Why did not France prosper commercially prior to the time of the revolution of 1793?What are the chief natural advantages of the state in favor of commercial development?In what ways have the natural disadvantages of Switzerland been overcome?How has the loss of her colonies affected the industrial development of Spain?Comparing Spain and Italy, which has the better situation with reference to the Suez Canal traffic?From the Statesman's Year-Book find the amount of foreign trade of each state.From the Abstract of Statistics find the trade of each one with the United States.
Why did not France prosper commercially prior to the time of the revolution of 1793?
What are the chief natural advantages of the state in favor of commercial development?
In what ways have the natural disadvantages of Switzerland been overcome?
How has the loss of her colonies affected the industrial development of Spain?
Comparing Spain and Italy, which has the better situation with reference to the Suez Canal traffic?
From the Statesman's Year-Book find the amount of foreign trade of each state.
From the Abstract of Statistics find the trade of each one with the United States.
FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE
Adams's New Empire, pp. 160–168.Fiske's Discovery of America, Vol. II, Chapter XI.Procure for inspection specimens of raw silk and also of the choice textile goods made in these states.
Adams's New Empire, pp. 160–168.
Fiske's Discovery of America, Vol. II, Chapter XI.
Procure for inspection specimens of raw silk and also of the choice textile goods made in these states.
The Danube and Balkan states derive their commercial importance partly from the large area in which bread-stuffs may be produced, and also because the valley of the Danube has become an overland trade-route of growing importance between the Suez Canal and the North Sea.
Austria-Hungary.—This empire is composed of the two monarchies, Austria and Hungary, each practically self-governed, but united under a single general government. The greater part of the country is walled in by the ranges of the Alps and the Carpathian Mountains.
The region known as the Tyrol is topographically continuous with Switzerland, and the people have Swiss characteristics. Galicia, northeast of the Carpathian Mountains, the fragment of Poland that fell to Austria at the time of partition, is a part of the great Russian plain. Bohemia, which derives its name from the Keltic peoples, whom Cæsar called the Boii, comprises the upper part of the Elbe river-basin. Its natural commercial outlet is Germany, but the race-hatred which the Czechs have for the Germans, retards commercial progress. Hungary is a country of plains occupying the lower basin of the Danube. The Huns are of Asian origin. Austria proper occupies the upper valley of the Danube, adjoining Germany; the country and the people are Germanic.
To the student of history it is a surprise that a country of such diverse peoples, having but little in common savemutual race-hatred, should hold together under the same general government. The explanation, however, is found in the topography of the region. The basin of the Danube is a great food-producing region, and the upper valley of the Elbe River forms the easiest passage from the Black to the Baltic Sea. The topography therefore gives the greater part of the country commercial unity.
The climate and surface of the low plains of Hungary are much the same as those of Wisconsin and Minnesota. Grain-growing and stock-raising are the chief employments. High freight rates, a long haul, and the competition of Russia and Roumania have retarded the development of these industries, however. Bohemia is likewise a grain-growing country, and the easy route into Germany through the Elbe Valley makes the industry a profitable one. Bohemia is also in the sugar-beet area.
There is an abundance of coal in Austria, but most of it is unfit for the manufacture of iron and steel. Steel manufacture, however, is carried on, the industry being protected by the distance from the German steel-making centres. The lead-mines about Bleiberg (or "Leadville") are very productive; at Idria are the only quicksilver-mines in Europe that compete with those of Almaden, Spain. The salt-mines near Krakow are in a mass of rock-salt twelve hundred feet thick.
Most of the manufactured products are for home consumption. American cotton and home-grown wool supply the greater part of the textiles. The flour-mills are equipped with the very best of machinery, and much of the product is for export to Germany and the countries to the south. The manufactures that have made the state famous, however, are gloves and glassware, both of which are widely exported. The sand, fluxes, and coloring minerals of Bohemian glassware are all peculiar to the region, and thewares, therefore, cannot be imitated elsewhere. The gloves are made from the skins of Hungarian sheep and goats.
The railways are not well organized, and the mileage is insufficient for the needs of the country. Ludwig Canal (in Germany) connects the Danube with the Main, a navigable tributary of the Rhine; the Elbe is navigable from a point above Prague to the Baltic; the Moravian Gate opens a passage from Vienna northward; the Iron Gate, through which the Danube flows, is the route to the Black Sea; Semmering Pass and its tunnel is the gateway to the ports of the Adriatic. These great routes practically converge at Vienna, which also is the great railway centre of the empire.
The foreign trade consists mainly of the export of food-stuffs (of which sugar and eggs are heavy items), fine cabinet ware, woollen textiles (made from imported wool), barley and malt, and fine glassware. Much of the German and Italian wine is sent to market in casks made of Austrian stock; the coal goes mainly to Italy. The imports are raw cotton from the United States and Egypt, wool, silk, and tobacco. Coal is both exported and imported. The United States sells to Austria-Hungary cotton, pork, and corn—buying porcelain ware, glassware, and gloves, amounting to about one-fifth the value of the exports.
