YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY SURVEY OF THE TURKISH EMPIRE. IN WHICH A*RE CONSIDERED, I. ITS GOVERNMENT, FINANCES, MILITARY AND NAVAL FORCE, Religion, Hiftory, Arts, Sciences, Manners, Commerce, and Population. II. THE STATE OF THE PROVINCES, "Including the ancient Government of the CRIM TATARS, The Subjeflion of the GREEKS, THEIR EFFORTS TOWARD EMANCIPATION, And the Intereft of other Nations, Particularly of GREAT BRITAIN, in their Succefs. III. THE CAUSES OF THE DECLINE OF TURKEY, And thofe which tend to the PROLONGATION of its EXISTENCE, With a Developement of the Political Syftem of the late EMPRESS OF RUSSIA. IV. the British Commerce with turkey, The Neceffity of abolifhing the LEVANT COMPANY, And the Danger of our QUARANTINE REGULATIONS. WITH MANY OTHER IMPORTANT PARTICULARS. Bv W. ETON, Efq; MANY YEARS RESIDENT IN TURKEY AND IN RUSSIA. LONDON: Printed for T. C a dell, jun. and W. Da vies, in the Strand. 1798. 1timhi***hm&**i**iMH^^ i Ti nil. ,'¦ ¦ ' ' ' "?"""'*' "" — .-»•»¦" P R.E FACE TO THE FIRST EDITION I Do not offer to t}ie Public a complete Treatife; I have indeed materials, of which I could have formed a much larger work ; but thefe outlines will, I hope, reprefent in its true character the objeci: to which I more immediately wifh to fix the attention of my readers* As I reafon only from facls, I trurr. the impartial Reader will draw the fame con* clufions 5 and as I ipeak of countries in which I have been long refidentj and of events, to many of which I was witnefsj I hope my teftimony may have fome weight. To ihoW that I hive had opportunities of being ac quainted with the matters of which I treat* I Will only obfervej, that in Turkey I have been aconful; that I have had indirect concerns in trade ; and that, as a traveller, I have vi- fited moft parti of that empire 5 that ir* Ruf- fia I was, for feveral years, in the confidence of the late Prince Potemkin, and in a fitua- t'ion to know more of the fecrets of the ca binet than moft foreigners ; and that for five years I did the' bufinefs of fecretary to his a 2 Majefty's IV PREFACE TO THE "Majefty's. million at St. Peterfburgh : at the fame time I am convinced that I expofe my- felf to the cenfure of not being better inform ed, and, ta the rifk df incurring, though I am confcious of not meriting, the blame of be traying a confidence put in me ; fo far, how ever, from this being the cafe, I rather ap prehend that the delicacy of my fituation, with refpecl to the two countries, and parti cularly to my own, may have operated too reftriclively on my pen. Many writers and travellers have feen things in a different light ; and I am fenfible that I may be accufed of treating the Turks too feverely, and particularly by thofe who admire Lady Wortley Montagu's elegant de scriptions, and fimilar productions of a warm imagination*. I draw conclufions'from "fa6ts recorded in their own hiftory. Indeed there cannot be a more horrible piclure than that v* The beft authors who have written on this fubjedt are, Bujiec, Leumlav, Montecuculll, Marfigli, and Ricaut\ they (how what the Turks were in their days. As to Can- tcmir, though he had found an afylum in the very heart of the Ruffian empire, he wrote as if he ftill had been at Con- ftaivtinople. Other more modern authors are, ¦ Bofcovifch, Bufinello, Guys, Le ,Bret, Sir James Porter, Riedefel with1. Dobm's notes, Ludeke, Stcevers, Ferrieres, and Folney, and their picture of the Turks is not more favourable than mine. There arc others, who have compofed in their dolet? excellent hiftories, &c.*of this people. which ¦#! R S t EDITION. "v which they have delineated of themfelves. The fentiments expreffed by the fultans and muftis, which will be found* in the abrid£e>- ment of their hiftory, in their own words, are fo repugnant to juftice, to humanity-, to every principle of virtue, and to thofe laws which all civilized nations have refpecled, that nothing can be laid worfe of them. The ¦effecfs produced by this monftrous- govern ment in the provinces are (hocking to behold. We feek in vain for a population, Sufficient to compofe thofe numerous kingdoms and States, which nourished when ; the Turks ufurped their dominion ; we find the country literally a defertr; we find vaft cities reduced to beggarly villages, and of many hundreds no traces remain. The government of the Turks has under gone considerable revolutions, which it will be neceflary to inveftigate. The empire, in its flourishing ftate, was one vaft camp. The firft. Sultans dated, and their feeble fuCceffdrs Still date, their decrees from , the imperial Stirrup. The iron fceptre, imbrued in blood, could only be wielded by warlike Sovereigns, the idol and the terror of the fokliery, whoSe tlffcipline alone was their politics, and whofe rapine alone their refources. ¦ Achmet III, father of the late Abdul-ha- HikL, firft fet the example ' of an effeminate a 3 reign; VI PREFACE TO THE reign ; and by not going out himfelf at the head of his janizaries, he became fo much the objecf of their contempt that they de throned him. Machmud, his nephew, terrified at the fate of his predeceffor, and finding himfelf unable to govern, determined to deftroy the whole body of janizaries. The army, dread ed by the fultan, found in him an enemy more powerful than all the hofts of Christen dom; and he, without their co-operation, unable to wield his Sceptre, found an enemy in , the other Slaves whom he called in to affift him, ftill more destructive of his own power. The preSent reigning Sultan, Selim, ,>has fallen on a more gentle method of abo lishing the jani%aries, but he Still has the ykma to contend with. ' The abftracl of their hiftory is moftly from Ricault, whofe antiquated, though faithful relation, I have often quoted in his own lan guage. I have only cited a few facfs to prove the truth of my general affertidns ; to enu merate only all the inftances of unprovoked aggreffion, breach of oaths, treaties, and capi tulations, maffacres, and acfs of cruelty and oppreffion, to be found in the bloody pao-es of their hiftory, would alone make a laro-e volume. The fir SI part of; thefe papers has been written FIRST EDITION. Vli written fome time ; that which is political, about two years ago, on my return to my native country ; but it was not then defigned for the prefs. It may be objected, that there are matters in it which ought not to be made public, as it contains information which may benefit our enemies ; I anfwer, that they be ing in poffeSfion of the information which the late government of France had procured, there is nothing effential in this book which will be new to them ; nor had even that go vernment, at any time, So many Spies, or Such exact intelligence as the 'Directory now .have. With reSpect to the Greeks, there will be found much matter wholly new to the Public, but not to the Directory; for no one was better informed of the State of Greece than citizen (heretofore chevalier de) Truguet, lately minister of the marine department. He was for a long time employed in the Archipelago, under the direction of Mr. de Choiffeul Gouffier, and was Sent to Egypt to negotiate with the Beys for leave to trade to India through that country, and to counteract the Ruffian intrigues with them. I have endeavoured to prove, that the in terests of Great Britain and RuSfia are infe*- parable and reciprocal. This, indeed, has been generally granted; but when the ag- a 4 grandizement, Vill PREFACE TO THE grandizement of that empire at the expence of , the Turks has been the Subject of difcuf- Sion, that cafe has generally been considered as an exception ; 'on what grounds I Shall ex amine, and, I hope, plainly prove that the expulfion of the Turks from Europe, and the re-eftabliShment of the Greek empire, would be more advantageous to Britain than evert to Ruflia itfelf ; that fo far from being an ufurpation, it is an act'c.f juftice; and that, according to the laws' of nations, the Turks have not, by length of pdffeffion, acquired a right to the dominion of the countries they conquered. The importance of the alliance of Ruffia appears every day more Strongly, and I rifk now, much lefs than I did a , few years ago, when I maintained, that the falva- tion of Europe depended on engaging that power as a principal in the war. The views of the French with regard to Greece now too plainly appear, and the Emperor of Ruffia is in danger of being attacked in the Black Sea by a French fleet. > If it be faid that we ought, as much as may depend on us, to prevent the increafe of naval power in every other nation, without denying the proposition, I affirm, that it is not applicable to the preSent cafe : Ruffia never can be formidable in the Baltic ; nature has forbidden it. In the Black Sea She may be FIRST -E.DITION. \X be fo, and She will, in fpite of all we can do to prevent it. The queftion then is, Since we cannot prevent it, winch is the mode of its existence which will be leaft hurtful to us ? That the Greeks ''will emancipate themfelves from the yoke of Turkey is equally certain. If this event take place by the affiftance of the French, . we Shall certainly have an enemy in Greece ; if through the interposition of Ruffia, and with our concurrence, a friend. There is, indeed, a pofiibility, but not the leaft probability, that we may fome time or other quarrel with them, but not for a length. of time, as there will exift a mutual in terest in friendship. Why make a vain at tempt, which will certainly create us ene mies, when at leaft we Stand a fair chance of procuring friends ? What I have faid of Auftria at that time, I leave as I wrote ; I fee no reafon to think I was then wrong. The confiftencv of the conduct of his Ma- ••jefty's ministers, in firft oppoiing the expul sion of the Turks from Europe, and afterwards making a war with Ruffia a cafus fcederus, in the treaty pf alliance with the Emprefs, in 1795, is fully proved by the different circum stances of the times. They have evinced, that they uniformly purfued the interefts of fheir country, ^nd did not obftinately adhere to X' PREFACE TO THE to a fyftem, when it no longer accorded with thofe interests. Let their antagonists prove, that they themfelves did not facrifice the honour, as well as the interests of this coun try, in oppofing, in an unprecedented man ner, the meafures adopted by its government ; that they themfelves are not the caufe of thofe calamities which they attribute to mif- conduct in ministers. I have added a few mifcellaneous papers without order or digeftion. They will Show, in part, how far the Emprefs's vaft views of aggrandizement extended— they went to the entire conqueft of all European Turkey, a part of which was to be given to the Houfe of Auftria ; the re-eftablifh.ment of the Greek empire, and placing her grandfon Cbnftantine on the thro'ne of Constantinople j of making Egypt an independent State ; of giving to Poland a Ruffian for a Sovereign, pD O o 3 and ultimately incorporating it into her own empire ; of making a conqueft of Japan and a part of China, and eftablifhing a naval power in thofe feas. I have thought it neceffary to fay fome- thing of the character of the late Emprejs. Anecdotes of that Princefs appear daily in all languages.. There are doubtlefs many truths in fome of them, but they are generally fo defectively related, and with circumftanccs which FIRST EDITION. xl which fo totally mifcharacterife the action, that few of them will ferve as materials for the accurate Biographer. Thofe who" wiSh to know her real character, and the character of the moft considerable perfons of her court, would do well to wait a little longer. As to the hiftory of her reign, there are many cirr cuoiftarices which cannot yet be difclofed. TheSe anecdotes have the appearance of hav ing been learned in Ruffia, but not committed to writing, and the memory of the authors, Surcharged, with abundance of materials, has .confounded them; they appear like muti lated Statues r'eftored by unSkilful artifts ; we fiild the trunk of a Hercules or a Jupiter with the head of an Apollo and the feet of a Satyr. It is a difficult thing, at all times, to dif- cover truth, amidft the mifreprefentations of courts, of ministers, of commanders. Should any one write, for inftance, the hiftory of the lafl war between Ruffia and Turkey, he would take for his guide, in relating, the firft event, the fiege of Ochakof, the accounts published by the court of Peterfburgb* and the reports of the commanders. There he would find a brilliant victofy gained by Prince Naffau over the TurkiSh fleet in the Liman ; but if he could get the report made by Paul Jones to the Admiralty of Cherfon, Signed by Xil PREFACE' TO THE by all the commanders of the fleet, he would find that no engagement took place (except a •distant cannonade) ; that the TurkiSh Ships' ran aground by their ignorance and bad ma noeuvres ; and that Naffau with his flotilla, inftead of taking poffeffipn of them, fet them on fire. This journal, which I have read, and taken an extract from, was forbidden by Prince Potemkin to be fent to PeterSburgrJ, and the whole campaign, as it Stands on re cord, is nearly a romance. The fortrefs might have been taken the ift of July with more eafe than the 6th of December, and the com mander-in-chief knew it. I was at the open- ing of the trenches, and at the ftorming of the place, and therefore can Speak of facts to which I was an eye-witneSs. If, after all, I am mistaking, and have loft my way in the wildernefs of politics, I have not intentionally deviated from the truth ; nor have I been guided bv anv motive but the in- "tereft of my country : and here I muft make a digreSfion, which, I hope, will be par doned'. A man who has been twenty years abfent from his native country may, I hope, be per mitted to exprefs his aftonifhment at the changes he finds on his return. Changes which feem not to Strike fo forcibly thofe who faw the face of things every dav. When FIRST EDITION, Xiii When I left England, no man would have dared to Stand up to arraign his country, and publicly plead the caufe of France, and its enmity then was friendship compared with its enmity now ; he would have been deemed a traitor, and the people would have treated him as fuch. I hear ministers accused of plunging the nation into a ruinous war, and perfeyering in. it ; I look to facts, and facts prove the con trary. They are accufed of not humiliating their country before the -enemy, and procuring fuch a peace as mult foon make England a province of France. I hope • they are guilty. % " ) I hear it publicly afferted, ¦ that the consti tution is changed ; that liberty is annihilated ; that we are under a military government. I look to facts, and find a Hardy, a Th el wall, &c. &c. &c. cannot be pynifhed. I fee ac quitted, at Haverfbrd, men who were ac cufed by five witneffes of high treafjbn, be caufe on their trial the witneffes cannot be perfuaded to Speak out ; and becaufe their firft pofitive, clear, and unequivocal depofition be fore ^, magistrate cannot be admitted. Where is the military government ? The circum stance of an invafion would have juftified it; How did they proceed in France, where li berty, XIV F. R £ F A C E TO THE berry, equality, and fraternity are eftabliShed ? they punifhed en majfe. At Toulon, all thofd fufpecled of having favoured the English went collected and fired on; at Lyons and other" places, the fame* Where we're the juries? the counfel for the prifoners ? where was the book of laws ? where Was the judge, who durft not interpret them one Syllable beyond the letter ? How would the French have proceeded, if they had been in our pofition ? NoJ: only the two men in queftion, but all the inhabitants of Fifguard, would have been driven to the place where the enemy landed by invitation, and tried and executed by a re giment of foldiers, all en majfe, cr in a lump., They would have proceeded in the fame manner with a ThelWall and his applauding audience. How did they proceed with their oppofitiori? not an opposition to overturn the •government it had fworn to maintain, but an •D 7 oppofition to Stop the progrefs of defpdtic power. The members of it were all feized, and fent without trial to fome place, nobody knows where, into exile, perhaps to the bot tom of the ocean. In what, page of hiftoiy, ancient or mo dern, is fuch. moderation to be found as in this infulted government? I fee here, proved by facts, men Subject only to the law, and that law more powerful than men. I find" 4 no FIRST EDITION. *XV no Such liberty anywhere elfe, neither in practice at this day, nor iri the records of hiftory. • Nor are my ears lefs Shocked to hear a foreign dialect Spoken by a part of the people of Britain. Our demagogues have translated the French words liberie, egalite, fraternity philantropie, philofophie,, by the EngliSh words, liberty, equality, fraternity, philanthropy, philoSbphy, and becaufe there is much re- iemblance in the founds, they would perfuade the people that there is alfo a refemblance in the ideas. Fa£ls teach us, that liberte Signifies the moft horrible tyranny, Silencing all law, and violating all property ; that egalite Signifies rnufdering Sovereigns and the higher claffes, and putting over the people men the moft low, ignorant, and wicked, invefted with power to infult, enflave, and drive them in . flocks to be Slaughtered, and placing them at a greater distance than there exifted before between them and their Superiors by birth and education. 'Fratemite, in France, Signi fies being a Frenchman ; applied to other na tions, it Signifies, forcing on them a govern ment, plundering their property, and taking their wives and daughters. Philantropie, is profeffing a general love to all mankind, and practising cruelty to every individual. Ph'do- jbp/ne, &VI PREFACE TO' THE fop/iie, (which was the mother of all the Frencli virtues,) Signifies -the commiflion of every crime without reraorfe ; the extinction of every Sentiment religious and moral, of .every generous and focial feeling ; the diffolution of every tie of kindred and affection ; the an nihilation of every quality which ornaments, and distinguishes the gentleman,, the Scholar, and the man of tafte; the banishment of chaftity, modefty, fenfibility and decorum from the female fex. Every nation has thought it neceffary, in times of public danger, to punifh crimes, when the common law was infufficient, by a tribunal erect ed for that purpofe ; in Athens, this tribunal was compofed of the people af- fembled ; in Rome, of judges appointed in confequence of a decree of the people. Have not the good people of Britain a right to look to their reprefentatives for protection againft thofe who openly and fecretly attack their go vernment, and who eftablijh fchools to diffemi* nate fedition in the minds of their children, and yet defend the revolutionary tribunals in France, and the military defpotifm of the Directory, on the ground of public danger ? . In all offences againft the nation, might not, (I afk, for I am not learned in the law) con sistently with our facred constitution, the re prefentatives of the nation try and decide, ra:Ler FIRST EDITION. XVft rather than a jury of private perfons ? Su6h offences are not of a private nature between man and man: or might not that body which reprefents the party injured.) the nation, be the accufer, and the Houfe of Lords the tri bunal ? If this manner of proceeding be un* precedented, the neceffity of adopting it &' alfo unprecedented. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION CINCE the firft edition of this book waS: printed, considerable changes have taken' place in the political Situation of the Ottoman empire; The French have invaded one of its provinces. This act of hoftiiity has produced' a war with that nation,- and an alliance anrj Co-operation between Turkey, Great Britain,- and Ruffia; This I certainly regard as a very fortunate event ; and though notwith- ' Standing its zeal in the caufe, but little exer tion can reafonably be expected frdrti the" Porte, in its' prefent deplorable Situation,- when a revolted city Sets the whole power of this once mighty empire at defiance ; yet it b Wilj XVU1 PREFACE TO THE will Stop the progrefs of revolution on French* principles among the Greeks ; and will, be sides the advantages to our trade, be produc- , tive of other good. In this Situation of things, fome of my friends lament that my book has appeared* When it was firft published, there exifted no probability of fuch events taking place ; and it was only owing to an accidental difcovery, that the vizir had been bribed by the Direc tory, that the Porte has aflumed, the appear-* ance of being refolved to profecute the war offensively. Be that as it may, if we are to be connected with the Porte in friendship and co-operation, is it not equally prudent to know its real and its relative Strength, as if we were to act againft it ? I avoided from the firft, as much as pcffible, {peaking of fuch fituations of things, and of fuch events as can only ©ccafion a temporary .derangement in the effect of general caufes. I have enquired what is the internal Situation of the Turkifh empire, and what rank in the Scale of political importance it has obtained ; and how its decline or annihilation would affect the intereft of other States ; whatever changes may, after all, have Since taken place, I have eftabliShed, I hope, what is the real Situation of that country at this day ; and whatever changes may hereafter take place, this fitua- 1 tion SECOND EDITION. XIX. tion will ferve as a criterion of cpmparifon tp any future pofition. The emperor Paul is a prince of the moft fcrupulous honor and the pureft integrity, in capable of taking advantage of the Situation in which the boundlefs confidence of the Porte, as -much as its terror, has voluntarily placed him. He has fet the generous exam ple of laying afide the individual intereft of his own nation, "Jnd defending his natural enemy, to promote the intereft he only has in common with all other fpvereigris. When the prefent conteft ShaU be ended,. what will ultimately be the fate of fo defira- ble a country, Situated between powerful neighbours, and having no intrinfic force, nor the attachment of its Christian Xubjecrs, nor energy of government for its defence, may, without difficulty, he conjectured. But Jioiv far dtfi'ani that period rnay be removed by the prefent changes in its favour, which have added another hair to fuftain a little longer the fufpended fword from falling on its head, no one can pretend to calculate, pr to foretel what other circumftances may Still occur to prolong its existence. So much has lately been written on the fubject of the French expedition to Egypt, that it may be Superfluous to fay any more. I Snail, .therefore, only obferve, that more b a accurate xx Deface to the accurate knowledge of that country was td 1 ' be expected from the French. They have' totally mistaken the people, and have mif- underftood the government of the Beys,- which, notwithstanding their frequent rebel lions, is the conftitution given to Egypt by Selim I. which eftabliShes a kind of indepen dence. Had the Directory followed the plan of the old cabinet of France, and offered to maintain the eighteen Beys in their refpective govern ments; Buonaparte would have been received with open arms. The pafha of Acri, who has an army of 40 or 50,060 men, befideS being in poffeffion of the Strong country of the" Dfufes; and who is as perfectly independent of the Porte as was his predeceffor Shek Omar-ul- Daher, would have joined in the league ; for the country of Acri and Egypt are always ill alliance ; Buonaparte then might have bid de fiance to the Porte and its allies.- — The Di rectory might afterwards haveferved the beyS as they have done the king of Sardinia. The Situation of this pafha is, however, Still deferving pf particular attention at this moment. The Monthly Reviewers- imaginino- that I had not been in Ruffia before the fieo-e of Ochakof, have cpnclitded that I knew little of the interior of the court of St. Peterf- burgh. SECOND EDITION. XXJ burgh, I hoped that I had faid enough of myfelf in the Preface to the firft Edition of this Book. Notwithstanding all the reSpect which is due to Such learned critics, I cannot fubferibe to the rules which they recommend, in tranf; lating proper names of men and places from the RuSfian language. After twenty-three years acquaintance with an alphabet, Surely I may be allowed So much knowledge of it, as not to have written Qrlow for Orloff through ignorance. I wrote Orlow., Romanzow, and IVbronzow, fceeaufe thofe perfons, following the PoliSh, not the Gerrhan orthography, Spelt their1 names in this manner, when they wrote in the Latin character. Where I had no fuch authority, I made, ufe of Such EngliSh letters as would produce nearly the Ruffian founds. There is no fyllable in the German lan guage which ends with w, except in a few names of men and places, where it is founded |ike their u, (not like our v,) and even thefe are not original German words. I fee no reafoq why we Should tranflate Ruffian words fhrough a German medium. There are many Ruffian letters which Ger mans cannot pronounce, and consequently cannot" exprefs the founds by their letters. The Englifh ch have exactly the Sound of th6 b 3 Ruffian XXU PREFACE TQ TffiE Ruffian H, but the German tfch have not ; nor can a German pronounce this found at all. This manner of writing, lately become fo frequent, caufes an Englishman to pro nounce wrongly ; for inftance: Kamtfchafka, as if written KarM-fkatka. We might with as much propriety write Arabic words, as !Niebuhr has done : Dfchj idda, Dfchjebbaf &c. whereas our own orthography G-iddqand Gebdl produces exactly the Arabic fotmd, which the German Dfchj do not. Wheii the Ruffian B fvedi) begins a Syllable, it has the found of the Englifh V, but preceded by a con- fonant (as- in moceba) that of the German or Italian U; at theend of a Syllable, when it is followed by either of the mute letters b or 6, which give a hard or foft found to the final Syllable, it has the power off, ff, v, or ve. Mr. Smirnove, in his Suivey of RuSfia, has written proper names as they are pro nounced, and he thinks that the vedi Should always be expreffed in, Englifh by v or ve\ He writes liis own name in conformity to his rule. He is a fcholar, and a Ruffian born. The Poles pronounce ch as we <\ofli; c% as * we do ch, (hence Ochakof, not Otchakof) but c alone like ts ; Potocki, pronounce Po~ iotfki, &c. Where the orthography of names is esta blished by long cufiony we muft, I fuppofe continue SECOND EDITION. xxiii Continue to ufe it. Mofcow is become the Englifh name for Mofaua (mockba) ; Naples for Napoli ; Leghorn for Livorno (anciently Lighorno). The French name for London is Londres, the Italian Londra, &c. Where this is not the cafe, we muft Spell names as the natives ok), if they make ufe of the Latin character ; if they do not, we muft either write their character, or make ufe of letters of our own . alphabet that will pro duce, as near as poffible, the fame founds ; or, without any regard to the founds that anr fwer to their letters. I will not decide which method ought to be followed, or which is the 'real language of a people whofe orthography is fixed, the oral or the written. I will only obferve, that it is very difficult to render the principal founds of one lan guage by letters of another,- not to mention modifications ; and this is particularly fo to the EngliSh, whofe vowels have a very un certain pronunciation. I cannot approve of Sttitaun and Turkif- taun, &c. The Perfians, indeed, pronounce the a broad ; but this is not always the cafe with other orientals, nor does the accent al ways lie on the a. Sultan has the fame let ters as in the oriental languages ; the pro nunciation of it thus written, is near enough, and this orthography is eftabliShed through all Europe, as well as with us. b 4 I have £Xiy PREFACE TO THE I have written Tatar, becaufe there is.-no r either in the writing or the pronunciation jpf the orientals. The Ruffians always .have written and pro nounced Tatar; and the Germans have lately adopted this orthography. I have carefully examined the character I drew of the late emprefs, and I cannot dif? ¦cover, one incorrect feature. Prince Potemkin was born a gentleman, received a Very good education at Mofcow, and was a major-general in the army before he, was promoted to the poft of favourite. The comparifon between the elevation of a TurkiSh vizir from the loweft Station, with fome few inftances of a fimilar kind in Ruffia, rloes not prove a Similarity in the Spirit of the two governments. In Turkey, every one who rifes to an high office rifes from nothing. The fortunes of all officers of the empire (the Ulema excepted) are inherited by the Sultan, to the total exclufion of their children. There ii no fuch thing as family or family fortunes in that empire. In Ruffia, notwith standing tne advantages perfons qf family and fortune naturally have, and muft have in all civilized States ; and, notwithstanding the very partial distribution of honors and rewards, and the fortunes made by fome who enjoyed the perfonal favour of the Sovereign in the Tate SECOND EDITION. XXV late reign, merit was never excluded ; and, upon the whple, there, is no country in Eu rope where it is more fure of reward than in, Ruffia, and where the right of riling by rota tion, or by length of fervice, both in the civil and military departments, is better eftablifh- ed : nobility and great connections do not there engrofs, every honourable employment, to the exclusion or depreffion of merit, and zeal for the fervice. I find that I have not been Sufficiently ex plicit in deScribing the method of making yeaSt. from Split peafe. The whole of the water in which the peafe were Steeped, as well as the froth, muft be ufed as yeaft. Some perSbns having taken only the froth, have not Succeeded. CONTENTS. j INTRODUCTION - page i, CHAPTER I.— page 9. On tbe Turkijh Government. (General conliderati ' fian empire. Character of its cabinet, tbe nobility, and the army, Comparifon of its government with that of Turkey. Turkey confidered as a member of the grand confederation of nations in Europe. Particular interefts of Great Britain confidered, in the event of the Turks being difpoflefled of their dominions in Europe. C°n- fequences of the French liberating Greece from the Ot toman yoke. POST- fctoni CDNTEJTtS. POSTSCRIP T.— page 453. Death of the emprefs of Ruffia. Juftification of the cha racter of Peter III. Chara&er of the emprefs. The ac tive part fhe was taking in the war againft the French. State of her forces. She was on the eve of attacking the Turks. Situation of other powers. The emperor of Germany makes peace with the French. Situation the emperor of Ruffia was in before this event. The part he took to oblige Pruffia to relinquifh the project of difme'mbering the German empire. Prefent fituation of Great Britain. . CHAPTER XL— page 472. Of the State of the Britijh Trade to the Levant. It is neceffary in certain cafes to'grant exclufive privileges. The Levant company is a monopoly injurious to the Trade. Laying the trade open will reftore it to Great Britain. Bye laws injurious. We can make in Britain cloth cheaper than the French do. Advantages of laving , the trade open enumerated. Duties levied by the com pany oppreffive. No extraordinary expence would be oc- cafioned to government by this meafure. Of the power of ambaffadors and confuls in Turkey. The French laid their trade open, and reaped great advantages from it. Goods may, during the prefent war, be fent' to Turkey through Ruffia. Inefficacy of our quarantine regulations. Danger of them. Badnefs of the Dutch lazarettos. That the trade being free no greater rifk could exi-ft. How to avoid in future all- danger from the plague. A P P E N,D I X.— page 504. Confifling of mifcellaneous papers, &e. elucidating fome" pa'ffages in the work. A SURVEY OF THE TURKISH EMPIRE. INTRODUCTION. IT is the aim of the following Sheets to delineate the moral and political State of a .great empire, lefs accurately known to us than its contiguity and relative importance demand. The Study of human nature, under the various influences of peculiar Situation, laws, and cuf- toms, can in no caSe be uninteresting either to the politician, the moralist, or the philoSb- pher. If we conSider mankind merely as acted upon by Science, as elevated to unufual Splendor by the energies of intellecT:, or de- preSt to a brutal degradation by grofs igno rance, it muSt render our Speculations more accurate, our judgment more distinct, to try the Standard of theory by the teSt of expe rience, and to view the efFect produced on a b large 2 INTRODUCTI OS-. large community by the degree of knowledge which they pofTefs. If from Science we turn to morals, and would contemplate the eSrl- cacy of religions doctrines, of legal institu tions, or of popular opinions, thefe cannot be fairly tried but by referring to their effect on jthe nation at large in which they exiSt. Should it again beourdefire to eStim-atejuftly the political advantages of external and in ternal administration, thefe are beSt tried by an appeal to facts : defpotifm or licentiouf- nefs appearing in their true colours give the fureSt, becaufe the moSt rational means, of appreciating -ther advantages of good govern ment. No one can doubt that thefe ends will be greatly promoted .by a review of the State of Turkey, which muft prefent a picture no IeSs interesting, from the magnitude of its objects,. than from the peculiarity of their features, It may indeed be objected, that this fubject has been treated by many writers, apparently well qualified to deliver faithful and complete information; but it is not improbable that the testimony of an eye-witnefs, furnished with a multitude, of particular facts, would even in that cafe be a defirable addition to the mafs of evidence which is before the public The truth,, however, is, that the multitude of INTRODUCTION. $ of testimonies, or the accuracy of informa tion, is by no means fuch as to render further accounts uhneceflary : in many very intereSt-; ing points the principal authors do hot agree;: Some are Sv.ayed by perfonal; or national in terest, and fome . milled by fuperficial obser vation Or unfounded caprice. We have proofs that even a long .-residence in that coun-* try, anil in a capacity which would appear, tlie feeft calculated to afford information, that of a public minister, is not Sufficient. The numerous errors Sir James Porter has fallen into ^demonstrate this.. As to merchants, tbett'roccupatibns Seldom leave them leifure er cur jofity to be informed of matters foreign to, eomtrierce, and distant from^their.placest of abode. From travellers who run through a country lefs is to be expected. " Till a^ man ¦*' is capable of convetfing with eafe among the "** natives of a country >, he can never be able to '''•form an adequate idea of their policy and " manners. It is obvious, that a considerable portion' of time and Study is requisite to obtain a full acquaintance with the moral and political State of a nation: he who would obferve it with accuracy Should have re- fided a. long. time in the country ; he Should have pofTeSTed .opportunities of penetrating "b a into 4 INTRODUCTION. into the councils of the government, as well as of noticing the manners and genius of the people ; he Should have feen them in war ami in peace, have noted their military Skill and their commercial SyStem*/ finally, and above all, it is neceSIary that he Should have an ac-i Curate knowledge of their language, fo as to" cut off one great and almoft univerfal Source of error in accounts of foreign countries,. arising from the miSapprehenSion of the re lator himfelf. In Order to form a juSt Standard for trying the comparative accuracy of diffe rent accounts, it wilibe neceffary to -know thofe prejudices which are moft likely, in iipite of integrity, tb infinuiate themfelves in to an author's work from motives- of pri vate Or of public intereft; With this view it will not be unacceptable to notice a few par ticulars relative to two or three preceding works of the beft reputation, which have treated of the Turkish empire in general : (of earlier authors it is needlefs to Speak.) ' I know of no book from'whichmoremaybe? karnt of the true character of that people* and State of knowledge among them, thaft from M. De Tott. He Spoke their lano-uao-e perfedly, he' enjoyed their confidence'; and lived- more intimately with them than any Christian INTRODUCTION. j Christian has lately done. It does not appear that he has wilfully mifreprefented any one •circumstance. I never faw riim, but what I have heard of him is much in his favour. His book diSbbliged the French court, which did not wiSh to fee them expofed. He has Spoken, perhaps, too much of himfelf, and made the moft of what he did for the Turks, though the facts are indisputable. Had he faid lefs of himfelf, we Should have loSt thofe little Stories that he tells, which give more in- iight into the true character of the people with whom he was concerned, than could perhaps be obtained from volumes of diSIertations. The egotiSm of modern travellers in re lating incidents and adventures which might happen in any country,, and which con vey no information peculiar to that they .are travelling iri, is truly difgufting; they are at beSt Subjects for novels. The work of (Baron De Tott is indisputably the beSt and moSt accurate account hitherto given of- the general SyStem, as Well- as the peculiar fea tures of TurkiSh manners, and though it has been cenfured as a calumny, it is in fact a very moderate picture of real events. To this teftimony of De Tott is op- poSed that of M. Peyflbnel, a man un doubtedly learned and Scientific, whofe reSi- b 3 dence O * INTRODUCTION, dence in the empire and knowledge of ita language render him dejerving of great atr tention, though his opportunities of acquire ing information were by no ~ means equal to thofe of De Tott. . Of M. PeyfTonel two things, are to be remarked, the Suf? frage which- he gives in favour- of -Tott, and the. prejudices which were likely to affect his own testimony. In Speaking of the Bar ron, he readily admits " his profound know- " ledge of the government, laws, manners, cuf- " toms and character of the Turks, derived *' from a long refidence in the country, a clofe " attention to the language, . and from being em- " ployed Xn affairs of the greatefl importance.'''' What he prdfefTes is only to point out, " put* " chro in opere ncevosf fome imperfections in a valuable work. After this Suffrage in fa vour of Tott, we need only refer to him S'or a picture of Turkey, faithful enough to be relied on, and yet Sufficiently forcible to ex cite our difguft at fuch monfters in human Shape. The fame M. PeyfTonel quotes, as writers of greater accuracy, Du Pan and Montefquieu, who, he acknowledges, wrote in their clofets accounts - of a people whoiri they had never feen. In page 88 of M. Peyffonel's letter we See the true reafon of his defence of the Turks : INTRODUCTION. 7 Turks: *" // tr (fays he) to .endeavour to juf- '" *ify a nati°n, which has ahvays been the ally " of our own; with whom we carry on acorn- " merce that is fill the objeci of envy and the "" vexation of our rivals." Mouragia (now Chevalier d'OraSTon) is per fectly equal to the extenSive work he has un dertaken, which will contain more know ledge of Turkey than any book which was ever written \ but he will not touch the fubject of their decline and approaching fall; his ob ject is to reprefent them in tbe moft advanta geous light, and he will not prove what they are, but what they poSfibly might have been : he is an. Armenian, and TurkiSh is his mo ther tongue: he was once literally a fans cu- lotte : his promising genius, when a boy, pro cured him the patronage of a rich Armenian merchant; intrigue, talents, and the protec tion of the French directory, raifed him to the poSt of Swedish minister at Constantinople, Other authors have only lightly touched on thofe matters which are the fubject of this book, and which it is my intention to invef- tigate more fully. B 4 CHAPTER I. On ihe Turkifi Government. TO point out thofe relations which a country bears to its neighbours, or to the general interefts of Society, is perhaps no very difficult taSk : the features are Striking, the moral and phyfical differences are eafily difcernible, and the Standard of general po litics is, perhaps, accurate enough to deter mine, with Sufficient nicety, the reSult of Such an analyfis ; but if we carry our investigation into thofe more minute caufes which affect the prosperity or dechne of a natiori from inter nal circumStances, we Shall find the queftion more deep and intricate, the decision more vague and doubtful. Without Such data, however, it is impoftible to build up a moral or political Speculation of any magnitude or importance ; it is impoflible to reafon with accuracy on the great interests of nations, or to foim grand and comprehensive plans em bracing the general advantage of Society. Nor is it lefs true, that internal caufes are always the cr JO jE.HAPTE R"' I. the moft immediate .motors in national ele» vation or decay: as, on the one hand, no feeble ftate was ever elevated to extraordinary eminence by the mere aid of alliances, how^ ever powerful ; fo, on the other, fcarcely any great nation ever periShed by means of extern nal violence, unlefs it had Something within itfelf vicious and unfound. I Shall, thereforej in a "future chapter, take a view of the Turk ish Empire from without, as it Stands related both to the general fyftem of Europe, and to the feveral European powers ; and in the mean while I will proceed to difcufs its in ternal Situation. From the nature of man, from the extent of his faculties and the variety of his powers, it is evident that he is at the fame time ope rated upon by caufes the moft heterogeneous and diffirnilar. With the progrefs of foc'iety new powers and new faculties are daily call ed forth ; they continually modify each other^ and produce that action and re-a&ion which constitutes the complexity of the vaft Social machine. To abstract and generalize thefe various motions, to reduce them to their pri- . mary and elemental principles, is the bufinefs pf>f Science ; but it unfortunately happens but too often, that the philofopher, who may with much care and observation have made this analyfis, will build upon it fpeculations the moft TURKISH GOVERNMENT. I *{ moft unfound and irrational. The error into which thefe- dealers in fyftem frequently fall (air error which has very unjuftly thrown a generafodium upon all the Systematic labours of Science) is to conceive that the divifions which they have themfelves eftabliShed in theory are Strongly marked in fact, or, in other words, that the different habits and cuftoms of mankind are lefs intimately in terwoven than experience daily proves them to be. When, therefore, we trace the diftinct Sources from which the peculiar character and circumstances of the Turkish nation have originated, we muft be careful at the fame time to remember, that the events which have flowed from thoSe Sources have been fo mix ed and compounded together, and act at the prefent day with fuch an aggregate force, as to produce a far greater effect by combina-* tion than by their feparate power. So much is neceffary to be obferved before we begin to delineate the peculiar features of TurkiSh policy : we now proceed to the taSk of di£ crimination. The modern European, accuftomed for the moft part to conSider all the Subjects of one empire as alike entitled to the protecting care of government, alike invefted- with the po litical rights of citizens, can with difficulty accommodate his feelings to a ftate of man ners IX CHAPTER I, ' »ers refulting from- the divifion of the pohr tical body into conquerors' and conquered, oppreffors and oppreffed. This is, however, the distinction moft broadly marked in the Turkifh Empire j a distinction fupported by every kind of prejudice which can influence Social manners, and confirmed by the inve terate habits of ages. To the celebrated go-^ vernments of antiquity this exaltation of one part of the community upon the degradatioa of the other was by no means unknown; we fee it inftanced in the Helots of Sparta, and in the institutions of many of thofe na tions who moft loudly vaunted of their fan cied liberty : happily for modern ages it has generally, in Europe, given place to political equality; but Turkey is the refuge of fana? tical ignorance, the chofen feat where ihe has unfurled her bloody banner, and where, though torpid with age, She Still graSps her iron Sceptre. That happy union, and equa lity of right to the protection of laws, which .tempers the variety of individual interefts by .the general utility, is the only bafis of Social happinefs. How far the dereliction of thefe principles in the TurkiSh government weak ens the power of the community, whilft it .perpetuates the mifery of the individual, will appear from a comparative view of the d-if>- ferent fects ia that country, and from a fur- 2 vey •Turkish: government. t$ vey of the ftate of its provinces. The Turks, properly So called, are the followers of Ma- botnet, defcended from the Tatarian con querors of thefe beautiful countries, who be- irig:now the .actual maftersof the empire, $i\iL> the only perfons who feem to have a real intereft in its existence, their Situation, moral and phySical, firft demands our notice. The greajt outline of their character, as diftin- guifhed from, the other inhabitants of this extenSive empire, is the Superiority which they claim on the grounds of conqueft and religion* To apply to a nation, barbarous as the Turks, any rule of rational policy- drawn from the law of nations, would, per haps, be deerried. abSurd ; but the enlightened obServer muft ever remark, that the fancied right of conqueft is nothing but the right of the fword, which is never legitimate but when Sanctioned by juftice. In the hiftory of the world there have been- frequent in stances of mighty nations, who, after con quering their opponents by force of arms, have received from their Captives the fofter yoke of fcience. It was thus that, in the words of Horace : " Graecia capta ferum vi&orum cepit, et artes " Intulit agrefti Latio." Nor have there been wanting examples of the introduction of arts by the conqueror* himfelf, *4 .r Crf A P TER-''ti himfelf, who has thus made amends, by the* bleffing of civilization, for the havock which he had caufed by the fword. The Turks, however, like barbarians,, invaded Greece* and Swept before them the ' mighty monu ments of ancient Science * and, like barba rians, they hold their captives* to the prefent day, under the benumbing yoke of ignorance and Slavery. Inftead of promoting the mu tual advantage of both nation s,"by an inter- courfe of knowledge and benevolence, the'y ufe the privilege of Conqueft only to the ex tinction of the common powers of intellect. A politic conqueror, in augmenting the hap- pinefs'of his new fubject, increafes his own power ; a barbarian invader weakens his own refburces by the continued oppreSTion of his captives. Abderahman (or Almanzor) who* in the middle of the eighth century, founded a kingdom in Spain of the provinces which had been, fubject to the kalifs, promoted in termarriages between Chriftians and Ma homedans. The Arabs, who had been as great enemies to the fciences as the Turks, now cultivated them with great fuccefs, and had acquired a considerable portion of know ledge and politenefs, while the reft of Eu rope' was degraded by ignorance and barba- rifm. But the haughty Turk is not merely exalted above his fubject Greek as a con queror ; TURKISH GOVERNMENT. l£ tjueror ; he confiders himfelf ftill more highly elevated as the favorite of heaven,1 and the greater part of his ferocity as a tyrant is owing to the arrogant and barbarous dictates of pis religion. It is in vain that the pane gyrists of Turkey would affure us of the Spirit) of toleration, which, according to them, the diSciple of the Sanguinary Mahomet cherishes in. his bofom. Every feature of the TurkiSh character, every circuiiaftance of their public and private cuftoms, contradicts the affertion. Mankind are not at the prefent day to learn, that the human character is formed by its education, and that a great arid important, branch of that education confifts of political: institutions. Were there any doubt of the truth of this principle, the Strong exemplifi cation of it afforded by Turkey would obviate every objection. There it is, more than in; any other country, that the dogmas of the legi0ator and the prieft are continually pre sented to the mind of youth ag well as of age ; that they occur in every rank and condition of life, and act with a force the more power- fuli as they are united in oile and the fame: code. Such are the observations which arife on the firft view of the Turkifh character :¦ in proceeding to particularize its individual features, we have to contemplate the various ©aufeSj moral and phyfical, which have an influence, i6' CHAPTER I. influence, either immediate or remote/ upbli it ; always remembering, that they are to be viewed, not. merely as Simple powers, but as .acting with that mutual and reciprocal force which fo greatly augments their aggregate effect. The local and material objects which contribute to the rife and fall, the importance or weaknefs of nations, are, climate, fituationy productions^ and population', but theSe are in part or altogether SubjerSt to the energies of mind, and mind takes its peculiar bent from religious tinA political inflituttons, from hiflo- rical events, from arts and fciences, and from thofe general manners which are the reSult of all the other cauSes combined. In the following Sketch I Shall endeavour to develope, firft, the moral caufes, and from their action it will not be difficult to account, ift the fecond place, for the natural phe nomena bbfervable in the preSent State of Turkey. ' The religion of the Turks is, perhaps, the predominating principle, which, above all others, Stamps the character of their minds ; but as its- power in this reSpect is chiefly owing to its political authority, and as it is not my intention to enter into a metaphyseal, inveftigatibn of a fyftem whofe abfurdity is obvious to all enlightened Europeans, I Shall confider this part of the Subjea as dependant on' TURKISH GOVERNMENT. 17 t>ft the political institutions, which will therefore firft demand attention. - Political institution is a Spring always in action, a motor vtniverfally prefent, forming the character of the individual, and guiding the operations of the community. Would we then caft our eyes over the moral map of Turkey-; would We juftly eftimate the inter nal powers of that nation, either as an ene my or ally, our notions muft be regulated by the degree of purity or error obServable in its political oeConomy. Much has been faid in afTertion and de nial of the defpotifm of the Turkifh govern ment; and arguments the moft abftrufe and far-fetched have been employed, rather to- confound the meaning of terms, than to efta- blifh the authenticity of facts. But if by, deSpotifm be meant a power originating in force, and upheld by the fame means to which it owed its establishment; a power Scorn ing the jurifdiction of reafon j and forbidding the temerity cf investigation ; a power calcu lated to cruSh the growing energies of mind* and annihilating the faculties of man, in or der to inSure his dependence, the government of Turkey may be moft faithfully characte rized by that name. All permanent power, extended over a large community, muft have fomething more than the mere force of arms C to l8 CHAPTER i. t% rely on; or rather that very force muft depend, in the ultimate refort, on popular opinion. It is a vain objection, therefore, that the deSpotiSm of the fultan cannot ex tend beyond the fuperStition of the people: that very fuperStition ferves it as a bafis, and the more firmly rooted are their religious pre judices, the more terrible is the deSpotiSin which Springs from them. Equally vain and fruitleSs are the contefts concerning the. particular character of this defpotifm. It has been called a military go vernment, from the nature of its origin, and the means moft frequently employed in its administration ; and it has obtained the de nomination of a theocracy, becaufe its funda-:: mental code is the ^oran. Each of the^e'p Statements contains fomething that is erro- nepus. A military government fuppofes the, dictates of an arbitrary chief, requiring im plicit obedience in every inferior, and prer fcribing' a certain and inevitable punishment for neglect or tranigreffipn ; it excludes all formality and delay, and it is enforced by. military power. In. theocracies, the will of the leader, has not (or at leaft pretends not. to. have) the direction of the State: bimieif ar^ instrument in the hands of a Superior he- ing, he communicates to the people, at va rious times and as ocGafjon requires,, the com mands 'TURKISH GOVERNMENT. 19 ¥aands of the Divinity. The TurkiSh go vernment bears evident traces of both thefe lyftems, derived from the character of its founder; but there are fome points of diffe rence which prove it to be, fui generis, an he- teroclite monfter among the various Species; of defpotifm. In the Mahometan fyftem of policy we may trace three aeras. The .firft r which was of that kind nfuaily denominated a theocracy, continued during the life-time of the prophet himfelf, who, like Mofes and ...Jofhua among the Jews, appeared in the dou ble Character of a military chief and an in- Spired legislator. 'Thefe.cond was the govern ment of the Saracen kalifs, his immediate fXieeeffors : they bore indeed the double fcep- tre of temporal and Spiritual power ; but as they pretended to no perforial communica tions with the Almighty, all the fanctity of their character confifted in being the defen dants of the prophet .>. and the guardians and expositors of his law» The prefent TurkiSh constitution forms the third gradation : like the preceding, it has an inviolable code in the Sacred volume of its religion; like them alfo its reliance is on the power of the fword, and the modes of its administration are mili-* tary ; but it has a great eflential difference in *he Separation of the temporal and Spiritual. authorities. This divifion of power ori,gi- c 2 nated lo Chapter I. nated in the political error of the Ottoman princes, who, _eager only for military glory, and perhaps wifhing to caft a Specious veil over their ufurpatioiij when they finally fup- preffed the kalifat, did not affume to them felves all its functions, but refigned into the hands of the theological lawyers the Spiritual Supremacy. No defpotlfm was ever more profoundly politic than that, which, wield ing at once the temporal and Spiritual fword, i converted fanaticifm itfelf into an instrument of Sovereignty, and united in one perfon the voice and the arm of the Divinity. But it muft be remembered, that when, the; power of the kalifs began to decline, other princes, befides thofe of the race of Othman, aSTumed an independent Sovereignty ; and it is proba ble that moft of them, with a Show of mode ration, which they thought politic, • invefted the priefts with the administration of all their Spiritual affairs. . Such was the origin of the authority given to the ulema, or body of lawyers, and their chief, the mufti, or high prieft, to whom is entrufted the expofition of the Mohammedan law in all its branches* Thefe men ppfTeffing, like the priefts under; the Jewifh theocracy, the oracles both of law and religibn, not only unite in themfelves the power of two great corporations., thofe of the- law. TURKISH GOVERNMENT. , 21 i law and of the church, but alfo Share with the fovereign the direct exercife of the legif- lative, executive, and judicial powers. Pre vious to the Ottoman aera, there were indeed muftis; but their power was only of a judi cial, not of a political nature, exactly refem- bling that of the muftis, who are now ap- , pointed in the feveral provinces, and whoSe office is Somewhat Similar to that of kadi or judge ; for it muft not be forgotten, that the Judicial and facerdotal characters are in Tur key the fame. The chief engine of this hierarchy is the fetva of the mufti, a Sort of manifefto, which, like the bulls of the Roman pontiff, originating in ecclefiaftical pqwer, has been applied to , the moft impor tant political purpofes. The kalifs, with a view of enfuring the prompt obedience of their fubje£ts, Were ac- cuftomed to give to the principal acts of their government the Sanction of religion, by af fixing to their decrees (fuch as thofe of war and peace), the Sacred Seal, which aSIured to the true believers, acting under it, the honour of Supporting tneir faith, if triumphant, or the palm of martyrdom in cafe of death. The Othman princes, in order to obtain a Similar end, were obliged to require the aid, of the priefthood, which they had eStabliShed.. They applied, therefore, to the mufti, who, c,3 by 22 CHAPTER I. by the advice of the heads of the ulema, published the facred ordinance called fetvaf which declares the act of government, to which it is affixed, confonant to the, Koran, and obligatory on all true believers. The power which the priefthobd thus acquired was at firft inconsiderable; it reSembled the, enregiftering of edicts by the French parlia ments, which was a meafure rather- judicial than legislative ; but they dbubtlefs perceiv ed in it the feeds of future greatnefs arid au thority. So long as the fceptre was fwayedj by warlike princes, the mufti was eaSily made to Speak as the fultan direfted, "and the power of the ulema, under their warlike monarchs^ was fcarcely perceived. It does not appear that they attempted any refiftarice to the will of the Sovereign before the reign of Amu rath IV. That prince, one of the moft fe rocious that ever late on the Ottoman throne, irritated at the opposition of a mufti, cauSed him to be thrown into a huge mortar, and pounded to death. He conceived this kind of puhifhment in order to obviate, by a cruel irony, the privilege which the. ulema en joyed, that no member of their body could have his blood fhed as a puniShment. Thia example fufficiently proves how little "the men of the law were, at that time, able ta 4 oppofe; TURKISH GOVERNMENT. 2$ oppofe a Sovereign whofe defpotifm was Sup ported by the fcimitar. But upon the decline of the military Spirit of the fultans, that, which was only a politi cal Spririg in the hands of the Sovereign^ has become a fundamental law of the empire, creating and confirming a power, which, if not in actual opposition, is always in balance againft him. The utility of fuch a balance of power in the more enlightened govern ments has beeri Strenuously Supported oh the grounds of a liberal policy; but, whatever We may think of Such arguments, th'ey cannot a'pply to the State of Turkey, where the ba- lariee is only a balance of intrigue and arti fice, whilft there isj in both parties^ a perfe£t accordance of deSpotifm,- a mutual defect both of the means and inclination to benefit the community. On the part of the fultan, it may be ob Served, that he would, long Since, have become the mere creature and tobl of the mufti, but for the power which he has reServed to himfelf, of nominating and de- pofing the holder of that dignity. This it is which gives him a counterpoise againft the mufti, by creating for him, among the ulema, as many partiSans as there are candi dates afpiring to the pontificate. The ulema on the other hand, are, in their collective ca pacity,' jealous of preServing the influence c 4 which 24 CHAPTER 1. which they have thus obtained in the ger-* vernment; and that religion, which ferved the firft fultans as a mean of administration, has become a fource of terror and Subjection to their feeble fucceflbrs. The fetva is now fo indifpenfable a preliminary to any, politi cal act, that the fultan, who Should dare to. omit it, would be declared an infidel by a fetva iffued by the mufti motu proprio ; and fuch a proceeding would be Sufficient to ex cite againft him both the populace and fol- diery, and to precipitate him at once from his throne. So far is this jealoufy carried by the ulema, that they oppofe, with all their power, the fultan's departure from the capital, left, at a diftance from their manoeuvres, he Should be able to conciliate the army to his interefts, and affert his independence. The late fultan Muftafa, anxious to be at the head of his army, was prevented from taking' the field only by the fear of a revolt, which the men of the law could eaSily have excited in his abfence. Another apparent check, on the authority of the Sultan, is formed by the great coun cil, confifting of the great military officers, the heads of the ulema, and the principal mi nisters of the empire. No important act of government can be undertaken without, a previous difcuffion, in this affembly, at, which, the. TURKISH GOVERNMENT. "' 2$ the grand Seignior, or his chief vizir, pre sides ; but every queftion is decided by a plu rality of votes. It is unneceffary to expatiate on this body, as forming a distinct political power, becaufe, from the nature of its mem bers, it muft be fwayed either by the party of the fultan, or by that of the priefthood, and it, therefore, ferves rather to determine the re lative power of thofe two diftinct bodies. That much political knowledge cannot be expedted from the ministers of State, is evi dent from the manner in which they attain their fituations. Rifing from the meaneft; .Stations, they advance progreSfively to the higheft polls; not by means of Superior ge nius or knowledge, but by petty intrigue, and by flattering thofe on whom they depend. The vizir Tufef, who commanded in 1 790 againft the emperor, was raifed by Gazi Haffan from a ftate of the mereSt indigence- He fold foap, in a baSket on his head, in the Streets, before he became the Servant of Haf- San, who, after employing him in that menial office, made him Succeffively clerk in the .treaSury of the arfenal, his own agent at- the porte, (kapi kahia) pafha of the Morea, and, laftly, grand vizir, , \ There is, indeed, a regular eftablifhment for educating youth for the fervice of the fultan in a fchbol at Pera, called Galata Serai { tS tHAPTER f. Serai: when they come thither, they are placed in different claffes, according to their abilities and the line to which they' are des tined. But this institution has fo far dege^ nerated, that few but the Sons of perfons "ielansine to the feraglio are fent thither, where their education is of fmall importance,. as any one, whether he has pa'STed through" this college or not, may attain any office m the feragliohy means of intrigue arid bribery. It may be worth while here to notice a Sin gular error, which is generally entertained in Europe relative to the term Jeraglia., which is fu-ppofed to mean the apartments of the wo men :, it literally means fajace*, and is-, there fore, applied by way of eminence to the vaft range of buildings inhabited by the grand feiguior and all the officers and dependents of his court. Here is tranfacted all the buSineSs. of government ; the council itfelf is called the divan, and the place of public audience the porte, or the gate. Of the officers of the Seraglio the vizir is chief (as being the prime minister of the Sovereign) ; this is aho a term given to him by way of eminence, as it Sig nifies a counfellor in general ; every pafha of three tails (that is of the firft clafs) is a vizir : the pafha or vizir who refides at the porte, or with the fultan, is called the grand vizir, or vizir azem. Befide the vizir, all the TURKISH GOVERNMENT. 27 the other great public officers bf the empire*, refident at Constantinople, inhabit the ferag- lio, or, at leaft, have their offices there ; all the ministers, paShas, &c. without exception, belong to it, and their poffeffions revert at their death to the fultan, their mafter and their heir, of whom they are Stiled the flavet (kul, or kool) So that their defcendants have no advantage over thofe of the meaneft me chanics, except what they may cafually de rive from the notice of the fovereign, or from having been introduced ; by their pa rents into the fchool of the feraglio. , From the preceding .obfervations it ap pears, that the legislative and executive pow ers are, in the higher acts of policy, divided among different bodies : the executive acts of an inferior order are fuch as regard flnan* cial and military operations, or matters of general police. The two former of thefe -branches, though of fmall import in the individual acts, are, each, in its aggregate, of Sufficient importance to claim a feparate consideration ; to each bf them, therefore, I Shall deyote a future chapter, and for the prefent pafs on to a curfory view of the in ternal police. However diftinct the principle of the Turkifh government, as it at prefent exifts, may appear, its forms of administra tion, and all its internal police, are purely military*. 2S CHAPTER I. military. This is fo thoroughly' the caSe-, that the grand feiguior is ftill fupppfed to reign, as formerly, in the midft of his camp; he even dates his public acts from his imperial ftirrvp, and fimilar inftances are discoverable^ in- all his other formalities. The govern ment of diftant provinces is committed to papas; their dignity is military, and the whole defpotic power of , the Sultan is delegated to~ them. A flight view of the hiftpry of the janizaries will Show of what kind is the dependence placed on them, as well in the maintenance of the police as in the exer-r cife of war. The force of arms firft Sub jugated the countries which form/ their em pire ; the force of arms alone could retain them in fubmiffion ; and it is owing to the decline of the military Spirit of the Turks, that the members of fo vaft a body are, at the prefent day, fo feeble and difimited, — To wield the iron fceptre with effect required a warlike fovereign Stained with blood, the Scourge of his people,, and alone the idol and the terror of an obedient Soldiery. ' Such were a long while the characters of the Sultans, and of the janizaries, the faith ful ministers of their deSpotiSm. From the moment that the latter beheld their chief no longer animated with a brave and warlike, Spirit, the machine of government was thrown into Turkish Government. i§ mto difotder ; the moving power was no longer the fpring which Should have directed, and the re-action of the exterior parts to ward the centre was totally destroyed. The janizaries, then, feized themfelves that pow er which a weak and cowardly fultan could not wield ; they depofed their monarch, and placed upon the throne one in whofe valour and abilities they had greater confidence ; but a more refined policy on the part of the delpot annihilated the power of thefe pre- torian bands, by a fyftem of corruption and enervation. The moft eminent of their lea ders were taken off, either by fecret fraud or open accufation, and their places Supplied- by the meaneft and moft devoted creatures of the court.* In the meanwhile the corps itfelf was baftardized and rendered contemp tible by the introduction of a herd of the vileft of the people ; men occupied in the loweft employments, and even Stained with the moft infamous crimes *, who would have been formerly expelled from the fervice with the greateft indignation. The fultans have, indeed, fucceeded in extinguishing every Spark of that fire which they dreaded ; they have annihilated all traces of a military Spi rit ; but they have, at the fame time, para-, * Furtum et paederaflia pajfva. lvzed 36 ChApteS i.» fyzed their own hands, and left themfelVeS without the powers neceffary for the Support of a defpotic government. Many of the: paShas, having little to fear from the ven* geanee of the grand feiguior, proceed to the moft violent abufes of their authority,, and not Unfrequently appear in open rebellion. The defection fpreads from province to province, and little remains, in this vaft empire, but the Shadow of an union without real Stabi lity, and of an obedience which mock's the grafp of Superiority. In the regular admi* niftration of government, however, the ful tan is poffeffed of the moft arbitrary poWer over the lives of his fubjects., and executes criminal juftice, either by himfelf or his vi zirs, without procefs or formality. ' In regard to property his power is more limited : over that of all his. officers he ha£ the fulleft right ; he is their lawful heir ; but hi regard to that of his other fubjects he is reftri£ted by the laws to greater moderation. %i is, nevertheless, eafy to avoid fuch restric tions ; and we (hall, in fact, fee that the in security of property in Turkey is one very powerful caufe of the ignorance and vices of its inhabitants. The fultan delegates his power in this refpect to. the vizirs and pafhas in the provinces, and in a lefs degree, to go vernors and officers of different ranks and de nominations* TURKiSH GOVERNMENT. 