Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Prussia, and some parts of Germany, are, more or less, in the same situation with England; they require to pay attention to manufactures, for they have not the means of raising produce enough to exchange for all they want.If there is any occasion for rivalship, or ground for envy, it is then but very small, and it happens that the rivalship which exists is between those nations that, in reality, ought to be the least envious of each other, the nations who have the fewest quarrels are those who really might be rivals.Rivalship is natural between those who are in similar situations. France, Spain, and Portugal, might be rivals. England, Holland, Prussia, and Denmark, might also be rivals; but there can be no reason for France envying England her manufactures and commerce, any more than for England envying France for her climate, soil, extent, =sic= of territory and population.The way to produce the most, being to give industry its best direction. Nations, differently situated, ought never to be rivals or enemies, on account of trade.If those, who regulate the affairs of nations, were to consider this in its true light, there would be less jealousy and more industry. [end of page #291]There appears to be only one real cause for war, so far as it is occasioned by a wish to obtain wealth; and that arises from possessions in the East and West Indies, and in America.If there were no such possessions, or if they were more equally divided, there would be very little cause for war amongst nations.It may, very possibly, at some distant time, be an object for a general congress of nations, to settle this point; so that it shall be no longer an object of jealousy. This can be done only by abandoning entirely, or dividing more equally; but, at present, the animosity and enmity occasioned is considerable, though not well founded.The Spaniards are not envied for the possession of Peru, nor the Portuguese for the Brazils, though they draw more wealth from them than ever England or Holland did from their foreign possessions; yet, England is, and Holland was, an object of envy, on account of possessions abroad. This is the more unreasonable, that the Spaniards and Portuguese keep the trade strictly to themselves, while England allows nations, at peace with her, the most liberal conditions for trading with her Indian possessions: conditions, indeed, that give them a superiority over ourselves. {220} This conduct ought not to bring down upon England, envy or enmity, (though it does); for the fact is, that if all nations were at peace with England, they might, if they had capital and skill, (and that they have not is no fault of England,) trade with India to great advantage, while we should have the trouble of defending our establishments, and of keeping the country.Before the revolution, France obtained more produce from Saint Domingo alone, in one year, than Britain did from all her West India Islands together, in three years, and much more than England did from all her foreign possessions together; yet, France was never obnoxious to other nations on that account.---{220} This may seem strange, but it is literally true; the quarrels between the India Company, and the free trade, as it is called, are an ample proof of the truth of it. The free-trade-merchants chiefly act under the name of agents for Swedish and Danish houses, so liberally has England acted with regard to neutral nations.-=-[end of page #292]It appears, then, very evident, that the envy and jealousy do not arise from themagnitude or value of foreign possessions, but from some other cause, though it is laid to that account. This cause is worth inquiring into.It appears that Holland and England have, alone, been causes of jealousy to other nations, on account of foreign possessions; but, that Spain, Portugal, and France, never have, though there was more real reason for envy and jealousy.The reason of this appears to be, that those nations, who excited no envy, escaped it, because their indolence, or internal economy, prevented them from becoming rich; but, that Holland and England, which, in reality, owed their wealth chiefly to internal industry, and very little of it to foreign possessions, have excited great envy, and that England does so to the present hour. {221}It is, then, wealth arising from industry, that is the object to be aimed at, and that cannot be obtained by war or conquest. The purpose is not advanced, but retarded, by such contests; and if those, who rule nations, would condescend to enter into the merits of the case, they would find, not only that the happiness of the people, and every purpose at which they aim, would be better answered than by contesting about the means of wealth, which, consisting in internal industry, does not admit of a transfer. One nation may be ruined, and another may rise, (as, indeed, they are continually doing,) but one nation does not rise merely by ruining another; the wealth of a nation, like the happiness of an individual, draws the source from its own---{221} From both the East and West Indies, England never has, till within these last ten years, drawn three millions a year, that could be termed profit or gain, and, even in the last and most prosperous times, not eight millions, which is not equal to more than one-twentieth part of the produce of national industry at home. Even the foreign commerce of England, except so far as it procures us things we want, in exchange for things we have to spare, is not productive of much wealth. Supposing the balance in our favour to be six millions a year, which it has never uniformly been, it would only amount to one-twenty-fourth of our internal productive industry. In short, we gain five times as much by a wise division of labour, the use of machinery, ready and expeditious methods of working, as by the possession of both the Indies!!!