Vienna, the capital, is the financial centre and commercial clearing-house of central Europe; it has also extensive manufactures.Budapestis the great focal point of Hungarian railways and commerce.Praguecontrols the coal, textile, and glass trade of Bohemia.Lembergis the metropolis of Galicia. The states of Liechtenstein, Bosnia, and Herzegovina are commercially under the control of Austria.
The Lower Danube States.—Roumania and Bulgaria, the plain of the lower Danube, are enclosed by the Carpathian and Balkan ranges. They constitute a greatwheat-field whose chief commercial outlets are the Iron Gate into Germanic Europe, and the Sulina mouth of the Danube into the Black Sea. The growing of maize for home consumption and wheat for export form the only noteworthy industries. Most of the grain is shipped up the Danube and sold in Great Britain and Germany.
From the Iron Gate to the Black Sea the Danube is held as an international highway, and the control of its navigation is directed by a commission of the various European powers, having its head-quarters at Galatz, Roumania.
TURKEY AND GREECETURKEY AND GREECE
In the Balkan Mountains is the famous Vale of Roses which furnishes about half the world's supply of attar-of-roses. The petals of the damask rose are pressed between layers of cloth saturated with lard. The latter absorbs the essential oil, from which it is easily removed. About half a ton of roses are required to make a pound of the attar. Kazanlik, noted also for rugs, is the great market for attar.GalatzandRustchukare grain-markets and river-ports; from the latter a railway extends toVarna, the chief port of the Black Sea. FromSofia, near the Bulgarian frontier,a trunk line of railway extends through Budapest to western Europe.
Turkey-in-Europe.—The European part of the Ottoman Empire has long been politically known as the "Sick Man" of Europe, and so far as the industries and commerce of the state are concerned, there is no excuse for its separate existence as a state. Its political existence, however, is regarded as a necessity, in order to prevent the Russians from obtaining military and naval control of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and thereby becoming a menace to all western Europe. Less than one-half the people are Turks; the greater part of the population consists of Armenians, Jews, Magyars, and Latins.
Most of the country is rugged and unfit for grain-growing. The internal government is bad, the taxes are so ruinous that the agricultural resources are undeveloped, and every sort of farming is primitive. In many instances the taxes levied on the growing crops become practical confiscation when they are collected. Much of the cultivable land is idle because there are no means of getting the crops to market.
Grapes and wine, silk, opium, mohair and wool, valonia (acorn cups used in tanning leather), figs, hides, cigarettes, and carpets are the leading exports, and these about half pay for the American cotton textiles, woollen goods, coal-oil, sugar, and other food-stuffs imported. Choice Mocha coffee is imported for home use, and poorer grades are exported. Most of the foreign commerce is in the hands of English and French merchants. Armenians, Jews, and Greeks are the native middlemen and traders.
The native population is subject to the Sultan, whose rule is absolute; most foreign merchants and residents are permitted by treaties to remain subject to the regulations of the consuls.
Constantinopleis the capital. Its situation on the Bosphorus is such that under any other European government it would command a tremendous foreign commerce. It is naturally the focal point of the trade between Europe and Asia. A trunk line of railway connects the city with Paris.Salonicais the port of western Turkey, and is likewise connected by rail with western Europe. A great deal of the foreign commerce of the state is now landed at this port.
HARBOR OF CONSTANTINOPLEHARBOR OF CONSTANTINOPLE
The chief possessions of the Ottoman Empire are Asia Minor, Armenia, Mesopotamia, Syria, and Arabia.
Greece.—Greece is a rugged peninsula, no part of which is more than forty miles from the sea. The country is without resources in the way of coal, timber, or available capital. Its former commercial position, in ancient times, was due largely to the silver-mines near Ergasteria, and subsequently to the gold-mines of eastern Macedonia; these, however, are no longer productive.
There is but little land suitable for farming, and not far from one-half the bread-stuffs must be imported. Much of the timber has been destroyed, and this has resulted in a deterioration not only of the water-power, but of the cultivable lands as well. The railway lines are short and their business is local; there are practically no trunk line connections with the great centres of commerce.
The harbors and the natural position of the country are its best remaining resources. The Greeks are born sailors, and the country is in the pathway of European and Asian commerce. Most of the grain-trade between the Black andMediterranean Seas is controlled by Greek merchants, and the Greeks are everywhere in evidence in the carrying trade of the Mediterranean. The construction of the Corinthian canal has also given Greek commerce a material impetus.
The chief exports are Corinthian grapes—commonly known as "currants"—fruit, and iron ore from Ergasteria. Great Britain, France, and Belgium are the chief buyers of the fruit-crop. The exports scarcely pay for the American cotton, Russian wheat, and the timber products that are purchased abroad. There has been a material growth in the manufacture of cotton, woollens, and silk in the past few years, much of the work being done in households.Athensis the capital and largest city.The PiræusandPatrasare the chief ports.
ServiaandMontenegroare stock-growing countries. The former has suffered greatly from misgovernment and the waste of its resources. Wine-cask stock and cattle are sold to Austria, which has five-sixths of its trade.Belgradeis its metropolis. Tobacco and live-stock are exported from Montenegro to Austria.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
On a good map of central Europe trace an all-water route from the mouth of the Danube to the ports of the lower Rhine and the North Sea; what connection have the cities of Ratisbon and Lemberg with this route?How do the forests of these states affect the wine industry of Germany?From the Statesman's Year-Book find the amount and movement of the exports and imports of these countries.From the Abstract of Statistics find the volume of trade of these countries with the United States.
