the fword of the conqueror took refuge upon an
unfavourable territory. From that afylum they
did every poffible mifchief to an implacable ene-
my, till a new revolution enabled them to take
memorable and complete vengeance for the cala-
mities which they had endured.
THE arts had not more vigour than the laws.
Commerce was fo limited, as to be reduced to
the exchange of a fmall number of productions
peculiar to fome territories, and to fome chi-
mates. The manufactures were fo little varied,
that both the fexes were equally obliged to clothe
themſelves with a woollen ftuff, which evenwas but
feldom dyed. All the branches of induſtry were
fo little advanced, that there did not exift a fingle
city which was indebted to them for it's increaſe,
or it's profperity. This was the effect and the
caufe of the general contempt in which theſe fe-
veral occupations were holden.or
It was difficult for commodities to find a cer-
tain and advantageous vent, in regions where the
arts were in a languid ftate. Accordingly, agri-
culture felt the effects of this want of confump-
tion. It is a certain proof, that most of thefe fine
countries
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
465
countries remained untilled, becauſe the climate BO O K
was evidently more rude than it hath fince been. XIX.
If immenfe forefts had not deprived the countries
of the influence of the beneficent planet which
animates every thing, would our anceſtors have
had more to fuffer from the rigour of the feafon
than ourſelves?
THESE facts, which cannot reaſonably be called
in queſtion, demonftrate that the number of men
was then very much limited in Europe; and that
excepting one or two countries, which may have
fallen off from their ancient population, all the
reft had only a few inhabitants?
WHAT were thofe multitudes of people which
Cæfar reckoned in Gaul, but a fet of favage na-
tions, more formidable in name than number?
Were all thoſe Britons, who were fubdued in
their island by two Roman legions, much more
numerous than the Corficans at prefent? Muft
not the North have been ftill lefs peopled? Re-
gions where the fun fcarce appears above the ho-
rizon; where the courſe of the waters is fufpend-
ed for eight months in the year; where heaps of
fnow cover, for the fame fpace of time, a foil fre-
quently barren; where trees are rooted up by the
winds;. where the corn, the plants, and the
fprings, every thing which contributes to the
fupport of life, is in a ftate of annihilation;
where the bodies of all men are afflicted with
pain; where reft, more fatal than the moſt excef-
five fatigues, is followed by the moft dreadful ca-
lamities; where the arms of children are ftiffen-
ed, while they are ftretching them up to their
mothers; and where their tears are converted
to icicles on their cheeks: where nature
+
>
Such regions could only have been inhabited at
fome late period, and then only by fome unfor-
tunate people, flying from flavery or tyranny.
VOL. VI.
Hh
They
466
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK They have never multiplied under fo intemperate
XIX. a fky. Over the face of the whole globe, nume-
rous focieties have always left behind them fome
durable monuments or ruins, but in the North
there are abfolutely no remains which bear the
impreffion of human power or induſtry.
THE Conqueft of the fineft part of Europe, in
the ſpace of three or four centuries, by the inha-
bitants of the most northern nations, feems at firft
fight to argue againſt what we have been faying.
But let us confider, that theſe were the people of
a territory ten times as large, who poffeffed them-
felves of a country inhabited at prefent by three or
four nations only; and that it was not owen to the
number of her conquerors, but to the revolt of her
fubjects, that the Roman empire was deftroyed
and reduced to fubjection. In this aftoniſhing re-
volution, we may readily admit that the victo-
rious nations did not amount to one twentieth
part of thoſe that were conquered; becauſe the
former made their attacks with half their num-
bers of effective men, and the latter employed no
more than the hundredth part of their inhabitants.
in their defence. But a people, who engage en-
tirely in their own defence and fupport, are
more powerful than ten armies raiſed by kings
and princes.
y
BESIDES, thofe long and bloody wars, with
the accounts of which ancient hiftory is replete,
are deftructive of that exceffive population they
feem to prove. If, on the one hand, the Ro-
mans endeavoured to fupply the loffes their ar-
mies fuftained in confequence of the victories
they obtained, that defire of conqueft to which
they were devoted, deftroyed at leaft other na-
tions; for as foon as the Romans had fubdued
any people, they incorporated them into their own
armies, and exhaufted their ftrength as much
by
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
467
1
XIX.
by recruits, as by the tribute they impofed upon B OOK
them. It is well known with what rage wars,
were carried on by the ancients; that often in a
fiege, the whole town was laid in aſhes; men,
women, and children periſhed in the flames, ra-
ther than fall under the dominion of the con-
queror; that in affaults, every inhabitant was put
to the fword; that in regular engagements, it
was thought more defirable to die fword in hand,
than to be led in triumph, and be condemned to
perpetual flavery.
Were not thefe barbarous
cuftoms of war injurious to population? If as
we muſt allow, fome unhappy men were. pre-
ferved to be the victims of flavery, this was but
of little fervice to the increafe of mankind, as it
eſtabliſhed in a ſtate an extreme inequality of
conditions among beings by nature equal. If the
divifion of focieties into fmall colonies or ftates,
were adapted to multiply families by the partition
of lands; it likewife more frequently occafioned
conteſts among the nations; and as thefe fmall
ftates touched one another, as it were, in an in-
finite number of points, in order to defend them,
every inhabitant was obliged to take up arms.
Large bodies are not eafily put into motion on
account of their bulk; fmall ones are in per-
petual motion, which entirely deſtroys them.
IF war were deftructive of population in ancient
times, peace was not always able to promote and
reftore it. Formerly all nations were ruled by de-
fpotic or aristocratic power, and thofe two forms
of government are by no means favourable to the
increaſe of the human fpecies. The free cities of
Greece were fubject to laws fo complicated, that
there were continual diffenfions among the ci-
tizens. Even the inferior clafs of people, who
had no right of voting, obtained a fuperiority in
the public affemblies, where a man of talents, by
Hb. 2
the
468
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
་
BOOK the power of eloquence, might put fo many men
XIX. into commotion. Befides, in thefe ftates popula-
tion tended to be confined to the city, in conjunc
tion with ambition, power, riches, and in fhort,
all the effects and fprings of liberty. Not but that
the lands under the democratical ftates must have
been well cultivated and well peopled. But the
democracies were few; and as they were all am-
bitious, and could only aggrandize themfelves by.
war, if we except Athens, whofe commerce, in-
deed, was alfo owen to the fuperiority of it's arms,
the earth could not long flouriſh and increaſe in
population. In a word, Greece and Italy were at
leaſt the only countries better peopled than they
are at preſent.
1
EXCEPT in Greece, which repelled, reſtrained,
and fubdued Afia; in Carthage, which appeared
for a moment on the borders of Africa, and foon
declined to it's former ftate; and in Rome, which
brought into fubjection and deſtroyed the known
world; where do we find fuch a degree of popu-
lation, as will bear any compariſon with what a
traveller meets with every day, on every fea-coaft
along all the great rivers, and on the roads lead-
ing to capital cities? What vaft forefts are turned
to tillage? What harveſts are waving in the place
of reeds that covered marthy grounds? What
numbers of civilized people who fubfift on dried
fifh, and falted provifions?
NOTWITHSTANDING this, there hath arifen, for
fome years paft, an almoſt general exclamation
refpecting the depopulation of all ſtates. We
think we can difcover the cauſe of theſe ftrange
exclamations. Men, preffing, as it were, one
upon the other, have left behind them fome re-
gions lefs inhabited; and the different diftribu-
tion of mankind hath been taken for a diminution
of the human race.
I
DURING
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
460
XIX.
DURING a long feries of ages, empires were di-B OOK
vided into fo many fovereignties, as there were
private noblemen in them. Then thefe fubjects,
or the flaves of theſe petty defpots were fixed,
and that for ever, upon the territory where they
were born. At the abolition of the feudal
fyftem, when there remained no more than one
mafter, one king, and one
one court, all men
crowded to that fpot, from whence favours,
riches, and honour flowed. Such was the origin
of thoſe proud capitals, where the people have
been fucceffively heaped one upon another, and
which are gradually become, in a manner, the
general affembly of each nation.
OTHER cities, lefs extenfive, but ftill very
confiderable, have alfo been raiſed in each pro-
vince, in proportion as the fupreme authority
hath been confirmed. They have been formed
by the tribunals, public bufinefs, and the arts,
and they have been conftantly more and more
increaſed, by the tafte for the conveniences and
pleaſures of fociety.
THESE new eſtabliſhments could not be formed
but at the expence of the country places. Ac-
cordingly, there are fcarce any inhabitants re-
maining there, except fuch as were neceffary for
the tilling of the lands, and for the employments
that are infeparable from it. The productions
have not felt the effect of this revolution; they
are even become more abundant, more varied,
and more agreeable; becauſe more of them have
been fought after, and better paid: becaufe the
methods, and the inftruments, have acquired a
degree of fimplicity and of improvement they
had not formerly; and becauſe the cultivators,
encouraged in a variety of ways, have become
more active and more intelligent..
IN
470.
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK IN the police, in the morals, and in the politics,
XIX. of the moderns, we may diſcern many cauſes of
propagation that did not exist among the an-
cients: but at the fame time, we obferve likewife
fome impediments which may prevent or dimi-
nish among us that fort of progrefs, which, in
our fpecies, fhould be moft conducive to it's
being raiſed to the greateft degree of perfection.
For population will never be very confider-
able, unleſs men are more numerous and more
happy.
POPULATION depends, in a great meaſure, on
the diſtribution of landed property. Families are
multiplied in the fame manner as poffeffions, and
when theſe are too large, they are always injurious
to population from their inordinate extent. A man
of confiderable property, working only for him-
felf, fets apart one half of his lands for his income,
and the other for his pleafures. All he appro-
priates to hunting, is a double lofs in point of cul-
tivation, for he breeds animals on the land that
fhould be appropriated to men, inſtead of fubfift-
ing men on the land which is appropriated to ani-
mals. Wood is neceſſary in a country for edifices
and fewel but is there any occafion for fo many
avenues in a park; or for parterres, and kitchen-
gardens, of fuch extent as belong to a large eſtate?
In this cafe, does luxury, which in it's magni-
ficence contributes to the fupport of the arts,
prove as favourable to the increafe of mankind,
as it might by employing the land to better pur-
pofes? Too many large eftates, therefore, and too
few fmall ones; this is the first impediment to
population.
•
THE next obftacle, is the unalienable domains
of the clergy when ſo much property remains for
ever in the fame hands, how fhall population flou-
rith, while it entirely depends upon the improve-
ment
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
471
ment of lands by the increaſe of ſhares among в O O K
different proprietors. What intereſt has the in- XIX,
cumbent to increaſe the value of an eſtate he is
not to tranfmit to any fucceffor, to fow or plant
for a pofterity not derived from himfelf? Far
from diminishing his income to improve his lands,
will he not rather impair the eftate in order to
increaſe the rents which he is to enjoy only for
life?
THE entails of eſtates in great families are not
lefs prejudicial to the propagation of mankind.
They leffen at once both the nobility and the
other ranks of people. As the right of primo-
geniture among the great, facrifices the younger
children to the intereft of the elder branch; in
the fame manner entails deftroy feveral families
for the fake of a fingle one. Almoſt all entailed
eftates are ill cultivated, on account of the negli-
gence of a proprietor who is not attached to a
poffeffion he is not to difpofe of, which has been
ceded to him only with regret, and which is al-
ready given to his fucceffors, whom he cannot
confider as his heirs, becauſe they are not named
by him.
The right of primogeniture and of
entail is therefore a law, one may fay, made on
purpoſe to defeat the increaſe of population in any
ftate.
FROM thefe obftacles to population, produced
by the defect of legiflation, there arifes a third,
which is the poverty of the people. Where-
ever the farmers have not the property of the
ground-rent, their life is miferable, and their con-
dition precarious. Not being certain of their
fubfiftence, which depends on their health, having
but ſmall reliance on their ſtrength, which is not
at their own difpofal, and weary of their exiſtence,
they are afraid of breeding a race of wretched be-
ings. It is an error to imagine that plenty of
1
children
47%
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK children are produced in the country, where there
XIX. die as many, if not more, than are born every
year. The toil of the father, and the milk of the
mother are loft to them, and their children; for
they will never attain to the flower of their age,
or to that period of maturity, which, by it's fer-
vices, will recompence all the pains that have
been bestowed upon their education. With a
fmall portion of land, the mother might bring
up her child, and cultivate her own little garden,
while the father, by his labour abroad, might
add to the conveniences of his family. Thefe
three beings, without property, languifh upon
the little that one of them gains, or the child
periſhes.
WHAT a variety of evils ariſe from a faulty or
defective legiflation? Vices and calamities are
infinite in their effects, they mutually affift each
other in ſpreading general deftruction, and arife
from one another, till they are both exhaufted.
The indigence of the country produces an increaſe
of troops, a burden ruinous in it's nature, de-
ftructive of men in time of war, and of land in
time of peace. It is certain that the military de-
ftroy the fields, which they do not cultivate them-
felves; becauſe every foldier deprives the ſtate of
a huſbandman, and burdens it with an idle or
uſeleſs conſumer. He defends the country in
time of peace, merely from a pernicious fyftem,
which, under the pretext of defence, makes all
nations aggreffors. If all governments would, as
they eaſily might, let thoſe men, whom they de-
vote to the army, be employed in the labours
of huſbandry, the number of hufbandmen and
artiſans, throughout Europe, would, in a fhort
time, be confiderably increaſed. All the powers
of human induftry would be exerted in improv-
ing the advantages of nature, and in furmount-
ing
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,
473
XIX.
ing every obſtacle to improvement; every thing BOOK
would concur in promoting life, not in fpreading
deſtruction..
THE deferts of Ruffia would be cleared, and
the plains of Poland not laid waste. The vaſt
dominions of the Turks would be cultivated, and
the bleffings of their Prophet would be extended
over an immenſe population. Egypt, Syria, and
Paleſtine would again become what they were in
the times of the Phenicians, in the days of their
thepherd kings, and of the Jews, who enjoyed
happineſs and peace under their judges. The
parched mountains of Sierra Morena would be
rendered fertile, the heaths of Aquitaine would
be cleared of infects and be covered with peo-
ple. koha
·
Bur general good is merely the delufive dream
of benevolent men. This brings to my remem-
brance the virtuous prelate of Cambray, and the
good Abbé of St. Pierre. Their works are com-
poſed with a defign to make deferts inhabited,
not indeed with hermits, who fly from the vices
and misfortunes of the world, but with happy fa-
milies, who would proclaim the glory of God
upon earth, as the ftars declare it in the firma-
ment. Their writings abound with focial views
and fentiments of humanity, and may be confi-
dered as truly inspired; for humanity is the gift
of heaven. Kings will infure the attachment of
their people, in proportion as they themſelves are
attached to fuch men,
IT is fcarce neceffary to obferve, that one of the
means to favour population, is to fupprefs the ce-
libacy of the regular and fecular clergy. Monaftic
inftitutions have a reference to two æras remark-
able in the hiſtory of the world. About the year
700 of Rome, Jefus Chrift was the founder of a
new religion in the Eaft; and the fubverfion of
Paganifin
474
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK Paganifm was foon attended with that of the Ro-
XIX. man empire itſelf. Two or three hundred years
after the death of Chrift, Egypt and Paleſtine
were filled with monks. About the year 700 of
the Chriftian æra, Mohammed appeared, and
eſtabliſhed a new religion in the Eaft; and Chrif-
tianity was transferred to Europe, where it fixed.
Three or four hundred years afterwards, there
arofe multitudes of religious orders. At the
time of the birth of Chrift, the books of David,
and thoſe of the Sybil, foretold the deftruction
of the world, a deluge, or rather an univerfal
conflagration, and general judgment and all
people, oppreffed by the dominion of the Ro-
mans, wifhed for and believed in a general dif
folution. A thoufand years after the Chriftian
æra, the books of David, and thoſe of the Sybil,
ftill announced the laft judgment: and feveral
penitents, as ferocious and wild in their extrava-
gant piety as in their vices, fold all their poffeffi-
ons to go to conquer and die upon the tomb of
their redeemer. The nations groaning under the
tyranny of the feudal government, wifhed for, and
ftill believed in, the end of the world.
WHILE one part of the Chriftian world, impreff-
ed with terror, went to perifh in the crufades, ano-
ther part were burying themſelves in cloiſters.
This was the origin of the monaftic life in Eu-
rope. Opinion gave riſe to monks, and it will
be the cauſe of their deftruction. The eftates
they poffeffed, they will leave behind them for
the ufe and increafe of fociety and all thoſe
hours, that are loft in praying without devotion,
will be confecrated to their primitive intention,
which is labour. The clergy are to remember
that, in the facred fcriptures, God fays to man,
in a ſtate of innocence, Increaſe and multiply:
to man, in a fallen ftate, Till the earth, and
work
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
475
work for thy fubfiftence. If the duties of the BOOK
priesthood feem yet to allow the prieſt to incum-, XIX.
ber himſelf with the care of a family and an
eftate, the duties of fociety more ſtrongly forbid
celibacy. If the monks, in earlier times, cleared
the deferts they inhabited, they now contribute
to depopulate the towns where their number is
very great if the clergy has fubfifted on the alms
of the people, they in their turn reduce the peo-
ple to beggary. Among the idle claffes of fo-
ciety, the moſt prejudicial is that which, from
it's very principles, muft tend to promote a ge-
neral ſpirit of indolence among men; make them
wafte at the altar, as well the work of the bees,
as the falary of the workmen; which burns in
day-time the candles. that ought to be referved
for the night, and makes men lofe in the church
that time they owe to the care of their families;
which engages men to afk of heaven the fubfift-
ence that the ground only can give, or produce
in return for their toil.
THERE is ftill another caufe of the depopulation
of fome ftates; which is, that want of toleration
which perfecutes and profcribes every religion but
that of the prince on the throne. This is a fpecies
of oppreffion and tyranny peculiar to modern po-
litics, to extend it's influence even over men's
thoughts and confciences: a barbarous piety,
which, for the fake of exterior forms of worship,
extinguifhes, in fome degree, the very idea of the
exiſtence of God, by deſtroying multitudes of his
worshippers: it is an impiety ftill more barbarous,
that, on account of things fo indifferent as religious.
ceremonies must appear, deftroys the life of man,
and impedes the population of ftates, which
should be confidered as points of the utmost im-
portance. For neither the number nor the alle-
giance of fubjects is increafed by exacting oaths
contrary
476
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK contrary to confcience, by forcing into fecret per-
XIX. jury thoſe who are engaged in the marriage ties,
or in the different profeffions of a citizen. Unicy
in religion is proper only when it is naturally efta-
blifhed by conviction. When once that is at an
end, a general liberty, if granted, would be the
means of restoring tranquillity and peace of mind.
When no diftinction is made, but this liberty is
fully and equally extended to every citizen, it can
never diſturb the peace of families.
NEXT to the celibacy of the clergy and of the
military, the former of which arifes from profef-
fion, the latter from cuſtom, there is a third, de-
rived from convenience, and introduced by luxu-
ry. I mean that of life annuitants. Here we may
admire the chain of caufes. At the fame time
that commerce favours population by the means of
industry both by land and fea, by all the objects
and operations of navigation, and by the feveral
arts of cultivation and manufactures, it alfo de-
creaſes it by reafon of all thofe vices which luxury
introduces. When riches have gained a general
afcendant over the minds of men, then opinions
and manners alter by the intermixture of ranks.
The arts and the talents of pleafing corrupt fo-
ciety, while they polifh it. When the inter-
courfe between the fexes becomes frequent, they
mutually feduce each other, and the weaker in-
duce the ftronger to adopt the frivolous turn for
drefs and amufement. The women become chil-
dren, and the men effeminate. Entertainments
are the fole topic of their converfation, and the
object of their occupation. The manly and ro-
buft exerciſes, by which the youth were trained
up to difcipline, and prepared for the moft im-
portant and dangerous profeffions, give place to
the love of public fhews, where every paffion that
can render a nation effeminate is caught, as long
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
47.7.
XIX.
as there is no appearance of a patriotic fpirit BOOK
among them. Indolence prevails among all per-
fons of eafy circumftances, and labour diminiſhes
among that claſs of men deſtined to be employed
in it. The variety of arts multiplies faſhions,
and theſe increaſe our expences; articles of luxury
become neceffary; what is fuperfluous is looked
upon as needful; and people in general are better
dreffed, but do not live fo well; and purchaſe
clothes at the expence of the neceffaries of life.
The lower claſs of men become debauched before
they are fenfible of the paffion of love, and mar-
rying later, have fewer or weaker children: the
tradeſman ſeeks a fortune not a wife, and he pre-
maturely lofes both the one and the other, in the
exceffes of libertinifm. The rich, whether mar-
ried or not, are continually feducing women of
every rank, or debauching girls of low condition.
The difficulty of fupporting the charges of mar-
riage, and the readineſs of finding the joys of it
without bearing any of it's difagreeable inconve-
niences, tends to increaſe the number of unmar-
ried people in every clafs of life. The man
who renounces the hope of being the father of a
family, confumes his patrimony, and in concert
with the ftate, which increaſes his income, by
borrowing money from him at a ruinous intereft,
he laviſhes upon one generation the fupport of
many; he extinguiſhes his own pofterity as well as
that of the women by whom he is rewarded, and
that of the girls who are paid by him. Every
kind of proſtitution prevails at the fame time.
Honour and duty is forfeited in every rank; the
ruin of the women is but the forerunner of that
of the men.:
THE nation that is inclined to gallantry, or ra-
ther to libertinifm, foon lofes it's power and cre-
dit in other countries, and is ruined at home.
There
478
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK There is no longer any nobility, no longer any
XIX, body of men to defend their own or the people's
rights; for every where divifion and felf-intereft
prevails. No one wishes to be ruined alone. The
love of riches becomes the general object of attrac-
tion, the honeft man is apprehenfive of lofing his
fortune, and the man of no honour is intent upon
making his the one retires from the world, the
other fets himſelf up to fale, and thus the ftate is
loft. Such is the conftant progrefs of commerce
in a monarchical government. What it's effects
are in a republic we know from ancient hiftory.
But ſtill it is neceffary at this period to excite men
to commerce, becauſe the prefent fituation of Eu-
rope is favourable to it, and commerce itſelf pro-
motes population:
BUT it will be aſked, whether a great degree of
population be uſeful in promoting the happiness
of mankind. This is an idle queftion. In fact,
the point is not to multiply men, in order to make
them happy; but it is fufficient to make them
happy, that they ſhould multiply. All the means
which concur in the profperity of any ſtate, tend
of themſelves to the propagation of it's people. A
legiflator defirous of an increaſe of people merely
to have a great number of foldiers, and of fub-
jects, only for the purpofe of fubduing his neigh-
bours, would be a monfter, and an enemy to the
human race, fince his plans of political increaſe
would be folely directed to the deftruction of
others. A legiflator, on the contrary, who, like
Solon, fhould form a republic, whofe multitudes
might people the defert coafts of the fea; or who,
like Penn, fhould make laws for the cultivation.
of his colony, and forbid war, fuch a legiflator
would undoubtedly be confidered as a God on
earth. Even though his name fhould not be im-
mortalized, he would live in happineſs, and die
contented,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
479
XIX.
contented, eſpecially if he could be certain of B OOK
leaving behind him laws of fuch wiſdom, ás to
free the people for ever from the vexation of
taxes.
IT is to be prefumed from what we know of Taxes.
the ſtate of the ſavages, that the advantage of not
being confined by the reſtraints of our ridiculous
clothing, the unwholefome incloſure of fuperb
edifices, and the complicated tyranny of our cuf
toms, laws, and manners, is not a compenfation
for a precarious life, for contufions received, and
perpetual combats engaged for a portion of a
foreſt, for a cavern, a bow, an arrow, a fruit, a
fifh, a bird, a quadruped, the ſkin of a beaft, or
the poffeffion of a woman. Let mifanthrophy
exaggerate at pleaſure the vices of our cities, it
will not fucceed in diſguſting us of thoſe expreſs
or tacit conventions, nor of thoſe artificial vir-
tues, which conftitute the fecurity and the charm
of our focieties.
THERE are undoubtedly affaffins among us,
there are violators of an afylum, there are mon-
fters whofe avidity, indigence, or lazinefs, dif-
guft the focial order. There are other monsters,
perhaps more deteftable, who, poffeffed of a plenty
which would be fufficient for two or three thou-
fand families, are only occupied in increaſing the
mifery of them. I fhall not the lefs implore be-
nediction upon the public ftrength, which moſt
commonly infures my perfon and my property,
in return for the contributions which it requires:
from me.
A TAX may be defined, a facrifice of a part of
a man's property for the defence of the reft:
it follows from hence, that there fhould not be
any tax either among people in a ſtate of flavery,
or among favages: for the former no longer en-
joys
480
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK joy any property, and the latter have not yet ac-
XIX. quired any.
:
1
BUT when a nation poffeffes any large and va-
luable property, when it's fortune is fufficiently
eſtabliſhed, and is confiderable enough to make
the expences of government neceffary, when it has
poffeffions, trade, and wealth capable of tempt
ing the avidity of it's neighbours, who may be
poor or ambitious; then, in order to guard it's
frontiers, or it's provinces, to protect it's navi-
gation, and keep up it's police, there is a ne-
ceffity for forces and for a revenue. It is but
juft and requifite, that the perfons who are em-
ployed in any manner for the public good, fhould
be maintained by all the other orders of the fo-
ciety.
THERE have been countries and times, in which
a portion of the territory was affigned for the
public expences of the ftate. The government,
not being enabled of itſelf to turn fuch extenfive
poffeffions to advantage, was forced to intruft this
charge to adminiftrators, who either neglected the
revenues, or appropriated them to their own uſe.
This practice brought on ftill greater inconveni-
ences. Either the royal domains were too con-
fiderable in time of peace, or infufficient for the
calls of war. In the first instance, the liberty of
the ſtate was oppreffed by the ruler of it, and in
the latter, by ſtrangers. It has, therefore, been
found neceffary to have recourfe to the contribu-
tions of the citizens.
-
ì
THESE funds were in early times not confider-
able. The ftipends then allowed were merely an
indemnification to thofe whom public affairs pre-
vented from attending to thofe employments that
were neceffary for their fubfiftence. Their reward-
aroſe from that pleafing fenfation which we expe-
rience from an internal confcioufnefs of our own
virtue,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
481
virtue, and from the view of the homage paid to BOOK
it by other men. This moral wealth was the XIX.
greateſt treaſure of rifing focieties; a kind of coin
which it was equally the intereft of government
and of morality not to diminish the value of.
HONOUR held the place of taxes no leſs in the
flouriſhing periods of Greece, than in the infant
ftate of focieties. The patriot, who ferved his
country, did not think he had any right to
destroy it. The impoft laid by Ariftides on all
Greece, for the fupport of the war againſt Perſia,
was fo moderate, that thoſe who were to contri-
bute of themſelves, called it the happy fortune of
Greece! What times were theſe, and what a coun-
try, in which taxes made the happineſs of the
people!
THE Romans acquired power and empire almoſt
without any affiftance from the public treafury.
The love of wealth would have diverted them
from the conqueft of the world. The public
ſervice was attended to without any views of in-
tereſt, even after their manners had been cor-
rupted.
UNDER the feudal government, there were no
taxes, for on what could they have been levied?
The man and the land were both the property of
the Lord. It was both a real and a perfonal fer-
vitude.
2
WHEN knowledge began to diffufe it's light over
Europe, the nations turned their thoughts towards
their own fecurity. They voluntarily furnished
contributions to repreſs foreign and domeſtic ene-
mies. But thofe tributes were moderate, becaufe
princes were not yet abfolute enough to divert
them to purpoſes of their own caprices, or to the
advantage of their ambition.
THE New World was difcovered, and the paf-
fion for conquest engaged every nation. That
VOL. VI.
I i
fpirit
482
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK fpirit of aggrandizement was inconfiftent with
XIX. the flownefs with which affairs are managed in
popular affemblies; and fovereigns fucceeded
without much difficulty in appropriating to
themſelves greater rights than they had ever be-
fore enjoyed. The impofition of taxes was the
moſt important of their ufurpations, and it is that,
the confequences of which have been the moſt
pernicious.
PRINCES have even ventured to render the
marks of fervitude apparent upon all their fub-
jects, by levying a poll-tax. Independent of the
humiliation it is attended with, can any thing be
more arbitrary than fuch a tax.
Is the tax to be levied upon voluntary informa-
tion? But this would require between the mo-
narch and his fubjects an attachment to each other
arifing from a principle of duty, which fhould
unite them by a mutual love of the general good;
or, at leaſt, a regard to public welfare, to in-
fpire the one with confidence in the other, by a
fincere and reciprocal communication of their
intelligence, and of their ſentiments. Even then,
upon what is this confcientious principle to be
founded, which is to ferve as an inſtructor, a
guide, and a check in the affairs of government?
Is the fanctuary of families, or the clofet of the
citizen, to be invaded, in order to gain by fur-
prife, and bring to light, what he does not chufe
to reveal, what it is often of importance to him
not to difcover. What an inquifition is this!
What an injurious violence! Though we fhould
even become acquainted with the refources and
means of fubfiftence of every individual, do they
not vary from one year to another with the uncer-
tain and precarious productions of induftry? Are
they not leffened by the increaſe of children, by
the decay of ſtrength through fickneſs, age, and
laborious
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
483
laborious occupations. The very faculties of the B O OK
human fpecies, which are uſeful and employed in XIX,
laborious occupations, do they not change with
thofe viciffitudes occafioned by time in every thing
that depends on nature and fortune? The perfonal
tax is a vexation then to the individual, without
being a general benefit. A poll-tax is a fort of
flavery, oppreffive to the man, without being pro-
fitable to the ſtate.
AFTER princes had impofed this tax, which is
a mark of defpotifm, or which leads to it fooner
or later, impofts were then laid upon articles of
confumption. Sovereigns have affected to con-
fider this new tribute as in fome meaſure volun-
tary, becauſe it rifes in proportion to the expen-
ces of the fubject, which he is at liberty to in-
creaſe or diminiſh according to his abilities, or
his propenfities, which are for the moft part fac-
titious.
BUT if taxation affect the commodities which
are of immediate neceflity, it must be confidered
as an act of the greateft cruelty. Previous to all
the laws of fociety, man had a right to fubfift.
And is he to lofe that right by the eſtabliſhment
of laws? To fell the produce of the earth to the
people at a high price, is in reality to deprive them.
of it: to wreft from them by a tax the natural
means of preferving life, is, in fact, to affect the
very principle of their exiftence. By extorting
the fubfiftence of the needy, the ftate takes from
him his ftrength, with his food. It reduces the
poor man to a ftate of beggary; and the labouring
man to that of idlenefs; it makes the unfortunate
man become a rogue; that is, it is the caufe of
bringing the man who is ready to ftarve to an un-
timely end, from the extreme diftrefs to which he
is reduced.
Ii 2
IF
484
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
XIX.
In the impofts affect commodities lefs neceffary,
how many hands, loft to tillage and the arts, are
employed, not in guarding the bulwarks of the
empire, but in crowding the kingdom with an in-
finite number of ufelefs barriers; in embarraffing
the gates of towns; infefting the highways and
roads of commerce; and fearching into cellars,
granaries, and florehouſes! What a ftate of war
between prince and people, between fubject and
fubject! How many prifons, gallies, and gibbets
prepared for a number of unhappy perfons who
have been urged on to fraudulent practices, to
fmuggling, and even to piracy, by the iniquity of
the revenue laws!
THE avidity of fovereigns has extended itſelf
from the articles of confumption to thofe of traffic
carried on from one ftate to another. Infatiable
tyrants! Will ye. never be fenfible, that if ye lay
duties on what ye offer to the ſtranger, he will buy
at a cheaper rate, he will give only the price
demanded by other ftates: if even your own fub-
jects were the fole proprietors of that produce
you have taxed, they ftill would never be able to
make other nations fubmit to fuch exactions; for
in that cafe the demand would be for a lefs quan-
tity, and the overplus would oblige them to lower
the price, in order to find a fale for it.
THE duty on merchandiſe which one ftate re-
ceives from another, is not lefs unreafonable.
The price of the goods being regulated by the
competition of other countries, the duties will
be paid by the fubjects of that ftate, which buys
commodities for it's neighbours. Poffibly, the
increafe in the price of foreign produce may di-
minish the confumption of it: But if a lefs
quantity of merchandiſe be fold to any country, a
lefs quantity will be purchaſed of it. The pro-
fits of trade are to be eſtimated in proportion to
2
the
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
485
the quantity of merchandiſe fold and bought. BOOK
Commerce is in fact nothing more than exchange XIX.
of the value of one commodity for that of another.
It is not poffible then to oppoſe the courſe of
thefe exchanges, without lowering the value of
the productions that are fold, by reftraining the
fale of them.
WHETHER therefore duties be laid on our own
or on foreign merchandiſe, the induſtry of the
fubject will neceffarily fuffer by it. The means
of payment will be fewer, and there will be leſs
raw materials to work up. The greater diminu
tion there is in the annual produce, the greater
alſo will be the decreafe of labour. Then all the
laws that can be made againſt beggars will be in-
effectual, for man muſt live on what is given him,
if he cannot live by what he earns.
BUT what then is the mode of taxation the moſt
proper to conciliate the public intereſt with the
rights of individuals? It is the land-tax. An im-
poft is, with refpect to the perfon upon whom it
is charged, an annual expence. It can only,
therefore, be affeffed on an annual revenue; for
nothing but an annual revenue can difcharge an
annual expence. Now there never can be any
annual revenue, except that of the land. It is
land only which returns yearly what has been
beſtowed upon it, with an additional profit that
may be difpofed of. It is but within theſe few
years that we have begun to be fenfible of this
important truth. Some men of abilities will one
day be able to demonftrate the evidence of it: and
that government which firft makes this the founda-
tion of it
fyftem, will neceffarily be raiſed to a
degree of profperity unknown to all nations and
all ages.
PERHAPS, there is no eftaté in Europe at prefent
whofe fituation admits of fo great a change. The
taxes
486
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOO K taxes are every where fo heavy, the expences fo
XIX. multiplied, the wants fo urgent, the treafury of
the ſtate in general fo much indebted, that a fud-
den change in the mode of raifing the public re-
venues, would infallibly alter the confidence and
diſturb the peace of the fubject. But an enlight-
ened and provident policy will tend, by flow and
gradual ſteps, towards fo falutary an end. With
courage and prudence it will remove every ob-
ftacle that prejudice, ignorance, and private in-
tereſt might have to oppofe to a fyftem of admi-
niſtration, the advantages of which appear to us
beyond all calculation.
In order that nothing may leffen the benefits of
this fortunate innovation, it will be neceffary that
all lands without diftinction fhould be fubjected
to taxation. The public weal is a treaſure in
common, wherein every individual ſhould depofit
his tribute, his fervice, and his abilities. Names
and titles will never change the nature of men and
their poffeffions. It would be the utmost mean-
nefs and folly to avail ourſelves of diftinctions re-
ceived from our anceſtors, in order to withdraw
ourfelves from the burdens of fociety. Every
mark of diſtinction that is not of general utility
ſhould be confidered as injurious, it can only be
equitable, when it is founded on a formal en-
gagement of devoting our lives and fortunes in a
more particular manner to the fervice of our
country.
IF in our days the tax were laid for the firſt
time upon the land, would it not neceffarily be
fuppofed that the contribution fhould be propor-
tioned to the extent and value of the eſtates?
Would any one venture to allege his employ-
ments, his fervices, his dignities, in order to
fereen himſelf from the tributes required for the
public fervice? What connection have taxes
with
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,
487
with ranks, titles, and conditions? They relate BOOK
only to the revenue: and this belongs to the, XIX.
ftate, as foon as it becomes neceffary for the pub-
lic defence.
THE manner in which the tax ought to be laid
upon the lands is more difficult to afcertain.
Some writers have imagined, that ecclefiaftical
tithes, unfortunately levied in the greateſt part of
Europe, would be a proper mode to be adopted.
In that fyftem, fay they, there could be no fraud
nor miſtake. According as circumftances fhould
require more efforts on the part of the people, the
treaſury would take a fourth, a fifth, a fixth
part of the productions at the time of the harveſt,
and every thing would be fettled without con-
straint, without deceit, without miftruft, and
without oppreffion.
1
BUT in this mode of levying how will the tax
be collected, for objects fo multiplied, fo vari-
able, and fo little known? Would not the form
of adminiſtration require enormous expences?
Would not the forming of the tax give occafion to
profits too confiderable? If this arrangement
fhould therefore appear moſt fatal to citizens,
would it not be most fatal to government? How
can any one poffibly doubt, that the intereſt
of the individual is the fame as that of the
fociety? Can any one be ftill ignorant of the
Connection there is between the fovereign
who afks and the fubjects who grant ?
BESIDES, this impoft, apparently fo equal,
would in fact be the moft difproportioned of all
thofe which ignorance hath ever fuggefted.
While one contributor fhould be required to
give up only the fourth of his revenue, one half,
and fometimes more, would be taken from
others, who, in order to obtain the fame quantity
of productions, will have been obliged, by the
nature
•
488
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BO O K nature of an ungrateful foil, or by the difficulty
XIX. of working it, to fupport expences infinitely more
confiderable.
i
THESE inconveniences have occafioned an idea
to be rejected, which has been propofed or fup-
ported by men little verfed in political economy,
but difgufted, with reaſon, at the arbitrary manner
in which they ſaw the lands taxed. Suppofe the
extent of the domain be admitted as a rule, yet
it muſt be confidered that there are fome lands
which can pay a great deal, others which can pay
little, and fome, even, which can pay nothing,
becauſe the profits remaining, after all the ex-
pences, are ſcarce fufficient to determine the moſt
intelligent man to cultivate them. If an exact
ſtate of the leafes be demanded, will not the farm-
ers and proprietors act in concert to deceive the
government? and what means are there to dif
cover a fraud, planned with confummate art?
If you will allow men to give in the account of
their own eftates, for one of thefe declarations
that fhall be honeft, will there not be a hundred
falfe ones? and will not the citizen of ſtrict pro-
bity be the victim of him who is deftitute of
principles? In the mode of taking an eſtimation
of the value of the lands, will not the agent of
the treaſury fuffer himſelf to be fuborned by con-
tributors whofe intereft it is to bribe him? Sup-
poſe the care of making the repartitions be left to
the inhabitants of each diftrict, it is undoubtedly
the moſt equitable rule, the moft conformable to.
the rights of nature and property; and yet it!
muft neceffarily produce fo many cabals, alterca-
tions, , and animofities, fo violent a collifion be
tween the paffions, which will interfere with each
other, that it cannot be productive of that fyftem
of equity which might infure the public hap
pinefs.
A REGIS
IN THE EAST +
489
AND WEST INDIES.
-
A REGISTER book, which would cautioufly BOOK
meaſure the lands, which would appreciate, with XIX.
equity, their value, would alone be capable of
effecting this fortunate revolution. This prin-
ciple, fo fimple and fo evident, hath been rarely
applied, and then but imperfectly. It is to be
hoped, that this fine inftitution, though warmly
oppofed by authority and by corruption, will be
improved in thofe ftates where it has been adopt-
ed, and that it will be introduced in the empires
where it doth not yet exiſt. The monarch who
ſhall ſignalize his reign by this great benefit, will
be bleffed during his life, his memory will be
dear to poſterity, and his felicity will be extended
beyond ages, if, as it cannot be doubted, there
exiſts a God, the remunerator of good actions.
- BUT let not government, under whatever form
it may have been eſtabliſhed, or ſtill ſubſiſts, ever
carry the meaſure of impofts to excels. It is
faid, that in their origin they rendered men more
active, more fober, and more intelligent; and
that they have thus contributed to the profperity
of empires. This opinion is not deftitute of pro-
bability; but it is ftill more certain, that when
the taxes have been extended beyond the proper
limits, they have ftopped the labours, extin-
guiſhed industry, and produced difcouragement.
THOUGH man hath been condemned by nature
to perpetual watchings in order to fecure a fub-
fiftence, this urgent care hath not exerted all his
faculties. His defires have been extended much
beyond this; and the more numerous are the ob-
jects which have entered into his plan of happiness,
the more repeated have been his efforts to attain
them. If he hath been reduced, by tyranny, to
expect nothing more from obftinate labour than
articles of primary neceffity, his activity hath
been diminiſhed; he hath himſelf contracted the
$
;
ſphere
490
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK ſphere of his wants. Troubled, foured, and ex-
XIX. hauffed by the oppreffive fpirit of the treaſury,
he hath either languifhed by his wretched fire-fide,
or hath quitted his country in fearch of a lefs un-
fortunate deſtiny, or hath led a wandering and
vagabond life over defolated provinces. Moft fo-
cieties have, at different periods, fuffered theſe
calamities, and exhibited this hideous fpectacle. 9
ACCORDINGLY, it is an error, and a very great
one, to judge of the power of empires by the re-
venue of the fovereign. This bafis of calculation
would be the beft that could be established, if
the tributes were proportioned to the abilities of
the citizens; but when the republic is oppreffed
by the weight or the variety of the impofts, thefe
riches, far from being a fign of national prof-
perity, are a mark of decay. The people, una-
ble to furnish any extraordinary affiftance to the
mother-country, when threatened or invaded,
yield to a foreign yoke, and ſubmit to fhameful
and ruinous laws. The catastrophe is haftened,
when the treafury has recourfe to the farming of
the revenue, in order to collect the taxes.
THE Contribution of the citizens towards the
public treaſury is a tribute: they ſhould prefent
it themfelves to the fovereign; who, on his part,
aught prudently to direct the employment of it.
Every intermediate agent deſtroys thefe connec-
tions, which cannot be too nearly united. His
influence becomes an unavoidable fource of divi
fion and ravage. It is under this odious afpect
that the farmers of the taxes have always been
confidered.
2
THE farmers of the revenue contrive the taxes;
and it is their finefs to multiply them. They
envelop them in obfcurity, in order to give them
the degree of extenfion moſt fuitable to themfelves.
Their interefts are fupported by judges chofen
by
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
491
by themfelves. They bribe every acceſs to the BOOK
throne; and they caufe at pleaſure their zeal to XIX.
be extolled, or the people to be calumniated,
who are diffatisfied, with reaſon, at their vexa-
tions. By thofe vile artifices they plunge the
province into the loweft degree of mifery, while
their own coffers regurgitate with riches. Then
it is that the laws, manners, honour, and the
little remains of the blood of the nation, are fold
to them at the vileft price. The contractor en-
joys, without fhame or remorfe, theſe infamous
and criminal advantages, till he hath deftroyed
the ſtate, the prince, and himſelf.
FREE nations have feldom experienced this
terrible deſtiny. Humane and confiderate prin-
ciples have made them prefer an adminiſtration
almoſt always of a paternal kind, to receive the
contributions of the citizens. It is in abfolute
governments that the tyrannical cuftom of farm-
ing out the revenue is peculiarly adopted. Go-
vernment have fometimes been alarmed at the
ravages occafioned by this practice; but timid,
ignorant, or indolent adminiftrators, have appre-
hended, that in the confufion in which things
were, a total fubverfion would be the confe
quence of the leaft change. Wherefore, then,
fhould not the time of the diſeaſe be that of the
remedy? Then it is that the minds of men are
better difpofed to a change, that oppofition is lefs
violent, and that the revolution is more eafily ac
compliſhed.
Ir is not, however, fufficient that the impoft
fhould be levied with equity, and that it fhould
be collected with moderation; it is further necef-
fary that it fhould be proportioned to the wants
of government, which are not always the fame.
War hath ever required in all countries, and in
every age, more confiderable expences than peace.
The
492
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK The ancients made a provifion for them by their
XIX. œconomy in times of tranquillity. Since the ad-
vantages of circulation, and the principles of in-
duftry, have been better understood, the method
of laying up fpecie for this purpoſe has been pro-
fcribed, and that of impofing extraordinary taxes
has been, with reafon, preferred. Every ftate
that ſhould prohibit them would find itfelf ob-
liged, in order to protract it's fall, to have re-
courſe to the methods made ufe of at Conftan-
tinople. The Sultan, who can do every thing
but augment his revenues, is conftrained to give
up the empire to the extortions of his delegates,
that he may afterwards deprive them of what they
have plundered from his fubjects.
THAT taxes may not be exorbitant, they fhould
be ordered, regulated, and administered by the
reprefentatives of the people. The impoft has
ever depended on, and muſt be proportioned to,
the property poffeffed. He who is not mafter of
the produce is not maſter of the field.. Tributes,
therefore, among all nations have always been
firſt impoſed upon proprietors only; whether the
lands were divided among the conquerors, or the
clergy ſhared them with the nobles; or whether
they paffed, by means of commerce and induftry,
into the hands of the generality of the citizens.
Every where, thofe who were in poffeffion of them
had referved to themſelves the natural, unaliena-
ble, and facred right, of not being taxed with-
out their own confent. If we do not admit this
principle, there is no longer any monarchy, or
any nation; there is nothing remaining but a de-
fpotic mafter, and a herd of flaves.
YE people, whofe kings command every thing
at pleaſure, read over again the hiftory of your
own country. You will fee that your anceſtors
affembled themſelves, and deliberated, whenever
a fub.
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
493
↑
a fubfidy was in agitation. If this cuftom be ne- BOOK
glected, the right is not loft; it is recorded in XIX.
heaven, which has given the earth to mankind to
poffefs; it is written on the field you have taken
the pains to inclofe, in order to fecure to your-
felves the enjoyment of it: it is written in your
hearts, where the divinity has impreffed the love
of liberty. Man, whofe head is raifed towards
heaven, was not made in the image of his Creator
to bow before man. No one is greater than an-
other, but by the choice and confent of all. Ye
courtiers, your greatnefs confifts in your lands,
and is not to be found in your attendance on
your mafter.
maſter. Be lefs ambitious, and ye will be
richer. Do juftice to your vaffals, and ye will
improve your fortunes by increafing the general
happineſs. What advantage can ye, propofe to
yourſelves by raifing the edifice of defpotifm up-
on the ruins of every kind of liberty, virtue, fen-
timent, and property? Confider that this power
will crush you all. Around this formidable Co-
loffus ye are no more than figures of bronze,
reprefenting the nations chained at the feet of a
ftatue.
In the right of impofing taxes be in the prince
alone, though it may not be for his intereft to
burden and opprefs his people, yet they will be
burdened and oppreffed. The caprices, profu-
fions, and encroachments of the fovereign, will
no longer know any bounds when they meet with
no obſtacles. A falfe and cruel ſyſtem of politics
will foon perfuade him, that rich fubjects will al-
ways become infolent; that they must be diftreff
ed, in order to be reduced to fubjection; and that
poverty is the firmeft rampart of the throne. He
will proceed fo far as to believe that every thing
is at his difpofal; that nothing belongs to his
flaves;
494
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK flaves; and that he does them a favour in leaving
XIX. them any thing.
THE government will appropriate to itſelf all
the means and refources of induftry; and will lay
fuch reſtraints on the exports and imports of every
article of trade, as will entirely abforb the profits
arifing from it. Commerce will only be circu-
lated by the interference, and for the benefit of
the treafury. Cultivation will be neglected by
mercenaries who can have no hopes of acquiring
property. The nobility will ferve in the army
only for pay. The magiftrate will give judg
ment only for the fake of his fees and his falary.
Merchants will keep their fortunes concealed, in
order that they may convey them out of a land
where there is no fpirit of patriotifm, nor any
fecurity left. The nation, then lofing all it's in-
portance, will
conceive an indifference for it's
will fee it's enemies only in thoſe are
who
it's mafters; will be induced to hope that a
change of flavery will tend to alleviate the yoke
of it; will expect it's deliverance from a revolu
tion, and the reſtoration of it's tranquillity from
an entire overthrow of the ſtate.
cc I.
THIS defcription is dreadful," faid a vizier.
to me, for there are viziers every where.
" am concerned at it. But without contribu-
❝tion, how can I maintain that ſtrength of the
"ſtate, the neceffity and advantage of which you
"yourſelf acknowledge? This ftrength fhould be
CC
+
permanent, and always equal; otherwife there
"would be no more fecurity for your perfons,
your property, or your industry. Happinefs
"undefended is no more than a chimera. My
"expences are independent of the variety of fea-
"fons, of the inclemency of the elements, and
"of all accidents. It is therefore neceffary that
"they fhould be fupplied by you, although a
"peftilence
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
495
" peftilence ſhould have deftroyed your cattle, BOOK
"though infects fhould have devoured your vines,
your vines, XIX.
"and though the hail fhould have rooted up your
harvefts. You must pay, or I will turn against
you that ſtrength of the ſtate, which hath been
"created for your fafety, and which it is your
"bufinefs to maintain."
CC
THIS oppreffive fyftem concerned only the
pro-
prietors of lands. The vizier foon informed me
of the means which he employed to render the
other members of the confederacy fubfervient to
the treaſury.
CC
66
"It is chiefly in the cities that the mechanical
"and liberal arts, of utility or ornament, of ne-
ceffity or fancy, are concentrated, or at leaſt
"their activity, their difplay, or their improve-
ment. There it is that the rich, and confe-
quently indolent citizens, attracted or fixed by
"the charms of fociety, endeavour to delude the
"weariſomeneſs of life by factitious wants. There
"it is, that in order to gratify them, they employ
"the poor, or, which is the fame thing, the in-
"duftrious man; who, in his turn, in order to
fatisfy the wants of primary neceffity, which
are for a long time the only wants with which
"he is tormented, endeavours to multiply the
"factitious wants of the rich man; from whence
"arifes between the one and the other a mutual
"dependence, founded upon their refpective in-
"terefts; for the induſtrious man wishes to las
bour, while the rich man wishes to enjoy.
