RTI S' S F \ 1S s
P R U S S I A .
G H A P T E R I.
. - H i s t p ^ i t A i G e o g r a p h y .
Names.— Extent.— Boundaries'.— Original Population.— Progrejjive .Geigruphy.—
^■ ^Hy^orkdi^oths ,andi Antiquities^ ^ i
TH IS kingdom,, which oply}©orftmenced withjthe,,eighteenth centtiry,
has, fry* gradual, ^cgffi-o,i%G',ijt)gc.ome'.Fo- ex^enpK®^ as defetTCedlyt, fo
lank amongjthe fo il poWiersi o f Europe. .JTbe, .dobaljtp^/^pr’yiiflia
>nrere fmall and fcattered, till the^acquiiiHon of.Silpfiai'and afterwards
• p f a third part o f Poland, gave a wider and, ftable .balls, to.‘.4-he hew
' 'm o n a rc h y ..'
4,.' „This region was faintly k n ow n to th e ancients, "who mention • various
tribes that pofleffed it :h arid th e amber, v^hiah h e re only waS, found in'
fuch, .quantities as. to form a regular ’article, o f icammerce,.; greatly, cqn-'
tributed to its - Gelebrity. But antiquarian difquiHtign^kr&forejga.'to
th e prefent p u rp o fe; a,ad it will be fu f^d en t ttW^jepye thatytbp name
of-thq cpuntry originates, according tOj lbme^footn >tb«. Pruzzi a »Slavonic:
.tr^be ^ ,but more probably, . according1 to o th e ^ jftpm rth e name o f
Rujjicty and.fthe Slavonic w o rd P o , which, fignifieshear*' tor..'adjacent.
ThuSjthe.Ppkbss 'were cOnfelTedly fo called, becaufe-"they were, fituated
upon the Elbe, which is called Labe in the Slavonic dial e ft. Helmol-
dus,' who wrote in ' the twelfth .century, and is the' molt' ancient
SB :
N ames.
chronicler