On a good map of central Europe trace an all-water route from the mouth of the Danube to the ports of the lower Rhine and the North Sea; what connection have the cities of Ratisbon and Lemberg with this route?
How do the forests of these states affect the wine industry of Germany?
From the Statesman's Year-Book find the amount and movement of the exports and imports of these countries.
From the Abstract of Statistics find the volume of trade of these countries with the United States.
FOR COLLATERAL REFERENCE
Great Canals of the World—p. 4089.A good map of central Europe.
Great Canals of the World—p. 4089.
A good map of central Europe.
RUSSIAN EMPIRERUSSIAN EMPIRE
The great plain of Eurasia, which borders about half the circuit of the Arctic Ocean, is undivided by topographic barriers or boundaries. It is physically a unit.
Russia.—Russia comprises more than one-half the area of Europe; the Russian Empire embraces about one-half of Europe and Asia combined, and constitutes more than one-seventh of the land surface of the earth. East and west, from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok, the distance is about six thousand miles. It has a similar position with respect to southern Europe and China as has Canada to the United States.
In latitude the country is unfortunately situated. North of the latitude of St. Petersburg the climate is too cold to grow bread-stuffs; a large part of the country is, therefore, unproductive. The central belt is forest-covered; the southern part, or "black earth" belt, comprises the greater part of the productive lands, and this region is the chief granary of Europe.
Russia is an agricultural country. Maize and rye grown for home consumption, and wheat for export, are the chief products. Flax is a leading export product, and the Russian crop constitutes about four-fifths of the world's supply. Lands too remote from markets for grain-growing produce cattle and sheep, which are grown mainly for their hides and tallow. The wool of the Don is a very coarse textile that is much used in the manufacture of American carpets;that of the arid plateaus of the southern country is a fine rug wool.
Agriculture in Russia is on a much lower plane than in western Europe. Most of the land is owned in large estates. Individual farming is rare, land tillage being usually a community affair. A village community rents or purchases a tract of land, and the latter is allotted to the families composing it, a part of the land being reserved for pasturage. The business is transacted by "elders," or trustees, who exercise a general management and supervision over the "mir," or community.
The methods of farming are not the best, and an acre of land produces scarcely one-third as much as the same area is made to yield in other states. The farming class, or peasantry, was in a condition of serfdom until within a few years. Poverty unfits them to compete with farmers of western Europe; moreover, the laws of land ownership and tenure also serve to discourage farming.
The metal and mineral resources are very great. Iron ore is abundant, and the yearly output of both is greatly increasing. There are extensive deposits in southern Russia, in the Ural Mountains, and in Poland. Coal of good quality is plentiful, and coal mining is encouraged by a heavy tariff on the foreign coal that enters regions where the home product is available. The most productive coal-fields are those of the lower Don River and of Poland.
Gold is obtained in various parts of Siberia and in the Ural Mountains, but scarcely enough is mined for the requirements of coinage. Copper is also mined in the Ural and Caucasus Mountains. More than nine-tenths of the world's supply of platinum is also obtained in the Ural Mountains. The petroleum fields of Transcaucasia have a yearly output a little greater than those of the United States.
The forest area is surpassed only by the timber belt of North America, both of which are in about the same latitudes. This area, within a very few years, is destined to be the chief lumber supply of all Europe. Moreover, the forests, the grain-growing lands, and the iron and coal constitute national resources which are surpassed in no other countries save the United States and China.
The Russian Government has done much to encourage manufactures. Steel-making in the Ural district, in Poland, and in the iron regions of the Don has progressed to the extent that home-made railway material and rolling stock are now generally used. Farming machinery is made in the cities of the grain-growing region. The manufacture of cotton, woollen, and linen fabrics has developed to the extent that the state is becoming an exporter rather than an importer of such goods.
Railway building has progressed under government aid, and about two-thirds of the 37,000 miles of track are owned by the state. The Transsiberian Railway connecting Vladivostok with the trunk lines of Europe was built by the state both for strategic and economic purposes. Large bodies of emigrants are carried into Siberia at nominal rates and are settled on lands that are practically free. The return cargoes consist of Chinese products—mainly silk textiles and tea—destined for western Europe.
A network of railways covers the grain-growing districts; trunk lines, mainly for strategic purposes, extend through Russian Turkestan to the Chinese border. For many years Russia has endeavored to acquire the territory that would afford commercial outlets to the Indian Ocean and into China. In this the state has been thwarted by two great powers—Great Britain and Japan. The construction of canals and the improvements of river-navigation areunder government management, and the internal water-ways aggregate about fifty thousand miles of navigation.
The foreign commerce is changing in character as manufactures develop. Wheat, flour, timber products, flax, and petroleum are the chief exports. Cotton, tea, wool, and coal are the leading imports, the first-named coming mainly from the United States. Germany, Great Britain, France, Holland, and the United States are the chief European countries utilizing Russian trade. The commerce between Russia and China is growing rapidly. The Transsiberian railway is its chief northern outlet, and a branch of this road, now under construction, extends through to the leading commercial centres of Manchuria, to Port Arthur. A considerable amount of manufactured goods is sent to Asia Minor and the Iran countries.
