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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44890	Memoirs of the Dutch trade in all the states, kingdoms, and empires in the world shewing its first rise and prodigious progress : after what manner the Dutch manage, and carry on their trade, their dominions and government of the Indies : by what means they have made themselves masters of all the trade of Europe : what goods and merchandise are proper for maritime traffick, whence they are to be had, and what gain and profit they produce : a work very necessary for all merchants, and others concerned in trade / done from the French now printed at Amsterdam.; Grand trésor historique et politique du florissant commerce des Hollandois dans tous les Etats et empires du monde. English	Huet, Pierre-Daniel, 1630-1721.	1700 (1700)	Wing H3300A; ESTC T145652	106,369	252

thing and it may be truly said that without their Assistance they would never have been able to put so glorious an End to the War as they did We see by this what Advantage Commerce is to a State when it is regulated with Prudence and by able Merchants who have all Protection and no Constraint But what need we go out of France for Examples to show how important Commerce is to a Nation We need only consider the great Things that have been done under the glorious Reign of our Great Monarch and the almost infinite Sums which have been disbursed as well to support the War against all the Powers of Europe for above 30 Years as during the Peace Could one ever have imagined this could have been done without that prodigious Quantity of Money which Trade especially that with Spain brought into France For we have no Mines to supply us What then would have been the Consequence had Commerce been protected and encouraged in France as it ought to have been I doubt not but in such Case we might have said of France what the Holy Scripture said of Jerusalem that in the Days of Solomon Gold and Silver were as common as Stones If England by means of the Woollen Manufactures and by the vent of her Tin Lead and Sea-Coal has amassed such Riches what might one not have believed France would have gained which besides her Manufactures of Wool Silk Linnen Hats Paper and many other Things which are eagerly sought after by all the World supplies other Countries with Wines Brandies Wheat Salt Oil and Fruits of all sorts for immense Sums This Abundance and great Plenty of our Merchandize so necessary and useful to our Neighbours made my Lord Bellasis say That if God should one Day make the Turks know what they could do at Sea and the French how far they might extend their Commerce all Europe would soon fall a Conquest to those Powers I shall only give one Instance more to shew how nothing but Commerce can enrich a Kingdom let us therefore turn our Eyes to Spain and it is certain that there is no Nation in the World has so little Gold and Silver as the Spaniards tho' those two Metals grow in such prodigious Quantities in their Dominions other Nations notwithstanding are better provided therewith on account of the great Vent their Commodities have in Spain and the dependent Kingdoms which have Occasion for them and in short that great Monarchy has fallen to Decay purely for having neglected Commerce and establishing several Manufactures in Dominions of so vast and large extent It was this Negligence which was one of the principal Springs of the Riches of France and while France traded with Spain she never wanted Gold or Silver not even during those long and difficult Wars Let us only look back and consider what Condition France was in by the Pyrenean Treaty notwithstanding a long War of above twenty five Years and all those she has since sustained even to our Days It is much to be wished we would open our Eyes soon enough and take Notice of a Matter of so much Importance and so necessary as Commerce and endeavour to know how to take such Measures as may bring to a good Issue that on which in some manner depends the Happiness of all his Majesty's Subjects and the Grandeur of the Nation We Frenchmen have been reproached and perhaps not without some reason that the Genius of our Nation was not proper for a foreign Commerce being quickly weary of all Undertakings that require a solid and continued Application But without deciding this Matter I shall content my self to say that there have been and yet are in France Persons of very good Abilities and Experience necessary for carrying on a vast Trade Out of several I shall only mention Jaques Couer Superintendent of the Finances or in the Language of those Times Moneyer to King Charles the Seventh This Man who was born at Bourges being entirely addicted to Foreign Trade in a time when scarce any one meddled with it in France got prodigious Wealth which he employ'd to the best Advantage in the Service of the King his Master and the Support of the