3* iv>m'inations. Pretexts and fuppofed crimes ai*e always to be found to deftroy or to ruin a fubject. This part of the government is therefore truly defpotic ; and when the prince or his reprefentatives are tyrants, it is de Spotifm in a form the moft cruel and infult- ing to the rights, of mankind. . Much ftrefs has been laid by Some au thors on the, limitation of the Sultan's power bylaw, with reSpect to property of individu als, to prove that bis government is not wholly despotic. The fact, however, is Sim-. ply, that with regard to fome kind of pro perty, as hou£e& which. are ppSTeSTed by in heritance, the foyereigns have Sometimes thqught it dangerous to violate the common law openly, by depriving the owner of their prop.erty by force ; in fuch cafes, when the object has been deferable, we have Seen them take a Shorter way, by putting the owner to death ; and againft this exercife of power no one objects ; and Sometimes they have Sub mitted to the law to make their reign, po pular. This opposition to the will of the fultan, as has been obferved, is not to be utir • derftood of the officers of the porte, for with thefe no ceremony is obferved. The paShas ia the provinces are, however, lefs delicate than, the Sultan in the capital. ..Having examined the legislative and exe-< cutive 3& tHAPTER t. cutive branches of government, it reiriaiiil to fpeak of the judicial. This branch is - founded, like the others, on religion ; but a divifion fuited to the barbarous nature of its orisin Seems to obtain in it* The offences againft the ftate, or fuch as affect the public peace, are wholly under the jurisdiction of the fovereign, and feem to be excluded from the judicial forms; whilft the diSpenfatiori of juftice by formal procefs feems to be in tended only for offences and difputes of. a more private nature. The excellence or defect of a judicial fyf tem depends upon the code of law ; upon the' commentaries orprecedents which are received as poffeffing authority ; upon the perfons ap« • pointed to administer juftice, and upon their mode bf decifion. The fundamental law, civil and political, is the koran, whofe refpect is owing to its divine origin: from, this is ex? tracted a civil code, called the multka, to which are added certain commentaries called the dur'er and halebi ; and betides thefe there ' are various collections of fetvas, or fentences, of the moft celebrated muftis, all of which . together form, it muft be confeffed, a collec tion of legal knowledge more than fufficient l for the instruction of the judges. But as thefe judges are not bound by any preceding. decrees, and have the application of the law in TURKISH, GOVERNMENT. ^3 in their own breafts, the more intricate it is rendered by the different compilations and commentaries, the more arbitrary is the pow er intrufted to them. Were the tribunals pure, and the mode of trial equitable, this laxity of interpretation would doubtlefs be ,an advantage to the caufe of juftice ; but the contrary is fo notorious in Turkey, that the iniquitous decisions of the judges are pro verbial, Peyffonel complains of the unfair- nefs of Baron de Tott in citing different in stances of TurkiSh injufti.ee, and obferves, that fimilar examples may be found in the hiftory of every country ; but it is not necef- iary in Turkey to recur to paft ages, or to Single out particular examples ; it is the pro minent feature in the character of their tri bunals, and every day's experience, confirms the cenfure of Tott, by repeated inftances of corruption*The dexterity of the TurkiSh kadis, or judges, to decide in favour of thofe who 'have paid them, is often very ingenious ; many pleaSant ftpries are told of them,-and it is generally a fubject for a kind of comedians, who. act in coffee houfes or in private houfes, but without drefs or Scenery, one of them performing the part of a kadi, and two o.thers the plaintiff and defendant. ' An Arab who had hired out his camel to d a man 34 chapter r. a; man- to travel to Bamafcus, complained tb a kadi, on'' the road, that he had overloaded* his camel ;\ the other bribed the kadi. "What has he loaded it with?" afks the kadi— --the > Arab anfwers,. " with ealiue (coffee) and ma- hue" i. e. - coffee et cetera (changing the firft letter into m makes a kind of gibberish Word, -which Signifies et cetera) " fugar and. mugar, pots and mots, facks and macks" &c. going through every article the camel was loaded with ; " he has loaded it twice as much as he ought ;" " then," fays the kadi, " let him load the cahue and leave the mahue, the fugar and leave the mugar, the pots and leave' the mots, the facks and leave the macks," and fo .on to the end of all the articles enumerated ; and as the poor Arab had told every, ar ticle, and only added et cetera,, according to the Arab cuStom, without there being any &c. he took up the fame loading he had before. A Christian fubject of the Turks was carried, before a judge at Aleppo, acGufed by a Sherifof having one evening in the bazar, or market place, knocked*off his green turban, -a crime punif liable with death — the judge was himfelf a Sherif — (this race have in moft places the privilege of a judge of theirown.) .The Christian fent Tecretly, bribed him,, and informed him of f4 the Turkish government. 35 Ihe truth, which was, that the Sherif s tur ban was of So dark a green that he tpok it for a d&rk blue^ a colour which a Christian friend of his wore, and for whom he had taken him in the dark of the evening, and bad knocked off his turban in a joke. The accufed was brought before the judge, and the plaintiff came into the judge's hall with a great number of other Sherifs. The judge addreffed them; " Do you tome here in fuch. ¦number's to afk jufiice, or to take it .ydurfelves ; go out75° 320 25c *5 C H A'P-T E R II. PlaiIipp.opGlis \ - Saloni-eo - - ? Uflsiup KioSentil - Terhale - Yenitfher Kina* AWlonia - Ofery - IDelvine - - Eibifian - Bania - Kifria — Ozi (now-inthe pofleffion of . Rut-. fci; calledOczakow^by'thePdles) SiMria..Vacua; - Babadabg, - ]?atfa«adi - Kferinabati - Egribozak '<- - RufchukSh^rana - - - - He-aargarad - Niceb'oli < - Hazard* ¦ -- » . - Viddin. - Iflemie - Ufiinge abad Hafkioy GaUipoJi- Orfe - Yenebanti - Negroponte - Ifdiu - Belgrade - Nilla - Alaffonia - Tif - Kiardes - Athens (Seitin, or land of olives) YenikeNapoli di Romania , ^ f^urieRusmi. Piafties. 280 53© 260 2-26 459 270 350 250 ¦X 170 1 166 ' 450 250 90 170 170 100, 160 i8t> 190 220 170 90 390 -260 300 150 176 240 70 210 ' 5°o 96 180 19& 170 45 70 9-0 22.0 225 : TURK-ISH FINANCES. 4&- 'urfesRumi. Hatevmis - Calamata - Enghily Kafry - Livadia - Tancara - Donige - Aleflandria - - Boihia with its dependencies (Bender and Hot in< are not included) Morea and its nvejurifdi&ions provinces and cities of Ana tolia. Hade vendighiir Sangiaki The province of Kiatahie i - Gimis dizne of EflrifhehirSultan Ony - - Kara Hiflkr - . The province of Angora The jurifdi&ion of Tuffia of Boli of Kiflin of Viran Shehir ¦ of Hiflar ony of Akfliep-fhehir . of Cara-fu of Ghiul Bazar The government of Caftemony The mrifditSion of Sinop ofTyr of Sultatnony of Ghiufel Hiflar of Allafhehir of Metmen Thegovernmenfof Mentefhe of Smyrna The jurifdi&ion of Aklhe Shehir • of Sahri-hiflar The ifland Kufeh-adafl The jurifdiftion of Ghiul- hiflar Piaftres. 20,015 QOi 44 CHAPTER II. The jorifdirStion of Hamid - of Yalli-kefTri of Sandughi The government of Breigha pf Carafii of Teke of Glaye of Ifengheijiid of Ala of Sivas of Tokat of Nikde of Yenifherry of Yenni il of Amafia of-Bozaiik of Zurem of Diyunik of Dzanik of Arabkir Tbe province of Caramania of Ahftiery of Kaifarie - of Akferai of Adana ofSilisof Iz-il of E kin Tripoly in Syria ¦ Damafcus (or Sham Sherif) Aleppo (Haleb) - Kelis - - - - - Agras , - Meras - Anivab . - - - - The government of Malatia ofUica of Ahmed-- The government of Hifni Manfur of Diarbekir of Muffil of Etzerun Purfes Rumi , Piaftres. ' i — —\ 30s 80 50 160 40 27 21-0 450 110 49° 260 120 210 90 180 7° 150 120 800 320 200 210 120 120 200 no 300 90 120 400 boo 120 70 200 240 120 200 no 80 3°o 300 450 Turkish finances.. 45 The government of Trebifond of Gelder of Van ofKaris Bagdat, Baflbra, Merdin, and en virons - - The ifland of TeAedos ofMeteline Shio (or Scio) Stanchio Candia Kubrus (or Cyprus) Tino The iflands dependent on the capi tan pafha - Cairo (or Meffir) - Several other revenues, of whicb is a feparate account - Total for the Kafach for Romelia 1 and Anatolia - -- - J or the The SECOND BRANCH of the FIXED eenenue comprizes the fol lowing general TAXES FARMS of the Empire. Mukata, (farms, regiftered in Bafh-muhaflebe, &c.) The Ogialik of Bulgaria pays - The Agalik of the Turkomani The body of Chingani (Gypfids or Bohemians) - - - Gebeluyan lokaf humayun render - Emlaki humayun - - D9 - Gebeluyan of the Timar and Zia- met, pdflefled by aged or infirm perfons - - - Bedeli Nuzul of the Timar and Ziamet of Romalia and Anatolia Avarigi Hane (per centage of im moveables) - Purfes Rumi. Piaftres. 306200 no 150 500 45 180 380 15° 560850 45 ,180 i>35° . *>455 ii ¦ — . 39 077 or *9>538>5<";« 4.79* ,.520- 450 2,690 280 350 470 3,58o, 2,959 4& .CHAPTER it. Of tobacco, the mines of filver, &c. contributions of the admi- niftrators - - - Mukata> mifcan on filk, mdftic, oil, &c. of the country of Brufa Duty paid by the dealers in fheep Salt pits or mines of Hailar •Fifti, woods, &c. of Meteli'no and its ports ; tax on weight at Con ftantinople - - Paid for the fulta.n's kitchen, by certain cities, towns, and vil lages . - By the company of butchers 1 he cuftom houfe of Conftanti nople - *"*Th'e duty on tobacco *N. B. This duty, is affigned in- the following .manner ; 855 purfes to the proprietors of the Malikane. 432 to the mufti. . 20a ,to the imperial mint. 1,287 Rent of the houfes belonging to the arfenal Duty on tobacco of Arabia and of Id Of which is aligned 400 to the proprietors. above meatioAed 3O0 to the imperial mint. Revenues of the farms belonging to Mecca and Medina Divers fmall farms deftined for cha rity - Annual Fixed Revenue - - Carried forward Purfes Rumi. Piaftres. 2,300 790. 780 1,200 2,800 1,300 600 1,872 1,2*7 1,280 •7OO 2j8oo • 2>995 75$7i , or 37»93S»S05 . . : J-^ 75.87 M or '37>935j5P» TtiRKi&H Finances. 47 Brought forward II. UnfIxkikRevenoe. From the Muagili and Mukata - Duty on tobacco - Cafual confifcatien and inheri tances - Farms of Cairo - On tobacco by anew regulation - The Zaefe.paid by the vizir and other minifters for their offices - Beildes what is paid on the creating of a vizir and making other minifters. - S'arfesRumi-i Piaftres. , 75>87,i: 37.935.SQ9 5,772 3.0^5 i.327 1,656 400 1 $00 89,885 or 44,942,509. =1 Total of 'the Revenue of the Empire or public tte&fury, cabled the Miri, 44,942,500 piaftres, or about ^.4,494,250.- fterling. Since this calculation was made, the exchange is ftill more againft Turkey, or, more properly ipeaking, this money has been much debafed. The Revenues of Wallachia and' Moldavia are not in cluded. They were to pay nothing during the tWee firft years after the peace with Ruffia was concluded* JNWAL 4$ CHAPTER II. ANNUAL EXPENDITURE if the MIRI: l^ay of the city gualrds or militia of Conftantinople Pay of the boftangis and of the people belonging to the fultan's kitchen *• Pay of the agas and officers of the fultan's palace To the harem of the old palace To the fultan's eunuchs To the aga of the feraglio of Ga lata t - - - Expences 6f the kitchen (purfes rumi) - To the chief of the butchers Expences of the imperial ftables Arbitrary affignments A donation to Mecca and Medina Pay of the failors Of the fleet Proviiion for the fleet Expences of the admiralty Penflons of the fultanas and of the dgpofed khans of the Crim Pay of the garrifon of Viddin Pay of all the other fortrefles of the Ottoman empire Pay of thofe of Bofnia For maintaining recruits Expences of the lefler department called Kuchiik Kalem Pay of thofe who guard the Da nube - Expences in maintaining the pofts Total of tha Expenditures of the Empire, 7 paid by the public treafury or miri - - \ Purfes Di- vani. 22,700 700 1,700 i,8oo 800 501 j, 800 600 6co 1,250 9,0002,700 800 1,800 1,372 1,250 18,000 1,970 472 1,200 3 52i 1,700 Piaftres. fcjuat to about £.3,636,8 , fterling. 1 Revenue Expenditur Surplus - 76,236! ^ °f 36,908,133 - X"-4>494>'i';o fterling. 3,696,813 £•797.437 fterling. '=== AN TURltlSli FINANCES. ^ An ACCOUNT of tbe DEBTS, and CREDITS of the MIRI, in 1776, after the conclufun of the Russian War. The Miri owed, To the treafury of Mecca and Medina - - To the Hafne - To the arfenal - - To the Miri was owing, From the tobacco cuftoms From feveral branches of the Re venue - A balance on the Yearly Payments - to the treafury - Balance, being the Debt of the Miri, or "«baut £-3,628,350 ftesling -- Piaftres. ' Piaftres. 3,786,000 6,000,000 7,280,480 1,350,000 45,550,0)00 6,500,000 53,4003000 1 7,066,480 - r 36,3335510 The hafne, pr* private treafure of the ful tan, next claims our notice : in amount, in deed, it is vaftly fuperior to the mir-i, but it contributes little to the exigencies of the ftate, except in times of war, or other great emer gency, and even then it is generally, made a "creditor of the public treafury to the amount of its contribution. The ordinary expenditure of this treafury is chiefly confined to the feraglio; it is, how- e ever, 50 C H A P T E R. II. ever, very confiderable, though greatly di- minifhed fince the reform introduced by ful- tan Muftafa the third. Its extraordinary expences have fbmetimes been immenfe, large fums being oc- cafionally paid to fecure the fidelity of the janizaries in times of popular commotion, or on the acceflion of a new fultan to the throne- amidft the ftruggle of contending factions ; it has alfo, in fome inftances, contributed larger fums toward the profecution of a war, than thofe for which it has been made credi-: tor by the miri. The receipts may be divided (as thofe of the miri) into fixed and cafual ; the former, however, are very inconfiderable in compa- rifon with the latter. , The fixed revenues of the hafne confifted of the following tributes : From Cairo 600,000 piaftres. Wallachia 230,000 Moldavia. 260,000 Ragula 20,000 1 , 1 1 0,000 piaftres, or £. 1 1 r,ooo fterling. Thefe, however, have either ceafed en tirely, or are little to be relied on. The Ra- gufan tribute, which is the only one paid re gularly, confifts of 1 2,000 fequiris, or .£.6,000 fterling TURKISH FINANCES: 51 fterling every three years. Thofe of Molda via and Wallachia are annihilated when there is a War with Ruffia ; and' Cairo is fo little fubje-fl to the porte, that inftead of receiving a regular contribution from thence, large fums are frequently fent thither to corrupt the begs*- and to enfure their obedience to the portej by- fomenting quarrels amongft them. The cafual revenues of the hafn'e, are 1ft. The revenues of the mines^ which have lately much diminished. ad. The fale (for they are really fold) of all places and pofts, which are alfo diminifhed, as they do not bring in fo much as they didj owing to the wretch- ednds of the provinces. The paflialik of Cairo ufed to coft £.75,000 fterling ; that of a cadi in a great city 2 to £.5000, and more. 3d. A duty of ten per cent on all inheritance's. 4th. The- inheritances of the officers of the feraglib, and the porte (or empire,) the fultan being their heir* to the total exdufion of their children or relations* The ulema folely are exempted from this law. 5th. The confiscations of all officers difgraced or put to death. 6th. The property of thofe who die without heirs, inherited' by the law of efcheat. 7th. Penalties. Sth. Prefents from great officers and foreign courts. Nothing can be rnore uncertain than aguefs (for a calculation is impoffible) of the amount £ 2 of ^Z' C H APT ER II; of each of thefe branches of the private trea sury ; many of them are in themfelves highly fluctuating, and others are fubjecl: to immenfe embezzlements. That they, greatly furpafs the revenues of the , miri cannot be doubted, fince^ it is the principal occupation of every pafha- to fuck out the very vitals of his pro vince ; and thefe. men have no fooner amaffed a great property, than they are cut off by the fultan to enrich his treafury. , ¦¦ Every fultan leaves what is called, his trea- fure in the vaults of the feraglio, and every fultan thinks' it a ddty to leave as confiderabM a film as he can — they attach even a vanity to it. , , - The perfonal hereditary wealth of the indi viduals of the ulema forms, in the aggregate, a very confiderable fund, which, in the ordinary operations of government, cannot be applied to any ufes of the ftate. The ulema, as we have feen, is the only body of men who hold of fices in' the Turkifh empire, whofe property is hereditary in their families ; it may there fore be naturally fuppofed that" they will' be come objecls of the fultan's avaricious, jea"- loufy : fuch,' however, is their power, that any invalion of their treafure would be attended with the greater! danger. The mere exiftence of fuch a treafure is, how* ever, a fubjecl of great importance, both as affe&ing TURKISH FINANCES. 5% affecting the. ordinary and extraordinary cir- cumftances of the ftate. In the former, it ferves to fupport a body .of men invefted with formidable power, in oppofition to the fultan ; but as thefe fame men have little connection of intereft with the people at large, their wealth feems to be taken from the general ftock only to nourifh an additional body of tyrants. In the event of any great convulfion, it cannot be doubted - that even this treafure would be facrificed to' the prefervation of the ftate ; but it feems prpb^ble that this meafure would not be adopted without fome ftruggle^on the part of the ulema, who will fcarcely be willinp* to make fuch a facrifice until it is, perhaps, too *• late; The treafures in the mofques are very cpnfiderable : they arife from the revenues appropriated to them at their foundation, and by fubfequent bequefts ; and as the fuperfti- tjpn of the rich mufTulmans frequently leads r them to fuch acts of oftentatious charity, the aggregate of thefe fums throughout the whole empire muft be immenfe. The whole of this property, being under the feal of religion, can not be broken in upon with impunity. The- ordinary revenues are, or ought to be, ex pended in the'Tupport of the mofque, and in- works of piety and charity ; but there are be-»tf e 3 fides, 54 C H A P T E R II, fides, in fome of their vaults, treafures which would be very corifiderjable, were it not for cohftant malverfation on the part of the: guardians. The whole of thefe treafures, though ftrictly forbidden by law to be ap plied to any other ufes than thofe of reli gion, may be reforted to when the feat of em pire itfelf is in imminent danger, an event in which the interefts of the Mahometan, re-; ligion are fuppofed to be involved. Such are the fources, and, as nearly as it Can be calculated, the amount of the Turkifh revenue and expenditure. The mode of its collection, and the probable confequences of its prefent fituation, afford room for obferva tions of the higheft importance, which, in deed, are fufficiently obvious to the enlight ened European, but which the ignorant Turk would with difficulty comprehend or arro gantly deride. The want of clear and accurate views on the fubject of finance gives the court thatra-, parity, which fpreads to all the 1 Subordinate officers, and tends to the impoverishment of the people without augmenting (but on the contrary 'diminifhing) therefpurces of the go vernment. . It has become a fixed fource of revenue to fet to public fale offices of every denomination ; nor is it only to the treafury that thefe fees, fometimes to a very high § amount. TURKISH FINANCES. 5£ •amount, are paid : in the intrigues of the fe- raglio, by which the difpofal of all places is regulated, every thing is done by means of bribes ; and if this is attended, as we have feen, with the worft confequences in the dif- tribution of juftice, it is no lefs pernicious in the department of finance. Hence it is, that the pafhas fent into the diftant provinces exert to the utmoft their power of extortion ; but are always outdone b* the officers immediately below them, who, in turn, leave room for the ingenuity of their fubordinate agents ; and the circle is only completed by the power of the defpot, who, from time to time, fqueezes into his own cof fers the fpunge, with which this herd of plunderers had abforbed the property of the people. As the Mahomedans themfelves pay no perfoiial tax or capitation, and in general contribute very little to the revenues of the ftate, the pafhas are obliged to find other me thods of exacting money from them ; but the Chriftians always fuffer moft. The mildnefs of the Turkifh government is argued from their permitting foreigners to pay lower duties than their own. fubjects ; this circumftance is, however, only a proof of their ignorance in matters of commerce ; for furely a wife and politic fbvereign would, by e 4 aU 5*5 CHAPTER II. all means, cherifh the commercial fpirit in his own fubjects rather than in ftrangers. The duty paid by foreigners is 3 per cent. whilft that paid by the natives varies in dif ferent places from 5 to , 7 and 1 o per cent. The loweft is a duty of 5 per cent., paid at Conftantinople and Smyrna,- on fome articles, of foreign produce ; but in moft parts of the empire the legal duty on merchandize in ge neral is 10 per cent. PeyfTonel, who. cor->. rects Tott on this fubject, is himfelf fo far from being accurate, that . (contrary to his atfertion). the common duty is called aflieria,. pr the tenth (from the Arabic, ajliir.) But, the legal imports are but a fmall part of what the merchant pays : foreigners indeed are, 'in all countries, more liable to impofition than the natives ; , but that even the latter are fiibjected to heavy impofitions is certain, from the inftances cited by Tott, which are. by no means uncommon, From, the total feparation of the public treafury and that of the fultan, it r-efults^ that Whilft the former is in the moft im- poverifhed ftate, and unable to pay for the moft neceffary expences of the empire, . the, , latter abounds with money, which is lavifhed on the moft frivolous objects. However the. fplendor of the fovereign may be fuppofed to be connected with, the glory o{ the ftate, the neceffities TURKISH FINANCES. 57, neceffities of the latter have furely a para mount claim ; • but in Turkey it is confidered of more importance to provide diamonds for the fultan's harem, than to conduct the moft ufeful operations, military or commercial. , If the prefent ftate of the Turkifh finances feems incompatible with the permanence or profperity of the ftate, the future profpect is ftill lefs promifing. The debt of the miri, in 1776, cannot be confidered as very enormous, if we take into the account how great had been the exertion, and how ruinous the expence, of the preced ing war. The fleet, which had fuffered fb greatly from the difafter at Tchefme, was alfo re-eftablifhed on a more formidable foot-. ing than it had been previoufly to that event, and the treafury feemed to have effected all its moft burdenfbme operations. Neverthe7 lefs the expenditure has fince increafed, and it is not probable that the miri ca,u difcharge its debts without a donation from the trea^ fury of the fultan, a meafure which does not enter into the policy of the feraglio. Here then we are to cOnfider the probable confe- quences of a deficiency in its treafuryi, to a government which knows nothing of the financial provifions of modern politics, and, confequently, will be totally unprepared for fuch a conjuncture. The 58 C H H P T E R H. The revenues of the empire are diminim- ing, and as the extortions of the pafhas in- ereafe, and the means of fatisfying them de- creafe in a degree alarming to the porte, op- preffive even to the Mahomedans, and fhock- ingly diftrefsful to the poor Chriftian fubje 15,000 but there never exifted more than -J 3, Gumbaragees, bombardiers - - 2,000 12,000 4. Boftangees, guards of the gardens ; they now \ guard the palace - - -3 5. Mehtergees, Who ere& the tents and place * * Q ' the camp - -r - 3 6. Meffirlis, fent from Egypt— infantry and cavalry 3J000 7. Soldiers, from Walachia and Moldavia - - ' > ' 6i00O " 8. Leventis, marines ; few in peace, in war at T -0 00_ moft - - 1 * ' Infantry - 207,400 CAVALRY. Men. 1. Spahis— pay regulated - 10,000 2. Serragis, for tbe fervice of the infantry and -> their baggage, enrolled by the pafhas in the ( 6)0oo provinces. They are a corps de referve in f great neceffities - - 3. Zaims and timariots, feudal troops - -132,000 4. Gebegis, armourers, who guard the powder, *J arms, and magazines, occafionally ferve as I a corps de referve of cavalry ; they fhould > 13,000 be, according to the canons of the empire, I 30,000, they now are fcarcely - -J Carried Over - 161,000 F 5. Miklagis, 66 CHAPTER III. CAVALRY. Men. Brought forward - 161,00a; 5. Miklagis, who attend on the fpahis - - 6,000 6. Segbans, who guard the baggage of the ca- 7 0Qo valry - - * 7. Volunteers, with their horfes, never more than 10,000 Cavalry - - 181,000 Infantry - - 207,400. Total - 388,4c?*} From thefe fhould be deducted, 1. The leyentis, who bdong to the "I fleet, and can only be employed r 50)000* near the coaft where the fleet is --* 2, For the garrifon of Conftantinople,*) . though (o rnany in time of war, t 20,000 are not always kept there - -J 3. Garrifons of the fortrefles and fron- 7 .- • -c- J A/" f 100,000 tiers in Europe and Aha - - J 4. The boftangees, when the grand *) J2 OOQ , feignior does not go into the field J -1 i82,ooq . . "i . "i Troops to take the field - 206,409 The miklagis, and fuch as ferve the vizir, the"\ beglerbegs, and pafhas, never go into the f battle, and only increafe the number ; thefe f" 20»000- m^y be computed nearly at - -j Total - 186,400 The remainder of effedtiye men will therefore amount only to 186,400 men. As TURKISH MILITARY FORCE. 6f As it will fbon appear how little the Turk ifh arms are ftrengthened by difcipline, the confideration of numbers becomes doubly im portant, and indeed it is upon them that the porte at; prefent entirely relies. Yet even here its power evidently fails to an alarming degree : it has often found it difficult to af- femble 100,000 men; and in 1774, with its utmoft efforts, it could only bring into the field 142,000. ' . Thefe numbers too are greatly lefTened by defertion., In 1773, the porte fent 60,000 janizaries toward Trebifond, to be embarked, for the Crimea, where not 10,000 arrived, the reft having difperfed themfelves on their - route. Befides thefe regular troops, the Turks were formerly affifted by numerous hordes of Tatars, whofe mode of warfare exceeded even their own in barbarity : this fupply is now cut off by their ceffion of the Tatar provinces to the emprefs, fo that they will not in future be able to cope with Ruf fia even in the number of their troops. The laft reliance of the porte. is upon the volunteers ; but a few obfervations will fuf- ,£ce to fhew how little confidence can be placed in fuch forces. Formerly, when the whole natiori was in fome manner inflamed with the warlike ge nius of the janizaries, when the people were f a, inflated %B CHAPTER III. inflated by fuccefs, and every one knew more or lefs the ufe of arms, thefe were often found ufeful and valiant troops ; but at pre fent they confift chiefly of an undifeiplined rabble, inftigated either by a momentary rafhnefs or a defire of plunder. Some go, becaufe they are afhamed to ftay at home, on account of the ridicule of their neighbours ; others, tofecure the privileges and pecuniary advantage which they derive from being at tached to a chamber (or company) of jani zaries ; another part of thefe volunteers are robbers, and the outcaft of the Turks, who go to plunder on their march, as well going* as coming, under the fanction of their military profeffion. The mollahs and mouhazim cry from the minarets of the mofques, in time of war, that , all good mufulmans muft go to fight againft the infidels, with a long enumeration of the obligations on all true believers to take the field. Hertce^ a young man is often feized with a fit of enthufiafm, (I have perfonally known many fuch in Alia) he takes a pair of richly furnifhed piftols (if he can afford it, for in the richnefs of their armour is their pride) a fabre covered with filver, and a carabine, and mounts his horfe to conquer the infidels, and pake them -become mufulmans, and tp bring back Turkish Military force. 69 back With him young girls for his harem. If he does not repent aiid turn back before he fees the camp, nor when arrived at the army, •he fbon learns from others the danger, there is, and the difficulty of vanquifhing the in fidels ; but when he has been a witnefs of it, and feen that there are only hard blows to be gotten, he generally fets fpurs to his hprfe, and rides off. Thus by whole troops, in every war, thefe volunteers return, pltin-, dering the poor peafants, and often murder ing them, particularly if they are Chriftians, to be able to fwear, when they return home, how many infidels they have killed* The Afiatic foot foldiers defert in the fame man ner, and by thoufands, though they are moft of them janizaries*. There is, it is true, a confiderable diffe rence in the foldiery : the Turks of Europe are the beft foldiers ; but far above all, thofe of Bofnia, Albania,' Croatia;, and towards the emperor's frontier ; they are a very robuft and warlike people, accuftomed from their infancy to arms, and are almoft continually fighting with one- another, or againft the porte, or plundering on the roads. The em- pejor had to do with a much worfe enemy than the Ruffians ; and befides, they had to defend their families and homes, and confe- F 3 quently 70 C H A P T E R III*. quently had an intereft in the war, which the Afiatic troops have not. Many authors have contended, thdt it is poffible to infpire the Turks, anew. with their ancient military fpirit, and. to elevate their forces to their former fuperiority, by inftruct- ing them in European tactics. The at tempts which have fo frequently been made by French officers to -this purpofe, without the leaft fuccefs, are convincing proofs againft fuch a fuppofition. The celebrated Bonne* vai-, whofe adventures were matter of much notoriety in the' beginning of this century, laboured at this undertaking, as did the Ba ron de Tott fince his time ; yet, notwith- ftanding the ability and perfeverance of the latter, all his pains were rendered fruitlefs by the unconquerable bigotry of the Turks themfelves. An attempt is now making on a better principle ; not by endeavouring to "difcipline the old foldiery, but by raifing a, new corps, of which notice fhall hereafter be taken. If thefe inftances were not fiif- iicient to fhow the impracticability, of fuch an attempt, a very flight view of the real ftate of their force would fuffice to fet it in the cleareft point of view. Their force lies in their attack, but for that they muft be prepared ; taken unawares the TURKISH MILITARY FORCE. 71 trie fmalleft number puts them to flight. The Ruffians always conquer- when they attack them-, and therefore avoid being at- tacked, which is generally very eafy. At pre fent even the attack of the Turks (terrible in deed as it appears to thofe who fee it the firft time) is no longer feared by the Ruffians ; they know how to receive it, and therefore do not dread it-. Had the emperor followed -the Ruffian fyftem, he would have been equally iuccefsful, in the beginning of the laft war, as he was when he changed his plan of ope ration. Befides that the Turks refufe all me lioration, they are feditious and mutinous ; their armies are incumbered with immenfe baggage, and their camp has all the conveni- encies of a town, withlhops, &c. for fuch was their ancient cuftom when- they wandered with their hordes. When their fudden fury is abated, which is at the leaft obftinate re finance, they are feized with a panic, and have no rallying as formerly. In proportion as the march of the army, advancing" in the field, was flow, fo is it rapid in its retreat. They leave their baggage, abandon every thing to the enemy, and do nPt even nail up their cannon. The cavalry (which is. the only part of their army that deferves the name of troops) is as much afraid of their own foot as of the enemy ; for in a defeat f 4 they "7.2r CHAPTER III. they fire at them to get their horfes to ef-' cape quicker. In fliort, it is a mob affembled rather than an army levied. None of thofe numerous details 'of a well-orgaiiized body, neceffary to give quicknefs, ftrength, and re gularity to its actions, to avoid confufion, to repair damages, to apply every part to fome ufe ;- nothing, as with us, the refult of reafoning and combination ; no fyftematic attack, defence, or retreat ; no accident fore- feen, or provided for. To thefe reafons might be added the opi nion of Gazi Haffan, the celebrated captain- pafha (of whom I fhall have occafion to fay much hereafter) who, after repeated endea vours to improve the army, found all his at-*- {empts ineffectual. He faw it was impoffi ble to difcipline the Turkifh army, and gave up all hopes of it, but propofed a new order 1 of battle. He would have divided an army of 100,000 men into ten different corps, which were to attack feparately, and fo arranged that the retreat of the repulfed corps fhould not over whelm and put in diforder thofe which had not attacked. He affirmed," that though the artillery of an European army would make great flaughter, yet no army could withftand ten Turkifli attacks, which are furious*, but ftiort if they do not fucceed, and the attack of TURKISH' MILITARY FORCE. J^ of 10,000 -is as dangerous as of 100,000 in one bodv, for the firft fepulfed, the reft, on whom they fall back, immediately take to flight. But any one who knows the Turks would fee the.impoflibility of leading on the other corps after a defeat of the firft, as the fpirit of their army now is. The old ja nizaries are no more ; befides, the Chriftian army, encouraged by fuccefs, would have time - to recover from any diforder. Haflan himfelf was as brave as a lion, but he could not infpire into the troops his own fpirit; he tried nineteen years, and had all the time un limited power. If he therefore performed nothing in a reigu, where he virtually was fovereign, what is to be expected now or -hereafter ? Centuries may pafs away before another fuch man arifes with fuch means. , The Turkifh weapons require fome notice. The artillery which they have, and which is chiefly brafs, comprehends many fine pieces of cannon; but notwithftanding the reiterated inftruction of fo many French engineers, they are profoundly ignorant of its management*. Their * Infpeakingoftheir artillery I ought not to omitmeh- tioning an Englishman in the fervice of the porte ; his name is Campbell, and he is related to a great Scotch family. When very young, he came to Conftantinople (the caufe of his quitting Scotland is faid to be a duel) and, ' without making himfelf known to any European, he went to 74 CHAPTER III. Their mufket-barrels are much efteemerj J but they are too heavy ; nor do they poffefs any quality fuperior to common iron barrels,) which have been much hammered, and are pf very foft Swedifh iron. They are thu$ made : round a rod of iron they twift foft old iron wire, and forge it ; then they bore out the rod, part of which often remains, according as the wire was thick or thin* and the bore large or fmall. The art of tempering their fabres is now Ipft, and all the blades of great value are ancient; however, their fabre is fuperior to any of ours in its form and lightnefs. It is a great error in all the cavalry in Europe to haye heavy fabres ; I have often heard old *o the porte and turned Turk. He advanced by flow de grees till he became general of the bombardiers (the place. which Bonneval had) and then only he became acquainted with his countrymen, and other Europeans. He was marty years at the head of the foundery of ordnance ; and though at home he knew nothing of the art of calling cannon, he foon far furpaffed Mr. de, Tott, over whom he bad great advantages, as he is a Mahomedan. He is a good claffical fcholar, and fpeaks the modern languages with cori e&nefs. He is perfe&ly a gentleman, and is univerfallyrefpe&ed by Europeans for the honour, integrity, prudence, and hu manity of his character. The Turks know little how to efteem a man of fo much worth ; for after rendering the moft important fervices to the porte, he was treated with ingra titude, and now, being advanced in years, is wholly ne glected. German: "TURKISH MILITARY FORCE. 75 German foldiers complain of it, and an old foldier is a good judge. It feems prepof- terous indeed to make all the fabres in a regiment of equal weight, without regard to the ftrength of the arm to ufe, it ; befides, a Jharp light fabre will make a -deeper cut than our heavy fabres now in ufe. .Among the Turks, every foldier choofes his own fabre, and takes fuch a one as he can ma nage with eafe ; thus, if he' miffes his ftroke he can recover his guard, whilft a man with a heavy fabre is loft. The part grafped by the fingers ill European fabres is much too thick, and weakens the hold. Much is talked in Europe of the balance of a fabre by making it heavy in the hand* ; this cannot be the cafe in any degree, except the knob or pom mel project out of the hand towards, the elbow, which will enable him to raife up; the point quick by the force of the wrift, after he has given a blow ; but the weight of the fall of the blow is diminifhed in both cafes. Let any man ftrike a blow with a * The fulcrum is the fore-finger, and the back part of tke hand preffes down the pommel; but a man in battle does not keep his hand at one height; he lifts up his arm, and confequently has the weight of the handle of his fabre to lift up, and the power is in the elbow and fhoulder, not in the wrift alone. It cannot be expe&ed that men in adlion, particularly new troops, will ufe their fabres' in the iame manner they do on field days.' fabre j6 C HAP TER III. fabre heavy in the hand, and then take out the blade, and put on it a light fmall handle, and ftrike another blow with it, and he will find the difference. Let him ftrike with each fifty blows as quick as he can, and obferve the difference of time, and the fatigue, and he will be convinced. The fharpnefs of the edge of the Turkifh fabre, and the velocity which the arm gives to a light weapon, com- penfates for the weight of the fabre. All their attention has been paid to the fabre for ages, with it they conquered their em pire, and it certainly deferves fome attention for cavalryt The edge of our fabres is never fharp enough, and the angle of the edge is too, acute. In regard to its crookednefs it his an advantage, as a blow ftraight down gives a drawing cut ; and it is a good de fence, for the arm being held out horizon tally with the fabre upright in the hand, a fmall motion' of the wrift turning the edge to the right or left, covers the body by the crook of the fabre ; the fhoulder of the edge, not the edge itfelf, forms the parry. Fencing With the crooked fabre was formerly taught to the janizaries. The pufh with the fabre is alfo a good attack. If, however, the pufh only is preferred for cavalry, the lighter and longer the fabre is the better, and the nearer it is to a fpear or lance. The blow upwards is TURKISH MILITARY FORCE. 77 is efteemed thetnoft dangerous by the Turks, as it is the moft difficult to parry. Many of their cavalry make ufe of the fpear, which, for a clofe regular front, is perhaps the beft weapon ; but as the Turkifh horfe wheel round in full fpeed, and are never in a regular ftraight line, perhaps no weapon is fo advantageous as their light fharp crooked fabre. No body of cavalry that keeps to gether, and makes its evolutions without being broken (that is keeping a clofe front in a line) can give a fhock to the Turkifh ca valry; they wheel about and retreat much fafter than regular cavalry can advance, and this not in a body, but each man turns his horfe round in his place. Much might be faid for and againft their cavalry ; it is fo reign to my prefent purpofe, and would re quire a long differtation to put them and our cavalry in a comparative view. Only let it be remembered, that though their in fantry . can neither be oppofed to European cavalry or infantry, nor their cavalry to Eu ropean infantry, yet their cavalry is gene rally fuperior to all . the cavalry they have been hitherto oppofed to ; I mean the better kind of their cavalry, which is now not very numerous,. and Can make no effectual oppo- fition to an European army of good infantry with cannon. Their jt CHAPTER III. Their beft Turkifh fabres have one great defect, brittlenefs; they are apt to fly like glafs by a blow given injudicioufly, though a perfon ufed to cut with them will, without any danger of breaking a fabre or turning its edge, cut through an iron nail as thick as, a man's finger. Few accidents happen in confequence of fabres breaking among the Turkifh cavalry, but veiy frequently amongft the infantry, from ignorance of their ufe* In regard tp this I will cite a fact which fell under my particular knowledge* At the ftorming of Oczakow, a lieutenant of the fleet of the Black Sea, a Mr. Fox, an En- glifhman, ferved as a volunteer, and march ing at the head of a column of 200 Ruffian, grenadiers, was oppofed by a body of Turks » he was a man of prodigious bodily ftrength ^.nd great courage; he fought at the head of the column in the front rank, with; a Turkifh fabre ; it was foon broken ; the fol diers fupplied him with others which they picked up from the ground, but from his Want of fkill, he broke thefe alfo, till the enemy retreated. He killed a number of Turks, and efcaped without a wound, defend ing himfelf with the remainder of one fabre till he was fupplied with another. None of thefe Turks had the leaft notion of parrying the blows. This Mr. Fox was a volunteer 4 afterwards TURKISH MILITARY FORCE. 79 afterwards at the ftorming of Ifmail, where he was killed. He is remembered in the Ruffian army to this day as a great herp. As foldiers, even the beft taught to ufe the crooked fabre, are not always fo calm in action as tQ make the beft ufe of it, a blade tempered in the manner of the beft blades in Europe is preferable, provided the edge heperfe£llyjharpt and the angle of it not too acute; and as to the crooked form, it alfo requires coolnefs and knowledge to ufe it, for if the part which bends moft forward and the point do not de-> fcend in a ftraight line (i. e. if the edge and the back do not defcend in the fame line) the point will turn the fabre fideways by its weight, as fbon as the crooked part ftrikes, and pre vent its cutting ; for this reafon a ftraighter blade, in an ignoi ant or timid hand, is pre- , ferable; but a light blade and thin hilt is ab- fokitely neceffary for the fafety bf the foldier. Jt may be remembered that the Romans, with their fhort fwords, had a great advantage over the Gauls, whofe long heavy fwords foon tired them. A Turk, with his light fhort fabre proportioned to his ftrength (for they are not long taking the chord of the fegment) will not tire fo foon as an European with his long heavy fabre. I fpeak of ca valry, for the fabre, after the invention of the bayonet, is a bad weapon for infantry. Their So CHAPTER III. Their laws of war are thofe of the moft ferocious barbarians: believing, from the pre-. judices of their religion, that they have a right to carry fire and fword at pleafure among ,the infidels, they are checked in their bloody career by no ideas of mercy. They have a right, as they imagine, to put to death all their prifoners, of whatever age or fex, whether they throw down their arms, capitu late, or by whatever method they are taken, and this right extends, not only to the mo-> ment of capture, but for ever afterward,. unlefs the captive embrace the Mahometan' religion, The heads of the enemy's fubjects are valued by the government at a certain price, and for every one that is brought in; five fequins are paid out of the treafury. This is frequently a fource of the greateft crimes, ' as it is impoffible to diftinguifli the head of an enemy from that of a wretched peafant or unfortunate traveller, who has been af-. faffinated for the fake of the reward. It is the common cuftom after an action, when .the grand vizir returns to his tent, for the foldiers to line the path with heads which have been thus chopped off. The barbarous law of Turkifh warfare, which condemns all their prifoners to death, is not indeed always practifed ; but it is not, humanity that prevents it; avarice or brutal defire TURKISH MILITARY FORCE. 8j, defire are the caufes of prolonging to the. (lave ajniferable exiftence. At other times the ferocious conqueror butchers in cold blood his captive, or drags him along loaded with injury, and infult. Such is the faithful picture drawn by Count Ferrieres and others: of the treatment of the Auftrian prifoners- (many of them officers of diftinction) in their way to Conftantinople. Thofe who fell fick on the road, or appeared incapable' of being converted to the purpofes of labour,, were cru elly mangled by the common waggoners, who chopped off the heads of fome, and maimed. others from the impulfe of mere barbarity ; and the proceeding of the common waggoners was lawful, and conformable to cuftom. The naval force of the Turks is by no means confiderable.. Their grand fleet con- lifted of not more than. 1 7 or 1 8 fail of the line in the laft war, and thofe r not in very good condition ; at prefent their number is leflened* Their gallies are now of no ufe as fhips of war ; but there are about twenty large vefTels called caravellas, which belong to merchants* and in time of war are frequently taken into the fervice of the porte, and carry forty guns. Thefe.. were the vefTels, of which feveral were loft,, during the laft, war, in the Liman, and between Kilburon andOchakof. Their fhips in general are roomy, ai^d larger, for the num- © feer %% CHAPTER Ut* ber of guns, than ours. In regard to tiusir csonftru6iiipn, they are built of good oak wood, but the timbers being too far asunder, tbey are yery -weak. From the flightoefls of their make they kre iiafck foon to become hogged ; to prevent which, they "build them wkh their decks curved up, fo that when the two ends fettie, the yeflels become ftxai/gfeit. S*sch *&iips do not lai: kMg, and are {vfyefik to be leaky. In 1 778, the tfjaeft ffeip in the fleet foundered in the Black Sea; being too weak, flte worked her c^flkiilg out, and leaked between all tj.er planks. The famous captain pafha, Haflka, Attributed it to the bad caulking, and when the fleet came back into the pert of Conft&n* tinople, he ordered all the captains of the fhips of war to attend in perfon the cawiking of their own fhips all the time, on pain of death. One of them, being one day tired of fitting by his Arip, went home to hk houfe, not above a quarter of a mile off. The cap tain pa(ha happened to go himfelf to the ar- fenal to fee the work, examined the caulking, found fault, and afked for die captain ; the truth was obliged to be told him ; he fat down on a fmall carpet, fent one man for his Mhh* derbufe, and another te call the captain ; as feon as the unfortunate man came near hi»% he took up his blunderbufe and fhot him dead without (peaking a word to him. *? Take and " bury * %ury tab" he fiiid, " and let the Other 5' eaptains attend liim to the grave, and the " caulking be fUCpended till they return." The fhape of their Sups bottoms is con- Udeffd by ajl fcfeofe who are judge? (fuch as fren^Jt fhip-buil4er$ and Englifft Teamen, *t? Jwife ©pinions I haye hegrd) as the mpft per* (ggt. Jt is certain they are very faft feiloES, &jgf *^jp#if -upper wprks af e very inferior to the &jps pother nations. Jt is for the fake of {teWfttb* and the inaprovement of their upper Wofch .that they have fometimes employed French fhjp4wilder;?. I was acquainted with- JVfcvLe Roy, wfeo bu$t ifr-am fome ftups at QoB^wt^^ ; he ai&red t»e, that he took $$ tt?adels far Jt*be feottoms, Turkifli vefTels. Tl»y build t&eir grips at jIV|eteline,Stanchio, §*a°^9 *®r # Cc©ftftntifl«>pie. Thoie at Si* nope <®ft (a flrip of the hae) only ^.9,000^ without their guns and riggbog. Their gums ftfRCE. ft Son cawnot be doubted ; he trarid probably have fucceeded in^boarding and tsfcing ad- ffl&kal Spiritofs fhipv but for the tailing f#a 2nd blowing ap of bosh ve?flfels; This; ev€#e has been attributed to the de^semtion df the Jtuffiatas ; but as I was informed by admiral Krufe (\ftho was then captain of Spiritof *s Atop) it ai-ofe accidenJbally fmz& the wadding of the Ruffian gUns, which fet fire to tfr$ Tuddftv veflel. (See PeyHowell, i o i .) The event of the donteft at Cbefme is well known: the Turkifh1 fleet w*t& totally de- Itaoyed* owing to the ill conduct of the cap-1 tains, the cowardice of tiie: men, and to tho ignor&nce-of Jaffer Bey, who was afterward*! degraded from the poll of captain pafh% and his place fupplied by Ga*zi Haf&n, In the fubfequent war, Gazi Haflan hiffi* felf commanded in thte Black Sea ; yet not* withft&idiag his exertions,, his talents*, and the great powssrr with which he was m» veiled ^biore than any of his predefcdibrs ¦g-tf-cr ppflfeffed) tiie Turkic flfeet remained ill a ftate of impotence, D«ring th© whok ©f the furtimer of 1788, the captain paffea fey with fevente?n fail of the line pfftbe iflknd of Berizan, The Ruffian fleet, confiftwi| tff $hree fair of the line (with only their Ipwisr tier of guns in) and a nuttfber o"f fbtttll vefv iels, lay at a httles dift&ttce from hit-fty fte* tween 93 CHAPTER III. . t.ween -Kilburon and Ochakof, to' protect ^he* fiege, and , block up the port pf the latter place. -The captain pafha. knew very well that the guns from Kilburpn Poipt could not hurt him, as they, were mafked by the Ruf-' fian fleet; he was alfo well acquainted with the channel, and pofTefled undoubted bravery himfelf; yet he never dared to fail in and attack the enemy, becaufe he oould not rely on his own (hips doing their duty, and ma noeuvring properly. The Ruffians expected an' attack, .and thought- the event dubious. The remainder of their fleet, lay in the part of jSebaftppolis, under the command of ad miral Waihowitz/ and, though not one fourth as ftron'g as the Turks, it failed to attack the captain pafha,- tyho *went out to meet it, and a -running fight enfued, which ended* to the advantage of the Ruffians, though the^ put: back to Sebaftopolis ; and even for this meafore the admiral was,- cenfured.- . • :l , In the laft campaign of the war, the whole Turkifh and ^Ruffian -fleets met, and fought at fea; and .notwithftanding-the very great inferiority of the latter, they were victorious," and purfyed the Turks, who mere flying ig- nominioufty before.--them into, the Bofphorus of Conftantinople, The Ruffians were al ready in fight of the entrance, when a frigate reached their admiral with news of the con- clufion ti/rkish Military 'F'oRcg. 93 clufion of peace, which put an end to the purfuit. ' I might have mentioned the action in the* Liman the fame year," in which' the Turks loft the greateft. part of their vefTels ; but that was owing more to accident than any other caufe. If fuch was the event of a contend when the fuperiority was greatly in favour of Turkey, what is not now to be expected, when the Ruffian fleet at Sebaftopolis is fo confiderably augmented ? It is now ftrong enough to rifk thelofs of one half of its num bers in an attack on Conftantinople, and the remainder alone will be more than a match for the whole navy of the fultan, As the laft hope of the Turks lies in their fortreffes, particularly in thpfe of the Darda nelles, which they believe impregnable, I fhall add the following . obfervations on this fub ject. They are ignorant of the art either of for tifying or defending, and, above all, of at tacking places. They have not one fortrefs in the empire well fortified by art; a few are ftrong by nature, but none fo much To that the Ruffians could not now take them either by a regular fiege or by aftault. Prince Pq- lemkin,.had he chofen.,. could as eafily have taken Ochakof on the ift of July, when he. appeared before it, as on the T-fth of Decem ber, 94 CstAPfxH Hi* ber, when he iftosrojjed it under ®igw$f$fa& difficulties* It was a political fiege. The Pardaniriles, feid to he fb formidable, may be eafity paffed by & fleet, or the eaftjes may\he beaten down by batteries ere^ed m ihore, or by fea, from fituations on which t?*? gre&t artillery cannot be^r on fliips- There are* on each fide the water, fourteen gr^f guns, jyhich fire ^anite balls : thefe guns are ©f bsrafs, with chambers like moftars, fcwei}^ twoEnglifh fttet long, and twenty ^ightw&bjge diameter of the bcce*; they %rp very j^e-ar ihe .level of the fur-fiape of the water, i# arch*. «*} port-holes or embrafures wi$k iron <$•?$% which are opened only when they ane to be iked; -the balls crofs the water from rfida? to fide, as they .are a little elevated. The^Kifp ifeous cannon are not mounted *pn c#rria|-f^ but lie on the paved floor, with their, bff$$i againft a wall ; they cannot be pointed, *b$ the gunner muft wait till the ve$el he intends to fi-re at is pppoiite .the mouth, ,&pd they are ¦at leaft half an hour in folding one of thde guns. All vefTels coining from Confta^ -npple are obliged tp ftop atihe-fe caftles^j^ $i©w the,ir firman, or order from UW f>ort«, to let th-em pais ; but there are exanapks $jf * A gentleman, who ,has mgjifured jhem fince me, fey?) llvy are only twenty- three inches j one t)C us tfai#- hi""* asajk # miftake. veflels TURKISH MILITARY FORCE. 9^ veffels ¦ in bad weather failing thjrough the channel without receiving-' any harm* though the Turks have fired at them. It is true, that in going with the ftream, which with a northerly wind runs ftrong.* it is eafier for au Veffel to pals them, yet with a fcutherly wind the current runs up, though not fp ftrong, and f believe an Englifti fleet with a b-rHk gale would pay little attention to thefe terrible batteries, the guardians of the Turkv ifh capital; t*hey are, like the Turks them felves, formidable only in appearance*. There are ether batteries of good cannon, but by no etean-s dangerous ;,fome of them at -foch a dif-, tance, and on fuch hig*h hills, that they are quite ulelefs. The following cifcumftance proves that the batteries in the channel of Cohftantinojple, and at the entrance from the "Black Sea, cannot hurt a fleet failing in with a fkir wind. In the firft campaign, one of the Ruffian . veflels (a 64 gun jhip) was Tepa- rated from the fleet eruifing in the Black §ea, and being difinafted in a gale of wind, Was forced into the channel of Conftantino- * There is «j rke arfenal of Qsn$Mtmaple the bj-eech . <>f a cannon which .was jn&lW in a fire a cejjtjirj* qgp, of a moft enormous fize |I am forry J hav? npt the njeafore. of Jt) but thofe of the |)ardane!les are diminutival!* coi-npa- •jy/an -to ft. It wa-s one of 4h«fs tffed at -the £ege he crime that is pu4 ni.fhed. Sultan Muftafa, father of Selim, the pre-* ( fent grand feignior, when .he mounted the throne, propofed to put tp death allthe Chrif, Q 1*. ¦ j ... < . P tians TURKISH RE1IGI.ON. lo7. tians in the whole empire; and wa»s with dif ficulty difluaded from doing it, on the ground of the lofs of capitation. This prince, how ever, iii the courfe of his reign, appeared to. be actuated by a love of the ftricteft juftice. What muft that religion and thofe principles be, which could induce a juft, at leaft a well- intentioned man, to maflacre whole provinces pf defencelefs fubjects ! It has been affirmed, that this conclufion cannot be univerfally true againft any reli gion ; " what horrors," (it is Taid) " have we *' not feed committed by princes, whom we " muft fuppofe to have been well-intenti* *¦* oned, profeffing the moft benign religion " that was* ever adopted by man ?" That fe£l of the Roman Church whpfe doctrines permitted a Tovereign to murder in cold blood all his fubjects who were of a dif ferent perfuafion, cannot be Taid to have pro- fefled a benign religion, or even the religion which Jefus Chrift taught to mankind. The, religion of Sultan Muftafa, and of the other Ottoman princes who were on the point of putting into execution their horrible defign, was the genuine religion of Mahomed ; pr at leaft, fiich as it has univerfally been pro-r fe$ed for many centuries by orthodox MuT- $knan&. Mr. Parke found the Moors in the 108 (CHAPTER IV. the interior of Africa, actuated by the fame infernal principles. It-may be farther remarked, that there is not one inftance of a fetva which declares the murdering of Chriftians to be contrary to the faith ; or of any argument drawn from juftice or religion, ufed to difluade the Sultans' from perpetrating fuch an enormity. The' pleaders for mercy have been guided by po licy or moved by compafiion only. Moft of the fultans in latter times have fhown a greater difpofition to cruelty and intolerance' in the beginning of their reigns than after wards, and this is eafy to be accounted for. The Sultans frequently give in marriage to Pachas princeffes of the Imperial family; but the male children of fuch marriages are put to death as Toon as they are bom. What can the advocates of the Mahomedan religi on allege in defence of fuch a horrible cuf tom ? Is the plea of ftate policy admif-. fible I It is fcarcely credible how far the little- neTs of pride is carried by the porte in all their tranfactions with the Chriftian princes. Whenever they conclude any treaty, the in- ftrument which remains in the hands of the Turks reprefents the other contracting powers as proftrated at the foot of the ful tan's throne,, and fupplicating his favour and protection, TURKISH RELIGION. I09 protection. The prefents which are made -to the fultan, on the arrival of an ambafiador, : or on any other occalion, are regiftered in the archives of the empire, as tributes paid by, fuch and fuch infidel karols (the Polifh or Slavonian name for king or prince, never : given by the Turks but to infidels) to the fub- lime porte for its protection. Thefe trea ties, fuch as they are, amount only to a tem porary remiffion of that implacable enmity with which their religion infpires therna- gainft every thing which is not Mahomedan. To Tupport their faith, and to extend their empire, are the only law of nations which .they acknowledge; and in fupport of , thefe principles they muft be ever ready to direct the whole of their force againft the arms of the infidels. It is indeed permitted them, whenever their own fecurity is threatened, to conclude a truce, for the Take of renoyatipg their -ftrength, and enabling themfelves more effectually to ferve the caufe of Mahomed; ahd-this is the explanation which they give to their own moft folemn treaties of peace. In this they are much affifted by the nature of the Arabic language, which they mix with the Turkifh in their public acts, and which, by the various application of its terms, literal and metaphorical, enables them to give what ever interpretation they pleafe to any con- tra#., IIO , CHAPTER IV. tract. Thus, fulch ebedy properly flgrtifies a perpetual peace, while ddim, the term fyno- nymous to ebedy, fignifies the, fame thing, but lefs forcibly : neverthelefs it coft the court of Vienna, within this century, a long and difficult negotiation to Tubftitute the firft for the, other in a treaty, which was, not long after, broken by open hoftilities,- It has been contended by fome - writers- with apparent probability, that the Turks, reftlefs and diftracted as they are at home, would be unwilling to augment their confu- fion by engaging in foreign contefts ; but there are tv/o obfervations which may be made in anfwer to this argument ; firft, that the government itfelf is too ignorant and in- Cautious" to be fwayed by fuch confideratious; We muft pot look on the porte as a cabinet under the guidance of enlightened politicians, but of a fet of wretches continually fluctuat ing between the hope of amaffing plunder by means of war, and enjoying it in the tran quillity of peace ; or of hot-headed fanatics, who confider the deftruction of infidels as the moft meritorious duty of a mufulman. Se condly, it may be doubted Whether policy would not lead the minifters of the porte frequently to ertcourage wars, which wotfld divert the turbulent fpirits Trom domeftic fe- diti©» TURKISH RELIGION. Ill dition to the hope of obtaining glory and plunder in a foreign conteft. I ftiall adduce but one inftance, though there are many to be found in their hiftory, in Tupport of my opinion ; it is the conduct of Turkey in tbe conqueft of Cyprus, as q*e- fcribed by the faithful and eloquent pen of the bifhop of Amelia. Sultan Selim II. who at that period Tat on the throne, neither endeavoured to extend by conqueft the empire his grandfather left him, nor to make it flourifh by policy. He left all the management of affairs to his vizir, and gave himfelf up to excefs in every kind of the moft beaftly debauchery. The peo ple, difcontented at his unambitious reign, murmured fo loudly, that it was deemed ne ceffary by the vizir to Tatisfy them : they af firmed, that fultans were not fet up to enjoy peaceably what their predeceffor s had left them ; but' to enlarge their empire by new conquefls, and finally reduce the univerfe to the Maho medan law; for this fpirit of conqueft and pillage is the fpirit of the whole Turkifh na tion, from the vizir to the peafaht. It was refolved to make war on the Venetians, and to take Cyprus, though without any juft pre tence whatever. The powers of Chriftendom were at va- riance ambiig themfelves, and differences of religion 112 CHAPTER IV. religion had caufed domeftic wars. France was allied with the porte ; Venice was in great confufion by the blowing up of its arfe- hal, fuppofed to be done by Turkifh emiffa- ries ; there was a great fcarcity of corn alfo in Europe : fo that the fultan, awoken from his lethargy, thought now of nothing lefs than conquering all Europe, and began with Cy prus. Theyfolemnly affured the Venetians, that, the preparations they were making at Con ftantinople were deftincd to affift the Moors in Spain; for oaths, and folem'n afTurances and proteftations of public faith had always been, and are to this day, with them ftate po licy. The vizir, who for perfon al reafons did not defire this war (he being bribed alfo by the Venetians) objected to the violation of a treaty which the fultan had fo folemnly fworn to obferve. The ulema were hereupon., confulted, and unanimoufly anfwered, " that a treaty made with the enemies of God and his prophet might be broken, there being nothing fo worthy a Mahomedan as to undertake the entire deflruciion ofChriflians." This fentence ftands on record, with thoufands more of the fame' kind. , The manners of the Court itfelf, tinctured as thofe of all courts are with deceit, are not fufficiently polifhed to avoid a conduct, not merely haughty, but indecent, to the repre- fentatives TURKISH RELIGION. 11^ fentatives of chriftian fovereigns. The ftu« pid "and incorrigible ignorance of the Turk makes .him treat his. moft favoured allies only &s dependents; hence their ambafiadors are received merely as deputies from tributary ftates. Every foferrmity at which; the foreign miiiiftbrs affift in Turkey, occafions : them a new "fpecies of humiliation, in which they are led from indignity to indignity, a fpectacle to the ftupid populace, who infult them with the coarfeft language as they pafgj and mea- fuTe by this fcale the greatnefs of their fove- reign. The minifter, who is to obtain an .audience of the fultan, muft prefent himfelf at the porte by /our o'clock in the morning, where, after three or four tedious- hours occu pied in unmeaning ceremonies, he is informed that he may be permitted, to fee; the xefplen- dent face of the emperor of the world (Gehan Padijha) who. among his- other pompous ti tles bears that of Alemumjpennati, refuge of '4he world; after which he is feated in a fofitary corner of the divan, on the left, near the door, and the vizir fends to the fultan a ."fhort note called talkijh, which is in fubftance, ** that the infidel (ghiaur) of fuch a court, *" after having been fufficientiy fed, and de- " cently clothed, by the fpecial grace of his •"*>' fublime,majefty, humbly Tupplipates leave " to come and lick the duft beneath his.il- I ** luftriou§ £14 CHAPTER IV. w luftrious throne." The talkifhgee (or billet; bearer) having returned with the anfwer. pf thee mperor, the vizir and all :. his afliftaiits rife with refpect at. the fight of the facred writing (khat-ijherif), and the ambaffadpr. is conducted to the audience, the ceremonies of which are too well knowii to need repe- titibn. It may not, however, be amifs to no tice, thai the minifters and their fuite, who go into the audience chamber,' are invefted with a kaftan or Tyrkifh garment, which covers entirely their own drefs, and reaches to the ground; and- that fome writers have abfurdly reprefented this robe as a mark of honour fhown to them; the truth is,, that the Turks wifhing them to appear in every thing as vaflals of their empire, obliged them formerly tb be habited entirely in the Turkifh drefs, except the head, which was covered with a hat, and to let their beaifds grow previoufly to admiffion into the iultan's prefence, as their tributaries, the Ragufeans', do at the prefent day. This humiliating maTquerade was abo- lifhed by means of the ambaffadors of England and Holland, who acted as mediators in the 'treaty of PafTarowitZ (in 1 718) and who took ' advantage of the dejected ftate of Turkey, to eftablifh the cuftom, , that the European mi nifters fhould appear in their national dreffes. The inveftiture of the kaftan is only a remains of TURKISH RELIGlPtt. U5 of the ancient ufage, and is no more to be confidered as an honour than the cuftom of wearing a hat at the audience, wh^ch is fo far f^om being, a matter of favour, that no European, minifter would be permitted to ap pear otherwife before the fultan or vizir. The Turks confider a European's pulling off h,isrhat exactly as we do a man's pulling off his. wig. Kaftans and garments fined", with fur, &fe given to fubjects of the porte and to other perfons, on fome- occafions, by the fultan, vizir, or pafhas, as marks of honour ; but in that cafe the inveftiture takes place after, and not before the audience. When a foreign minifter has an audience of the vizir, the drogoman of the porte, (for the minifter's own drogoman is not fiiffered to interpret, left h'e fhould not exprefs him felf in terms fofficiently fubjniffive) while he is fpeaking to the vizir affects to be convulfed with fear, and -fhakes his head and arms like a phinefe figure. Though this is fimply an etiquette, and certainly a moft ' ridiculous ene? yet if the drogoman pf the porte be not attentive to the eftablifhed phrafeplogy of th? the fubiime porte,. he may have real paufe tp tremble with fear. The late count Ludolph ,(enyoy from the king of Naples) who per- fe&ly underftood Turkifh, thinking that thp 1 2 dro- Iio" CHAPTER IV. the drogoman, of the porte, at a public au-' dience, made ufe of expreffions derogatory of the dignity of the reprefentative of a fovereigri prince, interrupted him, and told the vizir, that he had not made ufe of thofe words but of others, which he himfelf repeated in Turkifh. The vizir artfwered: thofe words fhould have been yours, and if the drogomari of^ the. porte had . expreffed himfelf as you have done, his head fhould have been ftruck' off at your feet. ' Particular inftances of Turkifh infolencei even to the reprefentatives' of their moft powerful allies, are frequent and finking. It is not fifty 'years fince the. grand vizirj Gin-Ali-Pafha, advifed the divan to confine all the ambaffadors to a Tmall ifland near Conftantinople, as lepers, or other infectious "and unclean perfons. , . . ; ';* In 1 756, the Sieur Du Vai, dragoman' to the French ambafTador, Mr. de Vergennes, having announced the double bond of alli ance and marriage, which* had united his court -with the houfe of Auftria, received from the reis-effeftdi no other anfvyer,' thaA " -that the fublime porte. did not trouble itjelf *.' about the union of one-hog with another'"1 This marriage was not very agreeable news to the porte. A -fimilar anfwer was- given by. the vizir Kiuperlr to the French ambaf Tador, TURKISH RELI6-ION. 117 &dor, Monfieur de la Haye, even in the bril liant aera of Louis XIV. : when that minifter announced the fplendid fucceffes of his fove.r reign over the Spaniards, the vizir replied^ "with the barbarous infblence of an Ottoman iatr'ap, " What care I whether ihe dog eat the *" hog, or the hog eat the dog,fo that the interefts " of my fovereign prafper." The fame vizif •offered a more ¦ atrocious infult to the an>- cient ally of the porte, in the perfon of the ion of Monfieur de la Haye, whom he caufed to be thrown are TURKISIfURE-LipijOtf. 1 19 ? ateall hegsij%tife to. us, whether jhey wear "¦green or blue coats." The, ponforniity of this anfwer with:thofe of, the great officers of the pftffee.is tr-uly ftriking. • ., ,;.,', ?, 'n,,^ .,, l-s, Jt is. nptonlyin.the foi*n>aJj4?