:' . A 
 
 SURVEY 
 
 or TH E 
 
 f TURKISH EMPIRE. 
 
 IN WHICH ARE CONSIDERED, 
 I. 
 
 ITS GOVERNMENT, 
 FINANCES, MILITARY AND NAVAL FORCE, 
 
 :Re]lgion, Hiltory, Arts, Sciences, Manners, Commerce, /?»<^ Population c 
 
 II. 
 
 THE STATE OF THE PROVINCES, 
 
 Including the ancient Government of the CRIM TATARS, 
 
 The Subjeftion of the GREEKS, 
 
 THEIR EFFORTS TOWARD EMANCIPATION, 
 
 And the Intereil of other Nations, 
 
 Particularly of GREAT BRITAIN, in their Succefs, 
 
 HI. 
 
 THE CAUSES OF THE DECLINE OF TURKET, 
 
 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 JVITH TURKEY, 
 
 The Necefllty of abolifhing the LEVANT COMPANY, 
 
 And the Danger of our QUARANTINE REGULATIONS. 
 
 WI7H MANY OTHER IMPORTANT PARTICULARS, 
 
 By W. E T O N, Efq; 
 
 MANY YEARS RESIDENT IN TURKEY AND IN RUSSIA. 
 
 THE FOURTH EDITION: ((^^ 
 
 TO WHICH IS NOW PREFIXED, 
 
 AN INTRODUCTORY CI^APTER. 
 
 LONDON: 
 Printed for T. Cadell Sc W. Davies, in tlie Strand, 
 
 1809. 
 
.^^^^ 
 
 V. 
 
 
 
 londoa : i'rlnted by Luie MiMfard & Snm, 
 near Lincoln's- Inn Fields. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 TO THE FOURTH EDITION, 
 
 T HAVE til ought it neceflary to give a new 
 Chapter to this edition, to bringdown to the 
 prefent day the political ilate of Greece and 
 Turkey. 
 
 It will (how, that the awful crifis I foretold is 
 nearly arrived : 
 
 That at the time I firfl: publifhed this book, 
 the Greeks could not be liberated from the 
 Ottonim yoke without the co-operation of 
 Ruflia, and that, had their emancipation then 
 taken place, it would have been (as fucceeding 
 events have proved) greatly to the advantage of 
 Britain: 
 
 That it never was intended to incorporate 
 Greece into the Ruffian empire : 
 
 That unltfs we feize the Greek iilands agree- 
 ably to Mr. Leckie's plan, tLey will be occupied 
 by the French, who will thereby acquire an im- 
 menfe augmentation of naval and continental 
 power, and render Ruffia for ever dependent on 
 France : 
 
 That it has been the fyftem of the Rufuan 
 cabinet, ever fince the reign of Peter the Great, 
 
 [A 2I to 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 to endeavour to become a naval power in the 
 fouth, and to remove the capital of the empire 
 to the banks of the Boryflhenes, the foundations 
 of which were adually laid by the late emprefs ; 
 but that if this projed did not fucceed, fhe would 
 ufe every exertion to conquer Sweden and Nor- 
 way, and become a naval power in the north. 
 
 There will alfo be found fome obfervations 
 on the prefent flate of Ruflia, and a comparifon 
 between the Baltic and Euxine feas, with refped 
 to maritime and commercial advantages. 
 
r V ] 
 
 SURVEY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 TURKISH EMPIRE^ 
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 
 TO THE FOURTH EDITION. 
 
 THIS additional chapter I have placed in 
 the beginning of the prefent edition, in- 
 Head of making it the twelfth ; becaufe it will 
 elucidate many matters contained in the fubfe- 
 quent parts, which, having been written twelve 
 years ago, might be thought not applicable to 
 a ftate of things fo greatly changed in Europe 
 during this interval; but which, in refp^^^t to 
 Turkey and Greece, has undergone no j lier 
 alteration than the nearer approach of that crilis 
 I foretold, and which is therefore the more in- 
 tereftins;. 
 
 [A 3] This 
 
[vi] INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 
 
 This work, written in 1797, ^^3.s intended to 
 
 (how the internal fituation of theTuikilli empire, 
 
 , its degree of political importance, its approach-^ 
 
 ■ ing annihilation, and th^ effedls that event would 
 ' have upon the i..terefts of otlxr nations. 
 
 I endeavQured to prove that the emancipation, 
 of the Greeks, fo far from being a violation of 
 the laws of nations, was an adl of the ftrideft 
 juftice. I affirmed, that the views of the French 
 * with jpegard to Greece v^ere mofl: evident ; and I 
 pointed out what thofe views were. I clearly 
 faw, and pofitively ftated, that the iron yoke, 
 
 ■ with which the Turks held in bondage a nation 
 whofe independent fpirit was unf.ibjugaied, 
 would foon be brcken, and th.it it this event 
 took place by the afliltance of France, we /houid 
 have an enemy in Greece, and lofe the friendlhip 
 of Ruffia. 
 
 At the ti.n- I wrote, tlere was no pofiibility 
 of liberating Greece, v/ithaut the afilflance and 
 by the means oi RiiiTia : this is fo manifeft, that 
 I need not l\w'.-:'>[ on the fubjecl. An attempt 
 to exclude the em; re is from the tafk, would have 
 united Ruflia, France and Aufcria a^ainft us, 
 and ultiniately have fiaft.aLcd the defign. It 
 was necelTary by thofe means which were pro- 
 curable at that period, to anticipate the projeds 
 of France, wliich were to attain, in fome fljape 
 or other, polFefllon of Greece, and with it an 
 
 immejnfe 
 
THE FOURTH EDITION. [vu] 
 
 imtnenfe acquifition of naval as well as conti- 
 nental llrength; to feize the Dardanelles, and 
 fliut them againft RufTia, thereby rendering her 
 for ever a dependent on France, and diflblving 
 her ancient and natural alliance with Great Bri- 
 tain* 
 
 In this country there had long exifted a ftrange 
 incoherent notion, that it was our intereft to 
 fupport the Turks againft Ruflia, at the fame 
 time that it was well known this was alfo the 
 ■objedt of France. * That Great Britain had with 
 refpeft to Turkey the felfsame intereft as our 
 enemy and rival, had been one of thofe maxims 
 which a minifter receives with the feals of his 
 office, without examination, and of which there 
 are, perhaps, many. But the great men, who 
 at that time were at the helm of the ftate, no 
 fooner heard the cafe ftated, but they faw the 
 truth in its full light. 
 
 It was my aim in my publication to remove 
 thefe prejudices in the public mind, and to pre- 
 pare it for a new fyftem, the adoption of which 
 the death of that great fovereign, the emprefs 
 Catharine, unfortunately prevented. 
 
 Minifters were for fometime mifled by perfons, 
 whofe fituations afforded them means of obtain- 
 ing accurate information ; but who were fo 
 rivetted to the^e old prejudices, that they repre- 
 fented the emprefs as having laid afide all her 
 
 [A 4] projeclis 
 
[viti] INTKODUCTORy CHAPTER TO 
 
 projects concerning Greece after the death of 
 prince Pptenikin, and that the emperor Paul 
 had never approved them. Subfequent events 
 however foon proved the incorredtnefs of thefe 
 dangerous ftatements. 
 
 No acquifition of power would at that time 
 have been gained by liuffiaj that vyas dangerous 
 to Great Britain. Greece was to have been a 
 power wholly independent in the ftrideft fenfe. 
 The emprefs, in her manifeftoes, invited the 
 Greeks ** to co-operate with her to expel the ujurpers^ 
 *' and to regain their ancient liberty and inde^ 
 " pendence,'^ The Greek deputies at St. PeterP 
 burgh, in April 1790, declared their objedl was 
 a free government , that they would not, after 
 being liberated from the execrable tyranny of the 
 Ottomans, be fubjedled to an arbitrary form of 
 government, however mild and equitable the 
 fovereign, and however ready to redrefs griev- 
 ances. In truth, the KufTian fvftem, though 
 well adapted to the prefeiit ftate of thjt country, 
 is not To with refped: to the Greeks, who, more- 
 over, judging from the condud of the military 
 in their iflands, 1 ave even erroneous notions of 
 it. They propofed that the emperor Conflan- 
 tine fliould fit on the throne of Conftantinople, 
 and that Greece (liould be formed into flates, 
 continental and infular, each with the confli- 
 tution the people Ihould choofe ^ but that, like 
 J 3 • the 
 
THE FOURTH EDITION. [ix] 
 
 the head of the Germanic body, he fhould be 
 only the arbitrator in all difputes, to prevent 
 civil difcord, or whatever might tend to diiTolve 
 the union of the ftates. Whether this projedl 
 was wife aid prad:i cable or not, it is ufelefs now 
 to examine s it only iliews the notions the Greeks 
 have of liberty, and their recolledlion of their 
 anceftors. 
 
 In 1 80 J and 4, other Greek deputies at St. 
 Peterfburgh repeatedly declared to me, that as 
 Ruflia heftiated and procrafnnated io long, if Great 
 Britain would undertake their emancipation, they 
 were certain of fuccefs; that they required only 
 the alTiftance of a fleet, ammunition, cannon and 
 engineers ; they would make any conditions with 
 us ; but that, if neither Rudia nor England 
 would affift them, they (hould apply to the 
 French j and that, though the fate of all thoie 
 people who had received the French as friends 
 was well known to them, yet they would flill 
 prefer the alternative to the Ottoman yoke; 
 that they lliould again become at lead a na- 
 tion, and when the fliorm was abated, have a 
 code of laws; that then a turn in the tide of 
 human affairs might, at fome future period, give 
 them a more perfe(ft independence. 
 
 I never have feen with apprehenlion, any 
 aggrandizement of RufTia on the fide of Turkey^ 
 provided it was not CQune^ed with France, 1 even 
 
 faid 
 
[x] INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 
 
 faid in a late fmall publicatioii (a Letter to the 
 Earl of D***) that.RufTia, even in poffeffion of 
 all Greece, &c. would be more at our mercy than 
 {he is at prefent (for now (lie is completely out 
 of our reach). This has been mifunderftood 
 by fome *. That publication was intended to 
 remove certain impreffions that had been made 
 in Ruffia. My meaning was, it is obvious, that 
 with our fleets we could annoy the iflands, and 
 no doubt induce many of them, difcontented 
 with the Ruffian government, to fubmit to us : 
 if Ruflia had a ^eet in thofe parts, we could 
 deflroy it. What I wrote was by way of com- 
 parifon of two fituations — the choice of two 
 evils — and for the fake of illuflration. Never 
 was it in contemplation of the Ruffian fovereigns 
 to incorporate Greece into their own empire, as 
 I have ever been able to learn, (and I was inti- 
 mately acquainted witli every thing relative to 
 this fubje^i: during the life of prince Potemkin) ; 
 much lefs did I ever wifh to fee Ruffia miftrefs 
 of Greece, or her frontiers extended beyond the 
 Hiemusi but I wifned to fee Ruffia and Britain 
 the liberators of an enfiaved people. I always 
 fpokc of Greece as the free and independent ally 
 of Great Britain and Ruffia (fee page 425). 
 
 * The Anti-jacolin reviewers, to whom I am grateful for 
 the hnndfjmc manner they have fpoken of me, objcdt,. as 
 well as fome others, to this pafiage. 
 
 The 
 
THE rOURTM EDTTTON. [xi] 
 
 The real queilion then was, that if Greece were 
 to fubmit eitner to France, Auftria or Ruflia, it 
 were more to our advantage that fuch a power 
 (hould be Ruffia ; and this I flill chink, even 
 though we be at war with RulTia a. Ltd with 
 France; becaule it will then be in the power of 
 the court of St. Pete''{bnrgh to make peace ^vith 
 Britain. IF Britain be in polfelTion of the Gre- 
 cian illands, and a proper difpofition appear ia, 
 the Ruflian counci-s, we can aflifb the autocrat in 
 recoverinti^ the Dardanelles. 
 
 There is no probability that RufTii ever wili i 
 ^beco 1 e miftrefs of Greece; but that Buon:iparte, 
 if he conquer or reduce to i;npotency Auftria, 
 will very foon be in pofTcfiion of it, fhould we 
 negledt to feize the iflands, no one furely can 
 doubt now, though he cioubted when I firfl: pub- 
 lifhed my view of the fubjedt. No one in his 
 fenfes can fuppofe it is poflibie to prolong the 
 exiftence of the Turkifh povvtr in Europe. It 
 exifts, and has for fome time exifled, only by the 
 jealoufy or forbearance of other powers. 
 
 The French, having their own intereft in view, 
 will conciliate the Greeks ; they will build an 
 immenfe number of fnips of the line; they will 
 obtain above fifty thoufand failors, and fliut up 
 Ruflia from all friendly connexion with Britain. 
 Alarming as this profped is, we mud not put 
 pur hands before our eyes, like children, becaufe 
 
 it 
 
 ^ 
 
 i 
 
[xii] INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 
 
 it is frightful; but, like men, we muft behold it 
 undauntedly, and flrain every nerve to anticipate 
 the enemy. The very moment Ruffia declared 
 war againfl: this country, I propofed raifing all 
 Greece in arms, and fupporting them as a free 
 and independent nation. 
 
 The views of Buonaparte are the fame as thofc 
 of the old court, to Ihut up Ruffia on the fide 
 cf the Black Sea. At firfl their end was accom- 
 pliihed, by fupporting the Turks. In arranging 
 the difpute between Rufiia and the Porte in 
 1778, in v/hich the French ambaifador was 
 mediator, the flipulation of the ti-eaty of Kai-' 
 nargi, that no Ruffian veffel of more than 400 
 tons burthen fliould pafs the Dardanelles, was 
 r.gain infilled upon ; nor was this departed from 
 until the reign of Paul, when circum fiances 
 obliged the Porte to fubmit to the paflage of 
 Ruffian fliips of war. But when France no longer 
 could fupport the Turks, who had no intriniic 
 ftrength of their own left, whofe former power 
 was vanilhed like a vifion, flie aimed at pofTelTing 
 the Dardanelles herfelf 
 
 It is the intereft of Great Britain, whether 
 we be at war or in peace with Ruffia, that France 
 Lold not the Dardanelles ; and, as Turkey is 
 quite out of the queflion, and there exiils no 
 other third power, it is our interefl that Ruflia 
 hold this key at all times i for we cannot hold it, 
 
 nor 
 
THE FOURTH EDITIOK. [xHi] 
 
 nor can the Greeks, agalnft the great continental 
 powers: and though it be true that, without the 
 leave of RufTia, we cannot enter the Euxine, wc 
 can prevent her ihips from coming out of it, as 
 long as we have a maritime fuperiority in thofc 
 parts, and occupy ports in the vicinity of the 
 Dardanelles, 
 
 If at the time I wrote my Survey of the 
 Turkilh Empire, and on m.any iiibfequent occa- 
 fions, Greece had been liberated, fhe would have 
 had more territory than (he now pofTibly can 
 have. At prefent, freedom can only extend to 
 the iflands and peninfulas, and not even to thefe, 
 if the ifthmufes be not impregnable. \¥e may 
 invite the inhabitants of the continent ; fuch as 
 have no territorial poffeilions will come, as will 
 the trading people, the lead animated and the 
 leaft warlike ; but the fpirit of freedom will re- 
 generate them, and the iflands will be well 
 peopled in a Ihort time. I turn my view to 
 Epirus and Albania with fear and trembling ; 
 but flill with the hope that its beft inhabitants 
 will emigrate to the iflands. 
 
 The occupation of the Greek iflands by Great 
 Britain will arreft the progrefs of our enemies 
 in their mod brilliant career, and will add a 
 ftrength, an energ}^ and a permanency to our 
 commercial, our colonial, and our naval refources, 
 
 far 
 
[xiv] INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 
 
 fuT beyond our pr:"rent narrow or even our moft 
 fanguine fpeculations. 
 
 We have to look for vard, and orilv to look 
 backward to corred our pad errors. Wherever 
 the fault may lie, Rudia is at war with us, and 
 there is no appearance of returning friend fhip. 
 The ftate of Europe is moft materially changed^ 
 Buonapa fe's armies are in Dalmatia ! If he con- 
 quer Aulliia, he is mailer ot the Dardanelles, 
 A time may come, when degraded Rutlia fhall 
 recruit her waded ftrength (but (he will be firfl 
 ilill more weakened than (lie is at prefent); her 
 armies may again become as numerous as they 
 were; and, rifmg indignant, (lie may call forth 
 her felf unknown refources, and recover the Dar- 
 danelles. E'jt this epocha, if ever it arrive, muffc 
 be far, very far diflant. She may indeed at this 
 very moment open her eyes, and difcover the 
 fnaie that is preparing to entangle her — the net 
 which is fpread out, and into which fhe has 
 already put a foot. But we mud not trud to 
 events which would be almod miraculous; we 
 mud not, like the ruined man, hazard the laft 
 . remnant of our fortune in a lottery, in the 
 hope of gaining the great prize. No. Such 
 folly fureiy does not exid in Britain. We have 
 but one chance of curbing the ambition of the 
 ruler of the continent of Europe, and of fiiatching 
 
 from 
 
 V. 
 
 i 
 
THE FOURTH EDITION, [xv] 
 
 trona his talons incalculable fources of maritime 
 power, over which his eagles hover — the iQands 
 of Greece. 
 
 At this iundure I rejoice to fee my opinions 
 corroborated by thofe of an able and a learned 
 author (Mr. Leckie *) who has vifited this 
 claflic ground, and contemplated the fituation 
 of the groaning progeny of Athens and Lacc- 
 demon with the enlarged mind of a philofopher 
 and the knowledge of a profound ftatefnian. 
 Not like a dilettante, has he admired the monu- 
 ments of its fallen grandeur, and in a Hood of 
 tears exclaimed, " O Grecla gloriofa folamente 
 nelle tue memorier' but he has projected its 
 reftoration, and, as a true patriot, feeling alfb 
 for his own country, he has demonflrated, that 
 on this event depend the glory, the intereO:, the 
 falvation of Britain. 
 
 Mr. Leckie prefents the public with a plan, 
 not coftly in men or money, i?ul abounding in 
 re/our ces of both — he propofes, that we fiiould 
 occupy the Greek iflands, and give to the peo- 
 ple a free government, fuch as would fatisfy 
 their ambition, and place them in the full 
 enjoyment of that rational liberty they pant for. 
 
 • An hiftorical Survey of the Foreign Affairs of Great Bri- 
 tain; by Francis Gould Leckie, efvj. J. Bell, 14^, Oxford- 
 Srect. 
 
 Mr. 
 
«4 
 
 [xvi] INTRODUCTO^t CHAPTER TO 
 
 Mr. Leckie fays " the plan to occupy the Greek 
 *^ ijlands has been rejetled by our minifiers^ and zve 
 
 mufi proceed to Jhcw that the negte£l of it will 
 
 enfure to the French the complete accomplifliment 
 
 " of their views in JJin'' 1 am as willing to 
 
 believe Mr. Leckie is inirinformed of the inten- 
 
 . tion of minifters, as I am convinced of the 
 
 truth of the confequence he draws. 
 
 The taik of cenfure I therefore leave to Mr. 
 Leckie. But it is the duty of every faithful Briton 
 to ftate manfully the information he acquires, if 
 it may promote the honour and intereft of his 
 country: who fhrinks from this, is unworthy of 
 his birthright : and no minifter, whatever his 
 ov/n opinions may be, can have the iittlenefs of 
 mind, 1 hope, to attach blame to tlie nobleft 
 of fentiments, devotion to our country. We do 
 not live in times when party diiiind:ions lliould 
 occupy the mmd of the ftatcfman, or minifters 
 be obftrud:ed in the purfuir of wife meafures. If 
 they are incapable, let them be removed by the 
 united voice of truth, not the outcry of fadlion. 
 The general welfare, nay, the very exiftence of 
 the ftate, calls for unanimity oi council and for 
 the dilpalTionate hearing of rcafon, come from 
 which fide it ma)^, or parties will be annihilated 
 iwith the annihilation of the (late. 
 
 I hope Mr. Leckie will favour the public, or 
 minifters in private, notwithflanding his present 
 
 opinion 
 
THE FOURTH EDITION; [xvii] 
 
 Opinion of them, with a more fully detailed plan 
 of his projed. The f'^w worJs he has fa-d, of 
 the inaptnefs of the Engiifh law forms to the 
 legillation of toreign acquilitions, are very np- 
 pofite, and fhow that he has deeply confidered 
 the matter. 
 
 There is no neceffity of deviating, in the 
 fmalleft degree, from the notions we have hitherto 
 cor^ceivcd of national juflice, in the part we have 
 to act refpeding the Greeks. Their emancipa- 
 tion is not repugnant to flrl^l juftice or the 
 jus gentium. So that what Mr. Leckie has fald 
 concerning the necefnty of accommodating our 
 condu6l to the imperious didates of the times 
 we live in, does not apply to that cafe ; and a 
 farther examination of his opinions on the fub- 
 jed in general does not enter within the limits 
 of this work, 
 
 I am forry to find that I am by many 
 accufed of too ftrong a prediledion for Ruilia ; 
 but after the explanations I have now given, I hope 
 my motives v/ill be no longer miflaken. Be that 
 however as it may, the apprehenfion of it fhall 
 never deter me from ftating what appears to me 
 to be truth ; and though, as St. Paul fays, it is 
 not to be fpoken at all times, it is never to be 
 mifreprefented. 
 
 iVir. Leckie, who is fo very corred in his other f 
 ftatements, has by fome circumftances been mif- j 
 
 [B] led. 
 
[xvlii] INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 
 
 led, with many others, concerning the public 
 mind in RufHa: he fays, Ruffia is ripe for re- 
 volt. I am decidedly of an oppofite opinion, from 
 a pretty intimate acquaintance with the nation. 
 During the late emprelVs reign, and at the 
 beginning of the French revolution, the German 
 ncwfpaper printed at St. Peterfburgh was im- 
 prudently permitted to infert many of the 
 opinions of the rebels, as they were flyled how- 
 ever, contained in their documents ; and it can- 
 not be denied but there were fome converts to 
 the new dodrines, among the mercantile clafs of 
 the metropolis ; but it went no farther, and 
 when attention was paid to this newfpaper, the 
 impreffions it had made gradually difappeared. 
 
 What I confider as more dangerous to the 
 prefent form of government, are certain mea- 
 fures lately adopted, which have a tendency (if 
 they be not an actual inftitution) to unite the no- 
 bility into a body. A powerful anftocracy in 
 Ruffia, without any counterbalance encroaching 
 on the power of the crown, I conceive dangerous, 
 and not promifing any benefit to the lower 
 claffes. This is diredly in oppofition to the 
 maxims of government of Peter the Great, who 
 well underftood his country. We need not 
 refer to Montefquieu, or to any other writer on 
 this fubjedt. In Ruffia, there are many cir- 
 cumflances of religion, habitS;, and ancient pre^ 
 
 judices 
 
THE FOURTH EDITION. [xix] 
 
 judlces to be coniidered, before we can admit 
 abftradl propolivlons. That innovations will 
 creep into the Ruffian government (and have 
 crept in fince the death of the great Catharine) 
 cannot be doubted. Gradual changes will take 
 place ; but until the country be in a ftate to fur- 
 nifh a refpedtable and independent reprefentation 
 of the people, I, from the pradtical obfervations 
 I have made, without applying any theory, am 
 convinced that an ariftocracy limiting the power 
 of the crown is not to be defired. The eman- 
 cipation, if I may fo call it, of all the claiTes mud 
 keep pace. Reform in government, before fuch 
 a ftate of maturity is arrived, may be produdive 
 of terrible revolutions. 
 
 The attachment of the whole nation to the 
 crown, and the popularity of the war againft 
 France, far exceeded every thing of which we have 
 heard in modern times The patriotic voluntary 
 contributions furpafTed thole of Britain, in pro- 
 portion to the revenues of the two countries, more 
 than ten to one, 
 
 Mr. Leckie fays (part 2. page 6^.) " Alex- 
 " andria was occupied by the Britiih forces in 
 " the beginning of 1807. That place has fince 
 " been evacuated; and no end anfwered by the 
 " enterprife. 
 
 " As foon as our army got poifeffion of 
 " Alexandria, the Beys, who had not been ap- 
 
 [B 2] ** prized 
 

 <C 
 €C 
 
 It 
 
 <e 
 
 [XX] INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 
 
 prized of this enterprife, immediately dif- 
 patched one of their number to head quarters. 
 He told the genera], that the whole body were 
 
 *^ willing to co-operate with him in driving the 
 Turks from Egypt j he advifed him to remain 
 tranquil until the Beys could colled: their 
 forces from the upper country, and as they 
 confifted chiefly of cavalry, that their affif- 
 
 *' tance would enfure fuccefs to whatever future 
 
 " enterprife they fliould undertake. This advice 
 was not taken, and the difafters that followed 
 were the confequences of an ill-judged am- 
 bition, which ruined the army before the 
 means of fuccefs were ready. A Bey arrived 
 from Egypt with full powers to treat with the 
 
 *' Bricifli minifter (at Conftantinople). The 
 Beys offered to govern Egypt under theBritifli 
 protedion; they afked for a certain body of 
 
 '* infantry, and offered to provide cavalry them- 
 felves. They exprefTed their read inefs to make 
 any arrangements with refpedb to external 
 
 " commerce and internal government, which the 
 Britifh iliould wifh, and in fa6l tendered all 
 
 *^ Egypt to us on a footing fimilarto that of our 
 Indian pofTefTions. This, in the flate of affairs 
 
 *' at that period, was having a hold on Egypt, 
 which we might have profited by in future. 
 
 Tliis propofal and every other offer of the 
 Beys was rejeded," &c. 
 
 I have 
 
 <e 
 ce 
 
 a 
 
 C( 
 
 <c 
 
 cc 
 cc 
 (( 
 <e 
 ce 
 <c 
 «e 
 <c 
 
 (C 
 
 ti 
 
THE FOURTH EDITION. [^xl] 
 
 1 have made this quotation, to remind my rea- 
 ders, that in the Appendix to this book, written 
 twelve years ago, I affirmed that the Beys would 
 eagerly embrace any offer which would fecure to 
 them a perfedl independence of the Ottoman 
 Porte, or that they would even become tributary 
 to any other fovereign who would maintain them 
 in their refpedlive governments ; and that, had 
 not the dom.eftic affairs of France enaag-ed all 
 the attention of that cabinet, the effedsofM.de 
 Truguet's treaty with Murat Bey to that purport 
 (the yth February 1785) would long ago have 
 been vilible. 
 
 In the Preface to the fecond edition of this 
 work, I pointed out the errors the diredtory had 
 fallen into, in not following the plan adopted by 
 the late regal government of that kingdom. 
 
 Mr. Leckie very juftly obferves, that '' when 
 " Britain is miftrefs of Crete and Cyprus, flie is 
 " fo likewife of Egypt," — and Jo will France be^ 
 I may fafely add. 
 
 When I fpoke of the little apprehenfions I 
 felt at the projcdts of the Euffian cabinet being 
 put into execution, and even ardently wiihed, \ 
 and ftill do wifli their fuccefs, I confined myfelf [ 
 fblely to the fbuth or eafl;, that is to^y, to Tu^ \ 
 key. It was in the north where I dreaded to fee 
 Ruffia extend her territories ; for if her projed of . 
 becoming a naval power in the Euxine failed, I 
 
 [B 3] well 
 
<( 
 
 [xXll] INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 
 
 well knew her utmofl exertions would be turned 
 to the north, where her aggrandizements muft 
 become of ferious alarm to us. I was, at the time 
 I publillied this volume, very cautious of what I 
 wrote on that fubjed ; however (p. 394 ) I faid, 
 " another war (between Sweden and Ruffia) 
 " would moft probably make the gulf of Both- 
 " nia the frontier." I recommended, as the moft 
 prudent line of condu(51: for Sweden to adopt, a 
 " flrid neutrality," and to fuffer patiently what 
 fhe could not avoid. *^ Hov/ever humiliating 
 this ftate of dependence may be to the coun- 
 try, it is undoubtedly the only fecurity of the 
 *' CROWN of Sweden;" — (and, p. 398), " Not- 
 ** withftanding the fupport of the mod powerful 
 " allies, the ruin of Sweden muft be ultimatel)' 
 " the refult of a conteft with its powerful 
 *' neighbour." 
 
 Every body muft fee, that when the Ruffians 
 are in poiTefTion of Finland, it will be eafy for 
 them to crofs the gulf of Bothnia, and enter 
 Sweden. To effed this in fummer, they muft 
 firft make themfelves miafters of the fea. In 
 winter, they can crofs the gulf at Vala, where it 
 is only about forty miles broad, and the ice is of 
 long duratic^n. From Abo to Ahland, the ice 
 between the imali iftands is alwa3^s frozen over {o 
 as to bear artillery 5 but from Ahland to GriiTel- 
 hani it does not freeze completely every yeoi", 
 
 and 
 
THE FOl^RTH IDtTIOl*. [xxlli] 
 
 and when it fo does, it is only during about a 
 fortnight in February. The conquefl of Norway 
 muft follow that of Sweden. 
 
 The then king of Sweden knew nothing of the 
 deep-laid projeds of RufTia — nothing of her 
 calculations of future events, and the precautions 
 (liQ had taken, fliould (he fail in the fouth, to be 
 able to turn to the north, and flrike a blow 
 which (liould aflonifh and fliake all Europe. 
 Inftead of declaring war, and unexpe6ledly 
 attacking the Ruflian fleet in the Baltic, the king 
 fiiould have rejoiced to fee it fail on to the 
 Archipelago, and all Sweden and Denmark (hould 
 have offered up prayers for its fuccefs. 
 
 The Britith miniftry refufed to enter into-the 
 emprefs*s views, with refped: to Sweden and 
 Denmark, and to attack their combined fleets 
 when they paraded the North Sea, (p. 398)* 
 They fawr farther into futurity. 
 
 When Peter the Great, fo wife> fo confident 
 in all other things, (who was advifed by La Forte, 
 one of the greateil men that ever lived,) and 
 who, from all that we have feen come to pafs, 
 feems to have been endowed more with the fuper- 
 natural gift of prophecy than the forefight of 
 a ftatefman — when that wonderful man founded 
 St. Peterfburgh on the banks of the Neva, did 
 he intend his capital /liould be feated on the 
 very verge of his empire ? No, he defigned it 
 
 [B 4] fhould 
 
[xxiv] INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 
 
 fhould be, at feme future time, in the centre of 
 his maritime ftates, Sweden and Norway fpread 
 around it. There are abundant fads to prove 
 the truth of this opinion almofi: to demon- 
 ftration, as there are aUb to prove his views in 
 the fouth, where, whatever has been done (not- 
 withftanding the great extenfion of frontier) in 
 contradidion to his plans, has been ill done. I 
 may at fome future time take a particular view 
 of thefe objeds, in a feparate trad. In the mean- 
 time I fhall only beg my readers to recoiled his 
 eftabli^ment at Paulofskoi, on the Don. His 
 fucceffbrs have been vacillating between the 
 ereding of a northern, and a fouthern maritime 
 power ; this lad: was certainly the moft deliredj^ 
 and the emprefs Catharine II. in her lad war 
 with the Turks, when the emperor Jofeph joined 
 her, was confident of fuccefs.* 
 
 Had fhe been at that time fuccefsfui in the 
 fouth, the feat of government would have been 
 removed to Ecatharinafiav, fituated a little above 
 the catarads of the Dnieper. The building of 
 the city on a colofTal plan was already begun ; 
 the foundations of the twelve colleges of the 
 empire (i. e. the departments of government) 
 
 • Mr. Arrowfmith is in pofieiTion of the map of the fron- 
 tiers marked out by the two lovereigns. 
 
 were 
 
THE FOURTH EDITION, [xxv] 
 
 were laid. Then would the north have been 
 fafe. * 
 
 But If, as is greatly to be feared, the Frerxh 
 fhall become maflers of the Dardanelles and of 
 the Grecian iilands and continent, RufTia cannot- 
 cxpe<fl to be permitted to become a naval power 
 of the lead importance in the Euxine. She mult 
 then, and Buonaparte will exult in the meafure, 
 become mlftrefs of Sweden and Norway, &c. 
 
 In the Baltic, Rufiia, as (he is now lituated, 
 cannot have a formidable navy. Nature has 
 forbidden it. During the fummer months, when 
 that fea is navigable, it is generally, to ufe the 
 failors phrafe, as fmooth as a mill-pond, and 
 during the greater part of it there is no night ; 
 though difficult enough, by reafon of the rocks, 
 fhoals, &c. it is too confined to admit in bad 
 weather of long manoeuvres, and remaining at 
 fea fo as to form good failors. The only long 
 voyage they have is the navigating the (hips that 
 are built at Archangel to Cronftadt, and that 
 can only be performed in fummer. 
 
 ♦ The well known fentence the late emprefs pronounced, 
 on her firft learning that the king of Sweden had declared 
 war againft her in conlequence of his alliance with the 
 Ottoman Porte, merits recoUeClion : " He is the bell ally 
 *' and the worft neighbour I have heard of: he gives his 
 •' own and his neighbour's country, to iavc a part of that of 
 •♦ his ally at a great djftance.'* 
 
 Some 
 
[XXVI] IWTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 
 
 Some people have exclaimed agalnft the per-* 
 miffion given to our officers to lerve in the Ruffian 
 navy, and particularly they blame the fending 
 of admiral Knowles to prefide at the head of the 
 Admiralty. What could he or any other 
 admiral teach them, that Frenchmen, Dutch or 
 Danes would not have taught them ? Expe- 
 rienced, bold, able and hardy officers and failors 
 conftitute the fuperiority of a navy. Sailors can 
 only be formed by long habit in navigating 
 difficult feas in tempefluous feafons. Fighting 
 is to be learnt by experience, and fuccefs gives 
 that confidence which greatly infures vidlory, and 
 renders fuperiority permanent. Precept will 
 not form fucK men. The theory of navigation 
 may be taught by an archbifhop, and the befl: 
 theory of nautical evolutions wasa6lually written 
 by a man who had never been at fea; but it 
 required fuch admirals, officers and feamenas we 
 glory in pofreffi.ng, to put them into execution. 
 So little did the late admiral Knowles think it 
 was poffible that the Ruffian navy fliould become 
 formidable in the Baltic, that he advifed the 
 emprefs to build only frigates. This I both 
 learnt at St. Peterfburgh, and from his own 
 mouth, with the reafons for the opinion he 
 gave. 
 
 Very diffcrcjit is the Black Sea. There the 
 Ruffians have nurferks to form failors. The 
 
 peafantry 
 
THE FOtJRTH EDITIOM. [xxvii] 
 
 peafantry in the bordering provinces are not all 
 vafTals. The free ColTaks are much addidbed to 
 navigation. It will be remembered, they once 
 failed in:o the channel of Conftantinople, and 
 laid that city under contribution. The naviga- 
 tion of the fea of Afoph, and its carrying trade 
 from the Don to Caffa with fmall veflels^ would 
 employ 1 2,000 men j and that from the Dnieper 
 to Odefla, though a much fliorter voyage, feveral 
 thoufands. Fifty guarda-coftas in the fervice of 
 the quarantine department will employ 3 to 5,000 
 men conftantly at fea. Befides all thefe nurfe- 
 riesj veffels to the Archipelago and the Medite- 
 ranean were building very faft, and the Ruffians 
 have excellent (hip-builders of their own. 
 
 The Black Sea is navigable all the year : the 
 Dnieper, and the Straits of Kerch, are frozen up 
 in winter J but Caffa and Sebaftopolis are never 
 incommoded with ice. 
 
 It is a notion received from the Turks, that 
 the Black Sea is dangerous. To them indeed 
 it is truly black; and it would even be fo to 
 Britifh failors, in fuch veffels as the Turks 
 ufe, and which are peculiar to that fea : they 
 cannot lie-to, and are confequently obliged to 
 run before the wind, and if they mifs a port, 
 go on Ihore. It is not more ftormy than other feas. 
 I have failed on it in every month of the year. 
 
 From Conftantinople to Sinope there is not 
 a rock or fand, except the rocks of the ifland 
 
 of 
 
 I 
 
[xxviil] INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER TO 
 
 ofKefkani, on which it Is fcarcely poffible a fliip 
 j can run, and a Imali fand bank near Sinope 
 clofe under a very high point of land ; the 
 coaft is full of high and varioufly formed land- 
 marks vifible at a great diftance ; and the water 
 is fo deep, that a fhip of war may fail in general 
 clofe along Ihiore. There are ports, both on this 
 and the European coafl:, as rnay be (eQn in Mr. 
 I Arrowfmith's chart, the fimple infpedlion of 
 \ which will give a jufi idea of this fea. I know 
 of no fea, of the iize, fo fafe. The coaft from 
 Conftantinople to the Liman is in many parts 
 low, but not dangerous, as it fnallows by degrees. 
 If veflels keep too near the fliore, there are fome 
 fands to the eaft of the mouth of the Liman, a 
 fmall fand near Sebaftopolis, which Is not dan- 
 gerous, and two more near fliore between Kaffa and 
 Kerch. The coaft of the Crim is very deep and 
 bold. With this defcription, where can the 
 danger of navigating be? The only danger is, 
 in thick weather with a ftrong northerly wind, 
 the difficulty of finding the entrance of the 
 channel of Conftantinople ; and if a Ihip be too 
 much to the right, it may get upon the fliore at 
 Domufdere, which is fhallow fome little diftance. 
 If a vefTel approach not too near the fliore before 
 the weather is clear, there is nothing to appre- 
 hend, nor even in thick weather, if it make fivft 
 the Anatolian coaft. 
 
 rr^i 
 
 The great rivers that fall into the Black Sea 
 i I run 
 
THE FOURTH EDITION. [xxix] 
 
 run through the provinces where all the articles 
 of naval {lores are produced, and which are con» 
 veyed to Riga and St. PeteriDargh by long iand- 
 carriage, and up rivers againft the dream. 
 
 Mails are two years going to Rigas to Cherfoo, 
 they are brought the firil fpring. Iron comes 
 from Siberia to Taganrok in one fummer, to 
 St. Peterfburgh, it requires two years and often 
 longer, and much expenfe. 
 
 Immenfe are the fums that have been expended 
 in ameliorating the ports, rivers, roads, 6cc, and 
 in conftrudling new cities on the fhore of the 
 Euxine. 
 
 Thefe things fpeak of themfelves :' no com- 
 ment is neceffary. 
 
 Now let any impartial man, endowed with 
 common fenfe, pronounce whether RulUa, a 
 naval power in the fouth, with extended frontiers, 
 fecure from the attack of France, and if blocked 
 up by a French fleet at the Dardanelles, obliged 
 to call for the afliftance of a Brltifli fquadron, 
 be more dangerous than when fhe is miftrefs of 
 Sweden and Norway, and France in poiieflion 
 of the Dardanelles and of all Greece. In the 
 one or the other of thefe fituations we (hail fee 
 her, and the choice once depended upon us. 
 
 London, June loth, 1809, 
 
Preface to the Firjl Edition • » - - p. iii 
 Preface to the Second Edition - - - p. xvi 
 Contents »'.--. p. xxv 
 
PREFACE 
 
nwnm-«»9H>^sr-snrqvn*c3A/V93BM 
 
 PREFACE i 
 
 TO THE FIRST EDITION. , "' 
 
 , -\ 
 
 DO not offer to the Publit:' 'a complete 
 
 Treatife; I have' intfSed materials', of which I 
 
 could have formed a much'^lai"gef* work; buf 
 
 . •! ... .,-1 ^ 
 
 thefe outhnes will, i hop^, teprefent in its true 
 charafter the objed: to -w^hich I m:ore immedu 
 ately wiQi to fix the atteritibii of my readers. 
 
 As I reafon only from fadis, I truft the impar- 
 tial Reader will draw the fame c'onclufions ; anc\ 
 as I fpeak of countries in wh:rh I have been 
 long refident, and of events, to many of which I 
 was witnefs, I hope my teftimony may have fome 
 weight. To fhow that I have had opportunities 
 of being; acquainted with the matters "of which 
 I treat, I will only obferve, that in Turkey I have 
 been a conful ; that I have had indirect con- 
 cerns in trade ; and that, as a traveller, I have 
 
 ' * ^ 
 vifited mofl parts of that empire , that inltuffia 
 
 I was, for feveral years, in the confidence of the 
 late Prince Potemkin, and in a fituation to know 
 more of the fecrets of the cabinet than moil 
 foreigners -, and that for five years I did the bu- 
 linefs of fecretary to his Majefty's million at St. 
 
 a 2 Peterf- 
 
IV PREFACE TOTH^ 
 
 Peterfburgh : at the fame time I am convinced 
 that I expofe myfelf to the cenlure of not being, 
 better informed, and to the riik of incurring,, 
 though I am confcious of not meriting, the 
 blame of betraying a confide nee' put in me j fo far 
 however, from this being the cafe, I rather ap- 
 prehend that the delicacy of my fituation, with 
 refped: to ^the two countries, and particularly 
 to my own, may have Qf)e rated with too great 
 
 refhraint on my pen.. r. 
 
 Many writers and travellers' have feen things 
 in a different light ; and I am fenfible that 1 
 maybe accufed of treating the Turks too feverely,. 
 and particularly by thofe who admire Lady 
 Wortley Montagues elegant defcriptions, and 
 other fimilar produdlions of a warm imagina-^ 
 tion*. I drav/ conclufions from facts recorded 
 in their own hiftory. Indeed, there cannot be a 
 more horrible pidiure than that which they have 
 delineated of themfelves. The fentiments ex- 
 prelled b^_ the fultans and muftis, which wall 
 
 * The beft authors who have written on tliis fubie(5i:, are Bifjbecy 
 Leuncla-Vi Montecuculli, Mar/gliy and Ricaut ; they fhew what the! 
 Turks were in tlieir days. As to Cantemir, though he had 
 found an afykim in the very heart of the Ruffian empire, he 
 wrote as if he itill had been at Conflantinople. Other more 
 modern authors are Bofco-vijlby Biijimllo, Guys^ he Bret) Sir ^ames 
 Porter y Riedefel nvith Dohm's tiotesj Ludeke^ Stoc-vers, Ferrieres, ami 
 Folney, and their pi<5lure of the Turks is not more favourable 
 than mine. There are others, wlio have compofed in their 
 cloiiets excellent histories, ^-c. of this people. 
 
 be 
 
F I R S T E D I T I O N. V 
 
 fee found in the abridgement of their hiftory, in 
 their own words, are fo repugnant to juflice, to 
 humanit}^, to every principle of virtue, and to 
 thofe laws which all civilized nations have re- 
 fpecled, that nothing worfe can be faid of them. 
 The effedis produced by this monfcrous govern- 
 ment in the provinces are fliocking to behold. 
 We fcek in vain for a population, fufficient to 
 compofe thofe numerous kingdoms and flates 
 which flourifhed when the Turks ufurped their 
 dominion ; we find the country literally a defert; 
 we find vafl cities reduced to beggarly villages, 
 and of many hundreds of them no traces remain. 
 
 The government of the Turks has undergone 
 confiderable revolutions, which it will be necef- 
 fary to inveftigate. The empire, in its fiourifli- 
 ang ftate, was one vafl camp. The firfl fultans 
 dated, and their feeble fucceffors ilill date, their 
 decrees from the imperial ftirrup. The iroij 
 fceptre, imbrued in blood, could only be wielded 
 by warlike foverejgns, the idol and the terror of 
 the foldiery, whofe difcipline alone was their 
 politics, and whofe rapine alone their refources. 
 
 Achmet JIL father of the late Abdul-hamid, 
 firfl let the example of an effeminate reign ; and 
 by not going out himfelf at the head of his jani- 
 zaries, he became fo much the obje<fl: of their 
 fontempt that they dethroned him. 
 
 Machmud, his nephew, terrified at the fate of 
 
 ^ 3 Ins 
 
yi PREFACE TOTHE 
 
 his predecellor, and finding hinifelf unable to 
 govern, determined to deftroy the whole body 
 of janizaries. The array, dreaded by the iultan, 
 found in him an enemy more powerful than all 
 the hofhs of Chriftendom; and he, unable to wield 
 his fceptre without their co-operation, found an 
 enemy in the other flaves whom he called in to 
 aiTifl: him,fl:ill more defcrucflive of his owm power. 
 The prefent reigning fultan, Selim, has fallen on 
 a more gentle method of abolifliing the janiza- 
 ries, but he flill has the it/ema to contend with. 
 
 The abftrad of their hiftory is moftly from 
 Ricault, whofe antiquated, though faithful rela- 
 tion, 1 have often Quoted in his own lan£:ua2e. 
 I have only cited a few fa6ls to prove the truth 
 of my general aiiertions ; were I to enumerate 
 all the infliances of unprovoked aggrefllon, breach 
 of oaths, treaties, and capitulations, malTacrcs 
 and a6ls of cruelty and opprefuon, to be found in 
 the bloody pages of their hifiory, they would 
 form a laree volume of themfelves. 
 
 The firft part of thefe papers was written fome 
 time hnce ; that which is political, about two 
 years ago, on my return to my native country; 
 but it was not then defigncd for the prefs. It 
 may be objecled, that there are matters in it 
 which ought not to be made public, as it con- 
 tains information which may benefit our ene- 
 mies ; I anfwer that they being in poffcflion of 
 8 the 
 
F I RST E DI T I OKi Vll 
 
 the information which the late government of 
 France had procured, there is nothing eilential 
 in this book which will be new to them ; nor 
 had even that government, at any tim.e, (o many 
 fpies, or fuch exad; intelligence, as the Direclory 
 now have. 
 
 With refpe^ft to the Greeks, there vvill be 
 found much matter wholly new to the Public, 
 but not to the Diredlory ; for no one was better 
 informed of the ftate of Greece than citizen 
 (heretofore chevalier de) Truguet, lately minider 
 of the marine department. He was for a long 
 time employed in the Archipelago, under the 
 diredlion of M. de ChoifTeul Goufher, and v;as 
 fent to Egypt to negociate with the Beys for 
 leave to trade to India through that country, 
 and to countered the RulTian intrigues with 
 them. 
 
 I have endeavoured to prove, that the intereils 
 of Great Britain and Rullia are infeparable and 
 reciprocal. This, indeed, has been generally 
 granted ; but whenever the aggrandizement of 
 that empire at the expence of the Turks has been 
 the fubjed of difcufTion, that cafe has generally 
 been confidered as an exception ; on v/hat 
 grounds^ I fhali examine, and, I hope, plainly 
 prove that the expulfion of the Turks from Eu- 
 rope, and the re-eftablidiment of the Greek 
 empire, would be more advantageous to Britain 
 
 a 4 than 
 
viii PREFACE TO THE 
 
 than even to RufTia itfelf ; that fo far from be^ 
 ing an ufurpation, it is an ace of juftice , and 
 that, according to the laws of nations, the Turks 
 have not, by length of polfeflion, acquired a right 
 to the dominion of the countries they conquered. 
 The importance of theahiance of Ruflla appears 
 every day more ftrongly, and I rifK now much 
 lefs than T did a few years ago, when I main- 
 tained, that the falvation of Europe depended on 
 engaging that power as a principal in the war. 
 The views of the French with regard to Greece 
 novs^ too plainly appear, and the Emperor qf 
 RufTia is in danger of beins; attacked in the Black 
 Sea by a French lieet. 
 
 If it be faid-that we oudit, as much as mav 
 depend on us, to prevent the increafe of naval 
 power in every other nation ; without denying 
 the proportion, I affirm, that it is not applicable 
 to the prefent cafe : RulTia never can be formi- 
 dable in the Baltic j nature has forbidden it. 
 \ In the Black Sea (lie may be fo, and fhe will, in 
 r fpite of all we can do to prevent it. The quei- 
 tion then is, hnce we cannot prevent it, what is 
 the mode of its exiftence wdiich will be leafh 
 hurtfuJ to ps ? That the Greeks will emancipate 
 themfelves from the yoke of Turkey is alfo cer- 
 tain, If this event take place by the afiiftance-of 
 |he French, we lliall certainly have an enemy in 
 fjreece ^ if through the i|iterpofition of llufTia, 
 
 and 
 
FIRSTEDITION. . IX 
 
 and with our concurrence, a friend. There is, 
 indeed, a poffibiUty, but not the lead probabiUt)^, 
 that we may fome time or other quarrel with 
 them, but not for a length of time, as there will 
 exift a mutual interefl: in friendlhlp. Why make 
 a vain attempt, which will certainly create us 
 enemies, when at Jeaft we fland a fair chance of 
 procuring friends ? 
 
 What I have laid of Auftria at that time, I 
 leave as I wrote it ; I fee no rcafon to think I 
 was then wrong. 
 
 The confiftency of the condu6l of his majcflv's 
 miniflers, in firil oppofmg the expulfion of the 
 Turks from Europe, and afterwards making a 
 war with Ruflia a cafiis feeder is ^ in the treatv of 
 of alliance with the Emprefs, in 1795, is fully 
 proved by the diiferent circumftances of the 
 times. They have evinced, that they uniformly 
 purfued the interefts of their country, and did 
 not obftinately adhere to a fyftem, when it no 
 longer accorded with thofe Interefts. Let theli 
 antagoniits prove, that they themfelves did not 
 facrifice the honour, as well as the interefts of 
 this country, in oppofmg, in an unprecedented 
 manner, the meafures adopted by its govern- 
 ment ; that they themfelves are not the cayfe of 
 thofe calamities which they at ibte to mlf- 
 condu(5l in minifters, 
 
 I have added 4 few rnifcellaneous papers, with- 
 out 
 
X r ?REFACETOTME 
 
 out order or connexion. They will flicw, in part> 
 how far the Emprefs's vaft views of aggrandize- 
 ment extended — they went to the entire conquefl 
 of all European Turkey, a part of v/hich was to be 
 given to the Houfc of Auflria; the re-ellablilh- 
 mcnt of the Greek empire, and the placing her 
 grandfon Conftantine on the throne of Conftan- 
 tinople; of making Egypt an independent ftate ; 
 of giving to Poland a Ruffian for a fovereign, 
 and ultimately incorporating it into her ovv^n 
 empire ; of making a conquefl of Japan and a 
 part of China, and eftablifhing a naval power in 
 thofe feas, 
 
 I have thought it neceiiary to fay fomething 
 of the charadter of the late Emprefs. Anecdotes 
 of that Princcfs appear daily in all languages. 
 There are doubtlefs many truths in fome of them; 
 but they are generally fo defedive in the narra- 
 tion and with circumiflances which fo totally mif- 
 chara6lerize the action, that few of them will lerve 
 as m.aterials for the accurate Biographer. Thofe 
 who wiili to know her real charafter, and the cha- 
 racier of the m.oft confiderabie perfons of her 
 court, would do well to wait a little longer. As to 
 the hiftory of her reign, there are many circum- 
 ftances which cannot yet be diiclofed. Thefe 
 anecdotes have the appearance of having been 
 learned in RufFia, but not comm/itted to writins-, 
 and the memory of the authors, overloaded with 
 
 abundancQ 
 
F I R S T E D I T I O N. . XI 
 
 abundance of materials, has confounded them 
 together : they appear like mutilated fliatues re- 
 flored by unikilful artifhs; we find the trunk of 
 a Hercul'es or a Tupiter with the head of an AdoIIo 
 and the feet of a Satyr. 
 
 It is a difficult thing, at all times, to difcover 
 truth, amidfc the mifreprefentations of courts, of 
 minifters^ of commanders. Should any one 
 write, for inflance, the hlixor}^ of the lafh war be- 
 tween Ruffia and Turkey, he would take for his 
 guide, in relating the firft event, the fiege of 
 Ochakof, the accounts publilhed by the court 
 Peterfourgh, and the reports of the commanders. 
 There he would find a brilliant viclory gained 
 by Prince NalTau over the Turkifli fleet in the 
 Li man ; but if he could get the report made by" 
 Paul Jones to the Admiralty of Cherfon, figned 
 by all the commanders of the Heet, he v/ould 
 find that no engagement took place (except a 
 diilant cannonade) ; that the Turkifn fliips ran 
 aground by their ignorance and bad manoeuvres ; 
 and that NafTau with \i\% flotilla^ inftead of taking 
 pofieffion of them, fet them on fire. This jour- 
 nal, which I have read, and taken an extrad: 
 from, v/as forbidden by Prince Potemkin to be 
 fent to Peterfburgh ; and the whole campaign, as 
 it fhands on record, is nearly a romance. The 
 fortiefs might have been taken the ifhof July 
 with more eafe than the 6th of December, and 
 
 the 
 
X4l PREFACE TOTHE 
 
 the Gommander-in-chief knew it. I was at the 
 opening of the trenches, and at the (lorming of 
 the place, and therefore can fpeak of fad:s to 
 which I was an eye-witnefs.. 
 
 If, after all, I am miftaken, and have loft my 
 way in the wildernefs of politics, I have not in- 
 tentionally deviated from the truth ; nor have I 
 been guided by any mo|:ive but the intereft of 
 my country : and here I muft make a digreffion^ 
 which, I hope, will be pardoned. 
 
 A man who has been twenty years abfent from 
 his native country may, I hope, be permitted to 
 cxprefs his aftonidnnent at the changes he finds 
 on his return— changes, which feem not to flirike 
 thofe fo forcibly who have been witnefles to them 
 when they feverally occurred. 
 
 When I left Eng-land, no man would have 
 dared to ftand up to arraign his country, and 
 publicly plead the caufe of France ; and its en^ 
 mity then was friendfliip compared with its en^- 
 mity now; he would have been deemed a trail, 
 tor, and the people would have treated him as 
 fuch. 
 
 1 hear miniflers accufcd of plunging the nation 
 into a ruinous war, and pcrfevering in it ; I look 
 to fadls, and facls prove the contrary. 
 
 They are accufcd of not humiliating their 
 country before the enemy, and procuring fuch a 
 
 pQace 
 
FIRST Ei>ITION. XIU 
 
 peace as muft fooii make England a province of 
 France. Of this charge I hope they are guilty. 
 I hear it publicly alferted^ that the conftitu- 
 tion is changed^ that liberty is annihilated ^ 
 that we are under a military government. I look 
 to fads, and find a Hardy, a Thelwall, &c. &c^ 
 &c. cannot be puniflied. I fee acquitted, at 
 Haverford, men who were accufed by five wit- 
 nefles of high-treafon, becaufe on their trial the 
 vvitnefTes cannot be perfuaded to fpeak out ; and 
 becaufe their firft pofitive, clear, and unequivo- 
 cal depofition before a magiftrate cannot be ad- 
 mitted. Where is the military government ? 
 The circumftance of an invafion would have juf-, 
 tilled it. How did they proceed in France, 
 vs'here liberty, equality, and fraternity are efla- 
 biifhed ? they puniflied en majfe. At Toulon, al! 
 thofe fiifpeBed of having favoured the Engliih 
 were collected and fired on ; at Lyons and other 
 places, the fame. Where were the juries ? the 
 counfel for the prifoners ? where was the book 
 of laws? wdiere was the judge, who durfl not 
 interpret them one fyilable beyond the letter I 
 How would the French have proceeded, if they 
 had been in our fituation ? Not only the two 
 men in queflion, but all the inhabitants of Fif- 
 guard, would have been driven to the place where 
 the enemy landed by invitation, and tried and 
 executed by a regiment of foldiers,. en mcijjc\^ 
 
 Thev 
 
X4l P R E F A C E T O T H E 
 
 the Gommander-in-chlef knew it. I was at the 
 opening of the trenches, and at the ftorming of 
 the place, and therefore can fpeak of fads to 
 which I was an eye-witnefs.. 
 
 If, after all, I am miftaken, and have loft my 
 way in the wildernefs of politics, I have not in- 
 tentionally deviated from the truth ; nor have I 
 been guided by any motive but the intereft of 
 my country : and here I muft make a digreffionj 
 which, I hope, will be pardoned. 
 
 A man who has been twenty years abfent from 
 his native country may, I hope, be permitted to 
 €xprefs his aftonifliment at the changes he finds 
 on his return — changes, which feem not to ftrike 
 thofe fo forcibly who have been witnelTes to them 
 when they fcverally occurred. 
 
 When I left En2;land, no man would have 
 dared to ftand up to arraign his country, and 
 publicly plead the caufe of France ; and its en^ 
 mity then was friendfliip compared with its en^ 
 mity now; he would have been deemed a trai-^ 
 tor, and the people would have treated him as 
 fuch. 
 
 J hear mlnifters accufed of plunging the nation 
 into a ruinous war, and perievering in it ; I look 
 to fadls, and facts prove the contrary. 
 
 They are accufed of not humiliating their 
 country before the enemy, and procuring fuch a 
 
 p^ace 
 
FIRST Ei)ITION. Xlll 
 
 peace as muft loon make England a province of 
 France. Of this charge I hope they are guilty. 
 I hear it publicly alferted^ that the conftitu- 
 tion is changed^ that liberty is annihilated ^ 
 that we are under a military government. I look 
 to fads, and find a Hardy, a Thelwall, &c. &Cy 
 &c. cannot be puniilied. I fee acquitted, at 
 Haverford, men who were accufed by five wit- 
 nelies of high-treafon, becaufe on their trial the 
 witneffes cannot be perfuaded to fpeak out ; and 
 becaufe their firft pofitive, clear, and unequivo- 
 cal depofition before a magiftrate cannot be ad- 
 mitted. Where is the military government ? 
 The circumftance of an invafion would have juf- 
 tified it. How did they proceed in France, 
 v/here liberty, equality, and fraternity are efta- 
 blifhed ? they punifhed en mafe. At Toulon, all 
 thofe ftifpetted of having favoured the Englidi 
 were colledled and fired on ; at Lyons and other 
 places, the fame. Where were the juries ? the 
 counfel for the prifoners ? where was the book 
 of laws? where was the judge, who durfl not 
 interpret them one fyllable beyond the letter ? 
 How would the French have proceeded, if they 
 had been in our fituation ? Not onlv the two 
 men in queflion, but all the inhabitants of Fif- 
 guard, would have been driven to the place where 
 the enemy landed by invitation, and tried and 
 executed by a regiment of foldiers, en majje^ 
 
 Tliev 
 
XIV PREFACE t6 THE 
 
 They would have proceeded in the fame manner 
 with a Thelwall and his applauding audience. 
 How did they proceed with the party in oppo- 
 iition to them ? (which was not an oppofition to 
 overturn the government it had fworn to main- 
 tain, but an oppofition to Hop the progrefs of 
 defpbt'i'd' power.) The members of it weire all 
 feized, and fent without trial to fome place, no- 
 body knows where, into exile, perhaps to the 
 bottom of the ocean. 
 
 In what page of hiftory, ancient or modern, is 
 fuch moderation to be found as in this infulted" 
 government of ours ? I fee here, proved by fa^Sy 
 men fubjed. only to the law, and that law more 
 powerful than men. I find no fuch liberty d'ny- 
 where elfe, neither in pradice at this day, nor in 
 the records of hiftory. 
 
 Nor are my ears lefs (hocked to hear a foreign 
 diale(fl fpoken by a part of the people of Bri- 
 tain. Our demagogues have tranflated the 
 French words liberie, egaliti^fraternite, philantro- 
 pie, philofopkie, by the Englifh words, libert)^, 
 equality, fraternity, philanthropy, philofophy j 
 and bscaufe there is much refembiance in the 
 founds, they would perfuade the people that 
 there is alfo a refembiance in the ideas they 
 convey. 
 
 Fa6is teach us, that liberie fignifies the moll 
 iiorrible tyranny, Xilencing all law, and violating 
 
 all 
 
F I k S T E D i T I N, Xt 
 
 all property; that egalite figaiiies murdering fo- 
 vereigns and the higher clafies, and putting over 
 the people men the moil low, ignorant, and 
 wicked, invefled with power to infult, to enflave, 
 and to drive them in flocks to be flaughtered, 
 placing them at a greater diftance than there 
 exifted before between them and their fuperiors 
 by birth and education. Fraternite^ in France, 
 fignifies being a Frenchman ; applied to other 
 nations, it fignines, forcing on them a dcfpotic 
 form of government, plundering their property, 
 and ravilhino; their wives and dauo-hters. Fhi" 
 lantropie is the profeffion of general love to ail 
 mankind, and the pradiice of cruelty to every 
 individual. PhilofGphie, (which was the mother 
 of all the French virtues,) fignifies the commii- 
 fion of every crime without remorfe ; the extinc- 
 tion of every fentiment religious and moral, of 
 every generous and focial feeling; the dillolutioii 
 of everv tie of kindred and affedion ; the annl- 
 hilation of every quality which ornaments and 
 diflinguifhes the gentleman, the fcholar, and th« 
 man of tafte; the banifiiment of chaftity, mo- 
 defty, fenfibility, and decorum from the female 
 fex. 
 
 Every nation has thought it neceilary, in times 
 of public danger, to punilli crimes, v^hen the 
 commonlawwasinruificientjby a tribunal erected 
 for that purpofe; in Athens, this tribunal was 
 compofed of the people afiembled ^ in Rome, 
 
 of 
 
 I 
 
jtVl l^RKFACE TO THE 
 
 of judges appointed by a decree of the people.- 
 Have not the good people of Britain a right to 
 look to their reprefentatives for protection againfl 
 thofe who openly and fecret/y attack their govern- 
 ment, and who eftablijli fcJiooh to dijjeminate fedU 
 tion into the minds of their children, and yet de- 
 fend the revolutionary tribunals in France, and 
 the military defpotifm of the Diredlory, on the 
 ground of public danger ? In all offences againfh 
 the nation, might not (I afk, for I am not learned 
 in the law) confiftently with our facred conftitu- 
 tion, the reprefentatives of the nation try and de- 
 cide, rather than a jury of private perfons ?-^fuch 
 offences are not of a private nature betw^een man 
 and man: — or might not that body which repre- 
 fents the party injured, the nation, be the accufer, 
 and the Houfe of Lords the tribunal? If this 
 manner of proceeding be unprecedented, the 
 neceility of adopting it is equally fo. 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 TO THE SECOND EDITION, 
 
 QiNCE the firft edition of this book was printed^ 
 confiderable changes have taken place in the" 
 political fituatlon of the Ottoman empire. The 
 French have invaded one of its provinces. This 
 a6l of hoilility has produced a war wath that na- 
 tion 
 
SfecOND EDITION. XVll 
 
 tion, and an alliance and co-operation between 
 Turkey, Great Britain, and RufTia. This I cer-* 
 tainly regard as a very fortunate event ; and 
 though notwithftanding its zeal, but little ex- 
 ertion can reafonably be expected from the 
 Porte, in its prefent deplorable lituation, when 
 a revolted city fets the whole power of this once 
 mighty empire at defiance ; yet it will ftop the 
 progrefs of revolution on French principles 
 among the Greeks j and will, befides the advan- 
 tages to our trade, be produdtive of other good. 
 
 In this fituation of things, fomeof my friends 
 lament that my book has appeared. When it 
 was firil publilhed, there exifled no probability 
 of fuch events taking place ; and it was only 
 owino; to an accidental difcovery, that the vizir 
 had been bribed by the Diredory, that the Porta 
 has alTumed the appearance of being reiolved 
 to profecute the v^^ar oftenfively. Be that as it 
 may, if we are to be connevfled with the Porta 
 in friendlliip and co-operation;, is it not equally 
 prudent to know its real and its relative ftrcngth, 
 as if we were to acl againft it ? And after all^ 
 are, by its prefent connexion with us, the ufur- 
 pations of the Porte become lefs unjufl ? Is it3 
 tyranny over its fubjedis become Icfs infupport^ 
 able? Is its government-, its rehgion become lefs 
 abominable ? Are the people become more hu- 
 mane, more virtuous, more tolerant ? Are they 
 lefs inimical to Chririianitv ? 
 
 b I avoided 
 
Xviii PREFACE TO THE 
 
 I avoided from the firft, as much as poffible, 
 fpeaking of fuch fituations of things, and of fuch 
 events as can only occafion a temporary derange- 
 ment in the effed of general caufes. I have en- 
 quired what is the internal fituation of the Turk- 
 iih empire, and v/hat rank in the fcale of poli- 
 tiGal importance it has obtained y and how its 
 decline or annihilation would affect the intereil 
 of other ftates? Whatever changes may, after all, 
 have fmcc'taken place, I have eftablifhed, I hope, 
 what is the real fituation of that country at this 
 day ; and whatever changes may hereafter take 
 place, this fituation will ferve as a criterion of 
 comparifon to any future poiition. 
 
 The emperor Paul is a prince of the mod 
 fcrupulous honor and the pureft integrity, in- 
 capable of taking advantage of the fituation in 
 which the boundlefs confidence of the Porte, as 
 much as its terror, has voluntarily placed him. 
 He has fet.the generous example of laying afide 
 the individual intereft of his own nation, and 
 ■ defending his natural enemy, to promote the- 
 intereil he only has in common with all other 
 fovereig-ns*. 
 
 When the preient conteft fliall be ended, w^hat 
 will ultimately be the fate of fo defirable a coun- 
 try, fituated between powerful neighbours, and 
 
 * Such vras Paul when he bes-an his reiorn: he foon fliewed 
 (■y.tiptoms of deranged intell€v5ls, which gradually increafing, he 
 became quite infane. 
 
 having 
 
SECOND EDITION. XlX 
 
 having no force of its own, no attachment of its 
 Chriftian fubjefts, nor energy of government 
 for its defence, may, without difficulty, be con- 
 jectured. But hozv far dijiant that period may 
 be removed by the prefent changes in its fa- 
 vour, which have added another hair to fuflain 
 a Httle longer the fufpended fword from falling 
 on its head, no one can pretend to calculate, 
 or to foretel what other circumftances may ftill 
 occur to prolong its exiftence. 
 
 So much has lately been written on the fubjedl 
 of the French expedition to Egypt, that it would 
 be fuperfluous to fay any more. 
 
 I fliall, therefore, only obferve, that more ac-^ 
 curate knowledge of that country was to be 
 expelled from the French. They have totally 
 miftaken the people, and have mifunderftood 
 the government of the Beys, which, notwith* 
 flanding their frequent rebellions, is the conili- 
 tution given to Egypt by Seiim I. which efta- 
 blifhes a kind of independence* 
 
 Had theDiredlory followed the plan of the old 
 cabinet of France, and offered to maintain the 
 eighteen Beys in their refpeiflive governments, 
 Bonaparte would have been received with open 
 arms. The pafha of Acri, who has an arn:y of 
 40 or 50,000 men, befides being in poiTeilion of 
 part of the flrong country of the Drufes ; and 
 who is as perfedily independent of the Forte 
 as was his predeceffor Shek Omar-ul-Daher, 
 
 b 2 - would 
 
XX PREFACETOTHS 
 
 would have joined in the league ; for the countrv^ 
 of Acri and Eg3'pt are always in alliance j Bo- 
 naparte then might have bidden defiance to the 
 Porte and its allies. — The Diredory might after- 
 wards have ferved the beys as they have done 
 the kino" of Sardinia. 
 
 The fituation of this paflia is, howerer, fEill 
 deferving of particular attention at this moment. 
 
 The Monthly Reviev/ers, imagining that I had 
 not been in Ruflia before the fiege of Ochakof, 
 have concluded that I knew little of the interior 
 oT the court of St. Peterfburgh. I hoped that 1' 
 had faid enough of myfelf in the Preface to the 
 rirft Edition of this Book, Vvrhkh they feem not 
 to have read, or not to have underftood for what 
 purpofe this book was written. 
 
 Notwithitanding' all the refpedl which is due 
 to fuch learned critics, I cannot fubfcribe to 
 ' the rules which they recommend, in tranflating 
 proper names of men and places from the Rufliaa 
 language. After twenty-three years acquaintance 
 with an alphabet, furely I may be allowed {o 
 much knowledge of it, as not to have written 
 Orlov^r for OrlofF through ignorance. 
 
 1 wrote Or/ow, Romanzozv, and PVoronzow, be- 
 caufe thofe perfons, following the Pohlh, not 
 the German orthography, fpelled their names ia 
 this manner, when they wrote in the Latm cha- 
 irader. Where I had no fuch authority, I made 
 
 uf® 
 
UfSIIVERSr'^^ 
 
 £ E C N B E D I T I O N. 
 
 xx(q of fuch Englifii letters as would produce 
 ^,iear/y the Ruffian (bunds. 
 
 There is no fyllable in the German language 
 which ends with w, except in a few names of 
 men and places, where it is founded like their tt, 
 (not like our v,J and even thefe are not original 
 German words. 
 
 I fee no reafon why we fhould translate Ruf- 
 fian words through a German medium. There 
 are many Ruffian letters which Germians cannot 
 pronounce, and confequently cannot exprefs the 
 founds by their letters. The Englifii c/i have ex- 
 avflly the found of the Ruffian ^/, but the German 
 t/ch have not ; nor can a German pronounce this 
 found at all. This manner of writing, lately 
 become fo frequent, caufes an EngliHiman to 
 pronounc-e wrongly; for inftance : Kamtfchatka, 
 as if written Kamt-jkaika, We might with a^ 
 much propriety write Arabic words, as Niebuhr 
 has done : Dfchjiddd, Dfchjebhal, &c. whereas 
 our own orthography Gidda and Gehal produces 
 exactly the x\rabic found, which the German 
 DJchj do not. When the Ruffian B (vedi) begins 
 a fyllable, it has the found of the Englifl-j V^ but 
 preceded by a confonant (as in mockba) that of 
 the German or Italian V \ at the end of a fyl- 
 lable, Vv^hen it is followed by either of the mute 
 letters "^ or 6, which give a hard or foft foun4 
 to the final fyllable, it has the power of/,/f, ^^, 
 or v-e, Mr. Smirnove, in his Suryey of iiuffiia, 
 
 b 3 has 
 
Xxii PREFACE TO THE 
 
 has written proper names as they arc pronounc- 
 ei], and he thinks that the vedi fliould always be 
 exprelled in EngHfli by v or ve. He writes his 
 own name in conformity to his rule. He is a 
 Icholar, and a Rufiian born. 
 
 The Poles pronounce ch as we doJJi ; cz as we 
 do ch, (hence Ochakof, not Otchakof) but c 
 alone like ts : Potocki, pronounce Potofjkl, &c. 
 
 Where the orthography of names is eflabliflied 
 by long cuftom, we muft, I fuppofe, continue 
 to ufe it. Mofcow is become the Englifh name 
 for Mofqua (mockea) ; Naples for Napoli-, l^eg- 
 horn for Livorno (anciently Lighorno). The 
 French name for London is Londres^ the Italian 
 Londra^ &c. 
 
 Where this is not the cafe, we muft fpelj 
 names as the natives do, if they make ufe of the 
 Latin charader , if they do not, Vv^e mufh either 
 write their characl.er, or make ufe of letters of our 
 own alphabet that will produce, as near as pof^ 
 fible, the fame founds ; or, without any regard to 
 the founds that anfwer to their letters. I will 
 not decide which method ought to be foilowedj 
 or Vv'hich is the real language of a people whofe 
 orthography is fixed, the oral or the written. I 
 will only obfcrve^ that it is very difficult to ren^ 
 der the principal founds of one language by let- 
 ters of another, not to mention modifications j 
 and this is particularly fo to the Englilh, whofe 
 vowels have a very uncertain pronunciation. 
 
 8 I cannot 
 
SECOND EDITION. XXiH 
 
 I cannot approve of Suliaun and 'Tnrkiftaiin\ 
 Sec. The Perfians, indeed, pronounce the a 
 broad ; but this is not always the cafe with 
 other Orientals, nor does the accent always lie on 
 the a. Sultan has the fame letters as in the 
 Oriental languages ; the pronunciation of it thus 
 written, is near enough, and this orthography 
 is efhabliihed through all Europe, as well as 
 with us. 
 
 I have written Tatar, becaufe there is no r in 
 the firft fyllable, either in the writing or the pro- 
 nunciation of the Orientals. The Ruflians always 
 have written and pronounced Tatar ; and the 
 Germans have lately adopted this orthography. 
 
 I have carefully examined the character I drew 
 of the late emprefs, and I cannot difcover one 
 incorrect feature. 
 
 Prince Potemkin w^is born a gentleman, re- 
 ceived a very good education at Mofcow, and 
 was a major-general in the army before he was 
 promoted to the poft of favourite. The com- 
 parifon between the elevation of aTurkifh vizir 
 from the loweft ftation, with fome few inflances 
 of a fimilar kind in llufTia, does not prove a 
 fimilarity in the fpirit of the tv/o governments. 
 In Turkey, every one who rifes to a high of- 
 fice rifes from nothing. The fortunes of all 
 ofiicers of the empire (the ulema excepted) are 
 inherited by the fultan, to the total exclufion 
 of their children. There is no fuch thing as 
 
 b 4 family 
 
XXIV PREFACE. 
 
 family, or family fortunes in that empire. In 
 Ruffia, notwith (landing the advantages perfons 
 of family and fortune naturally have, and muft 
 have in all civilized dates ; and, notwithftand^ 
 ing the very partial diftribution of honours and 
 rewards, and the fortunes made by fome who en^ 
 Joyed the perfonal favour of the fovereign in the 
 iate reign, merit was never excluded ; and, upon 
 the whole, there is no country in Europe where 
 it is more fure of reward than in Ruffta, and 
 where the right of rifmg by rotation, or by length 
 of fervice, both in the civil and military departs 
 mcnts, is better eilabliihed : nobiUty and great 
 connections do not there engrofs every honour** 
 able employment, to the exclufion or depreflion 
 of merit. 
 
 I find that I have not been fufficiently explicit 
 m defcrlbing the method of making yeaft fronx 
 fplit peas. The w^hole of the water in which 
 the peas were deeped, as well as the froth, muft 
 be ufed as yeafl. Some perfons having taken 
 only the froth, have not fucceeded. It is aifo 
 Decefiary in this country to let the peas deep 
 much longer in water than in a warmer climate^ 
 A few trials will determine the exa6t time in 
 winter and in fummer^ either by the quantity of 
 frotli produced, or by the taftc and fmelj of tha 
 wafer. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Introduction ' ,..,... page i, ^ 
 
 CHAPTER I— page 8. s^^ 
 
 On the Turkiih Government. 
 
 General co7iJideratiom^ Conquered nations are by the Turks ex^^ 
 eluded from the rights cf fellonx}- citizens. Different conduct of 
 the Arabs in Spain,, Outlines of the national charader of the 
 Turks. Chara^er of their government. Changes it has «»-• 
 dergone. Three aras of their go'vernment* Ignorance of thoff 
 ivho govern. Education, Dii/ifon of po^er. Char ad er of 
 the firj} fultans. Degeneracy of their fucccjfors. The jani- 
 s:.aries often depofe their fultans. Degeneracy of the janizaries^ 
 Of the ideTna, Fon.ver of the fultaru Judicial ponver. In- 
 fiances of prevarication in judges* Appeals to the fultan^^ 
 liittle appearatice of & reform*^ 
 
 Cli AFTER II.-^page3;* - ./^^ 
 
 On the Turkifh Finances. '^ 
 
 Pi'vijton Tnt\ tvjo branches. J^firi and Uafne. Detail of ice ^ 
 
 fixed re'venue and expenditure. Debts of the Miri. Revenue 
 of the Hafne. Of the 'wealth of the ulema. Trecfures tf ihs, 
 mofques. Defeds of the fy ft em of finance. Efeils on the pro- 
 evinces. Of the cujloms. General conclu/ions- Obfcrvcitipn^ 
 on the Turkijh coins* 
 
xxvi CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IIL—page 56. 
 
 Of the Turkifli Military Force. 
 
 General confuieralions. Why the Turkijh po-^ver nvas once fo for-' 
 midable. Injiitution of the janizaries. Prefent charader^ 
 Detail of the Turk ijh army. Reafons <zvhy it ncvi y not fa 
 numerous as fonmrly. Method of recruiting and raifing an 
 army in time of ivar» Charo.tier of the army. Mode of 
 Ughting. Projed of Gazi Hofj'an for meliorating it. Of 
 their ^weapons. Their la^vs of 'v jar. ConduB to prifoners. 
 Of their na<val force* Preforms of GuTci Haffan, CharaSier 
 of the captain papUy Gazi HaJJan* His projects for maintain- 
 ing a body of failors at Conflantinople., and ejlablijhing afe^ 
 miliary . .Seme circnmfances of the laj} Pufjian n.var. , Of the 
 Darda^nellesy and other fortrcfjes. Of Ochakof and Killburn^ 
 J. change is novj operating in the military j'yjhm of Turkey, 
 
 C H A P T E R 1 V.~page 96. 
 
 Of the Turkilh 'Religion, 
 
 /// effetl on the public and pri-vate character of the Turks ^ and 
 on the la-L.v. Infulting difnnCJions to Chrifians. Intolerance, 
 Propofals to majTacre all the Chrijlian Turkijh fuhjeds. Its 
 difguftivg influence on their condud to foreign fovereignst and 
 to their aitibafjadors. Breaches of treaties fandioned by their 
 religion. Ejjeds on the inanners of the court. Particular in- 
 Jiances of infults to foreign minijlcrs. Of h aught inefs of indi^ 
 njiduals to Chrifians. Injlance of refignaiion in Turkijh iva-t 
 ^en prifoners. Of the lurkifh clergy. Degrees of the ulema. 
 Their learning. Proofs of nitoleration. 
 
 CHAPTER v.— page 126. 
 
 Hlftoricil View of the Turkifh Power. 
 
 Origin of its po-ztjer. Caujh of their former greatnefs. Char ad sr 
 rf their fultans, and their fyfem of ifurpation Jandioned by 
 their religion. Ofhrnan I. Qrkhan. ^mirrat I. ejlablifed 
 
 the 
 
CONTENTS. xxvii 
 
 the janizaries. His ufurpations<. Bayazet I. Jlrangles his 
 brother. Taken prifoncr by Tamerlane, and kills him/elf. Ma- 
 homed I. kills his brothers. Aiuurat U. flrangled his brother. 
 Horrid cruelties in his nxars. Died of grief at his illfucceffes 
 cgainji Scanderbeg. Mahomed 11. murdered his t-tvo brothers^ 
 The greateji monfer ivho fat on the Turkijh throne. Took 
 Conjlantinople. Unheard-of cruelties. He put to death above 
 SoOjOOO Chrijiians. Bayazet 11. His brothers efcaped, 
 formed a prcjeSt of cutting off the n.vhole body of janizaries » 
 Depofed and poifoned by his fon, Selim I. murdered his father, 
 brother i and his onvn children. Took Cairo. Died of a cancer 
 fl miferable death. Soliman 1. took Rhodes. Hisfpeech to the 
 grand-mafer. Covfefjion of his fentiments. Maffacres in 
 fxungary. Befeged Vienna. Maffacres. Took Bagdad^ l3^c. 
 Attacked Malta. Breach of capitulation. Killed his Jons and 
 their children. Died of a fax. Selim IL fet the example of 
 jiot going himfelf to the 'nxars. Took Cyprus. Ravaged Mol-- 
 dauia and took Walachia. A?nurat 111. murdered fi've brO' 
 thers. Rci'vagp.s committed in Poland and RuJJIa. Janizaries 
 jo/i their fubmijpron. Committed great ravages in the dominions 
 of the emperor ofGer?nany. Mahomed 111. put to death nine- 
 teen brothers y and ten of his father"" s n/ji-ues 'vjith child. Mur- 
 dered the garrifon cf Jllha-regalis contrary to the capitulation^ 
 Several pa/has rebelled. He put to death his ovjn fo/i and his 
 piothet. Achmct 1. unable to deceive ^ 'made peace <with the 
 Germans. His Juliana, put his favourite to death. Mujiafa /. 
 committed great cruelties, and luas depofed. Qjman I. unfuc- 
 cefsful againf Poland. Attempted to cut o£ all the corf s of 
 janizaries. Revolt. Depofed aud put to death. Mujlafa 1. 
 re-enthroned. Great diforders and rebellions. Again de- 
 throned. Amurai 1. Dij'orders Jlill continued. The fdtan a 
 drunkard, and the pajhas governed. Exercijes great feverities 
 on taking the governjnent into his ovon hands. Difregards 
 the laivs of nations. Went to the Perjian vjnr in perfon, and 
 became fober. Dejlroyed Tauris by fire ajzd J'vjord. Relapfes 
 itito debauchery. Dreadful cruelty toioards his fubje^s. Mur- 
 dered his brother. Marched againf P erf at and re-efiablijhed 
 ^ood difiplyne,. Obliged Venice to pay 2^0^000 J'echins .to 
 
 avoidf 
 
xxn\i CONTENTS. 
 
 a<vczd a nvar, ReJapfcd into his former debaucheries, and 
 died in confequence of them. His char ad er, Ibrahim, Cnnje 
 himfelf up to pleofure. ^he wx/r, njoho gcverned^ attacked 
 jlfoph. He }}iade peace nuith Germany, and broke it foon after, 
 J he di'va?! reflved to take Candia, '■fhe fultan took the 
 snuff i^s daughter by fcrce^ T)epofed and frangkd. Mahomed 
 IV. His minority occafioned great d'fcrders. The feragUo 
 plundered. Order refoi-ed by Kiuperli. The fultan took the 
 goueriimsnt into his o-xun hands. Pa/ha of Aleppo rebelled, 
 Violated th£ peace <with Germa?iy. Murdered his German, 
 prifoncrs. The Tatars carried off ico>OGO Poles. Candia 
 taken after unheard-of cruelties. In'vaded Poland, and killed 
 or carried off 300.000 inhabitants. Killed nearly 1 00.000 
 men at Human. The Ottoman ponver nonx> at its height, after 
 •tvbich it gradually declined. Vienna nvas fa-ved by Sobitfki. 
 Maho7ned ivas depfed. Achmet 11. and Mufiafa 11. had no 
 better fuccefs. Tranftl~oama ceded to the emperor of Germftny 
 (li the peace of Carlo^voiiz. Mufafa depofed. Achmet 111. 
 obtained ad-cantages c-ver the ^u£la?is at Pruth ; but vjas «;/- 
 fuccefs ful in his other Rvars, and com luded a difgracefd peace 
 at Paffuro~ojit%. B^ing aJfo unfuccefful againfl the Perfians, 
 he n.vas depofed. Mahomed V. Changes cf internal fyfl^m 
 took place. O [man 111. The kiJJar-aga gained ^-eaier po%ver 
 than the t'iz^ir. Muflafa 111, increafed the revenue of the 
 njlzir, a7id fnce they ha<ve been remo^ijed lefs frequently. He 
 ordered the Tatars to in-TJade Ruff, a. His ill fuccefs obliged 
 kirn to make a dijhonour able peace. Ahdulhamid net more fuc- 
 afsful. Probability that another "war ivill terminai? in their 
 txpu'fion from Europe, 
 
 CHAPTER Vl-^-'pagc iB3. 
 
 Of Arts and Sciences, Commerce, and general Manners. 
 
 The influence cf their religion on the prcgrefs of the arts a?id fi- 
 ences. Difference in ibis rcfped ixnth the Arabs. Aj}rono7ry% 
 Ger.^raph^. Ancient Ihfory. Pcesry and general liier<^ture. 
 
 Of 
 
CONTENTS. x£x- 
 
 Of the ^tirkijh langua^re. Prhiting. Architecture, SttZ" 
 ttiary a^id painting. Hydraulics, Injlances cf ignorance^ 
 Mechanic arts. Navigation. Foundery of cannon. Surgery, 
 Injiances of fkill in furgery^ in conJiruBicn of boats, tijvilng 
 copper "vejfelsf making locks. The Greeks hanje prefer'ved the 
 ancient manner of painting 'v:ith =iirax, and burning in the 
 colours. Foils for dia?no7tds. A glue for metals ^ Method of 
 dying cotton 'vjith ?nadder. Making caf-iron rnalleable. Vfe 
 mechanics make of their toes. Method of building cupolas. 
 Earth ivalls remarkably durable. Filtering 'water by afcen- 
 fon. Taourt, or four ?nilk, fngular qualities. Coffet. Tcajf 
 made of peas. Commerce, interior and^oreign. ../ 
 
 CHAPTER VIL— page 24^. 
 On the State of Population in the Turkllh Empir.?. 
 
 Ad-vantageous ftuaficn of Confcantinople for a lazaretto. Re- 
 marks on the plague. Caufesofjdepopulation. State offcve- ^ 
 ral cities and countries. Population cf Conjlantinople, ait 
 exaSi calculation cf. Fcpulaticn of Greece, and of the t<vj6 
 CQntineni*. 
 
 CHAPTER Vni.— page 275. 
 
 On the State of the Tiirkilh Provinces. 
 
 Poiver of the parte to control the pro'vinces decreafed, Greece. 
 Oppreffions by the annual ^ifit of the' feet to the Archipelago. 
 Afia Minor and Syria, Molda<via, Walachia,i5c. in gene^ '^ 
 
 ral. ^Independence of the papalik cf Bagdad. In Armenia 
 Major, nations of independent people. The three Arabias. 
 Ahifka. Anatolia,^ Mountains cf Smyrna and Paler/line. 
 Cordes. Drifes. Chrifians of Anti-Libanus, Tin country 
 of Acri. Error committed by the RuJJians in attacking the 
 Drifes. Tyre. Sidon. Laodicea. Scandercn. Tripoli, 
 Egypt, Morea, Albania. Fpirus. Scutari. Bofiia, Cro- 
 at iu, P articular i ref peeing Egypt, and of Molda'via and Wa- 
 
 lachia* 
 
3:rc CONTENTS. 
 
 la'hia* ConditSi of theRvJJtans in thofe pro'vlnces^ Irruption's 
 of the Tatars. RuJJiajuJiifed in feizing the Crim, Account 
 cf the Tatar nations. Form of the ancient go'vernment of the 
 ^Tatars. Of the reign of the lajl khan of the Tatars, His 
 thange of the gonjemmejzt. Rebellion of the Tatars, The 
 Crim feized hy RuJJia, The author detained prifonerj and 
 condemned to he beheaded in Moldavia. Emigration of Chrif- 
 tians from the Crimea. Errors correBed refpeBing the titles 
 ef fid I an and khan. Ca'verns in the Crimea. T^i^^ manner 
 cf fighting, fujlice and hinnanity of the emprefs towuards ih^ 
 Tatars, 
 
 CHAPTER IX.— page 323. 
 The Political State of Greece. 
 
 Greece afpires to regain her liberty . Her former fuperioriiy in 
 arts and learning. Of the characier of the Greeks in general, 
 and of the different pro'vinces. Beauty of the 'vj omen of Ti no. 
 MaJJacre of the Greeks by the Turks after the ivar. Thai 
 long pofejjicn has not, according to the laifjs of nations, given 
 a right of poJJc£ion to the Turks. Stipulations of the treaty of 
 1774, in fa'vour cf the Greeks, 'violated hy a great majjacre, 
 Mc?norials of the e?npyefs to excite the Greeks to take up arms. 
 A fleet fitted out at Cronfiadt for the Archipelago flopped by the 
 king of Snveden. Congrefs of the Greeks at Sidli. Deputa- 
 tion and memorial of the Greeks to the emprefs, demanding 
 Prince Conflantinefor their emperor. Irrefiolution of the court 
 of Peterflurgh occafoned by the interference cf Great Britain 
 a?id Prujfia, Gallant conduB cf the Greek fiquadron under 
 Lainhro Canziani. Peace concluded between Rufifia and Turkey, 
 Some particulars of the Greeks of EpiruSj and the "wars of the 
 Suliotes; 
 
CONTENTS. xxxl 
 
 CHAPTER X.— page 379. 
 
 The Turklfli Empire confidered, with regard to its Foreign 
 
 Relations. 
 
 General confJerations, The intereji France has in the prefeyua- 
 tion of the Turk'ip empire. General intereji s of other po-ixjers. 
 The intrigues of France 'withRuJJta^ Auftriay and other ponvers: 
 Alliance het-iveen Great Britain, Jujiria, and RnJJja, The 
 particular interefs of Spain, Prujfa, Sn-veden, Denmark, Sar- 
 dinia, Naples, Av.Jiria, and Rufia. The hifiory of the em- 
 prefs politics, fuf if cation of the king^s minifers in gi'ving 
 up the Turkijh claife. Conffency of their condu5l. Conduct 
 of Fruffia toivards Poland. Importance of the Riiffia'n empire. 
 Char ad er of its cabinet y the nobility, and the army, Ccfnpa- 
 rifon of its gc^jerufnent <zvith that of Turkey. Turkey conf- 
 dered as a tne^nber of the grand confederation of nations in Eu- 
 rope. Particular interefs of Great Britain confdered, in iht 
 e-vent of the Turks being difpoffejfed of their dominions in Eu- 
 rope. Confequences of the French Uherating Greece from the 
 Ottoman yoke, 
 
 POSTSCRIPT.—page 450. 
 
 Death of the emprefs of Ruff a. Jififcation of the charaBer of 
 Peter III. CharaFier of the emprefs. The acli've part Jh^ 
 <\vas taking in the -ivar againjl the French. . State of her 
 forces. She -ifjas on the e've of attacking^ the Turks. Situation! 
 of other ponjoers. The emperor rf Germany makes peace ivith 
 the French. Situation the emperor of RuJJta ivas in before this 
 e-vent. The part he took to oblige Priijpa to relinquijh the 
 projeSi of difmew.bering the German empire, Prefent fituatiori 
 cf Great Britain. 
 
 CHAPTER XL— page 448. 
 
 Of the State of the BritiHi Trade to the Levant. 
 
 // // neceffary in certaiti cafes to grant exchfve pri-vileges. The j 
 
 Levant company is a rnoncpoly injuriQus to the trade. Laying 
 
 the 
 
Sxxil CONTrElSTTS. 
 
 tie trade open nvill rejiore it to Great Bntaitt. Bye-tanvs gffi 
 Jun'ous. PTe can make in Britain cloth cheaper than the French 
 Jo, Ad'vantages of laying the trade open enumerated. IJutiis 
 k'vied by the company oppreJfi'Ve. No extraordinary cxpenc: 
 ivculd be occajioned to go^iernment by this meafure. Of the 
 po'tver of ambaffadors and confuls in Turkey, The French laid 
 their trade open, and reaped great ad'vantages from it. Goods 
 may^ during the prefent ^war, befent to Turkey through Ruffia, 
 
 Inefjicacy of our quarantine regulations. Danger of them. Bad^ 
 nefs of the Dutch lazarettos. That the trade being free no 
 greater rijk could exiji. Ho'w to a'void in future all danger 
 from the plague^ 
 
 APPENDIX.— pacreA-S. 
 
 Conffivg of mifcsllanecus papers^ ISc. elucidating fome paffages 
 in the iK'orL 
 
SURVEY 
 
 O F THE 
 
 TURKISH EMPIRE 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IT is the aim of the following (heets to deli* 
 neate the moral and political ftatc of a great 
 empire, lefs accurately known to us than its 
 contiguity and relative importance demand* 
 The fhudy of human nature, under the various 
 influences of peculiar fituation, laws, and cuf- 
 toms, can in no cafe be uninterefting either to 
 the politician, the moralift, or the philofopher. 
 If wx confider mankind merely as adVed upon by 
 fcience, as elevated to unufual fplendor by the 
 energies of intellefl, or deprefl to a brutal degra- 
 dation by grofs ignorance, it mufl: render ourfpe- 
 culations more accurate, our judgment more dif- 
 tind:, to try the ftandard of theory by the tefl of 
 experience, and to view the effedt produced on a 
 large community by the degree of knowledge 
 
 B which 
 
Z INTRO DUCTlOlvr. 
 
 which the J poiTefs. If from fcience we turn ta'- 
 morals, and would contemplate the efficacy of 
 religions doctrines, of legal inftitutions, or of 
 popular opinions, thefe cannot be fairly tried but 
 by referring to their elfed: on the nation at large 
 in which they exifb. Should it again be our 
 defire to eilimate juflly the political advantages 
 of external and internal admin iftrat ion, thefe are 
 befL tried hj an appeal to fadis: defpotifm or 
 licentioufnefs appearing in their true colours 
 give the furefl, becaufe the moil ration rJ means, 
 of appreciating the advantages of good govern- 
 ment. 
 
 No one can doubt that thefe ends will be 
 greatly promoted by a review of the (late of Tur- 
 key, which mufl prefent a pidture no lefs inte- 
 refting, from the magnitude of its objedis, than- 
 from the peculiarity of their features. It may 
 indeed be objeded, that this fubjedt has been 
 treated by many writers, apparently well quali- 
 fied to deliver faitliful and complete information;. 
 but it is not improbable that the teflimony of 
 an eye-witnefs, furnifhed with a multitude of 
 particular fa6ts, would even in that cafe be a de- 
 iirable addition to the mafs of evidence which is 
 already before the public. The truth, however, 
 is, that the multitude of teflimonies, or the ac- 
 curacy of information, is by no means fuch as 
 to render further accounts unneceiTary : In many 
 
 very 
 
INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 very mterefting points the principal authors do 
 not agree; fome are fwayed by perfonal or na- 
 tional intereft, and fome mifled by iuperficiai 
 obfervation or unfounded caprice. We have 
 proofs that even a long refidence in that country, 
 and in a capacity which would appear the bed 
 calculated to aiford information, that of a public 
 minider, is not fufficient. The numerous er- 
 rors Sir James Porter has fallen into demonftrate 
 this. As to merchants, their occupations fei- 
 dom leave them leifure or curiofity to be in- 
 formed of matters foreign to commerce, and 
 diftant from their places of abode. From tra- 
 vellers who run through a country, lefs is to be 
 expedled. " Till a man is capable of converfing 
 vitk eafe among the natives of a country^ he can 
 never he able to form an adequate idea of their 
 *' policy and manner s^ 
 
 It is obvious, that a confiderable portion of 
 time and ftudy is requifite to obtain a full ac* 
 quaintance v>^ith the moral and political (late of 
 a nation: he who would obferve it with accu- 
 racy fiiould have refided a long time in the coun- 
 try; he fllould have poffefTed opportunities of 
 penetrating into the councils of the government, 
 as well as of noticing the manners and genius of 
 the people; he fhould have feen them in war 
 and in peace, have noted their military fkill and 
 their commercial fyftem; an^, above all, it is 
 
 B 2. jieceiiary 
 
 '' ^ 
 
 (C 
 
4 INTRODUCTION, 
 
 neceffarv that he fliould have an accurate know- 
 ledge of their language, fo as to be free from 
 one pTfeat and aimed unlverfal foiirce of error in 
 
 o 
 
 accounts of foreign countries, arifing from the 
 mifapprehenfion of the relator himfelL 
 
 In order to form a jufh flandard for trying 
 the comparative accuracy of different accounts^ 
 it will be neceffary to know thofe prejudices 
 which are mofk likely, in fpite of the beft inten- 
 tions, to infmuate themfelves into an author's 
 work from motives of private oi of public inte- 
 reft* With this view it will not be unacceptable 
 to notice a few particulars relative to two or 
 three works of the befl: reputation, which have 
 lately appeared, and which have treated of the 
 Turkilli empire in general. Of earher authors 
 it is needlefs to fpeak. 
 
 I know of no book from which more may be 
 learnt of the true charaifler of that people, and 
 the ixate of knowledge among them, than from 
 M, Dd Ton. He I'poke their language perfed:- 
 ly, he enjoyed their confidence, and lived more 
 intiroately widi them than any Chriftian has 
 lately Aovit. It does not appear that he has 
 wilfully mifreprefented any one circumfi:ance. 
 I never faw him, but what I have heard of him 
 h much iw his favour. Mis book difobliged the 
 French court, which did not wilh to fee them 
 expokd. \\t JKis Ipoken, perhaps, too. much of 
 
 himfelf. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 lumfelf, and made the mod of what he did for 
 the Turks, though the fads are indifputable. 
 Theegotifm of modern travellers in relating inci- 
 dents and adventures which might happen m 
 any country, and which convey no information 
 peculiar to that they are travelling in, is truly 
 difgufting; they are at bed fubjeds for novels. 
 Had he ikid lefs of himfelf, we fhouid have 
 loft thole little ftories, which give more infight 
 into the true character of the jxrople with whom 
 he was concerned, than could perhaps be ob- 
 tained from volumes of dillertations. His work 
 is indifputably the beft and moft accurate ac- 
 count hitherto given of the general fyftem, as 
 well as the peculiar features of Turkifh manners; 
 and though it has been ceniurcd as a calumny, 
 it is in faft a very moderate pidure of real 
 events. 
 
 To this teftimony of De Tott is oppofed that 
 of M. PeyiTonel, a pian undoubtedly learned and 
 fcientiiic; whole refidence in the ernpire and 
 knowledge of its language render jiim deferving 
 of great attention, though his opportunities ot 
 acquiring information were by no rneans equal 
 to thofe of De Tott. Of M- PeyiTonel two 
 things are to be remarked, the fuffrage which he 
 gives in favour of Tott, and the prejudices 
 which were likely to affed his own teftimony. 
 tn fpeaking of the Baron, he readily adiTiits, 
 
 B 3 *' hn 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 *' his profound knowledge of the government, laws^ 
 ^' manners^ cifloms and cJiarader of the Turks, de- 
 *' rived from a long refidence in the country, a clofe 
 *' atteyition to the language, and from beitig employed 
 " /;-/ affairs of the great eft importance.''^ What he 
 profeiTes is only to point out, ^^ pulchro in opere 
 navos,'' fome imperfedions in a valuable work. 
 After this fuffrage in favour of Tott, we need 
 only refer to him for a pi6ture of Turkey, faith- 
 ful enough to be relied on, and yet fufficiently 
 forcible to excite our difgufl at fuch monfters in 
 human fhape. The fame M. Peyflbnel quotes, 
 as writers of greater accuracy, Du Pan and Mon- 
 tefquieu, who, he acknowledges, wrote in their 
 clofets accounts of a people whom they had 
 never feen. 
 
 In page 88 of M. Peyfibners letter we fee the 
 true reafon of his defence of the Turks : " // is 
 (fays he) to endeavour to jufiify a nation, zvhich 
 *' has ahvays been the ally of our own ; zvith whom 
 " z'ce carry en a commerce that is fill the objeEi of 
 " envy and the vexation of our rivals ^ 
 
 Mouragia (now Chevalier d'Oraflbn) is per- 
 fedly equal to the extenfive work he has under- 
 taken, which will contain more knowledge of 
 Turkey than any book which was ever written; 
 but he will not touch the fubje6l of their de- 
 cline and approaching fall: his obje6V. is to re- 
 prefent them in the rnoft advantageous light, 
 
 and 
 
IInTRODUCTION". _ 7 
 
 ■and he will not prove what they are, but w^hat 
 they pofTibly might have been: he is an Arme- 
 nian, and the Turkifh language is his mother 
 tongue : he was once literally a fans culotte : 
 his promifmg genius, when a boy, procured him 
 the patronage of a rich Armenian merchant; 
 intrigue^ talents, and the proteclion of the 
 French directory, raifed him to the pofl of Swe- 
 difh minifler at Conllantinople. 
 
