Marco Polo's Description Of The Vessels Of India Is Very Full And Minute:
As He Sailed From China To The Indian Islands In One Of These Vessels, We
May Suppose It Is Perfectly Accurate.
According to him, they were fitted up
with many cabins, and each merchant had his own cabin.
They had from two to
four masts, all or any of which could be lowered; the hold was divided not
merely for the purpose of keeping distinct each merchant's goods, but also
to prevent the water from a leak in one division extending to the rest of
the hold. The bottoms of the vessels were double planked at first, and each
year a new sheathing was added; the ships lasted only six years. They were
caulked, as modern ships are; the timbers and planks fixed with iron nails,
and a composition of lime, oil, and hemp, spread over the surface. They
were capable of holding 5000 or 6000 bags of pepper, and from 150 to 300
seamen and passengers. They were supplied with oars as well as sails: four
men were allotted to each oar. Smaller vessels seem to have accompanied the
larger ones, which besides had boats on their decks.
When the power of the Romans was extinguished in Egypt, and the Mahomedans
had gained possession of that country, Aden, which had been destroyed by
the former in the reign of Claudius, resumed its rank as the centre of the
trade between India and the Red Sea. In this situation it was found by
Marco Polo. The ships which came from the East, did not pass the straits,
but landed their cargoes at Aden; here the _trankies_ of the Arabs,
which brought the produce of Europe, Syria, and Egypt, received them, and
conveyed them to Assab, Cosir, or Jidda: ultimately they reached
Alexandria. Marco Polo gives a magnificent picture of the wealth, power,
and influence of Aden in the thirteenth century.
When the Christians were expelled from Syria, in the beginning of the
fourteenth century, and, in order to procure the merchandize of the east,
were obliged to submit to the exactions of the sultan of Egypt; Sanuto, a
Venetian, addressed a work to the Pope, in which he proposed to suppress
the Egyptian trade by force. In this work are many curious particulars of
the Indian trade at this time; and it is highly interesting both on this
account, and from the clear-sighted speculations of the author. It appears
to have produced a strong sensation; and though his mode of suppressing the
Egyptian trade was not followed, yet, in consequence of it, much more
attention was paid to Oriental commerce. According to him, the productions
of the East came to the Venetians in two different ways. Cloves, nutmegs,
pearls, gems, and other articles of great value, and small bulk, were
conveyed up the Persian Gulf and the Tigris to Bassora, and thence to
Bagdat; from which they were carried to some port in the Mediterranean. The
more bulky and less valuable articles were conveyed by Arabian merchants to
the Red Sea, and thence across the desert and down the Nile to Alexandria.
He adds, that ginger and cinnamon, being apt to spoil on shipboard, were
from ten to twenty per cent.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 263 of 524
Words from 136963 to 137507
of 273188