§ of the law, of in the etiquette of the court, t&ajt.a barbaT rpuSiinf/jlence^di^layedM ;Th% peafant, np lefs than, the fpltan, < thinks; it unworthy of Jiimltp difjemble., the contempt which he ¦bearFSot&*#ai*d$?aj| janbelieve^s. [ f;The' very pdrter .;e«ill(«yjgdi*by' a chriftian —merchant asdH return hiff addrefs wi&,J&fojlt * ; and fo •degrading is'anyf cte«ejf^» Wt^ inficJBjsr ef- teemed/ that ihe -I janizaries^ eniplbyed vas guards to a -European rha-vterf^be general ap pellation pf fwihe-< herds:, c ; No ' Triirk ¦ of the -loweft condition wM rife frdtaiiis feat to re ceive evgri an &tfa£ffa»3miv%&'-ma^iM$ in civility ih vifits~frpm foreign i-minifters,. the vizir, or other jierfon, cotries/Iintp the audi ence ^chamber ¦ aftesr I the minifter ¦, and fthey both fit down at the fatrie time. • - ; » "4 As a proof of ttie coritemapt in which the tfUrks hold 'all foreigners, ahd* ; thein peifud> tfion; bf theuPbWfl/lfuperiority, swhich they even imagine is granted by' other nations^' I * That is, if }ie^ay.to hva^ peace to >«#> or ufe apy (aluWpn cuAPffi^ry :bpt»veen Mahometans, . , 1 '4 fhall l'H CHAPTER IV, fhall mention one or two anecdotes, of Whicfi I rriyfelf was a witnefs. 'Jf A Turkifh prifoner -of Ochakof, -meeting at Cherfon, where he- had liberty to wall*: about the town without reftraint, a- Ruffian officer on aJ narrow pavement where only 'one perfon. could pafs, and the ftreets being exceedingly dirty (over- the fhoes) when he was within3' a* few yards- of him, the- Turk, as if he had -been in the ftreets of Conftan tinople, made a figri' with his hand to' the 'officer to defcend from the pavement into the dirt. This appeared to the officer fo exceedingly ridiculous,.. that he .burft but into •a fit of^laughter,uuponii which the Turk •abufed him in the grofleft., language, fuch as •is ufed -to infidels, in Turkey, and ftill infifted -on the. dfficer's;going out of his way ; he, not : being a violent man^ only beckoned to a fol- -dier, who pufhed.him headlong off the pave ment ; to this : the -: Turk fubmitted with filerit refignatiori; but, unluckily for him, jt * was 'near the houfe of the governor, who -had Teen ; rent claffes of people, to. receive anfwers in exactly the fame words ; for example, every Turk will tell you, vizir or porter, at Bel grade or 'Bagdad, that they gairied the em-. pire by the fabre, and by the fabre they 4sall defend it ; and centuries ago > they . faid 4hfi fame. The enervation of mindyfb commonamong the Turks, rnakes them at once fuperftitious and difinclined to bear up againft the evil which advances with giant ftrides againft their ftate. In the moment of popular -ap-. prehenfion, prodigies and- predictions are ei- fily forged ; to thefe the credulous Turks eagerly liften ; the lower orders are .at -th«E» prefent day perfuaded that the Ruffian ftand- ard will enter Conftantinople through a cer tain gate, faid to he pointed _out by ail "arf- cient prophecy, and the great men are To far from oppofing this weaknefs by fuperior energy. T U R-K-I S-H » E L I G I ON. I 23 energy, that they look to the Afiatic fhore as a fecure retreat fi,*om the. fury, pf the con querors. It feems a kind of moral paradox, that the fame people, who are thus averfe to tak* ing.thejueceflary precautions againft eyils of fuch magnitude, fhould neverthelefs bear them, when they arrive, with a fortitude and lefignation bordering upon apathy. The caufe of this extraordinary conduct is to be found in the predeftinarian dogmas of their religion operating upon their minds, difpofed by habitual ina&ivity and inceflant example^ of the inftability of fortune under their de fpotic government, to acquiefce in what appears to be the will of providence. An inftance which occurred to me is too re markable not to deferve notice. The Turkifh women and children (in number about 400) who were brought* out of Ochakof, when the city was taken, to the head-quarters of the Ruffian army; were put all together the firft night under a tent. ,, No better acconruaaodatJons could, under the pref- fore of the circumftances, be made for then?* though it froze exceedingly hard, and , they fuftered dreadfully from cold and uakednefs, and many from wounds, •;, As I ,fppk§: Turk-* ifh, I had the guard of that poft, apd the &-¦ perinteiidane-? pf r ffosny that night. I ob ferved 124 CHAP TER IV. ferved that there -reigned a perfect ¦-. filencl kmong them, not one woman weeping or lamenting, at leaft loudly, though every one; perhaps, had loft a parent, a child, or a huf- band. They fpoke With a calm and firm" voice, and anfwered the queftions I put to them apparently without agitation. I :was aftonifhed, and knew not whether to impute it to infenfibilityv to the habit of feeing and hearing of great viciffitudes of fortune, or to a patience and refignation inculcated by their religion ; and at this- day I am equally un* able to account for it. One woman fate iri a filent but remarkably melancholy poftiire, info much -that I -was induced to offer; her fome confolation. I afked her why fhe did not take courageyand bear misfortunes like a mufelman, as -her companions did ? She an fwered- in thefe ftriking words, " I have feen " my father, my hu/band, andrny children killed; " I have -only one child left." ,..^ Where is " it ?" I afked her with precipitation. Here!'* fhe calmly faid, and pointed to- a child by her fide,* which .had juft expired. I and thofe with me burft into tears, but fhe did not Weep at all. I took that night into, my> jwarm' fubterranean room as many of thefe miferable women and children wounded and perifhing with cold, as it would contain ; they flaid with me twelve days, during all which} time TURKISH RELIGION. 12 Wtne hone of them either complained aloud, orfhowed any Tigns of exceffive internal grief, but each told me her, ftory (both old and young "women) as of an indifferent perfon, Svhhout exclamation, without fighs, without tears. t ''- pa'triotifm-'and public fpirit are not to be fought for in the Turkifh character. It is a fpirit of oftentation and fuperftition which lias" led to the foundation of fo many mofques, -colleges, and caravanfaries, and in thofe who have, leffer means, to the erection of nume- ,xous praying places for the ufe of travellers', -called namas-ghiah, which point out the dii- rection of Mecca, as well as of fountains, in the , public roads and ftreets. > Having viewed the effects-of the Religion ,itfelf on the manners pf the different ranks, it remains only to make fome obfervations on the. teachers of that religion, efpecially as, .combining in Turkey the offices of prieft •add* lawyer, they form a body of fo _ much importance in the ftate. ""' 1- ' The inftitutions of the clergy cannot but have great influence on the manners of a nation, and this influence is fo much * the, ^-greater, by how much the fuperftition on which it is founded is ftupidly grofs and' uni- • verfally prevalent. In Turkey, their political power, it has been feen, is firmly rooted ; nor have t%6 CHAP.TEft W* have they omitted any means of perpetuating it, which could be founded on thd ignorance of the people. To found mofques, and endow them with treafures, is held to be one of the moft meritorious works of a mufehnan. j and further provifion is made for the education. of youth deftined to the fervice of rehgion and la,w, by the eftablifhment of medreffk or colleges. Thefe medrefles are ufually endowed^ at the time of founding a naofque, for the in- -ftruction of youth in the elements of feience. They have profeffbrs, and they confer degrees, from the j'ohta or ftudent to the muderriis of principle of a college; but in fact this is a mere parade of terms. Children are admitted from the mektebs or common fchools, where they learn their alphabet, to feminaries which, far from refembling the colleges of Eaton or Weftminfter, much lefs of Oxford or Cambridge, are fcarcely equal to the loweft .•of our village fchools, A profeflbr, for; the moft part ignorant of the firft principles .0/ fcience, fuperintends the inftruction ;. and it is fuppofed to be neoeflary for the* members :of the islema to s;o through all the; rutbes ;or degrees of office, both in the colleges and -in the higher departments, which gradually lead to the ftatipn of mufti or high-prieft» 1 "hefe. decrees are. fohta or. iludent, mufferrtf or TURKISH RELIGION. SajT or principal of the college, naib or judge's fe- cretary, kadi or judge, molah or fupreme judge, kiabe-molahfi or judge of Mecca, iftambol-effen- 4ifi or chief magiftrate of Conftantinople^ and kadilafkir or military judge, of which there are two (orie for Europe and one for Afia). Intrigue and party connections, however, render it eafv for the moft ignorant and in- experienced to attain the rank of mufti. Peyf- fanel afTerts, that the pontificate has become a fort of heritage in fome great families;, but there are no families which can pro perly be called great ; it is true there are a few who have, by means of cabal, had fome of the great offices of the ulema in their families for two or three generations. Though this Corps has acquired a degree of {lability, the members of it are far from re- fembluig families in Europe, whofe eftates are hereditary. The fultan is continually de taching members of the ulema, by tempting them to accept offices of the porte, when they become his kouls or flaves, and he their heir at law. Nor is it only the Tons of the ulema who enter into that corps by a regular progreffiort through the offices : vizirs and pafhas often get their relations into the ule ma, to fecure an inheritance for their families after their death, of what they have given them in their life-times. In 128 CHAPTER IV. In the colleges, indeed, there is a pompPiJS detail of Tciencesj which are profefTed to be taught,'' but which fcarcely any pne under- ftands." The pupils are few; thofe of the law have the greateft pretention to learnings but even they are grofsly ignorant. In their* libraries, indeed j exift Tome- valuable books, but they are unnoticed, except perhaps now and then by a man of a Angularly ftudious turn. - ' X ' As to the particular fciences, their jurif- prudence and thePldgy confifts oidy of com mentaries on the, Koran ; their aftronomy is aftrology, and their cherniftry alchemy;- of the hiftory and geography of other- countries, they are perfectly ignorant. Metaphyficsj rhetoric, and grarnmar, ar.e indeed taught, ' but not upon rational principles!, It is fcarcely poffible for ah European hot to over-rate their learning, by reading thefe details of in ftitutions, and the names of fciences taught.1 Were I, in fhort, to defcribe the learning of a mufti, a kadi, or other regularly edu cated man of the law,- in terms correfpond" ing to his, knowledge, when compared -with Englifh literature, the picture wdufcl be nearly as follows : -he has, perhaps, read the Bible, and learnt enough of Greek to conftrue the Greek- Teftament, without, however, know ing the grammar of the language, or being; able TURKISH RELIGION. 1 2<) able, to read the other authors. He has not learnt Latin, or purfued any claffical ftudies ; but has merely conTulted Tome old commen taries on feiett parts of the Tcriptures, and is either a thorough defpifer, of religion ' alto gether, or a bigotted enemy to freedom of enquiry reflecting any of its articles, Be- fides thefe, he has probably met with tales of ghofts, genii, and the like, ail which he implicitly believes ; he has met with fome old fabulous hiftoriah, like Geoffrey of Mon mouth, to whom alfo he gives credit; and as Well in hiftory, as in every other fcience, be lieves all the absurdities which the people at large receive, and which I fhall hereafter de lineate. Of monks, that exift in Turkey, the great line of divifion is into thofe who refide in monafteries and thofe who have no fixed habitation ; the former, called mewliahs, the latter bektachis, and each divided into diffe rent orders, with their peculiar cuftoms and laws. The mewliahs are chiefly diftinguifhed by the different ceremonies which they per form, fome howling until they . fpit bipod with the great exertions ; of their lungs, and others turning round to the, found of mufic until they ; become delirious with the motion. Some perform hocus-pocus tricks with knives,- hot irons, &c. K Of fjd CHAPTER IV. Of the bektafliis, fome attach themfelve^ to the fervice of the pafhas, fome to the diffe rent ortas or companies of janizaries, and fome are mere ftrollers, denominated fliehhs (or fantons), who pretend to miracles, pro phecies, &c. and, roaming about' the coun try, commit the greateft enormities under the cloak . of religion. Thefe fliehhs are more highly efteemed in Afia than hi Europe, and moft of all in Egypt. They pretend to be infpii-ed, or frantic, and in thofe circumftances they feize on any woman in the ftreets in Egypt, and oblige her to fubmit to their embraces ; indeed they never make any oppofition. The people cover the couple with mats for the Take of decency, and this conduct is looked on with reverence ; the woman, fo far from being' dishonoured, is complimented on the pccafion, and even by her hufband. In Con ftantinople this would not- be permitted ; the fhehh would be privately put to death ; but they never are feized with thefe frenzies in Europe ; the utmoft liberties they take there is to feign madnefs, and madmen (if they are not fo bad as to be obliged to be con fined) are confidered as holy and infpired. ; in this ftate they often tell the truth with great freedom to the vizir, and fometimes even to the fultan; but as there, is ftill feme rift in that, they generally confine their li berties TURKIS li RELIGION* 131 berties to, thofe who have lefs power over their heads* To fhow what regard is paid to m&dmeh in Turkey, I will relate a Circumftance which happened at Aleppo, while I was in that city* A young Dutchman of the name of Van Kerckhem ran into a public bathj while women were bathing 5 and after ftopping aii inftant, ran put again, hoping to efeape be fore an alarm was given ; but the women's fhrieks were fo loud that they were heard in the neighbouring houfes ; feveral Turks Came out into the ftreet, and ftopping the young man, drew their daggers to ftab hittn Luckily there was a prudent man With whorr* he had been walking, ftanding in the ftreet, who" affecting a fit of laughter, told the Turks that he was a madman* " He fhould ** be Confined in a mad-hpufe," they replied.. *' I was carrying him to a mad-houfe, and beg •¦' you to-affift me," he anfwered. No other anfwer could have appeafed the Turks and the women, and have faved the young man from inftant death. One of the Turks af- fifted in conducting him to the Conful's houfe. The toleration of the Mahomedans has been much vaunted. Hiftorians have Taid : " The prudent- polity of the Mahomedans, the only enthufiafls that ever .united the fpr it of to<- k 2 - leraiion I32 CHAPTER IV. leration with the zeal for , making profelytes, offered the inhabitants of the countries- they conquered, their religion and laws on condi tion .that they paid the eflabliflied capitation ; and fuch as embraced the religion of the con- ' querors. were entitled to all their privileges, &c." A fimple ftatement of their conduct, ^s it appears proved by hiftorical,. facts, will fjhow whether their religion is tolerant or intolerant. ' , They pretend to the right of fovereignfy over the whole earth, and to convert man kind to their religion. Regardlefs of treaties, oaths, and all other obligations, without provocation they attack every country, when they fee a profpect of TucceTs. ,; When they have conquered, they put to death all ages, ranks, and Tex; or they fpare a few, who are reduced to a ftate of flavery, and annually obliged to ranfom their lives; they are deprived of the rights of citizens of the country they were born in ; their property is taken from them; they are marked with in famy, are debarred all friendly intercourfe with the conquerors, and are continually per secuted and maltreated if they do not deny their God and become apoftates ; their chil dren are brought up in the Mahpmedan faith, and made to fight againft their fathers and their TURKISH RELIGION. 133 their fathers religion ; for many imaginary or real crimes, fome of which, in Mahome dans, are not punifhable at all, they have the option only of death or apoftacy. At prefent, , however, they do not fake children born in the country from their pa rents, to recruit the corps of janizaries. This cuftom ceafed, when the fultans wifhed to weaken that militiaj To cut off all the Chriftians in the empirej who will not embrace Mahomedanifm, has frequently been the fubject of ferious difcuf- fion at the porte. Every honour and advan tage is offered to thofe who change their religion, and every fpecie's of mifery and humiliation attends them and their pofterity who do not. Is this toleration ? K3- L J34 ] CHAPTER V. An Hiflorical View of tfte Turkijh Power, IN the detail of caufes which modify the character of nations, it will frequently be found neceffary to trace back the pages pf hiftory, and purfue the chain of events through Tucceffive ages, prefenting thofe ftrik-? ing events, whofe operations continue when •their records are Tcarcely tp be found. If the Ottoman empire is ftill vaft and, extenfive ; if i\ ftill attract the fear pr the admiration of its neighbours, and Twell with ftupid vanity its Tubjecls, thefe effects are not Turely to be attributed to the wiTdom of its counfels, or to the valour of its- forces, as. they nowexift, but arife from the fplendor of its former exploits, and the merited celer brity of its ancient character. It is true that Tthefe exploits were diTgraced by perfidy and treachery, and ftained by violence and ra pine ; and while their crimes exhibited ail energy in purTuit, and a brilliancy in fuccefs,. the claim of the Turks to national pre-emi-* nence flood undifputed ; but in the eneiv yating lap of floth, the ferocious conqueror has TURKISH POWER. 135 hasdegenerated into a torpid barbarian, whofe only marks of former prowefs are to be traced in the infolenceof hisprefent demeanbur, and the fullen affectation of his fancied dignity. The Ottoman power and name originated in Othman (according to the Arabic pronun ciation, or Ofman according to the Perfian) who, about the year 1300, affirmed the title of fultan, and eftablifhed his empire at PruTa in Bithynia: but in order to take a view of the progrefs of the Turks, we muft trace their hiftory ftill higher up, and confider not ©nly their own origin, but that of the Sara cen kalifs, whom they fupplanted. The vaft extent of continent, which, Spread ing from the eaftern parts of Europe and the north of Africa, comprehends the greater part of Afia, has been the fource of many populous nations, and the feat of mahy ex- tenfive empires, which have arifen with a rapidity only to fall as quickly into ruins. In the early, hiftory of thefe countries, new ir ruptions and new conquerors continually fuc ceeded each other, and the power of found- in°* an empire feems feldom to have, been attended with the fkill requifite for main taining it. Some, however, among the nu merous hordes which then fucceffively pre vailed, arofe to a greater height, and efta blifhed a more .ktfting name than ethers, K 4 The I36 CHAPTER V. The different branches of Tartars (or Ta tars) from the north, and the Arabians from the fouth, carried their arms over extenfive regions, and founded great and permanent empires. It will not here be requifite to follow the victorious prophet Mahomed, who, by the fafcination of his religion, as much as by the terror of his fword, Subjected fo many na tions ; fuffice it to Tay, that his empire, To founded, was, within 200 years after his death, extended by his fuccefTors, the kalifs or commanders of the faithful, over the north bf Africa and great part of Afia : befides which they had made great progrefs in the fouth of Europe, having overrun almoft all Spain, and entered Sicily, Italy, and France. The feat of', their government was efta-. blifhed at Bagdad, whence iffued the man dates of their fpiritual defpotifm over this wide extent of territory ; but as an empire fo haftily raifed, and fo unconnected in its parts, was not eafily held together, and as the commander of the faithful with theiu- creafe of power acquired alfo habits of luxury ill adapted to the art of governing, their power was foon deftined to fall under the fword of more hardy competitors. Such competitors were found in the Tartar (more properly Tatar) nations, by whom they TURKISH POWER. 137 they were furrounded. The moft- ancient re-, cords of this part of the world defcribe the Scythian or Tatar tribes as the invaders of their lefs ferocious neighbours. Their name has been very generally applied to the inha bitants of thofe vaft deferts and mountains fpreading from China to the Danube, and who, whether of fimilar or different origin, have at various times poured out their fwarms on all the furrounding countries. The Turkmans, or Turks, were a tribe pf thefe Tatars, whofe original feat was beyond the Cafpian fea, from whence, incited by the defire of plunder, they defeended abput the year §00, and Seized upon Armenia, from them called Turcomania. At this time the Perfian empire was ruled by governors, who were nominally fubject to the SaraCen kalifs, but Mahmud, the Gaz- nevide, one of thefe governors, having ex tended his empire * from Tranfoxiana to If- pahan, and from the CaTpian Tea to the In dus, was invefted by the kalif with the title of fultan. Upon the fucceffion of his ion Maflud -j- to this dignity, a body of Turks under Tongrul Beg (known in fome of our Jiiftories by the name of Tangrolipix) either jnvited by the Perfians as auxiliaries, or at- • A, P. 997, t A. j 038. tackii) 138 CHAPTER V, tacking them as invaders (for the hiftorieal accounts differ) obtained poffeffion of that kingdom.' It is fuppofed to be about this time that the Turks embraced the religion of Mahomed, and the kalif having called them to his affiftance againft the rebellious emirs, conftituted the victorious Tongrul tempore lieutenant of the -commander of the faithful*. From this dignity the Step was fhort to the attainment of the whole power of the ka» lifat, to which a defcendant of Gengis-khan finally put an end, in the perfon pf the kalif Muftazem -j~. Meanwhile new opponents were rifing againft the Turks, who, Scarce fettled in theif new conquefls, were obliged to yield them to frefh hordes of invaders, The more northern Tatars preffing upon the Turks., as one fwarm of thofe barbarians inceffantly protruded another, haraffed them in their newly acquired Perfian empire, and finally obliged them to relinquifh it in purTuit of frefh conquefls to the South. It was about the year 1 200 that the Turks yielded 4he kingdom of Perfia to. the Tatars; but pre* vioufly to this they had themfelves extended their arms over the greater part of Afia Minor,' whither they now retreated, and fixed the feat of their empire at Iconium, in Ci* * A. D. 1055. t A. D. 1239. licia, TURKISH POWER, ijfj lieia, fince Karamania, Here too they were preffed by the Tatars, and it was at this time that the European mania of the era- fades having a fecoiid time broken put, the Turks found themfelves pbliged to cede the whole, of Paleftine to the Christians*. It was not long before they regained this country, taking Jerufalem-j-, and putting to the fword, without diflin£lion or mercy, man, woman, and child. The government which the celebrated Sa- lah-uddin, (pr Saladin) had eftablifhed, was alfo about this time overthrown by the Mamluks (who retained the independent poffeffion of that country till the beginning of the. 1 6th century) and various' other con- tefts arifing in the Turkifh empire, it fell for a time into fmall independent fovereign- ties, and remained without a head until the rife of Othman, who firft affumed the name pf fultan, and from Whom therefore our ac count of the Ottoman race properly begins. Before we proceed to an historical detail of the acts of the feveral fultans, I Shall briefly notice the caufes of the former great nefs of the Turks; which may be reduced %o the following heads : i ft. Their ponftanf thirft after univeffal A.D. 1229. + A'*^' 12&' monarchy, 14° CHAPTER V. monarchy, ' looking on' the whole world as their property ; and the propagation of their religion, excited by fpiritual as well as tem poral motives, never neglecting to Seize on an advantage, as they were unreftrained by any Tcruples of injuftice, or of breach of faith, oaths, or treaties. ' ¦ ' 2dly. Their concord in matters of religion and ftate. 3dly. Their perfonal courage in war, ftill increafed by fuccefs, and by the enthufiaTni of religion^ 4thly. Their general devotion to their fo- vereign, and the obedience of the foldiery and; people to their fuperiors and commanders, to a degree hitherto unknown in hiftory. 5thly. Their Strict observance of their an cient military difcipline, their military edu-> cation, and the early acquaintance with arms, not £of the foldiery only, but of the whole people. 6thly. Their great temperance, and con sequent health and vigour of body. /fhly. The plunder of their enemies, the great rewards attending extraordinary valour^ the crown of martyrdom waiting for thofe who died in battle, and the road of honour and power being open to every common foldier, who might hope to hecpme grand vizir, TU.RKISH POWER. 141 Vizir, and even to be allied to his fove- reign. • 8thly. The fevere and never failing in- ftantaneous punifhment inflicted on difobe- dience, diflovaltv, difbrder, or cowardice; ¦othly. The military genius of their' fove- reigns, who always were at the head of their armies, and their power unreftrained either by civil or religious laws. 1 othly., Their great refources for recruit ing their arniies, every Mahomedan thinking himfelf obliged, when called upon, to take the field, at the fame time that they, had a continual fupply ,of troops in the children of' their Chriftian captives, whom they edu cated in the Mahomedan religion, and train ed to the ufe of arms. . Hence it is vers eafy to. account for the wide extent of their victories ; nor ought we to be aftonifhed, that they conquered the whole dominions of the kalrfs, the Greek empire, Macedonia, Epirus, Peloponnefus, Servia, Bofnia, Bulgaria, Syria, Paleftine, Egypt, Sec. particularly when we recollect that their opponents were moftly very in ferior to them in all the requisites foi* mili tary excellence. t In thofe barbarous ages, when the Chrif tian States, governed by courtiers, -priefts, or. 142 CHAPTER V. Or women, difplayed no traces of intellectual energy ; when their feudal government, their5 ignorance of political ceconomy, and their want of fyftem in financial and military arrangements, rendered them individually weak and contemptible ; and when extended . views of general politics, of mutual alli ances, and of a balance of power, being un known, they could not be confolidated into one powerful confederacy ; it was then that the Turks exhibited a fuperior brilliancy of character, and built up a mighty and extenfive empire. Their civil and military inftitutions were far Superior to thofe of their cotempo- , raries, ; their temperament of mind and body, naturally ardent, was inflamed by the pre» cepts of a Sanguinary religion, which incited them to conqueft by the moft flattering pro- miSes of fenfual gratification ; and they were led againft enemies they defpifed by chiefs of fingular fkill, bravery, and ambition. The Ottoman empire, governed by a fucceffion of great men, from Othman I. to Mahmoud IV, with fcarcely a fingle exception, thus ob tained an eminent reputation, whilft it widely extended the limits of its territory. It muft be owned that their fame, how ever great as conquerors, has never, entitled them to any other homage, has never ranked them among the benefactors or inftructors of 8 , ., mankind; T U R K I S H P O W E Rv 1 43 mankind ; they Scarcely deferve even to be reckoned among the Species. Intent upon victory, they have ftopt at no means to profecute their plan of univerjal monarchy; violating everv principle ofjuflice and national faith ; attacking their neighbours "without provocation, without claim, without even alledging a reafon for their conduct ; maffacring the vanquiped without pity, or fparing their lives only to force them to aflavery the mofl degrading ; feizing on their •wives and daughters, felling or dijhonouring them, regardlefs of the dotneflic mifery of the unhappy fluff erers. We have feen, in other countries, particu lar-reigns or epochas marked with actions as difgraceful ; but that period or that reign was ever beheld by the nation itfelf, at leaft by the virtuous part of it, with the indignation it defer ved ; but here is afyflem ofwickednefs and abomination transferred from the origin of the nation to its poflerity to this very day, con firmed by their religion, and approved by thofe who call themfelves the priefls of God. Where- ever the Turks have eftablifhed their domi nion, fcience and commer^, the comforts and the • knowledge of mankind, have alike decayed. Not only have they exemplified barbariftn and intolerance in their own con duct, but they have extinguifhed the flame of genius and knowledge in others, breaking' and 144 CHAPTER V, and defacing even the monuments of ancient art with a kind of favage exultation, and proving themfelves the real fcourges of the human race. We now proceed to an historical Survey of the uSurpations of their Sovereigns^ begin ning with OTHMAN 1. It was by degrees that this prince (a defcen- dentof the -celebrated Gengis-Khan) reduced under his Subjection moft of the toparchies, or petty Sovereignties, into which the Turk man empire of Karamania had fallen. When be firft affumed the title of fultan, he pof- feSTed the Sovereignty of a fmall district, the capital of which was Kara-chifar. ' Here he eftablifhed his government, and, purfuing his conquefls, took PruJ'a in Bithynia, and made it the Seat of the Ottoman empire or king dom (for not till the taking of Conftanti nople did the Sultans affume the title of im- perator) which now extended over the great eft pact of Afia Minor. He died in 1328, and was Succeeded by ORKHAN. This prince having taken Nike by Turprife, and made flaves of all its inhabitants, re moved his court thither. When he had ex tended TURKISH POWER. 145 tended his conquefls to the Hellefpont, his ambition and zeal to propagate Mahomedan- ifm would not Suffer him to flop there ; he Croffed it, and took Gallipoli. He died in 1359, having been a moft unjuft and inve terate enemy to the Chriftians. AMURAT I. Succeeded to his predeceffor's projects of ufurpation of the country, and extirpation of the religion of the Chriftians. He took Adrianople in 1362, and made it the Seat of his empire, as moft conveniently feated to extend his conquefls on the Chrif tians. Amurat, as has been before obferved, formed the celebrated body of foldiers called yenifkari or janizaries, which afterwards be came the Strength of the Turkifh 'army. He took Servia, and its capital Niffa, and Ap- polonianear Mount. Athos. Having a quar rel with the Tultan of Karamania, he fubdued his country, but did not dethrone him, as he was his fon in law, but thus laid the foun dation of the extenfive empire of the Otto mans in Afia. ' - Amurat was ftabbed, in 1 390, by a wounded Chriftian foldier, after he had gained a great battle, in which he gave no pardon, and maffacred afterwards an incredible number of Chriftians. Ever fince this event, all Chrif- l tian 146 CHAPTER V. tian ambaffadors and their Tuite, admitted; to the Tultan's prefence, are held by both their arm? by two chamberlains during the time they are in the audience room. He Sub dued a great part of Thrace, (or Romania) leaving to the Greek emperor little rnpre, than the city of Conftantinople. BAYAZET I. On his acCeffion to the throne he immediater ly fl'r angled his younger brother facub. This, was the firft inftance of the Sanguinary cuT- tom, afterwards fo frequent, of putting to death princes, of the royal blopcj. In the firft year of his reign he took Cra- tova in Servia, which was yielded to him on condition that the Chriftian inhabitants fhould dep'art with life and liberty ; but he Tent Sol-, diers after them, and murdered them all without mercy. He entered into BoSnia, and brought away all the inhabitants whpgl he judged ufeful, and made flaves of them? He croffed the Danube (the firft time the Turks pafTed it) and committed horrid cruel ties in Walachia, from which he afterwards "exacted a yearly tribute. He befieged Con ftantinople twice, and had nearly taken it ; but the great Tamerlane came to its relief, and overcame Bayazet in the greateft battle that was ever fought. Being taken prifpner* he TURKISH POWER. 147- he was put into an iron cage (as he told Ta merlane he would have done by him had he been his prifoner) againft the bars of which he beat out his brains in 1399. Nature has not produced many more cruel and mercilefs tyrants, nor ever a more inveterate enemy to Christians, or to all countries he thought he could conquer. The Turks were now ar rived, at the height of cruelty, treachery, and thirft of conqueft. MAHOMET I. Soon after his acceffion he killed his brothers ; fome of them not till after a long civil war. He regained all his father had loft, but had not time to augment it much, as he died in 1422. AMURAT II. Eldeft, fon of Mahomet. He Strangled his brother Muftafa. In 1432, he took Theffa- lonica (or Saloiiica) and put men, women, and children to the fword, except thofe re- ferved for luft or hard labour. The cruel ties here committed cannot be defcribed, any more than the horrid ravages which he com mitted in Hungary. He invaded and Tub- dued Servia (contrary to his league with the prince of it, his father-in-law) deflroying all before him. He entered into Tranfilvania, l 2 . and I4& CHAPTER V". and killed men, women, and children, as far' ai he penetrated ; he did the fame in Walachia, and burnt the villages and towns ; all kinds of tortures, and cruelty in its moft dreadful, Shape, were practifed on the Chriftians. " The famous Scanderberg, a native of Epirus,- great-' ly checked him. In 1445, Amurat took Peloponrtefus and all Greece; heTacrificed 600 prifoners to the foul of his father, ravaged the country, and deftroyed every thing pleaSant, beautiful, or grand, and repeated his accuftomed cruelties. He 'greatly enlarged the Turkifh dominions, augmented the body of janizaries, and made them more formidable than they had been before. This cruel tyrant and invader of Christian States died, of age, and grief at his ill fuccefs againft Scanderberg, in Auguft 1450; he was, however, more faithful in obierving treaties than any of his predecef- ¦ Tors, or even than his openent the King of Hun^arv ; but he never made treaties but in diftrefs, and when he delpaired of conquer ing. MAHO ME T II.<»f The greateft warrior of all the Turkifh ful tans, and the moft cruel tyrant that ever Tate on the throne of the Ottomans, or on'any other throne. Mahomet II, eldeft fon of the late Amurat, TURKISH POWER. 1 49.; Amurat, began his infamous reign by. the • murder of his two brothers. His , next act was to offer a league with the emperor of Conftantinople and the defpot of Servia, his grandfather by the mother's fide, but at the fame time he made preparations for the Siege of Constantinople. He never kept his word, his promiSes, his leagues, or even his moft folemn oaths on the Koran, longer than fuited his purpofe. He was a monfter of perfidy,; of cruelty, and injuftice, and he is ** the " glory of the annals of the Ottoman race." He took Conftantinople the 29th of May, 1453. " The emperor was, happily for him, killed in defending it. The barbarians en tered the city, howling more horribly than the beaftsof the foreft with thirft of blood; they flew defencelefs men, women, and chij-, dren, by thoufands, without the leaft refpect to dignity or beauty, to age or youth, to fex or condition. All who could, fled to the church of St. Sophia, hoping that the fa- crednefs of the place would, infpire refpect for the duties of man, of whatever religion he be; they were there all flain, except a very few? referved for purpofes worfe than, death; and the church was converted into a ftable. Every common foldier had permif- fion, for three days, to maflacre, to -violate,; and to pillage without restraint. Riches L 3 were 1 5Q C H A P T E R V. were worfe than poverty, and beauty woffe than deformity. A hundred thoufand. bar barians fatisfied their avarice, their favage cruelty, and their brutal luft, or all. No tongue can deScribe their mifery, Three long days and three long nights the air was Shaken with their cries. The fultan heard them in his camp, and they lulled him to Sleep, The dogs ran into the fields howling With compaffion, or leaped into the Sea. ' " After three days, the few Chriftians, Spared for the cruel purpofes of the con querors, were driven .like hogs into the fields. The fultan entered the city; his horfe was flopped fometimes by heaps of the Slaughter ed, and fometimes waded through pools of blood. He made in the holy temple of St, £>ophia a Sumptuous feaft for his pafhas and officers, and as he Sate banquetting he cauSed to be killed, for his diversion and that of his guefts, great numbers of his prifoners of the firft diftinction for birth, eminence, and learn ing, among whom were many of the late erar peror's relations; and thefe feafts he repeated, daily till he had deftroyed all the Grecian no* bility, priefts, and perfons of learning or note, who had fallen into his hands, of both fexes and all "ages. Many Venetian fenators, and Qenoefe nobles, and rich merchants, were among TURKISH POWER. 1 51 among the prifoners; they were in like man ner murdered for his diverfion while he was feafting, and to entertain his court. Thus ended the Greek empire! Thus was founded the feat of the Turkifh empire, which fome Christian princes have fince thought it juftice to defend from the attacks Of other Chriftian princes, and from the Struggles of the wretched remainder of aii injured and unhappy people, ever fince liv ing in miferable bondage ! Unprovoked, the.Turks attacked them, and never ceafed till they had ufurped the throne pf their empire, as they had done thofe of fo many other ftates and kingdoms, murder ing millions in cold blood, and by tortures of the moff' unheard of barbarity. He took Servia, and the empire of Tra- pizonde, putting all the family of the. em peror to death. After triumphing over the Venetians, he took Otran-tP in Italy, and murdered . all tbe inhabitants, according to" the Turkifh cuftom, except a Sew he. choSe put to make Slaves of. He died (by poifon as fuppofed) in the year 1481, after haying put to death above ^00,000 Christians of bpth Texes, L 4 BAYAZET 1 52 CHAPTER V. BAYAZET II. Eldeft Ton of the late fultan, had a long civil war to fuftain againft his brothers, whom he had not an opportunity pf feizing and putting to death when he fucceeded to. the throne. He formed a project of putting to death the whole corps of janizaries, but, as it was difcovered, it became impracticable. He attacked without provocation the Vene tians, and committed horrid maffacres: he alfo attacked the Egyptians. After a trou- blefome reign, he was depofed by his Ton, and poifoned, in 151 2. SELIM I. The greateft monfter of this rnonftrous race. After poifoning his father, he Strangled his elder brother, and murdered his five Sons; he caught another brother, and Strangled' him alfo. He made great conquefls over the Perfians, and in Afia, and took Cairo after a hard Struggle with the Mamaluks. After a bloody reign, he died a lamentable death of a cancer in his reins, as he was planning an attack on Italy and Rhodes, in September 1520. He commanded his fon to turn his arms againft the Chriftians, and left him many wife, but dreadfully fanguinary precepts, SOLIMAlSf TURKISH POWER. SOLIMAN II. *53 Having freed himfelf from apprehenfion on the fide of Perfia and Egypt, he directed' his attempts againft the Chriftians, and foon took Rhodes from the knights of St. John,- who had held it for two hundred years. The fentiments of the Turks may be gathered from his fpeeches to the grand mafter, after . he had figned, and fworn to obferve, the ca pitulation. " '¦ Although I might juflly and worthily " infringe the articles I have prefcribed *' with Tuch an enemy (that is, a Chrijlian)- " from whofe deferved punifhment neither *' faith nor oath ought to flay a- moft juft con- "quefor; yet I have determined to be gra-. " cious and liberal to thee if thou wilt, by, << well-doings, amend thy life, and to give " thee great preferment in my fervice," &c. The grand mafter in a noble fpeech anfwered, " that he preferred death;" which To aftonifhed Soliman, that he promifed to obferve the articles of -the capitulation. On the grand mafter's departure from Rhodes, Soliman told him, " What I have done unto " thee was not for hatred, but defire of To- " vereigrity." — " I need" not war for riches" (in that he fpoke not truth, as the Turkifh hiftory proves by facts) " but for honour, " fame, *« 154 CHAPTER V. " fame, and immortality, and the extenfion " of my empire ; fof it is the property of a " ibvereign, royally defcended, by ftrong hand " to take from others, and to invade others, " not from a covetous mind, but from • the " honourable defire of rule and fovereighty; " for while my neighbour ftandeth I count " it juft by force of arms to remove him." He then attacked Hungary,, took Buda, and murdered the garrifon, which had capitu lated.. He entered into Auftria with file and fword : " The old were flain, the young led " into Captivity, women raviflied before their hufband's faces, and then flain with their children, infants ript out of their mother7 I wombs, others taken from their breafls, cui ift " pieces, or thrufl Upon pointed flakes, and other *4 incredible cruelties." He laid Siege to Vi- enna, but finding a moft defperate refiftaftce" * raifed the fiege, and before he withdrew' maffacred all his prifoners, men, "women, and children. This fiege coft him 80,000 men. He made John king of Hungary tributary to him, entered again into Auftria, and te- peated his cruelties, killing at one time" 4,000 prifoners. He took, in 1 534, Bagdad", all Affyria, and Mefopotamia, formerly fepa- N rate kingdoms, but then belonging to Perfia. He fent 200,000 men into Macedonia, to be tranfported into Italy, and actually landed a part TURKISH POWER. 155 part of this army in Apulia, and took Caf- trum. Turning his foii.es, however, from Italy againft the Venetians, he befieged Corfu, but not i ace ceding, he carried away 16,000 young ptrowle of the iflaiid into per petual flavery, it he made other conquefls on them during a long war. He again came to Buda, and cbnverted Hungary into a Turkifh province, making an alliance with - the French to- attack the Emperor. He made a fruitlefs attempt on Malta, but car ried off from Goza 6,300 young people into flavery. The Turks then attacked and took Tripoly, belonging to the order of Malta, but did not keep the capitulations, as they faid no faith was to be kept with dogs. Ali Pafha of Buda invaded Upper Hungary, and '" took Temefwar, and, contrary to the capitula- . tion, murdered the garrifon. Soliman, being Tufpicious of his fon Muftafa j caufed him to be Strangled in his preSence, but afterwards found he was innocent; he Stran gled alSo Muftafa's fon. Chihangar, another fon of Soliman,; killed himfelf in defpair. He caufed a third fon Bayazet, together with five of his, children, to be Strangled. He fent a 'fleet and army againft Malta, attacked it a Second time, and took the fort of, St. plmo ; but meeting with great lofs raifed the fiege, Jn fhort, after doing in various parts 156 CHAPTER V. parts of the world much mifchief to, the Chriftians, and committing every where, great cruelties, he died oS a bloody flux, the 4th of September, 1566. SELIM II. Set the ruinous example to his fucceflbrs of not going himfelf to the wars, and of carry ing them on by lieutenants. He Toon fought a pretence to declare war againft the Vener ; tians, who, in this bloody conteft, loft Cyprus , and a part of Dalmatia. The Turkifh cha racter no where appears in a worfe light than in the hiftory bf this war. He fent an army into Moldavia againft the way wode. At laft " a peace was made, to which the Turks fwore feven times ; yet the way wode was murdered by the pafha, unmindful of his paths. They. then overran Moldavia, putting all the nobi lity, and many thoufands of others, to the fword ; and all Walachia fell into their hands, in 1574. The 9th of December this Tame year Selim died, AMURAT ,111. Eideft Ton of the late fultan, whofe' death was concealed, as was ufual, till the new ful tan arrived, fucceeded to the throne. The janizaries, who had a cuftom in interregnums to plunder and even maffacre their fellow- citizens, the Chriftians and Jews, were dis appointed TURKISH POWER. I- 57 difappointed and murmured, and he was obliged to give them large funis to appeafe them. On his acceffion, he caufed five of his brethren to be Strangled in his prefence. Though he was of a peaceful temper, he continued his father's wars, becaufe he feared to be thought to degenerate from the Ottoman princes, but went not himfelf into the field. In October 1575, he penetrated into Ruffia and Poland, and made great flaughter. It was debated in the divan, whe ther the league with the Chriftians or that with the Perfians fhould be broken ; for they hold it lawful, when it is in the intereft of the empire, to break all Oaths and treaties with thofe of a different faith with them felves. It was determined to make war againft Perfia. The event of this war was favourable to 'him. It was attended with their ufiial cruelties. The janizaries having now loft: their fubmiffion, and in a great part their dif-. cipline, began to kill their commanders whenever they were diffatisfied with them. Amurat had permitted their children to be enrolled hr their corps. He made war on, the emperor of Germany, and, as ufual, caufed much defolation. He died the 18th of January 1595. MAHOMED III. Eldeft fon of the late fultan. He put tp death all I58 CHAPTER V. all his brothers (in number nineteen) and; ten of his father's wives, whom he fuppofed might be with child. The janizaries, not- withftanding the new fultan's prefence, plun-; dered the city, and had nearly plundered .the palace alfo, and killed the fultan. He at firft carried on his wars againft the German em-; peror by his pafhas, but not being fucceSsful, he went himfelf to Buda with 200,000 men, and having taken Agria, returned to Con-/ ftanti-nople. This war was conducted with. various fuccefs, but with great fury. When the Turks took Alba-regalis, by capitulation; the Chriftians were to march out in fafety with their arms, but the Turks put them all to death, as well inhabitants as 3,000 foldiers. The infblence of the janizaries became very great, and they were continually mutinying and fighting with the other foldiers. The pafhas in ' many provinces rebelled, and the1 fultan through fear made peace with them,. pardoned them, and confirmed them in their offices ; but he put to death other pafhas who were in his power, which caufed thofe who had any thing to apprehend to rebel again. He put to death his own fon and his Ton's mother, on fufpicion of a defign to de throne him. The janizaries attempted to de- pofe him. Whilft treating with the emperor of Germany for peace, he died at Conftan tinople, in January 1 604. ACHMET TURKISH HISTORY. 159 A C H E M T I. The Second fon (the eldeft having been ftrang led by his father) fucceeded to the throne at the age of fifteen. The Turks were not earneft with the negotiation for peace, but wanted to deceive and fall on the Germans ; the war therefore continued, but at length peace was concluded in 1607. There was nothing' very remarkable in his other wars with dif ferent nations. In his 23d year, he beat his fiiltana, who' was mother of a daughter, and wounded and trod on her, becaufe fhe had ftrangled one of his Sifters flaves, of whom he had become enamoured. The fukana, hav ing heard of this amour, fent for her, ftrangled her, and put her clothes on one of her. own flaves, whom fhe fent to the fultan, and on her return ftrangled her alfo, as fhe had done many others, who appeared to be with child of the fultan. — This anecdote flews the defpoi- ifm of this government, even among the women of the feraglio. He died 1 5th November 1 6 1 7. MUSTAFA I. The brother of the late fultan, who had beeiif preferved, but with fiich Secrecy that it was fcarcely known whether he was alive or dead. During his brother's reign, the council had determined he fhould b.e preferved, as Achmet Was but fifteen yews old, an4 there were only thefe 1 60 CHAPTER V. thefe two heirs to the throne, but that he fhould be kept in clofe confinement. Muk tafa, being twenty- five years of age, was drawn out of a cell, and proclaimed fultan. He became uncommonly cruel; he caufed young Ofman,eldeft fon of Achmet, to be con fined under a ftrong guard, and put to death the other, fons of Achmet. He offered many indignities to the Chriftian ambafTadors — in deed, in the laft reign, the Europeans in Con-. ¦ Stan tinople were all ordered to be flain, but the, vizir and other great officers diffuaded the Tultaii from this ftep. When Achmet had children of his own, it was determined to put Muftafa, his brother, to death ; and though it was concluded in the council of the divan, yet Achmet was diverted from it by omens. When an emperor mounted the throne, it' was ufual to put to death his brothers and nephews ; but when he had children grown up, he entrufted them with governments and the command of armies ; this cuftom had now ceafed. When the father died, the vizir kept his death, if poffible, fecret till the new fultan arrived, who gene rally contrived to feize his brothers and put therh to death ; fometimes they fled, but they were generally caught fooner or later, and put to death. It is for this reafon, that the fultan always goes to fome mofque=in the TURKISH POWER. l$l the city to public prayers every Friday, or lEhows himfelf in public,- for-ptherwife the people imagine he is dead, and make a re bellion. When the late fultan, Achmet, found death approach, his Counfellors advifed him to fet tle the fucceffion, his own Children being yoU'ng. He fent for his brother, and told him his refoiution of making choice of him to fucceed to the throne, which much amazed him, as the empire belonged to his own fon. He recommended to him the children he had by the fultana, entreating him to ufe them as he had done him, leaving the children he had hy concubines to his difcreiibn. Muftafa, nearly an idiot, by his -cruelties became fo odious, that the grand vizir, who Was gone againft the Perfi'ans, returned with his army, depofed him, fent him to his prifon again, not having reigned a year, and placed Ofman on the throne. OSMAN 1. He fent a fleet into the Mediterranean, ' landed at Manfredonia, and carried off 1,606 fjaves. He made War againft Poland, and marched himfelf at the head of 300,000 men, with 300 field pieces and 100 double- cannon, but he had no fuccefs, and was reduced to foe for peace. M Contrary 162; CHAPTER V. Contrary to the advice of his ministers,- the fultan married, without any pomp, the grand-daughter of a fultana who had been married to a pafha, only for her beauty, but a bad cohftruction was put on' this aftion, his, anceftors of late years not having ufually taken "wives of a Turkifh race, on account of their relations. The fultan, who had been difccntented with the janizaries ever fince his difgrace in .Poland, meditated revenge againft them, ana. at laft determined to abolifh a corps -now grown too formidable, and having loft their ancient difcipline and Subordination, had be come mutinous and interfered with the affairs of government. Contrary to their institution, they had married, and entered into trades; their children were alfo janizaries, a privilege' conceded to them in a former reign, and they were more pleafed to flay at home, than, to face the dangers of a foreign campaign. His vizir promifed to provide him a new foldiery of the Curds (who inhabit the mountains be tween Smyrna and Mount Lebanon,) 40,000 of whom were to be enrolled as his body guards ; the pafhas of the provinces were to train up to arms a certain number of the in habitants, to be ready to, ferve in foreign wars, and to constitute a rgreater army than any of his predeceffors, and enable him to § make Turkish Power. i 63 i*nake greater .conquefls at for lefs expence. It was agreed between the fultan and vizir,* that, the former fhpuld go into Afia on fome pretence, as that of going to vifit Mecca, or to Teduce Sidon, which had rebelled ; but the fultan was not cautious enough in his prepa rations, melting metals, conveying away all his treafures., and ufing imprudent expreffions and threats to the janizaries. In the mean time the vizir had provided 20,000 men in Afia, on whom he could depend^ befides all the force of the emir of Sidon, whom he had gained, under pretence of a War againft Perfiai At Damafcus^ the Sultan was to cut off all his guards, and flay there till he had regulated his iiew army, then to return to Conftanti nople, to deftroy the janizaries, fpahies, tama- riots, and all their officers, to fettle a new government, and change the name of the city, He then hoped to conquer all Chrift- endom, in the mean time he was to live in friendfhip with all powers. Certainly this was a well-grounded defign, and the reformation of the army had become neceffary; the empire languifhed under in- folent and lazy flaves, and the Sultan found himfelf dependent on the janizaries for life or death, peace or war. A civil conteft, how ever, would have been produced ; for the fol diery in Europe would have fet up another m 2 fultan ; I64 CHAPTER V, fultan; but he had all 'the treafure.. If he Succeeded, he would have Saved an immenfe expence; for the, janizaries now confumed al-moft all the revenues of the empire. The foldierv, however, oppofed the depar ture of the Sultan, and threatened to fet up another in his place. They ran to the fe raglio, but without arms, and demanded that he fhould remain in 1 the city of Constanti nople; that he Should deliver up the vizir and other great officers accufed by them of confpiring againft the ftate. The fultan con sented, not, to go to Afia, but refufed to de liver up thofe whom they demanded, and perfuaded them to flay till Saturday, which was council day — this happened on Wed- nefday, 7th May, 1622. — -The next day the ¦tumult began again, and the vizir ad- vifed the fultan to go to Afia in his own boats, but he refufed. The vizir appeared in order to appeafe them, but they cut him in pieces. The emperor then too late en deavoured to crofs over to Afia, and not fuc- ceeding, he hid himfelf in a private place. The rebels demanded their fultan and more facrifices, and faid they muft have a fultan, and that if he would not appear, they would make another : having waited fome time, they refolved to enter the palace, but took a Solemn path not to plunder it ; they there killed the kiflar- TURKISH P0WES, 165 kiflar-aga, and not finding fultan Ofman, they demanded Muftafa, who had been de throned ; they found him in a vault, where Ofman had put him, with two negro women. They carried him to the old feraglio, and there left him ; Ofman came out after their departure, and having confulted with fome of his friends, it was refolved to fend to the women of the old feraglip to put Muftafa to death ; but he had a party among thefe women, whofe noife alarmed the guard,, who refcued him. The next day Ofman went to the college of the janizaries, and by entreaties had nearly prevailed, but for the indiforetjon of the janizary-aga, in beginning to threaten the janizaries, who thereupon flew him and others who came with the fultan, They carried Ofman to the new fultan, who only nodded confent to what they propofed, and ,he was fent as a prifoner to the Seven Towers, The new vizir made by Muftafa knew that the Storm might paSs over if Ofman lived ; a confutation therefore was held by the chief officers, and it was determined to fearqh how .many of the royal blood were left alive, that if two remained OTman fhould be put, tp death, Two of his brothers were found; one about twelve the other about Seven year? of age, and the vizir then went with execur tipners tp the prifon, and ftrangled Ofman, . M 3 Tho. 1 66 CHAPTER V, The foldiers, who did not intend to go fa far, foon repented. The pafha of Erzerun broke out in open rebellion, and declared himfelf the avenger of his prince's blood* MUSTAFA I. (re-enthroned) On Saturday, ift June 1622, the capi-aga. or major-domo, having received a fecret order to remove the brothers of the late fultan Ofman from their lodgings, -and in the night to Strangle them ; as he was performing his command, aided with a few of his execu tioners, and carrying away the princes, they cried out ; the pages running to the noife, and encouraged by the kiflarraga, who had fome fufpicion, without further examination killed the capiraga, almoft every order of men having now rifen againft their own chief, That night they fent Secretly to the janizaries and fpahies. The Soldiers returned in fury to the court in favour of the' pages, and de manded juftice againft thofe who thus would have made an end of the Ottoman rape, only this Muftafa being left alive, who was. become fo holy a faint that he would not people the world with Sinners, nor endure any woman hear him, The innocent fultan pro-. tefted'he knew nothing of the matter ; and that if fuch a command was procured, it was obtained fraudulently. He was eafily believed hinifelf, TURKIS, H POWER. 1 67 himfelf, but his mother (another Livia) and Daout Pafha, who had married her daughter, were vehemently fufpected. This tumult was however appeafed. The ftate of the empire was deplorable : the fovereign an idiot, the next heir a -child, and all the great men and beft foldiers either destroyed* or become mutinous and corrupted. The Perfians Seized this opportunity to "recover the province and city of Bagdad. Had the Chriftian princes opened their eyes, they might alfo have regained much that they had loft. The vizir took, occafion to blame the janizar-aga, and to have him and fome other pafhas fent into exile, to be afterwards. Stran gled, to make room for depofing Muftafa, and placing on the throne Murat, a child, and brother ot Ofnian's, who had a ftrong party. The janizaries refcued their aga.' A new- faction now arofe between the. partizans of Muftafa, the reigning fultan, and of Murat, The vizir retired, No Security was left' for any man ; the rebellious foldiers haying the government in their hands. They adhered to the fultan of their own creating ; but the lawyers and churchmen (the ulema) planned U revolution, and affirmed publicly, that the conftitution was Subverted, the Sultan unlaw ful, and all thofe whp adhered- tp him guilty M 4 of 1 68 CHAP TE R Vi of herefy, in having defpifed the inftitutions of Mahomed, and thefe notions they fpread over all the empire by correspondence with' their own body, So that the whole nation' was divided in Sentiment. The Soldiers ftill continued in their muti nous difpofition even in Conftantinople, and their infolence grew to Tuch a height, that, going in troops to the court, they demanded all offices of profit ; infifted on being ftewards to the revenues of the mofques, (which are great) ; demanded the farms of the cuf- tpms, and committed inlufferable outrages. The vizir durft deny them nothing ; they drank wine in the ftreets, contrary to their law, and flood in companies in the open day, exacting of all Chriftians who paffed, money to pay for their wine, ftabbing with out mercy thofe who refufed to fubmit to their extortions. None dared to remoiiftrate with men who had killed their own Sove reign. At Smyrna the janizaries affaulted the Chriftian con-Tuls, and tpok money from them ; nor did they without difficulty eScape with their lives. Rebellion appeared in .Several provinces, and the ."treafures were ex- haufted by the immenSe Sums given to the janizaries at each new acCeffion to the throne,- - and by the burden of feveral expenlive wars. The fpahies demanded juftice for the death of TURKISH POWER. 169' ot the late fultan, and the punifhment of the vizir who had murdered him, but who had Since abdicated , his office. The janizaries protected him, but at length cohfented to his punifhment, and he was carried to the fame chamber where thefultan was ftrangled, and there met his fate ; he even pointed out the corner where the regicide was performed, and defired to die there, which was granted. On 20th January, 1622, a peace with Poland was Signed by the mediation of the Englifh ambaffador. Tbe foldiers, when they wanted money, now openly plundered people, To that it was thought prudent to remove the royaj mint jnto the feraglio, (where it has remained to this day) and coin all the metal that could be found to Tatisfy them. The pafha of Erzerun, with fome other pafhas, raifed a great army, and marched to wards Constantinople, declaring his intention to reduce the janizaries of the city to obedi ence, and difcipline ; to punifh thofe who had murdered the late fultan Ofman, and to ap point lawfully a new fultan, who fhould be able to govern ; afferting at the Tame time that Muftafa was an idiot, governed by a woman and by his vizir. . The army at Con stantinople refufed to march againft the pafha of Erz?run, and the empire was from one end %o the other in cohfufion. The I^O - CHAP TE,R V, The chief caufe of this evil was, that tbejr three laft emperors had not gone into the field themfelves, excepting once, when M.&- hpmet III. for the maintenance' of his Credit with the foldiery, went to Hungary, and took Agria, The people and minifters were de- firpu^ of depofing Muftafa, and placing on th^. throne IVJurat, brother of Ofman ; but they feared that the vizir, who was in effect em- > *¦ ... . * perqr, affifted by the janizaries, would main tain the Sovereign they had placed on the throne, and they knew that the low State of the finances would not allow of giving the ufual, fums to the janizaries at the acceffion of a new fultan ; but the report that the pafha of Erzerun had declared himfelf the avenger of the late fultan, and had put to death all the janizaries that fell in his hands, with their wives and .children ; that he was advancing, with an army ; and that the foldiers fent- againft him had difbanded, Struck the jani-. zaries at Conftantinople with fuch fear, that they joined the civil power to depofe Muftafa, and place Amurat on the throne, and even cpnfented to relinquifh. the ufual donations made tp then} on fuch an occafion. Muftafa was therefore re-pondu$ed quietly tp his pri-< fon, and. SULTAN TURKISH POWER, lj% SULTAN AMURAT IV. (or MURAT) «¦>"*' In 1623, afcended the thrpne, being only four* teen yejirs of age. The vizir fent againft; "die pafha of Erzerun could or wpuld do no thing ; for the beglatbeg of Anatolia had joined the paftia, and the Spabies were on his fide. The Cpffaks at this period entered the Bofphorus with 150 Small fhips and boats,' and .deftreyed Buyukdere and^enikoi, within about twelve or fifteen miles of Conftant-ino-* pie, on the European, and Statiia on the Afiatic fide. They returned the ,next night quietly, having alarmed the capital, The pa* fha of Erzerun and the king of Perfia ravaged the countries in Afia. Algiers and Tunis began to caft off their allegiance to the porte, and to become independent ftates. The pa*- ftia of Erzerun, how,eyer,".was pardoned, and admitted to another pafhelik, that of Bofnia ; for the porte thought it dangerous to bring matters to the utrnoft extremity. So low was it fallen ; befides, it did net wifh'to fee the janizaries triumphant, nor was the grand, feiguior, Secretly, difpleafed. at the pafha's ppnduct. A. D. 1 630. The government of the em» pire was chiefly in the hau4s oC Tour pafhas, who 172 CHAPTER V. who had married Sifters of the: Sultan. He himfelf was much given to wine, and often .Showed himfelf ' abroad, unlike a prince, with debauched young men. To that con spiracies were formed againft . him. . j The people were difeontented with burthenfbme taxes;- the Soldier's difbrderly, without disci pline, and infolent at receiving no pay; the pafhas in the provinces were almbft inde pendent Sovereigns, and the empire Shook on its weak foundation. The head of the fpahflar-agafi (general of the fpahies) being cut off, the fpahies re belled, and the janizaries joined them; they threw ftones at and wounded the vizir, whom they with threats obliged the fultan to depoSc, and deliver up to them, when they cut him ih pieces. They next cauSed the mufti to be depofed, and demanded to Tee the brother of the grand feignior, .which was granted ; they then charged the new vizir, and mufti to become Security for his life ; . nor was the Sedition appeafed till the Sol* diery had Slain more victims. The fultan, in the mean time, was contriving how' he could get rid bf.them, and kill his brother, but the guarantee of the vizir and mufti Saved the prince. He made another vizir,, and confulted with him how to weaken the fol diery; and he really cut offa great numbej* of TURKISH POWER. J 7 j •of fpahies and janizaries fecrefly, fendingthem on various pretences to different parts, and afiaflinating them by night. A. D. 1 63 1 . Being now become more manly, he appeared often on horfeback, with a martial air, and exercifing his foldiers in perfon, he reduced them to more obedience. But in Afia and in Hungary there were ftill feditions amongft the janizaries, who, be-, caufe they did not receive their pay, killed their commanders, A. D. 1632. Amurat had now a Seventh daughter ; and though he was much troubled that he had no fon of his favourite flave, yet he was fo much in love with her, that he would have created her fultana, had not his mother protefted againft it, on the ground of its not being uSual for any woman to be honoured With that title before fhe had Secured the in heritance by the, birth of a male child. Fie put to death two chiefs of the fpahies, and eight principal janizaries, thinking there by to extinguish the fpirit of fedition; but fear ing another, infurrection, he retired to the old feraglio at Scutari, and fortified himfelf. He was fo little regardful of the laws of nations, that he put the French ambaffador into prifoii and impaled his interpreter, be fides committing other violences. Soon after he made peace with the Perfians, but broke it 174 CHAPTER"*/. it again immediately. 'He alfo made peaCd with the emperor of Germany. A.D. 1633. A fiiiguter'fight was' main tained between two Englifh merchant fhips loading corn (which was then prohibited) iri the gulph of Vola, againft the whole fleet pf the Captain pafha's gallies. They killed 1,200 Slaves and a great number of Turks, among Whom was the captain pafha- himfelf,- and When they could maintain the fight no longer, they blew themfelves up. They Sunk three gallies, and forced tlie fleet into port to repair. This action is remembered, and talked" of to this very day in Turkey. The matter was compromised at the porte for 40,000 dollars; the Englifh only paid one-third of the Sum, the French and.Vene* tians paid the other two-thirds, but why is not known. A. D. 1634. Murat, being now tweiity- five years old, took the government entirely into his own hands, and determined' to make himfelf feared. He was Severe with his of ficers, and extremely lo v.-itfr the foldiers, de-5 daring- that he expected implicit obedience* The people mutinied at Some t^xes, when be beheaded fifty of the ringleaders. He then hanged a kadi, to the great difpleafore of the ulema; and went, then to Pm fa; . . whence he diSpatched a boat to Conftantinople to bring TURKISH POWER. 1 7^'' ig to him the muTti and his fori, both of om he immediately ftrangled. Thefe ex- ples ft ruck terror into the whole empire ; the forrher emperors'. but rarely put the ftis tode'ath. The particular death allotted muftis is, braying them in a vaft mor* ,;ufed only for that purpofe; but it is 16m practifed. Murat reflecting on the effect that wine had upon him, arid on the lger of allowing it to be drank by the peo- , ordered, on pain of death, all the wine the town to be Staved out into the :ets.He hanged a Venetian merchant for hav- ; on the top of his houfe a high gallery, be- ife he Tuppofed he might thence look into : gardens of the feraglio, and " imprifbned, :hout affigning any reafori, all the Euro- Lri merchants, who were not releafed till y paid 40,000 dollars. He fearched the .des' of all the foreign ministers for arms, I took away even the fword' of the, Englifh baffador. He attacked the Poles with- declaring war. An ambaffador was Sent m Poland; . Murat, contrary to cuftom, ke himfelf,' and told him, " that all Chrif- lan kings ought either to receive the Ottoman iws, or pay him tribute, or try the parpnefs f his fword f He then^ordered war to be lared againft Poland, though'his war with Perfia f]S -G HAP f Eft V, Perfia ftill cpritinued ; but the Poles beat th# Turks, and made them fue'for peace, which the Poles refufed, till th& pafha who entered their country, and fofrie others, were put to death. Peace was then concluded, The Captain pafha meeting the new French arri- baffador at Tea, going to Conftantinople, in fulted him, and Caufed him to go on board his fhip.' After his arrival at Constantinople., the French drogoman, who had brought complaints' againft the captain paSha, was hanged by order of the fultan, and the am- baSTador forced Suddenly and unexpectedly on board a fhip, and obliged to depart. In April 1634, Murat Set out himfelf for "the war in Perfia, at the head of 100,000 men. When he reached Erzeruiv'he rnuf- tered his army; and found it to confift of 300,000 fighting men, well difeiplined, and rendered obedient by his feverity: he him-. felf now Set- them an example of frugality and patience, and became temperate. He took Rivan, but entering further into Petfia, loft a vaft number of horfes. He utterly de- ftroyed Tauris by fire and fword, and re turned' in December 1635, leaving his army at Aleppo and Damafcus. After his de parture, the Perfians recovered what they had loft, and the people murmured again at .Constantinople. The janizaries were diS- pleafed TURKISH POWER. 