 Other authors have only lightly touched on 
 thofe matters which are the fubjefl of this book, 
 and which it is my intention to invefligate more 
 fullv- 
 
 B 4 
 
CHAPTER L 
 
 On the TiirkiJJi Government, 
 
 TO point out thofe relations which a 
 country bears to its neighbours, or to the 
 general interefts of fociety, is perhaps no very 
 difficult tafk : the features are ftriking, the moral 
 and phyfical differences are eafily difcernible, 
 and the flandard of general politics is, perhaps, 
 accurate enou2;h to determine with fufficient 
 nicety, the refult of fuch an analylis: But if we 
 carry our inveftigation into thofe more minute 
 caufes which afFed: the profperity or decline of a 
 nation from internal circumftances, we fliall 
 find the queftion more deep and intricate, the 
 declfion more v^gue and doubtful. Without, 
 however, examining into thofe caufes, it is im- 
 poiTible to build up a moral or political fpecu- 
 lation of any magnitude or importance ; it is 
 impoffible to reafon with accuracy on the great 
 interefts of nations, or to form grand and com- 
 prehenfive plans embracing the general advan- 
 tage of fociety. Nor is it lefs true, that inter- 
 nal caufes are almoft always the riioft immediate 
 motors in national elevation or decay: as, on 
 
 the 
 
TURKISH GOVERNMENT. 9 
 
 the one hand, no feeble (late was ever elevated 
 to extraordinary eminence by the mere aid of 
 alliances, however powerful : fo on the other, 
 fcarcely any great nation ever periflied by means 
 of external violence, unlefs it had fomething 
 within itfelf vicious and unfound. 1 fliail, 
 therefore, in a f^biequent chapter, take a view 
 of the Turkilh empire as it fiands related both 
 to the general fyftem of Europe, and to the fe- 
 veral European powers ; and in the mean w^iile 
 I will proceed to difcufs its internal fituation. '"' 
 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 operated 
 upon by caufes the mofl heterogeneous and dif- 
 limilar. With the progrefs of fociety new 
 powers and ne\/ faculties are daily called forth; 
 they continually modify each other, and produce 
 that adlion and re-adion which conftitutes the 
 complexity of the vafl focial machine. To ab- 
 ftra(5l and generalize thefe various motions, to 
 reduce them to their primary and elem.entai 
 principles, is the bufmefs of fcience; but it un- 
 fortunately happens too often, that the philofo- 
 pher, who may with much care and obfervation 
 have made this analyfis, will build upon it fpe- 
 culations not wholly founded upon rational 
 principles. The error into which thefe dealers 
 jn fyftem frequently fall (an error which has 
 
 veiy 
 
lO CHAPTER I. 
 
 Teryunjuitly thrown a general odium upon all 
 the fyflematic labours of fclence) is to conceive 
 that the diviiions which they have themfelvea 
 eftabliOied in theory are flrongly marked in fa6l, 
 OF, in oilier Vv-ords^ that the different habits and 
 cudoms of mankind are iefs intimately inter- 
 woven than experience daily j^roves them to be. 
 When, therefore,, we trace the diilinct fources 
 from which the peculiar characler and circum- 
 llances of the Turkiili nation have originated, we 
 mufh be careful at the fame time to remember,, 
 that the events which have flowed from thofe 
 fources have been io mixed and compounded to- 
 gethery and act at the prefent day with fuch an 
 aggregate force, as to produce a far greater effect 
 by combination than by their feparate power. So 
 much is neceffary to be obferved before we be- 
 gin to delineate the peculiar features of Turkiflx 
 policy : we now proceed to the talk of difcrimi- 
 nation. 
 
 The modern European, accufhomed for the 
 moil part to confider all the fubjecls of one em- 
 pire as alike entitled to the protedling care of 
 government, alike invefted with the political 
 rights of citizens, can v/ith difliculty accommc- 
 \date his feelings to a ftate of m^anners rcfulting 
 ffrom the divifion of the political body into con- 
 Ijqucrcrs and conquered, opprcffbrs and oppreffed. 
 -This is, however, the diftindion mod broadly 
 
 marked 
 
• TURKISH GOVERNMENT. If 
 
 marked in the Turkifh empire; a difl:in<5lion X 
 fupported by every kind of pre'iudicc v.diich can 
 influence focial manners, and confirmed by the 
 inveterate habits of ages. To the celebrated 
 governments of antiquity this exaltation of one| 
 part of the community Lipon the degradation o£l 
 the other was by no means unknown; we fee it 
 inflianced in the Helots of Sparta, and in the 
 inftitutions of many of thofe nations v/ho molt 
 loudly vaunted of their fancied liberty: happily \ 
 for modern ages it has generally, in Europe, 
 given place to political equality; but Turkey is' 
 the refuge of fanatical ignorance, the chofen 
 feat where fhe has unfurled her bloody banner, 
 and where, though torpid with age, fl:ie fiill 
 grafps her iron fceptre. That happy union, and 
 equality of right to the protection of laws, which 
 tempers the variety of individual intcrefts for 
 the general good, is the only bafis of focial hap- 
 pinefs. How far the dereliclion of thefe princi- 
 ples in the Turkifh governm-ent weakens the 
 power of the community, whild it perpetuates 
 the mifery of the individual, will appear from, a 
 comparative viev/ of the different feels in that 
 country, and from a furvey of the flate of its 
 provinces. 
 
 The Turks, properly fo called, are the follow- 
 ers of Mahomet, defcended from the Tatarian 
 conquerors of thefe beautiful countries. Thefe 
 
 being 
 
12 CHAPTER r. 
 
 being now the a«5lual mafters of the empire, and 
 the only perfons who feem to have a real inte- 
 refl: in its exlftence, their fituation, moral and 
 phyfical, fitfl demands our notice. The great 
 oiitline of their character, as difhinguillied from 
 the. other inhabitants of this cxtQndvc empire, 
 is. the fuperiority 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, perhaps, be deemed abfurd^ but the en- 
 lightened obferver mufl ever remark, that the 
 fancied right of conqueft is nothing but the 
 right of the fword,. which is p;ever legitiimate 
 but when fandioned by juflice. In the hiftory 
 of the world there have been frequent inflances 
 ©f mighty nations, who, after conquering 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 vidlorum cepit, et artes 
 « Intulit agrefli Latio." 
 
 Nor have there been wanting examples of the 
 introdu6lion of arts by the conqueror 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 bar- 
 b^uians, invaded Greece, and fwept before them 
 the monuments of ancient fcience; and, like 
 
 barbarians^ 
 
TURKISH GOVERNMENT. I3 
 
 barbarians, they hold their captives, to the pre- 
 terit day, under the benumbing yoke of igno- 
 rance and ilavery. Inftead of promoting the 
 mutual advantage of both nations, by an inter- 
 courfe of knowledge and benevolence, they ufe 
 the privilege of conquefl only to the extinction 
 of the common powers of intelled:. A politic 
 conqueror, in augmenting the happinefs of his 
 new fubjeft, increafes his own power; a barba- 
 rian invader weakens his own refources by the 
 continued opprefiion of his captives. Abderah- 
 man (or Almanzor) who, in the middle of the 
 eighth century, founded a kingdom in Spain of 
 the provinces which had been fubject to the ka- 
 lifs, promoted intermarriages between Chrifliians 
 and Mahomedans. The Arabs, who had been 
 as great enemies to the" fciences as the Turks^ 
 now cultivated them with great fuccefs, and had 
 acquired a confiderable portion of knowledge 
 and politenefs, while the reft of Europe was de- 
 graded by ignorance and barbarifm. But the i 
 haughty Turk is not merely exalted above his 1 
 fubje<fl Greek as a conqueror; he confiders him- ■ 
 felf ftill more highly elevated as the fivourite of / 
 heaven; and the greater part of his ferocity as a ^ 
 tyrant is owing to the arrogant dictates of his 
 religion. It is in vain that the panegyrifts of 
 Turkey would affure us of the fpirit of tolera- 
 tion, which, according to them, the difciple of 
 
 the 
 
14 CHAPTER 1. 
 
 the fangiiinary Mahomet cherifhes in his bofom. 
 Every feature of the Turkiih chara6ter, every 
 circumftance of their public and private cuf- 
 toms, contradifts the aiTertion. Mankind are 
 not at the prefent day to learn, that the human- 
 charadler is formed by its education, and that a 
 great and important branch of that education 
 confifts of political inftitutions. Were there 
 any doubt of the truth of this principle, the 
 itrong exemplification of it afforded by Turkey 
 would obviate every objedion. There it is, 
 more than in any other country, that the dogmas 
 of the legifiator and the priefh are continually 
 prefented to the mind of youth as well as of 
 age ; that they occur in every rank and condi- 
 tion of life, and adt with a force the more pow- 
 erful, as they are united in one and the fame 
 code. Such are the obfervations which arife on 
 the hrfh view of the Turkifh chara6ter: in pro- 
 ceeding to particularize its individual features, 
 we have to contemplate the various caufes, mioral 
 and phyfical, which have an influence upon it, 
 either immediate or remote; always rernember- 
 ing, that they are to be vievv^ed, not merely as 
 limple powers, but as a6ling with that m.utual 
 and reciprocal force which fo greatly augments 
 their aggregate eire(51:. The local and material 
 obje(5ls which contribute to the rife and fall, the 
 importance or weaknefs of nations, are, clima-t^^ 
 9 fituatioriy 
 
TTJRKI SH GO VERNMENT, t^ 
 
 fauntim, pro^utlhns, 'and popttlation; but tliefe 
 ai*e in ^part -or' altogether lubjed: to the -energies 
 of mind, and mind takes its pecviliar bent'fom 
 tQlt^mts and politii&l hyikiithm^ " from MfiGYkni 
 'iViints^ from arts andy?/>;iitfS' and from tho-re ge- 
 iieral manners v/hick zvt the"- refult of all the 
 other caufcs combined. 
 
 In the following iketch I iliail firfb endeavour 
 to develope thefe moral caufes, and from their 
 action it will not be difficult to account, in the 
 fecond place, for the natural phc^nomena obferv- 
 able in the prefent fliate of Turkey. 
 
 The religion of the Turks is, perhaps, the pre- 
 dominating principle, which, above ail others, 
 ftamps the charader of their minds ; but as its 
 power in this refped: is chiefiy owing to its poli- 
 tical authority, and as it is not my intention to 
 enter into a nice inveftigation of a fyftem whofe 
 abfurdity is obvious to all enlightened Euro- 
 peans, I lliall confider this part of the fubjedb as 
 dependant on the political inftitutions, which 
 will therefore firfl demand our attention. 
 
 Political inftitution is a fpring always in ac- 
 tion, a motor univerfally prefent, forming the 
 charader of the individual, and guiding the 
 operations of the community. if then we 
 would caft our eyes over the moral map of Tur- 
 key ; if w^e v/ould juflly eftimate the internal 
 powers of that nation, either as an enemy or ally, 
 
 our 
 
l6 CHAP T E R I, T 
 
 our notions mud be regulated by the degree oY 
 purity or error obfervable in its political oeco- 
 nomy. 
 
 Much has been faid in alTertion and denial of 
 the defpotifm of the Turkifh government ; and 
 arguments the moft abilrufe and far-fetched 
 have been emplo^^ed, rather to confound the 
 meaning of terms than to.eflablKh the authen- 
 ticity of fadls. But if by defpotifm be meant 
 \f3, power originating in force, and upheld by the 
 fame means to which it owed its efkablifliment , 
 a power calculated to cruili the growing ener^ 
 gies of mind, and annihilating the faculties of 
 man, in order to infure his dependance, the go- 
 ^vernment of Turkey may be moft faithfully 
 \chara(5lerized by that^ name. All permanent 
 power extended over a Wge community, muft 
 have fomething more than the mere force of 
 arms to rely on -, or rather that very force muft 
 depend, in the ultimate refort, on popular opi- 
 nion. It is a vain objection, therefore, that the 
 defpotifm of the fultan cannot extend beyond 
 the fuperftition of the people : that very fu- 
 perftition ferves it as a bafis, and the more firmly 
 rooted are their religious prejudices, the more 
 terrible is the defpotifm which fprings from 
 them. 
 
 Equally vain and fruitlefs are the contefts 
 concerning the particular charader of this de- 
 fpotifm- 
 
TURKISH GOVfikNMENT. tj 
 
 fpotifm. It has been called a military govern*"^ 
 menta from the nature of its origin, and the 
 means mofl frequently employed in its admini^ 
 flration -, and it has obtained the denomination 
 of a theocracy^ becaufe its fundamental code is 
 the Koran. Each of thefe flatements contains 1^ 
 fomething that is erroneous. A military go- 
 vernment fuppofes the didates of an arbitrary 
 chief, requiring implicit obedience in every in- 
 ferior, and prefcribing a certain punifhment for 
 negledt or tranfgreflion ; it excludes all forma- 
 lity and delay, and it is enforced by military 
 power. In theocracies, the will of the leader 
 has not (or at leafl pretends not to have) the di- 
 redlion of the ftate : himfeif an inftrument in 
 the hands of a fuperior being, he communicates 
 to the people, at various times, and as occaiion;;?s 
 requires, the commands of the Divinity. The 
 Turkifh government bears evident traces of j 
 both thefe fyftems, derived from the charadier/ 
 of its founder ; but there are fome points of 
 difference which prove it to be, //// generis^ ani 
 heteroclite monfter among the various fpecies 
 of defpotifm. In the Mahometan fyftem of 
 policy we may trace three ^ras. The firJl^/~\ 
 which was of that kind ufualiy denominated a 
 theocracy, "continued during the life-time of the 
 prophet himfeif, who, hke Mofes and Jofhua 
 among the Jews, appeared in t\\s, double cha- 
 ir radler 
 
/ 
 
 l8 C H AP TER I. 
 
 rader of a military chief and an inlpired legif- 
 ]?itoT. )^The fecoud was the government of the 
 Saracen kalifs, his immediate fucceflbrs : they 
 bore indeed the double fceptre of temporal and 
 fpiritual power ; but as they pretended to no 
 perfonal communications with the Almighty, all 
 the fanftity of their character coniifted in being 
 the defcendants of the prophet, and the guar- 
 dians and expoiitors of his kw. The prefent 
 / Turkifn conftitution forms the (Mrd gradation : 
 like the preceding, it has an inviolable code in 
 the facred volume of its religion; like them alfo 
 its reliance is on the povvcr of the fword, and 
 the m_odes of its adminiitration are military; 
 but it has an effential difference in the fepara- 
 \^tion of the temporal and fpiritual authorities. 
 This divffa',1 of pozvcr originated in the political 
 cTror of the Ottoman princes, who, eager only 
 for military glory, and perhaps wifliing to caft a 
 fpecious veil over their uiurpation, when they 
 finally fuppreiled the kalif.it, did not aflume to 
 themfelves al its fand'tions, but reiigned into 
 the hands a he theological lawyers the fpiri- 
 tual fupremacy No defpotifm was ever more 
 (profoundly politic than that, which, wielding at 
 \ once the temporal and fpiritual fword, con- 
 \ vertecl fanaticifm itfelf into an inftrument of 
 ' fovereignty, and united in one perfon the voice 
 and the arm of the Divinity. But it mufl be 
 
 remembered. 
 
TURKISH GOVERNMENT. I9 
 
 remembered, that when the power of the kalifs V 
 began to decline, other princes, befides thofe of .!, 
 the race of Othman, afiumed an independent 
 fovereignty ; and it is probable that mofh of 
 them, with a Ihow of moderation, which they 
 thought politic, invefted the priefts with the 
 adminiftration of all their fpiritual affliirs. 
 Such was the origin of the authority given to 
 the u/ema, 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 poiTefling, like the 
 priefts under the Jewilli theocracy, the oracles 
 both of law and religion, not only unite in them- 
 felves the power of two great corporations, thofe 
 of the law and of the church, but alfo fiiare 
 with the fovereign the diredh exercife of the le- 
 glflative, executive, and judicial powers. Pre-N 
 vious to the Ottoman sera, there were indeed ^ 
 muftis; but their power was only ot a judicial,! 
 not of a political nature, exa6lly refembling ' 
 that of the muftis, who are now appointed in 
 the feveral provinces, and whofe office is fome- 
 what limiiar to that of kadi or judge ; for it maft 
 not be forgotten, that the judicial and facerdo- 
 tal characters are in Turkey the fame. The 
 chief engine of this hierarchy is the fet^'a of the 
 mufti, a fort of manifefto, which, like the bulls 
 4)f the Roman pontiff, originating in ecclefiafti- 
 
 c a ca] 
 
20 CHAPTER 1. 
 
 cal power, has been applied to the moft impor-^ 
 tant political purpofes. 
 
 . The kalifs, with a view of enfuring the prompt 
 obedience of their fubjeds, were accuftortied to 
 give to the principal a6ls of their government 
 the fand:ion of religion, by affixing to their de- 
 crees (fuch as thofe of war and peace) the facred 
 
 ' feal, which alTured to the true believers, ading 
 under it, the honour of fupporting their faith, if 
 triumphant, or the palm of martyrdom in cafe 
 of death. The Othman princes, in order to 
 obtain a fimiiar end, were obliged t^ require 
 the aid of the prieithood, which they had eila- 
 blifhed. They applied, therefore, to the mufti, 
 who, by the advice of the heads of the ulema, 
 publifned the facred ordinance called fetva^ 
 which declares \hi ad: of government, to which 
 it is affixed, confonant to the Koran, and obli- 
 gatory on all true believers. The power which 
 
 .J- the prieflhood thus acquired was at firil: incon- 
 fiderable; it refembled the enregiftering of edids 
 by theTrench parliaments, which was a meafure 
 rather judicial than legillative; but they doubt- 
 iefs perceived in it the feeds of future greatnefs 
 and authority. So long as the fceptre was fway- 
 (cd by warlike princes, the mufti was eafily made 
 ro fpeak as the fuitan direded, and the power 
 .of the ulema, under their warlike monarchs, 
 was fcarcely perceived. It does not appear that 
 
 they 
 
TURKISH GOVERNMENT. 21 
 
 they attempted any refiftance to the will of thfe 
 fovereign before the reign of Amurath IV. That 
 prince, one of the moil ferocious that ever fate 
 on the Ottoman throne, irritated at the oppo- 
 fition of a mufti, caufed him to be thrown into 
 a huge mortar, and pounded to death. He in- 
 vented this kind of punifhment in order to ob- 
 viate, by a cruel irony, the privilege which the 
 ulema enjoyed, that no member of their body 
 could have his blood (hed as a punifhment. 
 This example fufficiently proves how little the ^ 
 pien of the law were, at that time, able to op- 
 pofe a fovereign whofe defpotifm was fupported 
 by the fcimitar. 
 
 But upon the decline of the military fpirit of. 
 the fultans, that which was only a political!' 
 fpring in the hands of the fovereign, has become 
 a fundamental law of the empire, creating and 
 confirming a power, which, if not in a6bual op- ^ 
 pofition, is always in balance againfl him. The'' 
 utility of fuch a balance of power in the more 
 enlightened governments has been flrenuoully 
 fupported on the grounds of a liberal policy ; 
 but, whatever we may think of fuch arguments, 
 they cannot apply to the ftate of Turkey, where 
 the balance is only a balance of intrigue and ar- 
 tifice, whilft there is, in both parties, a perfedt 
 accordance of defpotifm, a mutual defedt both 
 of the means and inclination to benefit the 
 
 c 3 community. 
 
%^ C H A P T P R t. 
 
 community. On the part of the fultan, it may 
 be obferved, that he would, long fmce, have be- 
 com.e the mere creature and tool of the mufti, 
 but for the power which he has referved to him- 
 f felf, of nominating and depofing the holder or 
 that dignity. This it is which gives him a 
 counterpoife againfh the mufti, by creating for 
 / him, among the ulema, as many partifans as 
 there are candidates afpiring to the pontificate." 
 The ulema on the other hand, are, in their col- 
 ktflive capacity, jealous of preferving the in- 
 fluence which they have thus obtained in the 
 government; and that religion, which ferved the 
 ^ firfh fultans as a means of adminiftration, has be- 
 come a fource of terror and fubjedtion to their 
 feeble fucceiTors. The fetva is now fo indif^ 
 penfable a preliminary to any political act, that 
 the fultan who Ihould dare to omit it, would be 
 declared an infidel by a fetva iffued by the mufti 
 \^himielf ; and fuch a proceeding would be fuffi- 
 cient to excite againil him both the populace 
 and foldiery, 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, 
 when at a diftance from them, he fhould be 
 able to conciliate the army to his interefts, and 
 alTert his independence. The late fultan Muf- 
 ta^a, anxious to be at the head of his army, w^jis 
 
 prevented 
 
TURKISH G O V n; R N M E N T. ^3 
 
 prevented from taking the field only by the fear 
 of a revolt, which the men'of the law could eafily 
 have excited in his abfence. 
 
 Another apparent check on the authority of 
 the fultan, is formed by the great council^ con- 
 fifling of the great military officers, the heads of , 
 the ulema, and the principal minifters of the ' 
 empire. No important ad: of government can 
 be undertaken without a previous difcufiion in 
 this aiTembly, at which the grand felgnior, or 
 his chief vizir, prefides ; but every queftion is^tt 
 decided by a plurality of votes. It is unnecef- 
 fary to expatiate on this body, as forming a dif- 
 tindt political power, becaufe, from the nature 
 of its members, it muil be fwa^'ed either by the 
 party of the fultan, or by that of the priefthood, 
 and it, therefore, ferves rather to determine the-^- 
 relative power of thofe two diftind: bodies. 
 
 That much political knowledge cannot be ex- 
 peded from the minifters of ftate, is evident/ 
 from the manner in which they attain theirs 
 lituations. Rifmg from the meaneft Rations,^, 
 they advance progrefTively to the higheft pofts ^< 
 not by means of fuperior genius or knowledge,/ 
 but by petty intrigue, and by flattering thofe ovi 
 whom they depend. The vizir Tnjef^ who com- 
 manded in 1790 againft the emperor, was raifed 
 by Gazi Haflan from a ftate of the mereft indi- 
 g/^nce. He fold foap in the ftreets, carrying it in 
 
 c 4 ^ balket 
 
 A 
 
24 CHAPTER I. 
 
 a bafket on his head, before he became the ier- 
 vant of Haflan, who, after employing him in that 
 menial office, made him fucceffively clerk in the 
 treafury of the arfenal, his own agent at the 
 porte, (kapi kahia) pafha of the Morea, and, 
 laftly, grand vizir. 
 
 There is, indeed, a regular eflablifhment for 
 educating youth for the fervice of the fultan in a 
 fchool at Pera, called Galata Serai; when they 
 come thither, they are placed in different clalTes, 
 according to their abilities and the line to which 
 they are defhined. But this inflitution has fo 
 far degenerated, that few but the fons of perfons 
 belonging to the feraglio are fent thither, where 
 their education is of fmall importance, as any 
 one, whether he has pafled through this college 
 or not, may attain any office in the feraglio by 
 means of intrigue and bribery. It may be worth 
 while here to notice a fmgular error, which is 
 generally entertained in Europe relative to th6 
 term Jeraglioy which is fuppofed to mean the 
 apartments of the women : it literally means 
 -palace^ and is, therefore, applied by way of emi* 
 nence to the vaft range of buildings inhabited 
 by the grand feignior, and all the officers and de- 
 pendents of his court. Here is tranfac^ed alK 
 the bufmefs of government ; the council itfelf is-/ 
 called the divan^ and the place of public au- 
 dience thQ por^e^ or the gate. Of the officers 
 
 of 
 
TURKISH GOVERNMENT. 2j 
 
 of the feraglio the vizir Is chief (as being the ^ 
 prime minifter of the fovereign) j this is alfo a 
 term given to him by way of eminence, as it fig- 
 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 fiiltan, is called the grand vizir, or vizir 
 azem. Befide the vizir, all the other great pub- 
 lic officers of the empire, refident at Conftanti- 
 nople, inhabit the feraglio, or, at leaft, have-f^ 
 their offices there j all the minifters, palhas, &c. 
 without exception, belong to it, and their pof- 
 feflions revert at their death to the fultan, their 
 mafter and their heir, of whom they are ftiled 
 thtjlaves (kul, or kool) fo that their defcend- 
 ants have no advantage over thofe of the meanefh 
 mechanics, except what they may cafually de- 
 rive from the notice of the fovereign, or from 
 having been introduced by their parents into 
 the fchool of the feraglio. 
 
 From the preceding obfervations it appears,*^ 
 that the legiflative and executive powers are, in: 
 the higher ad:s of policy, divided among dif-l 
 ferent bodies : the executive adls of an inferior 
 order are fuch as regard financial and military P 
 operations, or matters of general police. The 
 two former of thefe branches, though of fmall 
 import in the individual ads, are, each in its 
 aggregate, of fufficient importance to claim a 
 
 feparatQ 
 
26 CHAPTER I. 
 
 feparate confideration ; to each of them, there* 
 fore, I fhall devote a future chapter, and for the 
 prefent pafs on to a curfory view of the internal 
 police. However difl:in6t the principle of the 
 Turkifh government, as it at prefent exifls, 
 may appear, its forms of adminiftration, and all 
 
 ^ its internal police, are purely military. This is 
 fo thoroughly the cafe, that the grand feignior 
 is flill fuppofed to reign, as formerly, in the 
 midft of his camp ; he even dates his public 
 
 \ ^dis from his imperial Jlirriip^ and fimilar in- 
 ilances are difcoverable in all his other formali- 
 
 /'ties. The government of diflant provinces is 
 
 ^•committed to pa/Jms-, their dignity is military, 
 and the whole defpotic power of the fultan is 
 4^delegated to them. A flight view of the hif- 
 tory of the janizaries will Ihow of what kind is 
 the dependence placed on them, as well in the 
 maintenance of the police as in the exercife of 
 war. The force of arms firft fubjugated the 
 countries which form their empire ^ the force of 
 arms alone could retain them in fubmiflion; 
 and it is owing to the decline of the military 
 fpirit of the Turks, that the members of fo vaft 
 a body are, at the prefent day, fo feeble and drf^ 
 united. — To wield the iron fceptre with effed: 
 required a warlike fovereign ftained with blood, 
 tlie fcourge of his people, and alone the idol 
 and the terror of an obedient foldlery. 
 
 Such 
 
TURKISH GOVERNMENT. Ij 
 
 Such were a long while the charaflers of the 
 iultans, and of the janizaries, the faithful mi- /* 
 niflers of their defpotifm. From the moment 
 that the latter beheld their chief no longer ani- 
 mated with a brave and warlike fpirit, the ma- 
 chine of government was thrown into diforder; 
 the moving power was no longer the fpring 
 which fhould have direded, and the re-aclion of 
 the exterior parts toward the centre was totally 
 deftroyed. The janizaries, then, feized them-> 
 felves that power which a weak and cowardly ( 
 fultan could not wield ; they depofed their mo* 
 jiarch, 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 
 defpot annihilated the power of thefe pretoriar^ / 
 bands, by a fyflem of corruption and enervation.' 
 The moil eminent of their leaders were takeii.. 
 off, either by fecret fraud or open accufation, ' 
 and their places fupplied by the micaneft and 
 mod devoted creatures of the court. In the 
 meanwhile the corps itfelf was baftardized, and 
 rendered contemptible by the introdudion of a 
 herd of the vilefl of the people ; men occupied 
 in the loweft employments^ and even fhained 
 with the moft infamous crimes^, who would 
 have been forrnerly expelled from the fervice 
 
 • Furtum et TpxdQvMa paj/tva. 
 
 With. 
 
aS CHAPTER I. 
 
 with the greateft indignation. The fultans 
 / have, indeed, fucceeded in extinguiftiing every 
 Ipark of that fire which they dreaded -, they have 
 annihilated all traces of a mihtary fpirit ; but 
 they have, at the fame time, paralyzed their own 
 hands, and left themfelves without the powers 
 neceffary for the fupport of a defpotic go- 
 "^vernment. Many of the pafhas, having little 
 to fear from the vengeance of the fultan, pro- 
 ceed to the moft violent abufes of their autho- 
 rity, and not unfrequently appear in open rebel- 
 lion. The defection fpreads from province to 
 province, and little remains, in this vaft empire, 
 but the lliadow of an union without real flabi- 
 iity, and of an obedience which mocks the grafp 
 of fuperiorlty. In the regular adminifhration 
 /of government, however, the fultan is pofleiTed 
 I of the moil arbitrary power over the lives of his 
 ^fubje6ts, and executes criminal juftice, either 
 by himfelf or his vizirs, without procefs or for- 
 mality. 
 
 In regard to property his power is more limits 
 ed : over that of all his officers he has the fulleft 
 right ; he is their lawful heir ; but in regard to 
 that of his other fubjedis, he is reftridted by the 
 laws to greater moderation. It is, neverthelefs, 
 eafy to avoid fuch reftridlions ; and we iliall, in 
 faft, fee that the infecurity of property in Tur- 
 key is one very powerful caufe of the Ignorance 
 
 and 
 
TURKISH GOVERNMENt. 29 
 
 aiid vices of its inhabitants. The fultan dele- = 
 gates his power in this refped to the vizirs and \ 
 pafhas in the provinces, and in a lefs degree, to 
 governors and officers of different ranks and de- 
 nominations. Pretexts and fuppofed crimes are 
 always to be found to deftroy or to ruin a fub- 
 jed. This part of the government is therefore 
 truly defpotic ; and when the prince or his re- 
 prefentatives are tyrants, it is defpotifm in a form 
 the mod cruel and infultlng to the rights of 
 mankind. 
 
 Much flrefs has been laid by fome authors on 
 the limitation of the fultan's power by law, with 
 refped to the property of individuals, in order 
 to prove that his government is not v/hoUy de- 
 fpotic. The fad, however, is frniply, that with 
 regard to fome kind of property, as houfes which 
 are poffefTed by inheritance, the fove reigns have 
 fometimes thought it dangerous to violate the 
 common law openly, by depriving the owner of 
 them by force -, in fuch cafes, when the objed 
 has been defirable, we have feen them take a 
 fhorter way, by putting the owner to death. 
 Againfl this exercife of power no one obj-jds ; 
 fometimes, however, they have fubmitted to the 
 law to make their reign popular. This oppoii- 
 tion to the will of the fultan, as has been ob- 
 ferved, is not to be underflood of the officers 
 of the porte, for with thefe no ceremony is gb- 
 
 ferv^d. 
 
 ^^' 
 
30 CHAPTER i, 
 
 ferved. The pailias in the provinces are, how-": 
 ever, lefs Icrupulous than the fultan in the ca- 
 pital. 
 
 Having examined the legiflative and execu- 
 tive branches of government, it remains to fpeak 
 o^ t\\t judiciaL This branch is founded, like the 
 others, on religion; but a divifion fuited to the 
 barbarous nature of its origin leems to obtain in 
 it./ The offences againfi: the flate, or fuch as 
 affcdl the public peace, are wholly under the 
 jurifdiAion of the fovereign, and feem to be ex- 
 cluded from the judicial forms; whilfl the dif- 
 penlation of juftice by formal procefs feems to 
 ,;;^ be intended only for offences ?ind difputes of a, 
 more private nature. 
 
 The excellence or defect of a judicial fyftem 
 depends upon the code of law ; upon the com- 
 maitaries or precedents v'fhich are received as 
 polfefling authority ; upon the perfons appointed 
 to adminiiter juftice, and upon their mode of 
 / declllon. The fundamental law, civil and poll* 
 ^^ tical,, is the koran^ the refpedl to which is derived 
 
 s' 
 
 from its divine origin : from this is extracted a 
 civil code, called the multkay to which are added 
 
 V,certain conimenlancs called the diirer and lialehi\ 
 ?K\\d befides theic there are various colledions of 
 
 fetvas^ or fentences, of the moil celebrated muf- 
 tis, all of which tos^cther form, it mufh be conr 
 felled, a coiledioa of legal knowledge more than 
 . . fufiicient 
 
TURKISH GOVERNMENT. 3I, 
 
 fufficlent for the inftrudion of the judges-. But 
 as thefe judges are not bound by any preceding 
 decrees, and have the application of the law in 
 their own breads, the more intricate it is ren- 
 dered by the different compilations and com- 
 mentaries, the more arbitrary is the power in- 
 trufhed to them. Were the tribunals pure, and 
 the mode of trial equitable, this laxity of inter- 
 pretation would doubtlefs be an advantage to 
 the caufe of juftice; but the contrary is fo no- 
 torious in Turkey, that the iniquitous decifions 
 of the judges are proverbial. Peyilbnel com- 
 plains of the unfairnefs of Baron de Tott in 
 citing different inftances of Turkifh injuftice, 
 and obferves, that fimilar examples may be found 
 in the hifhory of every country ; but it is not 
 neceffary in Turkey to recur to paft ages, or to 
 lingle out particular examples ; it is the promi- 
 nent feature in the chara(5ler of their tribunals, 
 and every day's experience confirms the cenfure 
 of Tott, by repeated inftances of corruption. 
 
 The de:j;terity of the Turkifh kadis, or judges, 
 to decide in favour of thofe who have paid them, 
 is often very ingenious ; many pleafant ftories 
 are told of them, and it is generally a fubje6t for 
 a kind of comedians, who acl in coffee houfes or 
 in private houfes, but without drefs or fcenery, 
 one of them performing the part of a kadi, c^nd 
 two others the plairitiff and defendant. . 
 
 ■. Ail 
 
^2 CHAPTERI. 
 
 An Arab who had hired out his camel to a 
 man to travel to Damafcus, complained to a 
 kadi, on the road, that he had overloaded his 
 camel ; the other bribed the kadi. " What has 
 he loaded it Vv^ith ?'* aiks the kadi — the Arab 
 anfwers, " with cahue (coffee) and mahue^'' i. e, 
 coffee et cetera (changing the hrft letter into m 
 makes a kind of gibberifli word, which lignifies 
 et cetera) ^^fugar and mugar^ pots and mots. Jacks 
 and macks y'' ^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 article, 
 and only added et cetera, according to the Arab 
 cuilom, without their being any &c. he took 
 up the fame loading he had before. 
 
 A Chriftian, fubjed: to the Turks, was carried 
 before a judge at Aleppo, accufed by a Sherif of 
 having one evening in the bazar, or market 
 place, knocked off his green turban, a crime 
 puniibable with death — the judge was himfelf a 
 Sherif — (this race have in mofl:. places the privi- 
 lege of a judge of their own.) The Chriftian 
 fent fecretly, bribed him , and infornTfed him of 
 the truth, which was, that the Sherif 's turban 
 I was 
 
TURKISH GOVERNMENT. 33 
 
 Ms of fo dark a green that he took it for a dark 
 blue, a colour which a Chriftian friend of his 
 Xvore, and for whom he had taken him in the 
 dark of the evening, and had 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 She- 
 rifs. The judge addreiied them; " Z)(? you 
 come here in Jucli numbers to afk jiijlice^ or to take it 
 yourfdhes ; go out all but thofe who are witnejjesi 
 mid you Chriftiayi^' faid he, addreffing himfelf to 
 the accufer (who had been privately pointed out 
 to him) '^ go yon out, I fuppofe you are a zvitnefs for 
 the accufed', you fJiall be called when you are vjant- 
 edr The man exclaimed, that he was not only 
 a Mahomedan, but a Sherif, and the accufer 
 himfelf 1 "What," fays the judge, "you a 
 Sherif, and wear a turban of a colour that I my- 
 felf in the day-time took for that of an infidel j 
 how could the poor infidel in the dark difhin- 
 guiili it? You ought to wear the holy grafs 
 green of the prophet, and not be afliamed of it." 
 He acquitted the Chrifcian, and ordered the 
 plaintiff to be baftinadced for not w^earinf^ a 
 proper green turban. It would, without this" 
 turn, have been difHcult to have appealed the/ 
 violence of the Sherifs afiembled : but he was 
 well paid for it, and for money they will run 
 any riilis> 
 
 . D If 
 
34 CHAPTER I. 
 
 If the Turkifh judges difplay great ingenuity 
 in diftorting the ru'es of equity, it muft be 
 jiowned that they fometimes fhow equal fkill in 
 Ithe advancement of jtiftice. When the famous 
 Kuperly was grand -vizir, an old woman brought 
 to an Armenian money-changer a cafket, con- 
 taining jev/els of great apparent value, pretending 
 they belonged to a fiiltana, and borrowed money 
 on them, depofiting the ca.fket after ilie had 
 fealed it. The money was to be paid again in a 
 certain time. The woman not appearing a long 
 while after the time was expired, he opened the 
 cail^et, in the prefence of feveral refpedable per- 
 fons, Vv'hen the jewels were difcovered to be 
 - falle. The Armenian went to the vizir and re- 
 lated the iioryj when it appeared that the ful- 
 ■tana had not fent any jev;els to be pawned. 
 The vizir ordered him. to remove from his fnop, 
 in a private manner, every thing valuable, and 
 on fuch a night to fet it on fire; that he would 
 be near v>^ith proper people to prevent it fpread- 
 'ing; that then he fhould conilantly fit before 
 •his ihop, and lament to all v/ho pafled his hav- 
 . ing loft a cail-Let of jewels of immenfe value in 
 the fire. In a few days the old woman appeared, 
 and demanded to releafe her jewels. She was 
 carried to the vizir, who fliou'ed her her caflvet, 
 and told her (he Ihould be immediately put to 
 death by the niofl terrible torments, if (lie did 
 
 not 
 
TUP. KISH GOVERN M EN T» 35 
 
 hot confefs the whole. She difcovered her ac- 
 Compiices ; they were put to deaths and the 
 Armenian got back his money, deducing the 
 vizir's lliare. This fact is known at Conilanti- 
 nople. 
 
 The ptmegy rills of Turk! Ill jiirifpradence ad- 
 duce in its favour the cuftora which is called 
 bimwigtlie mat, by which any individual j whether 
 Mahometan, Jew, or Ghriflian, may appeal ta 
 the juftice of the grand feignior from the op- 
 preflion or injuftice of his oliicers. The peti* 
 tioner, on thefe occafionsj appears in the itreetv 
 near the mofque to which the fultan is going> 
 and has on his head a bit of burning mat, at the 
 fame time bearing; aloft his petition, w-hich is 
 lifted up to the officer, whofc bufmefs it is to 
 receive and put it into a bag. The extreme of 
 violence often produces a remedy no Icfs violent 
 in its nature \ it is thus with the burning of the 
 mat, which is never prad^ifed but on great occa- 
 fions, when a complaint is lodged, in a defpcrate 
 manner, againft a viziTj or other great perfony 
 and the fuitan is thereby cautioned to take the 
 fuppliant under his proteclion. Such petition- 
 ers Lave, generally, a party of malcontents to 
 lupport them ; and they adopt this; mode to 
 warn the fultan of the danger of not receiving 
 their complaints, which, inde^, without feme 
 fuch precaution, feldom meet with any attention* 
 
 pi It 
 
%6 CHx^?TE8. I. 
 
 It appears from the preceding confiderations-y 
 that the evils ariii-n^^ from the mode of sfovern- 
 ment afford little hope of reform. Such an at- 
 tempt would in vain be undertaken^ even by a 
 fovereign of the greateil abilities and moil: pa^ 
 triotic inclinations. Were a fultan, equal in 
 military talents to Amurat the fourth, to fit on- 
 the Ottoman throne, it miglit be pofiible to re- 
 kindle that martial eenius in his forces, which 
 has been fo long extinguiflied, and to reduce to 
 iiibmiflion thofe rebellious pallias, who have 
 been fo long independent. This indeed would 
 be an herculean labour; but even this would be 
 rendered ineffedual by the prevalence of the 
 iilenia. A powerful prieftliood, in oppofition 
 to the fovereign, mufl, in fuch a country as 
 Turkey, thwart all his views, and render in- 
 effectual his mod ftrenuous exertions. To in- 
 troduce an unity into the government, this am- 
 bitious body fhduld be wholly extirpated ; btit 
 fuch a fhep as this fcarceiy any fultan who has 
 fat on the throne, would have dared to have 
 taken : how much lefs is it to be expeded frona 
 the daflardly and enervated fovereigns who now 
 fpring from the feraglio 1 
 
J 
 
 T U R fC I S H FINANCES. 37 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 On the 'TurhJIi Finances. 
 
 ^j~^HERE is no part of the internal policy 
 L of a Hate wiiich aiicrds a wider Icope for 
 the difplay of abiUties than finance : It is to a 
 fkilful appncation of its powers in this refpedl, ^ 
 that the rife and the continuance of a greatj 
 •empire is chiefly to be attributed^ and from a 
 failure in this great article may be deduced moil 
 of the evils which bring on its decay and down- 
 fal. It would be a narrow view of this fubje6t, 
 which fliould only regard the debtor and cre- 
 ditor fide of the account^ the politive or the re- 
 lative magnitude of the irnpods ; it is not {o 
 much the fum raifed or expended, as the mode 
 of its levy and application, which is to be re- 
 garded as the tell of political ability. The 
 fo]lov;ing iketch will, therefore, embrace a view 
 of the different public treafures, together wath 
 obfervations on the mode of railing them, on 
 their application, and on their prefent fitua- 
 tion. 
 
 The Turkiih fyftem of finance may be di- 
 vided into two great branches: the pubHc trea- 
 fury, or nnri'.i and the ful tan's treafury, or hajni\^ 
 
 D 3 each 
 
58 CHAPTER ir. 
 
 ; each of which has its pecuhar fources o.f revenue,, 
 and its particular apprapriation of expenditure, 
 "^^ There are, indeed, other treafures of confiderr 
 able magnitude, which deferve the attention of 
 the pohtician, though not properly included in 
 
 , the fyRem of finance : thefe are the trca(ure§ of 
 the tikma and thcfe of the niofques^ rams taken 
 from the aclive and emcient capital of the na- 
 tion, and either wholly unemployed, or appro- 
 priated to uies which cannot be fuppofed to 
 have a very diredl relation to the neceirities of 
 the Rate. 
 
 The public treafure, or exchequer of the ftate^ 
 fird demands cur attention, as that in v/hich 
 are to be expedled the mofk methodical regu- 
 larity, the grealefb fairnefs in the impofition, 
 and judgment in the application of the taxes* 
 The revenues of this treafure are of two kinds, 
 / the Rxed and the cafual ; the former of which 
 may be divided into the karach^ or tribute paid 
 by Chridians, and the farms of the empire in 
 general ; the latter confifls of certain articles, 
 
 A-ovhich will be mentioned in the fubjoined de^ 
 \taiL 
 
 The expenditure embraces a variety of ob- 
 
 ^ jects, viz, the expences of iht army and navy, 
 in war as well as peace ; the pay of all officers, 
 civil and miiitar^y ; the erecting and repairing 
 
 of 
 
TURKISH FINANCES. ^f, 
 
 of fortifications, of public edifices, high-roads, 
 bridges, &c. together with a great part of the 
 expences of the fultan's houfehold, and feveral 
 other extraordinary difburfements. The follow- 
 ing detail will comprife the ordinary revenue 
 and expenditure of the public treafury of the 
 Ottoman empire, from the mofl authentic docu- 
 ments, together with a view of its dtbts and 
 credits in th^ year 1776, at the conclufion of a 
 ruinous war with Rn/Jta, 
 
 JNNUJL REVENUE of the MIRL 
 
 THIS comprehends the difFerent tributes, taxes, and cuf. 
 loms, called the karach, mukata, bedeli-noazoul, avaragi- 
 hane, gebeluyan, gebeluyan-embak, gebi-humayun, havafi- 
 humayun, eukaf-humayun, pifke -zaife, meokuf", tarap-hanei, 
 amire, haremein, (herif^ hafineri, &c. 
 
 1. FIXED REVENUE. 
 
 The firft branch is the karach, a capitation tax, or annual 
 redemption of the lives cf all thcfe males above 15 years of 
 ^ge, who do not profefs the Mahometan religion.— ^t i& 
 (armed in the diiFerent diftriiTts as follows :. 
 
 EUROPEAN CITIES and PASHALIKS. 
 
 Conftantinople and its environs - - - - 
 
 Tliis karach was augmented to this fum in the Year 
 
 1776, by the addition of 360 puiles (or 180,000 
 
 piartres)j of which augmentation, only ico went to the 
 
 public crealury. 
 
 Adrianople and its environs _ - - _ 
 
 Sophia -.---_-. 
 Taiar-bazargik ._-..- 
 
 D4 
 
 Purfes 
 Rumi of 
 500 dol- 
 lars or 
 ^iaflres. 
 
 2;9l6 
 
 1,750 
 
40 
 
 CHAPTEH II. 
 
 Philippopolls ------- 
 
 Salonico - - - .- 
 
 Ufkiup - -- 
 
 Kiofdentll - - - - - 
 
 Terhale ----._-. 
 
 yenitflier Kinar ----._ 
 
 Avlonia - - - -. 
 
 Ohry - • 
 
 Delvine -------- 
 
 ElbifTan - - - - - - 
 
 Bania -------- 
 
 Kifria -------- 
 
 Ozi (now in the poiTeffionof RuSia; called Oczakow 
 
 by the Poles) -_-«-_ 
 
 Siiiilria ------^_ 
 
 Varna ----____ 
 
 Babadahg -----__ 
 
 Paravadi - - ■, - -- 
 
 JCarinabad ------- 
 
 Eeribozak -._,,-- 
 Rufchuk -------- 
 
 Shumna -------- 
 
 Hezargarad ------- 
 
 Niceboli -------- 
 
 Harmen - "-- 
 
 Viddin - - - - - - - - 
 
 Jflemie ----_--. 
 
 Ufunge abad Haflcioy - - - - _ 
 
 Gallipoli ----*--- 
 
 Orfe -----___ 
 
 Yenebanti ------- 
 
 Negroponte --••--- 
 Ifdiu - -- - r-, - 
 
 Belgrade - - - - - - -- 
 
 NiiTa - 
 
 A^afTonia - - - -*- 
 
 Tif - - - 
 
 Kiordos -----«-- 
 
 Athens (Seitin, or Land of Olives) - - - 
 Yenike -------- 
 
 Napoli di Romania - - - - - 
 
 xiatevmis ------- 
 
 Calamata .= ---- = - 
 
 Furfes 
 Rui'mi. 
 
 280 
 530 
 260 
 226 
 
 270 
 
 250 
 170 
 160 
 450 
 250 
 
 90 
 
 170 
 
 100 
 160 
 180 
 190 
 220 
 170 
 
 90 
 39Q 
 260 
 300 
 150 
 176 
 240 
 
 70 
 210 
 500 
 
 96 
 J 80 
 196 
 170 
 
 4S 
 
 70 
 
 90 
 
 220 
 
 225 
 120 
 130 
 
TURKISH FINANCES. 
 
 41 
 
 Enghily Kafry - - - - - - 
 
 Livadia ------- 
 
 Tancara ------ r - 
 
 Donige - - - * - - - 
 
 Alexandria -«---- 
 
 Bofnia with its dependencies - , - 
 
 (Bender and Hotin are not included) 
 Morea and its five jurirdiftions - - - 
 
 PROVINCES and cities of anatoha. 
 
 Hade vendigihar Sangiaki - - - - 
 The province of Kiatahie - - - - 
 
 Gimis dizne of Efkiftiehir - - - - 
 Sultan Ony - - - - 
 Kara HilTar - - - - 
 The province of Angora - - - 
 The jurifdiaion of l^uffia - - - - 
 ofBoli . - - - 
 of Kiflin - _ * . 
 of Viran Shehir - 
 of Hiifar ony 
 of Akfhe-fhehir - 
 of Cara-fu 
 of Ghiul Bazar - 
 The government of Caflemony 
 The jurifdiaion of Sinop - 
 ofTyr - 
 of Sultatnony 
 ofGhiufelHiffar 
 of Allafhehir 
 of Metmen 
 The government of Mentefhe 
 
 of Smyrna 
 The jurifdiaion of Ak(he Shehir 
 
 of Sahri-hilfar 
 The iQand Kufeh-adafi 
 The jurildiaion of Gihul-hiffar - 
 
 ofHamid - - - 
 of yalli-keffri - 
 of Sandughi 
 The government of Breigha 
 . ofCarafll 
 
 Purfes 
 R.umi. 
 
 170 
 
 70 
 90 
 80 
 
 290 
 
 M95 
 
 20,01^ 
 
 280 
 480 
 120 
 130 
 160 
 190 
 180 
 90 
 
 75 
 
 75 
 120 
 
 no 
 
 55 
 
 So 
 
 190 
 150 
 
 50 
 
 70 
 
 90 
 
 80 
 
 90 
 
 150 
 
 320 
 
 120 
 
 150 
 
 160 
 
 300 
 80 
 
 x6o 
 40 
 
4z 
 
 CKAFTER ir. 
 
 The government of Teke - - 
 
 of Glaye - 
 of ifenghemid - 
 - of Ala "^ - 
 of S'lvas - 
 of Tokat 
 ofNikde 
 ofYeniHierry - 
 of Yenni i] - - 
 
 of Amafia 
 ofBozauk 
 ofZurem 
 ofDiyunik 
 of Dzanik 
 of Arabkir 
 The province of Caramania 
 of Ahiliery • 
 of Kaifarie 
 o{ Akierai 
 of AH ana 
 of Silis 
 of Iz-il 
 of £kin 
 Trrpoly in Syria 
 Damafcu' (or bharn Sherif) 
 Ale-ppo (Haieb) - . - - 
 
 Kelis 
 
 Agras ---_-. 
 Meras --._-- 
 Anitab ---_._ 
 The government of Malatia 
 
 of Rica • - - 
 of Ahmed 
 of Kifni Manfiir 
 of Diarbekir 
 of Muilrl 
 of Etzerun 
 ofTrebifcnd 
 of Gelder 
 
 of Van » . - 
 
 cf Karis - - - 
 
 BcTgdat, BiifTora, Mcrdin, ard environs - 
 
 The ifland of Tcnedos . - - 
 
 Purfcs 
 
 27 
 210 
 
 no 
 490 
 26=0 
 120 
 210. 
 90 
 180 
 
 70, 
 150 
 
 120 
 
 800 
 
 320 
 
 200 
 
 210 
 
 120 
 
 120 
 
 £00 
 
 no 
 
 300 
 90 
 
 120 
 400 
 600 
 120 
 
 70 
 200 
 240 
 120 
 200 
 no 
 
 80 
 300 
 
 3 CO 
 
 450 
 3C0 
 
 200 
 no 
 
 150 
 
 500 
 
TURKISH FIKAKCES. 
 
 43 
 
 The iHind of Meteline - - <^ • - 
 Shio (or Scio) - - - - 
 
 Stanchio . - - - - 
 
 Candia ------ 
 
 Kubrus (or Cyprus) - - . 
 
 Tino -'.---* 
 The iflands dependent on the capitan pa(ha - 
 Cairo (or Meitir) - - - - - - 
 
 Several other revenues, of which is a feparate account 
 
 Total for the Karach for Romelia and Anatolia 
 
 Purfea 
 Rutnl. 
 
 180 
 580 
 150 
 560 
 850 
 
 I So 
 1.350 
 
 39,077* 
 
 The SECOND BRANCH of the FIXED REVENUE 
 
 . comprifes the following general TAXES or 
 FARMS of the Empire. 
 
 ^1 ukata, (farms regiilered in the Bafh-muhafTebe, SfC.) 
 The Ogialik of Bulgaria pays - -. - - 
 The Agalik of the Turkomani - 
 The body of Chingairl (Gyp(ie> or Bohemians) 
 Gebekiyan lokafhumayun render - - - - 
 
 Emlaki humayun render ----- 
 
 Gebelnyan of the Timar and Ziamet, pofiefTed by 
 aged or infirm perfons - - - - - 
 
 Bcdeli Nuzui of the Timar and Ziamet of Romalia 
 and AnatoHa ._-__- 
 
 Avarigi Hane fper centage cf immcvcahles) - 
 Of tobacco, the mines of filver, &c. contributions 
 of the aJminiftrators . . - _ - 
 
 Mukata, m'.zan on filk, maftic, oil, &c. of the coun- 
 try of Brufa ------ 
 
 Duty paid by the dealers in iheep 
 
 Salt pits or mines o.f HaHar - - - 
 
 Pifn, woods, ^<c. of Metelino and its ports; tax on 
 
 weight at Conllantincple - - - - 
 
 Paid for the Saltan's kiichen, by certain cities, towns, 
 and villages ------- 
 
 B/ the company of butchers - „ - • 
 
 The cuftom houfc of Conilantinople » « - 
 
 4v9^ 
 520 
 
 450 
 
 2,690 
 
 280 
 
 3fo 
 
 47'=> 
 
 3,580 
 2,959 
 
 2,300 
 
 790 
 
 7 So 
 
 1,200 
 
 2.800 
 
 1,300 
 
 600 
 
 1,872 
 
44 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ^„*.».w*. 
 
 Tbs diitT on tobacco ..' - - - .. » 
 
 ,^N.B. Tihjs duty is alTigned in the foHowing maniiej ; 
 ^85 5 piirics to the proprieters of "the Ma-likanc. 
 Q.'^?. to tlie mufti. 
 S.t>o to the irr-peilal mint. 
 
 tt^iftt of ihe houffs belonging to tr.e arfenal - 
 BiUy on tobacco of Arabia c..:d of Id - ~ - 
 
 1 iDf tvhiph is afligried 40b to theproprietors above mentioned, 
 ^" rnd 500 to the imperial mint. 
 
 Revenues of the fariP-s belonging to Mecca and 
 
 . Medina^ -_--__. 
 
 Divers fnmll farms deflined for charity - - _ 
 
 Annual Fixed Revenue . _ -. > 
 j *Or 37>935,5oo piaftres. 
 
 II, UNFIXED REVENUE. 
 From the Miiap^ili and Mukata - - - . 
 
 O 
 
 Daty on tobacco _ . _ 
 
 Cafual connication and inheritances 
 
 Farms of Cairo 
 
 On tobacco bv a nev\' rerrulation - - _ . 
 
 The Zaefe paid by the vizir and ctiicr minillers for 
 
 their offices -_---.. 
 Eefidcs what is paid on the creating of a vizir, and 
 
 making other miniilers. 
 
 |0r 44,942,300 piaflre?. 
 
 Piirfes 
 
 Rumi. 
 
 1,287 
 
 7©o 
 
 2,800 
 
 2,995 
 
 75'87i^ 
 
 5,772 
 3065 
 
 1,327 
 
 1,650 
 
 400 
 
 1,800 
 
 89,885 1 
 
 Total of the Pvevenue of the Errpire or pubiic treafury, 
 called the Min\ 44,942,500 piaftres, or about ^^.4,494,250 
 Herling. 
 
 Since this calculation M'as made, the exchange is flijl move 
 againit Turkey, or, more properly fpeaking, this money has 
 been niuch dcbafed. 
 
 Th.e Revenues of Wallachia and Moldavia are not in- 
 cluded. They were to pay nothisjg during rhe firll three 
 years after the-pcace with liuflia Avas concluded. 
 
 S . JNNUJL 
 
TURKISH F I N A N C E S. 
 
 45 
 
 ANNUJL EXPENDITURE of the MIRI. 
 
 Pav of the city guarJs or militia of ConHantinople 
 Pay of the boRangis and of the people belonging 
 to the fultan's kitchen ---... 
 Pay of the agas and oficers of the fultan's palace - 
 To the harem of the old palace - - - . 
 To the fultan's eunuchs ----- 
 To the aea of the ferao-lio of Galata - 
 Expences of the kitchen (paries rumi) - 
 To the chief of the butchers - - - „ 
 
 Expences of the imperial flables - - - - 
 Arbitrary afiignments _ - _ ^ . 
 
 A donation to Mecca and Medina - - « 
 Pay of the failors of the fleet - - . . 
 Proviiion for the fleet - _ - - _ 
 
 Expences of the admiralty - - - 
 
 Penfions of the fultanas and of the depofed khans of 
 
 the Crim ------. 
 
 Pay of the garrifor.i of Vicldin 
 Pay of all the other fortreiles of the Ottoman Empire 
 Pay of thofe of Bofnia _ _ - - _ 
 For maintaining recruits _ » - - - 
 Expences of the leller department called Kuchuk 
 
 Kalem >_-_-_. 
 
 Pay of thofe who guard the Danube _ - - 
 Expences in maintaining the polls - -, ~ 
 
 Total of the Expenditures of the Empire, paid by 7 
 the public ireafury or miri - _ , j 
 
 *0r 36,968,133. 
 
 Purl'es 
 
 i^ivanj. 
 
 22,700 
 
 700 
 
 1,7^0 
 
 1,800 
 
 800 
 
 qoi 
 
 ijSco 
 
 600 
 
 600 
 
 1,250 
 
 9,000 
 
 
 Soo 
 
 I:8C0 
 
 l,-2_:;o 
 
 18,000 
 
 1.970 
 
 472 
 
 1, 2 CO 
 
 I. -700 
 
 76,236^ 
 
 Equal to about 
 /.3.696,Si3 
 
 lierling. 
 
 Revenue 
 Expenditure 
 
 Surplus 
 
 3,695,813 
 
 £' 7974S7 ft«ili^-g' 
 
 ^n 
 
46 
 
 CHAPTER It. 
 
 ^4ii ACCOUNT of the DEB TS and CREDITS of the MIRTi 
 i« 1 776, a/ter the conclujion of the R ussi a n Wa r. 
 
 The M'lri owed. 
 
 To thetreafury of Mecca and Medina - 
 
 To the Hafne -_->-- 
 
 To the arfenal ------ 
 
 Debts - - .- 
 
 To the Miri was owing. 
 
 From the tobacco cufloms - - - - 
 From feveral branches of the Revenue - 
 A balance on the Yearly Paymenis to the trea- 
 fury =.»--.-- 
 
 Credits 
 
 Balarce, being ttie De'b-t of the Miri, or about 
 ^. 3. 62 8; 3 50 Ikrhng „ . - - 
 
 Piaftres. 
 
 i,3;;o,ooa 
 
 45,';5o,ooo 
 
 6,500 000 
 
 53,400,000 
 
 3,786,000 
 6,000,000 
 
 7,280,48a 
 
 17,066,480 
 
 / The Jiajhe^ or private treafure of the fultan^ 
 next claims our notice : in amount, indeed, it 
 is vailly fuperior to the miri, but it contributes 
 little to the exigencies of the flate, except in 
 times of war, or fome other great emergency ; 
 and even then it is generally made a creditor of 
 the public treafury to the amount of its con- 
 tribution. 
 
 The ordinary expenditure of this treafury is 
 chiefly confined to the feraglio , it is, however^ 
 very confiderable, though greatly diminifhed 
 iince the reform introduced by fuitan Muitafa 
 
 ;he third. 
 
 Its 
 
T I' R iC I S H FINANCES. 47 
 
 Its extraordinary expences have fornetimes 
 beenimmenle, large iums being occafionally paid 
 to iecure the fidelity of the janizaries in times 
 of popular commotion, or on the acceilion of -a 
 Tiew fultan to the throne amidfb the ftruggle of 
 contending fadions; it has alfo, in fome in- 
 flances, contributed larger fums toward the 
 profecution of a war, than thofe for which it has 
 been made creditor by the miri. 
 
 The receipts may be divided (as thofe of the 7 
 miri) into fixed and cafual; the former, how- -i 
 ever, are very inconfiderable in comparifon with 
 the latter. 
 
 The fixed revenues of the hafne confided of 
 the following tributes : 
 
 From Cairo 600,000 piaflres. 
 
 Wallachia 230,000 
 
 Mo'davia 260 000 
 Rag-ufa 20,ooo "^ / 
 
 1,110,000 piaflres, or ^. III, oco fterling. ) 
 
 Thefe, however, have either ceafed entirely, 
 or are little to be relied on. The llagufan tri- 
 bute, which is the only one paid regularly, con- 
 fifts of 12,000 fequins, or 6,000 fterling every 
 three years. Thofe of Moldavia and Wallachia 
 are annihilated when there is a war with Rudia ; 
 and Cairo is fo little fubjed to the porte, that 
 inftead of receiving a regular contribution from 
 
 thence. 
 
48 CHAPTER It, 
 
 thence, large funis are frequently fent thither td 
 corrupt the begs, and to enfure their obedience! 
 to the porte, by fomenting quarrels arnongft 
 them. / 
 
 The cafual revenues of the hafne, are 
 
 I ft. The revenues of the mines, which have lately much 
 diminifhed. 
 
 ad. The fale (for they are really fold) of all places and 
 ports, which are alfo diminifhed, as they do not 
 bring in fo much as they did, owing to the wretch- 
 ednefs of the provinces. The paflialik of Cairo 
 ufed to coft j^. 75, 000 ilerling; that of a cadi in a 
 great city a to jf.5,000, and more. 
 
 3d. A duty often per cent, on all inheritances. 
 
 4.th. The inheritances of the oflicers of the feraglio, and the 
 porte (or empire,) the fultan being their heir, to 
 the total exclufion of their children or relations* 
 The ulema folely are exempted from this law. 
 
 5th, The confifcations of the property of all officers dif- 
 graced or put to death. 
 
 6th. The property pf thofe v/ho die without heirs, inhe« 
 rited by the law of efcheat. 
 
 7th. Penalties. 
 
 8th. Prefents from great ofHcers ar.d foreign courts. 
 
 Nothing; can be more uncertain than a 2:uefs 
 (for a calculation is impoffible) of the amount 
 of each of thefe branches of the private trea* 
 fury; many of them are in themfelves highly 
 flu(5luating, and others are fubject to immenfe 
 embezzlements. That they greatly furpafs the 
 revenues of the miri cannot be doubted, fmce 
 it is the principal occupation of every pallia to 
 
 fuck 
 
TURK I SH F IN ANCES, 49 
 
 fuck out the very vitals of his province ; and 
 thefe men have no fooner amafled a great pro- 
 perty, than they are cut off by the fultan to en- 
 rich his treafury. 
 
 Every fultan leaves what is called his treafure 
 in the vaults of the feraglioj'and thinks it a duty 
 to leave as confiderable a fum as he can — they 
 attach even a vanity to it. 
 
 The perfonal hereditary wealth of the indivi- 
 duals 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, V 
 is the only body of men who hold offices in the 
 Turkifli empire, whofe property is hereditary in 
 their families. It may therefore be naturally 
 fuppofed that they will become objedls of the 
 faltan's avaricious jealoufy : fuch, however, is 
 their power, that any invallon of their treafure 
 would be attended with the greateft danger. 
 The mere exiftence of fuch a treafure is, how- 
 ever, a fubjecfb of great importance, both as 
 affecting the ordinary and extraordinary cir- 
 cumftances of the ftate. _, 
 
 In the former, it fcrves to fupport a body of 
 men invefted with formidable power, in oppofi- 
 tion to the fultan ; but as thefe fame men have 
 little connedlion of intereft with the people at 
 large, their wealth feems to be taken from the 
 general Rock only to nourifli an additional body 
 
 E of 
 
50 CHAPTER II. 
 
 of tyrants. In the event of any great cori-*' 
 vulfion, it cannot be doubted that even this 
 treafure would be facrificed to the prefervation 
 of the ftate; but it feems probable that this 
 meafure would not be adopted without fome 
 ilruggle on the part of the ulema, who will 
 fcarcely be willing to make fuch a facrifice until 
 it is, perhaps, too late. 
 
 The treafures in the moiques are very conli- 
 derable : they arife from the revenues appro- 
 priated to them at their foundation, and by 
 fubfequent bequefhs ; and as the fuperflition of 
 the rich muflulmans frequently leads them to 
 fuch ad:s of oflentatious charity, the aggregate 
 of thefe fums throughout the whole empire muil 
 be immenfe. The whole of this property, be- 
 ing under the feal of religion, cannot be broken 
 in upon with impunity. The ordinary revenues 
 are, or ought to be, expended in the fupport of 
 the mofque, and in works of piety and charity y 
 but there are befides, in fome of their vaults, 
 treafures which would be very conliderable, were 
 it not for conftant malverfation on the part of 
 the guardians. The whole of thefe treafures, 
 though flricftly forbidden by law to be applied 
 to any other ufes than thofe of rehgion, may be 
 reforted to when the feat of empire itfelf is u). 
 imminent danger, an event in which the inte- 
 reits of the Mahometan religion are fuppofed 
 to be involved. 
 
 Such. 
 
•rURKtSHFINAkCES. 5I 
 
 Sucli are the fources, and, as nearly as it can 
 be calculated, the amount of the Turkifh re- 
 venue and expenditure. The mode of its col- 
 lection, and the probable confequences of its 
 prefent fituation, afford room for obfervations 
 of the higheft importance, which, indeed, are 
 fufficiently obvious to the enlightened European, 
 but which the ignorant Turk would with dif- 
 ficulty comprehendp or arrogantly deride. 
 
 The want of clear and accurate views on the 
 fubjed of finance gives the court that rapacity^ '*' 
 which fpreads to all the fubordinate ofhcers, and 
 tends to the impoveriflim.ent of the people, with- 
 out augmenting (but on the contrary dirhiniHi- 
 ing) the refources of the government. It has 
 become a fixed fource of revenue to fet to pub- 
 lie fale ofhces of every denomination ; nor is it 
 only to the treafury that thefe fees, fometimes 
 to a very high amount, are paid : in the in- 
 trigues of the feraglio, by which the difpofal of 
 all places is regulated, every thing is done by 
 means of bribes ; and if this is attended, as we 
 liave feen, with the woril confequences in the 
 diftribution of juftice, it is not lefs pernicious 
 in the department of finance. 
 
 Hence it is that the pafhas, fent into the dif- 
 tant provinces, exert to the utmoft their power 
 of extortion ; but are always outdone by the 
 officers immediately below them, . who in turn 
 leave room for the ingenuity of their fubordinate 
 
 E 2 agents; 
 
$i CHAPTER II. 
 
 agents ; and the circle is only completed by the 
 power of the defpot, who, from time to time, 
 fqueezes into his own coffers the fpunge, with 
 which this herd of plunderers had abforbed the 
 property of the people. 
 
 As the Mahomedans themfelves pay no per- 
 fonal tax or capitation^ and in general contri- 
 bute very little to the revenues of the flate, the 
 paflias are obliged to find other methods of 
 exadling money from them ^ but the Chriftians 
 always fufFer mofc. 
 
 The mildnefs of the Turkifh government is 
 argued from their permitting foreigners to pay 
 lower duties than their own fubjeets ; this cir- 
 cumftance is, however, only a proot of their 
 ignorance in matters of commerce j- for furely 
 a wife and politic fovereign would, by all means,- 
 cherifh the commercial fpirit in his own fub- 
 Jecls rather than in .ftrangers. The duty paid 
 by foreigners is 3 per cent, ; whilil that paid 
 by the natives varies in different places from 
 5 to 7, and 10 per cmt. The loweft is a duty 
 of 5 per cent, paid at Conftantinople and 
 Smyrna, on fome articles of foreign produce ^^ 
 but in mofl parts of the empire the legal duty 
 en mercliandizd! in general is 10 per cent. 
 FeylTonel, Vv^ho correds l^ott on this fubjed,- 
 is himfclf fo far from being accurate,, that (con- 
 trary to his aliertion) the common duty is 
 called ajlieria^ or the tenth (from the Arabic 
 
TURKISH FINANCES, 53 
 
 0jJiir.) But the legal impofts are but a fmall 
 part of what the merchant pays ; foreigners 
 indeed are, in all countries, more liable to impo- 
 sition than the natives; but that even the latter 
 are fubjeded to heavy impofitions is certain^ 
 from the inftances cited by Tott, which are by 
 no means uncommon. 
 
 From the total feparation of the public trea-, 
 fury and that of the fultan, it refults, that 
 whilfl: the former is in the mod impoveriflied 
 ilate, and unable to pay for the moil neceflary 
 expences of the empire, the latter abounds with 
 money, which is lavillied on the mofl frivolous'* 
 objeds. However the fplendor of the fovereign 
 may be fuppofed to be connected with the glory 
 of the fl.ate, the neceffities of the latter have 
 iurely a paramount claim ; but in Turkey it is 
 confidered of more importance to provide dia- 
 pionds for the fultan's harem, than to condudt 
 the mod ufeful operations, military or commer- 
 cial. If the prefent ftate of the Turkifli finances 
 feems incompatible with the permanence or pro- 
 fperity of the ftate, the future profpe6l is ftill lefs 
 promifing. 
 
 The debt of the miri, in 1776, cannot be 
 confidered as very cnorn^ous, if we take into 
 the account how great had been the exertion, 
 and how ruinous the expence of the preceding 
 war. The fleet, which had fuffered fo greatly 
 from the difafter at Tchefme, w^as alfo re-eilab- 
 
 E 3 lifhed 
 
^4 GHAPTERII. 
 
 iifhed on a more formidable footing than it hac^ 
 been previoufly to that event, and the treafury 
 feemed to have effeded all its moft burdenfome, 
 operations, Neverthelefs, the expenditure has 
 fmce increafed, and it is not probable that the 
 miri can difcharge its debts without a donation 
 from the treafury of the fultan, a meafure which 
 does not enter into the policy of the feraglio. 
 Here then we are to confider the probable confer 
 quences of a deficiency in its treafury, to a go- 
 vernment which knows nothing of the financial 
 provifions of modern politics, and, confequently, 
 will be totally unprepared for fuch a conjundure. 
 The revenues of the empire are diminifhing, 
 and as the extortions of the pafhas increafe, and 
 the means of fatisfying them decreafe in a degree 
 alarming to the porte, oppreflive even to the 
 Mahomedans, and fhockingly diftrefsful to the 
 poor Chriftian fubjeds, fome great crifis cannot 
 be very far off, when the fultan muft (notwith- 
 ftanding every reafon he may have to the con- 
 trary) open the treafures of the feraglio, and, lafh 
 of all, have recourfe to the facred depofits of the 
 mofques, and the riches of the ulema.. What 
 diforder, confufion, and alarm, this will occafion, 
 what revolutionary events it may produce in the 
 provinces, from the diftrefs and confequent 
 weakncl's of the porte, may be eafily forefeen; 
 univerfal anarchy muft prevail, and every padia 
 will afpire at being an independent fovereign. 
 
 That 
 
TURKISH FINANCES. ^^ 
 
 That there are refources In the empire, no one 
 can doubt ; but to employ them would require 
 another fyftem of government — a fyilem incom- 
 patible with the policy, the habits, and perhaps 
 ;the fundamental laws of theTurkifh government. 
 
 The revenues have lately been conliderably 
 augmented by im.provements in the adminiflra- 
 tion of the different branches, and particularly 
 the farms. 
 
 The debafement of the current coin has fome- 
 times been reforted to by fovereigns as a mea- 
 fure of finance. In this point of view, the fol- 
 lowing obfervations on the Turkifli money may 
 Bot be unacceptable : 
 
 The alloy in the gold coin is fiiver (not 
 
 copper.) 
 
 The zurmachbub of Conftantinople, a gold coin of IVIacH- 
 mut, Ofman, and Muftafa, weighs 13 karats, and 
 
 " i ]] . f] ( The mi teal, or 24 carats of pure 
 
 gold, is worth 6^ dollars. Thefe pieces go for 3 1- 
 dollars. 
 
 The zurmahbubs of Abduihamid and Selim are 19 carats 
 fine, and go for 3 | dollars. 
 
 Thofe of Cairo weigh 13 karats, and go in Turkey for 
 3 I dollars; they are from 17, 18, to 19 carats fine. 
 
 The fundukli of Machmut and Muftafa weigh 17 f carats, 
 are 23 carats fine, and go for 5 dollars. 
 
 SILVER COIN. 
 
 I pound of fiiver equals 100 drachms. 
 In the piaftres there are but 40 drachms pure in the pound. 
 Thofe of Abdulhamit 34 drackms — they cheat 2 carats at 
 the mint, by which the money is lefs than the ftandard. 
 
 That of fultan Selim, the prefent reigning fovereign, is flili 
 worfe. 
 
 ^ 4 
 
[ 56 ] 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Of the Tiirkljli Military Force, 
 
 H E ilate of the Turkiili Military, forms a 
 very interefting branch of enquiry, fince 
 it is that by which their empire has rifen, and 
 upon which it feems to depend. In developing 
 the weaknefs of this diforganized mafs, I lliall 
 firft recur to the caufes which formerly gave it 
 power, and which, having ceafed to operate, 
 leave it, at the prefent day, only the femblance 
 of its ancient greatnefs. From this furvey we 
 fhall turn to a deUneation of its prefent ftate, 
 and after giving a detail of the land forces, (hall 
 coniider their prefent military character, their 
 tactics, and laws of warfare; from the united 
 confideration of which will be feen, what efli- 
 mation the Turkifli armies juftly deferve. The 
 naval force will merit a feparate attention ; and 
 here we Ihall notice thofe attempts at its ame- 
 lioration, from which, if effedual improvement 
 eould be at all hoped in Turkey, it might have 
 been, with fome probability, expedied. Laftly, 
 1 (hall notice the flate of the Turkifh fortifica- 
 tions, particularly of thofe which are, or are 
 fuppofed to be, of the laft importance to the 
 defence of the empire. 
 
 It 
 
TURKISH MILITARY FORCE. O 
 
 It is undeniable that the power of the Turks 
 was once formidable to their neighbours, not 
 by their numbers only, but by their military 
 and civil inftitutions, flxr furpafiing thofe of 
 their opponents. The fe were never united in 
 a rational fyftem ; governed often by courtiers, 
 priefts, or women ; polTefTing no rational fyfcem 
 of finance, no great refources in cafes of exi- 
 gency, no fyftem of war even comparable to the 
 Turks, a feudal government, internal diilentions, 
 no wife or folid alliances amongfh each other ; 
 and yet they all trembled at the name of the 
 Turks, who, with a confidence procured by their 
 conflant fuccelTes, held the Chriilians no iefs 
 in contempt as warriors than they did on ac- 
 count of their religion. Proud and vain-glo- 
 rious, conquefl v;as to them a pafnon, a grati- 
 fication, and even the means of falvation, a fure 
 way of immediately attaining a delicious para- 
 clife. ■ Hence their zeal for the extenhon of 
 their empire, or rather a wild eathufiafm, even 
 beyond the pure patriotifm of the heroes of 
 antiquity; hence their profound refpect for the 
 military profellion, and their glory even in being 
 obedient and fubmifTive to difcipline. 
 
 The Ottoman empire u^as governed by great 
 men from Othman I. to Mahomed [V. The 
 exceptions, if any, Vv^ere always fo Ihort, that 
 the mihtary genius of the people did not de- 
 cline. 
 
5^ CHAPTER III. 
 
 cline, but was like a fire fmothered, and always 
 l^roke out in the next reign with redoybled 
 fury. To fultan Amurath I. is owing the rife 
 of a permanent military among the Turks ; he 
 k was, who, after extending the fphere of his 
 conquefts from the Hellefpont to the Danube, 
 formed the more politic projedt of preferving 
 his empire by a body of militia, accufl:omed to 
 difcipline, and attached by peculiar privileges 
 to the fervice. 
 
 ' For this purpofe he took every fifth child of 
 the Chriftians in his power, above fifteen years 
 old, and committed them to the care of huf- 
 bandmen for two or three years, to be inured 
 to hard labour, and inflrudled in the Mahome- 
 tan religion. They were then taught the ufe 
 of arms, and to accuftom them to fiaughter they 
 were made to pradtife the ufe of their fabres on 
 their prifoners or crimnnals. When every move- 
 ment of compafTion was worn out, they were 
 inrclled in the body oi yeni fieri., i. t, yeni afikari^ 
 (new troops) or janizaries, and formed the flower 
 of the Turkilh army. The inflitution of the 
 janizaries gave at that time a decifive f^upe- 
 riority to the Turkifli aims, as they prefented 
 a fyPtem of difcipline, and a permanency of 
 organization, till then unknown in Europe. 
 Thefe haughty and celebrated legions were long 
 the terror of iur;■ouadi^^?: nalions, and continued 
 , to 
 
TURKISH MILITARY FORCE. 59 
 
 to be looked upon as formidable until the mid- 
 die of the feventeenth century. At that time 
 the Turkifli power ceafed to aggrandize itfelf ^ 
 it made a paufe in its conquefts, a paufe pro- 
 phetic of that downfal toward which it has 
 iince fo rapidly verged, and which feems now to 
 threaten a fpeedy approach. The fteps which 
 led to this degradation are eafily difcernible. 
 The difcipline of this ferocious foldiery could 
 only be upheld by fovereigns equally ferocious; 
 no fooner did the fultans quit the fatigues of 
 the camp for the debaucheries of the harem, 
 than the janizaries, difdaining their command, 
 broke out into fedition, and dethroned the 
 monarch who appeared unworthy of empire. 
 It was th€ policy of fultan Mahmud, who 
 dreaded their military and turbulent fpirit, to 
 debafe this corps ; he therefore permitted the 
 lowed and moil infamous of the people to 
 enrol themfelves as janizaries ; hence their 
 number has been greatly fwelled, but their 
 character has been more than p;"oportionally de- 
 graded, and many of them are notorioufly ilig- 
 matifed for cowardice, theft, and the vilefh 
 crimes, whilft others, enervated by a city life, 
 and the pradlice of the lowed trades, have 
 nothing military but the name of janizary. In 
 Ihe abftrads of their hiftory will be feen the 
 
 attempts 
 
t>0 CHAPTER in. 
 
 attempts that were rimde to cut them off en» 
 tirely. 
 
 Peyflbnel makes ^ pompous enumeration of 
 the diftindtions which take place in the army, 
 and of the miHtary canons of fultan SoUman, 
 which determine its regulation and difcipline. 
 
 That there are fuch diftindtions, follows from 
 the very nature of an army ; as the fag ko/, and 
 fo/ kol (right wing, and left wing ;) the ortaSy 
 biihiks^ 2in.6. feymens (different names for corps,) 
 as alfo the titles of the officers, asjanizar aga^ 
 Jeymen baflii^ koiil kiaiajfi^ &c. ; but thele forms 
 prove nothing with regard to the minuti-^ of 
 tadics. It is the general characleriftic of the 
 Turkifli government to be loaded with forms 
 and regulations, which are of no effectual fer- 
 yice ; thus the canons of fultan Soliman indeed 
 Gxift, but no one fludies them, and to attempt 
 enforcing them would be abfurd. 
 
 I fliall therefore proceed to ftate the fol- 
 lowing 
 
 Calculatio3n' of the Turkish Army, 
 
 As far as its utmofh extenfion at prefent ad~ 
 niits, from the concord ing tefliimony of fevcral 
 perfons who had the nioft intimate acquaintance 
 with it, from an application of many years, and 
 with means of acquiring the befl intormation. 
 
 INFANTRY, 
 
TURKISH MILITARY FORCE. 6l 
 
 INFANTRY: 
 
 Men. 
 i. Janizaries ----------- 113,40a 
 
 2. Topgees, artillery men ; according to the an- 1 
 
 cient inftitutions there (hould be 18,000, but > 15,000 
 there never exifted more than - - - - J 
 
 3. Gumbaragees, bombardiers ------ 2,000 
 
 4. Boftangees, guards of the gardens ; they now 1 
 
 guard the palace --------3 ' 
 
 5. Mehtergecs, who cre£l the tents and place the 7 
 
 camp _-.-----» --3 > 
 
 6. Meflirlis, fent from Egypt — infantry and cavalry 3,000 
 
 7. Soldiers, from Waflachia and Moldavia - - 6,000 
 
 t. Leventis, marines ; few in peace, in war at 7 
 
 moft I 50,000 
 
 Jnfantry - - 207,400 
 
 CAVALRY: 
 
 Men* 
 i. Spahis — pay regulated ------- io,coo 
 
 a, Scrragis, for the fervice of the infantry and "l 
 their baggage enrolled by the pafhas in the 3 
 provinces. They are a corps de referve in f ">*^o® 
 gi'eat necelfities ------*---J 
 
 5. Zaims and timariots feudal troops - - - - 132,000 
 
 4. Gebegis, armourers, who guard the powder, 
 arms, and magazines, occafionally ferve as 
 axorps de referve of cavalry: — they fhould ^ 13,000 
 be, according to the canons of the empire, 
 30^000 ; they now are fcarcely - - - - 
 
 Carried over - - i6r,oo# 
 
 5. Miklagis, 
 
6Z (DHAPTER IIi; 
 
 CAVALRY: 
 
 Men. 
 Brought forward - - i6i,oco 
 
 5. Mlklagls, who attend on the fpahis - - - 6,000 
 
 6. Segbans, who gUard the baggage of the ca- ") 
 
 valry J 4>ooo 
 
 7. Volunteers, with their horfcs, never more than 10,000 
 
 Cavalry - - - 181, odd 
 Infantry - - - 207,40a 
 
 Total - - 388,400 
 
 From thefe fliould be deduced, 
 
 i. The leventis, who belong to the Tf 
 
 fleet, and can only be employed ? 50,000 
 near the coaft where the fleet is - J 
 
 2. For the garrifon of Conflantinople, 1 
 
 though fo many in time of war 5* 20,000 
 are not always kept there - - - 1 
 
 5. Garrifons of the fortrefles and fron- , 
 
 •^ ' 100,000 
 
 tiers in Europe and Afia 
 
 \ I00,( 
 
 4. The bofrangees, when the grand 1 
 
 feignior does not go into the field 3 ' 2,000 
 
 " i82,occi 
 
 Troops to take the field - - 206,000 
 
 The miklagis and fuch as ferve the vizir, thei 
 beglerbegs, and paflias, never go into the I 
 battle, and only increafe the number; thefe (" 20,co® 
 may be computed nearly at ----- J 
 
 Total - - 186,400 
 
 The remainder of efFe^^ive men will therefore amount only 
 fQ ----.- 186,400 men. 
 
 As 
 
TURKISH MILITARY FORCE. 6$ 
 
 As it will foon appear how little the Turkifh 
 arms are flrengthened by dircipline, the conli- 
 deration of numbers becomes doubly important, 
 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 aflemble 100,000 
 men; and in 1774, with its utmoft efforts, it 
 jcould only bring into the field 142,000. 
 
 Thefe numbers too are greatly lelTened by 
 defertion. In 1773, the porte fent 60,000 jani- 
 zaries toward Trebifond, to be embarked for the 
 Crimea, where not 10,000 arrived, the reft hav- 
 ing difperfed themfelves on their route. Be- 
 fides thefe regular troops, the Turks were for- 
 merly affifted by numerous hordes of Tartars, 
 wliofe mode of warfare exceeded even their own, 
 in barbarity : this fupply is now cut off by their 
 xellion of the Tartar provinces to the emprefs, 
 fo that they will not in future be able to cope 
 with Ruflia even in the number of their troops. 
 
 The lafl reliance of the porte is upon the 
 volunteers ; but a few obfervations will fufRce 
 to fliew how little confidence can be placed in 
 fuch forces. 
 
 Formerly, when the whole nation was in fome 
 meafure inflamed with the warlike genius of the 
 janizaries, when the people were elated by fuc- 
 cefs, and every one knew more or lefs the ufe of 
 
 arms. 
 
CHAPTER in. 
 
 arms, thefe were often found ulejrul and valiant 
 troops; but at prefent they conlif^ chiefly of 
 an undifciplined rabble, iniligated either by a 
 momentary rafhnefs or a defire of plunder. 
 Some go, becaufe they are afhamed to flay at 
 home, on account of the ridicule of their neigh- 
 bours ; others, to fecdre the privileges and 
 pecuniary advantage which they derive from, 
 being attached to a chamber (or company) of 
 janizaries ; another part of thefe volunteers arc 
 robbers, and the outcafl of the Turks, who 
 plunder on their march, as well going as on 
 their return, under the fanftion of their mili- 
 tary profcflion. 
 
 The moilahs and mouhazlm cry from the 
 minarets of the mofques, in tim.e of war, tha^ 
 all good mullulmans muft go to tight againfl;' 
 the infidels , with a long enumeration of the' 
 obligations on all true believers to take the 
 field. 
 
 Hence, a young man is often fsized with t 
 fit of enthuiiaim (I have perfonaily known many 
 fuch in Afia;) he takes a pair of richly furniibed 
 piftols (if he can afford it, for in the richnefs 
 of their armour is their pride) a iabre covered 
 with filver, and a carabine, and mounts his 
 liorfe to conquer the infidels, and make them 
 become mufiulmans, and to bring back, with 
 him young girls for his harem, if he does not 
 
 repent 
 
TURKISH MILITARY FORCE. 65' 
 
 repent and turn back before he fees the camp, 
 not when arrived at the army, he foon learns 
 from others the danger there is, and the diffi- 
 culty of vanquiihing the infidels ; 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 horfe, and rides off. Thus by 
 whole troops, in every war, thefe volunteers 
 return, plundering the poor peafants, and often 
 murdering them, particularly if they are Chrif- 
 tians, to be able to fwear, when they return 
 home, how many infidels they have killed. 
 The Afiatic foot foldiers defert in the fame 
 manner, and by thoufands, though they are 
 mofl of them janizaries. 
 
 There is, it is true, a conliderable difference 
 in the foidiery : the Turks of Europe are the 
 befi: foldiers ; but far above ail, thofe of Bofnia, 
 Albania, Croatia, and towards the emiperor*s 
 frontier; they are a very robufl and v/arlike 
 people, accuftomed from their infancy to arms, 
 and are almoft continually fighting with one 
 another, or againfb the porte, or plundering on 
 the roads. The emperor had to do with a much 
 w'orfe enemy than the Ruffians ; and befides, 
 they had to defend their families and homes, 
 and confequently had an interefl in the war, 
 which the Afiatic troops have not. 
 
 Many authors have contended, that it is pof- 
 
 F fible 
 
66 CHAPTER lit. 
 
 fible to irifpire the Turks anew with their sen- 
 cient military fpirit, and to elevate their forees" 
 to their former fuperiority, by inftrudting them 
 in European ta6lics. The attempts which have 
 fo frequently been made by French officers to 
 this purpofe, without the leaft fuccefs, are con- 
 \^ vincing proofs againft fuch a fuppofition. The 
 
 celebrated Bonne val, whofe adventures were 
 matter of much notoriety in the beginning of 
 this century, laboured at this undertaking, as 
 did the Baron de Tott, fmce his time ; yet, not- 
 vvithflanding the ability and perfeverance of the 
 latter, all his pains were renderd fruitlefs by the 
 unconquerable bigotry of the Turks themfelves. 
 An attempt is now making on a better prin- 
 ciple ; not by endeavouring to difcipline the old 
 fbldiery, but by raifmg a new corps, of which no-^ 
 tice fhall hereafter be taken. If thefe inflances 
 were not fufficient to lliow the imprafticability 
 of fuch an attempt, a very fligljit 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 mufl be prepared ; taken unawares the 
 fmallefl number puts them to flight. The lluf-^ 
 lians always conquer when they attack them, and 
 therefore avoid being attacked, which is gene- 
 rally very eafy. At prcfent even the attack of 
 the Turks (terrible indeed as it appears to thofe 
 
 who 
 
TtRklSH MILITARY FORCE. 67 
 
 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 fol- 
 lowed the Ruffian fyllem, he would have been 
 equally fuccefsful^ in the beginning of the lafl 
 war, as he was when he changed his plan of 
 operation. 
 
 Belides that the Turks refufe all improvement, 
 they are feditious and mutinous j their armies 
 are incumbered with immenfe baggage, and 
 th&ir camp has all the conveniencies of a town, 
 with (hops, &c. for fuch was their ancient cuflom 
 when they wandered with their hordes. When 
 their fudden fury is abated, which happens at the 
 lead obftinate refiftance, they are feized with 
 a panic, and are not able to rally as formerly. 
 In proportion as the march of the army, advanc- 
 ing in the field, was flow, fo is it rapid in its re- 
 treat. They leave their baggage, abandon every 
 thing to the enemy, and do not 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 they fire at them to 
 get their horfes to efcape quicker. In fhort, it is 
 a mob alTembled rather than an army levied. 
 None of thofe numerous details of a well-or» 
 ganized body, necelTary to give quick nefs, 
 flirength, and regularity to its adlions, to avoid 
 confufion, to repair damages, to apply every part 
 
 F 2 to 
 
68 til ATT E^ III. 
 
 to fome ufe; nothing, as with us, the rei 
 of reafoning and combination ; no fyftematic 
 attack, defence, or retreat j no accident fore- 
 feen, or provided for. 
 
 To thefe reafons might be added the opinion 
 of Gazi Haffan,- the celebrated captain-pafha (of 
 whom I fhall have occafion to fay much here-- 
 after) who, after repeated endeavours to im- 
 prove the armyy found all his attempts ineffec- 
 tual. He faw it was impoffible to difcipline 
 the Turkifh army, and gave up ail hopes of it,- 
 but propofed a new order of battle. 
 
 He would have divided an army of 100,000 
 men into ten different corps, which were to at- 
 tack feparately, and fo arranged that the retreat 
 of the repulfed corps fhould not overwhelm 
 and put in diforder thofe which had not at-* 
 tacked. He affirmed, that though the artillery 
 of an European army would make gfeat daugh- 
 ter, yet no army could wrthftand ten Turkifli 
 attacks, which are furious, but Ibort if they do 
 not fucceed, and the attack of lOyOOo is as 
 dangerous as of loo^ooo in one body, for the 
 firft repulfed, the reft, on whom they fall back,, 
 immediatelv take to flight. But anv one who- 
 knows the Turks would fee the impofiibility of 
 leading on the other corps after a defeat of the 
 firft, as the fpirit of their army now is. The 
 old janizaries are no more ; befides, the Chrif- 
 tian army, encouraged by fuccefs, would have 
 ^ ' time 
 
TURKISH MUITARY FORCE. 69 
 
 time to recover from any diforder, Haffan him- 
 felf was as brave as a lion, but he could not in- 
 fpire into the troops his o\vn' fplrit"; he tried 
 nineteen years, and had all the time unlimited 
 power. If he therefore performed nothing in 
 a reign, where he virtually v/as fo'vereign,, whal 
 is to be expefted now or hereafter ? Centuries 
 may pafs away before another fuch man arifes 
 with fuch means. 
 
 The Turkilli weapons require fome notice. 
 The artillery' which they have,''^ahd which is 
 chiefly •' brafs, comprehends many fine pieces of 
 c^innon ; but nctwithftanding the reiterated in- 
 ftrudion of fo many French engineers, they are 
 profoundly ignorant of its management*. 
 
 * In fp^aking of tlieir artiller}^, I ought not to omit men* 
 tion'mg an Englifliman in the fervice of the portej his name is 
 Campbell, and he is related to a great Scotch family* When 
 very young, he came to Conftantinople (the caufe of his quit- 
 ting Scotland is faid to be a duel) and, without making himfelf 
 known to a.ny European, he went to the porte and turned Turk, 
 |Ie advanced by flow degrees till he became general of the 
 bombardiers (the place which Bonneval had) and then only he 
 became acquainted with his countrymen, and other Europeans, 
 Jle was many years at the head of the foundery of ordnance j 
 and though at home he knew nothing of the art of calling can--, 
 non, he foon f^r fMrpafTed^Mr, de Tott, over whom he had great 
 advantages, as he is a Mahomrdan. He is a good clafTical Icho- 
 lar, and fpeaks the modern languages with corre(?l:ners. He is 
 perfectly a gentleman, and is univerfally refpe<5ted by Europeans 
 for the honour, integrity, prudence, and humanity of his cha- 
 racter. The Turks know little how to efteem a man of fo much 
 worth; for after rendering the moll important feryices to the 
 porte, he was^ treated wjth ingratitude, and no\v, being advanced 
 in years, 'n wholly negle(5led. 
 
 F 3 Their 
 
7Q C H A P T E R III. 
 
 Their mufket-barrels are much eflieemed 3 
 but they are too heavy ; nor do they pofTefs any 
 quality fuperior to common iron barrels, which 
 have been much hammered, and are of very 
 foft Swedifh iron, They are made in this man^ 
 ner; 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 
 qr fmall. 
 
 The art of tempering theitr fabres is now lofl:, 
 and all the blades of great value are ancient j 
 howeyerj^.their fab re is fuperior to any of ours in 
 its form and lightnefs. It is a great error in dj 
 the cavalry in Europe to have heavy fabres -, I have 
 often heard old German foldiers complain of it, 
 and an old foldier is a good judge. It feems 
 prepoftcrous 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 JJiarp 
 lv?ht fabre will make a deeper cut than our heavy 
 labres now m ufe. Among the- Turks, every fol^ 
 dier choofes his own fabre, and takes fuch a qne 
 as he can manage with eafe ; thus, if he miffes 
 his flrojce he c^n recover his guard, whilft a man 
 with a heavy liibre, is loft. The part grafped 
 by^the fingers in European fabres is much too 
 thick, and weakens the hold. There is a great 
 deal laid in Europe of tjie balance of a fabre by 
 
 makins 
 
TURKISH MILITARY FORCE. 7.I 
 
 making it heavy in the hand * ; this cannot be 
 the cafe in any degree, except the knob or pom- 
 mel projevfl out of the hand towards the elbow^ 
 by which the point may be raifed up quick by 
 the force of the wrift, after a blow is giyen; but 
 the weight of the fall of the blow is diminifhed 
 in both cafes. Let any man ftrike a blow with 
 a fabre heavy in the hand, and then take out the 
 blade^ and put on it a light fmall handle, and 
 ftrike another blow wath it, and he will find the 
 diiference. 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 (harpnefs of the edge of the Turkifti fabre, 
 and the velocity which the arm gives to a light 
 weapon, cpmpenfates for the weight of the fabre. 
 All their attention has been paid to the fabre 
 for ages, with it they conquered their empire, 
 and it certainly deferves fome attention. The 
 edge of our fabres is riever lliarp enough, and 
 the angle of the edge is too acute. From its 
 crookedi)efs it has an advantage, as a blow 
 ftraight down gives a drawing cut > and it is a 
 
 * The fulcrum is the fore-finger, and the back part of the 
 hand prefles down the pommel ; but a man ir^ battle does not 
 keep his hand at one height ; he lifts up his arm, and confe- 
 quently has the weight of the handle of his fabre to lift up, 
 and the power is in the elbow and Ihoulder, not in the wrift 
 alone. It cannot be expe6led that men in adlion, particularly- 
 new troops, will ufe their fabres in the fame manner they do on 
 iield days. 
 
 F 4 good 
 
72 CHAPTER III. 
 
 good defence, for the arm being held out hori' 
 zontally with the fabre upright in the hand, a 
 fmall motion of the wrifl: turning the edge to 
 the right or left, covers the body by the crook 
 of the fabre ; the (houlder of the edge, not the 
 edge itfelf, forms the parry. Fencing with the 
 crooked fabre was formerly taught to the janiza- 
 ries. The pufh with the fabre is alfo a good at- 
 tack. If, however, the puili 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 efl:eemed the mofh danger- 
 ous 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 
 bed weapon ; but as the Turkifh horfe wheel 
 round in full fpeed, and are never in a regular 
 ftraight line, perhaps no weapon is fo advan- 
 tageous as their light fnarp crooked fabre. No 
 body of cavalry that keeps together, and makes 
 its evolutions without being broken (that is, 
 keeping a clofe front in a line) can give a fliock 
 to the Turkifh cavalry ; they wheel about an4 
 retreat much fafher 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 ', but it is 
 foreign to my prefent purpofe, and would re-^. 
 3 quire 
 
TURKISH MILITARY FORCE. y^ 
 
 quire a long diiTertation to put theni and our 
 cavalry in a comparative view. Only let it 
 be remembered, that though their infantry can 
 neither be oppofed to European cavahy or in- 
 fantry, nor their cavalry to European infantry, 
 yet their cavalry Is generally luperior to all other 
 they have been hitherto oppofed to; I mean 
 their beft kind, which is now not very nume- 
 rous, and can make no efFecftual oppofition 
 to an European army of good infantry with 
 cannon. 
 
 Their bed Turkifh fabres have one great 
 defed, 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 very 
 frequently amongfl the infantry, from ignorance 
 of their ufe. In rec;ard to this i will cite afa6l 
 which fell under my particular knowledge. At 
 the ftorming of Oczakow, a lieutenant of the 
 fleet of the Black Sea, an EngliOiman, ferved 
 as a volunteer, and fought at the head of the 
 column in the front rank, with a Turkidi fabre; 
 it was foon broken ; the Ibldiers fuppiied him 
 with others which they picked up from the 
 ground, but from his Vvant of ikiil, he broke thefe 
 gifoj till the enemy retreated, None of thefe 
 
 Turks 
 
74 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Turks had the lead notion of parrying the 
 blows. 
 
 As foldiers, even the befl taught to ufe the 
 crooked fabre, are not always (o calm in adtion 
 as to make the befl ufe of it, a blade tempered 
 in the manner of the befl blades in Europe is 
 preferable, provided the edge be perfeSi/y JJiarp^ 
 and the angle of it not too acute ; and as to the 
 crooked form, it alfo requries coolnefs and know- 
 ledge to ufe it, for if the part which bends mofl 
 forward and the point do not defcend in a 
 flraight line (i. e. if the edge and the back do not 
 defcend in the fame line) the point will turn 
 the fabre iidev/ays by its weight, as loon as the 
 crooked part flrikes, and prevent its cutting; 
 for this reafon a flraighter blade, in an ignorant 
 or timid hand, is preferable ; but a light blade 
 and thin hilt is abfolutely neceflary for the fafety 
 of the foldier. It may be remembered that the 
 Romans, with their fliort fwords, had a great 
 advantage over the Gauls, whofe long heavy 
 fwordfoon tired them. A Turk, with his light 
 lliort fabre proportioned to his flrength (for 
 they are not long taking the chord of the 
 fegment) will not tire fo foon as an European 
 ^vith his long heavy fabre. I fpeak of cavalry, 
 for the fabre, after the invention of the bayonet, 
 is a bad weapon for infantry. 
 
 Their laws of war are the fame with thofe of 
 the moil ferocious barbarians : believing, frorr^ 
 
 the 
 
TURKISH MILITARY FORCE, 75 
 
 the prejudices 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, capitulate, or by whatever method 
 they are taken, and this right extends, not only 
 to the moment of capture, but for ever afterward, 
 unlefs the captive embrace the Mahometan 
 religion. The heads of the enemy's fubjedts 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. o This is frequently 
 a fource of the greatefb crimes, as it is impof- 
 iible to diftinguifh the head of an enemy from 
 that of a wretched peafant or unfortunate 
 ):raveller, who has been alTaflinated for the fake 
 of the reward, It is the common cuilom 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 Turkiih warfare, which 
 condemns all their prifoners to death, is not in- 
 deed always praclifed j but it is not humanity 
 that prevents it ; avarice or brutal defire are the 
 caufes of prolonging to the Have a miferable ex- 
 iflence. At other tirne^ the ferocious conqueror 
 butchers his captive in cold blood, or drags him 
 along loaded v/ith injury and infvilt. Such is 
 
 the 
 
f6 CHAPTER III. 
 
 * 
 
 the faithful piclure drawn by Count Ferrieres 
 and others of the treatment of the Aufcrian pri- 
 foners (many of them officers of diftincflion) fti 
 their way to Conftantinople. .Thofe who fell fick 
 on the road, or appeared incapable of being con^ 
 verted to the purpofes of labour, were cruelly 
 mangled by the common waggoners^ who chopped 
 off the heads of fome, and onaimed others from 
 the impulfe of mere barbarity; and this proceed- 
 ing was lawful^ and conformable to cuftom. ''u 
 
 O 
 
 The Naval Force of the Turks is by no means 
 conliderable. T\it\x grand fleet confided of not, 
 more than 17 or 18 fail .of the line in the laft 
 war, and thofe not in very good condition ; at 
 prefent their number is leflened. Their gailies 
 are now of no ufe as fliips of war ; but there are 
 about twenty large veffels called caravellas\ 
 which belong to merchants, and in time of war 
 are frequently taken into the fervice of the ported 
 and carry forty guns, Thefe were the veiTels, of 
 which feveral were loft, during the laft war, in 
 the Liman, and betv/ecn Kiiburon and Ochakof. 
 Their lliips in general are roomy, and lai^er, foi* 
 the number of guns, than ours. They are built 
 of good oak, but the timbers being too far afun-J 
 der, they are very v/eak. From their ilightnefi 
 they are foon liable to become hogged ; to pre- 
 vent which, they build them with their decks 
 curved up, fo that when the two ends fettle, the 
 
 veffels 
 
TURKISH MILITARY FORGE. ^]^ 
 
 veffels become ilraight. Such fhips do not laft 
 long, and are fubjedl to be leaky. In 1778, the 
 iineft ibip in the fleet foundered in the Black 
 Sea> being too weak, ihe worked her caulking 
 out, and leaked between all her planks. Tlie 
 famous captain pafha, Haflany attributed it to 
 the bad caulking, and when the fleet came back 
 into the port of Conftantinople, he ordered all 
 the captains of the fhips of war to attend in per- 
 fon the caulking of their own fnips, on pain of 
 death. One of them, being one day tired of 
 fitting by his fliip, went home to his hoiife, not 
 above a quarter of a mile off. The captain pailia 
 happened to go himfelf to tlie arfenal to fee the 
 work, examined the caulking, found fault, and 
 afked for the captain ; the truth was obliged to 
 be told him ; he fat down on a fmall carpet, fent 
 one man for his blunderbufs, and another to Call 
 the captain ; as foon as the unfortunate man 
 came near him, he took up his blunderbufs and 
 (hot him. dead, without fpeaking a word to him. 
 " Take and bury him," he faid, " and let the 
 ** other captains attend him to the grave, and 
 " the caulking be fufpended till they return." 
 
