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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

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 in 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 LONDON Printed for J. Sackfield in Lincolns-Inn-Square G. Davis under Sergeants-Inn in Chancery-Lane and Sold by T. Warner in Pater-Noster-Rore THE AUTHOR's PREFACE SOME Persons of Honour and Distinction whom I ought by no means to disoblige having engaged me to write something upon Trade which might give them a general Idea of it as it regards Politicks I believed nothing would better answer that End than to give them a true Notion of the Trade of the Dutch which has diffused it self over all Parts of the habitable World and to shew that it is on Account of Trade that their Republick has such a considerable Rank amongst the States of Europe This was what moved me to undertake this small Treatise and indeed I write the more willingly on this Subject of Commerce because there is nothing in my Judgment seems to be so little understood in France especially by Persons in publick Employments and high Posts either in the Courts of Judicature the Cabinet or the Treasury However it is certain Commerce is of so great Importance that I make no Difficulty to aver that according to the present Conduct of the several States of Europe there are very few things in Government which deserve more our Attention than this Article of Commerce To be convinced of this Truth we have nothing else to do but consider the Difference there is between those Countries where Trade flourishes and those Countries who have none If we will only remember that England and Holland which by Reason of their Situation make so great a Figure in the Affairs of Europe regulate their principal Interest always with an Eye to their Commerce and this was the principal Motive which caused the last Wars that is the Security of their Trade we shall be entirely satisfied that Commerce ought to have no mean Place in modern Politicks Besides these Considerations which are particular ones in relation to the present State of Europe there are yet others more general which ought no less to excite all Princes and their Ministers and all those who have any Share in Government to know thoroughly the Nature of Commerce and the Maxims which are necessary to its being well carried on and managed since as Bocalin very well observes Agriculture and Commerce are the Breasts which suckle and nourish the State Truths which ought to be engraven in Letters of Gold in all the Apartments of Kings Princes and Statesmen to induce them to consider Tradesmen and Merchants according to their Merits To these I shall add that a great State cannot flourish or indeed be at Peace if it has not a great Trade for 'tis only by means of Trade it can draw to its self Riches and Plenty without which it can undertake nothing advantageous either to aid and assist its Allies or extend its Limits The great Gustavus Adolphus was so well convinc'd of this Truth that tho' War was his predominant Passion yet he very seriously apply'd himself to make Trade flourish in his Dominions and was used to say That to put his Soldiers Valour to the Proof he was often obliged to have recourse to his Merchants My Lord Bacon who was one of the greatest Politicians of his time look'd upon Merchants to be so necessary that he compared them in the State to the Blood in a Man's Body Which if it did not flourish says he a Man may possibly have some of his Limbs very strong but he would be sure to have empty Veins and a lean Habit of Body Qui nisi flouruerit potest quidem aliquos-Artus habere Robustos sed Venas vacuas Habitum Corporis macrum It may be proved from Examples almost as old as the World that States flourish in Proportion to Commerce as we may gather from what the Holy Scriptures teach us in relation to the Tyrians and Sidonians But we need not run so far back into Antiquity for Examples we need only consider the surprizing Changes which Trade has caused in our Days if I may so say amongst our Neighbours The Power of England was once so inconsiderable before the Reign of Queen Elizabeth according to Cambden's Observation that her Predecessors nay even her own Father when they had a mind to put a Fleet to Sea were obliged to hire Ships from Hamburgh Lubeck Dantzick Genoa and Venice But after the English by the Care of that able Princess apply'd themselves to Traffick and by reason of the great Protection she gave to Merchants it flourished in Muscovy in all the Dominions of the Grand Seignior upon the Coasts of Africa the East or rather the West Indies and in almost all other Parts of the World that Queen soon became capable of maintaining her self a great Naval Force which at last became the Terror of the Ocean and the Narrow Seas which made that Nation go and attack more than once the Power of Philip the Second not only in the New World but even on the very Coasts of Spain In short that powerful Queen followed so well those Maxims of securing and encreasing the Commerce of all her Subjects and their Traffick on the footing of her Naval Force that she laid those solid Foundations for the encrease of Commerce and Maritime Power of England two things to which that Nation owes to this Day all its Strength and Grandeur But nothing can come up to what the Dutch have