State Matthew Coucy an Historian his Contemporary speaks of him after this manner The King says he had in his Kingdom a Man of mean Extraction whose Name was Jaques Couer who by his Sense Vigilance and good Conduct so ordered it as to undertake trading in Commodities of the hightest Value which he still continued to do notwithstanding his being made Moneyer to King Charles in which Office he continued a long while in great Power and Prosperity He had under him many Clerks and Factors who had the Care of these Commodities to distribute them thro' all Christian States and Kingdoms He had at Sea a great many large Vessels maintained at his own Expence and Charge which traded to the Levant Egypt and Barbary to freight themselves with all sorts of rich and fine Commodities and Merchandize by Leave of the Sultan and Turks paying them some little Duty as an Acknowledgment He caused to be brought from those Countries Gold and Silver Stuffs Silks of all Sorts and Colours Furs for Men and Women of several Kinds as Martins and Sables c. and other excellent Curiosities which Goods he sold by his Commissaries and Factors at the Hotel Royalle in all the principal Cities of the Kingdom and in foreign Courts where the People surprized with Admiration soon bought them up at a good Price He had at least three or four Hundred Commissaries or Factors at his Command and gained himself more in one Year than all the Merchants of the Kingdom He was in Possession of the Office of Superintendant of the Finances when King Charles undertook the Conquest of Normandy in the Year 1449 of which Conquest this famous Merchant was the chief Cause for he was the first that encouraged the King to that great Undertaking and furnished him with an Army by offering him several Milions which was executed after the Manners as the King best liked and for which he was highly applauded and complimented by all the Princes and Lords of the Court and yet for all that Expence his Wealth was almost invaluable Heaven could once have given us and yet might have given us another Jaquez Couer and then we should have entertained greater Hopes than ever to bring the Trade of France to its highest Pitch and make our Nation the most flourishng in the World The Merchants of France to accomplish this want only an experienced Leader a Person of much Knowledge one that has a great Foresight an enterprizing Genius and continual Application and Perseverance a Person of great Credit and Power that he may protect those who traffick under him and are his Commissioners in whatever Place of the World It was by such Means as these that the Dutch have carried Commerce to the highest Degree as may be seen in the following

are only Dyed with one Colour as Red or Black of which as well as the White there is a great Consumption on the Coast of Melinda and in the Emperor of the Abyssin's Country the Philippine Islands of Borneo Sumatra and Java c. Next to the Spices the Callicoes and other Cotton Stuffs make one of the most considerable Articles in the Dutch East-India Trade for besides those surprising Quantities they bring into Europe which may be seen by the Catalogues or Lists os their Cargoes the Company sells no less in the several Countries of Asia where they Trade to I take no Notice of Cotton Thread brought into Europe Cloth made of the Bark of Trees Persian Wooll and the fine Woollen Carpets made at Agra Tho' the People of Europe who trade to the Indies bring back neither Gold nor Silver but on the contrary carry both into these Countries I shall in few Words give an Account of the Places where these valuable Mettals are to be had and which are so very necessary for the Dutch Company to make their Trade flourish in the Indies There is a great Quantity of Gold in many Places of Asia especially in China and Japan in the Kingdoms of Pegu Siam Azem Tripara and Camboya and in the Islands of Sumatra and Macassar But China is the Country of all Asia where it most abounds not but that they have very rich Mines of Gold in Japan but there is none ever suffered to come out the Emperor having prohibited it under severe Penalties and his Commands are rigourously observed As the Chinese are very fond of Silver and have very little of it they make no Difficulty to give their Gold for Silver and there is vast Profit to be made by those who know how to manage this Exchange They omit no Pains to get the Piastres or Pieces of Eight of Mexico and they get good Quantities by the People of the Philippine Islands who Trade to Mexico Silver Mines are nothing near so numerous in Asia as those of Gold and indeed there seems to be but very little Silver there since there is scarce any Prince from the Great Mogul's Country to Japan that coins any Money In Truth the riches of the Mines in the Mogul's Country are so great that they pay for all Goods brought thither in Gold as they do in China and as the Dutch are