 The fnape of their ibips bottoms is confidered 
 by all thofe who are judges (fach as French fiiip- 
 builders and Englifh feamen, whofe opinions I 
 have heard) as the mod perfecfl. It is certain 
 they are very faft failorSj but their upper works 
 
 are 
 
78 CHAPTER. 
 
 are very inferior to the Ihips o. ^ Uiid 
 
 it is for the fake of ftrengthenmg and improving 
 them that they have fometimes employed French 
 fhip-builders. I was acquainted with Mr. Le 
 Roy, who built them fome fliips at Conftanti- 
 nople y he alTured me, that he took Turkilh vef- 
 fels as models for the bottoms of them. 
 
 They build their ihips at Meteline, Stanchio, 
 Si nope, or at Conftantinople. Thofe at Sinope 
 GofI: (a fliip of the line) only ;^; 9,000, without 
 their guns and rigging. Their guns are always 
 of brafs; It appears therefore that the Turks 
 might eafily have fliips of the beft conftrudion ; 
 but they have no nurfery for feamen. The 
 Greeks navigate their veflels, together with a 
 few Maltefe and other flaves, and thefe are very 
 timorous, for on the fmalleft accident the cap- 
 tain hangs them. The Turks fight the guns, 
 and fome of the loweil ciafs afTift in getting up 
 the anchors, pulling at the end of a rope, &c. 
 They, however, row and manage their narrow 
 fliarp boats in the channel of Conftantinople bet- 
 ter than any other people. They get their beft 
 failors from the coaft of Barbary, but not in 
 great numbers ; thofe employed in the trade of 
 the Black Sea, and who belong to the coaft of 
 Anatolia, are wretchedly bad j they navigate 
 veflels of the worft conftrudion poflible, which 
 can never fail but before the wind 3 when the 
 
 wind 
 
tURKISH MILITARY FORCE. 79 
 
 wind changes they run into port ; this is the 
 reafon fo many mercantile veffels are loft in the 
 Euxine, and not from the dangerous navigation 
 of that fea* 
 
 The famous captain pafiia colle6ted all the 
 good failors he could engage from Barbary, the 
 Adriatic gulph, Idrea (famous for a faft failing 
 kind of cutters) and other parts, but ftill his 
 fleet was badly manned, and without the Greeks 
 never could have put to fea in 1778. 
 
 As the eftablifliment of the navy has been 
 moftly taken from the Chriftians, and has not the 
 authority of their ancient inftitutions to plead 
 for its abufes, there would be a great poffibility 
 of its improvement, were it not for that habitual 
 indolence which leads the Turk quickly to aban- 
 don any arduous undertaking. 
 
 Never was there fo great a profpedl of im- 
 provement in the Turkilli marine, as that af- 
 forded by the exertions of the celebrated KafTan, 
 who was promoted to the important office of 
 captain pallia or high admiral, for his militar}' 
 talents, and the bravery which he difplayed at 
 Chefme. He employed all the^infiuence which 
 his official and perfonal charadler gave him, and 
 which, under fultan Abdul Hamid, was almoft 
 unhmited, to introduce various reforms into the 
 Turkifli navy, and, had he been properly fe- 
 conded, would have certainly raifed it to confi- 
 
 derable 
 
Sd^ CHAPTER lit. 
 
 derable importance, though not to an equality 
 with the Ruffian fleet now in the Black Sea. 
 
 I cannot avoid making a fhort digreflion rela-^ 
 tive to him. The name af HafTan being very 
 common among the Turks, there have been fe- 
 veral HalTan Pailias, who have borne the fupreme 
 command in their marine ; it will therefore be 
 proper to difiiinguirn this illuftrious man by his 
 furname Gazi^ or Conqueror, given him bv the 
 fultan- — this appellation exadlly anfwers to Im* 
 perator during the Roman republic. Two rea- 
 fons particularly induce me to delineate his 
 chara6ler ; the afperfions which have been caft 
 upon it, and the ftriking inflances which it dif-* 
 plays of the inefficacy even of the greateft ta-* 
 lents under fuch a government as that of Turkey* 
 It is uncertain what country gave him birth* 
 He was broug-ht ud at Alsiiers, where he raifed 
 himfelf to a confiderable office in the fervice of 
 the dey. AI. de PeyffiDuel, who is interefted in 
 prefenting the bcil pictures of Turkilh manners, 
 eagerly feizes the opportunity of mentioning this 
 great man, and though in fom.e inflances rather 
 too partially, he upon the whole gives a much 
 more juft impreffion of his character than what 
 we gather from Baron de Tott, who had a per- 
 fonal enmity to him. The natural abilities of 
 Gazi Haflan Pafha were great ; his defeats v/ere 
 thofe of education. In perfon flrong and vigor- 
 ous, 
 
TURKISH MILITARY FORCE. Si 
 
 ous, he improved his conftitution by temperance, 
 and hardened it by the fatigues of a military 
 life. The ads of bravery, which defervedly 
 taifed the name of Gazi Haffan above that of 
 any modern Turk, are too numerous and ftrik- 
 ing to need repetition ; they bordered indeed 
 fometimes upon raflinefs ; and it is upon this ac- 
 count that Tott cenfures his daring attempt at 
 Lemnos. His condu6l, however, on that occa- 
 fion well deferves the applaufe given to it by 
 PeyfTonel -, it was one of thofe daring enterprizes, 
 which, by their audacity, feem to enfure fuccefs. 
 The Ruffians were furprifed, unarmed and un- 
 prepared, and were forced to embark with the 
 mod difgraceful precipitation ; it feem^s however 
 a myftery, why their fleet, formidable as it w^as, 
 lliould fet fail, and it can only be accounted for 
 from the panic with which the bold exploit of 
 Haflan had filled them. It has been inlinuated 
 that he was addi6ted to the unnatural vices too 
 frequent among his countrymen ; but this afper- 
 iion is altogether unfounded : he had only oiie 
 wife, and no concubine. 
 
 The ridicule which Tott has thrown upon him^ 
 for a want of fcientilic knowledge is no rhore 
 than applies to his countrymen univerfally ; but 
 though pofTeffing little fcience himfelf, he by no 
 means -defpifed it in others, arid the improve- 
 ments which he fuggef^ed in the Turkifh marine 
 
 G difplay. 
 
 
82 CHAPTER III. 
 
 difplay, if not an extenfive acquaintance wlt^ 
 firfl principles, at lead a bold and vigorous grafp 
 of native genius. Cruelty alfo has been laid to 
 his charge, but without fufficient allowance for 
 the flate of things in which he was placed. The 
 command of an undifciplined and tumultuous 
 force is not always to be preferved by lenient 
 meafures ; . his difcipline therefore was fevere, 
 his punifhments flriking, and often fanguinary, 
 but never wantonly cruel y he put fuddenly to 
 death, but never tortured. 
 
 Where feverity was not called for, he difplayed 
 a clemency unufual in a Turk. Though ftridtly 
 religious, he was mild and equitable to Chriflians 
 in general ; the inliabitants of the Greek iHands 
 under his dominion, ever found in him a pro- 
 tector, and the Greeks of the Morea, through 
 his influence, were preferved from total extirpa- 
 tion. His refped: for Europeans, proceeding 
 from his acutenefs and liberality, was known to 
 all thofe refident at ConRantinople, and to none 
 more than to the Britifli ambaflador, who pof- 
 feflTed his particular friendfhip, and had great 
 influence over him. The reforms and improve- 
 ments which this great man introduced, and 
 which he would have carried much farther, were 
 very comprehenfive, including both the con- 
 flrudion of the veflels, the education of oflicers, 
 and the fupply of fearnen. 
 
 As 
 
TURKISH MILITARY FORCE. 83 
 
 As to the velTels themfelves, he entirely al- 
 tered their rigging, and lowered the high poops, 
 which held a great deal of wind, and were very 
 unwieldy and inconvenient in battle ; thefe im- 
 provements were conduded by an Englifhman, 
 who rigged the velTels after the manner of his 
 country. 
 
 He alfo gave them regular tiers of guns : for- 
 merly there v/ere guns of all iizes on the fame 
 deck ; they now only keep on the lower tier, two, 
 four, or fix of their large brafs guns, fome of 
 which carry a (hot of one hundred pounds, and 
 are placed in the middle of the tier. What was 
 of infinitely more importance to the Turkifh 
 marine, was the reform which he endeavoured to 
 introduce in the mode of colledling failors, and 
 keeping them at all times ready for fervice. It 
 is ufual, as loon as the fleet enters the port of 
 Conftantinople in autumn, to lay up the fliips^ 
 in the harbour, and difmifs the failors, who all 
 go to their homes till St. George*s day, O. S. 
 (4th May, N. S.) ; for in moft maritime matters 
 they follow the Greek calendar, their own year 
 being compofed of lunar monthsj and its periods 
 fubjedl to much variation. Before this day the 
 fleet never fails, fo that during the winter it lies 
 quite defencelefs, and the Rufilans might come 
 down the Black Sea, and deftroy it in the port 
 of Conftantinople without oppofition. 
 
 G 2 Hafl^auj 
 
84 C H A P T E R 1 1 1 . 
 
 HafTan, forefeeing this, propofed building a 
 large edifice at Conftantinople for the failors to 
 live in, as in barracks, that they might be always 
 at hand. The porte not furnifliing the fums 
 ncceilary, he built one on a fmaller fcale at his 
 own expence ; but it is little uied fince his death, 
 as the failors go to their own homes in different 
 parts of the empire as before. 
 
 It is faid that the vizir, and other great officers 
 of the porte, were fearful of feeing the grand 
 admiral with fo great a force conftaiVtly at his 
 difpofal in the city. He, indeed, very probably 
 had in view, to have a body of men at his com- 
 mand capable of keeping the janizaries in awe ; 
 though without this he was dreaded by thenXpand 
 no riots happened, in his time, of confequence; 
 the few that did, he quelled in an inflant, and 
 flew without mercy all the ringleaders. About 
 the year 1776 he eftabliflied a feminary at Con- 
 fliantinople, for giving a regular education to 
 young men as ollicers for the navy ; but it came 
 to nothing, as all innovations in Turkey ever 
 muft, from prejudice, from envy, jealoufy, and 
 fear of fome unforefeen and imaginary baneful 
 ^ohfequence to the porte. Since that time 
 •another fruitlefs attempt has been made. 
 
 The beil mode of eftimating the importance 
 toT the Turkifn navy will be by a comparifon of 
 its condu6t with that of its opponents. For this 
 ^ purpofe 
 
TURKISH MILITARY FORCE. 8j 
 
 purpofe I (hill fubjoln a few obfervatlons on 
 fome of the mofi: memorable naval tranfadions 
 of the lail and preceding wars. 
 
 Gazi Hc^ifan Pailia, who [o much diftinguifhed 
 himfelf in the mem ^^rable affair of Chefme, was 
 at that time the Turkilh admiral's captain, or 
 capitana, called alio vice admiral b}" the Euro- 
 peans, but improperl}^ That the condu6V of 
 Gazi Hailan on this occafion difplayed equal 
 judgment and refolution cannot be doubted -, 
 he would probably have fuccceded in boarding 
 and taking admiral Spiritof's fhip, but for the 
 taking fire and blowing up of both veflels. 
 This event has been attributed to the defperation 
 of the Ruffians ; but as I v/as informed by 
 admiral Krufe (who was then captain of Spii-it- 
 oPs fliip) it arofe accidentally from the wadding 
 of the Ruffian guns which (ci fire to the 
 Turkifli veliel. (See Peyiionel loi.) The event 
 of the conteft at Ciiefme is well kno\vn ; the 
 Turkifli fleet w^as totally deflroyed owing to the 
 ill condud; of the captains, the cowardice of the 
 men, and to the ignorance of Jaffer Bey, who 
 was afterwards degraded from the poll of captain 
 paflia, and his place fupplied by Gazi HalTan. 
 
 In the fubfequent war, Gazi Hailan himfelf 
 commanded in the Black Sea ; yet notwithftand- 
 ing his exertions, his talents, and the great 
 powers with which he was invefted (more than 
 
 6 3 any 
 
S6 CHAPTER III. 
 
 any of his predeceiTors ever pofTeiTed) the 
 Turkifh fleet remained in a Hate of impotence. 
 During the whole of the fummer of 1788, the 
 captain pafha lay with feventeen fail of the line 
 off the illand of Berizan. The Ruffian fleet, 
 confiding of three fail of the line (with only their 
 lower tier of guns on board) and a number of 
 fm.all vefiels, lay at a little diftance from him, 
 between Kilburon and Ochakof, to proted the 
 fiege, and block up the port of the latter place. 
 The captain pallia knew very well that the guns 
 from Kilburon Point could not hurt him, as 
 they were maiked by the Ruffian fleet ; he 
 was alfo well acquainted with the channel, and 
 pofTelTed undoubted bravery himfelf; yet he 
 never dared to fail in and attack the enemy, 
 becaufe he could not rely on his own fhips 
 doing their duty, and manoeuvring properly. 
 The Ruffians expeded an attack, and thought 
 the event dubious. The remainder of their fleet 
 lay in the port of Sebafliopolis, under the com- 
 mand of admiral Wainowitz, and though not 
 one fourth as ftrong as the Turks, it failed to 
 attack the captain pallia, who went out to meet 
 it, and a running fight enfued, which ended to 
 the advantage of the Ruffians, though they put 
 back to Sebaftopolis ; and even for this meafure 
 the admiral was cenfured. 
 
 In the lafl campaign of the war, the whole 
 
 of 
 
TURKISH MILITARY FORCE. 87 
 
 of the Turkifli and RuiHan fleets met, and en^ 
 gaged. Notvvithllanding the very great inferi- 
 ority of the latter, they were vivflorious, and 
 purfued the Turks, who were flying igno- 
 minioufly before them into the Bofphorus of 
 Conftantinople. The Ruffians were already in 
 fight of the entrance, when a frigate reached 
 their admiral with news of the conclufion of 
 peace, v/hich put an end to the purfuit. 
 
 1 might have mentioned the adion 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 contefl, when the 
 fuperiority was greatly in favour of Turkey, 
 what is not now to be expelled, when the 
 Ruflian fleet at Sebaflopolis is fo confiderably 
 augmented ? It is now ftrong enough to rifk 
 the lofs of one half of its numbers 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 for- 
 trefles, particularly in thofe of the Dardanelles, 
 which they believe impregnable, I (hall add the 
 following obfervations on this fubjedV : 
 
 They are ignorant of the art either of fortify- 
 ing or defending, and, above all, of attacking 
 places. They have not one fort re fs in the empire 
 
 G 4 v/ell 
 
E8 CHAPTER III. 
 
 well fortified by art ; a few are ftrong by nature, 
 but none fo much fo that the Ruffians could not 
 now take them either by a regular fiege or by 
 afTault. Prince Potemkin, had he pleafed, could 
 as eafily have taken Ochakof on the ift of July, 
 when he appeared before it, as on the -5*yth of 
 December, when he fhormed it under augmented 
 difficulties. It was a political fiege. 
 
 The Dardanelles, faid to be fo formidable, 
 may be eafily pafTed by a fleet, or the caftles 
 may be beaten down by batteries ereded on 
 fhore, or by fea, from fituations on which the 
 great artillery cannot bear on fhips. There are, 
 on each fide the water, fourteen great guns, 
 which hre granite balls : thefe guns are of 
 brafs, with chambers like mortars, twenty-two 
 Englifh feet long and twenty-eight inches di- 
 ameter of the bore*; they are very near the 
 level of the furface of the water, in arched port- 
 holes or embrafures with iron doors, which are 
 opened only when they are to be fired ; the balls 
 crofs the water from fide to fide, as they are a 
 little elevated Thefe monflrous cannon are not 
 mounted on carriages, but lie on the paved floor, 
 with their breech againft a wall ; they cannot be 
 pointed, but the gunner muft wait till the vefTel 
 
 ♦ A gentleman, who has meafured them fince I did, fays, 
 they ai-e only tvventy-three inches j one of us muft have made 
 a maftake, 
 
 he 
 
TURKISH MILITARY FORCE. 8^ 
 
 he intends to fire at is oppofite the mouth, and 
 they are at leafi: half an hour in loading one of 
 theie guns. All veflels coming from Confhanti- 
 nople are obliged to ftop at thefe caftles, and 
 fhow their firman, or order, from the porte, to let 
 them pafs ; but there are examples of vefTels in 
 bad weather failing through the channel without 
 receiving any harm, though the Turks have fired 
 at them. It is true, that in going with the 
 flream, which with a northerly wind runs flrong, 
 it is eafier for a veflel to pafs them, yet with a 
 foutherly wind the current runs up, though not 
 fo flrong, and I believe an Englifh fleet with a 
 briik gale would pay little attention to thefe ter- 
 rible batteries, the guardians of the Turkifli capi- 
 tal ; they are, like the Turks themfelves, for- 
 midable only in appearance*. There are other 
 batteries of good cannon, but by no means 
 danserous ; fome of them at fuch a diftance, and 
 on fuch high hills, that they are quite ufelefs. 
 The following circumftance proves that the bat- 
 teries in the channel of Confl:antinople,and at the 
 entrance from the Black Sea, cannot hurt a fleet 
 failing in with a fair wind : In the firft campaign, 
 
 * There is in the arfenal of Conftantinople the breech of a 
 cannon which was melted in a firs a centuiy ago, of a molfe 
 enormous fize (I am lorry I have not the meafure of it) but thofe 
 of the Dardanelles are diminutive in comparifon to it. It was 
 one of thofe ufed at the fiege of Conftantinople. 
 
 one 
 
90 CHAPTER III. 
 
 one of the Ruffian veffels (a 64 gun fliip) vvas 
 feparated from the fleet cruifing in the Black Sea, 
 and being difmafted in a gale of wind > was forced 
 into the channel of Conftantinople , though 
 under jury-mafts, and moving ilowly, the Turks, 
 by an incelTant fire from all their batteries, were 
 not able to fink, nor even to hurt her j flie caft 
 anchor in the bay of Buyukdcree, after having 
 pafled all the moft dangerous batteries, and then 
 fiirrendered herfelf. The captain was an Eng- 
 lifhman j he was blamed for not continuing his 
 courfe, and failing quite through to the Archi- 
 pelago. 
 
 Another fortrefs, whofe importance has been 
 the fubjedt of much difcuffion, is Ochakof (fpelt 
 by the Poles Oczakow, and called by the Turks 
 Ozi) I fliall therefore take occafion to reftify a 
 common miftake refpeding it. 
 
 It is afferted by fome, and denied by others, 
 that this fortrefs defends the entrance into the 
 Liman. The report of mailers of merchant 
 velTels has been infilled on, on one fide, and that 
 of thofe who have obferved the courfe fliips of 
 war take, on the other fide. They were both in 
 the right. 
 
 Merchant fhips, if they are fmall, as thofe in 
 the Black Sea generally are, may fail out of the 
 channel, and go within reach of the guns of 
 Ochakof, but the channel for fliips of w,ar is at 
 
 leafl 
 
TURKISH MILITARY FORCE. 91 
 
 -leaft four miles from Ocliakof, and within fifty- 
 fathoms of the point of Killburon (not the 
 caftle) on which the RuiTians have ereded ftrong 
 batteries, the platforms of which are only two 
 feet above the level of the fea. Thefe batteries 
 v/ere ere<5led after the Turkifh fleet entered the 
 Liman, in June 1 788, and before all the remainder 
 of it got out again after their defeat. The con- 
 fequence was, that not one large fhlp did, after 
 that, get out. Six of them attempted to force 
 the paiiage, and were funk (though they were 
 not large veffeisy oppofite the batteries of the 
 point. This obliged the remainder in the Li- 
 man, which were fmaller velTels, to take fhelter 
 under the guns of Ochakof, in a fmall port on 
 the oppofite fide, within the Liman, where they 
 %vere burnt by the Ruflian fleet on the ill of 
 July. That fmall veflels may fail out of the 
 channel, and out of the reach of the guns at 
 Killburn Point, and even of the fleet in the 
 channel, the captain paflia proved. On the22d 
 of Augufl:, he fent twenty-two fmall vefTels (hav- 
 ing 2,500 men on board, and provifions for the 
 garrifon) from his fleet, with a wind which pre- 
 vented the Ruflian fleet going out to fea to meet 
 them, between the channel and the fliore of 
 Ochakof; they arrived fafe without. the Ruflian 
 fleet having fired one gun at them ; two of them 
 I'un afliore near the town, the refl: failed out 
 again as they came, the fame night. 
 
 Had 
 
92 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Had the Ruffian batteries been conflruiflcd 
 on the point of Killburn bc^fore the Turkifli 
 fleet entered the Liman, it could not have pafled 
 them till the Turks had made themfelves maf- 
 iers of them : it follows that the point of Kill- 
 burn, and not of Ochakof, is the key of the 
 Borifthenes *. 
 
 The prefent reigning fultan, Selim, has made 
 an attempt to introduce the European difcipline 
 into the Turkifli army, and to abolifli the body 
 of janizaries; an attempt, which, whatever fuc- 
 cefs it may ultimately be attended with, will 
 form a memorable epocha in the hiflory of the 
 emplrc. 
 
 A trifling circumftance gave rife to it. The 
 grand vizir, Yufef Paflia, in the late Rufllan 
 war, had a prifoner who was by birth a Turk, 
 but being carried early in his youth to Mofcow, 
 he had become a Chrifliian, and found in a Ruf- 
 fian nobleman a patron who gave him a good 
 education, and placed him in the army. He 
 was a lieutenant when he was taken prifoner, and 
 had the reputation of being a good officer. The 
 vizir took pleafure in converfmg with him, for 
 he had not wholly forgotten his mother tongue. 
 He reprefented the advantages of the European 
 difcipline, not only in battle, but in many other 
 
 * Ttiis place is often called Kinburn j its proper name in 
 Turkifli is Kill or Kiili-buron ; that is Kair-point, from its 
 lliape. The Ruffians write i^ KiJb^r^, 
 
 points 
 
TURKISH MILITARY FORCE. 93 
 
 points of view, and particularly in fecuring the 
 army from mutiny. By his perfuafion the vizir 
 formed a fmall corps, compofed of renegadoes 
 and a few indigent Turks, to whom the prifoner 
 taught the European exercife, which they ufed 
 to perform before the vizir's tent to divert him. 
 
 Peace being concluded, the vizir returned to 
 Conflantinople, and conduced this little corps 
 with him. They were left at a village a few 
 leagues from the capital. The fultan hearing of 
 them, went to fee /lozv the infidels fought battles^ 
 as he would have gone to a puppet-lhow ; but 
 he was fo ftruck with the fuperiority of their fire, 
 that from that inftant he refolved to introduce 
 the European difciphne into his array, and to 
 abolilh thejaniz nt s ; he therefore caufed the 
 corps to l)e recruited, {tt apart a branch of the 
 revenue for their maintenance, and finally de- 
 clared his intention of aboliihing the inftitution 
 of janizaries. This ftep, as might be expecced, 
 produced a m.utiny, which was only appeafed by 
 the fultan's confei^.ting to continue them their 
 pay during their life-times \ but he at the fame 
 time ordered that no recruits fliould be received 
 into their corps. 
 
 The new foldiery are taught their exercife 
 with the muiliet and bayonet, and a few manoeu- 
 vres. When they are held to be fufiiciently dif- 
 ciplined, they are fent to garrifon the fortrelTes 
 
 on 
 
94 CHAPTER III. 
 
 on the frontiers. Their officers are all Turks, 
 and are chofen out of thofe who perform their 
 exercife the bell. 
 
 What they may become in time it is difficult 
 to foretel ; at prcfent there is no other knowledge 
 in the army than is pofTelTed by their drill fer- 
 jeants ; nor indeed can more be expedled from 
 them, till they have gained experience in adual 
 war; and it mud be remembered that they are 
 ftiii Turks, a very different people from thofe 
 whom Peter the Great taught to conquer the 
 Swedes. Their ignorance of thofe manoeuvres,- 
 which, more than numbers or perfonal bravery, 
 decide the fate of battles, will make their defeat 
 eafy to the Ruffians, (hould ever they become 
 numerous enough to form an army, the firf^ time 
 they meet in the field : it will then be feen whe- 
 ther they can make a retreat, or are to be ral- 
 lied, and whether the new difcipline will not all 
 at once be abandoned. They have hitherto no 
 confidence in it ; and they are devoid of the en- 
 thufiafm and efprit de corps of the janizaries. In 
 the firft campaign they probably will be driven 
 out of Europe. 
 
 The mere inftitution of this militia is however 
 an important event ; and Selim may, perhaps, 
 effedt by policy, what feveral of his anceflors 
 have attempted by force. Could he put himfelf 
 at the head of a diciplined army, he would con- 
 quer 
 
TURKISH MILITARY FORCE. 95 
 
 quer the ulema as eafily as the jaaizaries, and 
 the Turkiili power, though it would never again 
 be formidable to Europe, might be refpectable 
 in Afia. The ulema fee their danger, and op- 
 pofe thefe changes with all their might. The 
 whole is too new, has too many difficulties to 
 encounter, and has made too fmall a progrefs 
 for us to form an opinion how far the fultan 
 will ultimately fucceed. 
 
 The man who was the caufe of this revolution 
 In the military fyftem, the Ruffian prifoner, and 
 who had again become a Mahomedan, w^as re- 
 warded for his fervices in the Turkifli manner ; 
 for fome mifdemeanor, real or imputed, his head 
 was ftruck ofF, 
 
I 96 ] 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Of the 'furkijfi Religion — Its EffeEl upon the Ld'W, 
 upon the TranfaEtions of the Government^ and upon 
 the people at large. "The CharciBer^ Learnhigy 
 dnd DiJiin£iions of the Ulema. 
 
 THE philofophic obferver of mankind re- 
 gards, as a chief objedb of his fpeeula- 
 tion, the manners of a nation; it is from them, 
 in general, that political inilitutions emanate, 
 and it is to them that they always owe their 
 efficacy. But manners themfelves will be found 
 to be marked with the character of previous 
 inilitutions, and of the hiflorical events of the 
 people among whom they predominate. Thus 
 there is a continual adtion and re-adtion of 
 caufes ; and the human character is alike formed 
 by general manners and by particular incidents. 
 The connection between thefe is fo intimate, 
 that we may alm^oft with certainty determine the 
 flate of the one from a knowledge of the other. 
 The beauteous fabric of political liberty cannot 
 be upheld by a corrupt, an effeminate, or a daf- 
 tardly people ; nor can defpotifm give birth to a 
 noble and ingenuous frame of mind. 
 
 The more fhriking, as well as the moil difgufl- 
 ing feature of TurkiHi manners, is that haughty 
 
 conceit 
 
TURKISH RELIGION. 97 
 
 conceit of fuperiority, arifing from the moft; nar- 
 row and intolerant bigotry. There have been 
 but too many inftances in hiftory, of nations 
 who, having proudly arrogated to themfelves 
 the title of favourites of the Almighty, have on 
 that account exercifed an infolent dildain toward 
 all who were without the pale of their religion. 
 In no inflance, however, has this folly appeared 
 more difgufhingly confpicuous than in the 
 TurkiQi nation ; it marks the public and the 
 private character ; it appears in the folemnity of 
 their legal a<5ls, in the ceremonies of the court, 
 and in the coarfe rufhicity of vulgar manners. 
 As it is not my intention to enter into a m^eta- 
 phyfical difcuffion of the Mahomedan dogmas, 
 I fliall, under the head of Religion, only enquire 
 into the various operations of that extenfive prin- 
 ciple throughout the different orders of fociety. 
 
 If we liften to the didtates of their law, dic- 
 tates which ought to have been conceived with 
 caution and uttered with calmnefs, we hear 
 nothing but the accents of intolerance breathed 
 forth wdth all the infolence of defpotifm. 
 
 Every ray a (that is, every fubjed who is not 
 of the Mahom.edan religion"^ is allowed only the 
 cruel alternative of death or tribute 3 and even 
 this is arbitrary in the breaft of the conqueror. 
 The very words of the formular}^, given to their 
 Chriftian lubjeds on paying the capitation tax, 
 
 H import. 
 
9^ CHAPTER IV. 
 
 import, that the fum of money receivedj is taken 
 as a compenfation for being permitted to wear 
 their heads that year. 
 
 The infulting diftindlon of Chriftian and Ma- 
 homedan is carried to fo great a length, that even 
 the minuti^ of drefs are rendered fubjeds of 
 reftridtion. A Chriftian muft wear only clothes 
 and head-dreifes of dark colours, and fuch as 
 Tui-ks never wear, with flippers of black leather, 
 and muft paint his houfe black, or dark brown. ■ 
 The leaft violation of thefe frivolous and difguft- 
 ing regulations is punilhed with death. Nor is 
 it at all uncommon for a Chriftian to have his 
 bead ftruck off in the ftreet for indulging in a 
 little more foppery of drefs than the fultan or 
 vizir, whom he may meet incognito, approves. 
 
 1 am here fpeaking of Chrifliians, fubjefts of 
 the Porte. A(5lual and honorary drogomans 
 have the privilege of wearing yellow flippers. 
 Chriftians ferving in •the Ottoman navy wear a 
 kind of red flioes. One of this defcription being 
 met by the prefent fultan, who was ignorant of 
 the privilege, ordered his head to be ftruck off. 
 Inftances of fuch fcyerity are moft frequent at 
 the beginning of a reign. There is no iixed 
 rule for the drefs of Europeans. At Conftanti- 
 nople and at Smyrna they wear the European 
 habit. In fome cities they wear whilkers and 
 the Turkiih drefs, with a hat and wig. In other 
 
 parts, 
 
TURKISH RELIGION. 99 
 
 part?, to avoid infults from the populace, they 
 appear in the Turkifn or Arab habit, with a 
 Tatar cap. In Arabia they generally drefs like 
 Mahoraedans. A Mr. P. A. (now in London) 
 returning to Conftantinople from Brufa, where 
 it is indifpenfably necelTary to wear the Turkifh 
 habit, on his landing at Galata, found the grand 
 feignior fitting incognito at the cuftom houfe ; 
 who, ftruck with feme finery in his drefs, en- 
 quired who he was, and on being informed that 
 he was a European, Selim ordered him to be im- 
 mediately beheaded : the cuftomer and fome 
 other confiderabie perfons prefent, threw them- 
 felves at his feet, and with much difficulty faved 
 the young man's life, but his clothes were torn, 
 and he was otherwife ill treated. 
 
 A Chriilian may not kill a Mahomedan even 
 in felf-defence ; if a Chriftian only flrikes a 
 Mahomedan, he is moft commonly put to death 
 on the fpot, or, at leafl:, ruined by fines, and 
 feverely bafhinadoed ; if*^ he flirikes, though by 
 accident, 2,f}ienf (emir in Turkifh, /. e, adefcen- 
 dant of Mahomed, who wear green turbands) 
 of whom there are thoufands in fome cities, it 
 is death without remiffion. 
 
 Tl'ie tetllmony of Chriftians is little regarded 
 in courts of juftice; at befl, two teflimonies are 
 but confidered as one, and are even overborne 
 by that of a fmgie Mahomedan, if reputed at 
 all an honed man, 
 
 H 2 The 
 
I do CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Chrlftians can build no new church, nor 
 Can they without great Turns obtain a hcence 
 even td i*epkir old ones. If a Mahomedan kills 
 a Chriftian, he is in general only fined. At 
 Conflantinople indeed they are (on account of 
 the police neceiiary in the capital) fometimes 
 puniilied with dcatli. And this is alv/ays done 
 if the crime be attended with roVjbery, by fecret 
 aiiailination, or in any manner fo as to difturb 
 the p9lice, which is properly the crime that is 
 puniflied. 
 
 Saltan Muftafa, father of Sclim, the prefent 
 grand feignior, when he mounted the throne^ 
 ■f^Fopofed to put to death all the Chriilians in 
 the whole empire , and was with difficulty dif- 
 fuaded from doing, it, on the ground of the lofs 
 of capitationr-^'This prince, however, in the 
 courfe of his reign, appeared to be actuated 
 by a love of the ilirideft juftice. What muft 
 %hat religion and thofe principles be, which 
 tould induce a jufl, at leafl; a well-intentioned 
 liian, to maiiacre whole provinces of defencelefs 
 ■folojedls ! 
 
 ■ It has been rtfHniied, that t-liis conclufioil 
 cannot be univcrfally true againft any religion; 
 
 I- r ■ 
 
 ^* what horroi-^^- '• (it ib (aid) " have we not ieen 
 *' committed by princes, whom we mufl fuppofe 
 ""to have been well-intentioned, profeiling the 
 -*' moll benig-n relieion that \^f?s ever adopted 
 
 " by man ?" ' ' 
 
 That 
 
TURKISH RELIGION. lOI 
 
 That feti of the Roman Church whofe doc- 
 trines permitted a ibvereign to murder in cold 
 blood all his fubjedls who were of a different per- 
 fuafion, cannot be faid to have profelled a benign 
 religion, or even the religion which Jefus Chrift 
 taught to mankind. The religion of faltan muf- 
 tafa, and of the other Ottoman princes who were 
 on the point of putting into execution their hor- 
 rible defign, was the genuine religion of Maho- 
 med ; or at leail:, fuch as it has univerfaliy been 
 profefTed for many centuries by orthodox muf- 
 felmans. Mr. Park found the Moors fecluded 
 in the very interior of Africa, actuated by the 
 fame infernal principles. 
 
 It may be farther remarked, that there is not 
 one inftance oi ^ifetva which declares the mur- 
 dering of Chriftians to be contrary to the faith ; 
 or of any argument drawn from juftice or re^ 
 ligion, iifed to diUliade the fultans from per- 
 petrating fuch an enormity. The pleaders for 
 mercy have been guided by policy or moved by 
 companion only. 
 
 Aloft: of the fultans in latter times have (hown 
 a greater difpofition to cruelty and intolerance 
 in the beginning of their reigns than afterwards, 
 and this is eafy to be accounted for. 
 
 The fultans frequently give in marriage to 
 Pachas princefTes of the Imperial family ; but 
 the male children of fuch marriages are put to 
 death as foon as they are born. What can the 
 
 H 3 advocates 
 
102 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 advocates of the Mahomedan religion allege in 
 defence of fuch a horrible cuilom ? Is the plea 
 of flate policy admilTible ? 
 
 It is fcarcely credible how far the littlenefs 
 of pride is carried by the porte in all their tran- 
 fadions with the Chriftian princes. Whenever 
 they concluded any treaty, the inftrument which 
 remains in the hands of the Turks reprefents 
 the other contradiiig powers as proftrated at the 
 foot of the fultan's throne, ajid fupplicating his 
 favour and protedion. The prefents which are 
 made to the fultan, on the arrival of an ambaf- 
 fador, or on any other occafion, are regiftered in 
 the archives of the empire, as tributes paid to the 
 fublime port for its protection by fuch and iuch 
 infidel karols, the Polifh or Slavonian name for 
 king or prince, never given by theTorks but to 
 infidels. Thefe treaties, fuch as they are, amount 
 only to a temiporary remiffion of that implacable 
 enmity with which their religion infpires them 
 againil every thing which is not Mahomedan. 
 To fupport 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 iruce^ for the 
 fake of renovating their ftrength, and enabling 
 themfelves more efledually to ferve the caufe of 
 
 Mahomed j 
 
TURKISH RELIGION. IO3 
 
 Mahomed i and this is the explanation which 
 they give to their own moft folemn treaties of 
 peace. In this they are much afiilled by the 
 nature of the Arabic language, which they mix 
 with the Turkiili in their public acl:s, and which, 
 by the \^rious application of its terms, literal 
 and metaphorical, enables them to give whatever 
 interpretation they pleafetoany contradt. Thus, 
 fiilck ebedy properly fignifies a perpetual peace, 
 while ddim, the term fynonymous to ebedyy fig- 
 nifies the fame thing, but lefs forcibly : never- 
 thelefs it coft the court of Vienna, within this 
 century, a long and difficult negotiation to fub- 
 ftitute the firft for the other in a treaty, which 
 was, not long after, broken by open hofliiitics. 
 
 It has been contended by fome writers with 
 apparent probability, that the Turks, reftlefs and 
 diftradled as they are at home, would be un- 
 willing to augment their confufion by engaging 
 in foreign contefts -, but there are two obferva- 
 tions which may be mxade in anfwer to this argu- 
 ment ', firfi, that the government itfelf is too 
 ignorant and incautious to be fwayed by fach 
 confiderations. We muft not look on the porta 
 as a cabinet under the guidance of enlightened 
 politicians, but of a fet of wretches continually 
 iiu6tuating between the hope of amafiing plun- 
 der by means of war, and enjoying it in the 
 tranquillity of peace 3 or of hot-headed fanatics, 
 who confidcr the dcfhruclion of inhdels as the 
 
 H 4 mofb 
 
104 CHAPTER IV* 
 
 mod meritorious duty of a mufTulman. Se* 
 condly, it may be doubted whether policy would 
 not lead the miniilers of the porte frequently to 
 encourage wars, which would divert the turbu- 
 lent fpirits from domefcic fedition to the hope 
 of obtaining glory and plunder in a foreign 
 contefl, 
 
 I fhall adduce but one infiance, though there 
 are many to be found in their hiflory, in fupport 
 of my opinion ; it is the condu6l of Turkey in 
 the conquefh of Cyprus, as defcribed by the 
 faithful and eloquent pen of the bifliop of 
 Amelia. 
 
 Sultan Selim II. who at that period fat on the 
 throne, neither endeavoured to extend by con- 
 queft 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 mofl 
 beaftiy debauchery. The people, difcontented 
 at his unambitious reign, murmured fo loudly, 
 that it was deemed necelTary by the vizir to fa- 
 tisfy them : they affirmed^ that jultans zvere not Jet 
 tip to enjoy peaceably what their predecejjbrs had 
 left them ; but to enlarge their empire by new con- 
 qiiejis^ and finally reduce the univerfe to the Maho- 
 medan law ; for this fpirit of conqueft and pil- 
 lage is the fpirit of the whole Turkilh na- 
 tion, from the vizir to the peafant. It was re- 
 folyed to make war on the Venetians, and to 
 
 take 
 
TURKISH RELIGION. IO5 
 
 take Cyprus, though without any jufl pretence 
 whatever. 
 
 The povv^ers of Chriflendom were at variance 
 among themtelves,and differences of religion had 
 caufed domeftic wars. France was allied with 
 the porte ; Venice was in great confufion by the 
 blowing up of its arfenal, fuppofed to be done by 
 Turkiih eruilTaries ; there was a great fcai-city of 
 corn alfo in Europe : (o that the fuitan^ roufed 
 from his lethargy, thought now of nothing lefs 
 than conquering all Europe, and began with Cy- 
 prus, 'They fokm}iIy ajfured the Venetians, that the 
 preparations they were making at Conftanti- 
 nople were deftined to affill: the Moors in Spain ; 
 for oaths, and folemn afilirances and proteiiations 
 of public faith had always been, and are to this 
 day, with them, (late policy. The vizir, who 
 for perfonal reafons did not delire this war (he 
 being bribed alfo by the Venetians) objected to 
 the violation of a treaty which the fultan had 
 fo folemnly uvorn to oblerve. The ulema v/ere 
 hereupon confulted, and unanimouily anfwered, 
 " that a treaty made zvith the enemies of God and 
 his prophet might be broken, there being nothing fo 
 worthy a Mahomedan as to undertake the entire 
 dejlrudion of Chrijiians.'^ Tii:s fentence ftands on 
 jecord, with thoufands more of the fame kind. 
 
 The manners of the Court itfelf, tindured as 
 thofe of all courts are with deceit, are not fufH- 
 ciently polillied to avoid a conduct, not merely 
 
 haughty, 
 
Io6 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 haught}'', but indecent, to the reprefentatives of 
 Chriftian fovereions. The ftupid and incorrigible 
 ignorance of the Turk makes him treat his mod 
 favoured ahies only as dependents ; hence their 
 ambaffadors are received merely as deputies from 
 tributary ftates. Every folemnity at which the 
 foreign minifters aiHft. in Turkey, occalions them 
 a new fpccies of humiliation, in which they are 
 led from indignity to indignity, a fpedacle to 
 the flupid populace, who infult them with the 
 coarfeft language as they pafs, and meafure by 
 this fcale the greatnefs of their fovereign. The 
 minifter, who is to obtain an audience of the 
 lultan, muil prefent himfelf at the porte by four 
 o'clock in the morning, where after three or four 
 tedious hours occupied in unmeaning ceremonies, 
 he is informed that he may be permitted to fee 
 the refplendent face of the emperor of the world 
 (GehanPadiJIia) Vvdio among his other pompous 
 titles bears that of Alemum pe^inati, refuge of 
 the world : after v/hich he is feated in a folitary 
 coiner of the divan, on the left, near the door, and 
 the vizir fends to the fultan a iliort note, called 
 talkijli^ which is in fubftance, '' that the infidel 
 " (gldaiir) of fuch a court, after having been 
 " iufiicicntly fed, and decently clothed, by the 
 " fpecial grace of his fublime majefty, humbly 
 " fupplicates leave to come and lick the dud 
 .*' beneath his illuftrious throne.'* The talkllli- 
 gee (or billet bearer) having returned with the 
 
 anfwcr 
 
TURKISH RELIGION. I07 
 
 anfwer of the emperor, the vlzlr and all his al- 
 fiflants rife with refped at the fight of the /acred 
 writing {khat-ijherif) ^ and the ambailador is con- 
 ducted to the audience, the ceremonies of which 
 are too well known to need repetition. It may 
 not, however, be amifs to notice, that the mi- 
 niflers and their fuite, who go into the audience 
 chamber, are invefted with a kaftan or Turkifli 
 garment, which covers entirely their own drefs, 
 and reaches to the ground ; and that fome writers 
 have abiurdly 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 
 vaflais of their empire, obliged them formerly to 
 be habited entirely in the Turkifh drefs, except 
 the head, which was covered with a hat, and to 
 let their beards grow previoufiy to admifTion 
 into the fultan's prefence, as their tributaries, 
 the ilagufeans, do at the prefent day. This hu- 
 miiating maiquerade was aboiiflied by means 
 of the ambaiiadoiS of England and Holland, 
 who acled as mediators in the treaty of Paffa- 
 rowitz fm 1718; and who took advantage of the 
 dejedled ftate cf Turkey to eflabiifli the cufiiom, 
 that the European miniiiers Ihould appear in 
 their national dreffjs. The invefliture of the 
 kaftan is only a remains of the ancient ufage,. 
 and is no more to be confidered as an honour 
 than the cuftom of wearmg a hat at the audi- 
 ence^ 
 
I03 C H A P T E R IV. 
 
 ence, which is fo far from being a matter of fa- 
 vour, tliat no European miniilcr would be per- 
 mitted to appear othicrwife before the fultan or 
 vizir. The Turks confider a European's pulling, 
 off his hat exaflly as we do a man's pulling off 
 his wig. 
 
 Kaftans and garments lined with fur, are given 
 to fubjects of the portc and to other perfons, on 
 fome occaftons, by the iuitan> vizir, or paflias, 
 as marks of honour ; but in that cafe the invef- 
 titure takes place after, and not before the au- 
 dience. 
 
 When a foreign minifter has an audience of 
 the vizir, the cirogoman of the porte (for the 
 miniiter's own drogoman is not fuffered to in- 
 terpret, left he fliould not exprefs himfelf in 
 terms fufiiciently fubmillive) while he is fpeak- 
 ing to the vizir, affeds to be convulfed with 
 fear, and lliakes his head and arms like a Chinefe 
 figure. Though this is funply an etiquette, and 
 certainly a mofh ridiculous one, yet if the dro- 
 goman of the porte be not attentive to the efta- 
 bliOied phrafeology of the fublime porte, he may 
 have real caufe to. tremble with fear. The late 
 count Ludolph (envoy from the king of Naples) 
 who perfectly underfbood Turkifli, thinking that 
 the drogoman of the porte, at a public audience, 
 made ufe of expreffions derogatory of the dig- 
 nity of the reprefentative of a fovereign prince, 
 
 ( interrupted 
 
TURKISH RELIGION. IC9 
 
 interrupted him, and told the vizir, that he had 
 not made ufe of thofe words but of others, 
 which he himfelf repeated in Turkiili. The vizir 
 anfwered : thofe words fliould have been yours, 
 and if the drogoman of the porte had expreffed 
 himfelf as you have done, his head lliould have 
 been flruck off at your feet. 
 
 Particular inftances of Turkifh infolence, even 
 to the reprefentatives of their moil powerful 
 allies, are frequent and fliriking. 
 
 It is not fifty years fmce the grand vizir, Gin- 
 Ali-Pafha, advifed the divan to -confine all the 
 ambaiTadors to a fmall iiland near Confcanti- 
 nople, as lepers, or other infeftious and unclean 
 perfons. 
 
 In 1756, the Sieur Du Val, drogoman to the 
 French ambalTador, Mr. de Vergenne?, having 
 announced the double bond of alliance and mar- 
 riao-e, which had united his court with the houfe 
 of Auftria, received from the reis-effendi no other 
 anfwer, than that " the fnb lime porte did not troif- 
 '' ble itf elf about the union of o?ie hog ivith another J'^ 
 This marriage was not very agreeable news to 
 the porte. A fimiilar anfwer was given by the 
 vizir Kiuperli to the French ambaflador, Mon- 
 fieur de la Haye, even in the brilliant sra of 
 Louis XIV. : when that minifter announced the 
 fplendid fuccelfes of his fovereign over the Spa- 
 niard?^ the vizir replied, v/ith the barbarous in- 
 folence 
 
Iia CK AP T E R IV. 
 
 folence of an Ottoman fatrap/ " What care I 
 " whetJier the dog eat the hog, or the hog eat the 
 " dog, Jo that the hiterefis of my /over eign prof per."" 
 The fame vizir offered a more atrocious ini'ult 
 to the ancient ally of the porte, in the perfon of 
 the fon ot Monlieur de la Haye, whom he caufed 
 to be thrown into a dungeon, after receivmg 
 publicly a blow, which broke one of his teeth. 
 The fole caufe of this outrage was the refufal of 
 young De la Haye to explain a letter, which he 
 had written in cypher to a friend at Venice. 
 
 It is not to be denied, that thefe degradations 
 are frequently increafed by the fervility of the 
 minifLers tlienifelves, who, by a manly refiflance, 
 might generally avoid fuch indignities -, for the 
 barbarous infolence of the Turks, which is aug- 
 ,mented by timidity, fhrinks into nothing before 
 a refolute and dignified firmnefs. Such was the 
 ccndud: of Monfieur de Ferioles, ambaffador 
 from France in the lafi: century, who having 
 taken his Rvord, either inadvertently or by de- 
 fign, to the audience of the grand feignior, not 
 only refufed to lay it afide, but gave a kick in 
 the belly to an oiFicer of the feraglio w^ho at- 
 tempted to take^it from him by force ; and find- 
 ing that he was denied admiffion, thus armed, to 
 the imperial audience, he returned with his fulte 
 to his houfe at Pera, after cafliing off the kaftan 
 with which he had been invefled. Yet this am- 
 
 baiTador 
 
TURKISH RELIGION. Ill 
 
 bafTador remained a dozen years longer at Con- 
 ftantinople, and tranfadled the bufineis of his 
 office with credit to himfelf and advantage to 
 his country. 
 
 In 1766, the porte, wifhing to iTiovv fome 
 mark of contempt to Poland, required the Polilh 
 envoy to appear at the audience of the vizir 
 without a fabre ; with this demand he refufed 
 to comply, declaring that the fabre was part of 
 the Polifh drefs, and that as other minifters wore 
 their fwords, he would not appear at any audi- 
 ence in a manner contrary to the ancient eti- 
 quette. The confequence of his firmnefs was a 
 compliance on the part of the vizir, who received 
 him with all the ufual ceremonies. 
 
 In the laft war, it was offered to fome TurkiOi 
 prifoners to ferve as volunteers in the Ru0ian 
 flotilla agalnft Sweden. On account of the pay, 
 they accepted the offer 'with gladnefs, and be- 
 haved very well in feveral adions. On their re- 
 turn they were afked, in my prefence, why they 
 fought agalnft their friends ? their anfwer was, 
 " They are all Jiogs alike to lis, whether they zvear 
 '^ green or blue coats^ The conformity of this 
 anfwer with thofe of the great officers of the 
 porte is truly ftriking. 
 
 It is not only in the formalities of the law, or 
 in the etiquette of the court, that a barbarous 
 infolence is difplayed. The peafant, no lefs than 
 
 the 
 
112 CHAPTER tV. 
 
 the fultan^ thinks it unworthy of him to dilTem^ 
 ble the contempt which he bears towards all 
 unbehevers. The ver}^ porter employed by a 
 Chriftian merchant will return his addrefs with 
 infult * ; and fo degrading is any connexion with 
 infidels efteemed, that the janizaries employed 
 as guards to a European have the general appel- 
 lation of fwine-herds. No Turk of the loweil 
 condition will rife from his feat to receive even 
 an ambaffador : to avoid this incivility in vifit5 
 from foreign minifhers, the vizir, or other per-^ 
 fon, comes into the audience chamber after the 
 minifter^ and they both fit down at the fame 
 time* 
 
 As a proof of the contem^pt in which the Turks 
 hold all foreigners, and their perfuafion of their 
 own fuperiority, which they even imagine is 
 granted by other nations, I fliail mention one or 
 two anecdotes, of which I myfelf was a witnefs. 
 
 A Turkiili prifoner of Ochakof, meeting at 
 Cherfon, where he had liberty to walk about 
 the town without reftraint, a Raflian officer on 
 ' a nari*ow pavement where only one peribn could 
 pafs, and- the ftreets being exceedingly dirty 
 (over the flioes) when he was within a fev/ yards 
 of him, the Turk, as if he had been in the flrcets 
 of Conftantinople, made a iign with his hand 
 
 o 
 
 ■T 
 
 \- 
 
 * That Is, if he fay to him, feace io^oUjOv ufe any falutation 
 cuftomary between Mahomedans. 
 
 9 to 
 
TURKISH RELIGION. IIj 
 
 t6 the officer to defcend from the pavement into 
 the dirt. This appeared to the officer fo exceed- 
 ingly ridiculous, that he* burft out into a fit 
 of laughter, upon which the Turk abufed him in 
 the groffeft language, fuch as is ufed to infidels 
 in Turkey, and ftill infifted on the officer's going 
 <5ut of his way s he^ not being a violent man, 
 only beckoned to a foldier, who pufhed him 
 headlong off the pavement ; to this the Turk 
 fubmitted with iilent refignation 3 but^ unluckily 
 for him, it was near the houfe of the governor, 
 who had feen and heard the whole ; he repri- 
 manded the fellov/ for his infolence> and was 
 threatened with the faitie treatment as the 
 Ruffian prifoners endure at Conflantinople. The 
 Turk's anfwer was, " T/iey are injjde/s, but I am a 
 *' Mahomedany This procured him a good 
 drubbing, but he all the while hollowed out 
 that it was not lawful to ftrike a mufelmari ; and 
 as foon as he was fet at liberty^ he w^ent away 
 fwearing vengeance againfl the firfl infidel he 
 fliould meet when he got back to Turkey. 
 
 Some of the Turkifh prifoners, who were faved 
 from the fury of the Ruffian foldiers at the ftorm- 
 ing of Ochakof, were put the next day, out of 
 compaffion, prortiifcuoufly, into a warm fubter- 
 raneous room among the Ruffian wounded. 
 When afterwards an officer came to remove 
 them, and diftribute them to different parts, fome 
 Turks itood up, and with an authoritative voice 
 
 X objeded 
 
114 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 obje^led to the company being feparated except 
 in fuch parties as they dictated. Had their 
 language been that of entreaty they would have 
 been liftened to, for they wanted to put relations 
 and acquaintances together. Nothing certainly 
 is more cruel than in fuch circumftances to fepa- 
 rate friends and relations when it can be avoided* 
 Prince Potemkin, who was a very humane man> 
 had ordered exprefsiy to alleviate iri this refpedl 
 the hard deftiny of the captives. They were 
 reminded of their own favage condud: on fimilar 
 occafions, where wives and daughters were fepa- 
 rated from hufbands and fathers^and how other- 
 wife they were treated. The anfwer was, " 'They 
 were not Mahamedansy Several of the women 
 faid to the Turks, "Let them <^a<3J they will, 
 " they are our maflers nowT In the two firft 
 words they expreffed the farfte notion of their 
 fuperiority as the men had done, but the re** 
 mainder of the fentence is not uncharadleriilic 
 of Turkifh women in general. 
 
 I have often been furprifed, at different ex* 
 tremities of the empire, and from different claffes 
 of people, to receive anfwers in exadly the fame 
 Words ; for example, every Turk will tell you, 
 vizir or porter, at Belgrade or Bagdad, that they 
 gained the empire by the fabre, and by the fabre 
 they will defend it ; and centuries ago they faid 
 the fame. 
 
 The ener\'ation of mind, fo common among the 
 • ' . ' I . Turks, 
 
tURKISH RELIGION. ii§ 
 
 Turks, makes them at once fuperflitious and 
 difinclined to bear up againfl the evil which ad- 
 vances with giant flrides againfl their ilate. In the 
 moment of popular apprehenfion, prodigies and 
 predi6lions are eafily forged ; to thefe the cre- 
 dulous Turks eagerly liflen ; the lower orders are 
 at the prefent day perfuaded that the Ruffian 
 llandard will enter Conflantinople through a cer- 
 tain gate, faid to be pointed out by an ancient 
 prophecy, and the great men are fo far from op- 
 pofing this weaknefs by fuperior energy, that 
 they look to the Afiatic fhore as a fecure retreat 
 from the fury of the conquerors.*. 
 
 It feems a kind of moral paradox, that the: 
 fame people, who are thus averfe to taking the 
 neceffary precautions againfl evils of fuch mag- 
 nitude, ihould neverthelefs bear them, when they 
 arrive, with a fortitude and refignation bordering 
 upon apathy. The caufe of this extraordinary 
 condudl is to be found in the predeilinarian 
 dogmas of their religion operating upon their 
 minds, difpofed by habitual ina<5tivity and in- 
 celfant examples of the inftability of fortune un- 
 der their defpotic government, to acquiefce in 
 what appears to be the will of providence. An 
 inflance which occurred to me is too remarkable 
 hot to deferve notice. 
 
 The Turkifli womeft and children (in number 
 about 400) who were brought out of Ochakof, 
 
 I 2 whea 
 
Il6 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 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 accommo- 
 dations could, under Jhe prelTure of the circum- 
 fiances, be made for them, though it froze ex- 
 ceedingly hardj and they fuffered dreadfully from 
 cold and nakednefs, and many from wounds. As 
 I fpoke Turkifh, I had the guard of that pod, 
 and the fup'erintendance of them that night. I 
 obferved that there reigned a perfedl filence 
 among them, not one woman weeping or lament- 
 ing, at leafl loudly, though every one, perhaps, 
 had lofl a parent, a child, or a hufband. 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 infenfibility, to the habit 
 of feeing and hearing of great viciffitudes.of for- 
 tune, or to a patience and refignation inculi:ated 
 by their religion ; and at this day I am ^ually 
 unable to account for it. One woman fate in a 
 filent but remarkably melancholy poflure, in- 
 fomuch that I was induced to offer her fome con- 
 folation. I afked her why (he did not take 
 courage, and bear misfortunes like a mufelman, 
 as her companions did ? She anfwered in thefe 
 flriking words, '* / have feen my father^ my hnjhand^ 
 *^ and my children killed \ J have only one child leftJ'* 
 " Where is it ?" I afked her with precipitation. 
 
 " Here r 
 
TURKISH RELIGION. llj 
 
 ** Here /'* fhe calmly faid, and pointed to a child 
 by her fide, which had juft expired. I and thofe 
 with me burfl into tears, but (he did not weep at 
 all. I took that night into my warm fubter- 
 ranean 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 none of them either 
 complained aloud, or (bowed any figns of excef- 
 five internal grief, but each told me her (lory 
 (both old and young) as of an indifferent perfon, 
 without exclamation, without fighs, without 
 tears. 
 
 Patriotifm and public fpirit are not to be 
 fought for in the Turkifh chara(fter. It is a fpirit 
 of oflentation and fuperftition which has led to 
 the foundation of fo many mofques, colleges, and 
 caravanfaries, and in thofe who have lefTer means, 
 to the eredion of numerous praying places fox 
 the ufe of travellers, called namas-g/iia/i, which 
 point out the diredion of Mecca, as well as of 
 fountains, in the public roads and ftreets. 
 
 Having viewed the e(fe(fls of the Religion itfelf 
 on the manners of 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 and lawyer, they form a body 
 of fo much importance in the (late. 
 
 The inflitutions of the clergy cannot but have 
 
 I 3 great 
 
ilS CHAPTER IV. 
 
 great influence on the nianners of a nation, and 
 this influence is fo much the greater, by how 
 much the fuperfl:ition on which it is founded is 
 llupidly grofs and univerfally prevalent. In 
 Turkey, their political power, it has been feen, 
 13 firmly rooted^ nor have they omitted any 
 means of perpetuating it, which could be found- 
 ed on the ignorance of the people. To found 
 mofques, and endow them with treafures, is held 
 to be one of the mofl: rneritorious works of a 
 mufeln>an ^ and further provifion is made for the 
 education of youth defl:ined to the fervice of re- 
 ligion and law, by the efl:ablifliment of medrejfesi 
 or colleges. 
 
 Thefe medrefles are ufually endowed, at the 
 time of founding a mofque, for the inft:ru6tion 
 of youth in the elements of fcience. They have 
 -profejfors^ and they confer degrees, from ihtfohta 
 or fludent to the miiderris or principal of a col- 
 lege ; but in fa6t this is a mere parade of terms. 
 Children are admitted from the mektebs or com- 
 mon fchools, where they learn their alphabet, to 
 feminaries which, far from refembiing the col- 
 leges of Eaton or Weflminfter, much lefs of Ox« 
 ford or Cambridge, are fcarcely equal to the 
 lowed of our village fchools. A profeflbr, for 
 the moft part ignorant of the firfl: principles of 
 fcience, fuperintends the inftru^lion ; and it 
 is fuppofed to be neceflary for the members of 
 
 the 
 
TURKISH RELIGIO!^. II9 
 
 the iilema to go through all the rutbes or degrees 
 pf office, both in the colleges and in the higher 
 departments, which gradually lead to the flation 
 oi mufti or high-priefh. Thefe degrees are fohta 
 or fludent, muderris or principal of the college, 
 naib or judge's fecretary, kadi orjudge, rnolak or 
 fupreme judge, kiabe-molahji or judge of Mecca, 
 ijlambol-effendifi or chief magiflrate of Conftanti-r 
 nople, and kadilajkir or military judge^ of which 
 there are two, one for Europe and one for Afia. 
 
 Intrigue and party connexions, however, ren-^ 
 der it eafy for the moil ignorant and inexperi-j- 
 enced to attain the rank of mufti. PeyiTanel af- 
 ferts, that the pontificate has become a fort of 
 heritage in fome great families ; but there are no 
 families which can properly 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 ftabi- 
 iity, the members of it are far from refembling 
 families in Europe, whofe eflates are hereditary, 
 The fultan is continually detaching members of 
 the ulema, by tempting them to accept offices of 
 the porte, when they become his kouh or flaves, 
 and he their heir at law. Nor is it only the fons 
 of the ulema who enter into that corps by a re- 
 gular progreffion through the offices : vizirs and 
 paflias often get their relations into the ulema, 
 
 I 4 to 
 
11Q> CHAPTER IV, 
 
 to fecure an inheritance for their families after 
 their death, of what they have given them in 
 their life-times. 
 
 In the colleges, indeed, there is a pompous de- 
 tail of fciences which are profefled to be taught, 
 but which fcarcely any one underftands. The 
 pupils are few ; thofe of the law have the greatefl 
 pretenfion to learning, but even they are grofsly 
 ignorant. In their libraries, indeed, exifl fome 
 valuable books, but they are unnoticed, except 
 perhaps now and then by a man of a fmgularly 
 ftudious turn. 
 
 As to the particular fciences, their jurifpru- 
 dence and theology confifls only of commentaries 
 on the Koran > their aflronomy is aftrology, and 
 their chemiftry alchemy ; of the hiftory and 
 geography of other countries they are perfedily 
 ignorant. Metaphyfics, rhetoric, and grammar, 
 are indeed taught, but not upon rational prin- 
 ciples. It is fcarcely poffible for an European 
 not to over-rate their learning, by reading thefe 
 details of inflitutions, and the names of fciences 
 taught. 
 
 Were I, in fliort, to defcribe the learning of 
 a mufti, a kadi, or other regularly educated man 
 of the law, in terms correfponding to his know- 
 ledge, when compared with EngiiCh literature, 
 the pi(5lure would be nearly as follows : he has, 
 perhaps, read the Bible, and learnt enough of 
 
 Greek 
 
/■ 
 
 TURKISH RELIGION. 121 
 
 Greek to conftrue the Greek Teftament, without 
 however knowing the grammar of the language, 
 or being able to read the other authors. He 
 has not learnt Latin, orpurfuedany claffical ftu° 
 dies ; but has merely confulted fome old com- 
 mentaries on feledl parts of the fcripture, and is 
 either a thorough defpifer of religion altogether, 
 or a bigotted enemy to freedom of enquiry re- 
 Ipedling any of its articles. Befides thefe, he has 
 probably met with tales of ghofts, genii, and the 
 like, all which he im.plicitly believes ; he has met 
 with fome old fabulous hiflorian, like Geoffry of 
 Monmouth, to whom alfo he gives credit ; and 
 as well in hiftory, as in every other fcience, be- 
 lieves all the abfurdities which the people at large 
 receive, and which I Ihall hereafter deHneate. 
 
 Of monks, that exift in Turkey, the great line 
 of divilion is into thofe who refide in monafteries 
 and thofe who have no fixed habitation j the for- 
 mer are called tnewliahs, the latter hektachis^ and 
 each is divided into different orders, with their 
 peculiar cuftoms and laws. The mewliahs are 
 chiefly diftinguifhed by the different ceremonies 
 which they perform, fome howHng until they fpit 
 blood 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, 
 l>ot irons, &c, 
 
 Of 
 
122 e H AFTER IVo 
 
 Of the bektajliis, fome attach themfelves to the 
 fervice of the pafhas, fome to the different ortas 
 or companies of janizaries, and fome are mere 
 ilroliers, denominated //^;^//j (or fantons), who 
 pretend to miracles, prophecies, &c. and, roaming 
 about the country, commit the greateft enormi- 
 ties under the cloak of religion. Tht^Q JJiehhs arq 
 more highly elteemedin Afia than in Europe, and 
 moil of all in Egypt. They pretend to be infpired, 
 or frantic, and in thofe circumftances they feize 
 on any woman in the ftreets in Egypt, and oblige 
 her to fubmit to their embraces ; to which indeed 
 no oppofition is made. The people cover the 
 couple with mats for the fake of decency, and this 
 condud: is looked on with reverence; the woman, 
 fo far from being difhonoured, is complimented 
 on the occafion, even by her hufband. In Con» 
 llantinople this would not be permitted ; the 
 (hehh would be privately put to death; but 
 they never are feized with thefe frenzies in Eu- 
 rope ; the utmofl liberties they take there is to 
 feign madnefs, and madmen (if they are not fo 
 bad as to be obliged to be confined) are coniider- 
 ed as holy and infpired ; in this ftate they often 
 tell the truth with ffreat freedom to the vizir, and 
 fometimes even to the fultan ; but as there is 
 flill fome riik in that, they generally confine their 
 liberties to thofe who have lefs pov/er over their 
 heads. 
 
 To 
 
TURKISH RELIGION. J2 
 
 To (how what regard is paid to madmen irj 
 Turkey, I will relate a circumllance which hap- 
 pened at Aleppo while I was in that city. A 
 young Dutchman of the name of Van Kerckhem 
 ran into a publick bath, while women were bath- 
 ing; and after flopping an inftant, ran out 
 again, hoping to efcape before an alarm was 
 given; but the women's (hrieks were fo loud that 
 they were heard in the neighbouring houfes ; 
 feveral Turks came out into the fhreet, and flop- 
 ping the young man, drew their daggers to ftab 
 him. Luckily there was a prudent man, with 
 whom he had been walking, ftanding in the 
 ftreet, who affecting a fit of laughter, told the 
 Turks that he was a madman. " He Ihould be 
 ^' confined in a mad-houfe," they replied. " I 
 ^* was carrying him to a mad-houfe, and beg you 
 ^^ to aflift me/* he anfwered. Nq other anfwer 
 could have appeafed the Turks and the women, 
 and have fayed the young man from in{l:ant 
 death. One of the Turks aflifted in conducing 
 him to the ConfuFs houfe. 
 
 The toleration of the Mahomedans has been 
 much vaunted. Hiftorians have faid : " fhepni- 
 dent policy of the Mahomedans, the only enthuftafts 
 that ever united the fpirit of toleration with the zeal 
 for making profelytes. offered the inhabitants of the 
 countries they conquered, their religion and laws, on 
 
 condition 
 
X24 CHAPTER IV, 
 
 condition that they paid the ejlahlijiied captation t, 
 andjuch as embraced the religion of the conquerors 
 were entitled to all their privileges ^ i^c^ A fimple 
 flatement of their condud, as it appears proved 
 by hiftorical fads, will fhow whether their re- 
 ligion is tolerant or intolerant. 
 
 They pretend to the right of fovereignty over 
 the whole earth, and to convert mankind to their 
 
 religion. 
 
 Regardlefs of treaties, oaths, and all other obli- 
 gations, without provocation they attack every 
 country, when they fee a profped of fuccefs. 
 
 When they have conquered, they put to death 
 all ages, ranks, and fex -, or they fpare a few, who 
 are reduced to a flate of ilavery, 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 infamy, are debarred all 
 friendly intercourfe with the conquerors, and 
 are continually perfecuted and maltreated if they 
 do not deny their God and become apoftates ; 
 their children are brought up in the Mahomedan 
 faith, and made to fight again ft their fathers and 
 their fathers religion ; for many imaginary or real 
 crimes, fome of which, in Mahomedans, are not 
 punifhable at all, they have the option only of 
 death or apoftacy. 
 
 At 
 
TURKISH RELIGION. 12^ 
 
 At prefent, however, they do not take children 
 born in the country from their parents, to recruit 
 the corps of janizaries. This cuftom ceafed, 
 when the fultans wifhed to weaken that militia. 
 
 To cut off all the Chriftians in the empire, 
 who will not embrace Mahomedanifm, has fre- 
 quently been the fubjed of ferious difcuflion at 
 the porte. 
 
 Every honour and advantage is offered to thofe 
 who change their religion, and every fpecies of 
 mifery and humiliation attends them and their 
 pofterity, if they do not do it. Is this to» 
 leration ? 
 
t 126 i 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 An Hifiorical Viezv of the Turki/h Power. 
 
 IN the detail of canfcs which modify the cha= 
 radler of nations, it will frequently be found 
 necelTary to trace back the pages of hiflory, and 
 purfue the chain of events through fuccellive 
 ages^ preferiting thofe llriking events, whofe ope- 
 rations continue when their records are fcarcely 
 to be found. 
 
 If the Ottoman empire is flill vail and exten- 
 five ; if it ft.ill attract the fear or the admiration 
 of its neighbours, and fwell with ftupid vanity 
 its fubjedts, thefe effeds are not furely to be at- 
 tributed to the wifdom of its counfels, or to the 
 Valour of its forces, as they now exift, but arife 
 from the fplendor of its former exploits, and the 
 merited celebrity of its ancient chara6ler. It is 
 true that thefe exploits were difgraced by perfidy 
 and treachery, and flained by violence and ra- 
 pine s and while their crimes exhibited an energy 
 in purfuit, and a brilliancy in fuccefs, the claim 
 of the Turks to national pre-eminence ftood un- 
 difputed ; but in the enervating lap of floth, the 
 ferocious conqueror has degenerated into a torpid 
 barbarian, whofe only marks of former prowefs 
 are to be traced in the infolence of his prefent 
 
 demeanour^ 
 
TURKISH POWER. 12^ 
 
 demeanour, and the fullen affedlation of his fan- 
 cied dignity. 
 
 . The Ottoman power and name originated in 
 Othmmi (according to the Arabic pronunciation, 
 or Ofman according to the Turkifli and Perfian) 
 who, about the year 1300, affumed the title of 
 fidtauy and eflabliflied his empire at Prufa in 
 Bithynia : but in order to take a view of the 
 progrefs of the Turks, we muft trace their hif- 
 tory flill higher up, and conlider not only their 
 own origin, but that of the Saracen kalifs, 
 whom they fupplanted. 
 
 The vafl extent of continent, which, fpreading 
 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 many extenlive empires, which have 
 arifen with a rapidity only to fall as quickly into 
 ruins. In the early hiftory of thefe countries, 
 new irruptions and new conquerors continually 
 fucceeded each other, and the power of founding 
 an empire feems feldom to have been attended 
 W4th the fkill requifite for maintaining it. Some, 
 however, among the numerous hordes which 
 then fucceffively prevailed, arofe to a greater 
 height, and eftablifhed a more lading name than 
 others. The different branches of Tartars, (more 
 properly Tatars) from the north, and the Arabia 
 ans from the fouth, carried their arms over exten- 
 
 five 
 
128 CHAPTER V. 
 
 iive regions, and founded great and ptrtnaftenf 
 empires. 
 
 It will not here be requifite to follow the vic- 
 torious prophet Mahomedj who, by the fafcina- 
 tion of his religion, as much as by the terroi" of 
 his fword, fubjedled {o many nations ; fuffice it 
 to fay, that his empire, fo founded, was within 
 200 years after his death, extended by his fucc'ef- 
 fofs, the kalifs or commanders of the faithful, 
 over the north of Africa and great part of Afia : 
 befides which they had made great progrefs in 
 the fouth of Europe, having overrun almofl aH 
 Spain, and entered Sicily, Italy, and France. The 
 feat of their government was eflablifhed at Bag- 
 dad, whence iffued the mandates of their fpiri- 
 tual defpotifrri over this wide extent of territory ; 
 but as an empire fo hallily raifed, ^ild fo uncon- 
 ne^ed in its parts, was not ealily held together, 
 and as the commander of the faithful with the 
 increafe of power acquired alfo habits of luxury 
 ill adapted to the art of governing, their power 
 was foon deilined to fall under the fword of more 
 hardy competitors. 
 
 Such competitors were found in the Tatar na- 
 tions, by whom they were furrounded. The 
 mofl ancient records of this part of the wrorld de- 
 fcribe the Scythian or Tatar tribes as the inva-* 
 ders of their lefs ferocious neighbours. Their 
 liJime has been very generally applied to the inha-^ 
 
 bifafits 
 
TURKISH POWER. 1 29 
 
 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 of thefe Tatars, whofe ori- 
 ginal feat was beyond the Cafplan fea, from 
 w^hence, incited by the defire of plunder, 
 they defcended about the year 800, and feized 
 upon Armenia, ti'om them called Turcomania. 
 
 At this time the Perfian empire was ruled by 
 governors, who w^ere nominally fubjedl to the Sa- 
 racen kalifs ; but Mahmud, the Gaznevide, one 
 of thefe governors, having extended his empire* 
 from Tranfoxiana to Ifpahan, and from the Caf- 
 pian fea to the Indus, was invefted by the kalif 
 with the title of fultan. Upon the fuccefilon of 
 his fon Maffud -f- to this dignity, a body of 
 Turks under Tongrul or Togrul Beg (known in 
 fome of our hiftories by the name of Tangrolipix) 
 either Invited by the Perfians as auxiliaries, or » 
 attack 'ig them as invaders (for the hiflorical 
 accounts differ) obtained poiTeflion of that king- 
 dom. It is fuppofed to be about this time that 
 the Turks embraced the religion of Mahomed, 
 and the kalif having called them to his ailTiftance 
 againfh the rebellious emirs, conllituted the vic- 
 torious Tongrul /£?w^{?r^/ //>i-^<?//^;7/' ofl/ie comman* 
 
 * A. D. 597. I A. 1038. 
 
t30 CHAPTER V. 
 
 der of the fatthfiil^. From this dignity the flep 
 was fhort to the attainment of the whole power 
 of the kalifat, to which a defcendant of Gengis- 
 khan finally put an end, in the perfon of the 
 kahf Muftazem f . 
 
 Meanwhile new opponents were rifing againil 
 the Turks, who, fcarce fettled in their new con - 
 quefts, were obliged to yield them to frefh hordes 
 of invaders. The more northern Tatars prefling 
 upon the Turks, as one fwarm of thofe barba- 
 rians incefiantly protruded another, harailed them 
 in their newly acquired Perfian empire, and final- 
 ly obliged them to relinquifn it in purfuit of frefli 
 conquefts to the fouth. It was about the year 
 1200 that the Turks yielded the kingdom of 
 Perfia to the Tatars ; but previoufiy to this they 
 had themfelves extended their arms over the 
 greater part of Alia Minor, whiiher they now re- 
 treated, and fixed the feat of their .empire at 
 Iconium, in Cilicia, fmce Karamania. Here too 
 they were preiTed by the" Tatars, and it was at 
 this tim.e that the European mania of jhe cru- 
 fades having a fecond time broken out, the 
 Turks found themfelves obliged to cede the 
 whole of Pale (line to the Chriilians];. It was 
 not long before they regained this country, taking 
 Jerufalem§ and putting to the /word, zmthcut dif- 
 tindlion or mercy ^ inan, vco-man^ and child, 
 
 * A. D. 1055. t A. D. 1239. 
 
 :|: A. D. 1229. ^ h, D. 1234. 
 
 The 
 
TURKISH POWER. I31 
 
 The government which the celebrated Salah- 
 tiddin, (or Saladin) had eflablifhed, was aifo 
 about this time overthrown by the Mamluks 
 (who retained the independent poiTeiTion of that 
 country till the beginning of the i6th century) 
 and various other contefls arifing in the Turkilh 
 empire, it fell for a time into fmall independent 
 fovereignties, and remained without a head until 
 the rife of Othman, who firfl affumed the name 
 of fultan, and from whom therefore our account 
 of the Ottomian race properly begins. 
 
 Before v/e proceed to an hiftorical detail of the 
 acts of the feveral fultans, I fnall briefly notice 
 the caufes of the former greatnefs of the Turks; 
 which may be reduced to the following heads : 
 
 ifl. Their conftant third after univerfal mo- 
 narchy, looking on the whole world as their pro- 
 perty ; and the propagation of their religicn> 
 excited by fpi ritual as well as tem.poral motives, 
 never nesilecling; to feize on an advantaprei as 
 they w^ere unreflirained by any fcruples of injuf- 
 tice, '"r of breach of faith, oaths, or treaties. 
 
 iV. Their concord in matters of religion and 
 ,e. 
 
 3dly. Their perfonal courage in war, flill in- 
 creafed by iuccefs, and by the enthufiafm of 
 religion. 
 
 4thly. Their general devotion to their fove- 
 reign, and the obedience of the foldiery and 
 
 K 2 ' people 
 
l^Z • CHAP T£R V. 
 
 people to their fuperiors and commanders, to a 
 degree hitherto unknown in hi^tor3^ 
 
 5thly. Their ftricl oblervance of their ancient 
 military difcipline, their military education, and 
 the early acquaintance with arms, not of the fol- 
 diery only, but of the whole people. 
 
 6thly. Their great temperance, and confe- 
 quent health and vigour of body. 
 
 7 thly. 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 m.ight 
 hope to become grand vizir, and even to be al- 
 lied to his fovereign. 
 
 8thly. The fevere and never failing inftanta- 
 neous punifliment inilicled on difobedience, dii- 
 loyalty, diforder, or cowardice. 
 
 9thly. The military genius of their fovereigns, 
 who always were at the head of their armies, and 
 their power unreflrained either by civil or religi- 
 ous laws. 
 
 lothly. Their great refources for recruiting 
 their armies, 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 cap- 
 -tives, whom they educated in the Mahomedan 
 religion, and trained to the ufe of arms. 
 
 6 Hence 
 
T U R K I S H P O W E R. I 33 
 
 Hence it is very eafy to account for the wide 
 extent of their vidories ; nor ought we to be af- 
 tonifhed, that. they con*|uered the whole domi- 
 nions of the kalifs, the Greek empire, Macedonia, 
 Epirus, Peloponnefus, Servia, Bofnia, Bulgaria, 
 Syria, Paleftine, Egypt, &c. particularly when 
 we recoiled that their opponents were moftly 
 very inferior to them in all the requifites for mili- 
 tary excellence. 
 
 In thofe barbarous ages, when the Chridian 
 llates, governed by courtiers, priefts, or women, 
 difplayed no traces of intelledual energy -, v;hen 
 their feudal government, their ignorance of politi- 
 cal ceconomy, and their w^ant of fyftem in finan- 
 cial and military arrangements, rendered them 
 individually weak and contemptible ; and vv^hen 
 extended views of general politics, of mutual 
 alliances, 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 charac- 
 ter, and built up a mighty and extenfive empire. 
 Their civil and military inftitutions were far fu- 
 perior to thofe of their cotemporaries ; their 
 temperament of mind and body, naturally ardent, 
 was inflamed by the precepts of a fanguinary re- 
 ligion, which incited them to conquefl: by the 
 mofh flattering promifes of fenfual gratification ; 
 and they were led, by chiefs of Angular fkill, 
 
 K 3 bravery 
 
Ij4 CHAPTER V. 
 
 bravery^ and ambition, againft enemies they 
 defpifed. The Ottoman empire, governed by a 
 fucceffion of great me.*i, from Ot-hman I. to 
 Mahmoud iV. with fcarcely a iingle exception, 
 thus obtained an eminent reputation whtlfl it 
 widely extended the limits of its territory. 
 
 It muft be owned that their fame, however- 
 great as conquerors, has never entitled them to 
 any other homage, has never ranked them among 
 the benefadlors or inftrudlors of mankind^ they 
 fcarcely deferve eVen to be reckoned among the 
 fpecies. Intent upon victory, they have Ji opt at 
 no means to prof ecute their plan of uyiiverjal monarchy y 
 violating every principle of jifiice and national faith ; 
 attacking their Heighbours without provocation ^ with- 
 out claim ^ without eveyi alleclglng a reafonfor their 
 conduct ; maffacring the vanquijhed without pity, or 
 f paring their lives only to force the-m to a jlavery the 
 moft degrading ; feizing on their wives and daughters ^ 
 felling or difho'-wiiring them, regardlefs of the domefiic 
 mifery of -the unhafjpy fufferers. 
 
 We have feen, in other countries, particular 
 reigfisor epochas marked with aft ions asdifgrace- 
 ful ; but that period or that reign was ever be- 
 held by the nation itfelf at leaft by the virtuous 
 pait of it, with the indignation it deferved ; 
 hut here is a fjftem of wickednefs and abomination 
 transferred from the o) igin of the nation to its pof^ 
 teriiy to this very day ^confirmed by their religion, and 
 
 approved 
 
TURKISH POWER. ^3S 
 
 approved h tJioJe who call themjelvcs -th-i priejis of 
 God, Wherever the Turks have eilabiiihed their 
 dominion, icience and^comrnerce, the comforts 
 and the knowledge of mankind, ha\^e alike de- 
 cayed. Not only have they exemplified barbar- 
 ifm and intolerance in their own condu'il, but 
 they have extinguifhed the ilam.e of genius and 
 knowledge in others, breaking and defacing even 
 the monuments of ancient art with a kind of fa- 
 yage exultation, and proving themfelves the real 
 fcourgcs of the hun.an race. 
 
 We now proceed to an hiftorlcal furvey of 
 the ufurpations of their fovereigns, beginning 
 with 
 
 OTHMAN I. 
 
 It was by degrees that this princ.e (a defcendant 
 of the celebrated Gengis-Khan) reduced under 
 his fubjection mofl of the toparchies, or petty 
 fovereignties, into v/hich the Turkman empire 
 of Karamania had fallen. W hen he nrfl aiTumed 
 the title of iultan, he pofTeiied the fovereignty of 
 a fmall (.Ufi^rid, the capital of which was Kara- 
 chijar. Here he eftabliilied his government, and 
 purfuing his conquefirs, took 'Prnfa in Bithynia, 
 and made it the ieat of the Ottoman empire or 
 kingdom ,for not till the taking of Conuanti- 
 nopledidthe fultans aiiume the title of i Operator) 
 which now extended over the greatefl part of 
 
 K 4 A(ia 
 
136 C H AP T E R V. 
 
 Alia Minor. He died in 1328 and was lUG 
 ceeded by 
 
 
 ORKHAN. 
 
 This prince having taken Nike by furprlfe;, and 
 made ilaves of all its inhabitants, removed his 
 court thither. When he had extended his con- 
 quefcs to the Heilefpont, his ambition and zeal 
 to propagate Mahomedanifm would not fuffer 
 him to flop there , he croiied it, and took Gali- 
 poli. He died in 1359, having been a moflun- 
 jufl and inveterate enemy to the Chriilians. 
 
 AMURAT I. 
 
 Succeeded tc^is predeceffor's projedls of ufur- 
 pation of the country, and extirpation of the re- 
 ligion of the Chriftians. 
 
 He took Adrianople in 1362, and made it the. 
 capital of his empire^ as mofh conveniently feated 
 to extend his conquefcs on the Chriftians. Amu- 
 rat, as has been before obferved, formed the ce- 
 lebrated body of foldiers called yeniiliari or ja- 
 nizaries, which afterwards became the ftrength 
 of the Turkifli army. He took Servia, and its 
 capital Nifia, and Appolonia near Mount Athos. 
 Having a quarrel with the fultan 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 Ottomans 
 
 in Afia. 
 
 Amu rat 
 
TURKISH POWER. I37 
 
 Amurat was ftabbed, in 1390, by a wounded 
 Chrlftian foldi.r, after he had gained a great 
 battle, in which he gave no pardon, and maf- 
 Jacred afterzvards an incredible number of Chrifiians ^ 
 pver (ince this event, all Chriilian ambafladors 
 and their luite, admitted to the fultan's prefence, 
 are held by both tljeir arms by two chamberlains^ 
 during the time they are in the audience room. 
 He fubdued a great part of Thrace (or Rom.ania) 
 leaving to the Greek emperor little more than 
 the city of Conftantinople. 
 
 BAYAZET I. 
 
 On his acceffion to the throne he immediately 
 fir angled his young brother J a cub. This was the 
 firfl inflance of the fanguinary cuftom, after- 
 wards fo frequent, of putting to death princes 
 of the royal blood. 
 
 In the firft year of his reign he took Cratova 
 in Servia, which was yielded to him on condition 
 tihat the Chriftian inhabitants (hould depart 
 with life and liberty \ but he lent foldiers after 
 them, and murdered them all without mercy. He 
 entered into Bofnia, and brought away all the 
 inhabitants whom he judged ufefui, and made 
 ilaves of them. He crofled the Danube (the 
 firfh time the Turks pajQTed it) and committed 
 horrid cruelties in Walachia, from which he 
 gfterwards exacted a yearly tribute. He bcfieged 
 
 Conflan- 
 
 / 
 
l.jS CHAPTER V. 
 
 Gonftantinople twice, and had nearly taken it ; 
 but the great Tannerlane came to its relief, and 
 ovefcame Bavazet in the f>;reate{l battle that was 
 ever fought. Being taivcn prifoner, he was put 
 into an iron cage (as he told f amerlane 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 inve- 
 terate enemy to Chriftians, or to all countries he 
 thought he could conquer. The Turks were 
 now arrived at the height of cruelty, treachery, 
 and thirft of conqueil. 
 
 MAHOMET I. 
 
 3oon after his acceiTion he killed his brothers ; 
 fome of them not till after a long civil war. He 
 regained ail his father had loft, but had not time 
 to augment it much, as he died in 1422. 
 
 AMURAT II. 
 
 Eldefl: fon of Mahomet. He ftrangled his bro- 
 ther Muftafa. In 1432, he took Theifalonica 
 (or Salonica) and put men, women, and children^ to 
 tJieJword, except thoie referved for luft or hard 
 labour. The cruelties here committed cannot be 
 defcribed, any more than th? horrid ravages 
 which he made in Hungary. He invaded and 
 fubdued Servia (contrary to his league with the 
 prince of it, his father-in -lav/) defrroyhig all before 
 
 him. 
 
TURKISH POWER, 1 39 
 
 him. He entered into Tranfilvanla and killed 
 men^ zmmen^ a^d children, as far as he penetrated i 
 he did the fame in Waiachia, and burnt the vil- 
 lages and towns ; all kinds of tortures, and 
 cruelty in its mofl dreadful (hape, were pra6lifed 
 on the Chriftians. The famous Scanderberg, a 
 native of Epirus, greatly checked him. 
 
 In 1445, Am.urat took Peloponnefus and all 
 Greece ; he facrificed 600 prifoners to the foul 
 of his father, ravaged the country, and deflroyed 
 every thing plealant, beautiful, or grand, and 
 repeating his accuftomed cruelties. He greatly 
 enlarged tht Turkiih dominions, augmented the 
 body of janizaries, and made them more for- 
 midable than they had been before. This cruel 
 tyrant and invader of Chriflian ftates died of 
 age, and grief at his ill fuccefs againft Scander- 
 berg, in Augufh 1450; he was, however, more 
 faithful in obferving treaties than any of his pre- 
 deceffors, or -even than his opponent the King of 
 Hungary ; but let it be obierved, that he never 
 made treaties but in diftrefs^ and v*^hen he de- 
 fpaired of conquering. 
 
 MAHOMET II. 
 
 The greatefl: v;arrior of all the TurkiQi fultans, 
 and the motl: cruel tyrant that ever fate on the 
 throne of the Ottomans, or on any other throne. 
 4S'Iahomet II. eldeitfon of the late Amurat, be2;an 
 
 his 
 
140 CHAP TEH V. 
 
 his infamous reign by the murder of his two bro«» 
 thers. His next a<5t was to offer a league with the 
 emperor of Condantinopie and the defpot of 
 Servia, his grandfather by the mother^a iide, but 
 at tlie fame time he made preparations for the 
 liege of Conftantinople. He never kept his 
 word, his promifes, his leagues, or even his 
 moil folemn oaths on the Koran, longer than 
 fuited his purpofe. He was a monfrer of perfid}^ 
 of cruelty, and injuflice, and he is " the glar.y of 
 ^' the annals of the Ottoman race.'** 
 
 He took Conftantinople the 29th of May 
 1453. " The emperor w^as, happily for him, kil^ 
 led in defending it. The barbarians entered the 
 city, howling more horribly than the beafts of 
 the foreft with thirfl: of blood; they flew defence- 
 lefs men, women, and children, by thoufands,, 
 Vs^thout the leafh refped 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 
 facrednefs of the place would infpire refped for 
 the duties of man, of whatever religion he be ;, 
 they were there all ilain, except a very few, referv- 
 ed for purpofes worfe than death ; and the church 
 was converted into a ftabie. Every common fol- 
 dier had permiffion, for three days, to maillicre^ 
 to violate, and to pillage without reftraint. 
 lliches were worfe than poverty, and beauty 
 worfe than deformity. A hundred thoufand 
 
 bar- 
 
T U R K I S H P O W E R. 14! 
 
 barbarians fatisfied their avarice, their favage 
 cruelty, and their brutal luft, or all. No tongue 
 can deicribe their mifery. Three long days and 
 three^lono; nio;hts the air was fhaken with their 
 cries. The fultan heard them in his camp, and 
 they lulled him to fleep. The dogs ran into 
 the fields howling with compaflion, or leaped into 
 the fea. 
 
 " After three days, the few Chriilians, fpared 
 for the cruel purpofes cf the conquerors, were 
 driven like hogs into th^ fields. The fultan en- 
 tered the city ; his horfe w'as flopped fometimes 
 by heaps of theflaughtered,and fometimes waded 
 through pools of blood. He made in the holy 
 temple of St. Sophia a fumptuous feaft for his 
 pafhas and officers, and as he fate banquetting 
 he caufed to be killed, for his diverGon and that 
 of his guefts, great numbers of liis prifoners of 
 thefirfl diilindion for birth, eminence, and learn- 
 ing, among whom were many of the late empe- 
 ror's relations > and thefe feafls he repeated daily 
 till he had deftroyed all the Grecian nobility, 
 priefls, and perfons of learning or note who had 
 fallen into his hands of both fexes and all ages. 
 Many Venetian fcnators, and Genoefe nobles, 
 and rich merchants, w^re among the prifoners ; 
 they were in like manner murdered for his diver- 
 iion while he was feafting, and to entertain his 
 court. 
 
 Thus 
 
14^ CHAPTER Yi 
 
 Thus ended the Greek empire ! Thus was 
 founded the feat of the Turkilli empire, which 
 fome Chriftian princes have fmce thought it juf- 
 tice to defend from the attacks of other Chriftian 
 princes, and from the fcruggles of the wretched 
 remainder of an injured and unhappy people, ever 
 fmce living in miferabie bondage 1 
 
 Unprovoked, the Turks attacked them, and 
 never ceafed till they had ufurped the throne of 
 their empire, as they had'done thofe of fo msmy 
 other ftates and kingdoms, murdering millions 
 in cold blood, and by tortures of the moft un- 
 heard of barbarity. 
 
 He took Servia, and the empire of Trapizonde^ 
 pitting all the family of the emperor to death. After 
 triumphing over the Venetians, he took Otranto 
 in Italy, and murdered all the inhabitants, accord-^- 
 ing to theTurkifn cuftom, except a few he chofe 
 out to make Haves of. 
 
 He died (by poifon it is fuppcfed) in the year 
 1481, after having put to death ibove 800,000 
 Chriftians of both fexes. 
 
 BAYAZET II. 
 
 Eldeft fon of the late fultan, had a long civil war 
 to fuftain againft his brothers, whom he had not 
 an opportunity of feizing and putting to death 
 when he fucceeded to the throne. He formed a 
 projedl of putting to death the whole corps of 
 
 janizaries^ 
 
TUR K ISH P O WER. I43 
 
 janizaries, but, as it was difcovered, It became 
 impracticable. He attacked v/Ithout provocation 
 the Venetians, and committed horrid mallacres : 
 he aKo attacked the Egyptians. . After a trouble- 
 fome reign, he was depoied by his fon, and poi- 
 ibned, in 151 2. 
 
 S E L I M I. , . 
 
 The greateft moniler of this monftrolis race. 
 After poifonins; his father, he flirancrled his elder 
 brother, and murdered his five fons j->Ise caught 
 another brother, and fcranpled him'^aifo. He 
 made great conquefls over the Perilads, and in 
 Afia, and took Cairo after a hard feuggle with 
 the Mamaluks. After a bloody reign, he died 
 a lamentable death of a cancer in his reins 
 as he w^as planning an attack on Italy and 
 Rhodes, in September 1520. He commanded 
 his fon to turn his arms againfi: the Chrifbians, 
 and left him many wife but dreadfully fanguinary 
 precepts. ■ ■ ^ 
 
 SO LI MAN II. 
 
 Having freed himfelf from apprehenfion on the 
 fide of Perfia and Egypt, he direfted his attempts 
 againft the Chriftians, and foon took Pwhodes 
 from the knights of St. John, who liad .held it 
 foT two hundred yea-s. The fentiments of the 
 'Turks may be gathered from his fpeeches to the 
 
 grand 
 
144 CHAPTER V, 
 
 grand mafter, after he bad iignedj and fvvorn to 
 obferve, the capitulation. 
 
 " Although I might jujl/y and worthily infringe 
 *' the articles I have prefcribed with fuch an ene- 
 " my (that is, a Chrifiian) from whofe deferved 
 " punifliment neither faith nor oath ought tojiay z, 
 " moiljuft conqueror j yet I have determined to 
 " be gracious 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 mailer in a noble fpeech anfwered, " that 
 he preferred death -y' which fo aftonillied Soli* 
 man, that he promifed to obferve the articles of 
 the capitulation. On the grand mafter's depar- 
 ture from Rhodes, Soliman told him, " What 
 " I have done unto thee was not for hatred, but 
 *' delire of fovereignty."-^ — " 1 need not war for 
 ** riches but for honour, fame, and immortality 
 *' and the extenfion of my empire , for it is the 
 ** property of a fovereign, royally defcended, by 
 " ftrong hand to take from others, and to in- 
 " vade others, not from a covetous mind, but 
 ** from the honourable delire of rule and fove- 
 " reignty 3 for wdiile my neighbour fcandeth I 
 ** count it jufh by force of arms to remove him." 
 He then attacked Hungary, took Buda, and 
 mwdered the garrifon, which had capitulated. He 
 entered into Auilria with fire and fword : " 77/^ 
 *' dd iverejlain, the pung led into captivity, tvomen 
 
 ** ravi/Iied 
 
TURKISH POWER. I45 
 
 *' raviJJied before their hu/hantTs faces, cind then flain 
 *' zmth their children, infants ript out of their mother"* s 
 ** wombs, others taken from their breafls, cut in 
 " pieces, or thrufi upon pointed flakes, and other incre- 
 " dible cruelties r He laid fiege to Vienna, but find- 
 ing a mod defperate refiftance, raifed the fiege, 
 and before he withdrew maffacred all his priforiers, 
 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 repeated his cruelties, killing at one time- 
 4,000 prifoners. He took, in 1534, Bagdadj 
 all AlTyria, and Mefopotamia, formerly feparate 
 kingdoms, but then belonging to Perfia. He fei?l 
 200,000 men into Macedonia, to be tranfported 
 into Italy, and adually landed a part of this army 
 in Apulia, and took Caflrum. Turning his forces, 
 however, from Italy againft the Venetians, he 
 befieged Corfu, but not fucceeding, he carried 
 away 16,000 young people of the ifiand into per- 
 petual flavery, yet he made other conquefts on 
 them during a long war. He again came to 
 Buda, and converted Hungary into a Turkifli 
 province, making an alliance with the French 
 to attack the Emperor. He made a fruitlefs 
 attempt on Malta, but carried off from Goza 
 6,300 young people into flavery. The Turks 
 then attacked and tookTripoly, belonging to the 
 order of Malta, but did not keep the capitula- 
 
 L tions. 
 
 i^f 
 
 T-^ 
 
146 C HA PTER V. 
 
 tions, as they faid no faith was to be kept with do^s, 
 Ali pafhaof Buda invaded Upper Hungary, and 
 took Temefwar, and, contrary to the capittilatiGUy 
 murdered the gar r if on, 
 
 Soliman, being fufplcious of his fon Muftafa, 
 
 caufed him to be llrangled in his prefence, but 
 
 afterwards found he was innocent ; he ftrangled 
 
 alfo 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 ftrangled. He fent a fleet and 
 
 army againft Malta, attacked it a fecond time, 
 
 and took the fort of St. Elmo -, but meeting with 
 
 ^reat lofs raifed the fiege. In fliort, after doing 
 
 in various parts of the world much mifchief to 
 
 the Chriftians, and committing every where 
 
 great cruelties, he died of a bloody flux, the 4th 
 
 of Septem.ber 1566. This prince has been much 
 
 extolled by many Chriftian w'riters. 
 
 SELIM II. 
 
 S(t\. the ruinous example to his fuccefibrs of not 
 going himfelf to the wars, and of carrying them 
 on by lieutenants. He foon fought a pretence 
 to declare war againft the Venetians, who, in this 
 bloody conteft, loft Cyprus and a part of Dalma- 
 tia. The Turkifli charader no where appears 
 in a worfe light than in the hiftory of this war. 
 He fent an army into Moldavia againft the way- 
 wodc. At laft a peace v>'as made, to wliich the 
 
 Turks 
 
TURKISH POWER. I47 
 
 Turks fwore /even times ; yet the waywode was 
 murdered by the paflia, unmindful of his oaths. 
 They then overran Moldavia, putting all the 
 nobility, and many thoufands of others, to the 
 fvvord ; and all Walachia fell into their hands 
 in 1574. The 9th of December this fame year 
 Selim died* 
 
 AMURAT III. 
 
 Eldeft fon of the late fultan, whofe death was 
 concealed, as was ufual, till the new fultan ar- 
 rived, fucceeded to the throne. The janizaries, 
 who had a cuftom in interregnums to plunder 
 and even mafiacre their fellow-citizens, the 
 Chriftians and Jews, were difappointed and mur- 
 mured, and he was obliged to give them large 
 fums to appeafe them. On his acceffion, he 
 caufed five of his brethren to be ftrangled 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 O6tober 1575, he penetrated into 
 Ruffia and Poland, and made great flaughten 
 It was debated in the divan, whether the league 
 with the Chriftians or that with the Perfians 
 fhould be broken; for they hold it lawful, when 
 it is in the interefk of the empire, to break all 
 oa h^ and treaties with thofe of a different faith 
 with themfelves. It was determined to make 
 
 L 2 war 
 
148 CHAPTER V. 
 
 war again ft Perfia* The event of this war was 
 favourable to him. It was attended with their 
 ufual cruelties. The janizaries having now loft 
 their fubmiflion, and in a great part their difci- 
 pline, began to kill their commanders whenever 
 they were diffatisfied with them. Amurat had 
 permitted their children to be enrolled in their 
 corps. He made war on the emperor of G ermany, 
 and, as ufual, caufed much defolation. He died 
 the 1 8 th of January 1595. 
 
 MAHOMED III. 
 
 Eldeft fon of the late fultan. He put to death 
 all his brothers (in number nineteen) and ten of 
 his father's wives, whom he fuppofed might be 
 with child. The janizaries, notwithftanding the 
 new fultan's prefence, plundered the city, and 
 had nearly plundered the palace alfo, and killed 
 the fultan. He at firft carried on his wars againft 
 the German emperor by his paflias, but not being 
 fuccefsful, he went himfelf to Buda with 20O5O00 
 men, and having taken Agrl, returned to Con- 
 ftantinople. This war was conducfted with va- 
 rious 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 infolence 
 of the janizaries became very great, and they were 
 
 con- 
 
TURKISH POWER. T49 
 
 continually mutinying and fighting with the 
 
 other foldiers. The pafhas in many provinces 
 
 rebelled, and the fuitan through fear made peace 
 
 with them, pardoned them, and confirmed them 
 
 , in their offices ; but he put to death other paflias 
 
 who were in his power, which caufed thofe who 
 
 had any thing to apprehend to rebel again. 
 
 He put to death his own Ton and his Ton's mother, 
 
 on lufpicion of a defign to dethrone him. The 
 
 janizaries attempted to depofe him. Whilfh 
 
 treating with the emperor of Germany for peace, 
 
 he died at Conflantinople, in January 1 604. 
 
 ACHMET I. 
 