done by Commerce and it will ever be a Subject of Astonishment and Wonder that a handful of Merchants that fled into a little Country which produced scarce enough to subsist its new Inhabitants should beat down the exorbitant Power of the Spanish Monarchy and make that King sue for Peace that they should lay the Foundation of so mighty a Republick which we see at present in some manner to hold the Balance between all the other Powers of Europe but what is most wonderful and what ought most to surprize us is that the Wars never interrupted their Trade and that it was in the very heat of War that they laid the Foundations of that of the East-Indies and the Coasts of Africa and that they should trade with their Enemies the Spaniards in spite of all the Precautions they took to the contrary which very much contributed to the Support of the War The States General of the United Provinces seeing the Industry of these Merchants was of so great Service to the Republick protected and favoured them in every

difference in their Price those of Angola are look'd upon to be the strongest this Trade is the more considerable and important because without these Slaves 'tis impossible all over America and the Islands to do any thing in the Mines or to manure the Ground make Sugar and Tobacco The Dutch are the only People that deal in Negroes the English I believe do not concern themselves about that Part of Commerce the French very little and the Portugueze buy none but for their Colonies in Brazil and their other Dominions in the Indies The Spaniards are the People the Dutch furnish with these Slaves and they have entred into several Treaties with one another for that very Purpose to settle the Number they ought to be furnished with their Price and the Places where they ought to be delivered which generally are St. George de las Minas and on the Coasts of Guinea or in the Island of Curazao near the Town of Cartagena in America The Article of Ox and Cow-hides or Leather is very considerable at Cape Verde all along that Coast to the River Gambia Besides these Commodities there is likewise brought a great deal of Wax from Cape Verde and Sierra-Lione and other Countries on that Coast as also Gum-Arabick for Dying and Ostrich Feathers Next to the Dutch the English are the greatest Traders on these Coasts All those different sorts of Commodities that are brought to the Negroes do not sell indifferently alike some are proper only for Capa Verde others for the Golden Coast and others again for Arden and Angola and the Merchants sort them accordingly But it is generally said that the best Commodities and most gainful to be carried to those Coasts are Rock-Chrystal Coral and Lace but especially Brandies All the Inhabitants of the Coast of Guinea consume great Quantities of Linnen Cloth half worn which they think much more convenient than the Callicoes of their own Country as keeping the Body more cool and the Dutch supply them with great Quantities at very high Rates The Dutch Company are yet in Possession of some of the Islands as Curazao Tabaco Buenos Aires Doruba and St. Martin but in Partnership with the French The two first of these are the most considerable as having each of them a Fort and Curazao a good Harbour The Trade of which Island consists in the Commodities of the Growth of the Place as Sugars Wool Ox and Cow-Hides The Inhabitants of Curazao trade with the Spaniards in America as I before observed which makes that Island of great Importance to the Dutch. I believe the other Dutch Colonies in America have no great Matter of Commerce and if I am not much deceived the Fort of Surinam does not belong to the Company tho' I believe they would willingly buy it but the Sharers of Zealand would never consent to it but be that how it will the Dutch have been Masters of it ever since the English delivered it up to them by the Treaty of Breda This Colony is very small the Inhabitants not daring to Manure and Till the Ground out of Cannon-reach for the wild Indians give them no Quarter because they hang'd their Brother Indians and it must be own'd without much Reason or Justice I shall end this Treatise with A true Report made to the States General by Daniel Braems Book-keeper General in Batavia who commanded the last Fleet that came into Europe from the Indies concerning the true State of Affairs of the East-India Company at his departure with the said Fleet viz. Most High and Mighty Lords A long and troublesome Sickness which I have laboured under has hinder'd me till now of having the Honour of appearing before your High Mightinesses to pay my Duty in giving you in Writing with a due Respect a faithful Report of the State and Condition the General Company of the United Provinces in the Indies was in at the time I came from thence which was on the 19 th Day of November in the Year 1686 when I left I thank Heaven the Affairs of that illustrious and flourishing Company in as good a Condition as they could desire To represent to your High Mightnesses more particularly the vast Extent of their Dominions and the great Trade the India Company has in these Parts I shall observe that Order which an Affair of this Nature requires It is necessary I speak of every Place in Particular and that I lay before your High Mightinesses the principal Affairs in which I think consists the Advancement and Preservation