The most available ports opening into the Atlantic are on the Baltic Sea, but these are blocked by ice in winter; the best ports are on the Black Sea, but the Russians do not control the navigable waters that connect them with the Atlantic.
Much of the internal trade is carried on by means of annual fairs. The most important of these are held atNijni, (lower)Novgorod,Kharkof,Kief, and other points. At the first-named fair goods to the amount of $80,000,000 have changed hands during a single season, and the annual fair is the recognized common ground on which the oriental traders meet the buyers of European and American firms.
Unlike the schemes of colonization of other European states, the various possessions of the Czar are practically in a single area, the dependencies being contiguous. The lines between them, with few exceptions, are political rather than natural boundaries.
St. Petersburg, the capital, is the centre of finance and trade.Rigais the port from which most of the lumber isexported; it receives the coal purchased from Great Britain for the factories of the Baltic coast. The harbor of Riga is not greatly obstructed by ice.Archangelhas an export trade of lumber and flax during the few months when the White Sea is free from ice.OdessaandRostofare the grain-markets of the empire.Astrakhanis the centre of trade for the Iran countries, andBakuis the petroleum-market.Moscowis the chief focal point of the railways; and in consequence has become a great centre of manufacture and trade.Warsaw, next to Moscow, is the most important city.
Siberia.—This great territory resembles Russia in surface and climatic features. Like the former "west" of the United States, Siberia is the open "east" into which much of the surplus population of Russia, Germany, and the Scandinavian countries is moving, attracted by fine farming lands. The European emigrant becomes a producer when settled in Siberia, and, at the same time, a consumer of Russian manufactures. In five years more than one million people thus became occupants of the new country in Siberia. Russian trade is encouraged by a heavy tariff on foreign goods brought into Siberia.
Tobolsk,Tomsk, andSemipalatinskare collecting stations for Siberian products, and each is built on navigable waters.Irkutskreceives the caravan trade that goes from Peking throughUrgaandKiakhta, the frontier post of Chinese trade.Vladivostokis the great Pacific outlet and the terminus of the Transsiberian Railway. It is ice-bound in winter.Harbin, in Manchuria, China, is a Russian trading post of great commercial importance.
BokharaandKhivaare Russian vassal states. The former was acquired chiefly as a trade-route. A railway fromKrasnovodskon the Caspian Sea extends throughMerv,Bokhara, andSamarkandtoKashgar, where it meetsthe caravan trade from central China. The building of this railway has caused a great development of cotton-growing in these countries, which furnish Europe and America with the choice Afghan, Khiva, and Bokhara rugs.
Transcaucasia, now joined to Russia, is a part of the plateau of Iran. A railway extends across the country fromBatumtoBaku, connecting the Black and Caspian Seas. Transcaucasia is the petroleum region of the East. It is also noted for the Shirvan, Kabistan, Daghestan, and Kazak rugs which are sold all over Europe and America. The so-called "Cashmere" rugs are not a product of Kashmir, but are made in the town ofShemaka. Kabistan rugs are made inKuba. Kazak fabrics are usually the sleeping-blankets of the Kazak (Cossack) rough-riders.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
How will the development of the coal, iron, and lumber resources most likely affect the industrial future of Russia?Discuss the policy of Siberian immigration;—what are its advantages to German colonists?From the map accompanying this chapter show how the tributary streams of the great rivers have served to extend Russian commerce through Siberia.Note the situation of the cities and towns of Siberia with reference to the rivers.What effect has the high latitude of Russia on its agricultural industries?From the Statesman's Year-Book make a list of the leading exports and imports of Russia by articles, and also the volume of trade with other countries.From the Abstract of Statistics find the statistics of trade between Russia and the United States.
How will the development of the coal, iron, and lumber resources most likely affect the industrial future of Russia?
Discuss the policy of Siberian immigration;—what are its advantages to German colonists?
From the map accompanying this chapter show how the tributary streams of the great rivers have served to extend Russian commerce through Siberia.
Note the situation of the cities and towns of Siberia with reference to the rivers.
What effect has the high latitude of Russia on its agricultural industries?
From the Statesman's Year-Book make a list of the leading exports and imports of Russia by articles, and also the volume of trade with other countries.
From the Abstract of Statistics find the statistics of trade between Russia and the United States.
FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE
Commercial life in Russia—preferably from the article, "Russia," in the Encyclopædia Britannica.For a rug of the Caucasus type, see illustration,p. 351; compare the Kabistan with the Persian piece—which has the floral and which the geometric figures?
Commercial life in Russia—preferably from the article, "Russia," in the Encyclopædia Britannica.
For a rug of the Caucasus type, see illustration,p. 351; compare the Kabistan with the Persian piece—which has the floral and which the geometric figures?
The countries of the Iran plateau extend from the Mediterranean Sea to the valley of the Indus River. The Arabian Peninsula is not a part of it, but its climate and general character are similar. The Iran countries are exceedingly rugged, and a great part of their surface is more than a mile above sea-level. The climate is one of great extremes; the summer hot-waves and the winter hurricanes are probably unknown elsewhere in severity. The greater part of Arabia is an unhabitable desert.