 The fecond fon (the eldeft having been ftrangled 
 by his father) fucceeded to the throne at the age 
 of fifteen. The Turks were not earnefh with the 
 negotiation for peace, but wanted to deceive and 
 fall on the Germans ; the war therefore con- 
 tinued, but at length peace was concluded in 
 1607. There was nothing very remarkable in 
 his other wars with different nations. In his 23d 
 year, he beat his fultana, who was mother of a 
 daughter, and wounded and trod on her, becaufe 
 fhe had ftrangled one of his fifters flaves, of 
 \vhom he had become enamoured. The fultana, 
 having heard of this amour, fent for her, ftrangled 
 her, and put her clothes on one of her own flaves^ 
 whom (he fent to the fuitan, and on her return 
 
 L 3 ftrangled 
 
150 CHAPTER V. 
 
 flrangled her alfo, as flie had done many others^ 
 who appeared to be with child by the fultan. — 
 ^his anecdote Jliezvs the defpotifm of this government 
 even among the zvomen of the feraglio. He died 
 15th November 161 7. 
 
 MUSTAFA I. 
 
 The brother of the late fultan, who had been pre- 
 ferved, but with fuch fecrecy that it was fcarcely 
 known whether he was alive or dead. During 
 his brother's reign, the council had determined 
 he fhould be preferved, as Achmet was but fif- 
 teen years o]d, and there Vv^ere only thefe two heirs 
 to the throne, but that he Ihould be kept in clofe 
 confinement. Muftafa, 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 confined under a ftrong guard, and put to 
 death the other fons of Achmet. He offered 
 many indignities to the Chriftian ambafTadors — ■ 
 indeed, in the laft reign, the Europeans in Con- 
 flantinople were all ordered to be flain, but the 
 vizir and other great officers difluaded the fultan 
 from this flep. When Achmet had children of 
 his own, it was determined to put Muftafa, his 
 brother, to death ; and though // ivas concluded 
 in the council of the divauy yet Achmet was diverted 
 from it by omens. 
 
 Whe;> 
 
TUR K I SH FO WER, I^J 
 
 When an emperor mounted the throne, it 
 was ufual to put to death his brothers and ne- 
 phews ; but when he had children grown up, he 
 entrufled them with governments and the com- 
 mand of armies ; this cuflom had now ceafed. 
 When the father died, the vizir kept his death, if 
 pofTible, fecret till the new fultan arrived, who 
 generally contrived to feize his brothers and put 
 them to death ; fometimes they fled, but they 
 v;ere generally caught fooner or later and put to 
 death. It is for this reafon, that the fultan 
 always goes to fome mofque in the city to public 
 prayers every Friday, or fhows himfelf in public, 
 for otherwife the people imagine he is dead, 
 and make a rebellion. 
 
 When the late fultan, Achmet, found death 
 approach, his counfellors advifed him to fettle 
 the fucceffion, his own children being young. He 
 fent for his brother, and told him his refolution 
 of making choice of him to fucceed to the throne, 
 which much amazed him, as the empire belong- 
 ed 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 by concubines to his difcretion, 
 
 Muftafa, nearly an idiot, by his cruelties be- 
 came fo odious, that the grand vizir, who was 
 gone againft the Perfians, returned with his army, 
 depofed him, fent him to his prifon again, not 
 
 L 4 , havinj 
 
1^2 CHAPTER V. 
 
 having reigned a year, and placed Ofman on the 
 throne. 
 
 GSMAN I. 
 
 He fent a fleet into the Mediterranean, landed 
 at Manfredonia, and carried off i,6oo flaves. He 
 made war againfl 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 fue for peace. 
 
 Contrary to the advice of his miniflers, the 
 fultan married, without any pomp, the grand- 
 daughter of a fultana vyho had been married to a 
 pafha, only for her beauty ; but a bad conflruc- 
 tion was put on this a6lion, his anceftors of late 
 3^ears not having ufualiy taken wives of a Turkifla 
 race, on account of their relations. 
 
 The fultan, who had been difcontented with 
 the janizaries ever hnce his difgrace in Poland, 
 meditated revenge againft them, and at lafh de- 
 termined to abolifh a corps now grown too for- 
 midable, and having loft their ancient difcipline 
 and fubordination, had become mutinous and 
 interfered with the affairs of 2;overnment. Con- 
 trary to their inftitution, they had married, and 
 entered into trades ; their children were alfo 
 janizaries, a privilege conceded to thern in a 
 former reign, and they were more pleafed to 
 ftay ^t home, than to face the dangers of a foreign 
 
 campaign, 
 
TURK I SH PO W ER. 1^3 
 
 xrampaign. His vizir promifed to provide him a 
 new foldiery of the Curds (who inhabit the 
 mountains between Smyrna and Mount Le- 
 banon,) 40,000 of whom were to be enrolled as 
 his body guards ; the paflias of the provinces 
 were to train up to arms a certain number of the 
 inhabitants, to be ready to ferve in foreign wars, 
 and to conftitute a greater army than any of his 
 predeceflbrs, and enable him to make greater con- 
 quefts at far lefs expence. It was agreed between 
 the fultan and vizir, that the former (hould go 
 into Afia on fome pretence, as that of going to 
 vifit Mecca, or to reduce Sidom, which had re- 
 belled ; but the fultan was not cautious enough 
 in his preparations, mielting metals, conveying 
 away all his treafures, and ufmg imprudent ex- 
 prefTions 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 waragainft Perfia. At Da- 
 mafcus, the fultan was to cut off all his guards, 
 and ftay there till he had regulated his new 
 army, then to return to Conflantinople, to de- 
 ftroy the janizaries, fpahies, tamariots, and all 
 their officers, to fettle a new government, and 
 change the name of the city. He then hoped 
 to conquer all Chriftendom ; in the mean tim.e 
 he was to live in friendiliip with all powers. 
 
 Certainly 
 
154 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Certainly this was a well-grounded defign, and 
 the reformation of the army had become necef- 
 fary ; the empire languillied under infolent and 
 lazy Haves, and the iultan found himfelf depen- 
 dent on the janizaries for life or death, peace 
 or war. A civil conteft, however, would have 
 been produced -, for the foldiery in Europe would 
 have fet up another fultan ; but he had all the 
 treafure. If he fucceeded, he would have faved 
 an immenfe expence ; for the janizaries now con- 
 fumed almofl: all the revenues of the empire. 
 
 The foldiery, however, oppofed the departure 
 pf the fultan, and threatened to {tt up another 
 in his place. They ran to the feraglio, but with- 
 out arms, and demianded that he Ihould remain 
 in Conflantinople ; that he fliould deliver up 
 the vizir and other great officers accufed by them 
 of confpiring againfl: the ilatc. The fultan con- 
 fented not to go to Aha but refufed to deliver 
 up thofe whom they demanded, and perfuaded 
 them to ftay till Saturday, which was council 
 day — this happened on Wednefday, 7th May 
 1622. — The next day the tumult began again, 
 and the vizir advifed the fultan to go to Afia, 
 in his own boats, but he refufed. The vizir ap- 
 peared 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 fucceed- 
 ingj he hid himfelf in a private place. The re- 
 bels 
 
TURKISH P OWER. 1 55 
 
 bels demanded their fultan and more facrifices, 
 and faid they mud 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 foiemn oath not to plunder 
 it; they there killed the kiflar-aga, and not find- 
 ing fultan Olman, they demanded Muflafa, who 
 had been dethroned ; they tound 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, 
 andh aving confulted with fome of his friends, 
 it was refolved to fend to the women of the old 
 feraglio 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 
 indifcretion of the janizary-aga, in beginning to 
 threaten the janizaries, who thereupon fiew him 
 and others who came with the fultan. They car- 
 ried 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 ftorm 
 might pafs over if Ofman lived -, a confultation 
 therefore was held by the chief officers, and it 
 was determined to fearch how many of the royal 
 ):)lood were left alive, that if two remained Of- 
 man 
 
1^6 C H AP T E R V. 
 
 man fhould be put to death. Two of his bro- 
 thers were found; one about twelve the other 
 about feven years of age, and the vizir then went 
 with executioners to the prifon, and ftrangled 
 Ofman. The foldiers, who did not intend to go 
 fo far, foon repented. The pafha of Erzerun 
 broke out in open rebellion, and declared him- 
 felf the avenger of his prince's blood, 
 
 MUSTAFA I. (re-enthroned. J, 
 
 On Saturday, i ft 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 ftrangle 
 them ; as he was performing his com.mand, aided 
 N with a few of his executioners,, and carrying 
 away tlie princes, they cried out; the pages 
 ru^ining to the noife, and encouraged by the 
 kiflar-aga, who had fome fufpicion, without 
 further examination killed tlie capi-aga, almofh 
 every order of men having now rifen againft 
 their own chief. That night they fent fecretly 
 to the janizaries and fpahies. The foldiers re- 
 turned in fury to the court in favour of the pa- 
 ges, and demanded juftice againft thofe who thus 
 would have made an end of the Ottoman race, 
 only this Muftafa being left alive, who was be- 
 come fo holy a faint that he would not people the 
 world with iinners, nor endure any woman near 
 him. The innocent iultan protefted he knew 
 
 nothing 
 
TURK ISH P OWE R. 1 57 
 
 nothing of the matter ; and that if fuch a com- 
 mand was procured, it was obtained fraudulently. 
 He was eafily believed himfelf, but his mother 
 (another Livia) and Daout Pallia, who had mar- 
 ried her daughter, were vehemently fufpedled. 
 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 deftroyed, or become 
 mutinous and corrupted. 
 
 The Perfians feized 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 ftrangled, to make 
 room for depofmg Mutlafa. and placing on the 
 throne Murat, a child, and brother of Ofman, 
 who had a ftrong party. The janizaries refcued 
 their aga. A new fadlion now arofe between 
 the partizans of Muftafa, the reigning fultan, 
 and of Murat. The vizir retired. No fecurity 
 was left for any man j the rebellious foldiers 
 having the government in their hands. They 
 adhered to the fultan of their own creating ; but 
 the lawyers and churchmen (the ulema) plan- 
 ned a revolution, and affirmed publicly, that the 
 conftitution was fubverted, the fultan unlawful, 
 
 and 
 
l^S CHAPTER V. 
 
 and all thofe who adhered to him guilty of herefy^ 
 in having defpifed the inftitutions of Mahomed ; 
 and thefe notions they fpread over all the empire 
 by correfpondence with their own body, fo that 
 the whole nation was divided in fentiment. 
 
 The foldiers ftill continued in their mutinous 
 difpofition even in Conflantinople, and their 
 infolence grew to fuch a height, that, going in 
 troops to the court, they demanded all offices of 
 profit ; infilled on being ftewards to the revenues 
 of the mofques, (which are great) ; demanded 
 the farms of the cuftoms, and committed infuf- 
 ferable outrages. The vizir durfl deny them 
 nothing ; they drank wine in the ftreets con- 
 trary to their law', and flood in companies in the 
 open day, exacting of all Chriilians who pafled, 
 money to pay for their wine, fhabbing without 
 mercy thofe who refufed to fubmit to their extor- 
 tions. None daa'ed to remoiiftrate with men 
 who had killed their own fovereign. At Smyrna 
 the janizaries afiaulted the Chrifbianconfuls, and 
 took money from them ; nor did they without 
 difficulty efcape with their lives. Rebellion ap- 
 peared in feveral provinces, and the trcafures 
 were exhaufted by the imm.enfe fiims given to 
 the janizaries at each new accelTion to the throne, 
 and by the burden of feveral expenfive wars. 
 
 The fpahies demanded juftice for the death of 
 
 the late fultan, and the puuiHiment of the vizir 
 
 ^ who 
 
TURKISH POWER. 1 5^ 
 
 who had murdered him, but who had iince abdi- 
 cated his office. The janizaries prote6led him, 
 but at length confented to his punifliment, and 
 he was carried to the fame chamber where the 
 fultan was flrangled, and there met his fate ; he 
 even pointed out the corner where the regicide 
 was performed, and defired to die there, which 
 w^as granted. 
 
 On 20th January 1622, a peace with Poland 
 was figned by the mediation of the Englifli 
 ambaflador. 
 
 The foldiers, when they wanted money, now 
 openly plundered people, fo that it was thought 
 prudent to remove the royal mint into the 
 feraglio, (where it has remained to this day) 
 and coin all the metal that could be found to 
 fatisfy them. 
 
 The pallia of Erzerun, with fome other paflias, 
 raifed a great army, and marched towards Con- 
 ilantinople, declaring his intention to reduce the 
 janizaries of the city to obedience and difcipline ; 
 to punidi thofe who had murdered the late ful- 
 tan Ofman, and to appoint lawfully a new fultan, 
 who fliould be able to govern ; averting at 
 the fame time that Muftafa was an idiot, go- 
 verned by a woman and by his vizir. The army 
 at Conftantinople refufed to march againfl the 
 pallia of Erzerun, and the empire was from one 
 end to the other in confufion. 
 
 The 
 
1 6o C U A P T E R V. 
 
 The chief caufe of this evil was, that their 
 three laft emperors had not gone into the field 
 themfelves, excepting once, when Mahomet IIL 
 for the maintenance of his credit with the fol- 
 diery, went to Hungary, and took Agria. The 
 people and minifters were defirous of depoling 
 Muftafa, and placing on the throne Murat, bro- 
 ther of Oiman ; but they feared that the vizir, 
 who was in effect emperor, aflifted by the jani- 
 zaries, would maintain the fovereign they had 
 placed on the throne, and they knew that the 
 lowftateof the finances w^ould not allow of giving 
 the ufual fums to the janizaries at the accefTion 
 of a new fultan ; bat the report that the pafha 
 of Erzerun had declared himfelf the avenger of 
 the late fultan, and had put to death all the jani- 
 zaries that fell into his hands, with their wives 
 and children ; that he was advancing with an 
 army ; and that the foldlers fent againfh him- 
 had difbanded,, firuck the janizaries at Confhan- 
 tinople with fuch fear, that they joined the civil 
 pov/er to depofe Muflafa, and place Amurat on. 
 the throne, and even coniented to relinquifli the^ 
 ufual donations made to them on fuch an occa- 
 fion. Muftafa wms therefore re-conduded 
 quietly to his prifon, and 
 
 SULTAN APvIURAT IV. (or MURAT) 
 In 1623, afcended the throne, being only fourteen 
 years of age. The vizir fent againfl the paflia- 
 
 o£ 
 
TURICISH POWER. i6i 
 
 6fErzeruri could or would do nothings for the 
 beglarbeg of Anatolia had joined the paflia, and 
 the fpahies were on his fide. 
 
 The Coflaks at this period entered the Bof~ 
 phorus with 150 fnlall fhips and boats, and de- 
 fhroyed Buyukdere and Yenikoi, within about 
 twelve or fifteen miles of Conflantinople on the 
 European, and Stania on the Afiatic fide. They 
 returned the next night quietly, having greatly 
 alarmed the capital. The pafha of Erzerun and 
 the king of Perfia ravaged the countries in Afia. 
 Algiers and Tunis began to caft off their alle- 
 giance to the porte, and to become independent 
 ftates. The paflia of Erzerun, however, was 
 p^rdonedj and admitted to another pallialik, that 
 of Bofnia ; for the porte thought it dangerous 
 to bring matters to the utmofl extremity, fo low 
 was it fallen ; befides, it did not wifli to fee the 
 janizaries triumphant, nor was the grand feignior, 
 fecretly, difpleafed at the paflia's condud. 
 
 A. D. 1630. The government of the empire 
 was chiefly in the hands of four paflias, who had 
 married fifl:ers of the fultan. He himfelf was 
 much given to wine, and often expofed himfelf 
 to the public in a difgraceful manner with de- 
 bauched young men, which created fuch difguft 
 that confpiracies were formed againft him. The 
 people were difcontented with burthenfome 
 taxes i the foldiers diforderly, without difciplincy 
 
 M and 
 
1 62 CH APT E R V. 
 
 and Infolent at receiving no pay; the pafhas in 
 the provinces were almoft independent fove- 
 reigns, and the empire fliook on its weak foun- 
 dation. 
 
 The head of the fpahilar-agafi (general of the 
 fpahies) being cut off, the fpahies rebelled, and 
 the janizaries joined them; they threw ilones at 
 and wounded the vizir, whom they with threats 
 obliged the fultan to depofe, and deliver up to 
 them, when they cut him in pieces. They next 
 caufed the mufti to be depofed, and demanded 
 to fee the brother of the grand feignior, which 
 v;as granted ; they then charged the new vizir 
 and mufti to become fecurity for his life ; nor 
 was the fedition appeafed till the foldiery had 
 Hain more vidims. The fultan, in the mean 
 time, was contriving how he could get rid of 
 them, and kill his brother, but the guarantee 
 of the vizir and mufti faved the prince. He 
 however made another vizir, and confulted with 
 him how to weaken the foldiery ; and he really 
 cut off a great number of fpahies and janizaries 
 fecretly, fending them on various pretences to 
 different parts, and affaffinating them by night. 
 
 A. D. 1 63 1 . Being now become more manty, 
 he appeared often on horfeback, with a martial 
 air, and exercifmg his foldiers in perfon, he re- 
 duced them to more obedience. But in Afia 
 and in Hungary there were Hill feditions amongfl 
 I the 
 
TURKISH POWER. l6^ 
 
 the janizaries, who, becaufe they did not receive 
 their pay, killed their commanders. 
 
 A. D. 1632. Amurat had now a feventh 
 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 protefled 
 againft it, on the ground of its not being ufual 
 for any w^oman to be honoured with that title 
 before fhe had fecured the inheritance by the 
 birth of a male child. 
 
 He put to death tvv^o chiefs of the fpahies, and 
 eight principal janizaries, thinking thereby to 
 extinguifh the fpirit of fedition ; but fearing 
 another infurre6tion,he retired to the old feraglio 
 at Scutari, and fortified himfelf. 
 
 He was fo little regardful -of the laws of na- 
 tions, that he put the French ambalTador into 
 prifon and impaled his interpreter, befides com- 
 mitting other violences. Soon after he made 
 peace with the Perfians, but broke it again im- 
 mediately. He alfo made peace with the em- 
 peror of Germany, 
 
 A. D. 1633. ^ fingular fight was maintained 
 between two Englifli merchant fhips loading 
 corn (which was then prohibited) in the gulph 
 of Vola, againft the whole fleet of the captain 
 paiha's gallies. They killed 1,200 flaves and 
 a great number of Turks, among whom was the 
 
 M z captain 
 
I 64 ' ' G H A ? T E R V. • 
 
 captain padia himfelfj and when they could 
 maintain the fight no longer, they blew them- 
 felves up. They funk three galiies, and forced 
 the fleet into port to repair. This adion is re- 
 membered, and talked of to this very day in 
 Turkey. The matter was compromifed at the 
 porte for 40,000 dollars ; the- Englifh only paid 
 one-third of the fum, the French and Venetians 
 paid the other two-thirds, for what reafon is not 
 known. 
 
 A. D. 1634. Murat, being now twenty-five 
 years old, took the government entirely into his 
 own hands, and determined to make himfelf 
 feared. He was fevere with his ofiicers, and ex- 
 tremely fo with the foldiers, declaring that he ex- 
 peded implicit obedience. The people miutinied 
 at fome taxes, v/hen he beheaded fifty of the ring- 
 leaders. He then hanged a kadi, to the great 
 difpleafure of the ulema; and went thentoPrufa; 
 whence he difpatched a boat to Conflantinople 
 to bring to him the mufti and his fon, both 
 of whom he immediately ftrangled. Thefe ex- 
 amples ftruck terror into the whole empire ; for 
 the former emperors but rarely put the muftis to 
 death. The particular death allotted for muftis 
 is, braying them in a vafl mortar, ufed only for 
 that purpofe ; but it is feldom pradifed. Murat 
 refleding on the ill effed that wine had upon 
 him, and on the danger of allowing it to be drank 
 
 .... by 
 
T URK I SH P OWER. 165 
 
 by the people, ordered, on pain of death, all the 
 wine in the town to be ftaved out into the (Ireets. 
 He hanged a Venetian merchant for having 
 on the top of his houfe a high gallery, becaufe 
 he fuppofed he might thence look into the gar- 
 dens of the feraglio; and imprifoned, without 
 affigningany reafon, all the European merchants, 
 who were not releafed till they paid 40,000 dol- 
 lars. He fearched the houfes of ail the foreign 
 minifters for arms, and took away even the fword 
 of the Eno-lifh ambaffador. He attacked the 
 Poles without declaring war. An ambafTador 
 was fent from Poland ; Murat, contrary to 
 cuflom, fpoke himfelf, and told him, " that all 
 *' Chriftian kings ought either to receive the Ottoman 
 ^^ lazvs or pay him tribute^ or try the jjiarpnejs of his 
 ^^ fword. ^^ He then ordered war to be declared 
 againil Poland, though his war with Perfia ftill 
 continued ; but the Poles beat the Turks, and 
 made them fue for peace, which the Poles re- 
 fufed, till the pafha who entered their country, 
 and fome others, were put to death. Peace 
 was then concluded. The captain paiha meeting 
 the new French ambaffador at fea, going to Con^ 
 ftantinople, infulted him, and caufed him to go 
 on board his (hip. After his arrival at Conftan- 
 tinople, the French drogoman, who had brought 
 complaints againft the captain pafha, was hanged 
 by order of the fultan, and the ambafTador forced 
 
 M 3 fuddenly 
 
1 66 CHAPTER V. 
 
 fuddenly and unexpectedly on board a fhip, and 
 obliged to depart. 
 
 In April 1634, Murat fet out himfelf for the 
 war in Perfia, at the head of 100,000 men. When 
 he reached Erzerun, he muftered his army, and 
 found it confift of 300,000 fighting men, well 
 difciplined, and rendered obedient by his fe- 
 verity : he himfelf now fet them an example of 
 frugality and patience, and became temperate. 
 He took Rivan, but entering further into Perfia, 
 loft a vaft number of horfes. He utterly de- 
 ftroyed Tauris by fire and fword, and returned 
 in December 1635, leaving his army at Aleppo 
 and Damafcus. After his departure, the Per- 
 fians recovered what they had loft, and the 
 people murmured again at Conftantinople. The 
 janizaries were difpleafed at feeing the Boft- 
 angees take their places as guards of the grand 
 feignior ; and the ulema were enraged, that fe~ 
 veral of their body, kadis, and others, had been 
 beheaded on pretext of faftion. 
 
 Having however now completely eftabliftied 
 his authority over the military and ulema, he 
 gave loofe to the violent feverity of his temper 
 ,on the moft trifling occafions. He puniftied 
 the ufe of tobacco with death, and inflidled the 
 fame puniftiment on his cook, for not feafoning 
 'A difti according to his palate. To deftroy his 
 fubjeds formed his daily amufement, either by 
 
 fl:iooting 
 
TURKISH POWER. 167 
 
 lliooting them with arrows, as he fate in his 
 kiofk on the fliore of the Bofphorus, or by firing 
 a carbine at any one who looked out of window 
 at him when failing in his boat. To thefe crimes 
 were added the lowed debaucheries, and his chief 
 companions in drunkennefs were the revolted 
 Periian general, who had delivered up llevan, 
 and an Italian of the feraglio. Murat's uncon- 
 troulable violence now prompted him to attack 
 at once RufTia 5.nd Perfia. Raifing, therefore, 
 a vail army, he fet out on an expedition againft 
 the latter country, but previoufly caufed one of 
 his brothers to be flrangled, leaving alive only 
 Ibrahim, the fole furvlvor of the Ottoman race, 
 but wiak both in mind and body. 
 
 It was now that the vigour of Murat's difpofi- 
 tion appeared in its full light. He took the 
 field in May 1638, reviewed his forces with care, 
 difmiiled the invaHds on half pay, heard and de- 
 termined all difputes in the army, and preferved 
 fuch ftrid: difcipline, that the countries through 
 which he pafied fuffered none of thofe dreadful 
 hardlliips ufualiy attending the m^arch of a 
 Turkiih army. The refult of this cam.paign was 
 the capture of Bagdat, which event was foon 
 fucceeded by a peace, and Murat returned in 
 triumph to Conftantinople, on the loth June 
 1639. 
 
 The Venetians having greatly fuffered by the 
 
 M 4 piracies 
 
1 68 CHAPTER V. 
 
 piracies of the Algerines and Tunifines, venture(J 
 
 to make fome reprifals, which fo much offended 
 
 Muratj that he ilTued an immediate order to 
 
 put to death the Venetian ambalTador, and all 
 
 his countrymen in Turkey; and tliough this 
 
 orderw as, by the prudent management of the 
 
 yizir, recalled, yet Venice was threatened with a 
 
 war, which they only averted by paying 250,000 
 
 fequins. The language of the kaimakan^ ox\. 
 
 this occafion, was, " we know that the other 
 
 " powers of Chriilendom are too weak to aflift 
 
 *^ you, take your choice therefore : we fell you 
 
 ^' peace at this price -, if you think it not worth 
 
 *^ your money, refufe it." While Murat was 
 
 intent on new hoftilities, and raifmg forces^ 
 
 though he had not determined whom to attack, 
 
 he returned to his former debaucheries, and was 
 
 fuddenly carried off by them, on the 8th of 
 
 February 1640, in the 17th year of his reign, 
 
 and 3 1 ft of his age, 
 
 Thus perifhed one of the moft ferocious de- 
 fpots that ever infulted and difgraced humanit}^ 
 Breathing vengeance againft whole nations, he 
 threatened to fubdue all Chriftendom, and inir 
 pofe on it the yoke of Mahomed anifm, and this 
 not from motives of fuperftition, fmce he defpifed 
 the didates of that religion, and feldom fafled in 
 Ramadan, or kept any other of its ordinances. 
 So eiitirely was he a ftranger to farnily aff^ftion, 
 
 that 
 
TURKISH POWER. 169 
 
 that he not only murdered his uncle and two of 
 his brothers, but often exprelTed a wifh to be the 
 laft of his race, and adlually deflined the crown 
 for the khan of the Krlm Tatars. The adivity 
 and energy of his mind had enabled him to fup- 
 prefsallfedition,and to render himfelf completely 
 abfolute; but this power he ufed only to the gra- 
 tification of his own avarice, dying poflefTed of 
 fifteen millions of gold, though the country was 
 in a ftate of poverty, 
 
 IBRAHIM. (A. D. 1640.) 
 
 Notwithftanding a donation of the crown to 
 the Tatar khan, made by Murat, in one of his 
 nts of drunken nefs, Ibrahim was unanimoufly 
 raifed by the pallias to the throne. This prince, 
 who was deformed and weak in body, had his 
 natural imbecility augmented by the long con- 
 finement which he had undergone in a fmall 
 room, with only a fingle window at the top. 
 Coming thus unexpectedly to liberty and em^ 
 pire, he was intoxicated by the new pleafures 
 which they prefented, and giving up the admi- 
 niftration of government to the former minifters, 
 he devoted himfelf entirely to the luxuries of the 
 harem. The vizir, thirfling for military glory, 
 projected an attack on the Ruffian fortrefs of 
 Afac (or Azof) but this ended only in difgrace. 
 The following year, however, ( 1 642) re-animated 
 
 the 
 
lyO CHAPTER V, 
 
 the Turks by the birth of an heir to the Ottoman 
 throne. A peace was concluded with the Ger- 
 man 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 extindion of the Ottoman race were 
 Hill further removed in 1643, by the birth of 
 two more fons to Ibrahim, who daily devoted 
 himfelf, with renewed avidit)^;; to fenfual exceffes, 
 exceeding whatever is related of Sardanapalus 
 and Heliogabalus. The reftlefs difpofition of the 
 divan led them, in 1644, to plan an attack on 
 the ifland of Candia ; but being then at peace 
 with the Venetians, they concealed their defign 
 under the femblance of amity, until their fleet 
 was fitted out, and had failed toward that ifland. 
 The Turks then threw oft' the maik, and in June 
 1645, landed 74,000 men in Candia, where, in 
 their firfh campaign, they took the fhrong city of 
 Canea with their ufual violence and flaughter, 
 and thus began in injufiice a long and bloody 
 contcfl:, which lafted until the end of that cen- 
 tury. 
 
 The fultan, in the m.ean time, regardlefs of 
 every thing but his pleafures, continued to give 
 a loofe to the moil unbounded fenfuality -, and 
 carrying his defires beyond the limits of the 
 harem, went at length fo far as to feize the 
 
 daughter 
 
TURKISH POWER. I^I 
 
 daughter of the mufti. This outrage was the 
 caufe of his downfal. The great officers of ftate 
 and the foldiery embraced the caufe of the vene- 
 rable divine, and his ecclefiaftical power w^as 
 made the inilrument of vengeance againft the 
 tyrant. A fetva was ilTued by the mufti, charg- 
 ing the fultan to appear, and adminifler juflice 
 to his people ; and this being treated with con- 
 tempt, was followed by another, declaring," that 
 he who obeyed not the law of God was no true 
 mufelman ; and though the perfon were the em- 
 peror himfelf, jQt being become by his filthy 
 a<5lions an infidel, he was, ipjo facio, fallen from 
 his throne." Upon the authority of this fetva, 
 the janizaries quickly depofed Ibrahim, and 
 fent him to his former prifon, where, after fome 
 days, he was ftrangled,and his fon Mahomet ex- 
 alted to the throne. The weight and efficacy 
 which, in this tranfadiion, appeared to be given 
 to the fetva, was in fa(5t owing to the previous 
 concurrence of the great officers of ftate, and to 
 the general contempt into which the fultan, by 
 his fenfuahty and cowardice, had fallen. 
 
 MAHOMET IV. (A. D. 1650.) 
 
 This emperor being but feven years old at the 
 depofition of his father, it v%^as determined that 
 his minority fhould continue ten years longer, 
 during which time his mother, afTifted by the 
 
 principal 
 
lyZ CHAPTER V. 
 
 principal pafhas, was to condudt the affairs of 
 government. The Venetian war was refolutely 
 purfued abroad ; but at home great difTenfions 
 took place between the different fadions. Mu- 
 rat, the predeceflbr of Ibrahim, a warlike prince 
 himfelf, had promoted only brave and able men to 
 command in the diftant palhaliks; but thefe, 
 during the reign of his weak and timid fuccefTor, 
 had alTumed fo much power as to become almofl 
 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 fultan Ibrahim, and 
 claiming a precedency over the latter in affairs of 
 government. The feraglio itfelf was farther di- 
 vided by different parties, fupportingtheoppofite 
 claims of the mother and grandmother of the 
 young fultan to his guardianiliip ; all thefe 
 caufes concurred to render in a great meafure 
 ufelefs 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 toward 
 Conftantinople, demanding the heads of the 
 vizir and janizar aga; but this affair was com- 
 promifed by the difcharge of thofe officers from 
 their employments. 
 
 In 1 652, a rebellion broke out in Egypt and at 
 
 Damafcus, 
 
TURKISH POWER. 173 
 
 Damafcus, but was foon quelled ; and the fol- 
 lowing year the pafha of Aleppo marched with a 
 great body of infurgents againfl Conftantinople* 
 This paflia, after caufing great terror in the ca- 
 pital, (ettled the bufinefs by treaty, and though 
 a rebel, he was fo highly efteemed for his abilities, 
 that on the death of the vizir, in 1655, he was 
 elevated to that important office. 
 
 The ill fuccefies of the Turkifh arms in the 
 Venetian war fo much irritated the inhabitants 
 of Conftantinople, that they came in a body to 
 the gates of the feragiio, tumultuoufly demand- 
 ing peace; nor was this rebellion fubdued by the 
 divan without great difficulty, and by the fa- 
 orifice of the new vizir. 
 
 In the year 1656, while new preparations were 
 making for war, a fedition, more terrible than 
 any of the preceding, broke out at Conftanti- 
 nople. The fpahies and janizaries uniting, under 
 pretence of reforming abufes of the ftate, ran 
 in arms to the divan, and depofed the grand 
 vizir and other officers. They entered the im- 
 perial palace, plundered the treafury of two mil- 
 lions of gold, and even threatened to depofe the 
 fultan. The city was for feveral days given up 
 to all the horrors of pillage, until the rebellior^ 
 beginning to abate, through a want of union and 
 of fettled views among the ringleaders, authority 
 returned to its former channel ; the celebrated 
 Kiuperii, pafha of Damafcus, was called, at the 
 
174 CHAPTER V, 
 
 age of eighty, to the poft of vizir, and the grand 
 feignior himfelf, attended by his chief officers^ 
 rode through the city to put to death the rioters, 
 and to reftore pubHc tranquiUity. 
 
 1657. The grand feignior from this time 
 took the government into his own hands, and 
 employed himfelf in forwarding the military pre- 
 parations ; but finding the janizaries mutinous 
 on account of the non-payment of their arrears, 
 he attempted to quell them, by punifhing the 
 ringleaders with death. The difcontents at Con- 
 ftantinople, however, were augmented by the 
 fuccelTes of the Venetians, until the vizir, going 
 himfelf at the head of a very great force, took 
 the iflands of Tenedosand Lemnos, which fuccefs 
 elevating the grand feignior, he went with great 
 pomp to Adrianople, where he offered peace to 
 th€ Venetian envoys on condition of their furrert- 
 dering Candia and Cliffia, in Dalmatia, and 
 paying 3,000,000 crowns of gold ; but this offer 
 was too unreafonable to be accepted. 
 
 1658. The grand feignior was for a while 
 diverted from his intended invafion of Dalmatia 
 by the defedlion of the paflia of Aleppo, who 
 having revolted, and marched toward Conftan- 
 ^inople, which was at that time afflidled with the 
 plague, proclaimed a youth that was with him 
 fultan, as fon of fultan Murat, and refufed to 
 liflen to any terms of accommodation. 
 
 1659. The povver of the paflia . increafing 
 
 rapidly^ 
 
TURKI SH P OWER. I 75 
 
 rapidly, the vizir marched at the head of a large 
 army to give him battle, but was defeated with 
 great lofs, and the grand feignior himfelf being 
 obliged to take the field, the pafha offered to 
 treat with him, which the fultan accepting, lent 
 one of his creatures, who, under pretence of ne- 
 gociating, afTafTmated the pafha. Some others, 
 who afterwards attempted to profecute the plans 
 of the deceafed pafha, were artfully difunited and 
 reduced by the artifices of the vizir. 
 
 1660. The porte now turned their efforts 
 agalnft the Venetians ; but they being ainfled 
 by a fupply of French forces, proiecuted the war 
 with vigour. 
 
 1 66 1. The porte having, under pretence of 
 the rebellion of Ragotfki in Tranfilvania, reduced 
 the important fortrefs of Varadin, contrary to the 
 general peace concluded between the emperor 
 and the grand feignior, a caufe of war arofe be- 
 tween Turkey and the German empire. This 
 did not immediately break out, though the pafha 
 of Buda, entering Tranfilvania, raifed a fadion 
 in favour of Turkey and overthrew the leader 
 of the oppofite party. The old vizir Kiupcrli 
 now advifed the grand feignior to remove his 
 court to Adrianople, where he himfelf foon died, 
 but not till after he had procured the nomina- 
 tion of his fon to fucceed him, who was no fooner 
 elevated, than he began to remove hismoft potent 
 
 enemies 
 
ij6 CHATfEtiV, 
 
 enemies by death or banifhment. During thefc^ 
 commotions the Venetian war was but faintly 
 carried on. 
 
 1662. The revolt ot the paflia of Magnatia: 
 ^nd of the Georgians occupied the porte for fome 
 time, and the vizir being alfo employed in efla- 
 blifliinghis own influence more fecurely, the views 
 of hoilility againft the German empire were not 
 profecuted with much ardour, until at the latter 
 part of the year, the coitimotions being moftly 
 terminated, the vizir earneftly prepared for 
 war, and the paflia of Buda laid wafle great part 
 of Tranfilvania, though it was fubje6t to the 
 porte. 
 
 In 1663, after deceiving the Germans for 
 fome time with a fhow of pacific intentions, 
 the fult^n openly declared hofhillties, by march- 
 ing at the' head of his forces from Conflantino- 
 pie j and though the Germans made fair offers- 
 of peace, they were haughtily rejedied by Ma-^ 
 hornet. The fultan proceeded with the army 
 as far as Adrianople, and then the vizir takmg" 
 the command marched toward the confines of 
 Hungary. An inflance of his cruelty on this- 
 expedition delerves notice. 
 
 A chofen body of 8,000 Germans having at- 
 tacked the Turks by nightj and com.mitted great 
 Haughter, were at length repulfed, with the lofs 
 of 400 killed and 1,800 prifoners. Thefe latter 
 
 the 
 
TURKISH POWER. I77 
 
 the fangulnary vizir condemned to death, and 
 remained himfelf a foe^lator of their murder on 
 the fcaffold, until the murmurs of his army 
 obliged him to defift, after having flruck ofT 
 1,400 heads. 
 
 The Turkiih forces, continuing to advance^ 
 ftruck fuch terror into the emperor, that he re- 
 treated from Vienna with the records and other 
 articles of importance ; and by this timidity, no 
 lefs than by the diftra<fled ftate of his councils, 
 contributed much to exalt the arrogance of the 
 Turks ; but at length the valour of the German 
 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 infolent 
 propofals to the cefTion of the fortrefs of Nieu 
 Haufel. 
 
 This affair being fully fettled, in 1665, the 
 fultan began to turn his thoughts to the pof- 
 feffion of the lile of Candia, and returned to 
 Conftantinople, to prepare for the profecution 
 of his defign. Hoftilities proceeded in the fol- 
 lowing year with much vigour on both fides, and 
 the vizir with a great force landed in Candia. 
 
 The year 1667 opened with an embalTy from 
 Poland, to complain that the Tatars, fubjed to 
 the fultan, had invaded that country, and carried 
 ofF^;^ hundred thouf and perfons into ilavery^ but 
 of thefe complaints no notice v;as taken. 
 
IjS CH AP TER V. 
 
 On the 1 1 til of May, in this year, began the 
 famous fiege of Candia, by an army of 70,000 
 Turks, provided with every neceflary for the at- 
 tack of fuch a place, and furnillied with cannon, 
 fome of wdiich carried balls of 120 pounds 
 weight. So certain were the Turks of fuccefs, 
 that great preparations were made at Conftanti- 
 nople for illuminations and other rejoicings, on 
 the capture of Candia ; but that place refifted 
 the moil furious and repeated attacks with heroic 
 firmnefs,and the vizir was obliged to continue the 
 whole of the winter in the trenches. A fecond 
 year palled in a repetition of the fame furious 
 attacks, and the fame obfcinate refinance. In two 
 aflaults, the Turks loft 30,000 men ; but by 
 continual fupplies of men and ammunition, they 
 were ftill enabled to prefs forward, and at length 
 carried the outworks of the Chriflians. 
 
 The fultan finding, in the year 1669, that the.^ 
 great expence and exertion fruitlefsly made in 
 this fiege produced nothing but difgrace, began 
 to apprehend the elevation of his brothers to his 
 throne, and therefore fent orders to have them 
 ftrangled ; but the people of Conflantinopl'e 
 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 furrenderof Candia by a capitulation, which- 
 formed the bafis of a treaty of peace with tlW 
 Venetians. In this celebrated fiege it was com- 
 
 ... puted 
 
TURKISH 1*0 WER. 1 79 
 
 piited that4050oo Chriftians, and nearly 120,000 
 Turks, were defcroyed. 
 
 In 1670, the vizir returned horrie in triumph, 
 and joined the gi*and feignior in taking fleps for 
 the removal of his brothers. To this end it 
 was judged necelTary to difpatch the moft turbu- 
 lent of the janizaries on an expedition againfl 
 the Pohfh frontiers, and during their abfence 
 prince Orkhan was privately flrangled. 
 
 The year 1672 was fignalized by the Polifh 
 war. The fultan levying a great force, and being 
 joined by numerous bands of Tatars, entered 
 Poland, fpeedily conquered the Ukraine, and 
 obliged the Poles to pay a yearly tribute of 
 r22,ooo ducats. The Turks and Tatars had killed 
 or carried into Slavery more than 300,000 Polifli 
 fubje(5ls. The divan was, however, dilTatisfied 
 with this peace, and obliged the fultan to recom- 
 ihence tht^ war, notwithftanding the menaces of 
 the czar of Rufiia, who endeavoured to inte- 
 reft all the fovereigns of Europe in the defence 
 of Poland. The dcmeftic difturbances had oc- 
 calioned a great levy of troops, fo that the Tur- 
 ikifh army was very numerous, yet the Poles re- 
 pelled this fecond irruption more bravely than 
 the former ; but in the fucceeding campaign^ 
 the Turks fvvept aw^ay all the inhabitants of 
 the countries they invaded, diflributing the cap- 
 tives of both fexes as flaves among the foldiery. 
 
 N^ z The 
 
iSo C HAPTER V. 
 
 The fine country of the Ukraine was rendered a 
 defert. The Turks took Human, and of above 
 10O5OOO men who were in it, very few efcaped. 
 
 In 1676 died the vizir Ac /met Kwperli, to 
 whom was chiefly to be attributed whatever 
 fuccefs had attended the reign of Mahomet, and 
 whofe merits were mofh admirably exemplified 
 by being contrafled with the vices of his fuccef- 
 for Kara Miiftapha. This nev/ vizir pradifed 
 every fpecies of rapine and fraud to enrich and 
 ftrengthen himfelf, and thinking v/ar mofh fa- • 
 vourable to liis influence (that with Poland be- 
 ing ended) in 16805 he called together a mofb 
 folemn council, in which he ufed every argument , 
 to prove, that a war would highly conduce to 
 " the honour and advantage of the fiat e^' this being, 
 the only flandard of political morality in Turkey. 
 Thoudi he was unfuccefsful at this council, he 
 prevailed vvith the grand feignior.the following 
 year; perfuading him that the circumftances en- 
 abled 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 
 ambition, and the prevalence of evil councils,- 
 pu filed it onward rapidly to its decline. 
 . The porte and the emperor were united by a 
 league or truce of twenty years, three years of 
 9 .. which 
 
TURKISH POWER. l8l 
 
 , which remained yet unexpired, and the infraction 
 of this treaty was the nril ftep toward that low 
 ftate of degradation, in which the prefent age 
 beholds this once mighty empire. 
 
 As the prefent hiftorical fketch is intended 
 principally to exhibit the means of violence and 
 blood, by which the Turkilli fceptre has been 
 fuftained ; and as we have now reached the pe- 
 riod of its widefl extenfion, the remaining part 
 of its hiftory will require but flight notice ; it 
 will be fufficient to point out thofe leading- 
 events in the reign of the fucceeding fovereigns 
 which mofh immediately affeciied the political 
 
 flate of the emoire. 
 
 i. 
 
 The imperial war was long and bloody ; the 
 Turks, at firft fuccefsful, penetrated to Vienna, 
 and laid fiege to that capital, but were forced to 
 raife it by Sobiefki. 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 ful- 
 tans, Achmet II. and Mufcapha II. The latter, 
 indeed, attempted to reanimate his fubjecls with 
 a military fpirit, by taking the field in perfon, 
 but being defeated by the famous Prince Eu- 
 gene, he concluded the peace of Carlowitz in 
 1699, by which Tranfilvania was ceded to the 
 emperor. 
 
 Thefe circumftances confpiring with others 
 
 N 3 to 
 
iSz CHAPTER V. 
 
 to render Muflapha unpopular, he was depofed, 
 and fucceeded by his brother Achmet III. who 
 forced the RuHians, by the imprudence of their 
 czar, to cede, at the peace of Pruth, many im- 
 portant fortrefTes. The inordinate ambition of 
 this prince next led him to attack the Venetians 
 and other Chriftian powers ; but his fuccefs 
 herein was widely different, being reduced, by 
 repeated defeats, to conclude, at Paflarowitz, in 
 171 8, a peace highly difgraceful to the Turkilh 
 empire. 
 
 His war with Kouli Khan, the Perfian ufurper, 
 proved no lefs unfuccefsful; and the event of all 
 thefe difgraces was, at length, a revolt, in which 
 he was depofed, and fucceeded by Mahomet V. 
 
 The events of the year 1730, which produced 
 the rebellion of the janizaries, the depofition of 
 Achmet y and the elevation of his nephew Maho- 
 met^ in their confequences were alfo productive 
 of a confiderable alteration in the mode of carry- 
 ing on the government. 
 
 From the time of Mahomet II. it had been 
 ufual to delegate the whole adminifbration to the 
 vizir, but as this and the preceding rebellion had 
 originated in the overgrown power and ambition 
 of thofe who held that office, Mahomet, by the 
 advice of his kiflar-agay an experienced man, 
 took the power into his own hands, and deter- 
 mined to change his vizirs frequently. 
 
 Mahomet, 
 
TURKISH POWER. iSj 
 
 Mahomet, however, afterwards confided much 
 in the fucceffor of this kiflar-aga, a man of the 
 utmoft rapacity and infolence, who extending his 
 attacks both againft the janizaries and the ulema, 
 thofe bodies confpired his overthrow, and began 
 to fhow their intentions, by fetting fire to Con- 
 ftantinople. The frequent repetition of thefe 
 fires at length aroufmg the fultan, he confulted 
 with the mufti, and by his advice facrificed the 
 kiflar-aga and all his dependents, and feized on 
 their ill-gotten treafures, including a vaft quan- 
 tity of precious fhones, and above 30,500 purfes 
 (£.1,900,000) in money, which were paid to 
 the hafne. 
 
 The death of the kiflar-aga gave another change 
 to the interior government. Flis fuccelibr en- 
 t-ered into a clofe connection with the vizir, 
 which lafted till 1754, when, on the death of 
 Mahomet^ his brother Ofman came from confine- 
 ment to the throne ; and the kiflar-aga and his 
 fecretary, tht jazigi-effendi, gained the confidence 
 of the new fovereign, and alTumed their former 
 power. 
 
 On the death of Ofman, in 1757, Muflapha, 
 thefonof Achmet (before -mentioned) fucceeded, 
 and he placing an implicit confidence in the 
 vizir Ragii? Mehernet^ followed his counfel, and 
 deprived the kiflar-aga of his place and influence,, 
 and attached to the vizirat great part of the 
 
 N 4 emoluments 
 
184 CHAPTER V. 
 
 emoluments formerly given to the killar-aga; 
 fuch as the management of the revenues of the 
 harem, arlfing from large difbrids in Alia and 
 Europe, and the appointment of all the officers. 
 Since that time vizirs have been removed lefs 
 frequently. 
 
 The depofition of a vizir or effendi does not 
 much affed the progrefs of public bufmefs ; for 
 the different departments are very minutely 
 fubdivided, and the fubordinate officers con- 
 tinue in mod of them unafFe6ted by a change of 
 the fuperior. Thefe fubordinate officers of the 
 feraglio amount to fome hundreds, and as they 
 always pretend to follow precedent, they can 
 expedite or procraflinate bufinefs at will, by 
 means of this fubdivifion. 
 
 From this digreflion on the fubjed of admini- 
 ftrative government we return to notice the mi- 
 litary affairs of the empire. Mahomet V, fuc- 
 ceeding to the conteft againfl Kouli Khan, car- 
 ried it on with no better fuccefs than his prede- 
 ceflbr, and was forced to an inglorious peace. 
 Being afterwards engaged in a war with the Ger- 
 mans and Ruffians, the latter advanced fo ra- 
 paidly againfl: him as to threaten his capital itfelf, 
 and thus forced him to conclude a hally peace. 
 ^j^Ofman III. dying in 1757, was fucceeded by 
 Muftapha III. who, in the beginning of 1769, 
 determining to attack the Ruffians, ordered the 
 
 Tatars 
 
TURKISH POWER. 185 
 
 Tatars^ under Krim Guerai Khan, to invade 
 their territory. The ravages committed by thefe 
 barbarian hordes I have elfewhere defcribed; 
 they were fuch as the late emprefs, who then fate 
 on the throne, could not but view with indigna* 
 tion, and avenge with power. 
 
 A bloody war commenced with the exploits 
 of Prince Gallitzin, who attacking the Turks at 
 Choczim^ in their entrenchments, gained a com- 
 plete vidlory, on the 30th of April 1769. The 
 fame general gained another important vidlory, 
 near the fame place, on the 13th of July following ; 
 but was prevented from carrying the fortrefs of 
 Choczim itfelf by the prudent and cautious mea,- 
 fures of the vizir. The undifciplined and turbu- 
 lent flate of the Turkifli forces, however, agree- 
 ing ill with fuch prudence, this great, or at leaft 
 fortunate officer, was facrificed to the clamours 
 of the janizaries, and fucceeded by a man no 
 ways his equal in military ikill. 
 
 The new vizir attempting to crofs the Niefler 
 in the face of the enemy, on the 9th of Septem- 
 ber, was defeated by Prince Gallitzin, with the 
 lofs of 7,000 men killed on the fpot. A fimilar 
 attempt, renewed on the 17 th of the fame month,, 
 met with fimilar fortune ; the Turks were de- 
 feated, and obliged to abandon Choczim ; and 
 it was fuppofed that thefe two defeats cofl: them 
 28,000 killed, wounded, and prifoners, befides 
 
 nearly 
 
1 86 CHAPTER V. 
 
 nearly 5O5O00 who deferted the army in Its tu- 
 multuous retreat. 
 
 Prince Gallitzin retiring with honour, refigned 
 the command to General Romanzow, who hav- 
 ing fpeedily over-run Moldavia and Walachia, 
 and received the oaths of allegiance, readily of- 
 fered by its inhabitants, gained two fplendid 
 vi6tories over the Turkifh forces, on the 18th of 
 July and the 2d of Augufh, 1770, 
 
 The enterprifuig fpirit of the emprefs led her 
 to adopt the more ftriking and novel meafure 
 of fending a fleet into the Mediterranean, and 
 thus attacking the Turkifh empire on both fides ; 
 and this meafure was crowned with fuccefs. 
 The inhabitants of the Morea flew to arms on 
 the approach of the RufTians. But the moft bril- 
 liant action of this naval campaign was the vicfho- 
 ry of Chefme, an harbour on the coafl of Natolia, 
 into which the Turkifh fleet being driven, were 
 all deflroyed by firefliips. Had count Orlow 
 followed the advice of admiral Elphinfon, a 
 brave and experienced officer in the emprefs ^s 
 fervice, the Ruffian fleet would have failed to 
 Confiiantinople immediately after the defhruc- 
 tion of the Turkifli fliips at Chedne. Thefe, and 
 other fucceflcs of the Ruffian?, forced the Turks 
 to conclude a difbonourable peace on the 2iflof 
 July, 1 774, fhortly after the death of Mufbapha, 
 and the accefTion of his brother Abdulhamid. 
 
 We 
 
TURKISH POWER. 1B7 
 
 Wc have thus brought dov/n our view of the 
 Turkifh hlftory to our own times : the peace of 
 1 7 74, was the firfl great ftep toward the limitation 
 of an empire, which, as we have feen, was origi- 
 nally founded on rapine and injuftice. This blow 
 was effedtually followed up by the fucceeding 
 war, which was terminated fo favourably to Ruf- 
 fia, in 1 790; and it is fcarcely to be doubted, that 
 another war, conducted on iimilar principles, 
 muft totally extinguifli the Turkifli power in 
 Europe; an event defirable to almoftall Chriftian 
 flates, and particularly to that of Great Britain. 
 
 I have ceafed enumerating all the maffacres 
 and breaches of faith the Turks have committed 
 for this laft century and a half. Their condud: 
 has been uniform. Cyprus and Candia would 
 furnilh a volume. 
 
[ iS8 ] 
 
 C H A P T E R VI. 
 
 Of Arts and Sciences^ Commerce^ and General 
 
 Manners. 
 
 HAVING traced the outline of thofe grand 
 leading caufes of national importance or 
 decline, which arife from religious and political 
 inftitutions, and from the events of pafl ages, it 
 may not be amifs to turn our view to the more 
 domeflic circumflances or prejudices of a people, 
 their knowledge or prejudices relative to com- 
 merce and the arts, and their habits of mutual 
 intercourfe and affociation. 
 
 From what has already been faid of the caufes 
 aifeding the Turkilh character, it muft be evi- 
 dent that it affords but a fterile foil for the cul- 
 ture of the arts. All their habits tend to an in^ 
 dolence little favourable to the emanations of 
 genius; hence refults a want of a curiofity for 
 the objects of fcience in general ; and to thefe 
 muft be added the reftraints of their religion and 
 government. 
 
 A religion abounding in the groffefl ignorance 
 and fuperftition, and which, at the fame time, 
 teaches its followers that they alone are the fa- 
 voured of God ; that as their faith is the pureft, 
 fo are they, themfelves, the wifeft of mankind^ 
 precludes them from copying their more en- 
 lightened 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 189 
 
 lightened neighbours, and even leads them to 
 conclude that the purfuits of infidels mufl be at 
 leaft frivolous, if not immoral. 
 
 The fuperftitions of this rehgion have not, 
 like the fplendid mythology of ancient Greece, 
 or the religious pomp of modern Rome, any 
 medium of communication with the arts, 
 fuch as would be fupplied by the decoration 
 of temples, or the pageantry of public games 
 and proceffions : Mahomed ftrenuoufly and fuc- 
 cefsfully combated the idolatry of his coun- 
 trymen, and through fear of their relapfe, flndtly 
 forbade any appeal to the fenfes by llatuary or 
 painting. However, the Perlians, and fome of 
 the Arab kalifs only confidered this prohibition 
 as relating to the reprefentation of figures as the 
 objecft of worfhip. 
 
 It is true, that this rehgion has not univer- 
 fally aded with fo much force to the extindion 
 of intelled. Under the fplendid reign of Abdur- 
 rahman, the founder of the Arabian monarchy 
 in Spain, it alTumed a more civilized form. That 
 political fovereign promoted intermarriages be- 
 tween his Mahomedan and Chriftian fubjedts, 
 and favoured the natural propeniity of the Arabs 
 to literature and fcience, at a time when the refl 
 of mankind were funk in ignorance and barba- 
 rifm : but in all thefe proceedings he departed 
 widely from the fpirit of intolerance and bi- 
 gotry. 
 
19*^ CHAPTER Vr. 
 
 gotry, which the Turks have uniformly at- 
 tached to their religion, and he is to be viewed 
 more in the h'ght of a liberal politician than of 
 a religious enthufiaft. The lively manners and 
 ardent minds of the Arabs tempered the in- 
 fluence of a religion fundamentally barbarous 
 and gloomy j but the Turks have not only given 
 to fuperftition its full fway, but have even aug- 
 mented its influence by circumflances of addi-* 
 tional barbarifm. 
 
 The fufpicions of defpotifm muft ever tend to 
 degrade and brutalize its unhappy fubjeds. Few 
 are the inducements which the torpid Turk has 
 to apply himfelf to fcience, and thofe few are an- 
 nihilated by the fear of exciting diftrufh in the 
 government. Travelling, that great fource of 
 expanfion and improvement to the mind, is en- 
 tirely checked by the arrogant fpirit of his re- 
 ligion ; and intercourfe with foreigners among 
 them, further than thofe immediately in their {tr- 
 vice, by the jeaioufy with which fuch intercourfe 
 is viewed in a perfon not invefled with an official 
 charad:er. 
 
 ■ The prefent fultan is the firfl Turkifli fo- 
 vcreign who has condefcended to fend im.nifters 
 to refide at foreign courts. 
 
 General knowledge is, from thefe caufes, little 
 if at all cultivated ; every man is fuppofed ta 
 know his own bufmefs or profefiion, with whicli 
 
 it 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. igi 
 
 it is efteemed fooliih and improper for an)^ other 
 perfon to interfere. The man of general fcience, 
 a charader (o frequent and fo ufeful in Chriftian 
 Europe, is unknown ; and any one, but a m.ere 
 artificer, who fliould 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 profelTors of any art 
 or fcience are themfelves profoundly ignorant, 
 and that the greateft abfurdities are mixed with 
 all their fpeculations. 
 
 I fhall elucidate this by detailing the opinions 
 received, not only by the populace, but even by 
 the pretended literaii, in various branches of 
 knowledge. 
 
 Astronomy. — From the mufti to the pea- 
 fant it is generally believed, that there are feven 
 heavens, from wdiich the earth is immoveably 
 fufpended by a large chain ; that the fun is an 
 immenfe ball of lire, at leaft as big as a whole Ot- 
 tom-an province, formed for the fole purpofe of 
 giving light and heat to the earth ; that eclipfes 
 of the moon are occafioned by a great dragon 
 attempting to devour that luminary ; that the 
 fixed ftars hang by chains from the higheft 
 heaven, &c. he, Thefe abfurdities are in part 
 fupported by the teflimony of the Koran ; and 
 the aftronomers, as they are called, themfelves 
 ail pretend to aftrology, a profeilion fo much 
 
 efteemed. 
 
/ 
 
 t^Z CHAPTER Vr. 
 
 cfteemed, that an aftrologer is kept in the pay of 
 the court, as well as of mofi great men. 
 
 Geography. — Of the relative fituation of 
 countries they are ridiculouHy ignorant, and ail 
 their accounts of foreign nations are mixed with 
 fuperftitious fables. They diftinguifli different 
 Chriflian ftates by different appellations of 
 contempt. 
 
 Epithets which the Turks apply to thofe who 
 are not Ofmanlis, and which they often ufe to 
 denominate their nation. 
 
 JUhanlans - - - gnt-fellers - - - - (gigu'irgce.) 
 
 J, . r t-rd -eaters, dirt-eaters, 1 , t t . 
 
 ^nnenians - ^ ,^ , . f - - (ookcJiee) 
 
 l alio, pack-earners 3 ' 
 
 Bofniahs and 1 , , , , 
 
 „ , . 5. . - - vao;abonds ----- (poturj 
 Hulganans j 
 
 Chijlians - - - - idolaters - - - - (piirpiireji) 
 
 Butch - - - - cheefe-mongers - - ,? (penirgee) 
 
 Englijh - - atheifts - (d'lvf.s) i. e. having no religion. 
 
 F lemmings - -. - - panders - (fdamink^ peze^vink) 
 
 French ----- faithlefs - - (franjis^ imanjis) 
 
 Georgians - - - - loufe-eaters - - - (Utyeyedji) 
 
 Germans - - - infidel blafphemers - (gurur hafer) 
 
 Greeks of the iflands - - hares - - - - (tawjiian) 
 
 Italians or Franks - many-coloured - (firenki, hajfarrenki) 
 
 yeivs ----- mangy dogs - - - - (chef id) 
 
 Moldaiians - - - - drones - - - (hogdan, nadan) 
 
 Poles ----- infolent infidels - (fudul guiaur) 
 
 FnJJians - - - - mad infidels - - f'»7//}, menhus) 
 
 Spaniards -----lazy----- (tembel) 
 
 Tatars - - - - carrion-eaters - - - (lajliyeyedgee) 
 
 Walachlam - - - - gypfies , - - - (chingani) 
 
 Before 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 19^. 
 
 Before the Ruffian fleet came into the Medi-. 
 terranean, the mlnifters of the porte would not^ 
 beheve it poffible for them to approach Conftan-r. 
 tinople but from the Black Sea. The captain 
 pafha (great admiral) affirmed, that their fie^f. 
 might come by the way of Venice. From, this, 
 ^nd a thoufand fimilar and authentic anecdote?, 
 their ignorance of the fituation of countries is 
 evident ; and as to the flories which they univer- 
 fally believe, they are fuch as the following : that 
 India is a country' far dillant, where there are 
 diamonds, fine muflins, and other fl:ufrs,and great 
 riches; but that the people are little known.; 
 that they are Mahomiedans moftly, but do not 
 acknowledge the kalifat of their fultan ; that th^ 
 Perfians are a very wicked people, and will \}j^ 
 all damned; that they will be changed into aiTes 
 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 dan- 
 gerous, but vvilj all be conquered in luPie, and re- 
 duced to the obedience of the fultan ; that their 
 )vomen and children ought to be carried into 
 captivity ; that no faith is to be kept with 
 them, and that to malTacre them is highly me- 
 ritorious, if they refufe to become Mahomedans; 
 (yet they have apong them a prophecy, that 
 the fons of yellozmiefs, which they interpret to 
 be the Ruffians, are to take Conftantinople-;) 
 
 p that 
 
194 CHAPTER VI» 
 
 that the Englifh are powerful by Tea, and the 
 French and Germans by land ; that the Ruffians 
 are the moft powerful, 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 greatcft monarch 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 " mafier of all the univerfe^ and equal 
 *^ m^owerto Alexander the Great. ^^ They talk of 
 him always as the model of heroifm to be imi- 
 tated, but they know not who he was. Solomon, 
 they fay, was the wifeft man, and the greateft 
 magician, that ever exifted, and the Palmyra 
 and Balbek were built by fpirits at his com- 
 mand. 
 
 Poetry and general Literature. — 
 They have a few poets, as they are called, whofe 
 compoiitions aremoftly little fongs and ballads ; 
 but in thefe, as well as their profe writings, they 
 differ widely from the limplicity of the Arabs, 
 as thev abound with falfe conceits ^ and the Ian- 
 guage is a barbarous mixture of the Turkifh with 
 the Perfian and Arabic, not unlike that " Baby- 
 " lonljli dialeEi'' of our puritans, which Butler 
 compares to '' fujlian cut cnfatin,'' '• 
 
 Of 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. I95 
 
 Of the general tafte of the Turks, Tott has 
 given a juft defcription, when he fays, " a 
 " double meaning, or a literal tranfpojition, forms the 
 " extent of their fliidies and literature, and every 
 " thing that can.be invented by falfe tajie, to fatigue 
 ^■\ the mind, confiitutes their delight, and excites their 
 " admiration, ^^ 
 
 This leads me to a conlideration of the Turkifh 
 language, a point on which I fliall make fome 
 obfervations rather more at length, as it has not 
 been hitherto treated with any degree of accu* 
 racy. The origin of the Turkilh language was 
 the Zagutai, a dialed: of that Tatarian tongue, 
 which has been fpread fo widely by the hoilile 
 incurfions of different barbarians. 
 
 The conjedlures of Tott on this fubjedl aio 
 juftly correded by Peyflbnel, whofe obferva^ 
 tions on the different origin of thefe languages 
 are deferving attention. Among the barbarous 
 hordes that have at different periods overflowed 
 Europe and Afia from the north and weft, he 
 diftinguifhes three great and diftind: nations, 
 differing in origin and in language, the Celts or 
 Teutons, the Fens or Slavonians, and the Huns 
 or Tatars. It may be doubted, whether in the 
 firfl clafs he does not confound two very dilTerent 
 tribes, as the remains of the Celtic and Teutonic 
 Janguages ftill exifting in Europe bear every 
 mark of an original difference. Thefe, hov/ever^ 
 Jie thinks (with juflice) were the iirfh of the bar- 
 
 02 b^naj^ 
 
196 C « A P T E R V I . 
 
 barian invaders, including the Vandals, Goths, 
 Oftrogoths, Vifigoths, &c. who all iffued from 
 the countries between the Northern Ocean and 
 the Baltic Sea. The fecond 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, 
 have fpread from the fea of Japan to the. fron- 
 tiers of Poland, and have at different periods 
 feized upon the Chinefe, Indian, Perfian, and 
 Turkifh empires. "4^ ii^---' 
 
 The Zagatai language, as muil neceffarily 
 be the cafe with a tongue fpoken by' fucli 
 barbarians, was poor and confined, and its de- 
 ficiencies have been fupplied by the adoption of 
 terms from the Arabic and Perfian. 
 ' The Turkifh language-is the eafiefl of any 
 one we are acquainted with, becaufe it is the 
 mofl regular. It -has only one conjugation of 
 ■the^^rbs (excepting a difference-of ^^ and ak in 
 the infinitive, which the ear foon learns to dif- 
 tlngiiifli) and but one declenfion of the nouns. 
 There is no exception, nor any irregular verb or 
 noun, in the^angiiage. The cafes and perfons 
 are denoted by thf^ termination, as in Latin, but 
 the phrafeoiogy is much more eafy, and the 
 tmnfpbfitioh'is'^ riot carried to fo difficult a length. 
 
 The 
 
 r 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. I97 
 
 The Turkifh language has no gender. Woman, 
 and iome of the fituations of women, arc dif- 
 tinguifh^d by different words ; as wife, daughter : 
 but a filler is called a girl-brother. The titles 
 of women are the fame as thofe of men: Fa^ 
 tima Sultan (not Snltana^ which is an Italian 
 word) ; mother-fultan is the queen (or princefs) 
 mother. The word Sultan, applied to the fo- 
 vereign, and the males of his family, precedes 
 their proper names ; all other titles follow the 
 name : Galga Sultan^ Mahomed PaJJia, Alt Effendu 
 They have compound words, as in Greek, though 
 they are more limited in their ufe. It is true, 
 the Turkilli 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 intro- 
 duced Arabic and Perlian, and thefc languages 
 are now confiderably mixed with the dialedls 
 fpoken at the feragHo (or court,) and at the bar 
 (or makami). The Arabic is moftly intermixed 
 in topics of ethics, religion, or law ; and the 
 Perfians, in fubje6:s 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 Engli(h, they 
 would have enriched it, without making it more 
 difficult, and have preferved its charader; but 
 thefe words and phrafes preferve the grammar 
 
 03 of 
 
198 ^ ''^CHAPTE R Vi. 
 
 of the language they belong to, which creates 
 real difficulty, and renders it neceflary, in order' 
 to read a firman, or a piece of poetry, to know 
 fomething of the Arabic and Perfian grammars. 
 This will beft be demonftrated by an example : 
 Suppofing the Latin to be Arabic, and the Per* 
 fian French, a Turk would write, if Englifli were 
 his language, in the following manner: 
 
 Language of a Mufti or DoElor, 
 
 I do not love deplorare vilain, as many, anj 
 ii dofri,f^pefecerimt; nor do I repent that I have 
 lived at all, becaufe I have ainfi vecu^ as not fruf' 
 tra me natim exiftimem : I do not aflert that tadium 
 vita proceeds more from want of fleadinefs in 
 our true religion, than from atra hilis. If a man 
 deftroys himfelf, he is either infaniis^ and a holy 
 fool, or one pofTefTed demonis, or he is un athee 
 — an infidel, or a Frank. Pray deiim that he 
 may preferve you againft thofe who blow on 
 nodos funum, and whifper in the ean 
 
 Language of a Turkijh Poet^ 
 
 - The eyes of V ahhrenveuje * inebriate me more 
 than le vin, and fesfieches penetrate la moele de 
 mes OS quicker than thofe from the bow. 
 
 Jhis is the firll couplet of a fong in pure 
 
 • She who pours out the wine. 
 
 Arabic^ 
 
TURKISH ARTS ANB SCJEiTCES. I99 
 
 Arabic, (compofed by an Arabian,) which I have 
 thus written, to fhew how a Turk would exprefs 
 the fame lentiment with refped to the language ; 
 the genuine Turkilh compofitions are ridicu- 
 loufly hyperbolical. 
 
 It mufi: be obferved, that very few of thofe, 
 who lard their writings or difcourfes with Arabic 
 or Perfian phrafes, are much acquainted with 
 . thofe languages; but they have learnt the phrafes 
 and terminations moft in ufe, and know the 
 meaning of a fentence, without underftanding 
 each word feparately, or having much idea of the 
 grammar. 
 
 It is aflonilhing that they h^ve not perfected 
 their alphabet. They writ^ 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 perfedion 
 of a written charader be to reprelent 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,flate of imperfec^, 
 tion, without making the leaft attempt to im- 
 provement, fo long, that no effort is now to be 
 expeded from them. 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 
 Libanus by the Maronitiejs^ is more^iftiiift:^,^^ 
 
 o 4 more 
 
20b ' tHAPTl^R VI. 
 
 rnore'eafily read than the written, though this Is 
 more elegant in its appearence, which is but a 
 fecondary quality. It requires great practice to 
 'be able to read the Arabic chara«fler quick. 
 
 Upon theie different circumftances relating to 
 the Turkiill language are grounded the different 
 opinions of the Baron de Tott and M. de Peyf- 
 fonel, the former of whom juftly iiariks among 
 the obftrudlions to fcience in Turkey, the dif- 
 ficulty of writing and reading the language. To 
 this Peyllbnel oppofes the facility with which 
 the Baron himfelf acquired a knowledge of the 
 Turkiill language, without obferving that this * 
 knowledge only extended to /peaking it, a talk 
 which was comparatively eafy. Mr. de Tott never 
 acquired fkill enough to read it readily. Peyf- 
 fonelalfo adduces, as an additional argument, the 
 iibiiity of feveral European interpreters, whofe 
 names he mentions ; but this eulogium was only 
 applicable to the celebrated M. Muragia, and 
 not even to him in its full extent y nor does 
 this prove any thing in favour of the Turks 
 themfelves, lince the advantage which they pof- 
 lefs as natives is more than counterbalanced bv 
 theirhabitsof apathy and indolence. Peylfonel 
 is equally irlcorre6l in comparing the different 
 characters of the Turks to the different haniis, 
 the italic, running hand, engroffirig, &c. ufed 
 in other parts of Europe. 
 
 In thofe countries, the different hands have 
 
 all 
 
ttTRKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 201 
 
 all fuch a degree of fimllarity, that few are at a 
 iofs to write, and none to read them at all; and 
 a perfon who had learned one hand, in a few 
 hours might learn the others ; but in Turkey, 
 fcarcely any perfon is verfed in the different 
 characters, except the profejjed writers, and even 
 among them thefe characters are employed each 
 for its diftind: and pecuUar purpofe : the nej/iki 
 is ufed in works of fcience ; the tealik^ for 
 poetry ; the Jivani, for ftate papers, commiflions, 
 and epiftolary correfpondence ; and the fa/us, for 
 infcriptions, devifes, &c. If the difficulty pre- 
 fented by thefe various charaders feems at firft 
 view light, it mufh be remembered, that a flight 
 obftacle, thrown in the way of an indolent Turk, 
 becomes infuperable from his general difregard 
 of fcience. 
 
 The art of printing, though often attempted, 
 has never been introduced among the Turks. 
 This is not owing to the difficulty of forming 
 Arabic types, as has been by fome alledged, (for 
 the Chriftians of Mount Lebanon, as well as we, 
 print books with Arabic charaders) but the true 
 caufe of this negled, is the Turkifh indolence and 
 contempt for all innovations. 
 
 Is it not matter of aftonilhment, that fince 
 the firft eftablifhment of their manufadory of 
 carpets, they have not improved the deligns, and 
 particularly as they are not forbidden to imitate 
 
 flowers ? 
 
t6± fcH AFTER VI'. 
 
 flowers ? The fame may be faid of their em-- 
 broidery, and of the flufifs made at Prufa^ 
 Aleppo, and Damafcus. Their carpets owe 
 their excellency only to the materials they are 
 made of. 
 
 In all the Turkifh arts, the traces of fuperfli- 
 tion are obfervable. Their architeEiure does not 
 iinitate that of ancient Greece, nor have they 
 corre(5led one fault, or conceived any idea of 
 proportion, from the perfedt models they have 
 daily before their eyes. In fhort, they have never 
 fludied architedlure^ and as to the practice of 
 Europeans, it would be derogatory to the mufel- 
 man dignity to copy infidels* They have taken 
 their not ions of general forms from the Arabs, but 
 have added nothing of their own. The church of 
 St. Sophia, however, after it became a mofqu^,. 
 is the model by which moft of the other 
 mofques in Conflantinople have been built j and 
 this perhaps was owing to the architedls em- 
 ployed by the Turks being Greeks or Armenians. 
 Though many of thefe have fome notion of the 
 rules of their own art, they are not permitted to 
 purfue them beyond what the Turks conceive- 
 to be the maliomedan form j they look indeed with 
 a kind of reverence on the noble ruins of Greece, 
 believing them to have been built by devils or 
 genii ^ they are alfo jealous of Europeans, who 
 "wifn to obtain poiTefTion of any parts of thofe re- 
 9 mains; 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENdES. 20^ 
 
 mains j but the only ufe they tliemfelves make 
 of them, is to pull in pieces the marble edifices 
 to burn them into lime. The piafter of their 
 walls, made of this lime, is very beautiful ; but it 
 is to be lamented that to produce it, the divine 
 works of Phides and Praxiteles have been confign* 
 ed to the furnace. This marble lime, mixed with 
 pounded marble unburnt, forms a piafter fupe- 
 tior in whitenefs to the Indian chinam, but 
 unequal to it in polilh and hardnefs. Among 
 the mofques and pubhc buildings at Conflanti- 
 nople, are to be found many fine edifices ; but 
 they are copied from the Arabian buildings in 
 Afia, where there are much grander ftru 61: ures than 
 at Conftantinople, though of as late a date. 
 
 On the origin of the morefque and gothic ar- 
 chitedlure many learned difTertations have been 
 written. It is not to my prefent purpofe to make 
 extrads from them, and I ihould have nothing 
 new to fay on the fubjecl. With refped to the 
 general form of the mofques, baths, caravan- 
 faries, bazars, and kiofks, in the different parts of 
 the empire, the mafs is, notwithftanding many 
 ftriking defedls, grand and impofing ; the par- 
 ticular parts are devoid of all proportion ; their 
 columns have nothing of their true charader, 
 being often twenty and thirty diameters high, 
 and the intercolumniation frequently equal to 
 the height of the column. The capitals and en- 
 tablatures 
 
204 . CHAPTER VI* 
 
 tablatures are the mofl; whimlical and ndicu* 
 ious*. 
 
 The noble produ(ftions oijlatuary 2ind painting 
 are flill more fully fupprefled. Thefe arts are ana- 
 thematized as irreligious y becaufe a blind and 
 ilupid fanaticifm has declared that it is im- 
 pious to emulate the works of God. Hence? 
 the incitements to virtue and animation, which 
 we experience in viewing the fhatues or portraits 
 of the benefadlors 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 
 fome important fcene, arrefts and renders im- 
 mortal. So far is this bigotry carried, that 
 
 * St. Sophia, at Conftantinople, there is little doubt, was the 
 model which the European archite6ls copied, when they intro- 
 duced the cupola upon four arches, than which nothing can ht 
 morfe prepollerous. Thofe who chufe to fee the falfe principles 
 of thefe buildings expofed, and how far they differ from the 
 grandeur and fimpllcity of the ancients, may read Frife's Saggio 
 fuW ArchiteSIiira Gottka, Li<vornOy and in an excellent little Gef- 
 inan treatife annexed to the tranflation of it, the peculiar excel- 
 lencies of the gothic pointed out, exclufively of its defers. 
 
 It is worthy, however, of obfervation, that the interior of St. 
 Sophia appears much larger, and that St. Peter's, at Rome, ap- 
 pears infinitely fmaller than it really is. The cupola of this latter 
 church is of the fame fize as the Pantheon ; the members of the 
 entablature, which runs round the lower part of the cupola or 
 lanthorn, are marked on the pavement below by different co- 
 loured marbles; but no one can, without aftual meafurement, be 
 perfuaded of this truth* 
 
 neither 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 20^ 
 
 rneither the effigy of the fovereign, nor the repre- 
 ientation of any imaginary being (as in the anci- 
 ent medals) is permitted to be imprinted on 
 their money. 
 
 The only ufe of thefe arts which is allowed, i^ 
 -the imitation of inanimate nature, in carving or 
 .painting the interior of a room. Even here they 
 frequently ufe as ornaments paffagcs from the 
 Koran ; but they generally paint the walls with 
 ilowers or landfcapes. Their ingenuity is, hovv- 
 -ever, merely mechanical ; and of fcientific rules 
 they are perfedily ignorant : perfpe6tive is totally 
 unknown to the painters themfelves: 
 
 The fcience of the Turks in making aque- 
 -du>5ls, has been vaunted by fome authors ; but 
 left it (hould thence be concluded that they 
 jiave a knowledge of hydraulics, I will here ftate 
 tin what this fcience confifts. When water is to 
 be conducted, they begin by laying pipes of 
 burnt clayunder'ground, to the diftance of about 
 a quarter of a mile, they then ered a fquare pillar, 
 and continue the pipe up till they find how high 
 the water will rife j then they carry the pipe 
 down the other lide, (leaving the top open) and 
 continue it under ground to the next pillar ; 
 and fo on till they have brought the v/ater to the 
 place intended to be fupplied with it. It fome- 
 times happens that all their labour has been in 
 vain J and they find by experience that the place 
 
 to 
 
206 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 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 perfe6tly flat, that there is 
 fuch a thing as refra6lion; and that a levelling in- 
 ftrument alone will not tell them the height to 
 which water will rife. The moll learned man 
 among the ulenia does not know, that as the 
 whole fine is to the angle of refradlion, fo is th^ 
 diftance of the objed: tq its apparent elevation 
 by refradlion. They have no means of calcu- 
 lating the latter preiTure of arches or of cupolas $ 
 though they generally err on the right fide/ yet 
 accidents fometimes have happened. I once fuc- 
 ceeded in makin2: a Turkilli mathematician un- 
 derftand the principle of a catenarian arch, by 
 fufpending a chain; but when he endeavoured 
 to explain it to an archited, who was erecting 
 a confiderable building for the late captain pailia^^ 
 Gazi-HalTan, he received for anfwer, that the 
 figure defcribed by a chain hung up by the two 
 ends might be applicable to the conflrudion of 
 the bottom of a iliip, but not to that of an arch 
 >of mafonry. 
 
 It is a certain fadl, that a few years ago a learned 
 man of the law having ioil an e^^e, and being in- 
 formed that there was then at Conilantinople an 
 European who made feUe eyes, not to be diftin- 
 
 guiQied 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 207 
 
 gulflied from the natural, he immediately pro- 
 cured one; but when it was placed in the focket, 
 he flew into a violent' paffion with the eye- 
 maker, abufmg him as an imopoflor, becaufe 
 he could not fee 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- 
 pedlation of feeing with them. 
 
 The ufe of wheel carriages is almofl unknown 
 in Turkey. There is a kind of cart, ufed at 
 Conflantinople, and in fome few other parts, 
 moftly for women to travel in. In moft parts of 
 the Afiatic 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 carriage, exa«flly of 
 the fhape of a hearfe in England, but without 
 any fprings ; it was, when I faw it, drawn by fix 
 mules. The pole was of an enormous thicknefs 
 as well as every other part. I enquired the reafon; 
 the anfwer was, that if the pole, or the axletree, 
 &c. broke, the man who made it would lofe his 
 head. The fultan never ufes a carriage as any 
 kind of flate ; it is only in excurfions into the 
 country that it follows him. 
 
 The people in Moldavia and W'alachia, on 
 
 the 
 
208 . CH AP T E R Vr, 
 
 the contrary, conflrudt waggons for carrying 
 merchandize on very juil principles of mecha- 
 nics. Cafks too are not in ufe except among 
 the Greeks. ^ 
 
 It may be inferred from Peyilbnel that the 
 fcience of medicine has made confiderable ad- 
 vances, and commands. a high degree of refped: 
 in Turkey, when we find that the dignity of firfl 
 phyfician to the grand feignior is marked by the 
 title of hakim bachi effendi ; that h? wears the 
 large round turban called eurf^ the fame as that 
 borne by men of the highefl: rank in the law ; and 
 that the Mahometan who attains this dignity 
 mufl have pafled through the medrejjes, and hayp. 
 reached the order of the muderris; but the faiR: is, 
 that the ftate phyfician is a mere nominal dignity 
 enjoyed by men of no fkill in this fci.en.ce, whilft 
 the man to whom the care of the fultan's health 
 is entrufled is always a Greek, a Jew, or an Euro- 
 pean, and it is merely for form fake that the con- 
 fent and prefence of the hakim bachi mufl: be ob- 
 tained for the adrniniftratiorj of remedies, of 
 whofe medical properties he is in general pro- 
 foundly ignorant. When the Turks take a pur- 
 gative medicine, they never commend it except 
 it be mod violently cathartic. They l:ave no 
 notion of the falutary effeds of a gentle laxative. 
 
 No one has the leaft idea of navigation, and 
 the ufe of the magnet, but the people of the navy, 
 and thev know fo little^ that their compafles 
 
 are 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 209 
 
 are made to point to the true north with the va- 
 riation allowed, and by the fame compafles they 
 fleer their (hips in all Teas. Very few in the navy 
 can take a meridian obfervation. 
 
 It is not neceflary for the grand -admiral to 
 have any profeflional 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 inferior oflicers. 
 An officer appointed to fuperintend the gun- 
 powder mills, was highly offended with a mer- 
 chant who offered to contract for the delivery 
 of brimftone ; he took the offer as an infult, not 
 knowing that brimfhone entered into the com- 
 pofition of gunpowder. 
 
 The only people who have the fmallefl; idea 
 of navigation, are the Algerines in the fervice 
 of the Porte ; and even theirs is chiefly praclical 
 knowledge. They rely on the Greeks to navigate 
 their fhips of war. Their m.erchant-fhips take 
 care not to lofe fight of land ; and hence it is 
 that fo many of them are caft away on the coall 
 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 inadtivity 
 of this people. It is true that they had foun- 
 dries of large brafs cannon -, but they had not 
 even attempted to cafl: thofe of a fmaller kind,^ 
 
 p or 
 
2IO CHAPTER VJ. 
 
 or of a diiferent metal, although their furnaces 
 are oi ufne^ which is particularly adapted to the 
 cafting of iron. To the prefent day they are ig- 
 norant of this art, even for bomb-fiiells ; and this 
 is the reafon why all the TurkiOi cannon, 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 car- 
 riages, particularly for field-pieces ; and whilft 
 other nations are making daily improvements 
 in this refped (by the conftrudion of flying ar- 
 tillery, &c.) the Turks, from their ignorance of 
 mechanics, employ artillery the mofl awkward 
 and inefficacious. 
 
 The defedive ftate of general fcience m Tur- 
 key is owing to that want of means of communi- 
 cation and of union amongfl: its branches, and 
 to that deficiency of combination, both in theory 
 and pradicc, the caufes of which I have already 
 traced out ; but in every country individual 
 exertion will do much, and infulated fads will be 
 every where difcoverable, like the cafual flowers 
 of the defert, which fliew what the human mind 
 is capable of attaining, even in defpite of accu- 
 mulated obftacles. The great advantage which a 
 highly civilized country pofiefTes, is in the quick 
 and ready combination of thefe fads, and in form- 
 ing out of them general principles, which abridge 
 the labour and laciUtate the progrefs of the artifl 
 
 and 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENdES. lit 
 
 ^ild the philofopher. It frequently happens, 
 however, that the moil barbarous people pofTefs, 
 in particular branches of art, an accuracy of prin-* 
 eiple, or a dexterity of operation, even fuperior 
 to their more polifhed neighbours ; and hence 
 it will be found of ufe to collect detached infor- 
 mation 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 
 (hall, therefore, make no further apology for the 
 introdu(^tion of fome unconneifVed remarks on 
 detached inftances of fkill among the Turks in 
 various arts and fciences. 
 
 It might reaibnably be expedted that a nation 
 of warriors fhould have expert furgeons at leaft, 
 and that they (hould have paid attention to the 
 improvements and difcoveries made by other 
 nations. Nothing of this, however* is the, cafe. 
 They perform no operations^ nor will they con- 
 fent to an European's making an amputation, 
 though the lofs of life be a certain confequence 
 of omitting it. Their art is fimply confined to 
 healing, and at mod extradting a ball and a fplin- 
 ter of a bone. It muft be confeffed that, as their 
 habit of body is generally healthy, nature per- 
 forms often wonderful cures. They rely much 
 on balfams, mummy, &c. There is in Conftan- 
 tinople a Perfian extraordinarily expert in the art 
 0^ healing. The Arabs bury a perfon, who has 
 
 p 2 received 
 
212 C H Al> TES. VI. ^ 
 
 received a wound in his body, up to the neck 
 in hot fand for twenty-four hours ; and apply 
 with fuccefs the adlual cautery for the dropfy. 
 
 I faw in the eaftern parts of the empire, a me- 
 thod of fetting bones practifed, which appears 
 to me worthy of the attention of furgeons in 
 Europe. It is by inciofing the broken Yimh, 
 after the bones are put in their places, in a cafe 
 of plafter of Paris (or gypfum) which takes ex- 
 adly the form of the limb, without any prelTure, 
 andln'a few minutes the mafs is folid and flrong. 
 If it be a compound fradure, the wounded part 
 out of which an exfoliated bone is to corae, may 
 be left uncovered, without any injury to the 
 flrength of the plafter encafement. This fub^ 
 fiance may be eafdy cut with a knife, and re- 
 "moved, and replaced with another. If, when the 
 fwelling fubfides the cavity is too large for the 
 limb, a hole or holes being left, liquid gypfum 
 plafter may be poured in, which will perfedlly fill 
 up the void, and exadtly fit the limb. A hole 
 may "be made at firft by placing an oiled cork 
 or bit o^ wood againft any part where it is re- 
 quired, and when the plafter is (ct, it is to he 
 removed. There is nothing in gypfum inju- 
 rious, if it be free from lime ; it v/ill foon become 
 very dry and light, and the limb may be bathed 
 with fpirits,' which will penetrate through the 
 c-overing.. Spirits may be ufed inftead of water, 
 
 or 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 21^ 
 
 or mixed with it (or vinegar) at the firft making 
 of the plafter. 
 
 I fawa cafe of a moil: terrible compound frac- 
 ture of the leg and thigh, by the fall of a cannon, 
 cured in this manner. The perfon was feated 
 on the ground, and the plafter cafe extended from 
 Ipelow 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 flept, 
 as he could not lie down. During the cure, 
 where they faw matter or moifture appear through 
 the plafter coating, they cut a hole with a knife to 
 drefs the wound, or let out the matter more 
 freely. 
 
 On this occafion I cannot help mentioning 
 the treatment of parts frozen in Ruflia, not -by 
 the furgeons, but by the common people, the 
 fuccefs of which I was an eyewitnefs to in feveral 
 cafes, as well as to the failure of the common 
 mode of treating frozen parts by the moft able 
 furgeons of the army. I (hall fimply ftate the 
 facts I relate to. 
 
 After Ochakof was taken, I received into my 
 fubterranean lodging as many pri Toners as it 
 would contain, all of whom were either wounded 
 or had a limb frozen. Among them were two 
 children, one about fix and the other about four- 
 teen years of age ; the latter had one of her feet 
 frozen to the ancle, the other ail the toes, and 
 
 p 3 the 
 
^14 CHAPTER VI> 
 
 the fole of one of her feet. On the firft day, they 
 were not much obferved ; but on the fecond, 
 the parts appeared black. The French furgeon, 
 whom Prince Potemkin had fent for purpofely 
 from Paris, and who was a man of note, ordered 
 them to be conflantly bathed with warm cam- 
 phorated fpirits ; the elder was removed to the 
 hofpital, when a mortification began; the youn- 
 ger I kept with me, and as we removed into 
 winter-quarters, I carried the child with me. 
 The mortified parts feparated, the bones of the 
 toes came off, and, after a long time, the fores 
 healed. I fhould have obferved, that the furgeon 
 was for immediately amputating both the limbs. 
 In a fubterranean room, not far from mine, 
 were feveral women, whofe feet had been in like 
 manner frozen ; but as no furgeon attended 
 them, the Ruffian foldiers and waggoners under- 
 took the cure. It w^as alfo the fecond day when 
 they applied their remedy, and the parts were 
 perfe6tly black, This remedy w^as goofe-greafe, 
 with which the parts were fmeared, warm, and 
 the operation often repeated : their diredlions 
 were, never to let the parts be dry, but always 
 covered with greafe. The confcquence was, that 
 by degrees the circulation extended lower down, 
 and the blacknefs decrcafed, till, laft of all, the 
 toes were only difcoloured, and at length circular 
 tpf> wa5 rellored to them, 
 
 I can 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 2IJ 
 
 I can account for this no otherwlfe than that 
 the fat keDt the pores fhut, and prevented the air 
 from promoting putrefa6tion; in the mean time 
 the vefTels were continually abforbing part of the 
 ^ flagnated blood, till by degrees the whole circu- 
 lation was reftored. It is known that extrava- 
 {ated and ftagnated blood will remain a long time 
 in the body without putrifying, if it be not ex- 
 pofed to the air. I conclude alfo, that in thefe 
 cafes of froft, the mortification firft begins on the 
 furface, which is in contaft wit'i the air. 
 
 I only mean, however, to relate facts, and 
 leave it to others to account for them. 
 
 This is a general pradice of the peafants 
 throughout all lluffia ; but if a part is difcovered 
 to be frozen, before the per/on comes into a zvarm 
 room, the froft may be extradled by plunging the 
 part into cold water, or rubbing it with Inow till 
 the circulation returns. 
 
 The wherries or boats of Conftantinople are 
 conftrudled 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 fhift their 
 places in them unwarily. Their Ihape is very 
 elegant. The boatmen have a large marble 
 weight for ballaft, which they pl:^ce after the paf^- 
 fengers are feated. Though they are large, they 
 row exceedingly fift, and were always efteemed 
 die quickeft going boats in Europe ; but I law a 
 
 p 4 gondola^ 
 
2l6 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 gondola, brought to Conflantiople by a Venetian 
 ambaffador, keep pace with them. The gon- 
 dolas, every body knows, are built on a contrary 
 conftrudion, being quite £at at bottom. The 
 boilangi- bafliee (mailer of the police) has a 
 boat of twelve oars, which rows with furprifmg 
 velocity ; but no one is permitted to build on 
 that conflruclion : this boat goes nearly twice as 
 fall as the common ones, and confequently as 
 the gondolas. They are dangerous fea boats, 
 though they fail fad. It is not many years fince 
 they were brought to fuch perfeiftion, as may be 
 {qcii by a boat now preferved, (I think, of fultan 
 Achmet III.) the merit, however, is their own. 
 The Turks row in general better than the Chrif- 
 tian or Jew boatmen. 
 
 The Turks ufe copper veflels for their kitchen 
 utenfils, which are tinned with pure tin, and not, 
 as in mod parts of Europe, with folder, cornpofed 
 of tin and lead, which is much fooner corroded 
 by acids and fat; and though it has not been ob- 
 ferved that any violent diforders have been pro- 
 duced by the veiiels in common ufe, except 
 fi'om the copper itfejf, as the quanity of lead dif- 
 folved is fmall, the admixture of tin rendering 
 lead more difficult of folution, yet many chronic 
 m-aladies, and particularly of the nervous kind, 
 may be owing to this baneful metal getting into, 
 
 the habit in fmall quantities. There is no coun- 
 try 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 21J 
 
 try in Europe where the quantity of lead ufed 
 in tinning is fo great as in this ifland ; an abule 
 which certainly merits the attention of this go- 
 vernment, as it did fome years ago that of France, 
 which prohibited at the fame time, under pain 
 of death, the ufe of all preparations of lead in 
 wine, or other liquors ; a regulation very neccjfciry 
 in England ; as is alfo the eftablifhment of fome 
 means to prevent fuch part of the tea being fold 
 which comes in immediate contaft 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 micchanifm to prevent 
 picking is admirable. It is a curious thing to 
 fee, particularly in Afia, wooden locks upon the 
 iron doors of their caravanfaries, and other great 
 buildings, as well as on houfe doors. The key is 
 compofed of a fquare ftick, with five or fix iron 
 or wooden pins, about half an inch long, placed 
 at irregular diflances, towards the end of it, and 
 anfwering to holes in the upper part of the bolt, 
 which is pierced with a fquare hole to receive the 
 key. The key, being put in as far as it will go, 
 is then lifted up, and its pins entering the cor- 
 lefponding holes, raife other pins which had 
 dropped into thefe holes from the part of the lock 
 immediately above the bolt, and which have 
 
 heads 
 
21 8 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 heads to prevent their falling lower than is necef- 
 fary ; the bolt,being thus freed from the upper 
 pins, is drawn back by means of the key; the 
 key is then lowered, and may be drawn out of 
 the bolt. To lock it again, the bolt is onlypulhed 
 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 im« 
 proving 
 
 The Greeks have a very curious manner of 
 painting in frefco, which has many advantages, 
 I alfo law the ancient method of painting with 
 wax, and fixing the colours by heat, pradifed 
 by a Greek, and at a place I leaft expedled it, at 
 the Dardanelles ; for at Conftantinople it is un- 
 known. Whether this be exadly the encauilic 
 painting of the ancients it is hazardous to af* 
 firm, though J. myfelf have not the leafl doubt 
 refpediing it. Thus much is certain, that it has, 
 with regard to facility, very confiderable advan- 
 tages over the oil-painting now in ufe ; it has all 
 ts freedom, and the vivacity of its colours, added 
 to folidity, and the durability which the expe- 
 rience of twenty centuries has proved wax paint- 
 ing to be poflcired of. It was my intention to 
 have treated on it in this place ; but as it does 
 not regard Turkey, the immediate fubjedV of this 
 work, and would be a differtation of confiderable 
 length, I intend fhortly to print it feparately, 
 Q with 
 
 1 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND 9CTEKCES. 219 
 
 with the Greek manner of frefco painting, in 
 which all colours may be ufed on a lime-wall. 
 
 The Armenian jewellers fet precious ftones, 
 particularly diamonds, to much advantage, with 
 a foil, which, under rofes, or half-brilliants, is re^ 
 markably beautiful, and is not fubjedl to tarniili. 
 Their method is as follows : an agate is cut, and 
 highly polillied of the Ihape defired; in a block 
 of lead is formed a cavity of about its own fize ; 
 over this is placed a bit of tin, of the thicknefs 
 of flrong brown paper, fcraped bright. The agate 
 is then placed on the tin, over the cavity, and 
 flruck with a mallet. The beautiful polifli the 
 tin receives is fcarcely to be imagined. This is 
 in general kept a fecret, and fuch foils fell for 
 half and three-quarters of a dollar each. 
 
 The jewellers, who are moftly Armenians, have 
 a fingular method of ornamenting watch-cafes, 
 and limilar things, with diamonds and other 
 flones, by (imply glueing them on. 
 . The ftone is fet in filver or gold, and the lower 
 part of the metal made flat, or to correfpond 
 with the part to which it is to be fixed ; it is 
 then warmed gently, and the glue applied, which 
 is fo very ftrong that the parts never feparate. 
 
 This glue, which may be applied to many pur- 
 pofes, as it will ftrongly join bits of glafs or po- 
 Jifhed fheel, is thus made : 
 
 piflblve five or fix bits of maflic, as large as 
 
 peas. 
 
Z20 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 peas, in as much fpirit of wine as will fuffice to 
 render it liquid -, in another velTel diliolve as 
 much iiingiafs, which has been previoufly foked 
 in water (but the water muft not be ufed) till it is 
 fwollenandfoft, in French brandy, or rum, as v/ill 
 make two ounces, by meafure, of/rong g/ue, and 
 add two fmall bits of gum galbanura or ammo- 
 niacum, wliich muft be rubbed or ground till they 
 are diffolved ; then mix the whole with a fuf- 
 *' ficient heat. Keep it in a phial ftopped, and when 
 it is to be ufed {Qt it in hot or boiling 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* 
 varn. I have heard that the fum of five thoufand 
 pounds v/as given, in England, for this fecret. 
 
 A remarkable inftance occured to my know- 
 ledge of an individual fadl, which might have 
 been of the utmoft ufe to fociety, but which, 
 owing to the ftate of knowledge and government 
 in Turkey, was wholly loft to the world. An 
 Arabian, at Conftantinople, had difcovered the 
 fecret of cafting iron, which, when it came out of 
 
 * Some perfons have prepared and fold thiscompofitioR, under 
 the name of Armenian cement, but it is much too thin, and the 
 quantity of maflic in it is too fmall. It muft be like J^rcngca^^ 
 penUri ^/«^.— Note to the 3d edition. 
 
 thq 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 221 
 
 the mould, was as malleable as hammered iron ; 
 iome of his fabrication Vv^as accidentally fhewn to 
 Mr. de Gaffron, the Pruilian charge d'affaires, 
 and Mr. Franzaroli (men of mineralogical fci- 
 ence) who were ftruck with the fa<5l, and imme- 
 diately inftituted an enquiry for its author. This 
 man, whofe art in Chrifliendom would have in- 
 fured him a fplendid fortune, had died poor and 
 unknown, and his fecret had perifhed with him ! 
 Hts utenfils were found, and feveral pieces of his 
 cafting, all perfedcly malleable. Mr. Franzaroli 
 analyzed them, and found that there was no ad- 
 mixture of any other metal, Mr. de Gaffron 
 has fmce been made fuperintendent of the iron- 
 inanufadlory at Spandau, v/here he has in vain 
 attempted to difcover the procefs of the Arabian. 
 
 Europeans are much ftruck to fee the Turks 
 work fitting at every art or handicraft where there 
 is a poffibility of it 3 carpenters, for inftance, per- 
 form the greateft part of their labour fitting. It 
 is deferving of remark, that their toes acquire 
 fuch a degree of ilrength by ufing them, and by 
 their not being cramped up in tight fnoes, that 
 they hold a board upright and firmly with their 
 toes, while wiih their two hands they guide a 
 faw, fitting all the while. Thefe people are able 
 to ftand on the end of their toes, w^hich will fup- 
 port the whole weight of their body. 
 
 We have, in Europe, certainly falfe ideas with 
 
 refpecft 
 
222 CHAP t ER Vli 
 
 tefpeSi to the utility of fhoes, in preventing the 
 feet of children from becoming too broad. The 
 Arabs, who when children wear no ihoes, and 
 when they are grown up, only fandals or flippers,; 
 have the mofl: beautiful feet. 
 
 In fome parts of Afia, I have feen cupolas, of 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, 
 as the cupola is to be a larger or fmaller portion 
 of a fphere ; to the top of this is faftened a flrong 
 pole, fo as to move in all directions, dnd the end 
 of it defcribes the inner part of the cupola ; 
 lower down is fixed to the pofh another pole, 
 which reaches to the top of the outer part 
 of the perpendicular wall, and defcribes the out- 
 iide of the cupola, giving the difference of thick- 
 nefs of the mafonry at top and bottom, and every 
 intermediate part, with the greateft pofTible ex- 
 aftnefs. Where they build their cupolas with 
 bricks, and inftead of lime ufe gypfum, finifhing 
 one layer all round before they begin another, 
 only fcaffolding for the workmen is required to 
 clofe the cupola at top. 
 
 At Baffora, where they have no timber but 
 the wood of the date- tree, wiiich is like a cab- 
 bage ftalk, they m.ake arches without any frame* 
 The mafon with a nail and a bit of firing de- 
 fcribes a femicircle on the ground, lays his bricks, 
 
 fattened 
 
TtJRKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 21^ 
 
 faflened 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 parts placed on the wall. They 
 proceed thus till the whole arch is finiflied. This 
 part is only half a brick thick ; but it ferves 
 them to turn a flronger arch over it. 
 
 The cities of Bagdad and Baflbra are moflly 
 built of bricks dried in the fun, v/hich fland 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 fmgular 
 manner ; each room was a cupola, and refem- 
 bled a hay flack, fome of them a fugar loaL 
 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 wails were compofed of 
 clay and gravel, and were exceedingly hard. 
 The method 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 
 
2 24 CHAPTER Vf- 
 
 feveral (lories, and very fpacious. The walls 
 are always plaflered with lime and fand, and 
 Hand fome centuries. Thefe arc very fuperior 
 to the mud walls of coltages in fome parts of 
 England, where the earth is ufed very moifl, and 
 mixed with fhraw. The ancient Romans built 
 in the fame manner as in France. The excel- 
 lence of the Venetian plafter floors, fo much ad- 
 mired for their hardnefs and beautiful polifh, 
 depends entirely on their being flirongly beaten. 
 The compolition is only frefli lime and fand, 
 with pieces of marble, ufed almofl dry, and 
 beaten till they are quite hard, then ground 
 even and polifhed. Common earth as well as 
 lime-mortar acquires an incredible degree of 
 hardnefs by compreffion, if it contains no more 
 moifture than is neceilary to make its parts unite. 
 A kind of artificial flone m.ay be m.ade of gravel 
 with a little lime, very ilrongly prefTed, or 
 beaten into moulds. 
 