of the strong and important Provinces of the East which certainly are the most beautiful the richest and most gainful Conquests of the whole Indies I shall begin first with BANDA The long Possession the Company has had of this Place I don't doubt has given your High-Mightinesses by several Accounts transmitted to you a clear Idea and Knowledge of its Situation and Extent so that I believe it will be needless to give those Particulars here I shall however say that it is a Place where the Company has almost none or very little Trade by Sale of Stuffs and other Goods and I believe never may have the Country being small and slenderly Peopled so that the Vent here is very inconsiderable and as to the free Navigation which is the only Thing that can bring any Benefit to it it cannot by any means be granted them but ought to be absolutely forbidden them on account of the Frauds they are there daily guilty of This Island produces now no more what is necessary for Life so that they are forced to send to that Place every Year from Batavia great Quantities of Provisions and Necessaries which according to my Opinion ought to be considered as a Thing contributing most to secure the Possession of that Island it being certain that if any Enemy should take it by surprize or otherwise as it might please God to permit they would soon find themselves unprovided of all Necessaries of Life and consequently be forced to leave it unless they could constantly furnish the Island with sufficient Supplies Any one may see by this true Account what Advantage the Company can have in trading to this Island and if the Company exports some few Commodities from some small Farms yet all that will not near answer the Charges they are oblig'd to be at to keep up and repair the Works and these Expences amount every Year to very considerable Sums But then if you put in Balance with these Expences the great Profit that the Mace and Nutmegs which the Company transports thence to Europe and even to other Parts of the Indies the Thing will have another Face and show how important and advantagious that Conquest is to the Company The last Shipping that were sent thither according to the yearly Custom to carry necessary Provisions and bring thence Spices had a very happy and successful Voyage and return'd at several times to the Harhour of Batavia with a reasonable Lading of Mace and

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

for as long a time as is required build and compleatly finish a Ship of 4 or 500 Tuns Tho' all the Linnen that goes under the Name of Holland is not made in the United Provinces yet I cannot but reckon it among their Manufactures by reason of its being bleached there They make vast Quantities in the Provinces of Groningen Friseland and Overissell where there grows Abundance of Flax and I believe they make great Quantities in the Dutchy of Juliers which they send thence in the Beginning of the Spring to Harlem where they bleach wonderfully well by reason of the Sea Water which by its being purified in the Downs gives the Linnen that beautiful White which is so much admired The Manufactures of Sail Cloth which was fomerly made in Britanny Cordage and Fishing Nets employ almost an infinite Number of People The Dutch generally bring from Muscovy Poland Dantzic Riga and other Towns of the North those vast Quantities of Hemp and Flax they make use of in their Manufactures Printing employs also a World of People in these Provinces were every one strives to excel in that Art It is the same in Hat-making which is as considerable a Manufacture as that of Paper which they have within these few Years taken from the French This last Manufacture of Paper they have set up in several Places but what they make in Guelderland is much the best Navigation and Commerce have so near a Relation one to another that it is very difficult for one to flourish in a State without the other in Reality it is impossible one should subsist without the other For if Navigation be supported by Trade Trade cannot flourish without Navigation which may in some Measure be said to be the very Life and Soul of Trade since by Navigation all Sorts of Merchandise are so easily transported to all Ports of the World and with so little Expence And whatever Nation can make it self Master of Navigation will be so of Trade and consequently immense Riches and if I may use the Expression even of Empires and Kingdoms The Dutch who know very well this important Truth have for that End omitted no Pains nor Expence and it has ever been the principal Object of their Care and Application It must be owned that their Fishery Manufactures and vast Trade have furnished them with all possible Advantages of raising their Maritime Affairs above those of other Nations And the Secret they have found out of sailing and carrying Goods much cheaper than other People has contributed as much This makes other Nations willing to employ the Dutch Ships because 'tis not only less expensive but they can have in Holland Ships always ready to sail for all Countries but also because of the Convoys they send with their Merchant Ships Besides they are very just and faithful in giving a good Account of all they are entrusted with This Trust considerably encreases their Navigation and causes them to build a vast Number of Ships which gives constant Employment to a