"If, therefore, I can tax the neceffary articles
"of all the inhabitants of cities, whether induf-
"trious or idle, that is to fay, if I can raife the
"price, for the ſtate, of all the commodities
"and merchandiſe which are confumed there,
"by the wants of all the individuals; I fhall then
"have taxed all the fpecies of induftry, and I
C
ક
i
fhall
496
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK" hall have brought them to the condition of
XIX. the induftrious husbandman. I fhall have done
"ſtill more; and efpecially, let not this circum-
ແ ftance efcape your notice, I fhall have made
"the rich-pay for the poor, becaufe the latter
"will not fail to raife the price of his producti-
"ons, in proportion to the multiplication of his
❝ wants."
I CONJURE thee, vizier, to ſpare, at leaſt, the
air, the water, the fire, and even the corn, which
is not lefs, than thoſe three elements, the facred
right of every man, without exception. Deprived
of light, no one can either live or act, and with-
out life or action there can be no induftry.com/
?
I WILL think of it. But, attend to me in all
"the different plans, by which I have compre-
"hended all the other objects of neceffity, efpe-
"cially in the cities. In the firft place, being
"mafter of the frontiers of the empire, I fuffer
"nothing to come from foreigners, nor any
"thing to be conveyed to them, unless they pay
"in proportion to the number, weight, and va
lue of the thing fent. By this mode, he who
"hath manufactured, or who exports, yields to
" me a part of his profits; and he who receives
"or confumes, gives me fomething above what
"belongs to the merchant, or to the manufac-
❝turer.
I UNDERSTAND, vizier ; but by interfering thus
between the feller and the purchafer, between the
manufacturer, or the merchant, and the confumer,
without being called upon, and without your in-
terference being profitable to them, fince, on the
contrary, you keep it up to their detriment, doth
it not happen, that on their parts they endeavour,
by deceiving thee fome how or other, to diminish
thy fhare, or even to fruftrate thee of it?opt
66 UN
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
497
XIX.
"UNDOUBTEDLY: but of what ufe would the B O OK
"ftrength of the ftate be to me then, if I did not.
employ it in finding out the fraud, in guarding
"againft it, or in punishing it? If they endea-
66
vour to with-hold or to diminiſh my ſhare, I
"take the whole; and even fometimes proceed
a little further."
I COMPREHEND you: Thus it is that wars and
exactions are ſtill maintained on the frontiers, and
on the borders of the provinces, and that, in or◄
der to prefs upon that fortunate induftry, which
is the tie of the moft diftant nations, and of the
people the moſt ſeparated by their manners and
by their religion, andr
"I AM forry for it. But every thing muſt be
"facrificed to the ftrength of the ftate, to that
"bulwark which is raiſed againft the jealoufy
"and rapacioufnefs of neighbouring powers. The
"intereft of particular individuals, doth not al-
66
ways agree with that of the greater number.
"One effect of the proceeding you complain of is,
to preſerve to you commodities and productions,
"which perfonal advantage would deprive you of
66
by exporting them to foreign countries; and I
❝prohibit the importation of foreign merchandiſe,
"which, by the fuper-abundance they would oc-
"cafion, when united to your's, would lower the
"price of the latter."
THANK thee, vizier: but is it neceffary that
thou ſhouldft have troops? Thofe troops are
very inconvenient. And couldft thou not ferve
me without a military parade?
"IF you perpetually interrupt me, you will
"lofe the thread of my fubtile and marvellous
"operations. After having laid a tax on mer-
"chandife, on it's entrance, and on it's going
"out of the empire, on it's paffage from one
province to the other, I follow the track of the
VOL. VI.
(6
K k
"C
tra-
498
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
66
BOOK" traveller, who goes through my diftrict on ac-
XIX. count of his affairs, or through motives of cu-
riofity. I follow the peafant who carries to
town the produce of the fields, or of his farm-
"yard; and when thirst drives him into a public
houfe, by means of an affociation with the
"mafter.
WHAT, vizier! An inn-keeper is your affo-
ciate ?
CERTAINLY. Is there any thing defpicable,
when the maintenance of the ftrength of the
"ftate, and confequently the wealth of the trea-
fury, is concerned? By means of this affocia-
"tion, I receive part of the price of the liquor
"confumed there."
BUT vizier, how does it happen that you come
to be the partner of the keeper of an inn or ta-
vern, in the fale of his liquors? Is it poffible that
you ſhould be his purveyor.
"I HIS purveyor! This is what I would care-
"fully avoid. Where would be the advantage
"of felling the wine, which the vine-dreffer
"might have given me as the tribute of his in-
"duſtry ? I am better acquainted with the ma-
"nagement of my affairs. In the first place, I
"am in partnership with the vine-keeper or
"proprietor, with the brewer and the diftiller of
"brandy, by which I obtain part of the price for
"which they fell them to the innholders, or
66
keepers of public houfes; and I have afterwards
"another with the latter, by which they are ac-
countable to me in their turn, for a portion of
"the price which they receive from the con-
fumer, leaving the feller at liberty to recover
"from the confumer that ſhare of the price which
"belongs to me from the confumption
..
Ir must be acknowledged that this is very fine.
But vizier, how do you manage to be preſent at
all
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
499
XIX.
all the fales of liquors which are made in your BOOK
empire? How doth it happen that you are not
pilfered by theſe inn-keepers, who have been noto-
riouſly diſhoneſt, ever fince the times of the Ro-
mans, though the queftors were not in partner-
fhip with them? After what you have intrufted
to me I do not doubt of any thing, but I am cu-
rious.
"It is in this inftance that I fhall appear bold
"to you, and that you will admire my fagacity. It
"is impoffible to afpire to every kind of merit
"and of glory. Firft, no man is allowed to
"move a hogshead of wine, of cyder, beer, or
"of brandy, either from the place where it is
"produced or prepared, or from the ware-
"houſe or from the cellar, either to fell or to
"tranſport, no matter for what purpofe, without
my permiffion in writing. By this I know
"what becomes of them. If any liquor be
met without this paffport I feize upon it;
"and the proprietor pays me immediately a
"third, or a fourth more than the value. Af
"terwards the fame agents, who are employed
66
<6.
night and day, in all parts, to aſcertain to me
"the honefty of the proprietors, or wholefale
"merchants, in keeping their compact of affo-
"ciation, enter every day twice rather than
66 once, into the houſe of each inn or tavern-
"keeper, where they found the veffels, reckon
"the bottles; and if there be the leaſt fufpicion
"of pilfering upon my fhare, the puniſhment is
"fo fevere as to prevent their being tempted a
"fecond time."
BUT, vizier, in order to pleaſe you, are not
your agents fo many petty fubaltern tyrants?
" I MAKE no doubt of it; and I reward them
" well for it."
Kk 2
VERY
500
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
XIX.
VERY well, but vizier, I have one feruple.
Thefe affociations, with the proprietor and with
the merchants in wholeſale and in retail, have a
little the appearance of thofe which the highway-
man contracts with the paffenger whom he robs.
"You do not confider what you fay. My
"affociations are authorized by law, and by the
"facred inftitution of the ſtrength of the ftate.
"Can no circumſtance then have an influence
“upon your mind? But let me now perfuade you
to come with me to the gates of the city, where
you will not find me lefs admirable. Nothing
"enters there without bringing fome profit to
"me. Should they be liquors, they contribute,
"not in proportion to their value, as in my other
CC
66 you
arrangements, but according to their quantity;
"and you may be affured that I am not the dupe,
"The inn-keeper, or the citizen, have nothing
26
If
to fay, although I have befides fome concern
"with them, at the time of the purchaſe and of
"the fale, for it is in a different manner.
"they be provifions, I have my agents, not only
"at the gates, but at the flaughter-houfes and in
"the fish-markets; and no one would attempt
"to plunder me, without rifking more than he
"could get by the fraud. Lefs precautions are
"neceffary in refpect to wood, forage, or paper.
"Thefe mercantile articles cannot be pilfered
as a flaſk of wine is. I have, however, my
«emiffaries on the roads, and in the bye-places,
"and woe be to thoſe who ſhould be found en-
"deavouring to elude my vigilance. You fee,"
"therefore, that whoever dwells in cities, whe-
"ther he may live by his induſtry, or whether he
"may employ his income, or a part of his profits,
in a falary for the induftrious man, ftill no one
can confume without paying; and that all men
pay more for the ufual and indifpenfible con-
"fumptions,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
501
"fumptions, than for the reft. I have laid every BOOK
"kind of induſtry under contribution, without XIX.
"it's perceiving it. There are, however, fome
"branches of it with which I have endeavoured
૯
ce
r
"to treat more directly, becaufe their common
"refidence is not in towns, and that I have
imagined they would be more profitable to
me from a fpecial contribution. For inftance,
"I have agents in the forges and furnaces, where
"iron, which is put to fo many different ufes, is
"manufactured and weighed; I have fome in
"the workſhops of the tanners, where the hides,
"which are of fuch general utility, are manufac
"tured; I have fome among all thoſe perfons
"who work in gold, filver, plate, and jewels;
"and you will not accufe me, in this inftance, of
ઇંદ્ર' attacking objects of primary neceffity. In pro-
"portion as my experiments fucceed I extend
"them. I flatter myſelf that I fhall one day be
"able to fix my fatellites by the fide of the linen
"looms, becauſe they are fo univerfally uſeful.
ແ But do not impart my fecret to any one.
"Whenever my fpeculations get wind, it is al-
"ways
ways to my detriment."
'
I AM truly ftricken, vizier, with your fagacity,
or with that of your fublime predeceffors.
They have digged mines of gold every where.
They have made of your country a Peru, the
inhabitants of which have, perhaps, had the fame
deſtiny as thofe of the other continent; but of
what concern is it to you? But you fay nothing
to me of the falt, and the tobacco, which you fell
ten times above their intrinfic value, though falt
be the moſt neceffary article in life, after bread
and water. What is the meaning of your filence?
Are fenfible of the contradiction in your con-
you
duct in felling this article, and refufing to col-
lect
502
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK lect the other contributions in kind, under pre-
tence of the trouble of felling again?
XIX.
"NoT in the leaft. The difference is eafily
perceived. If I received from the proprietor
or cultivator his ſhare of contribution in kind,
"in order to fell it again afterwards, I become his
competitor in the markets. My predeceffors
have been prudent, in referving to themſelves
"the exclufive diftribution of them. This hath
"been attended with fome difficulty. In order
to bring thoſe two ſtreams of gold into the
refervoir of the treafury, it was neceffary to
"forbid the culture and the manufacture of to-
bacco in the nation; which doth not difpenfe
"me from keeping upon the frontiers, and even
in the interior parts of the empire, an army, to
prevent the introduction and the competition of
any other tobacco with mine."
HAVE you found theſe expedients ſucceſsful,
vizier ?
Nor fo fully as I could have wifhed, not-
withſtanding the feverity of the penal laws.
"As for the falt, the difficulty was much greater;
"I cannot but acknowledge my concern at it.
My predeceffors committed an irreparable
blunder, Under pretence of difpenfing a uſeful
favour, neceffary to fome of the maritime pro-
"vinces, or, perhaps, induced by the allurement
"of a confiderable fum, though a temporary one,
"which other provinces paid, to be allowed to fur-
nifh themſelves with falt as they chofe; they gave
way to exceptions, the confequences of which
"are, that it is not I who fell it, in one third of
the extent of the empire, or thereabouts. I am
indeed in great hopes of altering this, but I
"muft wait for the moment of diftrefs."
مانا
INDEPENDENT, therefore, of the armies which
you maintain upon the frontiers, to prevent the
importa-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
503
XIX.
importation of tobacco and foreign merchandife, BOOK
you have ftill others in the inland parts of the
country, to prevent the fale of the falt belonging
to the free provinces from coming into competition
with the fale of your's.
८८
її
.
"IT is true. However I muft do juftice to
our ancient viziers. They have left me a very
well contrived fyftem of legiſlation.
For in-
ftance, thoſe perfons of the free countries bor-
"dering upon thofe provinces where I fell, are
"allowed to fell as little falt as poffible, to pre-
vent them from felling it to my prejudice;
"and by a confequence of the fame wife mea-
fures, thofe who are to purchaſe of me, and
who, being near the free countries, might, be
tempted to provide themfelves at a cheaper
rate, are compelled to take more than they can
confume."
66
แ
AND is this cuftom confecrated by law?
"YES; and fupported by the auguft ftrength
"of the ftate. I am authorized to number the
"families, and if any one of them fhould not
purchaſe the quantity of falt that I think necef-
"fary for their confumption, they are obliged to
pay for it, all the fame as if they had."
ແ
દ
AND every perſon who fhall falt their meat
with any other falt than your's, will certainly fuf-
fer for it.
"EXCEEDINGLY.
I
Befide the feizure of this
iniquitous falt, it cofts him more than he
"would expend for fupplying his family for feve-
"ral years.
AND what becomes of the feller?
"THE feller! He is of courfe a robber, a
plunderer, a malefactor, whom I reduce to
beggary if he has, any thing, and whom I
"fend to the galleys if he has nothing."
3
BUT
504
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK BUT are you not, vizier, expofed to inceffant
XIX. law-fuits?
"I HAVE many upon my hands; but there is
"a particular court of juftice, to which the ex-
"clufive determination of them is committed"
AND how doft thou extricate thyfelf from them?
Is it by the interference of thy favourite principle,
the ftrength of the ftate?
"WITH that, and with money."
I CAN but admire, vizier, thy head and thy cou-
rage. Thy head, which attends to fo many ob-
jects, and thy courage, which faces ſo many ene-
mies. You have been typified in the holy fcrip-
tures by Ishmael, whofe hands were uplifted againſt
all, and thoſe of all raiſed againſt him.
"ALAS, Iown it! But the importance of the
"ftrength of the ftate, and the extent of it's
66
I
wants are fuch, that it hath been neceffary to
"have recourfe to other expedients. Befides
"what the proprietor is annually indebted to me
"for the produce of his eftate; if he fhould re-
"folve to fell it, the purchafer muft pay me a fum
"above the price agreed on with the feller.
"have rated all human compacts, and no man
enters into any kind of contract without fur-
. nifhing me a contribution proportioned either
to the object or the nature of the convention.
"This examination implies a fet of profound
}
..
પ
..
agents. And indeed I am often in want of
"them. The pleader cannot take one fingle ftep,
"either as plaintiff or defendant, without fome
"benefit arifing to me from it; and you will
"allow that this tribute is very innocent; for no
one is yet difgufted of law-fuits."
SUFFER me to take breath, vizier, although thy
calculation fhould not be at an end. Thou haft wea-
ried out my admiration, and I know not which cir-
cumftance fhould moft excite my aftonishment,
either
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
505
either that perfidious and barbarous ſcience which BOOK
extends it's influence over every thing, and preffes XIX-
upon every thing; or that patience with which
fo many repeated acts of fubtle tyranny, which
fpares nothing, are fupported. The flave receives
his fubfiftence in exchange for his liberty, while
thy wretched contributor is deprived of his liberty
by furniſhing thee with his fubfiftence.
HITHERTO I have ſo frequently given way to
emotions even of indignation, that I have ven-
tured to thick I fhould be excufed for indulging
myſelf for once in ridicule and irony, which have
fo often decided the most important queftions. I
reſume the character that fuits me, and I ſay:
THERE undoubtedly muſt be a degree of pub-
lic ftrength in every government, which fhall
act both within and without. Without, to defend
the body of the nation againſt the jealoufy, the
cupidity, the ambition, the contempt, and vio-
lence of other nations; and this protection, or
the fecurity which fhould be the effect of it,
requires armies, fleets, fortreffes, arfenals, feeble
allies to be kept in pay, and powerful allies to be
feconded. Within, to preferve the citizen attach-
ed to the order of fociety, from the troubles, op-
preffions, and injuries he may be expofed to from
the wicked man, who fuffers himſelf to be led
aftray by paffions, by perfonal intereft, or by his
vices, and who is reftrained only by the threats
of justice, and by the vigilance of the police.
}
WE fhall moreover venture to advance, that it is
advantageous to the greater number of citizens,
that the ftrength of the ftate fhould encourage
induſtry, ftimulate talents, and affift thofe who,
from an inconfiderate zeal, unforeſeen misfortunes,
or falfe fpeculations, have loft their own ability.
It is from this principle that we trace the necef-
fity of charity-ſchools and hofpitals."
IN
506
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
XIX.
In order to increaſe the energy of this ftrength
of the ſtate, which, eſpecially in monarchial ftates
feems to be diftinct and feparate from the nation;
I would even confent that the depofitary and di-
rector of this public ftrength fhould imprefs awe
by a parade of dignity, fhould attract by mildness,
and encourage by rewards, fince it is his duty to
make it be feared, refpected, and cheriſhed,
ALL theſe means are expenfive. Expences
fuppofe revenue, and a revenue implies contri-
butions. It is juft, that thofe who partake of
the advantages of the ftrength of the ftate fhould
furniſh towards it's maintenance. There is a ta-
cit but facred agreement between the fovereign and
his fubjects, by which the former engages to affift,
with a degree of that force proportioned to the
portion that has been furniſhed of it, towards the
general mafs of contributions; and this diftribu-
tive juftice would be executed of itſelf by the na-
ture of things, if it were not inceffantly disturbed
by corruption and vice.
BUT in every convention there is a proportion
between the price and the value of the thing ac-
quired; and this proportion muft neceffarily be
in the ratio of minus on the fide of the price, and
in that of plus on the fide of the advantages. I
am ready to purchafe a fword to defend myſelf
againſt the thief, but if, in order to acquire this
fword, I am obliged to empty my purfe or to fell
my houfe, I would rather compound with the
thief.
Now where then is this analogy, this propor-
tion of advantages, derived from the ſtrength of
the ftate, in favour of a proprietor, when compared
with the price which he pays for them, if among
the moſt civilized nations of Europe, the leaft ex-
poſed to excurfions and to foreign attacks, after
having ceded a part of his poffeffion he is obliged,
when
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
50%
XIX.
when he goes to live in the town, to purchaſe at BOOK
an advanced price, for the benefit of this ftrength
of the ftate, not only the productions of other
people, but likewife his own, when he chooſes to
confume them ?
WHAT is this proportion of advantages for the
bufbandman, if he be compelled, on the one hand,
to confume in kind a portion of his time, and of
the means of his induftry, for the conſtruction
and the repairing of the roads; and if he be alfo
obliged to return in money a confiderable portion of
the productions he hath acquired from the earth by
the fweat of his brow and by hard labours?
WHAT is this proportion of advantages for
the mechanic, who cannot work without food,
lodging, clothing, light, and firing; and who
cannot fupply himſelf with all theſe articles with-
out contributing, fince thefe feveral means of fub-
fiftence are taxed; if he be ftill obliged to return
part of the price of his time and of his talents to
the impoft which falls directly upon the producti-
ons of his induſtry?
WHAT is this proportion of advantages for the
merchant, who hath already contributed in a va-
riety of ways, both by his perfonal confumption,
by the confumption of his clerks, as well as by
the advanced price of the first materials; if he be
ftill obliged to cede a portion of the price of the
merchandiſe which he fends out, and from which
he may perhaps receive nothing; in cafe of fome
of thofe numberlefs accidents, from which this
public ftrength doth not engage either to fcreen
or indemnify him?
WHAT is this proportion of advantage for all
individuals, if after having contributed in every
progreffion and exertion of our induftry to the com-
mon mafs, on one hand, by an annual and general
impoft, that of the poll-tax, which hath no connec-
tion,
508
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK tion, no affinity, either with property or with induf-
XIX. try, we ftill contribute, on the other hand, by the
falt, a commodity of primary neceffity, which is car-
ried to ten times it's intrinfic and natural value?
:
ONCE again, what proportion of theſe advan-
tages belongs to all individuals, if we fee all
thefe quotas, exacted for the maintenance of the
ftrength of the ftate, wafted among the extor-
tioners who collect them, while the remainder,
which, after ſeveral expences of circulation, is
poured into the king's treaſury, where it is pillaged
in feveral different manners or diffipated in extra-
vagance ?
WE fhall alfo afk, what analogy is there be-
tween that ſtrange and complicated variety of
contributions, and the advantages which each of
us obtains from the ftrength of the ftate; if it be
true, as certain political calculators pretend, that
the fums of thofe who contribute are equal to
thofe of the revenue of the proprietors ?
.1
WE can only feek for an answer to this queſtion
in the character of the fovereign. If he be cruel,
the problem will not be folved; and time, after
a long feries of oppreffion will bring about the
ruin of the empire. If the fovereign ſhould have
any fenfibility, the problem will be folved in a
manner beneficial to his fubjects.
THE chief of the nation muft not however flat-
ter himſelf with effecting any great or lafting
good, if he does not make a judicious choice of
the man intrufted with the maintenance of the
ftrength of the ftate. It belongs to that great
agent of government to diftribute and to render
fupportable to every individual the enormous
weight of the tribute by his equity and by his skill,
and to divide it according to the relative degrees
of ability or non-ability in the contributors.
Without theſe two circumſtances, the oppreffed
people
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
509
XIX.
people will fall into a ftate of defpair more or BOOK
lefs diftant, more or lefs alarming. With thefe
two circumftancès, fupported by the expectation
of an immediate or approaching relief, they will
fuffer with patience, and will proceed under their
burden with ſome ſhare of courage.
an
:
BUT where is the minifter who will fulfil fo dif-
ficult a taſk? Will it be the minifter who, from
am odious thirft of wealth, fhall have eagerly
fought the management of the public revenues,
and who having attained that important poft by
dint of fervile intrigue, fhall have abandoned the
treaſury a prey to his paffions, his friends, his flat-
terers, and his favourites, and to the detriment of
the ſtrength of the ftate? Perish the memory of
fuch a minifter!
WILL it be he who fhall view, in the power
committed to his hands, nothing more but the
inftrument of his enmity, or of his perfonal aver-
fions; who ſhall confider nothing but how to
realize the illufion of his ferocious and diſordered
imagination, who will treat all meaſures differ-
ing from his own as abfurdities; whoſe anger
will be excited againſt real or pretended errors, as
if they were fo many crimes; to whom the fable
of the ftomach and the members fhall be an ob-
ject of ridicule; who fhall enervate that part of
the body politic that fhall be difpleafing to him,
by granting almoſt excluſive favours to that
which his fancy, his intereft, or his prejudices
ſhall prefer to whom every thing fhall bear the
ſtamp of confufion and diforder, which fhall not
be confonant to his fingular ideas, who, deftitute
of the wiſdom neceffary to correct what is de-
fective, ſhall fubftitute chimeras to a regular fyf-
tem, perhaps imperfect; and who, in order to
correct pretended abufes, blind to the confe-
quences of an ill-fuggefted plan of reformation,
I
will
510
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK will fubvert every thing with a difdainful fmile,
XIX. an empiric, who is as cruel as ignorant, who mif
taking poifon for the remedy, fhall announce a
ſpeedy cure, when repeated convulfions fhall pro-
claim the impending diffolution of the patient?
Periſh the memory of fuch a minifter!
SOVEREIGNS, you who are neither exempt from
falfehood or feduction, if you have been unfortu
nate enough to have been directed by fuch mi-
nifters, do not fubftitute to them a weak and pu
Gillanimous man, who, though well informed,
mild, modeft, and perhaps incapable of commit-
ting any great faults while he acts for himfelf,
will ftill fuffer himfelf to be misled by others;
will fall into the fnares that fhall be laid for him;
and will want that neceffary vigour, either to
put a stop to, or prevent the evil, or to act in op-
pofition to yourſelves when his confcience, and
the general intereſt ſhall require it,
+
Do not fubftitute the morofe, difdainful,
and auftere man; and much leſs the imperious
and harsh miniſter. The impoft is a heavy bur-
den; how, therefore, fhall it be fupported, if
the mode of impofing it be aggravated? It is a
bitter cup, which all muft fwallow, if it be pre-
fented haftily, or awkwardly, it will certainly be
ſpilt.
Do not ſubſtitute the man who is ignorant of
the law, or who defpifes it, to attend to nothing
but finance. It is the intereft of a fovereign,
that property and induſtry ſhould be protected,.
againſt his own authority, againſt the enterpriſes,
of his miniſters, often inconfiderate, and fometimes
dangerous. A minifter who facrifices every thing
to finance, will often fill the coffers of his maſter,
he will give to the nation, and to the throne, the
fplendour of a formidable power; but this fplendour
will be momentary as lightning. Defpair will feize
upon
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
511
XIX.
upon the minds of the fubjects. By reducing induf-B O O K
try to the moſt extreme diſtreſs, the minifter will
have acted the part of the man in the fable, who
killed the hen which brought forth golden eggs.
Do not fubſtitute a villain, armed at all points
with the formalities and ſubtleties of law, who
will keep up a perpetual quarrel between the trea-
fury and the law, who will render the former
odious, and will relax the bands of a hard but
neceffary obedience.
Do not fubftitute that outrageous philanthro-
pift, who giving himfelf up to an ill-judged fpirit
of patriotifm, fhall forget the treafury, while he
indifcreetly gives way to the feducing impulfe of
benevolence and popularity; an impulſe ever
laudable in a philofopher, but to which a mi-
nifter ought not to yield without great circum-
ſpection. For it muft ftill be acknowledged, that
the ftrength of the ftate must be eſtabliſhed, and
that there muſt be a treaſury to maintain it.
3
BUT above all things, reject the prodigal mi-
nifter. How is it poffible that a man who hath
failed in the management of his own affairs, can
adminifter thoſe of a great ftate? When he
hath diffipated his own eftates, will he be cecono-
mical of the public revenue? Let us fuppofe
him to have probity, delicacy, knowledge, and a
fincere defire of being uſeful to the ſtate, yet in
a circumftance, and upon an object fo impor
tant as that in queftion, conftitutional virtues
are only to be truſted to. How many men
are there, who have entered virtuous into the
miniſtry, and who, in fix months after their
promotion, appeared in a very different fight to
others, and even to themfelves. There is, per-
haps, lefs feduction at the foot of the throne,
than in the antichamber of a minifter, and ſtill
lefs at the foot of the throne, and in the anti-
chambers
M..
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
512
BOOK chambers of other minifters, than at the entrance
XIX. of the cloſet of the minifter of finance. But we
have dwelt too long on impofts; we muſt now
fpeak of what hath been fuggefted to fupply it's
place, of public credit.
Public
credit.
1
This was a cuftom
Every family was
nature, and fome.
Some exchanges
In general, what is called credit is only a
delay granted for payment.
unknown in the firft ages.
fatisfied with what uncultivated
coarſe labours fupplied to them.
were foon begun, but only between relations and
neighbours. Theſe connections were extended
in all places, where the progrefs of fociety multi-
plied the wants or the pleafures of men. In pro-
cefs of time, it was no longer poffible to purchafe
provifions of one kind with thofe of another;
metals were fubftituted, and became infenfibly
the common reprefentative of all things. It hap-
pened, that the agents of trade, which were be-
coming every day more confiderable, wanted the
money neceffary for their fpeculations. The mer-
chandife was then delivered, to be paid at periods
more or lefs diftant; and this fortunate cuftom
ftill obtains, and will laſt for ever.
•
CREDIT fuppofes double confidence: confi-
dence in the perfon who is in want of it, and
confidence in his abilities to pay. The firft is the
moft neceffary. It is too common for a man in
debt, who is deftitute of honefty, to break his
engagements, though he be able to fulfil them,
and to diffipate his fortune by irregularity and ex-
travagance. But the fenfible and honeſt man
may, by a variety of fchemes well conducted ac-
quire, or replace the means that have failed him
for a time.
THE mutual advantage of the purchaſer and
the feller has given rife to the credit which exifts
among the individuals of one fociety, or even of
feveral
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
513
feveral focieties. It differs from public credit in BOOK
this particular, that the latter is the credit of a XIX.
whole nation, confidered as forming one fingle
body.
BETWEEN public and private credit there is alfo
this difference, that profit is the end of the one,
and expence of the other, From hence it follows,
that credit is gain with refpect to the merchant,
becauſe it furnishes him with the means of ac-
quiring riches, but with refpect to governments,
it is one caufe of impoverishing them, fince it
only fupplies them with the means of ruining
themfelves. A ftate that borrows, alienates a
portion of it's revenue for a capital, which it
fpends. It is therefore poorer after theſe loans,
than it was before it had recourfe to this deftruc-
tive expedient.
NOTWITHSTANDING the fcarcity of gold and
filver, the ancient governments were unacquaint-
ed with public credit, even at the times of the
moft fatal and critical events. They formed,
during peace, a ftock that was referved for times
of diftrefs. The fpecie being by this method cir-
culated afresh, excited induftry, and alleviated,
in ſome meafure, the inevitable calamities of
war. Since the difcovery of the New World has
made gold and filver more common, thofe who
have had the adminiftration of public affairs have
generally engaged in enterprifes above the abili
ties of the
people they governed; and have not
fcrupled to burden pofterity with debts they had
ventured to contract. This fyftem of oppreffion has
been continued, it will affect the lateft generations,
and opprefs all nations and all ages.
Iris England, Holland, and France, that is
to fay, the moft opulent nations of Europe, who
have given fo bad an example.Thefe powers have
found credit, for the fame reafon that we do not
VOL. VI.
L1
lend
1.
娘
​514
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOO Klend our money to a man who afks charity, but to
XIX. him who dazzles us with his brilliant equipage.
Confidence hath given birth to loans; and confi-
dence arifes of itfelf at the fight of a country,
where the richness of the foil is increaſed by the
activity of an induftrious people, and at the view
of thofe celebrated ports, which receive all the pro-
ductions of the univerfe.
THE fituation of theſe three ftates hath alfo en-
couraged the lender. They are not only the pub-
lic revenues that are his guarantee, but alſo the
incomes of individuals, in which the treaſury
finds, in times of neceffity, it's fupport and it's
refources. In countries which, like Germany,
are open on all fides, and which have neither bar-
riers, nor natural means of defence, if the enemy,
who can enter into them freely, fhould either
fix, or only fojourn there for a time, they im-
mediately levy the public revenues for their own
benefit, and they even appropriate to themſelves,
by contributions, a portion of the incomes of in-
dividuals. The creditors of the government then
experience the fame thing as happened to thofe
who had annuities in the Auftrian Netherlands,
and to whom more than thirty years arrears were
due. With England, France, and Holland, which
are all three fomewhat more or lefs fecured from
invafion, there is nothing to fear except the cauſes
which exhauft them, the effect of which is flower,
and confequently more diftant.
But ſhould it not be the province of the indi-
gent man to borrow, and of the rich to lend?
Wherefore, then, are thofe ftates which have the
mcft refources the moft in debt? It is becauſe
the folly of nations is the fame as that of in-
dividuals it is becaufe, being more ambitious,
they create to themſelves more wants: it is be-
cauſe the confidence they have in their means
renders
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
518
renders them inattentive to the expences theyBOOK
make it is becauſe no action at law can be XIX.
maintained against them; and that their debts
are themſelves liquidated, whenever they have
the effrontery to fay, we owe nothing: it is be-
caufe fubjects cannot bring their fovereign to juf-
tice it is becaufe a power hath never been, ner
perhaps never will be feen, to take up arms in fa-
vour of their citizens, robbed and plundered by
a foreign power: it is becauſe a ftate renders it's
neighbours in a manner fubject to it by loans;
it is becaufe Holland is in conftant apprehenfi-
on, left the firſt cannon-fhot which ſhould pierce
the fide of one of her fhips fhould acquit Eng-
land towards her; it is becauſe an edict dated
from Verfailles may, without confequences, acquit
France to Geneva: it is becauſe theſe motives,
which it would be fhameful to acknowledge, act
fecretly in the breafts and in the councils of power-
ful kings.
THE Cuftom of public credit, though ruinous
to every ftate, is not equally fo to all. A nation
that has feveral valuable productions of it's own;
whofe revenue is entirely free; which hath always
fulfilled it's engagements, which hath not been
fwayed by the ambition of conquefts, and which
governs it's felf, fuch a nation will raife money
at an eafier rate, than an empire, the foil of
which is not fertile; which is overloaded with
debts; which engages in undertakings beyond
it's ftrength, which has deceived it's creditors,
and groans beneath an arbitrary power.
The
lender, who of courfe impofes the law, will al-
ways proportion the terms to the risks he muft run.
Thus, a people whofe finances are in a ftate of
confufion, will foon fall into the utmoft diftrefs by
public credit: but even the beft regulated govern-
L12
ment
516
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK ment will alfo experience the decline of it's prof
XIX. perity from it.
BUT fome political arithmeticians have afferted,
that it is advantageous to invite the fpecie of other
nations into that of our own country, and that
public loans produce that important effect. It is
certain, that it is a method of attracting the fpecie
of other nations; but merely, as if it were obtain-
ed by the fale of one or more provinces of the em-
pire. Perhaps, it would be a more rational prac-
tice to deliver up the foil to them, than to cultivate
it folely for their uſe.
BUT if the ftate borrowed only of it's own fub-
jects, the national revenue would not be given up
to foreigners. It certainly would not: but the
ftate would impoverish fome of it's members, in
order to enrich one individual. Muft not taxes
be increaſed in proportion to the intereft that is
to be paid, and the capital that is to be replaced?
Will not the proprietors of lands, the hufbandmen,
and every citizen, find the burden greater, than
if all the money borrowed by the ftate had been
demanded from them at once? Their fituation is
the fame, as if they themselves had borrowed it,
inftead of retrenching from their ordinary expences,
as much as might enable them to fupply an acci-
dental charge.
BUT the paper-currency which is introduced
by the loans made to government, increaſes the
quantity of wealth in circulation, gives a great
extenfion to trade, and facilitates every commer-
cial tranſaction. Infatuated men! reflect on the
dangerous confequences of your political fyftem.
Extend it only as far as poffible; let the ftate
borrow all it can; load it with intereft to be paid;
and by theſe means reduce it to the neceffity of
ftraining every tax to the utmoft; ye will foon
find, that with all the wealth you may have in
circulation,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
517
circulation, ye will have no fresh fupply for the BOOK
purpoſes of confumption and trade, Money, and xix.
the paper which reprefents it, do not circulate of
themſelves, nor without the affiftance of thoſe
powers which fet them in motion. All the dif
ferent figns introduced in lieu of coin, acquire a
value only proportionate to the number of fales
and purchases that are made. Let us agree with
you, in fuppofing all Europe filled with gold. If
it Thould have no merchandiſe to trade with, that
gold will have no circulation. Let us only in-
creaſe commercial effects, and take no concern
about thefe reprefentations of wealth; mutual
confidence and neceffity will foon occafion them
to be eſtabliſhed without your affiſtance.
But
let your care be principally directed in pre-
venting their increaſe, by fuch means as muit ne-
ceffarily diminish the mafs of your growing pro-
duce.
BUT the cuftom of public credit enables one
power to give the law to others. Will it never
be perceived that this refource is common to all
nations? If it be a general mode by which a
ſtate may obtain a fuperiority over it's enemies,
may it not be ferviceable to them for the fame
purpoſes? Will not the credit of the two nations.
be in proportion to their refpective wealth? and
will they not be ruined without having any other.
advantages over one another, than thofe they:
were in poffeffion of, independent of every loan?
When I fee monarchs and empires furiouſly at-
tacking and waging war against each other, with
all their debts, with their public funds, and their
revenue already deeply mortgaged, it feems to
me, fays a philofophical writer, as if I faw men
fighting with clubs in a potter's fhop furrounded
with porcelain.
IT
518
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
It would, perhaps, be prefumptuous to affirm,
XIX. that in no circumftance whatfoever the public fer-
vice can ever require an alienation of part of the
public revenues. The ſcenes that disturb the
world are fo various; empires are expofed to fuch
extraordinary revolutions; the field of events is
fo extenfive; political interefts occafion fuch
amazing changes in public affairs, that it is not
within the reach of human wiſdom to foreſee and
calculate every circumftance. But in this inftance,
it is the ordinary conduct of governments that we
are attending to, and not an extraordinary fitua-
tion, which, in all probability, may never prefent
itſelf.
EVERY ftate which will not be diverted from
the ruinous courfe of loans, by fuch confiderations
as we have juſt been offering, will be the caufe of
it's own deftruction. The facility of acquiring
large fums of money at once, will engage a go-
vernment in every kind of unreasonable, rafh, and
expenſive undertaking; will make it mortgage
it's future expectations, for prefent exigencies, and
game with the prefent ftock to acquire future fup-
plies. One loan will bring on another, and to
accelerate the laft, the intereft will be more and
more raifed.
THIS irregularity will cauſe the fruits of induſtry
to paſs into ſome idle hands. The facility of ob-
taining every enjoyment without labour, will in-
duce every perfon of fortune, as well as all vicious
and intriguing men, to refort to the capital; who
will bring with them a train of fervants, borrowed
from the plough; of young girls, deprived of their
innocence, and prevented from marrying; of per-
fons of both fexes, devoted to luxury: all of them
the inftruments, the victims, the objects, or the
fport of indolence and voluptuoufneſs.
THE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
519
J
THE feducing attraction of public debts will BOOK
fpread more and more, When men can reap the XIX.
fruits of the earth without labour, every indivi-
dual will engage in that fpecies of employment
which is at once lucrative and eafy. Proprietors
of land, and merchants, will all become annui-
tants. Money is converted into paper currency,
eſtabliſhed by the ftate, becauſe it is more port-
able than fpecie, lefs fubject to alteration from
time, and leſs liable to the injury of feaſons, and
the rapacity of the farmers of the revenue. The
preference given to the reprefentative paper,
above the real fpecie or commodity, will be inju-
rious to agriculture, trade, and induftry. As the
ſtate always expends what has been wrongfully
acquired in an improper manner, in proportion
as it's debts increaſe, the taxes muft be aug-
mented in order to pay the intereft. Thus all the
active and uſeful claffes of fociety are plundered
and exhauſted by the idle, uſeleſs claſs of annui-
tants. The increaſe of taxes raiſes the price of
commodities, and confequently that of induſtry.
By theſe means confumption is leffened; be-
cauſe exportation ceafes, as foon as merchandife
is too dear to ftand the competition of other na-
tions. The lands and manufactures are equally
affected..
THE inability the ftate then finds itfelf in to an-
fwer it's engagements, forces it to extricate itſelf
by bankruptcy, a method the moſt deſtructive of
the freedom of the people, and of the power of
the fovereign. Then the decrees for loans are
paid by edicts of reduction. Then the oaths of
the monarch, and the rights of the fubjects, will
be betrayed. Then the fureft bafis of all go-
vernments, public confidence, will be irrecover-
ably loft. Then the fortune of the rich man is
overthrown, and the poor man is deprived of the
fruits
5.20
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
A
BOOK fruits of his long-continued labours, which he had
XIX. intrufted to the treafury, in order to fecure a fub-
fiftence in his old age. Then the labour and the
falaries are fufpended, and the multitude of labo-
rious perfons fall into a kind of palfy, and are re-
duced to beggary. Then the manufactures are
empty, and the hoſpitals are filled, as they are in
times of a peftilence. Then the minds of all men
are exasperated against the prince, while his agents.
are every where loaded with imprecations. Then
the feeble man, who can fubmit to lead a life of
mifery, is condemned to tears; while he to whom
nature has given an impatient and ftronger mind,
arms himſelf with a dagger, which he turns either.
againſt himſelf, or againft his fellow-citizen. Then
the fpirit, the manners, and the health of the in-
habitants of the nation are deftroyed; the fpirit,
by depreffion and affliction, the manners, by the
neceffity of having recourſe to refources which are
always criminal or diſhoneft; health, by the fame
confequences which would follow a fudden famine.
Sovereign minifters, is it poffible that the image of
fuch calamity ſhould be prefented to you, without
diſturbing your tranquillity, or exciting your re-
morfe? If there be a great Judge who waits for
you, how will you dare to appear before him, and
what ſentence can you poffibly expect from him?
Doubt not but that it will be the fame as that which
thoſe wretches whom you have made, and whoſe
fole avenger he was, fhall have called down upon
you. Accurfed in this world, you will ftill be fo in
the next.
Fine arts
SUCH is the end of loans, from whence we
may judge of the principles upon which they are
founded.
1
AFTER having examined the fprings and fup-
and belles port of every civilized fociety, let us take a view
letters.
of
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
528
of the ornaments and decorations of the edifice. BOOK
Thefe are the fine arts, and polite literature.
:
NATURE is the model of both the one and the
other. To ftudy nature, and to ftudy her with
propriety, to ſelect her beft appearances, to copy
her faithfully, to correct her defects, and to em-
bellish or collect her ſcattered beauties, in order
to compoſe of them one marvellous object: theſe
are fo many talents infinitely rare. Some of
them may accompany the man of genius; others
may be the refult of ſtudy, and of the labours of
feveral great men. Sublimity of thought, and ex-
preffion, may prevail, where there is a want of
tafte. Imagination and invention may difplay it's
powers in a man who is impetuous and incorrect.
Ages paſs away, before there appears an orator, a
poet, a painter, or a ftatuary, in whom judgment,
which reflects upon it's operations, moderates that
ardour which is impatient of advancing in it's
career.
It is chiefly utility which hath given birth to
literature, while the fine arts have owed their origin
to the allurements of pleaſure.
IN Greece they were the offspring of the foil
itſelf. The Greeks, favoured with the moſt for-
tunate climate, had a ſcene of nature inceffantly
before them, replete with wonderful objects of
delight or of horror, rapid ftreams, craggy
mountains, ancient forefts, fertile plains, agree-
able vallies, and delightful flopes; the fea fome-
times calm and fometimes agitated; every thing
in a word, which infufes ardour into the foul,
every thing which awakens fenfibility and extends
the imagination. Thefe people, being fcrupulous
imitators, copied nature at firſt, fuch as they faw
her. They foon adapted a ſpirit of difcrimina-
tion to their models. Attention to the principal
functions of the limbs pointed out to them their
groffeft
XIX.
522
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK groffeft defects which they corrected. They af
XIX. terwards difcovered the more trifling imperfec-
tions of a figure which they likewife altered; and
thus they raiſed themſelves gradually to the con-
ception of ideal beauty, that is to the conception
of a being, the exiſtence of which is perhaps pof-
fible though not real, for nature makes nothing
perfect. Nothing is regular in it, and yet nothing
is out of it's place. There are too many caufes
combined at once in the creation, not merely of
an entire animal, but even of the ſmalleft fimilar
parts of an animal, that we ſhould expect to find
exact fymmetry in them. The beautiful of nature
confifts in a precife ſeries of imperfections. The
whole may be cenfured, but in that whole every
part is preciſely what it fhould be. The atten-
tive confideration of a flower, of the branch of a
tree, or of a leaf, are fufficient to confirm this
opinion.
Ir was by this flow and laborious mode that
painting and fculpture acquired that degree of
perfection which aftonishes us, in the Gladiator,
the Antinous, and Venus of Medicis. To thefe
fortunate cauſes may be added a language harmo-
nious from it's origin; a poetry fublime and full
of agreeable as well as terrible images, previous to
the birth of the arts; the ſpirit of liberty; the
exercife of the fine arts, forbidden to flaves; the
intercourſe of artiſts with philofophers; their emu-
lation kept up by labours, rewards, and enco-
miums; the continual view of the human frame in
baths and in the Gymnafia, which is a continual
Jeffon for the artift, and the principle of refined
tafte in the nation. The large and flowing gar-
ments which did not deform any part of the body
by preffing and confining it; numberlefs temples
to decorate the ſtatues of the Gods and Goddeffes,
and confequently the ineftimable value fet on beau-
ty,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
523
ty, which was to ferve as the model; and the cuf-BOOK
tom of confecrating, by monuments, the memora-
ble actions of great men,
HOMER had fet the example of epic poetry.
The Olympic games haftened the progrefs of
lyric poetry, of mufic, and of tragedy. The con-
catenation of the arts, one with the other, exerted
it's influence on architecture. Eloquence affumed
dignity and vigour, while it was difcuffing the pub-
lic interefts.
THE Romans, who copied the Greeks in every
thing, were inferior to their models, having neither
the fame gracefulneſs nor the fame originality. In
fuch of their works as were really beautiful, the
efforts of an able copyift were frequently obferved,
a circumſtance which was almoſt unavoidable.
If the maſterpieces which they had perpetually be-
fore them had been deftroyed, their genius left
to it's own powers and it's natural energy, after
fome trials and after fome deviations, would have
foared to a very high degree of perfection, and
their works would have had that character of truth
which they could not poffefs, when executed part-
ly from nature and partly from the productions of a
ſchool, the ſpirit of which was unknown to them.
Thefe originals were to them as were the works of
the Creator: they were ignorant of the manner in
which they were produced.
A RIGID tafte, however, prefided over all the
performances of the Romans. It guided equally
their artists and their writers. Their works were
either the image or the copy of truth. The ge-
nius of invention, and that of execution, ne-
ver infringed the proper limits. In the midft
of profufion and magnificence the graces were
diftributed with a prudent hand. Every thing
that went beyond the beautiful was fkilfully re-
trenched.
THE
XIX.
524
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK THE experience of all nations and of all ages
XIX. demonftrates, that whatever hath attained to per-
fection is not long before it degenerates. The
revolution is more or less rapid, but always in-
fallible. Among the Romans it was the work of
a few ambitious writers, who defpairing to excel,
or even equal their predeceffors, contrived to
open to themſelves a new career. To plans
clofely arranged, to ideas luminous and profound,
to images full of dignity, to phrafes of great ener-
gy, and to expreffions fuited to every fubject,
were fubftituted the fpirit of wit, analogies more
fingular than precife, a continual contraft of words
or ideas, a broken and loofe ftyle, more ftriking
than natural, in a word, all the faults that are pro-
duced from an habitual defire of being brilliant
and of pleafing. The arts were drawn into the
fame vortex; they were carried to excels, too much
refined and affected as eloquence and poetry were.
All the productions of genius bore the fame mark
of degradation.
THEY emerged from this but only to fall into
one ſtill more fatal. The first men to whom it
was given to cultivate the arts, intended to make
impreffions that ſhould be lively and durable. In
order to attain their end with greater certainty,
they thought it neceffary to enlarge every object.
This mistake, which was a neceffary confequence
of their want of experience, led them to exag-
geration. What had been done in the firft in-
ſtance from ignorance, was afterwards revived
from flattery. The emperors who had raiſed an
unlimited power upon the ruins of Roman liberty,
would no longer be mere mortals. To gratify
this extravagant pride, it was neceffary to beftow
upon them the attributes of the divinity. Their
images, their ftatues, and their palaces no longer
appeared in their true proportions, but all of
them
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
525
them affumed a coloffal magnitude. The na-BOOK
tions proftrated themfelves before thefe idols, and XIX.
incenfe was burnt upon their altars. The people
and the artifts feduced the poets, the orators, and
the hiftorians, whofe perfon would have been ex-
pofed to infult, and whofe writings would have
appeared fatirical had they confined themſelves
within the boundaries of truth, tafte, and de-
cency.
+
SUCH was the deplorable ftate of the arts and
of letters in the fouth of Europe, when fome bar-
barous hords pouring from the northern regions,
annihilated what had been only coriupted. Thefe
people, after having covered the country places
with human bones, and after having ftrewed the
provinces with dead bodies, attacked the towns
with that fury which was natural to them. They
totally demoliſhed ſeveral of thofe fuperb cities,
in which were collected all the moft perfect pro-
ductions of the induſtry and genius of man in
books, pictures, and ftatues. Such of thoſe pre-
cious monuments as had neither been deftroyed nor
burnt, were either mutilated or devoted to the
meaneft ufes. The little that had efcaped the de-
vaftation was obfcurely buried under heaps of ruins
and afhes. Even Rome herſelf, ſo often pillaged
by ferocious robbers, was at length become their
refidence. This miftrefs of nations, fo long the
terror and the admiration of the univerfe, was no
more than an object of contempt and pity. In the
midft of the ruins of the empire, a few unfortunate
perfons, who had efcaped the ravages of the fword
or of famine, dragged on a difgraceful existence,
the flaves of thofe favages, to whofe name even
they were ftrangers, or whom they had enflaved or
trampled under foot
HISTORY has preferved the memory of feveral
warlike people, who after having fubdueden-
lightened
526
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK lightened nations had adopted their cuftoms, their
XIX. laws, and their knowledge. At the too fatal pe-
riod which we are now defcribing, they were the
vanquished who bafely affimilated themſelves to
their barbarous conquerors. The reafon of this is,
that thoſe mean perfons who fubmitted to the fo-
reign yoke, had loft a great deal of the knowledge
and of the tafte of their anceſtors; and that the
fmall remains of them they had preferved were not
fufficient to enlighten a conqueror plunged in the
groffeft ignorance, and who, from the facility of
their conquefts, had accuſtomed themfelves to con-
fider the arts as a frivolous occupation and as the
inftrument of fervitude.
BEFORE this age of darkness, Chriſtianity had
deſtroyed in Europe the idols of Pagan antiquity,
and had only preſerved fome of the arts to affift
the power of perfuafion, and to favour the preach-
ing of the gofpel. Inftead of a religion embel-
lifhed with the gay divinities of Greece and Rome,
it had fubftituted monuments of terror and gloomi-
nefs, fuited to the tragic events which fignalized
it's birth and it's progrefs. The Gothic ages have
left us ſome monuments, the boldness and majefty
of which ſtill ſtrike the eye amidst the ruins of
taſte and elegance. All their temples were built
in the fhape of the cross, which was alſo placed on
the top of them, and they were filled with cruci-
fixes and decorated with horrid and gloomy
images, with fcaffolds, tortures, martyrs, and ex-
ecutioners.
WHAT then became of the arts, condemned
as they were to terrify the imagination by conti-
nual fpectacles of blood, death, and future pu-
niſhments? They became as hideous as the mo-
dels they were formed upon; ferocious as the
princes and pontiffs that made ufe of them, mean
and bafe as thoſe who worshipped the productions
of
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
527
XIX.
of them; they frightened children from their very BOOK
cradles; they aggravated the horrors of the grave
by an eternal perſpective of terrible ſhades; they
fpread melancholy over the whole face of the
earth.
Ar length the period arrived for leffening thoſe
ſcaffoldings of religion and focial policy, and this
was accompliſhed by the inhabitants of Greece.