the only Nation in Europe that Trade to Japan and their Trade to that Country is very considerable so they bring thence a great deal of Silver which generally is in Pieces of the Value of our Crowns they carry almost all that Money into the Great Mogul's Country where Commissioners of Money give them 3 per Cent more than they will for our Crowns The Dutch bring from Japan a sort of Red Copper which is excellent and much better than most of what is in Europe being softer and more malleable and pliant which makes it 25 per Cent dearer The Company carry much of it to the Coasts of Coromandel and Bengal and dispose of it to great Advantage that which they bring into Europe is sent to Aix la Chappel to be workt up there in small and large Vessels Copper Furnaces c. and good Quantities of it is employed in the Foundery for Cannons c. their Indian Fleet in the Year 1694 brought 27650 Pound Weight and those that have come since have brought Six Times as much Tin and Lead abound very much in the Kingdom of Siam and towards Malacca the Dutch have the Privilege to buy those Commodities at Ligor The Tin Trade is very profitable to the Dutch and they buy it with Bengal Carpets and Coromandel Linnen which they purchase very cheap Tin sells very well in other Sea Ports in the Mogul's Country and in Persia and Arabia The Dutch have often brought into Europe very great Quantities of Tin their Fleet in the Year 1694 brought about 28845 Pound Weight and what they have brought since is Five or Six Times as much which they sell with vast Profit though it is very fine and they sell it cheap What remains now is that I speak a few Words about Pearls and precious Stones Porcelain or China Ware The Diamond is no where to be found but in Four Countries of Asia The First Place is the Kingdom of Visapore the Second Golconda the Third the Kingdom of Bengal subject to the Great Molgul and the Fourth is the Isle of Borneo It is believed that the Mine of Bengal is the oldest in the World That of Visapore was only known about 200 Years ago The Mine of Golconda which is Seven Days Journey from the Capital of that Name has been known no more than 120 Years yet I have been inform'd that it is the richest and most frequented of any it employing constantly above 60000 People The Portugueze are supposed to bring into Europe the most Diamonds of any People perhaps on Account of their Trade which to this Day is still carried on in Goa the chief City of the Indies for Traffick especially for Oriental Pearls The other precious Stones of several fine Colours come likewise out of Asia but are only found in the Kingdom of Hava which is in subjection to the King of Pegu and in the Isle of Ceylan The Mine of the Kingdom of Hava is in the Mountain of Capelan about Two Days Journey from Ciren the Residence of the King of Pegu this Mine produces great Quantities of Rubies Sapphires Blue and White Topazes Hyacynths and Amethysts of which the King keeps always the most beautiful They find likewise Rubies Saphires and Topazes much finer and more beautiful than those of Pegu in a River which falls down the Mountains that are in the middle of the Isle of Ceylan Turquoize Stones come from Persia the Mine is in the Mountain of Pirouskoua three or Four Days Journey from the City of Mescheda The old Rock is now kept for the Royal Family only the Turquoize Stones of the new Rock being nothing near so good having not so fine and lively Colour as the old Rock The Mine of the fine Oriental Agates is in the Province of Camboya Pearls are fished for in the Persian Gulph round the Island of Barhem belonging to the King of Persia they fish for them also over against the Coast of Arabia-Felix near the Town of Catiff which belongs to an Arabian Prince The Pearls of these Two Places have a Yellowish cast the greatest Part of these Pearls they sell in the Indies the other in the Provinces of Asia and Muscovy where they are not so difficult as in Europe about the Shape and Water of Pearls There is also a Fishery for Pearls in the Streight of the Isle of Ceylan near the little Isle of Manar now in Possession of the Dutch Company they will have it that these are the finest in all the East for roundness and Colour but very few of them Weigh above Three or Four Carats There are Pearls to