prodigious Number of Seamen who repair thither from all Parts and on their Arrival are always sure of finding Business The Masters of Ships of Freight in Holland make up a considerable Part of that State We come now to Discourse of the Trade of the United Provinces to several Parts of the World but it will not be improper first to observe that such Foreign Trade is principally carried on by the Merchants of the Provinces of Holland and Zeland c. and that some certain Species of Commerce is peculiar to some certain Towns Amsterdam makes much the greatest Figure in foreign Traffick for besides the Trade of both the Indies she has likewise that of the Levant Cadiz Lisbon Muscovy and the North which last is peculiar to her self some small Trade she has with France for Wines and Brandy but nothing in Comparison to Roterdam The Situation of this last Town on the Meuse or Maese has made her Trade with France England and Scotland very considerable she drives besides a great Trade to the Levant Spain and the East-Indies in short this Town has Commerce with all Parts the North excepted yet much inferior to that of Amsterdam tho' her Port so advantageously situated on the Maese as I hinted before is infinitly better and much more commodious The Trade of Dort consists in little else than that of Rhenish-Wine which is there put on Shoar and white Salt refin'd in that Town The Dutch have most of their pickled and dry'd Salmon from Dort Delft Horn and Enchuisen have each their peculiar Chamber in the East-India Company Delft is particularly famous for its fine Earthen-ware resembling that of China Horn for Cheese which its Inhabitants transport to all Parts in great Quantities and some Years ago this Commodity of Cheese and some other Articles made Trade considerably flourish in Horn. The Commerce of Enchuisen consists chiefly in Herrings which makes that Town very considerable and very rich CHAP. IV. Of the Dutch Trade in the North Muscovy and Norway I Begin with the Northern Trade not only because 'tis one of the first the Dutch apply'd themselves to but also because 'tis of the greatest Importance and Necessity of any to that Republick since from hence she has the greatest Part of her Provisions as Wheat and other Grain so necessary for the Subsistance of her People as also all Things necessary for their Navigation without which and other Commodities of absolute Necessity they would find it very difficult to support themselves Under this Article of the Northern Trade I comprehend that of Muscovy Norway and all the Ports of the Baltick-Sea that is that of Sweden Denmark Poland and all the Lower-Germany The Hanse Towns for many Years together engrossed this Trade but Erick the 8th of that Name King of Denmark against whom they waged a cruel and bloody War having about the Year 1403 call'd in the Zelanders and some other Nations to his Assistance open'd to them the South-Passage for their more commodious carrying on their Trade to the Baltick thinking he could have no better way to be revenged on these Towns since that time 'tis true they have often boasted of their keeping that Sea clear of Foreigners but to little purpose and their Trade the greatest that ever was then known declining in the Year 1500 diminished to that Degree that their Power came to little or nothing about the Year 1506. The Dutch and English applying themselves very earnestly to Navigation and the former having with much Honour put an end to a War they had so long maintain'd against the Spaniards for their Liberties by the Treaty of 1609 all Nations especially such as were trading People courted their Alliance the Hanse Towns were the first that discover'd their Inclinations believing that nothing would contribute more to the Preservation of the little Trade and Credit they had left The Dutch on their side desir'd nothing more than such an Alliance which promis'd them

Raisins Figs Almonds Aniseeds Salt Soap Soude or Kalt and abundance of excellent Wool The Foreign Commodities which are most proper for this Country are French Linnens made in Bittany good Quantities of Woollen and Silk Stuffs Lace Hats Small Wares of every sort and Jewellers Work most of which are sent from Cadiz the rest the Dutch bring directly to the places they design them for CHAP. XI Of the Trade with Portugal BEFORE Portugal and the Countries that Crown possessed in Asia Africa and America came to be reunited in the Year 1580 to the Crown of Castille under the Reign of Philip II the Dutch traded very much with Portugal and with a great deal of ease notwithstanding the Difference of Religion and the great Severity of the Inquisition their greatest Trade was that of Lisbon whence they Exported besides the Merchandize of the Country that of the East Indies Africa and Brazil all which at that time went only thro' the Hands of the Portugueze But after that Union the Trade that the Dutch drove in Portugal underwent the same Fate as in the other Provinces of the Spanish Monarchy that is those Gentlemen were depriv'd of all manner of Commerce whatsoever The Portugueze having shook off the Government of the Castilians in the Year 1640 one of the first things they did was to stop the Conquests of the Dutch which they were continually making of the Portugueze Territories in the East Indies Africa and Brazil being Subject to the King of Spain The new King