177' pleafed at feeing the Boftangees take their places .as guards of the grand feignior.; and the ulema were enraged, that feverkl of their corps, kadis, and others, had been beheaded on pretext of faction. Having however now completely eftab- lifhed his authority over the military and the iilema, he gave looSe to the violent Se verity of his temper on the moft trifling oc casions. He punifhed the uSe of tobacco with death, and inflicted the Tame punifh ment on his cook, for not feaforiing a difh according to his palate. To deftroy his Sub jects Sormed his daily amuSement, either by Shooting them with arrows,, as he fate in his kiofk on the fhore of the Bofphorus, or by firing a carbine at any one who looked out of a window at him when failing in his boat. To thefe crimes were added the loweft debaucheries, and his chief companions in drunkeniiefs Were the revolted Perfian ge neral, who had delivered up Revan, and an Italian of the feraglio. Murat's Uncoritroul- able violence now prompted him to attack at once Ruffia and Perfia. Raising, therefore, a vaft army, he fet out on an expedition' againft the latter country, but previoufly CauSed one of his brothers to be ftrangled, ' leaving alive only Ibrahim, the fole Survivor , N of 1^8 CHAPTER V. of the Ottoman race, but weak both in mind arid body. It was now that the vigour of Murat's difpofition appeared in its full light. He took the field in May 1638, reviewed his forces with care, difmiffed the invalids on half pay, heard and determined all difputes in the army, and, preferved fuch Strict difcipline^ that the countries through which he paffed ' Suffered none of thofe dreadful hardfhips ufually attending" the march of a Turkifh - army. The refult of this campaign Was the capture pf Bagdat, the' ancient Babylon.) ' which event was foon fucceeded by a peace* and Murat returned in triumph to Conftan tinople, on the 10th June 1639. ¦ The Venetians having greatly Suffered by the piracies of the Algerines and Tunifines, ventured to make fome reprifals, which fo much offended Murat, that he iffued an im mediate order to put to death the Venetian ambaffador, and all his countrymen in Tur key; and though this order was, by the prudent management of the vizir, recalled, yet Venice was threatened with a war, which they only averted by paying 250,000 fe- quins. The language of the kaimakan, on this occafion, was, " we know that the " other powers of Chriftendom are too weak " to affift you, take your choice therefore: " we TURKISH POWER. I ^9 " we fell you peace at this price; ifyoil " think it not worth your money, refufe it." Whilft Murat was intent Pn new hostilities, and railing forces* though he had not deter mined whom to attack, he returned to his former debaucheries, and was fuddenly car ried off by them, on the 8th of February 1640, in the 1 7th year of his reign, arid 31ft of his age* Thus perifhed one of the moft ferocious defpots that ever infulted and difgraced humanity. Breathing vengeance againft Avhple nations, he threatened to Subdue all Chriftendom, and impofe on it the yoke of MahomedaniSm,. and this not from motives of fuperftition, ' fince he defpifed the dictates of that religion, and Seldom fafted in Rama dan, or kept any other of its ordinances. So entirely was he a Stranger to family af fection, that he not only murdered his uncle and two of his brothers:, but often expreffed a wifh to be the laft of his racej and actually , deftined the crown for the khan of the Crim Tatars. The activity and energy : of his mind had enabled him to fupprefs all fedition, and to render himfelf Completely abfolute ; but this power he ufed only to the gratifica tion of his own avarice, dying poffeffed of fifteen millions of gold, though the country was in a ftate of ppverty. N 2 - IBRAHIM. I So CHAPTER Vi IBRAHIM. (A.D. 1640.) Notwithstanding a donation of the crown to the Tatar khan, made by Murat, in one of his fits pf drunkennefs, Ibrahim was una- , nimoufly raifed by the pafhas to the throne. This prince, who was deformed and weak in body, had his natural imbecility augmented1 by the long .confinement which he had un-' dergone in a fmall room, with only a fingle window at the top. Coming thus unexpect edly to liberty and empire, he was intoxi cated by the new pleafures which they pre sented, and giving up the adminiftratipn of government to the former ministers, he de voted himfelf entirely to the luxuries of the harem. The vizir, thirfting for military glory, projected an attack on the Ruffian for- treSs of Afac (or Azof) but this ended only in difgrae'e. The following year, however, (1 642) re-animated the Turks by the birth of an heir to the Ottoman throne. A peace was concluded with the German emperor, and a league with Perfia. The German peace was foon broken by the Turks, who made an unfuccefsful attempt to furprife. the fortrefs of Rab (now called Giavanne.) The fears for the extinction of the Ottoman race Were Still- further removed in 1 643, by the birth of two more Sons to Ibrahim, who daily 1 devoted TURKISH .POWER. I 8 I devoted himfelf, with renewed avidity, to Sen- foal exceffes, exceeding whatever is related of Sardanapalus and Heliogabalus. The reftlefs difpofition of the divan led them, in 1 6*44, to plan an attack on the ifland of Can-i dia, but being then at peace with the Vene tians, they concealed their defign under the ferriblance of amity, until their fleet was fitted out, and had failed toward that iflandl The Turks then threw off the mafic, and, in June 1 645, landed 74,000 men in Candia, where, in their firft campaign, they took the ftrong city of Canea with their ufual violence and flaughter, and thus began in injuftice a long and bloody conteft, which lafted, until , the end of that century. The fultan, in the mean time, regardlefs of every thing but his pleafures, continued to -give a loofe to the moft unbounded fenfuality ; and carrying his defires beyond -the limits of the harem, went at length fofar as to feize the daughter of the mufti. This outrage Was the caufe bf his downfal. The great officers of State an,d the Soldiery embraced the cauSe of the venerable divine, and his ecclefiaftical power "was made the inftrument of vengeance againft the tyrant. A fetva -was iffued by the mufti, charging the fultan to appear, and administer juftice to his people ; and this being treated with contempt, was followed by another, n 3 declaring, 1 82 CHAPTER V. declaring, " that he who obeyed not the law, of God was no true mufelman ; and though the perfon were the emperor himfelf, yet being become by his filthy actions an infidel, he was, ipfo fado, fallen from his throne.V Upon the authority of this fetva, the jani zaries quickly depofed Ibrahim, and fent him to his former prifon, where, after fome days, he was ftrangled, and his Ton Mahomet ex alted to the throne. The weight and, effi cacy which, in this tranfaction, appeared to be given to the fetva, was iri fact owing to the previous concurrence of the great officers of ftate, and to the general contempt into which the fultan, by his fenfuality and cow ardice, had fallen. MAHOMET IV. (A. D. 1650.) This emperor being but feven years old at the, depofition of his father, it was deteri mined that his minority fhould continue ten years longer j during which time his mother, a|fifted by the principal pafhas, was to conduct the affairs of government. The Venetian war was refolutely purfued abroad ; but at home great diffenfions took place between the different factions. Murat, the predeceffor of Ibrahim, a warlike prince himfelf, had promoted only brave and able men to com mand in the diftant pafhaliks ; but thefe, during TURKISH POWER. I 83 during the reign of his weak and timi,d fuc- ceffor, had affumed fo much power as to be come almoft independent., To this fource of divifion was added the mutual jealoufy of the fpahies and janizaries, the former afferting themfelves as avengers of the death of fid- tan Ibrahim, and claiming a precedency over the latter in affairs of gpvernment. The feraglio itfelf was farther divided by different parties, fopporting the oppofite claims of the mother and grandmother of the young fultan to his guardianfhip ; all thefe caufes concur red to render in a great meafure ufeleSs the mighty preparations of the Turks to purfue the war in Candia, The minority of the fultan was one continued fcene of difcord and revolt. In 1 65 1, the fpahies of Afia marched to ward Conftantinople, demanding the heads of the vizir and janizar aga ; but this affair Was compromised by the difcharge of thofe officers from their employments. ' In 1652, a rebellion broke out in Egypt and at Damafcus, but was foon quelled ; and^ the following year the pafha of Aleppo marched with a great body of infurgents againft Conftantinople. This pafha, after caufing great terror in the capital, fettled the bufinefs by treaty, and though a rebel, he was fo highly efteemed for his abilities, that on N4 the' 184 CHAPTER V, the death of, the vizir, in 1655, he was ele-y vated to that important office, The ill fucceffes of the Turkifh arms in tbe Venetian war So much irritated the inhabit tants of Conftantinople, that they came in a body to the gates of the feraglio, tumultu- oufly demanding peace ; nor was this rebellion Subdued by the divan without great difficulty, and by the Sacrifice oSthe new vizir. In the year 1656, while new preparations were making for war, a fedition, more ter rible than any of the preceding, broke ont at Conftantinople. The Spahies and janiza-. ries uniting, under pretence of reformiB|| abufes of the ftate,. ran in arms to the divan, and depofed the grand vizir and other officers. They entered the imperial palace, plundered the treafury of two millions of gold, and even threatened to depofe the. ful tan. The city was for feveral days given up to all the horrors of pillage, until the rebel lion beginning to abate, through a want of u,nion and of fettled views among the ring-. leaders, authority returned to its former Aannel ; the celebrated Kiuperli, pafha of Damafcus, was called, at the age of eighty, to the poft pf vizir, and the grand feignior himfelf, attended by his chief officers, rode ¦through the city to put to death the rioters, arid to reftore public tranquillity. 165*/. The TURKISH POWER. 1*85 1657, The grand feignior from this time took the government into his own hands, and employed himfelf in forwarding the mi litary preparations ; but finding the janiza ries mutinous on account of the non-payment of their arrears., he attempted to quell them, by pupifhing the ringleaders with death,' The difeontents at Conftantinople, however, were augmented by the fucceffes of the Ve? netians, until the vizir, going himfelf at the head of a very great force, took the iflands of Tenedos and Lemnos, which fuccefs elevat ing the grand feignior, he went with great pomp to Adrianople, where he offered peace to the Venetian envoys on condition of their Surrendering Candia and Cliffia, in Dalma tian and paying 3,000,000 crowns of gold ; but this offer was too unreafonable to be accepted. 1658. The grand Seignior was for a while diverted from his intended invafion of Dal- matia by the defection of the pafha of Aleppo, who having revolted, and marched toward Conftantinople, which was at that time afflicted with the plague, proclaimed a youth that was with him Sultan, as Son of fultan Murat, and refuSed to liften to any terms of accommodation. 1-659.. The P°wer °T the pafha increafing rapidly, the vizir marched at the head of a large *86 CHAPTER V. large army to give him battle, but was de, feated with great loSs, and the grand Seignior himSelf being obliged to take the field, the pafha offered to treat with him, which the' fultan accepting, Sent one of his creatures, Y/ho, under pretence of negociating, affaf finated the pafha. Some others, who after-^ wards attempted to profecut£ the plans of the deceafed pafha, were artfully difumted and reduced by the artifices of the vizir. -"- :"; 1660. The porte now turned their efforts againft the Venetians; but they being, affifted by a fupply of French forces, profecuted the war with vigour. 1 6 6 1 . 1 The porte h aving, u nder pretence of the rebellion of Ragatfki in Tranfilvania,' .reduced the important Sortrefs of Varadin, contrary to the general peace concluded be-' tween the emperor and the grand feignior, a caufe of var aroSe between -Turkey and the German empire. This did not imme diately break out, though the pafha of Buda, entering Tranfilvania, raifed a faction in favour of Turkey, and overthrew the leader of the oppofite party. The old vizir Kiu perli now .advifed the grand feignior to remove his court to Adrianople, where he himfelf foon died, but not till after he had procured the nomination of his fon to fuc ceed him, who was no Sooner elevated, than he TURKISH POWER. ,187 he began to remove his moft potent enemies by death or banifhment. During thefe com motions the Venetian war was but faintly carried on. 1662. The revolt of the pafha of Mag- natia and of the Georgians occupied the porte for fome time, and the vizir being alfo em ployed in eftablifhing his own influence more .Securely, the views of hostility againft the German empire were not profecuted with much ardour, until at the latter part of the year, the commotions being moftly termi nated, the vizir earneftly prepared Sor war, •and the paftia of Buda laid wafte great part pf Tranfilvania, though it was Subject to the • porte. i Jn 1663, aSter deceiving, the Germans for fome time with a fhow of pacific intentions, the foltan openly declared hoftilities, by marching at the head of his forces from Conftantinople ; and though the Germans made fair pffers of peace, they were, haugh tily rejected by Mahomet. The fultan pro ceeded with the army as far as Adrianople, and then the vizir taking the command, marched toward the confines of Hungary. An inftance pf his cruelty on this expedition deferyes notice. A chofen body of 8,000 Germans having attacked the Turks by night, and committed great J 88 C HAP TER V. great flaughter, were at length repulfed, with the lofs of 4.00 killed and 1,800 prifoners, Thefe latter the Tanguinary vizir condemned to death, and remained himfelf a fpectator of their murder on the fcaffold, until the murmurs of his army obliged him to defift, after having Struck off 1,400 heads. The Turkifh forces, continuing to advance^ Struck fuch terror into the emperor, that he retreated from Vienna with the records and other articles of importance ; apd by this timidity, no lefs than by the diftracted ftate of his councils, contributed much to exalt the arrogance of the Turks*; but at length the valour of the perman generals, and of their confederates the French,' having turned the tide of war, and the vizir being beaten with great lofs, a peace was concluded, by. which the Turks reduced their former in- folent propofals to the ceffion of %h$ fortrefs of Nieu Haufel. This affair being fully fettled, in 1665, the fultan began to turn his thoughts to the poffeffion of the Ifle of Candia, and returned to Conftantinople, to prepare for the profe cution of his defign. Hoftilities proceeded in the following vear with much vigour on both fides, and the vizir with a great force landed in Candia. The TURKISH POWER. 1&9 The year 1667 opened with an embaffy from Poland, to complain that the Tatars, fubject to the fultan, had invaded that coun-* try, and carried off an hundred thoufand per fons into flavery ; but of thefe complaints no notice was taken. On the nth of May, in this year, began the famous fiege of Candia by an army of 70,000 Turks, provided with' every neceflary for the attack of fuch a place, and furnifhed with cannon, fome of which carried balls of 120 pounds weight. So certain were the Turks of fuccefs, that great preparations were made at Conftantinople for illumina tions and other rejoicings, on the capture of Candia; but that place refifted the moft furious and repeated attacks with heroic firmneSs, and the vizir was obliged to con tinue the whole of the winter in the trenches. A fecond year paffed in a repetition of the fame furious attacks, and the fame obftinate refiftance. In two affaults, the Turks loft 3o,'6oo men ; but by continual Tupplies of men and ammunition, they were ftill enabled to preTs forward, and at length carried the outworks of the Chriftians. The fultan finding, in the year 1669, that the great expence and exertion fruitlefsly made in this, fiege produced nothing but dif- grace, began to apprehend the elevation of his I90 CHAPTER V".' his brothers to his thrpne, and therefor© Sent orders to have them ftrangled ; but the people of Conftantinople taking up arms in their favour, for the prefent, prevented his defigns: being put in execution. From thefe fears- he was at length releafed by the Turrender of Capdia by a capitulation, which formed the bafis of a treaty of peace with the Venetians;' In this celebrated fiege it was computed that 40,000 Chriftians, and nearly 1 20^000 Turks, were deftroyed. In 1670, the vizir returned home in tri umph, and joined the grand Seignior in taking' Steps for the removal of his brothers. To this end it was judged neceffary to difpatch the moft turbulent of the janizaries, on an expe dition againft the Polifli frontiers, and during their abferice prince Orkhan was privately ftrangled. The year 1672 was fignalized ,by the Po lifli war. The fultan levying a -great, forces and being joined by numerous bands of Ta tars, entered Poland, fpeedily conquered the Ukraine, and obliged the Poles tP pay a yearly tribute of 22,00.0 ducats: The Turks and Tatars had killed or carried into flavery more than 300,000 Polifh fubjects. The divan was, however, diffatisfied with this peace, and obliged the fultan to recommence the war, notwithstanding the menaces of the czar Turkish power. I91 czar of Ruffia, who endeavoured to intereft all the Sovereigns oS Europe iri the defence of Poland. The domeftic difturbanceS had occafioned a great levy of troops, fo that the Turkifh army was very numerous, yet the Poles repelled this fecbnd irruption more bravely than the former ; but in the Succeed ing Campaign, the Turks Swept away all the inhabitants of the countries they invaded, distributing the captives of both fexes as flaves among the foldiery; The fine country of the Ukraine was rendered a defert. The Turks took Human, and of above ioopoo men, who were in it, very few eScaped; In 1676 died the vizir Achmet Kiuperli, to whom was chiefly to be attributed whatever fuccefs had 'attended the reign of Mahomet.; and whofe merits were moft admirably ex emplified by being contrasted with the v\eei of his fucceffor Kara Muflapha. "This new vizir practifed every Tpecies of rapine and fraud to enrich and ftrengtheil himfelf, and thinking Avar moft favourable to his in fluence (that with Poland being ended) in 1680, he called together a mbft folemn council, in which he ufed every argument to prove, that a war would highly conduce to " the honour' and advantage of the fl ate" this being the onlyftandard of political mora lity in- Turkey. Though he was urifuqcefsful at- X<)± CHAPTER V. at this council, he prevailed with the grand feignior the following year ; perfuading him that the circumftances enabled him. to fall on the emperor of Germany with advantage, and that the French court would favour his views. This may be called the crifis of the Othman power, when having attained the acme of its fame and fplendor, its own inordinate ambi- j tion, and the prevalence of evil councils, pufhed it onward rapidly to its decline. The porte and the emperor were united by a league or truce of twenty years, three years of which remained yet unexpired-, and the infraction of this treaty was the firft flep toward that low ftate of degradation, in which the prefent age beholds this once mighty empire. As the prefent historical Sketch is in* tended principally to exhibit the means of violence and blood, by which, the TurkiSh Sceptre has been fuftained ; and as we have now reached the period of its wideft exten sion, the remaining part of its hiftory will require but flight notice ; it will be Suf ficient to point out thofe leading events irv the reign, of the Succeeding Sovereigns, which moft immediately affected the political State of .the empire. The imperial war was long and bloody ; the Turks, at firft focceTsful, penetrated to Vienna, TURKISH POWER. 193 Vienna, and- laid fiege to that capital, but Were forced r-tq.raife it. by Sobief&i. The tide- of- their fortune now turning, Mahomet Was depofed by the janizaries, but the war was continued, though with, no better fuccefs, by the two following fultans, Achmet II. and Muftapha IL The latter, indeed,' .-at tempted to reanimate his -fubjects with a military fpirit by taking the field in perfon, but being defeated by the famous Prince Eugene,' he concluded the peace of Carlo witz in 1 69.9, by which Tranfilvania was ceded to the emperor. Thefe circumftances Confpiring with others to render Muftapha unpopular, he. was de-* pofed, and fucceeded by his brother Ach met III. who forced the Ruffians, by the im prudence of their czar, to cede, at the peace of Pruth, many important fortreffes. The inordinate ambition of this prince next led him to; attack the Venetians and other Chrif tian powers ; but his fuccefs herein was widely different, being reduced, by repeated defeats, to conclude, at Paffarowitz, in 1 7 1 8, a peace highly difgrageSulto the Turkifh empire. His war with, I-Couli. Khan, the Perfian Ufurper, proved no. lefs unfuccefsful; apd the event of -all thefe, difgraces was, at length, a revolt, in w,hich he was depofed, and Suc ceeded by Mahorriet V. o Thi £94 CtfAPfEfc t* The events of the year 1 73c,- which p8» duced the rebellion of the janizaries, the de- pofition of Achmet, and the ' elevation of hi* nephew Mahomet,, in their confequences were alfo productive of a confiderable alteration iri the mode of carrying on the government* From the time of Mahomet II. it had been uSual to delegate the whole adminiftra-- tion to the vizir, but as this and the pre ceding rebellion had originated in the over grown power and ambition of thofe whoheld that dffice, Mahomet, by the advice of his kiflar-aga, an experienced man, took, th* power into his own hands, and determined to change his vizirs frequently. Mahomet, however, afterwards confided much in the Tucceffor of this kiflar-dgk, & man of the utmoft rapacity and infblence, who, extending- his attacks both againft the janizaries and the ulema, thofe bodies con spired his, bverthrow, and began to fhoY? their intentions, by Setting fire to Constan tinople. The frequent repetition of thefe fires at length aroufing the fultan, he cori-* folted with the mufti, and by his advice Sacrificed the kiflar-aga and all his dependents, and Seized on their ill gotten treaforeS* in* • eluding a vaft quantity of precious fronts, and above 30,500 purfes (_£. 1,906,000) iri money, which were paid to the haflie. The Turkish power. 195 The death of the kiflar aga gave another change to the interior government. His fuc- ceffor entered into a clofe connection with the vizir, which lafted, till 1754, when, on the death of Mahomet, his brother Ofman came from confinement to the throne ; and the kiflar aga and his Secretary, the japigi ef- fendi, gained the confidence pf tbe new fove- reign, and affumed their former power. , , On the death of Ofman, in. 1757, Muftar pha, the fon of Achmet (before-mentioned) Succeeded, and he placing an implicit con fidence in the vizir Ragib Mehemet, fol lowed his counfel, and deprived the kiflar aga of his place and influence, and attached to the vizirat great part of the emoluments for merly given to the kiflar aga ; fuch as the .management of the revenues pf the harem, arifing from large diftricts in Afia : and Eu rope,, and the appointment of alt the officers. Since that time vizirs have been removed lefs frequently. The deposition of a vizir or effeadi does not much affect the progrefs of. public bufi nefs ; for the different departments are very minutely Subdivided, and the Subordinate of ficers continue in moft of them unaffected by a change of the fuperior. Thefe fubordi nate officers of. the feraglio amount to fome hundreds^ and as they always pretend to fol« 0 2 low 196 C H A P T E R ' V. low precedent, they can expedite or procraf* tinate bufinefs at will, by means of this fubdi'- vifion. From this digreffion to the Subject of ad ministrative -government we return to 'notice the military affairs of the empire. Maho met V. Succeeding to the conteft againft Kouli Khan, carried it on with no better Suc- ceTs than his predeceffor, and was forced to ari inglorious peace. Being afterwards en- ' gaged in a -war with the Germans and Ruf fians, the latter advanced fo rapidly againft him as to threaten his capital itfelf, and thus forced him to Conclude a hafty peace. Ofman III. dying in 1757, was fucceeded by Muftapha III. who, in the beginning of 1 769, determining to attack the Ruffians, or dered the Tatars, under Krim Guerai Khan, to invade their territory. The ravages com mitted by thefe barbarian hordes I have elfe- : where defcribed ; they were fuch as the, late emprefs, who then' fate on the throne, could not but view with indignation, and avenge with power. ¦ < A bloody war commenced with the ex ploits of Prince Gallitzin, who attacking the Turks at Choczim, in their entrenchments* gained a complete viijtory, on the 30th of April 17^9- The fame general gained an other important victory, near the Tame pl^ca, on TURKISH POWER. 197 igotry, which the Turks have uniformly at tached to their religion, and he is to be view-* ¦ed more in the light of a liberal politician than of a religious enthufiaft. The lively manners and ardent minds of the Arabs tem pered the influence of a religion. fundameW •tally barbarous and gloomy ; but the Turks have not only given to fuperftition its full Sway, but have even augmented its influence 'by circumftances of additional barbarifhi. The fufpicions of deSpotifm muft ever ten4 to degrade and brutalize its unhappy Subjects. Few are the inducements which the torpid Turk has to apply himfelf to feience, and thofe few are annihilated by the fear of ex* •citing diftruft in the government. Travel ling, that great fource of expanfion and im provement to the mind, is entirely cheeked ¦by the -arrogant Spirit of his -religion ; and intercourfe with foreigners among them, fur ther than thofe immediately in their .fervice, by the jealoufy with which Such intercourfe is viewed in a perfon not invefted with an official character. The prefent fultan is the firft TurkiSh So vereign who has condefeended to Send mi nisters tP refide at foreign -courts., General TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 203 General knowledge is, from thefe caufes, little if at ail cultivated; every man is Tup-. pofed to know his own bufinefs, or profeffion, with which it is efteemed foolifh and im- proper for any other perfon to interfere. The man of general Science, a character fo frequent and To ufeful 111 Chriftian Europe* is unknown ; and any one, but a mere arti ficer, who fhould concern himfelf with the founding of cannon, the building of fhips, or the like, would be efteemed little better than a madman. The natural confequence of thefe narrow views is, that the profeffors of any. art or fcience are themfelves profoundly ignorant, and that the greateft abfurdities are mixed with all their .Speculations. I fhall elucidate this by detailing the opi nions received,* not only by the populace, but even by the pretended literati, in various branches of knowledge. Astronomy. — From the mufti to the peafant it is generally believed that there are feven heavens, from which the earth is im- jnoveably fufpended by a large chain; that the fon is an immenfe ball of fire, at leaft as big as a whole Ottoman province, formed for the fole purpofe of giving light and heat to the earthy that eclipfes of the moon are bceafioned by a great dragon attempting to devour that luminary; that the fixed ftars hang 304 CHAPTER VI. hang by chains from the higheft heaven, ¦Sec. &c. Thefe abfurdities are in part Sup ported by the teftimony of the Koran ; and the aftronomers, as they are called, them felves all pretend to aftrology, a prbfeffion fo much efteemed, that an aftrologer is kept in the pay of the court, as well as of moft great men. Geography. — Of the relative fituatibn of countries they are ridiculoufly ignorant, and all their accounts of foreign nations are mixed with fuperftitious fables.. They dif tinguifh different Chriftian ftates by diffe rent apella-tious of contempt. Epithets which the Turks apply , to thofe who are not Ofmanlis, and which they often ufe to denominate their na* tion, Albanians - - gut-fellers - . (giguirgee) j, • t-rd-eaters, dirt-eaters, 7 ,,,»', Armenians - , ' . ' £ _ (bokdee) alio, pack-carriers J ' Bofniaks and ? . . , Bulgarians \ ' ™&h™d* - - (P**) ¦ Chriftians - - idolaters - - \purpurtft) Dutch - - cheefe-mongers - - (penirgee) ' Englijh - atheifts - (dinfis) i. e. having, no religion, * Flemmings - - panders - (felamink, pezevink) French - - faithlefs - (franfts, imanjiiy Georgians - - loufe-eaters - - (bityeyedfi) Germans - - infidel bJafphemers - (gurur kiafer), Greeks pf the iflands - hares - - (tawJJ>an.\ Italians pr Franks - many-coloured - (firenki, hajfarrenkt) Jem TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCE'S. so'S Jit/it Moldavians PilesRujfiam mangy dogs drones - infolent infidels - mad infidels - i (chefut) - (bogdem, n$dan) (fudul guiaur) {rafs, fttenkitis] Spaniards Tatars - Walachians lazy - carrion-eaters gypfies (fembelf - - (lajhyeyedgee) (chingani) '- Before the Ruffian fleet cartie into the Mediterranean, the ministers of the porte would not believe it poffible ''for. them to approach Conftantinople but from the Black Sea. The captain pafha (great admiral) af firmed, that their fleet might - come by the way of Venice. From this, and a thoufahd fimilar and authentic anecdotes, their igno rance of the fituation of countries is evident; and as to the ftories which they univerfally believe, they are fuch as the following: that India is a country far diftant, where there are diamonds, fine muffins, and- other -Stuffs., and great riches ; but that the ' people are little knoyvn ; that they are Mahomedans moftly, but do not acknowledge the kalifat pf their fultan ; that the Perfians are a very wicked people, and will be all damned ; that they will be changed into affes in hell, and that the Jews will ride on them; that the Europeans are all, wicked infidels, knowing an art of war, which is fometimes dangerous, Jjut willall be conquered in time, and reduced to £a6 Chapter vu to the obedience of the fultan ; that theif women and children ought to be carried into captivity; that no faith isto be kept with them, and that to maflacre them is highly meritorious, if they refufe to become Maho medans; yet they have among them'a pro phecy, that the fons ofyellownefs, which they interpret to be the Ruffians, are to take Conftantinople; that the Englifh are power ful by fea, and the French and Germans by land; that the Ruffians are the moft power ful, and they call them the great infidels; but they are acquainted with no details of thefe countries. Ancient History. — They have heard of an Alexander, who was the greateft mo narch and conqueror, and the greateft hero in the world. The fultans often compare themfelves to him in their writings. Sultan Mahomed IV. in his letter to the Ruffian czar, Alexis Michaelovitz, calls himfelf " mafter of all the univerfe, and equal in power (i to Alexander ihe Great." They talk of him always as the model of heroifm to be imitated, but they know not who he was. Solomon, they fay, was the wifeft man, and tbe greateft magician, that ever exifted, and that Palmyra and Balbek were built by Spirits at his command. Poetry TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 20/ Poetry and general Lite&ature. > They have a few poets„ as they are called, whofe compofitions are moftly little fongs and ballads ; but in thefe, as well as their prpfe writings, they differ widely from the fimplkity of the Arabs, as they abound with falfe conceits ; and the language is a barba rous mixture of the Turkifh t with Perfian and Arabic, not unlike that ; ** Babylonifk *' dialeEF* of our puritans, which; Butle* compares- to *' fuflian. cut onfatin." Of the general tafte of the Turks, Tott has given' a juft , defei'iption, when he fays, " a double meaning, or a literal iranfpofitiots9 " forms the extent of their fludies and literature^ ' ** and emery thing that can be invented by falfe '* tafte, to fatigue the mind, conjlitutes their de-. *' light, -and excites their admiration." This leads me to a consideration pf the Turkifh language, a point on which I fhall makefbmeobfervations rather more at length; as it has not been hitherto treated with any degree of accuracy. The origin of the Turk ifh language was the Zagutai, a dialect of that Tatarian tongue, which has been fpread fo widely by the hoftile incurfions of different barbarians. The conjectures of Tott on this fubject: are juftly corrected by PeyfTonel, whofe ob fervations on the different origin of thefe languages SoS Chapter vii. languages are . deferving attehtipn. Ambng* the barbarous . hordes that have at different periods overflowed Europe knd Afia from the north and weft, , he diftinguifhes three- great and diftinct nations* differing in origin and in language, the Celts or Teutons, the Fens or Slavonians, and the Huns or Ta tars. It may be doubted, whether in the £rft clafslie does not confound two very dif ferent tribes* as the. remains of the Celtic and Teutonic languages ftill existing in Eu*« rppe bear every mark of an original difference* Thefe, however, he thinks (with juftice) were the firft of the barbarian invaders, in* eluding the Vandals, Goths, Oftrogoths,, Vi* figoths, &c. who all iflued from the countries between the Northern Ocean and the Baltic Sea. The fecohd in order of time were the Fens, Venni, or Slavonians, who inhabited the borders of the Danube and the Euxine, and from whofe language the Slavonian, Ruffian, and Polifh of the prefent day are derived. The lateft of all were the Huns or Tatars, who, proceeding from what , has been called the Platform of Tatary, haye fpread from the fea of Japan to the frontiers of Poland, and have at different periods Seized, upon the Chinefe, Indian, Perfian, and Turk-1 ifh empires,,"' the TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 20Q The Zagatai language, as muft neceffarily be the ,cafe with a tongue Tpoken by.Tuch barbarians, was poor and confined^ arid its deficiencies have been fupplied by the adop tion of terms from the Arabic and PeiSian. The Turkifh language is the eafieft of any one we are acquainted with, becaufe it is the hToft regular. It has only one conjuga tion of the verbs (excepting a difference of ek and ak in the infinitive, which the ear foon learns to diftinguifli) and but one de- clenfion of the neuns. There is no excep tion, nor any irregular verb or noun, in the language. The cafes arid perfons are denoted by the termination, -as in Latin, but thephrafe- ology is much more eafy, and the franfpofition is not carried to fo difficult a length. The l Turkifh language has no gender. Woman, and fome of the .fituations of women, are distinguished by different words ; as wife, daughter ; but a fifter is called a girl-brother. The titles of women are the fame as thofe of men : Fatima Sultan (not Sultana, which is an Italian wp'rd) ; mother- fultan is the queen' (or princeSs) mother. The word Sultan, ap plied to the fovereign, and the males of his family, precedes their proper names ; ' all other titles follow the name : Galga Sultan, Mahomed Papa, Ali Effendi. They have compound words, as in Greek, though they p are 210 CHAPTER VI. are more limited in their ufe. It is true, the Turkifh language is not very copious, yet it is manly, energetic, and fonorous. To fupply the want of words, or more frequently, from a defire of appearing learned, their writers in troduced Arabic and Perfian, and thefe lan guages are now confiderably mixed with the dialects fpoken at the feraglio (or court,) and at tbe bar (or makami). The Arabic is moftly intermixed in topics of ethics, religipn,; or law ; and the Perfian, in fubjects of gallantry, poetry, and at the feraglio. Had they only naturalized foreign words, and adapted them to the grammar of their own language, as we do in Englifhj they would have enriched.it, withput making it more difficult, and have preferved its character ; but thefe words and. phrafes preferve the grammar of the language they belong to, which creates a real difficulty, and renders it neceffary, in order to read a firman, or a piece of poetry, to know fome- thing of the Arabic and Perfian grammars. This will beft be demonstrated by an exam ple : Suppofing the Latin to be Arabic, and the Perfian French, a Turk would write, if Englifh were his language, in the folio-vying planner ; Language TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 21 1 ¦Language of a Mufti pr Doctor. I do not love depldrare vitam, as many, and li do£li, fiepe fecerunt ; nor do I repent that L have lived at all, becaufe I have ainfi vecu, as not fruflr a me natum exiflimem: I do not affert that tadium viice proceeds more from want of fteadinefs in our true religion, than from atra bills. If a man deftroys himfelf, he is either infanus, and a holy fool, or one pofleffed demouis, Or he is un athie — an in fidel, or a Frank. Pray deum, that he may preferve you againft thofe who blow on nodos funum, and whifper in the ear. Language of a Turkijh' Poet. The eyes of /*" abbreuveufe * inebriate me more than le vin, and fes fleches penetrate la radele de mes os quicker than thofe from the bow. This is the. firft cpuplet of a fong in pure Arabic, (compofed by an Arabian,) which I have thus written, to fhew how a Turk would exprefs the fame fentiment with refpect to the language ; the genuine Turkifh com petitions are ridiculoufly hyperbolical. It muft be obferved, that very few of thofe, who lard their writings or difcourfes with * She who pours out the wine. p 2 Arabic 212 CHAPTER VI. Arabic or Perfian. phrafes, are much ac quainted with thofe languages; but they have learnt the phrafes and terminations moft in ufe, and know the meaning of a fen- tenCe, without understanding each word fe* parately, or having much idea of the gram mar. It- is aftonifhing that they have not per fected their alphabet. They write generally without points, and it is then impoffible to read their writing without knowing the language well. When they read foreign- words or names, two people feldom read them alike. If the perfection of a written character be, to reprefent words in a clear and unambiguous manner to the eye, they certainly are farther from it than any other nation, and they have remained in this ftate of imperfection, without making the leaft at tempt to improvement, fo long, that.no effort is now to be expected from therri. Many of the letters have each three different forms, when they begin, are in the middle, or end a word, The Arabic printed in Chriftian countries, and on Mount Libahus by the Maronites, ismorediftirictand moreeafily read than the written, though this is more elegant in its appearance, which is but a Secondary quality, ft requires great practice to be able to read the Arabic character quick, Upon TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 2I£ Upon thefe different circumftances re lating to the Turkifli language are grounded the different opinions of the Baron de Tott and M. de Pevffonel, the former of whom juftly ranks, among the obftru6tions to Science in Turkey, the difficulty of Writing and read ing the language. To this PeyfTonel oppofes the facility with which the Baron himfelf acquired a knowledge of the Turkifli lan guage, without obferving that this know ledge- only extended to fpeaking it, a tafk which was comparatively eafy. Mr. de Tott never acquired fkill enough to read it readily. PeyfTonel alfo adduces, as an addi tional argument, the ability of feveral Euro pean interpreters, whofe names he mentions ; but this eulogium was only applicable to the Celebrated M. Muragia, and not even to him in its fulf extent; nor does this prove any thing in favour of the Turks themfelves, Since the advantage which they poffeSs as natives is more than counterbalanced by their habits of apathy and indolence. PeyfTonel is equally incorrect in comparing the different charac ters of the Turks to the different hands, the italic, running hand, engroffing, &c. ufed in other parts of Europe. In thofe countries, the different hands have all Tueh a degree of fimilarity, that few are at a lofs to write, and none to read them at all, P3 and 214 CHAPTER VI. and a perfon who had learned pne hand, m a few hours might learn the others ; but in Turkey, Scarcely any perfon is verfed in the different characters, except the profeffed writers, and even among them thefe charac ters are employed each for its diftinct and pe- . culiar purpofe :- the* neflki is ufed in works of fcience ; the tealik, for poetry ; the divani? for ftate papers, commiffions, and epiftolary correspondence ; and the flalus, for inferip- tions, devifes, &c. If the difficulty preSented by thefe various characters feems at firft view light, it muft be remembered, that a flight obstacle, thrown in the way of an indolent Turk, becomes infuperable from his general difregard of fcience. The art of printing, though often attempt ed, has never been introduced among the Turks, and this- not owing to the difficulty of forming Arabic types, as has been by fome alledged, for the Chriftians of Mount Leba non, as well as we, print books with Arabic characters : if they require the beauty of the written character-, they might engrave on copper ; but the true caufe of this neglect, is the Turkifh indolence and contempt for all innovations. ' Is it not matter of aftonifhmen-t, that fince the firft eftablifhment of their manufactory of carpets, they have not improved the de signs, TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 2IJ figns, and particularly as they are not forbid den to iniitate flowers ? The fame may be Taid of their embroidery, and of the fluffs made at Prufa, Aleppo, and Damafcus. Their carpets owe their excellency only to the ma> terials they are made of. In all the Turkifh arts, the traces of fuper ftition are obfervable. Their architecture does not imitate that of ancient Greece, nor have they corrected one fault, or conceived any idea of proportion, from the perfect mo* dels they have daily, before' their eyes. In fhort, they have never ftudied architecture ; and as to the practice of Europeans, it would be derogatory to the mufelman dignity to copy infidels. They have taken their notions of general forms from the Arabs, and hav6 added nothing of their own. The church, of St. Sophia, after it became a mofque, how ever, is the model by which moft of the other mofques in Conftantinople have been built ; and this perhaps was owing to the architects being Greeks or Armenians, Though many of thefe have fome notion of the rules of their own art, they are not per mitted to purfoe them beyond what the Turks conceive to be the mahomedan form ; they look indeed with a kind of reverence, on the noble ruins of Greece, believing them to have been built by devil? or genii ; they p 4 are 2 I 6 C H A P T E R VI. are alfo jealous of Europeans, who wifh to ob> tain pofTeffiort of any parts of thofe remains j but the only ufe they themfelves make of them, is to pull in pieces the marble edifices to burn them into lime. The plafter of their walls, made of. this lime, is very. beau tiful ; but who does not lament, that to produce it, perhaps the divine works of Phi- deas and Praxiteles have been, configned to the furnace. This marble lime, mixed with pounded marble unburnt, forms,;, a plafter fuperior, in whitenefs to the Indian chinam, but unequal to it in polifh and hardnefs, Among thejnoTques and public buildings at Conftantinople are to be found many fine edifice^; but they are copied from the Ara bian buildings in Afia, where tiiere. are much grander ftructures than at Conftantinople, though of as late a date. On, the origin of the morefque and gothic architecture 'many learned differtatipiis have been written. It- is not to my prefent pur pofe to make extracts from them, and I. Should have nothing new to fay on the Subject. With refpect to the general form of the mof- ques, baths, caravanfaries, bazars, and kiofks, in the different parts, of the empire, the mafs is, notwithstanding many ftriking defects, grand and impofing ; the particular parts are devoid of all proportion ; their columns- have nothing TURKISH. ARTS AND SCIENCES. Itf nothing of their true character, being oftert twenty and thirty diameters - high, and the intercolumniation! frequently equal to the height of the column.. The capitals and en tablatures are the moft whimfieal and ridieu- lbus ¦*.*) *¦:"' '•>">.. ) • ¦ ,A ¦ . The noble productions of flaiuary and paint ing are -Still more fully fuppreffed. Thefe arts are anathematized as irreligious ; be-" caufe a blind and Stupid fanaticifm has de clared that it is impious to emulate the works of God. Hence the incitements to "virtue and animation, which we experience in view ing the Statues or portraits of, the benefac- * St. Sophia, at Conftantinople, there is little doubt, was the model which the European architects copied, when they introduced the cupola upon four arches, than which nothing can be more prepofterbus. Thofe who chufe to fee the falfe principles of thefe buildings expofed, and how far they differ from the grandeur and limplicity of the ancients, may read Frife's SaggiofuW ArcbiteBura Gottiea, Livorno, and in an excellent little German treatife annexed to the tranf- lation of it, the peculiar excellencies of the -gothic pointed- out, exclufively of it's defects. It is worthy, however, of obfervation, that the interior of St. Sophia appears much larger, and that St. Peter's, at Rome, appears infinitely fmaller than it really is. The cupola of this latter chuch is of the" fame fize as the Pan theon ; the members of the entablature, which runs round the lower part of the cupola or lanthorn, are marked on the pavement below by different coloured marbles ; but no one can, without a&ual meafuremept,be perfuaded of this truth. tor? 2l8 CHAPTER Vi, tors of mankind, are wholly loft ; hence too, the Turk can never be aroufed by thofe flafhes of genius,, thofe glowing energies of mind, which the hiftoric pencil, in defcribing feme, important Scene, arrefts and renders immortal. So far is this bigotry carried, that neither the effigy of the Sovereign, nor the reprefentation of any imaginary being (as in the ancient medals) is permitted to be imprinted on their money. The only ufe of thefe arts which is al lowed, is the imitation of inanimate nature, in carving or painting the interior of a room. Even here they frequently ufe as ornaments paffages from the Koran ; but they generally paint the walls with flowers or landfeapes. Their ingenuity is, however, merely mecha nical ; and of fcientific rules they are perfectly ignorant : perspective is totally unknown to the painters themfelves. The Tcience of the Turks in making aque ducts, has been vaunted by fome authors ; but left it fhould thence be concluded that they have a knowledge of hydraulics, I will here ftate in what this fcience confifts. When wa ter is to be conducted, they begin by laying pipes of burnt clay underground, to the dif- tance of about a quarter of a mile, more or lefs ; they then erect a fquare pillar, and con tinue the pipe up till they find how high the water TURKISH AftTS AND SCIENCES* 2i$ water will rife ; then they carry the pipe down the other fide, (leaving the top open) and continue it underground to the next pil- i ir ; and fo on till they have brought the wa ter to the place intended to be Supplied with it. It forhetimes happens that all their la bour has been in vain ; and they find by ex perience that the place to be fupplied is higher than the place whence they wanted to bring the water. The principles of levelling are unknown. to them. It would be in vain to tell them that the furface of water is not perfectly flat; that there is Such a thing as refraction ; and that a levelling inftrument alone will not tell them the height to which water will riSe. The moft learned man among the ulema does not know, that as the whole fine is to the angle of refraction, fo is the. distance of the object to its apparent elevation by refraction. They have no mer.!? of calculating the late ral preffure of arches or of -cupolas ; though they generally err on the right fide, yet ac cidents, fometimes have happened. I once Succeeded in making a TurkiSh mathemati-* cian underftand the principle of a catenarian arch, by fufpending a chain; but when he endeavoured to explain it to an architect, who was erecting a confiderable building for the late captain pafha, Gazi-Haffan, he re ceived for anfwer, that the figure defcribed by 230 CHAPTER Vl; by a chain hung up by the two ends might be applicable to the construction of the bot tom of a Ship, but not to that of an arch of mafonry. " It is a certain fact, that a few. years ago a learned mail of the law having loft an eye, and being informed that there was then at Conftantinople an European who made falfe eyes, not to be diftinguifhed from the natu ral, he immediately procured one ; but when it was placed in the focket, he flew- into a violent paffion with the eye-maker, abufing him as an impoftor, becaufe he could not See with it. The man, fearing he fhould lofe his pay, affured him that in time he Would fee as well with that eye as with the other. The effendi was appeafed, and the artift liberally rewarded, who having foon difpofed of the remainder of his eyes, left the Turks in ex pectation of feeing with them. The ufe of wheel carriages is almoft un known in Turkey. There is a kind of cart, ufed at Conftantinople,.and in Some few other parts, moftly for women to travel in. In moft parts of the Aliatic provinces they, have no idea of a wheel. All their merchandize' is carried by horfes, mules, or camels, in every part of the empire. The fultan has a coach or carriager-exactly of the fhape of a heaife in England, but with out any fprings ; it was, when I faw it, drawn by- TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 221 by. fix mules. The pole was of 'an enormous thicknefs, as well as ..every other part. T en quired the reafon; the anfwer was, that if the pole, or the axletree, &c. broke, the man who -made it would lofe his head. The ful tan never ufes a carriage as any kind of ftate ; it is only in excurfions into the country that it follows him. The people in Moldavia aiid Walachia, on the contrary, conftruct waggons for .carry ing merchandize on very juft principles of mechanics. Cafks too are not in ufe, except amons; -the Greeks. It may be inferred from PeyfTonel, that the fcience of medicine has made confi derable advances, and commands a high de gree of refpect in Turkey, when we find that the dignity of firft phyfician to the grand feignior is marked by the title of hakim bachi effendi; that he wears the large round turban called eurf, the fame as that borne by men of the higheft rank in the law ; and that the Mahometan who attains this dignity muft have paffed through the medrejfes, and have reached the order of the muderris; but the fact is, that the ftate phyfician is amere no minal dignity, enjoyed by men bf no fkill in this fcience, whilft the man to whom the care of the fultan's health is entrufted is al- ways a Greek, a Jew, or ah European, and it 2225 CHAPTER VI. it is merely for form Take that the confent and prefence of the hakim bachi muft be ob tained for the adminiftration of remedies, of whofe medical properties he is in general profoundly ignorant,' When the Turks take a purgative medicine, they never commend it except it be moft violently cathartic. They have no notion 'of the falutary effects of a gentle laxative. Navigation, and the ufe of the magnet;, none have the leaft idea of but the people of the navy, and they know fo little, that their compaffes are made to point to the true north with the variation allowed, and by the Tame compaffes they fleer their" fhips in all Teas, Very few in the navy can take a meridian obfervation. It is not neceffary for the grand-admiral to have any profeffional knowledge, or even to have been on board a fhip before he fails with the fleet. It is the fame with the.heads of other departments and many of the infe rior officers. An officer appointed to fuper- intend the gunpowder mills was highly of fended with a -merchant who offered to con tract for the delivery of brimftone; he took the offer as an infult, not knowing that brimftone entered into the compofition of gunpowder. The only people who have the fmalleft idea of navigation, are the Algerines in the" fervice TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 223 fervice of the porte ; and even theirs is chiefly practical knowledge. They rely on the Greeks to navigate their fhips of war. Their merchant Ships take care not to loSe fight of land j and hence it is that fo many of them are caft away on the coaft of the Black Sea. The want of field-pieces among the Turks, which induced Baron de Tott to undertake a new foundry, is a complete proof of the inactivity of this people. It is true that they had foundries of large brafs cannon ; but they had not even attempted to caft-thofe of a* Smaller kind, or of a different metal, al though their furnaces are of ufine, which is particularly adapted to the cafting of iron. To the prefent day they are ignorant of the art of cafting iron, even for bomb fhells ; and this is the reafon why all the Turkifh can- . hon, both for land and fea fervice, are of brafs. Though they have many fine large cannons at prefent, they are defective in the make of the carriages, particularly for field pieces; and whilft, other nations are making daily improvements in this refpect (by the con-, ftru-ction of flying artillery, &c.) the Turks, from their ignorance of mechanics, employ artillery the moft awkward and inefficacious. ., The defective ftate of general fcience in Turkey is owing to that want of means of com- 224 CHAPTER VI. communication and of union amongft its branches, and to that deficiency of combina tion, both in theory and practice, the caufes of which I have already traced out ; but in every country individual' exertion will do much, and infulated facts will be everywhere difcoverable, like the cafual flowers of the defert, which Shew what the human mind is capable of attaining, even in defpite of ac- cumulated obftacles. The great advantage 1 which a highly civilized country poSTefles,- is in the quick and ready combination of thefe facts, and in formine; out of them general principles, which abridge the labour and fa cilitate the progrefs of the artift and the phi- lofopher. It frequently happens, however, that the moft barbarous people poffefs, in, particular branches of art, an accuracy of principle, or a dexterity of operation, even fuperior to their more polifhed neighbours; and hence it will be found of ufe to collect detached information of this kind from every part of the globe. In the intercourfe of mind, fomething is to be gleaned from a foil the moft unpromifing; I fhall, there fore, make no further apology for the in troduction of fome unconnected remarks on detached inftances of fkill among the Turks in various arts and fciences. It turKish Arts and sciences. 225 It might reafonably be expected that a na tion of warriors fhould have expert furgeons at leaft, and that they fhould have paid at tention to the improvements and difeoveries made by other nations. . Nothing of this, however, is the cafe. They perform no ope rations, nor will they confent to an Euro pean's making an amputation, though the lofs of life be a certain confequence of omit ting it. Their art is fimply confined to heal ing, and at moft extracting a ball aiid a fblinter of a bone. It muft be confeffed that, as their habit of body is generally heal thy, nature performs often wonderful cures. They rely much on balfams, mummy, &c. There is in Conftantinople a Perfian ex traordinary expert in the art of healing. The Arabs bury a perfon, who has received a wound in his body, up to the neck in hot fand for twenty-four hours ; and apply with fuccefs the actual cautery for the dropfy. , I faw in the eaftern parts of the empire a method of fetting bones practifed, which ap pears to me worthy of the attention of fur geons in Europe. It is by inclofing the broken limb, after the bones are put in their places, in a cafe bf plafter of Paris (or gyp- fum) which takes exactly the form of the limb, without any preffure, and in a few mi nutes tbe mafs is folid and ftrong. If it be a q com- 22 Q CHAPTER VI. compound fracture, the place where the wound is, and put of which an exfoliated bone is to come, may be left uncovered,, with- -out any injury to the ftrength of the plafter encafement. This fubftaiice may be eafily cut with a knife, and removed, and replaced with another. If, when the Swelling Tubfides the cavity is too large for the limb, a hole or holes being left, liquid gypfum plafter may be poured in, which- will perfectly fill up the void, and exactly fit the limb. A hole may be made at firft by placing an oiled cork or bit of wood againft any part where it is re quired, and when the plafter is fet, it is to be removed. There is nothing in gypSum injurious, if it be free from lime; it will foon become very dry and light, and the limb may be bathed with Spirits, which will pene trate through the covering. Spirits may be ufed inftead pf water, or mixed with it (or vinegar) at the .firft making of the plafter. I law a cafe of a moft terrible compound fracture of the leg and thigh, by the fall of a cannon, cured in this manner. The per fon was feated oil the ground, and the plafter cafe extended from below his heel to the upper part of his thigh, whence a bandage, faftened into the plafter, went round his body. He reclined back when he Slept, as he could not lie down. During the curer 8 where TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. * 227 where they faw matter or moifture appear thrpugh the plafter coating, they cut a bole with a knife to drefs the wound, or let out the matter more freely, On this oceafion I cannot help mention ing the treatment of parts frozen in Ruffia, not by the furgeons, but by the common. . people, the fuccefs of which I was an eye-* witnefs to in feveral cafes, as well as to the failure of the common mode of treating frozen parts by the moft able Surgeons of the army. I fhall fimply ftate the facts I relate to. After Ochakof was taken, I received into my Subterranean lodging as many prifoners as it would receive, all of whom were either wounded or had a limb frozen. Among them were two children, one about fix and the other about fourteen years of age; the latter had one of her feet frozen to the ancle, the other all the toes, and the fole of one of her feet; The fecondday the parts appeared black (the firft day they were not much ob ferved.). The French Surgeon whom Prince Potemkin had fent for purpofely frorq Paris, and who was a man of note, ordered them to be conftantly bathed with warm camphorated Spirits ; the elder was removed to the hof- pital, when a mortification began ; the younger I kept with me, and as we removed q 2 into 228 CHAPTER VI. into winter quarters, I carried the child with me. The mortified parts feparated, the bpnes of the toes came off, and, after a long time, the fores healed. I fhould have faid, the furgeon was for immediately amputating both i the limbs. In a Subterranean room, not far from mine, were feveral women, whofe feet had ^been in like manner frozen; but, as no fur geon attended them, the Ruffian Soldiers and waggoners undertook the cure. It was alSo the fecond day when they applied their re medy, and the parts were perfeftly black. This remedy was gobfe-greafe, with which the parts were fmeared, warm, and the ope-, ration often repeated : their directions were, never to let the parts be dry, but always covered with greafe. The confequence was, that by degrees the circulation ex tended lower down, and the blacknefs de- creafed, till, laft -of all, the toes were only •dilcoloured, and at length circulation was 'reftored to them. I can account for this no otherwife, than that fthe fat kept the pores fhut, and pre vented the air from promoting putrefaction; in the meantime the vefTels Were continually abforbing part of the Stagnated blood, till by degrees the whole circulation was reftored: It is known that extravafated and Stagnated blood TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 229 blood will remain a long time in the body without putrifying, if it be not expofed to, the air. I conclude alfo, that in thefe cafes offroft, the mortification firft begins on the fiirface, which is in contact with the air. I only meant, however, to relate facts, and leave it to others to account for them. This is a general practice of the peafants throughout all Ruffia, but if a part isdifcovCred to be frozen, before the, perfon comes into a warm room, the froft may be extracted by plunging the part into cold water, or rubbing it with fnow till the circulation returns. The wherries or boats of Conftantinople are conftructed much on the principle of the Deal boats, they are more fharp and curved, but not fo light, and are apt to overfet if people Shift their places in them unwarily. Their fhape is very elegant. The' boatmen have a large marble weight for ballaft, which they place after the paffengers are feated. Though they are large, they row exceedingly Taft, and were always efteemed the quickeft going boats in Eurppe ; but I Taw a gondola, brought to Conftantinople by a Venetian ara- baffador, keep pace with them. The gon dolas, every body knows, are built on a con trary conftruction, being quite flat at bottom. The boftangi-bafhee (mafter of the police) has a boat of twelve oars, which rows with q 3 furprifing 230 C H A P T E ft VI, furprifing velocity ; but no one is permitted to build on that construction : this boat goes nearly twice as faft as the common ones, and confequently as the gondolas. They are dan gerous fea boats, though they fail faft. It is not many years fince they were brought to fuch perfection, as may be feen by a boat now^ preferved (I think, oT fultan Achmet III.) the merit, however, is their own. The Turks row in general better than the Chriftian or Jew boatmen. The Turks ufe copper vefTels for their kitchen utehfils, which are tinned with pure tin, and not, as in moft parts of Europe, with folder compofed of tin and lead, which is much fooner corroded by acids and fat ; and though it has not been obferved that any vio lent diforders have been produced by the vefTels in common afe, except from the copper itfelf, as the quantity of lead diffolved is fmall, the admixture of tin rendering lead more difficult of Solution, yet many chronic maladies may be owing to this baneful metal getting into the habit in fmall quantities-, and particularly of the nervous kind, There is no country in Europe where the quantity of lead ufed in tinning is fo great as in this ifland ; an abufe which certainly merits the attention of this government, as it, did fome years ago that of France, which prohibited at Turkish Arts and sciences. 