America. When the land rifes to a small height, it is called a bill. A mountain which cafts forth flames is called a volcano ; as, Mount Etna, in Sicily; Vefuvius, in Italy; Hecla, in Iceland. The land is divided into two great continents, called the eaftern and the western continent, or the old and new world. The eastern continent comprehends Europe, Afia, and Africa; the western, America; fo called from Americus Vefpucius, a native of Florence, in the fervice of Portugal, who having made fome trifling difcoveries, A. D. 1497, had the addrefs to give his name to that part of the world; although it had been formerly difcovered by Chriftopher Columbus, a native of Genoa, in the fervice of Spain, A. D. 1492. The furface of the earth, or particular parts of it, are reprefented by MAPS; the top of which is the north, and the bottom the fouth: on these are marked the degrees of longitude, The right hand is the east, and the left is the weft: on these are marked the degrees of latitude. From the top to the bottom of maps are drawn the meridians or lines of longitude, and from fide to fide the parallels or degrees of latitude. Among the latter are included the equator, the tropics, and polar circles. Rivers are reprefented by black lines; mountains, by a fort of cloud; forefts and woods, by a kind of fhrub; bogs or moraffes, by fhades; fands or fhallows, by fmall dots; roads for fhips, ufually by double lines; the depth of water in or near harbours, by figures expreffing fathoms, each 2 yards or 6 feet; and towns by o, or by the shape of a small house. The measures moft commonly mentioned in geographical books are miles and leagues. The English ftatute mile confifts of 5280 feet, 1760 yards, or 8 furlongs. The Turkish, Italian, and old Roman mile, is nearly the fame with the English: the Scotch and Irifh mile is about 1 English: the Dutch, Spanif, and Polifh mile, is about 34 English: the German is more than 4 English: the Danish and Hungarian, is from 5 to 6 English: the Swedish is nearly 7 English. The French league is near 3 English miles, and the English marine league is 3 English miles. Several large countries fubject to one fovereign, are called an empire. A fmaller extent of territory fubject to one fovereign, is called a kingdom; a still smaller extent, a duchy, or principality. The The Chief EMPIRES which have exifted in the World. THE firft great empire in the world was the Babylonian or Affyrian, in Afia, fuppofed to have been founded by Nimrod, who built Babylon, not long after the deluge, B. C. 2217;-afterwards greatly enlarged by Ninus, who built Nineveh, B. C. 2059, and by his queen Semiramis ;-overturned by Cyrus, who established the fecond great empire, namely, that of the Medes and Perfians, B. C. 438. This empire was overturned by Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia, who established the empire of the Greeks and Macedonians, B. C. 330. His conquefts, after his death, were fhared among his Generals. The chief of them were, Ptolemy in Egypt, Seleucus in Afia, and the defcendents of Antigonus in Macedonia.-All these kingdoms afterwards fell under the empire of the Romans, which comprehended the greatest part of the then known world. The Roman empire was overturned,-in the weft by the Goths and Vandals, and other barbarous nations from the north, in the 4th and 5th centuries; and their defcendents now poffefs the different kingdoms of Europe:-in the eaft, firft by the followers of Mahomet, under the name of Saracens; and finally by the Turks, who still keep poffeffion of their conquests. The chief COMMERCIAL STATES in ancient times. The Phoenicians were the first who diftinguished themselves by commerce, Cic. de rep. lib. 3. apud. Non. v. 35, particularly the inhabitants of TYRE and SIDON. The next were the CARTHAGINIANS, whofe chief city, Carthage, was founded by a colony of Tyrians. Among the Greeks, commerce was cultivated chiefly by the ATHENIANS and CORINTHIANS, and in later times by the RHODIANS.— -The communication from Grecce, and the northern parts of Afia, with INDIA, which, in all ages, has been the great fource of commerce, was in ancient times by the Euxine and Cafpian feas. The productions ductions of India were brought by land to the banks of the Oxus, then down that river into the Cafpian fea, from thence up the Cyrus, and then over land to the river Phafts and the Euxine fea, Strab. xi. p. 509.; Plin. vi. 17.f. 19. The riches acquired by this commerce are fuppofed to have given rife to the story of the voyage of Jafon in the ship Argo, in queft of the golden fleece, Strab. i. 45.-That communication is now entirely fhut up by the Tartars, who have diverted the course of the Oxus, fo that it does not now empty itself into the Caspian sea. The Tyrians brought their commodities from India by the Red Sea, and over the Ifthmus of Suez. After Tyre was deftroyed by Alexander the Great, the city of ALEXANDRIA in Egypt, founded by that prince, became the principal feat of commerce, Strabo xvii. p. 798, and continued to be fo till it was deftroyed by the Saracens in the 7th century. The fingular inftitutions of the Jews were unfavourable to commerce. We read, however, of Solomon's having fitted out fleets, which, under the direction of Phoenician pilots, failed from Exian-geber, or the Red Sea, to Tarfish and Ophir, fuppofed to have been ports in the kingdom of Sofala, on the fouth-west coast of Africa; whence they returned in three years with rich cargoes, 1 Kings x. 11. 