THE IRAN PLATEAU AND ARABIATHE IRAN PLATEAU AND ARABIA
The rigorous conditions of surface and climate have placed their stamp upon the population of the region.They are full of the intelligent cunning and ferocity that mark people living under such conditions of environment. In many parts the sterile soil and arid climate force the sparse population into nomadic habits of life and predatory pursuits. For the greater part, the land hardly yields enough food-stuffs for the population, and any great development of agriculture is out of the question. The flood-plain of the Tigris and Euphrates, and a few of the river-valleys are highly productive.
AN ANTIQUE TREE-OF-LIFE, KERMANSHAH (PERSIAN) RUGAN ANTIQUE TREE-OF-LIFE, KERMANSHAH (PERSIAN) RUG
Before the Christian era several trade-routes between Europe and the Orient lay across this region, and alongthe caravan routes there were the usual industries pertaining to commercial peoples. The cities of Sinope, Trebizond, Astrabad, Phasis, Mashad, and Bactra (now Balkh) grew into existence along one of the northern routes. Tyre, Nineveh, Tarsus, Palmyra, Babylon, and Persepolis were founded along one or another of the southern routes. Of these, Trebizond only retains its importance, being a seaport with a considerable trade. The commerce that once passed over this route was crushed out of existence during the invasions by Jenghis Khan.
A KABISTAN RUG—CAUCASUS DISTRICTA KABISTAN RUG—CAUCASUS DISTRICT
Of the various industries of the Iran plateau, practically but one extends beyond its borders, namely, the manufacture of the textile fabrics known as Oriental rugs. These are unique; they are made of materials, colored with dyes, and are ornamented with designs that cannot be successfully imitated anywhere else in the world. The filling of the rugs consists of fine wool, selected not only from particular localities, but also from certain parts of the fleece. The dye-stuffs are common to other parts of the world, andtheir names—indigo, saffron, coccus, madder, and orchil—are familiar. But both the wool and the dye-stuffs possess qualities imparted to them by soil and climate that are not found elsewhere.
The absence of floors, and of the furniture found in European dwellings, make the rugs essential household articles rather than luxuries. The hearth-rug, the bath-mat, the divan-cover, the sleeping-blanket, and the saddle-mat must be regarded as necessities. Religion also has its requirements, and the prayer rug, sometimes ornamented with the hands of the Prophet, is a part of every household equipment, whether of the nomadic Arab or the wealthy merchant. Each district and people have their own designs and methods of workmanship, and the rugs of each are easily distinguished.[76]
For the greater part these are gathered by caravans and conveyed to convenient shipping-points. Nearly all the cottage-made product is obtained in this manner. As a rule the rugs are named from the town or district in which they are made. Smyrna and Constantinople are the chief ports of shipment. Many of them find their way to European dealers, but New York is probably the largest rug-market in the world. The great majority are retailedat from ten to fifty dollars each; choice fabrics, however, bring from three hundred to ten thousand dollars. Oriental rugs are hand-woven, and a weaver frequently spends several years on a single piece, earning perhaps less than ten cents a day. The factory-made rugs are inferior to the cottage-manufactured product.
Turkish Possessions.—Anatolia is the common name of the Turkish possession formerly known as Asia Minor. The name properly belongs, however, to only a small part of the region. The Asiatic possessions of the Ottoman Empire comprise Asia Minor, Armenia, Kurdistan, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Arabia. The Armenians are the commercial people of the greater part of this region, and although thousands have been massacred because of Turkish hatred of them, they practically wield the chief power because of their business enterprise.
During the Roman occupation many miles of roads were built from Constantinople and other coast-points to the interior. One of these extended to Mesopotamia, and became a much-travelled route of the trade which centred at Constantinople. Within recent years German capitalists have built railways along these roads, thereby creating a considerable export trade in fruit, rugs, and mohair cloth.
AngoraandKonieh(Iconium) are important marts.Trebizondis the chief port of the Black Sea, but it lacks railway connections with the interior.Smyrnais the chief port of the Mediterranean, and from it are shipped to European and American markets the fruit and textile fabrics that have made its importance. In Syria,Damascus, one of the oldest cities in the world, is the centre of a considerable trade in textile manufactures. Rugs, dates, figs, and damask fabrics are exported to Europe throughBeirut, its seaport, with which it is connected by rail. Much of the stuffs exported is gathered from Persia.Yafais the port of Jerusalem.Bagdadis the chief trade-centre of Mesopotamia.
Arabia.—Arabia is nominally a Turkish possession, but the coast-regions only are under the control of the Sultan. The interior is peopled by nomadic tribes, who do not acknowledge the sovereignty of Turkey. The province of Yemen, on the Red Sea, is about the only noteworthy part of the peninsula. Hides and Mocha coffee, gathered by Arab traders, are shipped from the port ofHodeida.Meccais the yearly meeting-place of thousands of Mohammedan pilgrims, who go thither as a religious duty; it is also the centre from which Asiatic cholera radiates.Aden, the chief coaling-station of the British Empire in the Indian Ocean, is also a free port, having a considerable trade in American cotton and coal-oil.