-=-[end of page #293]bosom. The possession of all the Indies would never make an indolent people rich; and while a people are industrious, and the industry is well directed, they never can be poor.It is to be hoped, that the time is fast approaching, when nations will cease to fight about an object that is not to be obtained by fighting, and that they will seek for what they want, by such means as are safe and practicable. [end of page #294]INDEX.=====************************************************[Note that the original work itself omits the page referencesin the many instances where there is a trailing comma.]*************************************************[=sic= - no section heading in original]ABSOLUTE monarchy, in some particular instances, has an advantage over limited monarchy; particularly in preventing the infringement made by corporate bodies or professions on the public, 117, 118, 119.AGES, middle, commerce made slow progress during them, 3.-- What places flourished in them, 44 to 50.AGE, golden, the tradition, if that founded in any thing, must have been a very ignorant one, though very happy, 214.ALEXANDER, the Great, history confused before his time, 20.-- His conquests had no permanent consequences, 24.-- The only permanent consequence was Alexandria supplanting Tyre, 52.-- His expedition to India was on purpose to get possession of the fine countries that produced aromatics and precious stones, 53.ALEXANDRIA, rendered Egypt first a commercial country, and brought on the decline of Carthage, 24.-- Loses its commerce in the 7th century by the conquests of the Mahomedans, 54, 55.ALFRED the Great, made many efforts to render the people happy, 118.AMBASSADOR. SeeDiplomacy.AMBITION, sometimes renders labour an enjoyment, 82.AMERICA, its discovery forms a new epoch in the history of commerce, 3.-- Little similarity between it and other nations, 103.-- United States, of, their revenues, ib.-- May take all the goods Britain can manufacture, 195.-- British exports to, consist nearly all of manufactured goods, 204.-- Probability of its great increase and consumption of English manufactures, 268, 269.-- Encourages arts and inventions, but agriculture a better object to it, 273.ANCIENT nations. SeeNations.ANIMAL food, much used in northern nations and by manufacturing people, 138.-- Its effects on population, 139 to 146.-- Price compared with bread, 147.-- In case of the demand becoming too great, a remedy proposed, 155.ANTWERP, at one time acted as a sovereign, 47.-- Became, in the north, what Venice was in the south of Europe, 57.APPRENTICES. SeeEducation.ARABIAN Gulf. SeeRed Sea.ARKWRIGHT, Sir Richard, as an inventor met with great difficulties, 203.ARTS. SeeManufactures.ARTS, fine. SeeFine Arts.ARTISTS, not unfit for soldiers, 32.-- Banished by luxury from a country, 113.ASIA, passage to it by the Cape of Good Hope a new aera in commerce, 3.-- Its mode of fighting with elephants only disconcerted the Romans once, 31.ASSIGNATS. SeeFrance.ATHENS. SeeGreece.AUGUSTUS, his resolution to kill himself when supplies of corn were likely to fail, 35.[=sic= - no section heading in original]BABYLON. SeeSyria.BALANCE of trade, of England, has never much exceeded five millions.-- To be seen on the chart 3, p.213, during 105 years.-- Is not equal to more than one -twenty-fourth of the produce of industry, 293.BALANCE of power could not preserve a nation from interior causes producing decline, 185.BALTIC Sea, manufacturers early established on its southern shores, 45 to 48.BARTER, not an innate principle, as Dr. Smith thinks, 5, 6.BLACK Sea, a new market opened to commerce,195.BIRMINGHAM division of labour renders business easy, 217.-- Apprenticeships not necessary to learn the art, but for other reasons.-- Recruiting service succeeds there, ib.BOARDING Schools. SeeEducation.BODIES Corporate and Public, their tendency to trench on the public, 117 to 124.BOULTON, M. Esq. his spirited conduct in bringing forward the improvements, invented by Mr. Watt, on the steam-engine, 203.BORROWING. SeeMoney.BRAZILS. SeePortugal.BREAD, proportion between the price of, and butchers meat, 140.-- Prices in Paris and London,164.BRITAIN, in what its power and wealth consist, 191.-- Its interior situation and exterior, 192, 193, 194, 195.-- Its conquests and colonies, 196 to 200.-- Its great increase, 201.--[end of page #295] Farthest advanced in manufacture, the consequence of that investigated, 203, 204, 205.-- Comparison between its general trade and that to India, 206 to 211. -- Begins to encourage agriculture, 213.-- Its exports and imports represented in chart 3 described, 213, 214.BRUGES acted once as a sovereign, 47.-- Became a depot for India goods in the north, as Venice was in the south, 157.BURKE, Right Honourable Edmund, his opinion relative to exterior causes of decline, 176.BUTCHERS meat. SeeAnimal Food.C.CAPE of Good Hope. Its passage a new epoch in commercial history, 3.CAPITAL, the result of past industry, 161.