22. & 23. The Egyptians, as early as the reign of Sefoftris, b. C. 1510. are faid to have opened a commerce with India, Diod. Sic. 1. p. 64 where that king is reported to have made confiderable conquefts, Ibid. But this is denied by Strabo, xv. p. 687, who fays, that the ancient Egyptians were fo far from cultivating commerce, that they even refused strangers admission into their harbours, Strab. xvii. p. 791. & 802. The Romans, at no period of their ftate, ever encouraged commerce. Towards the end of the republic, however, and under the emperors, it became an object of greater attention, as being neceffary to fupply them with the articles of luxury These were brought to Rome from various places. From Arabia and India they were procured by the way of the Red Sea and Alexandria, or by the gulf of Perfia and up the Euphrates, thence through the defarts of Arabia to PALMYRA, and from it to the Mediterranean.-Strabo fays, that 120 fhips, in his time, were employed in bringing merchandife from India into Egypt, ii. p. 118. This traffic was carried on entirely with bullion, as it ftill is to China. Pliny complains that 50 milBons of fefterces were fent thither annually, (H. S. quingen ties, equal to L. 403,645: 16: 5,) and that the merchandifes brought from thence were fold at Rome at cent. per cent. profit (centuplicato), that is, at about 40 millions Sterling of our money for the whole imported, Plin. vi. 23. f. 26. As the Romans had no articles of their own produce to give in exchange for foreign commodities, we may fee the reafon why they difcouraged commerce, because it carried away money, and brought them nothing in return. Hence we find the exportation of gold prohibited in the Codex, 4. 63. 2. fo in former times, Cic. Flacc, 28.; and to the exportation of money to foreign countries for articles of luxury, when the former means of procuring wealth by conqueft no longer existed, we may impute the fcarcity of gold, and confequently the great alloy in the gold coins under the later emperors; thus, under Nero, there were only 45 aurei, or gold pieces, made from a pound of gold, Plin. xxxiii. 3, but under Conftantine, 72. The immunities faid to have been granted to merchants at different times, Suet. Claud. 18.; Tacit. Ann. xiii. 5.; Digeft. xiv. 1. 1.; Lamprid. in Alexandro Sever. were to those only who dealt in the corn-trade, and imported provifions in their own fhips for the ufe of the city. For feveral ages the only profeffions thought refpectable among the Romans were war and agriculture; the employment of a merchant was reckoned unfuitable to the character of a Roman citizen, Dionyf. ii. 28. The nobility were forbidden to trade, both under the republic, Liv. xxi. 63.; Cic. Verr. v. 18. and under the Emperors, Dig. 50. 3.; Cod. iv. 63. 3. But although the bufinefs of a merchant was not efteemed refpectable, Cic. Off. i. 42. yet Horace speaks of it as very lucrative, Od. i. 31. 10.; iii. 6. 31. & 24. 40.; ep. i. 1. 45. In During the exiftence of the Roman republic, the city of Marseilles in France carried on a confiderable commerce. early times it waged war fuccefsfully against the Carthaginians on the fubject of fishing, Justin. xliii. 5. After Carthage grew powerful by conqueft, and engaged in war with the Romans, Marseilles became the ally of Rome. During the Punic wars the Maffilians acquired great opulence by trade, and ftill more after the deftruction of Carthage and Corinth; but in the contest between Cæfar and Pompey, having imprudently engaged too keenly on the fide of the later, their city was taken by the generals of Cæfar after an obftinate defence, and never afterwards recovered its former profperity, Strab. iii. 180. The The barbarous nations which over-ran the Roman empire in the weft, extinguifhed commerce, together with the arts. Concerning the revival of commerce, firft in Italy, and then in other countries, an account will be given hereafter in its proper place. DIFFERENT FORMS of GOVERNMENT. A large fociety of men united under one government for their common fecurity and welfare, is called a state. That part of the earth which they poffefs is called the territory of that ftate; and the body of inhabitants, the people. The power of governing a state is called the fovereignty; and the perfon or perfons who exercife it, the fovereign. The power of prefcribing general rules or laws is the legislative part of the fovereignty; the power of executing the laws, and of difcharging all functions of government which cannot be regulated by laws, is the executive part of the fovereignty. The particular manner in which the fovereignty is exercifed, is called the form of government. When it is exercifed by one perfon, it is called a monarchy. When the power of the monarch is limited by law, it is called a limited monarchy. When the power of the monarch is not limited by law, the government is faid to be abfolute, or arbitrary. When the government is very abfolut, it is called defpotic. When the fupreme power is vefted in the hands of many, it is called a republic If it be poffeffed by the nobles, it is called an aristocracy; if by a few, an oligarchy; if by the people at large, a democracy.When only one of thefe forms obtains, the government is called fimple; when two or all of them are united, it is denominated a mixed government. Thus the British government partakes of the monarchical, ariftocratical, and democratical forms; which Polybius. fays was the cafe with the government of Rome, and extols as the belt, ('αριστη πολιτεία, vi. 1. καλλιστον συστηματῶν τῶν καθ ̓ *μας πολιτειών, the moft excellent fyftem of government then in the world, Ib. 9. & 16.) The monarchical form appears to have been the most ancient, and is thought to have originated from the authority of a father over his children. As far as we can trace from hiflory, it took its rife from a number of individuals, heads of families or of tribes, chufing a certain perfon for his wifdom or valour to be their leader in war, and to prefide in their councils, to adminifter justice, and perform other acts for the public good in time of peace, Samuel viii. 20.; Herodot. i. 95. &c.; Cic. de ffic. ii. 12.; Polyb. vi. 3. This chief o king was at first purely elective; but afterwards became hereditary, or partly hereditar R ry and |