Although Arabia itself is practically of no commercial importance, the same cannot be said of the Arabic people. They are keen, thrifty traders, and as brutal in their instincts as they are keen. The commerce which connects the western part of Asia with Europe is largely of their making. They collect and transport the goods from the interior, delivering them to Jewish and Armenian middlemen, who turn them over to European and American merchants. Arab traders also control the greater part of the commerce of northern Africa. The slave-trade, which is wholly in their hands, is very largely the key to the situation. A party of slave-dealers makes an attack upon a village and, after massacring all who are not able-bodied, load the rest with the goods to be transported to the coast.
Persia.—Persia is the modernized name of the province now called Fars, or Farsistan. Within its borders, however, the name Persia is almost unknown; the native people call the country Iran. In the times of Cyrus,Xerxes, and Darius, Persia was one of the great powers of the world. The cultivable lands produced an abundance of food-stuffs. The mines of copper, lead, silver, and iron were worked to their utmost extent, and the chief trade-routes between Europe and the Orient crossed the country to the Indus River.
The conquest by Alexander the Great changed the course of trade and diverted it to other routes, thus depriving the country of much of its revenue; the invasions of the Arabs left the empire a hopeless wreck. Iran blood dominates the country at the present time, it is true, but the religion of Islam does not encourage any material development, and the industries are now purely local. There is no organization of trade, nor any system of transportation except by means of wretched wagon-roads with innumerable toll-gates. "Turkish" tobacco, opium, and small fruits are grown for export; silk and wool, however, are the most important crops. The former is manufactured into brocaded textiles; the latter into rugs and carpets. There are famous pearl-fisheries in the Persian Gulf.
Tabriz, situated in the midst of an agricultural region, has important manufactures of shawls and silk fabrics of world renown. The Tabriz rugs are regarded as among the finest of the rug-maker's art.Shiraz, the former capital,Kermanshah,[77]andHamadanare noted for rug and carpet manufactures.Mashadis the centre of the trade with Russia.BushireandBender-Abbasare seaports, but have no great importance. Most of the trade with Russia passes through the port of Trebizond.
Afghanistan.—The nomadic tribes that inhabitAfghanistan have but little in common with the British civilization that is slowly but surely closing in upon them, and driving them from routes of commerce. A considerable local traffic is carried on between Bokhara and Herat, and between Bokhara and Kabul through Balkh, all being fairly prosperous centres of population in regions made productive by irrigation.
By far the most important route lies between Kabul and Peshawur, at the head of the Indus River. A railway, the Sind-Pishin, extends along the valley of this river from Karachi, a port of British India, to Peshawur, also in British India near the Afghan border, and the route lies thence through Khaibar Pass to Jelalabad and Kabul. A branch of this road is completed through Bolan Pass nearly to Kandahar.
Kabul, the capital, is a military stronghold rather than a business centre, although it is a collection depot for the Khiva-Bokhara rugs and carpets that are marketed at Peshawur.Kandaharhas a growing trade resulting from the railway of the Indus Valley.Heratis the market of the famous Herati rugs. There is no organized commercial system; a small amount of British manufactures—mainly stuffs for domestic use—are imported; rugs and dried fruit are the only exports to Europe and America. The imports enter mainly by way of Karachi, India; the exports are carried to Europe, for the greater part, by the Russian railway.
The importance of Afghanistan is due to its position as a buffer state between Russia and British India. The various strategic points for years, therefore, have been military strongholds. There is an old saying: "Whoso would be master of India must first make himself lord of Kabul." The meaning of this is seen in the history of Khaibar Pass, which for many years has been a scene of slaughter; indeed, it has been the chief gateway betweenoccidental and oriental civilizations for more than twenty centuries. Since the acquisition of India by Great Britain Afghanistan has been under British protectoracy.
Baluchistan.—The general features of Baluchistan resemble those of the other parts of the Iran plateau. The coast has no harbors in the proper sense, but the anchorage offGwadorhas fair protection from storms and heavy winds. The few valleys produce enough food-stuffs for the half-savage population. There is but little organization to the government save that which is military in character. The state is a protectorate of Great Britain.
Rug-making is the only industry that connects Baluchistan with the rest of the world.Quetta, the largest town, is a military station controlling Bolan Pass. Its outlet is the Kandahar branch of the Sind-Pishin Railway.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
What climatic factors prevent these countries from being regions of great production?How do climate and soil affect the character of the wool clip?How do Arabian horses compare with American thorough-bred stock with respect to usefulness?—how do they compare with the mustang stock?Why is Khaibar Pass regarded as the key to India?
What climatic factors prevent these countries from being regions of great production?
How do climate and soil affect the character of the wool clip?
How do Arabian horses compare with American thorough-bred stock with respect to usefulness?—how do they compare with the mustang stock?
Why is Khaibar Pass regarded as the key to India?
FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE
From a cyclopædia (or from McCarthy's History of Our Own Times) read an account of the British disaster at Kabul.Study, if possible, one or more rugs of the following kinds, noting the colors, designs, and warp of each: Bokhara (antique and modern), Anatolian, Kermanshah, and Baluchistan.
From a cyclopædia (or from McCarthy's History of Our Own Times) read an account of the British disaster at Kabul.