THIS Country is at prefent barbarous to a great
degree. It groans under the yoke of flavery and
ignorance. It's climate and fome ruins are all it
preferves. There is no veftige left of urbanity,
emulation, or induftry. There are no more enter-
priſes for the public good, no more objects for the
productions of genius, no more enthuſiaſm for the
reſtoration of arts, no more zeal for the recovery of
liberty. The glory of Themiftocles and of Alcibi-
ades, the talents, of Sophocles and Demofthenes,
the learning of Lycurgus and of Plato, the policy
of Pififtratus and of Pericles, and the labours of
Phidias and of Apelles, are all forgotten, every thing
hath been deſtroyed, and a profound darkness co-
vers the region, formerly fo productive of miracu-
lous events.
THE flaves who walk over the ruins of ftatues,
columns, palaces, temples, and amphitheatres, and
who blindly trample fo many riches under foot,
have loft even the remembrance of the great ex-
ploits of which their country was the fcene. They
have even disfigured the names of the towns and
the provinces. They are aftoniſhed that the defire
of acquiring knowledge fhould attract into their
country learned men and artifts. Become infenfi-
ble to the invaluable remains of their annihilated
fplendour, they would wish that the ſame ſpirit of
indifference fhould be diffufed over the whole
world. To be allowed to vifit this interefting fpot
it is neceffary to be at great expences, to run great
risks,
I
528
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE,
XIX.
BOOK risks, and befide this, to obtain the protection of
government.
THESE people, though during ten or twelve cen-
turies, the interior part of their empire was the prey
of civil, religious, and fcholaftic wars, and though
expoſed from without to bloody combats, deftruc-
tive invafions, and continual loffes, ftill preferved
fome tafte and fome knowledge; when the dif
ciples of Mohammed, who, armed with the (word
and the coran, had fubdued with rapidity all the
parts of fo vaft a dominion, feized upon the capi-
tal itfelf.
AT this period the fine arts returned with li-
terature from Greece into Italy by the Mediter-
ranean, which maintained the commerce between
Afia and Europe. The Hunns, under the name
of Goths, had driven them from Rome to Con-
ftantinople; and the very fame people under the
name of Turks, expelled them again from Con-
ftantinople to Rome. That city, deftined as it
was to rule by force or by ftratagem, cultivated and
revived the arts, which had been a long time buried
in.oblivion.
*
WALLS, columns, ftatues, and vafes, were
drawn forth from the duft of ages, and from the
ruins of Italy, to ferve as models of the fine arts
at their revival. The genius which prefides over
defign raiſed three of the arts at once; I mean ar-
chitecture, fculpture, and painting. Architec-
ture, in which convenience itfelf regulated thofe
proportions of fymmetry that contribute to give
pleaſure to the eye; fculpture, which flatters
princes, and is the reward of great men; and
painting, which perpetuates the remembrance of
noble actions, and the examples of mutual ten-
dernefs. Italy alone had more fuperb cities,
more magnificent edifices, than all the reft of
Europe. Rome, Florence, and Venice gave rife
to
IN THE 529
•
EAST AND WEST INDIES.
to three ſchools of original painters: fo much в O O K
does genius depend upon the imagination, and XIX.
imagination upon the climate. Had Italy pof-
feffed the treaſures of Mexico, and the produc-
tions of Afia, how much more would the arts have
been enriched by the difcovery of the Eaft and
Weft Indies.
THAT Country, of old fo fruitful in heroes, and
fince in artifts, beheld literature, which is the
infeparable companion of the arts, flouriſh a fe-
cond time. It had been overwhelmed by the
barbariſm of a latinity corrupted and disfigured
by religious enthuſiaſm. A mixture of Egyptian
theology, Grecian philofophy, and Hebrew poe-
try; fuch was the Latin language in the mouths
of Monks, who chanted all night, and taught
by day things and words they did not under-
ftand.
THE mythology of the Romans revived in li-
terature the graces of antiquity. The fpirit of
imitation borrowed them at firft indifcriminately.
Cuftom introduced tafte in the choice of thoſe rich
treaſures. The Italian genius, too fertile not to
invent, blended it's enthuſiaſm and caprice with
the rules and examples of it's old mafters, and
joined even the fictions of fairy, land with thoſe
of fable. The works of imagination partook of
the manners of the age and of the national cha-
racter. Petrarch had drawn that celeftial virgin,
beauty, which ferved as a model for the heroines
of chivalry. Armida was the emblem of the
coquetry which reigned in her time in Italy.
Ariofto confounded every fpecies of poetry, in a
work, which may rather be called the labyrinth
of poetry, than a regular poem. That author
will ftand alone in the hiftory of literature, like
the enchanted palaces of his own conftruction in
the deferts.
VOL. VI.
Mm
LETTERS
5:30
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK LETTERS and arts, after croffing the fea, paffed
XIX. the Alps. In the fame manner as the Cruſades
had brought the oriental romances into Italy, the
wars of Charles VIII. and Lewis XII. introduced
into France fome principles of good literature.
Francis I., if he had not been into Italy in or-
der to contend for the Milanefe with Charles V.
would never, perhaps, have been ambitious of the
title of the Father of letters: but thefe feeds of
knowledge and improvement in the arts were loft
in the religious wars. They were recovered again,
if I may be allowed the expreffion, in fcenes of
war and deftruction; and the time came when
they were again to revive and flourish. Italy was
as much diftinguiſhed in the 16th century, as
France was in the fucceeding one, which by the
victories of Lewis XIV. or rather by the genius of
the great men that flouriſhed together under his
réign, deferves to make an epocha in the hiftory of
the fine arts.
•
E
IN France all the efforts of the human mind
were at once exerted in producing works of ge-
nius, as they had before been in Italy. It's powers
were difplayed in the marble, and on the canvas,
in public edifices and gardens, as well as in elo-
quence and poetry. Every thing was fubmitted
to it's influence, not only the arts of ingenuity,
which are mechanical, and require manual labour,
but thofe alfo which depend folely on the mind.
Every thing bore the ftamp of genius. The co-
lours difplayed in natural objects enlivened the
works of imagination; and the human paffions
animated the defigns of the pencil. Man gave
fpirit to matter, and body to fpirit. But it de-
ferves to be particularly obferved that this hap-
pened at a time when a paffion for glory animat-
ed a nation, great and powerful by it's fituation,
and the extent of it's empire. The fenfe of ho-
་
nour
IN THE EAST AND 531
f
WEST INDIES.
nour which raiſed it in it's own eftimation, and в OOK
which then diftinguiſhed it in the eyes of all Eu- XIX.
rope, was it's foul, it's inſtinct, and fupplied the
place of that liberty which had formerly given
rife to the arts of genius in the republics of
Athens and of Rome, which had revived them
in that of Florence, and compelled them to
flouriſh on the bleak and cloudy borders of the
Thames.
We
WHAT Would not genius have effected in
France, had it been under the influence of laws
only, when it's exertions were fo great under the
dominion of the moſt abfolute of kings? When
we ſee what energy patriotiſm has given to the
Engliſh, in fpite of the inactivity of their climate,
we may judge what it might have produced
among the French, where a moft mild tempera-
ture of feafon leads a people, naturally fenfible
and lively, to invention and enjoyment.
may conceive what it's effects would have been
in a country, where, as in ancient Greece, are
to be found men of active and lively genius, fitted
for invention, from being warmed by the moſt
powerful and enlivening rays of the fun; where
there are men ftrong and robuft in a climate, in
which even the cold excites to labour; in which
we meet with temperate provinces between north
and fouth; fea-ports together with navigable
rivers; vaft plains abounding in corn; hills load-
ed with vineyards and fruits of all forts; falt pits
which may be increafed at pleafure; paftures co-
vered with horfes; mountains clothed with the
fineft woods; a country every where peopled with
laborious hands, which are the firft refources for
fubfiftence; the common materials for the arts,
and the fuperfluities of luxury; in a word, where
we meet with the commerce of Athens, the in-
duftry of Corinth, the foldiery of Sparta, and
Mm 2
the
532
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK the flocks of Arcadia,
XIX.
With all theſe advan-
tages, which Greece once poffeffed, France might
have carried the fine arts to as great a height
as that parent of genius, had he been fub-
ject to the fame laws, and given a ſcope to the
fame exercife of reafon and liberty, by which
great men, and the rulers of powerful nations, are
produced.
NEXT to the fuperiority of legiſlation among
modern nations, to raiſe them to an equality with
the ancients in works of genius, there has, per-
haps, been wanting only an improvement in lan-
guage. The Romans, who, like the Greeks,
knew the influence of dialect over the manners,
had endeavoured to extend their language with
their arms; and they had fucceeded in caufing it
to be adopted in all places where they had efta-
bliſhed their dominion. Almoft all Europe fpoke
Latin, except only a few obfcure men, who had
taken refuge among inacceflible mountains: but
the invafion of the barbarians foon changed the
nature of this language. With the harmonious
founds of an idiom polifhed by genius and by
delicate organs, thefe people, who were warriors
and hunters, blended the rude accents, and the
coarfe expreffions they brought along with them
from their gloomy forefts, and fevere climate.
There were foon as many different languages as
forms of governments. At the revival of let-
ters, thefe languages muft naturally have acquired
a more fublime and a more agreeable pronuncia-
tion. This improvement took place but very flow-
ly, becauſe all thofe who had any talents for writ-
ing, difdaining a language deftitute of graces,
ftrength, and amenity, employed in their perform-
ances, with greater or leſs propriety, the language
of the ancient Romans.
THE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
533
XIX.
THE Italians were the firft who fhook off this B O O K
humiliating yoke. Their language, with har-
mony, accent, and quantity, is peculiarly adapted
to exprefs all the images of poetry, and convey
all the delightful impreffions of mufic. Theſe
two arts have confecrated this language to the
harmony of found, it being the moſt proper to
expreſs it.
THE French language holds the fuperiority in
proſe, if it be not the language of the Gods, it
is, at leaſt, that of reafon and of truth. Profe is
peculiarly adapted to convince the underſtanding
in philofophical reſearches. It enlightens the
minds of thoſe whom nature has bleffed with fu-
perior talents, who ſeem placed between princes
and their fubjects to inftruct and direct mankind.
At a period when liberty has no longer her tri-
bunes, nor amphitheatres to excite commotions
in vaft affemblies of the people, a language which
ſpreads itſelf in books, which is read in all coun-
tries, which ferves as the common interpreter of
all other languages, and as the vehicle of all forts
of ideas; a language ennobled, refined, foftened,
and above all, fettled by the genius of writers,
and the polish of courts, becomes at length uni-
verfally prevailing.
THE English language has likewife had it's
poets and it's profe-writers, who have gained it
the character of energy and boldness, fufficient to
render it immortal. May it be learned among
all nations who afpire not to be flaves! They will
dare to think, act, and govern themſelves. It is
not the language of words, but of ideas; and the,
Engliſh have none but fuch as are ſtrong and forci
ble; they are the first who ever made uſe of the
expreffion, the majesty of the people, and that alone
is fufficient to confecrate a language.
THE
.534
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
воок
ТHE
THE Spaniards have hitherto properly had nei
XIX. ther profe nor verſe, though they have a language
formed to excel in both. Brilliant and fonorous
as pure gold, it's pronunciation is grave and regu-
lar like the dances of that nation; it is grand and
decent, like the manners of ancient chivalry. This
language may claim fome diftinction, and even
acquire a fuperior degree of perfection, whenever
there fhall be found in it many fuch writers as
Cervantes and Mariana. When it's academy fhall
have put to filence the inquifition and it's univer-
fities, that language will raiſe itſelf to great ideas,
and to fublime truths, to which it is invited by the
natural pride of the people who ſpeak it.
:
PRIOR to all other living languages is the Ger-
man, that mother tongue, that original native
language of Europe. From thence the English
and French too have been formed, by the mix-
ture of the German with the Latin. However,
as it feems little calculated to pleaſe the eye, or to
be pronounced by delicate organs, it has been
ſpoken only by the people, and has been intro-
duced but of late into books. The few writers.
that have appeared in it, feemed to fhew that it
belonged to a country where the fine arts, poetry,
and eloquence, were not deftined to flouriſh.
But on a fudden, genius has exerted her powers;
and originals, in more than one fpecies of
poetry, have appeared rather in confiderable num-
bers, fufficient to enter into competition with other
nations.
LANGUAGES could not be cultivated and refined
to a certain degree, but the arts of every kind
muft at the fame time acquire an equal degree of
perfection; and indeed the monuments of theſe
arts have fo much increafed throughout Europe,
that the barbarifm of fucceeding people and of
future
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
535
future ages will find it difficult entirely to deftroy BOOK
them.
BUT as commotions and revolutions are fo
natural to mankind, there is only wanting fome.
glowing genius, fome enthuſiaſt, to fet the world
again in flames. The people of the Eaft, or of
the North, are ftill ready to enflave and plunge all
Europe into it's former darkneſs. Would not an
irruption of Tartars or Africans into Italy, be
fufficient to overturn churches, and palaces, to
confound in one general ruin the idols of religion,
and the mafter-pieces of art? And as we are fol
much attached to thefe works of luxury, we ſhould
have the leſs ſpirit to defend them. A city, which
it has coft two centuries to decorate, is burnt and
ravaged in a ſingle day. Perhaps, with one ftroke
of his axe, a Tartar may dafh in pieces the ftatue
of Voltaire, that Pigalle could not finish within
the compaſs of ten years; and we ftill labour for
immortality; vain atoms as we are, impelled,
the one by the others, into that obfcurity from
whence we came. Ye nations, whether artifans
or foldiers, what are ye in the hands of nature,
but the fport of her laws, deftined by turns to ſet
duft in motion, and to reduce the work again to
duft.
BUT it is by means of the arts that man enjoys
his exiſtence, and furvives himſelf.-Ages of ig-
norance never emerge from their oblivion. There
remains no more trace of them after their exift-
ence, than before they began to exift. There is
no poffibility of indicating the place or time of
their paffage, nor can we mark on the ground be-
longing to a barbarous people, it is here they
lived; for they leave not even ruins to lead us to
collect that they have ever exifted. It is inven-
tion alone that gives man power over matter and
time. The genius of Homer has rendered the
Greek
-XIX.
536
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK Greek language indelible. Harmony and reafon
XIX. have placed the eloquence of Cicero above all the
facred orators. The pontiffs themfelves, poliſhed
and enlightened by the information and attractive
influence of the arts, by being admirers and pro-
tectors of them, have affifted the human mind to
break the chains of fuperftition. Commerce has
haftened the progrefs of art by means of the
luxury which wealth has diffufed. All the efforts
of the mind and the exertions of manual labour
have been united to embelliſh, and to improve the
condition of the human fpecies. Induſtry and
invention, together with the enjoyments pro-
cured by the New World, have penetrated as far
as the polar circle, and the fine arts are attempt-
ing to riſe fuperior to the obftacles of nature even
at Peterſburgh.
•
ORATORS, poets, hiftorians, painters, and fta-
tuaries, are made to be the friends of great men.
Heralds of their fame during their life, they are
the eternal prefervers of it, when they no longer
exift. In rendering their names immortal, they
immortalize themſelves. It is by theſe ſeveral
orders of men, that the nations diftinguish them-
felves among contemporary nations.
The arts,
after having rendered them illuftrious, alfo re-
ftore wealth to them, when they are become in-
digent. It is ancient Rome which at preſent
fubfifts modern Rome. Let the people whom
they honour, both at the preſent and at future
times, if they be not ungrateful, honour them in
their turn. Ye nations, you will pafs away, but
their productions will remain. The torch of
genius, which enlightens you, will be extin
guiſhed if you neglect it; and after having walked
in darkness for fome ages, you will fall in the
abyfs of oblivion, which hath fwallowed up fo
many nations that have preceded you, not be
caufe
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
537
cauſe they have been deftitute of virtues, but of a BO O K
facred voice to celebrate them.
BEWARE efpecially of adding perfecution to in-
difference. It is certainly enough for a writer to
brave the reſentment of the intolerant magiftrate,
of the fanatic fpirit, of the fufpicious nobleman,
and of all ranks of men proud of their preroga-
tives, without being alfo expofed to the feverities
of government. To inflict upon a philofopher
an infamous or capital punishment, is to con-
demn him to pufillanimity or to filence: it is to
ftifle or to banish genius; it is to put a ftop to
national information, and to the progrefs of know-
ledge.
IT will be faid, that theſe reflections are thoſe
of a man who is thoroughly determined to ſpeak
without circumfpection of perfons and things; of
perfons, whom one fcarce dares to addrefs with
franknefs; of things, concerning which a writer
endowed with a little fhare of fenfe, neither thinks
nor expreſſes himſelf as the vulgar; and who yet
would wiſh to eſcape profcription. This may pof-
fibly be the cafe, and wherefore ſhould it not be?
Nevertheleſs, whatever may happen, I will never
betray the honourable caufe of liberty. If I ex-
perience nothing but misfortunes from it, which I
neither expect nor dread, ſo much the worſe for the
author of thoſe misfortunes. He will be detefted
during life, for one inftant of my existence which
he ſhall have difpofed of with injuftice and violence.
His name will be handed down to future ages brand-
ed with ignominy; and this cruel fentence would
be independent of the fmall value, or of the little
merit of my writings.
XIX.
To the train of letters and fine arts philofophy Philofo
is annexed, which one would imagine ought ra phy.
ther to direct them: but appearing later than they
did, can only be confidered as their attendant.
Arts
538
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK Arts ariſe from the very neceffities of mankind in
XIX. the earlieft ftate of the human mind. Letters are
the flowers of it's youth; children of the imagi-
nation, being themſelves fond of ornament, they
decorate every thing they approach; and this turn
for embelliſhment produces what are properly call-
ed the fine arts, or the arts of luxury and elegance,
which give the poliſh to the primary arts of necef-
fity. It is then we fee the winged genii of fculp-
ture fluttering over the porticos of architecture;
and the genii of painting entering palaces, repre-
fenting the heavens upon a cieling, ſketching out
upon wool and filk all the animated fcenes of rural
life, and tracing to the mind upon canvas the uſe-
ful truths of hiſtory, as well as the agreeable chi-
mæras of fable.
དོན།
WHEN the mind has been employed on the
pleaſures of the imagination and of the fenfes, when
governments have arrived to a degree of maturity,
reafon arifes and beftows on the nations a certain
turn for reflection; this is the age of philofophy.
She advances with gradual fteps, and proceeds fi-
lently along, announcing the decline of empires
which the attempts in vain to fupport. She clofed
the latter ages of the celebrated republics of Greece
and Rome. Athens had no philofophers till the eve
of her ruin, which they feemed to foretell; Cicero
and Lucretius did not compofe their writings on the
nature of the gods, and the fyftem of the world,
till the confufion of the civil wars aroſe, and haften-
ed the deftruction of liberty.
THALES, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Anax-
agoras, had however laid the foundations of na-
tural philofophy in the theories of the elements of
matter; but the rage of forming fyftems fuccef-
fively fubverted theſe ſeveral principles. Socrates
then appeared, who brought back philofophy to
the principles of true wisdom and virtue; it was
that
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
539
1
XIX.
that alone he loved, practiſed, and taught; perfuad-BOOK
ed that morality and not ſcience was conducive to
the happineſs of man. Plato, his difciple, though
a natural philofopher, and inftructed in the myfte-
ries of nature by his travels into Egypt, afcribed
every thing to the foul, and fcarce any thing to na-
ture; he confounded philofophy with theological
fpeculations, and the knowledge of the univerfe
with the ideas of the divinity. Ariftotle, the dif
ciple of Plato, turned his inquiries lefs on the na-
ture of the Deity, than on that of man and of ani-
mals. His natural hiftory has been tranfmitted to
pofterity, though it was holden only in moderate
eftimation by his contemporaries. Epicurus, who
lived nearly about the fame period, revived the
atoms of Democritus, a fyftem, which doubtless
balanced that of the four elements of Ariftotle;
and as theſe were the two prevailing ſyſtems at that
time, no improvements were made in natural phi-
lofophy. The moral philofophers engaged the at-
tention of the people, who underſtood their fyftem
better than that of the natural philofopher. They
eſtabliſhed ſchools; for as foon as opinions gain a
degree of reputation, parties are immediately form-
ed to fupport them.
IN thefe circumftances, Greece, agitated by
interior commotions, after having been torn with
an inteftine war, was fubdued by Macedonia, and
it's government diffolved by the Romans. Then
public calamities turned the hearts and under-
ſtandings of men to morality. Zeno and Demo-
critus, who had been only natural philofophers,
became, a confiderable time after their death, the
heads of two fects of moral philofophers, more
addicted to theology than phyfics, rather cafuifts
than philofophers; or it might rather be affirmed,
that philofophy was given up and confined en-
tirely to the fophifts. The Romans, who had bor-
2
rowed
540
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOO K rowed every thing from the Greeks, made no diſco-
XIX. veries in the true fyftem of philofophy. Among
the ancients it made little progrefs, becauſe it
was entirely confined to morality: among the mo-
derns it's first steps have been more fortunate, be-
cauſe they have been guided by the light of natural
knowledge.
We must not reckon the interval of near a thou-
fand years, during which period philofophy, ſcience,
arts, and letters, were buried in the ruins of the
Roman empire, among the afhes of ancient Italy,
and the duft of the cloyfters. In Afia their monu-
ments were ſtill preferved though not attended to,
and in Europe fome fragments of them remained
which he did not know. The world was divided
into Chriftian and Mohammedan, and every where
covered with the blood of nations: ignorance alone
triumphed under the ftandard of the crofs or the
crefcent. Before thefe dreaded figns, every knee
was bent, every ſpirit trembled.
PHILOSOPHY Continued in a ftate of infancy,
pronouncing only the names of God and of the
foul: her attention was folely engaged on matters ·
of which he would for ever have remained igno-
rant. Time, argument, and all her application
was wafted on queftions that were, at leaft, idle;
queftions, for the moſt part, void of fenfe, not to
be defined, and not to be determined from the na-
ture of their object; and which, therefore, proved
an eternal fource of difputes, fchifms, fects, hatred,
perfecution, and national as well as religious wars.
In the mean time, the Arabs, after their con-
quefts, carried away, as it were in triumph, the
fpoils of genius and philofophy. Ariftotle fell into
their hands, preſerved from the ruins of ancient
Greece. Theſe deſtroyers of empires had ſome
ſciences of which they had been the inventors;
among which arithmetic is to be numbered. By
the
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
541
:
the knowledge of aftronomy and geometry they BOOK
diſcovered the coafts of Africa, which they laid XIX.
wafte and peopled again; and they were always
great proficients in medicine. That fcience, which
has, perhaps, no greater recommendation in it's
favour, than it's affinity with chymiftry and natu-
ral knowledge, rendered them as celebrated as
aftrology, which is another fupport of empirical im-
pofition. Avicenna and Averroès, who were equal-
ly ſkilled in phyfic, mathematics, and philoſophy,
preſerved the tradition of true ſcience by tranflati-
ons and commentaries. But let us imagine what
muft become of Ariſtotle, tranflated from Greek
into Arabic, and after that, from Arabie into Lá-
tin, under the hands of monks, who wanted to
adapt the philofophy of paganiſm to the ſyſtems of
Mofes and Chrift. This confufion of opinions,
ideas, and language, ftopped for a confiderable
time the progrefs of fcience, and the reducing of
it into a regular fyftem. The divine overturned
the materials brought by the philofopher, who fap-
ped the very foundations laid by his rival. How-
ever, with a few ftones from one, and much fand
from the other, fome wretched architects raiſed a
ftrange Gothic monument, called the philofophy
of the fchools. Continually amended, renewed,
and fupported, from age to age, by Iriſh or Spaniſh
metaphyſicians, it maintained itſelf till about the
time of the difcovery of the New World, which
was deftined to change the face of the Old one.
LIGHT (prang from the midſt of darkneſs. An
English monk applied himſelf to the practice of
chymistry, and paving the way for the invention
of gun-powder, which was to bring America into
fubjection to Europe, opened the avenues of true
fcience by experimental philofophy. Thus philo-
ſophy iffued out of the cloyfter, where ignorance
remained. When Boccacio had expoſed the de-
bauched
542
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK bauched lives of the regular and fecular clergy,
XIX. Galileo ventured to form conjectures upon the fi-
gure of the earth. Superftition was alarmed at it,
and it's clamours as well as it's menaces were heard:
but philofophy tore off the mafk from the monſter,
and rent the veil under which truth had been hidden.
The weakneſs and falfehood of popular opinions
was perceived, on which fociety was then founded;
but in order to put an effectual ftop to error, it was
neceſſary to be acquainted with the laws of nature,
and the caufes of her various phænomena; and that
was the object philofophy had in view.
As foon as Copernicus was dead, after he had,
by the power of reafon, conjectured that the fun
was in the center of our world, Galileo arofe, and
confirmed, by the invention of the teleſcope, the
true fyftem of aftronomy, which either had been
unknown, or lay in oblivion ever fince Pythagoras
had conceived it. While Gaffendi was reviving
the elements of ancient philoſophy, or the atoms
of Epicurus, Deſcartes imagined and combined the
elements of a new philofophy, or his ingenious and
fubtile vortexes. Almoft about the fame time,
Toricelli invented, at Florence, the barometer, to
determine the weight of the air; Paſcal meaſured
the height of the mountains of Auvergne; and
Boyle, in England, verified and confirmed the va-
rious experiments of both.
DESCARTES had taught the art of doubting, in
order to undeceive the mind previous to inftruc-
tion. The method of doubting propofed by him
was the grand inftrument of ſcience, and the moſt
fignal fervice that could be rendered to the human
mind under the darknefs which furrounded, and the
chains which fettered it. Boyle, by applying that
method to opinions the beft authorized by the fanc-
tion of time and power, has made us fenfible of it's
importance.
CHANCELLOR
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
543
?
:
CHANCELLOR Bacon, a philofopher, but unfuc-B O O K
ceſsful at court, as friar Bacon had been in the XIX.
cloyfter, like him the harbinger rather than the
eſtabliſher of the new philofophy, had protefted
equally against the prejudice of the fenfes and the
fchools, as against thofe phantoms he ftyled the
idols of the underſtanding. He had foretold truths
he could not diſcover. In conformity to the refult
of his reaſoning, which might be confidered as ora-
cular, while experimental philofophy was diſcover-
ing facts, rational philofophy was in fearch of caufes.
Both contributed to the ftudy of mathematics,
which were to guide the efforts of the mind, and
infure their fuccefs. It was, in fact, the fcience of
algebra applied to geometry, and the application.
of geometry to natural philofophy, which made
Newton conjecture the true fyftem of the world.
Upon taking a view of the heavens, he perceived
in the fall of bodies to the earth, and in the moti-
ons of the heavenly bodies, a certain analogy which
implied an univerfal principle, differing from im-
pulfe, the only visible caufe of all their movements.
From the ſtudy of aftronomy he next applied him-
felf to that of optics, and this led him to con-
jecture the origin of light; and the experiments
which he made in confequence of this inquiry, re-
duced it into a ſyſtem.
Ar the time when Deſcartes died, Newton and
Leibnitz were but juſt born, who were to finish,
correct, and bring to perfection what he had be-
gun; that is to fay, the establishing of found phi-
lofophy. Thefe two men alone greatly contribut-
ed to it's quick and rapid progrefs. One carried
the knowledge of God and the foul as far as reafon
could lead it; and the unfuccefsfulness of his at-
tempts undeceived the human mind for ever with
refpect to fuch falſe ſyſtems of metaphyfics. The
other extended the principles of natural philofophy
;
and
544
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK and the mathematics much further than the genius
XIX. of many ages had been able to carry them, and
pointed out the road to truth. At the fame time
Locke, preceded by Hobbes, a man on whom
nature had beftowed an uncommon underftand-
ing, and who had remained obfcure from the very
boldness of his principles, which ought to have had
a contrary effect; Locke, I fay, attacked fcientific
prejudices, even into the intrenchments of the
Ichools: he diffipated all thofe phantoms of the
imagination, which Male-branche fuffered to ſpring
up again, after he had pointed out their abfurdity,
becauſe he did not attack the foundation on which
they were fupported.
BUT we are not to fuppofe that philofophers
alone have difcovered and imagined every thing.
It is the courfe of events which has given a cer-
tain tendency to the actions and thoughts of man-
kind. A complication of natural or moral caufes,
a gradual improvement in politics, joined to the
progrefs of ftudy and of the fciences, a combina-
tion of circumftances which it was as impoffible
to haften as to forefee, muft have contributed to
the revolution that has prevailed in the underftand-
ings of men. Among nations, as among indivi-
duals, the body and foul act and re-act alternately
upon each other. Popular opinions infect even
philofophers, and philofophers are guides to the
people. Galileo had afferted, that as the earth turn-
ed round the fun, there must be Antipodes; and
Drake proved the fact, by a voyage round the
world. The church ftyled itfelf univerfal, and the
pope called himfelf mafter of the earth: and yet,
more than two-thirds of it's inhabitants did not fo
much as know there was any Catholic religion, and
Sparticularly that there was a pope. Europeans, who
have travelled and trafficked every where, taught
Europe that one portion of the globe adopted the
vifionary
1
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
545
A
XIX.
vifionary opinions of Mohammed, and a ftill larger BOOK
one lived in the darkneſs of idolatry, or in the tó-
tal ignorance and unenlightened ftate of atheifm.
Thus philofophy extended the empire of human
knowledge, by the diſcovery of the errors of fu-
perftition, and of the truths of nature.
ITALY, whoſe impatient genius penetrated
through the obſtacles that furrounded it, was the
firft that founded an academy of natural philo-
fophy. France and England, who were to ag-
grandize themſelves even by their competition,
raiſed at one time two everlafting monuments to
the improvement of philofophy: two academies,
from whence all the learned men of Europe de-
rive their information, and in which they depofit
all their ftores of knowledge. From hence have
been brought to light a great number of the myf-
terious points in nature; experiments, phono-
mena, difcoveries in the arts and fciences, the
fecrets of electricity, and the cauſes of the Aurora
Borealis. Hence have proceeded the inftruments
and means of purifying air on board of fhips, for
making fea-water fit to be drunk, for deter-
mining the figure of the earth, and afcertaining
the longitudes; for improving agriculture, and
for producing more grain, with lefs feed, and lefs
labour.
•
ARISTOTLE had reigned ten centuries in all the
ſchools of Europe; and the Chriftians, after
lofing the guidance of reafon, were able to reco-
ver it again only by following his footſteps. Their
implicit attachment to that philofopher, had, for
a confiderable time, caufed them to err, in blindly
following him through the darkness of theologi-
cal doctrines. But at length Defcartes pointed
out the way, and Newton fupplied the power of
extricating them out of that labyrinth. Doubt
had diffipated prejudices and the method of ana-
VOL. VI.
N.n
lyfis
546
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
XIX.
BOOKlyfis had found out the truth. After the two
Bacons, Galileo, Defcartes, Hobbes, Locke,
and Bayle, Leibnitz and Newton, after the me-
moirs of the academies of Florence and Leipfic,
of Paris and London, there ſtill remained a great
work to be compofed, in order to perpetuate the
fciences and philofophy. This work hath now ap-
peared.
-
3
THIS book, which contains all the errors and
all the truths that have iffuéd from the human
mind, from the doctrines of theology to the fpecu-
lations on infects; which contains an account of
every work of the hands of men from a fhip to a
pin; this repofitary of the intelligence of all na-
tions, which would have been more perfect, had
it not been executed in the midst of all kinds of
perfecutions and of obftacles; this repofitory will,
in future ages, characterife that of philofophy,
which after fo many advantages procured to man-
kind, ought to be confidered as a divinity on
earth. It is the who unites, enlightens, aids, and
comforts mankind. She beſtows every thing
upon them, without exacting any worship in re-
turn. She requires of them, not the facrifice of
their paffions, but a reaſonable, uſeful, and mo-
derate exercife of all their faculties. Daughter
of nature, difpenfer of her gifts, interpreter of
her rights, the confecrates her intelligence and
her labour to the ufe of man. She renders him
better, that he may be happier. She detefts only
tyranny and impofture, becauſe they oppreſs
mankind. She does not defire to rule, but fhe
exacts of fuch as govern, to confider public hap-
pinefs as the only fource of their enjoyment. She
avoids contefts, and the name of fects, but the
tolerates them all. The blind and the wicked
calumniate her, the former are afraid of perceiv-
ing their errors; and the latter of having them
detected.
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
547
XIX.
detected. Ungrateful children, who rebel againftBOOK
a tender mother, when the wishes to free them
from their errors and vices, which occafion the
calamities of mankind!
LIGHT, however, fpreads infenfibly over a more
extenſive horizon. Literature has formed a kind
of empire which prepares the way for making
Europe be confidered as one fingle republican
power. In truth, if philofophy be ever enabled to
infinuate itſelf into the minds of fovereigns or their
minifters, the fyftem of politics will be improved,
and rendered ſimple. Humanity will be more re-
garded in all plans, the public good will enter into
negociations, not merely as an expreffion, but as an
object of utility even to kings.
PRINTING has already made fuch a progrefs,
that it can never be put a stop to in any ftate, with-
out lowering the people in order to advance the
authority of government. Books enlighten the
body of the people, humanife the great, are the
delight of the leiſure hours of the rich, and in-
form all the claffes of fociety. The fciences bring
to perfection the different branches of political
œconomy. Even the errors of fyftematical per-
fons are difpelled by the productions of the prefs,
becauſe teafoning and difcuffion try them by the
teſt of truth.
AN intercourfe of knowledge is become necef
fary for induſtry, and literature alone maintains
that communication. The reading of a voyage
round the world has, perhaps, occafioned more
attempts of that kind; for intereft alone cannot
find the means of enterprife. At prefent nothing
can be cultivated without fome ftudy, or without
the knowledge that has been handed down and
diffuſed by reading. Princes themfelves have not
recovered their rights from the ufurpations of the
clergy, but by the affiftance of that knowledge
Nn 2
which
548
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK which has undeceived the people with refpect to
XIX. the abuſes of all fpiritual power.
BUT it would be the greateft folly of the human
mind to have employed all it's powers to increaſe
the authority of kings, and to break the ſeveral
chains that held it in fubjection, in order to be
come the flave of defpotifm. The fame courage
that religion infpires to withdraw confcience from
the tyranny exercifed over opinion, the honest
man, the citizen, and friend of the people ought
to maintain, to free the nations from the tyranny
of fuch powers as confpire againſt the liberty of
mankind. Woe to that ftate in which there is
not to be found one fingle defender of the public
rights of the nation. The kingdom, with all it's
riches, it's trade, it's nobles, and it's citizens, muſt
foon fall into unavoidable anarchy. It is the laws
that are to fave a nation from deftruction, and the
freedom of writing is to fupport and preferve laws.
But what is the foundation and bulwark of the
laws? It is morality.
•
Morals. ATTEMPTS have too long been made to degrade
man. His detractors have made a monſter of him.
In their spleen they have loaded him with outra
ges; the guilty fatisfaction of lowering the human
fpecies hath alone conducted their gloomy pencils.
Who art thou then who dareft thus to infult thy
fellow-creatures? What place gave thee birth? Is
it from the inmoft receffes of thy heart that thou
haft poured forth fo many blafphemies? If thy
pride had been lefs infatuated, or thy difpofition
lefs ferocious and barbarous, thou wouldst have
feen only in man a being always feeble, often fe
duced by error, fometimes carried away by ima
gination, but produced from the hands of nature
with virtuous propenfities.
MAN is born with the feeds of virtue, although
he be not born virtuous. He doth not attain to
this
Jaanko
2
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES. :
549
XIX.
this fublime ftate till after he hath ftudied him- BO O K
felf, till after he hath become acquainted with his
duties, and contracted the habit of fulfilling them.
The fcience which leads to that high degree of
perfection is called morality. It is the rule of
actions, and if one may be allowed the expreffion,
the art of virtue. Encouragements and praifes
are due for all the labours undertaken to remove
the calamities which furround us, to increaſe the
number of our enjoyments, to embelliſh the
dream of our life, to exalt, to improve, and to il-
luftrate our fpecies. Eternal bleffings upon thoſe
who by their ftudies and by their genius have
procured any of theſe advantages to human na-
ture! But the firft crown will be for that wiſe
man whoſe affecting and enlightened writings
will have had a more noble aim, that of mak-
ing us better.
!
THE hopes of obviating fo great a glory hath
given rife to numberless productions. What a
variety of uſeleſs and even pernicious books!
They are in general the work of priests and their
difciples, who not chufing to fee that religion,
fhould confider men only in the relation they
ſtand in to the divinity, made it neceffary to look
for another ground for the relations they bear to
one another. If there be an univerfal fyftem of
morality it cannot be the effect of a particular
cauſe. It has been the fame in paft ages, and it
will continue the fame in future times: it cannot
then be grounded on religious opinions, which,
ever fince the beginning of the world, and from
one pole to the other, have continually varied.
Greece had vicious deities, the Romans had them
likewife: the fenfelefs worshipper of the Fetiches,
adores rather a devil than a God. Every people
made gods for themſelves, and gave them fuch
attributes as they chofe: to fome they afcribed
goodneſs,
550
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
XIX.
་
BOO K goodneſs, to others cruelty, to fome immorality,
and to others the greateft fanctity and feverity of
manners. One would imagine, that every na-
tion intended to deify it's own paffions and opi-
nions. Notwithſtanding this diverfity in reli-
gious fyftems and modes of worship, all nations
have perceived that men ought to be juft; they
have all honoured as virtues, goodnefs, pity,
friendſhip, fidelity, paternal tenderness, filial re-
fpect, fincerity, gratitude, patriotifm; in a word,
all thofe fentiments which may be confidered as
fo many ties adapted to unite men more cloſely
to one another. The origin of that uniformity
of judgment, fo conftant, fo general, ought not
then to be looked for in the midft of contradic-
tory and tranfient opinions. If the minifters of
religion have appeared to think otherwife, it is
becauſe by their fyftem they were enabled to re-
gulate all the actions of mankind, to
difpofe of
their fortunes, and command their wills, and to
fecure to themfelves, in the name of heaven, the
attributary government of the world.
THEIR empire was fo abfolute that they had
fucceeded in eftabliſhing that barbarous fyftem of
morality, which placed the only pleafures that
make life fupportable, in the rank of the greateſt
crimes; an abject morality, which impofed the
obligation of being pleafed with humiliation and
fhame, an extravagant morality which threat-
ened with the fame puniſhments, both the foibles
of love and the moſt atrocious actions; a fuper-
ftitious morality which enjoined to murder, with-
out compaffion, all thoſe who fwerved from the
prevailing opinions; a puerile morality, which
founded the moſt effential duties upon tales equal-
ly difgufting and ridiculous; an interefted mo-
rality, which admitted no other virtues than thofe
which were ufeful to priesthood, nor no other
I
crimes
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
551
V
XIX.
crimes than thoſe which were contrary to it. IfBOOK
priefts had only encouraged men to obferve na-
tural morality by the hope or the fear of future
rewards and puniſhments they would have de-
ferved well of fociety; but in endeavouring to
fupport by violence, ufeful tenets, which had only
been introduced by the mild way of perfuafion,
they have removed the veil which concealed the
depth of their ambition: the maſk is fallen off.
1:
+
Ir is more than two thouſand years fince So-
crates, fpreading out a veil above our heads, had
declared, that nothing of what was paffing beyond
that veil concerned us, and that the actions of
men were not good becaufe they were pleafing to
the gods, but that they were pleafing to the gods
becauſe they were good; a principle which fepa-
rated morality from religion.
ACCORDINGLY, at the tribunal of philofophy
and reafon, morality is a fcience, the object of
which is the preſervation and common happineſs
of the human
cies. To this double end all
it's rules ought to be referred. Their natural,
conftant, and eternal principle is in man himſelf,
and in a reſemblance there is in the general or-
ganization of men, which includes a fimilarity of
wants, of pleaſures and pains, of force and weak-
nefs, a fimilarity from whence arifes the necef-
fity of fociety, or of a common oppofition against
fuch dangers as are equally incident to each in-
dividual, which proceeds from nature herfelf,
and threatens man on all fides. Such is the origin
of particular connections and domeftic virtues:
fuch is the origin of general duties and of public
virtues fuch is the fource of the notion of per-
fonal and public utility, the fource of all compacts
between individuals, and of all laws.
THERE is, properly fpeaking, only one virtue,
which is juftice, and only one duty, to make one's
felf
552
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
:
BOOK felf happy. The virtuous man is he who hath
XIX the moft exact notions of juftice and happineſs,
and whofe conduct conforms moft rigorously to
them. There are two tribunals, that of nature
and that of the laws.
THE law chaftifes crimes, nature chaftifes vicesi
The law prefents the gallows to the affaffin, na-
ture prefents dropfy or confumption to intempe-
rance.
SEVERAL Writers have endeavoured to trace the
first principles of morality in the fentiments of
friendship, tenderneſs, compaffion, honour, and
benevolence, becauſe they found them engraven
on the human heart. But did they not alſo find
there hatred, jealoufy, revenge, pride, and the
love of dominion? For what reafon therefore
have they founded morality on the former prin
ciples rather than on the latter? It is becauſe they.
have underſtood that the former were of general
advantage to fociety, and the others fatal to it
Thofe philofophers have perceived the neceffity
of morality, they have conceived what it ought
to be, but have not difcovered it's leading and
fundamental principle. The very fentiments, in-
deed, which they adopt as the ground work of
morality, becauſe they appear to be ferviceable
to the common good, if left to themfelves would
be very prejudicial to it. How can we deter-
mine to puniſh the guilty if we liften only to the
pleas of compaffion? How fhall we guard againft
partiality, if we confult only the dictates of friend-
fhip? How hall we avoid being favourable to
idleneſs, if we attend only to the fentiments of be-
nevolence? All thefe virtues have their limits,
beyond which they degenerate into vices, and
thofe limits are fettled by the invariable rules of
effential juſtice; or, which is the fame thing, by
the
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
553
the common interefts of men united together in BOOK
fociety, and the conftant object of that union.
Is it on it's own account that valour is ranked
among the number of virtues? No; it is on ac-
count of the ſervice it is of to fociety. This is evi-
dent from the circumftance of it's being puniſhed
as a crime in a man who makes ufe of it to difturb
the public peace.
Wherefore is drunkennefs a
vice? Becauſe every man is bound to contribute
to the common good, and to fulfil that obliga-
tion, he must maintain the free exercife of his fa-
culties. Wherefore are certain actions more
blameable in a magiftrate or general, than in a
private man? Becaufe greater inconveniences
refult from them to fociety.
THE obligations of the man feparated from fo-
ciety are unknown to me, fince I can neither
perceive the fource nor the end of them. As he
lives by himfelf he is certainly at liberty to live
for himſelf alone. No being has a right to re-
quire fuccours from him which he does not im-
plore for himſelf. It is quite the contrary with
refpect to a perfon who lives in the ſocial ſtate. He
is nothing by himſelf, and is fupported only by
what furrounds him. His poffeffions, his enjoy-
ments, his powers, and even his own exiftence,
all belong entirely to the body of the ftate: he
owes them all to the body politic, of which he
is a member.
THE misfortunes of fociety become thofe of
the citizen, he runs the risk of being crufhed,
whatever part of the edifice may fall down. If
he ſhould commit an injuftice he is threatened
with a fimilar one. If he fhould give himſelf up
to crimes, others may become criminal to his
prejudice. He muft therefore tend conftantly to
the general good, fince it is upon this profperity
that his own depends.
IF
XIX.
554
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK Ir one fingle individual fhould attend only to
XIX: his intereft without any concern for thofe of the
public; if he ſhould exempt himſelf from the
common duty, under pretence that the actions of
one individual cannot have a determined influ-
ence upon the general order, other perfons will
alfo be defirous of indulging their perfonal pro-
penfities. Then all the members of the republic
will become alternately executioners and victims.
Every one will commit and receive injuries, every
one will rob and be robbed, every one will ftrike
and receive a blow. A ftate of warfare will pre-
vail between all forts of individuals. The ſtate
will be ruined, and the citizens will be ruined
with the ſtate.
THE firft men who collected themſelves into fo-
ciety were undoubtedly not immediately fenfible
of the whole of thefe truths. The idea of their
ftrength being moft prevalent in them, they were
probably defirous of obtaining every thing by the
exertion of it. Repeated calamities warned them
in procefs of time of the neceffity of forming
conventions. Reciprocal obligations increafed
in proportion as the neceffity of them was felt;
thus it is that duty began with fociety,
DUTY may therefore be defined to be the
rigid obligation of doing whatever is fuitable
to fociety. It includes the practice of all the
virtues, fince there is not one of them which is
not uſeful to a civilized body; and it excludes
all the vices, becauſe there is not one which is not
prejudicial to it.
IT would be reafoning pitifully to imagine with
fome corrupt perfons, that men have a right to
defpife all the virtues, under pretence that they
are only inftitutions of convenience. Wretch
that thou art, wouldft thou live in a fociety which
cannot fubfift without them.; wouldst thou enjoy
the
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
555
XIX.
the advantages which refult from them, and BOOK
wouldst thou think thyfelf difpenfed from prac-
tifing, or even from holding them in eftimation?
What could poffibly be the object of them if they
were not connected with man? Would this great
name have been given to acts that were merely
barren? On the contrary, it is their neceffity
which conftitutes their effence and their merit.
Let me once more repeat, that all morality con-
fifts in the maintenance of order. It's principles
are ſteady and uniform, but the application of
them varies fometimes according to the climate
and to the local or political fituation of the peo-
ple. Polygamy is in general more natural to hot
than to cold climates. Circumftances, however,
of the times, in oppofition to the rule of the cli-
mate, may order monogamy in one ifland of
Africa, and permit polygamy in Kamtfchatka, if
one be a means of putting a ftop to the excess of
population at Madagaſcar, and the other, of haften-
ing it's progrefs upon the coafts of the frozen fea.
But nothing can authorize adultery and forni-
cation in thoſe two zones, when conventions have
eſtabliſhed the laws of marriage or of property in
the uſe of women.
It is the fame thing with refpect to all the lands
and to property. What would be a robbery in a
ftate, where property is juftly diftributed, becomes
fubfiftence for life in à ftate where property is
in common. Thus it is, that theft and adultery
were not permitted at Sparta; but the public right
allowed what would be confidered elſewhere as
theft and adultery. It was not the wife or the
property of another perfon that was then taken;
but the wife and the property of all, when the laws
granted as a reward to dexterity, every advantage
it could procure to itſelf.
IT
:
556
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK IT is every where known what is juft and un-
XIX. juft, but the fame ideas are not univerfally at-
tached to the fame actions. In hot countries,
where the climate requires no clothing, mo
defty is not offended by nakedness; but the
abufe, whatever it may be, of the intercourfe:
between the fexes, and premature attempts
upon virginity, are crimes which muft difguft.
In India, where every thing confpires to make
a virtue even of the act itſelf of generation,
it is a cruelty to put the cow to death which
nouriſhes man with her milk, and to deftroy
thofe animals, whofe life is not prejudicial,
nor their death ufeful, to the human fpecies.
The Iroquois, or the Huron, who kill their fa-
ther with a ſtroke of a club, rather than expoſe
him to perish of hunger, or upon the pile of the
enemy, think they do an act of filial piety in obey-
ing the laft wishes of their parent, who afks for
death from them as a favour. The means the
moft oppofite in appearance, tend all equally to
the fame end, the maintenance and the profperity
of the body politic.
SUCH is that univerfal morality, which being
inherent in the nature of man, is alfo inherent
in the nature of focieties, that morality which
may vary only in it's application, but never in it's
effence, that morality, in a word, to which all
the laws muſt refer and be fubordinate. Accord-
ing to this common rule of all our public and
private actions, let us examine whether there ever
were or ever can be good morals in Europe.
...WE live under the influence of three codes, the
natural, the civil, and the religious code. It is
evident, that as long as thefe three forts of legif--
lations ſhall be contradictory to each other, it will
be impoffible to be virtuous. It will fometimes
he neceffary to trample upon nature in order to
obey
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
557
XIX.
obey focial inftitutions, and to counteract focial BOOK
inftitutions to conform to the precepts of religion.
The confequence of this will be, that while we
are alternately infringing upon thefe feveral au-
thorities, we hall refpect neither of them, and
that we ſhall neither be men, nor citizens, nor
pious perfons.
་་
Good morals would therefore require previous
reform, which ſhould reduce thefe codes to iden-
tity. Religion ought neither to forbid nor to
prefcribe any thing to us, but what is preſcribed
or forbidden by the civil law, and the civil and
religious laws ought to model themſelves upon
natural law, which hath been, is, and will always
be, the ftrongeft. From whence it appears, that
a true legiſlator hath not yet exifted; that it was
neither Mofes, nor Solon, nor Numa, nor Mo-
hammed, nor even Confucius; that it is not only in
Athens, but alſo over all the globe, that the beſt
legiſlation they could receive hath been given to
man, not the beft which could have been given
to them; that in confidering only morality, man-
kind would perhaps be lefs diftant from happinefs
had they remained in the fimple and innocent
ſtate of ſome ſavages; for nothing is fo difficult
as to eradicate inveterate and fanctified prejudice.
For the architect who draws the plan of a great
edifice, an even area is better than one covered
with bad materials, heaped upon one another
without method and without plan, and unfortu-
nately connected together by the moft durable
cements of time, of cuftom, and of the authority
of fovereigns and of priefts. Then the wife man
advances in his work only with timidity, he is
expoſed to greater rifks, and lofes more time in
demoliſhing than in conftructing
*
SINCE the invafion of the barbarians in this part
of the world, almoſt all governments have had
no
558
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
f
XIX.
BOOK no other foundation than the intereft of one fingle
man, or of a fingle corporate body, to the pre
judice of fociety in general. Founded upon con-
queft, the effect of fuperior ftrength, they have
only varied in the mode of keeping the people in
fubjection. At firft war made victims of them,
devoted either to the fword of their enemies or to
that of their mafters. How many ages have
paffed away in fcenes of blood and in the carnage
of nations, that is to fay, in the diftribution of
empires before the terms of peace had deified
that ftate of inteftine war, which is called fociety
or government?