 I have fcen pradifed a method oi filtering 
 'water by afceniion, which is much fuperior to 
 our filtering fhones, or other methods by defcent, 
 in wdiich, in time, particles of the flone, or the 
 finer fand, make a paiTage along Vvdth the water. 
 
 They make tvvo wells, from five to ten itct 
 or any depth, at a fmall diftance, which have a 
 communication at bottom. The feparation mufh 
 be of clay well beaten, or of other fubilanccs 
 
 uiipervious 
 
tURKlSH ARtS AT^ti SCIENCES. 225 
 
 ihipervious to water. The two w^ells are then 
 filled with fand and gravel. The opening of that 
 into which the water to be filtered is to run, 
 inuil be fomewhat higher than that into which 
 the v/ater is to afcend, and this mull riot have' 
 fand quite up to its brim, that there may be 
 room for the filtered water, or it may, by a fpout, 
 run into a velTel placed for that purpofe. The 
 greater the difference is between the height of 
 the two wells, the fafler the water will filter ; but 
 the lefs it is the better^ provided a fufEcient 
 quantity of water be fupplied by it. 
 
 This may be pradiifed in a cafk, tub, jar, or 
 other vefTel. The water may be conveyed to 
 the bottom by a pipe^ the lower end having a 
 fpunge in it, or the pipe may be filled with 
 coarfe fand, and would be ufeful ort board fhips. 
 
 It is evident that all fuch pafticles, which by 
 their gravity are carried down in filtration by 
 defcent, will not rife with the water In filtration 
 by afcenfion. 
 
 The Arabians and the Turks have a preparat- 
 tion of milk, which has fimilar qualities to the 
 kumifs of the Kalmuks : by the firft it is called 
 k^an, by the Turks yaoiirt. 
 
 To make it, they put to new milk made hot 
 over the fire fo me old laban (or yaourt.) In a 
 few hours, according to the temperature of the 
 air, it becomes curdled, of an uniform confift- 
 
 Q encej 
 
226 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 enccj and a mod plealant acid ; the cream is In 
 great part feparated, leaving the curd light and 
 feniitranfparent. The whey is much lefs fubje(fb 
 to fcparate than in curds made with rennet with 
 us, for the purpofe of making cheefe. 
 
 Yaourt has this lingular quality, that left to 
 {land it becomes daily Tourer, and at laft dries, 
 without having entered into the putrid fermen- 
 tation. In this fhate it is preferved in bags, and 
 in appearance refembles prefTed curds after they 
 have been broken by the hand. This dry ya- 
 ourt, mixed with water, becomes a fine cooling 
 food or drink, of excellent fervice in fevers of the 
 inflammatory or putrid kind. It feems to have 
 none of thofe qualities which make milk impro- 
 per in fevers. Frefli yaourt is a great article of 
 food among the natives, and Europeans foon 
 become fond of it. 
 
 No other acid will make the flime kind of 
 curd : all that have been tried, after the acid 
 fermentation is over, become putrid. In Ruflia 
 they put their milk in pots in an oven, and let 
 it (land till it becomes four, and this they ufe 
 as an article of food in that ilate, or make cheefe 
 of it, but it has none of the qualities of yaourt, 
 though, when it is new, it has much of the tafbe. 
 Perhaps new milk curdled with four milk, and 
 that again ufed as a ferment, and the fame pro- 
 cefs continued, might, in time, acquire the qua- 
 3 litics 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 227 
 
 Ikies of yaourt, which nev^r can be made in Tur- 
 key without fome old yaourt*. 
 
 They give no rational account how it was 
 firfl made J fome of them told me an angel 
 taught Abraham how to make it, and others, 
 that an angel brought a pot of it to Hagar, which 
 was the firfl: yaourt (or leban.) 
 
 It merits attention as a delicious article of 
 food, and as a medicine, 
 
 I will here relate the manner the Tatars and 
 Kalmuks make their kumis, or fermented mare's 
 milk. 
 
 *' Take of mare's milk of one day any quan- 
 tity, add to it a fixthpart of water, an eighth part 
 of the foureft cow's milk that can be got, but at 
 a future period a fmaller portion of old kumis 
 will better anfwer the purpofe of fouring; 
 cover the veiTel with a thick cloth, and fet it in a 
 place of moderate warmth ; leave it to reft for 
 twenty-four hours, at the end of which the milk 
 will have become four, and a thick fubftance 
 gathered at top; then with a ftick, made at the 
 lower end in the manner of a churn flaff, beat it 
 
 * I have, fmce this was written, learnt that yaourt may be 
 ma(ie in the following manner : — Put into a bafon a ipoonful 
 of beer yeaft, or wine lees ; pour on it a quart of boiling milk j 
 when it is formed into a curd, and is become four, take of it a 
 table fpoonful and a half to ferve as a ferment to a frelh quart 
 of milk, in the fame manner as the yeaft. This, after a few repe- 
 titions, will become good yaourt, and lofe the talle of the yeaft by 
 <Jegrees. 
 
 Q 2 till 
 
2ZB CHAFTER VI. 
 
 till the thick fubflance above-mentioned be 
 blended intimately with the fubjacent fluid ; let 
 it refl twenty-four hours in a high narrow velTel 
 like a churn. The agitation muil be repeated 
 as before, till the liquor appears to hb perfectly 
 homogenous, and in this ftate it is called kumis 
 (or koumis' uf which the tafle ought to be a- 
 pleafant mixture of fweet and four. Agitation 
 niuft be employed every time before it is ufed. 
 When well prepared in clofe teilels, and kept in 
 a cold place, it will keep three months or more 
 without any injury to its qualit}^ 
 
 ^ It ferves both as drink and food ; is a reflo- 
 rative to the ftomach, and a cure for nervous 
 diforders, phthifis, &c.** 
 
 The Tatars diftil this fermented milk, and 
 obtain from it a fpiritucus liquor, which they 
 drink inftead of brandy. 
 
 The butter, which is moftly ufed in Conflan- 
 tinople, comes from the Crim and the Kuban, 
 They do not fait it, but melt it in large copper 
 pans over a ver}- flow fire, and fcum off what* 
 rifes ; it will then preferve fweet a long time, if 
 the butter was frefli when it v/as melted. We 
 preferve butter moftly by falting. I have had^ 
 butter, which w^hen frelli was melted and fcum'd 
 in the Tatar manner, and then falted in our 
 manner, which kept two years good, and fine 
 tailed. Walhing does not fo elTeclually free- 
 butter 
 
Ti[JRKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES, I229 
 
 •butter from the curd and butter-miik, which it 
 is necefTary to do, in order to preferve it, as boil- 
 ing or melting; when then ialt is added to pre- 
 vent the pure butyrous part from growing ran- 
 cid, we certainly have the bell procefs for pre- 
 serving butter. The melting or boiling, if done 
 >vith care, does not difcolour or injure the tafte. 
 . To the lovers of cofFee,^ a few remarks on the 
 Turkilh manner of making it, in the bed way, 
 may not be unacceptable. 
 
 Coffee, to be good, mud either be ground to 
 an almofl impalpable powder, or it muft be 
 pounded a§ the Turks do, in an iron mortar, with 
 a heavy peflle. The Turks firfl put the coffee 
 idry into the coffee pot, and fet it over a very 
 flow fire, or embers, till it is warm, and fends 
 forth a fragrant fmej], fliaking it often; then 
 from another pot they pour on it boiling water 
 (or rather water in which the grounds of the 
 iaft made coffee had been boiled, and fet to be- 
 come clear) 3 they then hold it a little longer over 
 the fire, till there is on its top a white froth like 
 cream, but it muil 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 fpoonful 
 of cold water to make it clear fooner, or lay a 
 cloth dipt in cold w^ater on the top of the 
 pot. 
 
 q 3 The _ 
 
2^0 CHAPTETv VI. 
 
 The reafon why our Well India coffee is no't 
 fo good as the Yemen coffee is, that on account 
 of the climate it is never fuffered to hang on the 
 trees till it is perfedly ripe ; and in the voyage 
 it acquires a tafte from the bad air in the hold 
 of the fhip. This may be remedied in Italy, 
 by expofing it to the fun two or three months : 
 with us, boiling water fhouid be poured on it, 
 and let to ftand till it is cold, then it muft be 
 waflied with other cold water, and, laftly, dried 
 in an oven. Thus prepared, it will be nearly as 
 good as the beft Turkey coffee. It fhouid be 
 roafted in an open earthen or iron pan, and the 
 flower it is roafted the better. As often as it 
 crackles it muft be taken off the fire. The 
 Turks often roaft it in a baker's oven while it is 
 heating. 
 
 The prefervation of yeaft having been a fub* 
 jed of much refearch in this country, the follow^ 
 ing particulars may perhaps deferve attention. 
 On the coaft of Perfia my bread was made, in the 
 EngiiQi manner, of good wheat flour, and with 
 tlie yeaft generally ufed there. It is thus pre^ 
 pared : take a fmall tea cup or wine glafs full of 
 fplit or bruifed peafe, pour on them a pint of 
 boiling water, and let the whole in a veflel all 
 night on the hearth, or any other warm place j 
 the water will be a good yeaft, and have a froth 
 on its top next morning, In this cold climate, 
 ^fpecially at a cold feafori, it fhouid ftand longer 
 
 to 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 2^1 
 
 to ferment, perhaps tweny-four or forty-eight 
 hours, and the quantity of peafe (liould be larger: 
 experience mufh determine this. The above 
 quantity made me as much bread as a half quar- 
 tern loaf, the quality of which was very good and 
 light. 
 
 A fpring, whi^h operates both on the indi- 
 vidual and national charadler of the modern Eu- 
 ropean with a force fecond only to that of poli- 
 tical inftitution, is commerce. Upon the views 
 entertained on this fubjecl by a people ; upon 
 the extent and modes of their praftice, and upon 
 the chara(5ber which they maintain with refpe<fl 
 to it, depends much of their importance as a 
 nation. 
 
 With reo;ard to the 2;eneral ideas entertained 
 by all ranks in Turkey, relative to commerce, 
 they are nolefs narrow and abfurd than ail their 
 ether opinions, " We lliould not trade," fay 
 they, " with thofe beggarly nations, who come 
 *' to buy of us rich articles of merchandize, and 
 *' rare commodities, which we ought not to fell 
 "to them, but we fliould trade with thofe who 
 " bring to us ufeful and^ valuable articles, with- 
 *' out the labour of manufadturing, or the trou- 
 " blc of imiporting them on our part.'* Upon 
 this principle it is that Mocha coffee is prohi- 
 bited to be fold to infidels. It is therefore no 
 wonder that the foreign commerce of the Turks 
 
 Q 4 is 
 
23^ CHAPTE |L yy. 
 
 is comparatively trifling ; their trade is moftly 
 from province to province, and even this is in- 
 conceivably narrowed by the wapt of mutual con- 
 fidence, and the ignorance an^ fhort-iightednefs 
 of their views. They have few bills of exchange, 
 or any of thofe modes of tranfadling buiinefs 
 which the ingenuity and enterprife of commer- 
 cial nations have invented for the facilitation of 
 commercial intercourfe. 
 
 The effeds which the infecurity of property, 
 aqd the watchful avarice of the government pro- 
 duce upon commerce, are ftill more ftriking. 
 In an extenfive trade capital and credit mud be 
 alike great, but from both of thefe the Turk i^ 
 cut off; he dares not make a difplay of wealth ; 
 and if he has been fo fortunate as to accumulate 
 a large fum of money, his hrit care is to conceal 
 it from view, left it (liould attract the blood- 
 fuckers of power. The neceiTary copfequence 
 of this is^ that credit, that vital fpring of com- 
 nierce, cannot be created, and inftead of thofe 
 commercial connections which in this part of 
 Europe ramify fo widely, and render commercial 
 operations fo eafy, all buhnefs is tranfa6led either 
 by principals themfelves, or their immediate fac- 
 tors, 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 Turl; fo averfe to engage 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 233 
 
 in undertakings of great extent and contingent 
 advantage ; the difpofition of it by will affords 
 them little means of feif gratification in viewing 
 their inheritance tranfmitted 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 refpecfl, 
 v^ithout putting them in a ficuation not to be 
 able to tranfmit it another generation to their 
 pofterity ; thofe who hold any office of the porte 
 know that thev have the fultan for their heir, and 
 his pafhas or other officers for their executors ; 
 hence it is that pofterity is of fo little confe- 
 quence in the eyes of the Turk, that he is feldom 
 induced to confult much their welfare ; and the 
 hofpitals, caravanfaries, fountains, bridges, &c, 
 built for charitable purpofes, only originate in the 
 oftentation or fuperftitious fears of their founders, 
 who build them for the repofe of their fouls, or 
 to perpetuate the reputation of their piety. 
 
 The natural refult of this combination of cir- 
 cumftances is, that commerce is every where 
 checked; no emulation takes place, no com- 
 munication of difcoveries, no firm and foiid 
 aftbciation of intereft , their mechanical arts are 
 in many inftances w^orfe cultivated now than they 
 Vv^ere a century ago, particularly the tempering 
 of fabres -, and fome of their mauufadures have 
 gone entirely to 4£cay. 
 
 It 
 
§34 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 It remains only to fpeak of the moral charac- 
 ter which they maintain as traders ; and this has 
 been varioufly reprefented. All ranks of people 
 have feme flight kind of commerce, or rather a 
 fort of pedling trade among themfelves, and 
 confequently the dillindbive charader of the 
 different ranks will appear in this as well as in 
 other circumflances. Amongfb all of them a 
 certain degree of artifice is common^^and is fcarce- 
 ly thought diflionGurable, fuch as the corrupt- 
 ing of brokers and all thofe who are concerned in 
 making bargains ; but the ofhcers and depen- 
 dents of the porte are univerfally remarked as 
 the mofl venal and cheating fet of men on the 
 face of the earth. 
 
 Honefty, however, it is faid, in fome meafure 
 diftirguifhes the Turkifh merchant : this may 
 perhaps be true, if we compare him with the 
 crafty Greek, or ftill more fubtle Armenian, 
 who, from the unjufl opprefhons under which 
 they labour, are induced to retaliate by artifice,' 
 on their imperious mafters, the fource of half 
 that tricking and deception commonly laid tQ 
 the charge of the lower orders of fociety. 
 
 Much of the civilization of modern Europe has 
 been with juflice attributed to the influence of 
 female fociety ; to this are owing the high and 
 noble pafTions which excite mankind to deeds 
 of a6live patriotifm and benevolence, and the 
 foftcr pleafures which ornament and endear the 
 
 focial 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 235 
 
 foclal circle. It will be worth while to confider 
 how far then woman, " laft and heft of all God^s 
 " vjorks^^ made to foften the ferocity of man, 
 was made in vain for thefe barbarians ; whofe 
 love is fenfuality without friendfhip or efteem. 
 
 Polygamy is generally found to be deftru6live 
 to the finer feelings ; it is fo in Turkey. The 
 rich man (who alone is enabled tofupport feverai 
 females) regards them only as the inftrumentsof 
 his pleafure, and fceks their fociety with no other 
 view; hence the women themfelves have na 
 cultivation of mind, but live a ftupid folitary 
 life,furroundedby flaves,orbywomen as ignorant 
 and fpiritlefs as themfelves. Moral virtue and 
 intellectual eminence are alike uncultivated by 
 them, and the defcriptions of elegance and tafte 
 difcoverable in their amufements, their gardens, 
 and apartments, exift only in the imagination of 
 travellers, who, like Lady M. Montague, aim ra* 
 ther to aftonifli than to inflrucl. 
 
 The women in general only want an opportu- 
 nity to become unfaithful to their hufbands, and 
 the propofition generally comes from them ; but 
 it is attended with great danger. If a common 
 Mahomedan proftitute even be catched with a 
 Chriftian, (he is put into a fack and drowned, 
 and the man put to death, except he become a 
 Mahomedan, which will not always fave both 
 their lives. Chriflians of the covintry have often 
 
 preferred death. 4 
 
 Marriage 
 
2^G € HAPTER VI. 
 
 Marriage Is with the Mahomedans merely a 
 civil contract ; the wife brings no portion to the 
 hufband, but the hufband ftipulates in the mar- 
 riage contradl, which is executed before a judge, 
 to allow a certain portion to the wife. The con- 
 tra(5ls are of two kinds, the nikiah and the kapin ; 
 the former is the proper legal marriage, and 
 every Mahomedan is reftralned by the koran to 
 four wives of this defcription. This contract 
 fpeciiies a certain fum, which is to be given to 
 the wife in cafe of repudiation, or of her hufband-s 
 death. The other contrad: is onjy an agreement 
 to live together for a certain period, at the ex- 
 piration of which a fpecified fum is to be given 
 to the woman. It is a jufi: obfervation of Baron 
 de Tott, that the kapin or temporary marriage is 
 a necefTary confequence of the general inflitution 
 of polygamy. A feparation m^y be demanded 
 by either party ; if it be by the woman, (lie goes 
 before the judge, and pronounces the following 
 formula: '* Nikia-hum khalal^ haJJium iizad^'' i. 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 vvhich he cannot take her back until he has 
 fubmitted to 4 peculiar indecent and immoral 
 ceremony. 
 
 In converfation the Turks fometimes difplay 
 good natural fenfe ; but the wit for which they 
 have been celebia,ted is no where to be found. 
 
 This 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 2J7 
 
 This is rufficiently evident from the exiflence of 
 the mtifahibsyov profefTed fpeakers, who are indeed 
 Jitte better than buffoons, but who are hired 
 by the opulent to amufe their company. Can 
 there poffibly be a greater imputation on the fo- 
 cial powers of a people, than their adoption of 
 fuch a pradice ? They cannot or dare not fpeak 
 fo as to keep up amufingor inftru6tive converfa- 
 tiony and they therefore call in the aid of hired 
 talkers. Derviflies, particularly thofe who havo 
 the reputation of being mad, but who generally 
 are more rogues than fools, often attach them- 
 felves to the great, and amufe the compan}\' 
 Thefe people fometimes take very great liber- 
 ties in their fpeechesy which is excufed in thent 
 on account of their holy frenzy. 
 
 A free people are a focial people, fond of 
 friendly intercourfe. Cheerful converfe and un- 
 referved communication of fentiment foften the 
 nature, refine the manners, expand the heart,^ 
 and enlarge the underftanding. Freedom of 
 fpeaking and afting is the fource of civilization. 
 
 A nation of flaves is a nation difunited ; no 
 focial ties^ no unbofoming of friendfbip; fufpi- 
 cion and fear is in every bread ; converfaticn iS' 
 uninterefting, and confequently not fought after; 
 hired buffoons and low jefters are the fpeakers to 
 the gloomy audience, or they fit in fad and ftu- 
 pid folitude, fmoking a- narcotic herb, or taking 
 
 lethargic- 
 
238 CHAPTER Vi. 
 
 lethargic opium; infulting haughtinefs and rldi-* 
 culous pomp take the place of that elevation 
 of fentiment, and dignity of charadtr, which 
 alone exalts the man of high birth or othce abeve 
 his fellow citizen ; difguft and gloom hang over 
 their countenances, and innocent mirth is deem* 
 ed indecent. 
 
 When a Turk drinks wine, it is with an in* 
 tention of being intoxicated; he therefore fwal- 
 low^s a large portion at one draught, and repeats 
 it till he is beafhiy drunk ; or if he is fearful of 
 being feen in a flate of drunkennefs, the quantity 
 he prefcribes to himielf to make him contented 
 (as they call it) he drinks off all at once. Such 
 a method of drinking wnne, and with fuch a 
 view, certainly entitles drinkers to the contempt 
 they are held in in Turkey. 
 
 From thefe circumftances, which may be con- 
 fidered as forming the more ornamental part of 
 the manners of a nation, we pafs to thofe more 
 important points which conftitute the bafis of 
 their moral chara^ler. 
 
 And here it mull be obferved, that fo wade and 
 various an empire as Turkey cannot but have 
 ftriking varieties in the morals of its inhabitants; 
 they, however, moflly agree in the great lead- 
 ing points, and the variations are to be accounte^^ 
 for from peculiar circumftances of fituation, 
 originj and habits, I Ihall therefore firft notice 
 
 generally 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. aj9 
 
 generally thofe vices and virtues which belong 
 to the Turks as a nation, and then point out a 
 few of the mofl ilriking differences obfervable in 
 the various provinces of the empire. 
 
 The moral character of the Turks has been 
 reprefented in a favourable light by fome authors 
 upon two principles ; the one,^a connexion of 
 intereft between the Turks and their own coun- 
 try (which is the cafe of mofl of the French 
 writers except Volney) and the other, from a 
 wifh to expofe the vices and follies of other Eu- 
 ropean nations by the contrail. Of the Writers 
 themfelves I fhall hereafter have occafion to 
 fpeak ; the chief points of their defcriptions 
 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, vizierf, 
 pafhas, and judges, felling juflice, can it be fup- 
 pofed that thefe examples have not corrupted 
 the people, though they were naturally good. 
 The truth is, that they have fo little idea of juf- 
 tice themfelves, 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 jufli 
 no man fcarcely.was ever fo corrupted but he 
 would be fo. The European merchants, who 
 have a better opportunity of knowing them 
 than foreign nilaiflers, confined alir.cfl wholly to 
 
 their 
 
240 cIhapter vt. 
 
 their refidence, and ignorant of tht country, or 
 than travellers pafTing hallily through the coun- 
 try, unanimoufly affure us, that they find them 
 very cunning in their dealings, and full of 
 deceit. 
 
 The people are faid to be humane : the peace- 
 able citizen may be fo, as in other parts, or as 
 man naturally is ; but the didates of their reli- 
 gion, 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, a fero- 
 city in them which may ealily be roufed, and when 
 they ftrike, it is with a dagger to the heart. 
 
 The temperance of the Turks,- which is owing 
 in a great meafure to their religion, produces 
 its ufuaLp-Qod effecV in rendering; their intelledts, 
 clear ; their grofs ignorance is not to be attri- 
 buted to their want of natural fenfe ; the foil 
 mufh not only be in itfelf rich, it muft be culti- 
 vated. The Turk has indeed a good capacity,' 
 ant^an habitual prudence, but his government 
 ano^religion are eternal bars to his improvement. 
 Openneis of mind and benevolence cannot exifb ' 
 where defpotifm renders every m.an fufpicious,- 
 nor can the votary of an intolerant and fangui- 
 nary religion cultivate liberality and fcience. 
 
 As to the politenefs afcribed to the Turks by 
 fome authors, I never could difcover it : the 
 Turkitli ferocity, perhaps, excited fear in them,- 
 
 and 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 24I 
 
 and produced reCped : if a man found himfelf 
 alone with a tiger, and efcaped unhurt, he would 
 fay it was a good-natured animal. The alTuming 
 fuperiority 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 refpecl ; if the beaft then only growls, 
 but does not bite, he is praifed for his civility. 
 If you know their language, you will obferve the 
 difference of their expreffions and their manners 
 from thofe they ufe to their brother Mahome- 
 dans ; you will obferve, at befl, an infulting 
 condefcendence, which plainly befpeaks their 
 contempt of you : they are ignorant of, and 
 above pradifing the true principles of politenefs, 
 Madame de Genlis fays, politenefs confifts in mak- 
 ing others appear every thing, yourfelf nothing; 
 a Turk makes himfelf every thing, you nothing. 
 We have only to obferve the ainfcairadors 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 pofb- 
 horfes which draw them through it : when they 
 return, they reprefent the men as monkies, be- 
 caufe they are adlive, and the women as profti- 
 tutes, becaufe they are unveiled, and live in fo- 
 ciety with men. Not one vv^ord of this is exag- 
 gerated. The language and the addrefs of the 
 ppliteft minifter of the porte to a foreign ambaf- 
 
 R fador 
 
±^Z CHAPTER vr. 
 
 fador very much refembles the civility of a polite 
 German baron to his vaffal. 
 
 Even their mod ftrenuous admirer, Peyflbnel, 
 acknowledges that Turkey remains two centuries 
 behind the reft of Europe in refped: to fcience ; 
 that it has jiegledled naval and military tadics 
 and difcipline j and that it allows vices in many 
 parts of its adminiftration to go uncorreded. 
 
 That there is a confider;ible difference of cha- 
 racter and morals in the different parts of the 
 empire has been before obferved : the worft are 
 the people of Anatolia, particularly thole bor- 
 dering on the Black Sea; they are cowardly, 
 treacherous, robbers, affaffins, and indecent.; 
 thofe of Conftantinople are foftened by a city 
 life; thofe of Aleppo are the moft refined and civil 
 among themfelves, and remarkably decent, but, 
 like all the Afiatics, hold Europeans in great con- 
 tempt, and even hatred ; at Damafcus they are 
 furious zealots ; the people of Smyrna are fa- 
 vage and dangerous ; in European Turkey they 
 have fewer prejudices againft Chriftians, becaufe 
 they know more of theqi, or rather becaufe they 
 are lefs bigoted enthufiafts than at Damafcus, or 
 in Egypt ; at Bagdad they are lefs prejudiced by 
 their religion, and more open to inftrudtion, than 
 in other parts of Afia ; the people of BaiTora, a 
 mixture of Arabs, Perfians, and a few Turks, are 
 mild and docile. It is lingular, that thefe people, 
 
 from 
 
TURKISH ARTS AND SCIENCES. 243. 
 
 from their communication with India and with ' 
 Europeans, know infinitely more of our manners, 
 arts, and arms, and are more inclined to adopt 
 them, than thofe in the frontier towns in Eu- 
 rope, who are Hill prejudiced, inlblent, and 
 proud. The Arabians of the defert generally 
 pay nearly as much refped to a European as to 
 one of their own country, and more than to a 
 Turk, whom they mortally hate. 
 
 I could here wifh to refcue the Arabs of the 
 Great Defert from the imputation of robbery, 
 I think no nation lefs deferves it. I however 
 except the borderers^ and thofe who wander into 
 countries v/hofe inhabitants have fixed habita- 
 tions, as Eg}^pt, &c. I have lived with them ; I 
 know their habits, and the fimplicity and honefly 
 of their hearts ; I have feen them in their peace- 
 able habitations, and when they have been at- 
 tacked I have gone with them into the battle, 
 as their laws of hofpitality require. 
 
 They religioully obferve their laws of peace 
 and war : it is from ignorance of them that their 
 condudl has been mifconftrued. Thefe laws 
 agree with thofe which fome European nations 
 have eftablifhed in their maritime code ; that a 
 neutral flag protedbs an enemy's property. If the 
 conductors of caravans or other lefler bodies are 
 friends, the perfons and property of enemies are 
 fuffered to pafs unmoleiled ; they even enjoy all 
 
 R z the 
 
\ 
 
 244 CHAPTER Vr. 
 
 the rights of hofpitality in common with their 
 friends. 
 
 But the Arabs confiderthe Turks as enemies, 
 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, ftrip 
 them naked. They neither kill their prifoners nor 
 make Haves of them, as the Turks do, but they 
 tell them to go to their nation and provide them- 
 felves with arms to meet them again in battle. 
 
 It is true that people thus ftript often die of 
 thirfh or hunger ; but it is from ignorance of an- 
 other cuftom of the Arabs, which is, to bar- 
 gain with their enemies to condudl 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 prifoners 
 to Bagdad, Baflbra, or whatever place is agreed 
 on, where, the money being paid, the government 
 mffers the Arabs to depart unmolefted : this 
 ■Contrail is never violated, as the confequences 
 w^ould be fatal to others. 
 
 With a large caravan, when there are wars 
 in the defert, there are generally condudlors 
 who are of other nations, befides that of which 
 it is compofed, who appear as chief condu6lors 
 alternately, according to the nation they meet. 
 This evafion is fometimes difcovered, and the 
 caravan plundered. 
 
t 245 ] 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 On the State of Population in the TiirkiJIi Empire, 
 
 THE aim of all rational politics is to aug^ 
 ment the numbers, and increafe the hap- 
 pinefs of mankind; and hence the ftate of popu- 
 lation is generally the mod accurate flandard of 
 political error or improvement* From the 
 preceding pages we fliall have feen fuiBcient rea- 
 fon to apprehend that the population of the Tur- 
 ki(h empire cannot be, in the prefent day, at all 
 proportioned to the extent of its territory. The 
 religious diftindions which deprefs into fo abje6b 
 a ftate of llavery one great part of the commu- 
 nity, and the infecurity of property, which affeds 
 every rank and condition, are both caufes, whofe 
 combined operation mufh greatly fubtracl from 
 the numbers of a people, which form the vital 
 ftrength of a ftate. Where the cultivator is not 
 fure of reaping the corn which he fow^s, he will 
 fow only what the im.mediate neceiiity of fubfif- 
 tence requires ; the political ftate of the country 
 prevents his accumulation of capital, and even 
 that fmall portion which he may chance tapof- 
 fefs, he will not hazard in fpeculations of fo very 
 uncertain profit. In this languiftiing ftate of do* 
 meftic agriculture, Conftantinople looks for a 
 fupply of corn to foreign channels, particularly 
 
246 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Egypt, Moldavia, Walachia, the Crimea, and 
 Poland* 
 
 From a view of the flate of Egypt, it will ap- 
 pear that little dependence can be placed on the 
 permanence of this fupply , flill lefs wotild a wife 
 government look to markets, whieh,^ like the 
 others which I have enumerated, are either im- 
 mediately under the direction of a hoftile llate^ 
 or perpetually liable to its incurlions. The 
 Ruffians are, indeed, wife enough, in time of 
 peace, to encourage their own agriculture, by 
 fupplying Confbantinople with corn from their 
 provinces. The Crimea, on which the porte 
 tifed greatly to depend^ has been deferted by 
 riioft of its Tatar inhabitants iince it fell under 
 the imperial dominion ; but the Ruffian and 
 other adventurers, who now occupy it, are mak« 
 ing great endeavours to revive its commerce 
 ind agriculture ; thefe, however, as well as the 
 fupplies of Poland, are in the hands of Ruffia, 
 and in the event of a v^^ar ihc can not only with- 
 hold them, but eafily cut off the fupplies of Mol- 
 davia and Walachia, thus expofing the Turkifh 
 capital to the utmofi diftrefs. Notwithilanding 
 thefe evident confcquences of their prefent fyf- 
 iem of policy, the divan purfue thofe methods of 
 fupply which give them the Icail immediate trou- 
 ble, totally regardlefs both of the decay of their 
 own agriculture, and of the future deftrudioh 
 
 whicL 
 
TURKISH i^OPtLAtlpN. 247 
 
 \\'hich this fyflem threatens to their very exif- 
 tence as a nation* It is not only in theory that 
 thefe evils are to be apprehended ; a compari- 
 fon of the prefent and paft ftate of the Turkilh 
 population will evince the truth of the foregoing 
 proportions i 
 
 We know not what was the papulation of this 
 vafl empire in very remote ages— from the evi- 
 dence 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 depopu- 
 lation has been^ in latter times> aftoniftiingly 
 rapid. 
 
 In earlier times the chafm was in fome meafure 
 filled by the inhabitants they carried away from 
 the countries they conquered, or into which they 
 made their barbarous incurfions. Hungary and 
 Poland have furniflied them with millions. 
 
 The great caufes of this depopulation are the 
 following : 
 
 ift. The plague, of which the empire is never 
 entirely free. ' 
 
 2dly. Thofe terrible diforders w^hich almoft 
 always follow it, at leafl in Afia. 
 
 3dly. Epidemic and endemic maladies in Afia, 
 which make as dreadful ravages a^s the plague 
 itfelf, and w^hich frequently vilit that part of the 
 empire. 
 
 R 4 4thly» 
 
248 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 4thly. Famine, owing to the want of precau- 
 tion in the government, when a crop of corn fails, 
 and to the avarice and villany of the paflias, 
 who generally endeavour to proiit by this dread- 
 ful calamity. 
 
 5th and lailly, the fickneffes which alwavs 
 follow a famine, and which occafion a much 
 greater mortality. 
 
 The plague is more mortal in prbportion as 
 it vifits a country feldom. At Conftantinople 
 it continues often for a great number of years to- 
 gether : it is fcarcely perceived in winter, and 
 frequently (hips fall to Europe with clean bills 
 of healthy though it is lurking in infeded clothes, 
 and in diftant and little frequented parts of the 
 city. In fpring it breaks out again. No cal- 
 culation can be formed of the numbers that die 
 
 I 
 
 of it in tiie capital , for their lofs is never long 
 perceived, there being aconftant influx of people 
 from the country to the capital. Some years the 
 m.ortality docs not appear to be confiderable, but 
 at other times they have wliat is called a great 
 Jicknefs, which carries olfan aftoniiJiino: number. 
 The confumption of provifions has been reduced, 
 during fach a plague, to three-fourths of what 
 it was when it began to rage. 
 
 It vifits moil parts of Afia every ten or twelve 
 years, and carries off an eighth or tenth of the 
 inhabitants, and fomctimes a fourth o;-, more. 
 
 The 
 
TURKISH POPULATION. 2,49 
 
 The farther eail a country is fituated, the lefs 
 frequently it is vifited. It is faid, it never goes 
 where the oUve tree does not grow. It reaches 
 BafTora only about every ninetieth year ; but 
 then this fcourge is moft dreadful. The lad 
 plague carried off nine-tenths of the inhabitants, 
 and that city had been ninety-fix years free from 
 it. Farther eaft it has not been known to go. 
 
 The plague, like the fmall pox, is a diforder 
 never generated by foul air, or the like, but al- 
 ways produced by contad. It, doubtlefs, comes 
 from Egypt, though in Egypt it is frequently 
 received back from Conftantinople. 
 
 Dr. RuiTei fays, the plague which aiTiicced 
 Egypt in 1736, and of which it was faid that 
 10,000 died in one day at Cairo, " zvas the only 
 one that happened in this century^ zvhich zvas he-f 
 lieved by the people of Cairo to have been brought 
 " from Upper Egypt ; the others zvere alzvays thought 
 " to have been imported from Conftantinople or Can- 
 *' dia, but never from Syria or BarbaryJ' 
 
 Hov\^ eafily would a. regular quarantine and 
 fliutting up deliver Turkey from this terrrble 
 fcourge 1 — but what is to be expected but deval- 
 tation from the Turks ? No city has more favou- 
 rable fituations for lazarettoes than Conftantir-- 
 nople — I allude to the Princes Iflands. When 
 the capital has been really free fromi it, it always 
 is brought thither either diredly or indirectly 
 
 from 
 
 
d^O CHAPTER VI i. 
 
 from Egypt, generally by the way of Smyrna v 
 Many people, not attending to this circumftance^ 
 have concluded that it was generated in Con- 
 flantinople, and talk much of the bad air pro- 
 duced by the naftinefs of the ftreets, which is 
 without foundation. The air of Conftantinople 
 IS exceedingly pure and healthy; but no in- 
 fected or impure air, loaded with the miafma of 
 putrefad:ion,&c.will produce the plague, though 
 it may fevers, 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 dif- 
 order which afflided that city in Pericles time. 
 The true plague is never in the air, perhaps (for 
 I fay this with fome doubt) not in the breath of 
 s. peRiferous perfon, at leall the breath cannot 
 convey it above a few feet, as the lluflian fur- 
 geons have fufficiently proved, when the plague 
 was at Mofqua (Mofcow) and at Cherfon more 
 particularly, where thofe furgeons, who touched 
 nothing in the hofpitals, and pulled oil their 
 flio'es'on going out, all efcaped. 
 
 The phyficians at Conftantinople fay, the 
 more they iludy the plague the lefs they know of 
 it ; and as it is there almoft every year, they 
 have more opportunities of feeing this diforder 
 than ^ny others of the profefTion. We learn 
 nothing from the Ruffian phyficians, who ex- 
 
 pofed 
 
TURKISH POPULATION. 2^1 
 
 pofecl themfelves very much in the plague at 
 Mofcow, In 177 1, and in that which broke out 
 in 1783 at Cherfon. (See Mertens's Obferv. 
 and Orreus's Defcriptio Pedis ; alfo Samoillovits^s 
 Memoire fur la Pefte.) Dodor Miltzer. a phy- 
 lician of Mofcow, has written, in German, a large 
 book on the plague, which contains a great nun^- 
 ber of cafes that came under his obfervation ; 
 but as they all tend to fupport a fyftem which 
 he has adopted, it is to be apprehended that the 
 power of prepofTeflion in favour of his fyftem 
 has often milled his judgment. Nor is there 
 any thing very fatisfadlory with refped to the 
 cure to be learned from Dr. Ruflers elaborate 
 treatife on the plague, nor from the more an^ 
 cient authors. It is faid that friftion with oil 
 has lately been difcovered, in Egypt, to be a 
 prefervative, and even a cure; fo much is certain, 
 that the plague is unknown to thofe nations 
 whofe cuftom it is to rub their bodies with oil. 
 It has been obferved at Conftantinople, that 
 thofe who ufed mercurial fridions never catched 
 the plague, how much foever they w^ere expofed 
 to the contagion. May this not have been 
 owing to the greafe rather than to the mercury ? 
 Mr. Matra (who is now agent at Morocco) 
 gave James's powders to an Armenian family, 
 about twenty years ago at Conftantinople, and 
 they recovered, I alfo thought I had performed 
 
 cures 
 
Z^Z CHAPTER VII. 
 
 cures with this famous medicine ; but it has had 
 a fair trial in Ruffia, v/ithout producing any falu* 
 tary effedt, farther than what was to be expefted 
 from an emetic. There is, however, fome reafoa 
 to believe that it may prevent the plague, if 
 adminiftered immediately after the infe5iion, though 
 perhaps any other fudorilic would be equally fer* 
 viceable. 
 
 There is one circumftance, of which it is of 
 importance to determine the truth, as it is of 
 confequence with refpeft to quarantine ; this 
 is, whether the plague communicated per fomi- 
 tern, (that is, by fubfcances which, having im- 
 bibed the pefliferous effluvia or miafma, retain 
 them in an adlive fliate for fome time,) be of a 
 more mortal kind than that by immediate contadl 
 with a difeafed body ; and particularly whether 
 th^fomes become of a more deadly quality by its 
 being long retained in the fubftance, than when 
 newly imbibed by it. 
 
 Dr. Cullen fays, " // appears to me probable 
 " that contagions, as they arife from fomites, are 
 '' more pozverful than as they arife immediately from 
 the human body.'^ 
 
 Dr. Lind fays, " From afixt attention to thisfub- 
 jeB for many years, I fay thefe lafl (vjearing ap- 
 parel, dirty linen, &c. long retained in that impure 
 '* flate) contain a more concentrated and contagious 
 ^' poifon than the newly emitted effluvia or excre- 
 
 " tioti^ 
 
 

 TURKISH POPULATION. 253 
 
 " tions from the fick^ Van Swieten was of the 
 fame opinion. 
 
 On the other hand, Dr. RufTel, in his^Trea- 
 tife of the Plague, thinks differently ; he fays 
 (page 205) " I JJiould be inclhied to doubt that the 
 pejiiferoiis effluvia of a perfon labouring under the 
 plague, after the having been flnit up fome time in 
 nfubftance fitted to imbibe and confine them, zvoidd 
 act more powerfidly on a perfon difpofed to infec^ 
 *^ tion, than the fame effluvia zvould have done at the 
 " inftant of their emanation from the morbid body.^* 
 It certainly would be a ridiculous preiumption 
 in one, who is not a medical man, to decide 
 between fuch great profeflional authorities ; but 
 do not faifls, mentioned by Dr. RulTel himfelf, 
 decide the queftion ? Page 97. fpeaking of the 
 firft of the fix clafies, under which he arranged 
 the cafes which fell under his immediate obferva- 
 tion, he fays, " None of the fck recovered, andmofi 
 of the?n died the fecond or third day ; a very fezv 
 " lived to the fifth.''' — " 'Thefe definitive forms of 
 the difeafe prevailed mo ft at the rise of the plague 
 in 1760, and its resuscitation /// the fpring 
 of the tzvo fubfequent years, decreasing al- 
 
 *' WAYS AS THE DISTEMPER SPREAD : and 
 
 though they zvere found difperfed in every fiage of 
 the pefiilential feafon, yet the mmiber offubje^s of 
 " this clafs zvas proportionably very fmall, compared 
 ^* voith that of others^ Again (page 209) " But a 
 
 *' greater 
 
 
 ii 
 it 
 li 
 
 ii 
 
254 CHAPTER VI t. 
 
 *' greater difficulty than that of perfons not being equally 
 " fufceptible of infeElion^ arifes from the cejfation of 
 ** the plague at a period zvhen the fuppofed contagious 
 *^ effluvia, preferred in apparel, furniture y and other 
 *^ fomites at the end of a peflilential feafon, mufl be 
 ^' allozved not only to exift in a rrnich greater quantity 
 *' than can be fuppofed to be at once accidentally im* 
 *' ported by commerce, but in a fate aljo ofuniverfal 
 *' difperfton over the city^ 
 
 It is an incontrovertible fadl, in which every 
 author agrees, that the plague having ceafed in 
 fummer or in autumn, breaking out again in the 
 fpring, (or at fonK^ other time of the year, whe- 
 ther communicated by infectious fomites remain- 
 ing in apparel, &c. in the fame city, or brought 
 in merchandize, 8cc. from other parts,) that in 
 the beginning fcarcely any one recovers ; that 
 the diforder gradually becomes lefs mortal -, and 
 laflly, that it entirely ccafes. 
 
 Qucre ? May it not be thence concluded, 
 that the reafon of the mortality in the beginning 
 of the plague is owing to the fomites having been 
 confined a longer time, and become thereby more 
 poifonous; that when the plague has raged fome 
 time, and the infedion taken from peftiferous 
 bodies, or effefts lately impregnated with frefli fo- 
 mites, this is the reafon why it is lefs malignant ; 
 that the diforder thus becomes milder, and at 
 length ceafes to be infedious, till the fomites 
 I have 
 
TURKISH POPULATION. 255 
 
 have again acquired an increafed degree of ma- 
 lignity by time ; that the examples mentioned 
 by Dn Ruflel, (page 97.) of cafes of the firfl and 
 mortal elafs, which fome times were found at 
 every feafon, were cafes where the fick had 
 caught infcd:ion from old fomites. This can- 
 not be affirmed, but it cannot, I believe, be con- 
 tradicted, and it would appear, from the gra- 
 dual decline in malignity of the plague, to be 
 probable. 
 
 It would appear that the plague, when it firfl: 
 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 arc 
 more open by the warmth of the feafon, people 
 are more liable to be infeded. Mertens (Hif- 
 toire de la Pefl:e de Mofcow en 1 77 1 ) fays, ** The 
 great cold which reigned during the lafl two months 
 of the year^ fo enervated the pejiilential miafma^ 
 that thofe who ajjijled thejick^ and buried the dead^ 
 were lefs eajily attacked by the contagion y &c,** 
 It appears alfo from him, that frofl will in a very 
 (hort time entirely deilroy the fomites ; he fays, 
 '^ Dr, Poparetjhy told me^ that the carriers of tht 
 *^ dead clothed themf elves zvithJheepJkinSy which had 
 been worn by thofe zvho had had the plague, after 
 having been expofed to a fever e frqfi forty eight 
 " }}0iirs^ and not one of them caught the plague'* 
 
 It 
 
 ii 
 
 
a^"6 • CHAPTER VII. 
 
 It is natural to conclude, that the plague 
 ihould be more mortal in hot weather than in 
 cold ; but it would feem as if the degrees of its 
 pdifon depended not fo much on the ftate of the 
 air as on the old or recent flate of the fomites ; 
 and that the power of the poifon was diminiQied 
 by propagation, till it became at laft little if at 
 all mortal ; at leafb experience, in all places where 
 the plague has raged, feems to prove this. 
 
 It alfo appears, that the fomites may be pre- 
 ferved a long time in ihfeded things, which are 
 not expofed to the air. Dr. Ruflel quotes a 
 lingular inftance of this from Dr. Mackenzie 
 of Conftantinople j it is too interefling not to 
 be repeated : " Count Caftillane had, for three 
 " years running, perfons attacked in the fame manner ^ 
 " in the months of July and Augifl^ notwithfianding 
 " all poffible precaution iifed in cleaning the room^ and 
 ■" even zvhite-zvajhing it* At laft, by my own ad- 
 " vice to his excellency, he built a flight counter-zvally 
 ■*•' fince winch there has been no accident in that room, 
 *^ now five years c.go^\- It has never been deter- 
 mined how long the miafma or effluvia of the 
 ^plague, when fliut up in merchandize or effe6ls, 
 >ftiay remain adive ; there is reafon to believe 
 'that it may many months ; there are, indeed, 
 proofs 6f it in every lazaretto in the Mediter- 
 ranean, (as well as the contagion brought fo far 
 as Holland and England in former times) where 
 
 often 
 
TtTRKISH POPULATION. 257 
 
 often accidents happen to thofe who open cotton 
 bales and other packages ; and this tomes, pro- 
 bably, was only the perfpiration or effluvia from 
 infedled peribns, who laboured at the packing, or 
 perhaps had lain down on fuch merchandize, or 
 fomes attached to their clothes, though they 
 themfelves were not infected; but if by fome ac- 
 cident cotton embued with the pus of pestife- 
 rous buboes or carbuncles ihould be (which is 
 not impolTible) packed into the cotton fent 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 ic 
 is to be hoped that, like the matter of the imali 
 pox, it may lofe its contagious quality of itfelf 
 in a certain time without airing. 
 
 It is, however, evident that expofure to the 
 air \v\\\ deftroy this infedlious quality; that great 
 cold (as has been feen in the inftances quoted 
 from Mertens) will deftroy it very fuddenly ; and 
 it would feem alio, that the rays of the fun and 
 a drying wind will alfo, though not lb rapidly, 
 arreft its poifon, and deftroy it. On this is 
 grounded quarantine, the utility of which no ra* 
 tional man can now doubt, though formerly 
 fuch doubts have exifted. But all quarantines 
 are of no elfedt where the merchandize are net 
 opened and aired ; and as that is not the caf;^ iti 
 England nor in Holland, thofe lazarettces are of 
 n\) kind of ufe ; they retard trade without fecuV- 
 
 6 ir.Z 
 
258 CHAPTER VII, 
 
 ing the country from infedion. The quaran^ 
 tines in the Mediterranean only are efficient. 
 
 In a feparate chapter, treating on the Levant 
 trade, I lliall have occafion to fpeak more at 
 large on quarantine, and the neceffity of making 
 other regulations in this country, than thofe 
 v/hich at prefent exifl. Dr. Ruflel, indeed, has 
 colie(5led every thing that has been faid by 
 others, and has treated this matter fo ably and 
 fo fully himfelf, that it may feem fuperfluous 
 to fay more on that head ; but it appears to 
 me, that he has not reprefented the danger fo 
 llrongly as he faw it ; there now exifts a necef- 
 iity of fpeaking out more plainly. 
 
 We may add another caufe of depopulation,, 
 the tyranny of the pafhas, who, in fome parts of 
 Afia, fo much impoverifli the people, that they 
 prevent marriages being fo frequent as they are 
 where there is lefs danger of being unable to 
 maintain a family y and this gives rife to an abo- 
 minable vice, which brings fterility with it, and 
 when men are fo degraded as to become habitu- 
 ated to it, they lofe the natural inftincl in man 
 for the fair fex. 
 
 Polygamy itfelf is an infiitutlon experience 
 proves to be fo little favourable to population, 
 that the Chriftian families are generally obferved 
 to bo much more proliEc than the Maho- 
 medans. 
 
 Depopulation is firfl: perceived in the country. 
 
 Cities 
 
TURKISIt POP tJL ATION. 259 
 
 Cities are filled up with new recruits of inhabi- 
 tants from the country ; but when the cities be- 
 come defert, and that not merely by the decay 
 of a particular branch of commerce or manufac- 
 ture, or any other fimilar caufe, but for want of 
 people to emigrate from the country, we may 
 eafily believe that depopulation has reached 
 nearly its laft flage. This is the cafe even in 
 thofe parts of the Turkidi empire where manu- 
 factures exift; where there is bread for thofe who 
 will feek employment ; even in thefe places the 
 country is alfo defert, villages uninhabited, and 
 fields, and gardens^ and orchards, lying wafce. 
 
 Let us take a view of the prefent ftate of 
 fome of the moft confiderable cities of Afia. 
 
 Aleppo (Haleb) is the befb built city in the 
 Turkilh dominions, and the people are reputed 
 the moft polite. The late Dr. Rufiel (in his 
 Natural Hiftory of Aleppo) calculated the num- 
 ber of inhabitants, in his time, at about 230,000; 
 at prefent there are not above 40 or 50,000, 
 This depopulation has chiefly taken place fince 
 1 770. As this city is built of a kind of miarble, 
 and the houfes are vaulted, they are not fub- 
 je6t to decay and fall in ruins, though they re- 
 main uninhabited ; they itand a monument 
 of the deftrudtion of the human race : whole 
 ftreets are uninhabited and bazars abandoned. 
 Fifty or lixty years ago were counted forty 
 
 s 2. large 
 
26o CHAPTER Vll. 
 
 large villages in the neighbourhood, all bulk 
 of flone ; their ruins remain, but not a fingle 
 peafant dwells in them. The plague vifits 
 Aleppo every ten or twelve years. About four 
 years ago it experienced one of the moft dreadful 
 famines ever known. 
 
 The whole coaft of Syria, which a few years^ 
 ag^o was tolerably populous, is now almofi: a- 
 defert. Tripoli, Sidon, Laodecia, are infigni- 
 ficant places, and the country around them al- 
 moft abandoned. Maundrell, about a century 
 ago, complained of the rapid depopulation of 
 Syria ; but from his account it was then in a 
 flourilbing condition compared with its prefent 
 ftate. 
 
 Mojul has loft half its inhabitants, and is in a 
 ruinous ftate. 
 
 Diarbekir was the mofh populous city in th^ 
 Turkifli empire but a few years ago ; it might 
 ftill have been counted among the firft cities in 
 the world for' magnitude, and, notvvithfhanding 
 the exaggerated accounts of Cairo and Conftan- 
 tinople, it contained tiiore people in its walls 
 than either of thefe cities. In i 756, there were 
 400,000 inhabitants, at prefent there are only 
 "ijCjOoo. In 1757, fwarms of locufts devoured 
 all the vegetation of the furrounding country, 
 and occafioned a famine; an epidemic iick- 
 nefs followed, which carried off 300,000 fouls 
 
 in 
 
TURKISH POPULATION. 261 
 
 in the city of Diarbekir, beiides thofc wh® 
 periflied in the adjacent villages. The plague 
 vifits this country every thirty or forty years> 
 
 At Merdin there are about i>ooo fouls. The 
 ficknefs of 1757 was fatal to this city and its 
 environs : the greateft part of the town is unin- 
 hr.blted ; it is fubject to endemical ficknefles. 
 
 Bagdat contained from 125 to 130,000 in- 
 habitants ; at prefent there are fearcely 2.Q5000. 
 The plague of 1773 carried off two-thirds of 
 the people. Here likewife are feen whoi^ ilreets 
 ^ad bazars defolate. 
 
 BaJJora (or Balfora^ i. e. Bi-al-fura, called by 
 the Arabs often Al-fura) contained, twenty years 
 ago, nearly ico,ooo inhabitants ^ the lafc ac- 
 counts from thence mention only 7 or 8,000, 
 
 Between Anger a and Conftantinople there is 
 a confiant communication by caravans : there 
 are old people at Confcantinople v;ho remember 
 forty or fifty villages in the road, of which no 
 veftiges now remain, in thefe parts the buildr 
 ings are not durable, being chiefly timber frames 
 filled with brick or earth, aiul plaftered oven 
 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^ of which 
 about fifty are not known, even by name, to the 
 prefent concjufpors of caravans. No longer 
 
 s 3 ago 
 
262 GHAPT ER VII. 
 
 ago than 1768, it was alTerted, that upwards of 
 two hundred villages in this part of the country 
 had been forfaken, on account of the oppreffions 
 exercifed over the inhabitants. 
 
 Though we fliould admit that the people in 
 Turkey multiply as much as it is pofTible for 
 the human fpecies to do (which is however very 
 far from being the cafe) yet flill it is impoITible 
 that the fruitfulnefs of the women can keep pace 
 Vv'ith the mortality of the plague, and the other 
 iickneffes which aliiid: this empire, particularly 
 in Afia. If ftill there be a confiderable number 
 of people difperfed over this vafl trad of country, 
 what muil not the population have been a few 
 centuries ago ? Collectively indeed the number 
 is fomewhat confiderable, but each diftridlj con- 
 fidered feparateiy, is a defert compared with 
 the mofl thinly inhabited region in Europe. 
 
 If we proceed to a regular calculation, and 
 take for a datum the greateft number of inhabi- 
 tants thefe countries could maintain four cen- 
 turies ago, and allow the greateft number of 
 births experience of the mofl proliiic nations 
 will juftify 3 and, on the other hand, deduct at 
 every period they are vifited by the plague and 
 other fickneiles the number of deaths which 
 then take place, the refult will be a much fmaller 
 number of inhabitants than there now really ex- 
 ifts^ if we reafon a pjlcrioriy we (hall fmd that 
 6 four 
 
TURKISH POPULATION. 263 
 
 four centuries ago there were a much greater 
 number than it is polTible there could have been 
 in facft^ 
 
 It is therefore reafonable to conclude, that 
 idepopulation could not formerly have made fo 
 rapid a progrefs as at prefent ; and that in a 
 century more, things remaining in their prefent 
 fituation, the population of the Turkifh empire 
 will be nearly ex tin 61. 
 
 Smyrna is the only city in Turkey where de- 
 population does not appear ; but how often are 
 jiot its inhabitants renewed ? It is the only 
 place of coniiderable trade in Turkey, and from 
 the refort of foreign fliips, as it is the centre of 
 the export and import trade, it mufi: long con* 
 tinue to flourilh. 
 
 It is worthy of remark, that the Curds in the 
 mountains, and other independent or rebellious 
 tribes, who do not mix v;ith the Turks, are ex- 
 empt from the mortality occafioned by all the 
 calamities which alfii6t the countries more imme = 
 diately under the iron fceptre of the porte. 
 
 I fliould have mentioned a part of Bulgaria, 
 and a great part of European Turkey, except the 
 countries towards the Adriatic and Hungary, as 
 almoft deftitute of inhabitants. This flate of 
 the country is particularly fbriking on the road 
 from Belgrade through Sophia, Phillippopolis, 
 and Adrianople, to Conltantinople. The north 
 or north eaftern part of Bulgaria is populous. 
 
 s 4 In 
 
a64 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 In taking a feparate view of European Turkey, 
 of Greece, and of Egypt, we Tnall find fimilar 
 traces of that devaftation, occafioned by the 
 complicated evils under which this empire has fo 
 long groaned j at prefent I fliall pay a particular 
 confideration to the ftate of the capital itfelf. 
 
 Conjlantlnople is the more deferving of our en- 
 quiry, becaufe, erroneous as calculations of the 
 number of inhabitants in great cities ufually 
 are, none have been more exaggerated than the 
 population of this city. 
 
 The caufes of this error were probably various, 
 as, nrft, the fituation of the city on the afcent 
 of a hill, which, fliewing every houfe in it, and 
 hiding the voids between them, makes it appear 
 to the greatefl advantage polTible. 
 
 Secondly, the crowd of people appears to b6 
 prodigious in the flreets leading to the cufliom- 
 houfe, to the harbour, (to crofs which the boats 
 are all ftationed at a very few landing places or 
 Jcales) to the great bazars or markets, to the 
 porte, to the baths, and to the principal mofques; 
 but it iliould be obferved, that thefe are all litu- 
 ated in the fame part of the city, and that every 
 one who goes out, either for bulinefs or pleafure, 
 pafTes through thefe flreets, and travellers very 
 rarely go farther into the city, where they would 
 tind ftreets nearly deferted, and grafs growing 
 in many oi them., notwithftanding their nar- 
 rowqcfs, ' . • 
 
 Thirdly, 
 
TURKISH POPUX-ATION. 265 
 
 Thirdly, ftrangers (and I include moil foreign 
 minifters, who are grofsly impofed on by the 
 ignorance of their drogomans or interpreters) 
 are milled by the accounts they receive of the 
 number of janizaries, of boftangees, of boatmen, 
 of artifans, of fhopkeepers, &c. without knowing 
 that one and the fame perfon is commonly in 
 two or three of thefe capacities ; for infhance, 
 almoft every boatman is a boftangee or a jani- 
 zary, and the greateit part of the fliopkeepers 
 and artifans are janizaries. We mufh rely on 
 real calculation. ^ 
 
 Firfl calculation. — In Conftantinople and its 
 environs there are daily confumed from nine ta 
 eleven thoufand kilos of corn. Exi:>erience has 
 proved, that one perfon confumes nine kilos a 
 year, one with another. One kilo of wheat is 
 twenty -two okes, which renders eighteen okes of 
 flour, of which they make twenty-feven okes of 
 bread, as their bread is very moid, made into 
 flat cakes feemingly half baked. An oke is 
 about two pounds and three quarters Englifli 
 avoirdupois weight. (In France, one pound of 
 wheat produces exactly one pound of bread. 
 This was the rule obferved by their government 
 with refpeft to the price of bread.) According 
 to this calculation, the medium number of in- 
 habitants would be 426,000 fouls; and this 
 ;n:^illed. Sir J^mes Porter^ formerly Englifli am- 
 
 b^flador 
 
%66 . CHAPTER VII. 
 
 balfador at the portc, as it has done many others, 
 who rely on the information received from in- 
 terpreters. 
 
 It is the policy of the porte, or rather of the 
 vizirs, to keep the price of bread low at the ca- 
 pital ^ and it is generally cheaper there than at a 
 day or two's journey diftant. The mh'i folely 
 diilributes the corn, not to the city only, as 
 people have concluded, but to ail its fuburbs, 
 as Fera, Galata^ the neighbouring villages^ to the 
 city of Scutari (EfcudarJ and all along the chan- 
 nel of Conllanlinople, which is bordered with 
 large villages to Kuchik-Chikmagi^ commonly 
 called Ponte-piccoloy and thence in a line to Borgos 
 and to Doyniijdere^ on the coafl of the Black 
 Sea, to the Princes I/lands^ to nine large villages 
 in Afia behind Scutari, and thence in a line north, 
 to all the country as far as the Black Sea. 
 
 Some years, from 14 to i6,ooq kilos of corn 
 have been confumed. A confiderable quantity^ 
 mull be allowed for the confumption of velTels 
 of all denominations that frequent the port, and 
 when corn is dearer in the country than the price 
 at Conftantinople fixed by the niiri, it may rea-r 
 fonably be fuppofed that fome little contraband 
 is carried on. 
 
 From all this it mufb appear, that not above 
 one half of the corn is confumed in Conftanti- 
 nople, and that the number of inhabitant^ does 
 
 not 
 
TURKISH P OPUI, ATION". 26j 
 
 not exceed 2 1 3,000 ; and if we take for our rule 
 thofe years in w; ich 16,000 kilos were confumed 
 (and which by the bye have always been thofe 
 when corn was dear in the country) flill the num- 
 ber will be but 292,000; the medium between 
 the higheft and the loweft year, when there was 
 no remarkable plague, is 230,000, which I be-^ 
 iieve to be nearly the real number of inhabitants. 
 Second calculation. — The kcijfal? bafln^ox chief 
 of the butchers) through whofe office all cattle 
 for Slaughter muft pafs, diflributes to Conftan- 
 tinople, Scutari, &c. from 2,500 to 3,000 fiieep 
 a week, or 130,000 to 156,000 a year. It mufl 
 be obferved, that the Turks eat very little beef; 
 fome fifh indeed, and fowls, but the quantity is 
 trifling to the mutton. At Paris they confumed, 
 10,400 fheep a week, befides beef, and 630 hogs, 
 falt-hQi, &c. and one million pounds of bread 
 daily. The annual confumption of Paris was 
 about 12,800 muids of corn (36,864,000 
 pounds), 77,000 oxen, 120,000 calves, 32,000 
 barrels of herrings, 540,000 Iheep, and 32,400 
 hogs, befides other articles. 
 
 Suppofe the French to eat only the lame 
 quantity of bread as the Turks, (and I believe 
 there is not much difference,) the calculation, 
 applied to Paris, would make the number of in- 
 habitants to be about one million. 
 
 There are^. however, a few ilieep killed by con- 
 traband, 
 
^68 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 traband, that have not paiTed through the hands 
 of the kajfal? bajlii^ and the butchers dependent 
 on him, but their number is very fmaU, as the- 
 practice is attended with dangerous confequences, 
 and the profit ariting from it incanliderable. 
 
 This calculation of meat produces fewer inha- 
 bitants than that of corn^^and we muft take rice 
 intO' the account to make it anywife adequate. ; 
 but it at kafc proves the former not to have 
 
 4- 
 
 been- too low. 
 
 Third calculation. — From about 1770 to 
 1777, there was no plague at Conftantinople. 
 The d'cad, which were carried out of the gatejs 
 of the city, where a regular regifler is kept (ex- 
 cept when, in tim-e of the plague, they furpafs 
 one thouilmd a day, after which they are net 
 counted) amounted only to 5,000 one year with 
 a;nother. This nuniber, multiplied by 36, the 
 largeft number which poiTibly can be taken, 
 though CcBflantinoplc is very healthy, and- the 
 Turks temperate, gives only 1 80,000 inhabit;^-nts. 
 It niufh be obferved* that fomc con(iderah;le peo- 
 ple are buried in the city, in their gardens or pri- 
 vate burial grounds, and lomc are carried to the 
 cemeteries of Pera and Scutari, an account of all 
 of which is not taken, as feveral on that lide of the 
 city do not pafs the gates : if v;e allow 1,000 a 
 year tor thcfe, which is certainly much beyond 
 the truths by this calculatioii there would ap- 
 pear 
 
TURKISH POPULATION. 269 
 
 pear to be 216,000 inhabitants.' -As to the 
 luburbs of Pera and Galata, if the)' are to be in- 
 cluded as making a part of Conftantinople, they 
 are not very confiderable, confiding only of a 
 few long fcreets. The number of fouls they con- 
 tain I have forgotten, and my memorandum is 
 miflaid : I counted the houfes. 
 
 Fourth calculation. — The ground on which 
 Conftantinople (lands is not fo extenfive as Paris* 
 Count Choiireul-Gouiner, the French ambofTa* 
 dor, had an exacl plan made of it by a Mr. 
 Kaufter, a very good^geomietrician, which proves 
 this facl ; and whoever walks aciofs the city in 
 different directions may convince himfelf of its 
 accuracy. The ftreets in Paris are verv narrow^ 
 the houfes four and fix ftories high^acd inhabited 
 from top to bottom ; the ftreets in Conftanti- 
 nople are alfo narrow. The churches, hotels, 2cc^ 
 of Paris, do not take up near fo much ground as 
 the m.ofques, baths, palaces, gardens (of which 
 whole {freets on the upper and back parts have 
 one to each houfe), the feragho, houfes of the 
 great, fliops, and bazars, u'here people do not 
 live, &c. The houies in Conftantmople are fpa- 
 ciou3, and have a yard in the centre, except the 
 very crowded quarter by the water fide, thq^ are 
 compofe-d of a ground-floor frez de 'ckmjjee) 
 which comprifes the kitchen^ fliable, wafli-houfe, 
 ftore-rocms, and ^ room to receive ftrangers ; 
 
 over 
 
270 CHAPTER Vll. 
 
 over this there is but one ftory, where the family 
 lives. This is the general con fir action. of all the 
 houfes ; they differ onl}^ in lize and the number 
 of apartments. It is a very unufual thing for 
 two families to live in one houfe ; it would be 
 an indecency, and amount almoft to a crime, ex- 
 cept it be two brothers, or a father and a fori, 
 among the poorer people. Hence it follows de- 
 monftratively, that there cannot be above one- 
 fourth of the number of inhabitants in Conflan- 
 tinople, which there are in Paris; and whatever 
 objedlion may be made to my other calculations, 
 this cannot be confuted. 
 
 We may therefore conclude, that the popula- 
 tion of Conftantinople is lefs than 300,000 fouls 
 at prefent, and that it never could have been 
 much more within the w^alls, with their mode of 
 building houfes. 
 
 In the year 1777, there were 5,700 private 
 and public boats of all iizes in the port of Con- 
 ftantinople, and in all the villages to the Black 
 Sea. This number is great, but the fituation of 
 the city mufl be confidered, and that every one 
 muil: go in a boat who goes into the country, at 
 leafl: to the part frequented, which is acrofs the 
 water, or to the villages, all built by the water 
 fidC) and aimoil inacceffible by land ; that there 
 are fcarcely any kind of carriages ; that the inha- 
 bitants of Conftantinople take great pleafure in 
 
 going 
 
TURKISH POPULATION. 27I 
 
 goii>g on the water, and great numbers have 
 boats of their own, almoft all who can afFord it j 
 -and that they make no ufe of carriages. In Paris, 
 there were 12,500 coaches or carriages, and in- 
 finitely fewer people go in carriages in Paris, than 
 they do in boats in Conftantinople. 
 
 The Turks tell you indeed, and perhaps be- 
 lieve it, that there are 72,000 mofques in Con- 
 ftantinople. The Chriftians out of vanity, to 
 make their fed appear confiderable, magnify 
 their- own numbers, but no credit is to be given 
 to them ; thefe allertions cannot be oppofed to 
 calculations founded on facts. 
 
 Cairo is another city, the magnitude of which 
 has been much exaggerated. Voiney fays, the 
 number of inhabitants are 250,000 fouls, I had 
 an account of the population of Cairo from a 
 very fenfible Armenian, who had lived tvv'elve 
 years there, which agreed nearly with Voiney 's , 
 he made the number to be 230,000, Voiney 
 further fays (on what foundation he does not 
 mention) that all Egypt contains 2,300,000 
 fouls — hovv^ever, the population is there better 
 known than in other parts of Turkey. 
 
 The people of the country tell u^. of 300,000 
 dying in a year of the plague, in Cairo, but no 
 reliance is to be placed on their calcubtions. 
 
 Various are the opinions of writers and travel- 
 lers with refpedl to the number of inhabitiats in 
 
 the 
 
3^']^ eilAPTElt Vlt. 
 
 the Turkifh empire, and difficult, certainly it 
 is, to make a calculation with any degree of ac-^i 
 curacy, in a country where there are no regiflers 
 kept of births and burials, (except at Gonftanti- 
 jiople,) or other events which concern the general 
 Mahomedan population of the cities, and where, 
 in the country, not only the fize, but the number 
 of villages is unknown ; there are, befides, wan-' 
 dering tribes and independent diftridis, fuch as 
 the mountains inhabited by the Curds, as wholly 
 unknown in Turkey as in Europe. 
 
 With refped to Chriftians and Jews the cafe 
 is diiTerent ^ they keep regular regifiiers of their 
 births and burials j but as they remain in the 
 feveral places they are made, and no account 
 of them is tranfiiiitted to the government, it is 
 impoflible for any individual to colled them ; 
 nor indeed can one always rely on the affirmation 
 of the bifaops or other perfons, who have the re- 
 giflers, without aduai infpedion of the books ^ 
 for fometim.es out of vanity they augment the 
 ftatement oftheir population, and fometimes out 
 cf policy, with regard to the Turks, they diitii- 
 nifli the account of their numbers, as they are 
 often taxed or fined /;/ a body, to pay certain 
 fums to a pafha, (fuch unjufh demands are called 
 avanias,) .tnd the fmaller their numbers appear, - 
 they hoj.e the iefs will be the fum impofed on 
 them 5 It therefore requires addrefs even to get; 
 
 at 
 
Turkish poptrtAtioN. 273 
 
 ?.t thefe regifters, which, after all, have not the 
 accuracy of fimilar documents in Ghrifliian coun- 
 tries. 
 
 The only datum which we can in anywife 
 form a calculation upon, is the karatch, or capi- 
 tation tax, on all male Chriftians and Jews above 
 the age of fourteen or fifteen. By knowing the 
 fum this tax is farmed at (which is lefs than the 
 fum the collciftors receive, and therefore not 
 very accurate) and, the fum each male pays, 
 we have fom.e kind of data to reafon from. This 
 calculation gives nine millions of fouls ; but it 
 is to be remembered, that there is a part of the 
 empire in which the inhabitants are independent, 
 and confequently pay no capitation, as will be 
 {ctn in the next chapter. The Greeks calculate 
 their numbers to be feven millions in all parts of 
 the empire, and there are not many in the diftant 
 provinces ; but they certainly exaggerate. 
 
 The only method of calculating the Maho- 
 medan inhabitants would be, the proportion 
 they bear to the Chriftians in the different cities 
 and provinces, and of which there are fome 
 vague accounts. In many places there are ten 
 Chriftians to one Mahomedan, and in others 
 ten Mahomedans to one Chriftian; in fome^ 
 their numbers are nearly equal. Were I to 
 make a guefs (for a calculation 1 could not call 
 it) my opinion with refpedl to the vvLoic popu- 
 
 T lation 
 
174 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 lation of the Mahotnedans in the empire would 
 as widely differ from the generally received no« 
 tions, as it does with refped to the particular 
 population of Conftantinople, 
 
 If their numbers have greatly decreafed, we 
 need feek no other caufe to account for it than 
 the plague, though there are many others co- 
 operating with great deftruftion. 
 
 If we take for granted, that there were fifty 
 millions of people on the continent two cen- 
 turies ago 3 that the births are to the burials as 
 twelve to ten, or that one in thirty-fix die every 
 year, in the common courfe of mortaHty, or that 
 the number of births to the living are as one to 
 26, 27, or 28, or any calculation more favour-* 
 able to the increafe of population, we fhall flill 
 find that the mortaHty occafionedby the plague 
 taken on an average (as its ravages are ftated in 
 thefe pages) would reduce thcfe fifty millions tQ 
 iittie more than tQn at this day. 
 
I 275 ] 
 
 CHAPTER Vlir. 
 On the State of the TtirkiJIi Provinces. 
 
 IT is not enough to confine our view to the 
 metropolis, in order to form an accurate judg- 
 ment of a great empire ; there, indeed, is the 
 centre of government and of opulence, there are 
 placed the fprings which guide the whole, and 
 thither are brought the produ(5ts of the general 
 exertion 5 but it is not from the apparent tran- 
 quillity and greatnefs of the capital that we can 
 form a juft idea of the ftate of the provinces. 
 Lulled into a fatal fecurity within the recelTes of 
 his palace, the tyrant frequently knows not the 
 fcenes of ruin and devaftation which, under 
 fandlion of his name, are afted at a diftance by 
 his creatures; he perceives not the increafing 
 uneafmefs and difaffeftion of his oppreiTed fub- 
 jedts, until the temped of rebellion, rolling ra- 
 pidly forwaj'd, breaks over his afhoniflied head. 
 
 The relaxation of the bands of power has 
 gone too far in tbe Turkifh empire not to be, in 
 fome degree, perceived by the porte ;• it cannot 
 but feel the weaknefs of its authority over moft 
 of the difts^nt paJJialiks ; but ^s ignorance is al- 
 ways confident, they, perhaps, over-rate their 
 remaining power, and trufh to the fhadcw of a 
 name whofe terror lias long fince pafTed away, 
 
 T 2 Still,, 
 
276 CHAPTER VIII, 
 
 Still, it mufl be acknowledged, that there sir^ 
 circumflances which counteradl the tendency of 
 their political fyflem to fall in ruins ; there are 
 prejudices, habits, and local peculiarities, which 
 ferve to hold together the barbarous inhabitants 
 of thofe extenfive regions. In order to judge of 
 their importanc-e, it will be neceffary to conlider, 
 in detail, the fituation of the different provinces, 
 moral and phyfical ; to trace " mores hominum 
 '^ multorim et nrhes^^ not merely the ftrength 
 and extent of the countries, but the fpirit, man- 
 ners, and difpofitions of the people. 
 
 Of the dependent provinces of the Turkiih 
 empire, the firfl rank in the eye of an enlightened 
 European will be held by the defcendants of that 
 people from whom emanated the fcience and the 
 refinement of our hemifphere ^ of the Grecians, 
 therefore, I (hall treat at large in another part of 
 this work ; and I propofe to confider them fepa- 
 rately, becaufe the difiindions, religious and po- 
 litical, exifking between them and their Maho- 
 medan conquerors, together with the relations 
 they bear to the Chrifcian ftates in general, will 
 furnilh ample matter for a feparate difcuffion ; 
 I iliall here only remark, that the captain pallia, 
 or grand admiral, is pafha of the Archipelago, 
 and the fleet, or a divifion, goes annually to col* 
 led the tribute : it is then that the poor Greeks 
 mod feel the weight of the iron fceptre that go- 
 verns them, and all the infults and oppreflionof 
 
 the 
 
TURKISH PROVINCES. 277 
 
 tlie vile fatraps of the tyrant. When a fhip of 
 the fleet arrives in a port, all the people who can, 
 fly to the mountains or into the country, others 
 fhut themfelves up in their houfes, without dar- 
 ing to ftir out. Every one on the roads are plun - 
 dered by the foldiers and failors of the fhips, and 
 if they are not cut, or wounded with a piflol ball, 
 or killed outright, they efteem themfelves happy ; 
 even in the flreets it is the fame. Thus the poor 
 Greeks pay another contribution to the fleet, 
 which is heavier to thofe on whom it unhappily 
 falls than that to the fultan. 
 
 If a w^oman or a girl, or even a boy, is met by 
 them in any place not immediately under the eye 
 of their officers, or where they might be expofed 
 to refiftance, they are infallibly victims to their 
 brutality. In weak towns and villages this fome- 
 times happens in the flreets. The officers can- 
 not always, and often will not, reftrain them, ex- 
 cept where the crime is too public, and complaint 
 might be made to the porte. The captains and 
 officers raife contributions for themfelves on the 
 principal inhabitants under various pretences. 
 The Greeks are generally prevented from com- 
 plaining, out of fear that the next fliip which> 
 comes will take revenge. When the fhips of war 
 are met at fea, they are little better than pirates 
 to the Greeks and Ragufans. 
 - With regard to the other countries which are, 
 
 T 3 ot 
 
Z^S CHAPT£R Vlll. 
 
 or have recently been, fubjeded to the Turkifh 
 yoke, I fhall here give them a brief coniideration, 
 from which it will appear that their lituation, re- 
 latively to fubordination and internal manage- 
 ment, is fuch as might reafonably be expected 
 from the wretched fyftem of policy which we 
 have previouHy inveftigated. 
 
 Cafting our view over the pafhaliks or govern- 
 ments moil immediately connedled with the feat 
 of empirCj we Ihail find them diftradied, difor- 
 ganifed, and fcarcely yielding more than a no- 
 minal obedience to the fultan : fuch are the 
 pafhaliks of Afia Mmor and Syria. With re- 
 gard to the more diftant provinces, they may be 
 confidered as conneded with the porte rather by 
 treaty than as integral parts of the empire. In 
 this light I view Moldavia and Walachia on the 
 jiorth, and Egypt on the fouth. Thefe unfor- 
 tunate countries (unfortunate in their political 
 regulation, however bleft by the bounty of na- 
 ture) fufferj though in different degrees, from 
 the harpy touch of Turkidi defpotifm. I fhall 
 confider them finglyj and add to thefe obferva- 
 tions a review of the ftate of the Crimea, with 
 fbme remarks on tliofe Tatar hordes, whole fe- 
 tocity has either been foothed or fubdued by a 
 fubjedion to Ruflia, 
 
 A flight fketch of the flate of rebellion or ih- 
 
 dependence of the chief pafhaliks, will eafily de- 
 
 § monftrate 
 
TlTRKISH I>R0VINCES. 27^ 
 
 monftrate the weaknefs and inefficacy of the 
 prefent poUtical fyftem of Turkey. 
 
 The great pafhalik of Bagdad has been in rea- 
 lity independent, except at very fliort intervals, 
 ever lince the days of Achmet Pafha, who de- 
 fended it againil Nadir Shah, the famous ufurper 
 of Perfia. The fultan only confirms the pallia, 
 whom the people, and principally the foldiery of 
 Bagdad, have appointed to govern them with 
 defpotic power j the firman, however, fent on 
 thefe occafions, always mentions the pafha as be- 
 ing nominated by the fubhme porte to this high 
 and trufty office, in confideration of his virtues, 
 and fome fignal fervice he has rendered to the 
 empire ; and this farce is kept up by a new fir- 
 man fent every year to continue him in office, as 
 if the porte really had the power to remove him. 
 The porte draws no revenue from this extenfive 
 province. The pafna, who has always a large 
 army in his pay, and entirely devoted to him, 
 fends regularly an account of the revenue of his 
 government* This he always proves is totally 
 abforbed by the expences of the arm}^ which he 
 ftates as neceffary to be kept on a formidable 
 footing, to ferve the empire againfl any attacks 
 of the Perfians or Arabs, and by the reparation 
 of fortrelTes, that formerly exifted, and of which 
 no veftige now remains, &c. Whenever there 
 is a war with an European power, and the paflia 
 
 T 4 of 
 
zSo CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 of Bagdad is called on to furnifh his quota of 
 troops, he pretends the neceflity of keeping 
 them all at home, to defend the province againfl 
 the attacks of the Arabs, and finds means to. 
 provoke fome Arab nation to war ; or, in con- 
 nivance with the prince of the Montefiks, an 
 Arab nation on the banks of the Euphrates, car- 
 ries on a fliam war. In fliort, the fultan is the 
 nominal fovereign of Bagdad, but the pafha has 
 the real fovereign independent power in his 
 hands. 
 
 In Armenia Major, and all the neighbouring 
 countries, there are whole nations or, tribes of 
 independent people, who do not even acknow- 
 ledge the porte, or any of its paihas. 
 
 The three Arabias do not acknowledge the 
 fovereignty of the fultan, who only polfelTes, in 
 thefe countries, a few unimportant towns. 
 
 The pailia of Ahiika cares very little for thQ 
 porte j and the famous Haggi-Aii-Yenikli-Pafha, 
 of Trabifonde, was the mafter of all that coun- 
 try ; he could bring a large army into the field, 
 and often fet the porte at defiance. 
 
 In the country about Smyrna, there are great 
 figas^ who are independent lords, and maintain 
 armies, and often lay that city under contribu- 
 tion. The porte never gains but a temporary 
 influence, by fometimes intermeddling in their 
 quarrelsc 
 
 All 
 
OF THE >- 
 
 \i UNiVERS«1 
 
 TURKISH PROVINCES. 2^^- 
 
 All the inhabitants of the mountains, from 
 Smyrna to Palefline, are perfectly independent^ 
 and are confidered by the porte as enemies, 
 whom they attack whenever there is an oppor- 
 tunity. They are compofed of different nations, 
 who have their own fovereigns or lords, and are 
 even of different religions. Thofe near Smyrna 
 are Mahomedans ; farther down come the Curdes, 
 a very ferocious and faithlefs people. In the 
 neighbourhood of Aleppo there are various feds 
 of religion. Tne mountains of Antilibanus are 
 inhabited by Drufes and Chrifl:ians, and have, at 
 times, been formidable to the porte ; they have 
 more than once taken Damafcus, and plun- 
 dered it. 
 
 The nation of Drufes would here deferve par- 
 ticular mention ; but as there are accounts of 
 them already publirned, which appeared to me, 
 \vhen I was in that country, very exacl, I fhall 
 forbear faying m.ore about them ; I cannot, how- 
 ever, avoid taking notice of a great miftake the 
 Rufhans made in the laft war but one, in attack- 
 ing thofe people in conjundlion with Shech 
 Omar-al-Daher, of Acri, between v/hom there 
 never exifted much harmony. Had they recon- 
 ciled their difference, which they might have 
 done, they would have had for allies all the coun- 
 tries from Eg)^pt to the Curdes, who, probably, 
 v/ould have joined the league, and the arrrty they 
 
 could 
 
282 CHAPTER Vlii. 
 
 could have brought Into the field would have 
 been more numerous than that of the fultan i 
 they would have been mafiers of Damafcus, 
 Aleppo^ and all that part of the empire. 
 
 The very confiderable country^ which was for 
 fo many years under thejurifdidion of the Shech 
 of Acri, never paid any revenue to the porte, 
 and was by it even confidered as an independent 
 ilate. Shech Dahar was befieged in his capital, 
 after the conclufion of the war, by the famous 
 great -admiral, Haflan Pafha; he hirafelf was 
 killed, and the country reduced to obedience. 
 The porte appointed a paflia to govern it^ and he 
 has now become as independent, and more for-^ 
 mi<^able, even than was Dahar himfelf. 
 
 Between the country of the Drufes and that 
 of Acri, there is a nation inhabiting the moun-* 
 tains on the back of Tyre, (which alfo belongs to 
 them, though there are no houfes now ftanding 
 on that once famous fpot,) called Metiialiy they 
 are of the fed: of Ali, and are fuch inveterate 
 enemies to the Turks, that they murder every 
 ' one who comes into their country, or that they 
 can furprize. 
 
 On the coafc of Syria, the fultan only virtu* 
 
 * ally poflefies the ports of Latachia (Laodicea) a 
 
 fmail (hallow harbour and a ruined town ; Alex- 
 
 andretta or Scanderon (the porte of Aleppo,) 
 
 a miferable village, the air of which is fo bad, 
 
 that 
 
ttJRKISH ?llOYI*:i?CES. 28 J 
 
 that it, perhaps, has not its equal in the world 
 for infaiubrity ; Tripoli and Sidon, Jaifa, and a 
 few very infignificant places. The caravans, 
 which go from Scanderon to Aleppo, are obliged 
 to go by the way of Antioch, as all the country 
 through which the diredl road leads, belongs to 
 the Curdes, who will not fuifer the Turks to 
 pafs it. 
 
 All Egypt is independent. The pafha fent to 
 Cairo is in effect a prifoner during his govern- 
 ment, which is only nominal ; the porte draws 
 little or no revenue from it, and no troops, ex- 
 cept a few fanatics in time of war with the Chrif* 
 tians. The Turks have at different times got 
 pofleflion of Cairo, but never could maintain 
 themfelves in the s;overnment. The lafl inftance 
 of their fubjedling the capital was by the late 
 HafTan, captain pafha, but it was foon loft again; 
 yet Conftantinople depends very much on Egypt 
 for provifions, and above all for rice. The Ruf- 
 fians, when they had a fleet in the Mediterranean, 
 very much diftrelTed the porte, by cutting off 
 the communication with Egypt, and might have 
 done it much more, had they not permitted 
 many neutral veflels to fupply them. 
 
 In Europe, the Morea, Albania, Epirus, and- 
 Scutari, are more or lefs in a ftate of rebellion ^ 
 Bofnia, Croatia, &c. obey the porte only as long 
 as it fuits them, and the fultan reaps little benefit 
 
 from 
 
2.84 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 from them. Thefe latter countries afford the 
 mofl robuft and warhke Ibldiers in the empire ; 
 they are accuflomed to arms from their infancy, 
 as they are continually fighting among them- 
 lelves, diflri(ft aeainfl: diflrl6l, and often even 
 village againfb village, befides individual quarrels 
 qi families. Thefe troops would be of great ufe 
 to the fultan in his wars, but they will not go 
 far from their homes, and ferve only when it is 
 to defend their own country : the emperor of 
 Germany has had to contend with them, while 
 only the enervated and dafiardly foldiery of hSy\ 
 lias been oppofed to Ruilia. 
 
 Lately we have feen almoft all European Tur- 
 key in arms againfl; the porte, Adrianople in im-^ 
 minent danger, and even Conflantinople 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 perhaps be improper. The divi- 
 fion of the fpiritual dignities of the Mahome- 
 dans took place, A. D. 970, in an early period of 
 their religion, and the Fatimite kalifs eflabliflied 
 themfelves in Egypt, claiming to thernfelve^ 
 the title oi co?nmander of the faithful^ heretofore., 
 borne by the kalifs of Bagdad. 
 
 Both thefe kalifs fuccefiively yielded to the 
 force or policy of the Turkilh princes. The lafh 
 of thd EevDtian kalifs called in the Turks to his 
 
 aiTiftance 
 
TtJRKISH PROVtl^CES. 28 J 
 
 j^ffiftarice againft the Chriftian crufaders, which 
 fervice being accompli (hed, the new allies ttirned 
 againfl the kalif himfelf, and fir angled him, A. D. 
 1 171, when a new dynafty commenced in the 
 perfon of Salahud-din. 
 
 The Egyptian princes long maintained an in- 
 dependent power by the afliftance of their Ma- 
 maluk troops, until, in 1518, they were reduced 
 to fubjedion by Selim the fon of Bayazet, and 
 have ever fince remained attached, nominally 
 at lead, to the porte ; but as their beys were not 
 deprived of their power^ and to this day each i^ 
 governor, or rather fovereign of a diftrid, thefe 
 in fadb exercife a tyranny of the worft kind over 
 a country, which would be one of the moft pro- 
 dudive in the univerfe, were property proteded, 
 while they render little either of tribute or fub- 
 miffion to the porte. 
 
 This corps of Mamaluks is kept up, to this 
 day, hj fiaves bought from the fame countries as 
 heretofore, viz. Georgia, Circaffia, AbaiTa, and 
 Mingrelia, and moflly purchafed at Conftanti- 
 nople; for their children, born in the country, 
 are not admitted into the corps ; indeed it is 
 affirmed, and it is very remarkable, that they 
 have but few children, and their families never 
 extend beyond two generations. This is ac- 
 counted for by their being greatly addided to 
 an unnatural vice. 
 
 The 
 
^E6 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The adual power refides in the Mamaluksj 
 and the bey, who has mod of them in his fuite, 
 is confequently the moll powerfuL As to the 
 paflia fent by the porte, he has at different times 
 had more or lefs influence, but is in general a 
 mere cypher, obliged to I'ubmit to the will of 
 the beys, who difinifs him when they pleafe. 
 They have fometimes entirely thrown off all ap- 
 pearance of fubmiflion to the porte^ and at 
 prefent, as well as generally, their obedience is 
 only nominal, and the pafha is in reality a pri- 
 foner in the caftle of Cairo, which is the place 
 iixed for his reiidence. 
 
 The tribute which Egypt ought to fend the 
 porte is frequently withheld, or, if tranfmittedj^ 
 it is dimlniflied by dedudions for the reparation 
 of canals, fortreffes, &c. at the will of the beys^ 
 Yet a long proceHion of mules and camels {tt$ 
 out annually from Egypt, with the pretended 
 revenue for the fultan, which, inftead of fiiver, 
 coniiils mofrly of bags of rice, and, not unfre» 
 quently. Hones, 
 
 The janizaries and Arab foidiers in the fervice 
 of the porte are but little able to enforce its au- 
 thority, as they are few in number, and moftly 
 Compofed of artizans and perfons unaccuftomed 
 to arms. The Mamaluks, on the contrary, muft 
 be allowed to be mofh excellent cavalry. 
 
 In the beautiful country and climate of Egypt, 
 
 it 
 
fURKISH PROVINCES. 287 
 
 it is diflreffincr to coiifider how little the advan- 
 tages of nature are cultivated, and how much 
 its evils are augmented by the ignorance and 
 unaccountably grofs fuperilition of its inhabi-* 
 tants. 
 
 From a furvey of Egypt I turn to the northern 
 part of the empire, to contemplate the provinces 
 of Walachia and Moldavia, which, like the lafh- ' 
 mentioned country, are rather attached to the 
 empire by treaty than by abfolute fubjedtion, 
 and which retain at leall independence as to 
 matters of internal regulation ; their inhabitants 
 are, however, more opprefled than perhaps any 
 people in the empire ; nor could they poffibly 
 bear fuch exaftions, were it not for the wonder^ 
 ful fertility of their foil. 
 
 Their waywodes (or princes as they are gene- 
 rally ftill called) are Greeks, who purchafe their 
 offices for large funis of money, the porte gene- 
 rally receiving about 80,000 pounds fterling for 
 every nomination, and who are obliged to main- 
 tain themfelves in their pods, by continually 
 feeing thofe who can ferve or hurt them at Con« 
 fcantinople ; for, befides the complaints which 
 frequently are made againfb them, other Greeks 
 are confbantly caballing at the porte to get them, 
 removed, and to obtain their places. The way- 
 wodes m.ufl, befides raifmg large fums to defray 
 all thefe expences, and live in aftluence with a 
 iarge train of dependents, who follow them from 
 
 Conftarj- 
 
28S CHAPTER Yili, *• 
 
 Conftantinople, hoard up fufficlent to feciire j^ 
 Ikfe and fplendid retreat to themfelves when 
 recalled from their waywodeflilps to their former 
 homes, where, though the fear of punilliment is 
 ever hanging over them, and deftroying their re- 
 pofe, they maintain within their own houfes a 
 weak and ollentatious magnificence. It is eafy 
 to conceive how much the miferable fubjefts of 
 their defpotifm, while in office, mufb fufFer from 
 the impoiitions neceiTary to anfwer fuch calls of 
 rapacity. 
 
 The boyars are obliged to furnifh money to 
 the waywode, and they in return opprefs the 
 people by all kinds of exadlions, exclulively of 
 the public taxes, which go immediately into the 
 waywode's purfe^ and which are multiplied ad 
 infinitum., and exaded with the utmofl feverity : 
 thefe taxes, which are not in proportion to the 
 property of the people, aggravate them beyond 
 defcription ; they murm.ur, but m.uft fubmit and 
 pay. 
 
 Among the hardfliips of the Moldavians may 
 be reckoned their being obliged to furnifh a 
 fupply of corn to Conftantinople, at a certain 
 price fixed, when they firft came under the Turk* 
 ifh yoke : this was originally eftablifhed as a fa- 
 vour to tht)fe countries, but has now become an 
 intolerable burthen, as the price now bears no 
 proportion to the prefent value. 
 
 Another great caufe of complaint is the paf- 
 ^ fage 
 
',.\ 
 
 TURKISH PROVINCES. 2:89 
 
 -fce tlirousjh their country, or refidence in it, of 
 ;a Turkilh army in time of v/ar. The excefles' 
 which thefe undircipIiGcd hordes commit are 
 'beyond defcription, plundering and laying wade 
 the country, and often dedroying v/hole villages, 
 and m^aflacring their defencelefs inhabitants ; 
 hence it is not unufual for the inhabitants to 
 flee with their mofc valuable effedls to the woods 
 smd mountains for concealment, as foon as they 
 hear of the approach of an army : I was myfelf 
 a witnefs of the terror of the Moldavians for a 
 fimilar event. Being a prifoner, in 1 7 78, at Galaz 
 (when hoflilities had taken place in fome parts, 
 between Rufiia and the Turks, which had nearly 
 ended in a war) I was awakened one night by 
 the cries of women, and thenoife of the prepara- 
 tions made by the whole tovs^n to ^tt^ on a ru- 
 mour (which proved groundlefs) of the approach 
 of a TurkiOi army. I then learned that every 
 family was provided with a waggon and one or 
 more horfes, to efcape in cafe of danger. 
 
 The TurkiHi foldiery, if they fiay but a fhort 
 time in a place, caufc fo much havock, that the 
 unfortunate Moldavians and Walachians, re- 
 turning to their homes after thefe monfters have 
 withdra^vn, are for a confiderabie time unable 
 to rebuild their houfes, and procure feed and 
 other requiiites for the cultivation of their corn- 
 iields and vineyards, which the Turks have rooted 
 
 MP- 
 
 V The 
 
igO CHA PTER VIII. 
 
 The following circumftances will prove hovr 
 much reafon the Moldavians in particular have 
 to prefer the dominion of Ilufua to that of 
 Turkey. 
 
 At the peace, of Kainargi it was ftipulated, 
 that the waywode fliould not be removed with- 
 out the confent of the court of Ruffia, in order 
 to deliver the people from the opprelnon necef- 
 fariiy attendant on a frequent change of their 
 rulers. The porte, however, in 1777, fent to the 
 wayvs^ode 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 waywode. 
 were fent out of the room, when a band of ruf- 
 fians rulhed into the apartment from a private 
 door, and murdered this unhappy credulous 
 man. A fucceffor w^as immediately appointed, 
 without confulting the court of Rufila, or its 
 minifler at Confiantinople. This is the nation 
 whofe fcrupulous observance of treaties is fo 
 much vaunted by fome writers. 
 
 While Moldavia was in the hands of the Ruf- 
 fians, during the laft war. Prince Potemkin 
 treated the inhabitants with the utmoft indul- 
 gence, arid exempted them from all kind of taxes, 
 fo that they returned with great reluctance under 
 the Turkifli yoke. It is Uttle confolation to 
 them to be governed by princes or governors of 
 their own religion 3 for their fituation, if not their 
 
 inchnatioPs 
 
TURKISH PROVINCES. 29! 
 
 inclination, 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 mdepcn- 
 dence, and particularly the Boyars, who are 
 treated by the Rullians as equals and as gentle* 
 men, and, if they emigrate;, are admitted into the 
 -civil or military fervice. 
 
 If there were any deficiency of proof to efta- 
 bliih the miferable debility of the Turkifh go- 
 vernm.ent, with regard to its diftant provinces, 
 and the horrible dcvaftation to which thofe 
 provinces are fubjecl, we fliould find it in the 
 eulogift of Turkey, Mr. Peyflbnel. He was 
 French conlul in the Crimea, in 1758, when a 
 rebellion broke out, occaiioned by the extor-- 
 tions of the officers of the porte, relative to the 
 ulietirah^ or tranfporting of corn. The rebellious 
 Tatars, to the number of eighty thoufand, pil- 
 laged and overrun, in feven days, the province 
 of Moldavia, carried off forty thoufand flaves, 
 fpread terror and defolation on all fides, and the 
 porte had no other meaiis of fettling this dif- 
 turbance than by depoling the reigning khan, 
 Alim Guerrai, cind placing in his room Krim 
 Guerrai, the rebel chief. At this time, fays Mr. 
 PeyfTonei we faw the plains of Kichela covered as 
 ;f^r as the eye could reach, with male and female 
 
 u 2, llaves. 
 
agZ CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 ■flaves, of all ages^ cattle, camels, horfes, fheep, 
 and all kinds of plunder, heaped together. The 
 whole of this booty was taken from a Cfiiiftian 
 province fubjedl to the porte. Krim Guerrai, 
 in return for his exaltation, endeavoured to caufe 
 the eifeds to be reftcred to their proprietors, and 
 the prifoners to be fet at liberty ; but, notwith- 
 ilandino- the vi2;orous and determined meafures 
 of this prince, he could only vvrefh frum the ra- 
 pacious banditti under his command a fmall 
 part of their plunder. Of the flaves, many were 
 fecreted or fold, and many died from brutal 
 treatment, fo that only half the number of pri- 
 foners returned to their country. This is the 
 account of Peyflbnel, the friend of Krim Guer- 
 rai ; but it is well knovvn, that he himfelf had 
 a part of the plunder, and that only fuch were 
 fent back, whofe age rendered them unfit for 
 their purpofes. I was informed, in Moldavia, 
 from the regifters, that there were above thirty 
 thoufand fouls, the flower of their youth, who 
 never returned. Surely this pidure of defolat- 
 ing barbarity fufUciently marks the charadler of: 
 the Tatar hordes ; and if wx add, that they were 
 confhantly making incurfions into Rullia, Poland, 
 Circaffia, &c. to carry off the inhabitants, plun-' 
 der and burn the villages, it fufhciently jufliiies 
 the court of Ruffia in' taking pofleflion of this 
 ^eft of thieves and murderers, and reducing. 
 
 thenV 
 
tUR K I SH PRO VI NC E S. 293 
 
 ihem to fomething like focial order and fubor- 
 dination. Inilead of being blamed, as the em-' 
 prels lias been, by thoie Chriftians, who always 
 fym.pathiie with Turks, and by thofe politicians 
 who think the duration of their ufurped empire 
 a deiirable objed:, fhe ought to receive the thanks 
 of all men, of whatever nation, and particularly 
 of Chrifhians, who are not degraded by preju- 
 dices, or corrupted by the practice of fimilar 
 enormities. The whole reign of the Tatars has 
 been an infult to mankind, and a difgrace to 
 human nature, not inferior to that of the Otto- 
 man fultans. Was it to be expedied that a 
 power like Ruffia fhould fuffer itfelf to be thus 
 infulted by a horde of favages, when flie could 
 redrefs the grievance ? and had fhe not a right as 
 fovereign, as a Chriftian, and as a friend to 
 humanity, to protect her feeble neighbours, who 
 had no other fupport to look to, and whofe 
 plunder and depopulation ftrengthened her 
 enemy as well as theirs ? She had a facred right, 
 and the mouth is unholy w^hich dares to ar- 
 raign it. 
 
 The connexion of the Tatar hordes with the 
 Turks, both in origin and religion, induces me to 
 review the ftate of their mofh celebrated feat, the • 
 Crimea (or Krim) though it has now palled un- 
 der the dominion of Ruflia, and has been aban- 
 doned by a great part of its former inhaDitants. 
 
 u 3 To 
 
194 CHAPTl^. R VI 11*. 
 
 To this I am the more prompted by the crrrf-' 
 ncous ideas which have been propagated in Eu- 
 rope relative to that mcafure, to the country in 
 general, and to the nature of their ancient go- 
 vernment, hitherto fo little known. Wliat much 
 furprifes me is, that M. dc PeyiTonel, who had 
 fo good an opportunity of gaining the moft ac- 
 curate information on this fubjedl, has totally 
 ncgle6ted it, and fpeaks of the Tatar govern- 
 ment conformably to the commonly received 
 notions of it. It often luippens that the moA 
 attentive travellers go into a country with falfe 
 notions of tilings, and if nothing occurs to un- 
 deceive them,^ they remain in their error. To 
 explain all this, it maybe neccllary toprefent a 
 ft:etch of the Tatar modes of warfiu*e, and their 
 fmall degree of civilization, and to notice the 
 improved flate of manners and commerce which 
 is arifmg under the foflering care of lluflia. 
 
 The name of Tatar, not Tartar, is common to 
 a vait number of thole roving and uncultivated 
 tribes, who inhabit the wide extent of country 
 from tlie northern frontier of China to the bor- 
 ders of Hungary, and from 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 
 .fubjcdcd to a kind of dependence ; they yielded 
 
 little 
 
 >^ 
 
TURKISH PROVINCES. 295 
 
 mtle in time of peace, and in war fupplied only 
 a predatory banditti, little lefs terrible to their 
 friendly neighbours than to the hoftile power. 
 
 In very early ages the cm])ire of the Criniea 
 (the ancient Cherlbnelus Taurica) aroie out of 
 the ruins of the flill more ancient and extenfive 
 dominion of the khans of Kaptchak. It took 
 its name from the town of Krim, of v/hich Ibme 
 vefligcs now remain; it is at prcfent called 
 I'^fki-krim (Old-Krim) and was a place of great 
 trade in the year 1237, when the Mongul Tatars 
 cdabliflied their dominion in this peninfiila. 
 I'hel'e princes were wholly independent, until the 
 Genoefe, having eflabliihed themlelvcs there in 
 the 15th century for the lake of commerce, ob- 
 tained fuch an afccndency as to depofe or eledt 
 the native khans at pleafure. Over the princi- 
 pal gate of Katla there flill exifls a Genoefe 
 infcription, in bad Latin, and the arms of the 
 republic. The Turks having expelled the Ge- 
 noefe, began in like manner by refpediing the 
 independence of the khans, cfpecially as they 
 had embraced the Mahomedan religion j but 
 they foon aliumed the right of confirming their 
 eledion, and finally, of nominating them to 
 office. Under the hands ot Turkey, the Black 
 Sea, which had formerly been the fcene of a very 
 active commerce, was lliut up by the narrow 
 policy of the divan, and the ports of the Krim 
 
 u 4 gradually 
 
t^6 Chapter viii'. 
 
 gradually loft that fplendour and magniflcene'dl^ 
 now attefted only by their ruins. No friend of 
 humanity can do otherwife than rejoice that 
 fuch mafters have, by the events of war, been 
 difpoflelTed of this important country, and that 
 it has fallen under the control of a power, whofe 
 more liberal and enlightened views tend to re- 
 . vive a decayed commerce, to poiiih barbarian 
 ferocity, and to render a portion of the globe, 
 which had been almofl a defert, again fertile and 
 produdive. 
 
