A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels - Volume 18 / Historical Sketch of the Progress of Discovery, Navigation, and / Commerce, from the Earliest Records to the Beginning of the Nineteenth / Century, By William Stevenson

by Robert Kerr; William Stevenson

1. The empire, at the death of Augustus, was bounded on the west by the Atlantic ocean, on the north by the Rhine and the Danube, on the east by the Euphrates, and on the south by the deserts of Arabia and Africa. The only addition which it received during the first century was the province of Britain: with this addition it remained till the reign of Trajan. That emperor conquered Dacea, and added it to the empire: he also achieved several conquests in the east; but these were resigned by his successor Adrian. At this period, therefore, the Roman empire may be considered as having attained its utmost limits. It is impossible to ascertain the number of people that were contained within these limits. In the time of Claudius the Roman citizens were numbered; they amounted to 6,945,000: if to these be added the usual proportion of women and children, the number will be encreased to about 20,000,000. If, therefore, we calculate, as we may fairly do, that there were twice as many provincials as there were citizens with their wives and children, and that the slaves were at least equal in number to the provincials, the total population of the Roman empire will amount to 120,000,000.

Our ideas of the vastness and wealth of the empire will be still farther encreased, if we regard the cities which it contained, though it is impossible to decide in most instances the extent and population of many places which were honoured with the appellation of cities. Ancient Italy is said to have contained 1197, Gaul 1200, of which many, such as Marseilles, Narbonne, Lyons, &c. were large and flourishing; Spain 300, Africa 300, and Asia Proper 500, of which many were very populous.

2. All these cities were connected with one another and with Rome itself by means of the public highways: these issuing from the forum, traversed Italy, pervaded the provinces, and were terminated only by the frontiers of the empire. The great chain of communication formed by means of them from the extreme north-west limit of the empire, through Rome to the south-east limit, was in length nearly 4000 miles. These roads were formed in the most substantial manner, and with astonishing labour and expence; they were raised so as to command a prospect of the adjacent country; on each side was a row of large stones for foot passengers. The miles were reckoned from the gates of the city and marked on stones: at shorter distances there were stones for travellers to rest on, or to assist those who wished to mount their horses: there were cross roads from the principal roads. The care and management of all the roads were entrusted only to men of the highest rank. Augustus himself took charge of those near Rome, and appointed two men of prætorian rank to pave the roads: at the distance of five or six miles houses were built, each of which was constantly provided with forty horses; but these could only be used in the public service, except by particular and express authority. By means of the relays thus furnished, the Romans could travel along their excellent roads 100 miles a day: they had no public posts. Augustus first introduced public couriers among the Romans; but they were employed only to forward the public despatches, or to convey public intelligence of great and urgent importance.

Such was the facililty of communication by land from all parts of the empire to Rome, and from each part to all the other parts: nor was the communication of the empire less free and open by sea than it was by land. "The provinces surrounded and enclosed the Mediterranean; and Italy, in the shape of an immense promontory, advanced into the midst of that great lake." From Ostia, situated at the mouth of the Tiber, only sixteen miles from the capital, a favourable wind frequently carried vessels in seven days to the straits of Gibraltar, and in nine or ten to Alexandria, in Egypt.

3. In enumerating the principal articles imported into Rome, for the use of its immense and luxurious population, we shall, necessarily, recapitulate, in some degree, what has already been stated in giving an account of the commerce of the different countries which were conquered by the Romans. But this objection, we conceive, will be abundantly counterbalanced by the connected and complete view which we shall thus be enabled to give of the commerce of the Roman empire.

