According To Sir W. Monson, England Exported Broad Cloth,
Tin, &C. Enough To Purchase All The Wares We Wanted In Turkey; And, In
Particular, 300 Great Bales Of Persian Raw Silk Yearly:
"Whereas a balance
of money is paid by the other nations trading thither.
Marseilles sends
yearly to Aleppo and Alexandria at least 500,000_l_. sterling, and little
or no wares. Venice sends about 400,000_l_. in money, and a great value in
wares besides: the Low Countries send about 50,000_l_., and but little
wares; and Messina 25,000_l_. in ready money: besides great quantities of
gold and dollars from Germany, Poland, Hungary, &c.; and all these nations
take of the Turks in return great quantities of camblets, grograms, raw
silk, cotton wool and yarn, galls, flax, hemp, rice, hides, sheep's wool,
wax, corn, &c."
The first check which the Levant trade received was given by the East India
Company: about the year 1670 the Levant Company complained that their trade
in raw silk was much diminished; they had formerly imported it solely from
Turkey, whereas then it was imported in great quantities direct from India.
In 1681, the complaints of the one company, and the defence of the other,
were heard before the Privy Council. The Levant Company alleged, that for
upwards of one hundred years they had exported to Turkey and other parts of
the Levant, great qualities of woollen manufactures, and other English
wares, and did then, more especially, carry out thither to the value of
500,000_l_; in return for which they imported raw silks, galls, grograms,
drugs, cotton, &c.; whereas the East India Company exported principally
gold and silver bullion, with an inconsiderable quantity of cloth; and
imported calicoes, pepper, wrought silks, and a deceitful sort of raw silk;
if the latter supplants Turkey raw silk, the Turkey demand for English
cloth must fail, as Turkey does not yield a sufficient quantity of other
merchandize to return for one fourth part of our manufactures carried
thither.
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