-- Commands trade, but supplies poor countries at the expense of richer ones, 181.-- Tends to leave a country when it becomes too abundant, 161, 162, 163.-- Would leave England if the sinking fund were to operate long in time of peace, 242.CARTHAGE, of wealthy places alone escaped the conquests of Alexander, 24.-- Mistake relative to its state, 32, 33.-- Its fall ruined the Roman manners, ib.-- Comparison between it and Rome unfair, 36, 37, 38.-- Was never so degraded as Rome, ib.CASPIAN Sea, goods brought by that route from India, 56.CHANGES, interior, take place by degrees, 89.-- Most rapid and observable amongst the Romans, 91.CHARLEMAGNE, from the fall of the Roman empire till his time, nothing like wealth or power, 44.-- Paved the way for civilizing and enriching the north of Europe, 45.CHARTS, description and explanation of, illustrating the rise and fall of nations, 78, 79, 80.-- Statistical explanation of, 190.-- Of commerce, exports and imports, 213.-- Of revenue and debts, 214.CHILDREN. SeeEducation.CHRISTIAN religion most favourable to industry, 263, 264, 265, 267.COMMERCE, progress slow in feudal times, 3.-- Changed its abode when the magnet rendered navigating the ocean practicable, 4.-- Commercial wealth degrades a nation less than wealth obtained by conquests, 33.-- Commercial spirit, its operation on national character, 37.-- Commerce with India, the only one in the ancient world, 51.-- How carried on, 52.-- Its vicissitudes, the envy it created, quarrels and revolutions it occasioned, 53 to 59.-- Of Britain during the last fifteen years; the increase great, but not arising from any permanent cause, 193.-- Its dependence on credit, 201.CONSTANTINOPLE shares in the trade of India, 56.-- Revolution occasioned partly by the contests about that commerce, 57.-- Sunk before the discovery of America, by the conquest of the eastern Empire by the Turks, 68.CONSUMPTION of food regulates the population of a country, 140.-- Its nature and tendency in northern nations, 141, 142, 143.-- Requires attention from government, 146.CONQUEST first altered the natural state of the world, 2.-- Its first effect to lessen taxes, 35.-- Ultimately degrades a nation, ib.CONDUCT in life. SeeEducation.CORN, donations of at Rome, 35.-- State of crops in England, 145.-- Impossibility, if it fell much short, to find ships to bring over the quantity wanted, ib.-- calculations concerning, 146 to 154.CREDIT necessary to carry on trade extensively, 202, 203.CRUSADES tended to extend civilization and commerce, 45.CUSTOMS, the first great branch of public revenue, 106.CURING herrings, an improvement in the mode of, raised Holland above Flanders, 47.D.DEAD languages. SeeEducation.DECAY. SeeDecline.DECLINE of nations. Though it cannot be finally prevented, may be considered as if it never were to come on in this Inquiry, 7.-- Are of two sorts, 10.-- Of the Carthaginians attended with less degradation than that of the Romans, 36.-- Mistaken or misrepresented by historians in the instances of Rome and Carthage, 37.-- Cause of it amongst the Romans, 39, 40, 41, &c.-- Cause of in Flanders, 47.-- General in all nations that had been wealthy at the time of the discovery of the passage to India and of America, 49.-- Of the Turkish government, 69.-- Occasioned by taxation, 167.-- How to be prevented or retarded, 169.-- Interior causes may be counteracted, ib.-- In general hastened by the conduct of governments, 171.-- Might be otherwise, ib.-- Certain causes of, common to all nations, 173.-- External causes of operating on a nation, envy, enmity, &c. 176, 177, 178.-- Causes of peculiar to Great Britain, 257, 258, 259, 260.DENMARK. Example of comparative power.-- Occasions the Hanseatic League by its piracies, and is afterwards pillaged and nearly ruined by that confederacy, 48.DEPRECIATION of money counteracts the effect of taxation, 114, 115.-- Takes place where ever wealth is, 164.-- Its effects in dealing with poor nations, 165.DIPLOMACY. The circuitous conduct ascribed to ambassadors, partly necessary and not to be blamed, 186.[end of page #296]DIVISION of land. SeeProperty.DIVISION of property. SeeProperty.DUTCH. SeeHolland.E.EAST INDIES. SeeIndia.EASTERN Empire. SeeConstantinople.EDUCATION of children in all countries grows worse as a nation grows more wealthy, 90.-- Brings on a change of manners, 91.-- Would be better managed if parents were aided by govetnment, =sic= 94.-- Cannot be properly taken care of without the aid of government, 95.-- In what it consists generally, 96, 97, 98.-- Has been in general wrong understood =sic= by writers on it, 98, 99.-- Female, its importance, ib.-- Has been ill understood and conducted, 100, 101.-- Its importance, 216.-- Of the higher classes of society is well enough, 217.-- Not so of the lower, ib.-- Apprenticeships, their advantages, 218.-- To become a good member of society, the end of all education, whatever the rank or situation, 219.-- Dr. Smith's opinion about apprenticeships examined, ib. and 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226.-- Of females in England badly conducted, 227, 228.EGYPT, one of the first countries settled, 20.-- Its fertility, &c. 21.-- Its surplus industry appears to have belonged to the sovereign, 22.