231 the fame tirhe, under pain of death, the ufe of all preparations of lead in wine, or other liquors ; a regulation very neceffary in Eng land, as is alfo the eftablifhment of fome, means to preVent fuch part of the tea being fold which comes in immediate contact with the lead, in chefts where it happens to be Corroded, as is frequently the cafe. Nothing can be more clumfy than the door-locks in Turkey, but their mechanifm to prevent picking is admirable.' It is a cu rious thing to fee wooden locks upon the iron doors, particularly in Afia, of their cara vanfaries, and other great buildings, as well as on houfe doors. The key goes into the back part of the bolt, and is compofed of a Tquare flick with five or fix iron or wooden pins about half an inch long, towards the end of it, placed at irregular diftanoes, and anTweriiig to holes in the uppdr part of th*? bolt, which is pierced with a Square* hole id receive the key. The key, being put in ai for as it will go, is then lifted up, and it's pins entering the corresponding holes raife" other pins, which had dropt into thefe holes from the part of the lock immediately above, , and which have heads to prevent their fal ling lower than it? neceffary ; the bolt, being thus freed from the uppei* pins, is drawn back by means of the key; the key is then q 4 lowered, 2^2 CHAPTER VI. lpwered, and may be drawn put of the bolt: to lock it again, the bolt is only pufhed in, and the upper pins fall into the holes in the bolt by their own weight. This idea might be improved on, but the Turks never think of ipproving. The Greeks have a very curious manner of painting in frefco, which has many ad vantages. I alfo faw the ancient method of painting with wax, and fixing the colours by heat, practifed by a Greek, and at a place I leaft expected it, at the Dardanelles; for at Conftantinople it is unknown. Whether this be exactly the encauftic painting of the ancients it is hazardous to affirm, though I myfelf have not the leaft doubt reflecting it, Thus much is certain, that it has, with regard to fapilijy, very considerable advantages over the oil painting now in uSe ; it has all its freedom, and the vivacity of its colours, added to Solidity, and the durability which the experience of twenty centuries has proved wax painting to be poffeffed of. It was my intention to have treated on it in this place ; but as it does not regard Turkey, the imme diate Subject of this work, and would be a differtation of confiderable length, I intend Shortly to print it Separately, with the Greek jmanner of frefco painting, in which all co- Ipurs may be ufed on a lime-wall. The TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 233, The Armenian jewellers fet precious ftones, particularly diamonds, to much ad vantage, with a foil, which, under rofes, or half-brilliants, is remarkably beautiful, and is not fubject to tarnifh. Their method is as follows: an agate is cut, and highly po- liflied, of the fhape defired ;, in a block of lead is formed a cavity of about its own fize ; over this is placed a bit of tin of thet thicknefs of Strong brown paper Scraped bright. Thp agate is then placed on the tin, over the ca vity, and Struck with a mallet. The beauti ful polifh the tin receives is fcarcely to be imagined. This is in general kept a fecret, and Tuch foils fell for half and three quarters of a dollar each. The jewellers, who are moftly Armenians, have a curious method of ornamenting watch Cafes, and fimilar things, with diamonds and other ftones, by fimply glueing them on. The flone is fet in filver or gold, and the lower part of the rpetal made flat, or .tp' cor respond with the part to which it is to be fixed ; it is then warmed gently, and the glue applied, which is So very ftrong that the parts never Separate. This glue, which may be applied to many purpofes, as it will Strongly join bits of glafs or polifhed fteel, is thus made ; Diffolve 234 CHAPTER VI. Diffolve five or fix bits of maftic*. as large as peas, in' as much fpirit of wine as will Suf fice to render it liquid; in another veffel diffolve as much ifinglafs (which has been previoufly Toaken in water till it is Twollen and foft) in French brandy or rum, as will make two punces, by meafure, of ftrong glue, and add two fmall bits of gum galbanum or ammoniacum, which muft be rubbed or ground till they are diffolved ; then mix the whole with a fufficient heat; keep it in a phial ftopt, and when it is to be ufed fet it in hot" Water. Cotton at Smyrna is dyed with madder in the following manner : — The cotton is boiled in common olive oil, and then in mild alkali ; being cleaned, it will then take, the madder dye : and this is the fine colour we fee in Smyrna cotton-yarn. I have heard that th£ fum of five thoufand pounds was given, in England, for this fecret. A remarkable inftance occurred to my' knowledge of an individual fact, which might have been- of the utmoft ufe to fbciety, but Which, owing to the ftate of knowledge' and government in Turkey, was wholly loft tp the world. An Arabian, at Constantinople, had difcovered the fecret of caftinsr iron, which, when it came out of the mould, was as malleable as hammered iron ; fome of his fabrication TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 235 fabrication was accidentally Shown to Mr. de Gaffron, the Pruffian charge d'affaires, and Mr. FranzaroM (men of mineralogical fcience) who were ftruck with the fact, and immediately inftituted an enquiry for its au thor. This man, whofe art in Chriftendom would have infured him a fplendid fortune, had died poor and unknown, and his fecret had perifhed with him ! His utenfils were* found, and feveral pieces of his cafting, all perfectly malleable. Mr. Franzaroli analized them, and found , that there was no admix ture of any other metal. Mr. de Gaffron has fince been made fuperintehdant of the iron' •manufactory at Spandau, where he has in vain attempted to difeover the pfocefs of the Arabian. Europeans are much ftfuck to fee the Turks work fitting at every art or handi craft where there is a poffibility of it ;' car penters, for inftance, perform the greateft part of their labour fitting. It is de'ferving of remark, that their toes acquire Such a degree of ftrength by ufing them, and by their not being cramped up in tight fhoes, that they hold a board upright and firmly with their toes, while with their two hands they guide a faw, fitting all the while. Thefe people are able to Stand on the end pf their tees. 236 CHAPTER VI. toes, which will fupport the whole weight of their body. We have, in Europe, certainly falfe ideas with refpect to the utility of fhoes, in pre venting the feet of children from becoming too broad. The Arabs, who when children wear no fhoes, and when they are grown up, only fandals or/flippers, have the moft beau tiful feet. In fome parts of Afia, I have feen cupolas pf a confiderable fize, built without any kind of timber fupport. They fix firmly in the middle a poft about the height of the perpendicular wall, more or lefs, as the.. cupola is to" be a larger or Tmaller portion of a Sphere ; to the top of this is faftened- a ftrong pole, So as to move in all directions^ and the end of it defcribes the inner part of the cupola ; lower down is fixed to the poft another pole, which reaches to the top of the. outer part of the perpendicular wall, and de-. Scribes the outfide oT the cupola, giving the difference of thicknefs of the mafonry at top and bottom, and every intermediate part, with, the greateft poffible exactneTs. Where they build their cupolas with bricks, and inftead of lime ufe gypfum, finifliing one layer all .round before they begin another, only fcaffold- ing for the workmen is required to clofe the, cupola at top. At TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 237 At Baffora, where they have no timber but the wood of the date tree, which is like a cabbage ftalk, they make arches without any frame. The mafon with a nail and a bit of firing defcribes a femicircle on the ground, lays his bricks, fattened together by a gypfum cement, on the lines thus traced, and having thus formed his arch, except the crown brick, it is carefully raifed, and in two part's placed on the wall. They proceed thus till the whole arch is finifhed. This part is only half a brick thick ; but it ferves them to turn a ftronger arch over it. The cities of Bagdad and Baffora are moftly built of bricks dried in the fun, which Stand ages if kept tolerably dry. The clay is ufed in almoft a dry ftate, and beaten into the moulds with mallets. This gives them a wonderful degree of hardnefs. At the entrance of the defert, coming from Aleppo, I found a village built in a very An gular manner ; each room was a cupola, and refembled a hay Stack, Some of them a fogar loaf. The whole was of earth, as they have no wood. The inhabitants faid their town had been built by Abraham ; that is, they did not remember when the oldeft houfes were built. They faid they were never out of repair, but that they fometimes plaftered the upper part, or rather beat earth on it. The 238 CHAPTER VI. The walls were compofed of clay and gra vel, and were exceedingly hard. The me thod they ufe is, to beat each layer of earth till it is very hard. Such a method is ufed in the province of Lyons in France, where they build houfes of feveral Stories, and very fpacious. The walls are always plaftered with lime and fand, and Stand fome centuries. Thefe are very fuperior to the mud walls of cottages in fome parts of England, where fhe earth is ufed very moift, and mixed with Straw. The ancient Romans built in the Tame, manner as in France. The .excellence of the Venetian plafter floors, fo .much admired for their hardnefs and beauti ful polifh, depends entirely on their being Strongly beaten. The composition is only frefh lime and Sand, with pieces of marble, ufed almoft dry, and beaten till they are quite hard, then ground even and polifhed. Com mon earth as well as lime mortar acquires an, incredible degree of hardnefs by compres sion, if it contains no more moifture than is s.rieceffary to make its parts unite. A kind of artificial Stone may be made of gravel with a little lime, very Strongly preffed, or beaten into moulds. I have Teen practifed a method of filtering avater by afcenfion, which is much fuperior to our filtering ftones, or other methods by' defeent, TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 23 aiid this . th#y ufe as an* article of food in that ftate, Or make cheefe of, it, but it has none of the qualities of yaourt, though, when it is new, it has much of the tafte. Perhaps new milk curdled with four milk, and that again ufed as a ferment, and the" mtne proceTs continued* might, in time, acq*dir:e; the qualities of ya ourt, which never can be made in Turkey without foffte- old yaourt *. They give no rational account how it was firft r&ade; Some of them told rile an angel' taught' Abraham- how to make it, and others, that an angel brought a pot of it to Hagar^ which, was the firft yaourt (or leban.) It merits attention as a delicious article, of food, and as a. medicine. I will here relate the manner the Tatars * I have, fince this was written, learnt that yaourt may be iffade in the following mariner': — Put info a bafon a fpoonfuf'of beeryefift, or wine leesj pour on it'a quart of boiling milk;! where it is formed into a curd, and is bteomer four, take of it a table fpoonful and a' half to ferve as a fer ment to a frefh quart of milk, in the fame, manner as the yeaft, This, after' a" few repetitions, will become good jioutt, and tofe the; tafte of the yeaft by degree*. r and 243 CHAPTER VI. and Kalmuks make their ktiinis.j or fermenfed mare's milk. ..* " Take of mare's milk of one day any quantity, add to it a fixth part of. water, an eighth part of the foureft cow's milk* that can be got, but at a future period a fmaljer- pbrtion of old kumis will better anfwer the ' purpofe of fouring ; cover the veffel with a thick cloth, and fet it in a place of moderate warmth; leave it to^^ipft for twenty-foup hours, at the end of which the milk will have become four, and a thick fubftance gathered; at top ; then with a flick, made at the lower- end in the manner of a churn ftaff, beat it till the thick fubftance above-mentioned be blended intimately with the fubjacent fluid ; let it reft twenty-Sour hours in a high nar row veffel like a churn. The agitation muft1 be repeated as before, till the liquor appears to be perfectly homogenous, and in this ftate it is called kumis (or koumis) of which the , tafte ought to be a pleafant mixture of fweet and four. Agitation muft be employed every time before it is ufed. When well prepared- in clofe veffels, and kept in a cold place, it will keep three months or more without any injury to its quality. " It ferves both as drink andTopd ; is a re storative to the ftomach and a cure Tor ner vous diforders, phthifis, &c" The. WRKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. £43 The Tatars diftil this fermented milk, and obtain froto it a fpirituous liquor, which they drink inftead of brandy; The butter, which is moftly ufed in Con* ftantinople, comes from the Crim and the Kuban. They do not fait it* but rhelt it in large copper pans over a very flow fire, and fcum off what rifes ; it will then preferve- fweet a long time if the butter was f refh when it was melted. We preferve' butter moftly by faking. I have had butter, which when frefh was melted and feum'd in the Tatar manner j and then falted in our manner* which kept two years good and fine taftedk Wafhing does not fo effectually free butter from the curd and butter-milk, which it is neceffary to do, in order to preferve it, as boiling or .melt ing ; when then fait is added to prevent the pure butyrous part from grbwing rancid, we certainly have the beft procefs for preferving butter. The melting or boiling, if done with care, does not difeolour or injure the tafte. . To the lovers of coffee, a few remarks oil the Turkifh manner of making it, in the beft Way, may not be unacceptable. Coffee, to be good, muft either be ground to an almoft impalpable powder, or it muft be pounded as the Turks do, in an iron mor-* tar, with a heavy peftle. »The Turks firft put the coffee dry into. the coffee. potr and Set it r a over 24_4' CHAPTER VI* over a very flow fire, or embers, tillit is warm,. and fen els forth a fracraht fhiell, Shakino* it often ; then from another pot they pour on it boiling- water Cor rather water in which the grounds of the Jaft made, coffee 'had been boiled, and fet to become clear) ; they then hold it a little Ipnger over the fire, till there is on its top a white froth like cream, but it muft not boil, but only rife gently ; it is then poured backwards and forwards two or three times, from one pot into another, and it foon becomes clear : they, however, often drink it quite, thick. Some put in a Spoon- fuL of cold water to make it clear fooner, or lay a, cloth dipt in cold water on the top of the pot. The reafon why our Weft India coffee, is not fo good as the Yemen coffee is, that on account of the climate it is never Suffered tot fyang on the trees till it is perfectly ripe ; and in the voyage it acquires, a tafte from the. bad air in the hold of the Ship. This may be re medied, in Italy, by expofing it to tlie fun two or three months : with us, boiling* water Should be poured; on it, and: let to Stand till it is cold, then it muft be wafhed wdtli other cold, water, and, laftly, dried in an. oven. Thus prepared* itw.ill.be nearly as. good' as the beft Turkey coffee. 'It Should bej'oaSted in an open earthen or irpn. pan, and the flower TURKISH^ ARTS AND SCIENCES. 245 -flower it is -roafted the better. As often as it -efackles it tmrft-be taken -off the fire. The Turks often roaft it in a-bakef's oven while it 'is heating. '^ji -SiS' "¦ :'if-' ''-"•¦ > - • * The pfefervatidii of yeaft having been a 'Subject of much refearth in this country, tlie following particulars may perhaps deferve at tention. On the coaft of Perfia my 'bread was ¦made, in the Englifh manner, of good wheat flour, and with the- yeaft generally ufed there/: It is thus prepared ;0take a imall.tea cup or winb'.glafs lull bf Split or bruiied jbeafe, pour on'them-a pint of boiling water,- and fet the 'whole irfaweifel all night -on the hearth, or any other warm place ; the water will be a gobd yeaft, and have a froth on its- top next •Rlbraing, fii this cold climate, i efpecially at^ a cold feafon,rit fhould Stand longer to ferment, perhaps : twenty -four oi* forty-eight hours,* and the quantity of peafe fhould be ¦Mtfge'r: experience muft determihe;this. The above quantity made me as much bread as a half quartern loaf, the quality of which was very good and light. ;.*;•. - b: A fpring, which operates both on the indi vidual and national character of the modern European with a force fecond only to that of political inftitution, is commerce. Upon the views entertained on this' fubject by a people ; Upon the extent ""and (nodes' pf 'theif practice, R 3 and 246 CHAPTER VI. and upon the character which they maintain with refpect to it, depends much of their im* portance as a nation. With regard to the general ideas entertain ed by all ranks in Turkey relative to com merce, they are no lefs" narrow and abfurd than all their other opinions. " We fhould '*' not trade," fay they, '< with thofe beggarly 11 nations, who come to buy of us rich arti- *' cles of merchanclize, and rare commodities, *£ which we ought not to fell to them, but " we fhould trade with thofe who bring to ,'* us ufeTul and valuable articles, without the *" labour of manufacturing, or the trouble of **' importing them on our part." Upon this principle it is that Mocha coffee is prohibited to be fold to infidels. It is therefore no wonder that the foreign commerce Of the Turks is comparatively trifling.; their trade is moftly from province fo province, and even this is inconceivably narrowed by the want pf mu tual confidence, and the ignorance and fhort-r fightednefs of their views. They have few bills of exchange, or any of thofe modes of tranfacting bufinefs which the ingenuity and enterprife of commercial nations have in vented for the facilitation pf cpnpimercial in tercourfe. The effects which the infecurity of proper ty, and the watchful avarice, pf ftip govern* TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 247 ment produce upon commerce, are ftill more - ftriking. In an extenfive trade . capital and credit muft be alike great, but from both pf thefe the Turk is cut off; he dares not make a difplay of wealth; and if he has been fo fortunate as to accumulate a targe fum of money, his firft care is to conceal it from view, left it fhould attract the blood-fuckers of power. The neceffary confequence of this is, that credit, that vital fpring of commerce, cannot be created, and inftead of thofe Com mercial connections which in this part of Eu rope ramify fo widely, and render commercial operations fo eafy, all bufinefs is tranfacted either by principals themfelves, or their im mediate factors, in a way little different from the barter of the rude ages. Nor is it only the infecurity of property while living which renders the Turk fo averfe to engage in undertakings of great extent and ^Contingent advantage ; the difpofition pf it by will affords them little means of felf grati fication in viewing their inheritance tranf- mitted , to pofterity. The merchants, and others of inferior rank, know, that a fplendid fortune, at the fame time that it renders their children objects of fufpicion, will not raife them to pofts of honour and refpect, without putting them in a Situation not to be able to Iraiifrnit it another generation to their pafte- r 4 rity; 34*5 G H A P T E R VI, .rity; thpfe who hold any office of fhepoi^e know that they have the fultan for their heir, and his pafhas: or other officers for their ex§-> cutors ; hence it 'is that posterity is of (ol little confequenCe in the eyes of the/ Turk, .that he is feldom induced to confult much their we}-, fare, and the ' hofjbitals, caravanfaries, foun-r tains, bridges,- -&c. built for charitable pM* pofes, only originate in the: oftentation pr Superftitious fears pf tlieir founders, who build. them for the repofe of their fouls, or to perpe tuate the reputation of their piety. msr , The natural refult of this combination pf circumftances - is, that commerce is every where cheeked; no emulation takes placed: no -'communication of difcoveries, no firm and folid affociation of inteueft; their mechas- nical arts are in many inftances worfe cul tivated now- than they were a century ago, particularly the tempering of fabres ; and fome of their manufactures, have gone entirely "to decay. I . .. . It remains only to fbeak of the moral cha racter which they maintain as traders; and this has been varioufly reprefented. All ranks of people have Tome flight kind pf commerce, or rather a. fort of pedlkig trade among themfelves, and confequently the distinctive character of the - different ' faadsp will appear in this as well as. in other -cir- CURiftances, TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES, 249 eumStances. Amonsrft all of them a certain degree of artifice is common, and is fcarcely "thought difhonourable., fuch as -the corrupting *of brokers and all thofe who are concerned in making bargains ; but the' officers and d£- pendents of the porte are univerfally re marked as the moft venal and cheating fet of men oh tlie face of the earth. Honefty, however, it is faid, in fome mea fure distinguishes the TurkiSh merchant-: this may perhaps be true, if we compare him with the crafty Greek^ or Still more Subtle "Armenian, who, from the unjuft oppreffions "under which they labour, are induced to re taliate by artifice, on their imperious mafters, the Source of half that tricking and deception commonly laid to the charge of the lower orders of Society. Much of the civilization of modern Europe has been with juftice attributed to the in fluence of female fociety; to this^ are owing the high and noble paffions which excite mankind to deeds of active patriotism and benevolence, and the fofter pteaSbres which ornament and-: endear the fecial circle, it will be worth while to confider how far then woman, " tafl and befit , of all God's ** works," made to -Soften the ferocity of man, "fyas mad? in vain for thefe barbarians ; whofe 25° CHAPTER VI. whofe love is fenfuality without friendfhip or efteem. Polygamy is generally found to be destruc tive to the finer feelings ; it is fo in Turkey. •The rich man (who alone is enabled to fup port feveral females) regards them only as the instruments of his pleafure, and Seeks their fociety with no other view; hence the women themfelves have no cultivation of mind, but live a ftupid Solitary, life, Sur rounded by flaves, or by women as ignorant and fpiritlefs as themfelves. Moral virtue :and intellectual eminence are alike unculti vated by them, and the defcriptions of ele- .gance and tafte difcoverable in their amufe- iments, their, gardens, and apartments, exift only in the imagination of travellers, . whp, like Lady M. Montague, aim rather to afta- "nifh than to inftruct, The women in general only want an op portunity to become unfaithful to their huf- bands, and the proppfition generally comes from them ; but it is attended with great danger. If a common Mahomedan profti- :tute even be catched with a Chriftian, fhe is put into a fack and, drowned, and the man put to death, except he become a Mahome dan, which will not always fave both their Jives. Chriftians of the country have often preferred death. a. Marriage TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 251 Marriage is with 'the Mahomedans merely a civil contract ; thp wife brings no portion to the hufband, but the hufband ftipulates in -the marriage contract, which is executed be fore a judge, to allow a certain portion to the wife. The contracts are of two kinds, the nikiah and the kapin ; the former is the pro per legal marriage, and every Mahomedan is reftrained by the koran to four wives of this defeription. This contract Specifies a certain fum, which is to be given to the wife in cafe of repudiation, or of her hufband's death. The other contract is only an agreement to live together for a certain period, at the ex piration of which a Specified fum is to be given to the woman. It is a juft observation of Baron de Tott,, that the kapin or tempo rary marriage is a neceffary confequence of the general institution oT polygamy. A le-- paration may be demanded by either party ; if it be by the woman, fhe goes before the judge, and pronounces . the following for> mula : *' Nikia-hum khalal, baflwm uzad" j. e. " My dowry given up, my head is free," The hufband,, who repudiates his wife, muft repeat it either three feveral times, or three times together, after which he cannpt take her back until he has Submitted to a peculiar jndecent and immoral ceremony. }n cpnverfation the Turks fometimes dis play 2^2 6H APTER VK play good natural fenfe ; but the wk for which they have been celebrated is, no where to be found, This is fuSficiently evident from the existence of the mufahibs* or profefTed Speak ers, who are indeed little better than: buf foons, but who are hired. by the opulent to amufe their company,- Can there ppffibly ,-be a greater imputation on the Sbciaft powers of a people, than their, adoption: of Such a practice ? They cannot or dare not Speak fo as to keep up amufing er- instructive conver sation, and they therefore caH in the aid of hired talkers. Dervifhes; particularly thiSfe who have the reputation of beinglmat^ irat who generally are mbre rogues than; fools*, often attach themfelves to the greats a*ir*4 amufe the company. Tiiefe people Some* times take very great liberties' in their Speeches, which is excufed in them on ac-. Count of their holy frenzy. ¦>.; A free people are a Social people, fond of friendly intercourfe. Cheerful converfe and unreferved communication of Sentiment Soften the nature, refine the mariners', expand thi heart, and enlarge the understanding. Free dom of Speaking and acting- is the Source of civilization;' s -.'¦ A nation of flave9 is a nation diSuniftds jio focial ties, no unboSoming of friendship1; fuSpicioii and fear is in every breaft ; confer-, § fation • Turkish Arts and sciences. %$$ iation is uninterefting, and confequently not . fought after ; hired buffoons and low jelters are the Speakers to the glopmy audience, or they fit in fad and ftupid Solitude, Smoking a narcotic herb, or taking lethargic opium **" itifiiking haughfcinefs and ridiculous pomp take the place of that elevation of Sentiment, and dignkv of character, which alone exalts the man of high birth or office above his fellow citizen ; difguft and gloom hang over their countenances, ' and innocent mirth is r - deemed indecent. When a Turk drinks wine, it is with an intention of being intoxicated; he therefore^ iwaliows a large portion at one draught, or repeats it till he is beaStly drunk ; or if ho is; fearful of the confequences' of being in that ftate in the place- h& happens to be, at leaSfe the quantity he preferibes to himfelf to make- him coniented(a% they exprefs tiiemfelves) he- drinks off all at once. Such a method of drinking wine, and with Such a view, cer tainly entitles drinkers to the contempt they- are held in in Turkey. From thefe circumftances, which may be confidered- a> forming the more ornamental' part of the manners bf a nation, we pafs to. thpfe more important points which cohftitute the bafts of their moral character. And here it-muft be obferved, that fo wide and &$4 , 6 tf A P t E R " Vn and various an empire as Turkey cannot bill have ftriking varieties in the morals of its inhabitants ; they, however.) moftly agree in the great leading points, and the variations are to be accounted for from peculiar cir cumftances of Situation, origin, and habits* I fhall therefore firft notice generally thofe vices and virtues which belong to the Turks as a nation, and then point out a few of the moft ftriking differences obfervable in the various provinces of the empire. The moral character of the Turks ha9 been reprefented in a favourable light by fome author^ upon two principles ; the one> a connection of intereft between the Turks and their own country (which is the cafe of moft of the French writers except Volney) and the other, from a wifh to expofe the vices and follies of other European nations by the contraft. Of the writers themfelves I fhall hereafter have occafion to Tpeak ; the chief points of their defcription will be included, in the following obfervations. ;• Much has been faid of the equity of the Turks. If we look to the example of their fultans, viziers, pafhas, and judges, Telling juftice,, can it be Tuppofed that thefe exam ples have not corrupted the people, though they were naturally good. The truth is, that they have fo little idea ofjuflice them- • Selves, TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES!, ¦&$$ felves, that when they go to law (that is-* appeal to a kadi) they rely more on bribes and cabal than on impartial judgment* Where the judge is not influenced, he is naturally juft ; no man fcarcely was ever* fo corrupted but he would be To. The European merchants, who have a better opportunity of knowing them than foreign minifters, confined almoft wholly to their, refidence, and ignorant of the country, or than travellers paffing haftily through the Country, unanimoufly affure us, that they find them very "cunning in their dealings, and full of deceit. The people are faid to be humane: the peaceable citizen may be fo, as in other parts, or as man naturally is ; but the dictates of their religion, and the examples they fee, muft blunt their feelings ; and this citizen, in regard to an enemy, is as favage as a 'tiger. There is, after all (from whatever caufe) a ferocity in them which may eafily be awoken, and when they ftrike, it is with a dagger to the heart. The temperance of the Turks, which is pwing in a great meafure to their religion,. produces its ufual good effect in rendering their intellects clear; their groTs ignorance is not to be attributed to their want o£ natural fenfe; the foil muft not only b$ in &$(* CHAPTER VI. in itfelf rich, it muft be cultivated* T|l$ Turk has indeed a good capacity, and an ha bitual prudence, but his government and re* ligion are eternal bars to his improvement* Opennefs of mind and -benevolence cannot exift where deSpotifm renders every naan fofpicious, nor can the votary of an intole rant and fangioainairy religion cultivate libe-* rality and fcience. As to the politenefi. aferibed to the Turks by fome authors, I. never could discover it : the Turkifh ferocky, perhaps, excited- fear mi them,, and produced refpect : if a man .found, himfelf alone with a tiger, and efcaped. unhurt, he would fay it was a good-natured animal. The affuming_ Superiority of the meaneft Turk, the deference which is paid to him by all infidels who approach him, and by your own interpreters, impofe and create tefpect ; if the beaft then only growls, but does not bite, he is praifed for his civility* If vou know their language, vou will obferve the- difference of their expreffions and their manners from thofe they ufe to their brother Mahomedans ; you will obferve, at beft, an infulting corideicendenGe^ which plainly be** .Speaks their contempt of you • they are ig"* ¦nor-ant of, and'"above practising the true prill-* ciples of politenefss Madame de Genlis fays, politenefs confifts-.in making: others > ap pear TURKISH ARTS \HD SCIENCES. 2$7 pear every thing, yourfelf nothing ; a Turk makes himfelf every thing, you nothing* We have only to obferve the ambaffadors they fend to foreign courts (who are all people very low in office ;) they neither learn the language, or gain any more knowledge of the country than the poft-horfes which draw them through it : when they return, they reprefent the meii as monkies, becaufe they are active, and the women as profti- tutes, becaufe they are unveiled, and live in fociety with men. Not one word of this is exaggerated. The language and the addrefs of the politeft minifter of the porte to a fo-» reign ambaffador very much refembles the civility of a polite German baron to his vafial. Even their moft ftrenuous admirer, Peyf^ fonel, acknowledges that Turkey remains two centuries behind the reft of Europe in re fpect to fcience ; that it has neglected naval and military tactics and difcipline ; and that it allows vices in many parts of its admini stration to go uncorrected. That there is a confiderable difference of character and morals in the different parts of the empire has been before obferved ; the worft are the people of Anatolia, particularly thofe bordering on the Black Sea ; they are cow ardly, treacherous, robbers, affafllns, and inde- s ceu t ; 258 CHAPTER Vf. cent; thofe of Conftantinople are Softened' by a City life ; thofe of Aleppo are the moft refined and civil among themfelves, and re markably decent, but, like all the Afiatics, hold Europeans in great contempt, and even hatred; at Damafcus they are furious zea lots; the people of Smyrna are favage and dangerous; in European Turkey they have fewer prejudices againft Chriftians, be'caufe they know more , of them, or rather becaufe they are lefs bigoted enthufiafts than at Da mafcus, or in Egypt; at Bagdad they are lefs prejudiced by their religion, and more ©pen to instruction, than in other parts of Afia; the people of ¦Baffora, a mixture of Arabs, Persians*, and a few Turks, are mild and docile. It is lingular, that thefe people, from their communication with India and with Europeans, know infinitely more bf our manners, arts, and arms, and are more in chned to adopt them, than thpfe in the fron tier tpwns in Europe, who are ftill prejudiced, infolent, and proud. The Arabians of the defert generally pay nearly as much refpect to a European as to one of their own Coun try, and more than to a Turk, whom they mortally hate. 1 could here wifh to refcue the Arabs of the Great Defert from the imputation of robbery. I think no nation lefs deferves it. . I how- TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 259 I however except the borderers, and thofe who wander into countries whofe inhabitants have fixed habitations, as Egypt, &c. I have lived with them ; I know their habits, and the Simplicity and honefty of their hearts ; I have feen them in their* peaceable habitations, and when they have been attacked I have gone with them into the battle, as their laws of hofpitalky require. They religioufly obferve their laws of peace and war : it is from ignorance of them that their conduct has been mifconftrued. Thefe laws agree with thofe. which Tome European nations have eftablifhed in their maritime code; that a neutral flag protects an enemy's property. If the conductors of caravans or other leffer bodies are friends, the perfons and property of enemies are Suf fered to pafs unmolefted; they even enjoy all the rights of hofbitality in common with their friends. But the Arabs confider the Turks as ene mies, and all unknown nations as Turks; when thefe therefore travel alone, or with' other Arab nations with whom thofe that they meet are at war, the latter attack them, and if they conquer, Strip them naked. They neither kill then* prifoners nor make flaves of them as the Turks do, but they tell them to go to their nation and provide themfelves with s 2 arms 260 CHAPTER VI. arms to meet t-h^m again in battle. It i&, true that people^ thus ftript often die of thirft or -hunger; but it is from ignorance of an other cuftom of the Arabs, which is, to bar gain with their enemies to conduct them to fome place, where the fum ftipulated is to be paid, and which is generally very moderate. The Arabs in this manner carry their pri foners to Bagdad^ Baffora, or whatever place is agreed on, where, the mpney being paid, the government Suffers the Arabs to depart unmolefted: this contract is never violated, as the confequences .would be fatal to others. , With a large caravan, when there are wars -in the "defert, there aregenerally conductors who are of other nations, befides that of which it is compofed, who appear as chief conductors alternately, according to the nation they meet. This evafion is fometimes difcovered, and the caravan plundered. C *** ] CHAPTER VII. On -the State of Population in the Turkifli Em pire. i ' - THE aim of all rational politics is to augment the numbers, and increafe the happinefs of mankind ; and hence the ftate pF population is generally the moft accurate Standard of polkical error or improvement. From the preceding pages we Shall have feen fofficient reafon to apprehend that the popu lation of the Turkifh empire cannot be, in the prefent day, at all proportioned to the extent of its territory. ; The religious distinctions which deprefs into fo abject a ftate of flavery one great part of the community," and the infecurity of property, which affects every rank and conditionj are both caufes, whofe combined 'operation muft greatly fubtract from the numbers of a people, which form the vital ftrength of a ftate. Where the culti vator is not fure of reaping the corn which he fows, he Will fow only what the immediate neceflity of fubfiftence requires ; the political ftate of the country prevents his accumulation pf capital, and even that fmall portion which he may chance tp poffeSs, he will not hazard in Speculations of fo very uncertain profit. In s^ , , thi§ 262 CHAPTER VII. ' this languifhing ftate of domeftic agriculture, Conftantinople looks for a fupply of corn to foreign channels, particularly Egypt, Molda via, Walachia, the Crimea, and Poland, From a view of the ftate of Egypt, it will appear that little dependence can be placed on' the permanence of this fupply ; ftill lefs would a wife government look to markets, which, like the others which I have enumerated, areeither immediately under the direction of a hoftile ftate, or. perpetually liable to its incurfions. The Ruffians are, indeed, wife enough, iii time of peace, to invigorate their own agri culture, by fupplying Conftantinople with corn from their provinces. The Crimea, on which the porte ufed greatly to depend, has been deferted by mcft of its Tatar inhabitants fince. it fell under the imperial dominion ; but the Ruffian and other adventurers, who now occupy it, are making great endeavours to revive its commerce and agriculture; thefe, however, as well as the fupplks of Poland, ate in the hands of Ruffia, and x in the event of a war She can not only withhold them, but eafily Cut off the Supplies of Moldavia and Walachia, thus expofing the TurkiSh capital to the utmoft diftrefs. Notwithstanding thefe evident confequences of their prefent fyftem of policy, the divan purfoe thofe me thods pf fupply which give theni the leaft immediate TURKISH POPULATION. 263 immediate trouble, totally regardlefs both of the decay of their own agriculture, and of the future destruction whichthis fyftem threatens to their very existence as a nation. It is not only in theory that thefe evils are to be appre- Jiended ; a comparifon of the prefent and paft ftates of the Turkifh population will evince the truth of the foregoing propofitions. We know not what was the population of this vaft empire in very remote ages; from -the evidence of hiftory it appears to have been very confiderable; at prefent it is far from being fo. ' Without going farther back than the memory of perfons now living, it is eafy to prove that depopulation has been, in lat ter times, aftonifhingly rapid. In earlier times the chaSm was in Some meafure filled by the inhabitants they carried away from the countries they conquered, or into which they made their barbarous incur fions. Hungary and Poland have furnifhed them with millions. The jgreat caufes of this depopulation are, doubtlefs, the following : 1 ft. The plague, of which the empire is jiever entirely free. , , 2dly. Thofe terrible diforders which almoft always follow it, at leaft in Afia. ^dly. Epidemic and endemic maladies in Afia, which make as dreadful ravages as the s 4 plague 264 CHAPTER VII. plague itfelf, and which frequently vifit that part of the empire. 4thly. Famine, owing to the want of pre,- caution in the gpvernment, when a crop of corn fails, and to the avarice and villany of . the pafhas, who generally endeavour to, profit by this dreadful calamity, 5 th and laftly, the fickneffes -which always follow a famine, and which occafion a much greater mortality. The plague is more mortal in proportion. as it vifits a country feldom. At Conftan* tinople it is often a great number of years together : it is fcarcely perceived in winter, and frequently fhips fail to Europe with clean bills of health, though it is lurking in infected clothes, and in diftant and little frequented parts of the city. " In fpring it breaks out again. No calculation caif be formed of the numbers that 'die of it in the capital; for their want is never long perceived, there ber ing a cpnftant influx of people from the country to the capital. Some years the mor tality does not appear to be confiderable, but at other times they have what is called a great ficknefs, which carries off an aftonifliing numr ber, The confomption pf provifions has been reduced, during Such a plague, to thr$e-fourths of what it was when it began to rage. It yifits moft parts of Afia every ten or twely§ T.URKIBIT POPULATION. 265 twelve years, and carries off an eighth or tenth of the inhabitants, and fometimes a fourth or more. The farther eaft a country is Situated, the lefs frequently it is vifited. It is Said, it never goes where the olive free does not grow. It reaches Baffora about every nine-i tieth year ; but then this fcourge is moft dreadful, The laft plague carried off nine- tenths of the inhabitants, and that city had been ninety-fix years free of it. Farther eaft it. has not been known to go. The plague, like the fmall pox, is a difor- der never generated by foul air, or the like, buf always produced by contagion. It, doubtlefs, comes from Egypt, though in Egypt it is fre quently received back from Conftantinople. Dr. Ruffel Tays, the plague which afflicted Egypt in 1 736, and of which it was faid that 1 0,000 died in one day at Cairo, " was the -** only one that happened in this century, which " was believed by' the people of Cairo to have *' been brought from Upper Egypt ; the others " were always thought to have been imported "from Conftantinople or Candia, but never ft from Syria or Barbary." How eafily would not a regular quarantine and Putting up deliver Turkey from this ter rible fcourge ! — but what is to be expected but devaftation from the Turks ? No city has better local fituations for lazarettoes than Con stantinople 266 ... CHAPTER VII. Stan tinople — I allude to the Princes Iflands. When the capital has been really free of it, it always is brought thither, either directly or indirectly from Egypt (generally by the way of Smyrna.) Many people, not attending to this circumftance, have concluded that it was generated in Conftantinople, and talk much of the bad air produced by the naftineSs of the ftreets, which is without foundationi The air of Conftantinople is exceedingly pure and healthy ; but no infected or impure air, loaded with the miafma of putrefaction, &c, will produce the plague, though it may fe vers, both contagious and mortal, in a high degree. It does not appear from Plutarch's account of the plague at Athens, that it really was this difbrder which afflidted that city in Pe ricles time. The true plague is never in the air, perhaps (for I fay this with fome doubt) not in the breath of a peftiferous perfon, at leaft the breath cannot convey it above a few feet, as the Ruffian furgeons have Tufficiently proved, when the plague was at M-oTqua (MbTcow) and at Cherfon more particularly, where thofe Turgeons, who touched nothing in the hofpitals, and pulled off their Shoes on going out, all efeaped. --. The phyficians at Conftantinople Tay, the more they ftudy the plagqe the leTs they know TURKISH POPULATION. 267 Of it ; and as it is there almpft every year, they have more opportunities of feeing this diforder than any others of the profeffion. We learn nothing from the Ruffian phyficians, who expofed themielves very much "in' the plague at Mofcow, in if/i>, and in that which broke out in 1783 at Cherfbn. (See Mertens's Obferv. and Orreus's Defcriptio Peftis ; alfo Samoillovits's Memoire fur la Pefte.) Doctor Miltzer, a phyfician of Mof- cow, has written, in German.* a large book on the plague, which contains a great number of cafes that came under his observation ; but as they all tend to Support a fyftem which he has adopted, it is to be apprehended, that the power of prepofleffion in favour of his fyftem has often milled his judgment. Nor is there any thing very fatisfactory with refpect to the cure to be learned from Dr. Ruffel's elaborate treat ife on the plague, nor from the more ancient authors. •-, It is faid that friction with oil has lately been difcovered, in Egypt, to be a -prefervative, and even a cure ; fo much is certain, that the plague h unknown to thofe nations whofe cuftom it is to rub their bodies with oil. It has been obferved at Conftanti nople, that thofe who ufed mercurial frictipns never catched the plague, how much fbever they were expofed to the contagion. May this not have been owing to the greafe rathet than to the mercury ? Mr. 268, CHAPTER VII'.' ;- ' Mr. Matra (who is. now agent at Morocco) gave James's powders to an Armenian fami ly, about twenty years ago, at Conftantinople, and they recovered. I alfo thought I had performed cures with this" famous medicine'; but it has had a fair trial in Ruffia, without, producing any Salutary effect ; farther than what was to be expected from an emetic* There is, however, Some reafon to believe that it may prevent the plague, if adminiftered immediately after the infection, though perhaps any other Sudorific would be equally Service able. There is "one circumftance, of which it is of importance to determine the truth, as it is of confequence with refpe6t to quarantine; this is, whether the plague communicated perfomitem, (that is, by fubftances which, hav ing imbibed the peftiferous effluvia or miafmai retain them in an aitive ftate for feme time,) be of a more mortal kind than that by imme diate contact with a difeafed body ; and parti cularly whether the fames become of a more deadly quality by its being long retained in the fubftance, than when newly imbibed by it. Dr. Cullen fays, *' It appears to me probable " $hat contagions, as they arifle from fomites, are " more powerful than as they arife immediately "from the human body." Dr. Lind fays, "From afixt attention to this "fubjeti Turkish Population. 269 afubje£l for many years, I fay thefe lafl (wt>ar-> " ing apparel, dirty linen, &c. long retained'in " that impure flate) contain a more concentrated ** and contagious poifon than the nevoly emitted " effluvia or excretions from the fick." Van Swieten was of the fame opinion. On the other hand, Doctor' Ruffel (Trea- tife of the Plague) whofe opinion with refpect to the plague is a great authority, thinks dif ferently; he fays, (page 205) " Iflould be in- " c lined to doubt that the pefliferous effluvia of" " a perfon labouring under the plague, offer the ** having been fliut up Jome time in ajubflance "fitted to imbibe and confine them, would acl " more powerfully on a perfon difpofed to infec- " tion, than the fame effluvia would have-done *f at the infant -of their emanation from the mor- " bid body." It '¦ certainly would be a ridiculous pre- fumption in one, who is not a medical man, to decide between foch great profeffional au thorities ; but do not facts, mentioned by Dr. Ruffel himfelf, decide the queftion ? Page 97. Speaking of the* firft of the fix clafles, under which he arranged the cafes which fell under his immediate obfervations he fays, "None of the fick recovered, andmojl of them " died the fecond or third day ; a very few lived " to the fifth." — " Thefe defiruBive forms of " the difeafe prevailed moft at the R ise of the 1 plague a 2J(S CHAPTER VII. " plague in 1760, and its resuscitation in " ihe flpring of the two fubfequent years, de- " CREASING ALWAYS AS THE DISTEMPER " spread : and though they were found dif- " perfed in every flag e of the peflilential feafon, "yet the number of fubjeffs of this clafs was " proportiondbly very fmall, compared with that »' of others." Again (page 209) " But a " greater difficulty than that of perj'ons not being " equally Jufceptible of infection, arifes from ihe " ceffation of the plague at a* period when the " fuppofed contagious, effluvia, preferved in ap- " parel, furniture, and other fomites, at the end " Qfa peflilential J'eajbn, mufl be allowed not only ** to exiflin a much greater quantity than can be "fuppofed to be at once accidentally imported " by commerce, but in a flate alfo of univerfal " difperfion over the city." It is an incontrovertible fact, in which every author agrees, relative to the plague, which, having ceafed in fummer or in au tumn, breaks out again in the fpring, or" at any other time of the year, whether commu nicated by infectious fomites remaining in ap parel, &c. in the fame city, or brought in mer-- chandize, &c from other parts, that in the beginning fcarcely any one recovers of the plague, that the diforder gradually becomes lefs mortal, and laftly, that it entirely ceafesi Quere? May it not be thence concluded, that TURKISH POPULATION, 27I that the reafon of the mortality in the be ginning of the plague is owing to the fo mites having been confined a longer time, and become thereby more poifonous ; that, when the plague has raged fome time, and the infection taken from peftiferous bodies,^ or effects lately impregnated with f reft fomites, this is the reafon why it is lefs malignant ; that the diforder thus becomes milder, and at length ceafes to be infectious, till the fomites have again acquired an increafed de gree of malignity by time ; that the examples mentioned by Dr. Ruffel, (page 97.) of cafes of the firft and mortal clafs, which fometimes were found at every feafon, were cafes where the fick had caught infedtion from old fo mites. This cannot be affirmed, but it can not, I believe, be contradicted, and it would appear, from the gradual decline in malignity pf the plague, to be probable. It would appear that the plague, when it firft breaks out, and is very mortal, not one in ten, and fometimes in forty, recovering, is not fo catching as when it is fpread over the whole city. Perhaps later in the year, when the pores are more open by the warmth of the feafon, people are more liable to be in fected. Mertens(Hiftoire de la Pefte de Mof- co w en 1 7 7 1 ) fays, " The great cold which a reigned during the laft two months of the year 2J2. CHAPTER Vil. *' fib enervated the: peflilential miafma, that thofe. "who. aflfifled the flip k, and buried the- dead^ " were lefs eafily attacked by the contagion, &c." It appears alfo from him, that froft will in a very fhort time entirely deftroy the. fomites : he fays, " Dr. Poparetfky told me, that the *' carriers of the dead clothed themfelves with " [heepfkins, which had been worn by thojewha " had had the plague, after having been expofed " to a fever efrofl forty-eight hours, and not one " of them caught the plague fl It is natural to conclude, that the plague Should be more mortal in hot weather than in cold ; but it would feem as if the degrees of its poifon depended not fo much on the ftate. of the air as on the old or recent ftate of the fomites; and. that the power of the poifon: was dilbinifhed by propagation, till it became at laft little if at all mortal ; at leaft experi* ence in all places where the plague has raged Teems' to prove this. It alfo appears, that the fomites maybe preferved a long time in infected things, which are not expofed to the air. Dr. Ruffel quotes a Angular inftance of this from Dr. Mackenzie of Conftantinople; it is too in- terefting not to be repeated : " Count Cajiil- " lane had, for three years running, perfons at- " -tacked in the fame manner, -in the months of " July and Augufi, notivithflanding all poffible " precaution TURKISH POPULATION. 273 u precaution ufed in cleaning the room, and even " white-waflijng it. At lafl, by my own advice " to his excellency, he built a flight counter-wall* "fince which there has been no accident in that " room, now five years ago" It has never been determined how long the miafma or ef fluvia of the plague, when fhut up in mer chandize or effects, may remain active ; there is reafon to believe that it may many months ; there are, indeed, proofs of it in every laza* retto in the Mediterranean, (as well as the, contagion brought fo far as Holland and England in former times) vt-here often accidents happen to thofe who open cotton bales and other packages ; and this fomes, probably, was only the perfoiration or efflu^ via from infected perfons, who laboured at -fhe packing, or perhaps had lain down on fuch merchandize, or fomes attached to then clothes, though they themfelves were not infected ; but if by fome accident cotton embued with the pus of peftiferous buboes or carbuncles fhould be (which is not impoffible) packed into the cotton Sent to Europe, how long fuch dried pus would retain its infectious quality is not known, but it is to be feared that it might be very long, though it is to be hoped that, like the matter of the Small pox, it may lofe its contagious quality of itfelf in a certain time without airing. .'-' / T It 2^4 CHAP'TER VII. It is, however, evident that expofure tbthe air will deftroy this infectious quality; that great cold (as has been feen in the inftances qubted from Mertens) will deftroy it very Suddenly; and it would feem alfo, that the rays of the foil and a drying wind will alfo, .though not fo rapidly, arreft its poifon, and deftroy it: on this is grounded quarantine-, the utility of which no rational man can now doubt, though formerly fuch doubts have ex isted. But all quarantines are of no effect where the merchandize are not opened and aired,; and as that is not the cafe in England nor in Holland, thofe lazarettoes are of no kind of ufe ; they retard trade without fecur- ing the country from infection. The quaran tines in the Mediterranean only are efficient. Ina feparate chapter, treating on the Le vant trade, I fhall have occafioh to Speak more at large on quarantine, and the neceffity of making other regulations in this country^ than thofe which at prefent exift. Dr. Ruf fel, indeed, has collected every thing that has been faid by others, and has treated this mat ter To ably and fo fully himfelf, that it may feem Superfluous to fay more on that head,; but it appears to me, that he has not repre fented the danger fo Strongly as he Taw it; there now exifts a neceffity of fpeaking out more plainly. We ». TURKISH POPULATION. 275 We may add another caufe of depopula- tibn, the tyrariny of the pafhas, who, in fome parts of Afia, fo much impoverifh the people, that they preVent marriages being fo frequent as they are where there is lefs danger of be ing unable to maintain a family; and this 'gives rife to an abominable vice, which brings Sterility with it, and when men are fo de graded as to become habituated to it, they Ibfe 'the natural inftinct in man for the fair fex. Polygamy itfelf is an inftkution experience proves to be fo little favourable to popula tion, that the Chriftian families are generally obferved to be much more prolific than the Mahomedans. Depopulation is firft perceived in the' coun try. Cities are filled up with new recruits of inhabitants from the country ; but wheii the cities become defert, and that not merely by the decay of a particular branch of com merce or manufacture, pr any other finiilai* Caufe, but for want of people to emigrate from the country, we may eafily believe that depopulation has reached nearly its laft ftage. This is the cafe feven in thofe parts of the Turkifh empire where manufactures exift; where there is bread for thofe who will feek employment ; even ih thbfe places the coun- t 2 try 276 CHAPTER VII. try is alfo defert, villages uninhabited,;* and fields, and gardens, and orchards lying wafte. Let us take a view of the prefent ftate of fome of the moft confiderable cities of Afia,,.' Aleppo (Haleb) is the beft built city in the Turkifh dominions, and the people are re puted the moft polite. The late Dr. Ruffel (in his Natural Hiftory of Aleppo) calculated .the number of inhabitants, in his time, at about 230,000 ; at prefent there are not above 40 or 50,000. This depopulation has chiefly, take- place fince 1770. As this city' is built pf a kind of marble, and the houfes are vault ed, they are not fubject to decay and fall in ruins, though they remain uninhabited; they ftand a monument of the deftruction of the human race : whole ftreets are uninhabited and bazars abandoned. Fifty or Sixty years ago were counted forty large villages, in the neighbourhood, all built of Stone ; their ruins remain, but not a Single peaSant dwells in them. The plague vifits Aleppo every ten or twelve years. About four years ago there was at Aleppo one of the moft dreadful fa mines ever known any where. The whole coaft of Syria, which a few ypars ago was tolerably populous, is noW al- moft a defert. Tripoli, Sidon, Laodecia, are infignificant places, and the country arptind them TURKISH POPULATION. 277 thei*n almoft abandoned. Maundrell, about a century ago, complained of the rapid depo pulation of Syria; but from his account it was thep m a flourishing condition compared with its prefent ftate. Moflul has loft half its inhabitants, and is in a ruinous State. Diarbekir Was the moft populous city iri the TurkiSh empire but a few years ago ; it might ftill have been counted among the firft cities in the world for magnitude, and, not withstanding the exaggerated accounts of Cairo and Conftantinople, it containd more people in its walls than either of thefe cities. In 1756, there were 400,000 inhabitants, at prefent there are only 50,000. In 1 757, fwarms of locufts devoured all the vegetation of the Surrounding country, and occasioned a famine ; an epidemic ficknefs followed, which carried off 300,000 fouls in the city of Diar bekir, befides thofe who perifhed in the adja cent villages. The plague vifits this country every thirty or forty years. At Mer din there are about 1,000 fouls. The ficknefs of 1757 was fatal to this city and its environs : the greateft part of the town is uninhabited ; it is fubject to endemical fick- rieffes. Bagdat contained from 125 to 130,000 inhabitants; at prefent there are fcarcely T 3 30,000. 27$ CHAPTE..R VII. 2o,,ooo. The plague of 1773 cariifd^, off two-thirds of the people. Here likewife are, feen whole ftreets and bazars defolate. . '' Baffora (or Balfora, i. e. Bi-al-fura, Called by the Arabs often Al-fura) contained^ twenty years, ago, nearly 100,000 inhabitants; the laft accounts from thence mention, only 7 or 8,000. Between Angora and Constantinople there* is a conftant communication by caravans ; there are old people -at Conftantinople whp remember forty or, fifty villages in the road* pf which, no veftiges now remain, I41 thefe, parts, the buildings are not, durably being chiefly timber frames filled with, brick QJJ earth, and. plaStered. over. An Englifh. rnercbant of my, acquaintance, whofe trade as well, as his father's was between thefe. two cities and Smyrna, has. a lift in his books, of all the towns or villages in the. road, ' O * *¦' pf whiph about fifty are not known, even by name, tp the prefent condu$ors of caravans, No longer ago thaii 176SJ, it w^s, afferted, tbat-upwards pf two. hundred .villages, in, this part of the country had been forfaken, ox\, account of the oppreffions exercife.d over the inhabitants. Though we Should admit that the people in Turkey multiply as, much as it, is. poffible for tbe human fpeciestq dp (which is., how*. ever very far from being the cafe) yet ftifl it 8 is TURKISH POPULATION. 279 i$ impoffible that the fruitfulnefs of the wo men can keep pace with the mortality of the plague, and the other fickneffes which afflict this empire, particularly in Afia. If ftill there be a confiderable number of people difperfed over this vaft tract of country, what muft not the population, have been a few centuries ago ? Collectively indeed the num.-* ber is fomewhat confiderable, but each dif- trict, confidered feparately, is a defert com-, pared with" the moft thinly inhabited region in Europe. If we proceed to a regular calculation, and take for a datum the greateft number of inhabitants thefe countries could maintain four centuries ago, and allow the greateft number of births experience of the moft prolific nations will juftify ; and, on. the other hand, deduct at every period they are vifited by the plague and other fickneffes the number of deaths which then take place, the refult will be a much Smaller number* of inhabitants than there now really exifts ; if we reafon a pofleriori, we Shall find that four cen turies ago there were a much greater num ber than it is poffible there could have been in fact. It is therefore reafonable to conclude, that depopulation could not formerly have made fo rapid, a progrefs as at prefent ; and that in t 4 a century 2$0 , CHAPTER VII. a century mbre, things remaining in their pre fent fituation, the population of the Turkifh empire will be neatly extinct. Smyrna is the only city in Turkey where depopulation does not appear ; but how of ten are not its inhabitants renewed-? ' It is the only place of confiderable trade in Tur key, and from the refbrt of foreign fhips, as it is the centre of the export and import trade,- it muft long continue to flourifh. It is worthy of remark, that the Curds in the mountains, and other independent or re bellious tribes, who do not mix with the Turks, are exempt from the mortality occa sioned by all the calamities which afflict the countries more immediately under the iron fceptre of the porte. I fhould have mentioned a part of Bulga-* ria, and a great part of European Turkey, except the countries towards the Adriatic and Hungary, as almoft destitute of inhabi tants. . This ftate of the country is particu larly Striking on the road from Belgrade through Sophia, Phillippopolis, and Adria nople, to Conftantinople. The north or north- eaStern part of Bulgaria is populous. .. In taking a feparate view of European Turkey, of Greece, and of Egypt, we Shall find fimilar traces of that devaftation, occa sioned by the complicated evils under which \ - thi§ TURKISH POPULATION. 28 1 this empire has fo long groaned ; at prefent I Shall pay a particular confideration to the ftate of the capital itfelf, Conftantinople is the more deferving of our enquiry, becaufe, erroneous as calculations of the number of inhabitants in great cities ufually are, none have been more exagge rated than the population of this city. ¦ The caufes of this error were probably va rious, as, firft, the fituation of the city on the afcent of a hill, which, fhewing every houfe in it, and hiding the voids between v them, makes it appear to the greateft advan tage poffible. - Secondly, the crowd of people appears to be prodigious in the ftreets leading to the c-uftom-houfe,' to the harbour, (to crofs which the boats are all ftationed at a very few landing places ox f cales) to the great bazars or markets, to the porte, to the baths," and to the principal mofques ; but it fhould be ob ferved, that thefe are all fituated in the fame part of the city, and that every one who goes out, either for bufinefs or pleafure, paffes through thefe ftreets, and travellers very rarely go farther into the city, where they would find ftreets nearly deferted, and grafs growing in many of them, notwithftanding their narrowuefs. Thirdly, Strangers (and I include moft fo reign 232 CHAPTER VII. reign, minifters, who are grofsly imppfed 01 by the ignprance of their drogomans or in terpreters) are mifled by the accounts the] receive of the. number pf janizaries, of bpf tan gees, of boatmen, of artifans, of Shop keepers, &c. without knowing that one anc the fame perfon is commonly in two or thre< of thefe capacities ; for inftance, almoft ever^ boatman is a boftangee or a janizary,, ant the greateft part of the Shopkeepers and artlj fans are janizaries. We muft, rely 011 reai calculation. Firft, calculation. — In Constantinople anc its environs there are daily confumed, frofr nine to eleven thoufand kilos of corn.. Ex- perience has. proved, that one perfon cpn< fumes, nine kilos a year, one with another One kilo of wheat is twenty - two okes which renders eighteen okes of flour, oi which they make twenty-feven okes of bread as their bread is very moiSt, made into flai cakes Seemingly half baked. An.oke is abou two pounds and three quarters Englifh avoir dupois weight. (In France, one pound, o: wheat produces exactly one pound of bread This was the rule obferved by their govern ment with refpe<5t to the price of bread,) Ac cording tp thig- calculation j the medium num ber of inhabitants would be 426,000 fouls and this, mifled Sir James Porter, former!} TURKISH POPULATION. 283. Englifh, ambaflador at the porte, as- it has done many ot&ters, who rely pn the informa- tion received frpm interpreters. It is the policy pf the pof te, or rather of the vizirs, to keep the pripe of bread low at the capital ;. and. it is generally cheaper fhere than at a day or two's journey dift&nfc.. The miri fblely distributes tijg-corn, not to the city only, as people have concluded, but to all its fuburbs, as Pera, Galata, the neis-h- bourirtg villages, to the city of Scutari, f.Efi cjudarf and all along the. channel of Con-, itantinople, which is bordered with large villages to Kpchuk --Chiktnagi, commpnly called Ponte-pifcolo, and thence in a line to, £orgps and to Domufdere, on the coaft of the Black Sea, to the Princej Iflands, to, nine large villages in Afia behind Scutari, and thence in a line north, to all the country as far as the Black iSea. , Some years, from 14 to 1,6*000 kilos of corn have been confumed. A confiderable- quantity muft be allowed for the confump- tion of veflels of all denominations that fre quent the port, and when corn is dearer, in the country than the price at Conftantinople fixed by. the miri, it may reafonahly be fup- ppfed^that. fojne: little cc-ntrafcand is carried on. From 284 *-' CHAPTER VII. From all this it muft appear, that nc above One half of the corn is confumed' i: Conftantinople, and that the number c inhabitants does not exceed 213,000 ; am if we take for our rule thofe years hi whicl 16,000 kilos were- confumed (and which b the bye have always been thofe when con Was dear in the country) ftill the numbe will be but 292,000 ; the medium betweei the higheft and the loweft' year, when then was no remarkable plague, is 230,00b, whicl I believe to be nearly the real number 0 inhabitants. Second calculation.- — The kajfab baflii (01 chief of the butchers (through whofe offia all cattle for flaughter muft pafs, diftributei to Conftantinople, Scutari, &c. from 2,50c tp 3,000 fheep a week, or 130,000 to 156,00c a year. It muft be obferved, that the Turk , eat very little beef; fome fifh indeed, anc fowls, but the quantity is trifling tp the mut ton. At Paris they confumed 10,400 Sheep a week, befides beef, and 630 hogs, falt-fifh. &c. and one million pounds of bread daily, The annual confumption of Paris was about 12,800 muids of corn (36,864,009 pounds); 77,000 oxen; 120,000 calves; 32,000 bar rels of herrings, 540,000 fheep, and 32,400 hogs, befides other articles, i. Suppofe TURKISH POPULATION. 285 Snppofe the French to eat only the Tame quantity oT bread as the Turks, (and I believe there is not much difference,) the calcula tion, applied to Paris, would make the num ber of inhabitants to be about, one million. There are, however, a few fheep killed by contraband, that have not paffed through the hands of the kajfab baflii, and the butchers de pendent on him, but their number is very fmall, as the practice is attended with dange rous confequences, and the profit arifing from it inconfiderable. This calculation of meat produces fewer inhabitants than that of corn, and we muft take rice into .the account to make it any wife adequate ; but it at leaft proves the former not to have been too low. ' Third calculation, — From about 1770 to 1777, there was no plague at Conftantinople. The dead, which were carried out of the gates of the city, where a regular register is kept (except when, in time of the plague, they fur-- pafs one thoufand a day, after which they are not counted) amounted only to 5,000 one year with another. This number, multiplied by* 36, the largeft number which poffibly can be taken, though Conftantinople is very healthy, and the Turks temperate, gives only 1 80,000 inhabitants. It muft be obferved, that Z%6 CHAPTER VIT. that fome considerable people are buried the city, in their gardens or private bil grounds, and fome are carried to the Cef teries of Pera and Scutari, an account pf of which is nbt taken, as feveral on that i of the city do not paTs the gates : if We all i, 600 a year for thefe, which is ce'rtai much beyond the truth, by this calculat there would appear to be 216,000 inha tants. As to the Suburbs of Pera and Gal; if they are to be included as making a p of Constantinople, they are not very confid able, confifting only ofa.feW long Streets. 1 number of fouls they contain I have forgott and my memorandum is miflaid : I coun the houfes. Fourth calculation. — The ground on wh Constantinople Stands is not fo extenfive Paris. Count Choiffeul Gouffier, the Fret ambaflador, had an exact plan made of it a Mr. Kauffer, a very good gebmetfici which proves this fact ; and Whoever wa acrofs the city in different directions n convince himfelf of its accuracy. 1 ftreets in Paris are very, narrow, the hoii four and fix ftories high, and inhabited fr top to bottom ; the ftreets in Conftantino are alfo narrow. The churches, hotels, C H A P f E R Vllf* fo Cairo is in effect a prifpher during kii government, which is only noihinal; the porte draWs little or no revenue from it, and no troops, except a Tew fanatics in tiriie of war with the' Chriftians^ The Turks have at different times got poffeffibn pf Cairo, but never could maintain therrifelves in the go vernment. The laft inftance of' their fiib- jfecting the capital was by the late Haffari, Captain paflia, but it was fobil loft'agairi ; yet Conftantinople depends very much on Egypt for provifiorts, and above all for rice. The* Ruffians, When they had a fleet iri the Medi* terranean; very much diftreffed the porte, by cutting off the communication with Egypt, and might have done it muchmore, had they not permitted rhany neutral veflels to fupply them: Iri Europe, the Morea, Albania, Epirug, and Scutari, are more or JeTs in a State* of rfebellibn ; BoTnia, Crbatia, &c. obey the porte only as long as it Tuits them, and the' fultan reaps little benefit from them Thefe latter countries affp'rd the ' rrioft rbbuft afi$ warlike foldiers in the efnjpire; they* are ateriftcroed to afnis frbrii thieir infancy, as they are cbntinu*ally fighting: arriorig*' them- SMves, district againft diftrict', and" often* even village againft village, befides individual cjuarrefc'of fatriilies. Thefe troop** would be oi TURKISH PROVINCES, 303 tff great ufe to the fultan in his wars, but they will not go far from their houfes, and ferve only when k is- to defend their own country; the emperor of Germany -has* had to contend with them, while only the enervated and daf. tardly foldiery of Afia has been oppofed to Ruffia. ' Lately we have feen almoft all European Turkey in arms againft- the porte, Adrianople in imminent danger, and even Conftantino ple itfelf trembling for its fafety. I have faid that Egypt is 'independent : a few words on the peculiar relation of that country to Turkey will not be improper, . perhaps. The divifion of the fpiritual digni ties of the Mahomedans took place; A. D. 970, in an early period of their religion, and the Fatimite kalifs eftablifhed ' - themfelves in Egypt, claiming to themfelves' the title of commander of the faithful, heretofore borne by the kalifs of Bagdad. Both thefe kalifs fucceffively yielded to the force or policy of the Turkifh princes. The laft of the Egyptian "kalifs called in the Turks to his affiftance' againft the Chriftian ^crttfaders, which, fervice being accompliflied, the new allies turne$/#gainfl the kalif Himfelf , 'and ftrangled him^ A. D. 1 171, when a new dynafty commenced in the perfon of Salah- ' ud-din. v' The 304 CHAPTER V1IJ. The Egyptian princes long maintained an; independent power by the affiftance of their Mamaluk troops, until, in 15 18, they were reduced to Subjection by, Selim the fon of Bayazet, and have ever Since remained at tached, nominally at leaft, to the poi'te ; but as their beys were not deprived of their, power, and to this day each is governor, or rather Sovereign of a diftrict, thefe in fact ex ercife a tyranny of the worft kind over, a country, which would be one oSthe moft pro-. ductive in the univerfe, were property pro tected, while they render little either of tri bute or lubmiftion to the porte. This corps of Mamaluks is kept up,, to this day, by flaves bought from the fame coun- i tries, viz. Georgia, Circaffia, Abaffa, and Min- grelia, and moftly purchafed at Constantino ple, for their children, born in the country, are not admitted into the corps ; indeed it is affirmed, and it is very remarkable, that they j haye but few children, and their families never extend beyond two, generations. This ; is accounted for by their being greatly addict-. ed to an unnatural vice. The. actual power refides in the Mamaluks, ,and the bey whojias moft of them in his „ Tuite is confequently the moft powerful. As , to the paSha fent by the porte, he has at different . TURKISH PROVINCE'S. 305 different times had more or lefs influence, but is in general a mere cypher, obliged to Tubmit to the will of the beys, who difmifs him when they pleafe. They have fometimes entirely thrown off all appearance of fubmiffion to the porte ; and at prefent, as well as generally, their obedience is only nominal, and the pafha is in reality a prifoner in the caftle of Cairo, which is the place fixed for his refidence. The tribute which Egypt ought to fend the porte is frequently withheld, or, if tranfmit- ted, it is diminished by deductions tor the reparation bf canals, fortreffes, &c. at the will of the beys. Yet a long proceffion of 'mules" and camels fets out annually froni Egypt, with the pretended revenue for the fultan, which, inftead of Tilver, confifts moftly of bags of rice, and, not unfrequently, ftones. The janizaries and Arab foldiers in the fervice of the pbrte are but little able to en force its authority, as they are few in num ber, and moftly compofed of artizartS and perfons un'accuftomed to arms. The Mama luks, on the contrary, rriuft be allowed to b,e moft excellent Cavalry. In the beautiful country and climate of Eo-vpt, it is diftreffing to confider how little the advantages of nature are cultivated, and how much its evils are augmented by the x ignorance 306 CHAPTER VIII. ignorance and unaccountably groTs fuperfti-., , tion of its inhabitants/ From a Survey of ' Egypt I turn to the northern part of the empire, to contemplate the provinces of Walachia and Moldavia, which, like, the laft mentioned country, are rather attached to the empire by treaty than by abfolute Tubjection, and whp retain at leaft independence as to matters of internal regula tion ; their inhabitants are, however, more oppreffed than perhaps any people in the em pire ; nor could they polfibly bear Tuch ex actions, were it not for the wonderful fertility. of their foil. Their waywodes (or princes as they are generally Still called) are Greeks, who pur- chafe their offices for large fums of money, the porte generally receiving about 80,000. pounds fterling for every nomination, and. who are obliged to maintain themfelves in their pofts, by continually feeing thofe who can ferve or hurt them at Conftantinople ; for befides the complaints which frequently are made, againft them, other Greeks are con ftantly caballing at the porte to get them ; removed, and to obtain their places. The waywodes muft, befides raifing large Sums to defray all thefe expences, and live in afflu ence with a large train of dependents, whd.:. follpw them from Conftantinople, hoard up fufficient TURKISH PROVINCES, -307 .Sufficient to fecure a Tafe and fplendid retreat to themfelves when recalled from their way- Wodfhips to their former homes, where, though the Tear of punifhment is ever hang ing over them, and deflroying their repofe, they maintain within, their own houfes a weak and oftentatious magnificence. It is eafy to conceive how much the miferable fubjects of their defpotifm, while in office, muft fuffer from the impofitions neceffary to anTwer fucli calls of rapacity. The boyars are obliged to furnifh money to the waywode, and they in return opprefs the people by all kinds of exactions, exclu*- fively of the public taxes, which go immedi ately into the waywode's purfe, and which are multiplied ad infinitum,' and exacted 'with the utmoft feverky ; thefe taxes, which are not in proportion to , the property pf the people, aggravate them beyond . defcrip- tion; they murmur, but muft Tubmit and pay. Among the hardfhips of the Moldavians may be reckoned their being obliged to fur nifh a fupply of corn to Conftantinople, at a certain price fixed when they firft came Under the Turkifh yoke : this was originally eftabiifhed as a favour to thofe countries, but has now become an intolerable burthen, x 2 as 308 C H APT'E R VIII. :f as the price now bears no proportion to th& prefent value. j Another great caufe of complaint is the paffage through their country, or refidence in it, of a Turkifh army in time of war. The exceffes which thefe undifeiplined hordes commit are beyond defeription, plundering and laying wafte the country, and often deflroying whole village.'