i l l 1
e s* m s ! it-maintains a eommefce-ofirhe- moft remote defcriptions, on the Baltic,
M a n u f a c tur
and the White fea, the Buxine and the Cafpian j with Periia, ’andj with
China. The Englifh', having,«> fo to (peak, difcovered Ruffia in the
fifteenth century, the Czafr Ivan Bafilowitz, delighted with tin's1‘new
intfereourfe, caüfèd a harbour to be conftructed On' the Whitrp fea,
where the Engliih arrived, which ’was called the harhour o f tbe!-Archangel
Michael,- and afterwards,-for‘brevity, .'ArOhahgeh’ This commerce
Continued till Peterfburg was founded: yet Archangel ftill affords *
moderate trade, and‘exports pot afhes, kaviar, tallow* wax* hides,
hemp, &c. with com, linfeed, coarfe linens^ and'other articles. The’
.commerce o f Peterfburgjj is much o f . the fame deTcri^tictehr that'of
Riga is very confideiaWe, and to other articles a-re added maft’s ’from. the
Dnieper. Riga was the capital,of Livonia, a province whidh'formerly
occafioned many difputes between Raffias, Sweden, and Poland ; but-in
17101 was finally fubduéd by Peter the-Great. In' genm H ’be~exports
o f Ruffia, by the Bakic, exceed the imports by one third paftj. , 'The
imports o f Peterfburg in 1797 were computed at about 2,©,daé\épb'.0f
rubles, or about 4,000,0001. fterling. Ruffia ris Tuppofed to export
grain annually to the value o f 170,000!. and hemp, and flax* raw, and
manufactured, to the amount o f a million and a half fkéritng. <y
The commerce o f the- Euxine, or Black fea, is o f inferior moment,
chief exports, furs, lalt beef, butter, cordage, faff cloth,’ k a v ia r^ l^ ;
with-iron, linen, and feme cotton Huffs. Imports,rwiné, r&uitj coffee,
filks, rice, and feveral Turkifficommodities.V The commerce of the
Cafpian was known to the Genoefe, who, by permiffion o f the’Byzah-
fine emperors, had formed a fettlement in Crim. The chief Ruffian
harbours are Aftracan, the chief feat of the Cafpian commerce, Gurief,
and Killiar., Perfian havens are Derbent, Nifabad, and Baku with
Medfhetizar, and Farabat on the fouthern ihore of the Cafpian.
Aftrabat opens the trade with Kandahar. From Aftracan: are exported
many European manufactures j and the chief imports, are raw filk', rice,
dried fruits, fpices, faffroa, fulphur, and naphtha. The Hindoo merchants
pccafionally bring gold, and precious ftones. The annual trade
is compüted at 1,000,000 of rubles, , or 2oo,bóol.' That of the Euxine
is not above one third o f this value.
4 Took«, iji. 572. -
Ruffia.
I Ü jI
Ruffia likewffe maintains Tome commerce by land with Pruffia. Manufac-
That with Perfiai is!‘of little moment-; chief imports filk. There is a TD&18» &c‘
sfconfiderable trade by land with the Kirgufes* who fend horfes, cattle,
and fheep, in return for woollen dloth$$* Trori^ and European articles*
That with Ghina is nearly on a.-par; ■‘èafêhlènuntry tranfmitting to the
.aflaount óf about 2.jb$^bfeci lof rubles- (^bbioóoH): Ruffia exchanges,
her precious Siberian furs for tea, filk, and nankeen.
,r The internal commerce of Ruffia is very considerable; and Siberia-is
-laid to afford in-gold, fijyer, copper* iron,<T%lt, gems, &c. to the amount
H^f 12,000,000 o f rubles (2,400,000!.^ that between the fouthern and
|fiqr(thern provinces is alfo of great extent and value. The coin current
in thé empire-is fuppofed to amount to about 3o,ooo,oooh fterling, the-
i-paper money to about 2o , o o q , o o o 1. The Siberian gold, and- filvex
fupply. ah important addition to the national currency.