-- Shared in the commerce to India at an early period, 51, 52.-- Became the chief channel for the trade to India after the founding of Alexandria, 54.ELIZABETH, queen, Spanish armada in her reign not equal to the privateers of our merchants now, 8.-- Endeavoured to enrich the country, 118.EMIGRANT ladies, astonishment shewn by them at the little progress made in female education at public schools in this country, 228.ENERGY of those who attack greater than that of they =sic= who defend, 17.-- Occasioned by poverty, and necessity the cause of changes and revolution, 19.ENGLAND began to see the advantages of manufactures and commerce very late, 48, 74.-- Its form of government a great advantage, 191.-- Manners likely to change, 193.-- Increase of its trade since 1791, owing to temporary causes, 195.-- The American and Russian markets great and increasing, 204.-- Envy and enmity excited by its conquests in India, 206.-- Effects of taxation on it, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233.-- Its national debt, 234 to 246.-- Causes of decline peculiar to it, 257 to 260.-- Circumstances peculiarly favourable to it, 261 to 270.-- Ought not to be envied for its possessions in India 291.-- Owes its wealth chiefly to internal industry, 293.ENVY leads to rivalship in peace and brings on war, 14.-- One of the external causes of the fall of nations, 175.-- Occasioned the fall of Jerusalem after the death of Solomon, 177.-- Excited by the wealth of England, and particularly by its possessions in the east, 206.ESPRIT DE CORPS. SeeBodies public and corporate.EUPHRATES. SeeSyria.EUROPE, wealth and power unequally divided in it, 13.-- Division of states, with the population and revenues, illustrated by a statistical chart,190.EXCISE, established long after the customs, 107.EXPENDITURE of England consists chiefly in interest of debt, 233.-- Cannot by any economy be much reduced in time of peace. ib.EXPORTS, chart shewing, 213.EXTERNAL causes of decline, cannot be prevented altogether by internal arrangements, but their effect greatly diminished, 173.-- More simple than the internal causes, 175.-- Envy and enmity, ib.-- Opinion of Mr. Burke, 176, 177, 178.-- Causes arising from poor nations having the advantage over rich in all dealings, 179.-- High value of money in poorer nations, 182.-- Conclusion of exterior causes, 184 to 187.F.FALL. SeeDecline.FINANCES. SeeRevenue.FINE arts do not flourish in a very wealthy country, 113.-- Very different as to their improvement, from the mechanic arts.FLANDERS enriched by manufactures, 3, 46.-- The discovery of a bettar =sic= method of curing herrings by the Dutch is hurtful to it, 47.FLORENCE served as a refuge for the nobles of Rome, when the city was taken by the Goths, 44.FOOD. SeeAnimal Food and Corn.FORCE, human, the superiority it gave nearly done away by the invention of gun-powder, 4.FORESTALLING. SeeMONOPOLY.FRANCE has, since the revolution, invented new modes of fighting, 31.-- Does not resemble Rome, 38.-- Its assignats the principal cause of the nature of the revolution, 48.-- Its monied capital was sent away when the revolution broke out,163.-- Its burthens before the revolution, 169.-- It expended great sums in the last war, 189.-- It, before the revolution, gained more by the west-India trade than any other nation, 193.-- Have now nearly lost it, ib.-- Its capital greatly diminished, ib.-- Will probably never possess great West-India trade again, 195.-- Will never cease to be an enemy to England, 196.FREED men.FREE revenue. SeeRevenue.FUND, public. SeeNational Debt.FUND, sinking. SeeNational Debt.G.GAMING, though attended with painful sensations, is oftener followed from propensity, as a mode of occupying the mind and interesting it, than from a love of gain, 83. [end of page #297]GENTLEMEN resemble each other pretty nearly in all countries, 218.GEOGRAPHICAL discovery so far as connected with the rise and fall of nations nearly at an end, 12.GENOA, why put with Venice in the chart of commercial history, 56.-- Its greatness, ib.-- Loses its superiority, 57.-- Its power in the Black-Sea, ib.GOLD. SeeMoney.GOLDEN Age. SeeAge.GOVERNMENTS ought to aid in the education of the lower and middling classes, 94, 95.-- Neglect education in the useful arts, 98.-- Should counteract the internal causes of decline, 172, 173, 187.-- Government of Great Britain should take care of education, 225.GRAIN. SeeCorn.GREEKS, their education peculiar to themselves, 25.-- Studied Egyptian learning, 98, 99.GUN-POWDER changed the art of war, 4.H.HANS Towns rose first to wealth in the north of Europe, 3.-- Became formidable towards the end twelfth century, 45.-- Arose from the circumstances of the times and necessity.-- Became conquerors, 48.-- Began to decline through pride and luxury, 49.HERRINGS, a new mode of curing them, discovered by the Dutch, raised that country, and began to make Flanders decline, 47.HISTORY, an appeal to the best mode of inquiry, 1.-- Dr. Robertson's complaint about the scarcity of materials, ib.-- Is confused previous to the conquests of Alexander the Great, 20.-- Commercial chart of, for 3005 years, 78.
Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Prussia, and some parts of Germany, are, more or less, in the same situation with England; they require to pay attention to manufactures, for they have not the means of raising produce enough to exchange for all they want.