*, and maffacring. -their, defencelefs inhabitants; hence it is not unufual for the inhabitants to flee with their moft valuable effects ' to the woods and mountains for concealment, as Soon . as they , hear pf the approach of an army : I was -myfelf a witnefs of the terror of the Molda vians for a fimilar event. Being a prifoner, ' in 1778, at Galaz (when hoftilities had taken pl^ce in fome parts, between Ruffia and the Turks, which had nearly ended in a war) I was awakened one night by the cries -of women, and the noife; of the preparations made by the whole town to flee, on a ru mour (which proved groundlefs) of- the ap proach of a Turkifh army. I then learnt that every family was provided with a wag gon, and one or more horfes, to efcapc in cafe of clanger. The Turkifli foldiery, if .they Stay, but a fhort time in a place, caufe fo much havock, that the unfortunate- Moldavians and Wa- lachians, TURKISH PROVINCES. 309 Jachians, returning to their homes after thefe monfters have withdrawn, are for a con fiderable time unable to rebuild their houfes, and procure feed and other requisites for the cultivation of their corn fields and vine- ' yards, which the Turks have rooted up. The following circumftances will prove how much reafon the Moldavians in par ticular have to prefer the dominion of Ruffia to that of Turkey, At the peace of Kainargi it was Stipulated, that the waywode Should not be removed without the confent of the court of Ruffia, in order to deliver the people from the op- preflion neceffarily attendant on a frequent change of their rulers. The porte, how- ever, in 1777,. fent to the^ waywode Gica a particular friend of his, who, pretending illnefs, requefted Gica to pay him a vifit, .under pretence of communicating to him •affairs of fecrefy ; the attendants of the way wode were fent out of the room, when a iband of ruffians rufhed into the apartment from a private door, and murdered this un happy credulous man. A fucceffor was im- .mediately appointed, without conTulting the court of Ruffia, or its minifter at Conftan tinople. This is the nation whofe ferupulous robfervance of treaties is fo much vaunted by Tome writers. x 3 While 3^0 CHAPTER VIII. '*- , While Moldavia was in the hands of the Ruffians, during the laft War, Prince Potem- kin treated the inhabitants with the utmoft indulgence, and exempted them from all kind. of taxes, fo that they returned with great reluctance under the Turkifh yoke. It is little eonfolation- to them to be governed by princes or governors of their own reli gion, for their fituation, if not their inclina tion, makes them as rapacious as Turks, The contemptuous and humiliating treatment all ranks meet with from the Turks is impa tiently borne by a race of people naturally haughty, and afpiring for liberty and inde pendence, and particularly the Boyars, whp are treated by the Ruffians as equals and as gentlemen, and, if they emigrate, are ad* mkted into the civil or military fervice. If there were any deficiency of proof to eftablifh the miferable debility of the Turk ifh government, with regard to its diftant provinces, and the horrible devaftation to which thofe provinces are -fubject, we Should find it in the eulogift of Turkey, Mr. Peyf- . fonel. He was French conful in the Crimea, in 1758, when a rebellion broke out, occa sioned by the extortions of the officers of- the porte, relative to the ichetirah, or transport ing pf corn. The rebellious Tatars, to the number pf eighty thpufand, pillaged and pyCrruiij TURKISH PROVINCES. 311 overrun, in feven days, the province of Mol davia, carried off forty thoufarid flaves, fpread terror and defolation on all fides, and the porte had no other means of fettling this disturbance than by depofing the reigning khan, Alirii Guerrai, and placing in his room Krim Guerrai, the rebel chief. At this time, fays Mr. PeyfTonel, we faw the plains of Kichela, covered, as far as the eye could reach, with male and female flaves of all ages, cat tle, camels, horfes, fheep, and all kinds of plunder,- heaped together. The whole of this booty was taken from a Chriftian province fubject to the porte. Krim Guerrai, in return for his exaltation, endeavoured to Caufe the effects fo be reftored to their proprietors, and the prifoners to be fet at liberty ; but, not- withftanding the vigorous and determined- meafures of this prince, he could only wreft from the rapacious banditti under his com mand a fmallpart- of their plunder. Of the flaves, many were fecreted or fold, and many dead from brutal treatment, fo that only half the number of the prifoners returned to their country.- This is the account of PeyfTonel, the friend of Krim Guerrai; but it is well known, that he himfelf had a part of the plunder, and that only fuch were fent back, whofe age rendered them unfit for their pur- pofes. I was informed, in Moldavia, from x 4 the 312 CHAPTER VIII. the' regifters, that there were above thirty thoufaiid fouls, the flower of their youth, who never returned. Surely this picture of defolating barbarity Sufficiently marks the character of the Tatar hordes; and if we add, that they were conftantly making iii- CurfionS into Ruffia, Poland, Ckcaffia, &c. to carry off the, inhabitants, plunder and burn the villages, it Sufficiently juftifies the court of Ruffia in taking poffeffiori of this neft of thieves and murderers, and reducing: them to Something like fecial order and Sub ordination, InStead of being blamed? as the emprefs has been, by' thofe Christians, who always Sympathife with Turks, and by thpfe politicians who think the duration of their lifurped empire a defirable object, She ought to receive the thanks of all men, of whatever nation, and particularly of Chriftians, who are not degraded by prejudices, or corrupted by fhe practice' of Similar enormities. The whole reign of the Tatars has been an inSult to mankind, and a difgrace to human nature, . not inferior to that of the Ottoman fultans. Was it to be > expected that a power like Ruffia Should Suffer itfelf tp be thus infulted by a horde of favages, when She could redrefs the grievance ? and had fhe not a right as Sovereign, as a Chriftian, apd as a friend to humanity, to protect her feeble neighbours, •¦ whq TURKISH PROVINCES. ^S who had no other fupport to look to, -and whofe plunder and depopulation ftrengthened her enemy as well as theirs ? She had a Sa cred right, and the mouth is unholy which dares to arraign it. The connection of the Tatar hordes with the Turks, both in origin and religion, in duces me to review the ftate of their moft celebrated feat, the Crimea (or Krim) though it has now paffed under the dominion of Ruffia, and has been abandoned by a great part of its former inhabitants. To this 1 am the more prompted by the erroneous ideas which have been propagated in Europe rela tive to that meafure, to the country in gene ral, and to the nature of their ancient go vernment, hitherto fo little known. What much furprifes me is, that M. de PeyfTonel, who had To good an. opportunity of gaining the moft accurate information on this fubject, has totally neglected it, and Tpeaks of thp Tatar government conformably to the Com monly received notions of it. It often hap pens that the moft attentive travellers go into a country with falfe notions of things, and if nothing occurs to undoceive -them, they re main in their error. To explain all this, it may be neceffary to prefent a fketch of the Tatar modes of warfare, and their fmall de gree 314 CHAPTER VIII. gree of civilization, and to notice the im proved ftate of maimers and cbrninerce ,which is arifing Under the foftering care of Ruffia. The name of Tatar, not Tartar, is com mon to a vaft number of thbfe roving and tincultivated tribes, Who inhabit the wide extent of country from the northern frontier pf China to the borders of Hungary, and frbm among whom have arifen, in darker ageS, the conquerors and the founders of many mighty empires. The tribes on the north of the Euxine had, like many other countries bordering on the Turkifh empire, been Subjected to a kind of dependence; they yielded little in time of peace, and in War Supplied only a predatory banditti, little leTs terrible to their friendly neighbours than to the hoftile power. In very early ages the empire of the Cri mea (the ancient Cherfonefus Taurica)- arofe out of the ruins of the ftill more ancient and exterifive dominion of the khans of Kapt- chak. It took its name from the town of Krim, of which fome veftiges now remain ; it is at prefent called Efki-Krim (Old-Krim) and was a place of great trade in the year 1237, when the Mongul Tatars eftabliShed their dominion in this peninfula. Thefe princes were wholly independent, until the Genoefe, having eftabliShed themfelves there in _ TURKISH PROVINCES. 315 in the 15 th century for the fake of com merce, obtained fuch an afcendency as to depofe or elect the native khans at pleafure. Over the principal gate of Kaffa there ftill exifts a Genoefe infcription, in bad Latin, and the arms of the repubhc. The Turks having expelled the Genoefe, began in like manner by reflecting the independence of the khans, especially as they had embraced the Mahomedan religion ; but they foon af- fumed the right of confirming their election, and finally, of nominating them to office. Under the hands of Turkey, the Black Sea, which had formerly been the fcene of a very active commerce, was fhut up by the narrow policy of the divan, and the ports of the Krim gradually loft that Splendor and magnifi cence now attefted only by their ruins. No friend of humanity can do otherwife than re joice that fuch mafters have, by the events of war, been diSpoffeffed of this important country, and that it has fallen under , the control of a power, whofe more liberal and enlightened views tend to reviye a decayed commerce, to polifh barbarian ferocity, and to render a portion of the globe, which had been almoft a defert, again fertile and pro ductive. Immediately as the emprefs got poffeflion of the Krim, She projected the recal of trade 8 and 316 CH'APTEB'.VIII. and manufactures to a foot fo well Situated for them ; She immediately, and at a great expence, formed new eftablifliments for that purpofe, fent' a number of troops to protect her new dominions, and allowed the reigning khan to retire on a liberal penfton. The following account of the former go vernment of that country, which I had, in 1781, from Seid-Effendi, vizir to Shaheen Guerrai, the reigning khan, and which I found by other information to be perfectly accurate, I prefent as the more deferving no tice, as no juft account of that government has hitherto appeared. To compare it with the ancient feudal governments, and to offer a number of conjectures which would arife from an inveftigation of that fubje«£t, would be foreign to my prefent purpofe, and a tafk I am not qualified to undertake, but it may furnifh matter for the .Speculations 'of others. ' The khan was always the eldeft male of the Guerrai family, defcended from Gengk Khan, except there was fome natural inca pacity which excluded him from the fuccef- fion, or that the country, which fometimes happened, interfered, and elected another, but always one of the Guerrai familv, and the eldeft and neareft to the right line of defcent. Afterwards this family became very numerous, and it was difficult to determine who' TURKISH. PROVINCES. 317 who had the beft claim, fo-that the khans were latterly wholly elective. Thofe moft concerned in the election were the beys and the murfas ; but the general opinion of the nation was alfo confidered, as the nomination of an unwariike or unpopular khan would occafion an- opppfition on the part of the people. After the Turks became formidable to the Krim Tatars, the porte eftablifhed a right of approving the election, and afterwards of appointing the khan folely. The beys and principal murfas (or myrfas) fometimes wrote to Conftantinople to Solicit the fovereignty for the prince whom they preferred, and Some times the candidates bribed the porte. . The khan retained his fovereignty only during the pleafure of the Ottoman fultan, and annually a capugee^-baflii was fent from • Conftantinople with a firman confirming him for the year to come. By the peace of Kai- nargi, in 1774, the Krim was declared inde pendent, and the Tatars reftored to thek privilege of electing their own fovereigu. If the khan was depoled, it was by a fir man (or hatti-Sherif) of the fultan, brought from Constantinople by a capugee - bafhi. His depofition was often the confequence of, complaints againft him by the principal people of the Krim, or of diffatisfaction on ; . the 31B CHAPTER VIII. the part of the porte of his conduct- in time of war, or tardinefs in fupplying the capital with corn ; but he was never put to death. The laft unfortunate khan, who reigned when I received this information, was an ex ception. He quitted Ruffia, and retired to Conftantinople, where he was at firft received with great diftinction, then exiled, and after wards put to death. The depofed khans were fometimes exiled to a diftant part of rthe empire,, or one of the' Greek ifland?, but generally the porte gave them a chiftiik, or kind of farm, confifting pf a country -houfe and culti vated lands, between. Conftantinople' and Adrianople, whither they carried with them- their dofneftics, and fuch , as were attached to their fortunes. There are at prefent nearly three hundred princes of the family refiding in thofe parts, who fometimes ren-^ der the roads unfafe, as they or their people Cannot entirely abandon their old cuftom of plundering. , They are the next heirs to the ' Ottoman throne, and the reigning family has ' ofteii been nearly extinct. At prefent there are, befides the fultan, only two fons, ftill very young, of his late uncle Abd-ul- hamid, Selim himfelf has po children : he is much addicted to a vice which generally carries with it this punifhment. When TURKISH PROVINCES. 319, When the Sultan appointed a khan, hp wrote to the four beys, informing them that he had named fuch a prince for their fove-? reign. Tfie khan was as defpotic as the Ottoman fultap in the execution of the law, which ixk common cafes was that of the koran ; in extraordinary cafes, or where he did not choofe to appeal to the law, there- was no reflxaint on his power, except With refpect to* the beys families, as fhall be hereafter men tioned, and in affairs which concerned the' nation at large. The khans had no land of their own, ex-* cept a very little about Bagfhiferrai. AH the foils of the Guerrai family are ftiled fultans. There was a council, or rather pftate (etaj) compofed of the four eldeft perfons of four families who have the title of bey (the fame as the Arabic beg) or prince. "The names of thefe families are Sherin, Barin (or Baron,) Manfur, and Sigevut. , - The firft family is very numerous ; of the- fecphd, two perfons only were living in 1 782 ; of the Manfurs there are alfo many, -but of - the Sigeyuts few. The Sherins, who are efteemed the moft noble, and, tp whom the ¦ fovereignty would devolve, were the Guerrai , family extinct, frequently marry daughters of the 320 CHAPTER VIII. theGuerrais,and fometimes, though not often, but of the moft confiderable Myrfas Ta- milies. The khan was,, by the conftitution oTthe government, obliged to confult them in mat ters of peace and war, and all matters which concerned the nation in general, and to con firm all matters of importance written by the khan to Conftantinople, or any other courts, by their Signature. The khan could not put to death any one of the families bf the beys, without permif-' fion from Constantinople ; he could only im- ' prifbn them. Formerly they were judged by the other beys and the khan, and if the other beys were implicated in his crime, by the murfas, or body of landholders. Neither the beys, nor any of their family, could ferve the khan in any office whatever. A bey could not fell, or otherwife alie nate the family lands and poffeffions, which" were inherited, not by his children, but by his Tucceffor in office or dignity. The mo ney and moveable effects the beys could leave to whom they pleaSed, and it was in this manner that they provided for their children. All the individuals of the beys families were called murfas, except the perfon invefted with the dignity of bey. In TURKISH PROVINCES. 32I In criminal cafes, the beys as well as the murfas, ori whofe lands the crime was com mitted, feized the offender; and fent him to the khan or other officer ofjuflice. This is to be underftood of capital offences ; in cafes of lefs importance they might punifh by beating. There was another eftate, compoSed of the murfas or proprietors of land, and who con fidered themfelyes as a feparate clafs from the people ; their ideas of distinction on this head exactly correfpond with thofp. received in Europe, of gentlemen or nobles. The word murfa (in Perfia mirfaj fignifies lord, or feig- neur, and we fhould tranflate it efquire, lord of the manor, or leffer baron, while the beys are the great barons or. peers. ¦ *• The eldeft fons of the murfas inherited their father's lands, and not the eldeft males of the 1 family, as was the cafe with the beys. Of their money or other effects they difpofed as they pteaTed to their younger children. They had the fame'juriTdiction as tfye beys in cafes of offences committed *on their lands, that is* beating or imprifoning, and fending the of fenders to the khan or other tribunals. The khan might put to death a murfa, but he always, when the nature of the cafe ad mitted delay, judged the offender before the y beys 322 CHAPTER VIII. beys, or an affembly of the murfas, or fuch of his friends who infifted on feeing juftice done to him according to the koran. In matters of national concern, or which might ocGafion a general difcontent, the khan affembled the murfas as well as fhe four beys ; the latter acting always as a check on the great power of the khan, and reftraining the power which an union of the murfas fome times had rendered too dictating. In former times the beys and the murfas depofed their Sovereign, when his conduct had occasioned a general difcontent ; but this was confidered as fo dangerous a Step, that it was never re curred to, except in very urgent- neceffities. The peafants or country people, who formed the body of the nation, were free. The peafant, who farmed a piece of land for agriculture or pafture, paid to the bey or murfa, who was the owner, twenty per cent of- the produce for reht. - hn If the land was his own, he paid only ten per cent, to the bey or murfa, in whofe dif trict it lay. The peafant difpofed of his property as he pleafed ; if he died inteftate, the law of the koran decided the fucceffion. When the khan raifed an army for war, he ferit a fummons to the beys and murfas to furnifh TURKISH PROVINCES. 323 furnifh their quota, which was fixed in pro portion to the number of people who dwelt on their poffeffions. Every bey or raurTa* com manded the body he brought into the field. The khan gives the foldiers neither pay nor parovifions; their officers or themfelves pro vided what was neceffary till they paffed their frontier, when they fubfifted on plunder, whether the country belonged to, a friendly or an inimical power. Almoft every Tatar had a horfe and arms of his own. A part of the booty,* which they always made whenever they paffed their frontier, belonged to the khan, au part to their bey or murfa, and the remainder to themfelves, which was generally the moft confiderable. Neither the beys nor the murfa were per mitted to make war with one another ; and the people were forbiden to take a Share in r their perfonal quarrels. There was another clafs of the people, who dwelt in cities and towns, and who paid no rent to the beys or murfas for the ground their houfes Stood on, or their gardens or fields, which belonged to themfelves, or they hired of other proprietors, as thefe lands or grounds belonged to the city or town ; nor were they Subject to be called out to war ; though they often, for the fake of plunder, voluntarily joined the corps of fome bey or murfa. y 2 There 324 CHAPTER VIII. There were fome other perfons in the Krim,.: who had the title of bey, but they did not be long to the efiate or etat, and were in effect only common murfas. There was a clafs of people alfo called Courtiers, kapu-khalki, people of the porte or gate, that is, the court, becaufe juftice was anciently adminiftered by the judge fitting at his gate ; they confifted of the vizir, khuzna- dar-;bafhi, defterdar, akhtagibey, kapigi-bafhi, &C. The khan appointed any perfon he pleafed to thefe offices, as murfas or their fons, merchants, Turks, &c. and when they had an' office, if they were of an insignifi cant family, they were called aga, and their fons took the title of murfa. The beys and great murfas fometimes.. gave their daughters in marriage to the courtiers if they were be come perfons of confequence, but, however, this was rare, and generally by" the felicita tion of the khan. The great officers of the ftate were 1. Galga-Sultan.' He was governor of the city of Akmedfchit, and its diftrict, where he always refided. He was always of the Guerrai family, and had, in his diftrict, power of life and death, as the khan himfelf. No perfon older than the reigning khan could be appointed to this office. He had a court, and officers of the fame denomination as the. khan, TURKISH PROVINCES. 325 khan, . viz. a vizir, khaznadar, &c. It has been always underftood by thofe who have treated of the , Krim, that galga-fultan was the khan's eldeft fon ; this was never the cafe. 2. NuRUDDiN-SuLTAN.He alfo could be of no other family but of the Guerrai. - He had the fame privileges as galga-fultan, but Could not put to death ; he refided always with the khan, but had no part in the ad- miniftratiori of juftice, or any other depart ment, farther than giving bis advice, or tranfactkig for the khan in his name Such • buSineSs as he entrufted him with. His office Teems to have been a kind of occasional lieu- tenant to the khan, always at hand. ,3. Or-Bey (or ore-bey as it is pronounced} lived at Perekop, called Or. His privileges were the fame as thofe of galga--fultan ; ex cept that he could not put to death ; he was not always of- the Guerrai family j but fome times a Sherin, in which cafe he had no vizir, but he had all the other officers of his court the fame as a fultan. 4. Ak-kirman-Seraskir Was always a fultan, and had power of life and death. He refided at Akkirman, before the Turks took . pofTeffion of Befarabi ; he was alfo governor of the Nogai-'Tatars before they emigrated from the plains on the north of Perekop to y ¦ ¦x the 326 CHAPTER Vlf I. the Kriban; he had the fame bfricers as'galga- jultan. 5. Kub'AN-SeraskiR had the farne power and privileges as galga-fultan, being always a fultan of the Guerrai family. Befides, every tribe of the Kuban-Tatars had a ferafkk, who adminiftered juftice in the tribe, but was under kuban-feraflkir, and could not put to death. Befides thefe there were, 1. The Mufti in the Krim, 'appointed by - fhe khan, arid who refided with him at Bag- chiferrai, but there Was no body oT ulema to check the power of the government, as at Conftantinople. When the Turks were in jjoffeffion of Kaffa, they had a mufti there, but he never was confulted by the Tatars, of fuffered to meddle in their affairs. 2. A kadilafkir or (kaziafkir) in like man ner appointed by, and rending with the khan. 3. Twenty-four kadis (or kazis) one in every confiderable diftrict, befides kadis in the Kuban, where every kadi had a diftrict of fe veral villages or encampments of tents. Thus this lingular government Teems ori ginally to have been feudal, but was after wards, when the Tatars became Mahome- ¦* dans, TURKISH PROVINCES. 327I dans, modified by the adoption of the laws of the koran. The Tatars acknowledged the foltan of Constantinople as kalif and head of thek religion. They never could be -per fuaded to leave off eating horfeflefh, which is forbidden by the Mahomedan law to MufeU mans. The Turkifli muftis wifely decided, that horfeflefh was forbidden to all other < Mahomedans to eat, but not to the Tatars, as they had been accuftomed to it, and that thereby k ceafed to be a fin. The Revenues of the reigning Khans were, ift. Ten per cent, of the corn the No- gais grew. 2. The produce of the salt lakes — very * little fait was the property of individuals—- they rendered him about one hundred thou- fand dollars a year, that is, about twelve thou- fand five hundred pounds fterling. , 3. The duty on imports and exports, which ufually amounted to the fame fum qf one hundred thoufand dollars, or twelve thou sand five hundred pounds fterling. 4. Subsidies, which the Ottoman^or^paid to the khan in time' of -war, and frequently 'other Turns, to affift iri armaments, and to keep .the Tatars iri'good humour. ""5. The forris annually Sent by the Otto man fultan to' defray the expences of Galga- Y 4 fultan's 328 CHAPTER VIII, fultan's court, and to pay the officers of the khan's court, as vizir, khafhadar, &c, with a View to render them more dependent. 6. The pay of 'the feimans, a body of troops of about 1,600, who ferved as guards to, the khan, was always fent from Conftantinople. The Turks, in return, could always rely on a body of auxiliary cavalry from the Krim and the Kuban. The Chriftians apd Jews paid a capitation tax, as in Turkey, to the beys or murfas ; but they were infinitely lefs vexed than in Tur key, enjoyed more protection, and were treated with lefs infolence and indignity; The revenue of Shaheen-Guerrai-Khan, in 1 78 1, amounted to 900,000 dollars, without calculating the Sums uSually Sent from Con ftantinople; this film makes about jf.i 12,500 Sterling. The number of inhabitants was then re duced to about 100,000 fouls in the Krim, and 600,000 fouls in the Kuban ; two thirds of the inhabitants had emigrated to Turkey fince the beginning of that khan's reign, which was the laft. In the autumn of 1777, the Tatars of the Krim alone met the Ruf*, flan army, under Prince Proforofsky, in the plains of Salguir, with forty thoufand men, all well mounted and armed. In 1782, the large TURKISH PROVINCES. 329 large city of Kaffa confifted only of 450 houfes inhabited. It may not be inappofite to Tay a few words on the reign of the laft khan of the Tatars, and the final extinction of the Tatar domi nion in the Krim. In the treaty of peace of Kainargi, con cluded in July 1774* the independence of the Krim was ftipulated in thefe words. Art. III. " All the Tatar people, thofe of Crimea, of " Budgiac, of the Kuban, the Ediffans, Geam- ," bouiluks and Edifchkuls, flail, without any " exception, be acknowledged by the two empires " as free nations, and entirely independent of any "foreign power, and flail be governed by their " own fovereign of the race of Gingis-Khan, " elected and raifed to the throne by all the " fatar people ; who flail govern them accord- > " ing- to their ancient laws and ufages, render- < *" ing no account whatever to any foreign power ; " // is for this reafon that'neither the court of " Ruffia npr t/ie Ottoman porte ought not to *' 0eddle, under any pretext whatever, • in the "election of the faid khan, nor in their affairs, " ftomeftic, politic, civil, and interior, but, on " the contrary, acknowledge and confider the "faid Tatar nation in. its political and civil " ftate, on the fame footing as other powers, -f which govern by themfelves', and are depen- f1 flent on God. alone. With refpeft to the cere- " monies 33° CHAPTER VIII. " monies of religion, as the Tatars profefs the "fame worfliip as the Mufelmans, they flail " regulate themfelves ivith regard to his high- " nefs,M,s grand kalif of Mahomet anifm, accord- " ing to the precepts which their law prefcribes " to them, without, however, any prejudice to " the confirmation of their civil and religious " liberty, &c." — " Ruffia engages to withdraw " its troops, &c. and the fub lime porte to relin- " quifli all right whatever, which he might have " to the fortreffes, cities, habitations, &c. in Cri- " mea, the Kuban, or in the ijland of Tamany " nor to keep in any of thefe places, garriflms, " nor other armed people, &.c. &c." In confequence of this Stipulation Shaheen Guerrai was elected khan by the beys and murfas, with the approbation of the people, as it Seemed, for no discontent appeared among them. The new khan, however, did not long keep his popularity. He wiShed to civilize his people, and introduce the European dis cipline among his troops. He would have Succeeded, had he paid more reSpect to tlie deep-rooted prejudices of the people. He began by entirely abolishing the old form of government ; he raifed new foldiers and paid them, and appointed murfas for their officers. They had no ftanding army before, but every man wasa foldier. He diminifhed the rent paid by TURKISH PROVINCES. 331 by the people to the murfas for their land, and appropriated it to his own ufe, allowing fuch murfas as would lerve in the army handfome falaries. He affected too much the manners of the Christians or Ruffians, though he obferved with punctuality all the ceremonies of his religion. His expences Were thus increafed beyond his income, and he could riot, like his predeceffors, apply for pecuniary affiftance to the Ottoman Porte, which" had ceaSed to pay the Salaries of the officers of his court. He ftruck a new coin at an enormous expence ; the mint was con ducted by a German. He farmed out the different branches of the revenue to people who exacted the payment with a rigour hitherto unknown. He eftabliShed a corps ef artillerv, and endeavoured to form a ma- rine; but want of revenue prevented him fucceeding in any one undertaking. The' Turks Saw with jealoufy the inde pendence of the Tatars, and lamented being deprived, in all probability, of their affiftance in toy future war, as the khan declared his intention of retraining neutral, as the only means of making his people formidable, and •maintaining his independence. The Turks laboured inceffantly by their emiffaries, who were moftly religious enthufiafts, to ftir up the people to rebelhon. They Tucceeded in railing 332 CHAPTER VIII. raifing foch a fpirit of difcontent, that the khan, fearful of his perfonal fafety, called in a body of Ruffians, and placed fmall corps in different parts of the country. The Turks had, previoufly to this, fent a' body of troops to Taman, and beheaded one of the khan's commanders. I arrived at the Ruffian fortrefs of Jani- kali, in October 1777, and. was Tetting out for Bagfhirai, when news arrived- that the Tatars had Suddenly fallen on the diSperfed Ruffians in every part of the Krim and the, Kuban at the fame time, and had cut them all off; the, Khan him Self luckily efeaped tp the Rufiian ' head-quarters. The Ottoman Porte, at the fame time, had appointed a new khan, and fent him to the port now called Sebaftopolis, with five Ships of the line, A Ruffian army foon entered the Crimea; the Tatars were defeated, and during the winter reduced again to obedience to their khan. The Ruffians are accufed of committing fome cruelties on this occafion. If they cannot be juftified as Chriftians for following the law of retaliation, they, are, as men, Tomewhat eXcuTable. The Tatars, though reduced to obedience, could not be kept in that State by tjhcfew troops the khan cpuld rely on; he was therefore Qbliged to havq an auxiliary army from TURKISH PROVINCES. 333 from Ruffia, and the porte made feveral at tempts to excite a frefh rebellion. The em prefs, at laft tired out by the continual alarms they pccafioned, and determined no longer to fuffer her fubjects to be expofed to the cala mities the incurfions of thefe barbarians oc- cafioned, feized ori the Krim and Cuban in 1783. The khap retired, to 'Kaluga, in Ruf fia Minor, wheredie was allowed a very large penfion by the emprefs, and treated in every refpect as a fovereign ; but, unaccuftomed to a quiet and inactive life, he quitted Ruffia, and went to Conftantinople, where at firft he was received with great distinction, but was foon Tent into exile to a Greek ifland, and one day, as he was in his bath, he- Was feized and ftrangled, and his head Tent to Conftantino- nople. I beg- the reader will excufe a fhort digref-' fion reflecting myfelT, as it may throw fome light on the character or morals of the people 1 was among. The i-°th December, i yyy, I failed from Janikali, in a fmall veffel, for Kaffa, (the road by land being unfafe) which had juft been taken by the Ruffians, under General Balmaine, by ftorm, and many Turks, who were at Kaffa, had been put to the fword by a Greek corps from Janicalj, who alfo robbed my fervant of all my bag gage, to a very confiderable amount, and which 334 - chapter viii. which I never recovered. Inftead of mak ing the. port of kaffa, we were driven by a ¦ftorm along the coaft, and after lofing our bowfprit and all our anchors, we were in great diftrefs for water, being eighty perfons on board, all military men. We made feveral defcents on the coaft to procure water, but were always beaten off by the Tatars ; at laft , we paffed Belaklava, and lay to in the gulph of Giosleve, oppofite the port of SebaftopoT /lis, where we faw the TurkiSh fleet at anchor. The mafter of a TurkiSh merchant Ship came out to us, and we bargained with.hirn, for about fifty pounds fterling, for a calk of water, which he "promifed to bring us off in the night ; but as foon as he got on fhpre, we obferved one of the Turkifli frigates loofeiir ing her topfails to come out. It was nearly night, and we put to fea and bore away for the Danube, the only port we could reach with the wind we had, preferring to throw ourfelves on the mercy of the Turks to pe- rifhing by thirft. "I was the only perfon in the veffel who could navigate her out of fight of land. The captain, who was a Greek, had become mad. I found two Turkifh charts of the Black Sea, which dif fered in the latitude of the Danube a de gree. I examined the coaft of Anatolia, which I had furveyed that fummer from Conftan- TURKISH PROVINCES. 23$ Constantinople to Kitros, and by that judged which was the beft. We arrived fafe off Sulina-mouth, but the wind not permitting us to enter, a Turkifli boat came out to us; and here I cannot enough commend the humanity we expe rienced from the crews of feveral TurkiSh merchant veflels. We had onlv a hawfer and a boat anchor to hold the fhip. The water was very Tmooth. It was already night. They fent out five large boats manned to tow us in, if there fhould be any danger, and they remained with us all night. We got Safe into the river in the morning. The next day I let off for Galatz, intending fo go by land to Ruffia. In the river I found two new Turkifh 50 gun fhips, without their guns or crews. I had known the captains at Conftantinople, and was received with kindnefs by them. The 1 ft January, 1778,1 went to the Greek governor to pay him a complimentary vifit: I found a very cold reception from him; he - was feated on his fopha with a Turk, in appearance of fome diftinction, who imme diately produced a warrant from the pafha of Ebrahil to cut off my head and thofe bf 26 perfons who were come with me frPrrt the veffel. The executioner was ftanding in the room, with a bag to put our heads in, and a heap of fawduft was laid in the court before 33& CHAPTER VIH. before the houfe to abforb the blood.. My Greek interpreter was fo terrified, that he Could utter no other word than quel J acco, pointing to the bag in which his head was to be put. Luckily I was not intimidated; but I was' obliged to fpeak for myfelf as well as I could, and with great difficulty perfuaded the officer, who was filiktar (fword-bearer) to the pafha, that I was an Englishman, and came with no ill intentions ; that were I an enemy, in the fituation in which we came into the Danube the cuftom of all nations granted us an afylum. He then told me, we were accufed of coming into, the Danube with a defign to burn the two Turkifli Ships of war. In Short my arguments, and a Sew thoufand dollars in Ruffian bank notes, pre vailed on him to go back to the paSha for freSh instructions, and to fend to the captains of the Turkish Ships of war, who engaged to anfwer with their heads that I was an En glishman, and a friend of the captain pafha's. It Was a lucky circurhftanee that they had- feen me with the captain paflia, and knew that I really was an Englishman. I afterwards learnt that the Greek gover nor, who had at firft received. me with great civility, was our accufer. We remained priSbners at large in fhe- tpwn three months, when an. order from the captain -TURKISH .PROVINCES. 33^] captain pafha, came to let us.dppart, and" that " we flould be fo little molefled, that if a bird "perched on the mafl-top it flould be drjven ¦ *l .away." While I was in the .quarantine, atthe.Ruf- .'fian frontier, in September 1778, therepaffed 75*000 s Chriftians, obliged by the Ruffians to eniigrate from the Crimea (35,769 paales.) The Armenian women, who came .from. ijKaffa, .were more beautiful, and, I think, ap proached nearer that perfect ,-¦ form, which the iCrrecians have left us in their ftatues, than the . women of Tino. Thefe people were fent to iinhabit the country .abandoned- by , the .Nogai Tatars, near the weft coaft of the fea of Azof f(Palus JMaeotis). but the winter .coming on t. before. the houfes built. for them, were, ready, Ka great part of them > had, no other Shelter c from the cold than -what was afforded them by. holes dug in the ground, covered with .what they could procure : they were people -who all came from comfortable homes, and the .greateft part - perifhed ; feven , thoufand only .were alive a few years ago. A colony .from/ Italy to the banks of. the Boryfthenes, -in 1783, had no better fate, owing to the bad *management-of thofe who were commiflion- ,„ed t to . provide for. them, and not to. the cli mate ; -noi*w have ; colonies, of Germans been ,z . j more 33$ CHAPTER VIII, more fortunate in Ruffia— but this is a digref- fion. I fhall here take the opportunity of cor recting a few errors into which fome writers of Celebrity have fallen. With refpect to the title of fultan, borne by the Gengifkhan. family, and to that, of khan (written frequently by the French, who do not diftinguifli the found of an m from an n when not followed by a vowel, kam and cham, as they write Edimbourg, &c.) Baron de Tott has made fome obfervations which require correction. His errors, which are not entirely cleared up by PeyfTonel, arife from ript having obferved the different force which thefe words have in the different countries where they are ufed. They are both words of command, and (contrary to Tott's affertion) are ufed by the Turkifh emperors to exprefs fovereignty, as is evident from the Arabic in- fcripfion on the Ottoman money : Sultan, ebn. ul fultan, Abdulhamid khan, dame mulkhu. Sul tan, Jon of a fultan, Abdulhamid the khan, whofe reign be perpetual. Thefe terms, however, are ufi d very differently in Perfia; fliah, which" among the Tatars is equivalent to khan or king, is the only title taken by the Perfian monarch : in that country khan anfwers to the Turkifh papa, and is therefore taken by the governors of provinces, whilft fultan, ' 3 • which TURKISH PROVINCES. 339 which there fignifies fimply commander, is a title given to a captain of horfe. In my time, a man was made khan or gpvernor of Bender- rik, and his fon, who commanded a body of cavalry, was called fultan. I fpeak of the •prefent acceptation of thefe words, not of their more ancient fignification, , Tott is erroneous in ftating, that the bey of the Sherins conftantly reprefents the five other beys. In the kinguejhis, or extraordi nary affemblies, as well as in all the public 1 convocations, the bey of the Sherins, though firft in rank, reprefents orily his own family ; the beys of the other houfes are alfo prefent, 'and reprefent each their own family. The hiftoric al journal of the affairs of the Crimea, which was kept at Bagtfliferrai, is ' probably a valuable document : PeyfTonel Teems to doubt oT its exiftence, or at leaft to fuppofe, that it is little more than a compila tion from general traditions, made by: fome Tatar oT learning; it is', however, certain that Tuch a journal was regularly kept there by a family, who have handed it down from father to fon with the fame regularity as a fimilar journal is kept at the porte at Conftantinople : the khans often referred to it. The caverns found in different parts of the Crimea, particularly at Tepekirman, half a 'league from Bagtfhiferrai, have given rife ¦:¦¦¦:'¦- S|2 to 34° CH A P T E R VIII. to much "curious "Speculations': from fheif Situation on the; fides of Steep, and often per- . -peridicular fides of rocky mountains, as well as from the regularity of their ftructure, it is evident that they have been excavated by human art, but whether as Tepulchral monu ments, as fortreffes, or as places of refuge- for •cattle in rtime of invafion, or for whatever •xrther ufe, is at the prefent day doubtful. The objection of Mr. PeyfTonel, who thinks it impoffible for cattle to have clihabed to Such a height/ is- certainly erroneous aSrto its •practicability, fince the Tatars at prefent actu ally do put herds of goats every * night , into fome of .them /by means of Steps cut in the rock, which, had 'he paffed a night, as Jldid, . in that beautifrilly romantic vale , he might have been an eye witnefs of ; others, indeed, have no fuch accefs," and might ferve' as the political ftate of - the Tatars. : In their •'education,' there is little to fupply the mirtd "with knowledge, and whatever marks of ¦ fa 's gacity 'are difcoverable namong them, -are to be. attributed to natural genius, and the effect of an active mode of life, which, even among 'favages, beftows a fharpneTs and* accuracy of intellect. Their acquired information is vefy limited : reading arid writing constitute their ? higheft TURKISH- PROVINCES. 34I hjghpft branches of education, and in the Sciences in generalthey are lefs informed even than the Turks themfelves. Like moft bar barians, their own country is to them at once the pattern of excellence and the boundary of knowledge ; and the chief officers of ftate themfelves were ignorant of the geography, or relative fituation of every other country. The Tatar mode of fighting has, no re- fernblance to European tactics; it is one con tinued Tcene of confufion and tumult, though it gives occaSion to the difolay of great agility, and no fmall portion of a barbarous kind of &ill. Alternately flying and advancing in detached parties, many kinds of copteft are carried on at once ; the fabre, the pike, and fire arms, are all employed, and they fight alike on horfeback or on foot, though the former -is their moft common mode. The regularity and difcipline of the modern Eu ropean battles has greatly contributed to -pro duce a correfpondent mildnefs towards the conquered ; but in this defultory warfare thp paffiohs of the individuals are let loofe, per- fonal fury augments the favage horror of the Scene, and the enemy is never fpared, unlets he be Tufficiently unhurt to become valuable as a Slave. It is not furprizing, that on the emprefs's gaining ppffeffien of the Krim, a great z 3f number 342 CHAPTER VIII. number of its Tatar inhabitants fhould emi grate from their country. Befides' the re ligious prejudices of thefe people, their un- fettled and turbulent habits rendered them little adapted to that induftry and civiliza tion, which it- was .her endeavour to intro duce into heir newly acquired dominions. ThoSe who chofe to leave the country, had leave to fell their lands and other property, which was protected by the Ruffians. She did not act with them as the Turks and Ta tars ever did- to the inhabitants of the coun tries they conquered ; thofe who chofe to re main, were left in the quiet poffeffion of their property and their religion, and enjoyed every protection and privilege as a Ruffian Chriftian Subject. The Tatar hordes now no more Twell the Turkifh army, nor mark their road with Tmok- ing villages laid in afhes, and murdered inha bitants ; thofe hordes, who penetrated even into Pruffia and Silefia, ravaged Ppland, Hun gary, and Ruffia, destroying by fire and Sword every habitation, every living creature they could not carry off, tying their prifoners to their horSes tails, and thofe priSoners were the flower of the youth of Chriftian nations, led away, never more to return from flavery and violation tP their friends or their country ; thefe hordes are now either difperfed among their brother Savages in Afia, or civilized by their conquerors. C 343 3 CHAPTER IX. The Political State of Greece. TH E political ftate of Greece has long announced to the attentive obferver that explofion which late events feem to have rapidly promoted. Greece can no longer Submit to the TurkiSh yoke ; She pants for emancipation, and already afpires tp be rank ed among the independent ftates of Europe. The rife, or rather the renovation of her power will form an important asra in Euro pean politics : to appreciate its probable confe- "quences we muft confider the paft and prefent circumftances of that famous country ; we muft recur to the eclipfe of her former fplendor by the Turkifh conqueft, to the long night of barbarifm and oppreffion in which (he has been whelmed, and to thofe ftruggles which of late years have Shown that She is about to awake to the affertion of her native rights. It is not here my intention to trace the de tails of claflic ftory, to defcribe thofe heroic ages, when the fplendor of genius and the £ 4 illumination 344 CHAPTER VIII. illumination > of fcience Teemed to be con centrated within the narrow boundaries of Greece, and by their irradiation tp com municate animation and improvement ta Surrounding nations ; it will be fufficient for me to call to the remembrance of the Scholar fome of the brigheft pages in the hiftory of mankind ; it will be fuSficient to cite the names of thofe poets and orators, thofe ftatef- rheri and moralists, whofe illuftrious deeds and whofe admirable precepts ftill extort the applaufes of the univerfe. To Greece beT longed an Homer and a Demofthenes, a Pho- cian and an Ariftides, a Socrates, a Plato, an Af iftotle, a Phidias, and an Apelles ; in Short, iri whatever path the ardent and eccentric imagination of man has fought for fame, in that the Grecian name ftands eminently con- fpicuous, if not arrogating to itfelf an unrival led fuperiority. { India and Egypt had for many preceding ages cultivated the arts ; but. thefe countries were only the cradle of knowledge ; when transmitted to the genial climate of Greece, foftered by her political freedom, and ani mated by her vivacity 'and enterprize, it quickly attained the fublimeft heights, and invefted the human character with a dignity before unknown. By what gradations their ancient Simplicity, temperance, modeftyvaiid good POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 345 "good faith funk away, and how the decay of their virtues involved the ruiii of their genius, their hiftory will Shew: let the philanthro pist, perufing the instructive leffon, weep over the fall of human greatnefs, or rather let him collect from the fatal example, new incite ments to energy and perfeverance in the caufe of private and public virtue. Ancient Rome, the victorious rival of Greece in arms, caught from her captive the inspiration of genius ; but She never reached a fimilar degree of Sublimity; fhe imitated, but never equalled, the poets, the orators, the historians, the artifts of Greece, according to the ingenuous acknowledgment of the firft of Latin poets : ** Excudent alii fpiratitia mollius sera, M Credo equidem : vivos ducent de martnore vultus j c' Orabunt caufas melius, ccelique meatus *' Defcribent radio, &c. Indeed no nation ever arrived fo nearly at ^perfection in every branch of fcience.. The genius of the ancient Grecians feems to have been endowed with as preternatural a ftrength as the bodies of Homer's heroes. Thek poetical imagery was fplendid and fublime, their oratorical tropes bold and ener getic, their fpeculative philofophy manly and ; -Zomprehenfive. Of the effect of their paint ings we can judge pnly froip, hiftory, but theii* .34^ CHAP T ER IX. their ftatueshave reached to the prefent times ; they poffefs adignity more than human ; they feem the ne plus ultra of genius, tafte, and ex ecution, and though often imitated defy the hand of the copyift. Such a nation could riot have fallen under the yoke of a TurkiSh conqueror, had She not been prepared for that difgrace by a long period of debafement and fuperftition. When this laft and moft terrible cataftrophe arrived,1 , She faw her cities and palaces laid in afhes, and the magnificent monuments of her anci ent glory levelled with the duft by the rude Strokes of thofe ferocious barbarians ; She faw her fons, a race who had graced and dignified fociety,' Slaughtered without distinction and' without mercy, or Subjected to a captivity Still "worfe than flaughter ; yet ftill her weeping genius feemed to linger among the melan choly ruins, and reluctantly to leave them, to carry with her the faint remnants of learn ing and tafte into more fortunate regions,; where She fowed the feeds of that civilization and fcience which at the prefent day fo emi nently flourish in Europe. , Conquered Greece poliShed Rome, but the conquerors were Romans. Conquered Greece did not poliSh Turkey, for the conquerors were Turks. The infenfibility of thefe, bar barians is aftonifhing : living amid the efful-- gence POLITICAL STATE OP GREECE. 347 gence of genius, they have not caught one Spark ; they gaze with unfeeling ftupidity on the wonder and boaft of art, on their glori ous monuments, on their temples, arid con clude they were built by genii,' and then deftroy them, to burn the marble for lime tp make ftu'cco for their own taftelefs houfes, whence the fine arts are banifhed ; where ignorance, tyranny, fuperftition, and grots fenfuality only dwell in fad and ftupidly- folemn pomp, or iffuing out - with favage fury, lay wafte the country round, and imbrue their hands in the blood of the helplefs, mur dering without remorfe thofe they have con quered. Thus the fineft countries in the wprld are become deferts ; part inhabited by favage beafts, and part by more favage men ; the poor aborigines fkulking in hiding places like the timid hare (which epithet the Turks give them in derifion) while thofe beafts of prey roam abroad. , - / '. Every object moral and phyfical, the fair face of nature and the intellectual energies of the inhabitants, have alike been blafted and defiled by the harpy-touch of Turkifh tyranny. As an inftance of thofe changes which the country has undergone, we need only confider the ifland of Cyprus, now an almoft uninhabited defert, which was, not only in ancient times, but when it was taken by 348 C HA F T E R IX. by the Turks- from the Venetians, pppufoui* and exceedingly, rich. The gentry lived like princes in fplendor, and even the peafant? had each of them at leaft a Silver cup, Spoon, knife, and fork. The number and excel lency of its productions were, wonderful. At prefent only a little cotton, fome filk and wine, and a few drugs, are its produce, all to no great amount. ' Even the falines (or falt-works) which were fo great a branch of revenue and commerce to the Venetians, have produced nothing Since the Turks have been poffeffed of the ifland. Of the defects of the Grecian character fome are doubtlefs owing to their ancient. corruptions; but moft of them take their rife in the humiliating ftate pf depreffion in which they are held by the Turks. This degradation and Servility of their Situation has operated for centuries, and has confe-. quently produced an accumulated effect on the mind; but were this weight taken off, the elasticity and vigour of the foul would have wide room for expansion, and though it cannot be expected that they would at once rife to the proud animation of their former heroes, they would doubtlefs display energies of mind, which the iron hand of defpptifm has long kept dormant and inert. It* is rather aftonifhing that they have re- 1 tained POLITICAL STATE OFxGREECE. 349 tained fo much energy of character, and are not more abafed, for like noble couriers they champ the bit, and fpurn indignantly the yoke; when once freed from thefe, they will enter the courfe of glory. The truth of thefe obfervations will appear, whether ,we confider the Greeks in their common cha racter as one people, or whether we confider them according to their local and, peculiar distinctions. When we view the Greeks in their more comprehensive character as a nation, their fuperiority over the Turks in -, knowledge is furprifingly .great ; they poffefs a great degree of genius- and invention, and are of fo. lively an imagination, that they cannot-* tell the fame - Story twice without varying the em- bellifhments of circumftance and diction; . added to this, both men and women' fpeak much, and with wonderful volubility and, .JboJdnefs, and -no people are fuch natural ¦orators; numbers- of them: fpeak Italian, but all have an activity and fprightlinefs which fltrongly contrafts with -the Stupid and pom- {pous gravity of the Turks ; an European ifeels himfelf as it were; at home with them, and amongft creatures of his own fpecies, *:for -with, Mahomedans there is a diftance, a non-affimilation, a total difference of ideas, ••and the; more he 'knows their language the more 3$0 CHAPTER IX. more he perceives it ; on the contrary, the more intimately he knows the Greeks, the more fimilar does he find them in habits and manners to other Europeans : their bad re putation is more owing to the Slander of the French (their mortal enemies) than to So great a degree of demerit. In general, they are an agreeable and a feryiceable people, but they are much given to levity, are immo derately ambitious, and fond of honourable diftinctions; but this very ambition, now a weaknefs, when they have nobler objects to purfue will lead them to greatnefs. From the account given by Tott (vol. i. p. 1 1 8) of the disturbances excited by the pa-, triarch Kirilo, it would appear that the Greeks have not yet entirely abandoned that Spirit of fuperftition and bigotry, which was, per haps, the main caufe of their former down fall. It muft be obferved, however, that thefe disputes are not fo much foftered among themfelves, as they are owing to the efforts of the Latin church, which was the cafe in the inftance alluded to, where the foundation of the conteft was a bull of the pope, directed againft the Greek church. They bear the Turkifli yoke with greater impatience than other Chriftians (who have long oeafed to ftruggle againft it) and poffels-a Spirit POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 35I Spirit of enterprize which, however ridiculed by fome authors, often prompts them to noble achievements. Their ancient empire is frefli in their memory ; it is the fubject of their popular fongs, and they fpeak of it in com mon converfation as a recent event. That they poffefs a firm and manly cou rage, notwithstanding the infinuations of their calumniators, has been too often tefti- fied to be in the leaft doubtful ; the inftances which they have difplayed in the Ruffian fervice have been truly ftriking. They are paffionate, and fometimes given to affaffl- nation ; but, except in Zante and Cephalonia, the ftiletto is not To frequent with them as with the Italians, whom they in general re ferable, the beft of them, if we add more energy, being very fimilar in character to the Venetians, and the worft to the Genoefe. The moft obfervable difference in the Grecian character is between thofe of Con-' ftantinople and their countrymen of the iflands. The merchants and lower orders of the Conftantinopolkan Greeks have indeed no very marked character ; they are much the fame as the trading Chriftians in all parts of the empire, that is to fay, as Crafty and frau dulent as the Jews, but lefs fo than the Ar menians, who are the . moft Subtle pf aU ;ufurers. But 352 CHAPTER IX. 'But there is in a fuburb called the Fenar a race of Greeks who call themfelves nobles, and affect to defpife thofe of the iflands : they are certain opulent families, from which are generally appointed the drogorrians of , the ppf te, and the waywodes of Walachia and Moldavia. They have kept ,. thefe places among them, as they are moftly allied to gether, , and keep up a conftant connection with the officers of the porte. They are continually intriguing . to get thpfe in office removed, and obtain their places ; even chil dren Cabal againft their fathers, and brothers -againft brothers. They are all people of very good education, and are polite, but haughty, vain, arid ambitious to a moft? ridi culous degree, considering the contempt they are treated with by the Turks. As to their noble extraction, it is a matter of great un certainty ; moft of them bear the names of thofe families which were iUuftrious when the Turks took Conftantinople, but they -would find it difficult to prove their defcent. They have in general all the vices of the Turks of the feraglio; treachery, ingratitude, cruelty, and intrigue, which flops at no means. While they are drogomans of the porte, they are obliged to behave wkh great , caution and prudence, but when they become POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 353 become waywodes, they are in* nothing different from TurkiSh pafhas hi tyranny; nor is it to be Wondered at, when men are obliged to look up not only. to tyrants, but to the very Servants of tyrants, for ho nour and confequence; to flatter their igno rance and" Stupidity, their foibles and their vices, and to tremble for their lives at their frowns, that cunning takes the place of wif- dom, vice of virtue, and treachery of forti tude. In fuch a fituation the mind muft lofe its vigour, the heart its 'gen^pjtfity: the abafement of man by fuch. caufes was never more Strongly exemplified than in the in stance of the. Greeks of the .Fenar ; they do not weepover the ruins which they can not reftofe, nor glow with emulation to rear others of equal magnificence. ', Strange as is the infatuation which induces thefe Greeks to aim at the poft of waywodes, it is perhaps no lefs aftonifhing than many ex amples which daily' occur in other nations of the power of ariibitipn. Though Styling, themfelves npble, and affecting a fuperiority over the other Greeks, they are the only part of their nation who have totally relinquifhed the ancient Grecian fpirit; they feem. not anxious, as the iflanders are, for liberty; but delight in their falfe magnificence, and in, 'the petty intrigues of the feraglio ; apd their; A A pride 354 CHAPTER IX. pride isto appear in their drefs like Turks; and yet the fituation which they are thus eager to obtain is befet with perils, and fcarcely one who holds it efcapes depofition and punifhment. No fooner is a waywode appointed, than he fets out in great ftate for his government, attended by a crowd of re lations and dependents, for all of whom, as well as for his own fplendor, he muft pro vide by oppreffing the unhappy fubjects of his fyrariny. Meanwhile his countrymen at Con stantinople are engaged in continual plots for his removal, and it becomes heceflary for him to accumulate a large fom to bribe the mi nisters and others on his return, and to avert the perfecUtion, which continues for years afterward -to hang over him. Thofe of Macedonia, &c. are robuft, cou rageous, and Somewhat ferocious ; thofe of Athens and Attica are ftill remarkably witty and Sharp ; all the iflanders are lively and gay, fond of Singing and dancing tp an excefs, af fable, hoSpitable,, and good natured ; in Short, they are the beft ;, thofe of the Morea are much given to piracy ; but it is Hot. to be wondered-at, considering the cruel treatment they have met with, and the Struggles they are continually making againft the Turks,. Albania, Epirus, and in, general .the' moun taineers, are a very warlike, brave people, but ¦' ~ , ' very POLITICAL STATE QF GREECE. 355 very Savage, and make little Scruple of killing and robbing travellers ; a Turk cannot ven ture in their country alone ; there is no one in it but would make a merit of Shoothig him, fo deeply is their hatred to their op- preffors rooted. ¦*-*• * The Greeks of Zante •and Cephalonia, Subject to the Venetians., are notorious for ftabbing with knives. In fome iflands the people are not harid- fome. In Metaline, the women are remark able for very large breafts. In ¦ Tino, the women are almoft all beauties, and there the true antique head is to be found. In general, the people of the iflands "have grand and noble features. From different v faces, you may put together, in walking through a market place, the heads of Apollo and of the fineft ancient ftatues. It is fcarcely poffible for any perfon riot fo be miftaken in judging of the conduct of the porte towards its provinces, by any ana logy from the political operations of other European -nations. Amongft us, the unfuc cefsful revolt of a whole province Would in- . deed give birth to fome additional rigour, and ip fbirie ftriking example of punifhment ; but the ferocious Turk propofes nothing Short pf extermination, in order to free him felf from the fear of future defecliori. It a a 2. was 35& CHAPTER IX. ~ was thus that, when the inhabitants of the Morea, who, inftigated by the defire of liber-; ty, had taken up arms in favour of Ruffia, .returned under their yoke, a deliberate pro^ poSal was made in the divari to flaughter them all in cold blood, innocent and guilty, of whatever age or fex. Nor was this^ the firft time that the maflacre of the whole Greek nation had been ferioufly debated : it was, however, in the prefent inftance, fiiccefsfully oppofed by' Gazi-Haffan, both on motives of humanity and policy. The chief argument which he ufed, and which alone carried con viction , to his hearers, was: if we kill all ihe Greeks, we pall lofe all the capitation they pay. Even without foch a provocation, fub- •tan Muftafa, predeceffor and brother of Ab-- dulhamid, on his acceffion to the throne, pro- pofed to cut off all the Chriftians in the em pire, and was with difficulty difluaded from it. Is this a nation which merits that Bri tain Should enter into a war for its defence ? It is wholly incomprehensible to me, that any European nation can regard 'the Turks •¦ as the lawful poffeffors of the countries over which their baneful dominion extends. Such opinion can only proceed from a total igno rance of the ftate of tHe people whofe- Tove-- reignty thefe ferocious favages have ufurped, and POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 3.57 and of the circumftances which attended their Subjection. . Right to a country is acquired either by treaty or by long poffeffion. Treaty can only apply to a portion of a country ceded, whether voluntarily or compulfatively, by the Sovereign power. > . , It has been Said, that as long, poffeffibn of a country gives an indisputable right of do minion, anc! that, as this right of the Turks to their poffeffioiis has alfo been acknow ledged by all nations in their treaties, the aborigines have loft all claim to independence. — As to treaties between the Turks and other nations, who had no right to diSpofe of the countries ufurped by the Turks, they cannot be binding to the Greeks, who * never were ponfn-lted, who never Signed fuch treaties, nor confented to their being Signed. • When one nation conquers another, and theybecome incorporated, by having the fame rights, the Tame religion, the Same .language, and by .being blended together by inter-mar riages, a long feries of years fenders them one - people. Who can in Englap-d distinguish the aborigines from 'the Romans, , Saxons, Danes, Normans, and other foreigners ? They are all Englishmen. ;, The Greeks were conquered by the Turks, but they were (like all other nations they a A 3 conquered) . 