*
WHEN the feudal government had for ever ex-
cluded thoſe who tilled the ground from the right
of poffeffing it: when, by a facrilegious collufion
between the author and the throne, the authority
of God had been enforced by that of the fword;
what effect had the morality of the gofpel, but to
authorize tyranny by the doctrine of paffive obe-
dience, but to confirm flavery by a contempt
of the fciences, in a word, to add to the ter-
ror of the great, that of evil fpirits? And what
were morals with fuch laws? What they are at
preſent in Poland, where the people, being with-
out lands and without arms, are left to be maffa-
cred by the Ruffians, or enlifted by the Pruffians,
and having neither courage nor fentiment, think
it is fufficient if they are chriftians, and remain
neutral between their neighbours and their lords
palatine.
1
To a fimilar ftate of anarchy wherein morals
had no diftinguishing character, nor any degree of
ſtability, fucceeded the epidemic fury of the holy
wars, by which nations were corrupted and de-
graded, by communicating to each other the
contagion of vices with that of fanaticifm. Morals
were changed with the change of climate. All
1
the
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
559
XIX.
the paffions were inflamed and heightened between B OOK
the tombs of Jefus, and Mohammed. From Pa-
leftine was imported a principle of luxury and
oftentation, an inordinate tafte for the fpices of
the eaſt, a romantic fpirit which civilized the
nobility, without rendering the people more
happy, confequently more virtuous for if there
be no happineſs without virtue, virtue on the
other hand, will never fupport itſelf without a
fund of happineſs.
):
¿
*
ABOUT two centuries after Europe had been
depopulated by Afiatic expeditions, it's tranfmi-
gration in America happened. This revolution
introduced an univerfal confufion, and blended
the vices and productions of every climate with
our own. Neither was any improvement made
in the ſcience of morality, becaufe men were then
deftroyed through avarice, inftead of being maſ-
facred on account of religion. Thoſe. nations.
which had made the largeſt acquifitions in the
New World, feemed to acquire at the fame time
all the ſtupidity, ferocioufnefs, and ignorance of
the Old. They became the channel through
which the vices and diſeaſes of their country were
communicated. They were poor and dirty in
the midſt of their wealth, debauched though fur-
rounded with temples and with priests; they were
idle and fuperftitious with all the fources of com-
merce, and the facility of acquiring information.
But the love of riches likewife corrupted all other
nations.
WHETHER it be war or commerce which intro-
duces great riches into a ftate, they foon become
the object of public ambition. At first men of
the greateft power feize upon them and as riches
come into the hands of thoſe who have the ma-
nagement of public affairs, wealth is confounded
with honour in the minds of the people; and the
virtuous
560
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOO K virtuous citizen, who afpired to employments only
XIX. for the fake of glory, afpires, without knowing it,
{
to honour for the fake of advantage. Neither
lands nor treaſure, any more than conquefts, are
obtained with any other view but to enjoy them
and riches are enjoyed only for pleaſure and the
oftentation of luxury. Under thefe different ideas,
they equally corrupt the citizen who poffeffes
them, and the people who are feduced by their
attraction. As foon as men labour only from a
motive of gain, and not from a regard to their
duty, the moſt advantageous fituations are pre-
ferred to the moſt honourable. It is then we fee
the honour of a profeffion diverted, obfcured, and
loft in the paths that lead to wealth.
.
To the advantage of that falfe confideration at
which riches arrive, are to be added the natural
convenience of opulence, a freſh fource of cor-
ruption. The man who is in a public fituation is
defirous of having people about him, the honours
he receives in public are not fufficient for him;
he wants admirers, either of his talents, his
luxury, or his profufion. If riches be the means
of corruption, by leading to honours, how much
more will they be fo, by diffufing a tafte for
pleasure! Mifery offers it's chastity to fale, and
idlenefs it's liberty; the prince fets the magi-
ftracy up to auction, and the magiftrates fet a price..
upon juftice: the court fells employments, and
placemen fell the people to the prince, who fells
them again to the neighbouring powers, either
in treaties of war, or fubfidy; of peace, or ex-
change of territory. But in this fordid traffic, in-
troduced by the love of wealth, the most evi-
dent alteration is that which it makes in the mo-
rals of women.
THERE is no vice which owes it's origin to fo
many other vices, and which produces a greater
number
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
501
number of them, than the incontinence of a fex, BOOK
whofe true attendant, and most beautiful orna- XIX.
ment, is baſhfulneſs and modefty
I Do not underftand by incontinence, the pro-
mifcuous ufe of women; the wife Cato adviſed it
in his republic; nor do I mean a plurality of
them, which is the refult of the ardent and vo-
luptuous countries of the eaft; neither do I mean
the liberty, whether indefinite or limited, which
cuſtom, in different countries, grants to the fex,
of yielding to the defires of feveral men. This,
among fome people, is one of the duties of ho
ſpitality, among others, a means of improving
the human race, and in other places an offering
made to the gods, an act of piety confecrated by
religion. I call incontinence, all intercourfe be-
tween the two fexes forbidden by the laws of the
ftate.
WHY ſhould this miſdemeanour, fo pardonable
in itſelf, this action of fo little confequence in it's
nature, fo much confined in the gratification,
have fo' pernicious an influence upon the morals
of women? This is, I believe, a confequence of
the importance we have attached to it. What
will be the reftraint of a woman, difhonoured in
her own eyes, and in thoſe of her fellow-citizens?
What fupport will other virtues find in her foul,
when nothing can aggravate her fhame? The
contempt of public opinion, one of the greatest
efforts of wildom, is feldom feparated, in a feeble
and timid mind, from the contempt of one's
felf. This degree of heroifm cannot exift with a
conſciouſneſs of vice. The woman who no longer
refpects herfelf, foon becomes infenfible to cen-
fure and to praiſe; and without ſtanding in awe
of thoſe two refpectable phantoms, I know not
what will be the rule of her conduct. There re-
mains nothing but the rage of voluptuoufneſs,
VOL. VI.
о
that
562
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK that can indemnify her for the facrifice fhe has
XIX. made. This fhe feels, and this the perfuades her-
felf of; and thus, free from the constraint of the
public confideration, the gives herſelf up to it
without reſerve.
WOMEN take their refolution with much more
difficulty than men, but when once they have
taken it, they are much more determined. A
woman never blushes when once the has ceafed to
blufh. What will he not trample upon, when
the hath triumphed over virtue? What idea can
the have of that dignity, that decency, and that
delicacy of fentiment, which, in the days of her
innocence, directed and dictated her converfation,
constituted her behaviour, and directed her drefs?
Theſe will be confidered only as childiſhnefs, as
pufillanimity, or as the little intrigue of a pre-
tended innocent perfon, who has parents to fa-
tisfy, and a huſband to deceive; but a change of
times brings on a change of manners.
To whatever degree of perverfity the may
have
attained, it will not lead her to great enormities.
Her weakneſs deprives her of the boldness to
commit atrocious acts; but her habitual hypo-
crify, if he had not entirely thrown off the
mak, will caft a tint of falfity upon her whole
character. Thoſe things which a man dares to
attempt by force, fhe will attempt and obtain by
artifice. A corrupt woman propagates corrup
tion. She propagates it by bad example, by in-
fidious counfels, and fometimes by ridicule. She
hath begun by coquetry, which was addreffed to
all men; the hath continued by gallantry, fo vo-
latile in it's propenfities, that it is more eafy to
find a woman who hath never had any paffions,
than to find one who had only been once im-
paffioned; and at laft fhe reckons as many lovers
as the hath acquaintances, whom he recals, ex-
pels,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
563
pels, and recals again, according to the want the BOOK
hath of them, and to the nature of intrigues of XIX.
all kinds into which the hath plunged herſelf.
This is what he means by having known how
to enjoy her beft years, and to avail herſelf of her
charms. It was one of thefe women, who had
entered into the depths of the art, and who de-
clared upon her death-bed, that the regretted
only the pains ſhe had taken to deceive the men;
and that the moſt honeft among them were the
greateſt dupes.
UNDER the influence of fuch manners, conju-
gal love is difdained, and that contempt weakens
the fentiment of maternal tendernefs if it doth
not even extinguish it. The moſt facred, and the
moft pleafing duties become troubleſome; and
when they have been neglected, or broken, nature
never renews them. The woman who fuffers any
man but her huſband to approach her, hath no
more regard for her family, and can be no more
reſpected by them. The ties of blood are flacken-
ed; births become uncertain; and the fon knows
no more his father, nor the father his fon.
I WILL therefore maintain it, that connections
of gallantry complete the depravity of man-
ners, and indicate it more ftrongly than public
proftitution. Religion is extinct, when the prieſt
leads a fcandalous life; in the fame manner vir-
tue hath no afylum, when the fanctuary of mar-
riage is profaned. Bafhfulneſs is under the pro-
tection of the timid fex. Who is it that hall
bluth, when a woman doth not? It is not proſti-
tution which multiplies acts of adultery; it is
gallantry which extends proftitution. The an-
cient moralifts, who pitied the unfortunate vic-
tims of libertinifm, condemned without mercy
the infidelity of married women; and not without
reafon. If we were to throw all the fhame of
vice
564
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
XIX.
BOOK vice upon the clafs of common women, other
women would not fail foon to take honour to
themſelves from a limited intercourfe, although
it would be fo much more criminal, as it was
more voluntary, and more illicit. The honeft
and virtuous women will no more be diſtinguiſh-
ed from the women of ftrong paffions; a frivo-
lous diſtinction will be eſtabliſhed between the
woman of gallantry and the courtezan; between
gratuitous vice and vice reduced by mifery to
the neceffity of requiring a ftipend; and thefe
fubtleties will betray a fyftem of depravation.
O fortunate and rude times of our forefathers,
when there were none but virtuous or bad women;
when all who were not virtuous were corrupted;
and where an eſtabliſhed ſyſtem of vice was not
excufed, by perfevering in it.
BUT finally, what is the fource of thofe delicate
paffions, formed by the mind, by fentiment, and
by fympathy of character? The manner in which
thefe paffions always terminate, fhews plainly,
that thofe fine expreffions are only employed to
ſhorten the defence, and juftify the defeat.
Equally at the fervice of referved and diffolute
women, they are become almoft ridiculous..
WHAT is the refult of this national gallantry?
A premature libertinifm, which ruins the health
of young men before they are arrived to maturi-
ty, and deftroys the beauty of the women in the
prime of their life; a race of men without informa-
tion, without ſtrength, and without courage; inca-
pable of ferving their country; magiftrates defti-
tute of dignity and of principles; a preference of
wit to good fenfe; of pleaſures to duty; of po-
liteness to the feelings of humanity; of the art of
pleafing, to talents, to virtue; men abforbed in
felf-confideration, fubftituted to men who are
ferviceable; offers without reality; innumerable
acquain-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
565
XIX.
acquaintances, and no friends; miftreffes, and no в O O K
wives; lovers, and no hufbands; feparations and
divorces; children without education; fortunes.
in diforder; jealous mothers, and hyfterical wo-
men; nervous diforders; peevish old age, and
premature death.
IT is with difficulty that women of gallantry
efcape the dangers of the critical period of life.
The vexation at the neglect which threatens
them, completes the depravation of the blood
and of the humours, at a time when the calm
which arifes from confcioufnefs of an honeft life.
might be falutary. It is dreadful to feek in vain,
in one's felf, the confolations of virtue, when the
calamities of nature furround us.
LET us, therefore, talk no more of morality
among modern nations; and if we wish to difco-
ver the cauſe of this degradation, let us ſearch
for it in it's true principle.
GOLD doth not become the idol of a people,
and virtues does not fall into contempt, unleſs the
bad conftitution of the government leads on to
fuch a corruption. Unfortunately, it will always
have this effect, if the government be fo confti-
tuted, that the temporary intereft of a fingle per-
fon, or of a ſmall number, can with impunity
prevail over the common and invariable intereft
of the whole. It will always produce this corrup-
tion, if thoſe in whofe hands authority is lodged
can make an arbitrary uſe of it; can place them-
felves above the reach of juftice; can make their
power adminifter to plundering, and their plun-
der to the continuance of abufes occafioned by
their power. Good laws are maintained by good
morals, but good morals are eſtabliſhed by good
laws. Men are what government makes them.
To modify them, it is always armed with an irre-
fiftible force, that of public opinion; and the go-
vernment
566%
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK vernment will always make ufe of corruption,
XIX. when by it's nature it is itfelf corrupt. In a
word, the nations of Europe will have good mo-
rals when they have good governments. Let us
conclude. But let us previously give a rapid
ſketch of the good and of the evil produced by
the diſcovery of the East and Weft Indies.
Reflecti-THIS great event hath improved the conftruc-
ons upon tion of hips, navigation, geography, aftronomy,
the good
medicine, natural history, and fome other branches
evil which of knowledge; and thefe advantages have not
the difco- been attended with any known inconvenience.
IT hath procured to fome empires vaft do-
hath done mains, which have given fplendour, power, and
to Europe. wealth, to the ftates which have founded them.
and the
very of
the New
World
1
But what expences have not been laviſhed, to
clear, to govern, or to defend theſe diftant pof-
feffions. When thefe colonies fhould have ac-
quired that degree of culture, knowledge, and po-
pulation which is fuitable for them, will they not
detach themſelves from a country which hath
founded it's fplendour upon their profperity?
We know not at what period this revolution will
happen; but it muſt certainly take place.
EUROPE is indebted to the New World for a
few conveniences, and a few luxuries. But be-
fore thefe enjoyments were obtained, were we lefs
healthy, lefs robuft, lefs intelligent, or lefs hap-
py? Are theſe frivolous advantages, fo cruelly
obtained, fo unequally diftributed, and fo obfti-
nately difputed, worth one drop of that blood
which hath been fpilt, and which will ftill be fpilt
for them? Are they to be compared to the life
of a fingle man? and yet, how many lives have
hitherto been deſtroyed; how many are at preſent
devoted; and how many will not hereafter be fa-
crified, to ſupply chimerical wants, which we
DI
fhall
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
567-
fhall never be perfuaded to get rid of, either by BOOK
authority or reaſon.
THE Voyages undertaken upon all the feas have
weakened the principle of national pride; they
have infpired civil and religious toleration; they
have revived the ties of original fraternity;
have inſpired the true principles of an uni-
verfal fyftem of morality, founded upon the
identity of wants, of calamities, of pleafures,
and of the analogies common to mankind under
every latitude; they have induced the practice of
benevolence towards every individual who appeals..
to it, whatever his manners, his country, his
laws, and his religion may be. But at the fame
time, the minds of men have been turned to lu-
crative ſpeculation. The fentiment of glory hath
been weakened. Riches have been preferred to
fame; and every thing which tended to the
elevation of mankind hath vifibly inclined to
decay.
THE New World hath multiplied fpecies amongſt
us. An earneſt defire of obtaining it hath occa-
fioned much exertion upon the face of the globe;
but exertion is not happiness. Whofe deftiny
hath been meliorated by gold and filver? Do
not the nations who dig them from the bowels of
the earth, languish in ignorance, fuperftition,
and pride, and all thofe vices which it is
moft difficult to eradicate, when they have taken
deep root. Have they not loft their agriculture
and their manufactures? Their exiftence, is it
not precarious? If an induftrious people, pro-
prietors of a fertile foil, fhould one day reprefent
to the other people, that they have too long car-
ried on a lofing trade with them; and that they
will no longer give the thing for the reprefenta>
tion; would not this fumptuary law be a fentence
of death againſt that region, which hath none but
riches
XIX.
568
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK riches of convention, unless the latter, driven
XIX. by defpair, fhould fhut up it's mines, in order to
open furrows in the ground?
THE other powers of Europe may perhaps
have acquired no greater advantage from the
treaſures of America. If the repartition of them
hath been equal, or proportionate between them,
neither of them have decreaſed in opulence, or
increaſed in ſtrength. The analogies which exiſt.
ed in ancient times ftill exift. Let us fuppofe
that fome nations fhould have acquired a greater
quantity of metals than the rival nations, they will
either bury them, or throw them into circulation.
In the firft inftance, this is nothing more than
the barren property of a fuperfluous mafs of gold.
In the fecond, they will acquire only a temporary
fuperiority, becaufe in a fhort fpace of time all
vendible commodities will bear a price propor
tionate to the abundance of the figns which re-
preſent them.
SUCH are then the evils attached even to the
advantages which we owe to the diſcovery of the
Eaſt and Weft Indies. But how many calami-
ties, which cannot be compenſated, have not at-
tended the conqueft of thefe regions?
HAVE the devaftators of them loft nothing by
depopulating them for a long fpecies of ages? If
all the blood that hath been fpilt in thofe coun-
tries had been collected into one common refer-
voir, if the dead bodies had been heaped up in the
fame plain, would not the blood and the carcaffes
of the Europeans have occupied a great ſpace in
it? Hath it been poffible fpeedily to fill up the
void which thefe emigrants had left in their na-
tive land, infected with a fhameful and cruel poi-
fon from the New World, which attacks even the
fources of reproduction?
SINCE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
569
SINCE the bold attempts of Columbus and of B⋅ OOK
Gama, a fpirit of fanaticifm, till then unknown,, XIX.
hath been eſtabliſhed in our countries, which is
that of making difcoveries. We have traverſed,
and ftill continue to traverfe, all the climates
from one pole to another, in order to diſcover
fome continents to invade, fome iſlands to ravage,
and fome people to ſpoil, to fubdue, and to maf-
facre. Would not the perfon who fhould put an
end to this frenzy deſerve to be reckoned among
the benefactors of mankind?
►
THE fedentary life is the only favourable one
to population. The man who travels leaves no
pofterity behind him. The land forces have
ereated a multitude of perfons devoted to celi-
bacy. The naval forces have almoſt doubled
them; with this difference, that the latter are de-
Aroyed by illneffes on board of fhip, by fhip-
wrecks, by fatigue, by bad food, and by the
change of climate.
A foldier may return to
fome of the profeffions uſeful to fociety. A failor
is a failor for ever. When he is diſcharged from
the fervice, he is of no further ufe to his country,
which is under the neceffity of providing an hof-
pital for him.
LONG voyages have introduced a new ſpe-
cies of anomalous favages. I mean thofe men,
who traverſe fo many countries, and who
in the end belong to none; who take wives
wherever they find them, and that only from
motives of animal neceffity; thofe amphibious
creatures, who live upon the furface of the
waters; who come on fhore only for a mo-
ment; to whom every habitable latitude is
equal; who have, in reality, neither fathers, mo-
thers, children, brothers, relations, friends, nor
fellow-citizens, in whom the most pleafing and
the most facred ties are extin&t; who quit their
country
570
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
XIX.
*
BOOK country without regret; who never return to it
without being impatient of going out again
and to whom the habit of living upon a dreadful
element gives a character of ferocioufnefs. Their
probity is not proof againſt the croffing of the
line; and they acquire riches in exchange for
their virtue and their health.
THIS infatiable thirft of gold, hath given birth
to the moſt infamous and the moſt atrocious of
all traffics, that of flaves. Crimes againft nature
are ſpoken of, and yet this is not inftanced as the
moft execrable of them. Moft of the European
nations have been ſtained with it, and a bafe
motive of intereft hath extinguiſhed in their
hearts all the fentiments due to our fellow-
creatures. But, without thefe affiftances, thefe
countries, the acquifition of which hath coft fo
dear, would ftill be uncultivated. Let them
then remain fallow; if, in order to cultivate them,"
it be neceffary that man fhould be reduced to the
condition of the brute, in the perfon of the buyer,
of the feller, and of him who is fold.
SHALL we not take into our account, the compli-
cation which the fettlements in the Eaft and Weft
Indies have introduced in the machine of govern-
ment? Before that period, the perfons proper to
hold the reins of government were infinitely ſcarce.
A
adminiftration more embarraffed, hath re-
quired a more extenfive genius, and greater
depth of knowledge. The cares of fovereignty,
divided between the citizens placed at the foot of
the throne, and the fubjects fettled under the
equator, or near the pole, have been infufficient
for both the one and the other. Every thing
hath fallen into confufion. The feveral ftates
have languiſhed under the yoke of oppreffion,
and endleſs wars, or fuch as were inceffantly re-
newed,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
571
newed, have haraffed the globe, and ftained it BOOK
with blood.
LET us ftop here, and confider ourſelves as
exiſting at the time when America and India were
unknown. Let me fuppofe that I addrefs myſelf.
to the moſt cruel of the Europeans in the follow-
ing terms. There exiſt regions which will furniſh
thee with rich metals, agreeable clothing, and
delicious food. But read this hiftory, and be.
hold at what price the difcovery is promifed to
thee. Doeft thou wifh or not that it fhould be
made? Is it to be imagined that there exifts a
being infernal enough to anſwer this queſtion in
the affirmative! Let it be remembered, that there
will not be a fingle inftant in futurity, when my
queftion will not have the fame force.
NATIONS, I have difcourfed to you on your
deareſt intereſts. I have placed before your eyes
the benefits of nature, and the fruits of induſtry.
As ye are too frequently the occafion of your mu
tual unhappineſs, you must have felt how the
jealouſy of avarice, how pride and ambition re-
move far from your common weal, the happineſs
that prefents itſelf to you by peace and commerce.
I have recalled that happineſs which has been re-
moved from you. The fentiments of my heart
have been warmly expreffed in favour of all man-
kind, without diftinction of fect or country. Men
are all equal in my fight, by the reciprocal rela-
tion of the fame wants and the fame calamities:
as they are all equal in the eyes of the Supreme.
Being through the connection between their
weakness and his power. I have not been igno-
rant that, ſubject, as ye were, to maſters, your
deſtiny muſt principally depend upon them; and
that while I was fpeaking to you of your cala-
mities, I was cenfuring them for their errors, or
XIX.
their
572
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
?
BOOK their crimes. This reflection hath not depreffed
XIX. my courage. I have never conceived, that the
facred refpect due to humanity, could poffibly be
irreconcileable with that which is due to thoſe
who fhould be it's natural protectors. I have
been tranſported in idea into the councils of the
ruling powers. I have fpoken without difguife,
and without fear, and have no reafon to accufe
myfelf of having betrayed the great cauſe I have
ventured to plead. I have informed princes of their
duties, and of the rights of the people. I have
traced to them the fatal effects of that inhuman
power which is guilty of oppreffion; and of that
whofe indolence and weakneſs fuffers it. I have
íketched all around them portraits of your mis-
fortunes, and they cannot but have been fenfibly
affected by them. I have warned them, that if
they turned their eyes away, thofe true but dread-
ful pictures would be engraven on the marble of
their tombs, and accufe their afhes, while pofte-
rity trampled on them.
BUT talents are not always equal to our zeal.
Undoubtedly I have ſtood in need of a greater
fhare of that penetration which difcovers expe-
dients, and of that eloquence which enforces
truth. Sometimes, perhaps, the fentiments of
my heart have contributed to raife my genius;
but moſt frequently I have perceived myſelf over-
whelmed with my fubject, and confcious of my
own inability.
•
MAY writers, on whom nature has bestowed
greater abilities, complete by their maſterpieces
what my effays have begun! Under the auspices
of philofophy, may there be one day extended,
from one extremity of the world to the other,
that chain of union and benevolence which ought
to connect all civilized people! May they never
more
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
573
more carry among favage nations the example of B OOK
vice and oppreffion! I do not flatter myfelf that, XIX.
at the period of that happy revolution, my name
will be ftill in remembrance. This feeble work,
which will have only the merit of having brought
forth others better than itſelf, will doubtlefs be
forgotten. But I fhall, at leaſt, be able to fay,
that I have contributed as much as was in my
power to the happinefs of my fellow-creatures,
and pointed out the way, though perhaps at a
diſtance, to improve their deftiny. This agree-
able thought will ftand me in the ftead of glory.
It will be the delight of my old age, and the con-
folation of my lateſt moments.
END OF THE SIXTH VOLUME.
I N
NDE X.
{
N. B. The Roman Numerals refer to the Volume,
and the Figures to the Page.
A
ABENAKY Indians, of Nova Scotia, are inftigated by the
French to ravage the Engliſh fettlements in New England,
v. 418.
Abfolute monarchs, a fucceffion of wife and good ones, tend to
deſtroy the ſpirit of a people, i. 364.
Acadia. See Nova Scotia.
Acapulco, account of the annual galleon which arrives at that port
from Manilla, ii. 521.
This port defcribed, 522.
Acunha, Triſtan de, feizes the iſland of Socotora for the crown
of Portugal, i. 107.
Aden, one of the moft flouriſhing factories in Afia, before the Por-
tugueſe intercepted the navigation of the Red-Sea, i. 359.
Adventurers naval, their character, iii. 311.
Afghans of Candahar, the manners of that people defcribed, i. 413.
Their cruel ravages in Perfia, 414. Are driven out of Perfia by
Kouli Khan, ibid.
Africa, was firſt vifited by the Normans, i. 36. Portugueſe ex-
peditions to the western coafts of that continent, ibid. Portu-
gueſe fettlements formed on the coafts, 183. The ſtaple of
their trade fixed at Mofambique, ibid. General view of the
fituation and extent of this vaft continent, iv. 3. Defcription
of Egypt, 4. Hiftory of Lybia, 14. Foundation of the
ftates of Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, 17. Empire of Morocco,
31. Plan propofed for fuppreffing the piratical ftates of Bar-
bary, and civilizing the country, 38. Inquiry into the cauſe
of the black colour of Negroes, 42. Defcription of Guinea,
50. Account of the Africans on the banks of the Niger, 64.
On the Gold-coaft, 65. River Senegal, and its trade, 77
River Gambia, 79. Cape Verd Iflands, ibid. Sierra Leone,
80. Iſlands of Curamo, 83. River Gabon, 84. Loango, 86.
Inquiry into the cauſe and remedy of the unwholeſomeneſs of
the climate on their coafts, 87.
Ages,
IN D E X.)
Ages, middle, of Europe characterized, i. 11.
Agriculture affiduously followed in China, i. 136. Is recommend-
ed to the people by the example of the emperors, 140. Re-
vived in France by Charlemagne, ii. 5. The fource of com-
merce is in turn promoted by commerce, vi. 436. Is the ſpring
of population, ibid. Ancient Rome ruined by a contempt of,
437. England the first European nation that encouraged agri-
culture by honours and premiums, 439. Huſbandmen oppreffed
and deſpiſed in France, 440. Cultivation purfued in Germany
and other northern nations, 442. Why the moft fertile territo-
ries produce the leaft, 443 Pernicious tendency of religious
fafts and feſtivals, ibid. The arts of cultivation have not been
ſtudied fo attentively as other arts, 444. Is the only fource of
wealth of which a country cannot be deprived by rivalfhip, 445.
The welfare of cities dependant upon agriculture, 446. Huf-
bandmen the most deferving of encouragement of any clafs in
the state, 448. A free trade the means of promoting agricul-
ture, 449. Gives birth to the arts, 450. Improves the ch
mate of a country, 465.
Aix la Chapelle, remarks on the peace of, iii. 536.
་་
Akbar Mahmoud, emperor, his fcheme to acquire a knowledge of
the religion of the Bramins, i. 47. Reduces Guzarat, ii. 30.
Albany, a fort erected there by the Dutch, to carry on a fur trade
with the Indians, v. 452.
Albemarle, lord, examination of his conduct at the fiege of Ha-
vannah, iii. 562.
Alberoni, cardinal, his plan of colonization, ii. 542.
Albuquerque, Alphonfo, is inveſted by the court of Lifbon, with the
regulation of their interefts in the Eaft Indies, i. 94. Seizes the
city of Goa, 95. Takes it again and fortifies it, bid. His
bold fchemes to deftroy the Venetian commerce with India, 109:
Reduces and fortifies the city of Ormus in the Perfian Gulph,
114. Reduces the city of Malacca, 122. His death and cha
rafter, 129.
Alcade, his office in Mexico, iii. 237.
Alcavala, a tax impoſed on the Spaniſh American colonies, ex-
plained, iii. 247.
Alexander the Great, caufes that facilitated his conqueft of India,
ii. 115.
Alexandria rendered the mart for eaftern commerce under Ptolemy,
the fucceffor to Alexander, i. 97. Account of the intended
navigable communication between this city and Berenice, ibid.
Manner of carrying on the trade on it's failure, ibid. It's com-
merce transferred to Conftantinople, 101. The harbour of,
defcribed, iv. 10.
Algiers, prefent ftate of that republic, iv. 25. Amount of their
piratical fleet, 26. The trade with, in the hands of a company
at Marſeilles, 27. Defcription of the capital city, 29.
Algonquins, origin of the war between them and the Iroquois, v.
182. Are affifted by the French, 183. Are deftroyed, 185.*
·
Almagro,
INDEX.
Almagro, Diego de, his character, iii. 10. Affociates with Pizarro in
his fcheme of fubduing Peru, ibid. His difputes with him, 37.
Is defeated and beheaded by Pizarro, 38.
Almagro the younger, avenges the death of his father, by the
mallacre of Pizarro and his adherents, iii. 39. His character
and brutal proceedings, ibid. Is reduced and put to death by
Caftro, 41.
Alges, foccotrine, manner of preparing this drug, i. 106.
Alges wood, account of that procured from Cochin China, ii, 62.
Ufes of, ibid.
Amazons, fources and prodigious courſe of that great river in South
America, iii. 353. First difcovery of, by the Spaniards, 354.
Examination into the fabulous ftories of a nation of women
called Amazons, 355. Voyage of Pedro Texeira up the river,
358. Hazardous miffion of the Jefuits up that river, 360.
Account of the bordering natiyes, 362.
Ambaſſadors, why kept refident at the feveral European courts, vi.
365.0
Amboyna, addrefs of one of the natives of, to the Portugueſe on
their profligacy, i. 191. Cloves cultivated there under Dutch
authority, 233. Dutch account of a confpiracy formed against
them by the English, 370. The accufation denied by the
English on circumftances, ibid.
America, the honour of giving name to this immenfe region due to
Columbus, though capriciouſly referved for Vefpucius, ii. 426.
The propenfity of the natives to an unnatural vice accounted for,
432. The conquefts of the Spaniards, thofe greatly facilitated
by the women, 433. Conqueft of Mexico by Cortez, 438.
Conquest of Peru by Pizarro, iii. 10. A philofophical inquiry
into the right of eftabliſhing colonies in diſtant countries, 167.
Application to the conduct of Europeans in this quarter of the
world, 170. Great importation of negroes into Spaniſh Ame-
rica, 224. Review of the forms of government eſtabliſhed in
Spaniſh America, 239. Ecclefiaftical government in Spanish
America, 240. Articles proper for Spain to cultivate in the
colonies, 289. The colonies ought to be opened to foreigners,
290. Great contraband trade there, 294. Whether the Spa-
nish empire there is permanent or not, 299. Defcription of the
Caribbee Iflands, 456. Hiftory of the Buccaneers, 484. Peace-
able ſtate of, after the peace of Utrecht, 528. Hints for abolish-
ing flavery in America, iv. 144. The northern parts of, probably
vifited by the Norwegians long before the time of Columbus,
292. The population of the Britiſh American iflands principally
owing to the civil war under Charles I. v. 11. Both the con-
tinents of America have been covered by the fea, 353. Re-
flections on the good and evil which refult to Europe from the
difcovery of the New World, vi. 566.
America, North, the motives of the first European expeditions to,
v. 136. Character of the original natives, ibid, Canada con-
VOL. VI.
quered.
PP.
INDE
X.
་་
+
quered by the English, and ceded to them, 333. Hiſtory
of the British fettlements on this continent, 338. The English
colonies greatly forwarded by emigrations of Puritans, 349 A
true idea of this continent why fo long retarded, 350. Com-
pared with the Old World, ibid. Phænomena which indicate
this continent to be more recently left by the ocean than the
Old World, 353. Inquiry concerning the origin of the inha-
bitants of, 356 State of the country and it's natives on the
firft arrival of the Engliſh, 365. The alterations effected by
them, 366. Defcription of Hudſon's Bay, 367. Diſcuſſion of
the queſtion about the exiftence of a north-weft paffage to India,
375 State of Canada under British government, 384. De-
fcription of Newfoundland, 392. The Cod fishery on the Great
Bank, 398. Defcription of Nova Scotia, 415 Hiftorical ac-
count of New England, 429 New York, 451. New Jerſey,
464. Pennſylvania, vi. 10. Maryland, 31. Virginia, 41.
The two Carolinas, 56. Georgia, 72. Florida, 82. Ex-
tent of the Britiſh territories, 94. Obfervations on the fea coaft
of North America, 95. Caufes of the flownefs of vegetation
there, 96. Defcription and ufes of the candleberry myrtle, ibid.
Defcription and ufes of the fugar maple tree, 98. Account of
the birds peculiar to this continent, 99. Bees brought over
from Europe, and are continually increafing, 101. Was deftitute
of all domestic animals till ftocked with them from Europe,
ibid. Supplies England with naval ftores, 104. Abounds with
iron mines, 106. American iron allowed to be freely imported
into England, 108. The vines there incapable of making wine,
109. Ineffectual attempts to produce filk in Carolina, 110.
General obfervations on the population of this continent, III.
Review of the three principal claffes of inhabitants, 112. Speech
of a Quaker, reprobating the cuſtom of retaining Negroes in
flavery, 121. Aggregate number of it's white and black inha-
bitants, 123 Caufes of the rapid population there inquired
into, ibid
General character of the inhabitants, 125. The
prefervation of national diftinctions among the colonists ought to
be dropped, 127. No ecclefiaftical power allowed in the Britiſh
colony governments, ibid. The diftinctions among the colony
governments, 129. Remarks on the imperfections of the colony
conflitutions, 133. Their prefent government only a reforma-
tion of the feudal fyftem, 135. Inconveniences introduced by
paper currency, 136. Reftrictions impofed on their first rude
manufactures, 138. Reftraints on importation and exportation,
139.
The British colonies called upon to contribute to the ex-
pences of the mother country, 143. The foundation of
their oppofition to this claim ftated, 145. Stamp Act impofed
on them, 150. And repealed, ibid. Other duties impofed in
it's ftead, 151. And repealed, except in the article of tea, 153.
The port of Bofton fhut up, 154. Commencement of the war
with Britain, 159. Arguments employed to juftify the Ame-
rican claim to independence, 161. 188. Declaration of inde-
pendence,
!
INDE X.
:
pendence, 195. Allegations in their manifefto, 196. The
conſtitution of their new eſtabliſhed government, 198. Progreſs
of the war with Britain, 202. Why it was not more vigorously
profecuted on the part of the new ſtates, 214. A treaty of al-
liance concluded with France, 221. The independence of the
American ſtates acknowledged by the court of France, 222. The
mediation of Spain offered between the contending powers, 234.
Spain joins in the war against Britain, 236. Conduct of the
American ftates explained, 241. Probable confequences of
their independency, 242. Innate feeds of diſunion among them
243. All mankind intereſted in the fuccefs of their efforts, 244.
Review of their territorial poffeffions, and their natural produc-
tions, 245 Emigrators to them not likely to gain much by re-
moval, 247. Probable extent of their future population, 248.
Exhortation to them, ibid. The diſcovery of, inftrumental to
the decline of the power of the Church of Rome, vi. 259.
American iſlands; See Bahama, Bermudas, Caribbee, &c. iſlands;
and fee alſo the moſt confiderable of them under their proper
names.
Anabaptifts are firft diftinguished in Germany by outrageous acts
of rebellion, before they had digefted their religious tenets into
a fyftem, vi. 3. The leading principles of the fect, 4. . Are
reduced to fubmiffion, 6. Are funk into obfcurity, ibid.
Analogy, the method of reafoning by, fallacious, iv. 48.
Anamabou, on the gold coaft of Africa, the French driven from
thence by the English, iv. 81.
Anarchy, the confequences of in a flate, iii. 37.
Andrada, Ferdinand, commands the firſt Portugueſe ſhips ſent to
China, i. 133.
Angola, on the coast of Africa, fingular cuftom remarked there,
iv. 89. Account of the Portugueſe fettlement of St. Paul de
Loando, 91.
Angria, the pirate, eſtabliſhes an independent ftate, i. 442. How
reduced, 443.
Anguilla, the island and it's cultivation defcribed, v. 40.
Anian, the reports circulated concerning the ftreight of, found to
be fabulous, v. 380.
•
Anjengo on the coaſt of Malabar, account of the Engliſh factory
there, i. 429. Apoftrophe to the memory of Eliza Draper,
ibid.
Annapolis, in Nova Scotia, built, v, 419.
Annuities for lives, an obftacle to population, vi. 476. .
Anfon, Commodore, cauſe of the failure of his South Sea expe-
dition, iii. 301. 535,
Anthropophagy, moral confiderations on, iii. 328.
Antigua, firft fettlement of that ifland, v. 26. It's prefent po-
pulation and productions, 27. It's military ftrength and re-
venue, 28. Governor Park killed by the inhabitants, 29.
Jurifdiction of the governor, 30.
Antilles See Caribbee Islands.
Pp 2
Antwerp,
IN D E X.
*
Antwerp, reflections on it's prefent, compared with it's former
ſtate, ii. 219.
Arabia, geographical deſcription of i. 389. It's three principal
divifions, 390. It's ancient inhabitants, ibid. Their conquefts
and improvement in arts under the influence of Mohammed, 391.
Obfervations on their genius, ibid. Their attention to com-
merce, 392. Manners and cuſtoms of the prefent Arabians, 393.
Peculiar treatment of their women, 394. Their paſtoral way of
life, 395. Their difpofition to plunder, 396. Their camels,
ibid. The manner in which they attack travellers, 397. Pecu-
liar excellence of their horfes, ibid. Their poetical talents, 398.
Hiſtorical account of the port of Aden, 399, Computation of
the number of inhabitants, 403. Great confumption of coffee
there, and great trade carried on with, ibid. Account of the
trade of Mocha, 404. At Jodda, 408. At Surat, 409. Advan-
tages derived from the pilgrimages to Mecca, 411. The trade
carried on by the Arabs to Aleppo and Baffora, 418.
Arabs, the firft revivers of commerce in Europe, i. 13. And the
reftorers of arts and fciences, 14. Were the firft who failed over
the Atlantic Ocean, 29. Extend themſelves over the Eaft Indies,
88. Sciences cultivated by them, vi. 541.
Archangel, the English under Queen Elizabeth trade to Mufcovy
at that port foon after it's difcovery, i 362.
Architecture, Gothic, origin, and principles of, i. 11.
Arcot, nabob of, his court where kept, i. 466. His connexions
with the Engliſh, 467.
Areca, a fruit purchaſed by the Dutch at Ceylon, defcription of
the tree that produces it, with it's ufes, i. 261. Is ufed by the
Indians with betel, 262.
Ariofto, his character, vi. 529.
Ariftocracy, the arguments for and againſt this mode of govern
ment, ftated, vi. 320.
Ariftotle, his character, vi. 539. Is ftudied by the Arabs, 540.
Is converted by the monks into the father of the philofophy of
the ſchools, 541. Is at length better understood, and found to
teach, true philofophy, 545-
Arithmetic, invented by the Arabs, vi. 540.
Armada, Spanish, for the conqueft of England, brief hiftory of,
vi. 390.
Armida, her character, vi. 529.
Armenian merchants, the nature of the trade they carry on at Gom-
broon, i. 376. At Pegu, 481. In Bengal, 484.
Arms, poifoned, the ufe of, very ancient, iv. 196. Abolished by
the laws of war, 197.
Army, ſtanding, the dangers of, how guarded againſt in the Britiſh
government, vi. 301.
Arnotto, defcription of the tree that produces this dye, iv, 160.
It's preparation for ufe, ibid.
Arrack, how made at Batavia, i. 307.
Arts, originally derived from Afia, vi, 451. Introduced into
Europe
INDEX.
Europe by the Crufaders, 452. Progrefs of, in the European
ftates, ibid. Are favourable to liberty, 454. The complicated
nature of the arts exerted in various kinds of manufactures, 455.
Are better adapted to republics than to monarchies, 459. Fine,
the origin of, 521, Why Greece excelled in them, ibid.
Why the Romans were inferior to the Greeks in them, 523.
Revolutions of, traced, 526. Are firft driven from Rome, and after-
ward brought back again, by the fame people, 528. The fplen-
dour of their revival in Italy, ibid. Their rapid progrefs in France,
530. Will not again be eaſily deftroyed, 535. Perpetuate the
genius of nations, 536. Lead to philoſophy, 537.
Arts and Sciences fubject to fashion, iv. 49:
Afia, a geographical deſcription of, i. 37.
Aftrolabe, an inftrument partly invented by prince Henry of Por-
tugal, 1. 30.
Afylum, or place of protection for criminals, philofophical reflec-
tions on, ii. 473. That refulting from profeffional character,
474.
Atabalipa, inca of Peru, unſettled ftate of his government when
invaded by Pizarro, iii. 13. His interview with Pizarro, 14.
His retinue maffacred, and himſelf taken prifoner, 16. His large
offers of ranſom, ibid. Is bafely put to death, 18.
Ataida, his vigilant defence of the Portugueſe poffeffions in India,
againſt the country powers, i. 193. Reforms the adminiſtration
of affairs there, 196.
Atalantis, the fuppofed exiſtence of an ancient ifland fo called,
inquired into, i. 30.
Athens, the first commercial efforts of, i, 6:
Atlantic Ocean, formerly ſuppoſed to be unpaffable, i. 29. Firſt
croſſed by the Moors and Arabs, ibid..
Audiences in Spaniſh America, the nature of thoſe tribunals, iii.
240.
Aurengzebe reduces the Engliſh, who had infulted his fhips at
Bombay, i. 382.
Auftria, the court of, more intent on war and conqueft, than on
trade and government, ii. 218. The internal refources of the
country not adequate to the pride and intolerant fpirit of the
houfe of, 219. Eſtabliſhment of an Eaft India Company at
Oftend, 220. This Company facrificed to other views, 224.
Authority in government, it's prejudicial effects, vi. 351.
Auto da Fé, celebrated at Mexico, on account of the lofs of a fleet,
ii. 478. Reflections on this horrible act of expiation, ibid.
Azores, prefent ftate of thofe islands, iii. 440.
B.
Babar, king of Samarcand, how induced to undertake the conqueft
of Indoftan, ii. 117. Lays the foundation of the empire of
Mogul Tartars, ibid. His plan of government,
119.
Bacon,
INDE
X.
Bacon, Friar, important confequences that refulted from his expe-
rimental diſcoveries, vi. 542.
Chancellor, his character, vi. 543.
Bahama Islands, their fituation and number, v. 76. Are fettled
by Captain Woods Rogers, 77.
Bahar, that province the principal place for the cultivation of pop-
pies, and making of opium, i. 483.
Babaren, in the Perfian Gulph, revolutions of that ifland, i. 423.
Is confiderable for it's pearl fifhery, ibid.
Babia, the government of, in Brazil, deſcribed, iii. 391. Whale
fishery there, 394. Culture of tobacco, ibid. Amount of the
tobacco trade there, 395.
Balambangan, on the inland of Borneo, a new Engliſh ſettlement
there deftroyed, i. 471.
Balboa, Vafco Nugnes de, arrives at the province of Darien,
iii. 6. His character, ibid. Advances into the mountains, ibid.
Deſtroys and difperfes the inhabitants, 7. Difcovers the Southern
Ocean, 8. Is fuperfeded and put to death by Pedrarias, 9.
Baldivia, account of the Dutch expedition to, iii. 299.
Balliaderes, Indian female dancers, account of, ii. 39. Their
drefs, and dances, 41.
Baltic, duties paid in the Sound, by fhips paffing in or out, iv. 308.
Baltimore, Lord, See Maryland.
Banana, defcription of that tree, and it's fruit, iii. 464.
Banda Iſlands, diftinguiſhed as the only places which produce nut-
megs, i. 235. Are barren in every other refpect, 237. The
original inhabitants exterminated, and now peopled by white
men, ibid.
Bandel, a Portugueſe fettlement up the river Ganges, it's prefent
forlorn ſtate, i. 470.
Banians, the trade of Mocha carried on by a fucceffion of that
clafs of people, i. 405. Are the principal merchants at Surat,
ii. 32. Their mode of dealing, ibid. Their women, 34.
Bantam, how the Dutch acquired the exclufive trade with that
kingdom, i. 293.
Barbadoes first fettled by the Engliſh, v. 20. General deſcription
of, and it's population, 21. Confpiracy of the Negroes and
Caribs, ibid. Soil, and culture of fugar there, 22. Preſent
ftate of the ifland, and it's trade, 24. It's capacity of defence
against invafion, 25.
Barbary, the ancient Lybia, review of the hiftory of this country,
iv. 14. Is fubjected by the Saracens, 15. By the Turks,
17. Foundation of the ftates of Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli,
ibid. Empire of Morocco, 31. Origin of thefe piratical
ftates, 36. Means for fuppreffing them, 37. And civilizing
the natives, 39.
Barbuda, defcription of that island, v. 38. The purpoſes for
which it is cultivated, ibid.
Bark, Peruvian, défcription of the tree that produces it, iii. 94.
Three fpecies or varieties of, ibid. The virtues of, when first
publiſhed,
IN D E X.
published, 95. Is fuppofed to have been anciently uſed in fe-
vers by the natives of Peru, ibid.
Barons, under the feudal ſyſtem of government, their character,
i. 15.
Bartholomew, St. account of that iſland, iv. 406.
Baffora, the city, inhabitants, and trade of, defcribed, i. 415.
The various commodities imported and exported there, 417 Ill
treatment of the Dutch there, how retaliated, 419.
Batavia, the capital of all the Dutch Eaft India fettlements, de-
fcribed, i, 298. Caufes of it's unwholefomenefs, 299. Expe-
dients of the inhabitants to rectify the infectious qualities of
the air, 300.
The diverfity of it's inhabitants, ibid. Their
luxury, 303. The nature of the intercourfe between this city
and the other Dutch fettlements, 304. Intercourfe with China,
305 Trade carried on with other nations, 307. Revenue and
government of, 308. Is eafy to be taken by any invader,
340.
Baita, fettle in, and give name to Batavia, i. 204. Are particu-
larly diftinguished by Julius Cæfar, 205. Are overrun by the
Franks, 206. Their country obtains the name of Holland,
207. For the continuation of their hiftory, fee Holland, and
Dutch.
Bear of Canada defcribed, v. 200.
His
Beaver of Canada, defcription and character of, v. 201.
mode of fociety and manner of building, 202. His amorous
attachments, 205. Method of hunting him, 208. His powers
compared with thofe of his favage purfuers, 209. Various qua-
lities of beaver ſkins, 211.
Bees carried over from Europe to North America, where they are
continually increafing, vi. 101.
Beggars encouraged by public charities, iv. 219.
Belem, the capital of the government of Para in Brazil, account
of, iii 384.
Bencoolen, on the iſland of Sumatra, a fettlement formed there by
the English, i. 469. Fort Marlborough built, and a trade for
pepper eſtabliſhed, ibid.
Bengal, boundaries and defcription of that province, i. 471. It's
revolutions and prefent government, 472. Is the richeft and
moft populous province in the Mogul empire, 477. Trade car-
ried on with the neighbouring provinces, 478. It's trade in falt,
and in filk particularly, 480. All foreign commerce engroffed
by the Europeans, ibid. Exports of, 490. 493. Cruel treat-
ment of the English at Calcutta, by the Soubah, 502. Rapid
fucceffes of the English under Admiral Watfon and Colonel
Clive, 503. They obtain a formal grant of the fovereignty
over the whole province, 506. The old form of government
adhered to under English influence, ibid. The English empire
over, precarious, 509. Their adminiftration there corrupted,
512. Commercial oppreffions exercifed over the province, 514.
Frauds
1
X.
N. D
NDE
Frauds practifed with the coin of the country, 515. Terrible
famine there, 517. A fourth part of the inhabitants die, 519.
Prefent circumftances of the French there, iì. 166.
Benguela, St. Philip de, on the coaft of Africa, a Portugueſe
fettlement, account of, iv. 91.
Benzoin, gum, where found, i. 251.
Bequees, in Egypt, it's harbour defcribed, iv. 11.
Berbice, boundaries and extent of this fettlement, iv. 270. Hiftory
of, 271. Produce and trade of the country, 274.
Berkeley, governor of Virginia, protects the refugee royaliſts there,
VI. 44,
Bermudas Ilands, firft diſcovery and fettlement of, v. 79. Ge-
neral defcription of, ibid. Are diftinguished by the manufac-
ture of fail cloth, and cedar-built hips, 80. A Society
formed there for the promotion of agriculture and mechanical
arts, ibid.
Beft, Captain, his engagement with the Portugueſe fleet at Surat,
1. 372.
Betel, a defcription of this plant, and it's ufe among the Indians,
1. 262.
Beys of Egypt, their promotion and authority defcribed, iv. 9.
Biloxi, in Louifiana, defcription of that district, v. 241. A large
colony left there to deftruction by the famous Miffiffippi Com-
pany, 246.
453.
Birds, doubts fuggefted as to the nature of their language, i. 273.
Nefts, why an article of Eaft India trade, 306.
Bifnagar, caules of the decline of the empire of, i.
Bifon, the nature and properties of this animal well calculated for
the ufe of the Caribbee iſlands, iv. 154.
Biffenpour, a district in the province of Bengal, the primitive fyf-
tem of Indian government and manners preferved there unadul-
terated, i. 473. Natural ftrength of the country againſt invaſi-
on, 474 Liberty and property facred there, and benificence
to ftrangers univerfal, 475. The reality of this beautiful cha-
racter doubtful, after all that has been faid, 476.
Bombay, the island defcribed, i. 449. The unwholeſomeneſs of
the climate corrected by the Engliſh, ibid. Number and in-
duſtry of the inhabitants, ibid. It's prefent improvements and
commercial intercourfe, 450. It's revenue, 451.