to the Company From this Trade I shall come to that of the Kingdom of BENGAL This Kingdom is a Country of the Indies on the Terra Firma and the Company have here several Storehouses to carry on their Trade which consists chiefly in selling Spices Copper Tin Lead Quicksilver and other Things which they sell at a great Advantage but yet in continual Danger to be molested by the Moors in Power whose Avarice is so exorbitant that it costs the Company every Year to keep them in Temper vast Sums of Money in Presents which are sent privately to them as the only Remedy against this dangerous Evil since the Company's Interest is to live in Peace and not break with a People from whom they gain such considerable Advantages in Trade which they would run the hazard of losing should they take up Arms to maintain the Liberties and Privileges of Commerce and which would not always square with the Interest of the Company and therefore as long as the Moors of Bengal shall not exact more than what is usual to give them 'twill be better to let things rest as they are This Method to me seems the most secure and certain for the Benefit and Advantage of the Company By the last Advices from Bengal before we left the Indies we heard that the Fleet called Strion coming from Malacca and which had on Board Monsieur Nicholas St. Kayen Councellor Extraordinary and new Director in the Streights of Bengal run aground tho' in pretty fair Weather on the Shoals of Isagli near the Mouth of the River and was actually lost on the Sands by the strong Seas the Men were saved with great Difficulty and 200 Chests of Silver but the Copper with which the Ships were laden worth 90000 Gulders sunk to the Bottom and was all lost Monsieur Wanrek Lord of Midrech Commissioner for Trade has given very good Orders in that Country and reformed a great many Abuses and bad Customs being well acquainted with the ill Conduct of the Commissaries in their several Employments and has dismissed several in this Country as well as Batavia to justify their Conduct and it is certain that the redressing these Abuses would have been attended with many others had not that Lord been a little short in providing proper Persons to fill up these Vacancies COROMANDEL The Sieur Wanrek was to go in the Month of May 1695 to Commandel to pursue the Execution of his Commission Coromandel is very near Bengal and where the Company have Affairs of highest Importance for besides the Town of Negapatan situated on the South-side of Coromandel which our People took from the Portugueze the Company has in Possession the Fort of Gueldria where the Governour resides and the Storehouses or Magazines of Guenapatam Sadrespatam Malispatam Pelicol Datskorom Beulispatam Nagurnantie and Golconda for the Advancement of Trade in those several Places which consists chiefly in Callicoes as also in the Sale of several Commodities our People bring into those Parts as Spices Japan Copper Tin Gold Ore and the like This Trade is extremely profitable and advantageous but yet exposed to the Violence of the Moors that are in Power for the Governments of these Countries are almost always farmed and these Farmers being protected by the Ministry take all Opportunities to extort Money from the Subjects insomuch that Foreign Dealers can never secure themselves from being pillaged by these Farmers who are very covetous and therefore to avoid being disturbed in their Traffick are forced to skreen themselves from these Evils by Presents which costs the Company very dear But these Evils are unhappily much augmented since about four Years ago and arrived to that Excess as obliged the Company to take up Arms and seize upon the Town of Mazulipatam to force the King of Golconda to give them just Satisfaction for the Violence and Injuries done the Company which in the End came to a very good Issue The Occasion of this Difference was thus The Resident of the Company in Golconda which is the City where the King resides became Security for a certain Pagan Merchant for the Value of a Million of Livres without having any Order or Power to do so and which was done without doubt in View of some considerable Interest and Advantage the First Minister of the Kingdom who was also a Pagan of the Race of Brammer took this Opportunity to make his Market imprison'd the Merchant and seiz'd on all his Effects under Pretence that he was indebted to the King in vast Sums of Money Our People saw very well how ill-grounded this Pretence was and represented accordingly the Agreement made with the Company that no Merchant whom the Company dealt with should be molested either in his Person or Goods and that the Company were not previously satisfied their Demands they had on those Merchants but all signified nothing and they were obliged to take up Arms and Matters were carried so far that the King engaged himself to pay this Debt out of his own Revenues and thus the Company obtained by Force that Satisfaction they were denied and freed themselves in a little time from a long War which was very expensive and would have been very prejudicial to them by interrupting their Commerce with this Nation the most Important and of the greatest Consequence of any they have in the Indies The frequent Quibbles of the Moorish Governours is the Reason why the Company cannot drive a free Trade in that Country but are obliged to make these Trade-Contracts with some certain Persons and even to trust them with the greatest Part of their Commodities all at once because of the Liberty and Easiness