If there is any occasion for rivalship, or ground for envy, it is then but very small, and it happens that the rivalship which exists is between those nations that, in reality, ought to be the least envious of each other, the nations who have the fewest quarrels are those who really might be rivals.
Rivalship is natural between those who are in similar situations. France, Spain, and Portugal, might be rivals. England, Holland, Prussia, and Denmark, might also be rivals; but there can be no reason for France envying England her manufactures and commerce, any more than for England envying France for her climate, soil, extent, =sic= of territory and population.
The way to produce the most, being to give industry its best direction. Nations, differently situated, ought never to be rivals or enemies, on account of trade.
If those, who regulate the affairs of nations, were to consider this in its true light, there would be less jealousy and more industry. [end of page #291]
There appears to be only one real cause for war, so far as it is occasioned by a wish to obtain wealth; and that arises from possessions in the East and West Indies, and in America.
If there were no such possessions, or if they were more equally divided, there would be very little cause for war amongst nations.
It may, very possibly, at some distant time, be an object for a general congress of nations, to settle this point; so that it shall be no longer an object of jealousy. This can be done only by abandoning entirely, or dividing more equally; but, at present, the animosity and enmity occasioned is considerable, though not well founded.
The Spaniards are not envied for the possession of Peru, nor the Portuguese for the Brazils, though they draw more wealth from them than ever England or Holland did from their foreign possessions; yet, England is, and Holland was, an object of envy, on account of possessions abroad. This is the more unreasonable, that the Spaniards and Portuguese keep the trade strictly to themselves, while England allows nations, at peace with her, the most liberal conditions for trading with her Indian possessions: conditions, indeed, that give them a superiority over ourselves. {220} This conduct ought not to bring down upon England, envy or enmity, (though it does); for the fact is, that if all nations were at peace with England, they might, if they had capital and skill, (and that they have not is no fault of England,) trade with India to great advantage, while we should have the trouble of defending our establishments, and of keeping the country.
Before the revolution, France obtained more produce from Saint Domingo alone, in one year, than Britain did from all her West India Islands together, in three years, and much more than England did from all her foreign possessions together; yet, France was never obnoxious to other nations on that account.
---
{220} This may seem strange, but it is literally true; the quarrels between the India Company, and the free trade, as it is called, are an ample proof of the truth of it. The free-trade-merchants chiefly act under the name of agents for Swedish and Danish houses, so liberally has England acted with regard to neutral nations.
-=-
[end of page #292]
It appears, then, very evident, that the envy and jealousy do not arise from themagnitude or value of foreign possessions, but from some other cause, though it is laid to that account. This cause is worth inquiring into.
It appears that Holland and England have, alone, been causes of jealousy to other nations, on account of foreign possessions; but, that Spain, Portugal, and France, never have, though there was more real reason for envy and jealousy.
The reason of this appears to be, that those nations, who excited no envy, escaped it, because their indolence, or internal economy, prevented them from becoming rich; but, that Holland and England, which, in reality, owed their wealth chiefly to internal industry, and very little of it to foreign possessions, have excited great envy, and that England does so to the present hour. {221}
It is, then, wealth arising from industry, that is the object to be aimed at, and that cannot be obtained by war or conquest. The purpose is not advanced, but retarded, by such contests; and if those, who rule nations, would condescend to enter into the merits of the case, they would find, not only that the happiness of the people, and every purpose at which they aim, would be better answered than by contesting about the means of wealth, which, consisting in internal industry, does not admit of a transfer. One nation may be ruined, and another may rise, (as, indeed, they are continually doing,) but one nation does not rise merely by ruining another; the wealth of a nation, like the happiness of an individual, draws the source from its own
---
{221} From both the East and West Indies, England never has, till within these last ten years, drawn three millions a year, that could be termed profit or gain, and, even in the last and most prosperous times, not eight millions, which is not equal to more than one-twentieth part of the produce of national industry at home. Even the foreign commerce of England, except so far as it procures us things we want, in exchange for things we have to spare, is not productive of much wealth. Supposing the balance in our favour to be six millions a year, which it has never uniformly been, it would only amount to one-twenty-fourth of our internal productive industry. In short, we gain five times as much by a wise division of labour, the use of machinery, ready and expeditious methods of working, as by the possession of both the Indies!!!
-=-
[end of page #293]
bosom. The possession of all the Indies would never make an indolent people rich; and while a people are industrious, and the industry is well directed, they never can be poor.
It is to be hoped, that the time is fast approaching, when nations will cease to fight about an object that is not to be obtained by fighting, and that they will seek for what they want, by such means as are safe and practicable. [end of page #294]
INDEX.
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[Note that the original work itself omits the page references
in the many instances where there is a trailing comma.]
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[=sic= - no section heading in original]
ABSOLUTE monarchy, in some particular instances, has an advantage over limited monarchy; particularly in preventing the infringement made by corporate bodies or professions on the public, 117, 118, 119.