Bonzes of China, how reftrained from propagating fuperftition,
I. 149.
Borax, the nature and uſes of this mineral, i. 490.
Borneo, general account of that ifland, and ill fuccefs of the Portu-
gueſe in their attempts to fettle on it, i. 248. A trade for pep-
per eftablished there by the Dutch, ibid. A new Engliſh fettle-
ment at Balambangan deftroyed, 471.
Bofchonver, a Dutch factor, becomes prime minifter to the king of
Ceylon, ii. 201. Engages the Danes in a trading voyage to that
illand, and dies, 202,
· Boston,
IN
D E
DE X.
Befton, the capital of New England, defcribed, v. 450. The
harbour, 451. The port thut up, for riots on account of the
tea tax, vi. 154.
Bourbon, the iſland of, fettled by the French, ii. 106. Prefent
ftate of, 175.
Bourdonnais is fent by the French government to improve the Idle
of France, ii, 107. His great naval abilities and experience,
ibil. His judicious regulations for the fupport of the colony,
108. His fcheme to fecure the fovereignty of the Indian feas,
111. Takes Madras 112. Returnes to Europe, and is impii
foned. 113.
if
Boyle, Mr. curious reafon given by him for preaching Chriftianity
to favages, in. .540.
Braddock, General, account of his unfortunate expedition to Fort
Duquesne, v. 324.
Brama, the legiflator of Indoftan, mythological account of him,
i. 49. His inftitutions, 67. Remarks on his policy, 79. His
religion divided into numerous fects, 86.
·Bramins, inftance of the inviolable fecrefy they prefervé with re-
gard to their religious tenets, i. 48. Communicate them to
Mr. Haftings, the British governor-general of Bengal, ibid. Sum-.
mary of their religious principles, 49. Foundation of the dif-
-tinction of cafts, 51. Their chronological account of the ages of
the world, 52. Their language, 53. Civil laws, 55. Cha-
racteriſtical remarks on their doctrines and policy, 66. The
different orders öf, 67. Are addicted to metaphyfical contro-
verfies, 68. Account of the ancient Brachmans, from whom
they are defcended, 69.
Brandy, inordinate love of the North America Indians for, and
it's pernicious effects on them, v. 218.
Brazil, firſt diſcovery of, and it's boundaries, iii. 312. How it
obtained it's prefent name, 313. Is defpifed, and made a re-
ceptacle for felons, 315. Grants in, made to Portugueſè noble-
men, 318. Manners and cuftoms of the natives, 320. Were
deftitute of religion, 321. Summary method of puniſhing mur-
der there, 322. Their marriages and women, 323. Their ho-
fpitality, 324. Their motives to war, 327. Their treatment
of prifoners, 328. Are civilized by the Jefuits, 330. At-
tempts made by the French to form fettlements, 334. Dia-
logue between a Brazilian and a Frenchman, ibid. Incurfion of
the Dutch, 336. Fernambucca taken, 339. The whole coaft
reduced by Prince Maurice, ibid. Affairs of, under the Dutch
adminiſtration, 348. A confpiracy formed againſt the Dutch,
350. They are expelled, 352. Hiftory of the trade of this
province, 370. The trade fubjected to a monopoly, 373. Civil,
military, and religious government of Brazil, ibid. Condition
of the Negroe flaves there, 378. Hiftorical view of the fitua-
tion of the Indian natives, 377. The natives declared free citi
zens, 379. This emancipation little attended to, 381. De-
fcription of the government of Para, 382. Of Maragnan, 386.
•
Of
IN D E X
Of Fernambucca, 388. Of Bahia, 391. Account of the whale
fishery, 394. Culture and trade of tobacco, ibid. Government
of Rio Janeiro, 397. Ifland of St. Catharine, 401. Town of
St. Paul, 402. Three interior governments, 405. The gold
mines, 406. Diamonds difcovered there, 417. Regulations
impofed on the ſearch of, and trade with, ibid. In what ftate
they are found, 419. Other gems found, 420. Other mines
neglected, ibid. Impofitions by which the province is depreff-
ed, 421. Commercial intercourfe of, with other countries, 422.
With Africa, ibid. With Madeira, 423. Improvements recom-
mended in this colony, 441. Amount of the population there,
444. The province might be improved by receiving foreign-
ers, ibid. But the inquifition must then be aboliſhed, 445.6.
Brazil wood, defcription of the tree that produces it, iii. 389.
The trade of this wood monopolized, ibid.
Bread-tree of the Marianne Iſlands defcribed, ii. 524.
Breezes, land and fea, in the Caribbee Iflands, defcribed, with
their cauſes, iii. 468.
British lands, anciently traded to by the Phoenicians, Carthagi-
nians, and Gauls, i. 354. Why the natives were not much im-
proved under the dominion of the Romans, 356. Are afterwards
ravaged by a fucceffion of northern invaders, ibid. See England.
Brunswick, the only port of North Carolina, vi. 67. .
Buccaneers, who, derivation of their name, and their plan of af-
fociation, iii, 484. Their drefs and employments, 485. Are ha-
raffed by the Spaniards, 487. Are reduced to cultivate their
lands for fubfiftence, 488. Receive a governor from France, ibid.
Their manner of addreffing the women fent them, ibid. Narra-
tive of fome of their remarkable exploits against the Spaniards,
494. Their riotous courſe of life, 498. Hiftory of fome of the
most distinguished Buccaneers, 502. Remarks on this fingular
community of plunderers, 519.
Budzoifts a Japaneſe fect, their tenets, i. 179.
Buenos Ayres, the foundation of that town laid by Mendoza, iii.
188. It is rebuilt, 190. The province of, feparated from Para-
guay, 193. Defcription of the town and inhabitants, 194.
Great trade carried on by the fale of mules, 198. It's inter-
courſe with Paraguay how conducted, 199. A packet-boat and
poft eſtabliſhed, 200.
Carrycribed, iv. 154. Recommended for propagation in the
Caribbee Iflands, 155.
Burgoyne, General, his daring expedition from Canada, through
the interior parts of North America, to New York, vi. 206.
Is reduced by General Gates at Saratoga, 207.
Burial of the living with the dead, a practice probably derived
from the doctrine of the refurrection, i. 80.
Burning of living wives with their dead hufbands, in India, a
practice founded in their civil code, i. 61. 81.
Buffy,
IN D E X.
Buffy, M. eftabliſhes Salabat Jing: in the government of the De-
can, ii. 136.
Byng, Admiral, remarks on his execution, iii. 548.
C.
Cabot, Sebaftian, diſcovers the river Plata, iii. 187.
Cabral, Alvarez, his expedition to the Eaft Indies, i. 92. Was
the first discoverer of Brazil, iii. 313.
Cocoa tree deſcribed, iii. 61. Method of gathering the nuts, and
preparing the kernels for making chocolate, 62. Culture of
the tree, and where chiefly propagated, 63.
Calcutta, the principal English fettlement in Bengal, deſcribed, i.
487. Cruel treatment of the English there by the Soubah, 502.
Calicut formerly the richeft ftaple of the Eaft, i. 90. Is difco-
vered by Vafco de Gama, 91. Arrival and tranſactions of Al-
varez Cabral, 92. The government of that country de-
fçribed, 433.
California, the gulph and coaft of, explored in 1746, by the Je-
fuit. Ferdinand Confang, ii 484 This peninfula defcrited,
533 It's climate and produce, ibid. Account of the inhabit-
ants, 534. An unſucceſsful expedition undertaken by Cortez to
this country, 537. The natives civilized by the Jefuits, $38.
The Jefuits expelled by the Spaniards, 541.
Callao, the port of, deftroyed by an earthquake and inundation,
iii. 48.
Camel, how educated and treated in Arabia, and it's qualities de-
fcibed, i, 396.
Camphor, is produced in the northern parts of the Iſland of Suma-
tra, i. 251. Botanical defcription of the tree which produces
it, ibid. How the camphor is extracted, with it's proper-
ties, 252.
Campeachy, the logwood there fuperior to that in the gulph of
Honduras, ii. 558.
Canada, or New France, general defcription of the country, as it
appeared at the firſt ſettlement of it, v. 146. Character and
manners of the original natives, 147. Their languages, 151.
Their mode of government, 153. Their difpofition toward
Europeans, 156. Their marriages and treatment of their wo-
men, 158. The reafon of their not increaſing in numbers in
quired into, 159. Their affection for their children, 162.
Their warmth of friendship, 164. Their fongs and dances,
165. Their propenfity to gaming, 166. Their religious no-
tions, 167. Their wars, 170. Their method of chufing a
chief to command them, 171. Their military harangues, 172.
Their weapons, 174. Their fagacity in circumventing their ene-
mies, 175. Their treatment of prifoners, 176. Account of
the war between the Iroquois and Algonquins, 182, Caufe of
the fmall progrefs made by the French in fettling this country,
185. The colony reinforced by troops, to protect the fettlers
againſt
INDE X.
against the favages, 189 Account of the fur trade carried on
with the Indians, and defcription of the various animals hunted
for their ſkins, 197. The English interfere in the fur trade, 213.
State of this country at the peace of Utrecht, 291.
De
fcription of Quebec, 292. Trois Rivieres, and Montreal, 293.
The colony injured by the equal partition of inheritances, 294.
A judgment to be formed of the foil of, by it's natural pro-
duce, 296. General circumſtances of the inhabitants, ibid.
Situation and occafion of erecting Fort Frontenac, 297. Fort
Niagara, ibid. The diftri&t called the Streight, ibid. Man-
ners of the French coloniſts, 298. The inhabitants of the
cities, 299. Form of government, 300. Revenue laws and te-
nure of lands, 301. Exactions of the clergy, 302. Manufactures
and fisheries, 303. Exports of, 305. Account of the French
paper currency, ibid. Expences of government, 307. Advan-
tages that France might have derived from Canada, 309. The
iron mines neglected, 310. The timber mifmanaged, 311.
The fur trade driven into the hands of the English, 312.
The whale fifhery abandoned by the French, 313. A cod
fishery might be carried on in the river St. Lawrence, 314.
The difputes of the coloniſts with the Indians give all their ideas
a military turn, 315. Origin of the difputes between the
French and English in this colony, 316. Defeat of General
Braddock, 324. Other difafters attending the English, 325.
Inveteracy of the Indians against the English, 328. Siege of
Quebec, 329. Attempt of the French to retake the town, 331.
The whole colony ceded to the English, 333. Government of
this country under the English, 384. Reformation of the cri-
minal laws, ibid. It's religious eſtabliſhment, 386. Increaſe
of population, 387. State of manufactures, trade, and fishery,
ibid. Cultivation and exports, 388. Indications of profpe-
rity, 389. Is checked by a want of inland navigation, and
the long ftoppage of the river St. Lawrence, 390.
Canara, on the confines of Malabar, cauſes of the decline of that
country, i. 441.
Canary Islands defcribed, ii. 409. Why Ptolomy fixed the firft
meridian there, 410. Are feized by Bethencourt, ibid. Their
productions, 411, Number of their inhabitants, ibid. Their
trade, 412. The inhabitants how depreffed, ibid.
Candleberry myrtle, defcription of this tree, and it's fruit, vi. 96.
It's ufes, 97.
Canton, the harbour of, defcribed, with the nature of the inter-
courfe carried on there between Europeans and the Chineſe,
ii. 320.
Cape Breton the fettlement of, by the French oppofed by the Eng-
lih, v. 225. The island defcribed, 226. The harbour at Fort
Dauphin, 227. The harbour of Louifbourg, ibid. The town
and fortifications of Louifbourg, 228. The foil of the iſland unfit
for agriculture, 229. Abounds with wood and coal, 230. The
attention of the inhabitants confined to the cod fishery, ibid. Ex-
ports
IN DE X.
1
ports of the inhabitants to the other French iſlands, 231. Is taken
by New England troops, 317. Is taken again by Boſcawen and
Amherst, 319. Is neglected by the English, 391. Abounds in
coal, 392.
Cape St. Francis, on the iſland of St. Domingo, origin of that
town, iv. 455. The town deſcribed, 456.
The hofpital
called La Providence, ibid. Is the moft healthful town in the
maritime parts of the colony, 458. The harbour, ibid.
Cape Horn, the paffage round, into the South Sea, difcovered by
the Dutch, iii. 163. Is now ufed by the Spaniards in prefer-
ence to the Streights of Magellan, 164. But only at certain
feafons, 184.
Cape of Good Hope, firft doubled by the Portugueſe, and the origin
of it's name, i. 37. Is fettled by the Dutch, 271. The man-
ners and cuſtoms of the native Hottentots deſcribed, 272. Ge-
neral deſcription of the country, 279 The foil barren, 280.
The Cape Town, ibid. Vineyards, 281. Political grievances
of the Dutch fettlers. 283. Their manners, ibid. Their num-
bers, 284. The colony depreffed by intolerancy, ibid. Their
flaves humanely treated, 285. Remarks on the policy of the
Dutch in the regulation of this colony, 287. Might eafily be
reduced by an enemy, 341.
Cape de Verd Islands. See Verd.
Caraccas, account of the diſtrict and town of, iii. 66.
Cardamom, deſcription of that plant, it's properties and uſes,
1. 437.
Cariacou, one of the Grenadine Iſlands, how fettled, and it's pro-
ductions, v. 89.
Caribbee Islands, a general view of, and their diftinction into
Windward and Leeward Iſlands, iii. 456. Remarks on the direc-
tion in which they lie, 459. The direction of the rivers, 460.
Evidences of their having been feparated from the continent,
461. Their foil, ibid. Their natural vegetable productions, 462.
The native animals, 466. Their climate and feafons, 467. Ge-
neral courfe of the winds, 468. Land and fea breezes, ibid.
Rains, 469. Expedients for preferving flour there from fpoil-
ing, 470. Whirlpools, 471. Their hurricanes, 472. The na-
tive Caribs, their manners and customs, 475. Their entertain-
ments and wars, 479. Why the Spaniards relinquifhed the in-
tention of conquering them, 480. St. Chriftopher's fettled by
the English and French, 481. Partition of the other iflands be-
tween the Engliſh and French, 484. The native Caribs col-
lected in Dominica and St. Vincent's, ibid. Origin and hiftory
of the Buccaneers, ibid. Theſe iſlands cannot thrive in time of
war, 529. Motives that led to the ſcheme of cultivating them by
Negro flaves, iv. 1. Remarks on the foil of theſe iſlands, 148.
A general ufe of the plough recommended in them, 150. How
to provide manure for them, 151. Management of cattle there,
152. How the degeneracy of European animals might be pre-
vented, 153. The biſon and buffalo recommended for propa-
-
gation
IN DE X
•
**
gation there, 154. Vegetable productions common there, 156.
Principal articles of cultivation for commerce, 159. Sugar the
principal article of exportation from thefe iſlands, 174. Eu-
ropeans degenerate there no less than other animals, ibid. De-
fcription and character of the Creoles, 176. General character
of the inhabitants of theſe iſlands, 177. The women, 178.
Diſorders to which Europeans are liable there, 182. Averages
of the deaths of Europeans there, 185. Great improvement of
thefe islands, and the advantages derived from them by the na-
tions who poffefs them, 187. Fatal errors committed by the
first cultivators of theſe iſlands, v. 94. The beft plan for efta-
bliſhing a new colony, ibid. St. Vincent and Dominica refign-
ed to the native Caribs by the Engliſh and French, 97. Their
manners, ibid. Diftinctions between the black and red Caribs,
98. Origin of the flat-headed Caribs, 99 General charac-
ter and review of the circumftances of the Britiſh iſlands, 120.
Summary view of the riches which Europe derives from the pof-
feffion and cultivation of theſe iſlands, 128. Extenſive opera-
tions of the trade with them, 129. Anticipation of their fu-
ture deſtiny, 131. A navy the only fecurity for the poffeffion
of theſe iſlands, 134. See theſe iſlands under their reſpective
names.
A plan
Carnatic, conteſts between the Engliſh and French about the ap-
pointment of a nabob, ii. 137.
Carolina, difcovered by the Spaniards, but neglected, vi. 56. Is
granted by Charles II. to certain proprietors, ibid.
of government for, drawn up by Mr. Locke, ibid. Remarks on
this plan, 57. The province bought out of the hands of the
proprietors, and it's government regulated, 61. Is divided in-
to North and South Carolina, ibid. Defcription of the country
and climate, 62, North Carolina, and it's inhabitants, ibid.
Prefent number of the people, 63. Is chiefly peopled by Scots
Highlanders, ibid. Their firft employments, 66. Brunſwick
the only port on the coaft, 67. Rice and indigo the chief pro-
ductions of South Carolina, ibid. Number of inhabitants in
South Carolina, and the amount of their exports, 69. Their
oftentatious funerals, and purchaſed elogiums on the dead, 70.
Towns in South Carolina, 71. Prefent ftate of the two Caro-
linas, 72. Ineffectual attempts to produce filk there, 110.
Carthage, it's advantage over Tyre, it's mother ftate, i. 5. Cauſe
of it's fubverfion, 6. Extended it's trade to Britain, i. 354.
Carthagena, province of, in America, defcribed, and it's produc-
tions, iii. 51. Hiftory of, fince its difcovery by the Spaniards,
52. The capital city of, and its inhabitants, defcribed, ibid.
Unwholeſomeneſs of the climate, 53. Account of the harbour,
56. Trade carried on there by the galleons, ibid.
Cartier, James, a Frenchman, firft fails up the river St. Law-
rence, in North America, v. 144.
་
Carvajal, the confident of Gonzales Pizarro, his character and
death, iii. 46.
Cafas
IN DE
X.
character and conduct,
Obtains the diftrict of
Caufes of his ill fuc-
Cafar, Bartholomew de Las, his benevolent
iii. 72. His plan for a colony, 73.
Cumana to carry it into execution, ibid.
cefs, 74. His zealous folicitations in favour of the native In-
dians, 230.
Cafpian Sea, a philofophical account of, i. 39. Anciently the
track of communication between Europe and Aſia, ii. 292.
Motives that induced the Engliſh to attempt a paffage to Perfia
by this fea, 293. Projected canal to connect this with the Eu-
xine fea, 301.
Caffava, a dangerous article of food, iv. 115.
Cafra lignea, the tree defcribed, and the qualities of the bark,
i. 438.
Caffimbuzar, the general market for Bengal filk, i. 491.
Cafts, Indian, foundation of thofe diftinctions, i. 51. 74.
Caftro, Don Juan de, the Portugueſe viceroy in India, his cha-
racter and wife adminiftration, i. 188. Raifes the fiege of Diu,
189. His triumphal return to Goa, 190.
་་་
Caftro, Vafco di, is fent out from Spain to regulate the admini-
ftration of affairs in Peru, iii. 40. Reduces and puts to death
Almagro the younger, 41.
Catharine, St. ifland of, in the government of Rio Janeiro, de-
ſcribed, iii. 401. Becomes a neft of pirates, ibid.
Who
have at length fubmitted to an orderly government, 402.
Catharine II, enprefs of Ruffia, the wife and politic principles of
her government. iii. 310. Examination of the meaſures taken
by her to civilize her ſubjects, vi. 281.
3
Cato the elder, the firſt fubverter of the liberty of ancient Rome,
vi. 243.
Gayenne, the inland of, fettled by fome French adventurers, iv. 330,
Revolutions of, 331. Defcription of, 332. Its productions
and trade, 333. Is not in a profperous ftate, 354. Amount of
its exports to France, 460.
Cayes, the town of, in St. Domingo, defcribed, iv. 437. Im-
provements ſuggeſted for this town, 438.
Caylus, Count, attributes the invention of porcelain to the ancient
Egyptians, i. 327.
Celebes, defcription of that ifland and it's inhabitants, i. 242.
Conduct of the king on the arrival of Chriſtian and Mahometan
miffionaries, 245. The dominion of the island feized by the
Dutch, 247. Their motive for retaining it, 248.
Celibacy, clerical, a great obftacle to population, vi. 473..
Ceylon, the iſland, government and inhabitants deſcribed, i. 116.
The Dutch affift the king of Candy to drive out the Portugueſe,
259. The various productions of that iſland, 260. Revenue
and cuſtoms of, 265. The terms to which the Dutch have re-
duced the king of Candy, ibid. Hints of policy recommended
to the Dutch for improving their fettlements there, 268.
Chaco, in South America, extent of that province, iii. 190. It's
rivers and inhabitants, ibid.
Chandernagore,
INDE X.
#
Chandernagore, a French fettlement in Bengal defcribed, i. 488.
It's great improvements under the government of Dupleix,
ii. 109.
Chapetons in Spaniſh America, who, iii. 222.
Charities, public, reflections on the abuſe of, iv. 457.
Charlemagne, his contefts with the Normans and Arabs, i. 13.
Revives a fpirit of induftry and trade in his fubjects, ii. 5.
His empire difmembered, 6.
Charles I. of England, fucceeds to his father's contefts with his
fubjects on prerogative, v. 8. Review of the civil war be-
tween him and his parliament, 11. Promotes the epifcopal
ſplendour of the clergy, 348. Attempts the eſtabliſhment of
prelacy in Scotland, ibid.
Charles II king of England, his character, and injudicious conduct
towards his Eaft India Company, i. 380.
Charles V. Emperor, his rivalſhip with Francis I. the origin of
the prefent fyftem of European policy, vi. 357. Compared
with Lewis XIV. 359.
Charles VH. of France, the firft who retained a standing army,
vi. 375. Ought to have been attacked by all the princes in
Europe for this innovation, 376.
Charles XI. king of Sweden, his character and adminiſtration of
government, ii. 246.
Charlestown, South Carolina, defcribed, vi. 71.
Chatigan, on the coaft of Bengal, defcribed, ii. 167. An ex
change of, for Chandernagore, recommended to the French and
Engliſh, 168.
Cheribon, in the iſland of Java, view of the profitable trade carried
on by the Dutch with that ſtate, i. 294.
Cheſapeak Bay, general defcription of, vi. 40.
Cheyks, the financiers of Indoftan, an account of, i. 485.
Chiapa de los Indios, a city in Mexico, character of it's inhabitants,
ii. 546.
Chica, a Peruvian liquor, how made, iii. 121.
Chickefaws, native Indians of Louifiana, account of, and their
war with the French, v. 260.
Child, Sir Jofias, iniquitous conduct of him and his brother to-
ward the English Eaft India Company, i. 381.
Child birth, why the confequences of, not fo bad among favages,
as in civilized fociety, iii. 323-
•
Chili, extent and fituation of, iii. 170. Is firft penetrated by Al-
magro, 171. Who is followed by Valdivia, 172. Valdivia
and his men cut off, 173. Continual hoftilities between the
natives and the Spaniards, ibid, Manners of the natives, ibid.
Their antipathy to the Spaniards, 174: Settlements formed by
the Spaniards in the country, 175. Serenity of the climate, and
fertility of the foil, 178 Revenues derived from, 179. Trade
of, 180. It's intercourfe with Peru and Paraguay, 183. How
deprived of an immediate connection with Spain, 185. Free
trade now allowed with Spain, ibid.
Chiloe,
IND DE
E X.
Chiloe, the islands of, féttled, and the natives civilized, by the Je-
faits, fit. 177.
China, the firit knowledge of, communicated to Europe by Mark
Paul, the Venetian, i. 133. Arrival of an ambaffador from Por
tugal there, ibid. Contrary characters given of their country,
and firſt by the admirers of it, 134. It's circuit, 135. Indefa-
tigable induſtry of the inhabitants, ibid. Their attention to
agriculture, 136. Agriculture recommended to the people by
the example of the emperor, 140. Liberality of the political
inftitutions, 141. Taxes, ibid. Population, 143. Govern-
ment, 144. The emperors cautious of a wanton exerciſe of au-
thority, ibid. His government patriarchal, 145. Paternal
authority, and filial affection, the fprings of the empire, 1461
Nobility not hereditary, ibid. Nature of the title of Mandarin,
147. All officers of ftate chofen from the order of Mandarins,
ibid. Principles taught by Confucius, 149 Foundation of
the national religion, 150. Manner of educating children,
ibid. Character of the natives, 151. Are frongly actuated by
a fpirit of patriotifm, 152. Are recovering from the influence
of their Tartarian government, ibid. The fpirit of invention
among them how ftifled, 153. The low fate of learning and
arts among them accounted for, 154. The character of the
Chineſe as given by thofe who judge unfavourably of them, 455.
Their laws not proved to be wife by being adopted by their
Tartar conquerors, 156. It's population, to what owing, 157.
Ufual with parents to deftroy their children, 158. The morals
of the people depraved, 159. Their cruelty, ibid. Defpotifin
of the government, 160. Their mode of educating children
ábfurd, 166. Are fraudulent in their dealings, 167. The
populoufness of the country a calamity, 170. Their religious
tóleration partial, 172. The accounts given of the Chinefe
hyperbolical and inconfiftent, 173. Conclufions from the
whole, 174. Factoriés eftablished by the Portugueze, 76.
The island of Macao granted to the Portugueze, ibid. Inter
courfe between the Chinefe and Batavia, 305. Account of the
great wall of China, ii. 103. The industry and fraudulent difpo-
fition of the Chineſe referred to their country being too popu-
lous, 315. Expedients of the government to furnish current
coin, 316. Their trade with Corea, and with the Tartars, 317.
Their great fondnels for the root ginfeng, ibid. Their trade
with Japan, and other eaftern nations, 319. Remarks on their
contempt for other nations, ibid. Their trade with Europeans
limited to the port of Canton, 320. Defcription, culture, and
varieties of the tea plant, 321. The antiquity of this empire
compared with that of Egypt, 326. A particular account of
the manufacture, and different kinds of porcelain, 327. Chinefe
account of the difcovery of filk,. 336. Their filk fuperior to
that produced in Europe, 338. The two principal kinds of,
brought over, 39. Excellence and defects of their filk mann-
factures, 340. Natural hiftory of the Chineſe varniſh, 341.
VOL. VI.
Qq
How
INDEX
How ufed, 343. It's properties, ibid. Their paper, 344.
Their drawing and painting, 345. Their fculpture and mo-
dels, 346. Character of their rhubarb, 349. inquiry into the
gold and filver trade with, 350. Their treatment of the Portu-
gueze at Macao, 351. Preſent ſtate of their intercourfe with the
Dutch, 352.
Their trade with the English, 353. With
France, 354. With the Danes and Swedes, ibid. Summary
view of the amount of their commercial dealings with Europeans,
ibid. General remarks on, 355. Political inquiry into the
merits of the trade with China, and into the proper mode of
conducting it, 356.
Chivalry, reflections on the tendency of the fpirit of, i. 130.
Chocolate, defcription of the tree and the nuts from which it is
made, iii. 61.
Christianity, caufes which favoured the reception of, among the
Romans, vi. 252. Sources of it's corruption, 254. Leading
caufes of the reformation, 256. Requires fupport from the
civil magiftrate, 257. Hiftorical view of the fyftem of ecclefi-
aftical policy founded upon, 331. Ought to be fubordinate to
the civil power, 344.
Christopher's, St the ifland fettled jointly by the Engliſh and
French, iii. 481. The native Caribs expelled, 482. Is refigned
to the English by the peace of Utrecht, iv. 327. Occafion of the
diffenfions between the firft French and English inhabitants,
v. 33. Is long neglected by the English after the expulfion of the
French, 14. The ifland and it's inhabitants defcribed, ibid. It's
produce, 35. Anecdotes of Negro flaves there, ibid.
Cinnabar, the conftituent parts of that mineral, iii. 142. Quick-
filver how ſeparated from it, 143.
Cinnamon tree, botanical defcription of, i. 263. Methods of
taking off the bark, and it's qualities, 264.
Cities, made free by commerce. i. 18. The fupport of, derived
from agriculture, vi. 446. Origin of, 469.
Civil Law of Great Britain, caufe of it's diffufenefs and perplexi-
ty, vi. 35.
Civil wars, the origin of, iii. 37. The iffues of, when victori-
ous. fuitable to the motives, 43.
Clergy, inquiry into the beft mode of maintaining them, iii. 445.
Must be made fubordinate to the civil magiftrate, to prevent the
fubverfion of a ſtate, 447. A fet of men ufelefs, at beft, to the
earth, and the most dreadful enemies to a nation when they dif-
grace their profeffion, vi 447. The moft refpectable of them,
thofe who are most defpifed, and burdened with duty, 448.
Their unalienable domains an obftruction to population, 470.
Climate, it's influence on religion, i. 43. Philofophical remarks
on, and inferences from, v. 354. Forms the character, com-
plexion, and manners of nations, vi. 458. Determines the
fpecies of manufactures in a country, ibid. Is improved by
agriculture, 465.
Cloves,
INDE X.
Cloves, firft difcovered in the Molucca Iflands by the Chineſe,
i. 128. Botanical defcription of the tree, and it's culture, 232.
Properties of the clove, 234. Are cultivated at Amboyna, un-
der Dutch authority, ibid.
Cloysters, antiently the feats of manufactures, ii. 3. Naturally
tend to accumulate wealth, 4.
Cochin, on the Malabar coaft, account of that kingdom, i. 433.
Cochin China, French account of that empire and it's inhabitants,
ii. 58. Productions and manufactures of the country, ibid.
Amiable difpofition of the natives, ibid. Equity of their firft
fyftem of government, 59. Progrefs of corruption in their
government, 60. View of their trade, 61. Caufes of the
French lofing the advantages of this market, 63.
Cochineal, a production peculiar to Mexico, ii. 497. Natural
history of, 498. Defcription of the fhrub on which they breed,
499. How cultivated, 500. How gathered, 501. Method
of killing and preſerving them, 502. Is introduced in St. Do-
mingo, 504.
Cocoa tree, natural hiftory of, i. 125. It's fruit, and the proper-
ties of it, 126.
Cad, the fish defcribed, v. 397. A fishery for, carried on in the
northern feas of Europe, 398. Account of the fishery at New-
foundland, 399. Method of curing the cod, 405. Rife of the
English, and decline of the French fisheries, 414.
Coffee, where originally found, with an account of the diſcovery of
it's properties, i. 399. Where now cultivated, 403. Much
ufed in, and great exports of, from Arabia, ibid. Introduced
into the Caribbee Iſlands from the Eaft, iv. 163. The tree and
it's berries defcribed, ibid. Method of cultivating it, ibid.
Manner of preparing the berries for fale, 164.
Coffee-boufes, the origin of, i. 400. Ineffectual attempt to fupprefs
them at Conftantinople, 401. Are opened in London, 402.
Colbert, M. forins a French Eaft India Company, ii. 12. His
character as a financier, 81. Miftakes in his adminiftration
pointed out, iv. 318. Subjects the French colonies to the op-
preffions of an exclufive company, 319.
Cold, the various effects produced by, in Hudfon's Bay, v. 367.
Coligny, Admiral, firft directed the attention of the French to fet-
tle in North America, v. 138.
Colonies, why they fubmit readily to an invader, iii. 554. Diftant,
ought not to be left in the hands of chartered companies, iv. 278.
General remarks on the establishment of, 312. Diftant colo-
nies cannot long be retained by any government, 313. Reflec-
tions on the neglect fhewn by mother-countries to their diftant
fettlements, 450. Different motives of colonization, 512. The
beft plan for establishing a new colony, v. 94. The first objects
of attention in the formation of, 132. The moral ſyſtem of,
133. Remarks on the defects in the political conftitutions of
the British American Colonies, 136.
Q 9 2
Columbus,
IN DE X.
His
Columbus, Chriftopher, fets out on his voyage from Spain for
the diſcovery of a new continent, ii. 409. Arrives at the Ca-
nary Iſlands, ibid. Arrives at the Bahama Iſlands, 414.
friendly intercourfe with the natives, ibid. Difcovers St. Do-
migo, 415. Erects a fort, and leaves a garrifon there, 418.
Returns to Spain, ibid. His fecond voyage, 419. Is attacked
by the natives of St. Domingo, whom he defeats, 420. Bar-
barties exerciſed there by the Spaniards, 422. Carries a colony
of malefactors to St. Domingo, 425. Is brought back to Spain
in irons, 426. Dies, ibid. Remarks on his hard fate, ibid.
Comedy, facred, the origin of, i 27.
·
Comets, have probably given this earth occafional fhocks in tra-
verfing it's orbit, ii. 435 And produced thofe great alterations.
that have taken place on it's furface, 436. Superftition traced
from fuch extraordinary events, ibid.
Commerce, the fource of all improvements and civilization, i. 4.
Produce it's own deftruction, 7. Was revived firft in Europe
by the Arabs, 13. Greatly depreffed under the feudal fyftem of
government, 15. Formation of the Hanfeatic league, 17.
Hiftorical account of the trade to India, 96. The operations
of, philofophically confidered, ii. 359. The fpirit of finance
always injurious to, iv. 300 Defined, vi. 404. Hiſtorical de
duction of the progrefs of, ibid. Confequences of the diſcovery
of the East and West Indies, to Spain, Portugal, and Holland,
406 Rife of the Dutch commerce, ibid. How improved by
the English, 409. Complexion of the French commerce, ibid.
Nature of the German commerce, with the obftacles to it, 411.
Iron, an advantageous article of commerce to the northern na-
tions, 412. The happy operations of commercial induſtry, 413.
Character of a merchant, with his neceffary objects of atten-
tion, 414.
Inftructions to merchants, 418. Remarks on the
political hackles impofed on trade, 427. A free trade among
all nations would caufe all nations to profper, 434.
The mu-
tual correfpondence between trade and agriculture, 436.
Commons, houfe of, in England, origin and growth of, vi. 296.
Advantages of this reprefentative body to the people, 301. It's
defects pointed out, 306.
Comora Ifiands, in the Mozambique channel, defcribed, i. 495.
Compass, the invention of firft applied to navigation by prince
Henry of Portugal. i. 30. Great improvements in navigation
produced by, vi 389,
Conception, town of, in Chili, defcribed, iii. 176.
Condamine, M. his account of Peruvian fortifications, iii. 31.
Confucius, the Chineſe legiflator, an account of his religious and
political principles, i 149.
Conquefs, are culy made to be left again, vi. 95.
Conftantine the Great, the founder of the ecclefiaftical dominion of
the church of Rome, vi. 255.
Conftantinople, the Indian cominerce transferred from Alexandria to
that
INDEX
that city, i. 101. Caufes that produced it's deftruction, 103.
Inheritance how fecured there, iii. 152.
Contraband trade, originates in tyranny, vi. 141.
Cook, captain, the refult of his laft voyage referred to, for deter-
mining the queftion of a north-weft paffage to the East Indies,
v. 382.
Coolies, an account of that people, i. 89.
Copenhagen, general account of that city, iv. 305.
Cophts of Egypt, account of thofe people, iy. 6.
Copper, peculiar art of the ancient Peruvians in manufacturing it,
iii. 35.
Cordeleirias mountains, the courfe of, defcribed, ii. 486. Give
rife to the great river Oroonoko, iii. 74. Their ftupendous
fize a fource of aftonishment, 98. Philofophical inquiry after
their origin, 99. Exhibit evidences of having been volcanos,
103. Defcriptive particulars relating to them, 104. Their ve-
getable productions, 105. Animals peculiar to thefe mountains,
123.
ށ
Coromandel, coaft of, general account of it's productions and inha-
bitants, i. 119. Progrefs of the Dutch fettlements there, 268.
This country, why neglected by Europeans at their firft arrival
in India, 452. On what ideas the firft European colonies
there were eſtabliſhed, 454. Account of their cotton manufac-
tures, 455. Nature and amount of the trade carried on there
by Europeans, 459. Poffeffions of the English on this coaft,
461. Cudalore, ibid. Mafulipatan, 462. Territories in the
Decan, 464. Account of Madrass, 465. The province of
Bengal, 471. English method of collecting revenues there,
511.
Corporations, trading, injurious to induſtry, i. 360,
Corregidor, his office in Peru, iii. 237.
Cortez, Fernando, is deputed by Velasquez to undertake the con-
queſt of Mexico, ii. 431. His force in fhips and men, ibig.
Reduces the natives of Tabafco, 432. Account of his Indian
miftrefs Marina, 433. His negociations with Montezuma,
438. Burns his fhips, and marches towards the city of Mexico,
ibid. Meets with oppofition from the natives of Tlafcala, 439.
Makes an alliance with the Tlafcalans, who affift him with men,
441. Is charmed with the glittering ornaments, of, the Mexican
buildings, 442, Arrefts the emperor, 443 Defeats Narvaez,
who was fent to fuperfede him, and affociates his men, 444.
Infurrection of the Mexicans againft the Spaniards, 446. Dan-
gers attending his retreat to Tlafeala, 448 Owes his fafety to
feizing the Mexican royal ftandard, 449. Reduces the Mexican
provinces, 452. Difcovers a confpiracy among his troops to
affaffinate him, ibid. Reduces the capital city of Mexico, 453.
His brutal treatment of the emperor Guatimozin, 455. Regu-
lations made by him on fubjecting the country, 458. His cha-
racter eftimated, 469.
Cotton
NDE X.
Cotton manufacture and trade on the coaft of Coromandel, curious
particulars relative to, i. 455. 492.
Cotton shrub, method of cultivating it, iv. 161. Defcription of it's
flowers and pods, 162. The cotton how freed from the feeds,
ibid.
Country, native, the love of, a factitious fentiment, iii. 321.
Courage is diminiſhed by the increaſe of foldiers, vi. 385.
Cowries, a principal article of export from the Maldivia iflands, i.
427. Why ufed as coin by the Chineſe, ii. 316.
Crab Island defcribed, iv 297. English and Danish attempts to
fettle on it prevented by the Spaniards, who inake no uſe of it
themfelves, ibid.
Credit defined, and it's operations explained, vi. 512. Private
and public diftinguished, 513. Why England, Holland, and
France, are the nations that owe the greateſt fums on public.
credit, 514. Why thofe nations which have moft refources are
moft in debt, ibid. Arguments in favour of contracting public
debts confidered, 516. The ruinous tendency of borrowing on
public credit fhewn, 518. Confequences of national bankrupt-
cy, 519.
Creoles in Spanish America, who, and their character, iii. 222.
Of the Caribbee Iflands, defcription and character of, iv. 176,
179.
Cromwell, Oliver, the motives of his entering into a war with the
Dutch, i. 378. His ftipulations with them regarding Eaft India
affairs, ibid. His motives for attacking the Spaniards in the
Weſt Indies, iii. 489.
Cronstadt, the harbour of Peterſburg defcribed, ii. 306.
Crofat, a French merchant, obtains an exclufive grant of the trade
of Louiſiana, v, 242. Refigns his charter, ibid.
Crufades, thofe romantic undertakings favourable to the civil liber-
ties of Europe, i 110. And to commerce, vi. 405, 452..
Crufade, a tax levied in Spain, and on the Spaniſh American colo-
nies, iii. 248. Reflections on the privileges purchaſed by it,
249.
Cuba, it's first difcovery, fituation, and extent, iv. 214. Unfortu-
nate hiftory of the cacique Hatuey, 215. Motives that led to
the firſt ſettlement of the Spaniards at Havannah, 217. A com-
pany formed to trade with, ibid. Spaniſh Government, 218.
Prefent number of inhabitants, 226. Produce, ibid. Articles
of exportation, 227. Bees introduced there, and furnish great
quantities of wax, 228. The culture of tobacco checked, ibid.
Commerce, 230. Revenue, ibid. Cedar fhips built there,
Account of Havannah and it's harbour, ibid. Strength
of the fortifications, and how to be attacked, 232.
Gubagua, or Pearl iſland, account of, iv. 191. The pearl fishery
there exhauſted, 194. Reafons why the Spaniards retain it,
ibid. Character of the prefent inhabitants, 195.
Cudalore, on the coaft of Coromandel purchaſed and improved by
the English, i. 462. Employment of the natives, ibid.
231.
Cumana,
INDE X.
Cumana, the coaft of difcovered, and the conduct of the fir Spaniſh
adventurers there, iii. 72. The diftri&t of, granted to sas
to colonife, 73. Caufes of his ill fuccefs, 74. Piefen ftate of
the fettlement, ibid.
Curaffou, the island of, taken from the Spaniards hy he Dutch,
defcribed, iv. 248. Nature of the trade carried on there, 255.
Duties paid on commodities there, 256.
Curcuma, or Indian faffron, defcription and ufes of that plat., i.
436.
Cufco the ancient capital city of Peru, defcribed, iii. 119. Pre-
fent number of inhabitants, 120.
Cuſtoms, general, inquiry into the origin of, i. 274.
D
Dagobert king of France, in the feventh century, excites a fpit of
induftry and traffic among his fubjects, ii. 5.
D'Aguire, a Spanish adventurer, his plundering expedition into the
interior parts of South America, and defperate conduct, in.
358.
Dario of Japan, the nature of his dignity and office, i. 177.
Dances, the movements of, more fignificant among rude nations
than in poliſhed fociety, v. 165.
Darien, the gulph of, difcovered by Columbus, iii. 3. The pro-
vince of, becomes a place of refuge for Spanish adventurers,
who had been defeated and difperfed in their attempts on the
continent of America, 5. Peculiar cuftoms of the natives, 6.
The country defcribed, 49. Arrival of a colony of Scots, 50.
Their fettlement prevented by political influence, ibid. Unfuc-
cefsful attempt of the Spaniards to colonize this diſtrict, 51.
The ifthmus ought to be cut through to open a communication
with the South Sea, 305.
Dauphin iſland, at the mouth of the Mobile, defcribed, v. 241.
Debt, reflections on impriſonment for, i. 4c6. Regulations pro-
pofed to check the contracting of, iv. 302.
Deities, pagan, the probable origin of iii. 325.
Delawar, lord, relieves the diftreffed colonifts in Virginia, vi. 42.
His character, ibid.
Demerary, account of the Dutch fettlement there, iv. 276.
Denmark, piratical expeditions of the ancient inhabitants of, ii.
199. Their difpofition to p:under accounted for, 200. Their na-
tive fiercenefs improved by the fanguinary religion of Wodin, ibid.
Their morals corrected by converfion to Chriftianity, ibid.
Turn their attention to induſtry and trade, 201. Engage in a
trading voyage to Ceylon, 202. Form a fettlement in Tangour,
ibid. An Eaſt India Company eſtabliſhed after the failure of two
preceding attempts, 205. Prefent conftitution of the company,
210. Regulations of the trade to China, 2 4. The circumſtances
of this nation not favourable to an extenſive Ea Inda trade, 217.
A Danish fettlement formed in Guinea for a flave trade, under
an
INDE X.
an exclufive company, iv. 99. Character of their agent Schil-
derop, 100 Captain Munk's attempt to find a north-weft paffage
into the Pacific Ocean, 293. The Danes throw themielves under
the power of their king, to eſcape that of their nobles, 294.
Settle the inland of St. Thomas, 295. Purchaſe the ifland of
Santa Cruz, 300. Review of the productions and trade of their
American iflands, 302. Review of the European dominions of,
304. Climate of, 306. Number of inhabitants, 307. Species
of taxes levied on them, ibid. Naval ftrength of the kingdom,
308. Regulations propofed for it's improvement, 309.
Denonville, governor of Canaa, his treacherous treatment of the
Iroquois, v. 191.
Defcartes, is character, vi. 542.
Defeada, account of that iſland, iv. 405.
:
Defpotifm is not juſtified, even by making a good ufe of it, vi. 275.
The form of government under, never fixed, 318, 348.
Defrouleaux. Lewis,a Negro flave,his good fortune and generofity
to his maſter, iv. 108.
Devi Cottab, revolutions of that fettlement, i. 461.
Dey, the nature of that office and dignity in the Barbary ftates, de-
fcribed, iv. 17.
Dialogue between the author and a miniſter of ſtate, on the arcana
cf government, vi. 494.
Diamonds, the maft fplendid reprefentation of opulence, iii. 410.
The feveral varieties of, 411. Natural history of this gem, ib.
Experiments with in a burning glafs, 413. And in fire, ibid.
The feveral known diamond mines enumerated, 415. In what
ftate found, 416. Extraordinary one bought for the emprefs of
Ruffia, 47. Diamonds difcovered in Brazil, ibid Regula-
tions impofed on the trade of, ibid. In what fate the Brazil
diamonds are found, 419.
Diodorus Siculus, his account of the fuppofed ancient iſland of
Atalantis, i. 30.
Difcontents, political, evaporate by the liberty of complaint, i.
402.
Discoveries ufeful, why chance has always more fhare in them than
ingenuity, iii. 313. v. 140.
Difputes, religious, the good tendency of, iii. 26.
Dogeron, Bertrand, his character, iv. 419. Is fent from France.
fb fettle and govern the buccaneers at St. Domingo and Tortuga,
ibid. Difficulty of his task, ibid. His affiduity in reconciling
them to fettlement and cultivation, 420. Supplies them with
women, 421. Improves the colony by the afcendant he gained.
over their minds, 422. Meditated the conqueft of the whole
ifland for France, 468.
Domingo, St. difcovered by Columbus, ii. 415. Defcription of
iland and inhabitants, ibid. Their religion and cuítoms,
416
A fort built and a garrifon left there by Columbus. 418.
Columbus's fecond arrival there, 419. Battle between the Spa-
niards and the inhabitants, 420. They refolve to ftarve the
Spaniards.
INDE X.
Spaniards, 421. Cruelties exerciſed by the Spaniards, 422. A
recruit of malefactors from the Spaniſh priſons brought to the
ifland, 425. The natives reduced to flavery, 428. And at
length extinguished, 429. The culture of cochineal introduced
into this ifland, 503. The northern coat of this ifland fettled
by fome French refugees, termed buccaneers, iii. 484. Decline
of the Spanish colony there, 486. Attack of, by Penn and Ven-
ables, 491. The wafte of inhabitants in the mines fupplied
from Africa, iv. 207. The iſland weakened by emigration to the
continent of America, 209. Suffers by pillage, ibid. Prefent
ftate of the Spanish colony, 210. The plain of Vega Real re-
commended to the cultivation of the French, 213. Dimenfions
of the ifland, 415. Appearance of the coatts, ibid. Cli
mate, 416. A governor fent from France to regulate and fettle
the buccanneers there and at Tortuga, 419. A fupply of women
fent to them, 421. Improvements of the colony, 422. Their
trade oppreffed by new regulations, 425. The company of St.
Louis formed, to extend cultivation to the fouthward, 427.
Ruin of this company, 428. Difturbance in the colony occa-
fioned by an ill fupply of flaves by the India Company, 431.
Rapid improvement of, fince, ibid. French fettlements to the
outhward, 432. Town of St. Lewis, 435. It's territory and
produce, ibid. Town of Cayes, 437. Means of improving
this town, 439. The fmuggling trade the great fupport of
theſe fettlements, 442. Diiadvantages of the fouthern fettle-
ments, ibid. Settlements to the weftward, ibid. Town of
Port au Prince deftroyed by an earthquake, and rebuilt on the
fame fpot, 446. Town of St. Marc, 448. Mineral waters dif-
covered in the territory of Gonaves, 450. Remarks on the
neglect fhewn by mother-countries to diftant colonies, ibid. Ac-
count of the Mole of St. Nicholas, which feparates the weſtern
from the northern part of the colony, 452. Town of Bombar-
dopolis, 453. Port Paix, 454. The plain of the Cape, ibid.
Town of St. Francis, 455. Exports of the island to France,
459. Summary view of it's population, produce, and manu-
factures, 461. Treatment of the Negro flaves, 463. General
view of the towns, 464. Connexions of the inland with foreign
nations, 455. Is diftreffed in times of war, 466. Advantages
that might be made of the harbour at Fort Dauphin, 468.
Hiftorical review of the conteſts between the French and Spaniards
on the ifland, ibid. Remarks on the fettlements of boundaries
between their poffeffions, 472. Meaſures proper to be taken by
the French againſt invaſion, 474.
Dominica, was one of the islands left to the native Caribs by the
English and the French, v. 97. Is ceded by the French to
the English, 106. It's prefent ftate of population and cultiva-
tion, 107. Difputes between the English there, and the neigh-
bouring French iflands, about the latter protecting refugee
debtors, 108. Is made a free port, 111. Advantages of it's
fituation,
ID NE X.
fituation, ibid. Regulations eftablished in this ifland concerning
free Negroes, 114.
Drake, Sir Francis, his fucceffes against the Spaniards in America,
v. 339.
Draper, Eliza, apoftrophe to her memory, i. 429.
Drefden porcelain, the beſt imitation of China ware made in Europe,
11. 33.
Drucourt, Madame de, her gallant behaviour at the fiege of Louif-
bourg, v. 322.
Druids, antient, a detail of their doctrines and rites, v. 341.
Are feverely treated by the Romans, 342. Their religion fup-
planted by Chriftianity, ibid.
Drunkenness, general confequences of this vice, iii. 182. Is pecu-
liarly deftructive to the natives of America, ibid.
Dudley, governor of Jamaica, his character, v. 46.
Du Hamel, M. his method of preparing flour to keep in the Ca-
ribbee ifleeds without fpoiling, iii 470.
Dumplers, a religious fect in Pennfylvania, origin of, vi. 16.
Their city Euphrates, ibid. Their peculiar mode of life, 17.
Their drefs and food, 18. Their marriages and regulation
of property, ibid.
Duncan, colonel, governor of New York, his prudent adminiftra-
tion in that colony, v. 456. Refigns on account of the revo-
lution in England, 457.
Dung, how far it will affift tillage, v. 105:
Dupleix, his judicious management as governor of Chandernagore,
ii. 109. Is made governor of Pondicherry, 110. Is prevailed
on to oppofe the fchemes of Bourdonnais, 113. Defends Pon-
dicherry againſt the English, 114. Aims at fecuring a French
dominion in Indoftan, 129. Confers the fubafhip of the Decan
on Salabat Jing, 130. And the nabobſhip of the Carnatic on
Chunda Saeb, ibid. Acquires an immenfe territory for the
French for theſe fervices, ibid. Is invefted with the dignity of
nabob, 133.