35*3 CH AP T ER IX. conquered) attacked by them without prove* cation, It was not a war for injury or infult, for jealoufy of power, or the fupport of an ally, contefts which ought to end when fa- tisfaction ortubmiffibn is obtained; it was a war, having for its aim conqueft, and for its principle a right to the dominion of the whole earth; a war which afferted that all other- fovereigns were uTurpers, and that the depofing and putting them to death was a facred duty. Do the laws of nations efta-* bliflfc that foch a conqueft gives right of pof- Teffipn ? They, on the contrary, declare Tucb conqueft: uTurpation. The conquered were never admitted by the Turks to the rights of citizens or fellow Subjects, ' unleTs they abjured their religion and their country ; they became flaves, and as, according- to their cowardly law, the Turks have a right at all times to put to death their prifoners, the conquered and their posterity for ever are obliged annually to redeem their1 heads, by paying the price fet on them. They are excluded from all offices in the State; it is death for a conquered Greek to marry a TurkiSh woman, or even to cohabit with a common proftitute of that nation ; they are in every refpect ftill treated as eriemies;«they are ftill called and distinguished by the- name of their nation, and a Turk is never called a Greek, POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 359 Greek, though his family fhould have been ' fettled for generations in that country; nor is a Greek called a Turk, though his ancef- tors had lived centuries in a Turkifh pro vince. The teftimony of a Greek is riot valid in a CPurt of judicature, when con- trafted with that of a Turk. They are dif- tmguifhed by a different drefs ; it is death to wear the fame apparel as a Turk ; even their houfes are painted of a different colour ; in fine, they are in the fame fituation they were the day they were conquered, totally diftincT as a nation, and they have, therefore, the fame right now: as they then had, to free themfelves from the barbarous ufurpers of their Country j Whofe conduct to all the nations they have , conquered merits the eternal execration of mankind. ¦ ; In the war between Ruffia and Turkey, which continued from 1769 to 1774, when ever the Ruffians appeared the Greeks took iip arms and joined them. The hiftory of this war, and the part which the Greeks took irt it, are too well known for it to be neceffary that I fhould enter here into any particulars. The progreTs that was made againft the Turks" Was very confiderable, and their fleet being destroyed at Chifhme, the capital might have been attacked by the victorious Ruffians. Had (he Ruffian admiral been a man of any expe-* A A 4 rience, 360 - - CHAPTER IX. rience, or of an en terpri-fing character, that war muft have terminated in the expulfion of the Turks from Europe. Nothing can place the Turks in a more defpicable light, than the progrefs the Ruf fians did make, notwithftanding the flownefs pfall their motions, their never profiting of any advantage, the opportunities they loft of Striking .decifive blows, the , want of plan or combination in every enterprize, and the un- milkary . conduct iri the execution; the bra very of their troops indeed, when there was ¦a poffibilky of fuccefs, always Secured them victory. The Ruffians and Greeks, to this day, make reproaches to each other of mif- conduct ; but as the accounts ^hitherto pub lished are taken from the relation of Ruf fians, we may fafely conclude that juftice has not been done to the Greeks. In this laft war, when they acted alone, they fought like true defcendants of their heroic ancestors in, the little diversions they made. It was folemnly Stipulated in the 1 7th ar ticle of the peace of Kainargi. (Signed if July, 1774) that " The empire of Ruffia reftorcjp- " to . the Jublime porte all the iflands of the " Archipelago, which are under its dependence ; " and the flub lime port, on its pari, promifes,' " ifl. To obferve sacredly, ipith refpecH to " tlie inhabitants of thefe iflands, the conditions- " fiipulated POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 361 ^ftipulated in the firfl -article, concerning a ge-> •*.' ntral amnefly and eternal oblivion of all crimes " whatever, Committed or fufpected, to the pre- " judice of the fublime porte. zdly. That " neither the Chriftian religion, nor its churches, "flail be expofed to the fmallefl opprefjion, and " that no hindrance flail be put to their con- " flruEtion or reparation ; nor flail thofe who " officiate in them be oppreffed. or infulted. 3dly. " That no payment pall be exacted from thefe ".'inlands of the ^annual taxes, to which they " were fubjeited, viz. fince the time which " they have been under the dependence of the " Ruffian empire, and alfo;, in. confederation of " the great loffes which they have flu ffered dur- " ing the war, for the time of two years to " come, to count from the time of their reflora- " tion to the fublime porte. "* /\.thly. To permit " thofe families which would quit their country, " and eflablifh themfelves elfewhere, to depart "freely with their goods ; and to the end that " thofe families may put their affairs in order, " the term of one year is granted to them for " this free emigration, counting from the day cf " the exchanging of the prefent treaty ." ¦^Notwithstanding this folemn engagement, theTurks, almoft as foon as the Ruffians had evacuated their conquefts, and, relying on, the faith of treaties, had delivered up the inhabi* tents -to their dominatipn? fell upon their vjc- >¦-' - tims, 3$2 , CHAP TE R IX. tims, unprepared to refift them, and maffa cred an incredible number, particularly in the Morea, where their vengeance fell with all its weight. Whole diftricts were left without a tingle inhabitant, and this Sine country is now almoft a defert. The Greeks upbraid the Ruffians with abandoning them ; the Ruffians anfwer, they relied on the faith of treaties. They ought to have known, that the, fetva of the mufti had often announced, that no faith is to be kept withChriftiat.: ; hif tory furnifhed them with numerous inftances of their putting in practice this precept ; in deed I know of no inftance when they have not, iS it appeared to them that it was their intereft So to do; and yet we find writers who vaunt the fcrupuloufnefs of the Turks in obferving their treaties ; they fhould al ways have added, when it was their interefl,- a-nd their ftatement would have been juft. So ardent was the wifh of the Greeks .tor regain their liberty and independence, that neither difcouraged. by the abandonment of the Ruffians, nor deterred by the apprehen- fion of again incurring the dreadful ven geance of the Turks, as foon as a frefh war broke out between thofe powers they again took up arms. A fleet was fitted out at Cronftad, and Sailed . for the Archipelago under the command of 8 a brave, .. POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 363 ft brave, prudent, and experienced officer, Admkal Greig, an Englishman, who had ferved in the former war, and greatly dif- .tinguifhedhimfelf under Count Orlow, who, from an officer in the guards, where he faw no other honorable fervice than quelling a riot at a brandy Shop, was raifed to the fu- preme command of a fleet and an army, and entrufted with an expedition which required the greateft experience and talents. The king of Sweden rendered to the emprefs the ef fential fervice of -detaining her fleet in the Baltic, by attacking it in that fea, and there by putting into her hand the naval Superi ority which, by its abSence, would, have paff ed into his. This ill-timed diverfion of the king of Sweden retarded the fate of Turkey, ' and the interference of other courts Saved it for this time ; at leaft they obliged the em prefs to make peace ; but that peace would have been but of a few months duration, had not the death of Prince Potemkin and fome other circumftances intervened. In the mean time the emprefs- fent mani- fpftoes to all parts of Greece, as fhe had done in the former war, inviting the inhabitants to take up -'arms, and co-operate with her in expel ling the enemies ofChriflianityfirom thexountries they hadufurped, and regaining them their an- ,-.. tient liberty and national independence. . "• f A GreeT^ 364 C H A P T E ft' IX*. A Greek of the /name of Sottiri was fent to Epirus and Albania, to distribute manifef* toes, and combine an infurrection with the chiefs. An army was foon raifed ; their head quarters were at Sulli. They marched againft the paftia of Yanina (Janina) and completely defeated his army in a pitched battle, in which his fon was killed, and defpoiled of his rich armour. The Greeks collected a fum of money by voluntary fubfcription of individuals, and fitted out at Triefte an armament of twelve fmall Ships, under the command of Lambro Can- iziani, a Greek, which failed to the Archipe- lago. They were every-where victorious, and the impreffion was fo great and alarming to the porte, that 'it had nearly drawn the whole Turkifli navy out of the Black Sea, and left the capital expofed to the attack of a formidable Ruffian fleet, then in the ports of the Crim. The emprefs had fent a captain Pfaro to Sicily, to eftablifh magazines for the" fleet; coming out under Admiral Greig, and feve ral other perfons, to furnifh the Greeks with money and ammunition, and to remove the difficulties the Venetians, ftill unwilling to offend the porte, had thrown in their way, by obstructing the communication with the Ruf fians by means of the port bf Prevafi, the neareft POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE, 365 neareft to Sulli- In this ftate. of things the Greeks fent three deputies to St. Peterf- burgh, with complaints againft the perfons " diamrftiffioned to this fervice by the emprefs. They prefented the rich armour of the pafha of Yanina's fon to her imperial majefty ; but were, prevented, by the intrigues of thofe who feared an enquiry into their fcandalous pecu lations, for feveral months from prefenting their petition, and explaining the bufinefs of tReir miffipn ; at length they fucceeded in obtaining a private audience of the emprefs, to , which they were conducted by Mr. Zou- bbv, the favourite. They prefented a memo rial in Greek, with a tranflation in French,. of which the following are exact copies ; AvToxoocTopicrcryjf jt? Bacr/A.«rcnj sroicrSv rbos Pacriuv, y^ ix e%. tc, roc. e%. s£ -roc g|. KAI tsto n -urpog 'ni^ov ti up.r\ to hot, naxpog ypovx, .p&Tibig SenS-tyris, to7$ \nrzoyo7i; t%q Cperep&g Avtoxpoc- TOfuoj? MiyoiXitorriTog tegog airoKgurii/, ctvatpoptxs oiv vsoo- y^POI/S UVTOtg TZ-gO diroXoX&vrei; zxoiMS-Oiv iXinSxv juia? TSfl^Eas' onroxgu?tu{, rohp.wp.iV yoi/u xAi'i/qi/ti? *r(>oa,i/} -erpof -raj TxttSxg t^s «Jtjjj Aut. Msy. ottws * tSj £>C TWI/ Ot/StXQM 79jt*W|/ XIMXTM f u«x«'( typivav, o'i Wfl '(LVOifAQ&oXtiis j>tzmv. 'Etspoi/ Ei< iejoi/ u«j oi (*,iy^xng auTM?) fyj/WjUf* yasfs oti o uV-tteus 'fagoj ai/)-j flfiXtga- rxrog ey. ri riy-uv sDi/a;, eve^es/ rn? HpaiTraAJi? «Ut8, at? i%fh%£v X^ u% o\v tyguntfaou. 'O yao Si Ictv-fw ¦zr'kuvw, fcvnretrytwTWS, rsg vinipy$s osutti? snrwi/ »\iro7( cxvtov, ws £ ta xl-nparx avruv, x, ix critv TSf Xig S-rnrxipsg. Neuo-oi/, u kganx B«i(r?, MuVo» JeojUeO* flM/«r£(,vo'c ruv (ieGriXuv, x, fiapGolpuv Oduy-avuv' ib-bof-. iffx.ufj.ev ftoryiTX rriv w toiV 7Z-itxpi[j.£vQig yy\paXioiS wfAuv, Xtya nfMV art fj,a( in moj^etetr u{ x, -arpo? T8j -a-poyovag r\\J,uv. Newtoi/ it Kjw« SiSovai riu,7v aov tuyxovx Koifxvjivov hx ctvaKTX fijj.uv, rxro fj,ovov to yivog oXov rifxav irt7 010- fiivoii' (yivog ya% ruv -nfj.uv avTox-pxroguv aitosZizti) v^ {rz Svva.fj.iug, uq clY ronsjot Xrgo - . Madame, De V. M. I. Les plus fideles et les plus devoues ferviteurs, St^eferlbourg;, (L. s.) pANO KlRI. •pn, 1790. (l. s.) ChrIsto Lazzotti. (l. s.) NiccoloPang-alo." ..*. , TRANSLATION, Madam, It was not until we had lohg folicited in vain' Ydtir Itajierial Majefty's minifters for ah anfwer to the memorial, which we had the honour of pTefent- ing to them j it was not until, driven to the utmbft 'defpair*by the reflection of tlie dreadful evils which this delay might produce to our countrymen, who* (invited' by the manifeftoes of Your Imperial Majef- "ty) have taken arms agaiiift the enemy of the Chrif- ' tian na"me, and deputed us to, lay the offer of their lives and their fortunes at the foot of Your Imperial throne; it was not till we had loft all hopes of other- wife -obtaining a fpeedy arifwer to ftop thofe ftrearris of the blood of our brethren, which doubtlefs flow alfeady through this delay, that we have at length dared to proftrate ourfelves at Your feet, and to pfrefent oUr humble' memorial to Your Imperial Majefty in perfom Another duty equally facred, arid winch was a principal object of our million., induced us to take this daring ftep: it was to undeceive 'Y. I. M." whom (as well as Your minifters) there have been b e z Peopl« CHAPTER Itf. people ¦ audacious enough to miflead. We haVg- learned with iiidignation^ that the chevalier Pfaro now erects himfelf into a chief and conductor of Our people; a man abhorred by our nation, out of the dregs of which" he rofe, and where he would haVe remained, if he had not with an unheard of audacioufh'efs deceived Your Imperial Majefty's nji- htfters, and affumed a reputation by attributing to himfelf -exploits he never performed. If no ill con-, fequences would enfue but to himfelf, we fhould patiently await' his appearance in our country, a boaft however which he never will perform but in. his writings. How. he has aited towards us Y. I. M. \y ill. fee .in .our memorial.. We hear that he has received immenfe fums, which', he pretends to have. expended for us. We-aflure Y. I. M. that neither' lie, nor any of your officers fent to us, ever paid us-,- a firigle rouble. The .flotilla, and the other, arma ments of Lambro, were equipped at our own ex- pence. .One. of us (deputies] abandoning his peace ful home, fitted -out two veflels at his own expence, apd expended in arrnaments 1 2,000 zechins, whilft the Turks, maffacred his mother and his brother, levelled with the ground his pofleflions, and defo- ' lated hisrlands. We ne-v-er. afked for Your treafures; we do not afkj fqr them now.; yve only afk for powder .and, balls (which we cannot purchafe)and to be led to battle. We are come to offer our lives afid fortunes, not to afk for Your treafures;; Deign, O Great Emprefs ! Glory of the Greek; faith! deign to read, our memorial. Heaven; has! .-,. , .,;.-. referred, i POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 373 refefved our deliverance for the 'glorious reign of Y.I. M. It is under Your aufpices that we hope to deliver from the hands of barbarous Mahome dans our empire, which they have ufurped, and our patriarchat and our holy religion^ .*&hich they have infulted ; to free the defcendants of Athens and Lacedemon from the tyrannic yoke of ignorant favages, under which, groans a nation whofe genius is not extinguished ; a nation which glows with the' loye of 'liberty ; which the iron yoke of barbarifm has not vilified ; which has conftantly before its eyes the images of its ancient heroes, and whofe example animates its warriors even to this day. Our Lipcrb ruins fpeak to our eyes, and tell. us of our ancient grandeur; our innumerable/ ports, our beautiful country, the heavens which .fmile on us all the year, the ardour bf our youth, and even of our decrepid elders, tell us that nature is not lefs propitious to us than it was to our forefathers,: Give us for a fovereign Your grandfon Constan tine : it is the wifh of our nation (the family of our emperors is extindt *) and we ftiall become what our anceftors were. > We * In Europe we are apt to think that thofe who bear the names of Comnenos, Paleologos, &c. are defcendants of the imperial family : the Greeks, however, themfelvps have no fuch notions ; they are either Chriftian names given them at their baptifm, or that they have taken afterwards, and^hey only defcend to the fecqnd generation. A man is called Nicolaos Papudopulo ; the former is his name re ceived in baptifm, and the latter a furname, becaufe he was the fon of a prieft ; his fons take the furname of Nicolo- E B 3( pulo 374 CHAPTER IX. We , are not perfons who have d?ired to impofe on the moft magnanimous of fover.eigns : we are .the; deputies of the people of Greece, furnifhed with full powers and other documents, and.,, as fuch. pro- ftrated before the throne of Her, whom, next to- God, we look on as our faviour; we declare that we fhall. be till our lateft breath, MABA.ME, yaUR IMPERIAL. MAJESTY'S Moft faithful- and moft devoted fervants,, St. Peter(burghv (t. S.) Pano KlRI. April,.. 1790., (L^ Christo Lazzotti, (l. s.) Niccolo Pangolo.' As thefe people are out of the reach of Turkifli' vengeance, I have not fcrupled naming them. pula (fonof Nicolaos) added, to their Chriftian. name", and, their children the father's Chriftian name as a furname.' Thofe of Fanar have, particularly lately, afte&ed to keep great names in their families, which were only Chriftian names, or names which they have taken of themfelyes,. or were afterwards given them by their parents, relations, or friends. The tame may be faid of fome names in the. Archipelago, particularly where the family has preferved for fome generations more property than their neighbours i but their hames do not add to their refpect among the other Greeks, who all know the origin, of 'them, and, have not the leaft notion that there is any lineal defcent to be traced, , of their ancient imperial or noble families, notwithstanding the pretenfions often of fome of thqmx who bear their names, whejrthey come to Europe. THE: POLITICAL fiTATE OF GREECE. 37$ The eriiprefs received them very gra- cioufly, and promifed the'rrt the affiftance they afked. They were then conducted to the apartments of her grandfons, and offer ing to kits the hand of the eldeft grand duke, Alexander, he pointed to his brother Conftantine, telling them, it was tojiim that they were to addrefs themfelves ; they repre sented to him in Greek the object of their .TftifTion, and concluded by doing homage to him as their einperor (BxtriXevg. ruv 'HXXevuv.) He anfwered them in the fame language, Go, and let every thing be according to your ¦Wiflies. ; With this- memorial they prefented a plan of operation, from which I fhall extract: only a few particulars : — They propofed, after the emprefs had furnifhed them with cannon, and enabled them to augment the fquadron under Larnbro Canziani, and fent them en gineers to conduct the fiege of ftrong places, to begin their firft operations by marching from Sulli, where the congrefs was held, and whence they had a correfpondence with all -Greece. — Their route was to be firft to Li- vadia and to Athens, dividing into two corps. In their march they were to be joined at ap pointed places by troops from the Morea and Negroponte. To this ifland the fleet of Lanjbro was to fail. They were then to pro- b b 4 cecd 3,6 CHAPTER IX'. ceed in one body to Theffalia and to the city of Salonichi, where they would receive large reinforcements from Macedonia. The whole army being then affembled, they were, to march to the plains of Adrianople, with (as, they calculated) three hundred thoufand men, to meet the Ruffians, and proceed to Conftantinople, where they hoped the Ruf* -fian fleet would be arrived from the Crim ; if not, they efteemed their own force fuffir cient to take that city, and drive the Turks out of Europe and their iflands. _ In this plan the eftablifhment and the dif pofition of magazines,, and retreats in cafes fif difafter, were provided for. ' The force of the Turks in differerit parts, and the different '' movements to oppofe them, were calculated. All their refources, and the amount , of the troops each place had engaged to furnifh., were plainly ftated, as well as the means' they had adopted to carry on a fecret corre- fpondence with all parts of the country, both with refpect to their own allies and the movements of the Turks. To enter more into particulars would npt be juftifjable in me. The emprefs fent them to the army in Moldavia, to Prince Potemkin, giving them 1,000 ducats for their journey thither. They .left^etei,fturgh tie 44 May 1790. In Au-. tuft POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 377 . cuft they were fent to Greece by the way of Vienna, and Major General Tamara with them, to fuperintend the whole expedition, ^nd furnifh them with the affiftance they required, laments attention, that the king of PrufV fia had potted an army of 150,000 men, in June 1790, on the frontier of Bohemia; that %he convention of Reichenbach was figned the •27th of July. The fentiments of the court of London reflecting the war, and its proba-, ble interference in as ferious a way as Pruf fia had done, were known at St, Peterfburgh. It is to thefe circumftances we muft attribute ihe flownefs with which the projects of the Greeks were feconded, They were affured that they fhould have every fuccour they re quired, and much more: money was fent, but not much of it difburfed ; they were en joined to prepare every thing, but to under take nothing, till the proper moment fhould arrive for their acting, which, they were tbld, depended on many circumftances, of which they were ignorant. Lambro in the mean time acted by himfelf, but could undertake nothing of any confequence. Things re- piained thus till after the campaign was ended, and Prin.ce Potemkin c&me to St.. feterfburgh. Th? 37B CHAPTER IX. The fate bf the armament commanded by tbe gallant Lambro deferves to be mentioned. The Greeks proved on this occa'fion their Jove of liberty, their paffion for glory, and a perfeverahce in toils, obedience to difcipline, ¦and contempt of danger and death, worthy of the brighteft pages of their hiftory; they fought with, .and conquered, very fuperior numbers; and when at kfl they were aU tacked with an inequality of force, as great as Leonidas had to encounter, they fought till their whole fleet was, funk, and a few fonlv laved themfelves in boats. Lambro had only refources left to fit out one fingle fhip: the news of a peace arrived; but boiling with indignation at the neglect he had experienced from the Ruffian agents, and thirfting for revenge, he failed notwith standing, and attacked and deftroyed feveral Turkifli vefTels: he was declared a pirate^ and difavowecl by Ruffia— ^-but he was not in timidated — at length he was again over-. powered; he difdained to ftrike; his veffel funk under him, and he again efcaped in his boat, and took refuse in the mountains of Albania. The conduct of the Ruffian agents to him was the rnoit fc'andalous. The peculation of all thofe entrufted at a diftance with the em prefs's m,oney was become fo glaring and common, POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE, 3J$ common, that they looked on it as their own property. Lambro was fuffered to be im-^ prifoned for debts contracted for his arma ments, and was only releafed by the contri butions of his countrymen. In the fpring of 1791, an armament was prepared in England to fail for the Baltic, to force the emprefs to make peace. The king pf Pruffia was ready to co-operate by land. Inftead of the fleet, Mr. Fawkener arrived at Peterfburgh. It was ftill" undetermined by the emprefs, whether fhe fhould brave Eng land and Pruffia (though from the turn af fairs had taken in England, and the arrival of another.ambaffador, fhe was affured fhe had little tp fear from our fleet, and, confe- quently, little from the Pruflian army) or make peace with the Turks on the condition^ fhe had contented to when fhe was more fe- rioufly alarmed. In this uncertainty a courier was kept ready to depart with inftructidns to General Ta- mara. The Ring's envoy was informed of this circumftance,. and would have learnt immediately the contents of the difpatch, which would havemacle him acquainted with {he emprefs's refoluBon reflecting the pro fecution of the war, or conferring to peace. The courier, however, was not difpatchod. *The bufinefs was, terminated with the king's joint- 380 C H A P T,E ft. rx. joint envoys. Prince Potemkin departed for the army, and on his road learnt the victory gained by Repnin over the vizir's army, and the figning of the preliminaries of peace. Se cret orders had been fent to Repnin, as foon as -the emprefs had refolded to .conclude a peace, which he fortunately executed ; and *t is certain that he received a copy of the arv rangement made with the king's minifters, before he figned the preliminaries. Impedi ments were thrown in the way of the de parture of the meffenger difpatched to Con ftantinople, fo that he did not arrive till any interference of our ambaffador could be of no effect. It is plainly to be feen, that though the emprefs pretended fhe had of her own accord (and before the arrangement with His Ma jefty was known to her general) concluded a peace, the interference of His Majefty in bringing about that event had a weighty ef fect. When the news of the figning the prelimi naries reached the Ruffian fleet, it had beaten. the Turks in the Black Sea, and was purfuing them into tlie channel of Conftantinople, where they muft inevitably have bebn de stroyed. Had the Ruffian admiral been a man of more experience, they might all have been taken in the engagement. Thua POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 3%t Thus ended a war, which, had it not been for the interference of Great Britain and Pruffia, would have placed the emprefs's grandfon on the throne of Conftantinople ; and, had not circumftances imperioufly pre ferred to them the part they acted, we fhould have had, in Ruffia and Greece,, allies which would, long ago, have enabled his majefty and the emperor, in all human probability, to have humbled a foe, which now threatens all Europe with total fubverfion, and even to become the inftrument of emancipating Greece from the Turkifli tyranny, not to be- ¦ come an independent people, but to be op- prefled by a worfe tyranny, under the name of liberty. The Suliotes ftill maintain their indepen dence ; they were often attacked by the Turks, but were as often fuccefsful ; they fought feventeen battles or fkirmifhes, the, njoft confiderable of which had nearly been fatal to them, as appears by the following paper, communicated to me by a drogoman, now in the Britifh fervice, which will throw much light on the character of the inhabi tants of Epirus ; and it contains, befides, very- curious and interesting matter. The authen ticity of what he relates cannot be called ir* queftion, as it very exactly agrees with every . other account I have received. 'In 3$± CHAPTER iXi ' In 1792, being in the French fervice && interpreter, I was fent from Salonico by the French conful, Mr. Cofeiiery., on fome bufi nefs regarding the confulfhip, to All Pafha* at Yanina, the capital of Epirus. I arrived there the' ift of May, -and found the pafha making great preparations for war. I found alfo there the French conful of Prevefai Mr. de la Sala (a defcendant1 bf the Salas, wha^ betrayed the Morea to the Turks* when in the poffeffion* of the Venetians) and acting as commiffary, not only to provide timber in Epirus Tor the French navy, but alfo for r©^ volutionizing that country. ' He communicated to me his commiffion* " infinuating, that if I would affift him, I might expect great rewards. One day, when we were with Ali Pafha, our converfation turned upon the French revolution, which was always introduced with a view to excite- him to throw off all obedience to the porte. "The pafha faid to us—" Tou will fee that Ali Paflia, the "Jucceftbr of Piros (Pyrrhus) will furpafs *•** him in every kind of enterprize " 'The pafha continued to affertible troops without making known his intentions. In July, his army confifted of 20,000 good Turk ifh foldiers, who were the more formidable* as. they were all Albanians. He then de clared, that his defign was to attack the , Ma homedan .Political state of greec£. 3.8.^. homedantownof Argirocaftro, lituated twelve leagues, diftant from Yanina, which would not be governed by a perfon he fent for that purpofe, nor any wife fubmit to him. Mltk thjs excufe he wrote to Captain * Bogia and Captain Giavella, two of the moft confider able of the chiefs of the Greek inhabitants of the mountain of Sulli, praying them to meet him with all their foldiers or companions, to affift in his expedition. His letter was in' modern Greek, of which the following is a copy, which I infert, that the learned reader may fee how much, or how little, it differs from the ancient. iiltXvtfts Ka-rt-rai/ M?r«£i« x) Rxmrxv T^xtiXXx, lyu e 'AXu Hvxcixg (rag yxi^irta, xj cag tpiXu ra fj.ot.rtx, itrno\n Xj lyd, fyvgu tsoXXx xaXx ryv avfyxryaQcfavXron x). izxXXtxx^xv crag px % vd tXQirs vx jj,htv^irc $ia,vd,ipxyu,vxwo- Xifixifu rig 'f/^^ \Xi. ram 'tvxi u'- i^x x) ,o xsttpog oitvl iyu XPtt&v diri Xeyzvxg, . x) fj.tvu vd ftSbi rrjtt' QiXtx* irag Xj rw dyxTrnv otts ly^in Six Xoyx ¦[*.•*' o Xafss-xg , &tXet \vx\ ovirXog art ocov Sx2u ft; ray ApSxiiirag Sia, rl x) j5 Tsx\Xixa$%a but make liini ^fjtik-feafhee of the province. Giavelli an fwered, that if he wobld fet him at liberty, he • c C 4 Would 3^1 CHAPTER IX. would go to the mountain, and engage his / party, and at leaft half the inhabitants, to fubmit to him, and take up arms againft Bogia ; that by thefe means he could intro-r duce the pafha's troops into the Tripa, when the other party would alfo be glad ' to make their peace without fighting. The -pafha afked him what fecurity he would give for his performing his promifes. Giavella an-r fwered, he would give him as an hoftage his i only fon, a boy of twelve years of age, who was dearer to him than his own life, that if he deceived him he might put his fon to death. Giavella accordingly called his fon down from the mountain.; but as foon as he got to the mountain himfelf, he wrote to the pafha as follows : " Ali Paflia, I am glad I have deceived a traitor ; J am here to defend my country againft' a thief. My fon will be put to death, but I zvill defperately revenge him before I fall my [elf. Some men, like you Turks, will fay I am a cruel father to facrifice my fan for my ownfafety. I anfwer, if you took the moun tain, my fon would have been killed, with all the reft of my family and my countrymen; then I could not have revenged his death. If we are viblorious, I may have other children, my wife is young. If my fon, young as ' he is, is not willing to be facrifice d for his country, lie is not worthy to live, or to be ozvned by me as my fon.. - Advance, traitor, I am impatient to be revenged. I am your fworn enemy, Captain Giavella." The POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 393 ,- " The Greek original was : AA.1 Tlxa-ix, j^«»fo/*at ottS eyeXaifx Ivxv SoXiov, tlfxat iu vx Six. at the very time # when TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 407 when it was moft neceffary to fupport its importance, Thus it was, tlia£ when the Count de Vergennes (who by a long refi- dence at the porte as arnbaffador, had ob tained a thorough knowledge of the refources .-of tlie erppjre) was directed by the Duke de Choifeul to excite the Turks to war againft jRuHia, he ftated the moft forcible reafons for an oppofite linp of conduct. Thefe rea fons, which were conclufive with the mi nifter, were founded on the real weaknefs of the Ottoman empire, and the falfe ideas of its ftrength ent.ertained by feveral cpurts jn Europe, which it would have been fo impo litic in France to have removed, by fuffering the TurJ^s to engage in a war deftructive of tjheir reputation. The fame Count de Ver gennes, wb.en he became ipinifter, inftru<£ted Monfieur de St. Prieft, to ufe every argument which might induce the Turks rather to yield to the demands of, Ruffia than to en gage in a war. The arrangement of the difbute with Ruf fia in 1 778,, was attended with fome lingular circumftances. The Turks had, contrary to the treaty of Kainargi, appointed a new khan of the Crim, and fent him with a fleet of ftups of war, in the latter end of 1 777, to the port now called Sebaftopolis, to fupport the Tatars, whom they had before excited to D04 rebel 408 CHAPTER X. rebel againft their lawful khan, Shaheeil- Guerrai. On thefe grounds a War" had nearly broken out, when the porte, after holding a fecret divan, fuddenly refolved on peace, and notified their determination to Mr. Stachief, the Ruffian envoy. He applied to the Eng lifh ambaffador, Sir Robert Ainflie, to.affift at the conference to be held, and act as mediatofat the figning of the accommoda tion. Sir Robert, however (doubtlefs for good reafons) refufed, and Monfieur de St, Prieft was fent for, who readily accepted the office, and France appeared, on no other ground than the refufal of our ambaf fador, as mediatrix. From this time Mon fieur Stachief was fo much governed by the French ambaffador, that his court thought it neceffary to recal him, as the emprefs by, his conduct plainly perceived the tendency of the French councils to fupport Turkey. In 1783, when Ruffia found it abfolutely neceffary for her own fafety, and the tran-,- "quillity of her fubjects, who were continually expofed to tlie incurfions of the Tatars, to take poffeffion of the Crim, and' annex it to the empire, the French ftill perfuaded the Turks to yield for the time, to neceffity, and rather to give up the Crim than run the rifk pf lofing Conftantinople' itfelf. The late emperor Jofeph had formed witl\ th§ TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 400 the emprefs the plan of expelling the Turks from Europe, and had obtained, as he thought, the acquiefcence of France; but that artful power unwilling to hazard, and at that moment unable to fupport an open conteft in favour of the Turks, employed all its engines in fecret manoeuvres for their ¦caufe. The imperial courts cfifcovered thefe de- figns, but not before France had prevailed on Sweden to declare war againft Ruffia, after the porte had imprudently, and contrary to their advice, done it, and had by means of M. de Choifeul-GouffieF negooiated a fub- fidy from Turkey to the Swedifh monarch. The part which France alfo took, not only in acquiefcing, but in urging Great Britain and Pruffia to oppofe the progrefs of Ruffia, and fupport the king of Sweden in that war, was well known to the two imperial courts. Since that time Auftria and Ruffia (other circumftanceshaving intervened) turned their views to an alliance with his Britannic Ma jefty, and which has ftill been ftrengthened by the declaration or triple alliance figned in September 1795. Towards them, there fore, France muft retain an hoftile difjibfi- tion, while her connections with Spain, Pruf fia, Sweden, and Turkey, refult from mutual ap,d natural interefts, as that with other ftates does 41 0 CHAPTER ,rX. does from motives of dependence and felf- prefervation. v Spain, notwithftanding the extent of her territories, and the immenfity of her re- fources if well managed, feems to have been degraded almoft to the rank of a fecbndary- power. Her colonial poffeffions, the fource of her apparent fplendor and. of her political degeneracy, have become an object of fb irruch apprebenfion to her, that, unable to rely on her own force for their prefervation, fhe muft court the alliance of a more powerful neigh bour. Of the two chief naval powers, Bri tain excites the greater jealoufy, as pretending to the command of the fea, and appearing ever intent on the extenfiqu of her commerce and foreign poffeffions. This antipathy is heightened, on the one hand, by the refent- ment with which Spain views on her own coaft the Britifh fortrefs of Gibraltar, as, on the other, her attachment to France has been cherifhed by intimacy, and by the mutual in tereft which they have, to keep the northern powers out of the Mediterranean. Of the influence of political opinions (whether monarchical or republican) in con- rfolidating the union of the different parties, I forbear at prefent to fpeak, becaufe the principles which are here laid down as the bafis of fuch union apply to 'the countries under whatever form of government they exift, TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 41 1 exift. So long as different nations retain the fame relations, commercial and political, which they now bear to each other, fo long- will the general outlines of the fyftem of Europe, and its grand divifions of intereft, remain nearly as they are here reprefented. Opinion may, in fome inftances, be a motive more forcible than the permanent diftinctions of intereft, as in the cafe v of the late war be tween Spain and France for the re-eftablifh- ment of monarchy ; but thefe caufes are merely temporary, and however the difpute may terminate, recurrence will ever be had to thofe principles, which, being founded on lo cal and effential diftinctions, have the greateft poffible degree of permanency. ; The French republic^ have proved, that they have the fame notions with refpect to the alliance with Spain as the monarchy had ; (the family compact was. framed -entirely by intereft;) they look on it as " the moft effential as well as the moft " natural which France can form." Were monarchy to be re-eftablifhed in France, fliould we have made an ally of Louis XVIII. or a friend of one fingi e emigrant ? I fpeak here with refpect to political connexion. Prussia, which has been led forward to its prefent eminence by a train of fortunate events, muft choofe that ally which will beft fenable it, not only to preferve its fituation, - but 412 C H A P T E R X. but purfue its neyer-ceafiug projects .of ag grandizement : it has, , perhaps, fometimes to choofe between France and Ruffia ; but it cannot rely on the latter ; tranfitory events may unite their interefts for a-' moment, per- fonal predilection of fbvereigns may influence the option for a time, .but no folid alliance can , be formed ; and befides the partition of Poland has fown the feeds of difeord, which, feme day or other, will ripen. With France no fuch circumftances exift ; it is the country which can procure to Pruffia more advan-i, tages than any other, and in., return receive more from it. • From Ruffia and from Eng-v land , it has drawn occafioiial means of ag grandizement,, but it has always, even in. the moment of receiving their affiftancei looked on them with a fufpicious eye. Should Pruffi,a be ferioufly allied with Ruffia, Auf tria muft be leagued with France; and fhould then a quarrel take place hetween the two former, Pruffia might not have it in its power to break the Auftfian • alliance, and join France in the moment of diftrefs. It is not probable that this wily cabinet will throw itfelf into the hands of a power, on which, from many circumftances, it can never for any length of time rely. The aggrandize-; ment of Pruffia-:; muft be at the expence of the floufe qf Auftria, and the fyftem. of the cabinet TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 413 cabinet of St. Peterfburgh never will be to ruin that houfe. Pruffia will temporize with the emprefs, but its prefent and future fyftem undoubtedly will be an alliance with France; for if Ruf fia at any time be ill-difpofed to it, it has no other refource to rely on. The jealoufy of Auftria, at this moment, muft be excited to the higheft degree, by. the concurrence of Pruffia with France in endeavouring to an nihilate the Germanic confederacy. This con duct muft leave Pruffia without any other fupport but the directory, and, however mat ters terminate, will leave a deep rooted en mity in every part of Europe, which may ul timately hkve fatal confequences, and renew a combination againft a country which has loft- its tutelar genius. To preferve his do- minions from his powerful neighbours re quired all. the talents of the great Frederic, and even he with difficulty was. able to • fave it from deftruction. Such talents are not again to be expected in a fovereign. That both France and Pruffia - confider themfelves ,as the moft natural allies is obvious ; that they confidered themfelves fo,even while other al liances exifted, is, equally obvious. We need ¦only to look to what has, in the latter part of this century, happened between France and Auftria— between Ruffia, Auftria, and Pruf- (».-. fia — 414 ' CH AP TE R X. fia — .to be convinced that matural alliances will xiltimately prevail over temporary fyftems. " It would be fuperfluous to enter into details fo well .known. If the king of Pruffia joined Auftria in the prefent war, it was to fecune ¦ the friendfhip of the monarchy, which he- then thought would be reftored ; when he ceafed to think that event practicable, he as readily allied himfelf with the 'republic ; his ebje-St was the fame, an alliance with France. ., Pruffia by this conduct prolonged the mife- ries of humanity ; for fhe caufed a campaign to fail, which would have ended them,- and turned a defenfive war inFrance to an bffen- five war out of it, which has nearly ruinei Europe. What is the fruit fhe has reaped ? In this one campaign fhe left the confequence which forty years of fuccefs had -given her. The feeds of democracy and rebellion are fown in Pruffia vmoft of the literati fpread them broadly, -not to fay a very great portion of the -officers of the army, and there is not a country in Europe more ripe for revolution. The treafures which the great Frederic left behind, and, what is ftill a much greater lefs, that 'fpirit in the army, that emulation of glory, 'that devotednefs -to their fevereign's -caufe, which, more than its difcipline, made it fo formidable, have totally difappeaced. - In 1 7.9:1 , the .king of Pruffia- had a-ftandhig army Turkish Foreign relations. 415 army of above 200,000 men ready to act ; the people fatisfied with the government, and attached to their king ; "the army had ftill the warlike fpirit which the great Frederic had breathed into it, and the treafures he left Were not yet i&ffip&ted ; he had fupplanted, the emprefs in her influence in Poland, which Was 'become formidable. Sweden would fcarcely be efteemed of any confequence in ^Europe, did not its local fituation enable it to make a diverfion in fa vour of Turkey, -by a war with Raffia ; to France it, therefore, has always appeared in the light of an ufeful ally, and has ever been jffifted by her with fdbfidies, and fupported With all her intereft ; but, fince its decline, the fervices it is able to 'Bender are thought inadequate to its burthen, and the old con nection is fupported, rather to prevent its forming new ones, than from the real affift- ance it can afford. If Sweden would purfue a line of ftrict .neutrality, Ruffia has little temptation to dif- metnber it any further ; but another, 'war WOuld, moft probably, make the Gulph of Bothnia the frontier. It is to be hoped that Sweden nbw knows her real intereft, which is, to be well with Ruffia, and to fuffer pati ently what fhe cannot avoid. Such a fitua tion is humiliating ; but has fhe refoiirces in herfelf 41 6 CHAPTER X. herfelf to rife above it ? Certainly not, and that fhe has not is her own fault ; a worfe fituation muft follow from, a contrary conduct; and it is doubtful whether France and Pruffia united could, were they to turn all their force to fup port her, fave her from the talons of the Ruf fian eagle. However humiliating this ftate of depen dence may be to the country, it is, undoubtedly, the only fecurity of the crown of Sweden., The people have received, by their connec tions with the French, during the minority of the prefent king particularly, fuch an aug mentation of theirYormer republican notions, that they are become, perhaps, more fanatic than many of the provinces of France. In the winter of 1795, the theatre at Norkop- ing was fhut up ; the people obliged the mufic to play ca-ira, of which they have, an excel lent Swedifh tranflation (by one of the profef-, fbrs pf their univerfity) which they all fung in chorus. It may not here be an improper digref- fion, to take a flight view of the conduct of ¦the late king of Sweden, in declaring war againft Ruffia, at a time when the emprefs fully relied on his neutrality, and had everf reafon fb to do, confidering the intereft of Sweden itfelf. That monarch, impelled by the common infatuation of ambitious princes, was' TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 417 "was eager to act a diftinguifhed part on the theatre of Europe, and to imitate the quixot- ifmof his illuftrious predeceffor, Charles XII. He feized the moment which appeared moft favourable to his projects, when the armies of the emprefs were drawn down towards the fouth, to oppofe the Turks ; but this very circumftance made his aggreffion fo glaring, even to his own fubjects, that the war was univerfally reprobated, and the Swedifh and Finland armies actually protefted againft it. So fully indeed had the emprefs relied on his neutrality, that the frontiers of her empire, on that fide, were left without, a force fufficient for their defence ; and it afterwards appeared that the king, could he have relied on the fidelity of his armies, might have marched ' without oppofition to St. Peterfburgh, and made himfelf mafter of the imperial refidence by a coup de main. Luckily for his country, he only alarmed thfe emprefs, and the report of the cannon of his fleet only fhook the win dows of her palace. Had he effected his plan, whoever knows the emprefs, knows fhe would never have laid down her arms till fhe had taken ample vengeance. The inconfiderate ambition of the king of Sweden appeared in the eagernefs with which he attacked the Ruffian fquadron on its way to the Mediterranean ; had he fuffered it to e e proceed 41 8 C HAPT Eft X, proceed to its deftination, the Swedish fleets would have- remained miftrefs-of the Baltic* , It was in I^lay 1788, that the Swedish fleelS; failed from Car,lfei*6na- with leafed orders, tot be- opened in, the latitude of Gothland, to a$?< offenfively againft Ruffia ; but th© king's dew* claration of his motives for hoftili-ty, though.^ dated on the 2 iij of July in the fame year, was, not : published till Auguft. Thesfe pro ceedings, contrary as they were, in themfelves ¦ to: the maxims which are generally acknow ledged among civilized ftafces as the law of nations,- were grounded- upon reafbns, eq*uaj%, nugatory and unjuft> They are conceived in the following terms : " The declaration- of war* " inpdfi. b) 'the fublime Ottoman Porte againft " Ruffia was a. n-ew motive for the later to. rer *' double, its efforts inflowing confufion andtrou- " ble.in.thefl.ofom, of Sweden, which, united. byt, *' an ancient and permanent treaty w]ithtks Qfr*. "•• toman Porte, concluded in 1,73.9* an^ objj^edi " by that treaty not to- abandon fo. ancienti.an^ " ally,, appeared formidable to Ruffta* &c." "His majefty ', never deviating from h?s pa* " cific inclinations, is ftill, deftrous of peace, pro^. " vided that the emprefs flail offer kirn an ho- " nourable, one, and. that the kingfliall be afiUteS *' of procuring for the Ottoman Porte a firm, and: *' per mane fit peace ," The treaty of 1:73 9^ by which the king * pretended TURKISH IfORElGN RELATIONS. 419 pretended that he was bound to the Turks, Was not offenfive, but defenfive ; and even this was declared null and void by the firft article of the treaty of Abo,, concluded with Ruflia in 1 743, and the porte was, at that time, officially informed of its abolition and hon-exiftence. The late king of Sweden, guided by the ferae motives as the king of Pruffia, was pre paring to take an active part againft theFrench republic, to fecure the friendfhip of the re- iiiftated monarchy. After his death, the re gent, looking on the republican government as permanently fixed, purfUed a different conduct, but having the fame view as his brother, an alliance with France. The conduct of Sweden during the re- efeiiev has been more hoftile to the allies than is confident with the neutrality it, pro feffed; and had the allies liftened to the infinuations of the emprefs, it Would have b3 fame time,, the greateft number of vefTels -em* ployed -by any other nation was eighty-fix £Danifh .Ships) aad the greateft value export ed TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 42.7 £d was .£. 8o?ooo fterling by the Portuguefe^ Yet is the Ruffian trade of °;reat importance to England, as fhe thence draws moft of her $aval ftores, and employs therein feveral hun-7 idred veffels, and many thoufand feamen. /Since the emprefs has added tp her dominions the reft of thpfe countries where hemp is .produced, we are more dependent on her ihan heretofore ; yet not fo much, perhaps, as the Ruffian miniftry imagine, for reafqns . ."Syjiich it is eafy to point out, hut which it Would be foreign to the purpofe of this treatife to fpecify. When the trade pf France, tp Ruffia is put in comparifon with this, it will be foun4 very inconfiderable indeed, Ther year after * their treaty of commerce, in which they had all the advantages they could wifh? the French. -took frqip. Ruffia exports only to the amount .of £.50,000 fterling. They have full li-, -berty to extend their commerce to the Ruf fian pprts in the Black Sea, but it has been hitherto too incqnfiderable. \o deferve notice., pr to be put in comparifon with the lefs <^f frade they would fuftain were the Turks driven put of ]Eurppe. Trifling however as their exT -ports are, their imports are very confiderable, pot only in articles which come direct from .France by fea, but rich ftuffs and jewels, and other articles of luxury, which go either by land, or to the German ports in the Baltic, and 42S CHAPTER X. and thence find their way into Ruffia, a con siderable part of which are fmuggled. Ruffia is not our rival on the feas, nor we her's on the continent ; fhe ftands in need of Our affiftance at fea, and we of her's by land '; , her intereft dictates to her the fame alliances as our intereft dictates to us ; we are rivals in nothing ; the poofperity of the one country is the increafe of ftrength in the other; with her alliance we can protect our friends on the continent, or humiliate our enemies ; with our alliance her fleets may fail in fafety to all parts of the globe, and chaftife thofe who have provoked her. Even in the trade between the two countries there is no rival- fhip ; her products, partly manufactured and partly raw, brought by a long land carriage from diftant provinces to her ports (which is in itfelf a beneficial branch of commerce} find in our merchants the only purchafers j they tranfport them to our ports in our own fhips : neither in this is there any rival- fhip, for Ruffia has no mercantile iiavy ; but to compenfate that circumftance the balance bf trade is immenfely in her favour. In fhort, there is no fingle point in which" we can be rivals, except it be, which fhould be more arduous in cultivating the ties of friend- rfliip. It is the intereft of this country, as muft •¦•-'** • appear TURKISH .FOREIGN RELATIONS. 429 "appear from -what has been faid, that the em prefs fhould keep Sweden and Denmark in, awe, as well as the Pruffian ports, to prevent them from fupplying France with naval ftores, &c. in time of war. On the other hand, our intereft requires that fhe fhould have the command in the Black Sea,in order not only to open its ports to us, but to fend us fuccours into the Mediterranean, to oppofe the formidable combination of France and Spain. 'Indeed it is difficult to conceive, amid the variety and difcordance of political interefts, the exiftence of two great powers, between, which there are fo many mutual dependencies and fo few caufes of jea loufy. . The emprefs of Ruffia has been accufed of incohftancy in her alliances, of inconfiftency in her politics, and of only having had in view to profit by. the circumftances of the day. It muft, however, now be obvious, that though fhe ufed different means to ac- complifh her ends, fhe never deviated from the. fyftem fhe adopted the firft year of her .reign, and that, if fhe changed her friends, it was becaufe fhe thqught that fhe could ho longer depend on them. In every political connection fhe formed, fhe had conftantly in view the expulfion of $he Turks frorn Europe, and the reftoration of 43& jch Ap-pe* ±* of the Greek empire* As long as the powtf ihe had allied herfelf with feemed b®. fa&ovnt thefe projects,, fhe was fteady in her attach ment to it ; the inftant it difeovered jealoufy of, or Oppofition to them, fhe faerifked every other confideration, and- became its fecret enemy. Nor has the prefent emprefs alone hati i» view the accomplishing of this vaft defigii t Peter the Great firft conceived the idea of its being fome day practicable, and the" cabinet of St. Peterfburgh has ntever loft ifight of it during the fueceeding reigns, to this- day. t The emprefs- declared unequivocally hei? intentions, in her manifeftbes to the Greeks* during the war which took place with the Turks foon after her acceffion. to the throne, in. confequence of her interference in the af fairs of Poland, which was only a prelimi* nary ftep to fubjugating the Turks. It was* neceffary to fecure to herfelf the refources for her armies, which Poland* afforded. Subfe-' quent accidents have indeed annihilated the> government and independence of that coun try. The ardour with which his Britannic Ma-*' jefty efpoufed the caufe of the emprefs in thai' war, by the affiftance afforded her fleet, and in forcing France and Spain to confent to its* entrance into the Mediterranean, by a poftV tivc TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 43 J t%v£ declaration that a refofat would fee con fidered by His Majefty as an a€t- of hoftihty* to him* attached her fe zealoufly to the caaafe of Great Britain, and fixed ia hes mind a predilection, not oialy f or its government, but for individuals,, that nothing couWr fhak&it but an oppofition to her favourite Kmeafuajes^ which fhe confidered as her dearefi kadjereiis, and which were to crown her reigsai. with; eternal glory. Her devotedtoefs- to Great Britain* excited^ in tfehe cabinet of Verfailles the highefi jea loufy,. and. it laboured inceflkntly, by gw&tf means,, to weaken the connexion^ It would* he an endlefa tafk to recite alt the majaeewpes- of the French,, till they unluckily fucceedfed-: they is-pr eierited our trade, with Ruffia as a^ , iponopoly, ruinous and intuiting to ks fob1- jedtsj they excited doubts of the fincerity of our attachment to Ruffia, and of our hearty co-operation in her favourite fchemes ; thejr iafinuated. that our views were only to- keep her nayy in fuch a ftate of dependence as: not to be-, able to act without our concurrence, and that the followers of Mahomet. will be entirely driven from the countries in Europe which they have ufurped, whether England confent or not. How they came1 to decide on the late war appears very enigmatical, That their French counfellors were better informed than to have recommended fuch a ftep is certain. It has . been attributed .to the advice of the Englifh ambaffador ; but this has been contradicted, both -by his folemn denial and by the exprefs declaration of his court, that no fuch in- ftructions were given .him. Among the Turks themfelves it was regarded, by every man of information, as rafli and impolitic ; and the great_ captain-pafha, Gazi-Haffan, was in the higheft. degree offended at the proceeding. The declaration of war tqok place while he was abfent in Egypt. His plan was, to fubjugate the rebellious or-dif- § affected TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. .44^ affected, provinces, which he wifely confidered> as a neceffary preliminary to the engaging in any foreign conteft. He began with!. Egypt. The vizir Yufuf, and his party in the divan, hurried on the declaration of hqf-* tilities, when it. was too late in the feafon for. any • hoftile movement to be made, except theinfignificant and ill combined, attack on Kilburn, unprepared as the Turks were. In the winter, -when the Bog was frozen, over, tlie garrifon of Ochakof furprized a. Ruffian village on its banks, and murdered all its defencelefs inhabitants, confuting o£ above a thoufand fouls, not one of whom was fpared. This wanton piece of cruelty coft them dear at the capture of that place. The, Ruffian army, which went in the fpring to hefiege it, was led through the village ii\ afhes, and the ftreets • ftill trained with the, hlood of its harmlefs inhabitants. I men tion this Circumftance, becaufe I was a wit- ' nefs of it, and becaufe the Ruffians have been accufed of cruelty, unjuftly at. leaft zvith refpeel to the Turks. Had Great Britain and Pruffia not interfered, the emprefs would riot have made peace. How far that inter ference was politic, confidering the fituation t we then flood in with the emprefs, has been already explained ; but I think it muft. be Efficiently obvious, that the exiftence pf the Turkifh' 44-8 " CHAPTER X. Turkifh power in Europe can now no lon ger be confidered as propiticus, either to the particular interefts of this country, or to the general advantage of mahkind. In the cchducl qf the war, .a very fhort time wbuld have led the emperor to the gates of Conftantinople, had he boldly pur- fued a plan of offenfive operation ; but Jo- feph, influenced by the irrefolution of his character, acted folely on the defenfive until he had loft the Opportunity of crufhing. his enemies,' and was himfelf involved in the' troubles of his Hungarian dominions. ' ¦ Humanity itfelf is difgraced by the pro-- longation of Turkifh clefpotifm, and juftice with an imperious voice demands the libera- tiqn of*the oppreffed Grecians, and their re-.eftablifhment in' the feat of their heroic anceftors. But it is not only on the removal of exifting^ evils, that we have to fpeculate; We may contemplate with proud exultation the fubftitution of a new fyftem of things, founded on principles mere equally juft artd liberal. Who can look forward without ani mation to the revival of learning, of arts and arms in Greece, when the iron' yoke, under which fhe now bqws, fhall be broken? A Grecian ftate, the free and independent- ally -of Britain and Ruffia, will form a con necting' TURKISH FOREIGN fcgLA TIONS. 449 Meeting link in the fecial bond of commerce; will be iiited, by the favourablenefs pf its fituation and the genius of its ujh&bitants, for bold and fuccefsful epte-rprize, and, in fine, will quickly attain a proud preemi nence among nations. Britain is particu larly interefted in cherifhing thel& hopes: her trade with Turkey isttrifling..jaij*.Hpw -high this otyeSt has ever racked: among ithe views of Englifh politicians may be inferred fropi their anxiety in acquhing, and perti nacity in maintaining Gihraltar, MincfrPa, • and vjarious other ftations invthat fea; .but -in the event to which we allude, the whole Archipelago will be friendly to us, and the fupport of pur trade will be a:iSifedr not only fey Ruffia, but Greece itfelf, whkh was. evfer a cprolific nurfiry of feamen,' and which at prefent fupplies reln&aatly the greater part »f the Turkifh marine forces. Nor is it only to tthe Mediterranean that o e we 45© ,K t " CHAP TE R -X*' We may look for an extenfion of our cofns- merce : the coafts of the Black Sea prefent a mine of wealth, hitherto untried by the Britifh adventurer, but from which we may derive the moft folid advantages, when thofe countries are in the hands of free -and independent ftates, our friends and allies. The French had, previoufly to the prefent war, a confiderable trade in this fea, by their yeffels failing under Ruffian or Turkifh co lours ; and this they will again enjoy on the return of peace, through the favour of their Turkifh allies, f- '/-¦ The Conclufion then,- which is moft ob vious from a view of Turkey, both in its actual ftate, and as it prefents itfelf to the' eye-of fpeculation, is, that the fubverfion of its defpotifm (an event which muft ineyi- i tably foon arrive, and which it requires not the gift of, prophecy to forefee) will be pro ductive of the moft beneficial, effect, in fub- •jftituting an active and commercial power, -for one.immerfed in floth and barbarifm. In thefe, deductions, Britain finds herfelf par- . ticularly interefted from the great advan tages, commercial and political, which fuch an event holds out td her,, and which, if . flie' does not J embrace, her influence and weight in the Mediterranean, and, perhaps., r in: the fcale. of Europe, muft fpeedily fink. c ¦' -j Turning TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 45! Turning our views again, to the fide of Italy, we fhall there perceive new reafbns, which dictate to Britain 'the neceffity of al lying herfelf moft intimately with Ruffia in accomplifhing the liberation, of Greece. The influence pf France muft here be almoft univerfally predominant, and in the maritime ftates flie will find a moft prolific nurfery of feamen. She has however forefeen, that the entrance of a Ruffian fleet into the Me diterranean will prove a moft ferious ob- ftaele to the aggrandizement other power, and has therefore endeavoured- to prevent the progrefs. of the Ruffian arms. The only hope that Britain can entertain in that, as in evei7 other quarter, muft be founded on her naval fuperiority; and this the co-operation of. a Greek and Ruffian fleet promifes moft effectually to maintain. Late events have, indeed, made the danger of the French ufurpations in Italy more evident and more alarming; it .appears that they aim not merely at extending their in fluence but their empire; their conquefts have been vaft and rapid, and refemble in every feature thofe made by their allies the Turks; fcarcely lefs ftriking is the terror which awaits on their name, than the de vaftation which follows their fword ; Genoa may be confidered as theirs; and, even fop g g x. Venice 45? CHAPTER XT, Venice itfelf no vain apprehenfions may ne entertained. What an' acceffion of power is here to be acquired! By What bounds, can We pretend to limit their progrefs ? If they fucceed in Italy, they will change their politics with reject to Turkey. They are perfectly acquainted with the ftate of Greece, -and the difpofitions of its inhabi tants. Turkey can be of no more ufe to them; they will therefore erect Greece into a republic under their protection, and derive from it infinitely more advantages than from the porte,: which is unable any longer to make a diverfion in their favour, without battening the epocha of its own deftruction. Ruffia never can fubmit to fee fuch a ftate of things. Had the emprefs never before turned her thoughts to the liberating of Greece, as an object of glory, fhe muft now do it from motives of felf defence, and an intereft fhe had not before. The vaft increafe of power the French will acquire, particularly in the number of failors, and the excellent ports of the Ar chipelago, will enable them to annihilate at their pleafure the Ruffian fleet and its efta- blilhments in the ports of the Black Sea, and fhut them for ever out of the Medi terranean. All the fair views of profperity in the fouthern provinces,, as well Ruffian a as postscript. 453 as Polifh, will vanifh, and Ruffia muft de pend folely on the pleafure of France for the exportation of its products.. Such a ftate of humiliation, neither the high mind of the emprefs nor the country at large will ever brook; it would be in- juftice to themfelves, cruelty to the Greeks^ and ruin' to all Europe. Much more even might be faid of the deftructive confequence •of fuffering the Fi ench to intermeddle with the Greeks, and of not immediately feizing the opportunity of making them a free and independent nation, POSTSCRIPT, THESE papers, as I have faid, were written nearly two years ago, though all the political part was not meant for the prefs; circumftances have occurred,, which permit more of them being laid before the public than was at firft intended. A great event has fince happened; the em- -prefs of Ruffia is no more ! and confiderable changes have taken place in the fituation of feveral countries in Europe, but far from g g 3 weakening* 454 POSTSCRIPT, weakening, they greatly ftrengthen thefe; ar guments, and elucidate their deductions. Hiftories and anecdotes have appeared of the life of that great princefs, and the revo lution which placed her. on the throne. Tt is time that the voice of truth be heard. That contemporary fycophants and vile hirelings fhould have vindicated one of the moft hor rid tranfactions that ftain.the pages of hiftory is not altogether to be wondered at' ; but in dignation is raifed in the breaft of every honeft man, to fee that after the death of the emprefs there exift beings contemptible -enough to traduce the memory of an un fortunate prince, a victim to the undefigning opennefs and integrity of his heart; a prince, whofe anfwer to the precautions which were recommended to him by the late king of Pruffia, was, " / do good to all the world, and " with that what have I to fear ?" a prince who was the benefactor of his country, and whofe laws (thofe very laws which were brought in accufation againft him as crimes !) have been religioufly obferved as models of wifdom and humanity, and without which the reign of the emprefs would have been lefs glorious, and her people lefs happy. That a Frenchman, that a Rulhiere, fhould abufe him, we need not be furprifed : « Peter <" the third was a friend to the Englifli, and he *' difcouraged, POSTSCRIPT. 455 *' Jfcouraged the ufe of the French language at " his court. But can any man believe that this vindication of the dethroning Peter the third was the book which withftood the temptation of Catharine's gold, and the me nace of the Baftille } Whoever has been in Ruffia knows (or might have known) the facts, and can contradict this ridiculous mif- reprefentation of them — -the tranfaction is but thirty-feven years old. Many powerful interefts were combined to bury in oblivion this horrid event ; but let fbvereigns and. individuals learn, that truth " will one day appear. The emperor owes a duty to a father, to a fovereign, to his own fecurity, and to that pf other princes ; the Ruffian nation owes to its own character the juftification of the memory of their injured monarch, in whofe cataftrophe they were not implicated. The weigjit' of the guilt will fall on a few; the lapfe of time does not di minifh or change the nature of the crime. The reign of the emprefs was a feries of fucceffes; it was as glorious as fortunate. She extended the frontier of her empire, and augmented its force by a great acquifition of territory and population ; fhe created a pow erful navy, and eftablifhed a complete fove reignty in the Black Sea ; fhe obtained both by fea and land fuch a decided fuperiority g g 4 over Pver the Turks, that in the very next fpring fhe cSUld With eafe have driven them into Afia. The dreadful revolution which hag fhaken the governments qf Europe to their very foundations did not affect her ; in the general ma'dnefs her fubjects remained uncon- tamiiiated, and by her pbfition and undimi- nifhed ftrength fhe became the arbitrefs cf the whqle Continent. The dccument Was drawn out, the figning of which would have decided the conteft; Would have crowned her reign w>th folid and eternal glory, and have blotted out every fpot in it ;' Would liave made a people, Who fearCely more th'ah a century ago Were reckoned among the bar barous hordes of Tatars, the liberators of the civilized World, the reftorers qf order, of juftice, of the gcvernment of laws, of the in dependence of nations, the protectors of pro perty, of innocence, of religion, of morality, and of the dignity of mankind ; the pen Was in her hand, when — myfteriqUs Heaven ! — • fhe died."* The private character qf the emprefs and her domeftic conduct are foreign to the fub<* * That (fey or the next fee was to have figned the do cument for furnifhing 65,000 men immediately, whick would have been only the beginning of her co-operation ; fhe would, in all human probability, have been as fu«cefsfu4 againft the - Jacobiris jis {lie was againft $he jefs fevage Tatars. je$ POSTSCRIPT. 457 ject. 6f papers wholly political. As a fove- reign* fhe will make a great figure in hiftory. Her information proceeded from an extenfive and minute acquaintance with the prefent and paft ftate of nations, their actual and relative fituations, and with the perfon al cha racter and private interefts of fovereigns and individuals ; fhe was indefatigable in gainin°* intelligence and making partizans, and fpared neither money nor means to fucceed ; fhe was aftonifhi'ngly rich in refources ; the had wonderful talents to combine and deduce, fo as fo forefee with certainty future events-, or be jprepared for fuch as mere accident pro duces ; it was thence that fhe was enabled to ptqfit by every fault qr misfortune of other ftates, as well as of what inevitably followed in the common courfe of things ; fhe was never duped, but when, through complair fance or confidence, fhe had relied ort the knowledge of others; her projects were always vaft, their object her own glory ; her perfeverance was inexorable ; oppofition or difficulty orily excited greater exertions of talent ; fhe never gave up one tingle pur- fult when it was known to the world that fhe had determined to follow it, unlefs it could appear that fhe ceded from motives of gene rality, and not from compulfion or invincible pbftacle ; fuccefs never dazzled, nor danger ¦pi- 45§ POSTSCRIPT. or embarraffment oppreffed her; on all ocea- fions fhe had equal firmnefs, courage, and prefence of mind ; fhe was always great ; even in the fmalleft actions fhe was a' fove- reign ; fudden impreffions excited fometimes in her violent anger, as it were by furprife, though never in public; but fhe commanded her- paffions in an inftant, and put on her ha bitual fmile. She was remarkably temperate, applied indefatigably to bufinefs, and was of a healthy conftitution of body. She could temporife, and ufe every art of political in trigue, but fhe had too high notions of the dignity of a fovereign to debafe herfelf, or proftitute publicly her word, fb that when ever her honour was openly concerned in ful filling an engagement fhe might be relied on. When the gratification of her perfonal en mity or efteem coincided with her politics it was fhown, when not, filenced. She uniformly purfued one line of politics, and fhe never would have changed her al liance with Great Britain, had we underftood them, or our, own intereft, fooner. We need net fay how unjuftifiable her conduct has been towards Poland; but it cannot be de-. nied, that the whole blame does not lie on her. As to the Crim, fhe muft have the ap probation of all thofe who do not approve a fyftem of rapine, and plunder, and barbarous rage POSTSCRIPT. 