AGES, middle, commerce made slow progress during them, 3.-- What places flourished in them, 44 to 50.
AGE, golden, the tradition, if that founded in any thing, must have been a very ignorant one, though very happy, 214.
ALEXANDER, the Great, history confused before his time, 20.-- His conquests had no permanent consequences, 24.-- The only permanent consequence was Alexandria supplanting Tyre, 52.-- His expedition to India was on purpose to get possession of the fine countries that produced aromatics and precious stones, 53.
ALEXANDRIA, rendered Egypt first a commercial country, and brought on the decline of Carthage, 24.-- Loses its commerce in the 7th century by the conquests of the Mahomedans, 54, 55.
ALFRED the Great, made many efforts to render the people happy, 118.
AMBASSADOR. SeeDiplomacy.
AMBITION, sometimes renders labour an enjoyment, 82.
AMERICA, its discovery forms a new epoch in the history of commerce, 3.-- Little similarity between it and other nations, 103.-- United States, of, their revenues, ib.-- May take all the goods Britain can manufacture, 195.-- British exports to, consist nearly all of manufactured goods, 204.-- Probability of its great increase and consumption of English manufactures, 268, 269.-- Encourages arts and inventions, but agriculture a better object to it, 273.
ANCIENT nations. SeeNations.
ANIMAL food, much used in northern nations and by manufacturing people, 138.-- Its effects on population, 139 to 146.-- Price compared with bread, 147.-- In case of the demand becoming too great, a remedy proposed, 155.
ANTWERP, at one time acted as a sovereign, 47.-- Became, in the north, what Venice was in the south of Europe, 57.
APPRENTICES. SeeEducation.
ARABIAN Gulf. SeeRed Sea.
ARKWRIGHT, Sir Richard, as an inventor met with great difficulties, 203.
ARTS. SeeManufactures.
ARTS, fine. SeeFine Arts.
ARTISTS, not unfit for soldiers, 32.-- Banished by luxury from a country, 113.
ASIA, passage to it by the Cape of Good Hope a new aera in commerce, 3.-- Its mode of fighting with elephants only disconcerted the Romans once, 31.
ASSIGNATS. SeeFrance.
ATHENS. SeeGreece.
AUGUSTUS, his resolution to kill himself when supplies of corn were likely to fail, 35.
[=sic= - no section heading in original]
BABYLON. SeeSyria.
BALANCE of trade, of England, has never much exceeded five millions.-- To be seen on the chart 3, p.213, during 105 years.-- Is not equal to more than one -twenty-fourth of the produce of industry, 293.
BALANCE of power could not preserve a nation from interior causes producing decline, 185.
BALTIC Sea, manufacturers early established on its southern shores, 45 to 48.
BARTER, not an innate principle, as Dr. Smith thinks, 5, 6.
BLACK Sea, a new market opened to commerce,195.
BIRMINGHAM division of labour renders business easy, 217.-- Apprenticeships not necessary to learn the art, but for other reasons.-- Recruiting service succeeds there, ib.
BOARDING Schools. SeeEducation.
BODIES Corporate and Public, their tendency to trench on the public, 117 to 124.
BOULTON, M. Esq. his spirited conduct in bringing forward the improvements, invented by Mr. Watt, on the steam-engine, 203.
BORROWING. SeeMoney.
BRAZILS. SeePortugal.
BREAD, proportion between the price of, and butchers meat, 140.-- Prices in Paris and London,164.
BRITAIN, in what its power and wealth consist, 191.-- Its interior situation and exterior, 192, 193, 194, 195.-- Its conquests and colonies, 196 to 200.-- Its great increase, 201.--
[end of page #295] Farthest advanced in manufacture, the consequence of that investigated, 203, 204, 205.-- Comparison between its general trade and that to India, 206 to 211. -- Begins to encourage agriculture, 213.-- Its exports and imports represented in chart 3 described, 213, 214.
BRUGES acted once as a sovereign, 47.-- Became a depot for India goods in the north, as Venice was in the south, 157.
BURKE, Right Honourable Edmund, his opinion relative to exterior causes of decline, 176.
BUTCHERS meat. SeeAnimal Food.
C.
CAPE of Good Hope. Its passage a new epoch in commercial history, 3.
CAPITAL, the result of past industry, 161.-- Commands trade, but supplies poor countries at the expense of richer ones, 181.-- Tends to leave a country when it becomes too abundant, 161, 162, 163.-- Would leave England if the sinking fund were to operate long in time of peace, 242.
CARTHAGE, of wealthy places alone escaped the conquests of Alexander, 24.-- Mistake relative to its state, 32, 33.-- Its fall ruined the Roman manners, ib.-- Comparison between it and Rome unfair, 36, 37, 38.-- Was never so degraded as Rome, ib.
CASPIAN Sea, goods brought by that route from India, 56.
CHANGES, interior, take place by degrees, 89.-- Most rapid and observable amongst the Romans, 91.