Dutch, their oppofition to Philip II. of Spain, i. 211. Attempt
the diſcovery of a paffage to China and Japan, through the
northern feas, 213, Form a company to trade with India and
fend out fhips, ibid. Attempt a trade with Java, 214. Their
Eaft India Company eftablifhed, 215. Their contefts with the
Portugueze in the Indian feas, 217. Attempt to open a com-
merce with China, 219. Eſtabliſh a fettlement on the iſland of
Formofa, 220. Ignominious conditions on which they are al-
lowed to trade with Japan, 227. Articles of their trade with
Japan, ibid. Exclude the Portugueze from the Molucca iſlands,
231. Meaſures taken by them to fecure a monopoly of the
fpice trade, ibid. 238. Their motives for retaining poffef-
fion of Timor, 241. And Celebes, 248. Eftabliſh a trade
with Borneo for pepper, ibid. And with Sumatra for pepper
and tin, 254. View of their trade with Siam, 246. How
they gained an eſtabliſhment in Malacca, 257. Affil the
I
king
IND É X.
1
king of Candy in driving the Portugueze out of Ceylon, 259.
From whence they procure their cinnamon, 265. The terms
to which they have reduced the king of Candy, 266. Account
of their factories on the coaft of Coromandel, 268. Review of
their trade there, 269. Supplant the Portugueze in Malabar,
ibid. The nature of the trade carried on by them there, 270.
The motives of their forming a fettlement at the Cape of Good
Hope, 271. Remarks on their fyftem of policy at the Cape,
287. And in Java, 290. How they acquired an exclufive
trade with Bantam, 293, With Cheribon, ibid. And with
Mataram, 294. Defraud the natives in their dealings, 297.
Caufes of the profperity of their Eaft India Company, 313.
Caufes of the decline of the company, 316. Their Eaſt India
wars, 320. Abuſes of adminiſtration there, 325. Remedies
propoſed adapted to the evils, 327. Importance of this com-
pany to the republic, 342. Degeneracy of the Dutch Nation,
348. Endeavour to irritate the natives of India againſt the firſt
Engliſh adventurers, 368. Commencement of hoftilities,
which are accommodated by a treaty between the two compa-
nies, 369. Expel the English cruelly from Amboyna, 371.
Ill treatment of the Dutch at Baffora, how retaliated by Baron
Knyphaufen, 419. Prefent ftate of their intercourfe with
China, ii. 352. And India, 370. Their rapid exertions
against the eastern fettlements of their enemies the Spaniards,
upon the formation of their republic, iii. 335. Eſtabliſh a Weſt
India Company, and attack Brazil, 336. Their great fucceffes
against the Portugueze by fea, 338. Reduce all the coaſt of
Brazil, 339. Affairs of that colony under their adminiſtration,
348. Are expelled from Brazil, 352. Were the first people
that promoted a commercial intercourfe among the nations of
Europe, iv. 246. Defcription of their American islands, 248.
The advantages derived from them, 254. Poffefs themselves of
Surinam, 261. Reflections on the ftate of the Dutch American
colonies, 284. Amount of their public debts, 285. Their ma-
nufactures depreffed by taxes, ibid. Decline of their herring fish-
eries, 286. Their navigation reduced, ibid. Their commiffion
trade diminiſhed, 287. The trade of infurance lost, ibid. Veft
their money in the funds of other nations, 288. Precarioufneſs
of their fituation, 289. The advantages the industry of the
Dutch gave them over the wealth of the Spaniards and Portu-
gueze, vi. 406.
:
E
Earth, the great changes it has undergone from natural caufes,
one fource of the fuperftition of inankine, 1. 436. Compa
rifon between the Old and New World; v. 350. Attempt in
account for the difpofition of land and fea bid. The equi-
poife of how fupported, 351. Phænomena which indicate the
Continents of America to have been more recently left by the
ocean than thoſe of the Old World, 353. Has undergone va-
rious changes, vi. 463.
Earthquakes,
IN D E X.
Earthquakes, the prognoftics of, in Peru, iii. 107.
Eaft-India trade, the firft cultivators of, in Europe, i. 13.
Eat-India Companies.
Dutch, the establishment of, i. 215.
profperity of, 313. Caufes of it's decline, 316.
this company to the republic, 342.
Caufes of the
Importance of
- English, first formed, i. 362. Objections made to the
monopoly of, 384 A fecond English company formed, 386. The
two companies united, 387. Private trade between one port
and another, encouraged in the Eaft by the English Company,
497, The Company has flourished under all it's reftraints, 498.
The English Company no longer a mercantile affociation, but a
territorial power, 506. Great military establishment fupported
by the English in India, 507. Compariſon between the conduct
of the English and other India Companies, 512. Their Bengal
adminiftration corrupted, ibid. Their commercial oppreffions,
514. Parliamentary regulations of the Company's affairs, 525.
Internal arrangement made by the Company, 527. The Com-
pany's circumftances improve, 532.
French, formed by M. Colbert, ii. 11. Terms of, 12.
Wife adminiſtration of Martin the director, 65. Caufes of the
decline of the French Company, 67. Situation of the Company
at the fall of Law's fyftem, 103. European trades reduced to
acquire territorial poffeffions in Indoftan for their own fecurity
there, 128 Caufes of the ill fortune of the French in India in-
quired into, 143. The French Company oppreffed by the go-
vernment, 145 New regulations of, 147. The exclufive pri-
vileges of the Company fufpended, 150. Review of their cir-
cumſtances at this time, ibid. The Company cede all their
effects to government, 159.
Daniſh formed, ii 202. A new one eſtabliſhed, 204.
A third Company formed on the failure of the laft, 205.
205. The
conftitution of this Company explained, ibid. A new charter
granted to it, 211. Review of the prefent ftate of the Com-
pany, 214.
Auſtrian, at Oftend, views which led to the formation
of, ii. 220. It's fuccefsful beginning, 221. Is oppofed by the
Dutch and Engliſh, 222. Is bargained away by the court of
Vienna, 224,
A Swedish Company eftablished, ii. 230. Great pro-
fits made by, 231. Hiftorical review of their trade, 232.
Pruffian, eſtabliſhed at Emden, ii. 252. Failure of, ibid.
Difcuffion of the queftion, whether the Eaft India trade ought
to be conducted by exclufive companies, or laid open, ii. 385.
The nature of the India trade flated, 387. Why it must be
carried on by affociations, 388. Whoſe intereſt it would be
to unite in one company, 391. The origin of their exclufive
privileges, 395. The political concerns of a company fhould
be vested in the ſtate, 396.
Ecclefapical policy, hiftorical review of, in the Chriftian church,
vi. 334.
Education
INDE X.
Education in favage and in civilized fociety, contrafted, ii. 535.
Egypt, a country full of the ruins of it's antien profperity, i. 46.
Was intended by Alexander the Great as the feat of empire and
the centre of trade for the whole world, 96. It's capital, Alex-
andria, rendered the mart for Eaftern commerce, under P:olomy
and his fucceffors, 97. The nature and manner of conducting
this trade defcribed, 98 Amazing extent of it's trade and
opulence, 99. Was annexed to the Eattern empire, 100. It's
final decay, ibid. It's connection with Venice under the Mam-
melucs, 103. The antiquity of, compared with that of China,
ii. 326
It's boundaries and extent, iv. 4. The climate,
ibid The fertility of the country owing to the Nile, 5. Dif
tribution of lands, 6. Claffes of the inhabitants, ibid. Go-
vernment, 8. The beys, how promoted, and their authority,
9. The troops, ibid. Taxes and trade, 10.
Duties upon
commerce, 13 The climate of, antiently rendered unhealthy
by the cultivation of rice, vi. 68.
El Dorada, current traditions of a rich country of that name in the
interior parts of Guiana, vi. 329.
395.
Elizabeth, queen of England, her character, i. 362. Her fpeech
to the houſe of commons, relating to the East India charter, 363.
Her policy in completing the reformation, v. 346. Her at-
tention to the railing a maritime ftrength, vi.
Emerald, a gem peculiar to America, iii 85. Produced in the
province of New Grenada, 86. How found, ibid.
Emigration, hint to the Governors of countries how to prevent it,
i. 449. Reflections on the propenfity to, in Sweden, ii. 236.
Encyclopædia, character of that great work, vi 546.
England, general view of the manners of the people in the fifteenth
century, i. 23 Formerly avaged by norther, invaders, is again
thrown into confufion by William the Conqueror introducing the
feudal government, 357. Low tate of commerce, during the feu-
dal ages, 358. Wholefome regulations of Henry VII for eman-
cipating the common people, ibid. The true principles of trade
mifunderstood at that time, 359. Flemish Workmen who ar-
rive there ill treated by the natives, 301. Manufactures intro-
duced by the Spanish oppreffions in the Netherlands, and the
perfecution of the roteftants in France, ibid. Improvement.
of trade and navigation under Queen Elizabeth, 362. Forma-
tion of the East India company, ibid Tac principles on which
this company formed their Eaftern fettlements, 365 Meet
with difappointments, 367 Acquire a fhare of the fpice trade
with the Dutch, ibid. Hoftilities between the two companies
accommodated by a treaty, 369 Are ill ufed by the Dutch at
Amboyna, 37 Engagement between Captain Beft and the
Portugueze, 372. Affift Schah Abbas in expelling the Portu-
gueze from Ormus, 374. A trade established at Gombroom by
the English, 375. Their India trade neglected during the civil
war under Charles I. 377. Revival of, under Oliver Cromwel,
379-
IN DE
X.
•
379. Why excluded from Japan, ibid. The India company ill
treated by Charles II. 380. Iniquitous conduct of Jofias Child
and his brother, 381. Are reduced by Aurengzebe to fubmif-
fion, 382. Effects of the revolution that depofed James II. on
Eaft India affairs, 383. A fecond East India company formed,
386. The two united, 387. Their fettlement at Pulocondor
deftroyed by the Macaffar garrifon, 388 Overpower the
French in the Eaft, 389. Meaſures taken to improve the trade
of the Red Sea, 410. Establish a factory at Maſcate, in the
Perfian gulph, 422. Account of their factory at Anjengo, on
the coaft of Malabar, 429. Affift the Marattas in reducing An-
gria the pirate, 442. How they acquired an afcendancy over
Surat, 445.
Reduce the town of Baroche, 446. And the
iſland of Salfette, 448. Their trade and improvements at Bom-
bay, 449. How expofed to contefts with the Marattas, 451.
Their poffeffions on the coast of Coromandel, 461. Cudalore,
462. Mafulipatan, ibid. Territories in the Decan, 464. Ac-
count of Madrafs, 465. Their connections with the nabob of
Arcot, 466. War with Hyder Ali Khan, 467. Account of their
fettlement on the island of Sumatra, 469. Their new ſettle-
ment at Balambangan destroyed, 471. Their poffeffions and
trade in Bengal, 479, 484. Remarks on the general affairs of
their India company, 498. The territorial power of the Eaft
India company precarious, 509. Their adminiftration corrupt-
ed, 512. Are accuſed of monopolizing rice during the famine
in Bengal, 518. The adminiftration of the company ordered
under parliamentary infpeétion, 524.
Are accuſed of ufing the French ill in Bengal, ii. 166. Re-
marks on their Eaſtern policy, 188. Attempt a paffage into Per-
fia by the Wolga and the Cafpian Sea, 293. Prefent ſtate of their
intercourse with China, 353. General review of their conduct in
India, 370. Their firft fettlement in the bay of Honduras, 551.
History of the contract to fupply the Spanish American fettle-
ments with Negroes, iii, 225. Account of their ſcheme for de-
priving Spain of their Mexican dominions, 306 Caufe of the
connection between England and Portugal, 428. Nature of the
Portugal trade, ibid. Remarks on the decline of this trade, 434.
Settle the iſland of St. Chriftopher's in conjunction with the
French, 481. Motives of Cromwell for attacking the Spani-
ards in the Weft Indies, 489. The island of Jamaica taken,
492. How the English gained à fuperiority over the Dutch in
the political fyftem of Europe, 527. Remarks on the political
publications there, 532. War with Spain in 1739, on account
of their violent proceedings in the Weft Indies, 534. Their
political views, 539 Motives that, in 1755, led to the war
with France, 541. Remarks on the mode of commencing this
war, 542. National dejection at the first events of the war, 545.
Mr. Pitt appointed minifter; and his character, 547. Execu-
tion of Admiral Byng, $48. Confequences of this example, ibid.
Establishment
INDE
X.
L
Establishment of the Marine Society, 549. Profperous events
of the war, 550. Mr. Pitt's pian of conduct examined, 557.
Reflections on the terms of the peace, 566. Particulars relating
to their trade on the coaſt of Africa, iv. 77. Origin of their Afri-
can company, 97. Amount of their flave trade, ibid.
connections with the Danith American iſlands, 302.
12.
Their
How the English irritated the Caribs againſt them, 357. Po-
litical view of England, v. 1. State of, when fettlements first
began to be formed on the American iſlands, 2. Plan of policy
purſued by Henry VII. 4. Character of Jaines I. 6.. The peo-
ple oppofe his arbitrary principles, 8. Keview of the civil war
between Charles I. and his parliament, 11. The population of
the British American iſlands in great meaſure owing to this war,
The good policy of transporting felons to the American
plantations, 3. General view of the government of the Ame-
rican iflands, 14. The cultivation of fugar, how introduced
into the American iflands, 16. Motives for framing the navi-
gation act, 17. Hiftory of the fugar trade, 18. Conditions
upon which land in the American iſlands was fold by the govern-
ment, 115. Limitation of plantations, 116. Reitraint impoſed
on the property of the French planters in the ceded iſlands, 118.
Ill fuccefs of rafh fettlers on thefe iflands, 19. General cha-
racter of the English West India iſlands, 120. The white inha-
bitants in, decreaſe in proportion to the increaſe of Negroes, ibid.
Venal fpirit of the English, 123. Caufes of the flourishing state.
of their Weft India fettlements, 124 Amount of the receipts
from thefe colonies, 126. General character of the city of Lon-
don, 127. Reduction of Canada, 187. Cauſes of the failure
Share the fur trade
of the attempt on Quebec in 1690, 194.
with the French, 213.
Origin of the difputes with the French in Canada, 316. Caufes
of their firft ill fucceffes against the French in America, 317.
Canada conquered, and ceded to the Engliſh, 333. History
of the English fettlements in North America, 338. Formation
of the South and North Virginia companies, 340. History of
religion in England, 341. Crafty ufurpations of the Romish
clergy over the people, 343. Events which facilitated the re-
formation, 346. Defcription of Hudfon's Bay, 367. Of New-
foundland, 392. Cod fishery on the great bank, 398. De-
fcription of Nova Scotia, 415. Account of New England, 429.
Laws for the encouragement of the whale fithery, 447. Nova
Belgia, afterward New York, feized from the Dutch, 455.
And New Jerfey, 464 Settlement of Pennfylvania, vi, 10.
Maryland, 31 Virginia, 41. The two Carolinas, 56. Geor-
gia, 72 Florida 82 Extent of the British territories in
North America, 94. Promote the culture of maize in their fet-
tlements 103. Encourage the importation of naval ftores from
America, ibid. The importation of American iron abfurdly
Sobflructed, 107. A free importation of it allowed, 108. The
government oppofe the defire of fome of the American colo-
nies,
NDE
N
X.1
•
nies, of putting an end to Negro flavery, 122. Public diftrefes
of, in the year 1763, 142. The colonies called upon for
affiftance, 143. The policy of this requifition inquired into,
145. American ftamp act paffed, 150. And repealed, ibid.
Other duties impofed in its ftead, 151. And repealed, except
in the article of tea, 153 Bofton port bill, 154 Commence-
ment of the American war, 159. The American tates affame
Independence, 195. Progress of the war with them, 202.
Caufes in Britain which operated to the ill fuccefs of the Ame-
rican war, 208. Errors of their generals in America, 210.
War with France, 222. The mediation of Spain refufed, 235.
Divided ftate of England at this time, 236,
..
**
་
Hiſtorical review of the conftitution of the British government,
294. Character of the feudal fyftem framed there by William
the Conqueror, 295. Magna Charta obtained, 296. Growth
of the houfe of commons, ibid. The government of Elizabeth
arbitrary, 297. Caufes of the civil war under Charles I. traced
ibid. The crown granted to William III. under a formal com
pact, 298. Analysis of the prefent English government, ibid.
Is the belt conftitution exifting in the world, 304. Its defects
pointed out, 306. The pretenfions of the English to a perpe-
tual empire of the fea, ridiculed, 395. History of the English
navy, ibid. The injuftice of impreffing feamen condemned,
401. Their liberal profecution of commerce, 409.
England, New. See New England.
Enfenada, M. de la, fubftitutes detached veffels inftead of fleets
of galleons, for carrying on the Spanish trade with America, iii.
292.
Entails of eftates, unfavourable to population, vi. 471.
Enterprises, the principles that ftimulate mankind to, ii. 292.
Epicurus, his character, vi. 528.
Ermine of Canada deſcribed, v. 198.
Effequibo, account, of the Dutch colony there, iv. 275.
Efquimaux Indians defcribed, with their manners and cuftoms, v.
370. Are peculiarly expofed to blindnefs and the fcurvy, 371.
Eugene, Prince, patronizes the formation of an Auftrian Eaft In
dia company at Oftend, ii. 220,
Euphrates, a town built by the Dumplers in Pennfylvania, account
of, vi. 17.
Europe, why the modern inftitutions of, are inferior to thofe of an-
tient Greece, i. 8. How the fubjection of, to the aorthern in-
vaders of the Roman empire, was facilitated, 9. Barbarifin of
under thefe rúde mafters, 10. The middle ages of, characte
rized,. . Is invaded by the Normans and Arabs, 13. First at-
General view of the man-
tempts at an Eaft India trade, 14.
ners of the principal nations of, in the fifteenth century, 21.
The crufades favourable to the civil liberties of, 110. Whe-
ther the connections of, with Afia, be advantageous or not, ii.
358. A review of the prefent ftate of, 401. Perfonal liberty
more extenfive in, when the chain of feudal fubordination was
broken,
INDE X.
broken, than in any former times, iv. 133. Confuſion excited
in, on account of the Spanish fucceffion, v. 224. Review of the
means by which this quarter of the world arrived at its prefent
ftate of civilization, vi. 266. Caufes of the little influence the
Turkiſh princes have in the affairs of, 272. The tranquillity of,
ought to be fecured by means fimilar to that of the Germanic
body, 293. Hiftorical review of the hierarchy of the church of
Rome, 333. The true policy of Europe defined, 364. The
first introduction of ſtanding armies, 375. War extended by
this innovation, 377. The art of fortification invented by the
Dutch, 379. War carried on now with more humanity than
in antient times, 383. Evils refulting from the great increaſe of
foldiers, 384. Progrefs of military navies, 388. The fuperi-
ority of this quarter of the world over the reft, refulting from it's
naval strength, 398. Is rendered more quiet at land, by the diver
fion of hoftilities to the fea, 399. Hiftorical deduction of the pro-
grefs of commerce in, 404. Induſtry, it's importance to the
exiſtence of the feveral ſtates of Europe, 411. Ars and ſciences
brought from Afia by the crufaders, 452. The alterations pro-
duced in, by manufactures, 457. It's rude ftate in antient
times, 464. Evidences of it's having been but thinly inhabited
formerly, 465. The Roman conquefts tended to depopulation,
466. The antient forms of government unfavourable to popu-
lation, 467. Origin of capital cities, 469. Population depen-
dent, in great meafure, on the diftribution of landed property,
470. Eftimate of the good and evil refulting from the difco-
very of the East and West Indies, 479.
Euftatia, St. the iſland defcribed, iv. 249. It's revolutions, and
prefent produce, ibid. Nature of the trade of that port, 256.
Number of inhabitants, and their defenceleſs ſtate, 257.
F.
Fairs, the principal places of trade during the infancy of com-
merce, i..13. Method of carrying on trade there formerly, 16.
ii. 5.
Falkland Iſlands, account of the British attempt to eſtabliſh a fet-
tlement on them, iii. 301.
Faſhions, the extenſive influence of, iv. 68.
Fernambucca, in Brazil, hiftorical defcription of that government,
iii. 388.
Fernando de Noronha, an island on the coaft of Fernambucca in
Brazil, defcribed, iii 390.
Feudal fyftem of government, the leading principles of, i. 15.
The tyrannical frame of it, how undermined, 18. Origin of,
vi, 268. Subfifts in Poland in all the vigour of its primitive in-
ftitution, 287.
Fez, account of this ftate, and its inhabitants, iv. 18.
Flanders, trade and manufactures early cultivated there, i. 18:
Florida, difcovered by Ponce de Leon, 'v. 139. Is neglected by
the Spaniards, and imprudently managed by the French, 140.
The French exterminated by the Spaniards, 142. The Spa-
VOL. VI.
niards,
Rr
IN DE X.
niards, in turn, exterminated by the French, ibid. Was first re-
forted to by the Spaniards for flaves, vi. 82. French fettlers
driven out by the Spaniards, 83. Is ceded to Britain, 87.
The Spanish inhabitants
this province by the retire to Cuba, ibid. Regulation of
English, 88. A colony of Greeks brought
over, 89. Advantageous fituation of this country, 91. Eaft
Florida, a barren, fandy foil, ibid. Method of civilizing the
Indian natives of West Florida propofed, 92.
Furmofa, a defcription of that ifland, and its inhabitants, i. 220.
Riles to commercial importance, by the fettlement of the Dutch
on it, and the arrival of a colony of Chineſe refugees, 221. He-
roic conduct of Hambroeck, when the ifland was befieged by
Coxinga, 222. The Dutch expelled, 223. Why no European
fettlement has fince been formed on that iſland, ibid.
Forrest, Captain, account of his voyage to New Guinea, in
featch of fpices, i. 332.
Fortification, the art of, invented by the Dutch, vi. 379.
Fox, of Canada, deſcribed, v. 200.
Fox, George, the founder of the fect of Quakers, his character,
vi, 6.
France, ftate of that kingdom under Lewis XI. i. 22.
Character of Dagobert, king of, in the feventh century, ii.
5. Agriculture recommended by Charlemagne, ibid. Trade
patronized by St. Lewis, 7. Improvements attended to by
fubfequent princes, 8. Firit attempts of the French at naval
adventures to the Eaft, 1o. Il conducted fettlement on Mada-
gafcar, ibid. An Eat India company formed by M. Colbert,
11. Makes Surat the centre of their Eaſtern tradë, 27. Un-
dertake naval enterprizes by the advice of Caron, their leader,
46. Send a fleet to Siam, 53. Caufes of their lofing the mar-
ket of Cochin China, 63. Remarks on the political adminif
tration of Lewis XIV. 64. Wife conduct of Martin, the di-
rector of the Eaft India company, 65. Cauſes of the decline of
the company, 67. Brief historical view of the finances of France,
72 Extortions of the Lombards, 78. State of the French
revenues at the death of Francis I. 79. Character of the duke
de Sully,
as a financier, 8o. Character of M. Colbert, '81.
Adminiftration of the duke of Orleans, 83 Ideas of reformers
at this feafon, ibid. The duke of Orleans inflitutes an office for
the revifion of public accounts, 85. Law's famous ſcheme for
reforming the finances, 87. State of the revenues at the death
of Lewis XIV. 94. Apoftrophe to the prefent king, on the
ſtate of
datalion, ibid. The ifles of Bourbon and Mauritius
fettled, 106. Review of the French poffeffions on the coaft of
Coromandel, at the commencement of the war, in 1754, with
the English, 138 Inquiry into the caufes of their misfortunes
in Afia, 143 Hiftory of the tobacco trade in France, 153.
Prefent ftate of the French on the coaft of Malabar, 163. And
In Bengal, 166. Hints offered for the reſtoration of their infig-
ence in the Eaft, 190. Character of the French nation, and
temarks
INDE
X.
F
remarks on the antipathy between them and the Spaniards, 273.
Their prefent intercourfe with China, 354. General review of
their Eaftern conduct and policy, 370.
Settlements attempted by the French in Brazil, ii. 34.
Remarks on the peace of Aix la Chapelle, 536. Unjulti-
fiable commencement of hoftilities by the English in 1755, with-
out a previous declaration of war, 542. The French fuccefsful
in the early ftages of this war, 545. But precipitate theinfelves
into a train of difafters, 546. Their rapid defeats and diftreffes,
550. Guadalupe taken, 552. Martinico taken, 553. Overtures
for peace made to Mr. Pitt, and the ufe he made of them, 559.
General reflections on the permanency of the circumftances of
France, iv. 290. The Caribbee Iflands fettled under an exclufive
company,315 Miftakes of Colbert, 318. The colonies redeemed,
and thrown open, 320 But oppreffed by taxation, ibid. Heavy
duties impofed on commodities exported from them, 322. The
adminiſtration of the colonies reformed, 326. Settlements at
tempted in Guiana, 330. Arguments of the miniftry in favour of
renewing thefe attempts, 335. Plan adopted for this purpoſe, 337.
Errors in the execution, 338. Proper meaſures for fettling and
improving Guiana, 346. Preſent ſtate of French Guiana, 354.
Account of the ifland of St. Lucia, 357. Martinico, 371. Gua-
dalupe, and it's dependencies, 397. St. Domingo, 415. Sum-
mary of the imports from the American colonies, 460. Re-
marks on the establishment of property in the French iflands,
483. On the levy of taxes, 487. Particularly that on Negro
flaves, 488. Military ftate of the iilands, 495. Regulations
of inheritance, 499. Payments of debts in the colonies, how
provided for, 503. France unable to draw home all the pro-
ductions of her colonies, 53. A regulation of the prohibitory
laws recommended, 514. The commerce of the colonies ought
not to be ubjected to the expence and delays of a ftaple in
France, 516. Whether the adminiftration of colony government
be vetted in proper hands. 519. Or conducted on proper prin-
ciples, 521. Alterations neceffary to be made in the adminiftra-
tion
of the French iflands, 524. Whether France can eſtabliſh
a formidable navy, 531. The proper means to attain this end,
5.35.
Supplant the English in the fugar trade, v. 19. Settle-
ments in North America, firft promoted by Admiral Coligny,
138. Caufe of the mifcarriage of their firft efforts, 145.
The French fettle Cape Breton, 226. And St. John, 234
Difcovery of the river Miffiflippi, 236. Account of the famous
Law, and his fchenie, 242. Defcription and fettlement of Loui-
fiana, 249 Review of the confequences of perfecuting the Pro-
teftants in France, 269. Louifiana ceded to Spain, 281. Exa-
mination into the right of France to make this transfer, ibid.
Origin of the difputes with the English in Canada, 316 Ca-
R 12
nada
IN DE X
nada ceded to the English, 334. Cod fishery at Newfound
land, 407. Eſtabliſhments left them by treaty, to carry on this
fishery, 411. Amount of their cod fishery, 414: alarmnag
Acknowledges the independence of the British American colonies,
vi. 222. War with England, 225. Conftitutional errors in the
navy, 226. Remarks on the conduct of this government refpect-
ing America, 230. Motives of France in aflifting the Americans,
232. Hiftorical review of the government of, 315. Lewis XI.
properly the first monarch of France, 316. Caufes which ope-
rate to reftrain the tyranny of the kings of, 318. Attempts of
Lewis XIV. to eſtabliſh a maritime force, 393. His firſt naval
exploits, ibid. His miftakes, 394. Complexion of the French
commerce, 409. Subjects of utility, but lately attended to by
French writers, 526. Rapid revival of the fine arts in, 530.
Frankincenfe, it's high eftimation among the antients, and their
caution against the frauds of the workmen who prepared it, i
Franklin, Dr. his obfervations on the rapid population of North
America, vi. 123.
99.
I. King of
Pruffia,
character of, is 13 Bibida
Frauds, profeffional, the confcience eafily reconciled to the prac
vi. 416.
an East India Company at Embden, 251. The company fails,
252. Reflections on his adminiftration, ibid. Apoftrophe to,
253. Reforms the art of war, vi. 362.
Frederic Nagor, the factory of, founded by the Danes, ii. 215.
Friendship, the nature and offices of, explained, v. 163. In fa-
vage life, 164.
Frontenac, fort, in Canada, it's fituation, and occafion of it's
erection, v. 297.
Frozen Ocean, the Ruffian accounts of, to be doubted, i. 40.
Fuentes, Admiral, ftory of his voyage from Callao into Hudfon's
Bay, v. 381.
Funchal, town of, on the island of Madeira, fome account of,
1.35
**
Furs, an account of thofe animals in Canada which furnish thent,
v. 196. The trade with the Indians for, defcribed, 213.
G.
Gabon, river, on the coaft of Africa, defcribed, with the trade car-
ried on there, iv. 84.
Galileo, his conjectures concerning the figure of the earth, alarm
the clergy, vi. 542. Invented the telescope, ibid. low as
Galioniere, governor of Canada, his character, and conduct to-
ward the Engliſh, v. 316, 13.
Gallantry, the connections of, finish the depravation of manners,
URQVIP 363, MORAE
sinngong vad T
olest Gama,
IN D E X..
Gama, Vafco de, his first voyage to the Eaft Indies, i. 37. Dif
covers Calicut, and returns to Portugal, 91. His fucceffes fa-
vourable to the civil liberties of Europe, 110.
Gambia river, and the trade carried on there deſcribed, iv. 79.
Ganges, account of the European factories up that river, i. 487.
The navigation of this river, and that of Hughley deſcribed, 488.
Commercial intercourfe, how conducted on these two rivers, 489.
Gafca, Pedro de la, a prieft, arrives in Peru with powers to regu-
late the province, iii. 46. His character, ibid. Defeats Gonzales
Pizarro, and fentences him to death, ibi.l.
Gauls, antient, retrospect of the fate of commerce among them,
d. 2 Heavy duties impofed on land and water carriage under
the Franks, 3. See France.
Genius, how far influenced by climate and government, i. 391.
How diftinguifhed, v. I 140.
d.
Georgia, in North America, it's fituation and extent, vi. 72.
Is peopled by infolvent debtors from England, 73 Under
the care of general Oglethorpe, ibid. Is ftrengthened by the
arrival of other fettlers, 74 Decline of the colony, 75..
Caufes of it's ill fuccefs, 76 Recovers by the government
being taken out of private hands, &1. Prefent ſtate of the
province, ibid
Germany, general view of the manners of the inhabitants, in the
fifteenth century, i. 24. The political conftitution of that em-
pire examined, vi. 290. The tranquillity of the empire fecured
by Maximilian, 292. Why deficient in collective power and
energy, 294. Obftacles to the commerce of this empire, 411.
Ginger, the plant defcribed, it's different forts, and cuftomary
ufes in Afia, i. 437..
Ginfeng, defcription, and reputed virtues of this root, ü. 317. Is
highly valued by the Chinefe, 318. Is found in Canada,
v. 309. The trade with, to China, ruined, 310.
Glory, true, is the lot of virtue, not of genius, iv. 188.
Goa, the inland and city of, defcribed, . 94. Nature of it's
government at the arrival of the Portugueze, 95. Is taken by
Albuquerque, ibid. And fortified, ibid. It's prefent decayed
ftate, 441
Gold, the corrupter of all governments, ii: 61. And filver, the
relative values of, how averaged, 350. The neceffity of
keeping up the circulation of thefe metals, 368. Reflections on
the enormities by which thefe metals are procured, 505. Pro-
duce of the mountains of Zacatecas, 510 Lehmann's remarks
on the means of procuring them, iii. 102. Where found, in
the valleys of Peru, 136. Mines of Huantajaha, 138. Of
Potól 139 Of Oruro, 140, Thefe metals lofe their value
in proportion as their quantity is multiplied, 287. The thirft
of, productive of the worst of all traffic, that of flaves, 408.
Their proportional values to each other, in various places and
at various times, ſtated, 410.
i
+4
Gold
IN
DE X,
Gold Goaf, account of the native Africans of, iv. 65. Method
of the natives in procuring gold, 70. It's extent, and the
European factories fettled there, 81.
Gombroon defcribed, and a trade eftablished there by the English,
i. 375.
Goree, the inland of, defcribed, iv. 78.
Gofnold, his expedition to North America, and difcovery of New
England, v. 340.
·
Gottenburgh made the feat of the Swedish Eaft India Company,
11. 232.
Government, general reflections on the complicated nature of,
i. 196. Civil and religious, the diftinction between traced,
iii. 216. Parallel between one founded on injuftice, and one
founded on virtue, vi. 1. Neither of thefe fpecies of govern-
ment to be found, 3. Political compared with that of a pri-
vate family, 128. War always furnishes a pretence for ufurpa-
tions, 150. American ideas of, 161. 188. The various revo-
lutions of, traced, 264. Military and defpotic, reciprocally
tend to each other, 271. Analyſis of the government of Great
Britain, 298. Pernicious confequences of authority in, 351.
The complexion of, determines the character of thofe who live
under it, 353. Policy and legislation diftinguished, 354 Va-
ries according to the character of the prince, 367. A fecret
confpiracy carried on by all monarchies against free ftates, 369.
Dialogue between the Author and a minifter of ſtate, on the
arcana of government, 494
·
Gourgues, Dominic de, revenges the treatment of his countrymen
on the Spaniards at Florida, v, 142.
Gramont, à Buccaneer, his hiftory, iii. 513. Surprizes Cam-
peachy, 514.
Granada, account of the Moorish kingdom of, in Spain, ii. 408.
Is reduced, ibid. Terms of capitulation granted to them,
iii. 259. Cruel perfecution of the Moors by Philip II. ibid. Ex-
pulfion of, and the confequences of this infatuated meaſure, 260.
, New, in South America, it's extent and climate, iii. 83.
Account of the natives, 84. They are reduced by Spanish ad-
venturers, ibid. Exaggerated accounts of the first riches of this
country, 85. Furnishes emeralds, ibid. And gold, 86. Is
governed under the viceroyalty of Peru, 87. The ferocity of
the natives foftened by the miffionaries, 88. Mines more at-
tended to there than agriculture, ibid. Indications of the
abundance of it's mineral riches, 89. Defcription of it's capi
tal city, ibid.
Great Britain. See England.
Greece, the natural circumstances of, peculiarly favourable to com-
merce, 6 The antient inftitutions of, fuperior to thofe of
16
modern times, 8 View of the Greek empire when attacked by
the Arabs, 14 Subverton of, 101. General review of the
hiftery
1. N D E X.
history of, with a character of the natives of, vi. 266. A re-
view of the antient commerce of the Grecian ſtates, 404 Why
fainous for the fine arts, 521. It's former and prefent flate
contraſted, 527.
Greeks, antient, their genius for the marvellous exemplified,
iii. 355. Inquiry into their fabulous accounts of the Amazons,
Grenada, one of the Caribbee Islands, defcribed, v. 82. Is firſt
fettled by the French. ibid. Extraordinary tribunal formed to
condemn a rapacious French governor, 84. Is cultivated from
Martinico, ibid. Is ceded to England, 86. Errors of the new
proprietors, ibid. It's prefent exports to England, 88.
Grenadines, general account of thefe islands, v. 89.
Guadalupe, illand of, taken from the French by the English,
iii. 552. Defcription of, iv. 397. Diftinction between Guada-
lupe and Grand Terre, ibid. It's firft fettlement by the French,
and the depredations they fuffered from the native Caribs, 398.
Other difadvantages the colonists laboured under, 399. It's
prefent profperity owing to it's conqueft by the English, 401.
Various fyftems fince adopted by France in the government of
this ifland, 402. Ilands dependent on it, 405. Prefent ftate
of all thefe iflands, 407. Exports of Guadalupe, 409. De-
fcription of the harbour of Pitre Point, 410 Improvements to
be expected in this illand, 411. Examination of it's defence
against invafion, 412.
Guam, the principal of the Marianne iflands, defcribed, ii. 530.
539:
Agriculture introduced into this island by M. Tobias a late go-
vernor, 531.
Guanaco, a wild fpecies of animal in Peru, deſcribed, iii. 125.
Their fleece, 127
Guanca Velica, account of the quickfilver mines there, iii. 143.
Unwholefameness of the air, 144.
Guatimala, account of the provinces over which the audience of,
extends its jurifdiction. . $45. Account of the province and
city of, 546. This city the channel of communication with
Peru, 547. Inftructions for the invaders of this city, 548. Is,
however, now deftroyed by an earthquake, ibid. A new city
planned, 550.
Guatimofen, a fucceffor of Montezuma, defends the city of Mexico,
against Cortez, ii. 454. His cruel treatment and death, 455-
Guayaquil, the town of, in Peru, defcribed, 111, 115 Peculiar
kind of a purple dye found on the coaft, 116. Trade of this
town, 117. Inconveniences the inhabitants are fubject to,
ibid.
Guiana, boundaries of, i. 258, Remarks on the foil of, ibid.
Account of the growth of mangroves, 259 Extenfive mo-
raffes, 260. Dutch fettlement at Surinam, 261, Berbice, 274.
Effequibo, 275 Demerary, ibid. Caufe of the bad ftafe of
the Dutch fettlements in this country pointed out, 276. Difad-
vantages
1NDE X.
+
:
vantages of the climate, 277 Trade of the Engliſh to that
country, 283. Manners and cuftoms of the natives, 328.
Traditionary reports refpecting the territory called El Dorado,
329. Sir Walter Raleigh's expedition to this country, ibid. At-
tempts of the French to fettle it, 330. Il fuccefs of, 334. Ar-
guments urged in favour of renewing their attempts 335-
Errors in the plan adopted for this purpoſe, 338. Destruction of
a large colony brought over at the commencement of the rainy
feafon, 341. The country upbraided on account of this difaf-
ter, 342. Account of the coaft belonging to France; 343. Cli-
mate 345. Soil, ibid. Successful cultivation of M. Mallouet,
346. Proper mea fures for fettling and improving this diſtrict,
ibid. Character of the interior natiyes, 348. Means propofed
for civilizing them, 349. The boundaries ought previouſly to
be fettled, 353 Prefent ftate of French Guiana, 354-
Guinea, account of the firft expeditions of the Portugueze to the
coaft of, i. 36. Inquiry into the caufe of the black colour of
the natives of iv 42. Only two feafons in that country, 50.
The air there corrupted by moraffes, 51. Soil of the different
districts, ibid. The western coafts of, fecure, and the fea calm,
53.
Winds and currents, ibid. The natives there deftitute of
hiftory, 54. Manner of eleging their chiefs, in the petty
fates, 5 Manner of fending embaflies from one ſtate to
another, 56. Caufes of their wars, and manner of carrying
them on, 57. Power of their princes, ibid. Their religion,
58. Manners and cuftoms, 60. Low ftate of arts among
the Negroes, 61. Treatment of their wonien, 62. Hiftori-
cal account of the flave trade, 71. Story of an English furgeon
left there, 106
10.
Guinea, New, fpices found growing there by captain Forrest,
i. 332
Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, diffufes a martial fpirita
his. fubjects, ii. 228.
2
܂܂
Guftavus Vefa, ftate of Sweden at his acceffion to the crown,
226. His ill policy in fhutting his ports against the Lubeck
fhips, 227.
Guzarat, the peninfula of, defcribed, ii, 27. A colony of Per-
fans fettle there, 28. Flourishes in art and commerce, 29,
Is reduced by Sultan Akbar, 30. Principal manufactures of
the province, 44
H.
Halifax, in Nova Scotia, fettled by difbanded English foldiers,
V. 424240
Hambroeck, the Dutch minifter at Formofa, his heroic conduct
when that island was befieged by Coxinga the Chineſe pirate,
by 2 2 2 9 A
Hanfe Towns, the firft eftablishment of, in 17.aglene usta
Happiness,
}
INDEX.
Happiness, whether more to be expected in favage or civilized fo-
ciety, v. 359.
-Harams, Eattern, general account of the interior œconomy of,
œconomy
ii. 37.
Haflings, Mr. governor general of Bengal, how he acquired poffef
fion of the Indian code of laws, i. 48.
Hats, and Caps, account of thoſe parties in Sweden, ii. 248.
Hatuey, a cacique of Hifpaniola, his unfortunate hiftory,
2
iv: 215%
Havannah, attacked by the English, iii. 562. Review of the
errors, both of the befiegers and the beheged, 563. Capitu-.
lates, 566. Motives of it's first fettlement, iv. 217, Improve-
ments of this town, 231. The harbour, 232. The ftrength
of it's fortifications examined, ibid.
·
Helena, St. it's fize, fituation, and inhabitants, deſcribed, i. 493.
The climate unfavourable to vegetation. 494. The town, gar-
rifon, and trade of, 495.
Henry, of Burgundy, carries a number of French knights to affift
the Portugueze against the Moors, j. 130.
Henry, Prince, ſon of John, king of Portugal, cultivates the art of
navigation, i. 30.
Henry VII of England, review of his plan of government,
va 4.200
Henry VIII. of England, how enabled to exclude the power of
Pope over his fubjects, and feize it himſelf, v. 346.
Hierachy of the chriftian church, a hiftorical review of, vi. 333.
Highlanders, of Scotland, their character, manners, and cuſtoms,
vi. 64. How firſt induced to emigrate, 65. Extraordinary
ftory of one, 85.
Hifpaniola See Demingg.
Hiftory, a fummary view of the principal abjects of, v, 128.
Holidays, the pernicious tendency of, vi. 443.
Honefly, profeffional, feldom found among mankind, vi. 415.
Holland, rife of the republic of, i. 204. The Counts of, become
independent of the Emperor of Germany, 208. Is fubjected to
the houfe of Burgundy, and afterward to that of Auftria, ibid.
The feven provinces of, fettled by refugees from Flanders, 210.
The republic becomes powerful by wife laws and commerce,
211. Establishment of the Eaft India Company, 215. Im-
portance of this Company to the republic, 342. Analyſis of the
government of the United Provinces of, vi. 309. The Stadt-
holderſhip made hereditary, 31. Whether this office may not
become the inftrument of oppreffion, ibid. On what fecu-
rity the liberties of the Dutch depend, 312. Are liable to fall
under the yoke of monarchy, 314. Circumstances that favoured
the growth of their maritime ftrength, 391. Rife and progrefs
of their commerce, 406. Advantages derived from the fituation
of the United Provinces. 407. Other co-operating caufes of
their profperity, 408: See Dutta And Sa
Honduras,
NDE X.
}
Honduras, fettlements formed by the English between the cape of,
and Lake Nicaragua, ii. 551. Their exports from thence,
552. The gulph of, fettled by pirates for the purpoſe of deal-
ing in logwood, 557. The liberty of cutting logwood there
fecured to the English, 558..
Horfes, peculiar excellence of thofe bred in Arabia, i. 397
Hofpitals, and the management of them, the political tendency of
confidered, iv. 219.
Hofpitality, the antiquity of, iii. 324. Is generally abufed, 325.
Has decreafed in proportion as the intercourfe of nations in-
creaſed, 326.
Hottentots, at the Cape of Good Hope, their manners and cuftoms
defcribed, i. 272, Their women, 273. Reflections on their
national habits, 274. Striking inftance of their attachment to
their national babits, 286.
Houtman, Cornelius, engages the Dutch in an attempt to eftablish
a trade with the East Indies, i. 213. Commands the first ships
fent out, ibid.
Huafcar, the brother of Atabalipa, inca of Peru, difputes the em-
pire with him, iii. 14. Makes large offers to Pizarro to place
him on the throne, 16.
Hudſon's Bay, and it's climate, defcribed, v. 367. The fur of
animals there changed to white by the winter, 368. Peculiari-
ties of the fcattered natives, 369. How this bay was diſcovered,
and obtained it's name, 373. Settlement of, by the English,
374. Fur trade between the English and the Indians, ibid.
Capital and profits of the English Hudfon's Bay Company, 375.
Attempts to find a North Weft paffage to the Eaft Indies through
this bay, with an examination of the arguments in favour of
fuch a paffage, 376. This paffage fhould he fought for toward
Welcome Bay. 378. The company unwilling to have fuch a
paffage difcovered, 380.
Hudson's River, in the province of New York, the navigationof
defcribed, v. 461.
Hugley, a Dutch fettlement in Bengal, defcribed, i. 488.
Humming Bird, of North America defcribed, vi. 99.
Hurricanes in the Weft Indies defcribed, with an inquiry into the
caufes of them, iii. 472.
Hyder Ali Khan, engages in a war with the English Eaft India
Company, i. 467.
Hypothefis, the time spent in forming of, fufpends our refearches
after truth, iv. 48.
AS
?
$
Jalap, defeription and properties of that root, ii. 489. It's me-
dical application, 490.
Jamaica, the island of, taken from the Spaniards by the English
commanders Penn and Venables, iii. 492. The Spaniards retire
to
INDE X.
to Cuba, 493. Defcription of the ifland, v. 42. The climate
unwholfome, 43. Tranfactions between Columbus and the
original natives, ibid. The natives exterminated by the Spani-
ards, 44. Character of the English conquerors of this ifland,
45. Character of governor Dudley, 46. Review of political
regulations in force there, 47. How Jews are made honeſt
there, 48. Partial laws of inheritance, ibid. Nature and
manner of the illicit trade carried on with the Spaniards, 5t
The ports of the island made free, 53. Productions cultivated
there, 54. Introduction of the fugar cane, 56. Preſent ſtate
of population and cultivation, 58 Taxes, 59. Exports to
England, 61. Defcription of the harbours round the coaft,
62. Destruction of Port Royal, 64. Rife of Kingston, 65.
Ineffectual meaſures taken to establish Kington as the metro-
polis of the iſland, 66. The planters haraffed by bands of fu-
gitive Negroes, 67. Whom the inhabitants are unable to re-
duce, 69. A treaty made with the fugitive flaves by governor
Trelawney, 70. Severe treatment of the Negro flaves there, 73.
Advantages and difadvantages of the fituation of this ifland, 74.1
James I. king of England, his character, i. 367. Difregards the
infults offered to the English nation in the Ealt, 371. How in-
duced to prefer epifcopal church government to the Prefbyterian
difcipline, v. 347-
James II king of England, his character, and the conſequences of
his being depofed, i. 383.
Janizaries, thofe troops the mafters of the Turkish empire, i. 28.
VI. 271.
Japan, the antiquity and form of government of that einpire, i.
177. The religion of the country formed from it's natural cir-
cumftances, 178. Comparifon between the education of chil-
dren there, and in China, 180. The Portugueze favourably
received there, 181. Produce of the country, ibid. A revo-
lution in the government of, 224. Progrefs of the Chriftian reli-
gion there, 225. The Chriftians furiously perfecuted by the
new emperor, 226. The Portugueze expelled, and the Dutch
tolerated, 227. Articles of their trade with this country, thiď.
Remarks on the national character of the Japaneſe, and the policy
of their government, 229. Why they refufed to receive the
Englith, 379.
Java, first attempts of the Dutch to trade with that iſland. i. 214.
A factory eftablifhed there by Admiral Warwick, 216. The
manners of the inhabitants defcribed, 288. How the English
came to be fupplanted there by the Dutch, 289. A view of
the policy obferved by the Dutch in ftrengthening their estab
liſhment in the iſland, 290. State of their trade with Bantam,
293: With Cheribon, ibid. And with Mataram, 294. The
people defrauded by the Dutch in their mercantile dealings, 297.
Defcription of Batavia, 298. Odd bridal custom in that illand,
368.
Fealousies,
IA N D E X.
Jealousies, national, the common effects of, v. 426.
Jerfey, New fee New Ferfey.tra
+
*
Jefuits, the principles on which they conducted their miffion to
Paraguay, ii. 203. Confined themſelves to the arts of perfua-
fion, 204. Their diviſion of lands, 205. Eſtabliſh a ſyſtem of
regularity that prevented crimes, ibid. Their government
theocratical, ibid. Their religious rites rendered attracting, 207.
Are calumniated, 208. Caufe of their falfe accufations, 214.
Conduct the trade of the natives, ibid Reflections on their
fcheme of government, 218. The miffion of Paraguay taken
out of their hands, 220. Civilize the natives of Brazil, 330.
The great refpect they gained there, ibid. The refult of their
humane labours compared with that of the Spanish and Portu-
gueze forces, 331. Inftance of the confidence repofed in them,
332 Extraordinary fermon of Anthony Vieira, on the fuccefs,
of the Dutch against Brazil, 340. Their mihon up the river
Amazons, 360, Inquiry into the motives of their miffionary
labours, 361 Declaration of an old miffionary, 362) Meg
Fejus Chrift, a review of his life and mithon, vi, 331.de in
Jews, how they came to be ftigmatized for exorbitant ufury, i.
6 Cruelly oppreffed in France, ii. 74. In Portugal, hiftorical
account of, in. 316. Why peculiarly expofed to the perfecu-
tion of the inquifition, ibid. Were banifhed to Brazil, 318.
*Driven out of Portugal to the great injury of their trade, 435.
How tied to honeft dealing in Jamaica, v. 48. Benevolent
adwithes of the author for this race of men, 60. Their character
J
conftantly fupported under all viciffitudes, vi. 66. ***
Immortality of the foul, the doctrine of, how fuggefted, vi. 251.
Impreffing of ſeamen, the English cuilom of, condemned, vi. 401.
Incas of Peru, conjecture as to their origin, iii. 20. Their method
- of extending their empire, 203.
Incontinence derned, vi. 561,"
•
Indigo tree deſcribed, ii. 492. It's proper foil and culture, ibid.
The fpecies of, 494. Method of preparation, 495. It's uſes,
496. The places where it is chiefly cultivated, ibid. Succefs-
fol cultivation of, in South Carolina, vi. 69.
Indufry, commercial, the general maxims of European policy al-
tered by, vi. 412. It's happy operations, 413.
Infantry, the moft formidable in war, vi. 373. 377.
Inheritance, how ſecured at Conftantinople, iii. 152. Remarks
tuon the right of primogeniture, iv. 499. A divifion of inherit-
anée, how far injurious to the American iflands, 501-The
fight of primogeniture defended, in the inftance of Canada, v.
The entails of eftates unfavourable to population, vị.
471.
