book tiie Ruffian merchants fhould have the liberty; o f trading t®
<_^l_»all the havens ofth e Cafpian without paying any duty that
they ihould be allowed to build, houfes and magazines
wherever it was rnoft convenient; thatjthey ihould be in nu
wife fubjeit to the laws of the country ; and that all. goods,
faved from the wrecks o f their veffels iliould be delayered
to the Ruffians *.
The privileges o f this- company were confirmed- by Anne
and Elizabeth.; but the commerce languiihcd and was in-
confiderable until the reign of the prefcnt cmprefs, who, in
176 2 , aboliihed this exclufive right, and permitted all her
iubjocts to trade to Perfia.; prohibiting, on account o f the
numerous banditti who infeft the roads, the inland traffick
from Kiflar, and the other Cafpian ports to Sliamakee, where
the faitory was formerly eftabliihed. Two Ruffian confab
refide at Baku and Einzelleet. Thefe regulations» however
productive o f general advantage to the commerce,
cannot prevent the contraband trade which is carried on at
Shamakee, and the other inland towns: o f Perfia, by the Armenian
merchants, who, from the knowledge o f the country
and the langhage, gain ready admiffion, and underfell the
Ruffians*
Aftracan, fituated upon an i'fland in one o f the branches
o f the Volga, may be confidered as the great ftaple o f the
Cafpian commerce ; and, by means o f that river, is readily
fupplied with European merchandize from the ports of the
Baltick %. Although Aftracan -is only in the 4.7 th degree of
latitude, yet the cold is extremely intenfe in winter; and
for two months the Volga is. generally .-frozen1,fp hard as to be
paffed over by heavy-ladenHedges §, Large trails o f foreft
* G ulden ftaed t,
r f Ibid , p.. 2480
'% H anw a y , p. 14 1 .
?§ GmeUay v o l. I I . p . 84. •
grow
grow upon the banks o f that river in the province o f Cafa,n, Chap.
and furnifti fufficient oak and timber for the conftruilion o f 1
veflels for the Cafpian fea.
The Cafpian is about 680 miles in length, reckoning
fro n the GuriefF to Medihetifar ; and in no part more than
260 miles in breadth. It has no tide ; and, on account of
its frequent ilioals, is navigable only by veffels drawing from
9 to 10 feet water: it has ilrong currents-; and, like ail
inland feas, is fubjett to violent ftorms'*, which the Ruffian -
veffels, wretchedly conftruiled, weather with difficulty. Its
waters are brackilh.
The fiihery o f the Cafpian deferves to be mentioned, be-
eaufe it is a nurfery for failors. The Uralian Coffacs enjoy
the right of fifhing upon the coafts 47 miles on each fide o f
the river Ural; and the inhabitants o f Aftracan poffefs the
exclufive privilege upon the remaining iliores belonging to
Ruffia. The roe o f fturgeons and beluga fupply large
quantities o f caviare ; and the fiih which are chiefly falted
and dried form a confiderable’article o f confumption in the
Ruffian empire. The Cafpian abounds with fea-dogs, which
are hunted and caught in great numbers +.
We ihall be able to afcertain with tolerable exactnefs the
prefent ftate o f the commerce in the Cafpian fea, by confi-
dering the principal havens, and the imports and exports.
The coafts o f the Cafpian being in the poffeffion o f the
Ruffians, Perfians, and Tartars, the ports may be divided into,
I. Ruffian. II. Perfian. 111. Tartar.
I. The Ruffian ports and trading places upon the Cafpian
are, 1. Gurief; 2. Kiflar.
* Hanw a y, vo l. I . p . 3-9.3, p . 52 ij, F o r .a lift o f the fiih in th e Cafpian*
t Journ. S t . P e t . p . 253 ; S. R , G . V I I . fee G m e lin , v o l. I I , p i 246.
Vol . JI, L I . x- Gurief