with which they Sell or Truck with the Natives of the Country and much more advantageously than our People can do These Dealers enter also into Societies amongst themselves and gain much more than our People and this is one of the chief Reasons that the Company could not get these sort of Contracts with the Moorish Merchants executed for vending their Linnens in Siam and other Countries The last Advices from Coromandel told us that our People were very uneasy at the Approach of the Great Mogul's Army who having made himself Master of the Kingdom of Visapore several Politicians and People of good Understanding believed he had an Intention in like manner to subdue Golconda Time will show this tho' it be much to be wish'd for the Good of the Company who will then have a free Commerce which to them will be of the greatest Benefit and Advantage CEYLAN Is a great Island separated from the South-side of Coromandel only by a small Arm of the Sea It is very Famous on the Account of the vast Quantities of Cinnamon it produces 'twas this Spice which tempted the Portugueze to conquer this Island first of all and after them the Company became Masters of it that is of the lower Part and of the Coasts round about the Highlands continuing still in Subjection to the King of

of the World These Busses sail generally from Dort Rotterdam Delft Schiedam Vlaerdinguen the Brill Maeslandshies Enchuisen and some other Places of less Note This Art of Pickling and Barrelling Herring as I said before was found out by a Heming of Bierulem whose Name was William Buerem He died in the Year 1347 and was buried at Bierulem Charles the Fifth coming to that Town caused a Tomb to be erected to honour the Memory of that Man who had procured so great an Advantage to his Country To the Fishery in general may be added that of the Whale the Oil and Fins of which serve for several Uses They fish for the Whales on the Coasts of Greenland and Spitsburg which is but seven or eight Days Voyage with a South Wind a thing very frequent in Holland Whale Fishing is only once a Year There sails from Amsterdam and the neighbouring Towns from the Maose and Winde above 200 Ships from 200 to 250 Tuns Burthen having each 35 or 40 Men aboard to be employed in the Fishery The largest Whales yield about 7 or 8 Tun of Oil This Oil thickens like Hogs-Lard and they use great Quantities of it in the United Provinces especially the poor and labouring People to burn in Lamps and in making green Soap a thing only in Use in the Low Countries Artois and Picardy Those that make Shammy Leather of Bucks Goats Sheeps and Elks Skins consume great Quantities of this Oil which is the most proper for this Son of Dressing Leather of any Oil whatsoever and therefore they cannot well be without it The Manufactures in the United Provinces employ as many People as the Fishery It is incredible how many get their Livelihood by both I have before observed that some Manufactures were established before the Fishery but those Manufactures were then very inconsiderable to what they were afterwards The Herring Fishery in particular was so advantageous to the Dutch that the Sale of their Fish brought into their Country from the Places where they used to dispose of them several unwrought Goods which they got finished at Home by those vast Numbers of Workmen of all Sorts who had fled hither from Flanders Brabant France Germany and several other Countries on the Account of Persecution I do not pretend to give an exact Particular of all the Manufactures of the United Provinces it would be too prolix for the Brevity of this Treatise I shall only say that it is certain that in no Kingdom State or Country in the World they are so numerous and flourishing as in Holland I shall take Notice only of some of the most considerable and such as sell best in other Countries Tho' there are Manufactures in several Places of the United Provinces yet they flourish most in the Towns of Amsterdam Leyden and Harlem but Amsterdam for Number far exceeds the other two In this last Town they make Cloths Camlets and all Sorts of Woollen and Hair Stuffs as also all Sorts of Silks Gold and Silver Stuffs and Ribbons and are the best made in this Town of any in all the Provinces Besides gilt Leather they work here all other Sorts as Morocco Shammy and many other Sorts and it may likewise be said that Dying which is settled in several other Towns and Places of these Provinces is one of the most considerable Manufactures of this Republick There are also at Amsterdam several Houses for Refining Sugar Borax Camphire Cinnaber and Sulphur several for whitening yellow Wax a great many Saw-Mills for all Sorts of Woods Powder-Mills Snuff-Mills Mills to polish Marble and Mills to draw Oil from several Sorts of Seeds In short one may say of Amsterdam what Vopiscus said of Alexandria who after he had given an Account of its Manufactures added That all its