India, or Indoſtan, geographical defcription of that country, i,
4. Peculiarity of the feafons there, ibid. Why, probably the
tirit inhabited part of the earth, 44. Religion, government,
and manners of the natives, 45. The different cafts or claffes
of
IN D E EX
X.
!
*
of the people, 69. Conjectures as to the foundation of thefe
diftinations, 74. Aufterities practifed by the Jogueys, or Indian
vanonks, 76 Legal reftriétions as to food, So. The principle
on which living wives burn themſelves with their dead huſbands
The courage of the natives founded rather
on character, 83. Low fate of arts and
fource of the errors in their political fyltem,
State of the country at the first arrival of
Hiftorical account of the European com~
inquired into, 81.
on prejudice than
fciences, 84. The
inquired into, 87.
the Portugueze, 89.
merce with, 96.
3
}
Was an inexhaustible fund of fictions and wonder to the antient
Greeks, ii. 114. Caufes of it's early population and civiliza-
tion, ibid. Became an eaſy conqueft to Alexander, 115.a Is
united under the dominion of Sandrocotus, ibid. General view
of the revolutions it underwent until ſubjected to the Patans,
sibid. Is conquered by Tamerlane, 116, Is reduced under the
dominion of Babar, 117. The empire of the Mogul Tartars
eſtabliſhed, ibid. The power of the conquerors retrained by
their inferiority in numbers to the natives, 120. Landed pro-
perty in, how held and parcelled out, 121, Taxes, 122, Se-
curity of perfonal property, ibid. Oftentation of the Mogul
emperor in his public appearances, 124 Is eafily conquered
by Kouli Khan, 127. Calamities produced by this difafter,
ibid. European merchants reduced to attempt territorial power
for their own fecurity, 128. This fcheme begun by Dupleix,
the French governor of Pondicherry, ibid. Account of the
neighbouring enemies to the Mogul government, 133. Whe-
ther the commercial intercourfe with, be advantageous
Europe, inquired into, 358. The limits between neceffaries
and luxuries not eafy to be defined, 360. The waſte of lives
in voyages confidered, 361. Has introduced new articles of in-
dultry, 362. Objection that ludia abforbs the treafures of the
univerſe, anſwered, 364. The neceflity of keeping up a cir-
culation of gold and filver, pointed out, 368. General review
of the conduct and policy of thofe European nations who have
opened an intercourfe with thefe regions, 369. Remarks on
the weak oppofition the natives have made to their European
invaders, 371. Political circumftances of the natives, 372.
Climate, ibid. Religion, 373, Love, ibid. Their manner of car-
rying on war, 374. Obitacles to the total reduction of the coun-
try by Europeans, 377. Divided ftate of the feveral princes of,
when the Europeans first arrived, 378. The fyftem of the Eu-
ropeans regulated by their ideas of the Maraitas, 380. The
more extenfive their poffeffions there, the greater the expence
of retaining them, 381. Their military eltabliſhments fill the
natives with apprehenfions, ibid. European gartilons great
drains to the mother countries, ibid. Their agents there will
promote speedy revolutions to acquire rapid fortunes, 1882 Re-
fult of all theſe events, ibid. The natural tendency of more pa
cific views, 383. Difcuffion of the question whether the India
ོ་
1
trade
NDEX
:
trade ought to be conducted by exclufive companies or laid open,
385. The nature of this trade ftated, 387. Why it must be
carried on by affociations, 388. Whofe intereft would be to
unite in one company, 391. The origin of their exclufive pri-
vileges, 395. The political concerns of a company ſhould be
vefted in the ftate, 396.
"
Indian Ocean, M. Buache's account of, i. 40.
Indians of South America, review of the antient and prefent ftate
of, ii. 229 Great deftruction of, in the mines, 270.0
Indies, how diftinguished into Eaft and Weft, iii. 314. 19735m
Inkle and Yarico, foundation of the ftory of, v. 21.
Inoculation for the finall-pox, legally prohibited in New England,
v. 439.
Inquifition, it's effect upon the character of the Spaniards, iii. 263.
Ought to be abolished. 279. Account of that in Portugal, 316.
Why peculiarly applied to the perfecution of the Jews, ibid. A
character of, vi. 341.
Intereft of money borrowed, moral diftinctions of the Eaft Indians
of Coromandel as to the rates of, i. 459. Exorbitant, often
ruinous both to the borrower and the lender, v. 232.
Invafion, civilized nations feldom at a lofs for pleas to juſtify it
when convenient, 1. 255.
Joanna, one of the Comora iſlands, beautiful verdure of, i. 496. Is
frequented by the English as a port for refreshment, 497.
Fodda, in the gulph of Arabia, account of the trade carried on at
that port, i. 408.
Jogueys, Indian Monks, an account of, i. 76.
:
John, king of England, forced by a general confederacy of his
Barons to grant the great charter of English liberties, vi. 296.
John's, St. a Weft India ifland, fubject to Denmark, it's pretent
ftate of cultivation, iv. 301. Number of inhabitants, ibid.
John, St. in the Gulph of St. Lawrence, deſcribed. v. 234.” Is
fettled by the French, ibid. The inhabitants excluded from the
cod fishery, 235. It's ftate under British government, 390.
Iron, a comparison of the qualities of that produced in different
parts of the world, v. 310.
Iroquois, origin of the war between them and the Algonquins, V.
182. Extent of their country, 183, Are affitted by the Dutch,
Ash184.70 Are deſtroyed, 185.
Iflands, the government and manners of the inhabitants of, formed
later than thoſe of continental nations, i. 355. ii. 416. An
inquiry into their formation, i. 16. ii. 456. Subterranean evi-
dences of the revolutions of land and fea, 457.
e of France, to the caft of Madagafcar, fettled by the French,ii,107.
Defeription of the island and remarks on it's importance to the
· French; 177. Their affairs there ill conducted, 178 Isnow
under the regulation of government, and it's flourishing ftate in
confequence, 179. Spices introduced there from the Molucca
iflands by M. Poivre, 180. May be made the bulwark of all
the Indian poffeffions of the French, 182. It's defence neglec-
}
ed,
INDEX,
1
ed, ibid. Hints as to the proper mode of fortifying it,
184. This ifland and Pondicherry capable of affording each
of other mutual fecurity, 187.
Italy, trade early cultivated in the republics of, i. 18.
Surpaffed
od all other ſtates of Europe in the fifteenth century, 21.
Juan Fernandez, defcription of that ifland, ii. 281. Motives that
induced the Spaniards to fettle a colony there, 282.
Jucutan, the peninfula of, and it's inhabitants defcribed, ii. 554.
Fufieu, M. Jofeph de, the botanitt, his labours for the improve-
inent of natural knowledge and manufactures, iii. 95.
Ki
Karical, in the kingdom of Tanjour, revolutions of, ii. 170.
Deſcription of the country and inhabitants, with the trade car-
ried on there by the French, ibid.
Kingston, in Jamaica, rife of that town, v. 65. Ineffectual mea-
fures taken to render that town the metropolis of the iſland, 66.
Kouli Khan drives the Afghans out of Perfia, i. 414. Scheme forni-
fed by him for the extenfion of this empire, 423. Makes an
eafy conqueft of the Indoftan empire, ii. 126. Amazing wealth
feized by him in his Indian expedition, 367..
L.
Labour, fevere, not favourable to long life, v. 151.
Ladrone iflands. See Marianne iſlands.
·
Lally, General, his character, ii.140. His abfurd conduct at the fiege
of Pondicherry, 141. Is condemned to death, ibid. Reflecti
oas on his profecution, 142.
Lama, a Peruvian animal, defcribed, i. 123. It's qualities as a
beaſt of burden, 124. Different fpecies of, 125. Their flesh,
fkin, and fleece, 127.
+
Lama, Great, of Tartary, fabulous notions of his pretended immor-
tality, ii. 283. Religion of, 284.
Lancaster, captain, commands the firft fleet fent out by the English
Eaft India Company, i. 365.
Land, an inquiry whether its vegetative powers can be exhauſted
by cultivation, v. 103.
Languages, univerfality of the Latin, throughout the antient Roman
empire, vin$32. Character of the modern Italian, French,
and English, 533. The Spanish and German, 534. The re-
finement of languages keeps pace with that of all other arts,
ibid.
La Salle, engages the court of France to patronize his attempts at
difcovery down the river Miffiffippi, v. 237. Difcovers the
wc mouth of the river, 238. Undertakes to fail to the mouth of the
Milliſippi by fea, and miffes it, ibid. His death, 240p
Lauragais,
INDE :
X.
Lauragais, count, his fuccefsful attempt to manufacture porcelain,
ii. 335-
Lawrence, St. river in Canada, might fupport a cod fishery, v.
314 The navigation of that river defcribed, 315. 389.
Law, account of his fcheme for reforming the finances of France,
87. Confufion upon his diſappearing, 93. Account of his
famous Miffiffippi fcheme, v. 242, Deludes the French by
falfe reports of rich mines in Louiſiana, 245.
Laws made in oppofition to nature will not be obferved, i. 401.
vi. 141. The origin of, 263. Of nature and of politics, the
contraft between, ibid. Advantages refulting from the divifion
of legiſlative power in the British government, 301.
Leafes for years or lives, of land, origin of,, iv. 132.
Legiſlation, the true principles it ought to be founded on, vi. 131.
The principles of, 348. Diftinguithed from policy, 354.
Legiflator, contraft between the fuccefs of his labours on a new
ftate, and on an antient corrupt ftate, iv. 15.
Lehmann, his theory of the formation of mountains, iii. 101.
Leibnitz, his character, vi. 543-
Lemaire, Ifaac, difcovers the ftrait to which his name is given,
1. 292.
Leon, Ponce de, attempts the conqueft of Porto Rico, iv. 196.
Reduces the inhabitants to flavery, 201. Difcovers Florida,
V. 39.
V: :
Lepanto the battle of, the moft celebrated naval engagement in
modern times, vi. 389.
Leprosy, a diforder peculiarly prevalent at Carthagena in America,
Jes 54.
Le Rat, a Huron chief, his artifice to continue the war between
the French and the Iroquois, v. 193.
Lewis XI. was properly the first monarch of France, v. 316.
Lervis XIV. of France, remarks on his political adminiftration, ii.
64 81 Inftance of his pecuniary diftreffes, 82 His ineffec-
tual attempts to eſtabliſh a maritime force, iii. 526. His cha-
racter compared with that of the emperor Charles V. of Ger-
many, vi. 359:
Lianes, the plant that furnishes the poifon in which the South
Americans dip their arrows, iv, 197. How the poifon is pre-
pared, and it's effects, 198.
The
Liberty, a comparative view of the tendency of the Romiſh and
Mohammedan religion to deprefs it, i. 11.
111. Three kinds of,
diftinguiſhed, iv. 134. Compared with flavery, ibid.
right affumed by man over man inquired into, ibid.
Lima,- when built, and its fituation and foil defcribed, iii. 146.
Is deftroyed by an earthquake, 147 It's fpeedy and judicious
reforatiun, 149. Construction of the new houfes, ibid. The
Areets regular, and well fupplied with water, 150. Superſtition
of the inhabitants, ibid. Their manners, 152. Character and
Manners of the woinen, 153.-
Literature,
IN DE X
Literature, character of the principal Italian writers, at the revival
of, vi. 529. Perfecution deftructive to knowledge, 537. Im-
portance of, to mankind, 547-
Loanda, St. Paul de, capital of the Portugueſe fettlements in
Africa, account of, iv. 91.
Lange, on the coafts of Africa, account of the trade carried on
there, iv. 86.
Leans, public, the ruinous tendency of, vi. 518,
Locke, Mr. remarks on his conftitutions for the government of Ca-
rolina, vi. 56. His character, 544.
Logwood, defcription of the tree which produces it, ii. 555. Hif-
tory of the trade in, 556. The liberty of cutting it in the gulph
of Honduras, fecured to the Englith, 558.
Lolonois, a buccaneer, his hiftory, iii. 502.
Lombards, the firft who formed trading communities in Europe, i.
17. Their character and conduct, as the financier of Europe,
during the infancy of commerce, ii. 78.
London, a character of that metropolis and of it's inhabitants, v.
127.
Long Island, on the coaft of New York, defcribed, v. 461.
Lonk, Henry, the Dutch Admiral, reduces the province of Fernam-
buca in Brazil, iii. 339.
Love, the different impulfes of that paffion in the different ftages
of human fociety, iii. 76.
Louis, St. the port of at Maragnan in Brazil, defcribed, iii.
387.
Louisbourg, on the iſland of Cape Breton, the harbour, town, and
fortifications defcribed, v. 227. Captures of, by the Engliſh,
317-319.
Louisiana, difcovery of that country, and an account of the first
attempts of the French to fettle, in it, v. 236. An exclufive
grant of the trade of, obtained by Crofat, 242. Which is trans-
ferred to the famous Law, and his company, ibid. The credit
of the country injured by the failure of Law's fchemes, 247-
Deſcription of Louifiana, 249. It's healthful climate and fertility,
250. The river Miffiffippi and it's navigation, 251. Conduct of
the English and Spanish in the colonies adjoining, 254. Account of
the native Indians, 255. Confpiracy of the Natchez to exterminate
the French, and it's difcovery, 258. War with the Chickefaws.
260. Defcription of New Orleans, 262. Method of fecuring and,
cultivating Lower Louiſiana, 264. Upper Louiſiana ruined by bad
government, 265. Account of the Illinois country, 266. Exports
of, 268. The Proteltants driven from France, refufed admiffion
in Louiſiana, 276. Inconfiderate mode of granting lands there,
277. The culture of tobacco neglected after the difgrace of Law,
278. Confequences that would have followed the growth of to-
bacco, ibid. Is ceded to the Spaniards, 281. Examination into
the right of France to make this transfer, ibid. The people
forbid by the court of Spain to continue their ufual trading con-
nexions, 285. Poffeffion taken by Spain, 288,
S s
VOL, VI.
Louvois,
INDE X.
Louvois, the French Minifter, his character, v. 272.
Low Countries, comparifon between the prefent and former cir-
cumftances of, ii. 219. Hiftory of the Oftend Eaft India Com-
pany, 220.
Lubec enjoys all the trade of Sweden till excluded by Guftavus
Vafa, ii. 227.
See Bahama Islands.
Lucaya Ilands.
Lucia, St. The English fettlement there deftroyed by the Caribs,
iv. 357. A fettlement attempted there by the French, 359. Is
finally fecured to them, 360. Review of the meaſures taken by
the French to cultivate this ifland, ibid. Account of the foil and
climate, 363. Prefent produce and trade, 364. Cauſes that have
retarded it's improvement, 366. Defcription of Carenage har-
bour, 368. It's advantages and difadvantages ftated, ibid.
Luconia. See Manilla.
Lunenbourg, a colony of Germans, formed in Nova Scotia, v.
427.
Luques, Fernando de, a prieft, affociates with Pizarro and Alma-
gro, in their ſcheme upon Peru, iii. 10.
Luxury, the advantages and difadvantages of, philofophically
confidered, ii. 358. The limits of meer neceffaries difficult to
afcertain, 360.
M.
Macao, an iſland in the harbour of Canton, granted to the Portu-
guefe, i. 176. The prefent ftate of trade there, 201.
352
?
ii.
Rude
Mace, the production of that fpice defcribed, i. 235.
Madagascar, ill conducted attempt of the French to fettle on that
inland, ii. 11. It's fituation and dimenfions, 14. The coafts
of, why unwholfome, ibid. Productions of the interior parts,
15. The inhabitants, 16. The Quimoffe, ibid.
ftate of fociety among the natives, 18. Peculiarity of their
manners and cuftoms, 19. Arrival of French fhips to form
fettlements, 21. Proper fyftem of civilization for the iſland,
22. Convenient fituation for colonies, 23. No harbour
round the ifland, 24. Bay of Tamatave capable of improve-
ment, ibid. Mifconduct and ruin of the French adventurers,
25. Are exhorted to future trials, more maturely digefted,
26. Unfuccefsful attempt of Martin to eſtabliſh a French co-
lony there, 67.
,
Madeira, the ifland of, difcovered by the Portugueſe, under the
aufpices of their prince Henry, i, 30. Is peopled and cultivated,
33. Exhibits evidences of an ancient volcano, 34. Account
of the vintages there, 35. Political ftate of the colony, 36.
Madrass, reafons offered to account for the difadvantageous fitua-
tion of that town, i. 466. It's inhabitants and territory,
ibid.
Magellan,
INDE X.
Magellan, Streight of, difcovered, and an account of the neigh-
bouring inhabitants, iii. 161. Extent and fituation of the
Streight, 162. A colony attempted there by the Spaniards,
ibid. This ftreight difufed by navigators learning to double
Cape Horn, 163. But is preferable at proper feafons, 184.
Maguey, a Mexican plant deſcribed, and the uſes to which it is ap
plicable, ii. 481.
Mabe, how the French acquired an excluſive right to the pepper
trade in that district, ii. 164. Defcription of the fettlement
there, ibid. Eftimate of the trade that might be carried on
there, 165.
Mohammed, his religion the moſt unfavourable of any to the liberties
of mankind, i. 111.
Majesty of the people, a phraſe firſt uſed by the Engliſh, and fuffi-
cient to confecrate their language, vi. 533.
Maize, defcription of that plant and it's grain, vi. 102. Indian
method of cultivating and preparing it for food, ibid. Is en-
couraged in the British colonies, 103.
Malabar, coaft of, general account of it's productions, i. 119.
The Portugueſe fettlers there fupplanted by the Dutch, 269.
Review of the trade carried-on by the Dutch there, 270. Ex-
tent of the country known under that name, 425. Account
of the kingdom of Travencor, 427. The English factory at
Anjengo, 429. The kingdom of Cochin, 433. The kingdom
of Calicut, ibid. The principal exports of Malabar, 436. Ac-
count of the Maratta nation, 442. Prefent ftate of the French
on that coaft, ii. 163.
Malacca defcription of the country, government, and inhabitants
of, i. 119. Was the moſt confiderable market in India at the firſt
arrival of the Portugueſe there, 121. The capital city of, re-
duced by Albuquerque, 122. Character of the Malays, 123.
How the Dutch eſtabliſhed themſelves in that country, 257.
The chief trade there now in the hands of the Engliſh, 258.
Maldivia iſlands and their inhabitants deſcribed, i. 425. The ex-
ports of, 426.
Mallouet, M, his fucceſsful attempts for the improvement of French
Guiana, iv. 346. 356.
Mammelucs, eftablish themſelves in Egypt during the crufades, i.
104. Conftitute the real force of Egypt, iv. 9.
Man, whether more happy in a favage ftate than in civilized focie-
ty, v. 359. Evidences of his being formed and deſtined for
affociation, vi. 262. Traced through the feveral revolutions of
fociety, 264. His character determined by the mode of govern-
ment he lives under, 353. Better for him to be enervated by
fedentary employments, than to endure the hardships of warfare,
412. His innate animofity to his fellow-creatures, 430 His
character injurioufly treated by detractors, 548. His ob-
ligations feparated from fociety inconceivable, 553. His duty
defined, 554. Lives under three codes, 556.
Manchines,
S $ 2
INDE X.
Manchineel, the tree, with the juice of which the Caribs poifon
their arrows, defcribed, iv. 198. Salt, a specific against this
poifon, 199.
Manco Capac, the founder of the Peruvian empire, his inſtitutions,
iii. 22.
Mandarin, the nature of, and qualifications for, this rank in China,
i, 147. All officers of ftate elected out of this order of men,
ibid.
Mangroves, how produced in Guiana, iv. 260.
Manicheifm, the origin of, vi. 251.
I
Manilla, the capital of the Philippine Islands, defcribed, ii. 265.
Government of, ibid. Account of the annual galleon that fail
from that port to Acapulco, 52100 y
Manioc, a plant introduced into the Caribbee Ifland's from Africa,
iv. 157. Defcription and cultivation of it, 158. It's prepa-
ration for food, 159.
Manners, the depravity of, completed by gallantry, vi. 563.
Manta fifb, dangerous to the pearl divers at Panama, and how
they defend themſelves again!t it, iii. 156.
Manufactures, the nature of thofe carried on in every country de-
termined by the climate, vi. 458. Other advantages necef-
fary to their fuccefs, 459. How affected by forms of govern-
ment, 460. Inquiry into the proper fituations for, 461.
Maragnan, in Brazil, hiftorical defcription of that government,
iii, 386.
Marattas, hiftory and character of that people, i. 442. ii. 135.
How expofed to difagreements with the English, i. 451. In what
light confidered by Europeans, ii. 380.
→
Margaretta, account of that ifland, iv. 194. Reaſons why the
Spaniards retain it, ibid. Character of the prefent inhabitants,
195. Method of curing beef there, ibid.
Marianne Iſlands defcribed, ii. 524 Account of the inhabitants,
and produce, ibid. The natives formerly unacquainted with fire,
525. The women there reported to have enjoyed a fuperiority
over the men, 526. The truth of this fact queftioned, as con-
trary to all other experience, 527. Peculiar conſtruction of
their canoes, 528. Were difcovered by Magellan, and till
lately neglected, 529. Defcription of Guam, 530.
Marigalante, an inland near Guadalupe, account of, iv. 405.
Marina, the Indian concubine of Cortez, her history, ii. 433.
Serves as his interpreter and adviſer, 434.
Marine Society, eſtabliſhment of, at London, iii. 549.
Marſeilles, account of the company there for managing the trade
with Algiers, iv. 27.
*
Murtha, St. in America, hiftory of that province, i. 8. The
inhabitants diftinguiſhed only by ignorance and fuperftition, 59.
Martin of Canada defcribed, v. 199.
Martin, St. iſland of, deſcribed, iv. 251. Is jointly fettled by the
Dutch and French, 252 Prefent ftate of the illand, and it's
produce, 253.
Martinico,
IN DE XT ག་
Martinico, ifland of, taken from the French by the Engliſh, iii. 553.
Deſcribed, iv. 371. Is firft fettled by Frenchmen from St. Chri-
ftopher's, ibid. Their conteft with the Caribs, 372. The Ca-
ribs exterminated, 373. Firft labours of the French inhabitants-
ibid. How coffee was introduced into the iſland, 374. It's na
tural advantages, 375. It's preſent profperity, 376 Review of
the commerce carried on there, ibid. Defcription of the harbour
of Port Royal, 379. Town of St. Peter's, 380. Nature of the
trade carried on there, 381. Amount and value of it's exports,
389. Inquiry whether the island is improveable, 390.- It's
ftrength against invafion, 393.
Maryland, is fettled by Lord Baltimore with English Catholics,
vi. 31. The country and climate deſcribed, 34.
Prefent
number of inhabitants, 35. Tobacco the principle article of
cultivation there, ibid. St. Mary, Annapolis, and Baltimore,
the only towns in the province, 40. Abounds with iron mines,
41. Manufactures lately introduced there, ibid. Export of to-
bacco, 53..
Mafcarenhas, an ifland to the caft of Madagaſcar, fettled by fone
French adventurers, ii. 106. The name changed to Bourbon,
107.
Mafcate, in the Perfian gulph, the trade of, transferred to Ormus
by Albuquerque, i. 421. The commerce of, revived by the
English, 422.
Maſſachuſet's Bay, the charter of that colony, how taken away and
altered, v. 443. Prefent number of inhabitants, 445. De-
fcription of the city of Bofton, 450. The harbour, 451.15
Mafulipatan, account of the trade carried on there by the Engliſh,
i. 463. By the French, ii. 169.
Mataram, on the iſland of Java, how the Dutch acquired a fupe-
riority over that kingdom, i. 294 A view of their trade there,
·
295.
Maurice, Prince is commiffioned by Holland to conquer Brazil,
iii. 339. Reduces the whole coaft, ibid. Is recalled, 348.
Mauritius, iſland of, fettled by the French, ii. 107.
Mecca, meaſures taken by Mahomet to improve the ancient regard
paid by the Arabs to that city, i. 411. Advantages derived from
the pilgrimages to it, ibid.
{
Melaffes, amount of the exportation of, from the French American
fettlements, iv. 514. The trade of, injudiciouſly facrificed to
that of brandy, 515.
..
Merchant, the character of, in no eftimation among the Romans,
i. 15. Character of, with his objects of attention, vi. 414.
Moral inftructions to merchants, 418.
Mercury, fee Quickfilver:
Meftees, the race of, in South America, how produced, iii. 189.
Their rank, 223.
Metals, natural hiftory of, ii. 506, Where generally produced,
and the indications of, 507. Great labour and danger of pro-
curing them, 508. How feparated from the ore, ibid.
Metempsychofes,
INDE X.
Metempsychofis, influence of that doctrine upon the civil and reli-
gious laws of Indoflan, i, 60. Mythological account of this
doctrine, 78. Probable origin of the notion, ibid.
.
Mexico, expedition of Cortez to, ii. 431. Supineneſs of the em-
peror Montezuma, on the arrival of the Spaniards, 434. Ge-
neral aſpect of the country, 441. Religion and fuperftition of
the Mexicans, 444. Death of the emperor, 447. Laws of the
empire, 450. The country reduced by the Spaniards, 452.
The capital city of Mexico defcribed, 453. Is taken by the
Spaniards, 455. Reaſons to fuppofe great exaggeration in the
Spanish accounts of Mexico and it's magnificence, 456. Re-
marks on the native government of, 458. State of agriculture
there, 461. Manners and cuftoms of the natives, 462. Their
houſes and furniture, ibid. Low ftate of arts and ſciences
among them, 463. Their origin inquired into, 465. Popu-
lation of the country, 466. Extent of the empire, 468. Re-
gulations made by the Spaniards, on fubjecting the country,
469. Hiftory of Mexico as a Spaniſh province, 470. Thirty-
eight victims burnt at an Auto de fé, on account of the lofs of a
fleet, 478. Reflections on this horrid act of expiation, ibid.
Diſcovery of, and commotions in New Mexico, 479. Other
diſturbances in theſe provinces, 481.. Prefent ftate and produce
of, 486. Various other exports of, 504. Produce of the
mines, 510. Manufactures, 511. Caufes why this province is
not more flourishing, pointed out, 512. Amazing diminution.
of the natives, 513. Defcription of the capital city, as re-
built by Cortez, 514. Opulence and luxury of the citizens,
515. The city relieved from the inconveniences and dangers of
floods, 519. Other improvements in contemplation, ibid. The
connections formed between this country and the Philippine
Iflands, 520. Account of the military force maintained there
by Spain, 562.
-
1
Mines, of Mexico, produce of, ii. 510. Of Peru, an account of,
iii. 130. Regulations made for working them, 245. Great
deftruction of lives in, 270. Annual amount of the gold and
filver fent to Spain from, 286. Attention ought to be paid to
fimplifying the operation of working the mines, 287. Gold
mines in Brazil, 406. How worked, 407. Produce of, 408.
Diamond mines, 415.
Minifters of State, how formed in general, vi. 366. Their ufual
conduct, 367. Dialogue between the author and a minifter,
494. Their duty, 508. Characters improper for fovereigns
to employ, 510.
Miquelon, number of French inhabitants on the two islands of,
V. 413.
Miracles, ancient, the complexion of, illuftrated by a recent occur-
rence, iii. 357.
Misfortunes, the fource of religion, vi. 250.
Miffiffippi,
IND E X;
Miſſiſſippi, river, difcovered by the French, v. 236. Is navi▾
gated by La Salle, 238. And by Yberville, 240. Account of
the famous Law's Scheme, 242. This river defcribed, 251. It's
navigation, 252. I'ts entrance, 253. 262.
Mobile, Fort, in Weft Florida, it's fituation and uſe, v, 261.
Mocha, in Arabia, account of the trade carried on at that port,
1. 404.
Moguls, manners and cuftoms of, ii. 36. The empire of, founded
in Indoftan by Babar, 117.
Molucca Iſlands deſcribed, i. 124. Their inhabitants and pro-
ductions, ibid. Are difcovered by the Chineſe, 128. Are vi-
fited by the Dutch, 214. The Portugueſe excluded by the
Dutch, 231. Eafy for any European ftate to deprive the
Dutch of them, 338.
Monaftic fociety, a review of, v. 207. Origin of, vi. 474.
Monks, reflections on their character and their authority in Spa-
niſh America, ii. 480.
Monopolies, unjust and pernicious, vi. 422.
Monfoons, dry and rainy, in India, account of, i. 42.
Montbar, a Buccaneer, his hiftory, iii. 500.
Monte Chrifto, in the ifland of St. Domingo, accounts of its trade,
iv. 213.
;
Montezuma, emperor of Mexico, his negligent behaviour on the
firft arrival of the Spaniards on his coafts, ii. 434. His cha
racter, 438. Temporizes with Cortez, 442. Is feized and
confined by Cortez, 443. His death, 447.
Montreal, the inland and town of, in Canada, defcribed, v. 293,
Montferrat, the iſland of, firft difcovered by Columbus, and fet-
tled by the Engliſh, v. 30. Preſent ſtate of population, and
it's productions, 31.
Moors, were the firft who failed over the Atlantic ocean, i. 29.
Morality, the difference of, in favage and in civilized fociety,
iii. 322. The bulwark of laws, vi. 548. It's principles uni-
verfal, 549. Is the bafis on which all fyftems of religion are
founded, 550. Was feparated from religion by Socrates, 55!
The two tribunals by which human actions are judged, ibid.
The obligations of man feparated from fociety, inconceivable,
553. It's principles uniform, but their application various,
according to local circumftances, 554.
Morgan, an English freebooter of Jamaica, takes Porto-Bello, iii.
504. Takes St. Catharine's, 505 Takes Panama, 506. Car-
ries away fpoil clandeftinely from his affociates to Jamaica, 507.
Mora Caftle, at Havannah, ftrength of it's fortifications, iv. 232.
Morocco, account of the government of that empire, and it's
force, iv, 31. Annual caravan to Upper Guinea, for gold, 32.
Foreign trade of, 36.
Mozambique made the ftaple of the Portugueſe trade with Africa,
i. 183:
Mountains, philofophical inquiry into the origin of, iii. 99. Leh-
mann's theory of, 101.
Mulattoes
IN D E X
Mulattoes in Spaniſh America, who, iii, 228.
Mufic, on what occafion introduced into Chriftian churches, i. 27.
Muſk, the natural hiftory of, and the arts by which it is adulte-
rated, i, 477..
Mufk-rat of Canada, defcribed, v. 198.
Mythology of the Bramins of India, i. 49. 77.
N.
i
Nabobs in Indoftan, the nature of their dignity and authority, ii.
121. Their independence to be dated from the conquefts of
Kouli Khan, 127.
Narvaez, fent by Velafquez to fuperfede Cortez in his Mexi-
can expedition, is defeated and taken prifoner by him, ii. 443-
Natchez, an Indian tribe in Louiſiana, their manners and cuftoms,
v. 255. Defcription of the country on which they are fettled,
256. Are, by ill treatment from the French, induced to form
a confpiracy to exterminate them, 258. The plot difcovered, ibid.
National diftinctions, the ufe of, in the rude ftages of human fo-
ciety, 1. 274.
National Spirit, how formed, iii. 310. Jealoufy, it's deftrue-
tive operations, iv. 242.
Nations, the philofophical ftudy of, interefting, ii. 225.
Nature, why none of the productions of, are perfect, vi. 522.
Navigation, the firft attempts of, in Europe, i. 13. Confined
nature of, before the invention of the compafs, 98. Hiftori-
cal review of the military application of, vi. 388.
Navigation Act, English, motives to the eſtabliſhing this law,
V. 17.
Navy, military, must have a trading one for it's bafis, ii. 307.
Remarks on that of France, with the means of improving it
iv. 535.
Neckar, Madame,account of the hofpital eſtabliſhed by her, iv. 225.
Negapatnam, on the coaft of Coromandel, account of the Dutch
factory there, i. 268.
Negroes, great importation of, into Spanish America, iii. 224. Re-
flections on the flave trade, 226. Inquiry into the cauſe of
their black colour, iv. 42. See Slave trade,
!
4
Nevis, firft fettlement of that ifland, and its defcription, v. 31.
Number of the inhabitants and their character, 32. It's dif-
afters and preſent ſtate, ibid.
New-England, it's firft diſcovery, v. 340. Is fettled by English
refugees, 429. The firft colonists ftrengthened by an acceffion
of Puritans, and the four provinces of, formed, 430. Form
of government eftablished, 431. Perfons perfecuted for religi-
ous opinions, 432. Ordinance publiſhed againſt wearing long
hair, 433 Perfecution of the Quakers, 434. Is thrown into
confufion by religious difputations, 436. Numbers of perfons
judicially put to death for witchcraft, 437. Reflections on
thefe epidemical diforders of the human mind, 438. Rage of
i
the
IN DE X
the inhabitants against the introduction of inoculation for the
fmall-pox, 439. Inoculation prohibited, 440. Boundaries and
extent of the colony, 441. Regulations under which fettlements
are extended, 442. Remarks on the climate, ibid. The four
provinces of, how connected in government, 443. Alterations in
the charter of Maffachuffet's Bay, 444. Prefent number of
inhabitants, 445. Nature of the foil, ibid. Manufactures,
446. Fisheries, 447. Articles of export, 449. Deſcription
of the city of Bofton, 450.
:
Newfoundland, a cod fishery firft carried on there by the French,
v. 145. It's fituation and defcription, 392. It's diſcovery,
and hiſtory of Engliſh and French tranfactions there, 393. Har-
bour of St. John's, 394. French town formed on the bay of
Placentia, 395. A parallel between this and other American
fettlements, 396. The whole ifland fecured to the English by
the peace of Utrecht, 397. Defcription of the cod fish, ibid.
Account of the great bank on which the cod are found, 398.
The cod fishery there, 399. Difputes between the English and
the French about the limits of the fifhery of the latter, 409.
Rife of the Engliſh, and decay of the French fisheries, 415.
New Jerſey, is first fettled by Swedes, then conquered by the
Dutch, and laftly furrendered to the English, v. 464. The
two provinces of, united under one government, 465. Prefent
number of inhabitants, 466. Remarks on the hiftorical obfcu-
rity of this colony, ibid. It's dependent circumstances, 467.
Means propofed for advancing it's profperity, 468.
New Orleans, it's fituation, fettlement, and defcription, v. 262.
New World, great changes produced by the difcovery of, 1 1.
New-York, it's boundaries and extent, v. 451. Is fettled by the
Dutch, 452. Is feized by the English, 455. Is ceded to the
English, ibid. The government of, regulated, 456. The
Romish religion favoured there, under the influence of the duke
of York, ibid. Frame of government eſtabliſhed after the
volution in England, 457. Is haraffed by wars against the French
in Canada, 458. Fort Ofwego built, 459. It's divifion into
counties, and the navigation of Hudfon's River, defcribed, 46r.
Long Island, ibid. Number of inhabitants, 462. The city
of New-York, ibid. Former and prefent manners of the in-
habitants contrafted, 463...
Newton, Sir Ifaac, his character, vi. 543.
Niagara, Fort, it's fituation deſcribed, v. 297.
re-
Nicaragua, the province of, alternately fubject to two extremes
of floods and drought, ii. 54570n A
Niger, account of the Africans feated on the banks of that river,
iv. 64. See Senegal.
Nile, defcription of that river, iv. 5.
447.
Nobility, an analyfis of, iv. 537. An odious diſtinction, when
not obtained by fervices of utility to the ftate, vi.
Nopal, the fhrub on which the cochineal animal breeds, deſcribed,
i. 499. How cultivated for the fake of cochineal, 500.
Normans,
INDE
X.
Normans, ancient, their character, i. 12. Were the firft who
carried on any intercourfe with Africa, 36.
Northern Nations, how their conquefts over the Roman empire
were facilitated, i. 10.
North-Weft Pallage to the Eaft Indies, examination of the argu-
inents in favour of, v. 377. This paffage should be fought
for toward Welcome Bay, 378. The exiſtence of fuch a paſ-
fage to be determined by captain Cook, 382.
Norway, colonies fent from, to the Orcades, Fera, and Iceland,
iv. 291. The navigators of, probably reached the northern ex-
tremities of America long before the time of Columbus, 292.
See Denmark.
Nova Scotia, it's fituation, and defcription, v. 415. Firſt ſettle-
ment of, by the French, 416. Is ceded to England, 419.
Annapolis built, ibid. Manners of the French inhabitants, 421.
Diftribution of lands to Engliſh difbanded foldiers, 424. Fate
of the French neutrals, 425. Lunenbourg fettled by Germans,
427. Quantity of fhipping, and exports of the colony, ibid.
Advantages derived by, from the American war, 428.
Nunnez Vela, Blafco, is fent over as viceroy of Peru, to reform
the government there, iii. 41. His character, and rafh mea-
fures, 42. Is degraded and banished by the Spaniards in pow-
er there, 44. Is recalled, but killed in the civil commoti-
ons, 45.
Nutmegs, firft difcovered in the Molucca iſlands by the Chineſe,
i. 28. Defcription of the tree which produces them, with the
properties of the fruit, 36.
O.
Oaths, reflections on the frequent impofition of, in civil ſociety,
i. 310.
Oaxaca, a province of Mexico, peculiar for the production and
culture of cochineal, ii. 502. The town of that name de-
fcribed, 503.
Ocean, it's ufe in, preferving an equipoife over the face of the
earth, v. 351.
Oglethorpe, General, conducts the first coloniſts fent over to
Georgia, vi. 74.
Ohio river, difcovery of, by the French, and it's defcription,
v. 322. Forts built along the river to confine the English, who
deftroy them, 323:
Oil, it's property of calming the agitations of the ſea, v. 400.
Vegetable oil more effectual than animal oil for this purpoſe,
ibid.
Olives, the cultivation of, recommended to the Portugueſe,
iii. 435
Omrabs, of the Indoftan empire, foundation of that dignity, ii.
119. Fluctuating nature of their authority, 120.
Onontague,
INDE X.
Onentague, an old Iroquois, his remarkable fortitude at death,
v. 196.
Opium, how prepared in the Eaft, from white poppies, i. 482.
Is chiefly produced in the province of Bahar, 483. Is highly
prized for it's intoxicating powers, ibid.
Opoſſum of Canada deſcribed, v. 198.
Orellana, Pizarro's lieutenant, fails up the river Amazons in South
America, iii. 354. His voyage excited more curiofity than it
produced information, 357.
Orixa, a province bordering on the coaft of Coromandel, in-
cluded under it in defcription, i. 451. Is fuppofed to be co-
veted by the Engliſh Eaſt India Company, 465.
Orleans, duke of, regent of France, review of his adminiſtration,
in the finances, ii. 83. His perfonal character, go.
Orleans, New. See New Orleans.
Ormus, deſcription of that city, and the manners of the inhabit-
ants, i. 113. Is reduced and fortified by Albuquerque, 114.
The Portugueſe expelled by Schah Abbas with the affiftance of
the Engliſh, 375:
Oroonoko, the courfe, magnitude, and peculiarities of this river,
iii. 75.
Account of the original native Indians bordering on it,
76. Confequences of the tyrannical treatment of their women,
79. Remonftrance of an Indian woman reproached with the
murder of her female infant, 80. Spaniſh fettlements and `in-
provements on the banks of this river, 81.
Orry, fuperintendent of the French finances, his character, ii. 104.
Oftend, confiderations which led to the formation of an Auftrian
Eaft India Company there, ii, 220. It's fucceſsful beginnings,
221. Is oppofed by the Dutch and Engliſh, 223. Is facrificed
to the political interefts of the court of Vienna, 224.
Ofwego, fort, built to interrupt the fur trade of the French in
Canada, v. 459..
Otter, a deſcription of that animal, v. 197.
Ottoman, the founder of the Turkiſh empire, vi, 269.
Ounce, or wild cat of Canada, deſcribed, v. 199.
Oxenstiern, Chancellor, his opinion of ftatefmen, vi. 366.
P.
Pacha of Egypt, his precarious authority, iv. 9.
Pacos, a Peruvian beaft of burden, deſcribed, iii, 125. Their
flesh, fkin, and fleece, 126.
Paganiſm, cauſes of it's giving way to the Chriſtian religion,
vi. 254
Pagodas, Indian, general character of i. 84.
Palm wine, from what, and how prepared in Mexico, ii.
481.
Palmyra, ancient opulence, and deſtruction of that city, i. 102.
Panama, the town of, founded by Pedrarias, iii. 9. Is deſtroyed
by pirates, 155. It's jurifdiction and pearl fifhery, 156. De-
fcription of the prefent town, 157. The ifthmus ought to be
cut
IN D E X.
eut through, to open a communication with the South Sea,
305.
Paper, Chineſe, an account of, ii. 344. Their hanging paper,
·345.
Paper currency, the inconveniences occafioned by, in the Britiſh
American colonies, vi. 137. That of the congrefs not cordial-
ly received, 219.3
Para, in Brazil, hiftorical defcription of that government, iii. 382.
Paraguay, it's boundaries and extent, iii. 185. Account of the
river from which the country derives it's name, 186. Manners
and cuſtoms of the natives, ibid. Firſt diſcovery of, by the Spa-
niards, 187. Three large provinces formed in this district by
the Jefuits, 191. Natural produce of the country, ibid. Num-
ber of inhabitants, 192. Account of the herb Paraguay, 196.
Great trade with mules and other cattle, 198. The trade and
communication with Buenos Ayres, how carried on, 199.
bulls killed for the hides, 200. Revenue from, to Spain, 201.
Principles on which the Jefuits founded their miffion there, 203.
Why population has not fucceeded here, 207. Incurfions of
the Portugueſe, 212. The fmall pox, 213. The climate,
ibid. The miffion of, taken from the Jefuits, 220.
Wild
Paraguay, the herb defcribed, iii. 196. It's ufes in South America,
198..
Paraiba, in Brazil, fome account of that district, iii. 388.
Paramabiro, the chief town of Surinam, defcribed, iv. 269.
Park, Colonel, governor of Antigua, his mal-adminiſtration, and
death, v. 29.
:
Patans, from the mountains of Candahar overrun the Indoftan
empire, ii. 116. Their prefent fituation and character, 133.
Patna, mineral productions of this province, i. 490.
Patriotifm, chiefly to be found in fmall ſtates, i. 131.
Paul, St. in Brazil, a town built by felons tranfported from Por-
tugal, 403. Their depredations over the country, 404.
Submit to orderly government, ibid.
Pea, Angola, the plant prefcribed, iv. 157.
Peace, political, no where to be found, vi. 370..
Pearls' how produced, iv. 192. Erroneous popular opinions re-
lating to, ibid. Different kinds of, and artificial ones, 193.
Pearl filhery on the coaft of the iſland of Ceylon, fome account
of, i. 263. Another on the ifland Baharen, 423 At Panama, de-
fcribed, iii. 155. That at Cubagua exhaufted, iv. 194.
Pedrarias, is fent by the court of Spain to fuperfede Balboa at
Darien, and puts him to death, iii. 9. Founds the ſettlement
of Panama on the Southern Ocean, ibid.
Pegu, a province on the bay of Bengal, furniſhes the American
merchants with precious ftones, i. 481.
Penn, Admiral, his unfuccefsful attack upon St. Domingo, iii.
491. Reduces Jamaica, 492.
Penn, William, receives a territory in America from the English
government, in diſcharge of debts owing to his father the ad-
miral,
INDE X.
窖
​miral, vi. 10. Calls it Pennfylvania, and fettles it with quakers,
ibid. Purchafes the land of the Indians, and conciliates their af-
fections, 11. The legislative principles of his government, 13.
Pennfylvania, this country granted by the English government to
William Penn, who gives name to it, vi. 10. Is fettled by
perfecuted quakers, who conciliate the friendship of the Indians,
ibid. Equitable principles of government eſtabliſhed, 11.
Diſtribution of lands, 13. Rapid progrefs of the colony, 14.
It's boundaries and extent, ibid. It's climate, and divifion into
countries, 1. The foil, ibid. It's profperous cultivations,
16. Account of the Dumplers, and their city Euphrates, 17.
The harmony of all fects in this colony, 19. Number of in-
habitants, and their manners, ibid. Taxes, 20. Their mar-
riages, 21. Their funerals, 22. Produce, manufactures,
and trade, 23. Method of clearing lands, and eſtabliſhing
plantations, 25. Deſcription of the city of Philadelphia, ibid.
This city, and the country, unprovided for any kind of defence,
29. Inquiry whether the inhabitants are therefore the lefs fe-
cure, ibid.
Pepper, defcription of the fhrub that produces it, i. 439. It's na-
tive places of growth and culture, ibid. The trade of, divided
among the English, Dutch, and French, 440.
Perfection, always followed by degeneracy, vi. 524.
Perfecution for religion, an obſtacle to population, vi. 475.
Parſes, their diftinguifhing tenets, in 29.Their manners and
cuftoms. 34.
Perfia, riview of the ancient hiftory of i. 372. Account of the
victories and government of Schah Abbas the Great, 373. The
Portugueſe driven from Ormus by the affiftance of the English,
375. A trade eftablifhed at Gombroon by the English, ibid.
The trade of, declines, under a fucceffion of weak princes, 413.
Is conquered by the Afghans, 414 Who are driven out by
Kouli Khan, ibid, and n
s
Perfia, Gulph of, account of the districts round, and the inhabit-
ants, i. 420. Account of the city of Mafcate, and it's trade,
421.
Peru, ſtate of that empire when invaded by Pizarro, iii. 13
The
Inca Atabalipa feized by Pizarro 16. He is bafely put to
death, 18. The country cplundered by the Spaniards, ibid.
Remarks on the facility of this revolution, 19. This empire
probably firſt founded by fhipwrecked navigators, 20 Manco
Capac, and his inftitutions, 22 Civil policy, 24. Diftribu-
tion of lands, 25 Reflections on the ftate of property there,
26. The Peruvians ignorant of the ufe of coin, while abound-
ing in gold and filver, 28. No reafon to doubt the relations of
the Spaniards concerning their history and civil inftitutions, 29.
The fame credit not due to the accounts of their grandeur and
magnificence, 30. Their palaces and fortifications, 31 Their
aqueducts and refervoirs, 32. Their roads and bridges, ikid,
Their historical regifters, 33. Their baths, artificial gardens,
and
IN DE X.
and ſculpture, ibid. The Spanish accounts of theſe matters re-
duced to probability and truth, 34. Their peculiar art in
manufacturing copper, 35. Inquiry into the nature of their
tools, 36. Were ignorant of the mechanical ufes of wood, ibid.
Confufions that enfued by rapacious quarrels among the Spa-
niards, 37. Maffacre of Pizarro and his adherents, by Almagro
the younger, 38. Review of the regulations made by the court
of Spain for the government of this province, 41. Defpotic
conduct of Gonzales Pizarro, 44. Arrival of the prieſt Pedro
de la Gaſca, 46. End of Pizarro and his confident Carvajal,
ibid. Reflections on the conduct of the Spaniards there, 47.
Extent of the empire, 49. Maladies to which the inhabitants
are liable, 106. The country peculiarly fubject to earthquakes,
107. Singularities of climate in Upper Peru, 109. Rain, a
phænomenon ſeldom feen, 110. No fprings, and few rivers in
Lower Peru, 111. Evidences of a great former population,
112. Peru worſe treated by it's conquerors than Mexico, ibid.
Degeneracy of the natives under the hand of oppreflion, 113.
Introduction of Negroes to fupply the decreaſe of native inha-
bitants, 114. Why more Spaniards there than in Mexico, ibid.
Prefent ftate of the country defcribed, ibid. Defcription of
Cufco, the ancient metropolis, 119. Animals peculiar to the
country, 123. Manufactures, 128. Mines, 130. Thoſe of
gold and filver, 135. Ancient Peruvian method of building,
147. The dominion of monkiſh fuperftition over the inhabit-
ants, 150. Character of the women, 153. Eftimate of the
preſent trade of this province, 165. Defenceleſs ſtate of,
313.
Peter I, czar of Ruffia, attempts to open a communication between
Siberia and India, ii. 291. Amount of his revenue, 298.
Projected ſeveral inland navigations, 301. His law for the
enfranchiſement of vaffals, ibid. Reforms his troops 303.
His meaſures for making Ruffia a maritime power, 306. Re-
marks on his character and adminiſtration, 309..
•
Peter, St. on the coaft of Newfoundland, and it's French inhabit--
ants, defcribed, v. 413.
Petrarch, his character, vi. 529.
Philadelphia, the capital of Pennfylvania, defcribed, vi. 25.
The town-houſe, 27. The public library, ibid. The college,
ibid. It's quays, 28. Number of inhabitants, ibid. Is in-
tirely unprovided with works of defence, 29.
Philip II. of Spain, perfecutes his fubjects in the Low Countries,
on account of religion, i. 210. The republic of Holland eſta-
blifhed, 211. His political character, vi. 358.
Philip III, of Spain, his political character, vi. 358.
Philippine Islands, their fituation, extent, and general appear-
ance, ii. 257. Their produce and climate, 259. The inha-
bitants, ibid. Miffionaries fent thither from Spain, 262. Errors
in their conduct, ibid. The islands improved by Chineſe emi-
grants, 264. Foundation and defcription of the city of Manilla,
265.
INDE X.
265. Spanish government there, ibid. The Chineſe baniſhed
from them, 268. Are infeſted by Malay pirates, 269. Reflec-
tions on the management of theſe iſlands, and of their import-
ance to Spain, 270. A trade fettled between theſe iſlands and
America, 521. Account of the annual galleon that paffes be-
tween Manilla and Acapulca, ibid.
Philofophers, apostrophe to, in behalf of the liberties of mankind,
i. 87. Under no influence to depart from truth, ii. 357.
Philofophy, conclufions of, refpecting religion, vi. 257. The cul-
tivation of, follows that of the fine arts, 538. Characters
of the principal Grecian philofophers, ibid. Remained buried
in the duft of the cloifters, after the fubverfion of the Roman
empire, 540. Origin of the philofophy of the fchools, 541.
Important confequences that refulted from the experiments of
Friar Bacon, 542. Difcoveries made by other experimental
philofophers, ibid. The firft academy of natural philofophy
founded in Italy, 545. The method of analyſis taught, ibid.