Study, if possible, one or more rugs of the following kinds, noting the colors, designs, and warp of each: Bokhara (antique and modern), Anatolian, Kermanshah, and Baluchistan.
These countries are in tropical latitudes and in the main are regions of great productivity. A few native states that have resisted annexation and conquest excepted, almost the entire area is divided among Great Britain, Holland, and France.
INDIAINDIA
British India.—The Empire of India comprises an area half as large as the United States, situated on the southern slope of Asia. It covers the same latitude as the span between the Venezuelan coast and the Ohio River; from the Indus to the Siam frontier the distance is about two thousand miles. It includes also settlements in the Malay peninsula.
Excepting the plateau of the Dekkan, and the slopes ofthe Himalayan ranges, most of the surface consists of plains and low, rolling land covered with a great depth of soil. Through these rich lands flow four large rivers—the Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Irawadi, which afford a great deal of internal communication. The Himalaya Mountains on the north and the Hindu Kush on the northwest practically shut off communication from the northward, so that all communication in this direction is concentrated at Khaibar and Bolan Passes, the most important gateways by land approach.
British India is one of the most populous regions of the world; the average population per square mile is about one hundred and eighty, a density considerably greater than that of New York State. The entire population is about three times that of the United States. Nearly all the food-stuffs grown are required for home consumption; indeed, dry years are apt to be followed by a shortage of food-stuffs. Years ago famines followed any considerable deficiency of crops, but since the completion of the admirable railway systems the necessary food-stuffs are quickly shipped to the district where the shortage occurs.
The Hindus constitute about three-fourths of the population. Along the northern border there are many peoples of Afghan and Turkic descent; in Burma there is a considerable admixture of Mongol blood. An elaborate system of social castes imposed by the teachings of Brahmanism has made the introduction of western methods of education and civilization somewhat difficult to carry out. The educational system of the dominating Brahmanic caste, although of a very high order, does not fit the people to cope with the commercialism of western civilization.
Five-sevenths of the population are engaged in agricultural labor. Rice, wheat, millet, meat, and sugar are thechief food-crops. Of these, rice and wheat[78]only are exported; the others are required for home consumption.
The articles grown for export are jute, cotton, opium, oil-yielding seeds, tea, and opium. No meat is exported, but hides form a large item of foreign trade.
The jute is used in the manufacture of rugs and grain-sacks. It is cultivated mainly in the delta-lands of the Ganges-Brahmaputra. A considerable part of the product is now manufactured in India and in China; some is also shipped to California, to be made into wheat-sacks; perhaps the larger part is sent to Dundee, Scotland, where it is woven into textile fabrics. The choicest product is used to mix with silk fibre, or is employed in the manufacture of rugs and coverings.
Cotton cultivation is rapidly taking first rank among the industries of India, for which the conditions of soil, climate, and market are admirably adapted. India stands second in cotton-growing, and the area of production is gradually increasing. Most of the crop is exported to Europe for manufacture, although there is an increasing amount sold to Japan. Great Britain is the largest purchaser, and the cotton goods manufactured at Manchester are reshipped in large quantities to India.
Owing to the low wages paid for labor both in the fields and the mills, cotton manufacture is a rapidly growing industry in India. In many cases the yarn is manufactured in India and then sent to China to be made into coarse cloth. Some of the mills are equipped with machinery made in the United States.
Tea has become one of the most important crops of India. It is grown mainly in Ceylon and Assam, and is said to have grown wild in the latter state. The qualityof Indian tea is regarded as superior to the Chinese product, and Indian teas have therefore very largely supplanted those of China, in British consumption.
Silk cultivation and manufacture have been growing rapidly in the past few years; a considerable part of the product is "tussar," or wild silk. The silk rugs of India are not equalled anywhere else in the world. Wool is a product of the mountain-regions, but is almost wholly used in the manufacture of rugs and coverings.
The British occupation of India is commercial rather than political. India furnishes a most valuable market for British manufactures; it supplies the British people with a large amount of raw material for manufacture. The general government is administrative only so far as the construction of railways, irrigating canals, and harbors, and the organization of financial affairs are concerned.
There are about two hundred and fifty native states included within the territory of British India. In addition to the native ruler, a British governor or magistrate carries out the administrative features of the British Government. For administrative purposes most of the native states are grouped into eight provinces, or "presidencies."
Bengal.—The states of Bengal, mainly in the valley of the Ganges River, produce most of the rice and wheat.Calcutta, the capital of the empire, is a comparatively young city. The Hugli at this point is navigable both for ocean and river craft. The situation of the city is much like that of New York, and it is therefore finely adapted for commerce. Railways extending from the various food-producing districts and from other centres of commerce converge at Calcutta. The city is not only the centre of administration, but the chief focus of commerce and finance as well.
Bombay.—Bombay includes a number of statesbordering on the Arabian Sea. The city ofBombayis built on an island of the same name. Its situation on the west coast makes it the most convenient port for the European trade that passes through the Suez Canal. The opening of the route gave Bombay a tremendous growth, and it is destined to become a great commercial factor in Indian Ocean trade. It is also a great manufacturing centre for cotton textiles.Ahmedabad, an important military station, is also an important centre of cotton manufacture and wheat-trade.