sent forthwith an Ambassador to the Hague to represent to the States General that the Portugueze as such never having any Difference with the United Provinces he earnestly wish'd there might be establish'd a good Understanding between the two Nations which would put them in a better Condition to resist the Spaniand their common Enemy The States General finding their Account in the Offers of the Portugueze a Truce for ten Years was signed between them in the Year 1641 and included all the Countries belonging to the two Nations as well on this as the other Side of the Line By this Truce it was agreed that there should be a free Navigation and that each Party should be Master of those Places they were in Possession of at the time of publishing such Truce which Truce was so ill observ'd by the Dutch in the Indies that the Portugueze were in some Measure oblig'd to break it in the Year 1645 by an Insurrection they made in Brazil against the Dutch whom they entirely drove out of that Country This occasioned a new War in Brazil between the two Nations but it did not break out in Europe till the Month of October 1646 when the States General declar'd War in all its Forms against the King of Portugal because he would not restore to their West India Company that which his Subjects had taken from them in 1647 but this Affair was endeavour'd to be accomodated by the Mediation of France and Cromwel The War between the Northern Crowns was the Cause that this Negotiation lingred out till the Restoration of the King of England who resolving to marry the Infanta of Portugal procur'd a Peace between the two Nations by his Mediation and a perpetual Peace was signed by them accordingly the 16th of August 1661. The Privileges the Portugueze granted to the Dutch by this Treaty in relation to their Commerce gave them an Opportunity of Trading very considerably in Portugal particularly after the French prohibited all Foreign Sugar and Tobacco and the Portugueze on their side prohibted all French Manufactures 'Twas with these two Articles chiefly that the Portugueze paid for all French Goods but after the French left off taking these from Portugal the Portugueze would deal no more in French Merchandize this gave the Dutch an Opportunity to furnish them with theirs taking in payment Sugar and Tobacco which they knew very well how to dispose of The Trade of Holland is chiefly at Lisbon and Oporto but the first is the most considerable As for St. Ubes where they go for Salt there is very little or no Consumption The Goods they Transport to Portugal consist chiefly in great Quantities of Manufactures of Silk Wool and Linnen Small Wares and Iron-work Paper Cards Leather Corn in time of scarcity which is there very frequent Of all sorts of Merchandize except Corn there is a vast Consumption in Portugal and its Colonies The Goods they bring from Portugal are those of the Country or its Colonies the latter consist in Sugars Tobacco Wood of Brazil and Fernambouc Ox Hides Ginger Pearls Indigo rough Diamonds and Ambergrease c. Tobacco and Sugar are the chief Commodities of Portugal Sugar is one of their richest Returns from Brazil where it wonderfully abounds The Islands of S. Thomas Madera Capo Verde and the Terceras also furnish considerable Quantities but I am of the Opinion not near so good unless it be that of Madera they have also great Quantities of Brazil Wood and other Woods for Dying Ambergrease which comes from Melinda Pearls and Diamonds from the East Indies this Merchandize is one of the greatest Articles in the Portugal Trade The Merchadize of Portugal itself consists in Wines amongst which I shall reckon those of Madera Oils Olives Aniseeds excellent Fruits Rasins and Figs. It is believ'd that the Dutch bring every Year from Portugal ten or twelve Ships laden with those Commodities including Limons and Oranges without reckoning their dry'd Sweet-meats made of several sorts of admirable Fruits in Portugal and Brazil It is said that they send every Year directly into Portugal above twenty Sail of Ships besides other Ships that Trade in the Mediterranean and come thence to S. Ubes for their lading of Salt of which they make a great Consumption in the North where it has been very much in Use for a long time The Commerce of Holland with Portugal is carried on by a Fleet of fifty Ships that are every Year constantly employ'd for that End from fifteen to thirty Guns with which they do good Service against the Corsairs and Pirates CHAP. XII Of the Mediterranean or Streights Trade THE Trade of the Mediterranean Sea was heretofore the most considerable in the World when that of the Indies only past thro' Alexandria and some other Ports of Syria This Commerce was chiefly carry'd on by the French Italians and Catalans but the Venetians were the most considerable of all The Portugueze making themselves Masters of the Trade of Asia turn'd the Current and the Italians and the French enjoy'd only the Commerce with the Provinces and Countries on the Coast of the Mediterranean which however was very considerable And this they kept to themselves till the English and Dutch began to Traffick with the Subjects of the Grand Signior the former in the Year 1599 and the latter in 1612. since that time those two Nations have made themselves so much Masters of that Trade that the Italians and French have very little to do