 Immediately as the emprefs got poiTeflion of 
 the Krim, flie projected the recal of trade and 
 manufadtures to a fpot fo well fituated for 
 them j file immediately, and at a great expence, 
 formed new eftablilliments for that purpofe, fent 
 a number of troops to proted: her new domi- 
 nions, and allowed the reigning khan to retire 
 on a liberal penfion. 
 
 The following account of the former govern- 
 ment of that country, which I had, in 1781,, 
 from Seid'EiTendi, vizir to Shaheen Guerrai, the 
 reigning khan, and which I found by other infor- 
 mation to be perfedily accurate, I prefent as the 
 more deferving notice, as no juft account of that 
 government has hitherto appeared. To compare 
 it with the ancient feudal governments, and to 
 pffer a number of conjectures which would arife 
 from an invefiigation of that fubjed, would be 
 
 foreiga 
 
TURKISH PROVINCES. 297, 
 
 foreign to my prefent purpofe, and a taik I am 
 not qualified to undertake, but it may furniib 
 matter for the fpeeulations of others. 
 
 The khan was ahvays the eldeft male of the 
 Guerrai family, defcended from Gengis KJian^ ex- 
 cept there was fome natural incapacity which 
 excluded hirn from the fuccefiion, or that the 
 country, which fometimes happened, interferedj 
 and elected another, but always one of the 
 Guerrai family, and the eldeft and neareft to the 
 right line of defcent. Afterwards this family be- 
 came very numerous, and it was difficult to de- 
 termine who had the befl: claim, fo that the 
 khans were latterly wholly elective. Thofe mofl 
 concerned in the election were the beys and the 
 murfas ; but the general opinion of the nation 
 was alfo coniidered, as the nomination of an un- 
 warlike or unpopular khan would occafion an 
 oppofition on the part of the people. 
 
 After the Turks became formidable to the 
 Krim Tatars, the porte efiablifhed a right of ap- 
 proving the eledlion, and afterwards of appoint- 
 ing the khan folely. The beys and principal 
 murfas (or myrfas) fometimes wrote to Conftan- 
 tinople to folicit the fovereignty for the prince 
 whom they preferred, and fometimes the candi- 
 dates bribed the porte. 
 
 The khan retained his fovereignty only dur- 
 ing the pleafure of the Ottoman fultan, and an^ 
 
 nually 
 
^ 
 
 ipS CHAP t ER viii. 
 
 Jiually a capugee-bafhi was fent-fronl Conftariti- 
 jiople with a firman confirm ingsbim for the year 
 to come. By the peace of Kainargi, in 1774^ 
 the Krim was declared independent^ and the 
 Tatars reflored to theirprivilegeof electing their 
 own lb ve re ign» 
 
 If the khan was depofed, it was .by a firmari 
 (or hatti-iherif ) of the fultan, brought from 
 Conilantinople by a capugee-badii. His depo- 
 sition was often the confequence of complaints 
 ^ againfl: him by the principal people of the Krim 
 or of dilTatisfadion on the part of the porte of 
 his conduct in time of war, or tardinefs in fup^ 
 pl^ang the capital with corn ; but he was never 
 put to death. 
 
 The lad unfortunate khan, who reigned when 
 I received this information, was an exception* 
 He quitted RuiTia, and retired to Conilantinople* 
 where he was at firfl received with great dif- 
 tindion, then exiled, and afterwards put to 
 death. 
 
 The depofed khans were fometimes exiled to 
 a difbant part of the empire, or one of the Greek 
 iflands, but generally the porte gave them a 
 c/iifilik, or kind of farm, confifliing of a country- 
 houfe and cultivated lands, between Ccnflanti« 
 nople and Adrianople, whither they carried with 
 them their domefiiics, and fuch as were attached 
 to their fortunes. There are at prefent nearly 
 
 three 
 
TURKISH PROVINCES* 299 
 
 three hundred princes of the family refiding in 
 thofe parts, who fometimes render 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 often been nearly extindt. 
 At prefent there are, befides the fultan, only 
 tvvo^ Ions, ftill very young, of his late uncle 
 Abd-ul-hamid. Selim himfelf has.-no children : 
 he is much add idled to a vice v/hich generally 
 carries with it this punifhment. 
 
 When the Sultan appointed a khan, he wrote 
 to the four .beys, informing them that he had 
 named fuch a prince for their fove reign. 
 
 The khan was as defpotic as the Ottoman ful- 
 tan in the execution of the law, which in com- 
 mon cafes was that of the koran ; in extraordi- 
 nary cafes, or where he did not choofe to appeal 
 to the law, there was no reflraint on his power, 
 except with refpecl to the beys' families, as fliall 
 be hereafter mentioned, and in affairs which con- 
 cerned the nation at large. 
 
 The khans had no land of their own, except a 
 very little about Bagfhiferrai. 
 
 All the fons of the Guerrai family are ftyled 
 ftdtans. 
 
 There was a council, or rather efiiate (etat) 
 compofed of the four eldeft perfons of four fa- 
 milies, who have the title of bey (the fame as the 
 
 Arabic 
 
^OO- CHAPTER VI II. 
 
 .'Arabic beg) or prince. Tiie names of thefe fk« 
 
 itiilies are Sherinj Barin (or Barony) Manfurjand 
 
 Sigevut. 
 
 The firfl family is very numerotis ; of the fe- 
 
 cond, two perfons only were living in 17S2 ; of 
 the Manfurs there are alfo many, but of the 
 Sigevuts few* The Sherins, who are efteemed 
 the moft noble, and to whom the fovereignty 
 would devolve^ were the Guerrai family extindl^ 
 frequently marry daughters of the Guerrais^ 
 and fometimes, though not often, out of the 
 mofl: confiderable Myrfas families. 
 
 The khan was, by the confiitution of the go- 
 vernment, obhged to confult the beys in matters 
 which related to peace and war^ and to general 
 concerns of the nation ; and they confirmed, by 
 their lignature, all letters on important affairs 
 written by the khan to Conflantinople, or to 
 other courts; 
 
 The khan could not put to death any one of 
 the families of the beys, without permiflion from 
 Conftantinople ; he could only imprifon them. 
 Formerly they were judged by the other beys 
 and the khan, and if the other beys wxre impli- 
 cated in the crime, by the murfas5 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 alienate the 
 
 family 
 
TURKISH PROVINCES. 30I 
 
 family lands and polTeffions, which were inherit- 
 ed, not by his children, but by his fuccelTor in 
 office or dignity. The money and moveable 
 effects the beys could leave to whom they pleafcd, 
 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 criminal cafes, the beys as well as the 
 murfas, on whofe lands the crime was committed, 
 feized the offender, and fent him to the khan or 
 other officer of juflice. This is to be underfhood 
 of capital offences ; in cafes of lefs importance 
 they might punifli by beating. 
 
 There was another eftate, compofed of the 
 murfas or proprietors of land, and who confidered 
 themfelves as a feparate clafs from the people; 
 their ideas of diftindlion on this head exad:ly 
 correfpond with thofe received in Europe, of 
 gentlemen or nobles. The word muria (in Perfia 
 mirfa) fignifics lord, or feigneur, and we ihould 
 tranflate it efqtdre, lord of the manor ^ or lejfer baron^ 
 while the beys are the great barons or peers. 
 
 The eldefl fons of the murfas inherited their 
 fathers' lands, and not the eldefh males of the fa- 
 mily, as was the cafe with the beys. Of their 
 money or other eifeds they difpofed as they 
 pleafed to their younger children. They had 
 the lame jurifdict ion as the beys in cafes of of- 
 fences 
 
^02 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 fences committed on their lands, that is, beating 
 or imprifonlng, and fending the offenders to the 
 khan or other tribunals. 
 
 The khan might put to death a murfa, but h^ 
 always, when the nature of the cafe admitted 
 delay, judged the offender before the beys, or an 
 aifembiy of the murfas, or fuch of his friends 
 who infifled on feeing juflice done to him acr 
 ^cording to the koran. 
 
 In matters of national concern, or which might 
 occalion a general difcontent, the khan alfembled 
 the murjas as well as \!wt four beys ; the latter act- 
 ing always as a check on the great power of the 
 khan, and on the other hand reftraining the 
 power which an union of the murfas fometimes 
 had rendered too diclating. In former times 
 the beys and the murfas depofed their fovereign, 
 when his condu<5l had occafioned a general dif- 
 content ; but this was confidered as fo dangerous 
 a ftep, that it was never recurred 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 paflure, paid to the bey or murfa, 
 who was the owner, twenty per cent, of the pro- 
 duce for rent. 
 
 If the land was his own, he paid only ten per 
 cento to the bey or murfa, in whofe diftrid it lay. 
 
 The 
 
TURKISH PROVINCES. 303 
 
 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 
 fent a funimons to the bevs and murfas to fur- 
 niili their quota, which was fixed in proportion 
 to the number of people who dwelt on their 
 poiTeiHons. Every bey or murfa commanded 
 the body he brought into the field. The khan 
 gave the foldiers neither pay nor provifions; 
 their ofhcers or themifelves provided what was 
 necelfary till they paiTed their frontier, when they 
 fubiirted on plunder, whether the country be- 
 longed to a friendly or an inimical power. AU 
 moft every Tatar had a horfe and arms of his 
 
 pwn. 
 
 A part of the booty, which they always made 
 whenever they palled their frontier, belonged to 
 jthe khan, a part to their bey or murfa, and the 
 remainder to themfelves, which was generally 
 the mod confiderable. 
 
 Neither the beys nor the murfas were per- 
 mitted to make war with one another j and the 
 people were forbidden to take a fhare in their 
 perfonal quarrels. 
 
 There was another clafs of the people, who 
 idwelt in cities and towns, and who paid no rent 
 to the beys or murfas for the ground their houfes 
 flood on, or their gardens or fieldsjwhich belonged 
 
 to 
 
5^4 C HA P TER VIII. 
 
 to themfelves, or they hired of other proprietors^ 
 as thefe lands or grounds belonged to the city or 
 town j nor were they fubjcdl to he called out to 
 war, though they often, for the fake ofpiunder,. 
 voluntarily joined the corps of fome bey of 
 rpurfa. 
 
 There were fome other perfons in the Krim, 
 who had the title of bey, but they did not belong- 
 to the e/Iaie or eta^y and were in eifed: only com- 
 mon muriks. 
 
 There was a clafs of people alfo called t^onr-- 
 iters, kapu-khalkiy people of the porte or gate, 
 that is, the court, becaufe juflice was anciently 
 adminiflered by the judge fitting at his gate ; 
 they confifted of the vizir, khuznjjdar-baflii, 
 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 inlignificant family, they were called 
 aga, but their fons took the title of murfa ^. 
 The beys and great murfas fometimes gave their 
 daughters in marriage to courtiers, if they were 
 become perfons of confequence ; but, however, 
 this was rare, and generally by the folicitatiorj. 
 of the khan. 
 
 * This inftance of a fon becoming a gentleman becaufe liis 
 father, who was not noble, held an honourable poft, bears a 
 ftrong refemblance to ancient feudal government, and to thp 
 prefent cullom of moft European nation-s. 
 
 The 
 
TURKISH PROVINCES., 305 
 
 The great officers of the fliate were, 
 
 1. G alga-Sultan. He was governor of the 
 city of Akmedfchit, and its diftrid, where he al- 
 ways rcfided. He was always of the Guerrai 
 family, and had, in his diflrid, 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, viz. a vizir, 
 khaznadar, &c. It has been always underfhood 
 by thofe who have treated of the Krim, that 
 galga-fultan w^as the khan*s eldeft fon ; this was 
 never the cafe. 
 
 2. NuRUDDiN-SuLTA'N. 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 adminiftration of 
 juftice, or any other department, farther than, 
 giving his advice, or tranfacling for the khan in 
 his name fuch bufmefs as he entrufted him with. 
 His office feems to have been a kind of occa- 
 (ional lieutenant 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 ; except that 
 he could not put to death ; he was not always 
 of the Guerrai family, but fometimes a Sherin, 
 in which cafe he had no vizir, but he had all 
 
 X the 
 
S06 CHAPTEH Vlllrf 
 
 the other oiEcers of his court the fame as a 
 fultan. 
 
 4. Ak-kirman-Seraskir wasalwaj^sa ful^ 
 tan, and had power of hfe and death. He re-* 
 lidcd at Akkirmani before the Turks took poflef- 
 fion oi Befarabi'y he was alfo governor of the 
 Nogai-Tatars before they emigrated from the 
 plains on the north of Perekop to the Kuban j 
 he had the fame officers as galga-fidtan, 
 
 5. Kuban-Seraskir had the fame power 
 and privileges as galga-fultan, being always a 
 fultan of the Guerrai family* Bslides, every 
 tribe of the Kuban-Tatars had a feralkir, who 
 adminiftered juftice in the tribe, but was under 
 kuban-ferajhir, and could not put to death* 
 
 Bcfides thefe there were^ 
 
 1. The Mufti in the Krim, appointed by the 
 khan, and who refided with him at Bagchiferrai^ 
 but there was no body of ulema to check the 
 power of the government, as at Conflantinople* 
 When the Turks were in poiTeffion of Kaffay 
 they had a mufti there, but he never was con- 
 fulted by the Tatars, or fuffered to meddle in 
 their affairs. 
 
 2. A kadilaikir or (kaziafkir) in like manner 
 appointed by, and refiding with the khan. 
 
 3. Twenty-four kadis (or kazis) one in every 
 confiderable diftrid, be (ides kadis in the Kuban, 
 
 where 
 
TtTRKISH PROVINCES. 307 
 
 Where every kadi had a diilridl of feveral villages 
 or encampments of tents. 
 
 Thus this fingular government feems originally 
 to have been feudal, but was afterwards, when 
 the Tatars became Mahomedans, modified by 
 the adoption of the laws of the koran. The 
 Tatars acknowledged the fultan of Conftanti- 
 Hople as kalif and head of their religion. 
 They never could be perfuaded to leave off eat- 
 ing horfeflefli, which is forbidden by the Maho- 
 medan law to Mufelmans. The Turkifh muftis 
 wifely decided, that horfeflefh was forbidden to 
 all other Mahomedans to eatj but not to the 
 Tatars, as they had been accufbomxed to it, and 
 that thereby it ceafed to be a fm. 
 
 The Revenues of the reigni:.-g Khans were, 
 
 lil. Ten per cent, of the corn the Nogais 
 grew. 
 
 2. The produce of the salt lakes — very 
 little fait was the property of individuals — they 
 rendered him about one hundred thoufand dol- 
 lars a year, that is, about twelve thoufand five 
 hundred pounds fherling* 
 
 3. The DUTY on imports and exports, which 
 ufually amounted to the fame fum of one hun* 
 dred thoufand dollars, or twelve thoufand five 
 hundred pounds fterling. 
 
 X z 4. Subsidies, 
 
j 
 
 308 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 4. SuESiDi Es, which the Ottoman porte paid 
 to the khan in time of war, and frequently other 
 fums, to affift in armaments, and to keep the 
 Tatars in good humour. 
 
 5. The funis annually fent by the Ottoman 
 fultan to defray the expences of Galga-fultan's 
 court, and to pay the officers of the khan's court, 
 as vizir, khafnadar, he. with a view to render 
 them more dependent. 
 
 6. The pay of the feimafis^ a body of troops 
 of about 1,600, who ferved as guards to the 
 khan, was always fent from Conilantinople. 
 
 The Turks, in return, could always rely on a 
 body of auxiliary cavalry from the Krim and the 
 Kuban. 
 
 The Chriftians and Jews paid a capitation 
 tax, as in Turkey, to the beys or murfas ; but 
 they were infinitely lefs vexed than in Turkey, 
 enjoyed more protedion, and were treated with 
 lefs infolence and indignity. 
 
 The revenue of Sbaheen-Guerrai-Khan, in 
 1 78 1, amounted to 900,000 dollars, without 
 calculating the fums ufually fent from Con- 
 ilantinople; this fum makes about £. 112.500 
 fterling. 
 
 The num.ber of inhabitants was then reduced 
 to about 100,000 fouls in the Krim, and 
 600,000 fouls in the Kuban ; two-thirds of the 
 
 inhabitants 
 
TURKISH PROVINCES. 309 
 
 inhabitants had emigrated to Turkey fince the 
 beginning of that khan's reign, which was the 
 laft. In the a^utumn of 1 777, the Tatars of the 
 Krim alone met the P.ulTian arm.y, under prince 
 Proforofsky, in the plains of vSalguir, with forty 
 tlioufand men, all well mounted and arm.ed. In 
 1782, the large city of Kaffa confilled only of 
 450 houfes inhabited. 
 
 It may not be inappofite to fay a few words 
 on the reign of the lafh khan of the Tatars, and 
 the final extindion of the Tatar dominion in 
 the Krim. 
 
 In the treaty of peace of Kainargi, concluded 
 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 Edijjans, Geamboniluks and Edi- 
 ^' fchkuls, fJiall, zvithout any exception, be acknozv- 
 
 ledged by the two empires as free nations, and 
 
 entirely independent of any foreign pozver, and 
 ''' Jjiall be governed by their ozvn fovereign of the 
 ^' race of Gingis-Khan, elected and raifed to the 
 " throne by all the Tatar people; zvho fJi all govern 
 " tlmn according to their ancient lazjos and ufageSy 
 •" rendering no account zvhatever to any foreign 
 ^^ pozver ; it is for this reafon that neither the court 
 " of Rujfia nor the Ottoman porte ought to meddle^ 
 ^' under any pretext zvhatever .^ in the eleEiion of the 
 
 faid khan,- nor in their affairs, domefiic, politic^ 
 
 X 3 *^ civile 
 
 
 ^« 
 

 
 310 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 ^' dvi/y and interior 5 Z-z//, on the contrary, achio^v- 
 '' ledge and confider thejaid 'Tatar Elation in its poli- 
 *' tical and civil Jl ate, on the fame footing as other 
 " pozvers, zvhich govern hy themfelves, and are de- 
 ^' pe?ident on God alone. With refpeEt to the cere^ 
 monies of religion, as the Tatars profefs the fame 
 worfliip as the Mifelma?is, they fluill regidate them- 
 felves zvith regard to his highnefs, as grand kalif 
 of Mahomet anifm, according to the precepts zvhick 
 " their lazv prefcribes to them, zvithont, hovoever^ 
 *' any prejudice to the confirmation of their civil and 
 f religions liberty, IScT — " Rtijfia engages to zjoith-- 
 drazv its troops, ts^c, and the f lib lime port e to relin- 
 qiiifli all right zvhatever, zvhich it might have to 
 *' the fortreffes, cities, habitations, l5c. in Crimea, the 
 *' Kuban, or in the ifland of Taman, and not to keep 
 *' in any of thofe places garrifons, or other armed 
 *' people, i^c.i^c:' 
 
 In confequence of this fhipulation Shaheen 
 Guerrai was elecfled khan by the beys and 
 niurfas, and with the approbation of the people, 
 as it feemedj for no difcontent appeared among 
 them. 
 
 The new khan, however, did not long keep his 
 popularity. He wifhed to civilize his people, 
 and introduce the F.uropean difcipline among 
 his troops. He would have fucceeded, had he 
 paid more refped]: to the deep-rooted preju- 
 dices of the nation. He began by entirely abo- 
 * lilhing 
 
 \ 
 
TURKISH PROVINCES. ^II 
 
 lifhlng the old form of government ; he raifed 
 new foldiers, paid them, and appointed murfas for- 
 their officers. They had no (landing army before, 
 but every man was a foldier. He diminifhed 
 the rent paid by the people to the murfas for 
 their land, and appropriated it to his own ufe, 
 allowing fuch murfas as would ferve in the army 
 handfome falaries. He affefted too much the 
 manners of the Chriflians or Ruffians, though he 
 obferved with punctuality g,ll the ceremonies 
 of his religion. His expences were thus increafed 
 beyond his income, and he could not, like his 
 predecefTors, apply for pecuniary affiRance to the 
 Ottoman Porte, which had ceafed to pay the 
 falaries of the officers of his court, He ftruck 
 a new coin at an enormous expence, and fent for 
 a German to conduft the mint. He farmed out 
 the different branches of the revenue to people 
 who exadled the payment with a rigour hitherto 
 unknown. He eilabliflied a corps of artillery, 
 and endeavoured to form a marine ; but want of 
 revenue prevented him fucceeding in any one 
 undertaking. 
 
 The Turks faw with jealoufy the independence 
 of the Tatars, and lamented being deprived, in 
 all probability, of their affiftance in any future 
 war, as the khan declared his intention of re- 
 maining neutral, as the only means of making 
 bis people forn^idable, and maintaining his in^^ 
 
 X 4 dependencet 
 
312 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 dependence. The Turks laboured inceflfantly by 
 their emiffaries, who were moflly religious en- 
 thufiafts, to flir up the people to rebelUon. 
 They fucceeded in raifmg fuch a fpirit of difconr; 
 tent, 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 troops to 
 Taman, and beheaded one of the khan's com- 
 manders. 
 
 I arrived at the Ruffian fortrefs of Janikali, in 
 October 1777, and was fetting out for Bagflii- 
 ferrai, when news arrived that the Tatars had 
 fuddenly fallen on the difperfed Ruffians in every 
 part of the Krim and the Kuban at the fame 
 time, and had cut them all off; but that the 
 khan himfelf had efcaped to the Ruffian head- 
 quarters. The Ottoman Porte, at the fame 
 time, had appointed a new khan, and fent him 
 to the port now called Sebafliopolis, with five 
 fhips of the line. A Ruffian army foon entered 
 the Krim ; 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 jufhified as Chriftians for following the law of 
 retaliation, they are, as men, iomewhat ex- 
 cufable. 
 
 The Tatars, though reduced to obedience, 
 
 could 
 
TURKISH PROVINCES. 313 
 
 could not be kept In that (late by the few troops 
 the khan could rely on ; he was therefore obliged 
 to have an auxiliary army from RufTia, and the 
 porte made feveral attempts to excite a frefli 
 rebellion. Theemprefs, at laft tired oiit by the 
 continual alarms they occalloned, and deter- 
 mined no longer to fuifer her fubjedls to be ex- 
 pofed to the calamities the incurfions of thefe 
 barbarians occafioned, feized on the Krim and 
 Kuban in 1783. The khan retired to Kaluga, 
 in Ruffia -Minor, where he was allowed a very 
 large penfion by the emprefs, and treated in every 
 refpe(5l as a fovereign ; but, unaccufhomed to a 
 quiet and inactive life, he quitted RufTia, and 
 went to Conftantinople, where at firft he was 
 received with great diflindlion, but was foon fent 
 into exile to a Greek ifland, and one day, as he 
 was in his bath, he was feized and ftrangled, and 
 his head fent to Conftantinople. 
 
 1 beg the reader will excufe a fhort digreffion 
 refpecting myfelf, as it may throw fome light 
 on the charader or morals of the people I was 
 among. The ^f-th December, 1777,! failed from 
 Janikali, in a fmall veffel, for Kaffa, (the road by 
 land being unfafe) which had jufh been taken by 
 the Ruffians, under General Balmaine, by fliorm, 
 and many Turks, who were at KafFa, had been 
 put to the fword by a Greek corps from Janicali, 
 
 who 
 
314 CHAPTER Vlir. 
 
 who alfo robbed my fervant of all my baggage, 
 to a very conliderable amount, and which I 
 never recovered, inftead of making the port 
 of KaiFa, we were driven by a fl:orm along the 
 coaft, and after lofipg our bowfprit and all our 
 anchors, we were in great diftrefs for water> being 
 eighty perfons on board, all military men, Wi? 
 made feveral defcents on the coaft to procure 
 water^ but were always beaten off*- by the Tatars ^ 
 at laft we pafiedBelaklava,and lay tointhegulph 
 of Giofleve, oppofite the port of Sebaftopolis, 
 where we faw the Turkifh fleet at anchor. The 
 maJfler of a TurkiOi merchant fhip came out to 
 lis, and we bargained with him, for about fifty 
 pounds fterling, for a cafjc of water, which he pro- 
 inifed to bring us off in the night; but as foon 
 as he got on fliore, we obferved one of the Turk-^ 
 ifh frigates loofening 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 perifb 
 by thirft, rather than throw ourfelves on the 
 mercy of the Turks. I was the only perfon in the 
 vefiel 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 differed in the latitude of the Danube a de-r 
 gree, I examined the coaft of Anatolia, which 
 
 I had 
 
TURKISH PROVINCES. 315 
 
 I had furveyed that fummer from Conftantinople 
 to Kltros, and by that judged which was the 
 bed. 
 
 We arrived fafe ofFSulinarmouthjbut the wind 
 not permitting us to enter, a Turkifli boat came 
 out to us ; and here I cannot enough commend 
 the humanity we experienced from the crews of 
 feveral Turkifli merchant veflels. We had 
 only a hawfer and a boat-anchor to hold the 
 fliip. The water was very fmooth, It was al- 
 ready night. They fent our five large boats man-r 
 ned to t ow us in, if there fliould be any danger, 
 and they remained with us all night. We got 
 fafe into the river in the morning. 
 
 The next day I fet off for Galatz, intending 
 to go by land to RufTia. In the river I found 
 two new Turkifli 50 gun fliips, without their 
 guns or crews. I had known the captains at 
 Confl:antinople, and was received with kindnefs 
 by them. 
 
 The ifi Januar}^ 1778, I w^ent 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 diflundion, who immediately produced 
 a warrant from the paflia of Ebrahil to cut off 
 my head, and thofe of 26 perfons who were come 
 with me from the veflel. The executioner was 
 ^landing in the room, with a bag to put our 
 
 heads 
 
3l6 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 lieads in, and a heap of fawduft was laid in the 
 court before the houfe to abforb the blood. My 
 Greek interpreter was lb terrified, that lie could 
 utter no other word than quel facco^ pointing to 
 the bag in which his head was to be put. 
 Luckily I was not intimidated ; but i was oblig- 
 ed to fpeak for mylelf as well as I could, and with 
 great difficulty periuaded the officer, who was 
 filiktar (fword-bearer) to the pallia, that I was 
 an Englliliman, and came with no ill intentions ; 
 that were I an enemy, in the fituation in which 
 we came into the Danube, the cufhoni of all na- 
 tions granted us an afylum. He then told me, 
 we were accufed of coming into the Danube 
 with a delign to burn the two Turkilh fliips of 
 war. In ibort my arguments, and a few thou- 
 fand dollars in Ruffian bank notes, prevailed on ' 
 him to go back to the paflia for frefh inftrudlions, 
 and to fend to the captains of the Turkilli Ibips 
 of war, who engaged to anfwer with their heads 
 that I was an Engl illi man, and a friend of the 
 captain pallia's. It was a lucky circumftance 
 that they had {ttn me with the captain pafha, 
 and knew that I really was an Engliibman. 
 
 I afterwards learnt that the Greek governor, 
 who had at firft received me with great civility, 
 was our accufer. 
 
 We remained prifoners at large in the town 
 three months, v^hen an order from the captain 
 
 pallia 
 
TURKISH PROVINCES. 3 1 7 
 
 pallia came to let us depart, and " that wejiwuld 
 '^ be fo little moleftedy that if a bird -perched on the 
 " maft-top itjliotdd be driven azvay.'" 
 
 While I was in the quarantine at the Ruffian 
 frontier, in September 1778^ there pafled 75,000 
 Chriltians, obliged by the Ruffians to emigrate 
 from the Crimea (35,769 males.) The Arme- 
 nian women, who cam.e from Kaffa, were more 
 beautiful, and, I think, approached nearer that 
 perfevft form which the Grecians have left us in 
 their flatues, than the women of Tmo. Thefe 
 people were fent to inhabit the country aban- , 
 doned by the Nogai Tatars, near the weft coaft 
 of the fea of Azof (Palus M^otis) but the win- 
 ter coming on before the houfes built for them 
 w^ere ready, a great part of them had no other 
 fhelter from the cold than what v/as 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 great- 
 eft part periftied ; feven thoufand only were alive 
 a few years ago. A colony from Italy to the 
 banks of the Boryfthenes, in 1783, had no bet- 
 ter fate, owing to the bad management of thofe 
 who were commiffioned to provide for them, 
 and not to the climate ; nor have colonies of 
 Germans been more fortunate in Ruffia — but 
 this is a digreffiion. 
 
 I ftiall here take the opportunity of correcting 
 
 a few 
 
3l8 CHAPTER Villi 
 
 a few errors into which fome writers of celebrity 
 have fallen. 
 
 With refped to the title of fultan, borne by 
 the Gengifkhan family^ and to that of khan 
 (written frequently by the French, who do not 
 diftinguifh 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 corredlion. His 
 errors, v/hich are not entirely cleared up by Peyf- 
 fonel, arife from not having obferved the diffe-^ 
 rent force which thefe words have in the different 
 countries where they are ufed. They are both 
 words of command, and (contrary to Tott's af- 
 fertion) are ufed by the Turkifli emperors to ex- 
 prefs fovereignty, as is evident from the Arabic 
 infcriptions on the Ottoman money: Sultan, ebn 
 nlJultaUy Abdulhamid khaUy dame mulkku. Sultan^ 
 Jon of a f lilt an ^ Abdulhamid the khan^whoje reign hs 
 perpctnaL Thefe terms, however, are ufed very 
 differently in Perfia j /liah, which among the 
 Tatars is equivalent to khan or king, is the only 
 title taken by the Perfian monarch : in that coun- 
 try khan anfwers to the Turkifli pajha, and is 
 therefore taken by the governors of provinces, 
 whilft Jidtan^ which there fignifies fimply com- 
 mander, is a title given to a captain of horfe. \v^ 
 my time, a man was made khan or governor of 
 
 Benderrik. 
 
TURKISH PROVINCES* 319 
 
 Benderrik, and his Ton, who commanded a body 
 of cavalry, was called fultan- I fpeak of the 
 prefent acceptation of thef^v^'ords, not of their 
 more ancient iignification. 
 
 Tott is erroneous in dating, that the bey of the 
 Sherins conftantly reprefents the five other beys* 
 In the ktnguejhes^ or extraordinary aflemblies, 
 as well as in all the pubHc convocations, the bey 
 of the Sherins, though firft in rank, reprefents 
 only his own family ; the beys of the other 
 houfes are alio prefent, and reprefent each their 
 own family. 
 
 Ththijioricaljoitrnaloi the affairs oftheKrim, 
 which was kept at BagtJJiiferraiy is probably a 
 valuable document : Peyflbnel feems to doubt 
 of its exlftence, or at ieafh to fappofe, that it is 
 little more than a compilation from general tra- 
 ditions, made by fome Tatar of learning ; it is, 
 however, certain that fuch a journal was regularly 
 kept there by a family, who have handed it 
 down from father to fon with the fame regula- 
 rity as a fimilar journal is kept at the porte at 
 Conftantlnople ; the khans often referred to it. 
 The caverns found in different parts of the 
 Krim, particularly at Tepekirman, half a league 
 from Bagtlbiferrai, have given rife to many cu- 
 rious fpeculations : from their fituation on the 
 fides of ileep, and ofcen perpendicular rocky 
 
 mountains. 
 
320 Chapter \^i 11; 
 
 mountains, as well as from the regularity of theif 
 fl:ru(5lure, it is evident that they have been ex- 
 cavated by human art, but whether as lepulchral 
 monuments, as fortreffeSj or as places of refuge 
 for cattle in time of invafion, or for whatever 
 other ufe, is at the prefent day doubtful. The 
 objedion of Mr. PeyfTonel, who thinks it impof- 
 fible for cattle to have chmbed to fuch a height, 
 is certainly erroneous as to its pra(5ticability, 
 lince the Tatars at prefent acftually do put herds 
 of goats every night into fome of them, by means 
 of fteps cut in the rock, of which, had he palTed 
 a night, as I did, in that beautifully romantic 
 vale, he might have been an eye-witneis; others, 
 indeed, have no fuch accefs, and might ferve 
 as a refuge to the mafters of the flocks them- 
 felves. 
 
 What has been faid fufficiently illuftrates the 
 political flate of the Tatars. In their education, 
 there is little to fupply the mind with know- 
 ledge, and whatever marks of fagacity are dif- 
 coverable among them, are to be attributed to 
 natural genius, and the effed: of an a6live mode 
 of life, which, even among favages, beftows a 
 fliarpnefs and accuracy of intelledl. Their ac- 
 . quired information is very limited : reading and 
 writino; confliitute their hiaheft branches of edu- 
 cation, and in the fciences in general they are lefs 
 informed even than the Turks themfelves. Like 
 
 mofl 
 
TURKISH PROVINCES. 32I 
 
 mofl barbarians, their own country is to them at 
 once the pattern of excellence and the boundary 
 of knowledge ; and the chief officers of flate 
 themfelves were ignorant of the geography or 
 relative fitaation of every other country. 
 
 The Tatar mode of fighting has no refem- 
 blance to European ta6tics ; it is one continued 
 fcene of confufion and tumult, though it gives 
 occafion to the difplay of great agility, and no 
 fmall portion of a barbarous kind of ikill. Al- 
 ternately fiying and advancing in detached par- 
 ties, many kinds of conteft are carried on at 
 once ; the fab re, the pike, and fire-arms, are all 
 employed, and they fight alike on horfeback 
 or on foot, though the former is their mofl 
 common mode. The regularity and difcipline 
 of the modern European battles has greatly 
 contributed to produce a correfpondent mildnefs 
 towards the conquered ', but in this defultory 
 warfare the paffions of the individuals are let 
 loofe, perfonal fury augments the favage horror 
 of the fcene, and the enemy is never fpared, un- 
 lefs he be fufficiently unhurt to become valuable 
 as a Have. 
 
 It is not furprizing, that on the emprefs's 
 obtaining pofleflion of the Krim, a great number 
 of its Tatar inhabitants fliould emigrate from 
 their country. Befides the religious prejudices 
 of thefe people, their unfettled and turbulent 
 
 Y habits 
 
%ll CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 habits rendered them little adapted to that 
 induftry and civilization, which it was her 
 endeavour to introduce into her newly-acquired 
 dominions. Thofe who chofe to leave the 
 country, had leave to fell their lands and other 
 property, which was prote(5ted by the Ruffians. 
 She did not ad: 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 
 protedion and privilege as a Ruffian Chriftiaii 
 fubjed. 
 
 The Tatar hordes now no more fwell the 
 Turkifh army, nor mark their road with fmoking 
 villages laid in aihes, and murdered inhabitants j 
 thofe hordes, who penetrated even into Pruffia 
 and Siiefia, ravaged Poland, Hungary, and Ruf- 
 fia, deilroying by fire and fword every habitation^ 
 every living creature they could not carry off, 
 tying their prifoners to their horfes' tails, and 
 thofe prifoners were the flower of the youth of 
 Chriftian nations, led away, never more to re- 
 turn from llavery and violation to their friends 
 or their country ; thefe hordes are now either 
 difperfed among their brother favages in Afia, o» 
 civilized by their conquerors. 
 
[ S'^3 ] 
 
 CHAPTER IX, 
 
 The Political State of Greece. 
 
 THE political (late of Greece has long an- 
 nounced to the attentive obferver that ex- 
 plofion which late events feem to have rapidly 
 promoted. Greece can no longer fubmit to the 
 Turkifh yoke ; (he pants for emancipation, and 
 already afpires to be ranked among the indepen- 
 dent flates of Europe. The rife, or rather the 
 renovation, of her power, will form an important 
 sera in European politics : to appreciate its 
 probable confequences, we mufh confider the 
 paft and prefent circumftances of that famous 
 country ; we mufl recur to the eclipfe of hex for- 
 mer fplendor by the Turkifh conqueft, to the 
 long night of barbarifm and oppreffion in which 
 (he has been whelmed, and to thofe fbruggles 
 which of late years have fhown that flie is 
 about to awake to the aflertion of her native 
 lights. 
 
 It is not here my intention to trace the details 
 of claflic ftory, to defcribe thofe heroic ages, 
 when the fplendor of genius and the illumina- 
 tion of fcience feemed to be concentrated within 
 the narrow boundaries of Greece, and by their 
 irradiation tp communicate animation and im- 
 
 y z prove men t 
 
324 CHAPTER 1^. 
 
 provement to furrounding nations; it will be' 
 lufficient for me to call to the remerabrance of 
 the fcholar fome of the brigheil pages in the 
 hiftorv of mankind ; it will be fuiTicient to cite 
 the names of thofe poets and orators, th ofe 
 ftatefmen and monilifts, whofe illuftrious deeds, 
 and whofe admirable precepts ftili extort theap- 
 plaiifes of the univerfe. To Greece belonged 
 an Homer and a Demoftlienes, a Phocion and 
 an Arlftides, a Socrates, a Plato, an Ariftotle^ a 
 Phidias, and an Apelles : in fliort, in whatever 
 path the ardent and eccentric imagination of 
 man has fought for fame, in that the Grecian 
 name ftands eminently confpicuous, if not arro- 
 gating to itfelf an -unrivalled fuperiority. 
 
 India and Egypt had for many preceding 
 as:es cultivated the arts ; but thefe countries 
 were only the cradle of knowledge ; when tranf- 
 mitted to the genial climate of Greece, foftered 
 -by her political freedom, and animated by her vi- 
 vacity and enterprize, it quickly attained the fub- . 
 limed heights, and invefted the human character 
 with a dignity before unknown. By wdiat gra- 
 dations their ancient fimplicity, temperance, 
 modefty, and good-faith funk away, and how 
 the decay of their virtues involved the ruin of 
 their genius, their hiftory will Ibew : let the. 
 phiLanthropill:, perufmg the inflructive leflbny 
 weep over the fall of human grcatnefs, or rather 
 
 let 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 325 
 
 let him colled from the fatal example-, new in- 
 citements to energy and perfeverance in the 
 caufe of private and public virtue. 
 
 Anc.eat Rome, the vidorious rival of Greece 
 in arm.s, caught from her captive the infpiration 
 of genius;' but fl:ie never reached a fimilar de- 
 gree of fubhmity; fhe imitated, but never 
 equalled, the poets, the orators, the hiflorians, 
 the artifts of Greece, according to the ingenuous 
 acknowledgment of the firft of Latin poets : 
 
 
 Excudent alli fpJrantia molllus asra. 
 
 Credo equidem : vivos ducent de niarmore vultus ; 
 *' Orabunt caufas melius, ccelique meatus 
 ** Defcrfbent radio,'' &c. 
 
 Indeed, no nation ever arrived fo nearly at per- 
 fedion in every branch of fcience. The ge- 
 nius of the ancient Grecians feems to have been 
 endowed with as preternatural a ftrength as the 
 bodies of Homer's heroes. Their poetical 
 imagery was fplendid and fublime, their orato- 
 rical tropes bold and energetic, their fpeculative 
 philofophy manly and comprehenfive. Of the ef- 
 fect of their paintings we can judge only from 
 hiftory, but their ftatues have reached to the 
 prefent tinges ; they pofTefs a dignity more than 
 human ; they feem the ne phis ultra of genius, 
 tafte, and execution, and though often imitated, 
 defy the hand of the copyift. 
 
 Y 3 Such 
 
326 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Such a nation could not have fallen under 
 the yoke of a Turkifh conqueror, had fhe not 
 been prepared for that difgrace by a long period 
 of debafement and fuperftition. When this laffc 
 and mofl terrible cataftrophe arrived, fhe faw 
 her cities and palaces laid in afhes, and the mag- 
 nificent monuments of her ancient glory level- 
 led with the duft by the rude llrokes of thofe 
 ferocious barbarians ; (he faw her fons, a race 
 who had graced and dignified fociety, ilaughter- 
 ed without dlflindlion and without mercy, or 
 fubjeded to a captivity ftill worfe than /laugh- 
 ters but yet her weeping genius feemed to 
 linger among the melancholy ruins, and reluc- 
 tantly to leave them, to carry with her the faint 
 remnants of learning and tafle into more fortu- 
 nate regions, where fhe fowed the feeds of that 
 civilization and fcicnce which at the prefent day 
 fo eminently flourifh in Europe. 
 
 Conquered Greece polifhed Rome, but the 
 conquerors were Romans. Conquered Greece 
 did not polifh Turkey, for the conquerors were 
 Turks. The infenfibility of thefe barbarians is 
 aftoniihing: living amid the effulgence of ge- 
 nius, they have not caught one fpark ; they 
 gaze with unfeeling ftupidity on the wonder and 
 boafl of art, on their glorious monuments, on 
 their temples, and conclude they were built by 
 genii, and then deilroy them, to burn the mar- 
 ble 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 3I7 
 
 ble for lime to make ftucco for their own tafte- 
 lefs houfes; whence the fine arts, are baniflied; 
 where ignorance, tyranny, faperitition,'ard g- ^'S 
 fenfuality only dwell, in fad and ftupidiy fslemn 
 pomp, or ifTuing out with favage fury, lay waile 
 the country round, and imbrue their hands in 
 the blood of thehelplefs, murdering without re- 
 morfe thofe they have conquered. Thus the 
 finefl: countries in the world are become deferts; 
 part inhabited by favage beafts, and part by more 
 favage men ; the poor aborigines ikulking in 
 hiding places like the timid hare (which epithet 
 the Turks give them in derifion) while thofe 
 beads of prey roam abroad. 
 
 Every objcd:, moral and phyfical, the fair 
 face of nature, and the intelle(5lual eners-ies of 
 the inhabitants, have alike been bLfted and de- 
 filed by the harpy-touch of Turkifo tyranny. 
 As an inftance of thofe changes which the coun- 
 try has undergone, we need only confider the 
 ifland of Cyprus, now an almod uninhabited 
 defert, which was, not only in ancient times, 
 but when it was taken by the Turks from the 
 Venetians, populous and exceedingly rich. The 
 gentry lived Hke princes in fplendor, and even 
 the peafants had each of them at lead a filver 
 cup, fpoon, knife, and fork. The number and 
 <^xcellency of its productions were wonderful. 
 At prefent only a little cotton, fome filk and 
 
 Y 4 winca 
 
'^iB CHAPTER IX, 
 
 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 no- 
 thing fince the Turks have been poiTeffed of the 
 ifland. 
 
 Of the defeds of the Grecian charader fome 
 are doubtlefs owing to their ancient corruptions ; 
 but mod of them take their rife in the humiliat- 
 ing ftate of depreflion in which they are held by 
 the Turks. This degradation and fervility of 
 their fituation has operated for centuries, and 
 has confequently produced an accumulated ef- 
 fect on the mind ; but were this weight taken o% 
 the elafticity and vigour of the foul would have 
 wide room for expanfion, and though it cannot 
 be expefted that they would at once rife to the 
 proud animation of their former heroes, they 
 would doubtlefs difplay energies of mind, which 
 the iron hand of defpotifm has long kept dor- 
 mant and inert. It is rather aftonilhing that 
 they have retained fo much energy of character, 
 and arc not more abafed j for like noble courfers 
 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 charader as one 
 
 people, 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 32^ 
 
 people, or whether we confider them accordhig 
 to their local and peculiar diftindions. 
 
 When we view the Greeks in their more com- 
 prehenfive chara6ter as a nation, their fuperiority 
 over the Turks in knowledge is furprifinglv 
 great; they pofiefs a great degree of genius and 
 invention, and are of fo lively an imagination, 
 that they cannot tell the fame ftory twice with- 
 out varying the embellilliments of c.ircumftance 
 and didion; added to this, both men and wo- 
 men fpeak much, and with wonderful volubi- 
 lity and boldnefs, and no people are fuch natural 
 orators ; numbers of them fpeak Italian, but 
 all have an adlivity and fprightlinefs which 
 flrongly contrafts with the flupid and pompous 
 gravity of the Turks; an European feels himfelf 
 as it were at home with them, and amongO: 
 creatures of his own fpecies; for with Mahome- 
 dans there is a dillance, a non-affimiiation, a 
 total difference of ideas, and the more he 
 knows their language the mxore 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 reputation is more owing to the llander of \ 
 the French (their mortal enemies) than to fo great 
 a degree of demerit. In general, they are an agree- ^ 
 able and a ferviceabie people, but they are much 
 given to levity, are immoderately ambitious, 
 
 and 
 
330 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 and fond of honourable difllndiions ; but this very 
 ambition, now a weaknefs,when they have nobler 
 obje(!^s to purfue, will lead them to greatnefs. 
 
 From the account given by Tott (vol. i. p. 
 1 1 8) of the difturbances excited by the patriarch 
 Kirilo^ it would appear that the Greeks have not 
 yet entirely abandoned that fpirit of fuperflition 
 and bigotry, which was, perhapjs, the main 
 caufe of their former downfal. 
 
 It muft be obferved, however, that thefe dif- 
 putes are not fo much foftered among them- 
 felves, 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, direded againfl the Greek 
 church. 
 
 They bear the Turkifh yoke with greater im- 
 patience than other Chriftians (who have long 
 ceafed to flruggle againfl it) and poiTefs a fpirit 
 of enterprize which, however ridiculed by fome 
 authors, often prompts them to noble achieve- 
 ments. Their ancient empire is frefh in their 
 memory; it is the fubjed of their popular fongs, 
 and they fpeak of it in common converfation ^s 
 a recent event. 
 
 That they poffefs a firm and manly courage, 
 notwithPianding the infinuations of their calum^* 
 niators, has been too often teftified to be in the 
 leaft doubtful ; the inftances' which they have 
 
 difplayec} 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 33! 
 
 difplayed In the Ruflian fervice have been truly 
 flrlking. They are pafiionate, ^.-nd fometimes 
 given to aiiaffination ; but, except in Zante and 
 Cephalonia, the fliletto is not fo frequent with 
 them as with the Italians, whom they in ge- 
 neral refemble; the beft of them, if we add more 
 energy, being very fimilar in charadler to the Ve- 
 netians, and the word to the Genoefe. 
 
 The moil obfervable difference in the Grecian 
 charader is between thofe of Conflantinoplc 
 and their countr}'men of the iilands. Themer- \ 
 chants and lower orders of the Conftantinopoiitan 
 Greeks have indeed no very marked character; 
 they are much the fam.e as the trading Chriflians 
 in all parts of the empire, that is to fay, as crafty ' 
 and fraudulent as the Jews, but lefs fo than the 
 Armenians, who are the mofl fubtle of all 
 ufurers. 
 
 But there is in Vifuburb 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 ap- 
 pointed thedrogomans of the porte,and the w^ay- 
 wodes of Walachia and Moldavia. They have 
 kept thefe places among them, as they are mofl:- 
 ly allied together, and keep up a conftant con- 
 ne<^lon with the officers of the porte. They are 
 continually intriguing to get thofe in office re- 
 moved, and obtain their places ; even children 
 cabal againit their fathers, and brothers againfl 
 
 brothers. 
 
532- C H A P T E R IX'. 
 
 brothers. They are all people of very good edu- 
 
 I cation, and are polite, but haughty^ vain, and am- 
 
 ' bitious to a rnoft ridiculous degree, coniiderins: 
 I ? 
 
 the contempt they are treated with by the Turks. 
 
 I As to their noble cxtradion, it is a matter of 
 \ great uncertainty ; mod of them bear the names 
 of thofe families which were illuftricus when the 
 Turks took Conflantincple, 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, cruelt}^ and intrigue 
 which flops at no means. While they are dro^ 
 gomans of the porte, they are obliged to behave 
 with great caution and prudence; but when they 
 become wayvvodes, they are in nothing different 
 from TurkilL paflias in t]Tanny ; nor is it to be 
 wondered at, when men are obliged to look up 
 not only to tyrants, but to the very fervants of 
 tyrants, for honour and confequence, to flatter 
 their ignorance and ftupidity, their foibles and 
 their vices, and to tremble for their lives at their 
 frowns, that cunning takes the place of wifdom, 
 vice of virtue, and treachery of fortitude. la 
 fuch a fituation the mind muil lofe its vigour, 
 the heart its generofity : the abafement of man 
 by fuch caufes was never more ftrongly exem- 
 plified than in the inftance of the Greeks of the 
 Fenars they do not weep over the ruins- which' 
 
 '. they 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 3^3 
 
 they cannot reflore, nor glow with emulation to 
 rear others of equal magnificence. 
 
 Strange as is the infatuation which induces 
 thefe Greeks to aim at the pofh of way wodes, it 
 is perhaps not more afhoniihing than many ex- 
 amples which daily occur, in other nations, of 
 the power of ambition. Though ftyiing them- 
 felves noble, and aifedling a fuperiority over the 
 other Greeks, they only have totally relinquilhed 
 the ancient Grecian fpirit ; they feem not 
 anxious, as the inlanders are, for liberty, but 
 delight in their falie magnificence, and in the 
 petty intrigues of the feragho ; and their pride 
 is to appear in their drefs like Turks ; and yet 
 the lituation which they are thus eager to obtain 
 is befet wath perils, and fcarcely one who holds it 
 efcapes depofition and punillim.ent. No fooner 
 is a waywode appointed, than he fets out in great 
 ftate for his government, attended by a crowd 
 of relations and dependents, for all of whom, as 
 well as for his own fplendor, he muft provide, 
 byoppreffing the unhappy fubjeds of his tyranny. 
 Meanwhile his countrymen atConftantinople are 
 engaged in continual plots for his removal, and 
 it becomes neceffary for him to accumulate a 
 large fum to bribe the minifters and others on 
 his return, and to avert the perfecution which 
 continues for years afterward to hang over him. 
 
 Thofe of Macedonia, &c. are robufl, cou- 
 
 \ 
 
 rageous. 
 
534 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 rageous, and fomewhat ferocious ; thofe of Ai» 
 
 J thens and Attica are flill remarkably witty and 
 
 iliarp y all the iilanders are lively and gay, fond 
 
 . of finging and dancing to an excefs, affable, 
 
 hofpitable, and good-natured , in fliort, they 
 
 * are the befh : thofe of the Morea are much given 
 
 j to piracy ; but it is not to be wondered at, con- 
 
 fidering the cruel treatment they have met with, 
 
 and the ftruggles they are continually making 
 
 againft the Turks. Thofe of Albania, Epirus, 
 
 ^ and, in general, the mountaineers, are a very 
 
 warlike brave people, but very favage, and make 
 
 little fcruple of killing and robbing travellers ; 
 
 a Turk cannot venture in their countr}'" alone; 
 
 there is no one in it but would make a merit of 
 
 Ihooting him, fo deeply is their hatred to their 
 
 \ opprefibrs rooted. 
 
 The Greeks of Zante and Cephalonia, fubjecfl 
 to the Venetians, are notorious for flabbing with 
 l Jcnives. 
 
 7 
 
 f n fonie iilands the people are not handfome. 
 
 In Metaline, the women are remarkable for very 
 
 large breads. In Tino, the women are almofl all 
 
 s^( 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 faces 
 
 you may put together, in walking through a 
 
 3 market- 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 335 
 
 market-place, the heads of Apollo and of the- 
 fineft ancient flatues. 
 
 It is fcarcly poflible for any perfon not to be 
 mlftaken in judging of the conduct of the porte 
 towards its provinces, by any analogy from the 
 political operations of other European nations. 
 Amongft us, the unfuccefsful revolt of a whole 
 province would indeed give birth to fome ad- 
 ditional rigour, and to fome flriking example of 
 punifliment ; but the ferocious Turk propofes 
 nothing fhort of extermination, in order to free 
 himfelf from the fear of future defedlion. It 
 was thus that, when the inhabitants of the Mo- ^ 
 rea, who, inftigated by the delire of liberty, had 
 taken up arms in favour of Ruflia, returned 
 under their yoke, a deliberate propofal was made 
 in the divan to flaughter them all in cold blood, 
 innocent and guilty, of whatever age or fex. Nor 
 was this the firft time that the mafiacre of the ' 
 whole Greek nation had been feriouHy debated : it 
 was, however, in the prefent inftance, fuccefsfully 
 oppofled by Gazi-HaiTan, both on motives of hu- 
 manity and policy. The chief argument v^hicli 
 he ufed, and which alone carried convi6llon to 
 his hearers, was : ifzve kill all the Greeks, we ftiall 
 lofe all the capitation they pay. Even without fuch 
 a provocation, fultan Muftafa, predecefTor and \^ 
 brother of Abdulhamid, on his acceffion to the \ 
 throne, propoied to cut o^ all the Chriftians in the \ 
 
 anpir-e^ 
 
33^ CHAPTER IX, 
 
 empire, and was with difficulty diffuaded from iL 
 Is this a nation which merits that Britain fhould 
 enter into a war for its defence ? 
 
 It is wholly incomprehenfible to me, that any 
 European nation can regard the Turks as the 
 lawful pofTelTors of the countries over which 
 their baneful dominion extends. Such opinion 
 can only proceed from a total ignorance of the 
 fdate of the people whofe fovereignty thefe fero- 
 cious favages have ufurped, and of the circum- 
 fiances which attended their fubjedion. 
 
 Right to a country is acquired either by treaty 
 or by long pofTeffion. Treaty can only apply to 
 a portion of a country ceded, whether voluntarily 
 or compulfativeiy, by the fovereign power. 
 
 It has been fald, that as long poffeffion of a, 
 country gives an indifputable right of dominion, 
 and that as this right of the Turks to their pof- 
 feffions has alfo been acknowledged by all nations 
 in their treaties, the aborigines have lofl all claim 
 to independence. — As to treaties between the 
 Turks and other nations, who had no right to dif- 
 pofe of the countries ufurped by the Turks, they 
 cannot be binding to the Greeks, who never 
 were confulted, who never figned fuch treaties, 
 nor confented to their being figned. 
 
 When one nation conquers another, and they 
 become incorporated, by having the fame rights^ 
 the fame religion, the fame language, and by 
 
 being 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 337 
 
 being blended together by inter-marriages, a 
 long feries of years renders them one people. 
 Who can in England diftinguilli the aborigines 
 from the Romans, Saxons, Danes, Normans, 
 and other foreigners ? They are all Engliihm.en. 
 The Greeks were conquered by the Turks, 
 but they were (like all other nations they con- 
 quered) attacked by them without provocation. 
 It was not a war for injury or infult received, 
 for jealoufy of power, or the fupport of an ally, 
 contefts which ought to end when fatisfaflion 
 or fubmiffion is obtained : it was a war, having 
 for its aim conquefl-, and for its principle a right 
 to the dominion of the whole earth ; a war which 
 afferted that all other fovereigns were uiurpers, 
 and that thedepofing and putting them to death 
 was a facred duty. Do the laws of nations efta- 
 hl'i(h that fuch a conqueft gives right of poilef- 
 fion ? They, on the contrary, declare fuch con- 
 qiiefi: ufurpation. 
 
 The conquered were never admitted by the 
 Turks to the rights of citizens or fellow fubjedts, 
 unlefs 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 con- 
 quered and their pofterity for ever are obliged 
 annually to redeem their heads^ by paying the 
 price fet on them. They are excluded from all 
 
 z cfHces 
 
S^^ CHAPTER IX. 
 
 offices in the flate ; it is death for a conquered 
 Greek to marry a Turkifli woman, or even to 
 cohabit with a common proftitute of that na- 
 tion ; they arc in every refped flill treated as 
 enemies ; they are fliil called and diftinguifhed 
 by the name of their nation, or rather of the re- 
 ligion they prorefs, and a Turk is never called a 
 Greek, though his fam.ily (liouid have been fet- 
 tled for generations in that country; nor is a 
 Greek called a Turk, though his anceftors had 
 lived centuries in a Turkifli province. The tef- 
 timony of a Greek is not valid in a court of ju- 
 dicature, when contrafted with that of a Turk. 
 They are diftinguiilied by a different drefs ; it is 
 death to v>^ear 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 difl:in(5t 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, whofe 
 condud to all the nations they have conquered" 
 merits the eternal execration of mankind. 
 
 In the war between RufTia and Turkey, which- 
 continued from i 769 to 1 774, wherever the Ruf- 
 fiana appeared the Greeks took up arms and 
 joined them. The hiftory of this war, and the 
 part which the Greeks took in it, are too well 
 known for it to be neceffarv that I fhould enter 
 
 here 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF GHEECE. 339 
 
 here into any particulars. The progrefs that 
 was made agalnft the Turks was very confider- 
 able, and their fleet being deflroyed at Chifhme, 
 the capital might have been attacked by the 
 vidorious Ruffians. Had the Ruffian admiral 
 been a man of any experience, or of an enter- 
 prifing character, that war mud have terminated 
 in the expulfion of the Turks from Europe. 
 
 Nothing can place the Turks in a more defpi- 
 cable light, than the progrefs the Ruffians did 
 make, notwithftanding the flownefs of all their 
 motions, their never profiting of any advantage, 
 the opportunities they lofh of ftriking decifive 
 blows, the want of plan or combination in every 
 enterprize, and the unmilitary conduA in the 
 execution ; the bravery of their troops indeed, 
 when there was a poffibility of fuccefs, always 
 fecured them vidory. The Ruffians and Greeks, 
 to this day, make reproaches to each other of 
 mifcondud ; but as the accounts hitherto pub- 
 lifhed are taken from the relation of Ruffians, 
 we may fafely conclude that juftice has not been 
 done to the Greeks. In this lad war, when they, 
 aded alone, they fought like true defendants 
 of their heroic anceflors in the little diverfions 
 they made. 
 
 It was folemnly flipulated in the 17th ar- 
 ticle of the peace of Kainargi (fignedtf July, 
 1774) that " T^he empire of RtiJJla rejiores to the 
 
 z 2 . ^^ fiiblhne 
 
340 CHAPTER tX. 
 
 
 ii 
 
 ii 
 
 " fuhJime portd all the ijlands of the Archipelago^. 
 • ** zvhich are under its dependence \ and the Jnhlirm 
 porte^ mi its part, promifes, ifi. To obferve sa- 
 credly, zvith refpe5i to the inhabitants of thefe 
 " ifandsy the conditions fiipidated in the firfi article y 
 concerning a general amnefty and eternal oblivion of 
 all crimes whatever^ committed or fufpe5led, to the 
 *' prejudice of the fublime porte. ^dly. That neither 
 " the Chrifiian religion^ nor its churches^ fJiall be ex- 
 *^ pofed to the fmalieft oppreffion^ and that no hin- 
 ** drance fJiall be put to their conJIruBion or repara-^ 
 *' tion ; 7ior fliall thofe who officiate in them he op- 
 " prejjed or infdted. '^dly. That no payment fii all be 
 *'* exaEled from thefe iflands of the annual taxes ta 
 ^' which thev were fubjetted^ viz. f nee the time 
 **• zvhich they have been under the dependence of tha 
 " Pa^ffian empire, a^td alfo, in cojfi deration of the 
 *> great Icjjes zvhich they have fuffered during the 
 zvar^for the time of tzvo years to come^ to count from 
 the time of their refioration to the fublime porte. 
 '^thh. To permit thofe families zvhich zvoidd quit 
 ^ their country^ and eftablifi themfelves elfewhere^ 
 " to depart freeh zvith their goods ; a7id to the end- 
 that thofe families may put their affairs in order^ 
 the term of one year is grayited to them for this 
 '''free emigration, counting from the day of the ex- 
 '^ changing of tJie prefe^it treaty T 
 
 Notwithftanding this Iblemn engagement, the 
 -Tt]rks, ahiioft as icon as the Kufiians had eva- 
 cuated 
 
 
 «/. 
 
 ('< 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 34! 
 
 cuated their conqueils, and, relying on the faith ■ 
 of treaties, had delivered up the inhabitants to - 
 their domination, fell upon their vi6lin:s, un- 
 prepared to refifh them, and maiiacred an incre- 
 dible number, particularly in the Morea, where 
 their vengeance fell with all its weight. Whole 
 dilliridls were left without a Tingle inhabitant, and 
 this fine country is now^ almori: a defert. The 
 Greeks upbraid the liuinans with abandoning 
 them ', the Ruffians anf'vver, 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 he kept zvith Chijiians ; hif- 
 iory furniflied them with numerous infcances 
 of their putting in praclice this precept ; indeed 
 I know of no inftance when they have not, if 
 it appeared to them that it was their interefh {o \ 
 to do; and 3'et we find writers who vaunt the \ 
 fcrupuloufnefs of the Turks in obferving their 
 treaties ; they lliould always hav^e added, zvhen it \ 
 was their intereji^ and their flatement would have - 
 beenjufb. 
 
 So ardent was tlie wKli of the Greeks to regain 
 their liberty and indepe'ndence, that neither 
 dilcouraged by the abandonment of the Ruf- 
 fians, nor deterred by the apprehenfion of again 
 incurring the dreadful vengeance of the Turks, 
 as foon as a freih v/ar broke out betv^^een thofe 
 powers they again took up arms. 
 , A fleet was fitted out at Cronftad, and failed 
 
 z 3 for 
 
34^ CHAPTER IX. 
 
 for the Archipelago under the command of a 
 brave, prudent, and experienced officer, Admiral 
 Greig, an Englifhman, who had ferved in the 
 former war, and greatly diflinguilhed himfelf 
 under Count Orlow, who, from an officer m the 
 guards, where he fav/ no other honorable fervice 
 than quelling a riot at a brandy (hop, was raifed 
 to the fupreme command of a fleet and an army, 
 and entruiled with an expedition which required 
 the greateft experience and talents. The king 
 of Sweden rendered to the emprefs the elTential 
 fervice of detaining her fleet in the Baltic, by 
 attacking it in that fea, and thereby putting 
 into her hand the naval fuperiority which, by its 
 abfence, would have palled into his. This ill- 
 timed diveriion of the king of Sweden retarded 
 the fate of Turkey^ and the interference of other 
 courts faved it for this time , at leaft they obliged 
 the emprefs 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 circumfhances intervened. 
 
 In the mean time the emprefs fent manifeftoes 
 to all parts of Greece, as (he had done in the 
 former war, inviting the inhabitants to take vp 
 armSy and co-operate zvith her in expelling the ene- 
 mies of Chrijiianityfrom the countries they had ufurp- 
 edy and regaining them their ancient liberty and na- 
 tional independence. 
 
 A Greek 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 343 
 
 A Greek of the name of Scttiri was fent to 
 Epirus and Albania, to diflribute manifeftoes, 
 and combine aninfurredlion with the chiefs. An 
 army was foon raifed ; their head-quarters were 
 at Sulli. They marched againft the pafna 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 colledled a fum of money by vo- 
 luntary fubfcription of individuals, and fitted out 
 at Triefte an armament of twelve fmall ihips, 
 tinder the command of Lambro Canziani, a 
 Greek, which failed to the Archipelago. They 
 were every-where vi(5lorious, and the imprellion 
 was fo great and alarming to the porte, that it 
 had nearly drawn the whole Turkifh navy out 
 of the Black Sea, and left the capital expcfed to 
 the attack of a formidable Ruffian fleet, then in 
 the ports of the Krim. 
 
 The emprefs had fent a captain Pfaro to Si- 
 cily, to eftablifh magazines for the fleet coming 
 out under Admiral Greig, and feverai other per- 
 fons, tofurnilh the Greeks with m.oney and am- 
 munition, and to remove the diiiicuities the Ve- 
 netians, ftill unwilling to offend the porte, had 
 thrown in their way, by obftruding the com- 
 munication with the Ruffians by means of the 
 port of Prevail, the nearefl to Sulli'. In this 
 ftate of things the Greeks fent three deputies 
 
 z 4 to 
 
•^44 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 o 
 
 to St. Peterfburgh, with complaints againfl the 
 perions commiflioned to this fervice by the em- 
 prefs. They prefented the rich armour of the 
 padia of Ycinlna's fon to her imperial majefty j 
 bat were prevented, by the intrigues of thofe 
 who feared an enquiry into their fcandalous 
 peculations, for feveral months from prefenting 
 their petition, and explaining the buhnefs of 
 their miffion ; at length they fucceeded in ob- 
 taining a private audience of the emprefs, to 
 v;hich they were conducted by Mr. Zoubov, the 
 favounle. They prefented a memorial in Greek, 
 with a tranflation in French, of which the fol- 
 lowing are exad: copies : 
 
 V\S(Ticov, y^ ra s^, yi^ roc g^. ;^ ra g^. 
 
 KAI Turo a ZTpo^ srscov ri n uvi to ^ioc ]W.a>xpo? X^^ovh, 
 u.ccTicoi; ^sri^ii/Tzg, ro7g UTraoyoTg 7%q vixirsoocg A'JToy.ooc- 
 rG^ixr,gM£ya,X£ioT7iTog -ur^og aTTO^^KTJV, ccvccto^ocg ocu uT^o- 
 p^^cvs ccVTOig zr^ocr£(piPo^£v. hk cc-stktoc^si/oi ^l, )iat 
 IMOcXoc^ IV nr^ccrr] ccTrzX7n(T£iO(, (p£Poy.£i/oi ^KX-i/osyrsg rocq 
 (p^i'nty^g (TU/x^o^a?, ccg n TscvTr,g (^paSiTvig 'ur^o^£V£(nav 
 ToTg rty.£T£poig crv{j(.7rxrpi0T£g, ol yoco iXy,\j(7^smg tsio^ooc 
 TCc;* uT^oarjAwv vJXidv^y TYig aur^K Aur. Mjy. n^s-oov rx 
 oTiXor, y.ocrcc T3 xot>8 £Y0pa in Xpifyiscviym oi/o^ocrog^ 
 d-m-j'/iXav Zv vZv vi^^g zj-^o(r(p£^^Cv, rojg iToh7g m u^/iiAa 
 
 QiVrrig 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 345 
 
 ai/^.tpe^ai/, tetoo^ t3? zro^cx,; r-ng ocvrrig Avt. Msy. ottw; 
 tS? sk r^v ocosXpuv n^oov cciixccTCcy ^vocao^g '^fj^ivnVy o\ 
 h^yi ciluociji,(pi^oXcog ^inaii/, 
 
 Erspov El/ iscou u)<p7\7i>/.of* yifxcov to ycj y.\)^iOV eiaog t^jj 
 n^oov iuX^ccyy<xi?Kiocg^ oy >c, Ytpi^riCB n(*ccg Iv rx'jrn tji 
 ToXfJt'Si^a, £'^iy^£iC7]<r£iy zfiv oircog i^o(.7ro(.TA(ToiAiv^ rviu aurrif 
 AuT Msy. £^ wi' 'iroXixicoiU ocTrxxiiv (w? §i ^ ol fAsyifcivs^ 
 eiVT-^g) £yvu[4'£u y^-^t <>f* <> VTrTn-jg "^ix^og ocuri^ |3ofA£oo- 
 Tare? £>t ra rjjwwv sOva?, li/EXfi/ rrig x^anroiXyig <aiL(T8, a; 
 £^viA0fi/ jc, fi? ai/ ih^icyiircci. O y>sjp J'e laiv ju.?i^ zrXocycoVf 
 ayiTnG-y^iivroig, rag vir^py^g ccv77\g Z7ifciu ocvroTg IccvroVy 
 ug oc'^iov jj^syoiAcoy >caTcpSu|OcaT(i;v, fit Trorl bh 'i7roi7\<ri. ^ros 
 dif x^ €Ti lysi^STXi icg oco^uu >tf o^riyogy m Yi^'^iv i^yagy 
 xccv^ofxiyog qti l^iy<iy.iy rriv 'sra.^Ba-iocv cc'jth Itt; T»5f 
 nfAuy yng^ ^ycc xvcYj^oi^sy yi^mv ocvrlv dp^icfi^riyoy, xau- 
 ^fic£ig ocg fxoyov y^occpn hj hk ipyoc<^£TO(.i, B'supttr^ioiV if 
 etUTYig Aur, Msy. iv rri v^ooy ocioc^o^oc ti HTog £7roi,Y,(rE 
 »jjU,ii/5 iyyu}Xoc{j.i^ ya,p on, ccvrog XccQu^v ccTrsipug TTGCOTYiTixg 
 y^pYifxocruv, (pYiy..Yi^£i oTi i^cc7rscyn<y£ ocvrx vttIo riy.uv. ^vvcc- 
 fjt,£^x TSFXn^o<pc^Yi(Txt rY,u (x,VTY,g Aur. Msy, on aVg ocvTog 
 H^£ rig aAAOi otth etg ny.ocg ocTTS/^focA^ri sjc ruy (rccy UTra^- 
 yiov S'e§UKE Yifj^iv Ey f/^oyoy ^a^^Atoj/. r] ^iupqI (pKoriyKioCy 
 ■y^ £Tf^£ vcx,\ig ra A^/x7r^2, Kxr£<Ty.i\jXfYi(Txy y^ OTrXiG-^Yiorstv 
 J>a T'//f TWj/ ri[xojy ^^Yi^.dTCoy iocTrccyrig^ ilg jAoyog i^ y^^ju^v 
 
 sacra J 
 
34^ CHAPTER IX, 
 
 \x(rx; T/\v n^YiViXViV aura >:oit»ji/, i.aQ(,7rxvif](Tt hycx k^ ivo 
 
 c7rXi<rocg $vo vixvt;, hv^av runs ol 0^a)y,avGi ccttsktbd/xv rov 
 a^iX(pov >tj Tnv fj^yiTiox, ocvth, ra i'kinX!x,rY\(TCtv rot uVap- 
 
 Oux 'ir7i(rocy.£v "ujon y^ ax. IrafAsv raj arag S'jjfrau^as', 
 
 vQiiM^Qc ovn^nv) ^ £1/ (r:j ohyiiu -^[/-oig ng rriv uoi^riv. 
 
 E^ li'a^'TJaf UTTsrAXocv yi[^ccg "ur^ocr^ps^iiy <tqi rriv ^uriv 
 j^ toe, xlYi[A.XTCc auTwv, Kj Ba sruv raj crag ^TifrocuD^g, 
 
 Nsvcov, w Ji^ixrsoc BoctriXiTi^a-x, ^o^cc r7\g tcov EXXvivoov 
 "Uif^'jog, viitcrov J^fo/xsOo; ocvccfui/ocymv Tvjv ra-Trii^np rjjacov 
 ai/cccpocdv. *0 Ovpocvoc i(pv?<a,^Bu tyiv y\^{[epocv CK7rQKvrpocr» 
 ZTPog ^o^ccv Tvg (^y\g Aur. Msy. utto r-nv ex^urng "^^os-occtuvy 
 imoocrhxZi/^iv AuT^oVai, t'/]i/ cc\jToy.^CK,TO^iOLV 7][xuv 'X.^^y^i- 
 V'AVy rriv -uTixrpiCipyioiv X; ^£^av ■9'^>i«r>c£rav, K(x,r(x.(p^ov\^i<70cv 
 
 tcoj/' zrpo(T^onociJ.tv coty Xvr^o(roci Tag ruu A^ni^aTcoUj Kj 
 Aa,y.oci$iyovi(>}U airoyovag^ ts ru^^avvixa ^uy», tstwj/ tcoj* 
 ecyp((iov, v(p m fiucc^et^ EvEGi/o?, » to ztvev{xoc ax ocTrzcr^ifn} 
 a ipoog VTrsPTToXs] ry\g sXev^E^^ccg, an l^'JV7]^yiiT0(.v yot^ al 
 (fi^spccl ocK\(Tot.\ rct)V |3a^Sa^wv ccTroG-Qsvyeiu, l^ei Si zr^o 
 r^u otvra oy^ixocru)/ tyiv hkovx tu)V h^wikcov 'sr^a^fwi/ t&;v 
 itura TrpoTTxropoov icog vvv. 
 
 At ?.DiiA'7rP0ci r,iJt,cov r\yioSo^(/A ocvocyii/ 6 s'ytav ^imu Tfw zra- 
 Afaf y\txm (/AyMXioryiroc' ot ccTripoi Xi[x£vcciy ti £v^vi/ifi ruiv 
 ccypi^v uoig, o Ovpauog o xiui^ocojg y^Xcov i(p Yifxccg^ n ooi^x 
 ^^cLUQTnrx rrji/ y) (p'JCig 5//-7rvc^$< a y.QVoy roig i/soig ccXXxy 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 34^ 
 
 •Ky ro7<; zre^ociK[ji.ivoig yn^ocXioig iijocwi/, Xiyn nfjuu on fji^ocg 
 tft Ts-^o^et^n CO? >Cj zj-^og Tag zr^oycvag 7j{/.u}V, 
 
 Nfii<roi/ sv Kvpix $i§oi<Xi 7\fMv cov svyxovcx, Kovs'onfrivcv 
 iioi oc^oixra, nixcou, t2to y,o\^ov to yivog oXov vfJf'Cou iru 
 $to^t]/QV' (jytvog ycco tui/ y\{jloi)V ccvtohpoctopcov ocTroo'^is'Yij 
 ycj ECfTa* «? rag sy^oyovsg ocvth. 
 
 H^fK «H Icrfxiv iic t'jOu aTTCcTiXcou 01 nvig iTo\^y](rocv 
 Oi^TTOcrljoci rvw fMyccXo^ri^oTs^riv rcov ai/axTWV* riy-tTg 
 £(Ty.iu 01 oiTTEXfocXt/^iiioi Toou Xocoov rng EXXiZ^og izpo^n- 
 ^svfAiuoi ocTToXura J^uvctjUgw?, ug ^\ roi^ioi zi7P0(T7ri7ricvT£g 
 ro7g zj'oa-Tu <x.VTY\g 7\v fx£Toc ^fov ccolwcc sXtti^oixsv, ta^.W" 
 
 Qi rrig vfxirspccg A\jroyi^otTU}^ixy}g MsyocXiorypiO^ 
 W^S-crpcTOi SaXoiy >^ rex, f^, 
 
 UsrpHTroXVf , y n 
 
 Xptg-og AaLoTlu 
 Att^iXus, 1790. ^ , 
 
 'NiicoXoiog IlocvKocXog. 
 
 " Madame, 
 
 Ce n^eft, qu' apres avoir foliclte long-tems 
 en vain, les miniflres de Votre Majeste Im- 
 perial e, pour une refponfe au memoire, que 
 nous avons eu I'honneur de leur prefenter, et 
 poufses au dernier defefpoir par la reflexion des 
 malheurs afFreux que ce retard poura produire a 
 nos compatriotes, qui, invites par les manifeiles 
 de V. M. I. ont pris les armes centre Tennemi du 
 
 nom 
 
 <c 
 
34^ CHAPTER IX. 
 
 nom Chretien, et nous ont depute pour porter 
 roffre de leurs vies et de ieurs blens aux pieds 
 de Votre Trone Imperial : ce n'eft qu' apres 
 avoir perdu tout efperance d'avoi'r autrement 
 line prompte reponfe pour arreter les ruiffeaux 
 du fang de nos freres, qui fans doute coulent 
 deja a caufe de ce retard, que nous ofons, prof- 
 ternes a ses pieds, prefenter a Elle-meme 
 notre tres humble memoire. 
 
 Un autre devoir, egalement facre pour nous, 
 et qui etoit un objet principal de notre miflion, 
 nous porte a cette demarche hardie : de defa- 
 bufer V. M. I. qui on ofe tromper, ainfi que fes 
 miniflres : nous avons appris, avec indignation, 
 que le chevalier Pfaro, homme abhorre de notre 
 nation, de la crapule de la quelle il efl forti *, 
 €t ou il feroit refte, fi, en trompant les miniiires 
 de V. M. I. avec une audace inouie, il ne s'etoit 
 pas fait valoir par la reprefentation des explois 
 qu*il n*a jamais faits, s'erige aclueliement, en 
 chef et conducleur de notre nation. S'il n'y 
 auroit de mauvaifes fuites que pour lui,nous at- 
 tendrions avec patience, qu'il fe prefentat dans 
 
 nos contrees. Fanfaronnade cependant, qu'il 
 
 ne fera jamais que dans fes ecrits. Comme, il a 
 agi en vers nous V. M. I. verra dans notre me- 
 moire. Nous entendons qu'il a pris de fommes 
 
 * This man had been a livery fervant in PeteriLurgh. 
 
 immenfes. 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 349 
 
 inarnenfes, qu'ii pretend avoir depenfe pour nous : 
 nous affurons V. M. I. que, ni lui, ni perlbnne 
 de VOS officiers envoyes a nous, nous ont donne 
 ■un feul rouble. La fiotille et les autres arme- 
 mens de Lambro ont cte fait a nos fraix : un dc 
 nous a abandonne Ton foyer paiiible ; a arme a. 
 fes fraix deux vailTeaux ; a depenfe 12,000 ze- 
 chins pour des armemens, et les Turcs ont mzf- 
 facre fa mere, fon frere, ont rafe fes poiTeflions et 
 defole fes terres. 
 
 Nous n'avons jamais demande Vos trefors: 
 nous ne les demandons pas acluellement : nous 
 n'avons jam.ais demande que de la poudre et des 
 balles (que nous ne pouvons pas acheter) et 
 d'etre menes en batailie. Nous fommes venus 
 pour offrir nos vies et nos biens ; pas pour de- 
 mand er des trefors. 
 
 Dalgnez, O Grande ImperatriceI 
 Gloire de la foi Grecque ! daignez lire 
 notre memoire. Le ciel a referve notre deli- 
 vrance pour le regne glorieux de V. M. L Ceil 
 fous Vos aufpices que nous efperons de delivrer 
 notre empire ufurpe, et notre patriarchat, et 
 notre faint religion infiiltees, des miains des bar- 
 bares Mahometans ; de delivrer les defcendants 
 d*Athenes et de Lacedemon du joug tyrannique 
 de ces ignorans fauvages, fous lequel gemit une 
 nation dont le genie n'efl pas eteint, que Tamour 
 de la liberte inflame, que le joug de fer des 
 barbares n'a pas avilie ; qui a devant fes yeux, 
 
 toujours 
 
35^' CHAPTER IX. 
 
 toujours prefent, 1' image de fes anciens heros 
 dont Texample anime fes guerriers encore au- 
 jourdhul. 
 
 Nos fuperbes ruines parlent a nos yeux de 
 notre anclenne grandeur : nos ports innombra- 
 bles, nos beaux pais ; le ciel qui fur nous fourit 
 toute Tannee ; I'ardeur de notre jeunnefTe, et de 
 nos decrepits vieillards memes, nous difent que 
 la nature nous eft aufli proplce qu'elle Tetoit a 
 nos ancetres. Donnez nous pous fouveraln 
 Votre petit-fils Constantin, c'eft le vosu de 
 notre nation (la famille de nos empereurs eft 
 eteinte) et nous ferons ce qu' etoient nos pre- 
 miers ayeux. 
 
 Nous ne fommes pas de ces gens qui ont ofe 
 tromper la plus magnanime de souve- 
 RAiNEs; nous fommes Its Deputes y munis de 
 pleins pouvoirset d'autres documens, des peuples 
 de la Grece ; et comme tels, profternes au pied 
 du Trone, de celle, qui, apres Dieu, nous 
 regardons comme notre Sauveur, nous protef- 
 tons d'etre jufqu' a notre dernier foupir^ 
 
 Madame, De V. M. I. 
 
 Les plus fideles et les plus 
 devoues ferviteurs, 
 
 St. Peterfboiirg, (l. S.) Pano KiRI. 
 
 April, 1790. (l. s.) Christo Lazzotti. 
 
 (l. s.) Niccolo Pangalo.*' 
 
 translation. 
 
POLITICL STAT£ OF GREECE. 35I 
 
 TRANSLATION. 
 
 Madam, 
 It was not until we had long foliclted in vain 
 
 Your Imperial Majefly's minifters for an anfwer 
 to the memorial, which we had the honour of 
 prefenting to them ; it was not until, driven to 
 the utmoil defpair by the reliedlion of the dread- 
 ful evils which this delay might produce to our 
 countrymen, who (invited by the manifeftoes of 
 Your Imperial Majefty) have taken arms againft 
 the enemy of the Chriftian name, and deputed 
 us to lay the offer of their lives and their for- 
 tunes at the foot of Your Imperial throne ; it 
 was not till we had loft all hopes of otherwile 
 obtaining a fpeedy anfwer to ftop thofe ftreams 
 of the blood of our brethren, which doubtlefs 
 flow already through this delay, that we have at 
 length dared to proftrate ourfelves, at Tour feet, 
 and to prefent our humble memorial to Your 
 Imperial Majefty in perfon. 
 
 Another duty equally facred, and which was a 
 principal objedl of our mifTion, induced us to 
 take this daring ftep : it was to undeceive Y. L 
 M. whom (as well as Your minifters) there have 
 been people audacious enough to millead. We 
 have learned with indignation, that the chevalier 
 Pfaro now eredls himfelf into a chief and con- 
 dudor of our people ; a man abhorred by our 
 nation, out of the dregs of which he rofe, and 
 
 where 
 
3^2 CHAPTER iX. 
 
 where he would have remained , if he had not 
 with an unheard of audacioufnefs deceived Your 
 Imperial majefty's minifters, and aiTumed a repu- 
 tation by attributing to himfelf exploits he never 
 performxcd. If no ill confequences would enfue 
 but to himfelf, we lliould patiently await his 
 appearance in our countryja boaft however which 
 he never will perform but in his writings. How 
 he has aded towards us Y. I. M. will fee in our 
 memorial. \¥e hear that he has received im- 
 menfe fums, which he pretends to have expended 
 for us. We aiTure Y. I. M. that neither he, nor 
 any of your officers fent to us, ever paid us a 
 iingle rouble. The flotilla, and the other arma- 
 ments of Lambro, were equipped at our own 
 expence. Oiiq of us (deputies) abandoning his 
 peaceful home, fitted out two veffels at his own 
 expence, and expended in armaments 12,000 
 zechins, whilfh the Turks maiiacred his m^other 
 and his brother, levelled with the ground his 
 poiTefTions, and defolated his lands. 
 
 We never afked for Your treafures ; we do 
 not aik for them now ; we only alli for powder 
 and balls (which we cannot purchafe) and to be 
 led to battle. We are come to o^>r our lives 
 and fortunes, not to q/k for Your treafures. 
 
 Deign, O Great Emprefs ! Glory of the Greek 
 
 faith ! deign to read our memorial. Heaven has 
 
 refervcd our deliverance for the glorious reign 
 
 •^ of 
 
f©LITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 353 
 
 of Y. I. M. It is under Your aufpices that we 
 hope to deliver from the hands of barbarous 
 Mahomedans our empire, which they have 
 ufurped, and our patriarchat and our holy re- 
 ligion, which they have infulted; to free the de- 
 fcendants of Athens and Lacedemon from the 
 tyrannic yoke of ignorant favages, under which 
 groans a nation whofe genius is not extin- 
 guiflied ; a nation which glows with the love of 
 liberty ; which the iron yoke of barbarifm has 
 not vilified ; which has .^ onftantl j before its eyes 
 the injiages of its ancient heroes, and whofe 
 example animates its wiirriors even to this day. 
 
 Our fuperb ruins fpeak to our eyes, and tell 
 lES of our ancient grandeur ; our innumerable 
 ports, our beautiful country, the heavens which 
 finile on us all the year, the ardour of our youth, 
 and even of our decrepid elders, tell us that na- 
 ture is not lefs propitious to us than it was to 
 our forefathers. Give us for a fovereign Your 
 grandfon Constantine: it is the wifli of 
 our nation (the family of our emperors is ex- 
 tindl*) and we fhali become wdiat our ancef- 
 tors werCf 
 
 We 
 
 * In Europe we are apt to think, that thofe who bear the 
 names of Comnenos, Paleologos, Sec. are defcendants of the 
 imperial family : the Greeks, however, themfelves have no fuclji 
 notions j they are either Chriftian names given them at their 
 ^aptifm, or that they have taken afterwards, and they only de- 
 
 A A fcen^ 
 
354 ' G H AP TER IX, 
 
 ,. We are not perfons who have dared to impofe 
 on the moft magnanimous of Jovereigns ; we are the 
 deputies of the people of Greece, furniflied with 
 full powers and other documents, and as fuch 
 proflrated before the throne of Her, whom^ 
 next to Gop, we look on as our faviour; we 
 declare that we fliall be till.our lateft breath, 
 
 MADAME, YOUR IMPERIAL MAJESTY's 
 
 Moil faithful and moft 
 
 devoted fervants, 
 
 St. Peterfburgh, (l. S.) Pano KiRI. 
 
 April, 1790. (l. s.) Christo Lazzotti. 
 
 (l. s.) Niccolo Pangolo. 
 
 As thefe people are out of the reach of Turkifh 
 vengeance, I have not fcrupled naming them. 
 
 fcend to the fecond generation. A man is called Nicolaos Pa- 
 pudopuloj the former is his name received in baptifm, and the 
 latter a furname, becaiife he was the fon of a prieft ; his Tons take 
 the farname of Nicolopulo (fon of Nicolaos) added to their Chrif- 
 tian name, and their children the father's Chriftian name as a 
 furname. Thofe of Fanar have, particularly lately, affefted to 
 keep great names in their families, which were only Chriftian 
 names, or names which they have taken of themfelves, or were 
 afterwards given them by their parents, relations, or friends. 
 The fame may be faid of fome names in the Archipelago, parti- 
 cularly where the family has preferved for fome generations 
 more property than their neighbours ; but their names do not 
 add to their refpeft among the other Greeks, who all know the 
 origin of them, and have not the leaft notion that there is any li- 
 neal defcent to be traced of their ancient imperial or noble fa- 
 n>ilies, notwithftanding the pretenfions often of fome of them, 
 who bear tlieir names when they, come to Europe. 
 
 The 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. .35^ 
 
 The emprefs received tliem very gracioufly, 
 and promifed them the afTillance they afked. 
 They were then conduded to the apartments of 
 her grandfons, and offerhig to kifs the hand of 
 the eldeft grand-dake, Alexander, he pointed 
 to his brother Conflantine, telUng them, it was 
 to him that 'they were to addrefs themfelves; 
 they reprefented to him in Greek the objedl of 
 their miffion, and concluded by doing homage to 
 him as their emperor {Bois-iXsv^ rcov 'Hx\syoov») He 
 anfwered them in the fame language, Go, and let 
 every thing be according to your zviJJies, 
 
 With this memorial they prefented a plan of 
 operation, from which I fliall extracft only a few 
 particulars : — They propofed, after the emprefs 
 had furnifhed them with cannon, and enabled 
 them to augment the fquadron under Lambro 
 Canziani, and fent them engineers to conducft 
 the fiege of ftrong places, to begin their firfl 
 operations by m.arching from Sulli, where the 
 congrefs was held, and whence they had a cor- 
 refpondence with all Greece. — Their route was 
 to be firll to Livadia and to Athens, dividing 
 into two corps. In their march they were to 
 be joined at appointed places by troops from the 
 Morea and Negroponte. To this ifland the 
 fleet of Lambro was to fail. They were then 
 to proceed in one body to TheiTaHa and to the 
 city of Salonichi, where they would receive large 
 
 A A 2 reinforce- 
 
35^ CHAPTER IX*. 
 
 reinforcements from Macedonia. The whole 
 army being then affembled, they were to march 
 to the plains of Adrianople, with (as they calcu- 
 lated) three hundred thoufand men, to meet the 
 Ruffiaqs, and proceed to Conftantinople, where 
 they hoped the Ruffian fleet would be arrived 
 from the Crim ; if not, they efteemed their own 
 force fufficient to take that city, and driye the 
 Turks out of Europe and their iflands. 
 
 In this plan the eftablifhment and the difpofi- 
 tlon of magazines, and retreats in cafes of difafter, 
 were provided for. The force of the Turks in 
 different parts, and the different movements to 
 oppofe them, were calculated, AH their re- 
 fources, and the amount of the troops each place 
 hsid engaged to furnifh, were plainly ftated, as 
 well as the means they had adopted to carry on 
 a fecret correfpondence with ^11 parts of the 
 country, both with refped: to their own allies 
 and the mavements of the Turks. To enter 
 more iijto particulars would not be juftifiablein 
 me. 
 
 The cmprefs fent them to the army in Mol- 
 davia, to Prince Potemkin, giving them i,ooq 
 ducats for their journey thither. They left 
 Peterfburgh the i-l May 1790. In Auguft they 
 were lent to Greece by the way of Vienna, and 
 Major General Xamara with themj to fuperintencj 
 
 the 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 35/ 
 
 th'e whole expedition, and furniih them with the 
 affiftance they required. 
 
 It merits attention, that the king of Pruffia 
 had pofted an army of 150,000 men, in June 
 1790, on the frontier 6f Bohemia; that the con- 
 vention of Reichenbach was figned the 27th of 
 July. The fentiments of the court of London 
 refpedling the war, and its probable interference 
 in as ferious a way as Pruffia had done, were 
 known at St. Peterfburgh. It is to thefe cir- 
 cumftances we muft attribute the flownefs with 
 iJvhich the projecls of the Greeks were fe- 
 Gonded. They were aflured that they fiiould 
 have every fuccour they required, and much 
 more i money was fent^" but not much of it dif- 
 burfed , they w^ere enjoined to prepare every 
 thing, but to undertake nothing, till the proper 
 moment fhould arrive for their ading, which, 
 they were told, depended on many circumftances, 
 of which they were ignorant. Lambro in the 
 meantime afted by himfelf, but could undertake 
 nothing of any confequehce. Things remained 
 thus till after the campaign was ended, and 
 Prince Potemkin came to St. Peterfburgh. 
 
 The fate of the armament commanded by the 
 gallant Lambro deferves to be menticned. 
 
 The Greeks proved on this oecafion their love 
 «f liberty, their paflion for glory, and a perfe- 
 Ycrance in toils, obedience to difcipline, and con- 
 
 A A 3 tempj: 
 
358 CHAPTER IX* 
 
 tempt of dangerand death, worthy of the bright- 
 eft pages of their hiftory ; they fought with, and 
 conquered, very fuperior numbers ; an^ when 
 at laft they were attacked with an inequaHty of 
 force, as great as Leonidas had to encounter, they 
 fought till their v/hole fleet was funk, and a few 
 only faved themfeives in boats. 
 
 Lambro had only refources left to fit out one 
 fmgle fhip : the news of a peace arrived ; but 
 boiling With indignation at the negledt he had 
 experienced from the Ruffian agents, and thirfl- 
 ing for revenge, he failed notwithftanding, and^ 
 attacked and deftroyed leverai Turkifh veflels : 
 he was declared a pirate, and diiavowed by Ruflia* 
 — but he was not intiinidated — at length he 
 was again overpowered i he difdaincd to ftrikei 
 his veiiel funk under him, and he again efcapcd 
 in his boat, and took refuge in the mountains of 
 Albania. 
 
 The condud of the Ruffian ag-ents to hirrii 
 was the mofl: fcandalous. The peculation of all* 
 thofe entrufced at a diilance with the emprefs's- 
 money was become fo glaring and common, that 
 they looked on it as their own property. Lam^ 
 bro was fufiered to be imprifoned for debts con- 
 trafted for his armaments,- and was only releafed 
 by the contributions of his countrymen. 
 
 In the fpring of 1791, an armament was pre- 
 pared in England to fail for the Baltic,, to force 
 
 the 
 
POLITIClt STATE OF GREECE. 3J9 
 
 the emprefs to make peace. The king of PrufHa 
 was ready to co-operate by land. Inftead of 
 the fleet, Mr. Fawkener arrived at Peteriburo-h. 
 It was ftill undetermined by the emprefs, whe- 
 ther Ihe fhould brave England and Pruffia 
 (though from the turn affairs had taken in Eng- 
 land, and the arrival of another ambaffador, fhe 
 was affured fhe had little to fear from our fleet^ 
 and, confequently, little from the Pruffian army) 
 or make peace with the Turks on the conditions 
 fhe had confented to when fhe was more feriouily 
 alarmed i 
 
 \vi this uncertainty a courier was kept ready 
 to depart with inflrudlions to General Tamara. 
 The king's envoy was informed of this circum- 
 ftance, and would have learnt immediately the 
 contents of the difpatch, which would have 
 made him acquainted with the emprefs's refolu- 
 tion refpe6ling the profecution* of the war, or 
 confenting to peace. The courier, however, 
 was not difpatched. The bufinefs Vv^as termi- 
 nated with the king's joint envoys. Prince Po- 
 temkin departed for the army, and on his road 
 learnt the vidory gained by Repnin over the 
 vizir's army, and the figning of the preliminaries 
 of peace. Secret orders had been fent to Repnin,. 
 as foon as the emprefs had refolved to conclude 
 a; peace, which he fortunately executed j and it 
 is certain that ke received a copy of the arrange- 
 
 A A 4 meat 
 
360 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ment made with the king's miniflers, before he 
 figned the preUminaries. Impediments were 
 thrown in the way of the departure of the mef- 
 fenger difpatched to Conftantinople, fo that he 
 did not arrive till any interference of our ambaf- 
 fadpr could be of no eiFedt. 
 
 It is plainly to be feen, that though the em-^ 
 prefs pretended flie had of her own accord (and 
 before the arrangement with His Majefty was 
 known to her general) concluded a peace^ the in- 
 terference of His Majelly in bringing about that 
 event had a weighty effe(51:. 
 
 When the news of the figning the prelimi- 
 naries reached the Rufiian fleet, it had beaten> 
 the Turks in the Black Sea, and was purfuing 
 them iato the channel of Conftanti-nople, where 
 they mufi: inevitably have been deftroyed. Had 
 the Ruffian admiral been a man of more expe- 
 rience, they might all have been taken in the en- 
 gagement. 
 
 ■ Thus ended a^^ar, which, had it not been for 
 the interference of Great Britain and Pruflia,^ 
 would have placed the emprelL's grandfon on the 
 throne of Conftantinople; and, had not circum- 
 ftances imperioufly prefcribed to tiicm the part 
 they a<fted, wc fhould have had, in Ruilia and 
 Greece, allies which would, long ago, have en- 
 abled his majefty and the emperor, in all human . 
 probablhty, to have humbled a foe,. v;hich now 
 
 threatens 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. ^6l 
 
 threatens all Europe with total fubverfion, and 
 even to become the inflrument of emancipating. 
 Greece from the Turkifh tyranny, not to become 
 an independent people, but to be opprelTed by 
 a worfe tyranny, under the name of liberty. 
 
 TheSuliotes ilill maintain their independence; 
 they were often attacked by the Turks, but were 
 as often fuccefsful j they fought feventeen battles 
 or fkirmiilies, the mofl confiderable of which had 
 nearly been fatal to them, as appears by the fol- 
 lowing paper, communicated to me by a drogo- 
 man, now in the Britifli fervice, which will throw 
 much light on the charader of the inhabitants 
 of Epirus j and it contains, befides, very curious 
 and interefling matter. The authenticity of 
 what he relates cannot be called in queftion, as 
 it very exa6lly agrees with every other account 
 I have received. 
 
 'In 1792, being in the French fervice as in- 
 terpreter, I was fent from Salonico by the French 
 conful, Mr. Cofenery^ on fome bufinefs regard- 
 ing the confullliip, to Ali Paflia, at Yanina, the 
 capital of Epirus. I arrived there the ift of May, 
 and found the pafha making great preparations 
 for war. I found aUo there the French conful 
 of Prevefa, Mr. de la Sala (a defcendant of the 
 Salas, who betrayed the Morea to the Turks-, 
 when in the poiTeffion of the Venetians) and ad- 
 ing as commifTary, not only to provide timber 
 
 ia 
 
in Epirus for the French navy, but alfo for reVo-* 
 lutionlzing that country. 
 
 ' He communicated to me his commilliony 
 inlinuatingj that if I would affifl him, I might 
 expedl great rewards. One day, when we werd 
 with All Paflia, our converfation turned upon 
 the French revolution, which was alwavs intro- 
 duced with a view to excite him to throw oiTail 
 obedience to the porte. The pafha faid to us— 
 **■' Tou will fie that AliPaflia, the Juccejfir of Piros 
 '^ (PyrrhuS'^ will fnrpafs him in every kind of enter ^ 
 ^' prize '^ 
 
 ' The pafha continued to alTemble troops 
 without making known his intentions. In July^ 
 his army confifted of 20,000 good Turkifli fol- 
 diers,who were the more formidable^as they were 
 all Albanians. Fie then declared, that his defign 
 was to attack the Mahomedan town of Argiro=» 
 cailro, (ituated twelve leagues diftant from Ya- 
 nina,w4iich would not be governed by a perfon he 
 fent for that purpofe, nor anywife fubmit to him. 
 With thfs excufe he wrote to Captain* Bogia- 
 and Captain Giaveila, two of the moft conlider- 
 able of the chiefs of the Greek inhabitants of the' 
 mountain of Sulli, praying ihem to meet him 
 with ail their foldiers or companions, to aflift in-^ 
 his expedition. His letter was in modern Greek, 
 €^f which the fpllcwing is a copy, which I infert, 
 
 * The Greeks call their clnef^ captains. 
 
 that 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. ^6$ 
 
 that the learned reader may fee how much, or 
 how little, it differs from the ancient. 
 
 ^iXoifA's KocTTiToiv Mtto^icc Xp KocTTiTOCrV TPaQsXXcCy 
 tyca AAu IlTrcca-iixg cocg ^ai^eroo, Xj a-ocg f »Pv« rot 
 fAOtricx,, fTTftJ'ii X, lyoo ^fu^w ztqKXx yiocXci rriv an^oocyoc" 
 ^nocv (Tocq y^ -zjxXXiKx^ioiu (TCc; y^a ^Xkvhxi vocyj^i fA,iydXrtv 
 %^^<x.v UTTo Xoy8(rxg, Xoittov yr^ >ca^£T£ ccXXioog zrxsx- 
 xaXfio, aAA fuOu? otth XaSIrs rviv ypoiCp-nv fji.is, va. fxx^o^ETt 
 oAa<raf T<3t TroiXXixoi^ioc x^ vcc sXhrs va. fxl bvosts ^iixva 
 Tffocyu, ux zroXsi^ria-u) ra? f%9f2? [xa, rarri \voe.i ?? opa, >Cj 
 o xaipo? oTra ep^w ^paccv qlttq Xoyncag, >fc, /xjkw vx &i^(^ 
 Tnv (piXixv caf Xp TTtV xyxTT'Av OTTis lyETE ^ix Xoya i^a* 
 o X3^£(Txg ■S"£A« ij/fifci $\j7rXog xtP o(roi/ ^i^u} slg th? Ac- 
 QxviTxg Si,x 7i y^ Y, zs'xXXiytxoixcrxg ^i^P^ '5?'^? 'i^x» 
 "sroXXx [xsyxXoTE^ri xtto tyiv b^iktiv tx?. Xoittov lyod §\v 
 7!7xyut vx -zaroAsiw^o-w "sr^ij/ vx eaOets lenity -^^ cxg Kxprspui 
 IXXiyopx vx Ia§£T£, txutx y^ <rxg yxiPiTCi}, 
 
 VERBAL TRANSLATION. 
 
 " My friends, Captain Bogia and Captain Gia^ 
 ve//a, ly AH PaJIia, falute you, and kifs your eyes,- 
 becaitfe I zvell knozv your courage and heroic minds. 
 It appears to me that I have great yieed of you, there* 
 fore, I entreat you i'mmediately, z"^hen you receive my 
 letter, to ajjemble all your heroes, and come to meet 
 mCy that I may go to fight my enemies. This is the 
 hour and the- time that I have need of you. I expeB 
 to fee your friendJJnp, and the love which you have 
 for me» Tour pay JI^ a II he double that which I give 
 
 id' 
 
5^4 cfiAPTER ix:. 
 
 io the Albanians^ hecmije I knbzv that your courage ts 
 greater than theirs ; therefore I will not go to fight 
 before you come, and I expeEl that you will come [oon^ 
 This onljy and I Jalutc you^^ 
 
 ' I vtas prefent when the pafha's Greek fecretary 
 wrote this letter^and I took a copy of it, it not ap- 
 pearing to him or to me as a matter of fecrecy. 
 