Inhabitants followed some Trade that the lame and the gouty were employed and even those that had the Gout in their Hands did not sit idle The Town of Leyden without Dispute is preferable to all others for all Sorts of Woollen Manufactures especially the finest Sort as Serges Camlets and the like They tell you that these Manufactures after the Year 1400 began to grow in some Esteem and the Workmen of Ipres that fled from their own Country settled themselves there But be that as it will every Body agrees they had not then that Esteem till after the Persecutions for Religion began which effectually drove great Numbers of Workmen from the Provinces of Flanders Hainault and Artois c. They make also good Woollen Stuffs at Harlem but they are much inferior to those of Leyden which latter may undoubtedly pass for the best of Europe in their Kind The Dutch have their Wooll from Spain and England Germany Poland and the Levant that Sort of Wooll called Vigogue from Peru and that of Coramania from Persia The best Silks are made at Harlem and this Manufacture in its Kind is not inferior to the Cloth Manuufacture of Leyden They make in this Place coarse flowered Velvets Linnens Silks Gauzes and in general all Sorts of slight Silks of which there is a great Consumption in Germany and all over the North Portugal and other Places where they prefer these Silks and the Gold and Silver Brocades made here to those of France Besides they are 15 or 20 per Cent cheaper These Manufactures in Reality are not so beautiful nor so good as those of Lyons and Tours but the Difference in the Piece makes amends for that and makes them go off better And tho' their Workmen want a Genius for Design and Invention yet they no sooner come from France but they imitate them to Perfection They know how to work and finish them with all possible Dexterity and Neatness This added to their Cheapness makes other Countries rather make use of them Besides the Dutch import Silks from Italy the Levant Persia Bengal Tonquin and China The Town of Delft is a Place famous for fine earthen Ware in Imitation of China Horne is for dealing in Cheese which is made in the North of Holland as also for large Earthen or Stone Ware In Dort and some other Places there are Houses for refining Salt and if I mistake not Places for Spinning and Bleaching Thread Sardam not far from Amsterdam is certainly the only Place in the World where all Sorts of Ships are built for the Use of Merchants not only of the United Provinces but of other Countries which causes a prodigious Consumption of Wood Cordage Masts Sails and other Necessaries for Shipping of which great Numbers are daily sold to Strangers ready built and fit for Launching The Dutch have their Timber from Muscovy Norway the Lower Germany Pomerania and the Provinces bordering on the Baltick Most of this Timber is brought to Sardam which is a Village somewhat more than two Leagues long whose Inhabitants are all Carpenters and they are so skilful in their Business that as it is credibly reported if they have three Months Notice before-hand they can every Day

great Advantage in the Northern Trade and accordingly on the 22d of May 1631 sign'd a Treaty of Confederacy with Lubeck then Chief of the Teutonick Hanse Towns for a free and safe Trade to the Baltick In the Year following the most considerable of the other Hanse Towns follow'd the Example of Lubeck and the Dutch made so good use of these Treaties and several other Advantages they got in the North that they have almost entirely stript all the Hanse Towns Hamburgh only excepted of the little Trade there was left them and if we may be allow'd to say so made themselves Sole Masters of all the Commerce of the North. I shall in a few Words give you an Account of their Trade to Muscovy The Trade that Europe drove with that vast Empire was carried on constantly by the way of Revel and Narva two Towns in Livonia situated on the extream Parts of the Baltick till the Year 1653 but the English who first attempted the North-Passage to China discover'd Archangel one of the best Ports the Muscovites have upon the White Sea and the most proper and commodious for a great Trade being but seven or eight Leagues distant from the famous River Duina which runs thro' the greatest Part of Muscovy and the Czar granted them great Privileges to engage them to settle a Trade at Archangel The Dutch soon follow'd the same Route and in spite of all the Obstacles the English put in their Way they obtain'd of the Czar the same Permission to Trade to Archangel as the English Every Year since that Grant they have sent thither 36 or 40 Sail of Ships from 200 to 400 Tuns which go always from Holland in two Squadrons the first consisting only of 5 or 6 Ships goes off usually in the Month of June and returns in September and the second consisting of 30 or 34 Ships fails in July and returns not from Archangel till the