CHARLEMAGNE, from the fall of the Roman empire till his time, nothing like wealth or power, 44.-- Paved the way for civilizing and enriching the north of Europe, 45.
CHARTS, description and explanation of, illustrating the rise and fall of nations, 78, 79, 80.-- Statistical explanation of, 190.-- Of commerce, exports and imports, 213.-- Of revenue and debts, 214.
CHILDREN. SeeEducation.
CHRISTIAN religion most favourable to industry, 263, 264, 265, 267.
COMMERCE, progress slow in feudal times, 3.-- Changed its abode when the magnet rendered navigating the ocean practicable, 4.-- Commercial wealth degrades a nation less than wealth obtained by conquests, 33.-- Commercial spirit, its operation on national character, 37.-- Commerce with India, the only one in the ancient world, 51.-- How carried on, 52.-- Its vicissitudes, the envy it created, quarrels and revolutions it occasioned, 53 to 59.-- Of Britain during the last fifteen years; the increase great, but not arising from any permanent cause, 193.-- Its dependence on credit, 201.
CONSTANTINOPLE shares in the trade of India, 56.-- Revolution occasioned partly by the contests about that commerce, 57.-- Sunk before the discovery of America, by the conquest of the eastern Empire by the Turks, 68.
CONSUMPTION of food regulates the population of a country, 140.-- Its nature and tendency in northern nations, 141, 142, 143.-- Requires attention from government, 146.
CONQUEST first altered the natural state of the world, 2.-- Its first effect to lessen taxes, 35.-- Ultimately degrades a nation, ib.
CONDUCT in life. SeeEducation.
CORN, donations of at Rome, 35.-- State of crops in England, 145.-- Impossibility, if it fell much short, to find ships to bring over the quantity wanted, ib.-- calculations concerning, 146 to 154.
CREDIT necessary to carry on trade extensively, 202, 203.
CRUSADES tended to extend civilization and commerce, 45.
CUSTOMS, the first great branch of public revenue, 106.
CURING herrings, an improvement in the mode of, raised Holland above Flanders, 47.
D.
DEAD languages. SeeEducation.
DECAY. SeeDecline.
DECLINE of nations. Though it cannot be finally prevented, may be considered as if it never were to come on in this Inquiry, 7.-- Are of two sorts, 10.-- Of the Carthaginians attended with less degradation than that of the Romans, 36.-- Mistaken or misrepresented by historians in the instances of Rome and Carthage, 37.-- Cause of it amongst the Romans, 39, 40, 41, &c.-- Cause of in Flanders, 47.-- General in all nations that had been wealthy at the time of the discovery of the passage to India and of America, 49.-- Of the Turkish government, 69.-- Occasioned by taxation, 167.-- How to be prevented or retarded, 169.-- Interior causes may be counteracted, ib.-- In general hastened by the conduct of governments, 171.-- Might be otherwise, ib.-- Certain causes of, common to all nations, 173.-- External causes of operating on a nation, envy, enmity, &c. 176, 177, 178.-- Causes of peculiar to Great Britain, 257, 258, 259, 260.
DENMARK. Example of comparative power.-- Occasions the Hanseatic League by its piracies, and is afterwards pillaged and nearly ruined by that confederacy, 48.
DEPRECIATION of money counteracts the effect of taxation, 114, 115.-- Takes place where ever wealth is, 164.-- Its effects in dealing with poor nations, 165.
DIPLOMACY. The circuitous conduct ascribed to ambassadors, partly necessary and not to be blamed, 186.
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DIVISION of land. SeeProperty.
DIVISION of property. SeeProperty.
DUTCH. SeeHolland.
E.
EAST INDIES. SeeIndia.
EASTERN Empire. SeeConstantinople.
EDUCATION of children in all countries grows worse as a nation grows more wealthy, 90.-- Brings on a change of manners, 91.-- Would be better managed if parents were aided by govetnment, =sic= 94.-- Cannot be properly taken care of without the aid of government, 95.-- In what it consists generally, 96, 97, 98.-- Has been in general wrong understood =sic= by writers on it, 98, 99.-- Female, its importance, ib.-- Has been ill understood and conducted, 100, 101.-- Its importance, 216.-- Of the higher classes of society is well enough, 217.-- Not so of the lower, ib.-- Apprenticeships, their advantages, 218.-- To become a good member of society, the end of all education, whatever the rank or situation, 219.-- Dr. Smith's opinion about apprenticeships examined, ib. and 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226.-- Of females in England badly conducted, 227, 228.
EGYPT, one of the first countries settled, 20.-- Its fertility, &c. 21.-- Its surplus industry appears to have belonged to the sovereign, 22.-- Shared in the commerce to India at an early period, 51, 52.-- Became the chief channel for the trade to India after the founding of Alexandria, 54.
ELIZABETH, queen, Spanish armada in her reign not equal to the privateers of our merchants now, 8.-- Endeavoured to enrich the country, 118.