 ' Ah Paiha is an Albanian of Tepe-dellen ^ 
 fon of VeH Pafha, who governed a part of 
 Albania ; though a Mahomedan, he under- 
 ftands very little TufkiCii, and fpeaks only Greek 
 and the Albanian language, which is a mixture 
 of Slavonian, Turkifli, Greek, and a few old 
 French wor3s, but perfectly unintelligible to 
 thofe who underfland all thefe languages. 
 
 ' On receiving this jflattering letter, the chiefs 
 held a council with their men. Captain Bogia 
 and the majority of the foldiers^ thought the 
 paflia's propgfal was only a flratagem to get them 
 into his power, and make himfelf mafter of their 
 mountain. Captain Bogia, in confequence, 
 wrote to the palha, that he received his letter 
 with great refpe6t and fubmiffion, and was him- 
 felf ready to obey his orders ; but as he could 
 not perfuade his people to follow him, it wa^' 
 unnecellary for him to go alone. Captain Gia- 
 vella, either through avarice or ambition, was> 
 induced^ to comply w^itli the paflia's requefl,- 
 
 and 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF CHEECE. 365 
 
 ^nd went to his army, though only with feventy 
 imen. He was received with great marks of 
 friend Qiip. The pa(ha and his army marched 
 four leagues on the road towards Argirocaftro, 
 and encamped ; but he fent an a^dvanced poft, 
 coniifling of 400 men, under a bulukbaihee, 
 ^s far as the town, and the people making a 
 fortie, a fkirmifli enfued. Giavelli and his men 
 were now perfe<ftly convinced of the pafha's 
 (defign, and laid afide all fuibicion ; but fix days 
 afterwards they were all feized unawares, as they 
 were difperfed in tlxe Turkifli camp, and put in 
 heavy irons, except three, who, getting their 
 arms, defended themfelves till they were flain. 
 The men were fent to Yanina, and imprifoned 
 in the fijiall ifland which is in the Acherufian 
 Lake, on the banks of which Yanina (lands ; 
 but GiavelJi was kept in the camp. The pafha 
 immediately turned his march towards Sulli, and 
 arrived btfore the mountain the next day. The 
 Suliotes, who are always on their guard, had no- 
 tice of the pafha's approach^ and of the fate of 
 their countrymen, fix hours before he arrived. 
 They aflembled, and gave the command in chief 
 to Captain Bogia, whofe abilities they knew.* 
 
 The mountain of Sulli, or Caco-fulli, fo called 
 on account of the ill the Turks have experienced 
 from them, is fituated eight leagues from Santa- 
 maura (or Leucas) in the Ionian Sea, having 
 
 Prevafa 
 
^66 CHAPTER IX« 
 
 Prevafa (Nicopolis) to the fouth-weft, diftant 
 ten leagues; Yanina to the eail, twelve leagues; 
 and Ibuth-eaft, Arta, diilant eight leagues. 
 
 To the fouth, this mountain joins the Chi- 
 mera mountains, which are inhabited alfo by 
 independent Greek Chriflians, allies of the Su- 
 iiotes. On the eaft, at the foot of the mountain, 
 is a fine plain of about fix fquare leagues, which 
 is very fertile; in it they have built four villages, 
 for the purpofe of cultivating the land, but in 
 time of danger the inhabitants fly to the moun- 
 tain. There being no vv^ater in the plain, they 
 have funk ciilerns or refervoirs to colled the rain. 
 The mountain is a natural ftrong fortrefs. 
 Three fides are perpendicular precipices to the 
 bottom. The top of the mountain they call 
 Tripa, which fignifies a cavity. There is only 
 one narrow ileep paflage to afcend to it, and it 
 is defended by three towers, nearly a mile diftant 
 from each other, fituated on eminenres, where 
 the road is moft difficult. The afcent is about 
 three miles long. In the firil mile there is a 
 village called Kapha, which fignifies top or 
 fummit. 
 
 On the fide towards Chima^ra there is a fmall 
 brook, formed by the melling of the fnow of 
 thofe mountains, from which, in cafe of need, 
 the inhabitants of Sulli get water, by letting 
 down fponges, aa the fides are not even enough 
 I to 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 36^ 
 
 t.o let down any kind of bucket or other veffel ; 
 and this water cannot be cut off by the Turks, 
 j^s it is defended by th^ heights of the moun- 
 tains. 
 
 ^ Captain Bogia ordered corn to be carried 
 from the villages to the Tripa, for fix months 
 provifion, as it is always kept in readinefs to be 
 tranfported ; the four villages were then evacu- 
 a|:ed ; half of the inhabitants went to Kapha, 
 and the others to Tripa, their laft afylum, which 
 will contain ten thoufand men. Thefe difpofi- 
 ]tions being made, he threw into the cifierns hogs 
 and lime, and other naftinefs, to prevent the 
 Turks uling the water. 
 
 * The pafha encamped in the villages, and 
 furrounded the mountain at a diftance, to pre- 
 vent their receiving afliftance of troops from the 
 Chimseriotes, or ammunition from St. Maura or 
 Prevafa, whence they are always fupplied. The 
 main body of the Turkifh army in the villages 
 was commanded in perfon by the pafha; the 
 corps towards Chimera by his fon Mokhtar, 
 paflia of Arta (of two tails) and Captain Pro- 
 gnio, a chief of the Paramathian Albanefe ; the 
 fide towards Prevafa, by Mamed Bey and Ofman 
 Bey his brother ; that on the fide of Arta, by 
 Soliman Ciapar, another chief of the fame Al- 
 banian town of Paramathia, a man of eighty-five 
 years of age, tall, and of a fine gigantic flature, 
 
 having 
 
^6^ CHAPTER IX. 
 
 having no appearance of age but the fnowy 
 livhitenefs of his beard ; he had with him eleven 
 foas from thirty to fixty years of age, all tall and 
 flirong like their father : their bodily ftrength 
 and perfonal courage caufed them to be looked 
 on as heroes, and gave them a remarkable fupe- 
 riorlty among tli^ir countrymen : they went to- 
 gether, that if one fell the others might revenge 
 his death ; for among thefe people it is the cuf- 
 tom, that relations go to the war together to 
 ^ revenge each others death. Thofe who have the 
 greateft number of relations are the moft power* 
 ful families^ and- the fathers of the principal fa- 
 milies are their chiefs.* 
 
 I will fpeak a little on the fubjed of thefe 
 Paramathian Albanefe, Their town is iituated 
 twelve leagues diftant from Yanina ; they pof- 
 fefs a territory of twelves leagues in circumfe- 
 rence, and can bring into the field 20,000 men. 
 Their country is fo mountainous and inacceflible, 
 that they have never been conquered by the 
 Turks. How they became Mahomedans they 
 do not know themfelves exactly ; fome of them 
 fay, that when the Turks firft invaded thefe 
 countries, they made peace on condition of be- 
 coming Mahomedans, and preferving their inde- 
 pendence. They fpeak Greek, and know no 
 other language ; they look on the Turks and 
 other Albanians as effeminate, and hold them in 
 
 the 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 369 
 
 the utmofl contempt. They have no regular 
 government ; each family or relationfliip (clan) 
 adminifters juilice among themfelves. The 
 largeil clans have the moft influence in the 
 country in all public or general matters. They 
 are Careful not to kill a perfon of another kin- 
 dred, as the relations revenge his death, and 
 when once bloodflied is thus begun, it goes on 
 till one of the clans is extind. They always 
 carry their guns with them, whenever they go 
 out of their houfes, and never quit them ; even 
 at home they are not without piftols in their 
 girdles > at night they put them under their pil- 
 lows, and lay their gun by them belide. The 
 fame precautions are obferved in all thefe parts, 
 except in the town of Yanina. There are among 
 the Paramathians, however, a confiderable num- 
 ber of Greek Chriftians, who all live in the fame 
 manner. Thofe who are Mahomedans know* 
 little of their religion, or pay little regard to it ; 
 their women are not veiled ; they drink wine, 
 and intermarry with the Chriftians. It is true, 
 indeed, that they will not eat pork ; but if the 
 hufband and wife are of different religions, they 
 make no fcruple of boiling in the fame pot a 
 piece of pork and a piece of mutton. 
 
 All -ftrangers, Turks, Europeans, Greeks, or 
 others, who happen to pafs on their territory, or 
 are caught by them, are carried to their public 
 market, and there fold. 
 
^10 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 * Being one day at Yanlna, at the Greek arcli- 
 bifhop's houfe, I faw a Piedmontefe priefl, who, 
 travelling in thefe parts, had been feized by the 
 Paramathians, and fold ; his ftory, as related to 
 me by the prelate, is as follows : Soliman Ciapar 
 being at his houfe one day on a vifit, told him, 
 that he had bought a Frank for four piaflres^ but 
 that he was good for nothing, and though he 
 beat him daily, he could not make liim do fo 
 much work as his bread was worth ; he would 
 therefore, he faid, when he got home, kill him as 
 a ufelefs bead. The archbifliop offered to buy 
 bim for the four piaflres he had cod, and to pay 
 the money immediately, if Ciapar would give 
 fecurity (for here no one trufts another). The 
 bargain being fettled, the Frank was fent : he 
 proved to be a man of learning, and the arch- 
 bifliop cflabliflied a fchool under his dire(5lion 
 at Yanina, for Greek children. When I was. 
 there, he gained fifty and fixty piaftres a month, 
 and was fo pleafed.with his fituation and the 
 kindnefs af the archbilhop, that he had refolved 
 to remain in that country, and marry/ 
 
 A flrano;er might travel into thefe mountains, 
 and would be treated hofpitably by the inhabi- 
 tants, if while he was in a neighbouring coun- 
 try, he put himfelf under the prote(5lion of a 
 Paramathian, who would give fecurity tor his 
 being brought back fate. 
 
 I , ^ But 
 
Political state of greece. 371 
 
 * But to return to the pafha's expedition. The 
 fecond day after the army had encamped in the 
 plains of Sulli, the pafha caiifed Captain Gia- 
 Vella to be brought before him^ and told him, 
 that if he would inform him how he could get 
 polTeflion of the mountain, he would not only 
 fpare his life^ but make him beluk-baihee of ths 
 province* Giavelli anfwered, that if he would 
 fet him at Uberty, he would go to the mountain, 
 and engage his party, and at leafl half the inha- 
 bitants, to fubmit to him, and take up arms 
 againfl Bogia^ tha^t by thefe means he could 
 introduce the pafha's troops into the Tripa, 
 when the other party would alfo be glad to make 
 their peace without fighting. The pafha afkcd 
 him what feCurity he would give for his per- 
 forming his promifes. Giavella anfwered, he 
 would give him as an hoflage his 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 accord- 
 ingly called his fon down from the mountain j 
 but as foon as he got to the mountain himfelf, 
 he wrote to the pafha as follows : 
 
 '* Alt Pajhay I am glad I have deceived a traitor i 
 
 I am here to defend my country againji a thief. My 
 
 fon will he put to death, but I will defperately re-^ 
 
 venge him before I fall my f elf Some men^ like you 
 
 B B 2 Turks ^ 
 
372 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Turks ^ zv ill fay I am a cruel father to jacrlfice my 
 fon for my ovjn fafety. I anfwer, if you took 
 the mountain, my fon would have been killed, with 
 all the reft of my family and my countrymen ; then 
 I cotdd not havi revenged his death. If we are 
 viBoriotis, I -may have other children^ my tvife is 
 votmg. If my fon, young as he is, is not zvilling to 
 he facrificed for his country, he is not zvorthy to live^ 
 or to be otvned by me as my fon. Advance, traitor, I 
 am impatient to be revenged. I amyourfzvorn enemy ^ 
 Captain Giavell a. ''* ■ -''^ 
 
 The Greek original was : 
 
 ic^ yx otix.(pt]/l£V(ru3 t»iv ttoct^iSx fxa ivccvr^ov £i; sua? HAgTrjriV, 
 uoq [X3 ^■fAfi GCTTO^xvn lyto OfACCq MTTiXnii'Ct}'; 3"fAw roif 
 i-K^iKEKTco woiy voc' Gl.7ro^ocuoo. ycxTTiOi Ta^xo; Kxvta^ icivK 
 ^eXhv eiTT^v on eifj^oci acnXxyyo^ tjocts^x; /x£to vx S^u* 
 (naerwj rouxjov [/.a hx rov ihv.ov u.z /^.trcouov xr: o/.^iv Oj/^xi, 
 &Tt av £(ru wxcetg ro (^dvoy ^'^A*]? (rxorc<Ty]g 7Gu ijov y-H 
 y.i TO szTiXiTTOi/ TYi(; (pxfAsXeix; fA'4 >c, rag (TMvirxr^iorig [ah, 
 TCTE? $iv S'a ^TTOPifTUi yx tY.hiiYi<jy. rou 3'a^aTOV T» ay,n' 
 ecu i'i;c>](7w^si' ^£Xei lyjji xKKx zje^^x, t] yiviycx y.^rti/xi yiX. 
 ixv ijoq {JI.3 vioq JcctOwi fi\vxi ^cV (xivit iC'^aptfYy.syo; vx 
 Bva-iXf'n SiX rnv ZTxr^i^x m, xvro; oiv r,vxi x^^og vx 
 Pr.dA y^.vx fyi/wpi^£Ta» w-r ijQq ^-d. sj^o^opviffi xirifs 
 
 Vt.y<Z ouL.Q'j^ivog i')(fi^og (ra, 
 
 ' The 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 373, 
 
 ^ The paflia did not think proper in his rage 
 to put the hoilage immediately to death, but 
 fent him to Yanlna, to his ion Velim-bey, who 
 governed in his abfence. I was prefent when 
 the boy was brought before him ; he anfwered 
 the queftion put to him with a courage and 
 audacioufnefs thet aftonifhed every one. VeHm-, 
 bey told him, he only waited the pafha's orders. 
 to roaft him alive. I don't fear you, the boy 
 anfwered -, my father will do the fame to your 
 father or your brother if he takes them. He 
 was put in a dark prifon, and fed on br^ad and 
 water. 
 
 ' The paflia attacked the village of Kapha, 
 ^nd was repulfed three different times with great 
 lofs, but Captain Bogia confidering the difparity 
 of numbers, as the Suliotes had only 900 men 
 in the Tripa, refolved to abandon this poll, 
 which the Albanefe took poffeflion of the next 
 time they attacked it, though with conliderable 
 iofs, the Suliotes firing at them from among the 
 rocks in fafety. 
 
 * The pafha's troops, fuflering very much 
 through want of water, which was brought to 
 therii fix leagues on horfes, as all thofe who at- 
 tempted to fetch water from the brook under 
 the Sulli mountain were killed by flones the 
 women rolled down on them, or fhot by the men, 
 began to mutiny -, the pafha therefore deter- 
 mined to florm the Tripa the next day, and 
 
 B B 3 having 
 
374 CHAPTER TX, 
 
 having aflembled the principal officers, and 
 chofen 800 Albanians, he difplayed all his trea-p 
 fure in his tent, which confifted of Venetian 
 ducats, and told them, it Ihould all be diftri^ 
 buted among them if they took Trip^ ; and that, 
 befides, they fhould have all the immenfe riches 
 which it was known were there, The next day 
 the 800 Albanians, having at their head Mehr 
 pietember, and in the main body two fons of 
 , Soliman Ciapar, and in the rear Captain Brogno, 
 marched to the affault, and drawing their fa-? 
 bres, declared they would not iheath^ them till 
 they were vidorious. 
 
 ^ Captain Bogia left 400 men to garrifonTripa, 
 ^nd fent four hundred to lie in ambufcade in 
 the foreil on each fide of the road, with orders 
 pot to attack till the fignal agreed on was made 
 fron^ the fecond tower, in which he fhut himfelf 
 up with lixty men, and from whence, by means 
 of fignals, he commanded the movements. Gia- 
 vella went with the troops into the foreft like a 
 com^mon foldier, the better to take his meditated 
 revenge. The ambufcade was commanded by 
 Demetrius, Bogia's fon. 
 
 ' The head of the Albanian column advanced 
 without moleftation as far as the fecond tower, 
 which they furrounded, and fummoned Bogia 
 to furrender. He replied, he could not trull 
 himfelf to them, but would fubmit to Captain 
 Brogno when he arrived ; they therefore marched 
 
 further 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 375 
 
 further up towards Tripa, leaving him, as they 
 thought, a prlfbner. The pafha's arrtiy, ieeing 
 the Albanefe had advanced without refiftance 
 to the top of the mountain, and fearing to be 
 deprived of a fhare of the plunder of Tripa, left 
 their tents, and ran up the mountain with (houts 
 of victory. When Bogia law that the enemy; 
 in number about 4,000, had advanced to the 
 third tower, which was near the Tripa, he rang 
 a bell, the fignal for a general attack, which was 
 a general llaughter : the ambufcade preV^tit^d 
 any returning. They were in every part cxpofed 
 to the fire of the Suliotes, who were covered by 
 the rocks or the trees, and from the fecond tower 
 Bogia made great havoc. The women from the 
 heights rolled down great ftones, which for that 
 purpofeare always piled up. The enemy defended 
 themfelves, when the Suliotes came out to meet 
 them, with great obftinacy ; they were, however^ 
 all killed, except 140, who furrendered them-' 
 felves prifoners. Among them was a fon of Sd=^ 
 liman Ciapar, and many officers. The Sulldf^^ 
 had fifty-feven killed and twenty -feven wounded. 
 Giaveila was amons; the flain. After (hoot i no; 
 from the ambufcade a great num'6er bf tfie 
 enemy, he failied out with f me of his friends, 
 to avenge the fuppofed death of his fon j and to- 
 fight till all the enemy were killed, or he him- 
 felf fell. After making a great havoc among the 
 enemy, into the thickefl of whofe ranks he had 
 
 3 B 4 run 
 
37^ CHAPTER IX. 
 
 run forward with defperate valour, he fell, co-* 
 vered with wounds, and furrounded by heaps of 
 flaia. 
 
 * The bodies being thrown down from the 
 rocks into the Turkifli camp, flruck the re^ 
 piainder of the army with fuch a panic that they 
 fled with great precipitation towards Yanina, 
 and abandoned the pafha. Bogia profited of 
 their diforder to fend 200 men, who, falUng on 
 the rear, cut off great numbers. The pafh^, 
 himfelf efcaped with difficulty, and killed tWQ 
 horfes before he got back to Yanina, All the 
 baggage, ammunition, arms, provifions, and the 
 pafha's treafure, fell into the hands of the Su- 
 liotes, befides four large cannon, which they dre\v 
 up to the Tripa, and which were a great acquis 
 lition to them. 
 
 * The other corps, towards Prevafa, Arta, and 
 Chimasra, followed the example of the main 
 body, and reached Yanina in great hafle. Sq 
 great indeed was their panic, that none of them 
 ftopt till they got within the walls of the city, 
 thinking they were flill purfued by the Suljotes. 
 
 ' In the mean time, the communication being 
 opened with the Chima^riotes, the Sulian army 
 increafed in two days fo much, that they found 
 themfelves flrcng enough to offer the paflia bat- 
 tle in the open plains. They marched to an 
 eflate of the paflia's near Yanina, and took pof- 
 fefTion of it, whence they fent him a letter, 
 
 threaten- 
 
POLITICAL STATE OF GREECE. 377 
 
 threatening to take him prifoner in his haram. 
 They purfued the Paramathians into their coun^- 
 try, where they cut down the trees, and drove 
 Away vaft herds of cattle and flocks of llieep to 
 Sulli. 
 
 * The pa{ha, apprehenfive for the fafety of his 
 capital, fent a bifliop to propofe peace to the 
 Suhotes. It was concluded on the following 
 conditions ; 
 
 * I ft. That the paiha cedes to the Suliotes all 
 the territory as far as Dervigiana (fix leagues 
 from Yanina) inclufively. 
 
 ' 2. That all the Suliotes, who were prifoners, 
 {hould be £et at liberty. (Thus Giavella's fon 
 returned fafe to Sulli.) 
 
 ^ 3. The pafha (hould pay 100,000 piaftres 
 as a ranfom for the prifoners the Suliotes had 
 made. 
 
 *■ With the Paramathians they concluded a 
 feparate peace, as they are not dependent on the 
 pafha. 
 
 ' The conditions were, that they fhould in fu- 
 ture be allies, and that they fhould on all occa- 
 fions fuccour the Suhotes, both with men, arnis, 
 and provifions, when they were at war, 
 
 ' Returned home to their mountain, the Su- 
 liotes divided the booty, and the ioo,coo pi- 
 aftres, into five parts : one was deftined to the 
 jrepair of churches, which the Turks had da- 
 Umged, and to build a new one on the Tripa, 
 
 dedicated 
 
57^ CHAPTER IXo 
 
 dedicated to the holy virgin ; the fecond part 
 was put into the public box for the fervice of 
 the community ; the third was equally divided 
 among all the inhabitants, without diftindioa 
 of rank or age ; the two other parts were diftri- 
 biited to the families of thofe who had loft men 
 in battle. 
 
 * This peace was foon broken by the paiha, 
 who was twice afterwards defeated, and the Su- 
 liotes gained flill greater honour.* 
 
 The writer of this journal further fays, that 
 in this country there are ten Greeks to one 
 Turk ; that the Sulian army always confifts of 
 about 20,ooQ men, including their neareft neigh- 
 bours on the Chimasra mountains. He points 
 out how eafy it would have been for them to 
 have put in effecfl what their chiefs had concerted 
 with the Ruffians. But I avoid entering into 
 particulars, as I might give information to thofe 
 who would make a bad ufe of it. 
 
 It was afterwards difcovered, that the French 
 confiil, Mr. de la Salas, had advifed the pallia to 
 get poffeffion of Sulli and Chimera, as then he 
 would have nothing to fear from the porte, if he 
 threw off all obedience ; an^d that the French 
 could then fupply him with artillery and ammu- 
 nition, &c. Mr. de la Salas was one day (hot 
 dead in the ftrcet at Prevafa by a captain of 
 Lambro*s fleet. 
 
[ 379 ] 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 fhe furhiJJi Empire confidered^ zvlth regard to hs 
 
 Foreign ligations, 
 
 THE preceding pages have (hown the inter- 
 nal fituation of theTurkifh empire ; they 
 have traced the progrefs of a power founded in 
 violence and rapine, growing up in tyranny and 
 injuftice, and ultimately verging to corruption 
 ^nd decay. But it is not enough to expofe the 
 defeds of internal conftitution and adminiftra- 
 tion ; to the politician it mufl: be matter of fe- 
 rious enquiry to learn what are the foreign rela- 
 tions to which thefe domeftic arrangements give 
 birth; what rank in the fcale of political im- 
 portance fuch an empire has obtained ; and how 
 its exiftence has affedied, and its approaching 
 annihilation will aifed: the interefts of other 
 dates. This viev>r of the fubjed: mufl, however, 
 be taken with great caution. 
 
 In the fyfi:em of Europe, great and impor- 
 tant changes have taken place, and the balance 
 of power, once a fubjedl of fo much contention 
 and jealoufy, has received, and is daily receiving, 
 fuch fhocks as feem to threaten its total fub- 
 verfion. 
 
 In the midft of this chaos we r*ay ftill, how- 
 ever, perceive the outlines of two grand combi- 
 nations 
 
3S0 CHAPTER X. 
 
 nations of interefts dividing Europe by their mu- 
 tual opposition. At the head of ibQfe confede- 
 racies may be placed the two ancient rivals in 
 opulence and glory/ Great-Britain' and France; 
 and however we may be inclined, with philofo- 
 phers, to lament that there exiil irreconcileable 
 interefls, or poHtlcal prejudices, which fow eter- 
 nal difcord between nations, on account of their 
 vicinity and power, it muft be reludantly ac- 
 • \nowledged, that fuch interefts and fuch preju- 
 dices not only do exift, but are likely to become 
 flill flronger on the part of the French republi- 
 cans, who, while they preach univerfal liberty, 
 fraternity, and toleration .to all mankind, ad: 
 with a fpirit of inveterate hatred, defpotifm, and 
 infufferance, which the narrowed prejudices, anc} 
 the deepeft depravity of human nature could only 
 produce. 
 
 It may be obferved, that thefe two powers, as 
 well as mofl of thofe that rank in the firfl clafs, 
 have nearly the fame relationlhip of interefts as 
 heretofore ; but the inferior ftates are moftly 
 thrown from their balance, many of them either 
 totally or partially annihilated, and feveral in- 
 duced to form alliances diametrically oppolite to 
 their former principles of policy. 
 
 In order to explain the connection of Turkifh 
 politics with the general fyftem of Europe, it will 
 be necellliry to take into confideration the par- 
 ticular 
 
TURKISH FOREIGN RELATION'S. 3S1 
 
 ticular interefts of the different powers, and to 
 fhow their relation to the prefent or any future 
 flate of that empire. Previouily to this, however, 
 a general fketch of the prefent fituation of things 
 may tend to elucidate our further difquifitions. 
 
 The attachment of France to Turkey is ra- 
 tionally founded on the great commercial advan- 
 tages which (lie enjoys from that nation -, on the 
 ufe (he makes of the porte to form a diverfion in 
 her favour, whenever the fituation of her affairs 
 on the continent requires it ; and on her parti- 
 cular jealoufy of Ruflia, which, by obtaining pof- 
 feflion of the palfage from the Black Sea, might 
 fend a naval force into the Mediterranean, to the 
 evident diminution of the French power and com- 
 merce. The local fituation of the poffefhons of 
 the houfe of Auftria has ever made it an objed: of 
 jealoufy to France; (he has, therefore, laboured to 
 crufh, or at lead to curb that power, and finds 
 an additional bond of friend (bip with the Turks 
 in their hoftility to the emperor. Much light is 
 thrown on this fubjed by the papers printed at 
 Paris fince the revolution, entitled Politique de 
 tons les Cabinet s de l* Europe pendant les Regnes de 
 Louis XF. et XFL It there plainly appears (did 
 we want proofs to convince us) that France con- 
 fiders Spain, Pruflia, and Turkey, as its bed and 
 moft natural allies ; and that w^henever it was 
 connected in bonds of amity with Auftria, it 
 
 never 
 
5§i CHAPTER 3t, 
 
 never confidered that alliance otherwife than as 
 a temporary convenience, and fecretly enter- 
 tained fentiments hoftile to the profperity of 
 that houfe ; that it regarded the prefervation of 
 the Turks as a matter infinitely more important 
 to her than Poland or Sweden ; that its jealoufy 
 and hatred to RufTia, even when it courted her 
 friendlliip, and concluded a treaty of commerce 
 with her, could only be equalled by its hatred and 
 its jealoufy of Great Britain. We have no reafon 
 to believe, that the republic thinks differently. 
 
 France then being by fyflem the avotved or 
 fecret enemy of the two imperial courts, it is 
 to her that the powers which have to dread 
 either of thofe courts will naturally look for 
 fupport. 
 
 PrufTia, whofe views of aggrandizement de- 
 pend in a great meafure on the ruin of the houfe 
 of Auftria ; and Sweden and Denmark, who 
 both look with envy or apprehenfion on the flill 
 growing power of the Ruffian empire, muft be 
 induced by fuch motives to attach themfelves, 
 when they dare, to France, and of confequence 
 mud be inclined to fupport the Ottoman 
 power. 
 
 It is by other views of policy that the nations 
 in the fouth of Europe are diredied in forming 
 their alliances with France. Moil of the Italian 
 flates, by their comparative infignificance, are 
 
 rendered 
 
TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 385 
 
 rendered neceflarily dependent, and by their 
 fituation mull be led, either through fear or po- 
 licy, to court the protedion of that power ; while 
 Spain, ever jealous of the Britifh naval fuperi- 
 ority, ever apprehenfive for the fate of her colo- 
 nies, fees in France alone an ally fufRciently 
 powerful to difpel her fears and to defend her 
 interefls. 
 
 The reafons alledged for the connexion of 
 different nations with France will, in their con- 
 verfe, point out' the motives for alliance with 
 Britain. Among the fecondary powers attached 
 to us are Portugal and Naples , the one by long 
 commercial habits, and a fear of its more potent 
 and dangerous neighbour, Spain ; the other, by 
 a like apprehenfion of the French enmity, fecret 
 or avowed. 
 
 On the fide of Aullria we fee an ancient ally 
 again united to us by a recent treaty, and by a 
 fimilarity of intereft, which mufl continue as 
 Ions: as the fecret or avowed connedion fubfifts 
 betw^een France, Pruflia, and Turkey. 
 
 Rufiia, which has rifen to its prefent impor- 
 tance, even more by the policy of its monarchs 
 than by the greatnefs of its population or terri- 
 tory, vaft as they are, may in fome meafure be 
 confidered as removed,^ by its northern fituation, 
 fo far from the fphere of European politics, that 
 it may occafionally, and at its option, either en- 
 ter 
 
3^4 CHAPTER t, 
 
 ter into them, or preferve a neutrality, as befl 
 fuits its purpofe; an advantage which no other 
 ftate pofTelTes, and of which the emprefs is per- 
 fectly aware, having frequently avoided taking 
 part in thofe very contefts which tended to pro- 
 mote her interefts. Though Ruffia has not long 
 been raifed to the (ituation (lie now occupies, 
 her army is the moll formidable, and has many 
 advantages over every other military eftablilh- 
 ment in Europe : befides a great naval force ir^ 
 the Baltic, Ihe has obtained a complete fuperi- 
 ority over the Turkiih fleet in the Black Sea, 
 both by the number and excellence of her fhips, 
 and the ikill and courage of her failors, fo that 
 (he can open to herfelf a palTage into the Medi- 
 terranean, and is now poifefled of all the meansy 
 fo long and fo perfeveringly purfued from the 
 time Peter the firfl: took Afoph to this day, of 
 annihilating the monitrous and unwieldy defpo- 
 tifm of the Ottoman iceptre in Europe. The 
 emprefs has alfo conceived the vaft and generous 
 defign of delivering Greece from its bondage^ 
 and of eftablilhing it under a prince of its own 
 religion, as a free and independent nation. It 
 was not long ago the policy of the Britilh cabi- 
 net to counteract thefe fchemes of the emprefs 
 (with what reafon we will not now conlider),;.» 
 but a convidion of the fimilarity of her interefts 
 with her own now prevails'^ the Turkiih claufe 
 
 (ia 
 
Turkish foreign relations. 3S5 
 
 (ia all preceding treaties) was given up in the 
 treaty of 1795, and a war between Ruffia and 
 Turkey now becomes a cafus foederis with Great 
 Britain, and flie is iuRlv confidered as our moft 
 valuable and moft natural ally* 
 
 If this general Sketch of the fyftem of Europe 
 fee juft, it will afford a clue to the motives 
 which have aduated, and are likely to actuate 
 the conduct of different powers in their indivi- 
 dual relations. 
 
 To return to Frange; — ^This nation, ever 
 verfed in intrigue and fertile in politicians, has 
 appeared under all circumftances to be beft in- 
 ftruded with regard to the real flate of Turkey, 
 and has fiiewn a convidion of the weaknefs of 
 its ally, at the very time when it was mod ne- 
 ceflary to fupport its importance. Thus it was, 
 that when the Count de Vergennes (who by a 
 long refidence at the porte as ambaflador, had 
 obtained a thorough knov;ledge of the refources 
 of the empire) was directed by the Duke de 
 Choifeul to excite the Turks to war againil Ruf- 
 iia, he flated the moft forcible reafons for an op- 
 pofite line of conduct , Thefe reafons, which 
 w^ere conclufive with the minifter, were founded 
 on the real weaknefs of the Ottoman empire, 
 and the falfe ideas of its (Ireilgth entertained 
 by feveral courts in Europe, which it would 
 have been fo impolitic in France to have re- 
 
 c c movedi 
 
^S6 CHAPTER X. 
 
 moved, by fuffering the Turks to engage in a 
 war deflrui5tive of their reputation. The fame 
 Count de Vergennes, when he became minifter, 
 inflrudled Monfieur de St. Prieft, to ufe every 
 argument which might induce the Turks rather 
 to yield to the demands of RufTia than to engage- 
 in a war. 
 
 The arrangement of the difpute with RufTia 
 in 1778, was attended with fome fmgular cir- 
 cumftances. The Turks had, contrary to the 
 treaty of Kainargi, appointed a new khan of the 
 Crim", and fent him with a fieet of Ibips of war^ 
 in the latter end of 1777, to the port now called 
 Sebaftopolis, to fupport the Tatars, whom they 
 had before excited to rebel a2:ainft their lawful 
 lihan, Shaheen-Guerrai. On thefe grounds a 
 %var had nearly broken out, when the porte, after 
 holding a fecret divan, fuddenly reiblved on 
 peace, and notified their determination to Mr. 
 Stachief, the Ruffian envoy. He applied to 
 the Englifh ambalTador, Sir Robert Ainflie, to 
 affifl: at the conference to be held, and ad: as 
 mediator at the figning of the accommoda- 
 tion. SirRobert, however (doubtlefs for good 
 'reafons) refufed, and Monheur de St. Priefl: 
 'was fent for, who readily accepted the office, 
 and France appeared, on no other ground than 
 the refudil of our amballador, as, mediatrix. 
 From this time Monfieur Stachief was fo much 
 6 governed 
 
TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. jSj 
 
 gOv-erned by the French ambaflador, that his 
 court thought it necefiary to recal him, as the 
 empreis by his conducl plainly perceived the 
 tendency of the French councils to fupport 
 Turkey. 
 
 In 1783, when Ruflia found it abfolutely ne- 
 cefTary for her own fafety, and the tranquihity of 
 her fubjeds, who were continually expofed to 
 the incurfions of the Tatars, to take poflefrion of 
 the Crim, and annex it to the empire, the French 
 ftiil perfuaded the Turks to yield for the time to 
 neceiTity, and rather to give up the Crim than 
 run the rifk of lofmg Conftantinople itielf. 
 
 The late emperor Jofeph had formed with 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 contefl in favour of ths 
 Turks, employed all its engines in fecret manoeu- 
 vres for their caufe. 
 
 The im.perial courts difcovered thefe defigns, 
 but not before France had prevailed on Sweden 
 to declare war againfc RulTia^ after the porte had 
 imprudently, and contrary to their advice, done 
 it, and had by means of M. de Choifeul-GoufHer 
 negociated a fubfidy from Turkey to the Swedifh 
 monarch. The part which France alfo took, not 
 only in acquiefcing, but in urging Great Britain 
 
 c c 2 and 
 
$S8 CHAPTER X. 
 
 and Pruflia to oppofe the progrefj of Rullia, and 
 fupport the king of Sweden in that war> was wel! 
 known to the two imperial courts. 
 
 Since that time Auflria and Ruffia (other cir-^ 
 
 cumilances having intervened) turned their 
 
 views to an alliance with his Britannic Majefty, 
 
 and which has ftill been flrengthened by the de- 
 
 j claration or triple aliiance (igned in September 
 
 i 1 795. Towards them, therefore, France mufb 
 
 |\ retain an hoftile difpolltion, while her connec- 
 
 > 
 
 tions with Spain, PrufTia, Sweden, and Turkey, 
 refult from mutual and natural interefts, as that 
 with other flates does from motives of depend- 
 ence and felf-prefervation. 
 
 Spain, notwithftanding the extent of her ter- 
 ritories, and the immenfitv of her refources if well 
 managred, feems to have been deH;raded almoff. 
 to-the rank of a fecondary power. Her colonial 
 poflefTions, the fource of her apparent fplendor 
 and of her political degeneracy, have become 
 an object of fo much apprehenfion to her, that, 
 unable to rely on her own force for their pre- 
 fervation, fhe muft court the alliance of a more 
 powerful neighbour. Of the two chief naval 
 powers, Britain excites the greater jealoufy, as 
 pretending to the command of the fca, and ap- 
 pearing ever intent on the extenfion of her com- 
 merce and foreign pofTeffions. This antipathy 
 is heightened, on the one hand, by the refent- 
 
 ment 
 
TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 3S9 
 
 ment v/lth which Spain views on her own coafl 
 the Britilh fortrefs of Gibraltar^ as, on the other, 
 her attachment to France has been cherifhed by 
 intimacy, and by the mutual iniereft which they 
 have, to keep the northern powers out of the 
 Mediterranean. 
 
 Of the influence of poUtical opinions (whe- 
 ther monarchical or republican) in confolidat- 
 ing the union of the diflcrent 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. 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 fyflem of 
 Europe, and its grand divifions of intereft, re- 
 main nearly as they are here reprefented. Opi* 
 nion may, in fome inilances, be a motive more 
 forcible than the permanent diftindions of inte- 
 reft, as in the cafe of the late war between Spain 
 and France for the re-eftabli(hment of monar- 
 chy ; but thefe caufes are merely temporary, and 
 however the difpute may terminate, recurrence 
 will ever be had to thofe principles, which, be- 
 ing founded on local and elfential diftinclions, 
 have the greateft poffible degree of permanency. 
 The French republic have proved, that they 
 have the fame notions with refpecl to the alli- 
 
 c c 3 ance 
 
^^b CHAPTER X. 
 
 ance with Spain as the monarchy had ; (the fa-^ 
 rniIy,compa<5l was franned entirely by interefl:;) 
 they look on it as " the mofi ejjential as zvellas the 
 " mqft natural which France can formy Were 
 monarchy to be re-eftabliflicd in France, fliould 
 we have made an ally of Louis XVIil. or a friend 
 of one fingle emigrant ? I fpeak here with re- 
 fped to political connection. 
 
 Prussia, which has been led forward to its 
 prefent eminence by a train of fortunate events^ 
 mud choofe that ally which will beft enable it, 
 not only to preferve its fituation, but purfue its 
 never-ceafingprojeds of aggrandizement : it has, 
 perhaps, fometimes to choofe between France 
 andRufTiaj but it cannot rely on the latter; 
 tranfitory events may unite their interefls for a 
 moment, perfonal predilection of fovereigns niay 
 influence the option for a tin^e, but no folid al- 
 liance can be formed ; and befides, the partition 
 of Poland has fown the feeds' of difcord, which, 
 fome day or other, will ripen. With France 
 no fuch circumxftances exift ; it is the country 
 which can procure to PrufTia more advantages 
 than any other, and in return receive more from 
 \t. From Rufila and from Endand it has drawn 
 occaficnal means of aggrandizement, but it has 
 always, even in the moment of receiving their 
 afTiftance, locked on them with a fufpicious eye. 
 Should PruiTia be feriouily allied with RufTia, 
 
 Auflria 
 
TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 39I 
 
 Auflria mud he leagued with France ; ar,d 
 fliould then a quarrel take place between the 
 two former, Pruffia might not have it in its 
 power to break the Auftrian 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 aggrandizement of PrulTia mult 
 be at the expence of the Houfe of Auflria, and 
 the fvftem of the cabinet of St. Peterfburo;h 
 never will be to ruin that houfe. 
 
 Pruflia will temporize with the emprefs, but 
 its prefent and future fyftem undoubtedly will 
 be an alliance with France ; for if RulTia at any 
 time be ill-difpofed to it, it has no other refource 
 to rely on. The jealoufy of Auftria, at this mo- 
 ment, muft be excited to the highefb degree, by 
 the concurrence of PruiTia with France in en- 
 deavouring to annihilate the Germanic confe- 
 deracy. This conduct muft leave Pruffia with- 
 out any other fupport but the diredory, and, 
 however matters terminate, will leave a deep 
 rooted enmity in every ].:;art of Europe, which 
 may ultimately have fatal confequences, and 
 renew a combination againft a country which 
 has loft its tutelar genius. To prefei-ve his do- 
 minions from his powerful neigbours required 
 all the talents of the great Frederic, and. even he 
 
 c c 4 with 
 
 /■ 
 
39^ CHAPTER X. 
 
 with difficulty was able to fave it from deflruo 
 tion. Such talents are not again to be expected 
 in a fovereign. That both France and Pruflia 
 confider themfelves as the mojl natural allies is 
 obvious ; that tliey confidered themfelves fo, 
 even while other alliances exifted, is equally ob- 
 vious. We need only to look to what has, in 
 the latter part of this century, happened be^ 
 tween France and Auflria — betvv^een Rufiia, Auf- 
 tria, and Pruflia — to be convinced that natural 
 alliances will ultimately prevail oyer temporary 
 fyftems. It would be fuperfiuous to. ent-r into 
 details fo well known. If the king of FruiTia 
 joined Auflria in the prefent war, it was to fecure 
 the friend fhip of the monarchy, which he then 
 thought would be reftored ^ when he ceafed to 
 think that event practicable, he as readily allied 
 himfelfwith thp republic; his objcfb was the 
 fame, an alliance with France, Pruffia by this 
 condu6t prolonged the mifcries of humanity ; 
 for fhe caufed a campaign to f;iili which woul4 
 have ended them, and turned a defenfive war in 
 France to an ofFenfive war out of it, which has 
 nearly ruined Europe, What is the fruit fhe 
 has reaped ? In this one campaign flie loft the 
 confequence which forty years of fuccefs had 
 given her. The feeds of democracy and rebellion 
 are fown in Pruffia; moft of the literati fpread 
 ^hem brpadly, not to fay a yery great portion of 
 
 the 
 
TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 393 
 
 the officers of the army, and there is not a coun- 
 try in Europe more ripe for revolution. The 
 treafures which the great Frederic left behind, 
 and, what is fiill a much greater lofs, that fpirit 
 in the army, that emulation of glory, that de- 
 voted nefs to their fovereign's caufe, which, more 
 than its difcipline, made it lb formidable, have 
 totally difappeared. 
 
 In 1 791, the king of Pruffia had a {landing 
 army of above 200,000 men ready to acl 5 the 
 people fatjsfied with the government, and at- 
 tached to their king; the army had flili the war- 
 like ipirit which the great Frederic had breathed 
 into it, and the treafures he left were not yet dif- 
 fipated ; he had fupplanted the emprefs in her 
 influence in Poland, which was become for- 
 midable, 
 
 Sweden would fcarcely be eHecmed of any 
 confequence in Europe, did not its local fituation 
 enable it to make a diverfion in favour of Turkey, 
 by a war with RufTja ; to France it, therefore, 
 has always appeared in the light of an ufeful ally, 
 and has ever been alTiflied by her with iubfidies, 
 ^nd fupported with all her interefl ; but, lince its 
 decline, the fervices it is able to render are 
 thought inadequate to its burthen, and the old 
 connexion is fupported, rather to prevent its 
 forming new ones, than from the real affiilancc 
 it can afford. 
 
 If 
 
394 CHAPTER X. 
 
 If Sweden would purfue a line of flricl neu- 
 trality, Rviflia has little temi^tation to difmember 
 it any further; but another war would, moil 
 proboble, make the Gulph of Bothnia the fron- 
 tier. It is to be hoped that Sweden now knows 
 her real interefb, which is,. to be well with RufTia; 
 and to fuffer patiently what f^ie cannot avoid. 
 Such a fituation is humiliating; but has (lie re- 
 fources in herfelf to rife above it ? Certainly not, 
 and that llie has not is her own fiult ; a v/orfe 
 fituation mufh follow from a contrary conduct ; 
 and it is doubtful v;hether France and Pruffia 
 united could, were they to turn all .their force to 
 fupport her, fave her from the talons of the Rui- 
 iian eagle. 
 
 However humiliating this flate of dependence 
 may be to the country, it is, undoubtedly, the 
 only fecurlty of the crozvn of Sweden. The people 
 have received, by their connections with the 
 French, during the minority of the prefent king 
 particularly, fuch an augmentation of their for- 
 mer republican notions, that they are become, 
 perhaps, more fanatic than many of the pro- 
 vinces of France. In the winter of 1795? the 
 theatre at Norkoping was fliut up ; the people 
 obliged the mufic to play ca-ira, of which they 
 have an excellent Swedifh tranflation (by one of 
 the profeffors of their univerfity) which they all 
 
 fung in chorus. 
 
 It 
 
TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIO>TS. 395 
 
 ft may not here be an improper digreflion, to 
 take a (light view of the condu6t of the late king 
 of Sweden, in declaring war againft Ruffia, at 
 a time when the emprefs fully relied on his neu- 
 trality, and had every reafon fo to do, confider- 
 ing the intereft of Sweden itfelf. That monarch, 
 impelled by the common infatuation of ambi- 
 tious princes, was eager to ad: a diftinguiilied 
 part on the theatre of Europe, and to imitate 
 the quixotifm of his illuftrious predecellbr, 
 Charles XII. He feized the moment which ap- 
 peared mod favourable to his projed.s, when the 
 armies of the emprefs were' drawn down towards 
 the fouth, to oppofe the Turks ; but this very 
 circumftance made his aggreilion fo glaring, even 
 to his own fubjefts, that the war was univerfally 
 reprobated, and the Swedifli and Finland armies 
 actually protefted againfh 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 m.ade himfelf mafter of the 
 imperial refidence by a coup de main. Luckily 
 for his country he only alarmed the emprefs, and 
 the report of the cannon of his fleet only fhook 
 the windows of her palace. Had he effefted his 
 
 plan. 
 
59^ CH A FT ER X.. 
 
 phn^ v/hoever knows the emprefs, knoivs flie 
 would ncTcT have laid down her arms till llic 
 liiid taken ample vengeance. 
 
 The inconfiderate ambition of the king: of 
 SvvedeB appeared in the eagernefs with which 
 he attacked the Rufiian fquandroa on its way 
 to the Mediterranean ; had he iliffered it to 
 proceed to its deiiinatlons the Svvediib iieel 
 would have remained mirtrclk of the Bahic- 
 
 It was in May 3788, that the Swediih fleet 
 farled from Carlfcrona with fealed orders, to be 
 €pened in the latitude of Gothland,, to ad of- 
 feniively againfl: Rullia; but the king's decla- 
 ration of liis motives for hoftility^ though dated 
 on the 2ifi: of July in the faine year^, was not 
 puibliihed till Augufl. Thefe proceedings, con- 
 trary as they were in themfelves to the maxims 
 which are generally acknowledged among civi- 
 lized ftates as the law of nations, were grounded 
 upon reafoas equally nugatory and unjuft. They 
 are conceived in the following terms : ** T//d 
 *^ deflaration of zvar mack by the fublime Ottoman 
 ^^ Porte againfi RuJJia^ zaas a new motive for the 
 latter to redouble its efforts infozving confufon and 
 trouble in the hofom of Szveden^ which ^ united by 
 an ancient and periiument treaty with the Gitoman 
 PortCy concluded in 1739, mid obliged by that 
 treaty not to abandon Jo ancient an alh\ appeared 
 formidable to Ruffa^ kScT 
 
 U 
 
 Si- 
 
TtJRKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS, t,K}J 
 
 ** His mdjejly, 7iever deviating from Ms pacific 
 ^ incHttafwns, isftill defirous of pedce,pi'o-vided that 
 '^ the empteji jkall c>ffer him nn honour ab-Ie one^ and 
 ** that the king J7i ail he df'ured of procuring for th^ 
 ** Ottoman Forte a firm arid per mtment pe/iaJ'* 
 
 The treaty of i7^Q>, by which the kins: P^c- 
 fended that he was bound to 5:he Turks, was^p.ot 
 eiferAfxve, but def^nllve ; aiul eve\i this wa:- de- 
 clared null and void by the firft ariick ot the 
 treaty of Abo, concluded with Ru/Ha in 1743s 
 and the porte \vti% at that time, officiaily in- 
 formed 6i it's abolition and non-exiftence* 
 
 The late king of Sweden, guided by the fame 
 motives as the king of Prudia, was preparing to 
 take an aclive part agrainll the French republic, 
 to feciire the triendlbip oi the reinfliated mo- 
 narchy. After [lis death, the regent, iookingoa 
 the republican goverDiiient as periTianently fixed, 
 purlued a diifcrent coridu^il, but having tlie iame 
 View as his brother, an alliance with France, 
 
 The condud of Sweden durina; the reg-encv 
 has been more hoftiie to the allies than is con- 
 fiftent with the neutrality it profeiled ; and had 
 the allies liileiied to the infinuations of the em- 
 prefs, it would have been feverely ponifned for 
 ks partiality. Had a war wich Sweden in thefe 
 circumftances taken place, in vain would Swe- 
 den have relied on the co-operation of the Danifh 
 :fljet; th^ enipref^ might either have prevented 
 
 the 
 
39^ CHAPTER X. 
 
 the junction, or, with a little affiftance, if not 
 alone, have crulLed their combined force* The 
 ifland of Bornholm lies ready for her to feize 
 upon ; and though at prefent it can boaft no 
 harbour, that defed: might be eafily remedied. 
 From fach a ftation the Ixuffian fleet would be 
 able to go to fea fix weeks earlier than the 
 Swedidi from Carifcrona, and confequently pre- 
 vent their junction. 
 
 The Englifli politician may objed:, that-it is 
 the intereft of this country to prevent Sweden 
 being fwallowed up by Ruiiia : be that as it 
 may, neither this country nor France can ferve 
 Sweden more eifentially, than by endeavouring 
 to keep it well with ituiTia. Notwithflanding 
 the fupport of the moil powerful allies, the ruin 
 of Sweden mud be ultimately the refult of a 
 contefl: with its powerful neighbour. 
 
 Denmark, we have feen, in the prefent war, 
 which has invoh'ed the intereils of all Europe, 
 purfaing the fam^e path of neutrality wdth Swe- 
 den, and united to it by a treaty ; we have fctii 
 their combined fleets parading the Baltic and 
 the North Sea, and profefiedly direded by the 
 fame views, not of neutrality only, but almoft 
 an open efpoufal of the French intereft, in de- 
 fiance of the allied powers, whole refentment 
 they would have felt, had, as I have already 
 mentioned, his Britannic Majefty not had' more 
 
 ' forbearance 
 
TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 399 
 
 forbearance than the emprefs. It would have 
 been eafy to have detached a fquadron from our 
 fleet to have joined that of the emprefs, and put 
 at once an end to the difpute, by annihilating 
 the united Danifli and Swedjfh navies. If they 
 have efcaped, the danger they have run ought 
 to make them more prudent in future. 
 
 The condud of ]3enmark to the emprefs iias 
 been very ungrateful as well as imprudent. 
 
 Slefwick, which in 1762 threatened to drav*' 
 upon Denmark the vengeance of the Ruffian 
 arms, in 1776 was, at the inftance of the em- 
 prefs, guaranteed to that country by the two 
 imDeriai courts, and iince, this 2;aarantee has 
 become ftili ftronger by .the accelfion of his Bri- 
 tannic Majefcy to it, in the triple alliance of 
 1795. On this fubjecl flie is, therefore, per- 
 fectly eafy ; but the local fituation and the re- 
 lative weaknefs of that kinfrdom mud make it 
 ever dependent on Great Britain and Ruilia. 
 The alliance v/ith Sweden can be but a tempo- 
 rary arrangement, however ardently the court of 
 Copenhagen may wiili to make it permanent, 
 through the fupport of France. Small dates 
 •muft, in external relations, be dependent on 
 greater : an equality of power among fovereigns 
 is as vifionary as among individuals. Has this 
 levelling mania leized the kings of Denmark 
 and Sweden as vvcli as their fubjecls ? 
 
 Sardinia 
 
40d CHAt>tER X. 
 
 Sardinia deferves particular confideratiorijj 
 as its importance feems to have been falfely efti- 
 mated. To feciire the paffes of Itai)?- againft the 
 inroads of the French was indeed a point of the 
 utmofh importance 5 but the ability of the court 
 of Turin to fecond fuch views has long ceafed^ 
 and its interefts feem at prefent to take a con- 
 trary dire^ion. The queftion is no longer whe^ 
 ther Savoy fiiall be preferved ; that country wasi 
 difaffe^fced long before the French revolution ; 
 it was governed with a rod of iron ; the nobi- 
 lity and the peafantry were alike diifatisfied, and 
 it was a general complaintj that the name of 
 Savoyard was an infurmoun table bar to promo- 
 tion in eVery department of the ftate : fuch was 
 its fituation when it was attacked by France ; 
 and bcfides this internal difaffedlion^ it had other 
 caufes of wcaknefs, arifmg fi-om preceding poiij* 
 tical events. 
 
 During the long contells between France and 
 the Houfe of Auftria5 the former wifning to 
 gain admifhon into Italy, the latter to prevent 
 it, the alliance of Sardinia w^as courted^ as pol- 
 feffing the command of fo ftrong a barrifer^ 
 Hence arofe the importance of the court of Tu- 
 rin, which, in changing alhes as opportunity 
 preferited itfeif, gained fomething by every trea- 
 ty, and was enabled, by fubfidies, to difcipline 
 and keep on foot a formidable force .; but wheri 
 
 the 
 
TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 40i 
 
 the French refigned all pretenfions to the Mi- 
 ianefe and to the grand duchy of Tufcany, the 
 king of Sardinia, who no longer found himfelf 
 courted by contending parties, negledied that 
 military force, which he had neither motive nor 
 ability to fupport, and funk by degrees into a 
 ftate of comparative infignificance. From this 
 he was for a fhort time called, and enabled 
 to a<5i: a more diftinguifhed part, by the alliance 
 of Auftria and the fubfidies of Britain ; but thefe 
 proving inluflicient, the pafles of Italy h^ve fal- 
 len into the hands of the French. It is to be 
 exped:ed that Sardinia will always remain an ally, 
 if not become a 'province of France^ on whom it is 
 now entirely dependent. In fa6t, it always was 
 ^ fecret enemy to Auftria, and never favoured 
 its caufe, but temporarily for the fake of ag- 
 grand izement, and the aggrandizement it moft 
 coveted was at the expence of that houfe, 
 
 Naples is capable of pofleiling aconfiderable 
 marine, and might become a naval power of no 
 fmall importance in the Mediterranean. The 
 reafons which influence Spain to take part with 
 France have no weight with the NeapoHtaii 
 court j it has no colonies to lofe, no jealoufy of 
 our trade, or of our influence in the Mediter* 
 ranean. The former fituation of Naples, under 
 the immediate influence of Spain, has no relation* 
 to its prefent, or to its true interefl. To it 
 
 p J? Great 
 
402 CHAPTER X. 
 
 "Great Britain muft appear as a valuable ally. 
 France has long been its fecret enem3r, and has 
 ufed every exertion to prevent it from becoming 
 a naval power. It muft ever remain in a ftate 
 of dependence and fubjedion, if England and its 
 allies are excluded from the Mediterranean. 
 Every augmention of naval force in that quarter, 
 which can cope with the fleets of France and 
 Spain, muft therefore be a deiirable obje<5l to 
 Naples, as on that alone her fafety and profpe- 
 rity depend. No country has fo much to lofe 
 by the eftabhlliment of French influence in Italy 
 as Naples. 
 
 Austria, the ancient, and (at leaftat prefent) 
 the moft natural ally, after Ruflia, to Great 
 Britain, the natural protedior of Germany and 
 Italy, and the natural balance againft France, has 
 evinced her exertions in the prefent war, her 
 firmnefs in fupport of tiie common interefts (lie 
 has with this country. The fupport which flie 
 derived from the finances of Great Britain w^as, 
 indeed, neceilary for her to make fuch exertions. 
 Her armies were brave, well difciplined, and nu- 
 merous ; her refources in men inexhauftible ; 
 but her treafury was inadequate, and ftie entered 
 dpon a difaftrous conteil under circumftances 
 peculiarly difadvaatageous. Fruflia, without 
 being the friend, acled on this occafion as the ally 
 i;n Au ftria, • If any can te was of fuflicient magni-: 
 : - .. , tude 
 
TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 403 
 
 tude to have filcnced their jealoufies and confo- 
 lidc^ted their plans, furely it was that in which 
 they were embarked, by an interefb hitherto un- 
 known in the annals of hiftory, a general intereft, 
 which crufhed all individual interefts of nations, 
 and which appealed no lefs to the paflions of 
 monarchs than to the policy of all civilized flates. 
 The fequel, alas ! is too well known. The French 
 have fucceeded in dilTolving the alliance, by con- 
 vincing the king of Pruffia that their govern- 
 ment was unfhakeable ; they recurred to their 
 old policy, divide et impera. 
 
 Pruflia has entered into their projedl of fepa- 
 rating the m.embers of the Germanic body ; the 
 French monarchy guaranteed their union ; but 
 the aim of both was the fame, the humiliation 
 of the Houfe of Auftria. This they in part ef- 
 fected by the peace of Weftphalia, the war pre- 
 ceding which, borrowing the pretext of religion, 
 was in effedt a war of policy , nor have they^ 
 lince that period negleded this grand objedt, ei- 
 ther in the open exertions of war or the more 
 fubtle efforts of intrigue ; hence it is, that we 
 fhall ever find the Turks in all their contefls 
 with the emperor, however unjuft, ftrengthened 
 by the aid and alTifted by the councils of France ; 
 and hence it is, on the other hand, that the 
 Houfe of Auflria mufb look with confidence to 
 the fteady fupport of Great Britain. Indeed w^ 
 
 pn z njr*y 
 
404 CHAPTERS. 
 
 may not only with juftice contend for the pre- 
 fervation of the emperor's prefent polTeffions, 
 but favour their extenfion, for the purpofe of 
 flrengthening him on the coafb of the Adriatic 
 and in European Turkey, a part of which more 
 naturally belongs to him than to lluflia or the 
 Greeks, were the Turks driven out of Europe. 
 
 Russia, the mofl powerful, the moft natu- 
 ral, and the moft ufeful of our allies, has fo inti- 
 mate a connection of interefta with us, that the 
 foundeft policy muft didtate to us an union of 
 defign and a co-operation in action. Her com- 
 merce with Great Britain is of the utmoft con- 
 fequence to her, as it produces a clear annual 
 balance in her favour, from a million to a million 
 and a half flerling. In the courfe of laft year, 
 there entered into the port of St. Peteriburgh 
 alone 533 Britifl:i (hips, which carried thence 
 Ruffian produdis to the value of £, 2,400,000 
 fterling ; at the fame time, the greateft number 
 of vefTels employed by any other nation was 
 eighty- fix (Danilh iliips) and the greateft value 
 exported was £. 80,000 fterling by the Portu- 
 guefe. Yet is the Ruffian trade of great impor- 
 tance to England, as ihe thence draws moft of 
 her naval ftores, and employs therein feveral hun- 
 dred velTels, and many thoufand feamen. Since 
 the emprefs has added to her dominions the reft 
 of thofe countries v/here hemp is produced, wc. 
 
 are 
 
TtJRKlSH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 4O5 
 
 are more dependent on her than heretofore ; yet 
 ,.not (6 much, perhaps, as the Ruffian miniflry 
 imagine, for reafons which it is eafy to point 
 out, but which it would be foreign to the pur- 
 pofe of this treatife to fpecify. When the trade 
 of France to Ruffia is put in comparifon with 
 this, it will be found very inconfiderable indeed. 
 The year after their treaty of commerce, in which - 
 they had all the advantages they could wiih, the 
 French took from Ruffia exports only to the 
 amount of £, 50,000 fterling. They have full 
 liberty to extend their commerce to the Ruflian 
 ports in the Black Sea, but it has been hitherto 
 too inconfiderable to deferve notice, or to be 
 put in comparifon with the iofs of trade they 
 would fuflain were the Turks driven out of Eu- 
 rope, Trifling however as their exports are, their 
 imports are very confiderable, not only in arti- 
 cles which come direfl from France by fea, but 
 rich fluffs and jewels, and other articles of luxury, 
 which go either by land, or to the German ports 
 in the Baltic, and thence find their way into Rui- 
 fia, a confiderable 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 
 interefl didates to her the fame alliances as our 
 intereft didates to us ; we are ri vals in nothing 
 the profperity of the one country is the increafe 
 
 p D 3 of 
 
4<s6 chapt'er 3i. 
 
 of ftfength in the other ; with her alliance we 
 ciin prote(51: our friends on the continent, or hu* 
 miliate our enemies ; with our alliance her fleets - 
 may fail in fafety to all parts of the globe, and 
 chaflife thofe who have provoked her. Even in 
 the trade between the two countries there is no 
 rivalfhip ; her produds, partly manufactured and 
 jmrtly raw^ brought by a long land carriage from 
 diflant provinces to her ports (which is in itfelf 
 a beneficial branch of commerce) find in our 
 merchants the only purchafers ; they tranfport 
 them to our ports in our own fhips : neither in 
 this is there any rivalfliip, for Ruflia has no mer- 
 cantile navy; but to compenfate that circum- 
 fiance the balance of trade is immenfely in her 
 favour. In lliort, there is no fmgle point in 
 which we can be rivals, except it be, which 
 fhould be more arduous in cultivating the ties^ 
 of friend fliip. 
 
 It is the interefh of this country, as muft ap-- 
 pear from what has been faid, that the emprefs 
 Ihould 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. O'^s. the other hand, our interefl requires 
 that flie (hould 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 Frr^nce 
 
 and 
 
TURKISH Foreign relations. 457 
 
 and "Spain. Indeed it is difficult to conceive, 
 amid the variety and difcordance of political in- 
 terefls, the exiftence of two great powers, be- 
 tween which there are fo many mutual depen- 
 dencies and fo few caufes of jealoufy. 
 
 The emprefs of Ruflia has been accufed of in- 
 conftancy in her alliances, of inconliftency in her 
 politics, and of only having had in view to pro-' 
 fit by the circumfliances of the day. It muft, 
 however, m%v be obvious, that though fhe ufed 
 different means to accomplilh her ends, (lie never 
 deviated from the fyflem fhe adopted the firfl 
 year of her reign, and that, if fhe changed her^ 
 friends, it was becaufe fhe thought that (he 
 could no longer depend on them. 
 
 In every political connexion fhe formed, fhe ) 
 had conflantly in view the expulfion of the Turks 
 from Europe, and the reftoration of the Greek 
 empire. As long as the power fhe had allied 
 herfelf with feemed to favour thefe projecfts, 
 Ihe was fleady in her attachment to it ; the 
 inflant it difcovered jealoufy of, oroppolition to 
 them, (he facrificed every other confideration, 
 and became its fecret enemy. Nor has the prefent 
 emprefs alone had in view the accomplifhing 
 of this vaft defign; Peter the Great firft con- 
 ceived the idea of its being fome day practicable, 
 and the cabinet of St. Peterfburgh has never loft 
 light of it during the fucceeding reigns, to this 
 
 day» 
 
 1) D 4 The 
 
 
408 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The emprefs declared unequivocally her lAteti"* 
 tions, in her manifeftoes 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 affairs of Poland, which 
 was only a preliminary ftep to lubjugating the 
 Turks. It was neceffary to iecure to herfelf the 
 refources for her armies, which Poland afforded. 
 Subfequent accidents have indeed annihilated 
 the government and independence of that coun- 
 try* 
 
 Ttie ardour with which his Britannic Majefty 
 efpoufed the caufe of the emprefs in that war, 
 by the afliilance afforded her fleet, and in forcing 
 ' France and Spain to confent to its entrance 
 into the Mediterranean, by a pofitive declaration 
 that a refufal would be confidered by His Ma- 
 jefly as an adl of hoftility to him, attached her 
 fp Eealoufly to the caufe of Great Britain, and 
 5xed in her mind a predikdion, not only for its 
 governnient but for individuals, that nothing 
 could fhake it but an oppofition to her favourite 
 rneafures, which fhe confidered as her deareft 
 interefls, and which were to crown her reign 
 with eternal glory. 
 
 Her devotednefs to Great Britain excited in 
 the cabinet of Verfailles the higheft jeaioufy, 
 and it laboured inceffantly, by every means, to 
 weaken the conned ion. It would be an endlefs 
 
 tafk 
 
TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 409 
 
 talk to recite all the manoeuvres of the French 
 till they unluckily fucceeded : they reprefented 
 our trade with Rullia as a monopoly, ruinous 
 and infulting to its fubjedts; they excited doubts 
 of the lincerity of our attachment to Rullia, and 
 of our hearty co-operation in her favourite 
 fchemes -, they infinuated that our views were 
 only to keep her navy in fuch a flate of depend- 
 ence as not to be able to a6t without our con- 
 currence, and to proceed in its fuccefTes only as 
 far as we chofe to permit it, at length they form- 
 ed, at an enormous expence, a party in the em- 
 prefs's cabinet to counteraft us. 
 
 The emprefs's fecond grandfon was born in 
 January 1779. He was named Conflantine. 
 Greek women were given him for nurfes, and 
 he fucked in with his milk the Greek language, 
 in which he afterwards was pcrfe(5led by learned 
 Greek teachers; in fliort, his whole education 
 was fuch as to fit him for the throne of Conftan- 
 tinople, and nobody then doubted the emprefs's 
 defign. 
 
 In this fame year (1779) the emprefs had de- 
 termined on giving his Britannic Majefty an 
 €ffe5iive afTiflance againfh his rebellious fubjedls 
 in America, fupported by the crozvn of France^ 
 Prince Potemkin, who to the laft day of his life 
 affirmed that the fuccefs of the enterprize againfh 
 -Turkey depended on the alliance with Great 
 
 Britain, 
 
4-^0 CUAVT ER X. 
 
 Britain, had the fole management of this bufinefs; 
 and without the concurrence of Count Panin^ 
 the minifler for foreign affairs, and the partifan 
 of the French, who, fufpeding, or having fome 
 information of what was going on, employed a 
 Mademoifelle Guibal, governefs to one of Potem- 
 kin's nieces, to fteal the papers from under the 
 prince's pillow, and after feeing the contents^ 
 to replace them fo carefully that it was fome time 
 afterwards before he difcovered how he was be- 
 trayed^ Count Panin found means to retard 
 the figning of the inflrument already drawn up^ 
 and produced another projed:, which flattered 
 the empreiVs vanity more> the armed neutrality^ 
 \vhich w^as firft conceived by the late king of 
 Fruffia. This Potemkin oppofed with all his' 
 might; the argument he ufed was, that if. the 
 other neutral nations, who had good veflels and. 
 experienced lailors, were to enjoy th^ fame pri- 
 vilege as the Ruffians had by the treaty with 
 Great Britain, of carrying hemp, &c. to France 
 in time of war, Ruffian fhips would never be^ 
 employed ; but that a contrary condudl would 
 create a Ruffian mercantile navy, which then did: 
 not exifl. He was over-ruled. No argument 
 could withiland the alTu ranee Count Panin gave, 
 that the French entered heartily into the projedt 
 of the emprefs with refpect to the Turks (whom, 
 unable any longer to defend, they had aban- 
 doned} 
 
TURKISH J^OREIGiT tlELATIONS. 4lt 
 
 Vtoned) and that the Britifh court never would 
 Gonfent to it. The condud: of the prince on 
 this occadon was not candid : when he could 
 not carry his point, he ranged himfelf with his 
 adverfaries, and received from the emprefs a 
 prefent for his fhare of the labour in bringing 
 about the armed neutrality (as was mentioned 
 ih the ukafe.) He did not communicate it to 
 Sir James Harris (who had conducled the nego- 
 tiation in the mod able manner) till it was (igned, 
 and a fyflem adopted highly inimical to the in- 
 terefts of Great Britain. The emprefs foon after 
 went to Mohilov to meet the emperor Jofeph ; 
 Mr. de Vergennes had perfuaded him, that 
 France had given up the caufe of the Turks, and 
 he led the emprefs into an error, which Prince 
 Potemkin lamented to the day of his death. 
 
 The emprefs, and particularly Potemkin, were 
 very anxious to obtain from His Majefty a cet 
 fion of the ifland of Minorca, which was intended 
 as a ftation for her fleet, and a rendezvous for 
 the Greeks. Soon after the propofal was made 
 it was taken from us. The emprefs might have 
 aiked it of the king of France, had it been taken 
 in his name^ to prove the lincerity of his friend- 
 ih'ip. The time it was attacked, and the cir- 
 cumflance that it was (o, in the name of the 
 king of Spain, fhows that the court of France 
 had good information from Peterfburgh. 
 
 The 
 
4^2 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The condud of Mr. de Vergennes (one of the 
 mofl indefatigable and univerfally intriguing 
 minifters, as well as moft perfidious, that ever 
 prefided in a cabinet) fliouid have opened the 
 eyes of our coalition minifters in 1783. After 
 he had founded them, and found that they- 
 would not aflift the Turks nor the RuiTians, he 
 not only promifed to the emperor the opening 
 of the Scheld, but the exchange of the Nether- 
 lands for Bavaria ; and the emprefs was fo hearty 
 in his caufe, that flie ordered her minifter at 
 Frankfort to make a formal propofal of this ex- 
 change to the Duke of Deux Fonts. Had we 
 then rightly underflood ourintereft with refped 
 to Turkey, we fliould have joined in the league 
 with the two imperial courts to effeduate this 
 exchange. The offer would have been eagerly 
 accepted ; we fhould have completely duped the 
 court of Verfailes, whofe inability to a(5l was 
 perfe6lly well known at Vienna and Peterfburgh ; 
 and Mr. de Vergennes equally well knew, that 
 if Pruffia, Great Britain, and Holland, oppofed 
 the exchange, it would not take place, notwith- 
 fkanding the ferious face he might put on in the 
 comedy he was then acling ; he was not only 
 eafy on that head, but he had the fatisfadion to 
 widen the breach between his Britannic Majeily 
 and the two imperial courts. The king of 
 Pruffia favv into the true views of the French 
 9 courtj 
 
TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 4L3 
 
 court, and was under no apprehenfion of offend- 
 ing it ultimately, while he was purfuingwith ali 
 his might his own intereft, in preventing the 
 very confiderable augmentation of power whick 
 would have accrued to the Houfe of Auftria. 
 
 I have fmce learnt that the emprefs even then 
 began to conceive fufpicions of the fmcerity of 
 the profeflions of France, and never could be 
 perfuaded by the emperor, that, though their 
 finances were in the worfh flate poffibie, they 
 might not have lent an army to him to prevent 
 the Dutch oppofing the opening of the Scheld. 
 
 The emprefs, with great dexterity, on this oc- 
 cafion, became a guarantee to the treaty of Wefl- 
 phalia, and by it acquired a right to interfere iu 
 the internal affairs of the Germanic empire. 
 
 From that period to the ever-memorable Ruf- 
 fian armament in England, the cabinet of St. 
 Peterlburgh aded in the moft unfriendly man- 
 ner to us. France had concluded a treaty of 
 commerce with Ruflia, from which great advan- 
 tages were expeded ; but it proved that rail the 
 encouragement given tQ it could not increafe it ; 
 on the contrary, the trade of Great Britain, op- 
 preffed in the moft unjuft manner, was confi- 
 derably augmented. The alliance between the 
 two imperial courts and France, and the great 
 partiality fhown to the latter ; the apprehenfion 
 of the Turks being driven out of Europe under 
 
 circum- 
 
4^4 CHAPTER X. 
 
 circumflances highly dangerous to this country, 
 and fuch an arrangement for a partition being 
 made as would have greatly increafed the power 
 of France, and made the bonds of amity, thus 
 nearer drawn together, durable, were fufficient 
 reafons with His Majelly's minillers to take that 
 meafure. The dignity as well as the interefh of 
 the country required it at that particular period, 
 though that was not the cafe before, nor has it 
 been fince j and itmuft appear evident, that we 
 cannot now reafon on the principles we did therty 
 and that we now muft clearly fee our intereft both 
 with refped: to Ruffia and Turkey. After the 
 fleet was fitted out, and the object declared, it 
 became the dignity of the nation to have let it 
 fail, and if Mr. Fawkener was to be fent, he 
 fhould have gone with it. 
 
 The friends of Mr. Fox pride themfelves 
 much in having prevented the fleet's failing; 
 but let them be ever filent on the partition of 
 Poland, for their meafures undoubtedly occa- 
 sioned it *. What might have been the event 
 of fuch a war it is difficult to forefee ; much con- 
 je<5lure may be made ; I will only mention one 
 circumftance, the naming of which is alarming^ 
 however it mav be treated as romantic : the em- 
 
 * Since this was written, the emprefs is dead, and I have no' 
 fcriiple now of daclaring, that that unfortunate monarch accufes 
 them of It 5 and there ar^ thofe in England who can produce^ 
 proofs of what I affirm. 
 
 ''■••■ •: prefs 
 
TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 41^ 
 
 prefs had firmly refolved to attempt to (end an 
 army through Bochara and Caflimcir, to place 
 the Mogul on the throne of India, and drive the 
 Britifli out of their pofTeflions, and there were 
 then in Ruffia Frenchmen, who had been Cent 
 into thofe parts by Mr. de Vergennes, and who 
 offered to condud: the army. If Mr. Fox's friend, 
 Mr. Adair, had the intereil of his country at 
 bea-rt, and not the removal of Mr. Pitt, why did 
 he make no advantage of the ardent defire Prince 
 Potemkin then had of feeing his court alUed 
 with Great Britain ? Though he was not accre- 
 dited from the Court of London, he entered into 
 political difcullions with that prince, who in 
 fpeaking with me about Mr. Adair, exprelTed 
 this defire in the flrongeft terms. The emprefs 
 then knew the treachery of France. She made 
 the difcovery in rhe autumn of 1788, by the in- 
 trigues of the French at Stockholn;! (where fliQ. 
 always had a ilrong party) and this was proved 
 to her in a flill flironger manner by the difcovery 
 that was made of the part which the Count de 
 Choifeul Goufher had in the negotiating a fub- 
 fidy from the porte to Sweden ; yet the emprefs 
 was too high fpirited to confefs fne had been 
 duped, though flie wilhed fecretly to change her 
 alliance with France for one with this country.. 
 This fortunate event has at length taken place, 
 and with no degrading circumftances to the. 
 
 country. 
 
4l6 CHAPTER X» 
 
 country. His Britannic Majefty has given up 
 the Turkiili claufe, and a war with Turkey is 
 become a cafus foederis, a condition without 
 which flie never would llgn any treaty with any 
 power. That His Majefty*s prefent miniftry 
 faw the real interefl of the Britifli and the Ruf- 
 iian empires, when that claufe, Jiue qua noUy of 
 the treaty was given up, I hope muft: appear evi- 
 dently, as well as that their condud: has beea^ 
 uniformly guided by the true interefl of their 
 country, which they followed as it varied, and 
 neither loft fight of that nor of its honour, an 
 obje6t furely every true Briton confiders as dear. 
 To enter into a long detail of circumftances 
 to prove what is here advanced w'ould be fuper- 
 iiuous, as it muft appear fo very confpicuous 
 to every one, except to thofe w^hom no argu- 
 ments can convince, and who pnonouncc decla- 
 ratory fentences inftead of inveftigating fads. 
 If thofe who oppofed the vigorous and once 
 neceffary meafures of this country wall pieafe to 
 talk of inconfiftency, I am ready to meet theffi 
 on that ground, and perhaps I may be able to 
 prove more than inconhftency on their part. 
 
 Of later events I fhall not now fpeak : the- 
 iituation \ have been in might involve me in <i- 
 cenfure of breach of confidence. 
 
 How far the king of PrufTia had an under- 
 ftanding in thisbufinefs with the French court I- 
 
 have 
 
TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 417 
 
 have no documents to prove j but flidls prove ^V 
 that he did fccond its views admirably well, j 
 both with refpecl to Auilria and Turkey. His 
 conduct towards others needs no animadver- 
 fion: he firft: encouraged the Poles to form their 
 new conftitution; then he made it a crime in 
 them to have formed it ; and laftly, he joined 
 with the emprefs to o\^erfet it. The emprefs 
 accufes him of being the hrft to infifl: on the 
 final partition as a Jine qua non, and as the price 
 of his co-oper^HDn againfh France ; a circiimi- 
 fhance not then known to his Britannic Majef- 
 ty's minifters. The emprefs knew too v;eii 
 their fentiments to riili the communication of 
 fuch a tranfaclion. How completely the court 
 of Berlin has duped all thofe who have been 
 connected with it (France only excepted) not 
 only in its engagements to his Britannic Majefty 
 and to the emprefs, on this occafion, but in every 
 other, is fo ftriking, that it ought by this time 
 to have convinced the courts of London and 
 Peterfburgh of the imperious necedity of cement- 
 ing, by every poiTible tie, the prefent connedtion 
 with the Hoyfe of Auftria, and making its inte- 
 reft their own. A deviation from fuch a con- 
 duct by either of the powers muft: obvioufly be 
 the ruin of Europe. 
 
 Iiuffia, however, in the eyes of the body po- 
 litic ot Europe, is a new power j they flill feem 
 
 E E to 
 
41 CHAPTER X. 
 
 to regard her only as a huge unformed mafss, 
 2:ivin2; a rude fliock to the countries which her 
 frontier touches ; they do not yet feem to per- 
 ceive her Aiding into every tranfaftion on the 
 continent of Europe, and planning in the dark, 
 and with unremitting perfeverance purfuing pro- 
 jects which are to ripen at once, and to aftonifh 
 by their effed, not on her neighbours^ not in 
 our days only, but on the moft remote regions 
 of the globe, and in future ages. Something of 
 this lately llafbed on them like lightning ; they 
 perceived that the prefent emprefs had become, 
 they fcarcely knew how, a party in the treaty of 
 Weftphalia, concluded before llulTia politically 
 exifled, and that her guarantee entitles her to 
 interfere in the affairs of the German empire^ 
 The flafh, which afforded a traniitory view, daz- 
 zled the eyes of fome, and they feem now mora 
 blind. 
 
 The means of this fovereign are vaft and in- 
 calculable, and her will can employ them with- 
 out oppofition r her financial refources, fo far 
 from being exhaufled, are not touched * ; a po- 
 pulation of more than thirf^ty millions, of whom 
 not one half has been called on to contribute to 
 the exigencies of the flate ; a peafantry looking 
 on the monarch as a divinity, and fliiing him 
 
 * I do not fpeak of prefent temporaiy embarraffment, hut of 
 j*eal refources, which have not yet been recurred to, and oi which 
 1 fhall treac on another occalion., 
 
 God 
 
TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 419 
 
 God of the earth (zemnol bog) ; ignorant of any 
 government but a defpotic fceptre, and of any 
 condition but vafTalage; happily deprived of all 
 means of evil information, and fecured from re- 
 bellion bv the want of communication and the 
 diflance of places : a foldiery content v/ith rye- 
 bifcuit and water, blindly obedient to difcipline, 
 and fuffering privation and hard (hip with a pa- 
 tience unknown to other nations ; aftive, and 
 peculiarly docile, they are eafily taught the ufe 
 of arms; the habit of conquering infpires them 
 with contempt of their enemies, and raifes a 
 courage naturally inherent in robufl conftitu- 
 tions, if not to heroifm, to actions worthy of 
 heroes. If tactics have been lately neglected, it 
 has been owing; to the unikilfulnefs of their ofn- 
 cers, of late promoted alnicfl: entirely by favour, 
 and ferving only to obtain rank, and then retire , 
 but this may be eafily reftored by a comm^ander 
 in chief, or a fovereign, though pofTeiTed of much 
 lefs military capacity than a Frederic : a nobility 
 unable to oifer the leaft oppofition to the cro>vn, 
 depending on it for every honourable diHindtion 
 of rank, civil or military, conferred, but not in- 
 herited ; without v>/hich neither birth nor fortune 
 give confideration, and which he who beftows 
 can take away, while they who fuller mufh blefs 
 his name : not united by any common tie as a 
 collective body, their interefls are merely thols 
 
 of individuals. 
 
 E E 2 Tlp^ere 
 
420 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Tliere is no law but the " exprejs cQmmand^ 
 of the monarch) who can debafe the higheil: fub- 
 je(5l to the condition of a fiave, or raife the loweft 
 
 ■ to the firil dignity of the empire j but this au- 
 tocratic fcepire exercifes no defpotifm over the 
 fubjed: iniuhing to mankind. Tlie Ruffian mo- 
 naich is not, like the flupid Ottoman, feated on 
 a throne involved in black clouds of ignorance, 
 f^jpported by cruelty on one hand, and by fu- 
 perliition on the other,,, at whofe feet fits Terroi", 
 and below Terror, Death. No fovereign in Eu- 
 rope is poileffed of more information, has more 
 judgment to digefl it, or in whom the refuit is 
 more confummate wifdom. So far from th-e 
 
 #reign of the emprefs being a reign of terror, its 
 tiult is, too much lenity to her fubjeds, parti- 
 cularly to the great. No princes have received 
 a better education than her fon and g-rand' 
 
 o 
 
 children, and the court which furrounds them is 
 as brilliant and poliflied in manners as any in 
 Europe. 
 
 The gloomy melancholy and folemn appear- 
 ance of the Turks is as little obfervable on the 
 countenance of a Rufiian, as the m^urderous 
 ferocity and enthufiailic fury which diftorts 
 the cadaverous phyfiognomy of others ; there 
 is a fmile diffufed over the face of the whole 
 country. I appeal to all thofe who have tra- 
 velled in PtulTia, whether they ever faw more 
 
 hilarity 
 
TtJ"RKTSH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 42I 
 
 hilarity In any part of the world. I do not mean 
 to recommend for imitation fuch a {late of 
 tilings to make men happy ; thefe who have 
 been removed from it cannot go back again •, 
 but I affirm, that the whole mafs of the people 
 appear to be more happy (and it is a hard tiling 
 to make a man laugh when he is not pleafed) 
 than any I have feen in t-hree parts of the globe. 
 There is no medium in liberty with refped: to 
 the happinefs of the people; to be happy, a na- 
 tion mud be perfectly free or perfei3:ly paiTive. 
 Ferfecft liberty excludes licentioufnefs : a people 
 cannot be faid to be free where there exifls a 
 power to annoy with impunity either them or 
 their magiftrates ; a little liberty, like " a little 
 learnings is a dangerous tliifigy^ becaufe It is not 
 underftood. Liberty has been no where under- 
 flood (no not in Athens) but in this happy 
 iiland. Here our government is founded on 
 r-eafon, and reafon v/ill fupport, or, if any part of 
 it goes to decay, amend it ; it is the glory of the 
 human underftanding, it is the pride of the mod 
 enlightened people on earth, whofe happinefs is 
 its objecl, and it will iland for ever, \f it have 
 only reafon to combat. 
 
 After havincr confidered the external fituatlon 
 of Turkey in various points of view, in each 
 of which it feems little to deferve the approba- 
 rion of the enlightened, or the fupport of the 
 
 ?. E 3 politician,, 
 
422 CHAPTER X. 
 
 politician, we come to obferve it as a member of 
 this grand confederation of the nations of Eu-* 
 rope, whofe interefis and political connexions I 
 have curforily paiTed in review. 
 
 Its dominion was founded in blood ; it is no- 
 held by fyilemiatic terror and opprefTion, and the 
 tyrants themJelves, enervated by the licentiouf- 
 nefs of their rapacity, and loft in the grofs igno- 
 rance of habitual defpotifm, are as weak and igr, 
 norant at homic, as they muft appear abroad 
 contemptible and infignificant. Interefted views, 
 it is true, have caufed their alliance to be courted 
 by Fiance, but it is by no means improbable 
 that that countryj when it finds itfelf unable to 
 defend its ally, mays with its ufual verfatility, 
 readily join in their deilru<fllcn. Great Britain 
 can only anticipate fuch an event by cultivating 
 the friendfhip of Ruflia and of the Grecian ftate, 
 whiclrmufc arife from the ruins of the Turkifh 
 pov/er. Strengthened by fuch an alliance, we 
 lliGuld maintain that afcendancy in the Medi- 
 terranean, of which the union of France ati4 
 Spain threatens to deprive us. 
 
 That Turkey muft very foon be qverv^helmed 
 by the emprefs, appec^rs from a coniparifon of 
 her financial refources, her army and her marine, 
 with thofe of the Ottoman power, Conftantir 
 nople itfelf cannot be confidered as a tenable 
 pofts and when the diiatredicn of the enflaved 
 
TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 423 
 
 Greeks is taken into the account, little doubt 
 can be entertained, that the followers of Maho- 
 met will be entirely driven from the countries in 
 Europe which they have ufurped, whether Eng- 
 land content or not. 
 
 How they came to decide on the late war ap- 
 pears very enigmatical. That their French coun- 
 fellors were better informed than to have recom- 
 mended fuch a ftep is certain. It has been at- 
 tributed to the advice of the Englifli amballador; 
 but this has been contradided, both by his fo- 
 lemn denial and by the exprefs declaration of 
 his court, that no fuch inflrudions were given 
 him. Among the Turks themfelves it was re- 
 garded, by every man of information, as rafh 
 and impolitic; and the great captain-paflia, 
 Gazi-Hafian, was in the higheil degree oifended 
 5it the proceeding. The declaration of war took 
 place while he was abfenc in Egypt.. His plan 
 was, to lubjugate the rebellious or difaffedted 
 provinces, which he wifely confidered as a ne- 
 ceifary preliminary^ to the engaging in any fo^ 
 reign conteft. He began with Egypt. The- 
 vizir Yufuf, and his party in the divan, hurried 
 on the declaration of hoitilities, when it was 
 too late in the feafon for any hoftile move-, 
 ment to be made, except the infignificant ar^d 
 ill combined attack on Kilburn, unprepared as 
 the Turks were, In the winter, when the Bog 
 
 E E 4 wa^ 
 
4^4 CHAPTER X. 
 
 was frozen over, the garrifon of Ochakof fur» 
 prized a RulTian village on its banks, and mur- 
 dered all itsdefenceleis inhabitants, confifti^g of 
 above a thou/and fouls, not one of whom was 
 fpared. This wanton piece of cruelty cofi: 
 them dear at 'the capture of that place. The 
 Ivafiian army, which went in the fpring to be- 
 fiege it, was led through the village in aflie?, and 
 the ftreets fiiiil ftained with the blood of its 
 harmlefs inhabitants. 1 mention this circum^ 
 ftance, becaufe I v^as a witnefs of it, and becaufe 
 the Ruilians have been accufed of cruelty, un- 
 j uilly at leajl zvith refpe5l to the Turks. Ha,d Great 
 Britain and PrufTia not interfered, the emprefs 
 would not have made peace. How far that inter- 
 ference was politic, confiderlng the Jituation zve then 
 Jlood in with the emprefs^ has been already ex- 
 plained J but I think it muft be fufficiently. 
 obvious, that the exiflience of the Turkiih power 
 in Europe can now no longer be confidered as 
 propitious, either to the particular interefhs of 
 this country, or to the gen-eral advantage of 
 mankind. 
 
 In the condudl of the war, a very fnort time 
 would have led the emperor to the gates of Con- 
 ftantinopie, had he boldly purfued a plan of 
 olfenfive operation; but Joieph, influenced by 
 the irrefolutlon of his eharadler, ad:ed folely on 
 the defepilye until he had lofl the opportunity 
 
 "of 
 
TURKISH FOREIGN' RELATIONS. 425 
 
 of crufhing his enemies, and was himfelf involved 
 in the troubles of his Hungarian dominions. 
 
 Humanity itfelf is difgraced by the prolonga- 
 tion of Turkifli defpotlim, and juilice with an 
 imperious voice demands the liberation of the 
 oppreiTed Grecians, and their re-e(i:abH(]iment in 
 the feat of their heroic ancedors. But it is not 
 only on the removal of exifting evils that we have 
 to fpecuiate; we niway contemplate v/iVa proud 
 exultation the fubfcitution of a new fyfhem 
 of things, founded on principles m.ore equally 
 jufb and liberal. Who can look forward without 
 animation to the revival of learning, of arts and 
 arms in Greece, when the iron yoke, under wliich 
 fne now bows, fhall be broken ? A G recian fLate, 
 the free and independent ally of Britain and 
 Ruilia, will form a conne(5ling link in the focial 
 bond of commerce ; will be fitted, by the fa- 
 vourablenefs of its ftuation and the genius of 
 its inhabitants, for bold and fuccefsful enterprize ;■ 
 and, in fine, v/ill quickly attain a proud pre-emi- 
 nence among nations, Britain is particularlr 
 interefced in cherifning thefe hopes : her trade 
 with Turkey 1^ trifling and iniignificant ; with 
 Greece Qie will {land in the relation of a favoured 
 ally, and her commercial conne6tions will confe- 
 quently be more intimate and extenfive. The 
 free navigation of the Mediterranean,- a point 
 which this country h^is fo long laboured to f^^ 
 
 cure. 
 
cure, will' be firmly eflablifhed by a confederacy 
 of naval powers, able to refill the domineering 
 fpirit of France and Spain. How high this ob- 
 je(5l has ever ranked am.ong the views of Englifh 
 politicians, m^ay by inferred from their anxiety \xx 
 acquiring, and pertinacity in maintaining Gib- 
 raltar, fvlinorca, and various other flations ia 
 that fea; but in the event to which we allude, 
 the whole Archipelago will be friendly to us, 
 and the fupport of our trade will be aifured, not 
 only by RuiTia, but Greece itfelf> which was 
 ever a prolific nurfery of feamen, and which at 
 prefent fupplies relucl^^ntly thQ greater part of 
 the Turkiili marine forces. 
 
 Nor is it only to the Mediterranean that we 
 may look for an extenfion of our commerce : the 
 coafls of the Black Sea prefent a mine of wealth 
 hitherto untried by the Britidi adventurer, but 
 from which we may derive the moil folid ad- 
 vantaores, when thofe countries are in the hands of 
 free and independent flates, our friends and aW 
 lies. The French had, previoufly to the prefent 
 war, a confiderabie trade in this fea, by their vef- 
 fels failing under Rufiian or Turkiih colours ; 
 p.n\^i this they will again enjoy on the return of 
 peace, through the favour of their Turkifli al- 
 hes. 
 
 The conciuf]on then, which is mofh obvious 
 
 frp'ti a view of Turkey, both in its aetual Hate, 
 
 8 ^nd 
 
TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 42J 
 
 and as it prefents itfelf to the eye of fpeculation, 
 is, that the fubverfionof its defpotifm (an event 
 which muft inevitably foon arrive, and which 
 it requires not the gift of prophecy to forefee) 
 will be productive of the moft beneficial effed, 
 in fubftituting ar» a<5live and comrnercial power, 
 for one immerfed in iloth and barbarifm. la 
 thefe deductions, Britain finds herfelf particularly 
 intercfted, fromthegreat advantages, commercial 
 and politica-l, which fuch an event holds out to 
 her, and w^iich, if ilie does not embrace, her 
 influence and weight in the Mediterranean, and, 
 perhaps, in the fcale of Europe, muft -fpeedily 
 link. 
 
 Turning our vievvs again to the fide of Italy, 
 ^ve Hiail there perceive new reafons, which dic^ 
 tate to Britain the necefTity of allying herfelf 
 moft intimately v;ith Ruflia in accompiiiliing the 
 liberation of Greece. The influence 6f France 
 fnuft here be almoft univerfally predominant, and 
 in the miaritim.e ftates Ihe will find a moll prolific 
 nurfery of feamen. She has however iorefeen, 
 that the entrance of a Ruffian fleet into the Me-, 
 diterranean will prove a moft ferious obfcacle to 
 the aggrandizement ot her power, and has there^. 
 fore endeavoured to prevent the progrefs of the 
 Ruffian arms. The only hope that Britain can 
 entertain in that, as in every other quarter, niufli 
 be founded on hev naval fuperiority ; and this 
 
 th^ 
 
42 S CHAPTER X. 
 
 the, co-operation of a Greek and Ruffian fleet 
 promiies moil 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 influence but their 
 empire -, their conquefts have been vaft and 
 rapid, and refemble in every feature thofe made 
 by their allies the Turks ; fcarcely lefs flriking 
 is the terror Vvhich awaits on their nanie, than 
 the devaftation v/hich foUov/s their fword ', Ge- 
 ^loa may be coniidered as theirs ; and even for 
 Venice itfelf no vain apprehenfions may be en- 
 tertained. What an acceffion of power is here 
 to be acquired 1 By what bounds can we pre- 
 tend to limit their progrefs } 
 
 If they fucceed in Italy, they will change their 
 politics with refped to Turkey. They are per- 
 fedlv acQuainted^with the (late of Greece, and 
 the difpoiitions of its inhabitants, Turkey can 
 be of no more ufe to them ; they will therefore 
 ered Greece into a republic under their protec- 
 tion, and derive from it infinitely more advan- 
 tages than from the PortSj which is unable any 
 longer to make adiverfion in their favour, with- 
 out haftcning theepocha of its own deflruclion. 
 Kufiia never can iubmlt to fee fuch a ftate of 
 things. Had the empre fs never before turned 
 her thoughts to the liberating of Gree9e, as an 
 
 obi e (ft 
 
TURKISH FOREIGN RELATIONS. 429 
 
 objedt of glory, (lie mufl now do it from mo- 
 tives of felf defence, and an intereft; fhe had not 
 before. 
 
 The vafl increafe of power the French will 
 acquire, particularly in the number of failors, 
 and the excellent ports of the Archipelago, will 
 enable them to annihilate at their pleafure the 
 Ruffian fleet and its eftabliHiments in the ports 
 of the Black Sea, and (hut them for ever out 
 of the Mediterranean. All the fair views of 
 profperity in the fouthern provinces, as Vv-eil 
 Ruffian as Poliih, will vanifn, and Ruffia muil 
 depend folely on the pleafure of France for the 
 exportation of its produdts. 
 
 Such a fliate of humiliation, neither the high 
 mind of the emprefs nor the country at large 
 will ever brook; it would be injuftice to them- 
 felves, cruelty to the Greeks, and ruin to all Eu- 
 rope. Much more even might be faid of the 
 deftrudtive confequence of fufFering the French 
 to intermeddle with the Greeks, and of not im- 
 mediately feizing the opportunity of making 
 them a free and independent nation. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT* 
 
I 430 ] 
 
 'V 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 THESE papers, as I have faid, were wrltteri 
 nearly two years ago, though all the political 
 part was not meant for the prefs ; circumilances 
 have occurred, which permit more of them be- 
 ing laid before the public than was at firfh in-* 
 tended. 
 
 A great event has fince happened ; the em- 
 prefs of RuHia is no more ! and confiderable 
 changes have taken place in the fituation of fe- 
 veral countries in Europe, but far from weaken* 
 ing, they greatly ftrengthen thefe arguments, 
 and elucidate their dedudlions. 
 
 Hlftories and anecdotes have appeared of the 
 life of that great princefs, and the revolution 
 which placed her on the throne. It is time that 
 the voice of truth be heard. That contempo- 
 rary fycophants and vile hirelings fhould have 
 vindicated one of the raoik horrid tranfadtions 
 that flain the pages of hiftory is not altogether 
 to be wondered at ; but indignation is raifed in 
 the breaft of every honeft man, to fee that after 
 the death of the emprefs there exifh beings con- 
 temptible enough to traduce the memory of an 
 unfortunate prince, a vi6lim to the undcligning 
 opennefs and integrity of his heart ; a prince, 
 whofe anfwcr to the precautions v»'hich were re- 
 commended 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 4'^! 
 
 commended to him by the late king of Pruilia, 
 was, " / do good to all the worlds and zvith 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 accufatioa 
 againft him as crimes 1) have been religioufly 
 obferved as models of wifdom and humanity, 
 and without v/hich the reign of the emiprefs 
 v/ouid have been lefs glorious, and her people 
 lefs happy. That a Frenchman, that a Rulhiere, 
 fliould abufe him, we need not be furprifed : 
 *' Peter the third zvas a friend to the EngllJJi, and 
 '*" he difcourao-ed the ufe of the Fi'ench lanmaze at 
 '' his courty But can any man believe that this 
 vindication of the dethroning Peter the third,, 
 was the book w^hich withilood the temptation 
 of Catharine's o'old, and the menace of th^ Baf- 
 tille ? Whoever has been in Rufila knows (or 
 might have known) the facts, and can contradict 
 this ridiculous miireprefentation of theiTi — the 
 tranfa6tion is but thirty-feven years old. 
 
 Many powerful interefcs were combined to 
 bury in oblivion this horrid event ; but let fo- 
 vereigns and individuals learn, that truth will 
 one day apfear. The emperor owes a duty to a 
 father, to a fovereign, to his own fecurity, and 
 tQ that of other princes j the Ruffian nation 
 owes to its own character the juflifi cation of the 
 memory of their injured monarch, in whofe ca- 
 
 taftrophe 
 
4^:2 POSTSCRIPT* 
 
 taftrophe they were not implicated. The weight 
 of the guilt will fall on a few ; the lapfe of time 
 does not diniinifli or change the nature of the 
 crime. 
 
 The reign of the emprcfs was a feries of fuc- 
 celFes ; it was as glorious as fortunate. She ex- 
 tended the frontier of her empire, and augmented 
 its force by a -great acquifition of territory and 
 population j tne created a powerful navy, and 
 eftabliflied a complete fovereignty in the Black 
 Sea; flie obtained both by fea and land fuch a 
 decided fuperiority over the Turks, that in the 
 very next fpring fhe could with eafe have driven 
 them into Afia. The dreadful revolution which, 
 has iliaken the governments of Europe to their 
 very foundations did not afFed: her , in the ge- 
 neral madnefs her fubjeds remained unconta- 
 minated, and by her pofition and undiminiflied 
 ftrength Ihe became the arbitrefs of the whole 
 continent. The document was drawn out. the 
 finning of which would have decided the conteft ; 
 would have crowned her reign with folid and 
 eternal glory, and have blotted out every fpot in 
 it ; would have made a people, who fcarcely 
 more than a century ago were reckoned among 
 the barbarous hordes of Tatars, the liberators of 
 the civilized world, the reftorers of order, of juf- 
 tice, of the government of laws, of the inde- 
 pendence of nations, the prote^flors of property, 
 
 of 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 433 
 
 cf innocence, of rellgioHj of morality, and of the 
 dignity of mankind; the pen was in her hand^ 
 v/hen — myfterious Heaven ! — (he died *. 
 
 The private charader of the emprefs and her 
 domeftic conduct are foreign to the fubje6l of 
 papers wholly political. As a fovereign, fhe will 
 make a great figure in hiftory. Her informa- 
 tion proceeded from an extenfive and minute 
 acquaintance with the prefent and pad ftate of 
 nations, their actual and relative fituations> and 
 with the perfonal character and private interefts 
 of fovereigns and individuals ; (he was indefati- 
 gable in gaining intelligence and making parti- 
 zans, and fpared neither money nor means to 
 fucceed -, fhe was aftonifliingly rich in refources 5 
 fhe had wonderful talents to combine and de- 
 duce, fo as to forelee v/ith certainty future events^ 
 or be prepared for fuch as mere accident pro- 
 duces ; it was thence that Hie was enabled to 
 profit by every fault or misfortune of other 
 flates, as well as of what inevitably followed in 
 *he common courfe of things 5 Ihe was never 
 duped, but when, through complaifance or con- 
 fidence, fhe had relied on the knowledg;e of 
 others i her projcdts were always vaft, their ob- 
 
 * That day or thfe next (he was to jiave llgned the document 
 for furnifhing 65.00001011 immediately, which would have been 
 o;ily the beginning of her co-opera:tion ; Ihe would, in all }iu- 
 man probability, have been as fuccelsful againfl the Jacobins as 
 liie was againft the lefs fitvare Tatar?. 
 
434 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 je(fl her own glory; her perfeverance was Inex- 
 orable 5 oppoiition or difficulty only excited 
 greater exertions of talent ; flie never gave up 
 one fingle purfuit when it was known to the 
 world that flie had determined to follow it, un- 
 lefs it cbujd appear that fhe ceded from motives 
 of generofity, and not from compulfion or invin- 
 cible obfl:acle; fuccefs never dazzled, nor dan- 
 ger or embarraliment opprefled her ; on all oc- 
 calions fhe had equal firmnefs, courage, and pre- 
 fence of mind; fhe was alw^ays great; even in 
 the fmallefl adlions flie was a fovereign ; fudden 
 . impreffions excited fomtetimes in her violent an- 
 ger, as it were by furprife, though never in pub- 
 lic; but (he commanded her paffions in an in- 
 ftant, and put on her habitual fmile. She wa^s 
 remarkably temperate, applied indefatigably to 
 bufmefs, and was of a healthy conftitution of 
 body. She could temporife, and ufe every art 
 of political intrigue, but (he had too high no- 
 tions of the dignity of a fovereign to debafe her- 
 felf, or proflitute publicly her word, fo that 
 whenever her honour was openly concerned in 
 fulfilling an engagement flie might be relied on. 
 When the gratification of her perfonal enmity 
 or efteem coincided with her politics it was 
 fhown, when not, filenced. 
 
