MANY OF WHICH ARE NOW FIRST TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH. DIGESTED ON A NEW PLAN. BY JOHN PINKERTON, AUTHOR OF MODERN GEOGRAPHY, &c. &c. ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES. VOLUME THE SEVENTEENTH. LONDON: PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN, PATERNOSTER-ROW; 1814. OF THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF DISCOVERY, BY SEA AND LAND, IN ANCIENT, MODERN, AND THE MOST RECENT TIMES. IN N the early period of human hiftory, when voyages and travels were not undertaken from the view of amusement or inftruction, or from political or commercial motives, the discovery of adjacent countries was chiefly effected by war, and of distant regions by commerce. The wars of the Egyptians with the Scythians, mentioned in the pristine pages of history, must have opened faint fources of information concerning the circumjacent tribes. The Affyrian and Perfian empires could not have been confolidated, without an increase of this knowledge; but which, like that acquired by the Perfian conquefts, which feem to have embraced the northern part of Hindoftan, is buried in profound darkness from the want of literary monuments. Under the Grecian empire of Alexander and his fucceffors, the progress of discovery by war is first marked on the page of history; and science began to attend the banners of victory. The opulence of nature was now to be disclosed; and Greece was astonished at the miracles of India. The Romans not only inherited the Grecian knowledge, but, extending their arms to the North and Weft, accumulated discoveries upon regions dimly descried by the Greeks, through the obscurity in which the Phenicians enveloped their commercial advantages. Spain was unveiled by the Punic wars; and the eagles of the first Cefar were seen in the extremities of Gaul, and in the fouthern parts of Britain. The western regions of Germany afforded farther scenes of enterprise, and the fleets of Rome vifited the Baltic. On the south the Egyptians had disclosed a portion of Africa, and maintained their ancient commercial relations with Hindoftan; which, with its fine linens, diamonds, fpices, and perfumes, has always been the very centre and focus of extenfive commerce. The rudeness of the natives of western Africa led to the establishment of VOL. XVII. a colonies 1 colonies and conquefts; amongst which Carthage reared her proud head, rivalling Rome, the future empress of the world, and holding in subjection tributary monarchies of Africa. But the deserts of that country forbad the progress of armies: and Nature seemed to have fet bounds to ambition. Africa is the only continent which never was conquered; and Alexander needed not to have fighed for other worlds. Hence it is alfo the most savage of all the continents, and being unknown in war, is alfo unknown in peace. Oceans of fand which permit no navigation, and where the ship of the defert, as the camel has been called, faintly plods his way in the fcanty and weary caravan, are impaffable to armies with their neceffary waggons and provifions; expofed befides, from their very numbers, to the hurricanes of fand, affording in an instant death and a grave. A portion of the army of Cambyfes, on their attempting a paffage to one of the Oafes, or fertile isles, that emerge from the fandy fea, was devoured by this new tempeft; and only a moment interpofed between the appearance of a pompous army, and that of a hill of fand, which covered for ever the joyous and victorious battalions. Africa may thus for ages continue unknown, unconquered, uncivilized, may continue her fale of flaves with the Mahometans, if not with the Christians; which affords however, as human life is only the choice of evils, fome alleviation to the former horrors of internal warfare, in which the captive was referved as the favourite food of the conqueror; and the unborn infant was the turtle and venifon of the Jaga. Even in China, in the ninth century, it appears from the Mahometan travellers that human flesh was fold in the markets; while we find no trace of such barbarism among the nations mentioned in the Scripture, the most ancient of written records; which, with many other circumstances, leads to an inference that civilisation irradiated from the centre of Afia; and that it would be vain to seek for its commencement in China, or even Hindoftan, especially as the latter country was divided into fmall kingdoms, fo late as the age of Alexander, and feems to have imbibed its fmall portion of the fciences from its intercourfe with Egypt on the the south, from the Perfian conquests on the north, which may even have imparted the Sanfcrit, a facred and claffical language, like the Latin in Europe, and which late enquiries seem to evince to be a branch of the ancient Perfian or Gothic. The Grecian kingdom of Bactria may also have diffused fome rays of fcience among the Hindoos; while their ancient Bramins and Gymnofophifts resembled the Magi of the Perfians, or pretended priests and magicians, common among all barbarous nations, who supply the want of knowledge by artifice, or operate delufions by fome skill in what is called natural magic. Having thus attempted to establish the progrefs and centre of discovery by conqueft, which led to the moft certain and permanent effects; it will be proper to affume with more detail the progrefs of ancient difcovery by commerce, which led to a faint view of the 6 |