Volume 1
The universal dictionary of trade and commerce : with large additions and improvements, adapting the same to the present state of British affairs in America, since the last treaty of peace made in the year 1763. With great variety of new remarks and illustrations incorporated throughout the whole: together with everything essential that is contained in Savary's dictionary: also, all the material laws of trade and navigation relating to these kingdoms, and the customs and usages to which all traders are subject / By Malachy Postlethwayt, esq.
- Jacques Savary des Brûlons
- Date:
- 1766
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The universal dictionary of trade and commerce : with large additions and improvements, adapting the same to the present state of British affairs in America, since the last treaty of peace made in the year 1763. With great variety of new remarks and illustrations incorporated throughout the whole: together with everything essential that is contained in Savary's dictionary: also, all the material laws of trade and navigation relating to these kingdoms, and the customs and usages to which all traders are subject / By Malachy Postlethwayt, esq. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![1'he whole Arabia Deferta is divided into three principalities, viz. t. Anna, whofe chief cities are, Anna, on the Euphrates, the capita], Mefcheid-Urfm, Sumifcabac, Thema, Anna on the Allan, Balfora, and Tangia. 2. Argia, whofe chief towns are* Argia, the capital, Faraa, Maaden, Thaalabah, Aladi Dhath-Aliantin. 3. Chavabeda, whofe chief towns are, Chavabedah, Tan¬ gia, Merah, Megiarah. Anna, was formerly a famed mart-town, but now not much frequented. It ftands on the river Euphrates, in a fruitful and pleafant foil, and hath but two ftreets, which are divided thereby : that on the Mefopotamian fide is about two miles long, but thinly peopled, and by none but tradefmen and journeymen ; that of the oppofite fide is above fix miles in length, and it is there that the principal inhabitants of the city dwell. Every houfe hath fome ground belonging to it, and thefe grounds are loaded with noble fruit trees, as lemons, oranges, citrons, quinces, figs, dates, pomegranates, olives, &c. very large, and in great plenty. Some of the flat grounds are fown with corn, and other grain, which yield likewife a confiderable crop. This city is one of the thoroughfares through which the caravans mud pafs that go to and from Aleppo, Tripoli, Damafcus, Bagdad, &c. It is tributary to the Turk* and it is to him that all the merchants pay cuftom for the commodities they carry through it. Remarks. Balfora, was once famed for a market-place, flill {landing, to which all the Arabian merchants for a good way about ufed to refort, as to an exchange, which made trade to flourifh The prince of Balfora gives full liberty to all nations to come and trade to this capital, where they are fo civilly ufed, and fo good an order kept, that one may go fafe through the ftreets at all hours of the night. The Dutch bring hither their fpices, and the Englifh fome pepper and cloves; but the Portugueze trade is quite abolifhed, and the Auguftine friers that were fettled there have been obliged to go off. The In¬ dians bring hither alfo feveral of their commodities, and one may meet here merchants from all parts of Turky, Egypt, &c. to buy the Indian commodities that are brought to the place, and which they convey to their refpedlive marts on young camels backs, which are alfo bought here. Some are carried up the Tigris, but they go but flowly, becaufe towed by men againft a rapid ftream, who cannot go above 7 or 8 miles a day, nor move at all, when the wind is contrary. The cuftoms paid at this place amount to almoft 5 per cent. The prince of it, who is tributary to the Turk, hath his chief revenue from the exchange of money, for the horfes and ca¬ mels fold there, but chiefly from his palm-trees, of which he hath a plantation reaching almoft go miles in length, and no foul dares touch a date of them till they have paid him a certain cuftom. The horfes which are bred here are in great requeft, and fell at a vaft rate. The income of the prince, from the forementioned branches of money, horfes, camels, and dates, is fo great, that he is able to lay up 3,000,000 of livres every year, all the other charges of his tribute and government defrayed. Balfora, hath been under the Turks ever fince ann. 1668 and, like all other cities tributary to that dominion, is go verned by a cadi, who is appointed by the prince. There are in it three forts of Chriftians eftablifhed, viz. Jacobites, Neftorians, and Armenians: but others of all forts are per¬ mitted to trade here. It fwarms with veffels from all nations of Afia and Europe; the Englifh and Dutch have their fac¬ tories here, which are very confiderable, and maintained by their Eaft-India company to carry on their commerce with China, Japan, and other parts of India, and for the difpatch of their letters from all parts into England and Holland by the way of Damafcus and Aleppo; and thefe are carried by Arabs hired for the purpofe, who are very fwift of .foot. The Portugueze have likewife a fadtor here, but he hath but little to do, fince their trade has dwindled away. Moft of the commerce is carried on by Armenians, Indians, and Per- fians; and the caravan of it is one of thofe, which brings all the richeft merchandizes from India as well as Europe. What ftill increafes its trade and opulence is, that the Perfians, in their caravans or pilgrimages to Mecca, take this city in their way, and not only pay confiderable duties to the government, but exchange many rich commodities here, which they bring with them for others they carry off in their return. But there is among others one great abufe, which is yet winked at both by the Porte, and the bafha, or prince, becaufe it brings a confiderable profit; and that is, the bafenefs of the money coined here, which, being loaded with greater alloy