 She uniformly purfued one line of poHtics^ 
 and fhe never would have changed her alliance 
 
 with 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 435 
 
 with Great Britain, had we underflood them, or 
 our own intereft, fooner. We need not fay how 
 unjuflifiable her condu6l has been towards Po- 
 land ; but it cannot be denied, that the whole 
 blame does not lie on her. As to the Crim, (lie 
 inuft have the approbation of all thofe who do 
 not approve a fyftem of rapine, and plunder, and 
 barbarous rage wreaked on poor defencelefs cot- 
 tagers, whofe fons, and wives, and daughters, 
 were conftantly expofed to be carried into 11a- 
 very from all the neighbouring countries. 
 
 It is only in foreign politics that fhe appears 
 great, and becaufe there only fhe governed alone; 
 there her minifl.ers were literally her fecretaries ; 
 (he heard their advice fometimes, and fometimes 
 took ideas from them, but (he alone judged and 
 decided, and no one dared propofe a meafure till 
 they had firft difcovered her fentim.ents on it; to 
 do this was the great art of keeping in favour. 
 
 As to the internal government of the empire^ 
 it was left to the great officers. The preiidents 
 of colleges and the governors of provinces w^ere 
 fovereigns, and they inordinately abufed their 
 power with impunity ; hence a moft fcandalous 
 negligence and corruption in the management of 
 affairs in every department, and a general relaxa- 
 tion of government from Peterfburgh to Kam- 
 chatka. The emprefs rewarded with great mu- 
 nificence; but merit, unlefs it was very con^ 
 
 F F 2 fpicuous 
 
4^6 POST§CRli>T.' 
 
 fpicuous to the world, had but a little fliare of 
 it -y every thing was given to favour, and what 
 is given to favour, is taken from merit : one good,- 
 however, refulted to /ler^ peribnally, from the 
 impunity which thofe in office enjoyed ; fhe 
 was fure of their attachment to her government, 
 as the more they abufed their power, the more 
 they dreaded a fuccelTor. She knew their con- 
 duft, but was deaf, and almoft inaccelfible to 
 complaint. 
 
 Her code of legiflation did not contain /azvs,-' 
 hut forms of judicature; the inflitution of ge- 
 neral governments w^as a new burthen on the 
 people of fifty millions of roubles more than the 
 ancient limple regulations, a fum equal to three 
 fourths of the whole revenue of the empire ; the 
 increafe of vexation was flill greater. 
 
 Her finances were ill undcrflood, and worfe 
 managed ; fhe got into embarrafTments 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 ths 
 contrary, to increafe, as other palTions gradually 
 fubfided* 
 
 She had, in fhort, a capacity equal to the go- 
 vernment of a vaft empire, and to give it in the 
 world that confequence which its natural ftren^rth 
 entitled it to. Had ihc paid the liimc attention 
 
 to 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 4^^ 
 
 to its internal, as fhe did to its political admi- 
 .niilration, her reign would have been as produc- 
 ^tive of happinefs to her people as it was of glory 
 .to herfelf. 
 
 The emprefs was at length on the eve of ac- 
 complifhing her great defign ; the Turks were 
 left alone, without any fupport.^ all the powers 
 in Europe were engaged in the great conteft, ex- 
 cept the kings of Fruffia and Sweden. It was 
 not in the power of the latter to make any di- 
 yerfion. The French had paid to the court of 
 .Stockholm a confiderable fum of money to en- 
 able it to fit out the fleet, but fo low were its 
 jinances, that it was all immediately employed, 
 except a few thoufand rix-dollars, for more 
 preiling exigencies of the ftate. The emprefs 
 had .a fleet in the Baltic, infinitely fuperior to 
 the combined fleets of Sweden and Denmark ; 
 ihe wiflied^ as has been faid, to annihilate them j 
 with our coacurrence or confent it would have 
 been but a flngk Jblow. As to the land forces 
 of Sweden, they were then not in a condition to 
 make the emprefs uneafy ; the ajarm -they had 
 occafioned in the laft war had put her oxii her 
 guard. She was, however, at the fame tin:;e en- 
 deavouring, by a marriage of her grand-daughter 
 Vv'ith the young king of Sweden, to conciliate the 
 ■interefts of the two countries : though fhe had 
 lag apprelxenfion on that fide, yet flie wifla.ed ra- 
 
 F F 3 thcr 
 
43^ POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 ther to avoid a quarrel, and required only a flridr 
 neutrality on the part of Sweden. As to Prullia 
 alone, in the ftate it was with refpedl to the newly 
 acquired provinces in Poland, and trembling at 
 the refqntment of the emprefs, it certainly un- 
 derftood its interefts too well to 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 fubjed: he. 
 had acquired; almofh every Pole would have 
 taken the field againft him, fo much were they 
 irritated at his pafi: condud. The king of Pruffia 
 had alfo interefts in Germ.any to look after, 
 which concerned him nearer ; and certain it is, 
 that he paid the moft fubmiffive court to the 
 emprefs, who on her fide was perfedily unappre- 
 hcnfive of any oppofition from him; all that he 
 might have tried to ef!ed: would have been, to 
 obtain fome little indemnification as the price of 
 his complaifance in acquiefcing in herprojeds. 
 
 She was now in poileffion of every refource 
 file required of Poland for her army, in acting 
 againft the Turks on the European continent. 
 The government of the acquired provinces was 
 fo firmly fettled, that Hie had no apprehenfion 
 of difturbances ; her army was fo formidable, 
 that file could have marched beyond her frontiers 
 at leaft three hundred thoufand effedive men^ 
 aud Hie had railed 1 50,000 men to recruit it. 
 
 Her 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 4'39 
 
 Her fleet in the Black Sea was much fuperior 
 to the whole Turkifli navy, and there was a flo- 
 tilla of fmali veliels built for the purpole of 
 landing troops in three feet water^, which coTjId 
 have conducted, in three days, fixty thoufand 
 men within a few miles of the capital of the 
 Turkifli empire. The firft blow would have 
 been the deftruftion of the Ottoman fieet in its 
 own port, and the attack of Conilantinople by 
 land at the fame time. All this might have been 
 done early lafl fpring. 
 
 A great army h^d pafTed Derbent ; an arrange- 
 ment would have immediately taken place with 
 the Perfian khans, in whofe quarrels, without 
 any apparent interefl:, fhehad intermeddled; and 
 this army would have fallen on thcTurkifh Afi- 
 atic provinces, the confequence of which would 
 have been, that all the Afiatic troops, which com- 
 pofe the garrifons of their fortreffes in Europe, 
 would have quitted themj and Jfied to luccour 
 their own country, and have kft the road to 
 Confliantinople defencelefs. 
 
 It was a projecl of Prince Potemkin, in the 
 lafl 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 
 fafhs. 
 
 Nor would the fending an army of fixty-five 
 
 F F 4 thoufand 
 
440 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 tlioufand men to attack the French in AUace 
 have prevented her marching another army 
 againfi: the Turks. If (lie had any apprehenfions 
 of the king of Pruffia Tiding v^dth the French ^ 
 this meafure would have put it in her power to 
 have aded more offenfively againfh him. How- 
 ever 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 
 flie was not certain of meeting no oppofition to 
 that meafure, fiie conftantly declined taking ari 
 adive part by land againft the French. 
 
 In ihort, every preparation was made, and 
 every obftacle removed j we did not want thq 
 publication of a manifefco to be informed of her 
 intentions; and indeed the intentions of fove- 
 reigns are better known by the ft ate and move- 
 ments of their armies, or the preparations for 
 their movements, by a knowledge of their inte- 
 refbs, and the difficulties they haye to encounter 
 in the execution of their projedls, than" by mani- 
 felloes, or by the language of their courtiers. 
 
 It is worthy of recording, that the emprefs 
 declared, that though His Majefiy and the Em- 
 peror of Germany made peace with the Frenchj 
 flie never v/ould acknowledge the French re- 
 public, or any ftate that had rebelled againft its 
 fbvereign. She never would acknowledge Ame- 
 rica to the laft, though The permitted fliips com- 
 ing 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 44t 
 
 ing from America, under Aaierlcan colours, to 
 enter her ports, and trade on the fame footing as 
 pther nations having no treaty. 
 
 The prefident of the congrefs, not knowing 
 this circumftance, appointed a conful, in 1795, 
 to relide in St. Peterfburgh ; on his arrival he 
 requefted an audience of the vice-chancellor, to 
 deliver his credentials ; but the next day he was 
 told, the emprefs did not know of any fucli 
 power as the United States of America. 
 
 Smce it has appeared, that His Majefhy's con- 
 fenting to at leaR, if not co-operating with the 
 emprefs's projedls againil Turkey, was the fine 
 qna non of an alliance zi'ith her^ and of her taking 
 an aEiive part in the war againft France^ the pub- 
 lic has fliown great anxiety to learn why flie did 
 not come forward immediately after figning the 
 treaty in February 1795, in which a war with 
 Xurkcy is a cafus feeder is, and what meafurcs had 
 ^•emoved the impediment, which kept her back 
 two years, and induced her to come forward at 
 lafl ; but thefe events are too recent to be fpoken 
 of. 
 
 Whilfh I am writing this Poftlcript, another 
 great event has taken place. 
 • The em.peror of Germany has made peace ; 
 the emperor of RufTia has left a glorious oppor- 
 tunity to immortalize his name 3 it might have 
 been faid to him': 
 
44^ POSTSCRIPT, 
 
 Sire, ■ * 
 
 Ton have ajcended the throne of the great eji empire 
 in the world, under fuch atif pices as never attended 
 any monarch before you, 
 
 A glory is referved for you. Sire, fuch as never 
 yet flione round the throne of any f over eign on earth. 
 
 T^ou may be the benefaBor, not of Ruffia only, but 
 of all Europe. — Wfiory fjiallfay, Alexander co7iqtier- 
 ed a world. Paid faved a world. 
 
 Ton have begun your reign by acts zvhich befpeak 
 your wifdom^ your jufikey your hmianity — You 
 
 HEAR EVERY ONE*. 
 
 • Tou have felt zmth indignation the unneceffitated 
 apofiacy of the court of Berlin; its alliance with re- 
 gicides to difnember the German empire. ■ 
 
 7^0 u are called on. Sire, to crufli with the irrefifiible 
 weight of your armies the enemies of religion, morality^ 
 and focial order. 
 
 Peace zvith them will be more dangerous than 
 war. 1'heir doSIrines zvill have freer courfe ; and 
 their doBrines have done more than their armies. 
 They have fiib verted the order, and confounded even 
 the names of things. Virtues with them have the 
 appellations of vices, and vices the appellations of 
 virtues. 
 
 Can Ruffia, in all its extended provinces, when^ 
 
 * Eveiy perfon in the empire may now write to their fovc- 
 reign, and if they receive no anfwer, m^y addrels thenifelves 
 perfonally to him. 
 
 7 ' ^ every 
 
p^osTscKiPT. 443 
 
 every foreign ebnta^ zvill be poifon 3 zv/ien every 
 breathy except from the frozen ocean, will be full of 
 m'lafma, efcape the contagion ? None zvill efcape hut' 
 tfie elder brethren of Jacobinifm, the T/irkSy zvhofe 
 equally mon/irous, though lefs da',igerous tyranny, has 
 forfo may centuries infalted mankind, trodden under 
 foot the lazvs of nations, and blafphemed Chriftianity -y 
 zjoho, unprovoked, attacked, confj^.iered, and faugh- 
 tered nations zvithout number, murdered their fovs- 
 reigns, and fpilt every drop of royal blood, ?nafjhcrcd 
 their pr lefts at the altar, extirpated nobility, plnn-- 
 dered the opident, and bound the zvretched remains 
 of the people in fetters of perpetual and hereditary 
 flavery. They alone, till the reign of Jacobinifn, had 
 made property a crime, the violation of property a 
 legal refource of government, and the lives and pof- 
 fefjlons of men the right of tyranny ; they alone had 
 hitherto confounded the hereditary ranks among man- 
 kind ; had deprefjed genius, learning, and the Chrif 
 tian religion, and governed their barbarous empire 
 by flaves and affaffms. Like the Jacobins, they 
 taught Chriftian children to fight againft their fathers 
 and their father'' s, God^-, they too hold it lazvful to 
 viurder prifoncjs in cold blood; they toopofj'efs a claim 
 to every country in the univerfe, and a f acred right 
 to fubjeB all people to their lazv ; they too hold all 
 other f over eigns as vfurpers, and dethroning them as 
 
 * See the inftitutlon of the Janlziiries, who. wcR- onginally 
 phriftian childi-en. 
 
 the 
 
444 rosrscRipr. 
 
 the highejl. merit. But fiill the Turks have a re^ 
 iigioHy and though it -permits them mimberlefs enor- 
 mities to their ownfe^y and all enormities to others^ 
 they acknovokdge a God^ and many moral duties. 
 Not the contagion of their do^rine was to be feared, 
 but their cruel f word ^ winch once threatened the con- 
 quefi of the univerfe, and the extinBion of all virtu^^ 
 dignity, and fcience in the wmid ; yet was ^lot this 
 frjl monfter fo tremendous, in the infolence of his 
 pozver, as an enemy, as is this fecond monfier, in the 
 ■infolence of his fuccejj'es, as a brother. 
 
 To you. Sire, kings lift up their hand's, and bozu 
 their anointed heads -, to you. Sire, the priejis of 
 'God, to you orphans of murdered nobles, to you vio- 
 lated virgins, defpoiled pofj'efjors, enflaved nations 
 Jf retch cut their arms, and implore your aid ; the 
 fpirits of manyred royalty call to you from above, 
 for vengeance. 
 
 The noble project of your glorious ancefior, Peter 
 the Great, was nearly confummated when you mounted 
 his throne ; it was referved for his nephe%v to accom- 
 ■plifi the liberating of a Chriftian people from the. 
 woji infamous bondage. It is zvorthy of the jujlice 
 and htmanity which mark the beginning of a reign^ 
 en which more true glory awajts than ever was re- 
 served for any f over eign in the records of hifory. 
 This might with truth have been laid to him. 
 In Auguft 1796, Pruffia concluded with the 
 French fecret articles for the difmemberment of 
 
 Gci'many. 
 
POSTSCRIPT, 44^ 
 
 Germany. The late king had allured the em- 
 prefs, " 071 his word of hoyioiir, and on the zvord of 
 " a fovereign^' that no fuch articles exifted. Ob 
 the acceflion of his prefent imperial majefty to 
 the throne of Ruffia, the king lent Count de 
 Briihl to compHm.ent the emperor on the occa- 
 fion. This nobleman had the honour of being 
 peribnally known to his imperial majefty, and,- 
 k was believed, was mucheftcemed by him. 
 
 The court of Berlin, foon imagining that the 
 emperor Paul was blindly attached to its interefts, 
 ventured to give a copy of theie articles. That 
 fubtle cabinet v/as for once miftaken. The em.- 
 peror felt the irrdignity of the adlion, and, him- 
 felf a man of honour, and a monarch refpedcfui 
 of the facrednefs of a fovereign's word, he an- 
 fwered the communication as became the de- 
 fcendent of Peter the Great. PrufTia fubmitted, 
 and the projedl was abandoned. RufTia was 
 adually preparing to alTift Auftria effecftualiy, 
 when the Emperor, who was ignorant of this and 
 feveral other favourable circumftances, feeing; 
 his capital menaced by Buonaparte, unluckily 
 figned the preliminaries of peace with France ! 
 I iliall make no comment on this unfortunate 
 event, w4iich no one had reafon to cxpc6r, and 
 certain it is, that a few days, perhaps a few 
 hours, delay would have prevented it. The em- 
 peror of RulTia was greatly and juftly offended. 
 
 If 
 
J'OSTS.CRIPT. 
 
 If he 'have any prediledioa for Pruffia, certain it 
 is, that he is incapable of entering into meafures 
 iniquitous in themfelves and baneful in. their 
 confequences, tending to the difmemberment of 
 Germany ; and the only obftacle which now 
 feems to prevent his flepping forward with that 
 vafl weight of power he commands, is the un- 
 certainty of the political fyftem adopted by the 
 vouns; kins; of Pruffia. While the old miniflers 
 continue in ofEce, can it be pfefumed that their 
 fyftem is not that which the king approves ? Is 
 it to be expeded that a young prince has energy 
 of mind, and knowledge of affairs fufficient, by 
 his arguments to convert or to over-rule the opi- 
 nions of a whole cabinet ? We mufi: judge of^ 
 the fyfhem of a prince by the known fyftem of 
 his miniflers in office. 
 
 If, however, becaufe the emperor has made 
 peace, we make peace, and iuch a peace as the 
 bloated infolence of the enemy didiates to us, 
 we (hall be fhut out of every port, from the Elbe 
 to the coaft of Africa; we fljall foon be driven 
 out of India. France, and its allies, will foon 
 have a naval power fuperior to that of Great 
 Britain, and, qui 772 are teneat eiim necejfe rcrum pa- 
 /;>/. Cic. Without our trade how is our navy 
 to exiil ? how are our funds to be raifed ? If 
 we difland our armies, we fnali be attacked un- 
 
 prepared; 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 447 
 
 prepared; if we do not, what oeconomy will 
 there be in a peace ? 
 
 It now remains, therefore, to be feen, whether 
 the love of our country and of liberty, which 
 fired the breads of our anceflors, and led them 
 on to thofe glorious exertions, which procured 
 us our happy 3,ndfree coriflitiitkn^ be tranfmitted 
 to their defcendants -, and whether we will fplll 
 our blood to defend what they fpilt their blood 
 to purchafe for us. It remains to be feen whe- 
 ther we are ftill free Britons, or humiliated flaves, 
 'ready to receive with open arms the deathful 
 hug of French fraternity, and (iibmit to the def- 
 potic five-handed fceptre of French liberty. 
 
 February 179S. 
 
 \ 
 
i 44s 1 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Of the BritiJIi Trade with I'urkcy. 
 
 FORMERLY the trade to Turkey was of 
 confiderable inportance to this country, 
 but of late years it had been languifhing, and at 
 lafh dwindled into a ftate of inlignificancy, when 
 the prefent war entirely put a flop to all com- 
 munication with the ports of the Levant. 
 
 As this trade will be again opened when a 
 peace takes place, an inveftigation of the caufes 
 of its decline, and the means to give it its an- 
 cient extenfion, may not, in the mean time, be 
 unimportant to the government and to the rner- 
 chants of this country. 
 
 The caufes of its gradual decline are, ift, the' 
 rivalfhip of other European nations ; zdly, the 
 diminution of the confumption of our manufac- 
 tures in Turkey, by the impoveriflied flate of 
 the country ; sdly, fome branches of trade be- 
 ing got into other channels ; and, 4thly, the mo- 
 nopoly of the Levant company in London. 
 
 With refpedl to the rival fliip of other nations,- 
 that caufe will be confidered when I fpeak of the 
 Levant company. As to the impoveriilied ftate 
 of Turkey, it mull affed the trade of other Eu- 
 ropean nations as well as our own ; if we are 
 net, therefore, to expe(fl to fee it again in tha^t 
 
 flourifhing 
 
BRITISH TURKEY TRADE. 449 
 
 flourifliing flate in which it was when there were 
 forty Englifli houfes of trade at Aleppo (at pre- 
 fent there is but one) we may at leail expedl to 
 have the fame proportion of it as we then had ; 
 and if we acquire only this, our trade to the Le- 
 vant will ftill be a national objed. Some 
 branches of^ trade are got into other channels ; 
 this regards principally certain imports from 
 Turkey, and particularly of filk from Aleppo, 
 whence formerly larger quantities of Perfian fiik 
 came, which is not now brought thither, but 
 the Eaft India Company fupply our market 
 cheaper and more abundantly. Confiderable 
 quantities of cotton and drugs come from Hol- 
 land and from Italy, which formerly came di- 
 redl. This will alfo be accounted for in the 
 next confideration, the monopoly of the Levant 
 company. 
 
 It is often neceffary, and where merchants un- 
 dertake to open to the country a new branch of 
 trade, and where the expence and riik is great, 
 it is juft, to grant them exclufive privileges, or 
 monopolies, for a certain limited time, to pre- 
 vent others from reaping the harvefl they had 
 fown, and to fecure their laudable induftry as 
 far as poflible from riflv; but when that riik 
 exifhs no more, and when they have reaped their 
 harveft over and over again, and have had a full 
 compenfation for their riik, their induftry, and 
 
 a G their 
 
450 CHAPTER XI» 
 
 their expence, the country at larg^ has a rlgfit 
 to a participation of the trade. There may, in- 
 deed, fometimes exift circumftances of a pecu- 
 liar nature, which give them a claim to a longer 
 indulgence in their monopoly, particularly where 
 that monopoly is not injurious^^but, on the con- 
 trary, beneficial to the country in general (and 
 fuch is the cafe of the Eafl: India company ;) 
 but in a trade where the merchants have no com- 
 mon flock, and can urge none of the above rea- 
 fons in defence of their monopoly ; where they 
 cannot prove that any particular lofs would ac- 
 crue to them by abolifhing it -, where it has ope- 
 rated as a reftraint on the trade, confining it to 
 narrow bounds, and giving a decided fuperiority 
 to their rivals of other nations, to the almoft 
 total exclufion of the produv^ls and manufadures 
 of their country from that to which their privi- 
 lege exclufively permits them to trade; ought, in 
 common fenfe, fach a monopoly to exifl ? The 
 Levant company is truly become the dog in the 
 manger ; it does not operate fo much to the pro- 
 fit of the company, as to the lofs of the country.- 
 This n:onopoly is of a fingular nature : it has 
 none of the advantages of a common flock, in 
 which many individuals riik^ fmall lums, but 
 which in the aggregate amount to a larger ca- 
 pital than any one merchant or fet of merchants 
 poifefs, or would clioole to riik ; a common 
 
 flock 
 
BRITISH TURKEY TRADE. 45I 
 
 flock to which any one may contribute, and 
 which thereby, ftridlly fpeaking, ceafes to be a 
 monopoly; it is a privilege granted to certain 
 perfons only to trade to Turkey, each with his 
 own capital, and for his own particular account 
 and riik, without any aflignable reafon why they 
 fhould be preferred to others his majefty's fub- 
 jeds : it has all the difadvantages of other mo- 
 nopolies ; it has not one of their advantages. 
 
 In fpeaking thus freely of the company, I fo- 
 lemnly declare that I have no private motive, 
 no rancour againfl any individual, and no in- 
 ducement for writing on this fubjed: but the 
 advantage of the country. The few members 
 of the company with whom I am acquainted, I 
 perfonally refpedl and highly efteem : on this 
 fubje6l they muft differ with me; they are 
 bound by oath to fupport the interefts of their 
 body. 
 
 The trade of all other nations to Turkey is 
 free, and they have experienced the advantage 
 of being liberated from the fetters of exclufive 
 privileges. Let every obftacle be removed in 
 this country to an equally free commerce, and 
 the fuperior induflry, fkill, and riches of our ma- 
 nufadurers, our traders, and our navigators, will 
 again refhore to us our loll Turkey trade. 
 
 It may be faid, that at prefent the Levant 
 company is not a monopoly, as any one, by pay- 
 
 G G 2 ing 
 
4^2 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 ing twenty poundSj may become a member of 
 it. When the trade was already ruined, it was 
 imagined that this regulation was equivalent to 
 laying the trade open (a proof that government 
 have thought it neceffary to aboiiOi the mono- 
 poly) j but the bye-laws of the company, and the 
 power to enforce them, were permitted to exift, 
 and thefe fo fetter the trade to new adventttrerSy 
 that few have found their account in purfuing 
 it, and the trade ftill remams a monopoly in fa- 
 vour of the old houfes. 
 
 It will be neceflary to pafs in review thefe 
 bye-laws, which have operated fo injurioully to 
 the trade in general, and to fliew hov/ they have 
 gradually effeded its total ruin, and the intro- 
 dudion of rivals, who have gotten pofTeilion of 
 what we have loft. 
 
 By one of the bye-laws, for inftance, it was 
 enacted, that all merchandize brought 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 E/ij^- 
 land from 'Turkey or Egypt ^ every member fliall 
 in like manner fubfcribe the following affirma- 
 " tion ; vide licet : 
 
 " / affirm, by the oath I have taken to the Levnnl 
 " company^ that the goods above 7neniioned are for 
 
 " accomif 
 
 
ii 
 
 
 BRITISH TURKEY TRADE. 453 
 
 *' account of tnyfelf, or others free of the faid com* 
 *' pany^ or of fich as now have their licence to trade^ 
 *' and are beyond the feas ; and that the faid goods ^ 
 " nor any part of the?n, are not^ to the befl of -my 
 knowledge^ the produce of gold or filver^ either in 
 coin or bullion^ fent into Turkey ; biit that the faid 
 ^' goods are pur chafed by merchandize, or monies 
 arifing or to arife from the fale of merchandize 
 fent into Turkey or Egypt, from Europe, or from the 
 " Britifh fett lenient s in America, on account of free- 
 *' men of the Levant company, or fiich 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 fliips na* 
 ^' vigated according to lazv, zvhich freight is entirely 
 " the property of members of the company, or fuch as 
 *^ have their licence to trade'' 
 
 And every merchant or fa6tor in Turkey or 
 Egypt is required to make a fimilar affidavit, 
 on exporting goods from Turkey for England, 
 and to give, on oath, an exad account of every 
 kind of tranfadion or bufmefs, dircvft and indi- 
 rect, fo that all his affairs become known. 
 
 The objed of this law is evidently to en- 
 courage the exportation of cloth; and when we 
 had no rivals it produced no bad effects ;. but it 
 foon produced rivals, and it continued in force till 
 they had nearly got pojjejjion of the zvhole cloth-trade. 
 Such a law, indeed, was fufficient to ruin any 
 
 G G 3 trade. 
 
454 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 trade. One houfe may deal in exports, another 
 in imports ; one may combine its Italian with 
 its Turkey trade ; another may fend veflels for 
 the carrying trade ; but if every individual houfe 
 be obliged to keep an exa6l regifter, on oath, and 
 under a penalty of 20 per cent, called " a broke ,* 
 of all its exports and imports, and to balance^ 
 them e^adtly, how is fuch a trade to profper, 
 where the profits are reduced by the rivalfhip of 
 foreign nations ? This bye-law at length, when 
 it had produced the full effedl of its ill tendency, 
 was repealed ; but the trade was not revived ; fo 
 difficult is it to turn back commerce from chan- 
 nels into which it has run. 
 
 It will be afked then, what are the reftraints 
 which now lie on the trade ? 
 
 The fubjeftion to the control of the company; 
 the neceffity of making entries with it of all their 
 tranfadlions, on oath; and not being able to be con- 
 cerned in anyzvife with others not free of the com-- 
 panvy or foreigners '<, the power in the company, 
 for the lead violation of their rules, to inflidl a 
 penalty of 20 per cent.; the idea of rcftraint, 
 and the appreheniion of violating a folemn oath, 
 have made m.any determine to trade v/ith Turkey 
 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 cuflom- 
 
 houfe 
 
BRITISH TURKEY TRADE. 455 
 
 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. which are imported from Italy, 
 were carried thither from Turkey; they had al- 
 ready given a profit to the Italian fador in 
 Turkey ; to the importer, and to the purchafer 
 in Italy, who cleans, aflbrts, repacks, and often 
 adulterates them ; to the commiflioner, who pur- 
 chafes them for his correfpondent in England ; 
 to which add charges, and intereft of money for 
 fp long a diiburfement, which the diiferent peo- 
 ple through whofe hands the merchandize has 
 gone have all calculated, as well as their profits, 
 double freights, and loading and unloading, 
 he, &c. 
 
 Cottons are irnported from Holland, becaufe 
 the company cannot import themfelves enough 
 for the confumption ; and the reafon why they 
 do not is, becaufe the old members, who are un^- 
 der no apprehenfions of the bye-laws, find 
 
 OTHER ARTICLES ENOW TO EMPLOY THEIR 
 WHOLE CAPITAL, AND BEYOND THAT THE 
 
 TRADE CANNOT INCREASE. This is the rea- 
 fon, as will be {Qcn hereafter more fully, why the 
 trade in exports as well as imports is confined 
 within fuch narrow bounds. 
 
 The &itiih m.erchants in Italy and other fo- 
 
 G G 4 reign 
 
45^ CHAPTER XI. 
 
 reign countries, not being members of the com- 
 pany (and to become free of the company they 
 mufh come to England) cannot trade with Bri- 
 tifh fioufes in Turkey, and thefe, if they will 
 trade to Italy, muft trade with foreigners : thus 
 all combinations of the trades are prevented. 
 Englifli vefiels in 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 Biitifh veflels 
 in the Mediterranean would affure them an em- 
 ployment whenever they want freights. This 
 carrying or caravan trade is fo extenfive, that, 
 befides the French, the little ftate of Ragufa has 
 no lefs than 400 veflels in it. 
 
 Were the mafters of (hips, their owners, and 
 the Englifh merchants in Italy and Turkey, un- 
 der no reftraint in regard to the Levant company, 
 people would rifk more readily the fending their 
 veflels to the Mediterranean to get employment 
 in this carrying bufinefs, and their fpeculation in 
 trade being free, they would find means to em- 
 ploy their veflels in the intervals of their being 
 without freights; the mafters, owners, and corre- 
 fpondents might combine their own fpeculations 
 in merchandize with their carrying bufinefs, and 
 thus keep them conftantly employed. It is the 
 want of thefe relburces to our fhips, that pre- 
 vents 
 
BRITISH TURKEY TRADE. 457 
 
 vents Englifh owners from fending their fhips 
 into the Mediterranean to feek freights, and pre- 
 vents the few which do 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(lri6tlons. 
 
 Had the Turkey trade in England never been 
 a monopoly, the French would never have got 
 poiTeffion 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 cloths than for any other fort. The 
 Turks clothe their fervants twice a year, 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 cheap - 
 nefs caufes it to be preferred ; poorer people, who 
 form the great body of confumers, buy it alfo for 
 economical reafons. EngHlh broad -cloth, called 
 mahoot (of a light quality, made purpofely for 
 the Turkey market) is only worn by thofe in 
 eafier circumflances. Confiderable quantities 
 of cloth have alfo of late years come to Turkey 
 from Germany. 
 
 It is the opinion of many people well acquaint- 
 ed with thefe matters, that the Englilh manu- 
 fa(5lurers might make the fame fort of cloth as 
 the Languedoc, and as cheap as the French i but 
 
 as 
 
45S CHAPTER XI. 
 
 as long as the Levant company exifts, who is to 
 undertake it ? AVere the trade laid entirely 
 open, it is probable that all kinds of Englifh ma- 
 nufadurers would fend people (called riders) to 
 Turkey tofeek for commiffions, as they do to all 
 parts of Europe. This pra(5tice, though not vety 
 agreeable to EngliJJi merchants (which however 
 may not be the cafe in Turkey, as they may find 
 the mediation of merchants neceffary) vould 
 greatly increafe the vent of Englifh commodities, 
 and thefe induftrious people might pofTibly be 
 the means of our regaining the cloth-trade. 
 
 The few merchants who are in the true Jeer et of the 
 Levant trade can employ in it their whole ca- 
 pital advantageoiijly^ and therefore do notfeekfor 
 %ezv branches^ or how to recover old ones which are 
 loft. — This is the great fecret. 
 
 The French do not get their wool cheaper than 
 we do ; the price of labour may be lefs j but will 
 not fuperior ikill and induftry, with larger capi- 
 tals, compenfate this fingle circumftance againft 
 us } Experience in other articles fhews it, as in 
 the manufad-ures of Manchefter, Sheffield, and 
 Birmingham, 
 
 It is very worthy of attention, that the French 
 cannot make fo cheap as we can the fame kinds 
 of cloth, which our people bring to the Turkey 
 market ; it is not that they cannot make them fo 
 fine, for they make in France much finer cloth 
 3 than 
 
BRITISH TURKEY TRADE. 459 
 
 than that kind of broad cloth made in England 
 purpofely for the Turkey market. There is alfo 
 a coarfe ilrong cloth brought to Turkey from 
 England, called londras \ thefe the French can- 
 not make fo cheap neither; nor are their fhal- 
 loons fo cheap. In fhort, there is no fort of 
 woollen- ftufF made in the two countries, of the 
 fame quality, which the Englifli do not fell 
 cheaper than the French. The fa (ft feems to be, 
 that the French invented a kind of cloth more 
 proper for the general confumption of Turkey 
 than that which the Englifh had brought thither, 
 and the Englifh never attempted to follow their 
 example, but continued carrying to the market 
 a fort of cloth which at lafl: got almoft out of 
 ufe. Whenever the EngliJJi fliall have made and 
 brought to 'Turkey the fame kind of cloth as the 
 French^ and cannot afford it Jo cheapo then with cer- 
 tainty we may conclude that the French have an ad- 
 vantage 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 
 entirely free. 
 
 But even fuppofing that we cannot regain the 
 cloth trade, there are very many other obje6ls 
 worth attending to, and zvhirh may be of great 
 national advantage. 
 
 The Manchefter ftuffs would find a great vent 
 in ^11 parts of Turkey. The manufadories of 
 
 Aleppo 
 
4^0 CHAPTER Xr. 
 
 Aleppo and Damafcus are almofl ruined, and if 
 the Manchefler people were to imitate the Turk- 
 i(h patterns of their fluffs, they could certainly 
 afford them cheaper. Imitations of the Surat 
 and Bengal goods of filk and cotton, which are 
 enormoufly dear, would find alfo a ready fale in 
 Turkey, and cotton velvets, velverets, &c. Birm- 
 ingham and Sheffield wares would be articles of 
 importance. The Turks, both in Europe and 
 Afia, have a great partiality for all thefe kinds of 
 Englifh manufactures, and in general the epithet 
 Enghlli 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 contraband manner 
 in thefe kind of things, make great profits; they 
 can, however, bring only fmall quantities, left 
 the Levant company fliould 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 twifted thread, very open and 
 unbleached, which comes moftly from Egypt, 
 and is exceedingly dear, but is the mofl pleafant 
 kind to wear in hot weather. No European 
 nation has yet undertaken to imitate it, but 
 
 it 
 
BRITISH TURKEY TRADE. 461 
 
 it is probable it might be made in Ireland in- 
 finitely 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. Vafl quantities of the above-men- 
 tioned articles come from Venice and Germany, 
 where they are dearer, and of worfe quality, than 
 thofe m.anufadbured in England. 
 
 Were I to enter into an enumeration of all the 
 Englifh manufactures that could be fold in 
 Turkey, and particularly in the interior parts of 
 Afia, and point out the different ports to which 
 they might be fent, the detail would be too long 
 for a general reprefentation ; but colle6lively 
 it muft be very obvious, to every perfon ac- 
 quainted'but generally with the trade of Turkey, 
 that our exportations to that country muft be- 
 come of great importance in a few years, were 
 the monopoly removed, and the agents of the 
 manufacturers fent to travel through the coun- 
 try, and get certain information of the ftate of its 
 trade and manufactories. 
 
 Salt-fifh, could the Newfoundland fliips, &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 mull ins much cheaper than 
 
 they 
 
462 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 they are brought by the way of BafTora, of 
 Gidda^ and Suez, which trade is entirely in the 
 hands of their fervants : the trial has been fuc- 
 tefsfully made $ but the members of the Levant 
 company have other articles enow in which to 
 inveft their whole capitals. Other nations now 
 bring large quantities of muflins to Turkey. 
 Britidi maflins (i. e. manufactured in Britain) 
 alfo fell to confiderable profit. 
 
 Let all this be mere fiippolition, is not the 
 objed. of importance enough to give it a fair 
 trial ? and does not common fenfe fay, that a 
 trade freed from obftacles mud ilouriih more 
 than vv'hen clogged with the moft unfupportable 
 fliackles, or with any fliackles at all ? May it 
 not by allied, what jufh right have the members 
 of the Levant company to lay reftraints on this 
 trade by their bye-laws ? I have heard this fub- 
 je6t difcuffed in Turkey, where people certainly 
 underftand the trade of the country better thaa 
 in England, and I never heard one plaulible rea- 
 fon alleged in favour of the company. Sophif- 
 tical argum.ents may be produced in London, 
 which may appear plaufible to thofe who are not 
 informed of the real ftate of matters in Turkey.- 
 
 To fliow what little efforts have been made 
 by the company to extend the trade, and how 
 Tittle they deviate from the footfleps of their 
 forefathers, I will cite two ftriking inftances : 
 
 Mr. 
 
BRITISH TURKEY TRADE. 46J 
 
 Mr. John Humphrys, of Confhantinople, was 
 the firft, who, a few years ago, imagined that 
 Englifli fhalloons might be fold in Conftantino- 
 ple, and they foon became a very important ar- 
 ticle for exportation to Turkey. The French 
 have not been able to make them fo cheap. 
 
 Mr. Peter Took, of Conftantinople, only about 
 twenty years ago, difcovered that he might buy 
 raw iilk from the firft hands at Brufa (the hills 
 behind this city are vifible from our merchants' 
 houfes in Pera) and thus make his returns diredl 
 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 Staf- 
 fordllilre earthenware, which would become a 
 very important article of commerce. 
 
 Perhaps the greateft importation of Britifh 
 articles into Turkey would be by foreigners, or 
 natives of the Turkifti provinces, as is the cafe in 
 many branches of our commerce, where fuch re- 
 ftraints on foreigners do not exift ; for inftance, 
 every one knows that not one-tenth part of our 
 exports to Ruflia are on account of the RuiTia 
 company in London^ or of the Britifti fadlory in 
 RufTia. Thefe articles are fent to Rufiia for ac- 
 CQunt of foreigners fettled in Ruflia? or Ruffians, 
 
 and 
 
464 CHAPTER XI, 
 
 and fome part for account of our manufaifcurers. 
 With refpedt to Germany this is ftill more the 
 cafe. 
 
 The Levant company exad a duty on ail mer- 
 chandize exported to and imported from Turkey, 
 befides a ccnfulage in the ports of Turkey on ail 
 the exports and imports in Britifli veffels. This 
 confulage is a very heavy burthen on our trade, 
 and particularly when it is confidered that fome 
 other nations fay none. The following are the 
 words of the company's bye-law : 
 
 ^' At a general courts ^c, the follovoing orders 
 *' were ejiablijlied as proper and expedient for the 
 
 " SUPPORT OF THE COMPANy's AFFAIRS, 
 
 " and for the government of the trade \ and they- 
 " were confirmed at a general courts held 2^^ of 
 " March 1775. 
 
 // zvas refolved and ordered^ I'hat all goods 
 exported from 'Turkey or Egypt for Great Britain 
 fJiall pay three confulages and one-half^ or f even in 
 *' the hundred^ according to the rates of the company* s 
 *^ tariff in fuchf pedes of the grand feigniors coin as 
 " his officers receive for cufioms ; which confulage 
 ^'' fliall be paid ^ oyie-half in thirty days, and the other 
 •' half in fix ty days^ after the departure of thefliipy 
 " l^c, ; and the company s ireafurers are not to take 
 *^ any notes or obligations for the payments of con- 
 ^^ fulages, but they are to infijl upon being paid in 
 
 '^ money zvhen it is due, 
 
 ' " That 
 
 
cc 
 
 <c 
 cc 
 
 BRITISH TURKEY TRADE. 465 
 
 ^^ 77/^/ all goods imported^ iSc. into Great Britain 
 Jliall pay one impcfiiion according to the company^ s 
 rates ^ i^c» except cotton and emery-Jlones^ &c, 
 *' That all goods imported iyito Turkey or Egypt ^ 
 from Leghorn, or any other port or ports of Chrif- 
 ^^ tendom, by British subjects or British 
 SHIPS, for account of foreigners, /j<2// 
 ^^ pay a confulage of two in the hundred, &c. 
 " That all goods exported from Conjiantinople^ 
 Smyrna, and Aleppo, to Leghorn', or any other fo- 
 reign port or ports of Chriftendom, by Britifli fub-- 
 je5ts, ON FOREIGN SHIP s, c;^ account of Britifi 
 fitbjecls,JJiall pay a confulage of ojiiE in the Imn- 
 *' dred, l£c. 
 
 " That all goods imported into Turkey or Egypt, 
 *^ by fir angers, upon BritifJi flips, from any foreign 
 " port, &c. fliall pay two in the hundred, ^c, and 
 " in like manner exported, two in the hundred^'' ^c. 
 and feveral other regulations for the paying of 
 confulage, of leiier importance, which I omit for 
 brevity. 
 
 " April x()th, 1785. // is refolved and ordered, 
 
 " i^c, 
 
 » 
 
 That all goods, excepting raw f Ik, mohair-yarn^ 
 and drugs, exported from Turkey and Egypt, in 
 the time of the plague, to Malta, Ancona, Venice, 
 MeJJina, Leghorn, Genoa, or Marfeilles, for ike 
 purpofe of performing quarantine, and which are 
 ** to be re-fJiipped on the fame Jhip for Great Britain 
 
 
 H H " or 
 
4.66 CHATTVAK XI . 
 
 *'' €r Ireland^ Jliall pay a cDnJidage of two in the huH- 
 *^' dred vnlyy , 
 
 Beiides this revenue, the company have for 
 many years received an affiflance from govern- 
 ment of five thoufand pounds a year. Ail thefe 
 fums are expended for paying a part of the fa- 
 lary of the ambaffadors at Conftantlnople, the 
 confuls at the feveral ports in Turkey, the chan- 
 cellors and drogomans (or interpreters) and for 
 defraying of the expences attending vifits from 
 the ambaflador to the porte, and of the confuls 
 to pafhas, befides extraordinary preients made at 
 the firft audience of a new amballador and of a 
 conful ; for paying avanlas (or money extorted 
 by falfe accufations) and public entries of con- 
 fuls, which were formerly very coftly; and fi- 
 nally, for the expences of the company and its 
 ofncers at home. 
 
 Were our trade put on the fame footing as the 
 Ruffian, the five thoufand pounds government 
 now pays would perhaps more than fuffice for 
 all the expences which then would be neceliary ; 
 and that our trade could be put on the fame 
 footing, I fuppofe nobody will deny. The Ruf- 
 fian trade to Turkey is free to every one; there 
 is no tax on it, either under the appellation of 
 confullhip or othcrwife ; no fee is taken at any 
 ambailiidor's, conful's, or chancellor's office, for 
 documents ncceffary for the difpatch of trade'; 
 
 no 
 
BRITISH TURKEY TRABE. 467 
 
 no prefcnts are made by confuls to paflias or 
 other officers ; no avania is fubmltted to. 
 
 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 honour of 
 it, which in Turkey is confiderable. There is 
 at this day no neceffity for confuls living in fucli 
 great (late as they did a few years ago. The fo- 
 reign minifters at Conflantinople have very con- 
 fiderably retrenched their expences. 
 
 The power of an ambaflador and of a conful 
 in Turkey is very great j it extends even to life 
 and death. By one of the articles of the capiiu- 
 lations (or treaty with the porte) it is ftipulated, 
 that in all criminal cafes wherein fubjcfts of the 
 porte are not concerned, ambaffadors or ccnfjils 
 fliall punifh the criminal according to the laws 
 of their country. In the Dutch capitulations 
 this is exprelTed ftiil ftronger. As crimes com- 
 mitted in a (late are crimes immediately againfh 
 that flate, the cognizance of them belongs to it 
 alone. The fultan delegates his power to the 
 ambaliadors and confuls ; amd if in puniQiing 
 the criminal they exceed the rule prefcribed by 
 the laws of their own country, they are only an- 
 fwerable for their condud to the fultan j but 
 the fultan takes no cognizance of it, therefore 
 
 H H 2 they 
 
4^8 CHAPTER Xt. 
 
 they are without control, and their power is rfef- 
 potic. 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 rubje6t of the 
 porte, and juftice being demanded, the ambaf- 
 fador or conful has put the criminal to death. 
 Should it happen that an Englifhman killed a 
 Turk, it would certainly be better that the am- 
 ballador or conful fliould caufe him to be hanged 
 by his own people, than that he fliould deliver 
 him up to the Turks, for juftice being demanded^ 
 there is no other alternative; if he efcaped, 
 tliQ confequence might be a general maflacre; 
 we have lately had an example at Smyrna ex- 
 aftly of this nature, wdiich coft the lives of many 
 hundreds^ and caufed the European quarter ta 
 be reduced to aflies. There is no pofHbility of 
 fending the criminal home if the populace de- 
 mand juftice. 
 
 The company have given alfo another power 
 to the ambaffadors and confuls over merchants^ 
 which free traders may not approve of. Their 
 bye-law is, " If any fa^or or faBors JJiall have 
 any dealings with any per/on battulated by the 
 lord-ambajjadory or the conful of any of the Scales 
 ■ (ports y Scala Italian) in Turkey , with the advich 
 of the refpehive faBories^ fucJr fa^or or factors 
 fJiall pay a fine for every offence^ to the amount of 
 
 « 
 
 €( 
 U 
 
 M^ 
 
 Hi 
 
 three 
 

 ERITISH TURKEY TRADE. 469 
 
 ^/iree confidages upon the "-jalue of the tranfa£fion 
 by or with JucJi battulated per/on^ zvithoui ap" 
 *' pea/,'' &c, Battiilation with them fignifies ia- 
 terdidion of all commerce with the perfon hat- 
 tulated. The intention was to prevent the fac- 
 tors or merchants^ having deahngs with litigious 
 perfons of the country ; but this power has been 
 abufed. 
 
 The ambaflador formerly had a confiderable 
 revenue from protedions granted to fubjedls of 
 the porte ; under the title of Baratli, or honorary 
 drogomans ; but thefe protections having been 
 totally difregarded by the prefent fultan, who 
 without any ceremony has beheaded feveral per- 
 fons pOiTelTed of them, both that income and 
 that fource of conftant Utigation with the porte 
 are partly done away. It were to be wifhed that 
 this privilege was wholly abolifned. The French 
 feveral times propofed giving it up, and at a 
 time when it was refpeded, and lucrative to their 
 ambalTadors. 
 
 The French alfo, on the reprefentation of their 
 ambaflador, M. de St. Priefte, laid the Levant 
 trade open ; the confequencc v/as, that immenfe 
 quantities of French* goods were carried to Turkey 
 by fubjects of the porte j but the company at 
 Marfeilles found means to get their excluiive 
 privilege renev/ed; they had fuffered, but the 
 country had gained. At prefent every one has 
 
 H H 3 liberty 
 
470 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 liberty to trade, and fince our fleet has left the 
 Mediterranean, 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 immediately. 
 
 As ail communication with the Levant by fea 
 is cut off, there remains no refource to our mer- 
 chants, but to carry on their trade through Ruf- 
 fiaj and though this be a circuitous way, it is 
 not by far fo expenfive as might be imagined. 
 , The freights to the Baltic are very low, as half 
 the fhips go out empty. The carriage from 
 Riga to Gherfon, or Niccolai on the Bog, is 
 moftly by v;ater, and the land-carriage in Ruffia 
 is not one-fourth of the price it is in Germany. 
 The expence on cloth would be trifling, and on 
 cheap and bulky goods even would not be equal 
 to the enormous price of infurance paid for 
 armed fhips, which run the voyage at prefent, and 
 which is not equal to the riik -, it is indeed fo 
 ^ great, that government fhould, perhaps, inter- 
 fere. At Cherfon there are good velTels to be 
 found, which in three days may carry the goods 
 to Coniiantinople at a reafonable freight. 
 
 But in order to open fuch a communication, 
 liberty muft be obtained of the emperor of Ruf- 
 fia to fend merchandize in tranfito (without pay- 
 ing 
 
BRITISH TURKEY TRADE. 471 
 
 ing duty) acrofs lluffia ; and there is no doubt 
 but that foverelgn, who has fladied Adarn 
 Smith's book on the Wealth of Nations, and 
 who is perfeflly acquainted with the principles 
 of commerce and navigation, would fee the very 
 great advantage which would accrue to Ruffia 
 by fuch a trade, both on account of the fiims 
 which would remain in the country for expences 
 of carriage, the employment of a number of peo- 
 ple, and alio the encouragement it would be to 
 the Ruffian navigation in the Black Sea i but he 
 never w^ouid grant fuch a privilege to a part of 
 the Brititli nation exclufively, and fliut out from 
 it the Ruffia merchants, who carry on a branch 
 of commerce (o advantageous to his empire^ nor 
 exclude his own fubjecls from it. Before this 
 can be done, the Turkey company mufl be abo- 
 Ihhed. 
 
 At prefent a few goods, I am informed, have 
 been fent to Hamburgh, thence to Vienna, and 
 down the Danube, where they are ("hipped for 
 Confhantinople. The freight to Hamburgh is 
 dearer than it is to Riga : the charges acrofs 
 Germany ten times as much as acrois RufTia. 
 At the mouth of the Danube there are only bad 
 TurkiQi or Greek veiTels to be freighted^ on 
 which no regular infurance can be made. At 
 Cherfon there are fome hundreds of veiTels, 
 among which many equal thofe to be found in 
 
 H H 4 the 
 
47^ I^N EFFICACY OF 
 
 the ports of other feas, and a reafonable infur- 
 ance may be made on them by fafe undervv^riters ; 
 but the route through Germany does not necef- 
 fitate an aboHtion of the Levant company. 
 
 Refpeding the Inefficacy of the Quarantine Regula- 
 tions in Great Britain. '^ 
 
 IT has been faid, "if every kind of vefTel have 
 leave to go to the Levant, we fliall run a greater 
 riik 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 per- 
 form the voyages prefcribed to them, it can al- 
 ways be known where they have been, and under 
 what circumftances ; and fuch velTels being ad- 
 drelTed to factors in Turkey, mem.bers of the 
 company, and under its direction and the con- 
 trol of the confuls, they cannot in an irregular 
 manner leave Turkey without their deftination 
 being known, and without having atteftations 
 from the confuls, fhewing the fl-ate of the health 
 of the port in the Levant from which they 
 failed.'* 
 
 In anfwer to this it may be obferved, that in 
 the ports of the Mediterranean, not only veiTels 
 belonging to thofe portSj, but of all other nations, 
 
 arrive. 
 
QUARANTINE REGULATIONS. 473 
 
 arrive, without any previous notice, to perform 
 quarantine, and the length of their quarantine is 
 regulated by the bills-of -health which they bring, 
 and the knowledge which the officers of the ^ 
 health-offices have of the fliate of the plague in 
 every part of Turkey. 
 
 Can it be fuppofed that velTels can arrive in the 
 ports of Great Britain, without its being known 
 whence they came ? The regulations of the qua- 
 rantine and of the cufhom-houfe, as they now 
 exift, are fufficient to put this beyond doubt ; 
 belides, free veflels mufi: bring from the Levant 
 the fame papers, fhowing the ftate of the coun- 
 try with refpecl to health, as are now required 
 of the company's (hips ; the riik will not there- 
 fore be augmented by laying the trade open. 
 
 But it may be neceflary to examine a little 
 more narrowly how far our quarantine regulations 
 fecure us at prefent from the plague. After all 
 that has been faid by Dr. Ruflel, it may appear 
 indeed fuperiluous to touch this fubjed: again, 
 but fmce his excellent treatife has produced no 
 amelioration of thefe regulations, his arguments 
 cannot be too much enforced, I affirm, not only 
 from my own knowledge of the nature of lazaret- 
 tos, but from the opinion of officers of the health- 
 offices at Malta, Leghorn, and Marfeilles, whom 
 I confuited on the fubjerf, that our quaran- 
 tine REGULATIONS ARE WHOLLY INEF- 
 FECTUAL, 
 
474 INEFFICACY OF 
 
 FKCTUAL, AND THAT WE ARE CONSTANTLY 
 EXPOSED TO THE DANGER OF HAVING THE 
 PLAGUE IMPORTED FROM TURKEY BY EVERY 
 VESSEL WHICH COMES DIRECTLY FROM 
 THAT COUNTRY. 
 
 -I ft. It is beyond all doubt eftablillied, that 
 the miafni; effluvia, or whatever it may be called 
 which produces the plague, may remain in an 
 a6live ftate, fo as to occafion infection, for a 
 much longer time than is required for a veilel 
 to load in Turkey, miake her voyage, and per- 
 form quarantine in Great Britain. 
 
 2. It is equally certain that thefe fomites, or 
 the impregnation of fubftances with peftilential 
 rniafmata, cannot be deflroyed but by airing a 
 certain time, by fumigating, by wafliing, by 
 moiftening with fuch liquors as are anti-pefti- 
 iential, or by cxpofmg to a fevere cold the fub- 
 ftances infected. Some of thefe means deftroy 
 the miafm in a (liort time, fome require a longer. 
 
 c;. It appears from Dr. RufTel's remarks (and 
 he has been delicate on this fubjeft too) that 
 notwithftanding ail the fidelity and diligence 
 of confuls, infected goods may be fiiipped with- 
 out detedion, and that veffels may fail for Bri- 
 tain v.ith a fair blll-of -healthy having infecled 
 goods on board. 
 
 Now as merchandize performing quarantine 
 in Britain and in Holland (where the regulations 
 
 are 
 
QUARANTINE REGULATIONS. 4^5 
 
 are ftlll worfe) are never opened and properly 
 aired, it follows that fuch quarantines are not 
 fufficent to deflroy the fomites; nor are they 
 of any fervice whatever, further than by lengthen- 
 ing the time ; and if this be the objedl of our 
 quarantines, the length of the voyage ought to 
 be taken into confideration in eflablilliing the 
 length of the quarantine to be performed ; nor 
 are thefe quarantines fafe with regard to other 
 circumftances ; for communication with thofe 
 who fupply the paljengers and iliip's crew with 
 provifions, &c, is not fufficiently guarded againft, 
 and the pafTengers and the crew, though they 
 were not infected in Turkey, are liable every 
 day, by touching the cargo or their effec^ls, to 
 catch the plague, and communicate it to others ; 
 nor is fmuggling impofTible as the lazarettos 
 now are eilabiifhed. 
 
 It does not appear that the laws of this coun- 
 try will permit fuch a police to be obferved in 
 lazarettos as is iadifpenfably neceliary to fe- 
 cure the country from the plague. 
 
 The officers of health have, in the Mediter- 
 ranean, a povv'er of putting to death immediately 
 all thofe who violate the laws of the quarantine 
 in fuch a manner as that contagion may be 
 communicated, and their power is independent 
 of the civil magiftrate or any other authority. 
 For the mofh trifling thing fmuggled, or en- 
 deavoured to be fmuggled, out of the lazaretto, 
 
 the 
 
4.76 , INEFFICACY OF 
 
 the- clfenders are (hot dead the inilant they arc 
 detefled. A perfon efcaping from the laza- 
 retto, were it but one hour before expiration of 
 the quarantine, is equally punifhed with imme- 
 diate death, Sec. &c. &c. * 
 
 There are neither proper places, nor buildings, 
 nor regulations, for performing quarantine in 
 fafcty in Great Britain, nor is the nature of qua- 
 rantine underftood in our lazarettos. 
 
 It may be ailced, how have we efcaped the 
 plague lince the year 1666, when the lafl plague 
 in London entirely ceafed ? I anfw^er, chiefly 
 by not admitting fhips with foul bills-of-health 
 from the Levant, and obliging them to perform 
 quarantine in the Mediterranean fmce that re- 
 gulation took place, and by God's mercy only 
 that vefiels with clean bills-of-health have not 
 brought it. 
 
 What are we to do, to be more fecure in fu- 
 ture ? will then be aiked. The anfwer is very fhort 
 and obvious ; to oblige all veflelS coming from 
 the Levant, whether with fair or with foul biih- 
 of-health^ to perform quarantine in Malta, in 
 Leghorn, or in Marfeilles, &c. and then with the 
 proper atteftations of the health-officers, figned 
 alfo by Mis Majefty's confuls in thofe ports, to 
 
 * The humane JLeopold, when Grand Duke of Tufcany, 
 though he would not fuffer a murderer to be put to death, did 
 not alter the quarantine laws. 
 
 admit 
 
■» 
 
 QUARANTINE REGITL ATIONS, 477 
 
 admit them into Great Britain without perform- 
 ing a fecond and ufelefs quarantine. 
 
 Trade would gain by this regulation, and we 
 (liould be under no appreheniion of the plague. 
 The charges are fmall in the Mediterranean, and 
 not more for us than for our rivals in trade. 
 
 Malta is by far the beft port to perform qua- 
 rantine in j the regulations are even more to be 
 relied on than at Leghorn, as they are in feme 
 refpecls more fcrupulous ; it lies more in the 
 road of vefiels coming home from any part of 
 Turkey. It is true that mail:e:s of veffels, for 
 many privdte reafons, which do not benefit their 
 owners or the freighters, -prefer going to Leg- 
 horn ; but this port is Gonfiderably out of the 
 track of their voyage, and in war-time ihips arc 
 much expofed to be captured by the enemy. 
 In every point of view Malta offers greater ad- 
 vantages to our trade than any other port in the 
 Mediterranean. 
 
 With regard to Holland, molx certainly, Tur- 
 key goods, and cottons in particular, ought not 
 to be admitted thence till they have been well 
 aired j nor need we ever have imported fuch vaft 
 quantities, or any quantity at all from Holland, 
 or from any other place, had the Turkey trads 
 been free in Britain, 
 
 ■<■" OF THE "^-^^ 
 
 ^ IJHIVFRSKTV ] 
 
 ■ y 
 
[ 47S J 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 
 
 ^T^HESE f'-agments are extrads and tranllations 
 A from original documents ; they will ferve to 
 elucidate and confirm fome palfages in the preced- 
 ing pages. 
 
 Of Eg Y p T. 
 
 THE French have it in their power either to felze Egypt, 
 or to make fuch an alUance with the begs as will open to 
 them a communication with India. 
 
 The begs would eagerly embrace any offer which would 
 fecure to them a perfe6l independence of the Ottoman porte ; 
 or they would even become tributary to any other fovereign 
 or ftate, who would maintain them in their feparate govern- 
 ments, and prote6t the one againft the other, and the whole 
 country againft the Turks. They have frequently made 
 fuch clFers. 
 
 Had not the domeftic affairs of France engaged all the at- 
 tention of that cabinet, the effects of M. de Truguet's 
 miflion to Cairo, and the treaty he concluded with Murat 
 Bey, the 7th of Feburary 1785, would, long ago, have been 
 viable. 
 
 Were the Turks driven out of Europe, their force would 
 be more concentrated ; they would be ftronger, and more able 
 than they are now, to reduce to obedience thofe provinces, 
 
 which 
 
MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 4^9 
 
 which at prefent are either In a (late of open rebellion or 
 virtual independence, and from v/hich 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 af- 
 fairs, the French might perhaps obtain from the Turks a 
 commercial communication through Egypt to India, which 
 then would be attended v/ithlefs rifk, though not with much 
 Icfs expence than it now is. It is not, however, probable 
 that the porte would, To readily as the begs, permit troops to 
 be fent acrofs Egypt*. 
 
 Volney fays, that memorials have been laid before the 
 French cabinet, on the expediency of obtaining pofibiTion of 
 Egypt. Thefe memorials are now no fecret. 
 
 The principal force of Egypt ccHinrrs in 8000 horfe; the 
 janizaries are not to be eftim.ated as foldiers. There are not 
 four cannons to defend the Pharos or cadie of Alexandria, 
 which, according to the regulation?, (hould be garrifoned 
 by 500 janizaries, but there are never half the number. A 
 fmgle frigate might beat down thefe fortifications. The 
 greateft difHculty a foreign army v/ould have to encounter 
 in keeping pofleliion of Alexandria, is the want of water ; 
 this city has none but vi'hat is brought in canals to their 
 cifterns when the Nile overflows. The Egyptian cavalry, 
 if it had the prudence never to come to a general engage- 
 ment, might render the paiiage acrofs the deferts perhaps 
 impradlicable to an European army. 
 
 * Atjolifhing the Levant company in England, and fjoplying, by means • 
 ©f the Eaft India company, all p.uts of the Turkifh empiie with India goods 
 (ab fome of the foreign India companies do In part) would put an ei:d to tlie 
 clandeftine trade of the company's fervants, and to the commerci.U fpeculations 
 of the French, except fo far as regards their own confunnption ; becaufe the 
 Englifh Eafl: India company is able to fend from London, ?.nd fell in Turk<*y, 
 the'^e goods at a cheaper rate than they can be brought by the Red Sea or th-a* 
 Perfian Gulph, which always muft be attended with much expence and conli- 
 derable rifk. 
 
 When Great Britain is at war with France, this comnrjunlcacion may eafiijr 
 be ftopped, and the neccflary fteps may be taken during a peace. The extra- 
 ordinary expence would not be great. 
 
 The 
 
48o APPENDIX. 
 
 The revenues of the begs confift in a tax on 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 incon- 
 fiderable. 
 
 Suez is a mod miferable and defencelefs place ; it has no 
 water nearer than ten miles, and that is very brackifh, and 
 drawn from a well. No Ihips 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 V/ith 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 cf 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 the fruit ripens"* 
 perfeiftly. 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 lefs warm than thcfe in 
 which it is now produced, in the greateft perfection. We 
 know that re-produ6^ion has made many plants refiil a 
 colder climate better than when the parent plant v/as firft 
 imported. There can be no doubt of the coffee tree's grow- 
 ing in Egypt. Egypt alfo produces excellent fiax 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 affaffinated. Were 
 the French poffeffed of Egypt, they might abandon their 
 Weft India iflands. 
 
 The French court, a very few years ^gOy paid much atten- 
 tion to thefe rpeculations. 
 
 17?. Refpecf- 
 
MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 481, 
 
 iji. RefpsSiing Persia. 
 
 TFIE Internal diforders of Perfia are favourable to Great 
 Britain, and to afTift any party, fo that it fhould gain a pre- 
 ponderance, which might eiid in a fubjugation of the whole 
 country, is aci:ing contrary to the Enc;liui intereft. The 
 wealcnefs of Perfia is ihe fecurity of India. 
 
 The Agwans (or Afgans) and Abdali being of the fe6l 
 of Omar, are enemies to the other Perfians, who are followers 
 of Ali; they are now diftin6t nations, and have their own 
 independent fovereigns. They are not concerned in the 
 civil wars in Perfia. They are powerful enough to impede 
 the marching of a Ruffian army through Bochara to India, 
 or the Perfians from croinng the Indus. They themfelves 
 mav, however, be dangerous, a6ling in concert with any 
 Indian power. England Ibould avoid quarrelling with 
 them ; but prevent, as much as pofTible, their having any 
 connection with India, or receiving artillery from any 
 quarter. 
 
 While Great Britain is firmly allied with Ruflia, fhe need 
 not fear either the Perfians, Afgans, or Abdali. A diver- 
 fion made by Ruflia would prevent, at all times, their fend- 
 ing an army to India, or meddling Vv'ith the difputcs in chat 
 
 country. 
 
 A war with thefe Afiatic nations fhould be a cafus feeder h 
 in the treaty v/ith Ruflia. At prefcnt it is an exception. 
 
 id, RcfpcEiing Persia. 
 
 THERE are three Perfian ambafladors in Ruflia: one 
 from the khan of Ghilan, one from the khan of Derbent, and 
 one from Jafeer, khan of Ifpahan. 
 
 Thefe two lafl: came to Kremenchuk, in the fammer of 
 1787, after the departure of the emprefs, and had a pompous 
 public audience of Prince Potemkin. The minifter of ihe 
 khan of Derbent was exceedingly well recewed by ti e 
 
 I I prince i 
 
482 APPENDIX. 
 
 prince; but tke other^ not conforming en^i^cly to an eti-* 
 quette, whkli he thoughi was to oe obittved only in an au- 
 ■djence of ihc Lmprefs herfeifj WifiS receiveci, und afterwards 
 treated-j with great coolnefs* The rninifttr froii the khan 
 of Ghilan did not obtain pcrmiilion from the prince to come 
 to him, or to go to Peicrlburglij till a little time before his 
 death, when he fent for him to Yafiy ; but on the roadj 
 hearing of the prince's death, he iloppcdj and obtained leave 
 of the emprefs to go to Peterfburgh. 
 
 The objecSl of the miiSon of all thefe minifters was to 
 folicit the aiTiilance of the emprefs for the party of their 
 mailers, 07t her own conditions. Probably the prince kept 
 them in fufpenfe till he faw which party would prevail* 
 That of Derbent will be always of importance on account 
 of the pafs it commands, and which is the only one on that 
 lide of the Cafpian by land. 
 
 Almoft every governor of a province in Perfia has fet up 
 for himfelf, and refufes to take part in the quarrel^ which 
 has greatly leiTened the power of the two great competitors, 
 Mahomed Khan (fon of HalTan Khan) of Mazanderan, and 
 Jafeer Khan, in the fouth, and who refides at Ifpahan. Ma- 
 hamud Khan is of the race of the ancient family of the Shahs, 
 bat was made an eunuch by the late Karim Khan, regent of 
 Perfia. 
 
 Since the death of Athmet Shah, of the Afgans, the coun- 
 try is much weakened by the partition he made of it amono- 
 his three fons. Prince Nallau and M. de St. Genie pro- 
 pofed to gain over the Afgans to the intereft of RuiTia, in 
 1791, during thedifpute with Great Britain, Vi'hen they pro- 
 pofcd to the emprefs to fend an army through Bochara to the 
 north of India. 
 
 They want artillery very much In Perfia^ and the Ruffians 
 •refufe felling them any at Aftrakan. 
 
 Tibci; Shah, of the AbJali, aflved a train of artillery of the 
 
 Knglifti Eaft India company, about the time that Count 
 
 Pc-rriercs was icnt into Perfia by M. de Vergennes. He 
 
 int^^ndjd to employ it againil the Bocluuians, who, doubtlefs, 
 
 6 would 
 
MISCELLANEOtrS PAPERS. 48^ 
 
 tvould have been aflifted by RufEa, He ofFered to the 
 Englilh a body of 25,000 cavalry to a6t againft the Mahrattas. 
 -This cavalry is excellent, and 15,000 beat near 200,000 
 Mahrattas in a pitched battle, fome years ago. 
 
 The French oaered, by M. de Ferrieres, a large train 
 bf artillery to Jafir, khan of Ifpahan, to fecure his friend- 
 ihlp. A rmall French fleet did adiually come up the Per^ 
 fian gulf, in June 1781, with a confiderablc number of can- 
 t\on on board, but FerriereSj for want of addref^;, did non 
 iucceed in his miffion, which was as hoflile to RulTia as 
 Britain. 
 
 Bochara, at prefent, is divided into almoit as many {ovq- 
 reignties as there are villages, and there is no union among 
 them. It is a country without ftrength, except fome enemy 
 were to attack them in fuch a manner as to oblige them to 
 unite. 
 
 The friendfliip of the Abdali may be of confequence to 
 the Englilh to cultivate, as the moft efle<5lual check on thofe 
 who would pafs through Bocara to invade India, 
 
 The Perfians, diftracted aS their ftate is, ftill remember 
 that they have conquered India, Timijr entered India ia 
 1398, Nadir Shah in 173B, Abdaliah feveral times from 1748 
 
 to 1765. 
 
 Since this paper Was written, fome changes in the fituation 
 t)f thefe countries have taken place, and fuch as to make a 
 great attention to thefe people neceifary. 
 
 3^. Refpe^iing Persia* 
 
 IN 1780, Prince Potemkin framed a projecSt of opening 
 a trade through Perfia to Bender-Bufhier, and India. Count 
 Mark Wainovich failed in July 1781, with a fquadron of 
 Four frigates and two armed fioops from Aftrakan. He 
 ilopped and examined the iflands of Shiioy and Oguzzin^ 
 but found them barren fpots ; he proceeded to Ailcrabad ; 
 the commodioufnefs of the harbour and the fruitfulnefs of the 
 country, induced him to enter into a negociation with the 
 
 I I % klia4| 
 
484 APPENDIX. 
 
 fchaii of Afterabad, who deceived him. The Ruffians, how- 
 ever, ere<£J:ed, to defend the harbour, a fmall fort, about hffy 
 miles from the city of Afterabad, The caravans from Bo- 
 chara, Tibet, and India, pafs through Mefiid^ The fleet 
 wintered there, and retarning, fur v eyed the bay of Bulkan, 
 ajid the iniet of Karabo2ras. 
 
 The death of the regent (Vaklel) Karim Khan, threw all 
 Perfia into fuch a diforderly (late, that the prince abandoned 
 his project; but there ftill exifts a RulTian fortrefs at Zinzeli, 
 with a fmall but fu^icient garrifon to defend it. A conful 
 relides there, who is alfo the commandant. 
 
 Of a Project, which the Empress of Russia 
 had formed^ to attack the English /;/ India. 
 
 WHEN the Brittfli fleet was about to iail for the Bal- 
 tic, to force the empreis to make peace, Prince Nafiau, who 
 Vv^as then in favour with her imperial majefty, prefented a 
 proje<9: of fending an army through Bochara to Cafhmir, and 
 the«cc to Berigrd^ to drive the EngliQi out of India. This 
 projeil was conceived and drawn up by a Monfieur de St. 
 Genie (the perfon whofe agents fet fire to the Dutch arfenai, 
 ^c. am had formed a fimilar projedl" for deftroying the 
 Britifb dockyards and (liips, &c.) 
 
 By a manifefto to be publifiied, the emprefs declared that 
 file fent the arraf to re-eftablifh the mogul on the throne of 
 
 Lidia. 
 
 Little difficulty was forefeen in paffing through Bochara ; 
 it was even hoped, feeing the object was to re-efl-ablifli on 
 the throne of India a prince of their religion, that they would 
 be friendly to the enterprise : however, were they not, little 
 apprehcnfion was entertained of a people fo difunited among 
 thcmfelves, and who tremble at the name of RuiTia. 
 
 St. Genie pretended, that there were paffes through the 
 f^i^uinainsj and that he had people who had been in the 
 
 country, 
 
MISCELLANEOUS PAPF, i?.S, 485 
 
 country, Tent by M. de Vergennes. He prefcntcd with his 
 projed: a map, and a marche-routc for the a] my. 
 
 The emprefs highly approved the plan : Prince Potemkia 
 turned it into ridicule, becauTe he did not wifh a ferious 
 quarrel with England. Had a v/ar taken place, it is dilB- 
 cult to fay what the emprefs might not have ujidertaken, if 
 not effectuated, at that period. 
 
 They counted on being joined m the north of India by 
 the difcontented from all parts. 
 
 RefpeEling fame Projects of the Russians on 
 
 China and Japan. 
 
 i^ Pap E R. 
 
 Captain Billings, who w;is formerly with captain 
 Cook round the world, is returned to Peterfburgh, from 
 the north-eaft part of Ruilia, and the continent of America, 
 "whither the emprefs fent him nine years ago. 
 
 One of his inftructions was, to find a port for eftablifliing 
 an admiralty; i.e. a port for building, putting into dock, 
 and ftat'oning (hips of war and other yeB'els. 
 
 A captain of the navy was alfo fent to join him in I787, 
 and to examine the coall as far as the mouth of the river 
 Amur, and to fix on a pore. Oud, not far from the mouth 
 of the Amur, was fixed on. Alfo, 20Q v/erlts to the fouth of 
 Oud, they found a very fine port b::yond the Chinefe fron- 
 tier. At length, it was determined to fix the admiralty on 
 the American coafl:, either at Prince William's Sound, or 
 Comptroller's Bay. They alio found many other very fins 
 harbours on the American coaft. The emprefs wrote, in 
 1787, to thefe captains, and to the commander of the Ruf- 
 fian fortreffes, that flie had fent fix (liips from the Baltic to 
 Kamtchatka, to co-operate with a powerful army that was to 
 go down the Amur, and take pofieffion of its banks to its 
 mouth, and all the country to the left. 
 
 113 A great 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 A gr^at faving would accrue to the Ruffians by fending 
 by water proviiions for their fettlements, which now go by 
 land to ICamtchatka, &c. at a great expence, and tv/o- thirds 
 of thenl are often fpoiled. Befides, they propofe to opea 
 this way a trade with Japan, China, and India, and to 
 have in thofe feas a naval force fufficieiit to make themfelves 
 Tefpedted, 
 
 Two fmall fquadrons were fitted out at Cronftadt, for 
 Kamtchatka, but were prevented from failing by the Swedilh 
 war. One of them was commanded by captain Trevanion, 
 an Englifhman, and was to go round Cape Horn j the other 
 by captain Malofskoi, who was to go round the Cape of 
 Good flope. 
 
 The emprefs a6l-ed in conjundion with the court of 
 Spain, it feems, for Malofskoi was to go to the Philippines, 
 and to purchafe large veifels from the Spaniards. 
 
 The Ruffians claim the coaft of America to a confider.r 
 able diftance fouth j they have not themfelves determined 
 how far; this probably will be fij^ed by the utility the 
 claimed country may promife to be of. • 
 
 2f/ Fap er, 
 
 IN Auguft 1792, ProfefTor Laxm^n condu£led to St, 
 Peterfburgh, a Japanefe mader of a vedel, that had fonie 
 years ago been fhipwrecked on the RuiTian coail ; they vi^ere 
 in ail fixtes-^n failors and the mailer ; five of the failors only 
 are now alive. It was not thought proper to {end them 
 back till they had learned enough of the Ruffian language to 
 communicate what knowledge of their own country they 
 were pofTefied cf. The mafter is a very intelligent man^ 
 but it is only by ftealth that he can be fpoken with, as thet 
 government is very watchful over him. Ke has brought 
 with him a chart of the coaft of Japun, which differs fome-^ 
 what from thofe made in Europe. 
 
 ^d Paper. 
 T H E emprefs has appointed the foh of Profeflbr Lax* 
 man t^ condud the Japanefe, in a Ruffian fhip, back to their 
 
 ■ ■ '■• . own 
 
 ■U .' \\ 
 
MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS, 487 
 
 own country, and to refide there as her charge d^afFaires, if 
 he is received. He has confiderable prefents with him, and 
 is accompanied by feveral engineers, 
 
 • Aili Paper. 
 
 THE charge d'affaires is returned from Japan, and has 
 obtained leave for the Ruflians to fend a veflel every year, 
 to trade with the natives under the fame reflrictions as the 
 Dutch, 
 
 The iflands on which the Ruffians have pofTeinons ex- 
 tend within 300 miles of Japan. They think fome day or 
 other they may be mailers of the iflands of Japan alfo, as 
 they conceive the force they could bring could not be with- 
 flood t)) fuch a people. 
 
 With refpecl to China, an attack was much nearer; pre- 
 parations for taking pofieffion of the Amur were actually 
 makiijg at Narfliinllc," where the Rufiian gold and filver 
 miiies are ; the chief dilHcuhy was want of timber. The 
 death of Prince Potemkin put a ftop to this expedition :-«? 
 when it will be refumed is not known \ it is fuppofed that^ 
 jOjOOO Rullians could march through China*. 
 
 K Pro J e c t of the late Pr i n c e Pot e m k i n, of pur- 
 chafing from a prro ate -proprietor the Iflands ofl^KM- 
 VEDOSA and Linos a In the Mediterraneany and 
 obtaining the Sitzerainity of the Court (j/" Naples. 
 
 WHETHER any overture was made to the court of 
 Naples refpedling this objed I do not know. The project 
 was drawn up, ibme time after Minorca was taken by the 
 French, and was much approved of by Prince Potenikin, 
 as well as by the emprefs. The following particulars were 
 
 extracted 
 
 * A particular account of all thefe matters, and a aeicripcion of the cojn. 
 tries here alluded to, from original documents, wHl Shortly b-T publifhed by 
 Mr. Arrowfmithj with valuable maps, charts, &c. 
 
 114 
 
488 APPENDIX. 
 
 extracted from the original paper in his pofR^lTion. It pro- 
 bably was laid afide when the king of Naples confented to 
 receive the RufTian fleet into his ports in Sicily. ^ 
 
 It was propofcd to eilabliih an order of knighthood, fimilar 
 to that of IViaita, for Ruflians and Greeks, bur proofs of an- 
 cient nobility were not to be required. The parcicular in- 
 iiitution of the order I never faw ; but the emprefs was to 
 be the grand mafter, and the governor of the illand, for the 
 time being, her deputy. 
 
 Description of the Ifland of I^kmv^do % a* 
 
 THIS ifiand is in Africa, in 35 degrees and 30 min. 
 latitude i it is about twelve iniles long, and five to eight 
 broad ; it is flat, exceedingly fertile, and has pknty of water ; 
 the fea on the fouth fide is not very oecp, and a veflel may 
 anchor at a confiderable diflance from land ; to the north 
 it is deep ail round, and the fhore very bold. There is a 
 rock a league from the W. S. W. point, but it is eafily 
 known, and may be marked : a fhip mav fail fafely hetv/een 
 it iind the land. Three leagues ofl^ there is a high great 
 round rock in the fea, which is a good mark. To the fouth 
 there is an exceedingly fine bay, where velTels may anchor 
 in flfceen to eighteen fathoms water, fbut in from all winds 
 esfcept the fouth and fouth-weft j the bottom is a foft fand. 
 There is a great abundance of ^i'h in this bay. 
 
 The {hore may be eafily defended all round by forts and 
 entrenchments. At the bottom of the bay is a creek, which 
 is capable of being made a very fine harbour, and at a fmall 
 expence, mature having already done the greateft part of the 
 work. The entrance is from the S. S. W There is fifteen 
 fathoms water at its mouth, ten in the middle, which gra- 
 dualy decreafes to fix, aiid ac the extremity there is only one 
 fathom. To the left, halfway up the creek, there is a point 
 which projects half acrofs it, behind which fmall vefl^els may 
 anchor with (afety, v^hen the wind blows ftrong directly 
 Jiato thp harbour, at w|iich time there is a great fwell in 
 
 oth^ 
 
MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 4S9 
 
 other parts of it. To the left, from the entrr^nce to tlie part 
 where there is ten fathoms water, there is a fhaliow bay, 
 land-locked, in which there is only three to five (tet water, 
 with a foft fandy bottom: this bay may be fhut up with a 
 temporary wall, and the bay funk to any depth, at a fmall 
 expence, and continued a great way inio the ifland, fo as to 
 form a large port for fhips of any draught of water, the land 
 being but a little above the furface of the water, and of a 
 proper kind to admit of digging. Docks may alfo be formed 
 by fimply excavating the earth. The furface of this bay is 
 never more than ruffled by the moft violent gales of wind. 
 
 The entrance of the creek or port is ninety tathcms 
 broad, and half a mile in length ; the right-hand fliore is a 
 rock, and near it is a hill of (tone with a church on it ; this 
 being fortifiedj would defend the harbour and command the 
 land. 
 
 VefTcls m,ay anchor in the bay all the fummcr ; and in 
 winter, when too violent a florm comes on from the foutii 
 or fouth-weft, they may go to the north, round the ifland, 
 and keep in as clofe under fhore as they pbnfe; when the 
 wind has changed, they may fafely run in j they may alfo 
 bear away for Linofa, about twenty miles dill-ant, a[?d which 
 lies exa6tly in the dired^ion thefe winds blov/. The coafr 
 of Linofa is (o bold, that fliips may fallen on {horc ; large 
 velTels are, however, not more expcfed at Lampedofa than in 
 the road of Leghorn. 
 
 There are only ten or fifteen inhabitants on the ifland : 
 they are JMaltcfe ; one of them is a pricil:, and they have a 
 paiTport of protection from France. The Baibary cruizeis 
 go often into this port as well as the ivialrefc vcfTels, and 
 fhips which come from Turkey with the plague on board, 
 till the ficknefs has ccafed, when they return to I^urkcy, and 
 thus fave their fliips and cargoes from being burned, which 
 would be the cafe were they to go into any harbour where 
 there is a quarantine. 
 
 The fituation of Lampedofa is the mod advantageous 
 polljble 5 it is lOO miles from Sufa in Barbary, from Gior- 
 
 §cnti 
 
490 APPENDIX. 
 
 gentl in Sicily, and from the great port of Malta ; 6oo from 
 Toulon, from Algiers, -and the entrance into the Archipe- 
 lago ; from Gibraltar,' Alexandria, and Conftantinople, 950; 
 from Tripoli, Tunis, and the foath point of Sicily, 160 miles. 
 
 Ad V A N T A G E s i'c? R u s s I A />/ pojjejjing this IJland. 
 
 IT is the bell {Itiiation of any in the Mediterranean ; in 
 that refpecft it has all the advantages of Malta for the fla- 
 tion of a fleet in tirna of peace or v/ar ; Leghorn is quite cut 
 of the way j every thing is exceedingly dear there, and the 
 jBOtions of the ileet are almofl: immediately known in Italy 
 and France, It is farther from Fraiice than from the Archipe* 
 lago, and is in the palTage of all velTeis that go to or come 
 fiom the Levant, 
 
 In time of war, if the ifiand fliould be in danger of an in- 
 ^^alion, and being attacked by a fuperior fleet, the veiTels 
 Itationed there mav retire to Pv4alta or Sicily, &c. however, 
 a fleet drav»'n up near the fborc may be prote6led by the land 
 batteries. 
 
 It is the befl ftation for protecling trade. VeiTels coming 
 cither from the ftraits of Gibraltar or from the Levant may 
 be met by frigates, this illand being in the middle way. 
 
 Magazines of naval flores may be formed here from the 
 Black Sea, inftead of purchafing them at enormous prices in 
 Italy, in war- time. 
 
 Provificns will be produced in the ifland, but till that is 
 the cafe, they may be had from 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 RulTia: their ports may be kept blocked up. If 
 Malta would cvc^'m^q ferk-ujly againfk thefe ftates, in conjunc- 
 tion with the Ruilians, the Algerine cruizers could never 
 pafs beyond thefe iflands, and Tunis and Tripoli may he 
 continually blocked up.. 
 
 It 
 
MLSCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 491 
 
 It is alfo the beft fitiiatlon for an emporium for Ruffian 
 produ(3:s brought from the L'lixk Sea, for fupplying the Me- 
 diterranean, and for colle6i:ing articles of return. 
 
 A lazaretto muft be built, and thereby the expences of 
 quarantine will be faved to RufTia, 
 
 Maxims of Goyernment to be cbferved. 
 
 A colony and a province of the empire are to be governed 
 by oppofite maxims. 
 
 1. The colony muft manufacture nothing that can be manu- 
 faflured in Ruifia, not even the raw produces of the colony. 
 
 2. The colony m.uft produce only raw articles, which 
 RuiHa does not produce, or fuch as Ruffia is in need of, or 
 its veffels. 
 
 3. The colony muft take from RuHia every thing it v/ant?, 
 if Ruifia can furnifti them, 
 
 4. The colony muft trade with no other country. Ruffia 
 muft receive its produ6ls, 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 pofliblc 
 from other countries, not to diminifii the population of the 
 mother-country. 
 
 6. A colony muft be diftant enough from the mother- 
 country to become a nurfery for feamen? but not fo far off as 
 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 thefo 
 
 • maxims will be oppreffive. 
 
 havos for the Colony, ^ 
 
 IN eftabliftiing the government, regard muft be had to the 
 genius, cuftoms, and morals of the neighbouring Chriftiau 
 nations. 
 
 J. No duty whatever fhall be paid, neither on importa- 
 
 ■ ■ ' ' tipii 
 
492 APPENDIX. 
 
 tion nor exportation of any kind of rat-rchandi'ze. Duty is 
 .to be paid in the Ruffian ports as now, or with fuch dimi- 
 nutions as fliali be judged neceffary, 
 
 2. It is prohibited to make ufe of, or to have, any utenfil 
 or inftrument of iron, hrafs, &c. or any cloth, linen, ©r fail- 
 eloth, not made and imported from RufTia, with the excep- 
 tion of Cilks and other merchandize not produced or ma- 
 jiufa«5lured in RufHa, which may be had from the iicighbour- 
 ing countries, of which a lifl ihall be made. 
 
 3. No foreign velia (except in time of war, znd by ftrefs 
 "of weather) {hall be permitted to enter the port, except it be 
 empty of all kind of merchandi-ze, and then it ihall have no 
 communicatton with the colonics, till after it has been 
 vifited. Vcffels loaded, in need of afliilance, ihali receive it, 
 but they fhail be confidered as in quarantine as- long as they 
 ftay. PalTengers, 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 merchandise In the ifland, 
 except the produ6ts of the iHands, and export them in their 
 own vefTels, which arrived empty. 
 
 5. Foreigners or RuiHans may import into Lam.pedofa 
 merchandize from Ruflia or elfewhere, only in Ruffian 
 vefTels. 
 
 6. Only Ruffian velTels may export produ<S!s to Ruffia. 
 The cargo unloaded in Ruffia muft correfpond to the note 
 of 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 Tale in Ruffia. 
 
 7. The products of the ifland muft be regiftered before 
 the harveft, or the bringing them into warehoufes from the 
 iields. 
 
 8. Any perfon, of whatever nation or religion, may become 
 an Inhabitant of the Ifland, and leave it when he thjnks pro- 
 per ; but his refidence in it ftiall not give him a right to have 
 the Ruffian flag for a veflel, large or fmall. 
 
 Q, Everjr 
 
MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 49^ 
 
 9. Every individual, who (hall be poffefled of ahoufe, or 
 land cultivated, to the value of five hundred roubles, (hall be 
 entitled to have the Ruilian flag for one vefl'ei of forty tons ; 
 if he pofieis houfe or land to the value of 1000 roubles, one 
 of eighty tons ; and for larger pofieffions, one or more vef- 
 fcls in the fame proportion. Who lends his name to others 
 jQiall forfeit the value, and the borrower fh.dl forfeit the vciTeL 
 Property, which has given a right to have the nag, fhall not 
 be fold before the pafTports of the veiich have been delivered 
 up to the government, and the vefTels return to the port 01 
 the iHand. No proprietor of a veiTci is obliged to go him- 
 felf to fea v/ith his veiTel. 
 
 10. He who (hall fend h\r> family to RulU^, or another 
 familv in its flead, confifting of a male under thirtv-five 
 years of age and a woman under tvventy-iive, or a man of 
 any age and a wot7ian under thirty years of age and orie 
 child, or of thirty-five with two children, or the man and 
 woman of any age with three children, who fhall become 
 r.aturaiized fubjects of the emprefs, and ftiall buy in Rufna 
 immoveable property for 500 roubles, under the fame re- 
 firidJiions as property in the ifland with refpeci to the fale, 
 fuch fender ihall have the RuHian ilag for a veflel of any fize 
 under 200 tons, and for a larger vefiel in proportion for 
 Several. Neither the perfons fent to Ruflia fnall be anfwcr- 
 able for the condud of the fender, nor the fender for the con- 
 duct of the (ent. 
 
 In the year 1779$ a projecl 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 vefleis. Tiiere 
 were no humiliating conditions in this arrangement, as there 
 are in moft of the treaties of other nations. The emprefs 
 gave for anfwer, that (lie would never make any arrange- 
 ment whatever with thofe powers; that if they took her 
 mercantile vefllls, Ihe would know bow to force the porte 
 
 to 
 
494 APPENDIX. 
 
 to oblige them to obferve the fllpulations of the iteSitf bf 
 peace ; and that rather than fend a negotiator to tliem, fhe 
 would fend a fleet of frigates. 
 
 The number of failors in the different ports of Italy is 
 much greater than is generally imagined 5 there are above 
 lOjOCO in the two Sicilies. Malta generally furnifhes to 
 Spain 6000 excellent feamen. 
 
 From the coafl of the Adriatic, about Ragufa, Prevafa, &c. 
 the French have for many years imported a great quantity 
 of the moll; excellent oak-timber ; there is, indeed, no finer 
 timber any where to be found for the purpofe of fbip-build- 
 ing, than that which grows in thofe parts in great abun- 
 dance. 
 
 fA. Pl A N for attacking the 1 a r k i s h Fleet in 
 the Fort o/^ConstantinoI'le. 
 
 IT will ferve no good ^vA to publiOi the details of the 
 intended operations of the RuiTian fleet in the lali war. The 
 following particulars will fufHciently ftiew the probability 
 there was of their being crowned with fuccefs. 
 
 The channel of Conftantinople is of different breadths^ 
 from about one to three miles^ and runs betvireen high hillsj 
 at the foot of which are batteries, from the entrance at the 
 Black Sea to Serrieri (a village near Buyukdere.) The 
 north and north-eaft winds blow down the channel nine or 
 ten months in the year. The foutherly winds, which blow 
 Up the channel when they reign, feldom lafi: more than two 
 Or three days at a time ; the north and north-eaft winds, on 
 the contrary, are generally condan'c for two or three months, 
 fo that a fleet coming from the Black Sea at the proper fea- 
 
 fort 
 
MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 495 
 
 fon is alriioft 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 Tea of Marmora. The 
 ftream divides at the point of the feraglio; a part of the 
 water runs into the Tea of Marmora, and a part is forced into 
 the port, making, on the Confrantinople fide, a tolerably 
 ftrong current, which runs towards ths bottom of the port, 
 and coming' out again on the Galata fide, and by an under- 
 current, occafions an eddy or flill-watcr in die middle; 
 hence it is, that fhips cannot fail at once from tl.ie port, but 
 mult be towed or warped in the ftill-water clofe to the fhore 
 of Tophana, till they are fo far up the flream ('ihat is, to the 
 northward) that they can make (dll widiout dfinger of being 
 carried againft the feraglio point (as has fometimes hap^ 
 pened) and where there is a perfect torrent. 
 
 From this defcription it is evident, that a fleet coming 
 from the Black Sea down the c]--annel of Conllantinople, 
 with the wMnd and current in its favour, could with cafe 
 fail ilraight into the pert; that the Turkifh fleet in the port 
 cannot go out to meet it in tbe middle of the channel, but 
 hy towing flowly up the (hor.*^ while the enemy's fleet com- 
 ing down will have, within a few fathoms of it, the wind 
 and current in its favour, and will be able to c.ifl anchor, 
 and form in whatever m:/nner the commander may iud^e 
 mod: advant-'.gecus. 
 
 If the TurkiPn Fieet is not in the port, but lies in the 
 channel in the dream, Vvhcre it ufually is {tationed before it 
 fails in the fpring for fhe Archipelago^ three or four miles 
 above the port, the Raflian fleet may anchor at what dif- 
 tance it pleafes from itj either to attack or not, while the 
 'I'urkiih fhips. cannot pofTibly advance againft the current, 
 not even by warpinr. In fuch a fituation they are cxpofed 
 to fire-fhips, and if ^.ny part flip their anchors to avoid being 
 burned, they cann'jt again get into the line 5 the refi: muft 
 follow them, if thr;y will pr^^ferve their line. 
 
 As 
 
49^ APPENDIX. 
 
 As to the batteries on" the two fhores, they may be paflecl 
 fo rapidly, and at fuch a diftance, that nothing is to be feared 
 from them j but as the water is deep enough to admit line- 
 of-battle fhips to lie quite clofe to them, and the fhore i» 
 perfe6lly clean, they may be foon filenccd, and particularly 
 as only one or two guns in the flanks can bear on a fhip 
 before it comes oppofite to them. The flones of which they 
 are built are hard and exceedingly brittle; they are alfo fo 
 low and fo expofed, that a fhip with grape-lhot may foon 
 drive out ?.he gunners. 
 
 In the fiiH: winter of the lad war, a Ruffian fixty-four 
 gun (hip was difmafted in a violent fiorm in the Black Sea, 
 and the OiTicers being ignorant of the Turkiih ports on the 
 coaft of Anauolia, faw no other means of faving their lives 
 than by runalDg into the channel of Conftantinople. The 
 fhip entered it with a fair wind, but having only jury mafts, 
 fhe failed very {lowly, yet the Turkifh batteries, though they 
 kept up a conilaHit fire on her, did her not the leaft injury ; 
 when (he had run by all the batteries, (he caft anchor in the 
 bay of Buyukdercy and furrendered herfelf. . The captain 
 was afterwards blamed for not failing by Conftantinople, and 
 attempting to run between the forts of the Dardanelles, and 
 get into the Archipelago. 
 
 This example puts the maiter beyond doubt, as to tha 
 pofTibility of a ileet failing by thefe balierics, reputed fo 
 tremendous. 
 
 State of the Russian Army, Januar}^ ^795* 
 according to the Regiders of the College of 
 War, from the Reports of the different Corps. 
 
 ^ . Number of Men 
 
 I Q of artillery ---------- 38,110 
 
 II grenadiers, of 4075 men each - - -7 _ ci 04.8 
 
 3 grenadier'ij of ioco ;o 30O0 men eacU j 
 
 51 mul^ 
 
139)59^ 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 497 
 
 RegTftiehVs. N"'"''" °^ ^"^ 
 
 _^ in pay. 
 
 51 mufketeersj compofed of 10 companies of 
 muiketeers and 2 companies of grenadiers, 
 each regiment being compofed of 2,424 
 men ----------- 
 
 *j mufketeers without grenadiers - - - - 
 
 1 mufketeers, of 4 battalions, 4,143 men - - 
 New arquebufiers, fo called - - - - 
 
 12 battalions of mufqueteers, of 1,019 ^^^ 
 3 battalions of mufqueteers, of 1,475 men 
 48 battalions, infantry in garrifon on the frontiers 7 q 
 JO in the country -- --«---j ^jyS 
 
 9 corps of chalTeurs (jager) of 4 battalions of 998 
 men, each 3,992 -------- 
 
 3 battalions of chalFeurs --»•--- 
 
 5 cuirafliers (of 6 fquadrons) of 1,106 and 1,125 
 
 men ----------- 
 
 :} 
 
 5.S79 
 16,653 
 
 35.928 
 
 2>994 
 
 JO dragoons (of 10 fquadrons) of 1,882 men - | 
 
 23,573 
 
 ] 
 
 16,352 
 
 2,722 
 
 7»352 
 
 5,235 
 6,282 
 
 30,883 
 
 2 with hufTars and grenadiers mounted 
 
 8 carabiniers (of 6 fquadrons) of 1,106 men - 1 
 
 8 carabiniers (of 5 fquadrons) of 938 men - j 
 
 2 huflars, of 1,119 men ------ 
 
 3 fquadron hufTars ------- 
 
 1 fquadron huflar de corps - - - - - 
 
 4 regiment chafTeurs a cheval, of i.838 men 
 
 5 light-horfe (of 6 fquadrons) of 1,047 ^^^ 
 
 6 cavalry of the Ukraine, of 1,047 men - - - 
 i6 regular Cofack cavalry ------- 
 
 Troops to guard the country (marechaufTee) - 22,216 
 In the new provinces acquired from Poland 
 at the firfl partition, viz. 
 6 brigades of 1,819 men - - 
 
 5 brigades light-horfe, of 1,098 men - - - J- 235360 
 
 4ji"of infantry, of 1,447, ^^' ^^ ^^^ 
 
 Invalids in garrifon ---«_--- 3,864 
 
 Soldiers' fons at fchool for fervice - - - - 16,816 
 
 Troops to afTift the commlfTaries, &c. - - 1,258 
 
 Total regular troops - - Men 541,731 
 
 K K Irregular 
 
 ::l^ 
 
49^ ' APPENDIX. 
 
 Number of Men. 
 
 Brought over - - 541 5731" 
 Irregular CoOaks cavalry - - - - 21,6251 
 Irregular troops of the Don Coliaks ca- ^ 46,60 j 
 
 valry, all in a6lual fervice - - - 24,976 J 
 A great number of other Irregular troops, all ca-^ 
 valry, as Calmuks, Bafkirs, Sec, &c. not en- ( 
 rolled, but ready when called out -, they re- f ^ ^ 
 ceivenopayi at lead »----._-.l 
 
 Men - - 688,332 
 
 Of the regular troops there are about 300,000 men, vi^ho 
 may be fpared for foreign fervice. 
 
 The cavalry is never complete in horfes, and particularly in 
 Poland. • 
 
 The irregulars are generally over-complete in time of war, 
 both men and horfes. 
 
 In 1796, there were 150,000 recruits ralfed for the infantry. 
 
 The prefent emperor has ordered all the regiments to be 
 completed; and has eftabliflied fuch regulations that his 
 orders muft be obeyed. He has corrected all the abufes 
 that exifted In the army, which is now infinitely more for- 
 midable than it was v^^hen he afcended the throne. 
 
 A very great part of the empire has not yet contributed in 
 furniflilng troops for the army, fo that the number of re- 
 gular troops may be greatly increafed, whenever a flili 
 more formidable military eflablifhment may be neceffary, " 
 
499 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS. 
 
 List of the Russian Fleet, fitted out at 
 Cronftadt, to cruize in the Baltic, in i795- 
 
 100 gun fliips, 
 Evfevie. 
 
 Vladimir. 
 Saint Nicholal. 
 Saratov. 
 Refteflav. 
 Jre Erarkov. 
 
 74 gun fhlps. 
 Makfim Izpovednik. 
 Sifoi Vellkoi. 
 Conftantine. 
 Saint Peter. 
 
 Archangel Gabriel. 
 
 Simeon, 
 
 Patrick, 
 
 * 74 g^^ iOiips'. 
 
 PobcdoHav.' 
 
 Prince Guflaf (Swedifh) 
 Boris. 
 
 Sophia Magdalena (SwedlQiJ 
 Vfefl'av. " 
 Jaroflav. * 
 
 66 gun fhips, _ 
 Omgeten (Swedifh) 
 Proxor. 
 Pobedonocets (hofpital fliip) 
 
 FRIGATES, 
 
 Pomofhnoi. 
 
 Raphael. 
 
 Venus. 
 
 2 cutters, Volkov and Sokole. 
 
 ^ List of the Auxiliary Fleet, which the 
 Emprefs of Ruffia fent to England in 1795. 
 
 74 guns. 
 Pamit Eftafei. 
 Kleb. 
 Peter. 
 Helena. 
 
 66 guns. 
 No. 82 (fo called) 
 Graf Orlow. 
 
 66 guns. 
 Jona. 
 Philip. 
 Pimen. 
 
 Parmen. , 
 
 Nikonor. 
 
 Revifan (SwedKh ihip) cl- 
 oak. 
 
 frigates. 
 
 The Archangel Michael 
 The Reval. 
 
 The Riga, 
 
 Mercuryj 
 
 The Narva. 
 The Archipelago, 
 The Cronftadt. 
 
 cutters. 
 
 I Letucbie. 
 
 Stat£ 
 
500 APPENDIX. 
 
 State of the Russian Fleet at Sebaftopolis^ 
 in the Spring of 1796, all the old veffels being 
 condemned. 
 
 Number of guns. 
 I fhip of 90 guns i- - • - « 90 
 
 l-^ 80 •------. 80 
 
 3 — 74 -------- 222 
 
 6 — 64 --...... 384. 
 
 1 1 fhips of the line - - - - - 776 
 8 large frigates -•---.* 362 
 
 19 I5I38 guri^* 
 
 li II 
 
 Eefides thofe on the ilockSj which are now finilhed. 
 
 The flotilla at Odifla, or Khogia-bayi 
 
 Twenty-five very large and fixty fmaller velTels to tranfpott 
 troops. 
 
 They are fixty-four td feventy feet long, draw fiX feet water 
 when loaded, and carry one very large gun. They have 
 a latine mainfail and gib^ and twenty-four oars ; befides 
 thefe there are a great number of other tranfports, bomb« 
 veflels. Sic. 
 
 Since T796 the fleet has become much more formidable* 
 
 Feb. 1798. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 Pr!nte^^ ty Luke HanfarcJ, 
 €rcat Tmnl^il*, Li«coln's-Inn FIeU«. 
 
 PJ 
 
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