EMIGRANT ladies, astonishment shewn by them at the little progress made in female education at public schools in this country, 228.
ENERGY of those who attack greater than that of they =sic= who defend, 17.-- Occasioned by poverty, and necessity the cause of changes and revolution, 19.
ENGLAND began to see the advantages of manufactures and commerce very late, 48, 74.-- Its form of government a great advantage, 191.-- Manners likely to change, 193.-- Increase of its trade since 1791, owing to temporary causes, 195.-- The American and Russian markets great and increasing, 204.-- Envy and enmity excited by its conquests in India, 206.-- Effects of taxation on it, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233.-- Its national debt, 234 to 246.-- Causes of decline peculiar to it, 257 to 260.-- Circumstances peculiarly favourable to it, 261 to 270.-- Ought not to be envied for its possessions in India 291.-- Owes its wealth chiefly to internal industry, 293.
ENVY leads to rivalship in peace and brings on war, 14.-- One of the external causes of the fall of nations, 175.-- Occasioned the fall of Jerusalem after the death of Solomon, 177.-- Excited by the wealth of England, and particularly by its possessions in the east, 206.
ESPRIT DE CORPS. SeeBodies public and corporate.
EUPHRATES. SeeSyria.
EUROPE, wealth and power unequally divided in it, 13.-- Division of states, with the population and revenues, illustrated by a statistical chart,190.
EXCISE, established long after the customs, 107.
EXPENDITURE of England consists chiefly in interest of debt, 233.-- Cannot by any economy be much reduced in time of peace. ib.
EXPORTS, chart shewing, 213.
EXTERNAL causes of decline, cannot be prevented altogether by internal arrangements, but their effect greatly diminished, 173.-- More simple than the internal causes, 175.-- Envy and enmity, ib.-- Opinion of Mr. Burke, 176, 177, 178.-- Causes arising from poor nations having the advantage over rich in all dealings, 179.-- High value of money in poorer nations, 182.-- Conclusion of exterior causes, 184 to 187.
F.
FALL. SeeDecline.
FINANCES. SeeRevenue.
FINE arts do not flourish in a very wealthy country, 113.-- Very different as to their improvement, from the mechanic arts.
FLANDERS enriched by manufactures, 3, 46.-- The discovery of a bettar =sic= method of curing herrings by the Dutch is hurtful to it, 47.
FLORENCE served as a refuge for the nobles of Rome, when the city was taken by the Goths, 44.
FOOD. SeeAnimal Food and Corn.
FORCE, human, the superiority it gave nearly done away by the invention of gun-powder, 4.
FORESTALLING. SeeMONOPOLY.
FRANCE has, since the revolution, invented new modes of fighting, 31.-- Does not resemble Rome, 38.-- Its assignats the principal cause of the nature of the revolution, 48.-- Its monied capital was sent away when the revolution broke out,163.-- Its burthens before the revolution, 169.-- It expended great sums in the last war, 189.-- It, before the revolution, gained more by the west-India trade than any other nation, 193.-- Have now nearly lost it, ib.-- Its capital greatly diminished, ib.-- Will probably never possess great West-India trade again, 195.-- Will never cease to be an enemy to England, 196.
FREED men.
FREE revenue. SeeRevenue.
FUND, public. SeeNational Debt.
FUND, sinking. SeeNational Debt.
G.
GAMING, though attended with painful sensations, is oftener followed from propensity, as a mode of occupying the mind and interesting it, than from a love of gain, 83. [end of page #297]
GENTLEMEN resemble each other pretty nearly in all countries, 218.
GEOGRAPHICAL discovery so far as connected with the rise and fall of nations nearly at an end, 12.
GENOA, why put with Venice in the chart of commercial history, 56.-- Its greatness, ib.-- Loses its superiority, 57.-- Its power in the Black-Sea, ib.
GOLD. SeeMoney.
GOLDEN Age. SeeAge.
GOVERNMENTS ought to aid in the education of the lower and middling classes, 94, 95.-- Neglect education in the useful arts, 98.-- Should counteract the internal causes of decline, 172, 173, 187.-- Government of Great Britain should take care of education, 225.
GRAIN. SeeCorn.
GREEKS, their education peculiar to themselves, 25.-- Studied Egyptian learning, 98, 99.
GUN-POWDER changed the art of war, 4.
H.
HANS Towns rose first to wealth in the north of Europe, 3.-- Became formidable towards the end twelfth century, 45.-- Arose from the circumstances of the times and necessity.-- Became conquerors, 48.-- Began to decline through pride and luxury, 49.
HERRINGS, a new mode of curing them, discovered by the Dutch, raised that country, and began to make Flanders decline, 47.
HISTORY, an appeal to the best mode of inquiry, 1.-- Dr. Robertson's complaint about the scarcity of materials, ib.-- Is confused previous to the conquests of Alexander the Great, 20.-- Commercial chart of, for 3005 years, 78.