than that of other nations, is exchanged by the merchants at a great difadvantage. The principality of Argia, and The principality of Chavabeda, are in all refpedls unknown to us, but in the Arabian tables. II. Arabia Petrjea, the moft weftern of all the three Ara- bias, is now called Das-lik Arabiftin by the Turks, and Bar- raah Arabiftan by the natives, and by others Bathalabah, but moft commonly the beglebergate of Bofra, fo named from that capital. It is bounded on the north by Syria and Pa- leftine, on the eaft by Arabia Deferta laft defcribed, and part of Arabia Foelix, which likewife bounds it on the iouth, and on the weft by the Red Sea and the ifthmus of Suez or Egypt. The northern part is poorly inhabited and full of barren mountains, and is under the Turks in the begleber¬ gate of Cairo; but the fouth is both fertile and well peopled and governed by its own princes, except fome places along the coaft. It is alfo more frequented on account of trade Though in moft refpeds it much refembles the Deferta laft defcribed for its ftony, fandy, and barren grounds, yet ityields in fome parts fufficient nourifbment for cattle, whofe milk and camel’s flefh is the chief food of its inhabitants: but there are fome others which are quite uninhabited, and impaffable. Shur, now called El Torre, hath a good harbour, and about 400 houfes inhabited by fome Chriftian merchants, Jews and Moors. Goods are here unladen to be carried by land to Suez, on the ifthmus, 120 miles north-weft at the end of the weft gulph, which is not navigable for large veffels any farther than Tor, by reafon of the rocks. Near this place is the garden, which they fay Mofes calls Elim, which is planted with palm-trees, and the monks make fome tolerable profit of the dates, which are the beft in that country. In the way from Tor, or Morah, to mount Sinai, thevallies ' abound with caflia-trees, which produce the frankincenfe.- Among other trees that grow on thefe mountains, there is a fort which bears a kind of wool like cotton, though neither fo' fine nor fo white. Hi. Arabia Foelix, by far the largeft and moft confiderable of the three provinces, is by the inhabitants called Yeman, Yaman, and Hayaman, from one of the largeft diftrifts in it, which hath given name to all the reft. It hath had the title of Fcelix, from its extraordinary fertility and conftant ver¬ dure ; but was anciently called Saba, Sabea, and Seba, from Seba the fon of Cufli, the grandfon of Ham, who was pro¬ perly the founder of a city of that name, anciently celebrated for its opulence, and efpecially its plenty of gold and filver. The antients were not content to give it the title of Happy* but added that of Sacred to it, on account of its fine aromatic gums and fragrant woods, which were ufed in facrifices, fuch as frankincenfe, myrrh, aloes, nard, cinnamon, cafiia, ce¬ dar, and other odoriferous woods, which are here in fuch plenty, that the natives ufe them for common fuel. And in¬ deed, if we were to judge of this Arabia by what the anti¬ ents have launched out in its praife, we fhould imagine it the richeft and moft delightful land in the whole world. According to them, it produced not only all the fine gums and plants we have already mentioned, befides ?in infinite va¬ riety of precious drugs, medicinal fhrubs, herbs. Sic. but likewife abundance of gold and filver, befides bafer metals and minerals; diamonds, rubies, fardonix, and a vaft num¬ ber of other precious ftones, of exquifite beauty and variety of colours. (Pliny.) J The fea likewife furnifhed it with the greateft quantity of fhells and richeft pearls. It likewife exceeded all others in the fertility of its foil, and its vaft produce of corn, wine, oil, and the moft exquifite fruits and fpices of all forts. Corn was there fown twice a year, and yielded a prodigious in— creafe (Strabo) and fo did every thing elfe in proportion. It had a vaft number of rich and opulent cities, befides towns and villages, and was reckoned the moft populous province in all Afia. What is faid of the trading towns, might in¬ deed be true then, but is quite altered fince. The Red Sea was very much frequented by merchant-fhips, before the Cape of Good Hope, and the paffage by it to the Indies were found out; and Arabia was the market where all the com¬ mon Hies brought from India, China, and all theeafterniflands, were fold to the merchants of Egypt and Barbary, and brought by the latter over land to Cairo, and other ports in the Mediterranean, whither the Englifh, Italians, and other European nations came to take them off their hands. But, now the goods from India and Perfia are brought to us diretfly by fea, the commodities of Arabia are become left ufeful, and our commerce with it confequently is confider- ably decreafed. If the account which the ancient writers give of it be true, Rfufficiently fhews how furprifingly it muft have been altered, fince they wrote ; for, at this time, no¬ thing like that fo much exaggerated fecundity, much lefs in that great number of cities and inhabitants, appears, except in fome few fpots here and there, which bear but a very fmall proportion with the reft; the midland being either fandy or mountainous, all dry and barren; fo that the fea-coafts, and the lands along the banks of the rivers, are the only places that deferve the name of fertile or happy, except where put into the fcale with the defert and ftony. In this refpedf indeed, it may well enough deferve thofe ti¬ tles, if it were but for its fine fpices, and odoriferous plants, and more efpecially for its frankincenfe, which is peculiar to it, and found in great abundance almoft every-where in it. 1 o this we may add the coffee-trees, which we are told (At¬ las Geograph,) are to be found only in three or four diftriffs of the province of Yemen, properly fo called, and which grow in the mountainous parts of it. It 1](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b30459436_0001_0166.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
