Canaries.I shall proceed next to the Trade we drive to the Canary-Islands, which brings us nothing but what we consume, and I believe takes from us little of our Product or Manufactures; but since we must drink Wines, ’tis better to have them from the Spaniard than the French; the first takes off much of our Manufactures, the other little; and I am apt to think, those Wines are paid for out of what we ship to Spain.
Spain.This brings me to the Spanish Trade, which I take to be very profitable to this Kingdom, as it vends much of our Product and Manufactures, and supplies us with many Things necessary to be used in making the Latter, and furnishes us with great Quantities of Bullion; I shall divide it into three Parts, Spain, Biscay, and Flanders.
To begin with Spain, by which I mean, that Part from the Bay of Cadiz inclusive, Eastward into the Straits of Gibraltar, as far as Catalonia; whither we send all Sorts of Woollen Manufactures, Lead, Fish, Tin, Silk and Worsted Stockings, Butter, Tobacco, Ginger, Leather, Bees-Wax, and sundry other Things. And in Return we have thence, some Things fit only for Consumption, such as Fruit and Wines; others for our Manufactures, such as Oil, Cochineal, Indigo, Anata, Barillia, and some Salt, with a great Part in Gold and Silver, wherewith they are supplied from their large Empires on the main Land of America, whither they export much of the Goods we carry to them.
The Spaniards are a stately People, not much given to Trade or Manufactures themselves; therefore the first they carry on by such chargeable and dilatory Methods, both for their Ships and ways of Navigation, that other trading Nations, such as the English, French, Dutch, and Genoese, take Advantage of them; only their Trade to their West-Indies, hath, on strict Penalties, been reserved to themselves; but having no Manufactures of their own, the Profit thereof comes very much to be reaped by those who furnish them: Nor is it so well guarded and secured, but that the Inhabitants thereof have been plentifully supplied by us with Manufactures, and many other Things from Jamaica, and may be more, by the Liberty lately granted to the South-Sea Company, whereby we get greater Prizes for them, than when they were first shipp’d to Cadiz, and exported thence thither, which adds to the Wealth of the Nation: This I take to be the true Reason why our Vent for them at Cadiz is lessened, because we supply New-Spain direct with those Things they used to have thence before.
By Biscay, I mean all that Part under the Spanish Government, which lies in the Bay of that Name, or adjoining to it: The Commodities we send thither are generally the same as we do to Spain, and in Return we have Wool, Iron, and some Bullion, whereof the first is the best and most profitable Commodity, which could we secure wholly to our selves, ’twould be of great Advantage to the Nation; but both the Dutch and French come in for their Shares; tho’ I am apt to think the former might be induced to bring it hither by way of Merchandize, if we did so far relax the Act of Navigation, as to give them Liberty to do it.
The third Part of our Spanish Trade is that to Flanders, whereby I mean all those Provinces that were formerly under its Government, but are now under the Emperors, whether we send Commodities much of the same Nature as those we send to the other Parts, tho’ not in so great Quantities, and among our Woollen Manufactures more coarse Medleys; also Muscovado Sugars and Coals, but not so much Leather as we have formerly done, being supplied with raw Hides from Ireland, which are tann’d there: We have thence Linnens, Thread, and other Things, which are used both at Home, and also shipp’d to our Plantations.
Portugal.The next is the Trade we drive to the Kingdom of Portugal, and its Islands, where we vend much of our Product and Manufactures, little different in their kinds from what are sent to Spain; and from thence we have in Return, Salt, Oil, Woad, Fruit, and Wines, besides Gold and Silver: We have, since the Wat with France, increased our Importation of their Wines, which is more our Interest to do, than to have them from France, whence our Imports have been always more than our Exports would pay for, and to this Kingdom our Exports are greater than their Products can make us Returns, especially since we have desisted from bringing hither their Sugars and Tobacco, Commodities wherewith we are more advantageously supplied from our Plantations in America, and are now able to furnish foreign Markets cheaper than they can.
These People were formerly the great Navigators of the World, as appears by their many Discoveries, both in the East and West-Indies, besides the several Islands os the Azores, Cape de Verd, and also Maderas, where they have settled Colonies; to these they admit us a free Trade, but reserve their remoter Settlements on the Continent of Brazil more strictly to themselves, whither they export many of the Commodities we send them, and in Return have Sugars and Tobacco, which are again exported to the European Markets, though little of them hither: Besides which, they have of late brought from thence great Quantities of Gold; their Islands we supply directly with our Manufactures, and from the Azores load Corn, Woad, and some Wines, which we receive in Barter for them, and are the Product of those Islands; the first we carry to Maderas, where ’tis again bartered for the Wines of the Growth of that Island, which are shipt thence to our Plantations in America: In these Settlements the Inhabitants live well, and are plentifully supplied, because they have wherewith to pay for what is brought them; but those residing on the Cape de Verd Islands, being generally made up of Negroes, Molattoes, and such like People, and having little Product to give in Returns, are but meanly furnished, and have scarce enough to serve their Necessities, much less to please their Luxuries, Asses, Beeves, and Salt, being all we have from them, which we generally carry to our Plantations in America: some Salt we bring home; Beef might be made there very cheap, could it be saved, being purchased for little, and Salt for less, but the Climate will not allow it; only the Island of St. Jago is rich, well governed, and a Bishop’s See, where they are well supplied with Necessaries, because they have Money to pay for what they buy.
The Portugueze, as they are now become bad Navigators, so they are not great Manufacturers; some Sorts of coarse Cloth they do make, which is often shipp’d to the Islands of Maderas and the Azores, where ’tis worn with great Delight, and preferred before any other of the like Goodness, because its made in Portugal; and they did once attempt the making Bays, for which they drew over some of our Workmen, but it soon came to an End, and they returned Home again by Encouragement given them here, so prudent a Thing it is to stop an Evil in the Beginning.
Turkey.The Trade driven to Turkey is very profitable, as it affords us Markets for great Quantities of our Woollen Manufactures, together with Lead, and other Product, shipp’d hence to Constantinople, Scandaroon, and Smyrna, and from thence disperst all over the Turkish Dominions, as also into Persia. The Commodities we have thence in Return are, Raw Silk, Cotton-Wool and Yarn, Goat’s-Wool, Grogram-Yarn, Cordivants, Gauls, Pot-Ashes, and other Things, which are the Foundations of several Manufactures different from our own, by the Variety whereof we better suit Cargoes to export again; and tho’ this Trade may require some Bullion to be carried thither, yet there is a great Difference between buying for Bullion, Commodities already manufactur’d, which hinder the Use and Consumption of our own, such as those brought from the East-Indies, or Things to be spent on Luxury, such as Wines and Fruit, buying therewith Commodities to keep our Poor at Work; these must be had, tho’ purchased with nothing else.