tercourse between European nations, the inhabitants
of the Indian Islands, and the nations in
their neighbourhood, I shall furnish a general
picture of the character of thè commercial exchanges
which must take place between them in
an unrestricted intercourse. The Indian Islands
present to us an immense country; more easy of
access to the merchant and navigator than any
Other portion of the globe, owing to the tranquillity
of the seas which surround them, that, like so
inany canals, or great navigable rivers, throwthe communication
open, and render it easy from one extremity
to another, This great advantage peculiarly
distinguishes them from the continuous territory of
the Continent of Africa, from a great part of that
of Asia, and from some of that of America. . At
the same time, as many of the islands are of vast
extent, the whole region is exempt from that character
of sterility to which islands of small size
within the tropics are naturally liable from the absence
of considerable rivers, indispensable to fertility
in those climates. All the great islands contain
navigable rivers, and many of them extensive
inlets and bays, or fine harbours. In a commercial
point of view, the immediate neighbourhood
of the Indian Islands to the greatest nations of Asia
is one of their most prominent characteristics. With
respect to fertility of soil, they are eminent. Their
mineral and animal productions are various, rich,
and extensive. They afford in luxuriance the vegetable
productions common to other tropical climates,
and some which are peculiarly their own,
and which refuse to grow in cheapness or perfection
any where else. It is, at the same time, to
be remarked of these last, and it is a singular coincidence,
that they have been, and still are, in more
universal request among men, in every rank of
social improvement above that of mere savages,
than the productions of any other portion of the
globe. *'
Of this vast region of the earth it is but a small
portion that is yet inhabited. By far the greater
portion of the land, perhaps even of the good land,
is still unoecupied, uncultivated, and unappropriated.
There is, in fact, still room for an immense
population. Among the i various inhabitants of
which it consists, there is a wide difference in
point of industry; A few are roaming about theiir
forests, as useless, as unproductive, and perhaps
* It is to the productions of these islands that Dr Robertson
chiefly alludes, when he observes, “ Some of these are
deemed necessary, hot only to the comfort, but to the preservation
of life, and others contribute to its elegance and
pleasure. They are so various as to suit the taste of mankind
in every climate, and in different stages of improvement;
and are in high request among the rude nations of
Africa, as well as the more luxurious inhabitants of Asia.*
Disquisition concerning Ancient India} p. 11-7.