England, 500,000 Tons; The United Provinces, 900,000;
France, 100,000; Hamburgh, Denmark, Sweden, Dantzic, 250,000; Spain,
Portugal, Italy, 250,000:
Total 2,000,000.
But that this calculation is
exceeding loose, so far as regards England at least, is evident from the
returns made to circular letters of the commissioners of customs: according
to these returns, there belonged to all the ports of England, in January
1701-2., 3281 vessels, measuring 261,222 tons, and carrying 27,196 men, and
5660 guns. As we wish to be minute and enter into detail, while our
commerce and shipping were yet in their infancy, in order to mark more
decidedly its progress, we shall subjoin the particulars of this return.
None of the other ports had 100 vessels: Newcastle had sixty-three,
measuring 11,000 tons; and Ipswich thirty-nine, measuring 11,170; but there
certainly is some mistake in these two instances, either in the number of
the ships, or the tonnage. The small number of men employed at Hull arose
from eighty of their ships being at that time laid up.
III. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the great rivals of
the English in their commerce were the Dutch:
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 638 of 1007
Words from 174372 to 174621
of 273188