450 rage wreaked on poor defencelefs cottagers, whofe fens, and wives, and daughters, were conftantly expofed to be carried into flavery from all the neighbouring countries. , It is only in foreign politics that fhe ap pears great, and becaufe there only fhe go verned alone; there her minifters were lite rally her fecretaries ; fhe heard their advice fometimes, and fometimes took ideas from thern, but fhe alone judged and decided, and no one dared propofe a meafure till they had firft difeovered her fentiments on it ; to do this was the great art of keeping in favour. As to the internal government of the em pire, it was left to the great officers. The prefidents of colleges and the governors of provinces were fovereigns, and they inordi nately abufed their power with impunity; hence a moft feandalous negligence and cor ruption in the management of affairs in every department, and a general relaxation of go vernment from Peterfburgh to Kamchatka. The emprefs rewarded with great muni ficence'; but merit, unlefs it was very con- fpicuous to the world, had but a little fhare of it ; every thing was given to favour, and what is given to favour is taken from merit : one good, however, refulted to her, perfbiially, from the impunity which thofe in office en joyed ; fhe was fure of their attachment to her 460 POS TSCRrPT. her government, at fhe more they abufed theif power, the*' more they dreaded a fucceffor. She knew their conduct, but was deaf, and almoft inacceffible to complaint. Her cede of legiflation did not contain laws, but forms qf judicature ; the inftituticn of general governments was a new burthen on the people of fifty millions of roubles more than the ancient fimple - regulations, a fum equal to three fourths of the- whole revenue of the empire ; the increafe of vexation was ftill greater. Her finances were ill underftood, and worfe managed; fhe got into embarraffments when .fhe had incalculable refources, and the means ufed to remedy them were childifh. Years had not impaired her talents, nor Cooled the ardor of her ambition ; it feemed, on the contrary, to increafe, as ether paffio'ns gradually fubfided. , She had, in fhott, a capacity equal to the government of a vaft empire, and to give it in the world that confequence which its; na tural ftrength entitled it to. Had fhe paid the fame attention to its internal, as fhe did to its political adminiftration, her reign would have been as productive of happinefs to her people as it was of glory to herfelf. The emprefs was at length on the eve of accomplifhing her great defign ; the Turks were POSTSCRIPT. 464 Were left aloiie, without any fupport; all the powers in Europe were engaged in the great conteft, except the kings of Pruffia and Sweden. It was not in the power of ther latter tp make any diverficn. The French had paid to the court of Stockholm a confiderable fum of money to enable it to fit out the •fleet, but fo low were its finances, that it was all immediately employed, except a few thoufand rix-doilars, for more preffing ex igencies of the ftate. The emprefs had a fleet in the Baltic, infinitely fuperior to the iCombined fleets of Sweden and Deiimark; fhe wifhed, as has been faid, to annihilate them ; with our concurrence or confent it would have been but a tingle blow. AS;to the land forces of Sweden* they were then not in a -•rendition to make the emprefs uneafy ; the alarm they had occasioned in the laft war had ¦put her on her guard. She was, however, at the fame time endeavouring, by a marriage of her grand-daughter with the ypung king of Sweden, to conciliate the interefts of the two countries : though fhe had no apprehen- fion on that fide, yet fhe wifhed rather to avoid a quarrel, and required only a ftrict neu trality on the part of Sweden. As to Pruffia 'alone, in the ftate it was with refpect to the newlyacquired provinces in Polandjand trem- hling at the .refentment of the emprefs, it certainly 402 POSTSCRIPT* certainly underftood its interefts too well fe>, quarrel with her. The emprefs, in a war with the king of Pruffia, would have found infinite refources in Poland ; the king, an enemy in every fubject he had acquired ; al moft every Pole would have taken the field" againft him, fo much were they irritated at his paft ccnduct. The king of Pruffia had alfo interefts in Germany to look after, which concerned him nearer; and' certain it is, that he paid the moft fubmiffive court to the em prefs, who on her fide was perfectly uiiap- prehenfive of any oppofition from him ; all that he might have tried to effect would have been, to obtain fome little indemnificaticn as the price cf his ccmplaifance in acquiefcing in her projects. She was now in poffeffion of every refburce fhe required of Poland for her army, in acting againft the Turks on the European continent. The government of the acquired provinces- was fo firfoly fettled, that fhe had no appre- henfion of difturbaiices ; her army was fo formidable, that fhe could have marched beyond her frontiers at leaft three hundred thoufand effective men; and fhe had raifed 150,000 men to recruit it. Her fleet in the $lack Sea was much fuperior to the whole Turkifli navy, and there was a flotilla of fmall velfels built for the purpqfe of landing troops in three POSTSCRIPT. 463 three feet water, which could have conducted, in three days, fixty thoufand men within a few miles of the capital of the Turkifli! em pire. The firft blow would have been the deftruction of the Ottoman fleet in its own port, and the attack of Conftantinople by land at the fame time. All this might have been done early laft fpring. A great army had paffed. Derbent ; an ar rangement would have immediately taken place with the Perfian khans, in whofe quar rels, without any apparent intereft, fhe had intermeddled ; and this army would have fallen on the Turkifh Afiatic provinces, .the confequence of which would have been, that all the Afiatic trocps, which cqmpofe the gar- rifbns of their fortreffes in Europe, wquld have quitted them, and fled to fuccour their own country, and have left the road to Con ftantinople defencelefs. : I It was a project of Prince Potemkin, in the laft war, to have carried the war into Afia, and he began by taking Anapa. Had that prince not died, the war was on, the point of .breaking out again. I fpeak of this from a knowledge of facts. Nor would the fending an army of fixty- fiye thoufand men to attack the French in Alface have prevented her marching another :army againft the Turks. If fhe had any ap- prehenfions $64 Post s c ript. prehenfions of the king of Pruffia fiding with the French, this meafure would have put it in her power to have acted more offenfively againft him. However it may have been conftrued by feme, this meafure was a fure indication of her intention of attacking the Turks in the fpring; for as long as fhe was' not certain of meeting no oppofition to that meafure, fhe conftantly declined taking an active part by land againft the French. In fhort, every preparation was made, and every obstacle removed; we did not want the publication of a manifefto to be informed of her intentions; and indeed the intentions of . fovereigns are better known by the ftate and mpvements qf their armies, or the prepara tions for their movements, by a knowledge • of their interefts, and the difficulties they h^ave.to encounter in the execution of their projects, than by manifpftoes, or by the lan guage of their courtiers. It is worthy of recording, that the emprefs declared, that though His Majefty and the Emperor of Germany made peace with the French, fhe never would acknowledge the French republic, or any ftate that had re belled againft its fovereign. She never would acknowledge America to the laft, though fhs permitted fhips coming from America, under American colours, to enter her pprts, and trade POSTSCRIPt 40j- trade on the fame footing as other nations having no treatv. The prefident of the ccngrefs, not know ing this circumftance, appointed a conful, in 1795, tc refide in St. Peterfburgh; on his arrival he requefted a.11 audience of the vice- chancellor, tq deliver his credentials ; but the next day he was told, the emprefs did "not ^nqw of any fuch ppwer as the United •- States of America. Since it has appeared, that His Majefty's ¦contenting to at leaft, if not co-operating ' with the emprefs's projects " againft Turkey, was the fine qua non of an alliance with her, and of her taking an a&ive part in the war againft France, the public has fhown great anxiety to learn why fhe did not come for ward immediately after figning the treaty in February 1 795, in which a war with Turkey is a cafus foederis, and what meafures had removed tjie, impediment, which kept' her hack twc years, and induced her to come forwards at laft; but thefe events * are too recent to be fpoken of. Whilft. I amwriting this Poftfcript, another great event has taken place. . The emperor of Germany has made peace; the emperor of Ruffia has loft a glorious opportunity to immortalize his name; it might have been faid, to him: H H Sire, 466 POSTSCRIPT. Sire, You have afc ended the throne of the greateft empire in the world, under fuch aufpices as ne ver attended any monarch before you. A glory is referved for you, Sire, fuch as never yet flione round the -throne of any, fovereign on earth. You may be the benefa&or, not of Rufljia only, but of all Europe. — Hiflqry fliallfay, Alexander conquered a world, Paulfaved a world. You have begun your reign by acts which be- Jpeakyour wifdom, your juflice,y our humanity-?— YOU HEAR EVERY ONE*. You have felt with indignation the unnecef-. fitated apoflacy of the court of Berlin; its al liance with regicides to difmember the German empire. You are called on, Sire, to crufli zvith the ir- refifiible weight of your armies the enemies of religion, morality, and facial order. ..Peace with them will be more dangerous than war. Their doctrines will have freer courfe ; and their doctrines have done more than their armies. They have fubverted the order, and confounded even the names of things. Virtues * Every perfon in the empire may now write to their fovereign, and if they receive no ' anfwer, may addrefs themfelves perfonally tp Lim. have- POSTSCRIPT. ' 467 have the appellations of vices, and vices the ap pellations of virtues. Can Ruffia, in all its extended provinces, when every foreign contact: will be poifon; when every breath, except from the frozen ocean, will be full of miafma, efcape the contagion ? None will efcape but the elder brethren of Ja- cobinifm, the Turks, whofe equally monflrous, though lefs dangerous tyranny, has for fo many centuries infulted mankind, trodden under foot ihe laws of nations, and blafphemed Chriflia- nity ; who, unprovoked, attacked, conquered, and flaughiered nations without number, murdered their fovereigns, and fpilt every drop of royal blood, maffacred their priefts at the altar, extir pated nobility, plundered the opulent, and bound the wretched remains of the people in fetters of perpetual and hereditary flavery. They alone, till the reign ofjacobinifm had made property a crime, the violation of property a legal refource of government, and the lives and poffeffions of men the right of tyranny; they alone had hither to confounded the hereditary ranks among man kind; had depreffed genius, learning, and the Chriftian religion, and governed their barbarous empire by flaves and affaffins. . Like the faco- bins, they taught Chrifiian children to fight againft their fathers and their father's God*; * See the inftitulion of th? Janizaries, who Were ori ginally Chriftian children. H H 2 thy 468 POSTSCRIPT. they too Hold it laniful -id murder prifoners ifs cold blood; they too poffefs a claim to every. country in the un'iverfe, and a facred right to fubjecl all people to their law; they too hold all ,othef fovereigns as ufurp'ers, and 'dethroning them as the higheft merit. But ftill the Turks have a religion, and though it permits them numberlefs , enormities to their -own feB, and all enormities to others, they acknowledge a God,- and many moral duties. Not the contagion of their doc trine was to be feared,' but their cruel fword, which once threatened the conqueft of the uni- verfe, and the extinction of all virtue, dignity, and fcience i~n the world; yet Was not this firft monfter fo ifeihendous, in the itifolence of his power, as dn enemy, ds is this fecmay he faid, that at prefent the Levant 'company is not a monopoly, as any , one, by paying twenty .pounds, may. become a member of it. When -the trade was already ruined,, it was imagined that this regulation was .equivalent -to laying the trade qpen (a;proof that government have thought it neceffary to abolifh the monqpolyj) jbut the bye-laws of the. company, and therpower to ertforee'th.em, were permitted to exift, and -thefe fb fetter the trade to new adventurers, that few have .found their account in purfuing it, and the trade ftill remains a monopoly in fevqr pf rthe old houfes. , .;_ , , , Tt will be neceflary to -;pafs. in > review thefe 'bye-laws,- which have operated, fo injuriqufly ¦'to "the trade in , general, and to fhow how .' they have gradually; effected its total ruin, and Jtheintrodu£tionof riyals, who haye .gotten cpoffeffion, of what -we have loth By one. of 1 the 'bye-laws, for inftance, ,»t 'was ' enacted, that:alliraiecchandi»c brought from BRITISH TURKEY TRADE. 477 from Turkey, and imported into England, fhould be the produce of , goods exported from England to Turkey. The following are the words of the bye-law : " That upon entering goods received in *' England from Turkey or Egypt, every mein- " ber fhall in like manner fubfcribe the fol- *' lowing affirmation ; videlicet : " I affirm, by. the oath I have taken to the " Levant company, that the goods above men- *' tioned are for account of my f elf, or .other s "free of the faid company, or of fuch as now, " have their licence to trade, and are beyond " the fleas ; and that the faid goods, nor any " part of them, are not, to ihe befl of my ** knowledge, the produce of gold or filver, " either in coin or bullion, fent into Turkey ; " but that the faid 'goods are pur chafed , by u merchandize, or monies arifing or to arife "from the f ale of merchandize fent into Turkey *¦* or Egypt, from Europe, or from the Britifli " fettlements in America, on account of freemen " of the Levant company, or fuch as have their *' licence to trade, and of which regular entries " have been made with the company, or are *' purchafed by freight received in Turkey or "Egypt, by ftiips navigated according to law, *•' which freight is entirely the property of " members of the company, or fuch as have " their licence to trade." ArrtJ every merchant or factor in Turkey or 478 • CHAPTER XI. or Egypt is required to make a fimilar af- * " fidavit, on exporting goods from Turkey for England, and to give, on oath, an exact ac count of every kind of tranfaction or bufinefs, direct and indirect, fo that all his affairs become known. The object of this law is evidently to en- courage the exportation of cloth ; and wheii " we had no , rivals, it produced no bad ef fects ; but it foon produced rivals, and it con tinued in force till they had nearly got poffeffion of the whole cloth trade. ' Such a law, indeed, was fufficient to ruin any trade. One houfe may deal in exports, another in imports ; one may combine its Italian with its Turkey trade; another may fend veffels for the car rying trade ; but if every individual houfe be obliged to, keep an exact regifter on oath, and under a penalty of 20 per cent, called " a broke f of all its exports and imports, and to balance them exactly, how is fuch a trade to profjper, where the profits are re duced by the rivalfhip of foreign nations ? This bye-law at length, when it had pro duced the full effect of its ill tendency, was repealed ; but the trade was not revived ; . fo difficult is it tq turn back ccmmerce from channels into which it has run. It will be afked then, what are the re- ftraints which now lie on tlie trade ? The BRITISH TURKEY TRADE. 479 ' The fubjection to the control of the com pany ; the neceffity of making entries with it of all their tranfactions, on oath, and not being able to be concerned in anywife with others not free of the company, or foreigners ; the power in the company, for the leaft violation of their rules, to inflict a penalty of 20 per cent.; the idea of reftraint, and the apprehenfion of violating a fblemn oath, have made many determine to trade with Turkev through foreign and circuitous channels, without becoming free of the company ; witnefs the very large quantities of, cottons and drugs, &c. which come from Holland and Italy, as the cuftom-houfe books prove. This was the cafe till our trade to, Holland and the Mediterranean was flopped by the war, and in that fame fituation We fhall be when a peace takes place. : The drugs, &c. v/hich are imported from Italy, were carried thither' from Turkey ; they had already given a profit to the Italian factor in Turkey ; to the importer, and to the purchafer in Italy, who cleans, afforts, repacks, and often adulterates them ; to the commiffioner, who purchafes them for his correfpondent in England ; to which add charges, and intereft of money for fo long a difburfement, which the different people through whofe hands the merchandize has gone 4SO CHAPTER XI. gone have all calculated, a.s Well as their profits, double freights, and loading and un loading, &c. &c. Cottons are imported from Hoi-land, be- , t , caufe the cpmpany cannot import themfelves enough for the eqnfumptiqn ; and the rea fon why they dq nqt is, becaufe the old mem bers, who are under nq appreheiifiqiis of the bye-laws, find other articles enow to EMPLOY THEIR WHOLE CAPITAL, AND; BEYOND THAT THE TRADE CANNOT IN CREASE. This is the reafon, as will be feen hereafter more fully, why the trade in exports as wdll as imports is confined within fuch narrow bounds. The Britifh merchants in Italy and other foreign countries, not being members of the company (and to become free of the com pany they muft come to England) cannot trade with Britifh houfes in Turkey, and thefe, if they will trade to Italy, muft trade with foreigners : thus all combinations of the trades are prevented. Englifh veffels ih the Mediterranean might often make a. voyage to Turkey, inftead of lying in an Italian port, and return time enough to take in their cargoes for England. The great preference given to Britifh vef fels in the Mediterranean would affure them - an employment whenever they want freights. This carrying or caravan trade is fo exten- five, BRITISH TURKEY TRADE, 48 1 five, that befides the French, the little ftate of Ragufa has no lefs than 400 veffels in it. Were the mafters of fhips, their pwnefs, and the Englifh merchants in Italy and Tur key, under no reftraint in regard to the Le vant company, people would rifk more rea dily the fending their veffels to the Medi terranean to get employment in "this carrying bufinefs, and their fpeculation in trade being free, they would find means to employ their veffels in the intervals of their being without freights ; the mafters, owners, and cbrre- fpondents might combine their own fpecula- tions in merchandize with their carrying bufinefs, and thus keep them conftantly em ployed. It is the want of thefe refources to our fhips, that prevents Englifh owners from fending their fhips into the Mediterranean tq feek freights, and prevents the few which dc go thither from profiting fo much by it as thofe of other nations, whofe houfes of trade are nearer, and whofe trade is under no re- ftridtions. Had the Turkey trade in England. ne ver been a monopoly, the French would never have got poffeffion of almoft all the cloth trade, and the laying it open will be the only means of our coming in again for any confiderable fhare of it. There is a greater demand in Turkey for the light Languedoc clcths, than for any other fort. 1 1 The 482 CHAPTER XL The Turks clothe their fervants twice a yeah, and the French cloth, made into loofe garments (which laft much longer than the tight European drefs) is ftrong enough for their purpofe, and its cheapnefs caufes it to be preferred ; piebrer people, who form the great body of confu triers, buy it alio for ceco- nomical reafons. Englifh broad cloth, called mahoot (of a light quality, made purpofely for the Turkey market) is only worn by thqfe in eafier circumftances. Confiderable .quantities of cloth have alfo of Tate year.4 come to Turkey from Germany. tt is the opinion of many pebple Well ac quainted with thefe matters, that the Eng lifh manufacturers might make the fame fert of cloth as the Languedoc, and as cheap as the French ; but as long as the Levant com pany exifts, whq is to undertake it ? Were the trade laid entirely open, it is probable that all kinds of Englifh manufacturers would fend people (called riders) to Turkey to feek for commiffions, as they do to all parts of Europe. This practice, though not very agreeable to Englifli merchants (which how ever may not be the cafe in Turkey, as they may find the mediation of merchants necef fary) would greatly increafe the vent of Eng lifh commodities, and thefe induftrious peo ple might poffibly be the means of our re gaining the cloth trade. 3 *&' BRITISH TURKEY TRADE. The few merchants who are in the true fleer H tf the Levant trade, can employ in it their whole CAPITAL advantageoufly, and there fore do not fie k for new branches, or how to recover old ones which are loft. — This is thfc great fecret. The French do not get their wool cheaper than we do ; the price of labour may be lefs ; kit Will ttot fuperior fkill and induftry, with larger capitals, compenfate this firtgle cir cumftance againft us ? Experience in other articles fheWs it, as in the manufactures cf Slanchefter, Sheffield, and Birmingham. It is very worthy of attention, that the French cannot make fo cheap as we cab the fame kinds of cloth, Which our people bring . to the Turkey market ; it is not that they1 cannot make them fo fine, for they make ih France much finet cloth than that kind of broad cloth made in England putpofely for* the Turkey market. There is alfo* a coarfe* ftrbng cloth brought ' to Turkey from Eng land, called londras ; thefe the French caiinbt make fo cheap neither'; nor' are their fhal- loons fo cheap. In fhort, there is no fert of. woollen ftuff made in the two countries, of the fame quality, which the' Englifh do not fell cheaper than the French. The fact feems to be, that the Frdiich invented a : kind of cloth more proper for the ¦•general-' i i 2 confumption 48.4 ** CHAP TE R XI. confumption of Turkey than that which the Englifh had brought thither, and the Eng lifh never attempted to follow their exam ple, but continued carrying to the market a fort of cloth, which at laft got almoft out of ufe. JVhenever the Englifli fliall have made and brought to Turkey the fame kind of cloth as the French, and cannot afford it fo cheapo then with certainty \we may conclude that the French have an advantage over us ; but till then it ought to be doubted, and certainly it merits the trial ; but a fair trial never can be , made till the Levant trade is entireljr free. But even fuppofing that we cannot regain the cloth trade, there are very many other- objects worth attending to, and which may be of great national advantage. The Manchefter fluffs would find a great vent in all parts of Turkey. The manufacto ries of Aleppo and Damafcus are almoft ruined, and if the Mancheftei; people were - to imitate the Turkifh patterns of their ftuffs, they could certainly afford them cheaper. Imitations of the Surat and Ben gal goods of filk and cotton, which are enor- moufly dear, would find alfo a ready fale in Turkey, and cotton velvets, velverets, &c. Birmingham and Sheffield wares would be articles of importance. The Turks, both in Europe f BRITISH TURKEY TRADE. 485 Europe and Afia, have a great partiality for all thefe kinds of Englifh manufactures, and in general the epithet Englifh is fynonimous with excellent. Thefe articles at prefent are not attended to*; but the mafters of fhips, who bring out their little ventures to Turkey in a contra* band manner, in thefe kind of things, make great profit? ; they can, however, bring only fmall quantities, - left the Levant company fhould take umbrage at it. A few of thefe goods alfo find their way to Turkey from Italy, but greatly enhanced in their price from the many hands they go through, and therefore this channel does not afford a great vent for them. Linen may likewife be an article of exportation for Turkey. The Turks wear linen of a hard twitted thread, very open and unbleached, which comes moftly from Egypt, and is exceedingly dear, but is the moft pleafant kind to wear in hot wea ther. No European nation has yet under taken to imitate it, but it is probable it might be made in Ireland infinitely cheaper than in Egypt : if this was the cafe, it would be of great importance. The German linens begin to be fold in confiderable quantities in Turkey, but they never will fupply the place of the Egyptian, on account of their quality. Vaft quantities of the above mentioned articles 113 come 486 :.X^fh CHAPTER XI. cbme from Venice and Germany, where they are dearer, and of worfe quality, than thefe ^manufactured in England. Were I te enter into an enumeration of all the Englifh manufactures that cpuld be .¦fold in Turkey, and particularly in the in terior part? of Afia, and pqint out the diffe rent ports to which they might be fent, the detail would be too lqng for a general repre- fentatiqn ; but collectively it muft be very obvious to every perfon acquainted but ge nerally yVith the trade qf Turkey, that our exportations to that country muft become of . great importance" in a few years, were the _ ^monopoly removed, and- the agents of the ¦'manufacturers fent to travel through the ¦ country, and get certain information of "the •ftate of its trade and manufactories. .'Salt fifh, could the Newfoundland fhips, &c. go directly to Turkey as they go to Italy, •would-be a very important branch. The Eaft India company could fupply the 'Turkey market with .muffins much cheaper than they are brought by the way of Baffora, of -Gidda, and Suez, which trade is entirely in the hands of their fervants : the trial has ^been fiiccefsfully made ; but the members of ..the Levant company have other articles enow in which to invert their whole capitals. Other nations now bring large quantities of muffins tp BRITISH TURKEY TRADE. 48*; to Turkey. Britifh muflins (/. e. manufac tured in Britain) alfo fell to confiderable profit. Let all this be mere fqppofitiqn, is not the pbject of importance enough to give it a fail? trial ? and does not commqn fenfe fay, that a trade freed from obftacfes muft. flourifh more than when clogged with the moft upfiipport- ' able fhackles, or with any fhaqkles at all ? May it not be afked, what juft right have the members of the Levant company to lay re ftrain ts on this trade by their bye-laws ? I have heard this fubject difcuffed in Turkey, wher« people certainly underftand the trade of the country better than in England, and I neyer heard one plaufible reafon alledged in favquf of the company. Sophiftical arguments may be produced in London, which may appear plaufible to thofe who are not informed o$ the real ftate of matters in Turkey. To fhow what little efforts have been made by the company to extend the trade, and how little they deviate from the footfteps of their forefathers, I will cite two ftriking inftance.se Mr. John Humph rys, of ConftantuiQpte, was the firft, who, a few years ago, imagine*! that Englifh fhalloqns might be fold in Cpn- ftantinople, and they foon became a very im portant article for exportation to Turkey. The French have not been able to make them fo cheap. 1 1 4 Mr. 488 - 'CHAPTER Xii i Mr. Peter Took, of Conftantinople, only about twenty years ago, difcovered that he might buy raw filk from the firft hands at Brufa (the hills behind this city are vifible from our merchants houfes in Pera) and thus make his returns direct to England. Before that period, from the firft exiftence of the company, the merchants of Conftantinople had always fent their money to Smyrna to be invefted in filk, which the Turks and Jews of Smyrna bought at Brufa. There is a great demand in Turkey for Staffordfhire earthen-ware, which would be come a very important article of commerce. Perhaps the greateft importation of Britifh articles into Turkey would be by foreigners, or natives of the Turkifh provinces, as is the cafe in many branches of our commerce, where fuch reftraints on foreigners do not exift ; for inftance, every one knows that not one-tenth part of our exports to Ruffia are on account of the Ruffia company in London, or of the Britifh factory in Ruffia. Thefe ar ticles are fent to Ruffia for account of foreign- ers fettled in Ruffia, or Ruffians, and fome part for account of our manufacturers. With refpect to Germany this is ftill more the cafe. The Levant company exact a duty on all merchandize exported to and imported from Turkey, BRITISH TURKEY TRADE. 489 Turkey, befides a confulage in the ports of Turkey on all the exports and imports in Britifh veffels. This confulage is a very heavy burthen on our trade, and particularly, when it is confidered that fome other nations pay none. The following are the words of the company's bye-law : " At a general court, &c. the following " orders were eflabliflied as proper and expe- " dientfor the support, of the company's "affairs, and for the government qf the " trade ; and they were confirmed at a general " court, held 3d of March 1 775. " It was refolved and ordered, That all " goods exported from Turkey or Egypt for " Great Britain fliall pay three confulages and " one-half, or feven in the hundred, according "to the rates of the company's tar if, in fuch " fpecies of the grand feignior 's coin as his of- " ficers receive for cuflpms ; which confulage "fliall be paid, one-half in thirty days, and the " .ot 'her half in fixty days after the departure of " the fliip, &c. ; and the company's treafurers " are not to take any notes or obligations for the ** payments of confulages, but they are to infifl " upon being paid in money when it is due. " That all goods imported, &c. into Greact " Britain, flail pay one impofition according to *' the company's rates, &c. except cotton and " emery ftones, &c. « Thai 40,0 CHAPTER Xi. " That all goods imported into Turkey or l? Egypt, from Leghorn, or any other Port or *' Ports of Chriftendom, by British sub- *' jects or British ships, for account V of foreigners, fliall pay a confulage of " two in the hundred,- &c. " That all goods exported from Conftaniino- " pie, Smyrna, and Aleppo, to Leghorn, or any *' other foreign port or ports of Chriftendom, by «' Britifh fubjeBs, on foreign ships, on ac- " count of Britifh fubjeBs, flail pay a confulage ** of one in the hundred, &c. " That all goods imported into Turkey or " Egypt, by fir angers, upon Britifh fliips, from x " any foreign port, &c. fliall pay two in the huji- *»' dred,&c. and in like manner exported, two in " the hundred, &c." and feveral other regula tions for the paying of confulage, of leffer im* portance, which I omit for brevity. " April 2<)th, 1785* It is refolved and or- <* dered, &c. " That all goods, excepting raw filk, mohair " yarn, and drugs, exported from Turkey and *' Egypt, in the time of the plague, to Malta, *' Ancona, Venice, Meffina, Leghorn, Genoa, or " Marfeilles,for the purpofe of performing qua- " rantine, and which are to be re flipped on the * fame flip for Great Britain or Ireland, flail ** pay a confulage of two in the hundred only." > ' Befides BRITISH TURKEY TRADE. 491 . Befides this revenue, the company have for many years received an affiftance from government of five thqufand pounds a year. AH thefe fu|ns are expended for paying a part of the falary of the ambaffadors at Conftatiti- .nople, the confuls at the feveral pqrts in Tur key, the chancellors auddrogqmans (or inter preters) aiid for defraying of the expences attending vifks from the ambaffador tp the porte, and of the confuls to pafhas, befides ex traordinary prefents made at the firft audience of a new ambaffador and of a cqnful ; for paying avama* (or mpney extorted by falfe accufations) and public entries of confuls, which were formerly very eqftly ; and finally, for the expences qf the cqrnpapy and its officers at home. Were our trade put 011 the fame footing as the Ruffian, the five thoufand pounds govern ment now pays, would perhaps more than fuffice for all the expences which then would be neceffary, and that our trade could be put on the fame footing, I fuppofe nobody will deny. The Ruffian trade to Turkey is free to every one ; there is no tax on* it, either under the appellation of confulfhip or other- wife ; no fee is taken, at any ambaffador's, cqnful's, or chancellor's office, for documents neceffary for the difpatch of trade; no pre-. fents are piaffe by confuls to pafhas or other •;pfficers ; no avania is fubmitted to. A cqnful 492 - CHAPTER XI. A conful at Smyrna only is neceflary. Vice- confuls in the other ports would anfwer every purpofe for the protection of trade; and there would be found- merchants enow, who would be glad of the office without pay, for the ho nour of it, which in Turkey is confiderable. There is at this day ho neceffity for confuls living in fuch great ftate as they did a few years ago. Tbe foreign minifters at Con ftantinople have very confiderably retrenched • their expences. The power of an ambaffador and of a conful in Turkey is very great ; it extends even to life and death. By one of the articles of the capitulations (or treaty with the porte) it is ftipulated, that in all criminal cafes wherein fubjects of the porte are not concerned, am baffadors or confuls fliall punifh the criminal according to the laws of their country. In the Dutch capitulations this is expreffed ftill ftronger. As crimes committed in a ftate are crimes immediately againft that ftate, the cognizance of them belongs to it alone. The fultan delegates his power to the ambaf fadors and confuls ; and if in punifhing the criminal they exceed the rule prefcribed by the laws of their own country, they are only anfwerable for their conduct to the fultan ; but the fultan takes no cognizance of it, therefore they are without control, and their power BRITISH TURKEY TRADE. 49*3 power is defpotic. It is indeed true, that they generally fend fuch offenders home to their country ; there have, however, with other nations, been examples where an European has killed a fubject of the porte, and juftice being demanded, the ambaffador or conful has put the criminal to death. Should it hap pen that an Englifhman killed a Turk, it would certainly be better that the ambaffador or conful fhould caufe him to be hanged by his own people, than that he fhould deliver him up tq the Turks, for juftice being de manded, there is no other alternative ; if he efcaped, the confequence might be a general maffacre ; we have lately had an example at Smyrna exactly of this nature, which coft the lives of many hundreds, and caufed the Euro pean quarter to be reduced to afhes. There is no poffibility of fending the criminal home if the populace demand juftice. The company have given alfo another power to the ambaffadors and confuls over merchants, which free traders may not ap prove of. Their bye-law is, " If any faBor " or faBor s flail have any dealings with any " perfon battulated by the lord ambaffador, or " the conful of any of the Scales, (ports, Scala *' Italian) in Turkey, with the advice of the re- " JpeBive faBories, fuch faBor or faBor s fliall " pay a fine for every offence to the amount of th te 494 CHAPTER XI. " three confulages upon the value of the tfiznf- " aBion by or with fitch battulated perfon, " without appeal, &c" Battulation with them fignifies interdiction of all commerce with the perfoti battulated. The intention was to pteVent the factors or merchants hav ing dealings with litigioUs perfons of the coun try ; but this power has been abufed. The ambaffador formerly had a ccnfider- able revenue from protections granted to fub jects bf the porte ; under the title of Baratli, of honorary drogomans ; but thefe protections having been totally difregarded by the prefent fultan, Who without any ceremony has be headed feveral perfons poffeffed of them, both that income and that fource of conftant liti gation with the porte are partly dohe away; It were to be wifhed that this privilege was wholly abolifhed. The French feveral times propofed giving it up, and at a time when it was refpecfed, and lucrative to their ambaf- fadbt's. The French alfo, oh the reprefentation of their ambaffador, M. de St Priefte, laid the Levant trade open ; the cqiifequence was, that immenfe quantities of French goods Were carried tc Turkey by fubjects of the porte ; but the company at Marleilles found means to get their exclufive privilege renewed ; they had fuffered, but the country had gained. BRITISH TURKEY TRADE. 495 gained. At prefent every one has liberty "to trade, and fince our fleet has left the Me diterranean, their commerce is revived, and, except the trade to Great Britain be equally free when a peace takes place, we fhall have little chance of being able to rival them ; but We muft not wait till that period arrives to lay our trade open ; it muft be done imme diately. As all communication with the Levant by fea is cut off, there remains no refource to our merchants, but to carry on their trade through Ruffia ; and though this be a cir cuitous way, it is not by far fo expehfive as might be imagined. The freights to the Baltic are very low, as half the fhips go out empty. The carriage from Riga to Cherfon, or Niccolai on the Bog, is moftly by water.) and the land carriage in Ruffia is not one fourth of the price it is in Germany. The expence on cloth wpuld be trifling, and on cheap and bulky goods even would not be equal to the enormous price of in- furance paid for armed fhips, which run ihe voyage at prefent, and which is not equal to the rifk ; it is indeed fo great, that govern-- ment fhoUld, perhaps, interfere. At Cherfon there are good veffels to be found, which in three'days may carry the goods to Conftanti nople at a reafouable freight. ; But 496 CHAPTER XI. But in order to open fuch a communica tion, liberty muft be obtained of the emperor of Ruffia to fend merchandize in tranfito (with out paying duty) acrofs Ruffia ; and there is no doubt but that fovereign, who has ftudied Adam Smith's book on the Wealth of Na tions, and who is perfectly acquainted with the principles of commerce aiid navigation,' would fee the very great advantage . which would accrue to Ruffia by fuch a trade, both on account of the fums which would remain in the country for expences of carriage, the employment of a number of people/and alfo the encouragement it would be to the Ruffian navigation in the Black Sea; but he never would grant fuch a privilege to a part of the Britifh nation exclufively, and fhut out from it the Ruffia merchants, who carry on a branch of commerce fo advantageous to. his empire, nor exclude his own fubjects from it. Before this can be done, the Turkey company muft be abolifhed. At prefent a few goods, I am informed, have been fent to Hamburgh, thence to Vienna, and down the Danube, where they are flapped for Conftantinople. The freight to Hamburgh is dearer than jt is to Riga ; the charges acrofs Germany ten times as much as acrofs Ruffia. At the mouth of the Danube there are only bad Turkifh or Greek veffels to be BRITISH, TURKEY TRADE. 497 be freighted, on which no regular infurance can be made. At Cherfon there are fome hundreds of veffels, among which many equal thofe to be found in the ports of other feas, and a reafonable infurance may be made on them by fafe underwriters ; but the route through Germany does not. neceffitate an abolition of the Levant company. RefpeBing the Inefficacy of the Quarantine Re gulations in Great Britain. IT has been faid, " if every kind of veffel have leave to go to the Levant, we fhall run a greater rifk of having the plague imported, than while the company exifts. In the latter cafe there are fewer veffels, and thofe veffels belonging to the company, who having an intereft that they perform the voyages pre- fcribed to them, it can always be known where they have been, and under what cir cumftances, and fuch veffels being addreffed to factors in Turkey* members of the com pany, and under its direction and the control of the confuls, they cannot in an irregular manner leave Turkey without their defti nation being known, and without having k k ntteftations 498 I N E F t I c A C ¥ OF atteftatiqns from the cPnfuls,fhoWing the ftate of the health pf the port in the Levant front •which they failed.**' In anfwer to this it may be obferved, that in the ports qf the Mediterranean, , not only veffels belqnging to thqfe^pqrts, but of all other nations, arrive, without any previous notice, to perform quarantine, and tbe length of their quarantine is regulated by the bills- of-health which they -bring,, and the know ledge which the officers of the health-offices have of the ftate of the plague in every part df Turkey. Can it be fuppofed that veffels can arrive in the ports of Great Britain, without its being known whence they came ? The regu lations of the quarantine and of the cuftcm- hbufe, as they, now exift, are fufficient to- put this beyond dqubt ; befides-, free veffels muft bring from the Levant the fame papers, fhow- ing the ftate of the country with refpect to health, as are now required of the company's fhips; the rifk will not therefore be aug mented by laying the trade open. But it may be neceffary to examine a little more narrowly how far our quarantine re gulations fecure us at prefent from the plague. After all that has been faid by Dr. Ruffel, it may appear indeed fuperfluous to touch this fubject again, but fince his excel lent quarantine regulations. 499 lent treatife has produced no amelioration of thefe regulations, his arguments cannot be too much enforced, I affirm, not only fr°m my own knowledge qf tbe nature of lazaret tos, but from the opinion of officers of the health offices at Malta, Leghorn, and Marfeilles, whom I confulted on the fubject, thAt our quarantine regulations are wholly ineffectual, and that we are constantly exposed to the panger of having the plague im ported from turkey, by every vessel which comes directly from that COUNTRY. i ft. It is beyond all doubt eftablifhed, that the rriiafm, effluvia, or whatever it may be called, which produces the plague, may re main in an active ftate, fo as to occafion in fection, for a much longer time than is re quired for a veffel to load in Turkey, -make her voyage, and perform quarantine in Great Britain. 2. It is equally certain that thefe fomites, or the impregnation of fubftances with pefti- lential miafmata, cannot be deftroyed but by airing a certain time, by fumigating, by wafh- ing, by mdiftening with fuch liquors as are anti-peftilential, or by expofing to a fevere cold the fubftances infected. Some of thefe k k 2 means 500 IN EF FI C A C Y O F" ) means deftroy the miafm in a fhort time," fome require a longer; 3. It appears from Dr. Ruffel's remarks (and he has been delicate on this fubject top) that notwithstanding- all the fidelity and di ligence of confuls, infected goods may be fhipped without detection, and that veffels may fail for Britain with a fair bill-of -health, having infected goods on board; Now as merchandize performing quaran tine in Britain and in Holland (where the regulations are ftill worfe) are never qpened and properly aired, it follows that fuch qua rantines are not fufficient to deftroy the fo mites; nor are they of any fervice whatever, further than by lengthening the time; and if this be the, object of our quarantines, the length of the voyage ought to be taken into confideration in eftablifhing the length of the quarantine to be performed; nor are thefe quarantines fafe with regard to other circum ftances; for communication with thofe who fupply the paffengers and fhip's crew with provifions, &c. is not fufficiently guarded againft, and the paffengers and the crew, though they were not: infected in Turkey, are liable every day* by touching the cargo or their effects, to catch the plague, and to communicate it to others; nor is fmuggling S: impoffible QUARANTINE REGULATIONS. 5 (3-1 impoffible as the lazarettos now are efta- blifhed. It "does not appear that the laws of this country will permit fuch a police to be ob ferved in lazarettos as is indifpenfably ne ceffary to fecure the country " from the plague. The officers of health have, in the Mediter ranean, a power of putting to death imme- - diately all thofe who violate the laws of tbe quarantine' in fuch a manner as that con tagion may be communicated, 'and thetf* power is indeperideht-^of the civil magiftrate or any other authority. For the moft trifling "thing fmuggledi or endeavoured to be fmug- ~gled, out of the lazaretto, the offenders are fhot dead the inftant they are detected. A perfon efeaping from the lazaretto, were it but one hour before the expiration of the qua rantine, is equally punifhed with immediate death, &c. &c. &c. * .....,-. There are neither proper places, nor build ings, nor regulations, for performing qua rantine in fafety in Great Britain, nor is the nature of quarantine underftood in our la zarettos. * The humane Leopold, whejvQraijd f)uke of Tuf- canjr, though.he would not fuffer a murderer to be put to death, did not alter the quarantine laws. K K q It -502 INEFFICACY OF . It may be afked, how have -we efcaped the plague fince the year 1666, when the laft plague in London entirely ceafed. . I anfwef, chiefly by not admitting' fhips with foul hills .of health from the Levant, and obliging them to perform quarantine in the Mediterranean fince that regulaticn tqok place, and by Gcd's mercy only ' that veffels with clean bills of health have net brought it. What are 'we to do to be more fecure in future, Will then be afked. The anfwer is very fhort and obvious ; to oblige all veffels coming from the Levant, whether with fair or vyith foul bills ofheatyh, to perform" qua rantine in Malta, in Leghorn, or in Mar- feilles, &c. and then with the proper attefta- tions of the health officers, figned alfo by His Majefty's confuls in thofe ports, to admit them into Great Britain without performing a fe- cond and ufelefs quarantine. Trade would gain by this regulation, and we fhould be under no apprehenfion of the plague. The charges are fmall in the Medi terranean, and npt more for us than for out rivals in trade. Malta is by far the beft port to perform quarantine in ; the regulations are even more to be relied on than at Leghorn, as they are in fome refpects more fcrupulous ; it lies more in the road of veffels coming home from any 2 part QUARANTINE REGULATIONS. 503 part of Turkey. It is true that mafters of yeffels, for many private reafons, which do not benefit their owners or the freighters, prefer going to Leghorn ; but this port is con fiderably out of the track of their voyage, and in war time fhips are much_expofed to be cap tured by the enemy. In every point of view Malta offers greater advantages to our trade than any other port in the Mediterranean. With regard to Holland, mqft certainly, Turkey goods, and cottons, ia particular, ought nqt to be admitted thence till they have been well aired ; nor need we ever have imported fuch vaft quantities, or any quantity at all . from , Holjand, or from any other place, had the Turkey trade been free in Britain. k k 4 [ 5°4 ] APPENDIX. MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS, THESE fragments are .extracts and tranflations from original documents; they will ferve to elucidate and confirm fome paffages in the preceding pages. Of Egypt. THE French have it in their power either to feize Egypt, . or> to make fuch an alliance with the be£s as will open to them a communication with India. The beis, would eagerly embrace any offer which would fecure to tnema perfect independence of the Ottoman porte; or they would even become tributary to any other fovereign or ftate, who would maintain them in theif feparate govern ments, and protect the one againft the other, and the whole. country againft the Turks. They have frequently made fuch offers. Had not the domeftic affairs of France engaged all the at tention pf that cabinet, the effects of M. de Truguet's million to Cairo, and the treaty he concluded with Murat J3ey, thp *7tlj of February 1785, would, Jong ago, have been yifible,. Were |he Turks driven out of Europe, their force would be more coricentrated; they would be ftronger, and more able than they are now? to reduce to obedience thofe pro vinces, MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 505 vinces, which at prefent are either in a ftate of open rebel lion or virtual independence, and from which the porte draws neither troops nor money; they would then be able to reduce Egypt, and to defend it againft the French. In fuch a ftate of affairs, the French might perhaps obtain from the Turk? a commercial communication through Egypt to India," which then would be attended with lefs rifle, though not with much lefs expence than it now is. It is not, how ever, probable that the porte would, fo readily as the begs, permit" troops to be fent.acrofe Egypt*- Volney fays, that memorials have been laid, before the French cabinet, on the expediency of obtaining ppfleffion of Egypt: Thefe memorials are now no fecret. The principal -force of Egypt confifts in 8,000 horfe; the janizaries are not to be eftimated as foldiers. There are not four cannons to defend the Pharos or caftle of Alex andria, which, according to the regulations, ihould be garri- fone"d by. 500 janizaries, but there are never half the num ber. A fingle frigate might beat down thefe fortifications. The greateft difficulty a foreign army would have to en counter in keeping poffeffion of Alexandria,' is the want of water; this city has none but what is brotight'Jn. canals to their cifterns when the Nile overflows. The Egyptian cavalry, if it had the prudence never to come to a general engagement, might render the pafiage acrofs the deferts perhaps impracticable to an European army. * Abolifliing the Levant company in England, and fupplying, by means of the Eaft India company, all parts of the Turkifli empire with India goods (as fome of the foreign India companies do in part) would put an end to the clandeftine trade of the company's fervants, and to the commercial fpeculations of the French, except fo far as regard their own confumption ; becaufe the Englifh Eaft India company is able to fend from London, and fell in Turkey,' thefe goods at a cheaper rate than they can be brought by the Red Sea or the Perfian Gulph, which always muft te attended with much expence and confiderable rifle. When Great Britain is at war with France, this communication may eafily be flopped, and the neceflary fteps may be taken during a peace. The extraordinary expence would not be great. The SOS APPENDIX. The revenues of the begs confift in a t,axon land and the. cuftoms, which produce about two millions fterling, of which the porte receives very little. Uncertain revenues are extortions under various pretexts, and thefe are not in- conliderable. Suez is a moft miferable and defencelefs place ; it- has no water nearer than ten miles, and that is very brackilh, and drawn from a well. No fhips can approach Suez nearer than three miles. Egypt produces a confiderable quantity of fugar -of -a very good grain. Were that country under a better government, it might fupply Europe with a great quantity. The fugar cane grows alfo very well in Candia and in Sicily, where, if the inhabitants were more induftrious, or were there enter- prifing people of capital among them, this would become a product of much confequence. The fame may be faid of a great part of the coaft of Barbary. There is a coffee tree growing in the open air at Malta, in the garden of the French minifter, and die fruit ripens perfectly. The French have tried the experiment in Can dia, and it fucceeded ; probably it would grow in Sicily. It is thought that it would become more hardy, and ripen ear lier, were it engrafted on other trees or fhrubs, and that it might be naturalized to climates lefe warm than thofe in which it is now produced in the greateft perfe&ion. We know that re-produ&ion has made many plants refift a colder climate better than when the parent plant was firft imported. There can be no doubt of the coffee tree's growing in Egypt. Egypt alfo produces excellent flax and hemp. Indigo has been cultivated with fuccefs on the eaftern coaft of the Adriatic, near Zante, till the planter, it is not known by whom or for what reafon, was affafEnated. Were the French poffeffed of Egypt, they might abandon their Weft India iflands. The French court, a very few years ago, paid much at tention to thefe fpeculations. if. Refpeft- MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 507 ift. RefpeBing Persia. THE internal -diforders of Perfia are favourable to Great Britain, and to affift any party, fo that it fhould gain a pre ponderance, which njightsend in a fubjugation of the whole country, is aftiug contrary to the Epgli^ intereft. The weaknefs of Perfia is the fecurity of Indi?, The Agwans (or Afgans) and Abdali, being of the fe3 of Omar, are enemies lq the other Perfians, who are follbwers of Ali; they are ^now diftma nations, and have their own independent fovereigns. They are not concerned in the civil wars mTeruV They are powerful enough to impede the marching of a Ruffian army through Bochara to India, or the Perfians from croffing the Indus. They themfelves may, however, be dangerous, afting ii?, cpneert with any Indian power. England ftiould aif bid,,, quarrelling with themj but prevent, as much as poffible,. tlieir haying ajiy connection with jtndla, ox receiving artillery .from any quartef. While Great Brkain is firmly aJiiH wifh Ruflia, flie need riot fear either the Perfians, Afgans, or Abdalj,. A jdiverfion made by Ruflia would prevent, at ail times, their fending an army to India, or meddling with the difputes ia that country. A war with thefe Afiatic nations fhould be a cafusfxderis in the treaty with Ruffia. At pirefent it is an exception. id. RefpeBing Persia. THERE are three Perfian ambafladors in Ruffia : one from the khan of Ghilan, one from the khaa of Derbent, and one from Jafeer, khan of Ifpahan. Thefe two laft came to Kremeachuk, in the fummer of 1 787, after the departure of the emprefs, and had aporrtpous public audience of Pf iece Poterafcin. The minifter of the khan of Derbent was exceedingly well received by the prince ; 5o8 APPENDIX. prince ; but the other, not conforming entirely to an eti,- quette, which he thought was to be obferved only in an audience of the emprefs herfelf, was received, and afterwards treated with great coolnefs. The minifter from the khap of Ghilan did not obtain permiflion from the prince to come to him, or to go to Peterfburgh, till a little time before his death, when he fent for him to Yaffy ; but on' the road, hearing of the prince's death, he ftopt, and obtained leave of the emprefs to go to Peterfburgh.' The obje 2 genti ;5I0 X:IZ-,. APPENDIX. genti hi 'Sicily, arid from the great port of Malta; 600 frorn Toulon, from Algiers, arid* the entrance into the Archipe-* lago; from Gibraltar^ Alexandria, arid Conftantinople,'950; from Tripoli, Tunis, and the fouth point of Sicily, 160 miles. Advantages to Russia in poffefflng this Ifland, IT is the beft fituation of any in the Mediterranean; in that refpect it has all' the advantages of Malta for the ftatfori. of a fleet in time of peace or war ^Leghorn is quite out of the way ; every thing is exceedingly dear there, and the motions of the fleet aire almoft immediately known in Italy and France. It is farther from France than from the Archipe lago, and is in the paffage of all veffels that go to or Come* rfrom the Levant. In time'of war, if the ifland fhould be in danger of an in vafion, and being attacked by a fuperior fleet, the veffels "ftatibned there may retire to Malta or Sicily, &c. however, a fleet drawn up near the fhore may be protected by the land batteries. ' It is" the beft flation for. protecting trade. "Veffels coming 'either from the ftraits of Gibraltar or from the Levant may he met by frigates, this ifland being in the middleway. Magazines of naval ftores may be formed here from the -Black Sea, inftead of purchafing them at enormous prices in Italy, in war time. Provifions will be produced in tha ifland, but till' that is the cafe, they may be had frdm Sicily or the coaft of Bar.* bary, even in time of war, as Malta is fupplied thence, and more than two thirds of the coft at Leghorn faved. The Barbary powers will be kept in great awe by its vi cinity, and prevented from ever, daring to commit hoftilities againft Ruffia: their ports may be kepit 'blocked up. If •'Malta would cruize ferioufy againft thefe' ftates iri conjunc tion with the. Ruffians, the AlgeVine cruizers could never '- 'i i " pafs MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 517 pafs beyond thefe iflands, and Tunis and Tripoli may be continually blocked up. It is alfo the beft fituation for an emporium for Ruffian produ&s brought from the Black Sea, for fupplying the Me diterranean, and for collecting articles of return. A lazaretto muft be built, and thereby the expences of quarantine will be faved to Ruffia. Maxims of Government to be obferved. A colony and a province of the empire are to be, governed by oppofite maxims. 1. The colony muft manufafture nothing that can be ma- nufeftured in Ruffia, not even the raw produ&s of the co lony. 2. The colony muft produce only raw articles, which Ruffia does not produce, or fuch as Ruffia is in need of, or its veflels. 3. The colony muft take from Ruflia every thing it wants, if Ruffia can furnifh them. 4. The colony muft trade with no other country. Ruffia muft receive its products, and either confume them or fend them to other nations, and muft reap the advantage of ex portation and navigation. 5. The inhabitants muft be drawn as much as poffible from other countries, not to diminifh the population of the mother country. L 6. A colony muft be diftant enough from the riiotjber , country to become a nurfery for feamen, but not fo far offas that the voyage may injure their health : its climate muft be healthy, that its advantages may not be counterbalanced by the lofs of thofe of the mother country who vifit it.' It muft be in a different. climate from the .mother country, or thefe maxims will be. oppreffiye. Laws for the Colony. IN eftablifhing the government, regard muft, be had, to the genius, cuftoms, and i morals of the neighbouring. Chriftian natipns. «- L L 3 I. NO 518 APPENDIX. i. No duty whatever fhall be paid, neither on importa tion nor exportation of any kind of merchandize. Duty is to be paid in the Ruffian ports as now, or with fuch dimi nutions as fhall be judged neceffery. 2. It is prohibited to make ufe of, or to have any utenfil or inftrument of iron, brafs, &c. or any cloth, linen, or fail clbth, not made and imported from Ruffia, with the excep tion of filks and other merchandize not produced or ma nufactured in Ruffia, which may be had from the neigh bouring countries, of -which a lift fhall be rnade. 3. No foreign veffel (except in time of war and by ftrefs of weather) fhall be permitted" to. enter the port, except it be empty of all kind of merchandize, and then it fhall have no communication with the cojonifts, till after it has "been vifited. Veffels loaded, in need of affiftance, fhall receive it, "but they fhall be confidered as in quarantine as long as they flay. Paffengers, after the quarantine has been performed, according to the. place they came from, may land with their baggage, but not with merchandize. 4. Foreigners may purchafe merchandize in the ifland, except the products of the iflands, and export them in their own veffels, which arrived empty. 5. Foreigners or Ruffians may import into Lampidofe merchandize from Ruffia or elfewhere, only in Ruffian "veflels. " 6. Only Ruffian veffels may export products to Ruflia. The cargo unloaded in Ruffia muft correfpond to the note pf the cargo given by the government of the ifland, and they muft not carry it elfewhere, nor fell any to pay charges in .ports they may by diftrefs put into, but they may mortgage the produce of the fale in Ruffia!. 7. The "products of the ifland muft be regiftered before the harveft, or the bringing them into warehoufes from the fields. 8. Any perfon, of whatever nation or religion, may be- ' come an inhabitant of the ifland, and leave it when he ' thinks proper; but his refidence in it fhall not give him a right to have the Ruffian flag for a yeflel, large or fmall. 9. Every MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 519 9. Every individual, who fhall be poffeffed of a houfe, or land cultivated, to the value of five hundred roubles, fhall be entitled to have the Ruffian flag for one veffel of forty tons ; if he poffefs houfe or land to the value of 1,000 rou bles, one of eighty tons ; and for larger poffeffions, one or more veffels in the feme proportion. Who lends his name to others fhall forfeit the value, and the borrower fhall forfeit the veffel. Property, which has given a right to have the flag, fhall not be fold before the paffports of the veffels have been delivered up to the government, and the veffels return to. the port of the ifland. No proprietor of a ViffeJ is obliged to go himfelf to fea with his veffel. 1 0. He who fhall fend his family to Ruffia, or another family in its ftead, confifting of a male under thirty-five years of age and a woman under twenty-five, or a man of any age and a woman under thirty years of age and one child, or of thirty-five with two children, or the man and woman of any age with three children, who fhall become naturalized fubjects of the emprefs, and fhall buy in Ruffia immoveable property for 500 roubles, under the fame re- ftrictions as property in the ifland with refpe<9: tp the fal^ fuch fender fhall have the Ruffian flag for a veffel of any fize under 200 tons^ and for a larger veflel in proportion, or for feveral. Neither the perfons fent to Ruffia fhall be anfwera- hje for the conduct of the fender, nor the fender for the con duct of the fent. In the year 1779, a project of a peace with the Barbary States, was prefented to the emprefs by Prince Potemkin, who was at that time very ardent in promoting the trade of the Black Sea to the Mediterranean in Ruffian vefle{s. There were no humiliating conditions in this arrangement, as there are in moft of the treaties of other nations. The emprefs give for anfwer, that fhe would never make any arrange ment whatever with thofe powers ; that if they took her mercantile veffels fhe would know how to force the porte to oblige them to obferve the flipulations of the treaty of L t 4 peace j 52tf APPENDIX. peace ; and that rather than fend a negotiator to them, fhe Tfeould fend a fleet of frigates. The number of failors in the different ports of Italy is much greater than is generally; imagined ; there are above j 0,000 in the two Sicilies. Malta generally furnifhes ta Spain 6,000 excellent feamen. From the cdaft of the Adriatic, about Ragufa, Prevafa, &c. the French have for many years imported a great quantity of the moft excellent oak timber ; there is, indeed, no finer timber any where to be found for the purpofe of fliip building, than that which grows in thofe parts ir* great abundance. A Plan for attacking the Turkish Fleet in the Port -"/"Constantinople. IT will ferve no good end to publifh the details of the intended operations of the Ruffian fleet in the laft war. The following particulars will fufficiently fhow the proba bility there was of their being crowned with fuccefs. The channel of Conftantinople is of different breadths, from about one to thre6 miles, and runs between high hills, at the foot of which are batteries, from the entrance at the- Black fea to Serrieri (a. village |ftar Buyukdere.) The- jiorth and north eaft winds blow down the channel nine or ten rrionths in the year. The foutheiiy winds, which blow up the ch,aniKi when they reign, feldom laft more than two or three days at a time ; the north .and north eaft winds, on the contrary, are generally conftant for, two or three months, fo that a fleet coming Uom the Black Sea at the proper feafoi* 2 « MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 521 is -almoft certain of a fair wind to enter the channel and the port of Conftantinople. The current is very ftrong from the Black Sea, except when the wind has blown two or three days from the fouth, when there is a current from the fea of Marmora. The ftream divides at the point of the feraglio ; a part of the water runs into the fea of Marmora, and a part is forced into the port, making, on the Conftantinople fide, a toler* ably ftrong current, which runs towards the bottom of the port, and coming out again on the Galata fide, and by an under current, occafions an eddy or ftill water in the middle; hence it is, that fhips cannot fail at once from the port, but muft be towed or warped in the ftill water clofe to the fhore of Tophana, till they are fo far up the ftream (that is, to the northward) that they can make fail without danger of being carried againft the feraglio point (as has fometimes happened) and where there is a perfect torrent. From this defcription it is evident, that a fleet coming from the Black Sea down the channel of Conftantinople, with the wind .aiid current in its favour, could with eafe- feil ftraight into the port ; that the Turkifh fleet in the port cannot go cut to meet it in the middle of the channel, but by towing flowly up -the fhore, while the enemy's fleet coming down will have, within a few fathoms of it, the wind and current in its favour, and will be able to caft an chor, and form in whatever manner the commander may judge moft advantageous. If the Turkifh fleet is not in the port, but lies in the channel in the ftream, where it ufually is ftationed before it fails in the fpring for the Archipelago, three or four miles above the port, the Ruffian fleet may anchor at what dif tance it pleafes from it, either to attack or not, while the Turkifli fhips cannot poffibly advance againft the current, not even by warping. In fuch a fituation they are expofed to fire-fhips, and if any part flip their anchors to avoid being burnt, they cannot .again get into the line ; the reft triufl follow them if they will preferve their line. As to the batteries on the two fhores, they may -be paffed (b rapidly, and jit fuch a diftance, that nothing is to be feared froiq 522 APPENDIX. from them ; but as the water is deep enough to admit line- of- battle fhips to lie quite clofe to them, and the fhore is perfe&ly clean, they may be foon filenced, and particularly as only one or two guns in the' flanks can bear on a fhip before it comes oppofite to them. The ftones of which they are built are hard and, exceedingly brittle ; they are alfo fb low and fo expofed, that a fhip with grape- fhbt may foon drive out the gunners. In the firft winter of the laft war, a Ruffian fixty-four gun fhip was difmafted in a violent ftorm in the Black Sea, and the officers being ignorant of the Turkifh ports on the coaft of Anatolia, few no other means of faving their lives than by running into the channel of Conftantinople. The fhip entered it with a fair wind, but having only jury- mails, fhe failed very flowly, yet the Turkifh batteries, though they kept UP a conftant fire on her, did her not the leaft in jury ; when fhe had run by all the batteries, fhe caft anchor in the bay of Buyukdere, and furrendered herfelf. The captain was afterwards blamed for not failing by Conftanti nople, and attempting to run between the forts of the Dar danelles, and get into the Archipelago. This example puts the matter beyond doubt, as to the poffibility of a fleet's failing by thefe batteries, reputed fo tremendous, State of theRussiAN Army, January 1 795, according* to the Regifters of the Colleo-e of War, from the Reports of the different Corps. Number of M«ij Regiments. in pay. 19 of artillery - >• . . 38 no 1 r grenadiers, of 4,075 men each - - - j 3 grenadiers, of 1,000 to 3,000 men each - j S1)0^ 51 muf- MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. $23' Number of Men Regiments. in 1%ay_ 0n mufketeers and 2 companies of grenadiers, J 51 mufketeers, -compofed of 10 companies of \ each regiment being compofed of, 2,424 men *3 Number of guns. -^, - - - 9° 80 . 3 — 74 - ' 6 — 64 '222 ,- - 384 11 fhips of the line 8 large frigates - 776 - - 362 *9 1,138 guns. Befides thofe on the flocks, which are now firiifhed. The flotilla at Odiffa, or Khogia-bay. Twenty-five very large and fixty fmaller veffels to tranf- port troops. They are fixty-four to feventy feet long, draw fix feet water when loaded, and carry .one very large gun. They have a latine main fail and gib, and twenty four oars ; befides thefe, there are a great number of other tranfports, bomb veflels, &c. Since 1796 the fleet has become much more formidable. ~ Feb. 179^ FINIS. 3 9002 03462