The Intercourse Of One Nation With Another First Took Place In That Part Of
The World To Which A Knowledge Of The Original Habitation Of Mankind, And
Of The Advantages For Sea And Land Commerce Which That Habitation Enjoyed,
Would Naturally Lead Us To Assign It.
On the shores of the Mediterranean,
or at no great distance from that sea, among the Israelites, the
Phoenicians,
And the Egyptians, we must look for the earliest traces of
navigation and commerce; and, in the only authentic history of the remotest
period of the world, as well as amidst the scanty and fabulous materials
supplied by profane writers, these nations are uniformly represented as the
most ancient navigators and traders.
The slightest inspection of the map of this portion of the globe will teach
us that Palestine, Phoenicia, and Egypt were admirably situated for
commerce both by sea and land. It is, indeed, true that the Phoenicians, by
the conquests of Joshua, were expelled from the greatest part of their
territory, and obliged to confine themselves to a narrow slip of ground
between Mount Lebanon and the Mediterranean; but even this confined
territory presented opportunities and advantages for commerce of no mean
importance: they had a safe coast, - at least one good harbour; and the
vicinity of Lebanon, and other mountains, enabled them to obtain, with
little difficulty and expence, a large supply of excellent materials for
shipbuilding. There are, moreover, circumstances which warrant the
supposition, that, like Holland in modern times, they were rather the
carriers of other nations, than extensively engaged in the commerce of
their own productions or manufactures.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 6 of 1007
Words from 1445 to 1713
of 273188