end of October These two Fleets which vary sometimes as to their Number have always a Convoy allow'd them by the City of Amsterdam which City engrosses almost all that Trade The Principal Time of Traffick is during the Fan of Archangel which begins the 20th of August and ends the last Day of that Month. I shall give you here a short Account of the Principal Commodities the Dutch import to Muscovy and what they bring thence viz. Silk Linnen and Woollen Stuffs Beaver's Skins from Canada Paper Small-Ware of all sorts and Iron-work Cannon and Small Arms Gun-powder Sulphur Copper 〈◊〉 Tin Wines Brandies Oils and Vinegar Confections and dry Fruits Saffron Sugar Spices Pepper and Pickled Herrings of the first Season Frankincense Copperas Ceruse or White-Lead Indigo and all sorts of Woods for dying Red Galloons and Laces of all sorts Gold and Silver-Thread and all sorts of Silver Coin I shall before I conclude this Treatise make some Remarks on the Commodities sent to and exported from Muscovy However by this Account one may easily see how considerable the Dutch Trade to Muscovy is not only in relation to its Convoys and Returns but also on Account of the Number of Ships it continually maintains One would have imagin'd the English who first enjoy'd the Privileges of paying no manner of Custom should have made themselves entirely Masters of the Muscovite Trade however it is certain they send now a-days no more than 4 or 5 Vessels thither while the Dutch commonly send 40 or thereabouts A certain English Author has taken a great deal of Pains to let us know what Methods the Dutch made use of to raise their Commerce with Muscovy above that of England His Words are these The English Cloths are not valued in Russia because they are dearer than those of Holland which tho' they shrink after being wet above a sixth part yet the Russians prefer them to our Cloths because say they no Cloth will shrink but what is New It must be own'd that we are much in the wrong in not complying with their Humour and restraining our to that Commodity only while the Dutch bring them thither a vast Quantity of Toys things that sell better there than Cloths which begin now to be out of Fashion in that Country If the Dutch have entirely establish'd in Russia the Persian and Indian Silk Trade I am afraid the English will find it a a very difficult Matter to recover their Immunities and Privileges for the Russians are now grown cunning having been corrupted by the Dutch who know well how to distribute their Money to the best Advantage and being much richer in that Country and of greater Credit and more numerous than the English leave no Stone unturn'd to ruine them and have succeeded too well in their Project much better than could be imagin'd By Presents they gain the Friendship and Protection of the Nobility and make us despicable by scandalous Pictures and impudent defamatory Libels The only way in my Opinion to re-establish our Reputation and Commerce in that Country would be to permit only such Merchants to trade thither as should give no Credit for any Merchandize tho' the Russians fix a Time for Payment and to represent by Persons of Worth and good Understanding the flourishing Condition of the Dominions of the King of Great Britain Let us now come to the Trade of Norway The Riches of this Kingdom which is in subjection to the Crown of Denmark consist in Masts for Ships and other sorts of Timber as well for Ship-building as other Carpenter's Work Copper and Iron Mines Pitch and Tar dry'd Fish Furrs Buck-skins Ashes Butter and Tallow These are the Chief Commodities the Norway Merchants exchange with Foreigners for many things they want of absolute Necessity for the Support of Life The Dutch who have a greater Trade to Norway than all other Nations put together carry usually thither Spices Salt Canary Vinegar Brandy Cheese Tobacco Rolls Drapery and Small Wares Tho' this Kingdom is of vast Extent yet there is but very little Consumption being neither Rich nor well Peopled and it may be said that even Money would be entirely unknown here was it not for what the Dutch bring along with them to buy Timber But however inconsiderable the Norway Trade may seem it employs notwithstanding near 300 Dutch Vessels most of which come from the Towns and Villages of Friseland and those about Amsterdam they are commonly of 4 or 500 Tons Burthen and have not above 10 or 12 Hands a-piece Berghen the Capital of Norway has a good Port and is the Place of greatest Trade The Dutch resort to several other Ports as Drontheim and Copernick As Timber is the chief Commodity the Dutch deal for in Norway and which they bring in great Quantities from that Kingdom they have concluded many Treaties with the King of Denmark to secure that Trade viz. the Treaty of Christianople signed August 13 1645 and that of the Hague the 12th of February 1669. CHAP. V. Of the Baltick Trade THE Trade of this