Importance of philofophic ftudies, 546.
Phænicians owed their confequence among ancient nations to
commerce, i. 4. Extended their trade to Britain, 354. Are the
firft merchants on record, vi. 404.
Pimento, or Jamaica pepper, defcription of the tree that bears it,
v. 56.
Pitch, how prepared from tar, vi. 66.
·
:
Pitt, Mr. the English minifter, his character, iii. 547. His vigo-
rous and fucceſsful adminiſtration, 550. Remarks on his refig-
nation, 555. His plan of conduct examined, 556.
Pizarro, Francis, his birth and character, iii. 10. Forms the
fcheme of conquering the empire of Peru, ibid. His firſt voyage
unſucceſsful, 1I. Embarks again, 12. Enters Peru, and
marks his courſe by rapine, 13. His interview with Atabalipa,
14. Takes Atabalipa prifoner, 16. Puts him to death, 18.
He and his followers plunder the country, ibid. His difputes
with Almagro, 37. Defeats and beheads him., 38. Perfecutes
his followers, ibid. Is affaffinated by them in Lima,
Pizarro,, Gonzales, ufurps the fupreme authority in Peru, and
defeats the viceroy Nunnez, iii. 44. His triumphant entry into
Lima, 45. Is defeated and put to death by Gafca, 46.
Placentia, bay of, at Newfoundland, a French town built there,
v. 395. This fettlement oppreffed by French governors,
396.
39.
Platina, a metallic fubftance found in Peru, defcribed, iii. 131.
Natural hiftory of, ibid. Procefs of purifying it, 132. It's
properties, 133. It's uses, 135.
Plato, his account of the fuppofed ancient iſland of Atlantis,
i. 31. His character, vi. 539.
Pointis, commodore of a French fleet, affociates the Buccaneers in
the reduction of Carthagena, iii. 515. Is menaced with death by
the Buccaneers for defrauding them, 517. -
Poland,
IN D E X.
Poland, examination of the conftitution of government in that
country, vi. 287 How the country became expofed to dif
memberment by ambitious neighbours, 289.
Pole Cat, of Canada, defcribed, v. 198.
Policy, diminiſhed from legiflation, vi. 354. Was confined to
the court of Rome during the middle ages, 355. The modern
fyftem of, formed by Charles V. and Francis L.-357.
licy of Europe, 364.
N
True po
The va-
Political errors, the fource of, inquired into, i. 87.-
Politics, complicated nature of the fcience of, iv. 517.
rious qualifications neceffary for the ſtudy of, ibid. Why poli-
tical truths are rather to be addreffed to the public at large, than
to governors, 524. The views of, very confined, v
334.
338. Of Europe, the general maxims of, altered by the opera-
tions of induſtry, 391.
Polytheism, the origin of, vi. 251.
Pondiac, an American chief, inftance of his magnanimity, vi.
93.
MO
Pondicherry, that fettlement fortified by the French, ii. 64. Is
taken by the Dutch, but reftored, 65. Skilful management of
Martin, the director of the French Eaft India Company, ibid.
Dumas protects the family of the nabob of Arcot againſt the
Marattas, 105. Is defended by Dupleix againſt the Engliſh,
14. Is taken by the Engliſh from M. Lally and deftroyed,
141. Defcription of the town before it's deftruction, 171. Is
now reſtored by the French, 172.
d
Pooliahs, in Indoftan, an account of that people, i. 89.
Popes of Rome, their ufurpations over the English, v. 345.
Population, inquiry into the ancient population of the world, vi,
462. Caufes of prefent complaints of the decline of, 468. De-
pends in great meaſures on the diſtribution of landed property,
470. Poverty, an obftacle to, 471. Celibacy of the clergy,
473. Perfecution for religion, 475. Annuities for lives, 476.
All the means which make a ftate profper tend to promote po-
pulation, 478.
Porcelain, is fuppofed by count Caylus to be invented by the an-
cient Egyptians, ii. 326. It's qualities defined, 327. The fe-
veral kinds of, and their diftinguishing characteristics, ibid. How
coloured, 330. Where manufactured, 331. The beſt Euro-
pean imitations of this ware made in Saxony, 332. Character
of French and Engliſh porcelain, ibid. Compariſon between
the Chineſe and European porcelain, 334. Succeſsful attempt
of count Lauragais to manufacture porcelain, 335. Account of
the manufacture at Sèvre, ibid. Properties of the earth of Limo-
ges, 3:36.
Port au Prince, on the island of St. Domingo, inquiry whether
this district be proper for the fituation of the capital of the French
fettlements there, iv. 445. The town deftroyed by an earth-
quake, but rebuilt on the ſame ſpot, 4478
Pers
INDE X.
Port-Royal, in Jamaica, account of it's deftruation by an earth-
quake, v. 64.
Porto Bello, unwholeſomeneſs of the climate there, iii. 157. Ex-
tenfive trade carried on there between Europe and South
America, 158. Brief history of this traffic to it's decline,
--
·
:
159.
Porto Rico, firft difcovery of that iſland, and landing of Ponce de
Leon there, iv. 196. Is peculiarly favourable to the growth
of the mancheneel tree, 199 The natives make an experiment
to try if the Spaniards were immortal, 200. But are reduced,
ibid. Defcription and prefent ftate of the island, 201. Number
of inhabitants and produce, 202. Hints for farther improve-
ment of the inland, 204.
Portugueſe were the first European nation that attempted maritime
diſcoveries, i. 29. The ifland of Madeira difcovered by, 30.
Their firft expeditions to Africa, 36. Voyage of Vafco de Ga-
ma to the East Indies, 37. 90. Obtain a papal grant of all
their eaſtern diſcoveries, 92. Voyage of Alvarez Cabral, ibid.
Eſtabliſh an Eaſtern trade to Liſbon, 93. Their motives to
feizing the island of Socotora, 106. Extenfive fchemes of Al-
buquerque, 109. The city of Ormus taken, 114. Malacca
reduced, 122. Submiffion of the neighbouring kingdoms, 124.
Reflections on their Indian exploits under Albuquerque, 129.
Are affifted against the Moors by Henry of Burgundy and his
French knights, 130. The principles of the nation corrupted
by their eaſtern conquefts, 132. Send an ambaffador to China,
133. His tranfactions there, 175. Their commanders treat
the Chineſe ill, and are checked, ibid. Obtain a grant of the
iſland Macao, 176. The empire of Japan diſcovered, 177.
Review of their fucceffes in the Eaft, 182. Their fettlements
in Africa, 183. Treat the natives unjustly every where, 154.
Their corruption and profligacy, 185. Wife adminiftration of
Don Juan de Caftro, 187. A general confederacy of the Indian
powers formed against them, 192. Are protected by the vigi-
lance of Ataida, 193. Státe of national affairs on the death of
king Sebaſtian, 197. Detail of the cauſes that effected the ruin
of their affairs in India, 198. The prefent ftate of their orien-
tal connexions, 201. General review of their ambitious plans
of conduct in the Eaft, ii. 386. Firft difcovery of Brazily iй.
313. Which is defpifed and made a receptacle for felons, 315.
Hereditary antipathy between the Portugueſe and Spaniards,
bid. Account of the inquifition, 316. Grants made in Brazil
to Portugueſe noblemen, 318. The natives there civilized by
the Jefuits, 329 Brazil overrun by the Dutch; 336 The
duke of Braganza placed upon the throne of, 348. Brazil re-
covered, 352 Difputes with Spain about the boundaries of
their colonies, 366. An exclufive company formed for the wine
trade, 372 The Brazil trade fubjected to a monopoly, 373.
Impofitions by which that province is depreffed; 421 Decline
of this kingdom, and it's diftant fettlements, 425. Caufe of the
VOL. VI.
Tt
•
connexion
INDEX.
connexion between Portugal and. England, 428. Nature of
the trade with England, ibid. Degeneracy of the Portugueſe,
owing to the dependance they are funk under to England, 432.
The firſt ſtep neceffary toward their recovery, ibid. Articles
proper for them to cultivate, 435. Remarks on the difcourage-
ments of their wine trade, 436. Are miſtaken in their meaſures
for reſtoring the culture of corn, 438. Number of the people,
and amount of the revenue, ibid. All reformation ineffectual
until their clergy are reduced to fubordination to the civil
power, 447. The fear of incenfing England ought not to pro
tract their eftablishing good regulations, 448.
t not to
fubmit to be protected, 449. Muft fall, if they will not culti
vate a naval ftrength, 450. Might have made a good advantage
of the deſtruction of Lisbon, 451. Account of the fettle-
ments on the coaſt of Africa, iv. go. Their Eaſt India diſco-
veries and conquefts occafion them to neglect arts and agricul-
ture, vi. 405.
A
Potatoe plant defcribed, iv. 156.
Poto, the filver mines there, when and how diſcovered, iii. 1-39.
Their produce at different periods of time, ibid.
Poverty of a people, a check to their population, vi. 471.
Prayer, the origin of, vi. 251.
Prefs, reflections on the liberty of, iii. 533. Particularly in Great
Britain, vi. 303..
Priesthood, the fole principle by which they are actuated, vi.
331. The hierarchy of, in the Chriftian church traced, 333.
Printing, importance of this art to mankind, vi. 547.
Privileges, perfonal, refulting from profeffional character, reflec-
tions on, ii: 474-
Profs, flying, of the Marianne iſlands, deſcribed, ii. 528.
Property, reflections on the origin and abuſe of, iv. 357. v. 38.
The right of a man to make a teftamentary difpofition of his
eitate inquired into, v. 295. The poffeffions of, precarious in
civilized fociety, 361. A community of, amoft dangerous
doctrine, vi. 5. The unequal diftribution of, the foundation.
of two irreconcileable parties in fociety, 133.
Proteftants, review of the perfecution of, by Lewis XIV. in France,
v. 269.
Providence, ifland of, how firft fettled, v. 77. A colony eſta-
bliſhed there by captain Woodes Rogers, 78.
Pruffians, military character of, vi. 381. See Frederic III.
Ptolemy, why he fixed the firft meridian at the western part of the
Canary iſlands, ii. 409.
Pulocondor, the English fettlement there deftroyed by their own
Macaffar földiers, i 388.
Puniſhments, capital, remarks on the injury done to fociety by
them, i. 405.
Puritans, origin of that appellation in England, v.348. Emi-
grate to North America, 349, 430
var að vera
Purple
IN DE X.
Purple dye, peculiar kind of, celebrated by the ancients, foun
on the coafts of Guayaquil and Guatimala, iii. 116.
Q
Quakers, perfecuted in New England, v. 434 Origin of the
fect, vi. 6. Their diftinguifhing drefs and behaviour, 7. Their
morals, 8. Their contempt for religious rites, ibid. Occa-
fron of their name, 9. Multiply under perfecution, ibid.
The prudence of their peaceable maxims examined, 29. Speech
of one in America, cenfuring the cuſtom of retaining Negroes
in flavery, 121.
Quebec, the capital of Canada, founded, v. 146. Ineffectual
fiege of, in 1690, by the English, 194. The city deſcribed,
292. Is finally taken by the English, 329.
Quickfilver, where found in Europe, iii. 142. Where found in
Peru, 143. Defcription of the mines at Guanca Velica, ibid,
The working in thefe mines pernicious to the conftitution, 144.
The air in the vicinity of them unwholefome, ibid. Confump-
tion of, in the gold and filver mines, 145.
Quimoffe, a diminutive people on the iſland of Madagaſcar, de-
fcribed, ii, 16.
Quito, in Peru, the province defcribed, iii. go. Circumftances
that moderate the heat of the torrid zone, ibid. Purity of the
ジ
​air, and uniforin beauty of the climate, 91. Is the moſt po-
pulous part of the American continent, ibid. Produce and ma-
nufactures, 92. Bark the only article of produce exported,
93. Proffigate manners of the inhabitants of the city of Quito,
97.
:.:.
R
Raguildas, governor of Cabuliftan, ftimulates Babar to the con
queft of Indoftan, ii. 117. Remonftrances of a Banian to him
on this event, 118.
Rajahputs, mountaineers who continually harafs the Indoftan go-
vernment, account of, ii, 133.
Raleigh, Sir Walter, his expedition to Guiana, iv. 330. His cha
racter, v. 338. His expedition to Carolina, ibid.
Rats, great ravages made by, in the Caribbee iſlands, iv. 152.
Of Canada defcribed, v. 198.
Red Sea, a geographical deſcription of, i. 108. Advantages re-
fulting to Europe from the Portugueſe obtaining the command
of this fea, 110. Meafures taken by the English to improve
their trade in that fea, 410.
Reformed religion in Europe, rife of, i. 209.
Religion, the fources of, vi. 250. The natural progrefs of, 258.
The true tendency of it's precepts, 557.
Republics, a view of the adminiftration of government in, vi. 368.
A fecret
Tt 2
INDE
X.
A fecret confpiracy carried on by all monarchies againſt free
ftates, 369.
+
Revel, a much better ftation for the naval forces of Ruffia than
Cronstadt and Peterſburgh, ii. 307.
Revenue, royal, no meaſure of the power of an empire, vi.
490. The cuſtom of farming out revenues ruinous to a ſtates
49.
Revolutions in human affairs, whether of utility to mankind, i. 2.
Rhubarb, the root and it's qualities defcribed, ii. 348. Where
produced, and how prepared, 349. The feveral kinds of, ibid.
Rice, the different kinds of, cultivated in China, i. 138. How
cultivated on Madagaſcar, ii. 15.
15. Botanical defcription of
that plant, vi. 67. The cultivation of, injurious to the healthi-
nefs of a country, 68. Is fuccefsfully cultivated in South Ca-
rolina, 69.
Ria Faneiro, the government of, in Brazil, defcribed, ii. 397.
The fugar cane, indigo, and coffee cultivated there, ibid. The
capital city deſcribed, 398.
Roads, the ftate of, every where, indicative of the degree of ci-
vilization of the natives, vi. 279.
Roanoak Bay, in Carolina, firft attempt of the English to form
a ſettlement there, v. 338.
!
Romans, ancient, their motives for feizing the island of Sicily, i.
7. Why inferior to the Greeks in the cultivation of arts and
feiences, 8. The final overthrow of the empire, how favoured,
9. The fubverfion of the ancient empire of, attributed prima-
rily to Wodin the Scythian chief, ii. 198. The liberty of, ori-
ginally deſtroyed by Cato the elder, vi. 243. Review of the
history of, with a character of the Romans, 267. The feudal
fystem formed on the ruins of the empire, 268. 314. Why infe-
rior to Greece in the fine arts, 523. Character of the Roman
literature, ibid. The fine arts expelled on the fubverſion of the
empire, 526. And driven back again from Conftantinople, 528.
Rome, modern, origin of the ecclefiaftical empire of, i. 12. Cha-
racter of, in the fifteenth century, 26. Rife of it's ecclefiafti-
cal power, vi. 255. Leading caufes of the reformation, 256.
The difcovery of America inftrumental to it's decline, 259.
Hiftorical account of the rife of papal dominion, 333. Cir-
cumftances that combined to diveft the pope of his temporal
power, 342.
ཧ;
Rofas, commandant of New Mexico, takes refuge in England from
the perfecutions of the monks, ii. 479.
Rum, how procured from the fugar-cane, iv. 172.
Ruffia, the extended conquefts of this empire alarm the Chinefe,
ii. 288 The boundaries fettled, ibid. A commercial treaty
made with China, 289. Method of conducting the trade with
China, 290. An attempt made to open a communication be-
tween Siberia and India, 291. Carry on, an intercourfe with
India by means of the Cafpian Sea, 292. Extent of this em-
pire, 296. Account of the different claffes of the Ruffian peo-
ple,
IND E
X.
ple, ibid. State of population, 297. Public revenue, 298.
Climates and agriculture, 299. Mines, ibid. Foreign trade,
300. Obftacles to the improvement of trade, 301. Debts.
owing to foreigners not eafily recovered, 302. Military frength
of the empire, 303. Natural circumftances that protect the
empire on all fides, 304. Meafures taken by Peter 1. to raiſe
a marine, 306. Inconveniences of the harbour of Cronitadt,
ibid. Prefent ftate of the imperial navy, 308. Reflection on
the government of, ibid. Patriotic principles of the government
of the prefent emprefs Catharine, 310. Farther regulations
fuggefted for the improvement of this empire, 312. Inquiry
whether the climate of that extenfive empire is favourable to
civilization, vi. 277. It's extenfion confidered, 278. The
lower clafs of people not prepared for the reception of liberty,
279. Their ignorance and fuperftition, 280. Examination of
the meaſures purfued by the emprefs Catharine to civilize her
fubjects, 281. The foundling hofpital, 282. The academies,
ibid.
S
Saba, the ifland, inhabitants, and produce, defcribed, iv. 250.
Sable, of Canada, defcribed, v. 199.
Sacrifices, the origin of, vi. 251.
Saffi, account of the port of, in Barbary, iv. 34.
Sago, the natural hiftory and ufes of, i. 127.
Sahara, deferts of, in Africa, defcribed, iv. 51.
Saints, three iflands dependant on Guadaloupe, account of, iv.
405.
Salcedo, Jofeph, hanged for difintereſted good nature, iii. 141.
Sellee, in Barbary, account of that port, iv. 34.
Salfette inland, is reduced by the English, i. 448. Defcribed,
ibid.
Salt, qualities of that made in Portugal, iii. 436. Is a fpecific
againſt the poifon of the manchineel tree, iv. 199.
-
Salt t-petre, how produced and refined at Patna in Indoſtan, i.
490. The amount and rate of the European export of this
article, 491.
Salvadore, St. the capital of Brazil, built, iii. 329. Is taken by
the Dutch, 336. Is furrendered by them, 337. The city de-
fcribed, 392. Manners of the inhabitants, ibid.
San Salvador, one of the Bahama iflands, difcovered by Colum-
bus, ii. 414. Friendly intercourfe between him and the na-
tives, ibid.
Sanctuaries, ecclefiaftical, for criminals, reflections on, ii. 475-
Sanders-tree, a botanical defcription of, with it's ufes, i. 436.
Sandrocotus,
Indoftanves the Macedonians out of India, and unites all
Indoftan under his dominion, 11. 15
Santa Cruz, the island of, defcribed, iv. 298. Revolutions of,
ibid. Rapid progrefs and decay of a French colony there, 299.
Caufes of it's decay explained, 300. Is fold to Denmark, ibid.
Prefen
INDE
X.
A
Prefent ftate of it's cultivation, 301. Number of inhabitants,
ibid.
Santa Fe de Bogota, the capital city of New Grenada, defcribed,
iii. 89.
Saratoga, capture of the British army under General Burgoyne
there, by the American General Gates, vi. 207.
Saffafras tree, botanical defcription of, vi. 83. It's properties
and ufes, ibid.
Saxony, the beſt European imitation of porcelain carried on there,
ii. 332.
Schab Abbas the Great, king of Perfia, a review of his victories
and adminiſtration of government, i. 373. Unites his forces
with the English to drive the Portugueſe from Ormus, 374
Scheiks, a nation of Indian republicans, defcribed, ii. 134.
Schilderop, an agent of the Danish African Company, his amiable
character, iv. 99.
Scots Highlanders, their character, vi. 63.
Scythians, driven out of their native country by Pompey, overrun
the north and weft parts of Europe, ii 198. Their leader,
Wodin, excites all nations againft the Roman empire, ibid.
See Tartary.
Seals of Canada, defcribed, v. 303. Manner of taking them,
304. Uſes of their ſkins, ibid.
Sea, it's ufe in preferving an equipoife in the feveral parts of the
globe, v. 350. The agitations of, calnied by oil, 400.
Seamen, their unjuſt treatment in England and other countries con-
demned, vi. 401. Their character difplayed, 569.*
Secrely in politics, may be of temporary advantage, but tends to
certain ruin, ii. 233.
Senegal river, defcribed, iv. 8.
Serena, a Spanish fettlement in Chili, account of, in 175.-
Seringham, account of that ifland and it's magnificent pagoda, ii.
130. Is given up by the French, 140.
140.da nó
Serre Leone, on the coaft of Africa, ſtate of the trade carried on
there, iv. 80.
Shanfcrit, language of Indoftan, fome account of, i 53.
Siam, a detail of the trade carried on there by the Dutch, 1. 256.
Occafion of the French entering that kingdom, i 49 All
ני
the fertility and riches of the foil deftroyed by the tyranny of
the government, 51. The French intereft there ruined by the
errors of the Jefuits, 54
Sicily, how the arts of agriculture and commerce were introduced
into that ifland, 1. 7.
Silk, how collected in Bengal, and it's qualities, 1 480 491.
The Chinefe account of the difcovery of, ii. 336. Introduction
of the manufacture into Europe, 337. Qualities of the feve-
ral kinds of European filk, ibid. The filk from China fupe-
***Flor to that of Europe, 338 The two principal kinds of Chi-
neſe filk, 339. Character of the Chineſe manufactured filks
! 340.
1
Skin,
1 N D E .
X.
Skin, inquiry into the cauſe of the black colour of, in Negroes, iv.
42.
102.
}
Slave trade in Guinea, historical account of, iv. 71. Method of
conducting them to the European factories, 74. The coafts
frequented for this traffic, 76. Amount of the annual exporta-
tion of, with the rates at which they are purchaſed, 92. With
what kinds of merchandiſe the flaves are bought, 94. Origin
of the English African Company, 97. Annual amount of the
English flave trade, 98. A Danish African Company formed,
99. Spanish attempts to enter into the flave trade, 101, Re-
marks on the preſent ſtate and method of carrying on this trade,
The proper feafons for the voyage, 103. How difpofed
of in America, 105. Stories illuftrating the character of Ne-
groes, 106 Their vindictive fpirit under oppreffion, 110.
Their wretched condition in America, 111. Their different
fituation in extenfive and in confined colonies, 112. Their
different treatment by different European nations compared, 113.
Their diforders, 114. Methods of cure, 115. Hints for ren-
dering their condition more fupportable, 118. Are ftrongly
affected by mufic, 119. Plantation born Negroes the moſt uſe-
ful, 122. Female Negroes, why loved by Europeans, 124.
How this trade might be abolished, 144.
Slavery, feudal, how abolished, i. 19. Defined, iv. 124. Ori-
gin and progrefs of, ibid. Feudal flavery, 128. Emancipa-
tion of towns, 129. Cruel oppreffions of the feudal barons,
130, How villains recovered perfonal freedom, 131. Origin
of leafes for years and lives, 132. Sovereigns how induced to
undermine the chain of feudal fubordination, ibid. Slavery be-
gun in America, when deftroyed in Europe, 133. Slaves
tranfported from Africa to America, ibid. Freedom and flavery
compared, 134. The right of man over man inquired into,
135. The arguments pleaded to juftify flavery examined, 136.
Hints for abolishing flavery in America, 144. It's influence
over the mind in the Turkish empire, vi. 273:
I
Smuggling, the great fupport of the French American fettlements,
iv. 442. 514 A relaxation of prohibitory laws recommended,
514 The natural confequence of oppreffive laws, vi. 141.
Scarez, Lopez, fucceeds Albuquerque in the viceroyalty of India,
and profecutes his plans, i. 132.
y
Society, barbarous and civilized, compared, i. 275. v. 359. The
progress of, traced, ii. 314. Monaftic, the nature of, inveſti-
songated, v. 207. Evidences of man being formed and deſtined
for affociation, vi. 260. The various revolutions of, 264. All
the obligations of man have a reference to, 552.
Socotora, motives of the Portuguefe in feizing this ifland, i. 106.
Socrates his character, vi. 538. Separated morality from reli-
g on $5
Soil, whether it's vegetative powers can be exhaulted by cultiva-
tion, V. 103
Soldiers,
1
N D E X.
Soldiers, the great increafe of, in Europe, the fource of oppreffion,
by the increaſe of taxes, vi. 384. Their being kept in idle-
nefs, another evil, ibid. The number of foldiers has diminiſhed
courage, 385. The increale of, tends to defpotifm, 387.
South, the people of, appear to be born for defpotiſm, vi. 318.
South Sea, the feveral reftrains laid upon the navigation of, by
the Spaniards, ii. 545. Firſt diſcovery of, by Balboa, iii. 8.
South Sea Company, English, eftabliſhed, iii, 301.
Sowfa, Thomas de, his generous releafe of a female ſlave to her
lover, i, 196.
Spain, the fate of, when the feveral provinces were united by the
marriage of Ferdinand and Iſabella, i. 21.
Conteſts between the crowns of Spain and Portugal, concern-
ing the property of American and Afiatic difcoveries, ii. 260.
Sends miffionaries to the Philippine iſlands, 262. Review of
their government and policy there, 265. Remarks on the im-
portance of thefe iflands by proper management, 270 Inquiry
into the cauſe of the antipathy the Spaniards have to the French,
275. Their plan of dominion in the Eaſt, ſuſpended by the trea-
fures they enjoy in America, 369. Manners of the ancient na-
tives of, 403. Is fubdued by the Carthaginians, 405. Is re-
duced under the power of the Romans, ibid. Is fubjected by
the Goths, and afterwards by the Moors, 406. The kingdoms
of Caftile and Arragon united, 407. Columbus fitted out for
the difcovery of a new continent, 409. Their fettlement and
cruelties on the iſland of St. Domingo, 419. Their fucceſſes in
America greatly facilitated by the Indian women, 433
queft of Mexico by Cortez, 438.
Con-
Conqueft of Peru by Pizarro, iii. 10. Review of the regula-
tions eftabliſhed in this province, 41. Trade carried on with
South America, at Porto Bello, 158. The Spaniards a mixed
race in all parts of the world, 189. Review of the forms of go-
vernment eſtabliſhed in Spanish America, 239. Ecclefiaftical
government of the colonies, 240. Diftribution of lands there,
242. Taxes impofed on the colonies, 247. Sunimary view of
the revenues derived from America, 252. The Spanish court
actuated by a fpirit of monopoly in the adminiftration of her co-
lonies, 253. Reaſon why the perfevered in an erroneous fyftem,
255. Decline of manufactures and agriculture at home, in con-
fequence of acquiring American poffeffions, 257. Thefe mif-
fortunes voluntarily aggravated by the expulfion of the Moors
from Spain, 258. Confequences of this infatuated conduct, 260.
Oppreffion of the farmers, 261. The operation of the inquifi-
tion on the character of the Spaniards, 264. Their poverty and
pride, 266, Degeneracy of manners, ibid. Diftrefs of the
Spanish monarchy, 267: Depopulation of America, 268.
Probable caufes of the barbarity exercifed toward the Indians,
269. Great deftruction of lives in the mines, 271. Hatred
between the European and American Spaniards, 273. Indica-
tions
IN DE, X:
tions of a recovery from thefe calamitous influences, 274. The
adminiftration of the colonies reformed, 275, Meaſures recom-
mended for the recovery of the kingdom to profperity, 276. Ą
proper turn fhould be given to the national pride, 277. The
clergy and military ought to be reduced, and the Inquifition
abolifhed, 278. Toleration in religion neceffary to increaſe the
population of the kingdom, 283. Impoffible for Spain to keep
the produce of the American mines in their own hands, 284.
Amount of their exportation, 286. Amount of the gold and
filver imported from the American mines, ibid. Agriculture
ought to be promoted, 288. Articles proper for American cul-
tivation, ibid. Ought to open the colonies to foreigners, 290.
The objections against an open trade with America, confidered,
297. Whether the Spanish dominion over the colonies be per-
manent, 299. Prefent flouriſhing ſtate of the kingdom, 308.
Qutrages committed by Philip II. and his fucceffors, againſt the
Portugueſe, 347. Difputes with Portugal about the boundaries
of their American fettlements, 366. Why they relinquish the
conqueft of the Caribbee Iſlands, 480. Their violent meafures
to check the contraband trade in the Weft Indies precipitate
them into war, 530. Engage with France in a war with Great
Britain, 560. Lofs of Havannah, 566.
The expulfion of the Moors from Spain, the producing
caufe of the piratical ftates of Barbary, iv. 37. Attempts
made by, to obtain a fhare of the African flave trade, 101. Ac-
count of the Spaniſh fettlements on the island of St. Domingo,
207. Deſcription of Cuba, 215. Examination into their po-
licy and management of the Caribbee Ilands, 238.
Fate of a Spanish colony fent to fettle in Louiſiana, v. 254-
The reports circulated by the Spaniards concerning the Streight
of Anian, fuppofed to be artfully propagated to mislead other
nations, 381. Account of the expedition of Admiral Fuentes,
ibid.
The king of, offers his mediation between England, France,
and America, vi. 234. And, on refufal, joins with the two lat-
ter in the war againſt England, 236. Political commotions exe
cited by the difputed fucceffion to the crown of Spain, 360,
Brief hiftory of the famous armada for the conqueſt of Eng-
land, 390. Their Weft India difcoveries occafion the neglect
of arts and agriculture, 406.
Spice-trade, meafures purfued by the Dutch to fecure the mono-
poly ofsci. 231. 238.
Stadtholder, of the United Provinces, whether this office be dan-
gerous to the liberties of the Dutch, vi. 311.
Stamp-act, over the British American colonies, origin of, vi: 150.
Causes of it's repeal, ibid.
Statefmen, how formed in general, vi. 366. Their ufual conduct,
368.
-Statues, reflection on the folly of erecting them, and the vanity of
princes in procuring them to be erected, ii. 207.
I
Subabs,
INDE
X.
:
Subabs, under the Indoſtan empire, the nature of their dignity and
authority, ii, 124.
Suez, a communication eſtabliſhed from that port with the Eaſt
Indies, by the Venetians, i 106.
Sugar cane defcribed, and it's hiftory, iv. 165. Method of culti-
vation, 166. The juice how feparated from the cane, 168.
Process of obtaining fugar from this juice, ibid. French method
of preparing fugar, 169. Qualities of fugar depending on the
foil it grows on, 171. Diftillation of rum, 172. Hints for in-
proving the cultivation of the cane, ibid. Sugar the principal
article of exportation from the Caribbee Islands, 174. Requires
confiderable capitals to cultivate it with fuccefs, 241. Culture
of, at Barbadoes, v. 23.
!
+
Sugar maple Tree defcribed, vi. 98. Method of procuring it's
fap, ibid. How the fap is reduced to fugar, ibid.
Sully, minifter of Henry IV. of France, his character as a finan-
cier, ii. 79.
Sumatra, fituation and defcription of that iſland, i. 249. Religion
and government of the fouthern Malay inhabitants, 250. Ac-
count of the northern inhabitants, 251. Defcription of the
camphor tree, ibid. The face of the country, and its mine-
ral productions, 253. Trade carried on there by the Dutch,
254
Superftition, monkish, characterized, i. 11. Natural events of an
extraordinary kind, one great fource of, ii, 437. iii. 279. It's
univerfality and object, v. 136.
ཏི
!
Surat, it's fituation, and the trade carried on there defcribed, i.
409 Revolutions there, 444. Is intended by the French to be
the centre of their Eaftern traffic, ii. 27. Origin and progreſs of
that city, 31. The fhips built there, ibid. Manners of the
inhabitants, 32. Banians, ibid. Perfees, 34. Moguls, 36.
Is pillaged by Sevagi, 43. Their fhips and caravans robbed,
ibid. Principal articles of the trade of the city, 44 This
market loft to the French, 63.
Surinam, it's fituation and fettlement defcribed, iv. 261. It's re-
volutions, ibid. A colony of fugitive ſlaves formed there, 263.
Their independence acknowledged by the Dutch, ibid. Dutch
method of draining the low grounds in, 265. Their coffee and
fugar plantations, 266. Their accurate and neat agriculture,
267. Produce of the colony, 268. Number of inhabitants,
ibid. Account of the town of Paramabiro, 269. Taxes, ibid.
Defenfive ftate of the province, 280. Cruelty of the Dutch to
their Negro flaves, 281. Are haraffed by the incurfions of the
fugitive flaves, ibid.
ན་
,1
Sufa, in the regency of Tunis, it's harbour defcribed, iv. 23.1
Sweden, the ancient inhabitants of, concerned with other northern
nations in fubverting the Roman empire, ii. 226. Barbarous
manners of the natives until the time of Guftavus Vafa, ibid. Ill
confequences of his flutting his ports against the Lubeck ships,
227.
INDE X.
1
27 Martial fpirit diffufed by Guftavus Adolphus, 228, Change
in the manners of the people on the death of Charles XII. ibid.
An Eaft India company eſtabliſhed, 230. Hiftorical review of,
231. Preſent ſtate of the country, 234 Remarks on the
popu-
lation of, 235. Reflections on the propenfity to emigration
among the Swedes; 236. State of agriculture, 238 Mines, 239.
Manufactories and fisheries, 240. A maritime ftrength railed, 241.
Review of the articles of trade, 242. Military force, 243; Navy,
245 Revenues, ibid. Evils refulting from the change made in
1720, in the conftitution of government, 247. The factions of
Hats and Caps, 248. The king rendered abfolute, 249. In-
quiry into the nature of the conftitution of the government of,
vi. 284.
Switzerland, origin of the republic of, vi. 326. The nature of
the union of the feveral cantons explained, 327. Occafion of
their hiring out troops to foreign powers, 328. Review of their
preſent circumſtances, 329. Indications of ftability in their go-
vernment, 330. Their ecclefiaftical government, 331.
T..
Tobago, defcription of that ifland, v. 9o. It's revolutions, ibid.
Is ceded to England, 93. Error committed by the first English
fettlers, 96. It's population and produce, ibid.
Tabafco, the Indians there reduced by Cortez, ii. 432.
Talapoys, Siameſe monks, deſcribed, ii. 54.
Tamerlane, his extenfive conquefts in the Eaft, ii. 116.
Tanjour, defcription of that country and it's produce, ii, 202. A
fettlement formed there by the Danes, 203.
Tar, how procured from the pine-tree in Carolina, vi, 66.
Tartary, ancient Scythia, it's extent and inhabitants, ii. 282.
The great lama, and his religion, 283. Military character of
the Tartars, 286 Conquer the empire of China twice, 287.
Conteſts between the Ruffians and Chineſe about the boundaries
of the refpective empires, 288. A trade eſtabliſhed between the
Tartars and the Ruffians, 291.
་
Taxes, how levied in China, i 142. The great increaſe of, to be
attributed to the increaſe of ſtanding armies, vi. 384A defi-
nition of, 479. An hiftorical view of, 481. A poll-tax, the
moft arbitrary of all taxes, 482. Taxes on the neceffaries of
life, cruel, 483. Injurioufness of duties on trade, 484. A
land tax the only one which conciliates the public intereft with
the rights of individuals, 485. The objections to it ftated, 487.
Ruinous confequences of farming out revenues, 490.- Ought to
be regulated by the reprefentatives of the people, 492. Confe-
quences from the right of impofing taxes being in the prince,
493: 50604
Tea, the first introduction of this herb into England, and the uni
verfal fondness of the people for it, i. 5oo. Vaft confumption
of,
INDE X..
of, in England, 501. Defcription and culture of, ii. 321.
The varieties of, how produced, 323. Why generally drank by
the Chineſe, 324. Attempts made to cultivate the plant in Eu-
rope, 325.
Tellicherry, on the coaft of Malabar, an English factory for pepper
there, ii. 163. A compofition paid for the country duties, 166.
Teneriffe, deſcription of that island, and the height of the moun-
tain, ii. 412.
Tetuan, hiftorical account of that port, iv. 33.
Texeira, Michael de, archbishop of St. Salvadore, haraffes the
Dutch invaders of Brazil, iii. 337.
Theocracy, why the worst of all modes of government, i. 433. The
foundation of, vi. 252.
Theology, alters every thing, in order to bend them to it's own myf
terious principles, iv. 43. Obftructs the difcovery of truth by
fcruples, 49. The various principles on which it has been
founded by different nations, vi. 549. Morality the bafis of
all, 550.
1
Thibet, the articles of trade taken by that kingdom from Bengal,
i. 477. Muſk, a peculiar production to the country, ibid. See
Tartary.
Thomas, St. the Daniſh fettlement on the coaft of Coromandel,
hiftorical account of, iï. 48,`
the iſland of, fettled by the Danes, iv. 295. Is fre-
quented by the Buccaneers, 296. Other circumftances that eſta-
bliſhed a trade there, ibid. Number of inhabitants, 301.
Tillage of land, how far it will fupply the place of dung, v. 105.
Timor, defcription of that iſland, and the motives that induced the
Dutch to fecure it, i. 240.
Tirbes, eſtabliſhment of, in England, v. 344.
Tlafcala, republic of, oppofes the march of Cortez to Mexico,
ii. 439 Account of the government and manners of the na-
tives, 440. Make an alliance with the Spaniards, and reinforce
their army, 441. Return of Cortez to Tlafcala, 449. Manu-
factures of this province, 511.
Tobacco, hiftorical account of it's confumption and trade in France,
ii. 153. Firft difcovery, and defcription of this cauftic plant,
vi. 35. Method of cultivating it, 36. Management of the
plant after it is cut, 37. Comparifon of the quality of tobacco
from different parts of the world, ibid. Is a great exhaufter of
foil, 40.
A.
Toleration, the free exercife of, the means of extinguishing fanati
cifm and enthufiafm, vi. 258.
Tonquin, the religion of Confucius adopted there, but not his mo-
rality, ii. 56. Character of the inhabitants, 57. No Eu-
ropean merchants able to eftablish a correfpondence with them,
which is confined to the Chineſe, ibid.
Torrid zone, formerly fuppofed to be uninhabitable, i 29.
cumſtances that moderate the heat of, iii. go..
Cir
Tortuga,
༩༥་༢;
INDE X.
Tortuga, the inland of, becomes a neft of pirates, iii. 493. Their
depredations chiefly directed to the Spaniards, 494 Some of
their moſt remarkable exploits, 495. Defcription of the iſland,
iv. 416. The colony deftroyed, by orders from Madrid, 417.
Is retaken and fortified by the Buccaneers, under the com-
mand of Willis, an Englishman, ibid. The English expelled
by the French, 418. Produce of the ifland, 419.
Towns, how extricated from feudal obligations, iv. 129. See Cities.
Trade, how carried on, during the feudal ages, i. 16.
Trajan, emperor, his patriotic declaration to the Roman people,
vi. 233.
Tranquebar, in the kingdom of Tanjour, built and fettled by the
Danes, ii 203. Declines, ibid. Is attacked by the rajah of
Tanjour, at the inftigation of the Dutch, but refcued by the
Engliſh, 204. Prefent circumftances of the fettlement, 216.
Tranfmigration of fouls, the influence of this doctrine upon the
civil laws of Indoftan, i. 60. Mythological account of, 78.
Probable origin of the idea of, 79. Tends to foften the man-
ners of it's believers, ii. 373.
Transportation of Engliſh felons, the good policy of, v. 13.
Travelling, an immoral employment, iii. 325.
Travancor, on the coaft of Malabar, account of that kingdom,
and it's late enterprifing monarch, i. 427.
Treaties, between princes, have not the validity of thofe formed
between nations, vi. 363.
Trelawney, governor of Jamaica, his treaty with the fugitive Ne-
groes there, v. 70.
·
Trinidad, fituation and climate of that illand, iv. 190. It's ex-
tent and deſcription, ibid. Decline of the island from the pe-
riſhing of the cocoa trees, 191.
Tripoli, defcription of this country and it's inhabitants, iv, 18.
Their trade, 19. Defcription of it's capital town, 20.
Trois Rivieres, city of, in Canada, defcribed, v. 293.
Tunis, prefent ftate of it's military force, iv. 20. Revenue of
the ſtate, 21. Trade of the inhabitants, 22. Defcription of
it's capital town, 24.
Turks, character of that people in the fifteenth century, i. 2.5.
Their attempts on Europe checked by the naval enterpriſes of
the Portugueſe in the Eaft, 110. Origin of their empire, and
a review of their policy and hiſtory, vi. 269. Expedient of
Solyman to fupprefs feditious commotions, 271. Caufes of the
little influence the Turkish princes have in the affairs of Eu-
rope, 272. Murder and alfallination the ſubſtitutes for laws in
Turkey, 273.
Turnbull, Dr. carries over a colony of Greeks to Florida,
vi. 89.
Turpentine, how extracted from the pine-tree, in Carolina, vi
66.
Tyranny, the confequences of, in a Itate, iii. 37. The Tyltem
öf, analyzed. v. 8. Why it is fubmitted to, 361.
Vacuf,
IN DE X
V.
Vacuf, intention of the law of, at Conftantinople, iii. 152.
Valdivia, his expedition into Chili, iii. 172. He and his men
deftroyed by the natives, ibid.
Valour, why esteemed a virtue, vi. 553.
Valparaifo, city of, in Chili, defcribed, iii. 175.
Van Horn, a Buccaneer, his intrepid character, iii. 508. Surprifes
Vera Cruz, ibid.
Van Riebeck, recommends a Dutch fetlement to be made at the
Cape of Good Hope, i. 271. Is intrufted with the manage-
ment of it, ibid.
Vane, Henry, his enthufiaftic character, and diſturbances excited
by him in New England, v. 436.
Vanilla, defcription of that plant, and it's culture, ii. 490. It's
preparation and ufes, 491.
Varech, a fea plant, ufed for manure in the Caribbee Iflands,
iv. 151.
Varniſh, Chineſe, natural hiftory of, ii. 341. How uſed, 342.
It's properties, 343.
Vedan, the facred book of the Bramins of India, the fource of
many diverfities relative to faith and practice; i. 66. VAN
Vega Real, plain of, in the ifland of St. Domingo, recommended
to the cultivation of the French, iv. 213.
Velafquez, forms a fettlement on the island of Cuba, and profe-
cutes difcoveries on the American continent, ii. 429. Com-
miffions Fernando Cortez to undertake the conqueft of Mexico,
431. His perfidious method of obtaining flaves from Florida,
vid 820
Venezuela, province of, in South America, it's hiftory, produc-
tions, and trade, iii. 60. It's flouriſhing ſtate under the Gui-
pufcoa company, 64. It's imports and exports, 68..
Venice, it's early profperity from the operations of commerce,
i. 18. Obtains the Eastern trade through the channel of Egypt,
104. Meaſures taken by, to obftruct the Portugueſe in their
Indian enterpriſes, 105. Open a trade with India from the
port of Suez in Egypt, 106. Account of the origin of the
city and republic of, vi. 319. Was the firft regular government
formed in Europe, 321. It's decline to be dated from the dif-
covery of America, ibid. It's myfterious policy and jealoufy,
322. The office of ſtate inquifitors, 323. Regulation of the
naval and military commands, 325.
Vera Cruz, old and new, defcribed, ii. 559. Account of the
intercourfe carried on there by the fleets from Old Spain, 560.
Is furprized and pillaged by the Buccaneers, iii. 508
Verd lands, improvements of which they are capable, iii. 441.
Defcription of, and their trade, iv. 79.
Varnon,
IN DE X.
X..
Vernon, Admiral, caufes of his ill fucceſs in attacking Carthagena,
iii. 52.
Vicuna, a wild animal in Peru, defcribed, with the method of
hunting it, iii. 126. Their fleeces, 127. Uſes to which their
wool is applied, ibid,
Viera, Juan Fernandez de, forms a confpiracy in Brazil to cut off
the Dutch governors of that province, iii, 350. His fucceffes
against them, ibid. Expels the Dutch, 351.
Vieira, Anthony, a Jefuit, his extraordinary fermon on the fuc-
ceffes of the Dutch in Brazil, iii. 340.
Villains, feudal, how emancipated from perfonal ſlavery, iv.
1314
Vincent, St was one of the iſlands refigned to the native Caribs, by
the English and French, v. 97. Their number increaſed by
an acceffion of Negroes, ibid. Diftinction between the black
and red Caribs, 98. The Caribs haraffed by the French, ibid.
Origin of the flat-headed Caribs, 99. War between the black
and red Caribs, 100. The iſland ceded by the French to the
English, 101. Preſent ſtate of cultivation there, 103.
Vines, remarks on the order for rooting them up in Portugal,
iii. 436.
Virgin Islands, their number and defcription, v. 41.
produce and government, ibid.
i'
upon
Their
Virginia, it's advantages over Maryland, vi. 41. Delufion of
the first adventurers to this province, 42. They are relieved
and inftructed by Lord Delaware, 43. Is ftrengthened by the
arrival of a number of refugee royalifts, 44. Is oppreſſed by a ri-
gorous enforcement of the Act of Navigation, 45. : Continue
ill terms with the Indians, ibid. Difagreements among
the colonists, 46. The English laws, with all their formalities,
introduced, 50. Admirable fpeech of Logan, chief of the
Shawanees, to lord Dunmore, ‘ibid. The population of the
country checked by perfecuting principles, 52. Prefent number
of inhabitants, ibid. Chief produce and articles of cultiva
tion, ibid. Export of tobacco, 53. Low ftate of Williamf-
bourg, the capital town, 55. The inhabitants of this colony
embarraſs their circumſtances by oftentatious luxury, ibid. How
they may extricate themſelves from fuch difficulties, ibid.
Ukraine, great fertility of that province, and means of improve
ing it, ii. 299.
Ulloa, M. takes poffeffion of Louiſiana for the king of Spain,
after the ceffion of, by France, v. 285.
:
Universe, argument in favour of a preceding and enfuing eternity:
of, iii. 109
Volcanos, the great antiquity of, indicated by the different ftages
of their prefent appearance, iii. 108. Indication of, to be found
every where in America, iv 258.
Voyages, eftimate of the good and evil produced by, vi. 567..
WA
INDE X
W.
Walpole, Sir Robert, the English minifter, remarks on his admi-
niftration, iii. 530. 534.
War, among the European nations, the real motives of, ii. 217.
A formal declaration neceflary for the commencement of, and
remarks on the conduct of the English in neglecting this previous
intimation of hoftilities, ii. 542. v. 454. Origin of the laws
of, iv. 196. Ancient and modern compared, v. 171. Always
furnishes a pretence for the ufurpations of government, vi, 150.
The events of, often decided by accidental circumstances, 237.
A proſpect of it's extinction, 370. This profpect found to be
á delufion, 372. Hiftorical view of war as an art, 373.
Infantry the moſt formidable in, ibid. Caufe of the long wars
between England and France, 374. Origin of ftanding armies
in Europe, 375. War extended by this innovation, 377. The
art of fortification invented by the Dutch, 379 A new fyftem
of tactics introduced by the king of Pruffia, 380. War carried
on now with more humanity than in ancient times, 383. The
numbers of foldiers amazingly increaſed, while they are very
poorly paid, 384. Soldiers ought to be ufefully employed dur
ing peace, ibid. Hiftorical review of the art of war upon the
fea, 388. Improvements produced by the invention of the
mariner's compafs, 389. Short account of the Spanish armada,
390. Commercial wars confidered, 428. Deftroys chiefly
thoſe turbulent men who are born with mischievous propenfities,
457.
Warwick, Admiral, commands the firſt fleet fent out by the Dutch,
Eaft India Company, i. 216. His contefts with the Portugueſe
in the Indian feas, ibid.
Washington, General, heads the North American troops in the
war againft Britain, vi. 160.
1
?
``
Welfers, of Augsbourg, purchaſe the American province of Vene-
zuela of the emperor Charles V. iii. 60. Their imprudent ma-
nagement, and defertion of the place, 61.
Whale-fibery, in Davis's Streights, and Greenland, account of
V. 312. Account of that carried on by New England, 447.
Laws made in England for the encouragement of, ibid. The
fishery in the Gulph of St. Laurence, 449.
✓
William the Conqueror, eſtabliſhes the feudal government in Eng-
land upon a regular, permanent footing, vi. 295.
William III. elected king of England, and accepts the crown on
ftipulated conditions, vi. 298.
William, Fort, in Bengal, defcribed, i. 487.
Williamsbourg, the capital of Virginia, account of, vi. 55.
Winds, the general courfe, and natural caufes of, in the Welt
Indies, iii, 467.
Wodin,
INDE
X.
Wodin, the Scythian chief, excites the other European nations to
fall upon the Roman empire, ii. 198. Was the founder of a
fanguinary fyltem of religion, 200.
Wolfe, General, killed at the fiege of Quebec, v. 330.
Women, laws of Indoftan, relating to, i. 61. Caufes why they
often exerciſe fovereign power, in favage nations, ii. 59. Their
treatment in the different ftages of human fociety deſcribed, iii.
76. Their virtue of the greateſt importance to fociety, vi. 360.
The connexions of gallantry complete the depravation of man-
ners, 363.
X.
Xalapa, account of the fair there, for the traffic with European
and American commodities, ii. 560.
Y.
Tago, St. in the ifland of Chiloe, deſcribed, iii. 177. It's go-
vernment and jurifdiction, 178.
Tams, the plant deſcribed, iv. 156.
Tanam, in the province of Rajahmandry, account of the French
factory there, il, 169.
raws, a diforder incident to Negroes, defcribed, with the method
of cure, iv. 115.
rberville, is fent by the court of France on an expedition up the
Miffiffippi, v. 240. His death, 241.
York, New. See New York.
Z.
Zealand, inland of, in Denmark, fome account of, iv. 305.
THE END.
DIRECTIONS to the Book-Binder, for
placing the MAPS and PLATES.
Map of the European Settlements in the Eaſt Indies,
to face Page 1. of the First Volume.
Map of the European Settlements in South America,
to face Page 1. of the Second Volume.
Map of the European Settlements in the Weft In-
dies, to face Page 1. of the Fourth Volume.
Map of the European Settlements in North America,
to face Page 1. of the Fifth Volume.
The Head of the Abbé Raynal, to face the title of
the First Volume.
Plate I. to face the Title of the Firft Volume,
Plate II. to face the Title of the Second Volume.
Plate III. to face the Title of the Fourth Volume.
Plate IV. to face the Title of the Third Volume.
Plate V. & VI. to face the Title of the Fifth Vo
lume.
Plate VII. to face the Title of the Sixth Volume.
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
3 9015 06544 7891
A 527681
}