Before, however, we enter on this subject, we shall briefly consider the ideas entertained by the Romans on the subject of commerce. We have already had occasion incidentally to remark that the Romans thought meanly of it, and that their grand object in all their conquests was the extension of their territory; and that they even neglected the commercial facilities and advantages, which they might have secured by their conquests. This was most decidedly the case during the time of the republic. The statue of Victory, which was erected in the port of Ostia, and the medals of the year of Rome 630, marked on the reverse with two ships and a victory, prove that at this period the Roman fleets that sailed from this port were chiefly designed for war. The prefects of the fleet were not employed, nor did they consider it as their duty to attend to commerce, or to the merchant ships, except so far as to protect them against the pirates. Of the low opinion entertained by the Romans respecting commerce we have the direct testimony of Cicero: writing to his son on the subject of professions, he reprobates and condemns all retail trade as mean and sordid, which can be carried on successfully only by means of lying. Even the merchant, unless he deals very extensively, he views with contempt; if, however, he imports from every quarter articles of great value and in great abundance, and sells them in a fair and equitable manner, his profession is not much to be contemned; especially if, after having made a fortune, he retires from business, and spends the rest of his life in agricultural pursuits: in this case, he deserves even positive praise. There is another passage of Cicero, quoted by Dr. Vincent, in his Periplus, in which the same sentiments are expressed: he says, "Is such a man, who was a merchant and neighbour of Scipio, greater than Scipio because he is richer?" Pliny, also, though in his natural history he expatiates in praise of agriculture and gardening, medicine, painting and statuary, passes over merchandize with the simple observation that it was invented by the Phoenicians. In the periplus of the Erythrean sea, and in the works of Ptolemy, &c. the names of many merchants and navigators occur; but they are all Greeks. Even after the conquest of Egypt, which gave a more commercial character to the Roman manners, habits and mode of thinking than they previously possessed, no Roman was permitted to engage in the trade of that country.

Although, however, mercantile pursuits were thus underrated and despised by the warlike portion of the nation, as well as by the philosophers, yet they were followed by those who regarded gain as the principal object of life. The wealth of merchants became proverbial: immense numbers of them followed the armies, and fixed in the provinces subdued or allied,--the Italici generis homines, who were agents, traders, and monopolizers, such as Jugurtha took in Zama, or the 100,000 Mithridates slaughtered in Asia Minor, or the merchants killed at Genabum (Orleans).

In the passage quoted from Cicero de Officiis, he expressly mentions the merchant who imports; but he does not once allude to exportation. Indeed, the commerce of the Romans, in the most luxurious period of the empire, was entirely confined to importation, and may, with few exceptions, be designated as consisting in the expenditure of the immense revenue they derived from their conquests, and the immense fortunes of individuals, in the necessaries, comforts, and, above all, the luxuries of the countries which they had conquered.

By far the most extensive and important trade which the Romans carried on at all periods of their history, was the conveyance of corn and other provisions to the capital. The contiguous territory at no time was sufficient to supply Rome with corn; and, long before the republic was destroyed, even Italy was inadequate to this purpose. As the population encreased, and the former corn fields were converted into pleasure-grounds or pasture, the demand for corn was proportionally encreased, and the supply from the neighbourhood proportionally diminished. But there was another circumstance which rendered a regular and full supply of corn an object of prime importance: the influence of the patron depended on his largesses of corn to his clients; and the popularity, and even the reign of an emperor, was not secure, unless he could insure to the inhabitants this indispensable necessary of life. There were several laws respecting the distribution of corn: by one passed in the year of Rome 680, five bushels were to be given monthly to each of the poorer citizens, and money was to be advanced annually from the treasury, sufficient to purchase 800,000 bushels of wheat, of three different qualities and prices. By the Sempronian law, this corn was to be sold to the poor inhabitants at a very low price; but by the Clodian law it was to be distributed gratis: the granaries in which this corn was kept were called Horrea Sempronia. The number of citizens who received corn by public distribution, in the time of Augustus, amounted to 200,000. Julius Caesar had reduced the number from 320,000 to 150,000. It is doubtful whether five bushels were the allowance of each individual or of each family; but if Dr. Arbuthnot be correct in estimating the modius at fourteen pounds, the allowance must have been for each family, amounting to one quarter seven bushels, and one peck per annum.

We have dwelt on these particulars for the purpose of pointing out the extreme importance of a regular and full supply of corn to Rome; and this importance is still further proved by the special appointment of magistrates to superintend this article. The prefect, or governor of the market, was an ancient establishment in the Roman republic; his duty was to procure corn: on extraordinary occasions, this magistrate was created for this express purpose, and the powers granted him seem to have been increased in the latter periods of the republic, and still more, after the republic was destroyed. Pompey, who held this office, possessed greater power and privileges than his immediate predecessor, and in a time of great scarcity. Augustus, himself, undertook the charge of providing the corn: it was at the same time determined, that for the future, two men of the rank of praetors should be annually elected for this purpose; four were afterwards appointed. It would seem, however, that even their appointment became an ordinary and regular thing: the emperors themselves superintended the procuring of corn, for one of their titles was that of commissary-general of corn.