Sind.—The native state Sind includes the greater part of the basin of the Indus. Its importance is military and strategic rather than commercial. The ability of Great Britain to hold India depends very largely on British control of the Indus Valley and the passes leading from it. The Sind-Pishin Railway traverses the Indus Valley from Karachi to Peshawur.Haidarabad, one of the largest cities of India, is the centre of an agricultural district.Karachi, the port near the mouth of the Indus, next to Khaibar Pass, is the most important strategic point of India, and one that the Russians for more than a century have been trying to possess.
Punjab.—The states of the Punjab are mainly at the upper part of the Indus.Amritsaris an important centre for the manufacture of silk rugs and carpets. A large number of these are sold in the United States at prices varying from two hundred to six thousand dollars. The designs for these textiles are often made in New York.Peshawuris important chiefly as a military station.
Burma.—British Burma includes the basin of the Irawadi River. The uplands are wheat-fields; the lowlands produce rice.Mandalayis a river-port and commercial centre.Rangoonis the seaport, with a considerable ship-building industry that results from the teak forests.Although the Irawadi is navigable for light craft, railways along the valley have become a necessity; these centre at Rangoon.
The province of Madras is one of the most densely peopled parts of India. The chief commercial products are cotton and teak-wood.Madras, its commercial centre, has a very heavy foreign trade in hides, spices, and cotton. The cotton manufactures are extensive. A yarn-dyed cotton cloth, now imitated both in Europe and the United States, has made the name famous.
Kashmir.—The native state Kashmir, situated high on the slopes of the Karakorum Mountains, is known chiefly for the "Cashmere" shawls made there. The shawls are hand-woven and represent the highest style of the weaver's art. The best require many years each in the making; they command prices varying from five hundred to five thousand dollars. This industry centres atSrinagar.
Other British States.—The Straits Settlements are so called because they face the Straits of Malacca. They include several colonies, chief of which are Singapore, Penang, and Malacca. The Straits ports are free from export and import duties, a regulation designed to encourage the concentration of Malaysian products there—in other words, to encourage a transit trade.
The policy has proved a wise one, and the trade at the three ports—Singapore,Penang, andMalacca—aggregates about six hundred million dollars yearly. About two-thirds of this sum represents the business of Singapore. Tin constitutes about half the exports, a large share going to the United States. Spices, rubber, gutta-percha, tapioca, and rattan constitute the remaining trade. Rice, cotton cloth, and opium are the imports.
The Federated Malay States, situated in the Malay peninsula, and the northern part of Borneo are also Britishpossessions. Their trade and products are similar to the rest of the Malaysian possessions.
Dutch East India.—The Dutch possessions include nearly all the islands of the Malay Archipelago and the western part of New Guinea. Of these, Java and Sumatra are the most important. They are divided into "residencies," and the administering officers exercise control over the various plantations. In addition, there are numerous private plantations. The colonial administration is admirable.
Cane-sugar, coffee, rice, indigo, pepper, tobacco, and tea are the chief products. The sugar industry has been somewhat crippled by the beet-sugar product of Europe. Java and Sumatra coffees are in demand all over Europe and the United States. Sumatra wrappers for cigars find also a ready market wherever cigars are manufactured. The cultivation of cinchona, or Peruvian bark, has proved successful, and this substance is becoming an important export. The islands of Banka and Billiton (with Riouw) yield a very large part of the world's supply of tin, much of which goes finally to the United States. The mother-country profits by the trade of these islands in two ways: the Dutch merchants are practically middlemen who create and manage the commerce; the Dutch Government receives an import tax of six per cent., and a small export tax on nearly all articles except sugar.Bataviais the focal point of the commerce.
Siam.—This kingdom is chiefly important as a buffer state between French and British India, and little by little has been pared by these nations until practically nothing but the basin of the Menam River remains. The administration of the state is progressive, and much of the resources have been developed in the last few years.
Rice and teak are the leading products. The rice iscultivated by native laborers—much of it by enforced labor—and is sold to Hongkong, British India, and the more northerly states. It is collected by Chinese middlemen, and by them sold to British and German exporters. The teak-wood business is managed by British firms. The logs are cut by natives, hauled to the Menam River, and floated to Bangkok; there they are squared and sent to European markets. Pepper and preserved fish are also exported. The Menam River is the chief trade-route, andBangkok, at its mouth, is the focal point of trade.
French India.—The French control the region south of China, called French Indo-China, together with various areas in the peninsula of Hindustan; of these Pondicheri and Karical are the most important. Indo-China includes the basin of Mekong River, and rice is the staple product. The most productive rice-fields are the delta-lands of the Mekong, formerly known as Cochin-China.
From these lands more than half a million tons of rice are exported, the product being sold mainly at Hongkong and Singapore. Pepper is also an export of considerable value. France, China, and the Philippine Islands are the final destination of the rice export. The imports are mainly textiles, machinery, and coal-oil from the United States. The machinery pertains chiefly to the manufactures of cotton and silk textiles. On account of cheaply mined coal, there is a considerable growth of this industry.Saigonis the business centre and port at which the Chinese middlemen meet the European merchants and forwarders.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION